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Tsunami fragility functions describe the probability of structural damage due to tsunami flow characteristics. Fragility functions developed from past tsunami events (e.g., the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami) are often applied directly, without modification, to other areas at risk of tsunami for the purpose of damage and loss estimations. Consequentially, estimates carry uncertainty due to disparities in construction standards and coastal morphology between the specific region for which the fragility functions were originally derived and the region where they are being used. The main objective of this study is to provide an alternative approach to assessing tsunami damage, especially for buildings in regions where previously developed fragility functions do not exist. A damage assessment model is proposed in this study, where load-resistance analysis is performed for each building by evaluating hydrodynamic forces, buoyancies and debris impacts and comparing them to the resistance forces of each building. Numerical simulation was performed in this study to reproduce the 2011 Great East Japan tsunami in Ishinomaki, which is chosen as a study site. Flow depths and velocities were calculated for approximately 20 000 wooden buildings in Ishinomaki. Similarly, resistance forces (lateral and vertical) are estimated for each of these buildings. The buildings are then evaluated for their potential of collapsing. Results from this study reflect a higher accuracy in predicting building collapse when using the proposed load-resistance analysis, as compared to previously developed fragility functions in the same study area. Damage is also observed to have likely occurred before flow depth and velocity reach maximum values. With the above considerations, the proposed damage model might well be an alternative for building damage assessments in areas that have yet to be affected by modern tsunami events.

On 23 August 2017 a Category 3 hurricane, Typhoon Hato, struck southern China. Among the hardest hit cities, Macau experienced the worst flooding since 1925. In this paper, we present a high-resolution survey map recording inundation depths and distances at 278 sites in Macau. We show that one-half of the Macau Peninsula was inundated, with the extent largely confined by the hilly topography. The Inner Harbor area suffered the most, with a maximum inundation depth of 3.1 m at the coast. Using a combination of numerical models, we simulate and reproduce this typhoon and storm surge event. We further investigate the effects of tidal level and sea level rise on coastal inundations in Macau during the landfall of a “Hato-like” event.

Tsunami parametric solution was introduced commercially in Japan in 2018, making it one of the first of its kind globally. Parametric insurance provides payouts based on a predefined hazard index, yet its application to tsunamis remains limited due to the lack of understanding of their complex nature. A probabilistic tsunami risk assessment (PTRA) is adopted in this study to characterize tsunami risk. We present one of the earliest efforts to quantify basis risk – the mismatch between payout and actual losses, for tsunami events and develop an optimization model that minimizes basis risk. Applying our model to Sendai Port, which is exposed to multiple tsunami-generating earthquake sources, we show that using tsunami inundation depth as the index for payment can significantly reduce basis risk. Furthermore, incorporating multiple indices improves payout accuracy and reduces basis risk, highlighting the potential of this approach in developing more robust tsunami parametric insurance products.

Seaports are vulnerable to extreme sea level events. Beyond physical damage, any port inoperability affects trade flows in and out of the affected port and disrupts shipping routes connected to it, which then propagates throughout the port network. Here, we propose an approach to assessing tsunami risk to ports and the global port network. We leverage on the topological properties of the global liner shipping network and centrality measures to quantify the potential impacts of a Manila Trench earthquake-tsunami under both present and future sea levels. We find that a Manila Trench tsunami could potentially damage up to 11 ports at present-day conditions and 15 ports under rising sea levels. Port closure could exceed 200 days and cause greater disruption to shipping routes than historical tsunami events. We also find that sea level rise is likely to result in uneven changes in tsunami heights spatially and hence, uneven impacts on the global port network.

Modern tsunami events have highlighted the vulnerability of port structures to these high-impact but infrequent occurrences. However, port planning rarely includes adaptation measures to address tsunami hazards. The 2011 Tohoku tsunami presented us with an opportunity to characterise the vulnerability of port industries to tsunami impacts. Here, we provide a spatial assessment and photographic interpretation of freely available data sources. Approximately 5000 port structures were assessed for damage and stored in a database. Using the newly developed damage database, tsunami damage is quantified statistically for the first time, through the development of damage fragility functions for eight common port industries. In contrast to tsunami damage fragility functions produced for buildings from an existing damage database, our fragility functions showed higher prediction accuracies (up to 75 % accuracy). Pre-tsunami earthquake damage was also assessed in this study and was found to influence overall damage assessment. The damage database and fragility functions for port industries can inform structural improvements and mitigation plans for ports against future events.

Abstract Stone-hammering behaviour customarily occurs in Burmese long-tailed macaques, Macaca fascicularis aurea, and in some Burmese-common longtail hybrids, M. f. aurea × M. f. fascicularis; however, it is not observed in common longtails. Facial pelage discriminates these subspecies, and hybrids express variable patterns. It was tested if stone hammering related to facial pelage in 48 hybrid longtails, across two phenotypes — hybrid-like ( N = 19) and common-like ( N = 29). In both phenotypes, tool users showed similar frequency and proficiency of stone hammering; however, common-like phenotypes showed significantly fewer tool users (42%) than hybrid-like phenotypes (76%). 111 Burmese longtails showed the highest prevalence of tool users (88%). Hybrid longtails living together in a shared social and ecological environment showed a significant difference in tool user prevalence based on facial pelage phenotype. This is consistent with inherited factors accounting for the difference, and thus could indicate Burmese longtails carry developmental biases for their tool behaviour.

Single-agent checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) activity in Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) related nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is limited. Dual CPI shows increased activity in solid cancers. In this single-arm phase II trial (NCT03097939), 40 patients with recurrent/metastatic EBV-positive NPC who failed prior chemotherapy receive nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks and ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks. Primary outcome of best overall response rate (BOR) and secondary outcomes (progression-free survival [PFS], clinical benefit rate, adverse events, duration of response, time to progression, overall survival [OS]) are reported. The BOR is 38% with median PFS and OS of 5.3 and 19.5 months, respectively. This regimen is well-tolerated and treatment-related adverse events requiring discontinuation are low. Biomarker analysis shows no correlation of outcomes to PD-L1 expression or tumor mutation burden. While the BOR does not meet pre-planned estimates, patients with low plasma EBV-DNA titre (<7800 IU/ml) trend to better response and PFS. Deep immunophenotyping of pre- and on-treatment tumor biopsies demonstrate early activation of the adaptive immune response, with T-cell cytotoxicity seen in responders prior to any clinically evident response. Immune-subpopulation profiling also identifies specific PD-1 and CTLA-4 expressing CD8 subpopulations that predict for response to combined immune checkpoint blockade in NPC. Dual PD-1 and CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade has proven effective in several cancer types. Here the authors report the results of a clinical trial of anti-PD1 (nivolumab) and anti-CTLA4 (ipilimumab) in patients with recurrent/metastatic EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma.