| 1. |
- Forouzanfar, Mohammad H, et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990-2013 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.
- 2015
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In: The Lancet. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 386:10010, s. 2287-2323
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution.METHODS: Attributable deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) have been estimated for 79 risks or clusters of risks using the GBD 2010 methods. Risk-outcome pairs meeting explicit evidence criteria were assessed for 188 countries for the period 1990-2013 by age and sex using three inputs: risk exposure, relative risks, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL). Risks are organised into a hierarchy with blocks of behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks at the first level of the hierarchy. The next level in the hierarchy includes nine clusters of related risks and two individual risks, with more detail provided at levels 3 and 4 of the hierarchy. Compared with GBD 2010, six new risk factors have been added: handwashing practices, occupational exposure to trichloroethylene, childhood wasting, childhood stunting, unsafe sex, and low glomerular filtration rate. For most risks, data for exposure were synthesised with a Bayesian meta-regression method, DisMod-MR 2.0, or spatial-temporal Gaussian process regression. Relative risks were based on meta-regressions of published cohort and intervention studies. Attributable burden for clusters of risks and all risks combined took into account evidence on the mediation of some risks such as high body-mass index (BMI) through other risks such as high systolic blood pressure and high cholesterol.FINDINGS: All risks combined account for 57·2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 55·8-58·5) of deaths and 41·6% (40·1-43·0) of DALYs. Risks quantified account for 87·9% (86·5-89·3) of cardiovascular disease DALYs, ranging to a low of 0% for neonatal disorders and neglected tropical diseases and malaria. In terms of global DALYs in 2013, six risks or clusters of risks each caused more than 5% of DALYs: dietary risks accounting for 11·3 million deaths and 241·4 million DALYs, high systolic blood pressure for 10·4 million deaths and 208·1 million DALYs, child and maternal malnutrition for 1·7 million deaths and 176·9 million DALYs, tobacco smoke for 6·1 million deaths and 143·5 million DALYs, air pollution for 5·5 million deaths and 141·5 million DALYs, and high BMI for 4·4 million deaths and 134·0 million DALYs. Risk factor patterns vary across regions and countries and with time. In sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risk factors are child and maternal malnutrition, unsafe sex, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing. In women, in nearly all countries in the Americas, north Africa, and the Middle East, and in many other high-income countries, high BMI is the leading risk factor, with high systolic blood pressure as the leading risk in most of Central and Eastern Europe and south and east Asia. For men, high systolic blood pressure or tobacco use are the leading risks in nearly all high-income countries, in north Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. For men and women, unsafe sex is the leading risk in a corridor from Kenya to South Africa.INTERPRETATION: Behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks can explain half of global mortality and more than one-third of global DALYs providing many opportunities for prevention. Of the larger risks, the attributable burden of high BMI has increased in the past 23 years. In view of the prominence of behavioural risk factors, behavioural and social science research on interventions for these risks should be strengthened. Many prevention and primary care policy options are available now to act on key risks.FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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| 2. |
- Vos, Theo, et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
- 2015
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 386:9995, s. 743-800
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Up-to-date evidence about levels and trends in disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) is an essential input into global, regional, and national health policies. In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), we estimated these quantities for acute and chronic diseases and injuries for 188 countries between 1990 and 2013. Methods Estimates were calculated for disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and YLDs using GBD 2010 methods with some important refinements. Results for incidence of acute disorders and prevalence of chronic disorders are new additions to the analysis. Key improvements include expansion to the cause and sequelae list, updated systematic reviews, use of detailed injury codes, improvements to the Bayesian meta-regression method (DisMod-MR), and use of severity splits for various causes. An index of data representativeness, showing data availability, was calculated for each cause and impairment during three periods globally and at the country level for 2013. In total, 35 620 distinct sources of data were used and documented to calculated estimates for 301 diseases and injuries and 2337 sequelae. The comorbidity simulation provides estimates for the number of sequelae, concurrently, by individuals by country, year, age, and sex. Disability weights were updated with the addition of new population-based survey data from four countries. Findings Disease and injury were highly prevalent; only a small fraction of individuals had no sequelae. Comorbidity rose substantially with age and in absolute terms from 1990 to 2013. Incidence of acute sequelae were predominantly infectious diseases and short-term injuries, with over 2 billion cases of upper respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease episodes in 2013, with the notable exception of tooth pain due to permanent caries with more than 200 million incident cases in 2013. Conversely, leading chronic sequelae were largely attributable to non-communicable diseases, with prevalence estimates for asymptomatic permanent caries and tension-type headache of 2.4 billion and 1.6 billion, respectively. The distribution of the number of sequelae in populations varied widely across regions, with an expected relation between age and disease prevalence. YLDs for both sexes increased from 537.6 million in 1990 to 764.8 million in 2013 due to population growth and ageing, whereas the age-standardised rate decreased little from 114.87 per 1000 people to 110.31 per 1000 people between 1990 and 2013. Leading causes of YLDs included low back pain and major depressive disorder among the top ten causes of YLDs in every country. YLD rates per person, by major cause groups, indicated the main drivers of increases were due to musculoskeletal, mental, and substance use disorders, neurological disorders, and chronic respiratory diseases; however HIV/AIDS was a notable driver of increasing YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Also, the proportion of disability-adjusted life years due to YLDs increased globally from 21.1% in 1990 to 31.2% in 2013. Interpretation Ageing of the world's population is leading to a substantial increase in the numbers of individuals with sequelae of diseases and injuries. Rates of YLDs are declining much more slowly than mortality rates. The non-fatal dimensions of disease and injury will require more and more attention from health systems. The transition to non-fatal outcomes as the dominant source of burden of disease is occurring rapidly outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Our results can guide future health initiatives through examination of epidemiological trends and a better understanding of variation across countries.
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| 3. |
- Cheng, W., et al.
(author)
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Effect of oxidative torrefaction on particulate matter emission from agricultural biomass pellet combustion in comparison with non-oxidative torrefaction
- 2022
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In: Renewable energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 189, s. 39-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Torrefaction could improve the fuel properties and reduce the operating costs. However, the particulate matter (PM) emission behavior during the torrefied pellet combustion remains unknown. In this work, cotton stalk was torrefied at a temperature of 220–300 °C with a O2 concentration of 0–21%. The torrefied pellet was burned out and PM emission behavior was investigated using a Dekati low-pressure impactor. The results show that oxidative torrefaction leads to notable decreases of H/C and O/C ratios, which makes the fuel properties similar to coals. The heating value is significantly improved and sensitive to the torrefaction temperature. Both non-oxidative and oxidative torrefaction give rise to considerable increase in the yield of PM10. The main composition of PM1 changed from KCl to K2SO4 due to the substantial release of Cl during torrefaction. Meanwhile, Ca and K contents in PM1-10 are generally high, implying that the presence of oxygen can facilitate the transformation of alkali and alkaline-earth metals into coarse particles. The torrefaction temperature at around 260 °C with a low O2 concentration of 0–6% are the optimal torrefaction operation conditions to produce good quality torrefied cotton stalk pellet with respect to high heating value and low PM emission in later combustion application.
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| 4. |
- Cheng, W., et al.
(author)
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Mitigation of ultrafine particulate matter emission from agricultural biomass pellet combustion by the additive of phosphoric acid modified kaolin
- 2021
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In: Renewable energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 172, s. 177-187
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The emission of ultrafine particulate matter (PM0.2) originated from the agricultural biomass pellet combustion poses great threat to atmospheric environment and human health, which restricts its large-scale utilization. In this study, a new phosphoric acid modification method is proposed to improve the PM0.2 reduction efficiency by kaolin additive. The effects of phosphoric acid concentration and treatment time on the physicochemical properties of kaolin and on the mitigation of PM0.2 emission from the pellet combustion are investigated. Results indicate that phosphoric acid modification destroy the internal structure of kaolin by the leaching of Al cations and the formation of active free silica. Meanwhile, the pore structure increases after modification with residual P deposited on the surface, which results in better alkali capture ability of modified kaolin. With the addition of phosphoric acid modified kaolin, significant reduction of PM0.2 emission can be achieved and the reduction ratio is proportional to the acid concentration. The maximum PM0.2 emission reduction ratio reaches 64.5% for the kaolin additive modified by 12 mol/L phosphoric acid for 6 hours. Finally, the PM0.2 reduction mechanism is proposed based on the analysis results, which provides technical knowhow for the industrial application of agricultural biomass pellet combustion.
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| 5. |
- Sui, H., et al.
(author)
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Effect of oxidative torrefaction on fuel and pelletizing properties of agricultural biomass in comparison with non-oxidative torrefaction
- 2024
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In: Renewable energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 226
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Torrefaction is regarded as a promising way to improve the fuel properties of biomass. In this work, a typical agricultural biomass of cotton stalk with high supply availability was employed to reveal the correlation between torrefaction conditions and fuel quality as well as pelletizing property. Cotton stalk was torrefied at 220–300 °C with a wide oxygen concentration of 0%–21% using a fixed bed reactor. The fuel qualities of torrefied samples were analyzed and the pelletizing properties were investigated using a universal material testing machine. The results showed that both non-oxidative and oxidative torrefaction significantly improved the heating value at a maximum of 20.48%, while extreme conditions of 300 °C with 10%–21% concentration were avoided due to the excessive consumption of combustible substances. Four key pelletizing parameters, including pellet density, compressive strength, durability and hydrophobicity, were improved, while the energy consumption increased, mainly attributed to the reduction of hydrophilic functional groups and the increased friction force. Response surface methodology was introduced and it was indicated that the pelletizing properties were sensitive to the temperature, followed by oxygen. The operating conditions were optimized by central composite design and a torrefaction temperature of 260–270 °C with an oxygen concentration of 2%–3% were recommended to produce torrefied biomass pellet with good fuel and pelletizing properties.
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| 6. |
- Zhu, Youjian, et al.
(author)
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Reduction of fine particulate matter emissions from cornstalk combustion by calcium phosphates additives
- 2021
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In: Fuel. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-2361 .- 1873-7153. ; 283
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The emission of fine particulate matters with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 1 µm (PM1) is usually high from straw biomass combustion, resulting in great danger to atmospheric environment and public health. In this work, the effect of three calcium phosphate additives on PM1 emission from cornstalk combustion was investigated using a lab-scale reactor. The addition of Ca(H2PO4)2, CaHPO4 and Ca3(PO4)2 reduced PM1 emission by 1.5–50.6%, 22–55.6% and 23–53.7%, respectively. For Ca(H2PO4)2, PM1 reduction rate reached its maximum values of 50.6% at P/K molar ratio equal to 1 and then decreased significantly with further increasing of P/K molar ratio. For both CaHPO4 and Ca3(PO4)2, PM1 reduction rate increased approximately linearly with increasing the amount of additives under the current operating conditions. Analyses of the collected particulate matters and residual ashes indicated that phosphorus was mainly transformed into PM1-10 and residual ash in the form of K-Ca/Mg phosphates and Ca/Mg phosphates, respectively. The PM1 reduction mechanism was proposed based on the characterization results. Finally, economic analysis showed that the addition of Ca3(PO4)2 is a potentially promising method to reduce PM1 emissions during straw biomass combustion.
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