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2. |
- Fullman, N., et al.
(author)
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Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
- 2018
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In: Lancet. - : Elsevier BV. - 0140-6736. ; 391:10136, s. 2236-2271
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0-100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0-100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97.1 (95% UI 95.8-98.1) in Iceland, followed by 96.6 (94.9-97.9) in Norway and 96.1 (94.5-97.3) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18.6 (13.1-24.4) in the Central African Republic, 19.0 (14.3-23.7) in Somalia, and 23.4 (20.2-26.8) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91.5 (89.1-936) in Beijing to 48.0 (43.4-53.2) in Tibet (a 43.5-point difference), while India saw a 30.8-point disparity, from 64.8 (59.6-68.8) in Goa to 34.0 (30.3-38.1) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4.8-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20.9-point to 17.0-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17.2-point to 20.4-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle-SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view and subsequent provision of quality health care for all populations. Copyright (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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3. |
- Bryazka, D., et al.
(author)
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Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020
- 2022
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In: Lancet. - 0140-6736. ; 400:10347, s. 185-235
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. Methods For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose-response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15-95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol. Findings The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15-39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0-0) and 0.603 (0.400-1.00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0.002 (0-0) and 1.75 (0.698-4.30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0.114 (0-0.403) to 1.87 (0.500-3.30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0.193 (0-0.900) and 6.94 (3.40-8.30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59.1% (54.3-65.4) were aged 15-39 years and 76.9% (7.0-81.3) were male. Interpretation There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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- Fitzmauric, C., et al.
(author)
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Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived with Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2017 : A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study
- 2019
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In: JAMA Oncology. - : American Medical Association. - 2374-2437 .- 2374-2445. ; 5:12, s. 1749-1768
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data.Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning.Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence.Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs).Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care.
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6. |
- Alvarez, E. M., et al.
(author)
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The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
- 2022
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In: Lancet Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-2045. ; 23:1, s. 27-52
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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7. |
- Burstein, R., et al.
(author)
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Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017
- 2019
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In: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 574:7778, s. 353-358
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2âto end preventable child deaths by 2030âwe need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000â2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations. © 2019, The Author(s).
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- Kocarnik, J. M., et al.
(author)
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Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for 29 Cancer Groups From 2010 to 2019 A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
- 2022
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In: Jama Oncology. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2374-2437 .- 2374-2445. ; 8:3, s. 420-488
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden. OBJECTIVE To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019. EVIDENCE REVIEW The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite measure of educational attainment, income per capita, and total fertility rate for those younger than 25 years. Estimates include 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). FINDINGS In 2019, there were an estimated 23.6 million (95% UI, 22.2-24.9 million) new cancer cases (17.2 million when excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and 10.0 million (95% UI, 9.36-10.6 million) cancer deaths globally, with an estimated 250 million (235-264 million) DALYs due to cancer. Since 2010, these represented a 26.3%(95% UI, 20.3%-32.3%) increase in new cases, a 20.9%(95% UI, 14.2%-27.6%) increase in deaths, and a 16.0% (95% UI, 9.3%-22.8%) increase in DALYs. Among 22 groups of diseases and injuries in the GBD 2019 study, cancer was second only to cardiovascular diseases for the number of deaths, years of life lost, and DALYs globally in 2019. Cancer burden differed across SDI quintiles. The proportion of years lived with disability that contributed to DALYs increased with SDI, ranging from 1.4%(1.1%-1.8%) in the low SDI quintile to 5.7%(4.2%-7.1%) in the high SDI quintile. While the high SDI quintile had the highest number of new cases in 2019, the middle SDI quintile had the highest number of cancer deaths and YDALYs. From 2010 to 2019, the largest percentage increase in the numbers of cases and deaths occurred in the low and low-middle SDI quintiles. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The results of this systematic analysis suggest that the global burden of cancer is substantial and growing, with burden differing by SDI. These results provide comprehensive and comparable estimates that can potentially inform efforts toward equitable cancer control around the world.
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10. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(author)
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The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2014
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In: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 9780819496126
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final downselection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supranuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study.
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11. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(author)
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LOFT - The large observatory for x-ray timing
- 2012
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In: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819491442 ; , s. 84432D-
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The LOFT mission concept is one of four candidates selected by ESA for the M3 launch opportunity as Medium Size missions of the Cosmic Vision programme. The launch window is currently planned for between 2022 and 2024. LOFT is designed to exploit the diagnostics of rapid X-ray flux and spectral variability that directly probe the motion of matter down to distances very close to black holes and neutron stars, as well as the physical state of ultradense matter. These primary science goals will be addressed by a payload composed of a Large Area Detector (LAD) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM). The LAD is a collimated (<1 degree field of view) experiment operating in the energy range 2-50 keV, with a 10 m2 peak effective area and an energy resolution of 260 eV at 6 keV. The WFM will operate in the same energy range as the LAD, enabling simultaneous monitoring of a few-steradian wide field of view, with an angular resolution of <5 arcmin. The LAD and WFM experiments will allow us to investigate variability from submillisecond QPO's to yearlong transient outbursts. In this paper we report the current status of the project.
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12. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(author)
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The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
- 2012
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In: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 34:2, s. 415-444
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultradense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m(2)-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic silicon drift detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of similar to 12 m(2) (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of < 260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.
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- Lozano, Rafael, et al.
(author)
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Measuring progress from 1990 to 2017 and projecting attainment to 2030 of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 392:10159, s. 2091-2138
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Efforts to establish the 2015 baseline and monitor early implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight both great potential for and threats to improving health by 2030. To fully deliver on the SDG aim of “leaving no one behind”, it is increasingly important to examine the health-related SDGs beyond national-level estimates. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017), we measured progress on 41 of 52 health-related SDG indicators and estimated the health-related SDG index for 195 countries and territories for the period 1990–2017, projected indicators to 2030, and analysed global attainment. Methods: We measured progress on 41 health-related SDG indicators from 1990 to 2017, an increase of four indicators since GBD 2016 (new indicators were health worker density, sexual violence by non-intimate partners, population census status, and prevalence of physical and sexual violence [reported separately]). We also improved the measurement of several previously reported indicators. We constructed national-level estimates and, for a subset of health-related SDGs, examined indicator-level differences by sex and Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile. We also did subnational assessments of performance for selected countries. To construct the health-related SDG index, we transformed the value for each indicator on a scale of 0–100, with 0 as the 2·5th percentile and 100 as the 97·5th percentile of 1000 draws calculated from 1990 to 2030, and took the geometric mean of the scaled indicators by target. To generate projections through 2030, we used a forecasting framework that drew estimates from the broader GBD study and used weighted averages of indicator-specific and country-specific annualised rates of change from 1990 to 2017 to inform future estimates. We assessed attainment of indicators with defined targets in two ways: first, using mean values projected for 2030, and then using the probability of attainment in 2030 calculated from 1000 draws. We also did a global attainment analysis of the feasibility of attaining SDG targets on the basis of past trends. Using 2015 global averages of indicators with defined SDG targets, we calculated the global annualised rates of change required from 2015 to 2030 to meet these targets, and then identified in what percentiles the required global annualised rates of change fell in the distribution of country-level rates of change from 1990 to 2015. We took the mean of these global percentile values across indicators and applied the past rate of change at this mean global percentile to all health-related SDG indicators, irrespective of target definition, to estimate the equivalent 2030 global average value and percentage change from 2015 to 2030 for each indicator. Findings: The global median health-related SDG index in 2017 was 59·4 (IQR 35·4–67·3), ranging from a low of 11·6 (95% uncertainty interval 9·6–14·0) to a high of 84·9 (83·1–86·7). SDG index values in countries assessed at the subnational level varied substantially, particularly in China and India, although scores in Japan and the UK were more homogeneous. Indicators also varied by SDI quintile and sex, with males having worse outcomes than females for non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality, alcohol use, and smoking, among others. Most countries were projected to have a higher health-related SDG index in 2030 than in 2017, while country-level probabilities of attainment by 2030 varied widely by indicator. Under-5 mortality, neonatal mortality, maternal mortality ratio, and malaria indicators had the most countries with at least 95% probability of target attainment. Other indicators, including NCD mortality and suicide mortality, had no countries projected to meet corresponding SDG targets on the basis of projected mean values for 2030 but showed some probability of attainment by 2030. For some indicators, including child malnutrition, several infectious diseases, and most violence measures, the annualised rates of change required to meet SDG targets far exceeded the pace of progress achieved by any country in the recent past. We found that applying the mean global annualised rate of change to indicators without defined targets would equate to about 19% and 22% reductions in global smoking and alcohol consumption, respectively; a 47% decline in adolescent birth rates; and a more than 85% increase in health worker density per 1000 population by 2030. Interpretation: The GBD study offers a unique, robust platform for monitoring the health-related SDGs across demographic and geographic dimensions. Our findings underscore the importance of increased collection and analysis of disaggregated data and highlight where more deliberate design or targeting of interventions could accelerate progress in attaining the SDGs. Current projections show that many health-related SDG indicators, NCDs, NCD-related risks, and violence-related indicators will require a concerted shift away from what might have driven past gains—curative interventions in the case of NCDs—towards multisectoral, prevention-oriented policy action and investments to achieve SDG aims. Notably, several targets, if they are to be met by 2030, demand a pace of progress that no country has achieved in the recent past. The future is fundamentally uncertain, and no model can fully predict what breakthroughs or events might alter the course of the SDGs. What is clear is that our actions—or inaction—today will ultimately dictate how close the world, collectively, can get to leaving no one behind by 2030.
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- Griswold, Max G., et al.
(author)
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Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 392:10152, s. 1015-1035
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older.Methods: Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health.Findings: Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week.Interpretation: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.
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22. |
- Rushton, A. P., et al.
(author)
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Resolved, expanding jets in the Galactic black hole candidate XTE J1908+094
- 2017
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 468:3, s. 2788-2802
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Black hole X-ray binaries undergo occasional outbursts caused by changing inner accretion flows. Here we report high angular resolution radio observations of the 2013 outburst of the black hole candidate X-ray binary system XTE J1908+094, using data from the Very Long Baseline Array and European VLBI Network. We show that following a hard-to-soft state transition, we detect moving jet knots that appear asymmetric in morphology and brightness, and expand to become laterally resolved as they move away from the core, along an axis aligned approximately -11. east of north. We initially see only the southern component, whose evolution gives rise to a 15-mJy radio flare and generates the observed radio polarization. This fades and becomes resolved out after 4 days, after which a second component appears to the north, moving in the opposite direction. From the timing of the appearance of the knots relative to the X-ray state transition, a 90. swing of the inferred magnetic field orientation, the asymmetric appearance of the knots, their complex and evolving morphology, and their low speeds, we interpret the knots as working surfaces where the jets impact the surrounding medium. This would imply a substantially denser environment surrounding XTE J1908+094 than has been inferred to exist around the microquasar sources GRS 1915+105 and GRO J1655-40.
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23. |
- Russell, T. D., et al.
(author)
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Rapid compact jet quenching in the Galactic black hole candidate X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571
- 2020
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 498:4, s. 5772-5785
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present results from six epochs of quasi-simultaneous radio, (sub-)millimetre, infrared, optical, and X-ray observations of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1535-571. These observations show that as the source transitioned through the hard-intermediate X-ray state towards the soft-intermediate X-ray state, the jet underwent dramatic and rapid changes. We observed the frequency of the jet spectral break, which corresponds to the most compact region in the jet where particle acceleration begins (higher frequencies indicate closer to the black hole), evolves from the infrared band into the radio band (decreasing by approximate to 3 orders of magnitude) in less than a day. During one observational epoch, we found evidence of the jet spectral break evolving in frequency through the radio band. Estimating the magnetic field and size of the particle acceleration region shows that the rapid fading of the high-energy jet emission was not consistent with radiative cooling; instead, the particle acceleration region seems to be moving away from the black hole on approximately dynamical time-scales. This result suggests that the compact jet quenching is not caused by local changes to the particle acceleration, rather we are observing the acceleration region of the jet travelling away from the black hole with the jet flow. Spectral analysis of the X-ray emission shows a gradual softening in the few days before the dramatic jet changes, followed by a more rapid softening similar to 1-2 d after the onset of the jet quenching.
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24. |
- Echiburu-Trujillo, Constanza, et al.
(author)
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Chasing the Break: Tracing the Full Evolution of a Black Hole X-Ray Binary Jet with Multiwavelength Spectral Modeling
- 2024
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 962:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Black hole (BH) X-ray binaries (XRBs) are ideal targets to study the connection between accretion inflow and jet outflow. Here we present quasi-simultaneous, multiwavelength observations of the Galactic BH system MAXI J1820+070, throughout its 2018-2019 outburst. Our data set includes coverage from the radio through X-ray bands from 17 different instruments/telescopes, and encompasses 19 epochs over a 7 month period, resulting in one of the most well-sampled multiwavelength data sets of a BH XRB outburst to date. With our data, we compile and model the broadband spectra of this source using a phenomenological model that includes emission from the jet, a companion star, and an accretion flow. This modeling allows us to track the evolution of the spectral break in the jet spectrum, a key observable that samples the jet launching region. We find that the spectral break location changes over at least approximate to 3 orders of magnitude in electromagnetic frequency over this period. Using these spectral break measurements, we link the full cycle of jet behavior, including the rising, quenching, and reignition, to the changing accretion flow properties as the source evolves through its different accretion states. Our analysis shows consistent jet behavior with other sources in similar phases of their outbursts, reinforcing the idea that jet quenching and recovery may be a global feature of BH XRB systems in outburst. Our results also provide valuable evidence supporting a close connection between the geometry of the inner accretion flow and the base of the jet.
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25. |
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26. |
- Russell, T. D., et al.
(author)
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Disk-Jet Coupling in the 2017/2018 Outburst of the Galactic Black Hole Candidate X-Ray Binary MAXI J1535-571
- 2019
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 883:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- MAXI J1535-571 is a Galactic black hole candidate X-ray binary that was discovered going into outburst in 2017 September. In this paper, we present comprehensive radio monitoring of this system using the Australia Telescope Compact Array, as well as the MeerKAT radio observatory, showing the evolution of the radio jet during its outburst. Our radio observations show the early rise and subsequent quenching of the compact jet as the outburst brightened and then evolved toward the soft state. We constrain the compact jet quenching factor to be more than 3.5 orders of magnitude. We also detected and tracked (for 303 days) a discrete, relativistically moving jet knot that was launched from the system. From the motion of the apparently superluminal knot, we constrain the jet inclination (at the time of ejection) and speed to = 0.69 c, respectively. Extrapolating its motion back in time, our results suggest that the jet knot was ejected close in time to the transition from the hard intermediate state to soft intermediate state. The launching event also occurred contemporaneously with a short increase in X-ray count rate, a rapid drop in the strength of the X-ray variability, and a change in the type-C quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) frequency that occurs >2.5 days before the first appearance of a possible type-B QPO.
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27. |
- Vincentelli, Federico M., et al.
(author)
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A shared accretion instability for black holes and neutron stars
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 615:7950, s. 45-49
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Accretion disks around compact objects are expected to enter an unstable phase at high luminosity1. One instability may occur when the radiation pressure generated by accretion modifies the disk viscosity, resulting in the cyclic depletion and refilling of the inner disk on short timescales2. Such a scenario, however, has only been quantitatively verified for a single stellar-mass black hole3-5. Although there are hints of these cycles in a few isolated cases6-10, their apparent absence in the variable emission of most bright accreting neutron stars and black holes has been a continuing puzzle11. Here we report the presence of the same multiwavelength instability around an accreting neutron star. Moreover, we show that the variability across the electromagnetic spectrum-from radio to X-ray-of both black holes and neutron stars at high accretion rates can be explained consistently if the accretion disks are unstable, producing relativistic ejections during transitions that deplete or refill the inner disk. Such a new association allows us to identify the main physical components responsible for the fast multiwavelength variability of highly accreting compact objects.
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28. |
- Graetz, N, et al.
(author)
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Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries
- 2020
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 577:77907789, s. 235-238
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Educational attainment is an important social determinant of maternal, newborn, and child health1–3. As a tool for promoting gender equity, it has gained increasing traction in popular media, international aid strategies, and global agenda-setting4–6. The global health agenda is increasingly focused on evidence of precision public health, which illustrates the subnational distribution of disease and illness7,8; however, an agenda focused on future equity must integrate comparable evidence on the distribution of social determinants of health9–11. Here we expand on the available precision SDG evidence by estimating the subnational distribution of educational attainment, including the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling, across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017. Previous analyses have focused on geographical disparities in average attainment across Africa or for specific countries, but—to our knowledge—no analysis has examined the subnational proportions of individuals who completed specific levels of education across all low- and middle-income countries12–14. By geolocating subnational data for more than 184 million person-years across 528 data sources, we precisely identify inequalities across geography as well as within populations.
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29. |
- Wang, Yanan, et al.
(author)
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Rapid Dimming Followed by a State Transition: A Study of the Highly Variable Nuclear Transient AT 2019avd over 1000+ Days
- 2024
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 962:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The tidal disruption of a star around a supermassive black hole (SMBH) offers a unique opportunity to study accretion onto an SMBH on a human timescale. We present results from our 1000+ days monitoring campaign of AT 2019avd, a nuclear transient with tidal-disruption-event-like properties, with NICER, Swift, and Chandra. Our primary finding is that approximately 225 days following the peak of the X-ray emission, there is a rapid drop in luminosity exceeding 2 orders of magnitude. This X-ray dropoff is accompanied by X-ray spectral hardening, followed by a plateau phase of 740 days. During this phase, the spectral index decreases from 6.2 ± 1.1 to 2.3 ± 0.4, while the disk temperature remains constant. Additionally, we detect pronounced X-ray variability, with an average fractional rms amplitude of 47%, manifesting over timescales of a few dozen minutes. We propose that this phenomenon may be attributed to intervening clumpy outflows. The overall properties of AT 2019avd suggest that the accretion disk evolves from a super-Eddington to a sub-Eddington luminosity state, possibly associated with a compact jet. This evolution follows a pattern in the hardness-intensity diagram similar to that observed in stellar-mass BHs, supporting the mass invariance of accretion-ejection processes around BHs
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30. |
- Zurita-Altamirano, D., et al.
(author)
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The Allemann collection from the Santa Cruz Formation (late early Miocene), Argentina, in Zurich, Switzerland
- 2019
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In: Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1664-2376 .- 1664-2384. ; 138:2, s. 259-275
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One of the best-known faunal assemblages that characterizes the past ecosystems from South America comes from the Santa Cruz Formation in Argentina. This assemblage is formed by an endemic fauna, which included ground sloths, glyptodonts, native ungulates, terror birds (phorusrhacids), among others. The Santacrucian South American Land Mammal Age is dated 18.0-15.6 Ma, late early Miocene. Current curatorial efforts revealed a large collection of over 1100 fossil remains from the Santa Cruz Formation, donated in 2007 to the Paleontological Museum, University of Zurich, Switzerland. The fossils were brought to Switzerland in the late 1880s by Theodor Allemann, an engineer and amateur collector. The collection includes skulls, isolated teeth, mandibles, and isolated postcranial elements. Postcranials are mainly represented by astragali, calcanei, and osteoderms. The study of the remains allowed us to recognize 20 families of mammals, one of birds, and one of amphibians: Abderitidae, Palaeothentidae (Paucituberculata); Hathliacynidae (Sparassodonta); Dasypodidae, Peltephilidae, and Glyptodontidae (Cingulata); Megatheriidae and Megalonychidae (Tardigrada); Astrapotheriidae (Astrapotheria), Protherotheriidae and Macraucheniidae (Litopterna); Toxodontidae, Homalodotheriidae, Hegetotheriidae and Interatheriidae (Notoungulata); Dasyproctidae, Dinomyidae, Neoepiblemidae, Chinchillidae, Erethizontidae, Echimyidae and Eocardidae (Rodentia); Phorusrhacidae (Cariamiformes); and Calyptocephalellidae (Anura). Among them, we identified 28 genera and 9 species. Reference to the previous work on the Santa Cruz fauna and the good preservation of the material allow us to achieve taxonomic resolution in the identifications. We discuss the potential usefulness of this collection for studying the paleobiology of specimens/species of this fauna.
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31. |
- Alabarta, K., et al.
(author)
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Failed-transition outbursts in black hole low-mass X-ray binaries
- 2021
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 507:4, s. 5507-5522
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Black hole low-mass X-ray binaries (BH LMXBs) evolve in a similar way during outburst. Based on the X-ray spectrum and variability, this evolution can be divided into three canonical states: low/hard, intermediate, and high/soft state. BH LMXBs evolve from the low/hard to the high/soft state through the intermediate state in some outbursts (here called 'full outbursts'). However, in other cases, BH LMXBs undergo outbursts in which the source never reaches the high/soft state, here called 'failed-transition outbursts' (FT outbursts). From a sample of 56 BH LMXBs undergoing 128 outbursts, we find that 36 percent of these BH LMXBs experienced at least one FT outburst, and that FT outbursts represent similar to 33 percent of the outbursts of the sample, showing that these are common events. We compare all the available X-ray data of full and FT outbursts of BH LMXBs from RXTE/PCA, Swift/BAT, and MAXI, and find that FT and full outbursts cannot be distinguished from their X-ray light curves, hardness-intensity diagrams, or X-ray variability during the initial 10-60 d after the outburst onset. This suggests that both types of outbursts are driven by the same physical process. We also compare the optical and infrared (O/IR) data of FT and full outbursts of GX 339-4. We found that this system is generally brighter in O/IR bands before an FT outburst, suggesting that the O/IR flux points to the physical process that later leads to a full or an FT outburst. We discuss our results in the context of models that describe the onset and evolution of outbursts in accreting X-ray binaries.
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32. |
- Bundschuh, J., et al.
(author)
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Arsenic in Latin America : New findings on source, mobilization and mobility in human environments in 20 countries based on decadal research 2010-2020
- 2020
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In: Critical reviews in environmental science and technology. - : Taylor and Francis Inc.. - 1064-3389 .- 1547-6537. ; , s. 1-119
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Today (year 2020), the globally recognized problem of arsenic (As) contamination of water resources and other environments at toxic levels has been reported in all of the 20 Latin American countries. The present review indicates that As is prevalent in 200 areas across these countries. Arsenic is naturally released into the environment and mobilized from geogenic sources comprising: (i) volcanic rocks and emissions, the latter being transported over thousands of kilometers from the source, (ii) metallic mineral deposits, which get exposed to human beings and livestock through drinking water or food chain, and (iii) As-rich geothermal fluids ascending from deep geothermal reservoirs contaminate freshwater sources. The challenge for mitigation is increased manifold by mining and related activities, as As from mining sites is transported by rivers over long distances and even reaches and contaminates coastal environments. The recognition of the As problem by the authorities in several countries has led to various actions for remediation, but there is a lack of long-term strategies for such interventions. Often only total As concentration is reported, while data on As sources, mobilization, speciation, mobility and pathways are lacking which is imperative for assessing quality of any water source, i.e. public and private.
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33. |
- Del Palacio, Santiago, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Evidence for non-thermal X-ray emission from the double Wolf-Rayet colliding-wind binary Apep
- 2023
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Massive colliding-wind binaries (CWBs) can be non-thermal sources. The emission produced in their wind-collision region (WCR) encodes information of both the shock properties and the relativistic electrons accelerated in them. The recently discovered system Apep, a unique massive system hosting two Wolf-Rayet stars, is the most powerful synchrotron radio emitter among the known CWBs. It is an exciting candidate in which to investigate the non-thermal processes associated with stellar wind shocks. Aims. We intend to break the degeneracy between the relativistic particle population and the magnetic field strength in the WCR of Apep by probing its hard X-ray spectrum, where inverse-Compton (IC) emission is expected to dominate. Methods. We observed Apep with NuSTAR for 60 ks and combined this with a reanalysis of a deep archival XMM-Newton observation to better constrain the X-ray spectrum. We used a non-thermal emission model to derive physical parameters from the results. Results. We detect hard X-ray emission consistent with a power-law component from Apep. This is compatible with IC emission produced in the WCR for a magnetic field of ≈ 105-190 mG, corresponding to a magnetic-to-thermal pressure ratio in the shocks of ≈ 0.007-0.021, and a fraction of ∼1.5 × 10-4 of the total wind kinetic power being transferred to relativistic electrons. Conclusions. The non-thermal emission from a CWB is detected for the first time in radio and at high energies. This allows us to derive the most robust constraints so far for the particle acceleration efficiency and magnetic field intensity in a CWB, reducing the typical uncertainty of a few orders of magnitude to just within a factor of a few. This constitutes an important step forward in our characterisation of the physical properties of CWBs.
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34. |
- Wood, C. M., et al.
(author)
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Time-dependent visibility modelling of a relativistic jet in the X-ray binary MAXI J1803-298
- 2023
-
In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 522:1, s. 70-89
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tracking the motions of transient jets launched by low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) is critical for determining the moment of jet ejection, and identifying any corresponding signatures in the accretion flow. However, these jets are often highly variable and can travel across the resolution element of an image within a single observation, violating a fundamental assumption of aperture synthesis. We present a novel approach in which we directly fit a single time-dependent model to the full set of interferometer visibilities, where we explicitly parametrize the motion and flux density variability of the emission components, to minimize the number of free parameters in the fit, while leveraging information from the full observation. This technique allows us to detect and characterize faint, fast-moving sources, for which the standard time binning technique is inadequate. We validate our technique with synthetic observations, before applying it to three Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the black hole candidate LMXB MAXI J1803-298 during its 2021 outburst. We measured the proper motion of a discrete jet component to be 1.37 ± 0.14 mas h-1, and thus we infer an ejection date of MJD 59348.08+0.05-0.06, which occurs just after the peak of a radio flare observed by the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array (ALMA), while MAXI J1803-298 was in the intermediate state. Further development of these new VLBI analysis techniques will lead to more precise measurements of jet ejection dates, which, combined with dense, simultaneous multiwavelength monitoring, will allow for clearer identification of jet ejection signatures in the accretion flow.
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