1. |
- 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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2. |
- Blunden, Jessica, et al.
(author)
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State of the Climate in 2012
- 2013
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 94:8, s. S1-S258
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For the first time in serveral years, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation did not dominate regional climate conditions around the globe. A weak La Ni a dissipated to ENSOneutral conditions by spring, and while El Nino appeared to be emerging during summer, this phase never fully developed as sea surface temperatures in the eastern conditions. Nevertheless, other large-scale climate patterns and extreme weather events impacted various regions during the year. A negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation from mid-January to early February contributed to frigid conditions in parts of northern Africa, eastern Europe, and western Asia. A lack of rain during the 2012 wet season led to the worst drought in at least the past three decades for northeastern Brazil. Central North America also experienced one of its most severe droughts on record. The Caribbean observed a very wet dry season and it was the Sahel's wettest rainy season in 50 years. Overall, the 2012 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces ranked among the 10 warmest years on record. The global land surface temperature alone was also among the 10 warmest on record. In the upper atmosphere, the average stratospheric temperature was record or near-record cold, depending on the dataset. After a 30-year warming trend from 1970 to 1999 for global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000-12 had little further trend. This may be linked to the prevalence of La Ni a-like conditions during the 21st century. Heat content in the upper 700 m of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Net increases from 2011 to 2012 were observed at 700-m to 2000-m depth and even in the abyssal ocean below. Following sharp decreases in to the effects of La Ni a, sea levels rebounded to reach records highs in 2012. The increased hydrological cycle seen in recent years continued, with more evaporation in drier locations and more precipitation in rainy areas. In a pattern that has held since 2004, salty areas of the ocean surfaces and subsurfaces were anomalously salty on average, while fresher areas were anomalously fresh. Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms compared with the 1981-2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity. In this basin, Sandy brought devastation to Cuba and parts of the eastern North American seaboard. All other basins experienced either near-or below-normal tropical cyclone activity. Only three tropical cyclones reached Category 5 intensity-all in Bopha became the only storm in the historical record to produce winds greater than 130 kt south of 7 N. It was also the costliest storm to affect the Philippines and killed more than 1000 residents. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June both reached new record lows. June snow cover extent is now declining at a faster rate (-17.6% per decade) than September sea ice extent (-13.0% per decade). Permafrost temperatures reached record high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred on 11-12 July on the Greenland ice sheet; 97% of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt for this time of year. The climate in Antarctica was relatively stable overall. The largest maximum sea ice extent since records begain in 1978 was observed in September 2012. In the stratosphere, warm air led to the second smallest ozone hole in the past two decades. Even so, the springtime ozone layer above Antarctica likely will not return to its early 1980s state until about 2060. Following a slight decline associated with the global 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record 9.5 +/- 0.5 Pg C in 2011 and a new record of 9.7 +/- 0.5 Pg C is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, to 392.6 ppm. In spring 2012, 2 concentration exceeded 400 ppm at 7 of the 13 Arctic observation sites. Globally, other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide also continued to rise in concentration and the combined effect now represents a 32% increase in radiative forcing over a 1990 baseline. Concentrations of most ozone depleting substances continued to fall.
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3. |
- Arevalo, Liliana, et al.
(author)
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Attachment process of the discharge of competing grounded electrodes - Experimental observations and modeling
- 2021
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In: 2021 35th International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP) and XVI International Symposium On Lightning Protection (SIPDA). - : IEEE. - 9781665423465
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lightning attachment discharge process theory is based on studies of the physics of the discharge obtained from high voltage laboratory tests. The process of propagation of positive and negative discharges has been studied independently and then the gathered information has been used to understand and explain the lightning attachment development. In this paper, an experimental set-up is built to describe the dynamic behavior of positive and negative discharges. Electrodes of different dimensions placed at different distances are used as grounded electrodes and a high voltage electrode is subject to negative switching impulses. Test results allow to identify different stages of the dynamic process of attachment of the discharge between a downward negative discharge and a positive upward leader discharge. The principles of physics of discharge for positive and negative polarities are used to model the laboratory test measurements. The model can reproduce in an accurate manner majority of the dynamic processes of the discharge. In addition, statistical results of the effect of nearby and competing upward discharges is obtained.
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4. |
- Arevalo, Liliana, et al.
(author)
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The leader propagation velocity in long air gaps
- 2018
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In: 2018 34th international conference on lightning protection (ICLP 2018). - : IEEE. - 9781538666357
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experimental measurements of long gap discharges and its interpretation are the base of engineering equations and complex models to design clearance distances, lightning protection systems, among others. Parameters like leader propagation velocity, average electric field of the leader channel, stability electric field of the streamer region, etc. are derived from experimental measurements for rod-plane arrangements. However, in high voltage engineering geometries are not only rod-plane arrangements but also rounded electrode geometries. Experimental measurements of sphere - plane arrangements are presented in this paper. Attention is given to the velocity of propagation of the leader. The velocity of propagation of the leader is compared for two different applied voltage conditions, such as overvoltage and non-overvoltage. Experimental observations indicate that the velocity of the leader does not have a linear relationship with the increment of the applied voltage, as described by other authors for rod-plane arrangements. By means of a model based on the physics of the discharge, it is observed that the velocity of propagation of the leader depends on the injected charge to the leader channel. The injected charge depends on the background electric field, the potential at the leader tip, the steepness of the applied voltage waveform, among other parameters.
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5. |
- Cooray, Vernon, 1952-, et al.
(author)
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The Energy, Momentum, and Peak Power Radiated by Negative Lightning Return Strokes
- 2020
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In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 11:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electromagnetic radiation fields generated by return strokes transport both energy and momentum from the return stroke to outer space. The momentum transported by the radiation field has only a vertical or z component due to azimuthal symmetry (cylindrical symmetry) associated with a vertical return stroke. In this paper, the energy, momentum, and peak power radiated by return strokes as a function of the return stroke current, return stroke speed, and the zero-crossing time of the radiation fields are studied. The results obtained by numerical simulations for the energy, vertical momentum, and the peak power radiated by lightning return strokes (all parameters normalized by dividing them by the square of the radiation field peak at 100 km) are the following: A typical first return stroke generating a radiation field having a 50 μs zero-crossing time will dissipate field normalized energy of about (1.7–2.5) × 103 J/(V/m)2 and field-normalized vertical momentum of approximately (2.3–3.1) × 10−6 Kg m/s/(V/m)2. A radiation field with a zero-crossing time of 70 μs will dissipate about (2.6–3.4) × 103 J/(V/m)2 in field-normalized energy and (3.2–4.3) × 10−6 Kg m/s/(V/m)2 in field-normalized vertical momentum. The results show that, for a given peak radiation field, the radiated energy and momentum increase with increasing zero-crossing time of the radiation field. The normalized peak power generated by a first return stroke radiation field is about 1.2 × 108 W/(V/m)2 and the peak power is generated within about 5–6 μs from the beginning of the return stroke. Conversely, a typical subsequent return stroke generating a radiation field having a 40 μs zero-crossing time will dissipate field-normalized energy of about (6–9) × 102 J/(V/m)2 and field-normalized vertical momentum of approximately (7.5–11) × 10−7 Kg m/s/(V/m)2. The field-normalized peak power generated by a subsequent return stroke radiation field is about 1.26 × 108 W/(V/m)2 and the peak power is generated within about 0.7–0.8 μs from the beginning of the return stroke. In addition to these parameters, the possible upper bounds for the energy and momentum radiated by return strokes are also presented.
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6. |
- Hettiarachchi, Pasan, et al.
(author)
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Time Domain Analysis of the Lightning Interaction with Wave Energy Converters
- 2018
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In: 2018 34th international conference on lightning protection (ICLP 2018). - New York : IEEE. - 9781538666357
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, we present a simulated study of lightning interactions with wave power generators submerged in seawater in Lysekil, in the southwest coast of Sweden. A time domain 3D electromagnetic simulation involving a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) and the surrounding seawater, air, and the current injection to the WEC from a typical return stroke of a lightning is conducted. The results show that the injected current to the wave power generator is considerably low even under a direct lightning strike. The study also shows that the wave-shape of the injected current to the WEC is significantly altered from a typical return stroke current impulse. It is concluded that likelihood of damages to the WEC or injection of electrical surges to the electrical grid is low. However, in order fully understand the implications of lightning strikes to a WEC further studies should be conducted.
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7. |
- Holzapfel, André, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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On the automatic identification of difficult examples for beat tracking : towards building new evaluation datasets
- 2012
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In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP). - : IEEE conference proceedings. ; , s. 89-92
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, an approach is presented that identifies music samples which are difficult for current state-of-the-art beat trackers. In order to estimate this difficulty even for examples without ground truth, a method motivated by selective sampling is applied. This method assigns a degree of difficulty to a sample based on the mutual disagreement between the output of various beat tracking systems. On a large beat annotated dataset we show that this mutual agreement is correlated with the mean performance of the beat trackers evaluated against the ground truth, and hence can be used to identify difficult examples by predicting poor beat tracking performance. Towards the aim of advancing future beat tracking systems, we demonstrate how our method can be used to form new datasets containing a high proportion of challenging music examples.
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8. |
- Holzapfel, André, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Selective sampling for beat tracking evaluation
- 2012
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In: IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing. - : IEEE Press. - 1558-7916 .- 1558-7924. ; 20:9, s. 2539-2548
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we propose a method that can identify challenging music samples for beat tracking without ground truth. Our method, motivated by the machine learning method "selective sampling," is based on the measurement of mutual agreement between beat sequences. In calculating this mutual agreement we show the critical influence of different evaluation measures. Using our approach we demonstrate how to compile a new evaluation dataset comprised of difficult excerpts for beat tracking and examine this difficulty in the context of perceptual and musical properties. Based on tag analysis we indicate the musical properties where future advances in beat tracking research would be most profitable and where beat tracking is too difficult to be attempted. Finally, we demonstrate how our mutual agreement method can be used to improve beat tracking accuracy on large music collections.
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9. |
- Lobato, André, et al.
(author)
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Attractive Zone of Lightning Rods Evaluated with a Leader Progression Model in a Common Building in Brazil
- 2017
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In: 2017 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LIGHTNING PROTECTION (XIV SIPDA). - : IEEE. - 9781509060542 - 9781509060535 - 9781509060528 ; , s. 380-388
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Modeling the lightning attachment process is required on any method to design the air-termination elements of a lightning protection system. An attachment model that adopts the leader progression concept is used to evaluate the three-dimensional attractive zone of a lightning rod on a common 54-m tall building in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Electric field and scalar potential distributions are calculated numerically with a finite element method. The result is compared with the interception volume predicted by the electro-geometric model, as applied by the rolling sphere method. The results show that the electrogeometric theory underestimates the striking distance and the attractive radius. Moreover, in the presence of upward connecting leaders, the striking distance varies according to the field enhancement on the geometry of the structure and the lateral displacement of the stepped leader. The simulated propagated distances and speeds of the downward and upward leaders are compared with a recently published high-speed video analysis of a natural lightning attachment case observed on the evaluated lightning rod. A reasonable agreement between the simulated and measured leader characteristics has been found.
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10. |
- Roman, Francisco, et al.
(author)
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10/350 µs Lightning Impulse Current Behavior of a Conductive Fabric
- 2021
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In: 2021 35TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIGHTNING PROTECTION (ICLP) AND XVI INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LIGHTNING PROTECTION (SIPDA). - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 9781665423465
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lightweight Portable Lightning Protection Shelters require the use of new materials capable of supporting the high current densities associated with lightning currents. In this paper, 30 x 30 cm(2) conductive fabrics samples are subjected to 10/350 mu s lightning current impulses. This experimental work, performed at the HV lab of Uppsala University, is aimed at understanding the transversal pattern of scratches or striations observed in conductive fabrics in previous experiments performed at the HV lab of Universidad Nacional de Colombia with 8/20 mu s lightning impulse currents. Striations were recorded with both a still camera and a fast-recording camera, while the samples current was measured. Additionally, the withstand current density of the tested conductive fabrics was obtained.
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