Process-Oriented Analysis of Environmental Conditions Associated with Precipitation Fog Events in the New York City Region

2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1681-1703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Tardif ◽  
Roy M. Rasmussen

Abstract An analysis of the environmental conditions associated with precipitation fog events is presented using 20 yr of historical observations taken in a region centered on New York, New York. The objective is to determine the preferred weather scenarios and identify physical processes influencing the formation of fog during precipitation. Salient synoptic-scale features are identified using NCEP–NCAR reanalyses. Local environmental parameters, such as wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity, are analyzed using surface observations, while the vertical structure of the lower atmosphere is examined using available rawinsonde data. The analysis reveals that precipitation fog mostly occurs as a result of the gradual lowering of cloud bases as continuous light rain or light drizzle is observed. Such scenarios occur under various synoptic weather patterns in areas characterized by large-scale uplift, differential temperature advection, and positive moisture advection. Precipitation fog onset typically occurs with winds from the northeast at inland locations and onshore flow at coastal locations, with flows from the south to southwest aloft. A majority of the cases showed the presence of a sharp low-level temperature inversion resulting from differential temperature advection or through the interaction of warm air flowing over a cold surface in onshore flow conditions. This suggests a common scenario of fog formation under moistening conditions resulting from precipitation evaporating into colder air near the surface. A smaller number of events formed with cooling of the near-saturated or saturated air. Evidence is also presented of the possible role of shear-induced turbulent mixing in the production of supersaturation and fog formation during precipitation.

Author(s):  
Matthew T. Maurano ◽  
Sitharam Ramaswami ◽  
Paul Zappile ◽  
Dacia Dimartino ◽  
Ludovic Boytard ◽  
...  

AbstractEffective public response to a pandemic relies upon accurate measurement of the extent and dynamics of an outbreak. Viral genome sequencing has emerged as a powerful approach to link seemingly unrelated cases, and large-scale sequencing surveillance can inform on critical epidemiological parameters. Here, we report the analysis of 864 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from cases in the New York City metropolitan area during the COVID-19 outbreak in Spring 2020. The majority of cases throughout the region had no recent travel history or known exposure, and genetically linked cases were spread throughout the region. Comparison to global viral sequences showed that early transmission was most linked to cases from Europe. Our data are consistent with numerous seed transmissions from multiple sources and a prolonged period of unrecognized community spreading. This work highlights the complementary role of real-time genomic surveillance in addition to traditional epidemiological indicators.


Author(s):  
Mary Anne Beckie ◽  
Leanne Hedberg ◽  
Jessie Radies

In order for local food initiatives (LFIs) to have a transformative effect on the larger food system, greater levels of economic, organizational and physical scale are needed. One way for LFIs to reach the scale necessary to generate a more significant impact is through increased institutional procurement of local foods. But how do people and organizations come together to generate the social infrastructure required to shift food purchasing practices and processes? This field report shares the story of an innovative community of practice consisting of institutional food buyers, large-scale distributors, regional retailers, processors, producers, researchers, municipal and provincial government representatives within the Edmonton city-region that formed for the express purpose of “creating a positive community impact by getting more local foods on more local plates”. In describing the formation and first three years of the Alberta Flavour Learning Lab we examine the unique characteristics of this community of practice that has aided the development of a common framework for learning, understanding and joint action. In addition to the accomplishments to date, we also discuss the challenges faced by the Learning Lab and the strategies used to overcome them.  


Author(s):  
Carlos Lago-Peñas ◽  
Anton Kalén ◽  
Miguel Lorenzo-Martinez ◽  
Roberto López-Del Campo ◽  
Ricardo Resta ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the effects playing position, match location (home or away), quality of opposition (strong or weak), effective playing time (total time minus stoppages), and score-line on physical match performance in professional soccer players using a large-scale analysis. A total of 10,739 individual match observations of outfield players competing in the Spanish La Liga during the 2018–2019 season were recorded using a computerized tracking system (TRACAB, Chyronhego, New York, USA). The players were classified into five positions (central defenders, players = 94; external defenders, players = 82; central midfielders, players = 101; external midfielders, players = 72; and forwards, players = 67) and the following match running performance categories were considered: total distance covered, low-speed running (LSR) distance (0–14 km · h−1), medium-speed running (MSR) distance (14–21 km · h−1), high-speed running (HSR) distance (>21 km · h−1), very HSR (VHSR) distance (21–24 km · h−1), sprint distance (>24 km · h−1) Overall, match running performance was highly dependent on situational variables, especially the score-line condition (winning, drawing, losing). Moreover, the score-line affected players running performance differently depending on their playing position. Losing status increased the total distance and the distance covered at MSR, HSR, VHSR and Sprint by defenders, while attacking players showed the opposite trend. These findings may help coaches and managers to better understand the effects of situational variables on physical performance in La Liga and could be used to develop a model for predicting the physical activity profile in competition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1335
Author(s):  
Ronald Souza ◽  
Luciano Pezzi ◽  
Sebastiaan Swart ◽  
Fabrício Oliveira ◽  
Marcelo Santini

The Brazil–Malvinas Confluence (BMC) is one of the most dynamical regions of the global ocean. Its variability is dominated by the mesoscale, mainly expressed by the presence of meanders and eddies, which are understood to be local regulators of air-sea interaction processes. The objective of this work is to study the local modulation of air-sea interaction variables by the presence of either a warm (ED1) and a cold core (ED2) eddy, present in the BMC, during September to November 2013. The translation and lifespans of both eddies were determined using satellite-derived sea level anomaly (SLA) data. Time series of satellite-derived surface wind data, as well as these and other meteorological variables, retrieved from ERA5 reanalysis at the eddies’ successive positions in time, allowed us to investigate the temporal modulation of the lower atmosphere by the eddies’ presence along their translation and lifespan. The reanalysis data indicate a mean increase of 78% in sensible and 55% in latent heat fluxes along the warm eddy trajectory in comparison to the surrounding ocean of the study region. Over the cold core eddy, on the other hand, we noticed a mean reduction of 49% and 25% in sensible and latent heat fluxes, respectively, compared to the adjacent ocean. Additionally, a field campaign observed both eddies and the lower atmosphere from ship-borne observations before, during and after crossing both eddies in the study region during October 2013. The presence of the eddies was imprinted on several surface meteorological variables depending on the sea surface temperature (SST) in the eddy cores. In situ oceanographic and meteorological data, together with high frequency micrometeorological data, were also used here to demonstrate that the local, rather than the large scale forcing of the eddies on the atmosphere above, is, as expected, the principal driver of air-sea interaction when transient atmospheric systems are stable (not actively varying) in the study region. We also make use of the in situ data to show the differences (biases) between bulk heat flux estimates (used on atmospheric reanalysis products) and eddy covariance measurements (taken as “sea truth”) of both sensible and latent heat fluxes. The findings demonstrate the importance of short-term changes (minutes to hours) in both the atmosphere and the ocean in contributing to these biases. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of the mesoscale oceanographic structures in the BMC on impacting local air-sea heat fluxes and the marine atmospheric boundary layer stability, especially under large scale, high-pressure atmospheric conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Chen ◽  
Wei Hou ◽  
Sina Rashidian ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Xia Zhao ◽  
...  

AbstractOpioid overdose related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Combating the opioid epidemic requires better understanding of the epidemiology of opioid poisoning (OP). To discover trends and patterns of opioid poisoning and the demographic and regional disparities, we analyzed large scale patient visits data in New York State (NYS). Demographic, spatial, temporal and correlation analyses were performed for all OP patients extracted from the claims data in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) from 2010 to 2016, along with Decennial US Census and American Community Survey zip code level data. 58,481 patients with at least one OP diagnosis and a valid NYS zip code address were included. Main outcome and measures include OP patient counts and rates per 100,000 population, patient level factors (gender, age, race and ethnicity, residential zip code), and zip code level social demographic factors. The results showed that the OP rate increased by 364.6%, and by 741.5% for the age group > 65 years. There were wide disparities among groups by race and ethnicity on rates and age distributions of OP. Heroin and non-heroin based OP rates demonstrated distinct temporal trends as well as major geospatial variation. The findings highlighted strong demographic disparity of OP patients, evolving patterns and substantial geospatial variation.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A86-A86
Author(s):  
Michael Grandner ◽  
Naghmeh Rezaei

Abstract Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in societal-level changes to sleep and other behavioral patterns. Objective, longitudinal data would allow for a greater understanding of sleep-related changes at the population level. Methods N= 163,524 deidentified active Fitbit users from 6 major US cities contributed data, representing areas particularly hard-hit by the pandemic (Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Miami). Sleep variables extracted include nightly and weekly mean sleep duration and bedtime, variability (standard deviation) of sleep duration and bedtime, and estimated arousals and sleep stages. Deviation from similar timeframes in 2019 were examined. All analyses were performed in Python. Results These data detail how sleep duration and timing changed longitudinally, stratified by age group and gender, relative to previous years’ data. Overall, 2020 represented a significant departure for all age groups and both men and women (P<0.00001). Mean sleep duration increased in nearly all groups (P<0.00001) by 5-11 minutes, compared to a mean decrease of 5-8 minutes seen over the same period in 2019. Categorically, sleep duration increased for some and decreased for others, but more extended than restricted. Sleep phase shifted later for nearly all groups (p<0.00001). Categorically, bedtime was delayed for some and advanced for others, though more delayed than advanced. Duration and bedtime variability decreased, owing largely to decreased weekday-weekend differences. WASO increased, REM% increased, and Deep% decreased. Additional analyses show stratified, longitudinal changes to sleep duration and timing mean and variability distributions by month, as well as effect sizes and correlations to other outcomes. Conclusion The pandemic was associated with increased sleep duration on average, in contrast to 2019 when sleep decreased. The increase was most profound among younger adults, especially women. The youngest adults also experienced the greatest bedtime delay, in line with extensive school-start-times and chronotype data. When given the opportunity, the difference between weekdays and weekends became smaller, with occupational implications. Sleep staging data showed that slightly extending sleep minimally impacted deep sleep but resulted in a proportional increase in REM. Wakefulness during the night also increased, suggesting increased arousal despite greater sleep duration. Support (if any) This research was supported by Fitbit, Inc.


2020 ◽  
Vol 08 (12) ◽  
pp. E1865-E1871
Author(s):  
Srihari Mahadev ◽  
Olga C. Aroniadis ◽  
Luis H. Barraza ◽  
Emil Agarunov ◽  
Michael S. Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and study aims The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and measures taken to mitigate its impact, have profoundly affected the clinical care of gastroenterology patients and the work of endoscopy units. We aimed to describe the clinical care delivered by gastroenterologists and the type of procedures performed during the early to peak period of the pandemic. Methods Endoscopy leaders in the New York region were invited to participate in an electronic survey describing operations and clinical service. Surveys were distributed on April 7, 2020 and responses were collected over the following week. A follow-up survey was distributed on April 20, 2020. Participants were asked to report procedure volumes and patient characteristics, as well protocols for staffing and testing for COVID-19. Results Eleven large academic endoscopy units in the New York City region responded to the survey, representing every major hospital system. COVID patients occupied an average of 54.5 % (18 – 84 %) of hospital beds at the time of survey completion, with 14.5 % (2 %-23 %) of COVID patients requiring intensive care. Endoscopy procedure volume and the number of physicians performing procedures declined by 90 % (66 %-98 %) and 84.5 % (50 %-97 %) respectively following introduction of restricted practice. During this period the most common procedures were EGDs (7.9/unit/week; 88 % for bleeding; the remainder for foreign body and feeding tube placement); ERCPs (5/unit/week; for cholangitis in 67 % and obstructive jaundice in 20 %); Colonoscopies (4/unit/week for bleeding in 77 % or colitis in 23 %) and least common were EUS (3/unit/week for tumor biopsies). Of the sites, 44 % performed pre-procedure COVID testing and the proportion of COVID-positive patients undergoing procedures was 4.6 % in the first 2 weeks and up to 19.6 % in the subsequent 2 weeks. The majority of COVID-positive patients undergoing procedures underwent EGD (30.6 % COVID +) and ERCP (10.2 % COVID +). Conclusions COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the operation of endoscopy units in the New York region. Our data show the impact of a restricted emergency practice on endoscopy volumes and the proportion of expected COVID positive cases during the peak time of the pandemic.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 908-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex G. Fassbender

The Ammonia Recovery Process (ARP) is an award-winning, low-cost, environmentally responsible method of recovering nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, from various dilute waste streams and converting it into concentrated ammonium sulfate. The ThermoEnergy Biogas System utilizes the new chemisorption-based ARP to recover ammonia from anaerobically digested wastes. The process provides for optimal biogas production and significantly reduced nitrogen levels in the treated water discharge. Process flows for the ammonia recovery and ThermoEnergy biogas processes are presented and discussed. A comparison with other techniques such as biological nitrogen removal is made. The ARP technology uses reversible chemisorption and double salt crystal precipitation to recover and concentrate the ammonia. The ARP technology was successfully proven in a recent large-scale field demonstration at New York City’s Oakwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant, located on Staten Island. This project was a joint effort with Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation, the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, and New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Independent validated plant data show that ARP consistently recovers up to 99.9% of the ammonia from the city’s centrate waste stream (derived from dewatering of sewage sludge), as ammonium sulfate. ARP technology can reduce the nitrogen (ammonia) discharged daily into local bodies of water by municipalities, concentrated animal farming operations, and industry. Recent advances to ARP enhance its performance and economic competitiveness in comparison to stripping or ammonia destruction technologies.


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