174 research outputs found
The burden of injury in Central, Eastern, and Western European sub‑region: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study
Abstract
Background: Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions and countries. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare GBD 2019 estimates on injury mortality and DALYs across European sub-regions and countries by cause-of-injury category and sex; 2) examine changes in injury DALY rates over a 20 year-period by cause-of-injury category, sub-region and country; and 3) assess inequalities in injury mortality and DALY rates across the countries.
Methods: We performed a secondary database descriptive study using the GBD 2019 results on injuries in 44 European countries from 2000 to 2019. Inequality in DALY rates between these countries was assessed by calculating the DALY rate ratio between the highest-ranking country and lowest-ranking country in each year.
Results: In 2019, in Eastern Europe 80 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 71 to 89] people per 100,000 died from injuries; twice as high compared to Central Europe (38 injury deaths per 100,000; 95% UI 34 to 42) and three times as
high compared to Western Europe (27 injury deaths per 100,000; 95%UI 25 to 28). The injury DALY rates showed less pronounced differences between Eastern (5129 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 4547 to 5864), Central (2940 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 2452 to 3546) and Western Europe (1782 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 1523 to 2115). Injury DALY rate was lowest in Italy (1489 DALYs per 100,000) and highest in Ukraine (5553 DALYs per 100,000). The difference in injury DALY rates by country was larger for males compared to females. The DALY rate ratio was highest in 2005, with DALY rate in the lowest-ranking country (Russian Federation) 6.0 times higher compared to the highest-ranking country (Malta). After 2005, the DALY rate ratio between the lowest- and the highest-ranking country gradually decreased to
3.7 in 2019.
Conclusions: Injury mortality and DALY rates were highest in Eastern Europe and lowest in Western Europe, although differences in injury DALY rates declined rapidly, particularly in the past decade. The injury DALY rate ratio
of highest- and lowest-ranking country declined from 2005 onwards, indicating declining inequalities in injuries between European countries
Graph Neural Networks for Human-aware Social Navigation
Autonomous navigation is a key skill for assistive and service robots. To be successful, robots have to comply with social rules, such as avoiding the personal spaces of the people surrounding them, or not getting in the way of human-to-human and human-to-object interactions. This paper suggests using Graph Neural Networks to model how inconvenient the presence of a robot would be in a particular scenario according to learned human conventions so that it can be used by path planning algorithms. To do so, we propose two automated scenario-to-graph transformations and benchmark them with different Graph Neural Networks using the SocNav1 dataset. We achieve close-to-human performance in the dataset and argue that, in addition to its promising results, the main advantage of the approach is its scalability in terms of the number of social factors that can be considered and easily embedded in code in comparison with model-based approaches. The code used to train and test the resulting graph neural network is available in a public repository
Evaluation of natural and tracer fluorescent emission methods for droplet size measurements in a diesel spray
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12239-012-0070-zSpray sizing that records fluorescent emission and scattered light has been widely applied to spray diagnostics over the last two decades. Different experimental strategies have been developed, but comparing the different solutions offered has remained of interest to experimentalists. In this work, a comparison of two fluorescence strategies for measuring droplet size in the liquid phase of a last-generation DI diesel spray is conducted. The natural fluorescent emission of a commercial diesel fuel and the fluorescence emitted by a tracer (Rhodamine B) are compared using theoretical and experimental approaches. The LIF/Mie ratio commonly called Planar Droplet Sizing (PDS) technique is applied in two different ways to elucidate the possible advantages of using a fluorescent dopant. The sprays were injected under non-evaporative conditions into a constant pressure vessel that simulates densities present at the moment of injection in currently used passenger car diesel engines. Characterization of the signal properties was performed by measuring the absorption coefficient, fluorescence emission spectrum, quantum yield and lifetime of both configurations. The scattered light and fluorescence intensities were calculated to verify the dependencies of the droplet surface and volume. When applying the two techniques to quantify droplet size in dense diesel sprays, the results show that signal weakness and lack of control over the properties of natural fluorescence produce distortion in the shape of the spray and cause measurements to be unreliable. © 2012 The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.This research has been funded in the frame of the project PROFUEL reference TRA2011-26293 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion. The injectors are part of the ECN international project.Pastor Soriano, JV.; Payri, R.; Salavert Fernandez, J.; Manin, J. (2012). Evaluation of natural and tracer fluorescent emission methods for droplet size measurements in a diesel spray. International Journal of Automotive Technology. 13(5):713-724. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-012-0070-zS713724135Albrecht, H. E., Damaschke, N., Borys, M. and Tropea, C. (2003). Laser Doppler and Phase Doppler Measurement Techniques. Springer. Berlin.Barnes, M. D., Whitten, W. B. and Ramsey, J. M. (1994). Enhanced fluorescence yields through cavity quantumelectrodynamic effects in microdroplets. J. Optical Society of America B 11,7, 1297–1304.Benajes, J., Molina, S., Novella, R., Amorim, R., Ben Hadj Hamouda, H. and Hardy, J. (2010). Comparison of two injection systems in an HSDI diesel engine using split injection and different injector nozzles. Int. J. Automotive Technology 11,2, 139–146.Charalampous, G. and Hardalupas, Y. (2011). Method to reduce errors of droplet sizing based on the ratio of fluorescent and scattered light intensities (laser-induced fluorescence/Mie technique). Applied Optics, 50, 3622–3637.Chen, G., Mazumder, M., Chang, R. K., Swindal, J. C. and Acker, W. P. (1996). Laser diagnostics for droplet characterization: Application of morphology dependent resonances. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 22,2, 163–188.Desantes, J. M., Payri, R., Garcia, J. M. and Salvador, F. J. (2007). A contribution to the understanding of isothermal diesel spray dynamics. Fuel 86,7–8, 1093–1101.Domann, R. and Hardalupas, Y. A. (2000). Study of parameters that influence the accuracy of the planar droplet sizing (PDS) technique. Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 3–11.Domann, R. and Hardalupas, Y. A. (2001). Spatial distribution of fluorescence within large doplets and its dependence on dye concentration. Applied Optics 40,21, 3586–3597.Domann, R. and Hardalupas, Y. A. (2002). Quantitative measurement of planar droplet sauter mean diameter in sprays using planar droplet sizing. 11th Int. Symp. Application of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal.Eckbreth, A. C. (1988). Laser Diagnostics for Combustion Species and Temperature. Abacus. Cambridge. Mass.Greenhalgh, D. A. (1999). Planar measurements of fuel vapour, liquid fuel, liquid droplet size and soot. Planar Optical Measurement Methods for Gas Turbine Components, 1–7.Im, K., Lin, K., Lai, M. and Chon, M. (2011). Breakup modeling of a liquid jet in cross flow. Int. J. Automotive Technology 12,4, 489–496.Jermy, M. C. and Greenhalgh, D. A. (2000). Planar dropsizing by elastic and fluorescence scattering in sprays too dense for phase doppler measurement. Appl. Phys. B, 71, 703–710.Kim, Y., Kim, K. and Lee, K. (2011). Effect of a 2-stage injection strategy on the combustion and flame characteristics in a PCCI engine. Int. J. Automotive Technology 12,5, 639–644.Ko, F. H., Weng, L. Y., Ko, C. J. and Chu, T. C. (2006). Characterization of imprinting polymeric temperature variation with fluorescent Rhodamine B molecule. Microelectronic Engineering, 83, 864–868.Lakowicz, J. R. (2006). Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy. 3rd Edn. Springer.Lee, S. H., Teong, J., Lee, J. T., Ryou, H. S. and Hong, K. (2005). Investigation on spray characteristics under ultrahigh injection pressure conditions. Int. J. Automotive Technology 6,2, 125–131.Lee, B., Song, J., Chang, Y. and Jeon, C. (2010). Effect of the number of fuel injector holes on characteristics of combustion and emissions in a diesel engine. Int. J. Automotive Technology 11,6, 783–791.LeGal, P., Farrugia, N. and Greenhalgh, D. A. (1999). Laser sheet dropsizing of dense sprays. Optics and Laser Techn., 31, 75–83.Lockett, R. D., Richter, J. and Greenhalgh, D. A. (1998). The characterisation of a diesel spray using combined laser induced fluorescence and laser sheet dropsizing. Conf. Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe.Magde, D., Rojas, G. E. and Seybold, P. (1999). Solvent dependence of the fluorescence lifetimes of xanthene dyes. Photochem. Photobiol., 70, 737.Naber, J. and Siebers, D. (1996). Effects of gas density and vaporization on penetration and dispersion of diesel sprays. SAE Paper No. 960034.Pastor, J. V., López, J. J., Juliá, J. E. and Benajes, J. V. (2002). Planar laser-induced fluorescence fuel concentration measurements in isothermal diesel sprays. Opt. Express 10,7, 309–323.Pastor, J. V., Payri, R., Araneo, L. and Manin, J. (2009). Correction method for droplet sizing by laser-induced fluorescence in a controlled test situation. Optical Engineering 48,1, 013601.Payri, R., Garcia, J. M., Salvador, F. J. and Gimeno, J. (2005a). Using spray momentum flux measurements to understand the influence of diesel nozzle geometry on spray characteristics. Fuel, 84, 551–561.Payri, R., Salvador, F. J., Gimeno, J. and Soare, V. (2005b). Determination of diesel sprays characteristics in real engine in-cylinder air density and pressure conditions. J. Mech. Sci. Technol., 19, 2040–2052.Payri, R., Tormos, B., Salvador, F. J. and Araneo, L. (2008). Spray droplet velocity characterization for convergent nozzles with three different diameters. Fuel 87,15, 3176–3182.Payri, F., Pastor, J., Payri, R. and Manin, J. (2011). Determination of the optical depth of a DI diesel spray. J. Mech. Sci. Technol., 25, 209–219.Potz, D., Chirst, W. and Dittus, B. (2000). Diesel nozzle: The determining interface between injection system and combustion chamber. Conf. Thermo and Fluid-dynamic Processes in Diesel Engines, Valencia, Spain.Ramírez, A. I., Som, S., Aggarwal, S. K., Kastengren, A. L., El-Hannouny, E. M., Longman, D. E. and Powell, C. F. (2009). Quantitative X-ray measurements of highpressure fuel sprays from a production heavy duty diesel injector. Experiments in Fluids 47,1, 119–134.Schulz, C. and Sick, V. (2005). Tracer-LIF diagnostics: quantitative measurement of fuel concentration, temperature and fuel/air ratio in practical combustion systems. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 31, 75–121.Sjoback, R. and Nygren, J. and Kubista, M. (1998). Characterization of fluorescein—oligonucleotide conjugates and measurement of local electrostatic potential. Biopolymers, 46, 445–453.Soare, V. (2007). Phase Doppler Measurement in Diesel Dense Sprays: Optimisation of Measurements and Study of the Orifice Geometry Influence Over the Spray at Microscopic Level. Ph.D. Dissertion. E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Spain.Williams, A. T. R., Winfield, S. A. and Miller, J. N. (1983). Relative fluorescence quantum yields using a computer controlled luminescence spectrometer. Analyst., 108, 1067.Yeh, C. N., Kosaka, H. and Kamimoto, T. A. (1993). Fluorescence/scattering imaging technique for instantaneous 2-D measurements of particle size distribution in a transient spray. Proc. 3rd Cong. Opt. Part. Sizing, Yokohama, Japan, 335–361
Measuring sub-mm structural displacements using QDaedalus: a digital clip-on measuring system developed for total stations
The monitoring of rigid structures of modal frequencies greater than 5 Hz and sub-mm displacement is mainly based so far on relative quantities from accelerometers, strain gauges etc. Additionally geodetic techniques such as GPS and Robotic Total Stations (RTS) are constrained by their low accuracy (few mm) and their low sampling rates. In this study the application of QDaedalus is presented, which constitutes a measuring system developed at the Geodesy and Geodynamics Lab, ETH Zurich and consists of a small CCD camera and Total Station, for the monitoring of the oscillations of a rigid structure. In collaboration with the Institute of Structural Engineering of ETH Zurich and EMPA, the QDaedalus system was used for monitoring of the sub-mm displacement of a rigid prototype beam and the estimation of its modal frequencies up to 30 Hz. The results of the QDaedalus data analysis were compared to those of accelerometers and proved to hold sufficient accuracy and suitably supplementing the existing monitoring techniques
Methodological considerations in injury burden of disease studies across Europe: a systematic literature review
Background
Calculating the disease burden due to injury is complex, as it requires many methodological choices. Until now, an overview of the methodological design choices that have been made in burden of disease (BoD) studies in injury populations is not available. The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify existing injury BoD studies undertaken across Europe and to comprehensively review the methodological design choices and assumption parameters that have been made to calculate years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) in these studies.
Methods
We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, and the grey literature supplemented by handsearching, for BoD studies. We included injury BoD studies that quantified the BoD expressed in YLL, YLD, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in countries within the European Region between early-1990 and mid-2021.
Results
We retrieved 2,914 results of which 48 performed an injury-specific BoD assessment. Single-country independent and Global Burden of Disease (GBD)-linked injury BoD studies were performed in 11 European countries. Approximately 79% of injury BoD studies reported the BoD by external cause-of-injury. Most independent studies used the incidence-based approach to calculate YLDs. About half of the injury disease burden studies applied disability weights (DWs) developed by the GBD study. Almost all independent injury studies have determined YLL using national life tables.
Conclusions
Considerable methodological variation across independent injury BoD assessments was observed; differences were mainly apparent in the design choices and assumption parameters towards injury YLD calculations, implementation of DWs, and the choice of life table for YLL calculations. Development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting of injury BoD studies is crucial to enhance transparency and comparability of injury BoD estimates across Europe and beyond
Burden of non-communicable disease studies in Europe: a systematic review of data sources and methodological choices
Background: Assessment of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) resulting from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires specific calculation methods and input data. The aims of this study were to (i) identify existing NCD burden of disease (BoD) activities in Europe; (ii) collate information on data sources for mortality and morbidity; and (iii) provide an overview of NCD-specific methods for calculating NCD DALYs. Methods: NCD BoD studies were systematically searched in international electronic literature databases and in grey literature. We included all BoD studies that used the DALY metric to quantify the health impact of one or more NCDs in countries belonging to the European Region. Results: A total of 163 BoD studies were retained: 96 (59%) were single-country or sub-national studies and 67 (41%) considered more than one country. Of the single-country studies, 29 (30%) consisted of secondary analyses using existing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) results. Mortality data were mainly derived (49%) from vital statistics. Morbidity data were frequently (40%) drawn from routine administrative and survey datasets, including disease registries and hospital discharge databases. The majority (60%) of national BoD studies reported mortality corrections. Multimorbidity adjustments were performed in 18% of national BoD studies. Conclusion: The number of national NCD BoD assessments across Europe increased over time, driven by an increase in BoD studies that consisted of secondary data analysis of GBD study findings. Ambiguity in reporting the use of NCD-specific BoD methods underlines the need for reporting guidelines of BoD studies to enhance the transparency of NCD BoD estimates across Europe
Burden of Stroke in Europe:An Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study Findings From 2010 to 2019
BACKGROUND:While most European Regions perform well in global comparisons, large discrepancies within stroke epidemiological parameters exist across Europe. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the stroke burden across European regions and countries in 2019 and its difference to 2010.METHODS:The GBD 2019 analytical tools were used to evaluate regional and country-specific estimates of incidence, prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years of stroke for the European Region as defined by the World Health Organization, with its 53 member countries (EU-53) and for European Union as defined in 2019, with its 28 member countries (EU-28), between 2010 and 2019. Results were analyzed at a regional, subregional, and country level.RESULTS:In EU-53, the absolute number of incident and prevalent strokes increased by 2% (uncertainty interval [UI], 0%–4%), from 1 767 280 to 1 802 559 new cases, and by 4% (UI, 3%–5%) between 2010 and 2019, respectively. In EU-28, the absolute number of prevalent strokes and stroke-related deaths increased by 4% (UI, 2%–5%) and by 6% (UI, 1%–10%), respectively. All-stroke age-standardized mortality rates, however, decreased by 18% (UI, −22% to −14%), from 82 to 67 per 100 000 people in the EU-53, and by 15% (UI, −18% to −11%), from 49.3 to 42.0 per 100 000 people in EU-28. Despite most countries presenting reductions in age-adjusted incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life year rates, these rates remained 1.4×, 1.2×, 1.6×, and 1.7× higher in EU-53 in comparison to the EU-28.CONCLUSIONS:EU-53 showed a 2% increase in incident strokes, while they remained stable in EU-28. Age-standardized rates were consistently lower for all-stroke burden parameters in EU-28 in comparison to EU-53, and huge discrepancies in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-year rates were observed between individual countries.<br/
Burden of non-communicable diseases among adolescents aged 10–24 years in the EU, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019
Background: Disability and mortality burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have risen worldwide; however, the NCD burden among adolescents remains poorly described in the EU. Methods: Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Causes of NCDs were analysed at three different levels of the GBD 2019 hierarchy, for which mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were extracted. Estimates, with the 95% uncertainty intervals (UI), were retrieved for EU Member States from 1990 to 2019, three age subgroups (10–14 years, 15–19 years, and 20–24 years), and by sex. Spearman's correlation was conducted between DALY rates for NCDs and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) of each EU Member State. Findings: In 2019, NCDs accounted for 86·4% (95% uncertainty interval 83·5–88·8) of all YLDs and 38·8% (37·4–39·8) of total deaths in adolescents aged 10–24 years. For NCDs in this age group, neoplasms were the leading causes of both mortality (4·01 [95% uncertainty interval 3·62–4·25] per 100 000 population) and YLLs (281·78 [254·25–298·92] per 100 000 population), whereas mental disorders were the leading cause for YLDs (2039·36 [1432·56–2773·47] per 100 000 population) and DALYs (2040·59 [1433·96–2774·62] per 100 000 population) in all EU Member States, and in all studied age groups. In 2019, among adolescents aged 10–24 years, males had a higher mortality rate per 100 000 population due to NCDs than females (11·66 [11·04–12·28] vs 7·89 [7·53–8·23]), whereas females presented a higher DALY rate per 100 000 population due to NCDs (8003·25 [5812·78–10 701·59] vs 6083·91 [4576·63–7857·92]). From 1990 to 2019, mortality rate due to NCDs in adolescents aged 10–24 years substantially decreased (–40·41% [–43·00 to –37·61), and also the YLL rate considerably decreased (–40·56% [–43·16 to –37·74]), except for mental disorders (which increased by 32·18% [1·67 to 66·49]), whereas the YLD rate increased slightly (1·44% [0·09 to 2·79]). Positive correlations were observed between DALY rates and SDIs for substance use disorders (rs=0·58, p=0·0012) and skin and subcutaneous diseases (rs=0·45, p=0·017), whereas negative correlations were found between DALY rates and SDIs for cardiovascular diseases (rs=–0·46, p=0·015), neoplasms (rs=–0·57, p=0·0015), and sense organ diseases (rs=–0·61, p=0·0005). Interpretation: NCD-related mortality has substantially declined among adolescents in the EU between 1990 and 2019, but the rising trend of YLL attributed to mental disorders and their YLD burden are concerning. Differences by sex, age group, and across EU Member States highlight the importance of preventive interventions and scaling up adolescent-responsive health-care systems, which should prioritise specific needs by sex, age, and location. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990–2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Background: Low back pain is highly prevalent and the main cause of years lived with disability (YLDs). We present the most up-to-date global, regional, and national data on prevalence and YLDs for low back pain from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021. Methods: Population-based studies from 1980 to 2019 identified in a systematic review, international surveys, US medical claims data, and dataset contributions by collaborators were used to estimate the prevalence and YLDs for low back pain from 1990 to 2020, for 204 countries and territories. Low back pain was defined as pain between the 12th ribs and the gluteal folds that lasted a day or more; input data using alternative definitions were adjusted in a network meta-regression analysis. Nested Bayesian meta-regression models were used to estimate prevalence and YLDs by age, sex, year, and location. Prevalence was projected to 2050 by running a regression on prevalence rates using Socio-demographic Index as a predictor, then multiplying them by projected population estimates. Findings: In 2020, low back pain affected 619 million (95% uncertainty interval 554–694) people globally, with a projection of 843 million (759–933) prevalent cases by 2050. In 2020, the global age-standardised rate of YLDs was 832 per 100 000 (578–1070). Between 1990 and 2020, age-standardised rates of prevalence and YLDs decreased by 10·4% (10·9–10·0) and 10·5% (11·1–10·0), respectively. A total of 38·8% (28·7–47·0) of YLDs were attributed to occupational factors, smoking, and high BMI. Interpretation: Low back pain remains the leading cause of YLDs globally, and in 2020, there were more than half a billion prevalent cases of low back pain worldwide. While age-standardised rates have decreased modestly over the past three decades, it is projected that globally in 2050, more than 800 million people will have low back pain. Challenges persist in obtaining primary country-level data on low back pain, and there is an urgent need for more high-quality, primary, country-level data on both prevalence and severity distributions to improve accuracy and monitor change. Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- …