26 research outputs found
All-sky search for gravitational-wave bursts in the second joint LIGO-Virgo run
We present results from a search for gravitational-wave bursts in the data
collected by the LIGO and Virgo detectors between July 7, 2009 and October 20,
2010: data are analyzed when at least two of the three LIGO-Virgo detectors are
in coincident operation, with a total observation time of 207 days. The
analysis searches for transients of duration < 1 s over the frequency band
64-5000 Hz, without other assumptions on the signal waveform, polarization,
direction or occurrence time. All identified events are consistent with the
expected accidental background. We set frequentist upper limits on the rate of
gravitational-wave bursts by combining this search with the previous LIGO-Virgo
search on the data collected between November 2005 and October 2007. The upper
limit on the rate of strong gravitational-wave bursts at the Earth is 1.3
events per year at 90% confidence. We also present upper limits on source rate
density per year and Mpc^3 for sample populations of standard-candle sources.
As in the previous joint run, typical sensitivities of the search in terms of
the root-sum-squared strain amplitude for these waveforms lie in the range 5
10^-22 Hz^-1/2 to 1 10^-20 Hz^-1/2. The combination of the two joint runs
entails the most sensitive all-sky search for generic gravitational-wave bursts
and synthesizes the results achieved by the initial generation of
interferometric detectors.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures: data for plots and archived public version at
https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=70814&version=19, see
also the public announcement at
http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S6BurstAllSky
Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries : a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015
Background In September, 2015, the UN General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs specify 17 universal goals, 169 targets, and 230 indicators leading up to 2030. We provide an analysis of 33 health-related SDG indicators based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015). Methods We applied statistical methods to systematically compiled data to estimate the performance of 33 health-related SDG indicators for 188 countries from 1990 to 2015. We rescaled each indicator on a scale from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed). Indices representing all 33 health-related SDG indicators (health-related SDG index), health-related SDG indicators included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG index), and health-related indicators not included in the MDGs (non-MDG index) were computed as the geometric mean of the rescaled indicators by SDG target. We used spline regressions to examine the relations between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI, a summary measure based on average income per person, educational attainment, and total fertility rate) and each of the health-related SDG indicators and indices. Findings In 2015, the median health-related SDG index was 59.3 (95% uncertainty interval 56.8-61.8) and varied widely by country, ranging from 85.5 (84.2-86.5) in Iceland to 20.4 (15.4-24.9) in Central African Republic. SDI was a good predictor of the health-related SDG index (r(2) = 0.88) and the MDG index (r(2) = 0.2), whereas the non-MDG index had a weaker relation with SDI (r(2) = 0.79). Between 2000 and 2015, the health-related SDG index improved by a median of 7.9 (IQR 5.0-10.4), and gains on the MDG index (a median change of 10.0 [6.7-13.1]) exceeded that of the non-MDG index (a median change of 5.5 [2.1-8.9]). Since 2000, pronounced progress occurred for indicators such as met need with modern contraception, under-5 mortality, and neonatal mortality, as well as the indicator for universal health coverage tracer interventions. Moderate improvements were found for indicators such as HIV and tuberculosis incidence, minimal changes for hepatitis B incidence took place, and childhood overweight considerably worsened. Interpretation GBD provides an independent, comparable avenue for monitoring progress towards the health-related SDGs. Our analysis not only highlights the importance of income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement but also emphasises that investments in these areas alone will not be sufficient. Although considerable progress on the health-related MDG indicators has been made, these gains will need to be sustained and, in many cases, accelerated to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. The minimal improvement in or worsening of health-related indicators beyond the MDGs highlight the need for additional resources to effectively address the expanded scope of the health-related SDGs.Peer reviewe