Spatial heterogeneity of air pollution statistics in Europe

Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death globally, and continues to have a detrimental effect on our health. In light of these impacts, an extensive range of statistical modelling approaches has been devised in order to better understand air pollution statistics. However, the time-varying statistics of different types of air pollutants are far from being fully understood. The observed probability density functions (PDFs) of concentrations depend very much on the spatial location and on the pollutant substance. In this paper, we analyse a large variety of data from 3544 different European monitoring sites and show that the PDFs of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide ([Formula: see text] ) and particulate matter ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] ) concentrations generically exhibit heavy tails and are asymptotically well approximated by q-exponential distributions with a given width parameter [Formula: see text] . We observe that the power-law parameter q and the width parameter [Formula: see text] vary widely for the different spatial locations. For each substance, we find different patterns of parameter clouds in the [Formula: see text] plane. These depend on the type of pollutants and on the environmental characteristics (urban/suburban/rural/traffic/industrial/background). This means the effective statistical physics description of air pollution exhibits a strong degree of spatial heterogeneity

Benchmarking the performance of controllers for power grid transient stability

As the energy transition transforms power grids across the globe, it poses several challenges regarding grid design and control. In particular, high levels of intermittent renewable generation complicate the task of continuously balancing power supply and demand, requiring sufficient control actions. Although there exist several proposals to control the grid, most of them have not demonstrated to be cost efficient in terms of optimal control theory. Here, we mathematically formulate an optimal centralized (therefore non-local) control problem for stable operation of power grids and determine the minimal amount of active power necessary to guarantee a stable service within the operational constraints, minimizing a suitable cost function at the same time. This optimal control can be used to benchmark control proposals and we demonstrate this benchmarking process by investigating the performance of three distributed controllers, two of which are fully decentralized, that have been recently studied in the physics and power systems engineering literature. Our results show that cost efficient controllers distribute the controlled response amongst all nodes in the power grid. Additionally, superior performance can be achieved by incorporating sufficient information about the disturbance causing the instability. Overall, our results can help design and benchmark secure and cost-efficient controllers

Universal properties of primary and secondary cosmic ray energy spectra

Atomic nuclei appearing in cosmic rays are typically classified as primary or secondary. However, a better understanding of their origin and propagation properties is still necessary. We analyse the flux of primary (He, C, O) and secondary nuclei (Li, Be, B) detected with rigidity (momentum/charge) between 2 GV and 3 TV by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the International Space Station. We show that $q$-exponential distribution functions, as motivated by generalized versions of statistical mechanics with temperature fluctuations, provide excellent fits for the measured flux of all nuclei considered. Primary and secondary fluxes reveal a universal dependence on kinetic energy per nucleon for which the underlying energy distribution functions are solely distinguished by their effective degrees of freedom. All given spectra are characterized by a universal mean temperature parameter $\sim$ 200 MeV which agrees with the Hagedorn temperature. Our analysis suggests that QCD scattering processes together with nonequilibrium temperature fluctuations provide a plausible explanation for the observed universality in cosmic ray energy spectra. Our analysis suggests that QCD scattering processes together with nonequilibrium temperature fluctuations imprint universally onto the measured cosmic ray spectra, and produce a similar shape of energy spectra as high energy collider experiments on the Earth.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Statistical characterization of airplane delays

The aviation industry is of great importance for a globally connected economy. Customer satisfaction with airlines and airport performance is considerably influenced by how much flights are delayed. But how should the delay be quantified with thousands of flights for each airport and airline? Here, we present a statistical analysis of arrival delays at several UK airports between 2018 and 2020. We establish a procedure to compare both mean delay and extreme events among airlines and airports, identifying a power-law decay of large delays. Furthermore, we note drastic changes in plane delay statistics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we find that delays are described by a superposition of simple distributions, leading to a superstatistics

Psychological morbidity, social support, and relationship intimacy in pregnant Portuguese women

Pregnancy can predispose women to stress and depression, with social support and intimacy being protective factors for the development of these disorders. This study evaluated the relationship between stress (various stressors), social support, intimacy and depression in a sample of 169 pregnant women attending the Childbirth Preparation classes. Depressive mood was positively correlated with both stress and satisfaction with social support and intimacy were negatively correlated with stress and depressive. In short, it is pertinent to create networks of support and intervention in stress for the promotion of mental health of pregnant women

Ivabradine use in pregnant women—treatment indications and pregnancy outcome: an evaluation of the German Embryotox database

Purpose: Ivabradine has been approved for the treatment of chronic heart failure and chronic stable angina pectoris in Europe. Based on adverse outcomes of reproductive animal studies and the lack of human data, ivabradine is considered contraindicated during pregnancy. The aim of this observational study is to analyse ivabradine use before and during pregnancy. Methods: We evaluated all ivabradine-related requests to the German Embryotox Institute from 2007 to 2019. Exposed pregnancies were analysed as to their outcome. Results: Off-label use for supraventricular tachycardia was frequent in women of childbearing age. Of 38 prospectively ascertained pregnancies with ivabradine exposure and completed follow-up, 32 resulted in live births, 3 in spontaneous abortions, and 3 were electively terminated. One neonate presented with major birth defects (atrial septal defect and cleft palate). In 33/38 patients, ivabradine was discontinued after confirmation of pregnancy without cardiac deterioration and 5/38 women continued ivabradine throughout pregnancy. In addition, there were 3 retrospectively reported pregnancies including one major birth defect (tracheal atresia). Conclusion: This case series represents the largest cohort of ivabradine-exposed pregnancies, published so far. According to our findings, ivabradine appears not to be a major teratogen. However, established drugs of choice with strong evidence of low risk for the unborn should be preferred in women planning pregnancy. After inadvertent exposure during pregnancy or lack of treatment alternatives, fetal ultrasound for structural anomalies and growth restriction is recommended. In addition, close monitoring is necessary in pregnant women with supraventricular arrhythmias or cardiac disease