Patterns of sports sponsorship by gambling, alcohol and food companies: an Internet survey

BACKGROUND: Sports sponsorship is a significant marketing tool. As such, it can promote products that pose risks to health (eg, high fat and high sugar foods) or it can promote health-supporting products (eg, sporting equipment and services). However, there is a lack of data on the proportion of sponsorship associated with "unhealthy" and "healthy" products and no methodology for systematically assessing it. This research aimed to explore this proportion with an Internet survey of sports sponsorship in the New Zealand setting. METHODS: A search methodology was developed to identify Internet-based evidence of sports sponsorship at the national level and at the regional and club level in one specific region (Wellington). The top eight sports for 5-17-year-olds were selected and products and services of sponsors were classified in terms of potential public health impact (using a conservative approach). RESULTS: Sponsorship of these popular sports was common at the national, regional and club levels (640 sponsors listed on 107 websites overall). Sports sponsorship associated with sponsors' products classified as "unhealthy" (eg, food high in fat and sugar, gambling and alcohol) were over twice as common as sponsorship associated with sponsors' products classified as "healthy" (32.7% (95% CI = 29.1, 36.5) versus 15.5% (95% CI = 12.8, 18.6) respectively). "Gambling" was the most common specific type of sponsorship (18.8%) followed by alcohol (11.3%). There were significantly more "alcohol" sponsors for rugby, compared to all the other sports collectively (rate ratio (RR) = 2.47; 95% CI = 1.60, 3.79), and for top male sports compared to female (RR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.05, 3.18). Also there was significantly more "unhealthy food" sponsorship for touch rugby and for "junior" teams/clubs compared to other sports collectively (RR = 6.54; 95% CI = 2.07, 20.69; and RR = 14.72, 95% CI = 6.22, 34.8; respectively). A validation study gave an inter-rater reliability for number of sponsors of 95% (n = 87 sponsors), and an inter-rater reliability of classification and categorisation of 100%. CONCLUSION: This study found that the sponsorship of popular sports for young people is dominated by "unhealthy" sponsorship (ie, predominantly gambling, alcohol and unhealthy food) relative to "healthy" sponsorship. Governments may need to consider regulations that limit unhealthy sponsorship and/or adopt alternative funding mechanisms for supporting popular sports

Effects of stratosphere-troposphere chemistry coupling on tropospheric ozone

A new, computationally efficient coupled stratosphere-troposphere chemistry-climate model (S/T-CCM) has been developed based on three well-documented components: a 64-level general circulation model from the UK Met Office Unified Model, the tropospheric chemistry transport model (STOCHEM), and the UMSLIMCAT stratospheric chemistry module. This newly developed S/T-CCM has been evaluated with various observations, and it shows good performance in simulating important chemical species and their interdependence in both the troposphere and stratosphere. The modeled total column ozone agrees well with Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer observations. Modeled ozone profiles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere are significantly improved compared to runs with the stratospheric chemistry and tropospheric chemistry models alone, and they are in good agreement with Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding satellite ozone profiles. The observed CO tape recorder is also successfully captured by the new CCM, and ozone-CO correlations are in accordance with Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment observations. However, because of limitations in vertical resolution, intrusion of CO-rich air in the stratosphere from the mesosphere could not be simulated in the current version of S/T-CCM. Additionally, the simulated stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone flux, which controls upper tropospheric OH and O3 concentrations, is found to be more realistic in the new coupled model compared to STOCHEM. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union

Omnidirectional people's gathering monitoring by using deep learning algorithms

It has long been recognized as gathering of people is one of the major risk factor in spreading of viral epidemics. Social distancing is then one of the most simple and powerful system to mitigate the spread of infections.We explore here the possibility of monitoring public people’s gathering by using a novel bifocal omnidirectional lens designed by INAF jointly with deep learning-based algorithms. The paper briefly describe how the lens works, the applied deep learning algorithms and the preliminary results of the trials

Updated global warming potentials and radiative efficiencies of halocarbons and other weak atmospheric absorbers

Human activity has led to increased atmospheric concentrations of many gases, including halocarbons, and may lead to emissions of many more gases. Many of these gases are, on a per molecule basis, powerful greenhouse gases, although at present‐day concentrations their climate effect is in the so‐called weak limit (i.e. their effect scales linearly with concentration). We published a comprehensive review of the radiative efficiencies (RE) and global warming potentials (GWP) for around 200 such compounds in 2013 (Hodnebrog et al., 2013). Here we present updated RE and GWP values for compounds where experimental infrared absorption spectra are available. Updated numbers are based on a revised “Pinnock curve”, which gives RE as a function of wavenumber, and now also accounts for stratospheric temperature adjustment (Shine and Myhre, 2020). Further updates include the implementation of around 500 absorption spectra additional to those in the 2013 review, and new atmospheric lifetimes from the literature (mainly from WMO (2019)). In total, values for 60 of the compounds previously assessed are based on additional absorption spectra, and 42 compounds have REs which differ by >10% from our previous assessment. New RE calculations are presented for more than 400 compounds in addition to the previously assessed compounds, and GWP calculations are presented for a total of around 250 compounds. Present‐day radiative forcing due to halocarbons and other weak absorbers is 0.38 [0.33‐0.43] W m‐2, compared to 0.36 [0.32‐0.40] W m‐2 in IPCC AR5 (Myhre et al., 2013), which is about 18% of the current CO2 forcing

Using transport diagnostics to understand chemistry climate model ozone simulations

We use observations of N2O and mean age to identify realistic transport in models in order to explain their ozone predictions. The results are applied to 15 chemistry climate models (CCMs) participating in the 2010 World Meteorological Organization ozone assessment. Comparison of the observed and simulated N2O, mean age and their compact correlation identifies models with fast or slow circulations and reveals details of model ascent and tropical isolation. This process‐oriented diagnostic is more useful than mean age alone because it identifies models with compensating transport deficiencies that produce fortuitous agreement with mean age. The diagnosed model transport behavior is related to a model’s ability to produce realistic lower stratosphere (LS) O3 profiles. Models with the greatest tropical transport problems compare poorly with O3 observations. Models with the most realistic LS transport agree more closely with LS observations and each other. We incorporate the results of the chemistry evaluations in the Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) CCMVal Report to explain the range of CCM predictions for the return‐to‐1980 dates for global (60°S–60°N) and Antarctic column ozone. Antarctic O3 return dates are generally correlated with vortex Cly levels, and vortex Cly is generally correlated with the model’s circulation, although model Cl chemistry and conservation problems also have a significant effect on return date. In both regions, models with good LS transport and chemistry produce a smaller range of predictions for the return‐to‐1980 ozone values. This study suggests that the current range of predicted return dates is unnecessarily broad due to identifiable model deficiencies

Overview of the SPARC tokamak

The SPARC tokamak is a critical next step towards commercial fusion energy. SPARC is designed as a high-field (T), compact (m, m), superconducting, D-T tokamak with the goal of producing fusion gain 2$]]> from a magnetically confined fusion plasma for the first time. Currently under design, SPARC will continue the high-field path of the Alcator series of tokamaks, utilizing new magnets based on rare earth barium copper oxide high-temperature superconductors to achieve high performance in a compact device. The goal of 2$]]> is achievable with conservative physics assumptions () and, with the nominal assumption of, SPARC is projected to attain and MW. SPARC will therefore constitute a unique platform for burning plasma physics research with high density (), high temperature (keV) and high power density () relevant to fusion power plants. SPARC's place in the path to commercial fusion energy, its parameters and the current status of SPARC design work are presented. This work also describes the basis for global performance projections and summarizes some of the physics analysis that is presented in greater detail in the companion articles of this collection

Climate warming and decreasing total column ozone over the Tibetan Plateau during winter and spring

The long-term trends of the total column ozone (TCO) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and factors responsible for the trends are analysed in this study using various observations and a chemistry–climate model (CCM). The results indicate that the total column ozone low (TOL) over the TP during winter and spring is deepening over the recent decade, which is opposite to the recovery signal in annual mean TCO over the TP after mid-1990s. The TOL intensity is increasing at a rate of 1.4 DU/decade and the TOL area is extending with 50,000 km2/decade during winter for the period 1979–2009. The enhanced transport of ozone-poor air into the stratosphere and elevated tropopause due to the rapid and significant warming over the TP during winter reduce ozone concentrations in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and hence lead to the deepening of the TOL. Based on the analysis of the multiple regression model, the thermal dynamical processes associated with the TP warming accounts for more than 50% of TCO decline during winter for the period 1979–2009. The solar variations during 1995–2009 further enlarge ozone decreases over the TP in the past decade. According to the CCM simulations, the increases in NOx emissions in East Asia and global tropospheric N2O mixing ratio for the period 1979–2009 contribute to no more than 20% reductions in TCO during this period

Multimodel assessment of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere: Extratropics

A multimodel assessment of the performance of chemistry-climate models (CCMs) in the extratropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) is conducted for the first time. Process-oriented diagnostics are used to validate dynamical and transport characteristics of 18 CCMs using meteorological analyses and aircraft and satellite observations. The main dynamical and chemical climatological characteristics of the extratropical UTLS are generally well represented by the models, despite the limited horizontal and vertical resolution. The seasonal cycle of lowermost stratospheric mass is realistic, however with a wide spread in its mean value. A tropopause inversion layer is present in most models, although the maximum in static stability is located too high above the tropopause and is somewhat too weak, as expected from limited model resolution. Similar comments apply to the extratropical tropopause transition layer. The seasonality in lower stratospheric chemical tracers is consistent with the seasonality in the Brewer-Dobson circulation. Both vertical and meridional tracer gradients are of similar strength to those found in observations. Models that perform less well tend to use a semi-Lagrangian transport scheme and/or have a very low resolution. Two models, and the multimodel mean, score consistently well on all diagnostics, while seven other models score well on all diagnostics except the seasonal cycle of water vapor. Only four of the models are consistently below average. The lack of tropospheric chemistry in most models limits their evaluation in the upper troposphere. Finally, the UTLS is relatively sparsely sampled by observations, limiting our ability to quantitatively evaluate many aspects of model performance