The impact of cold weather on respiratory morbidity at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta

AbstractAs future climate challenges become increasingly evident, enhancing performance resilience of farm animals may contribute to mitigation against adverse weather and seasonal variation, and underpin livestock farming sustainability. In the present study, we develop novel seasonal resilience phenotypes reflecting milk production changes to fluctuating weather. We evaluate the impact of calendar season (autumn, winter and spring) on animal performance resilience by analysing 420,534 milk records of 36,908 milking ewes of the Chios breed together with relevant meteorological data from eastern Mediterranean. We reveal substantial seasonal effects on resilience and significant heritable trait variation (h2 = 0.03–0.17). Resilience to cold weather (10 °C) of animals that start producing milk in spring was under different genetic control compared to autumn and winter as exemplified by negative genetic correlations (− 0.09 to − 0.27). Animal resilience to hot weather (25 °C) was partially under the same genetic control with genetic correlations between seasons ranging from 0.43 to 0.86. We report both favourable and antagonistic associations between animal resilience and lifetime milk production, depending on calendar season and the desirable direction of genetic selection. Concluding, we emphasise on seasonal adaptation of animals to climate and the need to incorporate the novel seasonal traits in future selective breeding programmes.

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Impact of Air Pollution on the Health of the Population in Parts of the Czech Republic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17186454 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (18) ◽

pp. 6454

Author(s):

Radim J. Sram

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Czech Republic ◽

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Power Plants ◽

Local Heating ◽

The United States ◽

Respiratory Morbidity ◽

Surprising Result ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

The Impact

Thirty years ago, Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic was one of the most air polluted areas in Europe. After political changes, the Czech government put forward a research program to determine if air pollution is really affecting human health. This program, later called the “Teplice Program”, was initiated in collaboration with scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This cooperation made possible the use of methods on the contemporary level. The very high concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the air showed, for the first time, the impact of air pollutants on the health of the population in mining districts: adverse pregnancy outcomes, the impact of air pollution on sperm morphology, learning disabilities in children, and respiratory morbidity in preschool children. A surprising result came from the distribution of the sources of pollution: 70% of PM10 pollution came from local heating and not from power plants as expected. Thanks to this result, the Czech government supported changes in local heating from brown coal to natural gas. This change substantially decreased SO2 and PM10 pollution and affected mortality, especially cardiovascular mortality.

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The Impact of Temperature on Major League Baseball

Weather Climate and Society ◽

10.1175/wcas-d-13-00002.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 359-366 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brandon Lee D. Koch ◽

Anna K. Panorska

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Major League Baseball ◽

The United States ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Baseball Game ◽

Batting Average ◽

Warm Weather ◽

Major League ◽

National League ◽

The Impact

Abstract Major League Baseball is played from the beginning of April through the end of October each year, encompassing three of the four meteorological seasons: spring, summer, and fall. The 30 teams play in cities across the United States and Canada in many types of weather. This work studies the impact of temperature on a Major League Baseball game by examining the association between temperature and several Major League Baseball game statistics, including runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, walks, strikeouts, hit-batsmen, stolen bases, and errors. Data from 22 215 games, spanning the 2000–11 regular seasons, were studied. Temperature was categorized as “cold,” “average,” and “warm.” Analyses were performed on the following populations: all Major League Baseball games, games played in the National League, games played in the American League, and games played in 23 different stadiums that are currently being used by Major League Baseball teams. Home and away teams' performances were analyzed separately for each population of games. The results of this study show that runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and home runs significantly increase while walks significantly decrease in warm weather compared to cold weather.

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Productivity Analysis of Micro-Trenching Using Simphony Simulation Modeling

Civil Engineering Journal ◽

10.28991/cej-2020-03091607 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (11) ◽

pp. 2131-2142

Author(s):

Hediyeh Vaseli ◽

Leila Hashemian ◽

Alireza Bayat

Keyword(s):

Simulation Model ◽

Weather Condition ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Productivity Analysis ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Productivity Improvement ◽

Project Duration ◽

Installation Depth ◽

The Impact

Micro-trenching is an innovative method for installing fiber optic cable in residential areas and business districts which minimizes surface scarring and potential negative social and environmental impacts. This method has three major steps including cutting a narrow trench in the pavement, cable installation and trench backfilling. This paper discusses a Simphony simulation model of the micro-trenching procedure and analyzes its productivity. Brief descriptions of the micro-trenching method and two field installations used to validate the model are included. A simulation model was developed for two different installation depths of 7.6 and 23 cm using two different methods. To provide an estimation of project duration, the impact of weather conditions on micro-trenching productivity was also considered. The developed model can be used for what if scenarios and for predicting the outcomes, which may be useful for studying the procedure and verifying if any productivity improvement can be achieved. The results indicate that the influence of installation depth is more significant than the impact of weather conditions. Reducing installation depth from 23 cm to 7.6 could improve productivity up to 50% while cold weather condition can reduce productivity by 18.8%. The simulation model demonstrates that the productivity can be improved up to 16% by overlapping two steps during the installation process: starting the cleaning procedure when a portion of cutting is completed. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091607 Full Text: PDF

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Critical care surveillance: insights into the impact of the 2010/11 influenza season relative to the 2009/10 pandemic season in England

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/ese.18.23.20499-en ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

H K Green ◽

J Ellis ◽

M Galiano ◽

J M Watson ◽

R G Pebody

Keyword(s):

Critical Care ◽

Influenza A ◽

Influenza Season ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Influenza B ◽

Influenza A H1n1 ◽

The Impact ◽

Age Shift

In 2010/11, the influenza season in England was marked by a relative increase in impact on the population compared to that seen during the 2009/10 pandemic, with the same influenza subtype, A(H1N1)pdm09, circulating. The peaks in critical care bed occupancy in both seasons coincided with peaks in influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 activity, but onset of influenza in 2010/11 additionally coincided with notably cold weather, a comparatively smaller peak in influenza B activity and increased reports of bacterial co-infection. A bigger impact on critical care services was seen across all regions in England in 2010/11, with, compared to 2009/10, a notable age shift in critical care admissions from children to young adults. The peak of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity did not coincide with critical care admissions, and regression analysis suggested only a small proportion of critical care bed days might be attributed to the virus in either season. Differences in antiviral policy and improved overall vaccine uptake in 2010/11 with an influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 strain containing vaccine between seasons are unlikely to explain the change in impact observed between the two seasons. The reasons behind the relative high level of severe disease in the 2010/11 winter are likely to have resulted from a combination of factors, including an age shift in infection, accumulation of susceptible individuals through waning immunity, new susceptible individuals from new births and cold weather. The importance of further development of severe influenza disease surveillance schemes for future seasons is reinforced.

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Residential Natural Gas Demand Response Potential during Extreme Cold Events in Electricity-Gas Coupled Energy Systems

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13195192 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 5192

Author(s):

Andrew Speake ◽

Paul Donohoo-Vallett ◽

Eric Wilson ◽

Emily Chen ◽

Craig Christensen

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Demand Response ◽

The United States ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Residential Heating ◽

Weather Events ◽

Extreme Cold ◽

Natural Gas Demand ◽

The Impact

In regions where natural gas is used for both power generation and heating buildings, extreme cold weather events can place the electrical system under enormous stress and challenge the ability to meet residential heating and electric demands. Residential demand response has long been used in the power sector to curtail summer electric load, but these types of programs in general have not seen adoption in the natural gas sector during winter months. Natural gas demand response (NG-DR) has garnered interest given recent extreme cold weather events in the United States; however, the magnitude of savings and potential impacts—to occupants and energy markets—are not well understood. We present a case-study analysis of the technical potential for residential natural gas demand response in the northeast United States that utilizes diverse whole-building energy simulations and high-performance computing. Our results show that NG-DR applied to residential heating systems during extreme cold-weather conditions could reduce natural gas demand by 1–29% based on conservative and aggressive strategies, respectively. This indicates a potential to improve the resilience of gas and electric systems during stressful events, which we examine by estimating the impact on energy costs and electricity generation from natural gas. We also explore relationships between hourly indoor temperatures, demand response, and building envelope efficiency.

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Association between particulate matter air pollution and monthly inhalation and nebulization procedures in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0102-311x2012000800017 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 1591-1598 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Estela Cristina Carneseca ◽

Jorge Alberto Achcar ◽

Edson Zangiacomi Martinez

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Respiratory Morbidity ◽

São Paulo ◽

Random Factor ◽

Paulo State ◽

São Paulo State ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

The study was designed to investigate the impact of air pollution on monthly inhalation/nebulization procedures in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil, from 2004 to 2010. To assess the relationship between the procedures and particulate matter (PM10) a Bayesian Poisson regression model was used, including a random factor that captured extra-Poisson variability between counts. Particulate matter was associated with the monthly number of inhalation/nebulization procedures, but the inclusion of covariates (temperature, precipitation, and season of the year) suggests a possible confounding effect. Although other studies have linked particulate matter to an increasing number of visits due to respiratory morbidity, the results of this study suggest that such associations should be interpreted with caution.

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What can STP Geographies Tell us About the Impact of the Cold Weather Plan for England?

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isesisee.2018.p02.0080 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Peninah Murage ◽

Shakoor Hajat

Keyword(s):

Cold Weather ◽

The Impact

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In Cold Weather We Bark, But in Hot Weather We Bite: Patterns in Social Media Anger, Aggressive Behavior, and Temperature

Environment and Behavior ◽

10.1177/0013916520937455 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 001391652093745

Author(s):

Heather R. Stevens ◽

Petra L. Graham ◽

Paul J. Beggs ◽

Ivan C. Hanigan

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

New South ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Daily Maximum ◽

South Wales ◽

Online Aggression ◽

Hot Weather ◽

Maximum Temperatures ◽

The Impact ◽

Collection Methods

Hotter weather is associated with aggressive crime. However, it is not well known if similar relationships apply to online aggression. This study uses anger counts derived from Twitter posts (tweets) and assault counts in New South Wales, Australia, to investigate if they share a similar relationship with temperature, and to determine if online anger is a predictor of assault. Results indicated that the relationships were largely inverse—assault counts were higher in summer than winter, while angry tweet counts were lower. As daily maximum temperatures rose, assault counts increased while angry tweet counts decreased. Angry tweet counts were inversely associated with assaults, with an increase in tweets signaling decreasing assaults. There are several plausible explanations for the dissimilarities including the impact of temperature on behavior, socio-demographic differences, and data collection methods. The findings of this study add to the growing literature in social media emotion and its relationship with temperature.

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Simulation modeling of weather-sensitive tunnelling construction activities subject to cold weather

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.1139/cjce-2013-0087 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 48-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. Shahin ◽

S.M. AbouRizk ◽

Y. Mohamed ◽

S. Fernando

Keyword(s):

Construction Projects ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Project Planning ◽

Cold Weather ◽

Project Schedule ◽

Cold Regions ◽

Weather Impact ◽

Weather Events ◽

Weather Uncertainty ◽

The Impact

In cold regions, weather introduces a great deal of uncertainty to weather-sensitive construction activities, resulting in project schedules that deviate from plans. To maximize construction process productivity, decisions regarding process execution planning and sequence of work need to be made, based on reliable plans and schedules. Faced with winter weather uncertainty in cold regions, this task becomes quite challenging. This paper follows the framework that was proposed in the literature for simulating weather-sensitive construction projects executed under cold weather conditions. In the literature, the authors applied the framework steps to enable simulating and planning pipeline construction activities under severe cold weather. The proposed framework sets out a work breakdown structure of activities to account for and quantify weather impact on the project schedule. The steps outlined in the framework are followed to enable simulating and planning tunnelling construction activities executed under severe cold weather conditions. Relevant simulation findings, which clarify the impact of cold weather events on construction projects and can assist in project planning and decision support, are reported.

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