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Temperature profiles of the lower atmosphere (<3 km) over complex urban areas are related to health risks, including heat stress and respiratory illness. This complexity leads to uncertainty in numerical simulations, and many studies call for more observations of the lower atmosphere over cities. Using 20 years of observations from the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) program over Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, average profiles every 0.5 h are created from the 1.5 million individual soundings. Dallas-Fort Worth is ideal because it is a large urban area in the central Great Plains, has no major topographic or coastal influences, and has two major airports near the center of the urban heat island. With frequent and high-quality measurements over the city, we investigate the evolution of the lower atmosphere around sunrise to quantify the stability, boundary layer height, and duration of the morning transition when there are southerly winds, few clouds, and no precipitation so as to eliminate transient synoptic events. Characteristics of the lower atmosphere are separated by season and maximum wind speed because the the Great Plains low-level jet contributes to day-to-day variability. In all seasons, stronger wind over the city leads to a weaker nocturnal temperature inversion at sunrise and a shorter morning transition period, with the greatest difference during autumn and the smallest difference during summer. During summer, the boundary layer height at sunrise is higher on average, deepens the most as wind strengthens, and has the fewest days exhibiting a surface temperature inversion over the city.

Introduction and hypothesis This study describes the incidence, risk factors, and treatments of graft erosion, wound granulation, and dyspareunia as adverse events following vaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse with non-absorbable synthetic and biologic graft materials. Methods A systematic review in Medline of reports published between 1950 and November 2010 on adverse events after vaginal prolapse repairs using graft materials was carried out. Results One hundred ten studies reported on erosions with an overall rate, by meta-analysis, of 10.3%, (95% CI, 9.7 – 10.9%; range, 0 – 29.7%; synthetic, 10.3%; biological, 10.1%). Sixteen studies reported on wound granulation for a rate of 7.8%, (95% CI, 6.4 – 9.5%; range, 0 – 19.1%; synthetic, 6.8%; biological, 9.1%). Dyspareunia was described in 70 studies for a rate of 9.1%, (95% CI, 8.2 – 10.0%; range, 0 – 66.7%; synthetic, 8.9%; biological, 9.6%). Conclusions Erosions, wound granulation, and dyspareunia may occur after vaginal prolapse repair with graft materials, though rates vary widely across studies.

Impervious surfaces and buildings in the urban environment alter the radiative balance and surface energy exchange and can lead to warmer temperatures known as the urban heat island (UHI), which can increase heat-related illness and mortality. Continued urbanization and anthropogenic warming will enhance city temperatures worldwide, raising the need for viable mitigation strategies. Increasing green space throughout a city is a viable option to lessen the impacts of the UHI but can be difficult to implement. The potential impact of converting existing vacant lots in Kansas City, Missouri, to green spaces is explored with numerical simulations for three heat-wave events. Using data on vacant property and identifying places with a high fraction of impervious surfaces, the most suitable areas for converting vacant lots to green spaces is determined. Land-use/land-cover datasets are modified to simulate varying degrees of feasible conversion of urban to green spaces in these areas, and the local cooling effect using each strategy is compared with the unmodified simulation. Under more aggressive greening strategies, a mean local cooling impact of 0.5°–1.0°C is present within the focus area itself during the nighttime hours. Some additional cooling via the “park cool island” is possible downwind of the converted green spaces under the more aggressive scenarios. Although moderate and conservative strategies of conversion could still lead to other benefits, those strategies have little impact on cooling. Only an aggressive approach yields significant cooling.

Along the central coast of Chile is typically equatorward, upwelling‐favorable wind associated with the southeast Pacific anticyclone. A coastal low‐level jet often develops, and its wind speed is mostly controlled by the meridional pressure gradient. While the low‐level jet is a mesoscale feature forced by an interaction between synoptic conditions and coastal topography, regional sea level pressure anomalies are associated with changes of the Antarctic, Madden Julian, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The connection between the alongshore wind and changes to the large‐scale circulation is examined and quantified using 31 years of the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, which resolves coastal features better than previous, coarser analyses. Composites based on each index reveal the modulation of the sea level pressure and significant alongshore wind anomalies of ±0.5–1.5 m s−1 that correlate well to meridional surface pressure gradient changes and are centered near 35°S. Constructive and destructive interference exists between the three indices that either enhance or cancel the alongshore wind anomaly. During favorable upwelling conditions the distribution of meridional wind is generally clustered around positive anomalies with a tail toward negative values, representing a stronger and persistent anticyclone. During unfavorable upwelling conditions the anomalies are generally more normally distributed, representing a weaker anticyclone and the passage of more cyclones. Key Points Phases of AAO, ENSO, and MJO linked to alongshore wind off central Chile Constructive/deconstructive interference between large scale oscillations Significant modification of alongshore wind distribution

Observations from commercial aircraft [e.g., the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) automated weather reports] have been increasing dramatically. Two main applications of the aircraft data are use in short-term forecasts and assimilation into numerical weather prediction models. Now that more than 10 years of measurements exist, using this dataset to construct a description of the long-term climatological behavior (a \"climatology\") of the lower atmosphere is explored with twomain objectives. The first objective is to examine strengths and weaknesses of using the dataset to construct a climatology of the lower atmosphere. Unlike the traditional twice-daily radiosonde launches, the high frequency of observations at major airports allows for an unprecedented set of diurnal information at many locations globally. The second objective is to obtain a climatology of the lower atmosphere of Southern California, specifically at Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ontario, during the spring and summer when the boundary layer is well defined and easily detected. The June 2001–14 climatology reveals that the deepening of the boundary layer overnight is consistent with a cloud-topped boundary layer. Whereas the average boundary layer height decreases right after sunrise at San Diego, at Los Angeles the deeper boundary layer persists about 4 h after sunrise and then decreases rapidly over 2 h as the onshore sea breeze strengthens. Morning intrusions of the marine air inland are easily detected at Ontario in some months but are practically nonexistent during July and August.

To determine whether percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is superior to sham stimulation for the treatment of fecal incontinence (FI) in women refractory to first-line treatments. Women aged 18 years or older with ≥3 months of moderate-to-severe FI that persisted after a 4-week run-in phase were randomized 2:1 (PTNS:sham stimulation) to 12 weekly 30-minute sessions in this multicenter, single-masked, controlled superiority trial. The primary outcome was change from baseline FI severity measured by St. Mark score after 12 weeks of treatment (range 0-24; minimal important difference, 3-5 points). The secondary outcomes included electronic bowel diary events and quality of life. The groups were compared using an adjusted general linear mixed model. Of 199 women who entered the run-in period, 166 (of 170 eligible) were randomized, (111 in PTNS group and 55 in sham group); the mean (SD) age was 63.6 (11.6) years; baseline St. Mark score was 17.4 (2.7); and recording was 6.6 (5.5) FI episodes per week. There was no difference in improvement from baseline in St. Mark scores in the PTNS group when compared with the sham group (-5.3 vs -3.9 points, adjusted difference [95% confidence interval] -1.3 [-2.8 to 0.2]). The groups did not differ in reduction in weekly FI episodes (-2.1 vs -1.9 episodes, adjusted difference [95% confidence interval] -0.26 [-1.85 to 1.33]). Condition-specific quality of life measures did not indicate a benefit of PTNS over sham stimulation. Serious adverse events occurred in 4% of each group. Although symptom reduction after 12 weeks of PTNS met a threshold of clinical importance, it did not differ from sham stimulation. These data do not support the use of PTNS as conducted for the treatment of FI in women.

The ability of global climate models to simulate accurately marine stratiform clouds continues to challenge the atmospheric science community. These cloud types, which account for a large uncertainty in Earth’s radiation budget, are generally difficult to characterize due to their shallowness and spatial inhomogeneity. Previous work investigating marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds off the California coast has focused on clouds that form under the typical northerly flow regime during the boreal warm season. From about June through September, however, these northerly winds may reverse and become southerly as part of a coastally trapped disturbance (CTD). As the flow surges northward, it is accompanied by a broad cloud deck. Because these events are difficult to forecast, in situ observations of CTDs are few and far between, and little is known about their cloud physical properties. A climatological perspective of 23 CTD events—spanning the years from 2004 to 2016—is presented using several data products, including model reanalyses, buoys, and satellites. For the first time, satellite retrievals suggest that CTD cloud decks may play a unique role in the radiation budget due to a combination of aerosol sources that enhance cloud droplet number concentration and reduce cloud droplet effective radius. This particular type of cloud regime should therefore be treated differently than that which is more commonly found in the summertime months over the northeast Pacific Ocean. The potential influence of a coherent wind stress cycle on sea surface temperatures and sea salt aerosol is also explored.

A complete all-in-one reference on the important interdisciplinary topic of Battery Systems Engineering Focusing on the interdisciplinary area of battery systems engineering, this book provides the background, models, solution techniques, and systems theory that are necessary for the development of advanced battery management systems. It covers the topic from the perspective of basic electrochemistry as well as systems engineering topics and provides a basis for battery modeling for system engineering of electric and hybrid electric vehicle platforms. This original approach gives a useful overview for systems engineers in chemical, mechanical, electrical, or aerospace engineering who are interested in learning more about batteries and how to use them effectively. Chemists, material scientists, and mathematical modelers can also benefit from this book by learning how their expertise affects battery management. ● Approaches a topic which has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years ● Topics covered include: Electrochemistry; Governing Equations; Discretization Methods; System Response and Battery Management Systems ● Include tables, illustrations, photographs, graphs, worked examples, homework problems, and references, to thoroughly illustrate key material ● Ideal for engineers working in the mechanical, electrical, and chemical fields as well as graduate students in these areas A valuable resource for Scientists and Engineers working in the battery or electric vehicle industries, Graduate students in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering.

ObjectiveA grassroots environmental-justice organisation in Kansas City has been examining the disproportionate exposure to air pollution experienced by residents living fenceline to the largest classification railyard in the USA. Prior analyses showed limited increased risk for asthma exacerbation for patients with asthma living closer to toxic release inventory (TRI) facilities and railyards. In this study, we assessed geographical asthma and environmental disparities, to further explore community-level disparities.DesignThis is a cross-sectional study of population-level asthma rates, which included rates for all asthma encounters and acute asthma encounters (urgent care, emergency department, inpatient admission). Distances from census-tract centroids to nearest TRI facilities, railyards and highways were calculated. The association between asthma rates and distances was examined using Kendall’s τ correlation and multivariable Poisson regression models.SettingWe used electronic medical record data from the regional paediatric hospital, census and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air monitoring data.ParticipantsPatients with 2+ asthma encounters during the EPA study timeframe were identified.ResultsResidential distance from railyards exhibited a significant negative correlation with overall (−0.36 (CI −0.41 to –0.32)) and acute (−0.27 (CI −0.32 to –0.22)) asthma rates. Asthma rates were elevated among tracts north of the closest railyard (incident rate ratio: 1.38; CI 1.35 to 1.41) when compared with southern directionality. An increased distance from the nearest railyard of 3 km was associated with a decrease in overall asthma rates of 26%.ConclusionSignificant negative associations between proximity to all pollution source types and asthma rates were observed. This community-level research has served as a tool for community engagement and will be used to support proposed local policy. Environmental justice work addresses local concerns involving small, limited datasets, if the data exist at all. The academic epidemiological platform may reconsider acceptable approaches to small population research in order to better serve communities with the most need.