Blochburke6367
We present a system identification technique for the characterisation of the linearity and dynamic response of a PSOL valve and its corresponding electronic control unit (ECU) using bandlimited white noise, as well as pseudo random "non-sum non-difference" (NSND) waveforms consisting of mutually prime frequencies to mitigate the effects of nonlinear distortions. The parameters of several transfer function models were simultaneously estimated from the voltage-flow frequency response using a nonlinear gradient descent technique. Candidate transfer function models were assessed using the mean squared residual (MSR) criterion and the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc). The MSR yielded a transfer function consisting of 10 poles and 9 zeros, while the AICc yielded a simpler transfer function consisting of 5 poles and 3 zeros. Monte Carlo analysis demonstrated fragile stability for the MSR-selected model with respect to varying parameter values within estimated uncertainties, yet a robust stability for the AICc-selected model.
Our objective was to examine the associations between recreational and non-recreational physical activity with mental health outcomes among Canadian youth aged 12-17.
Cross-sectional data from the 2015/2016 Canadian Community Health Survey was used for analysis. Physical activity was classified as either recreational or non-recreational. Both types of physical activity were categorized using the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Mental health outcomes included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale dichotomized with 5+ and 10+ cut-offs, self-perceived mental health, and self-reported professionally diagnosed mood and anxiety disorders. Descriptive statistics (proportions with 95% confidence intervals), and multivariable logistic regression were used in the analysis.
It was found 21.20% of youth were not participating in recreational physical activity and 40.97% were engaging in below guideline recreational physical activity. No activity, or below guideline recreational physical activity w associated. While the data are cross-sectional and cannot support causal inference, these results highlight the potential importance of accessible recreational physical activity programs. Further, these results may inform guidelines about types of youth physical activity and their apparent mental health benefits.
Previous literature reports inconsistent associations between obesity and mental health. The objective of this study was to determine the association between weight status and mental health service utilization in Ontario children and youth.
A cross-sectional study of children 0 to 18 years, identified using primary care electronic medical records from the EMRPC database in Ontario, Canada was conducted. Height and weight data were extracted to calculate BMI and linked to administrative data on mental health related outpatient visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed.
A total of 50,565 children were included. Overall, 2.2% were underweight, 70.4% had a normal weight, 18.3% were overweight, 6.9% had obesity and 2.2% had severe obesity. 28.2% of all children had at least one mental health visit. Multivariable analyses showed children with overweight, obesity, and severe obesity were 1.11 (95% CI 1.05-1.17), 1.18 (95% CI 1.08-1.27) and 1.39 (95% CI 1.22-1.59) times more likely to have an outpatient mental health visit compared to children with normal weight.
Increased weight status was associated with mental health related outpatient visits and emergency department visits. This study may inform policy makers' planning of mental health resources for children with obesity and severe obesity.
Increased weight status was associated with mental health related outpatient visits and emergency department visits. This study may inform policy makers' planning of mental health resources for children with obesity and severe obesity.
The process of patient navigation involves system resource experts matching patients to the most appropriate services. Patient navigation within the mental health and/or addictions (MHA) system is only a recent development and has not undergone extensive research. This study examines trends regarding clients of a family navigation service in Toronto, Canada, which supports families of youth ages 13-26 with MHA concerns.
A retrospective chart review was conducted using a sample of 200 cases from the first 989 clients of the navigation service. Descriptive statistics were performed to examine the general characteristics and demographics of navigation clients, the MHA profiles of navigation clients, and the characteristics of navigation. To predict the service needs and goals of navigation clients, four forward likelihood ratio multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed.
Female caregivers were the most frequent point of contact, and families most commonly requested psychiatric assessments, counselling services, and parent support programs. Families who were seeking help for a female youth were less likely to request psychiatric treatment compared to families seeking help for a male youth (
= .04) and families with a youth who already had a formal psychiatric diagnosis were more likely to request a counselling or therapy referral (
= .04) compared to families with a youth who had not received a formal psychiatric diagnosis.
The findings contribute to an understanding of family navigation within the MHA field, and may support the development of targeted navigation programs that meet youth and families' needs.
The findings contribute to an understanding of family navigation within the MHA field, and may support the development of targeted navigation programs that meet youth and families' needs.There has been a proliferation of inexpensive consumer-grade devices for monitoring air pollutants, including PM2.5 and certain gasses. This study compared the performance of four consumer-grade devices-the Air Quality Egg 2 (AQE2), BlueAir Aware, Foobot, and Speck-that utilize optical sensors to measure the PM2.5 concentration. The devices were collocated and operated for 7 days in each of three residences, and the PM2.5 mass concentrations were compared with those measured by established optical sensing devices, viz., the personal DataRAM and DustTrak DRX, as well as the filter-based Personal Modular Impactor (PMI). Overall, the Foobot and BlueAir displayed the strongest correlations with the direct-reading reference instruments for both the hourly and daily PM2.5 mass concentrations. Comparing the 1-hour averages obtained with the DustTrak DRX for all of the residences with those obtained with the Foobot, BlueAir, AQE2, and Speck, the Pearson's correlation coefficients (R's) were 0.80, 0.88, -0.028, and 0.60, respectively. Overall, the strength of the correlation depended on the specific residence, likely due to the differences in aerosol composition. The correlations with the PMI measurements were moderate, with R values of 0.44 and 0.56 for the BlueAir and Foobot, respectively. The correlation coefficients for the daily values obtained with the AQE2 and Speck were -0.59 and 0.70 compared to the PMI. According to a paired t-test, the average 24-h PM2.5 concentration data obtained using the consumer-grade monitors were statistically different (p > 0.05) from the mass values measured by the gravimetric filters. Overall, this study demonstrates the ability of consumer grade air pollution monitors to report PM2.5 trends accurately; however, for accurate mass concentration measurements, these monitors must be calibrated for a particular location and application. Further testing is needed to determine their suitability for long-term indoor field studies.In European past populations, religious canons shaped the seasonal distribution of marriages and births by means of banning weddings and sexual intercourse during important holidays within the religious calendar. In contemporary secularized societies, this seasonal modeling has disappeared. A few pieces of evidence have been gathered to explain how they have disappeared. This paper analyzes the impact of Lent on the seasonality of conceptions during the last century in Spain. Data births of the entire Spanish population born in Spain and alive on the first of January 2003 (more than 39 million) containing the date, size of the municipality (six groups) are used. To analyze this seasonality, we have used time-series techniques. We have built an ad hoc temporal regressor starting from the number of days of Lent that corresponds to each month. We have also used regression models with autoregressive and moving average errors (regARIMA models) to estimate, by maximum likelihood, the set of model parameters. The paper gathers new evidences about the importance of religion on the preproduction of Spanish population until very recently. They show that during the twentieth century, in Spain, there were a significant decrease in conceptions during Lent and a significant rebound after this period. We note that this previous effect disappeared in 1975-1980, when both democracy and the contraception revolution began in Spain. After this period, the seasonality of birth in general disappears.Using longitudinal data from Germany and Australia for the 2001‒2013 period, this study investigates the link between non-standard employment, such as fixed-term contracts, temporary agency work, part-time and casual work, and first birth within couple relationships. In contrast to previous studies, competing risks event history models are estimated to simultaneously consider couples' risks of first birth and of partnership dissolution. 4-Octyl The results indicate, for example, that temporary employment of the female partner, and especially temporary agency work, decreases first birth risks in both countries. This suggests that women, in their dual role as primary carer and secondary earner, seek a secure employment position to return to after parental leave. In contrast, male partner's part-time work negatively affects the first birth risk and simultaneously increases the risk of partnership dissolution only in Australia, suggesting a more important role of men as primary earners in this country. Overall, the study highlights the twofold impact of non-standard employment on fertility, consisting of a direct influence on the first birth risk among stable couples and an indirect influence through the risk of partnership dissolution.A gap in childlessness rates between women with and without tertiary education in low-fertility settings has been well documented by scholars. However, in the United States, high rates of childlessness are declining for women with tertiary education. Will this current trend lead to a closing of the gap in childlessness across educational subgroups in this country? We answer this question using data from the Current Population Survey from 1976 through 2018. We present population-level trends in permanent childlessness by level of education and estimate the differences in the prevalence of childlessness across educational subgroups. Our findings indicate that the rates of childlessness for women aged 40-44 with tertiary education in the United States are the lowest they have been in over three decades and that rates of childlessness are converging among women with secondary and tertiary education. The declines in childlessness rates and the convergence in childlessness rates between women with secondary and tertiary education are observed for all of the three largest race/ethnicity sub-populations of American women non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic women.
