Status Transitions Research Articles

Data-Driven Synthetic Optimization Method for Driving Cycle Development

One of the key tasks for improving vehicle operating costs estimation is to develop representative driving cycles. A driving cycle is a vehicle speed-time profile. The cycles are a critical input for simulating VOCs in different road scenarios. The traditional methods could not generate driving cycles representing the speed pattern of the sample snippets. A new driving cycle development method, synthetic optimization, was developed and applied to generate synthetic driving cycles by applying the speed-acceleration frequency distribution matrix, speed-acceleration status transition matrix, and simulated annealing optimization algorithm. The data used for driving cycle development come from the new Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) naturalistic driving study (NDS) data and truck GPS trajectory data from American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). Driving cycles of full-access-control facilities were developed as an example to show the performance of the proposed method. Compared to the conventional methods, the synthetic optimization approach provides, along with other advantages, driving cycles that better represent the speed patterns observed in the different scenarios.

Insomnia in breast cancer: a prospective observational study.

Insomnia in cancer patients is prevalent, persistent, and confers risk for physical and psychological disorder. We must better understand how insomnia develops in cancer patients and explore the main contributors to its chronicity so that insomnia management protocols can be integrated more effectively within cancer care. This study monitors the etiology of insomnia in breast cancer patients and identifies risk factors for its persistence. One hundred seventy-three females with newly diagnosed, non-metastatic breast cancer were tracked from diagnosis for 12 months. Participants completed monthly sleep assessments using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and 3 monthly health-related quality-of-life assessments using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer - Breast (EORTC QLQ-C30-BR23) scale. Clinical data on disease status and treatment regimens were also assessed. Prior to diagnosis, 25% of participants reported sleep disturbance, including 8% with insomnia syndrome (IS). Prevalence increased at cancer diagnosis to 46% (18% IS) and remained stable thereafter at around 50% (21% IS). We also explored sleep status transitions. The most common pattern was to remain a good sleeper (34%-49%) or to persist with insomnia (23%-46%). Seventy-seven percent of good sleepers developed insomnia during the 12-month period and 54% went into insomnia remission. Chemotherapy (odds ratio = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02-0.29, p < .001) and pre-diagnosis ISI scores (odds ratio = 1.13/unit increase in pre-diagnosis sleep score, 95% CI 1.05-1.21, p = .001) were identified as the main risk factors for persistent insomnia. These data advance our understanding of insomnia etiology in cancer patients and help identify those who should be prioritized for insomnia management protocols.

How does carer resilience change over time and care status? A qualitative longitudinal study

Objectives: Little research examines trajectories of carer resilience or the factors that facilitate or hinder resilience over time. We use qualitative longitudinal methods to examine trajectories of resilience and which assets and resources are associated with resilience and care status transitions in spousal dementia carers.Method: Based on an original sample of 23 spousal dementia carers (Donnellan, Bennett, & Soulsby, 2015), we conducted 13 follow-up interviews, including: 5 continuing home carers, 3 former carers (institutionalised), and 5 former carers (widowed).Results: Five participants remained resilient (stable resilient), three remained non-resilient (stable non-resilient) and four participants became resilient (non-resilient to resilient). Only one participant became non-resilient (resilient to non-resilient). Stable resilience was characterised by continuing individual assets and community resources. Carers who became resilient returned to previous resources, or gained new resources.Conclusion: Institutionalisation and widowhood are not always barriers to resilience; spousal dementia carers can remain or even become resilient over time despite deteriorating health, institutionalisation, or death of the care recipient.

The Identity Status Continuum Revisited

Abstract. The developmental continuum of identity status has been a topic of theoretical debate since the early 1980’s. A recent meta-analysis and recent studies with dual cycle models lead to two conclusions: (1) during adolescence there is systematic identity maturation; (2) there are two continuums of identity status progression. Both continuums show that in general adolescents move from transient identity statuses to identity statuses that mark the relative endpoints of development: from diffusion to closure, and from searching moratorium and moratorium to closure and achievement. This pattern can be framed as development from identity formation to identity maintenance. In Identity Status Interview research using Marcia’s model, not the slightest indication for a continuum of identity development was found. This may be due to the small sample sizes of the various studies leading to small statistical power to detect differences in identity status transitions, as well as developmental inconsistencies in Marcia’s model. Findings from this review are interpreted in terms of life-span developmental psychology.

Intersection of E-Cigarette Use and Gender on Transitions in Cigarette Smoking Status: Findings Across Waves 1 and 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

Cigarette smokers report using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to reduce or quit smoking, but findings are mixed regarding the benefit and risk of e-cigarettes in this population, and effects of gender are unknown. The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH; waves 1 and 2; adult interviews) was used to evaluate relationships among wave 1 e-cigarette use (daily, nondaily, never) and gender and their association with transitions (quit vs. current; relapse vs. former) in cigarette smoking status across waves 1 and 2 of the PATH study. Daily e-cigarette users had higher odds of quitting smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12 to 2.18) compared with never e-cigarette users. Conversely, daily and nondaily e-cigarette users were at greater risk of smoking relapse (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.15 to 2.94 and OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 0.99 to 3.46, respectively) compared with never e-cigarette users. Women were less likely to quit smoking compared with men independent of e-cigarette use (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.59 to 0.99). In stratified analyses, daily or nondaily e-cigarette use did not increase the likelihood of quitting or relapse in women. In men, daily and nondaily e-cigarette users were at greater risk of smoking relapse (OR = 2.96, 95% CI = 1.49 to 5.86 and OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.29 to 7.17, respectively) compared with men who were never e-cigarette users. Findings identify e-cigarettes as a potential aid for smoking cessation but also as a potential risk for smoking relapse in men only. Overall, women were less likely to quit smoking, and e-cigarette use did not impact their ability to quit or to stay quit. Cigarette smokers report using e-cigarettes to reduce or quit smoking, but findings are mixed regarding the benefit and risk of e-cigarettes in this population. Using data from the newly available PATH (waves 1 and 2; adult interviews), our findings identify e-cigarettes as a potential aid for smoking cessation but also identify e-cigarettes as a potential risk for smoking relapse in men only. These findings may have implications for the regulation of e-cigarettes by the Food and Drug Administration and the benefit-cost ratio of e-cigarette use in smokers.

Analysis on cardio-metabolic related risk factors in farmers of 15 provinces in China

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic related risk factors in farmers aged ≥18 years in China, to explore the influence of population economic factors on them. Methods: A total of 3 367 farmers, including fishermen or hunters, aged ≥18 years were selected as study subjects from the database of Nutritional Status and Health Transition of Chinese Residents Project in 2015. Basic information (age, gender), data on anthropometric (body height, weight and waist size), blood biochemical and socioeconomic (occupation, income, education level and living area) were included. According to the definition of the metabolic syndrome released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2005, five cardio-metabolic risk factors appeared as central obesity, increased triglycerides, decreased HDL-C, increased blood pressure and increased plasma glucose. Co-prevalence of risk factors was defined as detecting 2 or more risk factors in a person at the same time. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic factors and metabolic risk factors. Results: In 3 367 framers of 15 provinces (autonomous region and municipality), the prevalence rates of central obesity, increased blood pressure, increased plasma glucose, increased triglycerides and decreased HDL-C were 51.8%, 59.0%, 17.0%, 25.5% and 38.7% respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risks for central obesity (OR=3.69, 95%CI: 3.17-4.28) and decreased HDL-C (OR=3.28, 95%CI: 2.81- 3.82) were higher in women than in men, and the risks for increased blood pressure (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.63-0.84), increased blood glucose (OR=0.80, 95%CI: 0.67-0.97) were lower in women than in men. Age was positively correlated with the prevalence or co-prevalence of metabolic risk factors (trend P<0.05). Framers in western China had obviously lower risk for central obesity compared with farmers in central China. No significant correlation was found between farmers' income level, education level or the prevalence of metabolic risk factors. Conclusion: In 15 provinces of China, the prevalence of at least 1 kind of cardio-metabolic risk factor was found in 85.5% of the farmers, and the co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factor was found in 60% of farmers. The prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors were significantly associated with age and gender. It is suggested to take targeted nutritional intervention and health education according to the distribution characteristics of prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio-metabolic factors and strengthen the early prevention and control programs of the diseases.

Border Struggles within the State: &lt;i&gt;Administrative bordering of non-citizens in Finland&lt;/i&gt;

Drawing on interviews with non-EU citizens, who arrived as asylum seekers or students in Finland, I examine different aspects of materialisation of borders within the state. This article focuses on non-citizens’ negotiations with the immigration bureaucracy, in particular on administrative procedures in residence permit applications. The analysis of non-citizens’ immigration trajectories and various border struggles during the conditional period before obtaining a permanent residence permit reveals the non-linear nature of immigration. The immigration process involves transitions in the legal status, which consequently affect non-citizens’ position in the labour market, access to welfare services, and the terms of family reunification. The concept of administrative bordering introduced in this article highlights the significant role of the bureaucratic procedures in migration management. I argue that administrative bordering related to the inclusion and exclusion of non-citizens creates pervasive insecurity about one’s presence and future as it can potentially modify individual immigration trajectories.

Social and Economic Predictors of Worse Frailty Status Occurrence Across Selected Countries in North and South America and Europe.

BackgroundFrailty, a state of vulnerability to poor resolution of homoeostasis after a health stressor, may be a result of cumulative decline in many physiological systems across the life course and its prevalence and incidence rates vary widely depending on the place and population subgroup.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine social and economic factors as predictors of worse frailty status over 2 years of follow-up in a sample of community-dwelling older adults from the International Mobility in Aging Study.MethodsWe analyzed 2012 baseline and 2014 follow-up (n = 1,724) data on participants from a populational-based, longitudinal study conducted in 4 countries (e.g., Brazil, Colombia, Albania, and Canada). Frailty was defined according to the Fried’s phenotype and Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were performed to estimate the relative risks of becoming frail.ResultsIn our study, 366 (21.2%) participants migrated to a worse stage of frailty. After statistical adjustment (e.g., participant age, sex, and study site), insufficient income (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.00–1.96) and having partner support (RR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.64–1.01) were predictors of incident frailty status.ConclusionNotably, transitions in frailty status were observed even in a short range of time, with sociodemographic factors predicting incident frailty.

Gene Characterization and Expression Analysis Reveal the Importance of Auxin Signaling in Bud Dormancy Regulation in Tea Plant

The tea plant is an economically important woody plant whose raw leaves are used for tea production. Winter bud dormancy is not only a useful biological strategy for tea plant survival but also a biological event that affects the economics of tea production. Based on our previous transcriptome analysis of axillary buds in different dormancy states, we reanalyzed a large number of differentially expressed auxin-related genes and determined the relative importance of the roles of auxin signaling in bud dormancy regulation in tea plant. Subsequently, we cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of several auxin-related genes in the AUX/LAX, PIN/PILS, AUX/IAA, GH3, and SAUR gene families, characterized these genes and performed a phylogenetic analysis, and conserved motif search using the sequences of their encoded proteins. Expression profile analyses, including tissue-specific expression and time-course expression during the active-dormant-active status transitions of overwinter buds, were carried out, combined with IAA content detection. Generally, the expression patterns of auxin-related genes were consistent with the IAA content changes in buds and their active-dormant status transition. In particular, we confirmed the crucial roles of the auxin transport gene CsLAX2 and the early auxin response genes CsGH3.6, CsGH3.9, CsGH3.10, CsIAA26, CsIAA33, CsSAUR50, and CsSAUR41 in bud dormancy regulation in tea plant. Our results validate the important role of auxin in tea plant dormancy regulation and provide useful information for further functional studies.

Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Developmental Transition in Emerging Adulthood: Disparities in School, Work, Residence, and Transportation

PurposeTo examine associations between adolescent sexual minority status and developmental transitions in school, work, residence, and transportation 5 years later. MethodWe analyzed data from Waves 2 (Mean age = 17.2) and 7 (Mean age = 22.6) of the NEXT Generation Health Study (n = 2,000). Relative risks were estimated using Poisson regressions. ResultsRelative to heterosexual females, sexual minority females were more likely to report not attending school (relative risk [RR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.59), not anticipating college completion (RR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.27, 2.01), and not having a driver's license (RR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.38, 5.05) at Wave 7. Relative to heterosexual males, sexual minority males were more likely to report living in three or more places in the past year (RR = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.31, 6.76). ConclusionsAdolescent sexual minority status predicted worse educational outcomes among females and more unstable living environment among males.

Life expectancy and poverty

Life expectancy and poverty

Prevalence of cardio metabolic risk factors and related socio-demographic factors in adults aged 18-59 years in 15 provinces of China

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and co-prevalence of cardio metabolic (CM) risk factors in adults in China. Methods: The project data of 2015 Nutritional Status and Health Transition of Chinese Residents were used, and 5 456 adults aged 18-59 years with complete socio-demographic, anthropometric, and blood biochemical data were selected as the study subjects. The definition released by the International Diabetes Federation in 2005 were used to define each CM risk factors, including central obesity, elevated TG, reduced HDL-C, elevated blood pressure and elevated FPG. The co-prevalence of the risk factors was defined as adults having ≥2 risk factors. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between CM risk and socio-demographic factors. Results: About 80.8% of adults had at least 1 risk factor, and 54.0% had co-prevalence of risk factors. Gender, age, education level and living area were significantly associated with the prevalence of major metabolic risk factors. After adjusting for other factors, compared with men, women were more likely to have central obesity and reduced HDL-C, but not more likely to have elevated blood pressure, elevated FPG and elevated TG (P<0.01). Compared with adults aged 18-44 years, adults aged 45-59 years were more likely to have central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated FPG and elevated TG (P<0.01). The odds of having central obesity, elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting plasma glucose in the adults in eastern China were significantly higher than those in the central and western China. Conclusions: In 2015, less than 20% of the adults aged 18-59 years in China had no cardio metabolic risk factors, and more than half of them had two or more risk factors. Gender, age and living areas were the major influencing factors. It is necessary to take effective intervention measures targeting adults at high-risk for the early prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Employment status transitions in employees with and without chronic disease in the Netherlands

ObjectivesObjectives were to: (1) longitudinally assess transitions in employment status of employees with and without chronic disease; and (2) assess predictors of exit from paid employment.MethodsTransitions in employment status at 1- and 2-year follow-up were assessed in a longitudinal cohort study of employees aged 15–63 years. Generalised estimating equations (GEE) and logistic regression analyses were performed to analyse differences in transitions and identify sociodemographic, health- and work-related predictors.ResultsAt 1- and 2-year follow-up, 10,038 employees (37% with chronic disease) and 7636 employees responded. Employees with chronic disease had higher probability of leaving paid employment [OR 1.4 (1.1–1.6)] and unemployment, disability pension and early retirement. Employees without chronic disease had higher chance of moving into self-employment or study. At 2-year follow-up, employees with cardiovascular disease (15%), chronic mental disease (11%), diabetes (10%) and musculoskeletal disease (10%), had left paid employment most often. Higher age, poor health, burnout, low co-worker support and chronic disease limitations were predictors for leaving paid employment.ConclusionsEmployees with chronic disease leave paid work more often for unfavourable work outcomes.

Developing a comprehensive model for new energy replacement in the country’s development program using a robust optimization approach

Iran has numerous capabilities in producing new and renewable energies due to its geographical location. This stresses a robust optimization pattern to develop the use of renewable energies. The main aim of this study is to develop a comprehensive pattern for energy in two scenarios: maintenance of status quo or transition to replaceable energies by applying energy replacement modeling in Iran. Therefore, a set of basic and structural issues, required area for energy and environmental location, were investigated to arrange an appropriate strategic framework for new energy development. Following energy system modeling by benchmarking against the world’s optimized systems of energy, strategic program of energy has been done through a review of the present situation of energy of Iran. To replace the fossil fuels by renewable energies, a robust optimization model was designed and the replacement optimization routes for new energies to replace fossil fuels were put into scenarios in a period of time in Iran. Implementing and developing a comprehensive model for energy and using simulation for validation and adaptation of the obtained results, some scenarios were offered for the renewable energy transitions. Evaluating the results of the findings suggests broad concepts of energy. Development might be observed in the results of models. The result of this study depicts that Iran owns a large number of potentials to use new energies. The long-term optimization pattern of results proposes 15% of electricity is taken from solar energy in the 1404.

The relationship and mechanism between education and functional health status transition among older persons in China

BackgroundDespite decades of study, debates exist surrounding the relationship between education and functional health status transition among elderly populations. This study aims to add evidence to the debates using China as a case study. Specifically, this study analysed the association of education with functional health status transition and then the mechanism behind that association using the budget constraint relax hypothesis and the efficiency improvement hypothesis among elderly population in China.MethodsBased on data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Surveys from 2008 and 2011, this study focussed on adults aged 65 years and above, with a final sample size of 12,112. A generalised structural equation model was used to analyse the relationship between education and functional health status transition and the mechanism behind that association.ResultsDuring the three examined years, among elderly adults who were nondisabled at baseline, 53.1% stayed nondisabled, 14.6% became disabled, and 32.3% died; among those disabled in 2008, 8.1% recovered, 21.6% stayed disabled, and 70.3% died. Compared with older adults without any education, those who had attended primary schools had both lower mortality and disability, whereas those who had attended high schools and above only had a lower mortality rate. The budget constraint relax hypothesis and the efficiency improvement hypothesis explained the majority of the relationship between education and transition from non-disability to death, but hardly explained the transition from non-disability to disability. Furthermore, once a person was disabled, education had no significant relationship with functional ability recovery or mortality.ConclusionsAttending primary school seems to provide the highest benefit to functional health status transition among older and nondisabled persons in China. Those who attended high schools and above are expected to live a longer life with disability. The mechanism between education and the onset of disability needs more discussion.

An Input-to-State Stability-Based Load Restoration Approach for Isolated Power Systems

An isolated power system (IPS) is usually operated under a bad environment and is influenced by external disturbances. Advanced load restoration technology is an important way to enhance the survivability and reliability of IPS. This paper proposes a fast load restoration approach based on Input-to-State Stability (ISS) theory for IPS. The method can recover load after an outage happens in an IPS under severe perturbations. In the proposed restoration approach, both stability and security constraints are considered based on the ISS theory, which can guarantee the stable and secure operation of IPS during the restoration dynamic process. These constraints have good adaptability for topology transformation and operation status transition of IPS. A heuristic approach to efficiently solve the load restoration problem is proposed, where bisection search is used to check the feasibility of the loads to be restored. Case studies on a typical IPS are used to verify the proposed method.

Weathering the Storm? The Great Recession and the Employment Status Transitions of Low-Skill Male Immigrant Workers in the United States1

Weathering the Storm? The Great Recession and the Employment Status Transitions of Low-Skill Male Immigrant Workers in the United States¹

Weathering the Storm? The Great Recession and the Employment Status Transitions of Low-Skill Male Immigrant Workers in the United States1

Using matched data from the Current Population Survey from 2005 to 2011 ( n = 5,507), we use multinomial and binary logistic regression models to examine employment transitions related to the Great Recession for five groups of men with less than a high school degree: foreign-born Mexicans, other foreign-born, and US-born whites, blacks, and Latinos. We find that, during the recession, Mexican immigrants were the most likely to remain continuously employed. However, immigrant workers also experienced high levels of involuntary part-time employment during the recession, suggesting that their relative success in remaining employed was not without its costs.

An efficient train scheduling algorithm on a single-track railway system

Since scheduling trains on a single-track railway line is an NP-hard problem, this paper proposes an efficient heuristic algorithm based on a train movement simulation method to search for the near-optimal train timetables within the acceptable computational time. Specifically, the time–space statuses of trains in the railway system are firstly divided into three categories, including dwelling at a station, waiting at a station and traveling on a segment. A check algorithm is particularly proposed to guarantee the feasibility of transition among different statuses in which each status transition is defined as a discrete event. Several detailed operation rules are also developed to clarify the scheduling procedure in some special cases. We then design an iterative discrete event simulation-based train scheduling method, namely, train status transition approach (TSTA), in which the status transition check algorithm and operation rules are incorporated. Finally, we implement some extensive experiments by using randomly generated data set to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed TSTA.

Acquisition of permanent residence by temporary foreign workers in Canada: a panel study of labour market outcomes before and after the status transition

Using a unique administrative dataset, this study investigates the employment and earnings trajectories of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) during the years surrounding their acquisition of permanent residence in Canada. If the labour market assimilation of TFWs follows a smooth trajectory in the absence of acquisition of permanent residence, any kinks that occur in employment rates and earnings in or after the year when TFWs become permanent residents might plausibly result from the transition to permanent residence. The main finding of the study is that the labour market outcomes of different groups of TFWs in Canada follow different temporal patterns depending on the TFWs’ skill level and work permit type. Gains in labour market outcomes resulting from the acquisition of permanent residence appear to be greater for holders of an open work permit and for live-in caregivers than for highly skilled TFWs.