What Statistics Canada Survey Data Sources are Available to Study Neurodevelopmental Conditions and Disabilities in Children and Youth?

Researchers with an interest in examining and better understanding the social context of children suffering from neurodevelopmental disabilities can benefit by using data from a wide variety of Statistics Canada surveys as well as the information contained in administrative health databases. Selective use of a particular survey and database can be informative particularly when demographics, samples, and content align with the goals and outcomes of the researcher’s questions of interest. Disabilities are not merely conditions in isolation. They are a key part of a social context involving impairment, function, and social facilitators or barriers, such as work, school and extracurricular activities. Socioeconomic factors, single parenthood, income, and education also play a role in how families cope with children’s disabilities. Statistics indicate that five per cent of Canadian children aged five to 14 years have a disability, and 74 per cent of these are identified as having a neurodevelopmental condition and disability. A number of factors must be taken into account when choosing a source of survey data, including definitions of neurodevelopmental conditions, the target group covered by the survey, which special populations are included or excluded, along with a comparison group, and the survey’s design. Surveys fall into categories such as general health, disability-specific, and children and youth. They provide an excellent opportunity to look at the socioeconomic factors associated with the health of individuals, as well as how these conditions and disabilities affect families. However rich the information gleaned from survey data, it is not enough, especially given the data gaps that exist around the health and well-being of children and older youths. This is where administrative and other data can be used to complement existing data sources. Administrative data offer specific information about neurological conditions that won’t be collected in general population surveys, given the nature of such surveys. While researchers can glean information from survey data such as functional health and disability, social inclusion or exclusion, and the role of social determinants in the lives of these children and their families, administrative data can identify rare neurodevelopmental conditions and disabilities not captured in general surveys. Analyzing information from all these sources can lead to a more nuanced understanding of the economic and social impacts, and functional limitations in daily living, that patients and their families experience with certain neurodevelopmental conditions and disabilities. Statistics Canada surveys offer a plethora of information for researchers interested in neurodevelopmental disabilities and social determinants of health. As these surveys are national in their scope, they provide a wealth of information for statistical analysis from people across Canada. This information can be used to inform researchers, policy makers, and families of people who live with neurodevelopmental conditions and disabilities. For example, sophisticated microsimulation modelling techniques have been conducted to project the health and economic impacts from such disabilities 20 years into the future. Such projections will be vital for policy-makers tasked with designing services and programs to assist these people. Much work remains to be done, however. Statistics Canada has already begun working on the potential for using administrative data to conceptualize childhood disability, as well as using data that has been anonymized in national administrative databases to study the health of Canada’s children. These are excellent bases from which to build future research

Participation in Physical Activity for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The purpose of this study was to compare rates of participation for children (4–9 years of age) with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) with and without externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) with children without disability and to examine mediators of the relation between disability and physical activity participation. Data for this study were drawn from Cycle 7 (2006-07) of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The frequency of children's participation in organized sports or physical activities varied depending on the child's health condition with children with NDDs and both NDDs and EBPs participating least in organized sports or physical activities followed by children with EBPs only. In contrast, there were no statistically significant differences by health group for children's participation in unorganized sports or physical activities. These differences remained even after controlling for the effects of other child and family sociodemographic characteristics, except for children with EBPs only. These findings highlight the importance of considering children's primary and other existing health conditions as well as family sociodemographic characteristics in order to better understand the factors that influence participation in organized physical activities for children with disabilities

Linking Culture and Language to Aboriginal Children’s Outcomes: Lessons from Canadian Data

Aboriginal children have been shown to have poorer health and educational outcomes compared to non-Aboriginal children. Culture is an important determinant of health and well-being, yet it is rarely studied in terms of its association with young children’s outcomes. Language being one component of culture, the revitalization of traditional Aboriginal languages is an important contributor to both individual and community health as well as educational achievement. This paper will summarize multiple studies using data from the Aboriginal Children’s Survey and the Aboriginal Peoples Survey to highlight various outcomes for Aboriginal children in Canada, first in terms of the role of cultural participation, and then specifically speaking an Aboriginal language, on young Aboriginal children’s education and health outcomes. ----- Il a été démontré ailleurs que les enfants autochtones sont en moins bonne santé et ont des résultats scolaires plus faibles relativement aux enfants non autochtones. La culture est un déterminant important de la santé et du bien-être, mais on ne l’étudie que rarement en fonction de son association aux résultats scolaires chez les jeunes enfants. La langue étant un des constituants de la culture, la revitalisation des langues autochtones traditionnelles est un contributeur important à la santé individuelle et communautaire ainsi qu’à la réussite scolaire. Cet article résume plusieurs études en utilisant les données de l’Enquête sur les enfants autochtones et l’Enquête auprès des peuples autochtones pour mettre en évidence divers résultats sur l’éducation et la santé pour les enfants autochtones au Canada – d’abord en termes du rôle de la participation culturelle, puis en ciblant ceux qui parlent une langue autochtone particulière

Metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors on a GeSn-on-insulator platform for 2 µm applications

In this work, the metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors were demonstrated on the Ge0.91Sn0.09-on-insulator (GeSnOI) platform. The responsivity was 0.24 and 0.06 A/W at wavelengths of 1,600 and 2,003 nm, respectively. Through a systematic study, it is revealed that the photodetectors can potentially detect wavelength beyond 2,200 nm. The dark current density was measured to be 4.6 A/cm2 for GeSnOI waveguide-shaped photodetectors. The 3 dB bandwidth was observed to be 1.26 and 0.81 GHz at 1,550 and 2,000 nm wavelengths, respectively. This work opens up an opportunity for low-cost 2 µm wavelength photodetection on the GeSn/Ge interface-free GeSnOI platform

Symmetry and Temperature dependence of the Order parameter in MgB2 from point contact measurements

We have performed differential conductance versus voltage measurements of Au/MgB2 point contacts. We find that the dominant component in the conductance is due to Andreev reflection. The results are fitted to the theoretical model of BTK for an s-wave symmetry from which we extract the value of the order parameter (Delta) and its temperature dependence. From our results we also obtain a lower experimental bound on the Fermi velocity in MgB2.Comment: 7 pages (Including figure captions) and 4 figure

Effect of different exercise modalities plus a hypocaloric diet on inflammation markers in overweight patients

Summary Background & aims Inflammation markers (IM) have been associated with the development of chronic diseases. This study compares the effects on IM of three exercise programs combined with a hypocaloric diet. Methods 119 overweight participants (73 women, 46 men) aged 18–50 years were randomised into four treatment groups: strength training (S; n = 30), endurance training (E; n = 30), combined S + E (SE; n = 30), and a diet and physical activity recommendations group (D; n = 29). Energy intake, anthropometric variables (AV), training variables (VO2peak, strength index, dynamometric strength index [DSI]) and plasma IM were recorded at baseline and after 22 weeks of treatment. Results 84 participants completed the study. At 22 weeks, all groups showed a significantly reduced energy intake (P < 0.001) and improved AV (P < 0.001). VO2peak significantly increased in all groups (P < 0.01). DSI increased in the exercise groups only (P < 0.05). Plasma leptin fell significantly (P < 0.001) in the S and E groups, but not significantly in the SE group (P = 0.029) (no significant differences between these groups). Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations decreased in all groups when examined together, but not when examined separately. No significant differences were seen in interleukin-6 (IL-6). Conclusions Combining strength or endurance training with a hypocaloric diet improved AV and reduced plasma leptin concentrations. No differences were seen between groups in terms of TNF-α, IL-6 or CRP reduction. This trial was registered at clinical trials.gov as NCT01116856. http://clinicaltrials.gov/

Local and macroscopic tunneling spectroscopy of Y(1-x)CaxBa2Cu3O(7-d) films: evidence for a doping dependent is or idxy component in the order parameter

Tunneling spectroscopy of epitaxial (110) Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7-d films reveals a doping dependent transition from pure d(x2-y2) to d(x2-y2)+is or d(x2-y2)+idxy order parameter. The subdominant (is or idxy) component manifests itself in a splitting of the zero bias conductance peak and the appearance of subgap structures. The splitting is seen in the overdoped samples, increases systematically with doping, and is found to be an inherent property of the overdoped films. It was observed in both local tunnel junctions, using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and in macroscopic planar junctions, for films prepared by either RF sputtering or laser ablation. The STM measurements exhibit fairly uniform splitting size in [110] oriented areas on the order of 10 nm2 but vary from area to area, indicating some doping inhomogeneity. U and V-shaped gaps were also observed, with good correspondence to the local faceting, a manifestation of the dominant d-wave order parameter

A self-consistent quantum master equation approach to molecular transport

We propose a self-consistent generalized quantum master equation (GQME) to describe electron transport through molecular junctions. In a previous study [M.Esposito and M.Galperin. Phys. Rev. B 79, 205303 (2009)], we derived a time-nonlocal GQME to cure the lack of broadening effects in Redfield theory. To do so, the free evolution used in the Born-Markov approximation to close the Redfield equation was replaced by a standard Redfield evolution. In the present paper, we propose a backward Redfield evolution leading to a time-local GQME which allows for a self-consistent procedure of the GQME generator. This approach is approximate but properly reproduces the nonequilibrium steady state density matrix and the currents of an exactly solvable model. The approach is less accurate for higher moments such as the noise.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Conceptualizing childhood health problems using survey data: a comparison of key indicators

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many definitions are being used to conceptualize child health problems. With survey data, commonly used indicators for identifying children with health problems have included chronic condition checklists, measures of activity limitations, elevated service use, and health utility thresholds. This study compares these different indicators in terms of the prevalence rates elicited, and in terms of how the subgroups identified differ.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Secondary data analyses used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of Canadian children (n = 13,790). Descriptive analyses compared healthy children to those with health problems, as classified by any of the key indicators. Additional analyses examined differences between subgroups of children captured by a single indicator and those described as having health problems by multiple indicators.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study demonstrates that children captured by any of the indicators had poorer health than healthy children, despite the fact that over half the sample (52.2%) was characterized as having a health problem by at least one indicator. Rates of child ill health differed by indicator; 5.6% had an activity limitation, 9.2% exhibited a severe health difficulty, 31.7% reported a chronic condition, and 36.6% had elevated service use. Further, the four key indicators captured different types of children. Indicator groupings differed on child and socio-demographic factors. Compared to children identified by more than one indicator, those identified only by the severe health difficulty indicator displayed more cognitive problems (p < 0.0001), those identified only by the chronic condition checklist had a greater likelihood of reporting allergies or asthma (p < 0.0001), and those identified as having elevated service use only were more affluent (p = 0.01) and showed better overall health (p < 0.0001). Children identified by only a single indicator were less likely to have serious health problems than those identified by two or more indicators.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We provide information useful to researchers when selecting indicators from survey data to identify children with health problems. Researchers and policy makers need to be aware of the impact of such definitions on prevalence rates as well as on the composition of children classified as being in poor health.</p