Optical Remote Sensing of Mesoscale Thermospheric Dynamics Above Svalbard and Kiruna

Vertical winds are key in thermospheric dynamics and only until recently have the detectors been sensitive enough for them to be measured accurately. Two narrow field Fabry-Perot Interferometers (FPIs) are used as well as one state-of-the-art all-sky FPI, SCANning Doppler Imager (SCANDI), which is capable of simultaneous measurements across the sky at high spatial and temporal resolution. They measure the atomic oxygen 630nm emission line which peaks in brightness at 240km altitude in the upper thermosphere region. Emission intensities, line-of-sight wind speeds and neutral temperatures are obtained. SCANDI’s existing infrastructure has been developed based upon the requirement to upgrade the sky map to higher spatial resolution, for the onset of solar maximum. The calibration methods and data analysis are presented. The wind-fitting algoithm is shown for the new map trigonometry. This fitting is verified by producing climatological horizontal wind-fields in a dial plot format and cross-comparing with SuperDARN climatologies. A statistical analysis of the vertical winds from 2002-2009 is presented leading to the possibility of ‘black swan events’ around midnight in the polar cap. These are events which are thought impossible but are, in reality, found to have a small finite chance of occurrence. An investigation into the mechanism of the generation of these events leads to the discovery of hydroxyl contamination in the Svalbard data set. A spectral simulation of the 630nm and the hydroxyl lines allows the determination of an emission intensity threshold of 40R (10R) below which the wind (temperature) values are significantly affected. The Svalbard data set is re-analysed excluding the contaminated data and a clean, more reasonable data set is presented with no black swan events. A statistical study of the relationship between the vertical and horizontal components of wind is presented showing the Burnside relationship is unsuitable for representing highlatitude winds. The CMAT2 atmosphere model data is used to assess which of Burnside et al’s (1982) assumptions are violated. The CUSPN campaign is presented showing the first results of the charged and neutral cusp region being simultaneously and independently measured using the EISCAT Svalbard Radar and the FPIs. Characteristic upwellings are observed concurrent with cusp precipitation and flux transfer events, which provides compelling evidence of high altitude ion-frictional heating

Statistical Modeling of the Coupled F‐Region Ionosphere‐Thermosphere at High Latitude During Polar Darkness

Statistical models have been developed for predicting the behavior of the coupled high‐latitude ionosphere‐thermosphere system. The modeled parameters were the F‐layer peak electron density, plasma structuring, ion temperature, neutral temperature, and the difference between these temperatures, which is a key term in the Joule heating equation. Ionospheric measurements from the European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard Radar and neutral atmosphere measurements from the colocated University College London Fabry‐Perot Interferometers have been made across a solar cycle. These data were all acquired during nighttime conditions as the observations with the Fabry‐Perot Interferometers are restricted to such times. Various geophysical proxies were tested to represent the processes that influence the modeled parameters. The dominant geophysical proxy for each modeled parameter was then determined. Multivariate models were also developed showing the combinations of parameters that best explained the observed variability. A comparison with climatology showed that the models give an improvement in every case with skill scores based on the mean square error of up to 0.88

Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Belonging During Practicum Placements

Original acceptance date 1/2/2021Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of studies assessing the effect of alcohol consumption on multiple cardiovascular outcomes

Statistical modeling of the coupled F-region ionosphere-thermosphere at high latitude during polar darkness

Statistical models have been developed for predicting the behavior of the coupled high‐latitude ionosphere‐thermosphere system. The modeled parameters were the F‐layer peak electron density, plasma structuring, ion temperature, neutral temperature, and the difference between these temperatures, which is a key term in the Joule heating equation. Ionospheric measurements from the European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard Radar and neutral atmosphere measurements from the colocated University College London Fabry‐Perot Interferometers have been made across a solar cycle. These data were all acquired during nighttime conditions as the observations with the Fabry‐Perot Interferometers are restricted to such times. Various geophysical proxies were tested to represent the processes that influence the modeled parameters. The dominant geophysical proxy for each modeled parameter was then determined. Multivariate models were also developed showing the combinations of parameters that best explained the observed variability. A comparison with climatology showed that the models give an improvement in every case with skill scores based on the mean square error of up to 0.88

Effect of alcohol consumption on biological markers associated with risk of coronary heart disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies

Objective To systematically review interventional studies of the effects of alcohol consumption on 21 biological markers associated with risk of coronary heart disease in adults without known cardiovascular disease

First High Time Resolution FPI Observations of the Daytime Thermosphere During the Eclipse Over Svalbard on 20th March 2015

Daylight observations of the upper atmosphere have long been a goal of the ground-based optical community. Fabry-Perot Interferometer observations of the airglow emission of atomic oxygen at 630.0 nm are used as a measure of thermospheric winds and temperatures at an altitude of around 240 km. However, airglow is only about 10 times the intensity of starlight. Adding extra etalons (up to a triple etalon FPI) to filter out sunlight has been attempted by a few groups, including ours, over the decades. However, the alignment of multiple etalons is extremely tricky, and long exposures (several minutes) are required, which reduces the capacity to observe the dynamic behaviour of the upper thermosphere. Here we show FPI observations made during the solar eclipse on the 20th March 2015. A total eclipse occurred over Svalbard for 2 minutes 27 seconds from 10:10 – 10:13 UT. This is within the time window when Svalbard passes under the magnetic cusp. There are 24 hours of darkness at Svalbard during the period November to January, which allows continuous FPI observations, including cusp measurements. However, by the time of the March equinox, the hours of darkness have reduced significantly to give an observing period of 18:55-10:16 UT. During the tiny window of time of darkness due to the eclipse, we measured the vertical winds at very high time resolution using a 5 second exposure with our narrow angle FPI; and we were able to make a single exposure for 104 seconds with our Scanning Doppler Imager (SCANDI). The SCANDI provided an all-sky observation, divided into 61 sectors, of horizontal winds and temperatures as a context for the high time resolution vertical winds. The observations are compared with FPI-SCANDI December cusp measurements; and the UCL Coupled Middle Atmosphere Thermosphere (CMAT2) global circulation model simulations. This is an opportunity to test the model daylight winds with direct observations. Determining the day and night upwelling mechanism remains a challenge

A national surveillance project on chronic kidney disease management in Canadian primary care: a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Effective chronic disease care is dependent on well-organised quality improvement (QI) strategies that monitor processes of care and outcomes for optimal care delivery. Although healthcare is provincially/territorially structured in Canada, there are national networks such as the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) as important facilitators for national QI-based studies to improve chronic disease care. The goal of our study is to improve the understanding of how patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are managed in primary care and the variation across practices and provinces and territories to drive improvements in care delivery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The CPCSSN database contains anonymised health information from the electronic medical records for patients of participating primary care practices (PCPs) across Canada (n=1200). The dataset includes information on patient sociodemographics, medications, laboratory results and comorbidities. Leveraging validated algorithms, case definitions and guidelines will help define CKD and the related processes of care, and these enable us to: (1) determine prevalent CKD burden; (2) ascertain the current practice pattern on risk identification and management of CKD and (3) study variation in care indicators (eg, achievement of blood pressure and proteinuria targets) and referral pattern for specialist kidney care. The process of care outcomes will be stratified across patients' demographics as well as provider and regional (provincial/territorial) characteristics. The prevalence of CKD stages 3-5 will be presented as age-sex standardised prevalence estimates stratified by province and as weighted averages for population rates with 95% CIs using census data. For each PCP, age-sex standardised prevalence will be calculated and compared with expected standardised prevalence estimates. The process-based outcomes will be defined using established methods. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The CPCSSN is committed to high ethical standards when dealing with individual data collected, and this work is reviewed and approved by the Network Scientific Committee. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant national and international scientific meetings

Beer, wine and distilled spirits in Ontario: A comparison of recent policies, regulations and practices

AIMS: There is a long-standing discussion about whether some beverages are more likely to be linked with high-risk drinking and damage than others, and implications for beverage specific alcohol policies. While the evidence is inconclusive, when controlling for individual consumption, some studies have shown elevated risks by beverage type. This paper examines the situation in Ontario, Canada, from 1995 to present (2011) on several dimensions in order to assess the differences by beverage and their rationale with a specific focus on the most recent policies. METHODS: This paper draws on archival consumption statistics, taxation and pricing arrangements, and retailing and marketing practices. RESULTS: Off-premise sales, which represent an estimated 75% of ethanol, involve several channels: stores controlled by the Liquor Control Board (LCBO) - which sell all spirits, imported and domestic wines, and beer products; the Beer Store network which sell all beers; and Ontario winery stores - which sell Ontario wines. In LCBO stores Ontario wines are more prominently displayed than other beverages, and extensive print advertising tends to feature wine over beer and spirits. There are also differences by beverage in terms of taxation and price. The taxes on higher alcohol content beverage types account for a higher portion of the retail price than taxes on lower alcohol content beverage types. Furthermore, minimum price regulations allow for differential minimum pricing per standard drink [17.05 ml ethanol] across beverage types. CONCLUSIONS: The apparent rationale for these arrangements is not primarily that of favouring lighter-strength beverages in order to reduce harm, but rather to accommodate long-standing vested interests which are primarily financially based

Identifying Cases of Sleep Disorders through International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Codes in Administrative Data

Objectives Prevalence, and associated morbidity and mortality of chronic sleep disorders have been limited to small cohort studies, however, administrative data may be used to provide representation of larger population estimates of disease. With no guidelines to inform the identification of cases of sleep disorders in administrative data, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a set of ICD-codes used to define sleep disorders including narcolepsy, insomnia, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in administrative data. Methods A cohort of adult patients, with medical records reviewed by two independent board-certified sleep physicians from a sleep clinic in Calgary, Alberta between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011, was used as the reference standard. We developed a general ICD-coded case definition for sleep disorders which included conditions of narcolepsy, insomnia, and OSA using: 1) physician claims data, 2) inpatient visit data, 3) emergency department (ED) and ambulatory care data. We linked the reference standard data and administrative data to examine the validity of different case definitions, calculating estimates of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV).  Results From a total of 1186 patients from the sleep clinic, 1045 (88.1%) were classified as sleep disorder positive, with 606 (51.1%) diagnosed with OSA, 407 (34.4%) with insomnia, and 59 (5.0%) with narcolepsy. The most frequently used ICD-9 codes were general codes of 307.4 (Nonorganic sleep disorder, unspecified), 780.5 (unspecified sleep disturbance) and ICD-10 codes of G47.8 (other sleep disorders), G47.9 (sleep disorder, unspecified). The best definition for identifying a sleep disorder was an ICD code (from physician claims) 2 years prior and 1 year post sleep clinic visit: sensitivity 79.2%, specificity 28.4%, PPV 89.1%, and NPV 15.6%. ICD codes from ED/ambulatory care data provided similar diagnostic performance when at least 2 codes appeared in a time period of 2 years prior and 1 year post sleep clinic visit: sensitivity 71.9%, specificity 54.6%, PPV 92.1%, and NPV 20.8%. The inpatient data yielded poor results in all tested ICD code combinations. Conclusion Sleep disorders in administrative data can be identified mainly through physician claims data and with some being determined through outpatient/ambulatory care data ICD codes, however these are poorly coded within inpatient data sources. This may be a function of how sleep disorders are diagnosed and/or reported by physicians in inpatient and outpatient settings within medical records. Future work to optimize administrative data case definitions through data linkage are needed