A secondary decomposition based hybrid structure with meteorological analysis for deterministic and probabilistic wind speed forecasting

Abstract(#br)Accurate wind speed forecasting could ensure the reliability and controllability for the wind power system. In this paper, a new hybrid structure based on meteorological analysis is proposed for the wind speed vector (wind speed and direction) deterministic and probabilistic forecasting. Twelve kinds of secondary decomposition methods are employed to decrease the interference existing in the data. To improve the training efficiency and accelerate the sample selection process, active learning is employed. Four different wind speed datasets collected from Ontario Province, Canada, are utilized as case studies to evaluate the forecasting performance of the proposed structure. Experimental results show that the proposed structure based on meteorological analysis is suitable for wind speed vector forecasting and could obtain better forecasting performance. Furthermore, except accurate deterministic forecasts, the proposed structure also provides more probabilistic forecasting information

Infant's sex, birth control policy and postpartum well-being: a prospective cohort study in Shanghai, China

Objectives: The Chinese government loosed its birth control policy and allowed the parents to have the second child if both of the parent were from one-child family from 2001. We explore the association between infant’s sex and mother’s postpartum well-being, which may be moderated by birth control policy status in China. Setting and Participants: We conducted a prospective cohort study in Shanghai City, one of the largest cities in China. A total number of 1730 childbearing women from 8 obstetric hospitals across Shanghai were included in the study at baseline, with 1503 women completing the survey 7 days postpartum in 2013. Measures: The General Well-Being Schedule (GWBS) was used to assess maternal well-being at baseline and follow-up investigation in the study. Women’s demographic, clinical characteristic, and well-being were measured at baseline. The maternal satisfaction and postpartum well-being were assessed in the follow-up survey. Results The results of multivariable linear regression analyses showed that women who gave birth to male infants were positively associated with the total score of maternal well-being, when the participated hospitals, maternal well-being at baseline, the socio-demographic characteristic, maternal and infant’s health outcome were added to the adjustments (β=1.462, P0.05). The results of multiple logistic regression model showed that having a male infant was a protective factor of ‘positive well-being’ (OR=0.622, P0.05). Conclusions: Our results emphasize the importance in conducting intervention to increase the general well-being, especially for those with a female infant in a son preference society such as China, and enhance the necessity of sustainability of newly relaxed two-child policy which allows more couples to have the second child in China

Evaluation of a community-based randomized controlled prenatal care trial in rural China

Peer reviewe

Impact of Chinese one-child policy on sibling structure : experience from rural areas in three provinces

Peer reviewe

New Mothers' Survey in 2008 in rural China : A CHIMACA report

CHIMACA = Structural hinders to and promoters of good maternal care in rural ChinaLiitteenä kyselylomakkeet englannin ja kiinan kielell

Cesarean section in Shanghai: women's or healthcare provider's preferences?

BACKGROUND: Cesarean section (CS) rate has increased rapidly over the past two decades in China mainly driven by non-medical factors. This study was to compare recalled preferences for CS among first-time mothers in early and late pregnancy with actual delivery mode; to explore factors related to CS preference and CS performed without medical indications; and to consider the role of healthcare providers in delivery mode preferences. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire survey, combined with data on CS indications taken from the patient record, was conducted among 272 first-time mothers having their first postnatal check-up in one university affiliated obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Shanghai, China, between September 2006 and January 2007. Logistic regression was used to study factors related to the recalled preference for CS and CS performed without medical indication, adjusting for maternal age, education and income. RESULTS: The CS rate was 57% (151/263) among all women, 17% with medical indications and 40% without medical indications. For women without medical indications for CS (n = 215), there was no significant difference between women's preference for CS in early (25%) and late pregnancy (28%); 48% of women actually had CS. Women recalled preferring a vaginal delivery but who had CS were more likely to have had a CS suggested by a prenatal care doctor [OR (95% CI): 20 (3.88-107.1)] or by a delivery obstetrician [OR (95% CI): 26 (6.26-105.8)]. Among women recalled preferring and having CS, a suggestion from the prenatal care doctor to have CS was very common. CONCLUSIONS: In the primiparous women without a medical indication for CS, women recall of a provider suggestion for CS was a strong predictor of CS both among women who recalled a preference for CS and among women who recalled a preference for vaginal delivery. Public health education needs strengthening, including discussion of the risks associated with CS and psychological and social support given to women to help them prepare for and cope with childbirth

Maternal care in rural China: a case study from Anhui province

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies on prenatal care in China have focused on the timing and frequency of prenatal care and relatively little information can be found on how maternal care has been organized and funded or on the actual content of the visits, especially in the less developed rural areas. This study explored maternal care in a rural county from Anhui province in terms of care organization, provision and utilization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 699 mothers of infants under one year of age were interviewed with structured questionnaires; the county health bureau officials and managers of township hospitals (n = 10) and county level hospitals (n = 2) were interviewed; the process of the maternal care services was observed by the researchers. In addition, statistics from the local government were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The county level hospitals were well staffed and equipped and served as a referral centre for women with a high-risk pregnancy. Township hospitals had, on average, 1.7 midwives serving an average population of 15,000 people. Only 10–20% of the current costs in county level hospitals and township hospitals were funded by the local government, and women paid for delivery care. There was no systematic organized prenatal care and referrals were not mandatory. About half of the women had their first prenatal visit before the 13th gestational week, 36% had fewer than 5 prenatal visits, and about 9% had no prenatal visits. A major reason for not having prenatal care visits was that women considered it unnecessary. Most women (87%) gave birth in public health facilities, and the rest in a private clinic or at home. A total of 8% of births were delivered by caesarean section. Very few women had any postnatal visits. About half of the women received the recommended number of prenatal blood pressure and haemoglobin measurements.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Delivery care was better provided than both prenatal and postnatal care in the study area. Reliance on user fees gave the hospitals an incentive to put more emphasis on revenue generating activities such as delivery care instead of prenatal and postnatal care.</p

Illegal births and legal abortions – the case of China

BACKGROUND: China has a national policy regulating the number of children that a woman is allowed to have. The central concept at the individual level application is "illegal pregnancy". The purpose of this article is to describe and problematicize the concept of illegal pregnancy and its use in practice. METHODS: Original texts and previous published and unpublished reports and statistics were used. RESULTS: By 1979 the Chinese population policy was clearly a policy of controlling population growth. For a pregnancy to be legal, it has to be defined as such according to the family-level eligibility rules, and in some places it has to be within the local quota. Enforcement of the policy has been pursued via the State Family Planning (FP) Commission and the Communist Party (CP), both of which have a functioning vertical structure down to the lowest administrative units. There are various incentives and disincentives for families to follow the policy. An extensive system has been created to keep the contraceptive use and pregnancy status of all married women at reproductive age under constant surveillance. In the early 1990s FP and CP officials were made personally responsible for meeting population targets. Since 1979, abortion has been available on request, and the ratio of legal abortions to birth increased in the 1980s and declined in the 1990s. Similar to what happens in other Asian countries with low fertility rates and higher esteem for boys, both national- and local-level data show that an unnaturally greater number of boys than girls are registered as having been born. CONCLUSION: Defining a pregnancy as "illegal" and carrying out the surveillance of individual women are phenomena unique in China, but this does not apply to other features of the policy. The moral judgment concerning the policy depends on the basic question of whether reproduction should be considered as an individual or social decision

Changes in work behavior during pregnancy in rural Anhui, China from 2001-03 to 2009:a population based cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: In low- and middle-income countries, many women continue working later into pregnancy. In our recent study on some areas in rural China, most women stopped working already during the first trimester (≤3 months) of pregnancy. In this paper we aimed to explore whether stopping work during early pregnancy has changed over an 8 year period (between 2001-03 and 2009); we also studied whether the reasons for stopping work early were the same in the two time periods. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional survey with a representative sample of new mothers was carried out in one rural county in Anhui Province in 2001-03 (N = 1479 respondents) and in two other rural counties in 2009 (N = 1574 respondents). Both surveys were used to evaluate prenatal care interventions not related to work behavior. The surveys targeted all women who had recently given birth. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to examine the determinants of work behavior in the two time periods. RESULTS: There was a big change in the working behavior between the two survey years: in the period 2001-03 6 % and in 2009, 53 % of pregnant women stopped working at ≤3 months (percentage change 839, 95 % CI -15.90 to 1694.49). In 2001-03, 30 % and in 2009, 23 % of pregnant women worked the same as before pregnancy (percentage change -22.30, 95 % CI -90.28 to 45.68). In both time periods women with two children were less likely to stop work at ≤3 months of pregnancy. Non-farmers were more likely in 2001-03 but less likely in 2009 to stop work at ≤3 months of pregnancy. Women with medium township-level income were more likely to maintain the same level of work as before pregnancy in 2001-03, while in 2009 women with high township-level income were less likely to work the same. CONCLUSION: Stopping work very early during pregnancy appeared to have become very common from 2001-3 to 2009 in rural Anhui, China and was not explained by women's background characteristicBioMed Central open acces