Project plan for studies on suicide, attempted suicide, and suicide prevention

Completed and attempted suicide are major public health problems in most western countries. The importance of suicidal behavior as a health problem, particularly among adolescents and young adults, has been emphasized by the European Union, the WHO (Europe), as well as the Finnish authorities. Due to the exceptionally high suicide mortality, suicide prevention has been one of the main targets of Finnish health policy since the late 1980s. However, to develop feasible strategies for suicide prevention, better knowledge of the phenomenon of self-destruction is necessary. The Department of Mental Health of the National Public Health Institute has been actively involved in suicide research and the development of suicide strategies both in Finland and western Europe since 1986. The success is based on a long tradition of suicide research in Finland, the representative and reliable suicide data, a highly motivated research group, and also the necessary economic support by both the National Public Health Institute and the Finnish Academy. This article outlines our groups research plan for the next few years.     

Growing trade of bioenergy in the EU: Public acceptability, policy harmonization, European standards and certification needs

Since 2000, the consumption of bioenergy in the European Union has grown, along with a concurrent growth in the trade of biomass for energy purposes (though traded volumes still remain small). Bioenergy production and trade will likely continue to increase into the future, driven by climate change concerns, emissions reduction targets, increasing concerns about domestic energy security and favourable policies. The harmonization of European standards and the development of certification systems are key issues to resolving potential negative effects of increased biomass trade. Certification systems not only address the issue of environmental sustainability from production to end-use, but also allow for product differentiation while adding value to sustainably produced products, which can ultimately enhance a competitive and sustainable bioenergy market. In addition to analyzing bioenergy trade growth in the European Union, a questionnaire survey of 92 bioenergy experts from eight member states within the European Union was conducted. Survey results show that bioenergy is highly accepted in the European Union but that there is a lack of European standards and policy harmonization, along with the absence of a competitive market or a certification system, all of which are necessary for sustainable production and trade of bioenergy. A large majority (63 percent) of the total respondents agreed that the certification of bioenergy is necessary to promote the sustainable use of biomass.     

Low-profile circularly polarized rectifying antenna for wireless power transmission at 5.8 GHz

Portable devices operating without batteries are sometimes desired in wireless applications such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and telemetry. A novel circularly polarized shorted annular ring-slot rectenna (rectifying antenna) on a 0.5 mm thick flexible microwave laminate is proposed for the powering of these devices. Output dc voltage of 1.3 V and axial ratio of 1.5 dB were measured when 32 dBm microwave power was transmitted at 5.8 GHz over a distance of 2 m. Comparing the results with a rectenna designed on a thick rigid laminate, similar performance was observed.     

Employment status influences the weekly patterns of suicide among alcohol misusers

As part of the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland, a nationwide psychological autopsy study, all suicide victims (n = 1397) over a 12-month period were investigated concerning factors associated with any variation in suicide frequency between weekdays and weekends. In particular, employment status was expected to have influenced the weekly pattern of alcohol misuse, and thereby to have caused clustering of suicides at weekends among the employed. Among suicide victims who had misused alcohol, those in employment were significantly more likely to have committed suicide during the weekend that those without work (52% vs. 34%, p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, employment was the only independent variable significantly associated with suicide at the weekend. According to forensic chemical analysis, those classified as misusers had frequently used alcohol at the time of suicide, regardless of the weekday, and slightly more often if employed. The clustering of suicides at weekends among employed alcohol misusers is probably explained by a weekly pattern in the use of alcohol, which suggests that besides the established risk factors for suicide among alcohol misusers, the act of using alcohol per se also contributes to the suicidal act.     

600 MHz direct modulation of short external cavity wavelength-tunable diode laser

The current modulation characteristics of a short external cavity tunable laser are presented. The 1540 nm Fabry-Perot diode laser is wavelength-tuned by the electrostatically controlled silicon micromachined Fabry-Perot interferometer device. The measured -3 dB cutoff frequency of 600 MHz is the widest reported direct modulation bandwidth of the external cavity tunable laser.     

On Congestion Pricing in a Wireless Network

The purpose of this paper is to study optimal pricing in a mobile distributed network with transmit power control. The paper proposes a linear congestion pricing scheme for the optimal distributed control of a wireless network. The optimal congestion price applies for the optimal resource control in a congested communication network where decisions on resource usage are made locally by the mobile nodes applying a learning automaton. Numerical examples for the convergence of a price controlled wireless network to a Pareto-optimal transmit power allocation are presented.     

Utilizing prior information in the estimation of volume fraction distribution

For many industrial processes the bulk volume fraction of one phase such as gas or solid can be of considerable importance. For this reason it is often controlled within certain limits and therefore is known at least vaguely. Tomographic imaging of volume fraction can provide very valuable information not only on the bulk volume fraction but also on the spatial distribution of the phase of interest. Prior information on the bulk volume fraction can assist in tomographic inversion, even if this information is not precise. In this paper we propose an electrical impedance tomography approach for imaging volume fraction distribution. A vague bulk volume fraction prior is utilized in the estimation. Two‐dimensional numerical examples are used to demonstrate the proposed method. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incidence of acute otitis media associated with group A and B respiratory syncytial virus infections

The comparative association of respiratory syncytial virus group A and B infections with acute otitis media was determined by analysing the hospital records of children with community-acquired respiratory syncytial virus infection during three successive outbreaks from 1987 to 1992. Of 326 episodes analysed, 192 (59%) were caused by group A and 134 (41%) by group B infections. Acute otitis media was diagnosed in 101 (75%) children with group B infection, compared with 119 (62%) with group A infection (p = 0.01). Group A infections were more often associated with wheezing (71% versus 59% in group B; p = 0.02) and oxygen therapy in inpatients (48% versus 31%, respectively; p = 0.008). The higher incidence of acute otitis media associated with group B infections was observed both after adjustment for potential confounding variables and during each outbreak.     

Mental disorders in elderly suicide

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and comorbidity of current mental disorders defined by DSM-III-R among elderly suicide victims and to compare them with the mental disorders among younger victims. Using a psychological autopsy method, we collected comprehensive data on all suicides in Finland during 1 year. Retrospective Axis I-III consensus diagnoses were assigned to a random sample consisting of 43 victims aged 60 years or over and 186 victims aged under 60 from the nationwide suicide population. At least one Axis I diagnosis was made for 91% of the elderly victims. Major depression as the principal diagnosis was more common among the elderly victims. Almost all elderly female victims were major depressives. Psychiatric comorbidity was more common among elderly male than among elderly female victims. More of the elderly victims (88%) than the younger (36%) received Axis III diagnoses. Suicide among the elderly without a diagnosable mental disorder and somatopsychiatric comorbidity seems to be rare.     

Exergy analysis for stationary flow systems with several heat exchange temperatures

A thermodynamic theory of exergy analysis for a stationary flow system having several heat inputs and outputs at different temperature levels is presented. As a new result a relevant reference temperature of the surroundings is derived for each case. Also a general formula which combines exergy analysis with a modified Carnot efficiency is derived. The results are illustrated by numerical examples for mechanical multi-circuit heat pump cycles, for a Brayton process and for an absorption heat pump.