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By measuring the open-circuit radial stray magnetic flux density (RSMFD) of three spatial points, a novel diagnostic method for the eccentricity of interior permanent magnetic motors (IPMSMs) in electric vehicles is proposed. Outperforming traditional methods, the proposed method can noninvasively diagnose not only the severities of static eccentricity (SE), dynamic eccentricity (DE), and mixed eccentricity (ME), but also the eccentricity location. In this article, diagnosis results are described through three eccentricity parameters: SE ratio, DE ratio, and SE angle. First, an analytical model of the open-circuit RSMFD of the IPMSM is proposed, with its accuracy validated by experiments. The pattern of the impact of the eccentricity parameters on the open-circuit RSMFD is analyzed to form the basis of the proposed method. Then, an eccentricity prototype motor, which can continuously emulate the eccentricity according to any listed eccentricity parameters, is developed. A test rig is built to collect the open-circuit RSMFD and validate the analytical calculation results. Finally, an eccentricity diagnostic model based on the open-circuit RSMFD is established. The diagnosis results proved the noninvasiveness, effectiveness, and viability of the proposed method.

Background There is increasing awareness of the importance of patient activation (knowledge, skills, and confidence for managing one’s health and health care) among clinicians and policy makers, with emerging evidence showing higher levels of patient activation are associated with better health outcomes and experiences of health care. This study aimed to examine the association between patient activation and a wide range of specific types of healthcare service utilisation in England, including GP and non-GP primary care, elective and emergency hospital admissions, outpatient visits, and attendances at the Accident and Emergency department. Methods Data were derived from linked electronic patient records collected by primary and secondary healthcare providers in North West London between January 2016 and November 2019. Our analyses focused on adults (18+) with a valid Patient Activation Measure (PAM). After excluding patients with missing data, we had an analytical sample of 15,877 patients. Data were analysed using negative binomial regression and logistic regression models depending on the outcome variable. Results Patients had a mean activation score of 55.1 and a standard deviation (SD) of 17.7 (range: 0–100). They had an average of 5.4 GP visits (SD = 8.0), 26.8 non-GP visits (SD = 23.4) and 6.0 outpatient attendances (SD = 7.9) within a one-year follow-up. About 24.7% patients had at least one elective admission, 24.2% had one or more emergency admissions, and 42.3% had one or more A&E attendance within the follow-up. After accounting for a number of demographic and health factors, we found a linear (or proximately linear) association between patient activation and the number of GP visits, emergency admissions and A&E attendance, but a non-linear relationship between patient activation and the number of non-GP visits, the number of outpatient attendance and elective inpatient admission. Conclusions This study has provided strong empirical evidence from England linking patient activation with healthcare service utilisation. It suggests the value of supporting patient activation as a potential pathway to ease the burden of healthcare system.

In order to better address the problem of many high-order harmonics’ concentration in the output voltage, a novel five-phase piecewise-random-switching-frequency space vector pulse width modulation (PRSF-SVPWM) strategy is proposed for a five-phase voltage source inverter. Compared to the conventional random switching frequency SVPWM (RSF-SVPWM), the entire fundamental period of this method is divided into two half-fundamental periods, so the original switching frequency in a single fundamental period is randomized in segments respectively. During this process, parameters named the offset frequency and random frequency are defined and assigned reasonably. In this way, high-frequency harmonics in one period are spread into a wider range. Subsequent simulation and experimental results verify that the proposed random modulation strategy can further reduce amplitudes of harmonics near switching frequency and its integer multiples, even though within a narrow switching frequency range, and a satisfactory effect of high-order harmonic dispersion is finally obtained, which contributes to the application and popularization of random pulse width modulation strategies.

Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to engage in community-based arts activities to enhance health. The arts have been found to have wide-ranging benefits for older adults including being associated with an increased lifespan. However, it remains unclear whether they are additionally associated with an increase in the portion of people’s lives for which they remain healthy ('healthspan’).Methods: We included 1,269 older adults who completed the 2014 Arts and Culture Supplement of the Health and Retirement Study and were alive in 2016 and 2018. We measured the number of participatory arts activities engaged in (e.g., reading, crafts, dancing) and the frequency of receptive arts engagement (e.g., going to a gallery or performance) in the past year. Healthy aging was a binary outcome, conceptualized using a previously validated definition of no major chronic diseases, no cognitive impairment, good physical functioning, and good mental health. Logistic regression models tested whether receptive and participatory arts engagement were associated with healthy aging two and four years later.Results: After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic covariates, doing receptive arts activities once a month or more was associated with 84% higher odds of healthy aging two years later compared to never engaging (adjusted OR [AOR]=1.84, 95% CI=1.06-3.19). There was some weak evidence that this association was maintained four years later (AOR=1.68, 95% CI=0.97-2.90). Although doing one participatory arts activity was associated with 53% lower odds of healthy aging four years later compared to no participation (AOR=0.47, 95% CI=0.26-0.87), this association was not present at two years or for higher levels of participatory arts engagement. Conclusions: Expanding on previous studies, which have suggested that receptive arts engagement is related to prolonged longevity, our findings suggest that receptive arts engagement may also be associated with better overall health and function in those who survive. Those with poorer health may have been engaging in participatory arts because they were unable to attend receptive arts or broader leisure activities (indicating reverse causality), or receptive arts activities may contain specifically beneficial active ingredients for healthy aging. These possibilities present promising avenues for future research.

Introduction We investigated whether changes in engagement in home-based creative activities were associated with changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to replicate findings from the UK in a US sample.Methods 3,725 adults were included from the COVID-19 Social Study in the United States, a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured engagement in eight types of creative leisure activities on the previous weekday between April and September 2020. Data were analysed using fixed effects regression models. Results Increased time spent gardening was associated with reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms and enhanced life satisfaction. Spending more time doing woodwork/DIY and arts/crafts were also associated with enhanced life satisfaction. However, more time watching TV, films, or other similar media (not for information on COVID-19) was associated with increased depressive symptoms. Other creative activities were not associated with mental health or wellbeing. Conclusion Some findings differ from evidence obtained in the UK, demonstrating the importance of replicating research across countries. Our findings should also be considered when formulating guidelines for future stay-at-home directives, enabling individuals to stay well despite the closure of public resources.

BackgroundGovernment enforced restrictions on movement during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have had profound impacts on the daily behaviours of many individuals, including physical activity (PA). Given the pre-pandemic evidence for associations between PA and other health behaviours, changes in PA during the pandemic may have been detrimental for other health behaviours. This study aimed to evaluate whether changes in PA during and after the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom (UK) were associated with concurrent changes in other health behaviours, namely alcohol consumption, sleep, nutrition quality, diet quantity and sedentary time.MethodsData were derived from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study. The analytical sample consisted of 52,784 adults followed weekly across 22 weeks of the pandemic from 23rd March to 23rd August 2020. Data were analysed using fixed effects regression.ResultsThere was significant within-individual variation in both PA and other health behaviours throughout the study period. Increased PA was positively associated with improved sleep and nutrition quality. However, increases in PA also showed modest associations with increased alcohol consumption and sedentary time.ConclusionOur findings indicate that, whilst the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions were in place, increases in PA were associated with improved sleep and better diet. Encouraging people to engage in PA may therefore lead to positive change in other health behaviours in times of adversity. However, increases in PA were also associated with more engagement in the negative health behaviours of alcohol consumption and sedentary time. These associations could be a result of increases in available leisure time for many people during COVID-19 restrictions and require further investigation to inform future public health guidance.

Aims: Due to a prolonged period of national and regional lockdown measures during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been an increase reliance on informal care for informal carers. In light of this, the current study compared the experiences of carers and non-carers on various mental health and wellbeing measures across six key time points during the pandemic. Methods: Data analysed were from the University College London (UCL) COVID -19 Social Study. Our study focused on six time points in England: (1) the first national lockdown (March–April 2020); (2) the beginning of first lockdown rules easing (May 2020); (3) the second national lockdown (November 2020); (4) the third national lockdown (January 2021); (5) the easing of the third lockdown (March 2021); and (6) the end of restrictions (July–August 2021). We considered five mental health and wellbeing measures: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, loneliness, life satisfaction, and sense of being worthwhile. Propensity score matching was applied for the analyses. Results: We found that informal carers experienced higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms than non-carers across much of the pandemic. During the first national lockdown, carers also experienced a higher sense of life being worthwhile. No association was found between informal caring responsibilities and levels of loneliness and life satisfaction. Conclusion: Given that carers are an essential national healthcare support, especially during a pandemic, it is crucial to integrate carers’ needs into healthcare planning and delivery. These results highlight that there is a pressing need to provide adequate and targeted mental health support for carers during and following this pandemic.

There is growing evidence for the impact of arts engagement on later life cognition. However, confounding by socioeconomic factors may have led to an overestimation of this association. We analyzed data from 4,344 older adults in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We measured participatory (e.g., painting, making music, crafts) and receptive (e.g., concert, play, museum) arts engagement separately. Six neurocognitive tests measured two aspects of cognition (episodic/working memory and executive function/language) concurrently and seven years later. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to remove confounding by a range of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Engaging in participatory or receptive arts for up to one hour per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent executive function/language. Similarly, engaging in receptive arts activities for up to three hours per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent episodic/working memory. These effects were of similar sizes to doing vigorous physical activity for up to one hour per week. However, our findings also highlight key methodological issues when exploring the relationship between arts engagement and cognition that should be considered in future studies, including measurement bias, life-course stage, length of follow-up, variation in outcomes, attrition, and missing data.

This paper proposes a dual-frequency discontinuous space vector pulse width modulation (DFDSVPWM) for the five-phase voltage source inverter with harmonic injection. In this modulation, for dual-frequency voltage output and reduction of switching losses, two different zero-vector-inserted modes are flexibly employed by using two types of zero vectors alternatively. Based on the comparison with continuous SVPWM, the idea and principle of the proposed DFDSVPWM are analyzed and an example of PWM signals of one bridge is also presented. For switching losses analysis, the impact factors and the calculation method are investigated and the corresponding implementation is given as well. The simulation and experimental results from a prototype verily the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed modulation and it has the advantages of outputting dual-frequency voltage and reducing switching losses.

This article proposes a four-degree-of-freedom overmodulation strategy for five-phase space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) in order to reduce the low-order harmonics of the output voltage during overmodulation. Based on the nearest-four-vector SVPWM algorithm, this overmodulation strategy calculates the corresponding third harmonic injection rate according to the modulation ratio in the overmodulation region. What is more, this strategy optimizes and controls the third harmonic so that basic voltage vectors of the fundamental wave subspace and the third harmonic subspace can be controlled simultaneously, thus effectively decreasing the low-order harmonic contents without reducing control degrees of freedom. The whole overmodulation region is divided into three subregions with linearized approximation to reduce the complexity of computation. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that under the same modulation ratio during overmodulation, the proposed overmodulation strategy can improve the dc bus voltage utilization of a five-phase inverter, make the third harmonic controllable with four control degrees of freedom, and also reduce the low-order harmonic contents of the output voltage.

BackgroundThere is growing research into the effects of psychological and social factors such as loneliness and isolation on cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it is unclear whether individuals with particular clusters of CVD risk factors are more strongly affected by loneliness and isolation. This study aimed to identify latent clustering of modifiable risk factors among adults aged 50+ and explore the relationship between loneliness, social isolation and risk factor patterns.MethodsData from 8218 adults of English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used in latent class analyses to identify latent classes of cardiovascular risk factors and predictors of class membership.ResultsThere were four latent classes: low-risk (30.2%), high-risk (15.0%), clinical-risk (42.6%) and lifestyle-risk (12.2%) classes. Loneliness was associated with a greater risk of being in the high-risk class (relative risk ratio (RRR) 2.40, 95% CI 2.40 to 1.96) and lifestyle-risk class (RRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.67) and a lower risk of being in the clinical-risk class (RRR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.98) relative to the low-risk class. Social disengagement, living alone and low social contact were also differentially associated with latent class memberships.ConclusionThese findings supplement our existing knowledge of modifiable risk factors for CVD by showing how risk factors cluster together and how the risk patterns are related to social factors, offering important implications for clinical practice and preventive interventions.

BackgroundThere has been much research into the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is related to time-invariant individual characteristics (e.g. age and gender). However, there is still a lack of research showing long-term trajectories of mental health across different stages of the pandemic. And little is known regarding the longitudinal association of time-varying contextual and individual factors (e.g. COVID-19 policy response and pandemic intensity) with mental health outcomes. This study aimed to provide a longitudinal profile of how depressive and anxiety symptoms changed by month between March 2020 and April 2022, and to examine their longitudinal associations with time-varying contextual and individual level factors.Methods and findingsDrawing data from a large panel study of over 58,000 adults living in England, we showed that mental health changes were largely in line with changes in COVID-19 policy response and pandemic intensity. Further, data were analysed using fixed-effects, with models fitted separately across three stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that more stringent policy response was associated with increased mental health symptoms, in particular during lockdown periods. Higher COVID-19 deaths were also associated with poorer mental health, but this association weakened over time. Finally, there was also evidence for the longitudinal association of mental health with individual level factors, including confidence in government/healthcare/essentials, COVID-19 knowledge, COVID-19 stress, COVID-19 infection and social support.ConclusionsOur results provided empirical evidence on how changes in contextual and individual level factors were related to depressive and anxiety symptoms. While some factors clearly acted as consistent predictors of mental health during a pandemic, other factors were dependent on the specific situations occurring within society. This could provide important implications for policy making and for a better understanding of mental health of the general public during a national or global health crisis.

This study examined the association between greenspace and the growth trajectories of anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from 19,848 urban residents in England who were followed for 20 months between March 2020 and October 2021, we found that living in an area with higher greenspace coverage (exposure) was associated with fewer anxiety symptoms independent of population density, area deprivation levels, socio-demographics, and health profiles. There was limited evidence that greenspace was related to the change of anxiety symptoms over time. No association with anxiety trajectories was found when considering distance to nearest greenspace (proximity), highlighting potentially differential mental health effects of simply having access to local parks and recreation areas versus living in areas of greater natural environment land cover. These findings have important implications for mental health intervention and policymaking.

BackgroundThere is a growing global awareness of the psychological consequences of long Covid, supported by emerging empirical evidence. However, the mergence and long-term trajectories of psychological symptoms following the infection are still unclear.AimsTo examine when psychological symptoms first emerge following the infection with SARS-CoV-2, and the long-term trajectories of psychological symptoms comparing long and short Covid groups.MethodsWe analysed longitudinal data from the UCL Covid-19 Social Study (March 2020-November 2021). We included data from adults living in England who reported contracting SARS-CoV-2 by November 2021 (N=3,115). Of these, 15.9% reported having had long Covid (N=495). They were matched to participants who had short Covid using propensity score matching on a variety of demographic, socioeconomic and health covariates (N=962, n=13,325) and data were further analysed using growth curve modelling.ResultsDepressive and anxiety symptoms increased immediately following the onset of infection in both long and short Covid groups. But the long Covid group had substantially greater initial increases in depressive symptoms and heightened levels over 22 months follow-up. Initial increases in anxiety were not significantly different between groups, but only the short Covid group experienced an improvement in anxiety over follow-up, leading to widening differences between groups.ConclusionsThe findings shed light on the psychobiological pathways involved in the development of psychological symptoms relating to long Covid. The results highlight the need for monitoring of mental health and provision of adequate support to be interwoven with diagnosis and treatment of the physical consequences of long Covid.

In this paper we propose a completely new solution in which the diesel generator is replaced by agas turbine that drives a dual stator winding induction generator (DSWIG), which can operate in a wide rangeof speeds, thus enabling maximization the efficiency of the gas turbine utilization according to the powerrequirements of the critical supply network.

Background There are concerns internationally that lockdown measures taken during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could lead to a rise in loneliness. As loneliness is recognised as a major public health concern, it is therefore vital that research considers the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness to provide necessary support. But it remains unclear, who is lonely in lockdown? Methods This study compared sociodemographic predictors of loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using cross-cohort analyses of data from UK adults captured before the pandemic (UK Household Longitudinal Study, n = 31,064) and during the pandemic (UCL (University College London) COVID-19 Social Study, n = 60,341). Results Risk factors for loneliness were near identical before and during the pandemic. Young adults, women, people with lower education or income, the economically inactive, people living alone and urban residents had a higher risk of being lonely. Some people who were already at risk of being lonely (e.g. young adults aged 18–30 years, people with low household income and adults living alone) experienced a heightened risk during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with people living before COVID-19 emerged. Furthermore, being a student emerged as a higher risk factor during lockdown than usual. Conclusions Findings suggest that interventions to reduce or prevent loneliness during COVID-19 should be targeted at those sociodemographic groups already identified as high risk in previous research. These groups are likely not just to experience loneliness during the pandemic but potentially to have an even higher risk than normal of experiencing loneliness relative to low-risk groups., Highlights • We compared data from 31,000 UK adults during 2017-2019 with 60,000 UK adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Some risk factors for loneliness were the same as in ordinary circumstances (e.g. women and people living alone). • Other groups experienced even greater risk of loneliness than usual (e.g. younger people and people of low income). • Some groups were at risk of loneliness who are not usually considered high risk (e.g. students).

ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the association between loneliness, social isolation and cardiovascular disease (CVD), looking at both self-reported CVD diagnosis and CVD-related hospital admissions.MethodsData were derived from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing linked with administrative hospital records and mortality registry data. The analytical sample size was 5850 for the analysis of self-reported CVD and 4587 of CVD derived from hospital records, with a follow-up up to 9.6 years. Data were analysed using survival analysis, accounting for competing risks events.ResultsThe mean age was 64 years (SD 8.3). About 44%–45% were men. Within the follow-up, 17% participants reported having newly diagnosed CVD and 16% had a CVD-related hospital admission. We found that loneliness was associated with an increased risk of CVD events independent of potential confounders and risk factors. The hazard of people with the highest level of loneliness was about 30% higher for onset CVD diagnosis (HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.09) and 48% higher for CVD-related hospital admissions (HR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.14), compared with the least lonely. There was little evidence that social isolation was independently associated with the risk of either CVD diagnosis or admission.ConclusionsOur findings provided strong evidence for the relationship between loneliness and cardiovascular events. Loneliness should be considered as a psychosocial risk factor for CVD in both research and interventions for cardiovascular prevention.

This paper presents an integrated control strategy for a starter/generator (S/G) system based on five-phase dual-stator winding induction machine (FPDWIM). The FPDWIM has a cage-type rotor and two sets of stator windings. One is a five-phase control winding (CW), and the other is a five-phase power winding (PW). In the starting mode, the FPDWIM works as a motor. The CW provides both active power and reactive power to drive the engine. In the generating mode, the CW mainly handles reactive power while the PW outputs active power. To achieve the integration of the starting and generating controls, indirect CW-flux-oriented control (ICWFOC) to operate in both starting and generating modes is proposed in this paper. In starting mode, the CW current and flux are controlled to output a constant starting torque; while in the generating mode, both CW and PW dc bus voltages are regulated. In this way, the principles and structures of the control strategies in both modes are compatible, resulting in a simpler implementation and improved performance. With the proposed control strategy, the system can complete the starting–generating operation with a smoother transition process. Simulation and experimental results are compared to validate the proposed control strategy.

A control-winding direct power control (CWDPC) strategy for a dc generating system based on the five-phase dual-stator winding induction generator is proposed and investigated in this article. For this generator, the flux-oriented control is usually employed in the previous work mainly for the sake of good static performance. However, the present control strategy has the limitation of the further enhancement of the dynamic properties. This article explores a CWDPC strategy to upgrade the dynamic performance of this generating system. The fundamental active power of the five-phase control winding (CW) relates to its dc bus voltage while the dc bus voltage on the five-phase power-winding (PW) side is related to the control of five-phase CW fundamental reactive power. By replacing inner current loops to power control loops, the CW instantaneous fundamental active and reactive powers are calculated through the power observer and regulated directly through two power-control loops. In the transient process, the CW fundamental active power changes slightly while the reactive power can be quickly controlled for fast recovery of the dc bus voltage on the five-phase PW side. As the system has an additional control degree of freedom, the third harmonic is also considered in the proposed strategy, and the corresponding implementation is given as well. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that using the proposed CWDPC strategy, the system has shorter transient time and lower voltage change in the dynamic response than the flux-oriented control strategy, which means the dynamic performance is further improved.

The starter/generator (SG) system is widely used in various applications, including more-electric/hybridelectric aircraft (MEA/HEA) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The electric machine operates as a motor to provide the required torque to start the engine. Once the engine starts, the same electric machine transforms to a generator to produce electrical power. With the advantages of a simple and robust structure, low cost and maintenance, and a good overload capability, the cage-type induction machine (IM) is a competitive candidate for SG systems.

Policy makers across the political spectrum have extolled the virtues of volunteering in achieving social policy aims. Yet little is known about the role that volunteering plays in addressing one of the significant challenges of an ageing population: the provision of care and support to people with dementia. We combine organisational survey data, secondary social survey data, and in-depth interviews with people with dementia, family carers and volunteers in order to better understand the context, role and challenges in which volunteers support people with dementia. Social policies connecting volunteering and dementia care in homes and communities often remain separate and disconnected and our paper draws on the concept of policy ‘assemblages’ to suggest that dementia care is a dynamic mixture of formal and informal volunteering activities that bridge and blur traditional policy boundaries. Linking home and community environments is a key motivation, benefit and outcome for volunteers, carers and those living with dementia. The paper calls to widen the definition and investigation of volunteering in social policy to include and support informal volunteering activity.

Introduction. Substance use (e.g., alcohol, marijuana, tobacco) is common during adolescence and may lead to a number of long-term negative outcomes (e.g., poor mental health). It is therefore important to explore factors that reduce the risk of engaging in these potentially harmful behaviours. Extracurricular activities (i.e., how people spend their free time) are known to be effective in reducing the risk of engaging in substance use, but the specific effects of arts and cultural engagement are less known. Methods. Data were from the first four waves (1994-2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ages 12-17 years). Arts and cultural engagement were measured at wave 1 (1994) by (i) the number of arts and culture groups engaged in and (ii) the weekly frequency of arts and culture related hobbies. Substance use was measured using three binary indicators of any past month alcohol intoxication, marijuana, and tobacco use measured at waves 1 to 4. Latent growth curve modelling was used to examine associations between arts and cultural engagement (group participation and weekly hobbies) at wave 1 and trajectories of past month alcohol intoxication, marijuana use, and tobacco use over waves 1 to 4. Analyses accounted for sociodemographic covariates.Results. At wave 1, participating in more arts and cultural groups was associated with lower concurrent likelihood of being intoxicated by alcohol and using tobacco. However, longitudinally, differences in likelihoods began to narrow across waves until there was no difference by wave 4. There was no association with marijuana use. Similar results were found for engagement in hobbies; adolescents who participated in more weekly hobbies were less likely to have used any of the three substances concurrently, although over time, the differences between the groups narrowed. However, there was some evidence that the differences persisted across waves when using a less stringent (weekly) alcohol intoxication variable. Conclusions. Overall, this research confirms associations between arts and cultural engagement and substance use at a population level amongst adolescents in the US. Actively engaging in arts and cultural activities is associated with reduced risk of concurrent substance use suggesting a potential protective relationship. However, this protection attenuates over time. As we only examined arts and cultural activities at one time point, whether sustained engagement in these activities differentially influences the risk of substance use requires further investigation.

BackgroundThere is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak on mental health. But it remains unclear how individual behaviours could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health.AimsTo examine the associations between specific activities (or time use) and mental health and well-being among people during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodData were from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study, a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analytical sample consisted of 55 204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the 11-week strict lockdown period from 21 March to 31 May 2020. Data were analysed using fixed-effects and Arellano–Bond models.ResultsChanges in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and well-being. After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviours involving outdoor activities such as gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and well-being, whereas increased time spent following news about COVID-19 predicted declines in mental health and well-being.ConclusionsThese results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies and may help the public to maintain well-being during future lockdowns and pandemics.

BackgroundThere are concerns that keyworkers may be at a greater risk for psychological distress than non-keyworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little research has included keyworkers outside of the healthcare sector or has disaggregated keyworkers into different subgroups.AimsTo examine longitudinal changes in mental health over 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic comparing four different groups of keyworkers with non-keyworkers.MethodLongitudinal data were from 21 874 adults living in England (21 March 2020 to 22 February 2021). Latent growth modelling was utilised to compare growth trajectories of depressive and anxiety symptoms in non-keyworkers and four types of keyworkers: (a) health and social care workers, (b) teachers and child care workers, (c) public service workers, and (d) essential services keyworkers (such as food chain or utility workers).ResultsWhen accounting for both time-invariant and time-varying covariates, keyworkers in the essential services category had consistently higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms than non-keyworkers across the whole of the study period. There was little difference in the mental health trajectories between health/social care, teachers/child care and public service worker categories and non-keyworkers.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the risk for poorer mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic varies within the broad category of keyworkers generally, and that those working in utility, food chain and transport roles are especially at risk. Future research should focus on identifying which aspects of working conditions may be contributing to occupational stress in these groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to national lockdowns in countries around the world. Whilst lockdowns were shown to be effective in reducing the spread of disease, they were also associated with adverse effects on people’s mental health and wellbeing. Previous studies have suggested that time spent outside may have played a role in mitigating these negative effects, but research on this topic remains limited. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the longitudinal associations between going outdoors and people’s mental health and wellbeing during the first national lockdown (March–May 2020) in the UK. Data from 35,301 participants from the COVID-19 Social Study were analysed. Fixed effects regression was used to explore the longitudinal association between changes in going outdoors (the number of days spent outside) and changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, life satisfaction and loneliness. A range of household and neighbourhood moderators were examined. Results show that an increase in the number of days spent outside was associated with decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms and an increase in life satisfaction. Associations were more salient amongst people living with others, and those with greater satisfaction with their neighbourhood walkability and green spaces. No longitudinal association was found with loneliness. Overall, our analyses showed a positive association between going outdoors and improved mental health and wellbeing during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. These findings are important for formulating guidance for people to stay well at home during pandemics and for the on-going nature-based social prescribing scheme.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to national lockdowns in countries around the world. Whilst lockdowns were shown to be effective in reducing the spread of disease, they were also associated with adverse effects on people’s mental health and wellbeing. Previous studies have suggested that time spent outside may have played a role in mitigating these negative effects, but research on this topic remains limited. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the longitudinal associations between going outdoors and people’s mental health and wellbeing during the first national lockdown (March-May 2020) in the UK. Data from 35,301 participants from the COVID-19 Social Study were analysed. Fixed effects regression was used to explore the longitudinal association between changes in going outdoors (the number of days spent outside) and changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, life satisfaction and loneliness. A range of household and neighbourhood moderators were examined. Results show that an increase in the number of days spent outside was associated with decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms and an increase in life satisfaction. No longitudinal association was found with loneliness. Further analysis revealed some moderating effects of household and neighbourhood factors, including living arrangement, perceived walkability satisfaction, and satisfaction with green space/park within neighbourhood. Overall, our analyses showed a positive association between going outdoors and improved mental health and wellbeing during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. Associations were more salient amongst people living with others, and those with greater satisfaction with their neighbourhood walkability and green spaces. These findings are important for formulating guidance for people to stay well at home during pandemics and for the on-going nature-based social prescribing scheme.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about significant behavioural changes, one of which is increased time spent at home. This could have important public health implications. This study aimed to explore longitudinal patterns of ‘home confinement’ (defined as not leaving the house/garden) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated predictors and mental health outcomes. Methods Data were from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study. The analytical sample consisted of 25 390 adults in England who were followed up for 17 months (March 2020–July 2021). Data were analysed using growth mixture models. Results Our analyses identified three classes of growth trajectories, including one class showing a high level of persistent home confinement (the home-confined, 24.8%), one changing class with clear alignment with national containment measures (the adaptive, 32.0%), and one class with a persistently low level of confinement (the unconfined, 43.1%). A range of factors were associated with the class membership of home-confinement trajectories, such as age, gender, income, employment status, social relationships and health. The home-confined class had the highest number of depressive (diff = 1.34–1.68, p < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (diff = 0.84–1.05, p < 0.001) at the end of the follow-up than the other two classes. Conclusions There was substantial heterogeneity in longitudinal patterns of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. People with a persistent high level of confinement had the worst mental health outcomes, calling for special attention in mental health action plans, in particular targeted interventions for at-risk groups.

Introduction: Externalising behaviours during adolescence are associated with numerous long-term negative outcomes, although the majority of research is intervention-based as opposed to focused on risk reduction. Arts engagement has been associated with numerous beneficial factors linked to externalising behaviours, yet direct evidence linking them in longitudinal studies is lacking. Methods: Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study were used, with baseline taken at 5th grade (aged 10-11 years) and outcomes measured at 8th grade (13-14 years). Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine individual-level associations between extracurricular and school-based arts engagement (number arts classes and adequacy of arts facilities) with externalising behaviours measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to examine associations between school-level arts classes and facilities with an administrator-reported index of externalising behaviours in the school. All models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Individual-level analyses were clustered by school.Results: At the individual level, engaging in a greater number of extracurricular arts activities in 5th grade was associated with fewer externalising behaviours in 8th grade, although there was no association for school-based arts engagement. There were no school-level associations between arts classes or adequate arts facilities and externalising behaviours. Conclusions: Our results suggest extracurricular arts activities may be beneficial in reducing the risk for externalising behaviours, but the relationship is seen at an individual-level of engagement rather than based on school-level provision or facilities. Ensuring extracurricular access to the arts should be considered as a cost-effective way of preventing externalising behaviours while simultaneously promoting healthy emotional, coping, and social behaviours.

To solve the problem of severe DC bus voltage fluctuations caused by frequent changes in the distributed electric propulsion aircraft load, and to further optimize the size and life of the hybrid energy storage system (HESS), this paper proposes a method based on three-step power distribution (TSPD). This strategy realizes the reasonable distribution of battery and supercapacitor power by using a low pass filter. Through the introduction of a supercapacitor state-of-charge (SOC) automatic recovery control and maximum power value dynamic limit strategy, the size of the HESS is optimized, and the service life of the energy storage device is extended. Finally, simulation and experiment platform are built to prove the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Background The interplay between social connections, leisure engagement and health is well investigated, highlighting how social connections and leisure engagement affect health outcomes; and reciprocally, how these health factors predict leisure engagement and aspects of our social connections. However, there remains a gap in our understanding of how genetic propensity for psychological and neurological traits may also influence leisure engagement and social connections. This is important for research, as an individual’s genetic propensity might not only influence health outcomes but also influence the social factors that are known to benefit health outcomes too. Methods In this study, we utilised the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), which is a large nationally representative sample of the English population aged ≥50 years. Polygenic propensity was measured using a polygenic score (PGS) approach. Eight independent exposure-wide regression analyses were run for social connection outcomes (loneliness, relationship strain, social support and contact with social network), and leisure engagement (group membership, volunteering, cultural engagement and hobbies). Fourteen PGSs for psychological traits (e.g., depression and neuroticism) and neurological traits (e.g., ADHD), were used as predictors, and each PGS was run independently within each exposure-wide analysis. Analyses adjusted for age, age2, sex, and 10 principal components accounting for ancestry; Bonferroni correction was applied due to multiple testing. To aid interpretability, each PGS was standardized to a mean of 0 (standard deviation (SD) of 1). Results A one SD increase in depression-PGS was associated with both higher loneliness (B=0.10, 95%CI=0.06–0.14, p Conclusion Results indicate that an individual’s polygenic propensity for depression, neuroticism and ADHD predict their social connections and leisure engagement, thus highlighting that common genetic markers for major mental and neurological health outcomes influence social connections and leisure engagement, potentially indicating a shared genetic overlap between them. Overall, this highlights the importance of considering the role of genetic influence when looking at the interplay between social connections, leisure engagement and health in future research.

A smart power flow node (SPFN) aimed at a hybrid ac/dc electric power system (EPS) for future more electric aircraft is presented. The SPFN is researched to enhance the performance of the EPS. Based on the SPFN, new power flow paths are established for the EPS, and intelligent power flow management of the EPS is realised. A multi‐port topology is designed for the SPFN to be compatible with different ac and dc power ports. Moreover, three operating modes of the SPFN are studied to realise uninterrupted power supply, power support of high‐power load and power transfer of the feedback energy from regenerative load. The experimental results verify the feasibility and availability of the SPFN and show that the SPFN can improve the equivalent capacity as well as the power supply reliability of the EPS.

To Bourdieu, interaction with culture has symbolic power and drives the manifestation of social stratification. Many have adapted his theory and methodology, developing new models of cultural engagement. Here, to further integrate these theoretical and methodological approaches, Bourdieu’s tools were used to operationalise and interpret a Latent Class Analysis of cultural engagement in the Understanding Society dataset. Six classes of increasing engagement were established, and were increasingly correlated with youth, capital and social advantage. However, some qualitative differences in engagement were also seen. The classes also varied by which characteristics correlated with membership. For example, economic capital was associated with sports engagement, while advantaged social position was associated with broad-scale engagement. Overall, this analysis combined Bourdieusian theory with contemporary methodology in the largest representative UK dataset and highlights the broader relevance of cultural engagement patterns in indicating (and possibly generating) status, identity, capital and social position.

ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depression in older adults. However, whether specific participatory leisure activities are associated with lower rates of depression remains unknown. We aimed to test whether engagement in a diverse range of leisure activities, all of which could involve artistic or creative elements, was associated with concurrent and subsequent depression.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from 19,134 participants aged over 50 in the Health and Retirement Study, engagement in leisure activities was measured every four years, and depression every two years, between 2008 and 2016. Leisure activities included: reading books, magazines, or newspapers; writing; baking/cooking something special; making clothes, knitting, or embroidery (sewing); working on hobbies/projects; going to sport, social, or other clubs; and attending non-religious organization meetings. A score of three or more on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale indicated depression. We fitted population-averaged panel data models using generalized estimating equations with a logit link.ResultsEngaging in some leisure activities, such as clubs, hobbies/projects, and baking/cooking was associated with reduced depression, independent of confounders. Concurrently, spending time on hobbies/projects (monthly OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.72–0.88; weekly OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.73–0.89) and clubs (monthly OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.77–0.94; weekly OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.69–0.88) was associated with lower odds of depression versus not engaging. Longitudinally, the odds of depression two years later were reduced amongst people engaging in weekly baking/cooking (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75– 0.95), hobbies (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71–0.92), and clubs (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.71–0.94). Writing, reading, sewing, and attending non-religious organizations were not consistently associated with depression.DiscussionEngagement in some leisure activities is associated with reduced odds of depression. We should consider how older adults can be supported to actively participate in leisure activities as health-promoting behaviors.

Background Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in traditional arts and cultural activities, such as attending classical music performances and museums, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not adequately investigated whether similar demographic and socioeconomic factors are related to other forms of arts engagement. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, membership of creative groups, and being interested in (but not attending) arts events. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in four analytical samples with a sample size of 8684 for arts events, 4372 for arts activities, 4268 for creative groups, and 2061 for interested non-attendees. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results More education was associated with increased levels of all types of arts engagement. Parental education demonstrated a similar association. Being female, compared to male, was also consistently associated with higher levels of engagement. Attendance at arts events was lower in participants with lower income and social class, poorer health, and those living in less urban areas. However, these factors were not associated with participation in arts activities or creative groups or being an interested non-attendee. Conclusions Overall, we found evidence for a social gradient in attendance at arts events, which was not as pronounced in participation in arts activities or creative groups or interest in arts events. Given the many benefits of engagement in the arts for education, health, and wider welfare, our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying factors to reduce barriers to participation in the arts across all groups in society.