Potential smoke-free dividend across local areas in England: A cross-sectional analysis

BackgroundThe value that might be added to local economies each year through the money that people who smoke tobacco would save if everyone quit smoking is called the “smoke-free dividend”. This study aimed to estimate the value of the smoke-free dividend across local areas in England, and how it relates to the average income in those areas.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of tobacco expenditure from the Smoking Toolkit Study (STS) matched to income and smoking prevalence data for English local authorities. The STS sample was from 2014–2020 and comprised 18,721 adults who smoke cigarettes. Self-reported expenditure estimates from the STS were adjusted for under-reporting. This adjustment aimed to align the total expenditure estimate with figures derived from government tax receipts and national estimates of illicit tobacco use. The smoke-free dividend is calculated as 93% of spending on legal tobacco, which is the percentage estimated to leave the local economy, plus 100% of spending on illicit tobacco.ResultsThe total dividend in England is estimated to be £10.9 billion each year, which equates to£1,776 per person who smokes or £246 per adult regardless of smoking status. The estimated dividend is greater in areas with lower average income, with a correlation coefficient of -0.521(95% Confidence Interval: -0.629, -0.392) between the average income of local areas and the dividend per adult.ConclusionsThis study has estimated that local economies could gain a substantial dividend if everybody stopped smoking, which is larger in lower-income areas, meaning that geographic economic inequalities could be reduced

Authenticity: The state-of-the-art in Tourism Geographies

A leading concept in the field of tourism studies, authenticity has a unique relationship with tourism geographies. This state-of-the-art review focuses on this relationship. First, we identity key themes of authenticity research in tourism geographies: place and cultural heritage; place-based experiences; place and community identity. Next, we investigate these themes to consider avenues that tourism geographies can advances the conceptualization of authenticity, particularly through a focus on the production of space, co-creation practices, anti-tourism movements, and inclusivity

Termite mound architecture and climate control: a review of X-ray tomography and flow field simulation approaches

Termite mounds are known for their ability to maintain self-sustained ventilation and thermoregulation irrespective of external climatic conditions. Although there has been extensive interest in this topic, especially for designing energy-efficient buildings, it is still not fully understood how mound properties are controlled. This article reviews established knowledge and identifies gaps in the study of climate control within termite mounds, proposing an interdisciplinary approach that combines X-ray tomography and flow field simulations. Through specific examples, we demonstrate how these methods can deepen our understanding of termite mound structure and its climate-regulating functions

Model-free control of a DC-DC boost converter based on the averaging of inductor current

This work aims to present a model-free predictive control (MF–PC) technique that is robust to parameter and model changes to control a boost converter. The MF–PC proposed is based on calculating and updating the value of the current slope in the inductor at each sampling instant and using it to predict the future value of the current to define the optimal state to apply in the next step. To evaluate the performance of this proposal, a fair comparison is made between MF–PC and classical finite control set model predictive control (FCS–MPC) under reference changes and physical converter parameter variations in a boost converter. The experimental results show that the proposed method is robust against parameters and model changes compared to FCS–MPC. Additionally, the proposed controller reduces the number of sensed variables compared to the conventional FCS–MPC and has the simplicity required for converters operating at high frequencies

Smoking, nicotine and pregnancy 3 (SNAP3) trial: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of enhanced support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) offered for preloading, lapse recovery and smoking reduction in pregnancy

Introduction Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) helps pregnant women quit smoking. Usual National Health Service (NHS) cessation care in pregnancy starts only after women stop smoking and comprises behavioural support and NRT. NRT is stopped if women restart smoking. We hypothesised that NRT would have a bigger effect on cessation in pregnancy if used: (1) to reduce smoking before quitting (‘preloading’), (2) during brief smoking lapses after quitting and (3) to help those who cannot stop smoking, to reduce instead.Methods and analysis A two-arm parallel group, open-label, multicentre, assessor-blind randomised controlled trial. Participants are recruited at hospital antenatal clinics and other NHS settings throughout England and Wales or via social media advertising. Those enrolled are in antenatal care, <25 weeks’ gestation, smoke ≥5 daily cigarettes; accept referral for NHS stop smoking support and agree to set quit dates, try NRT and vape less than daily. Participants are randomised to: (1) usual care (UC) or (2) UC plus an intervention combining (1) NRT for preloading, (2) counselling to continue NRT during brief smoking lapses, and for those who cannot stop, (3) NRT to reduce smoking. The primary outcome is biochemically validated, smoking abstinence from 6 weeks after randomisation to 36 weeks gestation. Secondary outcomes include birth outcomes and cost per quality-adjusted life year. Questionnaires collect follow-up data augmented by medical record information. We anticipate quit rates of 10% and 15.9% in the control and intervention groups (OR=1.7). By recruiting 1430 participants, smoking, nicotine and pregnancy 3 should have 90% power (alpha=5%) to detect this effect. We will use the Economics of Smoking in Pregnancy model to estimate cost-effectiveness.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was granted by the West Midlands—Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee (REC reference: 21/WM/0172; Protocol number 21001; IRAS Project ID: 291236). Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Findings will be disseminated to the public, funders, relevant practice and policy representatives and other researchers.Trial registration number ISRCTN84798566

Additive manufacturing of functionalised atomic vapour cells for next-generation quantum technologies

Atomic vapour cells are an indispensable tool for quantum technologies (QT), but potential improvements are limited by the capacities of conventional manufacturing techniques. Using an additive manufacturing (AM) technique—vat polymerisation by digital light processing—we demonstrate, for the first time, a 3D-printed glass vapour cell. The exploitation of AM capacities allows intricate internal architectures, overprinting of 2D optoelectronical materials to create integrated sensors and surface functionalisation, while also showing the ability to tailor the optical properties of the AM glass by in-situ growth of gold nanoparticles. The produced cells achieve ultra-high vacuum of 2 × 10−9 mbar and enable Doppler-free spectroscopy; we demonstrate laser frequency stabilisation as a QT application. These results highlight the transformative role that AM can play for QT in enabling compact, optimised and integrated multi-material components and devices

Sexual and reproductive health needs of women with severe mental illness in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review

Background This scoping review aimed to understand the extent and type of evidence in relation to sexual and reproductive health needs of women with severe mental illness (SMI) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and to summarise those needs. Methods Inclusion criteria were 1) focus on sexual and reproductive health needs 2) women or girls with SMI, professionals, caregivers of women with SMI and community members 3) study set in a LMIC 4) peer reviewed literature (no restriction on study date or design). Studies were identified from comprehensive searches of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO (to July 2023). Results The review included 100 papers. Most studies were cross-sectional and set in hospital outpatient departments. Only 20 of 140 LMIC countries were included in this review and only 15 studies were set-in low-income countries (LIC). Included studies often had multiple focus areas and were grouped by frequency of topic into categories of HIV (prevalence, risk behaviour and knowledge), other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexual function, contraception use and family planning, sexual violence, fertility, pregnancy and postpartum.Included studies indicated women with SMI have worse outcomes and worse sexual and reproductive health compared to both women without SMI and men with SMI. Women with SMI were shown to have higher rates of HIV and low levels of contraception knowledge and use, with little advice offered by professionals. Conclusions This review highlights the need for a greater diversity of study methodology, robustness of ethical and consensual reporting when researching vulnerable populations and for further research on interventions and models of care aimed at addressing stigma, discrimination and improving the sexual and reproductive health of women with SMI. Future research should better represent the breadth of LMIC, investigate cultural adaptability of interventions and consider sexual health needs across the life course

On the Synchronous Reference Frame Impedance and Stability Characteristics of More Electric Aircraft Electrical Power Distribution Systems

In modern aviation electrical power distribution system (EPDS), power electronics converters (PECs) are gaining more prominence, providing a fully-controlled interface between different electrical equipment. In the context of utility ac electrical power systems, impedance-based stability analysis under Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) has been established as a powerful tool to evaluate system stability and optimize system design. However, the SRF impedance characteristics of different kinds of PECs under high/variable fundamental frequency have not been addressed sufficiently. In this paper, an aircraft ground powering system consisting of an electrical ground power unit (eGPU) and an active front-end converter is selected as an illustrative example to give a comprehensive analysis of the impedance characteristics of such system. A comparison is made between the impedance measurement results of the hardware-in-the-loop setup and a lab-scale (0.1 p. u.) experimental setup, as well as the analytical model. On this basis, the stability of the EPDS is investigated by frequency domain analysis and experiment with variable fundamental frequency. The results highlight that variable fundamental frequency significantly reshapes the SRF impedance characteristics of PECs, influencing the system stability margin. The procedure of stability assessment presented in this work provides a future reference for designing PEC-dominated EPDS with variable fundamental frequency

How do CaO/CuO materials evolve in integrated calcium and chemical looping cycles?

Maintaining high CO2 uptake is critical for combined Ca-Cu looping applications, however, the long-term behaviour of combined Ca and Cu materials under repeated cycling conditions remains less understood. This study examined three materials with a fixed Cu/Ca mole ratio of 1.6 to analyse the material phase evolution and identify factors influencing CO2 uptake. The materials underwent 50 TGA cycles in two distinct looping applications: blast furnace gas (BFG) cycling (reduction-carbonation-oxidation) and flue gas cycling (carbonation-reduction-oxidation).Different preparation methods significantly affected the initial phase distribution. The multi-grain precipitate material (MGP), prepared to minimise the chemical contact between Ca and Cu, primarily contained separate CaO and CuO phases; while the multi-stage mechanically mixed materials (MM1 and MM2), in which there was extensive contact between the Ca and Cu, exhibited mixed Ca-Cu-O phases along with separate CuO. However, the initial phase distribution had little influence on the longer-term CO2 uptake with the accessibility of CaO and cycling conditions having a more significant impact. BFG cycling consistently resulted 70–100; % greater CO2 uptake than flue gas cycling, highlighting the strong influence of cycling conditions

Key features of effective yoga interventions in addition to standard medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: This systematic review aimed to synthesise the content, structure, and delivery characteristics of effective yoga interventions in addition to standard medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods: JBI guidelines were followed. 17 databases were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing yoga’s effectiveness in treating RA outcomes - disease activity score, pain, and function. Meta-analyses and narrative synthesis were conducted.Results: Nine articles representing 5 RCTs were included and had low methodological quality scores. Yoga interventions, in addition to standard medical treatment, improved disease activity scores (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.73 to -0.18) and function (-0.42; -0.78 to -0.07) but did not effectively reduce pain (-1.06; -2.62 to 0.50) compared to standard medical treatment alone. All 5 RCTs found yoga’s beneficial effects on one or more outcomes. All yoga interventions included centre-based (supervised, group) sessions, and 2 included additional home-based (unsupervised, individual) sessions. All interventions incorporated 20 yogic poses (6 standing, 5 supine, 5 prone, and 4 seated), 7 breathing practices, and 4 meditation and relaxation practices. 2 interventions offered RA-specific yogic pose modifications. Centre-based sessions were delivered at least once weekly for 8 weeks median duration and around 68 minutes per session. Home-based yoga was recommended thrice weekly for a 10-week mean duration and 40 minutes per session. Conclusion: Yoga might be useful in addition to standard medical treatment for RA. Given previous studies’ methodological limitations, a high-quality RCT should be conducted based on our synthesised key features of effective yoga interventions. Keywords: meta-analysis; rheumatoid arthritis; systematic review; treatment; yoga PROSPERO registration number: CRD4202232033