Investigating local policy drivers for alcohol harm prevention: a comparative case study of two local authorities in England

Background: The considerable challenges associated with implementing national level alcohol policies have encouraged a renewed focus on the prospects for local-level policies in the UK and elsewhere. We adopted a case study approach to identify the major characteristics and drivers of differences in the patterns of local alcohol policies and services in two contrasting local authority (LA) areas in England. Methods: Data were collected via thirteen semi-structured interviews with key informants (including public health, licensing and trading standards) and documentary analysis, including harm reduction strategies and statements of licensing policy. A two-stage thematic analysis was used to categorize all relevant statements into seven over-arching themes, by which document sources were then also analysed. Results: Three of the seven over-arching themes (drink environment, treatment services and barriers and facilitators), provided for the most explanatory detail informing the contrasting policy responses of the two LAs: LA1 pursued a risk-informed strategy via a specialist police team working proactively with problem premises and screening systematically to identify riskier drinking. LA2 adopted a more upstream regulatory approach around restrictions on availability with less emphasis on co-ordinated screening and treatment measures. Conclusion: New powers over alcohol policy for LAs in England can produce markedly different policies for reducing alcohol-related harm. These difference are rooted in economic, opportunistic, organisational and personnel factors particular to the LAs themselves and may lead to closely tailored solutions in some policy areas and poorer co-ordination and attention in others

Through-Wall Communicatin of Low-Rate Digital Data Using Ultrasound

Wireless communication is ineffective for communicating through a solid steel wall due to the shielding effect of the metal. In some cases, holes can be made in the wall to allow wires to pass through, enabling the transport of electronic data. However, holes are often undesirable because they can reduce the integrity of the wall. This paper describes several approaches for using ultrasound to communicate low-rate digital data through a steel wall. The techniques minimize the complexity and power consumption of the communications hardware on the side of the wall from which the data is being sent, supporting applications in which a sensor may be either permanently embedded in a structure or is difficult to reach for servicing. Both pulsed and continuous-wave ultrasound techniques are described. Experimental data is presented showing the performance of the techniques when implemented using 1 MHz transducers mounted on a 15.24 cm (6 inch) thick steel wall. The results show that data rates on the order of 500 bits per second are readily available using simple communications techniques. Higher rates are possible if equalization is used to mitigate the effects of the multipath propagation within the steel block

Interdisciplinary working in public health research: a proposed good practice checklist.

Background: Guidance on how different disciplines from the natural, behavioural and social sciences can collaborate to resolve complex public health problems is lacking. This article presents a checklist to support researchers and principle investigators to develop and implement interdisciplinary collaborations. Methods: Fourteen individuals, representing 10 disciplines, participated in in-depth interviews to explore the strengths and challenges of working together on an interdisciplinary project to identify the determinants of substance use and gambling disorders, and to make recommendations for future interdisciplinary teams. Data were analysed thematically and a checklist was derived from insights offered by participants during interview and discussion among the authors on the implications of findings. Results: Participants identified 18 scientific, interactional and structural strengths and challenges of interdisciplinary research. These findings were used to develop an 18-item BASICS checklist to support future interdisciplinary collaborations. The five domains of the checklist are: (i) Blueprint, (ii) Attitudes, (iii) Staffing, (iv) Interactions and (v) Core Science. Conclusion: Interdisciplinary work has the potential to advance public health science but the numerous challenges should not be underestimated. Use of a checklist, such as BASICS, when planning and managing projects may help future collaborations to avoid some of the common pitfalls of interdisciplinary research

The SIPHER consortium : introducing the new UK hub for systems science in public health and health economic research

The conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age are key drivers of health and inequalities in life chances. To maximise health and wellbeing across the whole population, we need well-coordinated action across government sectors, in areas including economic, education, welfare, labour market and housing policy. Current research struggles to offer effective decision support on the cross-sector strategic alignment of policies, and to generate evidence that gives budget holders the confidence to change the way major investment decisions are made. This open letter introduces a new research initiative in this space. The SIPHER (Systems Science in Public Health and Health Economics Research) Consortium brings together a multi-disciplinary group of scientists from across six universities, three government partners at local, regional and national level, and ten practice partner organisations. The Consortium’s vision is a shift from health policy to healthy public policy, where the wellbeing impacts of policies are a core consideration across government sectors. Researchers and policy makers will jointly tackle fundamental questions about: a) the complex causal relationships between upstream policies and wellbeing, economic and equality outcomes; b) the multi-sectoral appraisal of costs and benefits of alternative investment options; c) public values and preferences for different outcomes, and how necessary trade-offs can be negotiated; and d) creating the conditions for intelligence-led adaptive policy design that maximises progress against economic, social and health goals. Whilst our methods will be adaptable across policy topics and jurisdictions, we will initially focus on four policy areas: Inclusive Economic Growth, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Mental Wellbeing and Housing

Interfacial Chemistry in Al/CuO Reactive Nanomaterial and Its Role in Exothermic Reaction.

Interface layers between reactive and energetic materials in nanolaminates or nanoenergetic materials are believed to play a crucial role in the properties of nanoenergetic systems. Typically, in the case of Metastable Interstitial Composite nanolaminates, the interface layer between the metal and oxide controls the onset reaction temperature, reaction kinetics, and stability at low temperature. So far, the formation of these interfacial layers is not well understood for lack of in situ characterization, leading to a poor control of important properties. We have combined in situ infrared spectroscopy and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, in conjunction with firstprinciples calculations to identify the stable configurations that can occur at the interface and determine the kinetic barriers for their formation. We find that (i) an interface layer formed during physical deposition of aluminum is composed of a mixture of Cu, O, and Al through Al penetration into CuO and constitutes a poor diffusion barrier (i.e., with spurious exothermic reactions at lower temperature), and in contrast, (ii) atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alumina layers using trimethylaluminum (TMA)produces a conformal coating that effectively prevents Al diffusion even for ultrathin layer thicknesses (∼0.5 nm), resulting in better stability at low temperature and reduced reactivity. Importantly, the initial reaction of TMA with CuO leads to the extraction of oxygen from CuO to form an amorphous interfacial layer that is an important component for superior protection properties of the interface and is responsible for the high system stability. Thus, while Al e-beam evaporation and ALD growth of an alumina layer on CuO both lead to CuO reduction, the mechanism for oxygen removal is different, directly affecting the resistance to Al diffusion. This work reveals that it is the nature of the monolayer interface between CuO and alumina/Al rather than the thickness of the alumina layer that controls the kinetics of Al diffusion, underscoring the importance of the chemical bonding at the interface in these energetic materials

Public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer in England in 2015: A population-based survey

Background: Public knowledge of the association between alcohol and cancer is reported to be low. We aimed to provide up-to-date evidence for England regarding awareness of the link between alcohol and different cancers and to determine whether awareness differs by demographic characteristics, alcohol use, and geographic region. Methods: A representative sample of 2100 adults completed an online survey in July 2015. Respondents were asked to identify which health outcomes, including specific cancers, may be caused by alcohol consumption. Logistic regressions explored whether demographic, alcohol use, and geographic characteristics predicted correctly identifying alcohol-related cancer risk. Results: Unprompted, 12.9% of respondents identified cancer as a potential health outcome of alcohol consumption. This rose to 47% when prompted (compared to 95% for liver disease and 73% for heart disease). Knowledge of the link between alcohol and specific cancers varied between 18% (breast) and 80% (liver). Respondents identified the following cancers as alcohol-related where no such evidence exists: bladder (54%), brain (32%), ovarian (17%). Significant predictors of awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer were being female, more highly educated, and living in North-East England. Conclusion: There is generally low awareness of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer, particularly breast cancer. Greater awareness of the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer in NorthEast England, where a mass media campaign highlighted this relationship, suggests that population awareness can be influenced by social marketing

Awareness of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer is associated with public support for alcohol policies

Background: Globally, alcohol is causally related to 2.5 million deaths per year and 12.5% of these are due to cancer. Previous research has indicated that public awareness of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer is low and this may contribute to a lack of public support for alcohol policies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between awareness of the alcohol-cancer link and support for a range of alcohol policies in an English sample and policy context. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 2100 adult residents in England was conducted in which respondents answered questions regarding awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer and support for 21 policy proposals. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the 21 policy proposals down to a set of underlying factors. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to estimate the relationship between awareness of the alcohol-cancer link and each of these policy factors. Results: Thirteen per cent of the sample were aware of the alcohol-cancer link unprompted, a further 34% were aware when prompted and 53% were not aware of the link. PCA reduced the policy items to four policy factors, which were named price and availability, marketing and information, harm reduction and drink driving. Awareness of the alcohol-cancer link unprompted was associated with increased support for each of four underlying policy factors: price and availability (Beta: 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.10), marketing and information (Beta: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.09), harm reduction (Beta: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.14), and drink driving (Beta: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.20). Conclusions: Support for alcohol policies is greater among individuals who are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer. At the same time, a large proportion of people are unaware of the alcohol-cancer link and so increasing awareness may be an effective approach to increasing support for alcohol policies

Micronucleus-Specific DNA Sequences in an Amicronucleate Mutant of Tetrahymena

DNA from the amicronucleate Tetrahymena cell line BI3840 was probed for DNA sequences which are limited to the micronucleus in wild-type cells. Four micronucleus-specific DNA sequences were not detectable in DNA from the amicronucleate cell line. Two of the six micronucleus-specific DNA sequences tested hybridized to DNA from amicronucleate cells. Both the number of fragments homologous to these sequences and the intensity of hybridization were reduced in the DNA from the amicronucleate cells relative to DNA from a wild-type cell line, indicating that less than one micronucleus equivalent of the micronucleus-specific DNA sequences was retained in the amicronucleate cell line. Thus many micronucleus-specific DNA sequences were eliminated from the developing macronucleus of BI3840 as they are in wild-type cells, but in at least two cases the elimination was incomplete. In situ hybridization suggested that the DNA sequences which are limited to the micronucleus in wild-type cells are present in the macronucleus of the amicronucleate cell line. Southern blots of DNA from the amicronucleate cell line were also probed with DNA sequences which are retained in the macronucleus. At least two types of genome rearrangements occurred in the BI3840 macronucleus as they do in wild-type cells. No spurious rearrangements were observed

Market segmentation tools provide insights into demographic variations in bowel cancer screening uptake

Background: The National Health Service Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NHS BCSP) aims to detect individuals who have precancerous polyps or early stage cancer, when it is easier to treat. To be effective, a screening uptake of at least 52% is required. Variations in uptake by demographic characteristic are reported and the aim of this study was to better understand who participates in the NHS BCSP, to inform action to address inequalities in screening uptake. Methods: Invitation-level data for the Derbyshire population were supplied by the NHS BCSP Eastern Hub for the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2016. Data were linked by postal code to the Mosaic Public Sector Segmentation tool. Descriptive analysis using 14 groups and 61 types within Mosaic was undertaken to offer insight into the demographic, lifestyle and behavioural traits of people living in small geographies against their screening uptake, with a particular focus on identifying population groups with an uptake below 52% and so at risk of health inequalities. Results: 180 176 screening invitations were dispatched with an overall uptake of 60.55%. Six Mosaic groups have an uptake below the 52% acceptable level: urban cohesion, rental hubs, transient renters, family basics, vintage value and municipal tenants. These groups are characterised by high levels of social-rented accommodation, multicultural urban communities and transient populations. Conclusion: Segmentation tools offer an effective way to generate novel insights into bowel cancer screening uptake and develop tailored strategies for working with identified communities to increase participation