Establishing the potential for using routine data on Incapacity Benefit to assess the local impact of policy initiatives

<i>Background</i>: Incapacity Benefit (IB) is the key contributory benefit for people who are incapable of work because of illness or disability. <i>Methods</i>: The aims were to establish the utility of routinely collected data for local evaluation and to provide a descriptive epidemiology of the IB population in Glasgow and Scotland for the period 2000–05 using data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions. <i>Results</i>: Glasgow's IB population is large in absolute and relative terms but is now falling, mainly due to a decrease in on flow. Claimants, tend to be older, have a poor work history and suffer from mental health problems. The rate of decline has been greater in Glasgow than Scotland, although the rate of on flow is still higher. <i>Conclusions</i>: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data can be used locally to provide important insights into the dynamics of the IB population. However, to be truly useful, more work needs to be undertaken to combine the DWP data with other information

Microphysics and Radiative Properties of Cirrus: Instrumentation and Analysis

This section summarizes the scientific questions which originated with participation in FIRE II in Coffeyville KA, evolved through participation in several field projects related to FIRE and culminated in participation in FIRE III in the Arctic in March / May 1998. It is noted that many of the ideas generated in FIRE II 1992 - 1995 and published under the grant involving the role of CCN in cirrus formation have been followed through in this grant and have also been central in the ideas for work under the SUCCESS project and the laboratory work currently supported by NSF

In situ aerosol optics in Reno, NV, USA during and after the summer 2008 California wildfires and the influence of absorbing and non-absorbing organic coatings on spectral light absorption

Hundreds of wildfires in Northern California were sparked by lightning during the summer of 2008, resulting in downwind smoke for the months of June and July. Comparisons are reported for aerosol optics measurements in Reno, Nevada made during the very smoky month of July and the relatively clean month of August. Photoacoustic instruments equipped with integrating nephelometers were used to measure aerosol light scattering and absorption coefficients at wavelengths of 405 nm and 870 nm, revealing a strong variation of aerosol light absorption with wavelength. Insight on fuels burned is gleaned from comparison of Ångström exponents of absorption (AEA) versus single scattering albedo (SSA) of the ambient measurements with laboratory biomass smoke measurements for many fuels. Measurements during the month of August, which were largely unaffected by fire smoke, exhibit surprisingly low AEA for aerosol light absorption when the SSA is highest, again likely as a consequence of the underappreciated wavelength dependence of aerosol light absorption by particles coated with non-absorbing organic and inorganic matter. Coated sphere calculations were used to show that AEA as large as 1.6 are possible for wood smoke even with non-absorbing organic coatings on black carbon cores, suggesting care be exercised when diagnosing AEA

The influence of experience on contest assessment strategies

Abstract Animal contest behaviour has been widely studied, yet major knowledge gaps remain concerning the information-gathering and decision-making processes used during encounters. The mutual assessment strategy, where the individual assesses its own fighting ability (Resource Holding Potential, RHP) and compares it to that of its opponent, is least understood. We hypothesise that individuals need experience of agonistic encounters to become proficient at mutual assessment. Pigs (Sus scrofa, n = 316) were contested twice. In between contests, animals did or did not (control) receive intense fighting experience. A substantial proportion of the contests reached an outcome with a clear winner without fighting. Non-escalation was highest in RHP asymmetric dyads of the second contest, irrespective of experience. In contest 1 (no experience) and in contest 2 for the experienced animals, costs increased with loser RHP and where unaffected by winner RHP, suggesting a self-assessment strategy. In contest 2 control dyads, which only had experience of one prior contest, a negative relation between winner RHP and costs suggested mutual assessment during the pre-escalation phase but not during escalated aggression. This reveals that a brief and relatively mild experience can be beneficial in the development of mutual assessment whereas profound experience may result in adoption of a self-assessment strategy

Part A: Cirrus ice crystal nucleation and growth. Part B: Automated analysis of aircraft ice particle data

Specific measurement of cirrus crystals by aircraft and temperature modified CN are used to specify measurements necessary to provide a basis for a conceptual model of cirrus particle formation. Key to this is the ability to measure the complete spectrum of particles at cirrus levels. The most difficult regions for such measurement is from a few to 100 microns, and uses a replicator. The details of the system to automate replicator data analysis are given, together with an example case study of the system provided from a cirrus cloud in FIRE 2, with particles detectable by replicator and FSSP, but not 2DC

Use of tobacco and e-cigarettes among youth in Great Britain in 2022: analysis of a cross sectional survey

Introduction: Although e-cigarettes can be an effective form of nicotine substitution for adults attempting to quit smoking, their use among children and young people is a concern. Accurate data about this are needed to inform debates over policy and regulation in the UK and elsewhere. Methods: Using data from an online survey of 2613 youth aged 11–18 years, conducted by the market research company YouGov in March 2022, we present prevalence estimates of e-cigarette and tobacco use. We use logistic regression models to assess differences in e-cigarette use, tobacco use and use of disposable e-cigarettes across a range of covariates including age, sex, tobacco smoking status, social class, and country. Results: Among the 18.0% of those surveyed who reported ever having smoked a cigarette, 83.9% were not regular (at least once per week) smokers and 16.1% were (15.1% and 2.9% of the total sample, respectively). Among the 19.2% of those surveyed who had ever used an e-cigarette, 79.2% were not regular users, while 20.8% were (15.2% and 4.0% of the total sample, respectively). Regular e-cigarette use was more common than regular tobacco smoking (4.0% vs 2.9%). E-cigarette use was more common among those who also smoked tobacco, with 9.0% of never e-cigarette users ever smoking tobacco, compared with 89.4% of regular e-cigarette users. Both smoking and e-cigarette use were associated with increasing age and use by others within the home, but not with social class. Use of disposable e-cigarettes was reported by 53.8% of those who have ever used an e-cigarette, and more common among females than males. Conclusions: Regular e-cigarette use is now more common than smoking in children and youth, though the majority of this is among those who have also smoked tobacco. Measures to reduce the appeal of both e-cigarettes and tobacco to children and young people are warranted

Photoacoustic and nephelometric spectroscopy of aerosol optical properties with a supercontinuum light source

A novel multi-wavelength photoacousticnephelometer spectrometer (SC-PNS) has been developed for the optical characterization of atmospheric aerosol particles. This instrument integrates a white light supercontinuum laser with photoacoustic and nephelometric spectroscopy to measure aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients at five wavelength bands (centered at 417, 475, 542, 607, and 675 nm). These wavelength bands are selected from the continuous spectrum of the laser (ranging from 400-2200 nm) using a set of optical interference filters. Absorption and scattering measurements on laboratory-generated aerosol samples were performed sequentially at each wavelength band. To test the instrument we measured the wavelength dependence of absorption and scattering coefficients of kerosene soot and common salt aerosols. Results were favorably compared to those obtained with a commercial 3-wavelength photoacoustic and nephelometer instrument demonstrating the utility of the SC light source for studies of aerosol optical properties at selected wavelengths. Here, we discuss instrument design, development, calibration, performance and experimental results

Valuable Behavioural Phenotypes in Australian Farm Dogs

This report presents findings regarding the ways to optimise the performance of livestock working dogs in Australia. The methods available to optimise dog performance include both environmental and genetic factors. The objectives of this study were to identify objective measures of desirable behavioural phenotypes in Australian livestock working dogs and explore genetic parameters of these \u27quality of working life\u27 traits within the Kelpie breed. The document reports on genotyping that reveals gene-behaviour associations and describes heritability estimates that underpin a database for potential estimated breeding value (EBV) calculations