Exploration of likely engagement with monetary contingency contracts for weight loss: A questionnaire study.

Monetary Contingency Contracts (MCCs) are schemes that ask individuals to pledge money that is returned contingent on behaviour change. In relation to weight loss, this study explored likely levels of engagement with MCCs, how much individuals would be willing to pay into an MCC, and how these amounts vary under different contract conditions. Fifty-six individuals with BMI above 25 who were motivated to lose weight were recruited. The majority of participants (87.5%) indicated that they would be willing to engage with weight loss MCCs, but showed more reluctance to subscribe to pair-based MCCs which offered; (a) refunds contingent on the weight loss of a weight loss partner, and (b) ‘all or nothing refunds’ in which no reward is given for any weight loss below the target weight loss goal. This study provides preliminary evidence that individuals motivated to lose weight may be willing to engage with weight loss MCCs. Further research is needed to explore reasons for reluctance to subscribe to MCCs with certain conditions, to inform the design of future experimental studies testing the efficacy of MCCs as part of an intervention for weight loss

Patterns and predictors of e-cigarette, cigarette and dual use uptake in UK adolescents: Evidence from a 24-month prospective study

Background and Aims: To assess prevalence and predictors of e-cigarettes/cigarettes patterns of use in adolescents in England. Design: Prospective study with 24-month follow-up of e-cigarette/cigarette ever/regular use with data from an intervention evaluation. Setting: Forty-five schools in England (Staffordshire and Yorkshire). Participants: 3,210 adolescents who, at baseline, were aged 13-14 years and had never used e-cigarettes/cigarettes. Measurements: Based on e-cigarette/cigarette ever use at follow-up, six groups were created: (a) never user, (b) e-cigarette only, (c) cigarette only, (d) dual use – order of use unclear, (e) dual use – e-cigarettes used first, (f) dual use – cigarettes used first. Baseline measures were: gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, impulsivity, family plus friend smoking, and smoking-related beliefs (attitude and perceived behavioural control). Findings: In groups (a) through (f), there were 71·5%, 13·3%, 3·3%, 5·7%, 2·9%, and 3·4% adolescents, respectively. Among groups using cigarettes, regular smoking was more prevalent in group (f) (dual use – cigarettes used first) (17·6%, 95%CI 10·4, 24·8) than in groups (c), (d) and (e) combined (7·3%, 95%CI 4·7, 9·9). Among groups using e-cigarettes, regular use was less prevalent in group (b) (e-cigarette only) (1·9%, 95%CI 0·6, 3·2) than in groups (d), (e) and (f) combined (12·2%, 95%CI 8·9, 15·5). Higher impulsivity plus friends and family smoking were predictive of being in groups (b) to (f) compared with group (a) (never users). Males were more likely to be in group (b) compared to group (a); females were more likely to be in groups (c) to (f) compared to group (a). Conclusions: Regular use of e-cigarettes/cigarettes varies across groups defined by ever use of e-cigarettes/cigarettes. Interventions targeted at tackling impulsivity or adolescents whose friends and family members smoke may represent fruitful avenues for future research

Enhanced Poleward Moisture Transport and Amplified Northern High-Latitude Wetting Trend

Observations and climate change projections forced by greenhouse gas emissions have indicated a wetting trend in northern high latitudes, evidenced by increasing Eurasian Arctic river discharges1, 2, 3. The increase in river discharge has accelerated in the latest decade and an unprecedented, record high discharge occurred in 2007 along with an extreme loss of Arctic summer sea-ice cover4, 5, 6. Studies have ascribed this increasing discharge to various factors attributable to local global warming effects, including intensifying precipitation minus evaporation, thawing permafrost, increasing greenness and reduced plant transpiration7, 8, 9, 10, 11. However, no agreement has been reached and causal physical processes remain unclear. Here we show that enhancement of poleward atmospheric moisture transport (AMT) decisively contributes to increased Eurasian Arctic river discharges. Net AMT into the Eurasian Arctic river basins captures 98% of the gauged climatological river discharges. The trend of 2.6% net AMT increase per decade accounts well for the 1.8% per decade increase in gauged discharges and also suggests an increase in underlying soil moisture. A radical shift of the atmospheric circulation pattern induced an unusually large AMT and warm surface in 2006–2007 over Eurasia, resulting in the record high discharge

Species diversification – which species should we use?

Large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics; Particle tracking detectors; Gaseous detectors; Calorimeters; Cherenkov detectors; Particle identification methods; Photon detectors for UV. visible and IR photons; Detector alignment and calibration methods; Detector cooling and thermo-stabilization; Detector design and construction technologies and materials. The LHCb experiment is dedicated to precision measurements of CP violation and rare decays of B hadrons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva). The initial configuration and expected performance of the detector and associated systems. as established by test beam measurements and simulation studies. is described. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA