Cost-effectiveness of counselling, graded-exercise and usual care for chronic fatigue: evidence from a randomised trial in primary care

Fatigue is common and has been shown to result in high economic costs to society. The aim of this study is to compare the cost-effectiveness of two active therapies, graded-exercise (GET) and counselling (COUN) with usual care plus a self-help booklet (BUC) for people presenting with chronic fatigue

La transición a la universidad: un análisis desde la diversidad de las voces de los estudiantes

La última década puede ser considerada una etapa clave para la formación universitaria de las personas con discapacidad. El incremento significativo de su presencia en las aulas universitarias puede explicarse por la llegada desde la Educación Secundaria de distintas cohortes que recibieron de forma articulada y organizada apoyos singulares, así como por la implementación de una legislación universitaria que promueve la igualdad de oportunidades. Entre estas cabe destacar la matrícula gratuita, la reserva de plazas, la creación de servicios de atención e información y la articulación de acciones para la eliminación de barreras. Este artículo presenta parte de una investigación, desarrollada en el marco del Programa de Estudios y Análisis del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia1. En ella se analiza la transición a la universidad de las personas con discapacidad y los factores que contribuyen a su persistencia. Mediante una metodología cualitativa (entrevista semiestructurada), nos aproximamos a la realidad de la transición de 24 estudiantes, que presentan distintas discapacidades y cursan diversos estudios en distintas universidades de Cataluña. Las dimensiones analizadas en el artículo incluyen sus experiencias sobre los procesos de orientación en Educación Secundaria, su incorporación a la Educación Superior, la provisión de apoyos en su formación, así como su planificación del propio proyecto profesional. Los resultados nos muestran que, aun reconociendo los avances de las dos últimas décadas, se presentan distintos obstáculos a la continuación de los estudios, combinados con la ausencia de dispositivos que faciliten la participación desde la singularidad. Los modelos de identificación interactivos y ecológicos de las situaciones de discapacidad no se han adoptado todavía, lo que conduce a la invisibilidad de situaciones personales en la institución de Educación Superior.The last decade can be considered a key period for the inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education, as their presence has increased considerably. This fact can be explained by the arrival of different groups of students who received individual, organized support in their secondary-school years and the implementation of university laws to ensure that students with disabilities are not discriminated against. The legal measures include free registration, quotas, the creation of care and information service centres and action to remove architectural barriers. This article presents part of the research that has been done under the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education’s Programme of Studies and Analyses to explore both the process of transition to university for people with different disabilities and the factors that contribute to their persistence. The cases of 24 students with different disabilities, enrolled in various programmes at different universities in Catalonia, were studied using methods of qualitative research, such as the semi-structured interview. The article analyzes the orientation processes the students underwent in secondary school, their entry in higher education, the forms of support they received during their education and their career-planning experience. Despite the progress that has been made in the last two decades, research reveal obstacles to higher education, combined with an absence of mechanisms making it easier for students with disabilities to participate from the standpoint of their own singularity. Interactive and ecological models of identification for disability scenarios have not been adopted yet, and as a result personal situations are invisible within the academic institution

Surfactant effect in heteroepitaxial growth. The Pb - Co/Cu(111) case

A MonteCarlo simulations study has been performed in order to study the effect of Pb as surfactant on the initial growth stage of Co/Cu(111). The main characteristics of Co growing over Cu(111) face, i.e. the decorated double layer steps, the multiple layer islands and the pools of vacancies, disappear with the pre-evaporation of a Pb monolayer. Through MC simulations, a full picture of these complex processes is obtained. Co quickly diffuses through the Pb monolayer exchanging place with Cu atoms at the substrate. The exchange process diffusion inhibits the formation of pure Co islands, reducing the surface stress and then the formation of multilayer islands and the pools of vacancies. On the other hand, the random exchange also suppress the nucleation preferential sites generated by Co atoms at Cu steps, responsible of the step decoration.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 figures embedded in the tex

Real Space Observations of Magnesium Hydride Formation and Decomposition

The mechanisms of magnesium hydride formation and thermal decomposition are directly examined using in-situ imaging.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Spin and orbital magnetic moment of reconstructed √2 × √2R45º magnetite(001)

© 2015 American Physical Society. The surface of a magnetite single crystal with (001) orientation has been prepared by sputtering/annealing cycles providing the √2×2√2R45º reconstruction. The distribution of magnetic domains on the surface has been imaged by x-ray magnetic dichroism in a photoemission microscope. The easy axes are along the surface in-plane 110 directions. The near-surface magnetic moment was determined by applying the sum rules to XMCD spectra obtained with different kinetic energies of the secondary electrons. A reduced total moment of 3.3 μB and a ratio of about 0.10 between orbital and spin moment was found, which we attribute to the surface reconstruction.Peer Reviewe

Spin reorientation transition of magnetite (001)

We have imaged the rearrangement of the magnetic domains on magnetite (001) when crossing the spin reorientation transition and the Verwey transition with nanometer resolution. By means of spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy we have monitored the change in the easy axes lowering the temperature through both transitions in remanence. The spin reorientation transition occurs in two steps: initial nucleation and growth of domains with a new surface magnetic orientation is followed by a smooth evolution.We thank Dr. A. T. N'Diaye for his support with the scripts for the color representation of the magnetization. This research was partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under Projects No. MAT2011-52477-C5-2-P, No. MAT2012-38045-C04-01, and No. MAT2015-64110-C2-1-P. G.S.P. and R.B. acknowledge funding from the Austrian Science Fund START prize Y 847-N20 and Project No. P24925-N20. Experiments were performed at the Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Scientific User Facilities Division, of the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. L.M.-G. thanks the MINECO for an FPI contract with reference Contract No. BES-2013-063396. R.B. acknowledges a stipend from the TU Wien and Austrian Science Fund doctoral college Solids4Fun (Project No. W1243). A.M. thanks the support of the Spanish Ministry of Education through Project No. PRX14/00307.Peer Reviewe

Observation of a topologically protected state in a magnetic domain wall stabilized by a ferromagnetic chemical barrier

The precise control and stabilization of magnetic domain walls is key for the development of the next generation magnetic nano-devices. Among the multitude of magnetic configurations of a magnetic domain wall, topologically protected states are of particular interest due to their intrinsic stability. In this work, using XMCD-PEEM, we have observed a topologically protected magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic cylindrical nanowire. Its structure is stabilized by periodic sharp alterations of the chemical composition in the nanowire. The large stability of this topologically protected domain wall contrasts with the mobility of other non-protected and non-chiral states also present in the same nanowire. The micromagnetic simulations show the structure and the conditions required to find the topologically protected state. These results are relevant for the design of future spintronic devices such as domain wall based RF oscillators or magnetic memories

Solving the large discrepancy between inclusive and exclusive measurements of the 8Li+4He→11B+n{}^8{\rm Li}+{}^4{\rm He}\to{}^{11}{\rm B}+n reaction cross section at astrophysical energies

A solution of the large discrepancy existing between inclusive and exclusive measurements of the ${}^8{\rm Li}+{}^4{\rm He}\to{}^{11}{\rm B}+n$ reaction cross section at $E_{cm} <3$ MeV is evaluated. This problem has profound astrophysical relevance for this reaction is of great interest in Big-Bang and r-process nucleosynthesis. By means of a novel technique, a comprehensive study of all existing ${}^8{\rm Li}+{}^4{\rm He}\to{}^{11}{\rm B}+n$ cross section data is carried out, setting up a consistent picture in which all the inclusive measurements provide the reliable value of the cross section. New unambiguous signatures of the strong branch pattern non-uniformities, near the threshold of higher ${}^{11}{\rm B}$ excited levels, are presented and their possible origin, in terms of the cluster structure of the involved excited states of ${}^{11}{\rm B}$ and ${}^{12}{\rm B}$ nuclei, is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl