A qualitative evaluation of the Western Cheshire Community Weight Management Programme - Step by Step Healthy Weight and Lifestyle Programme - Interim Report

This report is an interim report for the evaluation of a community weight management programme, Step by Step. Western Cheshire PCT commissioned the University of Chester to evaluate the programme. The overall aim of the evaluation was to reveal the elements of the service that are most likely to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the programme.Western Cheshire PC

An evaluation of the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Network 'Drink a Little Less, See a Better You' social marketing campaign

Drink a Little Less, See a Better You: The NHS Health Check and Wind Down initiative is a social marketing campaign designed to reduce alcohol harm in the target group - men between the ages of 35-55 years - in the pub setting. In order to understand the impact of this initiative, the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Network commissioned the Centre for Public Health Research at the University of Chester to carry out an evaluation.Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Networ

Motivation and function of play in early childhood

It is argued that a classification of play which can be systematically related to motivation and function is a prerequisite for empirical studies. 'Arousal' theories have come closest to providing a framework for understanding motivation and function, but the term 'arousal' itself requires careful definition. Definitions of the terms 'play' and 'arousal' are made after review of relevant literature in Chapters 1 and 2. The behavioural sequences which distinguish different kinds of play axe shown to be amenable to quantitative analysis which confirms qualitative behavioural distinctions (Chapters 3 and 4), and to have different functions: ludic play is innovative, whereas exploratory play is more akin to a learning experience (Chapter 5). Chapters 6,7 and 8 draw attention to analogies between manipulative and symbolic play, and experimental investigations explore the relationship between symbolic play and cognitive abilities. No evidence is found for a unique role of symbolic play in cognitive development. The validity of arousal theories is specifically tested in three studies reported in Chapter 9. Theoretical predictions suggest that the motivational antecedents of play and day-dreaming will be similar: the physiological correlates of play and daydreaming are shown to be similar, and to reflect lower states of arousal than are found during exploration and problem-solving. Finally, a model of play is proposed which attempts to integrate the experimental findings within the terms of motivational systems theory. This permits a classification of play which can be directly related to functional outcomes

A dynamic human capital perspective on corporate opportunity identification

Hughes, Ucbasaran and Lewis observe that, despite a plethora of prior studies, little systematic and careful attention has been given to internal variables in studying corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Rather, most research has focused on external variables, such as the environment. Given the paucity of research on internal variables, the authors focus on the role of human capital in promoting CE. In conceptualizing CE, Hughes et al. emphasize corporate opportunity identification—an issue that has not been well studied in the literature. They propose that companies with better skilled human capital would be better positioned to identify more opportunities than companies with lower quality human capital. Hughes et al. make a distinction between two types of human capital: firm-specific and entrepreneurial-specific. They further observe that the relationship with opportunity identification will be higher (stronger) for firm-specific and entrepreneurial-specific human capital. Moreover, they advance that the relationship between human capital and opportunity identification will be moderated by the firm’s systems and processes. Next, they propose that increases in corporate opportunity recognition can lead to increased and higher skilled human capital, thereby recognizing the importance of CE as an important mechanism for employee engagement that enhances firm capabilities

Electrical characterization of the soft breakdown failure mode in MgO layers

The soft breakdown (SBD) failure mode in 20 nm thick MgO dielectric layers grown on Si substrates was investigated. We show that during a constant voltage stress, charge trapping and progressive breakdown coexist, and that the degradation dynamics is captured by a power-law time dependence. We also show that the SBD current-voltage (I-V) characteristics follow the power-law model I = aVb typical of this conduction mechanism but in a wider voltage window than the one reported in the past for SiO2. The relationship between the magnitude of the current and the normalized differential conductance was analyzed

PCR-based gene synthesis to produce recombinant proteins for crystallization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene synthesis technologies are an important tool for structural biology projects, allowing increased protein expression through codon optimization and facilitating sequence alterations. Existing methods, however, can be complex and not always reproducible, prompting researchers to use commercial suppliers rather than synthesize genes themselves.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A PCR-based gene synthesis method, referred to as SeqTBIO, is described to efficiently assemble the coding regions of two novel hyperthermophilic proteins, PAZ (Piwi/Argonaute/Zwille) domain, a siRNA-binding domain of an Argonaute protein homologue and a deletion mutant of a family A DNA polymerase (PolA). The gene synthesis procedure is based on sequential assembly such that homogeneous DNA products can be obtained after each synthesis step without extensive manipulation or purification requirements. Coupling the gene synthesis procedure to <it>in vivo </it>homologous recombination techniques allows efficient subcloning and site-directed mutagenesis for error correction. The recombinant proteins of PAZ and PolA were subsequently overexpressed in <it>E. coli </it>and used for protein crystallization. Crystals of both proteins were obtained and they were suitable for X-ray analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrate, by using PAZ and PolA as examples, the feasibility of integrating the gene synthesis, error correction and subcloning techniques into a non-automated gene to crystal pipeline such that genes can be designed, synthesized and implemented for recombinant expression and protein crystallization.</p

Spectral index of the H2O-maser emitting planetary nebula IRAS 17347-3139

We present radio continuum observations of the planetary nebula (PN) IRAS 17347-3139 (one of the only two known to harbour water maser emission), made to derive its spectral index and the turnover frequency of the emission. The spectrum of the source rises in the whole frequency range sampled, from 2.4 to 24.9 GHz, although the spectral index seems to decrease at the highest frequencies (0.79+-0.04 between 4.3 and 8.9 GHz, and 0.64+-0.06 between 16.1 and 24.9 GHz). This suggests a turnover frequency around 20 GHz (which is unusual among PNe, whose radio emission usually becomes optically thin at frequencies < 10 GHz), and a relatively high emission measure (1.5 x 10^9 cm^{-6} pc). The radio continuum emission has increased by a factor of ~1.26 at 8.4 GHz in 13 years, which can be explained as expansion of the ionized region by a factor of ~1.12 in radius with a dynamical age of ~120 yr and at an expansion velocity of ~5-40 km/s. These radio continuum characteristics, together with the presence of water maser emission and a strong optical extinction suggest that IRAS 17347-3139 is one of the youngest PNe known, with a relatively massive progenitor star.Comment: Five pages, 2 figures, accepted by MNRA

Um conto infantil de Ted Hughes

Tradução de: Lorena Leite Miranda.Talvez a marca distintiva da literatura infantil de Ted Hughes seja o respeito pela inteligência da criança

Water maser detections in southern candidates to post-AGB stars and Planetary Nebulae

We intended to study the incidence and characteristics of water masers in the envelopes of stars in the post-AGB and PN evolutionary stages. We have used the 64-m antenna in Parkes (Australia) to search for water maser emission at 22 GHz, towards a sample of 74 sources with IRAS colours characteristic of post-AGB stars and PNe, at declination $< -32 \deg$. In our sample, 39% of the sources are PNe or PNe candidates, and 50% are post-AGB stars or post-AGB candidates. We have detected four new water masers, all of them in optically obscured sources: three in PNe candidates (IRAS 12405-6219, IRAS 15103-5754, and IRAS 16333-4807); and one in a post-AGB candidate (IRAS 13500-6106). The PN candidate IRAS 15103-5754 has water fountain characteristics, and it could be the first PN of this class found. We confirm the tendency suggested in Paper I that the presence of water masers in the post-AGB phase is favoured in obscured sources with massive envelopes. We propose an evolutionary scenario for water masers in the post-AGB and PNe stages, in which ``water fountain'' masers could develop during post-AGB and early PN stages. Later PNe would show lower velocity maser emission, both along jets and close to the central objects, with only the central masers remaining in more evolved PNe.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

2D‐Hexagonal Boron Nitride Screen‐Printed Bulk‐Modified Electrochemical Platforms Explored towards Oxygen Reduction Reactions

A low‐cost, scalable and reproducible approach for the mass production of screen‐printed electrode (SPE) platforms that have varying percentage mass incorporations of 2D hexagonal boron nitride (2D‐hBN) (2D‐hBN/SPEs) is demonstrated herein. These novel 2D‐hBN/SPEs are explored as a potential metal‐free electrocatalysts towards oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) within acidic media where their performance is evaluated. A 5% mass incorporation of 2D‐hBN into the SPEs resulted in the most beneficial ORR catalysis, reducing the ORR onset potential by ca. 200 mV in comparison to bare/unmodified SPEs. Furthermore, an increase in the achievable current of 83% is also exhibited upon the utilisation of a 2D‐hBN/SPE in comparison to its unmodified equivalent. The screen‐printed fabrication approach replaces the less‐reproducible and time‐consuming dropcasting technique of 2D‐hBN and provides an alternative approach for the large‐scale manufacture of novel electrode platforms that can be utilised in a variety of application