Scale Selection in the Stratified Convection of the Solar Photosphere

We examine the role of stratification in determining the length scales of turbulent anelastic convection. Motivated by the range of scales observed in convection at the solar photosphere, we perform local numerical simulations of convection for a range of density contrasts in large domains, analyzing both the Eulerian and Lagrangian statistics of the flow. We consider the two cases of constant dynamic viscosity and constant kinematic viscosity. We discuss the implications of our results to the issue of solar mesogranulation

Evaluation of the South Wales Know The Score Intervention

Drunkenness is associated with a wide range of health and social harms, including alcohol poisoning, unintentional injury, violence, sexual assault and public disorder. Whilst the sale of alcohol to people who are drunk is illegal under UK law, public awareness of this legislation and bar server compliance with it appears to be low. In 2015, to address the sale of alcohol to drunks, the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales and South Wales Police developed and implemented the Know the Score #drinklessenjoymore pilot intervention. The intervention aimed to increase bar staff and public awareness of the law and promote responsible drinking behaviours in nightlife environments. This report presents an evaluation of the Know The Score intervention which was undertaken to inform the development of the intervention and provide a baseline for evaluating future work

Evaluation of the Liverpool Drink Less Enjoy More intervention

In the UK it is an offence to knowingly sell alcohol to, or purchase alcohol for, a drunk person (Regulated under Section 141 and 142 of the Licensing Act 2003). However, until recent times public awareness, bar server compliance and police enforcement of this legislation has appeared to be low. Critically, UK nightlife environments are often characterised by high levels of intoxication and alcohol-related harms. Excessive alcohol use damages the public’s health, while managing nightlife drunkenness and associated problems such as anti-social behaviour and violence places huge demands on police, local authorities and health services. To reduce such harms an extensive range of policies and interventions have been implemented at local and national levels including high profile policing, changes to licensing laws and environmental measures to improve safety. Whilst there is some evidence to indicate that these measures may contain and manage alcohol-related harms, they do little to reduce levels of intoxication or address harmful and pervasive cultures of nightlife drunkenness. A study conducted in Liverpool in 2013 found that 84% of alcohol purchase attempts by pseudo-intoxicated actors in pubs, bars and nightclubs were successful (i.e. alcohol was sold to the actor; Hughes et al., 2014). Studies conducted elsewhere have suggested that reductions in the service of alcohol to drunks, and associated harms, in nightlife settings can be achieved through the implementation of multi-component interventions that incorporate community mobilisation, enforcement of the laws around the service of alcohol to drunks and responsible bar server training. Thus to address the sale of alcohol to drunks in the city’s nightlife, local partners developed and implemented the multi-component Say No To Drunks pilot intervention. The intervention aimed to: increase awareness of legislation preventing sales of alcohol to drunks; support bar staff compliance with the law; provide a strong deterrence to selling alcohol to drunks; and promote responsible drinking amongst nightlife users. Following an evaluation of Say No To Drunks, the intervention was further refined, broadened and implemented as a second phase in 2015 – rebranded to Drink Less Enjoy More. To inform the continued development of the intervention, the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University was commissioned to evaluate the intervention, comparing the results to previous work

A cell model for conditional profiling of androgen-receptor-interacting proteins.

Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) is associated with impaired male genital development and can be transmitted through mutations in the androgen receptor (AR). The aim of this study is to develop a cell model suitable for studying the impact AR mutations might have on AR interacting proteins. For this purpose, male genital development relevant mouse cell lines were genetically modified to express a tagged version of wild-type AR, allowing copurification of multiprotein complexes under native conditions followed by mass spectrometry. We report 57 known wild-type AR-interacting proteins identified in cells grown under proliferating and 65 under nonproliferating conditions. Of those, 47 were common to both samples suggesting different AR protein complex components in proliferating and proliferation-inhibited cells from the mouse proximal caput epididymus. These preliminary results now allow future studies to focus on replacing wild-type AR with mutant AR to uncover differences in protein interactions caused by AR mutations involved in PAIS.Peer Reviewe

Associations between e-cigarette access and smoking and drinking behaviours in teenagers

Background: Public health concerns regarding e-cigarettes and debate on appropriate regulatory responses are focusing on the need to prevent child access to these devices. However, little is currently known about the characteristics of those young people that are accessing e-cigarettes. Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey of 14-17 year old school students in North West England (n = 16,193) we examined associations between e-cigarette access and demographics, conventional smoking behaviours, alcohol consumption, and methods of accessing cigarettes and alcohol. Access to e-cigarettes was identified through a question asking students if they had ever tried or purchased e-cigarettes. Results: One in five participants reported having accessed e-cigarettes (19.2%). Prevalence was highest among\ud smokers (rising to 75.8% in those smoking >5 per day), although 15.8% of teenagers that had accessed e-cigarettes had never smoked conventional cigarettes (v.13.6% being ex-smokers). E-cigarette access was independently associated with male gender, having parents/guardians that smoke and students’ alcohol use. Compared with non-drinkers, teenagers that drank alcohol at least weekly and binge drank were more likely to have accessed e-cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.89, P < 0.001), with this association particularly strong among never-smokers (AOR 4.59, P < 0.001). Among drinkers, e-cigarette access was related to: drinking to get drunk, alcohol-related violence, consumption of spirits; self-purchase of alcohol from shops or supermarkets; and accessing alcohol by recruiting adult proxy purchasers outside shops. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for controls on the promotion and sale of e-cigarettes to children. Findings suggest that e-cigarettes are being accessed by teenagers more for experimentation than smoking cessation. Those most likely to access e-cigarettes may already be familiar with illicit methods of accessing age-restricted substances

Higher Order Topological Superconductivity in Magnet-Superconductor Hybrid Systems

Quantum engineering of topological superconductors and of the ensuing Majorana zero modes might hold the key for realizing a new paradigm for the implementation of topological quantum computing and topology-based devices. Magnet-superconductor hybrid (MSH) systems have proven to be experimentally versatile platforms for the creation of topological superconductivity by custom-designing the complex structure of their magnetic layer. Here, we demonstrate that higher order topological superconductivity (HOTSC) can be realized in two-dimensional MSH systems by using stacked magnetic structures. We show that the sensitivity of the HOTSC to the particular magnetic stacking opens an unprecedented ability to tune the system between trivial and topological phases using atomic manipulation techniques. We propose that the realization of HOTSC in MSH systems, and in particular the existence of the characteristic Majorana corner modes, allows for the implementation of a measurement-based protocols for topological quantum computing