Using Administrative Data to Count Local Populations

There is growing evidence that official population statistics based on the decennial census are inaccurate at the local authority level—the fundamental administrative unit of the UK. This paper investigates the use of locally available administrative data sets for counting populations. The method uses truth tables for combining different data sources with different population coverage according to a defined and therefore replicable set of rules. The result is timelier and geographically more flexible data which is more cost-effective to produce than a survey-based census. Associated techniques for linking diverse data sources at individual and household level are briefly discussed. The methodology is then applied to administrative data from a London borough with about 170,000 people. The results are evaluated and compared with other population sources. The paper concludes by discussing potential improvements including scaling up the work to cover multiple local authorities. The practicalities of using alternative central government data sets are briefly considered. A sequel paper in this journal provides examples of key applications of this approach at local level

Tissue biochemical diversity of 20 gooseberry cultivars and the effect of ethylene supplementation on postharvest life

The European gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) is still an understudied crop with limited data available on its biochemical profile and postharvest life. A variety of polyphenols were detected in the skin and flesh of 20 gooseberry cvs, representing mainly flavonol glycosides, anthocyanins and flavan-3-ols. In contrast, gooseberry seeds were for the first time characterised by the presence of considerable amounts of hydroxycinnamic acid glycosides tentatively identified by UPLC-QToF/MS. All cvs examined represented a good source of vitamin C while being low in sugar. Furthermore, the postharvest stability of bioactives was explored by supplementation of exogenous ethylene in air at 5 °C. Results suggest a low sensitivity of gooseberries to ethylene. The overall quality of gooseberries remained stable over two weeks, showing potential for extended bioactive life

Unpulsed UBV Optical Emission from the Crab Pulsar

Based on observations of the Crab pulsar using the TRIFFID high speed imaging photometer in the UBV bands using the Special Astrophysical Observatory's 6m telescope in the Russian Caucasus, we report the detection of pronounced emission during the so-called `off' phase of emission. Following de-extinction, this unpulsed component of emission is shown to be consistent with a power law with an exponent of alpha = -0.60 +/- 0.37, the uncertainty being dominated by the error associated with the independent CCD photometry used to reference the TRIFFID data. This suggests a steeper power law form than that reported elsewhere in the literature for the total integrated spectrum, which is essentially flat with alpha ~ 0.1, although the difference in this case is only significant at the ~ 2 sigma level. Deeper reference integrated and TRIFFID phase-resolved photometry in these bands in conjunction with further observations in the UV and R region would constrain this fit further.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, uses aasms4.sty, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

RESPOND – A patient-centred programme to prevent secondary falls in older people presenting to the emergency department with a fall: Protocol for a mixed methods programme evaluation.

Background Programme evaluations conducted alongside randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have potential to enhance understanding of trial outcomes. This paper describes a multi-level programme evaluation to be conducted alongside an RCT of a falls prevention programme (RESPOND). Objectives 1) To conduct a process evaluation in order to identify the degree of implementation fidelity and associated barriers and facilitators. 2) To evaluate the primary intended impact of the programme: participation in fall prevention strategies, and the factors influencing participation. 3) To identify the factors influencing RESPOND RCT outcomes: falls, fall injuries and ED re-presentations. Methods/ Design Five hundred and twenty eight community-dwelling adults aged 60–90 years presenting to two EDs with a fall will be recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention or standard care group. All RESPOND participants and RESPOND clinicians will be included in the evaluation. A mixed methods design will be used and a programme logic model will frame the evaluation. Data will be sourced from interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, clinician case notes, recruitment records, participant-completed calendars, hospital administrative datasets, and audio-recordings of intervention contacts. Quantitative data will be analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics and qualitative data will be interpreted using thematic analysis. Discussion The RESPOND programme evaluation will provide information about contextual and influencing factors related to the RCT outcomes. The results will assist researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to make decisions about future falls prevention interventions. Insights gained are likely to be transferable to preventive health programmes for a range of chronic conditions

RESPOND – A patient-centred program to prevent secondary falls in older people presenting to the emergency department with a fall: Protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial

Introduction: Participation in falls prevention activities by older people following presentation to the Emergency Department (ED) with a fall is suboptimal. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) will test the RESPOND program which is designed to improve older persons’ participation in falls prevention activities through delivery of patient-centred education and behaviour change strategies. Design and setting: An RCT at two tertiary referral EDs in Melbourne and Perth, Australia. Participants: Five-hundred and twenty eight community-dwelling people aged 60-90 years presenting to the ED with a fall and discharged home will be recruited. People who: require an interpreter or hands-on assistance to walk; live in residential aged care or >50 kilometres from the trial hospital; have terminal illness, cognitive impairment, documented aggressive behaviour or history of psychosis; are receiving palliative care; or are unable to use a telephone will be excluded. Methods: Participants will be randomly allocated to the RESPOND intervention or standard care control group. RESPOND incorporates: (1) home-based risk factor assessment; (2) education, coaching, goal setting, and follow-up telephone support for management of one or more of four risk factors with evidence of effective intervention; and (3) healthcare provider communication and community linkage delivered over six months. Primary outcomes are falls and fall injuries per-person-year. Discussion: RESPOND builds on prior falls prevention learnings and aims to help individuals make guided decisions about how they will manage their falls risk. Patient-centred models have been successfully trialled in chronic and cardiovascular disease however evidence to support this approach in falls prevention is limited. Trial registration. The protocol for this study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12614000336684)

The reflective fostering programme: evaluating the intervention co-delivered by social work professionals and foster carers

PURPOSE: There is little evidence regarding how to best support the emotional well-being of children in foster care. This paper aims to present the evaluation of an adaptation of the reflective fostering programme, a group-based programme to support foster carers. This study aimed to explore whether a version of the programme, co-delivered by a social work professional and an experienced foster carer, was acceptable and relevant to foster carers and to gather data on programme effectiveness. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In total, 38 foster carers attended the programme and took part in this study. Data was collected regarding carer- and child-focused outcomes at pre-intervention, post-intervention and four-month follow-up. Focus interviews were also conducted to further assess acceptability and relevance for foster carers. FINDINGS: Analysis of quantitative outcome showed statistically significant improvements in all outcomes considered including foster carers stress and carer-defined problems, as well as carer-reported measures of child difficulties. Focus group interviews with foster carers suggested that the programme as co-delivered by a foster carer and a social worker was felt to be relevant and helpful to foster carers. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: These results provide a unique contribution to limited understandings of what works for supporting foster carers and the children in their care. Promising evidence is provided for the acceptability and relevance of the revised version of this novel support programme and its effectiveness in terms of carer- and child-related outcome measures. This work paves the way for further necessary impact evaluation

Thermal behaviour of iron arsenides under non-oxidising conditions

Fe2As has been studied in situ by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) over the range of temperatures 25–850 °C and under a neutral atmosphere to understand its thermal behavior, which is potentially important for gold extraction. For the first time, incongruent high-temperature reactions of Fe2As are observed as it breaks down and the existence of a previously undiscovered high-temperature FeAs phase with an NiAs-type structure has been determined experimentally. No evidence has been found for the existence of the high-temperature Fe3As2 phase. Hence, the previously published phase diagram for the Fe–As system has to be modified accordingly

Phase diagram and phase transitions in ferroelectric tris-sarcosine calcium chloride and its brominated isomorphs

Tris-sarcosine calcium chloride [(TSCC), (CH3NHCH2COOH)3CaCl2] is a uniaxial ferroelectric (FE) with a displacive second-order phase transition near Tc=130 K. A continuous range of solid solutions can be made by substituting Br for Cl, which lowers Tc to 0 K at ∼72% Br. Such a quantum critical point differs from that in pseudocubic FEs, such as O-18 SrTiO3 or doped KTaO3. For many years, this system was thought to have only two phases, paraelectric and FE, at ambient pressure. However, we find from dielectric and resonant ultrasound spectroscopy that there are four phase transitions in TSCC and in TSCC:Br (for 0 < Br < 40%): Order-disorder of the sarcosine methyl group at 185 K; displacive FE transition at 130 K (in pure TSCC); a second FE transition [previously hypothesized to be antiferroelectric (AFE) but probably not] at 64 K; and a new anomaly at ∼45 K which might be due to a phase transition or to Debye-like freezing of orientational disorder of some part of the sarcosine molecule. The probable sequence of structures is (upon cooling): Pnma with Z=4(D2h16) ambient 500 K > T > 185 K, disordered; Pnma with Z=4(D2h16)185 K>T>130 K (ordered); Pn21a with Z=4(C2v9)130 K>T>64 K (FE); P21a (C2h5) with Z =4, 64 K > T > 45 K (not AFE); T < 45 K, unknown structure. A sixth hexagonal structure at high temperatures (>500 K) is hypothesized to be D6h3(P63/mcm) with Z =2, but the samples decompose first at 503 K (230 °C)

Thermal Behavior of Iron Arsenides Under Non-Oxidizing Conditions.

Fe2As has been studied in situ by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) over the range of temperatures 25-850 °C and under a neutral atmosphere to understand its thermal behavior, which is potentially important for gold extraction. For the first time, incongruent high-temperature reactions of Fe2As are observed as it breaks down and the existence of a previously undiscovered high-temperature FeAs phase with an NiAs-type structure has been determined experimentally. No evidence has been found for the existence of the high-temperature Fe3As2 phase. Hence, the previously published phase diagram for the Fe-As system has to be modified accordingly