Drink wise, age well; reducing alcohol related harm among people over 50: a study protocol

Background: Evidence suggests that the use of alcohol among older adults (defined as those aged 50+) has increased in recent years, with people aged 55-64 now more likely to exceed the recommended weekly guidelines than any other age group. Methods/ design: This is a quasi-experimental study with a before-after design. A postal questionnaire will be sent to 76,000 people aged 50 and over registered with a general practice in five different 'demonstration' (intervention) and control areas in the UK. Multiple interventions will then be delivered in demonstration areas across the UK. At the end of the programme, a postal questionnaire will be sent to the same individuals who completed it pre-programme to establish if there has been a reduction in alcohol use, at-risk drinking and alcohol related problems. Qualitative interviews with clients and staff will explore how the interventions were experienced; how they may work to bring about change and to identify areas for practice improvements. Discussion: This study protocol describes a multi-level, multi-intervention prevention-to-treatment programme which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm in people aged 50 and over

Evidence for polarised boron in Co-B and Fe-B alloys

By exploiting the tunability of synchrotron radiation in measurements of spin-resolved photoemission it has proved possible to obtain information on the polarisation of the valence electrons of Co-B and Fe-B amorphous magnetic alloys, Both the spin-integrated and spin-resolved energy distribution curves show a marked dependence on photon energy indicating that the p states of boron hybridise with the d states of the transition metals giving rise to mixed states in the binding energy range 1 to 5 eV, The observed polarisation and spin-resolved densities of states imply that in the above restricted energy range there is a net negative polarisation of the boron states

Surface bubble nucleation phase space

Recent research has revealed several different techniques for nanoscopic gas nucleation on submerged surfaces, with findings seemingly in contradiction with each other. In response to this, we have systematically investigated the occurrence of surface nanobubbles on a hydrophobised silicon substrate for various different liquid temperatures and gas concentrations, which we controlled independently. We found that nanobubbles occupy a distinct region of this phase space, occurring for gas concentrations of approximately 100-110%. Below the nanobubble phase we did not detect any gaseous formations on the substrate, whereas micropancakes (micron wide, nanometer high gaseous domains) were found at higher temperatures and gas concentrations. We moreover find that supersaturation of dissolved gases is not a requirement for nucleation of bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission studies of the electronic structure of Si(110)"16x2" surfaces

The electronic structure of Si(110)"16 x 2" double-domain, single-domain and 1 x 1 surfaces have been investigated using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission at sample temperatures of 77 K and 300 K. Angle-resolved photoemission was conducted using horizontally- and vertically-polarised 60 eV and 80 eV photons. Band-dispersion maps revealed four surface states ($S_1$ to $S_4$) which were assigned to silicon dangling bonds on the basis of measured binding energies and photoemission intensity changes between horizontal and vertical light polarisations. Three surface states ($S_1$, $S_2$ and $S_4$), observed in the Si(110)"16 x 2" reconstruction, were assigned to Si adatoms and Si atoms present at the edges of the corrugated terrace structure. Only one of the four surface states, $S_3$, was observed in both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1 x 1 band maps and consequently attributed to the pervasive Si zigzag chains that are components of both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1 x 1 surfaces. A state in the bulk-band region was attributed to an in-plane bond. All data were consistent with the adatom-buckling model of the Si(110)"16 x 2" surface. Whilst room temperature measurements of $P_y$ and $P_z$ were statistically compatible with zero, $P_x$ measurements of the enantiomorphic A-type and B-type Si(110)"16 x 2" surfaces gave small average polarisations of around 1.5\% that were opposite in sign. Further measurements at 77 K on A-type Si(110)"16 x 2" surface gave a smaller value of +0.3\%. An upper limit of $\sim1\%$ may thus be taken for the longitudinal polarisation.Comment: Main paper: 12 pages and 11 figures. Supplemental information: 5 pages and 2 figure

Ultrathin epitaxial Fe films in vicinal GaAs(001): A study by spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

Thin epitaxial Fe films have been grown on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates and their remanent magnetic properties and the degree of substrate atom diffusion investigated using synchrotron-based photoelectron spectroscopy. The vicinal Fe films, though exhibiting greater As diffusion than their singular homologues, displayed better film quality both from the structural and the magnetic points of view. The spin-resolved valence spectra of the vicinal films resemble those for crystalline bulk Fe at lower film thicknesses than for singular films

Measuring Health and Broader Well-Being Benefits in the Context of Opiate Dependence: The Psychometric Performance of the ICECAP-A and the EQ-5D-5L

BACKGROUND: Measuring outcomes in economic evaluations of social care interventions is challenging because both health and well-being benefits are evident. The ICEpop CAPability instrument for adults (ICECAP-A) and the five-level EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) are measures potentially suitable for the economic evaluation of treatments for substance use disorders. Evidence for their validity in this context is, however, lacking. OBJECTIVES: To assess the construct validity of the ICECAP-A and the EQ-5D-5L in terms of convergent and discriminative validity and sensitivity to change on the basis of standard clinical measures (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure, Treatment Outcomes Profile, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, Leeds Dependence Questionnaire, and Social Satisfaction Questionnaire). METHODS: A secondary analysis of pilot trial data for heroin users in opiate substitution treatment was conducted. Baseline convergence with clinical measures was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Discriminative validity was assessed using one-way analysis of variance and stepwise regressions. Sensitivity to changes in clinical indicators was assessed at 3 and 12 months using the standardized response mean statistic and parametric and nonparametric testing. RESULTS: Both measures had the same level of construct validity, except for clinical indicators of well-being, for which the ICECAP-A performed better. The ICECAP-A was sensitive to changes in both health and well-being indicators. The EQ-5D-5L had lower levels of sensitivity to change, and a ceiling effect (27%), particularly evident in the dimensions of self-care (89%), mobility (75%), and usual activities (72%). CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the construct validity of both measures, but the ICECAP-A gives more attention to broader impacts and is more sensitive to change. The ICECAP-A shows promise in evaluating treatments for substance use disorders for which recovery is the desired outcome