Descriptors and accounts of alcohol consumption:methodological issues piloted with female undergraduate drinkers in Scotland

Excessive drinking among young women continues to attract adverse media attention and is the target of UK government-led initiatives. Reliable research on alcohol consumption is needed to inform/evaluate public health interventions. This pilot study, investigating descriptors of alcohol drinking in female Scottish undergraduate students, comprised: (i) self-completed questionnaire survey (n=95); (ii) interview plus test pouring of a ‘drink’ (n=19). Self-reports by 70% of drinkers (n=90) indicated alcohol consumption for the ‘week past’ meriting classification as ‘binge’ drinking, and 83% of this group reported drinking in this fashion at least fortnightly. However, binge-drinking may be under-estimated, since poured drinks were measured to be on average double the alcohol content for a standard drink, drinking often occurred outwith licensed premises, and respondents preferred to quantify consumption in (fractions of) bottles, rather than glasses. Qualitative analysis showed that interviewees oriented to drinking as an accountable practice but were unaware of the clinical definition of binge drinking. They defined it in terms of the effect of alcohol consumed on individual behaviour, not in absolute quantities. Given the unreliability of self-reported consumption, future health surveys and initiatives should consider ‘quantifying’ alcohol in a way more meaningful to the population of interest, in terms of effect

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles of Nurse Managers and Staff Nurse Job Satisfaction in Hospital Settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between leadership styles of nurse managers and job satisfaction of registered staff nurses in hospital settings in an Appalachian state. Names and addresses of 7,190 registered staff nurses were obtained from the state Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses and 200 subjects were selected using simple random sampling. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure leadership style of nurse managers as perceived by staff nurses. The Work Quality Index was used to measure job satisfaction of registered staff nurses. A positive, moderate correlation was found between job satisfaction of registered staff nurses and transformational leadership of nurse managers (r = .38, p = .001). An inverse, weak relationship was found between job satisfaction of registered staff nurses and transactional leadership of nurse managers (r = -.25, p = .03). The findings supported a positive relationship between transformational leadership styles and registered staff nurse job satisfaction

Stabilisation of low density, closed cell polyethylene foam

Low density, closed cell polyethylene foams show severe post-extrusion collapse when isobutane or carbon dioxide are used as physical blowing agents. This dimensional instability is caused by the fact that the blowing agent permeates faster out of the foam than the air permeates into the foam. Permeation experiments on polyethylene films showed that this is an intrinsic property of polyethylene: for both isobutane and carbon dioxide the permeability is 12 to 15 times larger than the air permeability. However, it was observed that the addition of small amounts (<2 wt.%) of certain additives, such as stearyl stearamide or glycerol monostearate, could improve the dimensional stability of isobutane blown foams considerably. The working mechanism of these additives was found to be a surface effect. The additive forms a (partially) crystalline surface layer, which decreases the isobutane permeability to a larger extent than the air permeability. It reduces the isobutane to air selectivity from about 15 to 4. The presence of this layer on the polyethylene films was confirmed with electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The crystalline character of this layer was revealed by X-ray diffraction

A Cross-Sectional Age Comparison of the Self-System Between Younger and Older Adults

One of the most perplexing problems in the psychology of aging is whether there are characteristic changes in aspects of personality over the life course. This study attempts to address issues relating to changes in the self-system believed to take place as individuals grow older. Of particular interest is what age differences exist in the four components of the objective self described by Atchley (1982): the ideal self, self-concept, self-esteem, and self-evaluation. In order to examine the differences in these components of the self between younger and older adults the following predictions are made: 1) the ideal self for older adults will be more highly interrelated to their present self-concept than will that of younger adults, 2) issues of self-esteem will be more salient in older versus younger adults, and 3) issues of self-evaluation will be more salient in older than in younger adults. A questionnaire developed by Dittmann-Kohli, (1990) containing 30 incomplete sentences asking for fears, desires, goals, time perspective, self-evaluation, and self-description was given to 110 individuals ranging in age from 17-43 and 89 persons ranging in age from 61-96. Results indicate only partial support for age changes in the self-system

Special functions associated to a certain fourth order differential equation

We develop a theory of "special functions" associated to a certain fourth order differential operator $\mathcal{D}_{\mu,\nu}$ on $\mathbb{R}$ depending on two parameters $\mu,\nu$. For integers $\mu,\nu\geq-1$ with $\mu+\nu\in2\mathbb{N}_0$ this operator extends to a self-adjoint operator on $L^2(\mathbb{R}_+,x^{\mu+\nu+1}dx)$ with discrete spectrum. We find a closed formula for the generating functions of the eigenfunctions, from which we derive basic properties of the eigenfunctions such as orthogonality, completeness, $L^2$-norms, integral representations and various recurrence relations. This fourth order differential operator $\mathcal{D}_{\mu,\nu}$ arises as the radial part of the Casimir action in the Schr\"odinger model of the minimal representation of the group $O(p,q)$, and our "special functions" give $K$-finite vectors

The importance of individual characteristics on bicycle performance during alcohol intoxication

Corrections have been made to the original article version published on 14 February 2024 (e000042, vol. 6, 2024, https://doi.org/10.55329/vmgb9648)

The importance of individual characteristics on bicycle performance during alcohol intoxication

Bicycling accidents are a well-known problem for traffic safety globally. Alcohol intoxication is one possible factor, although the exact number of accidents due to intoxication is difficult to establish. Not all bicyclists act in the same way, particularly when under the influence of alcohol, i.e., bicycling performance might be related to a bicyclist's personal characteristics. This study aimed to investigate if the bicyclist's characteristics (bicycling experience, physical fitness, or sensation seeking scores) influence bicycling stability, cognitive performance, or self-rated bicycling ability ratings at different levels of alcohol intoxication. The experiment was completed on a wide treadmill, which allowed control of several influencing factors such as speed and physical effort. Intoxicated and sober participants bicycled on the treadmill five times for 10 minutes each time, and breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels were measured five times. Participants were given doses of alcohol up to a BrAC level of 0.8%. The results revealed that alcohol intoxication had a significant effect on stability, cognitive executive functions, and self-rated ability to bicycle on the treadmill. Group characteristics had an effect on bicycling performance and on self-ratings of bicycling ability when intoxicated. Alcohol intoxication affects stability, cognitive performance, and perceived ability to bicycle. Group characteristics are important for examining possible self-regulated behavior, as some groups rate that they can bicycle safely, even when there is an objective decrease in stability and executive functions