Intersectoral interagency partnerships to promote financial capability in older people

From the second quarter of 2008, the UK economy entered a period of economic decline. Older people are particularly vulnerable during these times. To promote ways in which older people can be better supported to maintain their financial well-being, this study explored the sources older people utilize to keep themselves financially informed. Interviews with older people (n = 28) showed that older people access trusted sources of information (e.g. healthcare professionals) rather than specialist financial information providers (e.g. financial advisors) which highlighted the need for interagency working between financial services in the private, public and voluntary sectors. An example of how such interagency partnerships might be achieved in practice is presented with some recommendations on directions for future research into interagency working that spans public, private and voluntary sectors

Formability and Damage in Electromagnetically Formed AA5754 and AA6111

This paper presents the results of experiments carried out to determine the formability of AA5754 and AA6111 using electromagnetic forming (EMF), and the effect of the tool/sheet interaction on damage evolution and failure. The experiments consisted of forming 1mm sheets into conical dies of 40° and 45° side angle, using a spiral coil. The experiments showed that both alloys could successfully be formed into the 40?? die, with strains above the conventional forming limit diagram (FLD) of both alloys. Forming into the higher 45° cone resulted in failure for both materials. Metallographic analysis indicated that damage is suppressed during the forming process. Micrographs of the necked and fractured areas of the part show evidence that the materials do not fail in pure ductile fracture, but rather in what could be a combination of plastic collapse, ductile fracture and shear band fracture. The failure modes are different for each material; with the AA5754 parts failing by necking and fracture, with significant thinning at the fracture tip. The AA6111 exhibited a saw tooth pattern fractures, a crosshatch pattern of shear bands in the lower half of the part, and tears in the area close to the tip. Both areas showed evidence of shear fracture. This experimental study indicates that there is increased formability for AA5754 and AA6111 when these alloys are formed using EMF. A major factor in this increase in formability is the reduction in damage caused by the tool/sheet interaction

Self Management and Telehealth: Lessons Learnt from the Evaluation of a Dorset Telehealth Program

Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group

The Liverpool Telescope Spectrograph: FRODOSpec

We describe in some detail one of the instruments that will be available in 2004 to the research community. FRODOSpec is an integral field unit spectrograph that will be available for use with the 2 m robotic Liverpool Telescope on the island of La Palma. We anticipate that this instrument will open up major areas of research that cannot be carried out with conventionally operated telescopes. Some of these research areas relate to indirect imaging of astronomical objects like Doppler tomography and eclipse mapping.Comment: Accepted for publication in AN. Proceedings of the Astrotomography Joint Discussion 09 of the IAU General Assembly 2003. Uses anabs.cl

Axisymmetrical Gas Inflow in the Central Region of NGC 7331

New Integral Field Spectroscopy of the central region of NGC 7331 reveals strong H$\alpha$ emission in the well-known CO and HI ring of NGC 7331. The [NII]/H$\alpha$ ratio indicates that a large scale stellar formation process is taken place at the ring in agreement with previous hypothesis about the exhaustion of gas in the inner to the ring region. The dynamics of stars and gas are not coupled. There is a ring of peculiar velocities in the ionized gas velocity map. These peculiar velocities can be well interpreted by the presence of an axisymmetric inflow of 40 km/s at the inner boundary of the large-scale gaseous ring. We infer an inwards total flux of 1.6 M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. This value is typical of the accretion rates in hypothetical {\bf large} nuclear black holes. Despite the large differences in the scales of the nucleus and the gas ring of NGC 7331, we suggest that this inwards flux is feeding the nucleus.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Effectiveness of a self-management intervention with personalised genetic and lifestyle-related risk information on coronary heart disease and diabetes-related risk in type 2 diabetes (CoRDia): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background Many patients with type 2 diabetes fail to achieve good glycaemic control. Poor control is associated with complications including coronary heart disease (CHD). Effective self-management and engagement in health behaviours can reduce risks of complications. However, patients often struggle to adopt and maintain these behaviours. Self-management interventions have been found to be effective in improving glycaemic control. Recent developments in the field of genetics mean that patients can be given personalised information about genetic- and lifestyle-associated risk of developing CHD. Such information may increase patients’ motivation to engage in self-management. The Coronary Risk in Diabetes (CoRDia) trial will compare the effectiveness of a self-management intervention, with and without provision of personalised genetic- and lifestyle-associated risk information, with usual care, on clinical and behavioural outcomes, the cognitive predictors of behaviour, and psychological wellbeing. Methods/Design Participants will be adults aged 25–74 years registered with general practices in the East of England, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, with no history of heart disease, and with a glycated haemoglobin level of ≥6.45 % (47 mmol/mol). Consenting participants will be randomised to one of three arms: usual care control, group self-management only, group self-management plus personalised genetic- and lifestyle-associated risk information. The self-management groups will receive four weekly 2-hour group sessions, focusing on knowledge and information sharing, problem solving, goal setting and action planning to promote medication adherence, healthy eating, and physical activity. Primary outcomes are glycaemic control and CHD risk. Clinical data will be collected from GP records, including HbA1c, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and HDL and total cholesterol. Self-reported health behaviours, including medication adherence, healthy eating and physical activity, and cognitive outcomes will be assessed by questionnaire. Measures will be taken at baseline, 3 months (questionnaire only), 6 months and 12 months post-baseline. Discussion This study will determine whether the addition of personalised genetic- and lifestyle-associated CHD risk information to a group self-management intervention improves diabetes control and CHD risk compared with group self-management and usual care. Effectiveness of the combined intervention on health behaviours cognitions theorised to predict them, and psychological outcomes will also be investigated. Trial registration This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov; registration identifier NCT01891786, registered 28 June 2013

Preliminary optical design for a 2.2 degree diameter prime focus corrector for the Blanco 4 meter telescope

We describe a five element corrector for the prime focus of the 4 meter Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile that will be used in conjunction with a new mosaic CCD camera as part of the proposed Dark Energy Survey (DES). The corrector is designed to provide a flat focal plane and good images in the SDSS g, r, i, and z filters. We describe the performance in conjunction with the scientific requirements of the DES, particularly with regard to ghosting and weak-lensing point spread function (PSF) calibration