It's a WRAP: Delivering Wellness for Women in the UK

Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) was first created by Mary Ellen Copeland in 1997 and reinforced the concept of people taking individual responsibility for their health status and wellbeing. To fuel personal responsibility for one's health status, Mary Ellen purported that it was necessary for the person to tap into their inner drive and resources with a view to owning their health. This concept has been widely accepted and disseminated within the field of mental health but has not yet been fully embraced by other professions, such as midwifery. In this piece, the authors highlight the recovery and wellness ethos inherent in the current zeitgeist of healthcare and discuss how WRAP could be utilised by midwives to facilitate the wellness of women during the antenatal period and beyond.

Status and security: how Russian media is spinning airstrikes in Syria

Even before the Russian air force launched its first strikes over Syria, there was already a Russian presence on the battleground. These were not the spetsnaz, Kremlin’s special forces, but war correspondents from the leading Russian media outlets. This was as clear a sign as any that the Russia’s priority has shifted from Ukraine, where these reporters spent most of the past 18 months, to Syria.

There is, however, no unanimity on Russia’s latest escalation in Syria. As Russian state TV stations report successes of Russia’s high-precision weapons projecting an image of a high-tech Russian military equal to the US, doubts persist about the latest adventure in the Middle East.

Planets spinning up their host stars

We have collected initial evidence that tidal interaction between a late-type star and its close-in, massive planet can lead to a spin-up of the host star. We propose to explore this further by studying a small sample of proper motion pairs in which one of the stars is orbited a Hot Jupiter. We will determine if the gyrochronal age is different for the two stars, which would indicate a tidal spin up of the planet host star. We propose to observe 3 such systems with XMM, and to perform similar Chandra observations of 3 more systems with angular separations

The main-sequence rotation-colour relation in the Coma Berenices open cluster

We present the results of a photometric survey of rotation rates in the Coma Berenices (Melotte 111) open cluster, using data obtained as part of the SuperWASP exoplanetary transit-search programme. The goal of the Coma survey was to measure precise rotation periods for main-sequence F, G and K dwarfs in this intermediate-age (~600 Myr) cluster, and to determine the extent to which magnetic braking has caused the stellar spin periods to converge. We find a tight, almost linear relationship between rotation period and J - K colour with an rms scatter of only 2 per cent. The relation is similar to that seen among F, G and K stars in the Hyades. Such strong convergence can only be explained if angular momentum is not at present being transferred from a reservoir in the deep stellar interiors to the surface layers. We conclude that the coupling time-scale for angular momentum transport from a rapidly spinning radiative core to the outer convective zone must be substantially shorter than the cluster age, and that from the age of Coma onwards stars rotate effectively as solid bodies. The existence of a tight relationship between stellar mass and rotation period at a given age supports the use of stellar rotation period as an age indicator in F, G and K stars of Hyades age and older. We demonstrate that individual stellar ages can be determined within the Coma population with an internal precision of the order of 9 per cent (rms), using a standard magnetic braking law in which rotation period increases with the square root of stellar age. We find that a slight modification to the magnetic-braking power law, P ~ t0.56, yields rotational and asteroseismological ages in good agreement for the Sun and other stars of solar age for which p-mode studies and photometric rotation periods have been published.

The application of colloidal gas aphrons in the recovery of fine cellulose fibres from paper mill wastewater

Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are micron-sized gas bubbles of 25–30 µm in diameter produced by a high-speed stirrer in a vessel containing dilute surfactant solution. These bubbles, because of their small size, exhibit some colloidal properties. In this work, CGAs were used to separate fine fibres from a lean slurry of cellulosic pulp in a flotation column. The pulp fibres were recovered as foamate from the top. Sodium dodecyl sulphate at a concentration of 2.0 kg/m3 was used as a surfactant to generate the CGAs in a spinning disc apparatus. The results indicated that up to 70% flotation efficiency could be obtained within a short column height of 0.3–0.35 m. This technique can be applied to recover fine cellulosic pulp from paper-machine backwater.

Wrapping Legacy Applications into Grid Services: A Case Study of a Three Services Approach

In this paper, the support for legacy application, which is one of the important advantages of Grid computing, is presented. The ability to reuse existing codes/applications in combination with other Web/Internet technologies, such as Java, makes Grid computing a good choice for developers to wrap existing applications behind Intranet or the Internet. The approach developed can be used for migrating legacy applications into Grid Services, which speeds up the popularization of Grid technology. The approach is illustrated using a case study with detailed description of its implementation step by step. Globus Toolkit is utilized to develop the system.

Selective oxidation of a pyrimidine thioether using supported tantalum catalysts

Ta2O5-SiO2 catalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and tantalum (V) ethoxide as the sources of silicon and tantalum, and two families of quaternary ammonium salts, [CnH(2n+1)(CH3)(3)N]Br (n = 14, 16, 18) and [(CnH(2n+1))(4)N]Br (n = 10, 12, 16, 18) as surfactants. The catalysts were compared for the selective suffoxidation of 4,6-dimethyl-2-thiomethylpyrimidine using peroxide as an oxidising agent in a range of ionic liquids and organic solvents. The sol-gel catalysts were also compared with tantalum on MCM-41 prepared by grafting. The catalysts were characterized from adsorption-desorption isotherms of N-2, XRD patterns, small-angle X-ray scattering, IR spectra from adsorbed pyridine and CDCl3, XPS spectra, and Si-29 magic angle spinning (MAS) NNIR experiments. The effect of recycling on the catalyst leaching and selectivity/activity was also studied. High activities and selectivities were found in [NTf2](-) based ionic liquids and organic solvents with good recyclability of the catalyst. Tantalum was found in the solution after reaction; however, this was determined to be due to entrapment of catalyst particulates, as opposed to leaching of the active metal. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of novel Ag on TiO2 films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Novel Ag on TiO₂ films are generated by semiconductor photocatalysis and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), as well as assessed for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity. The nature and thickness of the photodeposited Ag, and thus the degree of SERS activity, is controlled by the time of exposure of the TiO₂ film to UV light. All such films exhibit the optical characteristics (λ_max ≅ 390 nm) of small (<20 nm) Ag particles, although this feature becomes less prominent as the film becomes thicker. The films comprise quite large (>40 nm) Ag islands that grow and merge with increasing levels of Ag photodeposition. Tested with a benzotriazole dye probe, the films are SERS active, exhibiting activity similar to that of 6-nm-thick vapordeposited films. The Ag/TiO₂ films exhibit a lower residual standard deviation (∼25%) compared with Ag vapor-deposited films (∼45%), which is, however, still unacceptable for quantitative work. The sample-to-sample variance could be reduced significantly (<7%) by spinning the film during the SERS measurement. The Ag/TiO₂ films are mechanically robust and resistant to removal and damage by scratching, unlike the Ag vapor-deposited films. The Ag/TiO₂ films also exhibit no obvious loss of SERS activity when stored in the dark under otherwise ambient conditions. The possible extension of this simple, effective method of producing Ag films for SERS, to metals other than Ag and to semiconductors other than TiO₂, is briefly discussed. 

The use of material flow analysis and the ecological footprint in regional policy-making: application and insights from Northern Ireland.

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the use of resource accounting tools in regional policy making. The Northern Limits project applied Material Flow Analysis and Ecological Footprinting to regional policy making in Northern Ireland over a number of years. The early phase of the research informed the regions first sustainable development strategy which was published in 2006 with key targets relating to the Ecological Footprint and improving the resource efficiency of the economy. Phase II identified the next steps required to address data availability and quality and the use of MFA and EF in providing a measurement and monitoring framework for the strategy and in the development of the strategy implementation plan. The use of MFA and Ecological Footprinting in sustainable regional policy making and the monitoring of its implementation is an ongoing process which has raised a number of research issues which can inform the ongoing application and development of these and other resource accounting tools to within Northern Ireland, provide insights for their use in other regions and help set out the priorities for research to support this important policy area.

The application of the ecological footprint in two Irish urban areas: Limerick and Belfast

The ecological footprint is now a widely accepted indicator of sustainable
development. Footprinting translates resource consumption into the land area
required to sustain it, and allows for an average per capita footprint for a region
or nation to be compared with the global average. This paper reports on a project
in which footprints were calculated for two Irish cities, namely Belfast in
Northern Ireland and Limerick in the Republic of Ireland for the year 2001. As
is frequently the case at sub-national scale, data quality and availability were
often problematic, and in general data gaps were filled by means of population
proxies or national averages. A range of methods was applied to convert
resource flows to land areas. Both footprints suggest that the lifestyles of citizens
of the cities use several times more land than their global share, as has been
found for other cities.

Use of MIR Spectroscopy for Optimisation of Biogas Plants

MIR spectroscopy is an established technique which has process monitoring applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Previous attempts to utilise the technology for monitoring of AD plants were of limited success, with operation hindered by severe clogging of the probe.

Novel fittings, which allow a probe to be withdrawn from the process fluid, cleaned and recalibrated in situ have now been developed to combat this clogging problem. This has allowed a spectroscopic probe to be used successfully in lab scale digesters for real time measurement of VFA concentration, a key parameter to the stability of AD plants.

This project will demonstrate the technology at a farm scale AD plant for the first time. Both real-time measurements of VFA concentrations and parameters currently measured by plant operators will be available, leading to state-of-the-art monitoring and control of the AD plant. With the improved monitoring that this probe will deliver, it is hoped to realise a 10% increase in biogas production without compromising the stability of the process. This will deliver both economic and environmental benefits.

A strategy for maintaining student wellbeing

Pre-registration nursing programmes place many challenges on students and these can affect their health and wellbeing. The wellness recovery action plan (WRAP) is a strengths-focused technique to reduce stress and improve health and wellbeing that was initially used in mental health care. This article discusses the potential for using WRAPs to support student nurses, as well as those studying other health professions. They can be used to enhance students’ educational and clinical self-awareness, reduce anxiety and vulnerability, and enhance resilience, enabling them to cope more effectively with educational and personal challenges.

A twist in the tale of γ-ray bursts

An unusually long burst of γ-rays zapped Earth in December 2011, lasting 4 hours. The cause of this burst is now proposed to be a peculiar supernova produced by a spinning magnetic neutron star. See Letter p.189