Spearhead Health Inequalities Intervention Tool: technical document

This document describes the technical detail behind the Spearhead Health Inequalities Intervention Tool.

Choosing health. Born equal? A report on inequalities in infant mortality in London. A technical report

This report explores the factors that contribute to infant mortality in the capital and ways in which commissioners might monitor the contribution of their local NHS to the national infant mortality target as well as contributing to maternity policy.

Health inequalities intervention tool: technical document

This paper describes the data and methods used in the Health inequalities intervention tool to calculate the effect of four interventions on life expectancy.

Attrition in the Swiss Household Panel: Is change associated with later drop-out?

This study examines the importance of change in characteristics and circumstances of households and household members for contact and cooperation patterns. The literature suggests that there might be an underrepresentation of change in panel studies, because respondents facing more changes would be more likely to drop out. We approach this problem by analysing whether previous changes are predictive of later attrition or temporary drop-out, using eleven waves of the Swiss Household Panel (1999-2009). Our analyses support previous findings to some extent. Changes in household composition, employment status and social involvement as well as moving are associated mainly with attrition and less with temporary drop-out. These changes affect obtaining cooperation rather than obtaining contact, and tend to increase attrition.

The effects of temperature change on the infection rate of Biomphalaria glabrata with Schistosoma mansoni

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temperature on the development of Schistosoma mansoni infections in Biomphalaria glabrata. The snails were infected at 15, 20, and 30ºC, and the cercarial release was analyzed after 30 and 60 days post-infection. Our results showed that a decrease in the temperature has a substantial influence on the development of S. mansoni infection in B. glabrata, with significant differences (p < 0.05) between 15 and 30ºC. These data could provide a better understanding of the epidemiological aspects of schistosomiasis.

Steering Committee on Technical Education Report to the Minister for Education on Regional Technical Colleges

This Committee was established on 20 September 1966 to advise the Minister for Education generally on technical education in Ireland and, in particular, to provide the Department of Education Building Consortium with a brief for the technical colleges. This report from the Committee addresses the following aspects: the need/demand for technicians and skilled personnel; the role of the regional technical colleges; analysis of courses and student population; recruitment and training of teachers; organisation structure; accommodation needs (in the colleges, and residential requirements); growth and flexibility; and cost and time. Recommendations are made in relation to: the building program; the establishment of a Building Project Unit to be accountable for all school and college building work for the Department of Education; the establishment of Regional Education Councils with accountability for all education in each of the regions; and the establishment of a National Council for Educational Awards.

Anàlisi de models d'ensenyament-aprenentatge de competències no tècniques als estudis d'Enginyeria en informàtica

Actualment a l'Estat espanyol s'està implantant el Pla Bolonya per incorporar-se a l'Espai Europeu d'Estudis Superiors (l'EEES). Com a un dels principals objectius, l'EEES pretén homogeneïtzar els estudis i de manera concreta les competències adquirides per qualsevol estudiant independentment d'on hagi realitzat els seus estudis. Per això, existeixen iniciatives europees (com el projecte Tuning) que treballen per definir competències per a totes les titulacions universitàries.El projecte presenta l'anàlisi realitzat sobre vint Universitats de diferents continents per identificar models d'ensenyament-aprenentatge de competències no tècniques. La recerca es centra addicionalment en la competència comunicativa escrita.La font principal de dades ha estat la informació proporcionada a les pàgines Web de les universitats i molt especialment els seus plans d'estudi.

La plataforma .NET

L'aparició de la plataforma .NET Framework ha suposat un canvi molt important en la forma de crear i distribuir aplicacions, degut a que incorpora una sèrie d'innovacions tècniques i productives que simplifiquen molt les tasques necessàries per desenvolupar un projecte.

Technical note: Implementation of a geodatabase of published and unpublished data on the catastrophic Vaiont landslide

On 9 October 1963 a catastrophic landslide suddenly occurred on the southern slope of the Vaiont dam reservoir. A mass of approximately 270 million m3 collapsed into the reservoir generating a wave that overtopped the dam and hit the town of Longarone and other villages nearby. Several investigations and interpretations of the slope collapse have been carried out during the last 45 years, however, a comprehensive explanation of both the triggering and the dynamics of the phenomenon has yet to be provided. In order to re-evaluate the currently existing information on the slide, an electronic bibliographic database and an ESRI-geodatabase have been developed. The chronology of the collected documentation showed that most of the studies for re-evaluating the failure mechanisms were conducted in the last decade, as a consequence of knowledge, methods and techniques recently acquired. The current contents of the geodatabase will improve definition of the structural setting that influenced the slide and led to the the propagation of the displaced rock mass. The objectives, structure and contents of the e-bibliography and Geodatabase are indicated, together with a brief description on the possible use of the alphanumeric and spatial contents of the databases.

Counsellor behaviours and patient language during brief motivational interventions: a sequential analysis of speech

AIMS: To investigate empirically the hypothesized relationship between counsellor motivational interviewing (MI) skills and patient change talk (CT) by analysing the articulation between counsellor behaviours and patient language during brief motivational interventions (BMI) addressing at-risk alcohol consumption. DESIGN: Sequential analysis of psycholinguistic codes obtained by two independent raters using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC), version 2.0. SETTING: Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of BMI in an emergency department. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 97 patients tape-recorded when receiving BMI. MEASUREMENTS: MISC variables were categorized into three counsellor behaviours (MI-consistent, MI-inconsistent and 'other') and three kinds of patient language (CT, counter-CT (CCT) and utterances not linked with the alcohol topic). Observed transition frequencies, conditional probabilities and significance levels based on odds ratios were computed using sequential analysis software. FINDINGS: MI-consistent behaviours were the only counsellor behaviours that were significantly more likely to be followed by patient CT. Those behaviours were significantly more likely to be followed by patient change exploration (CT and CCT) while MI-inconsistent behaviours and 'other' counsellor behaviours were significantly more likely to be followed by utterances not linked with the alcohol topic and significantly less likely to be followed by CT. MI-consistent behaviours were more likely after change exploration, whereas 'other' counsellor behaviours were more likely only after utterances not linked with the alcohol topic. CONCLUSIONS: Findings lend support to the hypothesized relationship between MI-consistent behaviours and CT, highlight the importance of patient influence on counsellor behaviour and emphasize the usefulness of MI techniques and spirit during brief interventions targeting change enhancement.

Does the mechanical work in running change during the VO2 slow component?

PURPOSE: The origin of the slow component is not fully understood. The mechanical hypothesis is one of the potential factors, because an increase in external mechanical work with fatigue was previously reported for a constant velocity run. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a change in mechanical work could occur during the development of the VO2 slow component under the effect of fatigue. METHODS: Twelve regional-level competitive runners performed a square-wave transition, corresponding to 95% of the speed associated with peak VO2 obtained during an incremental test. The VO2 response was fit with a classical model including two exponential functions. A specific treadmill with three-dimensional force transducers was used to measure the ground reaction force. Kinetic work (W(kin)), potential work (W(pot)), external work (W(ext)), and an index of internal work (W(int)) per unit of distance were quantified continuously. RESULTS: During the slow component of VO2, a significant increase in W (P< 0.01), no change in W, and a significant decrease in W and W index (P< 0.05, P< 0.001, respectively) were observed. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the slow component of VO2 did not result partly from a change in mechanical work under the effect of fatigue. Nevertheless, the decrease in stride frequency (P< 0.001) and contact time (P< 0.001) suggested an alternative mechanical explanation. The slow component during running may be due to the cost of generating force or to alterations in the storage and recoil of elastic energy, and not to the external mechanical work.