How to obtain copies of this and other HTA programme reports An electronic version of this title, in Adobe Acrobat format, is available for downloading free of charge for personal use from the HTA website (www.hta.ac.uk). A fully searchable DVD is also available (see below). Printed copies of HTA journal series issues cost £20 each (post and packing free in the UK) to both public and private sector purchasers from our despatch agents. Non-UK purchasers will have to pay a small fee for post and packing. For European countries the cost is £2 per issue and for the rest of the world £3 per issue. How to order:-fax (with credit card details)-post (with credit card details or cheque)-phone during office hours (credit card only). Additionally the HTA website allows you to either print out your order or download a blank order form. Tel: 0845 812 4000-ask for 'HTA Payment Services' (out-of-hours answer-phone service) Fax: 0845 812 4001-put 'HTA Order' on the fax header Payment methods Paying by cheque If you pay by cheque, the cheque must be in pounds sterling, made payable to University of Southampton and drawn on a bank with a UK address. Paying by credit card You can order using your credit card by phone, fax or post. Subscriptions NHS libraries can subscribe free of charge. Public libraries can subscribe at a reduced cost of £100 for each volume (normally comprising 40-50 titles). The commercial subscription rate is £400 per volume (addresses within the UK) and £600 per volume (addresses outside the UK). Please see our website for details. Subscriptions can be purchased only for the current or forthcoming volume. How do I get a copy of HTA on DVD? Please use the form on the HTA website (www.hta.ac.uk/htacd/index.shtml). HTA on DVD is currently free of charge worldwide. The website also provides information about the HTA programme and lists the membership of the various committees. HTA What is the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using drugs in treating obese patients in primary care? A systematic review set up in 1993. It produces high-quality research information on the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. 'Health technologies' are broadly defined as all interventions used to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation and long-term care. The research findings from the HTA programme directly influence decision-making bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Screening Committee (NSC). HTA findings also help to improve the quality of clinical practice in the NHS indirectly in that they form a key component of the 'National Knowledge Service'. The HTA programme is needs led in that it fills gaps in the evidence needed by the NHS. There are three routes to the start of projects. First is the commissioned route. Suggestions for research are actively sought from people working in the NHS, from the public and consumer groups and from professional ...

A specialist dietitian with motivational interviewing and behavioural change training can successfully deliver a TTM intervention to people with diabetes that results in an increase in physical activity and stage of change. Dietitians with behavioural change skills may wish to include this approach within their practice.

A systematic attempt to compare the characteristics of college freshmen who pledge and who do not pledge social fraternities. From freshmen entering the University of North Dakota in the fall of 1962 a random sample was drawn and divided into four groups of 46 Ss each: male pledges, male independents, female pledges and female independents. The Ss' responses to several personality inventories and college ability test were analyzed by a 2 times 2 factorial analysis of variance; and to a biographical inventory by use of a 2 times 4 chi‐square The results (significant at the 0.05 level or beyond) suggested that (a) pledges are different from those students who do not pledge fraternities on a number of characteristics, values, and expectations, (b) potential pledges participate in more social activities in high school, and (c) pledges had unfulfilled expectation of the role fraternities would play in their academic lives.

No abstract

This paper reports a MEMS-based electrostatically tunable circular microstrip patch antenna. This antenna is fabricated using printed circuit processing techniques. The microstrip patch antenna is patterned on the top side of a Kapton polyimide film which is suspended above the ground plane. The resonant frequency of the antenna is tuned electrostatically by applying a dc bias voltage between the patch and the ground plane. The movable patch deflects downward toward the fixed ground plane due to electrostatic force of attraction caused by the applied dc bias voltage. This deflection decreases the air gap thereby increasing the effective permittivity of the antenna. This increase in effective permittivity results in a downward shift in the resonant frequency. The patch is inductively coupled to a coplanar waveguide (CPW) feed line via a slot in the ground plane. A 6 mm diameter circular patch antenna tunable from 16.91 GHz at 0 V to 16.64 GHz at 165 V, a tuning range of 270 MHz, is presented in this paper.