ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6308-5257
Current Organisation
University of Stirling
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: National Institute for Health and Care Research
Date: 10-2021
DOI: 10.3310/PHR09110
Abstract: Scotland was the first country to implement minimum unit pricing for alcohol nationally. Minimum unit pricing aims to reduce alcohol-related harms and to narrow health inequalities. Minimum unit pricing sets a minimum retail price based on alcohol content, targeting products preferentially consumed by high-risk drinkers. This study comprised three components. This study comprised three components assessing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related attendances in emergency departments, investigating potential unintended effects of minimum unit pricing on alcohol source and drug use, and exploring changes in public attitudes, experiences and norms towards minimum unit pricing and alcohol use. We conducted a natural experiment study using repeated cross-sectional surveys comparing Scotland (intervention) and North England (control) areas. This involved comparing changes in Scotland following the introduction of minimum unit pricing with changes seen in the north of England over the same period. Difference-in-difference analyses compared intervention and control areas. Focus groups with young people and heavy drinkers, and interviews with professional stakeholders before and after minimum unit pricing implementation in Scotland allowed exploration of attitudes, experiences and behaviours, stakeholder perceptions and potential mechanisms of effect. Four emergency departments in Scotland and North England (component 1), six sexual health clinics in Scotland and North England (component 2), and focus groups and interviews in Scotland (component 3). Research nurses interviewed 23,455 adults in emergency departments, and 15,218 participants self-completed questionnaires in sexual health clinics. We interviewed 30 stakeholders and 105 in iduals participated in focus groups. Minimum unit pricing sets a minimum retail price based on alcohol content, targeting products preferentially consumed by high-risk drinkers. The odds ratio for an alcohol-related emergency department attendance following minimum unit pricing was 1.14 (95% confidence interval 0.90 to 1.44 p = 0.272). In absolute terms, we estimated that minimum unit pricing was associated with 258 more alcohol-related emergency department visits (95% confidence interval –191 to 707) across Scotland than would have been the case had minimum unit pricing not been implemented. The odds ratio for illicit drug consumption following minimum unit pricing was 1.04 (95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.24 p = 0.612). Concerns about harms, including crime and the use of other sources of alcohol, were generally not realised. Stakeholders and the public generally did not perceive price increases or changed consumption. A lack of understanding of the policy may have caused concerns about harms to dependent drinkers among participants from more deprived areas. The short interval between policy announcement and implementation left limited time for pre-intervention data collection. Within the emergency departments, there was no evidence of a beneficial impact of minimum unit pricing. Implementation appeared to have been successful and there was no evidence of substitution from alcohol consumption to other drugs. Drinkers and stakeholders largely reported not noticing any change in price or consumption. The lack of effect observed in these settings in the short term, and the problem-free implementation, suggests that the price per unit set (£0.50) was acceptable, but may be too low. Our evaluation, which itself contains multiple components, is part of a wider programme co-ordinated by Public Health Scotland and the results should be understood in this wider context. Repeated evaluation of similar policies in different contexts with varying prices would enable a fuller picture of the relationship between price and impacts. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN16039407. This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research Vol. 9, No. 11. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2017
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 30-07-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.07.522792
Abstract: Semipermeable membranes are a key feature of all living organisms. While specialized membrane transporters in cells can import otherwise impermeable nutrients, the earliest cells would have lacked a mechanism to import nutrients rapidly under nutrient-rich circumstances. Using both experiments and simulations, we find that a process akin to passive endocytosis can be recreated in model primitive cells. Molecules that are too impermeable to be absorbed can be taken up in a matter of seconds in an endocytic vesicle. The internalized cargo can then be slowly released over hours, into the main lumen or putative cytoplasm. This work demonstrates a way by which primitive life could have broken the symmetry of passive permeation prior to the evolution of protein transporters.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2016
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 05-06-2023
Abstract: Semipermeable membranes are a key feature of all living organisms. While specialized membrane transporters in cells can import otherwise impermeable nutrients, the earliest cells would have lacked a mechanism to import nutrients rapidly under nutrient-rich circumstances. Using both experiments and simulations, we find that a process akin to passive endocytosis can be recreated in model primitive cells. Molecules that are too impermeable to be absorbed can be taken up in a matter of seconds in an endocytic vesicle. The internalized cargo can then be slowly released over hours, into the main lumen or putative cytoplasm. This work demonstrates a way by which primitive life could have broken the symmetry of passive permeation prior to the evolution of protein transporters.
Location: United States of America
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Stephanie J. Zhang.