Attrition in a Multi-Component Smoking Cessation Study for Females

Limiting attrition (i.e., participant dropout before the conclusion of a study) is a major challenge faced by researchers when implementing clinical trials. Data from a smoking cessation trial for females (N = 246) were analyzed in order to identify baseline smoking-related, demographic and psychological characteristics affecting likelihood of early (i.e., before the quit attempt) and late (i.e., after the quit attempt) dropout. There were a number of significant demographic predictors of attrition. Participants with at least one child living at home were at increased risk of both early and late dropout. Non-Whites were at increased risk of early dropout, while not having a college degree put one at increased risk of late dropout. Age was found to be a protective factor in that the older a participant was, the less likely she was to drop out in the early stages of the trial. With respect to psychological variables, weight concerns increased risk of attrition, as did the experience of guilt. In terms of smoking-related variables, mean cigarettes per day was not a significant predictor of attrition, although length of longest prior quit attempt was a significant predictor of early dropout when age was removed from the regression

Cardiovascular Risk Behavior among Sedentary Female Smokers and Smoking Cessation Outcomes

Background We examined female sedentary smokers\u27 additional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk behaviors and their associations to smoking cessation. Methods This study was part of a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of exercise and nicotine gum in smoking cessation. Included in the analyses were 148 participants. Dietary habits and alcohol consumption were measured as additional CVD risk behaviors. High-fat diet and heavy alcohol use were considered those risk behaviors. Nicotine dependence, length of the longest quit attempt, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, and education were examined as other baseline variables. Abstinence from tobacco was recorded through 12 months. Results Diet was related to depressive symptoms at baseline. Alcohol use was related to nicotine dependence and education level. Heavy alcohol use alone and accumulation of two added risk behaviors predicted poorer smoking cessation outcome. Although diet alone was not associated with cessation outcome the high-fat diet interacted with depressive symptoms, such that the depressed women with high-fat diet were significantly more likely to relapse in their quit attempt compared to other subgroups. Conclusion Non-moderate alcohol use alone and accumulation of multiple CVD risk behaviors seem to be associated with lower success in smoking cessation

Jets and energy flow in photon-proton collisions at HERA

Properties of the hadronic final state in photoproduction events with large transverse energy are studied at the electron-proton collider HERA. Distributions of the transverse energy, jets and underlying event energy are compared to \overline{p}p data and QCD calculations. The comparisons show that the \gamma p events can be consistently described by QCD models including -- in addition to the primary hard scattering process -- interactions between the two beam remnants. The differential jet cross sections d\sigma/dE_T^{jet} and d\sigma/d\eta^{jet} are measured

Разработка интерактивной моделирующей системы технологии низкотемпературной сепарации газа

We present a study of J ψ meson production in collisions of 26.7 GeV electrons with 820 GeV protons, performed with the H1-detector at the HERA collider at DESY. The J ψ mesons are detected via their leptonic decays both to electrons and muons. Requiring exactly two particles in the detector, a cross section of σ(ep → J ψ X) = (8.8±2.0±2.2) nb is determined for 30 GeV ≤ W γp ≤ 180 GeV and Q 2 ≲ 4 GeV 2 . Using the flux of quasi-real photons with Q 2 ≲ 4 GeV 2 , a total production cross section of σ ( γp → J / ψX ) = (56±13±14) nb is derived at an average W γp =90 GeV. The distribution of the squared momentum transfer t from the proton to the J ψ can be fitted using an exponential exp(− b ∥ t ∥) below a ∥ t ∥ of 0.75 GeV 2 yielding a slope parameter of b = (4.7±1.9) GeV −2

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Shocks to New and Old Europe: How Symmetric?

Strong symmetry of shocks allows for the formation of a monetary union with low costs due to losing monetary sovereignty. I employ vector autoregression to identify structural shocks and study their symmetry through time. I find that the underlying structural shocks have not changed significantly and remain rather asymmetric, particularly demand shocks. Copyright (c) 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Evidence of transient heart rate change after smoking cessation

Heart rate slows immediately after smoking cessation but it is unclear whether this is a permanent or transient effect. Examining this issue may improve our understanding of nicotine withdrawal effects. A transient heart rate pattern would suggest that the cardiovascular system adapts chronically to nicotine and requires a period of adjustment to achieve a new homeostasis after cessation. Heart rate was assessed on 110 smokers prior to quitting and at 1, 3, 8, 15, 30, 45, and 60 days postcessation. For 12 subjects abstinent 60 days, heart rate slowed at day 1 by 8.1 bpm. Heart rate remained below baseline from days 1 through 45, although exhibiting partial recovery, and returned fully to baseline at day 60. The results indicate that heart rate exhibits a pattern of transient change after smoking cessation which seems to be a physiological effect of nicotine withdrawal. © 1992 Springer-Verlag

Resisting temptations to smoke: Results from within-subjects analyses

Within-subjects analyses were used to examine differences between resisted temptations to smoke (either a specific close call or the most common temptation) and smoking lapses among 130 participants lapsing within 1 month after a self-initiated quit attempt. Participants were more likely to report coping during resisted temptations than during lapses; those who reported coping in both were more likely to report using multiple strategies and combining cognitive and behavioral strategies during the resisted temptation. Participants were more likely to report that the lapse was precipitated by others smoking, but this difference was not significant when the sample was restricted to those reporting a specific close call. No other statistically significant differences were found. Results support previous findings that the use or nonuse of coping strategies during a temptation to smoke is the variable most strongly associated with its outcome