Electronic cigarette use among university students aged 18-24 years in New Zealand: Results of a 2018 national cross-sectional survey

Objectives: To examine electronic cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm among university students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University students across New Zealand. Methods: We analysed data from a 2018 cross-sectional survey of university students, weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling by gender and university size. χ 2 tests were used to compare e-cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm by age, gender, ethnicity and cigarette smoking. Participants: The sample comprised 1476 students: 62.3% aged 18-20 years, 37.7% aged 21-24 years; 38.6% male, 61.4% female; 7.9% Maori and 92.1% non-Maori. Results: 40.5% of respondents (95% CI 37.9 to 43.1) reported ever, 6.1% (4.9-7.4) current and 1.7% (1.1-2.5) daily use. Regardless of frequency, 11.5% of vapers had vaped daily for ≥1 month, 70.2% of whom used nicotine-containing devices; 80.8% reported not vaping in indoor and 73.8% in outdoor smoke-free spaces. Among ever vapers, curiosity (67.4%), enjoyment (14.4%) and quitting (2.4%) were common reasons for vaping. 76.1% (73.4-78.7) of respondents believed e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. More males than females reported vaping (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), nicotine use and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. More participants aged 18-20 years reported not vaping in outdoor smoke-free spaces, vaping out of curiosity and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, while more participants aged 21-24 years vaped daily for ≥1 month and for enjoyment. More Maori than non-Maori ever vaped. More cigarette smokers than non-smokers vaped (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), used nicotine and vaped to quit, while more non-smokers did not vape in smoke-free spaces and vaped out of curiosity. Conclusions: Our results suggest high prevalence of e-cigarette ever and current use, particularly among males and smokers. Many vaped out of curiosity and perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes

Resolvin rvd2 reduces hypothalamic inflammation and rescues mice from diet-induced obesity

Diet-induced hypothalamic inflammation is an important mechanism leading to dysfunction of neurons involved in controlling body mass. Studies have shown that polyunsaturated fats can reduce hypothalamic inflammation. Here, we evaluated the presence and function of RvD2, a resolvin produced from docosahexaenoic acid, in the hypothalamus of mice. Methods: Male Swiss mice were fed either chow or a high-fat diet. RvD2 receptor and synthetic enzymes were evaluated by real-time PCR and immunofluorescence. RvD2 was determined by mass spectrometry. Dietary and pharmacological approaches were used to modulate the RvD2 system in the hypothalamus, and metabolic phenotype consequences were determined. Results: All enzymes involved in the synthesis of RvD2 were detected in the hypothalamus and were modulated in response to the consumption of dietary saturated fats, leading to a reduction of hypothalamic RvD2. GPR18, the receptor for RvD2, which was detected in POMC and NPY neurons, was also modulated by dietary fats. The substitution of saturated by polyunsaturated fats in the diet resulted in increased hypothalamic RvD2, which was accompanied by reduced body mass and improved glucose tolerance. The intracerebroventricular treatment with docosahexaenoic acid resulted in increased expression of the RvD2 synthetic enzymes, increased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and improved metabolic phenotype. Finally, intracerebroventricular treatment with RvD2 resulted in reduced adiposity, improved glucose tolerance and increased hypothalamic expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: Thus, RvD2 is produced in the hypothalamus, and its receptor and synthetic enzymes are modulated by dietary fats. The improved metabolic outcomes of RvD2 make this substance an attractive approach to treat obesity14511

Cigarette smoking among university students aged 18-24 years in New Zealand: Results of the first (baseline) of two national surveys

© © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Objectives: Although the smoking prevalence continues to decline in New Zealand (NZ) overall, little is known about smoking in university students. A 2013 survey of students aged 17-25 years found that 14% were current smokers, and 3% daily smokers. However, the sample did not include students from all NZ universities. This study examines the prevalence and patterns of cigarette smoking among students aged 18-24 years. Setting: University students across NZ. Methods: Data came from a March to May 2018 survey of students from all NZ universities, and were weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling, based on gender and university size. χ 2 tests were used to compare smoking by age, gender and ethnicity. Participants: 1476 participants were included: 919 (62.3%) aged 18-20 years and 557 (37.7%) aged 21-24 years; 569 (38.6%) male and 907 (61.4%) female; and 117 (7.9%) Maori and 1359 (92.1%) non-Maori. Results: 49.8% (95% CI 47.2 to 52.4) of respondents reported ever smoking, 11.1% (95% CI 9.5 to 12.9) currently smoked (smoked at least once a month) and 5.9% (95% CI 4.8 to 7.3) smoked at least daily (daily smokers). Of current smokers, 63.6% smoked 1-5 cigarettes/day, 45.8% smoked daily, 73.4% smoked first cigarette >60 min after waking, 86.0% never/almost never smoked in indoor and 64.6% in outdoor smokefree spaces, 69.9% planned to quit and 32.4% had tried to quit. Ever, current and daily smoking were significantly higher in 21-24 compared with 18-20 years olds, and in males compared with females. Older participants were more likely to report smoking more cigarettes/day. Maori were more likely to report ever smoking than non-Maori. Conclusions: Current smoking among NZ university students aged 18-24 years appears to be declining but daily smoking could be increasing. However, many students appeared less addicted to nicotine, and willing to quit. We recommend increasing the availability of smokefree services for students who wish to quit

Attitudes towards the New Zealand Government's Smokefree 2025 goal associated with smoking and vaping in university students aged 18 to 24 years: Results of a 2018 national cross-sectional survey

Objective: In March 2011, New Zealand (NZ) launched an aspirational goal to reduce smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2025 (Smokefree 2025 goal). Little is known about university students' awareness of, support for and perceptions about this goal. We sought to narrow the knowledge gap. Setting: University students in NZ. Methods: We analysed data from a 2018 cross-sectional survey of university students across NZ. Logistic regression analysis examined the associations between responses about the Smokefree goal with smoking and vaping, while controlling for age, sex and ethnicity. Confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported where appropriate. Participants: The sample comprised 1476 students: 919 (62.3%) aged 18 to 20 and 557 (37.7%) aged 21 to 24 years; 569 (38.6%) male and 907 (61.4%) female; 117 (7.9%) Maori and 1359 (92.1%) non-Maori. Of these, 10.5% currently smoked (ie, smoked at least monthly) and 6.1% currently vaped (ie, used an e-cigarette or vaped at least once a month). Results: Overall awareness of the Smokefree goal was 47.5% (95% CI: 44.9 to 50.1); support 96.9% (95% CI: 95.8 to 97.8); belief that it can be achieved 88.8% (95% CI: 86.8 to 90.7) and belief that e-cigarettes/vaping can help achieve it 88.1% (95% CI: 86.0 to 89.9). Dual users of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes had greater odds of being aware of the Smokefree goal (OR=3.07, 95% CI: 1.19 to 7.92), current smokers had lower odds of supporting it (OR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.27) and of believing that it can be achieved (OR=0.15, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.24) and current vapers had greater odds of believing that e-cigarettes/vaping can help to achieve it (OR=8.57, 95% CI: 1.18 to 62.52) compared with non-users. Conclusions: The results suggest strong overall support for the Smokefree goal and belief that it can be achieved and that e-cigarettes/vaping can help achieve it. Smoking and vaping were associated with high awareness of the Smokefree goal, but lower support and optimism that it can be achieved

The Use of Stereoscopy in a Neurosurgery Training Virtual Environment

Published in Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual EnvironmentsWe have previously investigated the effectiveness of a custom built virtual environment in assisting training of a ventriculostomy procedure, which is a commonly performed procedure by a neurosurgeon and a core task for trainee surgeons. The training tool (called VCath) was initially developed as a low fidelity app for a tablet platform to provide easy access and availability to trainees. Subsequently we have developed a high fidelity version of VCath that uses a stereoscopic display to immerse the trainee in the virtual environment. This paper reports on two studies that have been carried out to compare the low and high fidelity versions of VCath, particularly to assess the value of stereoscopy. Study 1 was conducted at the second annual boot camp organized for all year one trainees in neurosurgery in the UK. Study 2 was performed on lay people, with no surgical experience. Our hypothesis was that using stereoscopy in the training task would be beneficial. Results from Study 1 demonstrated that performance improved for both the control group and the group trained with the tablet version of VCath. The group trained on the high fidelity version of VCath with a stereoscopic display showed no performance improvement. The indication is that our hypothesis is false. In Study 2, six different conditions were investigated that covered the use of training with VCath on a tablet, a mono display at two different sizes, a stereo display at two different sizes, and a control group who received no training. Results from this study with lay people show that stereoscopy can make a significant improvement to the accuracy of needle placement. The possible reasons for these results and the apparent contradiction between the two studies are discussed

Astrometric and Timing Effects of Gravitational Waves from Localized Sources

A consistent approach for an exhaustive solution of the problem of propagation of light rays in the field of gravitational waves emitted by a localized source of gravitational radiation is developed in the first post-Minkowskian and quadrupole approximation of General Relativity. We demonstrate that the equations of light propagation in the retarded gravitational field of an arbitrary localized source emitting quadrupolar gravitational waves can be integrated exactly. The influence of the gravitational field on the light propagation is examined not only in the wave zone but also in cases when light passes through the intermediate and near zones of the source. Explicit analytic expressions for light deflection and integrated time delay (Shapiro effect) are obtained accounting for all possible retardation effects and arbitrary relative locations of the source of gravitational waves, that of light rays, and the observer. It is shown that the ADM and harmonic gauge conditions can both be satisfied simultaneously outside the source of gravitational waves. Their use drastically simplifies the integration of light propagation equations and those for the motion of light source and observer in the field of the source of gravitational waves, leading to the unique interpretation of observable effects. The two limiting cases of small and large values of impact parameter are elaborated in more detail. Explicit expressions for Shapiro effect and deflection angle are obtained in terms of the transverse-traceless part of the space-space components of the metric tensor. We also discuss the relevance of the developed formalism for interpretation of radio interferometric and timing observations, as well as for data processing algorithms for future gravitational wave detectors.Comment: 43 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses revtex.sty, accepted to Phys. Rev. D, minor corrections in formulae regarding algebraic sign

Presence of exon 5-deleted oestrogen receptor in human breast cancer: functional analysis and clinical significance.

A variant form of the human oestrogen receptor (ER) mRNA lacking sequences encoded within exon 5 has been described (Fuqua SAW, Fitzgerald SD, Chamness GC, Tandon AK, McDonnell DP, Nawaz Z, O'Malloy BW, McGuire WL 1991, Cancer Res 51: 105-109). We have examined the expression of the exon 5-deleted ER (HE delta5) mRNA variant in breast biopsies using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT - PCR). HE delta5 mRNA was present in only 13% of non-malignant breast tissues compared with 32% of carcinomas (95% CI, P=0.05). Presence of the HE delta5 mRNA was associated with the presence of immunohistochemically detected ER (P=0.015) and progesterone receptor (PR) (P=0.02). There was a positive correlation between the presence of HE delta5 and disease-free survival (P=0.05), suggesting that the presence of HE delta5 may be an indicator of better prognosis. We have raised a monoclonal antibody specific to the C-terminal amino acids of HE delta5. This antibody recognized the variant but not the wild-type ER protein. We show that HE delta5 protein is present in breast cancer using immunohistochemical techniques. We also analysed trans-activation by HE delta5 in mammalian cells and showed that, in MCF-7 cells, HE delta5 competes with wild-type ER to inhibit ERE-dependent trans-activation. Our results indicate that this variant is unlikely to be responsible for endocrine resistance of breast cancer, but its presence at both the mRNA and protein level suggest that it may, nevertheless, be involved in regulating the expression of oestrogen-responsive genes in breast cancer

Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of the Marsworth area, south-central England

To elucidate the Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of south-central England, we report the stratigraphy, sedimentology, palaeoecology and geochronology of some deposits near the foot of the Chiltern Hills scarp at Marsworth, Buckinghamshire. The Marsworth site is important because its sedimentary sequences contain a rich record of warm stages and cold stages, and it lies close to the Anglian glacial limit. Critical to its history are the origin and age of a brown pebbly silty clay (diamicton) previously interpreted as weathered till. The deposits described infill a river channel incised into chalk bedrock. They comprise clayey, silty and gravelly sediments, many containing locally derived chalk and some with molluscan, ostracod and vertebrate remains. Most of the deposits are readily attributed to periglacial and fluvial processes, and some are dated by optically stimulated luminescence to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. Although our sedimentological data do not discriminate between a glacial or periglacial interpretation of the diamicton, amino-acid dating of three molluscan taxa from beneath it indicates that it is younger than MIS 9 and older than MIS 5e. This makes a glacial interpretation unlikely, and we interpret the diamicton as a periglacial slope deposit. The Pleistocene history reconstructed for Marsworth identifies four key elements: (1) Anglian glaciation during MIS 12 closely approached Marsworth, introducing far-travelled pebbles such as Rhaxella chert and possibly some fine sand minerals into the area. (2) Interglacial environments inferred from fluvial sediments during MIS 7 varied from fully interglacial conditions during sub-stages 7e and 7c, cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7b or 7a, temperate conditions similar to those today in central England towards the end of the interglacial, and cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7a. (3) Periglacial activity during MIS 6 involved thermal contraction cracking, permafrost development, fracturing of chalk bedrock, fluvial activity, slopewash, mass movement and deposition of loess and coversand. (4) Fully interglacial conditions during sub-stage 5e led to renewed fluvial activity, soil formation and acidic weathering

The impacts of environmental warming on Odonata: a review

Climate change brings with it unprecedented rates of increase in environmental temperature, which will have major consequences for the earth's flora and fauna. The Odonata represent a taxon that has many strong links to this abiotic factor due to its tropical evolutionary history and adaptations to temperate climates. Temperature is known to affect odonate physiology including life-history traits such as developmental rate, phenology and seasonal regulation as well as immune function and the production of pigment for thermoregulation. A range of behaviours are likely to be affected which will, in turn, influence other parts of the aquatic ecosystem, primarily through trophic interactions. Temperature may influence changes in geographical distributions, through a shifting of species' fundamental niches, changes in the distribution of suitable habitat and variation in the dispersal ability of species. Finally, such a rapid change in the environment results in a strong selective pressure towards adaptation to cope and the inevitable loss of some populations and, potentially, species. Where data are lacking for odonates, studies on other invertebrate groups will be considered. Finally, directions for research are suggested, particularly laboratory studies that investigate underlying causes of climate-driven macroecological patterns