Characteristics and prevalence of hardcore smokers attending UK general practitioners

BACKGROUND: Smoking remains a public health problem and although unsolicited GPs' advice against smoking causes between one and three percent of smokers to stop, a significant proportion of smokers are particularly resistant to the notion of stopping smoking. These resistant smokers have been called "hardcore smokers" and although 16% of smokers in the community are hardcore, little is known about hardcore smokers presenting to primary care physicians. Consequently, this study reports the characteristics and prevalence of hardcore smokers attending UK GPs. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using data from two different research projects was conducted. Data for this analysis had been collected from surgery consultation sessions with 73 GPs in Leicestershire, England, (42 GPs from one project). Research assistants distributed pre-consultation questionnaires to 4147 adults attending GPs' surgery sessions. Questionnaires identified regular smokers, the proportion of hardcore smokers and their characteristics. Non-hardcore and hardcore smokers' ages, gender and nicotine addiction levels were compared. RESULTS: 1170 regular smokers attended surgery sessions and, 16.1% (95% CI, 14.1 to 18.4) were hardcore smokers. Hardcore smokers had higher levels of nicotine addiction than others (p = 0.000), measured by the Heaviness of Smoking Index and were more likely to be male [50.5% hardcore versus 35.3% non-hardcore, (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.4 to 2.6)] but no age differences were observed between groups. CONCLUSION: A significant minority of the smokers who present in general practice are resistant to the notion of smoking cessation and these smokers are more heavily nicotine addicted than others. Although clinical guidelines suggest that GPs should regularly advise all smokers against smoking, it is probable that hardcore smokers do not respond positively to this and help to make up the 97%–99% of smokers who do not quit after being advised to stop smoking by GPs. General practitioners need to find approaches for raising the issue of smoking during consultations in ways that do not reinforce the negative opinions of hardcore smokers concerning smoking cessation

Erosion characteristics and floc strenght of Athabasca river cohesive sediments: towards managing sediment-related issues

Purpose: Most of Canada’s tar sands exploitations are located in the Athabasca river basin. Deposited cohesive sediments in Athabasca river and tributaries are a potential source of PAHs in the basin. Erosional behavior of cohesive sediments depends not only of fluid turbulence but on sediments structure and particularly the influence of organic content. This research tries to describe this behavior in Athabasca river sediments. Methods: An experimental study of cohesive sediments dynamics in one of the tributaries, the Muskeg river, was developed in a rotating annular flume. Variation of the shear stress allowed the determination of erosional strength for beds with different consolidation periods. Particle size measurements were made with a laser diffraction device operated in a continuous flow through mode. Optical analyses of flocs (ESEM and TEM) were performed with samples taken at the end of the experiments. Results: An inverse relationship between suspended sediment concentration (SS) and the consolidation period was found. The differences are related in this research to the increasing organic content of the sediments with consolidation period. The particle size measurements during the experiments showed differences on floc strength that are also related to changing organic content during different consolidation periods. ESEM and TEM observations confirm the structural differences for beds with different consolidation periods. The effects of SFGL on floc structure and in biostabilization of the bed are discussed. Conclusions: It is recommended in this paper that consolidation period should be taken into account for the modeling of erosion of cohesive sediments in the Athabasca river. Relating to transport models of pollutants (PAHs) it is highly recommended to consider flocs organic content, particularly algae, in the resuspension module.Environment Canada, CONACY

Body Temperature Patterns and Rhythmicity in Free-Ranging Subterranean Damaraland Mole-Rats, Fukomys damarensis

Body temperature (Tb) is an important physiological component that affects endotherms from the cellular to whole organism level, but measurements of Tb in the field have been noticeably skewed towards heterothermic species and seasonal comparisons are largely lacking. Thus, we investigated patterns of Tb patterns in a homeothermic, free-ranging small mammal, the Damaraland mole-rat (Fukomys damarensis) during both the summer and winter. Variation in Tb was significantly greater during winter than summer, and greater among males than females. Interestingly, body mass had only a small effect on variation in Tb and there was no consistent pattern relating ambient temperature to variation in Tb. Generally speaking, it appears that variation in Tb patterns varies between seasons in much the same way as in heterothermic species, just to a lesser degree. Both cosinor analysis and Fast Fourier Transform analysis revealed substantial individual variation in Tb rhythms, even within a single colony. Some individuals had no Tb rhythms, while others appeared to exhibit multiple rhythms. These data corroborate previous laboratory work showing multiplicity of rhythms in mole-rats and suggest the variation seen in the laboratory is a true indicator of the variation seen in the wild

Natural Changes in Brain Temperature Underlie Variations in Song Tempo during a Mating Behavior

The song of a male zebra finch is a stereotyped motor sequence whose tempo varies with social context – whether or not the song is directed at a female bird – as well as with the time of day. The neural mechanisms underlying these changes in tempo are unknown. Here we show that brain temperature recorded in freely behaving male finches exhibits a global increase in response to the presentation of a female bird. This increase strongly correlates with, and largely explains, the faster tempo of songs directed at a female compared to songs produced in social isolation. Furthermore, we find that the observed diurnal variations in song tempo are also explained by natural variations in brain temperature. Our findings suggest that brain temperature is an important variable that can influence the dynamics of activity in neural circuits, as well as the temporal features of behaviors that some of these circuits generate

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

How Attractive Is the Girl Next Door? An Assessment of Spatial Mate Acquisition and Paternity in the Solitary Cape Dune Mole-Rat, Bathyergus suillus

Behavioural observations of reproduction and mate choice in wild fossorial rodents are extremely limited and consequently indirect methods are typically used to infer mating strategies. We use a combination of morphological, reproductive, spatial, and genetic data to investigate the reproductive strategy of a solitary endemic species, the Cape dune mole-rat Bathyergus suillus. These data provide the first account on the population dynamics of this species. Marked sexual dimorphism was apparent with males being both significantly larger and heavier than females. Of all females sampled 36% had previously reproduced and 12% were pregnant at the time of capture. Post-partum sex ratio was found to be significantly skewed in favour of females. The paternity of fifteen litters (n = 37) was calculated, with sires assigned to progeny using both categorical and full probability methods, and including a distance function. The maximum distance between progeny and a putative sire was determined as 2149 m with males moving between sub-populations. We suggest that above-ground movement should not be ignored in the consideration of mate acquisition behaviour of subterranean mammals. Estimated levels of multiple paternity were shown to be potentially as high as 26%, as determined using sibship and sire assignment methods. Such high levels of multiple paternity have not been found in other solitary mole-rat species. The data therefore suggest polyandry with no evidence as yet for polygyny

Editorial Board

Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1345-8 Background: The duration of untreated psychosis is determined by both patient and service related factors. Few studies have considered the geographical accessibility of services in relation to treatment delay in early psychosis. To address this, we investigated whether treatment delay is co-determined by straight-line distance to hospital based specialist services in a mainly rural mental health context. Methods: A naturalistic cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of recent onset psychosis patients in northern Norway (n = 62). Data on patient and service related determinants were analysed. Results: Half of the cohort had a treatment delay longer than 4.5 months. In a binary logistic regression model, straight-line distance was found to make an independent contribution to delay in which we controlled for other known risk factors. Conclusions: The determinants of treatment delay are complex. This study adds to previous studies on treatment delay by showing that the spatial location of services also makes an independent contribution. In addition, it may be that insidious onset is a more important factor in treatment delay in remote areas, as the logistical implications of specialist referral are much greater than for urban dwellers. The threshold for making a diagnosis in a remote location may therefore be higher. Strategies to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis in rural areas would benefit from improving appropriate referral by crisis services, and the detection of insidious onset of psychosis in community based specialist services

Surface Hardness Impairment of Quorum Sensing and Swarming for Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The importance of rhamnolipid to swarming of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is well established. It is frequently, but not exclusively, observed that P. aeruginosa swarms in tendril patterns—formation of these tendrils requires rhamnolipid. We were interested to explain the impact of surface changes on P. aeruginosa swarm tendril development. Here we report that P. aeruginosa quorum sensing and rhamnolipid production is impaired when growing on harder semi-solid surfaces. P. aeruginosa wild-type swarms showed huge variation in tendril formation with small deviations to the “standard” swarm agar concentration of 0.5%. These macroscopic differences correlated with microscopic investigation of cells close to the advancing swarm edge using fluorescent gene reporters. Tendril swarms showed significant rhlA-gfp reporter expression right up to the advancing edge of swarming cells while swarms without tendrils (grown on harder agar) showed no rhlA-gfp reporter expression near the advancing edge. This difference in rhamnolipid gene expression can be explained by the necessity of quorum sensing for rhamnolipid production. We provide evidence that harder surfaces seem to limit induction of quorum sensing genes near the advancing swarm edge and these localized effects were sufficient to explain the lack of tendril formation on hard agar. We were unable to artificially stimulate rhamnolipid tendril formation with added acyl-homoserine lactone signals or increasing the carbon nutrients. This suggests that quorum sensing on surfaces is controlled in a manner that is not solely population dependent

Faster HIV-1 Disease Progression among Brazilian Individuals Recently Infected with CXCR4-Utilizing Strains

Introduction: Primary HIV infection is usually caused by R5 viruses, and there is an association between the emergence of CCXR4-utilizing strains and faster disease progression. We characterized HIV-1 from a cohort of recently infected individuals in Brazil, predicted the virus's co-receptor use based on the env genotype and attempted to correlate virus profiles with disease progression. Methods: A total of 72 recently infected HIV patients were recruited based on the Serologic Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion and were followed every three to four months for up to 78 weeks. The HIV-1 V3 region was characterized by sequencing nine to twelve weeks after enrollment. Disease progression was characterized by CD4+ T-cell count decline to levels consistently below 350 cells/mu L. Results: Twelve out of 72 individuals (17%) were predicted to harbor CXCR4-utilizing strains; a baseline CD4,350 was more frequent among these individuals (p = 0.03). Fifty-seven individuals that were predicted to have CCR5-utilizing viruses and 10 individuals having CXCR4-utilizing strains presented with baseline CD4.350; after 78 weeks, 33 individuals with CCR5 strains and one individual with CXCR4 strains had CD4.350 (p = 0.001). There was no association between CD4 decline and demographic characteristics or HIV-1 subtype. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the presence of strains with higher in vitro pathogenicity during early HIV infection, suggesting that even among recently infected individuals, rapid progression may be a consequence of the early emergence of CXCR4-utilizing strains. Characterizing the HIV-1 V3 region by sequencing may be useful in predicting disease progression and guiding treatment initiation decisions.Brazilian Program for STD and AIDSBrazilian Program for STD and AIDSMinistry of Health [914/BRA/3014-UNESCO/Kallas]Ministry of HealthSao Paulo City Health DepartmentSao Paulo City Health Department [2004-0.168.922-7/Kallas]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao PauloFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [04/15856-9/Diaz]Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Brazilian Ministry of EducationBrazilian Ministry of Educatio