36 research outputs found
“Organic,” “natural,” and “additive-free” cigarettes: Comparing the effects of advertising claims and disclaimers on perceptions of harm
Introduction: The US Tobacco Control Act restricts advertising or labeling that suggests one tobacco product is less harmful than another. We sought to examine how “organic,” “natural,” and “additive-free” advertising claims and corresponding disclaimers affect perceptions of cigarettes’ harm. Methods: Participants were a national probability sample of adults in the United States (n = 1114, including 344 smokers). We conducted a 5 (claim) × 2 (disclaimer) between-subjects factorial experiment. Participants viewed a Natural American Spirit cigarettes ad claiming they were “organic,” “natural,” “additive-free,” “light,” or “regular;” and with or without a corresponding disclaimer. The outcome was perceived harm of the advertised cigarettes. Among smokers, we also assessed interest in switching within their current brand to cigarettes with this characteristic (eg, “additive-free”). Results: Claims in the ad had a large effect on perceived harm (Cohen’s d = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.47 to 1.29). Claims of cigarettes being “organic,” “natural,” or “additive-free” reduced perceived harm from the advertised cigarettes, as compared with “regular” and “light” claims. Disclaimers had a small effect, increasing perceived harm (d = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.08 to 0.41). The problematic claims also increased smokers’ interest in switching. Disclaimers had no effect on smokers’ interest in switching. Conclusions: “Organic,” “natural,” and “additive-free” claims May mislead people into thinking that the advertised cigarettes are less harmful than other cigarettes. Disclaimers did not offset misperceptions of harm created by false claims. The US Food and Drug Administration should restrict the use of these misleading claims in tobacco advertising. Implications: “Organic,” “natural,” and “additive-free” cigarette advertising claims decrease perceptions of harm among the public and increase interest in switching to such cigarettes among smokers. Disclaimers do not counteract the reduced perceptions of harm or increased interest in switching to these cigarettes. The US Food and Drug Administration should restrict the use of “organic,” “natural,” and “additive-free” claims in tobacco marketing
Public Understanding of Cigarette Smoke Chemicals: Longitudinal Study of US Adults and Adolescents
Introduction: The US Food and Drug Administration has increased communication efforts that aim to raise public awareness of the harmful constituents (ie, chemicals) in cigarette smoke. We sought to investigate whether the public's awareness of these chemicals has increased in light of such efforts. Methods: Participants were national probability samples of 11 322 US adults and adolescents recruited in 2014-2015 (wave 1) and 2016-2017 (wave 2). Cross-sectional telephone surveys assessed awareness of 24 cigarette smoke chemicals at both timepoints. Results: The proportion of US adults aware of cigarette smoke chemicals did not differ between waves 1 and 2 (25% and 26%, p =. 19). In contrast, awareness of chemicals among adolescents fell from 28% to 22% (p <. 001), mostly due to lower awareness of carbon monoxide, arsenic, benzene, and four other chemicals. Belief that most of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke come from burning the cigarette also fell from waves 1 to 2 (adults: 31% vs. 26%; adolescents: 47% vs. 41%, both ps <. 05). Participants were more likely to be aware of cigarette smoke chemicals if they had been exposed to anti-smoking campaign advertisements (p <. 05) or had previously sought chemical information (p <. 05). Cigarette smoke chemical awareness did not differ between smokers and nonsmokers. Conclusion: Awareness of cigarette smoke chemicals remains low and unchanged among adults and decreased somewhat among adolescents. The association of chemical awareness with information exposure via campaigns and information seeking behavior is promising. More concerted communication efforts may be needed to increase public awareness of cigarette smoke chemicals, which could potentially discourage smoking. Implications: Awareness of the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke may contribute to quitting. The US Food and Drug Administration is making efforts to increase public awareness of these chemicals. Two national surveys (2014-2017) found that chemical awareness was low among adults and adolescents. Although awareness did not change among adults, awareness among adolescents dropped over time. In addition, exposure to anti-smoking campaigns and chemical information seeking behavior were associated with higher awareness of chemicals in cigarette smoke. Campaigns and other efforts may be needed to increase awareness of cigarette smoke chemicals
Z^* Resonances: Phenomenology and Models
We explore the phenomenology of, and models for, the Z^* resonances, the
lowest of which is now well established, and called the Theta. We provide an
overview of three models which have been proposed to explain its existence
and/or its small width, and point out other relevant predictions, and potential
problems, for each. The relation to what is known about KN scattering,
including possible resonance signals in other channels, is also discussed.Comment: 29 pages, uses RevTeX4; expanded version (published form
The Dipion Mass Spectrum In e+e- Annihilation and tau Decay: A Dynamical (rho0, omega, phi) Mixing Approach
We readdress the problem of finding a simultaneous description of the pion
form factor data in e+e- annihilations and in tau decays. For this purpose, we
work in the framework of the Hidden Local Symmetry (HLS) Lagrangian and modify
the vector meson mass term by including the pion and kaon loop contributions.
This leads us to define the physical rho, omega and phi fields as linear
combinations of their ideal partners, with coefficients being meromorphic
functions of s, the square of the 4--momentum flowing into the vector meson
lines. This allows us to define a dynamical, i.e. s-dependent, vector meson
mixing scheme. The model is overconstrained by extending the framework in order
to include the description of all meson radiative (V P gamma and P gamma gamma
couplings) and leptonic (Ve+e- couplings) decays and also the isospin breaking
(omega/ phi --> pi+ pi-) decay modes. The model provides a simultaneous,
consistent and good description of the e+e- and tau dipion spectra. The
expression for pion form factor in the latter case is derived from those in the
former case by switching off the isospin breaking effects specific to e+e- and
switching on those for tau decays. Besides, the model also provides a good
account of all decay modes of the form V P gamma, Pgamma gamma as well as the
isospin breaking decay modes. It leads us to propose new reference values for
the rho^0 --> e+ e- and omega --> pi+ pi- partial widths which are part of our
description of the pion form factor. Other topics (phi --> K anti K, the rho
meson mass and width parameters) are briefly discussed. Therefore, we confirm
the 3.3 sigma discrepancy between the theoretical estimate of a_mu based on
e+e- and its direct BNL measurement.Comment: 71 pages, 8 figures. Accepted by EPJ C. Version 3: correct minor
typos, minor changes spread out into the text. Extension of Sections 12.2 and
12.3.5 and introduction of the new Appendix
AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer
Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk
Representation in the (Artificial) Immune System
Much of contemporary research in Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) has partitioned into either algorithmic machine learning and optimisation, or, modelling biologically plausible dynamical systems, with little overlap between. We propose that this dichotomy is somewhat to blame for the lack of significant advancement of the field in either direction and demonstrate how a simplistic interpretation of Perelson’s shape-space formalism may have largely contributed to this dichotomy. In this paper, we motivate and derive an alternative representational abstraction. To do so we consider the validity of shape-space from both the biological and machine learning perspectives. We then take steps towards formally integrating these perspectives into a coherent computational model of notions such as life-long learning, degeneracy, constructive representations and contextual recognition—rhetoric that has long inspired work in AIS, while remaining largely devoid of operational definition
Exchange corrected Eikonal-Born approximation for elastic scattering of electrons by Helium
Moving fibre/phase mask-scanning beam technique for enhanced flexibility in producing fibre gratings with a uniform phase mask
We demonstrate a new and flexible technique for producing photorefractive fibre gratings with a uniform phase mask. By slowly moving the fibre relative to the mask as the writing beam is scanned, wavelength shifts, pure apodisation and phase-shifted gratings can be achieved