Ethnic differences in patterns and correlates of age of initiation in a population of Air Force recruits

Early age of initiation is a significant risk factor for long-term dependent smoking and may also relate to other unhealthy behaviors. The current study assessed age of initiation in relationship to smoking dependence and motivation to quit, physical activity, dietary intake, body mass index (BMI), attitude toward illegal drug use, binge drinking, seat belt use, and smoking status at follow-up. Subjects were 7995 Air Force recruits who reported smoking regularly up to Basic Military Training. Euro-Americans initiated smoking more than a year earlier on average (15.5 years) than did African-Americans (16.8 years), with Hispanic-Americans (16.0 years) between these two groups. No gender differences were found for age of initiation for any ethnic group. Early age of initiation in Euro-Americans was associated with greater dependence on tobacco, reduced motivation to quit, less likelihood of quitting in the next 12 months, and a number of other health risk factors including lower self-reported physical activity, greater intake of high-fat foods, more favorable attitudes toward illegal drugs, increased likelihood of binge drinking, and less reported use of seat belts. Relationships between early age of initiation and other unhealthy behaviors were less consistent for African-Americans and for neither African-Americans nor Hispanics did age of initiation predict smoking status at 1-year follow-up. © 2000 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

The relationship between smoking and body weight in a population of young military personnel

Evidence indicates that middle-aged smokers weigh less than nonsmokers and that smoking cessation reliably produces weight gain, but recent studies have questioned the weight control \u27benefits\u27 of smoking in younger populations (the time that people typically initiate smoking). The relationship between smoking and body weight was evaluated in all U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training recruits during a 1-year period (n = 32,144). Those who smoked prior to Basic Military Training (n = 10,440) were compared to never smokers or experimental smokers. Results indicated that regular- current smoking had no relationship to body weight in women (p \u3e .05) and a very small effect in men (p \u3c .05). Ethnicity, education, income, and duration and intensity of smoking did not affect the relationship between smoking and body weight. It was concluded that smoking has no effects on the body weights of young women and minimal effects in young men

In Situ Dark Adaptation Enhances the Efficiency of DNA Extraction from Mature Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) Leaves, Facilitating the Identification of Partial Sequences of the 18S rRNA and Isoprene Synthase (IspS) Genes

Mature oak (Quercus spp.) leaves, although abundantly available during the plants’ developmental cycle, are rarely exploited as viable sources of genomic DNA. These leaves are rich in metabolites difficult to remove during standard DNA purification, interfering with downstream molecular genetics applications. The current work assessed whether in situ dark adaptation, to deplete sugar reserves and inhibit secondary metabolite synthesis could compensate for the difficulties encountered when isolating DNA from mature leaves rich in secondary metabolites. We optimized a rapid, commercial kit based method to extract genomic DNA from dark- and light-adapted leaves. We demonstrated that in situ dark adaptation increases the yield and quality of genomic DNA obtained from mature oak leaves, yielding templates of sufficiently high quality for direct downstream applications, such as PCR amplification and gene identification. The quality of templates isolated from dark-adapted pin oak leaves particularly improved the amplification of larger fragments in our experiments. From DNA extracts prepared with our optimized method, we identified for the first time partial segments of the genes encoding 18S rRNA and isoprene synthase (IspS) from pin oak (Quercus palustris), whose full genome has not yet been sequenced

Risk Factors and Outcomes of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer in Children and Young Adults

ObjectiveTo identify risk factors associated with nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) occurrence and survival in children.Study designThis was a multicenter, retrospective, case-control study of patients <20 years of age diagnosed with NMSC between 1995 and 2015 from 11 academic medical centers. The primary outcome measure was frequency of cases and controls with predisposing genetic conditions and/or iatrogenic exposures, including chemotherapy, radiation, systemic immunosuppression, and voriconazole.ResultsOf the 124 children with NMSC (40 with basal cell carcinoma, 90 with squamous cell carcinoma), 70% had at least 1 identifiable risk factor. Forty-four percent of the cases had a predisposing genetic condition or skin lesion, and 29% had 1 or more iatrogenic exposures of prolonged immunosuppression, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or voriconazole use. Prolonged immunosuppression and voriconazole use were associated with squamous cell carcinoma occurrence (cases vs controls; 30% vs 0%, P = .0002, and 15% vs 0%, P = .03, respectively), and radiation therapy and chemotherapy were associated with basal cell carcinoma occurrence (both 20% vs 1%, P < .0001). Forty-eight percent of initial skin cancers had been present for >12 months prior to diagnosis and 49% of patients were diagnosed with ≥2 skin cancers. At last follow-up, 5% (6 of 124) of patients with NMSC died. Voriconazole exposure was noted in 7 cases and associated with worse 3-year overall survival (P = .001).ConclusionsNMSC in children and young adults is often associated with a predisposing condition or iatrogenic exposure. High-risk patients should be identified early to provide appropriate counseling and management