Smoking behavior and social contexts associated with smoking among dual‐smoker couples

ObjectivesTo examine smoking behavior and social contexts related to smoking among dual‐smoker couples.DesignCross‐sectional online survey study.SampleA convenience sample of 183 dual‐smoker couples.MeasurementsInvestigator‐developed survey on smoking and related social contexts.ResultsParticipants smoked 16.0 cigarettes daily for 14.2 years; 48.4% shared more than half of their smoking time with their spouse. More than half made quit attempts in the past year individually (M = 5.3) and jointly (M = 2.5). Couples sharing more smoking time were more likely to be motivated to quit (p = .002), make quit attempts (p < .0001), and be interested in cessation interventions (p = .002); but less likely to implement home smoking bans (p < .001). Among those who reported quit attempts, 41% quit by themselves and 15.3% sought professional assistance. Most common reasons for relapse were chronic stress and crisis, 63.6%, however, were interested in smoking cessation services, preferably technology‐based interventions.ConclusionsWe found smoking interdependence within dual‐smoker couples. Despite high levels of motivation to quit, most did not utilize professional help, leading to low successful quit rates. Technology‐based smoking cessation interventions incorporating spousal support and addressing stress/crisis may best assist dual‐smoker couples.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154359/1/phn12686.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154359/2/phn12686_am.pd

Does Resident Participation in an Urban Regeneration Project Improve Neighborhood Satisfaction: A Case Study of “Amichojang” in Busan, South Korea

One of the keys to successfully facilitating urban regeneration projects is to encourage resident participation, because participation produces more than just outcomes. However, few studies have examined whether the residents&rsquo; participation in urban regeneration projects also increases residents&rsquo; neighborhood satisfaction. Seeking to address this gap, our study examines the relationship between urban regeneration projects and residents&rsquo; satisfaction, focusing on &lsquo;Amichojang&rsquo; in Busan, South Korea. We collect 292 valid survey data and then geocode them based on their specific home address to consider spatial characteristics of their residential locations. We also employ an ordered probit model to account for our dependent variable measured as a five-point Likert scale. Our empirical results show that resident participation in urban regeneration projects is positively associated with improvement of neighborhood satisfaction. This result suggests that encouraging local resident participation in urban regeneration projects is significant for the success of these projects. However, there exist gender and age differences in the relationship between participation and neighborhood satisfaction. Therefore, various programs that can encourage more participation in urban regeneration projects should be designed for different demographic groups

The Removal Performance of an Electrostatic Precipitator at a Manufacturing Site Using a Wet-porous Electrode Array

In this study, to eliminate the ultrafine particles and gaseous pollutants generated in the manufacturing site and supply clean air to the working chamber of the injection molding machine, we analyzed the concentrations and size distributions of ultrafine particles, as well as their chemical components and morphologies, in the injection molding process applied in a machine used for manufacturing disposable medical devices. The concentrations of water-soluble gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is an undesirable emission, were also measured during the manufacturing process. Furthermore the WPE- ESP (Electrostatic precipitator with wet-porous electrode arrays) was modified and optimized for a mounting system so that it could be applied for the injection molding process that is used to manufacture high-precision devices. The generated ESP system had a high collection efficiency of &gt; 99.5% under laminar flow conditions (flowrate &gt; 0.4 m/s) and removed up to 92.5% the water-soluble SO2 gas that was generated in the manufacturing process. In particular, the proposed system promotes energy efficiency when used over a long period because of the low pressure drop

Hypermedia modeling for linking knowledge to data warehousing system

Today’s economy runs on knowledge and more companies work assiduously to capitalize on knowledge support systems. Hypermedia can be used for effective coordination and sharing of knowledge. This paper proposes a methodology for capturing knowledge by the use of hypermedia model. This hypermedia model can link knowledge to data warehousing systems. The methodology consists of three phases: knowledge elicitation, hypermedia modeling, and system implementation. The emphasis is on systematic conversion of knowledge into hypermedia artifacts and data warehouse components. A real-life case for a medical data warehousing system is illustrated to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology. Our methodology is better able to help put the corporate knowledge into wider sharing

Government Data Performance: The Roles of Technology, Government Capacity, and Globalization through the Effects of National Innovativeness

The availability of open, relevant, and up-to-date public data is becoming an increasingly important dimension of national competitiveness and sustainable development. It serves as a foundation for novel technologies, such as big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, to take root and flourish, and it can help improve the quality and efficiency of government decision making and render governments more transparent and accessible to the public. Often referred as Open Government Data, or OGD, governments around the world have committed resources to constructing various OGD platforms. However, building a robust and effective OGD system has proved difficult, as the promise of OGD has not been realized fully around the world. At this important juncture, this study aims to explore the relationship between national technological and organizational capacities and environmental factor and the quality of OGD systems. In addition, national innovativeness and the degree of “globalization” in a country and their moderating effects between the predictors and OGD performance are examined. Our findings indicate strong positive effects of national technological capacity, government organization capacity, and globalization on OGD quality and a positive moderating effect of national innovativeness

Electrospray characterization based on an emitter of cone-shaped porous medium for the high-throughput microliter aerosol generation

A compact electrospray system has been developed using a cone-shaped porous medium. The cone-jet conditions with a stable spraying mode were measured using ethanol and lavender oil, and the average diameter and size distribution of the sprayed droplets were investigated according to the applied voltage. In addition, the spray stability over time was analyzed because the fluid was supplied with a capillary action without the use of a pump. The average diameter of the droplets was 3.6-6.7 mu m (ethanol) and 6.4-8.6 mu m (lavender oil). We observed that the average particle size clearly increased with the applied voltage; the cause was determined based on the electric stress due to the potential difference (&quot;electric pressure&quot;) between the tip of the porous medium and ground ring. Moreover, the mean droplet size according to the electrical potential was proportional to E-0.5 (ethanol) and E-0.85 (lavender oil). The penetration time in the porous medium of the proposed system was controlled by the physical properties of the fluid, such as surface tension and viscosity, and affected the spray stability when spraying for a long time. Thus, the spray stability could be improved by controlling the applied voltage in the cone-jet mode region

Evidence of genome duplication revealed by sequence analysis of multi-loci expressed sequence tag–simple sequence repeat bands in Panax ginseng Meyer

Background: Panax ginseng, the most famous medicinal herb, has a highly duplicated genome structure. However, the genome duplication of P. ginseng has not been characterized at the sequence level. Multiple band patterns have been consistently observed during the development of DNA markers using unique sequences in P. ginseng. Methods: We compared the sequences of multiple bands derived from unique expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers to investigate the sequence level genome duplication. Results: Reamplification and sequencing of the individual bands revealed that, for each marker, two bands around the expected size were genuine amplicons derived from two paralogous loci. In each case, one of the two bands was polymorphic, showing different allelic forms among nine ginseng cultivars, whereas the other band was usually monomorphic. Sequences derived from the two loci showed a high similarity, including the same primer-binding site, but each locus could be distinguished based on SSR number variations and additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or InDels. A locus-specific marker designed from the SNP site between the paralogous loci produced a single band that also showed clear polymorphism among ginseng cultivars. Conclusion: Our data imply that the recent genome duplication has resulted in two highly similar paralogous regions in the ginseng genome. The two paralogous sequences could be differentiated by large SSR number variations and one or two additional SNPs or InDels in every 100 bp of genic region, which can serve as a reliable identifier for each locus

Use of an electrostatic precipitator with wet-porous electrode arrays for removal of air pollution at a precision manufacturing facility

This study analyzed the concentrations and size distributions of ultrafine particles, as well as their chemical components and morphologies, in the context of manufacturing processes, focusing on injection molding and tool repair. The concentrations of water-soluble gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is an undesirable emission, were measured during the manufacturing process. To remove particles and gaseous pollutants from manufacturing sites simultaneously, we improved the recently introduced electrostatic precipitator (ESP) system, in which wet-porous electrodes (WPEs) are used. The modified novel ESP consisted of an ionization part, for particle charging, and a collection part, installed in the working chamber of a manufacturing facility along with the WPE array to maintain a high-humidity environment using a water bucket. The proposed ESP could be also be coupled with laminar flow modules that are typically mounted in manufacturing facilities and used to maintain a clean environment during working processes. To evaluate the performance of the proposed ESP, the removal efficiencies of airborne particles and SO2 gas were investigated under operating conditions, with an applied electric field strength in the collection part of the ESP and flow velocities in the working chamber. The collection efficiency of the WPE-ESP was improved by increasing the electric field strength of the collection plates, and the maximum total collection efficiency of the system was similar to 99.5% for a 13.3 kV/cm collection environment under 0.4 m/s conditions. The proposed system also removed SO2 at 88.5-92.5% under flow conditions of 0.4-2.0 m/s. Furthermore, this system shows potential for increasing energy efficiency in workplaces due to the extremely low pressure drop.ope