Waterpipe tobacco smoking legislation and policy enactment: a global analysis

Objective (1) To review how current global tobacco control policies address regulation of waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS). (2) To identify features associated with enactment and enforcement of WTS legislation. Data Sources (1) Legislations compiled by Tobacco Control Laws (www.tobaccocontrollaws.org). (2) Weekly news articles by ‘Google Alerts’ (www.google.com/alerts) from July 2013 to August 2014. Study Selection (1) Countries containing legislative reviews, written by legal experts, were included. Countries prohibiting tobacco sales were excluded. (2) News articles discussing aspects of the WHO FCTC were included. News articles related to electronic-waterpipe, crime, smuggling, opinion pieces or brief mentions of WTS were excluded. Data Abstraction (1) Two reviewers independently abstracted the definition of “tobacco product” and/or “smoking”. Four tobacco control domains (smokefree law, misleading descriptors, health warning labels and advertising/promotion/sponsorship) were assigned one of four categories based on the degree to which WTS had specific legislation. (2) Two investigators independently assigned at least one theme and associated subtheme to each news article. Data Synthesis (1) Reviewed legislations of 62 countries showed that most do not address WTS regulation but instead rely on generic tobacco/smoking definitions to cover all tobacco products. Where WTS was specifically addressed, no additional legislative guidance accounted for the unique way it is smoked, except for in one country specifying health warnings on waterpipe apparatuses (2) News articles mainly reported on noncompliance with public smoking bans, especially in India, Pakistan and the UK. Conclusions A regulatory framework evaluated for effectiveness and tailored for the specificities of WTS needs to be developed

Estudios sobre la cinética de secado del orujo

The olive foot cake is a very important by-product of olive oil industry since it can contain until 12 % of oil which can be extracted using solvent. The used solvent is often immiscible with water. This is the reason why its effect is limited by the moisture of olive foot cake making its drying imperative. In this paper, we present the behaviour of olive foot cake subjected to convective drying. The experimental results show that the drying rate versus moisture presents only one period of decreasing rate. The influence of the main parameters on drying kinetics is studied.El orujo es un importante subproducto de la industria del aceite de oliva ya que puede contener hasta el 12 % del aceite, el cual puede ser extraído usando un disolvente apropiado. El uso del disolvente es a menudo inmiscible con el agua. Esta es la razón por la que su efecto está limitado por la humedad del orujo, haciendo su secado imperativo. En este artículo se presenta el comportamiento del orujo sometido a un secado por convección. Los resultados experimentales mostraron que la velocidad de secado frente a la humedad, presenta un solo período de disminución de dicha velocidad. Se ha estudiado la influencia de los principales parámetros sobre la cinética de secado

Force of Beauty or Object of Desire? The Priming Effects of Makeup Video Advertisements on Self-Objectification in College Women

Women are too often valued for their beauty and have shifted their focus from character to body improvement (Brumberg, 1998). Objectification theory (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997) posits that sexual objectification socializes females to evaluate themselves based on looks. Self-objectification is the attempt to control this external perception by monitoring one’s physical appearance. Women are more likely to think “How do I look?” than “What am I capable of?” The priming effects of positive and negative body-focused makeup advertisements on college-aged women’s level of self-objectification were examined in two separate studies. In study one, 87 participants viewing positive vs. negative advertisements reported more traits and abilities; this was especially true for high self-objectifiers. Participants viewing positive advertisements reported more positive emotions, suggesting the salutary role that positive messaging may play. Results were replicated in study two, with 172 participants who viewed positive vs. negative advertisements reporting significantly fewer body shape statements, more trait and abilities, as well as more physical competence statements. In addition, individuals who viewed advertisements with non-objectifying content responded with a significantly greater number of positively valenced statements and significantly fewer negative statements about themselves in comparison to women who viewed objectifying advertisements. These results suggest that marketers should eschew advertising that sexually objectifies women and promotes unattainable beauty goals. Future research should evaluate cumulative and long-term effects of advertisement and examine whether exposure that leads to lower levels of objectification also minimizes negative consequences associated with objectifying media influences (e.g., body shame, depression, eating disorder)

Nonparametric M-regression with Scale Parameter For Functional Dependent Data

In this paper, we study the equivariant nonparametric robust regression estimation relationship between a functional dependent random covariable and a scalar response. We consider a new robust regression estimator when the scale parameter is unknown. The consistency result of the proposed estimator is studied, namely the uniform almost complete convergence (with rate). Thus, suitable topological considerations are needed, implying changes in the convergence rates, which are quantified by entropy considerations. The benefits of considering robust estimators are illustrated on two real data sets where the robust fit reveals the presence of influential outliers

EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH IN THE INTERNET AGE

Although the Internet came into existence in the second half of the twentieth century, its influence on language began to escalate in 1990 onwards. It has drastically changed the way people communicate and use English both in writing and speaking. Consequently, the world has become increasingly interconnected through synchronous and asynchronous communicational scripts, such as SMS, online chat, Yahoo messengers, emails, blogs, and wikis, which have become retrievable as accessible corpora for analysis. These corpora can yield anecdotal evidence of historical language change. The arrival of Web 2.0 tools and applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, WhatsApp, and Viber, can likewise reveal changes that English has recently undergone. The Internet has given rise to what is arguably a new variety of English that differs from standard varieties. This article provides an account of the development of English from dialects spoken by a small number of people in the British Isles to an international and global language. It emphasizes the language shifts that have taken place more recently since the widespread use of the Internet. The pervasiveness of the Internet has led to new changes in form and usage described as Internet English

Nutritive value of sun-dried common reed (Phragmites australis) leaves and its effect on performance and carcass characteristics of the growing rabbit

[EN] The nutritive value and potential use of sun-dried common reed (Phragmites australis) leaves (CRL), for growing rabbits was studied by comparing 3 diets (regression method) containing an increasing incorporation rate of CRL: 0% (control, CRL0), 15% (CRL15) and 30% (CRL30) in substitution for the control diet (356 g neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and 197 g crude protein (CP)/kg). Three groups of 37 rabbits (individually caged) were fed the 3 diets ad libitum from weaning (35 d, mean weight: 722±142 g) to 77 d of age. The faecal digestibility of the diets was measured between 42 and 46 d of age in 10 rabbits per group. CRL can be considered high-fibre roughage, as it contained 64% of NDF (38% of ADF and 10% ADL) and 10.2% of CP. The digestible energy (DE) content of CRL calculated by regression was null (–1.8±0.29 MJ/kg as fed). CP digestibility reached 29%, corresponding to a digestible crude protein concentration of 29.0±5.6 g/kg as fed basis. The fibre digestibility was reduced with CRL incorporation. Dietary incorporation of CRL impaired the rabbit growth (34.2 vs. 31.5 g/d during the period 35-77 d without CRL or with CRL (CRL15 and CRL30), respectively; P=0.002). Consequently, feed conversion was impaired with the high incorporation rate in feed (30%). Health status or main slaughter traits were not affected by CRL incorporation rate. Thus, the sun-dried common reed leaves had a poor nutritive value for growing rabbits and it can be considered a high-fibre feedstuff, interesting to supply low digested fibres (cellulose) and lignin.The authors thank Belaidi-Gater N., Louchami Y., Slimani M., Selmani K. Djaroun T., Haddad M. and Yahi K. for their assistance in the experimental trial.This work was partially financed by the CMEP-Tassili project (05 MDU 667).Kadi, S.; Ouendi, M.; Bannelier, C.; Berchiche, M.; Gidenne, T. (2018). 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Mouse cytoplasmic dynein intermediate chains: identification of new isoforms, alternative splicing and tissue distribution of transcripts

BACKGROUND: Intracellular transport of cargoes including organelles, vesicles, signalling molecules, protein complexes, and RNAs, is essential for normal function of eukaryotic cells. The cytoplasmic dynein complex is an important motor that moves cargos along microtubule tracks within the cell. In mammals this multiprotein complex includes dynein intermediate chains 1 and 2 which are encoded by two genes, Dync1i1 and Dync1i2. These proteins are involved in dynein cargo binding and dynein complexes with different intermediate chains bind to specific cargoes, although the mechanisms to achieve this are not known. The DYNC1I1 and DYNC1I2 proteins are translated from different splice isoforms, and specific forms of each protein are essential for the function of different dynein complexes in neurons. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we have undertaken a systematic survey of the dynein intermediate chain splice isoforms in mouse, basing our study on mRNA expression patterns in a range of tissues, and on bioinformatics analysis of mouse, rat and human genomic and cDNA sequences. We found a complex pattern of alternative splicing of both dynein intermediate chain genes, with maximum complexity in the embryonic and adult nervous system. We have found novel transcripts, including some with orthologues in human and rat, and a new promoter and alternative non-coding exon 1 for Dync1i2. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data, including the cloned isoforms will be essential for understanding the role of intermediate chains in the cytoplasmic dynein complex, particularly their role in cargo binding within individual tissues including different brain regions

Design of the EURISOL multi-MW target assembly: radiation and safety issues

The multi-MW target proposed for the EURISOL facility will be based on fission of uranium (or thorium) compounds to produce rare isotopes far from stability. A two-step process is used for the isotope production. First, neutrons are generated in a liquid mercury target, irradiated by the 1 GeV proton or deuteron beam, provided by the EURISOL linac driver. Then, the neutrons induce fission in a surrounding assembly of uranium carbide. R&D projects on several aspects of the target assembly are ongoing. Key criteria for the target design are a maximum beam power capability of 4 MW, a remote handling system with minimum downtime and maximum reliability, as well as radiation safety, minimization of hazards and the classification of the facility. In the framework of the ongoing radiation characterization and safety studies, radiation transport simulations have been performed to calculate the prompt radiation dose in the target and surrounding materials, as well as to determine shielding material and angle-dependent parameters. In this paper, we report the results of these studies and the proposed radiation shield design for the multi-MW target area. Furthermore, accurate estimates have been performed of the amount of fissile elements being produced in the uranium target assembly, for typical running conditions, in order to understand the implications for the classification of the facility. The results are reported and briefly discussed.Comment: 11 pages,5 figures, Invited talk at the SATIF-8 Workshop, May 22-24,2006, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Rep. Of Kore