Tobacco and alcohol use among healthcare workers in three public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Background: Tobacco use is a risk factor for most of the leading causes of death in the world. Healthcare workers (HCWs) can play an important role in assisting patients to stop smoking, but this role is undermined if they themselves smoke. The study determined the prevalence of tobacco smoking and alcohol use among HCWs in public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 650 self-administered anonymous questionnaires (primary and secondary questionnaires) were administered to participants between December 2009 and June 2010. Six hundred and twenty primary questionnaires (on smoking) and 630 secondary questionnaires (on alcohol use) were returned, giving a response rate of 95% and 97% respectively. The Pearson chi-square test was used to test for statistical significance.Results: Eleven per cent of the participants were current smokers and 7.1% former smokers, while 27% of neversmokers were constantly exposed to second-hand smoke. Males were 13 times more likely to smoke than their female counterparts (P < 0.001). Never-smokers more frequently counselled their smoking patients to quit compared to former and current smokers (47.5%, 39.5% and 25.8% respectively). Alcohol use problems were reported by 22% of participants (P < 0.001). Current smokers were six times more likely to drink excessively than never-smokers (P < 0.001) and males were ten times more likely than females to drink excessively (P < 0.001).Conclusion: The smoking rate among HCWs is still high, although lower than the national average of 21.4%. A large number of participants reported exposure to second-hand smoke and alcohol use problems. Less than half of the HCWs counselled smoking patients to quit smoking.Keywords: health care worker, tobacco use, alcohol use, patient education for smoking cessatio

Bound states of 3He at the edge of a 4He drop on a cesium surface

We show that small amounts of 3He atoms, added to a 4He drop deposited on a flat cesium surface at zero temperature, populate bound states localized at the contact line. These edge states show up for drops large enough to develop well defined surface and bulk regions together with a contact line, and they are structurally different from the well-known Andreev states that appear at the free surface and at the liquid-solid interface of films. We illustrate the one-body density of 3He in a drop with 1000 4He atoms, and show that for sufficiently large number of impurities, the density profiles spread beyond the edge, coating both the curved drop surface and its flat base and eventually isolating it from the substrate.Comment: 10 pages and 7 figures. Submitted to PR

Inspiratory muscle warm-up does not improve cycling time-trial performance

Purpose: This study examined the effects of an active cycling warm-up, with and without the addition of an inspiratory muscle warm-up (IMW), on 10-km cycling time-trial performance

Thoracic load carriage-induced respiratory muscle fatigue.

We investigated the effect of carrying a 25 kg backpack upon exercise-induced respiratory muscle fatigue, pulmonary function and physiological and perceptual responses to exercise.N/

From nonwetting to prewetting: the asymptotic behavior of 4He drops on alkali substrates

We investigate the spreading of 4He droplets on alkali surfaces at zero temperature, within the frame of Finite Range Density Functional theory. The equilibrium configurations of several 4He_N clusters and their asymptotic trend with increasing particle number N, which can be traced to the wetting behavior of the quantum fluid, are examined for nanoscopic droplets. We discuss the size effects, inferring that the asymptotic properties of large droplets correspond to those of the prewetting film

A concentration-dependent endocytic trap and sink mechanism converts Bmper from an activator to an inhibitor of Bmp signaling

Bmper, which is orthologous to Drosophila melanogaster crossveinless 2, is a secreted factor that regulates Bmp activity in a tissue- and stage-dependent manner. Both pro- and anti-Bmp activities have been postulated for Bmper, although the molecular mechanisms through which Bmper affects Bmp signaling are unclear. In this paper, we demonstrate that as molar concentrations of Bmper exceed Bmp4, Bmper dynamically switches from an activator to an inhibitor of Bmp4 signaling. Inhibition of Bmp4 through a novel endocytic trap-and-sink mechanism leads to the efficient degradation of Bmper and Bmp4 by the lysosome. Bmper-mediated internalization of Bmp4 reduces the duration and magnitude of Bmp4-dependent Smad signaling. We also determined that Noggin and Gremlin, but not Chordin, trigger endocytosis of Bmps. This endocytic transport pathway expands the extracellular roles of selective Bmp modulators to include intracellular regulation. This dosage-dependent molecular switch resolves discordances among studies that examine how Bmper regulates Bmp activity and has broad implications for Bmp signal regulation by secreted mediators

Use of a colonoscope for distal duodenal stent placement in patients with malignant obstruction

Background: Stent placement in the distal duodenum or proximal jejunum with a therapeutic gastroscope can be difficult, because of the reach of the endoscope, loop formation in the stomach, and flexibility of the gastroscope. The use of a colonoscope may overcome these problems. Objective: To report our experience with distal duodenal stent placement in 16 patients using a colonoscope. Methods: Multicenter, retrospective series of patients with a malignant obstruction at the level of the distal duodenum and proximal jejunum and treated by stent placement using a colonoscope. Main outcome measurements are technical success, ability to eat, complications, and survival. Results: Stent placement was technically feasible in 93% (15/16) of patients. Food intake improved from a median gastric outlet obstruction scoring system (GOOSS) score of 1 (no oral intake) to 3 (soft solids) (p = 0.001). Severe complications were not observed. One patient had persistent obstructive symptoms presumably due to motility problems. Recurrent obstructive symptoms were caused by tissue/tumor ingrowth through the stent mesh [n = 6 (38%)] and stent occlusion by debris [n = 1 (6%)]. Reinterventions included additional stent placement [n = 5 (31%)], gastrojejunostomy [n = 2 (12%)], and endoscopic stent cleansing [n = 1 (6%)]. Median survival was 153 days. Conclusion: Duodenal stent placement can effectively and safely be performed using a colonoscope in patients with an obstruction at the level of the distal duodenum or proximal jejunum. A colonoscope has the advantage that it is long enough and offers good endoscopic stiffness, which avoids looping in the stomach

Analysis of 17,576 Potentially Functional SNPs in Three Case–Control Studies of Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a common complex disease with a genetic component. While several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported to be associated with risk of MI, they do not fully explain the observed genetic component of MI. We have been investigating the association between MI and SNPs that are located in genes and have the potential to affect gene function or expression. We have previously published studies that tested about 12,000 SNPs for association with risk of MI, early-onset MI, or coronary stenosis. In the current study we tested 17,576 SNPs that could affect gene function or expression. In order to use genotyping resources efficiently, we staged the testing of these SNPs in three case–control studies of MI. In the first study (762 cases, 857 controls) we tested 17,576 SNPs and found 1,949 SNPs that were associated with MI (P<0.05). We tested these 1,949 SNPs in a second study (579 cases and 1159 controls) and found that 24 SNPs were associated with MI (1-sided P<0.05) and had the same risk alleles in the first and second study. Finally, we tested these 24 SNPs in a third study (475 cases and 619 controls) and found that 5 SNPs in 4 genes (ENO1, FXN (2 SNPs), HLA-DPB2, and LPA) were associated with MI in the third study (1-sided P<0.05), and had the same risk alleles in all three studies. The false discovery rate for this group of 5 SNPs was 0.23. Thus, we have identified 5 SNPs that merit further examination for their potential association with MI. One of these SNPs (in LPA), has been previously shown to be associated with risk of cardiovascular disease in other studies

Improved Measurement of the Pseudoscalar Decay Constant fDsf_{D_{s}}

We present a new determination of the Ds decay constant, f_{Ds} using 5 million continuum charm events obtained with the CLEO II detector. Our value is derived from our new measured ratio of widths for Ds -> mu nu/Ds -> phi pi of 0.173+/- 0.021 +/- 0.031. Taking the branching ratio for Ds -> phi pi as (3.6 +/- 0.9)% from the PDG, we extract f_{Ds} = (280 +/- 17 +/- 25 +/- 34){MeV}. We compare this result with various model calculations.Comment: 23 page postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN