971 research outputs found
Addiction to the nicotine gum in never smokers
Abstract Background Addiction to nicotine gum has never been described in never smokers or in never users of tobacco. Methods Internet questionnaire in 2004–2006 in a self-selected sample of 434 daily users of nicotine gum. To assess dependence on nicotine gum, we used modified versions of the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale (NDSS), the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence and the Cigarette Dependence Scale. Results Five never smokers used the nicotine gum daily. They had been using the nicotine gum for longer than the 429 ever smokers (median = 6 years vs 0.8 years, p = 0.004), and they had higher NDSS-gum Tolerance scores (median = 0.73 vs = -1.0, p = 0.03), a difference of 1.5 standard deviation units. Two never smokers had never used smokeless tobacco, both answered "extremely true" to: "I use nicotine gums because I am addicted to them", both "fully agreed" with: "after a few hours without chewing a nicotine gum, I feel an irresistible urge to chew one" and: "I am a prisoner of nicotine gum". Conclusion This is to our knowledge the first report of addiction to nicotine gum in never users of tobacco. However, this phenomenon is rare, and although the long-term effect of nicotine gum is unknown, this product is significantly less harmful than tobacco.</p
4,8,9,10-Tetrakis(4-fluorophenyl)-1,3-diazatricyclo[3.3.1.1]decan-6-one
In the title compound, C32H24F4N2O, all four six-membered rings that constitute the diazaadamantanone cage adopt chair conformations. Two of the four fluorophenyl substituents occupy axial positions and the other two occupy equatorial positions relative to their respective C5N rings of the adamantane framework. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯O interactions, generating a C(5) chain along the a axis
Correlated electron metal properties of the honeycomb ruthenate NaRuO
We report the synthesis and characterisation of polycrystalline
NaRuO, a layered material in which the Ru ( configuration)
form a honeycomb lattice. The optimal synthesis condition was found to produce
a nearly ordered NaRuO ( phase), as assessed from the refinement
of the time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. Magnetic susceptibility
measurements reveal a large temperature-independent Pauli paramagnetism
( emu/mol Oe) with no evidence of magnetic
ordering down to 1.5 K, and with an absence of dynamic magnetic correlations,
as evidenced by neutron scattering spectroscopy. The intrinsic susceptibility
() together with the Sommerfeld coeficient of mJ/Ru
mol K estimated from heat capacity measurements, gives an enhanced Wilson
ratio of , suggesting that magnetic correlations may be
present in this material. While transport measurements on pressed pellets show
nonmetallic behaviour, photoemission spectrocopy indicate a small but finite
density of states at the Fermi energy, suggesting that the bulk material is
metallic. Except for resistivity measurements, which may have been compromised
by near surface and interface effects, all other probes indicate that
NaRuO is a moderately correlated electron metal. Our results thus stand
in contrast to earlier reports that NaRuO is an antiferromagnetic
insulator at low temperatures.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Optimizing Sales Using Mobile Sales Ticketing Application
A pressure-induced collapse of magnetic ordering in at GPa has previously been interpreted as evidence for possible emergence of spin liquid states in this hyperhoneycomb iridate, raising prospects for experimental realizations of the Kitaev model. Based on structural data obtained at room temperature, this magnetic transition is believed to originate in small lattice perturbations that preserve crystal symmetry, and related changes in bond-directional anisotropic exchange interactions. Here we report on the evolution of the crystal structure of under pressure at low temperatures and show that the suppression of magnetism coincides with a change in lattice symmetry involving Ir-Ir dimerization. The critical pressure for dimerization shifts from 4.4(2) GPa at room temperature to GPa below 50 K. While a direct transition is observed at room temperature, the low temperature transitions involve new as well as coexisting dimerized phases. Further investigation of the Ir () isotropic branching ratio in x-ray absorption spectra indicates that the previously reported departure of the electronic ground state from a state is closely related to the onset of dimerized phases. In essence, our results suggest that the predominant mechanism driving the collapse of magnetism in is the pressure-induced formation of dimers in the hyperhoneycomb network. The results further confirm the instability of the moments and related noncollinear spiral magnetic ordering against formation of dimers in the low-temperature phase of compressed
The relationship between smokers' motivation to quit and intensity of tobacco control at the population level: a comparison of five European countries
Background:
Smoking prevalence differs significantly across Europe. In addition, there are considerable differences in tobacco control activities across European countries. The relationship between prevalence and policy is under-researched. The present analysis examines the motivation to change smoking behaviour across 5 different European countries that differ considerably in their tobacco control activities.
Methods:
A population-based, representative survey of 1750 smokers, aged 16–59, from 5 different European countries (Germany, Greece, Poland, Sweden, UK) was used. Demographic variables, smoking status and the motivation to stop smoking were assessed. Motivation was assessed as, first, intending to quit (using the stages of change plus a modified stage for Precontemplation), and second, the desire to quit.
Results:
The majority of smokers want to stop smoking (73.5%), while only 35.0% want to stop definitely. Across countries, 10.2% definitely do not want to stop.
Most of the smokers can be categorised in the Precontemplation stage (between 62.6% and 77.7% depending on the country), one of the stages of change categories. The relationship between the stages of change and the country under examination is statistically significant (chi-square = 43.466, p < 0.001). In countries with a high level of tobacco control, the proportion of people in Precontemplation is lower than in countries with low tobacco control activity.
Conclusion:
There are differences in the stages of change between the countries under examination. However, the categorisation of the countries into low, medium and high tobacco control activity used in this analysis does not explain these differences. Most smokers want to stop smoking, but a high proportion cannot indicate a time-frame when this is going to happen. Tobacco control efforts or other kinds of support might encourage these smokers to actually try to stop. Longitudinal studies at the population level are needed to assess, relate or monitor tobacco control activities and the intention to stop
A pilot Internet "Value of Health" Panel: recruitment, participation and compliance
Objectives
To pilot using a panel of members of the public to provide preference data via the Internet
Methods
A stratified random sample of members of the general public was recruited and familiarised with the standard gamble procedure using an Internet based tool. Health states were perdiodically presented in "sets" corresponding to different conditions, during the study. The following were described: Recruitment (proportion of people approached who were trained); Participation (a) the proportion of people trained who provided any preferences and (b) the proportion of panel members who contributed to each "set" of values; and Compliance (the proportion, per participant, of preference tasks which were completed). The influence of covariates on these outcomes was investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results
A panel of 112 people was recruited. 23% of those approached (n = 5,320) responded to the invitation, and 24% of respondents (n = 1,215) were willing to participate (net = 5.5%). However, eventual recruitment rates, following training, were low (2.1% of those approached). Recruitment from areas of high socioeconomic deprivation and among ethnic minority communities was low. Eighteen sets of health state descriptions were considered over 14 months. 74% of panel members carried out at least one valuation task. People from areas of higher socioeconomic deprivation and unmarried people were less likely to participate. An average of 41% of panel members expressed preferences on each set of descriptions. Compliance ranged from 3% to 100%.
Conclusion
It is feasible to establish a panel of members of the general public to express preferences on a wide range of health state descriptions using the Internet, although differential recruitment and attrition are important challenges. Particular attention to recruitment and retention in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation and among ethnic minority communities is necessary. Nevertheless, the panel approach to preference measurement using the Internet offers the potential to provide specific utility data in a responsive manner for use in economic evaluations and to address some of the outstanding methodological uncertainties in this field
Different Weighting Methods in Business Tendency Survey Indicators in Swiss Manufacturing Industry
In business cycle analysis the development of inventories still plays a crucial role. The strong movements over time have a large effect particularly on the growth rate of GDP. Quantitative data on inventories are generally of rather low quality. As a complement to quantitative statistics, business tendency surveys (BTS) offer actual data on stocks of different categories and on order books (often called negative inventories) to estimate actual values. However, the qualitative data do not show up in the empirical analysis. One reason could be that the aggregation process in BTS of these two items is often not adequate. Three alternative weighting methods were applied at firm level: no weighting, weighting with the number of employees, weighting with the number of employees plus the ratio of order books/stock to sales. These were compared with the current weighting method which includes stratification and branch weights by value added. The four indicators for each of the BTS questions had a statistically different variance, mean or distribution in most cases. The comparison of these four versions of weighting with the reference series – growth rate of order books and of stocks of finished products – produced quite different results. For the growth rate of order books, the best fit was with the non-weighted responses of the firms to the question on changes of order books. The match with the growth rate of stocks of finished products was generally lower. The best fit was again with the non-weighted responses on the change question on stocks of finished products
Faecal Escherichia coli as biological indicator of spatial interaction between domestic pigs and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Corsica
On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, cohabitation between sympatric domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is common and widespread and can facilitate the maintenance and dissemination of several pathogens detrimental for the pig industry or human health. In this study, we monitored a population of free-ranging domestic pigs reared in extensive conditions within a 800-ha property located in Central Corsica which was frequently visited by a sympatric population of wild boar between 2013 and 2015. We used GPS collars to assess evidence of a spatially shared environment. Subsequently, we analysed by PFGE of XbaI-restricted DNA if those populations shared faecal Escherichia coli clones that would indicate contact and compared these results with those collected in a distant (separated by at least 50 km) population of wild boar used as control. Results showed that one of eight wild boars sampled in the study area shed E. coli XbaI clones identical to clones isolated from domestic pig sounders from the farm, while wild boar populations sampled in distant parts of the study area shared no identical clone with the domestic pigs monitored. Interestingly, within the sampled pigs, two identical clones were found in 2013 and in 2015, indicating a long-time persisting colonization type. Although the method of isolation of E. coli and PFGE typing of the isolates requires intensive laboratory work, it is applicable under field conditions to monitor potential infectious contacts. It also provides evidence of exchange of microorganisms between sympatric domestic pigs and wild boar populations. (Résumé d'auteur
The transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans to ivermectin exposure identifies novel genes involved in the response to reduced food intake
We have examined the transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans following exposure to the anthelmintic drug ivermectin (IVM) using whole genome microarrays and real-time QPCR. Our original aim was to identify candidate molecules involved in IVM metabolism and/or excretion. For this reason the IVM tolerant strain, DA1316, was used to minimise transcriptomic changes related to the phenotype of drug exposure. However, unlike equivalent work with benzimidazole drugs, very few of the induced genes were members of xenobiotic metabolising enzyme families. Instead, the transcriptional response was dominated by genes associated with fat mobilization and fatty acid metabolism including catalase, esterase, and fatty acid CoA synthetase genes. This is consistent with the reduction in pharyngeal pumping, and consequential reduction in food intake, upon exposure of DA1316 worms to IVM. Genes with the highest fold change in response to IVM exposure, cyp-37B1, mtl-1 and scl-2, were comparably up-regulated in response to short–term food withdrawal (4 hr) independent of IVM exposure, and GFP reporter constructs confirm their expression in tissues associated with fat storage (intestine and hypodermis). These experiments have serendipitously identified novel genes involved in an early response of C. elegans to reduced food intake and may provide insight into similar processes in higher organisms
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