Are quit attempts among U.S. female nurses who smoke different from female smokers in the general population? An analysis of the 2006/2007 tobacco use supplement to the current population survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smoking is a significant women's health issue. Examining smoking behaviors among occupational groups with a high prevalence of women may reveal the culture of smoking behavior and quit efforts of female smokers. The purpose of this study was to examine how smoking and quitting characteristics (i.e., ever and recent quit attempts) among females in the occupation of nursing are similar or different to those of women in the general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional data from the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey 2006/2007 were used to compare smoking behaviors of nurses (n = 2, 566) to those of non-healthcare professional women (n = 93, 717). Smoking characteristics included years of smoking, number of cigarettes, and time to first cigarette with smoking within the first 30 minutes as an indicator of nicotine dependence. Logistic regression models using replicate weights were used to determine correlates of ever and previous 12 months quit attempts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nurses had a lower smoking prevalence than other women (12.1% vs 16.6%, <it>p </it>< 0.0001); were more likely to have ever made a quit attempt (77% vs 68%, <it>p </it>= 0.0002); but not in the previous 12 months (42% vs 43%, <it>p </it>= 0.77). Among those who ever made a quit attempt, nurses who smoked within 30 minutes of waking, were more likely to have made a quit attempt compared to other women (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.9, 5.1). When considering quit attempts within the last 12 months, nurses whose first cigarette was after 30 minutes of waking were less likely to have made a quit attempt compared to other females (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.98). There were no other significant differences in ever/recent quitting.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Smoking prevalence among female nurses was lower than among women who were not in healthcare occupations, as expected. The lack of difference in recent quit efforts among female nurses as compared to other female smokers has not been previously reported. The link between lower level of nicotine dependence, as reflected by the longer time to first cigarette, and lower quit attempts among nurses needs further exploration.</p

Factors influencing the outcome of intrauterine insemination (IUI): age, clinical variables and significant thresholds

The aim was to investigate the influence of various biological factors upon the outcome of intrauterine insemination (IUI). The total IUI history (856 cycles) of 352 couples was studied. Live-birth showed a strong negative correlation with female age but no correlation with male age. Antimullerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) correlated negatively with female age, and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) correlated positively. Significant thresholds were found for all three variables, and also for total motile count (TMC) in the prepared sperm. Calculating pregnancy losses per positive pregnancy showed a strong correlation with increasing female age. This was highly significant for biochemical losses but not for fetal heart miscarriages. Male age had no effect on rate of pregnancy loss. In conclusion, female age, FSH, AMH and TMC are good predictive factors for live-birth and therefore relate to essential in vivo steps in the reproductive process

The Masaya Triple Layer: a 2100 year old basaltic multi-episodic Plinian eruption from the Masaya Caldera Complex (Nicaragua)

The Masaya Caldera Complex has been the site of three highly explosive basaltic eruptions within the last six thousand years. A Plinian eruption ca. 2 ka ago formed the widespread deposits of the Masaya Triple Layer. We distinguish two facies within the Masaya Triple Layer from each other: La Concepción facies to the south and Managua facies to the northwest. These two facies were previously treated as two separated deposits (La Concepción Tephra and the Masaya Triple Layer of Pérez and Freundt, 2006) because of their distinct regional distribution and internal architectures. However, chemical compositions of bulk rock, matrix and inclusion glasses and mineral phases demonstrate that they are the product of a single basaltic magma batch. Additionally, a marker bed containing fluidal-shaped vesicular lapilli allowed us to make a plausible correlation between the two facies, also supported by consistent lateral changes in lithologic structure and composition, thickness and grain size. We distinguish 10 main subunits of the Masaya Triple Layer (I to X), with bulk volumes ranging between 0.02 and 0.22 km3, adding up to 0.86 km3 (0.4 km3 DRE) for the entire deposit. Distal deposits identified in two cores drilled offshore Nicaragua, at a distance of ∼ 170 km from the Masaya Caldera Complex, increase the total tephra volume to 3.4 km3 or ∼ 1.8 km3 DRE of erupted basaltic magma. Isopleth data of five major fallout subunits indicate mass discharges of 106 to 108 kg/s and eruption columns of 21 to 32 km height, affected by wind speeds of < 2 m/s to ∼ 20 m/s which increased during the course of the multi-episodic eruption. Magmatic Plinian events alternated with phreatoplinian eruptions and phreatomagmatic explosions generating surges that typically preceded breaks in activity. While single eruptive episodes lasted for few hours, the entire eruption probable lasted weeks to months. This is indicated by changes in atmospheric conditions and ash-layer surfaces that had become modified during the breaks in activity. The Masaya Triple Layer has allowed to reconstruct in detail how a basaltic Plinian eruption develops in terms of duration, episodicity, and variable access of external water to the conduit, with implications for volcanic hazard assessment

Methods for specifying the target difference in a randomised controlled trial : the Difference ELicitation in TriAls (DELTA) systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Daily consumption of a fruit and vegetable smoothie alters facial skin color

Consumption of dietary carotenoids or carotenoid supplements can alter the color (yellowness) of human skin through increased carotenoid deposition in the skin. As fruit and vegetables are the main dietary sources of carotenoids, skin yellowness may be a function of regular fruit and vegetable consumption. However, most previous studies have used tablets or capsules to supplement carotenoid intake, and less is known of the impact of increased fruit and vegetable consumption on skin color. Here, we examined skin color changes in an Asian population (Malaysian Chinese ethnicity) over a six week dietary intervention with a carotenoid-rich fruit smoothie. Eighty one university students (34 males, 47 females; mean age 20.48) were assigned randomly to consuming either a fruit smoothie (intervention group) or mineral water (control group) daily for six weeks. Participants’ skin yellowness (CIELab b*), redness (a*) and luminance (L*) were measured at baseline, twice during the intervention period and at a two-week follow-up, using a handheld reflectance spectrophotometer. Results showed a large increment in skin yellowness (p<0.001) and slight increment in skin redness (p<0.001) after 4 weeks of intervention for participants in the intervention group. Skin yellowness and skin redness remained elevated at the two week follow up measurement. In conclusion, intervention with a carotenoid-rich fruit smoothie is associated with increased skin redness and yellowness in an Asian population. Changes in the reflectance spectrum of the skin suggest that this color change was caused by carotenoid deposition in the skin

Work factors and smoking cessation in nurses' aides: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of smoking in nursing personnel remains high. The aim of this study was to identify work factors that predict smoking cessation among nurses' aides. METHODS: Of 2720 randomly selected, Norwegian nurses' aides, who were smoking at least one cigarette per day when they completed a questionnaire in 1999, 2275 (83.6 %) completed a second questionnaire 15 months later. A wide spectrum of work factors were assessed at baseline. Respondents who reported smoking 0 cigarettes per day at follow-up were considered having stopped smoking. The odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals of stopping smoking were derived from logistic regression models. RESULTS: Compared with working 1–9 hours per week, working 19–36 hours per week (odds ratio (OR) = 0.35; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.13 – 0.91), and working more than 36 hours per week (i.e. more than full-time job) (OR = 0.27; CI = 0.09 – 0.78) were associated with reduced odds of smoking cessation, after adjustments for daily consumption of cigarettes at baseline, age, gender, marital status, and having preschool children. Adjusting also for chronic health problems gave similar results. CONCLUSION: There seems to be a negative association between hours of work per week and the odds of smoking cessation in nurses' aides. It is important that health institutions offer workplace-based services with documented effects on nicotine dependence, such as smoking cessation courses, so that healthcare workers who want to stop smoking, especially those with long working hours, do not have to travel to the programme or to dedicate their leisure time to it

Incidence of multiple Herpesvirus infection in HIV seropositive patients, a big concern for Eastern Indian scenario

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with an increased risk for human <it>herpes viruses </it>(HHVs) and their related diseases and they frequently cause disease deterioration and therapeutic failures. Methods for limiting the transmission of HHVs require a better understanding of the incidence and infectivity of oral HHVs in HIV-infected patients. This study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of human herpes viruses (CMV, HSV 2, EBV-1, VZV) antibodies and to evaluate their association with age, sex as well as other demographic and behavioral factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A study of 200 HIV positive patients from Eastern India attending the Calcutta Medical College Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, Apex Clinic, Calcutta Medical College Hospital and ART Center, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, West Bengal was done. Serum samples were screened for antibodies to the respective viruses using the indirect ELISA in triplicates.</p> <p><it>CytoMegalo virus </it>(CMV), <it>Herpes Simplex virus </it>type 2 (HSV-2), <it>Varicella Zoster virus </it>(VZV), and <it>Epstein Barr virus </it>(EBV-1) were detected in 49%, 47%, 32.5%, and 26% respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has contributed baseline data and provided insights in viral OI and HIV co-infection in Eastern India. This would undoubtedly serve as a basis for further studies on this topic.</p

Alterations of Blood Brain Barrier Function in Hyperammonemia: An Overview

Ammonia is a neurotoxin involved in the pathogenesis of neurological conditions associated with hyperammonemia, including hepatic encephalopathy, a condition associated with acute—(ALF) or chronic liver failure. This article reviews evidence that apart from directly affecting the metabolism and function of the central nervous system cells, ammonia influences the passage of different molecules across the blood brain barrier (BBB). A brief description is provided of the tight junctions, which couple adjacent cerebral capillary endothelial cells to each other to form the barrier. Ammonia modulates the transcellular passage of low-to medium-size molecules, by affecting their carriers located at the BBB. Ammonia induces interrelated aberrations of the transport of the large neutral amino acids and aromatic amino acids (AAA), whose influx is augmented by exchange with glutamine produced in the course of ammonia detoxification, and maybe also modulated by the extracellularly acting gamma-glutamyl moiety transferring enzyme, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase. Impaired AAA transport affects neurotransmission by altering intracerebral synthesis of catecholamines (serotonin and dopamine), and producing “false neurotransmitters” (octopamine and phenylethylamine). Ammonia also modulates BBB transport of the cationic amino acids: the nitric oxide precursor, arginine, and ornithine, which is an ammonia trap, and affects the transport of energy metabolites glucose and creatine. Moreover, ammonia acting either directly or in synergy with liver injury-derived inflammatory cytokines also evokes subtle increases of the transcellular passage of molecules of different size (BBB “leakage”), which appears to be responsible for the vasogenic component of cerebral edema associated with ALF

The Reelin Receptors Apoer2 and Vldlr Coordinate the Patterning of Purkinje Cell Topography in the Developing Mouse Cerebellum

The adult cerebellar cortex is comprised of reproducible arrays of transverse zones and parasagittal stripes of Purkinje cells. Adult stripes are created through the perinatal rostrocaudal dispersion of embryonic Purkinje cell clusters, triggered by signaling through the Reelin pathway. Reelin is secreted by neurons in the external granular layer and deep cerebellar nuclei and binds to two high affinity extracellular receptors on Purkinje cells-the Very low density lipoprotein receptor (Vldlr) and apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (Apoer2). In mice null for either Reelin or double null for Vldlr and Apoer2, Purkinje cell clusters fail to disperse. Here we report that animals null for either Vldlr or Apoer2 individually, exhibit specific and parasagittally-restricted Purkinje cell ectopias. For example, in mice lacking Apoer2 function immunostaining reveals ectopic Purkinje cells that are largely restricted to the zebrin II-immunonegative population of the anterior vermis. In contrast, mice null for Vldlr have a much larger population of ectopic Purkinje cells that includes members from both the zebrin II-immunonegative and -immunopositive phenotypes. HSP25 immunoreactivity reveals that in Vldlr null animals a large portion of zebrin II-immunopositive ectopic cells are probably destined to become stripes in the central zone (lobules VI–VII). A small population of ectopic zebrin II-immunonegative Purkinje cells is also observed in animals heterozygous for both receptors (Apoer2+/−: Vldlr+/−), but no ectopia is present in mice heterozygous for either receptor alone. These results indicate that Apoer2 and Vldlr coordinate the dispersal of distinct, but overlapping subsets of Purkinje cells in the developing cerebellum

X-linked Angelman-like syndrome caused by Slc9a6 knockout in mice exhibits evidence of endosomal–lysosomal dysfunction

Mutations in solute carrier family 9 isoform 6 on chromosome Xq26.3 encoding sodium–hydrogen exchanger 6, a protein mainly expressed in early and recycling endosomes are known to cause a complex and slowly progressive degenerative human neurological disease. Three resulting phenotypes have so far been reported: an X-linked Angelman syndrome-like condition, Christianson syndrome and corticobasal degeneration with tau deposition, with each characterized by severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, autistic behaviour and ataxia. Hypothesizing that a sodium–hydrogen exchanger 6 deficiency would most likely disrupt the endosomal–lysosomal system of neurons, we examined Slc9a6 knockout mice with tissue staining and related techniques commonly used to study lysosomal storage disorders. As a result, we found that sodium–hydrogen exchanger 6 depletion leads to abnormal accumulation of GM2 ganglioside and unesterified cholesterol within late endosomes and lysosomes of neurons in selective brain regions, most notably the basolateral nuclei of the amygdala, the CA3 and CA4 regions and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and some areas of cerebral cortex. In these select neuronal populations, histochemical staining for β-hexosaminidase activity, a lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of GM2 ganglioside, was undetectable. Neuroaxonal dystrophy similar to that observed in lysosomal disease was observed in the cerebellum and was accompanied by a marked and progressive loss of Purkinje cells, particularly in those lacking the expression of Zebrin II. On behavioural testing, Slc9a6 knockout mice displayed a discrete clinical phenotype attributable to motor hyperactivity and cerebellar dysfunction. Importantly, these findings show that sodium–hydrogen exchanger 6 loss of function in the Slc9a6-targeted mouse model leads to compromise of endosomal–lysosomal function similar to lysosomal disease and to conspicuous neuronal abnormalities in specific brain regions, which in concert could provide a unified explanation for the cellular and clinical phenotypes in humans with SLC9A6 mutations