A systematic review of the efficacy of alcohol warning labels:Insights from qualitative and quantitative research in the new millennium

Purpose The placement of warning labels on alcoholic beverages is a policy area with renewed interest, yet a strong evidence base regarding the efficacy of text-based or pictorial warning labels has still to emerge. Increased interest by policymakers has spurred research into potential alcohol warning label designs and messages. The purpose of this article is to draw together recearch in the alcohol warnings literature. Design/methodology/approach The current study seeks to review research that has sought to examine the effectiveness of alcohol warning labels. Searches for English-language articles (since 2000) using the terms “alcohol” and “warning label*” were conducted in 2015 across four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, PsycInfo and Cochrane). Articles were included if they empirically assessed the effectiveness and/or design of alcohol warning labels. Only studies that addressed the targeted individual consumer (consistent with downstream social marketing) were included. A narrative analysis approach was used for the 15 articles identified. Findings Findings are reported on five themes covering the design of the warning, starting with the use of imagery or recommendations, followed by a focus on the warning messages and whether they are specific, use signal words and are based on qualitative or quantitative information. Research limitations/implications Overall, there was little consistency in approach and measures, with very limited research having explored the potential of pictorial warning labels. Numerous research gaps are identified; thus, much more research is needed in this area. The evidence base is weak and caution is needed by policymakers regarding the introduction and implementation of alcohol warning labels. Limitations are discussed. Originality/value The review provides a timely up-to-date evaluation of the alcohol warning labels literature that has seen a recent resurgence but has not been critically reviewed. </jats:sec

Neonatal enteral feeding tubes as loci for colonisation by members of the Enterobacteriaceae

Background The objective of this study was to determine whether neonatal nasogastric enteral feeding tubes are colonised by the opportunistic pathogen Cronobacter spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii) and other Enterobacteriaceae, and whether their presence was influenced by the feeding regime. Methods One hundred and twenty-nine tubes were collected from two neonatal intensive care units (NICU). A questionnaire on feeding regime was completed with each sample. Enterobacteriaceae present in the tubes were identified using conventional and molecular methods, and their antibiograms determined. Results The neonates were fed breast milk (16%), fortified breast milk (28%), ready to feed formula (20%), reconstituted powdered infant formula (PIF, 6%), or a mixture of these (21%). Eight percent of tubes were received from neonates who were 'nil by mouth'. Organisms were isolated from 76% of enteral feeding tubes as a biofilm (up to 107 cfu/tube from neonates fed fortified breast milk and reconstituted PIF) and in the residual lumen liquid (up to 107 Enterobacteriaceae cfu/ml, average volume 250 µl). The most common isolates were Enterobacter cancerogenus (41%), Serratia marcescens (36%), E. hormaechei (33%), Escherichia coli (29%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (25%), Raoultella terrigena (10%), and S. liquefaciens (12%). Other organisms isolated included C. sakazakii (2%),Yersinia enterocolitica (1%),Citrobacter freundii (1%), E. vulneris (1%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (1%), and P. luteola (1%). The enteral feeding tubes were in place between 48 h (13%). All the S. marcescens isolates from the enteral feeding tubes were resistant to amoxicillin and co-amoxiclav. Of additional importance was that a quarter of E. hormaechei isolates were resistant to the 3rd generation cephalosporins ceftazidime and cefotaxime. During the period of the study, K. pneumoniae and S. marcescens caused infections in the two NICUs. Conclusion This study shows that neonatal enteral feeding tubes, irrespective of feeding regime, act as loci for the bacterial attachment and multiplication of numerous opportunistic pathogens within the Enterobacteriaceae family. Subsequently, these organisms will enter the stomach as a bolus with each feed. Therefore, enteral feeding tubes are an important risk factor to consider with respect to neonatal infections

Transdimensional physics and inflation

Within the framework of a five-dimensional brane world with a stabilized radion, we compute the cosmological perturbations generated during inflation and show that the perturbations are a powerful tool to probe the physics of extra dimensions. While we find that the power spectrum of scalar perturbations is unchanged, we show that the existence of the fifth dimension is imprinted on the spectrum of gravitational waves generated during inflation. In particular, we find that the tensor perturbations receive a correction proportional to $(HR)^2$, where $H$ is the Hubble expansion rate during inflation and $R$ is the size of the extra dimension. We also generalize our findings to the case of several extra dimensions as well as to warped geometries.Comment: RevTeX file, 30 pages, 1 figure. Final version to appear in PR

Electron dose calculations using the Method of Moments

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134898/1/mp7920.pd