Knowledge and Perceptions of E-cigarettes and the Motivations for their Use: Talking to Smokers (E-cigarettes and/or Conventional Cigarettes) and Non-smokers in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE: The awareness and use of e-cigarettes have been increasing in recent years. The World Health Organization recently reported that regulations are needed to impede the promotion of e-cigarettes to young people, prohibit unproven health claims about them (including those regarding smoking-cessation efficacy), minimize potential health risks to e-cigarette users and non-users, and protect existing tobacco controls. The study described herein explored e-cigarette knowledge, perceptions, and usage motivations among a group of adults in Puerto Rico. METHODS: This research study used a validated questionnaire with closed-ended questions to gather data. Non-inferential and inferential statistics were used to characterize smokers (of e-cigarettes, of conventional cigarettes, and of both) and non-smokers. RESULTS: A total of 415 respondents took part; they were evenly distributed by gender, age, and socioeconomic status; all were residents of Puerto Rico at the time of the survey. The overall awareness of e-cigarettes was high, but knowledge of nicotine content and regulations was limited. Asked whether e-cigarettes contain nicotine (they do not), approximately two thirds stated either that they do or that they didn't know; asked whether e-cigarettes are regulated as a tobacco product (they are in Puerto Rico), 84% stated either that they are not or that they didn't know. Common perceptions of e-cigarettes are that they are harmful to health and that they are no less harmful than cigarettes are. However, a significant portion of the respondents perceived e-cigarettes to be less addictive than conventional cigarettes are. Overall, the respondents were divided on the efficacy of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. Nonetheless, the most common motivation for their use, according to both current users and potential future users, is to aid in smoking cessation or reduction. CONCLUSION: The majority of individuals surveyed were aware of e-cigarettes but had limited knowledge of their contents or regulation. As an aid in smoking cessation was the most commonly mentioned motivation for e-cigarette use.

Application of 31P NMR spectroscopy and chemical derivatization for metabolite profiling of lipophilic compounds in human serum.

New methods for obtaining metabolic fingerprints of biological samples with improved resolution and sensitivity are highly sought for early disease detection, studies of human health and pathophysiology, and for better understanding systems biology. Considering the complexity of biological samples, interest in biochemical class selection through the use of chemoselective probes for improved resolution and quantitation is increasing. Considering the role of lipids in the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, in this study fingerprinting of lipid metabolites was achieved by (31)P labeling using the derivatizing agent 2-chloro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyldioxaphospholane. Lipids containing hydroxyl, aldehyde and carboxyl groups were selectively tagged with (31)P and then detected with good resolution using (31)P NMR by exploiting the 100% natural abundance and wide chemical shift range of (31)P. After standardizing the reaction conditions using representative compounds, the derivatization approach was used to profile lipids in human serum. The results show that the (31)P derivatization approach is simple, reproducible and highly quantitative, and has the potential to profile a number of important lipids in complex biological samples.

γ-Oxygenation of α,ß-unsaturated esters by vinylogous O-nitroso Mukaiyama aldol reaction.

A practical procedure has been developed for γ-oxygenation of α,ß-unsaturated esters by a vinylogous O-nitroso Mukaiyama aldol reaction followed by a one-pot N-O bond heterolysis of the in situ generated γ-aminoxy-α,ß-unsaturated esters.