Effect of e-liquid flavor on electronic cigarette topography and consumption behavior in a 2-week natural environment switching study.

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) offer an alternate means to consume nicotine in a variety of flavored aerosols. Data are needed to better understand the impact of flavors on use behavior. A natural environment observational study was conducted on experienced ENDS users to measure the effect of e-liquid flavor on topography and consumption behavior. The RIT wPUMTM monitor was used to record to record the date and time and puff topography (flow rate, volume, duration) for every puff taken by N = 34 participants over the course of two weeks. All participants used tobacco flavor for one week, and either berry or menthol flavor for one week. Results provide strong evidence that flavor affects the topography behaviors of mean puff flow rate and mean puff volume, and there is insufficient evidence to support an influence of flavor on mean puff duration and mean puff interval. There was insufficient evidence, due to the low power associated with the limited number of observation days, to establish a relationship between flavor and cumulative consumption behavior. While the results indicate that an effect may be evident, additional observation days are required to establish significance.

Week Long Topography Study of Young Adults Using Electronic Cigarettes in Their Natural Environment.

Results of an observational, descriptive study quantifying topography characteristics of twenty first generation electronic nicotine delivery system users in their natural environment for a one week observation period are presented. The study quantifies inter-participant variation in puffing topography between users and the intra-participant variation for each user observed during one week of use in their natural environment. Puff topography characteristics presented for each user include mean puff duration, flow rate and volume for each participant, along with descriptive statistics of each quantity. Exposure characteristics including the number of vaping sessions, total number of puffs and cumulative volume of aerosol generated from ENDS use (e-liquid aerosol) are reported for each participant for a one week exposure period and an effective daily average exposure. Significant inter-participant and intra-participant variation in puff topography was observed. The observed range of natural use environment characteristics is used to propose a set of topography protocols for use as command inputs to drive machine-puffed electronic nicotine delivery systems in a controlled laboratory environment.

Transnasal endoscopic approach with powered instrumentation for treating squamous papilloma in the nasopharyngeal surface of the soft palate.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate a safe and effective method for complete resection of squamous papilloma in the nasopharyngeal surface of the soft palate. This technique was used on a patient in whom the papilloma had twice recurred following uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. METHODS: Case report and review of the relevant literature. RESULTS: The patient reported in this paper had recurrent squamous papilloma in the nasopharyngeal surface of the soft palate following uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. He also suffered from nasal regurgitation when drinking water. This lesion, which was difficult to access, was successfully treated via a transnasal endoscopic approach using powered instrumentation. CONCLUSION: This case report highlights a novel approach for the complete removal of a recurrent papilloma in a relatively inaccessible location. Compared with a transoral approach such as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, the transnasal endoscopic approach using powered instrumentation could provide a safer, faster, easier and less invasive means of treating squamous papilloma in the nasopharyngeal surface of the soft palate, especially for a lesion that recurs following a transoral approach.

Investigations of the (nat)Ti(p,x)(43,44m,44g,46,47,48)Sc,(48)V nuclear processes up to 40MeV.

Independent and cumulative production cross-sections for the (nat)Ti(p,x)(48)V, (43,44m,44g,46,47,48)Sc nuclear processes are reported here, for the energy region of 4-38MeV by using a stacked-foil activation technique. Measured data were critically compared with the earlier reported values, and also with the theoretical data from the TALYS and ALICE-IPPE codes. The measured (nat)Ti(p,x)(48)V reaction is important for charged particle beam monitoring purposes, whereas the (43,44,47)Sc radionuclide have various practical applications in nuclear medicine.

Rare tumor of the tracheobronchial tree: solitary squamous papilloma.

A 64-year-old woman presented with an intractable cough and purulent sputum, and a chest CT revealed a mass within the left lower lobar bronchial orifice. A flexible bronchoscopy demonstrated a red, glistening, nodular single lesion, obstructing the lumen of the left lower lobe of the bronchus, and biopsy of the specimen showed squamous papilloma. Surgical resection was selected for the definite treatment, and a simple left lower lobectomy was performed. Histopathological examination revealed a 1.2 x 1.0 cm sized bronchial obstructing mass and the diagnosis of squamous papilloma was confirmed with low p53, Ki-67 (less than 5 %) and focal weak positive CEA expression. The patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course and remains asymptomatic 3 months afterwards.

Experimental determination of proton-induced cross-sections on natural zirconium.

We measured cross-sections for the formation of (86g,87m,87g)Y, (88,89g)Zr, and (90,92m)Nb radionuclides for proton-induced reactions on natural zirconium by using a conventional stacked-foil activation technique in the energy range between 1 and 40MeV at the MC-50 cyclotron of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Science. We compared the measured data with the available literature data and the theoretical calculation by the model codes TALYS and ALICE-IPPE. We also deduced the integral yields for thick targets from the measured cross-sections of the produced radionuclides. The optimum production possibility of the medically important (89g)Zr and (86)Y radionuclides were discussed elaborately.

Appearance of novel G-bacteria belonging to acidobacteria in a dairy wastewater treatment plant.

A dairy wastewater treatment plant operates a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and stimulates enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process with alternating anaerobic and aerobic cycles. Occasionally, the plant suffers from a high suspended solids problem in the supernatant. Interestingly, the occurrence of high suspended solids coincided with times when the EBPR process failed to remove phosphorus. To find out if there was a relationship between the EBPR failure and the high suspended solids problem, effluent samples were collected from the site during the period of poor phosphorus removal and examined microscopically. It was found that cocci-shaped bacteria (3-4 microm in diameter) were abundant in the effluent samples and they were clustered in tetrads. These were believed to be G-bacteria and results of both Gram and Neisser staining tests were negative, suggesting that they had few intracellular polyphosphate granules. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cloning and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence analysis, the phylogenetic information of in situ G-bacteria was obtained. It was found that all of the recovered clones were clustered in the phylum of Acidobacteria.

Comparison of total and faecal coliforms as faecal indicator in eutrophicated surface water.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of total coliforms (TC) and faecal coliforms (FC) using a membrane filtration method for precise monitoring of faecal pollution in Korean surface water. The samples were collected in Korea from both main rivers and their tributaries. Presumptive TC * FC were enumerated. The ratios of presumptive FC to TC were not constant, but varied widely, and TC were difficult to enumerate because of overgrowth by background colonies. For FC this was not the case. Seven hundred and three purified strains of presumptive TC * FC and their background colonies were biotyped using API 20E. Among 272 presumptive TC, non-faecal related species, Aeromonas hydrophila dominated (34.6%) and E. coli accounted for only 5.1%. In contrast, E. coli made up 89% of the 209 presumptive FC. Furthermore, of 164 background colonies on Endo Agar LES, 54.9% was A. hydrophila, while background colonies on m-FC Agar were few (58 strains), and despite their atypical colony appearance, most of them were biotyped as enteric bacteria. These results reveal that the detection of FC rather than TC using m-FC Agar is more appropriate for faecal pollution monitoring in eutrophicated surface water located in a temperate region.

Pretreatment of sludge with microwaves for pathogen destruction and improved anaerobic digestion performance.

A new way of generating Class A sludge using microwaves was evaluated through a series of laboratory-scale experiments. Microwaves provide rapid and uniform heating throughout the material. Other benefits of microwave treatment include instant and accurate control and selective and concentrated heating on materials, such as sludge, that have a high dielectric loss factor. Sludge was irradiated with 2450-MHz microwaves, and fecal coliforms were counted. Fecal coliforms were not detected at 65 degrees C for primary sludge and anaerobic digester sludge and at 85 degrees C for waste activated sludge when sludge was irradiated with 2450-MHz microwaves. During the bench-scale anaerobic digester operation, the highest average log reduction of fecal coliforms was achieved by the anaerobic digester fed with microwave-pretreated sludge (> or = 2.66 log removal). The anaerobic digester fed with microwave-irradiated sludge was more efficient in inactivation of fecal coliforms than the other two digesters fed with raw sludge and externally heated sludge, respectively. It took more than three hydraulic retention times for a bench-scale mesophilic anaerobic digester to meet Class A sludge requirements after feeding microwave-irradiated sludge. Class A sludge can be produced consistently with a continuously fed mesophilic anaerobic digester if sludge is pretreated with microwaves to reach 65 degrees C.

Mechanisms of microwave irradiation involved in the destruction of fecal coliforms from biosolids.

Microwaves have been found to be effective in destructing pathogens in sewage sludge (biosolids) (75th Annual Water Environment Federation Conference, Chicago, September 29-October 2, 2002; Third World Water Congress, International Water Association, Melbourne, Australia, April 7-12, 2002). Mechanisms and roles of microwaves on fecal coliform destruction were investigated using bacterial viability tests, electron transport system (ETS) and beta-galactosidase activity assays, gel electrophoresis, and genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) optical density (OD) measurements with fecal coliforms isolated from biosolids. Bacterial viability tests demonstrated cell membrane damage as microwave irradiation intensity and temperature increased. Above 60+/-3 degrees C, viable cells were rarely found when pure fecal coliforms were irradiated with microwaves. ETS and beta-galactosidase activity assays revealed increased activity for externally heated samples due to fecal coliform growth but decreased activity for microwave-irradiated samples as temperature was increased from 20 degrees C to 57 degrees C, indicating other destruction mechanisms besides heating. Between 57 degrees C and 68 degrees C, microwave irradiation led to a more rapid decrease in activity than external heating by convection. Above 68 degrees C, bacterial activity almost ceased for both pretreatments. DNA bands in gel electrophoresis tests and OD of genomic DNA decreased more rapidly for microwave-irradiated samples than for externally heated samples, implying that microwaves disrupted DNA in fecal coliform cells at lower temperatures than external heating. Microwave irradiation of sludge appears to be a viable and economical method of destructing pathogens and generating environmentally safe sludge.

The physical map of the chloroplast DNA from Asparagus officinalis L.

The genus Asparagus consists of 100-300 species of both dioecious and hermaphrodite plants. Since there are diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid plants in this genus, RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis of chloroplast DNA (ctDNA) is suitable for examining the phylogenetic relationships. We have constructed a physical map of the ctDNA of garden asparagus (A. officinalis L. cv 'Mary Washington 500 W') using five restriction endonucleases, namely, BamHI, PstI, SalI, HindIII, and XhoI. Asparagus ctDNA was digested with restriction enzymes and cloned into plasmid and λ phage vectors, and a clone bank was constructed that covered 70% of the genome. A physical map was constructed by Southern hybridization of total DNA from asparagus with homologous and heterologous probes. The asparagus ctDNA was about 155 kb long and it contained two inverted repeats (23kb each) separated by a large single-copy region (90kb) and a small single-copy region (19kb). Fifteen genes, encoding photosynthesis-related proteins, rDNAs, and tRNAs, were localized on the physical map of asparagus ctDNA. Comparing the length and the gene order of asparagus ctDNA with that of other plants, we found that asparagus ctDNA was similar to tobacco ctDNA but different from rice ctDNA. The restriction patterns of the ctDNAs from several varieties of A. officinalis and three species of Asparagus were analyzed. The restriction patterns of the varieties of A. officinalis were very similar, but polymorphisms were detected among the three species of Asparagus.

Expression of an active adenylate-forming domain of peptide synthetases corresponding to acyl-CoA-synthetases.

Peptide synthetases and acyl-CoA-synthetases form acyl adenylates which are transferred to CoA or enzyme-bound pantetheine. To verify the existence of an adenylate domain in peptide synthetases, a 60.8 kDa fragment of tyrocidine 1-synthetase was constructed by a 1,629 bp deletion, expressed in Escherichia coli, and characterized. The truncated multienzyme activated phenylalanine and substrate analogues with comparable kinetics as the over-expressed synthetase, as judged by ATP-[32P]PP(i) exchange reaction. Thus the N-terminal domain resembling an acyl-CoA-synthetase is an autonomous structural element. This N-terminal domain is followed by a cofactor binding domain, resembling acyl carrier proteins involved in polyketide formation.

[Health promotion. Instrument development for the application of the theory of planned behavior].

The purpose of this article is to describe operationalization of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The quest to understand determinants of health behaviors has intensified as evidence accumulates concerning the impact of personal behavior on health. The majority of theory-based research has used the Health Belief Model(HBM). The HBM components have had limited success in explaining health-related behaviors. There are several advantages of the TPB over the HBM. TPB is an expansion of the Theory of Reasoned Action(TRA) with the addition of the construct, perceived behavioral control. The revised model has been shown to yield greater explanatory power than the original TRA for goal-directed behaviors. The process of TPB instrument development was described, using example form the study of smoking cessation behavior in military smokers. It was followed by a discussion of reliability and validity issues in operationalizing the TPB. The TPB is a useful model for understanding and predicting health-related behaviors when carefully operationalized. The model holds promise in the development of prescriptive nursing approaches.

A study of the emotional characteristics of temporomandibular disorder patients using SCL-90-R.

This study was conducted to identify the emotional characteristics of temporomandibular disorder patients. The authors applied one of the self-report modes of psychological measurement, Symptom Checklist-90-Revision. The subjects were 219 TM disorder patients who visited the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Oral Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, during the period from December 1985 to September 1986. Patients were divided into subgroups according to sex, age, duration of symptoms, presence or absence of pain, and educational level. The mean values and distribution of T-scores of each symptom dimension and global index were then compared.