BackgroundResearch is needed to understand the acceptability of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) as a smoking reduction aid. This study examines the acceptability of ENDS by liquid ...nicotine concentration and flavour among people who smoke using ENDS to reduce their smoking.MethodsPeople who smoke cigarettes but were naïve to ENDS participated in a double-blind randomised controlled trial to reduce conventional cigarette smoking. Participants were randomised to either a control cigarette substitute (CS) or one of three ENDS groups; 0 mg/mL, 8 mg/mL or 36 mg/mL nicotine concentration. ENDS flavour was chosen by the participant (tobacco or menthol). Participants reported their CS, ENDS and cigarettes per day (CPD) from the past 7 days at 1-month, 3-month and 6-month follow-up visits. Participants also reported side effects and measures of satisfaction, psychological reward, aversion and craving relief. Outcome variables were modelled using linear mixed effects by the following groups: liquid nicotine concentration, flavour and a flavour-nicotine concentration interaction.ResultsParticipants (n=520) were 41.2% male, 67.3% white, had a mean age of 46.2 years and smoked a mean of 18.6 CPD (SD=7.74) at baseline. All flavour and concentration groups decreased CPD from baseline to all follow-up visits with the 36 mg/mL experiencing the greatest reduction, compared with the 0 mg/mL and 8 mg/mL groups. All groups except the 36 mg/mL group decreased their product use over time. The use of menthol flavour was associated with fewer side effects at 3 months (p=0.02) and lesser aversion at 1 month (p=0.03) compared with tobacco-flavoured ENDS. The 36 mg/mL group experienced the greatest craving relief and greatest aversion compared with other groups.ConclusionsBoth nicotine concentration and flavour appear to have independent, as well as interactive, effects that influence ENDS acceptability among people who use cigarettes.
Linked ContentThis article is linked to Hosaka et al and Hosaka papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15108. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15332 and ...https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.15361.
A novel and highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensing system was designed and developed for individual detection of different organophosphorous pesticides (OPs) in food samples. ...Bimetallic Pt-Au nanoparticles were electrodeposited on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-modified glass carbon electrode (GCE) to increase the surface area of electrode and ECL signals of luminol. Biocomposites of enzymes from acetylcholinesterase and choline oxidase (AChE and ChOx) were immobilized onto the electrode surface to produce massive hydrogen peroxides (H2O2), thus amplifying ECL signals. Based on the dual-amplification effects of nanoparticles and H2O2 produced by enzymatic reactions, the proposed biosensor exhibits highly sensitivity. The proposed biosensing approach was then used for detecting OPs by inhibition of OPs on AChE. Under optimized experimental conditions, the ECL intensity decreased accordingly with the increase in concentration of OPs, and the inhibition rates of OPs were proportional to their concentrations in the range of 0.1–50nmolL−1 for malathion, methyl parathion and chlorpyrifos, with detection limit of 0.16nmolL−1, 0.09nmolL−1 and 0.08nmolL−1, respectively. The linearity range of the biosensor for pesticide dufulin varied from 50 to 500nmolL−1, with the detection limit of 29.7nmolL−1. The resulting biosensor was further validated by assessment of OPs residues in cabbage, which showed a fine applicability for the detection of OPs in the realistic sample.
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•A novel ECL biosensing system for detection of OPs was developed.•The ECL signal of luminol was significantly amplified by nanoparticles and H2O2.•Sensitive and selective detection of OPs was achieved in the system.
As greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction is a long-term challenge for any economy, visualizing the kinds of measures an economy would have to adopt in order to reach its GHG reduction targets. ...Therefore, the goal of this study is to provide results and directions for future development of the main economic sectors in Taiwan, through analyzing nine long-term (2050) carbon reduction pathways from the technical perspectives.
This study utilized the MARKAL energy engineering model to simulate the effects of adopting a combination of technology and tax measures under the various carbon reduction targets and low-carbon development scenarios up to 2050 in Taiwan. The main economic sectors studied include the electricity, industry, household and service, and transportation sectors, while Taiwan’s carbon emission reduction targets for 2050 are set as carbon emissions reduced to 50–100% of 2000 levels, or 79–89% below the BAU levels. The study results show that if Taiwan’s GDP grows with an annual rate of 3% from 2013 to 2055, and with only limited low/no carbon energy development in place, all sectors in Taiwan need to decrease their energy intensities below the BAU scenario by 48% to 53%, in order for Taiwan to achieve its carbon reduction targets for 2050.
However, for all sectors to take up energy saving measures and CCS technologies to reduce energy demand and energy intensity, Taiwan will have to quickly adopt new climate legislation (e.g. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act) and introduce carbon-reduction incentives (e.g., carbon tax). The study results are expected to provide important information for the policy makers in developing Taiwan’s long-term low carbon development pathways.
Without any dummy element for phase compensation, a clock-deskewing circuit (CDC) using a master-slave delay-locked loop (MSDLL) configuration is presented to synchronize the clocks for cascaded ...core-to-core links. The dual-locking CDC provides mismatch-insensitive compensation of interconnected wires, input/outputs (IOs), and clock buffers. The MSDLL incorporates the digital-selection folded coarse-fine voltage-controlled delay line (FCF-VCDL) to provide a wide range operations. The proposed FCF-VCDL scheme is constructed from the combination of positive and negative gains of different VCDLs. In addition, a power-controlled regime is employed in the FCF-VCDL to adaptively lower the power dissipation. Implemented with 0.18-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{m} </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS, the CDC can provide 20 MHz to 2 GHz with the help of FCF-VCDLs. The 2-GHz clock jitter is 6.78 ps (pk-pk), and the total power dissipation is 20 mW under a 1.8-V supply.
To achieve the goal of sustainable development, China has implemented the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy. So far, there is still little evidence of the impact of the policiy on ...corporate behaviour. Therefore, this study collects data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2017 and applies the staggered difference-in-differences method to analyse the impact of the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy on the environmental, social and governance performance of companies in China. The result shows that the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy reduces environmental, social and governance performance, and this negative effect increases over time. Meanwhile, a further mechanism analysis confirms that the negative impact on environmental, social and governance performance operates through the incentive effect on environmental performance, the crowding-out effect on social performance and the spillover effect on governance performance. Furthermore, the negative effect is heterogeneous across companies and cities. Overall, our results provide empirical evidence for optimising energy conservation and emission-reduction policies in developing countries.
The literature has not reached a consensus on the age when peak bone mass is achieved. This study examines growth patterns of total bone mineral content (TBMC) and total bone mineral density (TBMD), ...peak bone mass, effect of concurrent anthropometry measures, and physical activity on growth patterns in a sample of 312 white males and 343 females aged 8-30 yr. We analyzed data from participants enrolled in Fels Longitudinal Study. Descriptive analysis was used to ascertain characteristics of participants and growth patterns of TBMC and TBMD. Mixed effects models were applied to predict ages at attainment of peak TBMC and TBMD and assess the effects of height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and habitual physical activity on the attainment. Significant differences between sexes were observed for measures of TBMC and TBMD, and differences varied with age. For females, predicted median ages at peak TBMC and TBMD attainments are 21.96 yr (interquartile range IQR: 21.81-22.21) and 22.31 yr (IQR: 21.95-22.59), respectively. For males, predicted median ages are 23.34 yr (IQR: 24.34-26.19) and 26.86 yr (IQR: 25.14-27.98) respectively. For females, height, weight, and BMI, but not physical activity, had significant influences on attainment of TBMC and TBMD (p<0.01). For males, weight and BMI, but not height and physical activity, exerted significant influence on attainment of TBMC and TBMD (p<0.01), and also modified correlations between age and peak TBMC and TBMD. Our results suggest that (1) for both sexes, trajectories of TBMC and TBMD follow a curvilinear pattern between ages 8 and 30 yr; (2) predicted ages at peak TBMC and TBMD are from early to late 20s for both white males and females, with females reaching their peaks significantly earlier than males; and (3) concurrent height, weight, and BMI, but not habitual physical activity, exert significant effects on trajectories of TBMC and TBMD.
A new surface molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on nano-TiO₂ was developed using propazine (Pro) as a template molecule, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinker, methacrylic ...acid (MAA) as a functional monomer, and 2,2′-azobis (isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as an initiator. Structures of the newly synthesized surface MIPs were characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The MIP had a good adsorption capacity and high recognition selectivity to propazine. Meanwhile, it exhibited a cross-selectivity for simazine (Sim) and atrazine (Atr). The MIPs were used as a solid phase extraction (SPE) material. Concomitant extraction, purification, and determination of three pesticides (Pro, Sim, and Atr) residues in water, soil, and maize plant and grain samples were performed by MIP-SPE coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highly selective separation and enrichment of Pro, Atr, and Sim from the complex environmental media can be achieved. Thus, the newly developed technique provides an analytical platform to quantify the trace amount of Pro, Sim, and Atr residues in multi environmental media and food source.
Abstract
As the promising and ideal clean energies, wind and solar energy systems are in desperate need of high‐performance DC–DC converters to realize efficient and reliable energy transformation. ...Conventional DC–DC converters for renewable energy systems will work at extreme duty cycles and affect the system efficiency and reliability owing to their limited voltage gains and high‐voltage stress. In this paper, by adopting the hybrid voltage multiplier cells, two enhanced quadratic boost converters (EQBCs) which are highly desirable for renewable energy applications are proposed and analyzed. The EQBCs possess super‐wide voltage gain ranges and ultra‐low voltage stress; therefore, small duty cycle conditions can be achieved and components with low‐rated voltages can be chosen to decrease system volumes and increase system efficiencies. Besides, the EQBCs possess continuous input currents, which can realize small input current ripples and avoid the serious effect of pulsating current on the input sources. What's more, stable output voltages and simple controller circuits are realized by the EQBCs because of the common grounded structures of the input terminal, the single active switch and the output terminal. Detailed principle analyses, parameter designs, performance comparisons and experimental prototypes are conducted to verify the characteristics and feasibilities of the EQBCs.
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