BackgroundMore US adolescents use e-cigarettes than smoke cigarettes. Research suggests flavoured e-cigarettes appeal to youth, but little is known about perceptions of and reasons for attraction to ...specific flavours.MethodsA national sample of adolescents (n=1125) ages 13–17 participated in a phone survey from November 2014 to June 2015. We randomly assigned adolescents to respond to survey items about 1 of 5 e-cigarette flavours (tobacco, alcohol, menthol, candy or fruit) and used regression analysis to examine the impact of flavour on interest in trying e-cigarettes and harm beliefs.ResultsAdolescents were more likely to report interest in trying an e-cigarette offered by a friend if it were flavoured like menthol (OR=4.00, 95% CI 1.46 to 10.97), candy (OR=4.53, 95% CI 1.67 to 12.31) or fruit (OR=6.49, 95% CI 2.48 to 17.01) compared with tobacco. Adolescents believed that fruit-flavoured e-cigarettes were less harmful to health than tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes (p<0.05). Perceived harm mediated the relationship between some flavours and interest in trying e-cigarettes. A minority of adolescents believed that e-cigarettes did not have nicotine (14.6%) or did not know whether they had nicotine (3.6%); these beliefs did not vary by flavour.DiscussionCandy-flavoured, fruit-flavoured and menthol-flavoured e-cigarettes appeal to adolescents more than tobacco-flavoured or alcohol-flavoured e-cigarettes. This appeal is only partially explained by beliefs about reduced harm. Given adolescents' interest in trying e-cigarettes with certain flavours, policymakers should consider restricting advertisements promoting flavoured products in media that reach large numbers of young people. Future research should examine other reasons for the appeal of individual flavours, such as novelty and perceived luxury.
The excitation functions for quasielastic scattering of ^{22}Ne+^{248}Cm, ^{26}Mg+^{248}Cm, and ^{48}Ca+^{238}U are measured using a gas-filled recoil ion separator. The quasielastic barrier ...distributions are extracted for these systems and are compared with coupled-channel calculations. The results indicate that the barrier distribution is affected dominantly by deformation of the actinide target nuclei, but also by vibrational or rotational excitations of the projectile nuclei, as well as neutron transfer processes before capture. From a comparison between the experimental barrier distributions and the evaporation residue cross sections for Sg (Z=106), Hs (108), Cn (112), and Lv (116), it is suggested that the hot fusion reactions take advantage of a compact collision, where the projectile approaches along the short axis of a prolately deformed nucleus. A new method is proposed to estimate the optimum incident energy to synthesize unknown superheavy nuclei using the barrier distribution.
Subtypes defined by hormonal receptor (HR) and HER2 status have not been well studied in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). We characterized clinical parameters and long-term outcomes, and compared ...pathological complete response (pCR) rates by HR/HER2 subtype in a large IBC patient population. We also compared disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between IBC patients who received targeted therapies (anti-hormonal, anti-HER2) and those who did not.
We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients diagnosed with IBC and treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 1989 to January 2011. Of those, 527 patients had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and had available information on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 status. HR status was considered positive if either ER or PR status was positive. Using the Kaplan–Meier method, we estimated median DFS and OS durations from the time of definitive surgery. Using the Cox proportional hazards regression model, we determined the effect of prognostic factors on DFS and OS. Results were compared by subtype.
The overall pCR rate in stage III IBC was 15.2%, with the HR-positive/HER2-negative subtype showing the lowest rate (7.5%) and the HR-negative/HER2-positive subtype, the highest (30.6%). The HR-negative, HER2-negative subtype (triple-negative breast cancer, TNBC) had the worst survival rate. HR-positive disease, irrespective of HER2 status, had poor prognosis that did not differ from that of the HR-negative/HER2-positive subtype with regard to OS or DFS. Achieving pCR, no evidence of vascular invasion, non-TNBC, adjuvant hormonal therapy, and radiotherapy were associated with longer DFS and OS.
Hormone receptor and HER2 molecular subtypes had limited predictive and prognostic power in our IBC population. All molecular subtypes of IBC had a poor prognosis. HR-positive status did not necessarily confer a good prognosis. For all IBC subtypes, novel, specific treatment strategies are needed in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings.
Some studies have suggested that statins, which have cholesterol-lowering and anti-inflammatory properties, may have antitumor effects. Effects of statins on inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have ...never been studied.
We reviewed 723 patients diagnosed with primary IBC in 1995-2011 and treated at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Statin users were defined as being on statins at the initial evaluation. Based on Ahern et al's statin classification (JNCI, 2011), clinical outcomes were compared by statin use and type (weakly lipophilic to hydrophilic (H-statin) vs lipophilic statins (L-statin)). We used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate the median progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), and a Cox proportional hazards regression model to test the statistical significance of potential prognostic factors.
In the multivariable Cox model, H-statins were associated with significantly improved PFS compared with no statin (hazard ratio=0.49; 95% confidence interval=0.28-0.84; P<0.01); OS and DSS P-values were 0.80 and 0.85, respectively. For L-statins vs no statin, P-values for PFS, DSS, and OS were 0.81, 0.4, and 0.74, respectively.
H-statins were associated with significantly improved PFS. A prospective randomised study evaluating the survival benefits of statins in primary IBC is warranted.
Background. We aimed to identify the role of objective risk status and subjective risk beliefs in influenza vaccination decisions during the recent rationing of influenza vaccine. Method. A random ...sample of 300 Americans, obtained through random-digit dialing, was interviewed regarding influenza vaccination practices and beliefs in September 2004 and again in March 2005. Results. One-half of individuals at high risk of influenza did not know that they were at high risk and, therefore, were not vaccinated. Respondents at high objective risk were more likely to report having been vaccinated than respondents who were not at high objective risk (36% vs. 6%, respectively; odds ratio, 8.31; 95% confidence interval, 3.65–18.88). However, a more powerful predictor of self-reported vaccination was subjective risk (64% vs. 7%, respectively; odds ratio, 24.02; 95% confidence interval, 12.18–48.09). Subjective risk fully mediated the relationship between objective risk and vaccination. Other predictors of vaccination included physician recommendation, habit, prior vaccination intention, belief that the influenza vaccine is safe and effective, perceived likelihood of getting influenza, and trait neuroticism. Conclusion. Health communication efforts must be more effective in persuading adults with chronic illness and individuals in contact with persons at risk that they should be vaccinated against influenza.
Abstract
The
β
-delayed neutron-emission probabilities of 28 exotic neutron-rich isotopes of Pm, Sm, Eu, and Gd were measured for the first time at RIKEN Nishina Center using the Advanced ...Implantation Detector Array (AIDA) and the BRIKEN neutron detector array. The existing
β
-decay half-life (
T
1/2
) database was significantly increased toward more neutron-rich isotopes, and uncertainties for previously measured values were decreased. The new data not only constrain the theoretical predictions of half-lives and
β
-delayed neutron-emission probabilities, but also allow for probing the mechanisms of formation of the high-mass wing of the rare-earth peak located at
A
≈ 160 in the
r
-process abundance distribution through astrophysical reaction network calculations. An uncertainty quantification of the calculated abundance patterns with the new data shows a reduction of the uncertainty in the rare-earth peak region. The newly introduced variance-based sensitivity analysis method offers valuable insight into the influence of important nuclear physics inputs on the calculated abundance patterns. The analysis has identified the half-lives of
168
Sm and of several gadolinium isotopes as some of the key variables among the current experimental data to understand the remaining abundance uncertainty at
A
= 167–172.
The Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE) is a new, highly efficient plastic-scintillator array constructed for decay and transfer reaction experimental setups that require ...neutron detection. The versatile and modular design allows for customizable experimental setups including beta-delayed neutron spectroscopy and (d,n) transfer reactions in normal and inverse kinematics. The neutron energy and prompt-photon discrimination is determined through the time of flight technique. Fully digital data acquisition electronics and integrated triggering logic enables some VANDLE modules to achieve an intrinsic efficiency over 70% for 300-keV neutrons, measured through two different methods. A custom Geant4 simulation models aspects of the detector array and the experimental setups to determine efficiency and detector response. A low detection threshold, due to the trigger logic and digitizing data acquisition, allowed us to measure the light-yield response curve from elastically scattered carbon nuclei inside the scintillating plastic from incident neutrons with kinetic energies below 2MeV.
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