Differences in prevalence of tobacco use among Indian urban youth: the role of socioeconomic status

This study examined whether the distribution of tobacco use and related psychosocial risk factors among youth in urban India vary by socioeconomic status (SES). Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey of students enrolled in the 6th and 8th grades in 32 schools in Delhi and Chennai (N = 11,642). The survey was conducted in 2004, before the implementation of a program designed to prevent and reduce tobacco use (MYTRI). Mixed-effect regression models were used (a) to determine the prevalence of tobacco use among private (higher SES) and government (lower SES) school students, (b) to investigate whether certain psychosocial factors were associated with increased tobacco use, and (c) to determine how these factors varied by school type. Ever-use of multiple forms of tobacco (e.g., gutkha, bidis, and cigarettes) was more prevalent among government school students than private school students. After adjusting for city, gender, grade, and age, we found the prevalence rate for ever-use of any tobacco product to be 18.9% for government school students, compared with 12.2% for private school students (p<.01). Students in government schools scored lower than private school students on most psychosocial risk factors for tobacco use studied here, indicating higher risk. Government school students scored the lowest for refusal skills, self-efficacy, and reasons not to use tobacco. Social susceptibility to chewing tobacco and social susceptibility to smoking were strong correlates of current tobacco use among government school students. Exposure to tobacco advertising was also a strong correlate of current tobacco use for government school students but not private school students. In two large cities of India, students attending government schools are using many forms of tobacco at higher rates than private school students. The psychosocial risk profile of government school students suggests they are more vulnerable to initiation and use and to outside influences that encourage use.     

The Impact of Zeta Potential and Physicochemical Properties of TiO2‐Based Nanocomposites on Their Biological Activity

The aim of this research was to observe the relationship between zeta potential, morphology, surface area, porosity, chemical composition, and ecotoxicity of nanocomposite powders such as Au/TiO₂, Ag₂O/TiO₂, PdO/TiO₂, Ag/TiO₂/SiO₂, Ag/N(C)TiO₂, and SiO₂/TiO₂ from which Ag₂O/TiO₂, Ag/N(C)/TiO_2, and Ag/TiO₂/SiO₂ were exhibiting good antimicrobial properties. It was observed, that nanomaterials characterized by similar morphology and zeta potential revealed the similar toxic behavior. The samples of higher agglomeration and higher zeta potential, especially Ag/TiO₂/SiO₂ xerogel and TiO₂/SiO₂ aerogel were generally less ecotoxic to water organisms and plants. They were also not genotoxic in concentrations up to 500 and 250 mg/L, respectively.     

Dielectric properties of polyethylene terephthalate/polyphenylene sulfide/barium titanate nanocomposite for application in electronic industry

Polymer/ceramic nanocomposites designed for application as electronic packaging were prepared using corotating twin‐screw extruder. The dielectric properties of the composites made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyphenylene sulfide, and barium titanate were studied as a function of BaTiO₃ fraction in the range between 0.75 and 1.5 wt%. Processing parameters were optimized in order to obtain the nanocomposites with appropriate dielectric properties like dielectric permittivity ε′, dielectric losses ε″, and their temperature stability in a wide frequency range. The measurements showed the increase of the dielectric permittivity value ε′ in the composites in comparison to both pure polymers. The dielectric loss factor tgδ of the composites was found to be much smaller than that of the pure PET. The weak influence of the ceramics on the temperature stability of the dielectric properties of the composites was stated. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:1613–1619, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Internal cation mobility in molten CsCl-NdCl3 system at 1073 K

CsCl-NdCl₃ is the next of binary MCl-NdCl₃ systems (M: alkali metal) investigated for determination of relative internal mobilities of cations (b_Cs, b_Nd) by countercurrent electromigration method (Klemm's method). The results have been presented as isotherms of internal mobilities of Cs⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions on NdCl₃ equivalent fraction (y_Nd). It has been found that internal mobility of cesium cations is higher than neodymium ones in the entire composition range (what is typical for nonsymmetrical MCl-LnCl₃ systems (M: Li, Na, K; Ln: La, Nd, Dy)) and decreases with increase of NdCl₃ concentration in the melt. Generally, dependence of internal mobility of lanthanide cations in melts with alkali metal chlorides on lanthanide (i.e. its atomic number and concentration) seems strongly related to stability of chloride complex anions of lanthanides in the melt. Investigated systems may be divided into two classes. The first class includes MCl-NdCl₃ systems (M: Li, Na) characterized by decrease of b_Nd with increase of NdCl₃ concentration. The second includes KCl-LnCl₃ systems (Ln: La, Nd, Dy) and presented here CsCl-NdCl₃ system, and is characterized by increase of b_Ln with concentration of Ln³⁺ cation. The dependence of b_Nd on NdCl₃ concentration at 1073 K was fitted (as for other systems) by a simple equation of the form: , where is the internal mobility of Ln³⁺ cations in pure molten LnCl₃, a the difference between internal mobility of Ln³⁺ cations in pure molten LnCl₃ and infinitely diluted LnCl₃ in molten alkali metal chloride (extrapolated), and yLnCl₃ is the equivalent fraction of LnCl₃.     

Isoprostanes-biomarkers of lipid peroxidation: their utility in evaluating oxidative stress and analysis

Isoprostanes (IsoPs) are key biomarkers for investigating the role of free radical generation in the pathogenesis of human disorders. To solve IsoPs-related problems with regard to isoprostanes, analytical tools are required. This paper reviews the problems and trends in this field focusing on the methodology for assaying biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples. A large amount of work has been done in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of IsoPs, but a standardized method has yet to emerge. The methodologies described differ, either in the sample preparation steps or in the detection techniques, or both. Requiring a number of chromatographic steps, the relevant extraction and purification procedures are often critical and time-consuming, and they lead to a substantial loss of target compounds. Recent data show that EBC is a promising non-invasive tool for the evaluation of different diseases. Two main analytical approaches have been adopted for IsoPs measurement: immunological methods and mass spectrometry. The methodologies for the extraction, purification and analysis of IsoPs in EBC samples are presented.     

Lithological and pedological influences on the magnetic susceptibility of soil: their consideration in magnetic pollution mapping

Magnetic susceptibility measurements are widely used to map and monitor the heavy metal pollution of soils. However, the magnetic properties of soils are influenced significantly by the bedrock lithology and soil-forming processes. Therefore, a main challenge in the data interpretation is to filter out the anthropogenic pollution signal. In this study we address this problem by analysing susceptibility values, heavy metal concentrations, as well as pedological parameters in a large soil data set from the eastern segment of Austria, covering a wide range of different lithologies and soil types. The statistic assessment demonstrates an influence of lithology and soil type on the magnetic susceptibility signal. Therefore anomalies are defined in sub sets of different soil types separately. Three different methods were applied to detect susceptibility anomalies: the median absolute deviation method, the boxplot method, and the population modelling method. These methods evaluate topsoil data only and can therefore also be applied to field measurements of magnetic susceptibility. The results were compared to the conventional method of calculating the difference of topsoil and subsoil susceptibility. All three approaches identify the main anomalies in the study area and are successful in circumventing the problem of erroneous anomaly definition due to pedological processes. However, knowledge of the lithological background is still necessary for a meaningful interpretation and can only be substituted by a large amount of data. The tested methods lead to thresholds of different height and therefore act as filters of different strength for the definition of anomalies.     

Use of Sorbent-Based Vacuum Extraction for Determination of Volatile Phenols in Beer

A novel method based on vacuum-assisted sorbent extraction (VASE) used with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for isolation of volatile phenols was described. The method is based on extraction of analytes into sorbent traps (sorbent pen) filled with Tenax in a vacuum system—vials with traps from which air was evaluated. The method was applied for extraction of volatile phenols from aqueous matrix and smoked beer was used as a food example. Methyl-, dimethyl-, and trimethylphenols, along with 4-ethylphenol, 4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, and eugenol, were used in method development. Optimal extraction parameters were elaborated. For the analysis of volatile phenols in beer matrix, the method was characterized with satisfactory linearity (r²?≥?0.99) in a range of 0.005–0.5 mg/L. Limits of detection (LODs) for analyzed compounds ranged from 0.0006 to 0.018 mg/L and repeatability for majority of compounds was <?5% for a single trap extraction. The detected volatile phenols in beer samples ranged from 0.003 to 0.672 mg/L.     

Fate of the glucose degradation products 3-deoxyglucosone and glyoxal during peritoneal dialysis

Conventional fluids for peritoneal dialysis (PD) contain reactive glucose degradation products (GDPs) as a result of glucose breakdown during heat-sterilization. GDPs in PD fluids (PDFs) have been associated with the progressive alteration of the peritoneal membrane during long-term PD by cytotoxic effects and formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). In this study, we investigated the possible fate of two characteristic GDPs, 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) and glyoxal, during PD. In vivo, 3-DG and glyoxal concentrations, which were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), decreased in PDFs by 78% and 88% during 4 h of dwell time. The PDFs were then incubated in vitro in the presence of the most important reaction partners of GDPs in the peritoneal cavity. Neither human peritoneal mesothelial cells, human peritoneal fibroblasts, soluble protein, an insoluble collagen surface, nor components of spent dialysate led to a significant reduction of 3-DG or glyoxal after 6 h. Only after long-term incubation, a noticeable decrease of 3-DG was observed (-37% after three weeks), more likely due to spontaneous degradation reaction than formation of advanced glycation endproducts. These results suggest that in the course of PD, 3-DG, and glyoxal are absorbed into the organism and thus might contribute to the systemic pool of reactive carbonyl compounds.     

Contents List and Abstracts from the Journal of the Adhesion Society of Japan

FTIR reflection spectroscopy was used to characterize thin films of a cyanurate prepolymer on evaporated aluminium and on silicon single crystal wafers. Both substrates are covered by their native oxides. The optical function of the prepolymer is derived from ATR measurements. The measured thin film reflectance spectra have to be interpreted in comparison with the corresponding bulk spectra obtained by simulation. All samples re-produce the bulk composition. The cyanate groups of the prepolymer are not involved in specific intermolecular interactions or in preferential orientation. This is also found for the triazine rings on Si. On Al, however, a considerable excess of triazine rings are oriented parallel to the interface. The vibration frequencies of the triazine groupings that are perpendicular to the Al substrate show a red shift to some 2–8 c^?1. This special interaction effect does not occur on Si. Both the preferential orientation and the specific inter-molecular interaction act at least 100 nm into the prepolymer layer.