Web sites selling cigarettes: how many are there in the USA and what are their sales practices?

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the number and geographic location of web sites selling cigarettes in the USA, and to examine their sales and marketing practices. METHODS: Comprehensive searches were conducted using four keyword terms and five popular internet search engines, supplemented by sites identified in a news article. Over 1800 sites were examined to identify 88 internet cigarette vendors. MEASURES: Trained raters examined the content of each site using a standardised coding instrument to assess geographic location, presence of warnings, products sold, and promotional strategies. SETTING: USA. RESULTS: Internet cigarette vendors were located in 23 states. Nearly half (n = 43) were located in New York state, and many were in tobacco producing states with low cigarette excise taxes. Indian reservations housed 49 of the 88 sites. Only 28.4% of sites featured the US Surgeon General's health warnings and 81.8% featured minimum age of sale warnings. Nearly all sites (96.6%) sold premium or value brand cigarettes, 21.6% sold duty-free Marlboros, and 8.0% sold bidis. Approximately one third featured special promotional programmes. CONCLUSIONS: Internet cigarette vendors present new regulatory and enforcement challenges for tobacco control advocates because of the difficulty in regulating internet content and because many vendors are on Indian reservations.     

Permutation tests: are there differences in product liking?

The target of our considerations is whether or not we can find significant differences between subgroups of consumers with respect to given hedonic variables. For this purpose a STATIS-consensus is computed for each group and the dissimilarities between groups are judged with the help of the RV-coefficient. Since the distribution of this coefficient is unknown and we do not make any assumptions on the distribution of the error terms, a permutation test is performed. This provides a simple possibility to test for significance of the dissimilarities in question. Some pre-treatment of the data is necessary to perform this statistical test. Afterwards subgroups according to the two sets of consumer tests, the different geographies and some of the classification variables within consumer test 1 are considered. When significant dissimilarities are found, a graphical representation of the respective consensuses is provided to interpret the differences.     

Who's Who among the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Actin-Related Proteins? A Classification and Nomenclature Proposal for a Large Family

Inspection of the complete Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome sequence and analysis of the actin-related proteins (ARPs) found therein revealed seven proteins, in addition to the previously designated actin-related proteins Arp1, Arp2 and Arp3, which contained substantial blocks of conservation relative to a chosen sub-set of actins. We have ordered the new ARPs relative to this group of actins and propose to name the more distantly related ARP members, according to their amino acid identity and similarity, Arp4–Arp10. Most of these proteins appear to represent the first example of new classes of ARPs, each of which may have specific localization(s) and cellular function(s). Recently reported ARPs from other species have also been included in the phylogenetic tree derived from the overall alignment of 29 actins and 28 ARPs. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Do Xanthan and Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Individually Affect the Physicochemical Properties in a Model Gluten‐Free Dough?

To better understand the physicochemical changes imparted by hydrocolloids on gluten-free dough, 2 hydroxypropyl methylcelluloses (HPMCs) and xanthan gum were added at 2%, 3%, and 5% to rice cassava dough without the addition of alternative proteins. The formulated doughs were analyzed using thermoanalytic and rheological techniques to determine the role of water and subsequent flow behavior upon hydrocolloid addition. The baked loaves were then measured for specific loaf volume and tensile strength to determine bread quality. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results revealed that hydrocolloid-added dough held water more tightly than the rice cassava control with an additional water distribution at 85 to 88 °C. Rheologically, the increase of elastic moduli in the low methoxy HPMC and xanthan-added dough became more pronounced with gum addition; however, both HPMC formulations had increased viscous moduli allowing the gas cells to expand without collapsing. In the bread, the final specific loaf volume increased with high methoxy HPMC (2% to 5%) and low methoxy HPMC (2%) but was depressed with increased addition of low methoxy HPMC (5%) and xanthan (3% and 5%). Crumb hardness was decreased in high methoxy HPMC loaves but was increased significantly in low methoxy HPMC (5%) and xanthan (5%) formulations. From the gums studied, it was concluded that high methoxy HPMC was the optimum hydrocolloid in the rice cassava gluten-free dough. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Two types of hydrocolloids, xanthan gum and HPMC, were individually added to a gluten-free rice cassava formulation. Based on the thermoanalytic and rheological studies on dough, as well as the bread quality studies, high methoxy HPMC at 5% addition was determined to optimally improve the bread quality when only gum addition was considered. This study indicates the potential use of high methoxy HPMC as an additive in gluten-free bread formulations prior to considering alternative proteins.     

Biodiversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations in Malbec vineyards from the "Zona Alta del Río Mendoza" region in Argentina

The “Zona Alta del Río Mendoza” (ZARM) is the major Malbec grape viticulture region of Argentina. The aim of the present study was to explore Saccharomyces cerevisiae biodiversity in ZARM vineyards. Interdelta PCR and RFLP mtDNA molecular markers were applied to differentiate S. cerevisiae strains. The presence of commercial strains on ZARM vineyards was also assessed. Our results reveal a highly diverse, but genetically closely related, S. cerevisiae population (containing more than 190 molecular patterns among 590 S. cerevisiae isolates). According to the S. cerevisiae strain diversity found in vineyards, they were classified as vineyards with high and low polymorphic S. cerevisiae populations. Six vineyards showed a high polymorphic population, with more than 20 different S. cerevisiae molecular patterns. S. cerevisiae populations in these vineyards were diverse and irregularly distributed, with different strains in each vineyard site. Low polymorphic S. cerevisiae population vineyards displayed very low yeast diversity, with only 9 to 10 different S. cerevisiae strains and presence of two commercial strains widely distributed. Population diversity estimators were calculated to determine the population structure of S. cerevisiae in the ZARM vineyards. The obtained values support the hypothesis that the eight sampled subpopulations come indeed from a larger population.     

How reliable are crop production data? Case studies in USA and Argentina

Reliability of crop production data has implications for yield gap analysis, production time trends, trading and policy decisions. In this paper, we compared databases of major grain crops estimated by a pair of independent organisations in Nebraska, USA (USDA-NASS, National Agricultural Statistics Service of USDA vs NRD, Natural Resources Districts of Nebraska) and a pair of independent organisations in Argentina (MA, Ministerio de Agricultura vs. BC, Bolsa de Cereales de Buenos Aires). The comparisons involved the yield of irrigated and rainfed maize and soybean reported by USDA-NASS and NRD, and the yield, acreage and production of maize, soybean and wheat reported by MA and BC. The comparison between NASS-USDA and NRD yield data included 127 paired observations for maize and 87 for soybean. For the pooled data involving irrigated and rainfed crops, the average difference in yield between the two sources was small (<5 %). In both crops, however, the yield difference between sources increased with increasing yield suggesting that NRD reported higher yields than NASS-USDA in high-yielding, irrigated crops and lower yields in rainfed crops. For maize, NRD returned lower yield than NASS-USDA for average yield below 10 t ha^?1, and higher yield above this threshold. For soybean, NRD returned lower yield than NASS-USDA for average yield below 3 t ha^?1, and higher yield above this threshold. For the pooled data comprising 13 regions and 9–10 cropping seasons per region in Argentina, differences between yield reported by MA and BC were larger and more scattered for maize than for soybean and wheat. The differences in acreage between the two sources increased with increasing acreage for soybean and wheat, and the same pattern was found for total production. Differences in production were more closely related to differences in acreage than to differences in yield, thus highlighting the need to improve the accuracy of crop acreage estimates. Disaggregation of data showed compensation between regions where positive differences (BC > MA) compensated negative differences (BC < MA). For both Nebraska and Argentina, relative differences between sources generally declined with larger regional cropping area and/or number of reporting fields. All four organisations providing cropping statistics involved experienced professionals using rigorous methods; hence comparisons did not seek to establish the “right” estimate. The conclusions from these comparisons are thus asymmetric: where the two sources show statistical agreement, we can have some confidence on the reliability of the data, but where the sources disagree, we cannot tell which one is more reliable; we can, however, highlight the mismatch and recommend caution in the use and interpretation of crop yield and production data, particularly at regional level.     

Ethnic skin types: are there differences in skin structure and function?1

People of skin of colour comprise the majority of the world's population and Asian subjects comprise more than half of the total population of the earth. Even so, the literature on the characteristics of the subjects with skin of colour is limited. Several groups over the past decades have attempted to decipher the underlying differences in skin structure and function in different ethnic skin types. However, most of these studies have been of small scale and in some studies interindividual differences in skin quality overwhelm any racial differences. There has been a recent call for more studies to address genetic together with phenotypic differences among different racial groups and in this respect several large-scale studies have been conducted recently. The most obvious ethnic skin difference relates to skin colour which is dominated by the presence of melanin. The photoprotection derived from this polymer influences the rate of the skin aging changes between the different racial groups. However, all racial groups are eventually subjected to the photoaging process. Generally Caucasians have an earlier onset and greater skin wrinkling and sagging signs than other skin types and in general increased pigmentary problems are seen in skin of colour although one large study reported that East Asians living in the U.S.A. had the least pigment spots. Induction of a hyperpigmentary response is thought to be through signaling by the protease-activated receptor-2 which together with its activating protease is increased in the epidermis of subjects with skin of colour. Changes in skin biophysical properties with age demonstrate that the more darkly pigmented subjects retaining younger skin properties compared with the more lightly pigmented groups. However, despite having a more compact stratum corneum (SC) there are conflicting reports on barrier function in these subjects. Nevertheless, upon a chemical or mechanical challenge the SC barrier function is reported to be stronger in subjects with darker skin despite having the reported lowest ceramide levels. One has to remember that barrier function relates to the total architecture of the SC and not just its lipid levels. Asian skin is reported to possess a similar basal transepidermal water loss (TEWL) to Caucasian skin and similar ceramide levels but upon mechanical challenge it has the weakest barrier function. Differences in intercellular cohesion are obviously apparent. In contrast reduced SC natural moisturizing factor levels have been reported compared with Caucasian and African American skin. These differences will contribute to differences in desquamation but few data are available. One recent study has shown reduced epidermal Cathepsin L2 levels in darker skin types which if also occurs in the SC could contribute to the known skin ashing problems these subjects experience. In very general terms as the desquamatory enzymes are extruded with the lamellar granules subjects with lowered SC lipid levels are expected to have lowered desquamatory enzyme levels. Increased pores size, sebum secretion and skin surface microflora occur in Negroid subjects. Equally increased mast cell granule size occurs in these subjects. The frequency of skin sensitivity is quite similar across different racial groups but the stimuli for its induction shows subtle differences. Nevertheless, several studies indicate that Asian skin maybe more sensitive to exogenous chemicals probably due to a thinner SC and higher eccrine gland density. In conclusion, we know more of the biophysical and somatosensory characteristics of ethnic skin types but clearly, there is still more to learn and especially about the inherent underlying biological differences in ethnic skin types.     

The trend of reduced hop‐content in Pilsner‐type beer in Germany. A change in taste?

A time series analysis of the development of bitterness units (BU) of a collective of 1,202 Pilsner beer samples analysed between 1983 and 2013 shows a small but statistically significant decline from values of around 30 BU in the 1980s to values of around 27 in the last years. The results confirm a trend to lower hopped Pilsner beers, which could derive from economic pressures on the breweries combined with a lack of regulations, or a change in consumer preference. So–called Pilsner beers with extremely low BU values are judged as a being misleading to the consumer, which is an offence against European food law. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Is there a link between dietary phytoestrogens and reproductive health in men? A meta‐analysis of data from the USA and China

The human health implications of exposure to environmental pollutants and food components (e.g. phytoestrogens) that mimic the female hormone 17β‐estradiol (xenoestrogens) are a subject of significant debate. In this study, we use published data on human dietary phytoestrogen intake and sperm concentrations in the USA and China to assess effects on sperm concentration as a marker of male reproductive health. Comparison of the phytoestrogen intake and sperm concentration trends shows that in the USA phytoestrogen intake has increased from 0.8 mg day^?1 in 1993 to 13.7 mg day^?1 in 2005 and sperm concentration is trending down (not statistically significant), whereas in China phytoestrogen intake has decreased from 64.7 mg day^?1 in 1991 to 15.6 mg day^?1 in 2008, and the sperm concentration has increased from 55 × 10⁶ mL^?1 in 1999 to 74 × 10⁶ mL^?1 in 2008. We present this as evidence that phytoestrogen intake via food might, at least in part, be responsible for sperm concentration trends.     

How many muscle samples are required to obtain reliable estimations of muscle fibre characteristics from pig longissimus muscle?

In order to investigate the reliability of muscle fibre trait estimations of pig longissimus muscle and to derive the minimum number of samples required per muscle cross-section and animal, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, ??) were obtained by one-way analysis of variance. From each of 23 market weight pigs five samples, evenly distributed over the muscle cross-sectional area at the 12th/13th rib level, were taken and analyzed for various muscle fibre traits. The number of samples required per muscle cross-section was found to be different between selected fibre traits, ranging from a minimum of three (for number of muscle fibres) to a maximum of five or more (for mean fibre area, fibre type composition and relative area occupied by each fibre type). These findings should be taken as a recommendation, but their usefulness will depend upon the goal and conditions of future experiments.     

Transgenic and cloned animals in the food chain – are we prepared to tackle it?

Transgenic and cloned animal production for various purposes has been increasing rapidly in recent times. While the actual impact of these animals in the food chain is unknown, the significance of tracking and monitoring measures to curb accidental and or deliberate release has been discussed. Religious perspectives from different faiths and traditions have been presented. Although the concept of substantial equivalence satisfies the technical and nutritional requirements of these products when assessed against comparators, public opinion and religious concerns should also be considered by the regulators while developing policy regulations. In conclusion, measures to prevent real or perceived risks of transgenic and cloned animals in food production require global coordinated action. It is worthwhile to consider establishing effective tracking systems and analytical procedures as this will be a valuable tool if a global consensus is not reached on policy regulation. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry