Banning tobacco sponsorship: replacing tobacco with health messages and creating health-promoting environments

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the replacement of Western Australian tobacco sponsorship with health promotion sponsorship by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (known as "Healthway"), following the Tobacco Control Act 1990. DESIGN: Process measures of performance were collected from 25 tobacco replacement projects (sponsorship by Healthway of sport, racing, and arts groups previously supported by tobacco companies) and 727 other health sponsorship projects, that is, new sponsorship provided by Healthway to these groups. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 917 respondents at tobacco replacement and 2352 at other sponsorship venues. SETTING: Sport, racing, and arts venues sponsored by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway) in 1991-95. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Population reach, occasions of media publicity, healthy structural changes, cognitive/attitudinal impact of health messages, and the prevalence of five health-risk behaviours. RESULTS: Tobacco replacement and other sponsorship projects achieved comparable performance in publicity for health messages and in healthy structural change, but replacement projects achieved a fourfold higher level of direct population reach for a given amount of funding. Structural change towards a smoke-free environment occurred more often in tobacco replacement projects and a permanent smoke-free policy was achieved in 47% of projects, compared with 15% in other sponsorship projects. The prevalence ratio of current smoking at tobacco replacement venues was 1.86 (95% confidence interval 1.62 to 2.04) relative to other sponsorship venues. There was evidence of higher cognitive resistance to health messages at venues previously sponsored by tobacco companies. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive ban on tobacco sponsorship linked to health promotion activities funded by tobacco tax delivers potential public health benefits that exceed those achieved by prohibition of tobacco sponsorship alone. Tobacco replacement venues offer opportunities for environmental modification, promotion of anti-smoking messages, and targeting groups that are hard to reach.


     

Red meat (beef and sheep) products for an ageing population: a review

The global population is becoming older, and still, this cohort considers red meat (beef and sheep meat) as an important staple in their diet. It is understood that the requirements from these red meats will vary as a person ages, often because of associated physiological changes; nutrition and health concerns; and reduced sensorial capacities. This creates an imperative to develop red meat products that appeal and satisfy the demands of elderly people. Here, we have reviewed current literature with the aim to comprehend the elderly consumer market, their demands for nutritive and quality traits, and their requirements for safe and convenient red meat (beef and sheep) products. Based on these studies, it was apparent that these specifications may be delivered using available knowledge of intrinsic and extrinsic influences on red meat if considered within the context of elderly customers, that is, to deliver upon elderly people’s requirements for conventional red meat products which are inexpensive, of consistent and perceivable high quality, and quell any associated health concerns for the consumer.     

Electron spin resonance study of chromium(V) formation and decomposition by basalt-inhabiting bacteria

Bacterial reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) compounds may produce reactive intermediates Cr(V) and Cr(IV), which can affect the mobility and toxicity of chromium in environments. To address this important subject, we conducted an electron spin resonance (ESR) study to understand the kinetics of the formation and decomposition of Cr(V) during Cr(VI) reduction by different gram-positive Cr(VI)-tolerant bacteria, which were isolated from polluted basalts from the United States of America and the Republic of Georgia. Results from our batch experiments show that during Cr(VI) reduction, the macromolecules at the cell wall of these bacteria could act as an electron donor to Cr(VI) to form a stable square-pyramidal Cr(V) complexes, which were reduced further probably via a one-electron transfer pathway to form Cr(IV) and Cr(III) compounds. The Cr(V) peak at the ESR spectrum possessed superhyperfine splitting characteristic of the Cr(V) complexes with diol-containing molecules. It appears that the kinetics of Cr(V) formation and decomposition depended on the bacterial growth phase and on the species. Both formation and decomposition of Cr(V) occurred more quickly when Cr(VI) was added at the exponential phase. In comparison with other gram-positive bacteria from the republic of Georgia, the formation and decomposition of Cr(V) in Arthrobacter species from the Unites States was significantly slower.     

Cuticular Chemistry of Males and Females in the Ant Formica fusca

Communication between organisms involves visual, auditory, and olfactory pathways. In solitary insects, chemical recognition cues are influenced mainly by selection regimes related to species recognition and sexual selection. In social insects, chemical recognition cues have an additional role in mediating recognition of society members and, thereby, allowing kin selection to operate. Here, we examined whether cuticular hydrocarbon profiles are sex-specific and whether males and young queens of the ant Formica fusca have colony-specific profiles. We also investigated whether there is a relationship between genetic relatedness and chemical diversity within colonies. We demonstrated that female and male sexuals do not have unique sex-specific compounds, but that there are quantitative chemical differences between the sexes. Out of the 51 cuticular hydrocarbon compounds identified, 10 showed a significant quantitative difference between males and females. We also showed that both males and females have a significant colony-specific component in their profiles. Finally, we found a negative correlation between within-colony relatedness and within-colony chemical diversity of branched, but not linear compounds. This suggests that colonies with multiple matri- or patrilines also have a significantly greater chemical diversity.     

Effect of torus wall flexibility on hydro-structure interaction in BWR containment system

This paper describes an analytical project that employs the finite element method to investigate the influence of torus wall flexibility on hydrodynamically induced pressure and the resultant force on the torus shell surface in a Mark I BWR containment system. The shell flexibility is characterized by the diameter-to-thickness ratio, which is varied from the perfectly rigid case to the nominal plant condition.The general conclusion reached is that torus wall flexibility decreases both the maximum pressure seen by the shell wall and the total vertical load that results from the hydrodynamically induced pressure. This conclusion is based on results of a comprehensive two-dimensional investigation and a more sophisticated three-dimensional confirmatory study of the hydro-structural interaction problem.     

Mass spectrometric analysis of mono- and dialkyl ethers of diols

Mass spectra of homologous series of long chain mono- and dialkyl ethers of ethanediol and propanediols were measured and general patterns of fragmentation were established. Both classes of diol lipids produce ions which are characteristic for the alkoxy moieties as well as ions which are typical of the constituent short chain diols. Prominent ions are formed by cleavages α and β to the ether oxygen and by rearrangement of one or two hydrogens and concurrent fission. High resolution mass spectrometry and deuterium labeling techniques were used to verify the composition of ions and to substantiate fragmentation mechanisms. Part VIII in the series “Naturally Occurring Diol Lipids” (part VII is Reference 1) and part IX in the series “Mass Spectrometry of Lipids” (part VIII is Reference 1).