How do adolescents process smoking and antismoking advertisements? A social cognitive analysis with implications for understanding smoking initiation.

Youth tobacco use has increased substantially in the United States during the past decade. This increase can be attributed, in part, to the potency of cigarette advertising and relative ineffectiveness of antismoking advertising. In this article, the authors argue that an understanding of the effects of these 2 competing forms of advertising on youth smoking is limited in current theoretical treatments and that an integrative theoretical perspective has yet to be advanced. The authors argue that the elaboration likelihood model (R.E. Petty & J.T. Cacioppo, 1986) offers a framework with sufficient explanatory power in this domain. Prevention and legislative interventions may benefit from this analysis, which ultimately may help to decrease youth tobacco use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediatorless Carbohydrate/Oxygen Biofuel Cells with Improved Cellobiose Dehydrogenase Based Bioanode

Direct electron transfer (DET) between cellobiose dehydrogenase from Humicola insolens ascomycete (HiCDH) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was achieved by modifying AuNPs with a novel, positively charged thiol N‐(6‐mercapto)hexylpyridinium (MHP). The DET enabled the use of the HiCDH enzyme as an anodic biocatalyst in the design of a mediatorless carbohydrate/oxygen enzymatic fuel cell (EFC). A biocathode of the EFC was based on bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria (MvBOx) directly immobilised on the surface of AuNPs. The following parameters of the EFC based on Au/AuNP/MHP/HiCDH bioanode and Au/AuNP/MvBOx biocathode were obtained in quiescent air saturated PBS, pH 7.4, containing: (i) 5 mM glucose‐open‐circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.65 ± 0.011 V and the maximal power density of 4.77 ± 1.34 μW cm⁻² at operating voltage of 0.50 V; or (ii) 10 mM lactose‐OCV of 0.67 ± 0.006 V and the maximal power density of 8.64 ± 1.91 μW cm⁻² at operating voltage of 0.50 V. The half‐life operation times of the EFC were estimated to be at least 13 and 44 h in air saturated PBS containing 5 mM glucose and 10 mM lactose, respectively. Among advantages of HiCDH/MvBOx FCs are (i) simplified construction, (ii) relatively high power output with glucose as biofuel, and (iii) the absence of the inhibition of the HiCDH based bioanode by lactose, when compared with the best previously reported CDH based bioanode.     

Smoking cessation patterns in methadone-maintained smokers.

To determine predictors of smoking cessation duration in a randomized clinical trial, we assigned participants to nicotine patch (8-12 weeks) plus either (a) a baseline tailored brief motivational intervention, a quit date behavioral skills counseling session, and a relapse prevention follow-up session, or (b) brief advice using the National Cancer Institute's 4A's model. A total of 383 smokers from five methadone maintenance treatment centers in Rhode Island were enrolled, of whom 312 (82%) completed 6-month follow-up assessments. The primary outcome was longest period of self-reported abstinence during follow-up. Participants were on average 40.5 years of age; 51.9% were male, and 77.6% were White. In multivariate analysis controlling for demographics, nicotine dependence, depressive symptoms, and smoking-related symptoms, we found longer periods of abstinence in persons reporting at least one 24-hr quit attempt in the year prior to baseline (OR = 1.97, p = .003), in those anticipating success in cessation (OR = 1.33, p = .024), and in those with a greater percentage of nicotine patch use days (OR = 2.78, p<.001). Past quit attempts, self-efficacy, and constant nicotine replacement were associated with duration of abstinence among methadone-maintained smokers. Attention to these domains in future intervention studies may improve treatment success.