The future of tobacco product regulation and labelling in Europe: implications for the forthcoming European Union directive

The European Commission has announced that it is considering legislation concerning further restrictions on cigarette tar and nicotine yields, as well as new provisions to regulate additives and the labelling of tobacco products. This report considers these issues and their relation to public health. In particular, we argue that further reductions in tar and nicotine yields as measured by the International Standards Organisation/Federal Trade Commission (ISO/FTC) method will be largely cosmetic and certainly misleading to consumers. If a new directive uses the ISO/FTC methodology as a basis for regulation, it risks lending further official support to the concept of "low tar" cigarettes, which may be used by smokers as an alternative to smoking cessation. Although new regulations based on the ISO/FTC methodology may appear to offer health gains, these will be illusory and there may even be negative health consequences, as has been the case with these tests up to the present. We therefore make the following recommendations for the way forward.     

Clearance of Nonlinear Flight Control Laws Using Hybrid Evolutionary Optimization

The application of two evolutionary optimization methods, namely, differential evolution and genetic algorithms, to the clearance of nonlinear flight control laws for highly augmented aircraft is described. The algorithms are applied to the problem of evaluating a nonlinear handling quality clearance criterion for a simulation model of a high-performance aircraft with a delta canard configuration and a full-authority flight control law. Hybrid versions of both algorithms, incorporating local gradient-based optimization, are also developed and evaluated. Statistical comparisons of computational cost and global convergence properties reveal the benefits of hybridization for both algorithms. The differential evolution approach in particular, when appropriately augmented with local optimization methods, is shown to have significant potential for improving both the reliability and efficiency of the current industrial flight clearance process     

Design and Test of a 175-Mb/s, Rate-1/2 (128,3,6) Low-Density Parity-Check Convolutional Code Encoder and Decoder

Low-density parity-check block codes (LDPC-BCs) are quickly becoming the forward error correcting code of choice for emerging communication standards. However, low-density parity-check convolutional codes (LDPC-CCs), the convolutional counterpart of LDPC-BCs, seem to be better suited in applications with streaming data or variable sized packets. A rate-1/2, (128,3,6) LDPC-CC ASIC has been implemented in 180-nm, 1.8-V CMOS technology. We present the VLSI architecture of a register-based LDPC-CC encoder and decoder that includes an on-chip, pseudo-random additive white Gaussian noise channel emulator. The decoder comprises a pipeline of ten identical processing units and attains up to 175 Mb/s of decoded throughput.     

Pulling tension monitoring during the melt impregnation of glass roving

The force required to pull a 2400 tex glass roving through a melt impregnation compounding process was studied. Pulling force was continuously measured by suspending the double belt puller in a sling held stationary by a force transducer. Process variables such as roving pulling speed, number of cylindrical pins, pin diameter, and melt temperature were studied using polymide 66 and polypropylene polymers. The results suggest that the tension build‐up in the roving is caused by a combination of two effects: viscous shear stresses in a thin polymer‐rich layer between the roving and the pin, as well as frictional forces caused by roving contact with the pin. A simple mathematical model is developed and used to adequately describe the experimental results.     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of interpenetrating polymer networks containing functionalized latex particles

Three-component interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) comprising polyurethane (PUR), poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA), and polystyrene (PS) latex particles were prepared in a modified one-shot synthesis. The hydroxy-functionlized and unmodified polystyrene latex particles were synthesized via a seeded emulsion polymerization. The incorporation of hydroxyethyl methacrylate into the latex particles was confirmed via diffuse reflectance infrared analysis and modulated-temperature differential scanning calorimetry. The IPNs were characterized by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, tensile testing, hardness measurements, and transmission electron microscopy. The three-component materials exhibited higher values for the Young's modulus and the Shore A hardness and for the dynamic storage modulus in the higher temperature range from 80 to 140°C than did the PUR/PBMA IPN alone. The latex particles with the hydroxyl functionality exhibited a better miscibility with the microheterogeneous PUR/PBMA IPN than did unfunctionalized PS latex particles, and, therefore, resulted in materials with better damping properties in the temperature range between 80 and 140°C. Transmission electron micrographs confirmed the imporved miscibility of the functionalized latex particles. The latex particles were not, however, dispersed on an individual level but formed agglomerates of between 2 and 20 μm. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Asphalt modified by SBS triblock copolymer: Structures and properties

Microstructural transformation of a poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene), SBS, triblock copolymer blended with asphalt was studied as the asphalt composition was varied from 0 wt% to 96 wt%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic mechanical spectrometry (DMS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used. The blends were made in batch mixers at 200°C, or by solution casting from a nonselective solvent (trichloroethane) at ∼28°C. Asphalt partially solubilizes the polybutadene (PB) midblock of the SBS producing saturated PB microdomains along with macrodomains of asphalt. When the asphalt concentration was varied from 10 to 90 wt%, the asphalt phase separated into a variable number of large domains, while the SBS-rich regions formed a continuous matrix. Networks of SBS-rich regions were observed at low magnification; these are referred to as macro-networks. At higher magnification, networks that are stabilized by polystyrene (PS) microdomains (denoted micro-networks) are also formed. The presence of a macro-network is also confirmed by stress relaxation tests. The macro-network broke down into microgel-like structures when the asphalt composition exceeded 90 wt%. Examination of the interior of the SBS-rich regions showed that the shape of the PS microdomains transformed from short cylinders to lamellae, hexagonally perforated lamellae (HPL), back to lamellae, short cylinders, and finally to spheres. DMS and DSC indicate a systematic increase in the PB glass transition temperature (T_g) and negligible change in the T_g of PS as the asphalt content increases. Triblock copolymers that can form a macro-network at low concentration will be more desirable for highway pavement modification.     

Potassium availability with application of sewage sludge,and sludge and manure composts in field experiments

An experiment was conducted to determine the plant availability of K in organic wastes. Four materials: digested sewage sludge (DSS), digested irradiated sludge (DISS), digested, irradiated and composed sludge (DICSS), and composted livestock manure (CLM) were applied to farmland for two years at rates of 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg-solids ha^–1 yr^–1. Potassium fertilizer (KCl) was added to the control treatment (CT), to which no waste was applied, and to the low-rate waste applications, to meet crop K requirement. Equal yields within different treatments were obtained for the test crops lettuce and snap beans through application of available N at the levels balanced for crop economical production. Potassium from the wastes was evaluated based on the assumption that Crop K uptake/Available K applied was equal between the CT and waste treatments. The results indicated that, in general, K applied with wastes (waste K + fertilizer K) was equally available (101±7%) to fertilizer K (KCl), except for low rate application of DISS (10 Mg ha^–1), where the availability of K was low (89±1%).     

Comparison of multiplex PCR with conventional biochemical methods for the identification of Listeria spp. isolates from food and clinical samples in Queensland, Australia

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen with high mortality. L. monocytogenes and five other Listeria species can frequently be found in the same sample. To identify Listeria isolates found in foods to the species level, two multiplex PCRs were designed. The PCR and conventional biochemical methods were compared for the identification of 456 Listeria isolates collected from routine food quality monitoring schemes between June 2004 and February 2006 and for 62 L. monocytogenes isolates from patients between 1999 and 2005. The results showed that the PCR and biochemical methods had 100% agreement in Listeria identification. The distribution of Listeria species from foods was as follows: L. monocytogenes, 50.4%; L. innocua, 33.8%; L. welshimeri, 14.9%; L. seeligeri, 0.7%; L. grayi, 0.2%; and L. ivanovii, 0.0%. Additional analyses were performed to identify the major serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b) and the three lineages of L. monocytogenes isolates from foods and patients, with 1/2a (69.6%) and 1/2b (21.7%) dominating the food isolates and 1/2b (54.8%) and 4b (30.7%) dominating the patient isolates. The lineage results showed that isolates of 1/2a and 1/2c belonged to lineage II and that isolates of 1/2b and 4b belonged to lineage I. The multiplex PCRs for Listeria identification that have been established provide an accurate and rapid method for food quality control. This study has provided the basic knowledge of distribution of Listeria species and L. monocytogenes serotypes in Queensland, Australia, which is useful for epidemiological investigations of listeriosis.     

Imaging of the ureters on intravenous urography: does a valsalva help?

A prospective trial, comparing filling of the ureters on routine urography with ureteric filling following a valsalva manoeuvre, was performed. A significantly greater length of ureter was filled by the study patients than controls, allowing this frequently poorly imaged structure to be visualized more consistently.     

Striking changes in anxiety in Huntington's disease transgenic mice

Huntington's disease transgenic mice were tested in the elevated plus-maze test of anxiety at 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age. At all ages, they showed significant and striking increases in the percentages of open arm entries and time spent on the open arms, compared with their normal littermates, indicating reduced anxiety. These increases were not secondary to a non-specific stimulant effect, since the transgenic mice made fewer closed arm entries, significantly so from 10 weeks of age. The mice were also tested in the holeboard, which provides measures of locomotor activity and directed exploration. From 8 weeks of age, the Huntington's mice were significantly less active than their normal littermates and made fewer exploratory head-dips. The increased open arm activity in the elevated plus-maze cannot therefore be secondary to increased exploration in the transgenic mice. In order to determine whether the reduced anxiety was due to differences in benzodiazepine receptor function, the mice were challenged with the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, flumazenil. The results indicated that some of the reduced anxiety could be attributed to the presence of an endogenous anxiolytic ligand.