A group randomised trial of two methods for disseminating a smoking cessation programme to public antenatal clinics: effects on patient outcomes

Objective

To assess the differential effectiveness of two methods of disseminating a smoking cessation programme to public hospital antenatal clinics.

Design

Group randomised trial.

Setting

22 antenatal clinics in New South Wales, Australia.

Intervention

Clinics were allocated to a simple dissemination (SD) condition (11 clinics) which received a mail‐out of programme resources or to an intensive dissemination (ID) condition (11 clinics) which included the mail‐out plus feedback, training, and ongoing support with midwife facilitator.

Main outcome measures

Independent cross sectional surveys of women on a second or subsequent visit undertaken pre‐dissemination and 18 months after dissemination. Outcomes were: (1) levels of smoking status assessment by clinic staff; (2) proportion of women identifying as having been smokers at their first visit who reported receiving cessation advice; (3) proportion of these women who had quit (self report and expired air carbon monoxide (CO)); and (4) smoking prevalence among all women (self report and CO).

Subjects

5849 women pre‐dissemination (2374 SD, 3475 ID) and weighted sample of 5145 women post‐dissemination (2302 SD, 2843 ID).

Results

There were no significant differences between the groups on change on any outcome. Change in either group was minimal. In the post‐dissemination survey, the cessation proportions were 6.4% (SD) and 10.5% (ID).

Conclusions

Relatively modest strategies for encouraging incorporation of smoking cessation activities into antenatal care were not effective in the long term. Alternative strategies should be implemented and evaluated. The findings reinforce the importance of a whole population approach to tobacco control.     

Burner platform for sub-atmospheric pressure flame studies

Hencken burner flames at sub-atmospheric pressure were characterized experimentally to show their unique structure for detailed flame studies. Methane–air flames at 16.7 kPa were shown to be lifted and stably anchored at significant distances (up to 18 mm) above the burner surface, while maintaining a flat and one-dimensional laminar structure and near adiabatic conditions. Particle image velocimetry was used to identify the weakly stretched regime (strain rate = 20–70 s^?1) of the flames, as well as the flame speeds, while OH number densities were measured through laser-induced fluorescence and calibrated through absorption. The flame speeds and quantitative OH profiles were compared to one-dimensional and two-dimensional flame simulations using the chemical kinetic mechanisms of USC Mech II and GRI-3.0 and showed good agreement. Flames produced by a Hencken burner at sub-atmospheric pressure were shown to accurately represent a steady, laminar, nearly one-dimensional, minimally curved, weakly stretched, and near adiabatic flame, which could be compared to one-dimensional freely-propagating flame simulations with minimal corrections and extrapolations.     

Amino acid supplementation of calf milk replacers containing plasma protein

We determined the effects of calf milk replacers containing 0, 5, or 10% bovine plasma protein (PP), either without or with the supplemental amino acids (AA) Ile and Thr, on growth and health of male Holstein calves (n = 104) for 56 d. Milk replacers were formulated to contain 22% crude protein (CP), 20% fat, and 2.0% Lys. Milk replacers (12.5% solids) were fed at a rate of 1.5% of body weight (BW) on a dry matter basis during wk 1 and 1.75% of BW beginning on d 8. Starter was introduced on d 36 so that effects of PP and AA balance in milk replacers could be isolated. Intake, respiratory scores, and fecal scores were measured daily. Body weight and stature were measured weekly and blood serum samples were obtained during wk 4. Treatments had no effects on intakes of dry matter, CP, or metabolizable energy. During wk 6 and 8, BW was less as PP inclusion increased without AA supplementation compared with the other treatments. In wk 7, calves fed the higher level of PP without AA had lower BW than calves fed either the lower level of PP without supplemented AA or the higher inclusion of PP with supplemented AA. Average daily gain and gain:feed were lowest for calves fed the higher inclusion of PP without supplemented AA; heart girth in wk 7 was smallest for those calves. During the first 21 d, occurrence of scours was greater in calves fed the control milk replacer than in calves fed milk replacers containing the higher inclusion of PP either without or with supplemental AA. Occurrence of scours was also greater for the lower inclusion of PP compared with the higher inclusion of PP when AA were supplemented. Throughout the 56-d experiment, the chance of antibiotic treatment was greater for calves fed the control milk replacer than for all other treatments except the higher inclusion of PP without supplemental AA. Additionally, chance of antibiotic treatment was greater for the higher inclusion of PP without supplemental AA than for other milk replacers with PP. Calves fed treatments with the higher inclusion of PP had fewer days of scours than the controls. All milk replacers with PP, except the milk replacer containing higher PP without supplemental AA, had fewer days of treatment with antibiotics compared to the all-milk control. Inclusion of PP provided similar performance and improved health as long as milk replacers were balanced for Ile and Thr.     

Assessment of extreme and metocean conditions in the Maldives for OTEC applications

The Maldives is a group of tropical atolls, considered globally to be one of the most desirable holiday destinations. There is an urgent requirement to decrease their dependency on fossil fuels that are currently the main source of energy, and a number of renewable energy alternatives are being evaluated. Among these, due to the favorable oceanographic and bathymetric conditions, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems represent a viable opportunity for clean and reliable power. However, the stresses the OTEC platform will need to endure during adverse environmental conditions are not well defined. The magnitude of these stresses will then have a direct influence on the design of the OTEC device. In order to overcome this uncertainty, this paper uses hindcast data sets from global weather and ocean models to assess the metocean conditions of the Maldives, with particular reference to extreme conditions. After selecting a suitable location for the deployment of the devices, return values calculated using the peaks‐over‐threshold (POT) methodology are estimated for wind, waves, and currents. The 100‐year return value for the significant wave height is found to be 4.5 m, with a joint occurrence of energy periods between 7.5 and 8.5 seconds, whereas the 100‐year return wind has a velocity of 17.8 m/s and the 100‐year return current of 1.9 m/s. The directionality of these extreme events is also considered, showing the southern and western sub‐quadrants as the prevailing sources, which provides essential information for positioning of the platform. Additional evaluations of tropical revolving storms (TRS) and variations in temperature and salinity patterns are also provided over a 1500‐m water column; temperature varies by approximately 24°C, and salinity by around 2 ppt, showing the suitability of OTEC platforms in the Maldives. This work is therefore of interest to offshore renewable energy stakeholders interested in developing a project in the Maldives or those conducting an analogous analysis in other locations.     

Nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility and inefficient development of pig-mouse cytoplasmic hybrid embryos

Inter-species somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) embryos usually fail to develop to the blastocyst stage and beyond due to incomplete reprogramming of donor cell. We evaluated whether using a karyoplast that would require less extensive reprogramming such as an embryonic blastomere or the meiotic spindle from metaphase II oocytes would provide additional insight into the development of iSCNT embryos. Our results showed that karyoplasts of embryonic or oocyte origin are no different from somatic cells; all iSCNT embryos, irrespective of karyoplast origin, were arrested during early development. We hypothesized that nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility could be another reason for failure of embryonic development from iSCNT. We used pig-mouse cytoplasmic hybrids as a model to address nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility in iSCNT embryos. Fertilized murine zygotes were reconstructed by fusing with porcine cytoplasts of varying cytoplasmic volumes (1/10 (small) and 1/5 (large) total volume of mouse zygote). The presence of pig cytoplasm significantly reduced the development of mouse zygotes to the blastocyst stage compared with control embryos at 120?h post-human chorionic gondotropin (41 vs 6 vs 94%, P<0.05; 1/10, 1/5, control respectively). While mitochondrial DNA copy numbers remained relatively unchanged, expression of several important genes namely Tfam, Polg, Polg2, Mfn2, Slc2a3 (Glut3), Slc2a1 (Glut1), Bcl2, Hspb1, Pou5f1 (Oct4), Nanog, Cdx2, Gata3, Tcfap2c, mt-Cox1 and mt-Cox2 was significantly reduced in cytoplasmic hybrids compared with control embryos. These results demonstrate that the presence of even a small amount of porcine cytoplasm is detrimental to murine embryo development and suggest that a range of factors are likely to contribute to the failure of inter-species nuclear transfer embryos.     

Determining consumer purchase intentions: the importance of dry matter, size, and price of kiwifruit

Abstract: Knowledge of the relative importance of food quality attributes in determining consumer purchase intention is critical for robust assessment of economic opportunities for industry growth. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how conjoint analysis methodology that incorporates tasting of fruit can be used to collect such information. Three hundred Japanese consumers took part in research designed to measure the importance of dry matter (DM), size, and price of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa “Hayward” and Actinidia chinensis “Hort16A”) for purchase intention. Measurement of consumer liking for kiwifruit of different DM content was a key first step. Liking increased as DM increased and was accompanied by increased purchase likelihood/choice probability for kiwifruit. The size of kiwifruit presented to consumers varied from “small” to “extra large.” Consumers liked “mid‐sized” kiwifruit over “small” or “extra‐large” kiwifruit. Despite these differences in liking, size was of little importance in determining purchase likelihood/choice probability for kiwifruit. Price was a very important factor in determining purchase likelihood/choice probability but was less important than DM content. As price increased, purchase likelihood/choice probability decreased. Beneath these general findings, heterogeneity existed. Some consumers placed more/less importance on the focal purchase drivers than suggested by the aggregate model. Overall, the results suggest that incentive schemes already implemented by industry should consider rewarding high‐DM fruit more than fruit size. Practical Application: This research has contributed to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry gaining a better understanding of the relative importance consumers place on DM, size, and price of kiwifruit and has resulted in changes to grower incentive schemes. The research approach presented forces consumer to tradeoff attributes of kiwifruit against each other and decide on how important two key quality attributes—DM and size—are relative to each other and relative to price. The application of conjoint analysis in this article can be transferred to other fruits, food, and beverages and help guide consumer‐led innovation.     

Evaluation of passive samplers for assessment of community exposure to toxic air contaminants and related pollutants

The precision, accuracy, and sampling rates of Radiello and Ogawa passive samplers were evaluated in the laboratory using a flow-through chamber and under field conditions prior to their use in the 2007 Harbor Community Monitoring Study (HCMS), a saturation monitoring campaign in the communities adjacent to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Passive methods included Radiello samplers for volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, 1,3-butadiene), aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein) and hydrogen sulfide, and Ogawa samplers for nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. Additional experiments were conducted to study the robustness of the passive sampling methods under variable ambient wind speed, sampling duration, and storage time before analysis. Our experimentally determined sampling rates were in agreement with the rates published by Radiello and Ogawa with the following exceptions: we observed a diffusion rate of 22.4 ± 0.1 mL/min for benzene and 37.4 ± 1.5 mL/min for ethylbenzene compared to the Radiello published values of 27.8 and 25.7 mL/min, respectively. With few exceptions, the passive monitoring methods measured one-week average ambient concentrations of selected pollutants with sensitivity and precision comparable to conventional monitoring methods averaged over the same period. Radiello Carbograph 4 VOC sampler is not suitable for the collection of 1,3-butadiene due to backdiffusion. Results for the Radiello aldehyde sampler were inconclusive due to lack of reliable reference methods for all carbonyl compounds of interest.     

Fatty Acids Released from Milk Fat by Lipoprotein Lipase and Lipolytic Psychrotrophs

ABSTRACT: The ability of 13 different strains of psychrotrophs to release free fatty acids in milk was evaluated by using GC analysis. The 13 strains could be categorized into 3 groups: Group 1 consisted of bacteria that grew well and released large quantities of free fatty acids, group 2 consisted of bacteria that grew well but released low amounts of free fatty acids, and group 3 consisted of bacteria that did not grow well nor released large quantities of fatty acids. In group 1, 3 strains were determined to be highly lipolytic, releasing short‐chain fatty acids in amounts greater than reported threshold values. Group 3 consisted of 2 strains, which did not grow well in heat‐treated milk, and the subsequent release of free fatty acids was minor during the 10‐d monitoring time. The other 8 strains tested showed no specific pattern of fatty acid release and quantities of short‐chain fatty acids were not large, despite the ability to grow to high numbers in the treated milk. This work indicates that the lipolytic activity of psychrotrophs common in raw milk is specific to the species and a general prediction of free fatty acid release may not be possible.     

Temperatures and ages of boxed beef packed and distributed in Canada

Boxes of beef were examined when product was packed and when boxes were loaded out of five packing plants, when boxes were loaded into and loaded out of seven refrigerated warehouses, and when boxes were received and opened at 21 retail stores. At each stage of handling at each facility, the boxes to be examined were selected at random. For each selected box, the temperature of product at the centre of the box was measured, and the date of packing and the plant of origin were noted. When cuts were packed, the minimum, median and maximum temperatures were about 2, 6 and 18 °C, respectively. Temperatures were successively lower when boxes were loaded out of packing plants, into warehouses and out of warehouses. When loaded out of warehouses, the minimum, median and maximum temperatures were about −2, 1 and 8 °C, respectively. The ranges of temperatures were similar, but the median temperatures were about 2 or 1.5 °C, respectively, when boxes were received at or were opened at retail stores. At packing plants and warehouses, the temperatures of manufacturing and ground beef were lower than those of cuts, but at the retail store the temperatures of all types of product were similar. When boxes were opened at retail stores, the minimum, median and maximum ages of cuts were about 2, 20 and 130 days, respectively; and the corresponding ages for manufacturing and ground beef were 2, 7 and 56 days, respectively. The data indicate that boxed beef is generally cooled to and maintained at temperatures within the range sought by the meat industry. However, cooling to chiller temperatures of product that is packed while warm can take several days; and some product is held for times that are excessive in view of the temperatures of boxed beef.     

品种和加工方式对双低菜粕有效能和氨基酸有效性的影响_注

用精确饲喂技术评价了 3个品种的中国双低油菜和 1个加拿大卡诺拉的脱脂种籽和商品饼粕的能量和氨基酸的有效性。结果表明 ,4个脱脂种籽的氮校正真代谢能和氨基酸真消化率没有差异 (P >0 .0 5 ) ;而 4个商品饼粕的脱脂样品的氮校正真代谢能和氨基酸真消化率有极显著或显著差异。研究结果证实 ,不适当的加工方式不仅降低了氨基酸的有效性 ,而且影响家禽对能量的利用效率。