The effects of mandatory seat belt legislation on self-reported seat belt use among male and female college students

The effect of seat belt legislation on self-reported seat belt use among male and female college students was investigated. Questionnaires inquiring about seat belt use were administered to college students on three separate occasions: (i) two months prior to the time a mandatory seat belt law went into effect, (ii) two months after the law went into effect, and (iii) 16 months after the law went into effect. Reported seat belt use increased significantly for male and female college students two months after the law took effect. At 16 months postlaw, reported seat belt use remained high for female students but declined almost to the prelaw level for males. Possible reasons offered for these findings are that male college students may be more resistant to having their behavior regulated and, therefore, less likely to internalize changes forced on them, and college-age males may be more inclined to engage in risk-taking behavior than college-age females. The importance of considering males and females separately with respect to seat belt use and interventions designed to increase seat belt use is discussed.     

Lifting properties of the alkamide fraction from the fruit husks of Zanthoxylum bungeanum

The fruits of various Zanthoxylum species are used as a spice in the Chinese and Japanese cuisine because of their delicate flavour and tingling properties. The lipophilic hydroxyalkamides hydroxy α‐ and β‐sanshools ( 1a,b ) have been identified as the tingling principles of these plants, and previous studies have validated a sanshool‐rich lipophilic extract from the fruit husks of Z. bungeanum Maxim. (Zanthalene^®) as an anti‐itching cosmetic ingredient. Because tingling is a sort of ‘paralytic pungency’, and Zanthalene^® potently inhibits synaptic transmission, we have investigated its capacity to relax subcutaneous muscles and act as a topical lifting agent for wrinkles. An anti‐wrinkles extract rich in spilanthol ( 2 ), a lipophilic alkamide having sensory properties similar to those of Zanthalene^®, was used as a reference. Short‐term (lifting effect) and long‐term (anti‐wrinkle) improvements of skin roughness parameters were evaluated by both objectives’ and subjectives’ measurements. An immediate ‘lifting’ effect was observed with the sanshool‐rich lipophilic extract, at dosages at which the reference alkamide extract was inactive in the objective assays. Limited desensitization after repeated application and good overall tolerability were observed, although a modest long‐term anti‐wrinkle effect was shown by both products. Taken together, these observations validate the use of sanshool‐rich lipophilic extracts as an efficacious, immediate‐action lifting agent, and exemplify the relevance of sensory observations to foster the development of innovative cosmetic ingredients.     

Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry-Based Lipidomics for Identification of Canine Mammary Pathology

The present work proposes the use of a fast analytical platform for the mass spectrometric (MS) profiling of canine mammary tissues in their native form for the building of a predictive statistical model. The latter could be used as a novel diagnostic tool for the real-time identification of different cellular alterations in order to improve tissue resection during veterinary surgery, as previously validated in human oncology. Specifically, Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) coupled with surgical electrocautery (intelligent knife—iKnife) was used to collect MS data from histologically processed mammary samples, classified into healthy, hyperplastic/dysplastic, mastitis and tumors. Differences in the lipid composition enabled tissue discrimination with an accuracy greater than 90%. The recognition capability of REIMS was tested on unknown mammary samples, and all of them were correctly identified with a correctness score of 98–100%. Triglyceride identification was increased in healthy mammary tissues, while the abundance of phospholipids was observed in altered tissues, reflecting morpho-functional changes in cell membranes, and oxidized species were also tentatively identified as discriminant features. The obtained lipidomic profiles represented unique fingerprints of the samples, suggesting that the iKnife technique is capable of differentiating mammary tissues following chemical changes in cellular metabolism.     

'Luctor et Emergo'

IFSCC Magazine, 11 (2008) (1) 5–9 ‘Luctor et emergo’ means to struggle, fight or wrestle in order to come up, win or just emerge and survive. It was adopted as a national motto by the Zeeland region in Holland to underline their daily battle with high tides. Indeed, this Latin motto effectively illustrates the struggle to make things work, that is to overcome all difficulties and hurdles and make everything flow smoothly at the end. Therefore, it applies appropriately to our subheading: ‘all battles and bridges between the language of marketing and product formulation’. What are the main causes of misunderstanding or hindrances between marketing and the formulator? Could common objectives overcome such gaps? How can we establish bridges with a view to enhancing creative cooperation? Finally, would it be possible to find solutions which can provide a mutual cross‐fertilization? The following humorous example will make the problem clear. The scene is a kitchen where we see an old and ugly couple. The husband asks his wife, who is holding a tin can: »Would you like some tuna fish?« She answers: »No, I would like to be naked in bed with Kevin Costner in Jamaica«. This is obviously a dialogue of the deaf, where both speak only apparently the same language. In fact, they fail to convey what they really mean. This signifies that they are not on the same wavelength, they do not refer to the same code of speech to communicate and it seems impossible for them to understand each other. How can we make ourselves understood when communication is sometimes so difficult and work out appropriate solutions when we put R&D and Marketing at two poles of a communication scheme?     

Objective Evaluation of the Placebo Effect in Cosmetic Treatments. A Randomized Controlled Study

A product's packaging and claimed efficacy may stimulate pleasant emotions during the use of cosmetics, thus enhancing their perceived benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate if smart packaging and strongly claimed efficacy attributes can influence the objectively measured efficacy, allowing a true placebo effect to be associated with a given cosmetic treatment. A marketed anti‐aging gluconolactone‐based formulation was selected for the study and packaged both in a fancy sophisticated jar and in an unbranded plain container. Thirty‐six female volunteers (age range: 30‐‐55 years) with facial photoageing were selected for the study and randomly assigned to the fancy or plain packaged product. Pre‐agreed messages aimed at extolling the product's cosmetic effects accompanied delivery of the fancy‐packaged product to panellists. The given product was applied to the face twice a day for 8 weeks. Instrumental measurements of the skin colour (a* and L* parameter), skin capacitance, skin tensile properties (R0, R2, R6), skin thickness and skin microrelief parameters (Ra and Rz) were taken at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of use. Clinical and subjective evaluations were also carried out at each control visit. Moreover, the amount of cream consumed during usage was calculated by weighing the given jars at each visit. Statistical analysis of the data obtained showed a significant improvement in all instrumental parameters for both groups (‘fancy’ and ‘plain’ packaging), although no significant differences were detected between the two groups at any time. The improvement was higher in the ‘plain’ group for most instrumental parameters except for micro‐relief parameters where the outcome was better in the ‘fancy’ group. Promotion of facial muscle relaxation deriving from the application of the fancy‐packaged cream could be a possible explanation for this finding. Also the product's efficacy and sensory properties were perceived with a higher positive impact in the fancy group. The better performance of the plain packaging group could be related to daily application of the ‘proper’ amount of cream. In fact, this group consumed a larger amount of cream than the ‘fancy’ group. These results show that a true placebo effect cannot be induced by packaging characteristics, although they can slightly influence the degree of the expected skin benefits in different ways. Moreover, proper daily dosage of the product appears to be a key factor in improving the biophysical skin properties related to anti‐ageing and restoring effects. Paper presented at the IFSCC Conference 2005, Florence, Italy.     

Pilot-scale demonstration of phytofiltration for treatment of arsenic in New Mexico drinking water

Arsenic contamination of drinking water poses serious health risks to millions of people worldwide. To reduce such risks, the United States Environmental Protection Agency recently lowered the Maximum Contaminant Level for arsenic in drinking water from 50 to 10 microgL(-1). The majority of water systems requiring compliance are small systems that serve less than 10,000 people. Current technologies used to clean arsenic-contaminated water have significant drawbacks, particularly for small treatment systems. In this pilot-scale demonstration, we investigated the use of arsenic-hyperaccumulating ferns to remove arsenic from drinking water using a continuous flow phytofiltration system. Over the course of a 3-month demonstration period, the system consistently produced water having an arsenic concentration less than the detection limit of 2 microgL(-1), at flow rates as high as 1900 L day(-1) for a total treated water volume of approximately 60,000 L. Our results demonstrate that phytofiltration provides the basis for a solar-powered hydroponic technique to enable small-scale cleanup of arsenic-contaminated drinking water.     

Antiproliferative,Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of the Lichen Xanthoria parietina and Its Secondary Metabolite Parietin

Lichens are valuable natural resources used for centuries throughout the world as medicine, food, fodder, perfume, spices and dyes, as well as for other miscellaneous purposes. This study investigates the antiproliferative, antibacterial and antifungal activity of the acetone extract of the lichen Xanthoria parietina (Linnaeus) Theodor Fries and its major secondary metabolite, parietin. The extract and parietin were tested for antimicrobial activity against nine American Type Culture Collection standard and clinically isolated bacterial strains, and three fungal strains. Both showed strong antibacterial activity against all bacterial strains and matched clinical isolates, particularly against Staphylococcus aureus from standard and clinical sources. Among the fungi tested, Rhizoctonia solani was the most sensitive. The antiproliferative effects of the extract and parietin were also investigated in human breast cancer cells. The extract inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis, both effects being accompanied by modulation of expression of cell cycle regulating genes such as p16, p27, cyclin D1 and cyclin A. It also mediated apoptosis by activating extrinsic and intrinsic cell death pathways, modulating Tumor Necrosis Factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and inducing Bcl-2-associated agonist of cell death (BAD) phosphorylation. Our results indicate that Xanthoria parietina is a major potential source of antimicrobial and anticancer substances.