WorldWideScience

Sample records for ban daytime alcohol

  1. A total ban on alcohol advertising: presenting the public health case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, Charles; Burnhams, Nadine Harker; London, Leslie

    2012-05-28

    Evidence from burden of disease and economic costing studies amply indicate that the public health burden from hazardous and harmful use of alcohol in South Africa warrants drastic action. Evidence that banning alcohol advertising is likely to be an effective intervention is reflected in WHO strategy documents on non-communicable diseases and harmful use of alcohol. Studies on young people furthermore support arguments refuting the claim that advertising only influences brand choice. Given the weakness of relying on industry self-regulation, the government is considering legislation to ban alcohol advertising, resulting in heated debate. Tobacco control and studies investigating the effect of alcohol advertising bans on consumption and alcohol-related deaths point to the effectiveness of such action - ideally supplemented by other policy interventions. Arguments against an advertising ban include possible communication sector job losses, but these are likely to have been exaggerated. Banning alcohol advertising will necessitate greater scrutiny of digital media, satellite television and merchandising to reduce the likelihood of subverting the ban.

  2. Alcohol consumption and attitudes towards banning alcohol sales on campus among European university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, C; Mikolajczyk, R; Bloomfield, K; Maxwell, A E; Ozcebe, H; Petkeviciene, J; Naydenova, V; Marin-Fernandez, B; El-Ansari, W; Krämer, A

    2009-02-01

    The European Commission's new health strategy for improving health at the European Union (EU) level includes tackling alcohol consumption. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of alcohol consumption and problem drinking, as well as students' attitudes towards banning the sale of alcohol on campus. In total, 5826 students from universities in seven European countries (Denmark, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey) took part in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire assessed sociodemographic information, frequency of alcohol consumption, problem drinking and attitudes towards banning the sale of alcohol on campus. The highest prevalence of drinking alcohol more than once per week was reported in Bulgarian (males 46%, females 64%) and Spanish students (males 59%, females 64%). Among those students who drank alcohol (n=3170), problem drinking (CAGE score >1) was found in 24% of males and 13% of females. Male gender, depressive moods and a low importance of good grades at university were risk factors for drinking alcohol more than once per week as well as for problem drinking. There were substantial country differences in the proportion of students who would support a ban of alcohol sales on campus (23% in Denmark, 88% in Poland). Support for a ban was higher among female students and among students who drank alcohol once or less per week. Problem drinking is a concern among students in many European countries, especially among males. Students' support for banning the sale of alcohol on campus varies between countries and should be considered in developing EU policy.

  3. Overturn of the proposed alcohol advertising ban in Lithuania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paukštė, Ernesta; Liutkutė, Vaida; Stelemėkas, Mindaugas; Goštautaitė Midttun, Nijolė; Veryga, Aurelijus

    2014-05-01

    In response to the dramatic increase in alcohol-related problems in Lithuania, policy measures, including alcohol advertising and availability restrictions combined with taxation increase, were implemented in 2007-08. Simultaneously, a full alcohol advertising ban was adopted to take effect from 1 January 2012. Therefore, the alcohol industry responded with extensive lobbying aiming to revoke this ban, and ultimately they succeeded at the end of December 2011. To document and analyse actions of stakeholders and events during the alcohol advertising ban cancellation process in Lithuania. Policy analysis includes a development of event time-line, description of key stakeholders' actions and a review of policy context. The alcohol industry in Lithuania used similar tactics as the tobacco industry globally, such as creating strong and diverse opposing groups. The industry successfully exerted pressure to change alcohol control legislation, while non-governmental organizations had the important role of a watchdog, blunting industry's efforts. Unequal power distribution made it difficult to withstand combined local and international lobbying to cancel the ban. Given the global nature of the alcohol industry, there is a need for international regulation to limit the influence of vested interests on national lawmaking. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  4. Is it time to ban alcohol advertising?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Peter

    2009-04-01

    Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, with heavy drinking risking impaired brain development and future alcohol dependence. Advertisements increase expectancies about alcohol, leading to a greater likelihood of drinking. A systematic review of 13 longitudinal studies of over 38,000 young people found convincing evidence of an impact of media exposure and alcohol advertising on subsequent alcohol use, including initiation of drinking and heavier drinking among existing drinkers. All European countries, with the exception of the UK, have a ban on one or more types of advertising. Since self-regulation is reported as failing to prevent marketing which has an impact on younger people, and since advertising commonly crosses country borders, there is an argument to approximate advertising rules across Europe banning alcohol advertising targeted at young people, a highly cost-effective measure to reduce harmful alcohol use, and one supported by European citizens and case law.

  5. Restricting or banning alcohol advertising to reduce alcohol consumption in adults and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegfried, Nandi; Pienaar, David C; Ataguba, John E; Volmink, Jimmy; Kredo, Tamara; Jere, Mlenga; Parry, Charles D H

    2014-11-04

    Alcohol is estimated to be the fifth leading risk factor for global disability-adjusted life years. Restricting or banning alcohol advertising may reduce exposure to the risk posed by alcohol at the individual and general population level. To date, no systematic review has evaluated the effectiveness, possible harms and cost-effectiveness of this intervention. To evaluate the benefits, harms and costs of restricting or banning the advertising of alcohol, via any format, compared with no restrictions or counter-advertising, on alcohol consumption in adults and adolescents. We searched the Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group Specialised Register (May 2014); CENTRAL (Issue 5, 2014); MEDLINE (1966 to 28 May 2014); EMBASE (1974 to 28 May 2014); PsychINFO (June 2013); and five alcohol and marketing databases in October 2013. We also searched seven conference databases and www.clinicaltrials.gov and http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/ in October 2013. We checked the reference lists of all studies identified and those of relevant systematic reviews or guidelines, and contacted researchers, policymakers and other experts in the field for published or unpublished data, regardless of language. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, controlled before-and-after studies and interrupted time series (ITS) studies that evaluated the restriction or banning of alcohol advertising via any format including advertising in the press, on the television, radio, or internet, via billboards, social media or product placement in films. The data could be at the individual (adults or adolescent) or population level. We used the standard methodological procedures expected by The Cochrane Collaboration. We included one small RCT (80 male student participants conducted in the Netherlands and published in 2009) and three ITS studies (general population studies in Canadian provinces conducted in the 1970s and 80s).The RCT

  6. Impact on alcohol purchasing of a ban on multi-buy promotions: a quasi-experimental evaluation comparing Scotland with England and Wales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Ryota; Suhrcke, Marc; Pechey, Rachel; Morciano, Marcello; Roland, Martin; Marteau, Theresa M

    2014-01-01

    Aims To evaluate the impact of the 2011 Scottish ban on multi-buy promotions of alcohol in retail stores. Design and setting Difference-in-differences analysis was used to estimate the impact of the ban on the volume of alcohol purchased by Scottish households, compared with those in England and Wales, between January 2010 and June 2012. Participants A total of 22 356 households in Scotland, England and Wales. Measurements Records of alcohol purchasing from each of four categories (beer and cider, wine, spirits and flavoured alcoholic beverages), as well as total volume of pure alcohol purchased. Findings Controlling for general time trends and household heterogeneity, there was no significant effect of the multi-buy ban in Scotland on volume of alcohol purchased either for the whole population or for individual socio-economic groups. There was also no significant effect on those who were large pre-ban purchasers of alcohol. Most multi-buys were for beer and cider or for wine. The frequency of shopping trips involving beer and cider purchases increased by 9.2% following the ban (P purchased on each trip decreased by 8.1% (P purchasing in the short term. Wider regulation of price promotion and price may be needed to achieve this. PMID:24251415

  7. Breaking Bad in Mississippi: Do County-Level Alcohol Sale Bans Encourage Crystal Methamphetamine Production and Consumption?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Granger Maury

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available If alcohol has substitutes, changes in its relative price can encourage the production and consumption of other illicit and harmful drugs. This paper considers if county-level bans on the sale of alcohol in the state of Mississippi encourage the production and consumption of crystal methamphetamine. We estimate the parameters of a drug production function in which the inputs are the density of people and firms, underscoring the importance of learning and knowledge spillovers to production and consumption. Poisson and Negative Binomial parameter estimates reveal that county-level bans on hard liquor sales; but not on beer and wine, increase the number of crystal methamphetamine labs. In the absence of such laws, there would be approximately 308 fewer crystal methamphetamine labs in the state of Mississippi. Our findings suggest that in Mississippi, which is the least healthiest state in the nation, county-level bans on hard liquor sales are not welfare improving as they encourage substitution for a drug that is potentially more harmful to individual health than alcohol.

  8. Patron Banning in the Nightlife Entertainment Districts: A Key Informant Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Peter; Curtis, Ashlee; Palmer, Darren; Warren, Ian; McFarlane, Emma

    2016-07-01

    Alcohol-related harm in and around licensed venues is associated with substantial costs. Many interventions have been introduced in an effort to combat these harms, and one such intervention is known as patron banning. Patron banning involves prohibiting patrons who have been violent or disorderly in a licensed venue in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related harm. It can be implemented by the venue, by members of police, or by liquor accords. This study aimed to obtain key informant perspectives on the benefits of patron banning as well as on the effectiveness of patron banning in reducing alcohol-related harm. Thirty-six key informants provided perspectives on patron banning through in-depth interviews that were part of a larger study. Key informants were supportive of patron banning for reducing alcohol-related harm, noting that it had many benefits including increased venue safety, general risk management, and deterrence of antisocial behavior. Although processes for banning were not always consistent, identification scanners were generally recognized as a way to ensure that patron banning was enforced. Key informants viewed patron banning as an effective measure for increasing patron safety and reducing alcohol-related harms.

  9. Potential benefits of minimum unit pricing for alcohol versus a ban on below cost selling in England 2014: modelling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Alan; Meng, Yang; Holmes, John; Hill-McManus, Daniel; Meier, Petra S

    2014-09-30

    To evaluate the potential impact of two alcohol control policies under consideration in England: banning below cost selling of alcohol and minimum unit pricing. Modelling study using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model version 2.5. England 2014-15. Adults and young people aged 16 or more, including subgroups of moderate, hazardous, and harmful drinkers. Policy to ban below cost selling, which means that the selling price to consumers could not be lower than tax payable on the product, compared with policies of minimum unit pricing at £0.40 (€0.57; $0.75), 45 p, and 50 p per unit (7.9 g/10 mL) of pure alcohol. Changes in mean consumption in terms of units of alcohol, drinkers' expenditure, and reductions in deaths, illnesses, admissions to hospital, and quality adjusted life years. The proportion of the market affected is a key driver of impact, with just 0.7% of all units estimated to be sold below the duty plus value added tax threshold implied by a ban on below cost selling, compared with 23.2% of units for a 45 p minimum unit price. Below cost selling is estimated to reduce harmful drinkers' mean annual consumption by just 0.08%, around 3 units per year, compared with 3.7% or 137 units per year for a 45 p minimum unit price (an approximately 45 times greater effect). The ban on below cost selling has a small effect on population health-saving an estimated 14 deaths and 500 admissions to hospital per annum. In contrast, a 45 p minimum unit price is estimated to save 624 deaths and 23,700 hospital admissions. Most of the harm reductions (for example, 89% of estimated deaths saved per annum) are estimated to occur in the 5.3% of people who are harmful drinkers. The ban on below cost selling, implemented in the England in May 2014, is estimated to have small effects on consumption and health harm. The previously announced policy of a minimum unit price, if set at expected levels between 40 p and 50 p per unit, is estimated to have an approximately 40-50 times

  10. Short sleep duration and longer daytime napping are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Kui; Lin, Lin; Wang, Zhengyi; Ding, Lin; Huang, Ya; Wang, Po; Xu, Yu; Lu, Jieli; Xu, Min; Bi, Yufang; Wang, Weiqing; Chen, Yuhong; Ning, Guang

    2017-09-01

    Epidemiologic studies have reported conflicting results on the relationship between short sleep duration and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There are no previous studies investigating the effect of daytime napping on NAFLD. In the present study we examined the associations between NAFLD and both nightly sleep duration and daytime napping in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. This cross-sectional community-based population study was performed on 8559 individuals aged ≥40 years. Sleep duration and the duration of daytime napping were self-reported using a standardized questionnaire; NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography. In this study sample, the overall prevalence of NAFLD was 30.4%. There was an inverse association between sleep duration and the risk of prevalent NAFLD. In multivariate analysis, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of prevalent NAFLD for decreasing sleep duration categories (≥9, 8.1-9, 7.1-8, 6.1-7, and ≤6.1 h) were 1.00 (reference), 1.38 (1.13-1.70), 1.32 (1.08-1.61), 1.29 (1.04-1.60), and 1.66 (1.28-2.15), respectively (P trend  = 0.0073). Compared with participants without a daytime napping habit, nap takers with a longer nap duration (>0.5 h) had an increased risk of prevalent NAFLD (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.06-1.41). The associations of sleep duration and daytime napping duration with NAFLD were generally consistent across different categories of age and obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance status. Short sleep duration and longer daytime napping were associated with an increased risk of prevalent NAFLD in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. © 2016 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  11. Alcohol advertising and youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saffer, Henry

    2002-03-01

    The question addressed in this review is whether aggregate alcohol advertising increases alcohol consumption among college students. Both the level of alcohol-related problems on college campuses and the level of alcohol advertising are high. Some researchers have concluded that the cultural myths and symbols used in alcohol advertisements have powerful meanings for college students and affect intentions to drink. There is, however, very little empirical evidence that alcohol advertising has any effect on actual alcohol consumption. The methods used in this review include a theoretical framework for evaluating the effects of advertising. This theory suggests that the marginal effect of advertising diminishes at high levels of advertising. Many prior empirical studies measured the effect of advertising at high levels of advertising and found no effect. Those studies that measure advertising at lower, more disaggregated levels have found an effect on consumption. The results of this review suggest that advertising does increase consumption. However, advertising cannot be reduced with limited bans, which are likely to result in substitution to other available media. Comprehensive bans on all forms of advertising and promotion can eliminate options for substitution and be potentially more effective in reducing consumption. In addition, there is an increasing body of literature that suggests that alcohol counteradvertising is effective in reducing the alcohol consumption of teenagers and young adults. These findings indicate that increased counteradvertising, rather than new advertising bans, appears to be the better choice for public policy. It is doubtful that the comprehensive advertising bans required to reduce advertising would ever receive much public support. New limited bans on alcohol advertising might also result in less alcohol counteradvertising. An important topic for future research is to identify the counteradvertising themes that are most effective with

  12. Commercial Speech Protection and Alcoholic Beverage Advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greer, Sue

    An examination of the laws governing commercial speech protection and alcoholic beverage advertisements, this document details the legal precedents for and implications of banning such advertising. An introduction looks at the current amount of alcohol consumed in the United States and the recent campaigns to have alcoholic beverage ads banned.…

  13. Sleep habits, insomnia, and daytime sleepiness in a large and healthy community-based sample of New Zealanders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilsmore, Bradley R; Grunstein, Ronald R; Fransen, Marlene; Woodward, Mark; Norton, Robyn; Ameratunga, Shanthi

    2013-06-15

    To determine the relationship between sleep complaints, primary insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and lifestyle factors in a large community-based sample. Cross-sectional study. Blood donor sites in New Zealand. 22,389 individuals aged 16-84 years volunteering to donate blood. N/A. A comprehensive self-administered questionnaire including personal demographics and validated questions assessing sleep disorders (snoring, apnea), sleep complaints (sleep quantity, sleep dissatisfaction), insomnia symptoms, excessive daytime sleepiness, mood, and lifestyle factors such as work patterns, smoking, alcohol, and illicit substance use. Additionally, direct measurements of height and weight were obtained. One in three participants report healthy sample) was associated with insomnia (odds ratio [OR] 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.50 to 2.05), depression (OR 2.01, CI 1.74 to 2.32), and sleep disordered breathing (OR 1.92, CI 1.59 to 2.32). Long work hours, alcohol dependence, and rotating work shifts also increase the risk of daytime sleepiness. Even in this relatively young, healthy, non-clinical sample, sleep complaints and primary insomnia with subsequent excess daytime sleepiness were common. There were clear associations between many personal and lifestyle factors-such as depression, long work hours, alcohol dependence, and rotating shift work-and sleep problems or excessive daytime sleepiness.

  14. The Impact of a City-Wide Indoor Smoking Ban on Smoking and Drinking Behaviors Across Emerging Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cance, Jessica Duncan; Talley, Anna E; Fromme, Kim

    2016-02-01

    Almost one-third of college students report recent cigarette use, primarily as "social smoking," and often in conjunction with alcohol use. While city-wide indoor smoking bans effectively reduce the number of social opportunities to smoke (eg, bars and music clubs), little is known about how these bans may impact the smoking behaviors of college students. Furthermore, nothing is known about how indoor smoking bans may impact students' drinking behaviors. The current study aims to determine the impact of a city-wide comprehensive indoor smoking ban on smoking and alcohol behaviors among a longitudinal sample of emerging adults. Data are from a 6-year longitudinal study (10 waves of data collection) that began the summer before college enrollment. Participants (N = 2244; 60% female) reported on their past 3-month smoking and drinking behaviors using Internet-based surveys at each wave. Piecewise linear growth modeling was used to determine how a city-wide comprehensive indoor smoking ban (implemented in the Fall of 2005 between Waves 4 and 5) impacted smoking frequency, cigarette quantity, drinking frequency, and number of binge drinking episodes. Smoking and alcohol use increased from the summer before college through the semester before implementation of the city-wide smoking ban. While smoking frequency (P < .001) and cigarette quantity (P < .05) declined after the ban, drinking frequency increased (P < .001) and the number of binge drinking episodes remained stable. Current findings suggest that comprehensive indoor smoking bans can influence the smoking behaviors of emerging adults, whereas trajectories of drinking are relatively unchanged. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Association Between Alcohol Sports Sponsorship and Consumption: A Systematic Review

    OpenAIRE

    Brown, Katherine

    2016-01-01

    Aim Concerns have been raised about the impact of alcohol sports sponsorship on harmful consumption, with some countries banning this practice or considering a ban. We review evidence on the relationship between exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and alcohol consumption. Methods Search of electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and International Alcohol Information Database) supplemented by hand searches of references and conference proceedings to locate studies pro...

  16. Smartphone addiction risk and daytime sleepiness in Korean adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Jee Eun; Choi, Soo An; Kim, Ki Tai; Yee, Jeong; Kim, Joo Hee; Seong, Jin Won; Seong, Jong Mi; Kim, Ju Young; Lee, Kyung Eun; Gwak, Hye Sun

    2018-04-06

    Smartphone overuse can cause not only mobility problems in the wrists, fingers and neck but also interference with sleep habits. However, research on smartphone addiction and sleep disturbances is scarce. Therefore, we aimed to investigate daytime sleepiness in association with smartphone addiction risk in Korean adolescents. A cross-sectional survey method was used in this study. The Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale was used to assess daytime sleepiness, and the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale index was used to evaluate the degree of risk for smartphone addiction. The analyses were performed in 1796 adolescents using smartphones, including 820 boys and 976 girls. The at-risk smartphone users made up 15.1% of boys and 23.9% of girls. Our multivariate analyses demonstrated that students who were female, consumed alcohol, had lower academic performance, did not feel refreshed in the morning and initiated sleep after 12 am were at a significantly higher risk of smartphone addiction. The at-risk smartphone user group was independently associated with the upper quartile Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale score in students with the following factors: Female gender, alcohol consumption, poor self-perceived health level, initiating sleep after 12 am, longer time taken to fall asleep and duration of night sleep less than 6 h. The quality of sleep in adolescence affects growth, emotional stability and learning skills. Therefore, the management of smartphone addiction seems to be essential for proper sleeping habits. There is a critical need to develop a means of preventing smartphone addiction on a social level. © 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  17. Sleep Disruption and Daytime Sleepiness Correlating with Disease Severity and Insulin Resistance in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Comparison with Healthy Controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernsmeier, Christine; Weisskopf, Diego M; Pflueger, Marlon O; Mosimann, Jan; Campana, Benedetta; Terracciano, Luigi; Beglinger, Christoph; Heim, Markus H; Cajochen, Christian

    2015-01-01

    Sleep disturbance is associated with the development of obesity, diabetes and hepatic steatosis in murine models. Hepatic triglyceride accumulation oscillates in a circadian rhythm regulated by clock genes, light-dark cycle and feeding time in mice. The role of the sleep-wake cycle in the pathogenesis of human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is indeterminate. We sought to detail sleep characteristics, daytime sleepiness and meal times in relation to disease severity in patients with NAFLD. Basic Sleep duration and latency, daytime sleepiness (Epworth sleepiness scale), Pittsburgh sleep quality index, positive and negative affect scale, Munich Chronotype Questionnaire and an eating habit questionnaire were assessed in 46 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 22 healthy controls, and correlated with biochemical and histological parameters. In NAFLD compared to healthy controls, time to fall asleep was vastly prolonged (26.9 vs. 9.8 min., p = 0.0176) and sleep duration was shortened (6.3 vs. 7.2 hours, p = 0.0149). Sleep quality was poor (Pittsburgh sleep quality index 8.2 vs. 4.7, p = 0.0074) and correlated with changes in affect. Meal frequency was shifted towards night-times (p = 0.001). In NAFLD but not controls, daytime sleepiness significantly correlated with liver enzymes (ALAT [r = 0.44, p = 0.0029], ASAT [r = 0.46, p = 0.0017]) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR [r = 0.5, p = 0.0009]) independent of cirrhosis. In patients with fibrosis, daytime sleepiness correlated with the degree of fibrosis (r = 0.364, p = 0.019). In NAFLD sleep duration was shortened, sleep onset was delayed and sleep quality poor. Food-intake was shifted towards the night. Daytime sleepiness was positively linked to biochemical and histologic surrogates of disease severity. The data may indicate a role for sleep-wake cycle regulation and timing of food-intake in the pathogenesis of human NAFLD as suggested from murine models.

  18. Prevention of deaths from harmful drinking in the United States: the potential effects of tax increases and advertising bans on young drinkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingworth, William; Ebel, Beth E; McCarty, Carolyn A; Garrison, Michelle M; Christakis, Dimitri A; Rivara, Frederick P

    2006-03-01

    Harmful alcohol consumption is a leading cause of death in the United States. The majority of people who die from alcohol use begin drinking in their youth. In this study, we estimate the impact of interventions to reduce the prevalence of drinking among youth on subsequent drinking patterns and alcohol-attributable mortality. We first estimated the effect of public health interventions to decrease harmful drinking among youth from literature reviews and used life table methods to estimate alcohol-attributable years of life lost by age 80 years among the cohort of approximately 4 million U.S. residents aged 20 in the year 2000. Then, from national survey data on transitions in drinking habits by age, we modeled the impact of interventions on alcohol-attributable mortality. A tax increase and an advertising ban were the most effective interventions identified. In the absence of intervention, there would be 55,259 alcohol-attributable deaths over the lifetime of the cohort. A tax-based 17% increase in the price of alcohol of dollar 1 per six pack of beer could reduce deaths from harmful drinking by 1,490, equivalent to 31,130 discounted years of potential life saved or 3.3% of current alcohol-attributable mortality. A complete ban on alcohol advertising would reduce deaths from harmful drinking by 7,609 and result in a 16.4% decrease in alcohol-related life-years lost. A partial advertising ban would result in a 4% reduction in alcohol-related life-years lost. Interventions to prevent harmful drinking by youth can result in reductions in adult mortality. Among interventions shown to be successful in reducing youthful drinking prevalence, advertising bans appear to have the greatest potential for premature mortality reduction.

  19. Eveningness Chronotype, Daytime Sleepiness, Caffeine Consumption, and Use of Other Stimulants Among Peruvian University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittier, Anjalene; Sanchez, Sixto; Castañeda, Benjamín; Sanchez, Elena; Gelaye, Bizu; Yanez, David; Williams, Michelle A

    2014-03-01

    Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate patterns of circadian preferences and daytime sleepiness, and to examine the extent to which the consumption of stimulant beverages is associated with daytime sleepiness and evening chronotype among Peruvian college-age students. Methods: A total of 2,581 undergraduate students completed a self-administered comprehensive questionnaire that gathered information about sleep habits, sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, and the use of caffeinated beverages. The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were used to assess chronotype and daytime sleepiness. We used multivariable linear and logistic regression procedures to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations of sleep disorders with sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Results: The prevalence of daytime sleepiness was 35% [95% CI 32.7-36.4] and eveningness chronotype was 10% [95% CI 8.8-11.1%]. Age, sex, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with an evening chronotype. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, body mass index, and physical activity, students who reported consumption of any stimulant beverages had 1.25 increased odds of excessive daytime sleepiness (OR=1.25 [95% CI 1.03-1.53]) compared with students who did not consume stimulant beverages. Consumption of any stimulant beverages was not statistically significantly associated with being an evening chronotype (OR=1.30 [95% CI 0.86-1.96]). Conclusions: Excessive daytime sleepiness and eveningness chronotype are common among Peruvian college students. MEQ scores were associated with age, sex, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Regular stimulant beverage consumption tended to be positively associated with excessive daytime sleepiness.

  20. 2007 national roadside survey of alcohol and drug use by drivers : alcohol results

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-01

    This report presents the prevalence estimates for alcohol-involved driving derived from the recently completed U.S. : national field survey of alcohol- and drug-involved driving (primarily of nighttime weekend drivers, but also daytime : Friday drive...

  1. Is Nonsmoking Dangerous to the Health of Restaurants? The Effect of California's Indoor Smoking Ban on Restaurant Revenues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolzenberg, Lisa; D'Alessio, Stewart J.

    2007-01-01

    The state of California passed the Smoke-Free Workplace Act on January 1, 1995. This legislation effectively banned indoor smoking in all public and private workplaces including restaurants. Many restaurant owners, especially owners of restaurants that served alcohol, opposed the ban for fear that their businesses would be affected adversely…

  2. Sleep Disruption and Daytime Sleepiness Correlating with Disease Severity and Insulin Resistance in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Comparison with Healthy Controls.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Bernsmeier

    Full Text Available Sleep disturbance is associated with the development of obesity, diabetes and hepatic steatosis in murine models. Hepatic triglyceride accumulation oscillates in a circadian rhythm regulated by clock genes, light-dark cycle and feeding time in mice. The role of the sleep-wake cycle in the pathogenesis of human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD is indeterminate. We sought to detail sleep characteristics, daytime sleepiness and meal times in relation to disease severity in patients with NAFLD.Basic Sleep duration and latency, daytime sleepiness (Epworth sleepiness scale, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, positive and negative affect scale, Munich Chronotype Questionnaire and an eating habit questionnaire were assessed in 46 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 22 healthy controls, and correlated with biochemical and histological parameters.In NAFLD compared to healthy controls, time to fall asleep was vastly prolonged (26.9 vs. 9.8 min., p = 0.0176 and sleep duration was shortened (6.3 vs. 7.2 hours, p = 0.0149. Sleep quality was poor (Pittsburgh sleep quality index 8.2 vs. 4.7, p = 0.0074 and correlated with changes in affect. Meal frequency was shifted towards night-times (p = 0.001. In NAFLD but not controls, daytime sleepiness significantly correlated with liver enzymes (ALAT [r = 0.44, p = 0.0029], ASAT [r = 0.46, p = 0.0017] and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR [r = 0.5, p = 0.0009] independent of cirrhosis. In patients with fibrosis, daytime sleepiness correlated with the degree of fibrosis (r = 0.364, p = 0.019.In NAFLD sleep duration was shortened, sleep onset was delayed and sleep quality poor. Food-intake was shifted towards the night. Daytime sleepiness was positively linked to biochemical and histologic surrogates of disease severity. The data may indicate a role for sleep-wake cycle regulation and timing of food-intake in the pathogenesis of human NAFLD as suggested from murine models.

  3. Alcohol Advertising in Sport and Non-Sport TV in Australia, during Children's Viewing Times.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerry S O'Brien

    Full Text Available Estimate the amount of alcohol advertising in sport vs. non-sport programming in Australian free-to-air TV and identify children's viewing audience composition at different times of the day. Alcohol advertising and TV viewing audience data were purchased for free-to-air sport and non-sport TV in Australia for 2012. We counted alcohol advertisements in sport and non-sport TV in daytime (6 am-8.29 pm and evening periods (8.30 pm-11.59 pm and estimated viewing audiences for children and young adults (0-4 years, 5-13 years, 14-17 years, 18-29 years. During the daytime, most of the alcohol advertising (87% was on sport TV. In the evening, most alcohol advertising (86% was in non-sport TV. There was little difference in the mean number of children (0-17 years viewing TV in the evening (N = 273,989, compared with the daytime (N = 235,233. In programs containing alcohol advertising, sport TV had a greater mean number of alcohol adverts per hour (mean 1.74, SD = 1.1 than non-sport TV (mean 1.35, SD = .94. Alcohol advertising during the daytime, when large numbers of children are watching TV, is predominantly in free-to-air sport TV. By permitting day-time advertising in sport programs and in any programs from 8.30 pm when many children are still watching TV, current regulations are not protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising.

  4. Alcohol Advertising in Sport and Non-Sport TV in Australia, during Children's Viewing Times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Kerry S; Carr, Sherilene; Ferris, Jason; Room, Robin; Miller, Peter; Livingston, Michael; Kypri, Kypros; Lynott, Dermot

    2015-01-01

    Estimate the amount of alcohol advertising in sport vs. non-sport programming in Australian free-to-air TV and identify children's viewing audience composition at different times of the day. Alcohol advertising and TV viewing audience data were purchased for free-to-air sport and non-sport TV in Australia for 2012. We counted alcohol advertisements in sport and non-sport TV in daytime (6 am-8.29 pm) and evening periods (8.30 pm-11.59 pm) and estimated viewing audiences for children and young adults (0-4 years, 5-13 years, 14-17 years, 18-29 years). During the daytime, most of the alcohol advertising (87%) was on sport TV. In the evening, most alcohol advertising (86%) was in non-sport TV. There was little difference in the mean number of children (0-17 years) viewing TV in the evening (N = 273,989), compared with the daytime (N = 235,233). In programs containing alcohol advertising, sport TV had a greater mean number of alcohol adverts per hour (mean 1.74, SD = 1.1) than non-sport TV (mean 1.35, SD = .94). Alcohol advertising during the daytime, when large numbers of children are watching TV, is predominantly in free-to-air sport TV. By permitting day-time advertising in sport programs and in any programs from 8.30 pm when many children are still watching TV, current regulations are not protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising.

  5. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yavuz Selvi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Excessive daytime sleepiness is one of the most common sleep-related patient symptoms, with preva-lence in the community estimated to be as high as 18%. Patients with excessive daytime sleepiness may exhibit life threatening road and work accidents, social maladjustment, decreased academic and occupational performance and have poorer health than comparable adults. Thus, excessive daytime sleepiness is a serious condition that requires investigation, diagnosis and treatment primarily. As with most medical condition, evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness begins a precise history and various objective and subjective tools have been also developed to assess excessive daytime sleepiness. The most common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness are insufficient sleep hygiene, chronic sleep deprivation, medical and psychiatric conditions and sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, medications, and narcolepsy. Treatment option should address underlying contributors and promote sleep quantity by ensuring good sleep hygiene. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2016; 8(2: 114-132

  6. Alcohol Advertising in Sport and Non-Sport TV in Australia, during Children’s Viewing Times

    Science.gov (United States)

    O’Brien, Kerry S.; Carr, Sherilene; Ferris, Jason; Room, Robin; Miller, Peter; Livingston, Michael; Kypri, Kypros; Lynott, Dermot

    2015-01-01

    Estimate the amount of alcohol advertising in sport vs. non-sport programming in Australian free-to-air TV and identify children’s viewing audience composition at different times of the day. Alcohol advertising and TV viewing audience data were purchased for free-to-air sport and non-sport TV in Australia for 2012. We counted alcohol advertisements in sport and non-sport TV in daytime (6am-8.29pm) and evening periods (8.30pm-11.59pm) and estimated viewing audiences for children and young adults (0–4 years, 5–13 years, 14–17 years, 18–29 years). During the daytime, most of the alcohol advertising (87%) was on sport TV. In the evening, most alcohol advertising (86%) was in non-sport TV. There was little difference in the mean number of children (0–17 years) viewing TV in the evening (N = 273,989), compared with the daytime (N = 235,233). In programs containing alcohol advertising, sport TV had a greater mean number of alcohol adverts per hour (mean 1.74, SD = 1.1) than non-sport TV (mean 1.35, SD = .94). Alcohol advertising during the daytime, when large numbers of children are watching TV, is predominantly in free-to-air sport TV. By permitting day-time advertising in sport programs and in any programs from 8.30pm when many children are still watching TV, current regulations are not protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising. PMID:26263170

  7. Cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in Denmark.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Ledgaard Holm

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. METHODS: We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. RESULTS: Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. CONCLUSION: Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost

  8. Cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in Denmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holm, Astrid Ledgaard; Veerman, Lennert; Cobiac, Linda; Ekholm, Ola; Diderichsen, Finn

    2014-01-01

    Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of many diseases and injuries, and the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study estimated that 6% of the burden of disease in Denmark is due to alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption thus places a considerable economic burden on society. We analysed the cost-effectiveness of six interventions aimed at preventing alcohol abuse in the adult Danish population: 30% increased taxation, increased minimum legal drinking age, advertisement bans, limited hours of retail sales, and brief and longer individual interventions. Potential health effects were evaluated as changes in incidence, prevalence and mortality of alcohol-related diseases and injuries. Net costs were calculated as the sum of intervention costs and cost offsets related to treatment of alcohol-related outcomes, based on health care costs from Danish national registers. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated by calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for each intervention. We also created an intervention pathway to determine the optimal sequence of interventions and their combined effects. Three of the analysed interventions (advertising bans, limited hours of retail sales and taxation) were cost-saving, and the remaining three interventions were all cost-effective. Net costs varied from € -17 million per year for advertisement ban to € 8 million for longer individual intervention. Effectiveness varied from 115 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) per year for minimum legal drinking age to 2,900 DALY for advertisement ban. The total annual effect if all interventions were implemented would be 7,300 DALY, with a net cost of € -30 million. Our results show that interventions targeting the whole population were more effective than individual-focused interventions. A ban on alcohol advertising, limited hours of retail sale and increased taxation had the highest probability of being cost-saving and should thus be first priority for implementation.

  9. Decline in alcohol consumption in Estonia: combined effects of strengthened alcohol policy and economic downturn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Taavi; Habicht, Jarno

    2011-01-01

    To describe alcohol policy changes in parallel to consumption changes in 2005-2010 in Estonia, where alcohol consumption is among the highest in Europe. Review of pertinent legislation and literature. Alcohol consumption decreased since 2008, while alcohol excise tax, sales time restrictions and ad bans have increased since 2005. An economic downturn started in 2008. The precise roles of policy changes and the economic downturn in the decline of alcohol consumption, and whether the decrease will be sustained, are still unclear.

  10. Alcohol consumption, sleep, and academic performance among college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singleton, Royce A; Wolfson, Amy R

    2009-05-01

    Three independent lines of inquiry have found associations between alcohol use and academic performance, sleep and academic performance, and alcohol use and sleep. The present study bridges this research by examining the links among alcohol use, sleep, and academic performance in college students. Personal interview surveys were conducted with a random sample of 236 students (124 women) at a liberal arts college. The interviews measured alcohol consumption, gender, academic class, weekday and weekend bedtimes and rise times, and daytime sleepiness; 95% of the sample granted permission to obtain grade-point average (GPA) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores from official college records. Ordinary least squares regressions showed that alcohol consumption was a significant predictor of four sleep patterns: the duration of sleep, the timing of sleep, the difference between weekday and weekend nighttime sleep hours (oversleep), and the difference between weekday and weekend bedtimes (bedtime delay). Women and students with late sleep schedules were more apt to report daytime sleepiness. SAT score was the strongest predictor of GPA. However, gender, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness also were significant predictors when other variables were controlled. In addition to alcohol's direct relationship with GPA, mediational analysis indicated that alcohol had indirect effects on sleepiness and GPA, primarily through its effect on sleep schedule. The findings show how alcohol use among college students is related to sleep-wake patterns and further support the connection between alcohol use and grades.

  11. Why Ban Batasuna?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bourne, Angela

    2015-01-01

    and Batasuna. These parties were banned by Spanish authorities for their integration in a terrorist network led by Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. The hypotheses are that democracies ban anti-system parties a) that do not unambiguously eschew violence; b) when alternatives to proscription are not effective. and c) when...... relevant office holders, or those holding a majority in parliament, have reason to believe they will not be disadvantaged electorally for supporting the ban....

  12. Alcohol-flavoured tobacco products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackler, Robert K; VanWinkle, Callie K; Bumanlag, Isabela M; Ramamurthi, Divya

    2018-05-01

    In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned characterising flavours in cigarettes (except for menthol) due to their appeal to teen starter smokers. In August 2016, the agency deemed all tobacco products to be under its authority and a more comprehensive flavour ban is under consideration. To determine the scope and scale of alcohol-flavoured tobacco products among cigars & cigarillos, hookahs and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Alcohol-flavoured tobacco products were identified by online search of tobacco purveyors' product lines and via Google search cross-referencing the various tobacco product types versus a list of alcoholic beverage flavours (eg, wine, beer, appletini, margarita). 48 types of alcohol-flavoured tobacco products marketed by 409 tobacco brands were identified. Alcohol flavours included mixed drinks (n=25), spirits (11), liqueurs (7) and wine/beer (5). Sweet and fruity tropical mixed drink flavours were marketed by the most brands: piña colada (96), mojito (66) and margarita (50). Wine flavours were common with 104 brands. Among the tobacco product categories, brands offering alcohol-flavoured e-cigarettes (280) were most numerous, but alcohol-flavoured products were also marketed by cigars & cigarillos (88) and hookah brands (41). Brands by major tobacco companies (eg, Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco) were well represented among alcohol-flavoured cigars & cigarillos with five companies offering a total of 17 brands. The widespread availability of alcohol-flavoured tobacco products illustrates the need to regulate characterising flavours on all tobacco products. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. From BAN to AmI-BAN: micro and nano technologies in future Body Area Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Val; Jones, Val

    2006-01-01

    At the University of Twente we have been researching mobile healthcare applications since 1999. Since 2002 the University of Twente and partners have been developing health Body Area Networks (BANs) and a BAN service platform. We define a BAN as a network of communicating devices worn on, around or in the body which provides mobile services to the user. The BAN may also communicate to remote users such as healthcare providers via external network services such as GPRS or UMTS. The generic BAN...

  14. Impact of the smoking ban on the volume of bar sales in Ireland: evidence from time series analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornelsen, Laura; Normand, Charles

    2012-05-01

    This paper is the first to estimate the economic impact of a comprehensive smoking ban in all enclosed public places of work, on bars in Ireland. The demand in bars, represented by a monthly index of sales volume, is explained by relative prices in bars, prices of alcohol sold in off-licences and the aggregate retail sales (ARS) as a proxy for general economic activity and incomes. The smoking ban is included into the model as a step dummy and the modelling is done using ARIMAX strategy. The results show a reduction in the volume of sales in bars by -4.6% (p<0.01) following the ban. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Down the local: A qualitative case study of daytime drinking spaces in the London Borough of Islington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Claire; Milton, Sarah; Egan, Matt; Lock, Karen

    2018-02-01

    Recognising the lack of research on daytime drinking practices in areas with managed night-time economies (NTEs), this qualitative study explores the phenomena in the London Borough of Islington; a rapidly gentrifying area with a highly regulated night-time economy (NTE). The objectives were to (i) Characterise the daytime drinking spaces of the local alcohol environment and (ii) Theorise the ways in which these spaces, and the practices and performativities within them, are situated within broader social and economic trends. Adopting a legitimate peripheral participation approach to data collection, 39 licensed premises were visited in Islington and on-site observations carried out between the hours of 12 pm and 6 pm using a semi-structured observation guide. Observations were written-up into detailed fieldnotes, uploaded to NVivo and subject to a thematic analysis. The daytime on-premises alcohol environment was characterised by two main trends: the decline of traditional pubs and a proliferation of hybrid establishments in which alcohol was framed as part of a suite of attractions. The consumption trends that the latter exemplify are implicated in processes of micro-cultural production and 'hipster capitalism'; and it is via this framing that we explore the way the diverse local drinking spaces were gendered and classed. Hybrid establishments have been regarded as positive in terms of public health, crime and safety. However, they could also help introduce drinking within times and contexts where it was not previously present. The intersection of an expanding hipster habitus with Local Authority efforts to tackle 'determined drunkenness' create very particular challenges. The operating practices of hybrid venues may feed into current alcohol industry strategies of promoting 'new moments' in which consumers can drink. They blur the divisions between work and play and produce temporal and classed divisions of drinking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights

  16. Child and adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising in Australia's major televised sports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Sherilene; O'Brien, Kerry S; Ferris, Jason; Room, Robin; Livingston, Michael; Vandenberg, Brian; Donovan, Robert J; Lynott, Dermot

    2016-07-01

    Exposure to alcohol advertising is associated with greater alcohol consumption in children and adolescents, and alcohol advertising is common in Australian sport. We examine child, adolescent and young adult exposure to alcohol advertising during three televised sports in Australia: Australian Football League (AFL), cricket and the National Rugby League (NRL). Alcohol advertising and audience viewing data were purchased for all AFL, cricket and NRL TV programs in Australia for 2012. We estimated children and adolescents (0-17 years) and young adults (18-29 years) exposure to alcohol advertising during AFL, cricket and NRL programs in the daytime (06:00-20:29 h), and night-time (20:30-23:59 h). There were 3544 alcohol advertisements in AFL (1942), cricket (941) and NRL programs (661), representing 60% of all alcohol advertising in sport TV, and 15% of all alcohol advertisements on Australian TV. These programs had a cumulative audience of 26.9 million children and adolescents, and 32 million young adults. Children and adolescents received 51 million exposures to alcohol advertising, with 47% of this exposure occurring during the daytime. Children and adolescents exposure to alcohol advertising was similar to young adults and peaked after 8.30pm. Child and adolescent and young adult's exposure to alcohol advertising is high when viewing sport TV in Australia in the daytime and night-time. Current alcohol advertising regulations are not protecting children and adolescents from exposure, particularly in prominent televised sports. The regulations should be changed to reduce children and adolescent excessive exposure to alcohol advertising when watching sport. [Carr S, O'Brien KS, Ferris J, Room R, Livingston M, Vandenberg B, Donovan RJ, Lynott D. Child and adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising in Australia's major televised sports. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:406-411]. © 2015 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  17. Nuclear test ban's last chance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnaby, F.

    1976-01-01

    It is argued that if nuclear disarmament is the aim then some arms control treaties have been counterproductive. The two great powers have conducted, albeit underground, more nuclear explosions in the 12 years since the partial test ban than they did in the preceding 18 years, 1945 to 1963. The partial test ban treaty obliges the parties to negotiate a ban on 'all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time'. After 12 years of negotiations very little progress has been made to this end. The USA and the USSR signed a bilateral Threshold Test Ban Treaty in 1974 banning 'any underground nuclear weapon tests having a yield exceeding 150 kilo-tons... beginning 31 March, 1976', a protocol describes how compliance is to be verified, and Article III requires that an agreement is to be negotiated governing peaceful nuclear explosions. From the point of view of disarmament it would be much better if the threshold test ban treaty were not ratified and a comprehensive test ban treaty were negotiated instead. The main official reason given for the failure to negotiate such a treaty is the problem of verification. However it is argued that due to recent progress in seismology there are no longer significant technical obstacles to the negotiation of a comprehensive test ban treaty. But there is lack of political will to obtain such a treaty. (U.K.)

  18. From BAN to AmI-BAN : micro and nano technologies in future Body Area Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jones, Val

    2006-01-01

    At the University of Twente we have been researching mobile healthcare applications since 1999. Since 2002 the University of Twente and partners have been developing health Body Area Networks (BANs) and a BAN service platform. We define a BAN as a network of communicating devices worn on, around or

  19. [Impact of the Italian smoking ban and comparison with the evaluation of the Scottish ban].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorini, Giuseppe

    2011-01-01

    The Italian smoking ban entered into force on January 10th, 2005, and banned smoking from enclosed workplaces and hospitality premises (HPs), even though provided separated smoking areas. Actually, only 1-2%of HPs built these areas, while no figures are available on the prevalence of smoking rooms in workplaces other than HPs. Italians were more in favour of the law after the ban. In 2008 Italians were the Europeans most in favour of a national smoking ban (88%). Measurements of environmental nicotine and particulate matter with a diameter hospitality sector against the ban in 2004, no studies on impact of the ban on hospitality industry businesses were conducted in Italy. We used the conceptual model for the evaluation of the impact of smoke-free policies, proposed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), to compare Italian and Scottish evaluations of the bans. The Scottish evaluation was planned some years before the implementation, and was based on a network of researchers of different disciplines. The quantification of decrease in second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the general population and in hospitality workers was one of the main objectives of the Scottish evaluation. The Italian evaluation devoted more attention to distal (reduction of hospital admissions) and incidental effects of the law (trend in smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption). Qualitative studies in bars, homes, and communities recording changes in attitudes on tobacco smoking after the introduction of the ban, were conducted only in Scotland. In Italy the main problem was to develop and fund a network of researchers involved on a shared evaluation plan.

  20. Daytime napping and increased risk of incident respiratory diseases: symptom, marker, or risk factor?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Yue; Wainwright, Nick W J; Cappuccio, Francesco P; Surtees, Paul G; Hayat, Shabina; Luben, Robert; Brayne, Carol; Khaw, Kay-Tee

    2016-07-01

    We have identified a strong association between daytime napping and increased mortality risk from respiratory diseases, but little is known about the relationship between daytime napping and respiratory morbidity. Data were drawn from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk cohort. Participants reported napping habits during 1998-2000 and were followed up for respiratory disease hospital admissions until March 2009. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association between daytime napping and respiratory disease incidence risk. The study sample included 10,978 men and women with a mean age of 61.9 years, and a total of 946 incident respiratory disease cases were recorded. After adjustment for age, sex, social class, education, marital status, employment status, nightshift work, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, self-reported general health, hypnotic drug use, habitual sleep duration, and preexisting health conditions, daytime napping was associated with an increase in the overall respiratory disease incidence risk (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15, 1.52 for napping respiratory diseases, especially for the risk of chronic lower respiratory diseases (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.96 for napping respiratory disease incidence risk. Further studies are required to confirm these findings and help understand potential mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Voices of the Banned

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Thomas Friis

    2018-01-01

    of patrons as rational actors, as well as linear notions of cause and effect, this article challenges such conceptions. Instead, this article draws on actor network theory, and an understanding of banned youth as situated in networks of relations, in order to provide insights into how the effects of banning...

  2. Chronotype, Light Exposure, Sleep, and Daytime Functioning in High School Students Attending Morning or Afternoon School Shifts: An Actigraphic Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Jeanne Sophie; Gaudreault, Michael M; Perron, Michel; Laberge, Luc

    2016-04-01

    Adolescent maturation is associated with delays of the endogenous circadian phase. Consequently, early school schedules may lead to a mismatch between internal and external time, which can be detrimental to adolescent sleep and health. In parallel, chronotype is known to play a role in adolescent health; evening chronotype adolescents are at higher risk for sleep problems and lower academic achievement. In the summer of 2008, Kénogami High School (Saguenay, Canada) was destroyed by fire. Kénogami students were subsequently relocated to Arvida High School (situated 5.3 km away) for the 2008-2009 academic year. A dual school schedule was implemented, with Arvida students attending a morning schedule (0740-1305 h) and Kénogami students an afternoon schedule (1325-1845 h). This study aimed to investigate the effects of such school schedules and chronotype on sleep, light exposure, and daytime functioning. Twenty-four morning and 33 afternoon schedule students wore an actigraph during 7 days to measure sleep and light exposure. Academic achievement was obtained from school. Subjects completed validated questionnaires on daytime sleepiness, psychological distress, social rhythms, school satisfaction, alcohol, and chronotype. Overall, afternoon schedule students had longer sleep duration, lower sleepiness, and lower light exposure than morning schedule students. Evening chronotypes (E-types) reported higher levels of sleepiness than morning chronotypes (M-types) in both morning and afternoon schedules. Furthermore, M-types attending the morning schedule reported higher sleepiness than M-types attending the afternoon schedule. No difference was found between morning and afternoon schedule students with regard to academic achievement, psychological distress, social rhythms, school satisfaction, and alcohol consumption. However, in both schedules, M-type had more regular social rhythms and lower alcohol consumption. In summary, this study emphasizes that an early school

  3. Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. 4 tabs.

  4. Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

  5. The Limited Test Ban Treaty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loeb, B.S.

    1991-01-01

    This paper discusses the Limited Test Ban Treaty which came at the end of nearly five years of frustrated efforts to obtain a comprehensive test ban. Negotiations toward that end had begun in October 1958. At the same time a voluntary, informal moratorium on tests was initiated. The negotiations soon stalled over the Soviet Union's resistance to internationally supervised inspections on its soil. In April 1959 a phased ban that was to be limited at first to atmospheric tests conducted below an altitude of 50 kilometers. Such tests were thought to be easily verifiable. The Soviets rejected this idea and continued to insist that a complete test ban need not require numerous inspections. The two sides nevertheless appeared to be nearing agreement on a treaty to ban all but relatively small underground tests when, in May 1960, an U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Soviet territory. After a thorough review of the U.S. position, the Kennedy administration proposed in April 1961 a draft treaty that made several concessions toward the Soviet position. Nevertheless, the Soviets, still disagreeing with the provisions for verification and with the makeup of the control organization, rejected it

  6. The Political Economy of Local Fracking Bans

    OpenAIRE

    Joshua C. Hall; Christopher Shultz; E. Frank Stephenson

    2015-01-01

    Concerns about harmful effects arising from the increased use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract underground fuel resources has led to efforts to ban the practice. Many townships in western New York, which lies above the gas-rich Marcellus shale formation, have enacted bans or moratoria. Using spatial econometric techniques, we examine factors related to townships' choice to adopt fracking bans and document the importance of spatial dependence when analyzing fracking bans. We find ...

  7. Problems with cigarette smoking and attitudes towards the ban of smoking in Shantou, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, W W; Ma, W; Zhu, Q; Chen, H; Tang, L

    2016-05-01

    To investigate the extent of cigarette smoking, knowledge of health hazards and attitudes towards the ban of smoking in Shantou, China, as causes for failure to control smoking. Environmental monitoring and population survey. Particulate matter (PM2.5) measurements were conducted in randomly selected public places (restaurants, non-alcoholic drink shops and internet bars) and exposure-related health hazards were evaluated. University students and adult citizens were randomly selected to determine their extent of cigarette smoking, knowledge of health hazards and attitude towards the ban of smoking in public places. The collected data were used to evaluate possible causes and solutions to the smoking problem. From PM2.5 measurements, the average indoor to outdoor concentrations in non-smoking restaurants were 33.4 vs. 30.6 μg/m(3), P > 0.05; average indoor of smoking restaurants was 350.0% higher, P  0.001. From our survey of 1100 university students: 1) 17.5% and 7.5% were active male and female smokers, respectively; and 2) 57.5% of students would accept a smoke-ban policy. From 502 adult citizens: 1) 27.5% were active male smokers; 2) Approximately 40 and 60% had inadequate knowledge of health hazards from smoking and second-hand smoke exposure; and 3) >90% of them would accept a smoke-ban policy. Our data indicate that failure to ban smoking was not caused by resistance from smokers but inadequate (national and local) government effort to educate the public and to enforce existing policy. The data suggest that development of a citizen-based approach, in collaboration with willing officials, may be highly successful in the control of cigarette smoking in China. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Daytime napping, sleep duration and increased 8-year risk of type 2 diabetes in a British population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Y; Cappuccio, F P; Surtees, P G; Luben, R; Brayne, C; Khaw, K-T

    2016-11-01

    Few studies have prospectively examined the relationship between daytime napping and risk of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to study the effects of daytime napping and the joint effects of napping and sleep duration in predicting type 2 diabetes risk in a middle- to older-aged British population. In 1998-2000, 13 465 individuals with no known diabetes participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk study reported daytime napping habit and 24-h sleep duration. Incident type 2 diabetes cases were identified through multiple data sources until 31 July 2006. After adjustment for age and sex, daytime napping was associated with a 58% higher diabetes risk. Further adjustment for education, marital status, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, comorbidities and hypnotic drug use had little influence on the association, but additional adjustment for BMI and Waist Circumference attenuated the Odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) to 1.30 (1.01, 1.69). The adjusted ORs (95% CI) associated with short and long sleep duration were 1.46 (1.10, 1.90) and 1.64 (1.16, 2.32), respectively. When sleep duration and daytime napping were examined together, the risk of developing diabetes more than doubled for those who took day naps and had less than 6 h of sleep, compared to those who did not nap and had 6-8 h of sleep. Daytime napping was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly when combined with short sleep duration. Further physiological studies are needed to confirm the interaction between different domains of sleep in relation to diabetes risk. Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Determinants of day-night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

    2017-01-01

    Blunted day-night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day-night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day-night difference (defined as (mean daytime-mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist-hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10 -5 ), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10 -9 ) associated with day-night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10 -5 ) and current smoking (3.8 × 10 -4 ) associated with day-night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18-43%). In contrast day-night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day-night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day-night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day-night differences in BP is largely non-genetic.

  10. Interactions Between Energy Drink Consumption and Sleep Problems: Associations with Alcohol Use Among Young Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marmorstein, Naomi R

    2017-09-01

    Background: Energy drink consumption and sleep problems are both associated with alcohol use among adolescents. In addition, caffeine consumption (including energy drinks) is associated with sleep problems. However, information about how these three constructs may interact is limited. The goal of this study was to examine potential interactions between energy drink consumption and sleep problems in the concurrent prediction of alcohol use among young adolescents. Coffee and soda consumption were also examined for comparison. Methods: Participants from the Camden Youth Development Study were included ( n  = 127; mean age = 13.1; 68% Hispanic, 29% African American) and questionnaire measures of frequency of caffeinated beverage consumption (energy drinks, coffee, and soda), sleep (initial insomnia, sleep disturbances, daytime fatigue, and sleep duration), and alcohol consumption were used. Regression analyses were conducted to examine interactions between caffeinated beverage consumption and sleep in the concurrent prediction of alcohol use. Results: Energy drink consumption interacted with initial insomnia and daytime fatigue to concurrently predict particularly frequent alcohol use among those with either of these sleep-related problems and energy drink consumption. The pattern of results for coffee consumption was similar for insomnia but reached only a trend level of significance. Results of analyses examining soda consumption were nonsignificant. Conclusions: Young adolescents who both consume energy drinks and experience initial insomnia and/or daytime fatigue are at particularly high risk for alcohol use. Coffee consumption appears to be associated with similar patterns. Longitudinal research is needed to explain the developmental pathways by which these associations emerge, as well as mediators and moderators of these associations.

  11. Smoking in Correctional Settings Worldwide: Prevalence, Bans, and Interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Anne C; Eldridge, Gloria D; Chico, Cynthia E; Morisseau, Nancy; Drobeniuc, Ana; Fils-Aime, Rebecca; Day, Carolyn; Hopkins, Robyn; Jin, Xingzhong; Chen, Junyu; Dolan, Kate A

    2018-06-01

    Smoking tobacco contributes to 11.5% of deaths worldwide and, in some countries, more hospitalizations than alcohol and drugs combined. Globally in 2015, 25% of men and 5% of women smoked. In the United States, a higher proportion of people in prison smoke than do community-dwelling individuals. To determine smoking prevalence in prisons worldwide, we systematically reviewed the literature using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines; we also examined whether prisons banned smoking or treated smokers. We searched databases for articles published between 2012 and 2016 and located 85 relevant articles with data representing 73.5% of all incarcerated persons from 50 countries. In 35 of 36 nations (97%) with published prevalence data, smoking for the incarcerated exceeded community rates 1.04- to 62.6-fold. Taking a conservative estimate of a 2-fold increase, we estimated that, globally, 14.5 million male and 26,000 female smokers pass through prisons annually. Prison authorities' responses include permitting, prohibiting, or treating tobacco use. Bans may temporarily improve health and reduce in-prison health care costs but have negligible effect after prison release. Evidence-based interventions for smoking cessation effective outside prisons are effective inside; effects persist after release. Because smoking prevalence is heightened in prisons, offering evidence-based interventions to nearly 15 million smokers passing through yearly would improve global health.

  12. Effect of British hunting ban on fox numbers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Philip J; Harris, Stephen; Webbon, Charlotte C

    2002-09-05

    Pressure to ban the hunting of foxes with hounds in Britain has fuelled debate about its contribution to the control of fox populations. We took advantage of a nationwide one-year ban on fox-hunting during the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001 to examine this issue and found that the ban had no measurable impact on fox numbers in randomly selected areas. Our results argue against suggestions that fox populations would increase markedly in the event of a permanent ban on hunting.

  13. The Case for a Global Ban on Asbestos

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaDou, Joseph; Castleman, Barry; Frank, Arthur; Gochfeld, Michael; Greenberg, Morris; Huff, James; Joshi, Tushar Kant; Landrigan, Philip J.; Lemen, Richard; Myers, Jonny; Soffritti, Morando; Soskolne, Colin L.; Takahashi, Ken; Teitelbaum, Daniel; Terracini, Benedetto; Watterson, Andrew

    2010-01-01

    Background All forms of asbestos are now banned in 52 countries. Safer products have replaced many materials that once were made with it. Nonetheless, many countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products, and in those that have banned other forms of asbestos, the so-called “controlled use” of chrysotile asbestos is often exempted from the ban. In fact, chrysotile has accounted for > 95% of all the asbestos used globally. Objective We examined and evaluated the literature used to support the exemption of chrysotile asbestos from the ban and how its exemption reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos mining and manufacturing industry. Discussion All forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are proven human carcinogens. All forms cause malignant mesothelioma and lung and laryngeal cancers, and may cause ovarian, gastrointestinal, and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk. Illnesses and deaths from asbestos exposure are entirely preventable. Conclusions All countries of the world have an obligation to their citizens to join in the international endeavor to ban the mining, manufacture, and use of all forms of asbestos. An international ban is urgently needed. There is no medical or scientific basis to exempt chrysotile from the worldwide ban of asbestos. PMID:20601329

  14. Association between Daytime Napping and Chronic Diseases in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Junmin; Kessler, Asia Sikora; Su, Dejun

    2016-03-01

    To explore the relationship between daytime napping and incidence of chronic diseases over the past 6 months among adults in China. Based on data collected from 13,469 respondents over age 40 in the Chinese Family Panel Studies in 2010, logistic regression models were estimated to examine the association between daytime napping and the incidence of any chronic diseases and 3 specific chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease) after adjusting for confounders. Differences of risks by sex and age were also investigated. In the sample, 50.8% were women and 32.2% were over 60 years old. Adjusted estimates show respondents with daytime napping had elevated odds of developing any chronic diseases, hypertension, and diabetes compared to those who did not nap; having over 60 minutes of daytime napping had weaker association compared with shorter duration of daytime napping. The association between daytime napping and hypertension was found in women but not in men. Daytime napping appears to be associated with elevated risk of incidence of any chronic diseases, hypertension, and diabetes.

  15. Smoking bans and the secondhand smoking problem: an economic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Annette; Nell, Martin

    2012-06-01

    Smoking bans are gaining widespread support in the European Union and other countries. The vast majority of these bans are partial bans given that smoking is still permitted in certain places. This article investigates the role of partial smoking bans in coping with externalities caused by the secondhand smoking problem. Although it is widely known that Pigouvian taxation is superior to a perfect ban, this result does not necessarily carry over to a partial ban because taxes cannot (easily) be differentiated according to location. We show that under an easy and intuitive condition, (1) enacting a partial smoking ban alone always improves social welfare (a) in an unregulated society and (b) even in a regulated society if externalities can be eliminated, and (2) it is ensured that a combination of Pigouvian tax and a partial smoking ban leads to a higher social optimum than implementing corrective Pigouvian taxation alone.

  16. Experimental economics' inconsistent ban on deception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersch, Gil

    2015-08-01

    According to what I call the 'argument from public bads', if a researcher deceived subjects in the past, there is a chance that subjects will discount the information that a subsequent researcher provides, thus compromising the validity of the subsequent researcher's experiment. While this argument is taken to justify an existing informal ban on explicit deception in experimental economics, it can also apply to implicit deception, yet implicit deception is not banned and is sometimes used in experimental economics. Thus, experimental economists are being inconsistent when they appeal to the argument from public bads to justify banning explicit deception but not implicit deception. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Banning Books.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trede, Mildred

    1991-01-01

    The "Game of Decisions" is presented to encourage students to consider the consequences of banning books and/or ideas. The game involves story writing, creating probability graphs, writing a letter protesting censorship from a chosen historical period, and examining a controversial science issue. Three thesis statements for generating group…

  18. Equity Options During the Shorting Ban of 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nusret Cakici

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2008 emergency order introduced a shorting ban of some 800 financials traded in the US. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the options market around the ban period. Using transaction level data from OPRA (The Options Price Reporting Authority, we study the options volume, spreads, pricing measures and option trade volume informativeness during the ban. We also consider the put–call parity relationship. While mostly statistically significant, economic magnitudes of our results suggest that the impact of the ban on the equity options market was likely not as dramatic as initially thought.

  19. The Impact of Banning Juvenile Gun Possession.

    OpenAIRE

    Marvell, Thomas B

    2001-01-01

    A 1994 federal law bans possession of handguns by persons under 18 years of age. Also in 1994, 11 states passed their own juvenile gun possession bans. Eighteen states had previously passed bans, 15 of them between 1975 and 1993. These laws were intended to reduce homicides, but arguments can be made that they have no effect on or that they even increase the homicide rate. This paper estimates the laws' impacts on various crime measures, primarily juvenile gun homicide victimizations and suic...

  20. Determinants of day–night difference in blood pressure, a comparison with determinants of daytime and night-time blood pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musameh, M D; Nelson, C P; Gracey, J; Tobin, M; Tomaszewski, M; Samani, N J

    2017-01-01

    Blunted day–night difference in blood pressure (BP) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor, although there is limited information on determinants of diurnal variation in BP. We investigated determinants of day–night difference in systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP and how these compared with determinants of daytime and night-time SBP and DBP. We analysed the association of mean daytime, mean night-time and mean day–night difference (defined as (mean daytime−mean night-time)/mean daytime) in SBP and DBP with clinical, lifestyle and biochemical parameters from 1562 adult individuals (mean age 38.6) from 509 nuclear families recruited in the GRAPHIC Study. We estimated the heritability of the various BP phenotypes. In multivariate analysis, there were significant associations of age, sex, markers of adiposity (body mass index and waist–hip ratio), plasma lipids (total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides), serum uric acid, alcohol intake and current smoking status on daytime or night-time SBP and/or DBP. Of these, only age (P=4.7 × 10−5), total cholesterol (P=0.002), plasma triglycerides (P=0.006) and current smoking (P=3.8 × 10−9) associated with day–night difference in SBP, and age (P=0.001), plasma triglyceride (P=2.2 × 10−5) and current smoking (3.8 × 10−4) associated with day–night difference in DBP. 24-h, daytime and night-time SBP and DBP showed substantial heritability (ranging from 18–43%). In contrast day–night difference in SBP showed a lower heritability (13%) while heritability of day–night difference in DBP was not significant. These data suggest that specific clinical, lifestyle and biochemical factors contribute to inter-individual variation in daytime, night-time and day–night differences in SBP and DBP. Variation in day–night differences in BP is largely non-genetic. PMID:26984683

  1. Do Tobacco Bans Harm the Advertising Industry?

    OpenAIRE

    Tom Coupe; Olena Gnezdilova

    2008-01-01

    We use panel data on advertising expenditures to check the influence of tobacco advertising bans on the advertising industry. We find no clear evidence of a negative effect of tobacco bans on total per capita advertising expenditures.

  2. FCTC followed by accelerated implementation of tobacco advertising bans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiilamo, Heikki; Glantz, Stanton

    2017-07-01

    We sought to evaluate changes in countries' enacting advertising bans after the effect of ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We compared adoption of advertising bans on five areas (TV and radio, print media, billboards, point-of-sale, sponsorship) in countries that did versus did not ratify the FCTC, accounting for years since the ratification of the Convention. On average, passage of complete advertising bans accelerated after FCTC ratification. The development was strongest among lower middle-income countries. Lack of state capacity was associated with lower likelihood of countries implementing complete advertising bans. Implementation of complete advertising bans slowed after 2007. Implementation of FCTC Article 13 was followed by increased progress towards complete advertising bans, but progress is incomplete, especially among low-income countries. Low-income countries need comprehensive support to implement FCTC as part of a broad effort to reinvigorate progress on global implementation of the FCTC. Enforcing complete bans requires constant monitoring and attacking of tobacco industry efforts to circumvent them. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  3. Laser guide stars for daytime thermal IR observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckers, Jacques M.

    2008-04-01

    In connection with the planning for Extremely Large Telescopes, I revisit a 2001 paper in which Cacciani and I describe the use of Sodium Laser Guide Stars (LGSs) for diffraction limited daytime astronomical observations. The enabling technology for seeing LGSs in broad daylight is the availability of very narrow band magneto-optical filters. Considering the dominance of the atmospheric scattering of sunlight at wavelengths below 3.5 μm, daytime use is only indicated for mid- and thermal IR observations. The launch of the 6.5 meter aperture James Web Space Telescope (JWST) appears to be assured and planned for 2013, preceding the most optimistic projections for the completion date of the first ELT. The projected thermal background of the JWST is very much less than that of ground-based telescopes so that any competing ground-based observations are limited to those parameters not covered by the JWST: angular resolution (requiring apertures > 6.5 meter) and spectral resolution (R>3000). I compare the benefits of daytime observations with Na-LGS equipped telescopes and interferometers at moderate latitudes and in the Antarctic (specifically Dome C). In both cases daytime observations extend the amount of observing time available for TIR observations. Antarctic observations have the advantage of having very good seeing during the daytime, significantly better than nighttime seeing. In contrast the seeing at moderate latitude sites significantly deteriorates during daytime resulting in lower quality observations than during nighttime. In addition Antarctic sites are less hostile to maintenance and operations during daytime (summer) observations as compared to nighttime (winter) observations.

  4. Determinants of daytime sleepiness in first-year nursing students: a questionnaire survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ching-Feng; Yang, Li-Yu; Wu, Li-Min; Liu, Yi; Chen, Hsing-Mei

    2014-06-01

    Daytime sleepiness may affect student learning achievement. Research studies have found that daytime sleepiness is common in university students; however, information regarding the determinants of daytime sleepiness in this population is still lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of daytime sleepiness in first-year nursing students. In particular, we looked for the relationship between perceived symptoms, nocturnal sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness. A cross-sectional and correlational design was employed. Participants were recruited from two nursing programs at an institute of technology located in southern Taiwan. Ninety-three nursing students completed the questionnaires one month after enrollment into their program. Approximately 35% of the participants experienced excessive daytime sleepiness at the beginning of the semester. Six variables (joining a student club, perceived symptoms, daytime dysfunction, sleep disturbances, sleep latency, and subjective sleep quality) were significantly correlated with daytime sleepiness. Among them, daytime dysfunction and perceived symptoms were two major determinants of daytime sleepiness, both accounting for 37.2% of the variance. Daytime sleepiness in students should not be ignored. It is necessary to help first-year students identify and mitigate physical and psychological symptoms early on, as well as improve daytime functioning, to maintain their daytime performance and promote learning achievement. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Association between report of insomnia and daytime functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ustinov, Yuriy; Lichstein, Kenneth L; Wal, Gregory S Vander; Taylor, Daniel J; Riedel, Brant W; Bush, Andrew J

    2010-01-01

    The relationship between reports of insomnia and daytime functioning was investigated using hierarchical regression. The presence or absence of a report of insomnia was the predictor of primary interest. A number of covariates were included in the model: demographic variables, health variables, and quantitative sleep parameters. Data were collected from a community sample in the Memphis, Tennessee area. Data from 734 volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 96years were analyzed. The sample included 235 individuals who reported having chronic insomnia and 499 individuals who reported no sleep problems. Participants completed a 2-week sleep diary, a battery of daytime functioning questionnaires, and a medical disorders checklist. Demographic information was also collected. The daytime functioning assessment included the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Insomnia Impact Scale, and the Fatigue Severity Scale. The hierarchical regression model included four sets. The first three sets consisted of 18 variables capturing demographic, health, and sleep diary parameters. The fourth set included a single dichotomous variable representing the presence or absence of a report of insomnia. Reports of insomnia were a significant predictor of all five daytime functioning measures, which is consistent with previous research. We also showed that reports of insomnia were able to uniquely explain a significant amount of variability in self-reported daytime functioning after controlling for demographics, health, and sleep diary variables. The pattern of individual variables that reached significance in the first three sets varied depending on which daytime functioning measure was predicted, however, age, the presence of pain, the presence of mental health problems, SOL, and WASO were the most commonly significant predictors of poor daytime functioning from these sets across measures. Individuals' perceptions of their sleep are

  6. Communicating contentious health policy: lessons from Ireland's workplace smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahy, Declan; Trench, Brian; Clancy, Luke

    2012-05-01

    The Irish workplace smoking ban has been described as possibly a tipping point for public health worldwide. This article presents the first analysis of the newspaper coverage of the ban over the duration of the policy formation process. It adds to previous studies by analyzing how health communication strategists engaged, over time, with a newsworthy topic, viewed as being culturally controversial. It analyzes a sample of media content (n = 1,154) and firsthand accounts from pro-ban campaigners and journalists (n = 10). The analysis shows that the ban was covered not primarily as a health issue: Economic, political, social, democratic, and technical aspects also received significant attention. It shows how coverage followed controversy and examines how pro-ban campaigners countered effectively the anti-ban communication efforts of influential social actors in the economic and political spheres. The analysis demonstrates that medical-political sources successfully defined the ban's issues as centrally concerned with public health.

  7. Copper disinfection ban causes storm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, Alan

    2013-05-01

    Since 1 February this year, under the EU's Biocidal Products Directive, it has been illegal to sell or use water treatment systems that use elemental copper, a practice employed historically by a significant number of UK healthcare facilities to combat Legionella. Alan Lester, managing director of specialist supplier of 'environmentally-friendly' water treatment systems, Advanced Hydro, says the ban has caused 'a storm of giant proportion,' with advocates of copper ion-based treatment systems arguing that this disinfection method dates back 3,000 years to Egyptian times, making it an 'undoubtedly proven' technology. Here he explains why the ban came into force, considers why the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is seeking a derogation, looks at the ban's likely impact, and gives a personal viewpoint on the 'pros and cons' of some of the alternative treatment technologies, including a titanium dioxide-based system marketed by Advanced Hydro itself in the UK.

  8. Internationalization of Oman Fisheries Firms After the European Union Ban

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Zaibet

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the impacts of the l998 ban on Oman fish exports to the EU markets and ensuing the internationalization of Oman fish companies. The ban raises two concerns that the paper intends to answer: (i how firms have responded to surmount the ban, and (ii which strategies are more effective in the process of internationalization. The paper distinguishes three sets of actions: during the ban and immediate actions; short term actions; and long term actions. Besides government support for the implementation of international norms of quality and safety control, firms have responded individually to the EU ban. The actions subsequently undertaken by firms in response to the ban were selected: identification of new markets (alternatives; implementation of the required regulations and needed support to continue exporting to traditional European markets (competence; and long term business and marketing strategies (strategic thinking. These actions or steps represent the internationalization process or approach followed by the fisheries firms in Oman. All these actions have been undertaken after the EU ban, which leads to the conclusion that the ban has indeed worked as a driving force to internationalize, i.e. to develop the requisites of international markets.

  9. [Alcohol--woman, pregnancy and a newborn child].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jagielska, Iwona; Kazdepka-Ziemińska, Anita; Stankiewicz, Martyna; Kaźmierczak, Jolanta

    2012-01-01

    According to the World Health Organization, alcohol is the third most dangerous factor following smoking of tobacco and hypertension of risks impacting health of the population. 50 % of men and 10 % of women suffer from diseases caused by alcohol drinking. Chronic consumption of alcohol damages the nervous system, causes adverse changes in the circulatory system and intestine, increases the risk of cancers. Comparing the impact of alcohol on the health of women and men, in case of women, even similar levels of consumption cause stronger action. Alcohol is the cause of endocrine diseases and among others- reduces fertility. It is the risk factor of premature deliveries, abortions, and placenta- associated pathologies. Disorders of children with prenatal exposure to alcohol are described as fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorders and alcohol related birth defects. It is recommended to impose a total ban on alcohol consumption by pregnant women. Moreover one should emphasize that the minimum safe dose of alcohol for the foetus cannot be specified. In order to resolve alcohol drinking problems a cooperation of representatives of many professions such as: doctors, psychologists, educators and employees of care facilities is necessary. It is also obligatory to obtain support and assistance from the nearest surroundings of the patient.

  10. Creating XML/PHP Interface for BAN Interoperability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fragkos, Vasileios; Katzis, Konstantinos; Despotou, Georgios

    2017-01-01

    Recent advances in medical and electronic technologies have introduced the use of Body Area Networks as a part of e-health, for constant and accurate monitoring of patients and the transmission as well as processing of the data to develop a holistic Electronic Health Record. The rising global population, different BAN manufacturers and a variety of medical systems pose the issue of interoperability between BANs and systems as well as the proper way to propagate medical data in an organized and efficient manner. In this paper, we describe BANs and propose the use of certain web technologies to address this issue.

  11. On BAN logics for industrial security protocols

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agray, N.; Hoek, van der W.; Vink, de E.P.; Dunin-Keplicz, B.; Nawarecki, E.

    2002-01-01

    This paper reports on two case-studies of applying BAN logic to industrial strength security protocols. These studies demonstrate the flexibility of the BAN language, as it caters for the addition of appropriate constructs and rules. We argue that, although a semantical foundation of the formalism

  12. Daytime sleepiness in Parkinson's disease: a reappraisal.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valérie Cochen De Cock

    Full Text Available Excessive daytime sleepiness is a frequent complaint in Parkinson's disease (PD; however the frequency and risk factors for objective sleepiness remain mostly unknown. We investigated both the frequency and determinants of self-reported and objective daytime sleepiness in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD using a wide range of potential predictors.One hundred and thirty four consecutive patients with PD, without selection bias for sleep complaint, underwent a semi-structured clinical interview and a one night polysomnography followed by a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT. Demographic characteristics, medical history, PD course and severity, daytime sleepiness, depressive and insomnia symptoms, treatment intake, pain, restless legs syndrome, REM sleep behaviour disorder, and nighttime sleep measures were collected. Self-reported daytime sleepiness was defined by an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS score above 10. A mean sleep latency on MSLT below 8 minutes defined objective daytime sleepiness.Of 134 patients with PD, 46.3% had subjective and only 13.4% had objective sleepiness with a weak negative correlation between ESS and MSLT latency. A high body mass index (BMI was associated with both ESS and MSLT, a pain complaint with ESS, and a higher apnea/hypopnea index with MSLT. However, no associations were found between both objective and subjective sleepiness, and measures of motor disability, disease onset, medication (type and dose, depression, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, REM sleep behaviour disorder and nighttime sleep evaluation.We found a high frequency of self-reported EDS in PD, a finding which is however not confirmed by the gold standard neurophysiological evaluation. Current treatment options for EDS in PD are very limited; it thus remains to be determined whether decreasing pain and BMI in association with the treatment of sleep apnea syndrome would decrease significantly daytime sleepiness in PD.

  13. Estimating daytime ecosystem respiration from eddy-flux data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruhn, Dan; Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard; Herbst, Mathias

    2011-01-01

    To understand what governs the patterns of net ecosystem exchange of CO2, an understanding of factors influencing the component fluxes, ecosystem respiration and gross primary production is needed. In the present paper, we introduce an alternative method for estimating daytime ecosystem respiration...... based on whole ecosystem fluxes from a linear regression of photosynthetic photon flux density data vs. daytime net ecosystem exchange data at forest ecosystem level. This method is based on the principles of the Kok-method applied at leaf level for estimating daytime respiration. We demonstrate...

  14. Burqa Ban, Freedom of Religion and ‘Living Together’

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lægaard, Sune

    2015-01-01

    In the summer of 2014, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the French 2010 law banning face-covering clothing in public spaces, the so-called burqa ban, did not violate the right to freedom of religion. Due to the ‘wide margin of appreciation’, the Court deemed the ban proportionate...... to the French state’s legitimate aim with the ban of preserving the conditions of ‘living together’. The paper analyses and provides an internal criticism of the Court’s justification for this judgement focusing on the aim of living together and the right to freedom of religion. The Court’s justification...

  15. The impact of tobacco advertising bans on consumption in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blecher, Evan

    2008-07-01

    Tobacco advertising bans have become commonplace in developed nations but are less prevalent in developing countries. The importance of advertising bans as part of comprehensive tobacco control strategies has been emphasised by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which calls for comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising. The empirical literature suggests that comprehensive advertising bans have played a role in reducing consumption in developed countries but that limited policies have not. This paper extends this analysis to include 30 developing countries and finds that bans do play an important role in reducing tobacco consumption in these countries. It finds that both comprehensive as well as limited policies are effective in reducing consumption although comprehensive bans have a far greater impact than limited ones. Furthermore, it finds that advertising bans may be even more effective in the developing world than they are in the developed world.

  16. Children's exposure to alcohol marketing within supermarkets: An objective analysis using GPS technology and wearable cameras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, T; Pearson, A L; Stanley, J; Smith, M; Barr, M; Ni Mhurchu, C; Signal, L

    2017-07-01

    Exposure to alcohol marketing within alcohol retailers has been associated with higher rates of childhood drinking, brand recognition, and marketing recall. This study aimed to objectively measure children's everyday exposure to alcohol marketing within supermarkets. Children aged 11-13 (n = 167) each wore a wearable camera and GPS device for four consecutive days. Micro-spatial analyses were used to examine exposures within supermarkets. In alcohol retailing supermarkets (n = 30), children encountered alcohol marketing on 85% of their visits (n = 78). Alcohol marketing was frequently near everyday goods (bread and milk) or entrance/exit. Alcohol sales in supermarkets should be banned in order to protect children from alcohol marketing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Do Workplace Smoking Bans Reduce Smoking?

    OpenAIRE

    Matthew C. Farrelly; William N. Evans; Edward Montgomery

    1999-01-01

    In recent years there has been a heightened public concern over the potentially harmful effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). In response, smoking has been banned on many jobs. Using data from the 1991 and 1993 National Health Interview Survey and smoking supplements to the September 1992 and May 1993 Current Population Survey, we investigate whether these workplace policies reduce smoking prevalence and smoking intensity among workers. Our estimates suggest that workplace bans reduce...

  18. Driver Cellphone and Texting Bans in the United States: Evidence of Effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCartt, Anne T.; Kidd, David G.; Teoh, Eric R.

    2014-01-01

    Almost all U.S. states have laws limiting drivers’ cellphone use. The evidence suggests that all-driver bans on hand-held phone conversations have resulted in long-term reductions in hand-held phone use, and drivers in ban states reported higher rates of hands-free phone use and lower overall phone use compared with drivers in non-ban states. Bans on all phone use by teenage drivers have not been shown to reduce their phone use. The effects of texting bans on the rates of drivers’ texting are unknown. With regard to the effects of bans on crashes, 11 peer-reviewed papers or technical reports of all-driver hand-held phone bans and texting bans were reviewed. Some were single-state studies examining crash measures before and after a state ban; other national or multi-state studies compared crashes in states with and without bans over time. The results varied widely. The lack of appropriate controls and other challenges in conducting strong evaluations limited the findings of some studies. Thus, despite the proliferation of laws limiting drivers’ cellphone use, it is unclear whether they are having the desired effects on safety. Priorities for future research are suggested. PMID:24776230

  19. Banning traditional birth attendants from conducting deliveries: experiences and effects of the ban in a rural district of Kazungula in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheelo, Chilala; Nzala, Selestine; Zulu, Joseph M

    2016-10-21

    In 2010 the government of the republic of Zambia stopped training traditional birth attendants and forbade them from conducting home deliveries as they were viewed as contributing to maternal mortality. This study explored positive and negative maternal health related experiences and effects of the ban in a rural district of Kazungula. This was a phenomenological study and data were collected through focus group discussions as well as in-depth interviews with trained traditional birth attendants (tTBAs) and key informant interviews with six female traditional leaders that were selected one from each of the six zones. All 22 trained tTBAs from three clinic catchment areas were included in the study. Content analysis was used to analyse the data after coding it using NVIVO 8 software. Home deliveries have continued despite the community and tTBAs being aware of the ban. The ban has had both negative and positive effects on the community. Positive effects include early detection and management of pregnancy complications, enhanced HIV/AIDS prevention and better management of post-natal conditions, reduced criticisms of tTBAs from the community in case of birth complications, and quick response at health facilities in case of an emergency. Negatives effects of the ban include increased work load on the part of health workers, high cost for lodging at health facilities and traveling to health facilities, as well as tTBAs feeling neglected, loss of respect and recognition by the community. Countries should design their approach to banning tTBAs differently depending on contextual factors. Further, it is important to consider adopting a step wise approach when implementing the ban as the process of banning tTBAs may trigger several negative effects.

  20. Large-sized soda ban as an alternative to soda tax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Hery Michelle

    2013-01-01

    This Note examines New York City's Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule (Soda Ban), which was originally set to become effective March 12, 2013. The New York County Supreme Court's decision in New York Statewide Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suspended the Soda Ban on March 11, 2013. The First Department of the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court affirmed the suspension on July 30, 2013. However, the complex economic policy and constitutional issues arising from the proposed Soda Ban deserve as much attention as the ultimate result of the legal challenge to the ban. Both courts struck down the Soda Ban on the grounds that it violated the separation of powers doctrine. The lower court further held that the Soda Ban was arbitrary and capricious. This Note does not focus solely on the holdings of the two courts, but takes a broader approach in analyzing the issues involved in the Soda Ban. By comparing and contrasting tobacco products with sugary beverages, this Note explains why the public seems to find the Soda Ban less appealing than tobacco regulations. Specifically, this Note addresses how the failed attempts of numerous states and cities to implement soda taxes demonstrate the complexity of policies geared toward curbing obesity; how fundamental values, such as health, fairness, efficiency, and autonomy factor into obesity policies; and the fact that legislatures and courts are struggling to determine the scope of public health law intervention. The Note explores how the Soda Ban, despite its judicial suspension, could represent a stepping-stone in combating the obesity epidemic.

  1. To ban or not to ban: direct-to-consumer advertising and human rights analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Wellington

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The issues surrounding Direct-To-Consumer Advertising of pharmaceuticals are ripe for scrutiny through the lens of Human Rights analysis. Among the human rights most decisively engaged by DTCA is the right to autonomy in health-related decision making, which in turn incorporates right of access to health-related information. The latter incorporates, in part, right of access to reliable and beneficial information through the avenues of commercial speech among others. Another crucial human right is the right not to be harmed by unsafe consumer products through corporate malfeasance or negligence. The most commonly invoked policy options in the context of DTCA are either an outright ban or strengthening regulatory oversight in combination with voluntary guidelines. Banning Direct-To-Consumer Advertising risks being both over inclusive and under inclusive as a policy option. A wholesale ban risks being over inclusive in that it could deprive consumers of information about medications with a positive benefit-risk profile, ones that could enhance their quality of health and well being. Thus it risks being overly paternalistic. Banning DTCA, by itself, is under inclusive in that it is insufficient to address the ways that unadvertised drugs can pose significant risks to consumers. Other policy measures would be most optimal to deal with the very serious deficits in the processes by which prescription drugs undergo clinical trials, and garner regulatory approval prior to their promotion in the marketplace. A more finely tuned approach to regulatory oversight is endorsed, one involving a proactive and precautionary approach reliant upon prior approval. Such an approach could help to address the very serious concerns about potential infringements of the human right not to be harmed by unsafe consumer products through corporate malfeasance or negligence.

  2. Daytime napping associated with increased symptom severity in fibromyalgia syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theadom, Alice; Cropley, Mark; Kantermann, Thomas

    2015-02-07

    Previous qualitative research has revealed that people with fibromyalgia use daytime napping as a coping strategy for managing symptoms against clinical advice. Yet there is no evidence to suggest whether daytime napping is beneficial or detrimental for people with fibromyalgia. The purpose of this study was to explore how people use daytime naps and to determine the links between daytime napping and symptom severity in fibromyalgia syndrome. A community based sample of 1044 adults who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome by a clinician completed an online questionnaire. Associations between napping behavior, sleep quality and fibromyalgia symptoms were explored using Spearman correlations, with possible predictors of napping behaviour entered into a logistic regression model. Differences between participants who napped on a daily basis and those who napped less regularly, as well as nap duration were explored. Daytime napping was significantly associated with increased pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, memory difficulties and sleep problems. Sleep problems and fatigue explained the greatest amount of variance in napping behaviour, p naps for >30 minutes had higher memory difficulties (t = -3.45) and levels of depression (t = -2.50) than those who napped for shorter periods (napping was linked with greater symptom severity in people with fibromyalgia. Given the common use of daytime napping in people with fibromyalgia evidence based guidelines on the use of daytime napping in people with chronic pain are urgently needed.

  3. Towards a nuclear-test ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    A survey of international efforts from the partial test-ban Treaty (in atmosphere, in outer space and under water) in 1963 to the Soviet-USA negotiations on verification measures for the threshold test-ban Treaty is given. As was the case in the bilateral and trilateral negotiations, the question of adequate verification procedures has remained one of the major problems in the multilateral considerations on a comprehensive test ban. Over the years, a number of proposals have been made in order to solve the issue, in particular by Sweden and by the Soviet Union. In 1988, the four experimental data centres, situated in Canberra, Moscow, Stockholm and Washington, carried out separate and joint experiments in analysis methodology. Communication techniques between the four international data centres and a number of national seismological stations were also tested. In addition, a global data-gathering experiment was conducted, resulting in the creation of an initial research data base at the experimental data centre in Canberra. Further technical experiments are planned for 1989, an in 1990 a large-scale experiment in data exchange and analysis, involving up to a hundred seismological stations globally and lasting several months, is foreseen

  4. Internet cigarette vendor compliance with credit card payment and shipping bans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Rebecca S; Ribisl, Kurt M

    2014-02-01

    Most Internet cigarette sales have violated taxation and youth access laws, leading to landmark 2005 agreements with credit card companies, PayPal, and private shippers (United Parcel Service, Federal Express, DHL) to cease participation in these transactions. Despite their promise at the time, loopholes allowed for check payment and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) shipping. This study assessed actual vendor compliance with the payment and shipping bans using a purchase survey. In late 2007 and early 2008, an adult buyer attempted to order cigarettes from the 97 most popular Internet cigarette vendors (ICVs) using banned payment and shipping methods. When banned payment or shipping methods were unavailable, purchases were attempted with alternate methods (e.g., checks, e-checks, USPS). Twenty-seven of 100 orders were placed with (banned) credit cards; 23 were successfully received. Seventy-one orders were placed with checks (60 successfully received). Four orders were delivered using banned shippers; 79 of 83 successfully received orders were delivered by the USPS. About a quarter of ICVs violated the payment ban, others adapted by accepting checks. Most vendors complied with the shipping ban, perhaps because USPS was an easy substitute shipping option. Better enforcement of the bans is needed; the 2009 Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act closed the USPS loophole by making cigarettes nonmailable material; evaluation of enforcement efforts and adaptations by vendors are needed. These sorts of bans are a promising approach to controlling the sale of restricted goods online.

  5. Trans Fat Bans and Human Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnik, David

    2014-01-01

    A growing body of evidence has linked consumption of trans fatty acids to cardiovascular disease. To promote public health, numerous state and local governments in the United States have banned the use of artificial trans fats in restaurant foods, and additional bans may follow. Although these policies may have a positive impact on human health, they open the door to excessive government control over food, which could restrict dietary choices, interfere with cultural, ethnic, and religious traditions, and exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. These slippery slope concerns cannot be dismissed as far-fetched, because the social and political pressures are place to induce additional food regulations. To protect human freedom and other values, policies that significantly restrict food choices, such as bans on types of food, should be adopted only when they are supported by substantial scientific evidence, and when policies that impose fewer restrictions on freedom, such as educational campaigns and product labeling, are likely to be ineffective. PMID:20229412

  6. Determine Daytime Earth's Radiation Budget from DSCOVR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, W.; Thieman, M. M.; Duda, D. P.; Khlopenkov, K. V.; Liang, L.; Sun-Mack, S.; Minnis, P.; SUN, M.

    2017-12-01

    The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) platform provides a unique perspective for remote sensing of the Earth. With the National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Radiometer (NISTAR) and the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard, it provides full-disk measurements of the broadband shortwave and total radiances reaching the L1 position. Because the satellite orbits around the L1 spot, it continuously observes a nearly full Earth, providing the potential to determine the daytime radiation budget of the globe at the top of the atmosphere. The NISTAR is a single-pixel instrument that measures the broadband radiance from the entire globe, while EPIC is a spectral imager with channels in the UV and visible ranges. The Level 1 NISTAR shortwave radiances are filtered radiances. To determine the daytime TOA shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes, the NISTAR measured shortwave radiances must be unfiltered first. We will describe the algorithm used to un-filter the shortwave radiances. These unfiltered NISTAR radiances are then converted to the full disk shortwave and daytime longwave fluxes, by accounting for the anisotropic characteristics of the Earth-reflected and emitted radiances. These anisotropy factors are determined by using the scene identifications determined from multiple low Earth orbit and geostationary satellites matched into the EPIC field of view. Time series of daytime radiation budget determined from NISTAR will be presented, and methodology of estimating the fluxes from the small unlit crescent of the Earth that comprises part of the field of view will also be described. The daytime shortwave and longwave fluxes from NISTAR will be compared with CERES dataset.

  7. Label it or ban it? Public perceptions of nano-food labels and propositions for banning nano-food applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuah, Agnes S. F.; Leong, Alisius D.; Cummings, Christopher L.; Ho, Shirley S.

    2018-02-01

    The future of nano-food largely hinges on public perceptions and willingness to accept this novel technology. The present study utilizes the scientific literacy model and psychometric paradigm as the key theoretical frameworks to examine the factors influencing public support for labeling and banning of nano-food in Singapore. Using data collected from a nationally representative survey of 1001 respondents, the findings demonstrated that attitudes toward technology, preference for natural product, science knowledge, and risk perception were found to substantially affect public support for both labeling and banning of nano-food. Conversely, attention to food safety news on traditional media and attention to nano-news on new media were only associated with public support for labeling of nano-food. Similarly, benefit perception was only significantly associated with public support for banning of nano-food. Theoretically, these findings support the growing body of literature that argues for the significant role played by predispositions, media use, science knowledge, and risk and benefit perceptions on attitude formation toward nano-food. It serves as the pioneering piece to address the aspect of banning in the field of nano-food. Practically, insights drawn from this study could aid relevant stakeholders in enlisting effecting strategies to convey the benefits of nano-food while mitigating the risk perceptions among the public.

  8. Students' drinking behavior and perceptions towards introducing alcohol policies on university campus in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Eva Ladekjær; Andsager Smorawski, Gitte; Lund Krabak, Katrine

    2016-01-01

    . The aim of this study is to explore students’ perceptions of alcohol policies on campus in relation to attitudes and practices of alcohol consumption. Methods We conducted six focus group interviews with students from the University of Southern Denmark at two different campuses. The interviews discussed...... topics such as experiences and attitudes towards alcohol consumption among students, regulations, and norms of alcohol use on campus. The analysis followed a pre-determined codebook. Results Alcohol consumption is an integrated practice on campus. Most of the participants found it unnecessary to make...... major restrictions. Instead, regulations were socially controlled by students themselves and related to what was considered to be appropriate behavior. However students were open minded towards smaller limitations of alcohol availability. These included banning the sale of alcohol in vending machines...

  9. Clove cigar sales following the US flavoured cigarette ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delnevo, Cristine D; Hrywna, Mary

    2015-12-01

    Following the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009, flavoured cigarettes, including clove cigarettes, were banned based on the rationale that such cigarettes appealed to youth. However, the ban on characterising flavours was not extended to cigars. This study reviewed industry documents from Kretek International, the parent company behind Djarum clove cigars, to document the changes in their marketing and production strategies following the flavour ban on cigarettes. To assess sales trends following the ban, data for clove cigar sales in the USA from 2009 to 2012 were analysed using Nielsen's Convenience Track retail scanner database. Additionally, data on tobacco imports to the USA from Indonesia were obtained from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Global Agricultural Trade System for the years 2008-2012. In anticipation of Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) flavour ban on cigarettes and recognising the regulatory advantages of cigars, Kretek International began developing Djarum clove cigars in 2007. Immediately following the flavour ban, sales of this product increased by more than 1400% between 2009 and 2012. During this same period, tobacco imports to the USA from Indonesia, a leader in clove tobacco production, shifted from cigarettes to almost exclusively cigars. Kretek International, like other tobacco manufacturers, manipulated its products following the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as a way to capitalise on regulatory loopholes and replace its now banned clove cigarettes. As a result, consumption of the company's Djarum clove cigars increased exponentially in recent years. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  10. Book Banning in the High Schools, 1975-81.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, John Anthony

    1982-01-01

    Describes recent cases of high school book banning illustrating patterns of censorship in the United States. The author examines reasons for book banning, the motivations behind this kind of censorship, and the ideological orientation of groups responsible for it. A bibliography of information on censorship is included. (AM)

  11. Associations among daytime sleepiness, depression and suicidal ideation in Korean adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Boksun; Choe, Kwisoon; Park, Youngrye; Kang, Youngmi

    2017-06-09

    The aim of this study was to examine the effects of daytime sleepiness on depression and suicidal ideation in adolescent high-school students. A survey of 538 high school students aged 16-17 years attending two academic schools was conducted. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Beck Depression Inventory and the Scale for Suicide Ideation were used to assess subjects' daytime sleepiness, depression and suicidal ideation. The mean score for daytime sleepiness was 8.52, which indicates a sleep deficit. Significant positive correlations were found between daytime sleepiness and depression, between daytime sleepiness and suicidal ideation and between depression and suicidal ideation. Gender and depression were significant predictors of suicidal ideation, accounting for 48% of the variance in this measure. Depression acts as a mediator of the relationship between daytime sleepiness and suicidal ideation. High school students in Korea generally have insufficient sleep time and feel sleepy during the day; insufficient sleep during adolescence may be associated with depression and suicidal ideation.

  12. Support for Indoor Bans on Electronic Cigarettes among Current and Former Smokers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie K. Kolar

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette use is increasing in the U.S. Although marketed as a safer alternative for cigarettes, initial evidence suggests that e-cigarettes may pose a secondhand exposure risk. The current study explored the prevalence and correlates of support for e-cigarette bans. Methods: A sample of 265 current/former smokers completed a cross-sectional telephone survey from June–September 2014; 45% Black, 31% White, 21% Hispanic. Items assessed support for home and workplace bans for cigarettes and e-cigarettes and associated risk perceptions. Results: Most participants were aware of e-cigarettes (99%. Results demonstrated less support for complete e-cigarette bans in homes and workplaces compared to cigarettes. Support for complete e-cigarette bans was strongest among older, higher income, married respondents, and former smokers. Complete e-cigarette bans were most strongly endorsed when perceptions of addictiveness and health risks were high. While both e-cigarette lifetime and never-users strongly supported cigarette smoking bans, endorsement for e-cigarette bans varied by lifetime use and intentions to use e-cigarettes. Conclusions: Support for indoor e-cigarette bans is relatively low among individuals with a smoking history. Support for e-cigarette bans may change as evidence regarding their use emerges. These findings have implications for public health policy.

  13. Cardiorespiratory hospitalisation and mortality reductions after smoking bans in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana M; Röösli, Martin; Radovanovic, Dragana; Grize, Leticia; Witassek, Fabienne; Schindler, Christian; Perez, Laura

    2017-01-19

    Smoking bans are considered one of the most effective policies to reduce population exposure to tobacco smoke and prevent adverse health outcomes. However, evidence on the effect of contextual variables on the effectiveness of smoking bans is still lacking. The patchwork of cantonal smoke-free laws in Switzerland was used as a quasi-experimental setting to assess changes after their introduction in: hospitalisations and mortality due to cardiorespiratory diseases in adults; total hospitalisations and hospitalisations due to respiratory disorders in children; and the modifying effects of contextual factors and the effectiveness of the laws. Using hospital and mortality registry data for residents in Switzerland (2005-2012), we conducted canton-specific interrupted time-series analyses followed by random effects meta-analyses to obtain nationwide smoking ban estimates by subgroups of age, sex and causes of hospitalisation or death. Heterogeneity of the impact caused by strictness of the ban and other smoking-related characteristics of the cantons was explored through meta-regression. Total hospitalisation rates due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases did not significantly change after the introduction of the ban. Post-ban changes were detected in ischaemic heart disease hospitalisations, with a 2.5% reduction (95% confidence interval [CI)] -6.2 to 1.3%) for all ages and 5.5% (95% CI -10.8 to -0.2%) in adults 35-64 years old. Total mortality due to respiratory diseases decreased by 8.2% (95% CI -15.2 to -0.6%) over all ages, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality decreased by 14.0% (95% CI -22.3 to -4.5%) in adults ≥65 years old. Cardiovascular mortality did not change after the introduction of the ban, but there was an indication of post-ban reductions in mortality due to hypertensive disorders (-5.4%, 95% CI -12.6 to 2.3%), and congestive heart failure (-6.0%, 95% CI -14.5 to 3.4%). No benefits were observed for hospitalisations due to

  14. BAN-Based m-health Services: Experiences and Prospects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baarda, Marianne; Jones, Valerie M.; Stemerding, Dirk

    2005-01-01

    The University of Twente and partners are developing and prototyping Body Area networks (BANs) for healthcare. We define a BAN as a network of devices worn on or around the body which communicate amongst themselves and perform a set of services for the user. Our work began with the European

  15. Experience of Japan in Achieving a Total Ban on Asbestos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sugio Furuya

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to examine the process through which a total ban on asbestos was achieved in Japan. We reconstructed the process, analyzed the roles of involved parties/events, and drew lessons from the Japanese experience of achieving the ban. In Japan, a bill to phase out asbestos was proposed in 1992 but rejected without deliberation. Wide support for such a ban subsequently grew, however, largely due to the actions of trade unions and civil societies in establishing a coalition, raising awareness, organizing asbestos victims and their families, and propagating information on international developments. A governmental decision towards a ban was made in 2002 based on several national and international factors. A huge asbestos scandal in 2005 preponed the achievement of a total ban and led to the establishment of comprehensive measures to tackle asbestos issues. However, challenges remain for the elimination of asbestos-related diseases.

  16. Sleep, eating disorder symptoms, and daytime functioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tromp MD

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Marilou DP Tromp,1 Anouk AMT Donners,1 Johan Garssen,1,2 Joris C Verster1,31Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 2Nutricia Research, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 3Center for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaObjective: To investigate the relationship between eating disorders, body mass index (BMI, sleep disorders, and daytime functioning.Design: Survey.Setting: The Netherlands.Participants: N=574 Dutch young adults (18–35 years old.Measurements: Participants completed a survey on eating and sleep habits including the Eating Disorder Screen for Primary care (ESP and SLEEP-50 questionnaire subscales for sleep apnea, insomnia, circadian rhythm disorder (CRD, and daytime functioning. SLEEP-50 outcomes of participants who screened negative (≤2 and positive (>2 on the ESP were compared. In addition, SLEEP-50 scores of groups of participants with different ESP scores (0–4 and different BMI groups (ie, underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese were compared using nonparametric statistics.Results: Almost 12% (n=67 of participants screened positive for having an eating disorder. Relative to participants without eating disorders, participants who screened positive for eating disorders reported significantly higher scores on sleep apnea (3.7 versus 2.9, P=0.012, insomnia (7.7 versus 5.5, P<0.0001, CRD (2.9 versus 2.3, P=0.011, and impairment of daytime functioning (8.8 versus 5.8, P=0.0001. ESP scores were associated with insomnia (r=0.117, P=0.005, sleep apnea (r=0.118, P=0.004, sleep quality (r=−0.104, P=0.012, and daytime functioning (r=0.225, P<0.0001, but not with CRD (r=0.066, P=0.112. BMI correlated significantly with ESP scores (r=0.172, P<0.0001 and scores on sleep apnea (r=0.171, P<0.0001. When controlling for BMI, the partial correlation between ESP and sleep apnea remained significant (r=0.10, P=0.015.Conclusion

  17. Trade law and alcohol regulation: what role for a global Alcohol Marketing Code?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Andrew D; Casben, Jessica

    2017-01-01

    Following calls for restrictions and bans on alcohol advertising, and in light of the tobacco industry's challenge to Australia's tobacco plain packaging measure, a tobacco control measure finding support in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, this paper considers what role, if any, an international alcohol marketing code might have in preventing or reducing the risk of challenges to domestic alcohol marketing restrictions under trade rules. Narrative review of international trade and health instruments and international trade court judgements regarding alcohol products and marketing restrictions. The experience of European trade courts in the litigation of similar measures suggests that World Trade Organization rules have sufficient flexibility to support the implementation of alcohol marketing restrictions. However, the experience also highlights the possibility that public health measures have disproportionate and unjustifiable trade effects and that the ability of a public health measure to withstand a challenge under trade rules will turn on its particular design and implementation. Measures implemented pursuant to international public health instruments are not immune to trade law challenges. Close collaboration between health policymakers, trade officials and lawyers, from as early as the research stage in the development of a measure to ensure a robust evidence base, will ensure the best chance of regulatory survival for an international marketing code. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  18. Spotlight on daytime napping during early childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horváth, Klára; Plunkett, Kim

    2018-01-01

    Daytime napping undergoes a remarkable change in early childhood, and research regarding its relationship to cognitive development has recently accelerated. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of this relationship focusing on children aged napping status of children may modulate the relationship between learning and napping. Third, the possible role of sleep spindles, ie, specific electroencephalographic components during sleep, in cognitive development is explored. We conclude that daytime napping is crucial in early memory development.

  19. Spotlight on daytime napping during early childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horváth K

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Klára Horváth,1 Kim Plunkett2 12nd Department of Pediatrics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 2Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Abstract: Daytime napping undergoes a remarkable change in early childhood, and research regarding its relationship to cognitive development has recently accelerated. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of this relationship focusing on children aged <5 years. First, we evaluate different studies on the basis of the experimental design used and the specific cognitive processes they investigate. Second, we analyze how the napping status of children may modulate the relationship between learning and napping. Third, the possible role of sleep spindles, ie, specific electroencephalographic components during sleep, in cognitive development is explored. We conclude that daytime napping is crucial in early memory development. Keywords: napping, children, infants, cognitive development, daytime sleep, memory, language development, sleep spindles

  20. Effectiveness of policies maintaining or restricting days of alcohol sales on excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Hahn, Robert A; Kuzara, Jennifer L; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S; Toomey, Traci; Lawrence, Briana

    2010-12-01

    Local, state, and national laws and policies that limit the days of the week on which alcoholic beverages may be sold may be a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to synthesize scientific evidence on the effectiveness for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms of laws and policies maintaining or reducing the days when alcoholic beverages may be sold. Outcomes assessed in 14 studies that met qualifying criteria were excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, including motor vehicle injuries and deaths, violence-related and other injuries, and health conditions. Qualifying studies assessed the effects of changes in days of sale in both on-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages are consumed where purchased) and off-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages may not be consumed where purchased). Eleven studies assessed the effects of adding days of sale, and three studies assessed the effects of imposing a ban on sales on a given weekend day. The evidence from these studies indicated that increasing days of sale leads to increases in excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and that reducing the number of days that alcoholic beverages are sold generally decreases alcohol-related harms. Based on these findings, when the expansion of days of sale is being considered, laws and policies maintaining the number of days of the week that alcoholic beverages are sold at on- and off-premises outlets in local, state, and national jurisdictions are effective public health strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  1. Effectiveness of Policies Maintaining or Restricting Days of Alcohol Sales on Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Harms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middleton, Jennifer Cook; Hahn, Robert A.; Kuzara, Jennifer L.; Elder, Randy; Brewer, Robert; Chattopadhyay, Sajal; Fielding, Jonathan; Naimi, Timothy S.; Toomey, Traci; Lawrence, Briana

    2013-01-01

    Local, state, and national laws and policies that limit the days of the week on which alcoholic beverages may be sold may be a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used to synthesize scientific evidence on the effectiveness for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms of laws and policies maintaining or reducing the days when alcoholic beverages may be sold. Outcomes assessed in 14 studies that met qualifying criteria were excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, including motor vehicle injuries and deaths, violence-related and other injuries, and health conditions. Qualifying studies assessed the effects of changes in days of sale in both on-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages are consumed where purchased) and off-premises settings (at which alcoholic beverages may not be consumed where purchased). Eleven studies assessed the effects of adding days of sale, and three studies assessed the effects of imposing a ban on sales on a given weekend day. The evidence from these studies indicated that increasing days of sale leads to increases in excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and that reducing the number of days that alcoholic beverages are sold generally decreases alcohol-related harms. Based on these findings, when the expansion of days of sale is being considered, laws and policies maintaining the number of days of the week that alcoholic beverages are sold at on- and off-premises outlets in local, state, and national jurisdictions are effective public health strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. PMID:21084079

  2. [Nutritional status, healthy habits, quality of life and daytime sleepiness in nightlife workers of Córdoba].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno Linares, Vicente; Diéguez Cantueso, Inmaculada; Lara Carmona, Juan José; Molina Recio, Guillermo

    2015-04-01

    This study is aimed to analyze the factors that affect body composition, nutritional status, dietary habits, substance abuse (alcohol and smoking), physical activity, sleepiness disorders and self-rated health status in people working in nightlife in the city of Cordoba. Representative sample of 144 subjects (88 men and 56 women) with a mean age of 26.88 (± 4.7) years was studied. Individuals were analized for their body composition. Besides, a personal interview was used to administrate validated questionnaires to get other important data related to the aim of the study. The male group showed higher body mass index (phabits such as drinking alcohol and smoking and at the same time they suffer from sleepiness daytime disorders. In spite of they seems to have a high self-awareness about their own health status, 1 from every 5 individuals recognize that they could improve it. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  3. Daytime sleepiness, sleep habits and occupational accidents among hospital nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Kenshu; Ohida, Takashi; Kaneita, Yoshitaka; Yokoyama, Eise; Uchiyama, Makoto

    2005-11-01

    This paper reports a study to determine the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep habits among hospital nurses and to analyse associations between excessive daytime sleepiness and different types of medical error. It has been reported that sleep disorders, and the tiredness and sleepiness brought about by sleep disorders may be associated with occupational accidents. However, to our knowledge, there has so far been no report on associations between sleep disorders, excessive daytime sleepiness in particular, and occupational accidents among hospital nurses. The study was a cross-sectional study targeting 4407 nurses working in eight large general hospitals in Japan. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate their sleep patterns and experience of occupational accidents. The data were collected in 2003. The prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness among hospital nurses in the present study was 26.0%. A statistically significant relationship was observed between having or not having occupational accidents during the past 12 months and excessive daytime sleepiness. Multiple logistic regression analyses on factors leading to occupational accidents during the past 12 months showed statistically significant associations between (1) drug administration errors and (2) shift work and age, between (1) incorrect operation of medical equipment and (2) excessive daytime sleepiness and age, and between needlestick injuries and age. Excessive daytime sleepiness is an important occupational health issue in hospital nurses. It is possible that occupational policies and health promotion measures, such as a provision of sleep hygiene advice and social support at worksites, would be effective in preventing occupational accidents among hospital nurses.

  4. Daytime Napping, Nighttime Sleeping, and Parkinson Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jianjun; Huang, Xuemei; Park, Yikyung; Hollenbeck, Albert; Blair, Aaron; Schatzkin, Arthur; Chen, Honglei

    2011-01-01

    Preliminary evidence suggests that daytime sleepiness may predate clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease. The authors examined daytime napping and nighttime sleeping durations, reported in 1996–1997 by 220,934 US NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study participants, in relation to Parkinson disease diagnoses at 3 clinical stages: established (cases diagnosed before 1995, n = 267), recent (1995–1999, n = 396), and prediagnostic (2000 and after, n = 770). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were derived from multivariate logistic regression models. Longer daytime napping was associated with higher odds of Parkinson disease at all 3 clinical stages: the odds ratios comparing long nappers (>1 hour/day) with nonnappers were 3.9 (95% confidence interval: 2.8, 5.6) for established cases, 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.7, 3.0) for recent cases, and 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.2, 1.9) for prediagnostic cases. Further control for health status or nighttime sleeping duration attenuated the association for established cases but made little difference for recent or prediagnostic cases. In the nighttime sleeping analysis, a clear U-shaped association with Parkinson disease was observed for established cases; however, this association was attenuated markedly for recent cases and disappeared for prediagnostic cases. This study supports the notion that daytime sleepiness, but not nighttime sleeping duration, is one of the early nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson disease. PMID:21402730

  5. Banning banking in EU emissions trading?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schleich, Joachim; Ehrhart, Karl-Martin; Hoppe, Christian; Seifert, Stefan

    2006-01-01

    Admitting banking in emissions trading systems reduces overall compliance costs by allowing for inter-temporal flexibility: cost savings can be traded over time. However, unless individual EU Member States (MS) decide differently, the transfer of unused allowances from the period of 2005-2007 into the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, i.e. 2008-2012, will be prohibited. In this paper, we first explore the implications of such a ban on banking when initial emission targets are lenient. This analysis is based on a simulation which was recently carried out in Germany with companies and with a student control group. The findings suggest that a EU-wide ban on banking would lead to efficiency losses in addition to those losses which arise from the lack of inter-temporal flexibility. Second, we use simple game-theoretic considerations to argue that, under reasonable assumptions, such a EU-wide ban on banking will be the equilibrium outcome. Thus, to avoid a possible prisoners' dilemma, MS should have co-ordinated their banking decisions

  6. [Acceptance of a total smoking ban in schools: students' attitudes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgenstern, M; Wiborg, G; Hanewinkel, R

    2008-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure students' attitudes towards a total smoking ban in schools and towards impositions in cases of violation. Cross-sectional survey of 1 738 students of 12 public schools in Schleswig-Holstein (grades 7-13, age 11-20 years). Data were collected by means of written questionnaires administered during class time. The following variables were assessed: attitude towards smoking ban, attitude towards impositions, age, sex, citizenship, perceived school climate, current smoking, lifetime smoking; for smokers, and additionally, the "Heaviness of Smoking Index". 76.5% of all students agreed with a total smoking ban, 66.4% agreed with the punishment of violations. Higher acceptance rates were found among girls, young students (11-15 years of age), for never-smokers, and for students who feel comfortable at school. Acceptance of the smoking ban is closely related to current smoking status: 93% of the non-smoking students, but only 14% of the daily smoking students agreed with the regulations. Refusal of the ban increased with increasing physical dependence. The intensification of the smoking ban in public schools meets approval by the majority of students. Smoking students should be more strongly involved in the implementation process, e.g., by supplemental cessation programmes.

  7. Consequences of Split Shift Work in Indian Traffic Police Personnel: Daytime Sleepiness, Stressors and Psychological Distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakesh Kumar Soni

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study was aimed to measure the daily routine preference, daytime sleepiness, and psychological distress experiences, because of split shift system job in a sample in traffic police personnel of Raipur city, India. To measure such parameters we used the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS, Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (OPSQ, General Health Questionnaire and the Distress. To evaluate differences between age, body mass index, period of service length and drug / alcohol use for all the subjects (traffic police personnel the t-test and chi-square test were used. Total Hundred male traffic police personnel participated and out of which most of them were found to belong in the evening active category. This study also indicates increased prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and (EDS high level of psychological distress as measured by the GHQ-12 among few police workers. Moreover, a number of participants reported significant distress levels, when measured with distress thermometer. In nutshell, the study sample suggests adaptive coping strategies of traffic police personnel working in split shift system profession can be attributed to their evening (E-type circadian preferences.

  8. Ionosonde observations of daytime spread F at low latitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Chunhua; Yang, Guobin; Liu, Jing; Yokoyama, Tatsuhiro; Komolmis, Tharadol; Song, Huan; Lan, Ting; Zhou, Chen; Zhang, Yuannong; Zhao, Zhengyu

    2016-12-01

    Spread F on ionograms has been considered to be a phenomenon mainly occurred at nighttime. This study presented a case study of daytime spread F observed by the ionosonde installed at Puer (PUR; 22.7°N, 101.05°E; dip latitude 12.9°N), where daytime spread F that lasted for more than 2 h (about 08:30 LT 10:45 LT) was observed on 14 November 2015. To investigate the possible mechanism, ionograms recorded at PUR and Chiang Mai (18.76°N, 98.93°E; dip latitude 9.04°N) were used in this study. We found that traveling ionospheric disturbances were observed before the occurrence of daytime spread F. Meanwhile, the movement of the peak height of the ionosphere was downward. We suggested that downward vertical neutral winds excited by traveling atmospheric disturbances/atmospheric gravity waves might play a significant role in forming daytime spread F over PUR during geomagnetic storms.

  9. Shift Work: Improving Daytime Sleep

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... night. Good daytime sleep is possible, though, if shift work is a necessary part of your work life. ... mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/shift-work/faq-20057991 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and ...

  10. The Danish trans-fatty acids ban

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vallgårda, Signild

    2017-01-01

    In 2003 an executive order was issued banning industrially produced trans-fatty acids above a low level in food items in Denmark. To date, only a few other countries have followed Denmark’s example. The way health consequences of trans fats were translated by the different actors enabled the crea......In 2003 an executive order was issued banning industrially produced trans-fatty acids above a low level in food items in Denmark. To date, only a few other countries have followed Denmark’s example. The way health consequences of trans fats were translated by the different actors enabled...

  11. Improved health of hospitality workers after a Swiss cantonal smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durham, André-Dante; Bergier, Samuel; Morisod, Xavier; Locatelli, Isabella; Zellweger, Jean-Pierre; Huynh, Cong Khanh; Cornuz, Jacques

    2011-12-22

    Hospitality workers are a population particularly at risk from the noxious effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The Canton of Vaud, Switzerland banned smoking in public places in September 2009. This prospective study addresses the impact of the ban on the health of hospitality workers. ETS exposure was evaluated using a passive sampling device that measures airborne nicotine; lung function was assessed by spirometry; health-related quality of life, ETS exposure symptoms and satisfaction were measured by questionnaire. 105 participants (smokers and non-smokers) were recruited initially and 66 were followed up after one year. ETS exposure was significantly lower after the ban. Hospitality workers had lower pre-ban forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) values than expected. FEV1 remained stable after the ban, with a near-significant increase in the subgroup of asthmatics only. FVC increased at one year follow-up from 90.42% to 93.05% (p = 0.02) in the entire cohort; women, non-smokers and older participants gained the greatest benefit. The health survey showed an increase in physical wellbeing after the ban, the greatest benefit being observed in non-smokers. ETS exposure symptoms were less frequent after the ban, especially red and irritated eyes and sneezing. The new law was judged useful and satisfactory by the vast majority of employees, including smokers. The recent cantonal ban on smoking in public places brought about an improvement in lung function, physical well-being and ETS symptoms of hospitality workers, including smokers.

  12. Perceptions of the solarium ban in Australia: 'Fake it, don't bake it'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prichard, Ivanka; Dobbinson, Suzanne; Wilson, Carlene; Hutchinson, Amanda D; Rayner, Joanne; Makin, Jen

    2015-08-01

    The causal link between ultraviolet radiation from solarium use and skin cancer is well established. In 2012 and 2013, state governments across Australia announced plans to ban commercial solarium use from 31 December 2014. The present study examined the responses of solarium and non-solarium users to the ban on commercial solariums in Australia. Participants (n = 488; 388 females, 100 males; mean age = 26.02, s.d. = 9.95) completed an online questionnaire during the summer prior to the ban relating to solarium usage and their opinions about the ban. Overall, 49% (n = 237) of participants were aware of the impending ban; 17% (n = 83) had used a solarium at some point in their life. The response to the solarium ban was positive; however, some current solarium users intended post-ban to use privately owned sunbeds and or spend a greater amount of time sun-tanning. These findings indicate a high level of public support for the solarium ban, which has removed a risky source of ultraviolet radiation in Australia. SO WHAT? Further steps are now needed to monitor the tanning behaviours of previous solarium users post-ban and their access to private sunbed use and other potentially dangerous methods of tanning (e.g. tanning injections).

  13. Compliance with indoor tanning bans for minors among businesses in the USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choy, Courtney C; Cartmel, Brenda; Clare, Rachel A; Ferrucci, Leah M

    2017-12-01

    Indoor tanning is a known risk factor for skin cancer and is especially dangerous for adolescents. Some states have passed indoor tanning bans for minors, but business compliance with the bans is not well understood. Thus far, studies have assessed ban compliance in one or two states at a time. This study aimed to assess compliance with indoor tanning bans for minors and knowledge of dangers and benefits of tanning among indoor tanning businesses. Female research assistants posing as minors telephoned a convenience sample of 412 businesses in 14 states with tanning bans for minors under age 17 or 18. We evaluated differences in compliance by census region and years since ban was implemented and differences in reported dangers and benefits by compliance. Most (80.1%) businesses told the "minor" caller she could not use the tanning facilities. Businesses in the south and in states with more recent bans were less compliant. Among those (n = 368) that completed the full interview, 52.2% identified burning and 20.1% mentioned skin cancer as potential dangers. However, 21.7% said dangers were no worse than the sun and 10.3% denied any dangers. Stated benefits included vitamin D (27.7%), social/cosmetic (27.2%), and treats skin diseases (26.4%), with only 4.9% reporting no benefits. While most businesses followed the indoor tanning ban when a minor called, one-fifth did not. Many stated inaccurate health claims. Additional enforcement or education might increase compliance with indoor tanning bans and action is needed to prevent businesses from stating false health information.

  14. Bans on electronic cigarette sales to minors and smoking among high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abouk, Rahi; Adams, Scott

    2017-07-01

    Many states have banned electronic cigarette sales to minors under the rationale that using e-cigarettes leads to smoking traditional combustion cigarettes. Such sales bans would be counterproductive, however, if e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes are substitutes, as bans might push teenagers back to smoking the more dangerous combustion cigarettes. We provide evidence that these sales bans reduce the incidence of smoking conventional cigarettes among high school seniors. Moreover, we provide evidence suggesting that sales bans reduced e-cigarette usage as well. This evidence suggests that not only are e-cigarettes and smoking regular cigarettes positively related and not substitutes for young people, banning retail sales to minors is an effective policy tool in reducing tobacco use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Advertising and alcohol sales: a legal impact study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makowsky, C R; Whitehead, P C

    1991-11-01

    According to the single distribution theory increases in the availability of alcoholic beverages in the general population are associated with increases in average consumption and increases in alcohol-related damage. If it can be demonstrated that advertising contributes to availability, perhaps in the form of what has been called social or subjective availability, then advertising could be considered an appropriate target of prevention. A 58-year ban on advertising of alcoholic beverages was lifted in Saskatchewan in 1983. Data on monthly sales of beer, wine and distilled spirits were examined for the years 1981 to 1987. Box-Jenkins time series techniques were used to estimate the statistical relationship between the policy change and volume of sales of alcoholic beverages. The results revealed that sales of beer increased and sales of spirits decreased following the change in legislation that permitted alcohol advertising in Saskatchewan. The main finding is that there was no impact on wine and total alcohol sales from the introduction of alcohol advertising. Alcohol advertising may have produced a substitution effect with respect to beer and spirits, but this was not predicted. This evaluation suggests that alcohol advertising is not a contributory force that influences the overall level of alcohol consumption. The place of advertising in the single distribution theory remains not proven, and the place of advertising as an instrument of public policy with respect to the prevention of alcohol-related damage remains in question.

  16. Age-specific differences between conventional and ambulatory daytime blood pressure values

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conen, David; Aeschbacher, Stefanie; Thijs, Lutgarde

    2014-01-01

    Mean daytime ambulatory blood pressure (BP) values are considered to be lower than conventional BP values, but data on this relation among younger individuals ... population-based cohorts. We compared individual differences between daytime ambulatory and conventional BP according to 10-year age categories. Age-specific prevalences of white coat and masked hypertension were calculated. Among individuals aged 18 to 30, 30 to 40, and 40 to 50 years, mean daytime BP...

  17. India and the nuclear test ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, J.

    1998-01-01

    India has sought a nuclear-test ban for the last 42 years bur is now unable to sign the Comprehensive Test ban Treaty (CTBT) when it is in its final form and moved to block its transmittal from the Conference on Disarmament to the UN General assembly. The negotiating mandate for the CTBT required it to effectively contribute to the process of disarmament. It is towards this end that India proposed amendments. Nuclear disarmament is fundamental for India's strategic and security interests. The only viable solution to India's security concerns related to nuclear weapons is in pursuing total elimination of nuclear weapons from national arsenals

  18. Varnostni vidiki spletnega bančništva : diplomsko delo univerzitetnega študija

    OpenAIRE

    Prodanović, Stanislav

    2013-01-01

    Banke imajo, kot osrednje finančne institucije, veliko zaslug za hiter razvoj informacijske tehnologije. Če je bila še pred približno 15 leti tehnologija bank skrita pred očmi javnosti, je danes preko elektronskega bančništva povezana s komitenti bank, saj se je v zadnjem desetletju elektronsko bančništvo izkazalo za eno najbolj dobičkonosnih spletnih storitev. Spletno bančništvo je del elektronskega bančništva in omogoča opravljanje bančnih poslov preko interneta ob vseh urah dneva, hkrat...

  19. Daytime napping associated with increased symptom severity in fibromyalgia syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theadom, Alice; Cropley, Mark; Kantermann, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Background: Previous qualitative research has revealed that people with fibromyalgia use daytime napping as a coping strategy for managing symptoms against clinical advice. Yet there is no evidence to suggest whether daytime napping is beneficial or detrimental for people with fibromyalgia. The

  20. Banning the bulb: Institutional evolution and the phased ban of incandescent lighting in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howarth, Nicholas A.A.; Rosenow, Jan

    2014-01-01

    Much academic attention has been directed at analysing energy efficiency investments through the lens of ‘behavioural failure’. These studies have challenged the neoclassical framing of regulation which emphasises the efficiency benefits of price based policy, underpinned by the notion of rational individual self-mastery. The increasing use of a regulatory ban on electric lamps in many countries is one of the most recent and high profile flash points in this dialectic of ‘freedom-versus-the-state’ in the public policy discourse. This paper interrogates this debate through a study of electric lamp diffusion in Germany. It is argued that neoclassical theory and equilibrium analysis is inadequate as a tool for policy analysis as it takes the formation of market institutions, such as existing regulations, for granted. Further still, it may be prone to encourage idealistic debates around such grand narratives which may in practice simply serve those who benefit most from the status quo. Instead we argue for an evolutionary approach which we suggest offers a more pragmatic framing tool which focuses on the formation of market institutions in light of shifting social norms and political goals—in our case, progress towards energy efficiency and environmental goals. - Highlights: • Empirical data on the ban of incandescent lamps in Germany is presented. • The political debate on the ban is positioned within key bodies of theory. • Discourse was found to have positively influenced diffusion of efficient lighting. • Tools for the reframing of political debate are proposed for policy makers

  1. Ecological momentary assessment of acute alcohol use disorder symptoms: associations with mood, motives, and use on planned drinking days.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dvorak, Robert D; Pearson, Matthew R; Day, Anne M

    2014-08-01

    Several theories posit that alcohol is consumed both in relation to one's mood and in relation to different motives for drinking. However, there are mixed findings regarding the role of mood and motives in predicting drinking. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods provide an opportunity to evaluate near real-time changes in mood and motives within individuals to predict alcohol use. In addition, endorsement of criteria of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) may also be sensitive to changes within subjects. The current study used EMA with 74 moderate drinkers who responded to fixed and random mood, motive, alcohol use, and AUD criteria prompts over a 21-day assessment period. A temporal pattern of daytime mood, evening drinking motivation, and nighttime alcohol use and acute AUD symptoms on planned drinking days was modeled to examine how these associations unfold throughout the day. The results suggest considerable heterogeneity in drinking motivation across drinking days. Additionally, an affect regulation model of drinking to cope with negative mood was observed. Specifically, on planned drinking days, the temporal association between daytime negative mood and the experience of acute AUD symptoms was mediated via coping motives and alcohol use. The current study found that motives are dynamic, and that changes in motives may predict differential drinking patterns across days. Further, the study provides evidence that emotion-regulation-driven alcohol involvement may need to be examined at the event level to fully capture the ebb and flow of negative affect motivated drinking.

  2. Verification methods for treaties limiting and banning nuclear tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voloshin, N.P.

    1998-01-01

    Treaty on limitation of underground nuclear weapon tests and treaty on world banning of nuclear tests contribute to and accompany the process of nuclear disarmament. Test ban in three (Moscow treaty of 1963) as well as the Threshold Test Ban up to 1991 was controlled only with national means. But since 1991 nuclear test threshold of 150 kt has been measured with hydrodynamic and tele seismic methods and checked by the inspection. Distinctive feature of this control is that control is that it is bilateral. This conforms to Treaty on limitation of underground nuclear weapon tests signed by two countries - USA and USSR. The inspection at the place of tests requires monitoring of the test site of the party conducting a test and geological information of rock in the area of explosion. In the treaty of the World Nuclear Test Ban the following ways of international control are provided for: - seismologic measurements; - radionuclide measurements; - hydro-acoustics measurements; - infra-sound measurements; - inspection at the place of the tests conduction

  3. A comprehensive nuclear test ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    The conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear test ban is of critical importance for the future of arms limitation and disarmament. As the 1980 report of the Secretary-General concluded, a comprehensive nuclear test ban is regarded as the first and most urgent step towards the cessation of the nuclear arms race and, in particular, of its qualitative aspects. It could serve as an important measure for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, both vertical and horizontal. It would have a major arms limitation impact in that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, to develop new designs of nuclear weapons and would also place constraints on the modification of existing weapon designs. The permanent cessation of all nuclear-weapon tests has long been sought by the world community and its achievement would be an event of great international significance

  4. Wake-up stroke: Clinical characteristics, sedentary lifestyle, and daytime sleepiness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diniz, Deborath Lucia de Oliveira; Barreto, Pedro Rodrigues; Bruin, Pedro Felipe Carvalhedo de; Bruin, Veralice Meireles Sales de

    2016-10-01

    Wake-up stroke (WUS) is defined when the exact time of the beginning of the symptoms cannot be determined, for the deficits are perceived upon awakening. Sleep alterations are important risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular diseases. This study evaluates the characteristics of patients with and without WUS, the presence of daytime sleepiness, and associated risk factors. Patients with ischemic stroke were investigated about the presence of WUS. Clinical and demographic characteristics were evaluated. Stroke severity was studied by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS), and daytime sleepiness severity was studied by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Seventy patients (57.1% men) aged from 32 to 80 years (58.5±13.3) were studied. WUS was observed in 24.3%. Arterial hypertension (67.1%), type 2 diabetes (27.1%), and hyperlipidemia (22.8%) were frequent. Type 2 diabetes and sedentary lifestyle were more common in patients with WUS (p10). No differences were found between patients with and without WUS as regards stroke severity or excessive daytime sleepiness. Patients with excessive daytime sleepiness were younger and had more sedentary lifestyle (psedentary lifestyle. Daytime sleepiness is frequent and is associated with sedentary lifestyle and heavy drinking.

  5. Adoption and compliance in second-hand smoking bans: a global econometric analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, Richard; Neumayer, Eric

    2014-10-01

    We examine the determinants governing both countries' enactment of smoking bans in public places and their ability to successfully put these bans into effect. Using a large sample (N = 99-184) of low-, middle- and high-income countries, econometric techniques are used to estimate the influence of several variables on cross-national variations in the adoption and compliance of second-hand smoke laws (2010). We find similarities in the determinants of adoption and compliance. Yet more notable are the differences, with several political economy factors which have a statistically significant influence on countries' level of compliance with existing smoke-free laws in public places found not to consistently influence their propensity to adopt bans in the first place. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are that governments are motivated to adopt smoking bans for reasons other than protecting the health of their citizens and that the real costs of smoking bans are predominantly borne at the compliance stage. More effort needs to be made to ensure that governments realize their existing policy commitments through effective enforcement of bans.

  6. Psychometric properties of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and prevalence of alcohol use among Iranian psychiatric outpatients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noorbakhsh, Simasadat; Shams, Jamal; Faghihimohamadi, Mohamadmahdi; Zahiroddin, Hanieh; Hallgren, Mats; Kallmen, Hakan

    2018-01-30

    Iran is a developing and Islamic country where the consumption of alcoholic beverages is banned. However, psychiatric disorders and alcohol use disorders are often co-occurring. We used the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and examined the psychometric properties of the test among psychiatric outpatients in Teheran, Iran. AUDIT was completed by 846 consecutive (sequential) patients. Descriptive statistics, internal consistency (Cronbach alpha), confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to analyze the prevalence of alcohol use, reliability and construct validity. 12% of men and 1% of women were hazardous alcohol consumers. Internal reliability of the Iranian version of AUDIT was excellent. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the construct validity and the fit of previous factor structures (1, 2 and 3 factors) to data were not good and seemingly contradicted results from the explorative principal axis factoring, which showed that a 1-factor solution explained 77% of the co-variances. We could not reproduce the suggested factor structure of AUDIT, probably due to the skewed distribution of alcohol consumption. Only 19% of men and 3% of women scored above 0 on AUDIT. This could be explained by the fact that alcohol is illegal in Iran. In conclusion the AUDIT exhibited good internal reliability when used as a single scale. The prevalence estimates according to AUDIT were somewhat higher among psychiatric patients compared to what was reported by WHO regarding the general population.

  7. Gender differences in excessive daytime sleepiness among Japanese workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doi, Yuriko; Minowa, Masumi

    2003-02-01

    Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is serious concern in the workplace with respect to errors, accidents, absenteeism, reduced productivity and impaired personal or professional life. Previous community studies found a female preponderance of EDS, however, there is little research on EDS and gender in occupational settings. We examined the gender differences in prevalence and risk factors of EDS among employees working at a telecommunications company in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Our outcome measure of EDS was the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). A self-administered questionnaire on health and sleep including ESS was distributed to 5,571 workers between December 1999 and January 2000, and 5,072 responses were returned (91.0%). A total of 4,722 full-time, non-manual and non-shift employees aged 20-59 were used for analysis (3,909 men and 813 women). Chi-squared tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied for examining the gender differences in the prevalence and risk factors of EDS. The prevalence rates of EDS were 13.3% for women and 7.2% for men (Pgenders, and being married worked as a protective factor against EDS for men alone. It is obvious that a ban on overtime work and a provision of mental health hygiene are the general strategies for reducing EDS at worksites. In the case of women, we suggest the formation of effective strategies for improving women's status at home and in the workplace must also be a solution for the prevention of EDS (e.g. promoting gender equality in the division of labor at home and strengthening family care policies for working women).

  8. Networks of global bird invasion altered by regional trade ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reino, Luís; Figueira, Rui; Beja, Pedro; Araújo, Miguel B; Capinha, César; Strubbe, Diederik

    2017-11-01

    Wildlife trade is a major pathway for introduction of invasive species worldwide. However, how exactly wildlife trade influences invasion risk, beyond the transportation of individuals to novel areas, remains unknown. We analyze the global trade network of wild-caught birds from 1995 to 2011 as reported by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). We found that before the European Union ban on imports of wild-caught birds, declared in 2005, invasion risk was closely associated with numbers of imported birds, diversity of import sources, and degree of network centrality of importer countries. After the ban, fluxes of global bird trade declined sharply. However, new trade routes emerged, primarily toward the Nearctic, Afrotropical, and Indo-Malay regions. Although regional bans can curtail invasion risk globally, to be fully effective and prevent rerouting of trade flows, bans should be global.

  9. Insider trading under trading ban regulation in China’s A-share market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chafen Zhu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the effects of China’s 2008 trading ban regulation on the insider trading of large shareholders in China’s A-share market. It finds no evidence of insider trading during the ban period (one month before the announcement of a financial report, due to high regulation risk. However, the ban only constrains the profitability of insider trades during the ban period, while trades outside it remain highly profitable. Informed insider trading before the ban period is 2.83 times more profitable than uninformed trading. The regulation has changed insider trading patterns, but has been ineffective in preventing insider trading by large shareholders due to rigid administrative supervision and a lack of civil litigation and flexible market monitoring. This study enhances understanding of large shareholders’ trading behavior and has important implications for regulators.

  10. Air pollution in Boston bars before and after a smoking ban

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyde James N

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We quantified the air quality benefits of a smoke-free workplace law in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A., by measuring air pollution from secondhand smoke (SHS in 7 pubs before and after the law, comparing actual ventilation practices to engineering society (ASHRAE recommendations, and assessing SHS levels using health and comfort indices. Methods We performed real-time measurements of respirable particle (RSP air pollution and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH, in 7 pubs and outdoors in a model-based design yielding air exchange rates for RSP removal. We also assessed ventilation rates from carbon dioxide concentrations. We compared RSP air pollution to the federal Air Quality Index (AQI and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS to assess health risks, and assessed odor and irritation levels using published SHS-RSP thresholds. Results Pre-smoking-ban RSP levels in 6 pubs (one pub with a non-SHS air quality problem was excluded averaged 179 μg/m3, 23 times higher than post-ban levels, which averaged 7.7 μg/m3, exceeding the NAAQS for fine particle pollution (PM2.5 by nearly 4-fold. Pre-smoking ban levels of fine particle air pollution in all 7 of the pubs were in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range of the AQI. In the same 6 pubs, pre-ban indoor carcinogenic PPAH averaged 61.7 ng/m3, nearly 10 times higher than post-ban levels of 6.32 ng/m3. Post-ban particulate air pollution levels were in the Good AQI range, except for 1 venue with a defective gas-fired deep-fat fryer, while post-ban carcinogen levels in all 7 pubs were lower than outdoors. Conclusion During smoking, although pub ventilation rates per occupant were within ASHRAE design parameters for the control of carbon dioxide levels for the number of occupants present, they failed to control SHS carcinogens or RSP. Nonsmokers' SHS odor and irritation sensory thresholds were massively exceeded. Post-ban air pollution measurements showed 90% to 95

  11. Air pollution in Boston bars before and after a smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Repace, James L; Hyde, James N; Brugge, Doug

    2006-10-27

    We quantified the air quality benefits of a smoke-free workplace law in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A., by measuring air pollution from secondhand smoke (SHS) in 7 pubs before and after the law, comparing actual ventilation practices to engineering society (ASHRAE) recommendations, and assessing SHS levels using health and comfort indices. We performed real-time measurements of respirable particle (RSP) air pollution and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH), in 7 pubs and outdoors in a model-based design yielding air exchange rates for RSP removal. We also assessed ventilation rates from carbon dioxide concentrations. We compared RSP air pollution to the federal Air Quality Index (AQI) and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to assess health risks, and assessed odor and irritation levels using published SHS-RSP thresholds. Pre-smoking-ban RSP levels in 6 pubs (one pub with a non-SHS air quality problem was excluded) averaged 179 microg/m3, 23 times higher than post-ban levels, which averaged 7.7 microg/m3, exceeding the NAAQS for fine particle pollution (PM2.5) by nearly 4-fold. Pre-smoking ban levels of fine particle air pollution in all 7 of the pubs were in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range of the AQI. In the same 6 pubs, pre-ban indoor carcinogenic PPAH averaged 61.7 ng/m3, nearly 10 times higher than post-ban levels of 6.32 ng/m3. Post-ban particulate air pollution levels were in the Good AQI range, except for 1 venue with a defective gas-fired deep-fat fryer, while post-ban carcinogen levels in all 7 pubs were lower than outdoors. During smoking, although pub ventilation rates per occupant were within ASHRAE design parameters for the control of carbon dioxide levels for the number of occupants present, they failed to control SHS carcinogens or RSP. Nonsmokers' SHS odor and irritation sensory thresholds were massively exceeded. Post-ban air pollution measurements showed 90% to 95% reductions in PPAH and RSP respectively, differing

  12. Daytime napping and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a 13-year follow-up of a British population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Yue; Wainwright, Nick W J; Cappuccio, Francesco P; Surtees, Paul G; Hayat, Shabina; Luben, Robert; Brayne, Carol; Khaw, Kay-Tee

    2014-05-01

    Epidemiologic studies have reported conflicting results on the relationship between daytime napping and mortality risk, and there are few data on the potential association in the British population. We investigated the associations between daytime napping and all-cause or cause-specific mortality in the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer-Norfolk study, a British population-based cohort study. Among the 16,374 men and women who answered questions on napping habits between 1998 and 2000, a total of 3,251 died during the 13-year follow-up. Daytime napping was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (for napping less than 1 hour per day on average, hazard ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.27; for napping 1 hour or longer per day on average, hazard ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.68), independent of age, sex, social class, educational level, marital status, employment status, body mass index, physical activity level, smoking status, alcohol intake, depression, self-reported general health, use of hypnotic drugs or other medications, time spent in bed at night, and presence of preexisting health conditions. This association was more pronounced for death from respiratory diseases (for napping less than 1 hour, hazard ratio = 1.40, 95% confidence interval: 0.95, 2.05; for napping 1 hour or more, hazard ratio = 2.56, 95% confidence interval: 1.34, 4.86) and in individuals 65 years of age or younger. Excessive daytime napping might be a useful marker of underlying health risk, particularly of respiratory problems, especially among those 65 years of age or younger. Further research is required to clarify the nature of the observed association.

  13. History of Asbestos Ban in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Kwan Wong

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available As millions of immigrants moved to Hong Kong (HK from China in the recent decades, large amount of residential housings were built in the early years and a substantial proportion of those buildings used asbestos-containing materials (ACMs. Since the number of new cases of ARDs diagnosed has increased year by year since 1990’s, the remarkable increase of incidences had drawn the attention of the public and most importantly the HK government. It became one of the trigger points leading to asbestos ban in HK history. Comparatively, non-governmental organizations (NGOs, labor unions and patients’ self-help organizations demonstrated a more aggressive and proactive attitude than the HK government and have played a key role in the development of asbestos banning policy in HK. After numerous petitions and meetings with the government representatives by those parties in the past decade, the HK government eventually changed its attitude and started to consider terminating the endless threat from asbestos by amending the policy, and the new clause of legislation for banning of all forms of asbestos was enacted on 4 April 2014. Other than the restriction of asbestos use, the compensation system about ARDs has also made some great moves by the effort of those parties as well. Based on the experience we learnt through the years, efforts from different stakeholders including patients’ self-help organizations, NGOs, legislative councilors, and media power are absolutely essential to the success of progression and development in today’s asbestos banning in HK.

  14. The Operational Impact of the U.S. Assassination Ban

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Berg, Stephen

    2001-01-01

    ... banned its use regardless of the nature of the conflict or the status of the leader. The United States should eliminate the assassination ban. As potentially one of the most effective and efficient means for combating and deterring aggression from rogue states and terrorists, assassination or at least the credible threat of assassination, should be an option available to the United States.

  15. The Impact of the Workplace Smoking Ban in Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Beomsoo Kim

    2009-01-01

    A full work area smoking ban reduced the current smoking rate by 9.6 percentage points among males and the average daily consumption among smokers by 24 percent relative to no smoking ban. Secondhand smoke showed a dramatic decrease of 88 percent from the sample mean among males. The public anti-smoking campaign did not show any significant impact on smoking behavior.

  16. Clerics urge ban on altering germline cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, C

    1983-06-24

    A resolution calling for a ban on genetic engineering of human reproductive cells has been signed by leaders of almost every major church group in the United States. Some of the religious leaders, while not certain that a total moratorium should be placed on altering germline cells, signed the statement in order to stimulate public debate on the issue. Legislation has recently been introduced in Congress to set up a committee to monitor genetic engineering and its human applications, but author Jeremy Rifkin, the impetus behind the church leaders' resolution, argues that such tampering threatens the gene pool and should be banned altogether.

  17. Acute respiratory and cardiovascular admissions after a public smoking ban in Geneva, Switzerland.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Paul Humair

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many countries have introduced legislations for public smoking bans to reduce the harmful effects of exposure to tobacco smoke. Smoking bans cause significant reductions in admissions for acute coronary syndromes but their impact on respiratory diseases is unclear. In Geneva, Switzerland, two popular votes led to a stepwise implementation of a state smoking ban in public places, with a temporary suspension. This study evaluated the effect of this smoking ban on hospitalisations for acute respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: This before and after intervention study was conducted at the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, across 4 periods with different smoking legislations. It included 5,345 patients with a first hospitalisation for acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and acute asthma. The main outcomes were the incidence rate ratios (IRR of admissions for each diagnosis after the final ban compared to the pre-ban period and adjusted for age, gender, season, influenza epidemic and secular trend. RESULTS: Hospitalisations for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease significantly decreased over the 4 periods and were lowest after the final ban (IRR=0.54 [95%CI: 0.42-0.68]. We observed a trend in reduced admissions for acute coronary syndromes (IRR=0.90 [95%CI: 0.80-1.00]. Admissions for ischemic stroke, asthma and pneumonia did not significantly change. CONCLUSIONS: A legislative smoking ban was followed by a strong decrease in hospitalisations for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a trend for reduced admissions for acute coronary syndrome. Smoking bans are likely to be very beneficial for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

  18. Response to ban on smoking in public places--a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Abrar; Mohan, Anjana; Sathiyasekaran, B W C

    2009-07-01

    Smoking has become an important global problem that poses serious health hazards. Today even teenagers have got trapped by this addictive habit. To curb this menace, the Government of Tamilnadu has proposed a ban on smoking in public places by introducing the Bill "Tamilnadu Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting 2002". A study was conducted in the month of February, 2003 to find out the response to this proposed ban among health providers. One hundred and twenty-seven hospital employees were studied using a one page questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking was found to be 12.6% (95% CI 6.9 to 18.3). The response of the study group to the proposed ban was recorded by asking them about their awareness, acceptability and their personal opinion about the ban. It was found that 94% of the smokers and 83% of the non-smokers were aware of the proposed ban and 50% of the smokers and 69% of non-smokers wanted the ban to be implemented. It was also found that 43.8% of the smokers and 52.3% of the non-smokers were confident that the ban on smoking in public places will be effective. They were also of the opinion that awareness had to be increased and the penalties had to be implemented strictly. Further studies on other population groups may have to be taken upto know about the impact of this important Act after it comes into effect.

  19. Evaluating the impact of the alcohol act on off-trade alcohol sales: a natural experiment in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Mark; Geue, Claudia; Lewsey, James; Mackay, Daniel; McCartney, Gerry; Curnock, Esther; Beeston, Clare

    2014-12-01

    A ban on multi-buy discounts of off-trade alcohol was introduced as part of the Alcohol Act in Scotland in October 2011. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of this legislation on alcohol sales, which provide the best indicator of population consumption. Interrupted time-series regression was used to assess the impact of the Alcohol Act on alcohol sales among off-trade retailers in Scotland. Models accounted for underlying seasonal and secular trends and were adjusted for disposable income, alcohol prices and substitution effects. Data for off-trade retailers in England and Wales combined (EW) provided a control group. Weekly data on the volume of pure alcohol sold by off-trade retailers in Scotland and EW between January 2009 and September 2012. The introduction of the legislation was associated with a 2.6% (95% CI = -5.3 to 0.2%, P = 0.07) decrease in off-trade alcohol sales in Scotland, but not in EW (-0.5%, 95% CI = -4.6 to 3.9%, P = 0.83). A statistically significant reduction was observed in Scotland when EW sales were adjusted for in the analysis (-1.7%, 95% CI = -3.1 to -0.3%, P = 0.02). The decline in Scotland was driven by reduced off-trade sales of wine (-4.0%, 95% CI = -5.4 to -2.6%, P types in Scotland, or in sales of any drink type in EW. The introduction of the Alcohol Act in Scotland in 2011 was associated with a decrease in total off-trade alcohol sales in Scotland, largely driven by reduced off-trade wine sales. © 2014 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

  20. 76 FR 79678 - City of Banning, CA; Notice of Petition for Declaratory Order

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-22

    ... through the ETC Pass-through Clause contained in Banning's TO Tariff; (3) accept revisions to Appendix I to Banning's TO Tariff to reflect Banning's revised TRBAA, forcasted calendar year 2012 ETC costs... lieu of paper using the ``eFiling'' link at http://www.ferc.gov . Persons unable to file electronically...

  1. Comparing the effects of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping on declarative memory consolidation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    June C Lo

    Full Text Available Nocturnal sleep and daytime napping facilitate memory consolidation for semantically related and unrelated word pairs. We contrasted forgetting of both kinds of materials across a 12-hour interval involving either nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness (experiment 1 and a 2-hour interval involving either daytime napping or wakefulness (experiment 2. Beneficial effects of post-learning nocturnal sleep and daytime napping were greater for unrelated word pairs (Cohen's d=0.71 and 0.68 than for related ones (Cohen's d=0.58 and 0.15. While the size of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping effects was similar for unrelated word pairs, for related pairs, the effect of nocturnal sleep was more prominent. Together, these findings suggest that sleep preferentially facilitates offline memory processing of materials that are more susceptible to forgetting.

  2. Comparing the effects of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping on declarative memory consolidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, June C; Dijk, Derk-Jan; Groeger, John A

    2014-01-01

    Nocturnal sleep and daytime napping facilitate memory consolidation for semantically related and unrelated word pairs. We contrasted forgetting of both kinds of materials across a 12-hour interval involving either nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness (experiment 1) and a 2-hour interval involving either daytime napping or wakefulness (experiment 2). Beneficial effects of post-learning nocturnal sleep and daytime napping were greater for unrelated word pairs (Cohen's d=0.71 and 0.68) than for related ones (Cohen's d=0.58 and 0.15). While the size of nocturnal sleep and daytime napping effects was similar for unrelated word pairs, for related pairs, the effect of nocturnal sleep was more prominent. Together, these findings suggest that sleep preferentially facilitates offline memory processing of materials that are more susceptible to forgetting.

  3. Cytokine polymorphisms are associated with daytime napping in adults living with HIV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Eeeseung; Gay, Caryl L; Portillo, Carmen J; Pullinger, Clive R; Aouizerat, Bradley E; Lee, Kathryn A

    2017-04-01

    Daytime napping longer than one hour has been associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality. Associations between cytokine polymorphisms and daytime napping in chronic illnesses such as HIV, however, have not been well described. The purpose of this study was to examine cytokine polymorphisms associated with long daytime napping in adults living with HIV. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a convenience sample of 257 adults living with HIV. Daytime napping was assessed with wrist actigraphy data collected over three days. Participants categorized as long nappers (≥60 min) were compared to short nappers and non-nappers (napping was associated with 12 SNPs from seven genes: 1) IFNG rs2069728; 2) IL1B rs1143642, rs1143627, and rs16944; 3) IL2 rs2069763; 4) IL6 rs4719714, rs1554606, and rs2069845; 5) IL17A rs3819024 and rs8193036; 6) NFKB1 rs4648110; and 7) NFKB2 rs1056890. Cytokine genetic variations may have a role in physiological regulation of daytime napping as well as nocturnal sleep. Cytokine polymorphisms associated with long daytime napping could help identify adults with HIV who may benefit from targeted therapeutic interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Factors Associated with Complete Home Smoking Ban among Chinese Parents of Young Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Kaiyong; Chen, Hailian; Liao, Jing; Nong, Guangmin; Yang, Li; Winickoff, Jonathan P; Zhang, Zhiyong; Abdullah, Abu S

    2016-01-26

    (1) BACKGROUND: The home environment is a major source of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) exposure among children especially in early childhood. ETS exposure is an important health risk among children and can cause severe and chronic diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis, and premature death. However, ETS exposure at home has often been neglected in the Chinese families. Identification of factors that facilitate or otherwise hamper the adoption of home smoking ban will help in the design and implementation of evidence-based intervention programs. This study identifies factors correlated with home smoking bans in Chinese families with children. (2) METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of parents living in Nanning city, Guangxi Province, China with at least one smoker and a child in the household was conducted between September, 2013 and January, 2014. A Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables differences between the parents who had home smoking bans and those with no home smoking ban. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors correlated with home smoking bans. (3) RESULTS: 969 completed questionnaires were collected with a response rate of 92.29% (969/1050). Of the respondents (n = 969), 14.34% had complete home smoking bans. Factors that were associated with home smoking bans were: having no other smokers in the family (OR = 2.173), attaining education up to high school (OR = 2.471), believing that paternal smoking would increase the risk of lower respiratory tract illnesses (OR = 2.755), perceiving the fact that smoking cigarettes in the presence of the child will hurt the child's health (OR = 1.547), believing that adopting a no smoking policy at home is very important (OR = 2.816), and being confident to prevent others to smoke at home (OR = 1.950). Additionally, parents who perceived difficulty in adopting a no smoking policy at home would not have a home smoking ban (OR = 0.523). (4) CONCLUSIONS: A home smoking ban is

  5. Factors Associated with Complete Home Smoking Ban among Chinese Parents of Young Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaiyong Huang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available (1 Background: The home environment is a major source of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS exposure among children especially in early childhood. ETS exposure is an important health risk among children and can cause severe and chronic diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis, and premature death. However, ETS exposure at home has often been neglected in the Chinese families. Identification of factors that facilitate or otherwise hamper the adoption of home smoking ban will help in the design and implementation of evidence-based intervention programs. This study identifies factors correlated with home smoking bans in Chinese families with children. (2 Methods: A cross-sectional survey of parents living in Nanning city, Guangxi Province, China with at least one smoker and a child in the household was conducted between September, 2013 and January, 2014. A Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables differences between the parents who had home smoking bans and those with no home smoking ban. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors correlated with home smoking bans. (3 Results: 969 completed questionnaires were collected with a response rate of 92.29% (969/1050. Of the respondents (n = 969, 14.34% had complete home smoking bans. Factors that were associated with home smoking bans were: having no other smokers in the family (OR = 2.173, attaining education up to high school (OR = 2.471, believing that paternal smoking would increase the risk of lower respiratory tract illnesses (OR = 2.755, perceiving the fact that smoking cigarettes in the presence of the child will hurt the child’s health (OR = 1.547, believing that adopting a no smoking policy at home is very important (OR = 2.816, and being confident to prevent others to smoke at home (OR = 1.950. Additionally, parents who perceived difficulty in adopting a no smoking policy at home would not have a home smoking ban (OR = 0.523. (4 Conclusions: A home smoking

  6. The opinion of catering sector about the smoking ban and the evaluation of establishments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doruk, Sibel; Çelik, Deniz; İnönü Köseoğlu, Handan; Etikan, Ilker; Çetin, İlhan

    2014-01-01

    We aimed to evaluate the knowledge and perspective of employees/employers in the catering sector in our city regarding the smoking ban, as well as to determine the changes in the number of customers and income after the bans implementation. In this two phased cross-sectional study 337 and 310 adults were evaluated respectively. Before the smoking ban was implemented we visited 84 workplaces in city center, after 18 months later 97 workplaces were visited in the same region. In both phases, the participants' opinions about the necessity/applicability of the ban were evaluated. In the second phase, they were also asked whether they had any changes in their income. In both phases, participants' general characteristics were similar. When all participants were evaluated, we determined that their knowledge and belief in the necessity/applicability of the ban did not change over time. It was determined that non-smokers more strongly believed in the necessity/applicability of the ban. Thirty-eight participants were included in both phases; 44.7% of them reported a decrease in the number of customers, and 60% of employers reported an increase in their income. The smokers were less convinced about the applicability/necessity of this ban than non-smokers. According to our results it could be said that smoking can also adversely affect implementation of the related ban. Employers should be informed that the ban will not affect their income.

  7. Attitudes and Motivations of Competitive Cyclists Regarding Use of Banned and Legal Performance Enhancers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nkaku R. Kisaalita

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Drug ‘doping’ and the use of banned performance enhancing products (PEPs remains an issue in virtually all competitive sports despite penal consequences and known health risks. The lines distinguishing “fair” and “unfair” performance enhancement have become increasingly blurred. Few studies have explored how attitudes towards legal performance enhancers (drugs/substances, diet, and equipment modifications may influence motivations to use banned PEPs. In the present study, 68 competitive cyclists completed a survey examining the importance of choosing banned and non-banned PEPs using World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI criteria. Results showed that over 60 percent of cyclists used non-banned PEPs while 8 percent used banned PEPs. Health was overall the most important factor in choosing a PEP while apprehension by a doping agency was least important. Mixed- model ANOVA analyses revealed that motivations to use banned PEPs were complex, as the importance of health, violating the sprit of the sport, performance improvement, and getting caught were differentially influenced by PEP legality (p 0.05. Our findings illustrate the multifactorial nature of PEP use/doping attitudes and highlight the unique role that “legal” performance enhancement may plays in influencing banned and/or unethical sports behaviors.

  8. Environment Canada defends decision to ban PCB waste exports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    The position of Environment Canada in banning the export of PCB waste to the United States was defended as falling within their jurisdiction under provisions of the the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The United States had previously banned the import of Canadian PCBs, but when it reversed its decision Environment Canada posted an Interim Order, upholding the ban. The decision to do so was based on protection of the large investment that was made to develop the Canadian PCB incineration facility in Swan Lake, Alberta. Canada also had an obligation under the Basel Convention to reduce it cross boundary movement of hazardous waste and provide adequate destruction facilities in Canada. Legal implications of PCB exports and the uncertainty of continuing access to American facilities were also cited as reasons for issuing the Interim Order

  9. Daytime Sleep Disturbance in Night Shift Work and the Role of PERIOD3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Philip; Tallent, Gabriel; Burgess, Helen J; Tran, Kieulinh Michelle; Roth, Thomas; Drake, Christopher L

    2018-03-15

    Recent evidence indicates that daytime sleep disturbance associated with night shift work may arise from both circadian misalignment and sleep reactivity to stress. This presents an important clinical challenge because there are limited means of predicting and distinguishing between the two mechanisms, and the respective treatments differ categorically; however, there is support that a polymorphism in the PERIOD3 gene ( PER3 ) may indicate differences in vulnerability to daytime sleep disturbance in shift workers. We recruited 30 fixed night shift workers for laboratory assessments of circadian misalignment (dim light melatonin onset), sleep reactivity to stress (Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test), daytime sleep disturbance (daytime Insomnia Severity Index), and PER3 genotype ( PER3 4/4 , PER3 5 /- ). The two mechanisms for daytime sleep disturbance (circadian misalignment and sleep reactivity to stress) were compared between PER3 genotypes. Disturbed daytime sleep in the PER3 4/4 group was more likely related to sleep reactivity to stress, whereas disturbed sleep in the PER3 5 /- group was more likely related to circadian misalignment. Exploratory analyses also revealed a blunted melatonin amplitude in the PER3 4/4 genotype group. This study provides further evidence for multiple mechanisms (ie, circadian misalignment versus sleep reactivity to stress) associated with daytime sleep disturbances in shift workers. Additionally, it provides the new finding that PER3 genotype may play an important role in individual vulnerability to the different mechanisms of daytime sleep disturbance in night shift workers. © 2018 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

  10. [Recent developments on the European ban on animal experiments for cosmetics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruhdel, I W

    2001-01-01

    For the second time the European Commission has postponed the sales ban on cosmetics products that have been developed and tested in animal experiments now until 2002. In the meantime the Commission wants to adopt the Seventh Amendment of the EU Cosmetics Directive. In its draft the Commission proposes to scrap the sales ban and replace it with an animal testing ban. This change would avoid possible conflicts with the WTO, however, from the animal welfare point of view would result in animal testing moving into third countries instead of avoiding them. This is because cosmetics products tested on animals outside the EU could be sold in the EU without any restrictions. As a consequence this measure would take the pressure from authorities and industry to further develop and adopt alternative methods. Other proposed measures are not acceptable from the animal welfare point of view, e.g. because they contradict Directive 86/609 and would result in a delay of the application of validated alternative methods. The Deutscher Tierschutzbund therefore still demands an immediate and complete sales ban in connection with an animal testing ban within the EU.

  11. Smoking ban in all restaurants and cafeterias on the CERN site

    CERN Multimedia

    CSR

    2006-01-01

    In 2005 the SCC decided that there would be a total smoking ban in all restaurants and satellite cafeterias on the CERN site, except for the designated area in Restaurant No.1. Unfortunately, it seems that this ban is often over-looked, resulting in an unhealthy and unpleasant environment for the users and staff of these facilities. You are asked to respect this ban and are reminded that smoking is only permitted in the room in Restaurant 1 specially installed for this purpose. The CSR Restaurant Monitoring Committee

  12. Diagnostic utility of daytime salivary melatonin levels in Smith-Magenis syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chik, Constance L; Rollag, Mark D; Duncan, Wallace C; Smith, Ann C M

    2010-01-01

    An inverted circadian rhythm of melatonin (MT) likely contributes to the sleep disturbance in patients with Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS). Plasma MT levels have documented this altered rhythm, but daytime levels of salivary MT has not been determined. Daytime measures of salivary MT might have utility in home/outpatient settings for assessing MT levels in undiagnosed patients with clinical features of SMS. The objective of this study was to determine the utility of daytime salivary MT as a diagnostic test in SMS. Thirty individuals with confirmed SMS [28 with del 17p11.2 and 2 with the retinoic acid induced 1 (RAI1) gene mutation] and five controls were studied. Single or serial daytime salivary MT levels were measured. The mean midday salivary MT level was 79.0 pg/ml in SMS patients, compared with 16.3 pg/ml in controls, with nine patients having values similar to controls. The median MT level in SMS patients was 49.0 pg/ml (first and third quartile values = 15.5 and 106.8 pg/ml). Twenty-six (90%) of 29 patients had at least one MT value >15.5 pg/ml, including 70 (78%) of 90 samples from patients with del 17p11.2 and one (20%) of five samples from the two patients with the RAI1 mutation. Neither the pattern of medication use nor age had an effect on daytime salivary MT levels. Although most SMS patients had elevated daytime salivary MT levels, multiple sampling appears necessary to distinguish patients with SMS from other conditions.

  13. Global evidence on the effect of point-of-sale display bans on smoking prevalence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yanyun; Shang, Ce; Huang, Jidong; Cheng, Kai-Wen; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2018-01-13

    Since Iceland became the first country to impose a ban on point-of-sale (POS) tobacco product displays in 2001, 20 countries have implemented POS display bans as of 2016. This study examined the effect that POS display bans have on smoking prevalence. Data were sourced from Euromonitor International and the WHO MPOWER package for 2007-2014 from 77 countries worldwide. generalised linear models with country and year fixed effects were estimated to analyse the effect of POS display bans on smoking prevalence. Having a POS display ban reduced overall adult daily smoking, male smoking and female smoking by about 7%, 6% and 9%, respectively. Having a POS display ban is likely to reduce smoking prevalence and generate public health benefits. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  14. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Austin sediments after a ban on pavement sealers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeMott, R.P.; Gauthier, T.D.; Wiersema, J.M.; Crenson, G. [ENVIRON International, Tampa, FL (USA)

    2010-07-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were measured in stream sediments collected before and after a municipal ban on the use of coal-tar-based pavement sealers in Austin, Texas. Samples were collected in October 2005, prior to the ban, and again in April, 2008, approximately 2 years after the ban. Differences in total PAH concentrations between samples collected before and after the ban show no net change in PAH levels in Austin stream sediments. Results of hydrocarbon fingerprinting reveal subtle differences in PAH profiles that appear to reflect the effects of weathering rather than a change in PAH sources.

  15. Point-of-sale tobacco advertising in Beirut, Lebanon following a national advertising ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salloum, Ramzi G; Nakkash, Rima T; Myers, Allison E; Wood, Kathryn A; Ribisl, Kurt M

    2013-06-03

    The objective of this study was to conduct an audit of point-of-sale (POS) tobacco advertising and assess compliance with an advertising ban in a large district of Beirut, Lebanon. The audit was conducted 3 months following the ban on tobacco advertising. Trained students observed all tobacco retail outlets (n = 100) and entered data into a web-based form using iPad(®) technology. Presence of tobacco advertisements was assessed to determine compliance with the national advertising ban. Among the 100 tobacco retail outlets, 62% had tobacco advertisements, including 7% with a tobacco brand logo as part of the main exterior store sign. POS tobacco advertising is widespread in Beirut despite the national advertising ban. These findings point to an urgent need for the enforcement of the advertisement ban with tobacco retail outlets in Lebanon.

  16. Association between habitual daytime napping and metabolic syndrome: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Diaozhu; Sun, Kan; Li, Feng; Qi, Yiqin; Ren, Meng; Huang, Chulin; Tang, Juying; Xue, Shengneng; Li, Yan; Yan, Li

    2014-12-01

    Our objective was to evaluate the association between habitual daytime napping and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. We conducted a population-based study of 8,547 subjects aged 40 years or older. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to a harmonized definition from a joint statement and the recommended thresholds for the Chinese population. Information about sleep duration was self-reported. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the no daytime napping group, the 0 to 1 hour daytime napping group and the more than 1 hour daytime napping group were 35.0%, 36.0% and 44.5% among the females (Pnapping hours were positively associated with parameters of metabolic syndrome in the female subjects, including waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides and fasting plasma glucose (Pnapping females, napping for more than 1 hour was independently associated with an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio 1.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.72). Compared to the female subjects in the no daytime napping group, those habitually napped for more than 1 hour exhibited 46% and 26% increases in the prevalence of central obesity and hypertriglyceridemia (all Pnapping hours and metabolic syndrome among the male subjects. Daytime napping is associated with an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged non-obese Chinese women. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Exploring Alcohol Policy Approaches to Prevent Sexual Violence Perpetration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lippy, Caroline; DeGue, Sarah

    2018-01-01

    Sexual violence continues to be a significant public health problem worldwide with serious consequences for individuals and communities. The implementation of prevention strategies that address risk and protective factors for sexual violence at the community level are important components of a comprehensive approach, but few such strategies have been identified or evaluated. The current review explores one potential opportunity for preventing sexual violence perpetration at the community level: alcohol policy. Alcohol policy has the potential to impact sexual violence perpetration through the direct effects of excessive alcohol consumption on behavior or through the impact of alcohol and alcohol outlets on social organization within communities. Policies affecting alcohol pricing, sale time, outlet density, drinking environment, marketing, and college environment are reviewed to identify existing evidence of impact on rates of sexual violence or related outcomes, including risk factors and related health behaviors. Several policy areas with initial evidence of an association with sexual violence outcomes were identified, including policies affecting alcohol pricing, alcohol outlet density, barroom management, sexist content in alcohol marketing, and policies banning alcohol on campus and in substance-free dorms. We identify other policy areas with evidence of an impact on related outcomes and risk factors that may also hold potential as a preventative approach for sexual violence perpetration. Evidence from the current review suggests that alcohol policy may represent one promising avenue for the prevention of sexual violence perpetration at the community level, but additional research is needed to directly examine effects on sexual violence outcomes. PMID:25403447

  18. Banned prints in the National and University Library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rozina Švent

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the formation and operation of the D-collection (a special collection of banned prints in the National and University Library (NUL. The functioning of the collection was constantly faced with different complications caused either by legislation or by librarians themselves, due to a too strict adherence to some unwritten rules ("better one more then one less". In the 50-years period, a unique collection of at that tirne banned prints was formed,complemented by over 17000 articles indexed from different periodicals.

  19. Implementation of a workplace smoking ban in bars: The limits of local discretion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bero Lisa A

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In January 1998, the California state legislature extended a workplace smoking ban to bars. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions that facilitate or hinder compliance with a smoking ban in bars. Methods We studied the implementation of the smoking ban in bars by interviewing three sets of policy participants: bar employers responsible for complying with the law; local government officials responsible for enforcing the law; and tobacco control activists who facilitated implementation. We transcribed the interviews and did a qualitative analysis of the text. Results The conditions that facilitated bar owners' compliance with a smoking ban in bars included: if the cost to comply was minimal; if the bars with which they were in competition were in compliance with the smoking ban; and if there was authoritative, consistent, coordinated, and uniform enforcement. Conversely, the conditions that hindered compliance included: if the law had minimal sanctions; if competing bars in the area allowed smoking; and if enforcement was delayed or inadequate. Conclusion Many local enforcers wished to forfeit their local discretion and believed the workplace smoking ban in bars would be best implemented by a state agency. The potential implication of this study is that, given the complex nature of local politics, smoking bans in bars are best implemented at a broader provincial or national level.

  20. Implementation of a workplace smoking ban in bars: the limits of local discretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montini, Theresa; Bero, Lisa A

    2008-12-08

    In January 1998, the California state legislature extended a workplace smoking ban to bars. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions that facilitate or hinder compliance with a smoking ban in bars. We studied the implementation of the smoking ban in bars by interviewing three sets of policy participants: bar employers responsible for complying with the law; local government officials responsible for enforcing the law; and tobacco control activists who facilitated implementation. We transcribed the interviews and did a qualitative analysis of the text. The conditions that facilitated bar owners' compliance with a smoking ban in bars included: if the cost to comply was minimal; if the bars with which they were in competition were in compliance with the smoking ban; and if there was authoritative, consistent, coordinated, and uniform enforcement. Conversely, the conditions that hindered compliance included: if the law had minimal sanctions; if competing bars in the area allowed smoking; and if enforcement was delayed or inadequate. Many local enforcers wished to forfeit their local discretion and believed the workplace smoking ban in bars would be best implemented by a state agency. The potential implication of this study is that, given the complex nature of local politics, smoking bans in bars are best implemented at a broader provincial or national level.

  1. Competing with big business: a randomised experiment testing the effects of messages to promote alcohol and sugary drink control policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scully, Maree; Brennan, Emily; Durkin, Sarah; Dixon, Helen; Wakefield, Melanie; Barry, Colleen L; Niederdeppe, Jeff

    2017-12-28

    Evidence-based policies encouraging healthy behaviours are often strongly opposed by well-funded industry groups. As public support is crucial for policy change, public health advocates need to be equipped with strategies to offset the impact of anti-policy messages. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of theory-based public health advocacy messages in generating public support for sugary drink/alcohol policies (increased taxes; sport sponsorship bans) and improving resistance to subsequent anti-policy messages typical of the sugary drink/alcohol industry. We conducted a two-wave randomised online experiment assigning Australian adults to one of four health policies (sugary drink tax; sugary drink industry sports sponsorship ban; alcohol tax; alcohol industry sports sponsorship ban). Within each health policy, we randomised participants to one of five message conditions: (i) non-advocacy based message about the size and seriousness of the relevant health issue (control); (ii) standard pro-policy arguments alone; (iii) standard pro-policy arguments combined with an inoculation message (forewarning and directly refuting anti-policy arguments from the opposition); (iv) standard pro-policy arguments combined with a narrative message (a short, personal story about an individual's experience of the health issue); or (v) standard pro-policy arguments combined with a composite inoculation and narrative message. At time 1, we exposed participants (n = 6000) to their randomly assigned message. Around two weeks later, we re-contacted participants (n = 3285) and exposed them to an anti-policy message described as being from a representative of the sugary drink/alcohol industry. Generalised linear models tested for differences between conditions in policy support and anti-industry beliefs at both time points. Only the standard argument plus narrative message increased policy support relative to control at time 1. The standard argument plus narrative

  2. Estimated effect of alcohol pricing policies on health and health economic outcomes in England: an epidemiological model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purshouse, Robin C; Meier, Petra S; Brennan, Alan; Taylor, Karl B; Rafia, Rachid

    2010-04-17

    Although pricing policies for alcohol are known to be effective, little is known about how specific interventions affect health-care costs and health-related quality-of-life outcomes for different types of drinkers. We assessed effects of alcohol pricing and promotion policy options in various population subgroups. We built an epidemiological mathematical model to appraise 18 pricing policies, with English data from the Expenditure and Food Survey and the General Household Survey for average and peak alcohol consumption. We used results from econometric analyses (256 own-price and cross-price elasticity estimates) to estimate effects of policies on alcohol consumption. We applied risk functions from systemic reviews and meta-analyses, or derived from attributable fractions, to model the effect of consumption changes on mortality and disease prevalence for 47 illnesses. General price increases were effective for reduction of consumption, health-care costs, and health-related quality of life losses in all population subgroups. Minimum pricing policies can maintain this level of effectiveness for harmful drinkers while reducing effects on consumer spending for moderate drinkers. Total bans of supermarket and off-license discounting are effective but banning only large discounts has little effect. Young adult drinkers aged 18-24 years are especially affected by policies that raise prices in pubs and bars. Minimum pricing policies and discounting restrictions might warrant further consideration because both strategies are estimated to reduce alcohol consumption, and related health harms and costs, with drinker spending increases targeting those who incur most harm. Policy Research Programme, UK Department of Health. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. sponsorship ban in Lebanon: a baseline cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monique Chaaya

    2016-05-01

    This study provided information about compliance to the smoking ban in Beirut. The advertising sector's compliance would hopefully decrease the tobacco industry’s influence on the public. Further studies aiming at understanding the underlying factors behind the lack of compliance to the indoor smoking ban and finding effective solutions in a politically unstable country with weak rule of law like Lebanon are crucial and can serve as an example for similar developing countries.

  4. Compliance with the smoking ban in Italy 8 years after its application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minardi, Valentina; Gorini, Giuseppe; Carreras, Giulia; Masocco, Maria; Ferrante, Gianluigi; Possenti, Valentina; Quarchioni, Elisa; Spizzichino, Lorenzo; Galeone, Daniela; Vasselli, Stefania; Salmaso, Stefania

    2014-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to report compliance with the smoking ban and the spread of smoke-free homes after 3-8 years since the Italian smoking ban implementation, according to the ongoing Italian surveillance system for behavioural risk factors (PASSI). PASSI is based on representative annual samples of the Italian population aged 18-69 years. We considered questions on smoking habits, self-reported compliance with the ban, and on smoke-free homes of 176,236 interviews conducted in 2008-2012. Ninety percent of respondents in 2012 reported that the smoking ban was enforced in hospitality premises (HPs), with a significant 3% increase from 2008. Similarly, 91.3% in 2012 reported a high compliance in workplaces other than HPs, with a significant 5% increase. Perception of compliance did not change among smokers and non-smokers. Seventy-eight percent of respondents in 2012 reported smoke-free homes, with a significant increase from 2008 to 2012. The high compliance with the ban that is still increasing even after 8 years since its implementation may partially have caused the concurrent increase in smoke-free homes.

  5. The tobacco endgame in Hong Kong: public support for a total ban on tobacco sales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Man Ping; Wang, Xin; Lam, Tai Hing; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula; Chan, Sophia S

    2015-03-01

    Tobacco endgame policies are increasingly advocated to end tobacco use. This study investigated public support for a total ban on tobacco sales, use and possession in Hong Kong. A telephone survey was conducted among 1537 randomly selected residents in 2012 to assess their support for a total ban on tobacco sales, usage and possession. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and second hand smoke exposure were collected. Logistic regression was used to investigate factors associated with support for a total ban. Most of the never smokers (75.3%), ex-smokers (63.9%), and nearly half of current smokers (48.9%) backed some form of a total ban on tobacco. A total ban on tobacco sales was the most popular option among the three groups, with over half (64.8%) of all respondents supporting a ban within 10 years. Current smoking and higher educational attainment were associated with less support for a total ban on tobacco sales. Among current smokers, having quit intentions and attempts to quit were associated with support for a total ban. A total ban on tobacco sales was supported by most respondents. Ex-smokers and current smokers also voiced substantial support, although less than never smokers. A total ban on tobacco sales before 2022 should be the goal as it is supported by most of the respondents. Interim tobacco control measures, such as tax increases, expansion of smoking cessation services and plain packaging should be implemented to help current smokers quit and reduce smoking initiation before implementation of the ban. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. Psychometric Properties of Turkish Version of Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS-T

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Bektas, PhD, RN

    2016-03-01

    Conclusions: The study's results showed that PDSS-T is a valid and reliable instrument for detecting Turkish-speaking children's and adolescents' daytime sleepiness. PDSS-T is convenient for professionals to prevent and manage daytime sleepiness.

  7. Daytime Sleep Aids and Nighttime Cognitive Performance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Eddy, Douglas; Barton, Emily; Cardenas, Rebecca; French, Jonathan; Gibbons, John; Hickey, Patrick; Miller, James; Ramsey, Carol; Storm, William

    2005-01-01

    .... This study compared two doses of the hypnotic zolpidem, two doses of melatonin and placebo for their effects on daytime sleep, on nighttime cognitive performance and on mood in an operationally...

  8. Objective measurement of daytime napping, cognitive dysfunction and subjective sleepiness in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolitho, Samuel J; Naismith, Sharon L; Salahuddin, Pierre; Terpening, Zoe; Grunstein, Ron R; Lewis, Simon J G

    2013-01-01

    Sleep-wake disturbances and concomitant cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) contribute significantly to morbidity in patients and their carers. Subjectively reported daytime sleep disturbance is observed in over half of all patients with PD and has been linked to executive cognitive dysfunction. The current study used daytime actigraphy, a novel objective measure of napping and related this to neuropsychological performance in a sample of PD patients and healthy, age and gender-matched controls. Furthermore this study aimed to identify patients with PD who may benefit from pharmacologic and behavioural intervention to improve these symptoms. Eighty-five PD patients and 21 healthy, age-matched controls completed 14 days of wrist actigraphy within two weeks of neuropsychological testing. Objective napping measures were derived from actigraphy using a standardised protocol and subjective daytime sleepiness was recorded by the previously validated Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Patients with PD had a 225% increase in the mean nap time per day (minutes) as recorded by actigraphy compared to age matched controls (39.2 ± 35.2 vs. 11.5 ± 11.0 minutes respectively, p napping duration between patients, as recorded by actigraphy were not distinguished by their ratings on the subjective measurement of excessive daytime sleepiness. Finally, those patients with excessive daytime napping showed greater cognitive deficits in the domains of attention, semantic verbal fluency and processing speed. This study confirms increased levels of napping in PD, a finding that is concordant with subjective reports. However, subjective self-report measures of excessive daytime sleepiness do not robustly identify excessive napping in PD. Fronto-subcortical cognitive dysfunction was observed in those patients who napped excessively. Furthermore, this study suggests that daytime actigraphy, a non-invasive and inexpensive objective measure of daytime sleep, can identify patients with PD

  9. The influence of a smoking ban on the profitability of Belgian restaurants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Schoenmaker, Sofie; Van Cauwenberge, Philippe; Vander Bauwhede, Heidi

    2013-05-01

    To examine whether the nationwide smoking ban, imposed in 2007, had an impact on the profitability of Belgian restaurants. Objective financial reporting data on 1613 restaurants were analysed with return on assets as the outcome measure. The data were collected from the Belfirst database and cover the period 2004-2009. To assess the impact of the smoking ban, a differences-in-differences estimation method was used, with bars serving as the control group. The regression model was estimated, while controlling for firm-specific characteristics and unobserved firm-level heterogeneity. The variable of interest is the interaction between the smoking ban dummy and the dummy for the treatment group. The coefficient of this variable is insignificant. The adoption of the nationwide smoking ban did not affect the profitability of Belgian restaurants.

  10. The association between daytime napping and cognitive functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoe M Gotts

    Full Text Available The precise relationship between sleep and physical and mental functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS has not been examined directly, nor has the impact of daytime napping. This study aimed to examine self-reported sleep in patients with CFS and explore whether sleep quality and daytime napping, specific patient characteristics (gender, illness length and levels of anxiety and depression, predicted daytime fatigue severity, levels of daytime sleepiness and cognitive functioning, all key dimensions of the illness experience.118 adults meeting the 1994 CDC case criteria for CFS completed a standardised sleep diary over 14 days. Momentary functional assessments of fatigue, sleepiness, cognition and mood were completed by patients as part of usual care. Levels of daytime functioning and disability were quantified using symptom assessment tools, measuring fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale, sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, cognitive functioning (Trail Making Test, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Hierarchical Regressions demonstrated that a shorter time since diagnosis, higher depression and longer wake time after sleep onset predicted 23.4% of the variance in fatigue severity (p <.001. Being male, higher depression and more afternoon naps predicted 25.6% of the variance in objective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001. Higher anxiety and depression and morning napping predicted 32.2% of the variance in subjective cognitive dysfunction (p <.001. When patients were classified into groups of mild and moderate sleepiness, those with longer daytime naps, those who mainly napped in the afternoon, and those with higher levels of anxiety, were more likely to be in the moderately sleepy group.Napping, particularly in the afternoon is associated with poorer cognitive functioning and more daytime sleepiness in CFS. These findings have clinical implications for symptom management strategies.

  11. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and Unintended Sleep Episodes Associated with Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatai Salawu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This article looks at the issues of excessive daytime sleepiness and unintended sleep episodes in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD and explores the reasons why patients might suffer from these symptoms, and what steps could be taken to manage them. During the last decade, understanding of sleep/wake regulation has increased. Several brainstem nuclei and their communication pathways in the ascending arousing system through the hypothalamus and thalamus to the cortex play key roles in sleep disorders. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in PD patients, and excessive daytime sleepiness is also common. Excessive daytime sleepiness affects up to 50% of PD patients and a growing body of research has established this sleep disturbance as a marker of preclinical and premotor PD. It is a frequent and highly persistent feature in PD, with multifactorial underlying pathophysiology. Both age and disease-related disturbances of sleep-wake regulation contribute to hypersomnia in PD. Treatment with dopamine agonists also contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness. Effective management of sleep disturbances and excessive daytime sleepiness can greatly improve the quality of life for patients with PD.

  12. Ban the Hickory Stick. Issues in Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbour, Nita H.

    1991-01-01

    Maintains that corporal punishment should be banned from every school as a means of classroom discipline, and presents teachers and administrators with workable alternatives to disciplining children. (BB)

  13. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Peter; Chisholm, Dan; Fuhr, Daniela C

    2009-06-27

    This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol, in the areas of education and information, the health sector, community action, driving while under the influence of alcohol (drink-driving), availability, marketing, pricing, harm reduction, and illegally and informally produced alcohol. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that policies regulating the environment in which alcohol is marketed (particularly its price and availability) are effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Enforced legislative measures to reduce drink-driving and individually directed interventions to already at-risk drinkers are also effective. However, school-based education does not reduce alcohol-related harm, although public information and education-type programmes have a role in providing information and in increasing attention and acceptance of alcohol on political and public agendas. Making alcohol more expensive and less available, and banning alcohol advertising, are highly cost-effective strategies to reduce harm. In settings with high amounts of unrecorded production and consumption, increasing the proportion of alcohol that is taxed could be a more effective pricing policy than a simple increase in tax.

  14. OpenBAN: An Open Building ANalytics Middleware for Smart Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pandarasamy Arjunan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Towards the realization of smart building applications, buildings are increasingly instrumented with diverse sensors and actuators. These sensors generate large volumes of data which can be analyzed for optimizing building operations. Many building energy management tasks such as energy forecasting, disaggregation, among others require complex analytics leveraging collected sensor data. While several standalone and cloud-based systems for archiving, sharing and visualizing sensor data have emerged, their support for analyzing sensor data streams is primitive and limited to rule-based actions based on thresholds and simple aggregation functions. We develop OpenBAN, an open source sensor data analytics middleware for buildings, to make analytics an integral component of modern smart building applications. OpenBAN provides a framework of extensible sensor data processing elements for identifying various building context, which different applications can leverage. We validate the capabilities of OpenBAN by developing three representative real-world applications which are deployed in our test-bed buildings: (i household energy disaggregation, (ii detection of sprinkler usage from water meter data, and (iii electricity demand forecasting. We also provide a preliminary system performance of OpenBAN when deployed in the cloud and locally.

  15. Caffeine: sleep and daytime sleepiness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehrs, Timothy; Roth, Thomas

    2008-04-01

    Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive substances and it has profound effects on sleep and wake function. Laboratory studies have documented its sleep-disruptive effects. It clearly enhances alertness and performance in studies with explicit sleep deprivation, restriction, or circadian sleep schedule reversals. But, under conditions of habitual sleep the evidence indicates that caffeine, rather then enhancing performance, is merely restoring performance degraded by sleepiness. The sleepiness and degraded function may be due to basal sleep insufficiency, circadian sleep schedule reversals, rebound sleepiness, and/or a withdrawal syndrome after the acute, over-night, caffeine discontinuation typical of most studies. Studies have shown that caffeine dependence develops at relatively low daily doses and after short periods of regular daily use. Large sample and population-based studies indicate that regular daily dietary caffeine intake is associated with disturbed sleep and associated daytime sleepiness. Further, children and adolescents, while reporting lower daily, weight-corrected caffeine intake, similarly experience sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness associated with their caffeine use. The risks to sleep and alertness of regular caffeine use are greatly underestimated by both the general population and physicians.

  16. Impact of 2 Successive Smoking Bans on Hospital Admissions for Cardiovascular Diseases in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galán, Iñaki; Simón, Lorena; Boldo, Elena; Ortiz, Cristina; Medrano, María José; Fernández-Cuenca, Rafael; Linares, Cristina; Pastor-Barriuso, Roberto

    2018-04-16

    To evaluate the impact of 2 smoking bans enacted in 2006 (partial ban) and 2011 (comprehensive ban) on hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease in the Spanish adult population. The study was performed in 14 provinces in Spain. Hospital admission records were collected for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in patients aged ≥ 18 years from 2003 through 2012. We estimated immediate and 1-year effects with segmented-linear models. The coefficients for each province were combined using random-effects multivariate meta-analysis models. Overall, changes in admission rates immediately following the implementation of the partial ban and 1 year later were -1.8% and +1.2% for AMI, +0.1 and +0.4% for IHD, and +1.0% and +2.8% for CVD (P>.05). After the comprehensive ban, immediate changes were -2.3% for AMI, -2.6% for IHD, and -0.8% for CVD (P>.05), only to return to precomprehensive ban values 1 year later. For patients aged ≥ 65 years of age, immediate changes associated with the comprehensive ban were -5.0%, -3.9%, and -2.3% for AMI, IHD, and CVD, respectively (P<.05). Again, the 1-year changes were not statistically significant. In Spain, smoking bans failed to significantly reduce hospitalizations for AMI, IHD, or CVD among patients ≥ 18 years of age. In the population aged ≥ 65 years, hospital admissions due to these diseases showed significant decreases immediately after the implementation of the comprehensive ban, but these reductions disappeared at the 1-year evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  17. [Health-related consequences of obstructive sleep apnea: daytime sleepiness, accident risk and legal aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orth, M; Kotterba, S

    2012-04-01

    Daytime sleepiness for any reason leads to impairment of daytime performance and an increased accident rate. The consequences are an increase of illness- and accident-related costs for the health system. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the major reasons for increased daytime sleepiness, especially in professional drivers. The accident frequency in OSA can be significantly reduced by adequate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Up till now there are no uniform legal regulations about the handling of OSAS patients or patients with daytime sleepiness due to other diseases as far as driving ability is concerned.

  18. Does a ban on informal health providers save lives? Evidence from Malawi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godlonton, Susan; Okeke, Edward N.

    2015-01-01

    Informal health providers ranging from drug vendors to traditional healers account for a large fraction of health care provision in developing countries. They are, however, largely unlicensed and unregulated leading to concern that they provide ineffective and, in some cases, even harmful care. A new and controversial policy tool that has been proposed to alter household health seeking behavior is an outright ban on these informal providers. The theoretical effects of such a ban are ambiguous. In this paper, we study the effect of a ban on informal (traditional) birth attendants imposed by the Malawi government in 2007. To measure the effect of the ban, we use a difference-in-difference strategy exploiting variation across time and space in the intensity of exposure to the ban. Our most conservative estimates suggest that the ban decreased use of traditional attendants by about 15 percentage points. Approximately three quarters of this decline can be attributed to an increase in use of the formal sector and the remainder is accounted for by an increase in relative/friend-attended births. Despite the rather large shift from the informal to the formal sector, we do not find any evidence of a statistically significant reduction in newborn mortality on average. The results are robust to a triple difference specification using young children as a control group. We examine several explanations for this result and find evidence consistent with quality of formal care acting as a constraint on improvements in newborn health. PMID:26681821

  19. The effects of taxes and bans on passive smoking

    OpenAIRE

    Jerome Adda; Francesca Cornaglia

    2005-01-01

    This paper evaluates the effect of excise taxes and bans on smoking in public places on the exposure to tobacco smoke of non-smokers. We use a novel way of quantifying passive smoking: we use data on cotinine concentration- a metabolite of nicotine- measured in a large population of non-smokers over time. Exploiting state and time variation across US states, we reach two important conclusions. First, excise taxes have a significant effect on passive smoking. Second, smoking bans have on avera...

  20. The Effect of Taxes and Bans on Passive Smoking

    OpenAIRE

    Jérôme Adda; Francesca Cornaglia

    2006-01-01

    This paper evaluates the effect of excise taxes and bans on smoking in public places on the exposure to tobacco smoke of non-smokers. We use a novel way of quantifying passive smoking: we use data on cotinine concentration- a metabolite of nicotine- measured in a large population of non-smokers over time. Exploiting state and time variation across US states, we reach two important conclusions. First, excise taxes have a significant effect on passive smoking. Second, smoking bans have on avera...

  1. Teachers' Perceptions and Concerns on the Banning of Corporal Punishment and Its Alternative Disciplines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lwo, Lwun-syin Laurence; Yuan, You-Shi

    2011-01-01

    Corporal punishment (CP) has been officially banned since December 2006 in Taiwan. It would be useful to explore the perceptions and concerns of elementary school teachers on the issue of banning CP and on alternative methods of discipline in 2008, two years since the ban took effect. In this study, 323 teachers were stratified randomly and drawn…

  2. Impact of a point-of-sale tobacco display ban on smokers' spontaneous purchases: comparisons from postpurchase interviews before and after the ban in Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Owen B J; Phan, Tina; Mills, Brennen W

    2015-03-01

    To assess the impact of the Western Australian tobacco point-of-sale display ban on spontaneous purchase behaviours. Daily adult smokers (n=402) observed purchasing cigarettes were recruited via exit interviews either 2 months before or after the implementation of the display ban. Smokers were asked if they had intended to purchase cigarettes before entering the store to assess spontaneous purchase behaviours. Whether smokers had noticed the displays before their purchase and the extent to which this influenced their purchase decision was also assessed via non-prompting questions. When compared with before the ban, fewer smokers after the ban noticed the displays (27.1% vs 1.1%, pmaking spontaneous purchases (28.2% vs 19.8%, ppurchase decisions (free recall 5.0% vs 1.1%, ppurchasers were more likely than planned purchasers to suggest the displays influenced their purchase decisions (free recall 9.7% vs 3.2%, ppurchasers nominating the influence of displays fell substantially (free recall 9.7% vs 5.6%, p=NS; cued recall 40.0% vs 11.1%, ppurchasers (free recall 3.2% vs 0.0%, pmaking spontaneous tobacco purchases after implementation of the Western Australian tobacco display ban and between a fivefold and sixfold reduction in the proportion suggesting displays influenced their decision to purchase cigarettes. These data are consistent with previous research suggesting tobacco displays encourage spontaneous purchases and their removal corresponds to reductions in the same. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  3. Sediments indicate the continued use of banned antifouling compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egardt, Jenny; Nilsson, Per; Dahllöf, Ingela

    2017-12-15

    Antifouling paints are widely used to avoid organisms settling on boat hulls. The active ingredients in the paints have differed over the years where lead, TBT, irgarol and diuron have been deemed too harmful to non-target organisms and subsequently been banned within the EU. Most of these compounds however are persistent in the environment and can cause problems long after they are deposited. We have examined if present-day and banned substances used in antifouling paints can be found in sediments in a national park on the Swedish west coast. Sampled locations include waterways, natural harbours and small marinas for leisure crafts to investigate if number of visiting boats affect the concentration of antifouling compounds in sediments. Few significant differences were found when comparing the different locations types, suggesting that overall boat presence is more important than specific mooring sites, however, several banned antifouling compounds were found in the surface sediments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Daytime warming has stronger negative effects on soil nematodes than night-time warming

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Xiumin; Wang, Kehong; Song, Lihong; Wang, Xuefeng; Wu, Donghui

    2017-01-01

    Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, that is, stronger warming during night-time than during daytime. Here we focus on how soil nematodes respond to the current asymmetric warming. A field infrared heating experiment was performed in the western of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Three warming modes, i.e. daytime warming, night-time warming and diurnal warming, were taken to perform the asymmetric warming condition. Our results showed that the daytime and diurnal warming treatmen...

  5. Excessive daytime sleepiness and metabolic syndrome in men with obstructive sleep apnea: a large cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Yiqun; Xu, Huajun; Xia, Yunyan; Qian, Yingjun; Li, Xinyi; Zou, Jianyin; Wang, Yuyu; Meng, Lili; Tang, Xulan; Zhu, Huaming; Zhou, Huiqun; Su, Kaiming; Yu, Dongzhen; Yi, Hongliang; Guan, Jian; Yin, Shankai

    2017-10-03

    Excessive daytime sleepiness is a common symptom in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Previous studies have showed that excessive daytime sleepiness is associated with some individual components of metabolic syndrome. We performed a large cross-sectional study to explore the relationship between excessive daytime sleepiness and metabolic syndrome in male OSA patients. A total of 2241 suspected male OSA patients were consecutively recruited from 2007 to 2013. Subjective daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth sleepiness scale. Anthropometric, metabolic, and polysomnographic parameters were measured. Metabolic score was used to evaluate the severity of metabolic syndrome. Among the male OSA patients, most metabolic parameters varied by excessive daytime sleepiness. In the severe group, male OSA patients with excessive daytime sleepiness were more obese, with higher blood pressure, more severe insulin resistance and dyslipidemia than non-sleepy patients. Patients with metabolic syndrome also had a higher prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and scored higher on the Epworth sleepiness scale. Excessive daytime sleepiness was independently associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio =1.242, 95% confidence interval: 1.019-1.512). No substantial interaction was observed between excessive daytime sleepiness and OSA/ obesity. Excessive daytime sleepiness was related to metabolic disorders and independently associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in men with OSA. Excessive daytime sleepiness should be taken into consideration for OSA patients, as it may be a simple and useful clinical indicator for evaluating the risk of metabolic syndrome.

  6. Links between sleep and daytime behaviour problems in children with Down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esbensen, A J; Hoffman, E K; Beebe, D W; Byars, K C; Epstein, J

    2018-02-01

    In the general population, sleep problems have an impact on daytime performance. Despite sleep problems being common among children with Down syndrome, the impact of sleep problems on daytime behaviours in school-age children with Down syndrome is an understudied topic. Our study examined the relationship between parent-reported and actigraphy-measured sleep duration and sleep quality with parent and teacher reports of daytime behaviour problems among school-age children with Down syndrome. Thirty school-age children with Down syndrome wore an actigraph watch for a week at home at night. Their parent completed ratings of the child's sleep during that same week. Their parent and teacher completed a battery of measures to assess daytime behaviour. Parent reports of restless sleep behaviours on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, but not actigraph-measured sleep efficiency, was predictive of parent and teacher behavioural concerns on the Nisonger Child Behaviour Rating Form and the Vanderbilt ADHD Rating Scales. Actigraph-measured sleep period and parent-reported sleep duration on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire was predictive of daytime parent-reported inattention. Actigraph-measured sleep period was predictive of parent-reported hyperactivity/impulsivity. The study findings suggest that sleep problems have complex relationships to both parent-reported and teacher-reported daytime behaviour concerns in children with Down syndrome. These findings have implications for understanding the factors impacting behavioural concerns and their treatment in school-age children with Down syndrome. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. The association between daytime napping and cognitive functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gotts, Zoe M; Ellis, Jason G; Deary, Vincent; Barclay, Nicola; Newton, Julia L

    2015-01-01

    The precise relationship between sleep and physical and mental functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has not been examined directly, nor has the impact of daytime napping. This study aimed to examine self-reported sleep in patients with CFS and explore whether sleep quality and daytime napping, specific patient characteristics (gender, illness length) and levels of anxiety and depression, predicted daytime fatigue severity, levels of daytime sleepiness and cognitive functioning, all key dimensions of the illness experience. 118 adults meeting the 1994 CDC case criteria for CFS completed a standardised sleep diary over 14 days. Momentary functional assessments of fatigue, sleepiness, cognition and mood were completed by patients as part of usual care. Levels of daytime functioning and disability were quantified using symptom assessment tools, measuring fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), cognitive functioning (Trail Making Test, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire), and mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Hierarchical Regressions demonstrated that a shorter time since diagnosis, higher depression and longer wake time after sleep onset predicted 23.4% of the variance in fatigue severity (p naps predicted 25.6% of the variance in objective cognitive dysfunction (p napping predicted 32.2% of the variance in subjective cognitive dysfunction (p naps, those who mainly napped in the afternoon, and those with higher levels of anxiety, were more likely to be in the moderately sleepy group. Napping, particularly in the afternoon is associated with poorer cognitive functioning and more daytime sleepiness in CFS. These findings have clinical implications for symptom management strategies.

  8. Does the workplace-smoking ban eliminate differences in risk for environmental tobacco smoke exposure at work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdonk-Kleinjan, Wendy M I; Knibbe, Ronald A; Tan, Frans E S; Willemsen, Marc C; de Groot, Henk N; de Vries, Hein

    2009-10-01

    A workplace-smoking ban in the Netherlands was introduced on January 1, 2004. Before the ban male and low educated employees were at higher risk for exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Effective implementation of the ban should result not only in an overall decline of exposure, but also in the disappearance of systematic differences in exposure between subgroups of employees. Data from a Dutch continuous Internet survey were used. From July 2003 through June 2005, 200 respondents were randomly selected each week. The sample consisted of 11,291 non-smoking, working respondents, aged 16-65 years. ETS exposure decreased among all employees and among subgroups at higher risk before the ban. However, also after the ban, males and low educated employees were still most likely to be exposed to ETS. The workplace-smoking ban was effective in reducing ETS exposure among employees. However, after the ban still 52.2% of non-smoking workers reported to be exposed. We did not find the expected stronger effect among employees who were at higher risk. Both before and after implementation of the ban, males and lower educated employees were about two times more likely to be exposed to ETS.

  9. The Relationship between Home Nursing Coverage, Sleep and Daytime Functioning in Parents of Ventilator-Assisted Children

    OpenAIRE

    Meltzer, Lisa J.; Boroughs, Deborah S.; Downes, John J.

    2009-01-01

    This descriptive study examined the relationship between home care nursing support, sleep and daytime functioning in familial caregivers of ventilator-assisted children. Thirty-six primary caregivers (27 mothers, seven fathers, one foster mother, and one grandmother) of ventilator-assisted children completed measures of home nursing support, sleep, depression, fatigue, and daytime sleepiness. Daytime nursing coverage was not related to caregiver sleep or daytime functioning, but caregivers wi...

  10. Some Daytime Activities in Solar Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burin, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    This century's transits of Venus (2004, 2012) captured significant public attention, reminding us that the wonders of astronomy need not be confined to the night. And while nighttime telescope viewing gatherings (a.k.a. "star parties") are perennially popular, astronomy classes are typically held in the daytime. The logistics of…

  11. Daytime running lights : costs or benefits?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, R.F.T.; Janssen, W.H.; Theeuwes, J.; Alferdinck, J.W.A.M.; Duistermaat, M.

    2006-01-01

    The present study deals with the possibility that road users in the vicinity of a vehicle with daytime running lights (DRL) would suffer from a decreased conspicuity because of (he presence of that vehicle. In an experiment the primary effects of DRL on the conspicuity of other road users were

  12. Efficacy of daytime continuous positive airway pressure titration in severe obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudkowski, J C; Verschelden, P; Kimoff, R J

    2001-09-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate manual nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) titration during daytime polysomnography compared with conventional overnight titration for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnoea. Thirty-two patients who underwent daytime titration were retrospectively matched (for age, sex, body mass index and apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI)) to a group titrated overnight during the same period. Successful titration was defined as the identification of the nCPAP level (effective nCPAP (Peff)) required to eliminate respiratory events during all sleep stages. After 3 months of therapy on nCPAP at Peff, nCPAP utilization history was obtained and a group of patients underwent a repeat polysomnogram (PSG) and completed a follow-up Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score. Initial titration was successful in 91% of daytime patients and 91% of overnight patients. The success of daytime titration was not related to diagnostic AHI or ESS score. Subjective nCPAP utilization was statistically similar in both groups. On the follow-up PSG, there were no significant differences between daytime (n=11) and overnight (n=11) patients in measures of sleep quality or respiratory disturbance. Both groups demonstrated similar and significant improvements in ESS score. These findings suggest that the effective nasal continuous positive airway pressure can be accurately established during daytime titration in a substantial proportion of severe, symptomatic obstructive sleep apnoea patients.

  13. Acute pulmonary admissions following implementation of a national workplace smoking ban.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Kent, Brian D

    2012-09-01

    The implementation of workplace smoking bans has contributed to a significant reduction in the incidence of acute coronary syndrome admissions, but their influence on adult acute pulmonary disease admissions is unclear. We sought to assess the impact of a national smoking ban on nationwide admissions of individuals of working age with acute pulmonary illness.

  14. Objective measurement of daytime napping, cognitive dysfunction and subjective sleepiness in Parkinson's disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel J Bolitho

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Sleep-wake disturbances and concomitant cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD contribute significantly to morbidity in patients and their carers. Subjectively reported daytime sleep disturbance is observed in over half of all patients with PD and has been linked to executive cognitive dysfunction. The current study used daytime actigraphy, a novel objective measure of napping and related this to neuropsychological performance in a sample of PD patients and healthy, age and gender-matched controls. Furthermore this study aimed to identify patients with PD who may benefit from pharmacologic and behavioural intervention to improve these symptoms. METHODS: Eighty-five PD patients and 21 healthy, age-matched controls completed 14 days of wrist actigraphy within two weeks of neuropsychological testing. Objective napping measures were derived from actigraphy using a standardised protocol and subjective daytime sleepiness was recorded by the previously validated Epworth Sleepiness Scale. RESULTS: Patients with PD had a 225% increase in the mean nap time per day (minutes as recorded by actigraphy compared to age matched controls (39.2 ± 35.2 vs. 11.5 ± 11.0 minutes respectively, p < 0.001. Significantly, differences in napping duration between patients, as recorded by actigraphy were not distinguished by their ratings on the subjective measurement of excessive daytime sleepiness. Finally, those patients with excessive daytime napping showed greater cognitive deficits in the domains of attention, semantic verbal fluency and processing speed. CONCLUSION: This study confirms increased levels of napping in PD, a finding that is concordant with subjective reports. However, subjective self-report measures of excessive daytime sleepiness do not robustly identify excessive napping in PD. Fronto-subcortical cognitive dysfunction was observed in those patients who napped excessively. Furthermore, this study suggests that daytime

  15. SISTEM INFORMASI KEUANGAN SESUAI STANDAR BAN-PT TERINTEGRASI SISFO KAMPUS 4.1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syahiduzzaman Syahiduzzaman

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak-Standar keuangan adalah salah satu standar yang dinilai dalam instrumen BAN-PT, yaitu pada standar 6.1. Pengelolaan keuangan sebuah perguruan tinggi harus memenuhi standar tersebut. Untuk dapat mengetahui seberapa besar tingkat pemenuhan standar diperlukan penilaian. Sistem informasi keuangan yang dikembangkan dalam penelitian ini digunakan untuk memasukkan data transaksi keuangan, mencatatnya dalam sistem akuntansi, dan melaporkannya. Laporan-laporan yang disajikan berbentuk tabel dan grafik yang menyatakan kinerja keuangan dan diukur sesuai dengan standar 6.1. BAN-PT. Sistem informasi keuangan ini, juga terintegrasi dengan SISFOKAMPUS 4.1 yang merupakan sistem informasi akademik open source yang berbasis web. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah sistem informasi keuangan dengan fungsi khusus yaitu menilai kinerja keuangan yang sesuai dengan standar 6.1. BAN-PT yang dapat digunakan untuk melakukan audit internal.   Kata kunci: Standar 6.1. BAN-PT, Sistem Informasi Keuangan, SISFOKAMPUS 4.1.

  16. Photography of a lithium vapor trail during the daytime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedinger, J. F.

    1973-01-01

    Barium and lithium vapors were released from sounding rockets in the thermosphere and observed from aboard a jet aircraft at an altitude of 40,000 ft. The purpose of the releases was to demonstrate the feasibility of an all-weather technique for observing chemical releases and to evaluate methods of observing daytime releases. The selected flight plan of the aircraft allowed a series of observations of the trail from two different straight line paths. Data were recorded photographically. The reduction in sky brightness at the 40,000-ft altitude as compared to the ground allows the use of a filter with a 10-A bandwidth for trail photography in the daytime. These photographs verified the calculation of the usable angular field of the narrow-band filters. Photographs of a 45-min-old trail of lithium vapor were obtained up to 20 min after sunrise at the aircraft. It is concluded that now vapor trail observations may be made during the daytime without regard to weather and logistic restrictions.

  17. Alcohol- and Drug-Involved Driving in the United States: Methodology for the 2007 National Roadside Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacey, John H.; Kelley-Baker, Tara; Voas, Robert B.; Romano, Eduardo; Furr-Holden, C. Debra; Torres, Pedro; Berning, Amy

    2013-01-01

    This article describes the methodology used in the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey to estimate the prevalence of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving and alcohol- and drug-involved driving. This study involved randomly stopping drivers at 300 locations across the 48 continental U.S. states at sites selected through a stratified random sampling procedure. Data were collected during a 2-hour Friday daytime session at 60 locations and during 2-hour nighttime weekend periods at 240 locations. Both self-report and biological measures were taken. Biological measures included breath alcohol measurements from 9,413 respondents, oral fluid samples from 7,719 respondents, and blood samples from 3,276 respondents. PMID:21997324

  18. The pediatric daytime sleepiness scale (PDSS): sleep habits and school outcomes in middle-school children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drake, Christopher; Nickel, Chelsea; Burduvali, Eleni; Roth, Thomas; Jefferson, Catherine; Pietro, Badia

    2003-06-15

    To develop a measure of daytime sleepiness suitable for middle-school children and examine the relationship between daytime sleepiness and school-related outcomes. Self-report questionnaire. Four hundred fifty, 11- to 15-year-old students, from grades 6, 7, and 8 of a public middle school in Dayton, Ohio. A pediatric daytime sleepiness questionnaire was developed using factor analysis of questions regarding sleep-related behaviors. Results of the sleepiness questionnaire were then compared across other variables, including daily sleep patterns, school achievement, mood, and extracurricular activities. Factor analysis on the 13 questions related to daytime sleepiness yielded 1 primary factor ("pediatric daytime sleepiness"; 32% of variance). Only items with factor loadings above .4 were included in the final sleepiness scale. Internal consistency (Chronbach's alpha) for the final 8-item scale was .80. Separate one-way analyses of variance and trend analyses were performed comparing pediatric daytime sleepiness scores at the 5 different levels of total sleep time and academic achievement. Participants who reported low school achievement, high rates of absenteeism, low school enjoyment, low total sleep time, and frequent illness reported significantly higher levels of daytime sleepiness compared to children with better school-related outcomes. The self-report scale developed in the present work is suitable for middle-school-age children and may be useful in future research given its ease of administration and robust psychometric properties. Daytime sleepiness is related to reduced educational achievement and other negative school-related outcomes.

  19. Implementation and enforcement of tobacco bans in two prisons in North Carolina: a qualitative inquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Kristie L; Proescholdbell, Scott; Herndon Malek, Sally; Johnson, Jana

    2010-04-01

    Despite the national trend that 90% of prisons have smoke-free indoors policies, compliance and enforcement remain barriers to policy success. Key informant interviews about policy compliance and enforcement were conducted with 10 staff and inmates at two North Carolina prison facilities, one with a complete ban (indoors and outdoors) and one with a partial ban (indoors only). Communication of the tobacco bans was consistent and well understood in both facilities. Barriers to compliance and enforcement, especially in the complete ban facility, included policy ''buy in,'' the emerging black market for cigarettes, staff support, and access to nicotine replacement therapy. Despite these barriers, most informants reported that implementation and enforcement of complete bans is possible with adequate communication about the policy and access to cessation therapy.

  20. Athletes' perceptions of anti-doping sanctions: the ban from sport versus social, financial and self-imposed sanctions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Overbye, Marie Birch; Elbe, Anne-Marie; Knudsen, Mette Lykke

    2015-01-01

    Today the main doping deterrence strategy is to ban athletes from sport if caught. This study examines whether Danish elite athletes perceive the ban as a deterrent and how they evaluate social, self-imposed and financial sanctions compared with the ban. Questionnaires were emailed to elite...... athletes from 40 sports (N = 645; response rate, 43%). Results showed that 78% of athletes regarded the ban as a deterrent. Older male athletes, however, did so to a lesser degree. Seventy-seven per cent, regardless of gender, age, sport type and previous experience of doping testing, viewed social...... sanctions as a greater deterrent than the ban. Many also considered self-imposed sanctions (54%) and financial consequences (47%) a greater deterrent. Four per cent considered neither the ban nor the presented alternatives a deterrent. The findings indicate that the ban from sport deters doping...

  1. Legislative smoking bans for reducing secondhand smoke exposure, smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Callinan, Joanne E

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Smoking bans have been implemented in a variety of settings, as well as being part of policy in many jurisdictions to protect the public and employees from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke (SHS). They also offer the potential to influence social norms and smoking behaviour of those populations they affect. OBJECTIVES: To assess the extent to which legislation-based smoking bans or restrictions reduce exposure to SHS, help people who smoke to reduce tobacco consumption or lower smoking prevalence and affect the health of those in areas which have a ban or restriction in place. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Conference Paper Index, and reference lists and bibliographies of included studies. We also checked websites of various organisations. Date of most recent search; July 1st 2009. SELECTION CRITERIA: We considered studies that reported legislative smoking bans and restrictions affecting populations. The minimum standard was having a ban explicitly in the study and a minimum of six months follow-up for measures of smoking behaviour. We included randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies (i.e. non-randomized controlled studies), controlled before and after studies, interrupted-time series as defined by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group, and uncontrolled pre- and post-ban data. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Characteristics and content of the interventions, participants, outcomes and methods of the included studies were extracted by one author and checked by a second. Because of heterogeneity in the design and content of the studies, we did not attempt a meta-analysis. We evaluated the studies using qualitative narrative synthesis. MAIN RESULTS: There were 50 studies included in this review. Thirty-one studies reported exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) with 19 studies measuring it using biomarkers. There was

  2. Global Evidence on the Association between POS Advertising Bans and Youth Smoking Participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Ce; Huang, Jidong; Cheng, Kai-Wen; Li, Qing; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2016-03-09

    Point-of-sale (POS) tobacco advertising has been linked to youth smoking susceptibility and experimental smoking. However, there is limited evidence of the association between POS advertising bans and youth smoking participation. This study aims to examine how such bans are associated with current smoking, daily smoking, and regular smoking (≥ 1 cigarettes per day) participation among youth. one to two waves (primarily one wave) of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey were conducted in 130 countries between 2007 and 2011. These surveys were linked to the WHO "MPOWER" data using country and year identifiers to analyze the association between POS advertising bans (a dichotomous measure of the existence of such bans) and smoking participation in the past month. Weighted logistic regressions were employed to analyze this association while controlling for age, gender, parents' smoking status, 6 MPOWER policy scores, and GDP per capita. We find that in countries with POS advertising bans, current smoking (OR = 0.73, p ≤ 0.1), daily smoking (OR = 0.70, p ≤ 0.1), and regular smoking (OR = 0.75, p ≤ 0.05) participation in the past month is significantly lower, suggesting that POS promotion bans can potentially reduce youth smoking. This study provides evidence to support the implementation of POS promotion regulations by the US FDA and implementation of the WHO FCTC guidelines regarding restrictions on tobacco POS promotion.

  3. Cumann na mBan & Women in Irish Republican Paramilitary Organisations, 1969-1986

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dieter Reinisch

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available 2014 marked the centenary of Cumann na mBan, the Irish Republican women’s organisation. While a number of recent publications have dealt with the first decade of Cumann na mBan, its existence in the second half of the 20th century has largely been neglected by academics. However, women played an integral part in the Republican struggle and many of these women held influential positions in the Irish Republican Movement. With this in mind, the article will discuss the role of Cumann na mBan within the so-called Provisional Republican Movement between 1969 and 1986. Based on 25 Oral History interviews with former members of the women’s organisation, the membership structure of the organisation and its activities will be discussed. In particular, the role of women in the Irish Republican Movement will be examined along with a number of other factors which have hitherto been largely underplayed in the historiography of women activists in the Irish Republican Movement. This will provide students and academics with literature for further in-depth research on Cumann na mBan. In essence, the aim of the article is to introduce Cumann na mBan into the historiography of the recent conflict in the North of Ireland.

  4. Objective Measurement of Daytime Napping, Cognitive Dysfunction and Subjective Sleepiness in Parkinson’s Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolitho, Samuel J.; Naismith, Sharon L.; Salahuddin, Pierre; Terpening, Zoe; Grunstein, Ron R.; Lewis, Simon J. G.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Sleep-wake disturbances and concomitant cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD) contribute significantly to morbidity in patients and their carers. Subjectively reported daytime sleep disturbance is observed in over half of all patients with PD and has been linked to executive cognitive dysfunction. The current study used daytime actigraphy, a novel objective measure of napping and related this to neuropsychological performance in a sample of PD patients and healthy, age and gender-matched controls. Furthermore this study aimed to identify patients with PD who may benefit from pharmacologic and behavioural intervention to improve these symptoms. Methods Eighty-five PD patients and 21 healthy, age-matched controls completed 14 days of wrist actigraphy within two weeks of neuropsychological testing. Objective napping measures were derived from actigraphy using a standardised protocol and subjective daytime sleepiness was recorded by the previously validated Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Results Patients with PD had a 225% increase in the mean nap time per day (minutes) as recorded by actigraphy compared to age matched controls (39.2 ± 35.2 vs. 11.5 ± 11.0 minutes respectively, p napping duration between patients, as recorded by actigraphy were not distinguished by their ratings on the subjective measurement of excessive daytime sleepiness. Finally, those patients with excessive daytime napping showed greater cognitive deficits in the domains of attention, semantic verbal fluency and processing speed. Conclusion This study confirms increased levels of napping in PD, a finding that is concordant with subjective reports. However, subjective self-report measures of excessive daytime sleepiness do not robustly identify excessive napping in PD. Fronto-subcortical cognitive dysfunction was observed in those patients who napped excessively. Furthermore, this study suggests that daytime actigraphy, a non-invasive and inexpensive objective measure of

  5. Sleep, eating disorder symptoms, and daytime functioning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tromp, Marilou Dp; Donners, Anouk Amt; Garssen, Johan; Verster, Joris C

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between eating disorders, body mass index (BMI), sleep disorders, and daytime functioning. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: N=574 Dutch young adults (18-35 years old). MEASUREMENTS: Participants completed a survey on eating and sleep

  6. Recommended treatment strategies for patients with excessive daytime sleepiness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Russell P

    2015-10-01

    Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common and bothersome phenomenon. It can be associated with insufficient sleep syndrome, narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, shift work disorder, Kleine-Levin syndrome, or Parkinson's disease. Once the underlying cause of the excessive sleepiness is determined, clinicians must select the most appropriate behavioral and pharmacologic interventions to reduce daytime sleepiness, alleviate other symptoms, improve functioning, and ensure the safety of patients and those around them. Patient history, adverse effects, and efficacy in specific conditions should be considered in pharmacologic treatment options for patients with EDS. © Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

  7. Daytime napping, sleep duration and serum C reactive protein: a population-based cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Yue; Ahmadi-Abhari, Sara; Wainwright, Nick W J; Cappuccio, Francesco P; Surtees, Paul G; Luben, Robert; Brayne, Carol; Khaw, Kay-Tee

    2014-11-11

    To explore whether daytime napping and sleep duration are linked to serum C reactive protein (CRP), a pro-inflammatory marker, in an older aged British population. Cross-sectional study. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk study. A total of 5018 men and women aged 48-92 years reported their sleep habits and had serum CRP levels measured. CRP was measured (mg/L) during 2006-2011 in fresh blood samples using high-sensitivity methods. Participants reported napping habits during 2002-2004, and reported sleep quantity during 2006-2007. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the association between napping and log-transformed CRP, and geometric mean CRP levels were calculated. After adjustment for age and sex, those who reported napping had 10% higher CRP levels compared with those not napping. The association was attenuated but remained borderline significant (β=0.05 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.10)) after further adjustment for social class, education, marital status, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, self-reported health, pre-existing diseases, systolic blood pressure, hypnotic drug use, depression and in women-only hormone replacement therapy use. The geometric means (95% CI) of CRP levels were 2.38 (2.29 to 2.47) mg/L and 2.26 (2.21 to 2.32) mg/L for those who reported napping and no napping, respectively. A U-shaped association was observed between time spent in bed at night and CRP levels, and nighttime sleep duration was not associated with serum CRP levels. The association between napping and CRP was stronger for older participants, and among extremes of time spent in bed at night. Daytime napping was associated with increased CRP levels in an older aged British population. Further studies are needed to determine whether daytime napping is a cause for systemic inflammation, or if it is a symptom or consequence of underlying health problems. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited

  8. Links between Sleep and Daytime Behaviour Problems in Children with Down Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esbensen, A. J.; Hoffman, E. K.; Beebe, D. W.; Byars, K. C.; Epstein, J.

    2018-01-01

    Background: In the general population, sleep problems have an impact on daytime performance. Despite sleep problems being common among children with Down syndrome, the impact of sleep problems on daytime behaviours in school-age children with Down syndrome is an understudied topic. Our study examined the relationship between parent-reported and…

  9. The Impact of Smoking Bans on Smoking and Consumer Behavior: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boes, Stefan; Marti, Joachim; Maclean, Johanna Catherine

    2015-11-01

    In this paper, we exploit the progressive implementation of smoking bans in public venues at the state level in Switzerland to evaluate both the direct effects on smoking and the potential unintended consequences of these legislations on consumer behaviors as measured by visiting restaurants/bars and discos ('going out'). Our results indicate that public venue smoking bans in Switzerland reduce smoking rates, but the findings do not emerge until 1 year following the ban. This pattern of results is consistent with delays in ban enforcement on the part of business owners, difficulties in changing addictive behaviors such as smoking, and/or learning on the part of smokers. We find evidence that smoking bans influence going-out behavior and there is substantial heterogeneity across venue and consumer characteristics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Lights on for daytime driving: mandatory from 1 January 2014

    CERN Multimedia

    2014-01-01

    In accordance with the Swiss Federal Decree of 15 June 2012, it will be mandatory from 1 January 2014 to keep your vehicle lights permanently switched on when driving on Swiss territory.   New vehicles are now equipped with daytime running lights which switch on automatically. For older vehicles, side lights can be used as daytime running lights, and it is always possible to fit specific daytime running lights to a vehicle at a later date. This measure is already in force in most European countries and is particularly aimed at improving the visibility of vehicles and helping pedestrians and cyclists to judge the distance and speed of an approaching vehicle more easily. From 1 January 2014, this obligation applies to all “automobiles (passenger cars, heavy goods vehicles, delivery vehicles and coaches)”(1) as well as to “motorcycles” driven on Swiss roads. “Electric bicycles and vehicles in circulation before 1970”(2) are exempt.&nb...

  11. Lights on for daytime driving: mandatory from 1 January 2014

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    In accordance with the Swiss Federal Decree of 15 June 2012, it will be mandatory from 1 January 2014 to keep your vehicle lights permanently switched on when driving on Swiss territory.   New vehicles are now equipped with daytime running lights which switch on automatically. For older vehicles, side lights can be used as daytime running lights, and it is always possible to fit specific daytime running lights to a vehicle at a later date. This measure is already in force in most European countries and is particularly aimed at improving the visibility of vehicles and helping pedestrians and cyclists to judge the distance and speed of an approaching vehicle more easily. From 1 January 2014, this obligation applies to all “automobiles (passenger cars, heavy goods vehicles, delivery vehicles and coaches)”(1) as well as to “motorcycles” driven on Swiss roads. “Electric bicycles and vehicles in circulation before 1970”(2) are exempt.&nb...

  12. Fatal accidents in nighttime vs. daytime highway construction work zones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arditi, David; Lee, Dong-Eun; Polat, Gul

    2007-01-01

    Awareness about worker safety in nighttime construction has been a major concern because it is believed that nighttime construction creates hazardous work conditions. However, only a few studies provide valuable comparative information about accident characteristics of nighttime and daytime highway construction activities. This study investigates fatal accidents that occurred in Illinois highway work zones in the period 1996-2001 in order to determine the safety differences between nighttime and daytime highway construction. The lighting and weather conditions were included into the study as control parameters to see their effects on the frequency of fatal accidents occurring in work zones. According to this study, there is evidence that nighttime construction is more hazardous than daytime construction. The inclusion of a weather parameter into the analysis has limited effect on this finding. The study justifies establishing an efficient work zone accident reporting system and taking all necessary measures to enhance safety in nighttime work zones.

  13. Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition

    OpenAIRE

    Proctor, Robert N

    2013-01-01

    The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation. Most of the richer countries of the globe, however, are making progress in reducing both smoking rates and overall consumption. Many different methods have been proposed to steepen this downward slope, including increased taxation, bans on advertising, promotion of cessation, and expansion of smoke-free spaces. One option that deserves more attention is the enactment of local or national bans on the sale of cigarett...

  14. Public support for alcohol policies associated with knowledge of cancer risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buykx, Penny; Gilligan, Conor; Ward, Bernadette; Kippen, Rebecca; Chapman, Kathy

    2015-04-01

    Several options are advocated by policy experts to mitigate alcohol-related harms, although the most effective strategies often have the least public support. While knowledge of tobacco-related health risks predicts support for relevant public health measures, it is not known whether knowledge of alcohol health risks is similarly associated with the acceptability of policies intended to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. This study aims to gauge public support for a range of alcohol policies and to determine whether or not support is associated with knowledge of a long-term health risk of alcohol consumption, specifically cancer. 2482 adults in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, participated in an online survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between demographic data, alcohol consumption, smoking status, knowledge of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer and support for alcohol-related policies. Most participants were supportive of health warnings, restricting access to internet alcohol advertising to young people, and requiring information on national drinking guidelines on alcohol containers. Almost half of participants supported a ban on sport sponsorship, while less than 41% supported price increases, volumetric taxation, or reducing the number of retail outlets. Only 47% of participants identified drinking too much alcohol as a risk factor for cancer. Knowledge of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer was a significant predictor of support for all policies, while level of alcohol consumption had a significant inverse relationship with policy support. The finding that support for alcohol management policies is associated with awareness that drinking too much alcohol may contribute to cancer could assist in the planning of future public health interventions. Improving awareness of the long term health risks of alcohol consumption may be one avenue to increasing public support for effective alcohol harm-reduction policies

  15. In pursuit of a nuclear test ban treaty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmalberger, T.

    1991-01-01

    The objective of this guide is to focus on the political issues in the test ban debate in the conference of Disarmament, and to produce a guide providing diplomats, researchers, and the interested public with background information. Such a complex negotiating process requires a selection of proposals, comments and technical details. The criterion from selecting material was based upon the importance for present negotiations. The first part of this guide provides a historical perspective on the arguments used for and against nuclear testing, and on the record of negotiating activities on this subject. The second part examines the test ban debate in the Conference on Disarmament during the past ten years. Figs

  16. The ban on "off-label" pharmaceutical promotion: constitutionally permissible prophylaxis against false or misleading commercial speech?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenwood, Kate

    2011-01-01

    Critics of the Food & Drug Administration's ban on off-label promotion often claim that it violates the First Amendment because it suppresses pharmaceutical manufacturers' truthful speech about their legal--and beneficial--products. Characterizing the ban on off-label promotion in this way has more than rhetorical significance. Bans on truthful, non-misleading speech elicit special skepticism because of the belief that they "usually rest solely on the offensive assumption that the public will respond 'irrationally' to the truth." The legislative history of the provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act that underlie the ban on off-label promotion, however, reveals that Congress was concerned that physicians were responding rationally to false and misleading promotional claims. In this Article, I explore the doctrinal questions raised by conceiving of the ban on off-label promotion not as a ban on "truthful speech to physicians" but instead as a prophylaxis against false and misleading pharmaceutical promotion. I review the evidence that false and misleading claims were commonplace before the ban's adoption and persist today, along with the enforcement challenges the FDA confronted at that time and would confront were the ban lifted, and conclude the government likely could develop the factual record necessary to establish that Congress' rejection of an after-the-fact case-by-case approach to combating false and misleading prescription drug promotion is constitutional.

  17. Compliance of agrochemical marketers with banned cocoa pesticides in southwest Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    Mokwunye Idongesit U.; Babalola Folaranmi D.; Asogwa Uche E.; Idris Ndagi; Aderolu Ismail A.; Mokwunye Francis C.; Idrisu Mohammed

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the compliance of marketers of agrochemicals with the approved and banned cocoa pesticides in selected cocoa producing states of southwest Nigeria. Primary data was collected through the use of structured questionnaire administered to randomly selected agrochemical marketers. All the marketers (100%) were aware of the recently banned cocoa pesticides, however, majority still have the pesticides in stock. About 70.6% of the marketers ...

  18. When Thinking Impairs Sleep: Trait, Daytime and Nighttime Repetitive Thinking in Insomnia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lancee, Jaap; Eisma, Maarten C; van Zanten, Kristopher B; Topper, Maurice

    2017-01-01

    We performed two studies in individuals with sleep problems to investigate trait, daytime, and nighttime repetitive thinking as risk factors for insomnia. In Study 1, 139 participants completed questionnaires on worry, rumination, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and a sleep diary. Trait rumination and trait worry were not associated with sleep impairment. In Study 2, 64 participants completed similar measures and a daytime and nighttime sleep-related worry diary. Only nighttime sleep-related worry was consistently associated with sleep impairment. Overall, results indicate that nighttime sleep-related worry is important in the maintenance of insomnia, whereas effects of trait and daytime repetitive thinking are more benign. Treatment for insomnia can potentially be improved by focusing more on nighttime sleep-related worry.

  19. Excessive daytime sleepiness and subsequent development of Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, R D; Ross, G W; White, L R; Tanner, C M; Masaki, K H; Nelson, J S; Curb, J D; Petrovitch, H

    2005-11-08

    To determine if excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) can predate future Parkinson disease (PD). EDS was assessed in 3,078 men aged 71 to 93 years in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study from 1991 to 1993. All were free of prevalent PD and dementia. Follow-up for incident PD was based on three repeat neurologic assessments from 1994 to 2001. During the course of follow-up, 43 men developed PD (19.9/10,000 person-years). After age adjustment, there was more than a threefold excess in the risk of PD in men with EDS vs men without EDS (55.3 vs 17.0/10,000 person-years; odds ratio [OR] = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.4 to 7.0; p = 0.004). Additional adjustment for insomnia, cognitive function, depressed mood, midlife cigarette smoking and coffee drinking, and other factors failed to alter the association between EDS and PD (OR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.1 to 6.4; p = 0.014). Other sleep related features such as insomnia, daytime napping, early morning grogginess, and frequent nocturnal awakening showed little relation with the risk of PD. Excessive daytime sleepiness may be associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson disease.

  20. Do provincial policies banning smoking in cars when children are present impact youth exposure to secondhand smoke in cars?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elton-Marshall, Tara; Leatherdale, Scott T; Driezen, Pete; Azagba, Sunday; Burkhalter, Robin

    2015-09-01

    To examine youth exposure to smoking in cars following 7 provincial bans on smoking in cars with children in Canada. Repeated cross-sectional data from the 2004-2012 Youth Smoking Survey (n=91,800) were examined. Using a quasi-experimental design, contrasts of the interaction of survey year and province included in the logistic regression analyses were used to test whether exposure significantly declined pre-post implementation of a ban on smoking in cars relative to control provinces not implementing a ban. Exposure across all provinces declined from 26.5% in 2004 to 18.2% of youth in 2012. Exposure declined significantly from pre to post implementation of a ban on smoking in cars with children in Ontario at time 1 post ban (Pre-Ban=20.4% T1post=10.3%, OR=0.45), time 2 post ban (12.1%, OR=0.61) and time 3 post ban (11.6%, OR=0.58) relative to control provinces that did not implement a ban. In British Columbia exposure to smoking in cars declined significantly at pre-post ban time 3 compared to the control group (Pre-Ban=21.2%, T3post=9.6%, OR=0.51). No other provinces had a significant change in exposure pre-post ban relative to the control provinces. Although rates declined, significant differences were only found in Ontario relative to control provinces in the immediate and long term. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Is daytime napping associated with inflammation in adolescents?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakubowski, Karen P; Hall, Martica H; Marsland, Anna L; Matthews, Karen A

    2016-12-01

    Daytime napping has been associated with poor health outcomes in adults. It is not known whether daytime napping is similarly linked to adverse health in adolescents, although many report napping. The present study evaluated associations between daytime napping and 2 markers of increased inflammation, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in healthy high school students. Two hundred thirty-four Black and White high school students completed a week of actigraph and diary measures of sleep and napping and provided a fasting blood sample. Napping measures were the proportion of days napped and the average minutes napped across 1 week during the school year. Linear regressions adjusted for age, sex, race, average nocturnal sleep duration, time between sleep protocol and blood draw, and body mass index percentile demonstrated that proportion of days napped measured by actigraphy, B(SE) = .41(.19), p napped between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., B(SE) = .40(.20), p nap duration and either study outcome. Diary-reported napping was unrelated to either study outcome. Actigraphy-assessed napping and IL-6 are associated but the direction of the relationship remains to be determined. Overall, napping is an important factor to consider to better understand the relationship between short sleep and cardiovascular health in adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. [Daytime consequences of insomnia complaints in the French general population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohayon, M M; Lemoine, P

    2004-01-01

    Insomnia is a frequent symptom in the general population; numerous studies have proven this. In the past years, classifications have gradually given more emphasis to daytime repercussions of insomnia and to their consequences on social and cognitive functioning. They are now integrated in the definition of insomnia and are used to quantify its severity. If the daytime consequences of insomnia are well known at the clinical level, there are few epidemiological data on this matter. The aim of this study was to assess the daytime repercussions of insomnia complaints in the general population of France. A representative sample (n=5,622) aged 15 or older was surveyed by telephone with the help of the sleep-EVAL expert system, a computer program specially designed to evaluate sleep disorders and to manage epidemiological investigations. Interviews have been completed for 80.8% of the solicited subjects (n=5,622). The variables considered comprised insomnia and its daytime repercussions on cognitive functioning, affective tone, daytime sleepiness and diurnal fatigue. Insomnia was found in 18.6% of the sample. The prevalence was higher in women (22.4%) than in men (14.5%, psleep. Nearly 75% of insomnia complainers reported having a disrupted sleep or waking up too early in the morning and about 40% said they had a non-restorative sleep. Repercussions on daytime functioning were reported by most insomnia subjects (67%). Repercussions on cognitive functioning changed according age, number of insomnia symptoms and the use of a psychotropic medication. A decreased efficiency was more likely to be reported by subjects between 15 and 44 years of age (OR: 2.9), those using a psychotropic (OR: 1.5), those reporting at least three insomnia symptoms (OR: 1.4) and women (OR: 1.4). The highest probability of the appearance of concentration difficulties was found in subjects younger than 65 Years, having a depressive disorder and using a psychotropic (15-44 years: OR 19.1; 45-64 years

  3. Excessive daytime sleepiness among depressed patients | Mume ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) has been reported among depressed patients in many populations. Many depressed patients seek medical attention partly to deal with EDS, but this sleep disorder is often overlooked in clinical practice. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the ...

  4. Excessive daytime sleepiness among depressed patients | Mume ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) has been reported among depressed patients in many populations. Many depressed patients seek medical attention partly to deal with EDS, but this sleep disorder is often overlooked in clinical practice. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the ...

  5. Daytime running lights : its safety evidence revisited.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koornstra, M.J.

    1993-01-01

    Retrospective in-depth accident studies from several countries confirm that human perception errors are the main causal factor in road accidents. The share of accident types which are relevant for the effect of daytime running lights (DRL), such as overtaking and crossing accidents, in the total of

  6. Do Partial Home Smoking Bans Signal Progress toward a Smoke-Free Home?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kegler, Michelle C.; Haardörfer, Regine; Bundy, Lucja T.; Escoffery, Cam; Berg, Carla J.; Fernandez, Maria; Williams, Rebecca; Hovell, Mel

    2016-01-01

    Understanding who establishes partial home smoking bans, what these bans cover, and whether they are an intermediate step in going smoke-free would help to inform smoke-free home interventions. Participants were recruited from United Way of Greater Atlanta's 2-1-1 contact center. Data were collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months via telephone…

  7. Melatonin Decreases Daytime Challenging Behaviour in Persons with Intellectual Disability and Chronic Insomnia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braam, W.; Didden, R.; Maas, A. P. H. M.; Korzilius, H.; Smits, M. G.; Curfs, L. M. G.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Persons with intellectual disability (ID) and sleep problems exhibit more daytime challenging behaviours than persons with ID without sleep problems. Several anecdotal reports suggest that melatonin is not only effective in the treatment of insomnia, but also decreases daytime challenging behaviour. However, the effect of melatonin…

  8. Sustainability of outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools: a mixed-method study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozema, A D; Mathijssen, J J P; Jansen, M W J; van Oers, J A M

    2018-02-01

    Although increasing numbers of countries are implementing outdoor school ground smoking bans at secondary schools, less attention is paid to the post-implementation period even though sustainability of a policy is essential for long-term effectiveness. Therefore, this study assesses the level of sustainability and examines perceived barriers/facilitators related to the sustainability of an outdoor school ground smoking ban at secondary schools. A mixed-method design was used with a sequential explanatory approach. In phase I, 438 online surveys were conducted and in phase II, 15 semi-structured interviews were obtained from directors of relevant schools. ANOVA (phase I) and a thematic approach (phase II) were used to analyze data. Level of sustainability of an outdoor school ground smoking ban was high at the 48% Dutch schools with an outdoor smoking ban. Furthermore, school size was significantly associated with sustainability. The perceived barriers/facilitators fell into three categories: (i) smoking ban implementation factors (side-effects, enforcement, communication, guidelines and collaboration), (ii) school factors (physical environment, school culture, education type and school policy) and (iii) community environment factors (legislation and social environment). Internationally, the spread of outdoor school ground smoking bans could be further promoted. Once implemented, the ban has become 'normal' practice and investments tend to endure. Moreover, involvement of all staff is important for sustainability as they function as role models, have an interrelationship with students, and share responsibility for enforcement. These findings are promising for the sustainability of future tobacco control initiatives to further protect against the morbidity/mortality associated with smoking. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

  9. The Asbestos Ban in Korea from a Grassroots Perspective: Why Did It Occur?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Ryong Yoon

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In 2009, asbestos was finally banned in Korea, about 70 years after the first opening of asbestos mines under Japanese control. After having presented the history of asbestos industry, together with its regulations and health effects over time, we constructed narrative analyses of how the asbestos issue under the prevailing risk system was managed by whom and for what purpose, to provide context for the change. We could identify five different phases: laissez-faire, politico-technical, economic–managerial, health-oriented cultural, and human rights-based post-cultural risk systems. The changes leading to the asbestos ban evolved over different phases, and each phase change was necessary to reach the final ban, in that, without resolving the previous issues by examining different categories of potential alternatives, either the final ban was not possible or, even if instituted, could not be sustained. An asbestos ban could be introduced when all the alternatives to these issues, including legitimate political windows, economic rationalizations, health risk protections, and human rights sensitivities, were available. We think the alternatives that we had were not in perfect shape, but in more or less loosely connected forms, and hence we had to know how to build solidarities between different stakeholders to compensate for the imperfections.

  10. Powdered alcohol: Awareness and likelihood of use among a sample of college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vail-Smith, Karen; Chaney, Beth H; Martin, Ryan J; Don Chaney, J

    2016-01-01

    In March 2015, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the sale of Palcohol, the first powdered alcohol product to be marketed and sold in the U.S. Powdered alcohol is freeze-dried, and one individual-serving size packet added to 6 ounces of liquid is equivalent to a standard drink. This study assessed awareness of powered alcohol and likelihood to use and/or misuse powdered alcohol among college students. Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of 1,841 undergraduate students. Only 16.4% of respondents had heard of powdered alcohol. After being provided a brief description of powdered alcohol, 23% indicated that they would use the product if available, and of those, 62.1% also indicated likelihood of misusing the product (eg, snorting it, mixing it with alcohol). Caucasian students (OR = 1.5) and hazardous drinkers (based on AUDIT-C scores; OR = 4.7) were significantly more likely to indicate likelihood of use. Hazardous drinkers were also six times more likely to indicate likelihood to misuse the product. These findings can inform upstream prevention efforts in states debating bans on powdered alcohol. In states where powdered alcohol will soon be available, alcohol education initiatives should be updated to include information on the potential risks of use and be targeted to those populations most likely to misuse. This is the first peer-reviewed study to assess the awareness of and likelihood to use and/or misuse powdered alcohol, a potentially emerging form of alcohol. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

  11. Smoking ban and health at birth: Evidence from Hungary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajdu, Tamás; Hajdu, Gábor

    2018-06-13

    In 2012, smoking restrictions were extended to hospitality venues in Hungary. Women working in bars and restaurants were primarily affected by the intervention. In this research, we analyze the effect of this smoking ban on the outcomes of their pregnancies. Using individual live birth, fetal loss, and infant mortality registry data, we examine the probability of live birth, indicators of health at birth, and the probability of death in the first year of life. We apply a difference-in-differences framework and show that the smoking ban has improved health at birth. We observed birth weight to increase by 56 g (95% CI: 4.2 to 106.8) and gestation length by 0.19 weeks (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.36). Due to the ban, the probability of being born with very low and low birth weight has decreased by 1.2 and 2.2 percentage points, respectively (95% CI: -0.2 to -2.2 and 0.06 to -4.4), and we see a 0.9 percentage points reduction in the chance of being born very preterm (95% CI: -0.03 to -1.9). We also observe a decrease in the probability of being born with a low Ponderal index (decrease of 4.1 percentage points, 95% CI: -0.7 to -7.5). Performing a series of robustness and placebo tests, we provide evidence that supports the causal interpretation of our results. We also show that the ban was more beneficial for newborns of parents with low educational attainment and at the bottom of the fetal health endowment distribution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Land cover dynamics following a deforestation ban in northern Costa Rica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fagan, M E; DeFries, R S; Sesnie, S E; Arroyo, J P; Soto, C; Walker, W; Chazdon, R L; Sanchun, A

    2013-01-01

    Forest protection policies potentially reduce deforestation and re-direct agricultural expansion to already-cleared areas. Using satellite imagery, we assessed whether deforestation for conversion to pasture and cropland decreased in the lowlands of northern Costa Rica following the 1996 ban on forest clearing, despite a tripling of area under pineapple cultivation in the last decade. We observed that following the ban, mature forest loss decreased from 2.2% to 1.2% per year, and the proportion of pineapple and other export-oriented cropland derived from mature forest declined from 16.4% to 1.9%. The post-ban expansion of pineapples and other crops largely replaced pasture, exotic and native tree plantations, and secondary forests. Overall, there was a small net gain in forest cover due to a shifting mosaic of regrowth and clearing in pastures, but cropland expansion decreased reforestation rates. We conclude that forest protection efforts in northern Costa Rica have likely slowed mature forest loss and succeeded in re-directing expansion of cropland to areas outside mature forest. Our results suggest that deforestation bans may protect mature forests better than older forest regrowth and may restrict clearing for large-scale crops more effectively than clearing for pasture. (letter)

  13. Attitudes and experiences of restaurateurs regarding smoking bans in Adelaide, South Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, K; Wakefield, M; Turnbull, D A

    1999-01-01

    To determine compliance with a voluntary code of practice (VCP) for restricting smoking in restaurants and to canvass the attitudes of restaurateurs towards tougher smoking restrictions. Cross-sectional survey conducted in 1996 using a telephone questionnaire. Metropolitan restaurants and cafes in Adelaide, South Australia. 276 (86.8%) of a sample of randomly selected owners and managers. Restaurant non-smoking policies, reported and anticipated change in business, and restaurateurs' attitudes towards smoking restrictions. 26.8% of restaurants had a total smoking ban; 40.6% restricted smoking some other way; and 32.6% permitted unrestricted smoking. Only 15.1% of restaurants with a ban or restrictions had used the VCP to guide the development of their policy, and only half of these were complying with it. Although 78.4% of those with bans and 84.4% of those with restrictions reported that their non-smoking policy had been associated with either no change or a gain in business, only 33.3% of those allowing unrestricted smoking expected that this would be the case, if they were to limit smoking. A total of 50.4% of restaurateurs, including 45.3% of those with no restrictions, agreed that the government should ban smoking in all restaurants. The VCP made an insignificant contribution to adoption of non-smoking policies, and compliance with the code was poor. Despite concerns about loss of business, there was considerable support for legislation which would ban smoking in all dining establishments.

  14. Sleep Characteristics and Daytime Cortisol Levels in Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Ethan; Schumm, L Philip; McClintock, Martha; Waite, Linda; Lauderdale, Diane S

    2017-05-01

    Older adults frequently report sleep problems and are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disruption. Experimental sleep restriction of younger adults has suggested that cortisol may be on the pathway between sleep restriction and cardiometabolic disease. We investigated whether the natural variation in sleep among older adults is associated with daytime cortisol level. Salivary cortisol samples and actigraphy sleep data were collected from a random subsample of participants in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative probability sample of adults aged 62-90 (N = 672). Salivary cortisol was measured with 3 timed samples at the beginning, middle, and end of a 2-hr in-home interview. Sleep characteristics were derived from wrist actigraphy (fragmentation, wake after sleep onset [WASO], and duration) and from survey responses about usual sleep duration and sleep problems. For each individual, a single summary daytime cortisol level was estimated by fitting a marginal longitudinal model for the 3 time-stamped cortisol samples. The resulting estimates were then regressed on each sleep measure, adjusting for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and comorbidities. From actigraphy, both higher fragmentation score (β = 0.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.00 to 0.03) and longer WASO (β = 0.27; 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.51) were significantly associated with higher daytime cortisol; sleep duration was not. Self-reported sleep duration and sleep problems were also not associated with cortisol. Actigraph measures of sleep disturbance are associated with higher daytime cortisol among older adults. However, cross-sectional data cannot distinguish causal direction or whether cortisol and sleep disruption have a common cause. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Daytime Utilization of a University Observatory for Laboratory Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattox, J. R.

    2006-08-01

    Scheduling convenience provides a strong incentive to fully explore effective utilization of educational observatories during daylight hours. I present two compelling daytime student activities that I developed at the Observatory at Fayetteville State University. My Introductory Astronomy Laboratory classes pursue these as separate investigations. My Physical Science classes complete both in a single lab period of 110 minutes duration. Both of these activities are also appropriate for High School student investigators, and could be used as demonstrations for younger students. Daylight Observation of Venus. With a clear sky, and when its elongation exceeds ~20˚, Venus is readily apparent in the daytime sky once a telescope is pointed at it. This is accomplished either with a digital pointing system, or with setting circles on a polar-aligned mount using the Sun to initialize the RA circle. Using the telescope pointing as a reference, it is also possible under optimal circumstances for students to see Venus in the daytime sky with naked eyes. Students are asked to write about the circumstances that made it possible to see Venus. Educational utilization of daytime observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and the brightest stars are also discussed. Using a CCD Camera to Determine the Temperature of a Sunspot. After my students view the Sun with Eclipse Glasses and in projection using a 3-inch refractor, they analyze a CCD image of a sunspot (which they obtain if possible) to determine the ratio of its surface intensity relative to the normal solar surface. They then use the Stefan-Boltzmann law (usually with some coaching) to determine the sunspot temperature given the nominal surface temperature of the Sun. Appropriate safety precautions are presented given the hazards of magnified sunlight. Mitigation of dome seeing during daylight hours is discussed.

  16. Breaking Habits: The Effect of The French Vending Machine Ban on School Snacking and Sugar Intakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capacci, Sara; Mazzocchi, Mario; Shankar, Bhavani

    2018-01-01

    This paper estimates the effect of the 2005 vending machine ban in French secondary schools on nutrient intakes and on the frequency of morning snacking at school. Using data before and after the ban, and exploiting the discontinuity associated with the age-dependent exposure to the ban, we specify a difference-in-differences regression…

  17. Legislative smoking bans for reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and smoking prevalence: Opportunities for Georgians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlin, Steven S; Anderson, Jennifer; Smith, Selina A

    2015-01-01

    Secondhand smoke, which is also referred to as environmental tobacco smoke and passive smoke, is a known human carcinogen. Secondhand smoke also causes disease and premature death in nonsmoking adults and children. We summarize studies of secondhand smoke in public places before and after smoking bans, as well as studies of cardiovascular and respiratory disease before and after such bans. To protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, smoke-free legislation is an effective public health measure. Smoking bans in public places, which have been implemented in many jurisdictions across the U.S. and in other countries, have the potential to influence social norms and reduce smoking behavior. Through legislative smoking bans for reducing secondhand smoke exposure and smoking prevalence, opportunities exist to protect the health of Georgians and other Americans and to reduce health care costs. These opportunities include increasing the comprehensiveness of smoking bans in public places and ensuring adequate funding to quit line services.

  18. Sex difference in the association between habitual daytime napping and prevalence of diabetes: a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Kan; Li, Feng; Qi, Yiqin; Lin, Diaozhu; Ren, Meng; Xu, Mingtong; Li, Fangping; Li, Yan; Yan, Li

    2016-05-01

    Our objective was to evaluate the associations between habitual daytime napping and diabetes and whether it varies by sex, menopause, and sleep quality. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in 8621 eligible individuals aged 40 years or older. Information on daytime napping hours, night-time sleep duration, history of menstruation, and sleep quality was self-reported. Diabetes was diagnosed according to the 1999 World Health Organization diagnostic criteria. The prevalence of diabetes was 19.4 % in men and 15.6 % in women. Increased daytime napping hours were positively associated with parameters of glycometabolism in women, such as fasting plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 2-h plasma glucose, and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, all P for trend napping group, 0-1-h daytime napping group, and more than 1-h daytime napping group were 14.5, 15.6, and 20.8 %, respectively (P for trend = 0.0004). A similar trend was detected in postmenopausal women (P for trend = 0.002). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, compared with no-habitual daytime napping postmenopausal women, those with daytime napping more than 1 h had higher prevalent diabetes (odds ratios 1.36, 95 % confidence interval, 1.04-1.77). In subgroup analysis of postmenopausal women, associations of daytime napping levels and prevalent diabetes were detected in older, overweight participants with good sleep quality who have not retired from work. In conclusion, our study suggests that habitual daytime napping is associated with prevalence of diabetes in postmenopausal women.

  19. Relationships Among Daytime Napping and Fatigue, Sleep Quality, and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jia-Ling; Lin, Chia-Chin

    2016-01-01

    The relationships among napping and sleep quality, fatigue, and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients are not clearly understood. The aim of the study was to determine whether daytime napping is associated with nighttime sleep, fatigue, and QOL in cancer patients. In total, 187 cancer patients were recruited. Daytime napping, nighttime self-reported sleep, fatigue, and QOL were assessed using a questionnaire. Objective sleep parameters were collected using a wrist actigraph. According to waking-after-sleep-onset measurements, patients who napped during the day experienced poorer nighttime sleep than did patients who did not (t = -2.44, P = .02). Daytime napping duration was significantly negatively correlated with QOL. Patients who napped after 4 PM had poorer sleep quality (t = -1.93, P = .05) and a poorer Short-Form Health Survey mental component score (t = 2.06, P = .04) than did patients who did not. Fatigue, daytime napping duration, and sleep quality were significant predictors of the mental component score and physical component score, accounting for 45.7% and 39.3% of the variance, respectively. Daytime napping duration was negatively associated with QOL. Napping should be avoided after 4 PM. Daytime napping affects the QOL of cancer patients. Future research can determine the role of napping in the sleep hygiene of cancer patients.

  20. Paraquat use among farmers in Korea after the ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bang, Ye Jin; Kim, Jaeyoung; Lee, Won Jin

    2017-07-04

    The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of paraquat use among farmers and to describe their epidemiologic characteristics after the paraquat ban in 2012. We interviewed 249 farmers in Korea in 2014. Approximately 20% of the farmers reported using paraquat in 2014. Farmers with longer farming experience, longer pesticide application years, and upland farming reported an increased risk of paraquat use although the trend was not statistically significant. The majority of the farmers used preexisting paraquat (85.7%), but some farmers purchased it illegally (14.3%). Farmers who used paraquat perceived paraquat as a dangerous chemical; however, they disagreed with the necessity of the paraquat ban.

  1. SISTEM INFORMASI SARANA DAN PRASARANA SESUAI STANDAR BAN-PT TERINTEGRASI SISFOKAMPUS 4.1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Ainul Yaqin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak- Standar sarana dan prasarana adalah salah satu standar yang dinilai dalam instrumen BAN-PT, yaitu pada standar 6.2. Pengelolaan sarana dan prasarana sebuah perguruan tinggi harus memenuhi standar tersebut. Untuk dapat mengetahui seberapa besar tingkat pemenuhan standar diperlukan penilaian. Sistem informasi sarana dan prasarana yang dikembangkan dalam penelitian ini digunakan untuk memasukkan data-data usulan pengadaan, penerimaan, distribusi, penggunaan, pemeliharaan, dan pemusnahan. Laporan-laporan yang disajikan berbentuk tabel dan grafik yang menyatakan kinerja keuangan dan diukur sesuai dengan standar 6.2. BAN-PT. Sistem informasi sarana dan prasarana ini, juga terintegrasi dengan SISFOKAMPUS 4.1 yang merupakan sistem informasi akademik open source yang berbasis web. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah sistem informasi sarana dan prasarana dengan fungsi khusus yaitu menilai kinerja keuangan yang sesuai dengan standar 6.1. BAN-PT yang dapat digunakan untuk melakukan audit internal.   Kata kunci : standar 6.2. BAN-PT, Sistem Informasi Sarana dan Prasarana, SISFOKAMPUS 4.1.

  2. Verifying the nuclear-test ban. CTBTO: For a safer and more secure world [videorecording

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature in September 1996. In March 1997, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization started work in Vienna, Austria. This film depicts the Commission's activities in establishing the Treaty's verification regime to monitor adherence to the global ban on nuclear explosions. It presents the challenging work at some of the global monitoring facilities, and at the International Data Centre in Vienna, where the data generated by the facilities are received, processed and analysed

  3. Banning Ads from Prime-Time State TV: Lessons from France

    OpenAIRE

    Lapo Filistrucchi; Andrea Mangani; Luigi Luini

    2012-01-01

    We analyse the effects of the advertising ban on French public television, which came into effect on the 5th of January 2009. The ban forbids commercial advertising on public TV in the time slot 20.00-6.00. By using a difference-in-difference approach we show that advertising which was previously broadcasted on public TV in the time slot 20.00-6.00 did not switch to private channels in the same time slot (nor did the price per second in that time slot on private channels rise). Rather adverti...

  4. Excessive daytime sleepiness, nocturnal sleep duration and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background and objectives. Short nocturnal sleep duration resulting in sleep debt may be a cause of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Severity of depression (psychopathology) has been found to be directly related to EDS. There is an association between sleep duration and mental health, so there may therefore be an ...

  5. Longitudinal change in sleep and daytime sleepiness in postpartum women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashleigh J Filtness

    Full Text Available Sleep disruption strongly influences daytime functioning; resultant sleepiness is recognised as a contributing risk-factor for individuals performing critical and dangerous tasks. While the relationship between sleep and sleepiness has been heavily investigated in the vulnerable sub-populations of shift workers and patients with sleep disorders, postpartum women have been comparatively overlooked. Thirty-three healthy, postpartum women recorded every episode of sleep and wake each day during postpartum weeks 6, 12 and 18. Although repeated measures analysis revealed there was no significant difference in the amount of nocturnal sleep and frequency of night-time wakings, there was a significant reduction in sleep disruption, due to fewer minutes of wake after sleep onset. Subjective sleepiness was measured each day using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale; at the two earlier time points this was significantly correlated with sleep quality but not to sleep quantity. Epworth Sleepiness Scores significantly reduced over time; however, during week 18 over 50% of participants were still experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Score ≥12. Results have implications for health care providers and policy makers. Health care providers designing interventions to address sleepiness in new mothers should take into account the dynamic changes to sleep and sleepiness during this initial postpartum period. Policy makers developing regulations for parental leave entitlements should take into consideration the high prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness experienced by new mothers, ensuring enough opportunity for daytime sleepiness to diminish to a manageable level prior to reengagement in the workforce.

  6. Effect of a smoking ban on respiratory health in nonsmoking hospitality workers: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajkumar, Sarah; Stolz, Daiana; Hammer, Jürg; Moeller, Alexander; Bauer, Georg F; Huynh, Cong Khanh; Röösli, Martin

    2014-10-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a smoking ban on lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and respiratory symptoms in nonsmoking hospitality workers. Secondhand smoke exposure at the workplace, spirometry, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide were measured in 92 nonsmoking hospitality workers before as well as twice after a smoking ban. At baseline, secondhand smoke-exposed hospitality workers had lung function values significantly below the population average. After the smoking ban, the covariate-adjusted odds ratio for cough was 0.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.36 to 0.93) and for chronic bronchitis 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.55 to 1.02) compared with the preban period. The below-average lung function before the smoking ban indicates chronic damages from long-term exposure. Respiratory symptoms such as cough decreased within 12 months after the ban.

  7. Tourists' attitudes towards ban on smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viriyachaiyo, V; Lim, A

    2009-06-01

    Thailand is internationally renowned for its stringent tobacco control measures. In Thailand, a regulation banning smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies was issued in late 2006, causing substantial apprehension within the hospitality industry. A survey of tourists' attitudes toward the ban was conducted. A cross-sectional survey of 5550 travellers staying in various hotels in Bangkok, Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi and Songkhla provinces, October 2005 to December 2006. Travellers aged 15 years or older with a check-in duration of at least one day and willing to complete the questionnaire were requested by hotel staff to fill in the 5-minute questionnaire at check-in or later at their convenience. Secondhand cigarette smoke was recognised as harmful to health by 89.7% of respondents. 47.8% of travellers were aware of the Thai regulation banning smoking in air-conditioned restaurants. 80.9% of the respondents agreed with the ban, particularly female non-smokers. 38.6% of survey respondents indicated that they would be more likely to visit Thailand again because of the regulation, 53.4% that the regulation would not affect their decision and 7.9% that they would be less likely to visit Thailand again. Banning smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies in Thailand is widely supported by tourists. Enforcement of the regulation is more likely to attract tourists than dissuade them from holidaying in Thailand.

  8. Lifting the US crude oil export ban: A numerical partial equilibrium analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langer, Lissy; Huppmann, Daniel; Holz, Franziska

    2016-01-01

    The upheaval in global crude oil markets and the boom in shale oil production in North America brought scrutiny on the US export ban for crude oil from 1975. The ban was eventually lifted in early 2016. This paper examines the shifts of global trade flows and strategic refinery investments in a spatial, game-theoretic partial equilibrium model. We consider detailed oil supply chain infrastructure with multiple crude oil types, distinct oil products, as well as specific refinery configurations and modes of transport. Prices, quantities produced and consumed, as well as infrastructure and refining capacity investments are endogenous to the model. We compare two scenarios: an insulated US crude oil market, and a counter-factual with lifted export restrictions. We find a significant expansion of US sweet crude exports with the lift of the export ban. In the US refinery sector, more (imported) heavy sour crude is transformed. Countries importing US sweet crude gain from higher product output, while avoiding costly refinery investments. Producers of heavy sour crude (e.g. the Middle East) are incentivised to climb up the value chain to defend their market share and maintain their dominant position. - Highlights: • We study the impacts of lifting the US crude ban on global oil flows and investments. • We find massive expansion of US sweet crude oil exports. • We analyze the resulting welfare effects for US producers, refiners and consumers. • We indicate the changes on global trade patterns. • We conclude that lifting the ban is the right policy for the US and the global economy.

  9. Banning Corporal Punishment in Taiwan: A Narrative Exploration of Teacher Change and Critical Examination of the Legal Ban

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Wen-Ting

    2013-01-01

    Employing narrative ways of inquiry, this study interrogated how a reform action--legal banning corporal punishment in schools, which was intentionally introduced into Taiwanese society by advocates as a social movement strategy at a time when the incidence rate of school corporal punishment was high--could contribute to ending educators' use of…

  10. Outdoor smoking behaviour and support for outdoor smoking restrictions before and after France's national smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Ryan David; Behm, Ilan; Craig, Lorraine; Thompson, Mary E; Fong, Geoffrey T; Guignard, Romain; Beck, Francois

    2012-02-01

    On January 1, 2008, the French government implemented a national ban on indoor smoking in hospitality venues. Survey results indicate the indoor ban has been successful at dramatically reducing indoor smoking; however, there are reports of an increased number of outdoor hospitality spaces (patios) where smoking can take place. This study sought to understand if the indoor ban simply moved smoking to the outdoors, and to assess levels of support for smoking restrictions in outdoor hospitality settings after the smoke-free law. Telephone interviews were conducted among 1067 adult smokers before and after the 2008 indoor ban as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) France Survey. Among other topics, this survey measures how the smoking ban has influenced smoking behaviour relevant to outdoor sections of hospitality venues. In addition, 414 non-smoking adults and 164 respondents who had quit smoking between waves were also asked about support for outdoor smoking restrictions. Reported smoking outdoors at cafés/pubs/bars increased from 33.6% of smokers at Wave 1 to 75.9% at Wave 2. At restaurants, smoking outdoors increased from 28.9% to 59.0%. There was also an increase in reported non-smoking for both visits to cafés/pubs/bars, and restaurants from 13.4% to 24.7%, and 30.4% to 40.8% respectively. The majority of smokers (74.5%), non-smokers (89.4%) and quitters (74.0%) support a partial or complete ban on smoking in outdoor areas of restaurants. The indoor smoking ban moved smoking to outdoor spaces; however, the ban is also associated with increased non-smoking behaviour. The majority of respondents support outdoor smoking restrictions in patio environments.

  11. Prison staff and prisoner views on a prison smoking ban: evidence from the Tobacco in Prisons Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Ashley; Sweeting, Helen; Logan, Greig; Demou, Evangelia; Hunt, Kate

    2018-05-15

    In jurisdictions permitting prisoner smoking, rates are high (c75%), with smoking embedded in prison culture, leading to secondhand smoke exposures among staff and prisoners and challenges for smoking cessation. Momentum is building to ban smoking in prisons, but research on staff and prisoner views is lacking. We address this gap, providing evidence on staff and prisoner views throughout all Scottish prisons. Data were collected prior to announcement of a (November 2018) prison smoking ban throughout Scotland. Mixed methods were used: surveys of staff (online, N=1,271, ~27%) and prisoners (questionnaire, N=2,512, ~34%); 17 focus groups and two paired interviews with staff in 14 prisons. Staff were more positive than prisoners about bans and increased smoking restrictions, although prisoner views were more favourable should e-cigarettes be permitted. Non-smokers were more positive than smokers. Whilst 74% staff and 22% prisoners agreed bans were a good idea, both groups acknowledged implementation and enforcement challenges. Staff views were influenced by beliefs about: acceptability of the policy in principle; and whether/how bans could be achieved. Although some voiced doubts about smoke-free policies, staff likened a ban to other operational challenges. Staff raised concerns around needs for appropriate measures, resources and support, adequate lead-in time, and effective communication prior to a ban. We recommend that regular and open opportunities for dialogue within and between different stakeholder groups are created when preparing for prison smoking bans, and that specific measures to address staff and prisoner concerns are incorporated into plans to create and maintain smoke-free environments. To our knowledge, this study is the first to research staff and prisoner views across a whole prison system prior to implementation of smoke-free policies. The results highlight potential challenges and suggest measures which might help to maximise the success of

  12. Current status of alcohol marketing policy--an urgent challenge for global governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casswell, Sally

    2012-03-01

    To review research literature and available information on the extent and impacts of marketing, current policy response and the interests engaged in the policy debate in order to inform recommendations for policy change on alcohol marketing. Relevant literature, including systematic reviews and publicly available information (websites and participant observation) is reviewed and synthesized. Alcohol marketing has expanded markedly in the past 50 years and, while there remains uncertainty about the impact across the population, there is now clear evidence of its impact on the consumption of young people. Few countries have effective policy in place restricting alcohol marketing, and there is a lack of an international response to alcohol marketing which crosses national boundaries. The protection of alcohol marketing has been a major focus for vested interest groups and this has affected governmental response at national and international levels. There has been a lack of non-governmental organization engagement. The policy response to tobacco marketing provides a clear contrast to that of alcohol marketing policy and provides a model for alcohol marketing policy. The global exposure of young people to alcohol marketing requires an urgent policy response. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides an appropriate model for global governance to control alcohol marketing. There are extant examples of national level legislation achieving comprehensive bans with France's Loi Evin providing a feasible model. Resources from philanthropic organizations to allow non-governmental organization engagement are urgently required, as is engagement by the governmental sector independent of commercial influence. © 2012 The Author, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  13. Local responses to the Maharashtra gutka and pan masala ban: a report from Mumbai.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, S; Schensul, J J; Bilgi, S; Kadam, V; D'Mello, S; Donta, B

    2012-01-01

    The Maharashtra government has banned the production, sale, distribution and storage of gutka, and pan masala in the Maharashtra State due to the increasing burden of cancer and reproductive health problems attributable to the use of these products. In view of this, it is important to understand the way producers', sellers' and users' are adapting to the ban. During the two months following the ban (July 19 th through Sept 30, 2012), a research team studying smokeless tobacco use and promotion in a low income community of Mumbai conducted rapid surveillance to assess the impact of the ban in the study community. Assessment involved documenting new points of sale, informal observations of tobacco use, and interviews with thirteen shop owners and eight gutka users'. Overall changes in accessibility, availability, patterns of use of tobacco products, perception of ban, social norms and surveillance activities were assessed. Tobacco companies were marketing new products that resembled gutka, under similar brand logos. Surveillance, financial and social cost of selling gutka or using it in public have had an immediate effect on reducing local supply, demand and use and increasing stigma associated with its use. There was an increased recognition of ill-effects of gutka on cancer among sellers' but not overall. To reduce the overall consumption of tobacco in the community, it is critical to include programs that create awareness about effects of smokeless tobacco on health and sustain surveillance levels. This would maintain requirements of the ban, and sustain limits on accessibility, availability and use of these products in the community and other similar communities.

  14. Age-related Changes In Sleep Spindles Characteristics During Daytime Recovery Following a 25-Hour Sleep Deprivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thaïna eRosinvil

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The mechanisms underlying sleep spindles (~11-15Hz; >0.5s help to protect sleep. With age, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain sleep at a challenging time (e.g. daytime, even after sleep loss. This study compared spindle characteristics during daytime recovery and nocturnal sleep in young and middle-aged adults. In addition, we explored whether spindles characteristics in baseline nocturnal sleep were associated with the ability to maintain sleep during daytime recovery periods in both age groups.Methods: Twenty-nine young (15 women and 14 men; 27.3 ± 5.0 and 31 middle-aged (19 women and 13 men; 51.6 y ± 5.1 healthy subjects participated in a baseline nocturnal sleep and a daytime recovery sleep after 25 hours of sleep deprivation. Spindles were detected on artefact-free NREM sleep epochs. Spindle density (nb/min, amplitude (μV, frequency (Hz and duration (s were analyzed on parasagittal (linked-ears derivations. Results: In young subjects, spindle frequency increased during daytime recovery sleep as compared to baseline nocturnal sleep in all derivations, whereas middle-aged subjects showed spindle frequency enhancement only in the prefrontal derivation. No other significant interaction between age group and sleep condition was observed. Spindle density for all derivations and centro-occipital spindle amplitude decreased whereas prefrontal spindle amplitude increased from baseline to daytime recovery sleep in both age groups. Finally, no significant correlation was found between spindle characteristics during baseline nocturnal sleep and the marked reduction in sleep efficiency during daytime recovery sleep in both young and middle-aged subjects.Conclusion: These results suggest that the interaction between homeostatic and circadian pressure module spindle frequency differently in aging. Spindle characteristics do not seem to be linked with the ability to maintain daytime recovery sleep.

  15. Tobacco advertising, environmental smoking bans, and smoking in Chinese urban areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tingzhong; Rockett, Ian R H; Li, Mu; Xu, Xiaochao; Gu, Yaming

    2012-07-01

    To evaluate whether cigarette smoking in Chinese urban areas was respectively associated with exposure to tobacco advertising and smoking bans in households, workplaces, and public places. Participants were 4735 urban residents aged 15 years and older, who were identified through multi-stage quota-sampling conducted in six Chinese cities. Data were collected on individual sociodemographics and smoking status, and regional tobacco control measures. The sample was characterized in terms of smoking prevalence, and multilevel logistic models were employed to analyze the association between smoking and tobacco advertising and environmental smoking restrictions, respectively. Smoking prevalence was 30%. Multilevel logistic regression analysis showed that smoking was positively associated with exposure to tobacco advertising, and negatively associated with workplace and household smoking bans. The association of smoking with both tobacco advertising and environmental smoking bans further justifies implementation of comprehensive smoking interventions and tobacco control programs in China. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Reducing Disparities in Tobacco Retailer Density by Banning Tobacco Product Sales Near Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribisl, Kurt M; Luke, Douglas A; Bohannon, Doneisha L; Sorg, Amy A; Moreland-Russell, Sarah

    2017-02-01

    This study examined whether a policy of banning tobacco product retailers from operating within 1000 feet of schools could reduce existing socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in tobacco retailer density. We geocoded all tobacco retailers in Missouri (n = 4730) and New York (n = 17 672) and linked them with Census tract characteristics. We then tested the potential impact of a proximity policy that would ban retailers from selling tobacco products within 1000 feet of schools. Our results confirmed socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in tobacco retailer density, with more retailers found in areas with lower income and greater proportions of African American residents. A high proportion of retailers located in these areas were in urban areas, which also have stores located in closer proximity to schools. If a ban on tobacco product sales within 1000 feet of schools were implemented in New York, the number of tobacco retailers per 1000 people would go from 1.28 to 0.36 in the lowest income quintile, and from 0.84 to 0.45 in the highest income quintile. In New York and Missouri, a ban on tobacco product sales near schools would either reduce or eliminate existing disparities in tobacco retailer density by income level and by proportion of African American. Proximity-based point of sale (POS) policies banning tobacco product sales near schools appear to be more effective in reducing retailer density in lower income and racially diverse neighborhoods than in higher income and white neighborhoods, and hold great promise for reducing tobacco-related disparities at the POS. Given the disparities-reducing potential of policies banning tobacco product sales near schools, jurisdictions with tobacco retailer licensing should consider adding this provision to their licensing requirements. Since relatively few jurisdictions currently ban tobacco sales near schools, future research should examine ways to increase and monitor the uptake of this policy, and assess

  17. Hysteresis response of daytime net ecosystem exchange during drought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Pingintha

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Continuous measurements of net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE using the eddy-covariance method were made over an agricultural ecosystem in the southeastern US. During optimum environmental conditions, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR was the primary driver controlling daytime NEE, accounting for as much as 67 to 89% of the variation in NEE. However, soil water content became the dominant factor limiting the NEE-PAR response during the peak growth stage. NEE was significantly depressed when high PAR values coincided with very low soil water content. The presence of a counter-clockwise hysteresis of daytime NEE with PAR was observed during periods of water stress. This is a result of the stomatal closure control of photosynthesis at high vapor pressure deficit and enhanced respiration at high temperature. This result is significant since this hysteresis effect limits the range of applicability of the Michaelis-Menten equation and other related expressions in the determination of daytime NEE as a function of PAR. The systematic presence of hysteresis in the response of NEE to PAR suggests that the gap-filling technique based on a non-linear regression approach should take into account the presence of water-limited field conditions. Including this step is therefore likely to improve current evaluation of ecosystem response to increased precipitation variability arising from climatic changes.

  18. Tourists’ attitudes towards ban on smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies in Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viriyachaiyo, V; Lim, A

    2009-01-01

    Background: Thailand is internationally renowned for its stringent tobacco control measures. In Thailand, a regulation banning smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies was issued in late 2006, causing substantial apprehension within the hospitality industry. A survey of tourists’ attitudes toward the ban was conducted. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 5550 travellers staying in various hotels in Bangkok, Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi and Songkhla provinces, October 2005 to December 2006. Travellers aged 15 years or older with a check-in duration of at least one day and willing to complete the questionnaire were requested by hotel staff to fill in the 5-minute questionnaire at check-in or later at their convenience. Results: Secondhand cigarette smoke was recognised as harmful to health by 89.7% of respondents. 47.8% of travellers were aware of the Thai regulation banning smoking in air-conditioned restaurants. 80.9% of the respondents agreed with the ban, particularly female non-smokers. 38.6% of survey respondents indicated that they would be more likely to visit Thailand again because of the regulation, 53.4% that the regulation would not affect their decision and 7.9% that they would be less likely to visit Thailand again. Conclusion: Banning smoking in air-conditioned hotel lobbies in Thailand is widely supported by tourists. Enforcement of the regulation is more likely to attract tourists than dissuade them from holidaying in Thailand. PMID:19364754

  19. The impact of the Danish smoking ban on hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Tabita Maria; Møller, Lisbeth; Jørgensen, Torben

    2014-01-01

    Background: Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The positive impact of a smoking ban on AMI hospitalization rates has been demonstrated both inside and outside Europe. A national smoking ban (SB) was implemented in Denmark on 15...

  20. Smoking habits and attitudes toward tobacco bans among United Kingdom hospital staff and students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, K E; Shin, D; Davies, G

    2011-08-01

    A group of United Kingdom (UK) hospitals. To estimate the current smoking habits of health care professionals (HCPs) in a country with active tobacco control measures, and to record their attitudes to national and hospital tobacco bans. A cross-sectional survey of 500 HCPs. HCPs reported a lower rate of current smoking (7%) than the general population (24%). Doctors (2.6%) and medical students (3.8%) were less likely to be current smokers than both nurses (8.7%) and allied health professionals (10.9%, P smoking in health care premises. A higher proportion of UK doctors (69%) than nurses (52%) favoured a complete ban (odds ratio 2.01, 95% confidence interval 1.14-3.56). Self-reported smoking patterns in UK health professionals are lower than previously and compared to other industrialised and developing countries. Support for bans is very high, but differences remain in behaviour and especially attitudes to local bans according to professional status, although this gap is also narrowing.

  1. Transnational Dynamics Amid Poor Regulations: Taiwan’s Asbestos Ban Actions and Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harry Yi-Jui Wu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the history of the asbestos use regulation process in Taiwan and the associated factors leading to its total ban in 2018. Despite the long history of asbestos mining and manufacturing since the Japanese colonial period, attempts to understand the impact of asbestos on the health of the population and to control its use did not emerge until the early 1980s. We attempted to investigate the driving forces and obstructions involved in asbestos regulations by reviewing available public sources and scientific journal articles and conducting interviews with key propagators of the asbestos regulation and ban. Correlation between asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases has already been established; however, authorities have been unable to effectively regulate the extensive application of asbestos in various light industries that support economic growth since the 1960s. More stringent regulations on asbestos use in industries and an eventual ban were caused indirectly by appeals made by visionary scholars and healthcare professionals but also due to the subsidence of asbestos-related industries. With the elucidation of factors that affect asbestos regulation and ban, a thorough long-term healthcare plan for the neglected victims of asbestos-related diseases and upstream measures for policy change must be developed.

  2. Consumer groups call for ban on internet pharmacies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garmaise, David

    2004-08-01

    A number of consumer groups have called on the Canadian government to ban internet pharmacies, claiming that the industry is putting the health of Canadians at risk. The groups say that the impact will escalate if the problem is not addressed.

  3. Banning is not enough: The complexities of oceanic shark management by tuna regional fisheries management organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Travassos Tolotti

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Recently, declining populations of several pelagic shark species have led to global conservation concerns surrounding this group. As a result, a series of species-specific banning measures have been implemented by Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs in charge of tuna fisheries, which include retention bans, finning bans and trading bans. There are both positive and negative aspects to most management measures, but generally, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives, ensuring the measure is beneficial to the resource and its users in the long term. Banning measures are a good first step towards the conservation of pelagic shark species, especially since they improve conservation awareness among fishers, managers and the public. Measures that impose total bans, however, can lead to negative impacts that may jeopardize the populations they were intended to protect. The majority of pelagic shark catches are incidental and most sharks die before they reach the vessel or after they are released. The legislation set out by RFMOs only prevents retention but not the actual capture or the mortality that may occur as a result. Managers should be fully aware that the development and implementation of mitigation measures are critical for a more effective conservation strategy.

  4. Comparison of daytime and night-time populations adjacent to interstate highways in metropolitan areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, G.S.; Neuhauser, K.S.

    1999-01-01

    Daytime and night-time population densities bordering Interstate highway routes in metropolitan areas are compared at the traffic analysis zone level. In three of the metropolitan areas studied, histograms of daytime to night-time population density ratios are peaked at 1.0. In a smaller metropolitan area, the peak of the histogram moves to values greater than 1.0 but less than 2.0. In view of the typical uncertainties in calculating radiological transport effects (∼2), this study indicates that a distinction between daytime and night-time transport is not warranted, especially since a typical route includes extensive transport outside metropolitan areas. (author)

  5. Psychometric Properties of Turkish Version of Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS-T).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bektas, Murat; Bektas, Ilknur; Ayar, Dijle; Selekoglu, Yasemin; Ayar, Ugur; Kudubes, Aslı Akdeniz; Altan, Sema Sal; Armstrong, Merry

    2016-03-01

    The aim of the research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale-Turkish Version (PDSS-T). The researchers chose a study sample of 522 grade 5-11 students. Data were collected using a demographic data collection form and the PDSS-T. Cronbach α for the scale was .79 and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient was .78. Item-total correlations for the scale varied between .53 and .73 (p < .001). The indices of model fit were determined to be the root mean square error of approximation at .07, the goodness of fit index at .97, and the comparative fit index at .97. The study's results showed that PDSS-T is a valid and reliable instrument for detecting Turkish-speaking children's and adolescents' daytime sleepiness. PDSS-T is convenient for professionals to prevent and manage daytime sleepiness. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Smoking ban and small-for-gestational age births in Ireland.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zubair Kabir

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ireland introduced a comprehensive workplace smoke-free legislation in March, 2004. Smoking-related adverse birth outcomes have both health care and societal cost implications. The main aim of this study was to determine the impact of the Irish smoke-free legislation on small-for-gestationa- age (SGA births. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We developed a population-based birthweight (BW percentile curve based on a recent study to compute SGA (BW <5(th percentile and very SGA (vSGA - BW<3(rd percentile for each gestational week. Monthly births born between January 1999 and December 2008 were analyzed linking with monthly maternal smoking rates from a large referral maternity university hospital. We ran individual control and CUSUM charts, with bootstrap simulations, to pinpoint the breakpoint for the impact of ban implementation ( = April 2004. Monthly SGA rates (% before and after April 2004 was considered pre and post ban period births, respectively. Autocorrelation was tested using Durbin Watson (DW statistic. Mixed models using a random intercept and a fixed effect were employed using SAS (v 9.2. A total of 588,997 singleton live-births born between January 1999 and December 2008 were analyzed. vSGA and SGA monthly rates declined from an average of 4.7% to 4.3% and from 6.9% to 6.6% before and after April 2004, respectively. No auto-correlation was detected (DW = ~2. Adjusted mixed models indicated a significant decline in both vSGA and SGA rates immediately after the ban [(-5.3%; 95% CI -5.43% to -5.17%, p<0.0001 and (-0.45%; 95% CI: -0.7% to -0.19%, p<0.0007], respectively. Significant gradual effects continued post the ban periods for vSGA and SGA rates, namely, -0.6% (p<0.0001 and -0.02% (p<0.0001, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A significant reduction in small-for-gestational birth rates both immediately and sustained over the post-ban period, reinforces the mounting evidence of the positive health effect of a successful comprehensive

  7. Study of secondhand smoke levels pre and post implementation of the comprehensive smoking ban in Mumbai

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deshpande Aditi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This research was undertaken with the aim of assessing the indoor air quality in popular hospitality venues, as also to evaluate the effectiveness of the nationwide comprehensive public smoking ban. The analysis was split into two halves - baseline study taken up prior to implementation of the said ban on 2 nd October 2008, and the follow-up study after it came into effect. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five venues including five restaurants, fourteen resto-bars, two hookah (smoking water-pipe cafes and four pubs were selected using a mix of random, convenience and purposeful sampling. Particulate matter (PM 2.5 measurements at these venues were made using TSI SidePak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor. Results: The average PM 2.5 level in venues where smoking was permitted prior to implementation of ban was found to be 669.95 ΅g/m 3 in the baseline study. Post ban, the average PM 2.5 level in same test venues reduced to 240.8 ΅g/m 3 . The hookah cafes were an exception as the average PM 2.5 levels exceeded the permissible limits before as well as post ban. Conclusion: The baseline study showed that the hospitality venues had hazardous levels of PM 2.5 particles arising from second-hand smoke prior to smoking ban. These decreased by a maximum of 64% after the law took effect. A substantial improvement in air quality at these venues post implementation of the smoking ban indicated the effectiveness of the law.

  8. Impact of Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Bans in Thailand: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Southeast Asia Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lin; Borland, Ron; Yong, Hua-Hie; Sirirassamee, Buppha; Hamann, Stephen; Omar, Maizurah; Quah, Anne C K

    2015-08-13

    In September 2005 Thailand became the first Asian country to implement a complete ban on the display of cigarettes and other tobacco products at point-of-sale (POS). This paper examined the impact of the POS tobacco display ban in Thailand, with Malaysia (which did not impose bans) serving as a comparison. The data came from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey (2005-2011), a prospective cohort survey designed to evaluate the psychosocial and behavioral impacts of tobacco control policies. Main measures included smokers' reported awareness of tobacco displays and advertising at POS. At the first post-ban survey wave over 90% of smokers in Thailand were aware of the display ban policy and supported it, and about three quarters thought the ban was effective. Noticing tobacco displays in stores was lowest (16.9%) at the first post-ban survey wave, but increased at later survey waves; however, the levels were consistently lower than those in Malaysia. Similarly, exposure to POS tobacco advertising was lower in Thailand. The display ban has reduced exposure to tobacco marketing at POS. The trend toward increased noticing is likely at least in part due to some increase in violations of the display bans and/or strategies to circumvent them.

  9. Impact of Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Bans in Thailand: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC Southeast Asia Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Li

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In September 2005 Thailand became the first Asian country to implement a complete ban on the display of cigarettes and other tobacco products at point-of-sale (POS. This paper examined the impact of the POS tobacco display ban in Thailand, with Malaysia (which did not impose bans serving as a comparison. The data came from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey (2005–2011, a prospective cohort survey designed to evaluate the psychosocial and behavioral impacts of tobacco control policies. Main measures included smokers’ reported awareness of tobacco displays and advertising at POS. At the first post-ban survey wave over 90% of smokers in Thailand were aware of the display ban policy and supported it, and about three quarters thought the ban was effective. Noticing tobacco displays in stores was lowest (16.9% at the first post-ban survey wave, but increased at later survey waves; however, the levels were consistently lower than those in Malaysia. Similarly, exposure to POS tobacco advertising was lower in Thailand. The display ban has reduced exposure to tobacco marketing at POS. The trend toward increased noticing is likely at least in part due to some increase in violations of the display bans and/or strategies to circumvent them.

  10. ILO to promote global asbestos ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Rory

    2006-01-01

    The International Labour Office (ILO) is to pursue a global ban on asbestos, the world's biggest ever industrial killer. The landmark decision came with the adoption of a resolution on 14 June 2006 at the ILO conference in Geneva and followed a high level union campaign. Rory O'Neill asked Jukka Takala, director of ILO's Safe Work program, what ILO will now do to help make the world asbestos-free.

  11. The neglected repercussions of a physician advertising ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwier, Sandra

    2014-03-01

    Although the adverse implications of physician advertising are the subject of a fierce and sustained debate, there is almost no scholarly discussion on the ethical repercussions of physician advertising bans. The present paper draws attention to these repercussions as they exist today in most of the world, with particular focus on three serious implications for the public: (a) uncertainty about the physician's interests, namely, that patients must trust the physician to put patient wellbeing ahead of possible gains when taking medical decisions; (b) uncertainty about alternative treatments, namely, that patients must trust in the physician's treatment decisions; and (c) uncertainty about the exclusive patient-physician relationship, namely, that patients must develop and maintain a good relationship with one physician. Physician advertising bans continue to tell the public in most of the modern world that these are irrelevant or inappropriate issues, meaning that they are effectively left to the public to resolve.

  12. On the impact of snow cover on daytime pollution dispersion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segal, M.; Garratt, J. R.; Pielke, R. A.; Hildebrand, P.; Rogers, F. A.; Cramer, J.; Schanot, A.

    A preliminary evaluation of the impact of snow cover on daytime pollutant dispersion conditions is made by using conceptual, scaling, and observational analyses. For uniform snow cover and synoptically unperturbed sunny conditions, observations indicate a considerate suppression of the surface sensible heat flux, the turbulence, and the development of the daytime atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) when compared to snow-free conditions. However, under conditions of non-uniform snow cover, as in urban areas, or associated with vegetated areas or bare ground patches, a milder effect on pollutant dispersion conditions would be expected. Observed concentrations of atmospheric particles within the ABL, and surface pollutant concentrations in urban areas, reflect the impact of snow cover on the modification of ABL characteristics.

  13. The illusion of righteousness: corporate social responsibility practices of the alcohol industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Sungwon; Lam, Tai-Hing

    2013-07-03

    Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an integral element of how the alcohol industry promotes itself. The existing analyses of CSR in the alcohol industry point to the misleading nature of these CSR practices. Yet, research has been relatively sparse on how the alcohol industry advances CSR in an attempt to facilitate underlying business interests, and in what ways the ongoing display of industry CSR impacts public health. This paper aims to investigate the alcohol industry's recent CSR engagements and explain how CSR forms part of the industry's wider political and corporate strategies. Our study used qualitative methods to collect and analyse data. We searched for materials pertaining to CSR activities from websites of three transnational alcohol corporations, social media platforms, media reports and other sources. Relevant documents were thematically analysed with an iterative approach. Our analysis identified three CSR tactics employed by the alcohol companies which are closely tied in with the industry's underlying corporate intents. First, the alcohol manufacturers employ CSR as a means to frame issues, define problems and guide policy debates. In doing this, the alcohol companies are able to deflect and shift the blame from those who manufacture and promote alcoholic products to those who consume them. Second, the alcohol corporations promote CSR initiatives on voluntary regulation in order to delay and offset alcohol control legislation. Third, the alcohol corporations undertake philanthropic sponsorships as a means of indirect brand marketing as well as gaining preferential access to emerging alcohol markets. The increasing penetration and involvement of the alcohol industry into CSR highlights the urgent needs for public health counter actions. Implementation of any alcohol control measures should include banning or restricting the publicity efforts of the industry's CSR and informing the public of the alcohol industry's notion of social

  14. Responding book banning in indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aji, RNB; Artono; Liana, C.

    2018-01-01

    The prohibition of books conducted by the government through its apparatus without any due process of law is unfortunate. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) in 2010 was decided that book banning is contradictory to the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945). The purpose of this paper is to know Indonesia, according to the Constitutional Court must absolutely carry out the function of due process of law that is law enforcement in a judicial system when it wants to prohibit printed material which is a book, whether it is a book that is considered criticism and books that teach radicalism. It would be wise for anyone who disagrees with a book, and then responds by writing through a book. The result of this article is to support and suggest that the government and its apparatus in the state of the law should not arbitrarily impose a book ban. Likewise, people should not take violence action to respond this issue. In historical records, the prohibition of books without due process of law is always followed by the withdrawal of books and make people unable to deal with differences, especially in knowledge. That’s why, the government and its apparatus must create a conducive situation and support the creation of various perspectives in the framework of the progress of science through a book. It would implicate that people can respect in any perspective and thought.

  15. Towards a nuclear-test ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    In 1986 and again in 1987 the General Assembly adopted resolutions by which it called on States conducting nuclear-test explosions to notify the Secretary-General, within one week of each explosion, of the time, place, yield and site characteristics of the test and also invited all other States to provide any such data on nuclear explosions that they might have. Over the years, in the Conference on Disarmament, members of the Group of 21 (mostly neutral and non-aligned countries) have continued to attach the utmost importance to the urgent conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty as a significant contribution to the aim of ending the qualitative refinement of nuclear weapons and the development of new types of such weapons as well as of reversing the nuclear-arms race and achieving nuclear disarmament. In 1995 a conference will be convened to decide whether the non-proliferation Treaty will continue in force indefinitely, or will be extended for an additional fixed period or periods. Many States support the view that a comprehensive test ban would be a significant contribution to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; and some believe that, without a cessation of nuclear testing, it may not be possible to extend the NPT well beyond 1995. Other States, however, are of the opinion that the NPT, independently, offers benefits for the security of all States and, by its extension, will continue to do so

  16. Seasonality of temperate forest photosynthesis and daytime respiration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wehr, R; Munger, J W; McManus, J B; Nelson, D D; Zahniser, M S; Davidson, E A; Wofsy, S C; Saleska, S R

    2016-06-30

    Terrestrial ecosystems currently offset one-quarter of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions because of a slight imbalance between global terrestrial photosynthesis and respiration. Understanding what controls these two biological fluxes is therefore crucial to predicting climate change. Yet there is no way of directly measuring the photosynthesis or daytime respiration of a whole ecosystem of interacting organisms; instead, these fluxes are generally inferred from measurements of net ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 exchange (NEE), in a way that is based on assumed ecosystem-scale responses to the environment. The consequent view of temperate deciduous forests (an important CO2 sink) is that, first, ecosystem respiration is greater during the day than at night; and second, ecosystem photosynthetic light-use efficiency peaks after leaf expansion in spring and then declines, presumably because of leaf ageing or water stress. This view has underlain the development of terrestrial biosphere models used in climate prediction and of remote sensing indices of global biosphere productivity. Here, we use new isotopic instrumentation to determine ecosystem photosynthesis and daytime respiration in a temperate deciduous forest over a three-year period. We find that ecosystem respiration is lower during the day than at night-the first robust evidence of the inhibition of leaf respiration by light at the ecosystem scale. Because they do not capture this effect, standard approaches overestimate ecosystem photosynthesis and daytime respiration in the first half of the growing season at our site, and inaccurately portray ecosystem photosynthetic light-use efficiency. These findings revise our understanding of forest-atmosphere carbon exchange, and provide a basis for investigating how leaf-level physiological dynamics manifest at the canopy scale in other ecosystems.

  17. Associations of sleep bruxism with age, sleep apnea, and daytime problematic behaviors in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tachibana, M; Kato, T; Kato-Nishimura, K; Matsuzawa, S; Mohri, I; Taniike, M

    2016-09-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of sleep bruxism in children in Japan, and its relationships with sleep-related factors and daytime problematic behavior. Guardians of 6023 children aged 2-12 years completed the Japanese Sleep Questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling were performed. Sleep bruxism was reported in 21.0% children (n = 1263): the prevalence was highest in the age group of 5-7 years (27.4%). Multiple regression analysis showed that sleep bruxism had significant correlations with age 5-7 years (OR: 1.72; P bruxism had a significant but weak direct effect on daytime problematic behavior, while sleep bruxism significantly correlated with obstructive sleep apnea, which had a higher direct effect on daytime problematic behavior. Sleep bruxism was reported in 21.0% of Japanese children and had independent relationships with age, movements during sleep, and snoring. A comorbidity of sleep-disordered breathing might be related to daytime problematic behavior in children with sleep bruxism. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. 16 CFR 1500.86 - Exemptions from classification as a banned toy or other banned article for use by children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... toy or other banned article for use by children. 1500.86 Section 1500.86 Commercial Practices CONSUMER... employee of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and shall permit such officer or employee to inspect and... horizontal plane of the ball when it is suspended by the cord. Clacker balls where the mass of each ball is...

  19. Public Smoking Bans, Youth Access Laws, and Cigarette Sales at Vending Machines

    OpenAIRE

    Kvasnicka, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Tobacco control policies have proliferated in many countries in recent years, in particular youth access laws and public smoking bans. The effectiveness of youth access laws is still disputed, however, as are the costs of public smoking bans to the hospitality industry. Using a unique data set on cigarette sales at more than 100k vending machines that provides first objective evidence on the outgoing and customer behavior of smokers, we study both outcome dimensions by investigating several r...

  20. Alcohol consumption and its related harms in The Netherlands since 1960: relationships with planned and unplanned factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knibbe, Ronald A; Derickx, Mieke; Allamani, Allaman; Massini, Giulia

    2014-10-01

    to establish which unplanned (social developments) and planned (alcohol policy measures) factors are related to per capita consumption and alcohol-related harms in the Netherlands. linear regression was used to establish which of the planned and unplanned factors were most strongly connected with alcohol consumption and harms. Artificial Neural Analysis (ANN) was used to inspect the interconnections between all variables. mothers age at birth was most strongly associated with increase in consumption. The ban on selling alcoholic beverages at petrol station was associated with a decrease in consumption. The linear regression of harms did not show any relation between alcohol policy measures and harms. The ANN-analyses indicate a very high interconnectedness between all variables allowing no causal inferences. Exceptions are the relation between price of beer and wine and the consumption of these beverages and the relation between a decrease in transport mortality and the increased use of breathalyzers tests and a restriction of paracommercial selling. unplanned factors are most strongly associated with per capita consumption and harms. ANN-analysis indicates that price of alcoholic beverages, breath testing, and restriction of sales may have had some influence. The study's limitations are noted.

  1. Should We Ban Instant Messaging In School?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texley, Sharon; DeGennaro, Donna

    2005-01-01

    This article is a brief debate on the pros and cons of allowing students to use instant messaging (IM) in school. On one hand, teenagers' desire to socialize can overcome other priorities and schools may set policies to ban instant messaging. The contrary view is that schools should embrace the IM technology being popularized by youth and find…

  2. Autonomous Operation of Super-Regenerative Receiver in BAN

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kalyanasundaram, P.; Huang, L.; Dolmans, G.; Imamura, K.

    2012-01-01

    Super-regenerative receiver is one of the potential candidates to achieve ultra low power wireless communication in body area network (BAN). The main limitations of the super-regenerative receiver include the difficulty in choosing a good quench waveform to optimize its sensitivity and selectivity,

  3. [Current situation of awareness and use of banned pesticides among vegetable greenhouse farmers in a town of Ledu County, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Ying-hua; Xing, Yong-hua; Ji, Wen-wu; Zhou, Jian; Sun, Jian; Niu, Zhao-di; Yang, Hui-fang

    2013-09-01

    To investigate the awareness and use of banned pesticides among vegetable greenhouse farmers in a town of Ledu County, Qinghai Province, China and to provide a basis for the management and control of banned pesticides. Local residents who lived in a town of Ledu County for more than 5 years were selected as subjects in August 2012. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 267 vegetable greenhouse farmers who were selected from five villages of the town by cluster random sampling. Of the 267 subjects, 249 (93.26%) completed and returned the questionnaires. Eighty-seven (34.9%) of the 249 subjects were aware of banned pesticides, and the banned pesticide awareness rate varied significantly among the subjects with different education levels (χ(2) = 11.061, P = 0.011). Only education level entered the regression equation in non-conditional logistic regression analysis. Only five (2.0%) of the 249 subjects knew the banned pesticides as well as the details. All the 249 subjects used banned pesticides to varying degrees in the past 5 years. Only 9.0% (17/189) of the vegetable greenhouse farmers knew the time pesticides were initially banned in China. The banned pesticide awareness rate is relatively low in the town of Ledu County, and this rate is influenced by education level. It is needed to spread the knowledge and hazards of banned pesticides.

  4. Banning nuclear power at sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Handler, J.

    1993-01-01

    This article argues that now that the East-West conflict is over, nuclear-powered vessels should be retired. Nuclear-powered ships and submarines lack military missions, are expensive to build and operate, generate large amounts of long-lived deadly nuclear waste from their normal operations and when they are decommissioned, and are subject to accidents or deliberate attack which can result in the sinking of nuclear reactors and the release of radiation. With the costs of nuclear-powered vessels mounting, the time has come to ban nuclear power at sea. (author)

  5. Exposure to ultrafine particles in hospitality venues with partial smoking bans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuberger, Manfred; Moshammer, Hanns; Schietz, Armin

    2013-01-01

    Fine particles in hospitality venues with insufficient smoking bans indicate health risks from passive smoking. In a random sample of Viennese inns (restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and discotheques) effects of partial smoking bans on indoor air quality were examined by measurement of count, size and chargeable surface of ultrafine particles (UFPs) sized 10-300 nm, simultaneously with mass of particles sized 300-2500 nm (PM2.5). Air samples were taken in 134 rooms unannounced during busy hours and analyzed by a diffusion size classifier and an optical particle counter. Highest number concentrations of particles were found in smoking venues and smoking rooms (median 66,011 pt/cm(3)). Even non-smoking rooms adjacent to smoking rooms were highly contaminated (median 25,973 pt/cm(3)), compared with non-smoking venues (median 7408 pt/cm(3)). The particle number concentration was significantly correlated with the fine particle mass (Phospitality premises. Health protection of non-smoking guests and employees from risky UFP concentration is insufficient, even in rooms labeled "non-smoking". Partial smoking bans with separation of smoking rooms failed.

  6. Resource nationalism in Indonesia—Effects of the 2014 mineral export ban

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, Graham W.

    2016-09-27

    Resource nationalism encompasses a broad range of political and economic actions taken by Governments to regulate the extraction of natural resources within their borders. Policies such as increased tariffs or export restrictions can have far-reaching economic effects on international trade. As the Governments of several developing countries consider enacting nationalistic policies, an examination of the 2014 mineral export ban in Indonesia provides an instructive example of the possible impacts of resource nationalism. Significant changes in the production and trade of unprocessed (that is, ores and concentrates) and processed (that is, refined metal) aluminum, copper, and nickel before and after the export ban form the basis of this study.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) tracks production and trade of mineral commodities between producer and consumer countries. Materials flow studies clarify the effects of an export ban on different mineral commodities by assessing changes in production, processing capacity, and trade. Using extensive data collection and monitoring procedures, the USGS NMIC investigated the effects of resource nationalism on the flow of mineral commodities from Indonesia to the global economy.

  7. Implications of lifting the ban on the export of Alaskan crude oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-03-26

    Present legislation effectively bans the export of crude oil produced in the United States. The ban has been in effect for years and is particularly stringent with respect to crude oil produced in Alaska, particularly on the North Slope. The Alaska crude export ban is specifically provided for in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 and in other legislation. It was imposed for two reasons. The first was to reduce US dependence on imported crude oil. The Arab oil embargo had been imposed shortly before the Act was passed and a greater measure of energy independence was considered imperative at that time. The second reason was to assure that funds expended in building an Alaskan pipeline would benefit domestic users rather than simply employed to facilitate shipments to other countries. The main objective of this report is to estimate the potential impacts on crude oil prices that would result from lifting the export ban Alaskan crude oil. The report focuses on the Japanese market and the US West Coast market. Japan is the principal potential export market for Alaskan crude oil. Exports to that market would also affect the price of Alaskan crude oil as well as crude oil and product prices on the West Coast and the volume of petroleum imported in that area. 3 figs., 8 tabs.

  8. The ban on reprocessing as seen from the perspective of European law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanenburg, E.; Warg, G.

    1999-01-01

    The plan of the German federal government to opt out of the peaceful uses of nuclear power for electricity generation initially was to incorporate also a ban on reprocessing spent fuel elements. On February 22, 1999, Federal Minister for the Environment Trittin finally announced that his revised draft for the time being would contain no ban on reprocessing. That ban, as originally planned, raises a number of issues of European law which are analyzed in the article by Hanenburg and Warg, especially the question whether the ban on reprocessing constitutes a violation of the principles and objectives of the Common Market. The legal principles underlying the Common Market, especially the Euratom Treaty among the member countries, constitute the basis of the analysis in which, inter alia, aspects such as cross-border reprocessing and secondary European law or the legal consequences of the Euratom Treaty for the opting-out policy of the German federal government are dealt with. The analysis arrives at the finding that a final opt-out as planned by the German federal government in the amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, and the complete substitution of nuclear electricity by other sources of energy, violate the purpose of the Euratom Treaty at least to keep open the structural possibility of generating electricity by nuclear power. (orig.) [de

  9. Change in indoor particle levels after a smoking ban in Minnesota bars and restaurants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohac, David L; Hewett, Martha J; Kapphahn, Kristopher I; Grimsrud, David T; Apte, Michael G; Gundel, Lara A

    2010-12-01

    Smoking bans in bars and restaurants have been shown to improve worker health and reduce hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction. Several studies have also reported improved indoor air quality, although these studies generally used single visits before and after a ban for a convenience sample of venues. The primary objective of this study was to provide detailed time-of-day and day-of-week secondhand smoke-exposure data for representative bars and restaurants in Minnesota. This study improved on previous approaches by using a statistically representative sample of three venue types (drinking places, limited-service restaurants, and full-service restaurants), conducting repeat visits to the same venue prior to the ban, and matching the day of week and time of day for the before- and after-ban monitoring. The repeat visits included laser photometer fine particulate (PM₂.₅) concentration measurements, lit cigarette counts, and customer counts for 19 drinking places, eight limited-service restaurants, and 35 full-service restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. The more rigorous design of this study provides improved confidence in the findings and reduces the likelihood of systematic bias. The median reduction in PM₂.₅ was greater than 95% for all three venue types. Examination of data from repeated visits shows that making only one pre-ban visit to each venue would greatly increase the range of computed percentage reductions and lower the statistical power of pre-post tests. Variations in PM₂.₅ concentrations were found based on time of day and day of week when monitoring occurred. These comprehensive measurements confirm that smoking bans provide significant reductions in SHS constituents, protecting customers and workers from PM₂.₅ in bars and restaurants. Copyright © 2010 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

  10. Changes in hospitalizations for chronic respiratory diseases after two successive smoking bans in Spain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iñaki Galán

    Full Text Available Existing evidence on the effects of smoke-free policies on respiratory diseases is scarce and inconclusive. Spain enacted two consecutive smoke-free regulations: a partial ban in 2006 and a comprehensive ban in 2011. We estimated their impact on hospital admissions via emergency departments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and asthma.Data for COPD (ICD-9 490-492, 494-496 came from 2003-2012 hospital admission records from the fourteen largest provinces of Spain and from five provinces for asthma (ICD-9 493. We estimated changes in hospital admission rates within provinces using Poisson additive models adjusted for long-term linear trends and seasonality, day of the week, temperature, influenza, acute respiratory infections, and pollen counts (asthma models. We estimated immediate and gradual effects through segmented-linear models. The coefficients within each province were combined through random-effects multivariate meta-analytic models.The partial ban was associated with a strong significant pooled immediate decline in COPD-related admission rates (14.7%, 95%CI: 5.0, 23.4, sustained over time with a one-year decrease of 13.6% (95%CI: 2.9, 23.1. The association was consistent across age and sex groups but stronger in less economically developed Spanish provinces. Asthma-related admission rates decreased by 7.4% (95%CI: 0.2, 14.2 immediately after the comprehensive ban was implemented, although the one-year decrease was sustained only among men (9.9%, 95%CI: 3.9, 15.6.The partial ban was associated with an immediate and sustained strong decline in COPD-related admissions, especially in less economically developed provinces. The comprehensive ban was related to an immediate decrease in asthma, sustained for the medium-term only among men.

  11. Impact of a smoking ban in public places: a rapid assessment in the Seychelles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Bharathi; Plumettaz, Chloé; Gedeon, Jude; Bovet, Pascal

    2011-11-01

    We assessed the impact of a smoking ban in hospitality venues in the Seychelles 9 months after legislation was implemented. Survey officers observed compliance with the smoking ban in 38 most popular hospitality venues and administered a structured questionnaire to two customers, two workers and one manager in each venue. Virtually no customers or workers were seen smoking in the indoor premises. Patrons, workers and managers largely supported the ban. The personnel of the hospitality venues reported that most smokers had no difficulty refraining from smoking. However, a third of workers did not systematically request customers to stop smoking and half of them did not report adequate training. Workers reported improved health. No substantial change in the number of customers was noted. A ban on public smoking was generally well implemented in hospitality venues but some less than optimal findings suggest the need for adequate training of workers and strengthened enforcement measures. The simple and inexpensive methodology used in this rapid survey may be a useful approach to evaluate the implementation and impact of clean air policy in low and middle-income countries.

  12. Employees' job satisfaction after the introduction of a total smoke-ban in bars and restaurants in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetland, Jørn; Hetland, Hilde; Mykletun, Reidar J; Aarø, Leif E; Matthiesen, Stig Berge

    2008-12-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate possible effects of a total smoke-ban in Norwegian bars and restaurants (introduced on June 1st 2004) on employees' job satisfaction. A national representative sample was randomly selected from the public registry of all companies in the hospitality business. A baseline survey was conducted in May 2004, follow-up measurements were performed in September/October 2004 and May 2005. Altogether, 1525 employees agreed to participate in the baseline survey. Among respondents at baseline, 894 (59.4%) remained in the sample at the first follow-up and 758 (49.7%) at the second follow-up. Analysis of variance for repeated measures revealed a significant three-way interaction between personal smoking behaviour, attitudes towards the ban before it was enacted and time from baseline to the second follow-up. A small decline in job satisfaction was found between baseline and the first follow-up among employees who were daily smokers and had a negative attitude towards the ban. There was, however, an increase in job satisfaction between the first and second follow-up among the others (non-smokers and smokers with a positive attitude towards the ban). While job satisfaction was higher among smokers with negative attitudes towards the ban than among other employees before the ban entered into force, the opposite was the case one year later. The work environments in bars and restaurants seem to have changed towards being more satisfactory for non-smokers and smokers with positive attitudes towards the ban before it was enacted. In contrast, a small but persisting worsening of job satisfaction was found among employees that were daily smokers and had a negative attitude towards the ban.

  13. Sleep and daytime function in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: subtype differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Sun Young Rosalia; Jain, Umesh Ravi; Shapiro, Colin Michael

    2013-07-01

    Although sleep disorders have been reported to affect more than half of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the association between sleep and ADHD is poorly understood. The aims of our study were to investigate sleep-related variables in adults with ADHD and to assess if any differences exist between ADHD of the predominantly inattentive (ADHD-I) and combined (ADHD-C) subtypes. We used the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the fatigue severity scale (FSS) to collect data on daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, and fatigue in 126 subjects (45 ADHD-I and 81 ADHD-C subjects). Approximately 85% of subjects reported excessive daytime sleepiness or poor sleep quality. The most common sleep concerns were initial insomnia, interrupted sleep, and feeling too hot. When examining ADHD subtype differences, ADHD-I subtypes reported poorer sleep quality and more fatigue than ADHD-C subtypes. Partial correlation analyses revealed that interrelationships between sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and fatigue differ between ADHD subtypes; in ADHD-I subtypes fatigue was associated with sleep quality, while in the ADHD-C subtypes fatigue was associated with both sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. There also appears to be a subtype×gender interaction that affects the perception of fatigue, as subjective fatigue was markedly higher in ADHD-I women than in ADHD-C women. Altogether our data indicate that the interplay of variables associated with daytime function and sleep varies between ADHD subtypes. This finding may have considerable relevance in the management and pathophysiologic understanding of ADHD, and thus lead to tailored treatments for ADHD subtypes. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Attitudes towards smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans in Georgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhturidze, George D; Mittelmark, Maurice B; Aarø, Leif E; Peikrishvili, Nana T

    2013-11-25

    This study aims to provide data on a public level of support for restricting smoking in public places and banning tobacco advertisements. A nationally representative multistage sampling design, with sampling strata defined by region (sampling quotas proportional to size) and substrata defined by urban/rural and mountainous/lowland settlement, within which census enumeration districts were randomly sampled, within which households were randomly sampled, within which a randomly selected respondent was interviewed. The country of Georgia, population 4.7 million, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. One household member aged between 13 and 70 was selected as interviewee. In households with more than one age-eligible person, selection was carried out at random. Of 1588 persons selected, 14 refused to participate and interviews were conducted with 915 women and 659 men. Respondents were interviewed about their level of agreement with eight possible smoking restrictions/bans, used to calculate a single dichotomous (agree/do not agree) opinion indicator. The level of agreement with restrictions was analysed in bivariate and multivariate analyses by age, gender, education, income and tobacco use status. Overall, 84.9% of respondents indicated support for smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans. In all demographic segments, including tobacco users, the majority of respondents indicated agreement with restrictions, ranging from a low of 51% in the 13-25 age group to a high of 98% in the 56-70 age group. Logistic regression with all demographic variables entered showed that agreement with restrictions was higher with age, and was significantly higher among never smokers as compared to daily smokers. Georgian public opinion is normatively supportive of more stringent tobacco-control measures in the form of smoking restrictions and tobacco advertisement bans.

  15. Bright-light exposure during daytime sleeping affects nocturnal melatonin secretion after simulated night work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagashima, Shunsuke; Osawa, Madoka; Matsuyama, Hiroto; Ohoka, Wataru; Ahn, Aemi; Wakamura, Tomoko

    2018-02-01

    The guidelines for night and shift workers recommend that after night work, they should sleep in a dark environment during the daytime. However, staying in a dark environment during the daytime reduces nocturnal melatonin secretion and delays its onset. Daytime bright-light exposure after night work is important for melatonin synthesis the subsequent night and for maintaining the circadian rhythms. However, it is not clear whether daytime sleeping after night work should be in a dim- or a bright-light environment for maintaining melatonin secretion. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effect of bright-light exposure during daytime sleeping on nocturnal melatonin secretion after simulated night work. Twelve healthy male subjects, aged 24.8 ± 4.6 (mean ± SD), participated in 3-day sessions under two experimental conditions, bright light or dim light, in a random order. On the first day, the subjects entered the experimental room at 16:00 and saliva samples were collected every hour between 18:00 and 00:00 under dim-light conditions. Between 00:00 and 08:00, they participated in tasks that simulated night work. At 10:00 the next morning, they slept for 6 hours under either a bright-light condition (>3000 lx) or a dim-light condition (night work were compared between the light conditions using paired t-tests. The ANOVA results indicated a significant interaction (light condition and3 day) (p = .006). Post hoc tests indicated that in the dim-light condition, the melatonin concentration was significantly lower on the second day than on the first day (p = .046); however, in the bright-light condition, there was no significant difference in the melatonin concentration between the days (p = .560). There was a significant difference in ΔDLMO between the conditions (p = .015): DLMO after sleeping was advanced by 11.1 ± 17.4 min under bright-light conditions but delayed for 7.2 ± 13.6 min after sleeping under dim-light conditions. No

  16. Internet overuse and excessive daytime sleepiness in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Kwisook; Son, Hyunsook; Park, Myunghee; Han, Jinkyu; Kim, Kitai; Lee, Byungkoo; Gwak, Hyesun

    2009-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the association of Internet overuse with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). A total of 2336 high school students in South Korea (boys, 57.5%; girls, 42.5%) completed the structured questionnaire. The severity of Internet addiction was evaluated using Young's Internet addiction test. The proportions of boys who were classified as Internet addicts and possible Internet addicts were 2.5% and 53.7%, respectively. For girls, the corresponding proportions were 1.9% and 38.9%, respectively. The prevalence of EDS was 11.2% (boys, 11.2%; girls, 11.1%). When Internet addicts were compared with non-addicts, they consisted of more boys, drank alcohol more, and considered their own health condition as poor. But smoking was not related with Internet addiction. The prevalence rate of EDS for Internet addicts was 37.7%, whereas that for possible Internet addicts and non-addicts was 13.9% and 7.4%, respectively. The prevalence of insomnia, witnessed snoring, apnea, teeth grinding, and nightmares was highest in Internet addicts, middle in possible addicts, and lowest in non-addicts. With adjustment for duration of Internet use, duration of sleep time, age, gender, smoking, taking painkillers due to headache, insomnia symptoms, witnessed apnea, and nightmares, the odds of EDS were 5.2-fold greater (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.7-10.2) in Internet addicts and 1.9-fold greater (95%CI: 1.4-2.6) in possible Internet addicts compared to non-addicts. Internet addiction is strongly associated with EDS in adolescents. Clinicians should consider examining Internet addiction in adolescent cases of EDS.

  17. Why Banning Embedded Sales Commissions Is a Public Policy Issue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henri-Paul Rousseau

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Regulatory authorities have consulted on the option of banning embedded sales commissions for Canadian financial advisors. Such an action would create more problems than it would solve. It would have serious ramifications for Canadians’ access to financial advice and raise issues of choice, industry concentration and price transparency for clients seeking advice on investments and retirement. Financial advisors have much greater knowledge of investments than their clients, who rightly expect value from their advisors’ services. Advisors may also face conflicts of interest when they make recommendations about a financial product whose manufacturer might be paying the advisor for selling its products. Banning sales commissions from the manufacturers and having the client pay the advisor directly instead brings its own problems. This is because financial advice is a good with peculiar characteristics. Firstly, financial advice has three fundamental components – the alpha, beta and gamma factors. Together, they define the roles financial advisors play: (alpha asset or portfolio manager, (beta asset allocator (rebalancing a client’s portfolio, and (gamma coach with regard to savings discipline and financial planning. Financial advice has value thanks to the interplay between the three factors. Studies of the issue which have focused on one factor at a time, usually the alpha, produce results that are skewed; however, when studies measure all three factors, the evidence shows that financial advice has significant value, greater than the usual cost charged to clients. Secondly, financial advice is an “experience good”, meaning that clients don’t know ahead of time how good financial advice is until they see how it works out. Assessing the value of financial advice may take many years. Since they can’t immediately measure what they’re paying for, clients with modest incomes or wealth are usually willing only to pay low fees, or not pay

  18. Exposure to workplace smoking bans and continuity of daily smoking patterns on workdays and weekends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunbar, Michael S; Shiffman, Saul; Chandra, Siddharth

    2018-05-01

    Individuals may compensate for workplace smoking bans by smoking more before or after work, or escaping bans to smoke, but no studies have conducted a detailed, quantitative analysis of such compensatory behaviors using real-time data. 124 daily smokers documented smoking occasions over 3weeks using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and provided information on real-world exposure to smoking restrictions and type of workplace smoking policy (full, partial, or no bans). Mixed modeling and generalized estimating equations assessed effects of time of day, weekday (vs weekend), and workplace policy on mean cigarettes per hour (CPH) and reports of changing location to smoke. Individuals were most likely to change locations to smoke during business hours, regardless of work policy, and frequency of EMA reports of restrictions at work was associated with increased likelihood of changing locations to smoke (OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.05-1.16; pbusiness hours across weekdays and weekends. Smokers largely compensate for exposure to workplace smoking bans by escaping restrictions during business hours. Better understanding the effects of smoking bans on smoking behavior may help to improve their effectiveness and yield insights into determinants of smoking in more restrictive environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Recreating big Ban to learn more about universe

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    A multi-nation effort at Gemeva-based CERN laboratory to recreate conditions existing just after the Big Ban could give vital clues to the creation of the universe and help overcome prejudices against this widely held scientific theory, an eminent science writer said in Kolkata on Tuesday

  20. Physio-pathological effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system: its role in hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawano, Yuhei

    2010-03-01

    Alcohol has complex effects on the cardiovascular system. The purpose of this article is to review physio-pathological effects of alcohol on cardiovascular and related systems and to describe its role in hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The relationship between alcohol and hypertension is well known, and a reduction in the alcohol intake is widely recommended in the management of hypertension. Moreover, alcohol has both pressor and depressor actions. The latter actions are clear in Oriental subjects, especially in those who show alcohol flush because of the genetic variation in aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. Repeated alcohol intake in the evening causes an elevation in daytime and a reduction in nighttime blood pressure (BP), with little change in the average 24-h BP in Japanese men. Thus, the hypertensive effect of alcohol seems to be overestimated by the measurement of casual BP during the day. Heavy alcohol intake seems to increase the risk of several cardiovascular diseases, such as hemorrhagic stroke, arrhythmia and heart failure. On the other hand, alcohol may act to prevent atherosclerosis and to decrease the risk of ischemic heart disease, mainly by increasing HDL cholesterol and inhibiting thrombus formation. A J- or U-shaped relationship has been observed between the level of alcohol intake and risk of cardiovascular mortality and total mortality. It is reasonable to reduce the alcohol intake to less than 30 ml per day for men and 15 ml per day for women in the management of hypertension. As a small amount of alcohol seems to be beneficial, abstinence from alcohol is not recommended to prevent cardiovascular disease.

  1. Seasonality in Smoking Behaviour: Re-evaluating the Effects of the 2005 Public Smoking Ban in Italy

    OpenAIRE

    Emilia Del Bono; Klaus Grünberger; Daniela Vuri

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of the public smoking ban which came into effect in Italy on January 2005 on individual smoking behaviour. Current empirical evidence supports the existence of a negative effect of the Italian ban on smoking prevalence and consumption in the general population. This is in contrast to what has been found in some other European coun- tries. Our analysis shows that the apparent success of the Italian smoking ban is due to the fact that existing results do not t...

  2. The cigarette advertising broadcast ban and magazine coverage of smoking and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, K E; Goldenhar, L M

    1989-01-01

    At the time of the cigarette broadcast advertising ban, which took effect in 1971, cigarette manufacturers rapidly shifted advertising expenditures from the broadcast media to the print media. In the last year of broadcast advertising and the first year of the ban, cigarette ad expenditures in a sample of major national magazines increased by 49 and then 131 percent in constant dollars. From an 11-year period preceding the ban to an 11-year period following it, these magazines decreased their coverage of smoking and health by 65 percent, an amount that is statistically significantly greater than decreases found in magazines that did not carry cigarette ads and in two major newspapers. This finding adds to evidence that media dependent on cigarette advertising have restricted their coverage of smoking and health. This may have significant implications for public health, as well as raising obvious concerns about the integrity of the profession of journalism.

  3. Self-reported sleep duration and daytime napping are associated with renal hyperfiltration in general population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Miao; Su, Qing; Wen, Junping; Wei, Shichao; Yao, Jin; Huang, Huibin; Liang, Jixing; Li, Liantao; Lin, Wei; Lin, Lixiang; Lu, Jieli; Bi, Yufang; Wang, Weiqing; Ning, Guang; Chen, Gang

    2018-03-01

    Renal hyperfiltration (RHF) has emerged as a novel marker of early renal damage in various conditions such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Aberrant sleep duration and excessive daytime napping may affect the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this study, the association between sleep duration, daytime napping, and renal hyperfiltration was assessed. This study was conducted in three communities in China. A total of 16,119 community volunteers (5735 males and 10,384 females) aged 40-65 years without CKD were included for the study. Participants with short sleep duration (naps longer than 1.5 h per day had a higher risk of renal hyperfiltration compared with those without napping (OR 1.400, 95% CI 1.018-1.924). Further joint analysis indicated that participants with long sleep duration (≥10 h/day) had a more than twofold increased risk of RHF regardless of nap status compared with those who slept 8-9 h per day without daytime napping. The association between sleep duration or daytime napping and RHF could not be explained by the influence of sleep quality. Additional subgroup analysis showed long sleep duration (≥9 h/day) and long daytime napping (≥1.5 h) were associated with an increased risk of RHF among individuals with good sleep quality. Sleep duration less than 6 h/day or more than 10 h/day and long daytime napping tend to be associated with an increased risk of renal hyperfiltration in middle-aged general population, and this relationship was independent of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, or poor sleep quality.

  4. Multivariate qualitative analysis of banned additives in food safety using surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Shixuan; Xie, Wanyi; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Liqun; Wang, Yunxia; Liu, Xiaoling; Liu, Yulong; Du, Chunlei

    2015-02-01

    A novel strategy which combines iteratively cubic spline fitting baseline correction method with discriminant partial least squares qualitative analysis is employed to analyze the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy of banned food additives, such as Sudan I dye and Rhodamine B in food, Malachite green residues in aquaculture fish. Multivariate qualitative analysis methods, using the combination of spectra preprocessing iteratively cubic spline fitting (ICSF) baseline correction with principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) classification respectively, are applied to investigate the effectiveness of SERS spectroscopy for predicting the class assignments of unknown banned food additives. PCA cannot be used to predict the class assignments of unknown samples. However, the DPLS classification can discriminate the class assignment of unknown banned additives using the information of differences in relative intensities. The results demonstrate that SERS spectroscopy combined with ICSF baseline correction method and exploratory analysis methodology DPLS classification can be potentially used for distinguishing the banned food additives in field of food safety.

  5. The Association between Point-of-Sale Advertising Bans and Youth Experimental Smoking: Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Ce; Huang, Jidong; Li, Qing; Chaloupka, Frank J

    while existing research has demonstrated a positive association between exposure to point-of-sale (POS) tobacco advertising and youth smoking, there is limited evidence on the relationship between POS advertising restrictions and experimental smoking among youth. This study aims to fill this research gap by analyzing the association between POS advertising bans and youths' experimental smoking. Global Youth Tobacco Surveys from 130 countries during 2007-2011 were linked to the WHO "MPOWER" tobacco control policy measures to analyze the association between POS advertising bans (a dichotomous measure of the existence of such bans) and experimental smoking using weighted logistic regressions. All analyses were clustered at the country level and controlled for age, parents' smoking status, GDP per capita, and country-level tobacco control scores in monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from smoke, offering help to quit, warning about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing promotion/advertising bans, and raising taxes on tobacco. The results suggest that a POS advertising ban is significantly associated with reduced experimental smoking among youth (OR = 0.63, p advertising bans are significantly associated with reduced experimental smoking among youth. Adopting POS advertising bans has the potential to reduce tobacco use among their youth in countries currently without such bans.

  6. Japan. Human cloning ban allows some research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normile, D

    2000-12-08

    TOKYO--Japanese legislators last week approved a ban on human cloning that leaves room for the use of certain techniques in basic research. The action comes at the same time officials in two other countries--China and France--aired similar proposals that would prohibit so-called reproductive cloning while recognizing the possible importance of the technology in combating disease and improving human health.

  7. What can public endorsement for a smoking ban policy mean? Preliminary findings from a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borowiec, Agnieszka; Lignowska, Izabella; Makowska, Marta

    2013-09-01

    The aim of the study is to describe attitudes which underlie Pole's declarations of support for a smoking ban in public places. The qualitative study using semi-structured individual in-depth interviews was conducted. The 30 IDI-s (in depth interviews) being a part of a larger research project entitled 'Lay meanings of health and life orientation of Polish society versus prevention and health promotion attitudes' were realized between 2007-2009. People belonging to all key socio-demographic categories identified by variables such as sex, age, education, and place of domicile were interviewed. The resulting material was subjected to content analysis. In the study the structural concept of 'attitude' was adopted. In order to identify the attitudes towards smoking bans in public places statements related to all three components of attitudes were analysed, but the typology of attitudes was constructed mainly on the basis of the emotional-evaluative component. The study identified as many as four attitudes behind the declared support for a smoking ban in public places. Those attitudes were labelled 'supportive', 'accepting', 'conditionally accepting', and 'ambivalent'. They differ as regards degree of acceptance for the ban, conviction about harmfulness of passive smoking, setting great store by other regulators of smoking like cultural norms or healthy consciousness, and propensity to observe and execute the smoking ban. The 'supportive' attitude can be characterized not only by total support for the smoking ban in public places but also by insistence on the need for its extension. The 'accepting' attitude means approval for the smoking ban, and the 'conditionally accepting' attitude is distinguished from the others by the stress put on the right of smokers to have an access to places where smoking is permitted. The 'ambivalent' attitude can be typified by underlining other than legal ways of influencing smoking in public places. The study suggests that the attitudes

  8. Perceptions of a Gay-Straight Alliance Club Ban: School Counselors and Advocacy for LGBTQQ Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lassiter, Pamela S.; Sifford, Amy McCarthy

    2015-01-01

    This phenomenological inquiry explored the experiences and reactions of five school counselors who worked in a school that banned a Gay-Straight Alliance club. Specifically, the authors examined how counselors' perceptions of the ban influenced their advocacy for LGBTQQ students. The results of semi-structured interviews revealed one overarching…

  9. Spotlight on daytime napping during early childhood

    OpenAIRE

    Horváth,Klára; Plunkett,Kim

    2018-01-01

    Klára Horváth,1 Kim Plunkett2 12nd Department of Pediatrics, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 2Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Abstract: Daytime napping undergoes a remarkable change in early childhood, and research regarding its relationship to cognitive development has recently accelerated. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of this relationship focusing on children aged <5 years. First, we eva...

  10. The Impact of Smoking Ban Fatwa on Indonesian Tobacco’s Company: Evidence from Stock Market Return

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gatot Soepriyanto

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to assess the share price reactions to smoking ban fatwa on Indonesia tobacco’s company. We expect that the smoking ban fatwa in the world’s largest Muslim population will hit the tobaccos industry revenues, lower tobacco’s company profit and eventually affect the share price of those firms. We use event study methodology and standard market model to calculate abnormal returns of the tobacco’s firms related to the news of smoking ban fatwa. Our study failed to find a statistically significant effect of smoking ban fatwa on tobacco’s firm stock market return. It suggests that the investors do not see the fatwa as a factor that may control the tobacco consumption in Indonesia – thus it may not affect the tobacco’s firm revenues and profit in the future

  11. Smoke-free laws and direct democracy initiatives on smoking bans in Germany: a systematic review and quantitative assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Stefan; Minkner, Philipp

    2014-01-03

    Germany's 16 states regulate smoking differently within health protection principles laid down in the federal law. All state smoke-free laws in Germany have undergone at least one change since taking effect. We systematically review federal and state laws regulating smoking, as well as petitions, popular initiatives and referenda that aimed at changing statutory smoking bans. Data generated through the systematic review were correlated with state smoking rates. The protection from the dangers of secondhand smoke is the primary motive for smoking bans in Germany. The first smoke-free laws affecting smoking in pubs, restaurants and several other public places were introduced in 2007. In 2008, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled in a leading decision on the smoke-free laws of two states that some common smoking ban exemptions of the introduced smoke-free laws violate the basic right to freely exercise a profession and mandated revisions. All states but Bavaria and Saarland, whose smoking bans were more and less comprehensive than those judged by the constitutional court, respectively, needed to change the smoking ban exemptions to reconcile their smoke-free laws with the constitution. Direct democracy initiatives to change smoking bans were only successful in Bavaria in 2010, but a total of 15 initiatives by citizens' or interest groups attempted to influence non-smokers protection legislation through direct democratic procedures. Early ratification of a smoking ban in a federal state correlates with a higher reduction in the smoking rate from 2005 to 2009 (Spearman's ρ = 0.51, p = 0.04). The federal government structure and direct democratic participation in smoke-free legislation in Germany has produced a diversity of local smoking bans and exemptions.

  12. Associations of Subjective Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness With Cognitive Impairment in Adults and Elders With Heart Failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Eeeseung; Kim, Jinyoung; Riegel, Barbara

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the association of subjective nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness with cognitive impairment in 105 adults (sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Cognitive impairment was assessed using a neuropsychological battery measuring attention, memory, and processing speed. Multivariate logistic regression was used. In adults, daytime sleepiness was associated with cognitive impairment, whereas poor nighttime sleep quality was associated with cognitive impairment in elders. Age may play an important role in how sleep impacts cognition in persons with heart failure. Improving nighttime sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in this population may improve cognition.

  13. The comparison of nasal surgery and CPAP on daytime sleepiness in patients with OSAS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagaya, M; Otake, H; Suzuki, K; Yasuma, F; Yamamoto, H; Noda, A; Nishimura, Y; Sone, M; Nakashima, T; Nakata, S

    2017-09-01

    Residual sleepiness after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a critical problem in some patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). However, nasal surgery is likely to reduce daytime sleepiness and feelings of unrefreshed sleep. The aim of this study is to clarify the effects of nasal surgery and CPAP on daytime sleepiness. This is a retrospective and matched-case control study. The participants were consecutive 40 patients with OSAS who underwent nasal surgery (Surgery group) and 40 matched patients who were treated with CPAP (CPAP group). In the Surgery group, although the nasal surgery did not decrease either apnea or hypopnea, it improved oxygenation, the quality of sleep. In the CPAP Group, the CPAP treatment reduced apnea and hypopnea, and improved oxygenation, quality of sleep. The degree of relief from daytime sleepiness was different between the two groups. The improvement of Epworth Sleepiness Scale was more significant in the Surgery Group than those in the CPAP Group (Surgery from 11.0 to 5.1, CPAP from 10.0 to 6.2). These findings suggest that the results of the nasal surgery is more satisfactory for some patients with OSAS than CPAP on daytime sleepiness.

  14. The Relation between the Number of Hours That Authorize the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Violence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Huaco

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: La Victoria was considered, the most violent area in Lima City, the local governmentenforced a public policy regarding number of hours for selling of alcoholic beverages inJanuary 2007. The study was designed to compare its results in Violence between one districtwith the law and other without the law.Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional was an ecological study with a chronological andgeographical comparison between La Victoria, with the restriction and Cercado de Lima withoutthe ban. The participants in the study were patients from a local National Hospital, with aggressionsfrom fighting, or were wounded in traffic accidents, and violent death bodies at NationalInstitute of Legal Medicine. Data were analyzed, using clinical histories (2006 vs. 2007-8 and necropsies(2005-6 vs. 2007-8Results: The reduction of aggression rates at La Victoria in 2007 and 2008 in comparison to2006, were 40.7% and 36.4% respectively (P< 0.05. It was related to the number of hours of liquorauthorized selling Y= -11.25+27.32 X (P<0.05. There was a reduction of 44% in homicide(P<0.05 and 35% in suicide rates between biennia’s. The female/ male ratio of homicideschanged from 1/7.3 to 1/4.6. A significant increase in the rate of alcohol positive dead bodieswas observed (20.3% to 41.5%, (Relative Risk (RR = 2.03, (95% Confidence Interval (CI =(1.09-3.8, χ²(1=5.24, ( P< 0.05.Conclusions: The reduction of violence was probably due to the ban, indicating the importanceof programs to control alcohol consumption which lead to decrease the rate of violence and its’consequences like homicides, impulsive violence.

  15. Are bans on kidney sales unjustifiably paternalistic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmqvist, Erik

    2014-03-01

    This paper challenges the view that bans on kidney sales are unjustifiably paternalistic, that is, that they unduly deny people the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies in order to protect them from harm. I argue that not even principled anti-paternalists need to reject such bans. This is because their rationale is not hard paternalism, which anti-paternalists repudiate, but soft paternalism, which they in principle accept. More precisely, I suggest that their rationale is what Franklin Miller and Alan Wertheimer call 'group soft paternalism'. Group soft paternalistic policies restrict the freedom of autonomous individuals, not for their own good (hard paternalism), but as an unavoidable consequence of seeking to protect other, non-autonomous individuals from harms that they have not voluntarily chosen (soft paternalism). Group soft paternalism supports prohibiting kidney sales on three conditions: (1) that such sales are potentially harmful to vendors, (2) that many vendors would suffer impaired autonomy, and (3) that distinguishing between autonomous and non-autonomous vendors and interfering only with the latter is unfeasible. I provide reasons for thinking that these conditions will often hold. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. An exploratory study of sleep quality, daytime function, and quality of life in patients with mechanical circulatory support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casida, Jesus M; Brewer, Robert J; Smith, Cheryl; Davis, Jean E

    2012-07-01

    To identify and describe: (1) characteristics of sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and quality of life (QOL) pre and post implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD); (2) changes in sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and QOL at baseline and 6 months post implant; and (3) relationships among the sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and QOL variables. We employed an exploratory research design. Fifteen patients with continuous/non-pulsatile flow LVAD consented to partake in the study. However, only 12 patients completed the baseline and 6-month post-LVAD implant data. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) to measure study variables. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 19.0 software. Patients reported worse sleep quality accompanied by daytime sleepiness particularly at baseline, and persisting up to 6 months post LVAD implant. A significant improvement in QOL was observed at 6 months post implant, but remained at poor levels. Correlations among sleep disturbance and daytime dysfunction components of PSQI and global daytime sleepiness (ESS) with QOL were strong (Pearson's correlations r >.60; p values sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and QOL in patients with LVADs. Our findings offer beginning evidence about the sleep-QOL connection in this population which warrants attention in clinical practice and research. Further research is required to clearly elucidate these phenomena in patients with mechanical circulatory support and other implantable artificial organs.

  17. The Blasphemy Ban in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Binderup, Lars Grassmè; Lassen, Eva Maria

    2017-01-01

    , it can seem odd why Denmark would not have followed the trend of most other European states, including those with which Denmark normally compares itself, to abolish the article. Denmark is a highly secularised society with generally a relaxed attitude towards religion. And finally, surveys indicate...... the potential to bring the ban on blasphemy back to life by bringing it into play with penal systems of other countries with blasphemy laws. The article proceeds to outline the reactions of international human rights bodies to art. 140, focussing on the statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on Religion...

  18. Review: Martin Spetsmann-Kunkel (2004. Die Moral der Daytime Talkshow. Eine soziologische Analyse eines umstrittenen Fernsehformats [The Morality of the Daytime Talk Show. A Sociological Analysis of a Controversial Television Format

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Döring

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available This book deals with the phenomenon of the daytime talk show from a sociological perspective. The author questions the common cultural pessimism of this TV format ("exhibitionist guests," "voyeuristic spectators". He first describes the characteristics of the daytime talk show and summarizes the results of previous surveys that reveal a broad variety of talk show guests' and recipients' motives—beyond pathology. Drawing on concepts like civilization and individualisation, the book outlines the societal functions of the daytime talk show. A participatory observation study in the editorial office of "Hans Meiser" and free interpretations of three series from "Vera am Mittag" are presented as "empirical evidence." Unfortunately the book lacks theoretical and methodological rigor and a sound empirical basis. The bibliography could have been more comprehensive. The work is useful, though, as an inspired, readable introduction into the topic. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0603119

  19. Is there an impact of public smoking bans on self-reported smoking status and exposure to secondhand smoke?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glazier Richard H

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Implementation of smoke free policies has potentially substantial effects on health by reducing secondhand smoke exposure. However little is known about whether the introduction of anti-smoking legislation translates into decreased secondhand smoke exposure. We examined whether smoking bans impact rates of secondhand smoke exposure in public places and rates of complete workplace smoking restriction. Methods Canadian Community Health Survey was used to obtain secondhand smoking exposure rates in 15 Ontario municipalities. Data analysis included descriptive summaries and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and compared across groups Results Across all studied municipalities, secondhand smoke exposure in public places decreased by 4.7% and workplace exposure decreased by 2.3% between the 2003 and 2005 survey years. The only jurisdiction to implement a full ban from no previous ban was also the only setting that experienced significant decreases in both individual exposure to secondhand smoke in a public place (-17.3%, 95% CI -22.8, -11.8 and workplace exposure (-18.1%, 95% CI -24.9, -11.3. Exposures in vehicles and homes declined in almost all settings over time. Conclusions Implementation of a full smoking ban was associated with the largest decreases in secondhand smoke exposure while partial bans and changes in existing bans had inconsistent effects. In addition to decreasing exposure in public places as would be expected from legislation, bans may have additional benefits by decreasing rates of current smokers and decreasing exposures to secondhand smoke in private settings.

  20. Is there an impact of public smoking bans on self-reported smoking status and exposure to secondhand smoke?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naiman, Alisa B; Glazier, Richard H; Moineddin, Rahim

    2011-03-03

    Implementation of smoke free policies has potentially substantial effects on health by reducing secondhand smoke exposure. However little is known about whether the introduction of anti-smoking legislation translates into decreased secondhand smoke exposure. We examined whether smoking bans impact rates of secondhand smoke exposure in public places and rates of complete workplace smoking restriction. Canadian Community Health Survey was used to obtain secondhand smoking exposure rates in 15 Ontario municipalities. Data analysis included descriptive summaries and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and compared across groups Across all studied municipalities, secondhand smoke exposure in public places decreased by 4.7% and workplace exposure decreased by 2.3% between the 2003 and 2005 survey years. The only jurisdiction to implement a full ban from no previous ban was also the only setting that experienced significant decreases in both individual exposure to secondhand smoke in a public place (-17.3%, 95% CI -22.8, -11.8) and workplace exposure (-18.1%, 95% CI -24.9, -11.3). Exposures in vehicles and homes declined in almost all settings over time. Implementation of a full smoking ban was associated with the largest decreases in secondhand smoke exposure while partial bans and changes in existing bans had inconsistent effects. In addition to decreasing exposure in public places as would be expected from legislation, bans may have additional benefits by decreasing rates of current smokers and decreasing exposures to secondhand smoke in private settings.

  1. Bringing alcohol on campus to raise money: impact on student drinking and drinking problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voas, Robert B.; Johnson, Mark; Turrisi, Robert J.; Taylor, Dexter; Honts, Charles Robert; Nelsen, Lisa

    2010-01-01

    Aims Universities are striving to raise funds, often attracting spectators by selling alcohol at campus events. This study evaluates the effect of a policy change on student drinking at a large western university that had historically banned alcohol on campus but transitioned to permitting the sale of alcohol in some of its facilities. Methods Surveys of student drinking and perceptions of other students' drinking were conducted before, during and after the policy change at the transition university (TU) and compared to similar data from a control university (CU). Surveys of student drinking at on-campus and off-campus venues and observations of alcohol service practices were also conducted. Results The policy change at the TU was introduced cautiously, and sales to underage drinkers were relatively well controlled. Despite this, student drinking rose initially, then declined after 1 year. Perceptions of the amount of drinking by other students increased slightly, but there was no overall measurable increase in student drinking during the first 3 years of the new policy. Conclusions The conservative TU policy—to sell alcohol only at select events and to control sales to minors—may have limited the impact of on-campus alcohol sales on student consumption. Although the study results did not find a stable increase in student drinking, they do not necessarily support the liberalization of campus alcohol policy, because the transition is still ‘in progress’ and the final outcome has not been evaluated. PMID:18482416

  2. The Association between Point-of-Sale Advertising Bans and Youth Experimental Smoking: Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ce Shang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: while existing research has demonstrated a positive association between exposure to point-of-sale (POS tobacco advertising and youth smoking, there is limited evidence on the relationship between POS advertising restrictions and experimental smoking among youth. This study aims to fill this research gap by analyzing the association between POS advertising bans and youths' experimental smoking. Methods: Global Youth Tobacco Surveys from 130 countries during 2007-2011 were linked to the WHO “MPOWER” tobacco control policy measures to analyze the association between POS advertising bans (a dichotomous measure of the existence of such bans and experimental smoking using weighted logistic regressions. All analyses were clustered at the country level and controlled for age, parents' smoking status, GDP per capita, and country-level tobacco control scores in monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from smoke, offering help to quit, warning about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing promotion/advertising bans, and raising taxes on tobacco. Results: The results suggest that a POS advertising ban is significantly associated with reduced experimental smoking among youth (OR = 0.63, p p p < 0.001. Conclusions: POS advertising bans are significantly associated with reduced experimental smoking among youth. Adopting POS advertising bans has the potential to reduce tobacco use among their youth in countries currently without such bans.

  3. Effects of day-time exposure to different light intensities on light-induced melatonin suppression at night.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozaki, Tomoaki; Kubokawa, Ayaka; Taketomi, Ryunosuke; Hatae, Keisuke

    2015-07-04

    Bright nocturnal light has been known to suppress melatonin secretion. However, bright light exposure during the day-time might reduce light-induced melatonin suppression (LIMS) at night. The effective proportion of day-time light to night-time light is unclear; however, only a few studies on accurately controlling both day- and night-time conditions have been conducted. This study aims to evaluate the effect of different day-time light intensities on LIMS. Twelve male subjects between the ages of 19 and 23 years (mean ± S.D., 20.8 ± 1.1) gave informed consent to participate in this study. They were exposed to various light conditions (day-time light conditions). They were then exposed to bright light (300 lx) again between 01:00 and 02:30 (night-time light exposure). They provided saliva samples before (00:55) and after night-time light exposure (02:30). A one-tailed paired t test yielded significant decrements of melatonin concentration after night-time light exposure under day-time dim, 100- and 300-lx light conditions. No significant differences exist in melatonin concentration between pre- and post-night-time light exposure under day-time 900- and 2700-lx light conditions. Present findings suggest the amount of light exposure needed to prevent LIMS caused by ordinary nocturnal light in individuals who have a general life rhythm (sleep/wake schedule). These findings may be useful in implementing artificial light environments for humans in, for example, hospitals and underground shopping malls.

  4. Dissociating Effects of Global SWS Disruption and Healthy Aging on Waking Performance and Daytime Sleepiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groeger, John A.; Stanley, Neil; Deacon, Stephen; Dijk, Derk-Jan

    2014-01-01

    Study Objective: To contrast the effects of slow wave sleep (SWS) disruption and age on daytime functioning. Design: Daytime functioning was contrasted in three age cohorts, across two parallel 4-night randomized groups (baseline, two nights of SWS disruption or control, recovery sleep). Setting: Sleep research laboratory. Participants: 44 healthy young (20-30 y), 35 middle-aged (40-55 y), and 31 older (66-83 y) men and women. Interventions: Acoustic stimulation contingent on appearance of slow waves. Measurements and Results: Cognitive performance was assessed before sleep latency tests at five daily time-points. SWS disruption resulted in less positive affect, slower or impaired information processing and sustained attention, less precise motor control, and erroneous implementation, rather than inhibition, of well-practiced actions. These performance impairments had far smaller effect sizes than the increase in daytime sleepiness and differed from baseline to the same extent for each age group. At baseline, younger participants performed better than older participants across many cognitive domains, with largest effects on executive function, response time, sustained attention, and motor control. At baseline, the young were sleepier than other age groups. Conclusions: SWS has been considered a potential mediator of age-related decline in performance, although the effects of SWS disruption on daytime functioning have not been quantified across different cognitive domains nor directly compared to age-related changes in performance. The data imply that two nights of SWS disruption primarily leads to an increase in sleepiness with minor effects on other aspects of daytime functioning, which are different from the substantial effects of age. Citation: Groeger JA, Stanley N, Deacon S, Dijk DJ. Dissociating effects of global sws disruption and healthy aging on waking performance and daytime sleepiness. SLEEP 2014;37(6):1127-1142. PMID:24882908

  5. Support for a ban on tobacco powerwalls and other point-of-sale displays: findings from focus groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Carol L; Allen, Jane A; Kosa, Katherine M; Curry, Laurel E

    2015-02-01

    This study uses focus group data to document consumer perceptions of powerwall and other point-of-sale (POS) tobacco displays, and support for a ban on tobacco displays. Four focus groups were conducted in 2012 by a trained moderator. The study comprised 34 adult residents of New York State, approximately half with children under age 18 years living at home. Measures used in the study were awareness and perceptions of powerwall and other POS displays, and level of support for a ban on tobacco displays. Analysis focused on perceptions of powerwall and other POS displays, level of support for a ban on tobacco displays and reasons participants oppose a display ban. This study documents a general lack of concern about tobacco use in the community, which does not appear to be associated with support for a ban on POS tobacco displays. Although all participants had seen tobacco powerwalls and most considered them to be a form of advertising, participants were divided as to whether they played a role in youth smoking. Additional research is warranted to determine what factors individuals weigh in assigning value to a ban on POS tobacco displays and other tobacco control policies and how educational efforts can influence those assessments. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Effects of New Jersey's cell phone and text ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-01

    Since March 1, 2008 there has been a ban on wireless telephone and electronic : communication devices in New Jersey while operating a motor vehicle. But from general : observation on any roadway, it appears that there are still drivers who are talkin...

  7. The hasty British ban on commercial surrogacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahams, D

    1987-02-01

    While commercial surrogate parenting arrangements continue to flourish in the U.S., Britain has made it a criminal offense for third parties to benefit from surrogacy. Voluntary surrogacy, however, is still within the law. Banning commercial surrogacy while leaving voluntary surrogacy lawful seems neither logical nor fair. A more equitable solution would be to license stringently and control both commercial and nonprofit agencies to provide these services.

  8. Violation of Bans on Tobacco Advertising and Promotion at Points of Sale in Viet Nam: Trend from 2009 - 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huong, Le Thi Thanh; Long, Tran Khanh; Son, Phung Xuan; Huyen, Do Phuc; Linh, Phan Thuy; Bich, Nguyen Ngoc; Lam, Nguyen Xuan; Anh, Le Vu; Tuyet-Hanh, Tran Thi

    2016-01-01

    Comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and promotion were introduced through tobacco control legislation in Viet Nam, but it has been established that violations of the bans are very common. This study was conducted to explore the trend in violations of bans on tobacco advertising and promotion at points of sale in Viet Nam in the past six years and to explore any differences in the violation situations before and after the Law on Tobacco Control came into effect on 1st May 2013. Quantitative data were collected through observation of violations of the bans on tobacco advertising and promotion at points of sale in 10 provinces throughout Viet Nam in four survey rounds (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015). Variation in violation prevalence over time was examined by chi-square test using a Bonferini method. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify the factors that may have influences on different types of violation. A level of significance of padvertising increased while violations on promotion ban and on displaying tobacco decreased through time. Some factors associated with the tobacco advertising and promotion bans included surveyed years, types of points of sale, regions and areas where the points of sale were located. The enforcement of the bans did not improve even after the issuance and the enactment of the Law on Tobacco Control. This suggests that the monitoring and enforcement of bans on tobacco advertising and promotion at points of sale should be strengthened. Penalties should be strictly applied for violators as indicated in the current tobacco control legislation.

  9. Should Selecting Saviour Siblings be Banned?

    OpenAIRE

    Sheldon, Sally; Wilkinson, Stephen

    2004-01-01

    By using tissue typing in conjunction with preimplantation genetic diagnosis doctors are able to pick a human embryo for implantation which, if all goes well, will become a "saviour sibling", a brother or sister capable of donating life-saving tissue to an existing child. \\ud \\ud This paper addresses the question of whether this form of selection should be banned and concludes that it should not. Three main prohibitionist arguments are considered and found wanting: (a) the claim that saviour ...

  10. Detection of Daytime Arctic Clouds using MISR and MODIS Data

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shi, Tao; Clothiaux, Eugene E; Yu, Bin; Braverman, Amy J; Groff, David N

    2006-01-01

    ...) 7 are used operationally for detection of clouds in daytime polar regions. While the information content of clouds inherent in spectral radiances is familiar, the information content of clouds contained in angular radiances (i.e...

  11. Smoke-Free Laws and Direct Democracy Initiatives on Smoking Bans in Germany: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Kohler

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Germany’s 16 states regulate smoking differently within health protection principles laid down in the federal law. All state smoke-free laws in Germany have undergone at least one change since taking effect. Methods: We systematically review federal and state laws regulating smoking, as well as petitions, popular initiatives and referenda that aimed at changing statutory smoking bans. Data generated through the systematic review were correlated with state smoking rates. Results: The protection from the dangers of secondhand smoke is the primary motive for smoking bans in Germany. The first smoke-free laws affecting smoking in pubs, restaurants and several other public places were introduced in 2007. In 2008, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled in a leading decision on the smoke-free laws of two states that some common smoking ban exemptions of the introduced smoke-free laws violate the basic right to freely exercise a profession and mandated revisions. All states but Bavaria and Saarland, whose smoking bans were more and less comprehensive than those judged by the constitutional court, respectively, needed to change the smoking ban exemptions to reconcile their smoke-free laws with the constitution. Direct democracy initiatives to change smoking bans were only successful in Bavaria in 2010, but a total of 15 initiatives by citizens’ or interest groups attempted to influence non-smokers protection legislation through direct democratic procedures. Early ratification of a smoking ban in a federal state correlates with a higher reduction in the smoking rate from 2005 to 2009 (Spearman’s ρ = 0.51, p = 0.04. Conclusions: The federal government structure and direct democratic participation in smoke-free legislation in Germany has produced a diversity of local smoking bans and exemptions.

  12. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the economic impact of smoking bans in restaurants and bars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornelsen, Laura; McGowan, Yvonne; Currie-Murphy, Laura M; Normand, Charles

    2014-05-01

    To review systematically the literature on the economic impact of smoking bans in bars and restaurants and provide an estimate of the impact size using meta-analysis. Studies were identified by systematic database searches and screening references of reviews and relevant studies. Google and web-pages of tobacco control agencies were also searched. The review identified 56 studies using absolute sales, sales ratio or employment data and employing regression methods to evaluate the impact of smoking bans in the United States, Australia or in countries in South America or Europe. The meta-analysis included 39 comparable studies, with 129 cases identified based on the outcome measure, scope of the ban, type of establishment and geographical location. Methodological quality was assessed based on four pre-determined criteria. Study and case selection and data extraction were conducted independently by two researchers. Random-effects meta-analysis of all cases showed no associations between smoking bans and changes in absolute sales or employment. An increase in the share of bar and restaurant sector sales in total retail sales was associated with smoking bans [0.23 percentage-points; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08-0.375]. When cases were separated by business type (bars or restaurants or wider hospitality including bars and restaurants), some differential impacts emerged. Meta-analysis of the economic impact of smoking bans in hospitality sector showed overall no substantial economic gains or losses. Differential impacts were observed across individual business types and outcome variable, but at aggregate level these appear to balance out. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  13. Do Blue Laws Save Lives? The Effect of Sunday Alcohol Sales Bans on Fatal Vehicle Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovenheim, Michael F.; Steefel, Daniel P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyzes the effect of state-level Sunday alcohol sales restrictions ("blue laws") on fatal vehicle accidents, which is an important parameter in assessing the desirability of these laws. Using a panel data set of all fatal vehicle accidents in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009 combined with 15 state repeals of blue laws, we show that…

  14. Daytime Sleepiness among Medical Students in University of Benin ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... of daytime sleepiness could be associated with underlying medical/ psychological disorders. There is a need for future studies to address these correlates of day time sleepiness. It is recommended that strategies to enlighten students on sleep hygiene should be pursued. Keywords: Day time sleepiness, medical students, ...

  15. Complying with the smoking ban by students before and after introducing legislative intervention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Rzeźnicki

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: More and more countries introduce a total ban on smoking tobacco in public places. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of “The Act of 8 April 2010 on amendment of the act on protection of health against the consequences of consumption of tobacco and tobacco products and act on National Sanitary Inspectorate” and assess the frequency of complying with the smoking bans by the students of the Medical University of Lodz, Poland. Material and Methods: Between 2007–2011, at the Social Medicine Institute of the Medical University of Lodz, a study using random survey was carried out involving students who were starting their studies at the Health Department of the Medical University of Lodz. The analysis of the collected material showed that 1038 people reported being smokers at the time of the study. Among that group, 530 students were included in the study prior to, and 508 after the introduction of the amendment. In order to verify their compliance with the smoking ban, the respondents were asked whether they smoked only in designated areas or wherever they wanted to. Results: The ratio of people claiming they smoked anywhere they wanted to, disregarding the smoking ban, was 60% (N = 318 and after the amendment had been introduced, this ratio was 62.2% (N = 316, it increased by 2.2 percentage points. The observed difference was statistically irrelevant (Chi2 = 0.530, p > 0.05. Conclusions: The Act ”On amendment of the act on protection of health against the consequences of consumption of tobacco and tobacco products and Act on National Sanitary Inspectorate” in Poland did not result in the expected changes in the frequency of complying with the smoking ban by the 1st year students.

  16. Tribal communities and coal in Northeast India: The politics of imposing and resisting mining bans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDuie-Ra, Duncan; Kikon, Dolly

    2016-01-01

    Bans on coal mining have been implemented in two tribal majority states in India's north-east frontier; Nagaland and Meghalaya. In Nagaland the state government imposed the ban in an attempt to capture control of coal extraction and trade, while in Meghalaya India's National Green Commission imposed the ban over concern for the environment and labour conditions. In both cases local communities have opposed the bans, and in some areas resumed mining under the authority of tribal councils and powerful civil society actors. In this paper we explore the politics of coal extraction that resulted in these bans and the response of communities and authorities. In doing so we made three main arguments that contribute to understanding of coal and communities in frontier regions where state control is partial and the legacy of armed conflict is powerful. First, in both locations the majority of the coal mining activity has been initiated and managed by members of tribal communities rather than profit-driven outsiders. Second, in contrast to other contexts in India (notably Orissa and Jharkhand) where large state or private enterprises seek to modify the law to enable coal extraction, in Nagaland and Meghalaya it has been communities that resent and challenge state and national laws being applied to their lands. Third, the right to extract coal is connected to the right of tribal communities to determine what happens on their lands. - Highlights: • Tribal communities initiate and manage coal mining in Nagaland and Meghalaya. • Laws banning coal extraction have been challenged and resisted by local communities. • The right to extract coal is tied to protecting tribal land rights. • Tribal autonomy in coal policy is progressive, yet enables capture by local elites. • Where there has been regulation of coal mining it has come from unexpected sources.

  17. Smoking ban in public places in Japan - adverse legacy of the 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kota Katanoda

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background Although Japan is a nation where the world first epidemiological evidence on the health effect of secondhand smoke was produced, no indoor smoking ban was realized on a national level. In 2013, Tokyo was selected as the city of 2020 Olympic Paralympic Games, since when the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW and various concerned parties have been working to realize smoking ban in public places. However, as of July, 2017, the legislation has been unsuccessful. We chronologically reviewed the related events to clarify underlying obstacles to the legislation. Methods Events related to the movement of the national smoking ban in Japan were extracted from the internet and public available data sources. The concerned bodies were classified into five categories (academic/medical, administration, politics, industry, and advocacy, and chronological relations were analyzed. Results Academic/medical and administrative bodies closely collaborated and effectively released scientific rationale of smoking ban in 2016. The MHLW's draft policy released in Mar. 2017 included an exception of smoking ban for restaurants and bars (allowing designated smoking rooms. However, even this partial banning policy was faced with fierce objections from the allied industry including restaurant, hotel businesses and tobacco industry. Diet members in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party acted in a coordinated manner; reportedly 90% of the Diet members attending the party committee on health, labour and welfare objected to the MHLW's draft policy. The allied industry spread a signature collecting activity earlier and much more organizationally than academic/medical and advocacy groups. The party committee of the LDP was held only twice. Although the MHLW proposed a temporary amendment, the committee failed to reach an agreement. Conclusions The series of events suggest that the tobacco lobbies are more powerful in the policy-making process in Japan

  18. Multivariate qualitative analysis of banned additives in food safety using surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Shixuan; Xie, Wanyi; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Liqun; Wang, Yunxia; Liu, Xiaoling; Liu, Yulong; Du, Chunlei

    2015-02-25

    A novel strategy which combines iteratively cubic spline fitting baseline correction method with discriminant partial least squares qualitative analysis is employed to analyze the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy of banned food additives, such as Sudan I dye and Rhodamine B in food, Malachite green residues in aquaculture fish. Multivariate qualitative analysis methods, using the combination of spectra preprocessing iteratively cubic spline fitting (ICSF) baseline correction with principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) classification respectively, are applied to investigate the effectiveness of SERS spectroscopy for predicting the class assignments of unknown banned food additives. PCA cannot be used to predict the class assignments of unknown samples. However, the DPLS classification can discriminate the class assignment of unknown banned additives using the information of differences in relative intensities. The results demonstrate that SERS spectroscopy combined with ICSF baseline correction method and exploratory analysis methodology DPLS classification can be potentially used for distinguishing the banned food additives in field of food safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. School Maladjustment and External Locus of Control Predict the Daytime Sleepiness of College Students With ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langberg, Joshua M; Dvorsky, Melissa R; Becker, Stephen P; Molitor, Stephen J

    2016-09-01

    The primary aim of this study was to evaluate whether school maladjustment longitudinally predicts the daytime sleepiness of college students with ADHD above and beyond symptoms of ADHD and to determine whether internalizing dimensions mediate the relationship between maladjustment and sleepiness. A prospective longitudinal study of 59 college students comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD who completed ratings at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. School maladjustment at the beginning of the year significantly predicted daytime sleepiness at the end of the year above and beyond symptoms of ADHD. Locus of control mediated the relationship between maladjustment and daytime sleepiness. The significant school maladjustment difficulties that students with ADHD experience following the transition to college may lead to the development of problems with daytime sleepiness, particularly for those students with high external locus of control. This pattern is likely reciprocal, whereby sleep problems in turn result in greater school impairment, reinforcing the idea that life events are outside of one's control. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. Implementation of an indoor smoking ban and an advertising/ sponsorship ban in Lebanon: a baseline cross-sectional study

    OpenAIRE

    Monique Chaaya; Rima Nakkash; Rima Afifi; Guillermo Adame; Nadia Fanous; Nabil Tabbal; Dahlia Saab

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Although the majority of countries ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, few have comprehensive smoke-free laws and compliance is not always satisfactory. In 2011, Lebanon, having among the highest smoking rates in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, passed a comprehensive tobacco control law (Law 174). This study aimed to assess compliance with Law 174 among smokers and non-smokers in Beirut (the capital), three months after the ban in ...

  1. [SLEEP QUALITY, EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS AND INSOMNIA IN CHILEAN PARALYMPIC ATHLETES].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durán Agüero, Samuel; Arroyo Jofre, Patricio; Varas Standen, Camila; Herrera-Valenzuela, Tomas; Moya Cantillana, Cristobal; Pereira Robledo, Rodolfo; Valdés-Badilla, Pablo

    2015-12-01

    the sleep takes part in diverse biological and physiological functions, associating his restriction, with minor performance in the sport, nevertheless the quantity and quality of sleep is not known in paralympic athletes. to determine the sleep quality, insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness in Chilean paralympic athletes. descriptive transverse Study, the sample included 33 paralympic athletes (24.2% women), those who were practicing swimming, tennis of table, football 5, powerlifting and tennis chair. The studied variables measured up across two surveys of dream: the Questionnaire of Insomnia and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. the paralympic athletes sleep were 6.9 } 1.4 hours, 27.7% presents daytime sleepiness, 69.6 % insomnia (Survey of insomnia =7), whereas 78.7 % exhibits a bad sleep quality. The age showed a positive correlation with latency to the sleep (r=0.417 *), the insomnia with latency to the sleep (r=0.462 **), the Pittsburg score was correlated negatively by the sleep duration (r =-0.323) and latency to the sleep is correlated positively by the Pittsburgh score (r=0.603 **). the chilean paralympic athletes, present a low sleep quality, insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness, situation that might influence negatively the sports performance. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  2. Daytime habitat selection for juvenile parr brown trout (Salmo trutta in small lowland streams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conallin J.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Physical habitat is important in determining the carrying capacity of juvenile brown trout, and within freshwater management. Summer daytime physical habitat selection for the parr lifestage (7–20 cm juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta was assessed in 6 small lowland streams. Habitat preference was determined for the four variables; water velocity, water depth, substrate and cover, and the preferences for physical habitat selection were expressed in terms of habitat suitability indices (HSI’s. The statistical confidence of HSI’s was evaluated using power analysis. It was found that a minimum of 22 fish observations was needed to have statistical confidence in the HSIs for water depth, and a minimum of 92 fish observations for water velocity during daytime summer conditions. Generally parr were utilising the deeper habitats, indicating preference for deeper water. Cover was also being selected for at all sites, but selection was inconsistent among sites for the variables substrate and velocity. The results indicate that during daytime summer conditions water depth is a significant variable for parr habitat selection in these small lowland streams, with cover also being important. Therefore, daytime refugia may be a critical limiting factor for parr in small lowland streams, and important for stream management actions under the Water Framework Directive.

  3. Perceptions of Teachers on the Ban of Corporal Punishment in Pre-Primary Institutions in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mwai, Beth Kirigo; Kimengi, Isaac Njuguna; Kipsoi, Emmy Jerono

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate perceptions of teachers on the ban of corporal punishment in pre-primary institutions. The objectives of the study were to investigate teachers' attitudes towards corporal punishment ban in pre-schools and to establish whether the level of education of teachers had an influence on the use of corporal…

  4. Adoption and diffusion of zoning bylaws banning fast food drive-through services across Canadian municipalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nykiforuk, Candace I J; Campbell, Elizabeth J; Macridis, Soultana; McKennitt, Daniel; Atkey, Kayla; Raine, Kim D

    2018-01-15

    Healthy public policy is an important tool for creating environments that support human health and wellbeing. At the local level, municipal policies, such as zoning bylaws, provide an opportunity for governments to regulate building location and the type of services offered. Across North America, there has been a recent proliferation of municipal bylaws banning fast food drive-through services. Research on the utilization of this policy strategy, including bylaw adopters and adopter characteristics, is limited within the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize Canadian municipalities based on level of policy innovation and nature of their adopted bylaw banning fast food drive-through services. A multiple case history methodology was utilized to identify and analyse eligible municipal bylaws, and included development of a chronological timeline and map of adopter municipalities within Canada. Grey literature and policy databases were searched for potential adopters of municipal fast food drive-through service bylaws. Adopters were confirmed through evidence of current municipal bylaws. Geographic diffusion and diffusion of innovations theories provided a contextual framework for analysis of bylaw documents. Analysis included assignment of adopter-types, extent and purpose of bans, and policy learning activities of each adopter municipality. From 2002 to 2016, 27 municipalities were identified as adopters: six innovators and twenty-one early adopters. Mapping revealed parallel geographic diffusion patterns in western and eastern Canada. Twenty-two municipalities adopted a partial ban and five adopted a full ban. Rationales for the drive-through bans included health promotion, environmental concerns from idling, community character and aesthetics, traffic concerns, and walkability. Policy learning, including research and consultation with other municipalities, was performed by nine early adopters. This study detailed the adoption of

  5. Students' drinking behavior and perceptions towards introducing alcohol policies on university campus in Denmark: a focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladekjær Larsen, Eva; Smorawski, Gitte Andsager; Kragbak, Katrine Lund; Stock, Christiane

    2016-04-29

    High alcohol consumption among university students is a well-researched health concern in many countries. At universities in Denmark, policies of alcohol consumption are a new phenomenon if existing at all. However, little is known of how students perceive campus alcohol policies. The aim of this study is to explore students' perceptions of alcohol policies on campus in relation to attitudes and practices of alcohol consumption. We conducted six focus group interviews with students from the University of Southern Denmark at two different campuses. The interviews discussed topics such as experiences and attitudes towards alcohol consumption among students, regulations, and norms of alcohol use on campus. The analysis followed a pre-determined codebook. Alcohol consumption is an integrated practice on campus. Most of the participants found it unnecessary to make major restrictions. Instead, regulations were socially controlled by students themselves and related to what was considered to be appropriate behavior. However students were open minded towards smaller limitations of alcohol availability. These included banning the sale of alcohol in vending machines and limiting consumption during the introduction week primarily due to avoiding social exclusion of students who do not drink. Some international students perceived the level of consumption as too high and distinguished between situations where they perceived drinking as unusual. The study showed that alcohol is a central part of students' lives. When developing and implementing alcohol policies on campus, seeking student input in the process and addressing alcohol policies in the larger community will likely improve the success of the policies.

  6. High‑risk of obstructive sleep apnea and excessive daytime ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: The burden of obstructive sleep apnea among commercial drivers in Nigeria is not known. Aim: To assess the prevalence of high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) among intra‑city commercial drivers. Setting and Design: A descriptive cross‑sectional study in three ...

  7. Insomnia Symptoms, Daytime Naps And Physical Leisure Activities In The Elderly: FIBRA Study Campinas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Tonon Monteiro

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The practice of physical activities contributes to reducing the risk of chronic diseases and improves sleep patterns in the elderly. This research aimed to investigate the association between insomnia symptoms and daytime nap and the participation in physical leisure activities in elderly community residents. Data from the Studies Network of the Fragility in Brazilian Elderly (Campinas site, were used. Information from 689 elderly was analyzed, regarding sociodemographic characterization, physical leisure activity, occurrence of daytime napping and its duration, symptoms of insomnia and use of sleep medication. A significant association was found between the practice of walking and the daytime nap of short duration. Studies indicate that a short nap can benefit the quality of sleep and health of the elderly. Therefore, promoting the practice of walking can be a nursing intervention that favors the sleep patterns of the elderly.

  8. Sleep Disturbance, Daytime Symptoms, and Functional Performance in Patients With Stable Heart Failure: A Mediation Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Sangchoon; Redeker, Nancy S

    2016-01-01

    Sleep disturbance is common among patients with heart failure (HF) who also experience symptom burden and poor functional performance. We evaluated the extent to which sleep-related, daytime symptoms (fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, and depressive symptoms) mediate the relationship between sleep disturbance and functional performance among patients with stable HF. We recruited patients with stable HF for this secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional, observational study. Participants completed unattended ambulatory polysomnography from which the Respiratory Disturbance Index was calculated, along with a Six-Minute Walk Test, questionnaires to elicit sleep disturbance (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Symptoms from the Sleep Habits Questionnaire), daytime symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Global Fatigue Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale), and self-reported functional performance (Medical Outcomes Study SF36 V2 Physical Function Scale). We used structural equation modeling with latent variables for the key analysis. Follow-up, exploratory regression analysis with bootstrapped samples was used to examine the extent to which individual daytime symptoms mediated effects of sleep disturbance on functional performance after controlling for clinical and demographic covariates. The sample included 173 New York Heart Association Class I-IV HF patients (n = 60/34.7% women; M = 60.7, SD = 16.07 years of age). Daytime symptoms mediated the relationship between sleep disturbance and functional performance. Fatigue and depression mediated the relationship between insomnia symptoms and self-reported functional performance, whereas fatigue and sleepiness mediated the relationship between sleep quality and functional performance. Sleepiness mediated the relationship between the respiratory index and self-reported functional performance only in people who did not report insomnia. Daytime symptoms explain the relationships between sleep

  9. When You Smoke, They Smoke: Children's Rights and Opinions about Vehicular Smoking Bans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tymko, Morgan Anne

    International law guarantees every person the highest attainable standard of health, and this should include protection from the health risks of environmental tobacco smoke. As knowledge of these risks has increased, there has been an incremental expansion of smoking bans in public space. Since 2007, they have extended to the private space of the motor vehicle in an attempt to protect child passengers. This thesis aimed to understand the views and interests of children and youth on vehicular smoking bans, and the extent to which these have been sought after and considered in previous discussions of this policy initiative in Canada. A print media analysis found a lack of concern for children's perspectives. Rights, when considered, were generally those of adults. In focus groups, children discussed the unfairness of exposure to smoke in any space, but especially within the motor vehicle, and articulated a desire for increased participation in decision-making. Keywords: Smoking, smoking bans, rights, children's opinions, vehicles, Canada.

  10. The ban on smokeless tobacco products is systematically violated in Chennai, India

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vidhubala, E.; Pisinger, C.; Basumallik, B.

    2016-01-01

    Background: India is the world's third largest consumer of tobacco. There are twice as many users of smokeless tobacco products (STPs) as cigarette smokers. The Government of Tamil Nadu has banned the sale of gutkha and pan masala in 2013. Our aim was to identify the varieties of illegal STP...... not have a pictorial warning; a text warning was printed on 80.8%, but only two products had the messages in Tamil; 70% had promotional messages printed, and 57% had their registration numbers printed. Conclusion: The ban on STP is being systematically violated in Chennai. STP are cheap and easily...

  11. Increased Daytime Sleepiness in Patients with Childhood Craniopharyngioma and Hypothalamic Tumor Involvement: Review of the Literature and Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermann L. Müller

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Childhood craniopharyngiomas are rare embryogenic malformations of the sellar region, presumably derived from Rathke cleft epithelium. The overall survival rates after neurosurgical intervention and/or irradiation are high (92%. However, the quality of survival is frequently impaired due to endocrine deficiencies, sleep disturbances, daytime sleepiness, and severe obesity caused by hypothalamic lesions. Based on self-assessment using nutritional diaries, caloric intake was similar in patients and BMI-matched controls. Analyses of physical activity by accelerometric measurements showed a markedly lower level of physical activity. Significant daytime sleepiness and disturbances of circadian rhythms have been demonstrated in obese childhood craniopharyngioma patients. Daytime sleepiness and obesity in these patients were both correlated with low nocturnal and early morning melatonin levels. Polysomnographic studies in patients with severe daytime sleepiness revealed sleeping patterns typical for secondary narcolepsy. Reports on a beneficial effect of treatment with central stimulating agents supported the hypothesis that secondary narcolepsy should be considered as a rare cause for severe daytime sleepiness in patients with childhood craniopharyngioma.

  12. Dissociations among daytime sleepiness, nighttime sleep, and cognitive status in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Jennifer G; Ghode, Reena A; Ouyang, Bichun; Bernard, Bryan; Goetz, Christopher G; Stebbins, Glenn T

    2013-09-01

    Daytime and nighttime sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment occur frequently in Parkinson's disease (PD), but little is known about the interdependence of these non-motor complications. Thus, we examined the relationships among excessive daytime sleepiness, nighttime sleep quality and cognitive impairment in PD, including severity and specific cognitive deficits. Ninety-three PD patients underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluations including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Patients were classified as having normal cognition (PD-NC), mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), or dementia (PDD) using recently proposed Movement Disorder Society PD-MCI and PDD criteria. Relationships between the sleep and cognitive measures and PD cognitive groups were examined. The PD cohort included PD-NC (n = 28), PD-MCI (n = 40), and PDD (n = 25) patients. ESS scores, as a measure of daytime sleepiness, were significantly worse (p = 0.005) in cognitively impaired PD patients, particularly PDD patients. ESS scores correlated significantly with Mini-Mental State Examination scores and also with cognitive domain scores for attention/working memory, executive function, memory, and visuospatial function. In contrast, PSQI scores, as a measure of nighttime sleep quality, neither differed among cognitive groups nor correlated with any cognitive measures. Daytime sleepiness in PD, but not nighttime sleep problems, is associated with cognitive impairment in PD, especially in the setting of dementia, and attention/working memory, executive function, memory, and visuospatial deficits. The presence of nighttime sleep problems is pervasive across the PD cognitive spectrum, from normal cognition to dementia, and is not independently associated with cognitive impairment or deficits in cognitive domains. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Meta-analysis of self-reported daytime napping and risk of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaokun; Zhang, Qi; Shang, Xiaoming

    2015-05-04

    Whether self-reported daytime napping is an independent predictor of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported daytime napping and risk of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality by conducting a meta-analysis. A computerized literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library was conducted up to May 2014. Only prospective studies reporting risk ratio (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality with respect to baseline self-reported daytime napping were included. Seven studies with 98,163 subjects were included. Self-reported daytime napping was associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality (RR 1.15; 95% CI 1.07-1.24) compared with non-nappers. Risk of all-cause mortality appeared to be more pronounced among persons with nap duration >60 min (RR 1.15; 95% CI 1.04-1.27) than persons with nap duration napping is a mild but statistically significant predictor for all-cause mortality, but not for cardiovascular mortality. However, whether the risk is attributable to excessive sleep duration or napping alone remains controversial. More prospective studies stratified by sleep duration, napping periods, or age are needed.

  14. Competing with big business: a randomised experiment testing the effects of messages to promote alcohol and sugary drink control policy

    OpenAIRE

    Scully, Maree; Brennan, Emily; Durkin, Sarah; Dixon, Helen; Wakefield, Melanie; Barry, Colleen L.; Niederdeppe, Jeff

    2017-01-01

    Background Evidence-based policies encouraging healthy behaviours are often strongly opposed by well-funded industry groups. As public support is crucial for policy change, public health advocates need to be equipped with strategies to offset the impact of anti-policy messages. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of theory-based public health advocacy messages in generating public support for sugary drink/alcohol policies (increased taxes; sport sponsorship bans) and impr...

  15. The effect of a smoking ban on hospitalization rates for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Gaudreau

    Full Text Available This is the first study to have examined the effect of smoking bans on hospitalizations in the Atlantic Canadian socio-economic, cultural and climatic context. On June 1, 2003 Prince Edward Island (PEI enacted a province-wide smoking ban in public places and workplaces. Changes in hospital admission rates for cardiovascular (acute myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke and respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma conditions were examined before and after the smoking ban.Crude annual and monthly admission rates for the above conditions were calculated from April 1, 1995 to December 31, 2008 in all PEI acute care hospitals. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average time series models were used to test for changes in mean and trend of monthly admission rates for study conditions, control conditions and a control province after the comprehensive smoking ban. Age- and sex-based analyses were completed.The mean rate of acute myocardial infarctions was reduced by 5.92 cases per 100,000 person-months (P = 0.04 immediately after the smoking ban. The trend of monthly angina admissions in men was reduced by -0.44 cases per 100,000 person-months (P = 0.01 in the 67 months after the smoking ban. All other cardiovascular and respiratory admission changes were non-significant.A comprehensive smoking ban in PEI reduced the overall mean number of acute myocardial infarction admissions and the trend of angina hospital admissions.

  16. Connection of the positive phase of ionospheric storms with the day-time cusp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morozova, L.D.; Danilov, A.D.

    1986-01-01

    Data on the relation of ionospheric storms with the day-time cusp are considered. Experimental data on the velocity and direction of wind from the day-time cusp region, obtained for perturbed conditions on 30.12.1981, are analyzed. It is shown that perturbed wind from the cusp results in the increase of the value δf 0 F2 and under conditions before magnetic storm onset unambiguously causes positive ionosheric perturbation, and under conditions of a developed magnetic storm-either a positive perturbation or a decrease in the amplitude of negative perturbation

  17. Perception of Stakeholders to the Proposed Ban on Cow Hide ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Keywords: Cow hide consumption, cow hide value chain, ponmo .... value chain;. 2. identify sources of information of the respondents on the proposed ban; ..... the health risk associated with the consumption of ponmo may favour its proposed.

  18. Evaluation of the Impact of Indoor Smoking Bans on Air Quality in Australian Licensed Clubs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Margaret Elissa

    The quality of indoor air in Australian buildings is unknown due to limited published data. The assessment of indoor air quality (IAQ) in hospitality environments is of special concern because they are frequented by sensitive populations such as the elderly, children, and people with pre-existing health conditions, who may be at risk of developing adverse health reactions if the IAQ is poor. As of 2010, all Australian states and territories have introduced legalisation banning smoking in enclosed public places, including licensed clubs. This project has evaluated the impact of indoor smoking bans on air quality inside and outside of Australian licensed clubs. In doing this it has identified emerging IAQ issues in post smoking ban environments, and documented the airborne concentrations of previously unstudied air contaminants such as particulate matter with a 50% cut-point diameter of 1.0 ?m (PM1.0) and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH) in the indoor smoking areas of Australian licensed clubs. The study involved collecting approximately 400 hours of air quality data, of which 200 hours was collected before bans and 200 hrs was collected after smoking bans were introduced in licensed clubs located within two local government districts of South Eastern Australia. Clubs 1 to 7 were located in the one district and Clubs 8 to 11 in the other district. Club 4 dropped out following the pre ban monitoring, and the results were omitted from analysis. The air quality parameters measured inside include particulate matter with a 50% cut-point diameter of 2.5 mum (PM2.5), PPAH, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide mu(CO2), temperature and humidity. The air quality parameters measured outside were PM2.5, CO2, temperature and humidity. Each of the parameters were monitored for 4 hour periods on 4 occasions in each club both before, and after the introduction of indoor smoking bans. Additional monitoring of indoor concentrations of PM1.0, nicotine and PM2

  19. Assessing the Impact of the National Smoking Ban in Indoor Public Places in China: Evidence from Quit Smoking Related Online Searches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jidong; Zheng, Rong; Emery, Sherry

    2013-01-01

    Background Despite the tremendous economic and health costs imposed on China by tobacco use, China lacks a proactive and systematic tobacco control surveillance and evaluation system, hampering research progress on tobacco-focused surveillance and evaluation studies. Methods This paper uses online search query analyses to investigate changes in online search behavior among Chinese Internet users in response to the adoption of the national indoor public place smoking ban. Baidu Index and Google Trends were used to examine the volume of search queries containing three key search terms “Smoking Ban(s),” “Quit Smoking,” and “Electronic Cigarette(s),” along with the news coverage on the smoking ban, for the period 2009–2011. Findings Our results show that the announcement and adoption of the indoor public place smoking ban in China generated significant increases in news coverage on smoking bans. There was a strong positive correlation between the media coverage of smoking bans and the volume of “Smoking Ban(s)” and “Quit Smoking” related search queries. The volume of search queries related to “Electronic Cigarette(s)” was also correlated with the smoking ban news coverage. Interpretation To the extent it altered smoking-related online searches, our analyses suggest that the smoking ban had a significant effect, at least in the short run, on Chinese Internet users’ smoking-related behaviors. This research introduces a novel analytic tool, which could serve as an alternative tobacco control evaluation and behavior surveillance tool in the absence of timely or comprehensive population surveillance system. This research also highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control in China. PMID:23776504

  20. Ban the Book Report: Promoting Frequent and Enthusiastic Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Graham

    2012-01-01

    Teachers recognize that frequent independent reading increases student knowledge on a wide range of topics, enhances vocabulary, and improves comprehension. "Ban the Book Report" inspires teachers to go beyond narrow and analytical book reports by exploring the potential of book talks, alternate book covers, identifying features of informational…

  1. The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans in Graduate Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garces, Liliana M.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines whether bans on affirmative action across four states-- Texas (during "Hopwood v. State of Texas"), California (with Proposition 209), Washington (with Initiative 200), and Florida (with One Florida Initiative)--have reduced the enrollment rates of underrepresented students of color in graduate studies and in a…

  2. Quasi-periodic VLF emissions observed during daytime at a low ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    at a low latitude Indian ground station Jammu. K K Singh1, J .... Figure 4. Typical example of pulsing VLF hiss emission of longer period recorded during daytime at Jammu on 20 ..... Further,. Ward (1983) also paid attention to a certain simi-.

  3. Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, Robert N

    2013-05-01

    The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation. Most of the richer countries of the globe, however, are making progress in reducing both smoking rates and overall consumption. Many different methods have been proposed to steepen this downward slope, including increased taxation, bans on advertising, promotion of cessation, and expansion of smoke-free spaces. One option that deserves more attention is the enactment of local or national bans on the sale of cigarettes. There are precedents: 15 US states enacted bans on the sale of cigarettes from 1890 to 1927, for instance, and such laws are still fully within the power of local communities and state governments. Apart from reducing human suffering, abolishing the sale of cigarettes would result in savings in the realm of healthcare costs, increased labour productivity, lessened harms from fires, reduced consumption of scarce physical resources, and a smaller global carbon footprint. Abolition would also put a halt to one of the principal sources of corruption in modern civilisation, and would effectively eliminate one of the historical forces behind global warming denial and environmental obfuscation. The primary reason for abolition, however, is that smokers themselves dislike the fact they smoke. Smoking is not a recreational drug, and abolishing cigarettes would therefore enlarge rather than restrict human liberties. Abolition would also help cigarette makers fulfil their repeated promises to 'cease production' if cigarettes were ever found to be causing harm.

  4. Impact of institutional smoking bans on reducing harms and secondhand smoke exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazer, Kate; McHugh, Jack; Callinan, Joanne E; Kelleher, Cecily

    2016-05-27

    Smoking bans or restrictions can assist in eliminating nonsmokers' exposure to the dangers of secondhand smoke and can reduce tobacco consumption amongst smokers themselves. Evidence exists identifying the impact of tobacco control regulations and interventions implemented in general workplaces and at an individual level. However, it is important that we also review the evidence for smoking bans at a meso- or organisational level, to identify their impact on reducing the burden of exposure to tobacco smoke. Our review assesses evidence for meso- or organisational-level tobacco control bans or policies in a number of specialist settings, including public healthcare facilities, higher education and correctional facilities. To assess the extent to which institutional smoking bans may reduce passive smoke exposure and active smoking, and affect other health-related outcomes. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the reference lists of identified studies. We contacted authors to identify completed or ongoing studies eligible for inclusion in this review. We also checked websites of state agencies and organisations, such as trial registries. Date of latest searches was 22nd June 2015. We considered studies that reported the effects of tobacco bans or policies, whether complete or partial, on reducing secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco consumption, smoking prevalence and other health outcomes, in public healthcare, higher educational and correctional facilities, from 2005 onwards.The minimum standard for inclusion was having a settings-level policy or ban implemented in the study, and a minimum of six months follow-up for measures of smoking behaviour. We included quasi-experimental studies (i.e. controlled before-and-after studies), interrupted time series as defined by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group, and uncontrolled pre- and post-ban data. Two or more review authors independently

  5. Daytime napping and mortality, with a special reference to cardiovascular disease: the JACC study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, Naohito; Iso, Hiroyasu; Seki, Nao; Suzuki, Hiroshi; Yatsuya, Hiroshi; Toyoshima, Hideaki; Tamakoshi, Akiko

    2010-02-01

    Daytime napping is associated with elevated risk of all-cause mortality in the elderly. However, the association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is inconsistent. From 1988 to 1990, a total of 67 129 Japanese non-workers or daytime workers (27 755 men and 39 374 women) aged 40-79 years, without a history of stroke, heart disease or cancer, completed a lifestyle questionnaire. They were followed for mortality until the end of 2003. During the 879 244 person-year follow-up, 9643 deaths (2852 from CVD, 3643 from cancer, 2392 from other internal causes, 738 from external causes and 18 from unspecified causes) were observed. After adjustment for possible confounders, subjects with a daytime napping habit had elevated hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality from all causes [HR 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.24, P napping was diminished among overweight subjects, but pronounced in those with weight loss after age 20 years, with non-regular employment, with lower education level and with a follow-up period napping is associated with elevated risk of CVD mortality as well as non-cardiovascular/non-cancer and external deaths. Daytime napping may elevate risk of CVD death through some biological effects but, to a larger extent, some comorbid disorders causing weight loss or associated with non-regular employment and low education level could explain this association.

  6. Excessive daytime sleepiness and body composition: a population-based study of adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amie C Hayley

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS is often associated with increased adiposity, particularly when assessed in the context of samples of sleep-disordered patients; however, it is unclear if this relationship is sustained among non-clinical, population-based cohorts. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between EDS and a number of body composition markers among a population-based sample of men and women. METHODS: This study assessed 1066 women aged 21-94 yr (median = 51 yr, IQR 35-66, and 911 men aged 24-92 yr (median = 60 yr, IQR 46-73 who participated in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS between the years 2001 and 2008. Total body fat mass was determined from whole body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, and anthropometric parameters (weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. Lifestyle and health information was collected via self-report. Sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS. Scores of ≥ 10 were considered indicative of EDS. RESULTS: Women: After adjusting for age, alcohol intake, antidepressant medication use and physical activity, EDS was associated with greater waist circumference and body mass index (BMI. EDS was also associated with 1.5-1.6-fold increased odds of being overweight or obese. Men: After adjusting for age, alcohol use, physical activity and smoking status, EDS was associated with greater BMI. These findings were not explained by the use of sedative or antidepressant medication. EDS was also associated with 1.5-fold increased likelihood of being obese, independent of these factors. No differences in lean mass, %body fat, or %lean mass were detected between those with and without EDS for men or women. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that EDS is associated with several anthropometric adiposity profiles, independent of associated lifestyle and health factors. Among women, symptoms of EDS are pervasive at both overweight and obese BMI classifications

  7. Daytime warming has stronger negative effects on soil nematodes than night-time warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Xiumin; Wang, Kehong; Song, Lihong; Wang, Xuefeng; Wu, Donghui

    2017-03-01

    Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, that is, stronger warming during night-time than during daytime. Here we focus on how soil nematodes respond to the current asymmetric warming. A field infrared heating experiment was performed in the western of the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Three warming modes, i.e. daytime warming, night-time warming and diurnal warming, were taken to perform the asymmetric warming condition. Our results showed that the daytime and diurnal warming treatment significantly decreased soil nematodes density, and night-time warming treatment marginally affected the density. The response of bacterivorous nematode and fungivorous nematode to experimental warming showed the same trend with the total density. Redundancy analysis revealed an opposite effect of soil moisture and soil temperature, and the most important of soil moisture and temperature in night-time among the measured environment factors, affecting soil nematode community. Our findings suggested that daily minimum temperature and warming induced drying are most important factors affecting soil nematode community under the current global asymmetric warming.

  8. Compliance to Gutka ban and other provisons of COTPA in Mumbai.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimple, S; Gunjal, S; Mishra, G A; Pednekar, M S; Majmudar, P; Shastri, S S

    2014-12-01

    Cigarettes and other tobacco products act 2003 (COTPA) is the principal law governing tobacco control in India. Government of Maharashtra in one of its landmark decisions also banned manufacturing, sale and distribution of gutka and pan masala since July 2012. The desired impact and level of enforcement of the COTPA legislation and the gutka and pan masala ban in Maharashtra State, however, needs assessment. Among the many provisions within COTPA, the present study seeks to assess compliance to implementation and enforcement of Section 5 and 6 of COTPA including compliance to gutka and pan masala ban in Mumbai, India. Six educational institutes (EI) within the Mumbai metropolitan region were selected in a two stage random sampling process. Area around each EI was manually mapped and all the tobacco products selling outlets with in the 100 yards distance were listed by trained Field Social Investigators and were observed to determine compliance for Section 5 and Section 6 of the COTPA legislation and for gutka and pan masala ban. The vendors/shop owners manning these outlets were also interviewed for their personal sociodemographic details, self-tobacco use, awareness and perception about ill-effects of tobacco and existing tobacco control legislation in the country. A total of 222 tobacco retail outlets were listed within 100 yards of the EI in violation to the provisions of Section 6 of COTPA, of which 72 (32.4%) were selling tobacco products on mobile structures. About 53.2% of the tobacco vendors were also users of some form of tobacco. Whereas, nearly 217 (97.7%) vendors were aware about the gutka and pan masala ban in the State, only 48.2% were aware about the existence of COTPA legislation. None of the EI had a display board prohibiting the sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of their EI. Only 56.3% tobacco outlets had complied with the mandatory warning display boards indicating tobacco products will not be sold to people below 18 years of

  9. Holocene geologic slip rate for the Banning strand of the southern San Andreas Fault, southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gold, Peter O.; Behr, Whitney M.; Rood, Dylan; Sharp, Warren D.; Rockwell, Thomas; Kendrick, Katherine J.; Salin, Aaron

    2015-01-01

    Northwest directed slip from the southern San Andreas Fault is transferred to the Mission Creek, Banning, and Garnet Hill fault strands in the northwestern Coachella Valley. How slip is partitioned between these three faults is critical to southern California seismic hazard estimates but is poorly understood. In this paper, we report the first slip rate measured for the Banning fault strand. We constrain the depositional age of an alluvial fan offset 25 ± 5 m from its source by the Banning strand to between 5.1 ± 0.4 ka (95% confidence interval (CI)) and 6.4 + 3.7/−2.1 ka (95% CI) using U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate clast coatings and 10Be cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating of surface clasts. We calculate a Holocene geologic slip rate for the Banning strand of 3.9 + 2.3/−1.6 mm/yr (median, 95% CI) to 4.9 + 1.0/−0.9 mm/yr (median, 95% CI). This rate represents only 25–35% of the total slip accommodated by this section of the southern San Andreas Fault, suggesting a model in which slip is less concentrated on the Banning strand than previously thought. In rejecting the possibility that the Banning strand is the dominant structure, our results highlight an even greater need for slip rate and paleoseismic measurements along faults in the northwestern Coachella Valley in order to test the validity of current earthquake hazard models. In addition, our comparison of ages measured with U-series and 10Be exposure dating demonstrates the importance of using multiple geochronometers when estimating the depositional age of alluvial landforms.

  10. Coming This Fall to a School Library near You: The Challenged, the Banned, and the Filtered

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballard, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Important happenings related to the concept of intellectual freedom (IF) coincide with the annual back-to-school ramp up. This article discusses how to use the summer hiatus to develop learning opportunities related to events such as Banned Books Week (BBW) and Banned Websites Awareness Day (BWAD). The author provides resource information to aid…

  11. Antimicrobial growth promoter ban and resistance to macrolides and vancomycin in enterococci from pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boerlin, P.; Wissing, A.; Aarestrup, Frank Møller

    2001-01-01

    Ninety-six enterococcus isolates from fecal samples of pigs receiving tylosin as an antimicrobial growth promoter and 59 isolates obtained in the same farms 5 to 6 months after the ban of antimicrobial growth promoters in Switzerland were tested for susceptibility to nine antimicrobial agents....... A clear decrease in resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and tetracycline was visible after the ban. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium belonged to the same clonal lineage as vancomycin-resistant isolates previously isolated from Danish pigs....

  12. Facilitators and Barriers of Smokers’ Compliance with Smoking Bans in Public Places: A Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Zhou

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS exposure is associated with an increased risk of many diseases. Many countries have ratified a national smoking ban in public places, but studies on factors related to smoking issues in public places post-ban are lacking. Aim: To identify facilitators and barriers that influenced smokers’ compliance with smoking bans in public places. Methods: Using PubMed, MEDLINE, and the Web of Science database, we conducted a systematic search of English articles published before June 2015 on factors of smokers’ compliance with the smoking bans in public places. Results: A total of 390 references were identified, among which seventeen articles (twelve quantitative studies, two qualitative studies, three mixed-method studies were included in this review. These studies focused on four types of public places including recreational venues (n = 7, hospital (n = 5, school (n = 4, and workplace (n = 1. Factors at the  individual-, interpersonal-, and organizational-level were identified: at the individual level, nicotine dependence, insufficiency of tobacco-related knowledge, and the negative attitudes towards smoking bans were the most commonly identified barriers; at the interpersonal level, the smoking behaviors of people around, close relatives, and friends’ approval were the main barriers; and at the organizational level, the main barriers were inefficient implementation of the bans and the inconvenience of the designative smoking areas. Conclusions: This synthesis of the literature provided evidence of the identified barriers and facilitators of smokers’ compliance with the smoking bans. It will be beneficial for the policy-maker to consider interventions on multiple levels of factors to overcome the barriers and enhance smokers’ compliance with the smoking bans in public places.

  13. Blood alcohol concentration in drivers of Liege area (Belgium): a 5-year analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deville, M; Charlier, C

    2015-10-01

    The objective of the study was to describe 'the results of the blood alcohol determinations made on drivers from the Liege area between 2007 and 2012. The results were interpreted according to the sex, to the age, to the circumstances and temporal variation of the test. Statistical analysis was performed using R® software. 2725 determinations were done, mainly after crashes. The mean blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 1.69 g/L, and 2132 drivers were above the legal threshold. A majority of offenders were men, but the mean BAC did not differ significantly between men and women. A correlation between age and mean BAC can be observed on the positive cases. Lowest and highest mean BACs are observed during the daytime and during the night, respectively, but no significant difference can be observed between the week and the weekend. Finally, no significant difference in BAC was observed over years.

  14. Severe excessive daytime sleepiness induced by hydroxyurea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revol, Bruno; Joyeux-Faure, Marie; Albahary, Marie-Victoire; Gressin, Remy; Mallaret, Michel; Pepin, Jean-Louis; Launois, Sandrine H

    2017-06-01

    Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) has been reported with many drugs, either as an extension of a hypnotic effect (e.g. central nervous system depressants) or as an idiosyncratic response of the patient. Here, we report unexpected and severe subjective and objective EDS induced by hydroxyurea therapy, with a favorable outcome after withdrawal. Clinical history, sleep log, polysomnography, and multiple sleep latency tests confirming the absence of other EDS causes are presented. © 2016 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

  15. Sleep disordered breathing and daytime sleepiness are associated with poor academic performance in teenagers. A study using the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Chada, Daniel; Perez-Lloret, Santiago; Videla, Alejandro J; Cardinali, Daniel; Bergna, Miguel A; Fernández-Acquier, Mariano; Larrateguy, Luis; Zabert, Gustavo E; Drake, Christopher

    2007-12-01

    Inadequate sleep and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) can impair learning skills. Questionnaires used to evaluate sleepiness in adults are usually inadequate for adolescents. We conducted a study to evaluate the performance of a Spanish version of the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS) and to assess the impact of sleepiness and SDB on academic performance. A cross-sectional survey of students from 7 schools in 4 cities of Argentina. A questionnaire with a Spanish version of the PDSS was used. Questions on the occurrence of snoring and witnessed apneas were answered by the parents. Mathematics and language grades were used as indicators of academic performance. The sample included 2,884 students (50% males; age: 13.3 +/- 1.5 years) Response rate was 85%; 678 cases were excluded due to missing data. Half the students slept sleep habits. Insufficient hours of sleep were prevalent in this population. The Spanish version of the PDSS was a reliable tool in middle-school-aged children. Reports of snoring or witnessed apneas and daytime sleepiness as measured by PDSS were independent predictors of poor academic performance.

  16. EU sales ban on new cosmetics tested on animals: impact on alternative methods, WTO implications and animal welfare aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruhdel, Irmela W

    2004-06-01

    In 1993, the European Union (EU) adopted Directive 93/35/EEC, calling for a sales ban on new cosmetic products containing ingredients tested on animals after 1 January, 1998, provided that alternative methods had been developed by then. In May 2000, for the second time, the European Commission postponed that ban. The Commission justified the repeated postponement of the sales ban by saying that no animal-free methods were available, although three in vitro methods were scientifically approved in 1997. With three years delay, these methods have been published and therefore "made available" in the EU. OECD acceptance is still awaited. Another reason for the postponement was the fear of possible World Trade Organisation (WTO) conflicts. However, according to WTO rules, the protection of public morality or animal health could justify a restriction of the free trade principle. From the animal welfare point of view, an unqualified EU sales ban, combined with an animal testing ban, would provide the incentive to further promote the development and acceptance of alternative methods and to prove that ethical standards are legitimate concerns under WTO rules.

  17. Alcohol as a Risk Factor for Cancer: Existing Evidence in a Global Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Roswall

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present review is to give an overview of the association between alcohol intake and the risk of developing cancer. Two large-scale expert reports; the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF/American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR report from 2007, including its continuous update project, and the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC monograph from 2012 have extensively reviewed this association in the last decade. We summarize and compare their findings, as well as relate these to the public health impact, with a particular focus on region-specific drinking patterns and disease tendencies. Our findings show that alcohol intake is strongly linked to the risk of developing cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum (in men, and female breast. The two expert reports diverge on the evidence for an association with liver cancer and colorectal cancer in women, which the IARC grades as convincing, but the WCRF/AICR as probable. Despite these discrepancies, there does, however, not seem to be any doubt, that the Population Attributable Fraction of alcohol in relation to cancer is large. As alcohol intake varies largely worldwide, so does, however, also the Population Attributable Fractions, ranging from 10% in Europe to almost 0% in countries where alcohol use is banned. Given the World Health Organization’s prediction, that alcohol intake is increasing, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and steadily high in high-income countries, the need for preventive efforts to curb the number of alcohol-related cancers seems growing, as well as the need for taking a region- and gender-specific approach in both future campaigns as well as future research. The review acknowledges the potential beneficial effects of small doses of alcohol in relation to ischaemic heart disease, but a discussion of this lies without the scope of the present study.

  18. Main ionospheric trough in the daytime sector studied on the basis of vertical sounding data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benkova, N.P.; Kozlov, E.F.; Mozhaev, A.M.; Osipov, N.K.; Samorokin, N.I.

    1980-09-01

    Data for 1969-1973 are used to study the displacement of the main ionospheric trough during daytime magnetic storms. The depth of the trough and electron density gradients on the sides of the trough are determined. The trough is found to move in a southeasterly direction during daytime storms. The results agree with theoretical conclusions that explain the formation of the trough by the collective transport of ionospheric plasma in a sunward direction.

  19. Referendum 1978 - Nuclear power plant ban Act 1978 - legal consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staudinger, F.

    1981-10-01

    This paper discusses the legal consequences of the 1978 Act banning nuclear power production. It provides a summary outline of the relevant rules of the Austrian Constitution and reviews the legal basis for the organisation of the national electricity system. (NEA) [fr

  20. Dataset on daytime outdoor thermal comfort for Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirashima, Simone Queiroz da Silveira; Assis, Eleonora Sad de; Nikolopoulou, Marialena

    2016-12-01

    This dataset describe microclimatic parameters of two urban open public spaces in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil; physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index values and the related subjective responses of interviewees regarding thermal sensation perception and preference and thermal comfort evaluation. Individuals and behavioral characteristics of respondents were also presented. Data were collected at daytime, in summer and winter, 2013. Statistical treatment of this data was firstly presented in a PhD Thesis ("Percepção sonora e térmica e avaliação de conforto em espaços urbanos abertos do município de Belo Horizonte - MG, Brasil" (Hirashima, 2014) [1]), providing relevant information on thermal conditions in these locations and on thermal comfort assessment. Up to now, this data was also explored in the article "Daytime Thermal Comfort in Urban Spaces: A Field Study in Brazil" (Hirashima et al., in press) [2]. These references are recommended for further interpretation and discussion.

  1. Job satisfaction and attitudes of restaurant staff regarding the smoking ban – a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ljudevit Pranić

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available While extant research on the impacts of smoke-free legislation on hospitality employees and industries has centered on developed countries, the research on the effects of smoking bans in transition countries has received very little attention. Hoping to assist in filling this void, this research empirically explores the relationships among restaurant employees’ attitudes, demographics, work-related variables (WRV, and job satisfaction after the introduction of a smoke-free legislation in one transition economy, i.e. Croatia. Results revealed that gender, education, age, restaurant seating allocation, hospitality work experience, smoking status, average weekly workload, and the restaurant area served were for the most part not significant in explaining different perceptions toward a smoking ban. However, the respondents’ preferred restaurant smoking policy somewhat influenced how respondents view the smoking ban. In terms of the respondents’ preferred restaurant smoking policy, results revealed no significant differences in regards to demographics and WRV. With regard to job satisfaction, staff with more positive post-implementation attitudes towards the ban exhibit somewhat higher levels of satisfaction with the current job. Overall, respondents appear willing to make concessions for both pro- and anti-smoking patrons, staff, and owners/managers. Therefore, lawmakers should consider population characteristics, seating allocation, and the combination thereof when devising restaurant smoking policies.

  2. Exercise training improves selected aspects of daytime functioning in adults with obstructive sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kline, Christopher E; Ewing, Gary B; Burch, James B; Blair, Steven N; Durstine, J Larry; Davis, J Mark; Youngstedt, Shawn D

    2012-08-15

    To explore the utility of exercise training for improving daytime functioning in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Forty-three sedentary and overweight/obese adults aged 18-55 years with at least moderate-severity untreated OSA (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 15) were randomized to 12 weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic and resistance exercise training (n = 27) or low-intensity stretching control treatment (n = 16). As part of a trial investigating the efficacy of exercise training on OSA severity, daytime functioning was assessed before and following the intervention. Sleepiness, functional impairment due to sleepiness, depressive symptoms, mood, and quality of life (QOL) were evaluated with validated questionnaires, and cognitive function was assessed with a neurobehavioral performance battery. OSA severity was measured with one night of laboratory polysomnography before and following the intervention. Compared with stretching control, exercise training resulted in significant improvements in depressive symptoms, fatigue and vigor, and aspects of QOL (p improved following exercise versus control to a similar degree in terms of effect sizes (d > 0.5), though these changes were not statistically significant. No neurobehavioral performance improvements were found. Reduced fatigue following exercise training was mediated by a reduction in OSA severity, but changes in OSA severity did not significantly mediate improvement in any other measure of daytime functioning. These data provide preliminary evidence that exercise training may be helpful for improving aspects of daytime functioning of adults with OSA. Larger trials are needed to further verify the observed improvements.

  3. Benefits of smoking bans on preterm and early-term births: a natural experimental design in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicedo-Cabrera, Ana M; Schindler, Christian; Radovanovic, Dragana; Grize, Leticia; Witassek, Fabienne; Dratva, Julia; Röösli, Martin; Perez, Laura

    2016-12-01

    Birth outcomes are relevant for future children's heath. Capitalising on a natural experimental design in Switzerland, we evaluated how regional smoking bans introduced at different time points affected birth outcomes, including preterm and early-term births. We used birth registry data of all singleton neonates born in Switzerland (2007-2012). We developed canton-specific interrupted time-series followed by random meta-analysis to evaluate the benefits of smoking bans on preterm (Switzerland with cantons that adopted more comprehensive smoking bans achieving greater benefits. Early-term births constitute a previously ignored though important group. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  4. Banned Books; 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haight, Anne Lyon; Grannis, Chandler B.

    The first half of this volume presents an introductory essay defining the First Amendment and the legal aspects of censorship, and offers an annotated list of books that have been banned at various times throughout history. The annotations, arranged according to the birth dates of the authors, include a chronological account of the censorship…

  5. Striving for quality use of medicines: how effective is Australia's ban on direct-to-consumer prescription medicine advertising?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Sonja

    2009-02-01

    The potential for both positive and negative effects arising from direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines challenges health policymakers to develop regulatory schemes which selectively capture the positive aspects of the practice. Australia has dealt with this quandary by banning the practice, while New Zealand and the United States permit it. However, in recent times pharmaceutical companies have been increasingly successful in introducing promotional materials into the Australian market. This article demonstrates that the Australian ban is consistent with striving for the major policy goal of quality use of medicines, thus providing the basis for arguing that solutions to strengthen the ban against the identified threats ought to be implemented. Quality use of medicines can be most effectively achieved via the combined effect of the strengthened ban and the mimicking of the limited positive aspects of direct-to-consumer advertising by government provision of non-promotional information to consumers.

  6. Impact of an Outdoor Smoking Ban at Secondary Schools on Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes and Water Pipe Use among Adolescents: An 18-Month Follow-Up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea D. Rozema

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The effectiveness of outdoor smoking bans on smoking behavior among adolescents remains inconclusive. This study evaluates the long-term impact of outdoor school ground smoking bans among adolescents at secondary schools on the use of conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes (with/without nicotine and water pipes. Outdoor smoking bans at 19 Dutch secondary schools were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design. Data on 7733 adolescents were obtained at baseline, and at 6 and 18-month follow-up. The impact of outdoor smoking bans on ‘ever use of conventional cigarettes’, ‘smoking onset’, ‘ever use of e-cigarette with nicotine’, ‘e-cigarette without nicotine’, and ‘water pipe’ was measured. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used. At schools with a ban, implementation fidelity was checked. At schools where a ban was implemented, at 18-month follow-up more adolescents had started smoking compared to the control condition. No effect of implementation of the ban was found for smoking prevalence, e-cigarettes with/without nicotine, and water pipe use. Implementation fidelity was sufficient. No long-term effects were found of an outdoor smoking ban, except for smoking onset. The ban might cause a reversal effect when schools encounter difficulties with its enforcement or when adolescents still see others smoking. Additional research is required with a longer follow-up than 18 months.

  7. Impact of an Outdoor Smoking Ban at Secondary Schools on Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes and Water Pipe Use among Adolescents: An 18-Month Follow-Up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozema, Andrea D; Hiemstra, Marieke; Mathijssen, Jolanda J P; Jansen, Maria W J; van Oers, Hans J A M

    2018-01-25

    Abstract : The effectiveness of outdoor smoking bans on smoking behavior among adolescents remains inconclusive. This study evaluates the long-term impact of outdoor school ground smoking bans among adolescents at secondary schools on the use of conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes (with/without nicotine) and water pipes. Outdoor smoking bans at 19 Dutch secondary schools were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design. Data on 7733 adolescents were obtained at baseline, and at 6 and 18-month follow-up. The impact of outdoor smoking bans on 'ever use of conventional cigarettes', 'smoking onset', 'ever use of e-cigarette with nicotine', 'e-cigarette without nicotine', and 'water pipe' was measured. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used. At schools with a ban, implementation fidelity was checked. At schools where a ban was implemented, at 18-month follow-up more adolescents had started smoking compared to the control condition. No effect of implementation of the ban was found for smoking prevalence, e-cigarettes with/without nicotine, and water pipe use. Implementation fidelity was sufficient. No long-term effects were found of an outdoor smoking ban, except for smoking onset. The ban might cause a reversal effect when schools encounter difficulties with its enforcement or when adolescents still see others smoking. Additional research is required with a longer follow-up than 18 months.

  8. Depressive symptoms are associated with daytime sleepiness and subjective sleep quality in dementia with Lewy bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elder, Greg J; Colloby, Sean J; Lett, Debra J; O'Brien, John T; Anderson, Kirstie N; Burn, David J; McKeith, Ian G; Taylor, John-Paul

    2016-07-01

    Sleep problems and depression are common symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), where patients typically experience subjectively poor sleep quality, fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness. However, whilst sleep disturbances have been linked to depression, this relationship has not received much attention in DLB. The present cross-sectional study addresses this by examining whether depressive symptoms are specifically associated with subjective sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in DLB, and by examining other contributory factors. DLB patients (n = 32) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Motor and cognitive functioning was also assessed. Pearson correlations were used to assess the relationship between GDS-15, ESS and PSQI scores. GDS-15 scores were positively associated with both ESS (r = 0.51, p depressive symptoms in DLB. Given the cross-sectional nature of the present study, the directionality of this relationship cannot be determined, although this association did not appear to be mediated by sleep quality or daytime sleepiness. Nevertheless, these findings have clinical relevance; daytime sleepiness or poor sleep quality might indicate depression in DLB, and subsequent work should examine whether the treatment of depression can reduce excessive daytime sleepiness and improve sleep quality in DLB patients. Alternatively, more rigorous screening for sleep problems in DLB might assist the treatment of depression. © 2015 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2015 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Asia nuclear-test-ban network for nuclear non-proliferation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinohara, Nobuo; Kokaji, Lisa; Ichimasa, Sukeyuki

    2010-01-01

    In Global Center of Excellence Program of The University of Tokyo, Non- Proliferation Study Committee by the members of nuclear industries, electricity utilities, nuclear energy institutes and universities has initiated on October 2008 from the viewpoints of investigating a package of measures for nuclear non-proliferation and bringing up young people who will support the near-future nuclear energy system. One of the non-proliferation issues in the Committee is the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Objective of this treaty is to cease all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other nuclear explosion. This purpose should be contributed effectively to the political stability of the Asian region by continuous efforts to eliminate the nuclear weapons. In the Committee, by extracting several issues related to the CTBT, conception of 'Asia nuclear-test-ban network for nuclear non-proliferation' has been discussed with the aim of the nuclear-weapon security in Asian region, where environmental nuclear-test monitoring data is mainly treated and utilized. In this paper, the conception of the 'network' is presented in detail. (author)

  10. Sleep complaints and daytime sleepiness among pharmaceutical students in Tripoli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taher, Yousef A; Samud, Awatef M; Ratimy, Aya H; Seabe, Areeje M

    2012-01-01

    The effect of sleep difficulties has achieved a great deal of attention recently, with university students considered as a homogenized population, particularly affected by sleep habits. The objective of this study was to investigate whether Libyan college students experience sleep disturbance during their academic programmes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the college of Pharmacy, Tripoli University, during February 2010. A total of 201 students, including 179 females (89.05%) and 22 males (10.95%), were recruited from different academic levels. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and included a number of life-style variables. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used for the assessment of daytime sleepiness. This study showed that the total sleep time (TST) on a weeknight was 6.40 h and 67 students reported napping during daytime. The TST plus naps totalled 7.39 h. Out of eight possible dozing situations, we found that the mean score for ESS was 8.78. In addition, 79 students showed an ESS score of >10. Furthermore, our results showed that the majority of students (>92%) reported poor sleep satisfaction with quality and duration of sleep hours. Thinking about difficulty of study but not increasing education programs or tea/coffee consumption is associated with sleep difficulties reported. Moreover, 77.6% of students reported an irregular sleep-wake schedule. These findings indicate that students experienced excessive daytime sleepiness. The TST of pharmaceutical students in Libya, as in other developing countries, is less than those reported by Western students. Students experienced various environmental demands during their college years and, their quality of sleep was negatively affected.

  11. Effect of Daytime Exercise on Sleep Eeg and Subjective Sleep

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasazawa, Y.; Kawada, T.; Kiryu, Y.

    1997-08-01

    This study was designed to assess the effects of daytime physical exercise on the quality of objective and subjective sleep by examining all-night sleep EEGs. The subjects were five male students, aged 19 to 20 years, who were in the habit of performing regular daytime exercise. The sleep polygraphic parameters in this study were sleep stage time as a percentage of total sleep time (%S1, %S2, %S(3+4), %SREM, %MT), time in bed (TIB), sleep time (ST), total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), waking from sleep, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, number of stage shifts, number of spindles, and percentages of α and δ waves, all of which were determined by an automatic computer analysis system. The OSA questionnaire was used to investigate subjective sleep. The five scales of the OSA used were sleepiness, sleep maintenance, worry, integrated sleep feeling, and sleep initiation. Each sleep parameter was compared in the exercise and the non-exercise groups. Two-way analysis of variance was applied using subject factor and exercise factor. The main effect of the subject was significant in all parameters and the main effect of exercise in %S(3+4), SOL and sleep efficiency, among the objective sleep parameters. The main effects of the subject, except sleepiness, were significant, as was the main effect of exercise on sleep initiation, among the subjective sleep parameters. These findings suggest that daytime exercise shortened sleep latency and prolonged slow-wave sleep, and that the subjects fell asleep more easily on exercise days. There were also significant individual differences in both the objective and subjective sleep parameters.

  12. Sleep complaints and daytime sleepiness among pharmaceutical students in Tripoli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousef A. Taher

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: The effect of sleep difficulties has achieved a great deal of attention recently, with university students considered as a homogenized population, particularly affected by sleep habits. Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate whether Libyan college students experience sleep disturbance during their academic programmes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the college of Pharmacy, Tripoli University, during February 2010. A total of 201 students, including 179 females (89.05% and 22 males (10.95%, were recruited from different academic levels. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and included a number of life-style variables. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS was used for the assessment of daytime sleepiness. Results: This study showed that the total sleep time (TST on a weeknight was 6.40 h and 67 students reported napping during daytime. The TST plus naps totalled 7.39 h. Out of eight possible dozing situations, we found that the mean score for ESS was 8.78. In addition, 79 students showed an ESS score of >10. Furthermore, our results showed that the majority of students (>92% reported poor sleep satisfaction with quality and duration of sleep hours. Thinking about difficulty of study but not increasing education programs or tea/coffee consumption is associated with sleep difficulties reported. Moreover, 77.6% of students reported an irregular sleep–wake schedule. Conclusion: These findings indicate that students experienced excessive daytime sleepiness. The TST of pharmaceutical students in Libya, as in other developing countries, is less than those reported by Western students. Students experienced various environmental demands during their college years and, their quality of sleep was negatively affected.

  13. Scaling and Numerical Model Evaluation of Snow-Cover Effects on the Generation and Modification of Daytime Mesoscale Circulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segal, M.; Garratt, J. R.; Pielke, R. A.; Ye, Z.

    1991-04-01

    Consideration of the sensible heat flux characteristics over a snow surface suggests a significant diminution in the magnitude of the flux, compared to that over a snow-free surface under the same environmental conditions. Consequently, the existence of snow-covered mesoscale areas adjacent to snow-free areas produces horizontal thermal gradients in the lower atmosphere during the daytime, possibly resulting in a `snow breeze.' In addition, suppression of the daytime thermally induced upslope flow over snow-covered slopes is likely to occur. The present paper provides scaling and modeling evaluations of these situations, with quantification of the generated and modified circulations. These evaluations suggest that under ideal situations involved with uniform snow cover over large areas, particularly in late winter and early spring, a noticeable `snow breeze' is likely to develop. Additionally: suppression of the daytime thermally induced upslope flow is significant and may even result in a daytime drainage flow. The effects of bare ground patchiness in the snow cover on these circulations are also explored, both for flat terrain and slope-flow situations. A patchiness fraction greater than 0.5 is found to result in a noticeably reduced snow-breeze circulation, while a patchiness fraction of only 0.1 caused the simulated daytime drainage flow over slopes to he reversed.

  14. Exposure to bright light for several hours during the daytime lowers tympanic temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aizawa, Seika; Tokura, H.

    The present study investigates the effect on thympanic temperature of exposure to different light intensities for several hours during the daytime. Nine healthy young adult volunteers (two male, seven female) were exposed to bright light of 4000 lx or dim light of 100 lx during the daytime from 0930 to 1800 hours; the light condition was then kept at 100 lx for a further hour. Tympanic temperature was measured continuously at a neutral condition (28° C, 60% relative humidity) from 1000 to 1800 hours. Urinary samples were collected from 1100 to 1900 hours every 2 h, and melatonin excretion rate was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Of nine subjects, six showed clearly lower tympanic temperatures in the bright compared with the dim condition from 1400 to 1800 hours. Average tympanic temperatures were significantly lower in the bright than in the dim condition from 1645 to 1800 hours. Melatonin excretion rate tended to be higher in the bright than in the dim condition. It was concluded that exposure to bright light of 4000 lx during the daytime for several hours could reduce tympanic temperature, compared with that measured in dim light of 100 lx.

  15. Exposure to bright light for several hours during the daytime lowers tympanic temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aizawa, S; Tokura, H

    1997-11-01

    The present study investigates the effect on thympanic temperature of exposure to different light intensities for several hours during the daytime. Nine healthy young adult volunteers (two male, seven female) were exposed to bright light of 4000 lx or dim light of 100 lx during the daytime from 0930 to 1800 hours; the light condition was then kept at 100 lx for a further hour. Tympanic temperature was measured continuously at a neutral condition (28 degrees C, 60% relative humidity) from 1000 to 1800 hours. Urinary samples were collected from 1100 to 1900 hours every 2 h, and melatonin excretion rate was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Of nine subjects, six showed clearly lower tympanic temperatures in the bright compared with the dim condition from 1400 to 1800 hours. Average tympanic temperatures were significantly lower in the bright than in the dim condition from 1645 to 1800 hours. Melatonin excretion rate tended to be higher in the bright than in the dim condition. It was concluded that exposure to bright light of 4000 lx during the daytime for several hours could reduce tympanic temperature, compared with that measured in dim light of 100 lx.

  16. Legislative smoking bans for reducing harms from secondhand smoke exposure, smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazer, Kate; Callinan, Joanne E; McHugh, Jack; van Baarsel, Susan; Clarke, Anna; Doherty, Kirsten; Kelleher, Cecily

    2016-02-04

    Smoking bans have been implemented in a variety of settings, as well as being part of policy in many jurisdictions to protect the public and employees from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke (SHS). They also offer the potential to influence social norms and the smoking behaviour of those populations they affect. Since the first version of this review in 2010, more countries have introduced national smoking legislation banning indoor smoking. To assess the effects of legislative smoking bans on (1) morbidity and mortality from exposure to secondhand smoke, and (2) smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption. We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and reference lists of included studies. We also checked websites of various organisations. Date of most recent search; February 2015. We considered studies that reported legislative smoking bans affecting populations. The minimum standard was having an indoor smoking ban explicitly in the study and a minimum of six months follow-up for measures of smoking behaviour. Our search included a broad range of research designs including: randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies (i.e. non-randomized controlled studies), controlled before-and-after studies, interrupted time series as defined by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group, and uncontrolled pre- and post-ban data. One author extracted characteristics and content of the interventions, participants, outcomes and methods of the included studies and a second author checked the details. We extracted health and smoking behaviour outcomes. We did not attempt a meta-analysis due to the heterogeneity in design and content of the studies included. We evaluated the studies using qualitative narrative synthesis. There are 77 studies included in this updated review. We retained 12 studies from the original review and identified 65 new studies. Evidence from 21 countries is

  17. Resolution establishing the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Adopted on 19 November 1996

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-11-01

    The document reproduces the text of the Resolution on the Establishment of a Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization which was adopted on 19 November 1996 at a meeting of the States Signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

  18. Temporal changes in the attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas among adults in the Capital Region of Denmark from 2007 to 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lykke, Maja; Helbech, Bodil; Glümer, Charlotte

    2014-07-01

    The population's attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas is important for their passing, implementation and compliance. Smoking bans are believed to reduce the social acceptability of smoking, and once people experience them, public support increases--also among pre-ban sceptics. This study aimed to examine the temporal changes in public attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas from 2007 to 2010 and whether these changes differed across educational attainment, smoking status and intention to quit among smokers. Data from two surveys among adults (aged 25-79 years) in 2007 and 2010 in the Capital Region of Denmark (n=36,472/42,504, response rate = 52.3) was linked with data on sex, age and educational attainment from central registers. Age-standardised prevalence of supportive attitude towards smoking bans was estimated. Temporal changes in supportive attitude were explored in workplaces, restaurants and bars using logistic regression models. The prevalence of supportive attitude towards smoking bans increased significantly in all arenas from 2007 to 2010. Positive temporal changes in supportive attitude towards smoking bans were seen across educational attainment, smoking status and intention to quit smoking in restaurants and across smoking status for smoking bans in workplaces and bars. The results of this study show that the public's attitude towards smoking in public arenas has changed after the implementation of a comprehensive smoking ban. This change in attitude can support implementation of future legislation on smoking and may lead to positive changes in smoking norms. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  19. Exploring Impacts of Taxes and Hospitality Bans on Cigarette Prices and Smoking Prevalence Using a Large Dataset of Cigarette Prices at Stores 2001-2011, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballester, Lance S; Auchincloss, Amy H; Robinson, Lucy F; Mayne, Stephanie L

    2017-03-20

    In the USA, little is known about local variation in retail cigarette prices; price variation explained by taxes, bans, and area-level socio-demographics, and whether taxes and hospitality bans have synergistic effects on smoking prevalence. Cigarette prices 2001-2011 from chain supermarkets and drug stores ( n = 2973) were linked to state taxes ( n = 41), state and county bar/restaurant smoking bans, and census block group socio-demographics. Hierarchical models explored effects of taxes and bans on retail cigarette prices as well as county smoking prevalence (daily, non-daily). There was wide variation in store-level cigarette prices in part due to differences in state excise taxes. Excise taxes were only partially passed onto consumers (after adjustment, $1 tax associated with $0.90 increase in price, p < 0.0001) and the pass-through was slightly higher in areas that had bans but did not differ by area-level socio-demographics. Bans were associated with a slight increase in cigarette price (after adjustment, $0.09 per-pack, p < 0.0001). Taxes and bans were associated with reduction in smoking prevalence and taxes had a stronger association when combined with bans, suggesting a synergistic effect. Given wide variation in store-level prices, and uneven state/county implementation of taxes and bans, more federal policies should be considered.

  20. Quitting smoking: The importance of non-smoker identity in predicting smoking behaviour and responses to a smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijer, Eline; Gebhardt, Winifred A; Dijkstra, Arie; Willemsen, Marc C; Van Laar, Colette

    2015-01-01

    We examined how 'smoker' and 'non-smoker' self- and group-identities and socio-economic status (SES) may predict smoking behaviour and responses to antismoking measures (i.e., the Dutch smoking ban in hospitality venues). We validated a measure of responses to the smoking ban. Longitudinal online survey study with one-year follow-up (N = 623 at T1 in 2011; N = 188 at T2 in 2012) among daily smokers. Intention to quit, quit attempts and 'rejecting', 'victimizing', 'socially conscious smoking' and 'active quitting' responses to the smoking ban. Non-smoker identities are more important than smoker identities in predicting intention to quit, quit attempts and responses to the smoking ban, even when controlling for other important predictors such as nicotine dependence. Smokers with stronger non-smoker identities had stronger intentions to quit, were more likely to attempt to quit between measurements, and showed less negative and more positive responses to the smoking ban. The association between non-smoker self-identity and intention to quit was stronger among smokers with lower than higher SES. Antismoking measures might be more effective if they would focus also on the identity of smokers, and help smokers to increase identification with non-smoking and non-smokers.

  1. Pengujian Alat Konversi Ban Bekas Menjadi Bahan Bakar

    OpenAIRE

    Saputra, Imron Aryadi; Arijanto, Arijanto

    2017-01-01

    Pirolisis dapat didefinisikan sebagai dekomposisi thermal material organik pada suasana inert (tanpa kehadiran oksigen) dan suhu tinggi sehingga terurai menjadi molekul yang lebih kecil. Pirolisis merupakan bentuk penghematan energi karena dapat menyuling bahan bakar atau bahan kimia yang berguna dari limbah padat. Produk pirolisis berupa gas, cair dan padat. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu untuk menguji alat konversi ban bekas menjadi bahan bakar, mengetahui jumlah minyak yang dihasilkan pada pr...

  2. The tobacco sales ban and tobacco purchases by adolescents: a general population study in The Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdonk-Kleinjan, Wendy M I; Knibbe, Ronald A; Bieleman, Bert; de Groot, Henk N; de Vries, Hein

    2008-10-01

    The study aimed to assess the effect of the introduction on 1 January 2003 of a legal tobacco sales ban in The Netherlands on tobacco purchases by smoking and non-smoking adolescents aged <16 years. Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted among adolescents aged 13 through 15 years, one at end 1999 (n = 4751) and the other at end 2003 (n = 13 298). The percentage of adolescents buying tobacco decreased significantly from 26.3% in 1999 to 10.8% in 2003 (P < 0.001). Further analysis showed that, after the ban, the proportion of smokers among buyers almost tripled [Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.9], while the likelihood of non-smokers buying tobacco decreased strongly (OR = 0.17). A difference in the pattern of purchasing tobacco also emerged after the ban. In 2003, the proportion of smokers buying at least weekly in commercial outlets was larger than in 1999. For non-smokers there was no difference between 1999 and 2003 in the proportion buying weekly. The variety of commercial outlets in which purchases were made increased among both smoking and non-smoking purchasers of tobacco. Implementation of the 2003 tobacco sales ban has had the (intended) effect of lowering tobacco purchases among adolescents. This was mainly due to the decrease in the likelihood of buying tobacco among those who regard themselves as a non-smoker. The decrease in buying tobacco is associated with a decrease in prevalence of smoking. The sales ban has probably contributed to a stronger decrease in prevalence of smoking.

  3. Clinical implications of daytime sleepiness for the academic performance of middle school-aged adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langberg, Joshua M; Dvorsky, Melissa R; Marshall, Stephen; Evans, Steven W

    2013-10-01

    This study investigated the relative impact of total time slept per night and daytime sleepiness on the academic functioning of 100 middle school-aged youth (mean age = 11.9) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The primary goal of the study was to determine if total time slept per night and/or daytime sleepiness, as measured by youth self-report on the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), predicted academic functioning above and beyond symptoms of ADHD and relevant covariates, such as intelligence, achievement scores and parent education level. Self-reported daytime sleepiness but not self-reported total time slept per night was associated significantly with all academic outcomes. When examined in a hierarchical regression model, self-reported daytime sleepiness significantly predicted parent-rated homework problems and academic impairment and teacher-rated academic competence above and beyond symptoms of ADHD and relevant covariates, but did not predict grade point average or teacher-rated academic impairment. The implications of these findings for understanding more clearly the association between ADHD and sleep and the functional implications of this relationship are discussed. © 2013 European Sleep Research Society.

  4. Quitting smoking : The importance of non-smoker identity in predicting smoking behaviour and responses to a smoking ban

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, Eline; Gebhardt, Winifred A.; Dijkstra, Arie; Willemsen, Marc C.; Van Laar, Colette

    2015-01-01

    Objective: We examined how smoker' and non-smoker' self- and group-identities and socio-economic status (SES) may predict smoking behaviour and responses to antismoking measures (i.e. the Dutch smoking ban in hospitality venues). We validated a measure of responses to the smoking ban.Design:

  5. [High time for a total ban on smoking in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry: the arguments are mounting].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassink, R J; Franke, L J A

    2007-02-24

    Active and passive smoking are well-known causes of disease, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease and cancer. In 2004 the Dutch government introduced new legislation to regulate smoking in the workplace. However, smoking is still allowed in hotels, bars and restaurants, despite the fact that two-thirds of the Dutch population support a total ban on smoking in public places. Several other European countries and American states have banned smoking in public places. Studies performed in these regions show that the new smoking regulations have had no negative economic effects. Moreover, various studies have shown that smoking bans have a positive impact on public health, even in the short-term, including a significant decrease in respiratory and cardiovascular disease. There is therefore no reason to continue to exclude hotels, bars and restaurants from the smoking ban in all public places in The Netherlands.

  6. Detailed budget analysis of HONO in central London reveals a missing daytime source

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. D. Lee

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Measurements of HONO were carried out at an urban background site near central London as part of the Clean air for London (ClearfLo project in summer 2012. Data were collected from 22 July to 18 August 2014, with peak values of up to 1.8 ppbV at night and non-zero values of between 0.2 and 0.6 ppbV seen during the day. A wide range of other gas phase, aerosol, radiation, and meteorological measurements were made concurrently at the same site, allowing a detailed analysis of the chemistry to be carried out. The peak HONO/NOx ratio of 0.04 is seen at  ∼  02:00 UTC, with the presence of a second, daytime, peak in HONO/NOx of similar magnitude to the night-time peak, suggesting a significant secondary daytime HONO source. A photostationary state calculation of HONO involving formation from the reaction of OH and NO and loss from photolysis, reaction with OH, and dry deposition shows a significant underestimation during the day, with calculated values being close to 0, compared to the measurement average of 0.4 ppbV at midday. The addition of further HONO sources from the literature, including dark conversion of NO2 on surfaces, direct emission, photolysis of ortho-substituted nitrophenols, the postulated formation from the reaction of HO2 ×  H2O with NO2, photolysis of adsorbed HNO3 on ground and aerosols, and HONO produced by photosensitized conversion of NO2 on the surface increases the daytime modelled HONO to 0.1 ppbV, still leaving a significant missing daytime source. The missing HONO is plotted against a series of parameters including NO2 and OH reactivity (used as a proxy for organic material, with little correlation seen. Much better correlation is observed with the product of these species with j(NO2, in particular NO2 and the product of NO2 with OH reactivity. This suggests the missing HONO source is in some way related to NO2 and also requires sunlight. Increasing the photosensitized surface conversion rate of NO2 by a

  7. Daytime running lights : the attention light : a literature survey of daytime running lights for motor vehicles and their effect on road safety in The Netherlands.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Polak, P.H.

    1987-01-01

    In the history of (motorised) traffic, the role of lighting has assumed increasing importance, not only at night but also during daylight hours. Studies in the U.S. and Sweden demonstrated the positive effect of daytime running lights (DRL) on traffic safety. The aim of this study is to investigate

  8. Daytime napping and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Guochao; Wang, Yi; Tao, TieHong; Ying, Jun; Zhao, Yong

    2015-07-01

    The association between daytime napping and mortality remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the associations between daytime napping and the risks of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer. PubMed and Embase databases were searched through 19 September 2014. Prospective cohort studies that provided risk estimates of daytime napping and mortality were eligible for our meta-analysis. Two investigators independently performed study screening and data extraction. A random-effects model was used to estimate the combined effect size. Subgroup analyses were conducted to identify potential effect modifiers. Twelve studies, involving 130,068 subjects, 49,791 nappers, and 19,059 deaths, were included. Our meta-analysis showed that daytime napping was associated with an increased risk of death from all causes [n = 9 studies; hazard ratio (HR), 1.22; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14-1.31; I(2) = 42.5%]. No significant associations between daytime napping and the risks of death from CVD (n = 6 studies; HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.96-1.50; I(2) = 75.0%) and cancer (n = 4 studies; HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.99-1.15; I(2) = 8.9%) were found. There were no significant differences in risks of all-cause and CVD mortality between subgroups stratified by the prevalence of napping, follow-up duration, outcome assessment, age, and sex. Daytime napping is a predictor of increased all-cause mortality but not of CVD and cancer mortality. However, our findings should be treated with caution because of limited numbers of included studies and potential biases. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Women and the Struggle for Daytime Adult Education in Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inglis, Tom

    1994-01-01

    Daytime adult education has emerged in Ireland in the form of voluntary, locally based groups of working class women providing education for themselves and others. A survey of 96 groups illuminated their struggles with finding suitable space, day care, and advertising. They thrive because of disenchantment with the content, scheduling, and form of…

  10. Association of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health factors with sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in women: findings from the 2007 National Sleep Foundation "Sleep in America Poll".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Fiona C; Wolfson, Amy R; Lee, Kathryn A

    2009-06-01

    To investigate factors associated with poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in women living in the United States. Data are presented from the National Sleep Foundation's 2007 Sleep in America Poll that included 959 women (18-64 years of age) surveyed by telephone about their sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors. Poor sleep quality was reported by 27% and daytime sleepiness was reported by 21% of respondents. Logistic multivariate regression analyses revealed that poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were both independently associated with poor health, having a sleep disorder, and psychological distress. Also, multivariate analyses showed that women who consumed more caffeinated beverages and those who had more than one job were more likely to report poor sleep quality but not daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness, on the other hand, was independently associated with being black/African American, younger, disabled, having less education, and daytime napping. Poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness are common in American women and are associated with health-related, as well as sociodemographic, factors. Addressing sleep-related complaints in women is important to improve their daytime functioning and quality of life.

  11. Citizen's Petition to Food and Drug Administration to ban cornstarch powder on medical gloves: Maltese cross birefringence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edlich, Richard F; Long, William B; Gubler, K Dean; Rodeheaver, George T; Thacker, John G; Borel, Lise; Chase, Margot E; Cross, Catherine L; Fisher, Allyson L; Lin, Kant Y; Cox, Mary J; Zura, Robert B

    2009-02-01

    During the last 25 years, scientific experimental and clinical studies have documented the dangers of cornstarch powder on examination and surgical gloves because the cornstarch promotes wound infection, causes serious peritoneal adhesions and granulomatous peritonitis, and is a well-documented vector of the latex allergy epidemic in the world. Realizing the dangers of cornstarch on examination and surgical gloves, Germany's regulations of personal protective equipment banned the use of surgical glove powder cornstarch in 1997. In 2000, the Purchasing and Supply agency for the United Kingdom ceased to purchase any gloves lubricated with cornstarch. Realizing the dangers of cornstarch-powdered gloves, many hospitals and clinics in the United States have banned the use of cornstarch-powdered examination and surgical gloves. Hospitals that have banned cornstarch in their examination and surgical gloves have noted a marked reduction in the latex allergy epidemic in their facilities. Realizing the dangers of cornstarch-powdered examination and surgical gloves, Dr Sheila A. Murphey, branch chief, Infection Control Devices Branch, Division of Anesthesiology, General Hospital, Infection Control, and Dental Devices Office of Device Evaluation, Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recommended that a Citizen's Petition be filed to the FDA to ban cornstarch on surgical and examination gloves. The 12 authors of this report have attached the enclosed petition to the FDA to ban the use of cornstarch on all synthetic and latex examination and surgical gloves used in the United States.

  12. Correntropy measures to detect daytime sleepiness from EEG signals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melia, Umberto; Vallverdú, Montserrat; Caminal, Pere; Guaita, Marc; Montserrat, Josep M; Vilaseca, Isabel; Salamero, Manel; Gaig, Carles; Santamaria, Joan

    2014-01-01

    Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is one of the main symptoms of several sleep related disorders and has a great impact on patients’ lives. While many studies have been carried out in order to assess daytime sleepiness, automatic EDS detection still remains an open problem. In this work, a novel approach to this issue based on correntropy function analysis of EEG signals was proposed in order to detect patients suffering from EDS. Multichannel EEG signals were recorded during five Maintenance of Wakefulness Tests (MWT) and Multiple Sleep Latency Tests (MSLT) alternated throughout the day for patients suffering from sleep disordered breathing (SDB). A group of 20 patients with EDS was compared with a group of 20 patients without daytime sleepiness (WDS), by analyzing 60 s EEG windows in a waking state. Measures obtained from the cross-correntropy function (CCORR) and auto-correntropy function (ACORR) were calculated in the EEG frequency bands: δ, 0.1–4 Hz; θ, 4–8 Hz; α, 8–12 Hz; β, 12–30 Hz; total band TB, 0.1–45 Hz. These functions permitted the quantification of complex signal properties and the non-linear couplings between different areas of the scalp. Statistical differences between EDS and WDS groups were mainly found in the β band during MSLT events (p-value < 0.0001). The WDS group presented more complexity in the occipital zone than the EDS group, while a stronger nonlinear coupling between the occipital and frontal regions was detected in EDS patients than in the WDS group. At best, ACORR and CCORR measures yielded sensitivity and specificity above 80% and the area under ROC curve (AUC) was above 0.85 in classifying EDS and WDS patients. These performances represent an improvement with respect to classical EEG indices applied in the same database (sensitivity and specificity were never above 80% and AUC was under 0.75). (paper)

  13. Comparison of Daytime and Nighttime Populations Adjacent to Interstate Highways in Metropolitan Areas Using LandScan USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Paul E

    2007-01-01

    An article of similar title was published in the International Journal of Radioactive Materials Transport in 1999. The study concluded that the daytime and nighttime populations are not substantially different for the metropolitan areas examined. This study revisits the issue, but using the LandScan USA high resolution population distribution data, which includes daytime and night-time population. Segments of Interstate highway beltways, along with the direct route through the city, for Atlanta, St. Louis, and Kansas City are examined with an 800m buffer from either side of the highways. The day/night ratio of population is higher using the LandScan USA data. LandScan USA daytime and night-time data will be incorporated into the TRAGIS routing model in future

  14. Clarifying beliefs underlying hunter intentions to support a ban on lead shot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Doncarlos, Kathy

    2016-01-01

    Shot from hunting adds toxic lead to environments worldwide. Existing lead shot regulations have been instituted with little understanding of hunter beliefs and attitudes. This study applied the Theory of Reasoned Action, using a multilevel, multivariate approach, to clarify how positive and negative beliefs relate to attitudes about a ban on lead shot. Structure coefficients and commonality analysis were employed to further examine relationships between beliefs and attitudes. Results suggest that while both positive and negative outcomes influence attitudes, positive outcomes were more influential for supporters and negative beliefs for opposers. Management may need to focus on the results from hunters who indicated that they would be unlikely to support a ban, as these hunters include those who may actively oppose additional efforts to regulate lead.

  15. Neurobehavioral Performance Impairment in Insomnia: Relationships with Self-Reported Sleep and Daytime Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shekleton, Julia A.; Flynn-Evans, Erin E.; Miller, Belinda; Epstein, Lawrence J.; Kirsch, Douglas; Brogna, Lauren A.; Burke, Liza M.; Bremer, Erin; Murray, Jade M.; Gehrman, Philip; Lockley, Steven W.; Rajaratnam, Shantha M. W.

    2014-01-01

    Study Objectives: Despite the high prevalence of insomnia, daytime consequences of the disorder are poorly characterized. This study aimed to identify neurobehavioral impairments associated with insomnia, and to investigate relationships between these impairments and subjective ratings of sleep and daytime dysfunction. Design: Cross-sectional, multicenter study. Setting: Three sleep laboratories in the USA and Australia. Patients: Seventy-six individuals who met the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for Primary Insomnia, Psychophysiological Insomnia, Paradoxical Insomnia, and/or Idiopathic Childhood Insomnia (44F, 35.8 ± 12.0 years [mean ± SD]) and 20 healthy controls (14F, 34.8 ± 12.1 years). Interventions: N/A. Measurements and Results: Participants completed a 7-day sleep-wake diary, questionnaires assessing daytime dysfunction, and a neurobehavioral test battery every 60-180 minutes during an afternoon/evening sleep laboratory visit. Included were tasks assessing sustained and switching attention, working memory, subjective sleepiness, and effort. Switching attention and working memory were significantly worse in insomnia patients than controls, while no differences were found for simple or complex sustained attention tasks. Poorer sustained attention in the control, but not the insomnia group, was significantly associated with increased subjective sleepiness. In insomnia patients, poorer sustained attention performance was associated with reduced health-related quality of life and increased insomnia severity. Conclusions: We found that insomnia patients exhibit deficits in higher level neurobehavioral functioning, but not in basic attention. The findings indicate that neurobehavioral deficits in insomnia are due to neurobiological alterations, rather than sleepiness resulting from chronic sleep deficiency. Citation: Shekleton JA; Flynn-Evans EE; Miller B; Epstein LJ; Kirsch D; Brogna LA; Burke LM; Cremer E; Murray JM; Gehrman P; Lockley SW; Rajaratnam SMW

  16. A Qualitative Study Among Mexican Americans to Understand Factors Influencing the Adoption and Enforcement of Home Smoking Bans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savas, Lara S; Mullen, Patricia Dolan; Hovell, Melbourne F; Escoffrey, Cam; Fernandez, Maria E; Jones, Jennifer A; Cavazos, Jazmine; Gutierrez Monroy, Jo Ann A; Kegler, Michelle C

    2017-11-07

    One-third of Mexican-American children, in addition to nonsmoker adults, are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, yet few interventions target Mexican-American households. An effective, brief English language program, tested with United Way 2-1-1 callers in Atlanta, increased home smoking bans (confirmed by air monitors). Two randomized controlled trials in North Carolina and Texas replicated those results. We explored factors determining adoption and enforcement of smoking bans in Mexican-American households to inform program linguistic and cultural adaptation to broaden program reach and relevance. Bilingual interviewers recruited convenience samples of Mexican-American smokers and nonsmokers living with at least one smoker in Houston and San Diego households and asked open-ended questions regarding conditions for implementing home and vehicle smoking bans and conditions for varying acceptance of bans. Investigators independently reviewed English transcripts and completed a descriptive analysis using ATLAS.ti. Participants (n = 43) were predominantly female (n = 31), current smokers (n = 26), interviewed in Spanish (n = 26), had annual household incomes less than $30000 (n = 24), and allowed smoking inside the home (n = 24). Themes related to difficulty creating and enforcing bans included courtesy, respect for guests and heads of household who smoke, and gender imbalances in decision making. Participants viewed protecting children's health as a reason for the ban but not protecting adult nonsmokers' health. A dual-language, culturally adapted intervention targeting multigenerational Mexican-American households should address household differences regarding language and consider influences of cultural values on family dynamics and interactions with guests that may weaken bans. Qualitative interviews suggested cultural and family considerations to address in adapting a brief evidence-based smoke-free homes intervention for Mexican Americans, including traditional

  17. [Dietary factors associated with daytime somnolence in healthy elderly of Chile].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durán Agüero, Samuel; Sánchez Reyes, Hugo; Díaz Narváez, Víctor; Araya Pérez, Mónica

    2015-01-01

    To determine the prevalence of mild and excessive somnolence and the associated factors with the presence of daytime sleepiness in the elderly. A total of 1780 independent individuals 60 years and older of both sexes (70.9±7.9 years old; females 62%), were included, of which 1704 of them completed all the information. All of them were assessed using an Epworth sleepiness scale (ESE), an Pittsburgh sleep quality index, plus information of cigarettes smoking, dinner time, and an anthropometric evaluation. An ESE score>10 was considered drowsiness and scores>15 excessive or severe drowsiness. Among the population under 80 years, 5.3% showed ESE score>15 and 26.2% an ESE score>10. For over 80 years, the prevalence of sleepiness was 6.3% for an ESE score>15 and 32.5% for an ESE score>10. In the adjusted model, the factors associated with increased risk of sleepiness (ESE>10) were age older than 80 years (OR=1.58; 95% CI=1.14 to 2.19) and dinner after 21 hours (OR=1.3; 95% CI=1.01 to 1.68). By contrast, only age older than 80 years was independently associated with severe sleepiness (OR=1.81; 95% CI=1.01 to 3.29). Meals after 21 hours and age above 80 years are associated with increased likelihood of daytime sleepiness. Instead, only older than 80 years is associated with severe daytime sleepiness. Copyright © 2015 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  18. Child temperament, parenting discipline style, and daytime behavior in childhood sleep disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens-Stively, J; Frank, N; Smith, A; Hagino, O; Spirito, A; Arrigan, M; Alario, A J

    1997-10-01

    Fifty-two children without significant sleep disturbance seen at a primary care clinic for well-child care were compared on measures of temperament, parenting style, daytime behavior, and overall sleep disturbance to three diagnostic subgroups identified in a pediatric sleep clinic: children with obstructive sleep apnea (n = 33), parasomnias (night terrors, sleepwalking, etc.) (n = 16), and behavioral sleep disorders (limit-setting disorder, etc.) (n = 31). The mean age of the entire sample was 5.7 years. Temperamental emotionality in the behavioral sleep disorders group was associated with a higher level of sleep disturbance (p parenting laxness was associated with sleep disturbance in the general pediatric population (p parenting styles and daytime disruptive behaviors were more likely to be associated with the milder sleep disturbances found in children in a primary care setting.

  19. [Persistent amphetamine consumption by truck drivers in São Paulo State, Brazil, despite the ban on production, prescription, and use].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Lúcio Garcia de; Endo, Ligia Goes; Sinagawa, Daniele Mayumi; Yonamine, Maurício; Munoz, Daniel Romero; Leyton, Vilma

    2013-09-01

    Amphetamine use by truck drivers for occupational purposes is widely known. The production and consumption of amphetamines was banned by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) in October 2011. This study analyzes persistent amphetamine use by truck drivers since the ban was implemented. A convenience sample of 427 truck drivers was taken along highways in São Paulo State in 2012. Participants were asked to answer a structured questionnaire and provide a urine sample to screen for recent amphetamine consumption through toxicological analysis. Among the interviewed drivers, 7% had used some illicit drug recently and 2.7% had used amphetamines. Amphetamines are still consumed by truck drivers despite the risks and the recent ban. The authorities should thus monitor the possession and use of amphetamines by drivers in order to effectively enforce the ban.

  20. Primerjalna analiza slovenskih bančnih portalov

    OpenAIRE

    Podpečan, Vanja

    2016-01-01

    Živimo v dobi, v kateri se pojmi kot so internet, elektronsko poslovanje in elektronsko bančništvo uporabljajo vsakodnevno. Podjetja morajo v poslovnem okolju nuditi informacije, ki so za poslovanje nujno potrebni element. Le-te pa so najlažje dostopne preko interneta, brez katerega večina podjetij danes več ne more uspešno poslovati. Če uporabnik zna iz ogromnega števila informacij izluščiti najboljše, so le-te lahko zelo uporabne. Zato pa »prave« informacije predstavljajo velik element konk...

  1. Performance limit of daytime radiative cooling in warm humid environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takahiro Suichi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Daytime radiative cooling potentially offers efficient passive cooling, but the performance is naturally limited by the environment, such as the ambient temperature and humidity. Here, we investigate the performance limit of daytime radiative cooling under warm and humid conditions in Okayama, Japan. A cooling device, consisting of alternating layers of SiO2 and poly(methyl methacrylate on an Al mirror, is fabricated and characterized to demonstrate a high reflectance for sunlight and a selective thermal radiation in the mid-infrared region. In the temperature measurement under the sunlight irradiation, the device shows 3.4 °C cooler than a bare Al mirror, but 2.8 °C warmer than the ambient of 35 °C. The corresponding numerical analyses reveal that the atmospheric window in λ = 16 ∼ 25 μm is closed due to a high humidity, thereby limiting the net emission power of the device. Our study on the humidity influence on the cooling performance provides a general guide line of how one can achieve practical passive cooling in a warm humid environment.

  2. Iron ore pollution in Mandovi and Zuari estuarine sediments and its fate after mining ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessarkar, Pratima M; Suja, S; Sudheesh, V; Srivastava, Shubh; Rao, V Purnachandra

    2015-09-01

    Iron ore was mined from the banded iron formations of Goa, India, and transported through the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries for six decades until the ban on mining from September 2012. Here we focus on the environmental magnetic properties of sediments from the catchment area, upstream and downstream of these estuaries, and adjacent shelf during peak mining time. Magnetic susceptibility (χ lf) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) values of sediments were highest in upstream (catchment area and estuaries), decreased gradually towards downstream (catchment area and estuaries), and were lowest on the adjacent shelf. The χ lf values of the Mandovi estuary were two to fourfold higher than those in the Zuari. The sediments of these two estuaries after the mining ban showed enrichment of older magnetite and sharp decrease in the SIRM values. Although the input of ore material has been reduced after mining ban, more flushing of estuarine sediments is required for healthier environment.

  3. Eveningness and Later Sleep Timing Are Associated with Greater Risk for Alcohol and Marijuana Use in Adolescence: Initial Findings from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasler, Brant P; Franzen, Peter L; de Zambotti, Massimiliano; Prouty, Devin; Brown, Sandra A; Tapert, Susan F; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Pohl, Kilian M; Sullivan, Edith V; De Bellis, Michael D; Nagel, Bonnie J; Baker, Fiona C; Colrain, Ian M; Clark, Duncan B

    2017-06-01

    Abundant cross-sectional evidence links eveningness (a preference for later sleep-wake timing) and increased alcohol and drug use among adolescents and young adults. However, longitudinal studies are needed to examine whether eveningness is a risk factor for subsequent alcohol and drug use, particularly during adolescence, which is marked by parallel peaks in eveningness and risk for the onset of alcohol use disorders. This study examined whether eveningness and other sleep characteristics were associated with concurrent or subsequent substance involvement in a longitudinal study of adolescents. Participants were 729 adolescents (368 females; age 12 to 21 years) in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence study. Associations between the sleep variables (circadian preference, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, sleep timing, and sleep duration) and 3 categorical substance variables (at-risk alcohol use, alcohol bingeing, and past-year marijuana use [y/n]) were examined using ordinal and logistic regression with baseline age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric problems as covariates. At baseline, greater eveningness was associated with greater at-risk alcohol use, greater bingeing, and past-year use of marijuana. Later weekday and weekend bedtimes, but not weekday or weekend sleep duration, showed similar associations across the 3 substance outcomes at baseline. Greater baseline eveningness was also prospectively associated with greater bingeing and past-year use of marijuana at the 1-year follow-up, after covarying for baseline bingeing and marijuana use. Later baseline weekday and weekend bedtimes, and shorter baseline weekday sleep duration, were similarly associated with greater bingeing and past-year use of marijuana at the 1-year follow-up after covarying for baseline values. Findings suggest that eveningness and sleep timing may be under recognized risk factors and future areas of intervention for

  4. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Science and Technology 2011 (S and T2011). Announcement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    To build and strengthen its relationship with the broader science community in support of the Treaty, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) invites the community to a scientific conference CTBT: Science and Technology 2011 (S and T 2011), to be held from 8 to 10 June 2011 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. The conference goals are: Discuss advances in science and technology relevant to test ban verification; Explore scientific applications of the CTBT verification infrastructure; Encourage partnerships and knowledge exchange between the CTBTO and the broader scientific community.

  5. Applying a contingency model of strategic decision making to the implementation of smoking bans: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willemsen, M C; Meijer, A; Jannink, M

    1999-08-01

    A model of strategic decision making was applied to study the implementation of worksite smoking policy. This model assumes there is no best way of implementing smoking policies, but that 'the best way' depends on how decision making fits specific content and context factors. A case study at Wehkamp, a mail-order company, is presented to illustrate the usefulness of this model to understand how organizations implement smoking policies. Interview data were collected from representatives of Wehkamp, and pre- and post-ban survey data were collected from employees. After having failed to solve the smoking problem in a more democratic way, Wehkamp's top management choose a highly confrontational and decentralized decision-making approach to implement a complete smoking ban. This resulted in an effective smoking ban, but was to some extent at the cost of employees' satisfaction with the policy and with how the policy was implemented. The choice of implementation approach was contingent upon specific content and context factors, such as managers' perception of the problem, leadership style and legislation. More case studies from different types of companies are needed to better understand how organizational factors affect decision making about smoking bans and other health promotion innovations.

  6. UK news media representations of smoking, smoking policies and tobacco bans in prisons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Amy; Sweeting, Helen; Hunt, Kate

    2018-02-19

    Prisoner smoking rates remain high, resulting in secondhand smoke exposures for prison staff and non-smoker prisoners. Several jurisdictions have introduced prison smoking bans with little evidence of resulting disorder. Successful implementation of such bans requires staff support. As news media representations of health and other issues shape public views and as prison smoking bans are being introduced in the UK, we conducted content analysis of UK news media to explore representations of smoking in prisons and smoke-free prisons. We searched 64 national and local newspapers and 5 broadcast media published over 17 months during 2015-2016, and conducted thematic analysis of relevant coverage in 106 articles/broadcasts. Coverage was relatively infrequent and lacked in-depth engagement with the issues. It tended to reinforce a negative view of prisoners, avoid explicit concern for prisoner or prison staff health and largely ignore the health gains of smoke-free policies. Most coverage failed to discuss appropriate responses or support for cessation in the prison context, or factors associated with high prisoner smoking rates. Half the articles/broadcasts included coverage suggesting smoke-free prisons might lead to unrest or instability. Negative news media representations of prisoners and prison smoking bans may impact key stakeholders' views (eg, prison staff, policy-makers) on the introduction of smoke-free prison policies. Policy-makers' communications when engaging in discussion around smoke-free prison policies should draw on the generally smooth transitions to smoke-free prisons to date, and on evidence on health benefits of smoke-free environments and smoking cessation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  7. Banning Corporal Punishment: A Crucial Step toward Preventing Child Abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moelis, Cindy S.

    1988-01-01

    Banning school corporal punishment is supported as a step towards gradually eliminating all violent actions toward children. The 39 states that allow corporal punishment are encouraged to outlaw it, to teach children that it is not socially acceptable behavior and to set an example for families' child-rearing attitudes and practices. (JDD)

  8. Indirubin, a component of Ban-Lan-Gen, activates CYP3A4 gene transcription through the human pregnane X receptor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumagai, Takeshi; Aratsu, Yusuke; Sugawara, Ryosuke; Sasaki, Takamitsu; Miyairi, Shinichi; Nagata, Kiyoshi

    2016-04-01

    Ban-Lan-Gen is the common name for the dried roots of indigo plants, including Polygonum tinctorium, Isatis indigotica, Isatis tinctoria, and Strobilanthes cusia. Ban-Lan-Gen is frequently used as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-viral for the treatment of hepatitis, influenza, and various types of inflammation. One of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, CYP3A4, is responsible for the metabolism of a wide variety of xenobiotics, including an estimated 60% of all clinically used drugs. In this study, we investigated the effect of Ban-Lan-Gen on the transcriptional activation of the CYP3A4 gene. Ban-Lan-Gen extract increased CYP3A4 gene reporter activity in a dose-dependent manner. Indirubin, one of the biologically active ingredients in the Ban-Lan-Gen, also dose-dependently increased CYP3A4 gene reporter activity. Expression of short hairpin RNA for the human pregnane X receptor (hPXR-shRNA) inhibited CYP3A4 gene reporter activity, and overexpression of human PXR increased indirubin- and rifampicin-induced CYP3A4 gene reporter activity. Furthermore, indirubin induced CYP3A4 mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. Taken together, these results indicate that indirubin, a component of Ban-Lan-Gen, activated CYP3A4 gene transcription through the activation of the human PXR. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Daytime Sleepiness in Men During Early Fatherhood: Implications for Work Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellor, Gary; Van Vorst, Stephen

    2015-11-01

    This study measured the daytime sleepiness (DS) and work safety of fathers during the first 12 weeks of their babies' lives (i.e., early fatherhood). A questionnaire was developed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Safety Behaviour at Work Scale, a self-reported sleep history, and a work-related incident history. Of the 221 participants, the vast majority reported they experienced less than 6 hours of interrupted sleep per night during the 12 weeks of the study, and an increasing frequency and severity of DS. The study also revealed an inverse correlation between ESS and Safety Behaviour at Work scores; fathers were 14% more likely to report a near-miss accident at work at 12 weeks. This study posits that antenatal classes and assessment of fathers' sleepiness at work by occupational health practitioners could assist fathers in reducing daytime sleepiness and mitigating the risk of workplace incidents. © 2015 The Author(s).

  10. The impacts of the export ban on Alaskan crude oil trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farah, P.G.; Bausell, C.W.; Vogelsang, A.

    1990-01-01

    The authors investigated the petroleum markets impacts of lifting the ban on Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil exports. This paper reports on some aspects of this investigation. The economic analysis relied heavily on the modeling of the ANS crude trade conducted on behalf of GAO by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) using the Transportation and Refining of International Petroleum model (TRIP). In contrast to previous studies, this one suggests that transportation costs may not be the only major factor in the realignment of ANS crude trade in response to lifting the ban. The differences in the yields of ANS crude and various crudes used by refiners in Pacific Rim countries on the one hand, and the product demand slates of the US West Coast and the potential buyers of ANS crude in Pacific Rim may also figure prominently in determining the reallocation of ANS crude if exports are permitted

  11. Smoking habits in Italian pregnant women: any changes after the ban?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrier, Lorena; Serafini, Paola; Giordano, Livia; Zotti, Carla Maria

    2010-04-01

    A reduction in the prevalence of smoking and tobacco consumption was noted after the enactment in 2005 of new smoking regulations in Italy. To determine the impact of the smoking ban on pregnant women, we compared the results of two retrospective studies on two samples of 300 women, who recently delivered, conducted before and after the regulations went into effect. The comparison showed a marked drop in passive exposure to smoke in the workplace but not in the family environment; however, passive exposure and smoking were associated before and during pregnancy. Nearly all women agreed that the ban on smoking in public was reasonable and stated it had influenced their smoking habit or exposure. Despite this lip service, both studies highlighted that smoking in pregnancy remains a problem for many women, as about 10 per cent did not quit and over 50 per cent relapsed after delivery.

  12. Long-Term Single and Joint Effects of Excessive Daytime Napping on the HOMA-IR Index and Glycosylated Hemoglobin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xue; Pang, Xiuyu; Zhang, Qiao; Qu, Qiannuo; Hou, Zhigang; Liu, Zhipeng; Lv, Lin; Na, Guanqiong; Zhang, Wei; Sun, Changhao; Li, Ying

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This prospective cohort study was conducted to assess the duration of daytime napping and its effect combined with night sleep deprivation on the risk of developing high HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) index and disadvantageous changes in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. A total of 5845 diabetes-free subjects (2736 women and 3109 men), 30 to 65 years of age, were targeted for this cohort study since 2008. Multiple adjusted Cox regression models were performed to evaluate the single and joint effects of daytime napping on the risk of an elevated HbA1c level and high HOMA-IR index. After an average of 4.5 years of follow-up, >30 minutes of daytime napping was significantly associated with an increased risk of an elevated HbA1c level (>6.5%) in men and women (all P trend HOMA-IR index in the entire cohort, men, and women were 1.33 (1.10–1.62), 1.46 (1.08–1.98), and 1.47 (1.12–1.91), respectively. The combination of sleep deprivation with no naps or >30 minutes napping and the combination of no sleep deprivation with >30 minutes daytime napping were all associated with an HbA1c level >6.5% (HR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.24–3.51; HR = 4.00, 95% CI = 2.03–7.90; and HR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.29–3.27, respectively). No sleep deprivation combined with >30 minutes daytime napping correlated with a high risk of an HbA1c level between 5.7% and 6.4% and high HOMA-IR index (HR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.48–3.02; and HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.10–1.65, respectively). Daytime napping >30 minutes was associated with a high risk of an elevated HbA1c level and high HOMA-IR index. No sleep deprivation combined with napping >30 minutes carries a risk of abnormal glucose metabolism. Sleep deprivation combined with brief daytime napping HOMA-IR index. PMID:26844520

  13. Temporal changes in TBT pollution in water, sediment, and oyster from Jinhae Bay after the total ban in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Nam Sook; Hong, Sang Hee; Yim, Un Hyuk; Shin, Kyung-Hoon; Shim, Won Joon

    2014-09-15

    Temporal change in tributyltin (TBT) levels in Jinhae Bay, which has various TBT sources, was investigated in water, sediments, and oysters from 2003 to 2013 after its total ban in South Korea. The seawater TBT levels decreased over 500-fold from 1995/97 to 2008/09. The oyster TBT levels were about fourfold lower in 2012/13 than in 1995/97. However, the sediment TBT levels did not significantly change, even 10 years after the partial TBT ban on small ships and 7 years after the total TBT ban on all oceangoing vessels in Korea. The total ban of TBT use effectively reduced water and oyster TBT levels in Jinhae Bay, but TBT levels in water, oysters, and sediment remained above the global environmental quality standards established to protect marine organisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Exploring Impacts of Taxes and Hospitality Bans on Cigarette Prices and Smoking Prevalence Using a Large Dataset of Cigarette Prices at Stores 2001–2011, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lance S. Ballester

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In the USA, little is known about local variation in retail cigarette prices; price variation explained by taxes, bans, and area-level socio-demographics, and whether taxes and hospitality bans have synergistic effects on smoking prevalence. Cigarette prices 2001–2011 from chain supermarkets and drug stores (n = 2973 were linked to state taxes (n = 41, state and county bar/restaurant smoking bans, and census block group socio-demographics. Hierarchical models explored effects of taxes and bans on retail cigarette prices as well as county smoking prevalence (daily, non-daily. There was wide variation in store-level cigarette prices in part due to differences in state excise taxes. Excise taxes were only partially passed onto consumers (after adjustment, $1 tax associated with $0.90 increase in price, p < 0.0001 and the pass-through was slightly higher in areas that had bans but did not differ by area-level socio-demographics. Bans were associated with a slight increase in cigarette price (after adjustment, $0.09 per-pack, p < 0.0001. Taxes and bans were associated with reduction in smoking prevalence and taxes had a stronger association when combined with bans, suggesting a synergistic effect. Given wide variation in store-level prices, and uneven state/county implementation of taxes and bans, more federal policies should be considered.

  15. Exploring Impacts of Taxes and Hospitality Bans on Cigarette Prices and Smoking Prevalence Using a Large Dataset of Cigarette Prices at Stores 2001–2011, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballester, Lance S.; Auchincloss, Amy H.; Robinson, Lucy F.; Mayne, Stephanie L.

    2017-01-01

    In the USA, little is known about local variation in retail cigarette prices; price variation explained by taxes, bans, and area-level socio-demographics, and whether taxes and hospitality bans have synergistic effects on smoking prevalence. Cigarette prices 2001–2011 from chain supermarkets and drug stores (n = 2973) were linked to state taxes (n = 41), state and county bar/restaurant smoking bans, and census block group socio-demographics. Hierarchical models explored effects of taxes and bans on retail cigarette prices as well as county smoking prevalence (daily, non-daily). There was wide variation in store-level cigarette prices in part due to differences in state excise taxes. Excise taxes were only partially passed onto consumers (after adjustment, $1 tax associated with $0.90 increase in price, p < 0.0001) and the pass-through was slightly higher in areas that had bans but did not differ by area-level socio-demographics. Bans were associated with a slight increase in cigarette price (after adjustment, $0.09 per-pack, p < 0.0001). Taxes and bans were associated with reduction in smoking prevalence and taxes had a stronger association when combined with bans, suggesting a synergistic effect. Given wide variation in store-level prices, and uneven state/county implementation of taxes and bans, more federal policies should be considered. PMID:28335533

  16. [Application and effects of smoking ban in bars and restaurants of Rome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontana, L; Di Martino, T; Iavicoli, I

    2007-01-01

    Both active and passive tobacco smoke is carcinogenic. In the last years the most important countries of European Community developed and passed smoke-free public places and smoke-free workplace legislations. The aim of this study was to investigate the real application of smoking ban in bars and restaurants of Rome and to value social, economic and health effects caused by the application of the law. The study was carried out in 200 public places (100 restaurants and 100 bars) with an inspection of the sites and the administration of a questionnaire to the managers of the public places. Results demonstrate that smoking ban in public places is widely respected and that the application of the law had a very positive impact on the quality of life and health of workers and general population.

  17. Temporal changes in the attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas among adults in the Capital Region of Denmark from 2007 to 2010

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lykke, Maja; Helbech, Bodil; Glümer, Charlotte

    2014-01-01

    Aim: The population's attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas is important for their passing, implementation and compliance. Smoking bans are believed to reduce the social acceptability of smoking, and once people experience them, public support increases - also among pre-ban sceptics....... This study aimed to examine the temporal changes in public attitude towards smoking bans in public arenas from 2007 to 2010 and whether these changes differed across educational attainment, smoking status and intention to quit among smokers. Methods: Data from two surveys among adults (aged 25-79 years......) in 2007 and 2010 in the Capital Region of Denmark (n=36,472/42,504, response rate = 52.3) was linked with data on sex, age and educational attainment from central registers. Age-standardised prevalence of supportive attitude towards smoking bans was estimated. Temporal changes in supportive attitude were...

  18. A Nationwide Assessment of the Association of Smoking Bans and Cigarette Taxes With Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, and Pneumonia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Vivian; Ross, Joseph S; Steiner, Claudia A; Mandawat, Aditya; Short, Marah; Ku-Goto, Meei-Hsiang; Krumholz, Harlan M

    2017-12-01

    Multiple studies claim that public place smoking bans are associated with reductions in smoking-related hospitalization rates. No national study using complete hospitalization counts by area that accounts for contemporaneous controls including state cigarette taxes has been conducted. We examine the association between county-level smoking-related hospitalization rates and comprehensive smoking bans in 28 states from 2001 to 2008. Differences-in-differences analysis measures changes in hospitalization rates before versus after introducing bans in bars, restaurants, and workplaces, controlling for cigarette taxes, adjusting for local health and provider characteristics. Smoking bans were not associated with acute myocardial infarction or heart failure hospitalizations, but lowered pneumonia hospitalization rates for persons ages 60 to 74 years. Higher cigarette taxes were associated with lower heart failure hospitalizations for all ages and fewer pneumonia hospitalizations for adults aged 60 to 74. Previous studies may have overestimated the relation between smoking bans and hospitalizations and underestimated the effects of cigarette taxes.

  19. Pharmacological interventions for daytime sleepiness and sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Tiago Martins; Castro Caldas, Ana; Ferreira, Joaquim J

    2016-06-01

    Daytime sleepiness and sleep disorders are frequently reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, their impact on quality of life has been underestimated and few clinical trials have been performed. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of pharmacological interventions for daytime sleepiness and sleep disorders in PD. Systematic review of randomized controlled trials comparing any pharmacological intervention with no intervention or placebo for the treatment of daytime sleepiness and sleep problems in PD patients. Ten studies (n = 338 patients) were included. Four trials addressed interventions for excessive daytime sleepiness. Meta-analysis of the three trials evaluating modafinil showed a significant reduction in sleepiness, as assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (- 2.24 points, 95% CI - 3.90 to - 0.57, p sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD). Single study results suggest that doxepin and YXQN granules might be efficacious, while pergolide may be deleterious for insomnia and that rivastigmine may be used to treat RBD in PD patients. However, there is insufficient evidence to support or refute the efficacy of any of these interventions. No relevant side effects were reported. Whilst providing recommendations, this systematic review depicts the lack of a body of evidence regarding the treatment of sleep disorders in PD patients; hence, further studies are warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Voting to Ban Same-Sex Marriage: Interests, Values, and Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    McVeigh, Rory; Diaz, Maria-Elena D.

    2009-01-01

    From 2000 through 2008, initiatives proposing to ban same-sex marriage were on the ballot in 28 states. Although same-sex marriage opponents scored lopsided victories in most cases, voting outcomes varied substantially at the county level. This article examines sources of that variation and argues that opposition to same-sex marriage should be…

  1. What would menthol smokers do if menthol in cigarettes were banned? Behavioral intentions and simulated demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Richard J; Bansal-Travers, Maansi; Carter, Lawrence P; Cummings, K Michael

    2012-07-01

      The US Food and Drug Administration must consider whether to ban the use of menthol in cigarettes. This study examines how current smokers might respond to such a ban on menthol cigarettes.   Convenience sample of adolescent and adult smokers recruited from an online survey panel.   United States, 2010.   A total of 471 adolescent and adult current cigarette smokers.   Respondents were asked a series of questions about how they might react if menthol cigarettes were banned. In addition, participants completed a simulation purchase task to estimate the demand for menthol and non-menthol cigarettes across a range of prices.   Overall, 36.1% of respondents said they always (18.9%) or usually (17.2%) smoked menthol cigarettes. When asked how they might respond to a ban on menthol cigarettes, 35% of current menthol smokers said they would stop smoking, and 25% said they would 'find a way to buy a menthol brand'. Those who reported they might quit tended to have greater current intentions to quit [odds ratio (OR) = 4.47], while those who reported that they might seek illicit menthol cigarettes were far less likely to report current intentions to quit (OR = 0.06). Estimates for demand elasticity for preferred cigarette type were similar for menthol (α = 0.0051) and non-menthol (α = 0.0049) smokers. Demand elasticity and peak consumption were related to usual cigarette type and cigarettes smoked per day, but did not appear to differ by race, gender or age.   Preliminary evidence suggests that a significant minority of smokers of menthol cigarettes in the United States would try to stop smoking altogether if such cigarettes were banned. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  2. Banning shisha smoking in public places in Iran: an advocacy coalition framework perspective on policy process and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khayatzadeh-Mahani, Akram; Breton, Eric; Ruckert, Arne; Labonté, Ronald

    2017-07-01

    Shisha smoking is a widespread custom in Iran with a rapidly growing prevalence especially among the youth. In this article, we analyze the policy process of enforcing a federal/state ban on shisha smoking in all public places in Kerman Province, Iran. Guided by the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we investigate how a shisha smoking ban reached the political agenda in 2011, how it was framed by different policy actors, and why no significant breakthrough took place despite its inclusion on the agenda. We conducted a qualitative study using a case study approach. Two main sources of data were employed: face-to-face in-depth interviews and document analysis of key policy texts. We interviewed 24 policy actors from diverse sectors. A qualitative thematic framework, incorporating both inductive and deductive analyses, was employed to analyze our data. We found that the health sector was the main actor pushing the issue of shisha smoking onto the political agenda by framing it as a public health risk. The health sector and its allies advocated enforcement of a federal law to ban shisha smoking in all public places including teahouses and traditional restaurants whereas another group of actors opposed the ban. The pro-ban group was unable to neutralize the strategies of the anti-ban group and to steer the debate towards the health harms of shisha smoking. Our analysis uncovers three main reasons behind the policy stasis: lack of policy learning due to lack of agreement over evidence and related analytical conflicts between the two groups linked to differences in core and policy beliefs; the inability of the pro-ban group to exploit opportunities in the external policy subsystem through generating stronger public support for enforcement of the shisha smoking ban; and the nature of the institutional setting, in particular the autocratic governance of CHFS which contributed to a lack of policy learning within the policy subsystem. Our research demonstrated the utility

  3. Cognitive-behavior therapy singly and combined with medication for persistent insomnia: Impact on psychological and daytime functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morin, Charles M; Beaulieu-Bonneau, Simon; Bélanger, Lynda; Ivers, Hans; Sánchez Ortuño, Montserrat; Vallières, Annie; Savard, Josée; Guay, Bernard; Mérette, Chantal

    2016-12-01

    While impairment of daytime functioning due to poor sleep is often the main determinant for seeking treatment, few studies have examined the clinical impact of insomnia therapies on daytime outcomes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), alone and combined with medication, on various indices of daytime and psychological functioning. Participants were 160 individuals with chronic insomnia who received CBT alone or CBT plus medication (zolpidem) for an initial six-week therapy, followed by an extended six-month therapy. Participants treated with CBT initially received maintenance CBT or no additional treatment and those treated with combined therapy initially continued with CBT plus intermittent medication (prn) or CBT without medication (taper). Measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms, fatigue, quality of life, and perceived impact of sleep difficulties on various indices of daytime functioning were completed at baseline, after each treatment stage, and at six-month follow-up. Following acute treatment, significant improvements of fatigue, quality of life (mental component), anxiety, and depression were obtained in the CBT alone condition but not in the combined CBT plus medication condition. Following extended treatment, further improvements were noted for the subgroup receiving extended CBT relative to that with no additional treatment, and for the subgroup receiving CBT and intermittent medication relative to that with CBT but no medication. Improvements were well maintained at the 6-month follow-up. These findings indicate that insomnia-specific therapy is effective at improving daytime and psychological functioning in the short term, and that maintenance therapy produces an added value to optimize long-term outcomes. www.clinicaltrials.gov (#NCT 00042146). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. For or against the smoking ban in restaurants?

    OpenAIRE

    Marinakou, Evangelia

    2011-01-01

    A considerable number of countries have applied laws for the ban of smoking in public places. Furthermore, the separate area for smokers and non-smokers customers in private places such as restaurants and bars, is a significant change that has caused positive or negative attitudes. The different views of customers and restaurant owners have created a legal and social debate. The findings suggest that on the one hand, the majority of the restaurant owners impose the law, but not actively. On t...

  5. When thinking impairs sleep : Trait, daytime and nighttime repetitive thinking in insomnia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lancee, J.; Eisma, M.C.; van Zanten, K.B.; Topper, M.

    2017-01-01

    We performed two studies in individuals with sleep problems to investigate trait, daytime, and nighttime repetitive thinking as risk factors for insomnia. In Study 1, 139 participants completed questionnaires on worry, rumination, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and a sleep diary. Trait rumination

  6. Ethnic-specific associations of sleep duration and daytime napping with prevalent type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shadyab, Aladdin H; Kritz-Silverstein, Donna; Laughlin, Gail A; Wooten, Wilma J; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth; Araneta, Maria Rosario G

    2015-02-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate ethnic differences in the associations of nighttime sleep and daytime napping durations with prevalent type 2 diabetes. Samples of White (n = 908), Filipina (n = 330), and Black (n = 371) community-dwelling, postmenopausal women aged 50-86 years were evaluated with cross-sectional data obtained during 1992-1999 including self-reported duration of nighttime sleep and daytime napping, behaviors, medical history, and medication use. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes was evaluated with a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Overall, 10.9% of White, 37.8% of Filipina, and 17.8% of Black women had type 2 diabetes. Average sleep durations were 7.3, 6.3, and 6.6 h and napping durations were 16.8, 31.7, and 25.9 min for White, Filipina, and Black women, respectively. Sleep duration showed a significant (p napping duration. Daytime napping duration was associated with type 2 diabetes only among White women; those napping ≥ 30 min/day had 74% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 10%, 175%) higher odds of diabetes compared to non-nappers independent of covariates including nighttime sleep duration. Results suggest ethnic-specific associations of nighttime sleep and daytime napping durations with type 2 diabetes. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Effects of a Driver Cellphone Ban on Overall, Handheld, and Hands-Free Cellphone Use While Driving: New Evidence from Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Christopher S; Nguyen, Hai V

    2015-11-01

    We provide new evidence on the effects of increasingly common driver cellphone bans on self-reported overall, handheld, and hands-free cellphone use while driving by studying Ontario, Canada, which instituted a 3-month education campaign in November 2009 followed by a binding driver cellphone ban in February 2010. Using residents of Alberta as a control group in a difference-in-differences framework, we find visual and regression-based evidence that Ontario's cellphone ban significantly reduced overall and handheld cellphone use. We also find that the policies significantly increased hands-free cellphone use. The reductions in overall and handheld use are driven exclusively by women, whereas the increases in hands-free use are much larger for men. Our results provide the first direct evidence that cellphone bans have the unintended effect of inducing substitution to hands-free devices. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. The comprehensive test ban treaty negotiations: a view from Geneva

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weston, Michael.

    1995-01-01

    The United Kingdom- one of the alliance's three nuclear powers is fully and actively involved in the search for a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which would play an important role in both non-proliferation and disarmament objectives. This article considers how the negotiations are proceeding and assesses the prospects in a number of key areas. (author)

  9. A treaty banning nuclear weapons and its implications for the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Güven, O.; van der Meer, S.

    2015-01-01

    International support for a new multilateral treaty banning nuclear weapons is increasing. What implications would such a treaty have for the Netherlands? This policy brief describes the legal and political context of such a treaty and examines the implications of two scenarios: one in which the

  10. [Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Poor Quality Sleep, and Low Academic Performance in Medical Students].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machado-Duque, Manuel Enrique; Echeverri Chabur, Jorge Enrique; Machado-Alba, Jorge Enrique

    2015-01-01

    Quality of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) affect cognitive ability and performance of medical students. This study attempts to determine the prevalence of EDS, sleep quality, and assess their association with poor academic performance in this population. A descriptive, observational study was conducted on a random sample of 217 medical students from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, who completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sociodemographic, clinic and academic variables were also measured. Multivariate analyses for poor academic performance were performed. The included students had a mean age of 21.7±3.3 years, of whom 59.4% were men. Almost half (49.8%) had EDS criteria, and 79.3% were poor sleepers (PSQI ≥ 5), while 43.3% had poor academic performance during the last semester. The bivariate analysis showed that having used tobacco or alcohol until intoxicated, fairly bad subjective sleep quality, sleep efficiency < 65%, and being a poor sleeper were associated with increased risk of low performance. Sleep efficiency < 65% was statistically associated with poor academic performance (P=.024; OR = 4.23; 95% CI, 1.12-15.42) in the multivariate analysis. A poor sleep quality determined by low efficiency was related to poor academic achievement at the end of semester in medical students. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  11. Smoking outside: The effect of the Irish workplace smoking ban on smoking prevalence among the employed

    OpenAIRE

    Savage, Michael

    2013-01-01

    In March 2004, Ireland became the first country to introduce a nationwide workplace smoking ban. The smoking ban increased the non-monetary cost of smoking by prohibiting smoking in the majority of indoor workplaces. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the extra non-monetary cost of smoking was concentrated on the employed. Using two waves of the nationally representative Slán survey, a difference-in-differences approach is used to measure changes in smoking behaviour among the employ...

  12. Irrigation enhances local warming with greater nocturnal warming effects than daytime cooling effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xing; Jeong, Su-Jong

    2018-02-01

    To meet the growing demand for food, land is being managed to be more productive using agricultural intensification practices, such as the use of irrigation. Understanding the specific environmental impacts of irrigation is a critical part of using it as a sustainable way to provide food security. However, our knowledge of irrigation effects on climate is still limited to daytime effects. This is a critical issue to define the effects of irrigation on warming related to greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study shows that irrigation led to an increasing temperature (0.002 °C year-1) by enhancing nighttime warming (0.009 °C year-1) more than daytime cooling (-0.007 °C year-1) during the dry season from 1961-2004 over the North China Plain (NCP), which is one of largest irrigated areas in the world. By implementing irrigation processes in regional climate model simulations, the consistent warming effect of irrigation on nighttime temperatures over the NCP was shown to match observations. The intensive nocturnal warming is attributed to energy storage in the wetter soil during the daytime, which contributed to the nighttime surface warming. Our results suggest that irrigation could locally amplify the warming related to GHGs, and this effect should be taken into account in future climate change projections.

  13. The impact of the Cyprus comprehensive smoking ban on air quality and economic business of hospitality venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christophi, Costas A; Paisi, Martha; Pampaka, Despina; Kehagias, Martha; Vardavas, Constantine; Connolly, Gregory N

    2013-01-27

    Several countries, including Cyprus, have passed smoke-free legislations in recent years. The goal of this study was to assess the indoor levels of particulate matter in hospitality venues in Cyprus before and after the implementation of the law on 1/1/2010, evaluate the role of enforcement, and examine the legislation's effect on revenue and employment. Several hospitality venues (n = 35) were sampled between April 2007 and January 2008, and 21 of those were re-sampled after the introduction of the smoking ban, between March and May 2010. Data on enforcement was provided by the Cyprus Police whereas data on revenue and employment within the hospitality industry of Cyprus were obtained from the Cyprus Statistical Service; comparisons were made between the corresponding figures before and after the implementation of the law. The median level of PM2.5 associated with secondhand smoking was 161 μg/m3 pre-ban and dropped to 3 μg/m3 post-ban (98% decrease, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, in the year following the ban, the hotel turnover rate increased by 4.1% and the restaurant revenue by 6.4%; employment increased that same year by 7.2% and 1.0%, respectively. Smoke free legislations, when enforced, are highly effective in improving the air quality and reducing the levels of indoor PM2.5. Strict enforcement plays a key role in the successful implementation of smoking bans. Even in nations with high smoking prevalence comprehensive smoking laws can be effectively implemented and have no negative effect on accommodation, food, and beverage services.

  14. Statewide ban on recreational fires resulted in a significant decrease in campfire-related summer burn center admissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, David Manh; Reid, Dixie; Lentz, Christopher William

    2013-01-01

    Every summer, there is an increase in the number of burn injuries caused by accidents around campfires. Because of the prevalence of drought, high winds, and uncontrolled wild fires, a statewide ban on recreational fires was instituted in New Mexico from June to July 2011. We hypothesized that this legislation would have a significant impact on burn admissions caused by campfire-related injuries. A retrospective review of summer admissions to a state burn center was conducted to assess the effect of this ban on recreational fire injuries, and these data were compared with that of the previous summer when no ban was in effect. All burn admissions to a state burn center were reviewed from Memorial Day to Labor Day in 2010 and 2011. Data collected included cause, % TBSA, age, days of hospitalization, intensive care unit days, and total surface area grafted. Nonparametric statistical analysis was performed with Fisher exact test for dichotomous data and Mann-Whitney test for continuous data with significance at P fires during the study period (n = 14 [17%] in 2010 and 4 [5%] in 2011; P = .02). This resulted in a decrease in the number of patient-days from 91 in 2010 to 25 in 2011. Half of the camp fire admissions required skin grafts to definitively close the wounds (6/14 in 2010 and 2/4 in 2011). Recreational fire bans targeted at controlling wildfires during conditions favoring rapid spread were associated with a 3- to 4-fold decrease in campfire-related burn admissions. Compared with a summer when no fire ban was in effect, the number of patient-days decreased from 91 to 25.

  15. Person- and People-Centered Integrated Health Care for Alcohol Dependence - Whether It Is Real in the Present Moment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jovanovic, Mirjana; Antunovic, Marko

    2016-01-01

    Alcohol continues to occupy a leading position in Europe as a popular substance of abuse. According to WHO sources together with cigarette smoking and obesity, alcohol is a major cause of preventable diseases. Harmful use of alcohol is one of the main factors contributing to premature deaths and disability and has a major impact on public health. The consequences of alcohol use on human health are enormous. Additionally, alcohol use can have harmful effects that do not directly affect person who consumes alcohol (e.g., fetal alcohol syndrome violations that are related to alcohol use, etc.). It is well known that the harmful effects and consequences of alcohol use (e.g., acute and chronic illness, injuries in fights, at the workplace, in traffic, violent behavior, and death) create a great burden for the economic development of society. Persons who have been diagnosed with alcoholism and currently drinking have a less chance to achieve a life insurance cover. On the contrary, recovering alcoholic with a significant abstinent period can get a good life insurance quote. The abstinence of a year or 2 is usually enough for a person to get an average price of life insurance. Furthermore, new consequent relapses could also be considered as potential aggravating factor to accomplish this kind of financial benefits. So far, the research (and interventions) focused on the effects on the population level, such as the increase in taxes, advertising bans, and the implementation of laws that prevent the use of alcohol in traffic. However, it seems that the problem may be viewed at the individual level. The models of the treatment should be designed according to the needs of the individual. These models should incorporate not only the reduction of alcohol intake but also the path to abstinence. The plan should take into account the different (individual) needs for treatment, with regard to the degree of alcohol dependence and health status and also include the needs of the

  16. Banning Tobacco Sales at the Retail Pharmacy: Natural Evolution of Drug Store As Responsible Health Provider Or Effective Marketing Strategy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Trigo, Paula; Khanfar, Nile M; Alameddine, Sarah; Harrington, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    CVS Health has taken a strategic marketing move by banning tobacco sales. They risk losing customers who buy medications and cigarettes at their drugstores. They estimate they will lose 2 billion dollars by banning cigarette sales. CVS Health believes they will benefit from being regarded as health care partner by insurers and banning cigarette sales is an important step in being recognized as such. The Affordable Care Act expanded access to pharmacy-based medical clinics, increased affordability of medications, and expanded the clinical role of pharmacists. CVS Health is positioning itself to take advantage of these changes.

  17. Daytime Solar Heating of Photovoltaic Arrays in Low Density Plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galofaro, J.; Vayner, B.; Ferguson, D.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of the current work is to determine the out-gassing rate of H2O molecules for a solar array placed under daytime solar heating (full sunlight) conditions typically encountered in a Low Earth Orbital (LEO) environment. Arc rates are established for individual arrays held at 14 C and are used as a baseline for future comparisons. Radiated thermal solar flux incident to the array is simulated by mounting a stainless steel panel equipped with resistive heating elements several centimeters behind the array. A thermal plot of the heater plate temperature and the array temperature as a function of heating time is then obtained. A mass spectrometer is used to record the levels of partial pressure of water vapor in the test chamber after each of the 5 heating/cooling cycles. Each of the heating cycles was set to time duration of 40 minutes to simulate the daytime solar heat flux to the array over a single orbit. Finally the array is cooled back to ambient temperature after 5 complete cycles and the arc rates of the solar arrays is retested. A comparison of the various data is presented with rather some unexpected results.

  18. [Daytime tiredness correlated with nocturnal respiratory and arousal variables in patients with sleep apnea: polysomnographic and EEG mapping studies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saletu, M; Hauer, C; Anderer, P; Saletu-Zyhlarz, G; Gruber, G; Oberndorfer, S; Mandl, M; Popovic, R; Saletu, B

    2000-03-24

    There is evidence that daytime tiredness is caused by apnea/hypopnea with oxygen desaturation and/or by sleep fragmentation due to arousals. The aim of this study was to investigate objective and subjective sleep and awakening quality and daytime vigilance--objectified by midmorning mapping of vigilance-controlled EEG (V-EEG)--in sleep apnea patients (N: 18), as compared with age- and sex-matched normal controls (N: 18) as well as to correlate nocturnal respiratory distress and arousals to daytime brain function. Statistical analyses demonstrated a deterioration in subjective and objective sleep and awakening quality in apnea patients. Midmorning V-EEG mapping in apnea patients exhibited less total power, more delta and theta, less alpha and beta activity, as well as a slower dominant frequency and centroid of the total activity compared to controls, which suggests a vigilance decrement. The Spearman rank correlation between 6 polysomnographically registered respiratory variables and 36 diurnal quantitative EEG measures demonstrated the following: the higher the apnea, apnea-hypopnea, snoring and desaturation indices and the lower the minimum and average low oxygen saturation, the more pronounced was diurnal tiredness. Eleven arousal measures based on ASDA criteria showed the following significant correlations: the higher the nocturnal arousal index and the more arousals due to hypopneas, the greater was daytime tiredness. On the other hand, the greater the average frequency change during arousals and the more spontaneous arousals, the better was daytime vigilance. Our findings show that, in contrast to the lengthy Multiple Sleep Latency (MSLT) and Maintenance of Wakefulness (MWT) tests which evaluate sleep pressure under resting conditions conducive to sleep, V-EEG mapping provides a brief objective measure of a sleep apnea patient's daytime tiredness under conditions of wakefulness more appropriate to reflect the patient's everyday life.

  19. Prevalence of second-hand smoke exposure after introduction of the Italian smoking ban: the Florence and Belluno survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorini, Giuseppe; Gasparrini, Antonio; Tamang, Elizabeth; Nebot, Manel; Lopez, Maria José; Albertini, Marco; Marcolina, Daniela; Fernandez, Esteve

    2008-01-01

    A law banning smoking in enclosed public places was implemented in Italy on January 10, 2005. The aim of this paper is to present a cross-sectional survey on two representative samples of non-smokers of two Italian towns (Florence and Belluno), conducted one year after the introduction of the ban, in order to assess prevalence of second-hand smoke exposure, to record the attitudes towards the ban, and the perception about its compliance in a representative sample of non-smokers. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were carried out in March 2006, from a random sample of households from telephone registries. Respondents were 402 non-smokers from Belluno and 1,073 from Florence. About 12% of Florentines and 7% of Belluno respondents were exposed at home; 39% and 19%, respectively, at work; 10% and 5% in hospitality venues; 20% and 10% in cars. The smoke-free law was almost universally supported (about 98%) even if a smaller proportion of people (about 90%) had the perception that the ban was observed. Second-hand smoke exposure at home and in hospitality premises has dropped to hospitality venues.

  20. Sonolência diurna excessiva em pré-vestibulandos Excessive daytime sleepiness in senior high school students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Carlos Souza

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: O sono é um fenômeno que interfere nos aspectos cognitivos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência da sonolência diurna excessiva (SDE em pré-vestibulandos de Campo Grande, MS. MÉTODOS: Foram entrevistados 378 alunos com a escala de sonolência Epworth (ESE. As variáveis foram: sexo, uso esporádico de bebidas alcoólicas e fumo, relato de sinais e sintomas depressivos, renda familiar total dos membros do lar e idade. Foram empregados os testes qui-quadrado e de análise de variância. RESULTADOS: Em relação ao gênero, 50,3% eram homens e 49,7% mulheres; 39,2% ingeriam álcool; 6,6% fumavam e 33% já tinham tido depressão na vida. Entre os alunos, 55,8% tinham SDE, 5,3% eram indicativos de ter distúrbio respiratório ou síndrome da apnéia do sono. Foram detectadas associações entre as variáveis consumo de álcool e tabagismo, em relação à ESE. CONCLUSÕES: Foi alta a prevalência de SDE, sendo detectadas associações entre as variáveis uso esporádico de álcool e fumo, em relação à ESE. Novos estudos devem ser realizados a fim de prevenir as alterações cognitivas entre os pré-vestibulandos que apresentam SDE ou outro distúrbio do sono.OBJETIVE: Sleep is a phenomenon that has influence on cognitive aspects. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS prevalence. METHODS: 378 senior high school students from a school of Campo Grande-MS, Brazil, were interview with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The variables that were crosSDE with the scale were: sex, alcohol use, smoking, symptoms of depression, family income and age. For the analysis it was uSDE the chi2 test and the variance analysis test. RESULTS: Our sample consisted of 50,3% boys and 49,7% girls, 39,2% were alcohol drinkers, 6,6% were smokers and 33% had already had depression. The overall prevalence of EDS was 55,8% and of respiratory disturbance or sleep apnea was 5,3%. We found relationships

  1. Imposex in Reishia clavigera as an Indicator to Assess Recovery of TBT Pollution After a Total Ban in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Nam Sook; Hong, Sang Hee; Shin, Kyung-Hoon; Shim, Won Joon

    2017-08-01

    The temporal changes in the frequency and degree of imposex and tributyltin (TBT) levels in gastropod (Reishia clavigera) were evaluated in Jinhae Bay, 5 and 10 years after the total ban on TBT usage in South Korea. The frequency and degree of imposex decreased significantly after the ban, accompanied by an increase in the female-to-male ratio. The TBT concentrations in R. clavigera also decreased significantly after the ban. There were good correlations between the TBT concentration in rock shell and both the degree of imposex and the female-to-male ratio. The total TBT ban effectively reduced the TBT levels and the frequency and degree of imposex in R. clavigera. However, the current low exposure level in the study area is still sufficient to cause imposex in R. clavigera. More time is needed to reduce the TBT levels to levels that do not have adverse biological effects on R. clavigera.

  2. Associations between physical activity, sedentary time, sleep duration and daytime sleepiness in US adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClain, James J; Lewin, Daniel S; Laposky, Aaron D; Kahle, Lisa; Berrigan, David

    2014-09-01

    To examine the associations between objectively measured physical activity (PA) or sedentary behavior and self-reported sleep duration or daytime sleepiness in a nationally representative sample of healthy US adults (N=2128). We report analyses of four aspects of sedentary behavior and PA derived from accelerometry data (minutes of sedentary time, activity counts/minute, Minutes of Moderate and Vigorous PA [MVPA], and MVPA in 10-minute bouts) versus self-report of sleep duration and frequency of daytime sleepiness from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Age and sex dependence of associations between PA and sleep were observed. Aspects of PA were significantly lower in adults reporting more frequent daytime sleepiness in younger (20-39) and older (≥ 60) age groups, but not in middle-aged (40-59), respondents. In younger respondents, PA increased with sleep duration, but in middle aged and older respondents PA was either unrelated to sleep duration or lower in those reporting ≥ 8 h of sleep. Objectively measured sedentary time showed limited evidence of associations with sleep duration. Further research delineating the relationships between sleep and PA is important because both activities have been implicated in diverse health outcomes as well as in the etiology of obesity. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. A multi-step pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence, reduced attention, and poor academic performance: an exploratory cross-sectional study in teenagers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Lloret, Santiago; Videla, Alejandro J; Richaudeau, Alba; Vigo, Daniel; Rossi, Malco; Cardinali, Daniel P; Perez-Chada, Daniel

    2013-05-15

    A multi-step causality pathway connecting short sleep duration to daytime somnolence and sleepiness leading to reduced attention and poor academic performance as the final result can be envisaged. However this hypothesis has never been explored. To explore consecutive correlations between sleep duration, daytime somnolence, attention levels, and academic performance in a sample of school-aged teenagers. We carried out a survey assessing sleep duration and daytime somnolence using the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS). Sleep duration variables included week-days' total sleep time, usual bedtimes, and absolute weekday to-weekend sleep time difference. Attention was assessed by d2 test and by the coding subtest from the WISC-IV scale. Academic performance was obtained from literature and math grades. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the independent relationships between these variables, while controlling for confounding effects of other variables, in one single model. Standardized regression weights (SWR) for relationships between these variables are reported. Study sample included 1,194 teenagers (mean age: 15 years; range: 13-17 y). Sleep duration was inversely associated with daytime somnolence (SWR = -0.36, p academic results (SWR = 0.18, p academic achievements (SWR = -0.16, p sleep duration influenced attention through daytime somnolence (p academic achievements through reduced attention (p academic achievements correlated with reduced attention, which in turn was related to daytime somnolence. Somnolence correlated with short sleep duration.

  4. Should selecting saviour siblings be banned?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheldon, S; Wilkinson, S

    2004-12-01

    By using tissue typing in conjunction with preimplantation genetic diagnosis doctors are able to pick a human embryo for implantation which, if all goes well, will become a "saviour sibling", a brother or sister capable of donating life-saving tissue to an existing child. This paper addresses the question of whether this form of selection should be banned and concludes that it should not. Three main prohibitionist arguments are considered and found wanting: (a) the claim that saviour siblings would be treated as commodities; (b) a slippery slope argument, which suggests that this practice will lead to the creation of so-called "designer babies"; and (c) a child welfare argument, according to which saviour siblings will be physically and/or psychologically harmed.

  5. Implementation of a campus-wide Irish hospital smoking ban in 2009: prevalence and attitudinal trends among staff and patients in lead up.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Fitzpatrick, Patricia

    2012-02-01

    We report the evidence base that supported the decision to implement the first campus-wide hospital smoking ban in the Republic of Ireland with effect from 1 January 2009. Three separate data sources are utilized; surveillance data collected from patients and staff in 8 surveys between 1997 and 2006, a 1-week observational study to assess smoker behaviour in designated smoking shelters and an attitudinal interview with 28 smoker patients and 30 staff on the implications of the 2004 indoors workplace smoking ban, conducted in 2005. The main outcome measures were trends in prevalence of smoking over time according to age, sex and occupational groups and attitudes to the 2004 ban and a projected outright campus ban. Smoking rates among patients remained steady, 24.2% in 1997\\/98 and 22.7% in 2006. Staff smoking rates declined from 27.4% to 17.8%, with a strong occupational gradient. Observational evidence suggested a majority of those using smoking shelters in 2005 were women and health-care workers rather than patients. Attitudes of patients and staff were positive towards the 2004 ban, but with some ambivalence on the effectiveness of current arrangements. Staff particularly were concerned with patient safety issues associated with smoking outdoors. The 2004 ban was supported by 87.6% of patients and 81.3% of staff in 2006 and a majority of 58.6% of patients and 52.4% of staff agreed with an outright campus ban being implemented. These findings were persuasive in instigating a process in 2007\\/08 to go totally smoke-free by 2009, the stages for which are discussed.

  6. Comparison of the oral health problems and behavior of male daytime-only and night-shift office workers: An Internet survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishizuka, Yoichi; Yoshino, Koichi; Takayanagi, Atsushi; Sugihara, Naoki; Maki, Yoshinobu; Kamijyo, Hideyuki

    2016-05-25

    The aim of this study was to compare the oral health problems and behavior of full-time male daytime-only and night shift office workers. The participants were recruited by applying screening procedures to a pool of Japanese registrants in an online database. During the period of 20 February 2015 to 11 March 2015, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their oral health. A total of 325 daytime-only workers and 351 workers who sometimes worked night shifts, ages 30 to 69, were analyzed in this study. Overall, the mean number of teeth of the night shift workers was lower than that of the daytime-only workers (p=0.002). When analyzed by age group, a significant difference was seen in the 50-69 age group (p=0.016). The percentage of night shift workers with decayed teeth was higher than that of the daytime-only workers (pnight shift workers were more likely to report gingival bleeding (p=0.015) and stomatitis (p=0.025) than the daytime-only workers. The percentage of night shift workers reporting frequent brushing behavior was lower than that of the daytime-only workers (p=0.040). The independent variables found to correlate significantly with tooth decay were night shift work (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.20-2.67), current smoking habit (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.13-2.46), and BMI of ≥25 (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.02-2.39). These results indicate a relationship between night shift work and oral health problems. Night shift workers may require additional support for oral health maintenance.

  7. Elements of a system for verifying a Comprehensive Test Ban

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hannon, W.J.

    1987-01-01

    The paper discusses the goals of a monitoring system for a CTB, its functions, the challenges to verification, discrimination techniques, and some recent developments. It is concluded technical, military and political efforts are required to establish and verify test ban treaties which will contribute to stability in the long term. It currently appears there will be a significant number of unidentified events

  8. Investigating daytime effects of correlated colour temperature on experiences, performance, and arousal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smolders, K.C.H.J.; de Kort, Y.A.W.

    Research in the late evening and at night has shown that acute activating effects of light are particularly sensitive to short-wavelength light. Yet, findings on such effects during daytime are still inconclusive. This study (N=39) investigated effects of correlated colour temperature (CCT; 2700 K

  9. D22S15 - a fetal brain cDNA with BanII and SacI RFLP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rouleau, G A; Kurnit, D M; Neve, R L; Bazanowsky, A; Patterson, D; Gusella, J F

    1988-02-25

    A .58 kb single copy EcoRI fragment was isolated from a human fetal brain cDNA library and cloned into pBR322. This fragment recognizes a two allele polymorphism when used to probe human genomic DNA digested with SacI. There are no constant bands. Additional polymorphisms recognized by BanII and Bsp1286 are in disequilibrium with the BanII polymorphism. It has been localized to chromosome 22 by somatic cell hybrid analysis and linkage analysis. Co-dominant segregation has been observed in 15 informative families.

  10. Can a smoking ban save your heart?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzonna, Fabrizio; Salari, Paola

    2018-06-04

    This paper evaluates the causal effect of environmental tobacco exposure on health by exploiting the time and geographical variation in public-place smoking bans implemented in Switzerland between 2007 and 2011. We use administrative data on hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction, which allow to measure the short-run effects of the policy on an objective metric of health. We show that the incidence of acute myocardial infarction decreases by approximately 8% immediately after implementation of the law with large heterogeneity across regions. Our results indicate that the policy was effective in reducing the negative externality of smoking with potential spillovers on health inequality. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: options before nuclear Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pattanaik, Smruti S.

    1998-01-01

    The post-nuclear period has rendered Pakistan's strategic calculations more vulnerable. The decision to go nuclear after seventeen days of debate have started proving costly to Pakistan. This is revealed by the economic crisis resulting out of the foreign currency shortage, leading the country to default on the payment of debts. The pressure imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and their patrons to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) have exposed Pakistan's economic vulnerability. Under this growing pressure, many have started questioning the decision to go nuclear

  12. [Association between insomnia symptoms, daytime napping, and falls in community-dwelling elderly].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Alexandre Alves; Ceolim, Maria Filomena; Neri, Anita Liberalesso

    2013-03-01

    This study focused on associations between insomnia symptoms, daytime napping, and falls in community-dwelling elderly, using a population-based cross-sectional design and probability sample with 689 community-dwelling elders. The protocol consisted of self-reported and physical performance variables. The study used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis with statistical significance set at p napping were 49.9% (n = 339) and 62.8% (n = 432), respectively. 14.4% reported a single fall and 11.9% reported multiple falls. Falls were associated with female gender (OR = 7.73; 95%CI: 3.03-19.72), age > 80 (OR = 3.48; 95%CI: 1.54-7.85), napping (OR = 2.24; 95%CI: 1.24-4.05), and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.98; 95%CI: 1.11-3.53). The association between daytime napping and falls corroborates data from international research. Identifying modifiable risk factors may help programs to prevent falls in the elderly.

  13. Biochemical and physiological characterization of three rice cultivars under different daytime temperature conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alefsi David Sanchez-Reinoso

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Heat stress due to high daytime temperatures is one of the main limiting factors in rice (Oryza sativa L. yield in Colombia. Thus, the objective of the present research was to analyze the effect of three different daytime temperatures (25, 35, and 40 °C on the physiological responses of three Colombian rice cultivars (F60, F733, and F473, thereby contributing to the knowledge of rice acclimation mechanisms. For 10 d, eight plants of each of the three cultivars were subjected daily to 5 h periods of 35 and 40 °C. The control treatment corresponded to normal growth conditions (25 °C. Thermal stress was assessed based on a series of physiological and biochemical parameters. The 35 °C treatment produced photosynthetic and respiratory differences in all three cultivars. At 40 °C, 'F60' displayed the lowest photosynthetic rate and the highest respiratory rate. Although this cultivar experienced particularly strong electrolyte leakage and changes in proline when subjected to the high-temperature treatments, similar trends were observed in 'F733' and 'F473'. At 40 °C, the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA was lower in 'F473' than in the other cultivars. These results may explain the poor agronomic performance of 'F60' in the field under daytime heat stress. The methodologies employed in the present work may be useful in Colombian rice breeding programs, particularly for the selection of heat-tolerant breeding stocks.

  14. Neurobehavioral performance impairment in insomnia: relationships with self-reported sleep and daytime functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shekleton, Julia A; Flynn-Evans, Erin E; Miller, Belinda; Epstein, Lawrence J; Kirsch, Douglas; Brogna, Lauren A; Burke, Liza M; Bremer, Erin; Murray, Jade M; Gehrman, Philip; Lockley, Steven W; Rajaratnam, Shantha M W

    2014-01-01

    Despite the high prevalence of insomnia, daytime consequences of the disorder are poorly characterized. This study aimed to identify neurobehavioral impairments associated with insomnia, and to investigate relationships between these impairments and subjective ratings of sleep and daytime dysfunction. Cross-sectional, multicenter study. Three sleep laboratories in the USA and Australia. Seventy-six individuals who met the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for Primary Insomnia, Psychophysiological Insomnia, Paradoxical Insomnia, and/or Idiopathic Childhood Insomnia (44F, 35.8 ± 12.0 years [mean ± SD]) and 20 healthy controls (14F, 34.8 ± 12.1 years). N/A. Participants completed a 7-day sleep-wake diary, questionnaires assessing daytime dysfunction, and a neurobehavioral test battery every 60-180 minutes during an afternoon/evening sleep laboratory visit. Included were tasks assessing sustained and switching attention, working memory, subjective sleepiness, and effort. Switching attention and working memory were significantly worse in insomnia patients than controls, while no differences were found for simple or complex sustained attention tasks. Poorer sustained attention in the control, but not the insomnia group, was significantly associated with increased subjective sleepiness. In insomnia patients, poorer sustained attention performance was associated with reduced health-related quality of life and increased insomnia severity. We found that insomnia patients exhibit deficits in higher level neurobehavioral functioning, but not in basic attention. The findings indicate that neurobehavioral deficits in insomnia are due to neurobiological alterations, rather than sleepiness resulting from chronic sleep deficiency.

  15. Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... their drinking causes distress and harm. It includes alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a disease that causes ... the liver, brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the ...

  16. Universitarios analizan su consumo de alcohol y proponen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana Muñoz Ortega

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This article spread the proposal of university students about elements to design and implementation of alcohol prevention programs. Levels, situations and characteristics about alcohol consume was taking into account in 350 students in the daytime in a university in Bogota. The form general data, the CEAL and ISCA and focus groups were using. Consumption is high, and there are early indicators of intoxication, abuse and dependence. Situations associated with consumption are both unpleasant and pleasant emotions, the urge to consume, social pressure and pleasant times. It stand up programs implemented since the University Welfare that aimed at reducing consumption and responsible consumption using shocking activities under the responsibility of all stakeholders. Resumen Los resultados de investigación presentados en este artículo muestran la propuesta de universitarios de elementos para el diseño e implementación de programas de prevención al consumo de alcohol. Se partió de niveles, situaciones y características del consumo en 350 universitarios de la jornada diurna de una institución universitaria de Bogotá. Se utilizaron la ficha de datos generales, el CEAL y el ISCA y grupos focales. El consumo es alto, iniciado tempranamente; existen indicadores de intoxicación, abuso y dependencia. Las situaciones asociadas al consumo son las emociones tanto desagradables como agradables, la urgencia por consumir, la presión social y los momentos agradables. Se destacan programas preventivos implementados desde Bienestar Universitario orientados a la reducción del consumo y al consumo responsable a través de actividades impactantes bajo la responsabilidad de todos los actores implicados.

  17. The US National Resources Defense Council/Soviet Academy of Sciences Nuclear Test Ban Verification Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochran, T.B.

    1989-01-01

    The first week in September 1987 was an extraordinary one for arms control verification. As part of the co-operative Test Ban Verification Project of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Soviet Academy of Sciences, fourteen American scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (at the University of California- San Diego), University of Nevada-Reno and the University of Colorado went to the region of the Soviet's principal nuclear test site near Semipalatinsk. Together with their Soviet counterparts from the Institute of Physics of the Earth (IPE) in Moscow, they fired off three large chemical explosions. The purpose of these explosions was to demonstrate the sensitivity of the three seismic stations surrounding the test site, to study the efficiency with which high-frequency seismic waves propagate in the region, and to study differences between chemical explosions, nuclear explosions and earthquakes in order more firmly to establish procedures for verification of a nuclear test ban. This paper presents a review of the results of these experiments, an update on the status of the joint project, and a review of the significance of high frequency seismic data to test ban verification

  18. Associations of Bar and Restaurant Smoking Bans With Smoking Behavior in the CARDIA Study: A 25-Year Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayne, Stephanie L; Auchincloss, Amy H; Tabb, Loni Philip; Stehr, Mark; Shikany, James M; Schreiner, Pamela J; Widome, Rachel; Gordon-Larsen, Penny

    2018-06-01

    Indoor smoking bans have often been associated with reductions in smoking prevalence. However, few studies have evaluated their association with within-person changes in smoking behaviors. We linked longitudinal data from 5,105 adults aged 18-30 years at baseline from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study (1985-2011) to state, county, and local policies mandating 100% smoke-free bars and restaurants by census tract. We used fixed-effects models to examine the association of smoking bans with within-person change in current smoking risk, smoking intensity (smoking ≥10 cigarettes/day on average vs. <10 cigarettes/day), and quitting attempts, using both linear and nonlinear adjustment for secular trends. In models assuming a linear secular trend, smoking bans were associated with a decline in current smoking risk and smoking intensity and an increased likelihood of a quitting attempt. The association with current smoking was greatest among participants with a bachelor's degree or higher. In models with a nonlinear secular trend, pooled results were attenuated (confidence intervals included the null), but effect modification results were largely unchanged. Findings suggest that smoking ban associations may be difficult to disentangle from other tobacco control interventions and emphasize the importance of evaluating equity throughout policy implementation.

  19. Perumusan Strategi Bersaing pada Perusahaan Ban dengan Metode Analisis Portofolio Produk (Studi Kasus: PT Multistrada Arah Sarana, Tbk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathanael August Zefanya

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Industri ban di Indonesia mengalami perkembangan pesat dalam kurun waktu 10 tahun terakhir. Namun, terjadinya krisis ekonomi global menjadi penyebab menurunnya pendapatan, salah satunya adalah PT MASA dengan produk utamanya yaitu ban mobil Achilles dan ban motor Corsa yang digunakan sebagai objek penelitian ini. Telah diilakukan analisis PESTEL dan Porter’s Five Forces, identifikasi faktor lingkungan internal dan eksternal dengan analisis SWOT serta merumuskan alternatif strategi bersaing untuk direkomendasikan kepada PT MASA. Perumusan strategi alternatif didapat dari hasil analisis Matriks BCG dan Matriks IE sebagai analisis portofolio untuk mendapatkan tema strategi alternatif dalam pembuatan Matriks SWOT. Strategi alternatif kemudian diperingkatkan dengan QSPM dan dilanjutkan pembuatan rencana aksi bagi PT MASA dalam waktu 5 tahun ke depan. Setelah dilakukan analisis industri, diketahui bahwa ancaman terbesar datang dari pesaing produsen ban. Dari hasil analisis portofolio, PT MASA berada di kuadran I karena memiliki koordinat IFE serta EFE 3,32 dan 3,26. Dari hasil analisis Matriks IE, PT MASA direkomendasikan untuk melakukan strategi grow and build. Hasil Matriks BCG menunjukkan bahwa Achilles berada di dogs, sementara Corsa berada di question marks. Terdapat 13 strategi alternatif hasil dari formulasi strategi dengan menggunakan matriks TOWS. Dari hasil analisis QSPM, terdapat 7 alternatif strategi terbaik dan rencana aksi..

  20. The impact of Sleep Time-Related Information and Communication Technology (STRICT) on sleep patterns and daytime functioning in American adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polos, Peter G; Bhat, Sushanth; Gupta, Divya; O'Malley, Richard J; DeBari, Vincent A; Upadhyay, Hinesh; Chaudhry, Saqib; Nimma, Anitha; Pinto-Zipp, Genevieve; Chokroverty, Sudhansu

    2015-10-01

    This cross-sectional study explored the extent and impact of mobile device-based Sleep Time-Related Information and Communication Technology (STRICT) use among American adolescents (N = 3139, 49.3% female, mean age = 13.3 years). Nearly 62% used STRICT after bedtime, 56.7% texted/tweeted/messaged in bed, and 20.8% awoke to texts. STRICT use was associated with insomnia, daytime sleepiness, eveningness, academic underperformance, later bedtimes and shorter sleep duration. Moderation analysis demonstrated that the association between STRICT use and insomnia increased with age, the association between STRICT use and daytime sleepiness decreased with age, and the association between STRICT use and shorter sleep duration decreased with age and was stronger in girls. Insomnia and daytime sleepiness partially mediated the relationship between STRICT use and academic underperformance. Our results illustrate the adverse interactions between adolescent STRICT use and sleep, with deleterious effects on daytime functioning. These worrisome findings suggest that placing reasonable limitations on adolescent STRICT use may be appropriate. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Home monitoring of daytime mouthpiece ventilation effectiveness in patients with neuromuscular disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nardi, Julie; Leroux, Karl; Orlikowski, David; Prigent, Hélène

    2015-01-01

    Mouthpiece ventilation (MPV) allows patients with neuromuscular disease to receive daytime support from a portable ventilator, which they can disconnect at will, for example, for speaking, eating, swallowing, and coughing. However, MPV carries a risk of underventilation. Our purpose here was to evaluate the effectiveness of daytime MPV under real-life conditions. Eight wheelchair-bound patients who used MPV underwent daytime polygraphy at home with recordings of airflow, mouthpiece pressure, thoracic and abdominal movements, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2), and transcutaneous partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PtcCO2). Times and durations of tasks and activities were recorded. The Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI) was computed. Patient–ventilator disconnections ≥3 minutes and episodes of hypoventilation defined as PtcCO2>45 mmHg were counted. Patient–ventilator asynchrony events were analyzed. The AHI was >5 hour−1 in two patients. Another patient experienced unexplained 3% drops in arterial oxygen saturations at a frequency of 70 hour−1. Patient–ventilator disconnections ≥3 minutes occurred in seven of eight patients and were consistently associated with decreases in SpO2 and ≥5-mmHg increases in PtcCO2; PtcCO2 rose above 45 mmHg in two patients during these disconnections. The most common type of patient–ventilator asynchrony was ineffective effort. This study confirms that MPV can be effective as long as the patient remains connected to the mouthpiece. However, transient arterial oxygen desaturation and hypercapnia due to disconnection from the ventilator may occur, without inducing unpleasant sensations in the patients. Therefore, an external warning system based on a minimal acceptable value of minute ventilation would probably be useful. PMID:26703922

  2. Socioeconomic Inequalities in Smoking and Smoking Cessation Due to a Smoking Ban: General Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Luxembourg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tchicaya, Anastase; Lorentz, Nathalie; Demarest, Stefaan

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to measure changes in socioeconomic inequalities in smoking and smoking cessation due to the 2006 smoking ban in Luxembourg. Data were derived from the PSELL3/EU-SILC (Panel Socio-Economique Liewen Zu Letzebuerg/European Union—Statistic on Income and Living Conditions) survey, which was a representative survey of the general population aged ≥16 years conducted in Luxembourg in 2005, 2007, and 2008. Smoking prevalence and smoking cessation due to the 2006 smoking ban were used as the main smoking outcomes. Two inequality measures were calculated to assess the magnitude and temporal trends of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking: the prevalence ratio and the disparity index. Smoking cessation due to the smoking ban was considered as a positive outcome. Three multiple logistic regression models were used to assess social inequalities in smoking cessation due to the 2006 smoking ban. Education level, income, and employment status served as proxies for socioeconomic status. The prevalence of smoking decreased by 22.5% between 2005 and 2008 (from 23.1% in 2005 to 17.9% in 2008), but socioeconomic inequalities in smoking persisted. Smoking prevalence decreased by 24.2% and 20.2% in men and women, respectively; this difference was not statistically significant. Smoking cessation in daily smokers due to the 2006 smoking ban was associated with education level, employment status, and income, with higher percentages of quitters among those with a lower socioeconomic status. The decrease in smoking prevalence after the 2006 law was also associated with a reduction in socioeconomic inequalities, including differences in education level, income, and employment status. Although the smoking ban contributed to a reduction of such inequalities, they still persist, indicating the need for a more targeted approach of smoke-free policies directed toward lower socioeconomic groups. PMID:27100293

  3. Near-term implications of a ban on new coal-fired power plants in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newcomer, Adam; Apt, Jay

    2009-06-01

    Large numbers of proposed new coal power generators in the United States have been canceled, and some states have prohibited new coal power generators. We examine the effects on the U.S. electric power system of banning the construction of coal-fired electricity generators, which has been proposed as a means to reduce U.S. CO2 emissions. The model simulates load growth, resource planning, and economic dispatch of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (ISO), Inc., Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and PJM under a ban on new coal generation and uses an economic dispatch model to calculate the resulting changes in dispatch order, CO2 emissions, and fuel use under three near-term (until 2030) future electric power sector scenarios. A national ban on new coal-fired power plants does not lead to CO2 reductions of the scale required under proposed federal legislation such as Lieberman-Warner but would greatly increase the fraction of time when natural gas sets the price of electricity, even with aggressive wind and demand response policies.

  4. Airborne exposure and biological monitoring of bar and restaurant workers before and after the introduction of a smoking ban.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellingsen, Dag G; Fladseth, Geir; Daae, Hanne L; Gjølstad, Merete; Kjaerheim, Kristina; Skogstad, Marit; Olsen, Raymond; Thorud, Syvert; Molander, Paal

    2006-03-01

    The aims were to assess the impact of a total smoking ban on the level of airborne contaminants and the urinary cotinine levels in the employees in bars and restaurants. In a follow up design, 13 bars and restaurants were visited before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Ninety-three employees in the establishments were initially included into the study. The arithmetic mean concentration of nicotine and total dust declined from 28.3 microg m(-3) (range, 0.4-88.0) and 262 microg m(-3) (range, 52-662), respectively, to 0.6 microg m(-3) (range, not detected-3.7) and 77 microg m(-3) (range, not detected-261) after the smoking ban. The Pearson correlation coefficient between airborne nicotine and total dust was 0.86 (p introduction of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants. The urinary cotinine levels were reduced in non-smokers. The decline found in smokers may suggest a reduction in the amount of smoking after intervention. In non-smokers cotinine concentrations were higher based on urine sampled the morning after a shift than based on urine sampled immediately post-shift.

  5. The impact of time of delivery on gestations complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes: daytime versus nighttime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moussa, Hind; Hosseini Nasab, Susan; Fournie, David; Ontiveros, Alejandra; Alkawas, Rim; Chauhan, Suneet; Blackwell, Sean; Sibai, Baha

    2018-04-09

    Perinatal death, in particular intrapartum stillbirth and short-term neonatal death, as well as neonatal short term and long term morbidity have been associated with the time of day that the birth occurs. Indeed, evening and nighttime deliveries were associated with an increased risk of an adverse perinatal outcome when compared to similar daytime deliveries. Impact of shift change, as well as time of day delivery have been extensively studied in the context of maternal and neonatal complications of cesarean delivery, however, no studies were previously performed on timing of delivery and its effect on the outcome of pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes. Our objective was to compare obstetric, neonatal as well as long-term outcomes between women delivered in the daytime versus nighttime, in singleton gestations whose pregnancies were complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes. This was a secondary analysis of a trial of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network "A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate for the Prevention of Cerebral Palsy". For this analysis, the time of delivery was divided into the daytime, from 07:01 to 19:00, and the nighttime, from 19:01 to 07:00. Epidemiological, obstetric characteristics as well as neonatal and long-term outcomes were compared between deliveries occurring during the daytime versus the nighttime periods. Inclusion criteria consisted of singleton gestations diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). Multifetal gestations and pregnancies with preterm labor without preterm premature rupture of membranes were excluded. A total of 1752 patients met inclusion criteria, 881 delivering during the daytime, while 871 during the nighttime. There were no differences in demographic maternal variables. There were no differences in the number of patients

  6. "They silently live in terror…" why sleep problems and night-time related quality-of-life are missed in children with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ipsiroglu, Osman S; McKellin, William H; Carey, Norma; Loock, Christine

    2013-02-01

    Children and adolescents with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are at high-risk for developing sleep problems (SPs) triggering daytime behavioral co-morbidities such as inattention, hyperactivity, and cognitive and emotional impairments. However, symptoms of sleep deprivation are solely associated with typical daytime diagnosis, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and treated with psychotropic medications. To understand how and why SPs are missed, we conducted qualitative interviews (QIs) with six parents and seven health care professionals (HCPs), and performed comprehensive clinical sleep assessments (CCSAs) in 27 patients together with their caregivers referred to our clinic for unresolved SPs. We used narrative schema and therapeutic emplotment in conjunction with analyzes of medical records to appropriately diagnose SPs and develop treatment strategies. The research was conducted at British Columbia Children's Hospital in Vancouver (Canada) between 2008 and 2011. In the QIs, parents and HCPs exhibited awareness of the significance of SPs and the effects of an SP on the daytime behaviors of the child and the associated burdens on the parents. HCPs' systemic inattention to the sequelae of SPs and the affected family's wellbeing appears due to an insufficient understanding of the various factors that contribute to nighttime SPs and their daytime sequelae. In the CCSAs, we found that the diagnostic recognition of chronic SPs in children and adolescents was impaired by the exclusive focus on daytime presentations. Daytime behavioral and emotional problems were targets of pharmacological treatment rather than the underlying SP. Consequently, SPs were also targeted with medications, without investigating the underlying problem. Our study highlights deficits in the diagnostic recognition of chronic SPs among children with chronic neurodevelopmental disorders/disabilities and proposes a clinical practice strategy, based on therapeutic

  7. Why sleep matters: differences in daytime functioning between adolescents with low and high chronic sleep reduction and short and long sleep durations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dewald-Kaufmann, J.F.; Oort, F.J.; Bögels, S.M.; Meijer, A.M.

    2013-01-01

    Sleep problems are prevalent in adolescents and can severely impair their daytime functioning. This study aims to investigate differences in daytime functioning (e.g., depressive symptoms, attention problems, school functioning, and school performance) between adolescents with high and low chronic

  8. Daytime Running Lights. Public Consultation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2009-12-15

    The Road Safety Authority is considering the policy options available to promote the use of Daytime Running Lights (DRL), including the possibility of mandating the use of DRL on all vehicles. An EC Directive would make DRL mandatory for new vehicles from 2011 onwards and by 2024 it is predicted that due to the natural replacement of the national fleet, almost all vehicles would be equipped with DRL. The RSA is inviting views on introducing DRL measures earlier, whereby all road vehicles would be required to use either dipped head lights during hours of daylight or dedicated DRL from next year onwards. The use of DRL has been found to enhance the visibility of vehicles, thereby increasing road safety by reducing the number and severity of collisions. This paper explores the benefits of DRL and the implications for all road users including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In order to ensure a comprehensive consideration of all the issues, the Road Safety Authority is seeking the views and advice of interested parties.

  9. Landmines on the Table: A Negotiations Analysis of the Global Campaign to Ban Landmines

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Moody, Eric M

    2008-01-01

    ...?" I argue that the competitive, distributive negotiation strategies and tactics used by the United States and pro-ban advocates during the campaign ensured that a negotiated agreement was not reached...

  10. Effects of the 2003 advertising/promotion ban in the United Kingdom on awareness of tobacco marketing: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, F; MacKintosh, A M; Anderson, S; Hastings, G; Borland, R; Fong, G T; Hammond, D

    2006-01-01

    Background In February 2003, a comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion came into effect in the United Kingdom, which prohibited tobacco marketing through print and broadcast media, billboards, the internet, direct mail, product placement, promotions, free gifts, coupons and sponsorships. Objective To investigate the impact of the UK's comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion on adult smokers' awareness of tobacco marketing in the UK relative to Canada, the United States and Australia. Design A total of 6762 adult smokers participated in two waves of a random digit dialled telephone survey across the four countries. Wave 1 was conducted before the UK ban (October–December 2002) and Wave 2 was conducted after the UK ban (May–September 2003). Key measures Awareness of a range of forms of tobacco marketing. Results Levels of tobacco promotion awareness declined significantly among smokers in the UK after implementation of the advertising ban. Declines in awareness were greater in those channels regulated by the new law and change in awareness of tobacco promotions was much greater in the UK than the other three countries not affected by the ban. At least in the short term, there was no evidence that the law resulted in greater exposure to tobacco promotions in the few media channels not covered by the law. Notwithstanding the apparent success of the UK advertising ban and the controls in other countries, 9–22% of smokers in the four countries still reported noticing things that promoted smoking “often or very often” at Wave 2. Conclusions The UK policy to ban tobacco advertising and promotion has significantly reduced exposure to pro‐tobacco marketing influences. These findings support the effectiveness of comprehensive bans on advertising and promotion, as included in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. PMID:16754943

  11. Effects of the 2003 advertising/promotion ban in the United Kingdom on awareness of tobacco marketing: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, F; MacKintosh, A M; Anderson, S; Hastings, G; Borland, R; Fong, G T; Hammond, D; Cummings, K M

    2006-06-01

    In February 2003, a comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion came into effect in the United Kingdom, which prohibited tobacco marketing through print and broadcast media, billboards, the internet, direct mail, product placement, promotions, free gifts, coupons and sponsorships. To investigate the impact of the UK's comprehensive ban on tobacco promotion on adult smokers' awareness of tobacco marketing in the UK relative to Canada, the United States and Australia. A total of 6762 adult smokers participated in two waves of a random digit dialled telephone survey across the four countries. Wave 1 was conducted before the UK ban (October-December 2002) and Wave 2 was conducted after the UK ban (May-September 2003). Awareness of a range of forms of tobacco marketing. Levels of tobacco promotion awareness declined significantly among smokers in the UK after implementation of the advertising ban. Declines in awareness were greater in those channels regulated by the new law and change in awareness of tobacco promotions was much greater in the UK than the other three countries not affected by the ban. At least in the short term, there was no evidence that the law resulted in greater exposure to tobacco promotions in the few media channels not covered by the law. Notwithstanding the apparent success of the UK advertising ban and the controls in other countries, 9-22% of smokers in the four countries still reported noticing things that promoted smoking "often or very often" at Wave 2. The UK policy to ban tobacco advertising and promotion has significantly reduced exposure to pro-tobacco marketing influences. These findings support the effectiveness of comprehensive bans on advertising and promotion, as included in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

  12. Effectiveness of the California State Ban on the Sale of Caulerpa Species in Aquarium Retail Stores in Southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Stephanie; Smith, Jayson R.; Zaleski, Susan F.; Murray, Steven N.

    2012-07-01

    The invasion of the aquarium strain of the green alga Caulerpa taxifolia and subsequent alteration of community structure in the Mediterranean Sea raised awareness of the potential for non-native seaweeds to impact coastal communities. An introduction of C. taxifolia in southern California in 2000, presumably from the release of aquarium specimens, cost ~7 million for eradication efforts. Besides C. taxifolia, other Caulerpa species being sold for aquarium use also may have the potential to invade southern Californian and U.S. waters. Surveys of the availability of Caulerpa species in southern California aquarium retail stores in 2000-2001 revealed that 26 of 50 stores sold at least one Caulerpa species (52 %) with seven stores selling C. taxifolia. In late 2001, California imposed a ban on the importation, sale, or possession of nine Caulerpa species; the City of San Diego expanded these regulations to include the entire genus. To determine the effectiveness of the California ban, we resurveyed Caulerpa availability at 43 of the 50 previously sampled retail stores in southern California in ~2006, ~4 years following the ban. Of the 43 stores, 23 sold Caulerpa (53 %) with four stores selling C. taxifolia. A χ2 test of frequency of availability before and after the California ban suggests that the ban has not been effective and that the aquarium trade continues to represent a potential vector for distributing Caulerpa specimens, including C. taxifolia. This study underscores the need for increased enforcement and outreach programs to increase awareness among the aquarium industry and aquarium hobbyists.

  13. Rapid-Eye-Movement-Sleep (REM Associated Enhancement of Working Memory Performance after a Daytime Nap.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esther Yuet Ying Lau

    Full Text Available The main objective was to study the impact of a daytime sleep opportunity on working memory and the mechanism behind such impact. This study adopted an experimental design in a sleep research laboratory. Eighty healthy college students (Age:17-23, 36 males were randomized to either have a polysomnography-monitored daytime sleep opportunity (Nap-group, n=40 or stay awake (Wake-group, n=40 between the two assessment sessions. All participants completed a sleep diary and wore an actigraph-watch for 5 days before and one day after the assessment sessions. They completed the state-measurement of sleepiness and affect, in addition to a psychomotor vigilance test and a working memory task before and after the nap/wake sessions. The two groups did not differ in their sleep characteristics prior to and after the lab visit. The Nap-group had higher accuracy on the working memory task, fewer lapses on the psychomotor vigilance test and lower state-sleepiness than the Wake-group. Within the Nap-group, working memory accuracy was positively correlated with duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REM and total sleep time during the nap. Our findings suggested that "sleep gain" during a daytime sleep opportunity had significant positive impact on working memory performance, without affecting subsequent nighttime sleep in young adult, and such impact was associated with the duration of REM. While REM abnormality has long been noted in pathological conditions (e.g. depression, which are also presented with cognitive dysfunctions (e.g. working memory deficits, this was the first evidence showing working memory enhancement associated with REM in daytime napping in college students, who likely had habitual short sleep duration but were otherwise generally healthy.

  14. Rapid-Eye-Movement-Sleep (REM) Associated Enhancement of Working Memory Performance after a Daytime Nap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Kristy Nga Ting; Hui, Florence Wai Ying; Tseng, Chia-huei

    2015-01-01

    The main objective was to study the impact of a daytime sleep opportunity on working memory and the mechanism behind such impact. This study adopted an experimental design in a sleep research laboratory. Eighty healthy college students (Age:17-23, 36 males) were randomized to either have a polysomnography-monitored daytime sleep opportunity (Nap-group, n=40) or stay awake (Wake-group, n=40) between the two assessment sessions. All participants completed a sleep diary and wore an actigraph-watch for 5 days before and one day after the assessment sessions. They completed the state-measurement of sleepiness and affect, in addition to a psychomotor vigilance test and a working memory task before and after the nap/wake sessions. The two groups did not differ in their sleep characteristics prior to and after the lab visit. The Nap-group had higher accuracy on the working memory task, fewer lapses on the psychomotor vigilance test and lower state-sleepiness than the Wake-group. Within the Nap-group, working memory accuracy was positively correlated with duration of rapid eye movement sleep (REM) and total sleep time during the nap. Our findings suggested that “sleep gain” during a daytime sleep opportunity had significant positive impact on working memory performance, without affecting subsequent nighttime sleep in young adult, and such impact was associated with the duration of REM. While REM abnormality has long been noted in pathological conditions (e.g. depression), which are also presented with cognitive dysfunctions (e.g. working memory deficits), this was the first evidence showing working memory enhancement associated with REM in daytime napping in college students, who likely had habitual short sleep duration but were otherwise generally healthy. PMID:25970511

  15. Compliance with the workplace-smoking ban in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdonk-Kleinjan, Wendy M I; Rijswijk, Pieter C P; de Vries, Hein; Knibbe, Ronald A

    2013-02-01

    In 2004 the Dutch government instituted a workplace-smoking ban. This study focuses on differences in compliance over time and between occupational sectors, and describes the background variables. Telephone interviews were conducted with company employees across industry, public and service sectors in 2004 (n=705), 2006 (n=2201) and 2008 (n=2034). The questions concerned smoking policy, aspects of awareness and motivation to implement this ban. Compliance rates increased between 2006 (83%) and 2008 (96%) after an initial stagnation in the rate of compliance between 2004 and 2006. The increase in compliance was accompanied by a less negative attitude and an increase in confidence in one's ability to comply (self-efficacy). Differences in compliance between sectors with the highest compliance (public sector) and the lowest compliance (industry) decreased from about 20% to nearly 4%. Simultaneously, in the industry there was a stronger increase for risk perception of enforcement, social influence and self-efficacy. The initial stagnation in increase of compliance might be due to the lack of a (new) coherent package of policy measures to discourage smoking. Over the entire period there was a stronger increase in compliance in the industry sector, probably due to the intensification of enforcement activities and additional policy like legislation, which might increase awareness and social support. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Association of Daytime Maternal Napping and Exercise With Nighttime Sleep in First-Time Mothers Between 3 and 6 Months Postpartum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lillis, Teresa A; Hamilton, Nancy A; Pressman, Sarah D; Khou, Christina S

    2016-10-19

    This study investigated the relationship of daytime maternal napping, exercise, caffeine, and alcohol intake to objective and subjective sleep indices. Sixty healthy, nondepressed, first-time mothers between 3 and 6 months postpartum. Seven consecutive days of online behavior diaries, sleep diaries, and wrist actigraphy, collecting Total Sleep Time (TST), Sleep Onset Latency (SOL), and Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO). After controlling for infant age, employment status, infant feeding method, and infant sleeping location, mixed linear models showed that longer average exercise durations were associated with longer average TST, and longer average nap durations were associated with longer average WASO durations. Significant within-person differences in TST and SOL were also observed, such that, on days when participants exercised and napped longer than average, their respective TST and SOL durations that night were longer. Shorter nap durations and longer exercise durations were associated with longer TST, shorter SOL, and reduced WASO. Even small changes in daily exercise and napping behaviors could lead to reliable improvements in postpartum maternal sleep.

  17. The association between state bans on soda only and adolescent substitution with other sugar-sweetened beverages: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taber, Daniel R; Chriqui, Jamie F; Vuillaume, Renee; Kelder, Steven H; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2015-07-27

    Across the United States, many states have actively banned the sale of soda in high schools, and evidence suggests that students' in-school access to soda has declined as a result. However, schools may be substituting soda with other sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and national trends indicate that adolescents are consuming more sports drinks and energy drinks. This study examined whether students consumed more non-soda SSBs in states that banned the sale of soda in school. Student data on consumption of various SSBs and in-school access to vending machines that sold SSBs were obtained from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS), conducted in 2010. Student data were linked to state laws regarding the sale of soda in school in 2010. Students were cross-classified based on their access to vending machines and whether their state banned soda in school, creating 4 comparison groups. Zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to compare these 4 groups with respect to students’ self-reported consumption of diet soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffee/tea, or other SSBs. Students who had access to vending machines in a state that did not ban soda were the reference group. Models were adjusted for race/ethnicity, sex, grade, home food access, state median income, and U.S. Census region. Students consumed more servings of sports drinks, energy drinks, coffee/tea, and other SSBs if they resided in a state that banned soda in school but attended a school with vending machines that sold other SSBs. Similar results were observed where schools did not have vending machines but the state allowed soda to be sold in school. Intake was generally not elevated where both states and schools limited SSB availability – i.e., states banned soda and schools did not have SSB vending machines. State laws that ban soda but allow other SSBs may lead students to substitute other non-soda SSBs. Additional longitudinal research is needed to confirm this

  18. Impact of an Outdoor Smoking Ban at Secondary Schools on Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes and Water Pipe Use among Adolescents: An 18-Month Follow-Up.

    OpenAIRE

    Rozema, Andrea D; Hiemstra, Marieke; Mathijssen, Jolanda J P; Jansen, Maria W J; van Oers, Hans J A M

    2018-01-01

    Abstract: The effectiveness of outdoor smoking bans on smoking behavior among adolescents remains inconclusive. This study evaluates the long-term impact of outdoor school ground smoking bans among adolescents at secondary schools on the use of conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes (with/without nicotine) and water pipes. Outdoor smoking bans at 19 Dutch secondary schools were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design. Data on 7733 adolescents were obtained at baseline, and at 6 and 18-mont...

  19. After "Ginsberg" and "Tinker": Book Banning and Minor's First Amendment Rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trauth, Denise M.; Huffman, John L.

    Through an analysis of the six federal book banning cases that have been adjudicated in the past decade since "Ginsberg v. New York" and "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District," this paper explores the difference in current First Amendment theory in the area of student access to books. A review of the six cases indicates that the…

  20. Perceptions of parental smoking and sociodemographic factors associated with the adoption of home smoking bans among parents of school-aged children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Ting; Chen, Ping-Ling

    2014-08-01

    Although public smoking restrictions have been implemented, children are still exposed to household smoking. Parental smoking is the main source of children's exposure to secondhand smoke. This study was conducted to examine the factors associated with parents' adoption of home smoking bans. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 768 parents of school-aged children in Taiwan. The home smoking restriction status, parents' perceptions of smoking in the presence of children and its influences, and parents' sociodemographic characteristics were assessed. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to determine the best-fit model. More than 80% of the parents agreed with home smoking bans, whereas only approximately 26% of the parents actually restricted smoking at home completely. The crude odds ratios showed that parents who perceived the influence of parental smoking on children to be negative were more likely to adopt home smoking bans. Hierarchical logistic regression revealed factors associated with the adoption of home smoking bans, including a higher education level and older age of parents, a family composed of nonparent adults, and opposition to parental smoking in the presence of children. Children's health is a major concern for parents considering home smoking bans. Helping parents clarify misunderstandings regarding parental smoking, emphasizing the adverse effects of children's exposure to parental smoking, suggesting healthy substitutes for smoking, and providing effective strategies for maintaining a smoke-free home can motivate families to adopt home smoking bans. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.