Predicting the pulmonary effects of long-term e-cigarette use: are the clouds clearing?

Commercially available since 2007, e-cigarettes are a popular electronic delivery device of ever-growing complexity. Given their increasing use by ex-smokers, smokers and never-smokers, it is important to evaluate evidence of their potential pulmonary effects and predict effects of long-term use, since there has been insufficient time to study a chronic user cohort. It is crucial to evaluate indicators of harm seen in cigarette use, and those potentially unique to e-cigarette exposure. Evaluation must also account for the vast variation in e-cigarette devices (now including at least five generations of devices) and exposure methods used in vivo and in vitro.Thus far, short-term use cohort studies, combined with in vivo and in vitro models, have been used to probe for the effects of e-cigarette exposure. The effects and mechanisms identified, including dysregulated inflammation and decreased pathogen resistance, show concerning overlaps with the established effects of cigarette smoke exposure. Additionally, research has identified a signature of dysregulated lipid processing, which is unique to e-cigarette exposure.This review will evaluate the evidence of pulmonary effects of, and driving mechanisms behind, e-cigarette exposure, which have been highlighted in emerging literature, and highlight the gaps in current knowledge. Such a summary allows understanding of the ongoing debate into e-cigarette regulation, as well as prediction and potential mitigation of future problems surrounding e-cigarette use.

Acceleration and Deceleration Rates of Various Vehicle Categories at Signalized Intersections in Mixed Traffic Conditions

The acceleration and deceleration rates vary from one vehicle type to another. The same vehicle type also exhibits variations in acceleration and deceleration rates due to vast variation in their dynamic and physical characteristics, ratio between weight and power, driver behaviour during acceleration and deceleration manoeuvres. Accurate estimation of acceleration and deceleration rates is very important for proper signal design to ensure minimum control delay for vehicles, which are passing through the intersection. The present study measures acceleration and deceleration rates for four vehicle categories: Two-wheeler, Three-wheeler, Car, and Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV), by using Open Street Map (OSM) tracker mobile application. The acceleration and deceleration rates were measured at 24 signalized intersection approaches in Hyderabad and Warangal cities. The study also developed acceleration and deceleration models for each vehicle type and the developed models were validated based on field data. The results showed that the predicted acceleration and deceleration models showed close relation with those measured in the field. The developed models are useful in predicting average acceleration and deceleration rate for different vehicle types under mixed and poor lane disciplined traffic conditions.

1078 Enteric Duplication Cyst in An Adult: Presenting with Diarrhea and Vomiting

Intestinal duplication cysts are rare disease entirety, most commonly presenting in childhood. The incidence is 1:4,500 births, with a slight male predominance. They can occur anywhere along the alimentary tract, 35% occur in the ileum and 10% in jejunum. Diagnosis can prove challenging as they can present with a vast variation of symptoms and mimic other pathologies. A 29-year-old male presented to A&E following a collapse. He had been suffering of diarrhoea and vomiting with lower abdominal discomfort. The patient was otherwise fit and well and no surgical history. On physical examination his abdomen was generally tender with no peritonism but was tachycardic, tachypneic but normotensive. His blood pressure dropped to 70/56, heart rate 130 and temperature increased to 41.2 degrees. A CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast was subsequently performed while on intensive care. There was a huge fluid-filled structure almost filling the entire pelvis and right side of the abdomen measuring up to 18cm in transverse diameter and 38cm longitudinally. The fluid filled structure appeared to communicate with a loop of small bowel in the right iliac fossa. There was no sign of obstruction. Due to the CT findings and the patient’s clinical status a laparotomy was performed. A large congenital duplication cyst was seen which was adherent to 40cm of the small bowel. The section of bowel was 130cm distal to the DJ flexure. The small bowel including the cyst was resected and hand sewn end-to-end anastomosis performed.

Rethinking the Study of Electoral Politics in the Developing World: Reflections on the Indian Case

In the study of electoral politics and political behavior in the developing world, India is often considered to be an exemplar of the centrality of contingency in distributive politics, the role of ethnicity in shaping political behavior, and the organizational weakness of political parties. Whereas these axioms have some empirical basis, the massive changes in political practices, the vast variation in political patterns, and the burgeoning literature on subnational dynamics in India mean that such generalizations are not tenable. In this article, we consider research on India that compels us to rethink the contention that India neatly fits the prevailing wisdom in the comparative politics literature. Our objective is to elucidate how the many nuanced insights about Indian politics can improve our understanding of electoral behavior both across and within other countries, allowing us to question core assumptions in theories of comparative politics.

A comparative analysis of COVID-19 mortality rate across the globe: An extensive analysis of the associated factors

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe vast variation in COVID 19 mortality across the globe draws attention to potential risk factors other than the patient characteristics that determine COVID-19 mortality.Subjects and MethodsWe have quantified and analyzed one of the broadest set of clinical factors associated with COVID-19-related death, ranging from disease related co-morbities, socioeconomic factors, healthcare capacity and government policy and interventions. Data for population, total cases, total COVID mortality, tests done, and GDP per capita were extracted from the worldometers database. Datasets for health expenditure by government, hospital beds, rural population, prevalence of smoking, prevalence of overweight population, deaths due to communicable disease and incidence of malaria were extracted from the World Bank website. Prevalence of diabetes was retrieved from the indexmundi rankings. The average population age, 60+ population, delay in lockdown, population density and BCG data were also included for analysis. The COVID-19 mortality per million and its associated factors were retrieved for 56 countries across the globe. Quantitative analysis was done at the global as well as continent level. All the countries included in the study were categorized continent and region wise for comparative analysis determining the correlation between COVID 19 mortality and the aforementioned factors.ResultsThere was significant association found between mortality per million and 60+ population of country, average age, prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and case fatality rate with correlation and p value (p) of 0.422 (p 0.009), 0.386 (p 0.0186), −0.384 (p 0.019) and 0.753 (p 0.000) respectively at 95% CI.ConclusionThe study observations will serve as a evidence based management strategy for generating predictive model for COVID-19 infection and mortality rate.

Testing the effectiveness of pyrazine defences against spiders

Insects live in a dangerous world and may fall prey to a wide variety of predators, encompassing multiple taxa. As a result, selection may favour defences that are effective against multiple predator types, or target-specific defences that can reduce predation risk from particular groups of predators. Given the variation in sensory systems and hunting tactics, in particular between vertebrate and invertebrate predators, it is not always clear whether defences, such as chemical defences, that are effective against one group will be so against another. Despite this, the majority of research to date has focused on the role of a single predator species when considering the evolution of defended prey. Here we test the effectiveness of the chemical defences of the wood tiger moth, a species previously shown to have defensive chemicals targeted towards ants, against a common invertebrate predator: spiders. We presented both live moths and artificial prey containing their defensive fluids to female Trichonephila senegalensis and recorded their reactions. We found that neither of the moth’s two defensive fluids were able to repel the spiders, and confirmed that methoxypyrazines, a major component of the defences of both the wood tiger moth and many insect species, are ineffective against web-building spiders. Our results highlight the variability between predator taxa in their susceptibility to chemical defences, which can in part explain the vast variation in these chemicals seen in insects, and the existence of multiple defences in a single species.

Practice Note: ‘If Only All Women Menstruated Exactly Two Weeks Ago’: Interdisciplinary Challenges and Experiences of Capturing Hormonal Variation Across the Menstrual Cycle

Houghton and Elhadad offer a new and needed perspective on approaches for measuring the menstrual cycle and identifying underlying hormonal profiles that can help determine risk factors for chronic diseases such as breast cancer and endometriosis. The authors discuss methods that have been applied historically and how those have shown vast variation in menstrual cycle characteristics around the globe. They then review and explore how innovation in technologies can be used to detect and disseminate new menstrual cycle knowledge. Additionally, the authors show how interdisciplinary efforts across anthropology, public health, and data science can leverage the advances in mobile menstrual tracking and hormone measurement to better characterize the menstrual cycle at the population level. This analysis concludes with a breakdown of how personalized menstrual norms and predictions can help individuals to be better stewards of their own menstrual health.

Educational Inequalities in Self-Rated Health across US States and European Countries

The US shows a distinct health disadvantage when compared to other high-income nations. A potential lever to reduce this disadvantage is to improve the health situation of lower socioeconomic groups. Our objective is to explore how the considerable within-US variation in health inequalities compares to the health inequalities across other Western countries. Methods: Representative survey data from 44 European countries and the US federal states were obtained from the fourth wave of the European Values Study (EVS) and the 2008 wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Using binary logistic regression, we analyze different forms of educational inequalities in self-rated health (SRH), adjusted for age and sex. Results: The extent of educational inequalities in SRH varies considerably over European countries and US states; with US states in general showing greater inequality, however, differences between US states and European countries are less clear than commonly assumed. Conclusions: The US has considerable differences in educational inequalities in SRH across geographic locations. To understand the reasons for the US health disadvantage, comparative research has to take into account the vast variation in health inequalities within the US.

Yucatec Maya language planning and the struggle of the linguistic standardization process

This study on Yucatec Maya language planning analyzes the linguistic standardization process over a six-year period. The primary research site was the programa, a mandatory Yucatec Maya course for 1,600 Indigenous Education teachers in Mexico. Alongside this acquisition planning effort, other government agencies simultaneously produced an official standard Maya. Programa administrators who oppose official standardization made their own model of Maya in widely distributed government textbooks. Neither model was the main target of programa language teaching; the Maya of classrooms is characterized by vast variation. Although the government promulgated an official standard in 2014, standardization of Maya has not been attained. The difficulties of creating a popular standard by and for Indigenous language speakers are analyzed. Social networks upholding different models of Maya are examined through an economy of language planning framework that views language as social capital and integrates knowledge and learning economy concepts. This research presents the notion of social-linguistic orders to understand how different models of a language coexist and/or compete in a language planning endeavor.

The Effect of Temperature on Plant Growth in Four Gerbera hybrida Cultivars

Temperature is one of the main factors that affects the growth pattern of Gerbera hybrida, which shows vast variation in morphology and stress adaptation among cultivars. However, little is known about temperature responses of plant growth among different cultivars. In this study, four cultivars were planted in different growth temperatures to investigate the effect of temperature on plant growth of Gerbera hybrida during their vegetative growth. Results showed that the optimum growth temperature of the four cultivars was 20 °C, of which plant height, root length, biomass accumulation, leaf area, and photosynthetic rate were enhanced significantly. Different cultivars showed diverse temperature adaptation ranges, which were related with their genetic background, and the temperature adaptability of cultivar Autumn was the best among the four cultivars. Temperature also had significant effects on photosynthetic rate, which was the main factor shaping plant growth. Our research provides the basic guidance for the growth temperature control in the cultivation of Gerbera hybrida.