1854 research outputs found
Sort by
The biological impact of menthol on tobacco dependence
No full textIn the 1920s, tobacco companies created a marketing campaign for what would one day be their most profitable series of products: Mentholated tobacco cigarettes. Menthol provides the smoker with a pleasant mint flavor in addition to a cooling sensation of the mouth, throat, and lungs, giving relief from the painful irritation caused by tobacco smoke. Promising a healthier cigarette using pictures of doctors in white coats and even cartoon penguins, tobacco companies promoted these cigarettes to young, beginner smokers and those with respiratory health concerns. Today, smoking tobacco cigarettes causes one in five US Americans to die prematurely, crowning it as the leading cause of preventable death. In contrast to the dubious health claims by tobacco companies, mentholated cigarettes are in fact more addictive. Smokers of mentholated cigarettes have lower successful quit rates and in some cases are resistant to both behavioral and pharmacological treatment strategies. There is now considerable evidence, especially in the last 5 years, that suggest menthol might influence the addictive potential of nicotine-containing tobacco products via biological mechanisms. First, menthol alters the expression, stoichiometry, and function of nicotinic receptors. Second, menthol\u27s chemosensory properties operate to mask aversive properties of using tobacco products. Third, menthol\u27s chemosensory properties aid in serving as a conditioned cue that can both enhance nicotine intake and drive relapse. Fourth, menthol alters nicotine metabolism, increasing its bioavailability. This review discusses emerging evidence for these mechanisms, with an emphasis on preclinical findings that may shed light on why menthol smokers exhibit greater dependence
Amish Experience of COVID-19: Patterns and Responses to Inform Public Health Efforts
Get PDFThis study asked how the Amish, a religious group that focus on living a simple life with limited technology, used their understanding of faith and religious coping in dealing with the restrictive and unprecedented situation during the COVID 19 pandemic. We gathered data from letters written by Amish people and published in Die Botschaft, an Amish newspaper published in Millersburg, PA, but with a national readership. A total of 8,281 letters were coded from ten issues of the paper selected from spring and fall 2021. To code the information, we read letters in the Die Botschaft and then place them into categories based on themes related to COVID-19 as reported in the letters. These categories were behaviors, reactions, concerns, illness, and sources of information about the virus. Each category had several subcategories that specified certain behaviors, reactions, concerns, illness, and sources of information. After reading and coding the letters, the data was transferred to SPSS (a statistics software package) to analysis the data via tables. This project is ongoing and continuing into Fall 2021. Preliminary findings appear on the poster
Characterizing the PolyIC-induced activation and apoptosis of MuTuDCs by determining the influence of Bim isoforms and Corticosterone
Get PDFDendritic cells (DCs) are a critical subset of immune cells responsible for connecting the innate and adaptive immune response. Dendritic cells are activated by exposure to Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs). Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (PolyIC) is synthetic double-stranded RNA that functions as a PAMP. Corticosterone (CORT), a stress hormone, is generally immunosuppressive. The response of murine DCs (MuTuDC) to PolyIC and CORT exposure is being investigated. ELISA demonstrated that PolyIC exposure increased IL-12 production, an indicator of DC activation. Increased cell death was also observed following PolyIC exposure, but pre-treatment with CORT decreased cell death. The literature suggests that DC death post activation is important for regulating the immune response. However, the pathway mediating PolyIC-induced DC death and the influence of CORT on the process is loosely characterized. Literature suggests that apoptosis occurs through the pro-apoptotic protein Bim. It is hypothesized that CORT is altering Bim isoform expression to reduce cell death. Bim has three predominant isoforms, varying in function, that regulate apoptosis. Primers derived from the literature for both murine and human Bim mRNA isoforms were analyzed using the NCBI BLAST program to ensure detection of the three isoforms. However, detection of Bim protein and mRNA isoforms in MuTuDCs was difficult. Therefore, Human-Diploid Fibroblast cells immortalized with T-antigen (HDF+T) were used to establish necessary RT-PCR and Western protocols. After demonstrating Bim isoform(s) presence in HDF+Ts, future studies will involve MuTuDCs pretreatment with CORT and then treatment with PolyIC, or another apoptosis inducer such as 5-fluorouricil (5-FU). Elucidating the PolyIC-mediated cell death pathway and the impact of CORT will provide novel information about factors influencing DC abundance and lifespan, which ultimately influence the immune response
Butter\u27brew\u27 Cookies
Get PDFInspired by the Butter’brew’ Mug Cake we created for Wizarding Month 2018. These cookies are super soft! Makes 24.
Cookie #5 | The Great (Semi-Secret) Cookie Quest 2020 | https://libraryguides.etown.edu/ques
The Effect of Sentence Diagramming on a Middle Level Learner\u27s Composition
Get PDFSentence diagramming, a dated form of instruction used in grammar classes beginning in the late 1800s, involves drawing lines and shapes to represent the grammatical structure of language. Wildly popular before the 1960s, the practice has since been eliminated from the national English/Language Arts standards due to its isolation from composition instruction. Haussamen (2003) reports that grammar instruction, such as sentence diagramming, completely separate from composition instruction, has no effect on students’ writing skills. Despite the history of sentence diagramming, there are a very recent few sparks of interest in sentence diagramming in education across the United States (Wilson, 2017). This study examined how effectively sentence diagramming instruction, alongside composition rather than as an independent unit of instruction, can improve middle level students’ writing. In a mixed methods research study, an eighth grade learner was instructed in sentence diagramming in order to analyze her own writing and professional writing. Conclusions from this study find that sentence diagramming has the potential to improve a writer’s clarity and comma usage. However, more classroom-oriented instruction is needed to examine the effects of sentence diagramming on the composition of all types of learners
Investigating the Impact of College Stress and Utilization of Campus Wellness Services Through an Occupational Health Lens
Get PDFStress is a universal experience. For many people attending college during the period of emerging adulthood, stress can be a pressing daily occurrence. Shearer et al. (2016)[1] put it succinctly: “college is stressful” (p. 233). As a college student majoring in occupational therapy, I have both studied and experienced the pressure and effects of stress on myself and my peers. With the prevalence of stress throughout college campuses and methods to combat this stress, there is limited research regarding the reason that students participate in wellness options. I am doing research on the wellness options that students select and their primary and secondary motivators for participation. In addition to my own personal research, I have completed a literature review analyzing and evaluating prior research and commentary regarding this topic. While there are studies on student knowledge of health and wellness (Shearer et al., 2016) asking students how college could better serve their wellness endeavors and what students perceive as benefits of a college’s wellness offerings, more research on the topic is warranted. Through examination of current literature about college students’ stressors, I weighed the statistics surrounding mental health and stressors in the college population (American College Health Association (ACHA), 2015, 2017, 2019) and then integrated the dimensions and components of health and wellness into survey research to investigate what students in higher education are doing to cope with stress
Sibling Expectations
No full textFrom one sibling to another, I wanted to get an understanding of what expectations (or hopes) my oldest sibling faced himself or wished for in me