A brief alcohol intervention during smoking cessation treatment in daily cigarette smokers: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Alcohol use attenuates successful smoking cessation. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a brief alcohol intervention in smokers. In this two-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial, we randomized 100 daily smokers (82.

Mobile chat messaging for preventing relapse among people who recently quit smoking: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Most smokers who achieve short-term abstinence relapse even when aided by evidence-based cessation treatment. Mobile health presents a promising but largely untested avenue for providing adjunct behavioral support for relapse prevention. This paper presents the rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of personalized mobile chat messaging support for relapse prevention among people who recently quit smoking.

Reaching Youth Smokers Through a Multipronged Approach: Comparison of Three Recruitment Methods of a Youth Quitline in Hong Kong.

Purpose: Using multipronged recruitment strategies is crucial for reaching diverse smokers, yet research specifically focusing on youths is lacking. This prospective study compared the characteristics and abstinence outcomes of youth smokers enrolled in a youth-centered cessation service by three different methods.

Methods: From December 2016 to February 2022, the Youth Quitline enrolled 1,197 smokers aged 10-25 (mean = 19.

Effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy sampling at outdoor smoking hotspots: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation (SC) treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) sampling on recruitment and quitting outcomes.

Design: Two-arm cluster RCT (1:1 ratio), single-blinded, at 244 recruitment sessions in Hong Kong outdoor smoking hotspots from October 2018-December 2019.

Setting: Participant were recruited by ambassadors and treated at the mobile SC truck.

Ecological Momentary Assessment of Alcohol Marketing Exposure, Alcohol Use, and Purchases Among University Students: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: The relationships between alcohol marketing exposure, alcohol use, and purchase have been widely studied. However, prospective studies examining the causal relationships in real-world settings using mobile health tools are limited.

Objective: We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine both the within-person- and between-person-level effects of alcohol marketing exposure on any alcohol use, amount of alcohol use, any alcohol purchase, and frequency of alcohol purchase among university students.

Engagement With a Mobile Chat-Based Intervention for Smoking Cessation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Determining how individuals engage with digital health interventions over time is crucial to understand and optimize intervention outcomes.

Objective: To identify the engagement trajectories with a mobile chat-based smoking cessation intervention and examine its association with biochemically validated abstinence.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A secondary analysis of a pragmatic, cluster randomized clinical trial conducted in Hong Kong with 6-month follow-up.

Effect of narrative videos and mini-VR games in nursing smoking cessation training on empathy and self-efficacy of smoking cessation counseling: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Empathy and self-efficacy for smoking cessation counseling can be enhanced through smoking cessation training. Narrative videos and virtual reality (VR) games have been applied in medical education, but their application in smoking cessation training is limited and understudied.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of smokers' narrative videos and mini-VR games on nursing students' empathy towards smokers (State Empathy Scale), confidence in practicing empathy, self-efficacy in smoking cessation counseling, and learning satisfaction.

Efficacy of simple and very brief handgrip and isometric exercises for reducing withdrawal symptoms in cigarette smokers: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Withdrawal symptoms lead to smoking relapse and reduce the intention to quit. The present pilot RCT examined the effect of simple and very brief handgrip and isometric exercises on reducing withdrawal symptoms, measured by the strength of tobacco craving, Questionnaire of Smoking Urges-Brief (QSU-B), Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).

Methods: In this 2-arm, open-labeled pilot RCT, 30 current smokers who had abstained from tobacco for at least 9 hours were randomly assigned (allocation ratio 1:1) to either the intervention group that watched a 5-minute video and did 5-minute handgrip and isometric exercises (pulling and pushing) or control group that watched 10-minute healthy-diet videos.

Effectiveness of Very Brief Advice on Tobacco Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Very brief advice (VBA; ≤ 3 min) on quitting is practical and scalable during brief medical interactions with patients who smoke. This study aims to synthesize the effectiveness of VBA for smoking cessation and summarize the implementation strategies.

Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials aiming at tobacco abstinence and comparing VBA versus no smoking advice or no contact from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo databases, six Chinese databases, two trial registries ClinicalTrials.

Control of Quantized Spontaneous Emission from Single GaAs Quantum Dots Embedded in Huygens' Metasurfaces.

Advancements in photonic quantum information systems (QIS) have driven the development of high-brightness, on-demand, and indistinguishable semiconductor epitaxial quantum dots (QDs) as single photon sources. Strain-free, monodisperse, and spatially sparse local-droplet-etched (LDE) QDs have recently been demonstrated as a superior alternative to traditional Stranski-Krastanov QDs. However, integration of LDE QDs into nanophotonic architectures with the ability to scale to many interacting QDs is yet to be demonstrated.

A Brief Intervention With Instant Messaging or Regular Text Messaging Support in Reducing Alcohol Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Alcohol use is prevalent among university students. Mobile instant messaging apps could enhance the effectiveness of an alcohol brief intervention (ABI), but the evidence is scarce.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an ABI plus 3 months of mobile chat-based instant messaging support for alcohol reduction in university students at risk of alcohol use disorder.

Type-II IFN inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in human lung epithelial cells and ex vivo human lung tissues through indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-mediated pathways.

Interferons (IFNs) are critical for immune defense against pathogens. While type-I and -III IFNs have been reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, the antiviral effect and mechanism of type-II IFN against SARS-CoV-2 remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluate the antiviral activity of type-II IFN (IFNγ) using human lung epithelial cells (Calu3) and ex vivo human lung tissues.

The learning outcomes of smoking cessation training in undergraduate nursing students: A systematic review.

Aim: To systematically evaluate the effect of smoking cessation training on nursing students' learning outcomes.

Design: This systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022373280).

Methods: Ten electronic English and Chinese databases were searched to identify articles on nursing students' smoking cessation training from inception to October 2022.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide impacts HIV-1 infection by modulating immune activation in T lymphocytes and humanized mice.

Background: HIV-1-associated immune activation drives CD4 T cell depletion and the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We aimed to determine the role of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), the direct precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) co-enzyme, in CD4 T cell modulation during HIV-1 infection.

Methods: We examined HIV-1 integrated DNA or transcribed RNA, intracellular p24 protein, and T cell activation markers in CD4 T cells including in vitro HIV-1-infected cells, reactivated patient-derived cells, and in HIV-1-infected humanized mice, under NMN treatment.

Effectiveness of personalized smoking cessation intervention based on ecological momentary assessment for smokers who prefer unaided quitting: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-based smoking cessation intervention may help personalize intervention for smokers who prefer to quit smoking unaided. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EMA-based phone counseling and instant messaging for smoking cessation.

Methods/design: This is a two-arm, accessor-blinded, simple individual randomized controlled trial (allocation ratio 1:1).

Effect of smoking-related COVID-19 risk messaging on smoking cessation in community smokers: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Observational and experimental studies have suggested that messaging on smoking-related COVID-19 risk may promote smoking abstinence, but evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is lacking.

Methods: This was a pragmatic RCT in Hong Kong, China, to compare the effectiveness of communicating smoking-related COVID-19 risk with generic cessation support on abstinence. Both groups received brief cessation advice at baseline.

Perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking was associated with reduced smoking at home but not on the streets amid the pandemic: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Perceived risk of COVID-19 infection is associated with smoking behaviors, but the change in smoking across different settings are uncertain. We examined the associations of perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking with change in smoking at home and on the streets.

Methods: We analyzed data of 1120 current cigarette smokers aged ≥15 years from a population-based telephone survey in Hong Kong.

Transforming Growth Factor β Signaling Promotes HIV-1 Infection in Activated and Resting Memory CD4 T Cells.

Understanding the facilitator of HIV-1 infection and subsequent latency establishment may aid the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. Here, we report the elevation of plasma transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) during acute HIV-1 infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). Using a serum-free system, we further delineated the role of TGF-β signaling in mediating HIV-1 infection of activated and resting memory CD4 T cells.

Effect of mobile interventions with nicotine replacement therapy sampling on long-term smoking cessation in community smokers: A pragmatic randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Mobile interventions enable personalized behavioral support that could improve smoking cessation (SC) in smokers ready to quit. Scalable interventions, including unmotivated smokers, are needed. We evaluated the effect of personalized behavioral support through mobile interventions plus nicotine replacement therapy sampling (NRT-S) on SC in Hong Kong community smokers.

Increase of unmotivated and hardened smokers in Hong Kong: a repeated cross-sectional trend analysis.

Objectives: To examine the trends in the prevalence of hardening indicators and hardened smokers in Hong Kong, where the low smoking prevalence has plateaued in the recent decade.

Methods: This is an analysis of repeated cross-sectional data from 9 territory-wide smoking cessation campaigns conducted annually from 2009 to 2018 (except 2011). Participants were 9837 biochemically verified daily cigarette smokers aged ≥18 years (18.

Orthogonal luminescence lifetime encoding by intermetallic energy transfer in heterometallic rare-earth MOFs.

Lifetime-encoded materials are particularly attractive as optical tags, however examples are rare and hindered in practical application by complex interrogation methods. Here, we demonstrate a design strategy towards multiplexed, lifetime-encoded tags via engineering intermetallic energy transfer in a family of heterometallic rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The MOFs are derived from a combination of a high-energy donor (Eu), a low-energy acceptor (Yb) and an optically inactive ion (Gd) with the 1,2,4,5 tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) benzene (TCPB) organic linker.

Associations of changes in smoking-related practices with quit attempt and smoking consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study.

Introduction: How changes in smoking routine due to COVID-19 restrictions (e.g. refraining from smoking outdoors and stockpiling tobacco products) influence smoking behaviors remains understudied.

Terahertz Pulse Generation with Binary Phase Control in Nonlinear InAs Metasurface.

The effect of terahertz (THz) pulse generation has revolutionized broadband coherent spectroscopy and imaging at THz frequencies. However, THz pulses typically lack spatial structure, whereas structured beams are becoming essential for advanced spectroscopy applications. Nonlinear optical metasurfaces with nanoscale THz emitters can provide a solution by defining the beam structure at the generation stage.