An examination of the relationship between adolescents' initial smoking experience and their exposure to peer and family member smoking.

Sensitivity to the initial smoking experience, upon initial smoking experimentation, is associated with youth smoking. We determined the association between exposure to smoking from peers and family members on the symptoms of the initial smoking experience of adolescents. Data from a survey of 3280 high school students in the British Columbia, Canada were obtained; including information on demographics, tobacco use history, symptoms of initial smoking experience, and the smoking behaviours of peers and family member's (from which an 'exposure to smoking from peers and family members' variable was created).

Acanthus montanus: an experimental evaluation of the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunological properties of a traditional remedy for furuncles.

Background: Acanthus montanus (Nees) T. Anderson (Acanthaceae) is a shrub widespread in Africa, the Balkans, Romania, Greece and Eastern Mediterranean. It is used in African traditional medicine for the treatment of urogenital infections, urethral pain, endometritis, urinary disease, cystitis, leucorrhoea, aches and pains.

Differential impacts of smoke-free laws on indoor air quality.

The authors assessed the impacts of two different smoke-free laws on indoor air quality. They compared the indoor air quality of 10 hospitality venues in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, before and after the smoke-free laws went into effect. Real-time measurements of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.

The sporadic occurrence of a group I intron-like element in the mtDNA rnl gene of Ophiostoma novo-ulmi subsp. americana.

The presence of group I intron-like elements within the U7 region of the mtDNA large ribosomal subunit RNA gene (rnl) was investigated in strains of Ophiostoma novo-ulmi subsp. americana from Canada, Europe and Eurasia, and in selected strains of O. ips, O.

An examination of the smoking identities and taxonomies of smoking behaviour of youth.

Objective: To address observations that the smoking identities of youth are valid descriptors of their smoking behaviour, we examined the relationships between self-reported smoking identities, perceived levels of addiction, and established taxonomies of smoking behaviour of youth.

Method: Cross-sectional data were collected on demographics, perceived extent of addiction to tobacco, smoking history, and self-reported smoking identity from questionnaires administered to 8225 students in British Columbia, Canada. A total of 7246 participants were categorised according to four smoking taxonomies established in the literature.

Improving equity in malaria treatment: relationship of socio-economic status with health seeking as well as with perceptions of ease of using the services of different providers for the treatment of malaria in Nigeria.

Background: Equitable improvement of treatment-seeking for malaria will depend partly on how different socio-economic groups perceive the ease of accessing and utilizing malaria treatment services from different healthcare providers. Hence, it was important to investigate the link between socioeconomic status (SES) with differences in perceptions of ease of accessing and receiving treatment as well as with actual health seeking for treatment of malaria from different providers.

Methods: Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 1,351 health providers in four malaria-endemic communities in Enugu state, southeast Nigeria.

Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure, nicotine dependence, and smoking cessation.

Objective: To explore the association among the number of sources of secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure, nicotine dependence (ND), and smoking cessation.

Design: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. Responses for the main study were obtained in 2001 from a controlled trial of the Quit and Win Tobacco Free Contest in Kentucky.

Potentials of leaves of Aspilia africana (Compositae) in wound care: an experimental evaluation.

Background: The potentials of the leaves of the haemorrhage plant, Aspilia africana C. D Adams (Compositae) in wound care was evaluated using experimental models. A.

Measuring tobacco smoke exposure among smoking and nonsmoking bar and restaurant workers.

Purpose: This study assesses the validity of hair nicotine as a biomarker for secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. Although most biomarkers of tobacco-smoke exposure have a relatively short half-life, hair nicotine can measure several months of cumulative SHS exposure.

Design: A cross-sectional study of hospitality-industry workers.

Economic effect of a smoke-free law in a tobacco-growing community.

Objective: To determine whether Lexington, Kentucky's smoke-free law affected employment and business closures in restaurants and bars. On 27 April 2004, Lexington-Fayette County implemented a comprehensive ordinance prohibiting smoking in all public buildings, including bars and restaurants. Lexington is located in a major tobacco-growing state that has the highest smoking rate in the US and was the first Kentucky community to become smoke-free.

Secondhand smoke and nicotine exposure: a brief review.

Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure is linked to a number of adverse health outcomes. This paper reviews published studies examining nicotine levels related to exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Twenty-two field studies measuring biological levels of nicotine associated with secondhand tobacco smoke exposure were evaluated.

Behavioral effects of nicotine exposure from secondhand tobacco smoke among bar and restaurant workers.

This study explores the behavioral effects of nicotine exposure from secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) on bar and restaurant workers. Baseline data were obtained from a longitudinal study of 105 bar and restaurant workers. Hair nicotine, self-reported SHS exposure, smoking status, symptoms of nicotine exposure after being exposed to a smoky environment, and nicotine dependence were assessed.

Effects of a smoke-free law on hair nicotine and respiratory symptoms of restaurant and bar workers.

Objective: Bar and restaurant workers' exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) was compared before and 3 and 6 months after implementation of a smoke-free ordinance.

Methods: Hair nicotine, self-reported exposure to SHS, and respiratory symptoms were assessed on 105 smoking and nonsmoking workers from randomly selected establishments in Lexington, Kentucky. Thirty-eight percent were current smokers with more than half smoking 10 or fewer cigarettes per day.

Anti-inflammatory activity of hexane leaf extract of Aspilia africana C.D. Adams.

The anti-inflammatory activity of hexane leaf extract of Aspilia africana C.D. Adams (Compositae) was evaluated in rodents using the xylene-induced ear edema, egg albumin- and agar-induced paw edema, formaldehyde-induced arthritis, cotton pellet granuloma, gastric ulcerogenic, acetic acid-induced vascular permeability and dextran-induced in vivo leukocyte migration tests.

Analgesic activity of leaf extracts of Culcasia scandens P. Beauv.

Analgesic activity of methanol leaf extract of C. scandens obtained by column chromatography and its graded solvent fractions, was evaluated in mice using acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing and formalin-induced paw licking. The extract and fractions significantly inhibited abdominal writhing and two phases of formalin-induced paw licking in mice, indicating that antinociceptive activity may involve inhibition of pain by peripheral and central mechanisms.

Passing a smoke-free law in a pro-tobacco culture: a multiple streams approach.

This article describes a case study of the policy development and political decision-making process involved in the enactment of Lexington, Kentucky's smoke-free law. The multiple streams framework is used to analyze the development of the law in a seemingly unlikely and challenging political environment. Proponents developed a dissemination research plan targeted at policy makers and the public to demonstrate the need for a comprehensive law.

School tobacco policies in a tobacco-growing state.

This study examined factors associated with tobacco-free policies and tobacco cessation in schools serving children in grades 6 to 12 in a tobacco-growing state using a cross-sectional telephone survey of school administrators from public and private middle and high schools (N = 691), representing 117 of the 120 Kentucky counties. Trained health department staff contacted 1028 schools; 691 (67%) participated in a phone survey, which lasted an average of 19 minutes. Variables of interest were indoor and outdoor smoking policies, fund-raising in Bingo halls, provision of cessation and prevention programs, owning or leasing a tobacco base, if the school received money from tobacco companies, type of school (public vs private), and school setting (urban vs rural).

Mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity of the leaf extracts of Culcasia scandens P. Beauv (Araceae).

The mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity of the leaf extracts of Culcasia scandens P. Beauv were evaluated. The methanol leaf extract (CE) of C.

The prevalence, intensity and clinical signs of urinary schistosomiasis in Imo state, Nigeria.

Urine samples were assayed for urinary schistosomiasis in four local government areas (LGA) of Imo State, Nigeria between May 1998 and September 2000. A total of 3504 persons were sampled, with 880 (25.1%) being positive for urinary schistosomiasis, based on records of eggs of Schistosoma haematobium.

Interaction between chloroquine sulphate and aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae) in rabbits.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of concurrent oral administration of aqueous leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) on the pharmacokinetic properties of chloroquine sulphate in experimental rabbits. The results indicated that concurrent administration of both agents resulted in a significant decrease in serum concentration, slower absorption and elimination as well as longer half-life of chloroquine sulphate. The highest relative decrease of 78.

Tobacco use prevention and cessation policies in manufacturing facilities in the tobacco-growing state of Kentucky.

Purpose: To assess workplace tobacco use prevention and cessation policies in manufacturing facilities and explore factors associated with tobacco policies and practices in the tobacco-growing state of Kentucky.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design.

Setting: Telephone survey of Kentucky manufacturing facilities.

Evaluation of the anti-asthmatic property of Asystasia gangetica leaf extracts.

The leaf of Asystasia gangetica T. Adams (Acanthaceae) is used in many parts of Nigeria for the management of asthma. This study was aimed at investigating the anti-asthmatic property of hexane, ethylacetate, and methanol extracts of the leaves of Asystasia gangetica, obtained by successive sohxlet extraction.

Morbidity and mortality following induced abortion in Nnewi, Nigeria.

We present a study of the maternal morbidity and mortality among 76 patients treated at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi for complications of induced abortion from January 1996 to December 2000. The total number of maternal admissions over this period was 5750, and illegal induced abortion was responsible for 1.3% of the admissions, with a mortality rate of 5.

Review of eclampsia at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University teaching hospital, Nnewi (January 1996-December 2000).

In a retrospective study of 43 cases of eclampsia managed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi over a 5-year period, an incidence of 0.75% out of 5750 labour ward admissions was found. Eclampsia was more prevalent in the primigravidae (65%) and unbooked patients (83.

In vitro antimicrobial interactions of arthemeter with some 4-quinolones.

Bacterial infections often co-exist with acute malarial attacks. The effect of combining arthemeter (a new antimalarial) with some commonly used 4-quinolones (ciprofloxacin, pefloxacin, norfloxacin and nalidixic acid) was investigated in-vitro with a view to providing data for the design of drug regimens for the treatment of such infections. While arthemeter demonstrated no antibacterial activity whatsoever against any of the test microorganisms (E.