Trending Articles
-
Harm reduction journal · Jun 2018
The unique contribution of e-cigarettes for tobacco harm reduction in supporting smoking relapse prevention.
We have little understanding of how vapers use e-cigarettes beyond cessation. E-cigarettes may have a role to play in reducing the health-related harms of tobacco smoking, through not only assisting smoking cessation attempts but also supporting long-term abstinence from smoking. However, there are fears that vaping may lead to the 'renormalisation' of smoking type behaviours. This study aimed to explore patterns of use and reported experiences of vapers quitting smoking using an e-cigarette in relation to long-term smoking status (abstinence or relapse). ⋯ Our data demonstrates that e-cigarettes may be a unique harm reduction innovation for smoking relapse prevention. E-cigarettes meet the needs of some ex-smokers by substituting physical, psychological, social, cultural and identity-related aspects of tobacco addiction. Some vapers reported that they found vaping pleasurable and enjoyable-being more than a substitute but actually preferred, over time, to tobacco smoking. This clearly suggests that vaping is a viable long-term substitute for smoking, with substantial implications for tobacco harm reduction.
-
Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Aug 2004
Review[Laboratory animal anaesthesia: influence of anaesthetic protocols on experimental models].
The use of experimental animals requires anaesthesia to provide immobility and analgesia. Animals require anaesthesia not only for ethical reasons but also because pain and stress can alter the quality of research results. Recognition of pain, and its treatment is important throughout the procedure. ⋯ The same anaesthetic could have opposite effects from an organ to another. For results validation, the anaesthesia side effects (hypoventilation, hypotension, cooling em leader ) have to be minimized. All new experimental models should require discussing the possible interferences between anaesthesia and results and to compare results obtained with different anaesthetic protocols.
-
Journal of medical ethics · Jun 2008
The "future like ours" argument and human embryonic stem cell research.
The most closely argued and widely discussed case against abortion in the philosophical literature today is Don Marquis's "future like ours" argument. The argument moves from an analysis of why there is a serious presumption against killing someone "like us" to the conclusion that most abortions are seriously wrong for the same reason: they deprive "an individual" of a future of valuable experiences and activities, a "future like ours". Julian Savulescu has objected that "preventing" such a future could not be as seriously presumptively wrong as Marquis contends for if it were, even contraception and failure to engage in reproductive cloning would be seriously presumptively wrong. ⋯ Marquis defends his strong anti-abortion stance against Savulescu's "contraception" and "failure to clone" objections but surprisingly says nothing about the implications of the "future like ours" argument for the controversy surrounding human embryonic stem cell research. I argue that key features of Marquis's response actually support the view that embryos used in stem cell research are not included within the protective scope of the "future like ours" argument. It is significant that the most philosophically rigorous anti-abortion case thus far presented does not entail that human embryonic stem cell research is even presumptively wrong.
-
Frontiers in physiology · Jan 2014
ReviewNeural reflex regulation of systemic inflammation: potential new targets for sepsis therapy.
Sepsis progresses to multiple organ dysfunction due to the uncontrolled release of inflammatory mediators, and a growing body of evidence shows that neural signals play a significant role in modulating the immune response. Thus, similar toall other physiological systems, the immune system is both connected to and regulated by the central nervous system. The efferent arc consists of the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, sympathetic activation, the cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex, and the local release of physiological neuromodulators. ⋯ Despite cytokine receptor expression in vagal afferent fibers, pro-inflammatory cytokines have no significant effect on vagus nerve activity. Thus, the CB may be the source of immunosensory inputs and incoming neural signals and, in fact, sense inflammatory mediators, playing a protective role during sepsis. Considering that CB stimulation increases sympathetic activity and adrenal glucocorticoids release, the electrical stimulation of arterial chemoreceptors may be suitable therapeutic approach for regulating systemic inflammation.
-
Journal of wound care · Apr 2015
Clinical evaluation of a silver impregnated foam dressing in paediatric partial-thickness burns.
MepilexAg, a silver-impregnated foam dressing, was introduced to our institution in 2007 and our outcomes in the treatment of paediatric burns were observed to improve significantly. In order to confirm these observations, we wanted to evaluate the results of using the silver-impregnated foam dressing in partial-thickness paediatric burns.Method: In this retrospective, study, the St. Christopher's Hospital burn registry was used to identify subjects, who were otherwise in excellent health at baseline, over an 18-month period,. Outcomes included length of stay, intravenous narcotic use, and time to healing. No direct comparative studies were performed. This was followed by a non-comparative prospective study involving 22 paediatric patients, aged 1-4 years, with partial-thickness burns. This was a sub-study of a larger randomized controlled trial involving adults with partial-thickness burns, comparing the silver-impregnated foam dressing with Silvadene. ⋯ The silver-impregnated foam dressing is effective and safe for use in partial-thickness paediatric burns, eliminating the need for daily dressings.