The future of tobacco control: project summary

The National Health and Medical Research Council has funded Professor Wayne Hall (University of Queensland) and Professor Simon Chapman (University of Sydney) for three years 2006-2008, to research aspects of the future of tobacco control, particularly in nations with advanced tobacco control programs like Australia. Dr Coral Gartner (UQ) and Ms Becky Freeman (USyd) are also working on the project. The University of Queensland's eSpace site provides links to papers and data appendices produced by the University of Queensland team on the project. Materials relevant to this project produced by the University of Sydney group are available at the link provided.

Should the health community promote smokeless tobacco (snus) as a harm reduction measure?

Background to the debate: The tobacco control community is divided on whether or not to inform the public that using oral, smokeless tobacco (Swedish snus) is less hazardous to health than smoking tobacco. Proponents of 'harm reduction' point to the Swedish experience. Snus seems to be widely used as an alternative to cigarettes in Sweden, say these proponents, contributing to the low overall prevalence of smoking and smoking-related disease. Harm reduction proponents thus argue that the health community should actively inform inveterate cigarette smokers of the benefits of switching to snus. However, critics of harm reduction say that snus has its own risks, that no form of tobacco should ever be promoted, and that Sweden’s experience is likely to be specific to that culture and not transferable to other settings. Critics also remain deeply suspicious that the tobacco industry will use snus marketing as a 'gateway' to promote cigarettes. In the interests of promoting debate, the authors (who are collaborators on a research project on the future of tobacco control) have agreed to outline the strongest arguments for and against promoting Swedish snus as a form of harm reduction.

Coronary events and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: a case-control study from Australia and New Zealand

Objectives-To estimate the relative risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Design-Population-based case-control study. Subjects-Cases were 953 people identified in a population register of coronary events, and controls were 3189 participants in independent community-based risk factor prevalence surveys from the same study populations. Setting-Newcastle, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. Main outcome measures-Acute myocardial infarction or coronary death. Results-After adjusting for the effects of age, education, history of heart disease, and body mass index, women had a statistically significant increased risk of a coronary event associated with exposure to ETS (relative risk (RR) = 1.99; 95% confidence interval (CI)= 1.40-2.81). There was little statistical evidence of increased risk found in men (RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.81-1.28). Conclusion-Our study found evidence for the adverse effects of exposure to ETS on risk of coronary heart disease among women, especially at home. For men the issue is unclear according to the data from our study. Additional studies with detailed information on possible confounders and adequate statistical power are needed. Most importantly, they should use methods for measuring exposure to ETS that are sufficiently accurate to permit the investigation of dose-response relationships.

Trends in cigarette smoking in 36 populations from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s: Findings from the WHO MONICA Project

Objectives. This report analyzes cigarette smoking over 10 years in populations in the World Health Organization (WHO) MONICA Project (to monitor trends and determinants of cardiovascular disease). Methods. Over 300 000 randomly selected subjects aged 25 to 64 years participated in surveys conducted in geographically defined populations. Results. For men, smoking prevalence decreased by more than 5% in 16 of the 36 study populations, remained static in most others, but increased in Beijing. Where prevalence decreased, this was largely due to higher proportions of never smokers in the younger age groups rather than to smokers quitting. Among women, smoking prevalence increased by more than 5% in 6 populations and decreased by more than 5% in 9 populations. For women, smoking tended to increase in populations with low prevalence and decrease in populations with higher prevalence; for men, the reverse pattern was observed. Conclusions. These data illustrate the evolution of the smoking epidemic in populations and provide the basis for targeted public health interventions to support the WHO priority for tobacco control.

Inorganic nitrogen requirements during shoot organogenesis in tobacco leaf discs

The role of nitrate, ammonium, and culture medium pH on shoot organogenesis in Nicotiana tabacum zz100 leaf discs was examined. The nitrogen composition of a basal liquid shoot induction medium (SIM) containing 39.4 mM NO3- and 20.6 mM NH4+ was altered whilst maintaining the overall ionic balance with Na+ and Cl- ions. Omission of total nitrogen and nitrate, but not ammonium, from SIM prevented the initiation and formation of shoots. When nitrate was used as the sole source of nitrogen, a high frequency of explants initiated and produced leafy shoots. However, the numbers of shoots produced were significantly fewer than the control SIM. Buffering nitrate-only media with the organic acid 2[N-morpholinol]thanesulphonic acid (MES) could not compensate for the omission of ammonium. Ammonium used as the sole source of nitrogen appeared to have a negative effect on explant growth and morphogenesis, with a significant lowering of media pH. Buffering ammonium-only media with MES stabilized pH and allowed a low frequency of explants to initiate shoot meristems. However, no further differentiation into leafy shoots was observed. The amount of available nitrogen appears to be less important than the ratio between nitrate and ammonium. Shoot formation was achieved with a wide range of ratios, but media containing 40 mM nitrate and 20 mM ammonium (70:30) produced the greatest number of shoots per explant. Results from this study indicate a synergistic effect between ammonium and nitrate on shoot organogenesis independent of culture medium pH.

Upper Devonian biostratigraphy of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, southwest Spain Part Two: Organic-walled microphytoplankton

Upper Devonian rocks of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) in southwest Spain, comprising the Phyllite-Quartzite Group (PQ) and the lower part of the overlying Volcano-Sedimentary Complex (VSC), contain a diversity of terrestrial and marine palynomorphs (miospores and organic-walled microphytoplankton, respectively), which constitute the basis of this biostratigraphically oriented research project. Part One of the report has previously detailed the miospore content of the constituent 117 palyniferous samples. In the present paper (i.e., the concluding Part Two), the organic-walled microphytoplankton (acritarchs and prasinophyte phycomata) are systematically described and illustrated, and their occurrence in the study material is fully documented. The acritarchs are represented by 23 species (including one species complex) allocated among 14 genera (one of which, Dupliciradiatum, is newly established), together with a very rare and novel category (informally termed Gen. nov. A). The following new acritarch species are formally instituted: Dupliciradiatum crassum (type species), D. tenue, Histopalla languida, and Winwaloeusia repagulata. Five genera allied with the prasinophycean algae are identified; these accommodate a total of 15 species of which two - Cymatiosphaera tenuimembrana and Maranhites multioculus - are formally proposed as new. In addition, representatives of the prasinophyte genera Leiosphaeridia and Tasmanites are recorded but are not discriminated at species level. The microphytoplankton suite is clearly consonant, from previously published occurrences in other regions, with a Late Devonian dating. However, most of the species are known to be relatively long ranging through (and in some cases beyond) that epoch and hence are not amenable to detailed biozonal subdivision of the IPB succession. Moreover, the distribution of the species therein tends to be erratic in comparison with the more consistently occurring miospores, possibly due to stress factors induced by fluctuating conditions in the IPBs Upper Devonian marine environment. By contrast, the land-derived (miospore) assemblages are readily applicable in a blostratigraphic context: they can be correlated precisely with the Devonian miospore biozonation scheme for Western Europe. In those terms, the sampled PQ strata are assignable to the Diducites versabilis-Grandispora cornuta (VCo) Biozone of late Famennian age; while the samples from the anoxic sequence at the base of the VSC belong to the Retispora lepidophyta-Verrucosisporites nitidus (LN) Biozone (latest Famennian = latest Devonian). The biochronostratigraphic data, in conjunction with the findings from earlier IPB studies, imply two appreciable palynostratigraphic breaks within the PQ. These are representative, respectively, of the lower Frasnian-middle Famennian interval and of part of the Strunian/upper Famennian. Speculation currently remains as to whether the inferred gaps are more apparent than real; i.e., whether one or both represent actual hiatuses in IPB sedimentation or are simply a manifestation of hitherto unsampled and/or non-palyniferous PQ strata.

Organic Matter Dynamics in the Wet Tropics Under Different Sugarcane Residue Management Regimes

Retention of sugarcane leaves and tops on the soil surface after harvesting has almost completely replaced pre- and post-harvest burning of crop residues in the Australian sugar industry. Since its introduction around 25 years ago, residue retention has increased soil organic matter to improve soil fertility as well as improve harvest flexibility and reduce erosion. However, in the wet tropics residue retention also poses potential problems of prolonged waterlogging, and late-season release of nitrogen which can reduce sugar content of the crop. The objective of this project is to examine the management of sugarcane residues in the wet tropics using a systems approach. Subsidiary objectives are (a) to improve understanding of nitrogen cycling in Australian sugarcane soils in the wet tropics, and (b) to identify ways to manage crop residues to retain their advantages and limit their disadvantages. Project objectives will be addressed using several approaches. Historic farm production data recorded by sugar mills in the wet tropics will be analysed to determine the effect of residue burning or retention on crop yield and sugar content. The impact of climate on soil processes will be highlighed by development of an index of nitrogen mineralisation using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model. Increased understanding of nitrogen cycling in Australian sugarcane soils and management of crop residues will be gained through a field experiment recently established in the Australian wet tropics. From this experiment the decomposition and nitrogen dynamics of residues placed on the soil surface and incorporated will be compared. The effect of differences in temperature, soil water content and pH will be further examined on these soils under glasshouse conditions. Preliminary results show a high ammonium to nitrate ratio in tropics soils, which may be due to low rates of nitrification that increase the retention of nitrogen in a form (ammonium) that is less subject to leaching. Further results will be presented at Congress.

A Research Agenda for Assessing the Potential Contribution of Genomic Medicine to Tobacco Control

This paper identifies research priorities in evaluating the ways in which "genomic medicine"-the use of genetic information to prevent and treat disease-may reduce tobacco-related harm by: (1) assisting more smokers to quit; (2) preventing non-smokers from beginning to smoke tobacco; and (3) reducing the harm caused by tobacco smoking. The method proposed to achieve the first aim is pharmacogenetics", the use of genetic information to optimise the selection of smoking-cessation programmes by screening smokers for polymorphisms that predict responses to different methods of smoking cessation. This method competes with the development of more effective forms of smoking cessation that involve vaccinating smokers against the effects of nicotine and using new pharmaceuticals (such as cannabinoid antagonists and nicotine agonists). The second and third aims are more speculative. They include: screening the population for genetic susceptibility to nicotine dependence and intervening (eg, by vaccinating children and adolescents against the effects of nicotine) to prevent smoking uptake, and screening the population for genetic susceptibility to tobacco-related diseases. A framework is described for future research on these policy options. This includes: epidemiological modelling and economic evaluation to specify the conditions under which these strategies are cost-effective; and social psychological research into the effect of providing genetic information on smokers' preparedness to quit, and the general views of the public on tobacco smoking.

The prospects for tobacco harm reduction

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) policies aim to reduce the prevalence of tobacco-related harm by encouraging smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit to adopt less harmful ways of obtaining nicotine, such as pharmaceutical nicotine and oral tobacco snuff. Proponents of THR argue that the effects of tobacco control policies have reduced smoking as much as they reasonably can and that we can best reduce tobacco-related harm by encouraging smokers to use these methods, which substantially reduce the health risks of smoking. Critics argue that THR policies will undermine the two traditional tobacco control goals of preventing the uptake of smoking by young people and encouraging smokers to quit. I assess the main arguments and evidence advanced for and against THR.

Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: technical appendix

This technical appendix details the methods used in an assessment of the potential of snus for tobacco harm reduction using simulation modelling.

Half-Filled Layered Organic Superconductors and the Resonating-Valence-Bond Theory of the Hubbard-Heisenberg Model

We present a resonating-valence-bond theory of superconductivity for the Hubbard-Heisenberg model on an anisotropic triangular lattice. Our calculations are consistent with the observed phase diagram of the half-filled layered organic superconductors, such as the beta, beta('), kappa, and lambda phases of (BEDT-TTF)(2)X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene] and (BETS)(2)X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene]. We find a first order transition from a Mott insulator to a d(x)(2)-y(2) superconductor with a small superfluid stiffness and a pseudogap with d(x)(2)-y(2) symmetry.

On the relationship between the critical temperature and the London penetration depth in layered organic superconductors

We present an analysis of previously published measurements of the London penetration depth of layered organic superconductors. The predictions of the BCS theory of superconductivity are shown to disagree with the measured zero temperature, in plane, London penetration depth by up to two orders of magnitude. We find that fluctuations in the phase of the superconducting order parameter do not determine the superconducting critical temperature as the critical temperature predicted for a Kosterlitz–Thouless transition is more than an order of magnitude greater than is found experimentally for some materials. This places constraints on theories of superconductivity in these materials.

And then came Complex Project Management

The subject of management is renowned for its addiction to fads and fashions. Project Management is no exception. The issue of interest for this paper is the establishment of the 'College of Complex Project Managers' and their 'competency standard for complex project managers.' Both have generated significant interest in the Project Management community, and like any other human endeavour they should be subject to critical evaluation. The results of this evaluation show significant flaws in the definition of complex in this case, the process by which the College and its standard have emerged, and the content of the standard. However, there is a significant case for a portfolio of research that extends the existing bodies of knowledge into large-scale complicated (or major) projects that would be owned by the relevant practitioner communities, rather than focused on one organization. Research questions are proposed that would commence this stream of activity towards an intelligent synthesis of what is required to manage in both complicated and truly complex environments.