Smoke Components Research Articles

Effect of second-hand smoke on the immunological parameters of wistar rats and their offspring

The literature covers multiple negative effects of active and passive tobacco smoking upon the human body and experimental animals. Much lesser attention is given to the features of the immune system in offspring from the passively smoking experimental animals. In previous works, we studied physiological and immunological parameters in the infant rats born from passively smoking rats. The present work expands the scope of this direction and is devoted to assessment of immunological parameters in passively smoking pregnant rats and their offspring. Quantitative determination of immunological parameters was carried out in pregnant Wistar rats exposed to passive tobacco smoking and in 65 pup rats from smoke-exposed and nonexposed animals. The experimental rats were exposed to tobacco smoke for 8 hours from the 1st to the 20th day of pregnancy. In all animals, the body weight, thymus and spleen, the number of white blood cells, thymocytes, splenocytes, and myelocaryocytes were determined. On the 20th day of pregnancy, the smoking rats showed a significant decrease in the weight of animals, the number of thymocytes and myelocaryocytes. A decreased body mass of animals and their thymus glands, lower number of thymocytes were registered in pup rats born from smoking females as compared with control animals. These changes in immunological parameters may be based on a number of possible reasons. On the one hand, tobacco smoke promotes activation of free-radical processes with a simultaneously decreased efficiency of antioxidant mechanisms. This activation may result from exposure to the components of tobacco smoke, in particular, chromium, as a metal of variable valence, as well as benzene, which is transformed by the free-radical oxidation mechanisms. On the other hand, some tobacco smoke components may promote apoptosis which plays a significant role in the cellular exhaustion of immunogenesis system. Moreover, a decreased number of thymocytes may be caused by their migration from cortical areas to the medulla, followed by release into bloodstream. Thus, the results obtained indicate that the detected changes in these parameters are more pronounced in pregnant rats who were exposed to tobacco smoke and their offspring, and expand the knowledge of changes in the immune system in the offspring of passively smoking animals. The presented data may present a basis for development of drugs that reduce toxic effect of ecotoxicants, including passive tobacco smoking.

Use of urinary hippuric acid and o-/p-/m-methyl hippuric acid to evaluate surgical smoke exposure in operating room healthcare personnel

Toluene and xylene are common components of surgical smoke, whereas hippuric acid (HA) and methylhippuric acid (MHA) are the products of toluene and xylene metabolism in humans, respectively. HA and MHA can be used as indicators to evaluate the exposure hazards of toluene and xylene. In this study, we used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to simultaneously analyze the HA, o-/m-/p-MHA, and creatinine contents in the urine of healthcare personnel. Concentrations of HA and o-/m-/p-MHAs were normalized to those of creatinine and used to analyze urine samples of 160 operating room (OR) healthcare personnel, including administrative staff, surgical nurses, nurse anesthetists, and surgeons. The results showed that the five analytes could be accurately separated and exhibited good linearity (r > 0.9992). The rate of recovery was between 86% and 106%, and the relative standard deviation was less than 5%. Urine from administrative staff presented the highest median concentration of hippuric acid (0.25 g/g creatinine); this was significantly higher than that found in the urine of surgeons (0.15 g/g). The concentrations of urinary o-/m-/p-MHAs in surgical nurses were higher than those in administrative staff, nurse anesthetists, and surgeons. Furthermore, the type, sex, and age of healthcare personnel were associated with changes in urine HA and o-/m-/p-MHA concentrations. Healthcare personnel should be aware of the risk of exposure to surgical smoke.

Use of ion mobility-high resolution mass spectrometry in metabolomics studies to provide near MS/MS quality data in a single injection.

The use of ion mobility separations (IMSs) in metabolomics approaches has started to be deeply explored in the last years. In this work, the use of liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to IMS-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOF MS) has been evaluated in a metabolomics experiments using single injection of the samples. IMS has allowed obtaining cleaner fragmentation spectra, of nearly tandem MS quality, in data-independent acquisition mode. This is much useful in this research area as a second injection, generally applied in LC-QTOF MS workflows to obtain tandem mass spectra, is not necessary, saving time and evading possible compound degradation. As a case study, the smoke produced after combustion of herbal blends used to spray synthetic cannabinoids has been selected as study matrix. The smoke components were trapped in carbon cartridges, desorbed and analyzed by LC-IMS-QTOF MS using different separation mechanisms (reversed phase and HILIC) and acquiring in both positive and negative mode to widen the chemical domain. Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis highlighted several compounds, and ratio between N-Isopropyl-3-(isoquinolinyl)-2-propen-1-amine and quinoline allowed differentiating between tobacco and herbal products. These two compounds were tentatively identified using the cleaner fragmentation spectra from a single injection in the IMS-QTOF MS, with additional confidence obtained by retention time (Rt) and collisional cross section (CCS) prediction using artificial neural networks. Data from this work show that LC-IMS-QTOF is an efficient technique in untargeted metabolomics, avoiding re-injection of the samples for elucidation purposes. In addition, the prediction models for Rt and CCS resulted of help in the elucidation process of potential biomarkers.

Identification of Isobars and Isomers in Cigarette Sidestream Smoke in Real Time by Synchrotron Radiation Photoionization Mass Spectrometry and Multiple Linear Regression

Direct analysis of chemical components in fresh cigarette smoke in real time is a challenging task. In this work, by using a novel continuous cigarette-pushing and smoke-introducing setup combined with synchrotron radiation photoionization mass spectrometry (SR-PIMS), the photoionization mass spectra of fresh gaseous cigarette sidestream smoke (SSS) from the combustion of solid tobacco could be recorded in real time, and the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves of each mass peak could be obtained for the first time. Hence, lots of well-known chemical components and even isomers could be identified by their discriminated onsets or PIE curve simulation. Moreover, diimine, 2H-azirine, and sulfur monoxide, which have never been reported in cigarette smoke, were observed in cigarette SSS, and even two intermediates, ethenol and propen-2-ol, anticipated to exist were actually observed and distinguished. To increase the qualification accuracy, a new simulation method based on multiple linear regression (MLR) was developed and applied for the PIE curve simulation, where qualification mistakes caused by subjective judgements could be eliminated as far as possible.

CHARACTERISTIC OF LIQUID SMOKE PRODUCED FROM SLOW PYROLYSIS OF CACAO POD SHELLS (THEOBROMA CACAO L)

This study evaluated the characteristics of liquid smoke produced from cacao pod shells (Theobroma cacao L) through the slow pyrolysis process at various temperatures of 300, 340, 380 and 400 °C. Prior to chemical analyses, the liquid smoke was purified by distillation at 190 °C to remove tar and remaining carbon and some benzene compounds. The compounds contained in liquid smoke were then analysed using various analytical techniques. The results showed that temperature plays a significant role in the composition of liquid smoke. Results of Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that the number of chemical compounds produced at pyrolysis temperatures of 300, 340, 380 and 400 °C were 9, 14, 10 and 18 compounds, respectively. Pyrolysis temperatures did not have significant effects on the pH (3-4) value of produced liquid smoke. Phenolic compounds, furan and ketone have been found to be the main components in liquid smoke. The highest amount of phenol (763.76 mg GAE) was found at 400 °C.

The Impact of Bushfire Smoke on Cattle-A Review.

Simple SummaryIn 2019–2020, Australia had a particularly bad bushfire season which resulted in large numbers of people and animals being exposed to smoke haze for several weeks. We conducted a literature review to examine the evidence for effects of prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke on cattle. There was general agreement that small airborne particulate matter in smoke is the substance most likely to cause problems. There was indirect evidence about effects on cattle caused by other types of pollution containing particulate matter. We found little evidence to support severe effects on cattle. This may be because cattle do not tend to suffer from the co-morbidities that, in the human population, seem to be made worse by smoke and pollution. However, small changes to death rates or disease that is not severe may go unreported, so further study is warranted.In 2019–2020, a particularly bad bushfire season in Australia resulted in cattle being exposed to prolonged periods of smoke haze and reduced air quality. Bushfire smoke contains many harmful pollutants, and impacts on regions far from the fire front, with smoke haze persisting for weeks. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the major components of bushfire smoke known to have a negative impact on human health. However, little has been reported about the potential effects that bushfire smoke has on cattle exposed to smoke haze for extended periods. We explored the current literature to investigate evidence for likely effects on cattle from prolonged exposure to smoke generated from bushfires in Australia. We conducted a search for papers related to the impacts of smoke on cattle. Initial searching returned no relevant articles through either CAB Direct or PubMed databases, whilst Google Scholar provided a small number of results. The search was then expanded to look at two sub-questions: the type of pollution that is found in bushfire smoke, and the reported effects of both humans and cattle being exposed to these types of pollutants. The primary mechanism for damage due to bushfire smoke is due to small airborne particulate matter (PM). Although evidence demonstrates that PM from bushfire smoke has a measurable impact on both human mortality and cardiorespiratory morbidities, there is little evidence regarding the impact of chronic bushfire smoke exposure in cattle. We hypothesize that cattle are not severely affected by chronic exposure to smoke haze, as evidenced by the lack of reports. This may be because cattle do not tend to suffer from the co-morbidities that, in the human population, seem to be made worse by smoke and pollution. Further, small changes to background mortality rates or transient morbidity may also go unreported.

Citrullinated vimentin mediates development and progression of lung fibrosis.

The mechanisms by which environmental exposures contribute to the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis are unclear. Here, we demonstrate an increase in cadmium (Cd) and carbon black (CB), common components of cigarette smoke (CS) and environmental particulate matter (PM), in lung tissue from subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Cd concentrations were directly proportional to citrullinated vimentin (Cit-Vim) amounts in lung tissue of subjects with IPF. Cit-Vim amounts were higher in subjects with IPF, especially smokers, which correlated with lung function and were associated with disease manifestations. Cd/CB induced the secretion of Cit-Vim in an Akt1- and peptidylarginine deiminase 2 (PAD2)-dependent manner. Cit-Vim mediated fibroblast invasion in a 3D ex vivo model of human pulmospheres that resulted in higher expression of CD26, collagen, and α-SMA. Cit-Vim activated NF-κB in a TLR4-dependent fashion and induced the production of active TGF-β1, CTGF, and IL-8 along with higher surface expression of TLR4 in lung fibroblasts. To corroborate ex vivo findings, mice treated with Cit-Vim, but not Vim, independently developed a similar pattern of fibrotic tissue remodeling, which was TLR4 dependent. Moreover, wild-type mice, but not PAD2-/- and TLR4 mutant (MUT) mice, exposed to Cd/CB generated high amounts of Cit-Vim, in both plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and developed lung fibrosis in a stereotypic manner. Together, these studies support a role for Cit-Vim as a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) that is generated by lung macrophages in response to environmental Cd/CB exposure. Furthermore, PAD2 might represent a promising target to attenuate Cd/CB-induced fibrosis.

Effect of Time, Temperature and Stirring Rate Used in the First Step of the Synthesis of SBA-15 on Its Application as Reductor of Tars in Tobacco Smoke

SBA-15 has been employed as a tobacco additive with the objective of reducing the toxic and carcinogenic components in tobacco smoke. The effect of the synthesis conditions (temperature, time, and stirring rate) on this application was studied in this paper. The SBA-15 was characterized (RDX, N2 adsorption isotherms, SEM and apparent density), mixed with the 3R4F reference tobacco, and smoked under standard conditions. The composition of the gas and condensed fractions also was analyzed. The morphology of the material plays an important role on this application and is highly influenced by the three variables studied. Long fibers show improved efficiency compared to short fibers. The tar reduction effect was improved when increasing the time of synthesis. Nevertheless, a maximum was observed with temperature (40 °C) and stirring rate (700 rpm). The optimal synthesis conditions obtained were 24 h, 40 °C and 700 rpm, yielding reductions as high as 68% for tar, 67% for nicotine, and 31% for CO. The scaling-up process has only been reported in terms of grams but never in a preindustrial scale (around 4 kg), and thus the results of this analysis show a promising material with properties and behavior similar with respect to the sample synthesized at laboratory scale.

Mixtures modeling identifies chemical inducers versus repressors of toxicity associated with wildfire smoke

Exposure to wildfire smoke continues to be a growing threat to public health, yet the chemical components in wildfire smoke that primarily drive toxicity and associated disease are largely unknown. This study utilized a suite of computational approaches to identify groups of chemicals induced by variable biomass burn conditions that were associated with biological responses in the mouse lung, including pulmonary immune response and injury markers. Smoke condensate samples were collected and characterized, resulting in chemical distribution information for 86 constituents across ten different exposures. Mixtures-relevant statistical methods included (i) a chemical clustering and data-reduction method, weighted chemical co-expression network analysis (WCCNA), (ii) a quantile g-computation approach to address the joint effect of multiple chemicals in different groupings, and (iii) a correlation analysis to compare mixtures modeling results against individual chemical relationships. Seven chemical groups were identified using WCCNA based on co-occurrence showing both positive and negative relationships with biological responses. A group containing methoxyphenols (e.g., coniferyl aldehyde, eugenol, guaiacol, and vanillin) displayed highly significant, negative relationships with several biological responses, including cytokines and lung injury markers. This group was further shown through quantile g-computation methods to associate with reduced biological responses. Specifically, mixtures modeling based on all chemicals excluding those in the methoxyphenol group demonstrated more significant, positive relationships with several biological responses; whereas mixtures modeling based on just those in the methoxyphenol group demonstrated significant negative relationships with several biological responses, suggesting potential protective effects. Mixtures-based analyses also identified other groups consisting of inorganic elements and ionic constituents showing positive relationships with several biological responses, including markers of inflammation. Many of the effects identified through mixtures modeling in this analysis were not captured through individual chemical analyses. Together, this study demonstrates the utility of mixtures-based approaches to identify potential drivers and inhibitors of toxicity relevant to wildfire exposures.

Ubiquitous atmospheric contamination by tobacco smoke: Nicotine and a new marker for tobacco smoke-derived particulate matter, nicotelline

Second Hand Smoke (SHS) has always been primarily linked with indoor pollution. To date nicotine was the favoured marker for SHS alongside measurements of particulate matter (PM) levels. As nicotine is mainly found in the gas-phase and reactive in the outdoor environment it is not ideal as a marker for the SHS-driven particulate component in PM. Nicotelline, a minor tobacco alkaloid that is stable, found almost exclusively in the particle phase and easy to quantify even at low concentrations, is being proposed as a better marker. It is the first study using bisulfate-treated quartz fiber filters to show that airborne nicotine (gas+particle phase) is directly proportional to airborne nicotelline in countries that have different climates. The analytical method developed has been validated to show that the use of untreated filters is suitable for the quantification of nicotelline even at low concentrations. Although nicotelline exhibits a seasonal and geographical variation, this is the first comprehensive study which demonstrates the ubiquitous presence of nicotelline in PM from outdoor air samples collected in the USA (0.1–285.6 pgm−3), UK (2.3–9.1 pgm−3), Hong Kong (3.8–109.3 pgm−3) and Malta (4.2–280.8 pgm−3). From the nicotelline apportionment factor of 1589 ng/mg of tobacco smoke PM we estimate the fraction of outdoor airborne PM derived from SHS to be in the range of 0.03–0.08%. While it is unlikely for tobacco smoke-related toxics in outdoor PM to be considered a major health hazard, in heavily polluted microenvironments this marker would be useful in tracing the presence of SHS and emerging Third Hand Smoke components that form or are found in airborne and settled PM that could induce serious health effects.

Administration of N-acetylcysteine Plus Acetylsalicylic Acid Markedly Inhibits Nicotine Reinstatement Following Chronic Oral Nicotine Intake in Female Rats.

BackgroundNicotine is the major addictive component of cigarette smoke and the prime culprit of the failure to quit smoking. Common elements perpetuating the use of addictive drugs are (i) cues associated with the setting in which drug was used and (ii) relapse/reinstatement mediated by an increased glutamatergic tone (iii) associated with drug-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.AimsThe present study assessed the effect of the coadministration of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) plus the anti-inflammatory acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on oral nicotine reinstatement intake following a post-deprivation re-access in female rats that had chronically and voluntarily consumed a nicotine solution orally. The nicotine-induced oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus and its effects on the glutamate transporters GLT-1 and XCT mRNA levels in prefrontal cortex were also analyzed.ResultsThe oral coadministration of NAC (40 mg/kg/day) and ASA (15 mg/kg/day) inhibited by 85% of the oral nicotine reinstatement intake compared to control (vehicle), showing an additive effect of both drugs. Acetylsalicylic acid and N-acetylcysteine normalized hippocampal oxidative stress and blunted the hippocampal neuroinflammation observed upon oral nicotine reinstatement. Nicotine downregulated GLT-1 and xCT gene expression in the prefrontal cortex, an effect reversed by N-acetylcysteine, while acetylsalicylic acid reversed the nicotine-induced downregulation of GLT-1 gene expression. The inhibitory effect of N-acetylcysteine on chronic nicotine intake was blocked by the administration of sulfasalazine, an inhibitor of the xCT transporter.ConclusionNicotine reinstatement, following post-deprivation of chronic oral nicotine intake, downregulates the mRNA levels of GLT-1 and xCT transporters, an effect reversed by the coadministration of N-acetylcysteine and acetylsalicylic acid, leading to a marked inhibition of nicotine intake. The combination of these drugs may constitute a valuable adjunct in the treatment of nicotine-dependent behaviors.

Nicotine promotes breast cancer metastasis by stimulating N2 neutrophils and generating pre-metastatic niche in lung

Smoking has a profound impact on tumor immunity, and nicotine, which is the major addictive component of smoke, is known to promote tumor progression despite being a non-carcinogen. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic exposure of nicotine plays a critical role in the formation of pre-metastatic niche within the lungs by recruiting pro-tumor N2-neutrophils. This pre-metastatic niche promotes the release of STAT3-activated lipocalin 2 (LCN2), a secretory glycoprotein from the N2-neutrophils, and induces mesenchymal-epithelial transition of tumor cells thereby facilitating colonization and metastatic outgrowth. Elevated levels of serum and urine LCN2 is elevated in early-stage breast cancer patients and cancer-free females with smoking history, suggesting that LCN2 serve as a promising prognostic biomarker for predicting increased risk of metastatic disease in female smoker(s). Moreover, natural compound, salidroside effectively abrogates nicotine-induced neutrophil polarization and consequently reduced lung metastasis of hormone receptor-negative breast cancer cells. Our findings suggest a pro-metastatic role of nicotine-induced N2-neutrophils for cancer cell colonization in the lungs and illuminate the therapeutic use of salidroside to enhance the anti-tumor activity of neutrophils in breast cancer patients.

Potential Suppressive Effect of Nicotine on the Inflammatory Response in Oral Epithelial Cells: An In Vitro Study.

Smoking is a well-recognized risk factor for oral mucosal and periodontal diseases. Nicotine is an important component of cigarette smoke. This study aims to investigate the impact of nicotine on the viability and inflammatory mediator production of an oral epithelial cell line in the presence of various inflammatory stimuli. Oral epithelial HSC-2 cells were challenged with nicotine (10−8–10−2 M) for 24 h in the presence or absence of Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 µg/mL) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (10−7 M) for 24 h. The cell proliferation/viability was determined by MTT assay. Gene expression of interleukin (IL)-8, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, and β-defensin was assayed by qPCR. The production of IL-8 protein and cell surface expression of ICAM-1 was assessed by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. Proliferation/viability of HSC-2 cells was unaffected by nicotine at concentrations up to 10−3 M and inhibited at 10−2 M. Nicotine had no significant effect on the basal expression of IL-8, ICAM-1, and β-defensin. At the same time, it significantly diminished P. gingivalis LPS or the TNF-α-induced expression levels of these factors. Within the limitations of this study, the first evidence was provided in vitro that nicotine probably exerts a suppressive effect on the production of inflammatory mediators and antimicrobial peptides in human oral epithelial cells.

The component analysis of liquid smoke from rice hulls and its toxicity test on baby hamster kidney cells

Context: The pyrolysis product of rice hulls (Oryza sativa) has been used for the natural preservation of food and shows the potential to act as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory product. However, the safety of this treatment has still not been studied. Aims: To analyse liquid smoke derived from rice hulls (Oryza sativa) components, its physical characteristics including acidity, density, and its toxicity on baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. Methods: The physical characteristics of acidity and density were analysed using a digital pH meter and gravimetry. The components of liquid smoke from rice hulls were analysed using gas chromatograph mass spectrometry. Eight concentrations (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15 and 17.5%) of liquid smoke from rice hulls were used and immersed in media culture for 24 hours. Then, the MTT assay method was used to investigate the cytotoxic effect on BHK cells. Optic formazan density was indicated from the number of living cells. Results: The acidity of liquid smoke from rice hulls was 2.296 and the density is 1.0102 g/mL. The components analysed were 2-methoxyphenol (13.45%), mequinol (13.45%) and phenol (10.52%). The 10% concentration showed the highest number of living cells at 49.33%, while liquid smoke rice hulls had 12.5% of cells still alive (p=0.000), followed by the concentration of 7.5% (p=0.000), concentration of 5% (p=0.000) and liquid smoke rice hulls at 1% (p=0.000). Conclusions: Liquid smoke from rice hulls (Oryza sativa) showed that it’s potential of toxicity may be related its high acidity, components and the concentration.

Extensive Growth and Growth Boundary Model for Non-Proteolytic <i>Clostridium Botulinum</i> – New Term for Smoke Components and Validation with Map Foods

The growth inhibiting effect of smoke components (phenol) and lactic acid bacteria on non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum were studied. An available cardinal parameter growth and growth boundary model for non-proteolytic C. botulinum (Koukou et al., 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109162) was expanded with a term for phenol to include the combined inhibiting effect of nine environmental factors. The expanded model was then evaluated using 810 time-to-toxin (TTT) formation data extracted from the scientific literature for seafood, poultry, vegetables and meat products in different atmospheres including air, vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) with added CO2. Cold-smoking inhibited growth of non-proteolytic C. botulinum whereas hot-smoking and lactic acid bacteria had no significant inhibiting effect on growth rates (P > 0.2). The expanded model predicted TTT formation without bias (Bf-TTT value = 1.00) and with a reasonable accuracy (Af-TTT value = 1.77). This study substantially increased the range of applicability of the available growth and growth boundary model for non-proteolytic C. botulinum as the expanded model allowed prediction of environmental conditions to prevent growth in seafood (including smoked fish), poultry and vegetable products. It is expected that the expanded model will contribute to product development including development of new sodium reduced foods.

Smoking Products Suppress Type I IFN During SARS-Cov-2 Infection

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which can lead to the development severe pneumonia. While some hospital data shows a positive correlation between smoking and severe pneumonia, more molecular-level mechanisms need to be determined. The previous study investigates the mechanism of the negative effect of smoking on anti-viral infection on Type I interferons (IFNs). Research has shown that Type I IFNs play an important role in defending against SARS-Cov-2. Here, we want to investigate smoking components’ effects on SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular level in vitro and give some ideas on the correlation between smoking and syndrome.

Smoking cessation rescues tooth movement delays caused by tobacco smoke components

ABSTRACT Purpose: Smokers who receive orthodontic treatment occasionally require longer treatment periods. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether delayed tooth movement can be recovered by encouraging smoking cessation. The study was designed to examine whether tooth movement rates can be recovered by a period of smoking cessation in rats treated with a comprehensive mixture of tobacco smoke components (TSCs). Materials and methods: Nine-week-old Wistar male rats were divided into no treatment, sham, TSCs, and TSCs cessation groups. The rats in the no treatment and sham groups drank distilled water, whereas those in the TSCs group and the TSCs cessation groups received TSCs in their drinking water. A smoking cessation period of 10 days was set for rats in the TSCs cessation group before the three groups underwent tooth movement. Tooth movement distance was measured using micro-computed tomography, and osteoclast differentiation was evaluated histologically. Results: There was significantly greater tooth movement in the sham and TSCs cessation groups than in the TSCs group. However, the TSCs cessation group showed lesser osteoclast differentiation than the sham group. Conclusion: Our results indicate that delayed tooth movement caused by smoking was recovered by smoking cessation treatment; this recovery seems to be partially due to the increase in osteoclasts, although the number of osteoclasts was still less than that in the sham group.

Histostructure of the thyroid gland in the sexually mature offsprings of female rats which were exposed to passive smoking during pregnancy

Active smoking or passive entry of tobacco smoke into the body of a pregnant leads to the effects of nicotine on the fetus’s cells, which causes many problems of fetal development and health problems in the later life of the offspring. The researches made has conclusively proven that smoking during pregnancy contributes to the development of many endocrine disorders. The effect of tobacco smoke on the increase of leptin, C-reactive protein, decrease of adiponectin, as well as on the appearance of antibodies to islet cells of the pancreas, as the first step to the development of type 1 diabetes, was determined by epidemiological studies. In studying the effects of nicotine during lactation it was concluded that the consumption of 6 mg / kg / day of nicotine, hyperleptinemia and primary hypothyroidism develops in the newborn, and later in adulthood, all components of the metabolic syndrome. At the same time, the data on the effect of nicotine entering the mother's body and its further influence on the offspring’s thyroid gland are few. The objective: to the study histofunctional and morphometric features of the thyroid gland of both sexes offsprings born by mothers which were exposed to "passive" smoking during pregnancy. The study object: 6-month-old Wistar rats, first-generation offspring derived from control (intact) females that were exposed to tobacco smoke components in a reproduction model of "passive" smoking. Histological and morphometric changes of the thyroid gland of 6-month-old offspring of mothers in whose bodies the products of cigarette combustion entered through the respiratory tract were studied. Morphofunctional criteria of instability and changes in the microstructure of the thyroid gland of offsprings whose mothers were exposed to nicotine in postnatal life were determined. Primary apoptotic-destructive processes in parenchyma, the formation of unstructured cell fields and microfollicles allow us to consider these offsprings as a risk group for thyroid pathology in terms of additional exposure to negative factors of "passive" smoking.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Peer Education Program on Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

Kelab Doktor Muda (KDM) which translates as Young Doctors Club was established by the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia to train a group of schoolchildren as educators in assisting their peers to adopt healthy practices. This research aims to assess the effectiveness of KDM as a peer education program to increase the health knowledge of school children, and instil healthy practices among schoolchildren by identifying the difference in the level of knowledge, attitude and health practice between school with KDM (SKDM) and school without KDM (NKDM). This is a nationwide comparative cross-sectional study between SKDM and NKDM. This study was carried out between March 2016 and March 2017. Data were obtained using a guided self-administered questionnaire through survey involving 2588 (1294 SKDM; 1294 NKDM) year 5 (11 years old) schoolchildren from 87 primary schools nationwide. The results revealed a significantly higher overall knowledge score of health practices, knowledge and practice score for No Smoking component, as well as hand hygiene knowledge in SKDM compared to NKDM. Schoolchildren in SKDM also had significantly lower BMI compared to NKDM, directly related to healthy eating, active lifestyle and ideal body weight, 3 of the 6 components in this program. As a conclusion, the program was found to be not only effective in increasing the overall knowledge of health practice among schoolchildren, but also results in a meaningful impact to the health of schoolchildren. Further improvements to the modules however should be undertaken to enable more comprehensive changes on the health practices of schoolchildren.

Pengaruh injeksi nikotin terhadap motilitas, viabilitas, dan integritas membran spermatozoa mencit (Mus Musculus)

The process of spermatogenesis is sensitive to nicotine, a main component of cigarette smoke. This study aimed to observe the effect of nicotine injection on motility, viability, and membrane integrity of the spermatozoa of mice (Mus musculus). The mice were 10 weeks old, weighing about 20 grams, and in healthy and fertile conditions. Mice were adapted for 1 week by being given feed in the form of pellets and drinking water every day. Twenty of the mice were divided into four groups. Group K as a control was injected with 0.9% NaCl at 2.5 mg/Kg bw. Group P1 was injected with nicotine at 2.5 mg/Kg bw. P2 was injected with nicotine at 5 mg/Kg bw. Group P3 was injected with nicotine at 10 mg/Kg bw. The injection was carried out subcutaneously as much as 0.5 ml once a day for 35 days. Data analysis used the Analysis of Variances (ANOVA), followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test. The results showed that the viability, motility, and membrane integrity of the spermatozoa decreased significantly (p <0.05) according to the increase in the dose of nicotine injected. It could be concluded that subcutaneous nicotine injection linearly decreased the motility, viability, and membrane integrity of the spermatozoa of mice.