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Isolated radial styloid fractures occur relatively infrequently, with non-union of such fractures, especially when undisplaced, being highly unusual. Smoking of tobacco, a common habit which is decreasing in prevalence in the developed world, has been proven to exert many adverse effects on tissue healing including bone union. We present a case of non-union of an undisplaced radial styloid fracture in the dominant hand of a young and healthy heavy smoker, emphasising the negative impact of tobacco smoke and its association with bone repair. We suggest that heavy tobacco users should also be followed up more vigilantly with this complication in mind, with smoking cessation modalities being offered on presentation.

Spleen Cells Found to Regenerate Diabetic Pancreas in Mice.

Researchers Uncover Genetic Link between Smoking and Breathlessness.

AUSTRALIA — A Web-based Tool to Predict Bone Fracture Risk

AUSTRALIA — World's First Stem Cell Screening Facility to Target Brain Tumors

CHINA — Agro-Technology to Build Biodiesel Refinery

CHINA — TCM Development Strategy Established

CHINA — Folic Acid Prevents Stomach Cancer

CHINA — A Major Nanobiology Research Project is Initiated at CAS

CHINA — Scientists to Sequence Giant Panda Genome

CHINA — Biotech Company Announces World's First Genetically Modified Phytase Corn

CHINA — Smoking — A Major Risk Factor of Stroke in China

HONG KONG — ASB Biodiesel to Build Hong Kong Plant

INDIA — CCRAS Identified 39 Formulations for Eight Specific Disease Conditions

INDIA — First Hi-tech TomoTherapy System Installed

INDIA — Government Research Labs Develop 28 New Drugs for Chronic Ailments

INDIA — BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring Cardiac Devices Launched in India

INDIA — Biotech Incubation Center to Become a Reality Soon

JAPAN — Radiation Exposure in utero and in Young Children Increases Adult Cancer Risk

JAPAN — Anchoring Protein Variant Associated with Increased Breast Cancer Risk

JAPAN — Stem Cells Develop New Organs in Mice

NEW ZEALAND — New Diabetes Treatment Now Available in New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND — Trans-Tasman Scientists Study Livestock Methane

PHILIPPINES — Philippines Bioethanol Capacity to Expand

SINGAPORE — Asia's First Research Center for Palliative Care Opens in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Millipore Corporation (MIL) Announces New Facility in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Patients Under Chronic Disease Management Program Show Better Disease Control

SINGAPORE — NTUC Childcare Issues Health Alert Following Hong Kong Flu Outbreak

TAIWAN — Gene Screening Used in IVF for Healthy Babies

TAIWAN — Researchers Tout Progress in Vaccine to Combat HIV

TAIWAN — Taipei Program to Help Cardiac Arrest Victims

AUSTRALIA — New Meningococcal Test to Identify Genetic Predisposition

AUSTRALIA — Scientists Discover the Double Life of Proteins

AUSTRALIA — Gene Discovery Offers Cancer Hope

CHINA — The American Psychiatric Association's Awards for Young Scientists Encourage Research Expertise in China

CHINA — DuPont Partners with China to Increase Farm Productivity

CHINA — Deadly Enterovirus Afflicts Chinese Children

CHINA — CAS Researchers Decode Genome of Mosquito-Killing Bacterium

CHINA — CAS, Local Governments to Jointly Set Up a Biomedical Institute in Suzhou

CHINA — Chinese and US Scientists Map Papaya Genes

CHINA — Genzyme to Build New R&D Center in Beijing

INDIA — Avesthagen Launches Bioactive Teestar

INDIA — Scientists Find Kala-azar Protein

INDIA — Bayer Launches Disease-Resistant Hybrid Rice Arize Dhani

INDIA — SCHOTT Forms Pharmaceutical Joint Venture in India

INDIA — IIT Mumbai Develops Chip to Detect Myocardial Infarction

INDIA — Tamil Nadu Plans Poison Treatment Center in Every District

INDIA — RFCL Opens Integrated Manufacturing Plant in India

JAPAN — Pfizer to Launch Champix^® – The First Prescription Oral Smoking Cessation Aid in the Country

NEW ZEALAND — Asthma Linked to High Fat Diet

PHILIPPINES — Surge in Dengue Cases in the Philippines

SOUTH KOREA — Bird Flu Outbreaks Spread in South Korea

SINGAPORE — Edwards Lifesciences Opens Its First Heart Valve Manufacturing Facility in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Bioimaging and Stem Cell Research in Singapore gets a Million Dollar Boost from Latest Grant Calls by A*STAR

SINGAPORE — Maccine Receives Bio-Industry Award for Best Preclinical or Clinical CRO in Asia

TAIWAN — New Group for Biomedical Electronics Established

TAIWAN — Stroke Evaluation Indicator Discovered

VIETNAM — Vietnam Bird Flu Vaccine Returns Positive Results

AUSTRALIA – Hospital Infections Bring Costly Loss in Lost Bed Days.

CHINA – Novel Mechanism in Chinese Herbs Discovered for Cancer Treatment.

CHINA – "Dung of the Devil" Plant Roots Point to New Swine Flu Drugs.

CHINA – New Center at Chinese Academy of Sciences Pushes Life Science Innovation.

CHINA – A New Function of Insulin Receptor Discovered.

JAPAN – Researchers Identify Fat-Causing Protein.

SINGAPORE – Operation Conducted Entirely Through the Navel.

SINGAPORE – Saliva From Blood-Feeding Bug Could Help Prevent Heart Attacks.

SINGAPORE – 17 Projects Awarded Grants by A*STAR.

SINGAPORE – Third Medical School for Singapore.

SINGAPORE – Singapore's Medical Technology Sector Reports Strong Growth.

SINGAPORE – Scientists Unlock Secret to Youthful Skin.

SINGAPORE – Singapore Gears Up for Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccines.

SINGAPORE – NUS Gets World's Most High-Tech Microscope.

SINGAPORE – Waseda University Opens First Overseas Biosciences Research Institute in Singapore.

TAIWAN – Taiwan Makes Headway in New Drug Development.

TAIWAN – Nutrition Sensor in Plants Pivotal in Understanding Molecular Equilibrium in Human Body.

VIETNAM – U.S. Provides Aid to Vietnam for Pandemic Preparedness.

EUROPE – Heart Risks Cut Life Span by 10 Years.

NORTH AMERICA – Bad Drug Effects in Children from Medicines.

NORTH AMERICA – Virus Linked to Prostate Cancer Discovered.

NORTH AMERICA – Will H1N1 Mutate into "Superbug"?

Streamlining the Laboratories of Today for Success.

Bayer and NUS Enterprise Launch “Grants4Apps Singapore” to Drive Health Tech Innovations across Asia Pacific.

New Approaches for Cervical Cancer Treatment Being Studied in Singapore.

Arterial Tunnel Vision: Computer Tomography Provides a Clearer View of Blood Vessel Interiors.

Regular Use of Ibuprofen May Lower Lung Cancer Risk Among High-Risk Subgroups of Cigarette Smokers.

Free Trade & Investment Agreement Threatens Public Health.

UNITED STATES – Smoking While Pregnant May Compromise Children’s Kidney Function.

UNITED STATES – You Are What You Exhale.

UNITED STATES – A Diet of Fruits, Vegetables May Help Kidney Disease Patients.

TAIWAN – TLC to Proceed with TLC599 Phase 2 Trial in Taiwan.

TAIWAN – TLC Reports Results of Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of TLC599 for Sustained Pain Relief in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee.

JAPAN – Chugai to Join Global Initiative for Addressing Rise of Non-Communicable Diseases in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries.

AUSTRALIA & MALAYSIA – Holista CollTech Collaborates with Nobel Prize Nominee to File Patent for World’s First Low-GI Sugar with All-Natural Ingredients.

The journey towards a smoke-free future.

An update on lung cancer treatments in 2019.

The lightsaber of radiation therapy.

We propose and analyze mathematical models to study the dynamics of smoking behavior under the influence of educational programs and also individual's determination to quit smoking. We establish the positivity and boundedness of the solutions in a biologically feasible region. A threshold value responsible for persistence of smoking is obtained and stability analysis on models is performed. We find that determination alone is not enough to eradicate smoking but it can reduce the prevalence of smoker population. Whereas the increase in education can possibly eradicate it. We performed numerical simulation for representative set of parameters to verify and discuss results obtained analytically.

Smoking is a serious global public health problem. The ability to quit smoking is closely related to age; in addition, personal determination and education usually play an important role in quitting smoking. In order to capture such characteristics, we developed a novel age-structured smoking dynamical model. By defining the smoking generation number $R_0$, the local stability, global stability of the boundary equilibrium and endemic equilibrium are obtained using Lyapunov functions. The uniform persistence and the well-posedness and asymptotic smoothness of the solutions are also studied. Sensitivity analyzes show that the lower the age of onset of smoking and the higher the determination to stop, the greater the likelihood of quitting smoking and numerical studies support the theoretical results.

We used a mobile wireless near-infrared sensor for the noninvasive recording of cerebral hemoglobin concentration changes during cigarette smoking. Each measurement included 5 min of rest, 5 min of smoking imitation, and 5 min of actual smoking. We observed significant effects of the tobacco smoking on temporal changes in the human brain at time scales ranging from 200ms to about 1min. The most reproducible effects were an increase of the heartbeat rate and a decrease in the heartbeat power spectral density during smoking. Significant but highly individual changes due to smoking were observed in temporal patterns of hemodynamic fluctuations in 5–50s time scales. We have also found statistically significant slow increases in both oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations during smoking.

Background: Some cases treated with open palm technique need relatively long wound healing time. This study aims to clarify whether the preoperative lifestyle-related diseases or factors are associated with surgical results after the open palm technique for Dupuytren’s contracture.

Methods: The study included 122 fingers of 84 hands of 84 consecutive male patients with Dupuytren’s contracture who were treated with McCash’s open palm technique at our hospital from 1980 to 2016. The average age of the patients was 68.0 years (range, 39–86). The follow-up period was at least 6 months (average, 36.3 months). Using multiple regression analysis, we investigated preoperative factors associated with surgical results. The factors examined were age, affected side, contracture of the little finger, number of contracted fingers, contracture of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint, Meyerding classification, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, alcohol intake, and smoking. Surgical results were judged at 6 months after surgery and wound healing time was evaluated.

Results: According to Tubiana’s criteria, there were 59 excellent hands (70.2%), 18 good hands (21.4%), 5 fair hands (6.0%), and 2 poor hands (2.4%) at the final physical examination after surgery. The average of the percentage of improvement in contracture was 86.1%. The average number of days needed until complete open wound closure was 22.9 days. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the significant preoperative factors associated with the percentage of improvement in contracture were multiple contracted fingers and involvement of PIP joint contracture, and that the factor associated with delayed wound healing was current smoking.

Conclusions: Multiple contracted fingers and involvement of PIP joint contracture are associated with insufficient improvement of joint contracture. Current smoking is associated with delayed wound healing, but not with improvement of joint contracture, after the open palm technique for Dupuytren’s disease in men.

Introduction: To study the dose-response relationship between smoking and axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) disease outcome.

Method: One hundred and sixty participants with axSpA were recruited from a single rheumatology center. All of them fulfilled the classification criteria for axSpA by the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS). Clinical, demographic and biochemical data was collected. Participants were asked for detailed smoking histories including past and current smoking, smoking duration and quantity. Radiographs of cervical and lumbar spine were performed for modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) and modified New York (MNY) criteria for radiological sacroiliitis. Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) was calculated based on C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Univariate and multivariate regression models were performed to determine the associations between pack-year smoking and different disease outcomes.

Results: Among the participants, 62 (38.7%) were either current (N $=$ 39) or former smokers (N $=$ 23). Ex-smokers quit smoking by 18.8 ± 12.4 years. The mean pack-year for patients who had ever smoked was 19.4 ± 23.1. In univariate analyses, pack-year smoking was associated with BASFI (p <0.001), modified Schober test (p $=$ 0.01) and mSASSS (p <0.001). Multivariate regression models showed independent dose-response associations between pack-year of smoking and BASFI (SC 0.23; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.06; p $=$ 0.004), modified Schober test (SC −0.16; 95% CI −0.03 to 0.00; p $=$ 0.049) and mSASSS (SC 0.22; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.47; p $=$ 0.01).

Conclusion: In Chinese axSpA patients, pack-year smoking was independently associated with poorer functional status, worsened spinal mobility and more radiological damages. Smoking cessation should be encouraged in patients with axSpA.

While under communism the identity-providing religion was suppressed, religiosity is strong today even among the youth in post-communist countries. This provides an appropriate background to investigate how external and internal religiosity relate to risky behaviors like smoking, drinking, and drugs among the young. This study shows that not religion as such or internal religiosity, but largely observable (external) religiosity prevents them from wallowing in those vices. While this is found strongly for both males and females, those females doubting or reflecting religion show a somewhat smaller risky activity.

We examine subjective life expectancy perceptions of Israeli smokers by investigating the results of an online survey of a representative sample of 963 Israeli residents aged 50–70 years. Our results suggest that smokers are overoptimistic regarding their subjective life expectancy, a fact that is expected to influence the decision-making process in general, and financial decisions in particular. Indeed, our results are consistent with the results obtained by Hurwitz and Sade (2019) with regard to annuitization decisions.

Despite the link between smoking and reduced lifespan, the effect of smoking on retirement savings withdrawal remains understudied. We investigate the impact of various leaflets on smokers’ retirement choices: (a) smoker vs. non-smoker life expectancies, (b) smoking’s health effects, (c) health impact with government’s advice to consider health upon retirement, or (d) combined smoker’s life expectancy and health info. Analyzing data from 2,000 smokers, we find that those informed about smoking’s lifespan impact, alone or with health consequences, were likelier to opt for lump sum over annuity. This suggests that informing smokers about smoking’s harms can influence their retirement choices.

Human epidemiological studies associating chemical exposures to cancer risk often are inconsistently validated across studies. Examples include the effect of smoking on cancer aetiology on cancers other than the lung, such as urinary bladder and breast cancer. Research findings from the laboratory have improved the understanding of arylamine carcinogen metabolism leading to improved design and interpretation of human molecular epidemiology investigations. Laboratory studies that infer and test biological plausibility, including cancer risks modified by differential metabolism of arylamine carcinogens in rapid and slow arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT2) acetylators, have been critical for investigating the role of smoking in the aetiology of human cancers. This chapter illustrates these concepts with an example of a cancer in which the role of smoking has largely been validated (urinary bladder cancer) and an example where a consensus has not been reached (breast cancer).