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Thesis (MA(Research Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Saint Mary's University, 2009. / Includes abstract and appendices. Supervisor: Steven Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2004. / Thesis directed by George S. Howard for the Department of Psychology. "April 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-94).

Cigarette smoke displays both immunoactivating and immunosuppressive activities. Although the health risks of cigarette smoke are widely reported, the impact and mechanism of cigarette smoke exposure on inflammatory diseases are still unclear. Innate immune responses could be activated shortly after influenza A virus infection and then trigger inflammation in the lung. Until now, the effect of prior cigarette smoke on the inflammation caused by the following influenza A virus infection has not been fully understood and there is no study about the role of cigarette smoke in 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pdmH1N1) and avian H9N2 (H9N2/G1) infection. In this study, C57/B6N mice were whole body exposed to 4% cigarette smoke 4 hours per day for 21 days and then infected with pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus. Some mice were exposed to room air in parallel as the control. Nicotine was also used to mimic the effect of the cigarette smoke. Human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line A549 or human monocyte-derived macrophages were pre-treated with 10μM nicotine, and then infected with pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus. The expression of cytokines and chemokines was examined in the supernatant. C57/B6N mice were treated with 24mg/kg/day nicotine or sterile water subcutaneously for 21 days and then infected with pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus. Survival, body weight changes, lung viral loads, inflammatory responses and immune cells that infiltrated into the lung were analyzed. Cigarette smoke exposure alone significantly up-regulated the lung inflammation, confirmed by the dramatically decreased body weight gain and increased inflammatory response compared with the control mice. Such prior cigarette smoke exposure significantly reduced the disease severity induced by subsequent pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus infection. For pdmH1N1 infection, cigarette smoke exposure group had a significantly lower mortality than the control group, which might be due to the lower inflammatory response at day 5 post virus infection. Similarly, after H9N2 virus infection, the mice in cigarette smoke exposure group displayed a significantly milder disease, as evidenced by less weight loss, weaker inflammatory response as well as lower number of immune cells infiltrating into the lung compared to the control group. There was no difference for the lung viral loads between the two groups upon both pdmH1N1 and H9N2 virus infection. Besides, pre-treating the A549 and primary human macrophages with nicotine decreased the expression of some cytokines and chemokines after pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus infection. The mice treated with nicotine displayed significantly less weight loss and lower inflammatory response than control mice treated with sterile water upon pdmH1N1 or H9N2 virus infection. Collectively, our study demonstrated that the immunosuppressive effect of cigarette smoke was responsible for amelioration of pdmH1N1 and H9N2 pathogenicity by dampening the hyper-reaction of inflammatory response without any direct effect on viral replication. Nicotine, an anti-inflammatory factor, was the key component in cigarette smoke that was responsible for this immunosuppressive effect. Our study provided the first in vivo evidence that cigarette smoke, mostly due to nicotine, could protect against the pathogenicity of not only pdmH1N1, but also H9N2 virus. / published_or_final_version / Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

WHO recommends the use of plain packaging to combat marketing abuse of cigarette packaging. The present systematic review aims to review and synthesize existing significant findings for effect of plain cigarette packaging, discuss implications for Hong Kong cigarette packaging policy, and offer suggestions for future direction in the area of research studies. A total of 21 studies were selected and qualified through the PRISMA Statement. Results were synthesized according to primary and secondary findings. Significant findings indicate that plain cigarette packages lower the attractiveness of a pack, weaken the reinforcement of falsely perceived product strength and arm, while increase the effectiveness of health warnings. The relatively new topic gives the present review its strengths and limitations. The review recommends Hong Kong to conduct local research in the area to support governmental decision in the implementation. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

This study evaluated the perceived impact of cigarette advertisement on smoking habit among students in selected Nigerian universities. It also investigated the influences of age and significant others on the students’ smoking habit as well as the relationship between cigarette advertisement and rate of smoking. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. The sample consisted of 566 smokers (503 males and 63 females) selected from among students of six universities in southwest Nigeria. Data obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analyses using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Simple regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t- test were used to examine five hypotheses formulated for the study. The study showed a significant impact relationship between cigarette advertisement and motives for smoking ( =0.279; t =. 6.179; p< 0.001) and also between smokers’ perception of the health hazards associated with cigarette smoking and rate of smoking (t (514) = 4.469, p< 0.001). Smokers’ age and influence of significant others had substantial impact on their motive for smoking ( = 0.348; t = 5.99; p< 0.001; F(4,463) = 2.642; p<0.05). There was however, no significant relationship between cigarette advertisement and rate of smoking ( = 0.026; t= 0.581; p>0.562). The study concluded that cigarette advertisement had significant impact on cigarette smoking habit among students in Nigerian universities. The findings are discussed in the light of its implications for designing smoking intervention programmes targeted at youths.