Dartmouth researchers invent real time secondhand smoke sensor

Mini prototype to be developed into wearable, affordable, reusable device

2013-03-19

(Press-News.org) Making headway against a major public health threat, Dartmouth College researchers have invented the first ever secondhand tobacco smoke sensor that records data in real time, a new study in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research shows.

The researchers expect to soon convert the prototype, which is smaller and lighter than a cellphone, into a wearable, affordable and reusable device that helps to enforce no smoking regulations and sheds light on the pervasiveness of secondhand smoke. The sensor can also detect thirdhand smoke, or nicotine off-gassing from clothing, furniture, car seats and other material.

The device uses polymer films to reliably measure ambient nicotine vapor molecules and a sensor chip to record the real-time data, pinpointing when and where the exposure occurred and even the number of cigarettes smoked. The prototype proved successful in lab tests. Clinical studies will start this summer.

Such a device could help to enforce smoking bans in rental cars, hotel rooms, apartment buildings, restaurants and other places. It also could help convince smokers that smoking in other rooms, out of windows and using air fresheners still exposes children and other nonsmokers to secondhand smoke. The device would be more accurate and less expensive than current secondhand smoke sensors, which provide only an average exposure in a limited area over several days or weeks.

"This is a leap forward in secondhand smoke exposure detection technology," said Chemistry Professor Joseph BelBruno, whose lab conducted the research.

Federal health officials report there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which increases the risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and childhood illness. An estimated 88 million nonsmoking Americans, including 54 percent of children ages 3 years, are exposed to secondhand smoke.

### The study was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, funded through the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute, and by the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Dartmouth College has a patent pending for this technology. Authors included Yuan Liu, Sadik Antwi-Boampong, and Joseph J. BelBruno of the department of chemistry at Dartmouth College; Mardi A. Crane of the department of microbiology and immunology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; and Susanne E. Tanski of the department of microbiology and immunology and the Cancer Control Research Program, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, at the Geisel School of Medicine. For more news, visit Dartmouth Now and follow us on Twitter. END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Immigration reform needs to address access to health care

2013-03-19

With comprehensive immigration reform a priority for President Obama and gaining bipartisan and public support, there is a need and an opportunity to consider how the millions of undocumented immigrants should be integrated into our health care system, concludes a new report from The Hastings Center. The report is the executive summary of the findings of a Hastings Center project that explored ethical, legal, and policymaking challenges that arise when undocumented immigrants living in the United States need medical care. It can be found on the project Web site, http://www.undocumentedpatients.org/executive-summary. ...

Researchers identify a promising target for Multiple Sclerosis treatments

2013-03-19

A team of basic and clinical scientists led by the University of Montreal Hospital* Research Centre's (CRCHUM) Dr. Nathalie Arbour has opened the door to significantly improved treatments for the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In a study selected as among the top 10% most interesting articles published in the Journal of Immunology, the team identifies the elevated presence in MS patients of a type of white blood cell (CD4 T cell) that expresses NKG2C, a highly-toxic molecule harmful to brain tissues. In close collaboration with clinicians at the University of Montreal ...

An oxygen-poor 'boring' ocean challenged evolution of early life

2013-03-19

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A research team led by biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside has filled in a billion-year gap in our understanding of conditions in the early ocean during a critical time in the history of life on Earth. It is now well accepted that appreciable oxygen first accumulated in the atmosphere about 2.4 to 2.3 billion years ago. It is equally well accepted that the build-up of oxygen in the ocean may have lagged the atmospheric increase by well over a billion years, but the details of those conditions have long been elusive because of ...

Petroleum use, greenhouse gas emissions of automobiles could drop 80 percent by 2050

2013-03-19

WASHINGTON -- A new National Research Council report finds that by the year 2050, the U.S. may be able to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent for light-duty vehicles -- cars and small trucks -- via a combination of more efficient vehicles; the use of alternative fuels like biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen; and strong government policies to overcome high costs and influence consumer choices. While achieving these goals will be difficult, improving technologies driven by strong and effective policies could make deep reductions possible. "To ...

Gone but not forgotten: Yearning for lost loved ones linked to altered thinking about the future

2013-03-19

People suffering from complicated grief may have difficulty recalling specific events from their past or imagining specific events in the future, but not when those events involve the partner they lost, according to a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The death of a loved one is among the most painful and disruptive experiences a person can face. For most, the grief subsides over time. But those who suffer from complicated grief continue to yearn for the lost loved one, experience waves of painful ...

Elite athletes also excel at some cognitive tasks

2013-03-19

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New research suggests that elite athletes – Olympic medalists in volleyball, for example – perform better than the rest of us in yet another way. These athletes excel not only in their sport of choice but also in how fast their brains take in and respond to new information – cognitive abilities that are important on and off the court. The study, of 87 top-ranked Brazilian volleyball players (some of them medalists in the Beijing and London Olympics) and 67 of their nonathletic contemporaries, also found that being an athlete minimizes the performance ...

Las Cumbres Observatory: First light at Saao for third 1-meter node of global telescope

2013-03-19

18 March 2013 – Goleta, CA., USA -- The first truly global telescope came a significant step closer to completion this month with the installation and first light on three new 1-meter telescopes at the South Africa Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) near Sutherland, South Africa. A team of five Las Cumbres engineers, technicians, and a postdoc, convened at Sutherland for three weeks during late February and early March to achieve this feat. "The South African Astronomical Observatory is pleased to collaborate with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope project, and ...

Researchers create map of 'shortcuts' between all human genes

2013-03-19

Some diseases are caused by single gene mutations. Current techniques for identifying the disease-causing gene in a patient produce hundreds of potential gene candidates, making it difficult for scientists to pinpoint the single causative gene. Now, a team of researchers led by Rockefeller University scientists have created a map of gene "shortcuts" to simplify the hunt for disease-causing genes. The investigation, spearheaded by Yuval Itan, a postdoctoral fellow in the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, has led to the creation of what he calls ...

Human microbe study provides insight into health, disease

2013-03-19

Microbes from the human mouth are telling Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists something about periodontitis and more after they cracked the genetic code of bacteria linked to the condition. The finding, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, profiles the SR1 bacteria, a group of microbes present in many environments, ranging from the mouth to deep within the Earth, that have never been cultivated in the laboratory. Human oral SR1 bacteria are elevated in periodontitis, a disease marked by inflammation and infection of the ligaments and bones ...

Slabs of ancient tectonic plate still lodged under California, researchers find

2013-03-19

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Large chunks of an ancient tectonic plate that slid under North America millions of years ago are still present under parts of central California and Mexico, according to new research led by Brown University geophysicists. Around 100 million years ago, the Farallon oceanic plate lay between the converging Pacific and North American plates, which eventually came together to form the San Andreas fault. As those plates converged, much of the Farallon was subducted underneath North America and eventually sank deep into the mantle. Off ...

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Dartmouth researchers invent real time secondhand smoke sensor

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: