Hookah: Social Factors Causing Skewed Perceptions of the Tobacco Product

Tobacco is undeniably the largest legal drug in the world, with millions addicted to tobacco despite the clear negative effects it can have on people’s health. Hookah is a tobacco product that has increased in popularity in recent years due to its prevalence in college social scenes and bars across America. The biggest problem is that hookah’s dangers are often overlooked by people who use it because they assume it is a less dangerous form of tobacco.

For example, a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research conducted an online survey in 2013 of US adults and collected data from the survey. The study found that “Odds for hookah use were greater for those who perceived regular pipe/hookah use as less dangerous (P < .05). Odds for hookah involvement were higher among young adults (P < .001), individuals with higher educational attainment (P < .01)” (Cavazos-Rehg, et al. 2015). Therefore, it is clear that college students are more susceptible to hookah’s effects because of misinformation and the assumption that hookah is less dangerous than other tobacco products.

Furthermore, a study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention found that “Most of them (71-80%) had misperception about the safety of hookah smoking over cigarette smoking and 54-82% participants were unaware of health effects” (Kakodkar, et al. 2013), and a study conducted in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that “Approximately 19% of respondents believed that smoking hookah was less harmful than smoking cigarettes. Significant risk indicators for smoking hookah were being younger than 22 years” (Jamil, et al. 2010).

In conjunction with people’s misinformation, hookah also has its own negative health effects. For example, a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that “patrons of hookah cafes had significantly higher CO levels (mean=30.8 parts per million [ppm]) compared to patrons of traditional bars (mean=8.9 ppm)” which shows that hookah has the potential to more than triple CO levels in human beings.

People are aware of the risks that come with smoking hookah, but are negligent of its safety in comparison to cigarettes

Lastly, a study published in the Annual Clinical Journal of Dental Health collected data from a survey and found that while 88% of people considered that there were health risks associated with smoking hookah, nearly half (47%) of the people in the survey assumed that smoking hookah was safer than smoking cigarettes. It is clear that due to hookah’s popularity as a social activity, even when people are aware of the harmful components that may be present in hookah, people fail to consider the consequences smoking hookah can have on health.

While hookah becomes more and more popular in the social scenes of college towns and urban neighborhoods, it is clear that people are misinformed about the harmful effects of its use. Many people assume that it is safer than smoking tobacco cigarettes, when in reality they don’t know for certain, but make the assumption due to things like its variety of flavors and seemingly harmless portrayal.

Works Cited

Barnett TE, Curbow BA, Soule EK, et al. Carbon Monoxide Levels Among Patrons of Hookah Cafes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol 40, p 324-328. 2011.

Cavazos-Rehg PA, Krauss MJ, Kim Y, et al. Risk Factors Associated With Hookah Use. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Vol 18. 2015.

Jamil H, Elsouhag D, Hiller S, et al. Sociodemographic risk indicators of hookah smoking among White Americans: A pilot study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Vol 18. 2010.

Kakodkar PV, Bansal, SS. Hookah Smoking: Characteristics, Behavior and Perceptions of Youth Smokers in Pune, India. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Vol 14, p 4319-4323. 2013.

Khan M. Are waterpipe smokers aware that there are health risks associated with waterpipe smoking? Annual Clinical Journal of Dental Health. Vol 4, p 1-52. 2015.

Use of Raman Microspectroscopy in Various Art Mediums and Discoveries

What is Raman microspectroscopy?

Raman microspectroscopy is one implementation of chemical studies to determine authenticity, degradation effects, and identification of raw materials and their processing (Kelloway and Birmingham). It is the study of light and the manner in which light is scattered, producing a spectra that can reveal much about an artwork and its content beneath the surface.

Leonardo da Vinci Painting

Art conservation is a heavy task involving high stakes – in the art market, millions of dollars are at risk, and there is also the moral responsibility of preserving cultural heritage. Raman microspectroscopy is extremely helpful in discovering forgeries, or in the case of the recently discovered Leonardo painting, establishing authenticity. Salvador Mundi was originally thought to have just been a copy created by Boltraffio, a studio artist working under Leonardo, but chemical analysis revealed it to be an original (Reyburn). The surface layers, consisting of varnish and overpaint, had concealed the identifying characteristics of Leonardo paintings. Raman microspectroscopy was used in conjunction with infrared spectroscopy to reveal the layers beneath the surface, detecting and identifying inorganic pigments and their spectra, as well as the exact order in which paint was applied to the surface (Tague). Such a discovery was extremely noteworthy in contemporary times, when all Leonardo paintings were thought to have been known, catalogued, and in possession of museums and collectors. It quickly sold for $80 million, a high price to be expected because a situation involving the “discovery of a Leonardo” may never happen again.

Pottery and Ceramics

As mentioned before, Raman microspectroscopy can be implemented in the study of degradation and identification of materials from a chemistry standpoint. Such analyses often reveal more than just chemical composition when studying ancient pottery – it serves as an indication of the culture these materials are from as well as its ceramic traditions and how such pottery techniques developed. Raman microspectroscopy can be used to identify glaze inclusions and their origins for future reference (Kelloway and Birmingham). In the case of the 19^th century Australian pottery, Raman spectra from inclusions identified in the glazes allowed scientists to determine the glaze ingredients used as well as the potting techniques and practices from which the ceramics were made.

Copper Alloy Artifacts

Raman microspectroscopy was used in conjunction with other art conservation methods to study the blue corrosion products found on copper alloy artifacts from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Detroit Institute of the Arts (Trentleman). Raman spectra of the blue corrosion product was analyzed, and results indicated the presence of formate and acetate groups, which helped enforce a theory that scientists had. The corrosion product may have been caused by chemical reactions between copper alloys and acid vapors from the storage or display case materials, a discovery that could lead to complications in the way art is stored and shown to the public.

Example of spectra taken from a painting – each line represents a different color present in the piece examined.

Works Cited

KELLOWAY, SARAH, and JUDY BIRMINGHAM. “Profiling Nineteenth-Century Australian Potteries: Approaches to Provenancing Ceramics and Identifying Potting Practices.” Australasian Historical Archaeology, vol. 28, 2010, pp. 35–42. www.jstor.org/stable/41433074.

Leona, Marco et al. “Identification of the Pre-Columbian Pigment Maya Blue on Works of Art by Noninvasive UV-Vis and Raman Spectroscopic Techniques.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 43, no. 1, 2004, pp. 39–54. www.jstor.org/stable/3179850.

Reyburn, Scott. “Putting a Price on Leonardo.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Mar. 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

Tague, Thomas J., Jr. “Utilization of Infrared and Raman Micro-Spectroscopy for the Chemical Analysis of Art.” Forensic Magazine. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

Trentelman, K. et al. “The Characterization of a New Pale Blue Corrosion Product Found on Copper Alloy Artifacts.” Studies in Conservation, vol. 47, no. 4, 2002, pp. 217–227. www.jstor.org/stable/1506782.

Variations Of Black Holes and Different Physical Properties

As intriguing as black holes are, just in their simplest forms, there are other phenomena related to them. Just as about anything else, they have their variations to them as well. All of these variations share the similarity of fundamentally being incredibly massive structures forming from a massive star collapsing on itself, A.K.A., a black hole. Variations arise, however, leading to different features and characteristics such as range of mass, possibly temperature, size, etc., and this leads to differing names and differences in expectations for the event horizon (Ionescu & Klainerman, 2008). A few examples include, mini black holes, Schwarzschild black hole, Kiselev and Dilaton black holes, and many more.

The phenomenon of mini black holes has gained popularity as type of an experiment on earth. This recent project is still very much under development and only an idea being debated, thus it is at a current halt for the time being. The idea suggests that “making mini black holes may be possible when the world’s largest particle accelerator — the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — goes online outside Geneva, Switzerland” where “particles will smash together at nearly the speed of light, producing temperatures 100,000 times hotter than the core of the sun” in the new machinery, allowing for this project to advance (Landsberg, 2008). The debate arises in the problem concerning the black hole, in which there is fear that the black hole will go out of control, essentially ending all life on earth, but there is feedback to this and tells us that the black hole will die out before it is able to cause harm, as it will radiate away due to Hawking radiation. Hawking radiation shows an inversely proportional relation between size of the black hole and its temperature, and with more temperature, the more it radiates, thus a small one would radiate away incredibly fast (Landsberg, 2008).

Another type of black hole that can be seen is the Schwarzschild black hole. They are typically called the “moving Schwarzschild black holes” and can be observed for their thermodynamic properties, “identifying the temperature and entropy in a relativistic scenario” (Hinojosa & López-Sarrión, 2015). This type of black hole is to be analyzed with respect to an observer, and is carried out “by means of a Lorentz boost to the stationary solution,” allowing for the calculation of the geometrical temperature and analysis of the structure of the partition function (Hinojosa & López-Sarrión, 2015).

Kiselev and dilaton black holes are also examined. More specifically, their thermodynamics and phase transitions are examined. Values and quantities were able to be calculated, “relating the surface gravities, surface temperatures, Komar energies, areas, entropies, horizon radii, and the irreducible masses at the Cauchy and the event horizons” (Majeed et al., 2015). The product of the surface gravities, surface temperature, and Komar energies at the horizons weren’t universally applicable quantities for Kiselev black holes. For charged dilaton black holes however, all the projects just vanish, according to this article, (Majeed et al., 2015).

In terms of the event horizon, as seen by the external observer, “the region just outside the horizon, stretched horizon, acts like a hot membrane which absorbs, thermalizes, and emits and information that falls into the black hole,” and from the view “of a freely falling observer, there is nothing special at the horizon so a freely falling observer, can cross the horizon in his way to the singularity… no membrane, no stretched horizon, and nothing irregular at the event horizon” (Ge & Shen, 2005). Lastly from the view of the freely falling observer, all the information entering the black hole seems that it will never come back, with the black hole essentially engulfing everything (Ge & Shen, 2005).

Figure 1. Heat capacity undergoing phase transition from unstable to stable (Majeed et al., 2015).

Works Cited

Barrera Hinojosa, Cristian, and Justo López-Sarrión. “Moving Schwarzschild Black Hole And Modified Dispersion Relations.” Physics Letters B 749.(2015): 431-     436.

Ionescu, Alexandru D., and Sergiu Klainerman. “On The Uniqueness Of Smooth, Stationary Black Holes In Vacuum.” Inventiones Mathematicae 175.1 (2009):           35-102.

Majeed, Bushra, Mubasher Jamil, and Parthapratim Pradhan. “Thermodynamic Relations For Kiselev And Dilaton Black Hole.” Advances In High Energy    Physics 2015.(2015): 1-11.

“The Menace Of Mini Black Holes.” Discover 29.8 (2008): 45-46.

Xian-Hui, Ge, and Shen You-Gen. “Relating Quantum Information To Charged Black Holes.” International Journal Of Modern Physics D: Gravitation, Astrophysics & Cosmology 14.8 (2005): 1321-1331.

How Well Are Green Buildings Performing?

With the growing interest in green building, many studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of sustainable buildings that were constructed over the past two decades. It is important to note the advantages and disadvantages of past projects in order to learn the most effective methods of green building. The effectiveness of sustainable buildings can be measured by analyzing the scores given to them by green building rating systems and by their occupants.

In order to evaluate the progress of green building in the United States, a particular study looked at the scores given to buildings by the green rating system LEED. This study involved 490 certified buildings, built from 2002 through 2009, selected from the US Green Building Council’s database. Of the buildings chosen, 52% were commercial and 30% while the rest were classified as “other”. Using the information collected from the GBC database, an analysis was conducted to see how “green” the average certified building is. This was done by noting the amount of points granted to each building. Figure 1 illustrates the percentage of earned points in each LEED category for each level of certified buildings. In the category sustainable sites, the assessed buildings on average received fewer than 50% of the available points. It is important to note, however, that site selection is limited as a result of municipal policies and previous land uses. The buildings also received an average of 38%, 56%, 62%, 40%, and 66% in the categories energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, water efficiency, material and resources, and innovation and design respectively. From this study it was deduced that although energy performance is considered the most important in green building, it has been difficult to effectively achieve thus far. This is a result of the lack of preparedness of engineers and construction workers regarding green building (Berardi, 2012). In another study conducted, the utility billing data of 21 federal buildings was examined to determine the energy efficiency of the buildings. Out of the 17 possible points available in the energy efficiency category of LEED-NC, the buildings received an average score of 5.6. In addition, out of the 12 buildings with ENERGY STAR scores, only 4 qualified to receive ENERGY STAR certification (Diamond, Opitz, Hicks, Von Neida, and Herrera, 2011). The results from this study further prove that the energy performance of recently built green buildings falls below expectations. Since the concept is fairly new, engineers and construction workers must research about how to include green building concepts in their designs.

Figure 1: Earned Points in LEED Categories by LEED-Certified Buildings, Source: Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated Buildings. Sustainable Development, 20(6), 411-424.

To further assess the performance of recently constructed green buildings, occupants have been asked to rate their experience in these buildings. In a study conducted by the New Building Institute, it was found that 30% of LEED-rated buildings perform better than expected while 25% perform worse than expected. A handful of LEED buildings have also been reported to have serious energy consumption problems. When looking at post-occupancy user evaluations, it is important to note that there are various factors that could be affecting the occupants’ opinions. Problems caused by technical failures, too high expectations, and inappropriate use of technologies are a few of these factors (Hauge, Thomsen, and Berker, 2011). A study conducted by the Center for the Built Environment involved surveying occupants of 215 buildings, classified as either conventional or green, in the United States, Canada, and Finland on the indoor environmental quality of the building they used. Occupants were asked to rate their satisfaction from a scale of -3, meaning very dissatisfied, to 3, meaning very satisfied. Table 1 shows the results from the conducted survey. Overall, occupants in LEED-certified buildings seemed to be on average satisfied with the office furnishings, thermal comfort, air quality, cleaning and maintenance, and workspace. In comparison to the conventional buildings, the LEED-certified buildings received an overall satisfaction rate of 1.47 to 0.93 (Abbaszadeh, Zagreus, Lehrer, and Huizenga, 2006). In another study, workers at a Canadian company were asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the conventional building they were initially working in and with the new green building they recently moved into. They were specifically inquired about the building design, work requirements, comfort, health, productivity, their knowledge of the building, their engagement with personal control, and their perceptions of organization culture. Occupants reported to be on average 36% more comfortable, 41% more healthy, and 73% either neutral or more productive in the green building. As for complaints, occupants reported that there was too much indoor noise and that indoor temperatures during the winter were low. Overall, however, it was concluded that the performance of the green buildings was better than that of the conventional buildings (Brown, Cole, Robinson, and Dowlatabadi, 2010).

Table 1: Survey Scores of Database Conventional and Green Buildings, Source: Abbaszadeh, S., Zagreus, L., Lehrer, D., & Huizenga, C. (2006). Occupant Satisfaction with Indoor Environmental Quality in Green Buildings. Center for the Built Environment. 

Based on the studies conducted on recently constructed green buildings, it is evident that the implementation of the green building concept can still be improved on. Despite their inability to reach the desired level of energy saving, green buildings are still deemed to perform better than conventional buildings. Overtime the process of green building is expected to improve as the idea is further developed.

References

Abbaszadeh, S., Zagreus, L., Lehrer, D., & Huizenga, C. (2006). Occupant Satisfaction with Indoor Environmental Quality in Green Buildings. Center for the Built Environment.

Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated Buildings. Sustainable Development, 20(6), 411-424.

Brown, Z., Cole, R. J., Robinson, J., & Dowlatabadi, H. (2010). Evaluating user experience in green buildings in relation to workplace culture and context. Facilities, 28(3/4), 225-238.

Diamond, R., Opitz, M., Hicks, T., Von Neida, B., & Herrera, S. (2011). Evaluating the Energy Performance of the First Generation of LEED-Certified Commercial Buildings. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Hauge, Å. L., Thomsen, J., & Berker, T. (2011). User Evaluations of Energy Efficient Buildings: Literature Review and Further Research. Advances in Building Energy Research, 5(1), 109-127.

Filariasis: What is it and What is Being Done?

Filariasis is an infectious disease that is caused by a thread-like parasitic roundworm.  The parasite is transmitted to humans through mosquitoes when they bite (Figure 1). There are two types of parasitic worms that cause filariasis– Wucheria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Infected people may or may not experience symptoms early on. Classic symptoms that usually arise are fever, chills, body aches, and skin lesions. Chronic lymph node swelling may also occur and areas of the body may begin to accumulate alarming amounts of fluid (NORD, 2016).

Filariasis is prevalent in rural, tropical countries, affecting mainly the poorer sector of the community (figure 2). The disease is also more common amongst the young working population. Over 905 million people are at risk of contracting the disease and 90 million are infected. The countries that see the highest rate of Filariasis are China, India, and Indonesia (Partono, 1987).

To help control the prevalence of Filariasis, scientists are finding that global mapping can be a major advantage. By mapping out the disease, you can see geographically which areas are affected and analyze the data based on distribution to see similarities between endemic countries, and thereby understand how to treat better. The issue is that with diseases like Filariasis, many people do not get properly diagnosed, and therefore many cases go undocumented (Michael and Bundy, 1997).

To control this disease, two drugs can be used together in a single dose to combat the parasite. These drugs are ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine (DEC) or albendazole. They help to reduce microfilariae in the bloodstream, thereby halting the infection and reducing the symptoms. Even a single dose of one of the medications can reduce microfilariae by 90% (Ottesen et al., 1997). Filariasis is a public health issue and is being treated as such with an elimination plan in place. By mapping out the areas where Filariasis is common, drugs can be mass distributed along with vector control, like bednets. By doing intense intervention, not only could Filariasis be reduced, but other diseases such as dengue fever or malaria could also be reduced since communities will also be practicing vector control (Molyneux, 2003).

Figure 1: CDC diagram of the life cycle of Filariasis

Figure 2: Global map of Filariasis:

Works Cited:

Filariasis. (2016, January). National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Molyneux, D. (2003, September 9). Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis) Elimination: A public health success and development opportunity. Filaria Journal, 2(13).

Partono, F. (1987). The spectrum of disease in lymphatic filariasis. Filariasis, 15-31.

Michael, E., & Bundy, D. (1997, December). Global mapping of lymphatic filariasis. Parasitology Today, 13(12), 472-476.

Ottesen, E., Duke, B., Karam, M., & Behbehani, K. (1997). Strategies and tools for the control/elimination of lymphatic filariasis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 75(6), 491-503.

Breast Cancer and the Notch Signaling Pathway

Breast cancer is one of the most common genetic disorders. About one in three women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States (DeSantis 2013). Treatments such as chemotherapy are effective, but most of them do not work on cancer stem cells and metastatic tumors. Cancer stem cells are a type of cancer cells that can self-replicate indefinitely (Kai 2009). Researchers believe that they can break off from primary tumors and grow secondary tumors elsewhere in the body, which are more commonly known as metastatic tumors. Metastasis and recurrence cause the majority of breast-cancer related deaths (O’Shaughnessy 2005). In women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in its early stages, nearly 30% will have their cancers progress into Stage 4 breast cancer, or metastatic breast cancer (O’Shaughnessy 2005). It is imperative that treatments that are effective on metastatic tumors are found because metastatic tumors are responsible for many cancer patient deaths. Gene expressions of cancer stem cells are being studied in order to know why they do not respond to most chemotherapy. In addition, researchers are working to produce new treatments that can target cancer stem cells.

Figure 1- Notch Signaling Pathway. Source: Al-Hussaini 2011

One way to target cancer stem cells is by inhibiting the Notch signaling pathway, shown in Figure 1. In normal cells, the pathway is paramount in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, homeostasis and apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Cancer cells have Notch signaling pathways that are deregulated. In breast cancer, Notch signaling helps stem cells grow tumors. Cells that are grown in the presence of a protein found in Notch signaling have ten times the ability to self-replicate than cells that grow in the absence of the protein (Al-Hussaini 2011). Notch signaling has receptors that have different purposes. The Notch1 receptor is involved in cell proliferation and resistance to chemotherapy (Yuan 2015b). Notch1 was found to be expressed seven times more in breast cancer cells than in normal cells (Yuan 2015a). Inhibiting Notch1 with a Notch1 antibody caused decreased rates in tumor growth and recurrence (Yuan 2015a). In addition, Notch signaling is largely expressed in disseminated cancer cells that broke away from primary tumors, showing that the pathway has connections to metastasis. If these disseminated cancer cells are identified and treated before they grow metastatic tumors, then metastatic cancer can be prevented. Inhibiting Notch signaling can be an effective treatment for controlling CSCs.

Gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSIs) can inhibit Notch signaling. GSIs inhibit enzymes involved in glycosylation and also cleave receptors. They have been shown to reduce tumor growth in several types of cancer and induce apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer, which makes up 20% of all breast cancers (Al-Hussaini 2011). Clinical trials are being held to find an effective drug that can reduce Notch signaling by using GSIs.

There are other ways to target cancer stem cells and metastatic tumors. One way is by using mice to observe the effects of different chemotherapy drugs on tumors injected into mice. Lena Werb, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is leading a lab that is studying tumors that were injected into mice. They found that metastatic tumors that were just created had different gene expressions than primary tumors (Weiler 2015). This is an important finding because this explains why metastatic tumors respond differently to chemotherapy than primary tumors do.

Cancer research has been growing rapidly in the past few decades. Treatments such as chemotherapy are much more advanced than they were in the 20^th century. However, it is too early to get complacent about cancer research achievements. There are many effective treatments for primary tumors, but much is still unknown about cancer stem cells and metastatic tumors. In the next few decades of cancer research, there should be an increasing number of researchers working to uncover their mysteries so that more cancer-related deaths can be prevented.

Works Cited

Al-Hussaini H, Subramanyam D, Reedijik M, Sridhar SS. Notch Signaling Pathway as a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer. 2011 Molecular Cancer Therapy 10; 9-15.

DeSantis C, Ma J, Bryan L, Jemal A. Breast cancer statistics, 2013. 2013 CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 64; 52-62.

Kai K, Yoshimi A, Kamiya T, Saya H. Breast cancer stem cells. 2009 Breast Cancer 17; 80-85.

O’Shaughnessy J. Extending Survival with Chemotherapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer. 2005 The Oncologist 10; 20-29.

Weiler N. Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells Turn On Stem Cell Genes. 2015 UCSF.

Yuan X, Wu H, Xu H, Xiong H, Chu Q, Yu S, Wu G, Wu K. Notch signaling: An emerging therapeutic target for cancer treatment. 2015b Cancer Letters 369; 20-27.

Yuan X, Zhang M, Wu H, Xu H, Han N, Chu Q, Yu S, Chen Y, Wu K. Expression of Notch1 Correlates with Breast Cancer Progression and Prognosis. 2015a PLoS ONE 10.

Hookah: An Underratedly Dangerous Tobacco Product

New generations of young people have brought different different ways of using tobacco into popular culture. Currently, hookah is a very popular use of tobacco that has quite ludicrously taken ahold of a large portion of young party goers. Hookah bars typically also serve alcohol, so they have become an alternative to traditional bars. While many people feel that hookah is a harmlessly fun activity, many studies show that just like other forms of tobacco, it poses health risks.

The biggest issue with hookah’s popularity in young people is due to lack of information and skewed perception. A study published in Tobacco Induced Diseases journal collected data from both hookah users and non-users. As stated in the figure below, more than half of hookah users in the study felt that hookah is less harmful than cigarettes (Aljarrah et al., 2009).

Hookah users’ harm perceptions in comparison to cigarettes

Furthermore, a study published in Tobacco Control collected all hookah products in Lebanon and samples from Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, Canada, Germany and South Africa. The study found that “the majority had textual health warning labels covering on average only 3.5% of total surface area of the package. Misleading descriptors were commonplace on waterpipe tobacco packages and related accessories” (Nakkash et al., 2010). Therefore, it is clear that hookah companies are not regulated enough to provide adequate information to users about how harmful they can be.

Hookah can also be dangerous because of their link to other substance use. For example, a study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that “Hookah users were more likely to use other substances, including cigarettes, cannabis, alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines. The strongest associations emerged between hookah use and alcohol and cigarette use” (Goodwin et al., 2014).

Even when hookah is being used on its own, it can still pose serious health concerns. For example, a study published in the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association tested carbon monoxide (CO) levels emitted by the smoke of different sizes of hookah and traditional tobacco cigarettes. The study found that “Mean carbon monoxide fractions (% by volume) of hookah smoke, using domestic charcoal were 0.38±0.07 (large hookah; unfiltered); 1.40±0.43 (small hookah; unfiltered)…and 0.41±0.08 (cigarette smoke)” (Sajid et al., 1993). Therefore, CO levels of hookah smoking can be much higher than those of traditional cigarettes.

Furthermore, a study published in Europe PMD tested the genotoxicity of hookah smoke, and found that “The mitotic index (MI), chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and satellite associations (SA) were analyzed. All the parameters showed a significant increase (p < 0.01) in the smokers compared with control individuals, viz MI, 3.88-5.41; CA, 0.94-2.22; SCE, 3.59-5.66; and SA, 5.2-8.65. A distinct time and dose effect relationship was observed. Hookah smoke is thus, both clastogenic and genotoxic for human beings” (Yadav et al., 2000).

Hookah is a trend that has found its way into trendy bars and party-going millennials very easily. Its easy accessibility, diversity of flavors and types, and fairly affordable prices have led to its proliferation across the global market. While hookah seems like a harmless pastime and social activity, it is clear that it poses health risks that are as real as those of traditional cigarettes.

Works Cited

Aljarrah K, Ababneh ZQ, Al-Delaimy WK. Perceptions of hookah smoking harmfulness: predictors and characteristics among current hookah users. Tobacoo Induced Diseases. Vol 5, p 1-7. 2009.

Goodwin RD, Grinberg A, Shapiro J, et al. Hookah use among college students: Prevalence, drug use, and mental health. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Vol 141, p 16-20. 2014.

Nakkash R, Khalil J. Health warning labelling practices on narghile (shisha, hookah) waterpipe tobacco products and related accessories. Tobacco Control. The British Medical Journal. Vol 19, p 235-239. 2010.

Sajid KM, Akhter M, Malik GQ. Carbon monoxide fractions in cigarette and hookah (hubble bubble) smoke. Pakistan Medical Association. p 179-182. 1993.

Yadav JS, Thakur S. Genetic risk assessment in hookah smokers. Europe PMC. Vol 101, p 101-113. 2000.

Infrared Reflectography: More Noninvasive Techniques in Art Conservation

What is Infrared Reflectography (IRR) and How Does It Work?

Infrared Reflectography (IRR) is a noninvasive technique used in the art conservation field. One of its prime implementations is to identify the bottom layers of a painting, which allows scientists to observe and identify any preliminary sketches made on the material surface, among other layers (AIC). The longer wavelengths of infrared radiation and thinner paint layers allows infrared reflectography to reveal those layers beneath the surface top (Duffy). This is especially important when examining paintings because it can reveal important information regarding the initial drawings and paint guides created by the artist that are not visible to the naked eye. This is especially important when examining paintings because it can reveal important information regarding the initial drawings and paint guides created by the artist that are not visible to the naked eye, such as the Tibetan Thanka painting depicted in Fig 1. Scientists studied these Thanka paintings in order to document the sketches on the ground layer made by artists for their apprentices to follow. With knowledge of these plans, conservators and art historians can compare such results to the final product, and learn more about the painting process specific to a particular piece.

IRR: Vidicon

Infrared vidicon is the most common device used for infrared reflectolography. This technique was developed in the 1960s by Dutch physicist RJ van Asperen de Boer with hopes of improving the results of infrared photography. Vidicons are portable, and therefore rarely stay inside conservation labs – they are usually on-site at museums, private collections, and other places where art is located. The vidicon is housed inside a high-resolution television camera, along with a television monitor that displays the infrared image, called a reflectogram. It is through this monitor that the reflectogram can be viewed, documented by scientists, and sent to a computer for further research (Faries).

Infrared Photography and Other Resources

Cosentino’s article briefly mentions vidicons and InGaAs cameras being used in addition to infrared reflectolography. He notes that infrared photography is a general term that indicates that a particular art examination is being performed with digital cameras. The use of IR imaging encompasses more than just art historical and conservational terms – it can be used for archeology and other fields regarding cultural preservation.

IR image of Tibetan Thanka, from the Boston Museum of Fine Art

Bibliography

Cosentino, Antonino. “Infrared Technical Photography for Art Examination” e-Preservation Science. Morana RTD, 2016. 1-6. Print.

Faries, Molly. “Analytical Capabilities of Infrared Reflectography: An Art Historian’s Perspective.” Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis. (March 2003.): n. pag. Web.

Duffy, Kate I. “An Investigation of Palette and Color Notations Used to Create A Set of Tibetan Thangkas.” Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice. The J. Paul Getty Trust, 1995. 78-84. Print.

“Infrared Reflectography.” The Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Maev, GR, D. Gavrilov, A. Maeva, and I. Vodyanoy. “MODERN NON-DESTRUCTIVE PHYSICAL METHODS FOR PAINTINGS TESTING AND EVALUATION.” 9th Int. Conference on NDT of Art 2008 Jerusalem, Israel, May 2008 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.