Tina N. Le

This study focuses on smoking-cessation strategies for United States (US) Vietnamese individuals, a group with high smoking rates, particularly those with limited English proficiency (LEP). The researchers conducted 16 in-depth interviews with a diverse group of participants, including healthcare professionals, community leaders, and former tobacco users. Data were analyzed using the Phase-Based Model of smoking cessation, resulting in several helpful strategies across the four phases: Motivation, Preparation, Cessation, and Maintenance. Prominent advice for the Motivation Phase included having a strong determination to quit and a reason why, such as protecting loved ones. For the Preparation and Cessation Phases, participants recommended healthy coping mechanisms, avoiding triggers, changing habits, and gradually reducing the number of cigarettes smoked. In the Maintenance Phase, strategies included regular exercise and setting boundaries with other people who smoke. Participants also stressed the importance of social support throughout all four phases. These findings have implications for healthcare providers working with US Vietnamese who smoke, especially those with LEP. By understanding the unique challenges this group faces in accessing smoking-cessation resources, providers can offer tailored support and guidance. Ultimately, this study provides useful strategies for helping US Vietnamese quit smoking, improving their health outcomes and quality of life.

Patients with biliary tract obstruction have unexplained, inordinately high rates of perioperative morbidity and mortality, whereas cholestatic animals display abnormal hypothalamic responses to pyrogenic stimuli. We asked if obstructive cholestasis was associated with abnormal fever generation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (250 g) underwent laparotomy for implantation of thermistors and either bile duct resection (BDR) or sham operation. After recovery, temperatures were recorded by telemetry and conscious, unrestrained rats in each group were injected intraperitoneally with either interleukin-1β (IL-1β;1 μg/kg) or Escherichia colilipopolysaccharide (LPS; 50 μg/kg). Baseline temperatures in both groups were similar. Febrile responses after IL-1β injection in BDR and sham groups were not significantly different. However, in response to LPS injection, BDR rats showed an initial hypothermia with a subsequently attenuated febrile response. Administration of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antibody 2 h before LPS injection blocked the LPS-induced hypothermia seen in BDR animals. However, serum levels of TNF-α were not significantly different between sham and BDR animals after LPS injection at any time point measured (0, 1.5, and 3 h).