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Objectives The main objective of this study is to examine trends in market share for leading cigarette brands, both before (2002–2008) and after (2009–2013) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products. Design Data come from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 through 2013. Descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, and logistic regression were employed. Data were weighted to the US population and adjusted for cigarette consumption. Our analysis is restricted to 164 343 current cigarette smokers who were at least 12 years of age or older, had smoked at least one cigarette in the 30 days prior to the survey, and reported a usual cigarette brand at the time of the survey. Results Over 12 years, 14 brands comprised over 77% of the cigarette market. Marlboro consistently held over 38% of the market. Newport held the second highest market share, and increased from 7.2% in 2002 to 10.9% by 2013. Market share of Pall Mall grew by over 400% (1.7% in 2002 vs 8.9% in 2013), likely aided by the 2009 Federal excise tax increase. No clear associations of changes in market share with the implementation of FDA9s regulatory authority over tobacco in 2009 were noted. Conclusions Tracking market share trends offers clues about brand marketing changing preferences of consumers. Rapidly growing cigarette brands should be monitored to determine if specific marketing practices or design changes are drivers, as these could represent public health concerns. Monitoring trends in cigarette market share could inform regulatory decision-making efforts related to marketing and advertising.

Dry eye syndrome is a disease of the ocular surface and tear film that is prevalent in older adults. Even though the degree of visual acuity loss in dry eye patients is commonly mild-to-moderate, in the aging population, this minimal change in visual status can lead to a significant decrease in visual function and quality of life. A healthy ocular surface is maintained by appropriate tear production and tear drainage, and deficiencies in this delicate balance can lead to dryness. In the aging eye, risk factors such as polypharmacy, androgen deficiency, decreased blink rates, and oxidative stress can predispose the patient to developing dry eye that is frequently more severe, has higher economic costs, and leads to worse consequences to the well-being of the patient. Understanding why elderly patients are at higher risk for developing dry eyes can provide insights into the diagnosis and management of the growing number of older adults struggling with dry eye and minimize the burden of disease on our aging population.

The distal arm of the fourth (“dot”) chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster is unusual in that it exhibits an amalgamation of heterochromatic properties (e.g., dense packaging, late replication) and euchromatic properties (e.g., gene density similar to euchromatic domains, replication during polytenization). To examine the evolution of this unusual domain, we undertook a comparative study by generating high-quality sequence data and manually curating gene models for the dot chromosome of D. virilis (Tucson strain 15010–1051.88). Our analysis shows that the dot chromosomes of D. melanogaster and D. virilis have higher repeat density, larger gene size, lower codon bias, and a higher rate of gene rearrangement compared to a reference euchromatic domain. Analysis of eight “wanderer” genes (present in a euchromatic chromosome arm in one species and on the dot chromosome in the other) shows that their characteristics are similar to other genes in the same domain, which suggests that these characteristics are features of the domain and are not required for these genes to function. Comparison of this strain of D. virilis with the strain sequenced by the Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium (Tucson strain 15010–1051.87) indicates that most genes on the dot are under weak purifying selection. Collectively, despite the heterochromatin-like properties of this domain, genes on the dot evolve to maintain function while being responsive to changes in their local environment.