Perceived Role, Identity and Experiences of Pharmacists and the Potential Impact on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake per Louisiana Region: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Some of the lowest COVID-19 community vaccination rates in America are found in Louisiana. This study investigated: (1) barriers that Louisiana pharmacists encountered during the pandemic; and (2) the effect of pharmacists' role and identity confidence on willingness to enforce vaccine mandates, and COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Fifty-four community pharmacists from nine regions of Louisiana participated in the study.

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Phased Vaccine Eligibility on COVID-19 Vaccine Intent among African Americans in Southeastern Louisiana: A Community-Based, Cohort Study.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of eligibility for the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine at the time of the vaccine rollout as a predictor of vaccine intent within the African American community.

Methods: Four hundred eighty-seven African American participants in southeastern Louisiana were surveyed from January-April of 2021, with follow-up surveys occurring in Fall 2021. Survey domains included demographics, vaccine hesitancy, discrimination in the healthcare setting, and knowledge and experiences with COVID-19.

A Culturally Competent Vaccine Hesitancy Educational Model for Community Pharmacists to Increase Vaccine Uptake, Louisiana, 2021-2022.

In February 2022, an educational model was launched to train Louisiana pharmacists to become positive influencers of vaccination decisions via targeted, culturally competent interventions, with the objective of improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake in communities. A total of 47 pharmacists completed the course, and more than 90% noted that the education would help them optimize vaccine acceptance in their community practice settings. The pharmacists will participate in vaccine surveillance to assess the success of the educational model intervention and predictors of vaccine uptake.

The effect of food access on type 2 diabetes control in patients of a New Orleans, Louisiana, clinic.

Background: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies numerous neighborhoods in New Orleans, Louisiana, as food deserts or areas with inadequate access to good quality foods.

Sterile Compounding Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence Among Graduating Doctor of Pharmacy Students.

To determine whether the exposure to sterile compounding in the pharmacy curriculum produces Doctor of Pharmacy graduates who are both competent and confident in the area of sterile compounding, and to identify additional variables that may predict student performance. Participants were recruited from the fourth-year pharmacy class of 2018 at one university. The students were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the following domains: demographics, confidence in compounding performance, prior experience, and theoretical knowledge.

Dichotomous roles for the orphan nuclear receptor NURR1 in breast cancer.

Background: NR4A orphan nuclear receptors are involved in multiple biological processes which are important in tumorigenesis such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and glucose utilization. The significance of NR4A family member NURR1 (NR4A2) in breast cancer etiology has not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the impact of NURR1 expression on breast transformation, tumor growth, and breast cancer patient survival.

Metformin induces a senescence-associated gene signature in breast cancer cells.

Diabetic patients taking metformin have lower incidence of breast cancer than those taking other anti-diabetic medications. Additionally, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a form of breast cancer disproportionately afflicting premenopausal African American women, shows atypical susceptibility to metformin's antiproliferative effect. The mechanisms involved in metformin's function in TNBC has not yet been fully elucidated.