Measuring susceptibility to use tobacco in an increasingly complex consumer marketplace: How many questions do we really need?

Objective: Predicting which young people are likely to use tobacco in the future is critical for prevention and intervention. Although measures for assessing susceptibility to using tobacco have fulfilled this goal for decades, there is almost no standard for the number of items that should be administered, or which items should be administered for which products. This study explored whether brief but psychometrically sound versions of commonly used susceptibility measures can adequately capture the construct relative to longer measures.

Protein-Based Rechargeable and Replaceable Antimicrobial and Antifouling Coatings on Hydrophobic Food-Contact Surfaces.

The growing concerns regarding foodborne illnesses related to fresh produce accentuate the necessity for innovative material solutions, particularly on surfaces that come into close contact with foods. This study introduces a sustainable, efficient, and removable antimicrobial and antifouling coating ideally suited for hydrophobic food-contact surfaces such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Developed through a crosslinking reaction involving tannic acid, gelatin, and soy protein hydrolysate, these coatings exhibit proper stability in aqueous washing solutions and effectively combat bacterial contamination and prevent biofilm formation.

Does Reducing the Size of the Tobacco Power Wall Affect Young People's Risk of Future Use of Tobacco Products? An Experimental Investigation.

Objective: A ban on tobacco power walls (in-store package displays) is unlikely in the United States because of concerns that such bans violate commercial free speech rights. This experiment evaluated the effectiveness of a more measured strategy for mitigating the influence of the power wall on young people's susceptibility to tobacco use: limiting its size.

Method: The experiment took place in the RAND StoreLab, a life-sized replica of a convenience store.

Doing more with less: A proposal to advance cigarette packaging regulations in the United States.

Cigarette packages are potent marketing tools. Following guidance from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, many countries have sought to diminish this marketing power by mandating that (1) large graphic health warnings be affixed to the packages (i.e.

Maternal major depression during early pregnancy is associated with impaired child executive functioning at 4.5 years of age.

Background: Maternal depression is a serious condition that affects up to 1 in 7 pregnancies. Despite evidence linking maternal depression to pregnancy complications and adverse fetal outcomes, there remain large gaps in its identification and treatment. More work is needed to define the specific timing and severity of depression that most urgently requires intervention, where feasible, to protect maternal health and the developing fetus.

Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being of Preschool Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: The association between COVID-19 social disruption and young children's development is largely unknown.

Objective: To examine associations of pandemic exposure with neurocognitive and socioemotional development at 24 and 54 months of age.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study evaluated associations between pandemic exposure vs nonexposure and developmental outcomes with covariate adjustment using data from the Ontario Birth Study collected between February 2018 and June 2022.

Misinformation, Anticipated Regret, and Vaccine-Related Behaviors.

A national survey ( = 1025) conducted in August 2021 reveals that Americans' belief in misinformation about COVID-19 was negatively associated with vaccine acceptance. Importantly, the more participants believe in misinformation, the less anticipated regret they experience for not getting vaccinated. Reduced anticipated regret is associated with lower levels of vaccination intention and vaccine acceptance.

It's the Thoughts That Count: How Psychological Distance and Affect Heuristic Influence Support for Aid Response Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Guided by construal level-theory, this research seeks to understand the effect of perceived psychological distance on emotions and risk perception associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in its early stage. Survey data were collected from a nationally representative U.S.

Maternal acetaminophen use and cognitive development at 4 years: the Ontario Birth Study.

Background: Studies have suggested a link between prenatal maternal acetaminophen use and adverse developmental outcomes in children. However, there exists a knowledge gap regarding overall cognitive development and use of acetaminophen, especially concerning the timing of use in pregnancy. This study aimed to characterize the relationship between maternal acetaminophen use and cognitive development at 4 years.

Maternal prenatal psychological distress and vitamin intake with children's neurocognitive development.

Background: Maternal prenatal psychological distress (PPD) is increasingly linked to sub-optimal child neurodevelopment. Daily intake of prenatal vitamin during pre-conception and early pregnancy may ameliorate the effects of PPD on cognition in the offspring.

Methods: PPD was assessed in early (12-16 weeks) and late (28-32 weeks) gestation in the Ontario Birth Study.

Comparative Risk: Dread and Unknown Characteristics of the COVID-19 Pandemic Versus COVID-19 Vaccines.

This research characterizes risk perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccines based on the dread and unknown dimensions of the psychometric paradigm. We examine if mental risk comparisons of these two risk objects influence risk mitigation behaviors (vaccination intention; vaccine acceptance; preventive behaviors) and emotional responses among unvaccinated and vaccinated Americans. A survey (N = 1532) was conducted based on a nationally representative sample of U.

Predicting the U.S. Public's Prosocial Responses during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This research examines three distinct processes that influence Americans' prosocial responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a nationally representative sample, participants read either a mock-up news article on COVID-19 with a clear responsibility attribution ( = 496) or one without ( = 513) in a survey embedded experiment. Participants exposed to the responsibility attribution condition engaged in less systematic processing; systematic processing and all emotions mediated the relationship between responsibility attribution and support for government response measures.

Fast and Frugal: Information Processing Related to The Coronavirus Pandemic.

This research focuses on three factors that influence how individuals cognitively process information related to the coronavirus outbreak. Guided by dual-process theories of information processing, we establish how the two different information processing modes (system 1: heuristic processing; system 2: systematic processing) are influenced by individuals' responsibility attribution, discrete negative emotions, and risk perception. In an experiment, participants were exposed to a news article that either blames China (n = 445) or does not blame China (n = 498) for the pandemic.

Predictors of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration Measured at Multiple Time Points in a Multiethnic Population.

The evidence for a relationship between serum vitamin D levels and nonskeletal health outcomes is inconsistent. The validity of single or predicted measurements of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration is unknown, as levels of this biomarker are highly seasonally variable. We compared models of 25(OH)D measured at baseline, at multiple time points throughout the year, and averaged over the year among 309 persons in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (43°N latitude) during 2009-2013.

A cross-sectional study of different patterns of oral contraceptive use among premenopausal women and circulating IGF-1: implications for disease risk.

Background: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is important in normal growth, development, and homeostasis. Current use of oral contraceptives (OC) decreases IGF-1 concentrations; however, the effect of past use, age/timing of use, and type of OC used on IGF-1 levels is unknown. OC are the most commonly used form of birth control worldwide.

Antimicrobial activity and cellular toxicity of nanoparticle-polymyxin B conjugates.

We investigate the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity to mammalian cells of conjugates of the peptide antibiotic polymyxin B (PMB) to Au nanoparticles and CdTe quantum dots. Au nanoparticles fully covered with PMB are identical in antimicrobial activity to the free drug alone, whereas partially-conjugated Au particles show decreased effectiveness in proportion to the concentration of Au. CdTe-PMB conjugates are more toxic to Escherichia coli than PMB alone, resulting in a flattening of the steep PMB dose-response curve.

Optical spectroscopy of the breast in premenopausal women reveals tissue variation with changes in age and parity.

Purpose: Variations during breast tissue development can influence later breast cancer risk. In particular, prolonged nulliparity increases risk. The authors used optical spectroscopy to compare breast tissue in 115 nulliparous women aged 31-40 (group 2) to 140 nulliparous women aged 18-21 (group 1), and also to 36 parous women aged 31-40 (group 3), and to evaluate the relationship between IGF-1 and optical breast tissue properties.

Vitamin D association with estradiol and progesterone in young women.

Objective: Vitamin D may reduce breast cancer risk through an effect on steroid hormones in cycling women.We conducted a study to determine whether there is an association between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and estradiol and progesterone in young women.

Methods: Volunteer women aged 18-22 and not using hormonal contraceptives were recruited during summer and winter.