Background: Organizational adoption is a key but understudied step in translating evidence-based interventions into practice. The purpose of this study was to report recruitment strategies and factors associated with church enrollment and intervention adoption in a national implementation study of the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) program.
Methods: We worked with partners using multiple strategies to disseminate intervention availability.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantially lower uptake of childhood vaccinations in the U.S. As vaccination rates struggle to rebound, childhood vaccine hesitancy continues to grow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs one of the most racially/ethnically diverse workplaces in the United States, the Department of Defense (DoD) has been on the forefront in driving diversity initiatives. Yet, racial/ethnic harassment and discrimination (REHD) in the military persist and threaten mission readiness. Despite this, limited research exists identifying factors that influence REHD in the U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe high uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is one of the most promising measures to control the pandemic. However, some African American (AA) communities exhibit vaccination hesitancy due to mis- or disinformation. It is important to understand the challenges in accessing reliable COVID-19 vaccine information and to develop feasible health communication interventions based on voices from AA communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is a pressing need to translate empirically supported interventions, products, and policies into practice to prevent and control prevalent chronic diseases. According to the Knowledge to Action (K2A) Framework, only those interventions deemed "ready" for translation are likely to be disseminated, adopted, implemented, and ultimately institutionalized. Yet, this pivotal step has not received adequate study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High uptake of COVID-19 vaccine is one of the most promising measures to control the pandemic. However, some African American (AA) communities exhibit vaccination hesitancy due to mis- or dis-information. It is important to understand the challenges in accessing reliable COVID-19 vaccine information and to develop feasible health communication interventions based on voices from AA communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLocally acquired canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in the temperate southern climate zones of Australia is currently rare. We report a case of locally acquired canine heartworm from Sydney, New South Wales in a 12-year-old Fox Terrier × Jack Russell female that presented with coughing and breathing difficulties. Absence of heartworm prevention and no travel outside Sydney was noted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated vaccine acceptance of putative COVID-19 vaccines among a national sample of vaccine hesitant parents. Vaccine hesitancy and politicization of vaccine development has led to a pronounced distrust of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo combat health disinformation shared online, there is a need to identify and characterize the prevalence of topics shared by trolls managed by individuals to promote discord. The current literature is limited to a few health topics and dominated by vaccination. The goal of this study is to identify and analyze the breadth of health topics discussed by left (liberal) and right (conservative) Russian trolls on Twitter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFrecognized Surgeon General C. Everett Koop as "Communicator of the Year" in 1988 for his work to inform the public about HIV/AIDS and reframe a then politically charged issue to focus on public health and education. Using a historical perspective, this study examines Koop's communication about AIDS during the 1980s, including press conference remarks, reminiscence notes, and an unprecedented mailing sent to all U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor-cause physical activity events reach many people. Little research has applied Self-Determination Theory to participants' experiences in for-cause physical activity events. This qualitative study explored participants' ( = 18) experiences in 5K for-cause physical activity events and intention to complete future events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhibition of the Menin (MEN1) and MLL (MLL1, KMT2A) interaction is a potential therapeutic strategy for MLL-rearranged (MLL-r) leukemia. Structure-based design yielded the potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitor VTP50469. Cell lines carrying MLL rearrangements were selectively responsive to VTP50469.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite increasing warnings about inaccurate information online, little is known about how social media contribute to the widespread diffusion of unverified health information. This study addresses this issue by examining the vaccine-autism controversy. By looking into a large dataset of Twitter, Reddit posts, and online news over 20 months in the US, Canada, and the UK, our time-series analysis shows that Twitter drives news agendas, and Reddit follows news agendas regarding the vaccine-autism debate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA potent, in vivo efficacious 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β HSD1) inhibitor (11j) has been identified. Compound 11j inhibited 11β HSD1 activity in human adipocytes with an IC of 4.3nM and in primary human adipose tissue with an IC of 53nM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver X receptor (LXR) agonists have been reported to lower brain amyloid beta (Aβ) and thus to have potential for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Structure and property based design led to the discovery of a series of orally bioavailable, brain penetrant LXR agonists. Oral administration of compound 18 to rats resulted in significant upregulation of the expression of the LXR target gene ABCA1 in brain tissue, but no significant effect on Aβ levels was detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsing a survey of mothers with young children (N = 455), this study applies Fishbein and Ajzen's reasoned action approach (RAA) to examine the relationship between online communication and infant feeding practices. Contrary to expectations, attitudes, perceived normative pressure, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) did not fully mediate the relationship between time spent online and behavioral intentions. Our findings indicate a significant, direct, negative association between time spent online and breastfeeding intentions In this article, theoretical and practical implications for health communication are discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the application of Contour to the design and discovery of a novel, potent, orally efficacious liver X receptor β (LXRβ) agonist (17). Contour technology is a structure-based drug design platform that generates molecules using a context perceptive growth algorithm guided by a contact sensitive scoring function. The growth engine uses binding site perception and programmable growth capability to create drug-like molecules by assembling fragments that naturally complement hydrophilic and hydrophobic features of the protein binding site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists continue to be a prevalent area of research in the pharmaceutical industry. Herein we report the discovery of various spirooxindole and dibenzoxazepine constructs as potent MR antagonists. SAR analysis of our spirooxindole hit led to highly potent compounds containing polar solubilizing groups, which interact with the helix-11 region of the MR ligand binding domain (LBD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJournalists communicating risk-related uncertainty must accurately convey scientific evidence supporting particular conclusions. Scholars have explored how "balanced" coverage of opposing risk claims shapes uncertainty judgments. In situations where a preponderance of evidence points to a particular conclusion, balanced coverage reduces confidence in such a consensus and heightens uncertainty about whether a risk exists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Health Commun
December 2014
Using an online survey of health communication practitioners and academics (N = 372), this study investigates the educational background (degrees, knowledge, skills, and coursework) perceived to be important for employment in health communication. It provides an update on what may be needed in terms of graduate education, as well as which areas may be emerging as most important in the field. The purpose is to inform students, educators, administrators, and practitioners about the current status and possible future trends in health communication education and practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe amyloid hypothesis asserts that excess production or reduced clearance of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain initiates a sequence of events that ultimately lead to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The Aβ hypothesis has identified BACE1 as a therapeutic target to treat Alzheimer's and led to medicinal chemistry efforts to design its inhibitors both in the pharmaceutical industry and in academia. This review summarizes two distinct categories of inhibitors designed based on conformational states of "closed" and "open" forms of the enzyme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRenin inhibitors like aliskiren not only block renin but also bind prorenin, thereby inducing a conformational change (like the change induced by acid) allowing its recognition in a renin-specific assay. Consequently, aliskiren can be used to measure prorenin. VTP-27999 is a new renin inhibitor with an aliskiren-like IC50 and t1/2, and a much higher bioavailability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver X receptor (LXR) α and LXRβ function as physiological sensors of cholesterol metabolites (oxysterols), regulating key genes involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. LXRs have been extensively studied in both human and rodent cell systems, revealing their potential therapeutic value in the contexts of atherosclerosis and inflammatory diseases. The LXR genome landscape has been investigated in murine macrophages but not in human THP-1 cells, which represent one of the frequently used monocyte/macrophage cell systems to study immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of benzimidazolone carboxylic acids and oxazolidinediones were designed and synthesized in search of selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARγMs) as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with improved safety profiles relative to rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, the currently marketed PPARγ full agonist drugs. Structure-activity relationships of these potent and highly selective SPPARγMs were studied with a focus on their unique profiles as partial agonists or modulators. A variety of methods, such as X-ray crystallographic analysis, PPARγ transactivation coactivator profiling, gene expression profiling, and mutagenesis studies, were employed to reveal the differential interactions of these new analogues with PPARγ receptor in comparison to full agonists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStructure guided optimization of a series of nonpeptidic alkyl amine renin inhibitors allowed the rational incorporation of additional polar functionality. Replacement of the cyclohexylmethyl group occupying the S1 pocket with a (R)-(tetrahydropyran-3-yl)methyl group and utilization of a different attachment point led to the identification of clinical candidate 9. This compound demonstrated excellent selectivity over related and unrelated off-targets, >15% oral bioavailability in three species, oral efficacy in a double transgenic rat model of hypertension, and good exposure in humans.
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