Use of tobacco during COVID-19: A qualitative study among medically underserved individuals.

The COVID-19 pandemic produced stress for people around the world. The perception that tobacco can be a coping tool for stress relief suggests that the conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic can provide insight into the relationship between stress and tobacco use patterns, particularly among those most at risk for severe COVID-19 disease. The goal was to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on tobacco use and preparedness for smoking cessation among individuals who smoke and are older and medically underserved.

Building and Maintaining a Whole Community Initiative: Health Communication in Practice with Be Well Communities™.

The most effective health communication builds from evidence-based best practices and theory. In practice, health campaigns rely on considerations often under-discussed in health communication, such as consistent agency-style client service, image management, and community coalition-building. Health outcome progress often requires change at multiple levels, from individual cognition and behavior to policy creation.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Multi-level, Place-Based Tobacco Prevention and Control Program at a Minority-Serving Institution in Texas.

Multi-level, place-based interventions have proven effective at promoting a range of health behaviors, including tobacco control and discouraging the uptake of tobacco products. This paper describes the implementation and impact of a 3-year, multi-level tobacco prevention and control program at a community-college minority-serving institution (MSI) on the Texas Gulf Coast within the context of a broader multi-sector, cross-functional health coalition. The intervention studied included a tobacco-free policy, a large-scale communication campaign highlighting parts of the intervention and prevention and cessation resources.

Understanding the impact of community-based sun safety interventions on a college campus in Texas.

: Examine the impact of a community-based, multi-component sun intervention on the campus of Lee College in Baytown, Texas. : 735 respondents completed the survey as part of a range of campus topics. : Survey data on the program were gathered through an emailed campus-wide survey to better understand the community's perceptions and awareness as well as campaign effectiveness over time.

Application of Funnel Metadynamics to the Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 in Complex with an RGD Peptide.

Integrin αβ mediates platelet aggregation by binding the Arginyl-Glycyl-Aspartic acid (RGD) sequence of fibrinogen. RGD binding occurs at a site topographically proximal to the α and β subunits, promoting the conformational activation of the receptor from bent to extended states. While several experimental approaches have characterized RGD binding to αβ integrin, applying computational methods has been significantly more challenging due to limited sampling and the need for a priori information regarding the interactions between the RGD peptide and integrin.