Publications by authors named "Spears C"

Introduction: IQOS was sold in the US in 2019-2021 and will likely return in 2024. It is important to anticipate IQOS' market penetration; thus, this study examined US adults' prior awareness and perceptions, intentions to try and reactions to an IQOS reduced-risk exposure statement.

Methods: 61 adults from three US cities were recruited to represent four tobacco use subgroups: current cigarette and never electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use; current cigarette and discontinued ENDS use; current cigarette and ENDS use; and former cigarette use and switched to ENDS.

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  • The study aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted purchasing behaviors and tobacco product use among different groups, including exclusive smokers, dual users, and exclusive e-cigarette users.
  • A quantitative survey with 1,460 participants and ten online focus groups involving 61 adults revealed that dual users were more likely to alter their purchasing habits, such as opting for cheaper brands or buying online.
  • The results suggest that targeted public health interventions for dual users could help promote reduced-risk product use or cessation, especially during challenging times like the pandemic.
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  • African American adults face higher rates of tobacco-related diseases, influenced by experiences with racial discrimination, highlighting the need for further research on this topic.
  • The study aimed to explore how perceived racial discrimination impacts smoking habits among African Americans, investigating religion and spirituality as potential moderating factors.
  • Analysis of data from the Jackson Heart Study revealed that everyday racial discrimination significantly increases the likelihood of smoking, but prayer as a coping mechanism appears to reduce this risk among participants.
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  • * The trial involves 50 SafeCare Providers delivering two different programs to 500 families, comparing standard SafeCare with the new Smoke-Free Home SafeCare (SFHSC), which includes a smoking ban initiative.
  • * By evaluating various outcomes such as home smoking bans, parenting, and cost-effectiveness, the research aims to demonstrate a sustainable approach to addressing both SHS exposure and CM risk simultaneously.
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Introduction: Limited data exist on factors associated with concurrent use patterns of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and cigarettes. We examined longitudinally perceptions and experiences with ENDS in relationship to concurrent use patterns among established, recent smokers who recently initiated ENDS.

Methods: Participant recruitment took place using paid digital advertisements on social media.

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Purpose Of Review: The most common four neurodegenerative atypical parkinsonian disorders (APDs) are progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA), corticobasal syndrome (CBS), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Their formal diagnostic criteria often require subspecialty experience to implement as designed and all require excluding competing diagnoses without clearly specifying how to do that. Validated diagnostic criteria are not available at all for many of the other common APDs, including normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), vascular parkinsonism (VP), or drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP).

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Background: While there are several parenting programs for NICU caregivers, no studies, to our knowledge, have developed parenting programs aimed at preventing child maltreatment that specifically address these parental factors: parental stress, parental self-efficacy, and positive parent-infant interaction.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to: 1) Identify adaptations and/or augmentations needed to optimize SafeCare® for NICU caregivers, and 2) Examine the acceptability and preliminary effects of the adapted SafeCare NICU (SCNC) program with NICU caregivers.

Methods: This study consisted of two phases: formative (phase one) and pilot (phase two).

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Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 290 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with prostate cancer. These SNVs can be combined to generate a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS), which estimates an individual's risk to develop prostate cancer. Identifying individuals at higher risk for prostate cancer using PRS could allow for personalized screening recommendations, improve current screening tools, and potentially result in improved survival rates, but more research is needed before incorporating them into clinical use.

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Objectives: This study aims to assess exposure to e-cigarette advertising across multiple marketing channels among U.S. youth and to examine whether racial/ethnic disparities exist in exposure to e-cigarette advertisements.

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Background: Opioids are often prescribed for patients who eventually undergo lumbar decompression. Given the potential for opioid-related morbidity and mortality, postoperative weaning is often a goal of surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preoperative opioid use and postoperative complete opioid weaning among lumbar decompression patients.

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Food insecurity is associated with cigarette smoking, yet little is known about how variability in the experience of food insecurity may relate to patterns of cigarette use. We sought to examine patterns of food insecurity and cigarette use during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020-March 2021). We analyzed longitudinal survey data from a nationally representative panel of adults in the United States (N = 7,880) from the Understanding Coronavirus in America Study.

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Objective: Novel nicotine and tobacco products, including heated tobacco products (HTPs) like IQOS, are growing in global popularity. IQOS was the first HTP authorized for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration, entering the US market in 2019 and being removed in 2021 due to patent-related legal challenges, with the possibility of returning in 2024. Direct marketing is one method tobacco companies use to reach consumers of these products.

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NAKED ENDOSPERM1 (NKD1), NKD2, and OPAQUE2 (O2) are transcription factors important for cell patterning and nutrient storage in maize (Zea mays) endosperm. To study the complex regulatory interrelationships among these 3 factors in coregulating gene networks, we developed a set of nkd1, nkd2, and o2 homozygous lines, including all combinations of mutant and wild-type genes. Among the 8 genotypes tested, we observed diverse phenotypes and gene interactions affecting cell patterning, starch content, and storage proteins.

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Background: Genetic counseling and testing have an important role in the care of patients at elevated risk for breast cancer. However, conventional pre- and post-test genetic counseling is labor and time intensive, less accessible for patients living outside major urban centers, and impractical on a large scale. A patient-driven approach to genetic counseling and testing may increase access, improve patients' experiences, affect efficiency of clinical practice, and help meet workforce demand.

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  • - The study explores how various stressors affect tobacco use among trans women, focusing on both immediate (proximal) and larger societal (distal) factors like discrimination and violence.
  • - Out of 162 trans women in Chicago and Atlanta, 42.9% were found to smoke, with significant associations identified between tobacco use and issues such as homelessness, intimate partner violence, and involvement in commercial sex work.
  • - The findings suggest that tobacco cessation programs for trans women need to consider the complex stressors they encounter to be more effective.
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Introduction: Discrimination is associated with poor mental health and substance use among Black Americans, but research is needed on mediators and moderators of these relationships. This study tested whether: 1) discrimination is associated with current alcohol, tobacco (cigarette or e-cigarette), and cannabis use among US Black emerging adults; 2) psychological distress (PD) and positive well-being (PW) are mediators of discrimination-substance use relationships; and 3) these relationships are moderated by sex and attributions to discrimination (racial vs. nonracial).

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  • The paper discusses a new intervention called Smoke-Free Home SafeCare (SFH-SC), which combines two evidence-based programs to address secondhand tobacco smoke exposure and child maltreatment at home.
  • The systematic braiding process involved identifying key elements from both programs, creating a draft curriculum, conducting a pilot study with caregivers of young children, and gathering feedback from both caregivers and SafeCare Providers.
  • Preliminary results showed positive engagement from caregivers, a slight increase in smoke-free home rules, reduced parental stress, and high feasibility ratings from providers, suggesting that SFH-SC could effectively support at-risk families.
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Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC) efficiently links smokers in healthcare settings with evidence-based Quitline-delivered tobacco treatment through training clinic staff to systematically ask patients about smoking status, advise smokers to quit, and connect patients with state Quitlines using the electronic health record. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach, guided by the RE-AIM framework, to evaluate the implementation of AAC in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). AAC was implemented for 18 months at a FQHC serving primarily low-socioeconomic status (SES) Latinos and Latinas.

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Introduction: Significant changes occurred in the way people socialize and interact with each other since China reported its first COVID-19 cases. However, little is known about how smoking behaviors may have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The aim of this study was to assess changes in smoking behavior and intention to quit during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and to investigate the associated factors.

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Background: Chronic spasticity causes significant impairment and financial burden. Oral baclofen, the first-line therapy, can have intolerable, dose-dependent side effects. Targeted drug delivery (TDD) through intrathecal baclofen delivers smaller amounts of baclofen into the thecal sac via an implanted infusion system.

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Prior studies indicate more severe brainstem cholinergic deficits in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) compared to Parkinson's disease (PD), but the extent and topography of subcortical deficits remains poorly understood. The objective of this study is to investigate differential cholinergic systems changes in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP, n = 8) versus Parkinson's disease (PD, n = 107) and older controls (n = 19) using vesicular acetylcholine transporter [F]-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol (FEOBV) positron emission tomography (PET). A whole-brain voxel-based PET analysis using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) software (SPM12) for inter-group comparisons using parametric [F]-FEOBV DVR images.

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Background: Both Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) exhibit degeneration of brainstem serotoninergic nuclei, affecting multiple subcortical and cortical serotoninergic projections. In MSA, medullary serotoninergic neuron pathology is well documented, but serotonin system changes throughout the rest of the brain are less well characterized.

Objectives: To use serotonin transporter [ C]3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulfaryl)-benzonitrile positron emission tomography (PET) to compare serotoninergic innervation in patients with MSA and PD.

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