META-INSTI: metabolic adverse events following integrase strand transfer inhibitor administration in spontaneous adverse event reports.

Background: Metabolic effects of integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) have been reported. The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) is a publicly available database that captures spontaneously reported adverse events. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between INSTIs and metabolic adverse events using the FAERS database.

Methodological Challenges in Studies of Personal and Professional Identity Formation.

Demographic information about the identities of faculty, staff, students, and trainees is frequently collected in pharmacy education. A wide range of identities and characteristics can influence the choices and experiences of students as they progress through curricula and develop their professional goals. Understanding personal and professional identity formation within dynamic and complex environments is critical to promoting the success of pharmacy education and practice.

Considerations for writing and including demographic variables in education research.

Our Situation: At many points within pharmacy education, we collect demographic information about faculty, staff, students, and trainees. Admissions procedures and surveys, for example, typically categorize participants based on various identities such as race and ethnicity as well as gender and sex. In this article, we interrogate the complex nature of capturing participant identities through demographic variables, using race and ethnicity, gender and sex, sexual orientation and identity, and disability status as specific examples.

Developing the Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) pharmacopoeia: past, present, and future.

Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) with considerable, though as yet unrealised, therapeutic potential. Promising preclinical data supports the applicability of CB2 activation in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, pain, neurodegeneration, and osteoporosis. A diverse pharmacopoeia of cannabinoid ligands is available, which has led to considerable advancements in the understanding of CB2 function and extensive preclinical evaluation.

Assessment of communication and physical exam skills: A comparison of students, faculty and standardized patients.

Purpose/objectives: The objective of this retrospective study was twofold: it aimed to investigate dental students' communication and physical exam self-assessment skills by comparing students' self-evaluations with those completed by faculty and standardized patients (SPs). Second, it aimed to compare faculty and SPs assessment of students' communication skills.

Methods: At the end of their first year of training, students (n = 127), participated in one SP encounter about an initial dental consultation.

Analysis of pharmacy student communication self-evaluation skills during standardized patient encounters.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate pharmacy students' communication self-evaluation skills by comparing student self-evaluations with those completed by course graders and standardized patients (SP).

Methods: As part of a required communications course, third-year pharmacy students completed a medication counseling encounter with a SP during a midpoint encounter and final assessment. Students' communication skills were evaluated by course graders and SPs.

Identifying areas of improvement for cultural competence in pharmacy curricula: A multi-school study using the self-assessment of perceived level of cultural competence (SAPLCC) questionnaire.

Introduction: The implementation of culturally competent healthcare services has been considered a key strategy for the provision of patient-centered care; however, a need remains to address the requirements of teaching cultural competence, including identifying gaps, designing and evaluating curricula, and assessing students' progress toward program objectives. The objective of this study was to explore the applicability of the Self-Assessment of Perceived Level of Cultural Competence (SAPLCC) questionnaire in the identification of improvement areas in cultural competence content in pharmacy curricula.

Methods: This study used previously-collected SAPLCC data from student pharmacists at eight United States pharmacy schools.

Last Matter: Introducing infographics to Methodology Matters.

Visual summaries are gaining momentum in the health sciences literature. The Journal is introducing a new article type-Last Matter (LM). These will consist of infographics that quickly summarize and visually describe topics typically addressed in more detail within Methodology Matters reviews.

Meta-research in pharmacy: Time for a look in the mirror.

The volume of the biomedical literature continues to expand at a substantial rate. The research literature surrounding pharmaceutical services is no different. Due in part to events in the recent past, researchers, consumers, funders, and policymakers have raised concerns about the credibility, transparency, and potential waste in the global research enterprise.

Human liver-derived MAIT cells differ from blood MAIT cells in their metabolism and response to TCR-independent activation.

Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are anti-microbial innate-like T cells that are abundant in blood and liver. MAIT cells express a semi-invariant T-cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes a pyrimidine ligand, derived from microbial riboflavin synthesis, bound to MR1. Both blood and liver derived (ld)-MAIT cells can be robustly stimulated via TCR or by cytokines produced during bacterial or viral infection.

Using multiple linear regression in pharmacy education scholarship.

Our Situation: There has been an increased interest in regression techniques within pharmacy education to allow researchers to determine variables that may predict a specific outcome (e.g., predicting student scores on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment).

Neutrophils suppress mucosal-associated invariant T cells in humans.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes that are abundant in mucosal tissues and the liver where they can respond rapidly to a broad range of riboflavin producing bacterial and fungal pathogens. Neutrophils, which are recruited early to sites of infection, play a nonredundant role in pathogen clearance and are crucial for controlling infection. The interaction of these two cell types is poorly studied.

Characteristics of studies of pharmacist services registered in ClinicalTrials.gov.

Objective: To examine the characteristics of studies of pharmacist services registered in ClinicalTrials.gov.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Updating conceptions of validity and reliability.

Measurement validity is important when conducting research. This is as true for sociobehavioral research as for clinical research. Although the importance of validity is not new, its conceptualization has changed substantially in the past few decades.

Type I interferons are important co-stimulatory signals during T cell receptor mediated human MAIT cell activation.

Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant unconventional T cells that can be stimulated either via their TCR or by innate cytokines. The MAIT cell TCR recognises a pyrimidine ligand, derived from riboflavin synthesising bacteria, bound to MR1. In infection, bacteria not only provide the pyrimidine ligand but also co-stimulatory signals, such as TLR agonists, that can modulate TCR-mediated activation.

TCR- or Cytokine-Activated CD8 Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells Are Rapid Polyfunctional Effectors That Can Coordinate Immune Responses.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells can be activated via either their T cell receptor (TCR), which recognizes MR1-bound pyrimidines derived from microbial riboflavin biosynthesis, or via cytokines. These two modes of activation may act in concert or independently, depending upon the stimulus. It is unknown, however, how MAIT cell responses differ with the mode of activation.

A Multi-School Validation of a Revised Scale for Assessing Cultural Competence in Pharmacy Students.

To revise the Self-Assessment of Perceived Level of Cultural Competence (SAPLCC) instrument and validate it within a national sample of pharmacy students. A cross-sectional study design using a convenience sample of pharmacy schools across the country was used for this study. The target population was Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students enrolled in the participating pharmacy programs.

Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Signalling Bias Elicited by 2,4,6-Trisubstituted 1,3,5-Triazines.

Cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB) is predominantly distributed in immune tissues and cells and is a promising therapeutic target for modulating inflammation. In this study we designed and synthesised a series of 2,4,6-trisubstituted 1,3,5-triazines with piperazinylalkyl or 1,2-diethoxyethane (PEG2) chains as CB agonists, all of which were predicted to be considerably more polar than typical cannabinoid ligands. In this series, we found that triazines containing an adamantanyl group were conducive to CB binding whereas those with a cyclopentyl group were not.

Evaluating a measure of the research training environment in a sample of pharmacy residents.

Introduction: While an important predictor of future research involvement, formal assessment of the quality of the research training environment in pharmacy residency training has not been examined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a modified version of the shortened form of the revised Research Training Environment Scale (RTES-R-S) in pharmacy residents.

Methods: The original wording of the 18 items from RTES-R-S was modified to reflect pharmacy residency training.

Patient preferences for objective quality metrics during community pharmacy selection: A discrete choice experiment.

Background: Patients select healthcare providers and facilities based on a complex array of factors. Pharmacy-level quality metrics have been discussed as a way to help direct patients towards high-quality pharmacies. Limited research has been conducted on the potential impact of quality metrics on the pharmacy selection process.

Developing a Measure of Students' Potential Involvement in Scholarly Activities.

Background: Pharmacy schools must encourage a culture of inquiry so future pharmacists approach practice in a scholarly fashion.

Objectives: To develop an instrument measuring intentions to engage in various scholarly activities.

Methods: Items representing scholarly activities relevant to pharmacists were developed.

An Exploratory Survey of Incorporation of Gender- and Sex-related Differences in the PharmD Curricula.

Introduction: Clinical presentation and treatment in many disease states vary due to sex- and gender-differences. Sex-related pharmacokinetic differences are particularly important for pharmacists. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) currently has no standard for the inclusion of gender- and sex-related differences in the didactic PharmD curriculum, but encourages advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) to include diverse populations related to gender.