Multimodal transcriptomics reveal neurogenic aging trajectories and age-related regional inflammation in the dentate gyrus.

The mammalian dentate gyrus (DG) is involved in certain forms of learning and memory, and DG dysfunction has been implicated in age-related diseases. Although neurogenic potential is maintained throughout life in the DG as neural stem cells (NSCs) continue to generate new neurons, neurogenesis decreases with advancing age, with implications for age-related cognitive decline and disease. In this study, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize transcriptomic signatures of neurogenic cells and their surrounding DG niche, identifying molecular changes associated with neurogenic aging from the activation of quiescent NSCs to the maturation of fate-committed progeny.

Consistent Intraocular Pressure Reduction by Solid Drug Nanoparticles in Fixed Combinations for Glaucoma Therapy.

Efficient topical drug delivery remains a significant challenge in glaucoma management. Although nanoparticle formulations offer considerable promise, their complex preparation processes, co-delivery issues, and batch consistency have hindered their potential. A scalable fabrication strategy is developed here for preparing solid drug nanoparticles (SDNs) with enhanced drug delivery efficiency.

Characterization of neural damage and neuroinflammation in Pax6 small-eye mice.

Aniridia is a panocular condition characterized by a partial or complete loss of the iris. It manifests various developmental deficits in both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye, leading to a progressive vision loss. The homeobox gene PAX6 plays an important role in ocular development and mutations of PAX6 have been the main causative factors for aniridia.

Longitudinal Assessment of Empathy and Burnout Across a Single Pharmacy Class Cohort.

Objective: This is a final analysis of longitudinal evaluation of burnout and empathy among a cohort of Doctor of Pharmacy students throughout their 4-year enrollment.

Methods: The class of 2021 received sequential Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT) surveys containing 2 validated survey instruments, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Surveys were disseminated at the start of the program (PY1) and the end of each academic year (PY1, PY2, PY3, PY4).

Evolution of a capstone exam for third-year doctor of pharmacy students.

Background And Purpose: Pharmacy capstone exams are an example of an assessment strategy to evaluate student competency and practice-readiness. Capstone exam processes have been discussed in the literature; however, description of format, evolution of the process, and implementation in the year prior to rotations is lacking. This manuscript discusses the development, implementation, and utilization of a third professional year pharmacy capstone exam to assess advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness.

Chronic in vivo imaging defines age-dependent alterations of neurogenesis in the mouse hippocampus.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) generate new neurons throughout life in the mammalian hippocampus. Advancing age leads to a decline in neurogenesis, which is associated with impaired cognition. The cellular mechanisms causing reduced neurogenesis with advancing age remain largely unknown.

The Relationship Between Pharmacist Resilience, Burnout, and Job Performance.

Resilience aids healthcare professionals in navigating through and bouncing back from stressful situations in the workplace. Resilience can increase job satisfaction, work motivation, and professional commitment while decreasing burnout, and ultimately job turnover. More resilient employees experience lower instances of burnout and greater life satisfaction.

Vancomycin Flight Simulator: A Team-Based Learning Exercise.

Background: Team-based learning (TBL) encourages learners to think critically to solve problems they will face in practice. Pharmacokinetic dosing and monitoring are complex skills requiring the application of learned knowledge. The study sought to assess the impact of a TBL, vancomycin dosing activity in a Pharmaceutical Skills IV course measured with exam question performance during the second professional year.

Dissociation between dreams and wakefulness: Insights from body and action representations of rare individuals with massive somatosensory deafferentation.

The realism of body and actions in dreams is thought to be induced by simulations based on internal representations used during wakefulness. As somatosensory signals contribute to the updating of body and action representations, these are impaired when somatosensory signals are lacking. Here, we tested the hypothesis that individuals with somatosensory deafferentation have impaired body and actions in their dreams, as in wakefulness.

The Impact of Leadership Program Formatting on Perceived Development Within Pharmacy Cohorts.

To assess the impact of variable leadership development program formats on perceived participant growth. In 2020, the Phi Lambda Sigma national office began offering national Leader Academies to members, while University of South Florida Health Taneja College of Pharmacy simultaneously offered a Leader Academy program to its Phi Lambda Sigma students. Both programs used virtual leadership development tools from GiANT Worldwide, but differed in meeting frequency, content focus, and participant diversity.

Long-term retinal protection by MEK inhibition in Pax6 haploinsufficiency mice.

Aniridia is a panocular condition characterized by impaired eye development and vision, which is mainly due to the haploinsufficiency of the paired-box-6 (PAX6) gene. Like what is seen in aniridia patients, Pax6-deficient mice Pax6 exhibit a varied degree of ocular damage and impaired vision. Our previous studies showed that these phenotypes were partially rescued by PD0325901, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK or MAP2K) inhibitor.

Emergent transition to remote learning: Impact on student performance for real-time comprehensive case simulations.

Introduction: To determine the impact of emergent transition from in-person to remote learning on student performance within real-time objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs).

Methods: A university mandate, due to severe SARS-CoV-2, was issued requiring didactic courses to transition to remote learning in spring 2020. The third-year internal medicine elective had six remaining weekly OSCEs, accounting for 55% of course grades.

Characterization of the neurogenic niche in the aging dentate gyrus using iterative immunofluorescence imaging.

Advancing age causes reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, associated with age-related cognitive decline. The spatial relationship of age-induced alterations in neural stem cells (NSCs) and surrounding cells within the hippocampal niche remains poorly understood due to limitations of antibody-based cellular phenotyping. We established iterative indirect immunofluorescence imaging (4i) in tissue sections, allowing for simultaneous detection of 18 proteins to characterize NSCs and surrounding cells in 2-, 6-, and 12-month-old mice.

Evidence and Strategies for Including Emotional Intelligence in Pharmacy Education.

This integrative review summarizes the literature addressing emotional intelligence among health care professionals and students to better define and incorporate it into the pharmacy curricula. Emotional intelligence is an essential attribute for relationship building, stress management, and self-regulation. Pharmacy students must develop and improve their emotional intelligence to support their development of successful relationships with patients, pharmacy colleagues, and other health care providers.

The relationship between pharmacist emotional intelligence, occupational stress, job performance, and psychological affective well-being.

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is known to improve teamwork, communication, and organizational commitment. The role of EI has also influenced pharmacists' ability to empathize, control emotions, and actively listen. Although EI's impact on work-related components, including occupational stress, job performance, and psychological affective well-being, has been studied, there are no data specific to the practice of pharmacy.

Designing and evaluating game-based learning for continuing pharmacy education using an "escape room" activity.

Introduction: Continuing education (CE) standards by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education emphasize that educational methodologies should contribute to the development of participants' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Employment of serious gaming can meet this expectation through motivation, timely feedback, and challenging all performance levels. Current literature is lacking regarding use of game-based learning, such as "escape rooms" in pharmacy CE programming.

Measures of Burnout and Empathy in United States Doctor of Pharmacy Students: Time for a Change?

Purpose: To review interim data regarding longitudinal burnout and empathy levels in a single Doctor of Pharmacy class cohort.

Methods: Students were emailed an electronic survey during their first semester and annually at the end of each academic year for a total of 3 years (2017-2020). Validated survey tools included the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) student version.

The role of somatosensation in automatic visuo-motor control: a comparison of congenital and acquired sensory loss.

Studies of chronically deafferented participants have illuminated how regaining some motor control after adult-onset loss of proprioceptive and touch input depends heavily on cognitive control. In this study we contrasted the performance of one such man, IW, with KS, a woman born without any somatosensory fibres. We postulated that her life-long absence of proprioception and touch might have allowed her to automate some simple visually-guided actions, something IW appears unable to achieve.

Perception of body shape and size without touch or proprioception: evidence from individuals with congenital and acquired neuropathy.

The degree to which mental representations of the body can be established and maintained without somatosensory input remains unclear. We contrast two "deafferented" adults, one who acquired large fibre sensory loss as an adult (IW) and another who was born without somatosensation (KS). We compared their responses to those of matched controls in three perceptual tasks: first accuracy of their mental image of their hands (assessed by testing recognition of correct hand length/width ratio in distorted photographs and by locating landmarks on the unseen hand); then accuracy of arm length judgements (assessed by judgement of reaching distance), and finally, we tested for an attentional bias towards peri-personal space (assessed by reaction times to visual target presentation).

Long-term self-renewing stem cells in the adult mouse hippocampus identified by intravital imaging.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) generate neurons throughout life in the mammalian hippocampus. However, the potential for long-term self-renewal of individual NSCs within the adult brain remains unclear. We used two-photon microscopy and followed NSCs that were genetically labeled through conditional recombination driven by the regulatory elements of the stem cell-expressed genes GLI family zinc finger 1 (Gli1) or achaete-scute homolog 1 (Ascl1).

Adult-Born Hippocampal Neurons Undergo Extended Development and Are Morphologically Distinct from Neonatally-Born Neurons.

During immature stages, adult-born neurons pass through critical periods for survival and plasticity. It is generally assumed that by 2 months of age adult-born neurons are mature and equivalent to the broader neuronal population, raising questions of how they might contribute to hippocampal function in old age when neurogenesis has declined. However, few have examined adult-born neurons beyond the critical period or directly compared them to neurons born in infancy.

Correlation between retinal ganglion cell loss and nerve crush force-impulse established with instrumented tweezers in mice.

: Rodent models of optic nerve crush (ONC) have often been used to study degeneration and regeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. However, ONC results from different laboratories exhibit a range of RGC injury with varying degree of axonal damage. We developed instrumented tweezers to measure optic nerve (ON) crush forces in real time and studied the correlation between RGC axon loss and force-impulse, the product of force and duration, applied through the instrumented tweezers in mice.

Effectiveness of a pharmacy teaching certificate program offered to practicing pharmacists.

Introduction: Regardless of the practice setting, pharmacists' roles often expand beyond patient-centered services and into health-related educational roles for patients, healthcare providers, and student pharmacists. Teaching roles of a clinical pharmacist can include providing invited presentations (such as continuing education lectures), teaching colleagues about new clinical initiatives, precepting students during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) and introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs), and precepting residents on rotations. This program was designed to evaluate the effect of a university-affiliated pharmacy teaching certificate program on participant knowledge and perceived confidence in specific areas of academic pharmacy and preceptor development.

Loss of haptic feedback impairs control of hand posture: a study in chronically deafferented individuals when grasping and lifting objects.

Previous work has highlighted the role of haptic feedback for manual dexterity, in particular for the control of precision grip forces between the index finger and thumb. It is unclear how fine motor skills involving more than just two digits might be affected, especially given that loss of sensation from the hand affects many neurological patients, and impacts on everyday actions. To assess the functional consequences of haptic deficits on multi-digit grasp of objects, we studied the ability of three rare individuals with permanent large-fibre sensory loss involving the entire upper limb.