Tight Blood Pressure Control in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Hypertension affects over a billion people worldwide and is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide, as well as one of the key determinants of chronic kidney disease worldwide. People with chronic kidney disease and hypertension are at very high risk of renal outcomes, including progression to end-stage renal disease, and, even more importantly, cardiovascular outcomes. Hence, blood pressure control is crucial in reducing the human and socio-economic burden of renal and cardiovascular outcomes in those patients.

Use of social media to engage membership of a state health-system pharmacy organization.

Purpose: The influence of targeted strategies implemented to increase member engagement on a social media page of a professional pharmacy organization was studied.

Methods: The Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP) implemented posting strategies to increase member engagement with its social media page in late 2013. Data were collected retrospectively for a nine-month period in 2013 (preimplementation) and a matching nine-month period in 2014 (postimplementation).

A careful balancing act.

New practitioners are challenged with transitioning from student and resident roles into those roles of an independent practitioner. Specific challenges include project undertaking and management; establishing an understanding of expected timeframes; incorporating efficiencies in daily workflow; establishing and enforcing personal limitations and asking for assistance. The new practitioner will achieve fulfillment in both his/her professional and personal life by incorporating techniques described to overcome those challenges associated with the demands of residency programs.

Genetic adaptations to grazing and mowing in the unpalatable grass Cenchrus incertus.

To identify morphological and life history adaptations to grazing, mowing, and cultivation, seeds of the grass Cenchrus incertus were collected from two populations in each of three types of sites: cemeteries (mown occasionally), pastures (grazed continuously), and orchards (plowed twice a year). Seeds from each population were germinated and grown in a common greenhouse.Plants originating from the two cemetery populations had, on average, the most leaves and the most tillers per plant at each census, and they were on average the shortest in stature.