Preprofessional curriculum in preparation for doctor of pharmacy educational programs.

The preprofessional pharmacy curriculum provides the foundation for the professional curriculum. Basic requirements are noted in the ACPE Standards and Guidelines, but there is considerable variation in the preprofessional curriculum requirements for entry into doctor of pharmacy programs in the United States. Changes in higher education, pharmacy practice, and health care continue to drive the need to evaluate the preprofessional curriculum.

Electromyographical assessment of passive, active assistive, and active shoulder rehabilitation exercises.

Objective: To determine the electromyographical (EMG) activation levels of shoulder musculature during early rehabilitation exercises to regain active range of motion.

Design: Descriptive.

Setting: University clinical research laboratory.

Yield of smear microscopy and radiological findings of male and female patients with tuberculosis in abuja, Nigeria.

Objective. To describe the yield of smear-microscopy and radiological findings by male and female patients with symptoms of tuberculosis in Abuja, Nigeria. Methods.

Liposomes in double-emulsion globules.

Tubular liposomes containing a hydrophilic model compound (fluorescein sodium salt, FSS) were entrapped inside the internal aqueous phase (W(1)) of water-in-oil-in-water (W(1)/O/W(2)) double-emulsion globules. Our hypothesis was that the oil membrane of double emulsions can function as a layer of protection to liposomes and their contents and thus better control their release. Liposomes were prepared in bulk, and their release was observed microscopically from individual double-emulsion globules.

Undulating tubular liposomes through incorporation of a synthetic skin ceramide into phospholipid bilayers.

Nonspherical liposomes were prepared by doping L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine (PC) with ceramide VI (a skin lipid). Cryo-transmission electron microscopy shows the liposome shape changing from spherical to an undulating tubular morphology, when the amount of ceramide VI is increased. The formation of tubular liposomes is energetically favorable and is attributed to the association of ceramide VI with PC creating regions of lower curvature.

Hydration effects on skin microstructure as probed by high-resolution cryo-scanning electron microscopy and mechanistic implications to enhanced transcutaneous delivery of biomacromolecules.

Although hydration is long known to improve the permeability of skin, penetration of macromolecules such as proteins is limited and the understanding of enhanced transport is based on empirical observations. This study uses high-resolution cryo-scanning electron microscopy to visualize microstructural changes in the stratum corneum (SC) and enable a mechanistic interpretation of biomacromolecule penetration through highly hydrated porcine skin. Swollen corneocytes, separation of lipid bilayers in the SC intercellular space to form cisternae, and networks of spherical particulates are observed in porcine skin tissue hydrated for a period of 4-10 h.

Cost-effectiveness of Salmonella reduction in Danish abattoirs.

The objective of this paper is to compare the cost-effectiveness of four decontamination technologies at the pork abattoirs. The four technologies investigated are hot water, steam ultrasound, steam vacuum and lactic acid. In the analysis, the prevalence of Salmonella and the effects of the decontaminating technologies are stochastic with known distributions and they are expected to be implemented without distortion of the existing processing system.

RVU ready? Preparing emergency medicine resident physicians in documentation for an incentive-based work environment.

Objectives: The emergency medicine (EM) job market is increasingly focused on incentive-based reimbursement, which is largely based on relative value units (RVUs) and is directly related to documentation of patient care. Previous studies have shown a need to improve resident education in documentation. The authors created a focused educational intervention on billing and documentation practices to meet this identified need.

Front-loading sputum microscopy services: an opportunity to optimise smear-based case detection of tuberculosis in high prevalence countries.

Setting. Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, and Yemen. Objective.

Successful AV fistula creation does not lead to higher catheter use: the experience by the Northwest Renal Network 16 Vascular Access Quality Improvement Program. Four years follow-up.

Background: In 2002, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required all 18 Renal Networks to participate in a Vascular Access Quality Improvement Program (QIP). The Northwest Renal Network (NWRN 16) chose to increase arteriovenous fistula (AVF) use. NWRN 16 hypothesized that strategies which targeted the improvement of AVF rate and the reduction of catheter use were the same.

Sex differences in the clinical presentation of urban Nigerian patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Differences in clinical presentation of tuberculosis (TB) have been reported in different age groups, gender and in different parts of the world. Study of gender differences in clinical presentation of patients will assist in targeting those at higher risk and ensure successful TB control planning.

Objective: To describe the differences in clinical presentation and risk factors for TB in male and female Nigerian patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).

Improving T-cell assays for the diagnosis of latent TB infection: potential of a diagnostic test based on IP-10.

Background: There is a need for simple tools such as the M.tuberculosis specific IFN-gamma release assays (IGRA) to improve diagnosis of M.tuberculosis-infection in children.

Female sex offenders' relationship experiences.

Interventions for child sexual abusers should take into account their perspectives on the context of their offenses, but no descriptions of everyday life from the offender's point of view have been published. This study therefore explored female offenders' views of their strengths and challenges. Documented risk assessments of 20 female offenders were analyzed using inductive content analysis (Cavanagh, 1997; Priest, Roberts, & Woods, 2002; Woods, Priest, & Roberts, 2002).

The effect of anchor modality on the reliability of vocal severity ratings.

The purpose of this study was (1) to confirm if anchors (ie, perceptual references) and training affect the inter- and intrarater reliability of perceptual analysis of various voice types and severities compared to receiving training alone, and (2) to determine whether the modality in which the anchor is presented affects rater reliability. In this study, modality refers to whether the anchor is presented auditorily, visually via a written definition (a textual anchor), or a combination of both anchor types. A randomized multigroup comparison was performed.

Same-day smears in the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of completing the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in 1 day by collecting only on-the-spot specimens.

Methods: Individuals with suspected TB attending district hospitals in Abuja submitted three sputum samples for routine diagnosis (the standard approach). One additional sample was collected 1 h after the first sputum (the same-day approach).

Use of nanocarriers for transdermal vaccine delivery.

Transdermal delivery is a safe, noninvasive method of administering vaccines directly onto bare skin, offering several potential advantages over traditional needle delivery. This technology is limited by the relative inefficiency of transport of large-molecular-weight vaccine antigens across intact skin. Recent evidence has shown that this barrier can be overcome by properly structured nanosized particles (nanocarriers).

Influences of secondary disturbances on lodgepole pine stand development in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Although high-severity fire is the primary type of disturbance shaping the structure of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands in the southern Rocky Mountains, many post-fire stands are also affected by blowdown, low-severity surface fires, and/or outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae). The ecological effects of these secondary disturbances are poorly understood but are potentially important in the context of managing for ecological restoration and fire hazard mitigation. We investigated the effects of blowdown, surface fires, and MPB outbreaks on demographic processes in post-fire lodgepole pine stands in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA.

Clinical presentation of adults with pulmonary tuberculosis with and without HIV infection in Nigeria.

Our aim was to describe the frequency of HIV infection among patients with tuberculosis and compare their characteristics with patients with TB but not infected with HIV. Patients with cough >3 weeks duration attending 8 hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria were screened with smear microscopy and culture and tested for HIV. Chest X-rays were graded by 2 readers.