A typology of primary care workforce innovations in the United States since 2000.

Purpose: Innovative workforce models are being developed and implemented to meet the changing demands of primary care. A literature review was conducted to construct a typology of workforce models used by primary care practices.

Methods: Ovid Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo were used to identify published descriptions of the primary care workforce that deviated from what would be expected in the typical practice in the year 2000.

Health care reform 2011: opportunities for pharmacists.

The health reforms of the last several years at the federal and state levels have created many opportunities for pharmacists to become actively involved in the direct patient care provision. Indeed, the statutory language in some sections of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 creates expectations of pharmacists that will require practice transformation if we are to arise to accept the responsibilities associated with these expectations. These new opportunities open the door for pharmacists to benefit community-dwelling patients with chronic medical conditions, those with acute/emergent care needs, those experiencing a transition between chronic and acute care and vice versa, as well as others in long-term care settings.

Health Care Policy 2011: implications for pharmacists.

The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 set the stage for a new era. The 2010 Congressional election results and recent court rulings challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Act suggest that implementation will be anything but straightforward. The proposed changes in health insurance, along with modifications in current reimbursement models, will alter the health-care environment.

Health-care reform 2010: how will it impact you and your practice?

There are several transformative features of the 2 landmark health-care reform laws passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President in March. The most critical elements that will impact pharmacists and patients are categorized into 6 key areas in this commentary: health insurance reform; improvements in Medicare and Medicaid; pharmacy practice expansion; health professions education and workforce initiatives; prevention and wellness; and enhanced access to affordable medications. The relevant features of these new opportunities are presented and the implications for pharmacists and their patients are discussed.

Content analysis methods for conducting research in social and administrative pharmacy.

Background: Content analysis is a research technique used to systematically collect and analyze the makeup and exchange of communication through various visual, auditory, and print media. It has been used in health care to study communications to audiences using a broad range of media.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to introduce the methodology of content analysis and suggest some recommendations for its use.

Time course of the enhancement and restoration of the analgesic efficacy of codeine and morphine by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) synergizes with morphine and codeine by releasing endogenous opioids. These studies determined 1) the duration of enhancement of morphine and codeine by delta9-THC, 2) the effect of (delta9-THC on the time course of fully efficacious doses of the opioids, 3) restoration of efficacy of morphine and codeine by delta9-THC, and 4) duration of restoration. Sub-active combination doses of delta9-THC/morphine or delta9-THC/codeine are equivalent in duration of action and efficacy to high-dose opioids alone.

Newer insulin therapies for management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To provide an overview of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and review newer insulin therapies used to manage patients with diabetes.

Data Sources: A MEDLINE search covering articles published from 1985 to March 2003 was conducted to identify English-language literature available on the management of diabetes, specifically focusing on the newer insulin products insulin glargine and insulin aspart, and any other novel insulin therapies (Medical Subject Headings [MeSH] search terms used were: diabetes, insulin, insulin aspart, insulin glargine, inhaled insulin, intranasal insulin, oral insulin). These articles, abstracts, and data provided by the pharmaceutical manufacturers were reviewed to collect pertinent data.

Infarct-related artery occlusion, tissue markers of ischaemia, and increased apoptosis in the peri-infarct viable myocardium.

Aims: Unfavourable cardiac remodelling often complicates acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as a result of increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis. It is currently unclear whether ongoing or recurrent ischaemia is an independent determinant for increased apoptosis in peri-infarct viable myocardium.

Methods And Results: In order to assess the link between infarct-related artery (IRA) occlusion, ischaemia, and apoptosis, 30 subjects dying 7-120 days after AMI (16 with IRA occlusion and 14 with patent IRA) and five control subjects were selected at autopsy.

Mu and delta opioid-stimulated [35S]GTP gamma S binding in brain and spinal cord of polyarthritic rats.

Polyarthritis induced by inoculation with complete Freund's adjuvant alters opioid peptides, but does not affect opioid receptor binding. This study was conducted to measure mu and delta opioid receptor-stimulated G-protein activity in brain and spinal cord of rats 19 days after injection of complete Freund's adjuvant or vehicle. Mu and delta opioid-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS binding measured autoradiographically in caudate-putamen, medial thalamus and periaqueductal gray was unchanged in polyarthritic rats.

Predicting peak oxygen consumption during a conservative ramping protocol: implications for the heart failure population.

Purpose: A significant discrepancy between measured oxygen consumption (VO(2)) (via ventilatory expired gas analysis) and estimated VO(2) (via the imposed workload) frequently is reported in the heart failure (HF) population during symptom-limited exercise testing. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the difference between measured and estimated VO(2) (VO(2) discrepancy) during a highly conservative ramping protocol.

Methods: For this study, 28 subjects with compensated HF (20 men and 8 women; age, 51.

Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors in percutaneous coronary intervention and acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: To review the contemporary role of the glycoprotein (GYP) IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors abciximab, eptifibatide, and tirofiban in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and those with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and to provide an algorithm based on currently available evidence for specific agents.

Data Sources: Primary articles were identified by a MEDLINE search (1966-January 2003); references cited in these articles provided additional resources.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: All of the articles identified from data sources were considered for relevant information; this article primarily addresses large, controlled or comparative studies, and meta-analyses.

Acetylcholinesterase antibody treatment results in neurite detachment and reduced outgrowth from cultured neurons: further evidence for a cell adhesive role for neuronal acetylcholinesterase.

Data from our laboratory and others demonstrate that acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is expressed transiently by neurons during periods of neurite outgrowth preceding synaptogenesis, suggesting an extrasynaptic function for this molecule. These findings, along with reports that AChE shares amino acid sequence homology and structural similarities with known cell adhesion molecules, have led to the theory that, during development, AChE may exert a morphogenic effect through cell adhesion. To further test this hypothesis, we have examined the effects of an AChE monoclonal antibody (MAB304) on neurite outgrowth in primary cultures of rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons.