Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

525,600 Minutes: A Study On The Knowledge And Perceptions Of College Students About Hiv/Aids, Olivia Griffis

Honors Theses

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which subsequently leads to the disease Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is a highly prevalent virus throughout the world, yet it is a commonly misunderstood disease. HIV/AIDS comes with a stigma that can hinder the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. This study evaluated the knowledge and perceptions of the students at the University of Mississippi. A sample of University of Mississippi students was randomly selected and asked through email to participate in a 26-item survey assessing their knowledge, awareness, and empathy towards people with HIV/AIDS through true/false, multiple choice, and Likert scale questions. The …

Needs Assessment Of Healthcare Services For Transitioning College Students, Victoria M. Miller

Honors Theses

Investigators measured students' needs for healthcare services during their transition from pediatric to adult healthcare at The University of Mississippi. Also, investigators examined chronically ill students' adherence to their conditions needs and measured a baseline of college freshman's knowledge about healthcare. Data was collected using a self-administered cross-sectional survey online through Qualtrics. This study was divided into four focuses in order to assess the subject's health status, health knowledge, healthcare practices, and barriers to transitioning. The investigator found that most of the students' health status compares to the national average with minor differences, a number of students have little knowledge …

Knowledge Of Epilepsy In Students Attending The University Of Mississippi Oxford Campus, Alyssa Reid

Honors Theses

Epilepsy is thought to be a very rare condition, and therefore many people do not know how to react or what to do when a person has a seizure. Epilepsy is in fact twice as common as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis combined. Furthermore, there is not a cure to stop the seizures for many people. Attending college is a challenging experience, but managing epilepsy while in college can be even more difficult. Hence it is important for all students to learn the basics of epilepsy and especially how to help a person having a seizure. …

Mississippi Pharmacists' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Adhd In Children, Anna Crider

Honors Theses

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that has garnered more attention in the profession of pharmacy in recent years as a result of being more commonly diagnosed in both adult and pediatric populations. With new medications available, pharmacists need to be knowledgeable about how these products may affect patients, especially children. It is crucial to understand pharmacists' perceptions and knowledge of ADHD and its treatments to optimize their provision of treatment for these patients. Due to the lack of literature dedicated to pharmacists' knowledge, familiarity, confidence, and perceptions as it relates the condition of ADHD and its treatments, the objectives …

E-Cigarettes And Smoking Cessation: Economic Impact On Current Smokers With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Anal A. Shah

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction:

Awareness and usage of Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) among smokers have increased rapidly over the past few years, majorly in quitting smoking. The main objectives for this study were: 1) To estimate the prevalence and study sociodemographic predictors for e-cigs use among individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 2) To examine the predictors and estimate the total healthcare costs among current smokers with COPD 3) To estimate the economic impact of adopting e-cigs as a smoking cessation tool among current smokers with COPD.

Methods:

The National Health Interview Survey data from the year 2014 was utilized to estimate the …

A Biorelevant In Vitro Model To Characterize In Vivo Release Of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (Rhbmp-2), Deblina Biswas

Theses and Dissertations

Biorelevant in vitro release/dissolution tests are designed to predict the in vivo behavior of a drug and are crucial in understanding its in vivo performance. Currently, there is no standardized compendial in vitro release testing methods or regulatory guidance’s for release/dissolution testing of implants due to their complex physiological locations.Furthermore, existing compendial methods do not capture the local release profile of ‘novel’ parenterals in physiological low fluid volume surrounding areas.

Long acting and in situ forming implants with orthobiologic proteins and peptides have increased over the past few decades due to a better understanding of genetic engineering. One of these …

Investigation Of Polymeric Composites For Controlled Drug Release, Hsi-Wei Yeh

Theses and Dissertations

The Electrospray (ES) technique is a promising particle generation method for drug delivery due to its capabilities of producing monodisperse PLGA composite particles with unique configurations and high drug encapsulation efficiency. In the dissertation work, the coaxial dual capillary ES was used to generate drug-loaded core-shell PLGA particles to study the effects of particle filling materials, drug loading locations and particle shell thicknesses on the resultant in vitro release behaviors of the hydrophilic and/ or hydrophobic model drugs. Through release profile characterization of drug-loaded PLGA particles (particle size: 400 nm and 1 μm), it was confirmed that the co-encapsulation of …

Characterization Of Rapid Sequence Intubation In The Emergency Department, Jason P. Eakins Pharmd, William Armstrong Pharmd, Bcps, Bryan Statz Pharmd, Sarah E. Sienko Pharmd

Parkview Pharmacy Department

Poster Presentation

2017 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting / Orlando, Florida / Poster # 10-096

• Rapid sequence intubation (RSI) is a sequential process performed to facilitate safe and emergent tracheal intubation

• Based on the urgency of RSI, medication errors may occur due to the need for immediate selection of medications and accurate dosing

• To characterize the overall RSI process in the emergency department

• Identify possible areas for education and improvement

• Identify adverse events associated with RSI medications

Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus Aureus: Utilization Of Decolonization Protocol And Incidence Of Surgical Site Infections In Orthopedic And Cardiac Bypass Surgical Patients, Carley Thompson Pharmd, Tara Jellison Pharmd, Mba, Fashp, Jennifer Sposito Pharmd

Parkview Pharmacy Department

2017 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting / Orlando, Florida / Poster #10-095

Poster Presentation

Objective:

Evaluate the utilization of a decolonization protocol in methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) colonized patients following pre-admission testing at Parkview Health and the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphyloccous aureus (MRSA) and MSSA in orthopedic, spinal, and cardiac surgical site infections (SSIs)

Is Time To Thrombolytic Therapy A Predictor Of Mortality In Patients With Severe Pe, Alison Koelling Pharmd, Brooke Vonada Pharmd, Dustin D Linn Pharmd, Bcps, Bcccp

Parkview Pharmacy Department

Poster Presentation

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) which comprises pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been a public health concern for several years. VTE accounts for an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 deaths per year in the United States. Specifically, patients who present with an acute PE, it has been estimated 25% of these patients have sudden death as the first symptom. Clinical presentation of an acute PE can manifest as nonspecific symptoms which may include: chest pain, cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea, tachypnea, shortness of breath, wheeze, and some patients may present in cardiopulmonary arrest. Severe acute PE can be classified …

Fragment-Based Excitonic Coupled-Cluster Theory For Large Chemical Systems, Yuhong Liu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Accurate energetic modeling of large molecular systems is always desired by chemists. For example, ligand-protein binding simulations and enzymatic catalysis studies all involve with a small energy difference. The energetic accuracy depends largely on a proper handling of electronic correlations. Molecular mechanics (MM) methods deliver a parameterized Newtonian treatment to these problems. They show great capability in handling large calculations but give only qualitatively good results. Quantum mechanics (QM) methods solve Schrödinger equations and exhibit much better energy accuracy, though the computational cost can be prohibitive if directly applied to very large systems.

Fragment-based methods have been developed to decompose …

Investigating Secondary Structure Features Of Yap1 Protein Fragments Using Molecular Dynamics (Md) And Steered Molecular Dynamics (Smd) Simulations, Ferdiemar Cardenas Guinto Jr.

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Molecular dynamics (MD) is a powerful tool that can be applied to protein folding and protein structure. MD allows for the calculation of movement, and final position, of atoms in a biomolecule. These movements can be used to investigate the pathways that allow proteins to fold into energetically favorable structures. While MD is very useful, it still has its limitations. Most notable, computing power and time are of constant concern.

Protein structure is inherently important due to the direct link between the structure of a protein and its function. One of the four levels of protein structure, the secondary structure, …

The Rational Investigation Of Anti-Cancer Peptide Specificity Using The Knob-Socket Model, Shivarni Patel

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Cancer has been a pervasive and deadly problem for many years. No treatments have been developed that effectively destroy cancer cells while also keeping healthy cells safe. In this work, the knob-socket construct is used to analyze two systems involved in cancer pathways, the PDZ domain and the Bcl-BH3 complex. Application of the knob-socket model in mapping the packing surface topology (PST) allows a direct analysis of the residue groups important for peptide specificity and affinity in both of these systems. PDZ domains are regulatory proteins that bind the C-terminus of peptides involved in the signaling pathway of cancer progression. …

Solubility Enhancement Of Model Compounds, Lavanya Pitani

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Solubility is the amount of solute in the solvent system at phase equilibrium with certain temperature and pressure. Many of the new chemical entities are lipophilic molecules that require techniques to enhance solubility. Solubility enhancement can be achieved by either physical and/or chemical modification of the drug. Various techniques are available for solubility enhancement of poorly soluble drugs include particle size reduction, salt formation, solid dispersions, use of surfactants, prodrug, crystal modification, etc.

In this study, the three model drugs belong to BCS class II and IV having low solubility with a certain range of physicochemical properties were studies in …

Clinical Factors Associated With Hepatitis C Treatment Selection In A Veterans Affairs Population, Carly Anne Ranson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Background: Hepatitis C virus is currently the most common chronic blood borne pathogen in the United States, with only half of those infected aware of their condition. The cost for treatment is higher with Harvoni® (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) than Viekira Pak® (ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir). With finite resources available to treat patients, it is important to understand which clinical factors may influence treatment selection decisions.

Methods: The study is a 12-month medical record review within the Veterans Affairs (VA) system to evaluate significant relationships between selected clinical and sociodemographic factors and HCV treatment selection with either Harvoni® or Viekira Pak®. Clinical and demographic …

Liposome-Coated Magnesium Phosphate Nanoparticle For Delivery Of Cytochrome C Into Lung Cancer Cells A549, Weizhou Yue

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are large biomolecules that have great therapeutic potential in treating many human diseases. However, chemical/enzymatic degradation, denaturation, and poor penetration into cells are some of the challenges for clinical use of intracellular proteins.

Previously, our group has developed cationic lipid-coated magnesium phosphate nanoparticle (LP MgP NP-CAT) formulations to enhance the intracellular delivery of the negatively charged protein catalase. The goal of the current research is to develop a formulation to deliver cytochrome c (CytC), a positively charged protein into lung cancer cells A549. Specifically, this thesis research prepares and tests liposome-coated magnesium phosphate nanoparticle for delivery of cytochrome c …

Preclinical Evaluation Of Ag10 For Therapeutic Use Against Familial Amyloid Cardiomyopathy And Its Application In Various Other Technologies, Mark Russell Miller

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis is a progressive, fatal disease in which deposition of amyloid derived from either mutant or wild-type TTR causes severe organ damage and dysfunction. TTR cardiomyopathy is an infiltrative, restrictive cardiomyopathy characterized by progressive left and right heart failure. Familial amyloid cardiomyopathy (FAC) is driven by pathogenic point mutations in the TTR gene that destabilize the TTR tetramer, prompting its dissociation into dimers and monomers, with subsequent misfolding, aggregation and deposition of toxic TTR amyloid aggregates in the myocardium. The most prevalent mutation that causes FAC is the V122I variant, carried by 3.4% of African Americans, that increases …

Healthcare Professionals Knowledge And Attitudes Regarding Biosimilars In Northern Mississippi, Amanda Seals

Honors Theses

The emergence of biologics over the past the past few decades has led to a new interest in the production of a classification of drugs known as biosimilars. The vast complexity involved in the discovery, development, and manufacturing of biologics and biosimilars has made researching the knowledge and perceptions among healthcare professionals important. Healthcare professionals must have an understanding of biologics, as these medications are used for some of the most rare diseases. Healthcare professionals in northern Mississippi were surveyed on their knowledge of and attitudes towards biologics and biosimilars in order to gain insight on the current status of …

Impact Of Medicare Reimbursement Policy Change On The Utilization, Risks, And Costs Associated With Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents In Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia, Minghui Li

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are biological drugs used to stimulate the production of red blood cells. ESAs are commonly prescribed for cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia and chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with low levels of hemoglobin. Due to the increasing safety concerns, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Medicare reimbursement policy change for ESAs in cancer patients to regulate the utilization of ESAs. For chemotherapy-induced anemia, when patients had solid tumors, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, or lymphocytic leukemia, ESA treatment is reimbursable by CMS only when the hemoglobin level is < 10g/dL.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were …

Impact Of Prenatal Exposure To Antidepressants On Adverse Birth Outcomes, Sudeepti Pahuja

Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: There has been an increase in the diagnosis of depression and the use of antidepressants, especially in women of childbearing age, in the past decade. This has drawn attention to the potential impact of depression and antidepressants on pregnancy and fetal development.

OBJECTIVE: (i) To determine the impact of prenatal exposure to antidepressant on the risk of adverse birth outcomes. (ii) To assess the effect of type of antidepressants on the risk of adverse birth outcomes using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as the referent group. (iii) To assess the effect of duration and time of prenatal exposure …