Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

A Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program’S Assessment Of Prolonged Infusion Piperacillin-Tazobactam For Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pneumonia, Lee Nguyen, Paul Gavaza, Amy Y. Kang, An Nguyen, Liem Hoang, Nguyen Ta

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: The study aim was to determine and compare the length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability of a standard infusion (SI) and prolonged infusion (PI) piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( PA) pneumonia patients.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated length of hospitalization, mortality, clinical stability, and time to clinical stability with either SI-TZP or PI-TZP therapy in hospitalized patients diagnosed with PA pneumonia between January 01, 2008 and June 30, 2014. Patients were included in the study if they received ≥2 days of TZP, were diagnosed with PA pneumonia, and had TZP therapy …

Prediction Of Fluoroquinolone Resistance In Gram-Negative Bacteria Causing Bloodstream Infections, Seejil Dan, Ansal Shah, Julie Ann Justo, P Brandon Bookstaver, Joseph Kohn, Helmut Albrecht, Majdi N. Al-Hasan

Faculty Publications

Increasing rates of fluoroquinolone resistance (FQ-R) have limited empirical treatment options for Gram-negative infections, particularly in patients with severe beta-lactam allergy. This case-control study aims to develop a clinical risk score to predict the probability of FQ-R in Gram-negative bloodstream isolates. Adult patients with Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI) hospitalized at Palmetto Health System in Columbia, South Carolina, from 2010 to 2013 were identified. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for FQ-R. Point allocation in the fluoroquinolone resistance score (FQRS) was based on regression coefficients. Model discrimination was assessed by the area under receiver operating characteristic curve …

To Sleep Or Not To Sleep, Rodney Richmond

Faculty Research ​and Publications

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Tramadol In Human Plasma By Hplc With Fluorescence Detection, Daniela Luiza Baconi, Miriana Stan, Zainab Abdul Jalil Ebrahim, Cristian Tuchila, Cristian Balalau

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic, atypical opioid, and although it is generally considered as a medicinal drug with a low potential for dependence, there is growing evidence of tramadol abuse in some countries. The ultraviolet detection is not suitable for analysis of tramadol in plasma, due to the lack of sensitivity and selectivity. However, it was shown that tramadol has a weak fluorescence, and the latest techniques for determination of tramadol in plasma include liquid chromatographic methods with fluorescence detection (FL). The objective of the paper was to develop a HPLC-FL method applicable for quantification of tramadol in human …

Almond Supplementation Reduces Serum Uric Acid In Coronary Artery Disease Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial., Humaira Jamshed, Anwar Gilani, Fateh Ali Tipoo Sultan, Faridah Amin, Jamshed Arslan Arslan, Sumaira Ghani, Madiha Masroor

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Objective

Elevated serum uric acid (UA), a biomarker of renal insufficiency, is also an independent prognostic marker for morbidity in coronary artery disease (CAD) and poses serious health risks. This study reports the effect of almond consumption on UA in CAD patients.

Study design

A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted with three groups: no-intervention (NI), Pakistani almonds (PA) or American almonds (AA). Patients were recruited from the Cardiology Clinics, Aga Khan University Hospital. Two follow-ups were scheduled at week-6 and week-12. 150 patients were randomly divided in three groups (50 per group). NI was not given almonds, whereas the …

Student Performance In A Pharmacotherapy Oncology Module Before And After Flipping The Classroom, John B. Bossaer, Peter Panus, David W. Stewart, Nick E. Hagemeier, Joshua George

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective. To determine if a flipped classroom improved student examination performance in a pharmacotherapy oncology module.

Design. Third-year pharmacy students in 2012 experienced the oncology module as interactive lectures with optional case studies as supplemental homework. In 2013, students experienced the same content in a primarily flipped classroom. Students were instructed to watch vodcasts (video podcasts) before in-class case studies but were not held accountable (ie, quizzed) for preclass preparation. Examination questions were identical in both cohorts. Performance on examination questions was compared between the two cohorts using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with prior academic performance variables (grade point average …

Identification Of Potential Drug Targets In Cancer Signaling Pathways Using Stochastic Logical Models, Peican Zhu, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Hasan Uludag, Jie Han

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The investigation of vulnerable components in a signaling pathway can contribute to development of drug therapy addressing aberrations in that pathway. Here, an original signaling pathway is derived from the published literature on breast cancer models. New stochastic logical models are then developed to analyze the vulnerability of the components in multiple signalling sub-pathways involved in this signaling cascade. The computational results are consistent with the experimental results, where the selected proteins were silenced using specific siRNAs and the viability of the cells were analyzed 72 hours after silencing. The genes elF4E and NFkB are found to have nearly no …

Respiratory Muscle Paralysis Associated With Colistin, Polymyxin B, And Muscle Relaxants Drugs: A Case Report, Thein Myint, Martin E. Evans, Donna R. Burgess, Richard N. Greenberg

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Polymyxins B and E (colistin) exert a bactericidal effect on the gram-negative bacterial cell wall, causing permeability changes in the cytoplasmic membrane, leading to cell death. Their use was substantially decreased in clinical practice from the 1970s to 2000s due to their significant nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity compared to the newly introduced antibiotics. The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria infections in this century has led to an upsurge in the use of these “older” drugs. Respiratory paralysis caused by neuromuscular blockage associated with the use of polymyxin B and E was reported mostly in literature published in the 1960s to …

Tumor Growth Suppressive Effect Of Il-4 Through P21-Mediated Activation Of Stat6 In Il-4rα Overexpressed Melanoma Models, Hye Lim Lee, Mi Hee Park, Ju Kyoung Song, Yu Yeon Jung, Youngsoo Kim, Kyung Bo Kim, Dae Yeon Hwang, Do Young Yoon, Min Jong Song, Sang Bae Han, Jin Tae Hong

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

To evaluate the significance of interleukin 4 (IL-4) in tumor development, we compared B16F10 melanoma growth in IL-4-overespressing transgenic mice (IL-4 mice) and non-transgenic mice. In IL-4 mice, reduced tumor volume and weight were observed when compared with those of non-transgenic mice. Significant activation of DNA binding activity of STAT6, phosphorylation of STAT6 as well as IL-4, IL-4Rα and p21 expression were found in the tumor tissues of IL-4 mice compared to non-transgenic mice. Higher expression of IL-4, STAT6 and p21 in human melanoma tissue compared to normal human skin tissue was also found. Higher expression of apoptotic protein such …

A 5'-Upstream Short Open Reading Frame Encoded Peptide Regulates Angiotensin Type 1a Receptor Production And Signalling Via The Β-Arrestin Pathway, Gina L. Yosten, Jun Liu, Hong Ji, Kathryn Sandberg, Robert Speth, Willis K. Samson

HPD Articles

AUG sequences and short open reading frames are commonly present in the 5'-leader sequence of G protein-coupled receptor mRNAs. The presence of these upstream AUG sequences has been demonstrated to inhibit downstream receptor translation efficiency and, most recently, receptor signal transduction. A seven amino acid peptide encoded by a short open reading frame in exon 2 of the angiotensin type 1a receptor has been shown to inhibit non-G protein-coupled signalling of angiotensin II, without altering the classical G protein-coupled pathway activated by the ligand. This finding may lead to the development of a new class of angiotensin receptor antagonists with …

Pharmacy Research On Medication Disposal Practices Using Service-Learning, Patricia L. Darbishire, Anne Packard, Maryam Noureldin, Sumaya Bahrami

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

Abstract

The purpose was to engage students in local communities to determine what types of medications commonly go unused, discover common medication disposal practices, gauge the public’s opinion on medication disposal, and collect unwanted medications.

Student pharmacists and a faculty mentor hosted 15 medication take-back events in conjunction with community partners, and administered a survey to participants exploring disposal practices, opinions and returned medication(s). Educational brochures on safe disposal methods were distributed to participants.

Four hundred and seventy-eight surveys were collected and 4,993 medications were identified and analyzed. The top three reasons for bringing medications to collection events included: medication …

Student And Community Perceptions On Reasons For Medication Non-Adherence, Patricia L. Darbishire, Daraoun Mashrah

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to improve medication adherence by exploring and reflecting on differences in the perceptions of pharmacy students and the public regarding factors contributing to medication non-adherence.

Two hundred eighty six pharmacy students and 310 patients participated in this study. Patients were recruited by pharmacy students from Midwest community pharmacies, while the students completed an experiential rotation. Students identified their patients based on evidence of non-adherence from medication profiles and asked patients to participate in the assignment. Data was collected over a four-year period, resulting in two years of information on patient perceptions and two …

Development Of A Pharmacy Service-Learning Course About Vulnerable And Underserved Patient Care, Josephine P. Aranda, Jeffrey D. Luke, Kimberly S. Plake

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Drug Abuse/Addiction Education (Phrm 316): A Service-Learning Course, Elizabeth J. Dowell, Ashley M. Schinker, Jane E. Krause, Richard M. Van Rijn, Val J. Watts

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Chitosan Conjugated Ggrgdsk Peptides As A Cancer Cell-Targeting Molecular Transporter, Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Magda Goda El-Meligy, Ahmed Kamel El-Ziaty, Zenat A. Nagieb, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Targeting cancer cells using integrin receptor is one of the promising targeting strategies in drug delivery. In this study, we conjugated an integrin-binding ligand (GGRGDSK) peptide to chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) using (sulfo-SMCC) bifunctional linker affording COS-SMCC-GGRGDSK. The conjugated polymer was characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and SEM. COS-SMCC-GGRGDSK did not show cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 1 mg/mL in the human leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM). The conjugate was evaluated for its ability to enhance the cellular uptake of cell-impermeable cargoes (e.g., FAM and F′-G(pY)EEI phosphopeptide) in CCRF-CEM, and human ovarian carcinoma (SK-OV-3) cancer …

Antibiotic Review: Focus On Older Adults, Lisa M. Avery

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss spectrum of activity of antimicrobials commonly prescribed to geriatric patients.
• Review antimicrobial adverse reactions and drug interactions that occur in the geriatric population.
• Determine appropriate antimicrobial dosing recommendations for geriatric patients.

Data Publication With The Structural Biology Data Grid Supports Live Analysis, Peter A. Meyer, Stephanie Socias, Jason Key, Elizabeth Ransey, Emily C. Tjon, Alejandro Buschiazzo, Ming Lei, Chris Botka, James Withrow, David Neau, Kanagalaghatta Rajashankar, Karen S. Anderson, Richard H. Baxter, Stephen C. Blacklow, Titus J. Boggon, Alexandre M. J. J. Bonvin, Dominika Borek, Tom J. Brett, Amedeo Caflisch, Chung-I Chang, Walter J. Chazin, Kevin D. Corbett, Michael S. Cosgrove, Sean Crosson, Sirano Dhe-Paganon, Enrico Di Cera, Catherine L. Drennan, Michael J. Eck, Brandt F. Eichman, Qing R. Fan, Oleg V. Tsodikov

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Access to experimental X-ray diffraction image data is fundamental for validation and reproduction of macromolecular models and indispensable for development of structural biology processing methods. Here, we established a diffraction data publication and dissemination system, Structural Biology Data Grid (SBDG; data.sbgrid.org), to preserve primary experimental data sets that support scientific publications. Data sets are accessible to researchers through a community driven data grid, which facilitates global data access. Our analysis of a pilot collection of crystallographic data sets demonstrates that the information archived by SBDG is sufficient to reprocess data to statistics that meet or exceed the quality of the …

The Prevalence And Predictors Of Low-Cost Generic Program Use In A Nationally Representative Uninsured Population, Joshua D. Brown, Nathan J. Pauly, Jeffery C. Talbert

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

The uninsured population has much to gain from affordable sources of prescription medications. No prior studies have assessed the prevalence and predictors of low-cost generic drug programs (LCGP) use in the uninsured population in the United States. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) during 2007–2012 including individuals aged 18 and older who were uninsured for the entire 2-year period they were in MEPS. The proportions of LCGP fills and users was tracked each year and logistic regression was used to assess significant factors associated with LCGP use. A total of 8.3 million …

Characterization Of Α‑Synuclein Multimer Stoichiometry In Complex Biological Samples By Electrophoresis, Bryan A. Killinger, Anna Moszczynska

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

The aberrant aggregation of α-synuclein in the brain is a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In vivo soluble α-synuclein occurs as a monomer and several multimers, the latter of which may be important for the biological function of α-synuclein. Currently, there is a lack of reproducible methods to compare α-synuclein multimer abundance between complex biological samples. Here we developed a method, termed “multimer-PAGE,” that combines in-gel chemical cross-linking with several common electrophoretic techniques to measure the stoichiometry of soluble α-synuclein multimers in brain tissue lysates. Results show that soluble α-synuclein from the rat brain exists as several high molecular weight …

Reliability Assessment Of A Peer Evaluation Instrument In A Team-Based Learning Course, Joy Wahawisan, Miguel Salazar, Robin Walters, Fadi M. Alkhateeb, Omar F. Attarabeen

Pharmacy Practice & Administration

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of a peer evaluation instrument in a longitudinal team-based learning setting.

Methods: Student pharmacists were instructed to evaluate the contributions of their peers. Evaluations were analyzed for the variance of the scores by identifying low, medium, and high scores. Agreement between performance ratings within each group of students was assessed via intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results: We found little variation in the standard deviation (SD) based on the score means among the high, medium, and low scores within each group. The lack of variation in SD of results between groups suggests that …