The Role of Consumerism in Pharmacy Education.

The notion of consumerism and that students are customers of pharmacy colleges was explored by proponents and opponents of the idea. First, a working definition of a "customer" in pharmacy education is pondered with respect to the roles and responsibilities of students and schools/colleges of pharmacy. Second, the pros and cons of "student-centered" education are considered in the light of students and their families being consumers of the educational experience. Third, the duality of student-centered education is discussed including student engagement/disengagement in their learning, professional/unprofessional behaviors, and shared/individual responsibilities. Lastly, learning and teaching environment dynamics are discerned when higher education becomes more student-centric and how that may affect the overall outcome of the student and the goals of pharmacy educational programs.

Quantifying Morphology of a Differentiating Neuroblastoma Cell Line.

SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells are a subclone cell line of SK-N-SH cells derived from neural crest that were originally taken from human bone marrow during a biopsy. Research has shown that these cells can be cultured in vitro to differentiate into mature, neuronal phenotypes such as dopaminergic neurons. Here, we added to these discoveries by establishing a quantitative profile for the SH-SY5Y cells of morphometric features including neurite length, branchpoint numbers, and soma area over the span of 18 days. Overall, we showed that in SH-SY5Y cells neurite length initially decreased followed by a dramatic increase of both neurite length and branching. In contrast, soma area for the SH-SY5Y cells initially increased and then stabilized; followed by a small decrease in size. By determining these morphological changes along various timepoints of SH-SY5Y cell development during the programmed cell differentiation process, we provide a set of baseline data for future mechanistic studies in human-derived neuronal cultures.

Comparing perceptions of professionalism by pharmacy students, faculty, and staff during didactic education.

INTRODUCTION: The objectives were to describe pharmacy students' perceptions of professionalism and to compare students and faculty/staff perceptions of professionalism during the didactic years at Touro University California College of Pharmacy in California (TUC COP). METHODS: A two-part online survey was administered to the TUC COP faculty/staff and first-year (P1) and second-professional year (P2) students in May 2016. The first part of the survey collected demographic information, assessment of faculty/staff and students' overall opinions on behavior and conduct displayed by P1 and P2 students, students' responses about the average of missed lectures per month, and the average number of days of late arrival to lecture per week. The second part assessed professionalism perceptions responses to 20 scenarios using a 4-point Likert rating. RESULTS: The study included 37 (88.4%) faculty/staff and 181 (96.4%) P1 and P2 students, for a 98% response rate. Of the faculty/staff, 59.5% perceived the students' overall behaviors and conduct as acceptable whereas 35.3% of students perceived the overall behavior of P1 and P2 students as acceptable, with the majority of students self-reporting missing on average fewer than five lectures per month (65.2%) and arriving late to lecture fewer than one day each week (71.8%). There were statistically significant differences between faculty/staff and students' responses in 9 of the 20 scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in responses between faculty/staff and students regarding what is considered professional suggest that there is a gap in professionalism perceptions that should be addressed during didactic years.

Relationship of Burnout and Engagement to Pharmacy Students' Perception of Their Academic Ability.

Objective. To assess burnout and engagement in first- and second-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students and to investigate their relationships to students' perception of their academic ability. Methods. An online survey that included three validated scales was administered in May 2017 to first- and second-year pharmacy students enrolled in didactic coursework at Touro University California College of Pharmacy. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess burnout and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was used to measure student engagement. To characterize academic ability, Academic Self-Perception, a subscale of the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised, was used. Regression analysis was performed using statistical software. Results. One hundred sixty-two students (81.4% response rate) completed the survey. Emotional exhaustion and professional inefficacy were negatively correlated with students' academic self-perception. Dedication was positively correlated with academic self-perception. Conclusion. In pharmacy students completing the didactic portion of the PharmD curriculum, various engagement and burnout parameters correlated with academic self-perception.

Trends in and Barriers to Enrollment of Underrepresented Minority Students in a Pharmacy School.

Objective. To compare the mean national enrollment rates of underrepresented minority (URM) students in a pharmacy school with mean rates in California pharmacy schools, and identify barriers faced by URM students during the application process. Methods. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) enrollment data from 2005 to 2014 were used to compare the demographics of California pharmacy schools with the average enrollment of URM students in pharmacy schools nationally. A survey was administered to students in the 2017 and 2018 classes at Touro University California College of Pharmacy to identify common barriers that students faced in pursuing pharmacy education. Results. The average enrollment of URM in pharmacy programs nationally was 12.3% in 2005, compared to 12.4% in 2014. The average enrollment of URM in California pharmacy schools was 9.4% in 2005 compared to 8.5% in 2014. The top barriers to pursuing pharmacy education that students reported included the cost of tuition (43.4%), prerequisite requirements (36.9%), and obtaining letters of recommendation (32.3%). Conclusion. The average enrollment of URM students in pharmacy schools nationally has remained higher than that in California pharmacy schools across the years studied. California pharmacy programs should develop strategies to alleviate the barriers identified and further diversify pharmacy education.

Synthesis and evaluation of the diarylthiourea analogs as novel anti-cancer agents.

Ten p-nitrodiarylthiourea analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated in breast (MCF-7, T-47D, MDA-MB-453) and prostate (DU-145, PC-3, LNCaP) cancer cell lines for their anticancer activities. The majority of the compounds were able to inhibit the growth of these six cancer cell lines at low micromolar concentrations. Compound 7 was found to be the most potent anticancer agent in this series with GI50 values of 3.16µM for MCF-7, 2.53µM for T-47D, 4.77µM for MDA-MB-453 breast cancer lines and 3.54µM for LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. These GI50 values were comparable to the parent compound, SHetA2.

Pharmacy students' performance and perceptions in a flipped teaching pilot on cardiac arrhythmias.

OBJECTIVE: To implement the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias and to assess the impact of the intervention on academic performance and student perceptions. DESIGN: An intervention group of 101 first-year pharmacy students, who took the class with the flipped teaching method, were supplied with prerecorded lectures prior to their 3 classes (1 class in each of the following subjects: basic sciences, pharmacology, and therapeutics) on cardiac arrhythmias. Class time was focused on active-learning and case-based exercises. Students then took a final examination that included questions on cardiac arrhythmias. The examination scores of the intervention group were compared to scores of the Spring 2011 control group of 105 first-year students who took the class with traditional teaching methods. An online survey was conducted to assess student feedback from the intervention group. ASSESSMENT: The mean examination scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than the mean examination scores of the control group for the cardiac arrhythmia classes in pharmacology (with 89.6 ± 2.0% vs 56.8 ± 2.2%, respectively) and therapeutics (89.2 ± 1.4% vs 73.7 ± 2.1%, respectively). The survey indicated higher student satisfaction for flipped classes with highly rated learning objectives, recordings, and in-class activities. CONCLUSION: Use of the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias improved examination scores for 2 of the 3 classes (pharmacology and therapeutics). Student satisfaction was influenced by the quality of the learning objectives, prerecorded lectures, and inclass active-learning activities.

1,6-Diaminohexane contributes to the hexamethylene bisacetamide-induced erythroid differentiation pathway by stimulating Ca2+ release from inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive stores and promoting Ca2+ influx.

Hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) stimulates Ca(2+) signals in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells serving as an important component of the HMBA-induced pathway that promotes differentiation to the erythroid phenotype. We observed that 1,6-diaminohexane (DAH) triggered a more rapid and robust increase in MEL cell Ca(2+) levels compared to HMBA and the monodeacetylated N-acetyl-1,6-diaminohexane (NADAH), and that polyamine deacetylase inhibition completely abolished the ability of HMBA and NADAH to induce Ca(2+) signals in MEL cells. Our work indicates that DAH mediates Ca(2+) signal propagation via its ability to activate inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptors, as we observed similar Ca(2+) release characteristics and heparin sensitivity of DAH and IP(3) in permeabilized MEL cells. Finally, we observed that the DAH-induced Ca(2+) release pathway robustly coupled to a Ca(2+) influx pathway that could be distinguished from thapsigargin-induced Ca(2+) influx by its unusual insensitivity to 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate.