Knowledge and Perceptions of PharmD Students on Opioid Use and Misuse.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure the knowledge and perceptions of the student pharmacists toward opioid use and misuse. METHODS: This survey included student pharmacists from the first, second, and third years who participated voluntarily and anonymously. Differences in knowledge and perceptions among participants' responses were analyzed by comparing responses using the χ2 test. RESULTS: A total of 138 student pharmacists participated in the survey. All 3 class years reported that the most common age for opioid abuse and addiction is 18-25 years. The top reasons for opioid misuse were identified as easy access to drugs (82%), health conditions (85%), lack of knowledge (83%), and experimentation (82%). Over half of the students believed that healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, friends, and the community all have a shared responsibility in addressing opioid misuse. The majority of the student pharmacists also believed that education is the most effective way to combat opioid misuse. CONCLUSION: The student pharmacists at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy had a strong understanding of the dangers of opioid misuse. They identified 18-25 years as the age range most susceptible to opioid misuse. They also identified the most common reasons for opioid misuse, with some disagreement about whether prescription pills or street drugs were the main cause. However, the majority of students agreed that education is the most effective way to address opioid misuse. These findings highlight the need for ongoing education and awareness about the risks of opioid misuse and the role of education in addressing this public health crisis.

Students' Opinions on Summative Team Assessments in a Three-Year Concentrated Pharmacy Curriculum.

Objective. To investigate student opinions of team assessment. Methods. University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy first-year (P1) to third-year (P3) students (n=125) completed an online survey regarding team assessments. Students rated their opinions on a Likert scale. Responses were examined using Mann-Whitney U test with respect to academic performance and class. Results. One hundred twenty-five students (75%) completed the survey. A majority of students agreed that team assessment was beneficial (90%). In contrast, 78% of the students perceived that the discussion helped clarify misconceptions. Students were not in agreement on occurrence of free riders (51%) and the use of peer evaluation (38%). Overall, students ranked the benefits of team assessment as improving individual score, then promoting collaboration, followed by enhancing understanding of material. Conclusion. Students had favorable opinions regarding team assessment. Educational benefits of team assessments include enhanced understanding of the material, being a meaningful activity for promoting collaboration, and developing communication skills.

Admissions Criteria as Predictors of Academic Performance in a Three-Year Pharmacy Program at a Historically Black Institution.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the ability of University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy's admissions criteria to predict students' academic performance in a 3-year pharmacy program and to analyze transferability to African-American students. METHODS: Statistical analyses were conducted on retrospective data for 174 students. Didactic and experiential scores were used as measures of academic performance. RESULTS: Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), grade point average (GPA), interview, and observational scores combined with previous pharmacy experience and biochemistry coursework predicted the students' academic performance except second-year (P2) experiential performance. For African-American students, didactic performance positively correlated with PCAT writing subtests, while the experiential performance positively correlated with previous pharmacy experience and observational score. For nonAfrican-American students, didactic performance positively correlated with PCAT multiple-choice subtests, and experiential performance with interview score. The prerequisite GPA positively correlated with both of the student subgroups' didactic performance. CONCLUSION: Both PCAT and GPA were predictors of didactic performance, especially in nonAfrican-Americans. Pharmacy experience and observational scores were predictors of experiential performance, especially in African-Americans.

Assessment of Communications-related Admissions Criteria in a Three-year Pharmacy Program.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is a correlation between TOEFL and other admissions criteria that assess communications skills (ie, PCAT variables: verbal, reading, essay, and composite), interview, and observational scores and to evaluate TOEFL and these admissions criteria as predictors of academic performance. METHODS: Statistical analyses included two sample t tests, multiple regression and Pearson's correlations for parametric variables, and Mann-Whitney U for nonparametric variables, which were conducted on the retrospective data of 162 students, 57 of whom were foreign-born. RESULTS: The multiple regression model of the other admissions criteria on TOEFL was significant. There was no significant correlation between TOEFL scores and academic performance. However, significant correlations were found between the other admissions criteria and academic performance. CONCLUSION: Since TOEFL is not a significant predictor of either communication skills or academic success of foreign-born PharmD students in the program, it may be eliminated as an admissions criterion.

Design and synthesis of novel derivatives of the muscarinic agonist tetra(ethylene glycol)(3-methoxy-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl) [3-(1-methyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyrid-3-yl)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl] ether (CDD-0304): effects of structural modifications on the binding and activity at muscarinic receptor subtypes and chimeras.

As part of a continuing effort to design and synthesize highly selective muscarinic agonists for different muscarinic receptor subtypes, several tetra(ethylene glycol)(3-methoxy-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl) [3-(1-methyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyrid-3-yl)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl] ether (1) analogues were prepared and characterized. Different analogues were synthesized having hydrophilic spacers of di-, tri-, tetra-, penta(ethylene glycol) and tri(propylene glycol) separating the 1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine ring from the terminal heterocycle, which was either a 1,2,5-thiadiazole or 1,2,4-thiadiazole ring. Chimeric receptor and molecular modeling studies also were conducted to determine how the ligands interact with muscarinic receptors. The studies revealed that varying the distance of the terminal thiadiazole and the positioning of the methoxy group can increase binding affinity for certain muscarinic receptor subtypes (at M(2) for 13d and M(4) for 1) and enhance functional efficacy at M(4) receptors for 13e and 18b. Moreover, compound 1 exhibited antipsychotic activity as assessed by reversal of apomorphine-induced sensory motor gating deficits, suggesting potential utility in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Theoretical studies of the tautomeric equilibria for five-member N-heterocycles in the gas phase and in solution.

Tautomeric equilibria have been studied for five-member N-heterocycles and their methyl derivatives in the gas phase and in different solvents with dielectric constants of epsilon = 4.7-78.4. The free energy changes differently for tautomers upon solvation as compared to the gas phase, resulting in a shift of the equilibrium constant in solution. Solvents with increasing dielectric constant produce more negative solute-solvent interaction energies and increasing internal energies. The methyl-substituted imidazole and pyrrazole form delicate equilibria between two tautomeric forms. Depending on the solvent, the methyl-substituted triazoles and tetrazole have one or two major tautomers in solution. When estimating the relative solvation free energies by means of an explicit solvent model and using the FEP/MC method, one observes that the preferred tautomers differ in several cases from those predicted by the continuum solvent model. The 1,2-prototropic shift, as an intramolecular tautomerization path, requires about 50 kcal/mol activation energy for imidazole in the gas phase, and this route is also disfavored in a solution. The calculated activation free energy along the intramolecular path is 48-50 kcal/mol in chloroform and water as compared to a literature value of 13.6 kcal/mol for pyrrazole in DMSO. A molecular dynamics computer experiment favors the formation of an imidazole chain in chloroform, making the 1,3-tautomerization feasible along an intermolecular path in nonprotic solvents. In aqueous solution, one strong N-H...Ow hydrogen bond is formed for each species, whereas all other nitrogens in the ring form weaker, N...HwOw type hydrogen bonds. The tetrahydrofuran solvent acts as a hydrogen bond acceptor and forms N-H... Oether bonds. Molecules of the dichloromethane solvent are in favorable dipole-dipole interactions with the solute. The results obtained are useful in the design of N-heterocyclic ligands forming specified hydrogen bonds with protein side chains.