Community Pharmacists' Knowledge on Cancer and Screening Methods.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the knowledge of community pharmacists on cancer and screening methods. SETTING AND METHOD: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study and was conducted between January-June 2020 in Istanbul/Turkey. a structured questionnaire was applied to pharmacists as online. The questionnaire was prepared by the researchers and consisted of 49 questions; basic information about cancer (15 items), signs and symptoms (11 items), causes and risk factors (14 items), cancer screening methods (9 items). RESULTS: It was determined that the majority (>90%) of the pharmacists did not receive any education on cancer and/or cancer screening methods after graduation. The sufficient knowledge level of the pharmacists about cancer basics, signs and symptoms, and risk factors were found to be as 80%, 77%, and 67%, respectively. The internal consistency level of the questionnaire was calculated (Cronbach's alpha = 0.814). The item "Every woman should perform breast self-examination and notify a health professional when there is a change in breast appearance or feeling," was answered correctly by 98% of the pharmacists. It was determined that 71% of the pharmacists gave the correct answer to the item "Women aged 21-30 years should have a PAP smear every 3 years". CONCLUSION: According to the results of the study, while the rate of sufficient knowledge level on cancer was found to be low, knowledge on cancer screening was found to be sufficient. We think that pharmacists should receive training on cancer and screening methods and to follow the guidelines closely.

Titania nanotubes with adjustable dimensions for drug reservoir sites and enhanced cell adhesion.

This study aims to generate a bactericidal agent releasing surface via nanotube layer on titanium metal and to investigate how aspect ratio of nanotubes affects drug elution time and cell proliferation. Titania nanotube layers were generated on metal surfaces by anodic oxidation at various voltage and time parameters. Gentamicin loading was carried out via simple pipetting and the samples were tested against S. aureus for the efficacy of the applied modification. Drug releasing time and cell proliferation were also tested in vitro. Titania nanotube layers with varying diameters and lengths were prepared after anodization and anodizing duration was found as the most effective parameter for amount of loaded drug and drug releasing time. Drug elution lasted up to 4 days after anodizing for 80 min of the samples, whereas release completed in 24 h when the samples were anodized for 20 min. All processed samples had bactericidal properties against S. aureus organism except unmodified titanium, which was also subjected to drug incorporation step. The anodization also enhanced water wettability and cell adhesion results. Anodic oxidation is an effective surface modification to enhance tissue-implant interactions and also resultant titania layer can act as a drug reservoir for the release of bactericidal agents. The use of implants as local drug eluting devices is promising but further in vivo testing is required.

Osteoblast activity on anodized titania nanotubes: effect of simulated body fluid soaking time.

Early phase osseointegration is crucial for orthopedic implants. For the improvement of osseointegrative properties of orthopedic implants several surface modification methods such as acid etching, hydroxyapatite (HA) coating and sandblasting can be applied. In this article titanium implants were anodized to possess nanotubular titania structures on the surface. Titania nanotube structures with a 45-50 nm of average inner diameter were obtained and to enhance bioactivity, samples were soaked in 10X simulated body fluid (SBF) for apatite deposition on surface for different time periods (1, 2, 3, 5, 8 hours). Apatitic calcium phosphate deposited surfaces were analyzed with infrared spectrometry and wettability studies. Effect of soaking time on osteoblast cell was investigated by cell viability, alkaline phosphatase activity tests and morphological evaluations. As a result, 3 hours of soaking time was found as the optimum time period (p < 0.005). This in vitro study indicated that soaking in 10X SBF can be a rapid and economical technique to enhance osseointegration of anodized titanium implants however excess and/or uncontrolled HA coating of titania layer limits the bioactive potential of the implant.