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Pharmaceutical calculations is a fundamental course taken by doctor of pharmacy students in United States schools and colleges of pharmacy. To minimize medical errors and increase the accuracy with which future pharmacists perform calculations, a comprehensive training during the program is deemed. This review attempts to summarize research outcomes of interventions described thus far in the literature concerning the improvement of course design, delivery, and assessment strategies.A detailed literature review of various educational resources was conducted using pharmaceutical calculations and related terms.The literature review outcomes were divided into three major categories: educational interventions in design, delivery, and assessment of pharmaceutical calculations courses. The research findings of course design describe a standalone course vs. an integrated course, a computer-aided course, use of compact disc read-only memory, and implementation of Gagne's Nine Events of Instructions. Findings in course delivery include the use of self-paced vs. integrated courses, flipped classroom vs. traditional lecture, Keller's Personalized System of Instruction, condensed videos, and podcasts. Finally, different types of assessments are presented such as those based on selected- vs. constructed-response questions, collaborative quizzes, the approach of repeated testing, and the use of technology.While the review intends to present educational interventions available to construct and/or modify an existing pharmaceutical calculations course, the choice of design, delivery, and assessment approaches depends upon various factors such as the purpose of course modification, resources available, and the number of students in class.

Introduction: The study aimed to investigate pharmacy, physician assistant studies, and nursing students’ self-report regarding their classroom etiquette and perceptions regarding classroom etiquette. Methods: A survey regarding classroom etiquette was administered to first year pharmacy, physician assistant studies, and nursing students. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences among various student behaviours and perceptions, and among students of the three academic programmes. Results: Most students (>84%) indicated that arriving late to class, leaving the classroom during lecture without returning, initiating a conversation with a peer during lecture, and conducting non-class-related activities with electronic devices during lecture are unprofessional. Students self-reported that tardiness and leaving and returning to the classroom during lecture are not rare. Most students (52%) indicated that it is acceptable to have a conversation with a peer while the professor is teaching if the conversation is directly related to the lecture material. Some students (27%) indicated that the non-class-related activities that they conduct during lecture using their laptop or tablet device affected their academic performance. More students reported their academic performance is adversely affected by non-academic use of laptop or tablet device compared to the use of cell phones. Conclusion: This study suggests there are opportunities to improve student classroom etiquette in various academic settings. Moreover, it may bring a greater awareness to the issue of classroom etiquette, and thereby encourage faculty and administration to evaluate, and/or better enforce policies related to classroom etiquette.

Purpose Pharmacists report high levels of burnout. Mindfulness approaches have been demonstrated to have positive results in the general population and in other healthcare professions. However, limited studies have been performed evaluating mindfulness approaches in student pharmacists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of daily use of a mindfulness mobile application in improving student pharmacists’ perceived stress, burnout, and mindfulness. Methods This study was a randomized, longitudinal, waitlist-controlled trial. The intervention group was asked to meditate using the mindfulness application Headspace daily for at least 6 weeks. The waitlist control group was asked to abstain from using the application for the entire study. Stress, burnout, and mindfulness were assessed using validated survey instruments at baseline, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks. A secondary outcome was to assess the persistence of application use after the intervention period. Results Fifty-six participants completed the study. The intervention group reported significantly lower scores on stress and burnout at 6 weeks compared to the control group. The intervention group also reported significantly higher scores on mindfulness. The differences in stress, burnout, and mindfulness persisted at follow-up. The mean percentage of students in the intervention group who used the application each day was 90% over the intervention period and 62% over the follow-up period. Conclusion A mindfulness mobile application significantly improved student pharmacists’ stress, burnout, and mindfulness with daily use. Most participants continued to use the application for 4 weeks after the end of the intervention. Positive effects on stress and mindfulness persisted even with decreased use.

To evaluate the effects of using different problem-solving approaches on the success rates of student pharmacists in solving problems throughout a pharmacy calculations course.A survey was administered to first-year students (N = 96, response rate 100%) near the completion of a pharmacy calculations course. The survey assessed whether students used the approaches of ratio and proportion (RP) or equations vs. dimensional analysis (DA) to solve calculation problems involving conversions, weight-based doses, flow rates, electrolyte solutions, and expressions of concentration. Questions used on course exams were tagged according to topics. Mean success rates in solving tagged questions were correlated with the problem-solving approaches that students used.Approximately 60% of students used RP/equations, 30% used DA, and 10% used both approaches equally. The success rate of students solving conversions was 74% ± 24% for RP, 84% ± 14% for DA (P .05 vs. RP), and 91% ± 12% for the use of both approaches equally (P .05 vs. RP). Success rates in solving calculation problems of weight-based doses, flow rates, electrolyte solutions, and expressions of concentration were similar across all approaches.The use of DA, or the combination of RP and DA equally, may be advantageous for solving conversions but not for the other types of calculation problems studied. Therefore, for most topics, pharmacy calculations instructors can demonstrate the method of their choice. Since a considerable number of students use each of the approaches, the demonstration of both approaches in class may be advantageous.

Objective. To characterize the development, revision, and student perceptions of a pre-matriculation program entitled Pharmacy Readiness and Enrichment Program (PREP) in a school of pharmacy. Methods. The program was first implemented in June 2013 for the incoming class of 2016. The main components of PREP were curriculum and scientific content review, professionalism, time management, critical thinking, and personal interactions. Entering student pharmacists were surveyed immediately and six or more months after PREP concluded. Statistical analysis was performed to determine if participation in PREP affected students’ academic performance. Results. Student perceptions regarding the program and its components were favorable immediately after PREP but less favorable six or more months later. Statistical analysis showed that students who completed PREP had significantly higher cumulative grade point average (GPA) in pharmacy year one and year two. Conclusion. It is possible to implement a two-day pre-matriculation program with a wide range of components and deliver it prior to the start of the first professional year. It is also possible to deliver some PREP components during the first professional year rather than prior to matriculation into the program. The PREP may serve as a model for other schools of pharmacy that are considering the implementation of a pre-matriculation program, or that have a pre-matriculation program in place and are seeking to modify or update their program.

Gene therapy to the cornea can potentially correct inherited and acquired diseases of the cornea. Factors that facilitate corneal gene delivery are the accessibility and transparency of the cornea, its stability ex vivo and the immune privilege of the eye. Initial corneal gene delivery studies characterized the relationship between intraocular modes of administration and location of reporter gene expression. The challenge of achieving effective topical gene transfer, presumably due to tear flow, blinking and low penetration of the vector through epithlelial tight junctions left no alternative but invasive administration to the anterior chamber and corneal stroma. DNA vaccination, RNA interference and gene transfer of cytokines, growth factors and enzymes modulated the corneal microenvironment. Positive results were obtained in preclinical studies for prevention and treatment of corneal graft rejection, neovascularization, haze and herpetic stromal keratitis. These studies, corneal gene delivery systems and modes of administration, and considerations regarding the choice of animal species used are the focus of this review. Opportunities in the field of corneal gene therapy lie in expanding the array of corneal diseases investigated and in the implementation of recent designs of safer vectors with reduced immunogenicity and longer duration of gene expression.

Corneal gene therapy can potentially treat acquired and inherited corneal disorders that otherwise lead to blindness. In a previous study on the development of effective vectors for corneal gene delivery, we showed that a particular formulation of chitosan-DNA nanoparticles, based on ultrapure chitosan oligomers injected into rat corneas, led to transgene expression that was 5.4-fold higher than that obtained using polyethylenimine-DNA nanoparticles.In the present study, we investigate the same formulation of chitosan-DNA nanoparticles as carriers of six different plasmids for corneal gene delivery. Size, zeta potential, the ability to condense plasmid DNA, and transfection efficiency in cell cultures and in rat corneas, were all investigated.Size, zeta potential, the ability to condense plasmid DNA, and transfection efficiency in cell cultures did not substantially vary for nanoparticles based on different plasmids. One day post-injection of nanoparticles into rat corneas, we found that a CpG-free plasmid DNA, pCpG-Luc, which has an EF1α promoter, led to transgene expression that was 7.1-fold higher than that for gWiz-Luc, a commercially available plasmid DNA with a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter used in our previous study; 116.8-fold higher than that for pEPI-CMV, a commercially available plasmid that has a scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) sequence and a CMV promoter; and 76.8-fold higher than that for pEPI-UbC, an experimental plasmid that has an S/MAR sequence and a ubiquitin C promoter.The present study reveals the potential of comparing various plasmids as an approach for enhancing transgene expression. The delivery system designed in the present study represents the next step in the development of effective vectors for corneal gene therapy.

NOVAFECT chitosans are ultrapure chitosan oligomers that were recently marketed as carriers for non-viral gene therapy. There are no reports on systematic design and improvement of formulations based on NOVAFECT chitosans for gene delivery. Therefore, we have designed and characterized chitosan-DNA nanoparticles based on NOVAFECT. We found that the size of oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles is small,or=98.2+/-4.4 nm. Zeta potential measurements of oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles exhibited a strong positive chargeor=44.1+/-3.5 millivolt. In vitro transfection studies demonstrated the ability of oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles to effectively transfect COS-7 cells. In rat corneas, injection of a select formulation of oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles into the stroma showed that (a) luciferase gene expression was 5.4 times greater than following administration of polyethylenimine-DNA nanoparticles; and (b) the cells that express the transgene, green fluorescent protein, were keratocytes (corneal fibroblasts). This study lays the foundation for evaluating oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles as pharmaceuticals for corneal gene therapy, a promising approach for the treatment of acquired and inherited corneal diseases that otherwise lead to blindness. Oligomeric chitosan-DNA nanoparticles can also be evaluated for the treatment of ocular diseases outside of the cornea, and for various additional gene therapy applications.

To design novel expandable gastroretentive dosage form (GRDFs) and evaluate their gastroretentive properties. Then, to assess the pharmacokinetics of levodopa compounded in such a GRDF in healthy volunteers.Thin (0.07 cm), large-dimensioned (or = 5 x 2.1 cm), multi layer dosage forms (DFs) with different rigid polymeric matrices an mechanical properties were folded into gelatin capsules and wer administered to healthy volunteers with a light breakfast. GRDF unfolding and physical integrity were evaluated in vitro and in vivo (by gastroscopy and radiology). The pharmacokinetics of levodopa GRDF were compared to Sinemet CR in a crossover design.The combination of rigidity and large dimension of the GRDFs was a decisive parameter to ensure prolonged gastroretentivity (or = 5 h). Large-dimension DFs lacking rigidity had similar gastroretentivity as a nondisintegrating tablet (10 mm). The GRDF rapidly unfolded and maintained their mechanical integrity. The absorption phase of levodopa was significantly prolonged following GRDF administration in comparison to Sinemet CR.The combination of size and rigidity of the novel GRDF enables a significant extension of the absorption phase of a narrow absorption window drug such as levodopa. This approach is an important step toward the implementation of such GRDFs in the clinical setting.

[corrected] The purpose of this study was to design novel gastroretentive dosage forms (GRDFs) based on unfolding multilayer polymeric films, to investigate the mechanism of their gastroretentivity in dogs, and to assess the effect of compounding a narrow absorption window drug in a GRDF on the drug's absorption properties.Dosage forms (DFs) with different dimensions and mechanical properties were administered to beagle dogs with acidic buffer (pH = 1.5), whose gastric retention time (GRT) was then determined by X-ray pictures. Concurrent administration of radiopaque markers was used to assess the effect of the GRDF and/or acidic buffer on GRT. The absorption of riboflavin from a prototype GRDF was compared with a nongastroretentive controlled-release DF and to an oral solution of the drug.Large DFs (or = 2.5 x 2.5 cm) containing rigid frame had prolonged GRT (4 h). Administration of 400 mL of acidic buffer (or water) prolonged GRT whereas the GRDF did not cause additional prolongation. The extended absorption phase (48 h) of riboflavin administered in a GRDF led to 4-fold increased bioavailability.The combination of large dimensions with rigidity produce gastroretentivity that can be used to improve absorption properties of a model of narrow absorption window drugs in the gastrointestinal tract.

Oral gene therapy aims to treat immune-, gastrointestinal- or systemic diseases by ingestion of genetic materials. Compared to the other routes of administration, the oral route is the most convenient, but also the most challenging for gene delivery. Previous studies have shown that oral delivery of chitosan nanoparticles complexed with 0.6 mg DNA encoding FVIII resulted in phenotypic correction of Hemophilia A. The treated animals, unlike control group survived a tail-clipping test.