Current status and best practices of shared governance in US pharmacy programs

© 2020, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. All rights reserved. Objective. To characterize shared governance in US schools and colleges of pharmacy and recom-mend best practices to promote faculty engagement and satisfaction. Findings. The literature review revealed only one study on governance in a pharmacy school and some data from an AACP Faculty Survey. Of the 926 faculty members who responded to the survey, the majority were satisfied or very satisfied with faculty governance (64%) and the level of input into faculty governance (63%) at their school. Faculty members in administrative positions and those at public institutions were more satisfied with governance. The forum resulted in the development of five themes: establish a clear vision of governance in all areas; ensure that faculty members are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the governance structure; ensure faculty members are able to join committees of interest; recognize and reward faculty contributions to governance; and involve all full-time faculty members in governance, regardless of their tenure status. Summary. Establishing shared governance within a school or college of pharmacy impacts overall faculty satisfaction and potentially faculty retention

Endothelial-like properties of claudin-low breast cancer cells promote tumor vascular permeability and metastasis

The vasculature serves as the main conduit for breast tumor metastases and is a target of therapeutics in many tumor types. In this study, we aimed to determine if tumor-associated vascular properties could help to explain the differences observed in metastagenicity across the intrinsic subtypes of human breast tumors. Analysis of gene expression signatures from more than 3,000 human breast tumors found that genomic programs that measured vascular quantity, vascular proliferation, and a VEGF/Hypoxia-signature were the most highly expressed in claudin-low and basal-like tumors. The majority of the vascular gene signatures added metastasis-predictive information to immunohistochemistry-defined microvessel density scores and genomically defined-intrinsic subtype classification. Interestingly, pure claudin-low cell lines, and subsets of claudin-low-like cells within established basal-like cancer cell lines, exhibited endothelial/tube-like morphology when cultured on Matrigel. In vivo xenografts found that claudin-low tumors, but not luminal tumors, extensively perfused injected contrast agent through paracellular spaces and non-vascular tumor-lined channels. Taken together, the endothelial-like characteristics of the cancer cells, combined with both the amount and the physiologic state of the vasculature contribute to breast cancer metastatic progression. We hypothesize that the genetic signatures we have identified highlight patients that should respond most favorably to anti-vascular agents.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10585-013-9607-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Gene expression of PMP22 is an independent prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival in breast cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression of peripheral myelin protein 22 (<it>PMP22</it>) and the epithelial membrane proteins (<it>EMPs</it>) was found to be differentially expressed in invasive and non-invasive breast cell lines in a previous study. We want to evaluate the prognostic impact of the expression of these genes on breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a retrospective multicenter study, gene expression of <it>PMP22 </it>and the <it>EMPs </it>was measured in 249 primary breast tumors by real-time PCR. Results were statistically analyzed together with clinical data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In univariable Cox regression analyses PMP22 and the EMPs were not associated with disease-free survival or tumor-related mortality. However, multivariable Cox regression revealed that patients with higher than median <it>PMP22 </it>gene expression have a 3.47 times higher risk to die of cancer compared to patients with equal values on clinical covariables but lower <it>PMP22 </it>expression. They also have a 1.77 times higher risk to relapse than those with lower <it>PMP22 </it>expression. The proportion of explained variation in overall survival due to <it>PMP22 </it>gene expression was 6.5% and thus PMP22 contributes equally to prognosis of overall survival as nodal status and estrogen receptor status. Cross validation demonstrates that 5-years survival rates can be refined by incorporating <it>PMP22 </it>into the prediction model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>PMP22 </it>gene expression is a novel independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival and overall survival for breast cancer patients. Including it into a model with established prognostic factors will increase the accuracy of prognosis.</p

CIB1 depletion impairs cell survival and tumor growth in triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype with generally poor prognosis and no available targeted therapies, highlighting a critical unmet need to identify and characterize novel therapeutic targets. We previously demonstrated that CIB1 is necessary for cancer cell survival and proliferation via regulation of two oncogenic signaling pathways, RAF–MEK–ERK and PI3K–AKT. Because these pathways are often upregulated in TNBC, we hypothesized that CIB1 may play a broader role in TNBC cell survival and tumor growth. Methods utilized include inducible RNAi depletion of CIB1 in vitro and in vivo, immunoblotting, clonogenic assay, flow cytometry, RNA-sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. CIB1 depletion resulted in significant cell death in 8 of 11 TNBC cell lines tested. Analysis of components related to PI3K–AKT and RAF–MEK–ERK signaling revealed that elevated AKT activation status and low PTEN expression were key predictors of sensitivity to CIB1 depletion. Furthermore, CIB1 knockdown caused dramatic shrinkage of MDA-MB-468 xenograft tumors in vivo. RNA sequence analysis also showed that CIB1 depletion in TNBC cells activates gene programs associated with decreased proliferation and increased cell death. CIB1 expression levels per se did not predict TNBC susceptibility to CIB1 depletion, and CIB1 mRNA expression levels did not associate with TNBC patient survival. Our data are consistent with the emerging theory of non-oncogene addiction, where a large subset of TNBCs depend on CIB1 for cell survival and tumor growth, independent of CIB1 expression levels. Our data establish CIB1 as a novel therapeutic target for TNBC

Determinants of emergency response willingness in the local public health workforce by jurisdictional and scenario patterns: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The all-hazards willingness to respond (WTR) of local public health personnel is critical to emergency preparedness. This study applied a threat-and efficacy-centered framework to characterize these workers' scenario and jurisdictional response willingness patterns toward a range of naturally-occurring and terrorism-related emergency scenarios.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight geographically diverse local health department (LHD) clusters (four urban and four rural) across the U.S. were recruited and administered an online survey about response willingness and related attitudes/beliefs toward four different public health emergency scenarios between April 2009 and June 2010 (66% response rate). Responses were dichotomized and analyzed using generalized linear multilevel mixed model analyses that also account for within-cluster and within-LHD correlations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparisons of rural to urban LHD workers showed statistically significant odds ratios (ORs) for WTR context across scenarios ranging from 1.5 to 2.4. When employees over 40 years old were compared to their younger counterparts, the ORs of WTR ranged from 1.27 to 1.58, and when females were compared to males, the ORs of WTR ranged from 0.57 to 0.61. Across the eight clusters, the percentage of workers indicating they would be unwilling to respond regardless of severity ranged from 14-28% for a weather event; 9-27% for pandemic influenza; 30-56% for a radiological 'dirty' bomb event; and 22-48% for an inhalational anthrax bioterrorism event. Efficacy was consistently identified as an important independent predictor of WTR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Response willingness deficits in the local public health workforce pose a threat to all-hazards response capacity and health security. Local public health agencies and their stakeholders may incorporate key findings, including identified scenario-based willingness gaps and the importance of efficacy, as targets of preparedness curriculum development efforts and policies for enhancing response willingness. Reasons for an increased willingness in rural cohorts compared to urban cohorts should be further investigated in order to understand and develop methods for improving their overall response.</p

A Study of Students’ Perceptions of Their Experiences in a Community College Mathematics Course with Attached Supplemental Instruction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of the experiences of community college students enrolled in a mathematics course with supplemental instruction (SI) attached. This study was conducted at a moderate-sized community college in Maryland. A qualitative research design was used, specifically a systematic approach design. Participants were selected using convenience sampling. The data collection tools employed were interviews and questionnaires. Documents in the form of SI participation logs and Math course GPAs were also collected. Data from the four research questions were analyzed. The first research question explored areas that were perceived as benefits of attending SI by students enrolled in a mathematics course with SI attached. The three prevalent themes that emerged were an enhanced understanding of the material, the opportunity to review the content, and the attainment of various skills and strategies. The second research question explored the skills gained from SI participation for SI attached to a math course that students perceived as being transferrable to other courses. Three prevalent themes emerged: study skills, problem-solving skills, and collaborative techniques. The third research question explored the factors that students perceive to lead to successful learning experience sessions. Participants perceived interactive elements to be important, and they indicated that a leader should foster collaboration and ask questions. Participants’ perception of the interaction that should occur between learning experience leaders and students resulted in the themes of asking questions and obtaining answers, as well as modeling and practice. Participants’ perception of the interaction that should occur amongst students revealed the theme of collaboration. The themes that were revealed for participants’ perception about how the SI leader’s leadership ability, experience with collaborative learning, and communication skills influence the effectiveness of the learning experience session revealed that approachability, acting as a guide, fostering collaboration, being peer-led, and using flexible and creative explanations are necessary; in addition, the study found that poor communication renders SI futile. The fourth research question explored the factors that students perceive to be hindrances to successful learning experiences. The two prevalent themes that emerged included the leader only lecturing and the lack of opportunities to ask questions and obtain answers. This study can provide valuable information to policymakers, administrators, faculty, SI coordinators, and SI leaders about the usefulness of SI as a student support service to assist students in persisting to course and program completion

Expression of MKNK2 Isoforms in Cancer Cell Lines

MKNK2 is a protein that has 2 isoforms (MKNK2 long(a), and MKNK2 short(b)). They phosphorylate and activate translation initiation factor eIF4E and have been implicated in some cancers. MKNK2a specifically is found to be downregulated in breast, lung, and colon tumors. There are cases where the MKNK2a to MKNK2b ratio changes in normal cell lines versus cancerous cell lines, such as breast tissue where there is found to be a lower percentage of 1:1 ratio in noncancerous cell lines versus cancerous cell lines. This research project was conducted as part of a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) within the CHEM 3512 lab course. The goal of this project is to determine if the two isoforms are expressed in cancer cell lines using western blotting. His-tagged MKNK2 isoforms were purified and the isoform specific antibodies were tested on the purified proteins. The antibodies are able to differentiate between the two isoforms and will be used to probe cellular lysates prepared from BHK-2 (Baby Hamster Kidney-21), Hep G2 (hepatoblastoma-derived) and U-2OS (Osteosarcoma) cell lines. Data from this study will provide useful information on endogenous expression of MKNK2 isoforms in cancer and help provide preliminary contributions for further studies