Consumer perception of the community pharmacist and community pharmacy services in Malta

Objectives: We aimed to determine the perception of Maltese consumers of the community pharmacist and of the services offered from community pharmacies. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was developed and psychometrically evaluated. Fifty community pharmacies were chosen by stratified random sampling and the questionnaire was distributed to 500 consumers, 10 from each pharmacy, selected by convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics were undertaken. Key findings: The majority of the consumers were very or fairly satisfied with various pharmacist characteristics, such as pharmacist efficiency when dealing with requests (95%), provision of instructions on how to take medications (94%), pharmacist discretion (91%), professional pharmacist–consumer relationship (90%), provision of explanations on how medications work (86%) and pharmacist knowledge and ability to answer questions (81%). They were least satisfied with the privacy in the pharmacy (69%). Consumers were in favour of the evolution of pharmacist professional services, namely the community pharmacist liaising with primary and secondary care-based physicians (91%), provision of diagnostic testing (87%) and extended opening hours (83%). Conclusions: Maltese consumers have a positive overall perception of community pharmacists and of the services offered from community pharmacies. They were in favour of the development of extended professional services.peer-reviewe

Mediation of host selection and oviposition behavior in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella and its predator Chrysoperla carnea by chemical cues from cole crops

Host plant-mediated orientation and oviposition by diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) and its predator Chrysoperla carnea Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) were studied in response to four different brassica host plants: cabbage, (Brassica oleracea L. subsp. capitata), cauliflower (B. oleracea L. subsp. botrytis), kohlrabi (B. oleracea L. subsp. gongylodes), and broccoli (B. oleracea L. subsp. italica). Results from laboratory wind tunnel studies indicated that orientation of female DBM and C. carnea females towards cabbage and cauliflower was significantly greater than towards either broccoli or kohlrabi plants. However, DBM and C. carnea males did not orient towards any of the host plants. In no-choice tests, oviposition by DBM did not differ significantly among the test plants, while C. carnea layed significantly more eggs on cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli than on kohlrabi. However, in free-choice tests, oviposition by DBM was significantly greater on cabbage, followed by cauliflower, broccoli, and kohlrabi, while C. carnea preferred to oviposit on cabbage and cauliflower, followed by broccoli and kohlrabi. The predation rates of DBM by C. carnea on kohlrabi and broccoli were not significantly different from one another, but were significantly higher than that on cabbage and cauliflower. When two types of plant, intact and injured, were available to adult DBM, female oviposition was significantly greater on injured plant leaves than on intact plants leaves. Similarly, C. carnea oviposition was significantly greater on injured plant leaves than on intact leaves. Implications regarding the possible role of green leaf volatiles in host selection/preference, as well as in tritropic interactions, are discussed. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

RNA-seq transcriptome analysis reveals long terminal repeat retrotransposon modulation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells after in vivo lipopolysaccharide injection

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and mammalian apparent long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons (MaLRs) are retroviral sequences that integrated into germ line cells millions of years ago. Transcripts of these LTR retrotransposons are present in several tissues, and their expression is modulated in pathological conditions, although their function remains often far from being understood. Here, we focused on the HERV/MaLR expression and modulation in a scenario of immune system activation. We used a public data set of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) RNA-Seq from 15 healthy participants to a clinical trial before and after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), for which we established an RNA-Seq workflow for the identification of expressed and modulated cellular genes and LTR retrotransposon elements. IMPORTANCE We described the HERV and MaLR transcriptome in PBMCs, finding that about 8.4% of the LTR retrotransposon loci were expressed and identifying the betaretrovirus-like HERVs as those with the highest percentage of expressed loci. We found 4,607 HERV and MaLR loci that were modulated as a result of in vivo stimulation with LPS. The HERV-H group showed the highest number of differentially expressed most intact proviruses. We characterized the HERV and MaLR loci as differentially expressed, checking their genomic context of insertion and observing a general colocalization with genes that are involved and modulated in the immune response, as a consequence of LPS stimulation. The analyses of HERV and MaLR expression and modulation show that these LTR retrotransposons are expressed in PBMCs and regulated in inflammatory settings. The similar regulation of HERVs/MaLRs and genes after LPS stimulation suggests possible interactions of LTR retrotransposons and the immune host response

Thrombospondin modulates melanoma--platelet interactions and melanoma tumour cell growth in vivo.

In this study we have investigated the role of thrombospondin (TSP) as a possible ligand playing a key role in human M3Da. melanoma cell interaction with platelets and in tumour growth. TSP is secreted (80 +/- 6 ng TSP 10(-6) cells) and bound to the surface of M3Da. cells via receptors different from CD36, as shown by biosynthetic labelling and immunofluorescence studies. The levels of TSP binding to M3Da. cells evaluated by binding studies, using an anti-TSP monoclonal antibody (MAb) (LYP8), shows 367,000 +/- 58,000 (mean +/- s.d.) LYP8 binding sites per cell with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 67 nM. TSP binding to M3Da. cells shows 400,000 +/- 50,000 TSP binding sites per cell with a Kd of 10 nM. The capacity of anti-TSP MAb (LYP8) to inhibit M3Da.-platelet interactions was followed on an aggregometer and evaluated by electron microscopy studies. The biological role of TSP binding to M3Da. cells was investigated by implanting subcutaneously the M3Da. cell line in nude mice and following the size and time of in vivo tumour growth. Reducing the availability or the functional level of TSP by using an anti-TSP MAb (LYP8) resulted in a significant decrease in platelet aggregates interacting with M3Da. melanoma cells. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, purified alpha nu beta 3 was shown to bind TSP. Moreover, LYP8-coated M3Da. cells showed a reduced capacity to form tumours in vivo. M3Da. cells were observed to attach and spread on human platelet TSP-coated plastic wells. This attachment by M3Da. cells was inhibited in a similar way by LYP8 and an anti-alpha nu beta 3 MAb (LYP18). The results obtained in this study show that TSP secreted and bound to the surface of a human melanoma cell line (M3Da.) acts as a link between aggregated platelets and the M3Da. cell surface. Moreover, these results shows that TSP can modulate tumour growth in vivo. Reagents such as MAbs directed against TSP and peptides derived from TSP could not only be used as a new therapeutic approach in the control of tumour metastasis of melanoma, but may also contribute to elucidation of the role of TSP in cancer biology

Additive QTLs on three chromosomes control flowering time in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca L.)

Flowering time is an important trait that affects survival, reproduction and yield in both wild and cultivated plants. Therefore, many studies have focused on the identification of flowering time quantitative trait locus (QTLs) in different crops, and molecular control of this trait has been extensively investigated in model species. Here we report the mapping of QTLs for flowering time and vegetative traits in a large woodland strawberry mapping population that was phenotyped both under field conditions and in a greenhouse after flower induction in the field. The greenhouse experiment revealed additive QTLs in three linkage groups (LG), two on both LG4 and LG7, and one on LG6 that explain about half of the flowering time variance in the population. Three of the QTLs were newly identified in this study, and one co-localized with the previously characterized FvTFL1 gene. An additional strong QTL corresponding to previously mapped PFRU was detected in both field and greenhouse experiments indicating that gene(s) in this locus can control the timing of flowering in different environments in addition to the duration of flowering and axillary bud differentiation to runners and branch crowns. Several putative flowering time genes were identified in these QTL regions that await functional validation. Our results indicate that a few major QTLs may control flowering time and axillary bud differentiation in strawberries. We suggest that the identification of causal genes in the diploid strawberry may enable fine tuning of flowering time and vegetative growth in the closely related octoploid cultivated strawberry.Peer reviewe

Evidence for ubiquitous carbon grain destruction in hot protostellar envelopes

Earth is deficient in carbon and nitrogen by up to ${\sim}4$ orders of magnitude compared with the Sun. Destruction of (carbon- and nitrogen-rich) refractory organics in the high-temperature planet forming regions could explain this deficiency. Assuming a refractory cometary composition for these grains, their destruction enhances nitrogen-containing oxygen-poor molecules in the hot gas ($\gtrsim 300$K) after the initial formation and sublimation of these molecules from oxygen-rich ices in the warm gas (${\sim}150$K). Using observations of $37$ high-mass protostars with ALMA, we find that oxygen-containing molecules (CH$_3$OH and HNCO) systematically show no enhancement in their hot component. In contrast, nitrogen-containing, oxygen-poor molecules (CH$_3$CN and C$_2$H$_3$CN) systematically show an enhancement of a factor ${\sim} 5$ in their hot component, pointing to additional production of these molecules in the hot gas. Assuming only thermal excitation conditions, we interpret these results as a signature of destruction of refractory organics, consistent with the cometary composition. This destruction implies a higher C/O and N/O in the hot gas than the warm gas, while, the exact values of these ratios depend on the fraction of grains that are effectively destroyed. This fraction can be found by future chemical models that constrain C/O and N/O from the abundances of minor carbon, nitrogen and oxygen carriers presented here.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter