Independent Study: Understanding the Pharmaceutical Industry

An undergraduate Healthcare Sales student wanted to understand the pharmaceutical (pharma) industry better to determine if the industry was a good fit. She approached her professor to gain support for an independent study to understand better the history and challenges of selling in the pharma industry. Once completed, the pair recognized this information\u27s value and collaborated in editing the document to share these findings to provide this entry-level salesperson\u27s guide to understanding the pharma industry. Six semi-structured interviews of pharma professionals showed three primary areas of knowledge and ethics required of the entry-level pharma industry salesperson. These suggestions are for the salesperson to 1) focus on patient safety, 2) establish trust-based relationships, and 3) comply with industry guidelines. The study concludes with an overview of three prominent industry guidelines: the PhRMA Code, the Sunshine Act, and the Fair Balance practices

Emerging Respiratory Viral Pathogens

Respiratory disease is arguably the most important health concern for the production animal industry [1-3]. Respiratory problems accounted for the highest mortality both in the swine and beef industries [1, 4]. Respiratory pathogens remain the most vital for swine and bovine research and disease monitoring [2, 5-7]. As pathogens, in particular viral pathogens, mutate, novel disease-causing viruses emerge, and there becomes an increasing concern and need for identification with control perimeters. One frequently identified disease syndrome is Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC). PRDC is characterized by pneumonia of mixed respiratory infections with contributions from the environment and management practices. The main pathogens associated with PRDC include viruses, such as swine influenza virus (SIV), porcine respiratory and reproductive virus (PRRSV), and porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2), and bacteria, such as Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, Streptococcus suis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, and Actinobacillus suis. Viral and bacterial pathogens can be classified as primary pathogens, capable of subverting host defense mechanisms and establishing infection on their own, or opportunistic pathogens [8]. Often, coinfections and superinfections with primary and/ or opportunistic pathogens occur with PRDC. The bovine counterpart to PRDC is Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Like PRDC, BRD is a general term for a complex multi-factorial disease that encompasses upper and lower respiratory tract diseases. BRD is caused by stress, viral infection, and/ or bacterial infection with contributions from environmental factors (in particular transportation) and host characteristics (such as age, immune status, and genetics) [2, 9]. Bacterial and viral agents that are implicated in BRD include bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), parainfluenza 3 virus (PI3V), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), Mannheimia haemolytica, Mycoplasma bovis, Pasteurella multocida, and Histophilus somni [10]. BRD is a costly disease of beef cattle with NAHMS Beef Feedlot 2011 Study reporting the direct cost of treatment for respiratory disease in feedlot cattle at $23.60 USD per case, resulting in a total cost of$54.12 million, not including production loses due to morbidity and mortality [2, 4]. With rising costs of food, the morbidity and mortality associated with respiratory diseases is economically disastrous. Many diagnostic panels are available for common respiratory pathogens for both swine and cattle. Although these panels are helpful, emerging, novel, variant, and underdiagnosed pathogens are often missed. Monitoring for these pathogens, often using metagenomic sequencing, can aid in their control and prevention. Once identified, research can begin on prevalence, pathogenesis, and control and prevention of these pathogens. This review is focused on the discovery of respiratory viral pathogens

Polariton Condensates in a Trap and Photon Lasing in Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Microcavities

Recent experiments in microcavity polaritons have shown many effects that can be associated with the phase transition known as Bose-Einstein condensation; these effects include a dramatic increase in both the population of the zero-momentum state and lowest-lying energy state, the formation of first- and second-order coherence in both space and time, and the spontaneous polarization of the polariton ensemble. However, these same results can also be a consequence of lasing. The primary focus of this dissertation is to examine these effects and determine to what degree the effects of lasing can be distinguished from those of Bose-Einstein condensation. Bose-Einstein condensation in a two-dimensional weakly-interacting gas, such as polaritons, is predicted to not occur without the aid of spatial confinement, i.e., a trap. Polaritons were subjected to various methods of confinement, including stress traps and exciton-reservoir traps, and the signatures of condensation in these traps are shown to be dramatically different than those of lasing in a system without confinement. It is also shown that, when driving the polariton condensate to very high density, the polaritons dissociate and the lasing transition succeeds Bose-Einstein condensation. The geometry of the trapping potential was also exploited to indicate that the symmetry of the condensate momentum-space distribution followed that of the ground state of the trap. At reasonable densities, the lifetime of polaritons is of the same order as the polariton-polariton interaction time, hence the previously shown effects are an incomplete Bose-Einstein condensation since thermodynamic equilibrium is not reached. A second part of this work has been to extend the lifetime of polaritons to achieve a more thermalized ensemble. We do this by increasing the Q factor of the microcavity through improving the reflectivity of the mirrors. These samples exhibit many interesting phenomenon since the polariton lifetime becomes long enough to traverse significant distances. Here, Bose-Einstein condensation occurs at a point spatially separated from the excitation source, ruling out the possibility of nonlinear amplification of the pump laser. Also, a superfluid-like transition is observed, giving rise to possible signatures of vortices

THE EDUCATOR’S EXPERIENCE INCORPORATING BLENDED LEARNING IN A SECONDARY CLASSROOM

Blended learning is a teaching strategy that broadly consists of the use of multiple methods of delivery, often including face-to-face and technology-enhanced teaching. Research on the efficacy of blended learning programs has lacked focus in large part due to the ambiguity of the definition. Most existing blended learning research has been conducted in post-secondary environments and centers on the experience of the student. Research on motivation and engagement in technology-enhanced learning classrooms yields both positive and negative outcomes found in some studies to be correlated to the involvement of the teacher in the design and facilitation of the technology. Given the dynamic role teachers play, blended learning which incorporates both face-to-face and technology-enhanced teaching has emerged as a popular choice. The gap in research on the secondary teacher’s experience is addressed by this qualitative study. Teacher interviews and focus groups were conducted with participants from one school district in the upper Midwest. Conclusions from the study showed that teachers find a blended teaching pedagogy effective at engaging and motivating students. It was also found that teachers appreciate strong in-building support such as a professional learning community for blended teachers and clear communication from the administration about blended learning procedures for all stakeholders. Lastly, it was found that teachers are often seeking their own training for additional blended strategies and technologies and would appreciate further training being offered by the district along with time to plan and implement