M. Chandra Sekar

Background/Objectives: India is home to an estimated 220 million hypertensive patients but more than 90% of these patients were either undiagnosed, untreated, or treated but continued to be hypertensive. Demonstrate the impact of comprehensive pharmacist intervention in improving patients’ outcomes. Methods: Hypertensive patients of outpatient departments were enrolled in this randomized controlled intervention study. Patients were either randomized into the non-intervention group or to the intervention group. At the outpatient pharmacy - the non-intervention group were advised to take the medications as prescribed, but the intervention group patients were educated about the disease management and complications, methods to control hypertension, lifestyle changes and im-portance of medication adherence. Results: Following each counseling session in the intervention group, better control of hypertension was achieved, such that after the fifth visit, the intervention group had 44 [48.8%] patients that were normotensive compared to 0 [0%] patients in the non-intervention group. In phase II, when pharmacist intervention was provided to the “non-intervention” group patients from phase I, after 6 months 72.2% of patients in the non-intervention group were normotensive, 28.8% pre-hypertensive and 0% hy-pertensive. Conclusions: Our studies clearly demonstrate an important role pharmacists could play in improving healthcare outcomes in Indian patients.

Successful project management depends on ensuring the project’s objectives. Within these objectives, technical success is associated with achieving the expectations of the project baseline. The baseline of the project is made up of the definition of the scope (WBS), time (schedule) and costs (S curve) of the project. Directly, the project is expected to be technically successful if it manages to deliver its full scope on schedule and without associated cost overruns. Baseline performance management is how project managers track and control the progress of deliverables, timelines and associated costs. In a traditional approach, for waterfall-type projects that use the critical path paradigm, the baseline performance management tool par excellence is earned value management (EVM). Earned value management, in practice, works well when project costs are monitored and controlled; however, applying this approach to measure the status of the schedule presents serious inconsistencies. Over the last several decades, different variations of the original earned value have been developed to overcome some of these inconsistencies when used to measure project schedule status. Within these variations, we have the critical path earned value; the work in progress earned value; the critical path earned value and the work in progress; the earned schedule; and the critical path earned schedule. Each of these proposals tries to address some weakness of the original earned value management applied to time monitoring and control, for example, considering critical tasks as a focus on monitoring the progress of the schedule, solving the problem of task recognition late finishers, reporting schedule variances in time units and measuring adherence to the project’s schedule (P factor). Due to the exposed situation, it is necessary to determine which alternative of the versions of the original earned value is the most appropriate for the management of the project schedule, considering that there are several evaluation criteria that must be considered. In the present research, a systematic review and comparison of EVM and its variations for measuring project baseline schedule performance are performed to determine the most suitable methods for monitoring and controlling the project baseline schedule. For this purpose, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used, and five comparison criteria are considered: schedule variation focused on critical tasks, recognition and measurement of the delay of tasks that finish late, schedule variation in time units, measurement of schedule adherence (P factor) and software support and development. The result of the AHP performed for comparing the methods shows that the best method for monitoring and controlling the project baseline schedule is the critical path earned schedule because it behaves adequately in comparison with the other methods for the evaluated comparison categories.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant disruption in students’ lives through lockdowns, restricted movement, remote instruction, and mixed information. Therefore, this study aimed to capture the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of student pharmacists during 2020–2021. A 43-item COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) survey previously developed was administered at four schools of pharmacy across the U.S. during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. A total of 418 responses were analyzed from graduating classes of 2021–2024. There were no significant differences in correct COVID-19 knowledge responses across the four graduating years. Respondents’ attitudes around COVID-19 were homogenous with the exception for their belief in their preparedness to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Respondents reported wearing masks daily (76.8%), infrequently visiting restaurants (82.1%), practicing social distancing daily (45.7%), and referring to medical journals for information (72%). In conclusion, during the pandemic, student pharmacists experienced significant changes in their academic lives. Their knowledge and subsequent attitudes and practices were consistent with the state of evidence during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Subsequently, as newer information has emerged, the authors suggest that the COVKAP survey may be modified and administered frequently to address student needs and concerns as the pandemic evolves.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused innumerable changes to all aspects of human life and behavior, including academic life. This study describes the development of a COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (COVKAP) Survey among U.S. student pharmacists. The survey was administered at Doctor of Pharmacy programs in three states—Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Methods: The COVKAP survey—an online cross-sectional survey—was distributed to U.S. student pharmacists enrolled in three different colleges of pharmacy in three states during the fall semester of 2020. The survey was developed using literature review and Dillman’s recommendations for survey design. The COVKAP survey consisted of 23 closed and Likert-scale questions, and three open-ended questions. The research team conducted descriptive and inductive thematic analyses on the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively using SPSS (v27) and Dedoose^® software. Results: A total of 421 responses were received. Respondents were predominantly female (72%) and White (79%). The average age of respondents was 23.4 years. The qualitative analysis revealed three themes: (1) Wellbeing and mental health struggles; (2) Being part of the decision-making process; (3) Necessity of adequate protection measures. Conclusions: Preliminary study findings indicate that student pharmacists’ concerns and the challenges that they face in their academic pursuits are largely similar across the three states in this study and inform about the importance of recognizing and mitigating the impact of widespread disruption in education. This disruption provides an opportunity for pharmacy academia to examine practices and methods that can be improved upon to help students become successful practitioners.

The COVID-19 epidemic has spawned an “infodemic,” with excessive and unfounded information that hinders an appropriate public health response. This perspective describes a selection of COVID-19 fake news that originated in Peru and the government’s response to this information. Unlike other countries, Peru was relatively successful in controlling the infodemic possibly because of the implementation of prison sentences for persons who created and shared fake news. We believe that similar actions by other countries in collaboration with social media companies may offer a solution to the infodemic problem.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the metric properties of a questionnaire that evaluates environmental and ecological purchasing behavior, environmental personal norms, environmental identity and environmental social influence.Design/methodology/approach: The validity and reliability of the scales of the questionnaires were determined in a sample of 2445 consumers from Lima (Peru), selected through non-probabilistic sampling by quotas and by factorial analysis based on Classical Theory of Tests (CTT) and Structural Equations of Variance with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS).Findings: The results support the construct and discriminant validity of the instrument, as well as the internal consistency of all the subscales (Cronbach’s alpha between 0.662 and 0.8887 – composite reliability between 0.815 and 0.917).Research limitations/implications: Customers evaluated were only from Lima city. It would be important to evaluate, in future research, customers from other cities in Peru.Practical implications: Although a large number of instruments have been designed, not all are based on integral theoretical models, and their metric properties were determined with methodological criteria that restrict their applicability. Therefore, there is a need to have valid and reliable instruments for the identification of environmental behavior and ecological purchasing.Social implications: This “new questionnaire” integrates the exploration of environmental behavior and ecological purchasing, along with the measurement of personal environmental norms, environmental identity and the social influence received from peers and teachers, to provide a comprehensive picture of the consumer behavior.Originality/value: This research constitutes a theoretical and practical contribution to the understanding and evaluation of ecological behavior and some of its associated factors. Its main contribution is the adaptation of this instrument to the Peruvian context and the validation of an instrument that evaluates environmental and ecological purchasing behavior, personal environmental standards, environmental identity and environmental social influence.

Curcuminoids of the spice turmeric and their enhanced derivatives have much potential as cancer treatments. They act on a wide variety of biological pathways, including those regulating cell division and circadian rhythms. It is known that circadian clocks can modify cancer therapy effectiveness, according to studies aimed at optimizing treatments based on the circadian cycle. It is therefore important to determine whether treatments with curcumin or similar chemotherapeutic agents are regulated by circadian timing. Similarly, it is important to characterize any effects of curcumin on timing abilities of the circadian clocks within cancer cells. We examined the circadian clock’s impact on the timing of cell death and cell division in curcumin-treated C6 rat glioma cells through continuous video microscopy for several days. To evaluate its persistence and distribution in cancer cells, curcumin was localized within cell compartments by imaging its autofluorescence. Finally, HPLC and spectroscopy were used to determine the relative stabilities of the curcumin congeners demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin that are present in turmeric. Circadian rhythms in cell death were observed in response to low (5 μM) curcumin, reaching a peak several hours before the peak in rhythmic expression of mPER2 protein, a major circadian clock component. These results revealed a sensitive phase of the circadian cycle that could be effectively targeted in patient therapies based on curcumin or its analogs. Curcumin fluorescence was observed in cell compartments at least 24 h after treatment, and the two congeners displayed greater stability than curcumin in cell culture medium. We propose a mechanism whereby curcuminoids act in a sustained manner, over several days, despite their tendency to degrade rapidly in blood and other aqueous media. During cancer therapy, curcumin or its analogs should be delivered to tumor cells at the optimal phase for highest efficacy after identifying the circadian phase of the cancer cells. We confirmed the greater stability of the curcumin congeners, suggesting that they may produce sustained toxicity in cancer cells and should be considered for use in patient care.

Epidermal growth factor [EGF] mediated stimulation of its receptor in endothelial cell [EC] is accompanied by phosphorylation of the EGF-receptor [EGFR] and activation of phospholipase C-γ, resulting in the breakdown of phosphatidylinositol(4,5)-bisphosphate and generating inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate [IP₃] and diacylglycerol. IP₃ thus formed can be further converted to inositol (1,3,4,5)-tetrakisphosphate [IP₄] by an enzyme called IP₃-kinase [IP₃K]. In this study we have investigated the effect of modulation of intracellular IP₃K activity by the use of an inhibitor, 2-trifluoromethyl [6-(4-nitrobenzyl)-purine] [IP₃KI] and siRNA against IP₃KB on EGF-induced ERK-phosphorylation and cell motility. EGF stimulated ERK-phosphorylation that has been implicated in EGF-stimulated cell migration was inhibited by both IP₃KI and siRNA against IP₃KB. Inhibition of ERK-phosphorylation was accompanied by decreased cell migration in the presence of IP₃KI.