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Biomedical subjects

Robert Page

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Page.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

An assessment system for mapping CAPE outcomes in an advanced pharmacy practice experience program.

OBJECTIVE: To implement and evaluate an assessment system based on the 1998 Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education's (CAPE) Outcomes for students in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). DESCRIPTION: The system requires each preceptor to create a summative assessment tool by choosing the most important 20-30 CAPE competencies and sub-elements necessary for his/her pharmacy practice with each to be scored by him/her on a 4-point scale from "exceeds expectations" to "below expectations." Students' grades are determined by an examination committee based on the preceptors' assessments. The system contains a mechanism to assist students with competency deficits and permits a student's yearlong performance in the APPE program to be considered when assigning grades for individual APPE courses. EVALUATION: The assessment system permits each student's performance in individual APPE courses to be mapped to the CAPE competencies for grading purposes. It permits class performance in an APPE program to be mapped to the CAPE competencies for quality assurance and school planning. CONCLUSION: An assessment system based on the 1998 CAPE Educational Outcomes competencies has been successfully introduced for students in APPE training.

Colorado↗

Update on antimicrobial susceptibilities of bacterial isolates from canine and feline otitis externa.

The in vitro susceptibility of a total of 1819 bacterial isolates from canine and 103 isolates from feline otitis externa cases to 13 antimicrobial drugs over a 5-year period was evaluated. Among topically used drugs, 90% of isolates were susceptible to gentamicin. Susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to gentamicin was 85%, and to polymyxin B 100%. For isolates other than the Pseudomonas sp., susceptibility was highest to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid.

Animals↗

WWOX protein expression varies among ovarian carcinoma histotypes and correlates with less favorable outcome.

BACKGROUND: The putative tumor suppressor WWOX gene spans the common chromosomal fragile site 16D (FRA16D) at chromosome area 16q23.3-24.1. This region is a frequent target for loss of heterozygosity and chromosomal rearrangement in ovarian, breast, hepatocellular, prostate carcinomas and other neoplasias. The goal of these studies was to evaluate WWOX protein expression levels in ovarian carcinomas to determine if they correlated with clinico-pathological parameters, thus providing additional support for WWOX functioning as a tumor suppressor. METHODS: We performed WWOX protein expression analyses by means of immunobloting and immunohistochemistry on normal ovaries and specific human ovarian carcinoma Tissue Microarrays (n = 444). Univariate analysis of clinical-pathological parameters based on WWOX staining was determined by chi2 test with Yates' correction. The basic significance level was fixed at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Immunoblotting analysis from normal ovarian samples demonstrated consistently strong WWOX expression while 37% ovarian carcinomas showed reduced or undetectable WWOX protein expression levels. The immunohistochemistry of normal human ovarian tissue sections confirmed strong WWOX expression in ovarian surface epithelial cells and in epithelial inclusion cysts within the cortex. Out of 444 ovarian carcinoma samples analyzed 30% of tumors showed lack of or barely detectable WWOX expression. The remaining ovarian carcinomas (70%) stained moderately to strongly positive for this protein. The two histotypes showing significant loss of WWOX expression were of the Mucinous (70%) and Clear Cell (42%) types. Reduced WWOX expression demonstrated a significant association with clinical Stage IV (FIGO) (p = 0.007), negative Progesterone Receptor (PR) status (p = 0.008) and shorter overall survival (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that WWOX protein expression is highly variable among ovarian carcinoma histotypes. It was also observed that subsets of ovarian tumors demonstrated loss of WWOX expression and is potentially associated with patient outcome.

Blotting, Western↗

DR5 knockout mice are compromised in radiation-induced apoptosis.

DR5 (also called TRAIL receptor 2 and KILLER) is an apoptosis-inducing membrane receptor for tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (also called TRAIL and Apo2 ligand). DR5 is a transcriptional target of p53, and its overexpression induces cell death in vitro. However, the in vivo biology of DR5 has remained largely unexplored. To better understand the role of DR5 in development and in adult tissues, we have created a knockout mouse lacking DR5. This mouse is viable and develops normally with the exception of having an enlarged thymus. We show that DR5 is not expressed in developing embryos but is present in the decidua and chorion early in development. DR5-null mouse embryo fibroblasts expressing E1A are resistant to treatment with TRAIL, suggesting that DR5 may be the primary proapoptotic receptor for TRAIL in the mouse. When exposed to ionizing radiation, DR5-null tissues exhibit reduced amounts of apoptosis compared to wild-type thymus, spleen, Peyer's patches, and the white matter of the brain. In the ileum, colon, and stomach, DR5 deficiency was associated with a subtle phenotype of radiation-induced cell death. These results indicate that DR5 has a limited role during embryogenesis and early stages of development but plays an organ-specific role in the response to DNA-damaging stimuli.

Animals↗

Frequent activation of AKT in non-small cell lung carcinomas and preneoplastic bronchial lesions.

AKT is frequently activated in various cancers, but its involvement in lung tumor development and progression is not well established. We examined AKT activity by immunohistochemistry in 110 non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs) using tissue microarrays. AKT activation was observed in 56 (51%) tumors. To further validate activation of the AKT pathway in this series, we examined the phosphorylation status of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and forkhead (FKHR), two downstream targets of AKT. Positive staining for phospho-mTOR and phospho-FKHR were detected in 74% and 68% of tumors, respectively, and was significantly associated with activation of AKT. Tumors positive for phosphorylated (active) AKT were present with a similar frequency in low stage (I/II) and high stage (III/IV) tumors, raising the possibility that AKT activation occurs early in tumor progression. We therefore examined AKT activity in 25 bronchial epithelial lesions from 12 patients at high risk of lung cancer. Metaplastic/dysplastic areas showed AKT activity, whereas normal and hyperplastic bronchial epithelia exhibited little or no activity. Since some bronchial epithelial lesions may develop into invasive cancers, we examined the effect of AKT on invasiveness of lung cancer cells, using an in vitro cell invasion assay. Transfection of NSCLC cells with wild-type AKT increased invasiveness in response to hepatocyte growth factor, whereas transfection with dominant negative AKT abrogated this effect. Collectively, these data suggest that AKT activation is a frequent and early event in lung tumorigenesis, which may enhance risk of progression to malignancy. Thus, AKT represents a potentially important target for chemoprevention in individuals at high risk of NSCLC.

Adult↗

A baseline study of medication error rates at Baylor University Medical Center in preparation for implementation of a computerized physician order entry system.

OBJECTIVE: To determine baseline levels of medication errors and their root causes so as to highlight areas of potential process improvements and serve as a ruler against which to measure future improvements. DESIGN: A prospective pharmacist intervention study determining errors in 1014 medication orders at Baylor University Medical Center. Only errors in the process of medication ordering were documented; errors in drug administration were not considered. Root causes of errors were examined. RESULTS: The baseline medication error rate was 111.4 per 1000 orders (n = 1014). Most common were dosing errors (43.4 per 1000 orders), followed by frequency errors (19.7 per 1000 orders) and unavailable drug errors (12.8 per 1000 orders). Of the 113 total errors found, 52 (46%) had a transcription-based cause, i.e., an error in inputting the handwritten physician order into a computer system. System- or process-related root causes (such as duplicate orders or lack of crossover from one information system to another) accounted for 35.4% of the errors, and prescribing based causes (such as wrong dosage or nonformulary drugs) accounted for 18.6% of errors. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system would eliminate order-entry transcription-based errors. Its ability to resolve system/process-based and prescribing-based root causes of error is not as clear. Furthermore, the modification of processes due to implementation of CPOE could lead to new types of errors. Present processes must be redesigned according to evidence-based medicine, and future processes must be anticipated as technological changes occur. Such efforts-rather than outright reliance on technology--are more likely to lead to an error-free environment after CPOE is implemented.

Journal Article↗

Ectopic extramammary Paget's disease arising on the cheek.

BACKGROUND: Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare neoplasm affecting apocrine gland-bearing skin. Patients usually present with a long-standing unilateral, ill-defined, erythematous or whitish-gray, crusted patch or plaque. This tumor almost never occurs outside of the anogenital or axillary areas. OBJECTIVE: We report the first case of "ectopic" extramammary Paget's neoplasm afflicting the face. METHODS: The excisional specimen from a 67-year-old man was reviewed. Histology and immunohistochemistry studies were performed on the specimen. RESULTS: Histology revealed hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, acanthosis, and proliferation of cytologically atypical epithelioid cells permeating the epidermis and the cutaneous adnexae. Special stains showed reactivity to cytokeratins (AE1/AE), epithelial membrane antigen, and carcinoembryonic antigen in the atypical cells. There was no evidence of apocrine glands in the area. CONCLUSION: Herein we present the first case of truly "ectopic" extramammary Paget's disease on the face.

Aged↗