Biomedical subjects

Sonalee Shah

Publications and source records attributed to Sonalee Shah.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Pharmacy students' learning styles before and after a problem-based learning experience.

OBJECTIVES: To determine learning-style scores of second-year pharmacy students before and after a problem-based learning (PBL) teaching experience and to evaluate the relationships between scores and demographic variables. METHODS: The Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scale (GRSLSS) was given to pharmacotherapy laboratory students before and after a semester-long problem-based learning class. RESULTS: Only one of the GRSLSS score variables was reported as "high" ("collaborative") and none were reported as "low." Students' "avoidant" mean score increased and "participant" mean score decreased after completing the PBL experience (p < or = 0.05). CONCLUSION: While PBL appears to be a teaching style that is conducive to the learning preferences of this cohort of pharmacy students, significant changes in learning styles were noted after completing the PBL experience. These changes may reflect difficulties that occurred in adapting from a didactic teaching style to PBL, and specifically, difficulties in adjusting to participating in a group learning experience. A major limitation was that the teaching style of the facilitator was not measured.

Educational Measurement↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation and comparison of models of metabolic syndrome using confirmatory factor analysis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare three competing models of the underlying factor structure of metabolic syndrome using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Data from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) was used, which has previously been evaluated using principal components analysis (PCA). The three models that were evaluated consisted of oblique and orthogonal two-factor models with hypothesized underlying "metabolic" and "blood pressure" factors, and a four-factor model theorizing "insulin resistance," "obesity," "lipids," and "blood pressure" as the underlying constructs. Several CFAs were performed using EQS Multivariate Software Version 5.7b with maximum likelihood estimation. The results showed that the four-factor model yielded significantly better data-model fit than two-factor models, with a comparative fit index of 0.963, and standardized root mean square residual of 0.036. Factors exhibited good construct reliability and variance extracted estimates except for the lipids factor. We concluded that the four-factor model of metabolic syndrome was the most plausible model among the three competing models.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Interaction between Dax-1 and steroidogenic factor-1 in vivo: increased adrenal responsiveness to ACTH in the absence of Dax-1.

Two nuclear receptors, dosage-sensitive sex reversal adrenal hypoplasia congenita, critical region on the X chromosome gene-1 (Dax-1) and steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), are required for adrenal development and function. In vitro assays suggest that Dax-1 represses SF-1 mediated transcription. In this study, we generated SF-1(+/-): Dax-1(-/Y) mice to examine the role of Dax-1 in SF-1-dependent steroidogenesis in vivo. While the SF-1 expression was impaired in SF-1(+/-) mice, there was no change in Dax-1 expression in SF-1(+/-) mice and no change in SF-1 expression in Dax-1(-/Y) mice. SF-1(+/-) mice had small adrenal glands with adrenal hypoplasia and cellular hypertrophy. The loss of Dax-1 in SF-1(+/-): Dax-1(-/Y) mice reversed the decreased adrenal weight and histological abnormalities observed in SF-1(+/-) mice. SF-1(+/-) mice had elevated ACTH and the lowest corticosterone following restraint stress. In contrast, Dax-1(-/Y) mice had elevated corticosterone and decreased ACTH. Adrenal responsiveness (ACTH/corticosterone) was highest in Dax-1(-/Y) mice, intermediate in WT and SF-1(+/-): Dax-1(-/Y) mice, and lowest in SF-1(+/-) mice. In accordance with these findings, ACTH stimulation testing resulted in the highest levels of corticosterone in the Dax-1(-/Y) mice. Protein levels of P450c21 and the ACTH receptor were increased in Dax-1(-/Y) mice and intermediate in SF-1(+/-): Dax-1(-/Y) mice following chronic food deprivation. These results are consistent with a model in which Dax-1 functions to inhibit SF-1-mediated steroidogenesis in vivo.

Adrenal Cortex↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Community pharmacists' actions when patients use complementary and alternative therapies with medications.

OBJECTIVE: To assess actions of community pharmacists in response to their patients' concurrent use of prescription medications and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). DESIGN: Nonexperimental, cross-sectional mail survey. SETTING: Texas. PARTICIPANTS: 107 community pharmacists. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pharmacists' self-reported rate of patient inquiry about CAM use and actions taken in response to CAM use. RESULTS: A majority (71.0%) of pharmacists had encountered patients who were using CAM, which was defined broadly in the survey to include herbal products, vitamins and minerals, homeopathic products, massage, meditation, and other types of CAM. Pharmacists documented CAM use by patients in 11.0% of cases and reported monitoring for drug-related problems in 38.4% of users. Among CAM users, pharmacists most often encouraged CAM use if medically appropriate. Pharmacists were not comfortable with responding to CAM inquiries but believed they needed adequate knowledge about CAM. In general, pharmacists rarely asked patients about their CAM use. Pharmacists' rate of inquiry about CAM use increased significantly when this information could be documented in patient profiles and when pharmacists had additional training in CAM. Also, in pharmacies that stocked herbal or homeopathic products, pharmacists were significantly more likely to encourage the use of CAM when medically appropriate and to recommend other CAM therapies appropriate for patients' conditions. When no references were available to research CAM, pharmacists tended to neither encourage nor discourage CAM use based on lack of scientific evidence of their effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Most community pharmacists had patients who used CAM, but they were not proactive in inquiring about or documenting this use. They most often encouraged CAM use if deemed medically appropriate. Pharmacists' actions differed on the basis of professional and practice setting characteristics. To ensure optimal drug therapy outcomes, pharmacists should be more proactive in identifying and documenting CAM use by patients.

Community Pharmacy Services↗