Engineering the follicle microenvironment

In vitro ovarian follicle culture provides a tool to investigate folliculogenesis, and may one day provide women with fertility-preservation options. The application of tissue engineering principles to ovarian follicle maturation may enable the creation of controllable microenvironments that will coordinate the growth of the multiple cellular compartments within the follicle. Three-dimensional culture systems can preserve follicle architecture, thereby maintaining critical cell-cell and cell-matrix signaling lost in traditional two-dimensional attached follicle culture systems. Maintaining the follicular structure while manipulating the biochemical and mechanical environment will enable the development of controllable systems to investigate the fundamental biological principles underlying follicle maturation. This review describes recent advances in ovarian follicle culture, and highlights the tissue engineering principles that may be applied to follicle culture, with the ultimate objective of germline preservation for females facing premature infertility.     

MQSA update

Since the MQSA regulations took effect in 1999, several amendments have been enacted, most notably new stringent equipment guidelines that became effective on October 28, 2002. After reading this review of the amended final regulations, readers will: Be familiar with the amended final equipment and quality assurance regulations. Understand policy guidance help regarding the new regulations. Understand new policy guidance for radiologic technologists. Know the basics of MQSA's impact on providers, patients and mammography quality and reasons for facility citations since release of the final regulations. Know where to go for MQSA information and guidance resources.     

HCV seroconversion among never-injecting heroin users at baseline: No predictors identified other than starting injection

BACKGROUND: Heroin users who do not inject constitute a large pool of drug users with a potentially important impact on public health. We aimed to estimate the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among heroin users who had never injected (NIDUS) at baseline, and the effect of starting injecting during follow-up, other percutaneous exposures, sharing snorting paraphernalia, cocaine/crack use, and risky sexual behaviour on HCV-seroconversion. METHODS: Prospective cohort of 305 HCV-negative NIDUs at baseline, aged 18-30 and street-recruited in three Spanish cities in 2001-2003. Computer-assisted personal interviews were conducted and dried blood-spot samples were collected. Bivariate and multivariable Poisson models were used. RESULTS: Among the 305 never-injectors who were HCV-negative at baseline, 197 (64.6%) were followed-up and 21 seroconverted [HCV-incidence rate=5.8/100 person-years at risk (pyar) (95% CI: 3.6-8.9)]. HCV incidence in new-injectors was 28.4/100pyar [(95% CI, 14.7-49.7) vs. 2.8/100pyar (95% CI, 1.3-5.4)] among NIDUs. Of the risk exposures considered, starting injecting was the only predictor of HCV-seroconversion [adjusted relative risk=10.1, 95% CI: 3.8-26.7]. CONCLUSION: The HCV-seroconversion rate was 10 times higher among new-injectors than never-injectors. No predictors other than starting injecting were found for HCV-seroconversion. Harm reduction interventions to prevent HCV infection should include prevention of drug injection.     

The Impact of Pharmacy Students’ Remediation Status on NAPLEX First-Time Pass Rates

Objective. To determine whether there is a difference in pass rates on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) between students who did and did not require remediation for deficient course grades.Methods. Student-specific data were collected regarding course grade deficiencies and completion of a comprehensive examination or course for remediation. Student-specific first-time NAPLEX performance data for the graduating classes of 2008, 2009, and 2011were provided by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).Results. A significant difference was found in first-time NAPLEX mean pass rates between students who did not need to undergo remediation versus those who did ( 97% vs 70%).Conclusion. Students requiring remediation for deficient course grades had a lower pass rate on the NAPLEX compared with those who did not require remediation. The difference can be attributed to several factors and therefore further study is needed.