Ancillary Community Pharmacy Services Provided to Older People in A Largely Rural and Ethnically Diverse Region: A Survey of Consumers in West Texas

Little is known about the quality of pharmacy services provided to the rural elderly population. This exploratory study examines rural/urban and ethnic differences in perceived access to ancillary pharmacy services among elderly people. Two telephone surveys were conducted using directory listings in West Texas to generate a longitudinal sample. Persons aged 65 years and older who were not cognitively impaired were asked to complete the survey. The number of participants in both rounds of the survey was 3,689. Seven ancillary pharmacy services were examined: delivery of medications, medication counseling, written medication information, blood pressure monitoring, blood glucose monitoring, osteoporosis screening, and immunization. The sample was stratified by county of residence (urban, rural, or frontier) and racial/ethnic background. Chi-square tests were performed to detect rural/urban and racial/ethnic differences in access to the seven ancillary services. The association between proficiency in English and access to the services was also examined. Rural residents were more likely than urban residents to report that their pharmacies provide delivery of medications, medication counseling, and immunization services, but they were less likely than their urban counterparts to report that their pharmacies provide blood pressure monitoring. Access to ancillary pharmacy services was reported as poorer by older Hispanic people compared with non-Hispanics. Deficiency in English was significantly related to inequality in reported access to ancillary pharmacy services. It is essential to consider the special needs of rural and Hispanic elderly people to ensure equitable access to ancillary pharmacy services.     

Differentiation plasticity of human fetal articular chondrocytes.

OBJECTIVE: To test chondrogenic differentiation potential, we examined the differentiation plasticity of isolated human fetal articular chondrocytes (HFACs). STUDY AND DESIGN SETTING: Culture-expanded human fetal articular chondrocytes (HFACs) were analyzed for chondrogenic, adipogenic, osteogenic capacity and neural differentiation ability in defined in vitro culture systems. RESULTS: The different assays demonstrated that culture-expanded HFACs have potential to form cartilage in pellet mass culture, to form adipose cells, osteogenic cells, and neural cells in monolayer culture. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that within human fetal articular cartilages there are MSC-like cells that exhibit differentiation plasticity that is comparable with that of BM-MSCs and they may be a new kind of seeding cells for head and neck cartilage reconstruction.     

Smooth muscle relaxant effect of dehydroindicolactone

Dehydroindicolactone, a novel linear furanocoumarin with an 8-substituted side chain carrying a 5-member ring lactone, showed spasmolytic activity in a number of smooth muscle preparations. The spasmolytic activity seems to lie in its ability to block the dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channel.     

人鼻粘膜表面超微结构及纤毛输送功能的研究

研究结果表明:①人鼻粘膜的上皮在胚胎期的发育并不完善。在新生儿,纤毛上皮细胞的融合刚刚开始,其表面的纤毛呈微绒毛状。②在最常见的四种鼻粘膜炎症病变中,其超微结构的损害程度以伴有化脓性感染者最重,慢性肥厚性鼻炎与萎缩性鼻炎次之,变态反应性鼻炎最轻。③上述四种炎症病人的鼻纤毛输送能力均较正常人差,其中以伴有化脓性感染者最差,慢性肥厚性鼻炎和萎缩性鼻炎次之,变态反应性鼻炎最轻。     

多媒体技术在医学生物学实验教学中的应用

本文联系医学生物学实验课程和多媒体技术的特点，探讨了多媒体技术在医学生物学实验教学中的应用。指出在基础医学实验教学中教师要利用多媒体技术的优点，结合课件制作和教学中应注意的问题，才能充分发挥多媒体技术在教学中的作用，提高教学质量。     

输精管结扎干扰前列腺增生过程的机制探讨——精浆睾酮双氢睾酮的放射免疫测定

本文应用放射免疫测定的方法检测了13例输精管结扎后(平均15.3年,平均年龄50岁)的男性精浆双氢睾酮和睾酮的浓度,另取同年龄组男性13例作为对照。结果表明,精浆睾酮在结扎组(374.54p/ml)和正常对照组(315.64Pg/ml)中没有明显差异,而结扎组精浆中双氢睾酮(46.21pg/ml)却明显低子对照组(184.27pg/ml(p<0.01)。作者认为,输精管结扎对精浆DHT有长期影响,这可能是其对前列腺增生过程产生抑制作用的原因之一。