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Ticks transmit more pathogens—including bacteria, parasites and viruses—than any other arthropod vector. Although the epidemiological status of many tick-borne bacteria is very well characterized, tick-borne viruses are still relatively under-studied. Recently, several novel tick-borne viruses have been isolated from human febrile illnesses following tick bites, indicating the existence of other potential new and unknown tick-borne viruses. We used high-throughput sequencing to analyse the virome of Ixodes ricinus, the main vector of tick-borne pathogens in Europe. The majority of collected viral sequences were assigned to two potentially novel Nairovirus and Phlebovirus viruses, with prevalence rates ranging from 3.95% to 23.88% in adults and estimated to be between 0.14% and 72.16% in nymphs. These viruses could not be isolated from the brains of inoculated immunocompromised mice, perhaps indicating that they are unable to infect vertebrates. Within the I. ricinus virome, we also identified contigs with >90% identity to the known Eyach virus. Initially isolated in the 1980s, this virus was indirectly associated with human disease, but had never been extensively studied. Eyach virus prevalence varied between 0.07% and 5.26% in ticks from the French Ardennes and Alsace regions. Eyach virus was successfully isolated following intracerebral inoculation of immunocompromised mice with Eyach virus-positive tick extracts. This virus was also able to multiply and persist in the blood of immunocompetent mice inoculated by intraperitoneal injection, and caused brain infections in three of nine juveniles, without any obvious deleterious effects.

Background: Potential pharmacy students need a financial frame of reference to compare alternative fields of study or even determine if studying is financially worthwhile., Objective: Estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education investment in the U.S., Methods: A model is used to estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education. It is formulated using exclusively present values (i.e., dollars at 2019 prices). Several assumptions are made regarding the individual getting the education, the costs incurred, the amount borrowed, and the benefits derived. The robustness of the model is tested using sensitivity analysis and the rate of return is recalculated each time., Results: The estimated real rate of return to a pharmacy education investment in the U.S., devoid of inflation and under the assumptions initially postulated in the model, is 4.89%. The nominal rate of return is 6.44%. Post-estimation sensitivity analysis shows that the real rate of return is relatively inelastic with respect to changes in eight inputs considered, thus indicating robustness in the results of the model., Conclusions: The real rate of return estimated here establishes pharmacy as a financially viable occupation for young individuals possessing the aptitude and commitment to pursue a patient-centered career in medication management., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ticks transmit more pathogens-including bacteria, parasites and viruses-than any other arthropod vector. Although the epidemiological status of many tick-borne bacteria is very well characterized, tick-borne viruses are still relatively under-studied. Recently, several novel tick-borne viruses have been isolated from human febrile illnesses following tick bites, indicating the existence of other potential new and unknown tick-borne viruses. We used high-throughput sequencing to analyse the virome of Ixodes ricinus, the main vector of tick-borne pathogens in Europe. The majority of collected viral sequences were assigned to two potentially novel Nairovirus and Phlebovirus viruses, with prevalence rates ranging from 3.95% to 23.88% in adults and estimated to be between 0.14% and 72.16% in nymphs. These viruses could not be isolated from the brains of inoculated immunocompromised mice, perhaps indicating that they are unable to infect vertebrates. Within the I. ricinus virome, we also identified contigs with >90% identity to the known Eyach virus. Initially isolated in the 1980s, this virus was indirectly associated with human disease, but had never been extensively studied. Eyach virus prevalence varied between 0.07% and 5.26% in ticks from the French Ardennes and Alsace regions. Eyach virus was successfully isolated following intracerebral inoculation of immunocompromised mice with Eyach virus-positive tick extracts. This virus was also able to multiply and persist in the blood of immunocompetent mice inoculated by intraperitoneal injection, and caused brain infections in three of nine juveniles, without any obvious deleterious effects.

Background: Recent years have seen significant growth in part-time work among pharmacy personnel. If preferences and outlooks of part-time and full-time workers differ, job-related incentives may not have the same effect on both groups; different management practices may be necessary to cope with rapidly evolving workforces., Objective: To compare wage-and-salary responses to the number of hours worked, human-capital stock, and job-related preferences between full-time and part-time pharmacists. The analysis focused on the pharmacist workforce because, unlike other professions, remuneration is fairly linear with respect to the amount of time worked., Methods: Data were collected from a self-reported survey of licensed pharmacists in southern Florida (U.S. State). The sample consisted of 979 full-time and 254 part-time respondents. Using ordinary least squares, a model estimated, separately for full-time and part-time pharmacists, annual wage-and-salary earnings as functions of average workweek, human-capital stock, and job-related preferences., Results: Practitioners working less than 36 h/week were driven almost exclusively by pay, whereas practitioners working 36 h or more exhibited a more comprehensive approach to their work experience that included variables beyond monetary remuneration., Conclusion: Managing part-time pharmacists calls for emphasis on wage-and-salary issues. Job-security and gender- and children-related concerns, such as flexibility, should be oriented toward full-time practitioners., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: There is a gap between increasing demands from pharmacy journals, publishers, and reviewers for high survey response rates and the actual responses often obtained in the field by survey researchers. Presumably demands have been set high because response rates, times, and costs affect the validity and reliability of survey results., Objective: Explore the extent to which survey response rates, average response times, and economic costs are affected by conditions under which pharmacist workforce surveys are administered., Methods: A random sample of 7200 U.S. practicing pharmacists was selected. The sample was stratified by delivery method, questionnaire length, item placement, and gender of respondent for a total of 300 observations within each subgroup. A job satisfaction survey was administered during March-April 2012., Results: Delivery method was the only classification showing significant differences in response rates and average response times. The postal mail procedure accounted for the highest response rates of completed surveys, but the email method exhibited the quickest turnaround. A hybrid approach, consisting of a combination of postal and electronic means, showed the least favorable results. Postal mail was 2.9 times more cost effective than the email approach and 4.6 times more cost effective than the hybrid approach., Conclusion: Researchers seeking to increase practicing pharmacists' survey participation and reduce response time and related costs can benefit from the analytical procedures tested here., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: As most of the literature exploring the relationships between alcohol use and sleep problems is descriptive and with small sample sizes, the present study seeks to provide new information on the topic by employing a large, nationally representative dataset with several waves of data and a broad set of measures for binge drinking and sleep problems., Methods: We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative survey of adolescents and young adults. The analysis sample consists of all Wave 4 observations without missing values for the sleep problems variables (N=14,089, 53% females). We estimate gender-specific multivariate probit models with a rich set of socioeconomic, demographic, physical, and mental health variables to control for confounding factors., Results: Our results confirm that alcohol use, and specifically binge drinking, is positively and significantly associated with various types of sleep problems. The detrimental effects on sleep increase in magnitude with frequency of binge drinking, suggesting a dose-response relationship. Moreover, binge drinking is associated with sleep problems independent of psychiatric conditions., Conclusions: The statistically strong association between sleep problems and binge drinking found in this study is a first step in understanding these relationships. Future research is needed to determine the causal links between alcohol misuse and sleep problems to inform appropriate clinical and policy responses., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)