College of Pharmacy

This study describes the lithostratigraphic character of mid-Cenozoic (Oligocene-Pliocene) sequences in different parts of the northeastern Mediterranean area and offers a detailed stratigraphic correlation for this region. The sequences concerned are drawn from the Camardi area (south-central Anatolia), the Adana Basin, the Misis Mountains and the Kyrenia Range (northern Cyprus) and the submerged Florence Rise (west of Cyprus). The stratigraphic relationships identified here indicate the following: (a) Following the middle Eocene (Lutetian) regression there was uplift throughout the entire region; (b) Episodes of fluvial and lacustrine deposition in intramontane settings ensued in most of this region during the late Eocene/early Miocene interval; (c) Following a regionally extensive phase of tectonic compression, major marine transgression commenced in the late Oligocene in northern Cyprus and in the early Miocene in adjacent southern Turkey, with the exception of the Ecemi§ Fault Zone where continental deposition continued; (d) These Oligo-Miocene transgressive sequences comprise a broadly diachronous complex of both shallow and deeper marine facies, including reefal carbonates, littoral clastics, basinal shales and fan-turbidites; (e) Deeper marine Miocene facies persisted longer in the Misis area and in northern Cyprus; (f) A regional regression occurred throughout most of the area during the late Serravallian to Tortonian interval and is marked by the abrupt, locally discordant appearance of extensive shallow marine, deltaic and fluvial deposits; (g) Continued regression in the Messinian led to the formation of significant evaporite deposits in the western and southern parts of the region, but localized uplift of the Misis area is attested by the initial deformation of the Neogene rocks there and the absence of Messinian sediments from this area; (h) In the Pliocene there was extensive emergence of the northern parts of the region interrupted by brief marine incursions. The present-day drainage pattern was established at this time; (i) Marine conditions persisted longer in northern Cyprus, where emergence occurred only in the latest Pliocene.

This essay discusses the educational evolution of the University of Puerto Rico-School of Tropical Medicine (UPR-STM) under the auspices of Columbia University. It takes a closer look to what was taught, who taught it and who were the students benefitting from the educational, learning and advanced research activities. It highlights some characteristics of the educational environment that aimed to harvest a well-trained group of scientists, academicians, and practitioners. It examines the characteristics of the faculty and graduates and their role in the teaching and dissemination of knowledge in tropical medicine and closely related fields. The curricula was characterized for its flexibility to accommodate the students' clinical and research interests. With the advent of the 1940s the School started offering public health professionals degrees in addition to the former research-based training. This brought tensions associated to professionalization, the diversification of purpo...

This article deals with the historical antecedents of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University. It presents a general view of the social, institutional and conceptual factors that were correlated with the establishment of the STM. The authors start by examining the historical continuities and discontinuities present during the imperial transitions between Spanish colonial and U.S. military medicine at the turn of the 20th century. The clarification of these changes is important for the proper understanding of the emergence of tropical medicine in Puerto Rico, marked by the identification of the biological determinant of the so called "peasants' anemia." The essay focuses on two institutional precursor events: the Puerto Rico Anemia Commissions (1904-1908) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1912-1914). Their nature and work paved the way for the establishment of the STM. The notions ...

Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to struggle from depressive symptoms than individuals without diabetes. However, this joint condition is undertreated in nearly two-thirds of patients. Failure to monitor the comorbidity may lead to suboptimal therapy. This study evaluated the association of antidepressant use with healthcare utilization in a national sample of patients with type 2 diabetes and depression symptoms in the United States. It further assessed the differences in sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors between those who use antidepressants and those who do not. This study was a secondary data analysis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the period 2005–2014. To assess if there were significant differences in sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors between those who were taking antidepressants or not, Chi Square and independent t-tests were used. To assess if there was a significant association between a...

Objective The objective of this study was to assess community pharmacists’ willingness to test, treat and immunize for COVID-19 in Puerto Rico. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a 37-item survey was distributed via email and social media in May 2020 through REDCap online software. All licensed community pharmacists in Puerto Rico (N = 1200) were invited to complete the survey. Retired community pharmacists were excluded. Analysis of frequencies and chi-square tests were performed to evaluate the willingness to test, treat and immunize for COVID-19 and their associations with sociodemographic variables. Key findings The survey response rate was 26% (314/1200). Subjects’ mean age was 42 (±13), 86.1% were female, and most practiced in independent community or specialty pharmacy (62%). Among respondents, 44% reported willingness to test. Top concerns for testing were family (73.4%) and self (66.8%) exposure and ability to manage the workflow (53.3%). Most participants indicated the...

On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the ZIKV virus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Pregnant women and their infants, are vulnerable to the impact of this vector-borne illness (mosquito) and sexually transmitted viral infection. The uncertainty surrounding the possibility of congenital anomalies due to ZIKV infection during pregnancy bring a renewed debate about the rights of women to control their reproductive decisions. Current strategies, resources and services aimed at prevention priorities fall short of responding to a clear framework regarding sexual reproductive health, rights and justice. A comprehensive approach to reproduction, in times of Zika, needs to empower women of reproductive age and their families to make decisions and to act on those decisions. This paper highlights the contributions of the Maternal-Infant Studies Center (CEMI-Spanish Acronym) in close collaboration with the Department of Obstetric...

On 30 October 2017, selected faculty and administrators from Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) grantee institutions gathered to share first-hand accounts of the devastating impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which had interrupted academic activities, including research, education, and training in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas. The presenters reviewed emergency response measures taken by their institutions to maintain community health care access and delivery, the storm-related impact on clinical and research infrastructure, and strategies to retain locally grown clinical expertise and translational science research talent in the aftermath of natural disasters. A longer-term perspective was provided through a comparative review of lessons learned by one New Orleans-based institution (now more than a decade post-storm) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Caring for the internal and external communities associated with each institution and addressing the ...

The response is described to the 2010 call from the Pan American Health Organization to develop a Regional Framework on Core Competencies in Public Health, with a view to supporting the efforts of the countries in the Americas to build public health systems capacity as a strategy for optimal performance of the Essential Public Health Functions. The methodological process for the response was divided into four phases. In the first, a team of experts was convened who defined the methodology to be used during a workshop at the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico in 2010. The second phase involved formation of the working groups, using two criteria: experience and multidisciplinary membership, which resulted in a regional team with 225 members from 12 countries. This team prepared an initial proposal with 88 competencies. In the third phase, the competencies were cross-validated and their number reduced to 64. During the fourth phase, which included two workshops, in March 201...

Recent advances in the field of biomedical prevention have induced optimism among both the scientific community and the public in general. The discussion of the research evidence is complemented with a discussion of the implications of this evidence for the Caribbean, highlighting the issues and controversies that should be considered in order to encourage and advance the responsible consideration of biomedical strategies. Traditionally, HIV prevention strategies have been characterized as predominantly behavior, social or biomedical. In practice, however, some strategies defy classification: even when they rely on technological or pharmaceutical elements, they have to be adopted by a society and the individuals within it. Moreover, whatever the strategy used, it will have to be distributed, implemented and made available through health care systems or other means. And its cost will be absorbed by specific funders or by society in general. Given the current historical context of the...

This essay introduces a series of five historical articles on the scientific and educational contributions of the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM), under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949), to the fields of tropical medicine and public health. The articles will appear in several consecutive issues, and will address various themes as follows: 1) historical antecedents of the STM, particularly institutional precedents; 2) the educational legacy of the STM; 3) a history of the STM scientific journal ("The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine"); 4) the scientific practices and representations that prevailed at the institution; and, 5) a brief sociocultural history of malaria in Puerto Rico, mainly from the perspective of the STM's scientific and public health activities. The authors have systematically and comprehensively studied a wide variety of documents from different sources based on multiple archives in Pu...

To evaluate the impact of group prenatal care () on the rate of Preterm Birth (PTB) and low birth weight. Women were enrolled into Centering Pregnancy () if they fell in the category of poverty, and had at least one risk for PTB according to known risk factors for low birth weight or PTB. Mother's age, parity, risk factors, prenatal/delivery complications, infants' Gestational Age (GA), birth weight, Apgar scores, delivery route, indications for delivery, and use of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) were abstracted from charts of mothers who received group or traditional care at the University Hospital in San Juan, PR. More infants were born at term if the mothers received . The mean birth weight and gestational age of the infants were higher (6.59 vs. 6.33 lbs. and 37.8 vs. 36.8 weeks) than for those in traditional care. also had lower rates of preterm birth (27.7% vs. 34.1%) and births earlier than 31 weeks (2.8% vs. 9.9%). All were statistically significant (P<0.05)....

Qualitative interviewing is a flexible and powerful tool to capture the voices and the ways people make meaning of their experience Learning to conduct semi-structure interviews requires the following six stages: (a) selecting the type of interview; (b) establishing ethical guidelines, (c) crafting the interview protocol; (d) conducting and recording the interview; (e) crafting the interview protocol; and (f) reporting the findings. A researcher's personal journey in crafting an interview protocol to interview HIV researchers is summarized. She highlights that training and experience are crucial and identifies some readings that can help in the process.