Inadequate career advice for students.
Abstract Students would benefit from advice on the wide scope of career opportunities available within the pharmaceutical industry
Diversity amongst international pharmacy students
Objective: To describe the diversity of international pharmacy students’ demographics, motivating factors in program choice and career aspirations. Method: Cross-sectional survey of pharmacy students in Finland, Kuwait, New Zealand, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Results: Totally 1516 questionnaires were completed. Demographic variables varied. Only 56% of New Zealand students were local citizens. Females predominated except in Zimbabwe (67% male). Less than 10% of students in Kuwait considered pharmacy an easy program, compared to 39% Finnish MPharm students. Philanthropy was the main reason for choosing to study pharmacy, although lifestyle issues played a big role in Finland. Financial motives were important in Sudan and Zimbabwe. A larger proportion of students in these two countries also wanted to work in the private sector. Future career aspirations varied greatly between countries. Conclusion: Pharmacy students show great diversity between countries which has important implications for academic orientation, course development and moves towards curriculum harmonisation.
Nuclear sphingolipid metabolism.
Nuclear lipid metabolism is implicated in various processes, including transcription, splicing, and DNA repair. Sphingolipids play roles in numerous cellular functions, and an emerging body of literature has identified roles for these lipid mediators in distinct nuclear processes. Different sphingolipid species are localized in various subnuclear domains, including chromatin, the nuclear matrix, and the nuclear envelope, where sphingolipids exert specific regulatory and structural functions. Sphingomyelin, the most abundant nuclear sphingolipid, plays both structural and regulatory roles in chromatin assembly and dynamics in addition to being an integral component of the nuclear matrix. Sphingosine-1-phosphate modulates histone acetylation, sphingosine is a ligand for steroidogenic factor 1, and nuclear accumulation of ceramide has been implicated in apoptosis. Finally, nuclear membrane-associated ganglioside GM1 plays a pivotal role in Ca(2+) homeostasis. This review highlights research on the factors that control nuclear sphingolipid metabolism and summarizes the roles of these lipids in various nuclear processes.