Jerry Fahrni

Author: Jerry Fahrni

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 just around the corner

    It appears that the Android tablet I’ve been waiting for is mere weeks away from hitting the street. Of course I’m talking about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. If reports around the ‘net are true, the Note 10.1 should be available by the end of August, i.e. this month.

    Specs include a 1.4GHz quad core processor, 2GB RAM, a pair of cameras (1.9MP on the front and a 5MP on the rear), microSD card slot, and of course pen support. I’m looking forward to having a 10.1-inch Android tablet optimized for the S Pen.

    My limited experiences with the Galaxy Note have been exceptional, and one can only imagine that the additional real estate provided by a 10.1-inch screen will provide ample opportunity to do some really cool stuff.

    The promotional video is below. If the tablet can perform even half of the functions covered in the video, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 will be a must have tablet.

    Samsung is on fire.

  • Scientists find new mechanism behind resistance to cancer treatment

    Medical Xpress: “A team of scientists led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has discovered a key factor that drives this drug resistance [chemotherapy resistance].Nelson and colleagues found that a type of normal, noncancerous cell that lives in cancer’s neighborhood – the fibroblast – when exposed to chemotherapy sustains DNA damage that drives the production of a broad spectrum of growth factors that stimulate cancer growth. Specifically, the researchers found that DNA-damaging cancer treatment coaxes fibroblasts to crank out a protein called WNT16B within the tumor neighborhood, or microenvironment, and that high levels of this protein enable cancer cells to grow, invade surrounding tissue and resist chemotherapy.” – Interesting finding. I suppose that means we’ll be looking at WNT16B inhibitors soon? Probably not soon. A quick Google search revealed that that protein may contribute to several other processes in the human body.

    Article from Nature Medicine below.
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  • Saturday morning coffee [August 4 2012]

    So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

    The coffee mug to the right comes from the University of Texas in Austin, home of the Longhorns. I picked it up last week while the Fahrni crew was on vacation terrorizing the Lone Star State. Feel free to read about what we’ve been up to here.

    - Dark Knight Rises remained #1 at the box office last weekend. I’ve already seen Dark Knight Rises so my wife and I went to see The Watch instead. The Watch is a terrible movie, but it’s funny as heck. If you’re looking for a crappy movie that will make you laugh out loud at times, then the Watch is for you. I don’t regret seeing it as I was due for a good laugh, but I wouldn’t see it again. It’s a Redbox rental, if you know what I mean.

    – Music for this morning’s blog composition, Candlebox.
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  • Timely webinar from Pharmacy OneSource: Maximizing the Use of Single-Dose Vials

    I wrote about the change in CMS policy regarding single-dose vials a few weeks ago. It looks like I may not be the only one that’s interested in the topic. Pharmacy OneSource is offering a webinar on August 8 titled “Maximizing the Use of Single-Dose Vials“. The speaker is Eric Kastango. Eric is one of, if not the, foremost authorities on all things pharmacy cleanroom and USP <797>. He knows his stuff. I had the pleasure of hearing Eric speak at the ASHP Midyear in Anaheim in 2010.

    There’s no cost to attend the webinar, so do yourself a favor if you have any interest in the topic and register. I was planning to attend, but have a scheduling conflict. I’ll have to grab the slides later.

    You can register here.

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  • Quick Hit: Thoughts on the Sony Tablet P

    While I was in Texas I had an opportunity to spend about half an hour with a Sony Tablet P. It’s an interesting tablet in that it uses a clamshell form factor. I’m a big fan of the clamshell design. Not exactly sure why, but I am. Perhaps it has something to do with the compact design and the fact that the unit’s screen is protected when it’s closed. Who knows.

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  • Nano-FTIR: A new era in modern analytical chemistry

    Basque Research: “Researchers from the nanoscience research center NanoGUNE (San Sebastian, Spain), the university of Munich (LMU, Germany) and Neaspec GmbH (Martinsried, Germany) present a new instrumental development that solves a prime question of materials science and nanotechnology: how to chemically identify materials at the nanometer scale (F. Huth et al., Nano Letters, 2012, DOI: 10.1021/nl301159v).

    Nanoscale chemical identification and mapping of materials now becomes possible with nano-FTIR, an optical technique that combines scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. By illuminating the metalized tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) with a broadband infrared laser, and analyzing the backscattered light with a specially designed Fourier Transform spectrometer, the researchers could demonstrate local infrared spectroscopy with a spatial resolution of less than 20 nm. “Nano-FTIR thus allows for fast and reliable chemical identification of virtually any infrared-active material on the nanometer scale”, says Florian Huth, who performed the experiments.

    An important aspect of enormous practical relevance is that the nano-FTIR spectra match extremely well with conventional FTIR spectra, while the spatial resolution is increased by more than a factor of 300 compared to 

    conventional infrared spectroscopy. “The high sensitivity to chemical composition combined with ultra-high resolution makes nano-FTIR a unique tool for research, development and quality control in polymer chemistry, biomedicine and pharmaceutical industry” concludes Rainer Hillenbrand, leader of the Nanooptics group at nanoGUNE.””

    I wonder if this could ever be used to provide real-time identification of medication in solid as well as aqueous form. How about real-time identification of counterfeit drugs? Sounds like lots of possibilities.

  • Saturday morning coffee [July 28 2012]

    So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the taps that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

    The coffee mug to the right isn’t a coffee mug at all, it’s a coffee cup from the Starbucks in the lobby of our hotel. The Fahrni crew is on vacation this week. We’re running all over Texas having a great time. Feel free to read about what we’ve been up to here.

    - Dark Knight Rises was #1 at the box office last weekend. My family and I saw it. Good movie, but I was a little disappointed. The movie fell short in several areas in my opinion.

    – I’ve heard an awful lot about the Olympics this week. Is it just me or are the Olympics losing their appeal? I can’t seem to muster any interest. However, it you have an interest in keeping up with the Olympics you can always do so on your smartphone with this list of Olympics 2012 Android and iOS Apps at Lockergnome.
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  • Lexicomp offering deal on new subscriptions until the end of July

    In my opinion Lexicomp is still the gold standard for pharmacist drug references. I don’t use any of the Lexicomp references these days as I no longer have a need, but I used to use them all the time. I remember using Lexi-drugs on my Palm Pilot (actually a TRGPro) back in the day.  The reference went everywhere with me because my TRGPro was always in my pocket.
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  • A trip to IHOP and more thoughts on color

    A trip to the local IHOP (@IHOP) this morning for breakfast with my family reminded me of something I saw a couple a weeks ago and this post about the use of color in pharmacy labels. It’s a big of a stretch, I know, but the things that pop into one’s mind aren’t necessarily controlled by logic.
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  • Email notification for tests pending at discharge [article] – 90’s technology comes to healthcare

    I literally chuckled out loud when I read this abstract from the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA). Yes, chuckled. It wasn’t a full laugh because it was just so pathetic. I struggled trying to decide what blog category to place this article in. It’s not really mobile, but then again I suppose you can read your email from any smartphone. No, that would be giving the article more credit than it deserves. I suppose it could be lumped in with Technology. No, this is 2012. How about Therapeutics. No, not really. Huh, I’m stumped. None of the above it is.

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