bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical medication review by a pharmacist of elderly patients on repeat medications in general practice — pharmacist interventions and review outcomes
Authors: PETTY D R , ZERMANSKY A G , RAYNOR D K , LOWE C J , FREEMANTLE N , VAIL A 
Published: February 2011

Abstract

Objectives
To describe the nature and rate of interventions made by a pharmacist conducting clinical medication reviews in general practice.

Method
Patients, randomly allocated to the intervention group, in a randomised controlled trial of 1,188 patients, were invited to a pharmacist-conducted medication review clinic at their general practice. Patients were seen over one year from June 1, 1999, to May 31, 2000. In the consultation an assessment was made of the patient, their clinical conditions and medication. Consultation outcomes for each patient and intervention outcomes for each medicine were evaluated.

Setting
Patients were recruited from four randomly selected general practices in Leeds, UK. Patients were eligible if aged 65 years or over and on at least one repeat medicine.

Key findings
Consultations were held with 590 patients in the intervention group (97 per cent). A recommendation for change was made in 44 per cent (258/591) of consultations. The most common outcome was a change in medication: 29 per cent of consultations (170/591). Doctor referral occurred for 28 patients (5 per cent) and nurse referral for 25 (4 per cent).
Study patients were recorded as taking 2,927 repeat medications (mode of two per patient). Interventions were made for 21 per cent of medications (603). Clinically related interventions accounted for 71 per cent (430/603). Recommendations were spread evenly across therapy groups. At the study end, 90 per cent (433/484) of recommendations remained implemented.

Conclusion
A pharmacist who clinically reviewed elderly patients, their conditions and their medications, intervened in nearly half the patients. The pharmacist was able to implement most interventions without referring the patient to a doctor or nurse.
Pharmacists in a liberalised system — results from a profession-wide survey in Iceland
Authors: ALMARSDÓTTIR ANNA BIRNA , BJÖRNSDÓTTIR INGUNN , TRAULSEN JANINE MORGALL 
Published: February 2011

AbstractBackgroundThe study reported here was part of a multi-study evaluation of new drug distribution legislation in Iceland.ObjectiveThe objective of this sub-study was to compare the satisfaction of community pharmacists and pharmacists in other settings with regard to their job in general, importance of the job, work hours, contact with patients, and responsibility.MethodA questionnaire survey was constructed, pilot tested, and mailed to all pharmacists belonging to professional societies in Iceland in March 1999.Key findingsThe results show an inconsistency in whether general job satisfaction was correlated with respondents' perception of the job's importance and responsibility, more so for community pharmacists than others. Overall job satisfaction was quite high and community pharmacists felt that their contact with customers was satisfactory. However, they were more dissatisfied with their work hours, importance of their work, and responsibility than other pharmacists.ConclusionCommunity pharmacists have been affected more adversely by the legislative change than their colleagues in other work settings.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND PHARMACY PRACTICE RESEARCH: (2) An introduction to functionalist sociology: Talcott Parsons' concept of the “sick role”
Authors: BISSELL PAUL , TRAULSEN JANINE MORGALL , HAUGBØLLE LOTTE STIG 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThis article, the second in a series highlighting the relevance of sociological theory to pharmacy practice, provides an introduction to functionalist sociology through a discussion of the work of the influential sociologist Talcott Parsons. As we noted in the first paper,1 the discipline of sociology consists of a number of competing perspectives which seek to understand the nature of the social world: functionalism is one perspective that has had an enduring influence. Drawing on metaphors from biology, functionalist sociologists view societies as wholes or systems, which consist of interacting and self-regulating elements. Each of the elements works to maintain the whole, so ensuring the stability or order of the system. Parsons focused on one of the elements within the social system — medicine — and, specifically, on the doctor-patient relationship, in order to illustrate his ideas. In this article, we will be discussing Parsons' contribution to functionalist sociology, his depiction of the relationships between health professionals and patients and his assertion that these play an important role in sustaining order within society. We provide a critique of his ideas before assessing his relevance to the contemporary health services and pharmacy practice research agenda. A reading list is supplied at the end of the article for those who wish to follow up his ideas. As we suggested in the first paper,1 our aim for this series is to stimulate critical engagement with key sociological concepts among pharmacy practice researchers, with the hope of strengthening the inter-disciplinary explanatory capacity of this body of work.2
The emergency supply of prescription-only medicines: a survey of requests to community pharmacists and their views on the procedures
Authors: O'Neill Richard , Rowley Emma , Smith Felicity 
Published: February 2011

Abstract

Objectives
The provisions of the Medicines Act for the emergency supply of prescription-only medicines (POMs) represent circumstances in which pharmacists in the UK may lawfully supply a patient with a POM without having a prescription. The objectives of this research were to establish the frequency of requests for emergency supplies from doctors and patients, and the characteristics of the requests, to investigate the procedures for emergency supply from the perspective of community pharmacists and to survey their views on the subject.

Method
Data were gathered in a self-administered structured postal questionnaire. The sample comprised community pharmacists in three health authority areas in Greater London and the surrounding area.

Key findings
Over two-thirds of the 243 respondents reported receiving requests for emergency supplies of POMs from patients at least monthly. The most commonly requested items were inhalers for asthma, followed by medication for cardiovascular disease. Many pharmacists had refused to make supplies on the basis that the situation did not constitute an emergency and/or that a prescription could be obtained. They also experienced cases in which they doubted the suitability of the requested product. Over half of the respondents reported receiving at least monthly requests from doctors to dispense an emergency supply. Refusals to supply were most commonly because the requested product was a Controlled Drug and therefore disallowed. Most respondents believed that the emergency supply procedures provided an opportunity to exercise professional judgment and were an important “safety net” for patients.

Discussion
The provisions for the emergency supply of medicines are a common resort of both prescribers and patients and present pharmacists with an opportunity to exercise professional judgment. However, many pharmacists considered the procedures restrictive, believing that they should have more discretion in supplying POMs to regular patients and their representatives.

Conclusion
Professional developments as envisaged by the British government and the pharmacy profession will require greater flexibility regarding the arrangements for supply of POMs.
Community pharmacy as a performance: a participant observer's account of a day in the life of a locum
Authors: Brown Malcolm E , Bellaby Paul 
Published: February 2011

Abstract

Objective
To understand, from a dramaturgical viewpoint, the performance of “community pharmacy.”

Method
Participant observation supported by focus groups and semistructured interviews; the study adopted a grounded theory approach.

Setting
Fieldwork was conducted within 21 community pharmacies in East Anglia, England.

Key findings
Pharmacists identify with their setting and stage props. On the stage of community pharmacy, the pharmacist crucially converts the drug into medicine, during a complex and well-rehearsed performance. There are sometimes distractions, which make the performance sub-optimal. Other insights included what counts as error, how to manage stress, and the fact that the trust on which professional practice rests is at stake when expressive performance fails.

Conclusion
It is possible to conduct ethnography of community pharmacy and this is among the first such studies of British community pharmacy. Were the pharmacist to leave the stage and its props (the drugs), only to advise patients on medicines, the performance of community pharmacy, as we know it, might disappear.
IS VELBAND STILL A SAFE AND COST EFFECTIVE SKIN PROTECTION BENEATH THE TOURNIQUET IN HAND SURGERY?
Authors: Guo Shigong 
Published: February 2011

Skin complications have been reported to be associated with tourniquet use. The UK Medical Devices Agency (MDA) recommends the use of a limb drape to act as underpadding to reduce these complications. Our hospital had traditionally used Velbands as an underpadding, but changed to limb drapes on the advice of the MDA. The purpose of this study is to establish whether Velbands are still a safe and cost-effective tourniquet underpadding. A prospective clinical study was performed on consecutive patients undergoing hand surgery over a four-month period. Patients were randomly allocated into one of two treatment groups. Group 1 using Velband as tourniquet underpadding and Group 2 using limb drapes as underpadding. All patients had identical tourniquets, tourniquet pressure and skin preparation agents. After surgery, the tourniquet was removed and the skin beneath the tourniquet was inspected for any skin reaction or damage. Each group included 50 patients. Skin was normal after tourniquet use in all cases and there was no difference between the two groups. Velband is still a safe and cost-effective tourniquet underpadding in hand surgery.
Comparison of collaborative filtering algorithms
Authors: Cacheda Fidel , Carneiro Víctor , Fernández Diego , Formoso Vreixo 
Published: February 2011

The technique of collaborative filtering is especially successful in generating personalized recommendations. More than a decade of research has resulted in numerous algorithms, although no comparison of the different strategies has been made. In fact, a universally accepted way of evaluating a collaborative filtering algorithm does not exist yet. In this work, we compare different techniques found in the literature, and we study the characteristics of each one, highlighting their principal strengths and weaknesses. Several experiments have been performed, using the most popular metrics and algorithms. Moreover, two new metrics designed to measure the precision on good items have been proposed.
The results have revealed the weaknesses of many algorithms in extracting information from user profiles especially under sparsity conditions. We have also confirmed the good results of SVD-based techniques already reported by other authors. As an alternative, we present a new approach based on the interpretation of the tendencies or differences between users and items. Despite its extraordinary simplicity, in our experiments, it obtained noticeably better results than more complex algorithms. In fact, in the cases analyzed, its results are at least equivalent to those of the best approaches studied. Under sparsity conditions, there is more than a 20% improvement in accuracy over the traditional user-based algorithms, while maintaining over 90% coverage. Moreover, it is much more efficient computationally than any other algorithm, making it especially adequate for large amounts of data.
The Over-Relaxed "Equation missing" -Proximal Point Algorithm for General Nonlinear Mixed Set-Valued Inclusion Framework
Authors: Pan XianBing , Li HongGang , Xu AnJian 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is (1) a general nonlinear mixed set-valued inclusion framework for the over-relaxed "Equation missing"-proximal point algorithm based on the ("Equation missing", "Equation missing")-accretive mapping is introduced, and (2) it is applied to the approximation solvability of a general class of inclusions problems using the generalized resolvent operator technique due to Lan-Cho-Verma, and the convergence of iterative sequences generated by the algorithm is discussed in "Equation missing"-uniformly smooth Banach spaces. The results presented in the paper improve and extend some known results in the literature.
Fixed-Point Results for Generalized Contractions on Ordered Gauge Spaces with Applications
Authors: Chifu Cristian , Petruşel Gabriela 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to present some fixed-point results for single-valued "Equation missing"-contractions on ordered and complete gauge space. Our theorems generalize and extend some recent results in the literature. As an application, existence results for some integral equations on the positive real axis are given.
Permanent Pacemaker Insertion After CoreValve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
Authors: Khawaja M.Z. , Rajani R. , Cook A. , Khavandi A. , Moynagh A. , Chowdhary S. , Spence M.S. , Brown S. , Khan S.Q. , Walker N. , Trivedi U. , Hutchinson N. , De Belder A.J. , Moat N. , Blackman D.J. , Levy R.D. , Manoharan G. , Roberts D. , Khogali S.S. , Crean P. , Brecker S.J. , Baumbach A. , Mullen M. , Laborde J.-C. , Hildick-Smith D. 
Published: February 2011

Background—
Permanent pacemaker (PPM) requirement is a recognized complication of transcatheter aortic valve implantation. We assessed the UK incidence of permanent pacing within 30 days of CoreValve implantation and formulated an anatomic and electrophysiological model.

Methods and Results—

Data from 270 patients at 10 centers in the United Kingdom were examined. Twenty-five patients (8%) had preexisting PPMs; 2 patients had incomplete data. The remaining 243 were 81.3±6.7 years of age; 50.6% were male. QRS duration increased from 105±23 to 135±29 milliseconds (
P
<0.01). Left bundle-branch block incidence was 13% at baseline and 61% after the procedure (
P
<0.001). Eighty-one patients (33.3%) required a PPM within 30 days. Rates of pacing according to preexisting ECG abnormalities were as follows: right bundle-branch block, 65.2%; left bundle-branch block, 43.75%; normal QRS, 27.6%. Among patients who required PPM implantation, the median time to insertion was 4.0 days (interquartile range, 2.0 to 7.75 days). Multivariable analysis revealed that periprocedural atrioventricular block (odds ratio, 6.29; 95% confidence interval, 3.55 to 11.15), balloon predilatation (odds ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 2.00 to 3.47), use of the larger (29 mm) CoreValve prosthesis (odds ratio, 2.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.22 to 5.11), interventricular septum diameter (odds ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 to 3.06), and prolonged QRS duration (odds ratio, 3.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.61 to 7.40) were independently associated with the need for PPM.

Conclusion—
One third of patients undergoing a CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedure require a PPM within 30 days. Periprocedural atrioventricular block, balloon predilatation, use of the larger CoreValve prosthesis, increased interventricular septum diameter and prolonged QRS duration were associated with the need for PPM.
Delayed-Mode Calibration of Hydrographic Data Obtained from Animal-Borne Satellite Relay Data Loggers
Authors: Roquet Fabien , Charrassin Jean-Benoit , Marchand Stephane , Boehme Lars , Fedak Mike , Reverdin Gilles , Guinet Christophe 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
A delayed-mode calibration procedure is presented to improve the quality of hydrographic data from CTD–Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD–SRDL) deployed on elephant seals. This procedure is applied on a dataset obtained with 10 CTD–SRDLs deployed at Kerguelen Islands in 2007. A comparison of CTD–SRDLs with a ship-based CTD system is first presented. A pressure-effect correction, linear with pressure, is deduced for both temperature and salinity measurements. An external field effect on the conductivity sensor is also detected, inducing an additional salinity offset. The salinity offset cannot be estimated directly from the ship-based CTD comparisons, because the attachment of the CTD–SRDL on the seal head modifies the magnitude of the external field effect. Two methods are proposed for estimating a posteriori the salinity offset. The first method uses the stable salinity maximum characterizing the Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW), sampled by seals foraging south of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front. Where this approach is not possible, a statistical method of cross-comparison of CTD–SRDLs surface salinity measurements is used over the sluggish Northern Kerguelen Plateau. Accuracies are respectively estimated as ±0.02°C for temperature and ±0.1 for derived salinity without corrections. The delayed-mode calibration significantly improves the CTD–SRDL data, improving accuracies to ±0.01°C and ±0.03, respectively. A better salinity accuracy of ±0.02 is achieved when the LCDW method can be used. For CTD–SRDLs where ship-based CTD comparisons are not available, the expected accuracy would be ±0.02°C for temperature and ±0.04 for the derived salinity.
Evaluation of Model-Predicted Top-of-Atmosphere Radiation and Cloud Parameters over Africa with Observations from GERB and SEVIRI
Authors: Greuell Wouter , van Meijgaard Erik , Clerbaux Nicolas , Meirink Jan Fokke 
Published: February 2011

Abstract
This study compared the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model version 2 (RACMO) with satellite data by simultaneously looking at cloud properties and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) fluxes. This study used cloud properties retrieved from Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) data and TOA shortwave and longwave outgoing radiative fluxes measured by one of the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) sensors. Both SEVIRI and GERB resolve the diurnal cycle extremely well with 96 images per day. To test the physical parameterizations of the model, RACMO was run for a domain-enclosing Africa and part of the surrounding oceans. Simulations for July 2006, forced at the lateral boundaries by ERA-Interim reanalyses, show generally accurate positioning of the various cloud regimes but also some important model–observation differences, which the authors tried to reduce by altering model parameterizations. These differences are as follows: 1) TOA albedo differences in clear-sky regions like the Sahara and southern Africa. These differences were considerably reduced by prescribing the surface albedo from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data. 2) A considerable overestimation of outgoing longwave radiation within the continental ITCZ caused by the fact that modeled cirrus clouds are far too thin. 3) Underestimation by the model of cloud cover, condensed water path and albedo of the stratocumulus fields off the coast of Angola. The authors reduced these underestimations by suppressing the amount of turbulent mixing above the boundary layer, by prescribing droplet radii derived from SEVIRI data, and by assuming in-cloud horizontal homogeneity for the radiation calculations. 4) Overestimation by the model of the albedo of the trade wind cumulus fields over the Atlantic Ocean. This study argues that this overestimation is likely caused by a model overestimation of condensed water path. In general, the analyses demonstrate the power of the simultaneous evaluation of the TOA fluxes and cloud properties.
Rethinking the Ocean’s Role in the Southern Oscillation
Authors: Clement Amy , DiNezio Pedro , Deser Clara 
Published: February 2011

AbstractThe Southern Oscillation (SO) is usually described as the atmospheric component of the dynamically coupled El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. The contention in this work, however, is that dynamical coupling is not required to produce the SO. Simulations with atmospheric general circulation models that have varying degrees of coupling to the ocean are used to show that the SO emerges as a dominant mode of variability if the atmosphere and ocean are coupled only through heat and moisture fluxes. Herein this mode of variability is called the thermally coupled Walker (TCW) mode. It is a robust feature of simulations with atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) coupled to simple ocean mixed layers. Despite the absence of interactive ocean dynamics in these simulations, the spatial patterns of sea level pressure, surface temperature, and precipitation variability associated with the TCW are remarkably realistic. This mode has a red spectrum indicating persistence on interannual to decadal time scales that appears to arise through an off-equatorial trade wind–evaporation–surface temperature feedback and cloud shortwave radiative effects in the central Pacific. When dynamically coupled to the ocean (in fully coupled ocean–atmosphere GCMs), the main change to this mode is increased interannual variability in the eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature and teleconnections in the North Pacific and equatorial Atlantic, though not all coupled GCMs simulate this effect.Despite the oversimplification due to the lack of interactive ocean dynamics, the physical mechanisms leading to the TCW should be active in the actual climate system. Moreover, the robustness and realism of the spatial patterns of this mode suggest that the physics of the TCW can explain some of the primary features of observed interannual and decadal variability in the Pacific and the associated global teleconnections.