bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Opportunity or threat? General practitioner perceptions of pharmacist prescribing
Authors: Blenkinsopp Alison , Tann Jennifer , Evans Amanda , Grime Janet 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Objective
In recent years prescribing rights have been extended beyond doctors and dentists in the UK, first to nurses and subsequently to pharmacists. The aim of the study was to explore general practitioner (GP) perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of pharmacist supplementary prescribing and the future introduction of independent prescribing.

Method
A qualitative study was conducted with GPs from three practices, in each of which a pharmacist prescriber was regularly working.

Key findings
The prescribing pharmacists, all of whom were already working in the practice when they qualified as prescribers, had negotiated new areas of work. Not all GPs in the practices referred patients to the prescribing pharmacists. Those GPs who did refer patients generally described benefits from the service, with some ambivalence. There was evidence that the GPs had, to some extent, redefined their professional boundaries, and delegated some routine work which involved no diagnosis and only limited decision making. In this way the GPs exercised control over the interprofessional boundaries.

Conclusion
The study findings indicate selective acceptance of pharmacist prescribing by GPs.
Glaucoma patient receipt of information and instruction on how to use their eye drops
Authors: Sleath Betsy , Byrd John E , Robin Alan L , Covert David , Tudor Gail 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Objectives
The objectives of the study are: (a) to describe the sources of glaucoma patient's medication information and instruction, and (b) to examine the influence of patient characteristics on the sources of medication information and instruction obtained.

Setting
Four geographically distinct ophthalmology practices in the US.

Method
A survey assessing receipt of information and instruction on how to use eye drops was completed by 324 patients. Multivariable logistic and ordinal regression were used to analyse the data.

Key findings
Fifteen per cent of patients stated that no-one gave them information about their glaucoma medications, and 20% of patients stated that no-one showed them how to use their glaucoma medications. Ophthalmologists were the individuals most likely and ophthalmic technicians were the second-most likely to give the patients information and instruction on how to use their medications. Fourteen per cent of patients stated that pharmacists gave them information about their eye drops. Patients very rarely reported pharmacists or primary care physicians showing them how to use their glaucoma medications. Fourteen per cent of patients reported going to the internet for information. Younger patients were significantly more likely to receive information about glaucoma and glaucoma medications from the internet than older patients.

Conclusion
Patients are receiving information about glaucoma medications from numerous sources, yet almost one out of five glaucoma patients reported receiving no instruction on the instillation of their eye drops. Pharmacists have the opportunity to educate glaucoma patients about using their medications by giving them information and showing them how to administer the medications correctly.
Pharmacy and pharmacists' perceptions of pharmaceutical care in Kazakhstan
Authors: Cordina Maria , Nurmanbetova Farida Nusupzhanovna , Kulmagambetov Iliyas Raikhanovich , Sautenkova Nina 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Objectives
To investigate the perceived importance that pharmacists in Kazakhstan place on the various activities involved in the delivery of pharmaceutical care, using the modified Behavioural Pharmaceutical Care Scale (BPCS) questionnaire.

Method
The questionnaire consisting of 3 dimensions and 14 domains was translated into Russian and back-translated into English for verification. The Russian version was mailed to a sample of 510 randomly selected pharmacists throughout all the regions of Kazakhstan. Pharmacists were asked to score the importance of each pharmaceutical care activity contained in the modified BPCS Scale on a six-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 5.

Key findings
The overall score for the questionnaire, which illustrated the importance pharmacists attributed to the various aspects of pharmaceutical care, ranged from 46 to 170, with a mean score of 119.2. The highest scored dimension was that of instrumental activities, obtaining 76.7% of the maximum achievable score, while the direct patient care activities dimension obtained the lowest score. The competency improvement domain obtained the highest score and hence was perceived to be the most important pharmaceutical care activity. Younger pharmacists, however, obtained significantly lower scores (P &lt; 0.05 Kruskal—Wallis) in the domains of prescription validation, evaluation of patient satisfaction, and competency improvement, perceiving these instrumental activities to be of lesser importance.

Conclusion
Pharmacists in Kazakhstan need to become better acquainted with pharmaceutical care and the current international extended practice of pharmacy. This needs to be addressed at both a basic and continuing education stage as well as at national pharmaceutical policy level.
An evaluation of two automated dispensing machines in UK hospital pharmacy
Authors: Franklin Bryony Dean , O'Grady Kara , Voncina Luka , Popoola Janice , Jacklin Ann 
Published: January 2008

Abstract

Objective
To assess the impact of two different automated dispensing machines (‘robots’) on safety, efficiency and staff satisfaction, in a UK hospital setting.

Setting
An NHS teaching hospital trust with two main sites each comprising 450 beds. A Swisslog Pack Picker automated dispensing machine was installed in the dispensary at site 1 in December 2003, and a Rowa Speedcase at site 2 in October 2005.

Method
A before-and-after study design was used on each site, with site 2 acting as a control for site 1. Staff recorded data on dispensing errors identified at the final-check stage; an observer recorded the time taken to label, pick and assemble dispensed items; we recorded turnaround times for the different types of prescription and assessed storage space efficiency. We also used questionnaires to explore staff views.

Key findings
The robot resulted in a significant decrease in dispensing errors on each site (from 2.7 to 1.0% of dispensed items on site 1, and from 1.2 to 0.6% on site 2). Reductions occurred in errors involving wrong content; there was no clear effect on labelling errors. There were reductions in the time required to pick items for dispensing; there was no impact on labelling or assembly times. There was no conclusive effect on turnaround times. Increases in storage capacity occurred on each site; staff on site 2 were more satisfied following introduction of the robot; there was no difference on site 1.

Conclusion
Installation of a dispensary robot has modest benefits in terms of reduced dispensing errors, reduced picking times, increased staff satisfaction and increased storage capacity; there was no conclusive impact on turnaround times. These findings seem to be independent of the type of robot installed.
Maximum Commonality Problems: Applications and Analysis
Authors: Dawande Milind , Kumar Subodha , Mookerjee Vijay , Sriskandarajah Chelliah 
Published: January 2008

Recently, an agile software development technique called extreme programming has caught the attention of practitioners and researchers in the software industry. A core practice of extreme programming is pair programming, where two developers work on the same piece of code. We introduce the problem of assigning pairs of developers to modules so as to maximize the commonality—a measure of the extent to which common developers work on related modules—subject to a load-balancing constraint that is motivated by the need to control the completion time of the project. We consider two variants of this problem. In MCAPn, a developer is teamed up with exactly one other developer to form a pair that works together for the entire duration of the project. In MCAPs, we allow a developer to pair with more than one other developer during the project. This “pair-splitting” version of the problem facilitates knowledge dissemination among developers, but can increase the effort needed for a developer to adjust to the work habits of several partners. The difference between the commonality achieved with and without pair splitting crucially depends on the underlying structure of the problem. For trees, we show that the value of the maximum commonality is the same for both MCAPn and MCAPs. Additionally, we obtain polynomial-time algorithms for both of these variants. For general graphs, both problems MCAPn and MCAPs are shown to be strongly NP-complete. We prove that the maximum commonality for MCAPs is at most 3/2 times the maximum commonality of MCAPn. We also provide polynomial-time algorithms and approximation results for a number of special cases of these problems.
Getting Along with Teachers and Parents: The Yields of Good Relationships for Students' Achievement Motivation and Self-Esteem
Authors: Martin Andrew J. , Marsh Herbert W. , McInerney Dennis M. , Green Jasmine , Dowson Martin 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to better understand the combined and unique effects of teacher–student and parent–child relationships in students' achievement motivation and self-esteem. Participants were 3450 high school students administered items assessing their interpersonal relationships, academic motivation and engagement, academic self-concept, and general self-esteem. Preliminary correlations showed that both teacher–student and parent–child relationships are significantly associated with achievement motivation and general self-esteem. Importantly, however, when using appropriate structural equation models to control for shared variance amongst predictors, findings showed that although teachers and parents are clearly influential, after controlling for gender, age, and the presence of both interpersonal relationships in the one model, teacher effects are stronger than parent effects, particularly in the academic domain.
Supportive and Stressful Relationships With Teachers, Peers and Family and Their Influence on Students' Social/Emotional and Academic Experience of School
Authors: Murray-Harvey Rosalind , Slee Phillip T. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractJudgments about the quality of students' experience of school generally focus on their academic performance and indeed this is an important indicator but closer attention needs to be paid to equally important, more broadly based outcomes that include social/emotional adjustment as they also are shown to impact on students' lives at, and beyond school. In this study, students' academic performance and social/emotional adjustment were informed by data collected from both students and teachers. Teachers of years 5 to 9 students in 58 separate classes across 21 South Australia schools reported on randomly selected students in each of their classes yielding data for 888 students who themselves reported through a questionnaire on (a) the extent to which they perceived relationships with family, peers and teachers as sources of stress or support at school; (b) their psychological health; (c) coping strategies; (d) experience of bullying and victimisation; (e) their academic performance; and (f) feelings about and sense of belonging to school. Data were used to estimate direct and indirect effects of a path model of hypothesised influences on students' social/emotional adjustment to school. The model fit the data well. The quality of a student's experience of school is most accurately represented by the inter-relationship of both academic and social/emotional outcomes which are influenced in large part by the quality of the relationships (supportive or stressful) among students, not only with peers and families but also with teachers who exert just as strong, and a sometimes stronger influence, on students' wellbeing.
Sudanese Adolescent Refugees: Acculturation and Acculturative Stress
Authors: Poppitt Gillian , Frey Ron 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis study explored acculturation and acculturative stress in Sudanese adolescent refugees living in Brisbane. Twenty Sudanese adolescents participated in semi-structured interviews which revealed that the main source of acculturative stress was related to concern over English language proficiency, issues of parental control and conflicting cultural rules. However, optimism for the future was also evident in all the interviews. The results suggested the need for culture specific counselling practices and ongoing English language and cultural support for Sudanese refugee children in mainstream schools.
Cross-Cultural Counselling With International Students
Authors: Barletta John , Kobayashi Yumi 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article explores the issues for counsellors working with international students, particularly Asian international students. As globalisation has expanded people have tended to study overseas in great numbers, hence the increasing importance for professionals to examine counselling in this cultural speciality. In order to understand effective counselling, this article discusses the major problems faced by international students and suggests specific counselling strategies in the context of general guidelines for cross-cultural counselling.
Lymphoid Enhancer Factor 1-Mediated Wnt Signaling Promotes the Initiation of Trophoblast Lineage Differentiation in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Authors: He Shuyang , Pant Disha , Schiffmacher Andrew , Meece Ashley , Keefer Carol L. 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Embryonic stem (ES) cells can differentiate into all three embryonic germ layers but rarely into trophectoderm (TE) lineages that contribute to the placenta, although TE differentiation can be initiated by genetic manipulation of key genes involved in TE development. We demonstrate that Wnt signaling can initiate TE lineage differentiation by triggering an appropriate cue, caudal-related homeobox 2 (Cdx2). Overexpression and RNA interference knockdown studies indicate that Cdx2 induction in response to Wnt3a is mediated by lymphoid enhancer factor 1, whose expression is regulated by leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and bone morphogenetic protein. Removal of LIF, along with addition of Wnt3a, stimulated Cdx2 expression and induced formation of trophoblast stem (TS) cells. These TS cells were able to differentiate into cells with characteristics of spongiotrophoblast and trophoblast giant cells. This is, to our knowledge, the first evidence that TE lineage differentiation can be induced by Wnt signaling in mouse ES cells.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Role of CD34 Antigen in Myeloid Differentiation of Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells
Authors: Salati Simona , Zini Roberta , Bianchi Elisa , Testa Anna , Mavilio Fulvio , Manfredini Rossella , Ferrari Sergio 
Published: January 2008

AbstractCD34 is a transmembrane protein that is strongly expressed on hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs); despite its importance as a marker of HSCs, its function is still poorly understood, although a role in cell adhesion has been demonstrated. To characterize the function of CD34 antigen on human HSCs, we examined, by both inhibition and overexpression, the role of CD34 in the regulation of HSC lineage differentiation. Our results demonstrate that CD34 silencing enhances HSC granulocyte and megakaryocyte differentiation and reduces erythroid maturation. In agreement with these results, the gene expression profile of these cells reveals the upregulation of genes involved in granulocyte and megakaryocyte differentiation and the downregulation of erythroid genes. Consistently, retroviral-mediated CD34 overexpression leads to a remarkable increase in erythroid progenitors and a dramatic decrease in granulocyte progenitors, as evaluated by clonogenic assay. Together, these data indicate that the CD34 molecule promotes the differentiation of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors toward the erythroid lineage, which is achieved, at least in part, at the expense of granulocyte and megakaryocyte lineages.Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Administrations of Peripheral Blood CD34-Positive Cells Contribute to Medial Collateral Ligament Healing via Vasculogenesis
Authors: Tei Katsumasa , Matsumoto Tomoyuki , Mifune Yutaka , Ishida Kazunari , Sasaki Ken , Shoji Taro , Kubo Seiji , Kawamoto Atsuhiko , Asahara Takayuki , Kurosaka Masahiro , Kuroda Ryosuke 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Neoangiogenesis is a key process in the initial phase of ligament healing. Adult human circulating CD34+ cells, an endothelial/hematopoietic progenitor-enriched cell population, have been reported to contribute to neoangiogenesis; however, the therapeutic potential of CD34+ cells for ligament healing is still unclear. Therefore, we performed a series of experiments to test our hypothesis that ligament healing is supported by CD34+ cells via vasculogenesis. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood (GM-PB) CD34+ cells with atelocollagen (CD34+ group), GM-PB mononuclear cells (MNCs) with atelocollagen (MNC group), or atelocollagen alone (control group) was locally transplanted after the creation of medial collateral ligament injury in immunodeficient rats. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining at the injury site demonstrated that molecular and histological expression of human-specific markers for endothelial cells was higher in the CD34+ group compared with the other groups at week 1. Endogenous effect, assessed by capillary density and mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, was significantly higher in CD34+ cell group than the other groups. In addition to the observation that, as assessed by real-time RT-PCR, gene expression of ligament-specific marker was significantly higher in the CD34+ group than in the other groups, ligament healing assessed by macroscopic, histological, and biomechanical examination was significantly enhanced by CD34+ cell transplantation compared with the other groups. Our data strongly suggest that local transplantation of circulating human CD34+ cells may augment the ligament healing process by promoting a favorable environment through neovascularization.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
The Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Angiogenic Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Corneal Wound Healing Following Chemical Injury
Authors: Oh Joo Youn , Kim Mee Kum , Shin Mi Sun , Lee Hyun Ju , Ko Jung Hwa , Wee Won Ryang , Lee Jin Hak 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
To investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in the chemically burned corneas, we mechanically removed the corneal epithelium of rats after 100% alcohol instillation. The rats were then randomized into four groups: fresh media, conditioned media derived from the MSC culture (MSC-CM), MSC applied topically to the damaged corneas for 2 hours immediately after the injury or MSC-CM applied either once or 3 times per day for 3 consecutive days. Corneal surface was evaluated every week. After 3 weeks, the corneas were stained with the hematoxylin-eosin, and the expression of interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-6, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analyzed. CD4+ cells were assessed in the corneas. We found that both MSC and three-time applied MSC-CM (1) reduced corneal inflammation and neovascularization, (2) decreased IL-2 and IFN-γ, although increased IL-10 and TGF-β1 as well as IL-6, (3) reduced the infiltration of CD4+ cells, and (4) upregulated the expression of TSP-1, although downregulated that of MMP-2. Interestingly, whereas three-time application of MSC-CM was partially effective, transplantation of MSC achieved a better outcome in suppressing corneal inflammation. The results of this study suggest that the anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic action of MSC in the chemically burned corneas might be mediated in part through paracrine pathways involving soluble factors such as IL-10, TGF-β1, IL-6 and TSP-1.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Mitochondrial DNA Transmission and Transcription After Somatic Cell Fusion to One or More Cytoplasts
Authors: Bowles Emma J. , Tecirlioglu R. Tayfur , French Andrew J. , Holland Michael K. , St. John Justin C. 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Following fertilization, mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the oocyte and transmitted homoplasmically. However, following nuclear transfer, mitochondrial DNA can be transmitted from both the donor cell and recipient oocyte, resulting in a state of heteroplasmy. To determine whether the genetic diversity between donor cell and recipient cytoplast mitochondrial DNA influences development, we generated bovine embryos by fusing a donor cell to one or more enucleated cytoplasts. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA from embryos, fetal tissues, and blood samples from offspring revealed that early preimplantation embryos from two or three cytoplasts had significantly more mitochondrial DNA variants than fetal tissues. Phylogenic analysis of embryos generated using single cytoplasts divided the mitochondrial DNA sequence variants into three separate groups with various amounts of genetic divergence from the donor cell line. In heteroplasmic tissue and blood samples, the predominant mitochondrial DNA population was significantly more divergent from the donor cell than the less frequent allele. Furthermore, analysis of the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome B gene showed that two heteroplasmic alleles encoded for different amino acids, and the ratios of mitochondrial DNA/mRNA for each allele differed significantly between tissues. The degree of evolutionary distance between the donor cell and the cytoplast and the variability in heteroplasmy between tissues may have an impact on more divergent intergeneric nuclear transfer and the use of this approach for the generation of embryonic stem cells.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.