3,363 research outputs found
Evaluating a prescription clinic at a primary health centre
Introduction: One of the pillars of a good primary health system is the establishment of a good doctor- patients relation. Amongst other things, this will result in mutually accepted treatment plans, which are understood by all parties involved. This study aimed to describe and analyze one particular aspect of this care delivery, namely the repeat prescription clinic. In this clinic, which is run on an appointment basis, prescriptions are issued on a regular basis to patients and their relatives.
Method: A piloted questionnaire describing patients' demographics, diseases and treatment knowledge, was filled in during three randomly chosen clinics in November 2011.
Results: The clinic is attended by a relative majority of male clients, but both genders showed a peak attendance in the 60-69 age group. An average of 4 medications per person were prescribed and treatment in each patients was aimed at an average of 3 co-existent disease states. 56% of female attendees knew the complete list of their respective treatment as opposed to 45% of males attendees. Unfortunately, 73% of patients did not know the treatment they were on and did not have an up-to-date treatment list.
Conclusion: This study highlights the lack of knowledge of patients with respect to their treatment. However it can also be argued that this is a reflection of inadequate care being provided by doctors in the various fields. The clinic takes care of a significant number of patients whose treatment is not accounted for. This raises issues of safe prescribing. There is a need that all patients have an up-to-date treatment card, and a need for improvement in communication between all health care workers is noted, so as to improve the safety of all prescription practices in the island. This will lead to better disease control, less treatment interactions, and prescription errors.peer-reviewe
Medical diagnostics using designed molecules with sense and logic
Luminescent molecules responsive to cations, anions and even small molecules can be designed with the appropriate selectivity and sensitivity for monitoring physiological and pathological levels of analytes. We highlight some recent examples of designed molecules that can sense for a specific analyte or a combination of analytes in blood and in living cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate how molecules can be designed with built-in algorithms according to principles of Boolean logic to perform information processing. The potential future application of molecular systems able to perform multi-analyte sensing as `lab-on-a-molecule' systems for medical and environmental diagnostics is also presented.peer-reviewe
Numerical Algorithm for Detecting Ion Diffusion Regions in the Geomagnetic Tail with Applications to MMS Tail Season May 1 -- September 30, 2017
We present a numerical algorithm aimed at identifying ion diffusion regions
(IDRs) in the geomagnetic tail, and test its applicability. We use 5 criteria
applied in three stages. (i) Correlated reversals (within 90 s) of Vx and Bz
(at least 2 nT about zero; GSM coordinates); (ii) Detection of Hall electric
and magnetic field signatures; and (iii) strong (>10 mV/m) electric fields.
While no criterion alone is necessary and sufficient, the approach does provide
a robust, if conservative, list of IDRs. We use data from the Magnetospheric
Multiscale Mission (MMS) spacecraft during a 5-month period (May 1 to September
30, 2017) of near-tail orbits during the declining phase of the solar cycle. We
find 148 events satisfying step 1, 37 satisfying steps 1 and 2, and 17
satisfying all three, of which 12 are confirmed as IDRs. All IDRs were within
the X-range [-24, -15] RE mainly on the dusk sector and the majority occurred
during traversals of a tailward-moving X-line. 11 of 12 IDRs were on the
dusk-side despite approximately equal residence time in both the pre- and
post-midnight sectors (56.5% dusk vs 43.5% dawn). MMS could identify signatures
of 4 quadrants of the Hall B-structure in 3 events and 3 quadrants in 7 of the
remaining 12 confirmed IDRs identified. The events we report commonly display
Vx reversals greater than 400 km/s in magnitude, normal magnetic field
reversals often >10 nT in magnitude, maximum DC |E| which are often well in
excess of the threshold for stage 3. Our results are then compared with the set
of IDRs identified by visual examination from Cluster in the years 2000-2005.Comment: In Submission at JGR:Space Physic
Facebook and Relationships: A Study of How Social Media Use is Affecting Long-Term Relationships
An online survey was conducted where 255 respondents provided information about their significant other. Respondents answered questions dealing with elements of relationship satisfaction, Facebook usage, surveillance, and jealousy. Results indicate a correlation between Facebook usage and relationship satisfaction. Individuals with varying levels of Facebook usage were shown to have a positive correlation with jealousy levels in their relationship, meaning as Facebook use increased, jealousy also increased. Altman and Taylor\u27s theory of social penetration (1973) was used to describe the stages in a relationship from orientation into a relationship of stable exchange. This developmental theory illustrated the growth in relationship phases. Results found stage of relationship did not have a significant effect on the amount of surveillance within a relationship
Reply to comment by H. Hasegawa on "Evolution of Kelvin-Helmholtz activity on the dusk flank magnetopause"
We demonstrate, on experimental grounds, that the justifications for the comment by Hasegawa [2009], hereinafter
H09, on work done by Foullon et al. [2008], hereinafter F08, are not well founded
The Deflection of the Two Interacting Coronal Mass Ejections of 2010 May 23-24 as Revealed by Combined In situ Measurements and Heliospheric Imaging
In 2010 May 23-24, SDO observed the launch of two successive coronal mass
ejections (CMEs), which were subsequently tracked by the SECCHI suite onboard
STEREO. Using the COR2 coronagraphs and the heliospheric imagers (HIs), the
initial direction of both CMEs is determined to be slightly west of the
Sun-Earth line. We derive the CME kinematics, including the evolution of the
CME expansion until 0.4 AU. We find that, during the interaction, the second
CME decelerates from a speed above 500 km/s to 380 km/s the speed of the
leading edge of the first CME. STEREO observes a complex structure composed of
two different bright tracks in HI2-A but only one bright track in HI2-B. In
situ measurements from Wind show an "isolated" ICME, with the geometry of a
flux rope preceded by a shock. Measurements in the sheath are consistent with
draping around the transient. By combining remote-sensing and in situ
measurements, we determine that this event shows a clear instance of deflection
of two CMEs after their collision, and we estimate the deflection of the first
CME to be about 10 degrees towards the Sun-Earth line. The arrival time,
arrival speed and radius at Earth of the first CME are best predicted from
remote-sensing observations taken before the collision of the CMEs. Due to the
over-expansion of the CME after the collision, there are few, if any, signs of
interaction in in situ measurements. This study illustrates that complex
interactions during the Sun-to-Earth propagation may not be revealed by in situ
measurements alone.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
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