The Role of Pharmacists in LGBTQ Health

Pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare providers and often can serve as the first point of contact for patients with the healthcare system. This session explored the role of that pharmacist on the healthcare team related to LGBTQ health. The new Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes were discussed as well as current efforts within pharmacy education in LGBTQ health education. The speakers also addressed barriers to LGBTQ education and practice along with potential solutions

Association between co-authorship network and scientific productivity and impact indicators in academic medical research centers: A case study in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We aimed to examine the co-authorship networks in three successful Iranian academic research centers, in order to find the association between the scientific productivity and impact indicators with network features in a case study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched for English articles of the three research centers. We drew co-authorship maps of each center and calculated social network measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The collaboration networks in centers shared many structural features, including a "star-like" pattern of relations. Centers with more successful scientific profile showed denser and more cooperative networks. Key figures in each center were interviewed for their understandings of the reasons for the emergence of these patterns.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Star shape network structure and dependency on a single big member is a common feature observed in our case study. Scientific output measures correlate with the network structure of research centers. Network analysis seems a useful method to explore the subtle scientific contexts in research organizations.</p

New apparatus for DTA at 2000 bar: thermodynamic studies on Au, Ag, Al and HTSC oxides

A new DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis) device was designed and installed in a Hot Isostatic Pressure (HIP) furnace in order to perform high-pressure thermodynamic investigations up to 2 kbar and 1200C. Thermal analysis can be carried out in inert or oxidising atmosphere up to p(O2) = 400 bar. The calibration of the DTA apparatus under pressure was successfully performed using the melting temperature (Tm) of pure metals (Au, Ag and Al) as standard calibration references. The thermal properties of these metals have been studied under pressure. The values of DV (volume variation between liquid and solid at Tm), ROsm (density of the solid at Tm) and ALPHAm (linear thermal expansion coefficient at Tm) have been extracted. A very good agreement was found with the existing literature and new data were added. This HP-DTA apparatus is very useful for studying the thermodynamics of those systems where one or more volatile elements are present, such as high TC superconducting oxides. DTA measurements have been performed on Bi,Pb(2223) tapes up to 2 kbar under reduced oxygen partial pressure (p(O2) = 0.07 bar). The reaction leading to the formation of the 2223 phase was found to occur at higher temperatures when applying pressure: the reaction DTA peak shifted by 49C at 2 kbar compared to the reaction at 1 bar. This temperature shift is due to the higher stability of the Pb-rich precursor phases under pressure, as the high isostatic pressure prevents Pb from evaporating.Comment: 6 figures, 3 tables, Thermodynamics, Thermal property, Bi-2223, fundamental valu

Skin flora: Differences Between People Affected by Albinism and Those with Normally Pigmented Skin in Northern Tanzania - Cross Sectional Study.

Skin flora varies from one site of the body to another. Individual's health, age and gender determine the type and the density of skin flora. A 1  cm² of the skin on the sternum was rubbed with sterile cotton swab socked in 0.9% normal saline and plated on blood agar. This was cultured at 35 °C. The bacteria were identified by culturing on MacConkey agar, coagulase test, catalase test and gram staining. Swabs were obtained from 66 individuals affected by albinism and 31 individuals with normal skin pigmentation. Those with normal skin were either relatives or staying with the individuals affected by albinism who were recruited for the study. The mean age of the 97 recruited individuals was 30.6 (SD ± 14.9) years. The mean of the colony forming units was 1580.5 per cm2. Those affected by albinism had a significantly higher mean colony forming units (1680  CFU per cm²) as compared with 453.5  CFU per cm² in those with normally pigmented skin (p = 0.023). The skin type and the severity of sun- damaged skin was significantly associated with a higher number of colony forming units (p = 0.038). Individuals affected by albinism have a higher number of colony forming units which is associated with sun- damaged skin

Population genetic analyses of Phytophthora cinnamomi reveals three lineages and movement between natural vegetation and avocado orchards in South Africa

Phytophthora cinnamomi is the causal agent of root rot, canker, and dieback of thousands of plant species around the globe. This oomycete not only causes severe economic losses to forestry and agricultural industries, but also threatens the health of various plants in natural ecosystems. In this study, 380 isolates of P. cinnamomi from four avocado production areas and two regions of natural vegetation in South Africa were investigated using 15 microsatellite markers. These populations were found to have a low level of genetic diversity and consisted of isolates from three lineages. Shared genotypes were detected between isolates from avocado orchards and natural vegetation, indicating the movement of isolates between these areas. The population from the Western Cape natural vegetation had the highest level of genotypic diversity and number of unique alleles, indicating this could be the point of introduction of P. cinnamomi to South Africa. Index of association analysis suggested that five of six populations were under linkage disequilibrium, suggesting a clonal mode of reproduction, whereas genotypes sampled from a recently established avocado orchard in the Western Cape were derived from a randomly recombining population. This study provided novel insights on the genetic diversity and spread of P. cinnamomi in South Africa. It also reported on the predominance of triploidy in natural occurring populations and provided evidence for recombination of P. cinnamomi for the first time. The presence of two dominant genotypes in all avocado production areas in South Africa highlight the importance of considering them in disease management and resistance breeding programs.https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/journal/phytohj2023BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Advanced Analysis Techniques for Intra-cardiac Flow Evaluation from 4D Flow MRI

Time-resolved 3D velocity-encoded MR imaging with velocity encoding in three directions (4D Flow) has emerged as a novel MR acquisition technique providing detailed information on flow in the cardiovascular system. In contrast to other clinically available imaging techniques such as echo-Doppler, 4D Flow MRI provides the 3D Flow velocity field within a volumetric region of interest over the cardiac cycle. This work reviews the most recent advances in the development and application of dedicated image analysis techniques for the assessment of intra-cardiac flow features from 4D Flow MRI.Novel image analysis techniques have been developed for extraction of relevant intra-cardiac flow features from 4D Flow MRI, which have been successfully applied in various patient cohorts and volunteer studies. Disturbed flow patterns have been linked with valvular abnormalities and ventricular dysfunction. Recent technical advances have resulted in reduced scan times and improvements in image quality, increasing the potential clinical applicability of 4D Flow MRI.4D Flow MRI provides unique capabilities for 3D visualization and quantification of intra-cardiac blood flow. Contemporary knowledge on 4D Flow MRI shows promise for further exploration of the potential use of the technique in research and clinical applications

A multilevel analytical framework for studying cultural evolution in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies

Over the past decade, a major debate has taken place on the underpinnings of cultural changes in human societies. A growing array of evidence in behavioural and evolutionary biology has revealed that social connectivity among populations and within them affects, and is affected by, culture. Yet the interplay between prehistoric hunter-gatherer social structure and cultural transmission has typically been overlooked. Interestingly, the archaeological record contains large data sets, allowing us to track cultural changes over thousands of years: they thus offer a unique opportunity to shed light on long‐term cultural transmission processes

Information exchange networks for chronic illness care in primary care practices: an observational study

Contains fulltext : 88018.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Information exchange networks for chronic illness care may influence the uptake of innovations in patient care. Valid and feasible methods are needed to document and analyse information exchange networks in healthcare settings. This observational study aimed to examine the usefulness of methods to study information exchange networks in primary care practices, related to chronic heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: The study was linked to a quality improvement project in the Netherlands. All health professionals in the practices were asked to complete a short questionnaire that documented their information exchange relations. Feasibility was determined in terms of response rates and reliability in terms of reciprocity of reports of receiving and providing information. For each practice, a number of network characteristics were derived for each of the chronic conditions. RESULTS: Ten of the 21 practices in the quality improvement project agreed to participate in this network study. The response rates were high in all but one of the participating practices. For the analysis, we used data from 67 health professionals from eight practices. The agreement between receiving and providing information was, on average, 65.6%. The values for density, centralization, hierarchy, and overlap of the information exchange networks showed substantial variation between the practices as well as between the chronic conditions. The most central individual in the information exchange network could be a nurse or a physician. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to refine the measure of information networks and to test the impact of network characteristics on the uptake of innovations