Pharmacotherapy review: a proposal to improve medication adherence among hypertensive patients

Abstract Pharmacotherapy review is a structured assessment of medicines, which aims to obtain a partnership with patients to achieve drug treatment goals and agreement about drug dosage, as well as when and how the drugs should be administered. The objective was to analyze the influence of pharmacotherapy review, by scheduling drug administration to improve medication adherence among antihypertensive patients. This study was an uncontrolled intervention developed in three distinct stages. The first stage included data collection on the profile of patients and their medications, and a preliminary assessment of medication adherence. In the second stage, the review report was delivered to patients. In the third stage, the results of blood pressure and medication adherence were assessed. The influence of the revision was measured through statistical tests (p<0.05). The study included 40 patients with a mean age of 58.0 (SD:11.3) years; 72.5% were women. Thirty-three (82.5 %) patients required some intervention, after when there was a significant increase in the number of daily doses (p=0.039) and drug intakes (p=0.025). There was a significant increase in the adherence rate, according to both the Morisky-Green test (p<0.001) and self-reported assessment (p=0.004). There was also an improvement in the levels of systolic (p<0.001) and diastolic (p=0.002) blood pressure and in the number of patients with controlled hypertension (p=0.006). The pharmaceutical service enhanced medication adherence and control of systemic blood pressure; however, it increased the complexity of treatment

Mental health and physical activity: A COVID-19 viewpoint

COVID-19, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, has become a public health emergency across the globe. It is a highly contagious disease, which elicits high levels of fear amongst the world population and is considered a threat to the world economy. As a response to this pandemic, international governments have devised unconventional measures to guard the health of their citizenry. Among these are the “new normal” country lockdown that mandates working from home, home-schooling of children, and physical/social distancing from friends and family. For the majority, this has resulted in momentary job loss and loneliness, and other psychological illnesses. Hence millions are frightened, depressed and panic easily as a result of the tension due to the uncertainty, which interferes with their job performance, livelihoods, international trade and the world economy. If not mitigated, this is likely to cause physical health deterioration, with severe mental illness being the outcome. To reduce mental health illnesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence suggests prioritising regular participation in physical activity and exercise across lifespan. It is also important for medical experts who specialise in the care and management of mental health to recognise physical activity and exercise as a medicine that can ameliorate some mental illnesses and their associated risk factors

Testing microscopically derived descriptions of nuclear collectivity : Coulomb excitation of 22Mg

Many-body nuclear theory utilizing microscopic or chiral potentials has developed to the point that collectivity might be studied within a microscopic or ab initio framework without the use of effective charges; for example with the proper evolution of the E2 operator, or alternatively, through the use of an appropriate and manageable subset of particle–hole excitations. We present a precise determination of E2 strength in 22Mg and its mirror 22Ne by Coulomb excitation, allowing for rigorous comparisons with theory. No-core symplectic shell-model calculations were performed and agree with the new B(E2) values while in-medium similarity-renormalization-group calculations consistently underpredict the absolute strength, with the missing strength found to have both isoscalar and isovector components. The discrepancy between two microscopic models demonstrates the sensitivity of E2 strength to the choice of many-body approximation employed

Blue Hill Ship Building

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Coherent π0 photoproduction on the deuteron up to 4 GeV

The differential cross section for 2H(γ,d)π0 has been measured at deuteron center-of-mass angles of 90° and 136°. This work reports the first data for this reaction above a photon energy of 1 GeV, and permits a test of the apparent constituent counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude behavior as observed in elastic ed scattering. Measurements were performed up to a photon energy of 4.0 GeV, and are in good agreement with previous lower energy measurements. Overall, the data are inconsistent with both constituent-counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude predictions

Comportamento de células do sistema imune frente ao desafio com Salmonella Enteritidis em aves tratadas e não tratadas com ácidos orgânicos

A Salmonelose é uma importante zoonose, considerada a principal causa de infecções bacterianas, sendo associada ao consumo de produtos avícolas. Como alternativa de controle, ácidos orgânicos têm sido amplamente usados. No entanto, pouco se conhece sobre o estado imunológico de aves de produção, e uma avaliação deste status é necessária para proteger frente a enfermidades e para garantir à aplicação segura de agentes terapêuticos ou imunização profilática. Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar o comportamento do sistema imunológico das aves previamente infectadas com Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) tratadas com um composto de ácidos orgânicos em diferentes concentrações administrado via água e ração comparando com as aves infectadas e não tratadas. Foram inoculados 120 frangos de corte com 1mL de SE, via oral, na concentração de 1,0 x 108 UFC/mL, no 1º e 2º dia de idade, divididos em seis tratamentos com duas repetições, utilizando 200, 400, 500 e 1000ppm do ácido orgânico. Aos 35 dias de vida das aves, foram coletados, de todos os grupos, alíquotas de sangue de 3mL em tubo contendo EDTA para a avaliação das células imunes através de citometria de fluxo. Foram analisadas as porcentagens circulantes de células CD4+, CD8β+, MHC I+, MHC II+, TCRVβ1+, TCRVβ2+ e CD28+. Para análise microbiológica foram coletadas tonsilas cecais destas aves. Observou-se com esse estudo que os ácidos orgânicos nas dosagens 1000ppm na água e 500ppm na ração durante, dois e sete dias respectivamente antes do abate, foram eficazes na redução da infecção por SE em frangos de corte, comprovadas pelo método microbiológico e demonstradas através do comportamento das células do sistema imune. No presente estudo as aves infectadas apresentaram uma proporção menor de células T auxiliares circulantes quando comparadas às aves infectadas, mas tratadas com o AO ou com o grupo não infectado. A mesma tendência pode ser observada para as células CD28+, TCRVβ1+ e MHC IIbright+, e, com menor resolução, para CD8β+

Measurements of Deuteron Photodisintegration up to 4.0 GeV

The first measurements of the differential cross section for the d(γ,p)n reaction up to 4.0 GeV were performed at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Thomas Jefferson Laboratory. We report the cross sections at the proton center-of-mass angles of 36°, 52°, 69°, and 89°. These results are in reasonable agreement with previous measurements at lower energy. The 89° and 69° data show constituent-counting-rule behavior up to 4.0 GeV photon energy. The 52° and 36° data disagree with the counting-rule behavior. The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) model of nuclear reactions involving reduced amplitudes disagrees with the present data.U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundatio

WHO global research priorities for antimicrobial resistance in human health

The WHO research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health has identified 40 research priorities to be addressed by the year 2030. These priorities focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens of crucial importance in addressing AMR, including drug-resistant pathogens causing tuberculosis. These research priorities encompass the entire people-centred journey, covering prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections, in addition to addressing the overarching knowledge gaps in AMR epidemiology, burden and drivers, policies and regulations, and awareness and education. The research priorities were identified through a multistage process, starting with a comprehensive scoping review of knowledge gaps, with expert inputs gathered through a survey and open call. The priority setting involved a rigorous modified Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach, ensuring global representation and applicability of the findings. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to encourage research and investment in the generation of evidence to better understand AMR dynamics and facilitate policy translation for reducing the burden and consequences of AMR