Concentration Dependence of the Effective Mass of He-3 Atoms in He-3/He-4 Mixtures

Recent measurements by Yorozu et al. (S. Yorozu, H. Fukuyama, and H. Ishimoto, Phys. Rev. B 48, 9660 (1993)) as well as by Simons and Mueller (R. Simons and R. M. Mueller, Czhechoslowak Journal of Physics Suppl. 46, 201 (1976)) have determined the effective mass of He-3 atoms in a He-3/He-4 mixture with great accuracy. We here report theoretical calculations for the dependence of that effective mass on the He-3 concentration. Using correlated basis functions perturbation theory to infinite order to compute effective interactions in the appropriate channels, we obtain good agreement between theory and experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Single Particle and Fermi Liquid Properties of He-3/--He-4 Mixtures: A Microscopic Analysis

We calculate microscopically the properties of the dilute He-3 component in a He-3/--He-4 mixture. These depend on both, the dominant interaction between the impurity atom and the background, and the Fermi liquid contribution due to the interaction between the constituents of the He-3 component. We first calculate the dynamic structure function of a He-3 impurity atom moving in He-3. From that we obtain the excitation spectrum and the momentum dependent effective mass. The pole strength of this excitation mode is strongly reduced from the free particle value in agreement with experiments; part of the strength is distributed over high frequency excitations. Above k > 1.7$\AA$^{-1}$ the motion of the impurity is damped due to the decay into a roton and a low energy impurity mode. Next we determine the Fermi--Liquid interaction between He-4 atoms and calculate the pressure-- and concentration dependence of the effective mass, magnetic susceptibility, and the He-3--He-3 scattering phase shifts. The calculations are based on a dynamic theory that uses, as input, effective interactions provided by the Fermi hypernetted--chain theory. The relationship between both theories is discussed. Our theoretical effective masses agree well with recent measurements by Yorozu et al. (Phys. Rev. B 48, 9660 (1993)) as well as those by R. Simons and R. M. Mueller (Czekoslowak Journal of Physics Suppl. 46, 201 (1996)), but our analysis suggests a new extrapolation to the zero-concentration limit. With that effective mass we also find a good agreement with the measured Landau parameter F_0^a.Comment: 47 pages, 15 figure

Pharmacist intervention program to enhance hypertension control: a randomised controlled trial

Objective Studies have demonstrated that hypertension remains inadequately managed throughout the world, with lack of adherence to BP-lowering medication being a major factor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if a pharmaceutical care program could improve antihypertensive medication adherence and blood pressure control. Setting This study was conducted in a secondary care hypertension/dyslipidemia outpatient clinic in the university teaching hospital of Cova da Beira Hospital Centre, Covilhã, located in the Eastern Central Region of Portugal. Method This report evaluates the pharmacist’s interventions during a prospective randomised controlled trial, from July 2009 to June 2010. Patients with diagnosis of essential hypertension attending the clinic for routine follow-up were randomly allocated either to a control group (no pharmaceutical care) or to an intervention group (quarterly follow-up by a hospital pharmacist during a 9-month period). The pharmacist interventions, aimed to increase medication adherence and blood pressure control, involved educational interventions and counselling tips directed to the patient. Main outcome measure Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and blood pressure control (according to JNC 7 guidelines) assessed at the baseline visit and at the end of pharmaceutical care were the main outcome measures. Blood pressure measurements were performed by blinded nurses. Medication adherence was also evaluated, using a validated questionnaire at baseline and at the end of investigation. Results A total of 197 hypertensive patients were randomly assigned to the study (99 in the control group and 98 in the intervention group). Although there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in both groups concerning mean age, gender, body mass index, and antihypertensive pharmacotherapy, blood pressure control was higher in the intervention group (P = 0.005) at the end of the study. Significant lower systolic blood pressure (−6.8 mmHg, P = 0.006) and diastolic blood pressure (−2.9 mmHg, P = 0.020) levels were observed in the intervention group. Medication adherence was also significantly higher in the intervention group at the end of the study (74.5% vs. 57.6%, P = 0.012).Conclusion Pharmacist intervention can significantly improve medication adherence and blood pressure control in patients treated with antihypertensive agents

Improving hypertension management through pharmacist prescribing; the rural alberta clinical trial in optimizing hypertension (Rural RxACTION): trial design and methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with hypertension continue to have less than optimal blood pressure control, with nearly one in five Canadian adults having hypertension. Pharmacist prescribing is gaining favor as a potential clinically efficacious and cost-effective means to improve both access and quality of care. With Alberta being the first province in Canada to have independent prescribing by pharmacists, it offers a unique opportunity to evaluate outcomes in patients who are prescribed antihypertensive therapy by pharmacists.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study is a randomized controlled trial of enhanced pharmacist care, with the unit of randomization being the patient. Participants will be randomized to enhanced pharmacist care (patient identification, assessment, education, close follow-up, and prescribing/titration of antihypertensive medications) or usual care. Participants are patients in rural Alberta with undiagnosed/uncontrolled blood pressure, as defined by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program. The primary outcome is the change in systolic blood pressure between baseline and 24 weeks in the enhanced-care versus usual-care arms. There are also three substudies running in conjunction with the project examining different remuneration models, investigating patient knowledge, and assessing health-resource utilization amongst patients in each group.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>To date, one-third of the required sample size has been recruited. There are 15 communities and 17 pharmacists actively screening, recruiting, and following patients. This study will provide high-level evidence regarding pharmacist prescribing.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinicaltrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00878566">NCT00878566</a>.</p

Clinical pharmacy activities in chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease patients: a systematic literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) represent worldwide health problems with an epidemic extent. Therefore, attention must be given to the optimisation of patient care, as gaps in the care of CKD and ESRD patients are well documented. As part of a multidisciplinary patient care strategy, clinical pharmacy services have led to improvements in patient care. The purpose of this study was to summarise the available evidence regarding the role and impact of clinical pharmacy services for these patient populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature search was conducted using the <it>Medline</it>, <it>Embase </it>and <it>International Pharmaceutical Abstracts </it>databases to identify relevant studies on the impact of clinical pharmacists on CKD and ESRD patients, regarding disease-oriented and patient-oriented outcomes, and clinical pharmacist interventions on drug-related problems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among a total of 21 studies, only four (19%) were controlled trials. The majority of studies were descriptive (67%) and before-after studies (14%). Interventions comprised general clinical pharmacy services with a focus on detecting, resolving and preventing drug-related problems, clinical pharmacy services with a focus on disease management, or clinical pharmacy services with a focus on patient education in order to increase medication knowledge. Anaemia was the most common comorbidity managed by clinical pharmacists, and their involvement led to significant improvement in investigated disease-oriented outcomes, for example, haemoglobin levels. Only four of the studies (including three controlled trials) presented data on patient-oriented outcomes, for example, quality of life and length of hospitalisation. Studies investigating the number and type of clinical pharmacist interventions and physician acceptance rates reported a mean acceptance rate of 79%. The most common reported drug-related problems were incorrect dosing, the need for additional pharmacotherapy, and medical record discrepancies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Few high-quality trials addressing the benefit and impact of clinical pharmacy services in CKD and ESRD patients have been published. However, all available studies reported some positive impact resulting from clinical pharmacist involvement, including various investigated outcome measures that could be improved. Additional randomised controlled trials investigating patient-oriented outcomes are needed to further determine the role of clinical pharmacists and the benefits of clinical pharmacy services to CKD and ESRD patients.</p

Public health in community pharmacy: a systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views

BACKGROUND The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. METHODS Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. RESULTS From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health. CONCLUSIONS There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years previously. In order to improve the public health services provided in community pharmacy, training must aim to increase pharmacists' confidence in providing these services. Confident, well trained pharmacists should be able to offer public health service more proactively which is likely to have a positive impact on customer attitudes and health

A Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium (PACE) meta-analysis highlights potential relationships between birth order and neonatal blood DNA methylation

Higher birth order is associated with altered risk of many disease states. Changes in placentation and exposures to in utero growth factors with successive pregnancies may impact later life disease risk via persistent DNA methylation alterations. We investigated birth order with Illumina DNA methylation array data in each of 16 birth cohorts (8164 newborns) with European, African, and Latino ancestries from the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium. Meta-analyzed data demonstrated systematic DNA methylation variation in 341 CpGs (FDR adjusted P &lt; 0.05) and 1107 regions. Forty CpGs were located within known quantitative trait loci for gene expression traits in blood, and trait enrichment analysis suggested a strong association with immune-related, transcriptional control, and blood pressure regulation phenotypes. Decreasing fertility rates worldwide with the concomitant increased proportion of first-born children highlights a potential reflection of birth order-related epigenomic states on changing disease incidence trends.</p

Scattering of He-3 Atoms from He-4 Surfaces

We develop a first principles, microscopic theory of impurity atom scattering from inhomogeneous quantum liquids such as adsorbed films, slabs, or clusters of He-4. The theory is built upon a quantitative, microscopic description of the ground state of both the host liquid as well as the impurity atom. Dynamic effects are treated by allowing all ground-state correlation functions to be time-dependent. Our description includes both the elastic and inelastic coupling of impurity motion to the excitations of the host liquid. As a specific example, we study the scattering of He-3 atoms from adsorbed He-4 films. We examine the dependence of ``quantum reflection'' on the substrate, and the consequences of impurity bound states, resonances, and background excitations for scattering properties. A thorough analysis of the theoretical approach and the physical circumstances point towards the essential role played by inelastic processes which determine almost exclusively the reflection probabilities. The coupling to impurity resonances within the film leads to a visible dependence of the reflection coefficient on the direction of the impinging particle.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figure

A Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium (PACE) meta-analysis highlights potential relationships between birth order and neonatal blood DNA methylation

Higher birth order is associated with altered risk of many disease states. Changes in placentation and exposures to in utero growth factors with successive pregnancies may impact later life disease risk via persistent DNA methylation alterations. We investigated birth order with Illumina DNA methylation array data in each of 16 birth cohorts (8164 newborns) with European, African, and Latino ancestries from the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium. Meta-analyzed data demonstrated systematic DNA methylation variation in 341 CpGs (FDR adjusted P &lt; 0.05) and 1107 regions. Forty CpGs were located within known quantitative trait loci for gene expression traits in blood, and trait enrichment analysis suggested a strong association with immune-related, transcriptional control, and blood pressure regulation phenotypes. Decreasing fertility rates worldwide with the concomitant increased proportion of first-born children highlights a potential reflection of birth order-related epigenomic states on changing disease incidence trends.</p