The colour vision of the pigeon

The pigeon's colour vision was examined, using behavioural and physiological techniques Avian colour vision has aroused interest because of the suggestion that chromatic discrimination in birds is mediated by a single cone pigment, combined with several types of retinal oil-droplets which act as differential colour filters. Using an operant conditioning method, difference thresholds were measured throughout the spectrum (400 - 680 nm) to generate a wavelength discrimination function, which yields information about the type of visual system an animal possesses. Earlier work had suggested that birds are trichromatic, but the finding of three clearly defined regions of optimum discrimination at 595, 530 and 460 nm indicates instead that the pigeon's colour vision is at least tetrachromatic. The pigeon's saturation discrimination abilities were also studied using a similar technique Saturation increased towards the spectral extremes while a point of least saturation occurred at 597 nm. Additional subsidiary saturation minima were found at 443, 496, 536 and 662 nm. These results largely corroborated those of the wave length discrimination experiment but indicated that the pigeon's visual system may be more complex than a tetrachromatic one Preliminary to an extension of the wavelength discrimination study, the pigeon's spectral sensitivity was measured electroretinographically The resulting spectral sensitivity curve peaked at 560 - 580 nm, in agreement with previously reported data. Furthermore, spectral sensitivity extended well into the ultraviolet region (<400 nm), where sensitivity was quite high In a second study of wavelength discrimination, results of the first experiment showing three threshold minima were confirmed and, additionally, pigeons maintained good discrimination between wavelengths within the ultraviolet range. Experimental findings were discussed in terms of the physiological mechanisms underlying visual performance, in particular, the present results, together with other evidence, suggest that the retinal oil-droplets are not basic to avian colour vision The functional significance of the pigeon's colour vision was also considere

An international survey of health literacy education within schools of pharmacy

Background: Health literacy (HL) influences patients&rsquo; health status, use of the healthcare system and medication-relatedbehaviours. However, the concept is relatively new to pharmacy and its incorporation in academic curricula has notbeen examined.Aims: To explore HL training in pharmacy schools internationally, and academics&rsquo; opinions in regards to how it shouldbe taught and assessed.Methods: An anonymous, online survey was administered to academics who teach within pharmacy degree coursesfrom countries where English is the main language.Results: Responses were received from 21 pharmacy schools in seven countries; 20 stated that HL was taught withintheir pharmacy degree, in four as a stand-alone topic. Small-group tutorials were thought to be the most beneficial formof teaching health literacy, best assessed using oral and objective structured clinical examinations.Conclusion: The majority of pharmacy schools taught health literacy and had similar opinions regarding best practiceteaching and assessment

Learning to prescribe - pharmacists' experiences of supplementary prescribing training in England

Background: The introduction of non-medical prescribing for professions such as pharmacy and nursing in recent years offers additional responsibilities and opportunities but attendant training issues. In the UK and in contrast to some international models, becoming a non-medical prescriber involves the completion of an accredited training course offered by many higher education institutions, where the skills and knowledge necessary for prescribing are learnt. Aims: to explore pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of learning to prescribe on supplementary prescribing (SP) courses, particularly in relation to inter-professional learning, course content and subsequent use of prescribing in practice. Methods: A postal questionnaire survey was sent to all 808 SP registered pharmacists in England in April 2007, exploring demographic, training, prescribing, safety culture and general perceptions of SP. Results: After one follow-up, 411 (51%) of pharmacists responded. 82% agreed SP training was useful, 58% agreed courses provided appropriate knowledge and 62% agreed that the necessary prescribing skills were gained. Clinical examination, consultation skills training and practical experience with doctors were valued highly; pharmacology training and some aspects of course delivery were criticised. Mixed views on inter-professional learning were reported – insights into other professions being valued but knowledge and skills differences considered problematic. 67% believed SP and recent independent prescribing (IP) should be taught together, with more diagnostic training wanted; few pharmacists trained in IP, but many were training or intending to train. There was no association between pharmacists' attitudes towards prescribing training and when they undertook training between 2004 and 2007 but earlier cohorts were more likely to be using supplementary prescribing in practice. Conclusion: Pharmacists appeared to value their SP training and suggested improvements that could inform future courses. The benefits of inter-professional learning, however, may conflict with providing professionspecific training. SP training may be perceived to be an instrumental 'stepping stone' in pharmacists' professional project of gaining full IP status

Can a pharmacy intervention improve the metabolic risks of mental health patients? Evaluation of a novel collaborative service

Background: The pressure on healthcare services worldwide has driven the incorporation of disease state management services within community pharmacies in developed countries. Pharmacists are recognised as the most accessible healthcare professionals, and the incorporation of these services facilitates patient care. In Australia, the opportunity to manage pharmacy patients with mental illness has been underutilised, despite the existence of service models for other chronic conditions. This paper is an independent evaluation of a novel service developed by a community pharmacy in Perth, Western Australia. The service represents collaboration between a nurse practitioner and community pharmacy staff in the management of mental health patients with metabolic risks. Methods: We applied practice service standards for Australian community pharmacies to develop an evaluation framework for this novel service. This was followed by semi -structured interviews with staff members at the study pharmacy to explore service processes and procedures. Descriptive analysis of interviews was supplemented with analysis of patients’ biometric data. All data were evaluated against the developed framework. Results: The evaluation framework comprised 13 process, 5 out comes, and 11 quality indicators. Interview data from eight staff members and biometric data from 20 community-dwelling mental health patients taking antipsychotics were evaluated against the framework. Predominantly, patients were managed by the pharmacy’s nurse practitioner, with medication management provided by pharmacists. Patients’ biometric measurements comprised weight, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, lipid profiles and management of obesity, smoking, hypertension and diabetes. Positive outcomes observed in the patient data included weight loss, smoking cessation, and improved blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid levels. Conclusions: The developed framework allowed effective evaluation of the service, and may be applicable to other pharmacy services. The metabolic clinic met key process, quality and outcomes indicators. The positive patient outcomes may assist in securing further funding

A New Approach for Assessment of Mental Architecture: Repeated Tagging

A new approach to the study of a relatively neglected property of mental architecture—whether and when the already-processed elements are separated from the to-be-processed elements—is proposed. The process of numerical proportion discrimination between two sets of elements defined either by color or by orientation can be described as sampling with or without replacement (characterized by binomial or hypergeometric probability distributions respectively) depending on the possibility to tag an element once or repeatedly. All empirical psychometric functions were approximated by a theoretical model showing that the ability to keep track of the already tagged elements is not an inflexible part of the mental architecture but rather an individually variable strategy which also depends on conspicuity of perceptual attributes. Strong evidence is provided that in a considerable number of trials, observers tagged the same element repeatedly which can only be done serially at two separate time moments

A qualitative study of community pharmacists' opinions on the provision of osteoporosis disease state management services in Malaysia

Background: Osteoporosis has significant impact on healthcare costs and quality of life. Amongst the models for collaborative disease state management services published internationally, there is sparse evidence regarding the role of community pharmacists in the provision of osteoporosis care. Hence, the aim of our study was to explore community pharmacists' opinions (including the barriers and facilitators) and scope of osteoporosis disease state management services by community pharmacists in Malaysia, informing a vision for developing these services. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups discussions were conducted with community pharmacists from October 2013 to July 2014. Three trained researchers interviewed the participants. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed thematically using an interpretative description approach. Results: Nineteen community pharmacists with 1-23 years of experience were recruited (in depth interviews: n = 9; focus group discussions: n = 10). These participants reflected on their experience with osteoporosis-related enquiries, which included medication counseling, bone density screening and referral of at-risk patients. Key barriers were the lack of numerous factors: public awareness of osteoporosis, accurate osteoporosis screening tools for community pharmacists, pharmacists' knowledge on osteoporosis disease and medications, time to counsel patients about bone health, collaboration between pharmacists and doctors, and support from the government and professional body. The pharmacists wanted more continuing education on osteoporosis, osteoporosis awareness campaigns, a simple, unbiased osteoporosis education material, and inter-professional collaboration practices with doctors, and pharmacists' reimbursement for osteoporosis care. Conclusions: The involvement of community pharmacists in the provision of osteoporosis disease state management was minimal. Only ad-hoc counseling on osteoporosis prevention was performed by community pharmacists. Development and trial of collaborative osteoporosis disease state management services in community pharmacy could be facilitated by training, support and remuneration

Cross-sector, sessional employment of pharmacists in rural hospitals in Australia and New Zealand: a qualitative study exploring pharmacists’ perceptions and experiences

Background: Many rural hospitals in Australia and New Zealand do not have an on-site pharmacist. Sessional employment of a local pharmacist offers a potential solution to address the clinical service needs of non-pharmacist rural hospitals. This study explored sessional service models involving pharmacists and factors (enablers and challenges) impacting on these models, with a view to informing future sessional employment. Methods: A series of semi-structured one-on-one interviews was conducted with rural pharmacists with experience, or intention to practise, in a sessional employment role in Australia and New Zealand. Participants were identified via relevant newsletters, discussion forums and referrals from contacts. Interviews were conducted during August 2012-January 2013 via telephone or Skype™, for approximately 40–55 minutes each, and recorded.Results: Seventeen pharmacists were interviewed: eight with ongoing sessional roles, five with sessional experience, and four working towards sessional employment. Most participants provided sessional hospital services on a weekly basis, mainly focusing on inpatient medication review and consultation. Recognition of the value of pharmacists’ involvement and engagement with other healthcare providers facilitated establishment and continuity of sessional services. Funds pooled from various sources supplemented some pharmacists’ remuneration in the absence of designated government funding. Enhanced employment opportunities, district support and flexibility in services facilitated the continuous operation of the sessional service. Conclusions: There is potential to address clinical pharmacy service needs in rural hospitals by cross-sector employment of pharmacists. The reported sessional model arrangements, factors impacting on sessional employment of pharmacists and learnings shared by the participants should assist development of similar models in other rural communities

Seasonal and annual fluxes of nutrients and organic matter from large rivers to the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 35 (2012): 369-382, doi:10.1007/s12237-011-9386-6.River inputs of nutrients and organic matter impact the biogeochemistry of arctic estuaries and the Arctic Ocean as a whole, yet there is considerable uncertainty about the magnitude of fluvial fluxes at the pan-arctic scale. Samples from the six largest arctic rivers, with a combined watershed area of 11.3 x 106 km2, have revealed strong seasonal variations in constituent concentrations and fluxes within rivers as well as large differences among the rivers. Specifically, we investigate fluxes of dissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, total dissolved phosphorus, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, nitrate, and silica. This is the first time that seasonal and annual constituent fluxes have been determined using consistent sampling and analytical methods at the pan arctic scale, and consequently provide the best available estimates for constituent flux from land to the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas. Given the large inputs of river water to the relatively small Arctic Ocean, and the dramatic impacts that climate change is having in the Arctic, it is particularly urgent that we establish the contemporary river fluxes so that we will be able to detect future changes and evaluate the impact of the changes on the biogeochemistry of the receiving coastal and ocean systems.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through grants OPP-0229302, OPP-0519840, OPP-0732522, and OPP-0732944. Additional support was provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (Yukon River) and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (Mackenzie River)

The patient pathway in cardiovascular care: a position paper from the International Pharmacists for Anticoagulation Care Taskforce (iPACT)

"Background: This position paper highlights the opportunistic integral role of the pharmacist across the patient pathway utilizing cardiovascular care as an example. The paper aims to highlight the potential roles that pharmacists worldwide can have (or already have) to provide efficient patient care in the context of interprofessional collaboration. Methods: It results from a literature review and experts seeking advice to identify existing interventions and potential innovative interventions. We developed a conceptual framework highlighting seven critical phases in the patient pathway and for each of those listed some of the initiatives identified by our experts worldwide. Results: Existing pharmacists' interventions in each of these phases have been identified globally. Various examples in the area of prevention and self‐management were found to exist for long; the contribution for early detection and subsequently to timely diagnosis were also quite clear; integration of care was perhaps one of the areas needing greater development, although interventions in secondary care were also quite common. Tertiary care and end of life interventions were found to often be left for other healthcare professionals. Conclusion: On the basis of the findings, we can argue that much has been done but globally consider that pharmacists are still an untapped resource potentially useful for improved patient care."info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio