Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe

Therapy satisfaction and health literacy are key factors to improve medication adherence in systemic sclerosis

Although medication adherence (MA) contributes to therapeutic outcome in systemic sclerosis (SSc), research data are scarce. Factors influencing MA in SSc are hardly known. We conducted a monocentric, cross-sectional study on 85 patients with SSc at the University of Lübeck, Germany, using the Compliance Questionnaire of Rheumatology as the main measurement tool of MA. We also used the Scleroderma Health Assessment Questionnaire, Illness Perception Questionnaire – Revised, Health Literacy Questionnaire, Lübeck Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (a novel instrument created for this study), and patients’ demographic and clinical data, to find factors contributing to MA. Good MA was seen in 51.8% of patients. MA was positively associated with therapy satisfaction (p Although most SSc patients display good MA, non-adherence remains a major problem. Patients should be assessed for non-adherence. The factors affecting MA identified herein could help to improve therapeutic outcomes.</p