Pharmacists\u27 satisfaction with their work: Analysis of an alumni survey

Background: The level of job satisfaction among practicing pharmacists is important because it has been found to affect job performance and employee turnover. The Swedish pharmacy market has undergone major changes in recent years, and little is known about pharmacists’ job satisfaction. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction and associated factors among graduates from the web-based pharmacy programs at Umeå University. Methods: Job satisfaction of pharmacists was measured as part of an alumni survey conducted with those who graduated from the pharmacy programmes between 2006 and 2014. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, and logistic regression was used to explore factors affecting job satisfaction. Results: The total number of graduates who completed the survey was 222 (response rate 43%.) The majority of respondents were female (95%), and most were employed at a community pharmacy (85%). The mean age was 39.7 years. The majority of graduates (91%) were satisfied with their job “most of the time” or “all of the time”, and 87% of the respondents would “definitely” or “maybe” choose the same career again. The multivariate analysis showed that increasing years in the current position (OR:0.672 (0.519–0.871)) was associated with lower job satisfaction. Older age (OR: 1.123 (1.022–1.234)), the perception that the knowledge and skills acquired during the education is useful in the current job (OR: 4.643 (1.255–17.182)) and access to continuing professional development (OR:9.472 (1.965–45.662)) were associated with higher job satisfaction. Conclusion: Most graduates from the web-based pharmacy programmes are satisfied with their current job. Access to continuing professional development seems to be important for the level of job satisfaction among pharmacists

Who enrols and graduates from web-based pharmacy education - Experiences from Northern Sweden

Introduction: As a response to the shortage of prescriptionists in Northern Sweden, a web-based Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program was introduced at Umeå University in 2003. This study explored who is likely to enrol and graduate from the web-based bachelor program and whether the program has addressed the shortage of prescriptionists in rural Northern Sweden. Methods: Data from three different sources were included in this study; the initial cohort including students admitted to the program in 2003 (survey), the entire cohort including all people admitted to the program between 2003 and 2014 (university\u27s admissions data) and the alumni cohort including graduates who participated in an alumni survey in 2015. Results: A typical student of the web-based pharmacy program is female, over 30 years of age, married or in a de-facto relationship and has children. Furthermore, the students graduating before 2009 were more likely to live in Northern Sweden compared to those graduating later. Discussion and conclusion: The results indicate that the introduction of a web-based bachelor of pharmacy program at Umeå University was to some extent able to address the shortage of prescriptionists in Northern Sweden. Web-based education may potentially help address the maldistribution of health professionals by providing flexible education opportunities

A passive neutron dosemeter for measurements in mixed neutron-photon radiation fields

The project combines the highly sensitive salt(NaCl) dosemeter for photon radiation with a neutronphotonconverter in the form of thin gadolinium foilsenclosing the salt. Using an identical salt dosemeter butwithout gadolinium cover determines the primaryphoton contribution. With these twin dosemeters placedin a polyethylene sphere, both photon and neutron dosecontributions can be estimated. This paper describes thedesign and optimization of the construction as well astests and a preliminary calibration of the dosemeter forestimation of neutron dose equivalent in the mixedneutron and photon beam from a Cf-252 source.Currently, the lowest neutron dose equivalent possibleto quantify is around 1 mSv. Some suggestions forfurther improvements are also discussed

On the Effects of Cosmic Structures in the Late Universe

During the last decade, the cosmological observations have indicated that the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann models with linear perturbations fail to describe our universe at late times unless a dominant energy component with negative pressure called dark energy is introduced. In this thesis, we study the implications of the nonlinear nature of general relativity on the cosmological model building beyond the standard Friedmann models. Despite the well established observational status of cosmic structures, their effects have gained more attention only along with the dark energy debate. In particular, the fact that the start of the supposed dark energy domination coincides with the time the nonlinear inhomogeneities started to form on larger scales, motivates the study of the dynamics of the cosmic structures. In cosmology, the implication of the nonlinearity of gravity is that averages of inhomogeneous quantities do not evolve in time like the corresponding homogeneous quantities - a phenomenon referred to as the backreaction. Due to the new precision observations during the recent years, the evaluation of the backreaction in our universe is a topical, but complex task. In this thesis, rather than trying to fully quantify the backreaction, the emphasis is on the model building. We explicitly demonstrate the importance of the exact matching conditions in the solutions representing cosmic structures in the context of backreaction evaluation. Indeed, the cosmic web of structures is made of very differently behaving regions and the shear on the interface between the different regions seems to play an important role. The backreaction term emerging from averaging the Einstein equation is not the only effect that cosmic structures can have on the observations. Indeed, we also demonstrate that even though the backreaction would remain small, large effects can arise from the choice of the smoothing scale and, perhaps surprisingly, from perturbative models as well. As we find, at least the supernova data can be explained within a linearly perturbed Friedmann model - without dark energy. The key point is to take into account the effects of structures on the observable distance measures, ignored in the standard cosmological perturbation theory. Further inspection shows that the model is actually equivalent to a nonperturbative inhomogeneous solution, confirming that the supernova data does not necessarily imply additional nonperturbative corrections. Considering physical quantities such as the expansion rate of space and the matter density, there are large local variations in the cosmic web. The main question to answer is whether (and to what extent) the effects of the local variations average out or accumulate in the observables. It appears likely that when combining all the cosmological data, more sophisticated models than the perturbed Friedmann or the simplest spherically symmetric exact inhomogeneous solutions are required to fully quantify the effects of the structures on the cosmological observations.Reilun vuosikymmenen ajan kosmologiset havainnot ovat kertoneet homogeenisten ja isotrooppisten, lineaarisilla perturbaatioilla varustettujen Friedmannin mallien kykenemättömyydestä kuvata myöhäistä maailmankaikkeuttamme, ellei energiasisältöä dominoisi nk. pimeä energia. Huolimatta maailmankaikkeutemme havaitusta rakenteesta, homogeenisten Friedmannin mallien on yleisesti ajateltu olevan riittäviä kuvaamaan maailmankaikkeuden suuren skaalan dynamiikkaa. Vasta pimeän energian tutkimuksen myötä rakenteiden mahdolliset vaikutukset kosmologisiin havaintoihin ovat saaneet enemmän huomiota - josko tarve pimeälle energialle olisikin vain ilmentymä käyttämästämme liian karkeasta homogeenisesta mallista. Erityisesti se tosiseikka, että pimeän energian pitäisi alkaa dominoida samaan aikaan kuin epälineaariset kosmiset rakenteet alkoivat muodostua, motivoi kosmisten rakenteiden dynamiikkaan perehtymisen. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä tarkastelemme yleisen suhteellisuusteorian epälineaarisuuden vaikutuksia kosmologiseen mallinnukseen. Yleisen suhteellisuusteorian epälineaarisuudesta seuraa, että epähomogeenisten suureiden keskiarvojen aikakehitys ei ole sama kuin vastaavien homogeenisten suureiden - tätä ilmiötä nimitetään kosmologiassa backreactioniksi tai takaisinkytkennäksi. Viimeaikaisten kosmologisten tarkkuushavaintojen myötä maailmankaikkeutemme backreactionin suuruuden määrittäminen on hyvin ajankohtainen, joskin monimutkainen tehtävä. Tässä työssä pääpaino on ennemminkin teoreettisessa mallinnuksessa kuin backreactionin suuruuden täsmällisessä määrityksessä. Näytämme eksplisiittisesti yleisen suhteellisuusteorian eksaktien liitosehtojen tärkeyttä backreactioniä laskettaessa; kosminen rakenneverkosto muodostuu hyvin eri tavoin käyttäytyvistä alueista, ja erityisesti rakenteiden välillä oleva väänne näyttäisi olevan merkittävässä roolissa. Backreaction ei kuitenkaan ole ainoa mahdollinen kosmisten rakenteiden vaikutus havaintoihin. Näytämme myös, että keskiarvoistusskaalan valinnalla, tai jopa perturbatiivisten mallien puitteissa, on mahdollista saada aikaan suuria efektejä backreactionin pysyessä pienenä. Kuten osoitamme, ainakin supernovahavainnot on mahdollista selittää lineaarisesti perturboidun Friedmannin mallin avulla - ilman pimeää energiaakin. Tämän mahdollistaa rakenteiden vaikutusten huomioiminen myös etäisyysmitoissa, mikä on jätetty huomioimatta standardikosmologian perturbaatioteoriassa. Kyseinen malli osoittautuu itse asiassa samaksi erään ei-perturbatiivisen epähomogeenisen mallin kanssa, vahvistaen etteivät supernovahavainnot välttämättä edellytä ei-perturbatiivisia korjauksia. Tarkasteltaessa fysikaalisia suureita, kuten avaruuden laajenemisnopeutta ja materiatiheyttä, kosmisessa rakenneverkostossa on suuria paikallisia vaihteluita. Oleellinen kysymys onkin keskiarvoistuvatko nämä paikalliset vaihtelut pois vai kumuloituvatko ne havaintoja tarkasteltaessa. Kun kaikki kosmologiset havainnot yhdistetään, vaikuttaa todennäköiseltä, että tarvitsemme Friedmannin malleja tai yksinkertaisimpia pallosymmetrisiä epähomogeenisia ratkaisuja monimutkaisempia malleja rakenteiden vaikutusten kattavaan määrittämiseen

Increased susceptibility to collagen-induced arthritis in female mice carrying congenic Cia40/Pregq2 fragments

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice is a commonly used experimental model for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We have previously identified a significant quantitative trait locus denoted Cia40 on chromosome 11 that affects CIA in older female mice. This locus colocalizes with another locus, denoted Pregq2, known to affect reproductive success. The present study was performed to evaluate the role of the Cia40 locus in congenic B10.Q mice and to identify possible polymorphic candidate genes, which may also be relevant in the context of RA. METHODS: Congenic B10.Q mice carrying an NFR/N fragment surrounding the Cia40/Pregq2 loci were created by 10 generations of backcrossing (N10). The congenic mice were investigated in the CIA model, and the incidence and severity of arthritis as well as the serum levels of anti-collagen II (CII) antibodies were recorded. RESULTS: Significant effects on onset, incidence, severity, and anti-CII antibody titers were observed in female mice carrying a heterozygous congenic Cia40/Pregq2 fragment of NFR/N origin, containing one or more polymorphic genes. Congenic male mice did not show increased incidence of CIA, but males carrying a heterozygous fragment showed a significant increase in severity in comparison with wildtype B10.Q males (littermates). CONCLUSION: The Cia40/Pregq2 locus at chromosome 11 contains one or more polymorphic genes of NFR/N origin that significantly influence both incidence and severity of CIA in heterozygous congenic mice of the B10.Q strain. The major polymorphic candidate genes for the effects on CIA are Cd79b, Abca8a, and Map2k6. The congenic fragment also contains polymorphic genes that affect reproductive behavior and reproductive success. The Sox9 gene, known to influence sex reversal, is a candidate gene for the reproductive phenotype

Weighted score ratios (WRS) give transparent weighting in multicriteria sustainability assessments - A case study on removal of pharmaceutical residues from wastewater

Sustainability assessment using multicriteria analysis (MCA) is a structured way of including criteria from the three sustainability dimensions (environmental, economic, and social) when comparing different alternatives. A problem with the conventional MCA methods is that the consequences of the weights given to different criteria are not transparent. Here, we amend the simple additive weighting MCA method with weighted score ratios (WSRs), which are used during the sustainability assessment to show how the weights affect the valuation of the criteria (e.g., cost per kg CO2e). This enables comparisons to other sustainability assessments and reference values from society, which increases the transparency and can make weighting more objective. We applied the method to a comparison of technologies for removal of pharmaceutical residues from wastewater. Due to growing concern about the effects that pharmaceutical residues can have on our environment, implementations of advanced technologies are increasing. However, they entail high requirements of energy and resources. Therefore, many aspects must be considered to make a sustainable choice of technology. In this study, a sustainability assessment was performed of ozonation, powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon for removal of pharmaceutical residues at a large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Sweden. The outcome showed that powdered activated carbon is the least sustainable choice for the studied WWTP. Whether ozonation or granular activated carbon is most sustainable depends on how climate impact and energy use are valued. The total sustainability of ozonation is affected by how the electricity is assumed to be produced, whereas for granular activated carbon it depends on whether the carbon source is of renewable or fossil origin. Using WSRs allowed the participants in the assessment to make conscious choices on how they weighted different criteria in relation to how these criteria are valued in society at large