Application and Optimization of Biolog EcoPlates in Functional Diversity Studies of Soil Microbial Communities

The biological diversity contributes to many aspects of human well-being and ecosystem function, however, we have known very little about microbial diversity due to the limitations of appropriate methodology underneath it. The development of biotech have brought revolutionary progress in the study of microbial diversity in which Biolog required to pay a lot of attention due to its ability of reflecting the metabolic situation of living microbial communities and have used widely in the study of soil microbial communities. However, there are some controversies during its operation procedure and incubation process, handling large data during the analysis might have also caused trouble in the overall process. The approach based on uses of “absolute used”, “INDIRECT” function in Excel could greatly optimize the data analysis, and the increase of principle components in Principle Component Analysis (PCA) were able to extract more information from original data. Besides, the method that through “Taylor” and “logic” transformation for original data before PCA analysis could achieve data analysis optimization. This paper have presented the applications and optimization of Biolog EcoPlates in studies of functional diversity of microbial communities, presented its inherent biases and prospects, provided some reference for the applications and popularization of Biolog EcoPlates for microbial study and finally, the results imply improving the knowledge of biotech in study of soil microbial functional diversity

Application and Optimization of Biolog EcoPlates in Functional Diversity Studies of Soil Microbial Communities

The biological diversity contributes to many aspects of human well-being and ecosystem function, however, we have known very little about microbial diversity due to the limitations of appropriate methodology underneath it. The development of biotech have brought revolutionary progress in the study of microbial diversity in which Biolog required to pay a lot of attention due to its ability of reflecting the metabolic situation of living microbial communities and have used widely in the study of soil microbial communities. However, there are some controversies during its operation procedure and incubation process, handling large data during the analysis might have also caused trouble in the overall process. The approach based on uses of “absolute used”, “INDIRECT” function in Excel could greatly optimize the data analysis, and the increase of principle components in Principle Component Analysis (PCA) were able to extract more information from original data. Besides, the method that through “Taylor” and “logic” transformation for original data before PCA analysis could achieve data analysis optimization. This paper have presented the applications and optimization of Biolog EcoPlates in studies of functional diversity of microbial communities, presented its inherent biases and prospects, provided some reference for the applications and popularization of Biolog EcoPlates for microbial study and finally, the results imply improving the knowledge of biotech in study of soil microbial functional diversity

Pharmacy practice in emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic : lessons from Australia

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the pharmacy practice and initiatives taken by the Australian federal government to ensure the continued supply of essential medicines under the conditions of an emergency response plan for COVID-19. During the pandemic, Australian pharmacists have been working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams at the frontline to manage the equitable and safe supply of medicines despite the unprecedented situation. Although these presented problems for small pharmacies, social distancing policies were implemented widely to maintain personal and environmental hygiene and reduce the number of face-to-face patient visits. In collaboration with various pharmaceutical stakeholders, the Australian government responded rapidly to ensure equitable and sufficient supply with continued access to therapeutic goods during the pandemic. Additionally, vital policies and practices have been implemented, including supplying regular medicines at government-subsidized prices, a maximum one-month supply of some prescription medicines and purchase limits on over-the-counter medicines (one unit per purchase), medication management reviews through telehealth, electronic and digital prescribing, home delivery of medicines to vulnerable people and those in home isolation and the provision of serious shortage medicine substitution rights to pharmacists. Pharmacists were encouraged to communicate and collaborate with other local pharmacies to ensure that essential pharmacy services met community needs (e.g., opening hours). However, there has been a shortage of some medicines due to supply chain disruption and increased demand due to the pandemic. Higher demand for flu vaccinations, increased work pressure in pharmacies, and severe frustration and anxiety in pharmacy customers were also reported. Vigilance is required to monitor foreseeable shortages of therapeutics goods, particularly in regional pharmacies. There is an opportunity for long-term change to retain certain rights and roles based on the competence shown by pharmacists in this challenging period, such as telephone medication reviews, telehealth for MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck, digital prescription handling and therapeutic substitution

A preliminary assessment of spatial variation of water quality of Ratuwa river.

This work helps to identify the source of pollution in water and characterize the water quality which is essential to water management for sustainable development. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to evaluate the spatial distribution of the water quality of Ratuwa river and its tributaries. The water samples were collected from six discrete sampling locations and fifteen parameters were tested using respective well-calibrated equipment and standard APHA methods. The physicochemical analysis, water quality index, and correlation matrix method were employed to evaluate the spatial variation of the water quality of Ratuwa river. Turbidity was the most polluting factor in river water. The results showed the spatial variation of the water quality index (WQI) from 39.3 to 70.5, which fell in the range of "good" to "poor" water quality status. None of the water samples was either "excellent" or "unsuitable for drinking." The water quality was "Poor" upstream and downstream of Ratuwa river due to the high value of turbidity. Chaju river was found to have unpolluted whereas Dipeni river was slightly polluted due to domestic and municipal wastes. Hence, the deterioration of water quality can be attributed to natural and anthropogenic sources

Undergraduate pharmacy students’ attitudes and perceived barriers toward provision of pharmaceutical care: a multi-institutional study in Nepal

Pharmaceutical care (PC) has a significant impact on optimizing pharmacotherapy and improving patients' quality of life. We aimed to determine the attitudes and perceived barriers of final year pharmacy undergraduates towards provision of PC services in Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 232 students using a 13-item-standard PC attitude survey (PCAS) questionnaire and 12-itemed PC barrier questionnaires. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to measure the median difference between groups, at alpha=0.05, and Spearman's rho test was used to measure the strength of the correlation. Majority of students were self-motivated in undertaking the current pharmacy education (178, 76.7%) and had no previous incomplete grades that could delay their graduation (177, 76.3%). Over 80% of students had a positive attitude toward all items of PCAS (agreed and strongly agreed) except for two items. Whereas, 61 (26.3%) disagreed and strongly disagreed that providing PC takes too much time and effort. The major barriers perceived were inadequate PC training (176, 75.9%), inadequate drug information resources in the pharmacy (170, 73.3%), and lack of access to patient medical records in the pharmacy (165, 71.1%). A significant relationship was noticed between positive attitude towards PC and three factors; source of motivation, current employment in pharmacy job, and incomplete grades delaying graduation. Age factor was significant but negatively correlated with the scores of positive attitudes namely "I would like to perform PC as a pharmacist practitioner", "Providing PC is professionally rewarding" and "I feel that the PC is the right direction for the provision to be headed". Nepalese undergraduate pharmacy students had positive attitudes toward PC. Exercising proper pharmacy practice regulations and educational efforts to overcome the perceived barriers may lead to better delivery of PC