6 research outputs found
Markovian Dynamics on Complex Reaction Networks
Complex networks, comprised of individual elements that interact with each
other through reaction channels, are ubiquitous across many scientific and
engineering disciplines. Examples include biochemical, pharmacokinetic,
epidemiological, ecological, social, neural, and multi-agent networks. A common
approach to modeling such networks is by a master equation that governs the
dynamic evolution of the joint probability mass function of the underling
population process and naturally leads to Markovian dynamics for such process.
Due however to the nonlinear nature of most reactions, the computation and
analysis of the resulting stochastic population dynamics is a difficult task.
This review article provides a coherent and comprehensive coverage of recently
developed approaches and methods to tackle this problem. After reviewing a
general framework for modeling Markovian reaction networks and giving specific
examples, the authors present numerical and computational techniques capable of
evaluating or approximating the solution of the master equation, discuss a
recently developed approach for studying the stationary behavior of Markovian
reaction networks using a potential energy landscape perspective, and provide
an introduction to the emerging theory of thermodynamic analysis of such
networks. Three representative problems of opinion formation, transcription
regulation, and neural network dynamics are used as illustrative examples.Comment: 52 pages, 11 figures, for freely available MATLAB software, see
http://www.cis.jhu.edu/~goutsias/CSS%20lab/software.htm
Structural elements associated with the provision of phamaceutical care in community phamacy practice in Canada
The concept of pharmaceutical care is a philosophy of practice and has been presented to
be an effective process for monitoring drug therapy to meet the needs of patients and the health
care system. A number of pharmaceutical care models and practice guidelines have been
proposed, developed and implemented in community pharmacy settings. As the pharmacy
profession becomes more patient-focused using pharmaceutical care standards, it is important
that pharmacists be able to assess the quality of that care and recognize the barriers that impede
the provision of that care. Farris and Kirking maintain that Donabedian's structure-processoutcome
paradigm can be applied to pharmaceutical care as a framework of quality assessment.
Structure represents a necessary measure of quality and its assessment is crucial when structure
can be associated with process and/or outcomes. This current study addresses the structure and
process components of pharmaceutical care and reviews the structural elements that support the
provision of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacy practice in Canada.
This study examines the structural changes that have been made in community
pharmacies that have adopted a pharmaceutical care model/program. A data collection
instrument was developed which included the Community Pharmacy Structural Elements
Questionnaire (CPSEQ) and the Behavioral Pharmaceutical Care Scale (BPCS). The CPSEQ
was used to gather information regarding structural changes made in community pharmacies and
the BPCS was used to gather information regarding pharmacists' efforts towards the provision of
pharmaceutical care. The data collection instruments were administered to 261 community
pharmacists across Canada who had been identified to have been affiliated with a pharmaceutical
care model/program and were likely to have implemented pharmaceutical care practices. The
instrument was also administered to a reference group of 197 community pharmacists who were
not affiliated to any pharmaceutical care model/program. The information gathered was used to
determine the most frequent structural elements observed in community pharmacies that had
implemented a pharmaceutical care model/program and in progressive community pharmacies
that were actively providing pharmaceutical care.
The exploratory analysis revealed the presence of progressive community pharmacy
practices in Canada that were actively making structural changes and providing pharmaceutical
care. Among the structural changes that were consistently reported in these community
pharmacy practices were re-organization of pharmacists' duties, re-organization of pharmacy
technicians' duties, formal training program for pharmacists, on-the-job training for pharmacy
technicians, incorporation of a private or semi-private counselling room, and incorporation of
audio-visual educational equipment.Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty ofGraduat