New roles for community pharmacists in modern health care systems: a challenge for pharmacy education and research.

The academic activities led by the Unit of Community Pharmacy can be classified as translational. Our group is interested in person-centered pharmaceutical services aimed at a more responsible use of drugs (effectiveness, safety, efficiency) in collaboration with physicians and other health care professionals in a primary care setting. The following domains of education and research are high priorities for our group: medication therapy management, medication adherence, integrated care, individualization of therapies, care management for the elderly and e-health.

The Hindu Model of Social Organization and the bhakti Movement : the Example of Vallabha's sampradāya

(Résumé de l'ouvrage) This volume addresses research topics within the field of Bhakti literature, the devotional poetry and other compositions of devotional character in the earlier literature of the modern South Asian languages. Its papers range from the roots of the Bhakti tradition in the early history of Krsna to its modern adaptations in nineteenth- and twentieth-century culture. Geographically, they span Bengal to Sind, Panjab to Maharashtra. Contemporary study of the modern Indian languages has broadened the scope of scholarship to consider today's Hindu attitudes, and those of a mixed society, against the background of ancient culture. Here, materials in six modern Asian languages are discussed: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi in its main literary forms, Marathi, Panjabi and Sindhi; with assessment also of material in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese. In addition to studies of literary (and orally transmitted) works in the Krsna or Rama traditions, and of Sufi compositions and their interpretation, there are papers on the early history of sacred sites, the emergence of the religion of Rama, later religious formulations throughout the subcontinent, and the interaction of the Islamic and the Hindu.

Radiocarbon dating of modern groundwater: the role of the unsaturated zone

Biological and physical processes occurring in soils may lead to significant isotopic changes between the isotopic compositions of atmospheric CO2 and of soil CO2. Also, during water and gas transport from the soil surface to the water table, isotopic changes likely occur due to numerous physical processes such as gas production and diffusion, water advection, and gas-water-rock interactions. In most cases, these changes are not included in the correction models developed for groundwater dating, whereas they can significantly impact the calculation of the 14C age. We explore the role of these processes using: i) experimental data from two aquifer sites (Fontainebleau sands and Astian sands, France), ii) a distributed model to simulate the 14C activities of soil CO2, and iii) numerical simulations in order to highlight the role of the physical processes.¦The 13C content in soil CO2 showed seasonal variations and highlighted the competition between CO2 production and CO2 diffusion. Their respective contributions played a significant role in defining the isotopic composition of CO2 at the water table. On both study sites, variations of the 14C activity in soil CO2 reflect the competition between the fluxes of root derived-CO2 and organic matter derived-CO2. Since the nuclear weapon tests in the fifties and sixties, soil CO2 became significantly depleted in 14C compared to modern atmospheric CO2. Models that take into account this 14C depletion in soil CO2 for dating modern groundwater would lead to apparent younger 14C ages than models that only consider the 14C activity in atmospheric CO2. Moreover, since 2000-2005, the inverse effect is observed as soil CO2 is enriched in 14C compared to atmospheric CO2.¦Therefore, we conclude that the isotopic composition of CO2 at the water table have to be taken into account for the dating of modern groundwater. This requires a systematic sampling of soil CO2 and the measurement of its 13C and 14C contents. We used this information in a numerical simulation to calculate the evolution of isotopic composition of CO2 from the soil surface to the water table. This simulation integrated physical processes in the unsaturated zone (e.g. CO2 production and diffusion, water advection, etc.) and gas-water-rock interactions.

La mort subite: de l' épidémiologie à la prévention [Sudden cardiac death: epidemiology and modern therapy].

Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) has become an important public health challenge in the Western World. In Switzerland near 10,000 people suffer each year from SCD. The survival from SCD to hospital discharge is discouraging (near 5%). Large majority of events occur unexpectedly in the out-of-hospital environment and are not predicted with great accuracy by risk profiling. Because the majority of SCD occur by the mechanism of ventricular fibrillation, community-based defibrillation strategies have emerged as one approach to SCD problem. Newer strategies of defibrillation designed to respond faster to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, including public access defibrillation, as well as aggressive primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease appears as the best approach for successful management of SCD.

Modern statistical models for forensic fingerprint examinations : a critical review

Over the last decade, the development of statistical models in support of forensic fingerprint identification has been the subject of increasing research attention, spurned on recently by commentators who claim that the scientific basis for fingerprint identification has not been adequately demonstrated. Such models are increasingly seen as useful tools in support of the fingerprint identification process within or in addition to the ACE-V framework. This paper provides a critical review of recent statistical models from both a practical and theoretical perspective. This includes analysis of models of two different methodologies: Probability of Random Correspondence (PRC) models that focus on calculating probabilities of the occurrence of fingerprint configurations for a given population, and Likelihood Ratio (LR) models which use analysis of corresponding features of fingerprints to derive a likelihood value representing the evidential weighting for a potential source.

Modern cataract surgery for radiation-induced cataracts in retinoblastoma.

Background Surgery of radiation-induced cataracts in children with retinoblastoma (RB) is a challenge as early intervention is weighted against the need to delay surgery until complete tumour control is obtained. This study analyses the safety and functional results of such surgery. Methods In a retrospective, non-comparative, consecutive case series, we reviewed medical records of RB patients </=14 y of age who underwent either external beam radiotherapy or plaque treatment and were operated for radiation-induced cataract between 1985 and 2008. Results In total, 21 eyes of 20 RB patients were included and 18 out of the 21 eyes had Reese-Ellsworth stage V or ABC classification group D/E RB. Median interval between last treatment for RB and cataract surgery was 21.5 months, range 3-164 months. Phacoaspiration was performed in 13 eyes (61%), extra-capsular cataract extraction in 8 (39%) and intraocular lens implantation in 19 eyes (90%). The majority of cases, 11/21 (52%), underwent posterior capsulorhexis or capsulotomy and 6/21 (28%) an anterior vitrectomy. Postoperative visual acuity was >/=20/200 in 13 eyes and <20/200 in 5 eyes. Intraocular tumour recurrence was noted in three eyes. Mean postoperative follow up was 90 months+/-69 months. Conclusions Modern cataract surgery, including clear cornea approach, lens aspiration with posterior capsulotomy, anterior vitrectomy and IOL implantation is a safe procedure for radiation-induced cataract as long as RB is controlled. The visual prognosis is limited by initial tumour involvement of the macula and by corneal complications of radiotherapy. We recommend a minimal interval of 9 months between completion of treatment of retinoblastoma and cataract surgery.

Ecologia e rappresentazione dello spazio: Saviano, Tournier, DeLillo

Résumé: Great traveller and tireless observer, the Sicilian poet and writer Bartolo Cattafi was trying to escape from his land for his whole life, which was conducted paradoxically autour de sa chambre, but also travelling through islands and continents, where he found inspiration for his poetry and prose. For this reason, his literary contribution, which never betrayed his poetic nature and reporter character, gives an added value to the modern ulyssic dimension. The latter considers travelling as an essential life step and it is closely related to the concept of attachment to its own land. These two perspectives, often met in his different «isole lontane», define the career of this singular migrant figure. Initially he moves to Milan to fulfil the need to find a job. Later he will find in his own Sicily the harmony and the serenity he has been looking for in the course of his travels. The writings collected in 2008 and object of this study reveal interesting affinities to those published in the "Mondadori" series edited by his good friend Vittorio Sereni and that explain part of the works belonging to the Sicilian author, clarifying his topoi and obsessions.