Training on the use of a bespoke continuing professional development framework improves the quality of CPD records

BACKGROUND: Using continuing professional development (CPD) as part of the revalidation of pharmacy professionals has been proposed in the UK but not implemented. We developed a CPD Outcomes Framework (‘the framework’) for scoring CPD records, where the score range was -100 to +150 based on demonstrable relevance and impact of the CPD on practice. OBJECTIVE: This exploratory study aimed to test the outcome of training people to use the framework, through distance-learning material (active intervention), by comparing CPD scores before and after training. SETTING: Pharmacy professionals were recruited in the UK in Reading, Banbury, Southampton, Kingston-upon-Thames and Guildford in 2009. METHOD: We conducted a randomised, double-blinded, parallel-group, before and after study. The control group simply received information on new CPD requirements through the post; the active intervention group also received the framework and associated training. Altogether 48 participants (25 control, 23 active) completed the study. All participants submitted CPD records to the research team before and after receiving the posted resources. The records (n=226) were scored blindly by the researchers using the framework. A subgroup of CPD records (n=96) submitted first (before-stage) and rewritten (after-stage) were analysed separately. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Scores for CPD records received before and after distributing group-dependent material through the post. RESULTS: Using a linear-regression model both analyses found an increase in CPD scores in favour of the active intervention group. For the complete set of records, the effect was a mean difference of 9.9 (95% CI = 0.4 to 19.3), p-value = 0.04. For the subgroup of rewritten records, the effect was a mean difference of 17.3 (95% CI = 5.6 to 28.9), p-value = 0.0048. CONCLUSION: The intervention improved participants’ CPD behaviour. Training pharmacy professionals to use the framework resulted in better CPD activities and CPD records, potentially helpful for revalidation of pharmacy professionals. IMPACT: • Using a bespoke Continuing Professional Development outcomes framework improves the value of pharmacy professionals’ CPD activities and CPD records, with the potential to improve patient care. • The CPD outcomes framework could be helpful to pharmacy professionals internationally who want to improve the quality of their CPD activities and CPD records. • Regulators and officials across Europe and beyond can assess the suitability of the CPD outcomes framework for use in pharmacy CPD and revalidation in their own setting.

Economic evidence in regulatory disputes: revisiting the court-regulatory agency relationship in the US and the UK

This article examines the issue of the appropriate scope of review of economic evidence enshrined in the discretionary assessments of utility regulators in the US and the UK. It advances a balance of institutional competencies approach to the question of the degree of deference owed to the regulatory agency’s economic assessments. In doing so, it revisits the doctrinal positions advanced in the US and UK for the substantive review of administrative discretion, so as to become attuned to the challenges posed by economic evidence. Drawing on insights from political science and economics, the suggested approach illuminates the institutional disadvantages of the courts that may warrant a high degree of deference. At the same time, however, it remains sensitive to the polycentric elements of regulatory disputes as well as to a number of institutional realties that may attenuate the weight of such comparative institutional disadvantages.

Assessing species’ habitat associations from occurrence records, standardised monitoring data and expert opinion: a test with British butterflies

Accurate knowledge of species’ habitat associations is important for conservation planning and policy. Assessing habitat associations is a vital precursor to selecting appropriate indicator species for prioritising sites for conservation or assessing trends in habitat quality. However, much existing knowledge is based on qualitative expert opinion or local scale studies, and may not remain accurate across different spatial scales or geographic locations. Data from biological recording schemes have the potential to provide objective measures of habitat association, with the ability to account for spatial variation. We used data on 50 British butterfly species as a test case to investigate the correspondence of data-derived measures of habitat association with expert opinion, from two different butterfly recording schemes. One scheme collected large quantities of occurrence data (c. 3 million records) and the other, lower quantities of standardised monitoring data (c. 1400 sites). We used general linear mixed effects models to derive scores of association with broad-leaf woodland for both datasets and compared them with scores canvassed from experts. Scores derived from occurrence and abundance data both showed strongly positive correlations with expert opinion. However, only for occurrence data did these fell within the range of correlations between experts. Data-derived scores showed regional spatial variation in the strength of butterfly associations with broad-leaf woodland, with a significant latitudinal trend in 26% of species. Sub-sampling of the data suggested a mean sample size of 5000 occurrence records per species to gain an accurate estimation of habitat association, although habitat specialists are likely to be readily detected using several hundred records. Occurrence data from recording schemes can thus provide easily obtained, objective, quantitative measures of habitat association.

Notes on distribution, variation and characterization of Erythrolamprus pseudocorallus Roze, 1959 (Serpentes: Colubridae) with the first records from Colombia

The Maracaibo false coral snake Erythrolamprus pseudocorallus, previously known only from Venezuela, is recorded from five departments in Colombia. These new data include the westernmost and the southernmost records presently known for the species. Two specimens previously identified as E. aesculapii, from the localities of El Valle, Distrito Federal, Venezuela, and Yarumal, Antioquia, Colombia, are now attributed to E. pseudocorallus, the first one representing the northeasternmost record of the species. Morphological characterization of E. pseudocorallus is expanded based on the new specimens.

The spider genus Chrysometa (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) from the Pico da Neblina and Serra do Tapirapeco mountains (Amazonas, Brazil): new species, new records, diversity and distribution along two altitudinal gradients

Eight new species of the spider genus Chrysometa Simon, 1894 (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) are described and illustrated. Chrysometa nubigena n. sp., C. waikoxi n. sp., C. petrasierwaldae n. sp., C. santosi n. sp., C. yanomami n. sp., C. candianii n. sp., C. lomanhungae n. sp., and C. saci n. sp. Those species were collected in a study on the diversity of spider communities along altitudinal gradients in Brazilian Amazonia. C. saci was captured at the Serra do Tapirapeco (Barcelos), while all the other species are from the Pico da Neblina (Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira), the highest mountain in Brazil. We provide new records for C. boraceia, C. flava, C. guttata, C. minuta and C. opulenta, and we describe the male of C. minuta for the first time. We also present the first results on the diversity and altitudinal distribution of the species of Chrysometa at the Pico da Neblina and Serra do Tapirapeco. We sampled the first locality at six different elevations, and obtained 336 specimens distributed in 12 species. Richness and abundance, as well as relative importance peaked at the highest sites sampled (2,000 and 2,400 m). The three most abundant species showed a segregated distribution, being dominant or exclusively distributed in different altitudes. At the Serra do Tapirapeco, sampling at four different elevations up to 1200 m, we only obtained 40 individuals divided in four species, and there was no clear relation to altitude. Most of the new species were found at mid and high altitude sites, while species from lower altitude sites represented widespread species. The comparison with other neotropical spiders inventories highlights the high diversity recorded at Pico da Neblina, which could be assigned to the large environmental variation covered in this work and to the sampling of high-altitude environments. Inventories in the Andean region and other information in the literature also seem to support the association of Chrysometa with high altitude environments.

Lower and Upper Neoproterozoic magmatic records in Itaiacoca Belt (Parana-Brazil): Zircon ages and lithostratigraphy studies

The Itaiacoca Belt is a sequence of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks that crop out east of Parana and southeast of Sao Paulo states, in southern Brazil. This geologic-geochronologic study supports division of the Itaiacoca Belt into two major lithologic sequences. The older is a carbonate platform sequence (dolomitic meta-limestones/metamarls/calc-phyllites/ carbonate phyllites) with minimum deposition ages related to the end of the Mesoproterozoic/beginning of the Neoproterozoic (1030-908 Ma:U-Pb, zircon of metabasic rocks). The younger sequence contains mainly clastics deposits (meta-arkoses/metavolcanics/metaconglomerates/metapelites) with deposition ages related to the Neoproterozoic (645-628 Ma:U-Pb,zircon of metavolcanic rocks). These ages are quite close to K-Ar ages (fine fraction) of the 628-610 Ma interval, associated with metamorphism and cooling of the Itaiacoca Belt. The contact between the dolomitic meta-limestones and meta-arkoses is marked by intense stretching and high-angle foliation, suggesting that the discontinuity between these associations resulted from shearing. It is proposed here that the term Itaiacoca Sequence, should represent the dolomitic meta-limestones, and the term Abapa Sequence represents the meta-arkoses/metavolcanics/phyllites. in a major tectonic context, these periods are related to the break-up of Rodinia Supercontinent (1030-908 Ma) and the amalgamation of the Gondwana Supercontinent (645-628 Ma). (C) 2008 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Timing and structure of the 8.2 kyr BP event inferred from delta(18)O records of stalagmites from China, Oman, and Brazil

Oxygen isotope records of stalagmites from China and Oman reveal a weak summer monsoon event, with a double-plunging structure, that started 8.21 +/- 0.02 kyr B. P. An identical but antiphased pattern is also evident in two stalagmite records from eastern Brazil, indicating that the South American Summer Monsoon was intensified during the 8.2 kyr B. P. event. These records demonstrate that the event was of global extent and synchronous within dating errors of <50 years. In comparison with recent model simulations, it is plausible that the 8.2 kyr B. P. event can be tied in changes of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation triggered by a glacial lake draining event. This, in turn, affected North Atlantic climate and latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, resulting in the observed low-latitude monsoonal precipitation patterns.

Graduate School and University Center Archives Finding Aid - Record Group IV: Committee Records

This is part of the finding aid to the Graduate School and University Center (GSUC) Archives. Record Group t IV is records from various GSUC committees.

Leaving the Court, But Never the Team: Legendary coach Dick Whitmore retires after 40 years, but his relationship with his "basketball people" endures

Legendary coach Dick Whitmore retires after 40 years, but his relationship with his “basketball people” endures.

February 2010: United States Supreme Court Cases

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Sacredness of the constitutional text and interpretative heresy: the Brazilian Supreme Court decision on same-sex civil unions

The paper provides a close lecture of the arguments and methods of legal construction, employed in the extensive individual opinions written by the Justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court in the case which authorized the same sex civil union. After tracing an outline of the legal problem and his possible solutions, we analyze the individual opinions, showing their methodological syncretism, the use of legal methods and arguments in a contradictory way as well the deficiencies in the reasoning. The Justices use legal arguments, but do not meet the requirements of rationality in the decision-making. We have a rhetorical attempt that aims to satisfy the public opinion than to offer a comprehensive and coherent solution according the normative elements of the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988.

Information mining and visualization of data from the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF): a case study

EMAp - Escola de Matemática Aplicada

"Não compre, plante"? A tipificação penal das situações de cultivo de Canábis pelo Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo

A Lei nº 11.343 de 23 de agosto de 2006 (Lei de Drogas) instituiu o Sistema Nacional de Políticas Públicas sobre Drogas e criou as diretrizes para a política de drogas brasileira. Dentre o conjunto de medidas trazidas pela lei em seu dispositivo criminal está a criação de um tipo penal específico de cultivo de plantas para produção de drogas para consumo pessoal (art. 28, §1º). O plantio para consumo recebe o mesmo tratamento jurídico-penal que o porte para consumo (art. 28), sendo previstas sanções alternativas à privação de liberdade. O §2º do art. 28 da Lei de Drogas estabelece os critérios que as autoridades competentes do sistema de justiça criminal deverão considerar na tipificação penal das situações de cultivo. Este trabalho se debruça sobre a tipificação penal de situações de cultivo de canábis em acórdãos do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo. A problemática de pesquisa aqui desenvolvida discute especificamente quais são os argumentos e como eles são apresentados nas decisões para justificar a determinação de que uma situação de cultivo é para fins de tráfico ou de consumo pessoal. O trabalho busca identificar como os critérios do §2º do art. 28 da Lei de Drogas são apresentados na fundamentação de decisões judiciais em que se discute na esfera criminal se uma situação de cultivo é para “consumo pessoal” ou “destinada a terceiros”. Uma pergunta central norteia a pesquisa realizada: quais os elementos e de que forma eles são utilizados nas decisões analisadas para tipificação do plantio para consumo pessoal (art. 28, §1º, da Lei de Drogas) e do plantio destinado a fornecer drogas a terceiros (art. 33, §1º, II)? Para enfrentar a problemática de pesquisa utilizamos a ferramenta de busca de acórdãos disponibilizada no sítio eletrônico do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo. Foram analisados 135 acórdãos do TJSP que enfrentam diretamente a controvérsia relativa à tipificação penal de situações de cultivo de canábis. Os acórdãos foram proferidos entre os anos de 1998 e 2014 e foram selecionados segundo os critérios especificados no capítulo metodológico da dissertação. Os resultados quantitativos da pesquisa dizem respeito às informações gerais dos processos, elementos de prova mencionados nos acórdãos, características das situações de cultivo e fundamentação da tipificação penal. A discussão qualitativa sobre os resultados da pesquisa é promovida em quatro frentes: (i) interpretação e valoração da quantidade de drogas; (ii) antecedentes criminais, circunstâncias da prisão e do agente; (iii) materiais de venda e outros elementos relevantes na tipificação penal; e (iv) características do conjunto probatório. As questões discutidas nestas frentes circunscrevem o problema de pesquisa e é a partir delas que é feita a análise apresentada neste trabalho. Esperamos conseguir contribuir para melhor compreensão (i) da determinação da finalidade do cultivo e (ii) das implicações jurídicas que decorrem da opção legislativa pela não utilização de critérios quantitativos na definição dos crimes de tráfico de drogas e plantio para consumo.

Method of numerical correction of errors occasioned by delay of records during the monitoring of environmental variables of interest for animal production

As condições de ambiente térmico e aéreo, no interior de instalações para animais, alteram-se durante o dia, devido à influência do ambiente externo. Para que análises estatísticas e geoestatísticas sejam representativas, uma grande quantidade de pontos distribuídos espacialmente na área da instalação deve ser monitorada. Este trabalho propõe que a variação no tempo das variáveis ambientais de interesse para a produção animal, monitoradas no interior de instalações para animais, pode ser modelada com precisão a partir de registros discretos no tempo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um método numérico para corrigir as variações temporais dessas variáveis ambientais, transformando os dados para que tais observações independam do tempo gasto durante a aferição. O método proposto aproximou os valores registrados com retardos de tempo aos esperados no exato momento de interesse, caso os dados fossem medidos simultaneamente neste momento em todos os pontos distribuídos espacialmente. O modelo de correção numérica para variáveis ambientais foi validado para o parâmetro ambiental temperatura do ar, sendo que os valores corrigidos pelo método não diferiram pelo teste Tukey, a 5% de probabilidade dos valores reais registrados por meio de dataloggers.

Trichodina colisae (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae): new parasite records for two freshwater fish species farmed in Brazil

Tricodinídeos são protozoários ciliados móveis com ampla distribuição mundial; são considerados um dos agentes parasitários que mais acometem peixes cultivados. No Brasil, a maioria dos tricodinídeos que parasitam importantes espécies de peixes cultivados são desconhecidos, o que requer mais estudos taxonômicos com esse grupo de parasitos. Este estudo caracteriza morfologicamente Trichodina colisae Asmat & Sultana, 2005 de pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) e do híbrido patinga (P. mesopotamicus × P. brachypomus) cultivados, respectivamente, no Centro-Oeste e Sudeste do Brasil. Foram feitas montagens a fresco do raspado de muco da pele, nadadeiras e brânquias, fixados com metanol e, posteriormente, impregnados com nitrato de prata e coradas com Giemsa para avaliação em microscopia óptica. O presente estudo relata não só a segunda ocorrência de T. colisae no mundo, mas também a primeira ocorrência na América do Sul.