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Objectives If novel health services are to be implemented and sustained in practice, the perceptions and views of patients form a critical part of their evaluation. The aims of this study were to explore patient's perceptions and experiences with a pharmacy asthma service and to investigate if there was a change over time. Methods Interviews and focus groups were conducted with patients participating in the asthma service at three time points. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using a framework approach. Key findings The service led to an enhanced awareness and understanding of asthma, changes in participants' beliefs and attitudes towards asthma management, changes in asthma-related health behaviours and improved self-efficacy. Participants were very positive about the service and the role of the pharmacist in asthma management. There was a shift in participant perceptions and views, from being at an abstract level in those who had completed just one visit of the service to a more experiential level in those who had experienced the entire comprehensive asthma service. Conclusions A sustained experience/multiple visits in a service may lead to more concrete changes in patient perceptions of severity, beliefs, health behaviours and enhanced self-efficacy and control. The study highlights a need for such asthma services in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

in addition to its potential contribution to improving animal welfare, the study of the genetics of cattle behavior may provide more general insights into the genetic control of such complex traits. We carried out a genome scan in a Holstein x Charolais cross cattle population to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing temperament-related traits. individuals belonging to the second-generation of this population (F2 and backcross individuals) were subjected to 2 behavioral tests. The flight from feeder (FF) test measured the distance at which the animal moved away from an approaching human observer, whereas the social separation (SS) test categorized different activities which the animal engaged in when removed from its penmates. The entire population was genotyped with 165 microsatellite markers. A regression interval mapping analysis identified 29 regions exceeding the 5% chromosome-wide significance level, which individually explained a relatively small fraction of the phenotypic variance of the traits (from 3.8% to 8.4%). One of the significant associations influencing an FF test trait on chromosome 29 reached the 5% genome-wide significance level. Eight other QTL, all associated with an SS test trait, reached the 1% chromosome-wide significance level. The location of some QTL coincided with other previously reported temperament QTL in cattle, whereas those that are reported for the first time here may represent general loci controlling temperament differences between cattle breeds. No overlapping QTL were identified for the traits measured by the 2 different tests, supporting the hypothesis that different genetic factors influence behavioral responses to different situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on aspects of the birth of the opera, `Tosca.' How composing rights for Tosca passed from Giacomo Puccini to Alberto Franchetti in 1894; How Puccini reclaimed the rights in 1895; Puccini's publisher, Giulio Ricordi's feelings on the final act of Tosca; Ricordi's letter to Theodore De Glaser, Sardou's agent.

Presents the historical origins of Scarpia and other characters in the opera `Tosca,' by Giacomo Puccini. Details on Gherardo `Scarpia' Cucci, a Sicilian mercenary in the early 19th century; basis for the biography of the opera's heroine Floria Tosca.