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Safe pharmaceutical care requires competent nurses with specific knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is unclear whether nursing students are adequately prepared to perform pharmaceutical care in practice. Mapping their pharmaceutical care competences can lead to a better understanding of the extent to which curricula fit expectations of the labour market. To assess pharmaceutical care competences of final-year nursing students of different educational levels. A cross-sectional survey design. In 14 European countries, nursing schools who offer curricula for level 4 to 7 students were approached. Through convenience sampling 1741 final-year student nurses of level 4 to 7 were included. Sampling strategies were country-specific. A web-platform was developed with an assessment of the level in which students mastered pharmaceutical care competences. Knowledge questions, case studies (basic/advanced level), self-reported practical skills and attitudes were evaluated. Mean scores for knowledge questions differed significantly (p < 0.001) between level 5 (56/100), level 6 (68/100) and level 7 students (72/100). For basic cases level 5 students reached lower scores (64/100) compared with level 6 (71/100) and level 7 (72/100) students (p = 0.002 and p = 0.005). For more advanced cases no difference between levels was observed (overall mean 61/100). Most students (63–90 %) considered themselves skilled to perform pharmaceutical care and had positive attitudes towards their participation in pharmaceutical care (65–97 %). Relatively low knowledge scores were calculated for final-year student nurses. In some domains, lower levels of students might be insufficiently prepared to take up responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. Our assessment can be used as a tool for educators to evaluate how prepared nursing students are for pharmaceutical care. Its further implementation for students of different educational levels will allow benchmarking between the levels, both within and between countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examined the life-history stages, namely nauplii, juveniles and adults, of copepods to determine the vital environmental parameters that affect copepad dynamics in shallow temperate estuary in southern Europe. The study was conducted in the Mondego Estuary in the western Atlantic coast of Portugal. The Calanoida species that were studied include Acartia clausi, Temora longicornis and A. tonsa. The Cyclopoida species are Oithona plumifera and Acanthocyclops robustus.

Abstract: In the Mediterranean Europe, where rainfall is scarce and irregular but often of high intensity, wild shrubs protect the soil against erosivity of raindrops. Moreover, some of these plants are the economic income for local farmers. Particularly in SE Spain, soil erosion is a core factor in environmental degradation attributed primarily to the cultivation practices and human pressure on the land. Over a four-year period, soil erosion and runoff were monitored in erosion plots on a mountainside, comparing four harvest intensities of four aromatic shrubs (Lavandula lanata L., Santolina rosmarinifolia L. Origanum bastetanum, and Salvia lavandulifolia V.): 0% (HI-0), 25% (HI-25), 50% (HI-50), and 75% (HI-75). Also, the fresh biomass and essential-oil content were quantified in each treatment. The erosion plots were located in Lanjarón (Granada, SE Spain) on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on a 20% slope, and of 96 m2 in area. The average soil loss for HI-0, HI-25, HI-50, and HI-75 during the study period was 144.6, 187.2, 256.0, and 356.0 kg ha−1, respectively, and runoff 2.6, 3.2, 3.4, and 4.7 mm, respectively. The lowest average soil erosion and runoff rates for the study period were recorded with plant cover of S. lavandulifolia V. 67.6 kg ha−1 and 1.3 mm, respectively. Since no significant differences were found between HI-25 and HI-50 for soil erosion and runoff, and harvest and distillation of wild-aromatic plants currently persists as an important economic activity in mountainous areas of the study zone, we recommend a rational harvest (HI-50), leaving the 50% of the plant biomass in the field (especially for sage and lavender) to avoid the soil degradation. In this sense, the harvest of 50% of fresh herb of sage, santolina, lavender, and oregano produced reasonable essential-oil yield of 12.7, 14.0, 19.7, and 18.3 L ha−1, respectively. The inappropriate harvest of aromatic plants and the intensity farming systems of mountain areas endanger land conservation, and there is an urgent need to implement appropriate land management which has a large-scale perspective but acts at the local level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Understanding demographic disparities in hospitalisation is crucial for the identification of vulnerable populations, interventions, and resource planning., Methods: Data were from the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (ART-CC) on people living with HIV in Europe and North America, followed up between January, 2007 and December, 2020. We investigated differences in all-cause hospitalisation according to gender and mode of HIV acquisition, ethnicity, and combined geographical origin and ethnicity, in people living with HIV on modern combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Analyses were performed separately for European and North American cohorts. Hospitalisation rates were assessed using negative binomial multilevel regression, adjusted for age, time since cART intitiaion, and calendar year., Findings: Among 23 594 people living with HIV in Europe and 9612 in North America, hospitalisation rates per 100 person-years were 16·2 (95% CI 16·0-16·4) and 13·1 (12·8-13·5). Compared with gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, rates were higher for heterosexual men and women, and much higher for men and women who acquired HIV through injection drug use (adjusted incidence rate ratios ranged from 1·2 to 2·5 in Europe and from 1·2 to 3·3 in North America). In both regions, individuals with geographical origin other than the region of study generally had lower hospitalisation rates compared with those with geographical origin of the study country. In North America, Indigenous people and Black or African American individuals had higher rates than White individuals (adjusted incidence rate ratios 1·9 and 1·2), whereas Asian and Hispanic people living with HIV had somewhat lower rates. In Europe there was a lower rate in Asian individuals compared with White individuals., Interpretation: Substantial disparities exist in all-cause hospitalisation between demographic groups of people living with HIV in the current cART era in high-income settings, highlighting the need for targeted support., Funding: Royal Free Charity and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SMR reports fellowship payments from the Royal Free Charity. FCL reports grants from the National Institute for Health and Care Research paid to their institution. JACS and SMI report grants from the National Institutes of Health paid to their institution. JACS also received grants from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research paid to their institution. MvdV received grants and consulting fees from Gilead, ViiV, and MSD paid to their institution. GW reports grants from Gilead and Roche Diagnostics and honoraria from Gilead, ViiV, and MSD. MJG participated on advisory boards for Merck, Gilead, and ViiV. HMC and JC report separate grants from the National Institutes of Health paid to their institution. HMC received grants from ViiV and AHRQ paid to their institution. LW reports grants from ANRS MIE. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)