An Institutional Rights Retention Strategy

Prorector for research and development at UiT The Arctic University of Norway informs about the institution's new Open Access Policy, in which Rights Retention takes a prominent place. All authors employed by UiT retain the rights to their peer-reviewed manuscripts, which can now be uploaded and be made available without any embargo period in the institutional repository, Munin, regardless of the policies of the publisher. In case an individual author refuses, (s)he is free to opt out, but no publisher shall have the right to force her/him to not make a manuscript publicly available in green open access through the institution's open repository. The original Norwegian policy document ("Prinsipper og retningslinjer for åpen tilgang til vitenskapelige publikasjoner ved UiT") is available through the website uit.no/publisering; an English translation will follow soon at en.uit.no/publishing.First published online: January 12, 2021

Self-Organizing Special Districts: A Tool for Community Change and Development

Can self-organizing special districts created from the bottom up be a tool for community change and development? Focusing on community services districts in California, this study introduces the context in which communities opt out of a county service system to reshape their governing structure for better representation. The empirical part measures their effectiveness, using single-family home sale prices as an impact metric. Leveraging multi-level difference-in-difference hedonic regression methods, the analysis shows that district formation increases the prices annually up to 16 percent, compared to both the surrounding and distant county service areas, indicating their efficacy as a tool for community change and development.

Nanoparticle mediated gene therapy: a trailblazer armament to fight CNS disorders

Central nervous system (CNS) disorders account for boundless socioeconomic burdens with devastating effects among the population, especially the elderly. The major symptoms of these disorders are neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and cognitive dysfunction caused by inherited genetic mutations or by genetic and epigenetic changes due to injury, environmental factors, and disease-related events. Currently available clinical treatment for CNS diseases, i.e., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and brain tumor have significant side effects and are largely unable to halt the clinical progression. So, gene therapy displays a new paradigm in the treatment of these disorders with some modalities, varying from suppression of endogenous genes to expression of exogenous genes. Both viral and non-viral vectors are commonly used for gene therapy. Viral vectors are quite effective but associated with immunogenicity and carcinogenicity like severe side effects, and poor target cell specificity. Thus, non-viral vectors, mainly nanotherapeutics like nanoparticles (NPs), opt-out to be a realistic approach in gene therapy in achieving higher efficacy. NPs demonstrate a new avenue in pharmacotherapy for the delivery of drugs or genes to their selective cells or tissue thus providing concentrated and constant drug delivery to targeted tissues, minimizing systemic toxicity and side effects. The current review will emphasize the role of NPs in mediating gene therapy for CNS disorders treatment. Moreover, the challenges and perspectives of NPs in gene therapy will be summarized.

Analyzing Behavioral Implications of Face Mask Wearing to Slow COVID-19 in Organizational Workplaces

As the nation battles COVID-19, we analyze the policy and tactics required to follow the recommendations of scientists and health professionals to achieve physical and psychological well-being by wearing masks to slow the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. An online survey from a business-focused social media network is employed to understand the issues for and against mask wearing. The survey findings showed that 60% of organizations have created some kind of health pact, pledge, or commitment and that most plans identified impact everyone who interacts with a business, not just employees. The findings do not shed much light on what drives people to opt out of mask wearing. The practical findings are that there is a need for achieving, understanding, and subsequent buy in of mask wearing that would be helped with a solid plan. The limitations of the research are primarily the small size of the convenience sample and the fact that the population may be restricted. Replication of this type of study with a formal, qualitative approach aimed at populations of interest is highly recommended.

The Urine Drug Screen in the Emergency Department

Urine drug screens (UDSs) are often performed in the emergency department (ED) as part of a standard ED order set in patients with significant altered mental status, trauma, or seizures usually without the patient’s knowledge or specified informed consent. In the ED the UDS has been included in the standard consent to treatment for routine testing along with blood studies, EKG, urinalysis and radiology. Many technical factors are known to effect UDS results.There is a lack of education among physicians regarding the clinical pitfalls of UDS interpretation. This article discusses the current state and issues associated with the UDS, and presents three clinical vignettes that illustrate the impact of false-positive UDS results on patient care and the potential for a patient becoming unknowingly and unfairly stigmatized. The article also offers suggestions including a requirement for either formal informed consent or an “opt out” screening process, as recommended by the CDC in HIV testing, designed to protect patient autonomy and confidentiality.

The Urine Drug Screen in the Emergency Department

Urine drug screens (UDSs) are often performed in the emergency department (ED) as part of a standard ED order set in patients with significant altered mental status, trauma, or seizures usually without the patient’s knowledge or specified informed consent. In the ED the UDS has been included in the standard consent to treatment for routine testing along with blood studies, EKG, urinalysis and radiology. Many technical factors are known to effect UDS results.There is a lack of education among physicians regarding the clinical pitfalls of UDS interpretation. This article discusses the current state and issues associated with the UDS, and presents three clinical vignettes that illustrate the impact of false-positive UDS results on patient care and the potential for a patient becoming unknowingly and unfairly stigmatized. The article also offers suggestions including a requirement for either formal informed consent or an “opt out” screening process, as recommended by the CDC in HIV testing, designed to protect patient autonomy and confidentiality.

Can inpatient pharmacists move the needle on smoking cessation? Evaluating reach and representativeness of a pharmacist-led opt-out smoking cessation intervention protocol for hospital settings

Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose Hospitalization affords an opportunity to reduce smoking, but fewer than half of patients who smoke receive evidence-based cessation treatment during inpatient stays. This study evaluated a pharmacist-led, electronic health record (EHR)-facilitated opt-out smoking cessation intervention designed to address this need. Methods Analyses of EHR records for adult patients who smoked in the past 30 days admitted to an academic medical center in the upper Midwest were conducted using the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. The reach of a pharmacist-led, EHR-facilitated protocol for smoking cessation treatment was assessed by comparing patients’ receipt of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and tobacco quitline referral before and after implementation. χ 2 tests, t tests, and multiple logistic regression models were used to compare reach across patient demographic groups to assess treatment disparities and the representativeness of reach. Adoption of the program by hospital services was also assessed. Results Of the 70 hospital services invited to implement the program, 88.6% adopted it and 78.6% had eligible admissions. Treatment reach increased as rates of delivering NRT rose from 43.6% of eligible patients before implementation to 50.4% after implementation (P < 0.0001) and quitline referral rates rose from 0.9% to 11.9% (P < 0.0001). Representativeness of reach by sex and ethnicity improved after implementation, although disparities by race and age persisted after adjustment for demographics, insurance, and primary diagnosis. Pharmacists addressed tobacco use for eligible patients in 62.5% of cases after protocol implementation. Conclusion Smoking cessation treatment reach and representativeness of reach improved after implementation of a proactive, pharmacist-led, EHR-facilitated opt-out smoking cessation treatment protocol in adult inpatient services.

Effects from Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area Developments

Brexit affects all the aspects of life, business and European integration process. It has strong implications also on the developments in the Euro Area despite the fact that the United Kingdom had the so-called “opt-out clause” for not adopting the single currency within the EU as well as despite the abstinence of the UK from participation in the Banking Union of the EU. The purpose of this study is to analyse some important aspects of the influence of Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area developments. It is too early to draw final conclusions on the effects of Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area developments. However, some possible implications may be outlined even today as for example the opportunity for consolidation of the Euro Area and its current reforms, possible implications for the EU decision making process and even a possible stimulation of the enlargement of the Euro Area.