Professional Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Professional Nursing - Essay Example The discussion is guided by Colin Rees' (2003) critique framework, which looks into the following parts of the research article: focus of the material, the background presented, the terms of reference, the study design, the data collection method, and ethical considerations. It goes further to include looking into conclusion and recommendations, readability, and finally, its implications to practice. These parts provide for the body of this critique Focus. The theme of the research article is that there is no relationship between isotretinoin or antibiotic/topic treatments and depression and the patient's quality of life. This article could be filed under the key words: acne therapy, adverse effects, causal relationship, depression, and isotretinoin. The title clearly gives a clue to the focus. Despite its limited number of respondents and other limitations, the study is important to the profession or practice as it can add to the pool of research on the subject. Background. The study claimed that there have been increasing interests about the possible relationship between isotretinoin therapy and depressive symptoms. It quoted Ault's (1998) study, which estimated that there have been more than two million users of isotretinoin in the United States since 1982. Further, it said, Wysowski et al's (2001) research mentioned that between 1982 and 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA had received 431 adverse reaction reports on isotretinoin therapy. These included cases of depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide in patients. Also, Ault (1998) was said to have reported 37 suicides, 110 hospitalized patients and 24 cases of recurring depression on drug re-challenge. The literature mentioned about gaps in research, hence the undertaking of the study. It said that while the literature pertaining to the efficacy and physical adverse effects of isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid) are widely available, the psychological effects, particularly depression, are not well documented. This was mentioned in the researches done by Mills and Marks (1993), Bigby and Stern (1988), and Hull and Bartel (2000). The research said there are possibilities for association but causal relationship is not established, nor any etiological relationship. Further, it is not clear whether depression is a result of using isotretinoin, or the psychological effect of suffering severe acne or even a combination of both. No local problems have been laid out, understandably because drug side effects are a worldwide concern and the scope is beyond the locality. The research may have been carried out as "although the possible association between isotretinoin and depression has been known for over 15 years, no causal relationship or etiological mechanisms have been established." (Ault, 1998). There was no theoretical or conceptual framework presented for this case. Terms of reference. The aim of the research, in the words of the authors, "is to evaluate depressive symptoms and quality of life in acne patients having either isotretinoin or antibiotics/topical treatments." Although there was no hypothesis, the dependent variables are clearly isotretinoin and antibiotic/ topical treatment. On the other hand, the independent variables are depression, quality of life, and acne severity ratings. There were

Java Card Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Java Card - Essay Example This paper dwells greatly on the smart card technology focusing on Java Card as the case study. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a smart card as â€Å"a small plastic card that has a built-in microprocessor to store and process data and records1.† In 1968, two great German scientists first mooted the idea of incorporating an integrated circuit into a plastic card. Many other people worked on this technology with no notable progress until 1974-1979 when Roland Moreno filed patents on smart cards in 11 different countries. Late 1970 saw the first commercialization of the smart card and the introduction of the microprocessor smart card through the work of CII-Honeywell Bull. Initial trials on the smart card took place in France and Germany in the early 1980 where they were used as prepaid phone cards and secure debit/credit bank cards2. Currently, the power of smart cards has greatly advanced consequent of the existence of improved modern chip and cryptography technologies. They have diverse commercial applications such as banking, identification, ticketing as well as telecommunication applications where they are used as SIM cards on cell phones. Traditionally, the development of smart card applications is subject to a lengthy, rigorous and difficult process. Development tools are built by smart card manufacturers using generic assembly language tools and dedicated hardware emulators obtained from silicon chip vendors. These facilities are not readily available to third party application developers making the development of these applications exclusive to a few highly skilled developers who have specialized in a particular smart card hardware and software. Until recently there existed no standard high-level application interface thus compelling developers to deal with the always technical low-level programming of modules such as communication