Exploring measurement tools to optimise hospital physician distribution.

INTRODUCTION: Equitable healthcare delivery is essential and requires resources to be distributed, which include assets and healthcare workers. To date, there is no gold standard for measuring the correct number of physicians to meet healthcare needs. This rapid review aims to explore measurement tools employed to optimise the distribution of hospital physicians, with a focus on ensuring fair resource allocation for equitable healthcare delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed across PubMed, EMBASE, Emerald Insight and grey literature sources. The key terms used in the search include 'distribution', 'method', and 'physician', focusing on research articles published in English from 2002 to 2022 that described methods or tools to measure hospital-based physicians' distribution. Relevant articles were selected through a two-level screening process and critically appraised. The primary outcome is the measurement tools used to assess the distribution of hospital-based physicians. Study characteristics, tool advantages and limitations were also extracted. The extracted data were synthesised narratively. RESULTS: Out of 7,199 identified articles, 13 met the inclusion criteria. Among the selected articles, 12 were from Asia and one from Africa. The review identified eight measurement tools: Gini coefficients and Lorenz curve, Robin Hood index, Theil index, concentration index, Workload Indicator of Staffing Need method, spatial autocorrelation analysis, mixed integer linear programming model and cohortcomponent model. These tools rely on fundamental data concerning population and physician numbers to generate outputs. Additionally, five studies employed a combination of these tools to gain a comprehensive understanding of physician distribution dynamics. CONCLUSION: Measurement tools can be used to assess physician distribution according to population needs. Nevertheless, each tool has its own merits and limitations, underscoring the importance of employing a combination of tools. The choice of measuring tool should be tailored to the specific context and research objectives.

Tocotrienol preserves ovarian function in cyclophosphamide therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Cyclophosphamide (CPA) chemotherapy leads to ovarian failure and infertility. Tocotrienol (T3) is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. The role of T3 in ovarian protection throughout chemotherapy remains unclear. AIM: To investigate the role of T3 in the preservation of female fertility in CPA treatment. METHOD: Sixty female mice were divided into five treatment groups, namely, normal saline, corn oil only, T3 only, CPA and CPA + T3. The treatment was given for 30 days, followed by administration of gonadotrophin to induce ovulation. After killing, both ovaries were collected and examined histologically. RESULTS: There was significant reduction in ovarian size in the CPA group compared with the normal group (CPA versus normal, mean area ± SD; 0.118 ± 0.018 vs. 0.423 ± 0.024 cm(2); p ≤ 0.005), whilst concurrent administration of T3 with CPA leads to conservation of ovarian size (CPA + T3 vs. CPA, mean area ± SD; 0.285 ± 0.032 vs. 0.118 ± 0.018 cm(2); p ≤ 0.005). Ovaries in CPA group showed abnormal folliculogenesis with accompanied reduced ovulation rate, follicular oedema, increased vascularity and inflammatory cell infiltration. These changes were reversed by concurrent T3 administration. CONCLUSION: Co-administration of T3 with CPA confers protection of ovarian morphology and function in vivo. These findings contribute to the further elucidation of CPA effect on ovary and suggest the potential of T3 use in preserving fertility in chemotherapy.

Properties of NiAl and Ni-Al-N thin films deposited by closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating using elemental Ni and Al targets.

Approximately 1 microm thick NiAl and Ni-Al-N thin films have been deposited from individual elemental Ni (99.5% pure) and Al (99.5% pure) targets onto glass and stainless steel 316 substrates using closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion platting (CFUBMSIP) process. The films have been characterized using stylus profilometry, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The X-ray diffraction patterns of both types of thin films produced confirmed the formation of beta-NiAl phase. The EDAX results revealed that all of the NiAl thin films produced exhibited the near equiatomic NiAl phase with the best results given by the one deposited using 300 Watts DC power for Ni and 400 Watts DC power for Al targets respectively. However, the Ni-Al-N thin films showed a Ni-rich NiAl phase. AFM results of both types of films produced carried out on glass samples exhibited that the coatings have quite a smooth surface with surface roughness in nanometres range.