Using automated patch clamp electrophysiology platforms in pain-related ion channel research: insights from industry and academia

Automated patch clamp (APC) technology was first developed at the turn of the millennium. The increased throughput it afforded promised a new paradigm in ion channel recordings: it offered the potential to overcome the time-consuming, low-throughput bottleneck arising from manual patch clamp (MPC) investigations. This has relevance to the fast-paced development of novel therapies for chronic pain. This review highlights the advances in technology, using select examples, that have facilitated APC usage in both industry and academia. It covers both first generation and the latest developments in second-generation platforms. In addition, it also provides an overview of the pain research field and how APC platforms have furthered our understanding of ion channel research and the development of pharmacological tools and therapeutics. APC platforms have much to offer the ion channel research community and this review highlights areas of 'best practice' for both academia and industry. The impact of APC platforms and the prospects for chronic pain ion channel research and improved therapeutics will be evaluated

Survival of endometrial cancer patients in Germany in the early 21st century: a period analysis by age, histology, and stage

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Population-based studies on endometrial cancer providing survival estimates by age, histology, and stage have been sparse. We aimed to derive most up-to-date and detailed survival estimates for endometrial cancer patients in Germany.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used a pooled German national dataset including data from 11 cancer registries covering a population of 33 million people. 30,906 patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 1997-2006 were included. Period analysis was performed to calculate 5-year relative survival (RS) in 2002-2006. Trends in survival between 2002 and 2006 were examined using model-based period analysis. Age-adjustment was performed using five age groups (15-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and 75+ years).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, age-adjusted 5-year relative survival in 2002-2006 was 81%. A moderate age gradient was observed, with 5-year RS decreasing from 90% in the age group 15-49 years to 75% in the age group 70+ years. Furthermore prognosis varied strongly by histologic subtypes and stage, with age-adjusted 5-year RS ranging from 43% (for sarcoma) to 94% (for squamous metaplasia), and reaching 91% for localized, 51% for regional, and 20% for distant stage. Except for age group 65-74 years, no significant improvement in survival was seen during the recent 5-year period under investigation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this comprehensive population-based survival analysis of patients with endometrial cancer from Germany, prognosis of endometrial cancer moderately varied by age, and strongly varied by histology and stage. While prognosis is rather good overall, further improvement in 5-year relative survival of endometrial cancer patients has been stagnating in the early 21^stcentury.</p

Block-based syntax from context-free grammars

Block-based programming systems employ a jigsaw metaphor to write programs. They are popular in the domain of programming education (e.g., Scratch), but also used as a programming interface for end-users in other disciplines, such as arts, robotics, and configuration management. In particular, block-based environments promise a convenient interface for Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) for domain experts who might lack a traditional programming education. However, building a block-based environment for a DSL from scratch requires significant effort. This paper presents an approach to engineer block-based language interfaces by reusing existing language artifacts. We present Kogi, a tool for deriving block-based environments from context-free grammars. We identify and define the abstract structure for describing block-based environments. Kogi transforms a context-free grammar into this structure, which then generates a block-based environment based on Google Blockly. The approach is illustrated with four case studies, a DSL for state machines, Sonification Blocks (a DSL for sound synthesis), Pico (a simple programming language), and QL (a DSL for questionnaires). The results show that usable block-based environments can be derived from context-free grammars, and with an order of magnitude reduction in effort

The implications of the "USA Patriot Act" and US counter-terrorism on international human rights law

Article by Dr Klint Alexander published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Strategy Perception : A Qualitative Study of Perception Differences and Similarities

Strategy is an important part of any business. To become successful, a company must put a lot of effort into creating a strong and feasible strategy. To eliminate problems to follow the strategy it should be clear and jointly formulated. However, a problem could still be that the strategy is perceived and understood differently by managers and em-ployees within the company. This could implicate issues because these persons are ex-pected to follow the strategy and adopt their plans according to it. In this study we in-vestigate how the perceptions of a strategy differ among employees within an organisa-tion. This study is made with Yoigo, which is a Spanish telecommunication company that recently finished the creation of a new strategy.In this research, a qualitative method was used to collect primary data. Highly standard-ized and open interviews were conducted in Madrid at the Yoigo headquarter. In addi-tion, observations were used as primary data in order to better answer our research ques-tions and to fulfil our purpose.Our results indicate that there are significant differences and similarities in employees’ perception of the strategy. This study also concludes that a company’s internal envi-ronment could affect employees’ strategy awareness. We tested the perception of strat-egy through four different perspectives. The first three are customers, competitors and corporation; these perspectives are pointed out as key factors to a successful strategy (Ohmae, 1982). The fourth perspective was to investigate how perceptions differed in terms of the strategy formation process. Our major findings are that employees’ percep-tions regarding competitors and the strategy process are highly coherent while the op-posite is found about customers and corporation

Strategy Perception : A Qualitative Study of Perception Differences and Similarities

Strategy is an important part of any business. To become successful, a company must put a lot of effort into creating a strong and feasible strategy. To eliminate problems to follow the strategy it should be clear and jointly formulated. However, a problem could still be that the strategy is perceived and understood differently by managers and em-ployees within the company. This could implicate issues because these persons are ex-pected to follow the strategy and adopt their plans according to it. In this study we in-vestigate how the perceptions of a strategy differ among employees within an organisa-tion. This study is made with Yoigo, which is a Spanish telecommunication company that recently finished the creation of a new strategy.In this research, a qualitative method was used to collect primary data. Highly standard-ized and open interviews were conducted in Madrid at the Yoigo headquarter. In addi-tion, observations were used as primary data in order to better answer our research ques-tions and to fulfil our purpose.Our results indicate that there are significant differences and similarities in employees’ perception of the strategy. This study also concludes that a company’s internal envi-ronment could affect employees’ strategy awareness. We tested the perception of strat-egy through four different perspectives. The first three are customers, competitors and corporation; these perspectives are pointed out as key factors to a successful strategy (Ohmae, 1982). The fourth perspective was to investigate how perceptions differed in terms of the strategy formation process. Our major findings are that employees’ percep-tions regarding competitors and the strategy process are highly coherent while the op-posite is found about customers and corporation