992 research outputs found
A clinical evaluation of the Dow Corning silcon contact lens
A clinical evaluation was made of the Dow Corning SILCON lens. Designed to be optically clear and stable, it also has the highest 0xygen permeability of all other rigid lenses presently available. Physiological difficulties with the lens such as its non-wetting surface accounted for most of the initial fitting failures. The first fit success of fourteen eyes was twenty-nine percent. This increased to seventy percent after one lens reorder and after a second reorder success was achieved for all patients. The base curves of all the lenses were verified before dispensing and at the last progress exam. Some changes were found, but they were statistically insignificant at the .01 level. The findings also showed changes that suggested increased corneal thickness with initial wear and a subsequent decrease in thickness as wearing time increased
Drug review process advancement and required manufacturer and contract research oraganization responses
\ua9 2024 The Japanese Society of Toxicologic Pathology.The United States Senate passed the “FDA Modernization Act 2.0.” on September 29, 2022. Although the effectiveness of this Bill, which aims to eliminate the mandatory use of laboratory animals in new drug development, is limited, it represents a significant trend that will change the shape of drug applications in the United States and other countries. However, pharmaceutical companies have not taken major steps towards the complete elimination of animal testing from the standpoint of product safety, where they prioritize patient safety. Nonetheless, society is becoming increasingly opposed to animal testing, and efforts will be made to use fewer animals and conduct fewer animal tests as a natural and reasonable response. These changes eventually alter the shape of new drug applications. Based on the assumption that fewer animal tests will be conducted or fewer animals will be used in testing, this study explored bioinformatics and new technologies as alternatives to compensate for reduced information and provide a picture of how future new drug applications may look. The authors also discuss the directions that pharmaceutical companies and nonclinical contract research organizations should adopt to promote the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals used in research, teaching, testing, and exhibitions
Phase diagram and magnetocaloric effect of CoMnGe_{1-x}Sn_{x} alloys
We propose the phase diagram of a new pseudo-ternary compound,
CoMnGe_{1-x}Sn_{x}, in the range x less than or equal to 0.1. Our phase diagram
is a result of magnetic and calometric measurements. We demonstrate the
appearance of a hysteretic magnetostructural phase transition in the range
x=0.04 to x=0.055, similar to that observed in CoMnGe under hydrostatic
pressure. From magnetisation measurements, we show that the isothermal entropy
change associated with the magnetostructural transition can be as high as 4.5
J/(K kg) in a field of 1 Tesla. However, the large thermal hysteresis in this
transition (~20 K) will limit its straightforward use in a magnetocaloric
device.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
A Component Based Heuristic Search Method with Evolutionary Eliminations
Nurse rostering is a complex scheduling problem that affects hospital
personnel on a daily basis all over the world. This paper presents a new
component-based approach with evolutionary eliminations, for a nurse scheduling
problem arising at a major UK hospital. The main idea behind this technique is
to decompose a schedule into its components (i.e. the allocated shift pattern
of each nurse), and then to implement two evolutionary elimination strategies
mimicking natural selection and natural mutation process on these components
respectively to iteratively deliver better schedules. The worthiness of all
components in the schedule has to be continuously demonstrated in order for
them to remain there. This demonstration employs an evaluation function which
evaluates how well each component contributes towards the final objective. Two
elimination steps are then applied: the first elimination eliminates a number
of components that are deemed not worthy to stay in the current schedule; the
second elimination may also throw out, with a low level of probability, some
worthy components. The eliminated components are replenished with new ones
using a set of constructive heuristics using local optimality criteria.
Computational results using 52 data instances demonstrate the applicability of
the proposed approach in solving real-world problems.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figure
Polyethylene imine-based receptor immobilization for label free bioassays
Polyethylene imine (PEI) based immobilization of antibodies is described and the concept is proved on the
label free assay of C-Reactive Protein (CRP). This novel immobilization method is composed of a hyperbranched
PEI layer which was deposited at a high pH (9.5) on the sensor surface. The free amino groups
of PEI were derivatized with neutravidin by Biotin N-hydroxysuccinimide ester and the biotinylated
anti-CRP antibody immobilized on this layer. Direct binding assay of recombinant CRP was successfully
performed in the low μg/ml concentrations using a label free optical waveguide biosensor
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging in Head and Neck Cancer: Techniques and Clinical Applications
ABSTRACT SUMMARY: In the past decade, dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging has had an increasing role in assessing the microvascular characteristics of various tumors, including head and neck cancer. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging allows noninvasive assessment of permeability and blood flow, both important features of tumor hypoxia, which is a marker for treatment resistance for head and neck cancer. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging has the potential to identify early locoregional recurrence, differentiate metastatic lymph nodes from normal nodes, and predict tumor response to treatment and treatment monitoring in patients with head and neck cancer. Quantitative analysis is in its early stage and standardization and refinement of technique are essential. In this article, we review the techniques of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging data acquisition, analytic methods, current limitations, and clinical applications in head and neck cancer. ABBREVIATIONS: AIF ϭ arterial input function; DCE-MR imaging ϭ dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging; EES ϭ extracellular extravascular space; GCA
Electronic structure of NiSSe across the phase transition
We report very highly resolved photoemission spectra of NiS(1-x)Se(x) across
the so-called metal-insulator transition as a function of temperature as well
as composition. The present results convincingly demonstrate that the low
temperature, antiferromagnetic phase is metallic, with a reduced density of
states at E. This decrease is possibly due to the opening of gaps along
specific directions in the Brillouin zone caused by the antiferromagnetic
ordering.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, 3 postscript figure
Quantum Hall Transitions in (TMTSF)PF
We have studied the temperature dependence of the integer quantum Hall
transitions in the molecular crystal (TMTSF)PF. We find that the
transition width between the quantum Hall plateaus does not exhibit the
universal power-law scaling behavior of the integer quantum Hall effect
observed in semiconducting devices. Instead, the slope of the
risers, , and the (inverse) width of the peaks,
, show a BCS-like energy gap temperature dependence. We
discuss these results in terms of the field-induced spin-density wave gap and
order parameter of the system.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX, 4 PostScript figure
Ultrasoft NLL Running of the Nonrelativistic O(v) QCD Quark Potential
Using the nonrelativistic effective field theory vNRQCD, we determine the
contribution to the next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) running of the effective
quark-antiquark potential at order v (1/mk) from diagrams with one potential
and two ultrasoft loops, v being the velocity of the quarks in the c.m. frame.
The results are numerically important and complete the description of ultrasoft
next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) order effects in heavy quark pair
production and annihilation close to threshold.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables; minor modifications, typos corrected,
references added, footnote adde
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