New pharmacotherapy options for noninfectious posterior uveitis

Introduction: Noninfectious inflammation of the posterior eye segment represents an important cause of visual impairment. It often affects relatively young people and causes a significant personal and social impact. Although steroids and nonbiologic- Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (nbDMARDs) are effective both in acute and long- lasting diseases, however they are increasingly being replaced by biologic (DMARDs). bDMARD. This article therefore aims to identify recent advances in the therapy of noninfectious posterior segment uveitis. Methods: A Medline-search was conducted using the terms: nbDMARD, bDMARD, posterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, treatment, corticosteroid. In addition, clinical studies were included as registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. Results: Currently two major lines of treatments can be identified: (1) the intraocular application of anti-inflammatory agents and (2) the introduction of new agents, e.g., (bDMARDs) and small-molecule-inhibitors. Whereas intravitreal treatments have the advantage to avoid systemic side effects, new systemic agents are progressively earning credit on the basis of their therapeutic effects. Conclusion: Even when current treatment strategies are still hampered by the limited number of randomized controlled trials, promising progress and continuous efforts are seen

Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12

We measured the Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12 within the FAIR Phase-0 program at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt, Germany. From this we will extract the photon dissociation cross section O-16(alpha,gamma)C-12, which is the time reversed reaction to C-12(alpha,gamma)O-16. With this indirect method, we aim to improve on the accuracy of the experimental data at lower energies than measured so far. The expected low cross section for the Coulomb dissociation reaction and close magnetic rigidity of beam and fragments demand a high precision measurement. Hence, new detector systems were built and radical changes to the (RB)-B-3 setup were necessary to cope with the high-intensity O-16 beam. All tracking detectors were designed to let the unreacted O-16 ions pass, while detecting the C-12 and He-4

Coulomb dissociation of 16O into 4He and 12C

We measured the Coulomb dissociation of 16O into 4He and 12C at the R3B setup in a first campaign within FAIR Phase 0 at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt. The goal was to improve the accuracy of the experimental data for the 12C(a,?)16O fusion reaction and to reach lower center-ofmass energies than measured so far. The experiment required beam intensities of 109 16O ions per second at an energy of 500 MeV/nucleon. The rare case of Coulomb breakup into 12C and 4He posed another challenge: The magnetic rigidities of the particles are so close because of the same mass-To-charge-number ratio A/Z = 2 for 16O, 12C and 4He. Hence, radical changes of the R3B setup were necessary. All detectors had slits to allow the passage of the unreacted 16O ions, while 4He and 12C would hit the detectors' active areas depending on the scattering angle and their relative energies. We developed and built detectors based on organic scintillators to track and identify the reaction products with sufficient precision

Using computer simulation to aid the research of drilling processes

Drilling wells is one of the primary methods used for mineral exploration. Scientific studies have aimed at improving the technical and economic aspects of drilling because of the current competitive economic conditions. Note that the primary topic of these studies has been developing new effective rock-cutting tools. To design a new rock-cutting tool, a thorough, reliable, and accurate study of the processes that occur during drilling is necessary. During drilling, mechanical, hydraulic, thermal, and chemical phenomena, which are interdependent and affect the performance of a drilling tool, simultaneously occur; therefore, a systematic, integrated approach is required for studying drilling processes. Field-based and laboratory experiments are quite tedious to perform and require high material costs, and it is often not possible to separately evaluate small elements of the drilling model. Therefore, computer simulation is an important research tool that enables accurate and reliable visualization of even small parts of the model. The aim. The aim of this study is to examine the potential for computer simulation of the processes that occur during drilling. Objective. In this study, we evaluated the simulation features of various software products, such as KOMPAS-3D, ANSYS, Delphi, and LabVIEW, for their utility in studying the processes that occur during drilling. The possibility of computer simulation for studying drilling processes, including its advantages and disadvantages, are demonstrated. The results are obtained from a model that simulates a rock cutting tool. The main uses of the rock cutting tool are outlined, and the drilling simulation development is planned. Choice of research method. The study of the capabilities of existing modern software products, for use in drilling process research, is carried out by an analytical review method