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Proceedings of the biosimilars workshop at the International Symposium on Oncology Pharmacy Practice 2019.
The International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners organized a workshop to create learning opportunities on biosimilars in pharmacy practice on 10 October 2019. The topics that were covered included (i) the development and testing of biosimilars, (ii) the challenges of bringing biosimilars to market, and (iii) real-world data on patient safety and perceptions during biosimilar implementation. The development of biosimilars can take up to eight years and the extensiveness of the process depends on several factors, such as the complexity of the production process and regulatory requirements. Compared to generic products of small-molecule drugs, there is a higher barrier to market entry for biosimilars, explaining the small number of biosimilars in the market. Appraisal of biosimilars for inclusion in hospital formularies is also different from the review process of originator biologics, where the former is usually institution-led and has fewer restrictions on use. When several biosimilar products are available, factors that should be considered besides cost are licensed indications, supply chain confidence, clinical data, and product attributes. Real-world data have shown that biosimilars are well-tolerated and have safety data that are comparable to that of the originator product. Oncology pharmacists from the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Canada also presented their respective experiences with biosimilar use. Different countries at varying stages of biosimilar implementation faced distinct challenges. Nevertheless, resources to assist biosimilar implementation can potentially be shared between different regions. International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners is well-positioned to foster professional cooperation at an international level to drive biosimilar implementation
Rich-club connectivity dominates assortativity and transitivity of complex networks
Rich-club, assortativity and clustering coefficients are frequently-used
measures to estimate topological properties of complex networks. Here we find
that the connectivity among a very small portion of the richest nodes can
dominate the assortativity and clustering coefficients of a large network,
which reveals that the rich-club connectivity is leveraged throughout the
network. Our study suggests that more attention should be payed to the
organization pattern of rich nodes, for the structure of a complex system as a
whole is determined by the associations between the most influential
individuals. Moreover, by manipulating the connectivity pattern in a very small
rich-club, it is sufficient to produce a network with desired assortativity or
transitivity. Conversely, our findings offer a simple explanation for the
observed assortativity and transitivity in many real world networks --- such
biases can be explained by the connectivities among the richest nodes.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.
A Simple Method to Measure the Interaction Potential of Dielectric Grains in a Dusty Plasma
A simple minimally perturbative method is introduced which provides the
ability to experimentally measure both the radial confining potential and the
interaction potential between two individual dust particles, levitated in the
sheath of a radio-frequency (RF) argon discharge. In this technique, a single
dust particle is dropped into the plasma sheath to interact with a second
individual dust particle already situated at the system's equilibrium point,
without introducing any external perturbation. The resulting data is analyzed
using a method employing a polynomial fit to the particle displacement(s),
X(t), to reduce uncertainty in calculation. Employing this technique, the
horizontal confinement is shown to be parabolic over a wide range of pressures
and displacements from the equilibrium point. The interaction potential is also
measured and shown to be well-described by a screened Coulomb potential and to
decrease with increasing pressure. Finally, the charge on the particle and the
effective dust screening distance are calculated. It is shown for the first
time experimentally that the charge on a particle in the sheath of an RF plasma
decreases with increasing pressure, in agreement with theoretical predictions.
The screening distance also decreases with increasing pressure as expected.
This technique can be used for rapid determination of particle parameters in
dusty plasma
Direct reconstruction of dynamical dark energy from observational Hubble parameter data
Reconstructing the evolution history of the dark energy equation of state
parameter directly from observational data is highly valuable in
cosmology, since it contains substantial clues in understanding the nature of
the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Many works have focused on
reconstructing using Type Ia supernova data, however, only a few studies
pay attention to Hubble parameter data. In the present work, we explore the
merit of Hubble parameter data and make an attempt to reconstruct from
them through the principle component analysis approach. We find that current
Hubble parameter data perform well in reconstructing ; though, when
compared to supernova data, the data are scant and their quality is worse. Both
CDM and evolving models can be constrained within at
redshifts
and even at redshifts 0.1 z 1 by
using simulated data of observational quality.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure
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