Design adaptable

It is because of the adapters) that we can always begin the object refinement by assuming that the appropriate internal object will be involved in the external actions. We leave it up to the adapter design. 

Many have argued that concerns for the individual intuitively lead to the use of adaptive designs in which randomisation is biased... 

Modifier Pump. The first feature in our adapted design is the introduction of a liquid pump via an instrument controlled VALCO (Model E04, Valeo Instruments, Houston, TX), four position selection valve. We have used an LKB Model 2150, dual piston pump for pumping modifier and entrainer fluids (LKB-Produkter AB, Bromma, Sweden). However, any suitable liquid pump could be substituted. Only pure fluids such as carbon dioxide have been introduced with the Suprex system syringe pump. With the addition of this second pump to deliver liquids, modifier is introduced directly into the extraction vessel. A wide range of alternative fluids and fluid mixtures can be rapidly selected with this dual pumping option. The criteria for selection of a modifier pump include the ability of the pump heads to withstand pressures in the range of 100 to 300 atm and interfacing capabilities, i.e. the ability to be turned on and off by the Suprex contact closure controls. 

This chapter introduces basic concepts in statistical analysis that are of relevance to describing and analyzing the data that are collected in clinical trials, the hallmark of new drug development. (Statistical analysis in nonclinical studies was addressed earlier in Chapter 4.) This chapter therefore sets the scene for more detailed discussion of the determination of statistical significance via the process of hypothesis testing in Chapter 7, evaluation of clinical significance via the calculation of confidence intervals in Chapter 8, and discussions of adaptive designs and of noninferiority/equivalence trials in Chapter 11. 

This allows one to improve expected tried outcomes during the experiment, while still being able to carry out GCP and reach good statistical decisions in a timely fashion. Therefore, adaptive design sometimes can offer significant ethical and cost advantages over standard fixed design (p. 275). 

Three comments are appropriate here. First, consideration of the traditional clinical trial design that has been the focus of attention up until this chapter is extremely worthwhile and instructive It has facilitated the introduction of fundamental design, methodology, and statistical concepts, and it will be an influential player in pharmaceutical drug development for many years to come. Second, the simple observation that the adaptive design may seem different does not in itself make it less valid, less valuable, or less important. Third, statistical approaches that are suitable for adaptive designs are, as yet, less well developed than they are for other study designs. 

Chow, S-C. and Chang, M., 2007, Adaptive design methods in clinical trials, Chapman Hall/CRC. 

Hwang, I.K. and Lan, K.K.G., 2006, Interim analysis and adaptive design in clinical trials. In Buncher, C.R. and Tsay, J-Y. (Eds), Statistics in the pharmaceutical industry, 3rd Edition, Chapman Hall/CRC, 245-284. 

Figure 10. Proboscis adapter design for prototype fiber optic weld sensor.

Adapt design of structural concrete to shapes that minimize construction work - prefabricated elements, standard reusable forms, etc. 

An alternative (or addition) to repeating the fixed-sample size trial is to use a sequential design in which the trial is run until a useful result is reached. These adaptive designs, in which decisions are taken on the basis of results to date, can assess results on a continuous basis as data for each subject that becomes available or, more commonly, on groups of subjects... 

Chow S-C, Chang M (2007). Adaptive Design Methods in Clinical Trials. Boca Raton, FL Chapman St Hall/CRC. 

Dragalin V (2006). Adaptive designs terminology and classification. Drug Information J 40 425-435. 

Gallo P, Krams M (2006). PhRMA working group on adaptive designs introduction to the full white paper. Drug Information J 40 421-423. 

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