History research progress

This chapter provides a short survey of the history and progress in steroidal research, focusing both on clinically important compounds and on those at an advanced stage of development. 

Adhesives derived from natural resources and the possibilites for their industrial utilization, particularly in the forest products industry, have been a focus of considerable attention in recent times. While such adhesives have been used for most of mankind s history, substantial progress has been made in the last 15 years in producing durable adhesives from renewable resources that come close to meeting today s exacting industry standards. A number of important opportunities exist for further refinement of promising adhesive systems and for the development of new ones. Recent advances demonstrate the breadth of available possibilities for using nature s own storehouse for adhesive production and offer an excellent starting point for future research effort needed for its optimum exploitation. 

Langenheim, J.H. (1996) Early history and progress of women ecologists emphasis upon research contributions. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27, 1-53. 

The pharmacopeias have worked with the ICH process to facilitate the international environment of pharmaceutical research and product registration. On the other hand, the additional situation for compendia is that the standards which they have published now apply to all of the already marketed products. In that case a company has testing history and product history in their quality control departments. These are the most conservative elements within the pharmaceutical industry as is necessary to their task. Quality control departments are reluctant to change methods when they feel that their products are properly represented by the current of tests. Therefore, a tension is ereated between trying to develop harmonized standards, which facilitate one area of activity in the world of pharmaeeutieals, and not disturbing a satisfactory marketplace. A vast amount of progress has been made in the harmonization of phar-maeopeial methods. 

It is agreed in Japan that the key person for the successful conduct of clinical trials is the clinical research coordinator (CRC), equivalent to the study nurse or study coordinator. Despite lack of history of such a role and rather rigid labour environment in Japan, the concept of CRC is now well established and introduction of the CRC to hospitals is gradually progressing. 

The fact is that, in the long history of polymer processing, engineering and design has always been ahead of theory. The development of screwless (or disc-type) extruders, innovative for their time, on the basis of the earlier-discovered normal stress effect (which received the name of the Weissenberg effect) was, apparently, one.of the few exclusions. However, this example has clearly demonstrated the potential and the role of theoretical research in the progress of technology. 

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