Indicators for life

Barone, G., Frangopol, D.M. 2014. Reliability, risk and lifetime distributions as performance indicators for life-cycle maintenance of deteriorating structures. Reliability Engineering and System Safety 123, 21-37. 

Patients requiring detoxification from high or supratherapeutic dosages of benzodiazepines constitute a smaller number of patients, but they are at greater risk for life-threatening discontinuation symptoms, such as seizures, delirium, and psychoses. There has been more experience with inpatient detoxification in this group, but outpatient detoxification is possible if conducted slowly (5% reduction in dose per week), with frequent contact, and in the context of a therapeutic alliance with the patient. Often, such an alliance proves unworkable because the patient s impoverished control results in supplementation from outside sources or early exhaustion of prescribed supplies meant to be tapered. In these cases, as in the cases of patients with a history of seizures, delirium, or psychoses during previous detoxification attempts, inpatient detoxification is indicated. 

Interpretation Active component A is so stable that a shelf-life in excess of 60 months could be assigned (it is unusual for a pharmaceutical to be approved for more than 5 years). Component B, however, undergoes hydrolysis (this fact has to be independently established, i.e., by GC/MS techniques, or equivalents). (See Fig. 4.26.) The data points cover an incomplete 24-month stability program T - 0, 3, 7, 24). The intercept is at 104.3%, an indication for over-dosing, and the slope is = 0.49 [%/month]. The... 

The eco-indicator 99 (2001) A Damage Oriented Method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment. PRe Consultant. 

Exemestane is an irreversible aromatase inactivator that binds to the aromatase enzyme to block the production of estrogen from androgens. Exemestane is absorbed rapidly after oral administration, with a terminal half-life of 24 hours. The drug is eliminated primarily by the liver and feces, with less than 1% of the dose excreted unchanged in the urine. Exemestane is indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have had disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. Side effects include hot flashes, fatigue, osteoporosis/bone fractures, and flulike symptoms. 

There is no universal guideline for follow-up care for MM. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends annual skin examination for all patients.61 Educate patients with stage IA disease to have a history and physical examination every 3 to 12 months as clinically indicated and an annual skin examination for life. For stage IB to III disease, schedule a history and physical examination every 3 to 6 months for 3 years, every 4 to 12 months for 2 years, and then annually as indicated. It is optional to obtain a chest x-ray, LDH, complete blood count (CBC), and liver function tests (LFTs) every 3 to 12 months. CT scan can be obtained as indicated clinically.61 For NMSC, educate patients to schedule follow-up visits with... 

Free water, the essential precondition for life as we know it, has recently been detected on Mars images taken by the high resolution stereo camera (HRSC) on board ESA s Mars Express spacecraft show a patch of water ice on the floor of an unnamed crater near the Martian north pole. Geomorphic studies indicate that the surface of Mars can be divided into two types (Jaumann et al 2002) ... 

FIGURE3.7 The potential window for the redox chemistry of life. Redox chemistry in living cells is approximately limited by the standard potentials for reduction and oxidation of the solvent water at neutral pH. Approximate standard reduction potentials are also indicated for the commonly used oxidant ferricyanide and reductants NADH and dithionite. 

Carbon compounds are necessary for the existence of life in the form that we know on earth. Very few carbon compounds have been found on the moon. Scientists discovered no compounds that would indicate that life, as we know it on earth, even in the simplest forms, has ever been present on the moon. 

Note that in the above analysis ATC0RE AMB canceled out as we indicated previously. So this amounts to writing the following simple equation for life... 

The discovery of homochirality on a planet such as Mars could be an excellent biomarker and strengthen the argument for life on Mars. With an EE in the solar nebula there should be an EE on the surface of Mars of order 9 per cent but remains of ancient life on Mars would show a greater excess. The interchange of enantiomers occurs naturally in a process called racemisation and for the most labile amino acid, aspartic acid, the half-life for the racemisation is 800 years at 300 K in 800 years, half of the non-biotic aspartic acid would racemise and the EE would go to zero. In dry conditions, however, the half-life is much longer, perhaps as large as 5 x 104 years at 300 K. Extrapolation of the racemisation rate to 215 K, the equatorial temperature of Mars, extends the half-life further to 3 x 1012 years and to 1027 years at 150 K, Martian polar temperatures. Hence, discovery of a considerable EE in the Martian soil would be a strong indicator of ancient Martian life. 

Enbrel is a product now approved for medical use that is based upon this strategy. The product is an engineered hybrid protein consisting of the extracellular domain of the TNF p75 receptor fused directly to the Fc (constant) region of human IgG (see Box 13.2 for a discussion of antibody structure) The product is expressed in a CHO cell line from which it is excreted as a dimeric soluble protein of approximately 150 kDa. After purification and excipient addition (mannitol, sucrose and trometamol), the product is freeze-dried. It is indicated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is usually administered as a twice-weekly s.c. injection of 25 mg product reconstituted in WFI. Enbrel functions as a competitive inhibitor of TNF, a major pro-inflammatory cytokine. Binding of TNF to Enbrel prevents it from binding to its true cell surface receptors. The antibody Fc component of the hybrid protein confers an extended serum half-life on the product, increasing it by fivefold relative to the soluble TNF receptor portion alone. 

Another potential indication for SSRIs is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Citalopram has recently been reported to significantly improve abdominal pain, bloating, impact of symptoms on daily life, and overall well being compared... 

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