RESUMEN
The use of optical micro-ring resonators as a platform for quantitative and qualitative biosensing applications was explored. Vertically coupled, high refractive index micro-ring resonators, used as sensing elements, were fabricated on silicon chips by photolithographic techniques. An optical reader system consisting of a near-infrared broad band light source and an optical spectrum analyzer were employed for data acquisition. Micro-ring resonator surfaces were modified with specific target receptors, including antibodies and single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides. The system was successfully used for label-free, specific, and rapid detection of whole bacterial cells, proteins and nucleic acids.
Asunto(s)
Técnicas Biosensibles/instrumentación , Óptica y Fotónica/instrumentación , Fotometría/instrumentación , Refractometría/instrumentación , Espectrofotometría Infrarroja/instrumentación , Técnicas Biosensibles/métodos , Diseño de Equipo , Análisis de Falla de Equipo , Fotometría/métodos , Refractometría/métodos , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Espectrofotometría Infrarroja/métodosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Optimal treatment for acute pain is a function of an individual's willingness to make trade-offs between treatment side effects and pain control. The objective was to investigate the degree to which patients are willing to make these trade-offs. METHODS: Fifty patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were enrolled and completed interviews before and after surgery. Measures included an experience with pain questionnaire and an adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA) interview. RESULTS: Percentage of pain relief obtained post-surgery was between 70 and 80%. Eight-two per cent reported at least one moderate or severe side effect. ACA results demonstrated that pain efficacy and side effect type/severity have almost equal 'importance' scores. Patients varied in their willingness to trade-off pain efficacy for different or milder side effects. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that people have different relative preferences for different side effects and are willing to trade-off pain relief for less upsetting and/or less severe side effects but to different degrees. Thus, physicians should consider offering pain medications with fewer side effects than narcotics as a first choice. Our study indicates the need to balance analgesia and side effects in order for patients to achieve optimal pain control.
Asunto(s)
Analgesia Controlada por el Paciente/métodos , Dolor Postoperatorio/tratamiento farmacológico , Satisfacción del Paciente , Abdomen/cirugía , Enfermedad Aguda , Adulto , Analgesia Controlada por el Paciente/efectos adversos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Dimensión del Dolor , Índice de Severidad de la Enfermedad , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
SNPCEQer identifies and reports SNPs in sequences obtained from the Beckman CEQ2000 DNA Analysis System. SNPCEQer aligns sequences obtained using CEQ2000 heterozygote detection analysis and reports discrepancies between individual sequences and the consensus sequence it generates from this set as SNPs when the individual base calls have high-quality values. SNPCEQer reported comparable numbers of SNPs to the UNIX-based PolyPhred (148 vs. 165, respectively) in regions amplified from eight genes. A total of 21 different SNPs was discovered. Each gene region was analyzed in 96-306 samples. SNPCEQer was designed to operate from Windows NT, making SNP detection more accessible to users without UNIX systems. SNPCEQer is available free of charge at http://innovation.swmed.edu.
