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L'A. critique le raisonnement de Clarke et Geach au sujet de la bienveillance de Dieu et de son incapacite a faire le mal. Pour eux, la bienveillance de Dieu implique qu'il a necessairement fait ce qui etait le mieux. Pourtant, l'A. affirme qu'un etre qui agit avec bienveillance dans le sens moral, possede la capacite d'agir autrement. Un etre qui ne possede pas ce potentiel, qui est incapable d'une mauvaise action, n'est pas un agent moral. Il faut etre clairement un agent moral pour etre bienveillant au sens moral du terme. Si Dieu est bienveillant dans ce sens, il doit etre un agent moral

Capability to quantify drug release is vital in many areas of pharmaceutical research. Accurate, rapid and repeatable detection of pharmaceutical agents allows for comparisons between drug delivery constructs prior to in vivo studies as well as identification of therapeutic levels in samples both in vitro and in vivo. Perhaps the foremost scientific method for monitoring of therapeutics is High Performance Liquid Chromatography. This process allows for clear and simple quantification of therapeutic presence in a sample, with an inherent or induced chromophore, through the detection of bound specimen to the utilized column. Multiple drugs can be used through this process and exemplary methods are presented for the pharmaceutics; cefuroxime, clindamycin, dexamethasone, dicloxacillin, doxycycline, metronidazole, oxymetazoline, paclitaxel, tobramycin, and vancomycin. Each of these drugs is analyzed using Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography utilizing a hydrophobic column. Independent, repeatable methods are developed for each drug. Where necessary a pre-column derivatization is used to allow for visualization of otherwise undetectable tobramycin. In the case of each drug, a standard curve is presented to show the linearity of response for the proposed method within a range of absorbance. This work shows the ability to analyze multiple drugs with a single simple, quick, cost effective system and detection methods are evaluated for each drug with a R2 value of greater than 0.99.

Examinant plusieurs passages de la correspondance de Descartes avec le Pere Mersenne (avril-mai 1630-1631), l'A. mesure la compatibilite de la conception de Dieu comme perfection infinie avec l'ensemble de la philosophie de Descartes. Analysant les interpretations de H. Frankfurt, P. T. Geach et R. R. La Croix, l'A. montre que l'etendue du pouvoir divin au-dela des lois logiques de la nature sape les fondements du doute metaphysique concernant les verites eternelles

Polymeric controlled delivery systems hold great promise in the field of modern medicine. Such technology has already been converted into commercially viable products in a myriad of fields. Chemotherapy is an example of such an area where constant efficacious levels of drug can greatly enhance clinical outcomes. The key to designing such therapies is the preparation of the proper delivery system. To this end, a series of bioresorbable polyether-ester-carbonate copolymers have been developed, which when combined with a diluent, are capable injection into the body and consistently forming a drug delivery depot. The study delineated here aimed at producing a more effective treatment of a common drug, paclitaxel, using the polymeric carrier. The polymer carrier system exhibited controlled release of paclitaxel both in vitro and in vivo. Drug concentrations were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and apoptotic activity was confirmed through flow cytometry. Relevant success was exhibited by the regression of tumor size following a multiple injection treatment regimen in a murine xenograft model. This multiple injection treatment shows promising results when compared to the traditional paclitaxel paradigm of a single injection for a period of 3 weeks. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 100A: 2365–2372, 2012.

Many techniques are currently used in an attempt to regenerate cartilage surfaces in the presence of a chondral or osteochondral defect. Clinical results have been mixed and no single treatment has emerged as being superior. This article reviews the techniques previously and currently being used and evidence to support their use.

Bibliography: p. 120-129

An absorbable microparticulate cation exchanger was synthesized as a versatile carrier for biologically active proteins. In this work, acid-terminated polyglycolide (or polyglycolic acid) microparticulates (PG-MP) were surface modified for either sustained release of cytokines or as a platform for immunomodulation. The intended goal was to achieve in situ recruitment/maturation of dendritic cells and activation of T cells for tumor immunotherapy. PG-MP were prepared with a volume weighted mean diameter of 7.02 μ (range: 2.09–14.58 μ). Accessible carboxylic acid groups were determined to be 0.3 mmol/g with a corresponding zeta potential of −21.87 mV in phosphate-buffered saline. Under low magnification, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a highly textured surface due to processing from repetitive jet milling. However, a moderately porous architecture was noted at higher magnification. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis was used to characterize the PG-MP surface before and after adsorption of human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Adsorption of GM-CSF on PG-MP (PG-GMCSF) resulted in a modest increase in the surface atomic concentration of nitrogen (0.97%). Pretreating the surface with poly-L-lysine (PG/Lys-GMCSF) prior to adding GM-CSF produced a nearly threefold increase in the surface nitrogen concentration (4.20% compared to 1.47%). This manipulation not only increased loading content, but also prolonged the release of GM-CSF released from 6 days to 26 days. ESCA on the post-release PG-MP samples (PG-GMCSF and PG/Lys-GMCSF) revealed a similar residual surface nitrogen concentration (2.26% vs. 2.35%). The observation was consistent with irreversibly adsorbed GM-CSF. It is postulated that irreversibly bound GM-CSF is released over time as a function of microparticulate degradation. Biological activity of released GM-CSF was confirmed by the proliferation of a GM-CSF-dependent cell line (TF-1) in the presence of microparticulates. PG-MP mediated activation of T cells was achieved through irreversible adsorption of either antimouse cd3 plus antimouse cd28 monoclonal antibodies (α-cd3/cd28-MP) or antihuman CD3 plus antihuman CD28 monoclonal antibodies (α-CD3/CD28-MP) on PG-MP. Irreversibly adsorbed antibodies were capable of activating both resting mouse and human T cells. Intracellular flow cytometry on mouse T cells revealed that nearly 50% of the activated cells produced interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). This was consistent with a TH-1 or cell-mediated response. In vivo efficacy was evaluated in a mouse flank tumor model showing a significant antitumor effect both alone and in combination. Combination therapy was most effective at preventing tumor implantation (8/8 mice) and was able induce tumor regression (4/7 mice) and/or stable disease (3/7 mice) in a regression model. In these studies, immunohistochemistry was used to confirm local recruitment of dendritic cells. In conclusion, the PG-MP represents a novel absorbable cation exchanger that can be readily manipulated to deliver biologically active proteins for immunotherapy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 69B: 173–182, 2004

Previous research suggests that the collection and testing of measure-to-measure and day-to-day variation across a multi-site operation in a standard real-time Statistical Process Control (SPC) solution can be problematic at best. Replicating the full measurement process for mean and range in real-time not only strains resources, but may not provide an adequate indicator of measure-to-measure variation, thus resulting in exceedingly narrow control limits for day-to-day variation. A proposed solution to this dilemma was to compute control limits for the Mean chart utilizing the moving range of sample means to estimate sigma instead of the traditional range method. This approach provided statistically valid control limits that solved the issue of narrow control limits. However, it did not take into account the difficulty that remained in detecting small shifts in the process mean and therefore did not allow for adequate control of critical dimension (CD) metrology tools. Two possible solutions to this problem are the utilization of an Individual (I) and Moving Range (MR) chart with sensitivity (runs) rules or an Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) chart. This paper reviews how the method of estimating sigma satisfied the control limits issue but caused issues in implementation. It reviews the core problem of inadequate capture of measure-to-measure variation and discusses why single point measurement may be more accurate for controlling CD metrology tools. It explores the ability of the Individual chart with runs rules and EWMA methodology to detect small shifts of the process mean of a CD metrology tool. Using CD tool monitoring data, the Individual chart with runs rules chart is compared to the EWMA chart and results are discussed.

To accurately control critical dimension (CD) metrology in a standard real-time solution across a multi-site operation there is a need to collect measure-to-measure and day-to-day variation across all sites. Each individual site's needs, technologies, and resources can affect the final solution. A preferred statistical process control (SPC) solution for testing measure-to-measure and day-to-day variation is the traditional Mean and Range chart. However, replicating the full measurement process needed for the Mean and Range chart in real-time can strain resources. To solve this problem, an initially proposed measurement methodology was to isolate a point of interest, measure the CD feature n number of times, and continue to the next feature; however, the interdependencies in measure-to-measure variation caused by this methodology resulted in exceedingly narrow control limits. This paper explains how traditional solutions to narrow control limits are statistically problematic and explores the approach of computing control limits for the Mean chart utilizing the moving range of sample means to estimate sigma instead of the traditional range method. Tool monitoring data from multiple CD metrology tools are reported and compared against control limits calculated by the traditional approach, engineering limits, and the suggested approach. The data indicate that the suggested approach is the most accurate of the three solutions.

A commonly accepted practice in employment selection is to collect biographical information in the form of resumes. Surprisingly, little research is conducted in this area to learn how reviewers evaluate relevant biographical information and considerable less research is devoted to exploring possible methods on how to improve this evaluation process. Current research explored one possible training method that may later show great utility in improving accuracy and consistency in ratings for a number of work-related constructs. Frame-of-reference training, which is primarily utilized in the field of performance appraisal, was hypothesized to be a beneficial training technique in an effort to improve accuracy. Frame-of-reference (FOR) training attempts to create a common frame of reference among raters when assessing rates' behaviors. Through a process of practice and feedback, FOR training tunes raters to common notions of what good or poor would be on a particular dimension. The result is often more accurate ratings with less variation between raters. Personality (conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness only), general cognitive ability, and organizational citizenship behaviors were the constructs of interest. The analysis provided initial support for most of the hypotheses which suggested that frame-of-reference training would create more accurate and reliable estimates of applicant's personality, cognitive ability, and even organizational citizenship behaviors. In addition to influencing participants' estimates of applicant's scores on a number of workplace constructs, it was also found that participants were influenced as a function of type of training on their willingness to interview and overall impressions of the applicants. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

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The pubic scars of pregnancy and parturition as reported in the anthropological literature are a variant of the recognized clinical entity, osteitis pubis. The os pubis from 86 pre-Columbian and colonial Peruvian mummies were examined for this entity. Osteitis pubis was found in 13 pre-Columbian females (72.3%) and 19 colonial Indians (57.6%). Four of the colonial women were buried with newborn children and one had a four-month-old fetus in utero. This type of study has application in paleopathology and forensic medicine to show possible frequency of pregnancy in a population, but must be refined and quantitated to achieve any more than this. This study is of further interest as it demonstrates that racial groups have apparently a wide difference in frequency of this particular lesion of the pubic symphysis, a matter for further investigation.