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Post by Pete on May 13, 2009 20:22:52 GMT
I used to work for Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and from the context I think I would have said "It has too short a shelf life" - a bit clumsy, but it conveys the correct meaning, I think. I worked for what was then Smith, Kline and French, many years ago - all part of Glaxo Smith Kline now, of course. What was particularly interesting was how shelf-life was checked under different conditions. So there would be batches of drugs kept at various temperatures and humidities to see how quickly they would degrade in different climates.
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Yuko
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Post by Yuko on May 15, 2009 19:01:35 GMT
Ohhh... Has Paul moved this thread down here from the upper section...? Thanks I used to work for Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and from the context I think I would have said "It has too short a shelf life" Marion, I see that you used to be just in the right department for my question I've come to understand that: "Shelf life" relates to quality "Expiration (or expiry) date" relates to safety Does that sound right? If so, in quality aspect of the reagent: -It has too short a shelf life -Its shelf life is too short I'm happy about those. Now, in term of safety aspect, what would you say (about medicine)? -Expires too soon -Expires too quickly -Validity period is too short -Useful life is too short
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Post by Dave on May 16, 2009 7:46:30 GMT
Now, in term of safety aspect, what would you say (about medicine)? -Expires too soon -Expires too quickly -Validity period is too short -Useful life is too short I'm not in medicine, but of these, -Validity period is too short just doesn't have the same meaning; it doesn't even feel correct. I feel that you're trying to use valid or one of its forms where it's just not appropriate. Maybe someone else can explain it better. The other three seem to be better phrases, but see also my previous remarks. A side note about using the: here's a place to use it: Now, in terms of the safety aspect,
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Post by Pete on May 16, 2009 12:42:03 GMT
I agree with Dave. Validity is quite a specific term. For example, a train ticket may be valid for a specific train or valid for a period of 1 month or something like that. The shelf life of food is based on how long it can be on display before it ceases to be fresh or becomes unsafe to eat. Generally, the shelf life will be based on the former, not the latter. A loaf of bread may be stale within a day or two, so the shelf life will be based on that period, not on how long it takes the loaf to become green and furry and be able to leave the shelf of its own volititon. For drugs, the main concern is how long the active components remain suitably active. A stable compound will have a long shelf life and remain active for longer than an unstable compound. So shelf life for a drug means something slightly different than it does for food but it's still an appropriate concept. The reason expired drugs are dangerous is partly because the rate of degradation cannot easily be determined, so you might be taking too little, because the active compound has broken down. And people also try and compensate for using out-dated drugs by taking more, and over-dosing, instead.
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Yuko
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Post by Yuko on May 21, 2009 18:58:40 GMT
Ohhh... Has Paul moved this thread down here from the upper section...? Thanks It looks like I had an illusion... Still, this thread keeps showing up in the main section every time I log in. Spookyyy I'm not in medicine, but of these, -Validity period is too short just doesn't have the same meaning; it doesn't even feel correct. I feel that you're trying to use valid or one of its forms where it's just not appropriate. I wasn't trying, Dave, as I don't know which word(s)/sentence I do so with... that's why I posted the question at first place As for the title of this thread "Validation period", I've now learned, from this very thread, that I had a misunderstanding on the use of the word "Validation". I quoted those 4 sentences from previous posts, as they were all that was suggested... As for Validity there, I asked Paul if the word was applicable for medicine, food or drink? (as I was thinking in terms of the safety (thanks Dave for this ) rather than quality) and he thought so, so that was it. Now, in terms of the quality aspect, despite of having some of you the great sensei s (= teachers, of English for me!) responded for me here, I have had a few more comments from other labs on the same issue and it turned out that: Case 1. Some reagents expire sooner than others do. Case 2. Some reagents expire before the lab using them up, due to the short demand of the particular kinds. So the reasons were explained and I just used these lines for translated text. As I mentioned, these comments should relate to the quality but this time I just couldn't use the line "shelf life is too short" smart enough to fit in the text. Only problem is that if "expire" means of an expiry date to expire, I am contradicting myself here (as expiry date relates to safety).
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