Partial AUC calculations

Users can now define partial AUC values for calculation during analysis. Users can specify the start and stop time for each partial AUC to be calculated. Users also specify the parameter name (e.g. “Partial AUC0-4hr”) and parameter code (e.g. “pAUC04”) to be included in the output files. Users can specify as many partial AUC values as needed.

Exclusion column

Users can now define a column for data record exclusions from the analysis. Users define a column name and then the exclusion code in the configuration. Any record in the data that matches the exclusion code in the exclusion column will be excluded prior to analysis.

Download files from failed analyses

Users can now download configuration and data files from failed analyses. This can be useful to diagnose errors in the configuration file or analysis dataset.

Kel rules UI updated

The Kel rules section of the user interface was updated to provide user feedback when invalid entries are included for the various rules. For example, the minimum statistic value must be a decimal number between 0 and 1. If a value outside of that range is entered, the user interface displays a reminder to the user to update the value.

Minor bug fixes

Small updates to the user interface to give feedback on proper selection of grouping variables. Removal of sorting input from user interface as it is generally not needed. Improved error capture and inclusion of text file documenting non-fatal errors in the output (e.g. missing dose information that prevents calculation of dose-normalized parameters). Improved handling of very small numbers (e.g 1e-6) in output. Improved handing of grouping variables for sparse data analysis.

Added ability to analyze sparse data

Analysis of sparse data is important to support toxicokinetic studies, commonly with smaller species such as mice and rats. When a complete PK profile is not possible for each animal, a composite profile is constructed from multiple animals at each time point. The ability to analyze sparse data has been added to Aplos NCA. Simple select the “Sparse Data” option on the Dosing screen. Select all other settings as you normally would, and be sure that you include all appropriate grouping variables for the analysis (e.g. sex, dose). Aplos NCA will calculate the mean concentration-time profile for each unique set of grouping variables, and then will calculate the PK parameters for each composite profile.

Summary concentration values are exported

The mean and standard deviation values for the summary concentration-time plots are now available in the export package. These concentration-time data are included as CSV files in the /plots directory of the analysis output.

Integration testing added

Integration tests are automated tests that simulate a user working with the Aplos NCA software. Actions such as uploading a file, initiating an analysis, downloading results, and logging into the system, can be automated using integration tests. These tests are performed prior to releasing the software after an upgrade. By automating these tests, we can evaluate more features before any version is released to the production servers. This minimizes the risk that a software update will cause problems in another part of the application. While this is invisible to users, it is critical to allow us to deliver monthly updates to our software in a robust and reliable way. It also reduces the amount of manual testing we need to perform which can shrink the time between completing a feature and making it available to users.

Bug fixes and minor changes

Resolve an issue with uploading Excel (xlsx, xls) files by restoring a library. Resolved issue with AUC_tau calculations when samples below the limit of quantitation are observed at steady state. Swapped location of the “Unique ID” and “Time” columns in the user interface. Resolved issue when profile has no measurable observations.

User management features added

User management features for team and enterprise accounts has been added. Administrators can now add, update, and disable users for their team and enterprise accounts using the web interface or the API.

Dashboard metrics updated

The dashboard metrics were updated for team and enterprise accounts to show the allocation and available analyses for the entire team. Individual user metrics for number of completed and failed analyses are still displayed. Also updated the displayed number of available analyses to account for any analyses currently “in flight”.

Search features added

Search boxes are available on the input data, analysis history, and user management (administrators only) pages. Users can search by filename, date, meta data, username, or other aspects of the input file, analysis, or user. Results are automatically filtered to any matching information in the list. Useful for rapidly locating a previously uploaded file or previously conducted analysis.

Updated guided tours

Updated guided tours were added to multiple pages on the Aplos NCA website. Using the “Need Help?” button on the lower left of the screen, relevant guided tours for the currently visible page are shown. These tours show you how to upload data, initiate an analysis, use the data explorer, conduct a validation, download results, and more.

Increased responsiveness of website

The website is more performant when executing an analysis. The progress of each analysis is updated every 2 seconds, whether the analysis is started from the web interface, or via submission directly through the API.

Other bug fixes

Several small bug fixes resolved issues with using some text variables for grouping, listing the company name in the technical report, and generating more informative error messages on the website.

Validation added to the Aplos NCA API and Web Interface

Users can now initiate a new validation or download results of previously executed validations. The validation initiates Aplos NCA to calculate PK parameters for 6 different input datasets that are stored on a public repository. These are: (1) single dose extravascular, (2) single dose IV bolus, (3) single dose IV infusion, (4) steady-state extravascular, (5) steady-state IV bolus, and (6) steady-state IV infusion. The calculated results are compared to the known results available from that same public repository. The validation passes if all results from all 6 datasets matches the known results exactly. The validation fails if any calculate parameters are different. The validation results include both a validation report and the 6 individual analysis packages with comparisons.

Aplos NCA Web Interface page loading times improved

Webpage loading times for the input data, analysis history and validations pages have been significantly improved.

User metrics updated

User metrics on the dashboard page have been updated to reflect the number of available analyses for a user. The time required to load the metrics has been significantly improved.

Load configuration for new analysis feature updated

The button to load a previous configuration using a prior version of the Aplos NCA engine has been improved. Analyses that used columns as inputs (e.g. for dose amount) now correctly load for a new analysis.