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Major Hurdle (major + hurdle)
Selected AbstractsGroup motivational enhancement therapy as an adjunct to inpatient treatment for eating disorders: a preliminary study,EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 4 2008Helen Y. Dean Abstract Difficulties in fostering eating disorder (ED) patients' motivations to overcome their illness are widely considered to be a major hurdle in the course of successful treatment. However, no previous study has assessed the use of interventions specifically designed to target poor motivation amongst patients with illnesses that are severe enough to warrant hospitalisation. Objective A brief Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) group programme for inpatient ED sufferers was developed and evaluated. Method Forty two consecutive inpatients were sequentially allocated to treatment groups. Twenty three inpatients completed a four session MET group programme in addition to routine hospital care. A control group of 19 participants completed treatment as usual (TAU). Results Despite an absence of significant differences between the MET and the TAU groups on the overall formal outcome measures, there were nevertheless differences between the groups. Specifically, the MET groups appeared to foster longer term motivation and engagement, and to promote treatment continuation. Conclusion The results tentatively suggest that MET could be valuable for the treatment of inpatient eating disorder patients and further research is warranted. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] Low-Distortion Holographic Data Storage Media Using Free-Radical Ring-Opening PolymerizationADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 22 2009Kyongsik Choi Abstract Holographic data storage, due to its potential to increase capacity beyond one terabyte per disk, is tipped to be one of the next generation optical data storage technologies. Polymer-based systems are leading candidates due to their high dynamic range, high sensitivities, and flexible and easy production, and yet polymerization-shrinkage-induced distortion is a major hurdle for its reliable use. In this paper, a new free radical polymerization holographic recording medium, based on low shrink cyclic allylic sulfides (LS-CASs) ring-opening monomers, is proposed and demonstrated. The percentage of volume shrinkage is measured to be 0.02%, with refractive index (RI) contrast of (1.01,±,0.5),×,10,3. The measured volume shrinkage is, to the authors' best knowledge, the best reported so far in the literature. Other parameters such as sensitivity, dynamic range, and dark reaction properties are also measured, where the values can be optimized with high RI functional groups without sacrificing the low shrinkage. [source] Delivery of Nucleic Acids via Disulfide-Based Carrier SystemsADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 32-33 2009Sonja Bauhuber Abstract Nucleic acids are not only expected to assume a pivotal position as "drugs" in the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases, but could also act as molecular cues to control the microenvironment during tissue regeneration. Despite this promise, the efficient delivery of nucleic acids to their side of action is still the major hurdle. One among many prerequisites for a successful carrier system for nucleic acids is high stability in the extracellular environment, accompanied by an efficient release of the cargo in the intracellular compartment. A promising strategy to create such an interactive delivery system is to exploit the redox gradient between the extra- and intracellular compartments. In this review, emphasis is placed on the biological rationale for the synthesis of redox sensitive, disulfide-based carrier systems, as well as the extra- and intracellular processing of macromolecules containing disulfide bonds. Moreover, the basic synthetic approaches for introducing disulfide bonds into carrier molecules, together with examples that demonstrate the benefit of disulfides at the individual stages of nucleic acid delivery, will be presented. [source] Multiscale Galerkin method using interpolation wavelets for two-dimensional elliptic problems in general domainsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2004Gang-Won Jang Abstract One major hurdle in developing an efficient wavelet-based numerical method is the difficulty in the treatment of general boundaries bounding two- or three-dimensional domains. The objective of this investigation is to develop an adaptive multiscale wavelet-based numerical method which can handle general boundary conditions along curved boundaries. The multiscale analysis is achieved in a multi-resolution setting by employing hat interpolation wavelets in the frame of a fictitious domain method. No penalty term or the Lagrange multiplier need to be used in the present formulation. The validity of the proposed method and the effectiveness of the multiscale adaptive scheme are demonstrated by numerical examples dealing with the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary-value problems in quadrilateral and quarter circular domains. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Electric current as a control variable in the electrospinning processPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 7 2006Ravikant Samatham In the electrospinning process submicron-diameter polymer fibers can be produced when a high potential difference is applied to a polymer drop suspended at the tip of a capillary. The electrospinning process is affected by a wide range of parameters, because of which controlling the properties of the fibers is difficult. This is the major hurdle in the development of practical applications of electrospun fibers along with its low productivity. Here we are proposing to use the electric current in the electrospinning process to control the "quality of the fibers". Electrospinning of a solution of polyacrylonitrile in dimethylformamide (PAN/DMF) was done by applying a programmed variable flow rate at different constant voltages. The electric current in the process was measured in real time. Four types of jet regimes were observed, electric current and the morphology of the fibers corresponding to these regimes were analyzed. A relation between the electric current, type of jet and morphology of the fibers has been established. The mechanical properties of electrospun fiber mats were also measured by a tensile testing method. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 46:954,959, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] Molecular Markers and Targeted Therapy of Skin Rejection in Composite Tissue AllotransplantationAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2010T. Hautz Skin rejection remains a major hurdle in reconstructive transplantation. We investigated molecular markers of skin rejection with particular attention to lymphocyte trafficking. Skin biopsies (n = 174) from five human hand transplant recipients were analyzed for rejection, characteristics of the infiltrate and lymphocytic adhesion markers. The cellular infiltrate predominantly comprised CD3+ T cells. CD68, Foxp3 and indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase expression and the CD4/CD8 increased with severity of rejection. Lymphocyte adhesion markers were upregulated upon rejection, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin correlated best with severity of rejection. Guided by the findings, a specific E- and P-selectin inhibitor was investigated for its effect on skin rejection in a rat hind limb allotransplant model. While efomycine M (weekly s.c. injection into the graft) alone had no effect, long-term allograft survival was achieved when combined with antithymocyte globulin and tacrolimus (control group without efomycine M rejected at postoperative day [POD] 61 ± 1). Upregulation of lymphocyte trafficking markers correlates with severity of skin rejection and time after transplantation in human hand transplantation. Blocking E- and P-selectin in the skin holds potential to significantly prolong limb allograft survival. [source] Burning mouth syndrome and psychological disordersAUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009LM Abetz Abstract Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an oral dysaesthesia that causes chronic orofacial pain in the absence of a detectable organic cause. The aetiology of BMS is complex and multifactorial, and has been associated in the literature with menopause, trigger events and even genetic polymorphisms. Other studies have found evidence for mechanisms such as central and peripheral nervous system changes, with clinical and laboratory investigations supporting a neuropathologic cause. These physiological explanations notwithstanding, there is still much evidence that BMS aetiology has at least some psychological elements. Somatoform pain disorder has been suggested as a mechanism and factors such as personality, stress, anxiety, depression and other psychological, psychosocial and even psychiatric disorders play a demonstrable role in BMS aetiology and symptomatology. In order to treat BMS patients, both physiological and psychological factors must be managed, but patient acceptance of possible components of psychological disease basis is a major hurdle. Clinical signs of patient stress, anxiety or depression are a useful reinforcement of clinical discussions. The current paper proposes a number of clinical signs that may be useful for both clinical assessment and subsequent patient discussions by providing visible supportive evidence of the diagnosis. [source] Efficient phase separation and product recovery in organic-aqueous bioprocessing using supercritical carbon dioxideBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010Christoph Brandenbusch Abstract Biphasic hydrocarbon functionalizations catalyzed by recombinant microorganisms have been shown to be one of the most promising approaches for replacing common chemical synthesis routes on an industrial scale. However, the formation of stable emulsions complicates downstream processing, especially phase separation. This fact has turned out to be a major hurdle for industrial implementation. To overcome this limitation, we used supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) for both phase separation and product purification. The stable emulsion, originating from a stereospecific epoxidation of styrene to (S)-styrene oxide, a reaction catalyzed by recombinant Escherichia coli, could be destabilized efficiently and irreversibly, enabling complete phase separation within minutes. By further use of scCO2 as extraction agent, the product (S)-styrene oxide could be obtained with a purity of 81% (w/w) in one single extraction step. By combining phase separation and product purification using scCO2, the number of necessary workup steps can be reduced to one. This efficient and easy to use technique is generally applicable for the workup of biphasic biocatalytic hydrocarbon functionalizations and enables a cost effective downstream processing even on a large scale. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107:642,651. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Controlling Electron and Hole Charge Injection in Ambipolar Organic Field-Effect Transistors by Self-Assembled MonolayersADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 15 2009Xiaoyang Cheng Abstract Controlling contact resistance in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is one of the major hurdles to achieve transistor scaling and dimensional reduction. In particular in the context of ambipolar and/or light-emitting OFETs it is a difficult challenge to obtain efficient injection of both electrons and holes from one injecting electrode such as gold since organic semiconductors have intrinsically large band gaps resulting in significant injection barrier heights for at least one type of carrier. Here, systematic control of electron and hole contact resistance in poly(9,9-di- n -octylfluorene- alt -benzothiadiazole) ambipolar OFETs using thiol-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is demonstrated. In contrast to common believe, it is found that for a certain SAM the injection of both electrons and holes can be improved. This simultaneous enhancement of electron and hole injection cannot be explained by SAM-induced work-function modifications because the surface dipole induced by the SAM on the metal surface lowers the injection barrier only for one type of carrier, but increases it for the other. These investigations reveal that other key factors also affect contact resistance, including i) interfacial tunneling through the SAM, ii) SAM-induced modifications of interface morphology, and iii) the interface electronic structure. Of particular importance for top-gate OFET geometry is iv) the active polymer layer thickness that dominates the electrode/polymer contact resistance. Therefore, a consistent explanation of how SAM electrode modification is able to improve both electron and hole injection in ambipolar OFETs requires considering all mentioned factors. [source] Prostate inflammation and its potential impact on prostate cancer: A current reviewJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2008Jessica Haverkamp Abstract Recent studies have identified a role for inflammation in the development and progression of several cancers, such as liver, stomach and the large intestine. Data from several studies has shown correlations between soluble inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. However, a direct relationship between inflammation and prostate cancer has yet to be identified. Two major hurdles currently exist which limit the study of this relationship are first that animal models available for studying prostate inflammation are lmited, and secondly that relatively little is known about the inflammatory response in the prostate. Here we first review the data demonstrating a correlation between inflammation and prostate cancer as well as review what is currently known about the inflammatory response in the prostate and the impact this inflammation has on the prostate tissue. J. Cell. Biochem. 103: 1344,1353, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Molecular mimicry and autoimmune liver disease: virtuous intentions, malign consequencesLIVER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2001Dimitrios-Petrou Bogdanos Abstract: The pathogenesis of autoimmune liver disease and autoimmunity associated with chronic viral hepatitis remains poorly understood. One of the major hurdles to a deeper understanding of these pathological processes is the absence of clearly defined inductive mechanisms, which, if identified and characterised, could guide clinical strategies for their prevention or allow therapeutic intervention. Molecular mimicry leading to crossreactive autoimmune responses has gained strong experimental support in the past decade. A fundamental premise of this hypothesis is the involvement of a mimicking environmental trigger. In view of the numerous viral and bacterial agents epidemiologically linked to autoimmune liver diseases, we and others have proposed molecular mimicry to be an important mechanism in these diseases. We also propose similar crossreactive mechanisms to operate in the generation of autoimmunity in viral hepatitis. This review focuses on molecular mimicry at the level of the B-cell, as few data on T-cell crossreactivity in liver disease are thus far available. [source] | ||||||||||||||||