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Modification Techniques (modification + techniques)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	40%
Chemistry	40%

Selected Abstracts

Prediction of success and failure of behavior modification as treatment for dental anxiety

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2004
I. Eli
Behavior modification techniques are effective in the treatment of extreme dental anxiety, but their success is by no means absolute. In the present article, the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS), the self-report symptom inventory SCL-90R and a questionnaire accessing subjects' daydreaming styles (the Short Imaginal Process Inventory) were used to develop possible predictive measures for success and failure of behavior modification as a treatment for dental fear. The patients' level of distractibility and mind wandering, initial dental anxiety and somatization significantly predicted the success of therapy. The odds ratio indicated that the risk of therapy failure increased about 11 times with an increase of one scale of the Poor Attention Control Scale, about three times with an increase of one level of the mean DAS score, and 0.17 times with an increase of one level of somatization. The predictive value of the chosen scales was 80%. Thus, the use of these scales as part of an initial admittance process for patients who suffer from dental anxiety can enhance our ability to better recognize patients who are prone to fail behavior therapy as treatment for their problem, and enable their referral for other possible modes of treatment. [source]

Multimodal techniques for smoking cessation: a review of their efficacy and utilisation and clinical practice guidelines

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 11 2008
V. I. Reus
Summary Aims:, Nicotine addiction is a complex, chronic condition with physiological and psychological/behavioural aspects that make smoking cessation extremely difficult. This paper reviews current recommendations for smoking cessation and the efficacy of pharmacotherapy and behavioural modification techniques, used either alone or in combination, for smoking cessation. Results:, Abstinence rates for pharmacotherapies range from ,16% to ,30% at 1-year follow-up, with efficacy odds ratios (ORs) compared with placebo of ,1.7 for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), ,1.9 for bupropion sustained release and ,3.0 for varenicline. Behaviour modification therapies have achieved quit rates of between 8% and 43% for up to 1 year, with ORs in comparison to no treatment of between ,1.2 and ,2.2. No direct comparisons have been made between pharmacotherapy alone and psychological behaviour strategies alone. However, combining physiological approaches with counselling significantly increases the odds of quitting compared with either technique alone. Conclusions:, Applying multimodal techniques for the treatment of nicotine addiction is the recommended approach and has demonstrated the potential to improve rates of permanent abstinence in smokers attempting cessation. While the numbers of patients receiving help and advice regarding smoking cessation is increasing, the multimodal approach appears to be currently underutilised by clinicians and therefore smoking cessation strategies are not being optimised. [source]

Peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals: Future tools for diagnostic imaging of cancers and other diseases

MEDICINAL RESEARCH REVIEWS, Issue 3 2004
S.M. Okarvi
Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Medicinal Research Reviews 2004;24:685,686. Small synthetic receptor-binding peptides are the agents of choice for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy of cancers due to their favorable pharmacokinetics. Molecular modification techniques permit the synthesis of a variety of bioactive peptides with chelating groups, without compromising biological properties. Various techniques have been developed that allow efficient and site-specific labeling of peptides with clinically useful radionuclides such as 99mTc, 123I, 111In, and 18F. Among them, 99mTc is the radionuclide of choice because of its excellent chemical and imaging characteristics. Recently, many 99mTc-labeled peptides have proven to be useful imaging agents. Beside 99mTc-labeled peptides, several peptides radiolabeled with 111In and 123I have been prepared and characterized. In addition, 18F-labeled peptides hold clinical potential due to their ability to quantitatively detect and characterize a variety of human diseases using positron-emission tomography. The availability of this wide range of peptides labeled with different radionuclides offers multiple diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Various receptors are over-expressed in particular tumor types and peptides binding to these receptors can be used to visualize tumor lesions scintigraphically. Thus, radiolabeled peptides have potential use as carriers for the delivery of radionuclides to tumors, infarcts, and infected tissues for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy. Many radiolabeled peptides are currently under investigation to determine their potential as imaging agents. These peptides are designed mainly for thrombus, tumor, and infection/inflammation imaging. This article presents recent developments in small synthetic peptides for imaging of thrombosis, tumors, and infection/inflammation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 24, No. 3, 357,397, 2004 [source]

Optimization of opto-electronic property and device efficiency of polyfluorenes by tuning structure and morphology

POLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 5 2006
Peng Chen
Abstract Polyfluorene-based oligomers and polymers (PFs) have been studied intensively as active materials for organic optoelectronic devices. In this review, the optimization of the opto-electronic property and device efficiency of polyfluorenes in the field of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photovoltaic cells (PVs) by tuning structure and morphology are summarized in terms of two typical modification techniques: copolymerization and blending. The relationships between molecular structures, thin film morphologies, opto-electronic properties and device efficiencies are discussed, and some recent progress in LEDs and PVs is simultaneously reviewed. After the introduction, the basic knowledge of molecular structures and properties of polyfluorene homopolymers is presented as a background for a better understanding of their great potential for opto-electronic applications. Immediately after this, three different opinions on the origin of low-energy emission band at 520,540 nm in polyfluorene-based LEDs are addressed. Rod,coil block copolymers and alternative copolymers are focused on in the next section, which are a vivid embodiment of controlling supramolecular structures and tailoring molecular structures, respectively. In particular, various supramolecular architectures induced by altering coil blocks are carefully discussed. Recent work that shows great improvement in opto-electronic properties or device performance by blending or doping is also addressed. Additionally, the progress of understanding concerning the mechanisms of exciton dynamics is briefly referred to. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source]

The (Fo,Fc) Fourier synthesis: a probabilistic study

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION A, Issue 5 2008
Rocco Caliandro
(Fo,Fc) and (2Fo,Fc) Fourier syntheses are considered the most powerful tools for recovering the remainder of a structure and for correcting crystal structure models. A probabilistic approach has been applied to derive the formula for the variance for the expected value of the coefficient (Fo,Fc). This has allowed a better understanding of the features of the difference Fourier synthesis; in particular, a subset of well phased reflections has been separated from the subset of reflections best phased by the standard Fo Fourier synthesis. An iterative procedure, based on the electron-density modification of the difference Fourier map, has been devised which aims to improve phase and modulus estimates of the reflections with higher variance value, by using as lever arm the set of reflections with lower variance value. The new procedure (DEDM) has been implemented and verified on a wide set of test structures, the partial models of which were obtained by molecular replacement or by automatic model-building routines applied to experimental electron-density maps. Phase and modulus estimates of the difference Fourier syntheses improve in all the test cases; as a consequence, the quality of the difference Fourier maps also improves in the region where the target structure deviates from the partial model. A new procedure is suggested, combining DEDM with standard electron-density modification techniques, which leads to significant reduction of the phase errors. The procedure may be considered a starting point for further developments. [source]