ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite available treatments, major depression is a highly heterogeneous disorder, which leads to problems in classification and treatment specificity. Previous studies have reported that personality traits predict and influence the course and treatment response of depression. The Temperament and Personality Questionnaire (T&P) assesses eight major constructs of personality traits observed in those who develop depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of T&P's eight constructs on the treatment outcome of depressed patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A preliminary 6-month prospective study was conducted with a sample of 51 adult patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) without remarkable psychomotor disturbance using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. All patients received comprehensive assessment including the T&P at baseline. We compared each T&P construct score between patients who achieved remission and those who did not achieve remission after 6 months of treatment for depression using both subjective and objective measures. All 51 (100%) patients received the 6-month follow-up assessment. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that higher scores on T&P personal reserve predicted poorer treatment outcome in patients with MDD. Higher levels of personal reserve, rejection sensitivity, and self-criticism correlated with higher levels of depression. Higher levels of rejection sensitivity and self-criticism were associated with non-remitters; however, when we controlled for baseline depression severity, this relationship did not show significance. CONCLUSION: Although the results are preliminary, this study suggests that high scores on T&P personal reserve predict poorer treatment outcome and T&P rejection sensitivity and self-criticism correlate with the severity of depression. Longer follow-up studies with large sample sizes are required to improve the understanding of these relationships.
ABSTRACT
A microreactor array was developed which enables high-throughput cell-free protein synthesis. The microreactor array is composed of a temperature control chip and a reaction chamber chip. The temperature control chip is a glass-made chip on which temperature control devices, heaters and temperature sensors, are fabricated with an ITO (indium tin oxide) resistive material. The reaction chamber chip is fabricated by micromolding of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane), and is designed to have an array of reaction chambers and flow channels for liquid introduction. The microreactor array is assembled by placing the reaction chamber chip on the temperature control chip. The small thermal mass of the reaction chamber resulted in a short thermal time constant of 170 ms for heating and 3 s for cooling. The performance of the microreactor array was examined through the experiments of cell-free protein synthesis. By measuring the fluorescence emission from the products, it was confirmed that GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) and BFP (Blue Fluorescent Protein) were successfully synthesized using Escherichia coli extract.
