bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Facing uncertainty: The lived experience of palliative care
Authors: McKechnie Roz , MacLeod Rod , Keeling Sally 
Published: September 2007

Objective: This qualitative research study listens to the narratives of people experiencing the dying process who attended the Otago Community Hospice, Dunedin, New Zealand.Methods: Ten people, aged between 51 and 65 years old, were approached; two declined and one died sooner than expected. All were women (although this was not part of the original design), and all had carcinoma. Data for the study were sought through qualitative research interviews, considering the development of each participant's illness in relation to her perception of her embodiment in the palliative care setting, and concluding with questions about what she wants the people who care for and about her to learn from her experience. Consistent with this phenomenological approach, the method of analysis was thematic and interpretive.Results: The main theme was the uncertainty that all participants felt throughout the diagnostic process and during treatment. Uncertainty, too, was a factor in how they managed their day, whether they would be able to sustain an outing or an activity or not, and whether they would be pain free. None were afraid of dying but hoped that when they did die, they would do so comfortably. The relationship with their general practitioners varied. Where fatigue or the effects of medication were not an issue, they could think clearly, but their bodies were experienced as letting them down and limiting their activities. The ideal of “living until you die” was not able to be fulfilled. The increasing approach of social death as they withdrew from their employment and social responsibilities affected them.Significance of results: Whether one has a “good death” or not is determined not only by the progression and management of the disease process by health professionals, but also by the way in which one is perceived, by self and others. There are no guidelines for the dying role; everybody dies differently and individually.
Experiences of breathlessness: A systematic review of the qualitative literature
Authors: Gysels Marjolein , Bausewein Claudia , Higginson Irene J. 
Published: September 2007

Objective: Breathlessness is one of the core symptoms in many advanced conditions. The subjective nature of the symptom has been acknowledged in many definitions, emphasizing that it can only be fully perceived and interpreted by the patients themselves.Aim: To review and assess the evidence on the psychosocial nature or experience of breathlessness.Methods: Relevant literature was identified through electronic and hand searches. Studies with qualitative enquiry or mixed method designs were included. The methodological quality of studies was assessed with a standard grading scale.Results: Twenty-two studies were identified, 12 from the United Kingdom, 4 from the United States, 3 from Canada, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Iceland, and 1 from Finland. The nature of the studies determined the themes in which the studies were subsumed. Studies on COPD (19) outnumbered “all other conditions” (3), one of which had COPD and cancer patients and so these were analyzed separately. Within the COPD category most studies (17) considered the experience of breathlessness from the perspective of the patient, 1 study from the informal carer, and 1 from the professional carer. Most of the papers sought to understand the meaning of the symptom in the patient's daily life. The other papers demarcated separate areas of the experience of acute exacerbations and the patient's view on care. The studies explored the subjective component of breathlessness, as part of human experience and social life. The papers showed the influence of the meaning the symptom has for those affected on their ability to cope and on their management.Significance of results: Although the work in this area is still dominated by research on COPD, the totality of the evidence now shows breathlessness as an intractable symptom in other advanced conditions. Practice recommendations focused on the holistic approach as part of palliative and nursing care.
Marital therapy for couples facing advanced cancer: Case review
Authors: McLean Linda M. , Nissim Rinat 
Published: September 2007

Objective: The purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of the empirical literature regarding the impact of advanced cancer on the marital relationship. The link between attachment, caregiving, and care-receiving behaviors are defined. Both are activated and challenged in this population because the continuity of the marital bond is threatened, as well as the balance of reciprocal caregiving, often resulting in heightened marital distress.Methods: Emotionally focused therapy (EFT), based in a synthesis of systemic, experiential, and attachment theory, is introduced as a marital protocol to both conceptualize and potentially mitigate the level of increased marital distress, and to achieve reciprocal caregiving.Results: Two case studies are presented and support the benefit of EFT for those couples facing end of life.Significance of results: The findings from these case reviews advance the literature and offer an empirically validated marital therapy for this population. Such a protocol that emphasizes attachment theory and the inherent link to caregiving and care receiving may serve as a powerful tool to both explain and alleviate marital distress for couples facing end of life. Working models of attachment can contribute significantly to our understanding of why individuals' distress and their experience of emotional support from spouse caregivers vary in the context of end-stage cancer.
Blockade of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 ameliorates adjuvant‐induced arthritis in rats
Authors: Barsante M M , Cunha T M , Allegretti M , Cattani F , Policani F , Bizzarri C , Tafuri W L , Poole S , Cunha F Q , Bertini R , Teixeira M M 
Published: September 2007

Background and purpose:Chemokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2 may mediate influx of neutrophils in models of acute and chronic inflammation. The potential benefits of oral administration of a CXCR1/2 inhibitor, DF 2162, in adjuvant‐induced polyarthritis (AIA) were investigated.Experimental approach:A model of AIA in rats was used to compare the therapeutic effects of the treatment with DF2162, anti‐TNF or anti‐CINC‐1 antibodies on joint inflammation and local production of cytokines and chemokines.Key results:DF2162 prevented chemotaxis of rat and human neutrophils induced by chemokines acting on CXCR1/2. DF2162 was orally bioavailable and metabolized to two major metabolites. Only metabolite 1 retained CXCR1/2 blocking activity. Treatment with DF2162 (15 mg kg−1, twice daily) or metabolite 1, but not metabolite 2, starting on day 10 after arthritis induction diminished histological score, the increase in paw volume, neutrophil influx and local production of TNF, IL‐1β, CCL2 and CCL5. The effects of DF2162 were similar to those of anti‐TNF, and more effective than those of anti‐CINC‐1, antibodies. DF2162 prevented disease progression even when started 13 days after arthritis induction.Conclusions and implications:DF 2162, a novel orally‐active non‐competitive allosteric inhibitor of CXCR1 and CXCR2, significantly ameliorates AIA in rats, an effect quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those of anti‐TNF antibody treatment. These findings highlight the contribution of CXCR2 in the pathophysiology of AIA and suggest that blockade of CXCR1/2 may be a valid therapeutic target for further studies aiming at the development of new drugs for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.British Journal of Pharmacology(2008)153, 992–1002; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707462; published online 24 September 2007
Inhibition of 2‐arachidonoylglycerol catabolism modulates vasoconstriction of rat middle cerebral artery by the thromboxane mimetic, U‐46619
Authors: Hillard C J , Ho W‐Sv , Thompson J , Gauthier K M , Wheelock C E , Huang H , Hammock B D 
Published: September 2007

Background and purpose:Cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells express the CB1cannabinoid receptor and CB1agonists produce vasodilatation of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). The thromboxane A2mimetic, U‐46619, increased the content of the endocannabinoid, 2‐arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG) in the MCA and 2‐AG moderated the vasoconstriction produced by U46619 in this tissue. The purposes of this study were to examine the extent to which 2‐AG is catabolized by cerebral arteries and to determine whether blockade of 2‐AG inactivation potentiates its feedback inhibition of U‐44619‐mediated vasoconstriction.Experimental approach:The diameters of isolated, perfused MCA from male rats were measured using videomicroscopy.Key results:Exogenous 2‐AG produces a CB1receptor‐dependent and concentration‐related increase in the diameter of MCA constricted with 5‐HT. TheEmaxfor 2‐AG dilation is increased 4‐fold in the presence of the metabolic inhibitors 3‐(decylthio)‐1,1,1‐trifluropropan‐2‐one (DETFP), URB754 and URB597. To examine the role of catabolism in the effects of endogenous 2‐AG, vasoconstriction induced by U‐46619 was studied. DETFP and URB754, but not the fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor, URB597, significantly increased the EC50for U‐46619. These data support a physiological role for endocannabinoid feedback inhibition in the effects of U‐46619 and indicate that endogenously produced 2‐AG is also efficiently catabolized within the MCA.Conclusions and implications:MCA express mechanisms for the efficient inactivation of 2‐AG, providing further support for an endocannabinoid feedback mechanism that opposes thromboxane‐mediated vasoconstriction. These data suggest that potentiation of endogenously produced 2‐AG could be a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of thrombotic stroke.British Journal of Pharmacology(2007)152, 691–698; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707468; published online 24 September 2007
Cannabis reward: biased towards the fairer sex?
Authors: McGregor I S , Arnold J C 
Published: September 2007

In contrast to drugs such as alcohol, amphetamine and cocaine, cannabis use in humans has proven difficult to model in laboratory animals. Recent breakthrough discoveries of intravenous THC self‐administration in rhesus monkeys and self‐administration of the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212‐2 in rats have allowed new studies of the genetic, neural and environmental determinants of cannabis use. In the present issue of BJP, Fattore and colleagues further demonstrate genetic (strain) differences in WIN 55,212‐2 self‐administration in rats, with Long Evans (LE) and Lister Hooded (LH), but not Sprague–Dawley, rats self‐administering this drug. They then show that female LE and LH rats self‐administer more WIN 55,212‐2 than male rats. Ovariectomy abolished this sex difference, suggesting a permissive role for oestrogen in cannabis reward. This accompanying Commentary reviews recent progress in animal models of cannabis use and highlights the role of genetic, developmental and endocrine factors in driving cannabis use and dependence.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 562–564; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707469; published online 24 September 2007
PPARα agonists inhibit nitric oxide production by enhancing iNOS degradation in LPS‐treated macrophages
Authors: Paukkeri E‐L , Leppänen T , Sareila O , Vuolteenaho K , Kankaanranta H , Moilanen E 
Published: September 2007

Background and purpose:Nitric oxide (NO) production through the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) pathway is increased in response to pro‐inflammatory cytokines and bacterial products. In inflammation, NO has pro‐inflammatory and regulatory effects. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptors (PPARs), members of the nuclear steroid receptor superfamily, regulate not only metabolic but also inflammatory processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of PPARα in the regulation of NO production and iNOS expression in activated macrophages.Experimental approach:The effects of PPARα agonists were investigated on iNOS mRNA and protein expression, on NO production and on the activation of transcription factors NF‐κB and STAT1 in J774 murine macrophages exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Key results:PPARα agonists GW7647 and WY14643 reduced LPS‐induced NO production in a dose‐dependent manner as measured by the accumulation of nitrite into the culture medium. However, PPARα agonists did not alter LPS‐induced iNOS mRNA expression or activation of NF‐κB or STAT1 which are important transcription factors for iNOS. Nevertheless, iNOS protein levels were reduced by PPARα agonists in a time‐dependent manner. The reduction was markedly greater after 24 h incubation than after 8 h incubation. Treatment with the proteasome inhibitors, lactacystin or MG132, reversed the decrease in iNOS protein levels caused by PPARα agonists.Conclusions and implications:The results suggest that PPARα agonists reduce LPS‐induced iNOS expression and NO production in macrophages by enhancing iNOS protein degradation through the proteasome pathway. The results offer an additional mechanism underlying the anti‐inflammatory effects of PPARα agonists.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 1081–1091; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707477; published online 24 September 2007
Protein kinase G regulates the basal tension and plays a major role in nitrovasodilator‐induced relaxation of porcine coronary veins
Authors: Qi H , Zheng X , Qin X , Dou D , Xu H , Raj J U , Gao Y 
Published: September 2007

Background and purpose:Coronary venous activity is modulated by endogenous and exogenous nitrovasodilators. The present study was to determine the role of protein kinase G (PKG) in the regulation of the basal tension and nitrovasodilator‐induced relaxation of coronary veins.Experimental approach:Effects of a PKG inhibitor on the basal tension and responses induced by nitroglycerin, DETA NONOate, and 8‐Br‐cGMP in isolated porcine coronary veins were determined. Cyclic cGMP was measured with radioimmunoassay. PKG activity was determined by measuring the incorporation of 32P from γ‐32P‐ATP into the specific substrate BPDEtide.Key results:Rp‐8‐Br‐PET‐cGMPS, a specific PKG inhibitor, increased the basal tension of porcine coronary veins and decreased PKG activity. The increase in tension was 38% of that caused by nitro‐L‐arginine. Relaxation of the veins induced by nitroglycerin and DETA NONOate was accompanied with increases in cGMP content and PKG activity. These effects were largely eliminated by inhibiting soluble guanylyl cyclase with ODQ. The increase in PKG activity induced by the nitrovasodilators was abolished by Rp‐8‐Br‐PET‐cGMPS. The relaxation caused by these dilators and by 8‐Br‐cGMP at their EC50 was attenuated by the PKG inhibitor by 51–66%.Conclusions and implications:These results suggest that PKG is critically involved in nitric oxide‐mediated regulation of the basal tension in porcine coronary veins and that it plays a primary role in relaxation induced by nitrovasodilators. Since nitric oxide plays a key role in modulating coronary venous activity, augmentation of PKG may be a therapeutic target for improving coronary blood flow.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 1060–1069; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707479; published online 24 September 2007
Effect of Age on F0Difference Limen and Concurrent Vowel Identification
Authors: Vongpaisal Tara , Pichora-Fuller Margaret Kathleen 
Published: September 2007

PurposeTo investigate the effect of age on voice fundamental frequency (F0) difference limen (DL) and identification of concurrently presented vowels.MethodFifteen younger and 15 older adults with normal audiometric thresholds in the speech range participated in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, F0DLs were measured for a synthesized vowel. In Experiment 2, accuracy in identifying concurrently presented vowel pairs was measured. Vowel pairs were formed from 5 synthesized vowels with F0separations ranging from 0 to 4 semitones.ResultsYounger adults had smaller (better) F0DLs than older adults. For the older group, age was significantly correlated with F0DLs. Younger adults identified concurrent vowels more accurately than older adults. When the vowels in the pairs had different formants, both age groups benefited similarly from F0separation. Interestingly, when both constituent vowels had identical formants, F0separation was deleterious, especially for older adults. Pure-tone average threshold did not correlate significantly with either F0DL or accuracy in concurrent vowel identification.ConclusionAge-related declines were confirmed for F0DLs, identification of concurrently spoken vowels, and benefit from F0separation between vowels with identical formants. This pattern of findings is consistent with age-related deficits in periodicity coding.
Effect of Digital Frequency Compression (DFC) on Speech Recognition in Candidates for Combined Electric and Acoustic Stimulation (EAS)
Authors: Gifford René H. , Dorman Michael F. , Spahr Anthony J. , McKarns Sharon A. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeTo compare the effects of conventional amplification (CA) and digital frequency compression (DFC) amplification on the speech recognition abilities of candidates for a partial-insertion cochlear implant, that is, candidates for combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS).MethodThe participants were 6 patients whose audiometric thresholds at 500 Hz and below were ≤60 dB HL and whose thresholds at 2000 Hz and above were ≥80 dB HL. Six tests of speech understanding were administered with CA and DFC. The Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) was also administered following use of CA and DFC.ResultsGroup mean scores were not statistically different in the CA and DFC conditions. However, 2 patients received substantial benefit in DFC conditions. APHAB scores suggested increased ease of communication, but also increased aversive sound quality.ConclusionResults suggest that a relatively small proportion of individuals who meet EAS candidacy will receive substantial benefit from a DFC hearing aid and that a larger proportion will receive at least a small benefit when speech is presented against a background of noise. This benefit, however, comes at a cost—aversive sound quality.
Talker Differences in Clear and Conversational Speech: Acoustic Characteristics of Vowels
Authors: Ferguson Sarah Hargus , Kewley-Port Diane 
Published: September 2007

Purpose
To determine the specific acoustic changes that underlie improved vowel intelligibility in clear speech.

Method

Seven acoustic metrics were measured for conversational and clear vowels produced by 12 talkers—6 who previously were found (S. H. Ferguson, 2004) to produce a large clear speech vowel intelligibility effect for listeners with normal hearing identifying vowels in background noise (the
big benefit talkers
), and 6 who produced no clear speech vowel intelligibility benefit (the
no benefit talkers
).

Results
For vowel duration and for certain measures of the overall acoustic vowel space, the change from conversational to clear speech was significantly greater for big benefit talkers than for no benefit talkers. For measures of formant dynamics, in contrast, the clear speech effect was similar for the 2 groups.

Conclusion
These results suggest that acoustic vowel space expansion and large vowel duration increases improve vowel intelligibility. In contrast, changing the dynamic characteristics of vowels seems not to contribute to improved clear speech vowel intelligibility. However, talker variability suggested that improved vowel intelligibility can be achieved using a variety of clear speech strategies, including some apparently not measured here.
Pathways from postsocialism: ownership sequence and performance of firms in Hungary, 1991‐1999
Authors: Vedres Balazs 
Published: September 2007

AbstractCorporate ownership structures were important means to navigate postsocialist uncertainties, and as relational structures, they were vulnerable to subsequent path dependencies. Organizational innovations might outlive their relevant environments, locking firms in to underperform. This article analyzes the ownership sequences and performance of the 200 largest Hungarian firms between 1991 and 1999. Hungary in the 1990s is a strategic historical case to understand turning points, sequencing and performance. Optimal matching analysis is used to identify pathways, and dynamic scaling analysis to delimit ownership regimes in time. Hypotheses about how sequences mattered are tested by regression models of performance. The findings indicate that network forms buffered uncertainties up to 1995, contributing to high labor and capital efficiency. After this period, domestic corporate coalitions locked firms in, leading to inferior performance compared to manager buy‐outs, domestic subsidiaries, and foreign‐owned firms. Joint ventures on the other hand provided protection and then later the option for concentrating ownership, outperforming other pathways of ownership.
Corporate strategy: an agent‐based approach
Authors: Caldart Adrián Atilio , Ricart Joan E 
Published: September 2007

AbstractIn this paper, we explore the application of the construct exploitation and exploration at the level of the corporate strategy of the firm. For that purpose, we operationalized and formalized the analysis through the development of a set of agent‐based simulations which capture and describe the evolution of firms led by exploitative and explorative corporate strategies in business environments showing different levels of complexity. Results indicate that the relative performances of exploitative strategies vs those characterized by an opportunistic combination of exploitation and exploration, are contingent on the characteristics of the environment in which the firm operates and the quality of the corporate strategic plans that determine the initial strategic positioning of the firm.
El Español en los proyectos de lengua universal
Authors: Velarde Lombraña Julián 
Published: September 2007

Summary
‘One language for the world’ is the most perennial ideal in the history of humanity. Projects for a universal language have been multifarious. Its design typically depends on the dominant linguistic theories of the period in which such languages are conceived. The project by Bonifacio Sotos Ochando (1785–1869) of 1852 can be considered as the highest point reached by the tradition which harks back to the 17th century and tries to develop what is known as a ‘philosophical’ language or characteristica universalis. From 1860 onwards the projects for a universal language are, in general, a posteriori linguistic systems which look at historical grammars and languages in search for general principles and universal rules. Languages used for the design of such a posteriori projects are, for political and cultural reasons, European languages, mainly Romance languages. In this paper the focus is on Spanish. First, a classification of international language projects of is offered that, in some way, use Spanish. Second, the growing of Spanish language in the USA and its relationships with English is analysed. Third, the influence on Spanish by new technologies of communication is discussed. Finally, an analogy is drawn between the role of Latin in the 17th century and English in the 20th with regard to the search for an auxiliary international language.