bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Perspectives on pain and intellectual disability
Authors: Symons F. J. , Shinde S. K. , Gilles E. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractHistorically, individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have been excluded from pain research and assumed to be insensitive or indifferent to pain. The weight of the evidence suggests that individuals with ID have been subject to practices and procedures with little regard for their ability to experience or express pain. A number of issues central to improving understanding of pain in ID will be introduced and current research related to the definition of pain and its social context, underlying sensory and metabolic systems and factors influencing judgments about the ability to experience pain will be reviewed. Accumulating evidence from interdisciplinary research designed to improve assessment, understand individual differences, and evaluate bias and beliefs about pain suggests that new perspectives are emerging and beginning to shape an innovative frontier of research that will ultimately pay tremendous dividends for improving the quality of life of individuals with ID.
Innate immunity and alcoholic liver fibrosis
Authors: Jeong Won‐Il , Gao Bin 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe hepatic innate immune system consists of predominant innate immunity, which plays an important role in innate defense against infection and tumor transformation. Emerging evidence suggests that innate immunity also contributes to liver injury, repair, and fibrosis. The present review summarizes the recent findings on the role of innate immunity in liver fibrosis. In general, Kupffer cells stimulate liver fibrosis via production of reactive oxygen species and pro‐inflammatory cytokines, whereas natural killer (NK) cells inhibit liver fibrosis by directly killing activated hepatic stellate cells and production of γ‐interferon (IFN‐γ). Complement components, interferons, and Toll‐like receptors have also been shown to regulate liver fibrosis. Recent evidence also suggests that modulation of innate immunity by alcohol plays an important role in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver fibrosis. These include alcohol amplification of the profibrotic effects of Kupffer cells and suppression of the antifibrotic effects of NK/IFN‐γ.
Individual susceptibility to alcoholic pancreatitis
Authors: Apte Minoti V , Pirola Romano C , Wilson Jeremy S 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe observation that only a minority of heavy drinkers develop pancreatitis has prompted an intensive search for a trigger factor/cofactor/susceptibility factor that may precipitate a clinical attack. Putative susceptibility factors examined so far include diet, smoking, amount and type of alcohol consumed, the pattern of drinking and lipid intolerance. In addition, a range of inherited factors have been assessed including blood group antigens, human leukocyte antigen serotypes, alpha‐1‐antitrypsin phenotypes and several genotypes. The latter group comprises mutations/polymorphisms in genes related to alcohol‐metabolizing enzymes, detoxifying enzymes, pancreatic digestive enzymes, pancreatic enzyme inhibitors, cystic fibrosis and cytokines. Disappointingly, despite this concerted research effort, no clear association has been established between the above factors and alcoholic pancreatitis. Experimentally, the secretagogue cholecystokinin (CCK) has been investigated as a candidate ‘trigger’ for alcoholic pancreatitis. However, the clinical relevance of CCK as a trigger factor has to be questioned, as it is difficult to envisage a situation in humans where abnormally high levels of CCK would be released into the circulation to trigger pancreatitis in alcoholics. In contrast, bacterial endotoxemia is a candidate cofactor that does have relevance to the clinical situation. Plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS, an endotoxin) levels are significantly higher in drinkers (either after chronic alcohol intake or a single binge) compared to non‐drinkers. We have recently shown that alcohol‐fed animals challenged with otherwise innocuous doses of LPS exhibit significant pancreatic injury. Moreover, repeated LPS exposure in alcohol‐fed rats leads to progressive injury to the gland characterized by significant pancreatic fibrosis. These studies support the concept that endotoxin may be an important factor in the initiation and progression of alcoholic pancreatitis. Scope remains for further studies examining proteins related to cellular anti‐oxidant defenses, minor cystic fibrosis (CF) mutations and trans‐heterozygosity involving a combination of mutations of different genes (such as CFTR alterations combined with SPINK1 or PRSS1 variants), as potential triggers of alcoholic pancreatitis.
Dysregulation of systemic iron metabolism in alcoholic liver diseases
Authors: Kohgo Yutaka , Ohtake Takaaki , Ikuta Katsuya , Suzuki Yasuaki , Torimoto Yoshihiro , Kato Junji 
Published: March 2008

AbstractAlcoholic liver diseases (ALD) are frequently associated with iron overload. Until recently, the effects of ethanol in hepatic iron uptake and intestinal iron absorption have not been clarified in detail. Two possible mechanisms for iron overload are the uptake of iron into hepatocytes in a specific manner through the increased expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) 1; and increased intestinal iron absorption by the lowering of hepcidin. It is worthwhile to examine whether a similar mechanism is present in the development of steatosis and non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatocytes have several iron uptake pathways. Ethanol increases transferrin (Tf)‐mediated uptake via a receptor‐dependent manner, but downregulates the non‐Tf‐bound iron uptake. According to immunohistochemical study, TfR1 was increased in hepatocytes in 80% of hepatic tissues of patients with ALD, but was not detected in normal hepatic tissues. In an experimental model, ethanol exposure to the primary cultured‐hepatocytes in the presence of iron increased TfR1 expression and 59Fe‐labeled Tf uptake. In patients with ALD, intestinal iron absorption is increased by oral iron uptake assay. The regulatory hormone for iron homeostasis, hepcidin is downregulated in ethanol‐loaded mice liver. As well as ALD, a similar mechanism was present in the mouse model fed with a high‐fat diet, a model of the initial phenomenon of steatosis. The common mechanism for hepatic iron deposition and the triggering role of iron may be present in the development of ALD and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease/NASH.
Pancreatic stellate cells: Molecular mechanism of pancreatic fibrosis
Authors: Shimizu Kyoko 
Published: March 2008

AbstractPancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are known to play a crucial role in pancreatic fibrogenesis in chronic pancreatitis and in the desmoplastic reaction of pancreatic cancer. When PSC are stimulated by oxidative stress, the phenotype of quiescent fat‐storing cells converts to myofibroblast‐like activated PSC that then produce extracellular matrix (ECM), adhesion molecules, and various chemokines in response to inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) is a potent stimulator of PSC proliferation, and transforming growth factor‐β, PDGF, and basic fibroblast growth factor stimulate ECM synthesis by PSC. As induction of acinar cell apoptosis and necrosis is a major mechanism in the pathogenesis of mild to severe acute pancreatitis, the rapid removal of apoptotic acinar cells may be helpful in preventing the release of toxic intracellular materials, preventing further progression of the inflammation, and restoring normal tissue homeostasis. Although PSC are not professional phagocytes, we have demonstrated that PSC engulf apoptotic polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and necrotic acinar cells. Apoptotic PMN are ingested into the cytoplasm of the PSC, and troglitazone induces a dose‐dependent increase in both phagocytic activity and expression of CD36, which is a representative scavenger receptor for phagocytic function. Engulfment of necrotic acinar cells by PSC induced PSC death and inhibited PSC activation in an in vitro study, suggesting that engulfment of necrotic acinar cells by PSC may inhibit the progression of fibrogenesis. These findings suggest that engulfment of damaged cells by PSC may be one of the mechanisms that prevent the progression of pancreatitis and restore tissue homeostasis.
Examining lower urinary tract symptom constellations using cluster analysis
Authors: Coyne Karin S. , Matza Louis S. , Kopp Zoe S. , Thompson Christine , Henry David , Irwin Debra E. , Artibani Walter , Herschorn Sender , Milsom Ian 
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVETo gain a better understanding of how patients experience lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and to determine whether particular symptoms cluster together, as LUTS seldom occur alone.SUBJECTS AND METHODSA secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional, population‐based survey of adults in Sweden, Italy, Germany, UK and Canada was undertaken to examine the presence of LUTS groups. Of the 19 165 telephone surveys, 13 519 respondents reported at least one LUTS and were included in the analysis. All respondents were asked about the presence of 14 LUTS (International Prostate Symptom Score plus seven additional LUTS). K‐means cluster analyses, a statistical method for sorting objects into groups so that similar objects are grouped together, was used to identify groups of people based on their symptoms. Men and women were analysed separately. A split‐half random sample was selected from the dataset so that exploratory analyses could be conducted in one half and confirmed in the second. On model confirmation, the sample was analysed in its entirety.RESULTSIncluded in this analysis were 5014 men (mean age 49.8 years; 95% white) and 8505 women (mean age 50.4 years; 96% white). Among both men and women, six distinct symptom cluster groups were identified and the symptom patterns of each cluster were examined. For both, the largest cluster consisted of respondents with minimal symptoms (i.e. reporting essentially one symptom), 56% of men and 57% of women. The remaining five clusters for men and women were labelled based on their predominant symptoms. For men, the clusters were nocturia of twice or more per night (12%); terminal dribble (11%); urgency (10%); multiple symptoms (9%); and postvoid incontinence (5%). For women, the clusters were nocturia of twice or more per night (12%); terminal dribble (10%); urgency (8%); stress incontinence (8%); and multiple symptoms (5%). The multiple‐symptom groups had several and varied LUTS, were older, and had more comorbidities. Clusters of terminal dribble and male postvoid incontinence had a lower prevalence of all other LUTS, but were fairly common (11% and 5% of men).CONCLUSIONSThis analysis provides an empirical approach to examining the presentation of multiple LUTS and suggests it is possible to identify subgroups of patients with LUTS based on their symptom presentation. These analyses need to be replicated to evaluate the clinical relevance of these findings.
MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE AND THE NATION STATE: PROJECT REPORT FROM THE HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
Authors: Vernon Raymond 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThis is the third annual progress report relating to the study of multinational enterprises at the Harvard Business School. This report, like its predecessors, is drafted in such a way as to provide an up‐to‐date picture of the state of the project without reference to prior reports.From the first, the project was conceived as the opening phase of a long‐run effort to understand certain aspects of the operations of the multinational enterprise. The original plan was to complete this phase by the summer of 1969. By that time, a dozen doctors' theses and perhaps twenty articles will have appeared. In addition, completed first drafts of three of the four books relating to this phase of the project are scheduled to be in hand; a fifth volume, synthesizing and extending the others, is to be written in the year following.Collectively, these publications are expected to illuminate the problems of the multinational enterprise in the fields of finance, marketing, organization, and business‐government relations. In addition, new light will have been shed upon the role of multinational enterprises in international trade, capital movements, and technological transfers. Perhaps the most telling contribution of the project in the long run—one that had not been clearly contemplated at the time that the project was first conceived—will be the development and dissemination of an historical file tracing the history of some 12,000 subsidiaries of U.S. parents since 1900. This file, generated as a by‐product of the analytical work being undertaken by the project, is being designed so that researchers at other institutions may have access to some of its contents, within the limits imposed by confidentiality commitments.
THE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ON TRADE
Authors: Mayes David G. 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTThis article provides a critical analysis of the models and methods which have been used to estimate the effects of economic integration on trade and suggests the most fruitful lines of further development. Both the problem of the examination of the effects of past events and problems in the prediction of future changes are tackled. In particular the drawbacks of the method of estimation of the effects of previous integration as a residual from models which explain what would have happened had the integration not taken place are shown. It is concluded that the most fruitful avenue of approach lies in the estimation of models which provide an economic explanation of trade flows and their changes, and can hence be used for both the explanation of the effects of previous integration and the prediction of future events.
The European Monetary System and the International Monetary System
Authors: UNGERER HORST 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTThe article examines first the European Monetary System (EMS) experience and whether it can be applied to the International Monetary System (IMS). The EMS has particular features: it is not simply a regional Bretton Woods, and it also has a dimension going beyond the monetary field.Countries participating in the EMS exchange rate mechanism (ERM) have achieved a substantial reduction in exchange rate variability and a high degree of convergence toward cost and price stability. On a worldwide scale, things would be different: general political events have great influence on exchange rates, and large capital shifts are more likely. Whether the same degree of convergence of monetary policies can be achieved worldwide is doubtful. In the absence of a common political interest in integration, short‐term and domestic policy considerations will probably dominate policy decisions.In the second section the article addresses the relationship between the ERM currencies and the US dollar. There have been suggestions for a ‘common dollar policy’. However, advance agreement on a common policy is difficult to imagine, in view of the differing interests of individual ERM countries, as well as the United States. The main problem for the relationship between ERM currencies, the dollar, the yen, and pound sterling lies in the need for more convergence of developments and compatibility of policies.The achievements of the EMS do not lead to the conclusion that a system of stabilized exchange rates would work satisfactorily on a worldwide scale. A high degree of policy co‐ordination, not only of monetary policy, but also of other economic policies, would be needed.
The Public Policy Role of the European Investment Bank within the EU
Authors: HONOHAN PATRICK 
Published: March 2008

AbstractDespite the increasing sophistication of private financial markets in Europe, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been expanding as never before. Is the Bank just one among many large banks prepared to provide project finance in Europe, or does it have a distinct public policy role? We argue that its main distinguishing role to date has been to bring competition and efficiency to the less efficient banking markets. But new initiatives envisage a move to more EIB involvement in loan guarantees and equity investment. We review the potential here and offer some cautionary remarks.
Norway and Europe: 1972 and Now
Authors: SOGNER INGRID , ARCHER CLIVE 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe Norwegian electorate's rejection of European Union (EU) membership in November 1994 is seen here in the context of a struggle lasting 30 years or so within that country over its relations with the European integration process. The membership application by Norway to the EU is placed in the context of previous unfulfilled attempts to join the European Communities (EC), especially that terminated by a referendum in 1972. Relations with the EC since then are described, especially their culmination in the European Economic Area (EM) agreement. The negotiations with the EU are covered, as is the 1994 referendum campaign and its outcome. In the end, the 1994 vote, like that in 1972, reopened the old territorial and cultural cleavages in Norway.
International Integration or Internal Politics? Anatomy of a Single Market Measure
Authors: ASPINWALL MARK 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe question of who is responsible for integrative outcomes has bedevilled scholars since the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. Theories of integration from international relations focus on the influence of the state, and how that may be eroded by non‐governmental and supranational actors. Comparatives, on the other hand, have applied lessons from domestic politics to the integration process. This is an attempt to bridge the two through a detailed case study of one Single Market measure: the first stage of a Common Shipping Policy (CSP).Shipping, while extremely important economically, is a relatively obscure sector politically. Pressure groups, therefore, are important sources of motivation for both Member States and the supranational institutions. A number of independent variables leading to agreement on the policy are spelled out, and a tentative hypothesis is offered to explain the conditions under which interstate cleavages are superseded by inter‐group cleavages, leading to the sort of bargaining one sees in a domestic polity.
Parties at the European Level and the Legitimacy of EU Socio‐Economic Policy
Authors: HIX SIMON 
Published: March 2008

AbstractArticle 138A of the Treaty on European Union envisages ‘parties at the European level’ as integrators in the EU system. However, this conception is unrealistic. Firstly, the relationship between parties and legitimacy in advanced democracies has fundamentally changed. And, secondly, transnational parties are limited by the EU institutional structure and the dominance of national‐territorial interests in EU politics. Accepting these constraints, however, the transnational party federations have begun to focus only on socio‐economic issues, and to compete over the setting of the medium‐term agenda on these questions in the European Council.
The European Union and Forms of State: Westphalian, Regulatory or Post‐Modern?
Authors: Caporaso James A 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis article sets out to chart the evolving institutional structure of the EU, in the context of theories about forms of state. ‘Forms of state’ are taken to be conceptually possible expressions of political authority organized at the national and transnational levels, here dealt with as emphases and qualities to be accented rather than phenomena to be sorted into categories. The EU is examined in the light of three stylized state forms ‐ the Westphalian state, the regulatory state and the post‐modem state. Each of these captures important elements of the evolution of the EU, and provides support for analysis of its development as a form of ‘international state’. Such an analysis implies attention not only to forms of state, but also to related concepts such as government and governance which give leverage on the exploration of ‘international state forms’. Conclusions are drawn about the power of the three ‘metaphors’ used, and the relationship to possible empirical studies.
The Politics of Identity and Political Order in Europe
Authors: Laffan Brigid 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis article explores the link between identity, legitimacy and political order in Europe. The central argument is that the politics of identity have enormous salience in the new Europe and for the European Union at this juncture of its development, because the Union is moving from issues of instrumental problem‐solving to fundamental questions about its nature as a part‐formed polity. Problems of identity are raised by the politicization of immigration, the fragmentation of the post‐war order, regionalism, the revival of the ultra Right and the process of European integration itself. The article concludes with an assessment of the affective dimension of integration.
European Security Identities
Authors: Wæver Ole 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis article undertakes a reading of political identifications in Europe from the security perspective. Who or what exist politically in Europe? This is investigated through the test of whether and how different units are able to carry out the move characteristic of ‘security’: that is, to say ‘our survival is threatened, therefore we have a right to use extraordinary measures against this particular threat’. Europe as an area is marked by a complex presence of different overlapping political subjectivities ‐ security can be carried out most importantly with nation, state, Europe or the environment as referent object. ‘Europe’ itself is a security referent in a truly original way, where integration through a security argument becomes a matter of survival for ‘Europe’. Europe, security, integration and identity have been tied together in a specific narrative. Strikingly, the seemingly purely academic term ‘security identity’ has a political appearance exactly at this intersection.
Implementation and outcomes of group medical appointments in an outpatient specialty care clinic
Authors: De Vries Beth , Darling‐Fisher Cynthia , Thomas Anne C. , Belanger‐Shugart Elizabeth B. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractPurpose: To describe the outcomes of a nurse practitioner (NP)‐facilitated group medical appointment (GMA) intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clients in a pulmonary practice in the Midwest.Data sources: Medical records from a convenience sample of six established pulmonary patients in a Midwest specialty clinic who received care in a group format were retrospectively audited. Outcome measures included examination of changes in the utilization of healthcare services, exercise tolerance, and use of nonpharmacological and pharmacological interventions pre‐ and postparticipation in the GMA program.Conclusions: NP‐facilitated GMAs are feasible and can help improve health outcomes. Results showed a significant increase in exercise tolerance measured by 6‐min walk distance. Anecdotally, patient and provider response to the GMA was very positive.Implications for practice: The GMA format is an innovative solution for the management of chronic disease patients that is comprehensive, time efficient, reimbursable, and well suited to NP practice. GMAs can be implemented in most practice settings.