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Cautious Optimism (cautious + optimism)
Selected AbstractsLiver Transplantation for Methadone-Maintained Opiate Dependents: Making the Case for Cautious OptimismAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10 2003Andrea Di Martini No abstract is available for this article. [source] Scleroderma: it has been a long hard journeyINTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 8 2006P. J. Roberts-Thomson Abstract Progress in the understanding of the aetiopathogenesis of scleroderma (systemic sclerosis) has been painfully slow and this has greatly impeded the application of specific disease modifying treatments. This article provides a brief historical overview of scleroderma (including the important Australian contribution of Dr Alfred Barnett and colleagues , see accompanying article in this issue on pages 513,18), highlights some recent pathogenic developments and summarises some exciting new therapies. Cautious optimism can now be offered to scleroderma sufferers. [source] Cautious optimism for applied conservation genetics and metapopulation viability analysisANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 2 2010P. C. Trenham No abstract is available for this article. [source] Exelon engages employees in climate-change challengeGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 3 2010Howard N. Karesh Exelon Corporation, one of the first U.S. utilities to advocate for federal climate-change legislation, has moved into uncharted territory as it seeks to fully engage employees in its ambitious goal for significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and its roadmap to a low-carbon future. Despite a multipronged internal communications program, enterprise-level efforts did not sustain the employee enthusiasm that accompanied the July 2008 launch of the Exelon 2020 low-carbon roadmap, and the company went back to the drawing board. The Exelon 2020 Engagement Team,this time rechartered around action rather than conversation about employee environmental initiatives,has driven a second round of efforts. The early success of an employee film festival, a contest around at-home energy conservation, and empowering local green councils to run with the ball has fueled cautious optimism that employees are finally jumping aboard. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Sumatriptan challenge in bipolar patients with and without migraine: a neuroendocrine study of 5-HT1D receptor function.HEADACHE, Issue 3 2003T Mahmood Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2002 Jan;17(1):33-36 An association between bipolar disorder and migraine has been lately recognized and an abnormality of central serotonergic function is suggested as the underlying neurophysiological disturbance. To examine the role of serotonin in bipolar disorder and migraine, we used the neuroendocrine challenge paradigm, and we chose sumatriptan, a 5HT1D agonist, as the pharmacological probe. We studied nine bipolar patients with migraine, nine bipolar patients without it, seven migraine patients, and nine matched normal controls. A post-hoc analysis showed subsensitivity of serotonergic function, reflected in a blunted growth hormone response to sumatriptan challenge in bipolar patients who also suffered from migraine. Comment: Given regulatory and labelling concerns about the potential for triptans to provoke serotonin syndrome, the apparent down-regulation of serotonergic function in patients with bipolar disorder may suggest cause for cautious optimism and encourage future study of triptans in these patients to establish true causality or otherwise. A prospective trial of sumatriptan injectable identified 1700 patients who repetitively used the triptan and were concomitantly on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication. No serotonin syndrome was reported in any patient (Putnam GP, O'Quinn S, Bolden-Watson CP, Davis RL, Gutterman DL, Fox AW. Migraine polypharmacy and the tolerability of sumatriptan: a large-scale, prospective study. Cephalalgia. 1999;19:668-675). Since SSRIs can rarely induce serotonin syndrome alone, there is a significant difficulty in establishing a risk of coadministration. DSM and SJT [source] Regulated competition and citizen participation: lessons from IsraelHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 2 2000David Chinitz PhD Objective To investigate the relationship between health system structure and citizen participation, in particular whether increased reliance on competition encourages or depresses citizen involvement. Setting The case of Israel's ongoing health reform, based on regulated competition among sick funds, is examined. Design Interviews with government officials and representatives of consumer groups; analysis of policy documents, judicial rulings, public surveys and journalistic accounts. Results The Israeli reform is based in large measure on a regulated competition model, in which citizens have free choice among highly regulated competing sick funds. At the same time, the reform process has been accompanied by legal, institutional and political frameworks, as well as significant interest group activity, all aimed at increasing public input into processes of health policy making and implementation. The Israeli case, it is argued, lends support to the proposition that citizen participation (voice) and individual choice (exit) are complementary, rather than alternative, modes of ensuring citizen influence over health services. The question is whether the development of multiple avenues for citizen involvement represents disarray or a healthy social learning process regarding the running of the health system. Conclusion This paper expresses cautious optimism that citizen participation is a projection of a healthy social learning process, and suggests directions for public policy to encourage this outcome. [source] Gene therapy for cartilage defectsTHE JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE, Issue 12 2005Magali Cucchiarini Abstract Focal defects of articular cartilage are an unsolved problem in clinical orthopaedics. These lesions do not heal spontaneously and no treatment leads to complete and durable cartilage regeneration. Although the concept of gene therapy for cartilage damage appears elegant and straightforward, current research indicates that an adaptation of gene transfer techniques to the problem of a circumscribed cartilage defect is required in order to successfully implement this approach. In particular, the localised delivery into the defect of therapeutic gene constructs is desirable. Current strategies aim at inducing chondrogenic pathways in the repair tissue that fills such defects. These include the stimulation of chondrocyte proliferation, maturation, and matrix synthesis via direct or cell transplantation-mediated approaches. Among the most studied candidates, polypeptide growth factors have shown promise to enhance the structural quality of the repair tissue. A better understanding of the basic scientific aspects of cartilage defect repair, together with the identification of additional molecular targets and the development of improved gene-delivery techniques, may allow a clinical translation of gene therapy for cartilage defects. The first experimental steps provide reason for cautious optimism. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Dynamics of Japanese and Chinese Security Policies in East Asia and Implications for Regional StabilityASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 3 2010Elena Atanassova-Cornelis This article examines the dynamics of Japanese and Chinese post,Cold War security policies in East Asia and assesses the implications for regional stability. To this end, the discussion explores elements in both countries' security policy behavior, and Sino-Japanese relations that have a stabilizing and/or destabilizing impact on the region. The article argues that, on the whole, Japanese and Chinese security policies have contributed to more stability than instability. Although the security dilemma between Japan (and the United States) and China may have become more pronounced, the balance of power currently maintained may be assessed in positive terms for the region. In addition, Sino-Japanese competition for influence has led to strengthening East Asian institution building and thereby fostered stability. While there is ground for cautious optimism regarding the future of Sino-Japanese cooperation, mutual strategic distrust between Tokyo and Beijing will underpin the security dilemma and their competitive policies in the region. [source] | |||||||||||||