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To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8608.2008.00531.x Byline: Scott J. Vitell ([dagger]), Abhijit Patwardhan (*) Abstract: The present study uses cross-cultural samples of marketing practitioners from two European Union (EU) nations (the United Kingdom and Spain) and China to examine the relationships between moral intensity, personal moral philosophies and ethical decision making. Additionally, cross-cultural comparisons were made regarding intentions, personal moral philosophies and moral intensity. Results indicate that both samples tend to use the perceived harm construct (e.g. magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, temporal immediacy and concentration of effect) to determine intentions in situations involving ethical issues. However, social consensus tends to be situation-specific for both groups and proximity seems not to be used at all when making decisions in situations involving ethics. As for personal moral philosophies, idealism is only used by the EU sample; however, for both samples, the use of relativism depends upon the specific situation. Author Affiliation: ([dagger])Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing, School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, MS, USA (*)Marketing Doctoral Student, School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, MS, USA

Hypertension is a major risk factor for developing cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Previous studies show that hypertrophied and failing hearts display alterations in excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling, However, it is unclear whether remodeling of the E-C coupling system occurs before or after heart disease development. We hypothesized that hypertension might cause changes in the E-C coupling system that, in turn, induce hypertrophy. Here we tested this hypothesis by utilizing the progressive development of hypertensive heart disease in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) to identify a window period when SHR had just developed hypertension but had not yet developed hypertrophy. We found the following major changes in cardiac E-C coupling during this window period. 1) Using echocardiography and hemodynamics measurements, we found a decrease of left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output after the onset of hypertension. 2) Studies in isolated ventricular myocytes showed that myocardial contraction was also enhanced at the same time. 3) The action potential became prolonged. 4) The E-C coupling gain was increased. 5) The systolic [Ca.sup.2+] transient was augmented. These data show that profound changes in E-C coupling already occur at the onset of hypertension and precede hypertrophy development. Prolonged action potential and increased E-C coupling gain synergistically increase the [Ca.sup.2+] transient. Functionally, augmented [Ca.sup.2+] transient causes enhancement of myocardial contraction that can partially compensate for the greater workload to maintain cardiac output. The increased [Ca.sup.2+] signaling cascade as a molecular mechanism linking hypertension to cardiac hypertrophy development is also discussed. heart failure; action potential; L-type [Ca.sup.2+] channel; ryanodine receptor

We investigated autonomic control of cardiovascular function in able-bodied (AB), paraplegic (PARA), and tetraplegic (TETRA) subjects in response to head-up tilt following spinal cord injury. We evaluated spectral power of blood pressure (BP), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), baroreflex effectiveness index (BEI), occurrence of systolic blood pressure (SBP) ramps, baroreflex sequences, and cross-correlation of SBP with heart rate (HR) in low (0.04-0.15 Hz)- and high (0.15-0.4 Hz)-frequency regions. During tilt, AB and PARA effectively regulated BP and HR, but TETRA did not. The numbers of SBP ramps and percentages of heartbeats involved in SBP ramps and baroreflex sequences increased in AB, were unchanged in PARA, and declined in TETRA. BRS was lowest in PARA and declined with tilt in all groups. BEI was greatest in AB and declined with tilt in all groups. Low-frequency power of BP and the peak of the SBP/HR cross-correlation magnitude were greatest in AB, increased during tilt in AB, remained unchanged in PARA, and declined in TETRA. The peak cross-correlation magnitude in HF decreased with tilt in all groups. Our data indicate that spinal cord injury results in decreased stimulation of arterial baroreceptors and less engagement of feedback control as demonstrated by lower 1) spectral power of BP, 2) number (and percentages) of SBP ramps and barosequences, 3) cross-correlation magnitude of SBP/HR, 4) BEI, and 5) changes in delay between SBP/HR. Diminished vasomotion and impaired baroreflex regulation may be major contributors to decreased orthostatic tolerance following injury. orthostatic hypotension; baroreflex sensitivity; baroreflex effectiveness index; cross correlation; feedback

Objective  A major consequence of prematurity is intermittent hypoxemia (IH). Data from both adult studies and neonatal animal models suggest that IH is proinflammatory; however, there is limited data in preterm infants. Here, we assess the relationship between IH and systemic inflammation, namely, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in preterm infants. Study Design  Serum CRP was measured at 30 days of life, at the time of peak IH frequency. IH measures (e.g., per cent time in hypoxemia, frequency, duration) were calculated the week prior to CRP collection. Statistical analyses were based on Spearman's correlation. Results  A total of 26 infants were included. Median gestational age and birth weight were 27 4/7 weeks and 980 g, respectively. There were positive correlations between primary IH measures and CRP levels, especially for events longer than 1-minute duration (r range: 0.56–0.74, all p  < 0.01). Conclusion  We demonstrate that IH is associated with increased CRP for the first time in preterm infants. Our findings are consistent with studies from adults and neonatal animal models suggesting that IH is a proinflammatory process. Key Points IH events are common. IH is associated with elevated C-reactive protein. Longer IH events (>1 min) are of most significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new technique which uses amplitude-modulated breathing patterns to obtain estimates of frequency response between respiration and heart rate within subrespiratory frequencies. Frequency response between respiration and heart rate has been previously estimated using broadband respiration and metronomic breathing. However, the estimates obtained using these techniques show low coherence between respiration and heart rate within the subrespiratory frequencies ( Index Terms - Cardiorespiratory interaction, heart rate spectrum, transfer function.

Study of the interactions of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) with sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in rats subjected to different physical activities reveals a coupling of BP and SNA at 0.4 Hertz. The study is performed by determining the coherence and power spectra below 3 Hertz when the rats were resting, roaming freely or were administered pentobarbital anesthetics. The 0.4 Hertz peak in the spectra for both BP and SNA indicates the coherence between the two.