bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New Wine in Old Bottles: Critical Discourse Analysis of the Current Common EU Agricultural Policy Reform Agenda
Authors: Erjavec Karmen , Erjavec Emil , Juvančič Luka
Published: December 2008

A critical discourse analysis of two EU agricultural commissioners' speeches in the period 2000–2006 was carried out and substantiated by rational choice theory. The analysis reveals how the latest Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms have been gradually overturning prevailing CAP discourses. The neo‐mercantilism discourse that dominated for decades has been replaced by the discourse of multifunctionality. With the change of commissioners in 2004, the emphasis on the multifunctionality discourse has changed. The legitimisation of the CAP with environmental and rural public goods has been replaced by less well‐articulated arguments of ‘quality production’ and ‘competitiveness’, implying a gradual move to a neoliberal orientation for the future CAP.
The impact of Chinese monetary policy shocks on East and South‐East Asia1
Authors: Koluk Tomasz , Mehrotra Aaron
Published: December 2008

We study the effects of Chinese monetary policy shocks on China's major trading partners in East and South‐East Asia by estimating structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models for six economies in the region. We find that a monetary expansion in Mainland China leads to an increase in real GDP (temporary) and the price level (permanent) in a number of economies in our sample, most notably in Hong Kong and the Philippines. The impact could result from intertemporal substitution present in a general equilibrium framework, which allows for positive domestic impacts of foreign monetary expansions. Our results emphasize the growing importance of China for its neighbouring economies and the significance of Chinese shocks for the design of monetary policy in Asian economies.
Staff attitudes towards the sexuality of people with learning disabilities: a comparison of different professional groups and residential facilities
Authors: Grieve Alan , McLaren Shona , Lindsay William , Culling Ewan
Published: December 2008

Accessible summary

This study asked 188 nurses and care staff what they thought about people with learning disabilities having relationships. Other studies found that care stuff often think that it is not okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships. Studies have also found that staff do not think that it is okay for men to have relationships with other men. This study found that:

Staff in the community were more likely than nursing home staff to think that it was okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships.

Staff with more training were likely to think that it was okay for people with learning disabilities to have relationships.

Nursing home staff were less likely to think that it was okay for men with learning disabilities to have relationships with other men.

The role of care staff is invaluable in the day to day living of many people with learning disabilities. Consequently, care staff can often have substantial influence, although this may not always serve the best interests of the individual. Previous studies have shown significant levels of stigma towards people with learning disabilities, both from other members of the community and from carers. This is especially the case in relation to the sexuality of people with learning disabilities. Standardised measures of attitudes towards the sexuality of people with learning disabilities (Mitchell et al. 1978) were completed by qualified nurses and other care staff (n = 188). Place of employment was a main variable and it was found that nursing home staff held significantly more conservative attitudes when compared with community care staff. This was the case with attitudes towards homosexuality, and attitudes towards the sexuality of people with mild, moderate and severe/profound learning disabilities. Levels of training emerged as a significant factor. These findings suggest that training and education on issues relating to the sexuality of people with learning disabilities may benefit all care staff, and especially those who work in nursing homes. Training may help to change their attitudes and develop an awareness of the ways in which people with learning disabilities form loving and personal relationships.
Noradrenergic parenchymal nerve fiber branching after cold acclimatisation correlates with brown adipocyte density in mouse adipose organ
Authors: Murano I. , Barbatelli G. , Giordano A. , Cinti S.
Published: December 2008

The mammalian adipose organ is composed of subcutaneous and visceral depots containing white and brown adipocytes. Cold acclimatisation induces an increase in the brown component without affecting the overall number of adipocytes; this form of plasticity is associated to obesity and diabetes resistance in experimental models. Cold activates the drive of the sympathetic nervous system to the adipose organ, where the vast majority of nerve fibers are in fact noradrenergic. However, it is unclear whether and how such fibers are involved in the plastic changes of the adipose organ. We thus conducted a systematic study of the distribution and number of sympathetic noradrenergic nerve fibers in the adipose organ of mice kept at different environmental temperatures. Adult Sv129 female mice were kept at 28 °C or 6 °C for 10 days. The density of tyrosine hydroxylase (noradrenergic)‐positive nerve fibers (no. of fibers per 100 adipocytes) was calculated in the subcutaneous and visceral depots of the adipose organ, and a correlation was sought between fiber density and proportion of brown adipocytes. Tyrosine hydroxylase‐positive parenchymal fibers were detected in all subcutaneous and visceral depots among white as well as brown adipocytes, the mediastinal depot displaying the densest innervation. Cold acclimatisation induced a threefold increase in the total number of TH fibers in the whole organ. The proportion of brown adipocytes positively correlated with noradrenergic fiber density in the organ. Taken together, these data suggest that cold acclimatisation induces noradrenergic fiber branching in the adipose organ of adult mice, and that such changes may be a precondition for its plastic transformation into a brown phenotype.
Determination of metabolic plasmids and their effects on the growth of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MN24
Authors: AKKOÇ NEFİSE , ŞİMŞEK ÖMER , AKÇELİK MUSTAFA
Published: December 2008

Mutational analyses revealed the 21.5 kb plasmid‐encoded lactose fermentation and proteolytic activity properties in Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis MN24. Reductions in maximum specific growth rate and population density of the 21.5 kb plasmid‐cured mutant of MN24 confirmed the data obtained by mutation tests. Plasmid curing, polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analyses data showed that the lacticin 481 operon was located on 22.4 kb plasmid. The phage resistance system in strain MN24 was identified as an adsorption inhibition type and chromosomally encoded via phage–host interaction tests and mutation analyses.
Isolation and characterization of new exon 11‐associated N‐terminal splice variants of the human mu opioid receptor gene
Authors: Xu Jin , Xu Mingming , Hurd Yasmin L. , Pasternak Gavril W. , Pan Ying‐Xian
Published: December 2008

Alternative splicing of the mu opioid receptor genes to create multiple mu receptor subtypes has been demonstrated in animals and humans. Previously, we identified a number of C‐terminal variants in mice, rats and human, followed by several N‐terminal variants associated with a new upstream exon in mice (exon 11). Behavioral studies in exon 11 knockout mice suggest an important role for the exon 11 variants in the analgesic actions of heroin and morphine‐6β‐glucuronide, but not morphine or methadone. We now have identified a homologous human exon 11 and three similar human exon 11‐associated variants, suggesting conservation of exon 11 and its associated variants across species. hMOR‐1i has an additional 93 amino acids at the tip of the N‐terminus but is otherwise identical to hMOR‐1. When expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, the additional 93 amino acids in hMOR‐1i had little effect on opioid binding, but significantly altered agonist‐induced G‐protein activation. hMOR‐1G1 and hMOR‐1G2 predicted six transmembrane domain variants, similar to those seen in mice. The regional expression of these exon 11‐associated variants, as determined by RT‐PCR, varied markedly, implying region‐specific alternative splicing. The presence of exon 11‐associated variants in humans raises questions regarding their potential role in heroin and morphine‐6β‐glucuronide actions in people as they do in mice.
The Kv2.1 channels mediate neuronal apoptosis induced by excitotoxicity
Authors: Yao Hailan , Zhou Kechun , Yan Dong , Li Mingtao , Wang Yizheng
Published: December 2008

Chronic loss of intracellular K+ can induce neuronal apoptosis in pathological conditions. However, the mechanism by which the K+ channels are regulated in this process remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the increased membrane expression of Kv2.1 proteins in cortical neurons deprived of serum, a condition known to induce K+ loss, promotes neuronal apoptosis. The increase in IK current density and apoptosis in the neurons deprived of serum were inhibited by a dominant negative form of Kv2.1 and MK801, an antagonist to NMDA receptors. The membrane level of Kv2.1 and its interaction with SNAP25 were increased, whereas the Kv2.1 phosphorylation was inhibited in the neurons deprived of serum. Botulinum neurotoxin, an agent known to prevent formation of soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor complex, suppressed the increase in IK current density. Together, these results suggest that NMDA receptor‐dependent Kv2.1 membrane translocation is regulated by a soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptor‐dependent vesicular trafficking mechanism and is responsible for neuronal cell death induced by chronic loss of K+.
The meaning of follow‐up in intensive care: patients’ perspective
Authors: Storli Sissel L. , Lind Ranveig
Published: December 2008

The growing understanding of correlations between experiences and memories from a period of intensive care treatment and complaints of mental character has led to the development of various patient follow‐up offers. Little, however, is known about what follow‐up may mean to patients. The aim of this study was to explore the meaning of patients’ lived experience of being followed‐up in a programme consisting of patient diaries, post‐intensive care unit (ICU) conversations and visits back to the ICU. Field notes were made from encounters with patients (n = 10) during follow‐up. Then they were interviewed twice, at about 6 months (n = 8) and at about 18 months (n = 6) after discharge from hospital. The first interview focused on the patients’ experience during intensive care and on their reflections on the experience. The second interview had a particular focus on the meaning for each individual of the sources for understanding that they had been offered. The data was analysed by using a hermeneutic‐phenomenological approach. The study corroborated earlier research that found that patients seek to understand experiences they have undergone. They search for meaning in experiences and memories. It is realized that the diary as text and photos, in addition to conveying care and love, is important to induce postexperience reflections. It provided guideposts that follow‐up conversations could pursue in the patient’s quest for meaning. The conversation also provided an opening for, and could in itself be essential to, the patient’s willingness to talk about experiences. It allowed the nurse to accompany the patient in his quest for meaning. The return visit appeared to be significant in the patient’s quest for meaning. It was via ‘feeling’ the room that ‘things’ fell into place. The study is important in elucidating aspects that are beneficial in the patient’s follow‐up and which lay the basis for further development of existing and new follow‐up offers.
A rapid technique for assessing the suitability of areas for invasive species applied to New Zealand's rivers
Authors: Kilroy Cathy , Snelder Ton H. , Floerl Oliver , Vieglais Christina C. , Dey Katie L.
Published: December 2008

Early responses to incursions of non‐indigenous species (NIS) into new areas include modelling and surveillance to define the organisms’ potential and actual distributions. For well‐studied invasive species, predictive models can be developed based on quantitative data describing environmental tolerances. In late 2004, an invasive freshwater diatom Didymosphenia geminata, an NIS for which we had no such quantitative data, was detected in a New Zealand river. We describe a procedure used to rapidly develop a classification of suitability for all New Zealand's rivers, based on two sources of information. First, from a review of the limited available literature and unpublished data, we determined that temperature, hydrological and substrate stability, light availability, and water pH were the most important environmental gradients determining D. geminata's broad‐scale distribution and capacity for establishing and forming blooms in rivers. The second information source was a GIS‐based river network developed for a national classification of New Zealand's rivers, with associated data describing environmental characteristics of each section of the network. We used six variables that were available for every section of the network as surrogates for the environmental gradients that determine suitability. We then determined the environmental distance of all the river sections in the network from our assessment of the optimal conditions conducive to D. geminata blooms. The analysis suggested that > 70% of New Zealand's river sections (stream order > 3) fell into the two highest suitability categories (on a five‐point scale). At the time of writing, D. geminata had spread to 12 catchments, all of which were within these two categories. The technique is applicable in initial responses to incursions of NIS where quantitative information is limited, and makes optimal use of available qualitative information. Our assessment contributed to evaluations of the potential ecological, social, and economic impacts of D. geminata and is currently being used to stratify site selection for ongoing surveillance.
Feral sheep on Socorro Island: facilitators of alien plant colonization and ecosystem decay
Authors: Walter Hartmut S. , Levin Geoffrey A.
Published: December 2008

The paper examines the role of feral sheep (Ovis aries) in facilitating the naturalization of alien plants and degrading a formerly robust and stable ecosystem of Socorro, an isolated oceanic island in the Mexican Pacific Ocean. Approximately half of the island is still sheep‐free. The other half has been widely overgrazed and transformed into savannah and prairie‐like open habitats that exhibit sheet and gully erosion and are covered by a mix of native and alien invasive vegetation today. Vegetation transects in this moderately sheep‐impacted sector show that a significant number of native and endemic herb and shrub species exhibit sympatric distribution patterns with introduced plants. Only one alien plant species has been recorded from any undisturbed and sheep‐free island sector so far.

Socorro Island provides support for the hypothesis that disturbance of a pristine ecosystem is generally required for the colonization and naturalization of alien plants. Sheep are also indirectly responsible for the self‐invasion of mainland bird species into novel island habitats and for the decline and range contraction of several endemic bird species.
Argentine ants displace floral arthropods in a biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Lach Lori
Published: December 2008

Argentine ant (Linepithema humile (Mayr)) invasions are often associated with the displacement of ground‐dwelling arthropods. Argentine ant invasions can also exert other effects on the community through interactions with plants and their associated arthropods. For example, carbohydrate resources (e.g. floral or extrafloral nectar) may influence foraging behaviour and interactions among ants and other arthropods. In South Africa's Cape Floristic Region, Argentine ants and some native ant species are attracted to the floral nectar of Leucospermum conocarpodendron Rourke (Proteaceae), a native tree that also has extrafloral nectaries (EFNs). Despite having relatively low abundance in pitfall traps, Argentine ants visited inflorescences more frequently and in higher abundance than the most frequently observed native ants, Camponotus spp., though neither native nor Argentine ant floral foraging was influenced by the EFNs. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling revealed significant dissimilarity in arthropod communities on inflorescences with Argentine ants compared to inflorescences with native or no ants, with Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Arachnida, Orthoptera, and Blattaria all being underrepresented in inflorescences with Argentine ants compared to ant‐excluded inflorescences. Native honeybees (Apis mellifera capensis Eschscholtz) spent 75% less time foraging on inflorescences with Argentine ants than on inflorescences without ants. Neither Argentine ant nor native ant visits to inflorescences had a detectable effect on seed set of Le. conocarpodendron. However, a pollen supplementation experiment revealed that like many other proteas, Le. conocarpodendron is not pollen‐limited. Flower predation was negatively associated with increased ant visit frequency to the inflorescences, but did not differ among inflorescences visited by native and Argentine ants. Displacement of arthropods appears to be a consistent consequence of Argentine ant invasions. The displacement of floral arthropods by Argentine ants may have far‐reaching consequences for this biodiversity hotspot and other regions that are rich in insect‐pollinated plants.
Tracking biological invasions in space and time: elucidating the invasive history of the green alga Codium fragile using old DNA
Authors: Provan Jim , Booth David , Todd Nicola P. , Beatty Gemma E. , Maggs Christine A.
Published: December 2008

With the advent of ‘ancient DNA’ studies on preserved material of extant and extinct species, museums and herbaria now represent an important although still underutilized resource in molecular ecology. The ability to obtain sequence data from archived specimens can reveal the recent history of cryptic species and introductions. We have analysed extant and herbarium samples of the highly invasive green alga Codium fragile, many over 100 years old, to identify cryptic accessions of the invasive strain known as C. fragile ssp. tomentosoides, which can be identified by a unique haplotype. Molecular characterization of specimens previously identified as native in various regions shows that the invasive tomentosoides strain has been colonizing new habitats across the world for longer than records indicate, in some cases nearly 100 years before it was noticed. It can now be found in the ranges of all the other native haplotypes detected, several of which correspond to recognized subspecies. Within regions in the southern hemisphere there was a greater diversity of haplotypes than in the northern hemisphere, probably as a result of dispersal by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The findings of this study highlight the importance of herbaria in preserving contemporaneous records of invasions as they occur, especially when invasive taxa are cryptic.
Tolerance to herbivory, and not resistance, may explain differential success of invasive, naturalized, and native North American temperate vines
Authors: Ashton Isabel W. , Lerdau Manuel T.
Published: December 2008

Numerous hypotheses suggest that natural enemies can influence the dynamics of biological invasions. Here, we use a group of 12 related native, invasive, and naturalized vines to test the relative importance of resistance and tolerance to herbivory in promoting biological invasions. In a field experiment in Long Island, New York, we excluded mammal and insect herbivores and examined plant growth and foliar damage over two growing seasons. This novel approach allowed us to compare the relative damage from mammal and insect herbivores and whether damage rates were related to invasion. In a greenhouse experiment, we simulated herbivory through clipping and measured growth response. After two seasons of excluding herbivores, there was no difference in relative growth rates among invasive, naturalized, and native woody vines, and all vines were susceptible to damage from mammal and insect herbivores. Thus, differential attack by herbivores and plant resistance to herbivory did not explain invasion success of these species. In the field, where damage rates were high, none of the vines were able to fully compensate for damage from mammals. However, in the greenhouse, we found that invasive vines were more tolerant of simulated herbivory than native and naturalized relatives. Our results indicate that invasive vines are not escaping herbivory in the novel range, rather they are persisting despite high rates of herbivore damage in the field. While most studies of invasive plants and natural enemies have focused on resistance, this work suggests that tolerance may also play a large role in facilitating invasions.
Alien spider introductions to Europe supported by global trade
Authors: Kobelt Manuel , Nentwig Wolfgang
Published: December 2008

Global trade is permanently ongoing and increases its volume every year. In this study, the occurrence of 87 unintentionally introduced spider species alien to Europe is analysed. The analysis includes (1) the introduction potential of six different origin areas of the world according to trade volume, area size, and geographical distance; (2) the body size of native and alien species; and (3) occurrence in or at buildings (synanthropic) or in natural habitats. We found the eastern Palearctic as the most influencing origin area with 44 introduced spider species to Europe. The eastern Palearctic and the Indomalayan provided a significantly higher number of introductions than expected, whereas the Nearctic, Neotropical, and Afrotropical provided a significantly lower number of introduced species than expected. This can be explained with their lower trade volume, smaller area, larger geographical distance to Europe, and stronger climate differences to Europe. Comparing the body size of introduced and native European spider species of the same family, we found for Theridiidae significantly larger alien spiders and for all other tested families a trend to a larger body size of alien species compared to the native spiders. The family affiliation of alien spiders is the most important factor for synanthropic occurrence in Europe. On the base of a very conservative estimation of spider species introductions to Europe combined with possible effects of climate change, we predict for the near future a permanent increase in the number of alien spider species in Europe.
Tracing recent invasions of the Ponto‐Caspian mysid shrimp Hemimysis anomala across Europe and to North America with mitochondrial DNA
Authors: Audzijonyte Asta , Wittmann Karl J. , Väinölä Risto
Published: December 2008

The mysid crustacean Hemimysis anomala (‘bloody‐red shrimp’) is one of the most recent participants in the invasion of European inland waters by Ponto‐Caspian species. Recently the species also became established in England and the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. Using information from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequences, we traced the invasion pathways of H. anomala; the inferences were enabled by the observed phylogeographical subdivision among the source area populations in the estuaries of the Ponto‐Caspian basin. The data distinguish two routes to northern and western Europe used by distinct lineages. One route has been to and through the Baltic Sea and further to the Rhine delta, probably from a population intentionally introduced to a Lithuanian water reservoir from the lower Dnieper River (NW Black Sea area) in 1960. The other lineage is derived from the Danube delta and has spread across the continent up the Danube River and further through the Main–Danube canal down to the Rhine River delta. Only the Danube lineage was found in England and in North America. The two lineages appear to have met secondarily and are now found intermixed at several sites in NW Europe, including the Rhine and waters linked with the man‐made Mittellandkanal that interconnects the Rhine and Baltic drainage systems.
Estimating the invasion success of introduced plants
Authors: Caley Peter , Groves Richard H. , Barker Robyn
Published: December 2008

We present methods for estimating the base proportion of introduced alien species that will naturalize, and the distribution of time until naturalization occurs. The approach is Bayesian, incorporating prior estimates of the probability of naturalization and the time from introduction to naturalization. A worked example uses data on the introduction and time to recorded naturalization of woody perennials introduced to South Australia. Up until 2007, 188 of 2230 (8.4%) woody perennials listed in nursery catalogues between 1843 and 1985 were recorded as having naturalized. If prior information on naturalization rates from elsewhere is ignored, the available data suggest that the most likely proportion of introduced plants that will naturalize is large (0.93) though uncertain (95% CI 0.51–0.99), with the corresponding mean time to recorded naturalization being protracted (522 years) and similarly uncertain (95% CI 360–678 years). Alternatively, if informative prior estimates of both the naturalization probability and the time to recorded naturalization are incorporated, the most likely probability of naturalization is estimated to be 18.6% (95% CI 15.5–23.4%). For those plants that do naturalize, the most likely value for the mean time from importation to recorded naturalization is 149 years (95% CI 130–174 years). Our results illustrate the potentially long timescale of the naturalization process, and the challenges this presents for obtaining accurate estimates of naturalization parameters.
Predicting the number of ecologically harmful exotic species in an aquatic system
Authors: Ricciardi Anthony , Kipp Rebekah
Published: December 2008

Most introduced species apparently have little impact on native biodiversity, but the proliferation of human vectors that transport species worldwide increases the probability of a region being affected by high‐impact invaders – i.e. those that cause severe declines in native species populations. Our study determined whether the number of high‐impact invaders can be predicted from the total number of invaders in an area, after controlling for species–area effects. These two variables are positively correlated in a set of 16 invaded freshwater and marine systems from around the world. The relationship is a simple linear function; there is no evidence of synergistic or antagonistic effects of invaders across systems. A similar relationship is found for introduced freshwater fishes across 149 regions. In both data sets, high‐impact invaders comprise approximately 10% of the total number of invaders. Although the mechanism driving this correlation is likely a sampling effect, it is not simply the proportional sampling of a constant number of repeat‐offenders; in most cases, an invader is not reported to have strong impacts on native species in the majority of regions it invades. These findings link vector activity and the negative impacts of introduced species on biodiversity, and thus justify management efforts to reduce invasion rates even where numerous invasions have already occurred.
Effect of propagule pressure on the establishment and spread of the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata in a Gabonese oilfield
Authors: Mikheyev Alexander S. , Tchingnoumba Landry , Henderson Ann , Alonso Alfonso
Published: December 2008

We studied the effect of propagule pressure on the establishment and subsequent spread of the invasive little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata in a Gabonese oilfield in lowland rain forest. Oil well drilling, the major anthropogenic disturbance over the past 21 years in the area, was used as an indirect measure of propagule pressure. An analysis of 82 potential introductions at oil production platforms revealed that the probability of successful establishment significantly increased with the number of drilling events. Specifically, the shape of the dose–response establishment curve could be closely approximated by a Poisson process with a 34% chance of infestation per well drilled. Consistent with our knowledge of largely clonal reproduction by W. auropunctata, the shape of the establishment curve suggested that the ants were not substantially affected by Allee effects, probably greatly contributing to this species’ success as an invader. By contrast, the extent to which W. auropunctata spread beyond the point of initial introduction, and thus the extent of its damage to diversity of other ant species, was independent of propagule pressure. These results suggest that while establishment success depends on propagule pressure, other ecological or genetic factors may limit the extent of further spread. Knowledge of the shape of the dose–response establishment curve should prove useful in modelling the future spread of W. auropunctata and perhaps the spread of other clonal organisms.
Fifty years of invasion ecology – the legacy of Charles Elton
Authors: Richardson David M. , Pyšek Petr
Published: December 2008

The publication, in 1958, of Charles Elton's book The ecology of invasions by animals and plants launched the systematic study of biological invasions. Invasion ecology has grown to become an important multi‐disciplinary subfield of ecology with growing links to many other disciplines. This paper examines the citation history of Elton's book using the Web of Science. We also examine Elton's influence in shaping the current research agenda in invasion ecology, for which we use the 28 papers in a special issue of Diversity and Distributions (Volume 14: 2) as a representative sample.

After 50 years, Elton's book remains the most cited single source in the field (> 1500 citations), and is cited more often every year (> 100 times) than any other invasion‐related publication, including influential papers in journals. Most citations to Elton's book refer to particular topics/concepts covered in the book, rather than citing it as a general reference about invasions. The shift in the distribution of topics/concepts cited with reference to Elton over time follows the same trend as for biogeography and ecology in general (increasing emphasis on analytical studies, multi‐scale analyses, multi‐disciplinary studies, etc.).

Some topics emphasized by Elton are still the focus of current research (dispersal and spread of invasive organisms, impact on biodiversity, role of disturbance and enemy release) but several prominent themes in modern studies were not addressed by Elton. The emergence of new themes can be attributed to a general change in approach and emphasis underpinning research questions in conservation biogeography and applied ecology over the last half century (risk analysis, multi‐scale comparisons, propagule pressure, experimental approaches) and to the recent emergence and increasing availability of large data sets on the distribution of introduced species and to the emergence of key technologies (e.g. geographic information systems, modelling techniques, including niche‐based modelling, and molecular methods). Half a century after its publication, Charles Elton's book on invasions remains influential, but massive changes in the status of invasions and other environmental issues worldwide, together with advances in technology, are reshaping the game rules and priorities of invasion ecology.
Moral economies of food and geographies of responsibility
Authors: Jackson Peter , Ward Neil , Russell Polly
Published: December 2008

This paper uses the concept of ‘moral economy’ to challenge the conventional view that defines morality and the market as oppositional terms. Drawing on evidence from life history interviews with key actors in the British food industry, the paper outlines how moral and ethical questions are articulated through notions of space and time. Using case study material from the chicken and sugar industries, the paper examines the way that ethical and moral issues are expressed through the dimensions of time (via notions of remembering and forgetting) and space (via notions of connecting and disconnecting) and via notions of visibility and invisibility. The paper concludes by examining how our understanding of the moral economies of food can be advanced through the adoption of a relational view of geographical scale and temporal connection, contrasting the attribution of individual blame with a politics of collective responsibility.
Aerostatic spacing: on things becoming lighter than air
Authors: McCormack Derek P
Published: December 2008

The development of practical aerostatic or lighter than air balloon flight in 1783 marked the emergence of a new way of being and becoming mobile, one that also involved an important technical and experiential transformation in earth–atmosphere relations. This paper narrates an account of the distinctive kinds of spaces of which aerostatic flight is generative. At the centre of this account is the claim that the affective materiality of aerostatic flight is simultaneously processual and possessing of what political theorist Jane Bennett calls ‘thing‐power’. In developing this claim, the paper draws from a range of historical and contemporary accounts of aerostatic flight in order to elaborate upon three aspects of the spaces of things becoming aerostatic: the distinctive kinds of sensing of which aerostatic flight is generative; the differential qualities of affectivity in which the movement and materiality of aerostatic things participates; and the kinds of vertiginous events in which the felt movement – actual or anticipated – of aerostatic things is implicated. The paper concludes by speculating upon how attending to the distinctive and sometimes disquieting materiality of aerostatic things might contribute to geographical engagements with the spaces of air and atmosphere.
Framing the Fat Body: Contested Meanings between Government, Activists, and Industry*
Authors: Kwan Samantha
Published: December 2008

Sociologists have long recognized that social problems do not derive solely from objective conditions but from a process of collective definition. At the core of some social issues are framing competitions, struggles over the production of ideas and meanings. This article examines competing cultural meanings about the fat body. Through frame analysis of organizational materials, I map the contested field of obesity and document three cultural frames—medical frame, social justice frame, and market choice frame—as represented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), and the food industry group the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), respectively. Using the “framing matrix,” I explore each frame's key signature elements and discuss its social and cultural significance. Notably, each frame leads to different outcomes for social equality and how society thinks about fat bodies, health, and public policy.
Barreras del Lenguaje: Children's Negotiation of Adult‐Created Exclusionary Practices*
Authors: Hendley Alexandra
Published: December 2008

This article explores the effects of language differences on dynamics among youth athletes. Fifteen hours of participant observation were conducted with a youth soccer team, supplemented by five interviews with the coach and with players’ parents. With a cohort consisting of a Spanish‐ and English‐speaking bilingual coach, one fully bilingual player and another partly bilingual player, two Spanish‐only‐speaking players, and four English‐only‐speaking players, there were opportunities for many different types of interactions. This article specifically focuses on how language differences served as a catalyst for the creation of exclusionary practices by the adults surrounding the team. However, these practices did not determine the team's culture; rather, there was both accommodation and resistance on the part of the players to those practices of exclusion that the adults had introduced.
Past and Present Effectiveness of Protected Areas for Conservation of Naturally and Anthropogenically Rare Plant Species
Authors: VELLAK AIN , TUVI EVA‐LIIS , REIER ÜLLE , KALAMEES REIN , ROOSALUSTE ELLE , ZOBEL MARTIN , PÄRTEL MEELIS
Published: December 2008

Abstract:  The Global Strategy of Plant Conservation states that at least 60% of threatened plant species should be within protected areas. This goal has been met in some regions with long traditions of plant protection. We used gap analysis to explore how particular groups of species of conservation interest, representing different types of natural or anthropogenic rarity, have been covered by protected areas on a national scale in Estonia during the last 100 years. Species‐accumulation curves indicated that plant species that are naturally rare (restricted global or local distribution, always small populations, or very rare habitat requirements) needed almost twice as many protected areas to reach the 60% target as plant species that are rare owing to lack of suitable management (species depending on grassland management, moderate forest disturbances, extensive traditional agriculture, or species potentially threatened by collecting). Temporal analysis of the establishment of protected areas suggested that grouping plant species according to the predominant cause of rarity accurately reflected the history of conservation decision making. Species found in very rare habitats have previously received special conservation attention; species dependent on traditional extensive agriculture have been largely ignored until recently. Legislative initiative and new nature‐protection schemes (e.g., Natura 2000, network of protected areas in the European Union) have had a positive influence on all species groups. Consequently, the species groups needing similar action for their conservation are sensitive indicators of the effectiveness of protected‐area networks. Different species groups, however, may not be uniformly conserved within protected areas, and all species groups should fulfill the target of 60% coverage within protected areas.
Sea‐Cage Aquaculture, Sea Lice, and Declines of Wild Fish
Authors: FRAZER L. NEIL
Published: December 2008

Abstract: A sea cage, sometimes referred to as a net pen, is an enclosure designed to prevent farm fish from escaping and to protect them from large predators, while allowing a free flow of water through the cage to carry away waste. Farm fish thus share water with wild fish, which enables transmission of parasites, such as sea lice, from wild to farm and farm to wild fishes. Sea lice epidemics, together with recently documented population‐level declines of wild salmon in areas of sea‐cage farming, are a reminder that sea‐cage aquaculture is fundamentally different from terrestrial animal culture. The difference is that sea cages protect farm fish from the usual pathogen‐control mechanisms of nature, such as predators, but not from the pathogens themselves. A sea cage thus becomes an unintended pathogen factory. Basic physical theory explains why sea‐cage aquaculture causes sea lice on sympatric wild fish to increase and why increased lice burdens cause wild fish to decline, with extirpation as a real possibility. Theory is important to this issue because slow declines of wild fish can be difficult to detect amid large fluctuations from other causes. The important theoretical concepts are equilibrium, host‐density effect, reservoir‐host effect, and critical stocking level of farmed fish (stocking level at which lice proliferate on farm fish even if wild fish are not present to infect them). I explored these concepts and their implications without mathematics through examples from salmon farming. I also considered whether the lice‐control techniques used by sea‐cage farmers (medication and shortened grow‐out times) are capable of protecting wild fish. Elementary probability showed that(where W is the abundance of wild fish, W* is the prefarm abundance, F is the abundance of farm fish, andis the ratio of lice per farm fish to lice per wild fish). Declines of wild fish can be reduced by short growing cycles for farm fish, medicating farm fish, and keeping farm stocking levels low. Declines can be avoided only by ensuring that wild fish do not share water with farmed fish, either by locating sea cages very far from wild fish or through the use of closed‐containment aquaculture systems. These principles are likely to govern any aquaculture system where cage‐protected farm hosts and sympatric wild hosts have a common parasite with a direct life cycle.
Abstinence From Moderate Alcohol Self‐Administration Alters Progenitor Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in Multiple Brain Regions of Male and Female P Rats
Authors: He Jun , Overstreet David H. , Crews Fulton T.
Published: December 2008

Background: Acute and chronic ethanol exposure has been found to decrease hippocampal neurogenesis, reduce dendritic differentiation of new neurons, and increase cell death. Interestingly, abstinence from such treatment increases hippocampal neurogenesis and microglial genesis across several brain regions. The goal of the current investigation was to study cellular alterations on neuro‐ and cell‐genesis during abstinence following alcohol self‐administration using alcohol‐preferring rats (P rats).

Methods: Male and female P rats were given the choice of drinking 10% alcohol in water or pure water for 7 weeks. Social interaction behavioral assessments were conducted at 5 hours upon removal of alcohol, followed by bromo‐deoxyuridine (BrdU, 150 mg/kg × 1/d × 14 d) injections to label proliferating cells. Animals were then killed 4 weeks later to conduct immunohistochemical and confocal analyses using antibodies against BrdU and other phenotypic markers (NeuN for mature neurons; Iba‐1 for microglia; GFAP for astrocytes; and NG2for oligodendrocyte progenitors).

Results: Mild alcohol withdrawal anxiety was detected by reduction in social interactions. The number of hippocampal BrdU+cells was increased approximately 50% during alcohol abstinence (26 ± 2.8 in controls vs. 39 ± 4 in alcohol group). BrdU+cells were also increased in the substantia nigra (SN) approximately 65% in the alcohol abstinent group (12 ± 1 in controls vs. 19 ± 1.5 in alcohol group). No gender differences were found. Confocal analyses indicated that approximately 75% of co‐localization of BrdU+cells with NeuN in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) resulting a net increase in neurogenesis in the alcohol abstinent group compared to controls. In cingulum, greater proportion of BrdU+cells were co‐localized with NG2in the alcohol abstinent group indicating increased differentiation toward oligodendrocyte progenitors in both genders. However, the phenotype of the BrdU+cells in SN and other brain regions were not identified by NeuN, Iba‐1, GFAP, or NG2suggesting that these BrdU+cells probably remain in a nondifferentiated stage.

Conclusions: These data indicate that abstinence from moderate alcohol drinking increases hippocampal neurogenesis, cingulate NG2differentiation, and SN undifferentiated cell proliferation in both males and females. Such cellular alteration during abstinence could contribute to the spontaneous partial restoration of cognitive deficits upon sobriety.
Real‐Time Identification of Serious Infection in Geriatric Patients Using Clinical Information System Surveillance
Authors: Meurer William J. , Smith Barbara L. , Losman Eve D. , Sherman Diana , Yaksich, RN Joseph D. , Jared Jeremy D. , Malani Preeti N. , Younger John G.
Published: December 2008

OBJECTIVES: To develop and characterize an automated syndromic surveillance mechanism for early identification of older emergency department (ED) patients with possible life‐threatening infection.

DESIGN: Prospective, consecutive‐enrollment, single‐site observational study.

SETTING: A large university medical center with an annual ED census of 75,273.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged 70 and older admitted to the ED and having two or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria during their ED stay.

MEASUREMENTS: A search algorithm was developed to screen the census of the ED through its clinical information system. A study coordinator confirmed all patients electronically identified as having a probable infectious explanation for their visit.

RESULTS: Infection accounted for 28% of ED and 34% of final hospital diagnoses. Identification using the software tool alone carried a 1.63 relative risk of infection (95% confidence interval CI=1.09–2.44) compared with other ED patients sufficiently ill to require admission. Follow‐up confirmation by a study coordinator increased the risk to 3.06 (95% CI=2.11–4.44). The sensitivity of the strategy overall was modest (14%), but patients identified were likely to have an infectious diagnosis (specificity=98%). The most common SIRS criterion triggering the electronic notification was the combination of tachycardia and tachypnea.

CONCLUSION: A simple clinical informatics algorithm can detect infection in elderly patients in real time with high specificity. The utility of this tool for research and clinical care may be substantial.
Consensus Guidelines for Oral Dosing of Primarily Renally Cleared Medications in Older Adults
Authors: Hanlon Joseph T. , Aspinall Sherrie L. , Semla Todd P. , Weisbord Steven D. , Fried Linda F. , Good C. Bernie , Fine Michael J. , Stone Roslyn A. , Pugh Mary Jo V. , Rossi Michelle I. , Handler Steven M.
Published: December 2008

OBJECTIVES: To establish consensus oral dosing guidelines for primarily renally cleared medications prescribed for older adults.

DESIGN: Literature search followed by a two‐round modified Delphi survey.

SETTING: A nationally representative survey of experts in geriatric clinical pharmacy.

PARTICIPANTS: Eleven geriatric clinical pharmacists.

MEASUREMENTS: After a comprehensive literature search and review by an investigative group of six physicians (2 general internal medicine, 2 nephrology, 2 geriatrics), 43 dosing recommendations for 30 medications at various levels of renal function were created. The expert panel rated its agreement with each of these 43 dosing recommendations using a 5‐point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Recommendation‐specific means and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Consensus was defined as a lower 95% confidence limit of greater than 4.0 for the recommendation‐specific mean score.

RESULTS: The response rate was 81.8% (9/11) for the first round. All respondents who completed the first round also completed the second round. The expert panel reached consensus on 26 recommendations involving 18 (60%) medications. For 10 medications (chlorpropamide, colchicine, cotrimoxazole, glyburide, meperidine, nitrofurantoin, probenecid, propoxyphene, spironolactone, and triamterene), the consensus recommendation was not to use the medication in older adults below a specified level of renal function (e.g., creatinine clearance <30 mL/min). For the remaining eight medications (acyclovir, amantadine, ciprofloxacin, gabapentin, memantine, ranitidine, rimantadine, and valacyclovir), specific recommendations for dose reduction or interval extension were made.

CONCLUSION: An expert panel of geriatric clinical pharmacists was able to reach consensus agreement on a number of oral medications that are primarily renally cleared.