bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pollination and other ecosystem services produced by mobile organisms: a conceptual framework for the effects of land‐use change
Authors: Kremen Claire , Williams Neal M. , Aizen Marcelo A. , Gemmill‐Herren Barbara , LeBuhn Gretchen , Minckley Robert , Packer Laurence , Potts Simon G. , Roulston T'ai , Steffan‐Dewenter Ingolf , Vázquez Diego P. , Winfree Rachael , Adams Laurie , Crone Elizabeth E. , Greenleaf Sarah S. , Keitt Timothy H. , Klein Alexandra‐Maria , Regetz James , Ricketts Taylor H.
Published: February 2007

Many ecosystem services are delivered by organisms that depend on habitats that are segregated spatially or temporally from the location where services are provided. Management of mobile organisms contributing to ecosystem services requires consideration not only of the local scale where services are delivered, but also the distribution of resources at the landscape scale, and the foraging ranges and dispersal movements of the mobile agents. We develop a conceptual model for exploring how one suchmobile‐agent‐based ecosystem service(MABES), pollination, is affected by land‐use change, and then generalize the model to other MABES. The model includes interactions and feedbacks among policies affecting land use, market forces and the biology of the organisms involved. Animal‐mediated pollination contributes to the production of goods of value to humans such as crops; it also bolsters reproduction of wild plants on which other services or service‐providing organisms depend. About one‐third of crop production depends on animal pollinators, while 60–90% of plant species require an animal pollinator. The sensitivity of mobile organisms to ecological factors that operate across spatial scales makes the services provided by a given community of mobile agents highly contextual. Services vary, depending on the spatial and temporal distribution of resources surrounding the site, and on biotic interactions occurring locally, such as competition among pollinators for resources, and among plants for pollinators. The value of the resulting goods or services may feed back via market‐based forces to influence land‐use policies, which in turn influence land management practices that alter local habitat conditions and landscape structure. Developing conceptual models for MABES aids in identifying knowledge gaps, determining research priorities, and targeting interventions that can be applied in an adaptive management context.
High local and global diversity of Flavobacteria in marine plankton
Authors: Alonso Cecilia , Warnecke Falk , Amann Rudolf , Pernthaler Jakob
Published: February 2007

Members of the phylum Bacteroidetes are among the most abundant microbes in coastal marine waters, but it is unclear to which extent the diversity within this phylum is covered by currently available 16S rRNA gene sequence information. We, thus, obtained a comprehensive collection of sequence types affiliated with Bacteroidetes in coastal North Sea surface waters and we compared this local diversity with the available sequences of marine planktonic and other aquatic Bacteroidetes. Approximately 15% of > 600 clones from two libraries (August 2000, June 2001) were related to Bacteroidetes, specifically to the Flavobacteria. Local diversity appeared to be almost exhaustively sampled. However, the diversity of the two libraries virtually did not overlap, indicating a pronounced temporal variability of the planktonic Flavobacteria assemblage. The majority of sequence types represented novel phylogenetic lineages, adding 6–7% to the currently known genera and species of Bacteroidetes in marine waters. Different diversity estimators suggested that so far only approximately half of the global diversity of planktonic marine Bacteroidetes has been described. The data set moreover indicated that cultivation‐independent techniques and isolation approaches have recovered almost equally sized and virtually non‐overlapping fractions of the currently known diversity within this phylum. Interestingly, only 15% of genera of Bacteroidetes from various aquatic environments appear to occur in more than one habitat type.
Hydrogen ‘leakage’ during methanogenesis from methanol and methylamine: implications for anaerobic carbon degradation pathways in aquatic sediments
Authors: Finke Niko , Hoehler Tori Michael , Jørgensen Bo Barker
Published: February 2007

The effect of variations in H2 concentrations on methanogenesis from the non‐competitive substrates methanol and methylamine (used by methanogens but not by sulfate reducers) was investigated in methanogenic marine sediments. Imposed variations in sulfate concentration and temperature were used to drive systematic variations in pore water H2 concentrations. Specifically, increasing sulfate concentrations and decreasing temperatures both resulted in decreasing H2 concentrations. The ratio of CO2 and CH4 produced from 14C‐labelled methylamine and methanol showed a direct correlation with the H2 concentration, independent of the treatment, with lower H2 concentrations resulting in a shift towards CO2. We conclude that this correlation is driven by production of H2 by methylotrophic methanogens, followed by loss to the environment with a magnitude dependent on the extracellular H2 concentrations maintained by hydrogenotrophic methanogens (in the case of the temperature experiment) or sulfate reducers (in the case of the sulfate experiment). Under sulfate‐free conditions, the loss of reducing power as H2 flux out of the cell represents a loss of energy for the methylotrophic methanogens while, in the presence of sulfate, it results in a favourable free energy yield. Thus, hydrogen leakage might conceivably be beneficial for methanogens in marine sediments dominated by sulfate reduction. In low‐sulfate systems such as methanogenic marine or freshwater sediments it is clearly detrimental – an adverse consequence of possessing a hydrogenase that is subject to externally imposed control by pore water H2 concentrations. H2 leakage in methanogens may explain the apparent exclusion of acetoclastic methanogenesis in sediments dominated by sulfate reduction.
Molecular analysis of fungal communities and laccase genes in decomposing litter reveals differences among forest types but no impact of nitrogen deposition
Authors: Blackwood Christopher B. , Waldrop Mark P. , Zak Donald R. , Sinsabaugh Robert L.
Published: February 2007

The fungal community of the forest floor was examined as the cause of previously reported increases in soil organic matter due to experimental N deposition in ecosystems producing predominantly high‐lignin litter, and the opposite response in ecosystems producing low‐lignin litter. The mechanism proposed to explain this phenomenon was that white‐rot basidiomycetes are more important in the degradation of high‐lignin litter than of low‐lignin litter, and that their activity is suppressed by N deposition. We found that forest floor mass in the low‐lignin sugar‐maple dominated system decreased in October due to experimental N deposition, whereas forest floor mass of high‐lignin oak‐dominated ecosystems was unaffected by N deposition. Increased relative abundance of basidiomycetes in high‐lignin forest floor was confirmed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing. Abundance of basidiomycete laccase genes, encoding an enzyme used by white‐rot basidiomycetes in the degradation of lignin, was 5–10 times greater in high‐lignin forest floor than in low‐lignin forest floor. While the differences between the fungal communities in different ecosystems were consistent with the proposed mechanism, no significant effects of N deposition were detected on DGGE profiles, laccase gene abundance, laccase length heterogeneity profiles, or phenol oxidase activity. Our observations indicate that the previously detected accumulation of soil organic matter in the high‐lignin system may be driven by effects of N deposition on organisms in the mineral soil, rather than on organisms residing in the forest floor. However, studies of in situ gene expression and temporal and spatial variability within forest floor communities will be necessary to further relate the ecosystem dynamics of organic carbon to microbial communities and atmospheric N deposition.
Pomegranate flower: a unique traditional antidiabetic medicine with dual PPAR‐α/‐γ activator properties
Authors: Li Yuhao , Qi Yanfei , Huang Tom H. W. , Yamahara Johji , Roufogalis Basil D.
Published: February 2007

PPARs are transcription factors belonging to the superfamily of nuclear receptors. PPAR‐α is involved in the regulation of fatty acid (FA) uptake and oxidation, inflammation and vascular function, while PPAR‐γ participates in FA uptake and storage, glucose homeostasis and inflammation. The PPARs are thus major regulators of lipid and glucose metabolism. Synthetic PPAR‐α or PPAR‐γ agonists have been widely used in the treatment of dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia and their complications. However, they are associated with an incidence of adverse events. Given the favourable metabolic effects of both PPAR‐α and PPAR‐γ activators, as well as their potential to modulate vascular disease, combined PPAR‐α/‐γ activation has recently emerged as a promising concept, leading to the development of mixed PPAR‐α/‐γ activators. However, some major side effects associated with the synthetic dual activators have been reported. It is unclear whether this is a specific effect of the particular synthetic compounds or a class effect. To date, a medication that may combine the beneficial metabolic effects of PPAR‐α and PPAR‐γ activation with fewer undesirable side effects has not been successfully developed. Pomegranate plant parts are used traditionally for the treatment of various disorders. However, only pomegranate flower has been prescribed in Unani and Ayurvedic medicines for the treatment of diabetes. This review provides a new understanding of the dual PPAR‐α/‐γ activator properties of pomegranate flower in the potential treatment of diabetes and its associated complications.
Daily administration of the GIP‐R antagonist (Pro3)GIP in streptozotocin‐induced diabetes suggests that insulin‐dependent mechanisms are critical to anti–obesity‐diabetes actions of (Pro3)GIP
Authors: McClean P. L. , Gault V. A. , Irwin N. , McCluskey J. T. , Flatt P. R.
Published: February 2007

Aim:  Glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide‐receptor (GIP‐R) antagonism using (Pro3)GIP improves glucose tolerance and ameliorates insulin resistance and abnormalities of islet structure and function in a commonly used model of obesity‐diabetes, namely ob/ob mice. The effect of GIP‐R antagonism in a streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced model of insulin deficiency has not been evaluated. The present study has investigated the effects of daily administration of (Pro3)GIP to STZ‐treated mice.

Methods:  Swiss TO mice received once‐daily injection of (Pro3)GIP (25 nmol/kg body weight) or saline 4 days prior to and 16 days after injection of STZ, and effects on metabolic parameters and islet architecture were assessed.

Results:  (Pro3)GIP treatment had no significant effect on hyperphagia or body weight loss. However, hyperglycaemia and glycated haemoglobin were worsened, glucose tolerance further decreased and insulin sensitivity was impaired by (Pro3)GIP. These effects were observed on an STZ‐induced background characterized by severe reductions of circulating insulin, beta‐cell mass and pancreatic insulin stores.

Conclusions:  These data indicate that the beneficial actions of the GIP‐R antagonist, (Pro3)GIP, in obesity‐diabetes appear to be largely mediated through insulin‐dependent mechanisms that merit further investigation.
Homology: a synthetic concept of evolutionary robustness of patterns
Authors: Szucsich Nikolaus U. , Wirkner Christian S.
Published: February 2007

The history of the homology concept is a history of attempts to conceive the basis of sameness in biology. Since it was formulated in the middle of the 19th century, the concept has had to fit an ever growing number of scientific fields and purposes. These different demands have resulted in diverging, sometimes, incompatible definitions. The inconsistencies are mostly due to the lack of a clear separation of hypotheses of maintenance from hypotheses of transformation.

A synthetic approach to define homology thus has to consider the following pivotal points: (i) hypotheses of evolutionary maintenance should be kept separate from hypotheses of evolutionary transformation; (ii) the definition of homology should provide the foundation for exact specifications of what is hypothesised to be homologous and (iii) restrictions to particular levels of observation or specific scientific purposes, and the exclusion of iterative homology should be avoided.

We suggest that patterns should be delineated by characterizing components of traits, and by describing connections and interactions between these components. A shared pattern of compared traits where the characterization shows 1 : 1 correspondence may then be homologised. Homology is equivalent to a hypothesis that the pattern, starting from a single starting point, was transmitted robustly along diverging branches of a genealogical tree, that is, the homologised pattern was never changed by any transformation.

The proposed definition of homology is thus, ‘A pattern corresponding in a set of compared traits is homologous, if after a common evolutionary origin, the pattern was maintained along diverging lineages by robust pattern transmission’.

After justifying the terminological use in our definition, we discuss the interplay of our definition with the pivotal points mentioned above in comparison to other definitions.

Since our homology definition is a concept of pattern maintenance, it is clearly demarcated from transformation hypotheses, which are covered by the character concept. Robustness is understood as evolutionary maintenance of correspondence in objects linked by genealogical relations. The characterization of the pattern suffices to provide the necessary conditional phrase by specifying what is hypothesised to be homologous. Allowing development to be conceptualised as a pattern formation process makes it easier to deal with traits that are transmitted indirectly to the next generation. Patterns can be characterized on all observational levels, but the components and the quality of connections and interactions used for the characterization may differ. The replacement of the reference to an ancestor–descendant relationship by a reference to robust pattern transmission allows for the inclusion of iterative homology into the concept.

In the final part of the paper, detailed reformulations of the ‘criteria’ for the corroboration of homology hypotheses as proposed byRemane (1952) are given.
An international approach to Problem Solving for Better Health Nursing™ (PSBHN)
Authors: Hoyt P.
Published: February 2007

Purpose:  This paper describes the Problem Solving for Better Health Nursing™ (PSBHN) model, launched by the Dreyfus Health Foundation in 2002, and now operational in 14 countries at varying stages of development.

Process:  Through a training workshop, participants are introduced to the model’s five‐step process of identifying local health problems and applying a systematic methodology for project design.

Results:  Since the inception of PSBHN, 80 nursing workshops have been held, with more than 3000 participants (nurses and nursing students). Nurse participants have designed more than 2000 projects, and more than 1000 of these projects have been sustained beyond the initial start‐up period. Examples of both recently implemented and successfully completed projects are included for the purpose of illustrating the PSBHN process.

Evaluation:  Workshop evaluation results are included for 151 nurse participants, indicating a positive impact of the workshop training.

Future Plans:  Plans for the future are described. These include a focus on additional evaluations, particularly of the long‐term benefits of the projects implemented; enhanced sustainability of projects; dissemination of the project activities and results; and creation of key partnerships with global nursing and healthcare organizations.
Job satisfaction: a survey of nurses in the Republic of Ireland
Authors: Curtis E. A.
Published: February 2007

Aim:  To determine the current level of job satisfaction among nurses in the Republic of Ireland. To identify the factors that make the greatest contribution to nurses’ current level of job satisfaction. To establish the difference between (a) the factors that nurses regard as being important to their job satisfaction, and (b) those factors that actually contribute to nurses’ current level of job satisfaction. To enter the findings into a database maintained by Market Street Research in the USA.

Background:  A review of the literature suggests that (a) job satisfaction among nurses is low, and (b) job satisfaction research in nursing is growing.

Methods:  This paper represents the descriptive findings of a study that used a mixed‐method design. Data collection involved the use of a postal questionnaire survey and the sample was selected using stratified random sampling.

Findings:  The findings confirmed low to moderate levels of job satisfaction among nurses. Factors such as professional status, interaction and autonomy made the greatest contribution to nurses’ job satisfaction.

Conclusion:  Overall, the findings are consistent with those of previous research on nurses’ job satisfaction. The implications are that health service administrators and nursing managers need to design and implement initiatives that will promote professional status, interaction and autonomy among nurses within their organizations and address the reasons why task requirements, organizational policies and pay make less of a contribution to the current level of job satisfaction.
Predictors of physical and mental health in hospital nurses within the People’s Republic of China
Authors: Lambert V. A. , Lambert C. E. , Petrini M. , Li X. M. , Zhang Y. J.
Published: February 2007

Review of literature:  Prior research has suggested that nurses contend with a variety of workplace stressors and personal factors that can contribute either positively or negatively to their physical and mental health. However, limited research in this area has been conducted on nurses within China.

Aim:  The study sought to determine in Chinese hospital nurses: (a) the most common workplace stressors, (b) the most frequently used ways of coping with stress, and (c) which combination of variables (workplace stressors, ways of coping, psychological hardiness and demographic characteristics) was the best predictor of both physical health and mental health.

Methods:  The subjects were 480 nurses working in a variety of clinical settings, within five hospitals, located in three major mainland Chinese cities. A survey design was implemented using five self‐report instruments.

Results:  Workplace stressors most frequently identified were workload and dealing with death and dying. Ways of coping most often cited were positive reappraisal, self‐control and planful problem solving. The best predictors of physical health were psychological hardiness, conflict with other nurses, uncertainty about patient treatment, seeking social support and confrontive coping. The best predictors of mental health were psychological hardiness, conflict with other nurses, workload, seeking social support, age, likelihood to leave nursing within the next 12 months and escape–avoidance coping.

Discussion:  These findings suggest areas of concern that need to be addressed, by both hospital and nursing administration, in order to establish a positive and productive work environment for Chinese nurses.
Comparative trend analysis of characteristics of internationally educated nurses and U.S. educated nurses in the United States
Authors: Xu Y. , Kwak C.
Published: February 2007

Aim:  This study compares characteristics of internationally educated nurses (IENs) and US educated nurses in the USA and examines trends and implications.

Background:  Internationally educated nurses have been an integral part of the US nurse workforce since the end of the Second World War, especially since the immigration reform in 1965. With the worsening nurse shortage, US employers are intensifying their recruitment efforts by targeting IENs.

Methods:  Secondary analysis using datasets from the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses conducted during 1977–2000 in the USA.

Results:  Findings indicated that there were important differences between IENs and US educated nurses in their trends of demographical, educational and employment characteristics over time. As a group, IENs were younger but more experienced as nurses and better prepared educationally; worked more hours in both primary and secondary nursing positions; and were primarily employed in urban hospitals as staff nurses in direct care roles, with an increasing proportion working in extended care facilities.

Conclusions:  Inter‐group and intra‐group comparisons suggest that (a) IENs were likely to have longer, more productive nursing careers, (b) because of their demographical and employment characteristics, IENs had a greater impact on relieving the US nurse shortage per capita during 1977–2000, and (c) IENs were making increasingly important contributions to the care of Americans, particularly older Americans and those cared for in inner city hospitals.
Journal impact factors: implications for the nursing profession
Authors: Johnstone M.‐J.
Published: February 2007

Background:  The journal impact factor (IF) has become widely used as an absolute measure of the quality of professional journals. It is also increasingly used as a tool for measuring the academic performance of researchers and to inform decisions concerning the appointment and tenure of academic staff as well as the viability of their departments/schools. In keeping with these IF‐related trends, nurse researchers and faculty the world over are being increasingly expected to publish only in journals that have a high IF and to abandon all other forms of publishing (including books and book chapters) that do not attract IF rankings.

Issues:  The IF obsession is placing in jeopardy the sustainability and hence viability of nursing journals and academic nursing publication lists (academic texts). If nurse authors abandon their publishing agenda and publish only in ‘elite’ journals (many of which may be outside nursing), the capacity of the nursing profession to develop and control the cutting edge of its disciplinary knowledge could be placed at risk.

Actions:  Other means for assessing the quality and impact of nursing journals need to be devised. In addition, other works (such as books and book chapters) need also to be included in quality metrics. Nurse authors and journal editors must work together and devise ways to ensure the sustainability and viability of nursing publications.
Impact of stimulus signal‐to‐noise ratio on prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle
Authors: Franklin Joseph C. , Moretti Nicole A. , Blumenthal Terry D.
Published: February 2007

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the human acoustic startle response is reduced in the presence of background noise of a sufficient intensity, possibly due to a reduction in signal‐to‐noise ratio (prepulse intensity relative to background noise). We examined this hypothesis by varying prepulse intensity and background noise intensity in order to hold three different signal‐to‐noise ratios constant (5, 15, and 25 dB(A) above background noise intensity). The results showed that signal‐to‐noise ratio proved to be a more important factor than absolute stimulus intensity in determining the degree of PPI of startle eyeblink response magnitude. Therefore, the effectiveness of a prepulse is determined by prepulse salience, not intensity, and this effectiveness is equivalent across a range of physical intensities.
Reliability of cardiovascular reactivity to stress: Internal consistency
Authors: Kelsey Robert M. , Ornduff Sidney R. , Alpert Bruce S.
Published: February 2007

Research on the reliability of cardiovascular reactivity has focused on temporal stability and intertask consistency with only modest results. The present study evaluated the internal consistency reliability of cardiovascular reactivity in three large samples of adolescents and young adults (N=326, 136, and 142). Impedance cardiographic and blood pressure measures were recorded at rest and during standard laboratory stress tasks (math, video game, cold pressor). The reliability of cardiovascular reactivity within tasks, as assessed by Cronbach's α coefficient of internal consistency, ranged from α=.83 to .96 for 4‐min to 5‐min math tasks, and α=.65 to .94 for 3‐min video game and cold pressor tasks. Although highly reliable within tasks, cardiovascular reactivity was less reliable across tasks, even within a single testing session. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between internal consistency and intertask consistency are discussed.
Localization of temporal preparation effects via trisected reaction time
Authors: Hackley Steven A. , Schankin Andrea , Wohlschlaeger Andreas , Wascher Edmund
Published: February 2007

Previous research using nonchronometric measures in humans and animals has shown that warning signals can influence stages of processing throughout the reaction time (RT) interval. However, latency measures indicate that warning effects on RT are not due to the speeding of motor processes, at least not late ones. To better isolate the chronometric effects of temporal preparation, we used lateralized event‐related potentials to divide mean RT into three time segments. Foreperiod duration had only a small, nonsignificant influence on the first and last segments (early visual and late motor processes, respectively). The chronometric effect was mainly restricted to the middle interval, which extended from onset of the N2pc component to onset of the lateralized readiness potential. The results imply that temporal preparation primarily speeds late perception, response selection or early motor processes.
Memory‐related ERP components for experimentally learned faces and names: Characteristics and parallel‐test reliabilities
Authors: Herzmann Grit , Sommer Werner
Published: February 2007

Previous research with preexperimentally familiar faces and names has identified several memory‐related components in the event‐related potential (ERP). Here we aimed to characterize these components while controlling the quality of long‐term memory with a standardized learning procedure for unfamiliar faces and names. After 1 week, recognition was tested in a repetition priming paradigm. Both early repetition effects (ERE/N250r) and old/new effects had very similar time course and domain‐related scalp topographies as has been reported for preexperimentally familiar stimuli. The late repetition effects (LRE/N400) showed domain‐specific scalp topographies, possibly reflecting the greater ease of deriving semantic codes from faces. Importantly, parallel‐test reliabilities of performance and memory‐related ERP components were high, thus demonstrating the utility of face learning for formal assessment procedures in person recognition.
Microsatellite loci for the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and cross‐species amplification in Dendroctonus
Authors: SCHREY NATALIE M. , SCHREY AARON W. , HEIST EDWARD J. , REEVE JOHN D.
Published: February 2007

We developed microsatellite loci for the southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis). Twelve microsatellite loci were identified. Eight loci were polymorphic and sufficiently variable in 62 individuals (expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.707 to 0.880) to investigate population structure. All loci conformed to HWE except Dfr‐14, which showed heterozygote excess, and no two loci deviated from linkage equilibrium. The loci were tested for cross‐species amplification in four species of Dendroctonus (D. valens, D. terebrans, D. brevicomis, and D. ponderosae). Seven loci were polymorphic in at least one of the species tested.
Medicaid Markets and Pediatric Patient Safety in Hospitals
Authors: Smith Richard B. , Cheung Robyn , Owens Pamela , Wilson R. Mark , Simpson Lisa
Published: February 2007

Objective. To examine the association of Medicaid market characteristics to potentially preventable adverse medical events for hospitalized children, controlling for patient‐ and hospital‐level factors.

Data Sources/Study Setting. Two carefully selected Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) pediatric patient safety indicators (decubitus ulcers and laceration) are analyzed using the new pediatric‐specific, risk‐adjusting, patient safety algorithm from the AHRQ. All pediatric hospital discharges for patients age 0–17 in Florida, New York, and Wisconsin, and at risk of any of these two patient safety events, are examined for the years 1999–2001 (N=859,922).

Study Design. Logistic regression on the relevant pool of discharges estimates the probability an individual patient experiences one of the two PSI events.

Data Extraction Methods. Pediatric discharges from the 1999 to 2001 State Inpatient Databases (SIDs) from the AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, merged with hospital‐level data from the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey, Medicaid data obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state Medicaid offices, and private and Medicaid managed care enrollment data obtained from InterStudy, are used in the estimations.

Principal Findings. At the market level, patients in markets in which Medicaid payers face relatively little competition are more likely to experience a patient safety event (odds ratio [OR]=1.602), while patients in markets in which hospitals face relatively little competition are less likely to experience an adverse event (OR=0.686). At the patient‐discharge and hospital levels, Medicaid characteristics are not significantly associated with the incidence of a pediatric patient safety event.

Conclusions. Our analysis offers additional insights to previous work and suggests a new factor—the Medicaid‐payer market—as relevant to the issue of pediatric patient safety.
Cost‐Effectiveness of Diabetes Case Management for Low‐Income Populations
Authors: Gilmer Todd P. , Roze Stéphane , Valentine William J. , Emy‐Albrecht Katrina , Ray Joshua A. , Cobden David , Nicklasson Lars , Philis‐Tsimikas Athena , Palmer Andrew J.
Published: February 2007

Objective. To evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of Project Dulce, a culturally specific diabetes case management and self‐management training program, in four cohorts defined by insurance status.

Data Sources/Study Setting. Clinical and cost data on 3,893 persons with diabetes participating in Project Dulce were used as inputs into a diabetes simulation model.

Study Design. The Center for Outcomes Research Diabetes Model, a published, peer‐reviewed and validated simulation model of diabetes, was used to evaluate life expectancy, quality‐adjusted life expectancy (QALY), cumulative incidence of complications and direct medical costs over patient lifetimes (40‐year time horizon) from a third‐party payer perspective. Cohort characteristics, treatment effects, and case management costs were derived using a difference in difference design comparing data from the Project Dulce program to a cohort of historical controls. Long‐term costs were derived from published U.S. sources. Costs and clinical benefits were discounted at 3.0 percent per annum. Sensitivity analyses were performed.

Principal Findings. Incremental cost‐effectiveness ratios of $10,141, $24,584, $44,941, and $69,587 per QALY gained were estimated for Project Dulce participants versus control in the uninsured, County Medical Services, Medi‐Cal, and commercial insurance cohorts, respectively.

Conclusions. The Project Dulce diabetes case management program was associated with cost‐effective improvements in quality‐adjusted life expectancy and decreased incidence of diabetes‐related complications over patient lifetimes. Diabetes case management may be particularly cost effective for low‐income populations.
Order or Justice: The Denshawai Incident and British Imperialism
Authors: Luke Kimberly
Published: February 2007

On the afternoon of 13 June 1906 five British officers entered the Egyptian village of Denshawai to go pigeon shooting. An intended sporting event quickly turned into an altercation that resulted in casualties among both the British army of occupation and the villagers of Denshawai. This incident represented a turning point in the British occupation, a point in which the British officials in Egypt were faced with the decision to pursue order or justice and chose order. Concerned with growing nationalist sentiment, Egyptian officials seized upon the Denshawai incident as an opportunity to make an example of the consequences of resistance and confirm the strength of British rule. Their decision ultimately undermined this strength by inflaming public opinion in both Great Britain and Egypt. As a result of Denshawai, British imperialism in Egypt was painted in stark relief and found wanting.
Beyond Jackie Robinson: Racial Integration in American College Football and New Directions in Sport History
Authors: Demas Lane
Published: February 2007

This article seeks to unite a narrative of African American integration in collegiate football with the broader narrative of the Civil Rights Movement. It emphasizes the nebulous history of athletic integration and explores how that process compared to the overall course of civil rights during the twentieth century. Rather than focus on a myriad of schools and regions, it introduces the popular discourse surrounding the largest conflicts over integration in college football. Beyond Jackie Robinson points to four case studies that exemplify how reaction to a game could draw national media attention, transcend sport, and influence the mainstream discourse of race in America. By shifting focus away from the biographies of professional African American sporting figures, Beyond Jackie Robinson contends that collegiate athletic integration was a movement of young student athletes that more closely resembles the broader African American struggle for civil rights in postwar America.
Consequences of treatment withdrawal in type 1 autoimmune hepatitis
Authors: Montano‐Loza Aldo J. , Carpenter Herschel A. , Czaja Albert J.
Published: February 2007

Background and Aims: Drug‐related side effects are considered the major consequences of relapse and re‐treatment in patients with autoimmune hepatitis. Our goals were to determine whether relapse is associated with disease progression and whether treatment end points can be refined.

Methods: The outcomes of 132 patients with definite type 1 autoimmune hepatitis who had been treated comparably until remission were assessed retrospectively after drug withdrawal.

Results: Patients who had relapsed repeatedly after initial treatment withdrawal developed cirrhosis more commonly than patients who sustained remission (18/48 vs 1/22, P=0.004), and those who relapsed once (18/48 vs 2/21, P=0.02). Hepatic death or the need for liver transplantation was also more frequent in the patients who had multiple relapses than those who sustained remission (13/64 vs 0/30, P=0.008) and those who relapsed once (13/64 vs 1/38, P=0.02). Patients who sustained their remission had a higher frequency of normal laboratory indices at drug withdrawal than patients who relapsed (88% vs 46%, P=0.003). Adverse outcomes after relapse did not distinguish patients until after 5 years of observation.

Conclusions: Multiple relapses are associated with a poorer prognosis than sustained remission or single relapse episodes. Initial treatment to resolution of laboratory abnormalities may afford the greatest opportunity to prevent relapse.
The Naturalness versus Wildness Debate: Ambiguity, Inconsistency, and Unattainable Objectivity
Authors: Ridder Ben
Published: February 2007

The naturalness versus wildness debate has gained some prominence in recent years and has seen considerable discussion of issues akin to those that have generated such tension between restorationists and preservationists. This debate is hampered by the terms in which it is framed. The primary meaning of both naturalness and wildness relates to the description of processes or behavior that lack human intervention. This enables human activities and artifacts (such as childbirth, food, and medicine) to be rated according to naturalness. However, when the terms are applied to the description of species and ecosystems, process‐oriented definitions are forgotten in favor of historical benchmarks. This can result in serious inconsistencies between those who adhere to the different interpretations, exemplified by the tendency of conservationists to view “naturalness” as being consistent with human intervention in natural processes. The choice of one or the other interpretation is motivated by whether one prioritizes the conservation of biodiversity or minimizing human intervention. There have been claims that naturalness provides an objective measure for assessing biodiversity and calls for value‐laden terms to be avoided. Yet, the values are central, and the best that can be hoped for is that the debate be framed using terms that are more indicative of these underlying values. It is suggested here that naturalness versus wildness be recast as “protecting biodiversity” versus “respect for nature’s autonomy.” Not only do these terms avoid the ambiguities of their forebears but they also expose the debate as the result of slight shifts in value priorities rather than fundamentally opposed worldviews.
Temporal Responses of Propagule Banks during Ecological Restoration in the United Kingdom
Authors: Ghorbani J. , Le Duc M. G. , McAllister H. A. , Pakeman R. J. , Marrs R. H.
Published: February 2007

Successful ecological restoration is expected to be accompanied by change in the propagule bank. We tested for temporal change in the soil propagule bank at two Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)‐infested sites in the United Kingdom (acid grassland and heathland), each with replicate experiments. A combination of bracken control (cutting, spraying, and combinations) and vegetation restoration treatments (seeding, fertilizer, harrowing) were applied. Soil propagule banks were sampled in 1998, 4–5 years after the start, and in 2003 after a further 5 years. We used univariate and multivariate statistical methods to investigate the response of the propagule bank to experimental treatment in space and time. Few effects were found in 1998, but after a further 5 years, the propagule bank size and composition changed significantly, implying that propagule bank development lags behind vegetation development. The effect of treatment on the propagule bank differed within sites. Thus, ecosystem development is occurring at different speeds and directions even in closely adjacent areas. Coupling between the propagule bank and vegetation changed between sampling times with either some new coupling or decoupling. At both sites, the propagule bank contained propagules of the target community and thus propagule bank development during restoration provides increased potential for vegetation recovery. However, it can take a considerable time for management effects to be detected in the propagule bank. Moreover, the effect or speed of effect is spatially variable. Continuing application of restoration treatments is recommended at heathland where there is a deep bracken litter layer.
Mid‐Spring Burning Reduces Spotted Knapweed and Increases Native Grasses during a Michigan Experimental Grassland Establishment
Authors: MacDonald Neil W. , Scull Brian T. , Abella Scott R.
Published: February 2007

Infestations of the exotic perennial Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa Lam.) hinder the restoration and management of native ecosystems on droughty, infertile sites throughout the Midwestern United States. We studied the effects of annual burning on knapweed persistence on degraded, knapweed‐infested gravel mine spoils in western Michigan. Our experiment included 48, 4‐m2 plots seeded to native warm‐season grasses in 1999 using a factorial arrangement of initial herbicide and fertility treatments. Beginning in 2003, we incorporated fire as an additional factor and burned half of the plots in late April or May for 3 years (2003–2005). Burning increased the dominance of warm‐season grasses and decreased both biomass and dominance of knapweed in most years. Burning reduced adult knapweed densities in all 3 years of the study, reduced seedling densities in the first 2 years, and reduced juvenile densities in the last 2 years. Knapweed density and biomass also declined on the unburned plots through time, suggesting that warm‐season grasses may effectively compete with knapweed even in the absence of fire. By the end of the study, mean adult knapweed densities on both burned (0.4‐m2) and unburned (1.3‐m2) plots were reduced to levels where the seeded grasses should persist with normal management, including the use of prescribed fire. These results support the use of carefully timed burning to help establish and maintain fire‐adapted native plant communities on knapweed‐infested sites in the Midwest by substantially reducing knapweed density, biomass, and seedling recruitment and by further shifting the competitive balance toward native warm‐season grasses.
Wintering Shorebird Assemblages and Behavior in Restored Tidal Wetlands in Southern California
Authors: Armitage Anna R. , Jensen Stacey M. , Yoon Joy E. , Ambrose Richard F.
Published: February 2007

Habitat restoration can partially compensate for the extensive loss of coastal wetlands, but creation of functional habitat and assessment of restoration success remain challenging tasks. To evaluate wintering shorebird use of restored coastal wetlands, we quantified shorebird assemblages and behavior of selected focal species at five restored sites and paired reference sites in Mugu Lagoon, southern California, United States. The Shannon–Wiener index of species diversity (for all birds in order Charadriiformes) was higher in the restored than in the reference portion of three of the five sites, higher in the reference portion of a fourth site, and similar between reference and restored areas of the fifth site. Species diversity was lower in sites closer to man‐made structures. The four most abundant species groups across the five sites were selected for detailed analysis of site use and behavior: Willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa), Dowitchers (Limnodromus spp.), and Sandpipers (Calidris spp.) (Western, Least, and Dunlin). Each focal species group exhibited distinct site preferences, and densities in restored sites were often as high or higher than in reference sites. Willets and Dowitchers preferred habitats with more extensive tidal flats, a characteristic of restored sites. Godwits and Sandpipers preferred heterogeneous habitats with a mix of water and tidal flats. Most birds were engaged in feeding activities during the ebb tides surveyed, and there were no apparent differences in behavior between reference and restored sites. Though not all restored sites were used equally by all species, the creation of multiple restored sites with varied habitat characteristics attracted a diverse assemblage of shorebirds and may have contributed to the integrity of the regional wetland landscape.
Experimental Manipulation of Restoration Barriers in Abandoned Eucalypt Plantations
Authors: Cummings Jason , Reid Nick , Davies Ian , Grant Carl
Published: February 2007

Expansion of the nature conservation estate in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, has captured weed‐infested timber plantations amid a mosaic of high conservation value lands. We adopted a state‐and‐transition approach to test the hypothesis that restoration barriers restrict the natural regeneration of native species in Eucalyptus grandis plantations infested by Lantana camara in Bongil Bongil National Park, New South Wales. Plantation tree thinning and weed control were applied in factorial combination at three sites (totaling to 4.5 ha). Topsoil chemistry responses to these interventions were attributable to the “ash bed” effect, with temporary increases in topsoil pHW and nitrate, particularly where canopy reduction was greatest. Other soil changes were minor, indicating that thinning and burning did not risk soil degradation. Plant species richness and functional group representation in the regenerating understorey were improved by the interventions. Regeneration of native potential canopy trees, understorey trees, shrubs and woody climbers, and perennial forbs all increased with canopy retention. Grass cover dominated the regeneration where canopy cover was less than 50%. In the absence of weed control, the cover of introduced shrubs increased with reduction in canopy cover, as did the rate of understorey regeneration generally. These responses indicate that thinning and weed control can reinstate succession, leading to structurally and compositionally diverse forest. Given the abundance of native woody regeneration under retained canopy, the lantana understorey was more important in inhibiting native regeneration. The experimental approach will promote efficient use of resources across the remaining 200 ha of low conservation value plantations in this national park.
MORPHO‐FUNCTIONAL PATTERNS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC KELP LESSONIA NIGRESCENS: EFFECTS OF UV RADIATION ON 14C FIXATION AND PRIMARY PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS1
Authors: Gómez Iván , Orostegui Marcela , Huovinen Pirjo
Published: February 2007

The morpho‐functional patterns of photosynthesis, measured as 14C‐fixation and chl fluorescence of PSII, also as affected by different doses of UV radiation in the laboratory were examined in the South Pacific kelp Lessonia nigrescens Bory of the coast of Valdivia, Chile (40°S). The results indicated the existence of longitudinal thallus profiles in physiological performance. In general, blades exhibited higher rates of carbon fixation and pigmentation as compared with stipes and holdfasts. Light‐independent 14C fixation (LICF) was high in meristematic zones of the blades (3.5 μmol 14C·g−1 fresh weight [FW]·h−1), representing 2%–16% (percentage ratio) of the photosynthetic 14C fixation (20 μmol 14C·g−1 FW·h−1). Exposures to UV radiation indicated that biologically effective UV‐B doses (BEDphotoinhibition300) of 200–400 kJ·m−2 (corresponding to current daily doses measured in Valdivia on cloudless summer days) inhibit photosynthetic 14C fixation of blades by 90%, while LICF was reduced by 70%. The percentage ratio of LICF to photosynthetic 14C fixation increased under UV exposure to 45%. Primary light reactions measured as maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and electron transport rate (ETR) indicated a higher UV susceptibility of blades as compared with stipes and holdfasts: after a 48 h exposure to UV‐B, the decrease in the blades was close to 30%, while in the stipes and holdfasts it was <20%. The existence of translocation of labeled carbon along the blades suggests that growth at the meristem may be powered by nonphotosynthetic processes. A possible functional role of LIFC, such as during reduction of photosynthetic carbon fixation due to enhanced UV radiation, is discussed. These results in general support the idea that the UV‐related responses in Lessonia are integrated in the suite of morpho‐functional adaptations of the alga.