bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hunter selection and long‐term trend (1881–2008) of red deer trophy sizes in Hungary
Authors: Rivrud Inger Maren , Sonkoly Krisztina , Lehoczki Róbert , Csányi Sándor , Storvik Geir Olve , Mysterud Atle
Published: December 2012

Human harvesting has a large impact on natural populations and may cause undesirable life‐history changes. In wild ungulate populations, unrestricted trophy hunting may cause strong selection pressures resulting in evolutionary change towards smaller trophies. It has rarely been tested how harvesting selection varies in space and time, and whether directional hunter selection is sufficiently strong to induce long‐term decreases in trophy size in century‐scale data.

We analysed two unique data sets of harvesting records spanning decade (1973–2008) and century scales (1881–2008) to identify changes in trophy size and how harvesting selection varies in space and time in red deer Cervus elaphus. We contrasted predictions from the trophy‐hunting depletion, the restricted trophy hunting and the hunting pressure hypotheses.

Foreign hunters selected older and larger males than local hunters, but selection patterns for age‐specific trophy size between counties and over time were dynamic. Patterns of red deer trophy size development from exhibitions (representing the ‘upper tail’ of antler sizes) were remarkably similar across Hungary from 1881 to 2008. A weak decline in trophy size between 1881 and 1958 was followed by a strong increase in trophy size between 1958 and 1974, culminating in a period of stable antler tine numbers and a weak decline in beam length until 2008.

We rejected the trophy hunting depletion hypothesis due to the increase in trophy size after a period of decline; patterns were most consistent with the hunting pressure hypothesis. Large increases in trophy size during 1958–1974 were likely due to a relief in hunting pressure due to implementation of strict management regulations allowing stags to grow old after the massive overharvesting during World War II, but we cannot exclude impacts from environmental factors, and that data from trophy exhibitions may underestimate trends.

Synthesis and applications. Trophy hunting does not necessarily lead to a non‐reversible decline in trophy size, even over century‐long time‐scales. To ensure sustainable trophy hunting management, we need to consider factors such as spatial and temporal refuges, compensatory culling, saving stags until prime‐age culmination and higher prices for larger trophies.
Renal morphology assessed by ultrasound in relation to central haemodynamics and body fat
Authors: Wykretowicz Mateusz , Katulska Katarzyna , Krauze Tomasz , Milewska Agata , Przymuszala Dagmara , Piskorski Jaroslaw , Stajgis Marek , Wysocki Henryk
Published: December 2012

There is a correlation between renal function and the morphological characteristics of the kidney. However, little is known about the association between renal morphology and other important predictors of the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as central haemodynamics or body fat. Thus, in the present study we investigated correlations between renal morphology, body fat and central haemodynamics.

Renal morphology and intra‐abdominal and subcutaneous fat were assessed by ultrasound, whereas central haemodynamics were evaluated by pulse wave analysis, in 93 healthy, non‐obese subjects (mean (±SEM) age 52 ± 1 years; 43 men, 50 women).

Significant correlations were found for indices of body fat (waist : hip ratio, body mass index and intra‐abdominal fat) and renal morphology (kidney length, width and volume). Significant inverse correlations were found between central augmentation pressure (cAP) and kidney length (r = −0.33; P = 0.0009), width (r = −0.24; P = 0.01) and volume (r = −0.27; P = 0.007). In addition, significant negative correlations were found between the central augmentation index (cAIx) and kidney length (r = −0.36; P = 0.0003), width (r = −0.29; P = 0.003) and volume (r = −0.33; P = 0.0008). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed independent associations between kidney length and both cAP and cAIx.

In conclusion, common morphometric characteristics of the kidney, as assessed by ultrasound, are associated with measures of body fat and descriptors of central haemodynamics. The relationships demonstrated in the present study indicate that these associations may be a biologically plausible phenomenon.
External Adjustment Sensitivity Analysis for Unmeasured Confounding: An Application to Coronary Stent Outcomes, Pennsylvania 2004–2008
Authors: Huesch Marco D.
Published: December 2012

Background

Assessing the real‐world comparative effectiveness of common interventions is challenged by unmeasured confounding.

Objective

To determine whether the mortality benefit shown for drug‐eluting stents (DES) over bare metal stents (BMS) in observational studies persists after controls for/tests for confounding.

Data Sources/Study Setting

Retrospective observational study involving 38,019 patients, 65 years or older admitted for an index percutaneous coronary intervention receiving DES or BMS in Pennsylvania in 2004–2005 followed up for death through 3 years.

Study Design

Analysis was at the patient level. Mortality was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models allowing for stratification by disease severity or DES use propensity, accounting for clustering of patients. Instrumental variables analysis used lagged physician stent usage to proxy for the focal stent type decision. A method originating in work by Cornfield and others in 1954 and popularized by Greenland in 1996 was used to assess robustness to confounding.

Principal Findings

DES was associated with a significantly lower adjusted risk of death at 3 years in Cox and in instrumented analyses. An implausibly strong hypothetical unobserved confounder would be required to fully explain these results.

Conclusions

Confounding by indication can bias observational studies. No strong evidence of such selection biases was found in the reduced risk of death among elderly patients receiving DES instead of BMS in a Pennsylvanian state‐wide population.
The Relationship between Older Americans Act Title III State Expenditures and Prevalence of Low‐Care Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Thomas Kali S. , Mor Vincent
Published: December 2012

Objective

To test the relationship between older Americans Act (OAA) program expenditures and the prevalence of low‐care residents in nursing homes (NHs).

Data Sources and Collection

Two secondary data sources: State Program Reports (state expenditure data) and NH facility‐level data downloaded from LTCfocUS.org for 16,030 US NHs (2000–2009).

Study Design

Using a two‐way fixed effects model, we examined the relationship between state spending on OAA services and the percentage of low‐care residents in NHs, controlling for facility characteristics, market characteristics, and secular trends.

Principal Findings

Results indicate that increased spending on home‐delivered meals was associated with fewer residents in NHs with low‐care needs.

Conclusions

States that have invested in their community‐based service networks, particularly home‐delivered meal programs, have proportionally fewer low‐care NH residents.
Statement on Matching Language to the Type of Evidence Used in Describing Outcomes Data
Authors:   Editors of the HEART Group Journals
Published: December 2012

There are many different types of studies that can be conducted to provide evidence for clinical and outcomes research, including but not limited to retrospective observational analyses, case–control studies, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Each of these analyses has strengths and limitations, but most importantly, they all result in different types of conclusions about an intervention.
Diet and feeding habits of the small catfish,Clarias liocephalusin wetlands ofWesternUganda
Authors: Yatuha Jane , Kang'ombe Jeremiah , Chapman Lauren
Published: December 2012

Clarias liocephalusis an air‐breathing catfish inhabiting wetland and river systems in East Africa. This catfish is in high demand for sale as live bait in the Nile perch fishery of Lake Victoria and equally important in the diet of local communities in the lake basin. Wetland loss and increasing fishing pressure potentially threaten the persistence ofC. liocephalus; however, little information exists on the ecology of this species to permit evaluation of current threats. This study quantified dietary characteristics ofC. liocephalusfrom heavy and lightly fished wetlands in Western Uganda using numeric, gravimetric and volumetric indices on 492 stomach samples collected over one year.Clarias liocephaluswas significantly smaller in three heavily fished sites, relative to the one in‐park site, likely a reflection of a size‐selective fishery. Across sites,C. liocephaluswas a generalist feeder whose diet was dominated by aquatic dipteran larvae and plant material. The broad niche givesC. liocephalusan ecological advantage to forage effectively on a wide selection of prey. The significant presence of plant material shows that the species may utilize plant protein, an important consideration of diet requirements should the species be selected for aquaculture.
Trauma system development
Authors: Lendrum R. A. , Lockey D. J.
Published: December 2012

The word ‘trauma’ describes the disease entity resulting from physical injury. Trauma is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and deaths due to injury look set to increase. As early as the 1970s, it became evident that centralisation of resources and expertise could reduce the mortality rate from serious injury and that organisation of trauma care delivery into formal systems could improve outcome further. Internationally, trauma systems have evolved in various forms, with widespread reports of mortality and functional outcome benefits when major trauma management is delivered in this way. The management of major trauma in England is currently undergoing significant change. The London Trauma System began operating in April 2010 and others throughout England became operational this year. Similar systems exist internationally and continue to be developed. Anaesthetists have been and continue to be involved with all levels of trauma care delivery, from the provision of pre‐hospital trauma and retrieval teams, through to chronic pain management and rehabilitation of patients back into society. This review examines the international development of major trauma care delivery and the components of a modern trauma system.
Medical emergencies: atrial fibrillation and myocardial infarction
Authors: Somasundaram K. , Ball J.
Published: December 2012

In this, the first of two article on medical emergencies, we discuss the definitions, epidemiology, pathophysiology, acute and chronic management of atrial fibrillation and acute myocardial necrosis in the peri‐operative and intensive care settings.
The principles and conduct of anaesthesia for emergency surgery
Authors: Gray L. D. , Morris C.
Published: December 2012

In this second article we examine the principles underlying delivery of the components of anaesthesia. Topics considered include anaesthetic technique, management of the airway and lung ventilation, induction and maintenance of anaesthesia, patient monitoring including the place of cardiac output devices. We summarise recent research on the management of shock and sepsis syndromes including goal directed therapy and examine some controversies around intravenous fluid therapy. Finally, we discuss intra‐operative awareness and challenges during emergence including peri‐operative cognitive dysfunction.
Randomised clinical trial: symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome are improved by a psycho‐education group intervention
Authors: Labus J. , Gupta A. , Gill H. K. , Posserud I. , Mayer M. , Raeen H. , Bolus R. , Simren M. , Naliboff B. D. , Mayer E. A.
Published: December 2012

Background

Evidence supports the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural approaches in improving the symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Duration, cost and resistance of many patients towards a psychological therapy have limited their acceptance.

Aim

To evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho‐educational intervention on IBS symptoms.

Methods

Sixty‐nine IBS patients (72% female) were randomised to an intervention or a wait‐list control group. The IBS class consisted of education on a biological mind body disease model emphasising self‐efficacy and practical relaxation techniques.

Results

Patients in the intervention showed significant improvement on GI symptom severity, visceral sensitivity, depression and QoL postintervention and most of these gains were maintained at 3‐month follow‐up (Hedge's g = −0.46–0.77). Moderated mediation analyses indicated change in anxiety, visceral sensitivity, QoL and catastrophising due to the intervention had moderate mediation effects (Hedge's g = −0.38 to −0.60) on improvements in GI symptom severity for patients entering the trial with low to average QoL. Also, change in GI symptom severity due to the intervention had moderate mediation effects on improvements in QoL especially in patients with low to average levels of QoL at baseline. Moderated mediation analyses indicated mediation was less effective for patients entering the intervention with high QoL.

Conclusions

A brief psycho‐educational group intervention is efficacious in changing cognitions and fears about the symptoms of the irritable bowel syndrome, and these changes are associated with clinically meaningful improvement in symptoms and quality of life. The intervention seems particularly tailored to patients with low to moderate quality of life baseline levels.
Effects of coumestrol administration to maternal mice during pregnancy and lactation on immunoblogulin A‐secreting cells in mammary glands
Authors: Wang Mengdong , Sugimoto Miki , Ikeda Shuntaro , Kume Shinichi
Published: December 2012

Mortality and morbidity of neonates continue to be major problems in humans and animals, and immunoblogulin A (IgA) provides protection against microbial antigens at mucosal surfaces. The present study was conducted to clarify the effects of coumestrol administration to maternal mice during pregnancy and lactation on IgA antibody‐secreting cells (ASC) in mammary glands in lactating mice. From 6.5 to 16.5 days post coitus and 1 to 13 days post partum (dpp), maternal mice were administered coumestrol at 200 μg/kg body weight/day. Coumestrol administration increased the number of IgA ASC and the messenger RNA expression of IgA C‐region and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 in mammary glands of maternal mice at 14 dpp, but coumestrol administration had no effect on the number of IgA ASC in the ileum. Coumestrol administration increased serum IgA concentration in maternal mice at 14 dpp, but IgA concentrations in serum, stomach contents, intestine and feces of neonatal mice were not affected by treatment. These results imply that coumestrol administration to maternal mice during pregnancy and lactation is effective in increasing the numbers of IgA ASC in mammary glands during lactation owing to the activated messenger RNA expressions of IgA C‐region and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 in mammary gland.
Pharmacological maintenance treatments of opiate addiction
Authors: Bell James
Published: December 2012

For people seeking treatment, the course of heroin addiction tends to be chronic and relapsing, and longer duration of treatment is associated with better outcomes. Heroin addiction is strongly associated with deviant behaviour and crime, and the objectives in treating heroin addiction have been a blend of humane support, rehabilitation, public health intervention and crime control. Reduction in street heroin use is the foundation on which all these outcomes are based. The pharmacological basis of maintenance treatment of dependent individuals is to minimize withdrawal symptoms and attenuate the reinforcing effects of street heroin, leading to reduction or cessation of street heroin use. Opioid maintenance treatment can be moderately effective in suppressing heroin use, although deviations from evidence‐based approaches, particularly the use of suboptimal doses, have meant that treatment as delivered in practice may have resulted in poorer outcomes than predicted by research. Methadone treatment has been ‘programmatic’, with a one‐size‐fits‐all approach that in part reflects the perceived need to impose discipline on deviant individuals. However, differences in pharmacokinetics and in side‐effects mean that many patients do not respond optimally to methadone. Injectable diamorphine (heroin) provides a more reinforcing medication for some ‘nonresponders’ and can be a valuable option in the rehabilitation of demoralized, socially excluded individuals. Buprenorphine, a partial agonist, is a less reinforcing medication with different side‐effects and less risk of overdose. Not only is it a different medication, but also it can be used in a different paradigm of treatment, office‐based opioid treatment, with less structure and offering greater patient autonomy.
Advances in predicting acute GVHD
Authors: Harris Andrew C. , Ferrara James L. M. , Levine John E.
Published: December 2012

Acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) is a leading cause of non‐relapse mortality following allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation. Attempts to improve treatment response in clinically‐established GVHD have not improved overall survival, often due to the increased risk of infectious complications. Alternative approaches to decrease GVHD‐related morbidity and mortality have focused on the ability to predict GVHD prior to clinical manifestation in an effort to provide an opportunity to abort GVHD development, and to gain new insights into GVHD pathophysiology. This review outlines the research efforts to date that have identified clinical and laboratory‐based factors that are predictive of acute GVHD and describes future directions in developing algorithms that will improve the ability to predict the development of clinically relevant GVHD.
Source‐to‐sink analysis of ancient sedimentary systems using a subsurface case study from the Møre‐Trøndelag area of southern Norway: Part 2 – sediment dispersal and forcing mechanisms
Authors: Sømme Tor O. , Jackson Christopher A‐L.
Published: December 2012

The composition, volume and stratigraphic organisation of submarine fan systems deposited along continental margins are expected to reflect the landscape from which the sediment was derived. During the Late Cretaceous, the Møre‐Trøndelag margin, Norwegian North Sea was dominated by the deposition of deep‐marine fines; the emplacement of 11 sand‐rich submarine fan systems occurred only during a c. 3 Myr period in the Turonian‐Coniacian. The systems were fed by sediment that was routed through submarine canyons incised into the basin margin; the canyons are underlain by angular unconformities and are interpreted to have resulted from tectonically induced changes in slope physiography and erosion by gravity flows. The areal extent of the onshore drainage catchments that supplied sediment to the fans has been estimated based on scaling relationships derived from modern source‐to‐sink systems. The results of our study suggest that the Turonian fans were sourced by drainage catchments that were up to ca.3600 km2, extending more than ca.100 km inland from the palaeo‐shoreline. The estimated inboard catchment extent correlates with the innermost structures of a large, long‐lived, basement‐involved, normal fault complex. On the basis of our analysis, we conclude that increased sediment supply to the Turonian fan systems reflects tectonic rejuvenation of the landscape, rather than eustatic sea‐level or climate fluctuations. The duration of fan deposition is thus interpreted to reflect the ‘relaxation time’ of the landscape following tectonic perturbation, and fan system retrogradation and abandonment is interpreted to reflect the eventual depletion of the onshore sediment source. We demonstrate that a better understanding of the stratigraphic variability in deepwater depositional systems can be gained by taking a complete source‐to‐sink view of ancient sediment dispersal systems.
Female‐biased sex ratio shifts in a solitary parasitoid and their effects on virginity, population dynamics, and biological control
Authors: Wogin Michael J. , Gillespie David R. , Haye Tim , Roitberg Bernard D.
Published: December 2012

Mated female parasitic wasps can control the sex of their offspring by controlling which eggs are exposed to sperm. Females that have failed to mate, however, are restricted to producing only male offspring, as all their eggs are unfertilized. We incorporated the effects of these sometimes constrained, sometimes flexible parasitoid sex ratios into a basic Nicholson–Bailey population model. We found that the less common case of an increasing female bias in response to competition can destabilize dynamics and have both positive and negative effects on host suppression. We also incorporated the effects of virginity due to a lack of males into the model. Virginity had stabilizing effects on parasitoid‐host population dynamics, and prevented runaway female bias in a parasitoid population. We found that the changes in host suppression caused by these new behaviours can be either positive or negative, and are highly dependent on the search efficiency of the parasitoid.
A review of mate‐finding Allee effects in insects: from individual behavior to population management
Authors: Fauvergue Xavier
Published: December 2012

Like other animals and plants, insects may find it difficult to survive and reproduce in small populations, to the extent that their long‐term persistence may be jeopardized. The Allee effect is a theoretical framework that formalizes this decrease in survival or reproduction in small populations, and the resulting decrease in population growth and persistence. Mating failure in low‐density populations is likely to generate an Allee effect and, therefore, has a major effect on the functioning of small populations. Here, I review mate‐finding Allee effects in insect species, and their consequences for individual mating success, population dynamics, and population management. I focus, in particular, on the comparison of theoretical expectations with observational data. Several studies have reported some degree of mating failure at low density. However, almost none of the datasets available allow comparison with the predictions of classical mate‐searching models. A few studies at the population level have reported the co‐occurrence of mating failure at low density and a demographic Allee effect, but no study has yet clearly demonstrated a causal relationship between mating failure and lower rates of population growth. Thus, although the theoretical development of management tactics based on Allee effects is considered promising, the current lack of evidence supporting this strategy limits its potential relevance. I call here for a more rigorous approach to the study of mate‐finding Allee effects and propose new approaches for this purpose.
Neuropeptide receptors provide a signalling pathway for trigeminal modulation of olfactory transduction
Authors: Daiber Philipp , Genovese Federica , Schriever Valentin A. , Hummel Thomas , Möhrlen Frank , Frings Stephan
Published: December 2012

The mammalian olfactory epithelium contains olfactory receptor neurons and trigeminal sensory endings. The former mediate odor detection, the latter the detection of irritants. The two apparently parallel chemosensory systems are in reality interdependent in various well‐documented ways. Psychophysical studies have shown that virtually all odorants can act as irritants, and that most irritants have an odor. Thus, the sensory perception of odorants and irritants is based on simultaneous input from the two systems. Moreover, functional interactions between the olfactory system and the trigeminal system exist on both peripheral and central levels. Here we examine the impact of trigeminal stimulation on the odor response of olfactory receptor neurons. Using an odorant with low trigeminal potency (phenylethyl alcohol) and a non‐odorous irritant (CO2), we have explored this interaction in psychophysical experiments with human subjects and in electroolfactogram (EOG) recordings from rats. We have demonstrated that simultaneous activation of the trigeminal system attenuates the perception of odor intensity and distorts the EOG response. On the molecular level, we have identified a route for this cross‐modal interaction. The neuropeptide calcitonin‐gene related peptide (CGRP), which is released from trigeminal sensory fibres upon irritant stimulation, inhibits the odor response of olfactory receptor neurons. CGRP receptors expressed by these neurons mediate this neuromodulatory effect. This study demonstrates a site of trigeminal–olfactory interaction in the periphery. It reveals a pathway for trigeminal impact on olfactory signal processing that influences odor perception.
Determining the adaptive potential of maternal stress
Authors: Sheriff M. J. , Love O. P.
Published: December 2012

Ecological and medical researchers are investing great effort to determine the role of Maternally‐Derived Stress (MDS) as an inducer of phenotypic plasticity in offspring. Many researchers have interpreted phenotypic responses as unavoidable negative outcomes (e.g., small birth weight, high anxiety); however, a biased underestimate of the adaptive potential of MDS‐induced effects is possible if they are not viewed within an ecologically relevant or a life‐history optimization framework. We review the ecological and environmental drivers of MDS, how MDS signals are transferred to offspring, and what responses MDS induces. Results from four free‐living vertebrate systems reveals that although MDS induces seemingly negative investment trade‐offs in offspring, these phenotypic adjustments can be adaptive if they better match the offspring to future environments; however, responses can prove maladaptive if they unreliably predict (i.e., are mismatched to) future environments. Furthermore, MDS‐induced adjustments that may prove maladaptive for individual offspring can still prove adaptive to mothers by reducing current reproductive investment, and benefitting lifetime reproductive success. We suggest that to properly determine the adaptive potential of MDS, researchers must take a broader integrated life‐history perspective, appreciate both the immediate and longer term environmental context, and examine lifetime offspring and maternal fitness.
Resistance, Resilience and Restoration
Authors: Lake Philip S.
Published: December 2012

Disturbances (pulse, press and ramp) constitute a major force influencing, even determining, the structure and functions of ecological components – populations, communities and ecosystems. The capacity to weather a disturbance without loss is defined as resistance, whereas resilience is the capacity to recover from a disturbance after incurring losses, which may be considerable. This article seeks to resolve differences in the ecological definition of resistance and of resilience and to examine the importance of resilience as applied to ecological restoration. In restoration, interventions are designed and implemented with the aim of strengthening the resilience, that is, the capacity to recover, of degraded systems. In response to restorative measures, degraded systems may have both resistance and negative resilience to remain in the degraded state. The key aim of restoration is to overcome the resistance and negative resilience of the degraded state by strengthening positive resilience, the capacity to recover to the intact undegraded state. Restoration may be hindered by a lack of knowledge of acting disturbances (both past and present), of the previous intact condition and of appropriate interventions to implement. Resilience to a disturbance is determined after the disturbance has ceased. Thus, for current ongoing press and ramp disturbances, resilience can be hard to determine.
How phenobarbital revolutionized epilepsy therapy: The story of phenobarbital therapy in epilepsy in the last 100 years
Authors: Yasiry Zeid , Shorvon Simon D.
Published: December 2012

Phenobarbital (phenobarbitone) was first used as an antiepileptic drug 100 years ago, in 1912. This article tells the story of the discovery of its antiepileptic action, its early development, and the subsequent course of its clinical use over the 100‐year period. The side effects, pharmacokinetics, and misuse of barbiturates are considered, along with the more recent clinical trials and the drug’s current clinical utilization. The introduction of controlled drug regulations, the comparative cost of phenobarbital, and its inclusion on the World Health Organization (WHO) essential drug list are discussed. It is one of the few drugs on the formulary in 1912 that is still listed today, and remarkably its efficacy in epilepsy has not been significantly bettered. The current recommendation by the WHO is that phenobarbital should be offered as the first option for therapy for convulsive epilepsy in adults and children if availability can be ensured. This is rated as a strong recommendation because of the proven efficacy and low cost of phenobarbital, and despite its perceived side‐effect profile and the practical problems of access. Whether this recommendation puts “a hierarchy on the brain,” as has been suggested, is arguable. Much still needs to be learned about the drug’s effects, and the issues raised by phenobarbital have lessons for all antiepileptic drug therapy.
Ecological interactions in Aedes species on Reunion Island
Authors: BAGNY BEILHE L. , DELATTE H. , JULIANO S. A. , FONTENILLE D. , QUILICI S.
Published: December 2012

Two invasive, container‐breeding mosquito species, Aedes aegypti (Stegomyia aegypti) and Aedes albopictus (Stegomyia albopicta) (Diptera: Culicidae), have different distribution patterns on Reunion Island. Aedes albopictus occurs in all areas and Ae. aegypti colonizes only some restricted areas already occupied by Ae. albopictus. This study investigates the abiotic and biotic ecological mechanisms that determine the distribution of Aedes species on Reunion Island. Life history traits (duration of immature stages, survivorship, fecundity, estimated finite rate of increase) in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were compared at different temperatures. These fitness measures were characterized in both species in response to competitive interactions among larvae. Aedes aegypti was drastically affected by temperature, performing well only at around 25 °C, at which it achieved its highest survivorship and greatest estimated rate of increase. The narrow distribution of this species in the field on Reunion Island may thus relate to its poor ability to cope with unfavourable temperatures. Aedes aegypti was also more negatively affected by high population densities and to some extent by interactions with Ae. albopictus, particularly in the context of limited food supplies. Aedes albopictus exhibited better population performance across a range of environmental conditions. Its ecological plasticity and its superior competitive ability relative to its congener may further enhance its invasion success on Reunion Island.
Diagnostics différentiels de l’acné du visage sur peau noire
Authors: Poli Florence
Published: December 2012

Le diagnostic d’acné est habituellement facile, certains pièges sont néanmoins àéviter. « L’ acné chéloïdienne de la nuque » et la folliculite de la barbe ne sont pas des acnés au sens propre: ce sont toutes deux des réactions inflammatoires puis fibreuses des follicules porteurs de cheveux et poils crépus, il n’y a pas de lésions rétentionnelles – comédons et microkystes‐ visibles. Les folliculites à gram négatifs surviennent classiquement chez les sujets masculins acnéiques traités de façon prolongée par antibiothérapie générales ou antiseptiques locaux, mais il existe des cas « de novo ». Sur peau noire, cette affection n’est pas exceptionnelle, elle survient dans les deux sexes et prend habituellement la forme nodulaire. Devant toute aggravation d’une acné, résistante au traitement classique, comportant des nodules douloureux des joues, le diagnostic est àévoquer. Le traitement repose sur une antibiothérapie adaptée pendant plusieurs semaines et éventuellement dans un deuxième temps sur l’Isotrétinoïne. Les folliculites pityrosporiques sont localisées principalement sur le tronc. Plus fréquente chez l’homme que chez la femme, elles s’observent sur‐tout chez les sujets vivants en climat chaud et humide. La démodécie se manifeste par des poussées de lésions papuleuses ou papulo‐pustuleuses du visage. Sur peau noire, le principal diagnostic différentiel est l’acné. La présence de nombreux parasites est nécessaire au diagnostic. Cliniquement, un signe important est l’atteinte des paupières. L’Ivermectine est efficace. Une dermatose acnéiforme peut être induite par les préparations dépigmentantes contenant des dermocorticoïdes puissants. Il est donc important, devant une acné très inflammatoire, de rechercher les autres signes cliniques de la dépigmentation volontaire. L’hydradénite du visage et du dos peut être confondue avec une acné nodulaire. En pays d’endémie, il faut penser à la lèpre lépromateuse. D’autres dermatoses courantes peuvent simuler une acné ou bien lui être associées, comme les hidradénomes éruptifs ou les molluscum contagiosum, L’analyse des différentes lésions élémentaires et l’absence de lésions rétentionnelles permet en général de rétablir le diagnostic.
Acne and skin bleaching in Lomé, Togo
Authors: Kombaté Koussake , Mouhari‐Toure Abas , Saka Bayaki , Akakpo Abla Séfako , Maboudou Akouavi , Pitché Palokinam , Tchangaï‐Walla Kissem
Published: December 2012

Objective  This study aims at describing the clinical characteristics of patients with acne using skin bleaching (SB) products.

Patients and methods  This is a prospective study conducted over 8 months in three dermatology departments and one private clinic. All patients examined for acne were included in the study.

Results  The study included 119 patients examined for acne from March to October 2010. Among them 48 (40.7%) did SB. Hydroquinone was the first product used for SB (26 of 48), followed by topical corticosteroids (17 of 48). The elementary lesions were papules (99.2%), comedos (36.1%), pustules (63.9%), pigmentation (26.1%), scars (21%), and nodules (20.2%). The extent of acne on the face was observed in all patients (100%). The lesions were extensive among 43.7% of the patients. The extent of acne lesions was not statistically associated with SB. Other body areas concerned were the chest (20.2%), back, and shoulders (41.2%). The relative risk of having lesions on the back and/or shoulders when the patient practiced SB was 2.71 (CI: 1.08–6.84), which is significant.

Conclusion  The study suggests that the back and shoulders can be the main areas for acne lesions associated with the practice of SB. The influence of different types of product is unclear.
Epidemiological study of fixed drug eruption in Pointe‐Noire
Authors: Ognongo‐Ibiaho A. N. , Atanda H. L.
Published: December 2012

A prospective study was conducted over a 27 month period in order to determine the epidemiological profile of fixed drug eruption (FDE) observed during a dermatological consultation at Pointe‐Noire.  During the study period 54 out of 9,070 persons consulting (0.6%) suffered from clinically diagnosed FDE. The variables studied were: age, sex, medicine and point of sale.  The average age of onset was 30 years.  The frequency of onset was higher in males (38 patients) than in females (16 patients).  The incriminated medicines were: the sulfamides (48 patients) including Cotrimoxazole (45 patients ) and Sulfadoxine and Pyremethamine (3 patients) Coartem® + Doliprane® (1 patient), Chloramphenicol® (1 patient), Amidol® (1 patient), Duocotexin® + Paracetamol® (1 patient), Surquina® (1 patient), Amodiaquine® (1 patient).  The point of sale was illicit (peddlers, markets) for 44 patients; for 10 patients it was a lawful outlet (pharmacies).  This study shows that cotrimoxazole bought at illicit points of sale is the main etiology of FDE in the department, confirming that these medicines are counterfeit. The involvement of dermatologists in the fight against the illicit sale of medicines should be made a priority.
Pruritus in dermatological hospital in Bamako, Mali
Authors: Faye Ousmane , Cisse Lamissa , Berthe Siritio , Dicko Adama , Ndiaye Hawa Thiam , Traore Pierre , Coulibaly Karim , Keita Somita
Published: December 2012

Pruritus is a symptom frequently encountered in dermatology consultations. For practitioners working in a tropical environment, particularly in Africa, the diagnosis of pruritus remains a constant problem. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemioclinical aspects and the etiologies of pruritus encountered at the dermatological hospital in Bamako. We conducted a prospective survey on a cohort of patients attending the Department of Dermatology at the Centre National d’Appui (CNAM‐Ex Institut Marchoux) in the Fight against Disease over a 1‐year period (June 1, 2009–May 31, 2010). Consequently, the study included every patient, whatever their age and gender, that agreed to take part in the survey and whose main reason for attending for a consultation was “pruritus.” The clinical and biological data were entered and analyzed using Epi Info software, version 6.04 fr. A total of 232 patients (163 women, 69 men) attended because of pruritus out of 1761 overall patients (i.e., a prevalence of 13.17%). The mean age of the patients was 33 ± 19 years. Dermatological causes represented 95% of the etiologies. This work allowed us to observe the systemic causes of pruritus in the dermatological environment in Mali and greater likelihood of black women to attend because of pruritus.
Prurit en consultation hospitalière à Bamako, Mali
Authors: Faye Ousmane , Cisse Lamissa , Berthe Siritio , Dicko Adama , Thiam Ndiaye Hawa , Traore Pierre , Coulibaly Karim , Keita Somita
Published: December 2012

Le prurit est un symptôme fréquemment rencontré en consultation dermatologique. Pour le praticien exerçant en milieu tropical, notamment en Afrique, le diagnostic du prurit demeure une problématique constante. Le but de ce travail était de décrire les aspects épidémio‐cliniques et les étiologies du prurit en milieu hospitalier dermatologique à Bamako. Nous avons mené une enquête prospective sur une cohorte de malades consultant dans le service de Dermatologie du Centre National d’Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM‐Ex Institut Marchoux) sur une période d’un an (01/06/2009 au 31/05/2010). Ainsi, ont été inclus dans l’étude, tous malades, quelque soit l’âge et le sexe, acceptant de participer à l’enquête et dont le motif principal de consultation était le « prurit ». Les données cliniques et biologiques ont été saisies et analysées à l’aide du logiciel Epi Info version 6.04 fr. Au total, 232 malades (163 femmes, 69 hommes) ont consulté pour prurit sur 1761 malades consultants, soit une prévalence de 13.17%. L’âge moyen des malades était de 33 ± 19 ans. Les causes dermatologiques représentaient 95% des étiologies. Ce travail nous a permis de noter la rareté des causes systémiques du prurit en milieu dermatologique au Mali et une plus grande susceptibilité de la femme noire à consulter pour prurit.
Informal formalisation in a hybrid property space: The case of smallholder oil palm production in Solomon Islands
Authors: Allen Matthew G.
Published: December 2012

Across post‐colonial Melanesia, the benefits and costs of ‘mobilisation’ of customary land for economic development remain much debated among scholars, activists, policy‐makers and the donor community. This paper presents a case study from Solomon Islands of a hybrid property space in which smallholder oil palm blocks are being established on customary land through an informal ‘smallholder land use approval’ system. This system provides salutary evidence of how customary land can be engaged for commercial agricultural activity without recourse to formalisation. It also potentially provides a more equitable pathway for landowners, especially women and young men, to engage in the oil palm sector, with the only current alternative being the registration and leasing of land directly to the oil palm company. However, enthusiasm for the scheme must be tempered by an explicit awareness of the relationships between land, development and conflict on the island Guadalcanal where the oil palm operation is located. The nascent ‘informal formalisation’ and commercialisation of customary land that is taking place on Guadalcanal is subjected to a conflict analysis informed by both the recent history of violent conflict in the area and comparative experience from the village oil palm sector in neighbouring Papua New Guinea. A number of potential conflict stresses are identified and recommendations made to mitigate them.
Adjusting Treatment Effect Estimates by Post-Stratification in Randomized Experiments
Authors: Miratrix Luke W. , Sekhon Jasjeet S. , Yu Bin
Published: December 2012

Experimenters often use post-stratification to adjust estimates. Post-stratification is akin to blocking, except that the number of treated units in each stratum is a random variable because stratification occurs after treatment assignment. We analyse both post-stratification and blocking under the Neyman–Rubin model and compare the efficiency of these designs. We derive the variances for a post-stratified estimator and a simple difference-in-means estimator under different randomization schemes. Post-stratification is nearly as efficient as blocking: the difference in their variances is of the order of 1/n2, with a constant depending on treatment proportion. Post-stratification is therefore a reasonable alternative to blocking when blocking is not feasible. However, in finite samples, post-stratification can increase variance if the number of strata is large and the strata are poorly chosen. To examine why the estimators’ variances are different, we extend our results by conditioning on the observed number of treated units in each stratum. Conditioning also provides more accurate variance estimates because it takes into account how close (or far) a realized random sample is from a comparable blocked experiment. We then show that the practical substance of our results remains under an infinite population sampling model. Finally, we provide an analysis of an actual experiment to illustrate our analytical results.
Religiosity and Deviance: An Examination of the Moral Community and Antiasceticism Hypotheses Among U.S. Adults
Authors: Sturgis Paul W. , Baller Robert D.
Published: December 2012

Several hypotheses regarding the relationship between religiosity and deviance are examined using data from the geocoded General Social Survey. An inverse relationship between religiosity and several forms of deviance was documented; however the moral community hypothesis, which would predict that the interaction between group‐level religiosity and individual‐level religiosity would be inversely related to deviance, was not supported for any of the forms of deviant behavior examined. Additionally, the antiasceticism hypothesis, which argues that religiosity is more effective at deterring minor rather than serious forms of deviance, is only partially supported by the results of the analysis. The theoretical implications of this line of research, as well as suggestions for future avenues of research, are also discussed.
A Social‐Ecological‐Infrastructural Systems Framework for Interdisciplinary Study of Sustainable City Systems
Authors: Ramaswami Anu , Weible Christopher , Main Deborah , Heikkila Tanya , Siddiki Saba , Duvall Andrew , Pattison Andrew , Bernard Meghan
Published: December 2012

Cities are embedded within larger‐scale engineered infrastructures (e.g., electric power, water supply, and transportation networks) that convey natural resources over large distances for use by people in cities. The sustainability of city systems therefore depends upon complex, cross‐scale interactions between the natural system, the transboundary engineered infrastructures, and the multiple social actors and institutions that govern these infrastructures. These elements, we argue, are best studied in an integrated manner using a novel social‐ecological‐infrastructural systems (SEIS) framework. In the biophysical subsystem, the SEIS framework integrates urban metabolism with life cycle assessment to articulate transboundary infrastructure supply chain water, energy, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprints of cities. These infrastructure footprints make visible multiple resources (water, energy, materials) used directly or indirectly (embodied) to support human activities in cities. They inform cross‐scale and cross‐infrastructure sector strategies for mitigating environmental pollution, public health risks and supply chain risks posed to cities. In the social subsystem, multiple theories drawn from the social sciences explore interactions between three actor categories—individual resource users, infrastructure designers and operators, and policy actors—who interact with each other and with infrastructures to shape cities toward sustainability outcomes. Linking of the two subsystems occurs by integrating concepts, theories, laws, and models across environmental sciences/climatology, infrastructure engineering, industrial ecology, architecture, urban planning, behavioral sciences, public health, and public affairs. Such integration identifies high‐impact leverage points in the urban SEIS. An interdisciplinary SEIS‐based curriculum on sustainable cities is described and evaluated for its efficacy in promoting systems thinking and interdisciplinary vocabulary development, both of which are measures of effective frameworks.
Individual variation in resource use by opossums leading to nested fruit consumption
Authors: Cantor Maurício , Pires Mathias Mistretta , Longo Guilherme Ortigara , Guimarães Paulo Roberto , Setz Eleonore Zulnara Freire
Published: December 2012

Despite recent findings on the ecological relevance of within population diet variation far less attention has been devoted to the role diet variation for ecological services. Seed dispersal is a key ecological service, affecting plant fitness and regeneration based on foraging by fruit‐eating vertebrates. Here we used a network approach, widely used to understand how seed‐dispersal is organized at the species level, to gain insights into the patterns that emerge at the individual‐level. We studied the individual fruit consumption behavior of a South American didelphid Didelphis albiventris, during the cool–dry and warm–wet seasons. In species–species networks the heterogeneity in specialization levels generates patterns such as nestedness and asymmetry. Because generalist populations may be comprised of specialized individuals, we hypo thesized that network structural properties, such as nestedness, should also emerge at the individual level. We detected variation in fruit consumption that was not related to resource availability, ontogenetic or sexual factors or sampling biases. Such variation resulted in the structural patterns often found in species–species seed‐dispersal networks: low connectance, a high degree of nestedness and the absence of modules. Moreover structure varied between the warm–wet and cool–dry seasons, presumably as a consequence of seasonal fluctuation in fruit availability. Our findings suggest individuals may differ in selectivity causing asymmetries in seed dispersal efficiency within the population. In this sense the realized dispersal would differ from the expected dispersal estimated from their average dispersal potential. Additionally the results suggest possible frequency‐dependent effects on seed dispersal that might affect individual plant performance and plant community composition.