bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comparative study of thulium laser resection of the prostate and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia
Authors: Peng Bo , Wang Guang‐chun , Zheng Jun‐hua , Xia Sheng‐qiang , Geng Jiang , Che Jian‐ping , Yan Yang , Huang Jian‐hua , Xu Yun‐Fei , Yang Bin
Published: October 2012

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Thulium laser is a new generation of surgical laser. It is a minimally invasive technology with several advantages, including rapid vaporization and minimal tissue damage and bleeding. However, details regarding the safety and efficacy of thulium laser in treating BPH remains unknown.

We performed a comparative study in 100 patients with BPH of the safety and efficacy of thulium laser resection of the prostate (TMLRP, n = 50) and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy (TUPKP, n = 50). We found that the efficacy and indications were the same in TMLRP and TUPKP. In TUPKP, the morbidity of urethrostenosis was low, and was nearly bloodless in surgery and had higher safety. Nevertheless, TUPKP is more suitable for patients with larger prostate volume.

Objective

To compare the safety and short‐term efficacy of thulium laser resection of the prostate (TMLRP) and bipolar transurethral plasmakinetic prostatectomy (TUPKP) for the treatment of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Methods

A total of l00 patients diagnosed with BPH were randomly divided into two groups, treated with either TMLRP (50, group 1) or TUPKP (50, group 2).

There was no significant difference in preoperative variables such as age, prostate volume, prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) between the two groups.

The perioperative parameters and therapeutic effects were recorded and compared between the two groups.

Results

There were significant differences in the following parameters between the two groups (TMLRP vs TUPKP [mean ± SD]): operation duration, 61.2 ± 24.2 vs 30.14 ± 15.9 min; catheterization time, 1.8 ± 0.4 vs 3.2 ± 0.6 d; postoperative hospital stay, 3.3 ± 0.8 vs 4.1 ± 1.3 d.

The volume of blood loss and postoperative bladder irrigation were significantly lower in TMLRP group than in the TUPKP group.

At 1 month after the operation, there were four cases of urethral stricture in the TUPKP group.

At 3 months after the operation, IPSS, quality of life (QoL), Qmax and PVR were significantly improved, with no significant difference between the two groups.

Conclusions

TMLRP is superior to TUPKP in terms of safety, blood loss, recovery time and complication rate, and is as efficacious as TUPKP for treating BPH.

Operation duration was significantly longer in the TMLRP group than in the TUPKP group.
Health Technology Assessment in nursing: a literature review
Authors: Ramacciati N.
Published: October 2012

Background

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) approach, which provides scientific support for the decisions taken within the health field, is of increasing importance worldwide. In a context of limited resources, HTA has the potential of being an efficient tool for addressing the sustainability problems and the allocation choices arising from the constant increase in demand.

Aim

This study aims to investigate HTA use in nursing, both in terms of quantifying HTA evaluations of nursing phenomena which have been conducted and in terms of the extent to which nursing has used the HTA approach. The Italian context has been analysed because of the growing diffusion of the HTA in Italy along with the recent developments in the nursing profession.

Methods

A narrative review of international literature was undertaken using the following databases: HTA, PubMed, CINAHL, ILISI.

Results

Seventy evaluation studies on nursing were identified from the HTA database (1.12% of all studies in the database). The areas of nursing intervention and the country of origin of the studies were identified. Two nursing studies on the HTA approach were found in the PubMed, CINAHL and HTA databases. The first focused on the evaluation of nursing technology process and analysed 126 studies in six main thematic areas; the second was a systematic review on HTA in nursing and analysed 192 studies (46 meta‐analyses, 31 Finnish primary studies, 117 international primary studies). Three Italian studies were identified from the ILISI database and Italian grey literature.

Discussion

In the international literature, although analyses regarding the efficacy of nursing interventions have been conducted, there are to date very few research projects that focus exclusively on the HTA process as applied to nursing. The recent development of a standardized nursing language coupled with the open debate as to which research method (qualitative vs. quantitative) best serves to ‘read’ nursing phenomena may explain the scarce diffusion of HTA in the field of nursing.
Preschool children’s interpretation of object‐initial sentences: Neural correlates of their behavioral performance
Authors: Schipke Christine S. , Knoll Lisa J. , Friederici Angela D. , Oberecker Regine
Published: October 2012

The acquisition of the function of case‐marking is a key step in the development of sentence processing for German‐speaking children since case‐marking reveals the relations between sentential arguments. In this study, we investigated the development of the processing of case‐marking and argument structures in children at 3, 4;6 and 6 years of age, as well as its processing in adults. Using EEG, we measured event‐related potentials (ERPs) in response to object‐initial compared to subject‐initial German sentences including transitive verbs and case‐marked noun phrases referring to animate arguments. We also tested children’s behavioral competence in a sentence‐picture matching task. Word order and case‐marking were manipulated in German main clauses. Adults’ behavioral performance was close to perfect and their ERPs revealed a negativity for the processing of the topicalized accusative marked noun phrase (NP1) and no effect for the second NP (NP2) in the object‐initial structure. Children’s behavioral data showed a significant above‐chance outcome in the subject‐initial condition for all age groups, but not for the object‐initial condition. In contrast to adults, the ERPs of 3‐year‐olds showed a positivity at NP1, indicating difficulties in processing the non‐canonical object‐initial structures. Children at the age of 4;6 did not differ in the processing patterns of object‐initial vs. subject‐initial sentences at NP1 but showed a slight positivity at NP2. This positivity at NP2, which implies syntactic integration difficulties, is more pronounced in 6‐year‐olds but is absent in adults. At NP1, however, 6‐year‐olds show the same negativity as adults. In sum, the behavioral and electrophysiological findings demonstrate that children in each age group use different strategies, which are indicative of their developmental stage. While 3‐year‐olds merely detect differences in the two sentence structures without being able to use this information for sentence comprehension, 4;6‐year‐olds proceed to use mainly a word‐order strategy, processing NP1 in both conditions in the same manner, which leads to processing difficulties upon detecting case‐marking cues at NP2. At the age of 6, children are able to use case‐marking cues for comprehension but still show enhanced effort for correct thematic‐role assignment.
Learning without representational change: development of numerical estimation in individuals with Williams syndrome
Authors: Opfer John E. , Martens Marilee A.
Published: October 2012

Experience engenders learning, but not all learning involves representational change. In this paper, we provide a dramatic case study of the distinction between learning and representational change. Specifically, we examined long‐ and short‐term changes in representations of numeric magnitudes by asking individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and typically developing (TD) children to estimate the position of numbers on a number line. As with TD children, accuracy of WS children's numerical estimates improved with age (Experiment 1) and feedback (Experiment 2). Both long‐ and short‐term changes in estimates of WS individuals, however, followed an atypical developmental trajectory: as TD children gained in age and experience, increases in accuracy were accompanied by a logarithmic‐to‐linear shift in estimates of numerical magnitudes, whereas in WS individuals, accuracy increased but logarithmic estimation patterns persisted well into adulthood and after extensive training. These findings suggest that development of numerical estimation in WS is both arrested and atypical.
Visceral fat and metabolic inflammation: the portal theory revisited
Authors: Item F. , Konrad D.
Published: October 2012

Abdominal (central) obesity strongly correlates with (hepatic) insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Among several hypotheses that have been formulated, the ‘portal theory’ proposes that the liver is directly exposed to increasing amounts of free fatty acids and pro‐inflammatory factors released from visceral fat into the portal vein of obese patients, promoting the development of hepatic insulin resistance and liver steatosis. Thus, visceral obesity may be particularly hazardous in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Herein, we will critically review existing evidence for a potential contribution of portally drained free fatty acids and/or cytokines to the development of hepatic insulin resistance.
mTOR signalling: the molecular interface connecting metabolic stress, aging and cardiovascular diseases
Authors: Yang Z. , Ming X‐F.
Published: October 2012

The continuing increase in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic disorders such as type‐II diabetes and an accelerating aging population globally will remain the major contributors to cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in the 21st century. It is well known that aging is highly associated with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Growing evidence also shows that obesity and metabolic diseases accelerate aging process. Studies in experimental animal models demonstrate similarity of metabolic and cardiovascular phenotypes in metabolic diseases and old age, e.g. insulin resistance, oxidative stress, chronic low grade inflammation, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and heart failure, as well as vascular dysfunctions. Despite intensive research, the molecular mechanisms linking metabolic stress, aging, and ultimately cardiovascular diseases are still elusive. Although the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling is a well known regulator of metabolism and lifespan in model organisms, its central role in linking metabolic stress, aging and cardiovascular diseases is recently emerging. In this article, we review the evidence supporting the role of mTOR signalling as a molecular interface connecting metabolic stress, aging and cardiovascular diseases. The therapeutic potentials of targeting mTOR signalling to protect against metabolic and age‐associated cardiovascular diseases are discussed.
Adaptive thermogenesis in human body weight regulation: more of a concept than a measurable entity?
Authors: Dulloo A. G. , Jacquet J. , Montani J‐P. , Schutz Y.
Published: October 2012

According to Lavoisier, ‘Life is combustion’. But to what extent humans adapt to changes in food intake through adaptive thermogenesis – by turning down the rate of heat production during energy deficit (so as to conserve energy) or turning it up during overnutrition (so as to dissipate excess calories) – has been one of the most controversial issues in nutritional sciences over the past 100 years. The debate nowadays is not whether adaptive thermogenesis exists or not, but rather about its quantitative importance in weight homoeostasis and its clinical relevance to the pathogenesis and management of obesity. Such uncertainties are likely to persist in the foreseeable future primarily because of limitations to unobtrusively measure changes in energy expenditure and body composition with high enough accuracy and precision, particularly when even small inter‐individual variations in thermogenesis can, in dynamic systems and over the long term, be important in the determining weight maintenance in some and obesity and weight regain in others. This paper reviews the considerable body of evidence, albeit fragmentary, suggesting the existence of quantitatively important adaptive thermogenesis in several compartments of energy expenditure in response to altered food intake. It then discusses the various limitations that lead to over‐ or underestimations in its assessment, including definitional and semantics, technical and methodological, analytical and statistical. While the role of adaptive thermogenesis in human weight regulation is likely to remain more a concept than a strictly ‘quantifiable’ entity in the foreseeable future, the evolution of this concept continues to fuel exciting hypothesis‐driven mechanistic research which contributes to advance knowledge in human metabolism and which is bound to result in improved strategies for the management of a healthy body weight.
Molecular pathways linking metabolic inflammation and thermogenesis
Authors: Solinas G.
Published: October 2012

Obesity is caused by chronic positive energy balance because of higher energy intake relative to energy expenditure. Thermogenesis, the capacity of an organism to produce heat, is an important component of energy expenditure. Thus targeting the molecular mechanisms controlling thermogenesis could be an effective strategy for the prevention or treatment of obesity. Thermogenesis is modulated by three major factors: environmental temperature, nutrient quantity and quality, and by systemic inflammation. Obesity is now recognized to be a state of chronic low‐grade systemic inflammation, which has been proposed to play a major role in the pathogenesis of obesity and obesity‐associated diseases. This review discussed the molecular pathways that are recruited during metabolic inflammation and that are also implicated in the control of thermogenesis and energy balance. It emerges that the complex signalling network recruited during metabolic inflammation exerts a balanced action on the modulation of thermogenesis and energy balance, with some pathways promoting weight gain whereas other pathways have opposite actions. It is thus concluded that immunomodulation of metabolic inflammation, rather than an anti‐inflammatory intervention aiming at its suppression, may be a more promising strategy to increase thermogenesis for the treatment or prevention of obesity and its associated diseases.
Short‐Term Emergency or Recurring Climatic Extreme: A Rural Town Perspective on Drought Policy and Programs
Authors: Askew Louise E. , Sherval Meg
Published: October 2012

Drought is most often encountered as a long‐running and recurring climatic extreme; one that can have devastating environmental, social and economic impacts. While drought is a routine feature of the Australian climate, the politics of drought are often highly reactive, and drought support programs are notoriously ad hoc and ineffective. In the context of emergent global recognition of climate change, drought has received renewed political attention that presents significant opportunities for change. In this paper, we review the context of drought policy in Australia. Yet we seek to provide a unique contribution to current debates by considering the perspectives of those people at the forefront of drought; in particular, those people living and working in small rural towns in drought‐affected areas. The aim of the paper is to use a case study to present an account of drought policies and programs from those who are the targets of such interventions.
Implementation: Making Hard Work of Something Simple
Authors: Graycar Adam , McCann Bernadette
Published: October 2012

Early in 2012 the Rural Property Addressing Project in South Australia announced that it had substantially met its outcomes, and that the whole of the project was soon to be completed. In 2003, one of the recommendations to cabinet from the South Australian Premier's Bushfire Summit was to endorse the development of a standard property addressing system for rural properties across the state. This was formally endorsed by cabinet, and was a direct response to the fact that essential services such as ambulance, medical and social care were hindered in providing services to the residents of Eyre Peninsula during and after the bushfires.

Overall, this was not a controversial decision, nor was it a huge implementation challenge, yet it took nine years to come into effect. This is a classic case of the tyranny of small decisions.

This article outlines some of the implementation challenges faced by this apparently simple project, and provides some thoughts for implementation challenges of the future. The take‐away message is that if something so comparatively simple was made so complex, how can we adapt our public services to the cross‐cutting challenges of the future?
Co‐production: Option or Obligation?
Authors: Ryan Bill
Published: October 2012

Co‐production is an idea being discussed in the international public management literature but less so in New Zealand and Australia. Co‐production rejects the idea of service delivery to passive users, proposing instead they be treated as active participants in the production of outcomes. As partners in delivery, users bring resources, skills and capabilities to their interactions with providers. Co‐production requires providers to share power and negotiate the interaction. There are strong managerial reasons for adopting co‐production to improve effectiveness and efficiency. But the political reasons for adopting co‐production are even stronger because of trends of many decades towards greater citizen participation. These reasons oblige public managers in Australasia to adopt co‐production in many fields of policy as part of the future.
The Multiple Domains of Harmonisation: Politics, Policy, Process and Program
Authors: Windholz Eric
Published: October 2012

This article builds a taxonomy of the different functions performed by the term ‘harmonisation’ in contemporary policy debates. Four broad functions or domains of use are identified – political, policy, process and program – within each of which there are multiple different uses. Based on this classification, the article then develops a multi‐dimensional conceptual framework through which the term can be better understood and examined, its political uses identified and isolated, and harmonisation initiatives constructed, framed and analysed. The framework should prove useful for Ministers and government departments called upon to determine if, how and to what extent to harmonise regulations in a particular area; regulators called upon to administer and enforce harmonised regulatory regimes; and regulatees, practitioners and academics concerned to understand the impact of a harmonisation task.
Adding Some Context: The Systemic Constraints on Coercion
Authors: Rich Jason
Published: October 2012

The literature has long been searching for the keys to understanding great power coercion. Currently, that literature has focused too narrowly on the coercive demand, failing to recognise that it is actually the end result of a systemically influenced process. This article calls attention to how polarity structures the perceptions and calculations of states. Ultimately, this impacts a sender's ability to project a clear, consistent demand and potent ultimatum as well as the target's calculations for compliance. Thus, if the literature wants to understand fully great power coercion, it is necessary to infuse the systemic context into the discussion.
Effect of different semiochemicals blends on spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)
Authors: Xie Shou‐An , Lv Shu‐Jie
Published: October 2012

The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, is a recent new introduction to the Qilian Mountains of China. An outbreak of these beetles has infested over 0.03 million hectares of spruce forests in this area. Although primary attraction to volatiles has been clearly demonstrated for I. typographus, the existence and role of attraction to insect‐produced pheromones have been widely debated. Currently, commercial lures for I. typographus include only the volatiles ipsdienol, cis‐verbenol, trans‐verbenol, 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol and 2‐phenylethanol in Europe. Several potential pheromone candidates have been identified for I. typographus. Our GC–MS and GC–FID analyses volatiles from hindgut extracts of I. typographus in different attack phases demonstrated that the 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol, ipsdienol, cis‐verbenol and trans‐verbenol as major hindgut components, and ipsenol, 2‐phenylethanol, trans‐ myrtenol and verbenone as minor components. We tested various combinations of semiochemical candidates, to determine an optimal blend. Our results suggest that addition of 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol to either ipsenol alone, or to blends of ipsenol and other semiochemical candidates, significantly enhanced attraction of I. typographus. Therefore, a simple lure consisting of ipsenol and 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol would be an optimal blend of I. typographus in the Qilian Mountains, China. We conclude that this optimal semiochemical blend may provide an effective biological pest control method for use in forest ecosystem against I. typographus.
Epidermolysis Bullosa Pruriginosa: Further Clarification of the Phenotype
Authors: Brick Katherine , Hand Jennifer L. , Frankel Amy S. , Siegel Dawn H. , Thomas Kelly B. , el‐Azhary Rokea , Krol Alfons
Published: October 2012

Abstract: A defect in type VII collagen causes dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). The pruriginosa variant (DEB‐Pr) is unique because its initial presentation may be delayed until adolescence or adulthood, and its predominant feature is scarring and pruritus without the characteristic skin fragility of DEB. We describe three families with multiple affected members in which DEB‐Pr shows an autosomal‐dominant inheritance pattern. All affected individuals were examined, and three previously unreportedCOL7A1mutations were identified.
Quality of Life of Parents Living with a Child Suffering from Atopic Dermatitis Before and After a 3‐Month Treatment with an Emollient
Authors: Gelmetti Carlo , Boralevi Franck , Seité Sophie , Grimalt Ramon , Humbert Philippe , Luger Thomas , Stalder Jean‐Francois , Taïeb Alain , Tennstedt Dominique , Garcia Diaz Rita , Rougier André
Published: October 2012

Abstract:  Atopic dermatitis (AD) can be extremely disabling and may cause psychological problems for affected children and their families. Moisturizers and emollients are important in the baseline daily skin care of patients with AD. To assess the effect of a 3‐month, twice‐daily treatment with an emollient on the quality of life (QoL) of parents with a child with mild to moderate AD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD] ≤30, a multicenter open trial was performed by eight dermatologists on 191 volunteers. Evaluation by the dermatologist of the child’s clinical condition (SCORAD) and of the efficacy and overall safety of the treatment was associated with a QoL questionnaire completed by one parent of the atopic child. A self‐assessment of the global QoL and of the efficacy and overall safety was also performed. During the study, mean SCORAD dropped from 28 to 12 (p < 0.001), with good improvement in skin dryness and pruritus criteria. At the same time, the self‐assessment of the global parent QoL scores dropped from 4.4 to 2.1 (p < 0.001) with 60%, 48% and 79% favorable parent opinions regarding wellbeing or improvement of the health condition, quality of sleep, and efficacy of the emollient, respectively. This trial revealed the efficacy of the product in improving parent QoL (85% of parents noted improvement in QoL), and its global safety was considered to be very good or good, with 80% favorable opinions in parents’ declarative judgements and dermatologists’ assessments. The emollient evaluated improves the course of AD and can improve the QoL of patients and their families.
Social Amplification of Wildfire Risk: The Role of Social Interactions and Information Sources
Authors: Brenkert‐Smith Hannah , Dickinson Katherine L. , Champ Patricia A. , Flores Nicholas
Published: October 2012

Wildfire is a persistent and growing threat across much of the western United States. Understanding how people living in fire‐prone areas perceive this threat is essential to the design of effective risk management policies. Drawing on the social amplification of risk framework, we develop a conceptual model of wildfire risk perceptions that incorporates the social processes that likely shape how individuals in fire‐prone areas come to understand this risk, highlighting the role of information sources and social interactions. We classify information sources as expert or nonexpert, and group social interactions according to two dimensions: formal versus informal, and generic versus fire‐specific. Using survey data from two Colorado counties, we empirically examine how information sources and social interactions relate to the perceived probability and perceived consequences of a wildfire. Our results suggest that social amplification processes play a role in shaping how individuals in this area perceive wildfire risk. A key finding is that both “vertical” (i.e., expert information sources and formal social interactions) and “horizontal” (i.e., nonexpert information and informal interactions) interactions are associated with perceived risk of experiencing a wildfire. We also find evidence of perceived “risk interdependency”—that is, homeowners’ perceptions of risk are higher when vegetation on neighboring properties is perceived to be dense. Incorporating social amplification processes into community‐based wildfire education programs and evaluating these programs’ effectiveness constitutes an area for future inquiry.
Application of Bayesian Networks in Quantitative Risk Assessment of Subsea Blowout Preventer Operations
Authors: Cai Baoping , Liu Yonghong , Liu Zengkai , Tian Xiaojie , Zhang Yanzhen , Ji Renjie
Published: October 2012

This article proposes a methodology for the application of Bayesian networks in conducting quantitative risk assessment of operations in offshore oil and gas industry. The method involves translating a flow chart of operations into the Bayesian network directly. The proposed methodology consists of five steps. First, the flow chart is translated into a Bayesian network. Second, the influencing factors of the network nodes are classified. Third, the Bayesian network for each factor is established. Fourth, the entire Bayesian network model is established. Lastly, the Bayesian network model is analyzed. Subsequently, five categories of influencing factors, namely, human, hardware, software, mechanical, and hydraulic, are modeled and then added to the main Bayesian network. The methodology is demonstrated through the evaluation of a case study that shows the probability of failure on demand in closing subsea ram blowout preventer operations. The results show that mechanical and hydraulic factors have the most important effects on operation safety. Software and hardware factors have almost no influence, whereas human factors are in between. The results of the sensitivity analysis agree with the findings of the quantitative analysis. The three‐axiom‐based analysis partially validates the correctness and rationality of the proposed Bayesian network model.
Kites — new discoveries and a new type
Authors: Kennedy David
Published: October 2012

The stone structures known as kites and found widely in ‘Arabia’, are one of the more intriguing archaeological traces in what are often arid and bleak landscapes. They were first reported from the air in 1927, and by 1995 — largely through interpretation of old aerial photographs — c.500 had been identified. Now (2012), remote‐sensing techniques of various kinds have produced a huge increase, to over 3000. Recent work has also extended the geographical spread of kites in ‘Arabia’, from south‐eastern Turkey and north‐western Iraq to central Yemen. Much detailed work will be required to develop and refine a typology for kites as a whole and to digest and present data from remote sensing on which specialists may build interpretations and explanations. Current tabulation and mapping, however, already reveal patterns, and the discovery of an unusual form in the desert between Damascus and Palmyra in Syria deserves special attention.
The signs that bind: identifying individuals, families and friends in Hismaic inscriptions
Authors: Corbett Glenn J.
Published: October 2012

Among the thousands of Hismaic inscriptions found in the Ḥismā desert of southern Jordan are the signatures of countless authors and artists who carved their names, thoughts and drawings into stone. These signed carvings, which typically give not only the name of the author but also, on occasion, the name of his father, grandfather and even great‐grandfather, provide an extraordinary record of the actual individuals who roamed the desert wadis 2000 years ago. This article, which focuses on a collection of Hismaic inscriptions and drawings from the Wādī Ḥafīr canyon of southern Jordan, illustrates how traditional epigraphic study of these names, combined with aGIS‐based landscape approach, can provide a much clearer picture of not only who was carving the inscriptions and where, but also how the various authors may have been related or acquainted.
Response of ground vegetation and epiphyte diversity to natural age dynamics in a Central European mountain spruce forest
Authors: Dittrich Sebastian , Hauck Markus , Jacob Mascha , Rommerskirchen Andreas , Leuschner Christoph
Published: October 2012

Question

Natural forest age dynamics is often more or less cyclic, with profound temporal changes in stem density and tree size, tree age structure, deadwood frequency and the abundance of canopy gaps. We investigated the response of ground and epiphyte vegetation to the natural forest age dynamics of an old‐growth spruce forest focussing on (1) the influence of stand age‐related shifts in forest structure and related changes in soil conditions on the diversity and composition of plant communities, (2) differences in the species turnover of cryptogamic epiphytes and ground vegetation in relation to forest age development, and (3) the importance of later (advanced) forest development stages for characteristic epiphyte communities.

Location

High‐montane old‐growth spruce forest (Picea abies(L.)Karst.) on Mt. Brocken, Harz Mountains, Germany.

Methods

Five defined forest development stages (regeneration to decay) were investigated with five 100‐m² plots for each stage, in which we studied forest structure, ground vegetation and the epiphytes of living trees and dead trunks.

Results

The ground vegetation did not significantly change across the forest development stages. Epiphyte diversity on dead standing trees markedly increased towards later stages, with the highest diversity in the over‐mature and decay stages. Diversity of epiphytes on lying trunks was highest in early development stages. Trees in decay as well as regeneration stage included a set of characteristic epiphytes, being rare or absent in the other stages.

Conclusions

Deadwood, i.e. trees and lying trunks and their epiphytes, outlast the oldest individuals of the tree layer and are still present in the early stages of the following forest generation. Epiphyte diversity on lying deadwood was higher in young than late forest development stages. Habitat continuity presents a fundamental difference to managed forests; it promotes species with dispersal limitations, which are common among cryptogamic epiphytes.
Signatures of autogenic epiphyte succession for an aspen chronosequence
Authors: Ellis Christopher J. , Ellis Simon C.
Published: October 2012

Question

Is the succession of cryptogamic epiphyte communities (lichens) consistent with autogenic processes and life‐history trade‐offs?

Location

Northern Britain (Scotland).

Methods

We subsampled epiphytes from the lower bole of aspen (Populus tremula L.) and tested for two signatures in community succession. First, we used resampling among microhabitats to estimate species richness (sR) and species density (ρ) for trees along a chronosequence. We tested sR and ρ against patterns consistent with autogenic and life history‐mediated succession. Second, we constructed null model communities from a regional species pool to test for significant dispersion in multivariate trait diversity.

Results

We show that species density (ρ) declined along the tree age chronosequence. This decline was consistent with the observed unimodal pattern in species richness (sR) for a habitat that has a non‐stationary area (increasing lower bole habitat area with tree age). We found under‐dispersed trait diversity for younger trees, tending towards equilibrium between the regional species pool and local community for mid‐ and older‐aged trees. Over‐dispersion was evident for communities with the highest species richness.

Conclusions

We conclude that lichen epiphyte communities undergo succession structured by autogenic processes (interference competition) and may also be structured by life‐history trends, e.g. the competition–colonization trade‐off. However, we suggest that the stochastic extirpation of competitive and dominant species may allow pioneer species to persist in the long term, explaining equilibrium in trait diversity observed for older‐aged trees.
The President's Economy: A Response to Campbell
Authors: Comiskey Michael , Marsh Lawrence C.
Published: October 2012

In this response we reply to Campbell's criticisms of our article in the March 2012 issue of Presidential Studies Quarterly. We demonstrate algebraically that Campbell's preferred model of the economy, which includes a lagged value of the dependent variable, merely disguises the impact of the president on economic performance. We reject his other criticisms and stand by our article.
Distribution of soil moisture and salinity in shelterbelts and its relationship with groundwater level in extreme arid area, northwest of China
Authors: Zhao Xinfeng , Xu Hailiang , Zhang Peng , Bai Yuan
Published: October 2012

Because of the shortage of water source in the extreme arid area, generally, there are several years of no irrigation on mature shelterbelts. In this study, the shelterbelt soil in different texture were compared based on distribution analysis of the soil moisture and salt levels of shelterbelts under large‐scale drip irrigation in Kalamiji Oasis in the lower reaches of Tarim River, Northwest China. The following conclusions were drawn. (1) In Kalamiji Oasis, the groundwater level declined at a rate of 0.5 m/a as a result of popularization of drip irrigation technology. (2) There was a larger heterogeneity in distribution for soil moisture in the sandy/loamy shelterbelt than in the clay shelterbelt. (3) Under non‐irrigation conditions, sandy/loamy shelterbelt has lower soil moisture and salinity, and clay shelterbelt has higher soil moisture and salinity. (4) The shelterbelt with the shallowest groundwater depth had highest soil moisture level, and the shelterbelt with the deepest groundwater level had the lowest soil moisture content. (5) In sandy and loamy shelterbelts, the shelterbelts with the shallowest groundwater depths had the lower salinity levels and the shelterbelts with the deepest groundwater depths had the highest salinity levels. (6) In clay shelterbelts, the shelterbelts with the shallowest groundwater depths had the highest salinity levels, and the shelterbelts with the deepest groundwater depths had the lowest salinity levels. Additionally, it is essential to implement irrigation at least once a year.
Evaluating the input and source of faecal contamination in the cattle farming and forested regions of the Oconee watershed
Authors: Burt Christopher , Bachoon Dave S.
Published: October 2012

Sites along Sugar Creek and the Apalachee River were monitored to compare the water quality in cattle farming regions with the forested regions of the Oconee watershed. Dissolved oxygen (6.68 mg/L) and turbidity [23.91 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)] in Sugar Creek and the Apalachee River were similar. Overall, cattle farming sites along Sugar Creek had higher levels of NO3− and PO4−3 during the summer months. In contrast, the forested sites on the Apalachee River had elevated concentrations of inorganic nutrients only during spring rain events. The concentration of faecal bacteria was greater in the cattle farming areas compared with the level of faecal bacteria in the forested areas, and microbial source tracking with the bovine‐associated Bacteroides (BoBac) DNA marker indicated that cattle were the major source of faecal bacteria in Sugar Creek.
Multisite randomised controlled trial to evaluate polypropylene clips applied to the breech of lambs as an alternative to mulesing. I: effects on body weight, breech bare area measurements and scores, wrinkle scores and faecal and urine staining
Authors: Playford MC , Evans I , Lloyd JB , Lawton P , Rabiee AR , Lean IJ
Published: October 2012

Objective

 To assess the effects of application of occlusive polypropylene clips to lambs on body weight, breech bare area measurements and scores, wrinkle scores, and faecal and urine stain scores.

Procedures

 A randomised controlled trial using 32,028 lambs was conducted on 208 properties across Australia. Polypropylene clips were applied at lamb marking. At each site, 160 lambs were weighed, measured for breech bare area and scored for bare area, wrinkle, dag and urine staining, and skin type and thickness. Lambs were allocated to a control (no clips) or treatment (breech and tail clips) group. Lambs were assessed on days 14 (range 10–19) and 55 (range 34–129) after clip application for body weight, breech bare area measurements and scores. On day 55 the operators also scored wrinkling and urine staining.

Results

 At an average of 55 days after treatment, treated ewe and wether lambs had 16% and 21% greater horizontal bare area measurements, and 31.7% and 32.7% higher bare area scores than control lambs, respectively. The ewes and wether lambs also had lower wrinkle (6.8% and 5.8%, respectively) and dag scores (12% and 12.3%, respectively) than controls. Treated ewes had lower urine stain scores (18.8%) than controls. However, body weight was slightly lower in clip‐treated lambs compared with controls by 0.320 kg (1.2%) and 0.430 kg (1.6%) for ewes and wethers, respectively.

Conclusion

 Polypropylene clips applied to the breech and tail of lambs increased breech bare area and reduced dag, urine and wrinkle scores. Improvements in these measures of factors that predispose to blowfly strike suggest that the application of clips may reduce the risk of breech flystrike.
Multisite randomised controlled trial to evaluate polypropylene clips applied to the breech of lambs as an alternative to mulesing. II: multivariate analysis of relationships between clip treatment and operator, sheep, farm and environmental factors
Authors: Rabiee AR , Playford MC , Evans I , Lindon G , Stevenson M , Lean IJ
Published: October 2012

Objective

A multivariate analysis approach was used to evaluate both the effects of application of occlusive polypropylene clips to the breech on bare area measurements and scores of lambs, and the influence of operator, region, sheep, farm and environmental factors on outcomes.

Procedures

A randomised controlled trial using 32,028 lambs was conducted on 208 commercial wool‐growing properties across Australia. Differences in bare area measurements and scores between groups were estimated and analysed using a mixed model to investigate the effects of operator differences, farm and environmental factors and the interactions among these factors.

Results

Clip‐treated lambs with higher body weight at visit 1 had higher bare area measures and scores, but lower changes in dag and urine scores. Lambs with tight skin showed improved response in bare area scores and measurements after clip treatment, but lambs with a high wrinkle score at visit 1 showed less response to the treatment in their urine, dag and wrinkle and bare area scores. These effects of the clip treatment were not significantly influenced by estimated fleece fibre diameter, operator or region, but were significantly influenced by farm.

Conclusions

The effect of occlusive clips on breech measurements and scores was significantly influenced by body weight, skin type and thickness, wrinkle score and sex of the lamb, but not by region, operator or estimated fibre diameter. The clip treatment significantly improved characteristics that influence the susceptibility of lambs to flystrike under most conditions.
HDR Brachytherapy for Superficial Non‐Melanoma Skin Cancers
Authors: Gauden Ruth , Pracy Martin , Avery Anne‐Marie , Hodgetts Ian , Gauden Stan
Published: October 2012

Introduction

Our initial experience using recommended high dose per fraction skin brachytherapy (BT) treatment schedules, resulted in poor cosmesis. This study aimed to assess in a prospective group of patients the use of Leipzig surface applicators for High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy, for the treatment of small non‐melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) using a protracted treatment schedule.

Method

Treatment was delivered by HDR brachytherapy with Leipzig applicators. 36 Gy, prescribed to between 3 to 4 mm, was given in daily 3 Gy fractions. Acute skin toxicity was evaluated weekly during irradiation using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group criteria. Local response, late skin effects and cosmetic results were monitored at periodic intervals after treatment completion.

Results

From March 2002, 200 patients with 236 lesions were treated. Median follow‐up was 66 months (range 25–121 months). A total of 162 lesions were macroscopic, while in 74 cases, BT was given after resection because of positive microscopic margins. There were 121 lesions that were basal cell carcinomas, and 115 were squamous cell carcinomas. Lesions were located on the head and neck (198), the extremities (26) and trunk (12). Local control was 232/236 (98%). Four patients required further surgery to treat recurrence. Grade 1 acute skin toxicity was detected in 168 treated lesions (71%) and grade 2 in 81 (34%). Cosmesis was good or excellent in 208 cases (88%). Late skin hypopigmentation changes were observed in 13 cases (5.5%).

Conclusion

Delivering 36 Gy over 2 weeks to superficial NMSC using HDR brachytherapy is well tolerated and provides a high local control rate without significant toxicity.
Imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence post liver resection: A pictorial essay
Authors: Kitzing Bjoern , Kitzing Yu Xuan
Published: October 2012

This pictorial essay presents and discusses the imaging findings of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence post liver resection. A broad range of recurrence patterns is reviewed including intrahepatic and extrahepatic recurrences.
Pheasants, buzzards, and trophic cascades
Authors: Lees Alexander C. , Newton Ian , Balmford Andrew
Published: October 2012

The partial recovery of large birds of prey in lowland Britain has reignited conflicts with game managers and prompted a controversial U.K. government proposal to investigate ways of limiting losses to pheasant shooting operations. Yet best estimates are that buzzards are only a minor source of pheasant mortality–road traffic, for example, is far more important. Moreover, because there are often large numbers of nonbreeding buzzards, local control of breeding pairs may simply lead to their replacement by immigrant buzzards. Most significantly, consideration of the complexity of trophic interactions suggests that even if successful, lowering buzzard numbers may directly or indirectly increase the abundance of other medium‐sized predators (such as foxes and corvids) which potentially have much greater impacts on pheasant numbers. To be effective, interventions need to be underpinned by far more rigorous understanding of the dynamics of ecosystems dominated by artificially reared, superabundant nonnative game species.
The wound healing effects of vitamin A eye drops after a corneal alkali burn in rats
Authors: Kim Eun Chul , Kim Tai Kyong , Park Sang Hee , Kim Man Soo
Published: October 2012

Purpose:  We investigated the wound healing effect of retinyl palmitate eyedrops following a corneal alkali burn in rats.

Methods:  A total of 160 Sprague‐Dawley male rats were divided into two groups and central corneas were injured by contacting eyes with filter paper saturated with 0.01 m NaOH for 45 seconds. Vitamin A group was treated with retinyl palmitate and antibiotic (Cravit®: 0.5% levofloxacin) eye drops four times daily for 3 days and the control group with vehicle and antibiotic eye drops. Corneal wound healing by fluorescein staining and impression cytologic analysis were conducted at 0, 24, 48 and 72 hr after injury. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A), thrombospondin 2, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP 9) and transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) were measured in corneas by ELISA, immunofluorescent staining and real‐time PCR.

Results:  Corneal wound healing was better in the vitamin A group than in the control group. Early sprouting of new vessel was observed in the control group at 72 hr, but not in the vitamin A group. Corneal thrombospondin 2 proteins in ELISA were higher in the vitamin A group, but VEGF‐A, MMP 9 and TGF‐β proteins were higher in the control group (p < 0.05). Similarly, thrombospondin 2 immunofluorescent staining was stronger, whereas VEGF‐A, MMP 9 and TGF‐β staining were weaker in the vitamin A group (p < 0.05). In addition, thrombospondin 2 mRNA levels were higher, whereas VEGF‐A, MMP 9 and TGF‐β mRNA levels were lower in the vitamin A group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:  Retinyl palmitate eye drops can inhibit VEGF‐A and activate thrombospondin 2 and improve conjunctival impression cytologic findings. Furthermore, retinyl palmitate eye drops were found to promote corneal healing after an alkali burn in rats.
Interpretation of Multisegment Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Cats (1/2001–1/2011)
Authors: Ybarra W.L. , Johnson L.R. , Drazenovich T.L. , Johnson E.G. , Vernau W.
Published: October 2012

Background

Cytologic results from bronchoscopicBALin cats with naturally occurring respiratory disease have not been reported, and the clinical utility of multisegment lavage has not been evaluated.

Hypothesis

BALcytology from 2 separate lung segments in cats will have similar cell counts, cytologic interpretation, or both.

Animals

Eighty‐seven cases in 85 cats (2 examined twice) with naturally occurring lower respiratory disease.

Methods

A combined prospective/retrospective evaluation of all cats with multisegmentBALwas performed.BALfluid was evaluated for total nucleated cell counts, differential cell counts, and cytologic characteristics at each lavage site.BALfluid was categorized as eosinophilic, neutrophilic, lymphocytic, hypercellular, or mixed. Radiographs were assessed for diffuse or focal disease.

Results

Clinical diagnoses included inflammatory airway disease (n = 63), pneumonia (n = 15), neoplasia (n = 6), and undetermined (n = 3). Total nucleated cell counts varied between sites regardless of radiographic evidence of focal or diffuse radiographic disease. In 28/87 cases (32%), cell counts differed between lavage sites by 2.2–40 fold.BALyielded similar cytologic interpretation of inflammation in 45/87 (52%) cases. In 8/14 cases that hadBALperformed at the site of a focal radiographic infiltrate, as well as at a site of diffuse infiltrates, the same inflammatory interpretation was made at each site.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Total and differential cell counts inBALfluid often differ between lung segments in cats with lower respiratory disease, and caution is warranted when using a singleBALcytology to define the inflammatory response in cats with spontaneously occurring lower respiratory tract disease.