bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Linear growth in early life is associated with suicidal ideation in 18‐year‐old Filipinos
Authors: Cheung Yin Bun , Ashorn Per
Published: April 2009

Studies in Western societies have shown some evidence that growth in early life may be associated with suicide and suicidal ideation in later life. The pattern of growth retardation in developing countries is different from that in Western societies. This study examines the association between size at birth, postnatal growth from birth to age 24 months and suicidal ideation in 18‐year‐old Filipinos. The 1941 participants born in 1983 and 1984 in the Philippines were assessed for growth status bimonthly from birth to 24 months of age and were administered an interview in 2002, which included items on suicidal ideation.

The pattern of growth stunting in this cohort was similar to that in many other developing countries: a minor level of shortness in crown‐heel length at birth followed by sharp decline in length‐for‐age in the first 24 months of life. The prevalence of suicidal ideation at age 18 was 2.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2, 3.8%. Length Z‐score at 24 months (odds ratios [OR] = 0.67; 95% CI [0.52, 0.86]; P = 0.002) and gain in length Z‐score from birth to age 24 months (OR = 0.74; 95% CI [0.56, 0.98]; P = 0.037) were inversely associated with the odds of suicidal ideation. Adjustment for covariates made little difference. Length at birth Z‐score was associated with suicidal ideation only after adjustment for postnatal length gain (OR = 0.61; 95% CI [0.46, 0.80]; P < 0.001). The associations between linear growth in early life and suicidal ideation appeared to be partly mediated by educational attainment. In conclusion, postnatal growth stunting is an important predictor of suicidal ideation in later life. It also affects the association between birth length and suicidal ideation.
Climate‐induced sediment‐palaeosol cycles in a Late Cretaceous dry aeolian sand sheet: Marília Formation (North‐West Bauru Basin, Brazil)
Authors: BASILICI GIORGIO , DAL BÓ PATRICK FRANCISCO FÜHR , LADEIRA FRANCISCO SÉRGIO BERNARDES
Published: April 2009

Aeolian sand sheets, which are characterized by low relief surfaces that lack dunes, are common in arid and semi‐arid climatic settings. The surface of an aeolian sand sheet can either be stable and subject to pedogenetic effects, or unstable such that it is affected by deflation or sedimentation. The Marília Formation (Late Cretaceous) may be interpreted as an ancient aeolian sand sheet area, where alternating phases of stability and instability of the accumulation surface have been recorded. Detailed field studies were carried out in several sections of the Marília Formation, where cyclic alternations of palaeosols and aeolian deposits were evident, using palaeopedological and facies analysis methods, supported in the laboratory by the analysis of rock samples, cut and polished in slabs, thin sections, scanning electron microscope images and X‐ray diffraction data from the clay minerals. The deposits comprise three lithofacies that, in order of abundance, are characterized by: (i) translatent wind‐ripple strata; (ii) flood deposits; and (iii) ephemeral river channel deposits. Palaeosols constitute, on average, 65% of the vertical succession. Three types of palaeosols (pedotypes) are recognized: (i) Aridisols; (ii) Entisols; and (iii) Vertisols. Erosional surfaces due to aeolian deflation divide the top of the palaeosol profiles from the overlying aeolian deposits. The palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the deposits and the palaeosols allows the depositional system of the Marília Formation to be defined as a flat area, dominated by aeolian sedimentation, with subordinate ephemeral river sedimentation, and characterized by a dry climatic setting with occasional rainfall. The climate is the main forcing factor controlling the alternation between episodes of active sedimentation and periods of palaeosol development. A climate‐controlled model is proposed in which: (i) the palaeosols are indicative of a stable surface that is developed during the more humid climatic phases; and (ii) the erosional surfaces and the overlying aeolian sediments attest to periods of deflation and subsequent sedimentation, thereby increasing the availability of sediment during the drier climatic phases. The ephemeral fluvial deposits mark the more humid climatic conditions and contribute to the lagged sediment influx caused during the drier periods by the erosion of previously stored sediment.
Fine particle deposition to initially starved, stationary, planar beds
Authors: HAMM NATHAN T. , DADE W. BRIAN , RENSHAW CARL E.
Published: April 2009

Reported here are results from new flume experiments examining deposition and entrainment of inert, silt‐sized particles (with spherical diameters in the range from 20 to 60 μm) to and from planar, impermeable and initially starved beds underlying channel flows. Bed surfaces comprised smooth or fixed sand‐size granular roughness and provided hydraulically smooth to transitionally rough boundaries. Results of these experiments were analysed with a simple model that describes the evolution of vertically averaged concentration of suspended sediment and accommodates the simultaneous delivery to and entrainment of grains from the bed. The rate of particle arrival to a bed diminishes linearly, and the rate of particle entrainment increases by the 5/2 power, as the value of the dimensionless Saffman parameterS = u*3/g’νapproaches a threshold value of order unity, whereuis the conventional friction velocity of the turbulent channel flow,g’is the acceleration due to gravity adjusted for the submerged buoyancy of individual particles andνis the kinematic viscosity of the transporting fluid. This transport behaviour is consistent with the notion that non‐cohesive, silt‐sized particles can neither reach nor remain on an impermeable bed under flow conditions where mean lift imposed on stationary particles in the viscous sublayer equals or exceeds the submerged weight of individual particles. Within the size range of particles used in these experiments, particle size and the characteristic size of granular roughness, up to that of medium sand, did not affect rates of dimensionless arrival or entrainment to a significant degree. Instead, a new but consistent picture of fine‐particle transport is emerging. Silt‐sized material, at least, is subject to potentially significant interaction with the bed during intermittent suspension transport at intermediate flow speeds greater than the value required for initiation of transport (ca 20 cm sec−1) but less than the value (ca 50 cm sec−1) required by the Saffman criterion ensuring transport in fully passive suspension or, equivalently, ‘wash‐load’.
The preservation potential of ash layers in the deep‐sea: the example of the 1991‐Pinatubo ash in the South China Sea
Authors: WETZEL ANDREAS
Published: April 2009

Following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on 15 June 1991, volcanic ash was transported westward to the South China Sea in an atmospheric plume, falling out and settling to the sea floor within days and forming an up to 10 cm thick layer on an area >400 000 km2. Immediately after deposition, surviving deep‐burrowing animals re‐opened their connection to the sea floor to obtain water for respiration and/or food take‐up. Later, small‐sized meiofauna and then macrofauna re‐colonized the sea floor, mixing newly deposited organic fluff with the underlying ash. Consequently, ash deposits thinner than 1 mm have not often been observed as a continuous layer when cored six years after the eruption, while ash about 2 mm thick is now patchily bioturbated. In areas covered by ash thicker than 5 mm, mixing by benthic animals is controlled mainly by the adaptation of the burrowing fauna to variations in grain‐size, the rate of background sedimentation, the availability of benthic food on and within the sediment and pore water oxygen levels. With respect to these factors, four provinces can be distinguished: (i) Along the Philippines margin run‐off from land fuels primary production that, in turn, leads to a high benthic food content. The benthic fauna is adapted to a variable grain‐size and rapid sedimentation. Therefore, mixing is intense and the preservation potential of the ash layer is low. (ii) In areas affected by deposition of hyperpycnites and turbidites, i.e. in canyons in front of river mouths and in the Manila Trench, the ash layer is preserved due to rapid burial. (iii) The area to the west to about 116° E receives low amounts of benthic food, benthic mixing is less intense and the preservation potential of the ash is high. (iv) The central South China Sea, where the ash is thinner than 3 cm, is affected by intense wind mixing and upwelling and the benthic food content is high; thus, the chance that the ash will be preserved as a sharp‐based layer is low. Consequently, the style of ash preservation has palaeo‐environmental significance. Older buried and burrowed event layers provide further information to elucidate the fate of the 1991 Pinatubo ash layer; in general their appearance fits with observations in the Recent.
The spectrum of ABCC8 mutations in Norwegian patients with congenital hyperinsulinism of infancy
Authors: Sandal T , Laborie LB , Brusgaard K , Eide SÅ , Christesen HBT , Søvik O , Njølstad PR , Molven A
Published: April 2009

Potassium channels in the plasma membrane of the pancreatic beta cells are critical in maintaining glucose homeostasis by responding to ATP and coupling metabolic changes to insulin secretion. These channels consist of subunits denoted the sulfonylurea receptor SUR1 and the inwardly rectifying ion channel KIR6.2, which are encoded by the genes ABCC8 and KCNJ11, respectively. Activating mutations in the subunit genes can result in monogenic diabetes, whereas inactivating mutations are the most common cause of congenital hyperinsulinism of infancy (CHI). Twenty‐six Norwegian probands with CHI were analyzed for alterations in ABCC8 and KCNJ11. Fifteen probands (58%) had mutations in the ABCC8 gene. Nine patients were homozygous or compound heterozygous for the mutations, indicating diffuse pancreatic disease. In five patients, heterozygous and paternally inherited mutations were found, suggesting focal disease. One patient had a de novo mutation likely to cause a milder, dominant form of CHI. Altogether, 16 different ABCC8 mutations (including the novel alterations W231R, C267X, IVS6‐3C>G, I462V, Q917X and T1531A) were identified. The mutations IVS10+1G>T, R1493W and V21D occurred in five, three and two families, respectively. KCNJ11 mutations were not found in any patients. Based on our mutation screening, we estimate the minimum birth prevalence of ABCC8‐CHI in Norway to 1:70,000 during the past decade. Our results considerably extend the knowledge of the molecular genetics behind CHI in Scandinavia.
Association of TIM4 promoter polymorphism −1419G>A with childhood asthma in a Chinese Han population
Authors: Cai P. C. , Hu L. H. , Cui T. P. , Li Y. R. , Chen F. H. , Wu Q. W.
Published: April 2009

TIM4, which is expressed on dendritic cells and macrophages, plays an important role in the proliferation of T helper type 2 (Th2) cells. Asthma, as a complex genetic disease, is thought to arise from the development of a Th2‐lymphocyte‐predominant immune response. To evaluate the effects of the promoter polymorphisms (‐1419G>A and ‐1609G>A) in TIM4 on asthma susceptibility, case‐control and family‐based association studies were conducted by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Our results showed that TIM4 ‐1419G>A polymorphism was associated with asthma susceptibility in our study population (χ2= 9.88, P < 0.001, OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.37–2.64). The ‐1419A/A and ‐1419A/G genotypes were observed more common in asthmatic group (6.3%, 41.8%) than in control group (1.7%, 29.3%). No significant difference was found in genotype and allele frequencies of TIM4 ‐1619G>A polymorphism between asthmatic and control groups. No association between the two SNPs and total serum IgE levels, lung function was observed. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that TIM4 ‐1419G>A polymorphism might be the genetic factor for the risk of childhood asthma in Chinese Han population.
Distribution of KIR genes in the Iranian population
Authors: Tajik N. , Shahsavar F. , Mousavi T. , Radjabzadeh M. F.
Published: April 2009

Killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR) are a family of inhibitory and activating receptors that are expressed mainly by natural killer cells. The KIR gene family is highly polymorphic, and its genomic diversity is achieved through differences in gene content as well as allelic polymorphism. The number of KIR loci has been reported to be various among individuals and therefore resulting in different KIR haplotypes. This study represents the first report on the distribution of 17 presently defined KIR genes and pseudogenes in the Iranian population. In our study, 200 unrelated healthy individuals were KIR typed by a novel polymerase chain reaction–sequence‐specific primers genotyping assay, and Iranian KIR genes distribution was compared with other ethnic groups. Over all, twenty‐six different genotype profiles were found in our population and all KIR genes were observed. The most frequent non‐framework KIR genes detected in our population were KIR2DL1 (96.5%), KIR3DL1 (91.5%), KIR2DS4 (91.5%) and the pseudogene KIR2DP1 (96.5%). The most commonly observed KIR genotype in Iranian population with a frequency of 27.5% consisted of KIR2DL1, KIR2DL3, KIR2DL4, KIR3DL1, KIR3DL2, KIR3DL3 and KIR2DS4 genes and the pseudogenes KIR2DP1 and KIR3DP1, which was compatible with a homozygote group‐A haplotype. In addition, we found a new genotype (KIR2DL2, KIR2DL4, KIR2DL5, KIR3DL2, KIR3DL3, KIR2DS2, KIR2DS3, KIR2DS5, KIR3DS1 and KIR3DP1) in our samples. The results show that distribution of KIR genes in the Iranian population has common general features with the Caucasian populations studied before but still with unique, decreased or increased frequencies of several loci.
A diffusion‐based approach to stochastic individual growth and energy budget, with consequences to life‐history optimization and population dynamics
Authors: FILIN I.
Published: April 2009

Using diffusion processes, I model stochastic individual growth, given exogenous hazards and starvation risk. By maximizing survival to final size, optimal life histories (e.g. switching size for habitat/dietary shift) are determined by two ratios: mean growth rate over growth variance (diffusion coefficient) and mortality rate over mean growth rate; all are size dependent. For example, switching size decreases with either ratio, if both are positive. I provide examples and compare with previous work on risk‐sensitive foraging and the energy–predation trade‐off. I then decompose individual size into reversibly and irreversibly growing components, e.g. reserves and structure. I provide a general expression for optimal structural growth, when reserves grow stochastically. I conclude that increased growth variance of reserves delays structural growth (raises threshold size for its commencement) but may eventually lead to larger structures. The effect depends on whether the structural trait is related to foraging or defence. Implications for population dynamics are discussed.
Spatial and genetic structure of host‐associated differentiation in the parasitoid Copidosoma gelechiae
Authors: KOLACZAN C. R. , HEARD S. B. , SEGRAVES K. A. , ALTHOFF D. M. , NASON J. D.
Published: April 2009

Host‐associated differentiation (HAD) appears to be an important driver of diversification in the hyperdiverse phytophagous and parasitoid insects. The gallmaking moth Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis has undergone HAD on two sympatric goldenrods (Solidago), and HAD has also been documented in its parasitoid Copidosoma gelechiae, with the intriguing suggestion that differentiation has proceeded independently in multiple populations. We tested this suggestion with analysis of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers for C. gelechiae collections from the midwestern and northeastern United States and eastern Canada. AFLP data were consistent with the existence of HAD, with between‐host FST significant before Bonferroni correction in two of seven sympatric populations. amova analysis strongly rejected a model of HAD with a single historical origin, and thus supported the repeated‐HAD hypothesis. Copidosoma gelechiae shows significant host‐associated divergence at a number of allozyme loci (Stireman et al., 2006), but only weak evidence via AFLPs for genome‐wide differentiation, suggesting that this species is at a very early stage of HAD.
Is the peacock’s train an honest signal of genetic quality at the major histocompatibility complex?
Authors: HALE M. L. , VERDUIJN M. H. , MØLLER A. P. , WOLFF K. , PETRIE M.
Published: April 2009

Peacocks are a classic example of sexual selection, where females preferentially mate with males who have longer, more elaborate trains. One of the central hypotheses of sexual selection theory is that large or elaborate male ‘ornaments’ may signal high genetic quality (good genes). Good genes are thought to be those associated with disease resistance and as diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has been shown to equate to superior immune responses, we test whether the peacock’s train reveals genetic diversity at the MHC. We demonstrate via a captive breeding experiment that train length of adult males reflects genetic diversity at the MHC while controlling for genome‐wide diversity and that peahens lay more, and larger, eggs for males with a more diverse MHC, but not for males with longer trains. Our results suggest that females are assessing and responding to male quality in terms of MHC diversity, but this assessment does not appear to be via train length, despite the fact that train length reflects MHC diversity.
Turbulence‐plankton interactions: a new cartoon
Authors: Jumars Peter A. , Trowbridge John H. , Boss Emmanuel , Karp‐Boss Lee
Published: April 2009

Climate change redistributes turbulence in both space and time, adding urgency to understanding of turbulence effects. Many analytic and analog models used to simulate and assess effects of turbulence on plankton rely on simple Couette flow. There shear rates are constant and spatially uniform, and hence so is vorticity. Over the last decade, however, turbulence research within fluid dynamics has focused on the structure of dissipative vortices in space and time. Vorticity gradients, finite net diffusion of vorticity and small radii of curvature of streamlines are ubiquitous features of turbulent vortices at dissipation scales but are explicitly excluded from simple, steady Couette flows. All of these flow components contribute instabilities that cause rotation of particles and so are important to simulate in future laboratory devices designed to assess effects of turbulence on nutrient uptake, particle coagulation, motility and predator‐prey encounter in the plankton. The Burgers vortex retains these signature features of turbulence and provides a simplified “cartoon” of vortex structure and dynamics that nevertheless obeys the Navier‐Stokes equations. Moreover, this idealization closely resembles many dissipative vortices observed in both the laboratory and the field as well as in direct numerical simulations of turbulence. It is simple enough to allow both simulation in numerical models and fabrication of analog devices that selectively reproduce its features. Exercise of such numerical and analog models promises additional insights into mechanisms of turbulence effects on passive trajectories and local accumulations of both living and nonliving particles, into solute exchange with living and nonliving particles and into more subtle influences on sensory processes and swimming trajectories of plankton, including demersal organisms and settling larvae in turbulent bottom boundary layers. The literature on biological consequences of vortical turbulence has focused primarily on the smallest, Kolmogorov‐scale vortices of length scale η. Theoretical dissipation spectra and direct numerical simulation, however, indicate that typical dissipative vortices with radii of 7η to 8η, peak azimuthal speeds of order 1 cm s−1 and lifetimes of order 10 s or longer (and much longer for moderate pelagic turbulence intensities) deserve new attention in studies of biological effects of turbulence.
Defining exclusive breastfeeding in Australia
Authors: Binns Colin W , Fraser Michelle L , Lee Andy H , Scott Jane
Published: April 2009

Abstract:  Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life is recommended as the optimal way to feed infants. This paper reviews the measurement of exclusive breastfeeding in Australian studies over the past 10 years. Only half the studies identified that claimed to measure exclusive breastfeeding used a definition consistent with the World Health Organisation. Three studies used 24‐h or 7‐day recall indicators that have been shown to produce overestimations of the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding. Measurement of exclusive breastfeeding with a valid and consistent definition is vital for monitoring rates and trends, for comparison between different studies and countries and to reach conclusions on various health benefits. Any future measurement of exclusive breastfeeding in Australia should use the World Health Organisation definition and the 24 h recall study design should not be used for this purpose.
Admission of all gestations to a regional neonatal unit versus controls: Neonatal morbidity
Authors: Darlow Brian A , Mogridge Nina , Horwood L John , Wynn‐Williams M Beth , Austin Nicola C
Published: April 2009

Aims:  To describe the neonatal course and morbidity of all infants admitted to the regional neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Christchurch Women's Hospital (CWH) and to compare these with term control infants who were not admitted, in one calendar year. Infants in both NICU and control cohorts were enrolled in a 2‐year follow‐up study.

Methods:  All infants born over a 12‐month period from February 2001 and admitted to the NICU, whose parents were domiciled in a defined geographical region, were eligible for study, together with every eighth healthy infant born at term and not admitted (to a total of 300). Comprehensive perinatal and neonatal data were collected for all enrolled infants.

Results:  A total of 387 NICU infants (86% eligible) were enrolled in the study together with 306 controls. Forty‐one percent of NICU admissions were term and 40% were 33–36 weeks gestation. Term NICU infants were more likely to be born following induction of labour or by Caesarean section (34%, of which 50% were pre‐labour) than control infants (18%, of which 32% were pre‐labour). Infants of <28, 28–32, 33–36 and ≥37 weeks accounted for 74, 16, 7 and 3% of assisted ventilation days and 18, 31, 31 and 20% of total baby days, respectively.

Conclusions:  The need for assisted ventilation and length of NICU stay was inversely proportional to gestation. However, preterm infants of 28 weeks gestation and greater, as well as term infants, account for a high proportion of the NICU workload.
Understanding nurses' psychosomatic complications that relate to the practice of nursing
Authors: Gouva Mary , Mantzoukas Stefanos , Mitona Eleni , Damigos Dimitrios
Published: April 2009

The literature acknowledges that nursing practice can create physical and emotional stresses for its practitioners. This study aimed to acquire an in‐depth understanding of being a nurse in the Greek National Health System. Interpretive phenomenology was used and Van Manen's method of analysis was implemented. Conversational interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of nine nurses employed at the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece. The findings produced three essential themes: a dissonance between the images and reality of nursing, emotional burnout, and psychosomatic entanglement. The dissonance between the idealization of nursing and the reality of nursing, along with the emotional crisis created by daily practice, constituted the two fundamental factors for developing psychosomatic complications. These impacted negatively on the participants' personal and professional well‐being. Psychosomatic complications can be prevented by clearly delineating roles, enabling collaboration between education and practice, developing mentorship programs, and using reflection in practice.
Stage I seminoma: What should a practicing uro‐oncologist do in 2009?
Authors: Skliarenko Julia , Vesprini Danny , Warde Padraig
Published: April 2009

Testicular tumors are uncommon, but they continue to represent an important group of malignancies in young men. It is the most common solid malignancy in males between the ages of 20 and 35, and primary germ cell tumors are the most common histological type. In the United States in 2008, approximately 4800 cases of seminoma, approximately 4100 of which were stage I disease were projected after the completion of staging investigations.

Remarkable progress has been made in the treatment of testicular seminoma over the past 25 years. Management options of stage I seminoma include radiotherapy, surveillance, or adjuvant chemotherapy. Standard management until recent years has been adjuvant retroperitoneal radiotherapy. Although providing excellent long term results, this approach has been associated with increased risk of gonadal toxicity, development of secondary malignancies and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The use of surveillance in management of patients with stage I seminoma is therefore becoming more frequent as it minimizes the burden of treatment and maintains the cure rate at virtually 100%. Adjuvant chemotherapy using Carboplatin has been investigated as an alternative management approach. However, the long term outcomes of patients managed with Carboplatin are not yet clear and this strategy should only be used in a study setting. It has been suggested that more patients with stage I seminoma will die of their treatment than of their cancer; therefore, the thrust of modern management should be to maintain 100% cure while minimizing the burden of treatment.
2009 update on the classification of renal epithelial tumors in adults
Authors: Lopez‐Beltran Antonio , Carrasco Jose C , Cheng Liang , Scarpelli Marina , Kirkali Ziya , Montironi Rodolfo
Published: April 2009

The classification of kidney tumors in adults expands rapidly with new categories recently incorporated. This will result in the modification of the current 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of the adult renal epithelial neoplasms. Emphasis should be placed in defining risk groups categorized as malignant or benign tumors, including a category of tumors with low malignant potential to accommodate recently recognized categories with extremely good prognosis after surgery. Unusual tumors such as familial renal cell carcinoma (RCC), translocation RCC, renal cell carcinoma after neuroblastoma, tubular mucinous and spindle cell carcinoma, and mixed epithelial and stromal tumors are also presented. A number of recently described entities and morphologic variants of classical categories deserve recognition since they can be important in differential diagnosis. This review emphasizes clinical, pathological and genetic features defining renal epithelial tumors in adults.
Restoring the banks of the Namoi on ‘Kilmarnock’: Success arising from persistence
Authors: Watson Robyn
Published: April 2009

Summary  This is the story of one landholder's 20‐year effort to restore riparian vegetation to 35 km of the Namoi River in inland New South Wales, Australia. Decades of clearing, grazing and weed invasion had degraded the river to the extent that the banks were slumping during floods, with loss of old trees. Methods of willow control and revegetation are described to help guide landholders with similar problems and offer potential solutions. Most of the banks involved in the project are now stabilized by native trees, shrubs and grasses; wildlife is increasing; and water quality is improving. A small local Landcare group started in the early 1990s, and is now undertaking similar work on seven other properties. A state government initiative has also been developed in the area, and a 120‐km Demonstration Reach has now been established on the Namoi River between Narrabri and Boggabri.
Measuring connectivity patterns in a macro‐corridor on the south coast of Western Australia
Authors: Dunn Adam G. , Majer Jonathan D.
Published: April 2009

Summary  Portions of the south coast of Western Australia are recognized as environmentally valuable because of high levels of biodiversity, but are at risk due to continued anthropogenic influences, particularly in the form of fragmentation and habitat loss. Corridors of habitat, either continuous or stepping‐stone, are deemed to be valuable for the maintenance and increase of biodiversity in the region. Here we apply a series of betweenness centrality analyses to quantify the connectivity in the region. The method we describe here is an extended application of the betweenness centrality measure, which is a measure of spatial connectivity that is applied to fragmented landscapes. The method is used for significant corridors between the Stirling Ranges and the Fitzgerald River National Park to identify a series of locations that are important to the connectivity in this region and thus may provide effective locations for restoration inputs.
Observer variation in field assessments of vegetation condition: Implications for biodiversity conservation
Authors: Gorrod Emma J. , Keith David A.
Published: April 2009

Summary  Uncertainty in assessments of vegetation condition that are used to inform land management and planning decisions for biodiversity conservation in Australia may lead to unexpected outcomes, including loss of biodiversity. This study investigates observer error in field estimates of vegetation attributes, one component of uncertainty in assessments of vegetation condition. Ten observers conducted vegetation condition assessments using two assessment protocols (BioMetric and Habitat Hectares) on 20 sites in a grassy woodland community. Observers’ estimates varied substantially across multiple scoring categories for all vegetation attributes on almost all sites. Across all sites, the average coefficient of variation in total vegetation condition scores was 15–18% for both protocols, with a maximum of 60%. The primary cause of variation in total vegetation condition scores was random error in raw estimates of vegetation attributes, although sensitivity of some highly weighted attributes to error exacerbated variation in some cases. Observers generally agreed on the total scores and ranks of highly degraded (pasture) sites, but were less consistent on other sites. Rank correlations between pairs of observers were stronger for Habitat Hectares, suggesting BioMetric may be slightly more sensitive to observer error. It is recommended that: (i) research is undertaken into methods for reducing observer error; (ii) review is made of the sensitivity of index scoring structures to observer error; (iii) field observers estimate uncertainty around point estimates of vegetation condition; and, (iv) decision‐makers explicitly incorporate uncertainty into the decision‐making processes and aim for outcomes that are robust to this uncertainty.
Evaluation of potential visual acuity in eyes with macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion
Authors: Sakamoto Atsushi , Tsujikawa Akitaka , Ota Masafumi , Yamaike Noritatsu , Kotera Yuriko , Miyamoto Kazuaki , Kita Mihori , Yoshimura Nagahisa
Published: April 2009

Abstract

Purpose:  To evaluate the potential visual acuity (VA) of eyes with macular oedema (MO) associated with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Methods:  Thirty‐one eyes of 31 patients with MO associated with RVO were examined and then treated with an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. Of these 31 eyes, 22 showed complete resolution of the MO at 1 month after treatment, at which time potential VA was determined; 12 eyes had good function and 10 had poor function at this time. Optical coherence tomography was used to detect the junctions between inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors (IS/OS) as a hallmark of integrity of the outer photoreceptor layer.

Results:  In the poor function group, pretreatment VA was significantly worse (P = 0.0106) and pretreatment central macular thickness was significantly greater (P = 0.0121). Preservation of the foveal photoreceptor layer before treatment was associated closely with good visual function after resolution of MO, and IS/OS line beneath the fovea was detected more frequently before treatment in eyes with good function (P = 0.0053).

Conclusions:  In eyes with MO associated with RVO, when the IS/OS line was detected beneath the fovea, they would be expected to have good vision after resolution of the MO.
2008 Sir Norman McAlister Gregg Lecture: 150 years of practical observations on the conical cornea – what have we learned?
Authors: McGhee Charles NJ
Published: April 2009

Abstract

The first detailed descriptions of keratoconus were published exactly 150 years ago in the original work of Dr John Nottingham, bringing a degree of clarity to a previously confusing clinical phenomenon – further supported by observations of other contemporaries in the field such as Sir William Bowman. However, it would be another 100 years before knowledge of keratoconus would grow substantially; indeed, our current level of understanding is primarily a result of extensive clinical and laboratory research conducted over the last 50 years – particularly based upon the enormous technological advances of the last two decades. Large clinical studies have confirmed that keratoconus is a non‐inflammatory corneal disease with central or paracentral corneal thinning, which exhibits progressive corneal steepening and protrusion that typically results in increasing regular and thereafter irregular astigmatism. Ultimately, disease progression may lead to corneal scarring, corneal hydrops and loss of best spectacle‐corrected visual acuity. Although visual rehabilitation may be effected by expert contact lens fitting, 20% of subjects may require corneal transplantation. This Gregg lecture provides a highly referenced, wide‐ranging overview of both historical and contemporary aspects of keratoconus, including diagnostic, phenotypic and prognostic factors revealed by large clinical studies, critical diagnostic advances enabled by Placido and slit‐scanning computerized corneal topography, the emerging roles of higher order aberration wave‐front analysis and corneal hysteresis in delineating early and subclinical keratoconus, inheritance and genetic predisposition to keratoconus, corneal microstructural changes unveiled by in vivo confocal microscopy, unifying theories to explain associations between keratoconus, atopy, eye rubbing and keratocyte apoptosis, and surgical options for keratoconus, such as corneal transplantation, intrastromal ring segments, collagen cross‐linking and keratocyte transplantation. However, 150 years along the path our knowledge of keratoconus remains incomplete, but technological advances should enable us to put together the final pieces of the jigsaw in the foreseeable future.
Food allergy in adolescents and adults
Authors: Yun J. , Katelaris C. H.
Published: April 2009

There has been an increase in the prevalence of food allergy in the last few decades. Adult food allergy may represent persistence of reactions that commenced in infancy and early childhood or it may be initiated in adulthood through new sensitizations. Persistence of peanut allergy is an example of the former situation. Approximately 20% of children will develop tolerance to peanuts, so there will be an increasing number of individuals reaching adulthood where this problem will need ongoing management. In addition to peanut, tree nuts, fruits, vegetables and seafood are implicated as common causes of food allergy in adulthood. Sensitization may occur directly to a food allergen or indirectly through cross‐reactivity with an aeroallergen. Adults may present with a spectrum of clinical manifestations from oral allergy syndrome to fatal anaphylaxis. The management of food allergy consists of appropriate education regarding avoidance of implicated foods, modifying potential risk factors for anaphylaxis, such as asthma and prompt recognition and treatment of acute reactions.
Effects of norepinephrine on dynamic variables of fluid responsiveness during hemorrhage and after resuscitation in a pediatric porcine model
Authors: RENNER JOCHEN , MEYBOHM PATRICK , HANSS ROBERT , GRUENEWALD MATTHIAS , SCHOLZ JENS , BEIN BERTHOLD
Published: April 2009

Background:  The effect of vasopressors on pulse pressure variation (PPV), stroke volume variation (SVV) and on the volumetric variable global end‐diastolic volume (GEDV) during changing loading conditions is currently under debate. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of norepinephrine (NE) on PPV, SVV and GEDV in a pediatric animal model of hemorrhage and resuscitation.

Methods:  Eight anesthetized piglets were studied at normovolemia, after stepwise blood withdrawal (25 ml·kg−1), after infusion of NE to restore mean arterial pressure (MAP), after NE titration was stopped and shed blood was retransfused and finally again after NE titration. Stroke volume (SV) was measured using a thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter. GEDV was measured by transpulmonary thermodilution. PPV and SVV were monitored continuously by pulse contour analysis. In response to NE administration during hemorrhage, MAP significantly increased (P < 0.01), PPV significantly decreased (P = 0.02), whereas SVV, SV and GEDV remained unchanged. After retransfusion, SVV and GEDV significantly correlated with volume induced percentage change in SV. This significant correlation was reversed after NE administration for SVV and persisted for GEDV. In conclusion, NE administration significantly affected PPV and SVV, whereas the volumetric variable GEDV remained unchanged.
Changes in a tropical forest support metabolic zero‐sum dynamics
Authors: Ernest S. K. Morgan , White Ethan P. , Brown James H.
Published: April 2009

Major shifts in many ecosystem‐level properties of tropical forests have been observed, but the processes driving these changes are poorly understood. The forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) exhibited a 20% decrease in the number of trees and a 10% increase in average diameter. Using a metabolism‐based zero‐sum framework, we show that increases in per capita resource use at BCI, caused by increased tree size and increased temperature, compensated for the observed declines in abundance. This trade‐off between abundance and average resource use resulted in no net change in the rate resources are fluxed by the forest. Observed changes in the forest are not consistent with other hypotheses, including changes in overall resource availability and existing self‐thinning models. The framework successfully predicts interrelated changes in size, abundance and temperature, indicating its utility for understanding changes in the structure and dynamics of ecosystems.
The effect of endothelin‐1 on the production of interleukin‐6 in cultured human detrusor smooth muscle cells, and the effect of interleukin‐6 on the contractile response of bladder smooth muscle strips from rats
Authors: Han June Hyun , Lee Moo Yeol , Myung Soon Chul
Published: April 2009

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effect of endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) on the production of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in cultured human detrusor smooth muscle cells (HDSMCs) and the effect of IL‐6 on the contractile response of bladder smooth muscle strips from rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of IL‐6 mRNA and production of IL‐6 protein in cultured HDSMCs treated with the different concentrations of ET‐1 were assayed by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The strips from Sprague‐Dawley rats were either untreated or treated with 1 ng/mL of IL‐6 for 60 min. Using increasing cumulative concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh), bethanechol (BCh), or sodium nitroprusside, we assessed the concentration‐contraction or the relaxation responses. In cystitis‐induced strips, change of contractions induced by noradrenaline (NA) with or without treatment of IL‐6 were assessed. The IL‐6‐treated strips were incubated for 30 min in the presence or absence indomethacin or SQ29548, and then the effects on ACh‐ or BCh‐induced contractions were measured.

RESULTS

The expression of IL‐6 mRNA and the production of IL‐6 protein on the cultured HDSMCs pretreated by ET‐1 were significantly higher than in the control (P < 0.05). The ACh‐ and BCh‐induced contractions were increased in the IL‐6 pretreated strips from both dome and trigone, regardless of the presence of urothelium (P < 0.05). The presence of cystitis augmented the NA‐induced contractions (P < 0.05). The contractions induced by ACh and BCh were inhibited by indomethacin and SQ29548.

CONCLUSIONS

ET‐1 induces expression of IL‐6 mRNA and production of IL‐6 protein on HDSMCs. IL‐6 enhances detrusor smooth muscle contractility via the muscarinic or adrenergic receptor pathway.
A contemporary standard for morbidity and outcome after radical cystectomy
Authors: Ramani Vijay A.C. , Bromage Stephen J. , Clarke Noel W.
Published: April 2009

OBJECTIVE

To report the temporal changes in peri‐operative outcome over an extended period in patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for all causes, irrespective of the previous treatment or pathology; and to establish a current standard of peri‐operative outcome for RC by analysis of contemporary operative mortality rates (2000–5) factored for risk factors that might predict outcome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All patients undergoing RC between 1970 and 2005 were analysed; this was an unselected single‐centre series and included patients previously treated by definitive radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and cases of RC where the primary tumour involved the bladder but was not of bladder origin.

RESULTS

In all, 846 patients had a RC, of whom 647 had a bladder primary tumour and 199 a primary tumour elsewhere (gynaecological, colorectal and others). There was a progressive reduction in 30‐ and 60‐day mortality rates, such that the current peri‐operative mortality (1999–2005) was 0.4% and 2.6%, respectively. There was a significant reduction in the re‐operation rate over the decades (P = 0.01), which is currently 4.7%. Patient age was a significant factor in 30‐ and 60‐day mortality rates (P < 0.001 for both) but there was no significant association between either American Society of Anesthesiologists grade or T stage with complication rates (P = 0.61 and 0.12, respectively).

CONCLUSION

There has been a progressive reduction in mortality related to RC, associated with both cases of RC and pelvic exenteration. The contemporary standard for 30‐and 60‐day mortality rates for these operations is 0.4% and 2.6%, respectively.
Lower urinary tract symptoms: lack of change in prevalence and help‐seeking behaviour in two population‐based surveys of women in 1991 and 2007
Authors: Wennberg Anna‐Lena , Molander Ulla , Fall Magnus , Edlund Christer , Peeker Ralph , Milsom Ian
Published: April 2009

OBJECTIVES

To test the hypothesis that the overt prevalence and help‐seeking pattern for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) might have changed over time, by comparing the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI), overactive bladder (OAB) and other LUTS (principally storage symptoms) and help‐seeking pattern in two equivalent groups of women 16 years apart.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We compared two cross‐sectional studies; population‐based random samples of women aged ≥20 years in the central district of Gothenburg in 1991 (2911) and 2007 (3158) were asked to complete similar self‐administered postal questionnaires regarding UI and other LUTS.

RESULTS

The mean (sd, range) age of the two groups was 48.1 (20.4, 20–98 ) years in 1991 and 46.2 (20.0, 20–101) years in 2007, respectively. When comparing the two study populations there were no significant differences in the reported prevalence of UI, OAB or nocturia (defined as two or more voids per night) over time. Nocturia according to the International Continence Society definition was significantly more prevalent in 2007 than 1991, as was daytime voiding frequency of eight or more times a day. OAB dry (i.e. with no incontinence) was more common in 1991, while OAB wet (i.e. with incontinence) was more prevalent in 2007. Of the women in 1991 and 2007, 6% and 7%, respectively, had sought help from the healthcare system due to UI. Significantly more women in 2007 than in 1991 stated that the presence of UI limited their social life (29% vs 13%, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

LUTS are common in women and the prevalence rates of UI and OAB have not changed during the last 16 years. Many women still do not seek help from the healthcare system, and the help‐seeking pattern has remained unchanged, despite effective treatment currently being offered.
Comparison between a serous‐lined extramural tunnel and T‐limb ileal procedure as an antireflux technique in orthotopic ileal substitutes: a prospective randomized trial
Authors: Osman Yasser , Abol‐Enein Hassan , El‐Mekresh Mohsen , Gad Hosam , Elhefnawy Ahmed , Ghoneim Mohamed
Published: April 2009

OBJECTIVE

To compare the functional results from a prospective randomized trial of two different reflux‐prevention techniques for ileal bladder substitution.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In all, 60 patients with invasive bladder cancer were randomized to receive either a serous‐lined extramural tunnel (group 1) or T‐limb ileal procedure (group 2) as an antireflux technique for the ileal substitute. The preoperative evaluation included intravenous urography, radioisotope renography to evaluate glomerular filtration rates (GFRs) and renal cortical imaging with 99mTc‐ dimercaptosuccinic acid to assess parenchymal scarring. Evaluable patients were re‐assessed by the same imaging, and by ascending studies.

RESULTS

The follow‐up included 27 patients (49 units) in group 1 and 23 (45 units) in group 2, with a mean (sd) follow‐up of 6.3 (0.5) and 7.4 (1.9), respectively. Uretero‐ileal strictures were diagnosed in one renal unit in each group (P = 0.5). Ascending studies showed no reflux in any patients in group 1, while 13 renal units (29%) in group 2 were refluxing (P < 0.01). There was progressive cortical scarring with or with no significant reduction in GFR (>25%) in three and four renal units in groups 1 and 2, respectively. Among the 13 refluxing units in group 2, three showed a significant deterioration in GFR and one renal unit was diagnosed with progressive cortical scarring.

CONCLUSION

Both procedures provided a low rate of anastomotic stricture, with acceptable preservation of renal function. The serous‐lined extramural tunnel provided a more effective antireflux mechanism.
Mouse orthotopic models for bladder cancer research
Authors: Chan Eddie , Patel Amit , Heston Warren , Larchian William
Published: April 2009

Bladder cancer is a common malignancy in the urinary tract. Despite different therapeutic options, recurrence and progression of urothelial carcinoma after treatment is not uncommon. Novel therapeutic options of bladder cancer are urgently needed. The preclinical evaluation of new treatments requires an animal tumour model that mimics the human counterpart. To date, various animal orthotopic bladder cancer models have been described, but the reported rate of tumour ‘take’ is 30–100%. The establishment of reliable and reproducible animal models remains an ongoing challenge. We review different kinds of mouse models of orthotopic bladder cancer used in urothelial cancer studies, the methods of implantation, and the reported rate of tumour take. Significant progress has been made recently in noninvasive small animal‐imaging in tumour models. It is now possible for researchers to investigate the effects of studied agents by monitoring of in vivo tumour growth directly and noninvasively, as well as measuring a wide range of tumour‐related variables in small animals. We summarize the recent development in small‐animal imaging for tumour detection and quantification.