bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tropical forest restoration: Fast resilience of plant biomass contrasts with slow recovery of stable soil C stocks
Authors: Wang Faming , Ding Yongzhen , Sayer Emma J. , Li Qinlu , Zou Bi , Mo Qifeng , Li Yingwen , Lu Xiaoliang , Tang Jianwu , Zhu Weixing , Li Zhian 
Published: June 2017

Abstract

Due to intensifying human disturbance, over half of the world's tropical forests are reforested or afforested secondary forests or plantations. Understanding the resilience of carbon (C) stocks in these forests, and estimating the extent to which they can provide equivalent carbon (C) sequestration and stabilization to the old growth forest they replace, is critical for the global C balance.

In this study, we combined estimates of biomass C stocks with a detailed assessment of soil C pools in bare land, Eucalyptus plantation, secondary forest and natural old‐growth forest after over 50 years of forest restoration in a degraded tropical region of South China. We used isotope studies, density fractionation and physical fractionation to determine the age and stability of soil C pools at different soil depths.

After 52 years, the secondary forests had equivalent biomass C stocks to natural forest, whereas soil C stocks were still much higher in natural forest (97.42 t/ha) than in secondary forest (58.75 t/ha) or Eucalyptus plantation (38.99 t/ha) and lowest in bare land (19.9 t/ha). Analysis of δ13C values revealed that most of the C in the soil surface horizons in the secondary forest was new C, with a limited increase of more recalcitrant old C, and limited accumulation of C in deeper soil horizons. However, occlusion of C in microaggregates in the surface soil layer was similar across forested sites, which suggests that there is great potential for additional soil C sequestration and stabilization in the secondary forest and Eucalyptus plantation.

Collectively, our results demonstrate that reforestation on degraded tropical land can restore biomass C and surface soil C stocks within a few decades, but much longer recovery times are needed to restore recalcitrant C pools and C stocks at depth. Repeated harvesting and disturbance in rotation plantations had a substantial negative impact on the recovery of soil C stocks. We suggest that current calculations of soil C in secondary tropical forests (e.g. IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories) could overestimate soil C sequestration and stabilization levels in secondary forests and plantations.

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Mutualistic interactions amplify saltmarsh restoration success
Authors: Derksen‐Hooijberg Marlous , Angelini Christine , Lamers Leon P. M. , Borst Annieke , Smolders Alfons , Hoogveld Jasper R. H. , de Paoli Hélène , van de Koppel Johan , Silliman Brian R. , van der Heide Tjisse 
Published: June 2017

AbstractMounting evidence shows that the functioning and stability of coastal ecosystems often depends critically on habitat‐forming foundation species such as seagrasses, mangroves and saltmarsh grasses that engage in facultative mutualistic interactions. However, although restoration science is now gradually expanding its long‐standing paradigm of minimizing competition to including intraspecific, or within species, facilitation in its designs, the potential of harnessing mutualistic interactions between species for restoration purposes remains uninvestigated.Here, we experimentally tested whether a previously documented mutualism between marsh‐formingSpartina alterniflora(cordgrass) andGeukensia demissa(mussels) can increase restoration success in degradedUSsaltmarshes.We found that co‐transplanted mussels locally increased nutrients and reduced sulphide stress, thereby increasing cordgrass growth and clonal expansion by 50%. We then removed above‐ground vegetation and mussels to simulate a disturbance event and discovered that cordgrass co‐transplanted with mussels experienced three times greater survival than control transplants.Synthesis and applications. Our findings indicate that mussels amplify cordgrass re‐colonization and resilience over spatial and temporal scales that exceed those of their actual mutualistic interaction. By experimentally demonstrating that mutualistic partners can enable foundation species to overcome stress barriers to establish and persist, we highlight that coastal restoration needs to evolve beyond the sole inclusion of intraspecific‐positive interactions. In particular, we suggest that integrating mutualisms in restoration designs may powerfully enhance long‐term restoration success and ecosystem resilience in the many coastal ecosystems where mutualisms involving foundation species are important ecosystem‐structuring interactions.
Pathways to professionalism? Quality improvement, care pathways, and the interplay of standardisation and clinical autonomy
Authors: Martin Graham P. , Kocman David , Stephens Timothy , Peden Carol J. , Pearse Rupert M. ,   This study was carried out as part of a wider randomised controlled trial, EPOCH
Published: June 2017

AbstractCare pathways are a prominent feature of efforts to improve healthcare quality, outcomes and accountability, but sociological studies of pathways often find professional resistance to standardisation. This qualitative study examined the adoption and adaptation of a novel pathway as part of a randomised controlled trial in an unusually complex, non‐linear field – emergency general surgery – by teams of surgeons and physicians in six theoretically sampled sites in the UK. We find near‐universal receptivity to the concept of a pathway as a means of improving peri‐operative processes and outcomes, but concern about the impact on appropriate professional judgement. However, this concern translated not into resistance and implementation failure, but into a nuancing of the pathways‐as‐realised in each site, and their use as a means of enhancing professional decision‐making and inter‐professional collaboration. We discuss our findings in the context of recent literature on the interplay between managerialism and professionalism in healthcare, and highlight practical and theoretical implications.
Recommendations for revision of Chinese diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome: A nationwide study
Authors: Xing Ying , Xu Shaoyong , Jia Aihua , Cai Jing , Zhao Mingwei , Guo Jianhua , Ji Qiuhe , Ming Jie 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBackgroundDiagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome (MS) proposed by the Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) may have limitations because an additional 2‐h postprandial plasma glucose (2‐h PPG) test is required to diagnose hyperglycemia. The aim of this study was to revise the CDS‐MS criteria by removing the 2‐h PPG test and determining the optimal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) cut‐off for a diagnosis of hyperglycemia in the Chinese population.MethodsThe study population was from the 2007–08 China Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study. The optimal FPG diagnostic cut‐off value was determined using receiver operating characteristic curves. Hyperglycemia defined using CDS‐MS criteria was the end‐point. Agreement between different diagnostic methods was assessed using κ values.ResultsThe study enrolled 46 239 participants (mean age 44.95 years). The optimal diagnostic cut‐off for FPG was found to be 5.62 mmol/L, which showed a sensitivity of 66.92%, a specificity of 89.09%, and an area under the curve of 0.848. Using this diagnostic criterion, the standardized prevalence of MS was similar to that using the CDS‐MS criteria (18.26% vs 17.89%, respectively), with both values being lower than those obtained using conventional international criteria (20.64–26.67%). Compared with the CDS‐MS criteria, the recommended FPG cut‐off showed better agreement (κ) with international criteria: 0.695, 0.774, and 0.730 with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), revised Adult Treatment Panel III, and Joint Interim Statement of the IDF criteria, respectively.ConclusionsWe recommend eliminating the 2‐h PPG blood test and lowering the FPG diagnostic cut‐off value to 5.6 mmol/L in the CDS‐MS diagnostic criteria.
Disproportionate insider control and firm performance
Authors: Hettler Barry , Forst Arno 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe effect of disproportionate insider control on firm performance is ambiguous. Disproportionate control may enhance insiders’ ability to expropriate perquisites; on the other hand, it may provide stability of management and reduce short‐term market pressures. Using a hand‐collected sample of U.S. dual‐class firms, we find that disproportionate control is positively associated with accounting‐based performance, but negatively associated with Tobin's Q. These results are consistent with the incentives of entrenched insiders who are interested in profitability but less beholden to capital markets.
Agropastoral activities increase fluctuating asymmetry in tadpoles of two neotropical anuran species
Authors: Costa Renan N. , Solé Mirco , Nomura Fausto 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAgriculture and pasture activities are the main drivers for habitat reduction, directly affecting amphibian assemblages. In the Cerrado, the progress of agricultural and pasture areas negatively affects aquatic environments and their organisms, once the suppression of marginal vegetation reduces the natural protection against allochtone stressors. One possible way to measure the stress level is the Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA), which is calculated based on the deviations in the development of bilateral morphological traits of the organism. Herein, we evaluated whether environments with a higher degree of agropastoral influence and reduced marginal vegetation can increase FA levels in tadpoles of two common and widely distributed anuran species in the Cerrado (Physalaemus cuvieri and Scinax fuscomarginatus). We sampled and classified water bodies according to the percentage of agropastoral land use and marginal vegetation, and measured four morphological traits of tadpoles to evaluate the degree of FA. We found that in environments with intensive agropastoral land use, tadpoles of P. cuvieri and S. fuscomarginatus had higher FA in nostril‐snout distance (NSD). In environments with reduced marginal vegetation, tadpoles of S. fuscomarginatus had higher FA in eye width (EW), but no effect was detected for tadpoles of P. cuvieri. These morphological traits (i.e. nostrils and eyes) are associated to individual fitness of tadpoles. Thus, these developmental deviations can affect species fitness and population homeostasis over time, contributing to generate stochastic population dynamics and increasing the vulnerability of native species to local extinctions. The use of FA as a tool to measure environmental impact on species with potential to be used as bioindicators can contribute to generate and test hypothesis when integrated with long‐term studies.
Mechanisms of sphingosine‐1‐phosphate‐mediated vasoconstriction of rat afferent arterioles
Authors: Guan Z. , Wang F. , Cui X. , Inscho E. W. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAimSphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) influences resistance vessel function and is implicated in renal pathological processes. Previous studies revealed that S1P evoked potent vasoconstriction of the pre‐glomerular microvasculature, but the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely defined. We postulated that S1P‐mediated pre‐glomerular microvascular vasoconstriction involves activation of voltage‐dependent L‐type calcium channels (L‐VDCC) and the rho/rho kinase pathway.MethodsAfferent arteriolar reactivity was assessed in vitro using the blood‐perfused rat juxtamedullary nephron preparation, and diameter was measured during exposure to physiological and pharmacological agents.ResultsExogenous S1P (10−9–10−5 mol L−1) evoked concentration‐dependent vasoconstriction of afferent arterioles. Superfusion with nifedipine, a L‐VDCC blocker, increased arteriolar diameter by 39 ± 18% of baseline and significantly attenuated the S1P‐induced vasoconstriction. Superfusion with the rho kinase inhibitor, Y‐27632, increased diameter by 60 ± 12% of baseline and also significantly blunted vasoconstriction by S1P. Combined nifedipine and Y‐27632 treatment significantly inhibited S1P‐induced vasoconstriction over the entire concentration range tested. In contrast, depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores with the Ca2+‐ATPase inhibitors, thapsigargin or cyclopiazonic acid, did not alter the S1P‐mediated vasoconstrictor profile. Scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) or inhibition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity significantly attenuated S1P‐mediated vasoconstriction.ConclusionExogenous S1P elicits potent vasoconstriction of rat afferent arterioles. These data also demonstrate that S1P‐mediated pre‐glomerular vasoconstriction involves activation of L‐VDCC, the rho/rho kinase pathway and ROS. Mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores is not required for S1P‐mediated vasoconstriction. These studies reveal a potential role for S1P in the modulation of renal microvascular tone.
Systematic review: health‐related quality of life in children and adults with eosinophilic oesophagitis—instruments for measurement and determinant factors
Authors: Lucendo A. J. , Arias‐González L. , Molina‐Infante J. , Arias Á. 
Published: June 2017

SummaryBackgroundSeveral measures have been used to assess the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE).AimsTo systematically review these HRQoL measures, to appraise measurement properties of specific instruments and to evaluate determinant factors influencing HRQoL in paediatric and adult EoE patients.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS) and PsycINFO databases for documents providing original information on the development of measurement tools and/or evaluation of HRQoL outcomes in EoE patients of all ages.ResultsOf the 596 references identified, data was collected from 34 studies (with only 16 of them being published as full papers) including a total of 1,689 individual patients. Three disease‐specific HRQoL measures in EoE covering different aspects of patients’ lives and developed in English, were scored positive regarding measurement properties. The PedsQL inventory (including parent and child report forms) and the Peds‐QoL EoE module were the generic and specific instruments respectively used in children, while the SF‐36 and EoE‐QoL‐A were the most used questionnaires in adults. Patients with EoE show an impaired HRQoL compared to controls, which greatly depends on symptom severity and disease duration. Severity of endoscopic features and female gender may also determine an impaired HRQoL. The effect of treatments on HRQoL requires further assessment.ConclusionsHRQoL is a relevant outcome that should be considered in clinical practice and research of EoE. Further validation studies in several languages and populations are required to support the use of disease‐specific HRQoL measures.
Morphological and mitochondrial DNA variation revealed an undescribed lineage under the genus Sperata (Bagridae) in Bangladesh
Authors: Iqbal Mohammed Mahbub , Alam M. M. Mahbub , Kabir Muhammad Anamul , Pálsson Snæbjörn 
Published: June 2017

AbstractCatfishes Sperata are popular, known for its taste and nutritional value, and are found naturally in wide variety of freshwaters in South Asia. The taxonomy of Sperata spp., sampled from Hakaluki Haor in Bangladesh, was re‐evaluated based on morphological variation and DNA barcoding. The collective variation in morphometric characters and mitochondrial DNA revealed an undescribed old and well‐separated lineage under the genus Sperata along with two previously known Sperata aor and Sperata seenghala in Bangladesh. Analyses of morphological traits suggested significant differentiation among Sperata species. The variation in mitochondrial DNA supported the distinct lineage and taxonomical discrimination. Sperata aor diverged earlier from the new lineage and Sperata seenghala with a divergence of 5.39 (CI: 3.91–7.19) Mya (PP > 90). Sperata seenghala and the new lineage shared a most recent common ancestry, which diverged from each other around 3.41 (CI: 2.24–4.62) Mya (PP > 90). Thus, the newly identified lineage could be a subspecies of S. seenghala or even a species under the genus Sperata. The information of the study will be useful for conservation, sustainable management and selective breeding of the putative species, including previously reported S. aor and S. seenghala in Bangladesh.
Decrease in Oxidative Stress Parameters after Post‐Ischaemic Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Administration in the Hippocampus of Rats Exposed to Focal Cerebral Ischaemia
Authors: Mršić‐Pelčić Jasenka , Pilipović Kristina , Pelčić Goran , Vitezić Dinko , Župan Gordana 
Published: June 2017

AbstractRecombinant human erythropoietin (rhEpo) is a multi‐functional drug with antioxidant potential. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of its action are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of rhEpo on the brain infarct volume as well as on the levels of the neuronal damage, oxidative stress parameters and active caspase‐3, nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) and haemeoxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) expressions in the hippocampi of rats exposed to the right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 1 hr. Ischaemic animals received either vehicle or rhEpo (5000 IU/kg, i.p.) immediately or 3 hr after the induction of ischaemia. Sham‐operated, vehicle‐treated animals served as the control group. Rats were killed 24 hr after the onset of the ischaemic or sham experimental procedure. MCAO caused ipsilateral brain infarction within the striatum and cortex. In the CA1 region of the hippocampi, we did not find significant neuronal loss, but a statistically significant rise in the active caspase‐3 and Nrf2 protein expressions was registered. We detected also significant increases in the hippocampal levels of oxidative stress parameters (thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase). Post‐ischaemic administration of rhEpo significantly reduced the brain infarct volume, decreased levels of all tested oxidative stress parameters and increased the Nrf2 expression level. These findings suggest that decrease in oxidative stress parameters in the hippocampus could be an early indicator of post‐ischaemic neuroprotective effect of rhEpo in rats exposed to focal cerebral ischaemia and that this effect could be attributable to additional post‐ischaemic activation of Nrf2 endogenous antioxidant system.
Comparative and correlative assessments of cytokine, complement and antibody patterns in paediatric type 1 diabetes
Authors: Abdel-Latif M , Abdel-Moneim A A , El-Hefnawy M H , Khalil R G 
Published: June 2017

Summary
One of the most widespread and effective environmental factors is the infection with enteroviruses (EVs) which accelerate β cell destruction in type 1 diabetes (T1D). This study represented a comparison between diabetic EV+ and EV– children as well as correlation analysis between autoantibodies, T1D markers, cytokines, complement activation products and anti-coxsackievirus (CV) immunoglobulin (Ig)G. EV RNA was detected in Egyptian children with T1D (26·2%) and healthy controls (0%). Detection of anti-CV IgG in T1D-EV+ resulted in 64% positivity. Within T1D-EV+, previously diagnosed (PD) showed 74 versus 56% in newly diagnosed (ND) children. Comparisons between populations showed increased levels of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), nitric oxide (NO), glutamic acid decarboxylase and insulin and islet cell autoantibodies [glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA), insulin autoantibodies (IAA) and islet cell cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ICA), respectively], interferon (IFN)-γ, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL −10, IL −12, IL −17, C3d and sC5–9 in T1D-EV+versus T1D-EV–. Conversely, both IL-20 and transforming growth factor (TGF-β) decreased in T1D-EV+versus EV–, while IL-4, −6 and −13 did not show any changes. Correlation analysis showed dependency of accelerated autoimmunity and β cell destruction on increased IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-17 versus decreased IL-4, −6 and −13. In conclusion, IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-17 played an essential role in exacerbating EV+-T1D, while C3d, sC5b −9, IL-10 and −20 displayed distinct patterns.
Development of immune response to tissue‐restricted self‐antigens in simultaneous kidney‐pancreas transplant recipients with acute rejection
Authors: Gunasekaran Muthukumar , Vachharajani Neeta , Gaut Joseph P. , Maw Thin Thin , Delos Santos Rowena , Shenoy Surendra , Chapman William C. , Wellen Jason , Mohanakumar Thalachallour 
Published: June 2017

AbstractSimultaneous kidney‐pancreas transplantation (SKP Tx) is a treatment for end‐stage kidney disease secondary to diabetes mellitus. We investigated the role of immune responses to donor human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and tissue‐restricted kidney and pancreas self‐antigens (KSAgs and PSAgs, respectively) in SKP Tx recipients (SKP TxRs). Sera collected from 39 SKP TxRs were used to determine de novo Abs specific for KSAgs (collagen‐IV, Col‐IV; fibronectin, FN) and PSAgs (insulin, islet cells, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and pancreas‐associated protein‐1) by ELISA. KSAg‐specific IFN‐γ, IL‐17, and IL‐10 cytokines were enumerated by ELISpot. Abs to donor HLA classes I and II were determined by Luminex assay. Abs to KSAgs and PSAgs were detectable in recipients with rejection compared with stable recipients (P<.05). Kidney‐only rejection recipients had increased Abs against KSAgs compared with stable (P<.05), with no increase in Abs against PSAgs. Pancreas‐only rejection recipients showed increased Abs against PSAgs compared to stable (P<.05), with no Abs against KSAgs. SKP TxRs with rejection showed increased frequencies of KSAg‐specific IFN‐γ and IL‐17 with reduction in IL‐10‐secreting cells. SKP TxRs with rejection developed Abs to KSAgs and PSAgs demonstrated increased frequencies of kidney or pancreas SAg‐specific IFN‐γ and IL‐17‐secreting cells with reduced IL‐10, suggesting loss of peripheral tolerance to SAgs.
Readability, content analysis, and racial/ethnic diversity of online living kidney donation information
Authors: Rodrigue James R. , Feranil Mario , Lang Jenna , Fleishman Aaron 
Published: June 2017

AbstractMore than three‐fourths of adults in the USA use the Internet to access health‐related information. Adults exploring the possibility of living donation should have access to online content that is readable and comprehensive. We simulated a search of online information about living kidney donation and evaluated readability, topics covered, and racial/ethnic diversity of 21 websites meeting inclusion criteria (eg, hosted by a nonprofit or patient advocacy organization, English content, based in USA). Using standard readability metrics, 62% of sites were classified as “Difficult to read” and none achieved the recommended reading level of sixth grade. On average, websites covered 18.5 (62%) of 30 recommended information topics (range: 7 to 28) and only 2.1 (23%) of 9 racial/ethnic diversity items (range: 0 to 6). Overall, the most common nonprofit or patient advocacy organization websites do not meet the readability standards established by the National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association, many lack fundamental information about living kidney donation, and most are not racially/ethnically diverse. We encourage the transplant community to consider playing a more active role in improving the overall quality of online information disseminated to the general public. Further, there is a need to more critically examine the accuracy of online living donation content in future investigations.