bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cascading effects of changes in land use on the invasion of the walnut Juglans regia in forest ecosystems
Authors: Lenda Magdalena , Knops Johannes H. , Skórka Piotr , Moroń Dawid , Woyciechowski Michał 
Published: June 2017

Abstract

Plant invasions are affected by many factors that must be favourable in order for invasions to occur. Factors can be grouped into three major categories: propagule pressure, biotic factors and abiotic characteristics; all may be moderated by human activity. However, studies examining all factors simultaneously are rare, and most are limited to a single factor. This hampers our understanding of the mechanisms driving invasions.

In recent decades, an alien walnut (Juglans regia) has become invasive in Central Europe due to an increase in the populations of native dispersers, rooks (Corvus frugilegus) and political changes that have resulted in the abandonment of farmland. Here, we test whether increased propagule pressure resulting from the presence of seed‐bearing walnuts in abandoned fields interacts with native forest seed‐dispersing animals (biotic factors), landscape structure and management, and passive secondary dispersal by gravity (abiotic factors) to facilitate the further invasion of walnuts into forests.

Seed‐dispersing animals were observed visiting walnuts growing in abandoned fields and in human settlements. Walnuts and seed dispersers were surveyed in 102 forest patches. Forest characteristics were examined, and field experiments examining passive dispersal were conducted.

Walnut seeds were carried into forests by native birds, jays (Garrulus glandarius). Jays harvested seeds from both wild walnuts growing in abandoned fields and walnuts planted in human settlements. The density of walnuts in forest patches was correlated with jay density. Forest occupancy by walnuts and walnut densities were correlated with the cover of abandoned fields and human settlements containing seed‐bearing walnuts. Secondary seed dispersal also affected forest colonization. Walnut seeds hidden by native rooks in sloping, arable fields may be transported passively to forest edges.

Synthesis. Our results show that this invasion is a multifaceted process in which human‐related alterations to propagule pressure and biotic and abiotic factors have led to the spread of alien walnuts from human settlements and abandoned fields into forest ecosystems. Thus, politically related land use changes can create an invasion debt that causes unexpected linkages among the invasive plant, native dispersers, land management and topography that together can cause cascading changes in ecosystems.
Improvements in Fluvial Stability Associated with Two‐Stage Ditch Construction in Mower County, Minnesota
Authors: Krider Lori , Magner Joseph , Hansen Brad , Wilson Bruce , Kramer Geoffrie , Peterson Joel , Nieber John 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWater quality and stream habitat in agricultural watersheds are under greater scrutiny as hydrologic pathways are altered to increase crop production. Agricultural drainage ditches function to remove water quickly from farmed landscapes. Conventional ditch designs lack the form and function of natural stream systems and tend to be unstable and provide inadequate habitat. In October of 2009, 1.89 km of a conventional drainage ditch in Mower County, Minnesota, was converted to an alternative system with a two‐stage channel to investigate the improvements in water quality, stability, and habitat. Longitudinal surveys show a 12‐fold increase in the pool‐riffle formation. Cross‐sectional surveys show an average increase in bankfull width of approximately 10% and may be associated to an increased frequency in large storm events. The average increase in bankfull depth was estimated as 18% but is largely influenced by pool formation. Rosgen Stability Analyses show the channel to be highly stable and the banks at a low risk of erosion. The average bankfull recurrence interval was estimated to be approximately 0.30 years. Overall, the two‐stage ditch design demonstrates an increase in fluvial stability, creating a more consistent sediment budget, and increasing the frequency of important instream habitat features, making this best management practice a viable option for addressing issues of erosion, sediment imbalance, and poor habitat in agricultural drainage systems.
An integrated framework to identify wildlife populations under threat from climate change
Authors: Razgour Orly , Taggart John B. , Manel Stephanie , Juste Javier , Ibáñez Carlos , Rebelo Hugo , Alberdi Antton , Jones Gareth , Park Kirsty 
Published: June 2017

AbstractClimate change is a major threat to global biodiversity that will produce a range of new selection pressures. Understanding species responses to climate change requires an interdisciplinary perspective, combining ecological, molecular and environmental approaches. We propose an applied integrated framework to identify populations under threat from climate change based on their extent of exposure, inherent sensitivity due to adaptive and neutral genetic variation and range shift potential. We consider intraspecific vulnerability and population‐level responses, an important but often neglected conservation research priority. We demonstrate how this framework can be applied to vertebrates with limited dispersal abilities using empirical data for the bat Plecotus austriacus. We use ecological niche modelling and environmental dissimilarity analysis to locate areas at high risk of exposure to future changes. Combining outlier tests with genotype–environment association analysis, we identify potential climate‐adaptive SNPs in our genomic data set and differences in the frequency of adaptive and neutral variation between populations. We assess landscape connectivity and show that changing environmental suitability may limit the future movement of individuals, thus affecting both the ability of populations to shift their distribution to climatically suitable areas and the probability of evolutionary rescue through the spread of adaptive genetic variation among populations. Therefore, a better understanding of movement ecology and landscape connectivity is needed for predicting population persistence under climate change. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating genomic data to determine sensitivity, adaptive potential and range shift potential, instead of relying solely on exposure to guide species vulnerability assessments and conservation planning.
The Economic Value of Hybrid Single‐photon Emission Computed Tomography With Computed Tomography Imaging in Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis
Authors: Toney Lauren K. , Kim Richard D. , Palli Swetha R. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe objective was to quantify the potential economic value of single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with computed tomography (CT; SPECT/CT) versus CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), ventilation–perfusion (V/Q) planar scintigraphy, and V/Q SPECT imaging modalities for diagnosing suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) patients in an emergency setting.MethodsAn Excel‐based simulation model was developed to compare SPECT/CT versus the alternate scanning technologies from a payer's perspective. Clinical endpoints (diagnosis, treatment, complications, and mortality) and their corresponding cost data (2016 USD) were obtained by performing a best evidence review of the published literature. Studies were pooled and parameters were weighted by sample size. Outcomes measured included differences in 1) excess costs, 2) total costs, and 3) lives lost per annum between SPECT/CT and the other imaging modalities. One‐way (±25%) sensitivity and three scenario analyses were performed to gauge the robustness of the results.ResultsFor every 1,000 suspected PE patients undergoing imaging, expected annual economic burden by modality was found to be 3.2 million (SPECT/CT), 3.8 million (CTPA), 5.8 million (planar), and 3.6 million (SPECT) USD, with a switch to SPECT/CT technology yielding per‐patient‐per‐month cost savings of $51.80 (vs. CTPA), $213.80 (vs. planar), and $36.30 (vs. SPECT), respectively. The model calculated that the incremental number of lives saved with SPECT/CT was six (vs. CTPA) and three (vs. planar). Utilizing SPECT/CT as the initial imaging modality for workup of acute PE was also expected to save $994,777 (vs. CTPA), $2,852,014 (vs. planar), and $435,038 (vs. SPECT) in “potentially avoidable”’ excess costs per annum for a payer or health plan.ConclusionCompared to the currently available scanning technologies for diagnosing suspected PE, SPECT/CT appears to confer superior economic value, primarily via improved sensitivity and specificity and low nondiagnostic rates. In turn, the improved diagnostic accuracy accords this modality the lowest ratio of expenses attributable to potentially avoidable complications, misdiagnosis, and underdiagnosis.
The secondary invasion of giant African land snail has little impact on litter or seedling dynamics in rainforest
Authors: O'Loughlin Luke S. , Green Peter T. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn the absence of empirical evidence, invasive species are often assumed to have negative impacts because of their conspicuously high abundance. The giant African land snail Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica is one such invader where its impact in natural ecosystems remains completely untested. On Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), A. fulica has become established across large tracts of rainforest following the impacts of invasive yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) in mutualism with non‐native scale insects. Yellow crazy ants facilitate the secondary invasion of A. fulica by extirpating native red land crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis) that are normally effective predators of A. fulica. We used a multifaceted approach to investigate some potential impacts of abundant A. fulica in invaded rainforest. Over the course of a wet season, diel activity transects showed that A. fulica consumed detrital material almost exclusively. However, stable isotope analysis did not confidently identify A. fulica as a predominantly detritivorous species. We found no statistically significant treatment effects of A. fulica exclusion on standing leaf litter and seedling recruitment processes during a 6‐month manipulative field study. However, litter cover and biomass did remain slightly higher where A. fulica were excluded, albeit with overlapping confidence intervals with control plots. Our study constitutes the first empirical test for impact of A. fulica in a natural ecosystem and suggests that for Christmas Island rainforest, this species is not a damaging invader. Other studies will need to assess the impacts of A. fulica in other natural areas before these findings could be considered broadly applicable.
Timing of fluvial sedimentation in the Upper Rhine Graben since the Middle Pleistocene: constraints from quartz and feldspar luminescence dating
Authors: Li Yan , Tsukamoto Sumiko , Frechen Manfred , Gabriel Gerald 
Published: June 2017

The Heidelberg Basin (HDB) hosts one of the thickest Quaternary sediment successions in central Europe. To establish a reliable Middle and Upper Pleistocene chronology for a recently drilled core from the depocentre of the Heidelberg Basin, we applied multiple luminescence dating approaches, including quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), two feldspar post‐IR IRSL protocols using second IR stimulation temperatures of 225 °C (pIRIR225) and 290 °C (pIRIR290), and two fading correction models. Relatively high anomalous fading was observed for both the pIRIR225 and pIRIR290 signals, with mean fading rates of 2.13±0.27 and 2.08±0.49%/decade, respectively. Poor dose recovery behaviour of the pIRIR290 signal suggests that the pIRIR290 ages are not reliable. The comparison of two fading correction methods for the K‐feldspar ages indicates that the correction method proposed by Kars et al. (2008) Radiation Measurements 43, 786, yields reliable ages, whereas the dose‐rate correction method proposed by Lamothe et al. (2003) Radiation Measurements 37, 493, does not. A chronology for the HDB is established using the quartz ages and reliable fading corrected feldspar pIRIR225 ages. Our chronology shows that the sediments in the upper Mannheim Formation were deposited during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (c. 70 ka), constrained by two quartz ages in the upper 20 m of the core. Four fading corrected pIRIR225 ages of c. 400 ka show that the upper Ludwigshafen Formation was deposited during MIS 12–11, correlated with the Elsterian‐Holsteinian stage. Two ages of 491±76 and 487±79 ka indicate that the Middle and Upper Ludwigshafen Formation were probably deposited during the Cromerian Complex. This luminescence chronology is consistent with palynological results. It also indicates that the IR‐RF ages reported earlier are probably underestimated due to anomalous fading.
Combined effects of seed and soil quality drive seedling performance of a late‐successional canopy tree in a tropical forest
Authors: Zambrano Jenny , Howe Henry F. , Gonzalez‐Meler Miquel 
Published: June 2017

AbstractHabitat loss and fragmentation affect the structure and functioning of forested ecosystems worldwide, yet we lack an understanding of how species respond to environmental changes. Here, we examined reproductive success and seedling performance of Poulsenia armata (Moraceae) in continuous and fragmented forests of Los Tuxtlas, southern Mexico. We further investigated how maternal habitat and soil conditions manifested in the seedling stage. We determined seed quality and seedling performance by combining isotopic analyses in seed quality with field observations of P. armata fruit production and a common‐‐garden experiment. Soil conditions in forest fragments negatively impacted P. armata reproductive success. Trees of P. armata in forest fragments were smaller in size and produced fewer fruits and smaller seeds with lower quality compared with trees from the continuous forest. The combined effects of maternal habitat and soil conditions determined seedling survival and growth of this tropical tree. Notably, seedlings had restricted plasticity for biomass allocation to roots, limiting the capacity of fragmented populations to compensate for the initial low N content in seeds. Trees in forest fragments at Los Tuxtlas produced offspring competitively inferior and potentially less resilient than counterparts in continuous forest, jeopardizing future persistence of this late‐successional tree species.
When Cultural Norms Discourage Talking to Babies: Effectiveness of a Parenting Program in Rural Senegal
Authors: Weber Ann , Fernald Anne , Diop Yatma 
Published: June 2017

In some areas of rural Africa, long‐standing cultural traditions and beliefs may discourage parents from verbally engaging with their young children. This study assessed the effectiveness of a parenting program designed to encourage verbal engagement between caregivers and infants in Wolof‐speaking villages in rural Senegal. Caregivers (n = 443) and their 4‐ to 31‐month‐old children were observed at baseline in 2013 and 1 year later at follow‐up. Results showed that caregivers in program villages nearly doubled the amount of child‐directed speech during a play session compared to baseline, whereas caregivers in matched comparison villages showed no change. After 1 year, children in program villages produced more utterances, and showed greater improvement in vocabulary and other language outcomes compared to children in comparison villages.
Preoperative geriatric assessment and tailored interventions in frail older patients with colorectal cancer: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Ommundsen N. , Wyller T. B. , Nesbakken A. , Bakka A. O. , Jordhøy M. S. , Skovlund E. , Rostoft S. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAimColorectal cancer (CRC) is prevalent in the older population, and surgery is the mainstay of curative treatment. A preoperative geriatric assessment (GA) can identify frail older patients at risk for developing postoperative complications. In this randomized controlled trial we wanted to investigate whether tailored interventions based on a preoperative GA could reduce the frequency of postoperative complications in frail patients operated on for CRC.MethodPatients > 65 years scheduled for elective CRC surgery and fulfilling predefined criteria for frailty were randomized to either a preoperative GA followed by a tailored intervention or care as usual. The primary end‐point was Clavien–Dindo Grade II–V postoperative complications. Secondary end‐points included complications of any grade, reoperation, length of stay, readmission and survival.ResultsOne hundred and twenty‐two patients with a mean age of 78.6 years were randomized. We found no statistically significant differences between the intervention group and the control group for Grade II–V complications (68% vs 75%, P = 0.43), reoperation (19% vs 11%, P = 0.24), length of stay (8 days in both groups), readmission (16% vs 6%, P = 0.12) or 30‐day survival (4% vs 5%, P = 0.79). Grade I–V complications occurred in 76% of patients in the intervention group compared with 87% in the control group (P = 0.10). In secondary analyses adjusting for prespecified prognostic factors, there was a statistically significant difference in favour of the intervention for reducing the total number of Grade I–V complications (P = 0.05).ConclusionA preoperative GA and tailored interventions did not reduce the rate of Grade II–V complications, reoperations, readmission or mortality in frail older patients electively operated on for CRC.
Lymph node yield in right colectomy for cancer: a comparison of open, laparoscopic and robotic approaches
Authors: Widmar M. , Keskin M. , Strombom P. , Beltran P. , Chow O. S. , Smith J. J. , Nash G. M. , Shia J. , Russell D. , Garcia‐Aguilar J. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAimStudies have demonstrated a relationship between lymph node (LN) yield and survival after colectomy for cancer. The impact of surgical technique on LN yield has not been well explored.MethodThis is a retrospective study of right colectomy (RC) for cancer at a single institution from 2012 to 2014. Exclusion criteria were previous colectomy and emergent and palliative operations. All data were collected by chart review. Primary outcomes were LN yield and the LN to length of surgical specimen (LN‐LSS) ratio. Multivariable mixed models were created with surgeon and pathologist as random effects. Sensitivity analyses were performed to exclude Stage IV cancers and to analyse groups on an ‘as‐treated’ basis.ResultsWe identified 181 open (O‐RC), 163 laparoscopic (L‐RC) and 119 robotic (R‐RC) right colectomies. O‐RC was more commonly performed in women with metastatic disease. The mean LN yield was 28, 29 and 34 in O‐RC, L‐RC and R‐RC, respectively; the respective mean LN‐LSS ratios were 0.83, 0.91 and 1.0. The R‐RC approach produced a higher LN yield than the other approaches (P < 0.01), and a higher LN‐LSS ratio than O‐RC (P < 0.01). These findings were unchanged in sensitivity analyses.ConclusionRobotic right colectomy improves LN yield and the LN‐LSS ratio, which may reflect better mesocolic excision. The effect of these findings on survival requires further investigation.
A retrospective analysis of the relationship between facial injury and mild traumatic brain injury
Authors: Abdul Razak Nurliza , Nordin Rifqah , Abd Rahman Normastura , Ramli Roszalina 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBackground/AimsThe association between facial injury characteristics and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the association between facial injury characteristics and mTBI.MethodsA retrospective review utilizing patients’ medical records at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was performed. Records of subjects with a history of facial trauma from 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012 were selected. Various levels and surgical speciality records were reviewed to ascertain the diagnoses of facial injuries and mTBI.ResultsA total of 348 medical records with the diagnosis of facial injuries were included. The prevalence of mTBI among these patients was 41.4% (95% CI 36.2‐46.6). The majority of the patients with mTBI were in the age group of 18‐25 years old. Patients with or without facial lacerations that were located on the lower face had a significant association with mTBI, P=.001, compared to other types of soft tissue injury. In addition, a statistically significant association was observed between facial fractures occurring to the middle face and mTBI, P=.018. Pearson chi‐square test also showed statistically significant association between the severity of facial injuries and mTBI, P=.018.ConclusionsMild traumatic brain injury should be suspected in patients with facial injuries and particularly those with lower face lacerations, midface fractures, moderate to severe facial injury and presence of multiple injuries.
Oomycota species associated with deciduous and coniferous seedlings in forest tree nurseries of Western Turkey
Authors: Lehtijärvi A. , Aday Kaya A. G. , Woodward S. , Jung T. , Doğmuş Lehtijärvi H. T. 
Published: June 2017

SummaryOccurrence and pathogenicity of Oomycota species causing root rot were investigated in 10 forest tree nurseries in western Turkey. Soil samples (129 in total) taken from the rhizosphere of symptomatic seedlings were baited for Oomycota using young leaves of Quercus suber, Rhododendron simsii and R. ponticum. Oomycota (178 isolates) were obtained by culturing on selective media, and identified using morphological methods followed by PCR and sequencing of the ITS rDNA and cox1 regions. Phytophthora aff. cactorum, P. citricola sensu lato, P. crassamura, P. syringae, Pythium aphanidermatum, Py. intermedium, Py. irregulare, Py. ultimum and Phytopythium vexans were common amongst the isolates. The highest diversity of Oomycota was found in the forest nurseries at Adapazarı‐Hendek and İzmir‐Torbalı. Pathogenicity tests showed that the isolates caused lesions on a range of host plants. The importance of these nursery infections in transferring potentially damaging oomycete species to Turkish forests is discussed.