bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seedling emergence and summer survival after direct seeding for woodland restoration on old fields in south‐western Australia
Authors: Hallett Lauren M. , Standish Rachel J. , Jonson Justin , Hobbs Richard J. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryRestoration opportunities provided by an emerging carbon market have largely focused on large‐scale woodland restoration projects. Gondwana Link is one such project operating in a 1000‐km corridor in south‐western Australia. We identified environmental factors affecting the success of woody‐species restoration at a dry‐woodland Gondwana Link site, Peniup, by relating the emergence and survival of 1522 seedlings to abiotic and biotic variables, including soil conditions and weed cover. We found soil conditions were highly variable across the site and, together with the dry Mediterranean‐climate summer, affected seedling emergence and summer survival. Seedling emergence was higher in sandy soils, but summer survival was higher in clay soils. Most of the seedlings that emerged and survived the summer were in either the Fabales or Myrtaceae family. We concluded that attempts to analyse restoration outcomes that do not consider how the influence of primary abiotic and biotic factors changes over time may mask the mechanisms driving seedling establishment.
Analysis of stress fractures associated with lameness inThoroughbred flat racehorses training on different track surfaces undergoing nuclear scintigraphic examination
Authors: MacKinnon M. C. , Bonder D. , Boston R. C. , Ross M. W. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryReasons for performing studyThere is limited information regarding the impact of training track surface on the occurrence of stress fractures.ObjectivesTo evaluate the impact of training track surface on the proportion of long bone and pelvic stress fractures associated with lameness inThoroughbred horses in flat race training undergoing nuclear scintigraphic examination.Study designRetrospective study.MethodsScintigraphic examinations ofThoroughbred flat racehorses were evaluated from 2 hospitals (hospital A [TorontoEquineHospital], 2003–2009, and hospital B [GeorgeD.WidenerHospital forLargeAnimals,School ofVeterinaryMedicine,University ofPennsylvania], 1994–2006). Horses admitted to hospital A trained at a single track, at which the main training surface changed from dirt to synthetic on 27August 2006. Two distinct populations existed at hospital B: horses that trained on dirt (numerous trainers) and those that trained on turf (single trainer). All scintigraphic images were evaluated by a blinded reviewer. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were used when appropriate, and significance was set at P<0.05.ResultsWhen reviewing 528 scintigraphic examinations from hospital A (257 dirt and 271 synthetic, numerous trainers), there was a greater proportion of stress fractures detected in scintigraphic examinations from horses training on a synthetic surface (31.7%) in comparison to scintigraphic examinations from horses training on a dirt surface (23.0%) at an earlier point in time (P = 0.03). There was a greater proportion of hindlimb/pelvic and tibial stress fractures diagnosed in horses from the synthetic surface‐trained group than from the dirt‐trained group at hospital A (P<0.04 and P = 0.03, respectively).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that training surface may affect the proportion of stress fractures diagnosed, but other factors, such as training philosophy, appear to be important. Future prospective investigations to fully elucidate the relationship between training track surface and the proportion of stress fractures and other nonfatal musculoskeletal injuries are warranted.
Optimizing carbon storage and biodiversity protection in tropical agricultural landscapes
Authors: Gilroy James J. , Woodcock Paul , Edwards Felicity A. , Wheeler Charlotte , Medina Uribe Claudia A. , Haugaasen Torbjørn , Edwards David P. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractWith the rapidly expanding ecological footprint of agriculture, the design of farmed landscapes will play an increasingly important role for both carbon storage and biodiversity protection. Carbon and biodiversity can be enhanced by integrating natural habitats into agricultural lands, but a key question is whether benefits are maximized by including many small features throughout the landscape (‘land‐sharing’ agriculture) or a few large contiguous blocks alongside intensive farmland (‘land‐sparing’ agriculture). In this study, we are the first to integrate carbon storage alongside multi‐taxa biodiversity assessments to compare land‐sparing and land‐sharing frameworks. We do so by sampling carbon stocks and biodiversity (birds and dung beetles) in landscapes containing agriculture and forest within the Colombian Chocó‐Andes, a zone of high global conservation priority. We show that woodland fragments embedded within a matrix of cattle pasture hold less carbon per unit area than contiguous primary or advanced secondary forests (>15 years). Farmland sites also support less diverse bird and dung beetle communities than contiguous forests, even when farmland retains high levels of woodland habitat cover. Landscape simulations based on these data suggest that land‐sparing strategies would be more beneficial for both carbon storage and biodiversity than land‐sharing strategies across a range of production levels. Biodiversity benefits of land‐sparing are predicted to be similar whether spared lands protect primary or advanced secondary forests, owing to the close similarity of bird and dung beetle communities between the two forest classes. Land‐sparing schemes that encourage the protection and regeneration of natural forest blocks thus provide a synergy between carbon and biodiversity conservation, and represent a promising strategy for reducing the negative impacts of agriculture on tropical ecosystems. However, further studies examining a wider range of ecosystem services will be necessary to fully understand the links between land‐allocation strategies and long‐term ecosystem service provision.
Nitrogen and phosphorus additions impact arbuscular mycorrhizal abundance and molecular diversity in a tropical montane forest
Authors: Camenzind Tessa , Hempel Stefan , Homeier Jürgen , Horn Sebastian , Velescu Andre , Wilcke Wolfgang , Rillig Matthias C. 
Published: April 2014

AbstractIncreased nitrogen (N) depositions expected in the future endanger the diversity and stability of ecosystems primarily limited by N, but also often co‐limited by other nutrients like phosphorus (P). In this context a nutrient manipulation experiment (NUMEX) was set up in a tropical montane rainforest in southern Ecuador, an area identified as biodiversity hotspot. We examined impacts of elevated N and P availability on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a group of obligate biotrophic plant symbionts with an important role in soil nutrient cycles. We tested the hypothesis that increased nutrient availability will reduce AMF abundance, reduce species richness and shift the AMF community toward lineages previously shown to be favored by fertilized conditions. NUMEX was designed as a full factorial randomized block design. Soil cores were taken after 2 years of nutrient additions in plots located at 2000 m above sea level. Roots were extracted and intraradical AMF abundance determined microscopically; the AMF community was analyzed by 454‐pyrosequencing targeting the large subunit rDNA. We identified 74 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with a large proportion of Diversisporales. N additions provoked a significant decrease in intraradical abundance, whereas AMF richness was reduced significantly by N and P additions, with the strongest effect in the combined treatment (39% fewer OTUs), mainly influencing rare species. We identified a differential effect on phylogenetic groups, with Diversisporales richness mainly reduced by N additions in contrast to Glomerales highly significantly affected solely by P. Regarding AMF community structure, we observed a compositional shift when analyzing presence/absence data following P additions. In conclusion, N and P additions in this ecosystem affect AMF abundance, but especially AMF species richness; these changes might influence plant community composition and productivity and by that various ecosystem processes.
Asynchrony of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in birds
Authors: Monnet Anne‐Christine , Jiguet Frédéric , Meynard Christine N. , Mouillot David , Mouquet Nicolas , Thuiller Wilfried , Devictor Vincent 
Published: April 2014

AbstractAimWe assessed the temporal trends of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversities in the French avifauna over the last two decades. Additionally, we investigated whether and how this multifaceted approach to biodiversity dynamics can reveal an increasing similarity of local assemblages in terms of species, traits and/or lineages.LocationFrance.MethodsWe analysed a large‐scale dataset that recorded annual changes in the abundance of 116 breeding birds in France between 1989 and 2012. We decomposed and analysed the spatio‐temporal dynamics of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversities and each of their α‐, β‐ and γ‐components. We also calculated the trend in the mean specialization of bird communities to track the relative success of specialist versus generalist species within communities during the same period.ResultsWe found large variation within and among the temporal trends of each biodiversity facet. On average, we found a marked increase in species and phylogenetic diversity over the period considered, but no particular trend was found for functional diversity. Conversely, changes in β‐diversities for the three facets were characterized by independent and nonlinear trends. We also found a general increase in the local occurrence and abundance of generalist species within local communities.Main conclusionsThese results highlight a relative asynchrony of the different biodiversity facets occurring at large spatial scales. We show why a multifaceted approach to biodiversity dynamics is needed to better describe and understand changes in community composition in macroecology and conservation biogeography.
A global 1‐km consensus land‐cover product for biodiversity and ecosystem modelling
Authors: Tuanmu Mao‐Ning , Jetz Walter 
Published: April 2014

AbstractAimFor many applications in biodiversity and ecology, existing remote sensing‐derived land‐cover products have limitations due to among‐product inconsistency and their typically non‐continuous nature. Here we aim to help address these shortcomings by generating a 1‐km resolution global product that provides scale‐integrated and accuracy‐weighted consensus land‐cover information on an approximately continuous scale.LocationGlobal.MethodsUsing a generalized classification scheme and an accuracy‐based integration approach, we integrated four global land‐cover products. We evaluated the performance of this product compared with inputs for estimating subpixel 30‐m resolution land cover. We also compared the accuracy of deductive and inductive species distribution models built with the different products for modelling the continental distributions of six avian habitat specialists.ResultsOur product offers accuracy‐weighted consensus information on the prevalence of 12 land‐cover classes within every nominal 1‐km pixel across the globe (except for Antarctica). Compared with the four base products, it better captures the land‐cover information contained in the fine‐grain validation data for all classes combined and for most individual classes. It also has the highest sensitivity and overall accuracy for detecting the presence of every fine‐grain land‐cover class. Both deductive and inductive models built with the consensus dataset have the highest or second highest accuracy for modelling bird species distributions.Main conclusionsOur consensus product integrates the four base products and successfully maximizes accuracy and reduces errors of omission. Specifically, the consensus product reduces limitations caused by misclassifications, false absence rates and the categorical format of existing land‐cover products. Consequently, it surpasses single base products in the ability to capture subpixel land‐cover information and the utility for modelling species distributions. Both the presented methodology and the consensus product have multiple applications in biodiversity research and for understanding and modelling of global terrestrial ecosystems.
Medical co‐morbidities and practice
Authors: Kulkarni R. , Mauser‐Bunschoten E. P. , Stedman C. , Street A. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryAll‐oral treatments of hepatitis C (HCV) have been trialled in patients with hereditary bleeding disorders and found to be effective. Further refinements of dosing and duration are being established. Importantly for patient acceptability these regimens are interferon‐free. Cohort studies in older patients with haemophilia direct the need for attention to weight control, exercice, assessment of cardiovascular risk, especially hypertension and detection of osteoporosis. Where patients live a long way from a comprehensive care centre, telemedicine connections can engage centre experts with the patient and his/her local practitioners in devising and monitoring care plans
Inhibitors – cellular aspects and novel approaches for tolerance
Authors: Scott D. W. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryThe immune response against therapeutic clotting factors VIII and IX (FVIII and FIX) is a major adverse event that can effectively thwart their effectiveness in correcting bleeding disorders. Thus, a significant number of haemophilia patients form antibodies, called inhibitors, which neutralize the procoagulant functions of therapeutic cofactors FVIII (haemophilia A) or FIX (haemophilia B). Understanding the cellular and molecular aspects of inhibitor formation is critical to designing tolerogenic therapies for clinical use. This review will focus on the basis of the immune response to FVIII, in particular, and will discuss emerging efforts to not only reduce immunogenicity but also to prevent and/or reverse inhibitor formation.
Genetic testing in bleeding disorders
Authors: de Brasi C. , El‐Maarri O. , Perry D. J. , Oldenburg J. , Pezeshkpoor B. , Goodeve A. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryThe aim of molecular genetic analysis in families with haemophilia is to identify the causative mutation in an affected male as this provides valuable information for the patient and his relatives. For the patient, mutation identification may highlight inhibitor development risk or discrepancy between different factor VIII assays. For female relatives, knowledge of the familial mutation can facilitate carrier status determination and prenatal diagnosis. Recent advances in understanding mutations responsible for haemophilia and methods for their detection are presented. For reporting of such mutations, participation in external quality assessment ensures that essential patient and mutation details are routinely included and that pertinent information is incorporated in the interpretation.
Current status of haemophilia gene therapy
Authors: High K. H. , Nathwani A. , Spencer T. , Lillicrap D. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryAfter many reports of successful gene therapy studies in small and large animal models of haemophilia, we have, at last, seen the first signs of success in human patients. These very encouraging results have been achieved with the use of adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vectors in patients with severe haemophilia B. Following on from these initial promising studies, there are now three ongoing trials of AAV‐mediated gene transfer in haemophilia B all aiming to express the factor IX gene from the liver. Nevertheless, as discussed in the first section of this article, there are still a number of significant hurdles to overcome if haemophilia B gene therapy is to become more widely available. The second section of this article deals with the challenges relating to factor VIII gene transfer. While the recent results in haemophilia B are extremely encouraging, there is, as yet, no similar data for factor VIII gene therapy. It is widely accepted that this therapeutic target will be significantly more problematic for a variety of reasons including accommodating the larger factor VIII cDNA, achieving adequate levels of transgene expression and preventing the far more frequent complication of antifactor VIII immunity. In the final section of the article, the alternative approach of lentiviral vector‐mediated gene transfer is discussed. While AAV‐mediated approaches to transgene delivery have led the way in clinical haemophilia gene therapy, there are still a number of potential advantages of using an alternative delivery vehicle including the fact that ex vivo host cell transduction will avoid the likelihood of immune responses to the vector. Overall, these are exciting times for haemophilia gene therapy with the likelihood of further clinical successes in the near future.
Inhibitors – genetic and environmental factors
Authors: Lillicrap D. , Fijnvandraat K. , Santagostino E. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryIt is known that a large number of both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of inhibitor development, but underlying pathogenetic mechanisms are still under investigation. The clinical research on inhibitors towards factor VIII (FVIII) is challenged by the fact that this is an infrequent event occurring in a rare disease. Therefore, it is widely accepted that complementary studies involving animal models can provide important insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of this complication. In this respect, mouse models have been studied for clues to FVIII immunogenicity, natural history of immunity and for different approaches to primary and secondary tolerance induction. In the clinical setting, the type of FVIII product used and the occurrence of product switching are considered important factors which may have an influence on inhibitor development. The evaluation of data currently available in the literature does not prove unequivocally that a difference in the immunogenicity exists between particular FVIII products (e.g. recombinant vs. plasma‐derived, full length vs. B‐domainless). In addition, national products switches have occurred and, in this context, switching was not associated with an enhanced inhibitor risk. In contrast with severe haemophilia A, patients with moderate and mild haemophilia A receive FVIII treatment infrequently for bleeds or surgery. In this condition the inhibitor risk is low but remains present lifelong, requiring continuous vigilance, particularly after intensive FVIII exposure.
Novel products for haemostasis
Authors: Shima M. , Hermans C. , de Moerloose P. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryThe primary major issue in haemophilia treatment remains the development of inhibitors. Recently two novel bypassing products have been developed. First, a humanized bispecific antibody against FIXa and FX, termed hBS23, was produced utilizing these two molecules placed into a spatially appropriate position to mimic FVIIIa, and recently this mimetic activity and the pharmacokinetics of the original antibody were improved by engineering the charge properties of the variable region within the immunoglobulin. Using the new antibody, termed ACE910, a phase 1 study in 64 Japanese and Caucasian healthy adults was performed and data from this trial suggested that the product had medically acceptable safety and tolerability profiles. The other new bypassing agent is named MC710, and consists of a mixture of plasma‐derived FVIIa and FX. Preclinical studies using in vitro and in vivo haemophilia B inhibitor monkey models indicated that the haemostatic effects of FVIIa and FX were enhanced by simultaneous administration. Results from phase I and II clinical studies suggested that MC710 had equal or greater pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic (PD), efficacy and safety profiles than conventional bypassing agents in the treatment of joint bleeding in haemophilia patients with inhibitors. Another significant current issue in this context is the increased medical cost of conventional treatment due to the higher consumption of concentrates. Biosimilar products may offer advantages in these circumstances and may offer a less expensive alternative. Regulatory issues, however, together with acceptability of biosimilar materials and reimbursement policies as well as supply and demand incentives remain to be considered. Rare bleeding disorders (RBDs) have attracted less attention from the pharmaceutical industry than haemophilia or von Willebrand disease due to the limited number of patients involved. Many cases of this type have been treated, therefore, using fresh frozen plasma (FFP) or prothrombin complex concentrates (PCCs) which carry serious risks of infections, allergic reactions and fluid overload. Several specific plasma‐derived or recombinant products including fibrinogen, FVIIa, FXI and FXIII have now become available, however, and a phase III clinical study of recombinant FXIIIa has recently been completed demonstrating safety and efficacy of substances of this nature.
Joint WFH‐ISTH session: issues in clinical trial design
Authors: Peyvandi F. , Farrugia A. , Iorio A. , Key N. S. , Srivastava A. 
Published: April 2014

SummaryHaemophilia therapy is experiencing an unprecedented expansion in the number and novelty of clotting factor concentrates. Every product must be licensed by regulatory authorities, primarily on the basis of its safety and efficacy profiles. The low prevalence of haemophilia, and other inherited bleeding disorders, presents a significant challenge to patient recruitment for preauthorization clinical trials, especially given the low frequency of inhibitory antibodies, the major adverse event related to clotting factor exposure. Other challenges include a lack of harmonization between the major regulatory authorities in certain key areas, the selection of laboratory monitoring methodologies and the difficulty in obtaining high‐quality phase IV safety data following authorization. These aspects will be reviewed in this session, which will also highlight the roles played by the World Federation of Hemophilia and International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis in the promotion of these discussions.