bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How to develop native plant communities in heavily altered ecosystems: examples from large‐scale surface mining in Germany
Authors: Tischew Sabine , Baasch Annett , Grunert Harald , Kirmer Anita 
Published: December 2013

AbstractQuestionsDoes site alteration caused by mining impede spontaneous colonization of native species assemblies to the advantage of neophytic species at the landscape unit and plant community scale? To what extent can mined site conditions support the establishment of rare plant species assemblies that are locally novel but of regional conservation value? What effects have dispersal limitation and stochasticity on spontaneous succession trajectories and how does community structure and composition differ between actively restored sites and ancient grasslands?LocationCentral German Lignite Mining District.MethodsWe used comprehensive databases to compare floristic composition in mined sites and their surroundings. At the community level, we choose a chronosequence approach to analyse spontaneous colonization of target species into mined sites and the development of calcareous grasslands, compared to ancient as well as actively restored grasslands. Statistical analyses involved Mann–Whitney U‐test, GNMDS and binary logistic regression.ResultsThe proportion of neophytes in spontaneously developing mined sites was low and similar to the unmined surroundings at the landscape unit as well as plant community scale. Mined sites harbour an impressive number of native and even rare species. However, plant communities lacking immigration of target grasses typical for calcareous grasslands lead to divergences regarding species and functional composition compared to ancient calcareous grasslands. In contrast, plots with actively introduced target species at the onset of succession show a generally more rapid trajectory towards ancient grasslands. The probability of establishing in mined sites increases with higher abundance of calcareous dry grassland species in the vicinity, indicating the importance of high propagule pressure in a landscape context, whereas long‐distance dispersal traits were significant, but less important.ConclusionsSpontaneous succession supports the development of native plant communities. However, because of propagule limitation, colonization processes may lead to novel species assemblies. While dispersal stochasticity during spontaneous succession results in a higher γ‐diversity, species introduction supports faster trajectories towards desired reference states providing important ecosystem services such as erosion control. The key decision of whether to rely on spontaneous succession or not mainly depends on the surrounding landscape matrix and history, the need for erosion control and/or rapid compensation for lost habitats.
Will is not enough: Coping planning and action control as mediators in the prediction of fruit and vegetable intake
Authors: Godinho Cristina A. , Alvarez Maria‐João , Lima Maria Luísa , Schwarzer Ralf 
Published: December 2013

ObjectivesThis study investigates the joint role of coping planning and action control as volitional predictors of changes in the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables.DesignIn a longitudinal online survey, 203 participants completed assessments at baseline (Time 1), 1 week (Time 2), and 2 weeks later (Time 3).MethodsStructural equation modelling was used to test a series of three nested models. In Model 1, only intention predicted behaviour; in Model 2, both coping planning and action control were tested as mediators between intention and behaviour; and Model 3 specified coping planning and action control as sequential mediators between intention and behaviour.ResultsModel 3 provided the best fit to the data. The mediating role of coping planning and action control between intention and fruit and vegetable intake was confirmed, whereby multiple mediation occurred in a sequential manner, with coping planning preceding action control.ConclusionsFor motivated individuals who are not yet following the recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, coping planning and action control reflect a psychological mechanism that operates in changes in fruit and vegetable consumption.
Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Intention formation might not be enough to change complex health behaviours, such as dietary behaviours.

Volitional factors – Such as action planning – Have shown to be important for the translation of intentions into behaviour, particularly for fruit and vegetable intake.

Other volitional factors such as coping planning and action control have been less studied as potential mediators between intention and fruit and vegetable intake.

What does this study add?

This study provides further evidence on the psychological mechanisms of fruit and vegetable intake.

Coping planning and action control are shown to act jointly in the prediction of fruit and vegetable intake.

A double mediation was found, attesting the translation of intention into fruit and vegetable intake sequentially by coping planning and action control.
Complications and outcomes of salvage robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy: a single‐institution experience
Authors: Yuh Bertram , Ruel Nora , Muldrew Shantel , Mejia Rosa , Novara Giacomo , Kawachi Mark , Wilson Timothy 
Published: December 2013

ObjectiveTo determine the peri‐operative outcomes of men undergoing salvage robot‐assisted prostatectomy (RARP) and to examine the complications, functional consequences and need for additional treatments after salvage RARP.Patients and MethodsAt total of 51 consecutive patients underwent salvage RARP after previous failed local therapy. Biochemical recurrence (BCR) was defined as two postoperative PSA measurements ≥0.2 ng/mL. Complications at any time postoperatively were recorded prospectively using a modified Clavien system. The Kaplan–Meier method was used for survival estimation, and regression models were used to identify the predictors of BCR or progression‐free survival (PFS) and complications.ResultsThe median age at salvage RARP was 68 years and a median of 68 months had elapsed from the time of primary treatment. The median follow‐up was 36 months. The median operation duration was 179 min with a median estimated blood loss of 175 mL. In all, 50% of patients had pathological stage 3 disease and positive surgical margins were found in 31% of patients. The estimated 3‐year BCR‐free or PFS was 57%. The overall complication rate was 47%, with a 35% major complication rate (Grade III–V). Potency was maintained in 23% of preoperatively potent patients and 45% of all patients regained urinary control. No clinical variables were predictive of major complications, but all patients with postoperative bladder neck contracture were incontinent. A higher PSA level and extracapsular extension were significantly associated with BCR or progression (P < 0.01).ConclusionsSalvage RARP provides oncological control with potential avoidance of systemic non‐curative therapy. Complication, incontinence and erectile dysfunction rates are significant but frequently correctable. This reinforces the need for proper patient counselling and selection.
Non‐parametric three‐way mixed ANOVA with aligned rank tests
Authors: Oliver‐Rodríguez Juan C. , Wang X. T. 
Published: December 2013

Research problems that require a non‐parametric analysis of multifactor designs with repeated measures arise in the behavioural sciences. There is, however, a lack of available procedures in commonly used statistical packages. In the present study, a generalization of the aligned rank test for the two‐way interaction is proposed for the analysis of the typical sources of variation in a three‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. It can be implemented in the usual statistical packages. Its statistical properties are tested by using simulation methods with two sample sizes (n = 30 and n = 10) and three distributions (normal, exponential and double exponential). Results indicate substantial increases in power for non‐normal distributions in comparison with the usual parametric tests. Similar levels of Type I error for both parametric and aligned rank ANOVA were obtained with non‐normal distributions and large sample sizes. Degrees‐of‐freedom adjustments for Type I error control in small samples are proposed. The procedure is applied to a case study with 30 participants per group where it detects gender differences in linguistic abilities in blind children not shown previously by other methods.
Submaximal exercise testing may be superior to the 6‐min walk test in assessing pulmonary arterial hypertension disease severity
Authors: Neal Jennifer E. , Lee Augustine S. , Burger Charles D. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIntroductionSubmaximal exercise testing (SET) assesses functional exercise capacity in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients and provides additional physiologic information compared with the 6‐min walk test (6MWT). The relative correlations of the 6MWT and SET using SHAPE‐HF™ with other markers of PAH severity, particularly echocardiogram (ECHO)‐derived mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP), have not been investigated.Objectives(i) Examine the correlation between SHAPE measures with the 6‐min walk distance (6MWD), and (ii) Compare SHAPE parameters and the 6MWD to clinical measures of PAH severity.Methods Fifty‐five consecutive group 1 PAH outpatients were evaluated in a single pulmonary hypertension referral center from March 2011 to June 2012. Data collected: World Health Organization (WHO) functional class (FC), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), ECHO, 6MWD and SHAPE results. Data are reported using mean ± standard deviation and Spearman correlation coefficients (r).ResultsNine patients were excluded. Of the 46 remaining patients, 78% were women and the average age was 61 ± 13 years. PAH characteristics: WHO FC III–IV 48%; idiopathic PAH 52%; BNP 198 ± 277 pg/mL; 6MWD 399 ± 97 m; ECHO right atrial pressure (RAP) 7 ± 4, pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) 63 ± 29 and MPAP 45 ± 17 mmHg. SET with SHAPE results: mean partial pressure of end‐tidal (PET) CO2 31 ± 6 mmHg at end‐exercise; ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2) 43 ± 16. Significant correlations were found between the 6MWD and SHAPE variables: VE/VCO2 (r = –0.57, P < 0.0001) and end‐exercise PETCO2 (r = 0.42, P = 0.004). VE/VCO2 correlated with WHO FC, BNP, RAP, MPAP and PASP and 6MWD only with WHO FC, BNP and PASP.ConclusionSHAPE outperformed 6MWD in comparison with other measures of PAH disease severity.
Long‐term clinicopathological impact of calcineurin inhibitor cessation without specific cytoreductive induction in kidney transplantation
Authors: Tanabe Tatsu , Morita Ken , Fujita Hiromi , Hatanaka Kanako , Ogawa Yayoi , Hirose Takayuki , Sasaki Hajime , Iwami Daiki , Hotta Kiyohiko , Nonomura Katsuya 
Published: December 2013

AbstractCalcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) have considerably improved renal allograft survival. However, their chronic use has various adverse effects, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and nephrotoxicity. We conducted a retrospective study of kidney transplant recipients using a CNI withdrawal protocol. Eleven of 13 patients who had stable graft function on triple‐drug therapy including a cyclosporine (CsA) were enrolled in this study. The dose of CsA was reduced by 20% every two wks until complete withdrawal. The mean period between the baseline and last biopsies was 97 (range: 21–123) months. No patient had an acute rejection episode during follow‐up. Progression of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy was seen in five and six cases, respectively. Arteriolar hyalinosis improved in three cases, but worsened in four. No patient lost his graft during the study. The mean serum creatinine level was 1.30 ± 0.26 mg/dL at baseline and stable for 10 yr after elimination (1.26 ± 0.11 mg/dL). At the end of the study, four of the eleven patients had reduced their antihypertensive drugs, and one patient had stopped hyperlipidemia treatment. CNI withdrawal can be implemented safely in stable renal transplant recipients and might lead to improved patient outcomes. Additional specific evidence of CNI nephrotoxicity should be elucidated.
The use of oral hypoglycaemic agents in pregnancy
Authors: Holt R. I. G. , Lambert K. D. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractWhile insulin has been the treatment of choice when lifestyle measures do not maintain glycaemic control during pregnancy, recent studies have suggested that certain oral hypoglycaemic agents may be safe and acceptable alternatives. With the exception of metformin and glibenclamide (glyburide), there are insufficient data to recommend treatment with any other oral hypoglycaemic agent during pregnancy. There are no serious safety concerns with metformin, despite it crossing the placenta. When used in the first trimester, there is no increase in congenital abnormalities and there appears to be a reduction in miscarriage, pre‐eclampsia and subsequent gestational diabetes. Studies of the use of metformin in gestational diabetes show at least equivalent neonatal outcomes, while reporting reductions in neonatal hypoglycaemia, maternal hypoglycaemia and weight gain and improved treatment satisfaction. Glibenclamide effectively lowers blood glucose in women with gestational diabetes, possibly with a lower treatment failure rate than metformin. Although generally well tolerated, some studies have reported higher rates of pre‐eclampsia, neonatal jaundice, longer stay in the neonatal care unit, macrosomia and neonatal hypoglycaemia. There is a paucity of long‐term follow‐up data on children exposed to oral agents in utero. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the UK National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have recommended that either metformin or glibenclamide can be used to treat gestational diabetes. Metformin is also recommended for use in the pre‐conception period by NICE. By contrast, the American Diabetes Association recommends that both drugs should only be used during pregnancy in the context of clinical trials.
Central correlation of muscle sympathetic nerve activation during baroreflex unloading – a microneurography–positron emission tomography study
Authors: Krämer Heidrun H. , Ament Stephan‐Johann , Breimhorst Markus , Klega Andre , Schmieg Katharina , Endres Corina , Buchholz Hans‐Georg , Elam Mikael , Schreckenberger Mathias , Birklein Frank 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThe baroreceptor reflex controls spontaneous fluctuations in blood pressure. One major control variable of the baroreflex is the sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity to muscles [MSNA; burst frequency (BF) and burst incidence (BI)], which can be quantitatively assessed by microneurography. We aimed to investigate the central regions involved in baroreflex regulation of MSNA. Healthy men (mean age 25 years) participated in three experimental sessions. (i) Microneurography recordings of MSNA from the left peroneal nerve during rest and baroreflex unloading, induced by lower body negative pressure (LBNP; −40 mmHg). If MSNA could be reliably recorded throughout this procedure (n = 15), the subjects entered the positron emission tomography (PET) experiments. The two PET sessions took place in a randomised order. Cerebral glucose metabolism (18‐fluorodeoxyglucose) was analysed after: (ii) baroreflex unloading (LBNP); and (iii) control condition (lying in the LBNP chamber without suction). The PET data were analysed employing SPM8. LBNP elicited a significant increase in MSNA in all successfully recorded subjects (BI: P = 0.001; F = 5.54; BF: P < 0.001; F = 36.59). As compared with the control condition, LBNP was associated with increased PET regional glucose metabolism bilaterally in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC; BA 11, 47). Related to the rise of BF, there was increased activation of the left OFC (BA 11); related to the rise of BI there was increased activation of the brainstem corresponding to the rostral ventrolateral medulla. Our data support a role for the ventrolateral medulla and the OFC in baroreflex‐mediated control of MSNA in humans.
In vivo treatment with the casein kinase 2 inhibitor 4,5,6,7‐tetrabromotriazole augments the slow afterhyperpolarizing potential and prevents acute epileptiform activity
Authors: Brehme Hannes , Kirschstein Timo , Schulz Robert , Köhling Rüdiger 
Published: December 2013

SummaryObjectiveThe slow afterhyperpolarizing potential (sAHP) following prolonged depolarization is a major intrinsic mechanism of neuronal inhibition, by powerfully dampening excitability for up to 2 s. Therefore, an altered sAHP function might be vulnerable to hyperexcitable states such as epilepsy. Here, we have investigated the role of casein kinase 2 (CK2) on the sAHP in control and chronically epileptic tissue.MethodsUsing the rat pilocarpine model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy, we performed whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings of acutely isolated CA1 pyramidal cells and field potential measurements on hippocampal slices.ResultsChronic oral administration of the CK2 inhibitor 4,5,6,7‐tetrabromotriazole (TBB) for 4 days prior to brain dissection caused a significant increase of the sAHP‐mediating current in both control and epileptic tissues. In contrast, when TBB was acutely applied during the patch‐clamp recording, the sAHP remained unaltered, indicating that chronic CK2 inhibition was required for sAHP augmentation. To test whether CK2 inhibition also has an anticonvulsive effect, we evoked recurrent epileptiform discharges (REDs) in hippocampal slice preparations by Mg2+ removal. It is important to note that chronic oral TBB administration abolished REDs induced by 0‐Mg2+ solution, suggesting that CK2 inhibition indeed has anticonvulsive and perhaps antiepileptogenic properties.SignificanceOur data demonstrated that CK2 inhibition augments the sAHP and might represent a novel mechanism of action of anticonvulsant drugs.
Mapping the Conceptual Space of Jealousy
Authors: Sobraske Katherine Hanson , Boster James S. , Gaulin Steven J. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractEvolutionary approaches to the study of romantic jealousy have principally been guided by the idea that there are two types of threats to romantic relationships—sexual and emotional—and that these two affect men and women's fitness differently. While this approach has garnered considerable empirical support, it has not investigated the full conceptual domain of jealousy. To do so, we employ techniques developed by cognitive anthropologists and psychologists. Correspondence analysis of similarity judgments among jealousy‐inducing exemplars reveals that threats to romantic relationships are spontaneously categorized along three plausibly adaptive dimensions: how severe they are, whether they suggest the presence of a specific rival, and whether they imply deception by the romantic partner. This pattern of results is consistent across men and women, younger and older adults, and those with differing infidelity experience. The full conceptual landscape of jealousy highlights considerations that have been previously overlooked by researchers relying exclusively on sexual selection theory.
Trauma and the Making of Flexible Minds in the Tibetan Exile Community
Authors: Lewis Sara E. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractMental health in the Tibetan refugee community has been studied extensively, but like most research on political violence, these studies focus almost exclusively on trauma. Studies suggest this exile community seems to be unusually resilient; but from where does this capacity to thrive stem? On the basis of ethnographic research in Dharamsala, India, conducted over 14 months, this article demonstrates how Tibetans conceive of resilience as a learned and active process of making the mind more “spacious” and “flexible.” Drawing on extended participant observation and in‐depth interviews with 80 Tibetan refugees, this work explores why negative emotions associated with trauma exposure are considered toxic and how many Tibetans exposed to political violence engage in a Buddhist practice known as “mind training” (lojongin Tibetan) to abate its harmful effects. Attending to culturally sanctioned responses to political violence and displacement, this study challenges the notion that trauma is a universal experience.
The phosphate of pyridoxal‐5′‐phosphate is an acid/base catalyst in the mechanism of Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase
Authors: Phillips Robert S. , Scott Israel , Paulose Riya , Patel Akshay , Barron Taylor Colt 
Published: December 2013

Kynureninase (l‐kynurenine hydrolase, EC 3.7.1.3) catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of l‐kynurenine to l‐alanine and anthranilic acid. The proposed mechanism of the retro‐Claisen reaction requires extensive acid/base catalysis. Previous crystal structures showed that Tyr226 in the Pseudomonas fluorescens enzyme (Tyr275 in the human enzyme) hydrogen bonds to the phosphate of the pyridoxal‐5′‐phosphate (PLP) cofactor. This Tyr residue is strictly conserved in all sequences of kynureninase. The human enzyme complexed with a competitive inhibitor, 3‐hydroxyhippuric acid, showed that the ligand carbonyl O is located 3.7 Å from the phenol of Tyr275 (Lima, S., Kumar, S., Gawandi, V., Momany, C. & Phillips, R. S. (2009) J. Med. Chem. 52, 389–396). We prepared a Y226F mutant of P. fluorescens kynureninase to probe the role of this residue in catalysis. The Y226F mutant has approximately 3000‐fold lower activity than wild‐type, and does not show the pKa values of 6.8 on kcat and 6.5 and 8.8 on kcat/Km seen for the wild‐type enzyme (Koushik, S. V., Moore, J. A. III, Sundararaju, B. & Phillips, R. S. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 1376–1382). Wild‐type kynureninase shows a resonance at 4.5 ppm in 31P‐NMR, which is shifted to 5.0, 3.3 and 2.0 ppm when the potent inhibitor 5‐bromodihydrokynurenine is added. However, Y226F kynureninase shows resonances at 3.6 and 2.5 ppm, and no change in the peak position is seen when 5‐bromodihydrokynurenine is added. Taken together, these results suggest that Tyr226 mediates proton transfer between the substrate and the phosphate, which accelerates formation of external aldimine and gem‐diol intermediates. Thus, the phosphate of PLP acts as an acid/base catalyst in the mechanism of kynureninase.