bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does lake habitat alteration and land‐use pressure homogenize European littoral macroinvertebrate communities?
Authors: McGoff Elaine , Solimini Angelo G. , Pusch Martin T. , Jurca Tamara , Sandin Leonard 
Published: June 2013

Summary

Beta diversity is the compositional heterogeneity of biotic assemblages among sites, and biotic homogenization is the decrease in beta diversity, facilitated by an increase in similarity of biotic communities over time. Environmental harshness decreases the importance of stochastic processes in structuring assemblages, resulting in a homogenization of the biota.

We investigated if increasing nutrient enrichment, land‐use pressure, and within‐lake habitat alteration would decrease the beta diversity of macroinvertebrates in 46 lakes across Europe. Beta diversity was calculated using global multivariate dispersion. We utilized a structural equation modelling approach to account for hierarchical interdependence between potential impacts, that is the direct effects and correlations among the different impacts.

We found clear indications that European macroinvertebrate communities are being homogenized by ongoing lake shore development. Increasing land‐use pressure in the form of residential and commercial development had a direct negative effect on beta diversity (standardized coefficient = −0·40), as did roadways, albeit indirectly through an increase in engineering structures (standardized coefficient = −0·31). Increasing within‐lake silt levels also homogenized macroinvertebrate communities (standardized coefficient = −0·18), independent of near shore land use. Our results indicate the negative effect of both the near shore land‐use pressure and the within‐lake habitat alteration on macroinvertebrate beta diversity, with significant interactions between these pressures.

Habitat protection should take a more holistic approach to assessing lake development pressure, over a range of scales, as a solely site specific approach is not always biologically meaningful. Thus, future management plans should carefully control and mitigate ongoing development pressure if lake ecosystem health and resilience is to be maintained.

Synthesis and applications. This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate European‐wide homogenization of littoral macroinvertebrate lake communities with increasing habitat alteration and land‐use pressure. Significant interactions occur between different habitat scales, with no one scale entirely accounting for the homogenization effect. To avoid further biotic homogenization, development pressure must be carefully managed at multiple scales, and where possible, minimized. This presents a challenge, as globally there is an increasing expansion of the human population and a consequent increase in anthropogenic pressure across all habitats.
Does it make economic sense to restore rivers for their ecosystem services?
Authors: Acuña Vicenç , Díez José Ramón , Flores Lorea , Meleason Mark , Elosegi Arturo 
Published: June 2013

Summary

Temperate forests managed to maximize sustainable yield of wood products can reduce the availability of dead wood on the forest floor and in adjacent streams, which in turn can impair ecological processes such as retention and transformation of organic matter. Lack of tools to link ecological processes with their effects on human well‐being leads forest managers to ignore the cost on other services from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

We examine how adding dead wood to restore stream channel complexity affects the provision and value of selected ecosystem services, mainly related to the retention and transformation of matter and cycling of nutrients, as well as to the effects on aquatic biota. Specifically, we evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of stream restoration through a comparative analysis of four reach‐scale projects in streams flowing through temperate forest and into a drinking water reservoir and two scenarios of active and passive restoration at the basin scale.

Results indicate that the lack of dead wood in streams has an important economic cost because of the effects on fish provisioning, opportunities for recreation and tourism, water purification and erosion control. Active reach‐scale restoration resulted in a 10‐ to 100‐fold increase in the monetary benefits provided by streams, accounting as much as 1·8 € per metre of restored river length each year. Results of the reach‐scale cost–benefit analyses estimated that the time required to recover the active restoration investment ranged from 15 to 20 years in low‐ to middle‐order streams.

Synthesis and applications. Our study showed that restoration of natural wood loading in streams greatly increases the ecosystem services they provide. The benefits in terms of the analysed services surpass the costs of active restoration over realistic timeframes, whereas this was not the case for passive restoration. Inclusion of other ecosystem services such as conservation of biodiversity might make restoration more economically profitable. Overall, our study provides a decision framework for managing temperate riparian forests in the context of ecological services.
Delivery outcomes for nulliparous women at the extremes of maternal age – a cohort study
Authors: Vaughan DA , Cleary BJ , Murphy DJ 
Published: June 2013

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between extremes of maternal age (≤17 years or ≥40 years) and delivery outcomes.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingUrban maternity hospital in Ireland.PopulationA total of 36 916 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 2000 and 2011.MethodsThe study population was subdivided into five maternal age groups based on age at first booking visit: ≤17 years, 18–19 years, 20–34 years, 35–39 years and women aged ≥40 years. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between extremes of maternal age and delivery outcomes, adjusting for potential confounding factors.Main outcome measuresPreterm birth, admission to the neonatal unit, congenital anomaly, caesarean section.ResultsCompared with maternal age 20–34 years, age ≤17 years was a risk factor for preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.33–2.52). Babies born to mothers ≥40 years were more likely to require admission to the neonatal unit (adjOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06–1.72) and to have a congenital anomaly (adjOR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07–2.76). The overall caesarean section rate in nulliparous women was 23.9% with marked differences at the extremes of maternal age; 10.7% at age ≤17 years (adjOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34–0.62) and 54.4% at age ≥40 years (adjOR 3.24, 95% CI 2.67–3.94).ConclusionsExtremes of maternal age need to be recognised as risk factors for adverse delivery outcomes. Low caesarean section rates in younger women suggest that a reduction in overall caesarean section rates may be possible.
How Medicare Part D Benefit Phases Affect Adherence with Evidence‐Based Medications Following Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Stuart Bruce , Davidoff Amy , Erten Mujde , Gottlieb Stephen S. , Dai Mingliang , Shaffer Thomas , Zuckerman Ilene H. , Simoni‐Wastila Linda , Bryant‐Comstock Lynda , Shenolikar Rahul 
Published: June 2013

ObjectiveAssess impact of Medicare Part D benefit phases on adherence with evidence‐based medications after hospitalization for an acute myocardial infarction.Data SourceRandom 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries.Study DesignDifference‐in‐difference analysis of drug adherence by AMI patients stratified by low‐income subsidy (LIS) status and benefit phase.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsSubjects were identified with an AMI diagnosis in Medicare Part A files between April 2006 and December 2007 and followed until December 2008 or death (N = 8,900). Adherence was measured as percent of days covered (PDC) per month with four drug classes used in AMI treatment: angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta‐blockers, statins, and clopidogrel. Monthly exposure to Part D benefit phases was calculated from flags on each Part D claim.Principal FindingsFor non‐LIS enrollees, transitioning from the initial coverage phase into the Part D coverage gap was associated with statistically significant reductions in mean PDC for all four drug classes: statins (−7.8 percent), clopidogrel (−7.0 percent), beta‐blockers (−5.9 percent), and ACE inhibitor/ARBs (−5.1 percent). There were no significant changes in adherence associated with transitioning from the gap to the catastrophic coverage phase.ConclusionsAs the Part D doughnut hole is gradually filled in by 2020, Medicare Part D enrollees with critical diseases such as AMI who rely heavily on brand name drugs are likely to exhibit modest increases in adherence. Those reliant on generic drugs are less likely to be affected.
Gambling and problem gambling in the Netherlands
Authors: Goudriaan Anna E. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractAimsTo provide an overview of gambling in the Netherlands, focusing on historical background, policy, legislation, prevalence of problem gambling, availability of treatment options and research base.MethodsLiterature review.ResultsContradictions between gambling policy and practice have been present in the past 15–20 years, and have led to an increasingly stricter gambling regulation to retain the government policy to restrict gambling within a national monopoly. Conversely, political efforts have been made to legalize internet gambling, but have not yet been approved. Compared to other European countries, slot machine gambling and casino gambling are relatively popular, whereas betting is relatively unpopular. Last‐year problem gambling prevalence (South Oaks Gambling Screen score > 5) is estimated at 0.22–0.15% (2005, 2011). Treatment for problem gambling is covered by health insurance under the same conditions as substance dependence, but only a small proportion of Dutch problem gamblers seeks help at addiction treatment centres.ConclusionsGambling policy in the Netherlands has become stricter during recent last years in order to maintain the Dutch gambling monopoly. Problem gambling in the Netherlands is relatively stable. Dutch research on problem gambling has a lack of longitudinal studies. Most of the epidemiological gambling studies are reported in non‐peer‐reviewed research reports, which diminishes control by independent peers on the methodology and interpretation of results. Recent efforts to enhance consistency in research methods between gambling studies over time could enhance knowledge on changes in (problem) gambling in the Netherlands.
Desensitization in delayed drug hypersensitivity reactions – an EAACI position paper of the Drug Allergy Interest Group
Authors: Scherer K. , Brockow K. , Aberer W. , Gooi J. H. C. , Demoly P. , Romano A. , Schnyder B. , Whitaker P. , Cernadas J. S. R. , Bircher A. J. ,   for ENDA, the European Network on Drug Allergy and the EAACI Drug Allergy Interest Group
Published: June 2013

AbstractDrug hypersensitivity may deprive patients of drug therapy, and occasionally no effective alternative treatment is available. Successful desensitization has been well documented in delayed drug hypersensitivity reactions. In certain situations, such as sulfonamide hypersensitivity in HIV‐positive patients or hypersensitivity to antibiotics in patients with cystic fibrosis, published success rates reach 80%, and this procedure appears helpful for the patient management. A state of clinical tolerance may be achieved by the administration of increasing doses of the previously offending drug. However, in most cases, a pre‐existent sensitization has not been proven by positive skin tests. Successful re‐administration may have occurred in nonsensitized patients. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of desensitization is needed. Currently, desensitization in delayed hypersensitivity reactions is restricted to mild, uncomplicated exanthems and fixed drug eruptions. The published success rates vary depending on clinical manifestations, drugs, and applied protocols. Slower protocols tend to be more effective than rush protocols; however, underreporting of unsuccessful procedures is very probable. The decision to desensitize a patient must always be made on an individual basis, balancing risks and benefits. This paper reviews the literature and presents the expert experience of the Drug Hypersensitivity Interest Group of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
PI3K, ERK, p38 MAPK and integrins regulate CCR3‐mediated secretion of mouse and human eosinophil‐associated RNases
Authors: Shamri R. , Young K. M. , Weller P. F. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractBackgroundEosinophils have the capacity to secrete varied cytotoxic proteins. Among the proteins are the eosinophil‐associated RNases (EARs): the human eosinophil‐derived neurotoxin and eosinophilic cationic protein, and their murine ortholog EARs, which have been shown to be involved in host defense, tissue remodeling, and immunity regulation. However, the signal transduction that regulates EARs secretion in response to physiological stimuli, such as chemokines, has been little studied in human and scarcely in mouse eosinophils, the foremost animal model for eosinophil‐associated human diseases.ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to understand the signal transduction involved in the secretion of enzymatically active EARs following chemokine stimulation.MethodsFresh mouse and human eosinophils were stimulated with CCL11 and CCL24, and the secretion of enzymatically active EARs was detected using an RNase activity assay. The involvement of signaling factors or integrins was probed using specific inhibitors and blocking antibodies. Adhesion was evaluated by microscopy.ResultsWe found that secretion of mouse EARs in response to CCL11 and CCL24 was Gαi‐dependent. Both mouse and human eosinophils required the activation of PI3K, ERK, and p38 MAPK. In addition, the adhesion molecules β1 and β2 integrins were found to be crucial for EAR secretion, and we suggest a mechanism in which spreading is obligatory for EAR secretion.ConclusionsCollectively, these data suggest a common CCR3‐mediated signaling pathway that leads to EAR secretion in both mouse and human eosinophils. These findings are applicable for eosinophil‐mediated host defense and eosinophil‐associated diseases.
Novel membrane frizzled‐related protein gene mutation as cause of posterior microphthalmia resulting in high hyperopia with macular folds
Authors: Wasmann Rosemarie A. , Wassink‐Ruiter Jolien S. Klein , Sundin Olof H. , Morales Elisa , Verheij Joke B. G. M. , Pott Jan Willem R. 
Published: June 2013

Abstract.Purpose:  We present a genetic and clinical analysis of two sisters, 3 and 4 years of age, with nanophthalmos and macular folds.Methods:  Ophthalmological examination, general paediatric examination and molecular genetic analysis of the MFRP gene were performed in both affected siblings.Results:  Clinical analysis showed high hyperopia (+11 D and +12 D), short axial lengths (15 mm) and the presence of macular folds and optic nerve head drusen. Autofluorescence of the retina was generally normal with subtle macular abnormalities. Sequence analysis showed compound heterozygosity for severe MFRP mutations in both sisters: a previously reported p.Asn167fs (c.498dupC) and a novel stop codon mutation p.Gln91X (c.271C>T).Conclusion:  These are the youngest nanophthalmos patients in the literature identified with severe loss of MFRP function, showing already the known structural abnormalities for this disease. Adult patients affected by homozygous or compound heterozygous MFRP mutations generally show signs of retinal dystrophy, with ERG disturbances and RPE abnormalities on autofluorescence imaging. ERG examination could not be performed in these children, but extensive RPE abnormalities were not seen at this young age.
Late gestation over‐ and undernutrition predispose for visceral adiposity in response to a post‐natal obesogenic diet, but with differential impacts on glucose–insulin adaptations during fasting in lambs
Authors: Khanal P. , Husted S. V. , Axel A. M. D. , Johnsen L. , Pedersen K. L. , Mortensen M. S. , Kongsted A. H. , Nielsen M. O. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractAimTo investigate if late gestation under‐ or overnutrition has similar adverse impacts on visceral adiposity, metabolic and endocrine function in sheep, and if subsequent exposure to a high‐fat diet in early post‐natal life exaggerates the prenatal programming outcomes later in life.MethodsThirty‐six twin‐pregnant ewes were fed a NORM (fulfilling 100% of daily requirements for energy and protein), LOW (50% of NORM) or HIGH diet (150% of energy and 110% of protein requirements) during the last 6 weeks of gestation (term = 147 days). Post‐natally, the twin lambs were subjected to a high‐fat or a moderate diet until 6 months of age (around puberty), where metabolic and endocrine adaptability to fasting was examined, and subgroups of animals were killed.ResultsAnimals exposed to either prenatal under‐ or overnutrition had reduced subcutaneous fat deposition when fed a high‐fat diet, resulting in higher ratios of mesenteric and peri‐renal fat relative to subcutaneous fat compared to controls. This was not related to prenatal influences on plasma glucose or insulin. Irrespective of the prenatal diet, high‐fat‐fed lambs underwent changes resembling the metabolic syndrome with higher plasma glucose, cholesterol, non‐esterified fatty acids, triglyceride and lactate combined with abdominal obesity. Peri‐renal fat appeared to be a particular target of a high‐fat diet post‐natally.ConclusionBoth prenatal under‐ and overnutrition predisposed for abdominal adiposity, apparently by reducing the expandability of subcutaneous adipose tissue and induced differential physiological adaptations to fasting. This study does not suggest that exposure to gestational overnutrition will provide a protective effect against development of hyperglycaemia later in life.
Changes in forest structure, fuels and potential fire behaviour since 1873 in theLakeTahoeBasin,USA
Authors: Taylor Alan H. , Vandervlugt Anna M. , Maxwell R. Stockton , Beaty Robert M. , Airey Catherine , Skinner Carl N. 
Published: June 2013

AbstractQuestionsWhat were the characteristics of pre‐Anglo‐American (reference) forests before logging, grazing and fire exclusion, and how have they changed? What were the structural characteristics of canopy and surface fuels and potential fire behaviour in reference forests, and how do they compare to contemporary forests? How might information from reference conditions be used to inform current restoration and management practices?LocationLakeTahoeBasin in theSierraNevada,California andNevada,USA.MethodsTree species composition, size structure, basal area, density, surface and canopy fuels, and potential fire behaviour were quantified for reference and contemporary conditions in 32 stands. This was accomplished by integrating field measurements and dendroecological techniques with vegetation and fire behaviour simulation models.ResultsContemporaryJeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests had more trees, more basal area, smaller trees and a different size structure than the reference forest. Contemporary red fir and lodgepole pine forests also had more and smaller trees, but basal areas were similar to the reference. Red fir forests also shifted in composition towards lodgepole pine. Vegetation and fire models indicate that contemporary Jeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests have higher flame length, rates of spread, lower crowning and torching indices, and more passive crown fire than the reference forests. In contrast, contemporary red fir and lodgepole pine forests only had lower crowning and torching indices, and flame length and rate of spread were only higher with extreme weather and high surface fuel load.ConclusionsContemporary Jeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests deviate the most from the reference, and restoration objectives for these forests should emphasize density and basal area reduction of smaller diameter stems. Restoration objectives for red fir should shift species composition and reduce basal area by thinning smaller diameter lodgepole pine. For lodgepole pine forests, restoration objectives should include reduction of density and basal area of smaller diameter stems. Fire or other surface fuel treatments will be needed in all the forests to maintain lower fuel loads, albeit at different time intervals.
Clarithromycin substantially increases steady‐state bosentan exposure in healthy volunteers
Authors: Markert Christoph , Schweizer Yvonne , Hellwig Regina , Wirsching Theresia , Riedel Klaus‐Dieter , Burhenne Juergen , Weiss Johanna , Mikus Gerd , Haefeli Walter E. 
Published: June 2013

AimsThe aim of this study was to assess the effect of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and organic anion‐transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 inhibitor clarithromycin on the pharmacokinetics of bosentan. We also aimed to evaluate the impact of CYP2C9 and SLCO1B1 (encoding for OATP1B1) genotypes and their combination.MethodsWe assessed the effect of the OATP and CYP3A inhibitor clarithromycin on bosentan pharmacokinetics at steady state and concurrently quantified changes of CYP3A activity using midazolam as a probe drug. Sixteen healthy volunteers received therapeutic doses of bosentan (125 mg twice daily) for 14 days and clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily) concomitantly for the last 4 days, and bosentan pharmacokinetics was assessed on days 1, 10 and 14.ResultsClarithromycin significantly increased bosentan area under the plasma concentration–time curve of the dosing interval 3.7‐fold and peak concentration 3.8‐fold in all participants irrespective of the genotype. Clarithromycin also reduced CYP3A activity (midazolam clearance) in all participants; however, these changes were not correlated to the changes of bosentan clearance.ConclusionsClarithromycin substantially increases the exposure to bosentan, suggesting that dose reductions may be necessary.