bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sacred forests of India: a strong tradition of community-based natural resource management
Authors: ORMSBY ALISON A. , BHAGWAT SHONIL A. 
Published: August 2010

SUMMARYSacred forests represent an important long-held tradition of conserving specific land areas that have cultural, and often religious, significance. India, with its diversity of cultures and traditions, has over 100 000 sacred forests. Many of these groves are forest fragments in agricultural landscapes. In most cases, community members are at least aware of these fragments, if not actively involved in their protection and management. This review focuses on the Western Ghats in southern India and Meghalaya state in north-eastern India, both international biodiversity hotspots. In addition to the cultural significance of sacred forests, a number of studies have suggested that they are important refuges for conservation of biological diversity, including medicinal plants, within highly anthropogenic landscapes. Whilst sacred groves have been successful conservation areas, current threats to these forests are numerous, ranging from pressures for use of timber and other forest products to clearing for agriculture or general changes in cultural traditions. A variety of arrangements exist for ownership and management of sacred forests, making it necessary to identify solutions on a case-by-case basis. Support for the continued practice of the tradition of sacred forest protection is needed in order to provide a culturally sensitive model for community-based natural resource management.
Institutional choice and local legitimacy in community-based forest management: lessons from Cameroon
Authors: BROWN H. CAROLYN PEACH , LASSOIE JAMES P. 
Published: August 2010

SUMMARYDecentralization of forest management has become a common policy globally which has allowed communities to regain rights removed through colonization and central state management of forests. However, socioeconomic and environmental outcomes of such community-based forest management schemes have been mixed. Studies have shown the importance of institutions in influencing the success of these new governance arrangements. Based on an extensive literature review supplemented by qualitative research, using focus groups and semi-structured interviews, conducted in nine villages in the humid forest zone comprising three community forests, this research investigated the successes and challenges from decentralization of forest management in Cameroon. A key constraint on success was the inappropriate institutional structure at the local level with responsibility to manage community forests. Community forest management committees with no internally recognized legitimacy and dominated by local elites had replaced roles once played by traditional authorities. Qualitative research showed that in the humid forest zone of Cameroon, the system of accountability for forest resources, prior to the enactment of community forest legislation, included those with historical traditional cultural authority, in the form of clan or lineage heads, as well as the village chief, a legacy of colonial power. Village chiefs or other members of the village council are also selected on the basis of their good moral character. Community forest management committees that are a hybrid of customary authorities and other representatives of the population chosen following the criteria for local legitimacy may capture the best of historical social regulation and build on it so that the local committee may be seen as being accountable to the local population. Since such hybrid institutions are not without their risks, it is important that these institutions be accountable to a local democratic government to further increase their transparency and accountability. Models of community-based natural resource management that incorporate culturally appropriate requirements of legitimacy and accountability in crafting local institutions may have more success in accomplishing both socioeconomic and environmental goals.
The establishment of a new ecological guild of pollinating insects on sub-Antarctic South Georgia
Authors: Convey P. , Key R.S. , Key R.J.D. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractWe report the establishment of two representatives of a new ecological functional group on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia - pollinating insects - in the form of the hoverfly Eristalis croceimaculata Jacobs (Diptera, Syrphidae) and the blowfly Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Calliphoridae). The floricolous adults of these two species provide a new ecological role, pollination, in the ecosystems of this island. The activity of their respectively saprophogous or necrophagous larvae will also augment that of the native insect and microarthropod soil fauna. We discuss the potential new synergy between this functional group and that of a number of established non-native plants, reliant on insect pollinators for successful seed-set and hence dispersal, that are currently of persistent status with very limited local distributions.
Dietary profile of urban adult population in South India in the context of chronic disease epidemiology (CURES – 68)
Authors: Radhika Ganesan , Sathya Rangaswamy M , Ganesan Anbazhagan , Saroja Raghavan , Vijayalakshmi Parthasarathy , Sudha Vasudevan , Mohan Viswanathan 
Published: August 2010

AbstractObjectiveFew dietary surveys have been done with reference to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, in India, which is considered to be the diabetes capital of the world. We report on the dietary intake of urban adults living in Chennai, South India.DesignA population-based cross-sectional study.SettingA representative population of urban Chennai in southern India.SubjectsThe study population comprised 2042 individuals aged ≥20 years selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Dietary intake was measured using a validated and previously published interviewer-administered semi-quantitative meal-based FFQ.ResultsThe mean daily energy intake was 10 393 (sd 2347) kJ (male: 10953 (sd 2364) kJ v. female: 9832 (sd 233) kJ). Carbohydrates were the major source of energy (64 %), followed by fat (24 %) and protein (12 %). Refined cereals contributed to the bulk of the energy (45·8 %), followed by visible fats and oils (12·4 %) and pulses and legumes (7·8 %). However, energy supply from sugar and sweetened beverages was within the recommended levels. Intake of micronutrient-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetable consumption (265 g/d), and fish and seafoods (20 g/d), was far below the FAO/WHO recommendation. Dairy and meat products intake was within the national recommended intake.ConclusionsThe diet of this urban South Indian population consists mainly of refined cereals with low intake of fish, fruit and vegetables, and all of these could possibly contribute to the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes in this population.
Socio-economic and demographic variations in school lunch participation of French children aged 3–17 years
Authors: Dubuisson Carine , Lioret Sandrine , Dufour Ariane , Calamassi-Tran Gloria , Volatier Jean-Luc , Lafay Lionel , Turck Dominique 
Published: August 2010

AbstractObjectiveTo assess school canteen attendance in a French nationally representative sample of children and to analyse its association with the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the children and their families.DesignData from the second French national cross-sectional food consumption survey (INCA2), performed in 2006–2007, were used. Information on usual weekly school canteen attendance was collected through a self-reported questionnaire, and demographic and socio-economic variables through a face-to-face questionnaire. The associations between school canteen attendance and the socio-economic and demographic variables were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analyses.SettingThe INCA2 sample was representative of the children aged 3–17 years in France.SubjectAnalysis was performed on 1413 schoolchildren who completed the school canteen attendance questions.ResultsSome 65·6 % of schoolchildren aged 3–17 years had school lunch at least once weekly. This rate of attendance was positively correlated with age. Whatever the school level, school canteen attendance was positively associated with the educational level of the caregiver/parent. In pre- and elementary-school children, enrolment at the school canteen was also higher when the caregiver/parent worked, or in single-parent families. In secondary-school children, school lunch participation decreased with children living in more densely populated areas and increased with the level of the household’s living standards.ConclusionsSchool canteen attendance was positively associated with children’s socio-economic background. This could reduce the effectiveness of the forthcoming school meal composition regulations designed to improve the diet of children from deprived backgrounds, who are more likely to have unhealthy food habits.
Health technology appraisal and the courts: accountability for reasonableness and the judicial model of procedural justice
Authors: Syrett Keith 
Published: August 2010

AbstractRecommendations issued by agencies undertaking appraisals of health technologies at the national level may impact upon the availability of certain treatments and services in some publicly funded health systems, and, as such, have regularly been subject to challenge, including by way of litigation. In addition to expertise in the evaluation of evidence, fairness of procedures has been identified as a necessary component of a claim to legitimacy in such circumstances. This article analyses the assessment of courts in three jurisdictions of the fairness of decision-making by such agencies and evaluates the judicial reading of procedural justice developed in this particular context against the conditions of ‘accountability for reasonableness’.
Archaea in artificial environments: Their presence in global spacecraft clean rooms and impact on planetary protection
Authors: Moissl-Eichinger Christine 
Published: August 2010

Abstract
The presence and role of Archaea in artificial, human-controlled environments is still unclear. The search for Archaea has been focused on natural biotopes where they have been found in overwhelming numbers, and with amazing properties. However, they are considered as one of the major group of microorganisms that might be able to survive a space flight, or even to thrive on other planets. Although still concentrating on aerobic, bacterial spores as a proxy for spacecraft cleanliness, space agencies are beginning to consider Archaea as a possible contamination source that could affect future searches for life on other planets. This study reports on the discovery of archaeal 16S rRNA gene signatures not only in US American spacecraft assembly clean rooms but also in facilities in Europe and South America. Molecular methods revealed the presence of Crenarchaeota in all clean rooms sampled, while signatures derived from methanogens and a halophile appeared only sporadically. Although no Archaeon was successfully enriched in our multiassay cultivation approach thus far, samples from a European clean room revealed positive archaeal fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) signals of rod-shaped microorganisms, representing the first visualization of Archaea in clean room environments. The molecular and visual detection of Archaea was supported by the first quantitative PCR studies of clean rooms, estimating the overall quantity of Archaea therein. The significant presence of Archaea in these extreme environments in distinct geographical locations suggests a larger role for these microorganisms not only in natural biotopes, but also in human controlled and rigorously cleaned environments.
Determinants of the distribution of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities at the landscape scale
Authors: Bru D , Ramette A , Saby N P A , Dequiedt S , Ranjard L , Jolivet C , Arrouays D , Philippot L 
Published: August 2010

AbstractLittle information is available regarding the landscape-scale distribution of microbial communities and its environmental determinants. However, a landscape perspective is needed to understand the relative importance of local and regional factors and land management for the microbial communities and the ecosystem services they provide. In the most comprehensive analysis of spatial patterns of microbial communities to date, we investigated the distribution of functional microbial communities involved in N-cycling and of the total bacterial and crenarchaeal communities over 107 sites in Burgundy, a 31 500 km2 region of France, using a 16 × 16 km2 sampling grid. At each sampling site, the abundance of total bacteria, crenarchaea, nitrate reducers, denitrifiers- and ammonia oxidizers were estimated by quantitative PCR and 42 soil physico-chemical properties were measured. The relative contributions of land use, spatial distance, climatic conditions, time, and soil physico-chemical properties to the spatial distribution of the different communities were analyzed by canonical variation partitioning. Our results indicate that 43–85% of the spatial variation in community abundances could be explained by the measured environmental parameters, with soil chemical properties (mostly pH) being the main driver. We found spatial autocorrelation up to 739 km and used geostatistical modelling to generate predictive maps of the distribution of microbial communities at the landscape scale. The present study highlights the potential of a spatially explicit approach for microbial ecology to identify the overarching factors driving the spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities even at the landscape scale.
BDVal: reproducible large-scale predictive model development and validation in high-throughput datasets
Authors: Dorff Kevin C. , Chambwe Nyasha , Srdanovic Marko , Campagne Fabien 
Published: August 2010

AbstractSummary: High-throughput data can be used in conjunction with clinical information to develop predictive models. Automating the process of developing, evaluating and testing such predictive models on different datasets would minimize operator errors and facilitate the comparison of different modeling approaches on the same dataset. Complete automation would also yield unambiguous documentation of the process followed to develop each model. We present the BDVal suite of programs that fully automate the construction of predictive classification models from high-throughput data and generate detailed reports about the model construction process. We have used BDVal to construct models from microarray and proteomics data, as well as from DNA-methylation datasets. The programs are designed for scalability and support the construction of thousands of alternative models from a given dataset and prediction task.Availability and Implementation: The BDVal programs are implemented in Java, provided under the GNU General Public License and freely available at http://bdval.campagnelab.orgContact: fac2003@med.cornell.edu
A Single‐center Experience With Methotrexate After Thiopurine Therapy in Pediatric Crohn Disease
Authors: Boyle Brendan , Mackner Laura , Ross Christina , Moses Jonathan , Kumar Soma , Crandall Wallace 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTBackground and Aim:Thiopurines are a common, effective means of maintaining remission in pediatric Crohn disease (CD). Methotrexate (MTX) may be considered for those intolerant of or unresponsive to thiopurines. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of MTX as maintenance therapy in patients previously treated with thiopurines.Patients and Methods:All of the patients at Nationwide Children's Hospital from 1998 to 2007 with an International Classification of Diseases code indicative of CD were identified. Patients with a diagnosis of CD, a history of prior thiopurine use, no current infliximab therapy, and at least 6 months of follow‐up after MTX initiation were included. The primary outcome was defined as steroid‐/infliximab‐free remission determined by the physician global assessment at 6 and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included subsequent treatment with infliximab and/or corticosteroids, rate of discontinuation of MTX, and adverse events (AEs).Results:Twenty‐seven patients (17 boys, 63%) with a mean age at diagnosis of 12.3 ± 0.7 years and mean disease duration of 1.49 ± 0.3 years were identified. Indications for MTX included nonresponse to thiopurines, AE, and poor adherence to thiopurines. At 6 and 12 months, 13 of 27 patients (48.1%) and 9 of 27 patients (33.3%), respectively, were in steroid‐/infliximab‐free remission. A total of 10 patients (37.0%) required infliximab therapy during the 12‐month period and 5 patients discontinued MTX. Nausea was the most commonly reported AE. Transient transaminase elevation occurred in 4 patients and transient leukopenia in 2 patients.Conclusions:MTX can be effective as maintenance therapy for patients with pediatric CD previously intolerant of or unresponsive to thiopurines; however, greater than one third of this cohort required escalation to antitumor necrosis factor therapy within 12 months following MTX initiation. MTX was well tolerated.
Butyrate and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Can We Fix the Intestinal Leak?
Authors: Li Nan , Hatch Marguerite , Wasserfall Clive H , Douglas‐Escobar Martha , Atkinson Mark A , Schatz Desmond A , Neu Josef 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTObjectives:An intestinal permeability defect precedes type 1 diabetes mellitus and may be a permissive factor in its pathogenesis. Butyrate strengthens the intestinal tight junctions. We hypothesized that enteral administration of sodium butyrate (NaB) in preweaned rats would result in differences in the development of diabetes associated with decreased inflammation and pancreatic β‐cell destruction.Materials and Methods:Using biobreeding diabetes‐prone rat pups, oral NaB or saline was administered twice per day via micropipette from postnatal days 10 to 23. Rat pups were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups for the first experiment (control group, n = 7) and 3 different doses of butyrate groups (n = 8 for each group) and 2 groups for the second and third experiments (control n = 23; NaB at 400 mg · kg−1 · day−1, n = 20). Animals were studied into adulthood (up to day 140) for development of diabetes.Results:The results showed that the survival rates were 28% versus 20% (butyrate vs control). No significant differences in survival were seen; however, there was a trend of delaying of onset of diabetes in the butyrate group. There were no differences of pancreatic histology score of islet inflammation between the 2 groups. Cytokine‐induced neutrophil chemoattractant‐1 was lower in the butyrate group at a dose of 400 mg · kg−1 · day−1 in the distal small intestine (P = 0.008) and in the liver (P = 0.01). There were no significant differences in the tracer flux measurements across the distal ileum and colon between the 2 animal groups.Conclusions:Oral NaB given during the preweaning period did not significantly decrease the subsequent development of death from diabetes in biobreeding diabetes‐prone rats.
Does Laparoscopy Lower the Threshold for the Surgical Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Children?
Authors: Driessen Caroline , Verhoeven BH , Ten WE Tjon A , Van Heurn LWE 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTObjective:To assess whether laparoscopic surgery lowers the threshold for surgical intervention, we examined whether the introduction of the laparoscopic technique at our institution in 1997 has resulted in an increase in antireflux surgery in children at our clinic.Patients and Methods:The number of annual fundoplications between 1997 and 2008 at a single institution was assessed in children younger than 18 years. The number of fundoplications was compared with the number of pyloromyotomies and appendicectomies per year in the same period of time to prove or exclude a general increase in the referral of children.Results:Since 1997, the proportion of laparoscopic fundoplications increased from 60% in 1997 to 100% in 2008. During this period, 109 laparoscopic fundoplications were performed: 31 in the period from 1997 to 2002 and 78 from 2003 to 2008. Regression analysis shows a significant increase in the number of performed fundoplications (slope: 1.03 ± 0.28, P = 0.0043), whereas both the number of pyloromyotomies and appendicectomies remained stable (slopes: −0.14 ± 0.40, P = 0.73, and −0.75 ± 0.47, P = 0.14, respectively).Conclusions:Since the introduction of minimally invasive surgery at our tertiary referral center in 1997, the number of patients referred for an antireflux operation has increased. This cannot be explained by an increase of referrals from outside the region or a change in the indication for surgery. We conclude that laparoscopy lowers the threshold for the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children.
Seasonal Variation of Enteropathogens in Infants and Preschoolers With Acute Diarrhea in Western Mexico
Authors: Larrosa‐Haro Alfredo , Macias‐Rosales Rocío , Sánchez‐Ramírez Carmen A , Cortés‐López M Carmen , Aguilar‐Benavides Sergio 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTThe present study estimates the prevalence of some enteropathogens in infants and preschoolers with acute diarrhea. From 2006 to 2007, 5459 consecutive stool samples were evaluated. Cryptosporidium parvum was the parasite identified with the higher frequency (5.1%), followed by Giardia lamblia (1.2%). Campylobacter jejuni was isolated in 858 cases (15.7%) and was the most frequent enteropathogen overall. The rates of C parvum, Shigella, and Salmonella were higher in the summer. Rotavirus had the expected winter peak and it was the third enteropathogen because of its frequency. Overall frequency of stool‐reducing substances was 15.6% and was associated with a rotavirus‐positive test.
Interaction of Saccharomyces boulardii With Intestinal Brush Border Membranes: Key to Probiotic Effects?
Authors: Buts Jean‐Paul , De Keyser Nadine 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTThe probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii exerts beneficial effects in humans, which include trophic effects, anti‐inflammatory effects, antisecretory effects, inhibition of toxins, immunostimulatory effects, and resistance to bacterial overgrowth. This short communication discusses the interactions of the probiotic with brush border membrane (BBM) constituents because most of these effects are BBM mediated. The use of bacterial and yeast probiotics has increased dramatically in more and more clinical states, but their exact mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. The present communication focuses on the interactions of a confirmed yeast probiotic (S boulardii) on the constituents of BBMs.