bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental assessment of initial revegetation on abandoned paths in temperate deciduous forest
Authors: Roovers Pieter , Gulinck Hubert , Hermy Martin 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Do soil treatments and addition of seed facilitate rapid vegetation restoration on forest paths excluded from trampling?Location: Six mesophilic mixed deciduous Querco‐Fagetea forests in Flanders, northern Belgium.Methods: Enclosures on paths were excluded from trampling by fencing. In a full factorial design, plots were subjected to seeding, soil scarification, addition of organic material and inoculum. The following two years, seedling establishment and growth were sampled during spring and summer. Soil treatments and seeding effect was tested and seedling occurrence was analysed in relation to species' origin.Results: Spontaneous re vegetation was significant in all plots since fencing. Throughout the observation period seedling cover and height continued to increase. Seeding had an overall effect on seedling density, cover and height. Some soil treatment interactions significantly enhance re vegetation, although each individual soil treatment had no significant effect. Regardless of the seeded individuals, invading species mostly originated from the surrounding area and the seed bank.Conclusion: The preliminary results of this experiment imply that seeding is the only treatment which has a positive effect on re vegetation success in all circumstances, provided that the exclusion from trampling is effective.
Population size and fire intensity determine post‐fire abundance in grassland lichens
Authors: Johansson P. , Reich Peter B. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestions: What is the variability in abundance of lichens on grassland soil between and within fields after prescribed fire? Is post‐fire lichen abundance an effect of pre‐fire population size?Location: Cedar Creek Natural History Area, Minnesota, USA.Methods: Lichen abundance, estimated as ground cover and dominated by Cladonia spp., was mapped in plots in two fields before prescribed burning on 06.10.2003 and 15.10.2003 for the first time since abandonment in the 1950s. The plots were resurveyed one year post‐fire.Results: Post‐fire cover of Cladonia spp. varied strongly between the fields, most likely due to different weather conditions between the burn events, which resulted in different fire intensities, one of low and one of high intensity. In the field that experienced the low intensity fire, post‐fire cover of Cladonia spp. was still relatively high, and showed a positive relationship with pre‐fire cover, while no such relationship was found after the high intensity fire. In that field Cladonia spp. experienced high mortality rates irrespective of pre‐fire cover.Conclusions: This study provides an example of how species response to disturbance can be a function of population size, but that this relationship can be non‐linear; lichens in grassland can survive a low intensity fire proportionally to pre‐fire population size, but experience high mortality rates above a fire intensity threshold. The applications of these results are that fire intensity matters to species response to prescribed fire, and that the persistence of climax lichen communities and biodiversity in the study system needs a broad range of fire intervals.
Effects of shallow flooding on vegetation and carbon pools in boreal peatlands
Authors: Asada Taro , Warner Barry G. , Schiff Sherry L. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion:What are the effects of shallow flooding on boreal peatlands on vegetation composition and size of carbon pools in the living and dead vegetation?Location:Lake 979, Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, Canada.Methods:A boreal basin peatland complex with treed bog, open bog, and open water was experimentally flooded by raising water level ca. 1.3 m. Vegetation and above‐ground biomass were compared between pre‐flood conditions and those nine years after flooding. Peat accumulation since flooding was also quantified.Results:Flooding caused almost all trees to die, leading to a net loss of 86% of the above‐ground living plant biomass after nine years of the flooding. Floating up of peat was rapid in the central part of the basin, and the floating peat mats were characterized by newly established open bog community. Wetland types were diversified from bog into open bog, fen, and marsh, accompanied with great species turnover. Floating open bog community accumulated the greatest amount of peat since flooding.Conclusions:This study shows that shallow flooding of bog vegetation can lead to quick re‐establishment of open bog vegetation upon the floating up of peat mats as well as changes to more diverse vegetation over decadal time spans. We estimate that the carbon pools in 2002 in living and dead plant biomass since 1992 are comparable to what they were in the above‐ground biomass in 1992. Flooding caused an initial net decrease in carbon stores, but carbon in the pre‐flood living plant biomass was replaced by both carbon in dead biomass of the pre‐flood vegetation and newly sequestered carbon in new peat growth and post‐flood living plant biomass. Possible vegetation change toward bog‐dominated system could lead to increasing rate of new peat growth, which could affect future carbon sink/source strength of the system.
Disturbance, seeds, restoration, and the importance of experiments and long‐term observations: the Editors' Award for 2005
Authors: White Peter S. , Chiarucci Alessandro , Collins Beverly , Díaz Sandra 
Published: February 2009

Editors' Award for 2005Disturbance ecology has become an integral part of vegetation science over the past 25 years. Understanding human disturbances and human effects on natural disturbance regimes is a key to establishing restoration goals and initiating restoration projects. However, as this literature has developed, the picture has become both more interesting and more complex: Disturbances interact; each disturbance leaves behind a patch work of effects; and particular disturbances have different effects in different seasons and from one year to another. In addition, different species respond differently to the same disturbance. We are left with questions such as: Can we predict vegetation response to fire in restoration projects? Clearly, we must understand the mechanisms of species response to disturbance in order to answer these questions and achieve a predictive science.The Editor's Award for 2005 goes to a paper that treats interactions of fire and mowing in a long‐term experiment: “Long‐term composition responses of a South African mesic grassland to burning and mowing” by Fynn, Morris & Edwards (2005). The authors report on the 50+ year Ukulinga burning and mowing experiment at the research farm of the University of KwaZulu‐Natal in South Africa. This experiment, initiated in 1950, is remarkable: three replicates in a randomized split‐plot, full‐factorial design with four whole‐plot and 11 subplot treatments. Mowing treatments included none to early season, late season, and early‐plus‐late season. Fire treatments were none, annual, biennial, and triannual in winter, spring or autumn. In sum, plot disturbance ranged from protection over 50 years to twice summer mowing plus mowing or fire in the dormant season each year. The authors found that grasses responded to type of disturbance and fire frequency, but forbs were less sensitive to disturbance type. The disturbance combinations controlled vegetation structure and composition, with some combinations producing a short‐grass community and others a tall‐grass community. Tillering strategy (below or above ground) for grasses and habit (erect or creeping) for forbs explained many responses and are a means to predict differing responses of grasses and herbs and different responses of species within each group to disturbance combinations. The conclusion of the study suggests that the highest diversity and greatest number of species (as well as benefits for wildlife species) can be achieved by applying results at the landscape scale to create patches of diverse structures from simple combinations of disturbance type and season. The authors also found transient responses and compensatory changes among species, thus demonstrating the importance of long‐term and experimental research.
Responses of root‐crown bearing shrubs to differences in fire regimes in Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) savannas: Exploring old‐growth questions in second‐growth systems
Authors: Drewa Paul B. , Thaxton Jarrod M. , Platt William J. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: What are the effects of fire season and intensity on resprouting of different root‐crown bearing shrub species in second‐growth Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) savannas?Location: northern Florida and eastern Louisiana, USA.Methods: In Florida, quadrats were burned biennially either during the dormant season or the growing season. In Louisiana, we applied intensity treatments to quadrats by manipulating ground‐cover fuels, just prior to biennial growing season fires. Maximum fire temperatures were measured, and stem densities were censused before and after fires in both regions.Results: After dormant season fires in Florida, stem densities were seven times greater than initial levels for Hypericum spp. In contrast, growing season fires reduced densities of H. brachyphyllum by 65%, but did not change densities of H. microsepalum. Only resprouting of H. microsepalum decreased with increased fire intensity. In Louisiana, fire intensity influenced Ilex vomitoria, but not Quercus spp. Following fires, stem densities oil. vomitoria were five times greater in fuel removal than fuel addition areas.Conclusions: Past use of dormant season fires likely contributed to increased abundances of some species of root‐crown bearing shrubs observed today in old‐growth savannas. Reintroduction of growing season fires will be effective in maintaining or decreasing stem densities, depending on species and fuel type. Genet mortality and stem density reductions appear most likely in areas at localized scales where tree falls and needle coverage create hotspots in Pinus palustris savannas.
Hydrological landscape settings of base‐rich fen mires and fen meadows: an overview
Authors: Grootjans A.P. , Adema E.B. , Bleuten W. , Joosten H. , Madaras M. , Janáková M. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Why do similar fen meadow communities occur in different landscapes? How does the hydrological system sustain base‐rich fen mires and fen meadows?Location: Interdunal wetlands and heathland pools in The Netherlands, percolation mires in Germany, Poland, and Siberia, and calcareous spring fens in the High Tatra, Slovakia.Methods: This review presents an overview of the hydrological conditions of fen mires and fen meadows that are highly valued in nature conservation due to their high biodiversity and the occurrence of many Red List species. Fen types covered in this review include: (1) small hydrological systems in young calcareous dune areas, and (2) small hydrological systems in decalcified old cover sand areas in The Netherlands; (3) large hydrological systems in river valleys in Central‐Europe and western‐Siberia, and (4) large hydrological systems of small calcareous spring fens with active precipitation of travertine in mountain areas of Slovakia.Results: Different landscape types can sustain similar nutrient poor and base‐rich habitats required by endangered fen meadow species. The hydrological systems of these landscapes are very different in size, but their ground water flow pattern is remarkably similar. Paleoecological research showed that travertine forming fen vegetation types persisted in German lowland percolation mires from 6000 to 3000 BP. Similar vegetation types can still be found in small mountain mires in the Slovak Republic. Small pools in such mires form a cascade of surface water bodies that stimulate travertine formation in various ways. Travertine deposition prevents acidification of the mire and sustains populations of basiphilous species that elsewhere in Europe are highly endangered.Conclusion: Very different hydrological landscape settings can maintain a regular flow of groundwater through the top soil generating similar base‐rich site conditions. This is why some fen species occur in very different landscape types, ranging from mineral interdunal wetlands to mountain mires.
Late‐Holocene fire history in a forest‐grassland mosaic in southern Brasil: Implications for conservation
Authors: Behling Hermann , Pillar Valério D. , Müller Sandra C. , Overbeck Gerhard E. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Is the diverse mosaic of forest/grassland (Campos) vegetation on the hills in the Porto Alegre region natural or of anthropogenic origin? What are the best approaches to management and conservation of forest/grassland mosaics in southern Brazil?Location: 280 m a.s.l., Rio Grande do Sul State (30°04′32″S; 51°06′05″W, southern Brazil.Methods: A 50‐cm long radiocarbon dated sediment core from a swamp on Morro Santana was analysed for pollen and charcoal, and multivariate data analysis was used to reconstruct past vegetation and fire dynamics.Results: The formation of swamp deposits is related to a change to wetter climatic conditions since 1230 cal yr BP. The diverse forest/grassland mosaic existed already at that time and can be seen as natural in origin as it has been also shown from other studies in southern Brazil. Since 580 cal yr BP, forests expanded continuously. The marked higher occurrence of the pioneer Myrsine during the last 70 years, indicates a change in the disturbance regime. In the past, vegetation has been influenced by mostly anthropogenic fire, set first by Amerindians and later by European settlers.Conclusions: Management for conservation of forest/grassland mosaics should take into account, first, that grasslands are remnants of earlier drier Holocene periods and not a result of deforestation and, second, the history of disturbance by grazing and fire. Suppression of grazing and burning has likely resulted in a trend towards more woody vegetation under modern wet climatic conditions. If management for conservation excludes fire, the present grassland patches will tend to disappear due to forest expansion under the modern humid climate. Maintaining or reintroducing cattle grazing in conservation areas could be an alternative to fire.
Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetic-Erectile Dysfunction: Same Diagnosis (ICD-9), Different Disease?
Authors: Chitaley Kanchan 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Although hyperglycemia is a common defining feature of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, many unique characteristics distinguish these diseases, including insulin and lipid levels, obesity status, and inflammatory agent profiles. In the laboratory, the presence of erectile dysfunction (ED) has been established in animal models of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Aim
The purpose of this study was to determine whether unique mechanisms underlie ED in type 1 vs. type 2 diabetic animal models.

Main Outcome Measures
Many mechanisms can underlie ED, including impaired dilatory signaling, heightened contractile sensitivity, and veno-occlusive disorder.

Methods
Using PubMed, the literature was mined to evaluate what is known about which mechanism underlie ED in type 1 vs. type 2 diabetic animal models.

Results
Impaired cavernosal vasodilation has been established in type 1 diabetic rodents. This dysfunction appears to be mediated by a severe defect in non-adrenergic–non-cholinergic nerve signaling, as well as impairment in penile endothelial function. In contrast, type 2 diabetic animals appear to have minimal impairment in parasympathetic-mediated dilatory function, but do have evidence of endothelial dysfunction. Type 2 diabetic models also exhibit a significant and striking increase in cavernosal contractile sensitivity, and a significant veno-occlusive disorder, neither of which is consistently reported in type 1 diabetic animals.

Conclusions
With the distinct mechanisms underlying the ED phenotype in animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, tailoring therapeutic treatments for diabetic-ED to the specific mechanisms underlying this disease complication may be warranted. Further examination of mechanisms underlying ED in diabetic human patients may thus lead to significant changes in the way urologists diagnose, code, and treat diabetic-ED.
Adenosine Signaling, Priapism and Novel Therapies
Authors: Dai Yingbo , Zhang Yujin , Phatarpekar Prasad , Mi Tiejuan , Zhang Hong , Blackburn Michael R. , Xia Yang 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTIntroductionPriapism is defined as abnormal prolonged penile erection lasting at least for 4 hours occurring without sexual interest. Forty percent of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients display priapism. The disorder is dangerous and urgent given its association with ischemia-mediated erectile tissue damage and subsequent erectile dysfunction. Current strategies to manage the disorder are poor due to lack of fundamental understanding of the molecular mechanisms of priapism. Adenosine is a signaling nucleoside that elicits many pathophysiological effects by engaging membrane receptors. Recent evidence shows that adenosine may play an important role in priapism via adenosine receptor.AimTo summarize the recent findings on the importance of adenosine signaling in the pathogenesis of priapism.Main Outcome MeasuresEvidence in the literature on the association between adenosine signaling and the development of priapism.MethodsThis article reviews the literature that relates to the contributory role of adenosine signaling in priapism in multiple animal models and humans.ResultsExcessive adenosine accumulation in the penis, coupled with increased A2BR signaling, contributes to priapism in two independent lines of mutant mice. One is adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient mice, the only animal displaying spontaneously prolonged penile erection, and the other is SCD transgenic mice, a well-accepted priapic animal model. Both polyethylene glycol-modified ADA (PEG-ADA) enzyme therapy and A2BR antagonists are capable of inhibiting potent corpus cavernosal vascular relaxation associated with priapic-like activity seen in both ADA-deficient mice and SCD transgenic mice, indicating that PEG-ADA enzyme therapy is likely to be a novel therapy for such a dangerous urological disorder.ConclusionsOverall, the research reviewed here raises the intriguing possibility that elevated adenosine signaling contributes to priapism in general and that this signaling pathway represents a potentially important therapeutic target for the treatment of priapism.
Role of Immunophilins in Recovery of Erectile Function After Cavernous Nerve Injury
Authors: Sezen Sena F. , Lagoda Gwen , Burnett Arthur L. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Immunophilin ligands provide potentially new alternatives for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), which occurs after injury of the cavernous nerves (CNs).

Aim
To review and update current knowledge of the neurotrophic effects and likely mechanism of action of immunophilin proteins with emphasis on the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) subfamily and the role of immunophilin ligands for the treatment of CN injury-induced ED.

Methods
Review of available reports of studies investigating the effects and neurotrophic mechanisms of immunophilin ligands involved in erectile function recovery in rodent models of CN injury.

Main Outcome Measures
Erection parameters and molecular correlations associated with CN injury and functional recovery.

Results
Treatment with prototype immunosuppressive immunophilin ligands FK506 (FK) and rapamycin (Rapa) improve erectile function in animal models of CN injury. Similarly, non-immunosuppressive analogs such as GPI-1046 and FK1706 are effective in recovery of erections after CN injury. Neuronal nitric oxide may influence the erection recovery effects of immunophilin ligands after CN injury. FKBPs 38 and 65 expression changes in the penis and its innervation coincide with the neurotrophic effects of immunophilin ligands. Antioxidative actions of immunophilin ligands contribute to their neurotrophic effects. Immunophilins are localized to nerves coursing in human prostate and penile tissue.

Conclusions
The findings support the hypothesis that immunophilin ligands, working through specific receptor mechanisms that are specific to injured CN, are potentially useful to sustain erectile function in men following radical prostatectomy.
Nerve Growth Factor Modulation of the Cavernous Nerve Response to Injury
Authors: Bella Anthony J. , Lin Guiting , Lin Ching-Shwun , Hickling Duane R. , Morash Christopher , Lue Tom F. 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Surgical therapies for prostate cancer and other pelvic malignancies often result in neuronal damage and debilitating loss of sexual function due to cavernous nerve (CN) trauma. Advances in the neurobiology of growth factors have heightened clinical interest in the development of protective and regenerative neuromodulatory strategies targeting CN recovery following injury.

Aim
The aim of this review was to offer an examination of current and future nerve growth factor (NGF) modulation of the CN response to injury with a focus on brain-derived nerve growth factor (BDNF), growth differentiation factor-5 (GDF-5), and neurturin (NTN).

Methods
Information for this presentation was derived from a current literature search using the National Library of Medicine PubMed Services producing publications relevant to this topic. Search terms included neuroprotection, nerve regeneration, NGFs, neurotrophic factors, BDNF, GDF-5, NTN, and CNs.

Main Outcome Measures
Basic science studies satisfying the search inclusion criteria were reviewed.

Results
In this session, BDNF, atypical growth factors GDF-5 and NTN, and their potential influence upon CN recovery after injury are reviewed, as are the molecular pathways by which their influence is exerted.

Conclusions
Compromised CN function is a significant cause of erectile dysfunction development following prostatectomy and serves as the primary target for potential neuroprotective or regenerative strategies utilizing NGFs such as BDNF, GDF-5, and NTN, and/or targeted novel therapeutics modulating signaling pathways.
Phase II study of S‐1 and irinotecan combination chemotherapy as a first‐line therapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer. Korean Cancer Study Group Protocol ST05‐02
Authors: KANG Hye J , CHO Sang H , OH Suk J , YANG Sung H , LEE Moon H , SONG Eun‐Kee , CHUNG Hyun C , NA Im I , RYOO Baek‐Yeol 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground:  Irinotecan plus intravenous 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) with leucovorin is effective against gastrointestinal cancer. S‐1 is an oral fluoropyrimidine derivative and has a high response rate of about 40% for patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). We evaluated the antitumor activity and toxicities of an S‐1 and irinotecan combination as a first‐line therapy for patients with AGC.Methods:  Patients with histologically confirmed unresectable or metastatic AGC were treated with S‐1 40 mg/m2 PO twice daily on days 1–14 and irinotecan 150 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicities resulted.Results:  A total of 45 patients were enrolled between September 2005 and March 2007. After a median of seven cycles of chemotherapy (range: 1–20, total: 350), 42 and 44 patients were evaluable for response and toxicity, respectively. On the intention‐to‐treat analysis, the overall response rate was 48.9% (95% C.I. 34.3–63.5%). The median time to progression was 5.7 months (95% C.I. 4.3–7.1) and the median overall survival was 10.4 months (95% C.I. 6.1–14.7). The commonly observed grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (29.5% of patients) and vomiting (13.6%).Conclusion:  An S‐1 and irinotecan combination chemotherapy is active and tolerable as a first‐line therapy for AGC.