bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Established diabetic neuropathy seems irreversible despite improvements in metabolic and vascular risk markers—a retrospective case–control study in a hospital patient cohort
Authors: Coppini D. V. , Spruce M. C. , Thomas P. , Masding M. G. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAims  To gain insight into the natural history of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and its risk factors by means of sequential quantitative testing in a hospital patient cohort.Methods  A retrospective case–control study involving 300 diabetic patients (100 subjects with neuropathy and 200 control subjects) attending Poole Hospital diabetes clinic between 1995 and 2002. All subjects had a detailed annual clinic assessment including vibration perception threshold (VPT) and physical and metabolic assessments and were categorized according to neuropathy status. Established neuropathy was defined as a VPT > 25 V. Cross‐sectional data were analysed by means of a t‐test and longitudinal data by means of anova.Results  VPTs increased over time in neuropathy patients, with no change in control patients (P < 0.001). Glycaemic control was better over that period in control patients but the rate of improvement in HbA1c over time was similar in both groups. Triglyceride and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels improved in both groups, with significantly greater change in the control group.Conclusions  Data on reversibility of neuropathy are scarce and our 8‐year series shows a continual deterioration in VPT in patients with a threshold > 25 V despite modest improvements in glycaemic control and lipid parameters. This work also supports a vascular association with neuropathy and identifies neuropathic patients as a high‐risk cardiovascular group in whom, despite little influence on neuropathy itself, the above metabolic factors should be actively addressed.
Predicting isolated postchallenge hyperglycaemia: a new approach; Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS)
Authors: Hosseinpanah F. , Rambod M. , Reza Ghaffari H. R. , Azizi F. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractAims  To determine factors predicting isolated postchallenge hyperglycaemia (IPH) defined as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) < 7.0 mmol/l and 2‐h plasma glucose (2‐hPG) ≥ 11.1 mmol/l after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and factors influencing the value of 2‐hPG in a population‐based study.Materials and methods  From 15 005 participants in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS), we analysed the results of OGTTs in 5386 individuals (2909 women and 2437 men) aged ≥ 20 years, free of known diabetes and any other disorders influencing glucose metabolism. Logistic and multiple linear regression models were developed to predict IPH and the 2‐hPG, respectively.Results  The overall prevalence of non‐diabetic subjects, IPH and undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes mellitus (FPG ≥ 7.0 mmol/l) were 94.5% (n = 5088), 2.5% (n = 133) and 3.1% (n = 165), respectively. Of subjects with IPH, 29.3% (n = 39) had FPG levels < 5.6 mmol/l. Factors associated with IPH were FPG (mmol/l) [odds ratio (OR) 11.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.9, 15.4], age ≥ 40 years (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3, 3.2), abnormal waist circumference (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4, 3.1) and serum triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/l (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3, 3.1). In the multiple linear regression model, six explanatory factors (FPG, age, female sex, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference) were positively related to 2‐hPG. The model could predict 47.7% of total variance of 2‐hPG.Conclusions  Based on our results in this Iranian population, OGTT can be recommended in subjects with FPG < 7.0 mmol/l in the presence of abnormal waist circumference and triglycerides, age ≥ 40 years and in particular when FPG is close to 7.0 mmol/l.
Soil Formation and Vegetation Establishment on the Cliff Face of Abandoned Quarries in the Early Stages of Natural Colonization
Authors: Yuan Jian‐Gang , Fang Wei , Fan Ling , Chen Yan , Wang Dong‐Qing , Yang Zhong‐Yi 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe large number of abandoned quarries in many countries presents challenges for restoration of these extremely degraded habitats. To understand soil and plant development in these extreme habitats at a most critical stage of restoration, we evaluated the edaphic conditions and natural vegetation of three large quarries in southern China 3, 5, and 7 years following abandonment. Although soil fertility (organic matter, and N, P, K concentrations) did not differ significantly over a few years, it was much higher than would be expected from newly weathered soil and was comparable to that of the adjacent garden soil on level ground with no slope. This suggests that soil formation on the steep slopes of quarry cliffs is a secondary migration process rather than a primary weathering process. Vegetation cover increased from 10.6 to 18.6 and 23.4%, and species abundance increased from 8 to 11 and 12 species, and from 3 to 6 and 7 families. Plant species composition changed from predominantly annual and perennial herbaceous species to a more diverse community with drought‐tolerant and heliophilous shrubs. The vegetation cover was highly positively correlated with soil depth and soil volume (p< 0.001), and also significantly correlated with soil organic matter, total N, and available N and P concentrations (p <0.05). This suggests that vegetation succession is more limited by available soil volume than by soil fertility during the early stages of quarry restoration.
“Minimal‐Impact” Restoration Treatments Have Limited Effects on Forest Structure and Fuels at Grand Canyon, USA
Authors: Fulé Peter Z. , Covington W. Wallace , Stoddard Michael T. , Bertolette Don 
Published: August 2006

AbstractRestoration treatments were tested on the South Rim (ponderosa pine) and North Rim (mixed conifer) of Grand Canyon National Park, never‐harvested forests where the historically frequent surface regime was interrupted in the late 19th century. Treatments were designed for “minimal impact” by limiting the size of trees to be thinned and minimizing mechanical equipment. Treatments included (1) thinning of small trees (diameter ≤ 12.7 cm) and prescribed fire; (2) thinning of small trees located close to large old trees and prescribed fire; (3) prescribed fire only; and (4) control. On the South Rim, density declined by 23–45% but basal area only by 9–14%. On the North Rim, density was reduced 32–68% and basal area declined 18–31%. Declines of 5–8% were observed in these same variables in the controls. Surface fuels were significantly reduced in all burned treatments (70–84% reduction in forest floor, 66–76% reduction in woody debris). However, canopy cover was nearly unchanged, and canopy fuel loads were not significantly reduced, although canopy base heights increased. The experiment accomplished the goal of minimally impacting the forest ecosystem but the effects of small‐tree thinning plus burning were nearly indistinguishable from those of burning alone. All the treated units were left with modest gain in resistance to severe wildfires but in conditions still far removed from prefire‐exclusion conditions.
Identifying Linkages among Conceptual Models of Ecosystem Degradation and Restoration: Towards an Integrative Framework
Authors: King Elizabeth G. , Hobbs Richard J. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract We present an ecological framework for considering ecosystem degradation and restoration, particularly in rangelands and arid environments. The framework is a synthesis of three conceptual models previously developed by several rangeland and restoration ecologists. We focus first on distinctions and connections between structural and functional components of rangeland ecosystems and then on distinctions and connections between biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. We next show that the structural/functional and biotic/abiotic distinctions can be integrated with a stepwise, positive feedback model of degradation to help explain degradation processes and restoration approaches. Finally, we relate those concepts to a threshold model of rangeland degradation. By establishing the conceptual links among these different models, this synthesis provides a broader, more integrated framework for thinking about the dynamics involved in rangeland degradation and restoration. We conclude by presenting some approaches to restoration that are motivated by the suite of concepts that are brought together in the framework.
Wetland Restoration for Amphibians: Should Local Sites Be Designed to Support Metapopulations or Patchy Populations?
Authors: Petranka James W. , Holbrook Carter T. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract Pond‐breeding amphibians have been characterized as having metapopulation structure, and a goal of many local restoration projects is to establish viable metapopulations. However, recent studies suggest that metapopulation organization is unlikely at the local level because of high dispersal rates between neighboring ponds. Although many amphibians avoid ovipositing in habitats that pose high predation risk to their offspring, the spatial scale of avoidance is poorly resolved for natural systems and could involve wholesale movements between ponds. To determine the scale of avoidance, we monitored annual habitat use by the Wood frog (Rana sylvatica), American toad (Bufo americanus), and Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) at a restoration site in western North Carolina, U.S.A. Wood frogs consistently used most fish‐free ponds, but rapidly curtailed use following fish invasions. American toads rarely used the same breeding site from year to year, and adults strongly avoided ovipositing in habitats with predatory Wood frog tadpoles. Spotted salamanders exhibited a predator avoidance response to fish that was weaker than the predator avoidance response of anurans. Our data indicate that the spatial scale of predator avoidance by ovipositing amphibians often exceeds that of an individual pond and that the focal species at this site are organized as patchy populations rather than as metapopulations. At local restoration sites, ponds that are placed in spatial arrays to create metapopulations may not accomplish their goal and may limit the extent to which ovipositing adults can express an adaptive antipredator behavior. We discuss an alternative design that is more likely to enhance the long‐term persistence of local populations.
Influences of Habitat Isolation on Invertebrate Colonization of Sporadanthus ferrugineus in a Mined Peat Bog
Authors: Watts Corinne H. , Didham Raphael K. 
Published: August 2006

Abstract This study experimentally tested the impact of peat bog habitat loss and isolation on the invertebrate community associated with Sporadanthus ferrugineus (Restionaceae), a dominant indigenous plant species in peat bogs. Potted S. ferrugineus plants were exposed to invertebrates at various distances up to 800 m from an intact habitat (the source population) over 18 weeks. Invertebrates rapidly colonized the experimental plants, with all major orders and trophic groups present on S. ferrugineus within 6 weeks. However, with increasing distance away from the undisturbed habitat, there was a significant decrease in total species richness and abundance of invertebrates associated with the potted plants. Of the total taxa captured, only 38% were found on potted S. ferrugineus plants at 800 m compared with 62% found on potted plants 30 m from the intact peat bog. Predator species richness and the predator–prey ratio changed significantly with time available for colonization of potted plants but, more importantly, prey (herbivores and detritivores) and predator (including parasitoids) species richness, as well as the predator–prey ratio, declined significantly with increasing isolation from the peat bog. Thus, the degree of isolation of restoration areas from undisturbed habitat has a major impact on the rate and patterns of recovery in invertebrate community structure. The current recommended practice of restoring the mined area by establishing raised “habitat islands” 30 m apart should result in colonization by most invertebrates associated with S. ferrugineus, but only if the restoration islands are placed as stepping stones outward from existing areas of intact habitat.
Macrophytes in Urban Stream Rehabilitation: Establishment, Ecological Effects, and Public Perception
Authors: Larned Scott T. , Suren Alastair M. , Flanagan Marty , Biggs Barry J. F. , Riis Tenna 
Published: August 2006

Abstract Efforts to rehabilitate degraded urban streams generally focus on improving physical habitat and rarely include reestablishing biota such as macrophytes. Our objectives in this study were to propagate and transplant native macrophytes into a South Island, New Zealand, urban stream undergoing rehabilitation, assess macrophyte survival and growth, and determine whether native macrophytes suppress non‐native macrophytes and/or enhance stream invertebrate communities. Effects of native macrophytes on invertebrates and non‐native macrophytes were assessed after transplanting patches of native macrophytes into a 230‐m‐long stream section. A 100‐m‐long section upstream was left unplanted for subsequent comparisons. Following the study, a survey was conducted to gauge public opinion about the rehabilitation project and determine whether macrophytes were prominent in perceptions of stream health. In the first growing season, native macrophyte cover in the planted stream section increased from 1.5 to 20%, and then decreased during winter. Regrowth from rhizomes led to rapid aboveground growth during the second year, when cover reached 51%. Non‐native macrophytes colonized the stream the first year, but native macrophytes appeared to limit the spread of non‐natives, which were absent in the planted section by the second spring. Native macrophyte establishment did not enhance invertebrate communities as predicted; few invertebrate metrics differed significantly between the planted and unplanted sections. Pollution‐ and sediment‐tolerant invertebrate taxa were abundant in both sections, suggesting that invertebrate colonization was limited by water quality or sedimentation, not macrophyte composition. Survey respondents considered the stream to be visually and ecologically improved after rehabilitation, and macrophyte establishment was generally considered positive or neutral.
Successfully Recovered Grassland: A Promising Example from Romanian Old‐Fields
Authors: Ruprecht Eszter 
Published: August 2006

Abstract In this study, I analyzed the natural recovery of grasslands on abandoned agricultural fields in the Transylvanian Lowland (Câmpia Transilvaniei), Romania. I examined fields that were abandoned 1–40 years ago and considered how successful they have been in recovering spontaneously as compared to reference grassland, especially in relation to species composition and dominance structure. Diverse, nondegraded seminatural grasslands from the surroundings were chosen as targets for the recovery. Five such grasslands were analyzed in order to have multiple references that accounted for site heterogeneity and different land use history. This study found that the number of natural and seminatural habitat species increased, whereas the number of weeds and aliens decreased with age. Old‐fields had become very similar in species composition and dominance structure to reference grasslands over a 14‐ to 20‐year time interval, with the only failure being the unsuccessful or slow colonization of a few grassland species. Because spontaneous succession is efficient, human interventions are not needed to restore target communities on the old‐fields. Propagule pressure expressed by the area of potential seed source in a 500‐m‐radius buffer was found to have a strong influence on recovery success of old‐fields. The success of grassland species in colonizing postagricultural fields was not affected by their dispersal mode but by their frequency in the landscape, this being another evidence for the importance of propagule availability in the course of recovery. In order to maintain the potential for recovery of this landscape, we need to protect those close to natural habitats that contain a high amount of native flora.
Participatory Research's Contribution to a Conceptualization of Empowerment1
Authors: Yeich Susan , Levine Ralph 
Published: August 2006

Empowerment has emerged in recent years as a popular strategy for addressing social issues. A potential intervention approach for applied researchers interested in studying empowerment is participatory research (PR). PR is a theory and intervention approach for involving oppressed people in the study of and solutions to social problems. It is a strategy that works to transform social structure to benefit oppressed people.This article examines PR's contribution to a conceptualization of empowerment on both a theoretical and applied level. First, PR literature and its conceptualization of empowerment are described. Following this, PR is proposed as an intervention approach for applied researchers interested in studying empowerment. A case study involving the formation of a Homeless Persons Union is provided as an example of applied PR.
OC8 The short‐term efficacy of osseointegrated implants in patients with non‐malignant oral mucosal disease: a case series
Authors: Hodgson TA , Lewis N , Darbar U , Welfare RD , Boulter A , Porter SR 
Published: August 2006

Purpose  The spectrum of patients who may wish or warrant osseointegrated implants is increasing, despite few reports of the impact of non‐malignant oral mucosal disease upon implant placement. This report details the implant placement outcomes in three patients with pre‐existing oral mucosal disease.Case reports  A: Four implants were placed in the lower anterior region of a 78‐year‐old female with longstanding mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) in 2004. The MMP had resulted in extensive cicatrisation of the upper and lower buccal and labial vestibules. One implant failed to osseointegrate, but was successfully replaced. There have been no other postplacement adverse events, despite the MMP remaining mildly active. B: A 36‐years‐old male with orofacial granulomatosis characterised by recurrent lip swelling and gingival enlargement, had a single implant placed in the upper canine region in 2001. Although still in situ significant peri‐implant alveolar bone loss has occurred and has been stabilised by repeated debridement, local administration of topical minocycline and several courses of systemic metronidazole. C: A 53‐years‐old female with oral manifestations of diffuse systemic sclerosis and fibrosing alveolitis had four lower anterior mandibular implants placed in 1995 to support an 8 unit bridge. One episode of peri‐implant inflammation was controlled with local debridement and topical chlorhexidine mouthrinse. The implants remain satisfactory 11 years postinsertion.Conclusion  The short‐term failure of osseointegrated implant integration appears uncommon in patients with non‐malignant oral mucosal disease. There remains a need to establish appropriate case selection criteria and monitor outcomes.
Materializing the Eighteenth Century: Dress History, Literature, and Interdisciplinary Study
Authors: Smith Chloe Wigston 
Published: August 2006

AbstractDrawing on an interview with Linda Baumgarten, curator of clothing and textiles at Colonial Williamsburg, and recent interdisciplinary studies, this article considers how eighteenth‐century scholars use the history of dress in literary history and cultural studies. It explores how the study of material culture can illuminate and complicate literary history, but also how dress history comprises its own language and ideas.
James Kenney's Comedic Genius: Early Nineteenth‐century Character, Commerce, and the Arts in Raising the Wind, The World!, and Debtor and Creditor
Authors: Robinson Terry F. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractScholars have long perceived the early nineteenth century as an era of decline in the drama, a time when the literary and dramatic arts severed connections, and playwrighting for the Theatres Royal became subject wholly to popular sway. James Kenney's comedies reveal how such a view is symptomatic, in part, of the early nineteenth‐century clash between advocates for the arts and promoters of commerce. Through an exploration of character and identity formation within commercial society, Kenney interrogates the seeming opposition between the arts and commerce and exposes, instead, their interdependency. By juxtaposing romance narrative convention and the modern marketplace, he shows that the early nineteenth‐century stage was one of dynamism and growth, rather than failure and loss.
Apparent Survival Estimates for Five Species of Tropical Birds in an Endangered Forest Habitat in Western Ecuador1
Authors: Parker T. H. , Becker C. D. , Sandercock B. K. , Agreda A. E. 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACTEstimates of annual survival are essential for addressing topics in evolutionary and conservation ecology. However, most demographic studies of land birds are based on north temperate species, and few robust estimates of survival based on mark–recapture statistics are available for continental South American birds. We used time‐since‐marking models to estimate apparent survival of adult birds from 7 yr of mist netting data in the Colonche Hills. This site is one of few remaining large tracts of premontane forest in southwestern Ecuador, and an area of high priority for avian conservation. Species with sufficient data for analysis included three hummingbirds (Adelomyia melanogenys, Heliodoxa jacula, Phaethornis baroni), a cotinga (Schiffornis turdinus), and a wren (Henicorhina leucophrys). Our parameter estimates had reduced precision because the number of recaptures was small. Probability of recapture was low in three species , and moderate in two others . Adelomyia and Phaethornis had moderate apparent survival (; probability that a bird neither died nor emigrated from our survey area in a given year). Adults of Adelomyia moved seasonally, and it is possible that permanent emigration from our survey area contributed to low estimates of apparent survival. The other three species had relatively high estimates of adult apparent survival ranging from in Heliodoxa and Schiffornis to a high of in Henicorhina.
South Africa: clinical experience with Hemopure
Authors: Levien L. J. 
Published: August 2006

Bovine‐derived haemoglobin solution (HBOC‐201 – Hemopure®) was first registered for routine clinical use in South Africa for the treatment of adult surgical anaemia. This material was administered to a total of 80 patients as part of a clinical surveillance and educational program from April 2001 until October 2002, and thereafter to a further 256 patients as part of ongoing clinical education and surveillance. This paper reports the clinical details, method of administration, clinical outcome, and safety and efficacy data observed in this cohort of 336 patients. Hemopure was well‐tolerated by these patients, with a considerably lower SAE rate observed in this study than was reported in the HAEM 114 and 115 phase III clinical trials. Avoidance of blood was achieved in about 89% of patients, with blood administration limited to patients with large or rapid haemorrhage and those patients who failed to demonstrate recovery of their own red cell mass after Hemopure treatment due to the presence of underlying chronic disease states. As clinicians became more familiar with the product characteristics and unique physiology of haemoglobin solutions, an increasing tendency has been observed for clinicians to administer Hemopure for its tissue oxygenation effect rather than as a red cell substitute. The role of Hemopure as an enhancer of tissue oxygen delivery and its effect on wound healing, requires further properly controlled randomized prospective studies.