bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Therapeutic Cryogel Removal in Autoimmune Disease: What is Cryogel?
Authors: Nosé Y. , Horiuchi T. , Malchesky P.S. , Smith J.W. , Matsubara S. , Abe Y. 
Published: March 2003

Guest Editor's Introduction:This paper was presented as a keynote address of the 2nd congress of the Japanese Society for Therapeutic Plasmapheresis on June 5, 1982. It was printed inTherapeutic Plasmapheresis II(ed) T. Oda, and published by F.K. Schattauer Verlag, Stuggart, Germany in 1982 on pages 15–25. In this paper, attempts were made to clarify the formation of the cryogel, composition of cryogel, and cryogel and its temperature dependence by cryofiltration procedures. Clinical effects of cryogel removal or cryofiltration procedures were described from macromolecular changes, pre and post procedures, and the clinical effects of rheumatoid arthritis patients were assessed from these macromolecular kinetics. Basically, cryogel is a fibrinogen‐heparin‐fibronection complex and contains various types of pathological macromolecules.Abstract:Cryofiltration is the on‐line technique of plasma treatment consisting of plasma cooling and its membrane filtration. In cryofiltration, cryogel is formed and removed by the cryofilter. The formation of cryogel on‐line at temperatures near 4°C and the removal of cryogel by the membrane filter has been shown to produce positive clinical results in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Cryogel as generated in cryofiltration is distinct from cryoprecipitate (cryoprotein, cryoglobulin) as isolated by classical laboratory tests or those substances removed by off‐line techniques as cryopheresis and cryoglobulinpheresis. Cryogel is formed under conditions of relatively fast cooling (10–20 minutes) and is removed during membrane filtration of the plasma. Cryogel concentrates the pathological molecules, and therefore, is selective for their removal. Clinical and in vitro studies of cryofiltration indicate the primary importance that temperature has on the bulk properties of the solution and the filtration process. While clinical studies to date have been carried out at 4°C, cryogel can form at temperatures below 37°C.  In general we can remove more cryogel from pathological plasma than from normal plasma.  Mechanisms involved in the formation of cryogel are complex and involve multiple plasma solutes. Cold‐induced precipitation of macromolecules from plasma is most likely due to the interaction of heparin, fibronectin (cold insoluble globulin), and fibrin/fibrinogen under cooling conditions. Plasma subjected to the cooling procedures contains sufficient amounts of heparin to produce heparin‐fibrinogen complex. This complex acts as a nucleus for cryogel formation and the binding of macromolecular weight plasma solutes which are then trapped on the cryofilter.
Establishing Tallgrass Prairie on Grazed Permanent Pasture in the Upper Midwest
Authors: Jackson Laura L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe goal of the study was to learn whether native prairie grasses and, eventually, a diverse mixture of native forbs could be incorporated in permanent pastures by means of rotational grazing by cattle. An experiment was established on a farm in northeastern Iowa on a pasture that had never been plowed but had been grazed since the 1880s. One treatment was protected from grazing to test for the presence of remnant vegetation. Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, Panicum virgatum, and Desmanthus illinoensis were introduced in plots first treated with glyphosate; seeds were either drilled (DR) or hand‐broadcast and incorporated by controlled cattle trampling (BT). Seedling establishment and aboveground biomass were followed over 3 years. There was no evidence for remnant native plants on uplands, but seven species of native forbs and four native graminoids flowered in exclosures erected within waterways. D. illinoensis initially established up to 12 seedlings/m2 but had disappeared from all but one plot by the third year. Variation in native grass establishment among replicate plots within treatments was very high, ranging initially from 0.2 to 9.9 plants/m2. In August of the second year, native grasses made up only 8% of the available forage in DR plots and 1% of BT plots. One year later, however, native grasses made up 56% of the available forage in DR plots and 37% of BT plots, and these differences were significant (p= 0.05). A pilot study seeded in late winter (frost seeding) suggested that seeds spread after cattle trampling produced five times more seedlings (2.5/m2) than seeds spread before cattle trampling (0.5/m2). Frost seeding had advantages because it did not require herbicide for sod suppression or tractor access to the site. New plantings could be safely grazed in early spring and late fall, before and after most native grass growth, to offset the negative economic impact of protecting new plantings from burning during the growing season. But this practice precluded subsequent prescribed burning. I propose a strategy for incorporating native wildflowers into the pasture over time with minimum cost.
The Edible Plant Dichelostemma capitatum: Its Vegetative Reproduction Response to Different Indigenous Harvesting Regimes in California
Authors: Anderson M. Kat , Rowney David L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractTo more thoroughly understand the ecological effects of harvesting geophytes for food by American Indians, an investigation of the ethnobotany and population dynamics of Dichelostemma capitatum (blue dicks), an attractive source of nutrition to many California Indian groups was undertaken. Some cultural groups harvest the corms and replant the cormlets, spare plants, and harvest after seeding to ensure replenishment of seed. Some Indian elders equate judicious harvesting with the maintenance and enhancement of field populations of this geophyte. A field experiment was conducted to determine the degree to which differences in intensity and timing of harvest, with and without replanting of cormlets, have any effect on corm and cormlet production. We found that harvesting at 100% intensity, through digging up all plants and corms, and without replanting cormlets at the seed stage, significantly reduces numbers of corms and cormlets compared to the controls (no harvest). However, harvesting at 50% intensity, through digging up half of all plants and corms at the flowering or seed stages, without replanting cormlets, was not significantly different from the controls (no harvest). The results suggest that harvesting blue dicks corms with a digging stick in the latter way could yield a sustainable level of harvest. Indigenous harvesting and management regimes may offer some of the best examples of long‐term uses and management of the regional flora without detriment to its biodiversity. Restorationists are urged to study and experimentally mimic indigenous disturbance regimes and their ecological effects known to occur historically in various ecosystems. In some cases, areas will greatly benefit from the reintroduction of management and harvesting regimes that authentically simulate ancient indigenous interactions.
Leguminous Trees for the Rehabilitation of Sodic Wasteland in Northern India
Authors: Garg V. K. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe study objective was to determine the fuelwood harvesting rotation and magnitude of nutrient accumulation by the sodic tolerant species Dalbergia sissoo and Prosopis juliflora for the rehabilitation of sodic wastelands. Mean annual increment and current annual increment growth of these trees reached a peak in six‐year‐old stands. Leaves dominated the litter of these species and contained high concentrations of most nutrients. N, Ca, Mg, and Fe were present in larger concentrations than other nutrients. Organic carbon additions at harvest after six years averaged 16 Mg ha−1, while soil pH was reduced from 9.8 to 8.6. Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) values decreased 65 and 29% under P. juliflora and D. sissoo, respectively, after harvest. These tree species produced significant root spread and deep penetration and were able to rehabilitate sodic soil effectively.
The Mark of Zorro: Effects of the Exotic Annual Grass Vulpia myuros on California Native Perennial Grasses
Authors: Brown Cynthia S. , Rice Kevin J. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractNative perennial grasses were once common in California prairies that are now dominated by annual grasses introduced from Europe. Competition from exotics may be a principal impediment to reestablishment of native perennial grasses. Introduced annual grasses, such as Vulpia myuros (zorro fescue), are often included with native perennial species in revegetation seed mixtures used in California. To examine the potential suppressive effect of this graminoid, we evaluated the growth and performance of a mixture of California native perennial grasses and resident weeds when grown with varying densities of V. myuros. The annual fescue exhibited a strongly plastic growth response to plant density, producing similar amounts of above‐ground biomass at all seeding densities. Perennial grass seedling survival and above‐ ground biomass decreased and individuals became thinner (i.e., reduced weight‐to‐height ratio) with increasing V. myuros seeding density. V. myuros also significantly suppressed above‐ground biomass and densities of weeds and had a more negative effect on weed densities than on native perennial grass densities. Biomass of native grasses and weeds was not differentially affected by increasing densities of V. myuros. Overall, because V. myuros significantly reduced the survival and performance of the mixture of native perennial grasses and this effect increased with increasing V. myuros density, we conclude that including this exotic annual in native seed mixtures is counterproductive to restoration efforts.
Early Successional Patterns and Potential Facilitation of Woody Plant Colonization by Rotting Logs in Premontane Costa Rican Pastures
Authors: Peterson Chris J. , Haines Bruce L. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractWe examined the size, species, location (x and y coordinates), and microsite inhabited by colonizing trees and shrubs in five abandoned pastures in southern Costa Rica. All woody stems greater than 1 m tall in the pastures were measured and mapped, from the overhanging forest edge to 50 m into the abandoned pasture. Species composition of colonists differed substantially among pastures: Croton draco (Euphorbiaceae) dominated one site, two species of Miconia (Melastomataceae) another site, and Verbesina tapentiensis (Asteraceae) a third site. Site 4 had the highest cover of rotting logs (11%), and a four‐fold greater density of colonizing woody plants than the site with the next highest colonist density. For all species pooled, and for several individual taxa, density was positively correlated across sites with abundance of log microsites.Four of the six most common woody species in site 4 occurred on logs significantly more often than expected had they been randomly distributed relative to logs. Site 5 had less abundance of logs, but the common Miconia species was again significantly more likely to be found on log microsites. These results strongly suggest that rotting wood microsites facilitate establishment of bird‐dispersed pioneer trees, which in turn could foster regrowth of other forest species.
Test of a Modified Habitat Suitability Model for Bighorn Sheep
Authors: Zeigenfuss Linda C. , Singer Francis J. , Gudorf Michelle A. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractTranslocation of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is time, labor, and cost intensive and, therefore, high levels of success are desirable. We tested a widely used habitat suitability model against translocation success and then modified it to include additional factors which improved its usefulness in predicting appropriate translocation sites. The modified Smith habitat suitability model for bighorn sheep was 64% accurate in predicting success or failure of 32 translocations of bighorn sheep into the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau desert, and prairie‐badlands of six states. We had sheep location data for 13 populations, and the modified habitat model predicted the areas used by bighorn sheep with greater than 90% accuracy in eight populations, greater than 55% accuracy in four populations, and less than 55% accuracy in one population. Translocations were more successful when sheep were placed into discrete habitat patches containing a high proportion of lambing period habitat (>10% of suitable habitat, p = 0.05), where animals had a migratory tendency (  p = 0.02), no contact with domestic sheep ( p = 0.02), or greater distance to domestic sheep (>23 km, p = 0.02). Rate of population growth was best predicted by area of lambing period habitat, potential area of winter range, and distance to domestic sheep. We retested the model using these refined criteria and the refined model then predicted success or failure of these 32 translocated populations with 82% accuracy.
Soil Water Retention on Gold Mine Surfaces in the Mojave Desert
Authors: Walker Lawrence R. , Powell Elizabeth A. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractAn experimental analysis of soil water retention was conducted on three substrates (an abandoned road, an overburden pile, and a heap leach) created by gold mining activities in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California. We mixed each substrate with straw, and the overburden pile and heap leach with growth medium, then applied surface rock mulch to half the plots in an attempt to increase soil water‐holding capacity for revegetation efforts. For each of the six treatments (controls included) we monitored soil water with time domain reflectometry following both a simulation of a rainfall event and a natural rainfall that occurred immediately following the simulation. Both the simulation and the rainfall increased soil water between 3 and 8%, depending on the substrate. Water retention patterns in the two‐week periods following each water addition were similar between the simulation and rainfall, and among all substrate types as values returned to background (pre‐water) conditions. The abandoned road substrate had higher background water content (16.5%) than the overburden pile (6%) and heap leach (5%). The road also had three times higher organic matter and five times higher soil nitrogen than the other two sites. Soil water retention was improved on the overburden pile by the addition of just surface rock mulch or of straw‐plus‐rock mulch. On the heap leach, increases were found with rock mulch only or with growth medium‐plus‐rock mulch. Rock mulches did not improve soil water retention and straw additions decreased soil water on the abandoned road. Judicious use of soil amendments can improve soil water conditions and improve revegetation efforts on disturbed lands in desert environments.
A Germination and Establishment Field Trial of Themeda australis (Kangaroo Grass) for Mine Site Restoration in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales
Authors: Windsor Donna M. , Clements AnneMarie 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe current study demonstrated that Themeda australis (R. Br.) Stapf (kangaroo grass), a major understory component of the original grassy Box woodlands in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, was suitable for use in large‐scale mine rehabilitation. The results of the trial were applied in the mine rehabilitation program. Due to extensive clearing of the woodlands and the introduction of exotic flora and fauna for agriculture, only small remnants of the original flora remain. The final land use of the gold mine is a conservation area free from agricultural pressure. Local native species adapted to the soil conditions and variable climate are highly desirable for the control of soil erosion following mining. Germination and establishment of T. australis on oxidized overburden were examined over 53 weeks. Seed‐bearing mulch was used as both the seeding material and an organic additive to the overburden. The effects of five factors were investigated: time since soil preparation, position within small contour banks, location of contour on experimental slopes, additional water, and rate of seed/mulch application. Direct seeding using the lowest rate of mulch application resulted in the establishment of more T. australis seedlings on new contours than on 15‐month‐old contours. The provision of additional water increased germination and establishment in both old and new contours, but was not essential. Seedling densities were greatest in the middle positions of contour banks up to week seven, but were destroyed during a heavy storm. At the close of the experiment, seedling densities were greater in the top and bottom positions of contours. Although significant slope × rate and age × slope interactions occurred, SNK tests did not reveal any consistent interpretable results.
Earthworm Succession in Afforested Colliery Spoil Heaps in the Sokolov Region, Czech Republic
Authors: Pižl Václav 
Published: March 2003

AbstractEarthworm communities were studied at six heap sites representing a chronosequence of Alnus glutinosa (black alder) stands (age 3–62 years) and compared with those on an unameliorated heap and in an alder stand (60 years old) on natural soil. Spoil heaps in the open‐cast coal mining area near Sokolov (northwestern Bohemia) were mainly reclaimed using afforestation. No earthworms were found on the virgin heap. Young plots were colonized by euryecious epigeic earthworms (i.e., those living above soil surface), but higher proportions of endogeic species (i.e., soil dwellers), did not appear until after more than 30 years of succession. The density and biomass of earthworms increased from the youngest stand (67 individuals/m2; 5 g/m2) to the older ones (e.g., 407 ind/m2; 13 g/m2 in the 23‐year‐old stand). However, both parameters were low in the oldest stand (35 ind/m2; 3 g/m2), but this may have been the result of extensive soil disturbance. Earthworm populations were often higher in reclaimed sites than in the control alder stand (150 ind/m2; 7 g/m2). However, the community structures were different, with the control being dominated by the litter‐feeding species, Dendrobaena vejdovskyi.
Restoration of a Native Shrubland Impacted by Exotic Grasses, Frequent Fire, and Nitrogen Deposition in Southern California
Authors: Cione Nancy K. , Padgett Pamela E. , Allen Edith B. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractNatural ecosystems globally are often subject to multiple human disturbances that are difficult to restore. A restoration experiment was done in an urban fragment of native coastal sage scrub vegetation in Riverside, California that has been subject to frequent fire, high anthropogenic nitrogen deposition, and invasion by Mediterranean annual weeds. Hand cultivation and grass‐specific herbicide were both successful in controlling exotic annual grasses and promoting establishment of seeded coastal sage scrub vegetation. There was no native seedbank left at this site after some 30 years of conversion to annual grassland, and the only native plants that germinated were the seeded shrubs, with the exception of one native summer annual. The city green‐waste mulch used in this study (C:N of 39:1) caused short‐term N immobilization but did not result in decreased grass density or increased native shrub establishment. Seeding native shrubs was successful in a wet year in this Mediterranean‐type climate but was unsuccessful in a dry year. An accidental spring fire did not burn first‐year shrubs, although adjacent plots dominated by annual grass did burn. The shrubs continued to exclude exotic grasses into the second growing season, suggesting that successful shrub establishment may reduce the frequency of the fire return interval.
Phylogeny of the Gracilariaceae (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) Inferred From rbcL Sequence Analysis: Taxonomic Implications
Authors: Gurgel C. F. D. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThis research promotes the correlation of molecular phylogenies and morphological data with biogeographic hypotheses for the economically important agarophyte family Gracilariaceae. The generic concepts are evaluated on the basis of chloroplast‐encoded rbcL sequences from 150+ specimens worldwide. The results confirm the monophyly of the family and identifies three large clades, one of which corresponds to the ancestral, antiboreal genera Curdiea and Melanthalia, one to Gracilariopsis, and one to Gracilaria sensu lato which identifies at least nine distinct independent evolutionary lineages, including Hydropuntia. The species currently attributed to Hydropuntia comprise two well‐supported clades with different biogeographic patterns, one composed of Indo‐Pacific species and the other of atlantic species. At least the three most basal clades within Gracilaria sensu lato deserve to be considered distinct genera: (1) a new genus centered around G. chilensis and G. tenuistipitata; (2) Hydropuntia sensu stricto encompassing pacific species (G. urvilleii, G. eucheumatoides, G. edulis), and (3) a new genus composed of atlantic species currently placed in Hydropuntia (G. cornea, G. crassissima, G. usneoides). Cystocarp features within the Gracilaria senso lato clades are more phylogenetically informative than do male characters. The henriquesiana‐type of spermatangial concepacle appeared independently at least four times. The textorii‐type of male apparatus is represented in two distinct clusters of Gracilaria. Several unknown and poorly described species are being described, resurrected from synonymy or re‐circumscribed. G. textorii seems to be part of a major complex of flat species in the Pacific Ocean. The current number of Gracilariaceae is underestimated in the Western Atlantic due to convergence in habit type and the apparent homoplasy in vegetative and reproductive anatomy.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Outpatient Geriatric Evaluation and Management
Authors: Boult Chad , Boult Lisa B. , Morishita Lynne , Dowd Bryan , Kane Robert L. , Urdangarin Cristina F. 
Published: March 2003

OBJECTIVES: To measure the effects of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) on high‐risk older persons' functional ability and use of health services.DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial.SETTING: Ambulatory clinic in a community hospital.PARTICIPANTS: A population‐based sample of community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries age 70 and older who were at high risk for hospital admission in the future (N = 568).INTERVENTION: Comprehensive assessment followed by interdisciplinary primary care.MEASUREMENTS: Functional ability, restricted activity days, bed disability days, depressive symptoms, mortality, Medicare payments, and use of health services. Interviewers were blinded to participants' group status.RESULTS: Intention‐to‐treat analysis showed that the experimental participants were significantly less likely than the controls to lose functional ability (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47–0.99), to experience increased health‐related restrictions in their daily activities (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37–0.96), to have possible depression (aOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.20–0.94), or to use home healthcare services (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37–0.92) during the 12 to 18 months after randomization. Mortality, use of most health services, and total Medicare payments did not differ significantly between the two groups. The intervention cost $1,350 per person.CONCLUSION: Targeted outpatient GEM slows functional decline.