bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mental health nurses: changing practice?
Authors: Tingle Alison 
Published: March 2003

Summary• Project 2000 envisaged that the nurse practitioner of the future should act as an ‘agent for change’, using research evidence to address those aspects of practice deemed detrimental to patient care.• A Department of Health funded study investigating the careers of nurse diplomates provides information on the extent to which newly qualified nurses were able to change aspects of practice, what factors inhibited changes and which personnel played a key role in facilitating change.• Key factors which inhibited newly qualified nurses acting as change agents were lack of experience and confidence, as well as attitudes of other members of staff.• Staff of a higher grade, immediate line managers and healthcare assistants all played a key role in facilitating change.
Estimation of energy intake in clinical practice: a comparison between a food record protocol and a precoded food record book
Authors: Lorefält Birgitta , Unosson Mitra 
Published: March 2003

Summary• The aim of this study was to compare energy intake estimated from a clinical food record protocol (CFRP) with that from a precoded food record book (PFRB) as reference method.• Food and fluid consumption were recorded in 10 older patients using a CFRP in parallel with a PFRB during a 6‐day period.• The results showed that there were no significant differences in mean energy intake estimated from the CFRP as compared with that estimated from the PFRB. The correlation coefficient between the calculated daily energy intake from the CFRP and PFRB was 0.96.• The differences in energy intake (kcal/day) between the CFRP and PFRB, plotted against their mean value for 10 patients, showed that results were within the limits of agreement (mean ± 2SD) for nine patients. The differences in each day's energy intake between the two methods plotted against their mean value showed that 97% of the estimated daily energy intake was within the limits of agreement. The weighted kappa between the two methods was 0.76.• The CFRP would seem to be acceptable for the estimation of mean energy intake in the hospital setting.
Educating nurses about pain management: the way forward
Authors: Twycross Alison 
Published: March 2003

Summary? Nurse education does not appear to be preparing nurses to manage pain in the clinical area.? A number of studies have demonstrated that nurses continue to have educational deficits in this context.? Several studies have found no change in knowledge or behaviours following education about pain management.? Others have found that changes in behaviour do occur.? It is possible that innovative teaching strategies need to be used.? The literature in this area is reviewed and recommendations made.
Consumer education and the OECD electronic commerce consumer protection guidelines
Authors: McGregor Sue L.T. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThis paper explores the implications of e‐commerce transactions and the lack of consumer protection regulation on consumer educators and curricula. The discussion is divided into five sections: conceptualizing e‐commerce; the juggernaut of e‐commerce; consumer education defined, especially consumer protection in the electronic market‐place; the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) 1998 Ottawa conference on electronic commerce; and the implications of this fluid market and policy context on consumer educators. Empowerment of the consumer, the ultimate objective of consumer education, is a total challenge in the global electronic market‐place, but a challenge that must be embraced by staying informed, becoming a consumer advocate, as well as educator, and remaining ever vigilant as curricula are developed for the domestic consumer transacting in an electronic global market.
Competitive exclusion of Elymus athericus from a high‐stress habitat in a European salt marsh
Authors: Bockelmann Anna‐Christina , Neuhaus Reimert 
Published: March 2003

1 Zonation is often seen in environments with a strong physico‐chemical gradient, such as salt marshes. It has been hypothesized that plant species are limited in their distribution by abiotic factors towards the more extreme end of the gradient, and by competition towards the more favourable end. Invasion of the native clonal grass genus Elymus in many Wadden Sea marshes may be due to increasing atmospheric nitrogen input into a nitrogen‐limited environment. However, at Thmlauer Bay, Germany, Elymus athericus does not occur in lower salt marsh communities that are dominated by a dwarf shrub (Atriplex portulacoides). We therefore hypothesized that at this site the downslope (= more extreme) distributional boundary of E. athericus is a result of competition with A. portulacoides rather than of physiological limits. 2 A factorial experiment was set up to investigate the effects of removal of each competitor and fertilization. The reciprocal effects of the species on each other were measured in terms of vegetation cover and above‐ground biomass. The impact of the tidal regime on plant zonation was investigated by calculating inundation frequencies at the boundary between the two plant populations from water level recordings. 3 Elymus athericus extended its distribution into the lower salt marsh when A. portulacoides was removed. The latter increased in cover but not in biomass after the removal of E. athericus. Neither species showed a response to nitrogen fertilization. The boundary between the two species in the control plots varied considerably in elevation and inundation frequency. 4 The lower distributional boundary of E. athericus can be interpreted as the result of competition with A. portulacoides. Improvement of nitrogen availability in concentrations of the same order of magnitude as annual atmospheric input had no detectable effect on plant zonation and growth. Elevation and inundation frequency were not strictly correlated with plant zonation.
A method for analysing spatio‐temporal pattern in plant establishment, tested on a Populus balsamifera clone
Authors: Little L. R. , Dale M. R. T. 
Published: March 2003

1 Ecological patterns in space and time have been well documented using interval variables such as plant density. In this paper, we use join Page: 1Is the text OK: join count statistics to examine spatio‐temporal patterns in a binary variable, plant establishment. 2 Establishment along a belt transect is represented as a grid or lattice in which each cell denotes a particular quadrat in a particular year. A cell is ‘black’ if a plant established at that particular time and place; otherwise it is ‘white’. 3 Each pair of black cells is connected by a ‘join’ that represents the association between stems established at two different places and times. Join ‘length’ is the pair of factors (s,t) that describes the distance between stems in space and in time, respectively. Spatio‐temporal pattern is detected by comparing the number of joins of each ‘length’ in a particular lattice with the expected number calculated from lattices generated by three different random models. Colonization rates can be estimated if there are particular join classes that occur more frequently than expected. 4 Artificially generated lattices were used to examine the effect of background noise on the ability to detect underlying pattern. 5 Field data were obtained from a Populus balsamifera clone that was colonizing a grassland. Three belt transects, 1 m wide and up to 13 m in length, were established, and ramets in each 0.5‐m interval were aged by tree ring counts. Position and age were used to construct a lattice of stem establishment. 6 We were able to discern a pattern both in artificial lattices and in the colonization of P. balsamifera ramets. Ramets took between 1 and 2 years to advance 1 m into the grassland (equivalent to a rate of 0.5–1 m per year). 7 Describing plant establishment in space and time with two‐factor join count statistics provides a way of measuring the rate of species movement at the scale of the individual.
Selective slug grazing on montane meadow plants
Authors: Scheidel Ulrich , Bruelheide Helge 
Published: March 2003

Summary1 In order to test the hypothesis that the sensitivity of field populations of the rare perennialArnica montanato slug attack is due to its high palatability, we comparedArnicaleaves and seedlings with 20 other plant species in greenhouse food choice experiments.2 When slugs were given a choice of mature plant leaf discs,Arnica montanawas one of the food plants most preferred by all three slug species tested.Arion lusitanicus,ArionsubfuscusandDeroceras agrestediffered only slightly in their preference for particular plant species. Greater differences in acceptability were observed when parameters other than area consumed were evaluated.Arnicaseedlings displayed similarly high susceptibility to slug grazing.3 Morphological factors influence mollusc feeding behaviour, with epidermal cell wall thickness and hairiness related to acceptability. Removing the hairs by shaving the leaves increased the acceptability of one species,Centaurea jacea.4 Leaves of undamagedArnica montanaplants were preferred to leaves of plants that had been predamaged by partial leaf removal, suggesting that there is an inducible component of chemical defence.5 We discuss our results in comparison with other food choice experiments and attempt to extrapolate them to mollusc/plant interactions under field conditions.
Data diving with cross‐validation: an investigation of broad‐scale gradients in Swedish weed communities
Authors: Hallgren Erik , Palmer Michael W. , Milberg Per 
Published: March 2003

Summary 1 Multivariate analysis of complex data sets is plagued by problems of subjectivity and of finding statistically valid ways to test a large number of plausible hypotheses. We show how patterns in the data can be identified (data diving) as well as rigorously tested statistically by subdividing the data set. 2 We analysed data on weed biomass and environmental variables from more than 2000 plots in cereal and oil‐seed crops in Sweden during 1970–94. Half the data set was used in an exploratory phase while the other half was used in a subsequent confirmatory phase. 3 The exploratory analyses included multivariate statistics [detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA)] with various options and combinations of variables, and led to the formation of hypotheses that were then tested. 4 We tested the hypotheses in a sequential analysis with CCA and Monte Carlo permutation tests: after establishing the influence of one set of environmental variables, this set was covaried out in subsequent analyses. In this way the influence of (i) season of sowing of the crop; (ii) geographical region; (iii) soil type; (iv) crop species; and (v) temporal trends was tested. The four latter were tested separately for spring‐ and autumn‐sown crops. 5 The sowing season of the crop had an overwhelming influence on the weed flora, and many weed species, both annual and perennial, showed strong associations with either autumn or spring. There were significant differences in weed flora composition between the geographical regions and soil types as well as between crop species. There were significant temporal trends only in the weed flora of autumn‐sown crops. 6 This study provides a protocol that combines exploratory ‘data diving’ with strict hypothesis testing using direct gradient analysis methods such as CCA. Such two‐phase analysis should improve the way complex data are analysed and patterns are interpreted.
The effects of plant litter on vegetation: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Xiong Shaojun , Nilsson Christer 
Published: March 2003

Summary 1 We used data from 35 independently published studies world‐wide to analyse the effects of plant litter on the germination, establishment, species richness and above‐ground biomass of plants. Overall, the short‐term effects of litter on vegetation were mostly negative, although their magnitude varied with vegetation variable, study method, experimental duration, latitude, habitat, type and quantity of litter and target species. 2 Species richness was more affected than above‐ground biomass by litter, suggesting that litter may play a direct role in structuring plant communities as well as influencing competition in productive habitats. Litter had a stronger overall effect on plant germination than on establishment, suggesting that a litter‐reducing disturbance will have more effect early in the growth season. 3 On average, vegetation was more affected by litter in field than in glasshouse studies and during 2‐year than during 1‐year studies. The effect on biomass switched from negative after 1 year to positive after 3 years. 4 The absolute effects of litter on germination and establishment decreased and the absolute effects on above‐ground biomass increased with latitude. Ecosystem type also influenced the effects significantly. 5 Vegetation was generally more depressed by higher litter quantities. Litter composed of forbs and tree leaves had a stronger effect on vegetation than grass litter. The impact of a certain type of litter may therefore be related to its decomposition rate. 6 Tree species were more affected than forbs and grasses by litter, at least at the colonization stage.
Small‐scale disturbance and regeneration dynamics in a neotropical mangrove forest
Authors: Sherman Ruth E. , Fahey Timothy J. , Battles John J. 
Published: March 2003

Summary 1 Mangrove forests are affected by a variety of natural disturbances that differ in scale, intensity and frequency. Small canopy gaps, although common, have not been well studied. We examined the role of lightning‐created canopy gaps in the dynamics of a 47‐km2 intertidal mangrove community in the Dominican Republic, by quantifying the spatial patterns of overstorey tree distributions, spatial and temporal patterns of gap formation, and tree regeneration in gaps and beneath the closed forest. We hypothesized that regeneration in these gaps would maintain and reinforce species’ distribution patterns across the intertidal gradient in this mangrove ecosystem. 2 All 52 gaps surveyed in the field were nearly circular canopy openings created by lightning. Expanded gap size indicated an average diameter of 30.4 m. The total area of forest in the gap‐phase is currently 1.9%, with an annual formation rate of 0.23% year−1. Canopy turnover was calculated to range from 421 to 842 years; however, gaps were not randomly distributed across the mangrove forest and canopy turnover in the most gap‐prone areas ranged from 194 to 386 years. 3 Seedling density was not different under gaps and under the forest canopy, but sapling density and sapling growth rates of three species were significantly greater in canopy gaps. The annual mortality rate of Rhizophora mangle (9%) in canopy gaps was significantly lower than either Laguncularia racemosa (32%) or Avicennia germinans (56%). Gap regeneration was dominated by R. mangle throughout the forest. 4 The results of this study do not support our initial hypothesis but suggest that the distribution and abundance of R. mangle will increase throughout the forest over time, given the present disturbance regime. Field observations indicated that the peat mat collapses in lightning‐created gaps following their formation, resulting in increased levels of standing water. We suggest the successful regeneration of R. mangle is favoured in these gaps because of its greater tolerance to flooding conditions.
Seed dispersal, habitat suitability and the distribution of halophytes across a salt marsh tidal gradient
Authors: Rand Tatyana A. 
Published: March 2003

Summary 1  The relative importance of seed availability and the post‐dispersal environment in causing the distribution and abundance patterns of five halophytic forbs and a shrub was investigated across a New England salt marsh tidal gradient. Seed traps and soil samples were used to assess the spatial pattern of seed availability across the marsh, and experimental seed additions were performed to examine the effects of tidal elevation and interspecific competition with dominant grasses and rushes on seedling emergence and survivorship. 2  Seed distributions strongly paralleled adult plant abundance patterns across the marsh, suggesting localized dispersal with limited movement out of parental environments. 3  Adding seeds typically increased seedling densities by at least an order of magnitude, thus lack of seed availability may be important in limiting plant abundance within marsh zones. 4  Post‐dispersal factors were primarily responsible for determining species distribution patterns across zones. Lower limits to the distribution of species typically found at high‐marsh elevations were determined by intolerance to abiotic conditions in the lower marsh zones. In contrast, species typically found at low‐marsh elevations were precluded from the high marsh due to competitive suppression by dominant plants. Patterns of post‐dispersal success were strongly reinforced by limited dispersal. 5  Seed dispersal patterns and post‐dispersal factors may therefore interact to generate distribution and abundance patterns in salt marsh plant communities.
Species functional redundancy, random extinctions and the stability of ecosystems
Authors: Fonseca Carlos Roberto , Ganade Gislene 
Published: March 2003

Summary

The level of functional redundancy in natural communities is likely to modulate how ecosystem stability is affected by local species extinction. Thus, extinction should have no effect if all species have similar functions, but a major effect if each carries different functions.
We provide a probabilistic framework that, from any distribution of species number across functional groups, generates specific predictions of how functional groups are lost when species become randomly extinct within a given community. In particular, we predict how many species can go extinct before a community loses its first functional group, a useful index for conservation purposes.
We demonstrate that the probability of a whole functional group becoming extinct from a given community increases with the number of recognized functional groups (functional richness) but decreases with species richness and functional evenness (the distribution of species across functional groups).
Application of this framework to one published data set for a South American plant community suggested that, if local extinction is random, 75% of the species could be lost before the disappearance of the first functional group.
However, if redundancy is to be used to determine conservation priorities, the definition of functional groups must be carefully reviewed.
Discordance in spatial patterns of white pine (Pinus strobus) size‐classes in a patchy near‐boreal forest
Authors: Dovčiak Martin , Frelich Lee E. , Reich Peter B. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryWhite pines (Pinus strobus) in ac. 1 ha near‐boreal aspen‐red maple stand in the western Great Lakes region, USA, were allocated to five size‐classes that were tested for discordance of their spatial patterns (i.e. within‐size‐class spatial distribution of individuals and spatial associations among different size‐classes). The size‐classes were 0.5–1 m tall, 1–2 m tall, 2–4 m tall, > 4 m tall but < 20 cm diameter at breast height (d.b.h.), and > 20 cm d.b.h. The size‐classes also differed in age. Their spatial patterns were analysed using formulae for spatial autocorrelation with categorical data at neighbourhood (0–14 m) and stand (0–70 m) scales.Size‐classes clustered in neighbourhoods that differed in size ranging from 6 m in diameter (size‐class 2) to 40 m (size‐class 3), suggesting that the pattern of each size‐class is due to a different set of environmental factors. Similar size‐classes tended to be randomly or positively associated at neighbourhood scales, while the most dissimilar size‐classes occupied different neighbourhoods.Size‐classes 1 and 2 were located farther away from seed trees than size‐class 3, which was farther away than size‐class 4. Thus periodic seedling invasion of a deciduous matrix may be followed by the gradual retraction of older size‐classes into a refuge near the mature seed source where competition from shrubs and overstorey trees is lower. Although the lack of fine‐scale clustering suggests density‐dependent mortality within the refuge, few older individuals were found outside this area.Two regeneration bottlenecks may structure white pine populations. First, recruitment into size‐class 2 is restricted to small patches (possibly in understorey gaps) within neighbourhoods with abundant size‐class 1. Relatively unrestricted recruitment to size‐class 3 follows, and after that recruitment to size‐class 4 is again limited, this time to refugia with sparse canopy near adult trees.
Effects of flooding and herbivores on variation in recruitment of palms between habitats
Authors: Pacheco Manoel A. W. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryIt is widely recognized that negative effects of anaerobic stress on growth and survival of flooded plants influence the distribution of numerous species. Less explored is the possibility that heterogeneity in abundance of plants between habitats with distinct flooding regimes may also result from variation in rates of herbivory or in the ability of plants to tolerate losses to herbivores.Flooding and herbivores were tested as factors underlying variation in abundance of two tropical forest palms,Socratea exorrhiza(which is associated with lowlands adjacent to streams) andOenocarpus bacaba(which is more abundant on plateaux and upper edges of slopes).In a bench experiment, seeds of both palms were either completely immersed in water for a period of 101 days or not subject to inundation. Flooding inhibited germination of both species but, as expected, the adverse effects were much stronger onOenocarpus.In a field experiment, seeds of both palms were planted with increasing levels of protection against herbivores on plateaux and in lowlands. Seeds were either not protected or placed within poultry‐netting exclosures, half of which were sprayed with insecticide.After 17 months, onlyOenocarpushad experienced differential mortality between habitats, and this was clearly associated with the negative effects of flooding on seed germination in lowlands. In contrast, growth differed between habitats only forSocrateaseedlings, where average above‐ground biomass was greater in lowlands.Although protection with exclosures and insecticide increased survivorship of both species,herbivores caused similar proportions of mortality on plateaux and in lowlands, and had no significant effect on seedling growth. Therefore at this site, herbivores do not appear to influence variation in abundance of species between habitats.