Nonrandom,diversifying processes are disproportionately strong in the smallest size classes of a tropical forest

A variety of ecological processes influence diversity and species composition in natural communities. Most of these processes, whether abiotic or biotic, differentially filter individuals from birth to death, thereby altering species’ relative abundances. Nonrandom outcomes could accrue throughout ontogeny, or the processes that generate them could be particularly influential at certain stages. One long-standing paradigm in tropical forest ecology holds that patterns of relative abundance among mature trees are largely set by processes operating at the earliest life cycle stages. Several studies confirm filtering processes at some stages, but the longevity of large trees makes a rigorous comparison across size classes impossible without long-term demographic data. Here, we use one of the world’s longest-running, plot-based forest dynamics projects to compare nonrandom outcomes across stage classes. We considered a cohort of 7,977 individuals in 186 species that were alive in 1971 and monitored in 13 mortality censuses over 42 y to 2013. Nonrandom mortality with respect to species identity occurred more often in the smaller rather than the larger size classes. Furthermore, observed nonrandom mortality in the smaller size classes had a diversifying influence; species richness of the survivors was up to 30% greater than expected in the two smallest size classes, but not greater than expected in the larger size classes. These results highlight the importance of early life cycle stages in tropical forest community dynamics. More generally, they add to an accumulating body of evidence for the importance of early-stage nonrandom outcomes to community structure in marine and terrestrial environments.Processes that operate nonrandomly with respect to species identity contribute to the structure of natural communities (1–3). Evidence from diverse rain forests includes demographic transitions from seeds to seedlings (4, 5), at the seedling (6, 7) and sapling stages (8) and among large trees (9–12). Although the relative contributions of nonrandom processes at each life cycle stage to determining patterns of abundance and diversity in the mature canopy are unknown, one long-standing paradigm is that community assembly is mediated primarily by events occurring from seed dispersal through seedling germination and small-sapling establishment (13–17). However, despite suggestive patterns (6, 7, 18, 19), evidence is lacking for the comparative strength of early-stage dynamics in determining canopy abundance and diversity.Numerous studies demonstrate significant interspecific variation in the susceptibility of tropical tree seedlings to postgermination hazards, including natural enemies (20, 21), adverse climatic or edaphic conditions (22), physical damage (23), and the crowding or shared-enemies effects of con- and heterospecific neighbors (24, 25). In other words, the per capita probability of seedling mortality is nonrandom because the probability of death is not the same for all individuals in a local community – it is dependent to some degree on species identity. In plant communities in which generation times are relatively short, experiments have demonstrated that nonrandom mortality through these early transitions can be sufficiently strong to affect the species composition of mature plants (26–29). Such demonstrations are impossible in studies of a few decades or less in duration when generation times are long and even juveniles live for several decades or centuries, such as in many tropical forests. Even so, some hypotheses explicitly identify stressors that affect plants at the earliest life cycle stages (such as pests and pathogens, 13, 14, 30) as disproportionately influential. In addition, some empirical studies find a lack of support for nonrandom processes operating among larger stems (31, 32). Together these hypotheses and observations provide the rationale underpinning the considerable body of research on seed and seedling dynamics in tropical forests worldwide. However, no empirical or experimental assessment has been made of the relative contributions across life cycle stages from nonrandom mortality.Here, we evaluate the comparative contribution of early-stage dynamics using a multidecadal study of a tropical forest dynamics plot initiated by one of us (J.H.C.) in 1963 at a site in north Queensland, Australia. We considered a cohort of 7,977 individuals in 186 species that were alive on the plot in 1971, from tiny seedlings to large canopy trees, whose fates were monitored in 13 mortality censuses over 42 y to 2013. Individuals were assigned to one of six size classes (

Time to and predictors of dual incontinence in older nursing home admissions

Aims

There are few studies of nursing home residents that have investigated the development of dual incontinence, perhaps the most severe type of incontinence as both urinary and fecal incontinence occur. To determine the time to and predictors of dual incontinence in older nursing home residents.

Methods

Using a cohort design, records of older nursing home admissions who were continent or had only urinary or only fecal incontinence (n = 39,181) were followed forward for report of dual incontinence. Four national US datasets containing potential predictors at multiple levels describing characteristics of nursing home residents, nursing homes (n = 445), and socioeconomic and sociodemographic status of the community surrounding nursing homes were analyzed. A Cox proportional hazard regression with nursing home‐specific random effect was used.

Results

At 6 months after admission, 28% of nursing home residents developed dual incontinence, at 1 year 42% did so, and at 2 years, 61% had dual incontinence. Significant predictors for time to developing dual incontinence were having urinary incontinence, greater functional or cognitive deficits, more comorbidities, older age, and lesser quality of nursing home care.

Conclusions

The development of dual incontinence is a major problem among nursing home residents. Predictors in this study offer guidance in developing interventions to prevent and reduce the time to developing this problem which may improve the quality of life of nursing residents.     

Cystic Hydatidosis of the Rib–Case Report and Review of the Literature

The hydatid disease is a zoonosis endemic to rural countries, such as those in the Mediterranean region, South America, North Africa, Central Asia and China. Hydatid cysts commonly affect liver and lungs, but less than 100 cases of costal hydatidosis have been reported in the literature. While diagnosis of the disease in commonly affected organs is relatively easy, uncommon locations can prove to be challenging as is the case with costal hydatidosis. Imaging techniques can suggest the diagnosis, but sometimes it remains uncertain until surgery. The treatment is surgical, assisted by long-time Albendazole chemotherapy. We present a rare case of costal hydatidosis, the first one to be reported in Romania according to our review of the literature.     

Rational Design of a Novel AMPA Receptor Modulator through a Hybridization Approach

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Ultrasound of inherited vs. acquired demyelinating polyneuropathies

We compared features of nerve enlargement in inherited and acquired demyelinating neuropathies using ultrasound. We measured median and ulnar nerve cross-sectional areas in proximal and distal regions in 128 children and adults with inherited [Charcot–Marie–Tooth-1 (CMT-1) (n = 35)] and acquired [chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (n = 55), Guillaine–Barre syndrome (GBS) (n = 21) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) (n = 17)] demyelinating neuropathies. We classified nerve enlargement by degree and number of regions affected. We defined patterns of nerve enlargement as: none, no enlargement; mild, nerves enlarged but never more than twice normal; regional, nerves normal in at least one region and enlarged more than twice normal in at least one region; diffuse, nerves enlarged at all four regions with at least one region more than twice normal size. Nerve enlargement was commonly diffuse (89 %) and generally more than twice normal size in CMT-1, but not (p < 0.001) in acquired disorders which mostly had either no, mild or regional nerve enlargement [CIDP (64 %), GBS (95 %), and MMN (100 %)]. In CIDP, subjects treated within 3 months of disease onset had less nerve enlargement than those treated later. Ultrasound identified patterns of diffuse nerve enlargement can be used to screen patients suspected of having CMT-1. Normal, mildly, or regionally enlarged nerves in demyelinating polyneuropathy suggests an acquired etiology. Early treatment in CIDP may impede nerve enlargement.     

Distinct abnormalities of the primate prefrontal cortex caused by ionizing radiation in early or midgestation

Prenatal exposure of the brain to environmental insult causes different neurological symptoms and behavioral outcomes depending on the time of exposure. To examine the cellular bases for these differences, we exposed rhesus macaque fetuses to x‐rays during early gestation (embryonic day [E]30–E42), i.e., before the onset of corticogenesis, or in midgestation (E70–E81), when superficial cortical layers are generated. Animals were delivered at term (～E165), and the size and cellular composition of prefrontal association cortex (area 46) examined in adults using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and stereologic analysis. Both early and midgestational radiation exposure diminished the surface area and volume of area 46. However, early exposure spared cortical thickness and did not alter laminar composition, and due to higher cell density, neuron number was within the normal range. In contrast, exposure to x‐rays at midgestation reduced cortical thickness, mainly due to elimination of neurons destined for the superficial layers. A cell‐sparse gap, observed within layer III, was not filled by the later‐generated neurons destined for layer II, indicating that there is no subsequent replacement of the lost neurons. The distinct areal and laminar pathology consequent to temporally segregated irradiation is consistent with basic postulates of the radial unit hypothesis of cortical development. In addition, we show that an environmental disturbance inflicted in early gestation can induce subtle cytoarchitectonic alterations without loss of neurons, such as those observed in schizophrenia, whereas midgestational exposure causes selective elimination of neurons and cortical thinning as observed in some forms of mental retardation and fetal alcohol syndrome. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:1040–1053, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.