Is continuous-cover silviculture,as practised in Bavaria,suitable for use in wet eucalypt forests in Tasmania,Australia?

Appropriate silviculture, based on natural forest dynamics and ecological attributes of tree species, is fundamental to the sustainable management of native (natural and semi-natural) forests for wood production. Continuous-cover silviculture works well in shade-tolerant spruce–fir–beech forests of Central Europe (in this paper, we use the German state of Bavaria as a typical example) and can be regarded as ‘close-to-nature’, particularly where there is a focus on maintaining some old-growth elements for long-term retention. Continuous-cover silviculture, however, cannot be regarded as ‘close-to-nature’ for Australian wet eucalypt forests, which are dominated by shade-intolerant eucalypts that are dependent on intensive disturbance, usually associated with fires, for their regeneration.

While the prevailing technique of clearfelling, burning and sowing of eucalypt seed has some affinities with natural regeneration processes stimulated by bushfires, it differs substantially from natural disturbances in that it is more uniform than bushfires and removes most ‘legacy’ structures such as live and dead trees, which are important to maintain some continuity of ecosystem functioning between forest generations. Variable retention silviculture, which retains mature stand elements for incorporation in the new stand, better approximates ‘close-to-nature’ silviculture for wet eucalypt forests. Silvicultural trials and recent operational experience show that variable retention can be applied successfully in wet eucalypt forests in some situations.

Although Tasmania has much higher levels of formal ecological reserves than Bavaria (49% compared to just 3%), its use of native forests, particularly wet eucalypt forests, for wood production struggles for acceptance by the general public. We suggest that high levels of social acceptance of forestry in Bavaria, and low levels in Tasmania, cannot be explained purely by ecological and silvicultural differences of the forest types. Other influential factors in Bavaria compared with Tasmania include higher levels of private forest ownership, practical forest knowledge, domestic processing, established forest road networks and profitability.     

Involvement of Mutation in ampD I,mrcA, and at Least One Additional Gene in β-Lactamase Hyperproduction in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

It has been reported that targeted disruption of ampD I or mrcA causes β-lactamase hyperproduction in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. We show here that β-lactamase-hyperproducing laboratory selected mutants and clinical isolates can have wild-type ampD I and mrcA genes, implicating mutation of at least one additional gene in this phenotype. The involvement of mutations at multiple loci in the activation of β-lactamase production in S. maltophilia reveals that there are significant deviations from the enterobacterial paradigm of AmpR-mediated control of β-lactamase induction. We do show, however, that S. maltophilia ampD I can complement a mutation in Escherichia coli ampD. This suggests that an anhydromuropeptide degradation product of peptidoglycan is used to activate AmpR in S. maltophilia, as is also the case in enteric bacteria.     

Metacognition,Responsibility, and Perfectionism in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Cognitive Therapy and Research - In Wells’ (1997) metacognitive model of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), two types of metacognitive beliefs are considered central: thought-fusion...     

Changes in disability,self-rated health,comorbidities and psychological wellbeing in community-dwelling 75–95-year-old cohorts over two decades in Helsinki

Objective: To explore changes in self-reported disabilities, health, comorbidities and psychological wellbeing (PWB) in aged cohorts over two decades.

Design, setting and subjects: Cross-sectional cohort studies with postal surveys were conducted among community-dwelling people aged 75, 80, 85, 90 and 95 years in 1989 (n?=?660), 1999 (n?=?2598) and 2009 (n?=?1637) in Helsinki, Finland.

Main outcome measures: Self-reported items on disability, self-rated health (SRH), diagnoses and PWB were compared between cohorts of the same age. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for each study year to explore the representativeness of the samples compared to general population of same age.

Results: A significantly lower proportion of the 75–85-year-olds of the later study years reported going outdoors daily, although this group had improvements in both SRH and PWB scores. The number of comorbidities increased over time among 75–85-year-olds. The only significant change that could be verified among 90- and 95-year-olds between 1999 and 2009, was the lower proportion of participants going outdoors daily. The trend of leveling-off in disabilities was not explained by the SMRs (0.90, 0.71 and 0.60 for 1989, 1999 and 2009).

Conclusions: The latest older people’s cohorts showed an end to previously reported improvements in disabilities, despite having favorable trends in SRH and PWB. Primary care may be faced with increasing need of appropriate services for their senior members.     

RSV infection in infants and young children. What's new in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention?

RSV is the most important respiratory pathogen in infants and young children. About 1% of primary RSV infections result in hospitalization. The virus is spread by large droplets of secretions or contact with contaminated secretions. Infants infected with RSV may demonstrate poor feeding, rhinorrhea, apnea, lethargy, wheezing, and respiratory distress. Diagnosis may be made by clinical signs and symptoms (especially those observed during epidemics), by chest radiographs showing hyperinflation, or by rapid antigen detection with immunofluorescence of nasopharyngeal aspirates. Risk factors for severe disease accompanied by complications include chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, immunodeficiency, HIV, and prematurity. Immunity is incomplete and of short duration, and reinfection is common. Treatment remains supportive and consists of oxygen administration, hydration, and diligent monitoring. Use of corticosteroids, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and ribavirin is controversial and is dependent largely on physician preference. Use of ribavirin should be reserved for patients who have severe underlying conditions associated with increased mortality rates. Intravenous RSV Ig has been replaced by palivizumab, which is generally recommended for infants at high risk for severe RSV, including those with a history of prematurity and those with chronic lung disease.     

Silica gel pad nursing intervention for the prevention of pressure ulcers in elderly patients in operation research 陆建平,阎倩,袁洁萍,徐超,蒋芝萍,王岑

目的 探讨硅胶凝胶垫对老年手术患者手术过程中压疮的预防情况。方法 将182例年龄≥80岁、手术时间≥2.5h的患者分层随机分为2组：实验组和对照组,对试验组的患者在压疮好发部位使用硅胶凝胶垫进行干预,对照组进行常规护理。结果 试验组患者压疮发生率明显低于对照组患者。结论 手术过程中使用硅胶凝胶垫进行护理干预能减少老年手术患者压疮的发生,有利于手术患者的康复。