Reference values for fatigued versus non-fatigued limb symmetry index measured by a newly designed single-leg hop test battery in healthy subjects : a pilot study

There is sparse evidence for return to sport criteria after knee injury. Functional performance deficits, particularly in fatigued muscular condition, should be verified prior to the attempt to return to high-risk pivoting sports. The purpose of this study was to generate reference values for the limb symmetry index (LSI) of healthy subjects in fatigued and non-fatigued muscular condition in a newly designed test battery

Clinical and radiological results after Internal Brace suture versus the all-inside reconstruction technique in anterior cruciate ligament tears 12 to 18 months after index surgery = Klinische und radiologische Ergebnisse nach Naht des vorderen Kreuzbandes mittels Internal-Brace- und All-inside-Kreuzbandersatzplastik nach 12–18 Monaten nach Operation

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury can lead to reduced function, meniscal lesions, and early joint degeneration. Preservation of a torn ACL using the Internal Brace technique might re-establish normal knee kinematics, avoid donor-site morbidity due to tendon harvesting, and potentially maintain proprioception of the knee. Methods: Fifty subjects were recruited for this study between December 2015 and October 2016. Two groups of individuals who sustained a unilateral ACL rupture were included: those who underwent surgery with preservation of the injured ACL (Internal Brace technique; IB) and those who underwent ACL reconstruction using a hamstring tendon graft (all-inside technique; AI). Subjective self-administered scores were used: the German version of the IKDC Subjective Knee Form (International Knee Documentation Committee), the German version of the WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index), SF-36 (short form), the German version of the KOOS (Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score), and the German version of themodified Lysholm Score by Lysholm and Gillquist. Anterior tibial translation was assessed using the KT-1000 Arthrometer (KT-1000 Knee Ligament Arthrometer, MEDmetric Corp., San Diego, CA, USA). Magnetic resonance evaluation was performed in all cases. Results: Twenty-three subjects (46 %) were men, and the mean age was 34.7 years. The objective IKDC scores were "normal" in 15 and 14 patients, "nearly normal" in 11 and 7 patients, and "abnormal" in 1 and 2 patients, in the IB and AI groups, respectively. KT-1000 assessment showed a sideto-side difference of more than 3 mm on maximum manual testing in 11 (44 %) and 6 subjects (28.6 %) in the IB and AI groups, respectively. In the postoperative MRI, 20 (74 %) and 22 subjects (96 %) in the IB and AI groups had an intact ACL. Anterior tibial translation was significantly higher in the IB group compared with the AI group in the manual maximum test. Conclusions: Preservation of the native ACL with the Internal Brace primary repair technique can achieve comparable results to ACL reconstruction using Hamstring autografts over a short term. Clinically relevant limitations such as a higher incidence of pathologic laxity, with patients more prone to pivot-shift phenomenon were observed during the study period

Natural disturbance regimes as a guide for sustainable forest management in Europe

Dette er den aksepterte versjonen av en artikkel publisert i Ecological Applications. Den blir tilgjengelig fra og med 28.03.2023 etter en embargoperiode på 12 måneder. Du finner den publiserte artikkelen her: https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2596. / This is the postprint version of the article published in Ecological Applications. It will be available 28.03.2023 after an embargo period of 12 months.You can find the published article here: https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2596.In Europe, forest management has controlled forest dynamics to sustain commodity production over multiple centuries. Yet over-regulation for growth and yield diminishes resilience to environmental stress as well as threatens biodiversity, leading to increasing forest susceptibility to an array of disturbances. These trends have stimulated interest in alternative management systems, including natural dynamics silviculture (NDS). NDS aims to emulate natural disturbance dynamics at stand and landscape scales through silvicultural manipulations of forest structure and landscape patterns. We adapted a “Comparability Index” (CI) to assess convergence/divergence between natural disturbances and forest management effects. We extended the original CI concept based on disturbance size and frequency by adding the residual structure of canopy trees after a disturbance as a third dimension. We populated the model by compiling data on natural disturbance dynamics and management from 13 countries in Europe, covering four major forest types (i.e., spruce, beech, oak, and pine-dominated forests). We found that natural disturbances are highly variable in size, frequency, and residual structure, but European forest management fails to encompass this complexity. Silviculture in Europe is skewed toward even-aged systems, used predominately (72.9% of management) across the countries assessed. The residual structure proved crucial in the comparison of natural disturbances and silvicultural systems. CI indicated the highest congruence between uneven-aged silvicultural systems and key natural disturbance attributes. Even so, uneven-aged practices emulated only a portion of the complexity associated with natural disturbance effects. The remaining silvicultural systems perform poorly in terms of retention compared to tree survivorship after natural disturbances. We suggest that NDS can enrich Europe’s portfolio of management systems, for example where wood production is not the primary objective. NDS is especially relevant to forests managed for habitat quality, risk reduction, and a variety of ecosystem services. We suggest a holistic approach integrating NDS with more conventional practices.acceptedVersio

Microclimate conditions in gaps and mature stands of Dinaric silver fir-beech forests

Microclimate conditions affect composition, structure, growth, health and dynamics of forest ecosystems. In the current study, microclimatic conditions of a Dinaric silver fir-beech forest in selected forest stands and different development stages in managed forest (Snežna jama) and virgin forest remnant (Rajhenavski Rog) were determined during two growing seasons in the years 2003and 2004. Air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, wind speedand direction were measured. Daily air temperatures 2 m above ground werelower in the virgin forest remnant than in the managed forest, but relative humidity was higher. Microclimate conditions in the managed forest were not more extreme in the Large gap (SVV) than in the Small gap (SMV), in contrast to our expectations. Microclimatic conditions are influenced not onlyby stand structure and shape of the forest edge in a gap but also by the karst relief characteristics: the inclination, exposition and shape of the terrain

Microclimate conditions in gaps and mature stands of Dinaric silver fir-beech forests

Mikroklimatske razmere sodijo med dejavnike, ki odločujoče vplivajo na zgradbo, rast, zdravstveno stanje in stabilnost gozdnih ekosistemov. Namen naše raziskave je bil raziskati osnovne mikroklimatske razmere v dveh sestojihin v vrzelih različne velikosti v dinarskem jelovo-bukovem pragozdnem rezervatu (Rajhenavski Rog) ter gospodarskem sonaravnem gozdu (Snežna jama) v vegetacijskem obdobju v letih 2003 in 2004. Spremljali smo temperaturo zraka, temperaturo tal, relativno zračno vlago ter smer in hitrost vetra. V pragozdnem rezervatu so bile povprečne dnevne temperature zraka na 2 m višine nižje kot v gospodarskem gozdu, relativna zračna vlaga pa je bila višja. V gospodarskem gozdu so bile v nasprotju s pričakovanji temperature zraka na sredini Male vrzeli (SMV) višje kot na sredini Velike vrzeli (SVV). Ugotavljamo, da na mikroklimatske razmere poleg zgradbe sestoja in oblikovanost roba vrzeli pomembno vplivajo tudi značilnosti razgibanega kraškega reliefa: naklon terena, ekspozicija ter oblikovanost terena.Microclimate conditions affect composition, structure, growth, health and dynamics of forest ecosystems. In the current study, microclimatic conditions of a Dinaric silver fir-beech forest in selected forest stands and different development stages in managed forest (Snežna jama) and virgin forest remnant (Rajhenavski Rog) were determined during two growing seasons in the years 2003and 2004. Air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, wind speedand direction were measured. Daily air temperatures 2 m above ground werelower in the virgin forest remnant than in the managed forest, but relative humidity was higher. Microclimate conditions in the managed forest were not more extreme in the Large gap (SVV) than in the Small gap (SMV), in contrast to our expectations. Microclimatic conditions are influenced not onlyby stand structure and shape of the forest edge in a gap but also by the karst relief characteristics: the inclination, exposition and shape of the terrain

Towards an European classification of terrestrial humus forms

International audienc