Impacts of Plant-Microbe Interactions on Seedling Performance in a Riparian Forest Invaded by Lonicera maackii

Soil microbes have profound impacts on plant growth and survival and can either promote or inhibit plant dominance. Exotic plants are often strongly invasive because they have escaped their natural enemies, potentially including antagonistic soil microbes. I examined how the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii and a common native tree, Acer negundo, responded to soil microbial communities to determine the role of soil microbes in regulating invasion success. This was done by growing both species with microbes from invaded (L. maackii) and uninvaded (A. negundo) soils collected from three locations within a riparian forest. Seedlings were grown both in isolation (Experiment 1) and in combination (Experiment 2) with both live and sterilized soil inocula from these locations. Despite the expectation of minimal microbial inhibition due to a lack of natural enemies, L. maackii was strongly inhibited by 1/3 A. negundo and 3/3 L. maackii soil microbiome collections when grown in isolation. The native Acer negundo was strongly inhibited by 2/3 A. negundo and 3/3 L. maackii microbiome collections. Conversely, when grown together the soil microbiome largely mitigated negative interspecific interactions (i.e. plant-plant, plant-microbe) leading to a net advantage for L. maackii in many cases. This dynamic is likely key to L. maackii seedling success when it occurs with seedlings of other species, allowing L. maackii a competitive advantage through biotic interactions

Neurofeedback training in children with ADHD: 6-month follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

Neurofeedback (NF) could help to improve attentional and self-management capabilities in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In a randomised controlled trial, NF training was found to be superior to a computerised attention skills training (AST) (Gevensleben et al. in J Child Psychol Psychiatry 50(7):780–789, 2009). In the present paper, treatment effects at 6-month follow-up were studied. 94 children with ADHD, aged 8–12 years, completed either 36 sessions of NF training (n = 59) or a computerised AST (n = 35). Pre-training, post-training and follow-up assessment encompassed several behaviour rating scales (e.g., the German ADHD rating scale, FBB-HKS) completed by parents. Follow-up information was analysed in 61 children (ca. 65%) on a per-protocol basis. 17 children (of 33 dropouts) had started a medication after the end of the training or early in the follow-up period. Improvements in the NF group (n = 38) at follow-up were superior to those of the control group (n = 23) and comparable to the effects at the end of the training. For the FBB-HKS total score (primary outcome measure), a medium effect size of 0.71 was obtained at follow-up. A reduction of at least 25% in the primary outcome measure (responder criterion) was observed in 50% of the children in the NF group. In conclusion, behavioural improvements induced by NF training in children with ADHD were maintained at a 6-month follow-up. Though treatment effects appear to be limited, the results confirm the notion that NF is a clinically efficacious module in the treatment of children with ADHD

Reconstruction versus conservative treatment after rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament: cost effectiveness analysis

BACKGROUND: The decision whether to treat conservatively or reconstruct surgically a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an ongoing subject of debate. The high prevalence and associated public health burden of torn ACL has led to continuous efforts to determine the best therapeutic approach. A critical evaluation of benefits and expenditures of both treatment options as in a cost effectiveness analysis seems well-suited to provide valuable information for treating physicians and healthcare policymakers. METHODS: A literature review identified four of 7410 searched articles providing sufficient outcome probabilities for the two treatment options for modeling. A transformation key based on the expert opinions of 25 orthopedic surgeons was used to derive utilities from available evidence. The cost data for both treatment strategies were based on average figures compiled by Orthopaedic University Hospital Balgrist and reinforced by Swiss national statistics. A decision tree was constructed to derive the cost-effectiveness of each strategy, which was then tested for robustness using Monte Carlo simulation. RESULTS: Decision tree analysis revealed a cost effectiveness of 16,038 USD/0.78 QALY for ACL reconstruction and 15,466 USD/0.66 QALY for conservative treatment, implying an incremental cost effectiveness of 4,890 USD/QALY for ACL reconstruction. Sensitivity analysis of utilities did not change the trend. CONCLUSION: ACL reconstruction for reestablishment of knee stability seems cost effective in the Swiss setting based on currently available evidence. This, however, should be reinforced with randomized controlled trials comparing the two treatment strategies

Impacts of Plant-Microbe Interactions on Seedling Performance in a Riparian Forest Invaded by Lonicera maackii

Soil microbes have profound impacts on plant growth and survival and can either promote or inhibit plant dominance. Exotic plants are often strongly invasive because they have escaped their natural enemies, potentially including antagonistic soil microbes. I examined how the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii and a common native tree, Acer negundo, responded to soil microbial communities to determine the role of soil microbes in regulating invasion success. This was done by growing both species with microbes from invaded (L. maackii) and uninvaded (A. negundo) soils collected from three locations within a riparian forest. Seedlings were grown both in isolation (Experiment 1) and in combination (Experiment 2) with both live and sterilized soil inocula from these locations. Despite the expectation of minimal microbial inhibition due to a lack of natural enemies, L. maackii was strongly inhibited by 1/3 A. negundo and 3/3 L. maackii soil microbiome collections when grown in isolation. The native Acer negundo was strongly inhibited by 2/3 A. negundo and 3/3 L. maackii microbiome collections. Conversely, when grown together the soil microbiome largely mitigated negative interspecific interactions (i.e. plant-plant, plant-microbe) leading to a net advantage for L. maackii in many cases. This dynamic is likely key to L. maackii seedling success when it occurs with seedlings of other species, allowing L. maackii a competitive advantage through biotic interactions