Arthroscopic vs open ankle arthrodesis:A prospective case series with seven years follow-up

BACKGROUND The osteoarthritis of the ankle,although less common than other joints,is associated with severe functional limitation.Surgical options are ankle arthroscopic debridement,osteotomies,ankle arthrodesis and ankle arthroplasty.Ankle arthroplasty is increasingly used thanks to the new implants design,but ankle arthrodesis still represents the most used technique and it can be performed arthroscopically or with an open procedure.AIM To compare mid-term results of arthroscopic vs open ankle arthrodesis of patients affected by end-stage ankle arthritis.METHODS This study enrolled 23 patients,which underwent ankle arthrodesis.The patients were divided into 2 groups:group A(open procedure;n=11)and group B(arthroscopic procedure,n=12),the two groups were homogeneous with regard to age and body mass index(P=0.347).The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle score(AOFAS),Freiburg Ankle score(FAS)and visual analogue scale for pain intensity were evaluated preoperatively,at six months and at final follow-up of 7.6 years in group A and 7.3 years in group B(P=0.364).RESULTS Patients in the arthroscopic group showed better results at six-month follow-up compared to the open group at the AOFAS(group A,62.2;group B,78.5;P<0.05)and the FAS(group A,61.1;group B,70.3;P=0.015)scores.Pain relief was achieved in both groups at six-month follow-up(group A,1.4;group B,0.9;P=0.162).Both open and arthroscopic groups showed improved clinical outcomes from baseline to final follow-up(P>0.05).Hospital stay was shorter in group B than in group A(P=0.001).More complications were reported in the open group than in the arthroscopic group(P=0.459).CONCLUSION The arthroscopic and the open arthrodesis are valid and safe options for the treatment of ankle arthritis on the basis of clinical outcomes at 7 years follow-up.Moreover,the arthroscopic treatment shows faster improvement at six-month follow-up in comparison with the open group.

Towards an integrative approach to evaluate the environmental ecosystem services provided by urban forest

As a Nature-Based Solution,urban forests deliver a number of environmental ecosystem services(EESs).To quantify these EESs,well-defined,reliable,quantifiable and stable indicators are needed.With literature analysis and expert knowledge gathered within COST Action FP1204 GreenInUrbs,we proposed a classification of urban forest EESs into three categories:(A)regulation of air,water,soil and climate;(B)provisioning of habitat quality;and(C)provisioning of other goods and services.Each category is divided into EES types:(a)amelioration of air quality;restoration of soil and water;amelioration of the microclimate;removal of CO2 from the air;(b)provision of habitat for biodiversity;support for resilient urban ecosystems;provision of genetic diversity;and(c)provision of energy and nutrients;provision of grey infrastructure resilience.Each EES type provides one or more benefits.For each of these 12 benefits,we propose a set of indicators to be used when analyzing the impacts on the identified EESs.Around half of the 36 indicators are relevant to more than one single benefit,which highlights complex interrelationships.The indicators of wider applicability are tree and stand characteristics,followed by leaf physical traits and tree species composition.This knowledge is needed for the optimization of the EESs delivered by urban forests,now and in the future.

Diet and habitat affinities in six raptor species in India

Background: Sympatric species adapt to, and temporally or geographically segregate access to similar limiting factors.Methods: We compared nesting habitat and diet affinities of six raptor species in central India between the years 20062015.Results: A large composition of reptiles in the diet was characteristic for Circaetus gallicus, Spilornis cheela and Elanus caeruleus, while Aquila fasciata, Falco chicquera and Nisaetus cirrhatus show a higher proportion of birds. Species with greatest similarity of diet were C. gallicus and S. cheela. Considering the environmental characterization of areas where raptors built the nest, some species were ecologically closer than others. N. cirrhatus and S. cheela were related to the presence of water bodies, dry deciduous forest and evergreen forests, while E. caeruleus and C. gallicus preferred more open habitats. A. fasciata bred either on cliffs or trees, F. chicquera on trees or mobile towers, and the other four species built their nests exclusively in trees.Conclusions: We conclude that although there was overlap in diet and nesting ecology for a number of species, the geographical separation likely limits competition for resources.

Food preferences by birds using bird-feeders in winter： a large-scale experiment

Background: Intentional winter bird feeding in gardens is one of the most common interactions between birds and humans. Because feeding may have both desired effects(provisioning of nutritious food for under-nourished birds) and undesired effects(favouritism of competitively superior species, transmission of disease), management of supplementary sites should be optimized from an ecological and conservation perspective. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to experimentally test winter food preferences of birds, with underlying potential influence of habitat(rural vs. urban) on realised food preferences pattern.Methods: We conducted an experimental analysis of food preferences of wintering birds by provided bird-feeders in urban and rural environments across Poland. Data were collected twice during winter 2013–2014 across Poland, in total with 80 experimental trials.Results: Sunflower seeds were the most preferred food supplement both in urban and rural habitats, significantly more exploited than any other food simultaneously available in feeders(animal fat, millet seed and dry fruits of rowanberry). However, no significant differences were recorded between urban and rural habitats in use of food.Conclusions: The degree of use of a particular type of food at bird-feeders depended on the overall use of food in a bird-feeder—consumption of each of the four types of food was significantly positively correlated with that of the others, and it was positively correlated with the number of birds observed at the feeders.

Comparative urbanization of birds in China and Europe based on birds associated with trees

Urbanization effects on living organisms are spatially heterogeneous.Here we quantified the abundance of birds per tree in forested urban and rural habitats for 85,829 trees mainly in China and Europe.A population model was based on the assumption that:1)birds have a normally distributed habitat preference;2)an increase in population size linked to the habitat preference;3)a population size dependent on the habitat preference;and 4)the removal of a certain fraction of individuals giving rise to extinction.We tested for large-scale differences in the impact of urbanization on the frequency distribution of the difference in abundance between urban and rural habitats in China and parts of Europe.The difference in the frequency distribution of urban population density of birds in trees minus rural population density of birds in trees in China and Europe was statistically significant suggesting that the abundance of birds differed between trees in urban and rural habitats,but more so in China than in Europe.We hypothesize that more pronounced differences in China than in Europe may have arisen due to the Four Pests Campaign in 1958-1962 that resulted in death of hundreds of millions of birds(mainly tree sparrows Passer monfanus,but also numerous other less common species that were starting to become urbanized around 1960).Species that were less common in 1960 could not sustain reductions in population size in urban areas and hence these species are still rare or absent in urban areas today 60 years later.