@article{SchleuningFarwigPetersetal.2011,
  author    = {Schleuning, Matthias and Farwig, Nina and Peters, Marcell K. and Bergsdorf, Thomas and Bleher, B{\"a}rbel and Brandl, Roland and Dalitz, Helmut and Fischer, Georg and Freund, Wolfram and Gikungu, Mary W. and Hagen, Melanie and Garcia, Francisco Hita and Kagezi, Godfrey H. and Kaib, Manfred and Kraemer, Manfred and Lung, Tobias and Naumann, Clas M. and Schaab, Gertrud and Templin, Mathias and Uster, Dana and W{\"a}gele, J. Wolfgang and B{\"o}hning-Gaese, Katrin},
  title     = {Forest Fragmentation and Selective Logging Have Inconsistent Effects on Multiple Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Processes in a Tropical Forest},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {11},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0027785},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140093},
  pages     = {e27785},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle direct from biodiversity-related indirect effects of human disturbance on multiple ecosystem processes. Fragmentation increased decomposition and reduced antbird predation, while selective logging consistently increased pollination, seed dispersal and army-ant raiding. Fragmentation modified species richness or community composition of five taxa, whereas selective logging did not affect any component of biodiversity. Changes in the abundance of functionally important species were related to lower predation by antbirds and higher decomposition rates in small forest fragments. The positive effects of selective logging on bee pollination, bird seed dispersal and army-ant raiding were direct, i.e. not related to changes in biodiversity, and were probably due to behavioural changes of these highly mobile animal taxa. We conclude that animal-mediated ecosystem processes respond in distinct ways to different types of human disturbance in Kakamega Forest. Our findings suggest that forest fragmentation affects ecosystem processes indirectly by changes in biodiversity, whereas selective logging influences processes directly by modifying local environmental conditions and resource distributions. The positive to neutral effects of selective logging on ecosystem processes show that the functionality of tropical forests can be maintained in moderately disturbed forest fragments. Conservation concepts for tropical forests should thus include not only remaining pristine forests but also functionally viable forest remnants.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{StephanTascilarYalcinMutluetal.2023,
  author    = {Stephan, Marlene and Tascilar, Koray and Yalcin-Mutlu, Melek and Hagen, Melanie and Haschka, Judith and Reiser, Michaela and Hartmann, Fabian and Kleyer, Arnd and Hueber, Axel J. and Manger, Bernhard and Figueiredo, Camille and Cobra, Jayme Fogagnolo and Tony, Hans-Peter and Finzel, Stephanie and Kleinert, Stefan and Wendler, J{\"o}rg and Schuch, Florian and Ronneberger, Monika and Feuchtenberger, Martin and Fleck, Martin and Manger, Karin and Ochs, Wolfgang and Schmitt-Haendle, Matthias and Lorenz, Hannes Martin and N{\"u}sslein, Hubert and Alten, Rieke and Henes, Joerg and Kr{\"u}ger, Klaus and Schett, Georg and Rech, J{\"u}rgen},
  title     = {Physical function of RA patients tapering treatment — a post hoc analysis of the randomized controlled RETRO trial},
  series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  number    = {11},
  issn      = {2077-0383},
  doi       = {10.3390/jcm12113723},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319349},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Several studies have shown that tapering or stopping disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in sustained remission is feasible. However, tapering/stopping bears the risk of decline in physical function as some patients may relapse and face increased disease activity. Here, we analyzed the impact of tapering or stopping DMARD treatment on the physical function of RA patients. The study was a post hoc analysis of physical functional worsening for 282 patients with RA in sustained remission tapering and stopping DMARD treatment in the prospective randomized RETRO study. HAQ and DAS-28 scores were determined in baseline samples of patients continuing DMARD (arm 1), tapering their dose by 50\% (arm 2), or stopping after tapering (arm 3). Patients were followed over 1 year, and HAQ and DAS-28 scores were evaluated every 3 months. The effect of treatment reduction strategy on functional worsening was assessed in a recurrent-event Cox regression model with a study-group (control, taper, and taper/stop) as the predictor. Two-hundred and eighty-two patients were analyzed. In 58 patients, functional worsening was observed. The incidences suggest a higher probability of functional worsening in patients tapering and/or stopping DMARDs, which is likely due to higher relapse rates in these individuals. At the end of the study, however, functional worsening was similar among the groups. Point estimates and survival curves show that the decline in functionality according to HAQ after tapering or discontinuation of DMARDs in RA patients with stable remission is associated with recurrence, but not with an overall functional decline.},
  language  = {en}
}