bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preserving Rare and Endangered Calcific Steppe-Dwelling East-European Species ex situ
Authors: Shustov M V , Shvetsov A N , Mamontov A K , Zueva M A
Published: July 2021

We have summed up the results of experimental efforts for preserving threatened and endangered calcific steppe-dwelling East-European species in the N V Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The results of experiments carried out since 2009 on the preservation of rare and endangered calcephilic-steppe species of Eastern Europe, which require alternative methods of protection, including in connection with the suppression of their populations in modern reserves of Russia, are presented in the conditions of the RAS GBS. The previous experience and methods of organizing such collections and expositions are analyzed. The main factors that negatively affect the life cycle of species at our point of introduction are identified, among them are inappropriate cultural conditions and competition that determine the duration of the existence of samples, that is, their stability. In this regard, it is proposed to create a system of specialized rockeries that imitate the characteristic natural habitats of various calciphilic communities: outcrops of rocky limestone, outcrops of writing chalk or calcareous soils. The developed approaches made it possible to study ex situ the peculiarities of adaptation of more than 170 rare and stenotopic plant species, mainly difficult in terms of cultivation. As a result of observations during the research period, preliminary results of their cultivation were summed up and the following ratio of species in the groups of introduction resistance was revealed: unstable (8%), weakly resistant (15%), resistant (40%), highly resistant (37%), that is, positive results were obtained for almost 80% of species undergoing a full life cycle in Moscow. The research results can find practical application not only in the creation of such collections in botanical gardens, but also for the restoration of populations of protected species in anthropogenically disturbed natural habitats.
Problems of effective use of the water resources of the transboundary rivers in the steppe zone
Authors: Sivokhip Zh T
Published: July 2021

A comparative assessment of indicators of the water supply sufficiency of transboundary basins in the steppe zone is considered in the paper. It was noted that adequate water consumption problems in separate regions of the steppe zone have the maximal topicality due to hydrodynamic aspects and hydroclimatic specifics. We should pay attention to the account of existing water resources in areas with considerable long-term flow variations. Parameters of effective use of water resources were analyzed in the transboundary river-steppe zone within the Russian-Kazakhstan sector. The nonparametric method of multivariate analysis (PATTERN) was used for the first time to estimate the effectiveness of water resources use. As a result, four groups of the regions differed by the level of sufficient water resources use were selected. In conclusion, the topicality of development and realization of intergovernmental programs concerning the problematic use of water resources of the transboundary rivers in the steppe zone was considered.
Biogeographic status of the steppe plains and foothills of the northern and western Caspian lowland
Authors: Tishkov AA , Belonovskaya EA , Sobolev NA
Published: July 2021

The discussion focuses on the zonal nature of the Caspian steppe and the status of the local biota, which in its spatial-temporal organization and regional succession system has preserved the pool of biodiversity of dry-steppe and desert complexes. Each of them represents a set of ancient systematic groups of organisms that migrated here along both the Eastern (Turan) and Western (Caucasus, Mediterranean) coasts of the Caspian Sea, forming “young” lowland ecosystems. There is a weak significance in the Genesis of the biota of the xerophilic foothills of the Eastern Caucasus (Daghestan) and the southern Urals, which, apparently, only at the early stages of formation during periods of major sea transgressions served as refugia. The phylocenogenetically determined polyclimax and the predominance of pasqual and climatogenic subclimaxes in the region are manifested due to constant impact of cyclical short-term (hundreds of years) destabilizing factors.
Local versions realizing the pastoral model of metal production in conditions of the steppe ecosystems in the Urals-Mygodzhary region in the Late Bronze Age
Authors: Tkachev V
Published: July 2021

Based on the results of the landscape-archeological studies in the Urals-Mugodzhary region and historical-ethnographic data, the problem of variability to realize the pasturable model metal production in the Late Bronze Age is discussed in the paper. The economic-cultural system is characterized by a harmonious combination of mobile livestock based on pastures and water sources’ seasonal rotation and separate technological stages of mining and metallurgical production. It was maximally adapted to the local steppe ecosystems’ peculiarities and promoted to save their dynamic balance due to rational use of natural-resource potential.
Ecological-hydrological aspects of the delta Volga meadow vegetation dynamics
Authors: Valov M V , Barmin A N , Belyaev D Yu
Published: July 2021

Many years ecological monitoring results of the Volga delta meadow plant cover are presented in this work. Temperature conditions and territory humidity conditions were distinguished as leading ecological factors. Geographical methods and mathematical statistics methods were used as analysis tools. It was revealed that watersoluble salts amount sharp increase in soils, also their toxicity level and soil salinization type change from chloride-sulfate to sulfate-chloride under aridization degree rapid increase, that influences on plant cover: biomass decrease, foliage cover degree decrease on all deltoid landscape high levels, carexes and gramens participation degree decrease and forbs role increase is noticed. Such processes are blocked and go to the reverse stage under the following sharp water availability conditions increase. The greatest and more rapid changes are observed within special alluvial low level natural boundaries. The main forecast of the Volga delta climate development can be considered general average temperature and air humidity increase with abnormal humid amount increase and abnormal dry years amount decrease.
Temporal variabilities and correlation of runoff in the Ural River
Authors: Vasiliev D Y , Chibilev A A
Published: July 2021

The article deals with the study of intra-annual discharge distribution of the Ural River basin runoff. Norms, coefficients of variation, and average standard deviations of monthly, seasonal and annual runoff, as well as maximum and minimum flow and the tendencies of its changes, were determined for rivers in the area. The average and maximum water discharge spring high water and the ratio of maximum and minimum monthly and the annual runoff were calculated. Based on the wavelet transform method applied to the river flow data of the area under study, a cyclical pattern of water availability was identified. Moreover, the closeness of the correlation between average monthly expenditures and annual average water consumption, as well as the average monthly water costs was revealed. The statistical significance of the detected correlations was defined.
Monitoring researches of steppe nature management on the example of Orenburgskaya oblast: peculiarities, dynamics, prospects
Authors: Yakovlev I G
Published: July 2021

One of the urgent problems of current steppe land use is forming the unclaimed and non-demanded land fund and the chaotic, periodically fragmentary use of agricultural lands in the steppe zone. These processes demand regular monitoring to track positive or negative dynamics of impact on steppe ecosystems, agricultural production and predict variants of the development. Practically all actual problems of nature management in the region is closely interconnected; plowing and abandoning of croplands, low productivity, climate aridization, overgrazing or undergrazing of livestock and degradation of the soil-vegetation cover, bushing, and formation of wild grasses’ fallows, activation of steppe fires, the dynamics of wildlife and change of hunting resources’ amount, depopulation in the rural areas, exploitation of natural resources’ deposits – all influence on the formation the current view of the steppe zone. Actual problems of land use in the steppe zone have been examined. A comparative analysis concerning a change of the agroecological situation in the steppe region has been conducted in monitoring research for more than ten years. Despite the total recession of agricultural production in comparison with the 1990-s, the program of closedown and transfer of low-productive croplands in mowing and grazing lands was not realized, land resources continue to be exhausted, crop rotation was broken, technical crops’ acreage increases, particularly sunflower, and fertilizers are not practically added. Simultaneously, reserves to restore steppe ecosystems have remained at the expense of seed-stocks in inarable lands, ravines, gullies, hills’ slopes. A correct approach to management and maintenance of the balance in land use promotes harmonic development and the use of agro-resources in the region’s steppe zone.
Establishment of Taxi Driving Conditions and Emission Inventory in Tangshan City
Authors: Zhang Xiaowen , Yang Zhiwen , Wang Jiguang , Li Jingyuan , Xie Zhenkai , Qi Songbo
Published: July 2021

The project team selected 3 taxis in the built-up area of Tangshan City to conduct emission tests under actual road conditions, systematically and comprehensively evaluated, analyzed and compared the test results. They established the VSPbin emission rate database and emission factor list of typical urban Taxis in the built-up area based on the actual driving characteristics of Tangshan city. To analyze the driving conditions of taxis in Tangshan City, this study selected four operating conditions: acceleration, constant speed, deceleration, and idle. The research results showed that as the emission standards became increasingly strict, the emission of single-vehicle pollutants decreased, and in particular NOx emissions were reduced by more than 90%. Compared with gasoline fuel, CNG fuel taxis’ CO2 and NOx emissions showed a downward trend. When natural gas was used as fuel, the CO emissions of taxis could be reduced by 27.2% ∼ 92.0%, and the CO2 emissions by 19. 5% ∼ 32.1%. The CO and CO2 emission factors of taxis both decrease with the increase of speed. For particulate matter, the quantity and quality emission factors both decrease first and then increase with the increase of speed, and the rising speed is obviously accelerated during the high-speed phase.
Research on Energy Conservation Behavior of Public Institution Personnel from the Perspective of “Espoused and Enacted Values”
Authors: Yang Lei , Du Peng , Zhang Huixia , Cheng Bixi
Published: July 2021

Literatures on individual energy saving behavior have focused on the households level, while few studies analyzed from the perspective of employees with public institutions as background. To achieve the vision of carbon neutrality, public institutions should play an exemplary and leading role. This paper constructs an energy saving “Espoused and Enacted Values” model to explore the influencing factors of energy saving behavior of staff in public institutions. The results show that organizational attitude has a significant positive effect on individual energy saving behavior. Organizational behavior has a mediating effect between organizational attitude and individual behavior, and the mediating effect is higher than the direct effect. Personal attitude has a significant positive effect on personal behavior, and personal attitude mediates the relationship between organizational attitude and personal behavior. That means on the one hand the energy conservation policy propaganda of the public organization can directly promote energy saving behavior of public institutions personnel and indirectly promote their behavior by transferring the organizational attitude. On the other hand, the policy propaganda contributes to the execution of substantial energy management activities, which will further affect the energy conservation behavior of the staff in public institutions.
Research on the real-world gaseous emission characteristics of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle under different initial battery state-of-charge
Authors: Yang Zhiwen , Zhong Chongzhi , Li Jingyuan , Shen Shu , Ling Jian , Xie Zhenkai , Qi Songbo , Zhang Xiaowen , Wang Jiguang , Li Mengliang , Mao Hongjun
Published: July 2021

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been greatly promoted due to their advantage in both vehicle performance and energy conversion efficiency. However, real-world emission measurements are rarely conducted for PHEV under different initial battery state-of-charge (SoC). In this study, a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) was employed to investigate the real-world emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) from a Euro V PHEV under fully and uncharged initial battery SoC. Compared to the emissions under the uncharged state, the average emission factors (EFs) of CO, NOx, and CO2 under the fully charged state are reduced by 72.2%, 27.8%, and 29.0%, respectively. And the reduction effect on the urban road is much more significantly prominent compared to that on the rural road and highway. In addition, obvious reduction effectiveness can be found for CO EFs in different average speed bins, especially those with speeds above 100 km/h. For NOx and CO2, however, the average speed-bin EFs are reduced only when the speed is below 70 km/h, while no obvious differences can be found when the speed is above 70 km/h. Furthermore, for the average vehicle specific power (VSP)-bin emission rates, obvious reduction effectiveness is observed for CO in different speed ranges, and for NOx and CO2 in the low- and medium-speed ranges except the high-speed range.
Remote sensing monitoring of monthly surface water changes in Bosten Lake (1990-2020)
Authors: Wang Hongxing , Hu Shanshan , Zhang Tao , Ji Miaomiao
Published: July 2021

Climate change and human activities have led to changes in the lake surface water, monitoring the long-term monthly changes of the lake surface water is of great significance to maintain the ecological balance of lakes. Based on the Landsat images and Google Earth Engine (GEE), we monitored the bi-monthly dynamics of the surface water of Bosten Lake in the past 30 years. The results show that: in the past 30 years, the maximum surface water of the lake is 1167.18 km2; the inter-annual dynamics of Bosten Lake surface water were divided into four stages: sharp decrease during 1990-1991, increase during 1992-2002, decrease again during 2003-2012, and finally recovery from 2013 to 2020; the annual changes of lake surface water have a certain pattern, decreasing from March to July, increasing from July to September, and then starting to decrease again. The inter-annual variability of the surface water of Bosten Lake was mainly affected by human activities and climate factors.
Evaluation of the importance of ecosystem services in the upper reaches of the tarim river
Authors: Luo Guona , Li Xiancan , Zhang Xiaodong , Zhou Anran
Published: July 2021

Using RS and GIS technology, the four sub-ecosystem service functions of water conservation, soil and water conservation, windbreak and sand fixation, and biodiversity, which are the most significant ecological factors in the study area, are selected to establish a model and method for evaluating the importance of ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid areas. A comprehensive study of the desert oasis eco-city in the upper reaches of the tarim river in southern xinjiang, quantitatively and qualitatively reveals the importance of ecosystem services in the study area and the spatial distribution laws along the upper reaches of the tarim river. concluded as follow: (1) The area of extremely important water conservation area accounts for 14.9% of the total area of the study area. The extremely important areas are mainly distributed in patches in the southern tianshan mountains and the source of tarim river; (2) The area ratio of extremely important areas for water and soil conservation is 17.9%, and the extremely important areas are mainly distributed in wensu county at the southern foot of the tianshan mountains; (3) The area ratio of the most important areas for windbreak and sand fixation is only 0.4%, and the most important areas are mainly distributed along the southern side of the tarim river in alar city; (4) The area ratio of the most important areas for biodiversity is 67.9%, and the most important areas are distributed in a belt on both sides of the tarim river basin and around the reservoir.(5) The evaluation results of the ecosystem service function using graphics overlay are: extremely important accounted for 55.6% of the total research area, highly important area ratio was 26.1%, medium important area ratio was 14.3%, and general important area ratio was 4.1%.Ecosystem service function is the natural environmental conditions and utility of human survival formed and maintained by the ecosystem and its ecological processes. 1997 costanza et al. The value estimation of natural capital of global ecosystem service is studied, and strongly promotes the economic value evaluation research of ecosystem service function. Since then, many scholars have applied Costanza and other methods to study the service value of different ecosystems in different regions. During the same time, Chinese scholars serve the national land ecosystem and forest, grassland, farmland, wetlands and rivers. A large number of deep research has been carried out on the service functions of ecological system types. It has improved people’s understanding and understanding of the research of regional ecosystem service function, but at the same time.
Remediation effect of cadmium contaminated soil by the combination of Lactobacillus plantarum and red mud
Authors: Zhu Shuzhu , Xu Ting , Li Qiuqiu , Deng XingYing , Zhou Xiaoli , Zhu Guangxu
Published: July 2021

Bioaugmentation has been receiving much attention recently as an in-situ technology for the remediation of heavy metal polluted soils. To study the effects of the application of different dosages of Lactobacillus plantarum, red mud, and their mixture on cadmium-contaminated soil, the pot experiment was conducted to study the content of cadmium in garlic bolt, plant biomass, soil available Cd concentration, and soil physico-chemical property response. The results showed that: compared with the control, the application of Lactobacillus plantarum resulted in increase of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in soils, while the addition of red mud only increased the content of soil available potassium. However, the biomass of garlic bolt was promoted by the application of Lactobacillus plantarum, red mud and their mixtures to different extend. Lactobacillus plantarum and red mud were applied alone or in combination could effectively reduce the contents of available Cd in the soil and Cd contents in plants, which was32.4%∼ 59.4% and 17.0%∼ 44.3% lower as compared to the control, respectively, the combination of Lactobacillus plantarum and red mud with high dose could obtain best effect on the solidification of cadmium.
A review of charging infrastructure layout planning and electric vehicle traffic simulation application
Authors: Hu Susanna , Mao Feng , Chen Jinhua , Li Zhiheng
Published: July 2021

As environmental pollution and energy constraints, especially oil supply, become more prominent, electric vehicles (EVs), being more environmentally friendly than conventional vehicles, is an effective way to help alleviate the environmental problems. However, the range anxiety caused by limited battery capacity has led many potential consumers to become distrustful towards electric vehicles. In addition, the demand for charging increases with the rise in EV ownership, which stresses the importance of the large-scale deployment of charging infrastructure, and a reasonable layout of charging facilities. This paper first summarizes the travel behavior of electric vehicles, followed by reviewing different models and methods of charging infrastructure layout planning, and finally outlines the research application of electric vehicle traffic simulation and provides an outlook on the problems to be improved. For instances, lacking data volume in current researches on electric vehicle travel behavior; charging infrastructure layout planning are often limited to the framework of traditional layout research; traffic simulations fail to consider the characteristics of electric vehicles are some discussed problems. Hence, future researches should integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing to improve the above issues.
Effect of styrene acrylonitrile copolymer on the performance of TEP/PMMA composites
Authors: Mei Jing , Yuan Xinqiang , Wang Dan , Zhang Kun
Published: July 2021

In this paper, TEP/PMMA composites system and SAN/TEP/PMMA composites system were prepared by in situ polymerization using methyl methacrylate (MMA), triethyl phosphate (TEP) and styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) as raw materials. The results show that TEP can improve the flame retardant performance of PMMA, and the oxygen index increases from 18.35% to 23.75%, when the content of TEP reaches 20 wt%, UL-94 reaches the V-0 level, but its thermal and mechanical properties are affected by ester group in TEP, which decreases significantly with the increase of TEP content; the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites system are improved with the increase of SAN content and tensile strength. The tensile strength increased from 37.06 MPa to 45.5 MPa, the bending strength increased from 44.58 MPa to 55.01 MPa, and the shore hardness increased from 80HD to 82HD. SAN/TEP/PMMA composites system can improve the initial decomposition temperature and increase 16 °C, the flame retardant performance of SAN/TEP/PMMA composites system is not affected by SAN content, and the visible light transmittance of both TEP/PMMA and SAN/TEP/PMMA composites system can reach 88%. This research will be of great significance in many fields such as architecture, automobile, home decoration, advertising and so on.
Investigation on microstructure and texture evolution of Ti–6Al–3Nb–2Zr–1Mo alloy during hot deformation
Authors: Lu Longlong , Zhang Yanmin , Zhang Zaoli , Song Kexing , Li Shanguang , Li Yan , Zhou Fei , Cao Qigao , Feng Qing , Zhang Binbin
Published: July 2021

Hot compression tests of Ti–6Al–3Nb–2Zr–1Mo alloy were conducted in the temperature range of 900 °C–1100 °C and strain rate range of 0.01–1s−1. Based on the true stress – true strain curve, the calculated activation energy Q in α+β two-phase region and single-β phase region are 605.85 and 132.44 kJ mol−1, respectively. The microstructure and texture evolution were analyzed by using EBSD technique. The continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) mechanisms are the two dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanisms of Ti–6Al–3Nb–2Zr–1Mo alloy deformed at 900 °C, and the latter is dominant. With the increase of temperature to 980 and 1020 °C, CDRX gradually weakens, and the DRX mechanism changes to be controlled by DDRX. The orientation distribution function (ODF) maps show that the initial texture gradually vanishes, and different textures are formed during hot deformation. DDRX behavior causes the decrease of the texture density of Ti–6Al–3Nb–2Zr–1Mo alloy deformed at 900 °C. However, the parallel precipitation of α laths rapidly increases the texture density of Ti–6Al–3Nb–2Zr–1Mo alloy deformed at 980 and 1020 °C.
Two-scale methods for convex envelopes
Authors: Li Wenbo , Nochetto Ricardo
Published: July 2021

We develop two-scale methods for computing the convex envelope of a continuous function over a convex domain in any dimension. This hinges on a fully nonlinear obstacle formulation (see A. M. Oberman [Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 135 (2007), pp. 1689–1694]). We prove convergence and error estimates in the max norm. The proof utilizes a discrete comparison principle, a discrete barrier argument to deal with Dirichlet boundary values, and the property of flatness in one direction within the non-contact set. Our error analysis extends to a modified version of the finite difference wide stencil method provided by Oberman [Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 18 (2008), pp. 759–780].
Jewish Literature: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Stavans Ilan
Published: July 2021

Jewish Literature: A Very Short Introduction explores modern Jewish literature from 1492 to the early twenty-first century, rotating around the concept of aterritoriality to appreciate the diasporic journey Jews have embarked on across geographic and linguistic spheres to the present day. At the center are canonical figures like Franz Kafka, Isaac Babel, Bruno Schulz, Anne Frank, Martin Buber, Hannah Arendt, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Grace Paley, Jacobo Timerman, Moacyr Scliar, and Susan Sontag. Unlike the output of other national literatures, Jewish literature does not have a fixed address. As a result, its practitioners are at once insiders and outsiders.
7. The ingathering
Authors: Stavans Ilan
Published: July 2021

“The ingathering” surveys modern Jewish literature after the Second World War beyond Israel and the United States and meditates on the multilingual aspect of Jewish literature. This includes the work of Alberto Gerchunoff and Jacobo Timerman in Argentina, Clarice Lispector and Moacyr Scliar in Brazil, Elias Canetti in Bulgaria, Dan Jacobson and Nadine Gordimer in South Africa, and Harold Pinter and Howard Jacobson in the United Kingdom. Jewish writers are simultaneously insiders and outsiders, a position that allows them a unique perspective full of nuance. Therefore, modern Jewish literature is truly global, in regard to not only its authors but also its multifaceted audiences.
3. Diplomatic origins of the Great War and Versailles
Authors: Siracusa Joseph M.
Published: July 2021

‘Diplomatic origins of the Great War and Versailles’ looks at the diplomatic origins of the Great War and its aftermath Versailles, which carried away five empires and an entire generation of young men. Based on Europe’s rival alliances and age-old ambitions, the Great Powers found themselves engulfed in war that began with the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo, 28 June 1914. A case can be made that the Treaty of Versailles, with its emphasis on German war guilt and reparations, achieved the exact opposite of what the diplomats set out to do, inexorably, tragically, laying the groundwork for the next, more horrible world war.
1. What is an amphibian?
Authors: Kemp T. S.
Published: July 2021

‘What is an amphibian?’ provides an overview of amphibians, which zoologists divide into three very unequal sized Orders. The great majority are the frogs and toads, which make up the order Anura, a name that refers to the lack of a tail. The second amphibian order are the salamanders and newts, called the Urodela. Meanwhile, the third amphibian order, the Caecilia, are best known for being poorly known, thanks to their remote distribution and obscure habitat. There are four methods that amphibians can use to breathe: cutaneous respiration, bucco-pharyngeal respiration, pulmonary respiration, and branchial respiration.
4. How amphibians move
Authors: Kemp T. S.
Published: July 2021

‘How amphibians move’ examines how amphibians move. The three kinds of living amphibians share the same basic biology and life history. However, the anatomy of the skeleton and muscles is very different amongst them. This reflects the different ways that the locomotion of the three respective ancestors evolved. The urodeles retained the most primitive way, with a long body and tail. Salamanders and newts use lateral undulation when swimming, but they also coupled it with limbs for walking on land. The anurans became far more modified by shortening the body, losing the tail altogether, and elongating the back legs. Meanwhile, the caecilians evolved a limbless burrowing mode.
7. Amphibians and humans
Authors: Kemp T. S.
Published: July 2021

‘Amphibians and humans’ looks at the relationship between amphibians and humans. As well as creating myths and folklore about amphibians, humans have always made use of them, as they have so many other organisms with which they share their world. Between three and four billion frogs a year are eaten worldwide. Amphibians also contribute a good number of folk remedies for treatment of disease and injury. In addition, amphibians are harvested from the wild for the pet trade. Humans have also used amphibians in biology teaching and research.
Competition and Antitrust Law: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Ezrachi Ariel
Published: July 2021

Competition and Antitrust Law: A Very Short Introduction draws on case studies from across the EU and USA to examine the benefits of competition and the laws which safeguard competitive markets. Competitive markets deliver lower prices, better quality, abundance of choice, and increased innovation. But while competition benefits consumers, it can prove challenging for sellers and producers who may try to dampen the competitive process. This VSI elucidates the key challenges to competition — cartels and anti-competitive agreements, monopolies, and mergers — and looks at the policy considerations which affect competition law enforcement. There exists a delicate relationship between a free market economy and government intervention.
2. Markets
Authors: Ezrachi Ariel
Published: July 2021

‘Markets’ examines markets, looking at demand and supply. The demand curve provides information on how the demand for a given product changes with its price, while the supply curve illustrates the correlation between the product price and quantity available for a given period. The meeting point between the two, in a competitive market, represents the market price. The market price is affected, among other things, by the nature of the product in question, by the availability and price of substitutions (cross-price elasticity), by changing consumer needs and preferences, by innovation, and by consumers’ level of income. There are two types of markets relevant here: the product market and the geographical market.
3. The goals and scope of competition and antitrust laws
Authors: Ezrachi Ariel
Published: July 2021

‘The goals and scope of competition and antitrust laws’ evaluates the goals and scope of competition and antitrust laws. Competition laws seek to protect the competitive process in the marketplace from companies that seek to distort it. By safeguarding free and fair markets, competition laws promote consumer welfare as well as efficiencies in the marketplace. While key competition law principles are similar across the world, competition laws are not internationally uniform, but are instead customized by each jurisdiction. A comparison can be made between US Federal Antitrust Law and the EU competition law. There are also other jurisdictions that apply competition laws, including China, Japan, and South Korea.
Large seasonal fluctuations in whole-tree carbohydrate reserves: is storage more dynamic in boreal ecosystems?
Authors: Fermaniuk C , Fleurial K G , Wiley E , Landhäusser S M
Published: July 2021

Background and Aims

Carbon reserves are a critical source of energy and substrates that allow trees to cope with periods of minimal carbon gain and/or high carbon demands, conditions which are prevalent in high-latitude forests. However, we have a poor understanding of carbon reserve dynamics at the whole-tree level in mature boreal trees. We therefore sought to quantify the seasonal changes in whole-tree and organ-level carbon reserve pools in mature boreal Betula papyrifera.

Methods

Non-structural carbohydrate (NSC; soluble sugars and starch) tissue concentrations were measured at key phenological stages throughout a calendar year in the roots, stem (inner bark and xylem), branches and leaves, and scaled up to estimate changes in organ and whole-tree NSC pool sizes. Fine root and stem growth were also measured to compare the timing of growth processes with changes in NSC pools.

Key Results

The whole-tree NSC pool increased from its spring minimum to its maximum at bud set, producing an average seasonal fluctuation of 0.96 kg per tree. This fluctuation represents a 72 % change in the whole-tree NSC pool, which greatly exceeds the relative change reported for more temperate conspecifics. At the organ level, branches accounted for roughly 48–60 % of the whole-tree NSC pool throughout the year, and their seasonal fluctuation was four to eight times greater than that observed in the stemwood, coarse roots and inner bark.

Conclusions

Branches in boreal B. papyrifera were the largest and most dynamic storage pool, suggesting that storage changes at the branch level largely drive whole-tree storage dynamics in these trees. The greater whole-tree seasonal NSC fluctuation in boreal vs. temperate B. papyrifera may result from (1) higher soluble sugar concentration requirements in branches for frost protection, and/or (2) a larger reliance on reserves to fuel new leaf and shoot growth in the spring.
ModPhred: an integrative toolkit for the analysis and storage of nanopore sequencing DNA and RNA modification data
Authors: Pryszcz Leszek P , Novoa Eva Maria
Published: July 2021

Motivation

DNA and RNA modifications can now be identified using nanopore sequencing. However, we currently lack a flexible software to efficiently encode, store, analyze and visualize DNA and RNA modification data.

Results

Here, we present ModPhred, a versatile toolkit that facilitates DNA and RNA modification analysis from nanopore sequencing reads in a user-friendly manner. ModPhred integrates probabilistic DNA and RNA modification information within the FASTQ and BAM file formats, can be used to encode multiple types of modifications simultaneously, and its output can be easily coupled to genomic track viewers, facilitating the visualization and analysis of DNA and RNA modification information in individual reads in a simple and computationally efficient manner.

Availability and implementation

ModPhred is available at https://github.com/novoalab/modPhred, is implemented in Python3, and is released under an MIT license. Docker images with all dependencies preinstalled are also provided.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Discontent with democracy in Latin America
Authors: Segovia Joselin , Pontarollo Nicola , Orellana Mercy
Published: July 2021

Satisfaction with democracy registered its lowest global score in 2019, with Latin America being the worst-performing region and the most seized by social protest. This paper briefly surveys and assesses the main narratives that attempt to explain the causes of this discontent in the region. The results show that discontent has different roots, which are mostly explained from an individual point of view rather than from a contextual one. Inequality of opportunity and institutional weaknesses play the main role. Considering the COVID-19 social and economic crisis, our results shed light on the key elements to address whether discontent is to be contained.
Oncological results and morbidity following intended curative resection and free jejunal graft reconstruction of cervical esophageal cancer: a retrospective Danish consecutive cohort study
Authors: Erichsen Sune Brinck , Slater Josefine , Kiil Birgitte Jul , Petersen Torben Ingemann , Katballe Niels , Nielsen Mette Bak , Pikelis Arunas , Nordsmark Marianne , Kjaer Daniel
Published: July 2021

Background

The role of surgery in treatment of locally advanced cervical esophageal cancer (CEC) remains debated. In the European and American treatment guidelines, definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) is preferred over surgery, while in the Danish guidelines, the two treatment modalities are equally recommended. Surgical treatment of CEC is centralized at our center in Denmark. We present our outcomes following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) when possible and resection as first-line therapy for CEC and compare with recent published dCRT results.

Method

We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of patients treated for cervical esophageal cancer at Aarhus University Hospital from 2001–2018 with nCRT when possible and pharyngolaryngectomy followed by reconstruction with a free jejunal graft.

Results

Forty consecutive patients were included. About, 45% received nCRT. The median survival was 21 months. The overall, disease-specific and disease-free 5-year survival was 43.6%, 53.2%, and 47.4%, respectively. The rate of microscopically radical resection was 85%. The recurrence rate was 47% and 81% of recurrences were locoregional. The in-hospital and 30-day mortality rate was 0%. Major complications occurred in 27.9%. Anastomotic leakage, graft failure, fistulas and strictures occurred in 10%, 7.5%, 30%, and 30%, respectively.

Conclusion

Our treatment offers equal oncological results compared to the best internationally published results for dCRT for CEC. Results vary considerably between dCRT studies. Morbidity appears more pronounced following surgery. Future studies are warranted to investigate the Danish national outcomes following dCRT as first-line treatment for curable locally advanced CEC.
Inhibition of Botrytis cinerea and control of gray mold on table grapes by calcium propionate
Authors: Sun Chenxu , Zhu Chuanxi , Tang Ying , Ren Dandan , Cai Yunfei , Zhou Ganghan , Wang Yiwen , Xu Ling , Zhu Pinkuan
Published: July 2021

Objectives

The gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) infects a wide range of crops before and after harvest, causing huge losses worldwide. Inhibition mechanisms of B. cinerea in vitro and in plants by calcium propionate (CP), generally recognized as a safe substance, are described in this study.

Materials and methods

Wild-type and transgenic mutant strains of B. cinerea were used in the study to evaluate the effects of CP on fungal growth and development in vitro. Plant materials including tomato leaves and table grapes were tested for controlling efficiency of CP against gray mold deterioration in vivo.

Results

Mycelial growth of B. cinerea was inhibited by CP in a dose-dependent manner with occasional disruption of hyphal tips, causing cellular collapse and efflux of cell contents. Staining with fluorescein diacetate and propidium iodide indicated that CP decreased fungal cell viability. Inhibition efficiency of CP against B. cinerea was enhanced by reducing pH. In contrast, the vel1 mutant, which exhibited deficiency in acid production, was more resistant to CP, suggesting that inhibition of B. cinerea by CP is enhanced by the acidification ability of the fungus itself. Additionally, CP inhibited infection cushion development by germlings of B. cinerea. Infection assays with tomato leaves and table grapes showed that CP inhibited decay development in both host tissues. Moreover, application of CP on grapes 3 days prior to harvest could contribute to management of deterioration caused by spontaneous fungal diseases during storage.

Conclusion

CP can suppress hyphal growth, inhibit infection cushion development, and reduce the virulence of B. cinerea. CP is thus promising for practical management of gray mold in fruit crops and merits further evaluation.
PromethION Sequencing and Assembly of the Genome of Micropoecilia picta, a Fish with a Highly Degenerated Y Chromosome
Authors: Charlesworth Deborah , Graham Chay , Trivedi Urmi , Gardner Jim , Bergero Roberta
Published: July 2021

We here describe sequencing and assembly of both the autosomes and the sex chromosome in Micropoecilia picta, the closest related species to the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Poecilia (Micropoecilia) picta is a close outgroup for studying the guppy, an important organism for studies in evolutionary ecology and in sex chromosome evolution. The guppy XY pair (LG12) has long been studied as a test case for the importance of sexually antagonistic variants in selection for suppressed recombination between Y and X chromosomes. The guppy Y chromosome is not degenerated, but appears to carry functional copies of all genes that are present on its X counterpart. The X chromosomes of M. picta (and its relative Micropoecilia parae) are homologous to the guppy XY pair, but their Y chromosomes are highly degenerated, and no genes can be identified in the fully Y-linked region. A complete genome sequence of a M. picta male may therefore contribute to understanding how the guppy Y evolved. These fish species’ genomes are estimated to be about 750 Mb, with high densities of repetitive sequences, suggesting that long-read sequencing is needed. We evaluated several assembly approaches, and used our results to investigate the extent of Y chromosome degeneration in this species.
Longitudinal Comparison of Stability and Sensitivity in Quality of Life Scores Among Nursing Home Residents With and Without Diagnoses of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Authors: Qin Xuanzi , Baker Zachary G , Jarosek Stephanie , Woodhouse Mark , Chu Haitao , McCarthy Teresa , Shippee Tetyana P
Published: July 2021

Background and Objectives

Prevalence of nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) has increased along with a growing consensus that person-centered ADRD care in nursing homes should maximize quality of life (QoL). However, concerns about whether residents with ADRD can make appropriate QoL judgments persist. This study assesses the stability and sensitivity of a self-reported, multidomain well-being QoL measure for nursing home residents with and without ADRD.

Research Design and Methods

This study linked the 2012–2015 Minnesota Nursing Home Resident QoL and Satisfaction with Care Survey, Minimum Data Set 3.0 (nursing home assessments), and Minnesota Department of Human Services Cost Reports. The QoL survey included cohort–resident pairs who participated for 2 consecutive years (N = 12 949; 8 803 unique residents from 2012–2013, 2013–2014, and 2014–2015 cohorts). Change in QoL between 2 years was conceptualized as stable when within 1.5 SD of the sample average. We used linear probability models to estimate associations of ADRD/Cognitive Function Scale status with the stability of QoL summary and domain scores (eg, social engagement) and the absolute change in QoL summary score, controlling for resident and facility characteristics.

Results

Most (86.82%) residents had stable QoL summary scores. Residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment, irrespective of ADRD, were less likely to have stable summary scores than cognitively capable residents without ADRD (p < .001), but associations varied by QoL domains. Among those with stable summary QoL scores, changes in health/functional status were associated with absolute changes in summary QoL score (p < .001), suggesting sensitivity of the QoL measure.

Discussion and Implications

QoL scores were similarly stable over time for most residents with and without ADRD diagnoses and were sensitive to changes in health/functional status. This self-reported QoL measure may be appropriate for nursing home residents, regardless of ADRD diagnosis, and can efficaciously be recommended to other states.
Beyond Memorization: Exercises that Help Students Forge, Remember, and Apply their Knowledge
Authors: Hiebert Sara M
Published: July 2021

Synopsis

This personal retrospective describes what I consider to be the two most important learning practices in my classroom: A form of interactive engagement that I call collaborative exercises and general principles exercises. The power of interactive engagement had already been described and evaluated in the pedagogical literature of the physical sciences, but was not yet used widely in biology when I began teaching. Here, I discuss practical suggestions for implementing IE successfully and strategies for inviting students to try a new way of learning. General principles are everywhere we look—in lectures, titles of textbooks, and in our own minds as we process new information. Many of our students, however, are only marginally familiar with how general principles can revolutionize the way they learn, remember information, and solve novel context problems. The general principles exercise stimulates students not only to engage actively with received general principles from lecture, reading, and other sources, but also to develop the transferable skill of discovering (not just being told about) the patterns that permeate the natural world and our study of it.
DoE-Based Analytical-FMCEA for Enhanced AQbD Approach to MEER-RP-HPLC Method for Synchronous Estimation of 15 Anti-Hypertensive Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms
Authors: Prajapati Pintu B , Patel Ankita S , Shah Shailesh A
Published: July 2021

Background

In the recent scenario of green chemistry, the usage of organic solvents should be minimized in the development of analytical methods for the safety of the environment and analysts.

Objective

An RP-HPLC method has been developed as an economical and eco-friendly alternative to published RP-HPLC methods for the analysis of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of anti-hypertensive drugs, for saving time, resources, costs, and organic solvent.

Methods

The method has been developed through the implementation of an enhanced analytical quality by design (AQbD) approach using a design of experiment (DoE)-based analytical failure mode critical effect analysis (AFMCEA). The AFMCEA was performed by identifying potential analytical failure modes and assessing their risk using risk priority number ranking and filtering. The DoE-based AFMCEA was implemented for response surface analysis and mitigation of high-risk analytical failure modes by Box-Behnken design (BBD). The method operable design ranges and control strategy were set for lifecycle management of the developed method.

Results

The RP-HPLC method was developed using a Shimpack octadecyl silane (ODS) C18 column and acetonitrile–water (pH 6.2; 42:58 %, v/v). The method was validated as per ICH Q2 (R1) guidelines. The method was applied for the synchronous assay of 15 FDCs of anti-hypertensive drugs.

Conclusion

The developed method has fulfilled the requirements of numerous published RP-HPLC and HPTLC methods. Hence, this method is a multipurpose chromatography method for synchronous estimation of FDC products of anti-hypertensive drugs. This method can be used as a multipurpose (M), economical (E), eco-friendly (E), and rapid (R), MEER-RP-HPLC for quality control of multiple FDCs of anti-hypertensive drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.

Highlights

Development of a MEER-RP-HPLC method for synchronous estimation of 15 pharmaceutical dosage forms of anti-hypertensive drugs. Implementation of an enhanced AQbD approach using a DoE-based AFMCEA to develop the method which was applied to the assay of 15 anti-hypertensive dosage forms.