bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An experimental comparison of a genetic algorithm and a hill‐climber for term selection
Authors: MacFarlane A. , Secker A. , May P. , Timmis J.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The term selection problem for selecting query terms in information filtering and routing has been investigated using hill‐climbers of various kinds, largely through the Okapi experiments in the TREC series of conferences. Although these are simple deterministic approaches, which examine the effect of changing the weight of one term at a time, they have been shown to improve the retrieval effectiveness of filtering queries in these TREC experiments. Hill‐climbers are, however, likely to get trapped in local optima, and the use of more sophisticated local search techniques for this problem that attempt to break out of these optima are worth investigating. To this end, this paper aims to apply a genetic algorithm (GA) to the same problem.

Design/methodology/approach

A standard TREC test collection is used from the TREC‐8 filtering track, recording mean average precision and recall measures to allow comparison between the hill‐climber and GAs. It also varies elements of the GA, such as probability of a word being included, probability of mutation and population size in order to measure the effect of these variables. Different strategies such as elitist and non‐elitist methods are used, as well as roulette wheel and rank selection GAs.

Findings

The results of tests suggest that both techniques are, on average, better than the baseline, but, the implemented GA does not match the overall performance of a hill‐climber. The Rank selection algorithm does better on average than the Roulette Wheel algorithm. There is no evidence in this study that varying word inclusion probability, mutation probability or Elitist method make much difference to the overall results. Small population sizes do not appear to be as effective as larger population sizes.

Research limitations/implications

The evidence provided here would suggest that being stuck in a local optima for the term selection optimization problem does not appear to be detrimental to the overall success of the hill‐climber. The evidence from term rank order would appear to provide extra useful evidence, which hill climbers can use efficiently, and effectively, to narrow the search space.

Originality/value

The paper represents the first attempt to compare hill‐climbers with GAs on a problem of this type.
Stereotyping of citizens in an expatriate‐dominated labour market
Authors: Al‐Waqfi Mohammed , Forstenlechner Ingo
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Even though initiatives to increase the participation of citizens in the workforce have been in place for more than a decade in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the results are not impressive. Citizens' workforce participation – it is argued in the literature – is hindered by structural as well as attitudinal concerns. A key concern of this paper is to explore stereotypes which – as anecdotal evidence in the literature suggests – are a key hindrance to successful localisation.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was completed by 310 expatriates and citizens. Exploratory factor analysis was used to understand the key factors describing how UAE citizens are perceived and stereotyped and ANOVA analyses were used to understand the determinants of such perceptions.

Findings

Findings confirm the general belief that Emiratis are negatively stereotyped by expatriates in the UAE labour market. Four themes or factors regarding perceptions of citizens were identified: generally negative perceptions with regard to skills and competencies, work ethics, cultural disposition, and perceived effectiveness of Emiratisation.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was not ideally balanced as it included more citizens compared to the overall composition of the labour market.

Practical implications

The implications of these negative stereotypes on intergroup relations and expected impacts on Emiratisation are discussed. Ultimately, this paper provides a new subject perspective on immigration, presenting the case of citizens being a minority in need of acculturation to their own country's work environment.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to empirically assess stereotyping and negative perceptions of citizens and its implications on workforce nationalisation in the GCC region.
Self‐concept, emotions and consumer coping
Authors: Hamilton Kathy , Hassan Louise
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Whereas much previous research focuses on the ways consumers strive to gain social approval, consumption that may result in social disapproval must be considered. In order to do so, the purpose of this paper is to explore consumers' self‐concepts within a risky consumption context, namely smoking. Self‐concept discrepancies and the resulting emotions and coping strategies are identified.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology based on 30 focus groups conducted across ten European countries is employed.

Findings

Findings demonstrate self‐concept discrepancies between both the actual self and ought/ideal guiding end states, as well as between the “I” and social selves. Such discrepancies generate negative emotions and result in emotion‐focused coping strategies. In addition, the accuracy of smokers' social self‐concepts with reference to the actual perceptions of non‐smokers is discussed.

Practical implications

Important implications for the design of effective anti‐smoking advertising are discussed, based on the findings. It is suggested that counter advertising should encourage dialogue between smokers and non‐smokers and that message themes should centre on building the self‐efficacy of smokers.

Originality/value

The reason why the social context should be an integral part of consumer self‐concept research is highlighted. Moreover, the importance of moving beyond merely understanding the existence of self‐discrepancies, to focus on the emotions that are generated by these discrepancies and the consequent coping strategies employed to resolve them is identified. As such, the potential contributions that may arise by recognising the intersection between two bodies of literature that are often treated separately, namely, consumer coping and the self‐concept, are highlighted.
The role of satisfaction, norms and conflict in families' eating behaviour
Authors: Ottar Olsen Svein , Grunert Klaus G.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the relationship between satisfaction and consumer behaviour by proposing and testing a model of how moral and social influences interact with individual satisfaction and conflict to explain and understand consumer behaviour in a family context, using consumption of fish for the family as an example.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from a sample of 452 Norwegian respondents are used. The target behaviour was eating fish as a family meal. The constructs of behaviour, satisfaction, social norm, preference conflict and personal norm were measured by multiple‐item measures. After checking for reliability and validity of the data by confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling in Lisrel was used to estimate relationships between the constructs and their measures.

Findings

While satisfaction, social norm and preference conflict had an influence on behaviour, the impact of satisfaction was least among the three constructs. In turn, these three constructs were influenced by personal norm. Also, social norm and preference conflict were mutually related.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on self‐reported data and does not include observational data. It is also based on cross‐sectional data. The results underline the importance of social factors when dealing with the relationship between satisfaction and behaviour in a family context.

Practical implications

The role of satisfaction as a strategic variable in establishing customer loyalty should be put in context whenever consumption decisions are made in a social situation, since social variables may be more important for establishing loyalty than individual satisfaction of one person whenever decisions are made jointly in a family household.

Originality/value

The results highlighted here have important managerial implications for the use of satisfaction data in marketing and will be of use to those working in that field.
Employee voice initiatives in the public sector: views from the workplace
Authors: Bennett Tony
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The paper seeks to report on the results of a regional survey of public sector HR and union representatives' views and experiences of employee voice techniques in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was based on a descriptive survey and subsequent statistical analysis of significant difference between HR and union representatives in terms of their views on the aims and efficacy of various forms of employee voice initiatives.

Findings

A broad range of employee voice mechanisms, both direct and indirect, was identified, many running concurrently, across the sample organisations. The European Union was identified as a significant influence in encouraging voice initiatives in the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

The research, whilst engaging with the views and experiences of representatives from a larger group of organisations, will require subsequent case study research to investigate some of the findings in greater depth.

Practical implications

There are clear implications for management in terms of the potential effect of EU regulations around involvement and participation. There is also evidence that the unions are not being marginalized by more individually‐focused voice initiatives but, conversely, some union representatives' lack of knowledge of the regulations could hamper union long‐term voice strategies.

Originality/value

The paper applies existing employee voice case study theory to a broader range of organisations through a survey approach, whilst demonstrating the practical application of those concepts and models to increase one's knowledge of employee voice techniques currently in use in the public sector.
Fabric‐skin friction property measurement system
Authors: Wang Xu , Liu Ping , Wang Fumei
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Understanding the friction property between fabric and skin is an important issue in both product design and comfort evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to present a new type of tester to evaluate the friction between skin and clothing.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed fabric‐skin friction tester consists of test host, friction equipment, control box, and computer processing system. The suitable testing conditions (tension, friction velocity, and sample width) are recommended by comparing the parameters and actual test circumstance.

Findings

As the stress history characteristic of skin, the friction test should be repeated since the second time for each fabric and skin friction pair. The fluctuation of single friction curve and dispersion degree of several friction curves in repeated trials are both smallest under the recommended test conditions (200 cN tension, 500 mm/min friction velocity and 10 cm wide sample) for woven fabric.

Originality/value

The proposed fabric‐skin friction tester is adapted to measure the dynamical friction properties between human skin and clothing. This is original in comparison to the conventional research method usually found in the literature.
Medical‐workforce planning: an art or science?
Authors: Parsons Donna
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Illustrates how the NHS workforce‐review team looks at the area of medical workforce planning and some of the problems that planners face.

Design/methodology/approach

Describes a structure for workforce planning and examines some of the challenges workforce planners and those working in the human‐resources field face.

Findings

Argues that workforce planning is more than simply number crunching; it requires the application of both art and science skills.

Practical applications

Demonstrates how the workforce is calculated in terms of the need, demand and supply for the future.

Social implications

Highlights the important advantages, for individual organizations as well as for society as a whole, which can result from successful workforce planning.

Originality/value

Fills a gap in the literature about whether workforce planning is an art or science.
Disciplining professional vision in architectural work
Authors: Styhre Alexander
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Professional communities are capable of maintaining their social status and role in society on the basis of a blend of technical and formal expertise, know‐how, and an understanding of the non‐professional's demands and expectations. In architectural work, professional expertise largely centres on the visual capacities of the architect, his or her ability to extract useful information and communicate objectives and ideas on the basis of visual artifacts. However, this professional vision must always be double in terms of alternating between professional and non‐professional ways of seeing. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was based on a case study of a Scandinavian firm of architects, Blue Architects (a pseudonym).

Findings

The findings suggest that practising architects are highly aware of the societal role of their profession and the fact that there are a number of routines and mechanisms instituted by the firm which help the architect, newcomers as well as the more seasoned members of that community, to bridge and combine these two elements of their professional vision.

Originality/value

The study suggests that professional vision is a key term when examining visually‐oriented professions. However, this capacity to “see as an architect” does need to be a kind of split vision; both seeing as and seeing beyond the visual artifact produced. The study thus contributes toward understanding visually‐oriented professions and their relationship with lay knowledge.
Principles in knowledge management maturity: a South African perspective
Authors: Kruger Cornelius Johannes , Johnson Roy D.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The institutionalization of knowledge management (KM) principles, policies and strategies could be summarized as being diverse, problematic and located across the spectrum of views. Studies suggest that very little is reported on how these principles are institutionalized in organizations. This paper seeks to examine the role these principles play in the establishment of KM and report on an empirical study conducted in 86 South African‐based organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

From a large urban South African University engaged in numerous collaboration programs with industry, the authors gained insight into KM maturity in industry groupings over a five‐year period. The authors applied an inventory developed by Kruger and Snyman to a set of 86 organizations distributed over nine economic sectors in South Africa. In total 434 employees were interviewed over three managerial levels (operational, middle, and senior). This was achieved by having 178 senior practitioners to each interview three subjects (one in each group level).

Findings

Findings indicate that there is a definite trend towards the establishment of KM principles and the successful implementation of KM across South African industries. Industries achieving higher than average scores in the establishment of KM principles also achieved higher than average scores in the implementation of KM. Findings strongly support the argument that elements such as the formulation of strategy, measurement, policy, content, process, technology and culture enable or influence KM ability to manage knowledge.

Originality/value

The paper is of relevance to KM practitioners interested in gaining insight into KM maturity that occurred in the extremely diversified environment of South Africa.
Learning expert thinking processes: using KM to structure the development of expertise
Authors: van Winkelen Christine , McDermott Richard
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper seeks to develop understanding of how competent practitioners develop into experts through learning expert thinking processes and how knowledge management initiatives can be used to structure this development.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review‐derived research model underpinned the semi‐structured interviews with 21 acknowledged experts from a wide variety of disciplines and sectors. A qualitative exploratory research design was used to study how the experts go about developing other professionals in the field through showing them how they learn themselves and making visible their own thinking processes. The implications for KM programs were developed in conjunction with KM practitioners.

Findings

The experts used various methods to make their thinking visible through demonstration of practice and direction of structured learning activities. KM's contribution to this form of expertise development lies in structuring approaches to making work in progress more visible (through technology and process) and through introducing a coaching framework that enables and supports reflection on practice.

Research limitations/implications

The specific context of expertise development that has been studied is those situations where generalized principles and explicit knowledge cannot be readily captured in artifacts. Further research is needed to show how this can be combined with other approaches to developing and retaining expertise. Confirmatory research is also needed to refine and further validate the proposed recommendations for KM practice.

Practical implications

The paper prepares the ground for integrating an important aspect of expertise development within KM programs.

Originality/value

The paper extends KM's contribution to expertise retention and development to include structured support for the development of expert thinking processes.
Change readiness: an alternative conceptualization and an exploratory investigation
Authors: Timmor Yaron , Zif Jehiel
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Change readiness (CR) is viewed as a multidimensional behavior that reflects the firm's competencies to do three things in response to environmental opportunities and threats in its industry: trigger identification; gearing up to take action (preparation); and the action's degree of novelty. The main purpose of this study is to propose and test an alternative conceptualization for CR.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 217 organizations in 14 countries. All respondents were in charge of, or involved with, their firms' strategic decisions and implementations thereof and filled out a structured questionnaire.

Findings

It was found that CR is influenced by both internal and external variables, including management orientation (entrepreneurial, centralization), environmental barriers, and technology and innovation roles in firms' business strategies. In addition, a higher degree of CR was correlated with better performance and with higher management evaluation of success in coping with environmental triggers.

Research limitations/implications

The size and selection of the sample may pose limits in generalizing the study findings. Future studies may increase the number of interviews per firm, use objective assessments of performance and provide more specific information about threats and opportunities, as well as the type of industry.

Originality/value

The proposed CR concept is based on specific behavior rather than on attitude. CR is perceived as a strategy‐oriented construct that demonstrates the capacity of an organization to respond effectively to new developments in its environment.
Infrastructure: a new dimension of real estate? An asset allocation analysis
Authors: Finkenzeller Konrad , Dechant Tobias , Schäfers Wolfgang
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide conclusive evidence that infrastructure constitutes a separate asset class and cannot be classified as real estate from an investment point‐of‐view. Furthermore, optimal allocations are determined for direct and indirect infrastructure within a multi‐asset portfolio.

Design/methodology/approach

Portfolio allocations are optimized by using an algorithm, which accounts for downside risk, rather than variance. This approach is more in accordance with the actual investor behaviour and might meet their investment objectives more effectively. An Australian dataset comprising stocks, bonds, direct real estate, direct infrastructure and indirect infrastructure is applied for portfolio construction.

Findings

Although infrastructure and real estate have common characteristics, the conclusion is that that they constitute two different asset classes. Furthermore, the diversification benefits of direct and indirect infrastructure within multi‐asset portfolios are highlighted and determine efficient allocations up to 78 percent for target rates of 0.0 percent, 1.5 percent and 3.0 percent quarterly.

Practical implications

The results will help investors and portfolio managers to efficiently allocate funds to various asset classes. Most institutional investors are not familiar with investments in infrastructure. The study facilitates a better understanding of the asset class infrastructure and yields some important implications for the optimal allocation of infrastructure within institutional investment portfolios.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the role of direct and indirect infrastructure within a multi‐asset portfolio by applying a downside‐risk approach.
GI24 enhances tumor invasiveness by regulating cell surface membrane‐type 1 matrix metalloproteinase
Authors: Sakr Moustafa A. , Takino Takahisa , Domoto Takahiro , Nakano Hiroshi , Wong Richard W. , Sasaki Motoko , Nakanuma Yasuni , Sato Hiroshi
Published: July 2010

GI24, an immunoglobulin superfamily member, has been cloned from a placenta cDNA library as a gene product that promoted activation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 mediated by membrane type (MT) 1–MMP. Co‐expression of GI24 with MT1‐MMP in HEK293T cells increased the cell‐surface level of MT1‐MMP concomitant with the cleavage of the GI24 at the juxtamembrane site to shed the extracellular domain. HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells stably transfected with the GI24 gene expressed a higher level of MT1‐MMP and showed more invasive ability in collagen gel than the control cells. GI24 was cleaved in HT1080 cells, which was blocked by the administration of MMP inhibitor BB94 or transfection of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting MT1‐MMP. GI24 expression is relatively high in some squamous carcinoma and hepatocarcinoma cell lines. Transfection of siRNA for GI24 into oral squamous carcinoma‐derived HSC‐4 cells, which express GI24 and MT1‐MMP genes reduced the expression of not only GI24 but also MT1‐MMP, and attenuated invasive growth in the collagen matrix. These results suggest that GI24 contributes to tumor‐invasive growth in the collagen matrix by augmenting cell surface MT1‐MMP. (Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 2368–2374)
Usefulness of oral cytopathology in the diagnosis of infectious diseases
Authors: Braz‐Silva P. H. , Magalhães M. H. C. G. , Hofman V. , Ortega K. L. , Ilie M. I. , Odin G. , Vielh P. , Hofman P.
Published: July 2010

P. H. Braz‐Silva, M. H. C. G. Magalhães, V. Hofman, K. L. Ortega, M. I. Ilie, G. Odin, P. Vielh and P. Hofman

Usefulness of oral cytopathology in the diagnosis of infectious diseases

In recent years, the incidence of oral opportunistic infections has increased, partly due to the widespread implementation of organ and bone marrow transplantation and the increase in the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Cytology can be used as a rapid, inexpensive and simple routine procedure in diagnosing infectious diseases of the mouth. Moreover, ancillary methods can be applied to cytological samples, increasing the specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. This review describes the cytopathological features of the main viral, fungal, bacterial and parasitic infections of the mouth. Cytological techniques of specimen collection, identification of infectious agents by cytomorphological approaches and ancillary methods, and diagnostic pitfalls will be discussed.
APPLIED ISSUES: Effects of habitat rehabilitation on brown trout (Salmo trutta) in boreal forest streams
Authors: VEHANEN T. , HUUSKO A. , MÄKI‐PETÄYS A. , LOUHI P. , MYKRÄ H. , MUOTKA T.
Published: July 2010

1. Degradation of stream habitat because of anthropogenic activities (e.g. channelisation) has had a dramatic impact on fluvial environments and their biota, and as a consequence, increasing effort has been directed towards the restoration of degraded rivers. However, a major problem is that the success (or failure) of restoration has been rarely tested using a well‐designed monitoring programme to allow reliable detection of an impact, if any exists. We used a spatially and temporally replicated, balanced Before‐After‐Control‐Impact design to assess the impact of stream habitat rehabilitation on the densities and growth of brown trout of three age‐classes in North Finnish forest streams.

2. Three separate sections in each of six streams were selected for the study. After 3 years of pre‐rehabilitation monitoring, two randomly selected sections in each stream were restored; one using large woody debris and boulders and the other using only boulders. A third section remained as an unmodified control. Monitoring of fish densities continued for 3 years after rehabilitation.

3. Rehabilitation clearly increased streambed complexity, but did not have detectable effects on brown trout stocks in either of the rehabilitation schemes (LWD or stones), except for age‐2+ and older fish which decreased in abundance compared to control reaches. A severe drought after rehabilitation in late summer 2002 reduced densities of trout to a low level in all streams, overriding any local effects of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation structures seemed to provide some safeguard against drought for age‐2 and older, but not for the younger age‐classes.

4. Our results add to the growing body of literature suggesting that large‐scale regional factors may overwhelm local management efforts. To be successful in the future, stream rehabilitation schemes must include drought refuge areas for fish and other stream biota.
A freshwater conservation assessment of the Upper Mississippi River basin using a coarse‐ and fine‐filter approach
Authors: KHOURY MARY , HIGGINS JONATHAN , WEITZELL ROY
Published: July 2010

1. We identified priority sites for freshwater conservation in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) basin using a coarse‐ and fine‐filter approach to defining biodiversity elements as building blocks. Fine‐filter species included federally listed threatened and endangered, imperilled, declining, endemic, disjunct and wide‐ranging species. We had species data for over 1300 individual occurrences of species and communities identified as fine‐filter elements. The coarse‐filter elements are ecosystems (‘Aquatic Ecological Systems’) defined using physical attributes of streams and lakes, and stratified to represent key zoogeographical and physiographical gradients.

2. We used relative ecosystem integrity, species population viability and expert opinion to generate an initial ‘portfolio’ of 600 freshwater areas of biodiversity significance representing the best examples of the species and ecosystem elements. Representation targets were met for all ecosystem types and for an average of 45% for species groups.

3. The application of a coarse‐ and fine‐filter approach to identify biodiversity conservation priorities in the UMR demonstrates the contribution of each component – even in an area with relatively rich fine‐filter data. For a large assessment area, data, even if plentiful, will be uneven, and community‐level diversity is not catalogued. Thus, the coarse filter allows for greater confidence that a broad suite of species and key environmental gradients are captured in a conservation portfolio, while fine‐filter data provide greater confidence that species of conservation and management interest are addressed adequately.
The effects of groundwater level and vegetation on creep of the Mam Tor landslip
Authors: Green Sam , Rutter Ernest , Holloway Robert
Published: July 2010

The creeping Mam Tor landslide (North Derbyshire, UK) is sliding slowly downhill at up to 0.5 m per year. Annual measurements using conventional surveying techniques have shown that creep is exacerbated by periods of heavy rainfall, but to establish a detailed correlation between creep and groundwater levels requires spatially and temporally higher resolution monitoring. We have acquired three years of such data from wire creep meters, borehole piezometers and rainfall monitoring. These measurements showed that creep is strongly focused into the winter months and that it correlates well with groundwater levels. Summer grass and fern growth exerts a strong influence on rainfall infiltration, recycling much of the summer rainfall back to the atmosphere, and explaining the seasonal variability of creep motion.
Lake Missoula and the Scablands, Washington, USA
Authors: Waltham Tony
Published: July 2010

Gigantic floods that, for just a few days, had flow rates many times greater than the combined flows of all the other rivers of the world put together. Sounds ridiculous, and it's almost inconceivable, but it's real, and it all happened at the end of the last Ice Age. The water came from Lake Missoula, which exists no more, but the effects are still to be seen in the landscapes, most notably in the vast scablands of eastern Washington.
High rates of net primary production and turnover of floating grasses on the Amazon floodplain: implications for aquatic respiration and regional CO2 flux
Authors: ENGLE DIANA L. , MELACK JOHN M. , DOYLE ROBERT D. , FISHER THOMAS R.
Published: July 2010

We investigated whether rates of net primary production (NPP) and biomass turnover of floating grasses in a central Amazon floodplain lake (Lake Calado) are consistent with published evidence that CO2 emissions from Amazon rivers and floodplains are largely supplied by carbon from C4 plants. Ground‐based measurements of species composition, plant growth rates, plant densities, and areal biomass were combined with low altitude videography to estimate community NPP and compare expected versus observed biomass at monthly intervals during the aquatic growth phase (January–August). Principal species at the site were Oryza perennis (a C3 grass), Echinochloa polystachya, and Paspalum repens (both C4 grasses). Monthly mean daily NPP of the mixed species community varied from 50 to 96 g dry mass m−2 day−1, with a seasonal average (±1SD) of 64±12 g dry mass m−2 day−1. Mean daily NPP (±1SE) for P. repens and E. polystachya was 77±3 and 34±2 g dry mass m−2 day−1, respectively. Monthly loss rates of combined above‐ and below‐water biomass ranged from 31% to 75%, and averaged 49%. Organic carbon losses from aquatic grasses ranged from 30 to 34 g C m−2 day−1 from February to August. A regional extrapolation indicated that respiration of this carbon potentially accounts for about half (46%) of annual CO2 emissions from surface waters in the central Amazon, or about 44% of gaseous carbon emissions, if methane flux is included.
Impacts of elevated nitrogen inputs on oak reproductive and seed ecology
Authors: CALLAHAN HILARY S. , DEL FIERRO KATRINA , PATTERSON ANGELICA E. , ZAFAR HINA
Published: July 2010

The effects of increased anthropogenic inputs of reactive nitrogen (N) have been studied at the Harvard Forest Chronic N Experiment, where NH4NO3 has been applied experimentally since 1988 to increase atmospheric deposition rates ∼6‐ and ∼18‐fold above ambient. This paper asks whether conditions favorable to primary production also resulted in plastic increases to flower, fruit, and seedling traits, and focuses primarily on the oaks that dominate the hardwood stands of the Harvard Forest experiment. Litterfall samples collected between 1996 and 2001 revealed that flowers and fruits were significantly more abundant in N‐treated plots, and an analysis of oak tree abundance found significant variation both among and within plots. Acorn samples collected during 2003 and 2004 (a mast and a postmast year) were therefore analyzed using ancova models that included an estimate of oak tree abundance. This tree abundance estimate was the only significant driver of increased acorn production during the mast year, and in both years it was a significant factor on plots receiving the highest levels of N. In the postmast year, acorn production was increased in direct response to N‐related factors other than tree abundance. Our comparisons of control and N‐treated plots for acorn quality traits (e.g. rates of acorn damage, germination percentage, seedling growth) revealed negligible or only transient differences. Shifts in overall acorn abundance – particularly disproportionate N‐mediated increases during nonmast years – could have a wide range of ecological consequences beyond the more frequently examined impacts of N deposition on primary production and carbon sequestration.
Acclimation of a pleurocarpous moss Pleurozium schreberi (Britt.) Mitt. to enhanced ultraviolet radiation in situ
Authors: LAPPALAINEN NIINA M. , HUTTUNEN SATU , SUOKANERVA HANNE
Published: July 2010

We investigated the responses of ultraviolet (UV)‐absorbing compounds, chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids and the growth responses of the pleurocarpous moss Pleurozium schreberi (Britt.) Mitt. to enhanced UV radiation in situ. The moss was exposed to a 52% elevation above the ambient level of erythemally weighted UV‐B radiation, simulating an approximate 20% reduction in the ozone column, in a dry pine forest in Sodankylä, Finland (67 °22′N, 26 °38′E), under arrays of lamps filtered with cellulose diacetate, which transmitted both UV‐B and UV‐A radiation. The moss was also exposed to elevated UV‐A radiation under control arrays of lamps filtered with Melinex polyester and to ambient radiation under arrays with no lamps in them. Effects of enhanced UV radiation on P. schreberi were recorded during the first 3 years of exposure. Enhanced UV‐B radiation did not affect the segment height growth of the moss. The annual dry mass after the second growing season was higher in the UV‐A control than in the other treatments, and dry mass decreased significantly during the third treatment year in both UV treatments compared with the ambient. The specific leaf area of the UV‐B‐treated mosses was significantly higher than the ambient control mosses during the first 2 years. An increase of UV‐absorbing compounds was found in the mosses under enhanced UV‐B radiation compared with the UV‐A control mosses during the first year. Even though the treatment effect on UV‐absorbing compounds was transient, the concentrations of these compounds correlated with the amount of UV‐A and UV‐B radiation received under the elevated UV‐B treatment. A correlation with the irradiation of previous days and preceding month of the sampling day was found. A seasonal reduction occurred in the amount of UV‐absorbing compounds from the beginning of the summer to late summer. The amount of photosynthetic pigments correlated with the amount of photosynthetically active radiation. The moss P. schreberi was thus found to tolerate increasing UV‐B radiation. Our data indicate that P. schreberi tolerates a 52% increase in erythemally weighted UV‐B radiation above ambient, responding during the first few years of exposure by increasing UV‐absorbing compounds and specific leaf area, and decreasing annual dry mass, and then acclimating to its altered radiation environment.
Climate warming causes phenological shift in Pink Salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, behavior at Auke Creek, Alaska
Authors: TAYLOR SIDNEY G.
Published: July 2010

Thirty‐four years (1972–2005) of water temperature data and extensive biological observations at Auke Creek, Alaska indicate a general warming trend that affected the native pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) population. Serial environmental records at nearby Auke Bay, Alaska over 46 years show trends of increasing air and sea surface temperatures. Trends of increased total precipitation and earlier date of ice out on nearby Auke Lake also occurred, but not at significant rates. Average water temperatures during the incubation of pink salmon in Auke Creek increased at a rate of 0.03 °C yr−1 over the 34‐year period. For the 1972–2005 broods, midpoints of fry migrations from Auke Creek ranged between April 2 and May 7, and there was a trend of earlier migration of pink salmon fry at a rate of − 0.5 days yr−1. The migration timing of adult salmon into Auke Creek also showed a trend toward earlier timing. The earlier adult migration combined with warmer incubation temperatures are related to earlier migration of pink salmon fry. If the observed warming trend continues, Auke Creek may become unsuitable habitat for pink salmon. Given the trend for salmon fry to migrate earlier, a larger portion of the population may become mismatched with optimum environmental conditions during their early marine life history. If salmon adults continue to migrate into the creek earlier when water temperatures are commonly high, it will result in increased prespawning mortality.
Predicting differential effects of climate change at the population level with life‐cycle models of spring Chinook salmon
Authors: CROZIER LISA G. , ZABEL RICHARD W. , HAMLET ALAN F.
Published: July 2010

Habitat conditions mediate the effects of climate, so neighboring populations with differing habitat conditions may differ in their responses to climate change. We have previously observed that juvenile survival in Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon is strongly correlated with summer temperature in some populations and with fall streamflow in others. Here, we explore potential differential responses of the viability of four of these populations to changes in streamflow and temperature that might result from climate change. First, we linked predicted changes in air temperature and precipitation from several General Circulation Models to a local hydrological model to project streamflow and air temperature under two climate‐change scenarios. Then, we developed a stochastic, density‐dependent life‐cycle model with independent environmental effects in juvenile and ocean stages, and parameterized the model for each population. We found that mean abundance decreased 20–50% and the probability of quasi‐extinction increased dramatically (from 0.1–0.4 to 0.3–0.9) for all populations in both scenarios. Differences between populations were greater in the more moderate climate scenario than in the more extreme, hot/dry scenario. Model results were relatively robust to realistic uncertainty in freshwater survival parameters in all scenarios. Our results demonstrate that detailed population models can usefully incorporate climate‐change predictions, and that global warming poses a direct threat to freshwater stages in these fish, increasing their risk of extinction. Because differences in habitat may contribute to the individualistic population responses we observed, we infer that maintaining habitat diversity will help buffer some species from the impacts of climate change.
Rice yield enhancement by elevated CO2 is reduced in cool weather
Authors: SHIMONO HIROYUKI , OKADA MASUMI , YAMAKAWA YASUHIRO , NAKAMURA HIROFUMI , KOBAYASHI KAZUHIKO , HASEGAWA TOSHIHIRO
Published: July 2010

The projected increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) is expected to increase rice yield, but little is known of the effects of [CO2] at low temperature, which is the major constraint to growing rice in cool climates. We grew rice under two levels of [CO2] (ambient and elevated by 200 μmol mol−1) and two nitrogen (N) fertilization regimes in northern Japan in 2003 (cool weather) and 2004 (warm weather) in the field in a free‐air CO2 enrichment (FACE) system. Elevated [CO2] significantly increased grain yield in both years in both N regimes, but the magnitude of the increase differed between years: 6% in 2003 vs. 17% in 2004, with a significant interaction between [CO2] and year. This difference resulted from responses of spikelet number and ripening percentage to elevated [CO2]. Enhancement of dry matter production and N uptake at heading by elevated [CO2] was smaller in 2003 than in 2004, although at maturity there was no difference between years. No significant interaction between N regime and [CO2] was detected in yield and yield components. The results suggest that yield gain due to elevated [CO2] can be reduced by low temperature.
Frost in a future climate: modelling interactive effects of warmer temperatures and rising atmospheric [CO2] on the incidence and severity of frost damage in a temperate evergreen (Eucalyptus pauciflora)
Authors: WOLDENDORP GEMMA , HILL MICHAEL J. , DORAN RUTH , BALL MARILYN C.
Published: July 2010

Although plants are more susceptible to frost damage under elevated atmospheric [CO2], the importance of frost damage under future, warmer climate scenarios is unknown. Accordingly, we used a model to examine the incidence and severity of frost damage to snow gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) in a sub‐alpine region of Australia for current and future conditions using the A2 IPCC elevated CO2 and climate change scenario. An existing model for predicting frost effects on E. pauciflora seedlings was adapted to include effects of elevated [CO2] on acclimation to freezing temperatures, calibrated with field data, and applied to a study region in Victoria using climate scenario data from CSIRO's Global Climate Model C‐CAM for current (1975–2004) and future (2035–2064) 30 years climate sequences. Temperatures below 0 °C were predicted to occur less frequently while the coldest temperatures (i.e. those below −8 °C) were almost as common in the future as in the current climate. Both elevated [CO2] and climate warming affected the timing and rates of acclimation and de‐acclimation of snow gum to freezing temperatures, potentially reducing the length of time that plants are fully frost tolerant and increasing the length of the growing season. Despite fewer days when temperatures fall below 0 °C in the future, with consequently fewer damaging frosts with lower average levels of impact, individual weather sequences resulting in widespread plant mortality may still occur. Furthermore, delayed acclimation due to either warming or rising [CO2] combined with an early severe frost could lead to more frost damage and higher mortality than would occur in current conditions. Effects of elevated [CO2] on frost damage were greater in autumn, while warming had more effect in spring. Thus, frost damage will continue to be a management issue for plantation and forest management in regions where frosts persist.
The lightning–biota climatic feedback
Authors: SHEPON ALON , GILDOR HEZI
Published: July 2010

We investigate a negative climatic feedback which involves an increase in deposition of lightning‐produced nitrogen compounds into ecosystems as a response to a global temperature rise. This increases primary production on both land and ocean, which reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and consequently global temperature in return. Large uncertainties in numerous processes and parameters in this feedback exist and therefore its importance is unclear. This feedback is investigated using a conceptual dynamical model, including assessing its role in counteracting anthropogenic‐induced warming by reducing the rate of accumulation and concentration of atmospheric CO2. Overall, this study suggests that this feedback is of mild strength in the climate system, but raises the intriguing possibility that it should be considered in long‐term climate simulations. Further work in investigating this climatic feedback is required.
Effects of soil bulk density and strength on seedling growth of annual ryegrass and tall fescue in controlled environment
Authors: Bartholomew P. W. , Williams R. D.
Published: July 2010

Grasses sown with minimal tillage commonly exhibit slower establishment and lower herbage yield than those sown into a conventionally tilled seedbed. Some of the difference in performance may be attributed to differences in bulk density between tilled and untilled ground. It is not known if performance rankings of grass cultivars established in clean‐tilled ground remain valid in more compacted soil characteristic of no‐till seeding. Seedlings of five cultivars of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) [IRG] and five cultivars of tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea Schreb. also known as Lolium arundinaceum Schreb. (Darbysh.)] [TF] were grown in pots of Coyle or Stephenville series soils (sandy loam and loamy sand respectively) packed to 0·75, 0·88 or 1·00 of maximum packing densities, established as 1·47 and 1·68 g cm−3 for Coyle and Stephenville soil respectively. Leaf appearance was measured until seedling harvest at 540 growing degree days after emergence. Increased bulk density decreased leaf appearance rates, reduced final leaf and tiller numbers and aerial and root biomass at harvest in both IRG and TF. Among cultivars within species, there was no difference (P > 0·05) in response to measured parameters to change in bulk density. Seedling growth and development of IRG were consistently greater than that of TF but showed greater reduction in response to increased soil bulk density. Soil strength provided a better indicator of likely seedling response to soil compaction than bulk density. The results suggest that cultivar rankings obtained under conventional tillage are likely to be valid with no‐till planting.
VWF/FVIII complex and the management of patient with inhibitors: from laboratory to clinical practice
Authors: BERNTORP E.
Published: July 2010

Summary.  We and others have previously shown that inhibitor containing plasma from patients with congenital haemophilia A sometimes reacts less with von Willebrand factor (VWF) containing concentrates compared with highly purified plasma‐derived or recombinant factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates. To further substantiate the haemostatic role of a variation in inhibitor reactivity with different FVIII concentrates, we compared the inhibitor titres from 11 plasma samples against a panel of FVIII concentrates and correlated titre with the capacity to inhibit thrombin generation. Three plasma‐derived concentrates were tested: Fandhi (Grifols) which contains VWF with a final ratio of approximately 1 (VWF IU per IU FVIII:C); Haemate (CSL Behring) with a ratio of 2.5 and Haemofil M (Baxter), a monoclonal antibody‐purified concentrate containing only trace amounts of VWF. In addition, the recombinant FVIII concentrate Kogenate Bayer (Bayer) containing no VWF was included in the panel. A statistically significant difference in measured titres against the four concentrates was found. The inhibitor titre needed to inhibit 50% maximum thrombin generation was lowest for Kogenate Bayer and highest and similar for Fandhi and Haemate. This study confirms the results from previous research regarding variation of inhibitor reactivity against different concentrates and further shows that the VWF containing concentrates Fandhi and Haemate added to FVIII‐deficient plasma with the presence of inhibitor generate more thrombin than do the purified concentrates Haemofil M and Kogenate Bayer. A further interesting aspect could be that bypass therapy may have an increased efficacy when infused together with FVIII concentrates containing VWF. However, the clinical implications of all these findings in vitro need to be established.