bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Respiratory Distress by the Roth Score
Authors: Chorin Ehud , Padegimas Allison , Havakuk Ofer , Birati Edo Y. , Shacham Yacov , Milman Anat , Topaz Guy , Flint Nir , Keren Gad , Rogowski Ori
Published: October 2016

Introduction

Health care demand is increasing due to greater longevity of patients with chronic comorbidities. This increasing demand is occurring in a setting of resource scarcity. To address these changes, high‐value care initiatives, such as telemedicine, are valuable resource‐preservation strategies. This study introduces the Roth score as a telemedicine tool that uses patient counting times to accurately risk‐stratify dyspnea severity in terms of hypoxia.

Hypothesis

The Roth score has correlation with dyspnea severity.

Methods

This is a prospective, controlled‐cohort study. Roth score index is measured by having the patient count from 1 to 30 in their native language, in a single breath, as rapidly as possible. The primary result of the Roth score is the duration of time and the highest number reached.

Results

There was a strongly positive correlation between pulse oximetry and both maximal count achieved in 1 breath (r = 0.67; P < 0.001) and counting time (r = 0.59; P < 0.001). For oxygen saturation <95%, the maximal count number area under the curve is 0.828 and counting time area under the curve is 0.764. Counting time >8 seconds had a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 73% for pulse oximetry <95%.

Conclusions

The Roth score has strong correlation with dyspnea severity as determined by hypoxia. This tool is reproducible, low resource‐utilization, and amenable to telemedicine. It is not intended to replace full clinical workup and diagnosis of respiratory distress, but it is useful in risk‐stratifying severity of dyspnea that warrants further clinical evaluation.
Carboxymethylinulin–Chitosan Nanoparticles for the Delivery of Antineoplastic Mitoxantrone
Authors: Merli Daniele , Pivi Fabrizio , Profumo Antonella , Quadrelli Paolo , Milanese Chiara , Risi Giulia , Visai Livia
Published: October 2016

Mitoxantrone (MTX) is an antineoplastic agent whose use is limited by serious side effects on non‐neoplastic cells. The aim of this study was the development of a new drug release system using an ionotropic gelation technique for microencapsulation of MTX in chitosan–carboxymethylinulin nanoparticles (CCInp), followed by evaluation of their cytotoxic effects on neoplastic MDA‐MB‐231 and non‐neoplastic NIH3T3 cell lines. The CCInp were prepared through a new reliable method for easy functionalization of both inulin and chitosan. Both unloaded and drug‐loaded nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) and showed a spherical morphology with an average hydrodynamic diameter between 40 and 80 nm. Both nanoparticles were stable and easily degraded by lysozyme. MTX‐loaded nanoparticles led to a greater mortality of MDA‐MB‐231 relative to free drug due to the ability of the nanoparticles to accumulate preferentially in neoplastic cells. The developed drug release system retains the ability to kill MDA‐MB‐231 cells in vitro, improving the survival of NIH3T3 cells.
A quasi‐3D wire approach to model pulmonary airflow in human airways
Authors: Kannan Ravishekar , Chen Z. J. , Singh Narender , Przekwas Andrzej , Delvadia Renishkumar , Tian Geng , Walenga Ross
Published: October 2016

The models used for modeling the airflow in the human airways are either 0‐dimensional compartmental or full 3‐dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. In the former, airways are treated as compartments, and the computations are performed with several assumptions, thereby generating a low‐fidelity solution. The CFD method displays extremely high fidelity since the solution is obtained by solving the conservation equations in a physiologically consistent geometry. However, CFD models (1) require millions of degrees of freedom to accurately describe the geometry and to reduce the discretization errors, (2) have convergence problems, and (3) require several days to simulate a few breathing cycles. In this paper, we present a novel, fast‐running, and robust quasi‐3D wire model for modeling the airflow in the human lung airway. The wire mesh is obtained by contracting the high‐fidelity lung airway surface mesh to a system of connected wires, with well‐defined radii. The conservation equations are then solved in each wire. These wire meshes have around O(1000) degrees of freedom and hence are 3000 to 25 000 times faster than their CFD counterparts. The 3D spatial nature is also preserved since these wires are contracted out of the actual lung STL surface. The pressure readings between the 2 approaches showed minor difference (maximum error = 15%). In general, this formulation is fast and robust, allows geometric changes, and delivers high‐fidelity solutions. Hence, this approach has great potential for more complicated problems including modeling of constricted/diseased lung sections and for calibrating the lung flow resistances through parameter inversion.
Computational design and engineering of polymeric orthodontic aligners
Authors: Barone S. , Paoli A. , Razionale A. V. , Savignano R.
Published: October 2016

Transparent and removable aligners represent an effective solution to correct various orthodontic malocclusions through minimally invasive procedures. An aligner‐based treatment requires patients to sequentially wear dentition‐mating shells obtained by thermoforming polymeric disks on reference dental models. An aligner is shaped introducing a geometrical mismatch with respect to the actual tooth positions to induce a loading system, which moves the target teeth toward the correct positions. The common practice is based on selecting the aligner features (material, thickness, and auxiliary elements) by only considering clinician's subjective assessments.

In this article, a computational design and engineering methodology has been developed to reconstruct anatomical tissues, to model parametric aligner shapes, to simulate orthodontic movements, and to enhance the aligner design. The proposed approach integrates computer‐aided technologies, from tomographic imaging to optical scanning, from parametric modeling to finite element analyses, within a 3‐dimensional digital framework.

The anatomical modeling provides anatomies, including teeth (roots and crowns), jaw bones, and periodontal ligaments, which are the references for the down streaming parametric aligner shaping. The biomechanical interactions between anatomical models and aligner geometries are virtually reproduced using a finite element analysis software. The methodology allows numerical simulations of patient‐specific conditions and the comparative analyses of different aligner configurations.

In this article, the digital framework has been used to study the influence of various auxiliary elements on the loading system delivered to a maxillary and a mandibular central incisor during an orthodontic tipping movement. Numerical simulations have shown a high dependency of the orthodontic tooth movement on the auxiliary element configuration, which should then be accurately selected to maximize the aligner's effectiveness.
WLAN interference self‐optimization using som neural networks
Authors: Yao Haipeng , Yang Hao , Zhang Anqi , Fang Chao , Guo Yiru
Published: October 2016

In order to suppress the interference in local area networks, this paper presents a Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) interference self‐optimization method based on a Self‐Organizing Feature Map (SOM) neural network model. This method trains the model by using original data sets as the initial vector set and using the whole Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) vector generated by the change of one Wireless Access Point (AP) channel as the basic feature. After the training, the SOM neural network can quickly locate the fault AP and optimize the network according to the changes of the network environment. Simulation results reveal that the proposed scheme can efficiently locate the AP where interference happens and optimize the interference with an improved user experience. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A compact parallel algorithm for spherical Delaunay triangulations
Authors: Prill Florian , Zängl Günther
Published: October 2016

We present a data‐parallel algorithm for the construction of Delaunay triangulations on the sphere. Our method combines a variant of the classical Bowyer–Watson point insertion algorithm with the recently published parallelization technique by Jacobsen et al. It resolves a breakdown situation of the latter approach and is suitable for practical implementation because of its compact formulation. Some complementary aspects are discussed such as the parallel workload and floating‐point arithmetics. In a second step, the generated triangulations are reordered by a stripification algorithm. This improves cache performance and significantly reduces data‐read operations and indirect addressing in multi‐threaded stencil loops. This paper is an extended version of our Parallel Processing and Applied Mathematics conference contribution. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthetic, Optical and Theoretical Study of Alternating Ethylenedioxythiophene–Pyridine Oligomers: Evolution from Planar Conjugated to Helicoidal Structure towards a Chiral Configuration
Authors: Chevallier Floris , Charlot Marina , Mongin Florence , Champagne Benoît , Franz Edith , Clays Koen , Blanchard‐Desce Mireille
Published: October 2016

A series of alternating 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene–alkynylpyridine oligomers (DA)n with increased solubility are synthesized and their photophysical properties and nonlinear optical properties are investigated. Their quadratic polarizabilities are determined from hyper‐Rayleigh scattering experiments to obtain information on their conformations in solution. These chromophores, based on the alternation of electron‐rich (D) and electron‐deficient (A) moieties, exhibit optical properties that arise from the combination of dipolar and helicoidal features in the (DA)n homologue series where n=1–4. The transition from dipolar conjugated planar structures (n=1, 2) to helicoidal structures (n=3, 4) is clearly evidenced by results from symmetry‐sensitive second‐order nonlinear optical experiments. This suggests an approach towards highly efficient chiral chromophores for second‐order nonlinear optics. Interestingly, this structural evolution also has significant impact on the photophysical properties: both absorption and fluorescence emission show bathochromic and hyperchromic shifts with increasing number of repeating units in the dipolar planar derivatives (n=1–2) but show saturation effects in the helicoidal structures (n=2–4). In addition, the helicoidal structures show sizeable two‐photon absorption at 700–750 nm (40–100 GM) for compounds lacking either electron‐donating or electron‐withdrawing substituents.
Evidence of NI‐0101 pharmacological activity, an anti‐TLR4 antibody, in a randomized phase I dose escalation study in healthy volunteers receiving LPS
Authors: Monnet E , Lapeyre G , Poelgeest E van , Jacqmin P , Graaf K de , Reijers J , Moerland M , Burggraaf J , Min C de
Published: October 2016

Toll‐like receptor‐4 (TLR4) pathways are major contributors to pathological inflammatory responses induced by tissue damage. NI‐0101 is the first monoclonal antibody (mAb) blocking TLR4 signaling. This activity is independent of the ligand type and concentration, therefore, potentially blocking any TLR4 ligands. A phase I single ascending dose study was conducted in 73 healthy volunteers to evaluate NI‐0101 tolerability, preliminary safety, pharmacokinetics (PKs), and pharmacodynamics (PDs), in absence and in presence of a systemic challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a TLR4 ligand. NI‐0101 was well tolerated without safety concern. The PK profile was characterized by a half‐life of ∼10 days at high concentrations and by a rapid elimination at low concentrations due to expected target‐mediated drug disposition. NI‐0101 prevented cytokine release following ex vivo and in vivo LPS administration and prevented the C‐reactive protein (CRP) increase and the occurrence of flu‐like symptoms expected following the in vivo administration of LPS.
Clinical Development of Cell Therapies: Setting the Stage for Academic Success
Authors: Abou‐El‐Enein M , Volk H‐D , Reinke P
Published: October 2016

Cellular therapies have potential to treat a wide range of diseases with autologous immunotherapies showing unprecedented therapeutic promise in clinical trials. Such therapies are mainly developed by academic researchers applying small‐scale production, targeting rare and unmet medical needs. Here, we highlight the clinical translation of immunotherapy product in an academic setting, which may serve as a success model for early academic development of cell‐based therapeutics.
Development and Validation of Algorithms for the Detection of Statin Myopathy Signals From Electronic Medical Records
Authors: Chan SL , Tham MY , Tan SH , Loke C , Foo BPQ , Fan Y , Ang PS , Brunham LR , Sung C
Published: October 2016

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate sensitive algorithms to detect hospitalized statin‐induced myopathy (SIM) cases from electronic medical records (EMRs). We developed four algorithms on a training set of 31,211 patient records from a large tertiary hospital. We determined the performance of these algorithms against manually curated records. The best algorithm used a combination of elevated creatine kinase (>4× the upper limit of normal (ULN)), discharge summary, diagnosis, and absence of statin in discharge medications. This algorithm achieved a positive predictive value of 52–71% and a sensitivity of 72–78% on two validation sets of >30,000 records each. Using this algorithm, the incidence of SIM was estimated at 0.18%. This algorithm captured three times more rhabdomyolysis cases than spontaneous reports (95% vs. 30% of manually curated gold standard cases). Our results show the potential power of utilizing data and text mining of EMRs to enhance pharmacovigilance activities.
3D Cathodes of Cupric Oxide Nanosheets Coated onto Macroporous Antimony‐Doped Tin Oxide for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
Authors: Wang Xu‐Dong , Xu Yang‐Fan , Chen Bai‐Xue , Zhou Ning , Chen Hong‐Yan , Kuang Dai‐Bin , Su Cheng‐Yong
Published: October 2016

Cupric oxide (CuO), a narrow‐bandgap semiconductor, has a band alignment that makes it an ideal photocathode for the renewable production of solar fuels. However, the photoelectrochemical performance of CuO is limited by its poor conductivity and short electron diffusion lengths. Herein, a three‐dimensional (3D) architecture consisting of CuO nanosheets supported onto transparent conducting macroporous antimony‐doped tin oxide (mpATO@CuONSs) is designed as an excellent photocathode for promoting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Owing to the 3D structure affording superior light‐harvesting characteristics, large contact areas with the electrolyte, and highly conductive pathways for separation and transport of charge carriers, the mpATO@CuONSs photocathode produces an impressively high photocurrent density of −4.6 mA cm−2 at 0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which is much higher than that of the CuONSs array onto planar FTO glass (−1.9 mA cm−2).
A 0.008‐mm2, 35‐μW, 8.87‐ps‐resolution CMOS time‐to‐digital converter using dual‐slope architecture
Authors: Kim Yeomyung , Shon Doohyun , Kim Tae Wook
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a high resolution time‐to‐digital converter (TDC) for low‐area applications. To achieve both high resolution and low circuit area, we propose a dual‐slope voltage‐domain TDC, which is composed of a time‐to‐voltage converter (TVC) and an analog‐to‐digital converter (ADC). In the TVC, a current source and a capacitor are used to make the circuit as simple as possible. For the same reason, a single‐slope ADC, which is commonly used for compact area ADC applications, is adapted and optimized. Because the main non‐linearity occurs in the current source of the TVC and the ramp generator of the ADC, a double gain‐boosting current source is applied to overcome the low output impedance of the current source in the sub‐100‐nm CMOS process. The prototype TDC is implemented using a 65‐nm CMOS process, and occupies only 0.008 mm2. The measurement result shows a dynamic range with an 8‐bit 8.86‐ps resolution and an integrated non‐linearity of ±1.25 LSB. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Healing Faith: A Qualitative Exploration of Latina Breast Cancer Survivors
Authors: Barden Sejal M. , Gutierrez Daniel , Gonzalez Jessica , Ali Shainna
Published: October 2016

Latina cancer survivors report higher levels of distress and depression and lower levels of social quality of life and overall health‐related quality of life when compared with all other cancer survivors. Cultural values influence cancer survivorship; however, little research to date has examined how aspects of the Latina culture may be healing during the cancer journey. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present findings from a qualitative study exploring the influence of culture on quality of life for Latina breast cancer survivors. The authors use consensual qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of Latina breast cancer survivors.
Minocycline causes widespread cell death and increases microglial labeling in the neonatal mouse brain
Authors: Strahan J. Alex , Walker William H. , Montgomery Taylor R. , Forger Nancy G.
Published: October 2016

Minocycline, an antibiotic of the tetracycline family, inhibits microglia in many paradigms and is among the most commonly used tools for examining the role of microglia in physiological processes. Microglia may play an active role in triggering developmental neuronal cell death, although findings have been contradictory. To determine whether microglia influence developmental cell death, we treated perinatal mice with minocycline (45 mg/kg) and quantified effects on dying cells and microglial labeling using immunohistochemistry for activated caspase‐3 (AC3) and ionized calcium‐binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), respectively. Contrary to our expectations, minocycline treatment from embryonic day 18 to postnatal day (P)1 caused a > tenfold increase in cell death 8 h after the last injection in all brain regions examined, including the primary sensory cortex, septum, hippocampus and hypothalamus. Iba1 labeling was also increased in most regions. Similar effects, although of smaller magnitude, were seen when treatment was delayed to P3–P5. Minocycline treatment from P3 to P5 also decreased overall cell number in the septum at weaning, suggesting lasting effects of the neonatal exposure. When administered at lower doses (4.5 or 22.5 mg/kg), or at the same dose 1 week later (P10‐P12), minocycline no longer increased microglial markers or cell death. Taken together, the most commonly used microglial “inhibitor” increases cell death and Iba1 labeling in the neonatal mouse brain. Minocycline is used clinically in infant and pediatric populations; caution is warrented when using minocycline in developing animals, or extrapolating the effects of this drug across ages. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 753–766, 2017
Mass spectrometric characterisation of darbepoetin alfa biosimilars with C‐terminal arginine residues
Authors: Okano Masato , Sato Mitsuhiko , Kageyama Shinji
Published: October 2016

Human erythropoietin (EPO) and recombinant human EPO (rEPO) are approximately 30‐kDa glycosylated proteins comprising 165 amino acids. Darbepoetin alfa (NESP) is a glycosylated protein encompassing five changes in the amino acid sequence of human EPO, which contains two extra sugar chains. NESP is under patent protection in the USA until May 2024 and in Europe until July 2016, which suggests that the number of NESP biosimilars might substantially increase. The detailed characterisation of biosimilar products are required to ensure the identity and purity of the biosimilar products in terms of safety and efficacy for patients. In this study, a mass spectrometric characterisation of NESP biosimilar products is demonstrated. The study comprises a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry characterisation for the asialo‐NESPs after sialidase digestion and primary structure characterisation using bottom‐up analysis after endoproteinase Glu‐C digestion of the core protein. The study revealed that there was a wide range of glycoforms spaced by 365 Da intervals, namely, HexHexNAc units, which indicated that NESP biosimilars likely contained more N‐acetyllactosamine units in their molecules. The bottom‐up analysis also showed that the NESP biosimilars, as well as a rEPO biosimilar, contain not only the des‐arginine product but also the C‐terminal arginine product comprising 166 amino acids, whereas the innovator products contain des‐arginine EPO comprising only 165 amino acids. The C‐terminal arginine EPO would be used as a potential marker for doping with EPO bisimilaras. These findings also point to a need for the investigation of immunogenicity and comparability for the biosimilar products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Discordant genotyping results using DNA isolated from anti‐doping control urine samples
Authors: Choong Eva , Schulze Jenny J , Ericsson Magnus , Rane Anders , Ekström Lena
Published: October 2016

The UGT2B17 gene deletion polymorphism is known to correlate to urinary concentration of testosterone‐glucuronide and hence this genotype exerts a large impact on the testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio, a biomarker for testosterone doping. The objective of this study was to assess if DNA isolated from athletes’ urine samples (n = 713) obtained in routine doping controls could be targeted for genotyping analysis for future integration in the athlete's passport. A control population (n = 21) including both urine and blood DNA was used for genotyping concordance test. Another aim was to study a large group (n = 596) of authentic elite athletes in respect of urinary steroid profile in relation to genetic variation. First we found that the genotype results when using urine‐derived DNA did not correlate sufficiently with the genotype obtained from whole blood DNA. Secondly we found males with one or two UGT2B17 alleles had higher T/E (mean 1.63 ± 0.93) than females (mean 1.28 ± 1.08), p˂0.001. Unexpectedly, we found that several male del/del athletes in power sports had a T/E ˃1. If men in power sport exert a different urinary steroid profile needs to be further investigated. The other polymorphisms investigated in the CYP17A1, UGT2B7 and UGT2B15 genes did not show any associations with testosterone and epitestosterone concentrations. Our results show that genotyping using urine samples according to our method is not useful in an anti‐doping setting. Instead, it is of importance for the anti‐doping test programs to include baseline values in the ABP to minimize any putative impact of genotype. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Landscape genetic approaches to guide native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
Authors: Shryock Daniel F. , Havrilla Caroline A. , DeFalco Lesley A. , Esque Todd C. , Custer Nathan A. , Wood Troy E.
Published: October 2016

Restoring dryland ecosystems is a global challenge due to synergistic drivers of disturbance coupled with unpredictable environmental conditions. Dryland plant species have evolved complex life‐history strategies to cope with fluctuating resources and climatic extremes. Although rarely quantified, local adaptation is likely widespread among these species and potentially influences restoration outcomes. The common practice of reintroducing propagules to restore dryland ecosystems, often across large spatial scales, compels evaluation of adaptive divergence within these species. Such evaluations are critical to understanding the consequences of large‐scale manipulation of gene flow and to predicting success of restoration efforts. However, genetic information for species of interest can be difficult and expensive to obtain through traditional common garden experiments. Recent advances in landscape genetics offer marker‐based approaches for identifying environmental drivers of adaptive genetic variability in non‐model species, but tools are still needed to link these approaches with practical aspects of ecological restoration. Here, we combine spatially explicit landscape genetics models with flexible visualization tools to demonstrate how cost‐effective evaluations of adaptive genetic divergence can facilitate implementation of different seed sourcing strategies in ecological restoration. We apply these methods to Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers genotyped in two Mojave Desert shrub species of high restoration importance: the long‐lived, wind‐pollinated gymnosperm Ephedra nevadensis, and the short‐lived, insect‐pollinated angiosperm Sphaeralcea ambigua. Mean annual temperature was identified as an important driver of adaptive genetic divergence for both species. Ephedra showed stronger adaptive divergence with respect to precipitation variability, while temperature variability and precipitation averages explained a larger fraction of adaptive divergence in Sphaeralcea. We describe multivariate statistical approaches for interpolating spatial patterns of adaptive divergence while accounting for potential bias due to neutral genetic structure. Through a spatial bootstrapping procedure, we also visualize patterns in the magnitude of model uncertainty. Finally, we introduce an interactive, distance‐based mapping approach that explicitly links marker‐based models of adaptive divergence with local or admixture seed sourcing strategies, promoting effective native plant restoration.
Land‐use change promotes avian diversity at the expense of species with unique traits
Authors: Coetzee Bernard W. T. , Chown Steven L.
Published: October 2016

Land‐use change may alter both species diversity and species functional diversity patterns. To test the idea that species diversity and functional diversity changes respond in differing ways to land‐use changes, we characterize the form of the change in bird assemblages and species functional traits along an intensifying gradient of land use in the savanna biome in a historically homogeneous vegetation type in Phalaborwa, South Africa. A section of this vegetation type has been untransformed, and the remainder is now mainly characterized by urban and subsistence agricultural areas. Using morphometric, foraging and breeding functional traits of birds, we estimate functional diversity changes. Bird species richness and abundance are generally higher in urban and subsistence agricultural land uses, as well as in the habitat matrix connecting these regions, than in the untransformed area, a pattern mainly driven through species replacement. Functionally unique species, particularly ground nesters of large body size, were, however, less abundant in more utilized land uses. For a previously homogenous vegetation type, declines in the seasonality of energy availability under land‐use change have led to an increase in local avian diversity, promoting the turnover of species, but reduced the abundance of functionally unique species. Although there is no simple relationship between land‐use and diversity change, land‐use change may suit some species, but such change may also involve functional homogenization.
Filling the interspace—restoring arid land mosses: source populations, organic matter, and overwintering govern success
Authors: Condon Lea A. , Pyke David A.
Published: October 2016

Biological soil crusts contribute to ecosystem functions and occupy space that could be available to invasive annual grasses. Given disturbances in the semiarid shrub steppe communities, we embarked on a set of studies to investigate restoration potential of mosses in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. We examined establishment and growth of two moss species common to the Great Basin, USA: Bryum argenteum and Syntrichia ruralis from two environmental settings (warm dry vs. cool moist). Moss fragments were inoculated into a third warm dry setting, on bare soil in spring and fall, both with and without a jute net and with and without spring irrigation. Moss cover was monitored in spring seasons of three consecutive years. Both moss species increased in cover over the winter. When Bryum received spring irrigation that was out of sync with natural precipitation patterns, moss cover increased and then crashed, taking two seasons to recover. Syntrichia did not respond to the irrigation treatment. The addition of jute net increased moss cover under all conditions, except Syntrichia following fall inoculation, which required a second winter to increase in cover. The warm dry population of Bryum combined with jute achieved on average 60% cover compared to the cool moist population that achieved only 28% cover by the end of the study. Differences were less pronounced for Syntrichia where moss from the warm dry population with jute achieved on average 51% cover compared to the cool moist population that achieved 43% cover by the end of the study. Restoration of arid land mosses may quickly protect soils from erosion while occupying sites before invasive plants. We show that higher moss cover will be achieved quickly with the addition of organic matter and when moss fragments originate from sites with a climate that is similar to that of the restoration site.
Species–area relationships and additive partitioning of diversity of native and nonnative herpetofauna of the West Indies
Authors: Gao De , Perry Gad
Published: October 2016

To evaluate the regional biogeographical patterns of West Indian native and nonnative herpetofauna, we derived and updated data on the presence/absence of all herpetofauna in this region from the recently published reviews. We divided the records into 24 taxonomic groups and classified each species as native or nonnative at each locality. For each taxonomic group and in aggregate, we then assessed the following: (1) multiple species–area relationship (SAR) models; (2)C‐ andZ‐values, typically interpreted to represent insularity or dispersal ability; and (3) the average diversity of islands, among‐island heterogeneity, γ‐diversity, and the contribution of area effect toward explaining among‐island heterogeneity using additive diversity partitioning approach. We found the following: (1)SARs were best modeled using the Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino relationships; (2) the Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino regressions displayed both convex and sigmoid curves; and (3) the Cumulative Weibull regressions were more conservative than Lomolino at displaying sigmoid curves within the range of island size studied. TheZ‐value of all herpetofauna was overestimated by Darlington (Zoogeography: The geographic distribution of animals, John Wiley, New York, 1957), andZ‐values were ranked: (1) native > nonnative; (2) reptiles > amphibians; (3) snake > lizard > frog > turtle > crocodilian; and (4) increased from lower‐ to higher‐level taxonomic groups. Additive diversity partitioning showed that area had a weaker effect on explaining the among‐island heterogeneity for nonnative species than for native species. Our findings imply that the flexibility of Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino has been underappreciated in the literature.Z‐value is an average of different slopes from different scales and could be artificially overestimated due to oversampling islands of intermediate to large size. Lower extinction rate, higher colonization, and more in situ speciation could contribute to high richness of native species on large islands, enlarging area effect on explaining the between‐island heterogeneity for native species, whereas economic isolation on large islands could decrease the predicted richness, lowering the area effect for nonnative species. For most of the small islands less affected by human activities, extinction and dispersal limitation are the primary processes producing low species richness pattern, which decreases the overall average diversity with a large among‐island heterogeneity corresponding to the high value of this region as a biodiversity hotspot.
Physiological responses of two moss species to the combined stress of water deficit and elevated N deposition (II): Carbon and nitrogen metabolism
Authors: Liu Bin‐yang , Lei Chun‐yi , Jin Jian‐hua , Guan Yi‐yun , Li Shan , Zhang Yi‐shun , Liu Wei‐qiu
Published: October 2016

Nitrogen (N) deposition levels and frequencies of extreme drought events are increasing globally. In efforts to improve understanding of plants' responses to associated stresses, we have investigated responses of mosses to drought under elevated nitrogen conditions. More specifically, we exposed Pogonatum cirratum subsp. fuscatum and Hypnum plumaeforme to various nitrate (KNO3) or ammonium (NH4Cl) treatments, with and without water deficit stress and monitored indices related to carbon (C) and N metabolism both immediately after the stress and after a short recovery period. The results show that N application stimulated both C and N assimilation activities, including ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase, glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase (GS/GOGAT), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activities, while water deficit inhibited C and N assimilation. The mosses could resist stress caused by excess N and water deficit by increasing their photorespiration activity and proline (Pro) contents. However, N supply increased their sensitivity to water stress, causing sharper reductions in C and N assimilation rates, and further increases in photorespiration and Pro contents, indicating more serious oxidative or osmotic stress in the mosses. In addition, there were interspecific differences in N assimilation pathways, as the GS/GOGAT and GDH pathways were the preferentially used ammonium assimilation pathways in P. cirratum and H. plumaeforme when stressed, respectively. After rehydration, both mosses exhibited overcompensation effects for most C and N assimilation activities, but when supplied with N, the activities were generally restored to previous levels (or less), indicating that N supply reduced their ability to recover from water deficit stress. In conclusion, mosses can tolerate a certain degree of water deficit stress and possess some resilience to environmental fluctuations, but elevated N deposition reduces their tolerance and ability to recover.
Rate of forcing and the forecastability of critical transitions
Authors: Clements Christopher F. , Ozgul Arpat
Published: October 2016

Critical transitions are qualitative changes of state that occur when a stochastic dynamical system is forced through a critical point. Many critical transitions are preceded by characteristic fluctuations that may serve as model‐independent early warning signals, implying that these events may be predictable in applications ranging from physics to biology. In nonbiological systems, the strength of such early warning signals has been shown partly to be determined by the speed at which the transition occurs. It is currently unknown whether biological systems, which are inherently high dimensional and typically display low signal‐to‐noise ratios, also exhibit this property, which would have important implications for how ecosystems are managed, particularly where the forces exerted on a system are anthropogenic. We examine whether the rate of forcing can alter the strength of early warning signals in (1) a model exhibiting a fold bifurcation where a state shift is driven by the harvesting of individuals, and (2) a model exhibiting a transcritical bifurcation where a state shift is driven by increased grazing pressure. These models predict that the rate of forcing can alter the detectability of early warning signals regardless of the underlying bifurcation the system exhibits, but that this result may be more pronounced in fold bifurcations. These findings have important implications for the management of biological populations, particularly harvested systems such as fisheries, and suggest that knowing the class of bifurcations a system will manifest may help discriminate between true‐positive and false‐positive signals.
Whole‐tree sap flux in Quercus serrata trees after three levels of partial sapwood removal to simulate Japanese oak wilt
Authors: Chandrathilake G. G. T. , Tanaka Nobuaki , Kamata Naoto
Published: October 2016

Plant transpiration plays a key role in the hydrological cycle in forested watersheds. Oak trees infested with Japanese oak wilt may show changes in transpiration even if they are still alive. However, to our knowledge, no study has shown changes in transpiration and its threshold for tree weakening. We hypothesized that whole‐tree sap flux would be reduced in surviving oak trunks owing to sapwood dysfunction; however, part of this reduction would be compensated by enhanced sap flux density (Fd) in the remaining functioning sapwood. To test this hypothesis, 25%, 50%, and 75% of sapwood was removed at breast height to simulate xylem dysfunction for nine Quercus serrata trees in a warm‐temperate secondary forest in Japan. Granier probes were used to measure the Fd of the treated and three control trees before and after the treatment. Even though tested trees were still alive until at least the end of the second growing season, external symptoms of weakening were detected in 75% treated trees. Analysis using a linear mixed model showed that whole‐tree sap flux was significantly reduced in all treatments. However, 25% and 50% treated trees showed significant Fd compensation, whereas 75% treated trees showed significantly smaller whole‐tree sap flux than the value expected from the treatment. These results suggest that the threshold of tree weakening lies between 50% and 75% of sapwood removal, above which the Fd compensation cannot be attained. Therefore, whole‐tree sap flux in infested but surviving trees varies with respect to the intensity of sapwood damage.
Are historical fire regimes compatible with future climate? Implications for forest restoration
Authors: Flatley William T. , Fulé Peter Z.
Published: October 2016

The restoration of historical fire regimes is often a primary objective in the conservation of fire‐adapted forests. However, individual species' responses to future climate change may uncouple historical vegetation–disturbance relationships, producing potentially negative ecological consequences to fire restoration. We used a landscape simulation model to assess how forest pattern will respond to future climate regimes and whether the restoration of historical fire regimes will benefit forest conservation under future climate regimes. Our study landscape was the 335,000‐ha Kaibab Plateau at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon spanning a broad elevation‐vegetation gradient of pinyon‐juniper, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and spruce‐fir forests along with a range of associated fire regimes. We employed a novel multimodel landscape simulation approach using the Climate‐Forest Vegetation Simulator to estimate individual tree species climate responses and LANDIS‐II to simulate spatial patterns of fire disturbance, forest growth, regeneration, succession, and dispersal. Model simulations included three climate scenarios (no change, moderate change, and high change) and two fire scenarios (fire exclusion and fire restoration). The climate change scenarios produced declines in mean forest aboveground biomass (AGB) and a compositional turnover equal to one or two vegetation zones, approximating the vegetation displacement that occurred in this location during the Holocene. Fire restoration resulted in earlier, but roughly equivalent, AGB declines and compositional change. Uphill species migration in some elevation zones produced tree species–fire regime mismatches that promoted state changes and increased nonforest area. Regardless of fire management approach, our simulations project that the Kaibab Plateau will eventually be dominated by pinyon–juniper, oak, and ponderosa pine forest types, with a complete loss of mesic conifer species. Our results indicate that fire managers will have to be flexible with the application of historical fire regimes to avoid regeneration failures and abrupt declines in biomass.
Rhenium Complexes Based on an N2O Tridentate Click Scaffold: From Synthesis, Structural and Theoretical Characterization to a Radiolabelling Study
Authors: Eychenne Romain , Guizani Sihem , Wang Jin‐Hui , Picard Claude , Malek Nadia , Fabre Paul‐Louis , Wolff Mariusz , Machura Barbara , Saffon Nathalie , Lepareur Nicolas , Benoist Eric
Published: October 2016

A general synthetic approach to a novel range of semirigid bifunctional chelating agents (BCAs) that include an aromatic ring and a triazolyl moiety in the chelating unit has been investigated for the fac‐[M(CO)3]+ core (M = 185/187Re or 188Re). The strategy includes the facile preparation of these N2O ligands bearing various functionalized arms (carboxylate, terminal alkyne, aromatic amine). The reaction of commercial [Re(CO)5Cl] {or a freshly prepared [Re(OH2)3(CO)3]+ precursor} with our BCAs in methanol led to the formation of stable neutral tricarbonylrhenium complexes of general formula [Re(CO)3(L)] (LH = 5, 10, 11) in high yields. These compounds were characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electrochemistry, and X‐ray crystallography for [Re(CO)3(5–H)] and [Re(CO)3(11–H)] as well as by DFT calculations. The analogous rhenium‐188 complexes [188Re(CO)3(5)] and [188Re(CO)3(11–H)] were also prepared, in acceptable to excellent yields, by the reaction of 5 or 11 with the fac‐[188Re(OH2)3(CO)3]+ precursor in methanol at 80 °C. The structural identities of the radioactive complexes were assessed by HPLC studies. The good affinity of these click ligands for the ReI core combined with the ease of their derivatization make this chelating system promising for the conception of target‐specific radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic purposes.
Synthesis of the Carbazole Scaffold Directly from 2‐Aminobiphenyl by Means of Tandem C–H Activation and C–N Bond Formation
Authors: Bjørsvik Hans‐René , Elumalai Vijayaragavan
Published: October 2016

An efficient method for the synthesis of the carbazole scaffold was designed and investigated. The method was developed to produce substituted carbazoles by an intramolecular combination of a free amine group and an arene. The steps of the method involved tandem Pd‐catalyzed C–H activation and intramolecular C–N bond formation. The method showed good functional group tolerance, and substituent(s) could be on either of the two rings or on both of the two rings of the 2‐aminobiphenyl substrate. After ring closure, the reduced Pd catalyst was oxidized to PdII by hydrogen peroxide. The novel method was also demonstrated to operate excellently with the corresponding 2‐N‐acetylaminobiphenyls.
Lessons Learned During Spiroketalization Experiments: Progress and Setbacks in the Preparation of Oxygenated Rubromycins and Synthesis of 3′‐Deoxyheliquinomycinone
Authors: Wilsdorf Michael , Sörgel Sebastian , Reissig Hans‐Ulrich
Published: October 2016

In this account we disclose our results on the synthesis of 3‐hydroxy‐substituted rubromycin derivatives. We reevaluate our methoxyallene‐based first‐generation approach to this class of natural products, that so far suffered from a notoriously inefficient late‐stage spiroketalization step. While resuming model studies we recognized that the success of this acid‐mediated key transformation is highly solvent‐dependent. Methanol turned out to be the solvent of choice. With one substrate an unexpected intramolecular Friedel–Crafts‐type alkylation provided an interesting hexacyclic side‐product. Based on these observations and with several adjustments to the synthetic route, but still maintaining the original retrosynthetic strategy, here we present a second‐generation approach that eventually allowed the preparation of several rubromycin derivatives (on an up to >100 mg scale) for the first time.
Effects of pongamia methyl esters and its blends on a diesel engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics
Authors: Sivakumar M. , Shanmugasundaram N. , Rameshkumar R. , Syed Thasthagir M.
Published: October 2016

The investigation of biodiesel and its blends were carried out in order to control the problem of depletion of fossil fuels and environmental degradation. From this study, we are also able to find out the effect of biodiesel derived from non edible oil of pongamia oil and its blends on performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a single cylinder compression ignition diesel engine. Experimental tests were conducted at various load conditions for evaluating the behavior of various proportions of biodiesel blends and with diesel. The engine parameters such as brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), exhaust gas temperature and the products of emitted smoke like carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydrocarbon (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), smoke opacity were measured and evaluated. The brake thermal efficiency of blends B20 and B30 with diesel were marginally increased than diesel and brake specific fuel consumption was higher than that of diesel. The HC and CO emissions were reduced while running an engine with blends B20 and B30. Smoke opacity was found to be lower with biodiesel and its blends when compared to diesel. The emission of NOx from all biodiesel and its blends were higher than diesel. The combustion characteristics of biodiesel and its blends were almost identical to that of diesel. From this investigation, it can be concluded that biodiesel derived from pongamia oil and its blends were up to 30% by volume (B30) could be used in conventional diesel engine without any modification. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 269–276, 2017
Study of a new hydraulic pumping unit based on the offshore platform
Authors: Yu Yanqun , Chang Zongyu , Qi Yaoguang , Xue Xin , Zhao Jiannan
Published: October 2016

This article introduces a new technology about a rod pumping in the offshore platform according to the demand of offshore heavy oil thermal recovery and the production of stripper well, analyzes the research status of hydraulic pumping unit at home and abroad, and designs a new kind of miniature hydraulic pumping unit with long‐stroke, low pumping speed and compact structure to resolve the problem of space limitation. The article also describes the whole structure and the working principle of this pumping unit, determines the choice of stroke and rate of the pumping unit, and establishes mathematical models based on the polished rod loads. A new composite hydraulic cylinder with a special structure was designed by combining the hydraulic cylinder with the energy accumulator. This composite hydraulic cylinder is applied on land, and the model prototype runs smoothly, which indicates that the whole structure design of the pumping unit is reasonable and the control strategy is correct.