bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of biofilm formation and migration of Streptococcus mutans on tooth roots and titanium miniscrews
Authors: Laosuwan Kittipong , Epasinghe Don Jeevanie , Wu Zhaoming , Leung Wai Keung , Green David William , Jung Han Sung 
Published: February 2018

AbstractPeriodontitis and peri‐implantitis are inflammatory diseases caused by periodontal pathogenic bacteria leading to destruction of supporting periodontal/peri‐implant tissue. However, the progression of inflammatory process of these two diseases is different. The bacterial biofilm is the source of bacteria during the inflammatory process. As the bacteria migrate down the surface of tooth or titanium implant, the inflammation spreads along with it. Streptococcus mutans has an important role in oral bacterial biofilm formation in early stage biofilm before the microbiota shift to late stage and become more virulent. The other major difference is the existence of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells in normal teeth but not in peri‐implant tissue. This study aims to compare the S. mutans bacterial biofilm formation and migration on 2 different surfaces, tooth root and titanium miniscrew. The biofilm was grown with a flow cells system to imitate the oral dynamic system with PDL cells. The migration distances were measured, and the biofilm morphology was observed. Data showed that the biofilm formation on miniscrew was slower than those on tooth root at 24 hr. However, there were no difference in the morphology of the biofilm formed on the tooth root with those formed on the miniscrew at both 24 and 48 hr. The biofilm migration rate was significantly faster on miniscrew surface compare with those on tooth root when observe at 48 hr (p < .001). There are no significant differences in biofilm migration within miniscrew group and tooth root group despite the exiting of PDL cell (p > .05). The biofilm's migration rate differences on various surfaces could be one of the factors accounting for the different inflammatory progression between periodontitis and peri‐implantitis disease.
Extraction of DNA from captive‐sourced feces and molted feathers provides a novel method for conservation management of New Zealand kiwi (Apteryxspp.)
Authors: Ramón‐Laca Ana , White Daniel J. , Weir Jason T. , Robertson Hugh A. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAlthough some taxa are increasing in number due to active management and predator control, the overall number of kiwi (Apteryxspp.) is declining. Kiwi are cryptic and rare, meaning current monitoring tools, such as call counts, radio telemetry, and surveys using detection dogs are labor‐intensive, yield small datasets, and require substantial resources or provide inaccurate estimates of population sizes. A noninvasive genetic approach could help the conservation effort. We optimized a panel of 23 genetic markers (22 autosomal microsatellite loci and an allosomal marker) to discriminate between all species of kiwi and major lineages within species, while simultaneously determining sex. Markers successfully amplified from both fecal and shed feather DNA samples collected in captivity. We found that DNA extraction was more efficient from shed feathers, but DNA quality was greater with feces, although this was sampling dependent. Our microsatellite panel was able to distinguish between contemporary kiwi populations and lineages and provided PI values in the range of 4.3 × 10−5to 2.0 × 10−19, which in some cases were sufficient for individualization and mark–recapture studies. As such, we have tested a wide‐reaching, noninvasive molecular approach that will improve conservation management by providing better parameter estimates associated with population ecology and demographics such as abundance, growth rates, and genetic diversity.
Anthropogenic food provisioning and immune phenotype: Association among supplemental food, body condition, and immunological parameters in urban environments
Authors: Hwang Jusun , Kim Yongbaek , Lee Sang‐Won , Kim Na‐Yon , Chun Myung‐Sun , Lee Hang , Gottdenker Nicole 
Published: February 2018

AbstractDirect or indirect supplemental feeding of free‐ranging animals occurs worldwide, resulting in significant impacts on population density or altered demographic processes. Another potential impact of increased energy intake from supplemental feeding is altered immunocompetence. As immune system maintenance is energetically costly, there may be trade‐offs between immune responses and other energy‐demanding physiological processes in individual animals. Although increased availability of food sources through supplemental feeding is expected to increase the overall immunocompetence of animals, empirical data verifying the association between supplemental feeding and different immune parameters are lacking. Understanding the potential influence of supplemental feeding on immune phenotypes is critical, as it may also impact host–pathogen dynamics in free‐ranging animals. Using urban stray cats as a study model, we tested for associations between the intensity of supplemental feeding due to cat caretaker activity (CCA); body condition; and immune phenotype (bacterial killing assay (BKA), immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration, and leukocyte counts). Significantly higher bacterial killing ability was observed in cats from high CCA districts, whereas higher IgG concentration and eosinophil counts were observed in cats from low CCA districts. Other leukocyte counts and body condition indices showed no significant association with CCA. We observed varying patterns of different immune components in relation to supplemental feeding. Out data suggest that supplemental feeding influences immune phenotype, not only by means of energy provisioning, but also by potentially reducing exposure rates to parasite infections through stray cat behavioral changes.
Threat of predation alters aggressive interactions among spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) larvae
Authors: Hossie Thomas J. , MacFarlane Shawn , Clement Amy , Murray Dennis L. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractIntraspecific aggression represents a major source of mortality for many animals and is often experienced alongside the threat of predation. The presence of predators can strongly influence ecological systems both directly by consuming prey and indirectly by altering prey behavior or habitat use. As such, the threat of attack by higher level predators may strongly influence agonistic interactions among conspecifics via nonconsumptive (e.g., behaviorally mediated) predator effects. We sought to investigate these interactions experimentally using larval salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) as prey and dragonfly nymphs (Anax junius) as predators. Specifically, we quantified salamander behavioral responses to perceived predation risk (PPR) from dragonfly nymphs and determined the degree to whichPPRinfluenced intraspecific aggression (i.e., intraspecific biting and cannibalism) among prey. This included examining the effects of predator exposure on the magnitude of intraspecific biting (i.e., extent of tail damage) and the resulting change in performance (i.e., burst swim speed). Salamander larvae responded toPPRby reducing activity and feeding, but did not increase refuge use. Predator exposure did not significantly influence overall survival; however, the pattern of survival differed among treatments. Larvae exposed toPPRexperienced less tail damage from conspecifics, and maximum burst swim speed declined as tail damage became more extensive. Thus, escape ability was more strongly compromised by intraspecific aggression occurring in the absence of predation risk. We conclude that multitrophic indirect effects may importantly modulate intraspecific aggression and should be considered when evaluating the effects of intraspecific competition.
Increasing connectivity between metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology
Authors: Howell Paige E. , Muths Erin , Hossack Blake R. , Sigafus Brent H. , Chandler Richard B. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractMetapopulation ecology and landscape ecology aim to understand how spatial structure influences ecological processes, yet these disciplines address the problem using fundamentally different modeling approaches. Metapopulation models describe how the spatial distribution of patches affects colonization and extinction, but often do not account for the heterogeneity in the landscape between patches. Models in landscape ecology use detailed descriptions of landscape structure, but often without considering colonization and extinction dynamics. We present a novel spatially explicit modeling framework for narrowing the divide between these disciplines to advance understanding of the effects of landscape structure on metapopulation dynamics. Unlike previous efforts, this framework allows for statistical inference on landscape resistance to colonization using empirical data. We demonstrate the approach using 11 yr of data on a threatened amphibian in a desert ecosystem. Occupancy data forLithobates chiricahuensis(Chiricahua leopard frog) were collected on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR), Arizona,USAfrom 2007 to 2017 following a reintroduction in 2003. Results indicated that colonization dynamics were influenced by both patch characteristics and landscape structure. Landscape resistance increased with increasing elevation and distance to the nearest streambed. Colonization rate was also influenced by patch quality, with semi‐permanent and permanent ponds contributing substantially more to the colonization of neighboring ponds relative to intermittent ponds. Ponds that only hold water intermittently also had the highest extinction rate. Our modeling framework can be widely applied to understand metapopulation dynamics in complex landscapes, particularly in systems in which the environment between habitat patches influences the colonization process.
Upgrading Biocrude of Grindelia Squarrosa to Jet Fuel Precursors by Aqueous Phase Hydrodeoxygenation
Authors: Yang Xiaokun , Pereira Marcus V. , Neupane Bishnu , Miller Glenn C. , Poulson Simon R. , Lin Hongfei 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBio‐jet fuel is increasingly attracting attention in attempts to reduce the environmental impacts of aviation fuels. Feedstocks like camelina, jatropha and algae have been extensively studied, and exhibit fair performance in producing low‐density hydrocarbon biofuels, mainly from triglyceride lipids. Grindelia squarrosa is a promising feedstock since the primary diterpenoid, grindelic acid with the branched tricyclic structure, is the major component in its biocrude. Herein, a heterogeneous bi‐functional catalyst, palladium with the reductive properties supported on tungstate zirconia with acidic properties and good stability in hydrothermal media, was used for the conversion of Grindelia squarrosa biocrude to potential bio‐jet fuels. Different solid acid catalyst supports and a variety of reaction conditions, such as temperature, catalyst loading, hydrogen pressure, and reaction time, were systematically investigated. At the optimum conditions, the oxygen content deceased from 18.1 % in the Grindelia squarrosa biocrude feedstock to 5.6 % in the final product, and is ready for further industrial treatment. The upgrading method utilized in this work can produce jet fuel precursors for synthesizing high‐density cyclic hydrocarbons.
Changes in the saltation flux following a step‐change in macro‐roughness
Authors: Gillies John A. , Etyemezian Vicken , Nikolich George , Nickling William G. , Kok Jasper F. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe effect of a step change in macro‐roughness on the saltation process under sediment supply limited conditions was examined in the atmospheric boundary layer. For an array of roughness elements of roughness density λ = 0.045 (λ = total element frontal area/total surface area of the array) the horizontal saltation flux was reduced by 90% (±7%) at a distance of ≈150 roughness element heights into the array. This matches the value predicted using an empirical design model and provides confidence that it can be effectively used to engineer roughness arrays to meet sand flux reduction targets. Measurements of the saltation flux characteristics in the vertical dimension, including: saltation layer decay (e‐folding) height and particle size, revealed that with increasing distance into the array, the rate of mass flux change with increasing height decreased notably, and (geometric) mean particle diameter decreased. The distribution of the saltation mass flux in the vertical remains exponential in form with increasing distance into the roughness array, and the e‐folding height increases as well as increasing at a greater rate as particle diameter diminishes. The increase in e‐folding height suggests the height of saltating particles is increasing along with their mean speed. This apparent increase in mean speed is likely due to the preferential removal, or sequestration, of the slower moving particles across the size spectrum, as they travel through the roughness array. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Making Policies about Emerging Technologies
Authors: Kaebnick Gregory E. , Gusmano Michael K. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractCan we make wise policy decisions about still‐emerging technologies—decisions that are grounded in facts yet anticipate unknowns and promote the public's preferences and values? There is a widespread feeling that we should try. There also seems to be widespread agreement that the central element in wise decisions is the assessment of benefits and costs, understood as a process that consists, at least in part, in measuring, tallying, and comparing how different outcomes would affect the public interest. But how benefits and costs are best weighed when making decisions about whether to move forward with an emerging technology is not clear. Many commentators feel that the weighing is often inadequate or inappropriate. Those who argue for a “precautionary” approach to the weighing do so precisely because they feel the need for a restraint on the dominant decision‐making tools and processes for assessing outcomes.This Hastings Center special report examines those tools and processes, taking the method known as cost‐benefit analysis as a starting point. In U.S. governance, CBA, sometimes informed by risk assessment, is the most widely used and extensively studied method, and authoritative reports on genetic and reproductive technologies often use language suggestive of cost‐benefit analysis. There is also a long‐running debate about the role of values in CBA and other formal impact assessment mechanisms—and about how those mechanisms compare to the precautionary principle. The guiding idea in the report is to engage in a close examination of the strengths and limits of CBA for ensuring that emerging technologies are used in ways that square with the public's values, drawing on applications of synthetic biology to illustrate and sharpen the analysis and then considering corrections to CBA and some alternative methodologies that handle values differently.
Demystifying Evidence‐Based Policy Analysis by Revealing Hidden Value‐Laden Constraints
Authors: Finkel Adam M. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractConsider any choice that affects some social policy. A decision that considers evidence will, at its heart, contain some kind of explicit or implicit “because” statement: “We are doing X because the evidence says Y.” But can evidence ever truly speak for itself, in the sense of being reducible to objective utterances that are either correct or in need of correction? Before answering, consider what you'd prefer. Would you rather receive evidence that was free of any value judgments imposed by human actors, that was laden with value judgments that you agree with, or laden with value judgments that you disagree with? The central assertion of this essay is that, throughout policy analysis but especially in assessments of the costs and benefits of regulating versus encouraging new technologies (cost‐benefit analysis, or CBA), the first possibility above is a mirage, and the second and third are self‐contradictory. Instead, we are overwhelmingly confronted with a fourth possibility: we receive evidence that appears to be (or is deliberately touted as) value neutral but is suffused with hidden value judgments.In the second part of this essay, entitled “A Guided Tour through Inevitable Value Judgments,” I identify in a systematic way approximately sixty‐five value judgments that are routinely (in some cases, invariably) made in CBA, but that are kept hidden. For each judgment, I discuss its genesis as it is most commonly invoked in CBA, explain how it is hidden in plain sight, and offer one or more value judgments that could be made instead of or in addition to the conventional one. The alternative judgments highlight the width of the spectrum of reasonable conclusions an analyst could reach merely by substituting other judgments for the ones currently embedded.Bringing hidden value judgments to light is doubly valuable. First, it allows discussion to ensue on a level playing field; instead of conclusory statements about what the evidence says, transparency permits statements taking the form of “when channeled through these value judgments, the evidence says this.” Perhaps more importantly, transparency about value judgments permits participants in the discussions to offer interpretations of evidence contingent on there being different value judgments chosen at one or more points in the analysis, interpretations that may suggest that alternative course(s) of action are preferable to the one being championed.
Behavioral Economics and the Public Acceptance of Synthetic Biology
Authors: Oliver Adam 
Published: February 2018

AbstractDifferent applications of synthetic biology are alike in that their possible negative consequences are highly uncertain, potentially catastrophic, and perhaps irreversible; therefore, they are also alike in that public attitudes about them are fertile ground for behavioral economic phenomena. Findings from behavioral economics suggest that people may not respond to such applications according to the normal rules of economic evaluation, by which the value of an outcome is multiplied by the mathematical probability that the outcome will occur. Possibly, then, synthetic biology applications challenge the normative postulates of the standard approach, too.I want to first consider how some of the phenomena described by behavioral economists—and behavioral scientists more broadly—might affect people's perceptions of the uncertainties associated with synthetic biology. My analysis will be far from complete, however, because behavioral economics is essentially the study of human behavior, and thus its reach is potentially vast and its development longstanding and ongoing. Nonetheless, I hope to give an indicative perspective on how some aspects of behavioral economics might affect the assessment and perceived acceptability of synthetic biology. I will then consider the issue of agency. Should policy‐makers respect people's reactions to synthetic biology when those reactions are known to be driven by behavioral economic phenomena rather than following the normative postulates of rational choice theory? Or should policy‐makers dismiss these reactions as inherently biased? I will argue that the normative force of these human reactions (probably) depends on phenomenon and context.
From CBA to Precautionary Appraisal: Practical Responses to Intractable Problems
Authors: Stirling Andrew , Coburn Josie 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThe purpose of this essay is to critically review the design of methods for ethically robust forms of technology appraisal in the regulation of research and innovation in synthetic biology. It will focus, in particular, on the extent to which cost‐benefit analysis offers a basis for informing decisions about which technological pathways to pursue and which to discourage. A further goal is to consider what (if anything) the precautionary principle might offer in enabling better decisions. And this, in turn, raises questions about why mention of precaution can excite accusations of unscientific bias or irrational, “anti‐innovation” extremism. What does the polarized debate tell us about the politics around synthetic biology? In seeking more rigorous, timely, and practical ways to govern these remarkable new technologies, what might we be missing?The sophistication, diversity, and scope of synthetic biology may seem to make it a rather idiosyncratic area for exploring these general issues. It may seem to be a special case, with the bewildering pace of change amplifying the difficulties. But at root, some of the trickiest issues are just specific instances of familiar and long‐standing conundrums in the governance of science and technology. The basic challenge is how to weigh up, for a wide range of potential options, the various pros and cons, as viewed from divergent perspectives, and find a way to justify the best course of action on behalf of society as a whole. This is the central problem addressed by a number of techniques in CBA. On the face of it, synthetic biology seems to present just one more application of these well‐established and self‐confident prescriptive methods.But there do emerge several obstinate, even prohibitive, difficulties for CBA. Although they are well acknowledged by the scholarly literature on and around this topic, they are often sidelined in practice. Yet all are central to the case for applying the concept of precaution to a field like synthetic biology. This essay will briefly explore multicriteria mapping, an appraisal method for exploring contrasting perspectives on emerging technologies, as one practical way to address them. The essay focuses on MCM, not because it presents any sort of panacea for appraisal, but because it is illustrative of the concrete implications of precaution. Setting out even just one among potentially many practical alternative methods at least refutes the last‐ditch argument that CBA is the only operational choice.
Meta‐standardization as a remedy for tensions and complexities: The case of medical service lists in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Thanh , Pham Thanh Chi , Santos Emanuel , Son Ha Thai 
Published: February 2018

AbstractStandards are vital components in building large‐scale and complex information systems, but not all standards are well functioning. Therefore, standardization, the process that produces standards, plays a crucial role in creating good standards. This paper contributes to standardization literature by presenting a case study involving negotiation and development of a standardized medical service list through mapping separated existing standards. In our conceptualization, meta‐standardization is not a project but should be perceived as an open‐ended learning process where no individual or institutions are omnipotent to foresee all the dynamics and offer a universal working solution at the first attempt. This process was part of a larger attempt to build a national electronic insurance claim system in Vietnam. We propose the concept of meta‐standardization to understand the 3 aspects of that process: convergence/differentiation, learning, and multilevel. Practical implications include the following strategies for resolving tensions and complexities: building upon what exists, organizing a learning process, and automating the standardization.