bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
What's stopping you? Variability of interstate highways as barriers for four species of terrestrial rodents
Authors: Hennessy Cecilia , Tsai Chia‐Chun , Anderson Sara J. , Zollner Patrick A. , Rhodes Olin E. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractLandscape features that form a barrier for one species may not be a barrier for others, depending on how each species perceives the feature. Barriers may not be equivalent, due to unique characteristics at different locations, which may ameliorate barrier effects. In this study, we employed population genetics techniques to investigate how four Rodentia species with differing life history characteristics (fox squirrels [Sciurus niger], eastern gray squirrels [Sciurus carolinensis], eastern chipmunks [Tamias striatus], and white‐footed mice [Peromyscus leucopus]) responded to interstate highways as barriers to movement at seven locations with differing site‐specific landscape features. For comparative purposes, we included control sites that lacked heavily trafficked roads. We detected genetic differentiation relative to interstate highways among the gray squirrels, chipmunks, and white‐footed mice, but signals for differentiation among those three species varied by site, suggesting that site‐specific features are important considerations for species responses to high‐traffic roads. Chipmunk and gray squirrel populations, two forest specialist species that avoid open areas, exhibited more genetic structure corresponding with highways than either white‐footed mice (a nocturnal generalist) or fox squirrels (a larger‐bodied specialist that traverses open areas more readily than the other species in this study). Fox squirrels did not exhibit genetic differentiation at any site, whereas gray squirrel study populations evinced no population differentiation at sites with bridges spanning the interstate highway. Chipmunks also exhibited population differentiation at two of the control sites, indicating that less obvious barriers in the landscape may be as important as roads for sensitive species. We interpreted variation in genetic differentiation of species across sites in the context of how interstate highway features (i.e., the presence and condition of drainage culverts and bridges near study sites), combined with species‐specific life history characteristics, influence the barrier potential of highways. Culvert presence generally corresponded with a low or nonexistent barrier effect; however, an open, large culvert (>8 m in height) may create a semi‐permeable barrier for species that avoid open areas. Bridge presence appeared to facilitate gray squirrel and chipmunk dispersal across highways.
Costs of breeding are rapidly buffered and do not affect migratory behavior in a long‐lived bird species
Authors: Ramos Raül , Llabrés Victoria , Monclús Laura , López‐Béjar Manel , González‐Solís Jacob 
Published: August 2018

AbstractLife history theory states that individual fitness in one stage of life is conditioned by what occurred in previous stages. In migratory species, reproductive effort during breeding has often been found to influence body condition, molt schedule, self‐provisioning and migration of individuals in subsequent seasons (i.e., carryover effects of breeding). However, there is a current uncertainty in understanding how long‐distance migrants trade off among such energy‐demanding activities (i.e., breeding, molting and migrating). To provide evidence to the field, we experimentally reduced the parental effort of a long‐lived Procellariform, the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis), by inducing failure at the incubation stage. Treatment and control birds were tracked during their subsequent migration by means of light‐level and immersion loggers and sampled for six specific feathers (molted at different periods along the migratory cycle) upon the recovery of the loggers 1 yr later. Feathers were used to perform stable isotope analysis (SIA) and determine corticosterone levels (CORT). By these means, we evaluated the effect of breeding effort on migratory strategy, at‐sea activity patterns, molt patterns, and levels of stress experienced by birds along the non‐breeding period. We did not detect any difference between birds in the induced failure group and successful breeders in terms of spatio‐temporal distribution: all birds shared common foraging areas throughout the study period and the timing of major phenological events did not differ. Failed birds significantly advanced their molt, as revealed by SIA and flying activity patterns. The stress levels of failed birds, inferred through CORT concentrations in feathers, were found to be consistently lower than in successful breeders, through the end of the breeding to the non‐breeding period. Thus, we provide robust evidence that the costs of reproduction can be physiologically mediated from the breeding to the non‐breeding period through molting schedules and CORT levels. However, we failed to detect clear effects on migratory behavior or subsequent breeding success, suggesting that costs of breeding in long‐lived species may be rapidly buffered during the post‐breeding period, as would be expected from life history theory.
Unravelling the brain networks driving spike‐wave discharges in genetic generalized epilepsy—common patterns and individual differences
Authors: Klamer Silke , Ethofer Thomas , Torner Franziska , Sahib Ashish Kaul , Elshahabi Adham , Marquetand Justus , Martin Pascal , Lerche Holger , Erb Michael , Focke Niels K. 
Published: August 2018

SummaryObjectiveGenetic generalized epilepsies (GGEs) are characterized by generalized spike‐wave discharges (GSWDs) in electroencephalography (EEG) recordings without underlying structural brain lesions. The origin of the epileptic activity remains unclear, although several studies have reported involvement of thalamus and default mode network (DMN). The aim of the current study was to investigate the networks involved in the generation and temporal evolution of GSWDs to elucidate the origin and propagation of the underlying generalized epileptic activity.MethodsWe examined 12 patients with GGE and GSWDs using EEG–functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and identified involved brain areas on the basis of a classical general linear model (GLM) analysis. The activation time courses of these areas were further investigated to reveal their temporal sequence of activations and deactivations. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) was used to determine the generator of GSWDs in GGE.ResultsWe observed activity changes in the thalamus, DMN, dorsal attention network (DAN), salience network (SN), basal ganglia, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and motor cortex with supplementary motor area, however, with a certain heterogeneity between patients. Investigation of the temporal sequence of activity changes showed deactivations in the DMN and DAN and activations in the SN and thalamus preceding the onset of GSWDs on EEG by several seconds. DCM analysis indicated that the DMN gates GSWDs in GGE.SignificanceThe observed interplay between DMN, DAN, SN, and thalamus may indicate a downregulation of consciousness. The DMN seems to play a leading role as a driving force behind these changes. Overall, however, there were also clear differences in activation patterns between patients, reflecting a certain heterogeneity in this cohort of GGE patients.
Seismic response of rocking frames with top support eccentricity
Authors: Dar Amitabh , Konstantinidis Dimitrios , El‐Dakhakhni Wael 
Published: August 2018

SummaryThe seismic response of rocking frames that consist of a rigid beam freely supported on rigid freestanding rectangular piers has received recent attention in the literature. Past studies have investigated the special case where, upon planar rocking motion, the beam maintains contact with the piers at their extreme edges. However, in many real scenarios, the beam‐to‐pier contact lies closer to the center of the pier, affecting the overall stability of the system. This paper investigates the seismic response of rocking frames under the more general case which allows the contact edge to reside anywhere in‐between the center of the pier and its extreme edge. The study introduces a rocking block model that is dynamically equivalent to a rocking frame with vertically symmetric piers of any geometry. The impact of top eccentricity (ie, the distance of the contact edge from the pier's vertical axis of symmetry) on the seismic response of rocking frames is investigated under pulse excitations and earthquake records. It is concluded that the stability of a top‐heavy rocking frame is highly influenced by the top eccentricity. For instance, a rocking frame with contacts at the extreme edges of the piers can be more seismically stable than a solitary block that is identical to one of the frame's piers, while a rocking frame with contacts closer to the centers of the piers can be less stable. The concept of critical eccentricity is introduced, beyond which the coefficient of restitution contributes to a greater reduction in the response of a frame than of a solitary pier.
Extracts from benthic anatoxin-producing Phormidium are toxic to 3 macroinvertebrate taxa at environmentally relevant concentrations
Authors: Anderson Brian , Voorhees Jennifer , Phillips Bryn , Fadness Rich , Stancheva Rosalina , Nichols Jeanette , Orr Daniel , Wood Susanna A. 
Published: August 2018

Abstract

Toxin-producing cyanobacteria are increasing in rivers and streams globally, leading to growing concerns over their potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The present study was designed to culture field-collected Phormidium in the laboratory, identify individual species, conduct chemical analyses to identify cyanotoxins, and conduct toxicity tests to investigate the potential for this genera to impact stream health. Freshwater toxicity tests were conducted with standard US Environmental Protection Agency invertebrate test protocols with culture water used to grow 3 Phormidium strains isolated from the Russian River (CA, USA). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays were used to measure total anatoxin concentrations. Culture waters from the 3 Phormidium strains were highly toxic to Ceriodaphnia dubia, Hyalella azteca, and Chironomus dilutus. The C. dubia 7-d survival median lethal concentrations were 0.71, 0.49, and 0.56 μg/L anatoxin for Phormidum strains 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The 7-d reproduction inhibitory concentrations, 25% were 0.55, 0.32, and 0.30 μg/L anatoxin for strains 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Chironomus dilutus survival was reduced at concentrations &lt;2 μg/L anatoxin by all 3 strains, and the H. azteca 96-h lethal concentrations, 25% were 2.82, 1.26, and 5.30 μg/L for strains 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Additional liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated that the likely anatoxin variant in these cultures was dihydro-anatoxin-a. The results suggest that anatoxins produced by Phormidium have the potential to impact stream macroinvertebrates. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2851–2859. © 2018 SETAC
Effect of elevated temperatures on concrete incorporating ferronickel slag as fine aggregate
Authors: Saha Ashish Kumer , Sarker Prabir Kumar , Majhi Subhra 
Published: August 2018

SummaryThis study evaluates the effect of elevated temperature exposure on concrete incorporating ferronickel slag (FNS) as a replacement of natural sand. Concrete cylinders were exposed up to 800°C, and the changes in compressive strength, mass, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and microstructure were investigated. The concretes containing up to 100% FNS aggregate showed no spalling and similar cracking to that of the concrete using 100% natural sand. For exposures up to 600°C, the residual strengths of concretes containing 50% FNS were 7% to 10% smaller than the concrete with 100% sand. Use of 30% fly ash as cement replacement improved residual strength by pozzolanic reaction for exposures up to 600°C. An equation has been found from the correlation between residual strength and UPV. Therefore, UPV can be used as a nondestructive test to estimate the extent of postfire damage and residual strength of concrete incorporating FNS aggregate and fly ash.
The influence of emergency signage on building evacuation behavior: An experimental study
Authors: Fu Libi , Cao Shuchao , Song Weiguo , Fang Jie 
Published: August 2018

SummaryEmergency signage is important for safe escape when unexpected events (such as fires) occur. However, there are limited data on the difference in the effect of emergency signage on way finding processes between individual and group conditions. This paper aims to reveal how participants alone or in groups detect and accept the information conveyed by a signage system through an experiment in buildings. One hundred nineteen volunteers participated in the experiment, which included individual and group evacuation conditions. There were six decision points along the movement path where participants could select egress routes according to signage. Posttrial questionnaires and video recordings were used to derive the number of participants whose route choice was according to signage and to derive the decision time. Results demonstrate that both signage detection and acceptance probabilities under individual conditions are larger than those under group situations, because of social influence in groups. High‐placed signs have a positive effect on route choice, especially under individual conditions. Decision time for participants whose decisions are principally according to signs is not always smaller than that for participants whose decisions are not according to signs, eg, in group situations. These findings have implications for group evacuation modeling and signage design in buildings.
Challenges and opportunities in implementing BIM methodology in tunnelling
Authors: Žibert Marko , Lah Martin , Saje Samo 
Published: August 2018

AbstractTunnelling differs fundamentally from mining, high rise buildings and civil surface construction in many ways, but when it comes to challenges, it combines the toughest from the three worlds. Tunnelling projects inherit uncertainties of ground conditions and constant preparedness for on‐site changes from mining; complexity, dynamics and the need for detailing from buildings; and one of the challenges that tunnels inherit from civil surface construction is definitely the complex and curved geometry. To overcome the challenges and exploit the benefits of BIM methodology on tunnelling project it is essential to harmonize particles of existing standards, guidelines, processes and tools from the three worlds.There are hundreds of specific questions arising from the BIM tunnelling pioneers: Which tool should be used? How can the efficiency of modelling and implementation of changes be increased? Which elements of the primary support structures need to be modelled? Which properties need to be assigned to elements? How to classify the elements? What to do when the performance of the software is over its limits? How should the spatial elements be used? How accurate should specific elements be modelled? And many more. Unfortunately, each of the question generates hundreds of different solutions. Thais article will tackle some of them and provide possible solutions as a result of experience from past projects with the goal of raising the discussion in a wider tunnel engineering society and consequently promoting the development and implementation of BIM methodology in tunnelling.
Numerical studies on heat transfer characteristics of graphite–water microfluid in a coiled agitated vessel
Authors: Sivashanmugam P. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractAgitation is one of the widely used chemical engineering operations involving both simultaneous heat transfers and reaction. In this study, an effort has been made to simulate experimentally studied heat transfer behavior of microfluid in an agitated vessel. Simulated Nusselt numbers were compared with experimental values and found to be in good agreement with experimental values within ±10% deviation. Simulated temperature contours clearly depicted the temperature of cooling water increases gradually along the length of helical coil from the inlet to outlet. Radial mixing was found to be more in disk turbine agitator than the propeller agitator which lead to higher heat transfer rate in disk turbine agitator confirming the experimental observation.
Predicting new snow density in the Italian Alps: A variability analysis based on 10 years of measurements
Authors: Valt Mauro , Guyennon Nicolas , Salerno Franco , Petrangeli Anna B. , Salvatori Rosamaria , Cianfarra Paola , Romano Emanuele 
Published: August 2018

AbstractDespite its strong impact on the time evolution of the snowpack, current estimation of new snow density (ρhn) is usually accomplished either by using local empirical techniques or by assuming a constant snow density. Faced with the lack of an estimation model of ρhn valid for a wide spatial scale and supported by a suitable number of observations, this study aims to develop simple monthly linear regression models at scale of the entire Italian Alpine chain based on 12,112 snowfall observations at 122 stations, using only air temperature as predictor. Moreover, the remaining variance is investigated in both time and space, also considering some qualitative features of the snowfall events. The daily ρhn measurements present a mean value of 115 kg m−3 (105 and 159 kg m−3 for dry and wet conditions, respectively). The mean air temperature of the 24 hr preceding the snowfall event has been found to be the best predictor of the ρhn, within 31% of uncertainty. The analysis of associated residues allows supporting the idea that the adoption of a more local approach than the one analysed here is not able to substantially increase the predictive capabilities of the model. In fact, the main factor explaining the remaining variance over the air temperature is the wind, but in a complex orography, as mountain regions are, supplying realistic local wind fields is particularly challenging. Therefore, we conclude that using only the daily mean temperature as predictor is a good choice for estimating daily new snow density at scale of Italian Alpine chain, as well as at more regional scale.
Stratification response of soil water content during rainfall events under different rainfall patterns
Authors: A Yinglan , Wang Guoqiang , Sun Wenchao , Xue Baolin , Kiem Anthony 
Published: August 2018

AbstractMany researchers have studied the influence of rainfall patterns on soil water movement processes using rainfall simulation experiments. However, less attention has been paid to the influence under natural condition. In this paper, rainfall, soil water content (SWC), and soil temperature at 10‐, 20‐, 30‐, 40‐, and 50‐cm depths were simultaneously monitored at 1‐min intervals to measure the variation in SWC (SWCv) in response to rainfall under different rainfall patterns. First, we classified rainfall events into four patterns. During the study period, the main pattern was the advanced rainfall pattern (38% of all rainfall events), whereas the delayed, central, and uniform rainfall patterns had similar frequencies of about 20%. During natural rainfall, rainwater rapidly passed through the top soil layers (10–40 cm) and was accumulated in the bottom layer (50 cm). When a high rainfall pulse occurred, the water storage balance was disturbed, resulting in the drainage of initial soil water from the top layers into the deeper layers. Therefore, the critical function of the top layers and the bottom layers was infiltration and storage, respectively. The source of water stored in the bottom layer was not only rainfall but also the initial soil water in the upper soil layers. Changes in soil temperature at each soil depth were comonitored with SWCv to determine the movement characteristics of soil water under different rainfall patterns. Under the delayed rainfall pattern, preferential flows preferred to occur. Under the other rainfall patterns, matrix flow was the main form of soil water movement. Rainfall amount was a better indicator than rainfall intensity for SWCv in the bottom layer under the delayed rainfall pattern. These results provide insights into the responses of SWCv under different rainfall patterns in northern China.
Contagion and interdependence in Eurozone bank and sovereign credit markets
Authors: Bratis Theodoros , Laopodis Nikiforos T. , Kouretas Georgios P. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis paper focuses on the nature of co‐movement of credit risk measured by credit default swap spreads in both banking and sovereign sectors within EMU. We test for contagion and/or interdependence across countries and across banks under the prism of the Eurozone's Financial Stability Pact. Our main results on financial stability show mostly interdependence within EMU, as expected. In contrast, contagion has only been found in some cases, the determinants of which are attributed to political risk and market risk factors.
External sources of political connections: Financial advisors and Chinese acquisitions
Authors: Bi XiaoGang , Wang Danni 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis study considers the effects of an external form of political connection, namely, politically connected financial advisors, on the value creation of Chinese acquiring firms over the period 2004–2014. Using data consisting of 1,623 Chinese mergers and acquisitions (M&As) deals, we show that politically connected financial advisors create significantly higher market value for acquiring firms, after controlling for firms' own political connections and reputation. Further analysis indicates that the appointment of political advisers can improve an acquiring firm's long‐term industry‐adjusted operating performance and help acquirers reduce bid premiums. We show that private firms and stock‐pay acquisitions are more likely to appoint politically connected financial advisors in M&A transactions, whereas our findings remain unchanged after controlling for endogeneities.
Strategy Theme—Schemes
Authors: Ding Kunlun , Makin Ian William , Bondarik Irene 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe technical activities of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) are organized under four Strategy Themes, namely Knowledge, Schemes, Basin and On‐farm. This paper was prepared in order to analyse the mandates of the working groups under the Strategy Theme—Schemes and their appraisal, vision and future directions on the theme, with recommendations for further improvements to enhance the visibility of the technical working groups and further ICID. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.