bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implication of caffeine consumption and recovery on the reproductive functions of adult male Wistar rats
Authors: Oluwole Omobola F. , Salami Shakiru A. , Ogunwole Eunice , Raji Yinusa 
Published: May 2016

AbstractBackground:This study assessed the impact of caffeine consumption and recovery on reproductive functions and fertility of Wistar rats.Methods:Thirty-five adult male Wistar rats were divided into seven groups of five rats each. Group A (control) received distilled water (vehicle), while groups B, C, and D were treated orally with 10 mg/kg body weight (BW), 20 mg/kg BW, and 40 mg/kg BW caffeine, respectively, for 30 days. Groups E, F, and G were treated orally with 10 mg/kg BW, 20 mg/kg BW, and 40 mg/kg BW caffeine, respectively, for 30 days and then allowed to recover for another 30 days.Results:Caffeine caused a decrease in body weight, while recovery groups showed appreciable increase in body weight during recovery. Relative weight of seminal vesicle, prostate, and epididymis decreased dose dependently during treatment but increased during recovery. The liver and kidney weight increased during treatment but reduced during recovery. Sperm count was significantly decreased in both treated and recovery groups. Initial decrease in sperm viability and volume was appreciably reversed during recovery period. Serum level of testosterone increased at high doses, while serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) showed significant decrease. Histological sections of testis in treated groups showed mild congestion of the interstitial blood vessel and subcapsular congestion. However, there was no subcapsular congestion in the recovery groups. All rats in both treated and recovery groups had 100% fertilization success from fertility study.Conclusions:Suggestively, caffeine treatment for 4 weeks could impair body, reproductive organs weight, sperm characteristics, LH/FSH level, and also testicular cyto-architecture. Effects appeared, however, reversible after caffeine withdrawal.
Is corporate communications kidnapping public relations?
Authors: García César 
Published: May 2016

While a number of public relations scholars and professionals view their field as synonymous with corporate communications, practitioners and theorists of the latter usually claim public relations as alma mater of their discipline yet still see corporate communications overcoming public relations. An analysis of modern literature in corporate communications unveils a battle for power in the field of relationship cultivation between scholars of corporate communications and those of public relations. This article argues that the field of public relations should have an identity based on functional, societal, and organizational goals that goes beyond the link between communication and business outcomes, such as revenues, earnings, and market share, claimed by the field of corporate communications.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Communications, career, and industry: The journey and the lessons
Authors: Chaltas Tonie 
Published: May 2016

Remarks by Tonie Chaltas, COO, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, delivered on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Summer Gala Dinner of the Master of Communications Management program, which is offered in partnership between McMaster and Syracuse Universities.©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.
Investigating Veterans’ Pre-, Peri-, and Post-Deployment Experiences as Potential Risk Factors for Problem Gambling
Authors: Whiting Seth W. , Potenza Marc N. , Park Crystal L. , McKee Sherry A. , Mazure Carolyn M. , Hoff Rani A. 
Published: May 2016

Background and aims
Gambling disorder and its comorbid diagnoses are observed at higher rates in military veterans than in the general population. A significant research gap exists regarding the relationships of veterans’ life and service experiences to problematic gambling. The present study explored pre-, peri-, and post-deployment factors associated with problem gambling in veterans.

Methods
Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (n = 738; 463 males, and 275 females) completed questionnaires via structured telephone interview. We conducted bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses exploring associations among problem-gambling severity and socio-demographic variables, psychiatric comorbidities, and 10 scales of the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory measuring experiences pre-, peri-, and post-deployment.

Results
Approximately 4.2% of veterans indicated at-risk or probable pathological gambling (ARPG) post-deployment (two or more DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling). Bivariate analyses found more severe gambling in males, higher frequencies of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance dependence, traumatic brain injury, panic disorder, and depression in veterans with ARPG, and higher general harassment during deployment, and lower social support and more stressful life events post-deployment in those with ARPG. In multivariable models, both post-deployment factors remained significantly associated with ARPG.

Discussion
The study suggests that problem gambling among veterans is related to service experiences, and particularly to life experiences post-deployment.

Conclusions
Adverse service and life experiences and lack of social support may contribute to the risk of problem gambling in military veterans. Investigation of how Veterans Affairs clinical settings may serve veterans following deployment to prevent behavioral addictions is warranted.
Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Gamers: Preliminary Results on Experimental and Self-Report Measures
Authors: Nuyens Filip , Deleuze Jory , Maurage Pierre , Griffiths Mark D. , Kuss Daria J. , Billieux Joël 
Published: May 2016

Background and aims
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have become the most popular type of video games played worldwide, superseding the playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and First-Person Shooter games. However, empirical studies focusing on the use and abuse of MOBA games are still very limited, particularly regarding impulsivity, which is an indicator of addictive states but has not yet been explored in MOBA games. In this context, the objective of the present study is to explore the associations between impulsivity and symptoms of addictive use of MOBA games in a sample of highly involved League of Legends (LoL, currently the most popular MOBA game) gamers.

Methods
Thirty-six LoL gamers were recruited and completed both experimental (Single Key Impulsivity Paradigm) and self-reported impulsivity assessments (s-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), in addition to an assessment of problematic video game use (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire).

Results
Results showed links between impulsivity-related constructs and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Findings indicated that impaired ability to postpone rewards in an experimental laboratory task was strongly related to problematic patterns of MOBA game involvement. Although less consistent, several associations were also found between self-reported impulsivity traits and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement.

Conclusions
Despite these results are preliminary and based upon a small (self-selected) sample, the present study highlights potential psychological factors related to the addictive use of MOBA games.
Quality of life as a predictor of work ability of employees of Sarajevo Tobacco Factory
Authors: Sljivo Enisa , Rudic Aida , Jusupovic Fatima 
Published: May 2016

Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate quality of life (QOL) as a predictor of work abilities of employees in a tobacco factory.Methods: The study was performed in the period between 2011 and 2012. The sample comprised of 270 workers, males and females, aged from 20-65, with different educational backgrounds. The study was performed as cross-sectional research, on a voluntary basis, using two standardized and anonymous questionnaires: The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Work Ability Index questionnaire (WAI).Results: The participants subjectively perceived high values of QOL in general, with the highest values in the area of living environment. The lowest value was in the area of social interactions. Statistically significant differences were observed in the subjective assessments of QOL, especially in three defined areas (physical health, mental health, and social interactions). Workers age 50-65 years and workers with basic (primary) level of education exhibited a suboptimal (<70%) values in total value and the values of individually defined areas of QOL.Conclusions: Strong predictors of exemplary work ability of employees are good physical and mental health, younger age, and higher level of education. A link was observed between suboptimal work ability and dissatisfaction with profession and working environment, frequent illness, absenteeism, and exposure to health risks at the workplace.
How does habitat filtering affect the detection of conspecific and phylogenetic density dependence?
Authors: Wu Junjie , Swenson Nathan G. , Brown Calum , Zhang Caicai , Yang Jie , Ci Xiuqin , Li Jie , Sha Liqing , Cao Min , Lin Luxiang 
Published: May 2016

AbstractConspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) has been recognized as a key mechanism underlying species coexistence, especially in tropical forests. Recently, some studies have reported that seedling survival is also negatively correlated with the phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors and focal individuals, termed phylogenetic negative density dependence (PNDD). In contrast to CNDD or PNDD, shared habitat requirements between closely related individuals are thought to be a cause of observed positive effects of closely related neighbors, which may affect the strength and detectability of CNDD or PNDD. In order to investigate the relative importance of these mechanisms for tropical tree seedling survival, we used generalized linear mixed models to analyze how the survival of more than 10 000 seedlings of woody plant species related to neighborhood and habitat variables in a tropical rainforest in southwest China. By comparing models with and without habitat variables, we tested how habitat filtering affected the detection of CNDD and PNDD. The best‐fitting model suggested that CNDD and habitat filtering played key roles in seedling survival, but that, contrary to our expectations, phylogenetic positive density dependence (PPDD) had a distinct and important effect. While habitat filtering affected the detection of CNDD by decreasing its apparent strength, it did not explain the positive effects of closely related neighbors. Our results demonstrate that a failure to control for habitat variables and phylogenetic relationships may obscure the importance of conspecific and heterospecific neighbor densities for seedling survival.
Resource waves: phenological diversity enhances foraging opportunities for mobile consumers
Authors: Armstrong Jonathan B. , Takimoto Gaku , Schindler Daniel E. , Hayes Matthew M. , Kauffman Matthew J. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractTime can be a limiting constraint for consumers, particularly when resource phenology mediates foraging opportunity. Though a large body of research has explored how resource phenology influences trophic interactions, this work has focused on the topics of trophic mismatch or predator swamping, which typically occur over short periods, at small spatial extents or coarse resolutions. In contrast many consumers integrate across landscape heterogeneity in resource phenology, moving to track ephemeral food sources that propagate across space as resource waves. Here we provide a conceptual framework to advance the study of phenological diversity and resource waves. We define resource waves, review evidence of their importance in recent case studies, and demonstrate their broader ecological significance with a simulation model. We found that consumers ranging from fig wasps (Chalcidoidea)to grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) exploit resource waves, integrating across phenological diversity to make resource aggregates available for much longer than their component parts. In model simulations, phenological diversity was often more important to consumer energy gain than resource abundance per se. Current ecosystem‐based management assumes that species abundance mediates the strength of trophic interactions. Our results challenge this assumption and highlight new opportunities for conservation and management. Resource waves are an emergent property of consumer–resource interactions and are broadly significant in ecology and conservation.
Climate and edaphic controllers influence rhizosphere community assembly for a wild annual grass
Authors: Nuccio Erin E. , Anderson‐Furgeson James , Estera Katerina Y. , Pett‐Ridge Jennifer , de Valpine Perry , Brodie Eoin L. , Firestone Mary K. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe interface between roots and soil, known as the rhizosphere, is a dynamic habitat in the soil ecosystem. Unraveling the factors that control rhizosphere community assembly is a key starting point for understanding the diversity of plant‐microbial interactions that occur in soil. The goals of this study were to determine how environmental factors shape rhizosphere microbial communities, such as local soil characteristics and the regional climate, and to determine the relative influence of the rhizosphere on microbial community assembly compared to the pressures imposed by the local and regional environment. We identified the bacteria present in the soil immediately adjacent to the roots of wild oat (Avena spp.) in three California grasslands using deep Illumina 16S sequencing. Rhizosphere communities were more similar to each other than to the surrounding soil communities from which they were derived, despite the fact that the grasslands studied were separated by hundreds of kilometers. The rhizosphere was the dominant factor structuring bacterial community composition (38% variance explained), and was comparable in magnitude to the combined local and regional effects (22% and 21%, respectively). Rhizosphere communities were most influenced by factors related to the regional climate (soil moisture and temperature), while background soil communities were more influenced by soil characteristics (pH, CEC, exchangeable cations, clay content). The Avena core microbiome was strongly phylogenetically clustered according to the metrics NRI and NTI, which indicates that selective processes likely shaped these communities. Furthermore, 17% of these taxa were not detectable in the background soil, even with a robust sequencing depth of approximately 70,000 sequences per sample. These results support the hypothesis that roots select less abundant or possibly rare populations in the soil microbial community, which appear to be lineages of bacteria that have made a physiological tradeoff for rhizosphere competence at the expense of their competitiveness in non‐rhizosphere soil.
Ecological and evolutionary variation in community nitrogen use traits during tropical dry forest secondary succession
Authors: Bhaskar Radika , Porder Stephen , Balvanera Patricia , Edwards Erika J. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractWe assessed the role of ecological and evolutionary processes in driving variation in leaf and litter traits related to nitrogen (N) use among tropical dry forest trees in old‐growth and secondary stands in western Mexico. Our expectation was that legumes (Fabaceae), a dominant component of the regional flora, would have consistently high leaf N and therefore structure phylogenetic variation in N‐related traits. We also expected ecological selection during succession for differences in nitrogen use strategies, and corresponding shifts in legume abundance. We used phylogenetic analyses to test for trait conservatism in foliar and litter N, C:N, and N resorption. We also evaluated differences in N‐related traits between old‐growth and secondary forests. We found a weak phylogenetic signal for all traits, partly explained by wide variation within legumes. Across taxa we observed a positive relationship between leaf and litter N, but no shift in resorption strategies along the successional gradient. Despite species turnover, N‐resorption, and N‐related traits showed little change across succession, suggesting that, at least for these traits, secondary forests rapidly recover ecosystem function. Collectively, our results also suggest that legumes should not be considered a single functional group from a biogeochemical perspective.
Reorganization of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant biodiversity after conversion to rubber plantation
Authors: Liu Cong , Guénard Benoit , Blanchard Benjamin , Peng Yan‐Qiong , Economo Evan P. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractAgricultural activity associated with habitat conversion is a major driver of biodiversity loss across the tropics. The decline of species richness is a common outcome of conversion to agricultural land use, but the associated changes in functional and phylogenetic diversities, and spatial patterns of beta diversity, are not well understood. These patterns may shed light on underlying ecological processes that are of both basic and applied interest; for example the relative roles of stochastic assembly, ecological filtering, and competition in structuring ecological communities as well as broader consequences for ecological functioning in agroecosystems. Here we investigate the effects of conversion to rubber plantation (Hevea brasiliensis), a rapidly spreading agroecosystem in Southeast Asia, on leaf‐litter ant taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversities at local and among‐sites scales in Xishuangbanna, Southeast China. We found a sharp decline of ant species richness in rubber plantations compared with nearby forest habitat, with low beta diversity indicating spatial homogeneity of communities in rubber plantations. In addition, patterns of both functional alpha and beta diversities suggested the emergence of a functionally distinct ant community in the agroecosystem compared to the forest habitats. These results support a role of ecological filtering in structuring the taxonomic and functional composition of both rubber and forest habitats. In contrast, changes in phylogenetic diversity were modest and not significantly different from random expectations despite strong phylogenetic signal of functional traits. This study highlights the need for a pluralistic approach to characterizing the loss of biodiversity in agroecosystems, as well as understanding the underlying mechanisms of community assembly driving this biodiversity loss.
Forest litterfall and its composition: a new data set of observational data from China
Authors: Jia Bingrui , Zhou Guangsheng , Xu Zhenzhu 
Published: May 2016

AbstractKnowledge of litterfall production and its allocation is important for understanding nutrient cycling and assessing productivity in forest ecosystems; however, available litterfall datasets are rare in China. Consequently, in the present study, data from published studies (1970–2014) on litterfall and its composition in forest ecosystems in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) were collected, critically reviewed, and incorporated in a comprehensive forest litterfall data set for China. The data set included the following litterfall data: leaves, branches, reproductive parts (flowers and fruits), and miscellaneous. Moreover, associated information was also included, i.e., geographical location (latitude, longitude, altitude, aspect, and slope), climate [mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP)], stand description (forest type, dominant tree species, stand origin, stand age, mean DBH, mean tree height and stand density), and data collection regime (sample frequency and date, trap size, and number). The data set included 904 entries for 168 study sites, that were distributed in various climate zones with latitudes 18.26°–51.50° N, longitudes 82.25°–129.53° E and altitudes 0–4115 m above sea level (a.s.l.), covering broad climatic gradients (−5.4 to 25.4°C in MAT and 370 to 2800 mm in MAP). The data can be used to analyze spatio‐temporal dynamics of China's forest litterfall and its allocation, understand nutrient cycling and assess productivity in forest ecosystems. Finally, the data set is freely available for noncommercial scientific applications.
"Quem falou em inferno?”: Uma análise do discurso sobre a heresia de Rob Bell
Authors: Lemos Daniel Dantas 
Published: May 2016

Este artigo se propõe a realizar uma análise do discurso acerca de hereges e rebeldes no ambiente do protestantismo evangélico brasileiro, a partir da repercussão da obra do pastor norte-americano Rob Bell no Brasil. Para tanto, selecionou como corpus de pesquisa uma entrevista concedida por Bell à revista Veja e sua repercussão junto ablogueiros evangélicos quando do lançamento de sua obra “O amor vence”, em 2012. Concluímos que quando Rob Bell decide expor ideias sobre o inferno que não se baseiam nem na autoridade da Igreja, nem em sua teologia ou tradição, adota um sentido sobre a questão que não se qualifica como legítimo ou literal. Por consequência a instituição deve lhe identificar como herege e desqualificá-lo junto ao seu potencial público leitor. Dessa maneira, buscamos entender os mecanismos de exclusão embutidos na classificação como hereges. Buscamos, também, compreender como funcionam esses mecanismos, através da análise de um caso concreto e atual. This paper proposes to conduct a discourse analysis about heretics and rebels in the Brazilian Evangelical Protestantism environment from the impact of Rob Bell's books in Brazil. To do so, we selected the corpus of research an interview by Bell to Veja magazine and its impact along the evangelical bloggers on the launch of his book "Love Wins" in 2012. We concluded that when Rob Bell decided to expose ideas about hell not based either in the Church's authority, or in their theology or tradition, he adopted a meaning on the issue that does not qualify as legitimate or literal. Consequently the institution must identify him as a heretic and disqualify you from your potential audience reader. In this way, we seek to understand the mechanisms of exclusion embedded in the standings as heretics. We seek to understand how to work these mechanisms, through the analysis of a concrete and current case.