bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Varying congruence among spatial patterns of vascular plants and vertebrates based on habitat groups
Authors: Xu Haigen , Cao Yun , Cao Mingchang , Wu Jun , Wu Yi , Le Zhifang , Cui Peng , Li Jiaqi , Ma Fangzhou , Liu Li , Hu Feilong , Chen Mengmeng , Tong Wenjun 
Published: September 2017

AbstractProxies are adopted to represent biodiversity patterns due to inadequate information for all taxa. Despite the wide use of proxies, their efficacy remains unclear. Previous analyses focused on overall species richness for fewer groups, affecting the generality and depth of inference. Biological taxa often exhibit very different habitat preferences. Habitat groupings may be an appropriate approach to advancing the study of richness patterns. Diverse geographical patterns of species richness and their potential mechanisms were then examined for habitat groups. We used a database of the spatial distribution of 32,824 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants from 2,376 counties across China, divided the five taxa into 30 habitat groups, calculated Spearman correlations of species richness among taxa and habitat groups, and tested five hypotheses about richness patterns using multivariate models. We identified one major group [i.e., forest‐ and shrub‐dependent (FS) groups], and some minor groups such as grassland‐dependent vertebrates and desert‐dependent vertebrates. There were mostly high or moderate correlations among FS groups, but mostly low or moderate correlations among other habitat groups. The prominent variables differed among habitat groups of the same taxon, such as birds and reptiles. The sets of predictors were also different within the same habitat, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts. Average correlations among the same habitat groups of vertebrates and among habitat groups of a single taxon were low or moderate, except correlations among FS groups. The sets of prominent variables of species richness differed strongly among habitat groups, although elevation range was the most important variable for most FS groups. The ecological and evolutionary processes that underpin richness patterns might be disparate among different habitat groups. Appropriate groupings based on habitats could reveal important patterns of richness gradients and valuable biodiversity components.
Genetic mating system and mate selection in smallmouth bass
Authors: Franckowiak Ryan P. , Ridgway Mark S. , Wilson Chris C. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractMating systems are an important factor influencing the variance in reproductive success among individuals within natural populations and thus have important ecological and evolutionary implications. We used molecular pedigree reconstruction techniques with microsatellite DNA data to characterize the genetic mating system and mate selection in adult smallmouth bass spawning in Lake Opeongo. The genetic mating system of smallmouth bass in this system can be characterized as predominantly monogamous with a low rate of polygynandry particularly among larger individuals. Iteroparous individuals showed a complete absence of interannual mate fidelity, presumably due to the low annual return rate of spawning adults. Within a season, individuals from both sexes pursued additional mating opportunities with males showing greater variance in mate number than females. Female mate selection appeared to be largely random with little evidence for elevated levels of inbreeding in this population. Multiple mating females pursued additional males to whom they were less related than the first male with which they spawned within a given season, however, this pattern varied among years. The mating pattern observed in this population would likely limit the strength of sexual selection and thus could account for the lack of sexual dimorphism and the absence of alternative reproductive tactics in this species.
Intraspecific trait variation can weaken interspecific trait correlations when assessing the whole‐plant economic spectrum
Authors: Laughlin Daniel C. , Lusk Christopher H. , Bellingham Peter J. , Burslem David F. R. P. , Simpson Angela H. , Kramer‐Walter Kris R. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe worldwide plant economic spectrum hypothesis predicts that leaf, stem, and root traits are correlated across vascular plant species because carbon gain depends on leaves being adequately supplied with water and nutrients, and because construction of each organ involves a trade‐off between performance and persistence. Despite its logical and intuitive appeal, this hypothesis has received mixed empirical support. If traits within species diverge in their responses to an environmental gradient, then interspecific trait correlations could be weakened when measured in natural ecosystems. To test this prediction, we measured relative growth rates (RGR) and seven functional traits that have been shown to be related to fluxes of water, nutrients, and carbon across 56 functionally diverse tree species on (1) juveniles in a controlled environment, (2) juveniles in forest understories, and (3) mature trees in forests. Leaf, stem, and fine root traits of juveniles grown in a controlled environment were closely correlated with each other, and with RGR. Remarkably, the seven leaf, stem, and fine root tissue traits spanned a single dimension of variation when measured in the controlled environment. Forest‐grown juveniles expressed lower leaf mass per area, but higher wood and fine root tissue density, than greenhouse‐grown juveniles. Traits and growth rates were decoupled in forest‐grown juveniles and mature trees. Our results indicate that constraints exist on the covariation, not just the variation, among vegetative plant organs; however, divergent responses of traits within species to environmental gradients can mask interspecific trait correlations in natural environments. Correlations among organs and relationships between traits and RGR were strong when plants were compared in a standardized environment. Our results may reconcile the discrepancies seen among studies, by showing that if traits and growth rates of species are compared across varied environments, then the interorgan trait correlations observed in controlled conditions can weaken or disappear.
Effect of Porous Metal Flow Field in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell under Pressurized Condition
Authors: Ahn C.‐Y. , Lim M. S. , Hwang W. , Kim S. , Park J. E. , Lim J. , Choi I. , Cho Y.‐H. , Sung Y.‐E. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractA flow field represents an interesting research area related to polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as it is a component crucial for the distribution of gas‐phase reactants. In this study, a metal foam was characterized and applied as a flow field in a PEMFC unit cell. In addition, the electrochemical performance of the metal foam was compared with that of the commonly used serpentine flow field. At a relative humidity (RH) of 100%, no significant difference in performance was observed between the metal foam and serpentine flow field. However, the performance of a single cell with the metal foam was superior to that of the common flow field under an RH of 20% under pressurized conditions. Furthermore, the factors affecting fuel cell performance by application of the flow field were discussed.
What happens to the employment of disabled individuals when all financial disincentives to work are abolished?
Authors: Vall Castelló Judit 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPolicymakers and organizations representing people with disabilities have highlighted the importance of promoting the employment prospects of disabled individuals as a determinant to ensure their broader integration into the society. Policy reforms that attempt to incentivise disabled individuals to work typically involve reduced financial punishments for earning above a predetermined threshold (substantial gainful activity). This paper exploits a Spanish reform that entirely eliminated any disincentives for disabled individuals to work. Partially disabled individuals in Spain are subject to income taxation in all regions except in the province of Bizkaia. Before 2007, partially disabled individuals in Bizkaia were exempt from income taxation if they did not work. In December 2006, a new law was passed in Bizkaia that distinguished between individuals aged 55 or younger, who were no longer tax‐exempt, and those who were older than 55 years, who continued to be tax‐exempt if they did not work. I exploit this change in the legislation and employ both a difference‐in‐difference strategy comparing the employment outcomes of disabled young men across provinces and time as well as a triple difference model with disabled men older than 55 years, who are unaffected by the policy. My results show that the reform increased the probability of working by 6.5 percentage points for disabled men aged 55 or younger.
The eldercare landscape: Evidence from California
Authors: McMillen Daniel P. , Powers Elizabeth T. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAlthough the literature suggests that nursing home location is instrumental to the efficient functioning of the long‐term care industry, there has been little research directly focused on the spatial distribution of nursing homes. We discuss factors that may influence nursing home location choice, emphasizing agglomeration economies around hospitals. We estimate econometric models of location using information on all freestanding, MediCal‐licensed long‐term care facilities in the state of California. We find that nursing homes are more likely to locate in the same Census tract as a hospital and are more likely to locate in tracts nearer to those containing a hospital.
Not feeling well … true or exaggerated? Self‐assessed health as a leading health indicator
Authors: Becchetti Leonardo , Bachelet Maria , Riccardini Fabiola 
Published: September 2017

AbstractWe provide original, international evidence documenting that self‐assessed health (SAH) is a leading health indicator, that is, a significant predictor of future changes in health conditions, in a large sample of Europeans aged above 50 and living in 13 different countries. We find that, after controlling for attrition bias, lagged SAH is significantly and negatively correlated with changes in the number of chronic diseases, net of the correlations with levels, and changes in sociodemographic factors and health styles, country and regional health system effects, and declared symptoms. Illness‐specific estimates document that lagged SAH significantly correlates with arthritis, cholesterol, and lung diseases (and weakly so with ulcer, hypertension, and cataracts) and has a significant correlation with the probability of contracting cancer. Interpretations and policy implications of our findings are discussed in the paper.
Antimicrobial effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields from commercially available water treatment devices – controlled studies under static and flow conditions
Authors: Piyadasa Chathuri , Yeager Thomas R , Gray Stephen R , Stewart Matthew B , Ridgway Harry F , Pelekani Con , Orbell John D 
Published: September 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDPulsed‐electromagnetic field (PEMF) devices are marketed and utilized for the non‐chemical management of biofouling, with little scientific validation of their effectiveness. Proof‐of‐principle studies were carried out previously to systematically investigate the effect of two such commercial devices on the culturability of bacteria under controlled static (i.e. non‐flowing) conditions and anti‐microbial effects were demonstrated. However, such effects were small and an expanded investigation, using these devices and including the effect of flow, was deemed necessary.RESULTSThe effect of the electromagnetic fields generated by the same two commercial devices on the bacterial culturability ofEscherichia coliandPseudomonas fluorescensunder flow conditions has been contrasted with previous static results. It has been found that the effectiveness of PEMF exposure depends on waveform, extent of flow, type of bacteria and PEMF exposure duration.CONCLUSIONBoth stimulatory and inhibitory effects are observed that are uniquely dependent upon device type (i.e. a range of parameters including waveform), species of microorganism, presence and degree of flow and PEMF exposure time. For both devices and both microorganisms, stimulatory effects are uniformly observed for one device under static conditions and inhibitory effects are uniformly observed for the other device at low flow and for the former at high flow. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Association of human leukocyte antigen polymorphisms with occult hepatitis B virus infection in a Shaanxi Han population
Authors: Wang Tianju , Shen Chunmei , Chen Liping , Liu Sheng , Ji Yanhong 
Published: September 2017

AbstractBackgroundOccult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is defined as HBV DNA detection in serum or in the liver by sensitive diagnostic tests in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) negative patients with or without serologic markers of previous HBV exposure. Because the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is an integral component of the immune response, we hypothesized that the highly polymorphic HLA genes were the key determinants of HBV persistence and clearance. The present study aimed to calculate the allelic frequency of HLA loci and investigate the association between HLA alleles and the outcome of OBI in Shaanxi Han population in the northwest of China.MethodsWe conducted a case–control study between 107 OBI subjects and 280 healthy control individuals from blood donors of Shaanxi Blood Center. Five HLA loci, including HLA‐A,‐B,‐C,‐DRB1 and ‐DQB1, were selected and further genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction sequence‐based typing (SBT) method.ResultsUsing the chi‐squared test, we found that the allele frequencies of HLA‐B*44:03 [odds ratios (OR) = 2.146, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.070–4.306, p = 0.028]; C*07:01 (OR = 4.693, CI = 1.822–12.086, p = 0.000); DQB1*02:02 (OR = 1.919, CI = 1.188–3.101, p = 0.007); and DRB1*07:01 (OR = 2.012, CI = 1.303–3.107, p = 0.001) were markedly higher in the OBI group compared to the healthy control group. The allele frequencies of HLA‐DRB1*08:03 (OR = 0.395, CI = 0.152–1.027, p = 0.049); DRB1*15:01 (OR = 0.495, CI = 0.261–0.940, p = 0.029); and DQB1*06:02 (OR = 0.500, CI = 0.249–1.005, p = 0.048) were obviously lower in the OBI group compared to the healthy control group. These data indicated that HLA‐B*44:03, C*07:01, DQB1*02:02 and DRB1*07:01 were related to OBI infection, whereas HLA‐DRB1*08:03, DRB1*15:01 and DQB1*06:02 alleles were associated with HBV DNA clearance in a Shaanxi Han population.ConclusionsThe results of the present study suggest that host HLA gene is an important influencing factor for OBI pathogenesis.
The future of money and further applications of the blockchain
Authors: Adams Richard , Parry Glenn , Godsiff Phil , Ward Peter 
Published: September 2017

AbstractBlockchain technology provides an exciting application space for innovation in diverse domains but threatens disintermediation for organizations providing a trusted and auditable account of ownership and transactions. It needs, however, an appropriate regulation to keep pace with technological developments. Technology remains very young, akin to the Internet in the early 1990s. Use cases, practical demonstrators, standards, and lexical consistency are urgently required.
Halophytes in biosaline agriculture: Mechanism, utilization, and value addition
Authors: Nikalje Ganesh C. , Srivastava Ashish K. , Pandey Girdhar K. , Suprasanna Penna 
Published: September 2017

AbstractLand is considered as the life‐sustaining platform for food and water. However, there are contaminants such as salt, heavy metal, and industrial waste that decrease land fertility, posing serious threat to sustainable agriculture. In recent years, novel crop varieties with improved tolerance against environmental contaminants have been developed, but most of them face severe yield penalty. Alternatively, naturally tolerant plants such as extremophiles can be screened for their potential as crops. These crops should be tolerant to various abiotic stresses, perform better under extreme conditions and produce higher biomass and yield. In view of this, the present review focuses on the effects of saline soil on plants and how a class of plants termed as “halophytes” can tolerate high levels of salt. The potential applications of halophytes in phytoremediation, desalination, secondary metabolite production, medicine, food, and saline agriculture have been discussed. A concept of saline agriculture has been proposed for rehabilitation of saline and degraded lands. In this context, a potential halophyte is cultivated in salt‐contaminated soil for desalination. The harvested halophyte can have industrial value, and later on, rehabilitated soil can be utilized for agriculture purpose. Some success with halophyte cultivation has been demonstrated in environmentally degraded soils, and it is imperative that large‐scale adoption of halophytes, as potential candidates, can be accorded top priority for rehabilitating contaminated soils, which can pave way for sustainable agriculture.
Amorphous Electrically Actuating Submicron Fiber Waveguides
Authors: Ishii Yuya , Nobeshima Taiki , Sakai Heisuke , Omori Keisho , Uemura Sei , Fukuda Mitsuo 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAmorphous electrically actuating submicron fiber waveguides are promising building blocks for creating novel opto‐electromechanical devices. In this study, waveguiding and electrically actuating properties of the waveguides composed of racemic poly(lactic acid) and a dye are investigated. The fibers have mean diameters of <0.4 µm, and each fiber demonstrates subwavelength waveguiding with a loss coefficient of 1.5 × 10−4–8.3 × 10−4 µm−1 at 0.63 µm wavelength. Light propagates with a near‐light speed group velocity between wavelengths of 0.59 and 0.63 µm, where the fraction of power inside the core is 0.13–0.28. The fiber mat thicknesses change in response to both the polarity and the magnitude of an applied voltage, similar to the inverse‐piezoelectric effect. The estimated values for both the apparent piezoelectric constant (29 000 × 10−12 m V−1) and Young's modulus (1.5 kPa) indicate a high degree of electricity actuation and a soft mat. Extremely small, soft, and electrically actuating waveguides can produce novel opto‐electromechanical devices.
Eigenvalues of Robin Laplacians in infinite sectors
Authors: Khalile Magda , Pankrashkin Konstantin 
Published: September 2017

AbstractFor , let denote the infinite planar sector of opening 2α,
urn:x-wiley:0025584X:media:mana201600314:mana201600314-math-0003and be the Laplacian in , , with the Robin boundary condition , where stands for the outer normal derivative and . The essential spectrum of does not depend on the angle α and equals , and the discrete spectrum is non‐empty if and only if . In this case we show that the discrete spectrum is always finite and that each individual eigenvalue is a continous strictly increasing function of the angle α. In particular, there is just one discrete eigenvalue for . As α approaches 0, the number of discrete eigenvalues becomes arbitrary large and is minorated by with a suitable , and the nth eigenvalue of behaves as
urn:x-wiley:0025584X:media:mana201600314:mana201600314-math-0018and admits a full asymptotic expansion in powers of α2. The eigenfunctions are exponentially localized near the origin. The results are also applied to δ‐interactions on star graphs.
Optimal decay rates for the viscoelastic wave equation
Authors: Mustafa Muhammad I. 
Published: September 2017

In this paper, we consider a viscoelastic equation with minimal conditions on the
relaxation function g, namely,
, where H is an increasing and convex function near the origin and ξ is a nonincreasing function. With only these very general assumptions on the behavior of gat infinity, we establish optimal explicit and general energy decay results from which we can recover the optimal exponential and polynomial rates when H(s)=sp and p covers the full admissible range [1,2). We get the best decay rates expected under this level of generality, and our new results substantially improve several earlier related results in the literature.
School and community factors involved in Chilean students’ perception of school safety
Authors: López Verónica , Torres‐Vallejos Javier , Villalobos‐Parada Boris , Gilreath Tamika D. , Ascorra Paula , Bilbao Marian , Morales Macarena , Carrasco Claudia 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIdentifying and understanding predictors of school safety perceptions is important due to its consequences for students. However, it is not clear what school‐related factors most contribute to explaining students’ perception of school safety, and how they relate to community‐related factors such as neighborhood safety. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with Chilean elementary and middle school students’ perceptions of school safety. We used a sample of 5,455 students from low socioeconomic status public schools, and analyzed the predictive value of peer physical and verbal victimization; teacher and school staff victimization; teacher's social support; and perception of safety in the students’ neighborhoods on perceptions of school safety. Findings showed that although different forms of school violence, particularly peer physical victimization and physical and sexual victimization from teachers and school staff, contribute to students’ perception of school safety, the highest contribution came from students perceiving their neighborhoods as unsafe. In contrast, teacher social support contributed to increased levels of perceived school safety. We discuss the need for school‐based interventions that address physical victimization and engage teachers in prosocial and less punitive approaches to foster a positive and safe school climate, and in fostering school–community partnerships.
Two salts and the salt cocrystal of ciprofloxacin with thiobarbituric and barbituric acids: The structure and properties
Authors: Golovnev Nicolay N. , Molokeev Maxim S. , Lesnikov Maxim K. , Atuchin Victor V. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractCiprofloxacin (CfH, C17H18FN3O3) crystallizes with 2‐thiobarbituric (H2tba) and barbituric acid (H2ba) in the aqueous solution to yield salt CfH2(Htba)·3H2O (1), salt cocrystal CfH2(Hba)(H2ba)·3H2O (2), and salt CfH2(Hba)·H2O (3). The compounds are structurally characterized by the X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction. The numerous intermolecular hydrogen bonds N–H⋯O and O–H⋯O formed by water molecules, Htba−/Hba− and CfH2+ ions, and H2ba molecules stabilize the crystal structures of 1 to 3. Hydrogen bonds form a 2D plane network in the salts of 1 and 3 and a 3D network in the salt cocrystal of 2. There are different π‐π interactions in 1 to 3. The compounds have been characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The compounds dehydration ends at 130°C to 150°C, and their oxidative decomposition is observed in the range of 250°C to 275°C.