bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ferrous iron‐ and ammonium‐rich diffuse vents support habitat‐specific communities in a shallow hydrothermal field off the Basiluzzo Islet (Aeolian Volcanic Archipelago).
Authors: Bortoluzzi G. , Romeo T. , La Cono V. , La Spada G. , Smedile F. , Esposito V. , Sabatino G. , Di Bella M. , Canese S. , Scotti G. , Bo M. , Giuliano L. , Jones D. , Golyshin P.N. , Yakimov M.M. , Andaloro F. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractAmmonium‐ and Fe(II)‐rich fluid flows, known from deep‐sea hydrothermal systems, have been extensively studied in the last decades and are considered as sites with high microbial diversity and activity. Their shallow‐submarine counterparts, despite their easier accessibility, have so far been under‐investigated, and as a consequence, much less is known about microbial communities inhabiting these ecosystems. A field of shallow expulsion of hydrothermal fluids has been discovered at depths of 170–400 meters off the base of the Basiluzzo Islet (Aeolian Volcanic Archipelago, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea). This area consists predominantly of both actively diffusing and inactive 1–3 meters‐high structures in the form of vertical pinnacles, steeples and mounds covered by a thick orange to brown crust deposits hosting rich benthic fauna. Integrated morphological, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses revealed that, above all, these crusts are formed by ferrihydrite‐type Fe3+ oxyhydroxides. Two cruises in 2013 allowed us to monitor and sampled this novel ecosystem, certainly interesting in terms of shallow‐water iron‐rich site. The main objective of this work was to characterize the composition of extant communities of iron microbial mats in relation to the environmental setting and the observed patterns of macrofaunal colonization. We demonstrated that iron‐rich deposits contain complex and stratified microbial communities with a high proportion of prokaryotes akin to ammonium‐ and iron‐oxidizing chemoautotrophs, belonging to Thaumarchaeota, Nitrospira, and Zetaproteobacteria. Colonizers of iron‐rich mounds, while composed of the common macrobenthic grazers, predators, filter‐feeders, and tube‐dwellers with no representatives of vent endemic fauna, differed from the surrounding populations. Thus, it is very likely that reduced electron donors (Fe2+ and NH4+) are important energy sources in supporting primary production in microbial mats, which form a habitat‐specific trophic base of the whole Basiluzzo hydrothermal ecosystem, including macrobenthic fauna.
Suitability of AuRM2 as a Reference Material for Trace Element Microanalysis of Native Gold
Authors: Tetland Mikkel , Greenough John , Fryer Brian , Hinds Michael , Shaheen Mohamed E. 
Published: April 2017

Microanalysis of native gold specimens has been hampered by the lack of a suitable reference material (RM) known to be sufficiently homogeneous at the scale of microanalytical sampling. The suitability of gold reference material AuRM2 for microanalysis was assessed. This RM was created for bulk analysis of refined gold and was only certified for homogeneity at the bulk scale. However, it contains trace elements in appropriate mass fraction ranges for analysis of native gold. This study was not intended to provide alternative mass fractions from the original certified values, only to assess its suitability for microanalytical methods. Micro‐scale (~ 3.4 μg sample mass) heterogeneity was calculated from measurement repeatability of LA‐ICP‐MS analyses of AuRM2 by factoring in signal (represented by counting statistics) and instrument set‐up‐specific variability (determined using measurement variability of a reference material known to be homogeneous). Elements determined to be homogeneous or to have minor heterogeneity (< 10% calculated heterogeneity RSD) are Mg, Al, Ti, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Rh, Sn, Sb, Pt and Pb. Elements with moderate heterogeneity (10–20% heterogeneity RSD) are: Mn, As, Pd, Te and Bi. Correlation of element mass fractions indicates that micro‐scale inclusions of chalcophile‐rich phases along grain boundaries may be responsible for some of the chemical heterogeneity. However, the level of heterogeneity is statistically negligible compared with the ranges of chemical signatures observed in sample populations of native gold. Therefore, AuRM2 is shown to be sufficiently homogenous at a micro‐scale for use as a RM for microanalysis of native gold.
Factors influencing the distribution of lactic acid bacteria on Pennisetum grasses
Authors: Chen Xinzhu , Zhuang Yifen , Dong Zhaoxia , Zhang Jianguo 
Published: April 2017

AbstractSuccessful silage production depends on the promotion of lactic acid fermentation and one of the key factors influencing the fermentation quality of silage is lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Therefore, epiphytic LAB on grasses play an important role in silage production. The present research investigated the distribution of LAB on Pennisetum spp. and factors influencing its presence. Lactic acid bacteria on four grass cultivars, cv. MT‐1, cv. Mott, cv. Reyan No. 4 (Reyan) and cv. Guimu No. 1 (Guimu), were investigated by both culture‐dependent methods and 16S rRNA amplicon sequence analysis and polymerase chain reaction‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR‐DGGE). Mott grass had significantly lower contents of dry matter and lower pH and higher water‐soluble carbohydrates (WSC) content than the other three cultivars (P < 0.05). Mott also epiphyted the largest number of LAB (2.56 × 103 cfu g−1), while MT‐1 supported the least (41 cfu g−1). A diversity of LAB were recovered from the species including the following proportional representation: 33.4% Lactobacillus plantarum, 8.3% Lactobacillus pentosus, 8.3% Lactococcus lactis, 8.3% Leuconostoc citreum, 25.0% Weissella confusa and 16.7% Weissella cibaria on Mott, 20.0% L. plantarum, 20.0% L. pentosus and 60.0% Lc. lactis on MT‐1, 83.3% L. plantarum and 16.7% Lc. lactis on Reyan, 16.7% L. plantarum and 83.3% Lc. lactis on Guimu. The DGGE analyses of rRNA amplicons also revealed a similar distribution of these species. While the species composition and abundance of LAB differed among the four grasses. The number of LAB on grasses was positively correlated with the WSC content in the grasses (P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with the pH of the grasses (P < 0.05).
Rediscovery of the endangered species Harpalus flavescens (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Loire River
Authors: Denux Olivier , Dauffy‐Richard Emmanuelle , Rossi Jean‐Pierre , Augustin Sylvie 
Published: April 2017

Abstract

The Loire River is one of the last European large rivers with important sediment dynamics and numerous sandbanks. The extraction of sediment from the riverbed during decades and the construction of levees for flood prevention have strongly affected and shaped the biodiversity of the Loire River.

Many species from pioneer riverbanks have been impacted with particular consequences for psammophilous insects. The ground beetle Harpalus (Acardystus) flavescens (Piller & Mitterpacher, 1783), is considered to have disappeared from the Middle Loire River for 40 years and is endangered everywhere in Europe.

In 2012 and 2013, we recorded two specimens of H. flavescens in Région Centre‐Val de Loire (France), in the course of a survey dedicated to evaluating the impact of fluvial maintenance operations upon sediment and biodiversity dynamics.

The presence of H. flavescens may be linked to the interruption of riverbed extractions and the vegetation removal of sandbanks of the Loire River (ecosystem restoration).
The Role of Corporate Boards: A Roundtable Discussion of Where We're Going and Where We've Been
Authors: Greene Jesse , Gupta Raj , L'Helias Sophie , McCracken Bill 
Published: April 2017

In this roundtable that took place at the 2016 Millstein Governance Forum at Columbia Law School, four directors of public companies discuss the changing role and responsibilities of corporate boards. In response to increasingly active investors who are looking to management and boards for more information and greater accountability, the four panelists describe the growing demands on boards for both competence and commitment to the job. Despite considerable improvements since the year 2000, and especially since the 2008 financial crisis, the clear consensus is that U.S. corporate directors must become more like owners of the corporation who “truly represent the long‐term interests of all of the shareholders.”But if activist investors appear to pose the most formidable new challenge for corporate directors—one that has the potential to lead to shortsighted managerial decision‐making—there has been another, less visible development that should be welcomed by wellrun companies that are investing in their future growth as well as meeting investors’ expectations for current performance. According to Raj Gupta, who serves on the boards of HewlettPackard, Delphi Automotive, Arconic, and the Vanguard Group,[O]ld‐fashioned institutional shareholders—many of them long‐term buyers and holders—now account for a remarkably large percentage of the ownership of U.S. companies. If you looked closely, I think you would find that, in every large U.S. public company today, as few as 20 large institutional shareholders control 50 to 75% of the stock. And although they're not activists who resort to the proxy process, they are also not the silent shareholders of the past.Although these investors are “bringing enormous pressure to bear on management,” the good news for managements and boards is that such concentration of ownership should make it far easier for them to build trust by making their case directly to “the investment community,” and so win the market support that can give companies the “breathing room” to carry out their long‐term business plans.Another piece of encouraging news for boards is that, by drawing on a more diverse pool of directors than in the past—one that includes a rapidly growing number of women, people of color, and “internationals”—they are finding themselves with a breadth of perspective and experience that has better prepared them to respond to changes in an increasingly global and volatile business environment.
Columbia Law School Roundtable on A Governance Research Agenda for the Academy
Authors: Cremers Martijn , Khanna Vik , Gordon Jeff 
Published: April 2017

Since Jensen and Meckling's formulation of the theory of “agency costs” in 1976, corporate finance and governance scholars have produced a large body of research that attempts to identify the most important features and practices of effective corporate governance systems. But for all the research that has been done in the past 40 years, many practitioners continue to see a disconnect between theory and practice, between the questions researched and the questions that need to be answered.In this roundtable, Martijn Cremers begins by challenging the conventional view that limiting “agency costs” is the main challenge confronted by boards of directors in representing shareholder interests and, hence, the proper focus of most governance scholarship. Especially in today's economy, with the high values assigned to growth companies, the most important function of corporate governance may instead be to overcome the problem of American “short termism” that he attributes to “inadequate shareholder commitment to long‐term cooperation.” And he buttresses his argument with the findings of his own recent research suggesting that obstacles to the workings of the corporate control market like staggered boards and supermajority voting requirements may actually improve long‐run corporate performance by lengthening the decision‐making horizon of boards and the managements they supervise.Vik Khanna discusses Indian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending and its effects in light of a recent law requiring Indian companies of a certain size to devote at least 2% of their after‐tax profit to CSR initiatives. One unintended effect of this mandate, which took effect in 2010, was that all Indian companies that were spending more than the prescribed 2% of profits cut their expenditure back to that minimum, suggesting that CSR and advertising are substitutes to some extent, and that such legal mandates can discourage CSR spending by early adapters or “leaders.” Nevertheless, Khanna also found evidence of social norms developing in support of CSR, including a spreading perception that such spending can help some companies achieve strategic goals.Jeff Gordon closes by arguing that, to the extent investors are short‐sighted, their short‐sightedness is likely to be justified by their recognition that public company directors have neither the information nor the incentives to do an effective job of monitoring corporate managements. The best solution to the problems with U.S. corporate governance is to replace today's “thinly informed” directors with “activist” directors who more closely resemble the directors of private‐equity owned firms. Such directors would spend far more time with, and be much more knowledgeable about, corporate management and operations—and they would have much more of their personal wealth at stake in the form of company stock.
Liquefying a Market: The Transition of LNG to a Traded Commodity
Authors: Pirrong Craig 
Published: April 2017

The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry has grown significantly since it began a half‐century ago, and it will continue to diversify both its sources of supply and the contractual arrangements between suppliers and users. Economic theory says that contracting modes adapt to facilitate gains in efficiency, and that this process of adaptation responds to changes in technological, market, and regulatory factors. When an industry relies heavily on highly specialized assets with limited alternative uses, as is true of LNG, the use of longterm contracts (or vertical integration) will generally be more efficient than short‐term dealings. But once conditions begin to encourage vigorous competition among buyers and sellers, it becomes increasingly economical to rely on shorter‐term (and spot) markets for exchange.The history of the LNG industry supports these theoretical predictions, and illustrates the transition from one contracting mode to another. For most of its history, the specialization and scale of LNG assets dictated the predominant use of long‐term contracting. In recent years, however, market and regulatory changes have raised the demand for short‐term and spot contracting, which in turn has provided the impetus for a virtuous cycle of market liquidity. As buyers and sellers have become increasingly able to obtain or dispose of LNG in an active market, they have needed less protection against the opportunism of trading partners that long‐term contracts have provided in the past.Given this self‐reinforcing process, it is likely that the LNG market will soon look nothing like it did as recently as a decade ago. Buyers and sellers will rely on shorter‐term contracts, and the longerterm contracts that do exist will be linked to spot LNG prices rather than crude oil. Consumers and producers will also benefit from more flexible pricing that more accurately reflects rapidly changing fundamentals of supply and demand.
Chino Tico Routes and Repertoires: Cultivating Chineseness and Entrepreneurism for a New Era of Trans‐Pacific Relations
Authors: DeHart Monica 
Published: April 2017

ResumenAunque las comunidades chinas diaspóricas tengan raíces en Centro América desde el siglo diecinueve, la creciente relación contemporánea entre China e América Latina ha asignado un nuevo valor a la cultura china dentro de esta relación. En este ensayo, analizo cómo una nueva generación de costarricenses de descendencia china concibe, practica, y proyecta su identidad étnica para cultivar una ventaja económica dentro de las nuevas iniciativas transpacíficas. Basado en un estudio etnográfico con un grupo de jóvenes ¨Chino Ticos¨ en San José, Costa Rica, trazo las trayectorias y experiencias transnacionales de este grupo con el fin de revelar los cambiantes rutas y repertorios de la identidad china de esta generación y sus implicaciones para las relaciones transpacíficas. En vez de entender la nueva generación de empresario diaspórico chino en Centro América como producto de un esencialismo étnico, enfatizo el papel de relaciones de clase y del estado en configurar las relaciones transpacíficas. [Costa Rica, desarrollo, etnicidad, globalizacion, identidad]
Financial Transaction Taxes, Market Composition, and Liquidity
Authors: COLLIARD JEAN‐EDOUARD , HOFFMANN PETER 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTWe use the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT) in France in 2012 to test competing theories on its impact. We find no support for the idea that an FTT improves market quality by affecting the composition of trading volume. Instead, our results are in line with the hypothesis that a lower trading volume reduces liquidity and in turn market quality. Consistent with theories of asset pricing under transaction costs, we document a shift in security holdings from short‐term to long‐term investors. Finally, we find that moderate aggregate effects on market quality can mask large adjustments made by individual agents.
Volatility‐Managed Portfolios
Authors: MOREIRA ALAN , MUIR TYLER 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTManaged portfolios that take less risk when volatility is high produce large alphas, increase Sharpe ratios, and produce large utility gains for mean‐variance investors. We document this for the market, value, momentum, profitability, return on equity, investment, and betting‐against‐beta factors, as well as the currency carry trade. Volatility timing increases Sharpe ratios because changes in volatility are not offset by proportional changes in expected returns. Our strategy is contrary to conventional wisdom because it takes relatively less risk in recessions. This rules out typical risk‐based explanations and is a challenge to structural models of time‐varying expected returns.
Substance Use Among Transgender Students in California Public Middle and High Schools
Authors: De Pedro Kris Tunac , Gilreath Tamika D. , Jackson Christopher , Esqueda Monica Christina 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDTransgender adolescents face tremendous social stress in families and schools, which often leads to behavioral health disparities. This study assessed whether rates of substance use were higher among transgender adolescents when compared to nontransgender adolescents.METHODSThis study is a secondary data analysis of the 2013‐2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) that examines whether rates of substance use are higher among transgender youth when compared to nontransgender youth. Participants included 4778 transgender and 630,200 nontransgender students in middle and high schools in nearly all school districts in California. The study outcomes were lifetime, recent, and in‐school use of cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy as well as nonmedical use of prescription painkillers, diet pills, Ritalin or Adderall, and cold medicine.RESULTSTransgender students were about 2‐1/2 times more likely as nontransgender students to use cocaine/methamphetamine in their lifetime (odds ratio [OR] = 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.18‐2.95) and about 2.8 times as likely to report past 30‐day inhalant use (OR = 2.80; 95% CI = 2.41‐3.26). Transgender students were more than twice as likely to report past 30‐day prescription pain medication use (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.90‐2.53) and more than 3 times as likely to use cigarettes in school (OR = 3.37; 95% CI = 2.84‐3.99).CONCLUSIONSThe study's findings indicate a need for community‐ and school‐based interventions that reduce substance use among transgender youth.
A Multidisciplinary Research Framework on Green Schools: Infrastructure, Social Environment, Occupant Health, and Performance
Authors: Magzamen Sheryl , Mayer Adam P. , Barr Stephanie , Bohren Lenora , Dunbar Brian , Manning Dale , Reynolds Stephen J. , Schaeffer Joshua W. , Suter Jordan , Cross Jennifer E. 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDSustainable school buildings hold much promise to reducing operating costs, improve occupant well‐being and, ultimately, teacher and student performance. However, there is a scarcity of evidence on the effects of sustainable school buildings on health and performance indicators. We sought to create a framework for a multidisciplinary research agenda that links school facilities, health, and educational outcomes.METHODSWe conducted a nonsystematic review of peer review publications, government documents, organizational documents, and school climate measurement instruments.RESULTSWe found that studies on the impact of physical environmental factors (air, lighting, and thermal comfort) on health and occupant performance are largely independent of research on the social climate. The current literature precludes the formation of understanding the causal relation among school facilities, social climate, occupant health, and occupant performance.CONCLUSIONSGiven the average age of current school facilities in the United States, construction of new school facilities or retrofits of older facilities will be a major infrastructure investment for many municipalities over the next several decades. Multidisciplinary research that seeks to understand the impact of sustainable design on the health and performance of occupants will need to include both an environmental science and social science perspective to inform best practices and quantification of benefits that go beyond general measures of costs savings from energy efficiencies.
Age Differences in Variables Affecting Motor Inhibition
Authors: Tsuchida Noriaki 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThis study's purpose was to analyze the effects of aging on motor control, with a specific focus on analyzing the characteristics of motor inhibition failure. A continuous‐response task was conducted with 35 younger adults and 35 older adults, under several conditions and using two types of switches. The results indicated the following: (a) in older adults, response type and auditory stimuli strongly affected motor inhibition failure, and (b) in younger adults, motor inhibition failures rarely occurred. When they did occur, they were strongly affected by factors directing visual stimuli. These results suggest age‐related differences in variables that affect motor inhibition, and that movement and the associated nervous excitation might strongly affect motor inhibition in older adults.
The performance of critical flicker frequency on determining of neurocognitive function loss in severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Authors: Guzel Aygul , Gunbey Emre , Koksal Nurhan 
Published: April 2017

SummaryThis study aimed to compare the critical flicker frequency (CFF) and the mail‐in cognitive function screening ınstrument (MCFSI) tests’ effectiveness in diagnosing neurocognitive function losses in patients having severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). A total of 85 subjects (47 patients with a diagnosis of severe OSAS and 38 healthy controls) were included into the study. MCFSI scores greater than or equal to five and CFF scores less than 39 Hz were considered abnormal. Demographic and polysomnographic parameters of patients with OSAS were studied, and correlations between the MCFSI, CFF scores and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores were analysed. The mean age of the patients was 49.6 ± 12.0 years. In the OSAS group, the CFF score was found to be low when compared with the control group, while the MCFSI score was found to be high. Pathological CFF scores (<39) were found in 13 patients (27.7%) in the OSAS group, while pathological MCFSI scores (≥5) were found in 19 patients (40.4%). CFF scores were found to be low in only 26% of the patients with OSAS who were found to have high MCFSI scores. MCFSI scores were high in only 38% of the patients with OSAS who were found to have low CFF scores. There was a significant correlation between ESS and CFF scores. In conclusion, the usefulness of the CFF test in determining cognitive function loss in patients with OSAS needs to be demonstrated via studies which utilize a larger sample size.