bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detecting and inferring cause of change in an Alaska nearshore marine ecosystem
Authors: Coletti Heather A. , Bodkin James L. , Monson Daniel H. , Ballachey Brenda E. , Dean Thomas A. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractCommunity composition, species abundance, and species distribution are expected to change while monitoring ecosystems over time, and effective management of natural resources requires understanding mechanisms contributing to change. Marine ecosystems in particular can be difficult to monitor, in part due to large, multidimensional spatial scales and complex dynamics. However, within the temperate marine ecosystems, the nearshore food web is reasonably well described. This food web is ecologically and socially important, spatially constrained, and has been the focus of extensive experimental research that describes the underlying mechanisms important to system dynamics. Here, we describe a monitoring program initiated in 2006 that focuses on the nearshore benthic food web in the Gulf of Alaska, whose design anticipates potential causes of ecosystem change to improve rigor, resolution, and confidence in understanding the mechanisms underlying change. We established 15 long‐term monitoring sites across more than 1000 km of coastline, including 10 within two national parks and 5 within Prince William Sound, area of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The program evaluates six ecological indicators and more than 200 species that range from primary producers to top‐level consumers, and is designed to examine both bottom‐up and top‐down dynamics. Employing a design that allows broad spatial inference and selecting species with direct food‐web linkages, we demonstrate the ability of our monitoring program to simultaneously detect change and assess potential mechanisms underlying that change. Detecting change and understanding mechanisms can help guide management and conservation policy. Specifically, we provide an example focusing on the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) that illustrates how (1) analytical methods are used to evaluate changes on various scales and infer potential mechanisms of change, (2) food‐web linkages can enhance the understanding of changes and their effects, and (3) data can be used to inform management.
Warmer seed environments increase germination fractions in Australian winter annual plant species
Authors: Dwyer John M. , Erickson Todd E. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractClimate can influence plant demographic processes and life stages in different ways, but such details are often ignored in analyses that focus on adult life stages and annual climate averages. In particular, the effects of climate on seeds may be hugely important under climate change. Climate is known to influence seed survival and germination, which in turn can strongly affect population persistence and community dynamics. We investigated climate and other environmental effects on seed viability and germination probabilities of six winter annual plant species persisting in small, isolated habitat fragments in the Mediterranean‐climate region of southwestern Australia. Seeds were collected from southern (cool) and northern (warm) bushland remnants and factorially placed into each location to assess the effects of natural dormancy alleviation via after‐ripening. Seeds were then exposed to cool and warm germination treatments (representing average germination conditions in the two remnants). For five of the six species, seeds from warm maternal populations had higher germination probabilities (or germinated more seeds sooner). Regardless of maternal population, germination probabilities were higher (or germination was more rapid) for seeds that were after‐ripened in the warm remnant for almost all species. For all species, germination was higher (or more rapid) under the warmer germination temperatures. We also found strong microsite effects on seed viability for some species. In the absence of adaptation in dormancy regulation and germination physiology, our results indicate that most of the winter annual species studied will germinate higher fractions of seeds under future climate conditions due to the cumulative effects of warmer maternal, after‐ripening, and germination environments. The fate of isolated populations under climate change may therefore depend strongly on postgermination survival and reproduction to prevent seed bank depletion.
Heterogeneity in ecological and evolutionary meta‐analyses: its magnitude and implications
Authors: Senior Alistair M. , Grueber Catherine E. , Kamiya Tsukushi , Lagisz Malgorzata , O'Dwyer Katie , Santos Eduardo S. A. , Nakagawa Shinichi 
Published: October 2016

AbstractMeta‐analysis is the gold standard for synthesis in ecology and evolution. Together with estimating overall effect magnitudes, meta‐analyses estimate differences between effect sizes via heterogeneity statistics. It is widely hypothesized that heterogeneity will be present in ecological/evolutionary meta‐analyses due to the system‐specific nature of biological phenomena. Despite driving recommended best practices, the generality of heterogeneity in ecological data has never been systematically reviewed. We reviewed 700 studies, finding 325 that used formal meta‐analysis, of which total heterogeneity was reported in fewer than 40%. We used second‐order meta‐analysis to collate heterogeneity statistics from 86 studies. Our analysis revealed that the median and mean heterogeneity, expressed as I2, are 84.67% and 91.69%, respectively. These estimates are well above “high” heterogeneity (i.e., 75%), based on widely adopted benchmarks. We encourage reporting heterogeneity in the forms of I2 and the estimated variance components (e.g., τ2) as standard practice. These statistics provide vital insights in to the degree to which effect sizes vary, and provide the statistical support for the exploration of predictors of effect‐size magnitude. Along with standard meta‐regression techniques that fit moderator variables, multi‐level models now allow partitioning of heterogeneity among correlated (e.g., phylogenetic) structures that exist within data.
Genetically based latitudinal clines in Artemisia californica drive parallel clines in arthropod communities
Authors: Pratt Jessica D. , Datu Andrew , Tran Thi , Sheng Daniel C. , Mooney Kailen A. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIntraspecific variation in plant traits has been clearly shown to drive the structure of associated arthropod communities at the spatial scale of individual plant populations. Nevertheless, it is largely unknown whether plant trait variation among populations drives landscape‐scale variation in arthropod communities, and how the strength of such plant genetic effects compares to, and interacts with, those of environmental variation. We documented the structure of arthropod communities on Artemisia californica for two consecutive years in a common garden of plants sourced from five populations along a 5° latitudinal gradient and grown under precipitation treatments approximating the four‐fold difference between the north and south range margins for this species. Previous study of plant traits from this garden documented clinal genetic variation, suggesting local adaptation to this environmental gradient, as well as effects of precipitation manipulation that were consistent among populations (i.e., no genotype‐by‐environment interaction). Within the common garden, arthropod density, evenness, and diversity increased clinally with population source latitude, and arthropod community composition (i.e., species relative abundance) showed a north‐south divide. The 2.6‐fold cline of northward increase in arthropod density in the common garden was mirrored by a 6.4‐fold increase in arthropod density on wild plants sampled along the species range. In contrast to the strong influence of plant genotype, the precipitation manipulation only influenced arthropod community composition, and plant genetic effects on arthropods operated independently of precipitation regime (no genotype‐by‐environment interaction). Accordingly, we conclude that the strongest driver of landscape‐level variation in arthropod communities in this foundational plant species is not variation in the abiotic environment itself, but rather variation in plant traits underlain by the evolutionary process of plant local adaptation.
Antinociceptive effect of systemically administered dipyrone (metamizol), magnesium chloride or both in a murine model of cancer
Authors: Brito B.E. , Vazquez E. , Taylor P. , Alvarado Y. , Vanegas H. , Millan A. , Tortorici V. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBackgroundOpioid effectiveness to treat cancer pain is often compromised by the development of tolerance and the occurrence of undesirable side effects, particularly during long‐term treatment. Hence, the search for more efficient analgesics remains a necessity. The main goal of this study was to relieve neuropathic symptoms associated with tumour growth by administering the non‐opioid analgesic dipyrone (DIP) alone or in combination with magnesium chloride (MgCl2), an adjuvant that blocks the NMDA receptor channel.MethodsMice were inoculated with a melanoma cell line (B16‐BL6) in the left thigh and two protocols were used to evaluate the effect of DIP (270 mg/kg), MgCl2 (200 mg/kg), or the combination DIP‐MgCl2. In the therapeutic protocol the drugs, alone or combined, were administered once tumour had promoted increased nociception. In the preventive protocol, drugs were administered prior to the appearance of the primary tumour. Tumour growth was assessed with a caliper and nociception was determined using behavioural tests.ResultsDIP promoted antinociception only at the beginning of both protocols due to the development of tolerance. The combination DIP‐MgCl2 improved the antinociceptive effect, avoiding tolerance and reducing tumour growth in the preventive treatment, more efficiently than each compound alone.ConclusionsThese results suggest that DIP‐MgCl2 may represent a safe, affordable and accessible option to reduce tumour growth and to treat cancer pain avoiding the risk of tolerance, without the typical complications of opioids agents, particularly when long‐term treatment is required.SignificanceThis study shows a non‐opioid analgesic combined with an adjuvant as a therapeutic option to treat cancer pain. The avoidance of antinociceptive tolerance when repeated administration is required, as well as tumor growth reduction, are additional advantages to be considered.
Green Synthesis and Characterization of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles and their Application for Development of a Third Generation Lactose Biosensor
Authors: Bollella Paolo , Schulz Christopher , Favero Gabriele , Mazzei Franco , Ludwig Roland , Gorton Lo , Antiochia Riccarda 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIn this paper we report on a facile, cost effective and environmental friendly green synthesis method of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) by using quercetin as reducing agent. The obtained NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV‐Vis spectroscopy and parameters such as pH, ionic strength and temperature, effectively affecting shape and size of NPs, have been carefully studied and optimized. The obtained results showed that the synthesized NPs were circular in shape with an average diameter of 5 and 8 nm for the AuNPs and the AgNPs, respectively. The “green” NPs, showing increased electroactive areas (AEA) and electronic transfer rate constants (k0), were successively used to fabricate a novel third generation lactose biosensor based on cellobiose dehydrogenase from Trametes villosa (TvCDH). The TvCDH/AuNPs based lactose biosensor revealed the best results showing very efficient DET and a detection limit for lactose of 3.5 mM, a large linear range from 10 to 300 mM, a high sensitivity (5.4 μA mM−1 cm−2) and long‐term stability.
Novel Enzymatic Potentiometric Approaches for Surfactant Analysis
Authors: Khaled Elmorsy , Hassan Hassan N. A. , Abdelaziz Mona A. , El‐Attar Rehab O. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe present study described a novel application of simple potentiometric enzymatic method for analysis of surfactants based on their inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE). The enzymatic activity was measured through monitoring hydrolysis of acetylcholine (ACh) with a disposable acetylcholine potentiometric sensor. Comprehensive investigations were carried out including the effect of incubation time, cholinesterase enzyme and the working calibration ranges. Based on inhibition of AChE, different cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants were determined in the concentration range from 0 to 40 μg mL−1 with detection limits reaching 0.07 μg mL−1 depending on the nature of surfactants. The degree of AChE inhibition caused by different tested surfactants were as follows: cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)>benzyldimethylhexadecyl ammonium chloride (BDHAC)>Hyamine (Hy)>cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)>Triton X‐100 (TX‐100)>sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). The proposed method was applied for determination of surfactants in pharmaceutical formulation, detergents products and environmental samples with acceptable sensitivity and reproducibility.
Impact of cell lysis on the description of cell growth and death in cell culture
Authors: Kroll Paul , Eilers Kay , Fricke Jens , Herwig Christoph 
Published: October 2016

The primary task of process development is a process design that guarantees product quality and maximizes product quantity. One part of the process development is the identification of critical process parameters. Especially in cell culture processes, unwanted cell damage as critical process parameter is still challenging in stirred tank reactors and needs therefore to be considered. Nevertheless, this topic and its effects on process performance are currently not well discussed and not verified in literature until now.The process of cell damage or lysis can be defined as the loss of integrity of the cells. For the investigation of this phenomenon, a model‐based designed fed‐batch cultivation with Chinese hamster ovary cells was performed. Besides measurements of viable and dead cell concentration, lysed cell count was determined by DNA measurements. Based on these analytics, different hypotheses, characterizing the cell death, were compared. From this, four main statements could be derived: (i) consideration of lysis in cell culture processes is of great importance for the description of the living biomass population in terms of growth and dying; (ii) a higher effort in process monitoring facilitates significantly model development; (iii) in contradiction to existing models from literature, our verification approach demonstrated a direct correlation of lysis with viable cell concentration and therefore with productivity; and (iv) lysis could be effectively described by only one model parameter, the specific lysis rate from viable cells to lysed cells.All these statements could be accurately proven by statistical methods. Our results enable future detailed investigations of the causes of cell damage and the influences of cell lysis on product quality and quantity. Potential application fields are scale‐up issues, process optimization, and impurity screening.
Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide‐Promoted, ZnO‐Supported, and Mn‐Promoted Cu–Fe Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of CO to Low‐Carbon Alcohols
Authors: Hu Wei , Li Wei , Shen Rongchun 
Published: October 2016

AbstractA Mn‐promoted CuFe/ZnO catalyst was synthesized by a coprecipitation method using sodium carbonate as the precipitant and characterized by using BET surface area measurements, SEM, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, XRD, temperature‐programmed reduction (TPR), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results demonstrated that the reducibility of Cu species was enhanced and that Cu–Fe3C dual active sites were generated over the ZnO support. Therefore, the MnCuFe/ZnO catalyst showed a higher activity and selectivity towards low‐carbon (C2–C4) alcohols than Cu–Fe‐based catalysts with or without a Zn promoter. Meanwhile, the contribution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) used in the catalyst preparation process was also investigated. As a result, CTAB had a prominent influence on the promotion of the S
/Salc (S=selectivity, alc=total alcohols) ratio, which increased from 52 to 63 %, and the yield of low‐carbon alcohols reached 0.151 g mLcat.−1 h−1. The TPR and XPS results indicated that more Cu2+ was reduced to metallic Cu0 on CTAB‐MnCuFe/ZnO, which suggests that the catalyst was better reduced. The XRD results insinuated that more Cu–Fe3C dual active sites were generated, which facilitated the formation of low‐carbon alcohols. Furthermore, a CTAB/Cu molar ratio of 1.0 was the optimum ratio for the formation of low‐carbon alcohols.
Real‐world testbed for multi‐tag UWB chipless RFID system based on a novel collision avoidance MAC protocol
Authors: El‐Hadidy Mohamed , El‐Awamry Ahmed , Fawky Abdelfattah , Khaliel Maher , Kaiser Thomas 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTChipless radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are dummy, memoryless, with limited number of bits, very low backscattered power, and short reading range. Therefore, the existing RFID standards and protocols designed for the chipped RFID systems are not applicable for the chipless systems. Main objective of this contribution is to introduce a novel real‐world testbed for multi‐tag ultra‐wideband (UWB) chipless RFID system. In this testbed, a new Notch Position Modulation scheme is implemented as the first medium access control algorithm for handling the multi‐tag identification scenario of the frequency signature based chipless RFID tags. This intelligent Notch Position Modulation algorithm reduces the sensing and identification time and accordingly the overall system latency. The proposed protocol enables fetching the frequency signatures of the chipless RFID tags through the whole UWB range effectively. Moreover, an advanced signaling scheme is designed for the RFID reader in order to make the best use of the Federal Communications Commission UWB regulations for increasing the maximum transmitted power and the corresponding reading range. The signaling scheme, real‐time channel estimation, and clutter removal technique are implemented on the software defined radio platform in a heavily dense multipath indoor environment. Based on the medium access control protocol, the mitigation of the undesired environmental reflections as well as the interference between the chipless RFID tags is well demonstrated in the developed testbed.
A pilot study of potential brain donor satisfaction and attitudes towards telephone assessment
Authors: Costello Helen , Hayes Gillian M. , Highton‐Williamson Elizabeth , Nurock Shirley , Hanbury Dave , Francis Paul T. 
Published: October 2016

ObjectiveTest the feasibility of assessing cognition, psychiatric symptoms and daily living skills of potential brain donors by telephone and compare satisfaction and attitudes across telephone and face‐to‐face assessment.MethodData were collected from 108 healthy participants from the Brains for Dementia Research cohort. Purposive sampling was used to assess feasibility and a randomised control trial design compared satisfaction and attitudes towards telephone and face‐to‐face assessment. Non‐parametric tests were conducted to compare groups, and logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between satisfaction and participant characteristics.ResultsOf the 80 participants offered telephone assessment, 67 (83.8%) agreed, 2 (2.5%) had a significant hearing impairment, 4 (5.0%) had potential memory problems and 7 (8.7%) declined. On average, telephone assessments lasted 38 min and duration was negatively associated with Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status‐Modified scores (p = 0.001) and positively associated with age (p = 0.040), Neuropsychiatric Inventory scores (p = 0.019), Geriatric Depression Scale (p = 0.035) and Global Deterioration Scale (p = 0.022). Satisfaction was high in respect to organisational and personal aspects; ratings did not differ significantly across telephone and face‐to‐face assessment groups and were not related to socio‐demographic characteristics. Participants undergoing telephone assessment were significantly more likely to hold positive attitudes towards this mode of assessment.ConclusionsTelephone assessment is feasible, time‐efficient and acceptable to healthy, potential brain donors. When used with other assessment modes and within the context of established contact, telephone assessment offers greater flexibility to researchers and participants and represents an effective mechanism for overcoming the challenges of growing, ageing cohorts and uncertain resources. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Argument for Fewer Clinical Trials
Authors: Borgerson Kirstin 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe volume of clinical research is increasing exponentially—far beyond our ability to process and absorb the results. Given this situation, it may be beneficial to consider reducing the flow at its source. In what follows, I will motivate and critically evaluate the following proposal: researchers should conduct fewer clinical trials. More specifically, I c onsider whether researchers should be permitted to conduct only clinical research of very high quality and, in turn, whether research ethics committees (RECs) should prohibit all other, lower‐quality research, even when it might appear to meet some minimal ethical standard. Following a close analysis of the social‐value requirement of ethical clinical research, I argue that this proposal is defensible.The problem identified in this paper has two parts, quantity and quality, and some clarification is needed about the latter because “quality” is a highly contested term in the medical literature. When some scholars advocate for high‐quality trials, they mean large‐scale, simple, explanatory randomized controlled trials. Others, including myself, have defended a different characterization of high‐quality research that tends more toward pragmatic trial design and the use of methods other than RCTs. Pragmatic trials aim to provide evidence that directly supports clinical decision‐making in “usual” care settings. Unlike explanatory trials, which aim to abstract away from particular settings and patients, in the hopes of creating ideal conditions for the success of an intervention, pragmatic trials deliberately pursue knowledge of high applicability, through the use of representative subjects, clinically important questions, flexible treatment protocols, patient‐oriented outcome measures, and so on. I see applicability as a marker of high‐quality research. The context in which research is meant to be applied should be the context in which new interventions are evaluated.
One‐pot four component condensation for the synthesis of novel dispirooxindole pyrrolidine linked 1,2,3‐triazoles via stereo‐ and regioselective [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction in PEG‐400
Authors: Kumari Sudesh , Khurana Jitender M. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractA one‐pot four component condensation of isatin, sarcosine, 2‐[2‐oxo‐1‐(prop‐2‐ynyl)indolin‐3‐ylidene]malononitrile and aryl azides has been reported for the synthesis of novel dispirooxindole pyrrolidine linked 1,2,3‐triazole conjugates using Cu(I) as a catalyst in PEG‐400 by stereoselective [3 + 2] azide‐alkyne cycloaddition followed by [3 + 2] azomethine ylide and alkene cycloaddition. Structures have been confirmed by spectral and X‐ray studies. Crystal packing of 5a has also been reported. Rapid reaction, easy work‐up and high yields are the salient features of the present protocol.