bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Soil conditioning affects interactions between native and invasive exotic perennials of semi‐natural grasslands
Authors: Vink Stefanie N. , Jordan Nicholas R. , Aldrich‐Wolfe Laura , Huerd Sheri C. , Sheaffer Craig C. , Kinkel Linda L. 
Published: October 2016

SummarySemi‐natural perennial grasslands are of increasing importance as components of multifunctional agroecosystems, combining biomass production with provision of other ecosystem services. Soil legacies from previous land use or exotic species can hinder their establishment, but might be overcome through a multi‐stage successional strategy, whereby certain species are used to facilitate native grassland species establishment. We tested this strategy via a feedback experiment examining soil‐conditioning effects on interference interactions between native and exotic species.Soils in a former maize–soybean production field in Minnesota,USA, were conditioned for 3 years with native or invasive exotic perennials or a maize–soybean crop rotation. Nitrogen (N) fertilization was an additional treatment in field plots. In a greenhouse, native and invasive exotic perennial grassland seedlings were grown on these soils, in monoculture and in native–exotic species pairs, with and without N fertilization. The impact of soil conditioning and field and greenhouse N fertilization on interactions between native and exotic seedlings in mixture was determined.Neighbouring plants suppressed biomass production in all native and exotic species. The maize–soybean rotation left a soil legacy that enhanced suppression of native species when grown with exotic species, while exotic species suffered no such disadvantage.The strong and specific disadvantage to native species of maize–soybean soils decreased with greenhouse N fertilization, but remained significant, while field N addition did not alter this effect.Synthesis and applications. We found that the negative soil legacy of the maize–soybean rotation for native plant performance in interaction with exotics was greatly diminished in soils conditioned by native or exotic perennial species, irrespective of nitrogen addition. This highlights the potential value of perennial species in conversion from row‐crop agriculture to grasslands, because all perennial species alleviated the enhanced suppression of natives observed on maize–soybean soils. We did not find strong evidence that these perennial species were capable of specifically facilitating native species over exotics, but a broader range of species should be evaluated.
Prioritising seascape connectivity in conservation using network analysis
Authors: Engelhard Sarah L. , Huijbers Chantal M. , Stewart‐Koster Ben , Olds Andrew D. , Schlacher Thomas A. , Connolly Rod M. 
Published: October 2016

Summary

Connectivity is regarded globally as a guiding principle for conservation planning, but due to difficulties in quantifying connectivity, empirical data remain scarce. Lack of meaningful connectivity metrics is likely leading to inadequate representation of important biological connections in reserve networks. Identifying patterns in landscape connectivity can, theoretically, improve the design of conservation areas.

We used a network model to estimate seascape connectivity for coral reef‐associated fishes in a subtropical bay in Australia. The model accounted for two scales of connectivity: (i) within mosaics at a local scale and (ii) among these mosaics at a regional scale. Connections among mosaics were modelled using estimations of post‐larval small and intermediate movement distances represented by home ranges of two fish species.

Modelled connectivity patterns were assessed with existing data on fish diversity. For fishes with intermediate home ranges (0–6 km), connectivity [quantified by the index Probability of Connectivity (dPC)] explained 51–60% of species diversity. At smaller home ranges (0–1 km), species diversity was associated closely with intramosaic connectivity quantified by the index dPCintra.

Mosaics and their region‐wide connections were ranked for their contribution to overall seascape connectivity and compared against current positions and boundaries of reserves. Our matching shows that only three of the 10 most important mosaics are at least partly encompassed within a reserve, and only a single important regional connection lies within a reserve.

Synthesis and applications. Notwithstanding its formal recognition in reserve planning, connectivity is rarely accounted for in practice, mainly because suitable metrics of connectivity are not available in planning phases. Here, we show how a network analysis can be effectively used in conservation planning by identifying biological connectivity inside and outside present reserve networks. Our results demonstrate clearly that connectivity is insufficiently represented within a reserve network. We also provide evidence of key pathways in need of protection to avoid nullifying the benefits of protecting key reefs. The guiding principle of protecting connections among habitats can be achieved more effectively in future, by formally incorporating our findings into the decision framework.
Sequential stable isotope analysis reveals differences in dietary history of three sympatric equid species in the Mongolian Gobi
Authors: Burnik Šturm Martina , Ganbaatar Oyunsaikhan , Voigt Christian C. , Kaczensky Petra 
Published: October 2016

Summary

Competition among sympatric wild herbivores is reduced by different physiological, morphological and behavioural traits resulting in different dietary niches. Wild equids are a rather uniform group of large herbivores which have dramatically declined in numbers and range. Correlative evidence suggests that pasture competition with livestock is one of the key factors for this decline, and the situation may be aggravated in areas where different equid species overlap.

The Dzungarian Gobi is currently the only place where two wild equid species coexist and share the range with the domesticated form of a third equid species. In the winter‐cold Gobi desert pasture productivity is low, highly seasonal, and wild equids additionally face increasing livestock densities.

We used stable isotope chronologies of tail hairs to draw inferences about multi‐year diet seasonality, isotopic dietary niches and physiological adaptations in the Asiatic wild ass (khulan), re‐introduced Przewalski's horse, and domestic horse in the Mongolian part of the Dzungarian Gobi.

Our results showed that even in the arid Gobi, both horse species are predominantly grazers, whereas khulan are highly seasonal, switching from being grazers in summer to mixed feeders in winter. The isotopic dietary niches of the two horse species were almost identical, did not vary with season as in khulan and were narrower than in the latter. Higher δ15N values point towards higher water use efficiency in khulan, which may be one reason why they can exploit pastures further away from water.

Synthesis and applications. The high degree of isotopic dietary niche overlap in the two horse species in the Mongolian Gobi points towards a high potential for pasture competition during the critical nutritional bottleneck in winter and highlights the need to severely restrict grazing of domestic horses on the range of the Przewalski's horses. The evolutionary more distant khulan are less constrained by water and seem more flexible in their choice of diet or less successful in exploiting grass‐dominated habitats in winter due to human presence. Providing additional water sources could increase the competition between khulan and livestock and should, therefore, only be done following careful consideration.
Beyond Kriesiland: EU integration as a super issue after the Eurocrisis
Authors: OTJES SIMON , KATSANIDOU ALEXIA 
Published: October 2016

AbstractWhere some researchers have seen only a limited impact of Europeanisation on national party politics, others have added a separate European Union dimension to the pre‐existing economic left‐right dimension to model the national political space. This article examines the effects of the European crisis on the national political space across the EU utilising data from the 2014 European Election Survey. It analyses the effect of a country's economic development on the coherence between attitudes towards the EU and economic issues using multilevel regression. Strong evidence is found that in the Southern European debtor states economic and European issues are merging as a result of strong European interference in their economic policy. In the Northern European creditor states a second relevant dimension focuses on cultural issues. These results offer the next step in theorising Europeanisation.
ITS all right mama: investigating the formation of chimeric sequences in the ITS2 region by DNA metabarcoding analyses of fungal mock communities of different complexities
Authors: Bjørnsgaard Aas Anders , Davey Marie Louise , Kauserud Håvard 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe formation of chimeric sequences can create significant methodological bias in PCR‐based DNA metabarcoding analyses. During mixed‐template amplification of barcoding regions, chimera formation is frequent and well documented. However, profiling of fungal communities typically uses the more variable rDNA region ITS. Due to a larger research community, tools for chimera detection have been developed mainly for the 16S/18S markers. However, these tools are widely applied to the ITS region without verification of their performance. We examined the rate of chimera formation during amplification and 454 sequencing of the ITS2 region from fungal mock communities of different complexities. We evaluated the chimera detecting ability of two common chimera‐checking algorithms: perseus and uchime. Large proportions of the chimeras reported were false positives. No false negatives were found in the data set. Verified chimeras accounted for only 0.2% of the total ITS2 reads, which is considerably less than what is typically reported in 16S and 18S metabarcoding analyses. Verified chimeric ‘parent sequences’ had significantly higher per cent identity to one another than to random members of the mock communities. Community complexity increased the rate of chimera formation. GC content was higher around the verified chimeric break points, potentially facilitating chimera formation through base pair mismatching in the neighbouring regions of high similarity in the chimeric region. We conclude that the hypervariable nature of the ITS region seems to buffer the rate of chimera formation in comparison with other, less variable barcoding regions, due to shorter regions of high sequence similarity.
Genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of Bactrian camels shown by mitochondrial sequence variations
Authors: Ming L. , Yi L. , Sa R. , Wang Z. X. , Wang Z. , Ji R. 
Published: October 2016

SummaryThe Bactrian camel includes various domestic (Camelus bactrianus) and wild (Camelus ferus) breeds that are important for transportation and for their nutritional value. However, there is a lack of extensive information on their genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure. Here, we studied these parameters by examining an 809‐bp mtDNA fragment from 113 individuals, representing 11 domestic breeds, one wild breed and two hybrid individuals. We found 15 different haplotypes, and the phylogenetic analysis suggests that domestic and wild Bactrian camels have two distinct lineages. The analysis of molecular variance placed most of the genetic variance (90.14%, P < 0.01) between wild and domestic camel lineages, suggesting that domestic and wild Bactrian camel do not have the same maternal origin. The analysis of domestic Bactrian camels from different geographical locations found there was no significant genetic divergence in China, Russia and Mongolia. This suggests a strong gene flow due to wide movement of domestic Bactrian camels.
Discovery of porcine miRNA‐196a/b may influence porcine adipogenesis in longissimus dorsi muscle by miRNA sequencing
Authors: Liu Linqing , Qian Kun , Wang Chonglong 
Published: October 2016

SummaryIntramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the fat traits that has economic importance in the pork industry. Longissimus dorsi muscle contains IMF and is suitable for studying adipogenesis. To discover further potential regulatory miRNAs that may influence adipogenesis, we analyzed miRNA in the longissimus dorsi muscle of Yorkshire (YY, lean‐type) and Chinese Wannanhua (WH, fatty) pigs using miRNA sequencing (miRNA‐seq). From this dataset, we identified 598 unique miRNAs comprising 325 pre‐miRNAs and 273 novel pre‐miRNAs through comparison with known miRNAs in miRBase version 21. We found 42 miRNAs including nine up‐ and 33 down‐regulated between the YY and WH pigs. Moreover, we found two miRNAs, miR‐196a/b (miR‐196a, miR‐196b‐5p), that had the highest level of expression in WH pigs, and miR‐196a/b may influence porcine adipogenesis in longissimus dorsi muscle through an adipocytokine signaling pathway.
Corneal confocal microscopy alterations in Sjögren's syndrome dry eye
Authors: Lanza Michele , Iaccarino Stefania , Varricchi Gilda , D'Errico Tito , Gironi Carnevale Ugo Antonello , Bifani Mario 
Published: October 2016

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate light backscattering (LB) in corneal layers in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome dry eye (SSDE) utilizing in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCM) and to determine the eventual association with the lacrimal functional test values.MethodsA complete ophthalmic evaluation, Schirmer test with and without stimulation, break‐up time (BUT) and IVCM were performed on 55 patients affected by SSDE and in an age‐ and sex‐matched cohort of healthy participants (HP). Light backscattering, measures as light reflectivity unit (LRU), detected by IVCM at Bowman's membrane (BM) at 50 μm, at 100 μm and at 200 μm deeper than BM was compared in the two groups. The correlations between LB values and lacrimal function results were evaluated.ResultsIn patients affected by SSDE, LB was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in each corneal layer examined (+14 ± 6.33 LRU at BM), compared with HP. A good reverse correlation between the light reflectivity measures at BM with Schirmer test with (r = −0.91) and without (r = −0.90) stimulation and BUT (r = −0.88) was found. Correlations were lower in the deeper corneal layers.ConclusionEven if our results should be confirmed in further studies with a larger population, these findings show that IVCM is a device able to detect alterations in corneal layers in SSDE patients related to the lacrimal function. Light backscattering (LB) could be very useful for clinical diagnosis and management of SSDE.
Sterile corneal infiltrates after corneal collagen cross‐linking: evaluation of risk factors
Authors: Çerman Eren , Özcan Deniz Özarslan , Toker Ebru 
Published: October 2016

AbstractPurposeTo evaluate possible risk factors leading to sterile corneal infiltrates following corneal collagen cross‐linking (CXL).MethodsA total of 588 eyes of 459 patients treated with Epi‐off (n = 461) or Epi‐on (n = 127) CXL were retrospectively evaluated. Risk factors, including preoperative blepharitis and vernal conjunctivitis, the postoperative use of topical non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as Kmax and pachymetry measurements, were assessed. In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS‐OCT) analyses were performed in patients with sterile infiltrates.ResultsSterile infiltrates developed in 19 cases (3.2%). No patients in the Epi‐on group developed sterile infiltrates. The evaluation of acceleration of the CXL procedure as a risk factor revealed no specific difference in the incidence of infiltrates among four different Epi‐off groups (3 mW/cm2–30 min, 9 mW/cm2–10 min, 18 mW/cm2–5 min, 30 mW/cm2–4 min procedures; p > 0.05, all). Blepharitis, vernal conjunctivitis, Kmax and pachymetry were not identified as risk factors (p > 0.05). Postoperative use of NSAIDs was a significant contributor (p = 0.007), and it increased the chance of sterile infiltrates 4.09 times (95% CI, 1.463–11.428). In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) showed non‐specific inflammation with dendritic cells at the epithelium and at Bowman's layer. In AS‐OCT, a hyper‐reflective band at the level of the anterior stroma to a depth of 100–140 μm was observed.ConclusionThe evaluation of the risk factors such as blepharitis, the use of NSAIDs, vernal conjunctivitis, the duration of CXL procedure and amount of light intensity showed that epithelial damage is possibly the common pathway in the pathogenesis, as no sterile infiltrates in Epi‐on CXL occurred, and the postoperative use of NSAIDs increased the risk of developing sterile infiltrates about four times.
Modelling goal adjustment in social relationships: Two experimental studies with children and adults
Authors: Thomsen Tamara , Kappes Cathleen , Schwerdt Laura , Sander Johanna , Poller Charlotte 
Published: October 2016

In two experiments, we investigated observational learning in social relationships as one possible pathway to the development of goal adjustment processes. In the first experiment, 56 children (M = 9.29 years) observed their parent as a model; in the second, 50 adults (M = 32.27 years) observed their romantic partner. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: goal engagement (GE), goal disengagement (GD), or control group (CO) and were asked to solve (unsolvable) puzzles. Before trying to solve the puzzles by themselves, subjects observed the instructed model, who was told to continue with the same puzzle (GE) or to switch to the next puzzle (GD). Results show that children in the GE group switched significantly less than in the GD or CO group. There was no difference between the GD group and CO group. Adults in the GE group switched significantly less than in the GD or CO group, whereas subjects in the GD group switched significantly more often than the CO group.
Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Previous research focused mainly on the functions of goal adjustment processes. It rarely considered processes and conditions that contribute to the development of goal engagement and goal disengagement. There are only two cross‐sectional studies that directly investigate this topic.

Previous research that claims observational learning as a pathway of learning emotion regulation or adjustment processes has (only) relied on correlational methods and, thus, do not allow any causal interpretations.

Previous research, albeit claiming a life span focus, mostly investigated goal adjustment processes in one specific age group (mainly adults). There is no study that investigates the same processes in different age groups.

What does this study add?

In our two studies, we focus on the conditions of goal adjustment processes and sought to demonstrate one potential pathway of learning or changing the application of goal adjustment processes, namely observational learning.

We employed an experimental design to study observational learning, instead of using a correlational design. The present studies are the first to apply an experimental design to investigate observational learning of adjustment processes.

In our studies, we implemented the same design and studied the same process in different age groups. Thus, they expand knowledge beyond a particular age group and under a life span perspective.
HOW DO FISCAL CONSOLIDATION AND FISCAL STIMULI IMPACT ON THE SYNCHRONIZATION OF BUSINESS CYCLES?
Authors: Agnello Luca , Caporale Guglielmo Maria , Sousa Ricardo M. 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTUsing quarterly data for a panel of advanced economies, we show that synchronized fiscal consolidation (stimulus) programmes in different countries make their business cycles more closely linked. We also find: (i) some evidence of decoupling when an inflation targeting regime is unilaterally adopted; (ii) an increase in business cycle synchronization when countries fix their exchange rates and become members of a monetary union; (iii) a positive effect of bilateral trade on the synchronization of business cycles. Global factors, such as a rise in global risk aversion and uncertainty and a reversal of nonstandard expansionary monetary policy, can also reduce the degree of co‐movement of business cycles across countries. From a policy perspective, our work shows that an inflation targeting regime coupled with simultaneous fiscal consolidations can lead to more business cycle synchronization.
Economic Experiments as a Tool for Agricultural Policy Evaluation: Insights from the European CAP
Authors: Colen Liesbeth , Gomez y Paloma Sergio , Latacz‐Lohmann Uwe , Lefebvre Marianne , Préget Raphaële , Thoyer Sophie 
Published: October 2016

This article assesses the potential contribution of economic experiments to evidence‐based policy making in the field of agriculture, with a special focus on the European Union (EU)'s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CAP evaluation mostly relies on standard tools such as farm and market simulation models, calibrated with EU‐wide statistical data; statistical and econometric analysis of survey data; and a range of qualitative methods such as interviews with stakeholders, focus group, or Internet‐based public consultation. Yet, the CAP has changed considerably over the past decades, requiring adaptations of its evaluation toolbox. A detailed review of existing studies using economic experiments for designing and evaluating agricultural policies provides the backbone for a comprehensive assessment of the complementarity of experimental approaches with standard evaluation tools. Based on conclusions drawn from a workshop organized with experts, academics, and policy makers of Directorate‐General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission, the article further provides recommendations aiming at facilitating inclusion of economic experiments into the CAP evaluation toolbox.Cet article étudie la contribution potentielle des méthodes expérimentales pour l'élaboration de politiques agricoles fondée sur des données probantes, en considérant en particulier le cas de la politique agricole commune de l'UE (PAC). L'évaluation de la PAC repose principalement sur des outils standard tels que des modèles de simulation d'exploitations et de marchés agricoles, calibrés avec des données récoltées à l'échelle de l'UE; des analyses statistiques et économétriques sur des données d'enquête; et une série de méthodes qualitatives telles que des entretiens avec les parties prenantes, des groupes de discussion ou des consultations publiques sur Internet. Pourtant, la PAC a considérablement changé ces dernières décennies, ce qui nécessite d'adapter ses méthodes d'évaluation. Un examen détaillé des études existantes mobilisant les approches expérimentales pour la conception et l'évaluation de politiques agricoles permet d'analyser la complémentarité des méthodes expérimentales avec les outils d'évaluation standards. A partir des conclusions d'un atelier organisé avec des experts, des universitaires et des décideurs politiques de la Direction générale de l'agriculture et du développement rural de la Commission européenne, cet article propose en outre des recommandations pour faciliter l'intégration des approches expérimentales dans les méthodes d'évaluation de la PAC.