bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Filling the interspace—restoring arid land mosses: source populations, organic matter, and overwintering govern success
Authors: Condon Lea A. , Pyke David A. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBiological soil crusts contribute to ecosystem functions and occupy space that could be available to invasive annual grasses. Given disturbances in the semiarid shrub steppe communities, we embarked on a set of studies to investigate restoration potential of mosses in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. We examined establishment and growth of two moss species common to the Great Basin, USA: Bryum argenteum and Syntrichia ruralis from two environmental settings (warm dry vs. cool moist). Moss fragments were inoculated into a third warm dry setting, on bare soil in spring and fall, both with and without a jute net and with and without spring irrigation. Moss cover was monitored in spring seasons of three consecutive years. Both moss species increased in cover over the winter. When Bryum received spring irrigation that was out of sync with natural precipitation patterns, moss cover increased and then crashed, taking two seasons to recover. Syntrichia did not respond to the irrigation treatment. The addition of jute net increased moss cover under all conditions, except Syntrichia following fall inoculation, which required a second winter to increase in cover. The warm dry population of Bryum combined with jute achieved on average 60% cover compared to the cool moist population that achieved only 28% cover by the end of the study. Differences were less pronounced for Syntrichia where moss from the warm dry population with jute achieved on average 51% cover compared to the cool moist population that achieved 43% cover by the end of the study. Restoration of arid land mosses may quickly protect soils from erosion while occupying sites before invasive plants. We show that higher moss cover will be achieved quickly with the addition of organic matter and when moss fragments originate from sites with a climate that is similar to that of the restoration site.
Species–area relationships and additive partitioning of diversity of native and nonnative herpetofauna of the West Indies
Authors: Gao De , Perry Gad 
Published: October 2016

AbstractTo evaluate the regional biogeographical patterns of West Indian native and nonnative herpetofauna, we derived and updated data on the presence/absence of all herpetofauna in this region from the recently published reviews. We divided the records into 24 taxonomic groups and classified each species as native or nonnative at each locality. For each taxonomic group and in aggregate, we then assessed the following: (1) multiple species–area relationship (SAR) models; (2)C‐ andZ‐values, typically interpreted to represent insularity or dispersal ability; and (3) the average diversity of islands, among‐island heterogeneity, γ‐diversity, and the contribution of area effect toward explaining among‐island heterogeneity using additive diversity partitioning approach. We found the following: (1)SARs were best modeled using the Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino relationships; (2) the Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino regressions displayed both convex and sigmoid curves; and (3) the Cumulative Weibull regressions were more conservative than Lomolino at displaying sigmoid curves within the range of island size studied. TheZ‐value of all herpetofauna was overestimated by Darlington (Zoogeography: The geographic distribution of animals, John Wiley, New York, 1957), andZ‐values were ranked: (1) native > nonnative; (2) reptiles > amphibians; (3) snake > lizard > frog > turtle > crocodilian; and (4) increased from lower‐ to higher‐level taxonomic groups. Additive diversity partitioning showed that area had a weaker effect on explaining the among‐island heterogeneity for nonnative species than for native species. Our findings imply that the flexibility of Cumulative Weibull and Lomolino has been underappreciated in the literature.Z‐value is an average of different slopes from different scales and could be artificially overestimated due to oversampling islands of intermediate to large size. Lower extinction rate, higher colonization, and more in situ speciation could contribute to high richness of native species on large islands, enlarging area effect on explaining the between‐island heterogeneity for native species, whereas economic isolation on large islands could decrease the predicted richness, lowering the area effect for nonnative species. For most of the small islands less affected by human activities, extinction and dispersal limitation are the primary processes producing low species richness pattern, which decreases the overall average diversity with a large among‐island heterogeneity corresponding to the high value of this region as a biodiversity hotspot.
Physiological responses of two moss species to the combined stress of water deficit and elevated N deposition (II): Carbon and nitrogen metabolism
Authors: Liu Bin‐yang , Lei Chun‐yi , Jin Jian‐hua , Guan Yi‐yun , Li Shan , Zhang Yi‐shun , Liu Wei‐qiu 
Published: October 2016

AbstractNitrogen (N) deposition levels and frequencies of extreme drought events are increasing globally. In efforts to improve understanding of plants' responses to associated stresses, we have investigated responses of mosses to drought under elevated nitrogen conditions. More specifically, we exposed Pogonatum cirratum subsp. fuscatum and Hypnum plumaeforme to various nitrate (KNO3) or ammonium (NH4Cl) treatments, with and without water deficit stress and monitored indices related to carbon (C) and N metabolism both immediately after the stress and after a short recovery period. The results show that N application stimulated both C and N assimilation activities, including ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase, glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase (GS/GOGAT), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activities, while water deficit inhibited C and N assimilation. The mosses could resist stress caused by excess N and water deficit by increasing their photorespiration activity and proline (Pro) contents. However, N supply increased their sensitivity to water stress, causing sharper reductions in C and N assimilation rates, and further increases in photorespiration and Pro contents, indicating more serious oxidative or osmotic stress in the mosses. In addition, there were interspecific differences in N assimilation pathways, as the GS/GOGAT and GDH pathways were the preferentially used ammonium assimilation pathways in P. cirratum and H. plumaeforme when stressed, respectively. After rehydration, both mosses exhibited overcompensation effects for most C and N assimilation activities, but when supplied with N, the activities were generally restored to previous levels (or less), indicating that N supply reduced their ability to recover from water deficit stress. In conclusion, mosses can tolerate a certain degree of water deficit stress and possess some resilience to environmental fluctuations, but elevated N deposition reduces their tolerance and ability to recover.
Rate of forcing and the forecastability of critical transitions
Authors: Clements Christopher F. , Ozgul Arpat 
Published: October 2016

AbstractCritical transitions are qualitative changes of state that occur when a stochastic dynamical system is forced through a critical point. Many critical transitions are preceded by characteristic fluctuations that may serve as model‐independent early warning signals, implying that these events may be predictable in applications ranging from physics to biology. In nonbiological systems, the strength of such early warning signals has been shown partly to be determined by the speed at which the transition occurs. It is currently unknown whether biological systems, which are inherently high dimensional and typically display low signal‐to‐noise ratios, also exhibit this property, which would have important implications for how ecosystems are managed, particularly where the forces exerted on a system are anthropogenic. We examine whether the rate of forcing can alter the strength of early warning signals in (1) a model exhibiting a fold bifurcation where a state shift is driven by the harvesting of individuals, and (2) a model exhibiting a transcritical bifurcation where a state shift is driven by increased grazing pressure. These models predict that the rate of forcing can alter the detectability of early warning signals regardless of the underlying bifurcation the system exhibits, but that this result may be more pronounced in fold bifurcations. These findings have important implications for the management of biological populations, particularly harvested systems such as fisheries, and suggest that knowing the class of bifurcations a system will manifest may help discriminate between true‐positive and false‐positive signals.
Whole‐tree sap flux in Quercus serrata trees after three levels of partial sapwood removal to simulate Japanese oak wilt
Authors: Chandrathilake G. G. T. , Tanaka Nobuaki , Kamata Naoto 
Published: October 2016

AbstractPlant transpiration plays a key role in the hydrological cycle in forested watersheds. Oak trees infested with Japanese oak wilt may show changes in transpiration even if they are still alive. However, to our knowledge, no study has shown changes in transpiration and its threshold for tree weakening. We hypothesized that whole‐tree sap flux would be reduced in surviving oak trunks owing to sapwood dysfunction; however, part of this reduction would be compensated by enhanced sap flux density (Fd) in the remaining functioning sapwood. To test this hypothesis, 25%, 50%, and 75% of sapwood was removed at breast height to simulate xylem dysfunction for nine Quercus serrata trees in a warm‐temperate secondary forest in Japan. Granier probes were used to measure the Fd of the treated and three control trees before and after the treatment. Even though tested trees were still alive until at least the end of the second growing season, external symptoms of weakening were detected in 75% treated trees. Analysis using a linear mixed model showed that whole‐tree sap flux was significantly reduced in all treatments. However, 25% and 50% treated trees showed significant Fd compensation, whereas 75% treated trees showed significantly smaller whole‐tree sap flux than the value expected from the treatment. These results suggest that the threshold of tree weakening lies between 50% and 75% of sapwood removal, above which the Fd compensation cannot be attained. Therefore, whole‐tree sap flux in infested but surviving trees varies with respect to the intensity of sapwood damage.
Are historical fire regimes compatible with future climate? Implications for forest restoration
Authors: Flatley William T. , Fulé Peter Z. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe restoration of historical fire regimes is often a primary objective in the conservation of fire‐adapted forests. However, individual species' responses to future climate change may uncouple historical vegetation–disturbance relationships, producing potentially negative ecological consequences to fire restoration. We used a landscape simulation model to assess how forest pattern will respond to future climate regimes and whether the restoration of historical fire regimes will benefit forest conservation under future climate regimes. Our study landscape was the 335,000‐ha Kaibab Plateau at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon spanning a broad elevation‐vegetation gradient of pinyon‐juniper, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and spruce‐fir forests along with a range of associated fire regimes. We employed a novel multimodel landscape simulation approach using the Climate‐Forest Vegetation Simulator to estimate individual tree species climate responses and LANDIS‐II to simulate spatial patterns of fire disturbance, forest growth, regeneration, succession, and dispersal. Model simulations included three climate scenarios (no change, moderate change, and high change) and two fire scenarios (fire exclusion and fire restoration). The climate change scenarios produced declines in mean forest aboveground biomass (AGB) and a compositional turnover equal to one or two vegetation zones, approximating the vegetation displacement that occurred in this location during the Holocene. Fire restoration resulted in earlier, but roughly equivalent, AGB declines and compositional change. Uphill species migration in some elevation zones produced tree species–fire regime mismatches that promoted state changes and increased nonforest area. Regardless of fire management approach, our simulations project that the Kaibab Plateau will eventually be dominated by pinyon–juniper, oak, and ponderosa pine forest types, with a complete loss of mesic conifer species. Our results indicate that fire managers will have to be flexible with the application of historical fire regimes to avoid regeneration failures and abrupt declines in biomass.
Study of a new hydraulic pumping unit based on the offshore platform
Authors: Yu Yanqun , Chang Zongyu , Qi Yaoguang , Xue Xin , Zhao Jiannan 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThis article introduces a new technology about a rod pumping in the offshore platform according to the demand of offshore heavy oil thermal recovery and the production of stripper well, analyzes the research status of hydraulic pumping unit at home and abroad, and designs a new kind of miniature hydraulic pumping unit with long‐stroke, low pumping speed and compact structure to resolve the problem of space limitation. The article also describes the whole structure and the working principle of this pumping unit, determines the choice of stroke and rate of the pumping unit, and establishes mathematical models based on the polished rod loads. A new composite hydraulic cylinder with a special structure was designed by combining the hydraulic cylinder with the energy accumulator. This composite hydraulic cylinder is applied on land, and the model prototype runs smoothly, which indicates that the whole structure design of the pumping unit is reasonable and the control strategy is correct.
The contribution of building‐integrated geothermal systems to the energy transition / Der Beitrag gebäudeintegrierter Geothermieanlagen zur Energiewende
Authors: Hofinger Johann 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIf international agreements to replace fossil fuels with renewables are taken seriously by politicians, a much broader use of environmental‐friendly energy sources will be needed for heating and cooling purposes in the future. This necessary decarbonisation can be supported by the use of heat pumps in combination with geothermal absorbers, which have particular advantages since a large part of the heat used is extracted from the environment surrounding the building. The advantage of building‐integrated geothermal systems also lies in the simple and inexpensive supply of cooling energy, which can be accomplished either by free cooling or by reversing the heat pump circuit. The geothermal plants at Salzburg railway station and the Austria Campus will be exemplified and operating experience is given.Werden die internationalen Vereinbarungen zum Ersatz fossiler Energieträger durch erneuerbare von der Politik tatsächlich umgesetzt, ist auch im Gebäudesektor in Zukunft ein wesentlich ausgeweiteter Einsatz klimafreundlicher Energieträger erforderlich. Im Sinne einer notwendigen Dekarbonisierung bietet die Verwendung von Wärmepumpenanlagen in Kombination mit Geothermieabsorbern besondere Vorteile, da ein Großteil der Nutzwärme aus der Umgebung des Gebäudes bezogen wird. Der Vorteil gebäudeintegrierter Erdwärmeanlagen liegt auch in der einfachen und kostengünstigen Bereitstellung von Kühlenergie, welche sich entweder durch Free‐Cooling oder durch die Umkehrung des Wärmepumpenkreislaufs bewerkstelligen lässt. Die Geothermieanlagen am Hauptbahnhof Salzburg und am im Bau befindlichen Austria Campus werden beispielhaft beschrieben und Bau‐ sowie Betriebserfahrungen angeführt.
A European perspective of the development of deep geothermal in urban areas
Authors: Dumas Philippe 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe future of our energy supply systems is moving towards Smart Cities and Smart Rural Communities, where the integration of combined technologies using renewable energy sources reduces environmental impact and offers citizens a better quality of life. Geothermal has a particularly important role in smart electricity and thermal grids, since it can deliver both heating and cooling, and electricity.Shallow geothermal, using heat pumps, is a key energy source for smart energy systems. It provides solutions for the future energy system by coupling smart thermal and electricity grids with underground thermal storage and by providing reliable and affordable heating and cooling supply to both urban and rural areas.As these technologies can be installed in grid and off‐grid heating and cooling systems, they perfectly fit the new smart cities and rural communities approach.In addition, there is also an important role for shallow geothermal energy in connection with and management of smart electricity grids. Geothermal heat pumps can provide demand response services, thereby contributing to grid stabilisation, whilst Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) is an excellent storage solution. Shallow geothermal technologies will be utilised in the next generation of district heating: Smart Thermal Grids.
MinTherm – Utilization of the overburden of existing underground structures for deep geothermal projects / MinTherm – Geothermische Nutzung des Überlagerungspotenzials in unterirdischen Infrastrukturen für tiefe Geothermie
Authors: Lorenz Stefan , Stoxreiter Thomas , Galler Robert 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe research study was intended to investigate the potential use of geothermal energy power plants in subsurface infrastructure such as tunnels and active or closed mines. The aims of the study was to examine the geological and geothermal conditions of a tunnel and a mine to survey the drilling technologies and necessary infrastructures for the drilling of deep boreholes as well as to determine rock, operating and process parameters and safety aspects in case of subsurface structures. The results are given in an evaluation matrix, which assembles the collected data and describes the specific boundary conditions of the tunnel projects and the mine as well as the risks of project Implementation.Das Forschungsprojekt untersuchte das Nutzungspotenzial von Tiefengeothermiekraftwerken für untertägige Infrastrukturen wie Tunnelbauwerke und aktive oder auch stillgelegte Bergbaustrukturen. Ziel des Projekts war, die geologischen und geothermischen Standortbedingungen an einem ausgewählten Tunnelbauwerk und einer aktiven untertägigen Bergbauanlage zu überprüfen, die Bohrtechnologien und die Bereitstellung der notwendigen Infrastrukturen zum Abteufen von Tiefenbohrungen zu erheben und auch Gebirgs‐, Betriebs‐ und Prozessparameter und Sicherheitsaspekte zu erfassen, die sich im Spezialfall von Untertageanlagen ergeben. Die Ergebnisse fanden Eingang in eine Bewertungsmatrix, die sich aus den erhobenen Daten, welche die konkreten Randbedingungen der Projekte aufzeigen, sowie die Risiken einer Projektumsetzung beschreiben.
Severe rock mass damage of undercut and extraction level pillars at El Teniente Mine
Authors: Gomes Alexandre R.A. , Rojas Eduardo , Ulloa Juan Carlos 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe El Teniente Mine of Codelco is one of the largest underground mine operations in the world. The mine employs massive mechanised panel caving methods with pre‐undercut variants to extract copper‐molybdenum ore, producing 140,000 t/d, mainly of primary copper ore. In the context of a study of rehabilitation measures for collapsed zones at the Esmeralda mine, which is one of Tenientés most important operations, a preliminary assessment of the post‐collapse pillar's rock mass condition was carried out, allowing the characterization of the damage zone surrounding the drifts and some insights into the likely pillar's rock mass damage development. The paper outlines these findings and discusses some underlying factors that may also have influenced the process.
Predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma by vascular index on power Doppler ultrasound
Authors: Lee Ji Hye , Shin Hyun Joo , Yoon Jung Hyun , Kim Eun‐Kyung , Moon Hee Jung , Lee Hye Sun , Kwon Hyeong Ju , Kwak Jin Young 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBackgroundFor patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), lymph node metastasis is associated with an increased recurrence rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), microvessel density (MVD), and vascular index (VI) can predict lymph node metastasis in patients with PTC.MethodsFrom January 2011 to October 2011, 202 patients with PTCs underwent preoperative staging ultrasound evaluation. To evaluate vascularity, we measured the VI, VEGF expression, and MVD.ResultsThe VI was significantly correlated with MVD (p = .009). On multivariate analysis, young age showed a significant correlation with lymph node metastasis (p < .001; p < .001; p < .001). However, the other clinicopathologic features, VEGF, MVD, and VI failed to show any significant correlations with lymph node metastasis.ConclusionAlthough the VI showed significant correlation with MVD, it was not significantly correlated to lymph node metastasis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 334–340, 2017
Efficacy of ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration performed by surgeons newly trained in thyroid ultrasound
Authors: Graciano Agnaldo J. , Fischer Carlos A. , Chone Carlos T. , Bublitz Giuliano S. , Sonagli Marina , Filho Cezar A. Rodrigues 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTBackgroundThere are a growing number of thyroid ultrasound courses to train endocrinologists, pathologists, and surgeons to perform ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (FNA). However, there are limited data to support the efficacy of ultrasound‐guided FNA performed by nonradiologists.MethodsWe compared the efficacy of ultrasound‐guided FNA performed by surgeons newly trained in thyroid ultrasound with that of the same technique performed by 1 experienced radiologist. The ratio of nondiagnostic examinations was used to compare the 2 groups.ResultsA total of 197 ultrasound‐guided FNAs were performed on 172 women (95.53%) and 8 men (4.47%) over a 12‐month period. The efficacy of ultrasound‐guided FNA did not differ between groups. A nondiagnostic report was found in 23% and 25.7% of the examinations performed by the radiologist and surgeons, respectively.ConclusionThe efficacy of ultrasound‐guided FNAs performed by our 2 surgeons was similar to that of our radiologist. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 439–442, 2017