bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal Enhanced by Lactic Acid Infusion in Spontaneously Breathing Conscious Sheep
Authors: Scaravilli Vittorio , Kreyer Stefan , Belenkiy Slava , Linden Katharina , Zanella Alberto , Li Yansong , Dubick Michael A. , Cancio Leopoldo C. , Pesenti Antonio , Batchinsky Andriy I. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractAbstract
In a study of six spontaneously breathing conscious sheep connected to a minimally invasive circuit, extracorporeal blood acidification with lactic acid (acid load carbon dioxide removal) increased extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal by 50% compared with standard extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal. Although lactic acid infusion increased overall energy expenditure, feasibility safety and efficiency of acid load carbon dioxide removal were proved.
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Background
The authors studied the effects on membrane lung carbon dioxide extraction (VCO2ML), spontaneous ventilation, and energy expenditure (EE) of an innovative extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) technique enhanced by acidification (acid load carbon dioxide removal [ALCO2R]) via lactic acid.

Methods
Six spontaneously breathing healthy ewes were connected to an extracorporeal circuit with blood flow 250 ml/min and gas flow 10 l/min. Sheep underwent two randomly ordered experimental sequences, each consisting of two 12-h alternating phases of ALCO2R and ECCO2R. During ALCO2R, lactic acid (1.5 mEq/min) was infused before the membrane lung. Caloric intake was not controlled, and animals were freely fed. VCO2ML, natural lung carbon dioxide extraction, total carbon dioxide production, and minute ventilation were recorded. Oxygen consumption and EE were calculated.

Results
ALCO2R enhanced VCO2ML by 48% relative to ECCO2R (55.3 ± 3.1 vs. 37.2 ± 3.2 ml/min; P less than 0.001). During ALCO2R, minute ventilation and natural lung carbon dioxide extraction were not affected (7.88 ± 2.00 vs. 7.51 ± 1.89 l/min, P = 0.146; 167.9 ± 41.6 vs. 159.6 ± 51.8 ml/min, P = 0.063), whereas total carbon dioxide production, oxygen consumption, and EE rose by 12% each (223.53 ± 42.68 vs. 196.64 ± 50.92 ml/min, 215.3 ± 96.9 vs. 189.1 ± 89.0 ml/min, 67.5 ± 24.0 vs. 60.3 ± 20.1 kcal/h; P less than 0.001).

Conclusions
ALCO2R was effective in enhancing VCO2ML. However, lactic acid caused a rise in EE that made ALCO2R no different from standard ECCO2R with respect to ventilation. The authors suggest coupling lactic acid–enhanced ALCO2R with active measures to control metabolism.
Do Adolescents With Higher Knowledge of HIV Have Lower Sexual Risk Behaviors?
Authors: Hoehn Erin F. , FitzGerald Michael R. , Bhatt Seema R. , Robinson Venita M. , Lippe Joyce E. , Reed Jennifer L. 
Published: January 2016

Objectives
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, and adolescents account for a disproportionate number of new cases. We aimed to assess knowledge of HIV in relation to sexual risk behaviors among adolescents seeking care in our pediatric emergency department and to assess sources of HIV knowledge among this population.

Methods
Adolescents aged 14 to 21 years who presented to the pediatric emergency department participated in a questionnaire assessing HIV knowledge, sexual risk behaviors, and sources of HIV knowledge. For purposes of statistical analysis, patients were divided into a high-score (greater than or equal to the median score) or low-score (less than the median score) group based on the HIV-Knowledge Questionnaire 18 portion of the survey.

Results
A total of 240 adolescents were enrolled. Of those, 112 patients scored higher than or equal to the median HIV-Knowledge Questionnaire 18 score of 11. High-scoring knowledge was independently associated with patients 18 years or older (P = 0.001), any lifetime sexual activity (odds ratio [OR], 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–3.67; P = 0.003), previous testing for HIV (OR, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.40–4.11; P = 0.002), and an “expert” source (school-based or medical professionals) as their primary source of knowledge (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.05–3.41; P = 0.034). Age of first sexual encounter, number of partners, and condom use were not significantly associated with knowledge score.

Conclusions
Education from “expert” sources is important in providing adolescents with accurate information. However, education alone is unlikely to change sexual practices. A more comprehensive approach to HIV prevention is needed to decrease HIV transmission among this patient population.
Enhanced Stomatal Conductance by a Spontaneous Arabidopsis Tetraploid, Me-0, Results from Increased Stomatal Size and Greater Stomatal Aperture
Authors: Monda Keina , Araki Hiromitsu , Kuhara Satoru , Ishigaki Genki , Akashi Ryo , Negi Juntaro , Kojima Mikiko , Sakakibara Hitoshi , Takahashi Sho , Hashimoto-Sugimoto Mimi , Goto Nobuharu , Iba Koh 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The rate of gas exchange in plants is regulated mainly by stomatal size and density. Generally, higher densities of smaller stomata are advantageous for gas exchange; however, it is unclear what the effect of an extraordinary change in stomatal size might have on a plant’s gas-exchange capacity. We investigated the stomatal responses to CO2 concentration changes among 374 Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ecotypes and discovered that Mechtshausen (Me-0), a natural tetraploid ecotype, has significantly larger stomata and can achieve a high stomatal conductance. We surmised that the cause of the increased stomatal conductance is tetraploidization; however, the stomatal conductance of another tetraploid accession, tetraploid Columbia (Col), was not as high as that in Me-0. One difference between these two accessions was the size of their stomatal apertures. Analyses of abscisic acid sensitivity, ion balance, and gene expression profiles suggested that physiological or genetic factors restrict the stomatal opening in tetraploid Col but not in Me-0. Our results show that Me-0 overcomes the handicap of stomatal opening that is typical for tetraploids and achieves higher stomatal conductance compared with the closely related tetraploid Col on account of larger stomatal apertures. This study provides evidence for whether larger stomatal size in tetraploids of higher plants can improve stomatal conductance.
Attribution of symbolic brand meaning: the interplay of consumers, brands and reference groups
Authors: Hammerl Manfred , Dorner Florian , Foscht Thomas , Brandstätter Marion 
Published: January 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by both, self-brand connection and reference groups, in attributing symbolic meaning to a brand. Current studies focus either on the influence of reference groups or on the role of self-brand connection. We demonstrate that both interact in attributing symbolic meaning. To explain interactions between the consumer, the brand and the reference groups, we draw on Heider’s balance theory.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire was developed which included scales on self-brand connection, reference group belonging and symbolic brand meaning. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed with factor analyses, analyses of variance and correlation analyses.Findings– Our findings suggest that consumers may alter their beliefs about a brand depending on both, their self-brand connection and the influence of reference groups. If a consumer feels a strong connection with a brand and this brand is used by a dissociative reference group, the consumer will not attribute high symbolic meaning to that brand. The same is valid if the consumer’s in-group uses a brand which the consumer does not feel connected to.Originality/value– The present study introduces Heider’s balance theory to the fields of reference group research and self-brand connection research. Balance theory has proved to be a valuable framework for analyzing the relationships of consumers, their brands and their reference groups in the context of attributing symbolic brand meaning. Building on these insights, researchers and practitioners may better understand the emergence of symbolic brand meaning hereafter.
Linking structure and function in food webs: maximization of different ecological functions generates distinct food web structures
Authors: Yen Jian D. L. , Cabral Reniel B. , Cantor Mauricio , Hatton Ian , Kortsch Susanne , Patrício Joana , Yamamichi Masato 
Published: January 2016

Summary

Trophic interactions are central to ecosystem functioning, but the link between food web structure and ecosystem functioning remains obscure. Regularities (i.e. consistent patterns) in food web structure suggest the possibility of regularities in ecosystem functioning, which might be used to relate structure to function.

We introduce a novel, genetic algorithm approach to simulate food webs with maximized throughput (a proxy for ecosystem functioning) and compare the structure of these simulated food webs to real empirical food webs using common metrics of food web structure. We repeat this analysis using robustness to secondary extinctions (a proxy for ecosystem resilience) instead of throughput to determine the relative contributions of ecosystem functioning and ecosystem resilience to food web structure.

Simulated food webs that maximized robustness were similar to real food webs when connectance (i.e. levels of interaction across the food web) was high, but this result did not extend to food webs with low connectance. Simulated food webs that maximized throughput or a combination of throughput and robustness were not similar to any real food webs.

Simulated maximum‐throughput food webs differed markedly from maximum‐robustness food webs, which suggests that maximizing different ecological functions can generate distinct food web structures. Based on our results, food web structure would appear to have a stronger relationship with ecosystem resilience than with ecosystem throughput.

Our genetic algorithm approach is general and is well suited to large, realistically complex food webs. Genetic algorithms can incorporate constraints on structure and can generate outputs that can be compared directly to empirical data. Our method can be used to explore a range of maximization or minimization hypotheses, providing new perspectives on the links between structure and function in ecological systems.
Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity as the major drivers of beetle diversity in dead wood
Authors: Seibold Sebastian , Bässler Claus , Brandl Roland , Büche Boris , Szallies Alexander , Thorn Simon , Ulyshen Michael D. , Müller Jörg 
Published: January 2016

SummaryResource availability and habitat heterogeneity are principle drivers of biodiversity, but their individual roles often remain unclear since both factors are usually correlated. The biodiversity of species dependent on dead wood could be driven by either resource availability represented by dead‐wood amount or habitat heterogeneity characterized by dead‐wood diversity or both. Understanding their roles is crucial for improving evidence‐based conservation strategies for saproxylic species in managed forests.To disentangle the effects of dead‐wood amount and dead‐wood diversity on biodiversity relative to canopy openness (microclimate), we experimentally exposed different amounts of logs and branches of two different tree species representing a gradient of dead‐wood diversity in 190 sunny and shady forest plots. During the 3 years after exposing dead wood, we sampled saproxylic beetles, which are together with fungi the most diverse and important taxonomic group involved in decomposition of wood.The composition of saproxylic beetle assemblages differed clearly between shady and sunny forest plots, with higher richness in sunny plots. Both dead‐wood amount and dead‐wood diversity positively and independently affected species richness of saproxylic beetles, but these effects were mediated by canopy openness. In sunny forest, species richness increased with increasing amount of dead wood, whereas in shady forest, dead‐wood diversity was the prevailing factor.The stepwise analysis of abundance and species richness, however, indicated that effects of both factors supported only the habitat‐heterogeneity hypothesis, as the positive effect of high amounts of dead wood could be explained by cryptic variability of dead‐wood quality within single objects.Synthesis and applications. As canopy openness and habitat heterogeneity seem to be the major drivers of saproxylic beetle diversity in temperate forests, we recommend that managers aim to increase the heterogeneity of dead‐wood substrates under both sunny and shady forest conditions. Intentional opening of the canopy should be considered in anthropogenically homogenized, dense forests. Specifically in temperate mixed montane forests, dead wood should be provided in the form of large logs in sunny habitats and a high diversity of different dead‐wood substrates should be retained or created in shady forests.
Modest enhancements to conventional grassland diversity improve the provision of pollination services
Authors: Orford Katherine A. , Murray Phil J. , Vaughan Ian P. , Memmott Jane 
Published: January 2016

Summary

Grassland for livestock production is a major form of land use throughout Europe and its intensive management threatens biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes. Modest increases to conventional grassland biodiversity could have considerable positive impacts on the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination, to surrounding habitats.

Using a field‐scale experiment in which grassland seed mixes and sward management were manipulated, complemented by surveys on working farms and phytometer experiments, the impact of conventional grassland diversity and management on the functional diversity and ecosystem service provision of pollinator communities were investigated.

Increasing plant richness, by the addition of both legumes and forbs, was associated with significant enhancements in the functional diversity of grassland pollinator communities. This was associated with increased temporal stability of flower–visitor interactions at the community level. Visitation networks revealed pasture species Taraxacum sp. (Wigg.) (dandelion) and Cirsium arvense (Scop.) (creeping thistle) to have the highest pollinator visitation frequency and richness. Cichorium intybus (L.) (chichory) was highlighted as an important species having both high pollinator visitation and desirable agronomic properties.

Increased sward richness was associated with an increase in the pollination of two phytometer species; Fragaria × ananassa (strawberry) and Silene dioica (red campion), but not Vicia faba (broad bean). Enhanced functional diversity, richness and abundance of the pollinator communities associated with more diverse neighbouring pastures were found to be potential mechanisms for improved pollination.

Synthesis and applications. A modest increase in conventional grassland plant diversity with legumes and forbs, achievable with the expertise and resources available to most grassland farmers, could enhance pollinator functional diversity, richness and abundance. Moreover, our results suggest that this could improve pollination services and consequently surrounding crop yields (e.g. strawberry) and wildflower reproduction in agro‐ecosystems.
Beyond climate: convergence in fast evolving sclerophylls in Cape and Australian Rhamnaceae predates the mediterranean climate
Authors: Onstein Renske E. , Linder H. Peter 
Published: January 2016

Summary

Morphological convergence in mediterranean‐type ecosystems (MTEs) has long been interpreted as adaptation to climatic similarities among the five MTEs of the world. Here, we challenge this model using the globally distributed Rhamnaceae.

We collected functional trait data (specific leaf area, leaf area, spinescence, leaf phenology, growth form and leaf margin type) and biome data to test for trait convergence in MTEs, for models of trait evolution and ancestral state reconstruction and for the effect of traits on speciation and extinction rates, using a phylogenetic framework.

We show that leaf functional traits evolve to three optima, which correspond to (i) the edaphically specialized Australian and Cape MTEs (AC), (ii) the mediterranean‐type climates, but edaphically normal Chile, California and Mediterranean Basin (CCM) and (iii) the non‐mediterranean habitats. We find that Rhamnaceae in CCM are predominantly characterized by non‐sclerophylly, the ancestral state in Rhamnaceae, and Rhamnaceae in AC by sclerophylly. These leaf character syndromes have evolved prior to mediterranean climates in MTEs, thereby failing to be adaptive to this selective regime. However, sclerophylly evolved contemporaneously with the transitions to AC and may therefore be an adaptation to nutrient‐poor soils.

The evolution of sclerophylly has contributed to increased diversification rates of Pomaderreae in Australia and Phyliceae in the Cape, by reducing extinction rates and thereby facilitating evolutionary persistence. The historical relatively stable conditions in AC are consistent with this persistence hypothesis.

Synthesis. In this study, we integrate the fields of macroevolution and ecology and show that low extinction rates may not only account for the ecological, but also for the floristic dominance of sclerophylly in the hyperdiverse Australian and Cape mediterranean‐type ecosystems.
‘It's Not Going to be Suburban, It's Going to be All Urban’: Assembling Post‐suburbia in the Toronto and Chicago Regions
Authors: Keil Roger , Addie Jean‐Paul D. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractUrban and suburban politics are increasingly intertwined in regions that aspire to be global. Powerful actors in the Chicago and Toronto regions have mobilized regional space to brand rescaled images of the urban experience, but questions remain as to who constructs and who can access the benefits of these revised spatial identities. Local political interests have tended to be obfuscated in the regional milieu, most problematically in the spaces between the gentrified inner cities, privileged growth nodes, and the glamorized suburban subdivisions and exurban spaces beyond the city limits. This article analyses how socio‐spatial changes in post‐suburbanizing urban fringes contribute to the way regions are being reconfigured and reimagined. Guided by current debates at the intersection of assemblage theory and critical urban political economy, our analysis demonstrates how socio‐technical infrastructures, policy mobilities and political economic relations are spatially aligned, sustained and dissolved in splintering North American agglomerations. Particular attention is paid to issues of urban transportation and connectivity in uncovering multifaceted modes of suburbanism that now underlie the monistic imagery of the globalized region. Emergent regionalized topologies and territoriality blur conventional understandings of city–suburban dichotomies in extended urban areas that are now characterized by polycentric post‐suburban constellations. In terms of their substance and functionality, ‘real existing' regions are currently re‐territorialized as complex assemblages that are embedded in a neoliberalizing political economy whose politics and identities are only beginning to be revealed.
‘We Live on Estimates': Everyday Practices of Prepaid Electricity and the Urban Condition in Maputo, Mozambique
Authors: Baptista Idalina 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThis article examines the transition to prepaid electricity happening in Maputo, Mozambique, in order to reflect on the contemporary geographies of urban energy infrastructure and urbanization in sub‐Saharan Africa and other cities of the South. The article draws on fieldwork and archival research conducted in 2013 and 2014, arguing that prepayment constitutes a productive juncture in the urban experience of electricity infrastructure in Maputo's postcolonial moment, not merely a neutral technology or a disciplining technique of government (as argued by some scholarship). The article examines the multiple rationalities implicated in the use of the electricity infrastructure via prepayment and the organization of urban life it engenders (and of which it is also a product) by focusing on the everyday practices surrounding prepaid electricity of urban dwellers in neighbourhoods where the ‘modern infrastructural ideal' may never be fully realized. As a result, it contributes to an understanding of the experience of urban energy in cities where ‘slum urbanism', uncertainty and provisionality are dominant aspects of the urban condition.
Disrupted Infrastructures: An Urban Political Ecology of Interrupted Electricity in Accra
Authors: Silver Jonathan 
Published: January 2016

AbstractCities in the global South are often considered to be in the midst of infrastructural breakdown, and characterized as either lacking networked services or as suffering from ongoing disruption and sometimes failure. This article focuses on the electricity network of Accra to examine the series of socio‐natural processes that produce this ongoing disruption and to explore the power relations of networked systems in the city. It focuses on the production of disruption through the analytical lens of urban political ecology, in order to show how such a framework can be utilized to interrogate energy geographies. The article begins by describing what happens when the lights go out and the flow of electricity is interrupted across Accra in order to connect a series of socio‐natural processes that contribute to the ongoing network disruption and interruption. The article establishes the effect of historical infrastructural governance, greenhouse gas emissions, flows of international capital, water and drought in northern Ghana, as well as urban sprawl, slum urbanism and rising energy demand in the city, to illustrate the fundamentally unequal and politicized socio‐natures of these disrupted infrastructural processes.
Development of a novel milk‐based fermented product fortified with wheat germ
Authors: Seleet Faten L , Assem Fayza M , Abd El‐Gawad Mona A M , Dabiza Nadia M , Abd El‐Salam Mohamed H 
Published: January 2016

Wheat germ (WG) was mixed with water (1:5), heated (85 °C/15 min), cooled and used to replace 0, 20, 30 and 40% (w/w) of standardised cow's milk (3% fat), supplemented with 2%(w/w) skim milk powder. Yoghurt‐like fermented products were prepared from the different formulations, stored at 7 ± 2 °C for 15 days, and analysed for chemical composition, pH, microbiological quality, texture profile (TPA), viscosity, syneresis and sensory properties. The addition of WG slurry enhanced acid development during fermentation and increased the viscosity of the fermented products. Nutritious milk‐based fermented products of acceptable composition and quality could be prepared from formulations containing 20% (w/w) WG slurry.
Formation of Food‐Grade Nanoemulsions Using Low‐Energy Preparation Methods: A Review of Available Methods
Authors: Komaiko Jennifer S. , McClements David Julian 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThere is considerable interest in the production of emulsions and nanoemulsions using low‐energy methods due to the fact they are simple to implement and no expensive equipment is required. In this review, the principles of isothermal (spontaneous emulsification and emulsion phase inversion) and thermal (phase inversion temperature) low‐energy methods for nanoemulsion production are presented. The major factors influencing nanoemulsion formation using low‐energy methods and food‐grade components are reviewed: preparation conditions, oil type, surfactant type, surfactant‐to‐oil ratio, and cosolvent or cosurfactant addition. The advantages and disadvantages of different low‐energy and high‐energy methods for fabricating nanoemulsions are highlighted, and potential applications for these techniques are discussed.