bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An empirical study of Chinese SME grocery retailers’ distribution capabilities
Authors: Eng Teck-Yong 
Published: January 2016

Purpose– This study aims to examine theoretical insights from market orientation and resource-based view for enhancing grocery retailers ' distribution capabilities. The distribution capability of a firm can influence both effective and efficient handling of external stocks and internal distribution of products in response to changing market demands. Although firms rely on distribution capability to manage their supply chain to ensure the right products are in the right place at the right time, few studies examine the underlying factors that support distribution capabilities for a firm’s upstream and downstream supply chain activities especially in uncertain environments.Design/methodology/approach– In the context of retail firms, a review of the literature shows that distribution capability can be conceptualized as an interfirm phenomenon based on theoretical insights from the resource-based view, market orientation and network structure.Findings– Data from a sample of 247 small- and medium-sized grocery retailers operating in three major Chinese cities highlight a salient and positive relationship between a retailer’s distribution capabilities and its performance in uncertain environments.Originality/value– However, a retailer’s strong interfirm relations in a distribution network are negatively associated with retailer performance. Similarly, the influence of interfirm market orientation on retailer performance cannot be established in the supply chain. The study suggests that SME grocery retailers would benefit from understanding their numerous supply chain relationships and managing them (rather than relying on centrally ingrained relationships), and developing behavioral norms of interfirm market orientation among different supply chain partners.
Social Demand for Ecosystem Services and Implications for Watershed Management
Authors: Castro Antonio J. , Vaughn Caryn C. , Julian Jason P. , García‐Llorente Marina 
Published: January 2016

AbstractWe performed a sociocultural preference assessment for a suite of ecosystem services provided by the Kiamichi River watershed in the south‐central United States, a region with intense water conflict. The goal was to examine how a social assessment of services could be used to weigh tradeoffs among water resource uses for future watershed management and planning. We identified the ecosystem services beneficiaries groups, analyzed perception for maintaining services, assessed differences in the importance and perceived trends for ecosystem services, and explored the perceived impact on ecosystem services arising from different watershed management scenarios. Results show habitat for species and water regulation were two ecosystem services all beneficiaries agreed were important. The main discrepancies among stakeholder groups were found for water‐related services. The identification of potential tradeoffs between services under different flow scenarios promotes a dynamic management strategy for allocating water resources, one that mitigates potential conflicts. While it is widely accepted the needs of all beneficiaries should be considered for the successful incorporation of ecosystem services into watershed management, the number of studies actually using the sociocultural perspective in ecosystem service assessment is limited. Our study demonstrates it is both possible and useful to quantify social demand of ecosystem services in watershed management.
Estimating Evapotranspiration for Dryland Cropping Systems in the Semiarid Texas High Plains Using SWAT
Authors: Marek Gary W. , Gowda Prasanna H. , Evett Steven R. , Baumhardt R. Louis , Brauer David K. , Howell Terry A. , Marek Thomas H. , Srinivasan R. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is one of the most widely used watershed models for simulating hydrology in response to agricultural management practices. However, limited studies have been performed to evaluate the SWAT model's ability to estimate daily and monthly evapotranspiration (ET) in semiarid regions. ET values were simulated using ArcSWAT 2012 for a lysimeter field managed under dryland conditions at the USDA‐ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas, and compared with measured lysimeter values from 2000 to 2010. Two scenarios were performed to compare SWAT's performance: (1) use of default plant leaf area index (LAI) values in the embedded plant database and (2) adjusted LAI values. Scenario 1 resulted in an “unsatisfactory” Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.42 and 0.38 for the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Scenario 2 resulted in a “satisfactory” NSE value for the calibration period while achieving a “good” NSE of 0.70 for the validation period. SWAT generally underestimated ET at both the daily and monthly levels. Overestimation during fallow years may be due to the limitations of the pothole function used to simulate furrow diking. Users should be aware of potential errors associated with using default LAI parameters. Inaccuracies in ET estimation may also stem from errors in the plant stress functions, particularly when evaluating water management practices for dryland watersheds.
The detection of magnetotactic bacteria in deep sea sediments from the east Pacific Manganese Nodule Province
Authors: Dong Yi , Li Jinhua , Zhang Wuchang , Zhang Wenyan , Zhao Yuan , Xiao Tian , Wu Long‐Fei , Pan Hongmiao 
Published: January 2016

SummaryMagnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are distributed ubiquitously in sediments from coastal environments to the deep sea. The Pacific Manganese Nodule Province contains numerous polymetallic nodules mainly composed of manganese, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel. In the present study we used Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology to assess the communities of putative MTB in deep sea surface sediments at nine stations in the east Pacific Manganese Nodule Province. A total of 402 sequence reads from MTB were classified into six operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Among these, OTU113 and OTU759 were affiliated with the genus Magnetospira, OTU2224 and OTU2794 were affiliated with the genus Magnetococcus and Magnetovibrio, respectively, OTU3017 had no known genus affiliation, and OTU2556 was most similar to Candidatus Magnetananas. Interestingly, OTU759 was widely distributed, occurring at all study sites. Magnetism measurements revealed that all sediments were dominated by low coercivity, non‐interacting single domain magnetic minerals. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the magnetic minerals were magnetosomes. Our data suggest that diverse putative MTB are widely distributed in deep sea surface sediments from the east Pacific Manganese Nodule Province.
Variable but persistent coexistence ofProchlorococcusecotypes along temperature gradients in the ocean's surface mixed layer
Authors: Chandler Jeremy W. , Lin Yajuan , Gainer P. Jackson , Post Anton F. , Johnson Zackary I. , Zinser Erik R. 
Published: January 2016

SummaryThe vast majority of the phytoplankton communities in surface mixed layer of the oligotrophic ocean are numerically dominated by one of two ecotypes ofProchlorococcus,eMIT9312oreMED4. In this study, we surveyed large latitudinal transects in theAtlantic andPacificOcean to determine if these ecotypes discretely partition the surface mixed layer niche, or if populations exist as a continuum along key environmental gradients, particularly temperature. Transitions of dominance occurred at approximately 19–21°C, with theeMED4ecotype dominating the colder, andeMIT9312ecotype dominating the warmer regions. Within these zones of regional dominance, however, the minority ecotype was not competed to extinction. Rather, a robust log‐linear relationship between ecotype ratio and temperature characterized this stabilized coexistence: for every 2.5°C increase in temperature, theeMIT9312:eMED4ratio increased by an order of magnitude. This relationship was observed in both quantitative polymerase chain reaction and in pyrosequencing assays. Water column stratification also contributed to the ecotype ratio along the basin‐scale transects, but to a lesser extent. Finally, instances where the ratio of theeMED4andeMIT9312abundances did not correlate well with temperature were identified. Such occurrences are likely due to changes in water temperatures outpacing changes in community structure.
Fast and accurate detection of evolutionary shifts in Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models
Authors: Khabbazian Mohammad , Kriebel Ricardo , Rohe Karl , Ané Cécile 
Published: January 2016

Summary

The detection of evolutionary shifts in trait evolution from extant taxa is motivated by the study of convergent evolution, or to correlate shifts in traits with habitat changes or with changes in other phenotypes.

We propose here a phylogenetic lasso method to study trait evolution from comparative data and detect past changes in the expected mean trait values. We use the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process, which can model a changing adaptive landscape over time and over lineages.

Our method is very fast, running in minutes for hundreds of species, and can handle multiple traits. We also propose a phylogenetic Bayesian information criterion that accounts for the phylogenetic correlation between species, as well as for the complexity of estimating an unknown number of shifts at unknown locations in the phylogeny. This criterion does not suffer model overfitting and has high precision, so it offers a conservative alternative to other information criteria.

Our re‐analysis of Anolis lizard data suggests a more conservative scenario of morphological adaptation and convergence than previously proposed. Software is available on GitHub.
Productivity benchmarks for operative service units
Authors: Helkiö P. , Aantaa R. , Virolainen P. , Tuominen R. 
Published: January 2016

BackgroundEasily accessible reliable information is crucial for strategic and tactical decision‐making on operative processes. We report development of an analysis tool and resulting metrics for benchmarking purposes at a Finnish university hospital.MethodsThe analysis tool is based on data collected in a resource management system and an in‐house cost‐reporting database.ResultsThe exercise reports key metrics for four operative service units and six surgical units from 2014 and the change from year 2013. Productivity, measured as total costs per total hours, ranged from 658 to 957 €/h and utilization of the total available resource hours at the service unit level ranged from 66% to 74%. The lowest costs were in a unit running only regular working hour shifts, whereas the highest costs were in a unit operating on 24/7 basis. The tool includes additional metrics on operating room (OR) scheduling and monthly data to support more detailed analysis.ConclusionThis report provides the hospital management with an improved and detailed overview of its operative service units and the surgical process and related costs. The operating costs are associated with on call duties, size of operative service units, and the requirements of the surgeries. This information aids in making mid‐ to long range decisions on managing OR capacity.
Evidence of melatonin synthesis in the ram reproductive tract
Authors: Gonzalez‐Arto M. , Hamilton T. R dos S. , Gallego M. , Gaspar‐Torrubia E. , Aguilar D. , Serrano‐Blesa E. , Abecia J.A. , Pérez‐Pé R. , Muiño‐Blanco T. , Cebrián‐Pérez J. A. , Casao A. 
Published: January 2016

SummaryMelatonin is a ubiquitous molecule found in a wide range of fluids, one of them being ram seminal plasma, in which it can reach higher concentrations than those found in blood, suggesting an extrapineal secretion by the reproductive tract. In order to identify the source of the melatonin found in ram seminal plasma, we first tried to determine whether the melatonin levels were maintained during the day. For this purpose, melatonin concentrations were measured in seminal plasma obtained from first ejaculates of six rams at 6:00 a.m. in total darkness, at 10:00 a.m. and at 14:00 p.m. The melatonin concentration was higher (p < 0.05) in ejaculates collected at 6:00 a.m. than at 10:00 and 14:00. There was no statistical difference between the latter. To further corroborate an extrapineal secretion of melatonin, the presence of the two key enzymes involved in melatonin synthesis, arylalkylamine‐N‐acetyltransferase (AANAT) and N‐acetylserotonin‐O‐methyltransferase (ASMT) was analyzed by RT‐PCR, q‐PCR and Western‐blot in ram testes, epididymis, and accessory glands. The RT‐PCR showed the presence of the m‐RNA codifying both AANAT and ASTM in all the tissues under study, but the q‐PCR and Western‐blot revealed that gene expression of these enzymes was significantly higher in the testis (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of AANAT and ASMT in the testis and revealed that they were found in the Leydig cells, spermatocytes, and spermatids. Also, measurable levels of melatonin were found in testicular tissue and the tail of the epididymis. In conclusion, our study indicates that the testes are one of the likely sources of the high levels of melatonin found in ram seminal plasma, at least during the day.
Silvicultural treatments for converting loblolly pine to longleaf pine dominance: effects on ground layer and midstorey vegetation
Authors: Hu Huifeng , Knapp Benjamin O. , Wang G. Geoff , Walker Joan L. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractQuestionsHow do management practices used to enhance longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) seedling survival and growth under a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) canopy alter the structure of midstorey and ground layer vegetation? Do management treatments achieve general restoration targets for longleaf pine ecosystem structure?LocationMarine Corps Base Camp Lejeune,NC,USAwithin the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain Ecoregion.MethodsFour levels of timber harvest were applied to loblolly pine stands: Control (uncut, basal area ~16.2 m2·ha−1), MedBA(residual basal area ~9.0 m2·ha−1), LowBA(residual basal area ~6.4 m2·ha−1) and Clearcut (residual basal area of 0 m2·ha−1). Within each canopy treatment, we applied three cultural treatments selected to facilitate longleaf pine seedling success:NT(untreated), H (chemical control of woody vegetation) and H + F (chemical control plus fertilization). Vegetation responses, including the abundance (cover) of ground layer vegetation and midstorey stem densities, were reported for three growing seasons (2008–2010) following canopy removal.ResultsThe ground layer was dominated by woody vegetation, and total vegetation cover generally increased with increasing canopy removal. Canopy treatment effects varied through time. Clearcut plots had higher total herbaceous and graminoid cover than MedBAand Control plots in 2008, while woody cover was significantly lower on Control plots than on LowBAand Clearcut plots in 2009. Clearcut plots had higher densities of loblolly pines than Control plots in 2009 and 2010. The herbicide treatment reduced hardwood densities, but increased loblolly pine densities, especially in 2010.ConclusionsSuccessful restoration prescriptions are often site‐specific because of different land‐use history, climate, site characteristics and starting conditions. To achieve the restoration objective of creating an open midstorey with an herbaceous‐dominated ground layer when converting loblolly pine stands to longleaf pine dominance on relatively productive sites with abundant hardwoods and aggressive loblolly pine natural regeneration, canopy retention can slow the rate of development of loblolly pine regeneration and herbicides reduce hardwood stem densities. Frequent, repeated burning would likely be required to further reduce woody vegetation and increase the relative abundance of herbaceous vegetation.
Esthetic assessment of immediately restored implants combined with GBR and free connective tissue graft
Authors: Kolerman Roni , Nissan Joseph , Mijiritsky Eitan , Hamoudi Nasreen , Mangano Carlo , Tal Haim 
Published: January 2016

AbstractAimEsthetic assessment of immediately restored implants combined with GBR and free connective tissue (CT) graftMethodsA case–control, retrospective study involving 34 patients treated with maxillary anterior single implants, immediately placed and restored. Clinical and esthetic results were analyzed using standard clinical examination and a comprehensive index, comprising pink esthetic and white esthetic scores (PES/WES). The height of the implant crown and the corresponding height of the contralateral tooth crown were measured to identify mucosal recessions. The distance from the mucosal margin to the implant shoulder (DIM) was measured on the master model.ResultsThirty of 34 implants fulfilled the strict success criteria set for dental implants with regard to osseointegration. Success was defined as implants with bone loss not exceeding 1.5 mm during the first year and loosing not more than 0.2 for each successive year. The other four implants were stable but did not meet the bone loss criteria mentioned above and defined as survived implants. Mean PES/WES was 14.44 ± 2.34 (range: 9–20). Mean PES was 7.12 ± 1.89 (range: 1–10). The highest mean values were achieved for the variable of root convexity/soft tissue color and texture (1.71 ± 0.46) whereas the mesial papilla (1.09 ± 0.62) proved to be the least pleasing. The mean WES was 7.32 ± 1.25 (range: 5–10). The difference between IC and contralateral TC was 0.54 mm. The mean value for the facial DIM was 3.82 ± 0.87 mm.ConclusionsAn evaluation of soft and hard tissue augmentation in immediately restored immediate implant procedures was employed to obtain stable hard and soft tissues. The combined GBR and CT graft procedure achieved favorable peri‐implant soft tissue condition and esthetic results. However, recession and incomplete papillas were frequently observed.
Bilingualism alters children's frontal lobe functioning for attentional control
Authors: Arredondo Maria M. , Hu Xiao‐Su , Satterfield Teresa , Kovelman Ioulia 
Published: January 2016

AbstractBilingualism is a typical linguistic experience, yet relatively little is known about its impact on children's cognitive and brain development. Theories of bilingualism suggest that early dual‐language acquisition can improve children's cognitive abilities, specifically those relying on frontal lobe functioning. While behavioral findings present much conflicting evidence, little is known about its effects on children's frontal lobe development. Using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the findings suggest that Spanish–English bilingual children (n = 13, ages 7–13) had greater activation in left prefrontal cortex during a non‐verbal attentional control task relative to age‐matched English monolinguals. In contrast, monolinguals (n = 14) showed greater right prefrontal activation than bilinguals. The present findings suggest that early bilingualism yields significant changes to the functional organization of children's prefrontal cortex for attentional control and carry implications for understanding how early life experiences impact cognition and brain development.
Selective attention to a talker's mouth in infancy: role of audiovisual temporal synchrony and linguistic experience
Authors: Hillairet de Boisferon Anne , Tift Amy H. , Minar Nicholas J. , Lewkowicz David J. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractPrevious studies have found that infants shift their attention from the eyes to the mouth of a talker when they enter the canonical babbling phase after 6 months of age. Here, we investigated whether this increased attentional focus on the mouth is mediated by audio‐visual synchrony and linguistic experience. To do so, we tracked eye gaze in 4‐, 6‐, 8‐, 10‐, and 12‐month‐old infants while they were exposed either to desynchronized native or desynchronized non‐native audiovisual fluent speech. Results indicated that, regardless of language, desynchronization disrupted the usual pattern of relative attention to the eyes and mouth found in response to synchronized speech at 10 months but not at any other age. These findings show that audio‐visual synchrony mediates selective attention to a talker's mouth just prior to the emergence of initial language expertise and that it declines in importance once infants become native‐language experts.
Case series evaluating the use of absorbable staples compared with metallic staples in equine ventral midline incisions
Authors: Biedrzycki A. H. , Brounts S. H. 
Published: January 2016

SummaryThe objective was to evaluate the use of subcuticular absorbable staples (SAS) and compare them with metallic staples (MS) in abdominal skin closure for equine abdominal surgery in terms of surgical site infection (SSI) reduction. A prospective, randomised clinical trial was carried out on client owned horses presenting for abdominal surgery (n = 42 horses). During surgery, horses were randomly assigned to receive either SAS or MS. Preoperative criteria recorded included age, breed and sex of horse; surgical variables included lesion type, anaesthetic, surgical and stapling times; post operative variables included an anaesthetic recovery quality score and an incisional assessment score. Mean ± s.d. anaesthesia times for small intestinal surgeries between the MS and SAS (228 ± 58.8 min, 234 ± 38.7 min, respectively) and surgical times between MS and SAS (158 ± 58.8 min, 174 ± 26.5 min, respectively) were not significantly different from each other. There was no significant difference in closure times for the MS and SAS (61 ± 14.1 s, 85 ± 35.3 s, respectively). Wound scores for the MS (median score 6) were significantly greater than the SAS (median score 3) until Day 14, after which there was no significant difference between the 2 techniques. No horses in this case series developed a SSI. Although no SSIs were identified in either group, the superior wound score with the SAS together with other in vitro and clinical evaluations in other species suggest that the use of SAS may be potentially beneficial in horses.
Structure of AmtR, the global nitrogen regulator of Corynebacterium glutamicum, in free and DNA‐bound forms
Authors: Palanca Carles , Rubio Vicente 
Published: January 2016

Corynebacterium glutamicum is a bacterium used for industrial amino acid production, and understanding its metabolic pathway regulation is of high biotechnological interest. Here, we report crystal structures of AmtR, the global nitrogen regulator of C. glutamicum, in apo (2.25‐Å and 2.65‐Å resolution) and DNA‐bound (3‐Å resolution) forms. These structures reveal an all‐α homodimeric TetR family regulator composed of a helix–turn–helix‐hosting N‐terminal DNA‐binding domain and a C‐terminal dimerization domain. AmtR has several unique structural features that appear to be invariant among AmtR proteins, which may be related to its regulation by the nitrogen‐sensing trimeric protein GlnK rather than by small‐molecule effectors. As compared with other TetR family members, AmtR has an extra C‐terminal helix, a large extended external loop that resembles the flexible tranducer T‐loop of GlnK in sequence, and a large open cavity towards the intersubunit region that changes shape upon DNA binding. The marked kinking of helix 4 decreases in the DNA‐bound form. The binding of one AmtR dimer to its DNA operator involves not only the insertion of helices 3 and 3′ in adjacent turns of the double‐helix major groove, but also the anchoring of 19‐residue, arginine‐rich and proline‐rich N‐terminal extensions to two external minor grooves. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with a deletion mutant reveal that the 19‐residue extension is crucial for AmtR binding to DNA. N‐extension anchoring explains the flanking by AT sequences of the recognized target DNA sequence core. The significance of these findings for the entire TetR family of regulators and for GlnK regulation of AmtR is discussed.DatabaseThe atomic coordinates and structure factors have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank, www.pdb.org [PDB ID codes 5DXZ (native AmtR), 5DY1 (SeMet–AmtR), and 5DY0 (AmtR·DNA)].