bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Soil organic carbon across scales
Authors: O'Rourke Sharon M. , Angers Denis A. , Holden Nicholas M. , McBratney Alex B. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractMechanistic understanding of scale effects is important for interpreting the processes that control the global carbon cycle. Greater attention should be given to scale in soil organic carbon (SOC) science so that we can devise better policy to protect/enhance existing SOC stocks and ensure sustainable use of soils. Global issues such as climate change require consideration of SOC stock changes at the global and biosphere scale, but human interaction occurs at the landscape scale, with consequences at the pedon, aggregate and particle scales. This review evaluates our understanding of SOC across all these scales in the context of the processes involved in SOC cycling at each scale and with emphasis on stabilizing SOC. Current synergy between science and policy is explored at each scale to determine how well each is represented in the management of SOC. An outline of how SOC might be integrated into a framework of soil security is examined. We conclude that SOC processes at the biosphere to biome scales are not well understood. Instead, SOC has come to be viewed as a large‐scale pool subjects to carbon flux. Better understanding exists for SOC processes operating at the scales of the pedon, aggregate and particle. At the landscape scale, the influence of large‐ and small‐scale processes has the greatest interaction and is exposed to the greatest modification through agricultural management. Policy implemented at regional or national scale tends to focus at the landscape scale without due consideration of the larger scale factors controlling SOC or the impacts of policy for SOC at the smaller SOC scales. What is required is a framework that can be integrated across a continuum of scales to optimize SOC management.
Increased evapotranspiration demand in a Mediterranean climate might cause a decline in fungal yields under global warming
Authors: Ágreda Teresa , Águeda Beatriz , Olano José M. , Vicente‐Serrano Sergio M. , Fernández‐Toirán Marina 
Published: April 2015

AbstractWild fungi play a critical role in forest ecosystems, and its recollection is a relevant economic activity. Understanding fungal response to climate is necessary in order to predict future fungal production in Mediterranean forests under climate change scenarios. We used a 15‐year data set to model the relationship between climate and epigeous fungal abundance and productivity, for mycorrhizal and saprotrophic guilds in a Mediterranean pine forest. The obtained models were used to predict fungal productivity for the 2021–2080 period by means of regional climate change models. Simple models based on early spring temperature and summer–autumn rainfall could provide accurate estimates for fungal abundance and productivity. Models including rainfall and climatic water balance showed similar results and explanatory power for the analyzed 15‐year period. However, their predictions for the 2021–2080 period diverged. Rainfall‐based models predicted a maintenance of fungal yield, whereas water balance‐based models predicted a steady decrease of fungal productivity under a global warming scenario. Under Mediterranean conditions fungi responded to weather conditions in two distinct periods: early spring and late summer–autumn, suggesting a bimodal pattern of growth. Saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi showed differences in the climatic control. Increased atmospheric evaporative demand due to global warming might lead to a drop in fungal yields during the 21st century.
Precipitation impacts on vegetation spring phenology on the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Shen Miaogen , Piao Shilong , Cong Nan , Zhang Gengxin , Jassens Ivan A 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe ongoing changes in vegetation spring phenology in temperate/cold regions are widely attributed to temperature. However, in arid/semiarid ecosystems, the correlation between spring temperature and phenology is much less clear. We test the hypothesis that precipitation plays an important role in the temperature dependency of phenology in arid/semiarid regions. We therefore investigated the influence of preseason precipitation on satellite‐derived estimates of starting date of vegetation growing season (SOS) across the Tibetan Plateau (TP). We observed two clear patterns linking precipitation to SOS. First, SOS is more sensitive to interannual variations in preseason precipitation in more arid than in wetter areas. Spatially, an increase in long‐term averaged preseason precipitation of 10 mm corresponds to a decrease in the precipitation sensitivity of SOS by about 0.01 day mm−1. Second, SOS is more sensitive to variations in preseason temperature in wetter than in dryer areas of the plateau. A spatial increase in precipitation of 10 mm corresponds to an increase in temperature sensitivity of SOS of 0.25 day °C−1 (0.25 day SOS advance per 1 °C temperature increase). Those two patterns indicate both direct and indirect impacts of precipitation on SOS on TP. This study suggests a balance between maximizing benefit from the limiting climatic resource and minimizing the risk imposed by other factors. In wetter areas, the lower risk of drought allows greater temperature sensitivity of SOS to maximize the thermal benefit, which is further supported by the weaker interannual partial correlation between growing degree days and preseason precipitation. In more arid areas, maximizing the benefit of water requires greater sensitivity of SOS to precipitation, with reduced sensitivity to temperature. This study highlights the impacts of precipitation on SOS in a large cold and arid/semiarid region and suggests that influences of water should be included in SOS module of terrestrial ecosystem models for drylands.
Empirical evidence for the scale dependence of biotic interactions
Authors: Belmaker Jonathan , Zarnetske Phoebe , Tuanmu Mao‐Ning , Zonneveld Sara , Record Sydne , Strecker Angela , Beaudrot Lydia 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAimAlthough it is recognized that ecological patterns are scale dependent, the exact scales over which specific ecological processes operate are still a matter of controversy. In particular, understanding the scales over which biotic interactions operate is critical for predicting changes in species distributions in the face of the ongoing biodiversity crisis. It has been hypothesized that biotic interactions operate predominately at fine grains, yet this conjecture has received relatively little empirical scrutiny. We use US woodpeckers as a model system to assess the relative importance of biotic interactions, environmental suitability and geographic proximity to other intraspecific occurrence sites, across scales.LocationConterminous United States.MethodsWe combined species occurrence data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) with a large pair‐wise interaction matrix describing known interactions among woodpeckers and other bird species. Using a logistic mixed modelling framework we then established the relative importance of biotic interactions as predictors of woodpecker occurrences in relation to environment and geographic proximity to intraspecific occurrence sites.ResultsWe found that geographic proximity becomes a stronger predictor of woodpecker occurrence as grain becomes coarser, while environment is grain‐invariant. As opposed to environment and geographic proximity, we found that when the focal species experienced positive biotic interactions, the importance of interactions decreased with increased grain. However, positive interactions remained important up to a grain size of entire BBS routes (c. 40 km), which is much coarser than the grain size used by most species distribution models. In contrast, when the focal species experienced negative interactions we did not find clear grain dependence.Main conclusionsBiotic interactions (both positive and negative) are important predictors of species occurrences. While these interactions are strongest at fine grains, they can remain important even at coarse grains, and are thus critical for predicting distributional changes in the face of the ongoing biodiversity crisis.
Simple mechanistic models can partially explain local but not range‐wide co‐occurrence of African mammals
Authors: Buschke Falko T. , Brendonck Luc , Vanschoenwinkel Bram 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAimOne hypothesis to explain strong biodiversity–climate correlations is that climate gradients determine individual species ranges, which then sum up to form species richness patterns. If this is true, then climate gradients should not only predict the local occurrence of species (i.e. patterns in the local community) but also co‐occurrence of species across the entirety of their ranges (i.e. the regional community concept). We test this hypothesis for African mammals.LocationSub‐Saharan Africa.MethodsWe quantified species richness of African mammals in 10,000‐km2 quadrats to assess local community patterns and developed a new metric for range overlap in the assemblage dispersion field to quantify the range‐wide overlap of species ranges. To identify potential underlying processes, we used a mechanistic modelling approach to simulate the effects of environmental determinism, dispersal limitation and range positioning on species co‐occurrence patterns in both local and regional communities.ResultsAlthough mechanistic models that included climate gradients, dispersal limitation and range positioning could emulate local patterns of mammal richness accurately, they were poor predictors of the co‐occurrence of species across their entire ranges. In the regional community, patterns of mammal co‐occurrence were more closely linked to biogeographical regions in Africa.ConclusionsWe found little support for the hypothesis that climate modulates individual species ranges, which then sum up to determine species richness. Instead, climate may determine how many mammal species can persist locally, whereas historical processes and species interactions ultimately determine more general patterns of species co‐occurrence.
Pore pressure evolution and fluid flow during visco‐elastic single‐layer buckle folding
Authors: Eckert A. , Liu X. , Connolly P. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractPore pressure and fluid flow during the deformational history of geologic structures are directly influenced by tectonic deformation events. In this contribution, 2D plane strain finite element analysis is used to study the influence of different permeability distributions on the pore pressure field and associated flow regimes during the evolution of visco‐elastic single‐layer buckle folds. The buckling‐induced fluid flow regimes indicate that flow directions and, to a lesser degree, their magnitudes vary significantly throughout the deformation and as a function of the stratigraphic permeability distribution. The modelling results suggest that the volumetric strain and the permeability distribution significantly affect the resulting flow regime at different stages of fold development. For homogeneous permeability models (k > 10−21 m2), low strain results in a mostly pervasive fluid flow regime and is in agreement with previous studies. For larger strain conditions, fluid focusing occurs in the buckling layer towards the top of the fold hinge. For low permeabilities (<10−21 m2), local focused flow regimes inside the buckling layer emerge throughout the deformation history. For models featuring a low‐permeability layer embedded in a high‐permeability matrix or sandwiched between high‐permeability layers, focused flow regimes inside the folded layer result throughout the deformation history, but with significant differences in the flow vectors of the surrounding layers. Fluid flow vectors induced by the fold can result in different, even reversed, directions depending on the amount of strain. In summary, fluid flow regimes during single‐layer buckling can change from pervasive to focused and fluid flow vectors can be opposite at different strain levels, that is the flow vectors change significantly through time. Thus, a complete understanding of fluid flow regimes associated with single‐layer buckle folds requires consideration of the complete deformation history of the fold.
Systems to cultivate suitable patients for home dialysis
Authors: Walker Rachael C. , Blagg Christopher R. , Mendelssohn David C. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe key to developing, initiating, and maintaining a strong home dialysis program is a fundamental commitment by the entire team to identify and cultivate patients who are suitable candidates to perform home dialysis. This process must start as early as possible in the disease trajectory, and must include a passionate and daily focus by physicians, nurses, social workers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. This effort must be constant and sustained over months, with active promotion of home dialysis for suitable patients at every opportunity. Cultivation of suitable patients must become a defining and overarching mission for the entire program. This article reviews some of the components involved in this worthwhile effort and provides practical tips and links to resources.
Off‐nest behaviour in a biparentally incubating shorebird varies with sex, time of day and weather
Authors: Bulla Martin , Stich Elias , Valcu Mihai , Kempenaers Bart 
Published: April 2015

Biparental incubation is a form of cooperation between parents, but it is not conflict‐free because parents trade off incubation against other activities (e.g. self‐maintenance, mating opportunities). How parents resolve such conflict and achieve cooperation remains unknown. To understand better the potential for conflict, cooperation and the constraints on incubation behaviour, investigation of the parents' behaviour, both during incubation and when they are off incubation‐duty, is necessary. Using a combination of automated incubation‐monitoring and radiotelemetry we simultaneously investigated the behaviours of both parents in the biparentally incubating Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, a shorebird breeding under continuous daylight in the high Arctic. Here, we describe the off‐nest behaviour of 32 off‐duty parents from 17 nests. Off‐duty parents roamed on average 224 m from their nest, implying that direct communication with the incubating partner is unlikely. On average, off‐duty parents spent only 59% of their time feeding. Off‐nest distance and behaviour (like previously reported incubation behaviour) differed between the sexes, and varied with time and weather. Males roamed less far from the nest and spent less time feeding than did females. At night, parents stayed closer to the nest and tended to spend less time feeding than during the day. Further exploratory analyses revealed that the time spent feeding increased over the incubation period, and that at night, but not during the day, off‐duty parents spent more time feeding under relatively windy conditions. Hence, under energetically stressful conditions, parents may be forced to feed more. Our results suggest that parents are likely to conflict over the favourable feeding times, i.e. over when to incubate (within a day or incubation period). Our study also indicates that Semipalmated Sandpiper parents do not continuously keep track of each other to optimize incubation scheduling and, hence, that the off‐duty parent's decision to remain closer to the nest drives the length of incubation bouts.
Progressive development in experimental models of transungual drug delivery of anti‐fungal agents
Authors: Thatai P. , Tiwary A. K. , Sapra B. 
Published: April 2015

SynopsisPre‐clinical development comprises of different procedures that relate drug discovery in the laboratory for commencement of human clinical trials. Pre‐clinical studies can be designed to recognize a lead candidate from a list to develop the procedure for scale‐up, to choose the unsurpassed formulation, to determine the frequency, and duration of exposure; and eventually make the foundation of the anticipated clinical trial design. The foremost aim in the pharmaceutical research and industry is the claim of drug product quality throughout a drug's life cycle. The particulars of the pre‐clinical development process for different candidates may vary; however, all have some common features. Typically in vitro, in vivo or ex vivo studies are elements of pre‐clinical studies. Human pharmacokinetic in vivo studies are often supposed to serve as the ‘gold standard’ to assess product performance. On the other hand, when this general assumption is revisited, it appears that in vitro studies are occasionally better than in vivo studies in assessing dosage forms. The present review is compendious of different such models or approaches that can be used for designing and evaluation of formulations for nail delivery with special reference to anti‐fungal agents.
Exploring private consumers’ willingness to adopt Smart Grid technology
Authors: Broman Toft Madeleine , Thøgersen John 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe goal of radically increasing the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources puts the current electrical grid under pressure and one of the solutions is to turn the grid into a ‘Smart Grid’. One of the key elements of the Smart Grid is that electricity consumers make some of their consumption available as flexible capacity to balance the grid. Consumers’ flexible capacity is only available to the grid if the consumers adopt Smart Grid technology (SGT) that establishes the link between the electric system and the consumer. This technology is new to private consumers and using it involves behavioural changes. There is a need to get more insight into who are willing to adopt SGT and why. This study draws on innovation adoption theory as a framework for understanding consumer adoption of this new technology. We explore whether consumers who have already adopted other types of new energy technology, such as a geothermal heat pump, are more favourably disposed towards SGT than other consumers. Also, we explore how consumers who have signed up to let their heat pump be used as flexible capacity in a test trial differ from other heat pump owners, if at all. We used semi‐structured interviews with household members as well as a questionnaire to explore differences between three groups: households with (1) a heat pump with SGT (n = 11), (2) a heat pump‐only (n = 7), or (3) an oil‐fired boiler (n = 6). We find that the families in the three groups perceive the technology characteristics differently and those who have trial experience with SGT are most in favour of the technology.
Research lessons from implementing a national nursing workforce study
Authors: Brzostek T. , Brzyski P. , Kózka M. , Squires A. , Przewoźniak L. , Cisek M. , Gajda K. , Gabryś T. , Ogarek M. 
Published: April 2015

BackgroundNational nursing workforce studies are important for evidence‐based policymaking to improve nursing human resources globally. Survey instrument translation and contextual adaptation along with level of experience of the research team are key factors that will influence study implementation and results in countries new to health workforce studies.AimThis study's aim was to describe the pre‐data collection instrument adaptation challenges when designing the first national nursing workforce study in Poland while participating in the Nurse Forecasting: Human Resources Planning in Nursing project.MethodsA descriptive analysis of the pre‐data collection phase of the study. Instrument adaptation was conducted through a two‐phase content validity indexing process and pilot testing from 2009 to September 2010 in preparation for primary study implementation in December 2010. Means of both content validation phases were compared with pilot study results to assess for significant patterns in the data.ResultsThe initial review demonstrated that the instrument had poor level of cross‐cultural relevance and multiple translation issues. After revising the translation and re‐evaluating using the same process, instrument scores improved significantly. Pilot study results showed floor and ceiling effects on relevance score correlations in each phase of the study.LimitationsThe cross‐cultural adaptation process was developed specifically for this study and is, therefore, new. It may require additional replication to further enhance the method.ConclusionsThe approach used by the Polish team helped identify potential problems early in the study. The critical step improved the rigour of the results and improved comparability for between countries analyses, conserving both money and resources. This approach is advised for cross‐cultural adaptation of instruments to be used in national nursing workforce studies.Implications for nursing and health policyCountries seeking to conduct national nursing workforce surveys to improve nursing human resources policies may find the insights provided by this paper useful to guide national level nursing workforce study implementation.
Do Older Women Use Estrogen Replacement? Data from the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE)
Authors: Handa Victoria L. , Landerman Richard , Hanlon Joseph T. , Harris Tamara , Cohen Harvey Jay 
Published: April 2015

OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of current and past estrogen use among older, community‐dwelling, postmenopausal women. The secondary purpose was to describe factors associated with estrogen use in this population.DESIGN: A survey.SETTING: The Piedmont region of North Carolina.PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 2602 community‐dwelling women over the age of 65 who were interviewed for the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE).MEASUREMENTS: Current and past use of estrogen.RESULTS: Of the women surveyed, 6.1% reported current estrogen use, and 18.5% reported past use. Approximately half of the participants reported using estrogen for more than 2 years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that current estrogen users were younger, more affluent, had smaller families, and were more likely to be white and to live in an urban area than were never users. Current users were also more likely to drink alcohol and to take calcium supplements; and compared with past estrogen users, they were more likely to be white, have smaller families, and to drink alcohol.CONCLUSION: Estrogen replacement therapy is used by a small minority of older women, especially blacks. Moreover, although women with some risk factors for osteoporosis are more likely to use estrogen, the chief determinants of estrogen utilization are socioeconomic. J Am Geriatr Soc 44:1–6, 1996.