bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modeling Population Dynamics and Fish Consumption of a Managed Double-Crested Cormorant Colony in Minnesota
Authors: Schultz Douglas W. , Carlson Andrew J. , Mortensen Steve , Pereira Donald L. 
Published: December 2013

Abstract
The recovery of the double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus throughout North America has led to increased human–cormorant competition over fishery resources and has forced managers to evaluate cormorant effects and consider management alternatives at local and broader scales. We present a method for modeling local double-crested cormorant populations under varying levels of culling intensity based on a colony managed at Leech Lake, Minnesota, during 2005–2011. In this case study, the cormorant colony was evaluated under no, moderate, and intensive control rates and compared with the observed population response. Cormorant diets for fledged (adults and subadults) and nestling cormorants were described during 2004–2007 and 2010. Annual fish consumption and 95% confidence intervals were estimated from 1992 to 2011 using a bioenergetics model and Monte Carlo methods. Total feeding effort and fish consumption has been reduced by nearly 90% since cormorant control began in 2005 (consumption reduced from 20.01 kg/ha in 2004 to 1.98 kg/ha in 2011) and by 46–73% annually, depending on the number of birds arriving each spring and the applied culling intensity. Averaged across all years and periods, fledged cormorants consumed 0.75 kg·bird−1·d−1 and nestlings consumed 0.45 kg·bird−1·d−1. Respectively, average fledged and nestling diets were comprised of Yellow Perch Perca flavescens (61.0% and 77.4%), Coregonus spp. (12.3% and 9.4%), minnows Notropis spp. (9.9% and 2.2%), Trout-perch Percopsis omiscomaycus (4.1% and 0.4%), and Walleye Sander vitreus (4.6% and 3.6%), though considerable seasonal and temporal variability was observed. The bioenergetics model used to estimate total fish consumption was sensitive to this variability, which was strongly associated with the dynamics of the population of Cisco Coregonus artedi. Some fish population and fishery statistics were described by changes in cormorant predation pressure, but these relationships were compromised by other concurrent management activities.
Received April 1, 2013; accepted August 20, 2013
The effects of Zumba training on cardiovascular and neuromuscular function in female college students
Authors: Donath Lars , Roth Ralf , Hohn Yannick , Zahner Lukas , Faude Oliver 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThe present study examined the effects of Zumba training (group fitness based on salsa and aerobics) on endurance, trunk strength, balance, flexibility, jumping performance and quality of life (QoL) in female college students. Thirty female participants were randomly assigned (strata: age, BMI and physical activity) to an intervention (INT, n = 15: age: 21.0 ± 2.3 years; BMI: 21.8 ± 3.0 kg/m2; physical activity (PA): 7.6 ± 4.6 h/week) or control group (CON, n = 14: age: 21.0 ± 2.8 years; BMI: 21.0 ± 2.1 kg/m2; PA: 7.3 ± 3.6 h/week). Instructed Zumba training was provided twice a week for 8 weeks (training attendance: 100%). QoL was assessed using the WHO‐QoL‐BREF questionnaire. Endurance was measured with the 6‐min walking test (6MWT). Trunk flexibility was assessed with the stand‐and‐reach‐test and lower‐extremity strength with the jump‐and‐reach‐test. The star excursion balance test (SEBT) was employed to assess dynamic balance. Trunk strength endurance was examined using the Swiss global trunk strength test in prone and lateral (left, right) positions. All testings were performed before and after the training period. We observed large statistically significant between‐group effects of total QoL score (INT: +9.8%, CON: +0.4%, p < 0.001; partial eta squared ), 6MWT distance (INT: +21%, CON: −2%, p < 0.001, ), trunk strength endurance (prone, INT: +48%, CON: +11%, p = 0.04, ; lateral‐left, INT: +71%, CON: +11%, p = 0.01, , lateral‐right, INT: +54%, CON: +11%, p = 0.01, ) and dynamic balance (all eight reaching distances of the SEBT, INT: +11−26%, CON: +1.1−3.8%, 0.001 < p < 0.04, 0.14 < ) with significantly larger improvements for INT. Flexibility and jump performance were not relevantly affected (p > 0.05). Instructed Zumba training can be applied to improve well‐being, aerobic fitness and neuromuscular function in female college students.
PGC7 suppresses TET3 for protecting DNA methylation
Authors: Bian Chunjing , Yu Xiaochun 
Published: December 2013

AbstractTen-eleven translocation (TET) family enzymes convert 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxylmethylcytosine. However, the molecular mechanism that regulates this biological process is not clear. Here, we show the evidence that PGC7 (also known as Dppa3 or Stella) interacts with TET2 and TET3 both in vitro and in vivo to suppress the enzymatic activity of TET2 and TET3. Moreover, lacking PGC7 induces the loss of DNA methylation at imprinting loci. Genome-wide analysis of PGC7 reveals a consensus DNA motif that is recognized by PGC7. The CpG islands surrounding the PGC7-binding motifs are hypermethylated. Taken together, our study demonstrates a molecular mechanism by which PGC7 protects DNA methylation from TET family enzyme-dependent oxidation.
Long‐term effects of litter sex ratio on female reproduction in two iteroparous mammals
Authors: Monclús Raquel , von Holst Dietrich , Blumstein Daniel T. , Rödel Heiko G. 
Published: December 2013

Summary

Female mammals that develop in male‐biased litters show signs of masculinization because they are exposed to the testosterone produced by their male siblings in utero. The early exposure to testosterone can affect female morphology, physiology, behaviour and life‐history traits.

Masculinization is commonly seen as the collateral effect of developing in a male‐biased litter. However, when resources are limiting, masculinization might be adaptive because androgenized females could monopolize resources.

We investigated whether females from male‐biased litters, and therefore likely to be masculinized, showed adaptive advantages under different competing scenarios. For that, we used data from two long‐term field projects studying yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris Audubon and Bachman, 1841) and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus, 1758). We explored whether litter sex composition affected fitness‐related reproductive traits: the onset of breeding, offspring production and the probability of reproduction in a given year.

Our study shows long‐term consequences of litter sex composition on reproduction in European rabbits and yellow‐bellied marmots. Females from male‐biased litters from both species delayed the onset of breeding, suggesting the maladaptive nature of masculinization. However, in European rabbits, this effect was density‐dependent. Under higher‐density conditions, female rabbits from male‐biased litters brought forward the onset of breeding, which might increase the probability of offspring overwinter survival and therefore their fitness. These females under limiting conditions might have a higher resource holding potential.

We conclude that prenatal maternal effects in natural populations should be taken into account when studying life‐history variation. Moreover, it is notable that small variations in naturally occurring prenatal exposure to androgens have profound impacts on individuals, social groups and the population structure.
Controls over the strength and timing of fire–grazer interactions in a semi‐arid rangeland
Authors: Augustine David J. , Derner Justin D. 
Published: December 2013

Summary

The degree to which large herbivores select and forage within recently burned areas is a key driver of vegetation heterogeneity in rangeland ecosystems. However, few studies have quantified the strength and timing of herbivore selection for burned areas or examined how selection strength varies among ecosystems differing in precipitation and primary productivity.

We conducted a 4‐year patch‐burning experiment in semi‐arid rangeland of Colorado, USA, where 25% of the area available to cattle was burned each year and burned patches were shifted annually. We used GPS collars with activity sensors to quantify the distribution of free‐ranging cattle at a high temporal resolution (5‐min intervals) during the growing season each year. We used a classification tree model to discriminate between cattle grazing vs. non‐grazing locations, which significantly increased precision in quantifying burn selection strength. We fit generalized linear models predicting the frequency of cattle use of a given location within each study area and month, enabling comparisons between the relative influence of burns and topography on grazing distribution.

Across multiple growing seasons, cattle selectively spent 31% of grazing time on recently burnt areas, which comprised 25% of the landscape; this selection strength was half as strong as that documented in mesic rangeland.

At a monthly temporal scale, strong cattle selection for burned areas occurred during periods of rapid vegetation growth regardless of when during the growing season this greening occurred. Outside these intervals, burn selection strength was inconsistent and cattle grazing distribution was primarily influenced by topography. Thus, the relative importance of fire and topography in controlling grazer distribution was temporally contingent upon the timing and size of precipitation pulses.

Synthesis and applications. Spatiotemporal interactions between fire and herbivores are a consistent feature of both semi‐arid and mesic rangelands, with interaction strength varying across gradients of precipitation and primary productivity. Management of semi‐arid ecosystems to sustain ecological processes should include strategies that allow ungulate herbivores to shift their grazing distribution seasonally in response to fire, topoedaphic variation and precipitation patterns. Combined management of fire and grazing for conservation objectives can be consistent with, and even complementary to, livestock production goals.
Improving the surrogacy effectiveness of charismatic megafauna with well‐surveyed taxonomic groups and habitat types
Authors: Di Minin Enrico , Moilanen Atte 
Published: December 2013

Summary

Conservation planning often relies on the use of surrogates for representing many aspects of biodiversity. Previous tests on the effectiveness of charismatic mammals as biodiversity surrogates have suffered from the lack of fine‐resolution data and produced varied and contrasting results.
In this study, we used unique high‐resolution data for more than 600 biodiversity features from the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany global biodiversity hot spot to assess how the surrogacy effectiveness of the ‘Big Five’ charismatic mammal species could be improved.
We found that combining the ‘Big Five’ charismatic mammal species with well‐known and surveyed taxonomic groups, such as birds, amphibians and reptiles, and habitat types, which can be mapped quickly and inexpensively, increases the representation of poorly surveyed taxonomic groups, such as endemic and threatened invertebrate and plant species, as well as other mammal species. In particular, habitat types were found to be an integral component of a successful surrogate strategy. Nevertheless, a broad cross‐taxon surrogate group composed of the ‘Big Five’, birds, amphibians and reptiles, was found to be a more effective surrogate than habitat types on their own. Meanwhile, other taxonomic groups and habitat types were not effective surrogates for the ‘Big Five’ charismatic species.
As charismatic mammals have an important marketing value, they can be promoted to generate funding, which can then facilitate the implementation of conservation action and cover management costs, thereby indirectly benefiting other threatened biodiversity.
Synthesis and applications. While some geographic areas and taxa have been extensively studied, detailed information about the distributions of species is missing for much of the world. This study provides important information that can have operational relevance to prioritize areas for conservation action in areas of the world with poor data on biodiversity. We found that other taxa are not good surrogates for charismatic mammal species. We also found that habitat types are a necessary component of surrogacy strategies that cover plants and insects. Overall, a combination of habitat types and charismatic mammals, complemented with other well‐known taxa (birds, amphibians and reptiles), provided the highest surrogacy effects.
Valuing public and private urban tree canopy cover
Authors: Pandit Ram , Polyakov Maksym , Sadler Rohan 
Published: December 2013

In this paper, we estimate the effect of tree canopy cover on sales price of urban residential properties inPerth,WesternAustralia. Using a data set of 5606 single family homes sold in 2009 and a spatial hedonic model with three spatial effects – spatial‐temporal lag on dependent variable, spatial error, and spatially lagged independent variables – we estimated the location‐specific effect of tree canopy cover. Tree canopy cover increases the property value when located on adjacent public space, but decreases the value when it is on own property and on the adjacent property within 20 m of property boundary. The results are suggestive that council urban tree planting programs provide significant private benefits to homeowners.
Hospital Board Oversight of Quality and Patient Safety: A Narrative Review and Synthesis of Recent Empirical Research
Authors: MILLAR ROSS , MANNION RUSSELL , FREEMAN TIM , DAVIES HUW T.O. 
Published: December 2013

ContextRecurring problems with patient safety have led to a growing interest in helping hospitals’ governing bodies provide more effective oversight of the quality and safety of their services. National directives and initiatives emphasize the importance of action by boards, but the empirical basis for informing effective hospital board oversight has yet to receive full and careful review.MethodsThis article presents a narrative review of empirical research to inform the debate about hospital boards’ oversight of quality and patient safety. A systematic and comprehensive search identified 122 papers for detailed review. Much of the empirical work appeared in the last ten years, is from the United States, and employs cross‐sectional survey methods.FindingsRecent empirical studies linking board composition and processes with patient outcomes have found clear differences between high‐ and low‐performing hospitals, highlighting the importance of strong and committed leadership that prioritizes quality and safety and sets clear and measurable goals for improvement. Effective oversight is also associated with well‐informed and skilled board members. External factors (such as regulatory regimes and the publication of performance data) might also have a role in influencing boards, but detailed empirical work on these is scant.ConclusionsHealth policy debates recognize the important role of hospital boards in overseeing patient quality and safety, and a growing body of empirical research has sought to elucidate that role. This review finds a number of areas of guidance that have some empirical support, but it also exposes the relatively inchoate nature of the field. Greater theoretical and methodological development is required if we are to secure more evidence‐informed governance systems and practices that can contribute to safer care.
Reifications of the intellectual: representations, organization and agency in revolutionary China
Authors: U Eddy 
Published: December 2013

AbstractHow did ‘intellectuals’ evolve from a class of subjects in Marxian thoughts to highly visible populations under communism? Such ‘reifications of the intellectual’ have deeply affected subjectivity, conflict and organization, but received little attention in the political sociology of communism. This essay draws on research on classifications and social boundaries to address the objective and subjective foundations of the reifications and their impact on communist rule. The intellectual is viewed as an identification formed and performed around multiple social axes (most notably family background, educational achievement, occupational history, institutional affiliation and revolutionary rank) that reflected broader patterns of communist political domination. I use the Chinese Communist movement to demonstrate that (1) interaction of political contests, ruling strategies and institutional developments turned a diversity of persons into ‘intellectuals’ who were allegedly imbued with reprehensible interests and habits linked to privileged economic classes; (2) constant competitions for power and organizational changes led to classificatory ambiguities and, in turn, allowed individuals some control over their identifications; and (3) the developments profoundly influenced identity, state and class formation. Focusing on the dynamics that produced a highly visible but fluid population of ‘intellectuals’ opens new pathways for comparative research on communism.
Reconceptualizing resistance: sociology and the affective dimension of resistance
Authors: Hynes Maria 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThis paper re‐examines the sociological study of resistance in light of growing interest in the concept of affect. Recent claims that we are witness to an ‘affective turn’ and calls for a ‘new sociological empiricism’ sensitive to affect indicate an emerging paradigm shift in sociology. Yet, mainstream sociological study of resistance tends to have been largely unaffected by this shift. To this end, this paper presents a case for the significance of affect as a lens by which to approach the study of resistance. My claim is not simply that the forms of actions we would normally recognize as resistance have an affective dimension. Rather, it is that the theory of affect broadens ‘resistance’ beyond the purview of the two dominant modes of analysis in sociology; namely, the study of macropolitical forms, on the one hand, and the micropolitics of everyday resistance on the other. This broadened perspective challenges the persistent assumption that ideological forms of power and resistance are the most pertinent to the contemporary world, suggesting that much power and resistance today is of a more affective nature. In making this argument, it is a Deleuzian reading of affect that is pursued, which opens up to a level of analysis beyond the common understanding of affect as emotion. I argue that an affective approach to resistance would pay attention to those barely perceptible transitions in power and mobilizations of bodily potential that operate below the conscious perceptions and subjective emotions of social actors. These affective transitions constitute a new site at which both power and resistance operate.
The class‐origin wage gap: heterogeneity in education and variations across market segments
Authors: Hällsten Martin 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThis paper uses unique population‐level matched employer–employee data on monthly wages to analyse class‐origin wage gaps in the Swedish labour market. Education is the primary mediator of class origin advantages in the labour market, but mobility research often only considers the vertical dimension of education. When one uses an unusually detailed measure of education in a horizontal dimension, the wage gap between individuals of advantaged and disadvantaged class origin is found to be substantial (4–5 per cent), yet considerably smaller than when measures are used which only control for level of education and field of study. This is also the case for models with class or occupation as outcome. The class‐origin wage gap varies considerably across labour market segments, such as those defined by educational levels, fields of education, industries and occupations in both seemingly unsystematic and conspicuous ways. The gap is small in the public sector, suggesting that bureaucracy may act as a leveller.
A Christian identity for the liberal state?
Authors: Joppke Christian 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIt seems to be impossible for the liberal state to embrace a Christian identity, because ‘liberalism’ is exactly a device for separating state and religion. Discussing the implications of a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights, Lautsi v. Italy (2011), I argue that this is not necessarily so. If paired with a liberal commitment to pluralism, a Christian identity might even be more inclusive of minority religions than a narrowly ‘liberal’ state identity, which has been the dominant response in Western Europe to the challenge of immigrant diversity, especially that of Muslim origins.
The impact of target firm financial distress in Australian takeovers
Authors: Bugeja Martin 
Published: December 2013

AbstractOf the motives that have been advanced to explain corporate acquisitions, the least explored is the acquisition of a target experiencing financial distress. This study addresses this void by examining whether target firm financial distress is related to takeover: attitude, premiums, payment method, competition and outcome. Despite inconsistent findings across our distress measures the tenor of the results suggest that distressed targets receive higher premiums and are less likely to be offered cash consideration. Additionally, takeover completion is lower and takeover competition higher for targets in financial distress. Financial distress does not influence whether a takeover is hostile or friendly.
Insect conservation in the southern temperate zones: an overview
Authors: New Tim R , Samways Michael J 
Published: December 2013

AbstractInsect conservation in the southern hemisphere lags substantially behind developments in parts of Europe and North America, where the relatively small faunas are better documented, and where a historical culture of natural history has enabled conservation needs to be assessed and addressed by many sympathetic supporters. We contrast this scenario with the much more embryonic knowledge and capability available in Australia, southern Africa, southern South America and New Zealand, all regions with large and incompletely documented insect faunas, but an equivalent array of threats to their survival. While a few individual ‘flagship species’ (mainly within Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Coleoptera) have been critical in promoting wider interests, in general insects do not signify highly on regional conservation agendas. We offer a perspective of the major needs to counter this.