bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Catalytic Dehydration of Carbohydrates on In Situ Exfoliatable Layered Niobic Acid in an Aqueous System under Microwave Irradiation
Authors: Wu Qingbin , Yan Yani , Zhang Qian , Lu Jinhua , Yang Zhijian , Zhang Yahong , Tang Yi 
Published: April 2013

AbstractA simple and efficient microwave‐assisted HNb3O8 catalytic process is proposed for the dehydration of carbohydrates in the aqueous phase. A 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) yield of 55.9 % was achieved at a high substrate/catalyst weight ratio of 50 from a 10 wt % fructose solution, which is close to the yield achieved by homogeneous aqueous systems. The critical factor for this performance is the fast in situ exfoliation of layered HNb3O8 with the aid of microwave irradiation, which leads to quasi‐homogeneous catalytic behavior. Importantly, the catalytic system is also applicable for the one‐pot production of HMF from di‐ and polysaccharides, such as inulin, through a consecutive hydrolysis–dehydration reaction. Additionally, the unique restacking feature of the exfoliated HNb3O8 ensures the good reusability of the catalyst.
Ecohydrological responses to secondary natural Populus davidiana and plantation Pinus tabulaeformis woodlands on the Loess Plateau of China
Authors: Ma Lan , Teng Yanguo , Shangguan Zhouping 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTThe Loess Plateau of China has long been suffering from severe soil erosion due to deforestation and other human being‐related activities. Reforestation has been regarded as an important measure to protect and recover degraded ecosystems. The two typical forest stands, the secondary natural succession Populus davidiana stand (PDS) and the plantation Pinus tabulaeformis stand (PTS), were chosen to analyse their effectiveness in conserving soil and water and understand their impacts on rainfall distribution. On the basis of observations in 1988–2000 (no available data in 1989), compared with croplands, PDS and PTS reduced soil loss by 99·9% and reduced runoff by 92·3% and 84·4%, respectively. The mean annual canopy interception was 14·0% for PDS and 25·3% for PTS, and litter interception was 7·7% for PDS and 11·6% for PTS in 1995–2000. Both forest stands had almost the same stemflow percentage of 3·3%. However, there was no significant difference in runoff and soil loss between the two reforestation types. These results suggest that both the plantation PTS and the natural regeneration PDS are effective in controlling soil erosion, with similar potentials in conserving soil and water in the study region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Germany's Light Version of Integrated Water Resources Management
Authors: Theesfeld Insa , Schleyer Christian 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTThe design and implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Germany has clearly been inspired by the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept. The paper shows, however, that Germany's current river basin management follows a light version of IWRM, by only coordinating groundwater and surface water responsibilities rather than integrating various water related sectors. When assessing the current implementation of the WFD, Article 14 on participation is crucial. This is because the establishment of participatory forums involving stakeholders and the general public is directly related to the question of fit between the administrative and political boundaries of water management and the hydrogeological territory of a river basin. We argue that management concepts that simultaneously aim at integration and participation, such as IWRM, seem to pull in opposite directions. Based on document analysis, an extensive literature review and interviews with key informants, two cases of river basin management in Germany – Ems and Warnow–Peene – empirically substantiate the argument that participation needs to be linked up effectively with the existing, democratically legitimized decision‐making structures, which becomes more complicated the more decision‐making power and responsibilities are integrated. Moreover, we found that most national, federal and regional state activities are still limited to simply informing and consulting people. The paper ends with recommendations on how to improve governance structures for water management while embracing Germany's approach of light IWRM. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Linking Ecological Economics and Political Ecology to Study Mining, Glaciers and Global Warming
Authors: Kronenberg Jakub 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTEcological economics and political ecology offer complementary perspectives on economy–society–environment interactions. Although both refer to values and perceptions, ecological economics focuses on what provides benefits and how values can be elicited, and political ecology scrutinizes the socio‐political setting within which preferences are revealed. Linking the two areas of study makes it possible to depict socially constructed values that are affected by different discourses and power inequalities, as well as by the stakeholders' geographical distance from the issue concerned. Mining activity is a special case, because the selection of potential sites is restricted by the natural distribution of resources, bringing them to the attention of different stakeholders. Mining interferes with ecosystem structure and function, making the trade‐offs between different uses of the environment explicit and demonstrating how difficult it is to protect ecosystem services, especially in some political settings. Two case studies (Kumtor in Kyrgyzstan and Pascua‐Lama in Chile–Argentina) illustrate how gold mining interferes with glaciers and how this may be affected by changing perceptions of global warming. In the case of Kumtor, at least 39 million m3 of glacier ice were removed by the end of 2011, but this intervention and the subsequent consequences escaped public attention. Meanwhile, the plans to remove 0.8 million m3 of ice, in the case of Pascua‐Lama, led to widespread protests in which local communities were joined by overseas pressure groups and other stakeholders. The factors that led to the disparity of interest and opposition in the two case studies reflect larger market, government and social empowerment failures in Kyrgyzstan. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Economic Resilience and Land use: The Cocoa Crisis in the Rio Cachoeira Catchment, Brazil
Authors: Andreoni Valeria , Duriavig Marco 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTIn this paper, the concept of resilience is extended to the socio‐economic domain in order to analyse the relationships between diversity in land use and ability to react to unexpected events. By considering the cocoa crisis of the 1990s, the impacts on economy, migration and land use diversification have been investigated for seven municipalities of the south‐east of Bahia (Brazil). Correlation analyses between gross domestic product (GDP) and landscape indices have been performed to analyse the relationships between land use diversification and incidence of the crisis. Variations in the distribution of urban and rural population and in land use diversification have also been considered to analyse the reactions of the different municipalities. Results show that low land use diversification make the system low resilience. Being based on monoculture production, the seven administrative units considered in this paper turned out to be particularly vulnerable to the economic and environmental perturbation. The findings of this paper largely support policies promoting land use diversification as an instrument oriented to promote both economic productivity and environmental protection. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
A Comprehensive Survey of Cationic Iridium(III) Complexes Bearing Nontraditional Ligand Chelation Motifs
Authors: Ladouceur Sébastien , Zysman‐Colman Eli 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThe useful optoelectronic properties of cationic iridium(III) complexes have been exploited in diverse applications, from visual displays to biological probes to analytical sensors. It is thus not surprising to note the increased recent efforts to document, understand, and ultimately control the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the archetypal cationic iridium(III) complex [(ppy)2Ir(bpy)]+, in which ppyH = 2‐phenylpyridine and bpy = 2,2′‐bipyridine, and decorated versions thereof. Of the ligand architectures explored, the greatest attention has been devoted to ligands that incorporate the common pyridine unit. In this Microreview, we survey the salient emission and electrochemical properties of cationic iridium(III) complexes of the form [(C∧N)2Ir(L∧X)]+, in which C∧N is a cyclometalating ligand and L∧X is a bidentate neutral ancillary ligand, with at least one heterocyclic ligand other than pyridine. We contrast their properties to that of [(ppy)2Ir(bpy)]+ and highlight recent exploits in materials applications.
Diametrically Opposed Carbenes on an α‐Cyclodextrin: Synthesis, Characterization of Organometallic Complexes and Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling in Ethanol and in Water
Authors: Guitet Maxime , Marcelo Filipa , de Beaumais Ségolène Adam , Zhang Yongmin , Jiménez‐Barbero Jesús , Tilloy Sébastien , Monflier Eric , Ménand Mickaël , Sollogoub Matthieu 
Published: April 2013

AbstractTwo carbene‐based ligands have been attached to perbenzylated and permethylated cyclodextrins. Their palladium complexes were synthesized, characterized and used as catalysts in Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions both in ethanol and water.
Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a new therapeutic target for Pompe disease
Authors: Spampanato Carmine , Feeney Erin , Li Lishu , Cardone Monica , Lim Jeong‐A , Annunziata Fabio , Zare Hossein , Polishchuk Roman , Puertollano Rosa , Parenti Giancarlo , Ballabio Andrea , Raben Nina 
Published: April 2013

AbstractA recently proposed therapeutic approach for lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) relies upon the ability of transcription factor EB (TFEB) to stimulate autophagy and induce lysosomal exocytosis leading to cellular clearance. This approach is particularly attractive in glycogen storage disease type II [a severe metabolic myopathy, Pompe disease (PD)] as the currently available therapy, replacement of the missing enzyme acid alpha‐glucosidase, fails to reverse skeletal muscle pathology. PD, a paradigm for LSDs, is characterized by both lysosomal abnormality and dysfunctional autophagy. Here, we show that TFEB is a viable therapeutic target in PD: overexpression of TFEB in a new muscle cell culture system and in mouse models of the disease reduced glycogen load and lysosomal size, improved autophagosome processing, and alleviated excessive accumulation of autophagic vacuoles. Unexpectedly, the exocytosed vesicles were labelled with lysosomal and autophagosomal membrane markers, suggesting that TFEB induces exocytosis of autophagolysosomes. Furthermore, the effects of TFEB were almost abrogated in the setting of genetically suppressed autophagy, supporting the role of autophagy in TFEB‐mediated cellular clearance.
Toxicity and metal bioaccumulation in Hordeum vulgare exposed to leached and nonleached copper amended soils
Authors: Schwertfeger D.M. , Hendershot W.H. 
Published: April 2013

Abstract

Soil leaching has been proposed as a way to reduce soil-spiking artifacts (i.e., increased acidity, metal solubility) that occur in soils amended with trace metal salts. Leaching metal-spiked samples prior to ecotoxicity testing is therefore expected to reduce toxicity; however, leaching not only removes excess amounts of the trace metal being tested, but also reduces the concentrations of cations that could decrease the toxic effects of the metal of interest. To clarify these conflicting processes, the effects of leaching on toxicity and bioaccumulation of Cu, Ca, and Al were investigated using 14-d plant assays conducted on leached and nonleached, Cu-spiked soils. The median effective concentration (EC50) to root elongation ranged from 78 µg/g to 589 µg/g. Leaching was found to reduce toxicity by 1.2-fold to 2.1-fold. The Cu2+ activity predicted toxicity better than root or shoot Cu concentrations, which were generally not affected by leaching. Plant uptake of Ca increased with increasing Cu dose in nonleached samples, which likely contributed to the hormesis-like response observed in these samples, whereas Ca uptake in the leached samples was more consistent with that of the control except at the largest Cu doses for which Ca uptake decreased. Surprisingly, Al uptake in the most acidic soil was greater in leached than nonleached samples, which may have contributed to the greater toxicity exhibited in this soil than was predicted by Cu2+ activity. These findings have implications for predicting trace metal toxicity in nutrient-stressed, acidic soils. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:1800–1809. © 2013 SETAC
A new medium for Caenorhabditis elegans toxicology and nanotoxicology studies designed to better reflect natural soil solution conditions
Authors: Tyne William , Lofts Stephen , Spurgeon David J. , Jurkschat Kerstin , Svendsen Claus 
Published: April 2013

Abstract

A new toxicity test medium for Caenorhabditis elegans is presented. The test solution is designed to provide a better representation of natural soil pore water conditions than currently available test media. The medium has a composition that can readily be modified to allow for studies of the influences of a range of environmentally relevant parameters on nematode biology and toxicology. Tests conducted in the new medium confirmed that nematodes' reproduction was possible at a range of solution pH levels, offering the potential to conduct toxicity studies under a variety of conditions. A test to establish silver nanoparticle and dissolved silver nitrate toxicity, a study type not feasible in M9 or agar media due to precipitation and nanoparticle agglomeration, indicated lower silver nanoparticle (median effective concentration [EC50] of 6.5 mg Ag/L) than silver nitrate (EC50 0.28 mg Ag/L) toxicity. Characterization identified stable nanoparticle behavior in the new test medium. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:1711–1717. © 2013 SETAC
Compressive sensing based multi‐user detection for machine‐to‐machine communication
Authors: Bockelmann C. , Schepker H. F. , Dekorsy A. 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTWith the expected growth of machine‐to‐machine communication, new requirements for future communication systems have to be considered. More specifically, the sporadic nature of machine‐to‐machine communication, low data rates, small packets and a large number of nodes necessitate low overhead communication schemes that do not require extended control signaling for resource allocation and management. Assuming a star topology with a central aggregation node that processes all sensor information, one possibility to reduce control signaling is the estimation of sensor node activity.In this paper, we discuss the application of greedy algorithms from the field of compressive sensing in a channel coded code division multiple access context to facilitate ajointdetection of sensor node activity and transmitted data. To this end, a short introduction to compressive sensing theory and algorithms will be given. The main focus, however, will be on implications of this new approach. Especially, we consider the activity detection, which strongly determines the performance of the overall system. We show that the performance on a system level is dominated by the missed detection rate in comparison with the false alarm rate. Furthermore, we will discuss the incorporation of activity‐aware channel coding into this setup to extend the physical layer detection capabilities tocode‐aidedjoint detection of data and activity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Machine‐to‐machine communication with long‐term evolution with reduced device energy consumption
Authors: Tirronen Tuomas , Larmo Anna , Sachs Joachim , Lindoff Bengt , Wiberg Niclas 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTWe present a method to reduce the device battery consumption to efficiently support battery‐operated machine‐to‐machine (M2M) communication in 3GPP long‐term evolution. The long‐term evolution discontinuous reception (DRX) is a key mechanism in reducing the device energy consumption, and we discuss how the traffic behaviour of machines in the Internet of things scenarios differs from the typical cellular user of today, for whom the current DRX mechanism is optimised for. We list typical transactions in M2M scenarios and discuss how the DRX operation is affected. We continue by introducing a power consumption model for M2M devices. Our assumption is that the device transmits small amounts of data in the uplink with deterministic intervals. The model takes into account the energy consumption in the active and the nonactive periods of the communication, which alternate depending on the DRX configuration. We use the model with different parameter settings referring to potential future M2M devices and identify the parameters, which contribute most to the device energy consumption. The results indicate that making the current maximum DRX cycle length longer will lead to significant gains in the energy consumption of M2M devices compared with what is possible today. Our key contributions include the discussion of the DRX mechanism in the Internet of things scenarios and the realistic assumptions for the potential of trading the responsiveness of a device for energy consumption gain with very long DRX cycles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Infiltration and runoff generation processes in fire‐affected soils
Authors: Moody John A. , Ebel Brian A. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractPost‐wildfire runoff was investigated by combining field measurements and modelling of infiltration into fire‐affected soils to predict time‐to‐start of runoff and peak runoff rate at the plot scale (1 m2). Time series of soil‐water content, rainfall and runoff were measured on a hillslope burned by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire west of Boulder, Colorado during cyclonic and convective rainstorms in the spring and summer of 2011. Some of the field measurements and measured soil physical properties were used to calibrate a one‐dimensional post‐wildfire numerical model, which was then used as a ‘virtual instrument’ to provide estimates of the saturated hydraulic conductivity and high‐resolution (1 mm) estimates of the soil‐water profile and water fluxes within the unsaturated zone.Field and model estimates of the wetting‐front depth indicated that post‐wildfire infiltration was on average confined to shallow depths less than 30 mm. Model estimates of the effective saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, near the soil surface ranged from 0.1 to 5.2 mm h−1. Because of the relatively small values of Ks, the time‐to‐start of runoff (measured from the start of rainfall),  tp, was found to depend only on the initial soil‐water saturation deficit (predicted by the model) and a measured characteristic of the rainfall profile (referred to as the average rainfall acceleration, equal to the initial rate of change in rainfall intensity). An analytical model was developed from the combined results and explained 92–97% of the variance of  tp, and the numerical infiltration model explained 74–91% of the variance of the peak runoff rates. These results are from one burned site, but they strongly suggest that  tp in fire‐affected soils (which often have low values of Ks) is probably controlled more by the storm profile and the initial soil‐water saturation deficit than by soil hydraulic properties. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
RESERVOIR DAILY INFLOW SIMULATION USING DATA FUSION METHOD
Authors: Ababaei Behnam , Mirzaei Farhad , Sohrabi Teymour , Araghinejad Shahab 
Published: April 2013

ABSTRACTInformation about the parameters defining water resource availability is a key factor in its management which improves the operation policies for water resource systems. One of the most important parameters in this area is river streamflow. In this research, two different strategies of data fusion were tested for daily inflow simulation of the Taleghan Reservoir. Four artificial neural network models as well as two Hammerstein–Wiener models were used as individual simulation models. The results showed that the data fusion method has the capacity to improve substantially the results of individual simulation models. The individual models were also tested in combination with a weather generator model which was used to generate 100 yr of daily temperature and precipitation data. The results demonstrated that although some models performed well in calibration and validation phases, in combination with a weather generator they could result in eccentric outcomes. This research also showed that the data fusion method can combine the results of single simulation models to improve the final estimate and decrease the bandwidth of errors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CORPORATE DIVIDEND POLICY DETERMINANTS: INTELLIGENT VERSUS A TRADITIONAL APPROACH
Authors: Longinidis Pantelis , Symeonidis Panagiotis 
Published: April 2013

SUMMARYDividend is the return that an investor receives when purchasing a company's shares. The decision to pay these dividends to shareholders concerns several other groups of people, such as financial managers, consulting firms, individual and institutional investors, government and monitoring authorities, and creditors, just to name a few. The prediction and modelling of this decision has received a significant amount of attention in the corporate finance literature. However, the methods used to study the aforementioned question are limited to the logistic regression method without any implementation of the advanced and expert methods of data mining. These methods have proven their superiority in other business‐related fields, such as marketing, production, accounting and auditing. In finance, bankruptcy prediction has the vast majority among data‐mining implementations, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge such an implementation does not exist in dividend payment prediction. This paper satisfies this gap in the literature and provides answers that help to understand the so‐called ‘dividend puzzle’. Specifically, this paper provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that data‐mining methods perform better in accuracy measures against the traditional methods used. The prediction of dividend policy determinants provides valuable benefits to all related parties, as they can manage, invest, consult and monitor the dividend policy in a more effective way. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Visualization of the post‐Golgi vesicle‐mediated transportation of TGF‐β receptor II by quasi‐TIRFM
Authors: Luo Wangxi , Xia Tie , Xu Li , Chen Ye‐Guang , Fang Xiaohong 
Published: April 2013

AbstractTransforming growth factor β receptor II (Tβ RII) is synthesized in the cytoplasm and then transported to the plasma membrane of cells to fulfil its signalling duty. Here, we applied live‐cell fluorescence imaging techniques, in particular quasi‐total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, to imaging fluorescent protein‐tagged Tβ RII and monitoring its secretion process. We observed punctuate‐like Tβ RII‐containing post‐Golgi vesicles formed in MCF7 cells. Single‐particle tracking showed that these vesicles travelled along the microtubules at an average speed of 0.51 μm/s. When stimulated by TGF‐β ligand, these receptor‐containing vesicles intended to move towards the plasma membrane. We also identified several factors that could inhibit the formation of such post‐Golgi vesicles. Although the inhibitory mechanisms still remain unknown, the observed characteristics of Tβ RII‐containing vesicles provide new information on intracellular Tβ RII transportation. It also renders Tβ RII a good model system for studying post‐Golgi vesicle‐trafficking and protein transportation. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)