bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impacts of invasive plants on resident animals across ecosystems, taxa, and feeding types: a global assessment
Authors: Schirmel Jens , Bundschuh Mirco , Entling Martin H. , Kowarik Ingo , Buchholz Sascha 
Published: September 2015

AbstractAs drivers of global change, biological invasions have fundamental ecological consequences. However, it remains unclear how invasive plant effects on resident animals vary across ecosystems, animal classes, and functional groups. We performed a comprehensive meta‐analysis covering 198 field and laboratory studies reporting a total of 3624 observations of invasive plant effects on animals. Invasive plants had reducing (56%) or neutral (44%) effects on animal abundance, diversity, fitness, and ecosystem function across different ecosystems, animal classes, and feeding types while we could not find any increasing effect. Most importantly, we found that invasive plants reduced overall animal abundance, diversity and fitness. However, this significant overall effect was contingent on ecosystems, taxa, and feeding types of animals. Decreasing effects of invasive plants were most evident in riparian ecosystems, possibly because frequent disturbance facilitates more intense plant invasions compared to other ecosystem types. In accordance with their immediate reliance on plants for food, invasive plant effects were strongest on herbivores. Regarding taxonomic groups, birds and insects were most strongly affected. In insects, this may be explained by their high frequency of herbivory, while birds demonstrate that invasive plant effects can also cascade up to secondary consumers. Since data on impacts of invasive plants are rather limited for many animal groups in most ecosystems, we argue for overcoming gaps in knowledge and for a more differentiated discussion on effects of invasive plant on native fauna.
The Impact of the German Child Benefit on Household Expenditures and Consumption
Authors: Raschke Christian 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe German Child Benefit (‘Kindergeld’) is paid to legal guardians of children as a cash benefit. The benefit does not depend on household income or other household characteristics. I use exogenous variations in the amount of child benefit received by households in the German Socio-Economic Panel to estimate the impact of a given change in the child benefit on food expenditures of households, the probability of owning a home, rent per square meter, measures of the size of the home, as well as parents’ smoking behavior and parents’ alcohol consumption. Households primarily increase per capita food expenditures in response to increases in child benefit, and they also improve housing conditions. The effect of child benefit on per capita food expenditures is larger for low-income households compared to high-income households. I do not find a significant effect of child benefit on parents’ smoking or drinking.
A rapid assessment of a poorly known insect group
Authors: Hardwick Bess , Kaartinen Riikka , Koponen Martti , Roslin Tomas 
Published: September 2015

Abstract'Conservation planning and ecological analyses require large‐scale data on species’ abundance and distribution. We describe a national effort to quickly establish the distributions of taxa with hard‐to‐identify adults but easily identifiable larval stages: cynipid gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipini) on oak (Quercus robur).The survey was implemented by volunteers across 239 sites over 687 km of latitude. It yielded 10 523 galls, which were identified by specialists. The material revealed two species new to Finland and the national distributions and local abundances of 16 species.The likelihood of finding a given species was significantly affected by the visual apparency of its galls. This suggests that some cryptic generations may have been missed in the sampling.At the national level, our study exposed systematic changes in the species richness of insect taxa associated with a patchily distributed host plant towards its range margin. Species’ incidences decline as host trees grow increasingly scattered within the landscape.From a conservation perspective, the data increased eight‐fold the known records of gall wasps from Finland, and informed the first assessment of national threat status of these taxa.Our study reveals how the efforts of the public may be efficiently harnessed for revealing the current status of poorly known taxa. In addition to delivering a first survey of the target taxa, and of factors affecting their distribution, such ‘citizen science’ may generate a permanent base of enthusiasts for the future monitoring of changes and trends.
Singing Delays the Onset of Infant Distress
Authors: Corbeil Mariève , Trehub Sandra E. , Peretz Isabelle 
Published: September 2015

Much is known about the efficacy of infant‐directed (ID) speech and singing for capturing attention, but little is known about their role in regulating affect. In Experiment 1, infants 7–10 months of age listened to scripted recordings of ID speech, adult‐directed speech, or singing in an unfamiliar language (Turkish) until they met a criterion of distress based on negative facial expression. They listened to singing for roughly twice as long as speech before meeting the distress criterion. In Experiment 2, they were exposed to natural recordings of ID speech or singing in a familiar language. As in Experiment 1, ID singing was considerably more effective than speech for delaying the onset of distress. We suggest that the temporal patterning of ID singing, with its regular beat, metrical organization, and tempo, plays an important role in inhibiting distress, perhaps by promoting entrainment and predictive listening.
PULSE‐SMART: Pulse‐Based Arrhythmia Discrimination Using a Novel Smartphone Application
Authors: McMANUS DAVID D. , CHONG JO WOON , SONI APURV , SACZYNSKI JANE S. , ESA NADA , NAPOLITANO CRAIG , DARLING CHAD E. , BOYER EDWARD , ROSEN ROCHELLE K. , FLOYD KEVIN C. , CHON KI H. 
Published: September 2015

Automated Arrhythmia Discrimination Using a SmartphoneBackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is a common and dangerous rhythm abnormality. Smartphones are increasingly used for mobile health applications by older patients at risk for AF and may be useful for AF screening.ObjectivesTo test whether an enhanced smartphone app for AF detection can discriminate between sinus rhythm (SR), AF, premature atrial contractions (PACs), and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs).MethodsWe analyzed two hundred and nineteen 2‐minute pulse recordings from 121 participants with AF (n = 98), PACs (n = 15), or PVCs (n = 15) using an iPhone 4S. We obtained pulsatile time series recordings in 91 participants after successful cardioversion to sinus rhythm from preexisting AF. The PULSE‐SMART app conducted pulse analysis using 3 methods (Root Mean Square of Successive RR Differences; Shannon Entropy; Poincare plot). We examined the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive accuracy of the app for AF, PAC, and PVC discrimination from sinus rhythm using the 12‐lead EKG or 3‐lead telemetry as the gold standard. We also administered a brief usability questionnaire to a subgroup (n = 65) of app users.ResultsThe smartphone‐based app demonstrated excellent sensitivity (0.970), specificity (0.935), and accuracy (0.951) for real‐time identification of an irregular pulse during AF. The app also showed good accuracy for PAC (0.955) and PVC discrimination (0.960). The vast majority of surveyed app users (83%) reported that it was “useful” and “not complex” to use.ConclusionA smartphone app can accurately discriminate pulse recordings during AF from sinus rhythm, PACs, and PVCs.
Periodontal clinical and microbiological characteristics in healthy versus generalized aggressive periodontitis families
Authors: Monteiro Mabelle de F. , Casati Marcio Z. , Taiete Tiago , do Vale Hugo F. , Nociti Francisco Humberto , Sallum Enilson Antônio , Silvério Karina G. , Casarin Renato C. V. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractAimGeneralized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) is a severe and multifactorial disease in which a familial aggregation and a specific microbiological profile have been suggested. Thus, this case–control study evaluated the clinical and subgingival microbial profile of GAP subjects and their families compared to healthy families.MethodsFifteen families with parents presenting periodontal health and 15 with parents with a history of GAP were selected. Each family should have at least one child between 6 and 12 years old. Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and periodontal probing depth (PPD), as well as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) amounts (by qPCR), were assessed from all subjects.ResultsChildren of GAP families showed a higher PI, GI, and PPD when compared to children of healthy families (p ≤ 0.05). A higher frequency of detection and amounts of Aa was observed in GAP children compared to children of healthy families (p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, a significant association between Aa amounts and gingival bleeding was observed in children (p ≤ 0.05, r = 0.37).ConclusionChildren from GAP families have worst clinical conditions, i.e. higher levels of PI, GI, and PPD, a more pathogenic microbiological profile, and the amount of Aa are associated with a higher marginal inflammation.
Children with autism spectrum disorder and social skills groups at school: a randomized trial comparing intervention approach and peer composition
Authors: Kasari Connie , Dean Michelle , Kretzmann Mark , Shih Wendy , Orlich Felice , Whitney Rondalyn , Landa Rebecca , Lord Catherine , King Bryan 
Published: September 2015

BackgroundPeer relationships improve for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in clinic‐based social skills groups but rarely generalize to real world contexts. This study compares child outcomes of two social skills interventions conducted in schools with children in Kindergarten through fifth grade.MethodChildren with ASD were randomized to one of two interventions that varied on group composition (mixed typical and ASD vs. all ASD or social difficulties) and intervention approach (didactic SKILLS based vs. activity‐based ENGAGE groups). Interventions were implemented at school for 8 weeks (16 sessions) with an 8‐week follow‐up. Innovative measures of peer nomination and playground peer engagement, as well as teacher reports of child behavior problems and teacher–child relationship were analyzed for 137 children with ASD across four sites.ResultsOn the primary outcome of social network connections from the peer nomination measure, there was no main effect of treatment, but there were moderator effects. Children with low teacher–child closeness or high conflict improved more in their social connections if they received the SKILLS intervention, whereas children with higher teacher–child closeness improved more if they received the ENGAGE intervention. Only two secondary outcome measures yielded significant effects of treatment. Children in the SKILLS groups increased peer engagement and decreased isolation during recess. Child behavior problems and teacher–child closeness moderated peer engagement such that children with higher behavior problems and lower closeness benefitted more from SKILLS groups.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that social skills groups conducted at school can affect both peer engagement during recess as well as peer acceptability. Child characteristics and teacher–child relationship prior to intervention yield important information on who might benefit from a specific social skills intervention.
THE GOVERNANCE OF FINANCIAL SUPERVISION: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Authors: Masciandaro Donato , Quintyn Marc 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThis paper examines the evolution of financial supervision as a policy tool over the last three decades, with a focus on the issues raised by the Global Crisis. It considers a sample of advanced and emerging economies to discuss the four main questions debated in the literature, and addressed in the economic policy arena: the architecture of supervision, the role of the central bank as supervisor, the governance of supervision, and financial supervision vs. the internationalization of finance. Our survey finds that, on each of these issues, theory and practice do not offer clear‐cut answers and unambiguous optimal solutions. At the same time, the most promising approach is to tackle financial supervision as a principal‐agent problem, where economics and political economy approaches must be used in combination to improve both positive and normative analyses of supervisory governance.
Development issues regarding Bunot Lake: the Lesser Lake among the seven lakes of San Pablo City, Philippines
Authors: Brillo Bing Baltazar C. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBunot Lake exhibits the worst conditions among the seven crater lakes of San Pablo City in the Philippines. It is the most polluted lake, being oversaturated with fish pens/cages. It also hosts the largest concentration of illegal settlements. These attributes strongly suggest that Bunot Lake merits much greater attention in the agenda of its two administrative agencies, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and the City Government. The reality, however, is that Bunot Lake is lacking key development initiatives and programmes and seems to occupy a low priority to the LLDA and the City Government. This reality is particularly perplexing as the lake is located very near the urban centre, is closest to the premier lake (Sampaloc Lake), and is the site of the first commercial production of tilapia in floating cages in the city. Against this background, the present study identifies and analyses the immediate development issues for Bunot Lake. It contends that Bunot Lake should be given preference by the LLDA and the City Government, specifically by: (i) modifying their model‐template approach; and (ii) taking steps to tackle a basic need of Bunot Lake, namely the formulation of a zoning‐development plan. The present study also was designed to directly address the lacuna in Philippine lake studies, namely the paucity of research under the social science perspective (which is currently dominated by the natural science perspective) and on small lakes (which is currently concentrated on the largest lakes in the country).
Environmental control of the dominant phytoplankton in Aras Reservoir (Iran): A multivariate approach
Authors: Mohebbi Fereidun , Riahi Hossein , Sheidaei Masoud , Shariatmadari Zeinab , Manaffar Ramin 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThis study was undertaken to determine the phytoplankton structure and the environmental variables comprising the driving factors leading to cyanobacterial blooms in Aras Reservoir. Sampling was carried out seasonally at five sampling sites along the main body of the reservoir. Samples were collected for phytoplankton identification and enumeration, chemical analyses and chlorophyll‐a (Chl‐a) concentrations at each sampling site. Principal component analysis (PCA) and two‐way unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) were performed to determine the environmental variables affecting phytoplankton community dynamics. Seventy‐two species belonging to five divisions were determined during this study. Cyanobacteria contained the highest density (74%) during the study period, with Pseudanabaena limnetica being the most abundant species. The Shannon diversity index was low (0.44–1.87), indicating a high level of cyanobacteria dominance and eutrophic water status. Principal component analysis indicated that total phosphorus and temperature were significantly associated with cyanobacteria growth. Two‐way clustering by UPGMA indicated a close relationship among sampling sites during the same season from the perspective of the phytoplankton density. The findings of this study suggested Aras Reservoir could be highly affected by agricultural runoff and untreated sewage loadings. Thus, the proper use of fertilizers and sewage treatment should be taken into account in considering effective conservation and management plans.
Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia: A perspective on its transborder hydrological and resources governance
Authors: Sithirith Mak 
Published: September 2015

AbstractTonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia, being situated at the heart of the Mekong River Basin. Governance of the lake over the recent past has been weak and overly complex, and the basin governance structure has changed over time in terms of its fisheries management framework. The governance framework initially focused on the commercial exploitation of fish resources, but has more recently switched to a community‐based fisheries management, biodiversity conservation and open access model. This study discusses how the water flows occurring between the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake complicate the governance of the lake, and particularly its fisheries, biodiversity, land and water management activities. The establishment of the Tonle Sap Authority (TSA) in 2007 sought to address the governance challenges facing the lake. The current study concludes, however, that the TSA alone is not sufficient and that global, regional and national stakeholders must make an effort to ensure the water flows between the lake and the Mekong River are themselves considered a core governance issue for the Tonle Sap.
A systematic review and meta‐analysis of acute severe complications of pediatric anesthesia
Authors: Mir ghassemi Asadollah , Neira Victor , Ufholz Lee‐Anne , Barrowman Nick , Mulla Jamila , Bradbury Carol L. , Bould Matthew Dylan 
Published: September 2015

SummaryBackgroundQuantification of acute severe complications of pediatric anesthesia is essential to plan clinical guidelines and educational curricula.AimOur aim was to identify complications in terms of frequency and outcomes.MethodsWe defined acute severe complications as an unexpected perioperative event, which without intervention by the anesthesiologist within 30 min may lead to disability or death. A systematic search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Screening and data extraction were performed independently. Assessment of bias was conducted using GRADE guidelines.ResultsOf 3002 abstracts, 25 met all inclusion criteria. The most common acute severe complications in pediatric anesthesia are related to airway management and respiratory system, followed by cardiovascular events. There was a great variation in reporting the methods, particularly poor definitions of diagnostic criteria for complications. Data were heterogeneous and pooled estimates may not be generalizable. Some studies failed to define potential source of bias, explain how missing data were addressed, describe acute severe complications, and had incomplete postoperative follow‐up.ConclusionThe data on pediatric anesthesia acute severe complications are poorly defined with large variation in the specificity of diagnostic reporting even within studies. We suggest that it is vital for future studies in this area to be based on a standardized system of diagnostic reporting (possibly with a hierarchical system of coding) with adequate description of population details to describe heterogeneity of data.
Bayesian Spatial Modelling for High Dimensional Seismic Inverse Problems
Authors: Zhang Ran , Czado Claudia , Sigloch Karin 
Published: September 2015

SummaryWe study the application of Bayesian spatial modelling to seismic tomography, a geophysical, high dimensional, linearized inverse problem that infers the three-dimensional structure of the Earth’s interior. We develop a spatial dependence model of seismic wave velocity variations in the Earth’s mantle based on a Gaussian Matérn field approximation. Using the theory of stochastic partial differential equations, this model quantifies the uncertainties in the parameter space by means of the integrated nested Laplace approximation. In resolution tests using simulated data and in inversions using real data, our model matches the performance of conventional deterministic optimization approaches in retrieving three-dimensional structure of the Earth’s mantle. In addition it delivers estimates of the full parameter covariance matrix. Our model substantially improves on previous work relying on Markov chain Monte Carlo methods in terms of statistical misfits and computing time.
Forward Guidance and the Predictability of Monetary Policy: A Wavelet-Based Jump Detection Approach
Authors: Winkelmann Lars 
Published: September 2015

SummaryThe publication of a projected path of future policy decisions by central banks is a controversially debated method to improve monetary policy guidance. The paper proposes a new approach to evaluate the effect of the guidance strategy on the predictability of monetary policy. The empirical investigation is based on jump probabilities of Norwegian interest rates on announcement days of the Norges Bank before and after the introduction of quantitative guidance. Within the standard semimartingale framework, we propose a new methodology to detect jumps. We derive a representation of the quadratic variation in terms of a wavelet spectrum. An adaptive threshold procedure on wavelet spectrum estimates aims at localizing jumps. Our main empirical result indicates that quantitative guidance significantly improves the predictability of monetary policy.
Mixed Effects Historical Varying-Coefficient Model for Evaluating Dose–Response in Flexible Dose Trials
Authors: Misumi Toshihiro , Konishi Sadanori 
Published: September 2015

SummaryVarying-coefficient models provide a useful tool to explore the dynamic pattern in various fields of science, such as epidemiology, medical research and ecology. Crucial issues arise in assessing the dose–response relationship from flexible dose clinical trial data: the current response is affected by not only the current dose level but also past dose levels, i.e. there is a time lag in the effectiveness of treatment and, also, there is considerable variability between subjects. To address these issues, we propose a novel non-linear varying-coefficient model, called a mixed effects historical varying-coefficient model (MEHVCM), for estimating dose–response curves in longitudinal flexible dose trials. This model enables us to describe historical effectiveness curves and subject-specific curves. Unknown parameters included in the MEHVCM are estimated by the maximum penalized likelihood method along with the EM algorithm. Monte Carlo experiments are conducted to investigate the performance of the MEHVCM for evaluating dose–response relationships in flexible dose trials. We apply the proposed model to the analysis of data from a multiple-sclerosis clinical trial.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid Reduces Cholera Toxin Production
In Vitro
and
In Vivo
by Inhibiting Vibrio cholerae ToxT Activity
Authors: Withey Jeffrey H. , Nag Dhrubajyoti , Plecha Sarah C. , Sinha Ritam , Koley Hemanta 
Published: September 2015

ABSTRACT

The severe diarrheal disease cholera is endemic in over 50 countries. Current therapies for cholera patients involve oral and/or intravenous rehydration, often combined with the use of antibiotics to shorten the duration and intensity of the disease. However, as antibiotic resistance increases, treatment options will become limited. Linoleic acid has been shown to be a potent negative effector of
V. cholerae
virulence that acts on the major virulence transcription regulator protein, ToxT, to inhibit virulence gene expression. ToxT activates transcription of the two major virulence factors required for disease, cholera toxin (CT) and toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). A conjugated form of linoleic acid (CLA) is currently sold over the counter as a dietary supplement and is generally recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This study examined whether CLA could be used as a new therapy to reduce CT production, which, in turn, would decrease disease duration and intensity in cholera patients. CLA could be used in place of traditional antibiotics and would be very unlikely to generate resistance, as it affects only virulence factor production and not bacterial growth or survival.