bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ecological engineering and aquatic connectivity: a new perspective from beaver‐modified wetlands
Authors: Hood Glynnis A. , Larson David G. 
Published: October 2014

Summary

Habitat fragmentation and wetland loss due to anthropogenic causes are usually attributed to physical modifications of the environment; however, the loss of key species can compound these impacts and further reduce the connectivity of aquatic ecosystems.

Ecosystem engineers can play a critical role in modifying aquatic systems by altering the bed of ponds and streams, increasing water coverage and influencing biogeochemical processes within and adjacent to freshwater habitats. However, there is a paucity of research on how these organisms enhance connectivity among aquatic habitats, especially in otherwise isolated wetland systems.

In this study, we collected field data at natural and agriculturally impacted sites to quantify physical alterations to otherwise isolated, morainal wetlands modified by beavers, and to determine how these modifications might enhance connectivity. For finer‐scale analysis, we collected and modelled bathymetric data for 16 wetlands, eight of which were occupied by beavers and eight abandoned by beavers.

We demonstrated that beavers actively increase the volume‐to‐surface area ratio of wetlands by almost 50% and that their digging of foraging channels increases average wetland perimeters by over 575%. Some channels were 200–300 m long, which enhanced the interface between the riparian zone and upland forests. A coarse estimate of soil displacement due to the digging of channels by beavers exceeded 22 300 m3 within the total 13 km2 natural area. Additional measures of wetland depth, basin complexity and basin circularity revealed other dramatic differences between wetlands with beavers and those without in both natural and agricultural landscapes.

Exclusion or removal of beavers could limit ecosystem processes and resilience, especially in areas with otherwise isolated aquatic habitats and limited connectivity. Conversely, reintroduction of such an ecosystem engineer into areas targeted for restoration could result in significant increase in habitat heterogeneity and connectivity.
Flow of concentrated suspensions through fractures: small variations in solid concentration cause significant in‐plane velocity variations
Authors: Medina R. , Elkhoury J. E. , Morris J. P. , Prioul R. , Desroches J. , Detwiler R. L. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractFlow of high‐concentration suspensions through fractures is important to a range of natural and induced subsurface processes where fractures provide the primary permeability (e.g., mud volcanoes, sand intrusion, and hydraulic fracturing). For these flows, the simple linear relationship between pressure gradient and flow rate, which applies for viscous‐dominated flows of Newtonian fluids, breaks down. We present results from experiments in which a high concentration (50% by volume) of granular solids suspended in a non‐Newtonian carrier fluid (0.75% guar gum in water) flowed through a parallel‐plate fracture. Digital imaging and particle‐image‐velocimetry analysis provided detailed two‐dimensional maps of velocities within the fracture. Results demonstrate development of a strongly heterogeneous velocity field within the fracture. Surprisingly, we observed the highest velocities along the no‐flow boundaries of the fracture and the lowest velocities along the centerline of the fracture. Depth‐averaged simulations using a recently developed model of the rheology of concentrated suspensions of monodisperse solids in Newtonian carrier fluids reproduced experimental observations of pressure gradient versus flow rate. Results from additional simulations suggest that small (3%) variations in solid concentration within the fracture can lead to significant (factor of two) velocity variations within the fracture yet negligible changes in observed pressure gradients. Furthermore, the variations in solid concentration persist over the length of the fracture, suggesting that such heterogeneities may play a significant role in the transport of concentrated suspensions. Our results suggest that a simple fracture‐averaged conductivity does not adequately represent the transport of suspended solids through fractures, which has direct implications for subsurface suspension flows where small concentration variations are likely.
Use of a hand‐held crop growth measuring device to estimate forage crude protein mass of pasture
Authors: Watanabe Nariyasu , Sakanoue Seiichi , Lee Hyo‐Jin , Lim Jihyun , Yoshitoshi Rena , Kawamura Kensuke 
Published: October 2014

AbstractThis study explored a new hand‐held crop growth measuring device to estimate forage quality and quantity of pasture. The device's photosensors (550 nm [green], 650 nm [red] and 880 nm [near‐infrared; NIR] regions of the spectrum) are set up in both upward and downward directions, which shorten the measuring time in the field even under unstable weather conditions. The sward canopy reflectance measurements and forage sampling were conducted at 50 sites of pasture in July 2007 and at 20 sites in the same pasture at 4‐week intervals from May to October in 2006 and 2007. Using the 50‐site dataset, the linear regression analyses between the measured spectral reflectances or the vegetation indices (VIs) and the forage properties were examined to determine the best combinations. Based on the 4‐week interval datasets, the following points were examined: (i) effectiveness of the selected combinations throughout stocking seasons; (ii) influence of the sun angle during the spectral measurement; and (iii) integration of the regression models obtained from each dataset. The relationships between the forage properties (total biomass, green biomass and crude protein mass [CPmass, g dry matter m−2] in natural and logarithmic [ln] forms) and all of the spectral reflectances or VIs were significant in the cross‐validated coefficient of determination (R2CV). In particular, the mean R2CV values between the ln CPmass and each of red/NIR ratio, normalized difference vegetation index and modified soil‐adjusted vegetation index were high (0.74–0.75), ranging from 0.46 to 0.94 throughout the stocking seasons. The influence of the sun angle on the regression models was not significant in 13 cases out of 14. Additionally, in May and October, the integration of the regression models was statistically accepted, respectively. These results demonstrated that the device is effective for estimating forage CPmass throughout stocking seasons with a little effort.
Effects of plant diversity, habitat and agricultural landscape structure on the functional diversity of carabid assemblages in the North China Plain
Authors: Liu Yunhui , Duan Meichun , Zhang Xuzhu , Zhang Xin , Yu Zhenrong , Axmacher Jan C. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractThis study investigated the effects of plant diversity, habitat type and landscape structure on the functional diversity of the carabid assemblages in the agro‐landscape of the North China Plain. We hypothesise (i) small, herbivorous and omnivorous carabids are more strongly affected by local plant diversity, while large and predatory carabids are strongly affected by landscape structure, and (ii) habitat type influences the diversity across functional groups.In 2010, carabid beetles were sampled by pitfall traps in six typical habitats of the agro‐landscape: wheat/maize fields, peanut fields, orchards, field margins, windbreaks and woodland.Our results showed that (i) habitat type played a predominant role in driving the changes in the diversity of carabid assemblages, followed by local plant diversity while the landscape structure had little effect; (ii) small and omnivorous carabid were strongly affected by local plant diversity, while the composition of large and predatory carabid was strongly associated with the landscape structure; and (iii) habitats dominated by woody species harboured different assemblages to habitats dominated by herbaceous plants for overall carabids and three functional groups excluding omnivorous beetles.Informed by our results, we suggest the differentiated responses between functional groups should be appreciated in conservation management. In the intensively managed agro‐landscape, maintenance of diverse habitats and creating a more complex vegetation structure would be the most efficient measures to enhance the diversity of carabid assemblages. Particularly, the maintenance of extensively managed habitats coupled with a targeted increase in the local plant diversity is crucial to optimise the biological pest control by carabid assemblages.
Bright expression of CD91 identifies highly activated human dendritic cells that can be expanded by defensins
Authors: Cappelletti Monica , Presicce Pietro , Calcaterra Francesca , Mavilio Domenico , Della Bella Silvia 
Published: October 2014

SummaryCD91 is a scavenger receptor expressed by different immune cells and its ligands defensins have been demonstrated to contribute to immune responses against infections and tumours. We previously demonstrated that CD91 is expressed on human monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (moDCs) and that human defensins stimulate in vitro the activation of these cells. In this study, we observed that CD91 is expressed at different levels on two distinct moDC subsets: CD91dim and CD91bright moDCs. Although CD91bright moDCs represented a small proportion of total moDCs, this subset showed higher levels of activation and maturation markers compared with CD91dim moDCs. The frequency of CD91bright moDCs increased by ~ 50% after in vitro stimulation with recombinant human neutrophil peptide‐1 (rHNP‐1) and recombinant human β defensin‐1 (rHBD‐1), while lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation decreased it by ~ 35%. Both defensins up‐regulated moDC expression of CD80, CD40, CD83 and HLA‐DR, although to a lower extent compared with LPS. Notably, upon culture with rHNP‐1 and rHBD‐1, CD91bright moDCs maintained their higher activation/maturation status, whereas this was lost upon culture with LPS. Our findings suggest that defensins promote the differentiation into activated CD91bright DCs and may encourage the exploitation of the CD91/defensins axis as a novel therapeutic strategy to potentiate antimicrobial and anti‐tumour immune response.
Financial Reporting Practices of China's Listed Firms
Authors: Piotroski Joseph D. 
Published: October 2014

The long‐term success of financial markets depends on the widespread availability of reasonably detailed and reliable financial information. Individual investors depend critically upon companies' regulatory filings and voluntary disclosures to assess their long‐run risks, payoffs, and, ultimately, their intrinsic values. However, a recent string of accounting frauds involving Chinese firms listed on overseas markets has drawn attention to the accounting and governance risks associated with investing in Chinese firms.This article provides a brief overview of the information environment of Chinese capital markets and the primary forces that affect the incentives of Chinese listed companies to provide timely and accurate financial reports. The evidence reviewed here indicates that the adoption of world‐class standards and regulation, although necessary, is not sufficient to generate incentives for transparency. The long‐term health of China's capital markets will also depend upon other reforms that are designed to accomplish the following: (1) improve the protection of investor rights through an effective, independent judiciary court system that promotes civil lawsuits, and through credible regulatory enforcement; (2) strengthen market development activity, especially with respect to foreign investors; and (3) limit political rent‐seeking behavior and deter politicized business decisions, especially in China's state‐owned enterprises. Together, such reforms have the potential to improve corporate governance in China and better align the incentives of the state and majority shareholders with those of minority shareholders, while increasing the ability of accounting to serve a contracting function and the demand for timely information for valuation purposes.
The State of Sustainability in China
Authors: Duan Peijun , Eccles Robert G. 
Published: October 2014

China has experienced remarkable economic growth since the reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. This growth has come at a significant environmental and social cost, raising the question of whether the country needs to focus more on sustainable development than on economic growth for its own sake.Moreover, there is growing recognition in China that more attention needs to be paid to achieving environmental and social as well as economic goals. This recognition has come in the form of changes in public policy, in pronouncements by Party leaders, and in the research and writings of academics, think tanks, and industry associations.As the authors also point out, sustainable development on a global scale is now as dependent on the actions of large corporations as on government policies. And one way of assessing China's commitment to sustainability is to compare the behavior of its largest 100 companies to that of the largest 100 corporations in the United States. In making this comparison, the authors use two, admittedly imperfect, indicators of sustainability that suggest that the extent of the commitment to sustainability is roughly comparable in both countries.The first of the two indicators is membership in the UN Global Compact. On that score, the authors report that exactly 15 of the top 100 companies in both China and the U.S. have formally endorsed its ten principles regarding human rights, labor, the environment, and anticorruption. The second indicator is the percentage of the largest 100 companies that produce a sustainability report based on the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. Using that measure, the authors report that about half of China's largest companies produce a sustainability report based on the GRI guidelines. Although that percentage is smaller than the two‐thirds of U.S. companies that now provide such reports, the authors are encouraged by the trend, and by the pattern of adoption in which larger companies are clearly leading way.
The Composition and Effectiveness of Audit Committees in the Presence of Large Controlling Shareholders
Authors: Guo Re‐Jin , Yeh Yin‐Hua 
Published: October 2014

The authors' study of audit committees in 450 large East Asian companies (150 each in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia) finds a strong positive correlation between the “cash flow” ownership (as opposed to just the voting rights) of large shareholders and the percentage of independent audit committee members. The study also reports a strong positive correlation between the “cash flow” ownership of large shareholders and the percentage of audit committee members with financial expertise and experience.This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that larger cash flow ownership provides large shareholders with strong incentives for more effective governance. Conversely, the lower percentages of independent or professional audit directors at companies with large disparities between cash ownership and voting rights is consistent with the authors' hypothesis that entrenched large shareholders prefer inferior governance structures that pose fewer obstacles to their tendency to exploit the wealth of minority shareholders.Furthermore, the authors find higher valuations (market‐to‐book ratios) for companies with audit committees that consist entirely of independent directors and have larger percentage of members with financial expertise. And when viewed as a whole, the authors' findings provide support for the argument that ownership structure affects the composition of audit committees, and that independent and professional audit committees can help increase firm value.
Mixed Infection and Natural Spread of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ and Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus Affecting Soya Bean Crop in India
Authors: Kumar Shailender , Sharma Prachi , Sharma Susheel , Rao G. P. 
Published: October 2014

AbstractSuspected phytoplasma and virus‐like symptoms of little leaf, yellow mosaic and witches’ broom were recorded on soya bean and two weed species (Digitaria sanguinalis and Parthenium hysterophorus), at experimental fields of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, in August–September 2013. The phytoplasma aetiology was confirmed in symptomatic soya bean and both the weed species by direct and nested PCR assays with phytoplasma‐specific universal primer pairs (P1/P6 and R16F2n/R16R2n). One major leafhopper species viz. Empoasca motti Pruthi feeding on symptomatic soya bean plants was also found phytoplasma positive in nested PCR assays. Sequencing BLASTn search analysis and phylogenetic analysis revealed that 16Sr DNA sequences of phytoplasma isolates of soya bean, weeds and leafhoppers had 99% sequence identity among themselves and were related to strains of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’. PCR assays with Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) coat‐protein‐specific primers yielded an amplicon of approximately 770 bp both from symptomatic soya bean and from whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) feeding on soya bean, confirmed the presence of MYMIV in soya bean and whitefly. Hence, this study suggested the mixed infection of MYMIV and ‘Ca. P. asteris’ with soya bean yellow leaf and witches’ broom syndrome. The two weed species (D. sanguinalis and P. hysterophorus) were recorded as putative alternative hosts for ‘Ca. P. asteris’ soya bean Indian strain. However, the leafhopper E. motti was recorded as putative vector for the identified soya bean phytoplasma isolate, and the whitefly (B. tabaci) was identified as vector of MYMIV which belonged to Asia‐II‐1 genotype.
Delayed Postoperative Hematoma Formation After Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Implantation
Authors: Garber Bruce B. , Bickell Michael 
Published: October 2014

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Infrequent but serious postoperative complications following inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) insertion include infection, malfunction, and bleeding. Although prior publications report methods to reduce immediate postoperative bleeding, there is little in the literature concerning the etiology, diagnosis, imaging, and management of delayed bleeding after IPP insertion.

Aim
The aim of the study was to review cases of delayed postoperative bleeding following IPP insertion in a large single-surgeon series.

Methods
We carried out a retrospective chart review of 600 patients implanted with a Coloplast Titan IPP with One-Touch Release pump by a single surgeon, and analyzed cases of delayed postoperative bleeding.

Main Outcome Measure
The main outcome measure was an analysis of the incidence, causes, diagnostic methods, treatment, and final outcome of these cases.

Results
Three out of 600 consecutive patients (0.5%) developed a delayed (defined as &gt;5 days postoperative) hematoma following IPP insertion. All patients presented postoperatively with a swollen surgical site, and all were evaluated with a pelvic computed tomography scan to completely define the extent of the hematoma. Two patients developed a delayed hematoma because of excessive physical activity; the remaining patient bled because of premature administration of enoxaparin sodium (Lovenox) by his cardiologist. All three patients were successfully treated with hospital admission, intravenous antibiotics, wound exploration, hematoma evacuation, and antibiotic washout. All three IPPs were successfully salvaged; none developed peri-prosthetic infection.

Conclusions
The incidence of delayed postoperative hematoma following IPP surgery was 0.5% in our series of 600 cases. All cases were successfully managed with intravenous antibiotics, hematoma evacuation, and antibiotic washout. Because of the low incidence of this complication, definitive statements concerning prevention and management cannot be made. However, we now recommend avoiding postoperative anticoagulants for at least 5 days if possible, and avoiding vigorous physical activity for at least 3 weeks.
Hepatopulmonary Syndrome in children: a comparative study of non‐cirrhotic vs. cirrhotic portal hypertension
Authors: Borkar Vibhor V , Poddar Ujjal , Kapoor Aditya , NS Srivatsa , Srivastava Anshu , Yachha Surender K 
Published: October 2014

AbstractBackground & AimsHepatopulmonary syndrome in children has not been extensively studied particularly in different subsets of portal hypertension. We prospectively studied hepatopulmonary syndrome in children with cirrhosis and extrahepatic portal venous obstruction. Their comparison might shed light on the pathogenesis of hepatopulmonary syndrome.MethodsBetween 1 to 18 years of age, 135 children with portal hypertension (cirrhosis 35, extrahepatic portal venous obstruction 100) were studied. Hepatopulmonary syndrome was diagnosed by the presence intrapulmonary shunt using transthoracic contrast echocardiography and hypoxia/orthodeoxia (in arterial blood gas examination). Comparative analyses were done for both the groups, and also intra‐ and intergroups with and without hepatopulmonary syndrome.ResultOf 135 children, hepatopulmonary syndrome occurred more frequently in cirrhosis (40%) than extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (13%) (P = 0.01). Cirrhotics with hepatopulmonary syndrome were symptomatic (85% vs. 14%, P < 0.001) and had longer disease duration [16(1–120) months vs. 28 (1–168) months, P = 0.01] as compared to cirrhotics without hepatopulmonary syndrome. Prevalence of hepatopulmonary syndrome among cirrhotics did not correlate with the severity of liver disease as assessed by both paediatric end‐stage liver disease score and Child–Turcotte–Pugh score. Patients with extrahepatic portal venous obstruction and hepatopulmonary syndrome remain asymptomatic manifesting with clubbing alone (38%).ConclusionsHepatopulmonary syndrome occurs more frequently in cirrhosis, a majority being symptomatic with more severity in comparison to extrahepatic portal venous obstruction having no symptoms and less severity. There seems to be a role of liver dysfunction besides portal hypertension as an added factor in the pathogenesis of hepatopulmonary syndrome.
Invasive candidiasis and candidaemia in neonates and children: update on current guidelines
Authors: Tragiannidis Athanasios , Tsoulas Christos , Groll Andreas H. 
Published: October 2014

SummaryInvasive candidiasis (IC) and candidaemia are leading causes of infectious morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised paediatric patients and those admitted to intensive care units. Despite improvements in diagnosis, prevention and treatment, both mortality rates and the economic burden of disease still remain high. To address this issue, several international societies and organisations have proposed guidelines for the management of IC/candidaemia in both neonates and children. In this article, we review current recommendations of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the European Conference on Infection in Leukaemia, the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the German Speaking Mycological Society/Paul‐Ehrlich Society for Chemotherapy for the management and prevention of IC/candidaemia in children and neonates.