关键词： alternative successional trajectory   arrested succession   clear-cutting   fencing   resilience   secondary forests   sika deer   unpalatable species  

摘要： Questions Does clear-cutting intended to boost regeneration of abandoned secondary forests lead to an irreversible shift to non-forest vegetation under high deer density? Location Warm-temperate forests in Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Methods We designed a factorial experiment including two levels of forest canopy treatment (clear-cutting or intact canopy) and two levels of herbivory control (presence or absence of deer) using 24 plots of 10 m x 10 m. Vegetation dynamics occurring under each experimental treatment were tracked for 7.5 years. Results Ground vegetation under the closed canopy did not change significantly for 7.5 years both inside and outside the deer fences. However, plots were rapidly covered by early-seral plants till 1.5 years after the cutting event. The quick growth of ground vegetation after clear-cutting was supported by plants that are known to have soil seed banks, as suggested by their ubiquity immediately after clear-cutting. Species richness of ground vegetation was maximized at that time and gradually decreased afterward, suggesting biological filtering. This filtering process worked differently inside and outside the deer fences, resulting in different types of vegetation. The clear-cut-and-fence plots became dominated by tree recruits that will recover secondary forests in the future. Contrastingly, vegetation outside the fences lacked many species (e.g., common tree species) that were found inside the fences and became dominated by shrubs and plants unpalatable to deer. This post-cutting vegetation outside the fences was not similar to that inside the deer fences at any seral stage. This means that the vegetation outside the fences could be tracking an alternative successional trajectory rather than a case of arrested succession. Conclusions Here, abandoned secondary forests still seem to maintain a high regeneration potential that would be triggered by clear-cutting, but reducing herbivory pressure by deer is necessary to

关键词： Simple majority decision   May's theorem   Multilevel decision functions   Extension of simple majority decision   Axiomatic characterization  

摘要： The context of this work is a voting scenario in which each voter expresses his/her level of affinity about a proposal, by choosing a value in the set J = {- j,...,-1, 0, 1, ... , j}, and these individual votes produce a collective result, in the same set J, through a decision function. The simple majority, defined for j = 1, is a widely used example of such a decision function. In this paper, a set of independent axioms is proved to uniquely characterize the j-majority decision function. The j-majority decision is defined for any positive integer j, and it coincides with the simple majority decision when j = 1. In this way, this axiomatic characterization meets two goals: it gives a new characterization of the simple majority decision when j = 1 and it extends May's theorem to this broader context.

关键词： adverse impact   alternative predictor methods   cognitive constructs   noncognitive constructs   subgroup differences  

摘要： Using a bare-bones meta-analysis, the present study examined the effectiveness of the use of commonly considered alternative predictor methods as a means to reduce subgroup differences (i.e., the method-change approach), taking into account the constructs assessed. With a focus on assessment centers, interviews, situational judgment tests, and work samples as alternative methods, the results indicated that consonant with the construct/method distinction, the effectiveness of a method in reducing subgroup differences is a function of the constructs assessed. Specifically, there are larger White-African American subgroup differences that favor Whites for cognitive constructs on paper-and-pencil tests compared to the alternative methods;and most notably, the opposite result was obtained for noncognitive constructs such that, compared to paper-and-pencil assessments, substantially larger White-African American subgroup differences were observed for alternative methods. A similar pattern of results was obtained for White-Hispanic comparisons, albeit based on a smaller number of data points. In summary, the study's results indicate that the ubiquitously asserted effectiveness of the method-change approach for reducing subgroup differences is overstated, with said effectiveness depending on the construct assessed.

关键词： Acupuncture   Complementary and alternative medicine   Herbal medicines   Musculoskeletal diseases   Pain   Platelet reach plasma   Stem cells   Traditional medicine   Yoga  

摘要： Musculoskeletal diseases are a group of clinical conditions affecting the body's movement and remain a common source of pain affecting the quality of life. The aetio-pathological reasons for pain associated with musculoskeletal diseases can be varied and complex. Conventional medicine can treat or modify pain due to musculoskeletal diseases;however, these may be associated with some side effects and at times may not be able to relieve pain completely. These treatment modalities also have ceiling effects like doses of analgesics, the number of nerve blocks, etc. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) provides a supplementary, unconventional modality to alleviate discomfort and disability associated with these mostly chronic conditions to manage activities of daily living. These modalities have been variedly combined with conventional management for symptom control and thus improve day-to-day activities. We assess the role of commonly used CAM modalities in the management of pain arising from Musculoskeletal diseases. © 2021

关键词： SQDG   sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol   sulfolipids   sulfur   total synthesis  

摘要： Sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) is a glycolipid ubiquitously found in photosynthetically active organisms. It has attracted much attention in recent years due to its biological activities. Similarly, the increasing demand for vegan and functional foods has led to a growing interest in micronutrients such as sulfolipids and their physiological influence on human health. To study this influence, reference materials are needed for developing new analytical methods and providing enough material for model studies on the biological activity. However, the availability of these materials is limited by the difficulty to isolate and purify sulfolipids from natural sources and the unavailability of chemical standards on the market. Consequently, an alternative synthetic route for the comprehensive preparation of sulfolipids was established. Here, the synthesis of a sulfolipid with two identical saturated fatty acids is described exemplarily. The method opens possibilities for the preparation of a diverse range of interesting derivatives with different saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

关键词： Ischemia   reperfusion   Postconditioning   Synaptogenesis   Neuroplasticity   Angiogenesis  

摘要： There remain debates on neuroprotection and rehabilitation techniques for acute ischemic stroke patients. Therapeutic physical exercise following stroke has shown promise but is challenging to apply clinically. Ischemic conditioning, which has several clinical advantages, is a potential neuroprotective method for stroke rehabilitation that is less understood. In the present study, the rehabilitative properties and mechanisms of physical exercise and remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPostC) after stroke were compared and determined. A total of 248 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: (1) sham, (2) stroke, (3) stroke with intense treadmill exercise, (4) stroke with mild treadmill exercise, and (5) stroke with RIPostC. Focal ischemia was evaluated by infarct volume and neurological deficit. Long-term functional outcomes were represented through neurobehavioral function tests: adhesive removal, beam balance, forelimb placing, grid walk, rota-rod, and Morris water maze. To further understand the mechanisms underlying neurorehabilitation and verify the presence thereof, we measured mRNA and protein levels of neuroplasticity factors, synaptic proteins, angiogenesis factors, and regulation molecules, including HIF-1 alpha, BDNF, TrkB, and CREB. The key role of HIF-1 alpha was elucidated by using the inhibitor, YC-1. Both exercise intensities and RIPostC significantly decreased infarct volumes and neurological deficits and outperformed the stroke group in the neurobehavioral function tests. All treatment groups showed significant increases in mRNA and protein expression levels of the target molecules for neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis, with intermittent further increases in the RIPostC group. HIF-1 alpha inhibition nullified most beneficial effects and indicative molecule expressions, including HIF-1 alpha, BDNF, TrkB, and CREB, in both procedures. RIPostC is equally, or superiorly, effective in inducing neuroprotection and rehabili

关键词： haemophilia   multidisciplinary   virtual consultation  

关键词： Quantile regression   Regularization techniques   Portfolio optimization   Performance evaluation  

摘要： We extend the analysis of investment strategies derived from penalized quantile regression models, introducing alternative approaches to improve state- of- art asset allocation rules. We make use of the post- model- selection estimation, which builds on two important choices: the specification of the penalty function and the selection of the optimal tuning parameter. Therefore, we first investigate whether and to what extent the performance of a given portfolio changes when moving from convex to nonconvex penalty functions. Second, we compare different methods to select the optimal tuning parameter, which controls the intensity of the penalization. Empirical analyses on real- world data show that these alternative methods outperform the standard LASSO, providing improvements in terms of risk, risk- adjusted return and portfolio concentration. This evidence becomes stronger when focusing on extreme risk, which is strictly linked to quantile regression.

关键词： Electrophoresis   Differential exploration calorimetry   Infrared spectroscopy   Pepsin  

摘要： The residue from chicken mechanically separated meat (MSM) is a potential source for the extraction of collagen. However, this process requires the removal of many covalent crosslinks, which makes it quite complex. Ultrasound has been successfully used to extract collagen;it reduces the process time and increases the yield. However, information regarding the effects of this treatment on the structural and functional properties of proteins is still very limited. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to obtain collagen from chicken MSM residue and to test the effects of pre-treatment with ultrasonic probe and enzymatic extraction with pepsin in its yield, as well as to evaluate the properties of extracted collagen using gel electrophoresis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, solubility, and differential scanning calorimetry. Both the ultrasound and the enzymatic extraction had a positive effect on the extraction yield of collagen from chicken MSM residue without affecting its integrity. Using ultrasound led to an increase of up to 40% in yield when compared to treatments without ultrasound application. Five extraction treatments were considered. The extracted collagen exhibited high thermal stability (43.9-47.0 degrees C) and mainly type I structure. The use of ultrasound as pre-treatment, together with enzymatic extraction with pepsin, were effective in increasing the extraction yield of collagen from chicken MSM residue, as well as preserving the triple helical structure of the native collagen.