Landscape context mediates the relationship between plant functional traits and decomposition

Aims: It has been well demonstrated that several interacting endogenous and exogenous factors influence decomposition. However, teasing apart the direct and indirect effects of these factors to predict decomposition patterns in heterogenous landscapes remains a key challenge. Methods: At 157 locations in a temperate forest, we measured decomposition of a standard substrate (filter paper) over two years, the landscape context in which decomposition took place, and the functional composition of the woody species that contributed leaf litter to the forest floor where litter bags were placed. We tested for direct and indirect effects of landscape context and direct effects of forest functional composition on decay using structural equation modelling. Results: We found that landscape context had direct effects on decay and indirect effects on decay via its influence on the functional composition of the surrounding forest. Forest functional composition also had direct effects on decay, but these effects decreased or disappeared completely over time. Moreover, community weighted mean trait values were better predictors of decay than functional dispersion of leaf traits, and leaf nitrogen content and carbon content were better predictors of decay than leaf dry matter content or leaf toughness. Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of an integrative approach that examines the direct and indirect effects of multiple factors for understanding and predicting decomposition patterns across heterogenous landscapes

Decomposing the Ins and Outs of Cyclical Unemployment

This paper analyzes the contribution of the socioeconomic and demographic composition of the pool of employed and unemployed individuals to the dynamics of the labor market in different phases of the business cycle. Using individual level data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), we decompose differences in employment status transition rates between economic upswings and downturns into composition effects and behavioral effects. We find that overall composition effects play a minor role for the cyclicality of the unemployment outflow rate, although the contribution of the duration of unemployment is significant. In contrast, composition effects dampen the cyclicality of the unemployment inflow rate considerably. We further observe that the initially positive contribution of composition effects to a higher unemployment outflow rate turns negative over the course of the recession.

Effects of Medium Composition on Oxytetracycline Production by Streptomyces Rimosus Atcc 33022

The economical production of antibiotics to some extent depends on the availabilily of cheap substrates. The work reported in the present paper deals with the fermentative production of oxytetracycline by Streptomyces rimosus ATCC 33022 using commerciol high fructose syrup (HFS), vitamin B complex and citric acid of technical grode. The effects of concentration of high fructose syrup (0.5 - 2.5 %, v/v), commercial vitamin B complex (0.03 - 0.07 %, w/v) and the citric acid (0.34 - 1.28 %. w/v) were examined in this study. It was found that fermentation medium (medium-MHFS) containing high fructose syrup 1.0 % produced maximum activily of oxytetracycline after 4 days incubation period. Fermentation tnedium (mediwn-MBpleJ containing 0.05 % commerciol vitamin B complex showed maximum acrivily after 3 days incubation. While the addition of citric acid (0.64 %) to the fermentation medium (medium-MCA) was found optimumfor production oxytetracycline

Increased variability of microbial communities in restored salt marshes nearly 30 years after tidal flow restoration

We analyzed microbial diversity and community composition from four salt marsh sites that were impounded for 40–50 years and subsequently restored and four unimpounded sites in southeastern Connecticut over one growing season. Community composition and diversity were assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Our results indicated diverse communities, with sequences representing 14 different bacterial divisions. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes dominated clone libraries from both restored and unimpounded sites. Multivariate analysis of the TRFLP data suggest significant site, sample date, and restoration status effects, but the exact causes of these effects are not clear. Composition of clone libraries and abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA genes were not significantly different between restored sites and unimpounded sites, but restored sites showed greater temporal and spatial variability of bacterial communities based on TRFLP profiles compared with unimpounded sites, and variability was greatest at sites more recently restored. In summary, our study suggests there may be long-lasting effects on stability of bacterial communities in restored salt marshes and raises questions about the resilience and ultimate recovery of the communities after chronic disturbance

New Evidence about Brown v. Board of Education: The Complex Effects of School Racial Composition on Achievement

Uncovering the effects of school racial composition on achievement is difficult, because racial mixing in the schools is not an accident but instead represents a complex mixture of government and family choices. While the goals of the integration of schools legally inspired by Brown v. Board of Education are very broad, here we focus more narrowly on how school racial composition effects scholastic achievement. Our evaluation, made possible by rich panel data on the achievement of Texas students, disentangles racial composition effects from other aspects of school quality and from differences in student abilities and family background. The results show that a higher percentage of Black schoolmates has a strong adverse effect on achievement of Blacks and, moreover, that the effects are highly concentrated in the upper half of the ability distribution. In contrast, racial composition has a noticeably smaller effect on achievement of lower ability blacks, of whites, and of Hispanics -- strongly suggesting that the results are not a simple reflection of unmeasured school quality.

Does soy protein supplementation affect body composition in healthy exerciser adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Background objectives: The effects of soy protein supplementation on anthropometric parameters and body composition indices of healthy adults is equivocal. The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to assess the effects of soy protein supplementation on weight and body composition of healthy adults in clinical trial studies. Methods: A systematic search of literature was carried out on clinical trial studies in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane's library and ISI Web of Science Direct up until November 2017. From 492 studies initially retrieved, only 8 articles with 6, 5 and 4 arms included in the meta-analysis of the effects of soy protein supplementation on body weight, Fat free mass and Fat mass, respectively, with 120 participants in the intervention group and 119 participants in the control group. Results: Results of the fixed effect model meta-analysis showed that soy protein supplementation had no significant effects on body weight (0.94 kg, 95 CI: �2.41, 4.30 kg; P = 0.58), fat-free mass (0.6 kg, 95 CI: �0.21, 1.41; P = 0.14) or fat mass (0.43 kg, 95 CI: �2.18, 3.03; P = 0.74) in healthy exercising adults. Conclusions: Results of this meta-analysis study does not confirm any significant beneficial effects of soy protein supplementation on weight and body composition in healthy adults. © 201

The CP properties of the lightest Higgs boson with sbottom effects

In the framework of the recently proposed gluino-axion model, using the effective potential method and taking into account the top-stop as well as the bottom-sbottom effects, we discuss the CP--properties of the lightest Higgs boson, in particular its CP--odd composition, which can offer new opportunities at collider searches. It is found that although the CP-odd composition of the lightest Higgs increases slightly with the inclusion of the sbottom effects, it never exceeds %0.17 for all values of the renormalization scale Q ranging from top mass to TeV scaleComment: 24 pp, 12 eps fig

Cross-sectional and prospective impact of reallocating sedentary time to physical activity on children's body composition.

BACKGROUND: The amount of time children spend in sedentary behaviours may have adverse health effects. OBJECTIVE: To examine the substitution effects of displacing a fixed duration of sedentary time with physical activity (PA) on children's body composition. METHODS: We included 386 children (197 boys). Outcomes were body mass index, waist circumference, total body fat mass and trunk fat mass assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sedentary time and PA were measured with accelerometers. Data were analysed by isotemporal analyses estimating the effect of reallocating 15 and 30 min d-1 of sedentary time into light (light physical activity), and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) PA on body composition. RESULTS: Reallocating 15 and 30 min d-1 of sedentary time into MVPA was negatively associated with body fatness in cross-sectional analyses. Prospectively, reallocating 30 min of sedentary time into 30 min of MVPA was negatively associated with waist circumference (β = -1.11, p  0.05) with body fatness outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Substituting sedentary time with MVPA using isotemporal analysis is associated with positive effects on body composition

Global modelling of H2 mixing ratios and isotopic compositions with the TM5 model

The isotopic composition of molecular hydrogen (H2) contains independent information for constraining the global H2 budget. To explore this, we have implemented hydrogen sources and sinks, including their isotopic composition, into the global chemistry transport model TM5. For the first time, a global model now includes a simplified but explicit isotope reaction scheme for the photochemical production of H2. We present a comparison of modelled results for the H2 mixing ratio and isotope composition with available measurements on the seasonal to inter annual time scales for the years 2001–2007. The base model results agree well with observations for H2 mixing ratios. For dD[H2], modelled values are slightly lower than measurements. A detailed sensitivity study is performed to identify the most important parameters for modelling the isotopic composition of H2. The results show that on the global scale, the discrepancy between model and measurements can be closed by adjusting the default values of the isotope effects in deposition, photochemistry and the stratosphere-troposphere exchange within the known range of uncertainty. However, the available isotope data do not provide sufficient information to uniquely constrain the global isotope budget. Therefore, additional studies focussing on the isotopic composition near the tropopause and on the isotope effects in the photochemistry and deposition are recommended