Effect of apple fiber enrichment on the structural and functional attributes of stirred yogurt

Monitoring of pollution induced changes on populations and communities can be loosely divided into effects on functional attributes and effects on structural attributes. By functional attributes I mean the types, kinds and rates of flow of energy and materials through the system whereas structural attributes are the numbers of individuals, species and related characteristics such as biomass and how they vary through time. Clearly there are no hard and fast boundaries between functional and structural attributes since biomass can be regarded as both a functional and structural attribute. However, there are different strategies involved in applying monitoring programmes to functional and structural attributes and it is these that I wish to consider.

Regulatory approval of biosimilars predominantly relies on biosimilarity assessments of quality attributes (QAs), particularly the potentially critical QAs (pCQAs) that may affect the clinical profile. However, a limited understanding exists concerning how EU regulators reflect the biosimilarity assessments of (pC)QAs in European public assessment reports (EPARs) by different stakeholders. The type and extent of information on QAs and pCQAs in EPARs were evaluated for seven adalimumab biosimilars. Seventy-seven QAs, including 31 pCQAs, were classified and assessed for type (structural and functional attributes) and extent (biosimilarity interpretation and/or test results) of information in EPARs. Reporting on the QAs (35–75%) varied between EPARs, where the most emphasis was placed on pCQAs (65–87%). Functional attributes (54% QAs and 92% pCQAs) were reported more frequently than structural attributes (8% QAs and 22% pCQAs). About 50% (4 structural and 12 functional attributes) of pCQAs were consistently reported in all EPARs. Regulators often provided biosimilarity interpretation (QAs: 83% structural and 80% functional; pCQAs: 81% structural and 78% functional) but rarely include test results (QAs: 1% structural and 9% functional and pCQAs: 3% structural and 9% functional). Minor differences in structural attributes, commonly in glycoforms and charge variants, were often observed in adalimumab biosimilars but did not affect the functions and clinical profile. Despite the variability in reporting QAs in EPARs, the minor observed differences were largely quantitative and not essentially meaningful for the overall conclusion of biosimilarity of the seven adalimumab biosimilars.

Summary Biological indicators have been widely used in Australian riverine systems to assess the effectiveness of past and current management. The short generation time, sessile nature, responsiveness to environmental conditions and the availability of sound, quantitative methodologies make biofilms suitable as a monitoring tool in these systems. This paper describes biofilm structure, function and development through the processes of succession and disturbance. Biofilms are assemblages of algae, fungi and microorganisms which cover rocks, wood and sediments in aquatic systems. A review of biofilm collection and processing techniques using relevant Australian and international studies reveals a large literature on many structural and functional biofilm attributes. Studies using structural attributes such as biomass and diversity to examine water quality impacts and invertebrate grazers dominate the Australian literature. More recently, studies have used functional biofilm attributes such as metabolism and foodweb interactions. Monitoring programs that combine structural and functional biofilm attributes will allow the best assessment of impacts in riverine systems. Biofilm functional parameters provide an integrated, long‐term measure of ecosystem function, with structural attributes such as biomass and diversity allowing historical comparisons with previously recorded datasets. Monitoring programs such as these with a well‐founded scientific base and defined management outcomes will expand our knowledge of river function and contribute to the restoration of Australian river systems.

Social support for nursing students: A concept analysis study

Here, we studied the composition, structure and functioning of the woody vegetation of a 1000-ha area of the Central Argentine Chaco. First, we identified, through Landsat satellite image processing, three different vegetation classes: two forest types and a savanna. Each class was field surveyed to analyze the composition and structure of the woody plant community. Functioning was assessed through the enhanced vegetation index – a proxy of productivity – obtained from the MODIS sensor. The forest classes showed no differences in composition but some differences in structural attributes, particularly in the density of the dominant tree species in the area, Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco. As expected, the savanna showed less density and basal area of woody plants, with a relative high proportion of tree species seedlings and heliophilous shrubs. The forest class with less density of A. quebracho-blanco presented higher productivity. This could be related to a higher ability of the shrub layer to intercept radiation because shrubs are under an open canopy, as has been noted for early successional stages. Additionally, we found that annual mean productivity for the three classes showed a negative trend in the period 2000-2014. Our results provide valuable information since there are no studies addressing relationships between structural and functional attributes at local level in the Chaco Region.

Chapter 9 - Forest Structural and Functional Attribute Upscaling Using Spaceborne LiDAR Data

Greenspaces and forest trees contribute to a number of environmental functions in urban environments, such as the survival of urban-dwelling species (e.g., bird species). This paper analyzes the relationship between greenspace characteristics (structural and spatial attributes) and the diversity of avian ecology species. This provides research findings coming from two studies conducted in Italy. Using point-count method, a quantification was done of the abundance and diversity of bird species in a number of greenspaces having different structural attributes (e.g., vegetation type, tree height) and spatial characteristics (e.g., location, connectivity). Results showed positive correlations between greenspaces with a more diverse and mature forest vegetation and the number of specimens and species observed in the two studies. A positive correlation appeared also between distance to the city centre and richness and abundance of bird species. Finally, we discuss some of the main implications for enhancing the functional attributes of greenspaces by using avian ecological indicators to inform ecologically sound urban planning and design.

An additional dimension that facilitate a swift and relevant response from a web search engine is to introduce a genre class for each web page. The web genre classification distinguishes between pages by means of their features such as functionality, style, presentation layout, form and meta-content rather than on content. In this work, nineteen web metrics are identified according to the lexical, structural and functionality attributes of the web page rather than topic. The study is carried out to determine which of these attributes (lexical, structural and functionality) or its combinations, are significant for the development of web genre classification model. Also, we investigate the best web genre prediction model using parametric (Logistic Regression), non-parametric (Decision Tree) and ensemble (Bagging, Boosting) machine learning algorithms. We built forty-two genre classification models to classify web pages into Movie, TV or Music genre using a sample space data extracted from the Pixel Awards nominated and award winning websites. Our results obtained from the area under the curve analysis of these forty-two models show that the ensemble algorithms provide better performance. The rest of the models have acceptable performance, only in cases for which the lexical and structural attributes were fed in combination. Functionality metrics were found to considerably degrade the performance measure, irrespective of the algorithm used. The overall results of the study indicate the predictive capability of machine learning models for web genre classification, provided an appropriate choice is made on the selection of the input metrics.

Nitrogen (N) fertilization due to N deposition, N in manure from grazing livestock and direct input to soil by humans are impacting our terrestrial ecosystems globally. However, to date, our understanding of how artificial gradients of N fertilization indirectly affect phosphorus (P) availability by altering the rates and interrelationships of multiple structural and functional attributes of terrestrial ecosystems is still limited. Here, we conducted a 3‐year field experiment to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of multiple level of N addition on a wide range of ecosystem structural and functional attributes associated with >20 plant, soil and microbial variables in a semi‐arid grassland. We found that N fertilization can have multiple cascading effects on ecosystem structures and functions. These cascading events ultimately result in the activation of multiple biologically driven mechanisms to promote P availability (e.g. increased soil organic P mineralization, plant phosphorus resorption, enzymatic and genetic processes of phosphatase). The increasing phosphatase production and its functional gene expression, and decreasing plant and microbial biomass might imply important shifts in the carbon‐use strategies of plants and microbes allocating more resources to high‐C consuming enzymatic and genetic processes and less in plant and microbial biomass. Nitrogen addition decreases fungal community biomass which suggests the decoupling of key symbiotic plant–fungal relationships for nutrient acquirement. Overall, our study advances our understanding of how and why N fertilization simultaneously influences multiple structural and functional attributes, ultimately accelerating phosphorus cycle in terrestrial ecosystems.

Heterogeneous preferences and economic values for urban forest structural and functional attributes

Arid and semiarid ecosystems cover >40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface. Woody plants and herbaceous species, each with distinct allocation and phenological characteristics, respond to and constrain ecosystem function and biogeochemistry in these regions. High-resolution estimates of vegetation extent, aboveground allocation, and phenology are needed to improve regional links between ecosystem structure and function, especially under conditions of changing land use. We used a combination of imaging spectrometry and radiative transfer inverse modeling techniques to quantify the structural and biophysical attributes of plant canopies and land-cover types in a South Texas savanna. Estimated canopy structural attributes were used to calculate the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 400–700 nm) absorbed by plant canopies and the live foliage and nonphotosynthetic components of the canopies. A landscape analysis of these variables revealed the complexity of the biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors involved in land-cover change in the region. The accuracy in estimating these plant canopy structural and functional attributes has significant implications for range management, fire forecasting, physiological ecology, biogeochemistry, and analyses of landscape structure and diversity.

Leaf litter decomposition and decomposer communities in streams affected by intensive forest biomass removal

Arid and semiarid ecosystems cover >40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface. Woody plants and herbaceous species, each with distinct allocation and phenological characteristics, respond to and constrain ecosystem function and biogeochemistry in these regions. High-resolution estimates of vegetation extent, aboveground allocation, and phenology are needed to improve regional links between ecosystem structure and function, especially under conditions of changing land use. We used a combination of imaging spectrometry and radiative transfer inverse modeling techniques to quantify the structural and biophysical attributes of plant canopies and land-cover types in a South Texas savanna. Estimated canopy structural attributes were used to calculate the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 400–700 nm) absorbed by plant canopies and the live foliage and nonphotosynthetic components of the canopies. A landscape analysis of these variables revealed the complexity of the biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors involved in land-cover change in the region. The accuracy in estimating these plant canopy structural and functional attributes has significant implications for range management, fire forecasting, physiological ecology, biogeochemistry, and analyses of landscape structure and diversity.

There is a dire need to engineer biologically robust constructs to meet the growing needs of 21st-century medical sector. The increasing (re)-emergence of human-health related pathogenic microbes has caused a havoc and serious challenge to health care services. In this context, herein, we report the development and characterization of various polymeric bio-composites with unique structural and functional attributes. For a said purpose, chitosan and graphene were used to engineer bio-composites, which were then functionalized by loading silver and platinum nanoparticles. A microwave-assisted approach was adopted to construct silver and platinum nanoparticles loaded graphene-based bio-composites. While, “one-pot” synthesis approach was used to engineer silver and platinum nanoparticles loaded chitosan-based bio-composites. As developed bio-composites were designated as GO-Ag-S1 to GO-Ag-S5 (silver nanoparticles loaded graphene-based bio-composites), GO-Pt-P1 to GO-Pt-P5 (platinum nanoparticles loaded graphene-based bio-composites), CHI-Ag-S1 to CHI-Ag-S5 (silver nanoparticles loaded chitosan-based bio-composites), and CHI-Pt-P1 to CHI-Pt-P5 (platinum nanoparticles loaded chitosan-based bio-composites). Finally, the nanoparticles loaded bio-composites of graphene and chitosan were subjected to characterization via UV-Visible spectrophotometric analysis, percent loading efficiency (%LE) analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, mechanical measurements, and antibacterial attributes. The UV-Visible spectrophotometric analysis revealed characteristic peaks appeared at the λmax 420 nm and 266 nm which belongs to the silver and platinum nanoparticles, respectively. The graphene-based bio-composites, i.e., GO-Ag-S3, GO-Ag-S4, and GO-Pt-P3 showed optimal %LE of 88, 92, and 89%, respectively. Whereas, CHI-Ag-S4, CHI-Pt-P3, and CHI-Pt-P4 bio-composites showed optimal %LE of 94, 86, and 94%, respectively. Two regions, i.e., (1) between 3600-3100 cm-1, and (2) between 1,800 and 1,000 cm-1 in the FTIR spectra were found of particular interest. The FTIR profile exposed the available functional moieties at the surface of respective bio-composites. Variable mechanical attributes of silver and platinum nanoparticles loaded bio-composites were recorded from the stress-strain curves. All developed bio-composites showed bactericidal activities up to certain extent against both test strains. As compared to the initial bacterial cell count (control value, i.e., 1.5 × 108 CFU/mL), the bio-composites with higher %LE showed almost complete inhibition, with a log reduction from 5 to 0, and bactericidal activities up to certain extent against both test strains, i.e., Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), and Escherichia coli (E. coli). In conclusion, the notable structural, functional, mechanical and antimicrobial attributes suggest the biomedical potentialities of newly in-house engineered silver and platinum nanoparticles loaded graphene and chitosan-based bio-composites.

Flower strips are a fundamental part of agri-environment schemes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Although vegetation is central for many arthropod groups, a few studies have evaluated the effects of flower strip structural and functional attributes on arthropod communities. In this study, we explored the relationship between flower strip attributes and the abundance of different arthropod functional groups in annual flower strips located in an organic apple orchard. We surveyed plant and arthropod communities in 30 1 m × 6 m plots. In each plot, we collected data on species composition and vegetation structure (e.g., total cover, density, number of floral displays). For each plant species, we also retrieved data on leaf palatability and nutritional value. Arthropods were collected using sweep netting technique. Structural and functional attributes of the flower strip revealed a crucial role in regulating arthropod abundance, which however depended on the specific arthropod functional group. We identified three main attributes (plant species richness, composition, and vegetation density) of flower strips that should be considered when implementing multifunctional flower strips. Specifically, plant species richness to ensure complementarity of resources and niches, plant species composition to ensure complementary floral resources, and vegetation density to ensure sheltering microhabitats and suitable microclimatic conditions and to increase the density of floral resources. Our results suggest that by considering structural and functional attributes of flower strips, it is possible to design multifunctional flower strips with greater effectiveness as measures for ecological intensification.