bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Self‐Assembly of Poly(vinylpyridine‐b‐oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) Diblock Copolymers
Authors: Stewart‐Sloan Charlotte R. , Wang Rui , Sing Michelle K. , Olsen Bradley D. 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACTPoly(oligoethylene glycol)‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine) is a model diblock for studying the effect of block‐localized charge on block copolymer self‐assembly because in the absence of charge the polymers are perfectly miscible, and upon protonation of the vinylpyridine block the polymer undergoes an order–disorder transition. Seven model block copolymers with molecular weights of approximately 60 kDa containing poly(2‐vinylpyridine) volume fractions spanning 0.069–0.700 were synthesized using reversible addition fragmentation transfer polymerization and then studied to understand the effect of protonation level, diblock composition, and temperature on the location of the ordering transition and the type of nanostructures formed in a charge asymmetric system. All of the polymers displayed lower critical solution‐type behavior, with the order–disorder transition temperature decreasing with increasing acid content. Polymers with symmetric compositions showed the highest degree of incompatibility for a given degree of protonation, and the observed morphologies for all polymers were consistent with those observed at similar compositions for classical hydrophobic block copolymers. The observed protonation‐induced phase transition can be explained by the shift of the Flory–Huggins parameter due to the alternation of the identity of monomers, consistent with the prediction of Nakamura and Wang's theory. The use of polyvalent ions promotes self‐assembly at lower concentrations, consistent with ionic crosslinking effects between polymer chains that are promoted at high concentration due to exchange entropy in crosslinked polymers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 1181–1190
Stakeholder Orientation and Acquisition Performance
Authors: Bettinazzi Emanuele L. M. , Zollo Maurizio 
Published: May 2017

Research summary: In this article, we study how a firm's stakeholder orientation affects the performance of its corporate acquisitions. We depart from prior literature and suggest that orientations toward employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities will affect long‐term acquisition performance both directly and through its interactions with process characteristics, such as preacquisition relatedness and postacquisition integration. Analyses of data on a sample of 1884 acquisitions show overall a positive association between acquirers' stakeholder orientation and acquisition performance. In addition, we find support for a positive moderation of business relatedness on the performance impacts of stakeholder orientation. Structural integration has a similarly positive moderation effect only for some of the stakeholder categories.Managerial summary: Does collaboration with stakeholders during an acquisition pay off in terms of performance? The results of this research show that it is worth engaging stakeholders during the M&A process, but that the efficacy of involvement practices may depend on the type of stakeholders and the characteristics of the acquisition. While acquiring firms that take account of suppliers and local communities consistently overperform in their acquisitions, the inclusion of employees might be not beneficial (and even harmful) when the target firm operates in a dissimilar business or when managers do not plan to maintain it as a separate entity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rethinking the green state beyond the Global North: a South African climate change case study
Authors: Chandrashekeran Sangeetha , Morgan Bronwen , Coetzee Kim , Christoff Peter 
Published: May 2017

This study focuses on the role of the South African state in environmental governance, with particular reference to transformations in political authority and processes of capital accumulation. Our approach underscores the importance of analyzing state environmental efforts both empirically and normatively, in order to understand the underlying drivers of state policies that perpetuate or ameliorate environmental degradation. The tension between economic and ecological values lies at the heart of South Africa's approach to mitigation. We evaluate South Africa's performance on climate change mitigation policies and programs and show that while, empirically, South Africa may appear to be a partial or emerging green state, its performance is weak when assessed against normative frameworks.WIREs Clim Change2017, 8:e473. doi: 10.1002/wcc.473This article is categorized under:Policy and Governance > National Climate Change Policy
Trajectories of exposure and vulnerability of small islands to climate change
Authors: Duvat Virginie K.E. , Magnan Alexandre K. , Wise Russell M. , Hay John E. , Fazey Ioan , Hinkel Jochen , Stojanovic Tim , Yamano Hiroya , Ballu Valérie 
Published: May 2017

This article advocates for a dynamic and comprehensive understanding of vulnerability to climate‐related environmental changes in order to feed the design of adaptation future pathways. It uses the trajectory of exposure and vulnerability (TEV) approach that it defines as ‘storylines of driving factors and processes that have influenced past and present territorial system exposure and vulnerability to impacts associated with climate variability and change.’ The study is based on the analysis of six peer‐reviewed Pacific island case studies covering various geographical settings (high islands vs low‐lying reef islands, urban vs rural) and hazards associated with climate variability and change; that addressed the interactions between natural and anthropogenic driving factors; and adopted multidecadal past‐to‐present approaches. The findings emphasize that most urban and rural reef and high islands have undergone increasing exposure and vulnerability as a result of major changes in settlement and demographic patterns, lifestyles and economies, natural resources availability, and environmental conditions. The article highlights three generic and successive periods of change in the studied islands’ TEV: from geopolitical and political over the colonization‐to‐political independence period; to demographic, socio‐economic, and cultural from the 1960s to the 1980s; culminating in the dominance of demographic, socio‐economic, cultural, and environmental drivers since the 1980s. Based on these empirical insights, the article emphasizes the existence of anthropogenic‐driven path‐dependency effects in TEV, thus arguing for the analysis of the temporal dimensions of exposure and vulnerability to be a prerequisite for science to be able to inform policy‐ and decision‐making processes toward robust adaptation pathways. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e478. doi: 10.1002/wcc.478This article is categorized under:

Climate and Development > Social Justice and the Politics of Development
Assessing the seismic wavefield of a wind turbine using polarization analysis
Authors: Westwood Rachel F. , Styles Peter 
Published: May 2017

AbstractAmbient seismic noise can often be seen as problematic but with the right analysis can act as a tool to image the Earth. Wind turbines are known to generate low frequency vibrations; however, the wave types that are generated are currently unknown. Characterizing these vibrations will allow wind turbines to be used as a seismic source and be of value to geotechnical applications and seismic interferometry. This paper uses polarization analysis of the seismic wavefield around a small wind turbine to identify the type of wave being generated by the turbine and to clarify the source. The seismic data recorded 190 m from the wind turbine are processed using a window length of 0.1 s and bandpass filtered on a selection of frequency ranges. Polarization analysis is performed for two different wind speed ranges, in order to show the variation of wave characteristics between operational and non‐operational modes of the wind turbine. Polarized surface waves are identified as the predominant wave type at blade rotation harmonics, making this work particularly relevant to multichannel analysis of surface waves and seismic interferometry. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Counterion‐Induced Cationic Flexible Nanoparticle Catalytic of Piperidinolysis of Phenyl Salicylate
Authors: Mohd Noh Muhammad Azri , Khalid Khalisanni , Ariffin Azhar , Khan M. Niyaz 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe removal of PSa− from bulk aqueous phase to the pseudo‐micellar phase by halobenzoate counterion X is responsible for the monotonic increase in kobs (pseudo first‐order rate constants) with the increase in the values of [MX] where MX = sodium salts of 2‐, and 4‐halobenzoic acids. The values of ion exchange constants, or for X = 2‐ and 4‐halobenzoate ions in the presence of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTABr) were calculated from the apparent catalytic rate constants, Xkcat which represent the catalytic effect of CFN. Larger values of or were observed for X = 4‐halobenzoate ions than that for X = 2‐halobenzoate ions due to isomeric factors. The values of or determined in the presence of TTABr were compared with previously determined or values in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr). The values of or are nearly 8 ~ 9‐fold larger for 4‐IBz−, 4‐BrBz− and 4‐ClBz− compared to the respective values of X = 2‐IBz−, 2‐BrBz− and 2‐ClBz−. The values of or for X = 4‐FBz− is nearly 3‐fold larger than that for X = 2‐FBz−. The values of or for X = 2‐ and 4‐halobenzoates are significantly smaller in the presence of TTABr than these in the presence of CTABr nanoparticles.
Fungal pretreatment of sweet sorghum bagasse with supplements: improvement in lignin degradation, selectivity and enzymatic saccharification
Authors: Mishra Vartika , Jana Asim K. , Jana Mithu Maiti , Gupta Antriksh 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) from food processing and agricultural industry has attracted the attention for uses in production of biofuel, enzymes and other products. The alteration in lignocellulolytic enzymes by use of supplements in fungal pretreatment of SSB to achieve higher lignin degradation, selectivity value and enzymatic hydrolysis to fermentable sugar was studied. Fungal strain Coriolus versicolor was selected for pretreatment due to high ligninolytic and low cellulolytic enzyme production resulting in high lignin degradation and selectivity value. SSB was pretreated with supplements of veratryl alcohol, syringic acid, catechol, gallic acid, vanillin, guaiacol, CuSO4 and MnSO4. The best results were obtained with CuSO4, gallic acid and syringic acid supplements. CuSO4 increased the activities of laccase (4.9-fold) and polyphenol oxidase (1.9-fold); gallic acid increased laccase (3.5-fold) and manganese peroxidase (2.5-fold); and syringic acid increased laccase (5.6-fold), lignin peroxidase (13-fold) and arylalcohol oxidase (2.8-fold) resulting in enhanced lignin degradations and selectivity values than the control. Reduced cellulolytic enzyme activities resulted in high cellulose recovery. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated SSB yielded higher sugar due to degradation of lignin and reduced the crystallinity of cellulose. The study showed that supplements could be used to improve the pretreatment process. The results were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric/differential thermogravimetric analysis of SSB.
Analysis of toxic, antidiabetic and antioxidant potential of Bambusa balcooa Roxb. leaf extracts in alloxan-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Goyal Arvind Kumar , Middha Sushil Kumar , Usha Talambedu , Sen Arnab 
Published: May 2017

Abstract

Bambusa balcooa (Poaceae) is native to India and has been used traditionally by the tribes of Northeast India to treat diabetes. The present investigation was aimed to evaluate the toxicity, anti-diabetic activity along with in vitro antioxidant activity of the leaf of B. balcooa in alloxan-induced diabetic rats and also identify active compounds by using HPLC. The acute toxicity test of aqueous extract of B. balcooa leaf revealed that the median lethal dose (LD50) of B. balcooa aqueous extract (BAQE) was 5.18 g/kg body weight in mice. Administration of BAQE at 100 and 200 mg/kg in alloxan-induced diabetic rats showed significant reduction in fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin while plasma insulin level was elevated compared to diabetic control. Both the doses were effective when compared to diabetic glibenclamide rats. The BAQE treated diabetic rats showed significant increase in the endogenous antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and decrease in malondialdehyde levels. HPLC analysis of BAQE showed the presence of rutin, gallic acid and β sitosterol. Thus, it can be inferred from this study that BAQE possess antidiabetic and in vivo antioxidant activity. The overall activity might be possibly due to the presence of potential antioxidants.
Phenoconversion from probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder to mild cognitive impairment to dementia in a population‐based sample
Authors: Jung Youngsin , Boot Brendon P. , Mielke Michelle M. , Ferman Tanis J. , Geda Yonas E. , McDade Eric , Christianson Teresa J.H. , Knopman David S. , St Louis Erik K. , Silber Michael H. , Petersen Ronald C. , Boeve Bradley F. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractIntroductionRapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is strongly associated with synucleinopathies. In 2012, we reported an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Parkinson disease (PD) in cognitively normal Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents, aged 70 to 89 years with probable RBD. Here, we examine their progression to dementia and other neurodegenerative phenotypes.MethodsFifteen participants with RBD who were diagnosed with either MCI or PD were longitudinally followed, and their subsequent clinical courses were reviewed.ResultsOver 6.4 ± 2.9 years, six of the 14 participants with MCI developed additional neurodegenerative signs, five of whom had Lewy body disease features. Four of them progressed to dementia at a mean age 84.8 ± 4.9 years, three of whom met the criteria for probable dementia with Lewy bodies. One subject with PD developed MCI, but not dementia.DiscussionOur findings from the population‐based sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents suggest that a substantial number of RBD patients tend to develop overt synucleinopathy features over time, and RBD patients who develop MCI and subsequent dementia have clinical features most consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies.
Implementation of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Promote Compliance with a Chlorhexidine Gluconate Protocol
Authors: Ryan Christina 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
Introduction: Blood cultures are critical values for identifying the source of an infection in patients seeking medical treatment for an acute illness. False-positive cultures can negatively influence patient care when physicians use inaccurate information to prescribe treatment. Inaccurate prescribed treatment negatively influences the quality of patient care related to prolonged medical treatment and hospital stay and unnecessary repetition of diagnostic tests.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to determine if blood culture contamination rates would be decreased if improved availability of CHG products was provided in all emergency department patient care areas would reduce the contamination rates of blood cultures.
Methodology: The Theory of Planned Behavior provided the theoretical framework for this descriptive correlational project to examine barriers to following the procedural guidelines to cleanse venipuncture sites with a chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) product before venipuncture Alcohol preparation pads were removed from the emergency department and a CHG product packaged similar to the alcohol preparation pads was placed in the department procedure trays and bedside carts.
Results: During the first 2 weeks of the pilot project, blood culture contamination rates were reduced from 4.5% to 1.5%. The following month, rates remained low at 1.9%.
Conclusion: Placement of CHG products at the bedside will improve patient safety and quality of care by reducing the incidence of inaccurate diagnosis and treatment based on false-positive blood cultures.
Weighing private preferences in public sector safety decisions: some reflections on the practical application of the willingness-to-pay approach
Authors: JONES-LEE MICHAEL , AVEN TERJE 
Published: May 2017

AbstractViewed from both an ethical and practical perspective, it is clearly desirable that public sector allocative and regulatory decisions should, so far as possible, reflect the preferences of individual members of society. It is therefore hardly surprising that, in appraising proposed safety improvements, public sector bodies have displayed an increasing tendency to estimate the benefits of such improvements on the basis of values of safety defined in such a way as to reflect the preferences and attitudes to safety of individual members of the public. However, given the technical complexity of many public sector safety decisions, it is also necessary to rely on expert analysis and informed judgement in reaching such decisions, so that preference-based values of safety should be regarded as being only one input to the decision-making process. In addition, the definition and estimation of the values themselves raise a number of practical and ethical questions. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role that preference-based values of safety can realistically be expected to play in these decision-making processes, given these difficulties and limitations.
How psychological bias shapes accounting and financial regulation
Authors: HIRSHLEIFER DAVID , TEOH SIEW HONG 
Published: May 2017

AbstractMost applications of behavioral economics, finance, and accounting research to policy focus on alleviating the adverse effects of individuals’ biases and cognitive constraints (e.g. through investor protection rules or nudges). We argue that it is equally important to understand how psychological bias can cause a collective dysfunction – bad accounting policy and financial regulation. We discuss here how psychological bias on the part of the designers of regulation and accounting policy (voters, regulators, politicians, media commentators, managers, users, auditors, and financial professionals) has helped shape existing regulation, and how an understanding of this process can improve regulation in the future. Regulatory ideologies are belief systems that have evolved and spread by virtue of their ability to recruit psychological biases. We examine how several psychological factors and social processes affect regulatory ideologies.
First Results of the Swiss National Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Program: Who Seeks Shall Find
Authors: Troillet Nicolas , Aghayev Emin , Eisenring Marie-Christine , Widmer Andreas F. ,   Swissnoso
Published: May 2017

OBJECTIVES
To report on the results of the Swiss national surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance program, including temporal trends, and to describe methodological characteristics that may influence SSI rates

DESIGN
Countrywide survey of SSI over a 4-year period. Analysis of prospectively collected data including patient and procedure characteristics as well as aggregated SSI rates stratified by risk categories, type of SSI, and time of diagnosis. Temporal trends were analyzed using stepwise multivariate logistic regression models with adjustment of the effect of the duration of participation in the surveillance program for confounding factors.

SETTING
The study included 164 Swiss public and private hospitals with surgical activities.

RESULTS
From October 2011 to September 2015, a total of 187,501 operations performed in this setting were included. Cumulative SSI rates varied from 0.9% for knee arthroplasty to 14.4% for colon surgery. Postdischarge follow-up was completed in &gt;90% of patients at 1 month for surgeries without an implant and in &gt;80% of patients at 12 months for surgeries with an implant. High rates of SSIs were detected postdischarge, from 20.7% in colon surgeries to 93.3% in knee arthroplasties. Overall, the impact of the duration of surveillance was significantly and independently associated with a decrease in SSI rates in herniorraphies and C-sections but not for the other procedures. Nevertheless, some hospitals observed significant decreases in their rates for various procedures.

CONCLUSIONS
Intensive post-discharge surveillance may explain high SSI rates and cause artificial differences between programs. Surveillance per se, without structured and mandatory quality improvement efforts, may not produce the expected decrease in SSI rates.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:697–704
High-quality fish oil has a more favourable effect than oxidised fish oil on intermediate-density lipoprotein and LDL subclasses: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Rundblad Amanda , Holven Kirsten B. , Ottestad Inger , Myhrstad Mari C. , Ulven Stine M. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractFish oil (FO) supplementation reduces the risk of CVD. However, it is not known if FO of different qualities have different effects on lipoprotein subclasses in humans. We aimed at investigating the effects of oxidised FO and high-quality FO supplementation on lipoprotein subclasses and their lipid concentrations in healthy humans. In all, fifty-four subjects completed a double-blind randomised controlled intervention study. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive high-quality FO (n17), oxidised FO (n18) or high-oleic sunflower oil capsules (HOSO,n19) for 7 weeks. The concentration of marinen-3 fatty acids was equal in high-quality FO and oxidised FO (1·6 g EPA+DHA/d). The peroxide value (PV) and anisidine value (AV) were 4 mEq/kg and 3 in high-quality FO and HOSO, whereas the PV and AV in the oxidised FO were 18 mEq/kg and 9. Blood samples were collected at baseline and end of study. NMR spectroscopy was applied for the analysis of lipoprotein subclasses and their lipid concentrations. High-quality FO reduced the concentration of intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) particles and large, medium and small LDL particles, as well as the concentrations of total lipids, phospholipids, total cholesterol, cholesteryl esters and free cholesterol in IDL and LDL subclasses compared with oxidised FO and HOSO. Hence, high-quality FO and oxidised FO differently affect lipid composition in lipoprotein subclasses, with a more favourable effect mediated by high-quality FO. In future trials, reporting the oxidation levels of FO would be useful.
Why space is not one-dimensional: Location may be categorical and imagistic
Authors: Giezen Marcel R. , Costello Brendan , Carreiras Manuel 
Published: May 2017

AbstractIn our commentary, we raise concerns with the idea that location should be considered a gestural component of sign languages. We argue that psycholinguistic studies provide evidence for location as a “categorical” element of signs. More generally, we propose that the use of space in sign languages comes in many flavours and may be both categorical and imagistic.In their target article, Goldin-Meadow & Brentari (G-M&B) discuss several observations suggesting that the use of space is imagistic and may not form part of the categorical properties of sign languages. Specifically, they point out that (1) the number of locations toward which agreeing verbs can be directed is not part of a discrete set, (2) event descriptions by users of different sign languages and hearing nonsigners exhibit marked similarities in the use of space, and (3) location as a phonological parameter is not categorically perceived by native signers. It should be noted that G-M&B acknowledge that categorical properties of location and movement may simply not have been captured yet because the proper investigative tools are not yet readily available.