bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Redox‐Active Functionalized Graphene Nanoribbons as Electrode Material for Li‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Pirnat Klemen , Bitenc Jan , Jerman Ivan , Dominko Robert , Genorio Bostjan 
Published: September 2014

AbstractRedox‐active organic materials offer high theoretical capacities; however, most organic materials show drastic capacity fading during cycling, mainly caused by the dissolution of the active materials in the electrolytes used in Li‐ion batteries. In this work, we introduced graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with grafted electroactive molecules to serve as a current collector, binder, and active material at the same time. GNRs were prepared by unzipping commercially available multi‐walled carbon nanotubes with a Na/K alloy, functionalizing them in situ with different protected hydroquinone derivatives, which were later deprotected in the last step. All synthesized materials were electrochemically characterized in Li‐ion battery cells. The physical characteristics of the synthesized materials were determined by using evolved‐gas analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. These analyses show the successful functionalization of GNRs and improved electrochemical performance compared to non‐functionalized GNRs.
Oil|Water Interfacial Phosphate Transfer Facilitated by Boronic Acid: Observation of Unusually Fast Oil|Water Lateral Charge Transport
Authors: Li Meng , Lewis Grace E. M. , James Tony D. , Long Yi‐Tao , Kasprzyk‐Hordern Barbara , Mitchels John M. , Marken Frank 
Published: September 2014

AbstractThe front cover artwork is provided by the groups of Prof. Tony D. James, Prof. Frank Marken, Dr. Barbara Kasprzyk‐Hordern and Dr. John M. Mitchels (University of Bath, UK) as well as Prof. Yi‐Tao Long (East China University of Science and Technology, P.R. China). The image shows a coupled electron transfer–phosphate transfer, which is driven between two electrodes to provide a phosphate‐sensitive current response. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/celc.201402181.
The Readout of Base‐Pair Information in Adenine–Thymine α‐D‐Arabinonucleosides
Authors: He Shiliang , Zhao Hang , Guo Xiurong , Xu Xiaoping , Zhou Xinglong , Liu Jiang , Xing Zhihua , Ye Ling , Jiang Lu , Chen Qianming , He Yang 
Published: September 2014

AbstractStructurally modified nucleosides are central players in the field of nucleic acid chemistry. Adenine–thymine (AT) pyrimido[4,5‐d]pyrimidine furanosyl and pyranosyl arabinonucleosides have been synthesized for the first time. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals novel base pairs that, in synergy with the sugar residues, direct the emergence of distinct networks containing channels and cavities. The microscopic noncovalent connections can be translated into macroscopic levels in which robust organogels are formed by the furanoside but not the pyranoside. The influences of the sugars are also displayed by the different shaped superstructures of the free nucleosides in solution. The readout of the information in the base moiety is therefore tailored by the sugar configuration, and the interplays exert subtle effects on the structures, from solid to gel and to the solution state. The potential for forming these appealing base pairs and higher structures enables these intriguing nucleosides to serve as unique building blocks in various areas or to construct innovative nucleic acid structures.
Theoretical Vibrational Raman and Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectra of Water Interacting with Silver Clusters
Authors: Sanchéz‐Lozano Marta , Mandado Marcos , Pérez‐Juste Ignacio , Hermida‐Ramón Jose M. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractIn this study, we analyzed the Raman spectrum of a water molecule adsorbed on a cluster of 20 silver atoms, and the plasmonic electromagnetic effect of the silver surface was also considered to give a theoretical prediction of the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering spectrum. The calculations were performed at the density functional theory (DFT) level by using both frozen and unfrozen silver clusters. Two different models were used to consider the plasmonic enhancement; one of them was a modified classical (dipole) model and the other was the coupled perturbed Hartree–Fock method with excitation frequencies obtained from time‐dependent DFT calculations and with proper detuning of these frequencies. The importance of small geometrical distortions of the silver surface in the orientation of the adsorbed water was shown. Moreover, it was shown how the symmetry of the transition dipole moment and the symmetry of the vibrational modes influence the Raman intensities of the SERS spectrum.
Integrated, Cascading Enzyme‐/Chemocatalytic Cellulose Conversion using Catalysts based on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
Authors: Lee Yi‐Chun , Dutta Saikat , Wu Kevin C.‐W. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractThis article reports a novel approach to deconstructing cellulose into 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) with a high yield (46.1 %) by integrating a sequential enzyme cascade technique in an aqueous system with solid acid catalysis in an organic‐solvent system. We executed the rational design and synthesis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with various pore sizes and surface functionalities, which proved to be useful for the immobilization of various enzymes (i.e., cellulase and isomerase) and nanoparticles (i.e., magnetic Fe3O4) and for functionalization of various acid groups (i.e., H2PO3, COOH, and SO3H). We separately applied the synthesized biocatalysts (i.e., cellulase‐Fe3O4@MSN and isomerase‐Fe3O4@MSN) and chemical catalysts (i.e., HSO3‐MSN) in a sequential cellulose‐to‐glucose, glucose‐to‐fructose, and fructose‐to‐HMF conversion, respectively, across both aqueous‐ and organic‐solvent systems after the optimization of reaction conditions (e.g., reaction temperature, water ratio, catalyst amount). The integrated enzymatic and chemocatalytic concept in this study could be an effective and economically friendly process for various catalytic applications.
Oxidative (Cross‐)Coupling Reactions Mediated by C–H Activation of Thiophene Derivatives by Using Molybdenum(V) Reagents
Authors: Schubert Moritz , Trosien Simon , Schulz Lara , Brandscheid Carolin , Schollmeyer Dieter , Waldvogel Siegfried R. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractOxidative coupling by using molybdenum pentachloride provides fast and modular access to sophisticated thienoacenes in excellent yields. The coupling process can be accomplished with thiophene and benzothiophene derivatives and provides various complex skeletons such as spirocyclic compounds. In this approach, the first cross‐coupling reactions with the use of MoCl5 were established and important motifs for semiconducting materials were synthesized.
The effect of cultivation method on erosion in agricultural catchments: integrating AHP in GIS environments
Authors: Svoray Tal , Levi Roei , Zaidenberg Rami , Yaacoby Beny 
Published: September 2014

AbstractThe cultivation method used in agricultural catchments can have a great effect on erosion processes; as such, determining the effects on form and degree is crucial. One commonly held hypothesis is that a shift to minimum tillage methods should reduce the rate of erosion. Here, we examine the effect of cultivation methods and environmental conditions on soil erosion risks in field crops and orchards in an agricultural catchment in northern Israel. The examination was conducted using AHP (analytic hierarchy process) and GIS (geographic information system)‐based computer simulations. Field validation of the simulations was conducted during the 2009–2010 winter season. The spatially explicit data on cultivation method, combined with environmental and climatic data, yielded an explanation of most of the variation in erosion risks in the catchment (kappa =0·93). Of the 10 criteria examined, the cultivation method and slope were the two variables with the greatest effect on increased soil erosion. Furthermore, soil loss risks were reduced substantially as a result of substituting conventional tillage with reduced tillage; substituting reduced tillage with conservation tillage; and changing the tillage direction to perpendicular to the direction of the slope. These results are reasonable in light of the modifications that mechanical tools cause in the soil structure, as observed in the penetration depth and the aggregate stability measurements used in this study. Despite the difficulty in collecting spatially explicit data on cultivation methods, we believe that it is of utmost importance to use such data to study erosion risks in agricultural catchments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
EFFECTS OF COACHING ON GRE APTITUDE TEST SCORES
Authors: Powers Donald E. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe controversy over the effectiveness of coaching for standardized admission tests has been fueled by studies that have sought dichotomous answers to questions that are more appropriately posed as ones of degree. Instead of asking categorically “Does coaching work?“, researchers would seem better advised to ask “How much time and effort, devoted to what kinds of coaching experiences, produce how much improvement in test performance?”To explore some relational answers, information on test preparation activities was collected from a large representative sample of candidates who took the GRE Aptitude Test in June 1980. About 3 percent of these candidates indicated that they had attended formal coaching programs for one or more sections of the test and provided information on the length, cost, and offerer of the courses.After adjusting for differences in the background characteristics of coached and uncoached students, effects on test scores were related to the length, the cost, and the type of programs offered. The effects on GRE verbal ability scores were not significantly related to the amount of coaching that examinees received. Quantitative coaching effects appeared to increase only slightly with time, but the relationship was not statistically significant. Effects on analytical ability scores, on the other hand, were related significantly to the length of coaching programs, through improved performance on two analytical item types, analysis of explanations and logical diagrams. These item types were shown previously to be susceptible to improvement through formal instructional intervention and have since been deleted from the test.Test performance was related to the kinds of coaching programs examinees attended only for the quantitative section of the test. With respect to the possibility that some kinds of test takers might profit more than others from coaching, exploratory analyses suggested that examinees intending to pursue higher‐level degrees may have benefited more than lower‐level degree seekers. This finding is consistent with the conjecture that highly motivated test takers may achieve greater effects from coaching than less motivated examinees.Overall, the data suggest that, when compared with the two highly susceptible item types that have been removed from the GRE Aptitude Test, the test item types in the current version of the test (now called the GRE General Test) appear to show relatively little susceptibility to formal coaching experiences of the kinds considered here.
ASSESSING UNEXPECTED DIFFERENTIAL ITEM PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE CANDIDATES ON SAT AND TSWE FORMS ADMINISTERED IN DECEMBER 1977: AN APPLICATION OF THE STANDARDIZATION APPROACH1
Authors: Dorans Neil J. , Kulick Edward 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTA new approach to assessing unexpected differential item performance (item bias or item fairness) is developed and applied to the item responses of males and females to SAT/TSWE items administered operationally in December 1977. While the main body of the report describes the particulars of the present application and delineates the essential features of the approach, a technical appendix describes the standardization approach in detail. The primary goal of the standardization approach is to control for differences in subpopulation ability before making comparisons between subpopulation performance on test items. By so doing, it removes the contaminating effects of ability differences from the assessment of item fairness. Of the total of 195 items studied, the standardization approach identified only a handful as meriting careful review for possible content bias. Of these few, only one item exhibited a clearly unacceptable degree of unexpected differential item performance between males and females that could be attributed to content bias.
PARENTS AS TEACHERS OF THEIR OWN LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN
Authors: Sigel Irving E. , McGillicuddy‐DeLisi Ann V. , Flaugher Janice , Rock Donald A. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe aim of this research was to investigate parental belief systems and parental childrearing practices, relative to the intellectual development of the communication handicapped (CH) preschool child, embedded within the context of family size and ordinal position of the CH child. An equal number of families with a non‐handicaped (NCH) child served as a contrast group. The basic hypothesis underlying this research was that parental practices would be directly related to parents' beliefs about child development processes and about their own child's cognitive competence. These beliefs stem from at least two factors: First, experience as a child in a family; second, experience as a parent. The parent‐child relationship in this setting was viewed as interactional, where each parent acted as teacher, socializer and manager of the child's behavior. In this role, the parent also learned both from the CH child and NCH child in the family. Therein lay the interest in investigating the impact of the parent‐child relationship on parents and on CH children.Specifically, the study addressed four problems: (1) the relationship between parental belief systems regarding children's cognitive capabilities in general and with respect to their own CH child in particular, (2) the effect of the CH child's level of functioning and position in the family constellation on parental belief systems, (3) the relationship between these perspectives and actual parental teaching and management strategies, and (4) the effect of such teaching/management behaviors on the CH child's level of cognitive functioning and level of representational competence. Each of these segments was identified and a path (causal) analysis model was developed from data collected with the following instruments: The Communication Strategy Interview, the Construction of the Child Interview, The Family Influences on Childrearing Interview (all of which were used to assess parental beliefs about developmental states and processes and to assess childrearing strategies and family practices); The Parent‐Child Interaction Observation System [based on Sigel's (1979) distancing theory of representational competence, this was used to identify different types of parent‐child interactions in structured teaching contexts and in semistructured story‐telling task]; and a series of standard evaluation tests and nonverbal Piagetian tasks that focused on transformation, memory, sequencing and anticipation to evaluate children's level of cognitive functioning and representational abilities.
THE VALIDITY OF THE DESCRIPTIVE TESTS OF LANGUAGE SKILLS: RELATIONSHIPS TO DIRECT MEASURES OF WRITING ABILITY AND TO GRADES IN INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE ENGLISH COURSES
Authors: Weiss David , Jackson Rex 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (dtls)—comprising tests of reading comprehension, logical relationships, vocabulary, usage, and sentence structure developed by the College Board—are designed to help colleges assess the language skills of entering students for placement and instructional planning purposes. A complete description of the dtls and of field trials of the tests may be found in the Guide to the Use of the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (College Entrance Examination Board, 1978).Performance data on the dtls for entering college students were collected through a pilot study of 4,234 students in 16 colleges (see Table 1).
WAS THERE ONE DISTRACTOR TOO MANY?
Authors: Wainer Howard , Wadkins J. R. Jefferson , Rogers Alfred 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTA mathematical item on the SAT – the Rolling Circle Problem – was found to be faulty. This paper reports a detailed investigation into its mathematical and psychometric properties. In addition to examining performance of the item with more than 100,000 examinees, two small studies were performed with the aid of a physical model of the problem. It was found that the problem could be considered ambiguous due to the nonspecification of the frame of reference, but that almost no one noticed this lack.
THE BIAS DUE TO INCOMPLETE HATCHING
Authors: Rosenbaum Paul R. , Rubin Donald B. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTObservational studies comparing groups of treated and control units are often used to estimate the effects caused by treatments. Matching is a method for sampling a large reservoir of potential controls to produce a control group of modest size that is ostensibly similar to the treated group. In practice, there is a trade‐off between the desires to find matches for all treated units and to obtain matched treated‐control pairs that are extremely similar to each other. We derive expressions for the bias in the average matched pair difference due to (1) the failure to match all treated units—incomplete matching, and (2) the failure to obtain exact matches—inexact matching. A practical example shows that the bias due to incomplete matching can be severe, and moreover, can be avoided entirely by using an appropriate multivariate nearest available matching algorithm, which in the example, leaves only a small residual bias due to inexact matching.
THE SHRUNKEN GENERALIZED DISTANCE: A USEFUL CONCEPT FOR ESTIMATION OF THE ACTUAL ERROR RATE1,2
Authors: Dorans Neil J. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe mathematical concept of the shrunken generalized distance is introduced as a missing link in the framework of classification and prediction problems. The nature of the criterion can be used to distinguish between a prediction problem and a classification problem. The well‐known continuous criterion indices least squares regression weights, squared validity coefficient and mean squared error of prediction have binary criterion brethren, in both the population and sample, namely, the Fisher linear discriminant weights, generalized distance, and error rates, respectively. Likewise the population squared cross‐validity coefficient has a binary‐criterion relative, the shrunken generalized distance. An estimator of the shrunken generalized distance is introduced and shown to be useful for estimation of the actual error rate.
OLDER AND YOUNGER GRADUATE STUDENTS: A COMPARISON OF GOALS, GRADES, AND GRE SCORES
Authors: Clark Mary Jo 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThe 1980–81 GRE General Test verbal and quantitative ability scores were examined for four age groups of test takers–those age 22 or less, 23–29, 30–39, and 40 or more–and two groups returning to graduate study many years after completing the bachelor's degree–those 9–15 years beyond the baccalaureate, and those 16 or more years beyond the baccalaureate. Average verbal scores were about the same for all test takers regardless of age group or recency of undergraduate study; average quantitative scores were progressively lower across groups of increasing age or distance from the baccalaureate. Correlations between both verbal and quantitative scores and first‐year graduate school grades were about the same across age groups of enrolled students, suggesting that the scores were equally useful in predicting the first‐year graduate school grades of younger and older applicants. Undergraduate grade averages were lower for older than for younger students, and were less closely related to graduate school grades among the older student groups. Differences in fields of study, background characteristics, and attitudes toward test taking also are reported.
THE CORRELATES OF SAT TEST SCORES AND SELF REPORTED INCOME ON THE STUDENT DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE
Authors: Baird Leonard L. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTSome of the the social functions of testing were examined by studying the characteristics and educational outcomes of students with different test scores and from families with different incomes. Using SAT‐SDQ file information, the educational plans and other relevant characteristics of students with different combinations of family income and test scores were compared. A follow‐up of applicants who had completed high school in 1981 determined their educational status. These data were related to the applicants' test scores and family incomes to estimate the relative influence of each on their educational outcomes.
TWO SIMULATED FEASIBILITY STUDIES IN COMPUTERIZED ADAPTIVE TESTING (CAT)1,2,3
Authors: Stocking Martha L. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis paper describes two simulated feasibility studies conducted in support of a project to implement computerized adaptive testing on microcomputers for college placement purposes. The first study compares adaptive testing with alternative conventional peaked tests. The second study explores two stopping rules: fixed test length and fixed standard error of measurement. These studies typify the kind of psychometric research required to initiate and support operational adaptive testing programs.
ACCESS TO COLLEGE FOR MEXICAN AMERICANS IN THE SOUTHWEST: REPLICATION AFTER 10 YEARS
Authors: Payán Rose M. , Peterson Richard E. , Castille Nancy A. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTThis article is based on a 1982 survey of Hispanic higher education enrollment and related practices and issues. Addressed to financial aid officers in five southwestern states, it was a replication of a similar study carried out in 1972. In addition to presenting comparable results from the two surveys, the article reviews recent literature, comments on critical issues in Hispanic access, and outlines a number of implications from the study for expanding access to college on the part of Hispanic youth.
FOREIGN NATIONALS TAKING THE GRE GENERAL TEST DURING 1981–82: HIGHLIGHTS OF A STUDY
Authors: Wilson Kenneth M. 
Published: September 2014

ABSTRACTDuring the 1981–82 testing year, foreign nationals representing over 140 countries or territories made up approximately 17 percent of all GRE General Test takers. However, they were heavily concentrated in scientific‐technical fields–for example, almost one‐half of all examinees in engineering and one‐third of those in math‐science fields were foreign nationals. Most of these examinees were non‐native speakers of English for whom average scores on the verbal and analytical measures were considerably lower than those of native English speakers (both U.S. and foreign) in similar fields of study. However, the quantitative mean profile, by field, of foreign examinees did not vary according to English language background and was quite similar to that of U.S. examinees.Detailed comparative profiles of GRE performance data are provided for the general foreign and U.S. examinee populations, and for foreign examinees classified by country of citizenship. In addition, the study analyzes GRE performance of groups of foreign and U.S. examinees defined in terms of age, sex, reported English language communication status, intended graduate field, U.S. vs other undergraduate origin, repeater vs nonrepeater status, and other personal, academic, and testing‐related characteristics.Study findings suggest that GRE General Test data (especially verbal and analytical test data) generated by non‐U.S. citizens from non‐native English speaking societies should not be treated as comparable to test data for U.S. examinees or examinees from other native‐English speaking societies.