bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Macrovascular and microvascular outcomes after beginning of insulin versus additional oral glucose‐lowering therapy in people with type 2 diabetes: an observational study
Authors: Hall Gillian C. , McMahon Alex D. , Carroll Dawn , Home Philip D. 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTPurposeIn type 2 diabetes, the optimal stage to introduce insulin can be unclear. We compared the incidence of subsequent vascular disease between treatment regimens, that is, adding another oral glucose‐lowering drug (OGLD) versus starting insulin treatment.MethodsPeople with poor control on OGLDs who intensified treatment (2000–2007) were grouped by number of baseline OGLDs. Two composite endpoints, of macrovascular disease (all‐cause mortality, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome and stroke) and of microvascular disease (peripheral neuropathy, nephropathy or retinopathy), together with HbA1c and weight change over a year, were compared in those beginning insulin versus an additional OGLD. All data came from The Health Information Network UK primary care database.ResultsAfter exclusions, 14 904 people intensified treatment from one OGLD, 7231 from two and 978 from three, 9, 41 and 90%, respectively, started insulin. Average follow‐up was 3.5 years. The adjusted hazard ratios for macrovascular events, OGLD versus insulin, were 0.53 (95%CI 0.42, 0.69) from one baseline treatment, 0.85 (0.70 1.04) from two and 1.07 (0.50, 2.30) from three, with no difference in risk of microvascular disease in any comparison. Mean body weight increased, and mean HbA1c fell across groups; the only significant adjusted comparison was greater weight increase when commencing insulin from one OGLD.ConclusionsStarting insulin rather than adding another OGLD to double or triple oral therapy did not significantly increase the incidence of vascular events. Beginning insulin from one OGLD was uncommon. More incident macrovascular disease in this group may be caused by residual confounding. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimization of picosecond laser structuring for the monolithic serial interconnection of CIS solar cells
Authors: Heise Gerhard , Heiss Andreas , Hellwig Christian , Kuznicki Thomas , Vogt Helmut , Palm Joerg , Huber Heinz P. 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTWe report on the optimization of selective picosecond laser structuring for the monolithic serial interconnection of (Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2) CIS thin film solar cells. We introduce a quantitative value to compare the energy efficiency of the different investigated laser processes, the specific ablation energy, which indicates the required energy to remove a certain volume of the specific material. We have examined the structuring efficiencies for induced laser ablation processes for a modification of the beam profile (elliptical and flat‐top beam shaping) and for the application of different laser wavelengths (1064 and 532 nm). Application of induced laser processes (often referred as “lift‐off”) decreases the specific ablation energy dramatically by nearly one order of magnitude. Modifications of the beam profile such as elliptical and flat‐top beam shaping are nearly halving the energy per ablated volume relative to a circular beam. The application of a laser wavelength 532 nm decreases the specific ablation energy compared with 1064 nm significantly for processes involving the CIS layer. We finally demonstrate that with a picosecond laser power of only 2 W, the molybdenum back contact (P1, glass side) and the ZnO front contact (P3, ZnO on CIS) can be structured with a process speed of up to 4 m/s. About 2 µm thick CIS layer (P2) is structured by standard direct laser ablation at higher energy densities with 200 mm/s. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of amphiphilic poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam) using ATRP protocol and antibacterial study of its silver nanocomposite
Authors: Singh Pooja , Srivastava Ambika , Kumar Rajesh 
Published: January 2012

AbstractAtom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of N‐vinylcaprolactam (NVCL) was studied by uisng ethyl‐2‐bromoisobutyrate (EIB) as initiator in 1,4‐dioxane. It led to controlled radical polymerization of NVCL, with the molecular weight increased along with the conversion of monomer and a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution could be obtained, as determined by gel permeation chromatography. 1H NMR showed that the major population of poly(N‐vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) retained the chain‐end functional group. The living nature of the ATRP for NVCL was confirmed by the experiments of PVCL chain extension. PVCL was further investigated for its ability to form micelles in aqueous media. Self‐assembling of the amphiphilic PVCL leads to the formation of their micellar aggregates in aqueous media which was confirmed by transmission electron microscope. The critical micelle concentration value was calculated from the photophysical changes of Pyrene‐1‐Carboxaldehyde by UV absorption studies and was found to be 0.0320 mg/mL. The polymer nanocomposite was synthesized and examined in view of antibacterial effect against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Klebsiella pneumonae. It was found that polymer nanocomposite possess strong antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis with minimum inhibitory concentration value of 32 μg/mL. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012
Molecular bases for resistance to acetyl‐coenzyme A carboxylase inhibitor in Japanese foxtail (Alopecurus japonicus)
Authors: Tang Huaiwu , Li Jun , Dong Liyao , Dong Aibin , Lü Bo , Zhu Xudong 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBACKGROUND: Haloxyfop‐R‐methyl is a widely used herbicide to control Poaceae weeds. Alopecurus japonicus, a widespread annual grass, can no longer be controlled by haloxyfop‐R‐methyl after continuous use of this herbicide for several years.RESULTS: Dose‐response experiments have established that the Js‐R biotype of A. japonicas has evolved resistance to aryloxyphenoxypropionates (APPs). Target‐site enzyme sensitivity experiments have established that the haloxyfop (free acid) rate causing 50% inhibition of acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACCase) activity (I50) for the resistant (Js‐R) biotype is 11 times higher than that for the susceptible (Js‐S) biotype. In many cases, resistance to ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides is due to a resistant ACCase enzyme. Full‐length DNA and mRNA sequences of the plastidic ACCase gene were amplified. Eight single‐nucleotide differences were detected in this region. Four of the nucleotide changes were silent mutations. However, the other four nucleotide mutations caused four amino acid substitutions, replacing Arg‐1734 with Gly, Met‐1738 with Leu, Thr‐1739 with Ser and Ile‐2041 with Asn in the R biotype respectively; the substitution at position 2041 had been reported, while the other three had not.CONCLUSION: The ACCase in the Js‐R biotype was less susceptible to haloxyfop‐R‐methyl than that in the Js‐S biotype. Moreover, the amino acid substitution of Ile‐2041 with Asn might confer resistance to haloxyfop‐R‐methyl in A. japonicas. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
The dominance of surfaces and interfaces: A view to magnetoconductance and structure in low‐dimensional crystalline films
Authors: Pfnür H. , Lükermann D. , Tegenkamp C. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractFor ultra‐thin films, electronic transport properties at surfaces and interfaces are dominated by electronic scattering at the interfaces. Therefore, as our example with Pb on Si(557) shows, d.c. transport is sensitive to confinement, to growth modes, and to (electronic) surface roughness. During the growth of Pb on Si(557) up to more than 10 monolayers, we found classical and quantum size effects, a pronounced conductance anisotropy and conductance oscillations directly related to the anisotropic layer‐by‐layer growth mode of the Pb film on this regularly stepped surface. In fact, it turned out that the interface anisotropy, which extends up to the seventh layer in conductance, is kept as a memory effect even for thick (isotropic) layers. By adding a magnetic field, details of the scattering mechanism at impurities and defects are revealed, since elastic, inelastic, spin–orbit scattering contributions can be separated.Strong changes of scattering properties are evident when going from the multilayers to the monolayer, as demonstrated again for the system Pb on Si(557). Contrary to multilayers, spin–orbit scattering dominates for the monolayer, presumably due to the symmetry reduction at the surface and the appearance of spin‐split bands split by the Rashba effect. Also the anomaly in spin–orbit scattering close to monolayer completion, coupled with quasi one‐dimensional d.c. conductance, can be ascribed to the Rashba effect. The intriguing interplay between bulk and surface conductance with large Rashba split states at the surface is exemplified by a study of multilayer growth of Bi on Si(111). By magnetoconductance we were able to separate bulk from surface contributions. Scattering between strongly spin‐polarized Rashba‐split states spin can be effectively suppressed, so that only the “classical” magnetoconductance effect remains, as observed in this system.
Large‐scale potential vorticity anomalies and deep convection
Authors: Russell A. , Vaughan G. , Norton E. G. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe effect on deep convection of large‐scale potential vorticity (PV) anomalies and their associated tropospheric stable layers is complex and not well understood. This article examines the meteorological events of 9 July 2007 (IOP7b of the Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS)), which was dominated by an upper‐level PV anomaly that stretched from the UK to southern France and as far northeast as Denmark. Three precipitation regions were identified from the case: lines of intense storms beneath the PV anomaly; less intense, more widespread convective precipitation to the east of the PV anomaly; and, in between, a region of no precipitation. The latter of these coincided with the high‐resolution measurements and model analyses from COPS. The extensive and varied data analyzed in this investigation show that convective available potential energy (CAPE) was present in this region (the distribution of CAPE and convective inhibition (CIN) is presented via an innovative, pseudo‐3D visualization that allows horizontal and vertical interactions to be considered). However, convection was capped by a complex arrangement of dry layers; the base of the key layer was at 750 hPa. These dry layers descended separately from the upper troposphere, moving around the PV anomaly as it developed from a breaking Rossby wave to the west during the seven days before the IOP. This case adds to other studies that show that descent of complex dry layers is an important mechanism for forming convection‐inhibiting atmospheric lids in Western Europe. A simple conceptual model is developed that synthesizes the effect of large‐scale PV anomalies on deep convection from a series of consistent case studies. This model has significant implications for storm forecasting and projections of storminess in future climates, as it highlights the importance of thin structures that can advect hundreds of km before having an impact. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Evaluation of NWP results for wintertime nocturnal boundary‐layer temperatures over Europe and Finland
Authors: Atlaskin Evgeny , Vihma Timo 
Published: January 2012

AbstractFour operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models were evaluated in winter conditions against (a) synoptic observations in Europe, (b) observations at a 48 m high micrometeorological mast in Sodankylä, northern Finland, and (c) observations at the Helsinki Testbed stations: (i) to evaluate the skills of the models to compute nocturnal 2 m air temperature (T2m) and the temperature inversion; and (ii) to distinguish between the T2m bias and the subgrid‐scale spatial variability of T2m. The models were (1) the Integrated Forecast System (IFS) of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), (2) the High Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM), (3) the Applications of Research to Operations at Mesoscale (AROME) developed by Météo‐France, and (4) the Global Forecasting System (GFS) of the US National Center for Environmental Predictions (NCEP). The results demonstrated a T2m bias increasing with decreasing temperature and strengthening temperature inversion. When a strong temperature inversion was observed in Sodankylä, the models underestimated it, whereas in near‐neutral conditions the stratification was overestimated. Comparison of observed and modelled 3 h temperature tendencies showed that the T2m tendency in the models was on average only 17–20% of the observed one. The warm bias in T2m forecast in Sodankylä during periods of observed temperature inversion partly resulted from a warm bias in the initial conditions. This was due to problems in data assimilation in IFS and HIRLAM, in initialization in AROME, and in either or both procedures in GFS. In particular, the IFS data assimilation increased the T2m bias. Evaluation of modelled T2m against grid‐averaged T2m observed at Helsinki Testbed demonstrated that the T2m model error dominated over the spatial variability of observed T2m. This suggests that over an almost flat terrain horizontal resolution is not a major factor for the accuracy of T2m forecast at low T2m typically associated with temperature inversions. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Stability and volatility of STEM career interest in high school: A gender study
Authors: Sadler Philip M. , Sonnert Gerhard , Hazari Zahra , Tai Robert 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis retrospective cohort study characterizes how interest in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) careers changes during high school for more than 6,000 students in a representative national sample of 34 two‐ and four‐year colleges taking mandatory college English courses. Overall, large gender differences in career plans were found, with males showing far more interest particularly in engineering, whereas females were more attracted to careers in health and medicine during their high school years. The key factor predicting STEM career interest at the end of high school was interest at the start of high school. There was an additional effect of gender, indicating both a lower retention of STEM career interest among females and a greater difficulty in attracting females to STEM fields during high school. During the high school years, the percentage of males interested in a STEM career remained stable (from 39.5 to 39.7), whereas for females it declined from 15.7 to 12.7. The students' initial specific (disciplinary) career interests were found to influence the stability of their interest in a STEM career, with those interested in physics careers at the start of high school having the highest retention in STEM. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:411–427, 2012
Using private management standard certification to reduce information asymmetries in corrupt environments
Authors: Montiel Ivan , Husted Bryan W. , Christmann Petra 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis paper investigates how corruption in the institutional environment influences firms' decisions to obtain third‐party certification to private management standards as signals of desirable conduct. We argue that policy‐specific corruption erodes trust in government efforts to regulate firms' conduct, thus increasing the signaling value of private certifications and the likelihood of certification. However, widespread corruption in the general environment can extend distrust to private certification systems, which reduces the credibility and signaling value of private certifications, thus decreasing the likelihood that firms obtain certification. Our empirical results based on ISO 14001 environmental management system certification among 433 automotive plants in Mexico confirm these relationships. We discuss the implications of our findings for transaction cost economics, institutional theory, research, and practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The properties and molecular structures of gusiljatbam starch compared to those of acorn and chestnut starches
Authors: Yoo Sang‐Ho , Lee Chang‐Sun , Kim Bum‐Soo , Shin Malshick 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe properties and molecular structures of starch from gusiljatbam (GS) (Castanopsis cuspidate), a pine nut‐type fruit with a chestnut taste, compared to starches from an acorn (AS) and a chestnut (CS) were investigated. The starches were isolated using an alkaline steeping method, and analyzed. The TAM contents of GS, AS, and CS were 44.09, 30.56, and 29.55%, respectively. The GS showed the highest water binding capacity (110.83%) and solubility at 80°C (10.00%). The initial pasting temperature of GS was the lowest, but its pasting viscosity was the highest among them. Trough, cold, and setback viscosities and particle sizes were in the following order: GS>AS>CS. The XRD patterns of GS, AS, and CS revealed B, A, and Cb type crystals, respectively. HPSEC showed the MW distribution patterns of the starches as AP, intermediate materials (IM), and AM peaks. However, the MW of AM as well as AP peak intensity and IM patterns were different. According to the branched chain length distribution of AP at DP 13–24 and DP 25–36, DPn, and DPw decreased in the following order: GS>AS>CS, but DP 6–12 and DP ≥ 37 were distributed in reverse order.
Science assessments for all: Integrating science simulations into balanced state science assessment systems
Authors: Quellmalz Edys S. , Timms Michael J. , Silberglitt Matt D. , Buckley Barbara C. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis article reports on the collaboration of six states to study how simulation‐based science assessments can become transformative components of multi‐level, balanced state science assessment systems. The project studied the psychometric quality, feasibility, and utility of simulation‐based science assessments designed to serve formative purposes during a unit and to provide summative evidence of end‐of‐unit proficiencies. The frameworks of evidence‐centered assessment design and model‐based learning shaped the specifications for the assessments. The simulations provided the three most common forms of accommodations in state testing programs: audio recording of text, screen magnification, and support for extended time. The SimScientists program at WestEd developed simulation‐based, curriculum‐embedded, and unit benchmark assessments for two middle school topics, Ecosystems and Force & Motion. These were field‐tested in three states. Data included student characteristics, responses to the assessments, cognitive labs, classroom observations, and teacher surveys and interviews. UCLA CRESST conducted an evaluation of the implementation. Feasibility and utility were examined in classroom observations, teacher surveys and interviews, and by the six‐state Design Panel. Technical quality data included AAAS reviews of the items' alignment with standards and quality of the science, cognitive labs, and assessment data. Student data were analyzed using multidimensional Item Response Theory (IRT) methods. IRT analyses demonstrated the high psychometric quality (reliability and validity) of the assessments and their discrimination between content knowledge and inquiry practices. Students performed better on the interactive, simulation‐based assessments than on the static, conventional items in the posttest. Importantly, gaps between performance of the general population and English language learners and students with disabilities were considerably smaller on the simulation‐based assessments than on the posttests. The Design Panel participated in development of two models for integrating science simulations into a balanced state science assessment system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 363–393, 2012
Understanding the co‐construction of inquiry practices: A case study of a responsive teaching environment
Authors: Maskiewicz April C. , Winters Victoria A. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractWe set out to understand how different instantiations of inquiry emerged in two different years of one elementary teacher's classroom. Longitudinal observations from Mrs. Charles' 5th grade science classroom forced us to carefully and deliberately consider who exactly was responsible for the change in the class activities and norms. We provide empirical evidence to show how a focus on the teacher can easily overlook the complex dynamics of the classroom. The data reveal that students had a substantive and generative role in the class's arrival at the different instantiations of scientific inquiry—the nature and form of inquiry—that were constructed each year. We argue that, in an environment where a teacher carefully attends and responds to student thinking, the nascent resources students have for reasoning about phenomena can affect not only the conceptual ideas that emerge, but also influence what inquiry activities or practices become established as normative and productive over time. Our work with Mrs. Charles illuminates an important methodological concern with research on teacher development as well as the construct of teacher learning progressions; research accounts that focus primarily on the teacher may overlook the classroom norms that are negotiated between teacher and student, and thereby provide an incomplete portrayal of the teacher's activity within one classroom and the teacher's progress across multiple years. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 429–464, 2012
Current issues in men's health
Authors: Baker Peter 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe early death of so many men in the UK – a quarter before the age of 65 years – is so commonplace that most of us treat it as normal. We behave as if men are somehow biologically programmed to die young and that there is little that can be done about it. But the huge variations in premature male mortality geographically and by social class make it clear beyond doubt that much of this is preventable. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons
A genome shuffling-generated Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolate that ferments xylose and glucose to produce high levels of ethanol
Authors: Jingping Ge , Hongbing Sun , Gang Song , Hongzhi Ling , Wenxiang Ping 
Published: January 2012

Abstract
Genome shuffling is an efficient approach for the rapid improvement of industrially important microbial phenotypes. This report describes optimized conditions for protoplast preparation, regeneration, inactivation, and fusion using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae W5 strain. Ethanol production was confirmed by TTC (triphenyl tetrazolium chloride) screening and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A genetically stable, high ethanol-producing strain that fermented xylose and glucose was obtained following three rounds of genome shuffling. After fermentation for 84 h, the high ethanol-producing S. cerevisiae GS3-10 strain (which utilized 69.48 and 100% of the xylose and glucose stores, respectively) produced 26.65 g/L ethanol, i.e., 47.08% higher than ethanol production by S. cerevisiae W5 (18.12 g/L). The utilization ratios of xylose and glucose were 69.48 and 100%, compared to 14.83 and 100% for W5, respectively. The ethanol yield was 0.40 g/g (ethanol/consumed glucose and xylose), i.e., 17.65% higher than the yield by S. cerevisiae W5 (0.34 g/g).