bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heat Induced Structure Modifications in Polymer‐Layered Silicate Nanocomposites
Authors: Pastore Heloise O. , Frache Alberto , Boccaleri Enrico , Marchese Leonardo , Camino Giovanni
Published: August 2004

Summary: The success of the use of layered silicates in polymer nanocomposites, to improve physical and chemical properties is strictly related to a deeper knowledge of the mechanistic aspects on which the final features are grounded. This work shows the temperature induced structural rearrangements of nanocomposites based on poly[ethylene‐co‐(vinyl acetate)] (EVA) intercalated‐organomodified clay (at 3–30 wt.‐% silicate addition) which occur in the range between 75 and 350 °C. In situ high temperature X‐ray diffraction (HT‐XRD) studies have been performed under both nitrogen and air to monitor the modifications of the nanocomposite structure at increasing temperatures under inert/oxidative atmosphere. Heating between 75 and 225 °C, under nitrogen or air, causes the layered silicate to migrate towards the nanocomposite surface and to increase its interlayer distance. The degradation of both the clay organomodifier and the VA units of the EVA polymer seems to play a key role in driving the evolution of the silicate phase in the low temperature range. The structural modifications of the nanocomposites in the high temperature range (250–350 °C), depended on the atmosphere, either inert or oxidizing, in which the samples were heated. Heating under nitrogen led to deintercalation and thus a decrease of the silicate interlayer space, whereas exfoliation was the main process under air leading to an increase of the silicate interlayer space.

Heat induced structural modification of EVA‐clay nanocomposite under nitrogen and air.

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Heat induced structural modification of EVA‐clay nanocomposite under nitrogen and air.
Modulated Crosslinking of Polyolefins through Radical Processes in the Melt
Authors: Passaglia Elisa , Coiai Serena , Giordani Guido , Taburoni Elisa , Fambri Luca , Pagani Valerio , Penco Maurizio
Published: August 2004

Summary: The possibility to submit a semi‐crystalline polyolefin (or a mixture of different polyolefins) to a phase selective crosslinking process, in order to produce a material with unchanged crystallinity but a partially crosslinked amorphous fraction, has been investigated. The crosslinking process has been performed in the melt in the presence of radical initiators. Three different polymer systems have been considered: a LLDPE sample (an ethylene‐1‐butene 91/9 w/w copolymer), two EVA samples (ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymers containing a different amount (10 and 15 wt.‐%) of acetate monomer units), and mixtures of LLDPE with polybutadiene (BR) (90/10 w/w). All the reaction products have been characterized by selective solvent extractions to determine the gel content, by analysis with different spectroscopies (IR and NMR) and by viscosity measurements to evaluate changes of the structure and the molecular weight (MW) of the partially crosslinked samples. Finally DSC and DMTA analyses have been used to correlate the variations of the macromolecule structure to the thermo‐mechanical properties and, in the case of the mixtures, TEM analysis has been carried out to gather information about the morphology.

TEM micrograph of the partially crosslinked polyethylene/polybutadiene blend 90/10 (w/w).

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TEM micrograph of the partially crosslinked polyethylene/polybutadiene blend 90/10 (w/w).
Why sad people like shoes better: The influence of mood on the evaluative conditioning of consumer attitudes
Authors: Walther Eva , Grigoriadis Sofia
Published: August 2004

An experimental study investigated the influence of mood on the acquisition of affective consumer attitudes. Within an evaluative conditioning paradigm, participants in happy or sad mood were presented with evaluatively neutral products paired with affectively liked or disliked faces. Subsequent likability ratings revealed that the mere co‐occurrence of a product with the valenced face influenced the evaluation of the previously neutral targets. However, this effect of affective learning was significantly stronger in the sad‐mood condition. A subsequent awareness test indicated that contingency awareness plays a role in the acquisition of consumer attitudes. The implications for consumer research and attitude formation processes are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: The role of switching costs
Authors: Yang Zhilin , Peterson Robin T.
Published: August 2004

It is a marketplace reality that marketing managers sometimes inflict switching costs on their customers, to inhibit them from defecting to new suppliers. In a competitive setting, such as the Internet market, where competition may be only one click away, has the potential of switching costs as an exit barrier and a binding ingredient of customer loyalty become altered? To address that issue, this article examines the moderating effects of switching costs on customer loyalty through both satisfaction and perceived‐value measures. The results, evoked from a Web‐based survey of online service users, indicate that companies that strive for customer loyalty should focus primarily on satisfaction and perceived value. The moderating effects of switching costs on the association of customer loyalty and customer satisfaction and perceived value are significant only when the level of customer satisfaction or perceived value is above average. In light of the major findings, the article sets forth strategic implications for customer loyalty in the setting of electronic commerce. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Caving, role playing, and staying home: Shopper coping strategies in a negotiated pricing environment
Authors: Trocchia Philip J.
Published: August 2004

This interpretive study reveals specific behaviors that shoppers enact in order to cope with the tensions they experience in an environment where negotiated pricing is the expected norm. Consumers experience inner conflict, or tension, when they feel that a pleasant shopping experience may only be attained at the risk of a poor financial outcome. These tensions, derived from 34 depth interviews with auto shoppers, include “truth versus deception,” “self‐presentation versus testing the limits,” and “reciprocation versus looking out for number one.” Some coping strategies emanating from these tensions include using analogies, role playing, and bringing one's own audience. Implications for academicians and retailers are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Flow experiences and image making: An online chat‐room ethnography
Authors: Shoham Aviv
Published: August 2004

Chat rooms are a relatively new phenomenon. They provide a unique experiential locale, much like a community. They have become a popular replacement for oft‐diminishing communities of yore. Qualitatively building on three overarching themes, chat rooms are put at the nexus of three diverse theoretical themes: community, flow experiences, and image management—the latter two being explored in this article. Chat rooms provide flow‐like experiences to participants and allow chatters to manage and enhance their images. Given that chatters are highly involved and frequent visitors to their online community (specific chat rooms), they provide a unique opportunity to study this relatively new phenomenon, which has far‐reaching, multidisciplinary implications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synthesis of Polymeric Topological Isomers through Electrostatic Self‐Assembly and Covalent Fixation with Star Telechelic Precursors
Authors: Tezuka Yasuyuki , Tsuchitani Akiko , Oike Hideaki
Published: August 2004

Summary: A pair of macromolecular constitutional isomers having topologically distinctive, dicyclic constructions, that is, θ‐shaped and manacle‐shaped polymers, has been synthesized from a polymer self‐assembly, comprised of three‐armed star poly(tetrahydrofuran) [poly(THF)] having N‐phenylpyrrolidinium salt end groups carrying dicarboxylate counteranions (1S/2d). The presence of the two constitutional polymeric isomers was confirmed by means of a reversed‐phase liquid chromatography (RPC) technique. Moreover, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) showed that a major component possesses notably larger hydrodynamic volume than the others, and is assignable as a manacle‐shaped isomer while a minor component is assigned as a θ‐shaped isomer. The statistics of the covalent‐linking process of 1S/2d were consistent with the other experimental results.

An “electrostatic self‐assembly and covalent fixation” process of a trifunctional star‐shaped precursor gives rise to θ‐shaped and manacle‐shaped polymers.

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An “electrostatic self‐assembly and covalent fixation” process of a trifunctional star‐shaped precursor gives rise to θ‐shaped and manacle‐shaped polymers.
New Challenges in Combinatorial Polymer Research: 3rd DPI Workshop on Automated Synthesis and High‐Throughput Experimentation in Polymer and Materials Research at the Eindhoven University of Technology
Authors: Wiesbrock F. , Schubert U. S.
Published: August 2004

Conference Reports: This section contains reports on topical conferences. Reports are usually written at the request of the editorial office, but unsolicited contributions are also welcome. Suggestions should be sent to the editorial office of the Macromolecular journals, preferably by E‐mail to macromol@wiley‐vch.de.
Segregation of Coronal Chains in Micelles Formed by Supramolecular Interactions
Authors: Gohy Jean‐François , Khousakoun Eric , Willet Nicolas , Varshney Sunil K. , Jérôme Robert
Published: August 2004

Summary: Spherical micelles have been formed by mixing, in DMF, a poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PS‐block‐P2VP‐block‐PEO) triblock copolymer with either poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or a tapered triblock copolymer consisting of a PAA central block and PEO macromonomer‐based outer blocks. Noncovalent interactions between PAA and P2VP result in the micellar core while the outer corona contains both PS and PEO chains. Segregation of the coronal chains is observed when the tapered copolymer is used.

Inclusion of comb‐like chains with short PEO teeth in the corona triggers the nanophase segregation of PS and PEO as illustrated here (PS = polystyrene; PEO = poly(ethylene oxide)).

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Inclusion of comb‐like chains with short PEO teeth in the corona triggers the nanophase segregation of PS and PEO as illustrated here (PS = polystyrene; PEO = poly(ethylene oxide)).
Predictions of Some Internal Microstructural Models for Polymer Melts and Solutions in Shear and Elongational Flows
Authors: Eslami Hassan , Ramazani S. A. Ahmad , Khonakdar Hossein Ali
Published: August 2004

Summary: In this work, the behavior of some internal microstructural models with different mobility tensors has been studied for polymer melts and solutions under steady and transient simple shear and elongational flows. The time evolution equations for conformation and stress tensors in the models reviewed have their root in the Generalized Poisson bracket formalism. Two different families of conformational models have been selected for this study. The first family is based on the Modified Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic (FENE‐P) energy while the second uses a Volume Preserving Conformational Rheological (VPCR) model based on the Hookean Helmholtz free energy function. Several expressions for the mobility tensor based on the previously mentioned energy functions are used to obtain the models. The sensitivity of both families of models to the choice of the mobility tensors on the prediction of material functions in the transient and steady flows is discussed. Also, effects of shear rate on the material functions in start‐up and relaxation shear flows for both models are studied. The predictions of both models are compared with experimental data taken from the literature for some polymer melts. These results show that the family of VPCR models is able to predict the steady shear and elongational flow material functions in an extended range of deformation rates whereas the family of FENE‐P models can predict the behavior of only some specified polymer melts.

Experimental data and VPCR model predictions for steady and elongational viscosity for PS [data of H. Munstedt, 1980].

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Experimental data and VPCR model predictions for steady and elongational viscosity for PS [data of H. Munstedt, 1980].
Local solutions to a model of piezoelectric materials
Authors: Hamdache Kamel , Hamroun Djamila
Published: August 2004

A local existence theorem is proved for a non‐linear coupled system modelling the electromechanical motion of a one‐dimensional piezoelectric body with domain switching. The system is composed by a heat equation describing the behaviour of the number of electric dipoles and by a wave equation governing the dynamic of the electric displacement. The main coupling in the system appears in the time‐dependent velocity of the waves depending on the number of electric dipoles. The proof of the result relies on a time decay estimate satisfied by the number of electric dipoles and an uniform estimate of the solution of the regularized wave equation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The pig caecum model: A suitable tool to study the intestinal metabolism of flavonoids
Authors: Labib Samira , Erb Annette , Kraus Michael , Wickert Thomas , Richling Elke
Published: August 2004

Pig caecum was used under anaerobic conditions to metabolize flavonoids from several classes, i. e., chrysin 1, naringenin 2, quercetin 3, and hesperetin 4. Whereas chrysin 1 was not converted by the pig intestinal flora under the experimental conditions used, naringenin 2 was transformed to 3‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐propionic acid and 3‐phenylpropionic acid. Quercetin 3 was metabolized to phloroglucinol, 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and 3,4‐dihydroxytoluene. Hesperetin 4 was degraded via eriodictyol to 3‐(3‐hydroxyphenyl)‐propionic acid and phloroglucinol. Structural elucidation of the formed metabolites was performed by high‐performance liquid chromatography – diode array detection (HPLC–DAD) as well as HPLC‐electrospray ionization – mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS (MS)) and high resolution gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (HRGC‐MS) analyses. The time course of microbial conversion of 2–4 was determined by HPLC‐DAD analysis, revealing slow degradation of 2 and rapid transformation of 3 and 4. The results lead to the conclusion that the pig caecum model is a suitable ex vivo model for studying the intestinal degradation of flavonoids.
Sensitive in vitro test systems to determine androgenic/antiandrogenic activity
Authors: Guth Sabine E. , Böhm Sonja , Mußler Bernd H. , Eisenbrand Gerhard
Published: August 2004

We report on the establishment of one transgenic and two endogenous reporter gene assays to determine androgenic/antiandrogenic activity. A transient transactivation assay was developed in COS‐7 African green monkey kidney cells. Three plasmids were co‐transfected by electroporation: the human androgen receptor expression vector pSG5AR, the reporter gene vector pMamneoLuc, expressing luciferase under the control of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promotor containing 4 hormone responsive elements (HREs), and the control plasmid pSVβ  . Transcriptional activation was measured by luciferase‐mediated chemoluminescence. In T47D human breast cancer cells two endogenous reporter gene systems were established: one based on the androgen‐induced expression of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA), the other based on the androgen‐repressed expression of testosterone repressed message 2 (TRPM‐2). PSA protein was measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), TRPM‐2 m‐RNA by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). All three test systems were validated using the physiological androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) as agonist and the established antiandrogens hydroxyflutamide and p,p′‐dichlorodiphenylethene (p,p′‐DDE) as antagonists. The PSA assay was the most sensitive test system with an EC50 of 0.7 nM for DHT‐induced response. The transient transactivation assay in COS‐7 cells was less sensitive with an EC50 of 9.7 nM DHT. In the PSA assay hydroxyflutamide was a more potent antagonist (IC30 = 0.02 μM) than p,p′‐DDE (IC30 = 0.9 μM). Similar results were obtained in the TRPM‐2 assay. In the transient transactivation assay in COS‐7 cells, both compounds elicited about 30% of the agonistic response induced by 100 nM DHT, thus showing partial agonistic properties. In summary, three highly sensitive and complementary in vitro test systems, together achieving enhanced specificity for detection and assessment of androgenic/antiandrogenic activity have been established and validated.
Heterocyclic amines in some Swedish cooked foods industrially prepared or from fast food outlets and restaurants
Authors: Borgen Eva , Skog Kerstin
Published: August 2004

Accurate assessment of human intake of mutagenic/carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HAs) is necessary for epidemiological studies and future risk assessment. Using questionnaires, the frequency of consumption of specific dishes can be obtained at an individual level and linked to analyzed concentrations of different compounds in corresponding dishes. Some typical Swedish cooked meat dishes, hamburgers and kebab, industrially prepared or from fast food outlets and restaurants, were analyzed regarding their content of 11 different HAs. The amount of each of these compounds was below 0.1 ng/g cooked weight in most of the industrially prepared products. The total amount of HAs was highest in the kebab samples. The intake of HAs from 200 g of the dishes was estimated to range from not detectable levels to 0.6 μg. The results of the present study indicate that the content of HAs in a specific dish may vary with origin, and that the concentrations of HAs in commercial fried meat products are generally low, although some of these food items may contain elevated amounts.
Levels of mycotoxins and sample cytotoxicity of selected organic and conventional grain‐based products purchased from Finnish and Italian markets
Authors: Jestoi Marika , Somma Maria Carmela , Kouva Merja , Veijalainen Pirjo , Rizzo Aldo , Ritieni Alberto , Peltonen Kimmo
Published: August 2004

The contamination levels of 16 different Fusarium‐ and Aspergillus‐mycotoxins were chemically determined from randomly selected organic and conventional grain‐based products purchased from Finnish and Italian markets. The cytotoxicity of the samples was analyzed with an in vitro test using feline fetal lung cells. Overall, the concentrations of the mycotoxins studied were low in all of the samples. Enniatins B and B1 as well as deoxynivalenol were the most predominant mycotoxins in the samples, being present in 97%, 97%, and 90% of the samples, respectively. The geographical origin or the agricultural practice had no influence on the mycotoxin concentrations of the samples. The babyfoods included in the samples had significantly lower concentrations of mycotoxins than the other products with a mean total mycotoxin content of 47 μg/kg compared with 99 μg/kg for the other kinds of food. All the samples evoked toxicity in the in vitro test, but no correlation between cytotoxicity and the mycotoxin concentrations was observed.
A three‐dimensional computational procedure for reproducing meshless methods and the finite element method
Authors: Schembri Philip , Crane David L. , Reddy J. N.
Published: August 2004

A flexible computational procedure for solving 3D linear elastic structural mechanics problems is presented that currently uses three forms of approximation function (natural neighbour, moving least squares—using a new nearest neighbour weight function—and Lagrange polynomial) and three types of integration grids to reproduce the natural element method and the finite element method. The addition of more approximation functions, which is not difficult given the structure of the code, will allow reproduction of other popular meshless methods. Results are presented that demonstrate the ability of the first‐order meshless approximations to capture solutions more accurately than first‐order finite elements. Also, the quality of integration for the three types of integration grids is compared. The concept of a region is introduced, which allows the splitting of a domain into different sections, each with its own type of approximation function and spatial integration scheme. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The fractal finite element method for unbounded problems
Authors: Leung A. Y. T. , Dai H. , Fok S. L. , Su R. K. L.
Published: August 2004

The fractal finite element method, previously developed for stress intensity factor calculation for crack problems in fracture mechanics, is extended to analyse some unbounded problems in half space. The concepts of geometrical similarity and two‐level finite element mesh are applied to generate an infinite number of self‐similar layers in the far field with a similarity ratio bigger than one; that is, one layer is bigger than the next in size but of the same shape. Only conventional finite elements are used and no new elements are generated. The global interpolating functions in the form of a truncated infinite series are employed to transform the infinite number of nodal variables to a small number of unknown coefficients associated with the global interpolating functions. Taking the advantage of geometrical similarity, transformation for one layer is enough because the relevant entries of the transformed matrix after assembling all layers are infinite geometric series of the similarity ratio and can be summed analytically. Accurate nodal displacements are obtained as shown in the numerical examples. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fixed mesh front‐tracking methodology for finite element simulations
Authors: Zhao P. , Heinrich J. C. , Poirier D. R.
Published: August 2004

A direct front‐tracking method using an Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation is developed in two space dimensions. The front‐tracking method is general in that it can track any type of interface once its local velocity is specified or has been determined by calculation. The method uses marker points to describe the interface position and tracks the interface evolution on a fixed finite‐element mesh, including growth, contraction, splitting and merging. Interfacial conditions are applied directly at the interface position. The method is applied to three scenarios that involve different interface conditions and are based on energy and mass diffusion. The three calculations are for the dendritic solidification of a pure substance, the cellular growth of an alloy, and the Ostwald ripening of silica particles in silicon. Numerical results show that very complicated interface morphologies and topological changes can be simulated properly and efficiently. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reversible addition–fragmentation transfer polymerization of p‐nitrophenyl acrylate and synthesis of diblock copolymers poly(p‐nitrophenyl acrylate)‐b‐polystyrene
Authors: Hu Yong‐Chen , Liu Ye , Pan Cai‐Yuan
Published: August 2004

Poly(p‐nitrophenyl acrylate)s (PNPAs) with different molecular mass and narrow polydispersity were successfully synthesized for the first time by reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization with azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator and [1‐(ethoxy carbonyl) prop‐1‐yl dithiobenzoate] as the chain‐transfer agent. Although the molecular mass of PNPAs can be controlled by the molar ratio of NPA to RAFT agent and the conversion, a trace of homo‐PNPA was found, especially at the early stage of polymerization. The dithiobenzoyl‐terminated PNPA obtained was used as a macro chain‐transfer agent in the successive RAFT block copolymerization of styrene (St) with AIBN as the initiator. After purification by two washings with cyclohexane and nitromethane to remove homo‐PSt and homo‐PNPA, the pure diblock copolymers, PNPA‐b‐PSt's, with narrow molecular weight distribution were obtained. The structural analysis of polymerization products by 1H NMR and GPC verified the formation of diblock copolymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4862–4872, 2004
Synthesis and characterization of fluorescent poly[fluorene‐co‐phenylene‐1‐(di‐2‐pyridylamine)] copolymer and its Ru(II) complex
Authors: Dinakaran K. , Chou Chia‐Hung , Hsu So‐Lin , Wei Kung‐Hwa
Published: August 2004

2,2′‐dipyridylamine substituted poly(fluorene‐co‐phenylene) copolymers with different concentrations of dipyridylamine have been synthesized by Suzuki polycondensation. These polymers were found to be soluble in organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and dimethylformamide. The photoluminescence of the copolymer was slightly blueshifted as the concentration of dipridylamine was increased. The introduction of dipyridylamine and the ruthenium complex into the polymer significantly improved the photoluminescence efficiency. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4838–4846, 2004
Multiple risk behaviors among smokers in the childhood cancer survivors study cohort
Authors: Butterfield Rita M. , Park Elyse R. , Puleo Elaine , Mertens Ann , Gritz Ellen R. , Li Frederick P. , Emmons Karen
Published: August 2004

The literature on health behaviors of young adult cancer survivors is very limited, and thus little is known about preventable risk factors in this population. This paper describes the prevalence of five behavioral risk factors among 541 young adult survivors of childhood cancers from the CCSS cohort who were identified as smokers and enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a smoking cessation intervention. The relationship between presence of multiple risk factors and a number of smoking‐related factors was examined. About 31% of the sample engaged in zero or one health‐risk behavior in addition to smoking; 63% engaged in 2 or 3, and 6% engaged in 4 or 5. There were positive linear relationships between number of risk factors and smoking rate and nicotine dependence. Number of risk factors was not associated with self‐efficacy for quitting, but was related to readiness to quit.

This study demonstrated that childhood cancer survivors who smoke have a number of other risk factors for the development of preventable disease and the presence of these risks was associated with factors that decrease the likelihood of quitting smoking. Attention to other health behaviors may be an important strategy for helping smokers quit. In particular, helping childhood cancer survivors who smoke to reduce other risk behaviors might also encourage them to quit smoking. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predictors and mediators of psychological adjustment in mothers of children newly diagnosed with cancer
Authors: Barrera Maru , D'Agostino Norma M. , Gibson Julie , Gilbert Thomas , Weksberg Rosanna , Malkin David
Published: August 2004

Early psychological adjustment (PA) of mothers of children with cancer (MCC) and mothers of children with acute illnesses (MCA) were compared, and predictors and mediators of maternal adjustment were tested. Sixty‐nine MCC and 22 MCA completed standardized measures of depression, anxiety, global mental health (GMH), concurrent stress and strains, social support, coping strategies and child behavior. MCC reported greater depressive symptomatology, emotion‐focused coping, and social support than did MCA. For MCC, emotion‐focused coping and child behavior both predicted depression, anxiety, and GMH; concurrent stress and strain mediated the relationship between child behavior and depression and between emotion‐focused coping and each measure of adjustment. For MCA, only emotion‐focused coping predicted PA and concurrent stress and strains mediated the relationship between emotion‐focused coping and depression. These findings suggest that MCC have more PA difficulties that are uniquely related to their child's behavior than MCA. Concurrent stress and strains seems to be an important mediator of PA for both groups of mothers. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development and pilot testing of a psychoeducational intervention for oral cancer patients
Authors: Katz Mark R. , Irish Jonathan C. , Devins Gerald M.
Published: August 2004

Objective: Oral cancer elicits considerable distress in both the pre and post‐treatment periods. This paper details the development, validation and pilot‐testing of a psychoeducational intervention for oral cancer patients.

Method: An educational booklet covering information about oral cancer and its treatment and effective coping strategies was developed by a multi‐disciplinary team. It was evaluated by patient focus groups and content/educational experts, delivered to subjects in pre and post‐operative presentations by a health educator, and pilot‐tested in a randomized controlled trial versus standard care.

Results: Pilot data from 19 subjects (10 psychoeducation, nine standard care) indicates that the intervention is feasible and highly acceptable. At follow‐up the intervention group showed a gain in knowledge, less body image disturbance, lower anxiety and a trend toward higher wellbeing.

Conclusion: This program, which is currently being evaluated in a larger RCT with extended follow‐up, should prove useful in reducing the psychosocial burden of oral cancer and its treatment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Exploring comprehensibility and manageability in palliative home care: An interview study of dying cancer patients' informal carers
Authors: Milberg Anna , Strang Peter
Published: August 2004

The presence of an informal carer is often a prerequisite for successful palliative home care, and the staff's ability to support informal carers' coping in such situations is important. Recent research has revealed that it is possible to achieve positive psychological states in palliative care despite the burdening situation. As there is a lack of theory‐based coping studies, the aim of this study was to describe, within the context of palliative home care, two concepts in Antonovsky's theory of Sense of Coherence: comprehensibility (a perception that the challenge is understood) and manageability (a perception that the resources to cope are available). Tape‐recorded semi‐structured interviews with 19 informal carers during ongoing palliative home care were transcribed and analysed with a qualitative hermeneutic approach. Elements that facilitated comprehensibility included open information, symbolic information, basic life assumptions and previous knowledge. These were important for creating a congruent inner reality (as opposed to chaos). Resources contributing to manageability dealt with power, support, competence and accessibility, which on a more abstract level resulted in a feeling of togetherness (as opposed to isolation). The findings are discussed in relation to the complexity of communication between staff and carers within palliative care. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The decision to have a prosthesis: A qualitative study of men with testicular cancer
Authors: Chapple A. , McPherson A.
Published: August 2004

The aim of this paper is to understand why some men decide to have a testicular prosthesis while others reject the idea and to explore the extent to which the option of a testicular prosthesis is adequately presented. Forty‐five men with testicular cancer were interviewed about all aspects of their illness. Some men decided against a prosthesis for a number of reasons; they thought that the loss of a testicle was not visibly obvious, did not affect self‐image, was not a long‐term threat to masculinity, and that living with one testicle was comfortable. Some did not want additional surgery and others were concerned about safety issues. The men who decided to have a prosthesis were concerned about self‐image and a threat to masculinity. They had a desire to look ‘normal’ and a wish to keep the orchidectomy secret. Some men felt that the decision had been rushed. Others wished that they had had information about the possibility of implants before the orchidectomy or they considered the information presented inadequate. We conclude that it is important to counsel men with testicular cancer about the advantages and disadvantages of having a testicular prosthesis and to give them time to consider issues such as cosmetic appearance, self‐image, comfort, possible short term complications and long‐term safety. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cancer‐related attitudes: A comparative study in Japan and the US
Authors: Gotay Carolyn Cook , Shimizu Hiroyuki , Muraoka Miles , Ishihara Yoko , Tsuboi Koji , Ogawa Hiroshi
Published: August 2004

The cancer‐related attitudes and beliefs of adults living in central Japan (N=357) were compared to those of respondents in a US state (Hawaii) (N=223) consisting of both Japanese (n=106) and Caucasian (n=117) individuals. Almost all US subjects endorsed doctors disclosing cancer diagnoses to their patients, while a minority of the Japan sample supported cancer disclosure as a general practice. However, the majority of Japan respondents expressed a personal preference to be told if they themselves were diagnosed with cancer, as did virtually all US respondents. US subjects were more optimistic than Japanese subjects about cancer's curability, both at the present time and in the future; Japanese Americans scored intermediate between Japanese and Caucasian Americans. Word‐association data indicated that cancer was most likely to be associated with death by Japanese respondents. The data support the continued international differences in views about cancer and suggest that some of these differences persist over many generations of US residence. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An automatic fiber alignment system using genetic algorithms
Authors: Murakawa Masahiro , Noda Yoshihiro , Higuchi Tetsuya
Published: August 2004

In this paper, the authors propose an automatic optical fiber alignment method using genetic algorithms and develop a fiber alignment system to verify its effectiveness. The theory for connecting optical fibers basically differs from the theory for connecting conventional metallic‐core wires because the coupling faces must be completely aligned with submicrometer precision. As a result, even manual fiber alignment takes an extremely long time unless an expert with experience and technical proficiency is doing it. To resolve this problem, some attempts have been made to develop automatic fiber alignment systems. However, these systems are not yet practical because the fiber alignment time increases too much as the number of degrees of freedom of the optical fiber coupling faces increases. Therefore, in this paper, the authors developed an automatic fiber alignment system using genetic algorithms, which are efficient search techniques, to implement fiber alignment with many degrees of freedom. Experimental results showed that fiber alignment with five degrees of freedom, which was difficult conventionally, could be completed within a practical interval of approximately 3 minutes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 80–90, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10035
Performance evaluation of dynamic load balancing scheme with load prediction mechanism using the load growing acceleration for massively parallel computers
Authors: Nunome Atsushi , Hirata Hiroaki , Niimi Haruo , Shibayama Kiyoshi
Published: August 2004

In this paper, we will propose a new dynamic load balancing scheme in which, based on the load conditions of the whole system of a massively parallel computer, the respective processing elements (PEs) will perform load balancing control in such a way that the loads are balanced as a whole. In the proposed scheme, although each PE exchanges load information with the neighboring PEs, load balancing is performed from a more global viewpoint, not considering only the load conditions of the surroundings of the transfer‐origin PE: instead, each PE takes into consideration the load distribution in the whole system and its increasing and decreasing trends. Furthermore, in order to determine how the load quantity of the whole system changes, prediction of the load quantity is performed by using the load variation acceleration. By doing so, the transfer‐origin PE is made to appropriately select the transfer destination of the load. Evaluation by simulation demonstrated, a performance enhancement of about 60% maximum compared to the scheme in which only the load quantities of the neighboring PEs are collected. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 69–79, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10212
Speaker adaptation of pitch and spectrum for HMM‐based speech synthesis
Authors: Tamura Masatsune , Masuko Takashi , Tokuda Keiichi , Kobayashi Takao
Published: August 2004

This paper describes a technique for synthesizing speech with an arbitrary speaker's voice using speaker‐independent speech units, which we call “average voice”models. The proposed method is based on an HMM‐based text‐to‐speech synthesis system. In the HMM‐based speech synthesis system, the spectrum and the pitch parameter are modeled simultaneously using an HMM based on the multi‐space probability distribution (MSD). By appropriately transforming the HMM parameters, the voice characteristics and the prosodic features of synthesized speech can be transformed. In this paper, we derive an extension of the MLLR algorithm to apply it to MSD‐HMMs. It is shown that by speaker adaptation for the pitch and applying the spectrum model, not only the voice characteristics, but also the prosodic features, can be adapted by using a small number of sentences uttered by a target speaker. Through the subjective evaluation, it is shown that by applying simultaneous adaptation of pitch and spectrum, synthetic speech generated from adapted models from the average voice model using a small number of sentences is very close to that from speaker‐dependent models. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 59–68, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10332
Stochastic resonance in the brain
Authors: Mori Toshio , Kai Shoichi
Published: August 2004

This paper investigates the existence of stochastic resonance (SR) in the human brain, based on the noise effect of the α‐wave. In order to show clear evidence of the SR phenomenon in the central nervous system, the measurement was carried out under the following conditions; the periodic and noisy light stimuli are respectively applied to the right and left eye of a subject separately. When the periodic stimulus is applied with a subthreshold condition and the amplitude of noise stimulus of which the frequency bandwidth ranges from 15 to 60 Hz is varied, strong entrainment occurs for a certain range of the noise amplitude. Then the curve for the amplitude of the peak versus the noise amplitude shows a bell‐type shape, that is, the maximum signal amplitude at an optimum noise. Thus, the SR phenomenon occurs not on the retina but on the visual processing area after the optic chiasm—no mixing occurs before primary visual cortex in this manner, because the periodic and random stimuli are separately applied to the right and left eyes, respectively. This result suggests that the human brain may exploit internal and/or external noise for the higher‐order activities such as perception and cognition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 39–47, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10398
Integration process of visual and haptic information based on experiments about size perception of solid objects
Authors: Fukumura Naohiro , Otane Shigenao , Uno Yoji
Published: August 2004

When humans recognize external information, multiple kinds of sensory information are integrated and recognized in most cases. When a solid object is to be recognized, for example, not only visual information, but also somatosensory information and motor information obtained by actually grasping the object previously, are integrated for recognition. To investigate such integration processes for various kinds of sensory information in the brain, we performed some psychophysical experiments on the information processing involved in size perception of solid objects. First, an experiment on the estimation of object size by active finger movement and an experiment on the estimation of object size by passive finger movement were performed. The latter experiment revealed that even if the object size was the same, there was a large difference in the estimation of the object depending on the initial position at the start of estimation. It was also found that the difference in estimation was reduced if an opening‐and‐closing finger movement is performed immediately before estimation. Additional experiments were performed in order to investigate the factors that produce estimation difference from the viewpoint of the information transformation process. The results suggest that the difference originates from the module that calculates the inverse kinematics in order to compute the finger joint angle from the perceived size of the object. It is believed that the difference originates from redundancy in inverse kinematics. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 24–38, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10399
Cerebellar model arithmetic computer with pseudo‐bacterial genetic algorithm and its hardware acceleration
Authors: Miwa Masahiro , Furuhashi Takeshi , Matsuzaki Motoaki , Okuma Shigeru
Published: August 2004

The cerebellar model arithmetic computer (CMAC) is a kind of neural network that is capable of high‐speed learning. In the use of the CMAC, various parameters must be defined, but it is difficult to set the parameters adequately. The pseudo‐bacterial genetic algorithm (PBGA) is a kind of evolutionary computation which offers local search. This paper considers adequate determination of the location of the boundary line, which is one of the parameters of the CMAC. For that purpose the PBGA is applied, and PBGA/CMAC, which realizes the efficient search of the boundary line of the CMAC, is proposed. Furthermore, since PBGA/CMAC requires a large amount of computation, a hardware implementation is considered in order to improve the computation speed. The computation involved in the learning rules of the CMAC is divided into four stages, and the structure is implemented as a pipeline. The pipeline implementation produces read‐after‐write hazards for the granular cell values. However, it is shown that the difference in performance from conventional CMAC learning rule is small, indicating the possibility of achieving high‐speed learning. The speed of PBGA/CMAC hardware is improved to 140 times the speed of operation by software. In order to present a guide for PBGA/CMAC hardware, the hardware volume is evaluated, and it is shown that it can be implemented with precision sufficient for practice. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 14–23, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10437
Trajectory tracking control of robot arm by using computational models of spinal cord and cerebellum
Authors: Nakayama Takayuki , Kimura Hidenori
Published: August 2004

In studies of robots, intended for collaborative operation with humans, there have been intensive efforts to develop and apply a muscle‐driving system with mechanically soft properties, to reduce the danger to humans. Such a muscle‐driving system has the advantage that the danger to humans in collaborative operation can be reduced, but has the disadvantage that accurate control is difficult due to the soft properties. The soft and accurate motion of the limbs in biological systems is realized by skillful control of the muscles by the control system composed of the spinal cord and the cerebellum. Consequently, inspired by the motion control mechanism in biological systems, this paper tries to develop a control system that provides accurate trajectory tracking control of the robot, by using a muscle‐driving actuator with soft mechanical properties. The proposed control system consists of the computational models of the stretch reflex system in the spinal cord, which compensates the external load torque exerted on the joint, and the cerebellum, which compensates the inertial torque with learning the internal model of the limb dynamics. Using the indirect Lyapunov method, it is shown theoretically that the posture of the robot asymptotically approaches the desired trajectory when driven by the proposed control system. A computer simulation is performed in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control system, and it is verified that the behavior converges satisfactorily to the desired target. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 1–13, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10646
Confidence measure and rejection based on correctness probability of recognition candidates
Authors: Kitaoka Norihide , Akahori Ichiro , Nakagawa Seiichi
Published: August 2004

We propose a confidence measure expressing the correctness probability of recognition candidates, to be applied to a speech dialog system using a dialog strategy based on the degree of confidence of speech recognition candidates. We assume a function expressing the correctness probability of the feature parameters associated with the recognition candidate, and its parameters are estimated by using the square error of the correct (1) and incorrect (0) data as the evaluation function. For two feature quantities, namely, the likelihood ratio of the recognized word and syllable‐concatenated model, and the variance of the syllable duration inside a word, the correctness probability can be expressed by a sigmoid function. The correctness probability can also be expressed for a combination of these two feature parameters. Rejection experiments involving evaluation of the degree of discrimination between the correct and incorrect data show that the degree of discrimination is higher when the two feature parameters are combined than when they are used individually. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 35(11): 91–103, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20046
Smooth centile curves for skew and kurtotic data modelled using the Box–Cox power exponential distribution
Authors: Rigby Robert A. , Stasinopoulos D. Mikis
Published: August 2004

The Box–Cox power exponential (BCPE) distribution, developed in this paper, provides a model for a dependent variableYexhibiting both skewness and kurtosis (leptokurtosis or platykurtosis). The distribution is defined by a power transformationYνhaving a shifted and scaled (truncated) standard power exponential distribution with parameterτ. The distribution has four parameters and is denoted BCPE (µ,σ,ν,τ). The parameters,µ,σ,νandτ, may be interpreted as relating to location (median), scale (approximate coefficient of variation), skewness (transformation to symmetry) and kurtosis (power exponential parameter), respectively.

Smooth centile curves are obtained by modelling each of the four parameters of the distribution as a smooth non‐parametric function of an explanatory variable. A Fisher scoring algorithm is used to fit the non‐parametric model by maximizing a penalized likelihood. The first and expected second and cross derivatives of the likelihood, with respect toµ,σ,νandτ, required for the algorithm, are provided. The centiles of the BCPE distribution are easy to calculate, so it is highly suited to centile estimation.

This application of the BCPE distribution to smooth centile estimation provides a generalization of the LMS method of the centile estimation to data exhibiting kurtosis (as well as skewness) different from that of a normal distribution and is named here the LMSP method of centile estimation. The LMSP method of centile estimation is applied to modelling the body mass index of Dutch males against age. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.