bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A study of the novel intumescent flame‐retarded PP/EPDM copolymer blends
Authors: Zhou Shun , Wang Zhengzhou , Gui Zhou , Hu Yuan
Published: September 2008

Flammability of polypropylene/ethylene–propylene‐diene copolymer (PP/EPDM) filled with melamine phosphate (MP) and pentaerythritol phosphate (PEPA) was studied by limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL 94, and cone calorimetry. The thermal degradation of the composites was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and real‐time Fourier transform infrared spectrum (RT‐FTIR), and the mechanical properties of the materials were also studied. It had been found that the PP/EPDM/PEPA/MP composites (PEPM series) showed better flame retardancy than that of the PP/EPDM composites containing MP or PEPA. TG and RT‐FTIR studies indicated that the interaction occurs among MP, PEPA, and PP/EPDM. The incorporation of the flame retardants deteriorated the mechanical properties of the materials. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Diametric swelling and hydrophilic characteristics of fibrous acrylic ion exchanger
Authors: Zargaran Mojdeh , Shoushtari Ahmad M. , Abdouss Majid
Published: September 2008

In our previous works, modified acrylic fiber samples with highly ion‐exchange ability were described. These fibers contain suitable functional groups such as amidoxime, amid, and amine groups in their molecular chains. In this work, swelling in fiber diameter and hydrophilic properties of the modified acrylic fiber samples, as important parameters affecting on ion‐exchange efficiency, were investigated. The results showed that all modification treatments gave rise to diameter swelling ratio, but this does not mean that sample with highest swelling ratio in all cases can result in highest ability to ion‐exchange. In other words, the relation between them was complicated, and several factors such as the kind and the size of ion adsorbent and crosslinking ability of chemical reagent were used for modification interfere in ion‐exchange phenomena.The results of moisture adsorption indicate that incorporating functional groups by modification treatments enhance moisture adsorption in which samples with higher ion‐exchange ability possess higher hydrophilic property. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Heterogeneous Pd catalyst for oxidative carbonylation of bisphenol A to polycarbonate
Authors: Okamoto Masaya , Sugiyama Jun‐ichi , Yamamoto Takakazu
Published: September 2008

Polycarbonates (PCs) were prepared by oxidative carbonylation of bisphenol A and carbon monoxide, using a Pd‐polybipylidyl complex, Pd‐polyvinylpyridine complex, smectite‐supported Pd complex, or hydrotalcite‐supported Pd complex as a heterogeneous Pd catalyst to separate the PC solution and the Pd catalyst after the reaction. Propylene carbonate was used as a halogen‐free solvent. When Co(OAc)2·4H2O was used as the inorgano‐redox catalyst, all of the Pd compounds gave a good PC yield with the recycling potential of the catalyst. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
EWOD‐Driven translational movement of a liquid polyelectrolyte droplet
Authors: Ricks‐Laskoski Holly L. , Buckley Mary A. , Snow Arthur W.
Published: September 2008

Controlled transportation of air‐ and electrochemically stable materials is of interest in many areas of science. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of an ionic liquid monomer and its corresponding polyelectrolyte. The translational movement of these ionic liquid droplets across a substrate using the mechanism of electrowetting on a dielectric (EWOD) is demonstrated with emphasis given to electrode design and selective switching in the device construction. Directional control of a 2 mm sized polyelectrolyte droplet is shown to laterally move across the substrate surface on the order of 10s of minutes due to its increased viscosity, whereas its ionic liquid monomer also transverses but at a much faster pace‐on the order of 10s of seconds. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Flame retardancy of whisker silicon oxide/rigid polyurethane foam composites with expandable graphite
Authors: Bian Xiang‐Cheng , Tang Jian‐Hua , Li Zhong‐Ming
Published: September 2008

Rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) composites filled with various expandable graphite (EG) or/and whisker silicon (WSi) loadings were prepared with the same density (0.08 g/cm3). When the WSi content reached 10 wt %, the composite had the best mechanical properties, the values of compressive strength and modulus reached 0.74 and 21.0 MPa, respectively. Compared with only EG filled RPUF, the addition of 10 wt % WSi to EG/RPUF would also bring out improvement on their flame retardant and mechanical properties. Maintaining EG 20 wt %, the compressive strength increased from 0.17 (EG/RPUF) to 0.39 MPa (WSi/EG/RPUF), the compressive modulus increased from 9.32 (EG/RPUF) to 10.11 MPa (WSi/EG/RPUF), and the limiting oxygen index value increased from 28 vol % (EG/RPUF) to 32.5 vol % (WSi/EG/RPUF). The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the addition of EG and WSi particles improved the thermal stability of the composites. The dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that EG and WSi particles led to up‐shift of the glass transition temperature. Moreover, 10 wt % EG and 10 wt % WSi filled RPUF had the highest storage modulus, as the EG and WSi exhibited a desirable synergetic effect on flame retardant properties and dynamic mechanical properties of RPUF composites. The morphologies of the composites were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Formaldehyde‐free aminoresin wood adhesives based on dimethoxyethanal
Authors: Despres A. , Pizzi A. , Vu C. , Pasch H.
Published: September 2008

Aminoresin precursors prepared by the addition of a new, colorless, nonvolatile and nontoxic aldehyde, dimethoxyethanal (DME), to melamine or urea gave resins for boards that were able to harden, however they were underperforming because of the lower reactivity of DME in relation to formaldehyde. Melamine and urea reacts with one and two (melamine up to three) molecules of DME to form M‐DME and U‐DME (called DU), but the subsequent cross‐linking reaction to form bridges does not occur unless the reaction is catalyzed during resin preparation by the addition of glyoxylic acid. Such bridges between two melamine molecules form only up to the formation of dimers and no more. The use of glyoxylic acid during the reaction has allowed the formation of different oligomers formed by both aldol condensation and condensation of melamine and glyoxylic acid with two molecules of melamine to form dimers. These were observed by 13C NMR and MALDI‐TOF (matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy). However, the addition of 20% isocyanate (pMDI) was necessary to satisfy the relevant mechanical strength standards of panels prepared with these resins. pMDI contributed to cross‐linking of M‐DME and DU by its reaction to form urethane bridges according to reactions already described. The adhesive resins so formed had excellent performance and were colorless, and they produced boards that well satisfied the requirements of the relevant standards for interior panels. Formaldehyde emission was down to what would be expected obtained by just heating the wood chips in absence of adhesives. The panels emission was sufficiently low to even satisfy the most severe relevant F**** JIS A 5908 Japanese standard. These adhesives are colorless as MUF and UF resins. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Effect of polymerization method on structure and properties of cationic polyacrylamide
Authors: Shen Yinghua , Zhang Aiqin , Wu Genzhuang
Published: September 2008

Acrylamide and 2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyltrimethylammonium chloride (AM/MADQUAT) copolymers were synthesized by solution and inverse microemulsion polymerization using (NH4)2S2O8/NaHSO3 as redox initiator at the same feed mole ratio, and their microstructure, such as sequence distribution and composition distribution, was calculated from monomer reactivity ratios of different polymerization methods. The results show that charge distribution is more uniform for copolymer prepared in inverse microemulsion than that in solution, and copolymer composition distribution is close to unity, and maintains approximately at the feed ratio. Furthermore, the influence of the two structures of cationic polyacrylamides on kaolinite floc size and effective floc density, reduction of Zeta potential and floc compressive yield stress had been investigated at pH 7. The results show that the kaolinite floc size and effective floc density are strongly dependent upon copolymer microstructure, with greater floc size and lower effective floc density being observed for copolymer prepared in inverse microemulsion than for that in solution. Copolymer microstructure has a marked effect on the Zeta potential, whose reduction in the magnitude was much greater in the presence of copolymer prepared in inverse microemulsion than that in solution. Greater compressive yield stress was achieved for the strong flocs produced by copolymer prepared in inverse microemulsion than for the weak flocs produced by that in solution. The difference in flocs compressive yield stress may be attributed to flocs structure. Therefore, in this article, a correlation between the cationic polyacrylamide structure and flocculation property for kaolinite suspension was established. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Removal of arsenic in water by an ion‐exchange fiber with amino groups
Authors: Zhang Xiaozhuan , Jiang Kai , Tian Zhenbang , Huang Weiqing , Zhao Liang
Published: September 2008

A new type of ion‐exchange fiber with amino groups, called RPFA‐I, was prepared. The amino modification and stretching resistance of RPFA‐I were characterized by FTIR spectrum, SEM test, and auto‐tensile test, respectively, and the removal of arsenite and arsenate in solution by RPFA‐I was investigated. The obtained experimental results show that RPFA‐I fibers have fine mechanical properties, and the amino functional groups have grafted to the surface of the matrix material. The adsorption results show that RPFA‐I has a high capacity and good adsorption kinetic property in removal of arsenate and arsenite at the trace level. The removal efficiency was 70% for arsenite and 93% arsenate, respectively, at the concentration of 5 mg/L. The isothermal adsorptions were correspondent to Langmiur/Frundlich adsorption equation, and the adsorption kinetics was fit to the Lagergren pseudosecond order rate equation. The adsorption of the used adsorbent could be efficiently regenerated by 0.1M NaOH in a simple way. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Kinetics study of Ti[O(CH2)4OCHCH2]4 initiated ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone by differential scanning calorimetry
Authors: Li Peichun , Zerroukhi Amar , Chen Jianding , Chalamet Yvan , Jeanmaire Thomas , Xia Zhean
Published: September 2008

The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone initiated by Ti[O(CH2)4OCHCH2]4 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both isothermal and dynamic experiments have been applied to obtain the kinetic parameters. The apparent polymerization rate constant for different experiments was determined; the activation energy determined is 76–88 KJ/mol by the isothermal method and 75–86 KJ/mol by the dynamic method. Using the obtained kinetic parameters, a model to predict the polymerization process was developed and can well describe the polymerization process, which demonstrates that DSC is a convenient and reliable method to study the kinetics of ring‐opening polymerization. The kinetic results also demonstrate that Ti[O(CH2)4OCHCH2]4 is an efficient initiator in the ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Preparation of gelatin fiber by gel spinning and its mechanical properties
Authors: Fukae Ryohei , Midorikawa Takehiko
Published: September 2008

A gel‐spinning process was used in an attempt to prepare a gelatin fiber with a high level of drawability. A gel fiber prepared by extrusion of 15 wt % gelatin in dimethyl sulfoxide into methanol at −20°C was drawn to sixteen times the original length. After extraction of the dispersion medium, the mechanical strength of the fiber increased markedly with the draw ratio, and the fiber exhibited a tensile strength of 146 MPa and a Young's modulus of 2.3 GPa when drawn to the maximum. A gelatin fiber with greater mechanical strength was obtained when ethylene glycol was used as the spinning solvent. The X‐ray diffraction profile indicated the formation of triple‐helical structures and their lateral association, which is responsible for the mechanical strength of the fiber. Heat‐treatment improved the water‐resistance of the prepared fiber. γ‐Irradiation and treatment with glutaraldehyde improved the mechanical strength of the fiber. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Preparation and degradability of poly(lactic acid)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(lactic acid)/SiO2 hybrid material
Authors: Wang Hualin , Zhang Yan , Tian Min , Zhai Linfeng , Wei Zheng , Shi Tiejun
Published: September 2008

Poly(lactic acid)–poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(lactic acid) (PLA‐PEG‐PLA)/SiO2 hybrid material is prepared by sol–gel method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and PLA‐PEG‐PLA as raw material. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra, the hydroxyl groups of the silica sol derived from partially hydrolysis of TEOS and the unhydrolyzed ethoxy groups of TEOS can react with PLA‐PEG‐PLA. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves imply that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of PLA‐PEG‐PLA/SiO2 hybrid material is higher than that of PLA‐PEG‐PLA and increases with the increase of silica content. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results show that PLA‐PEG‐PLA and PLA‐PEG‐PLA/SiO2 hybrid material are both amorphous. Field scanning electron microscope (FSEM) photographs show that when PLA‐PEG‐PLA/SiO2 hybrid material has been degraded for 12 weeks in normal saline at 37°C, a three‐dimensional porous scaffold is obtained, which is available for cell growth and metabolism. Moreover, the hydroxyl (OH) groups on SiO2 of PLA‐PEG‐PLA/SiO2 hybrid material could buffer the acidity resulted from the degradation of PLA, which is beneficial to proliferation of cell in tissue repairing. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Material morphology and electrical resistivity differences in EPDM rubbers
Authors: Domeier Linda A. , Yang Nancy
Published: September 2008

Electrical resistance anomalies noted in EPDM gaskets have been attributed to zinc‐enriched surface sublayers, about 10‐μm thick, in the sulfur cured rubber material. Gasket over‐compression provided the necessary connector pin contact and was also found to cause surprising morphological changes on the gasket surfaces. These included distributions of zinc oxide whiskers in high pressure gasket areas and cone‐shaped features rich in zinc, oxygen, and sulfur primarily in low pressure protruding gasket areas. Such whiskers and cones were only found on the pin side of the gaskets in contact with a molded plastic surface and not on the back side in contact with an aluminum surface. The mechanisms by which such features are formed have not yet been defined. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Synthesis, physical properties, and crystallization of optically active poly(L‐phenyllactic acid) and poly(L‐phenyllactic acid‐co‐L‐lactic acid)
Authors: Tsuji Hideto , Matsuoka Hiroshi , Itsuno Shinichi
Published: September 2008

Optically active poly(L‐phenyllactic acid) (Ph‐PLLA), poly(L‐lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly(L‐phenyllactic acid‐co‐L‐lactic acid) with weight‐average molecular weight exceeding 6 × 103 g mol−1 were successfully synthesized by acid catalyzed direct polycondensation of L‐phenyllactic acid and/or L‐lactic acid in the presence of 2.5–10 wt % of p‐toluenesulfonic acid. Their physical properties and crystallization behavior were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and polarimetry. The absolute value of specific optical rotation ([α]) for Ph‐PLLA (−38 deg dm−1 g−1 cm3) was much lower than that of [α] for PLLA (−150 deg dm−1 g−1 cm3), suggesting that the helical nature was reduced by incorporation of bulky phenyl group. PLLA was crystallizable during solvent evaporation, heating from room temperature, and cooling from the melt. Incorporation of a very low content of bulky phenyllactyl units even at 4 mol % suppressed the crystallization of L‐lactyl unit sequences during heating and cooling, though the copolymers were crystallizable for L‐phenylactyl units up to 6 mol % during solvent evaporation. The activation energy of thermal degradation (ΔEtd) for Ph‐PLLA (200 kJ mol−1) was higher than that for PLLA (158 kJ mol−1). The ΔEtd for the copolymers increased with an increase in L‐phenyllactyl unit content. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Novel divinyl monomer for preparation of unsaturated polymers
Authors: Chen Song , Li Xiao Yu
Published: September 2008

To simplify the preparation of unsaturated polymers, a new type of divinyl monomer was designed in this article. The double bonds of the divinyl monomer are different not only in reactivity but also in electron density. Based on quantum chemistry calculation, (z)‐4‐(2‐(acryloyloxy)ethoxy)‐4‐oxobut‐2‐enoic acid (cis‐AEOEA) was selected as the nonelectron‐donating divinyl monomer in which inactive double bond was electron deficient and can be activated by electron‐donating comonomers by forming charge transfer complex (CTC) copolymerization system. So, cis‐AEOEA can be used to simplify the preparation of unsaturated polymers and the content of inactive double bonds left in the polymer is controlled by electron‐donating ability of comonomers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Parameters controlling the swelling of butyl rubber by solvents
Authors: Nohilé Cédrick , Dolez Patricia I. , Vu‐Khanh Toan
Published: September 2008

The method used in the past 30 years for describing the swelling of polymers by solvents is mainly based on the Hansen three‐dimensional solubility parameters. However, the subjectivity of its implementation as well as its limited success for several polymers, and in particular elastomers, which constitute choice materials for protective gloves, has been reported by several authors. In this article, data obtained by Zellers et al. with butyl rubber and a list of 53 solvents are analyzed to identify the parameters controlling the swelling of this elastomer. The absence of a global effect of the Hansen affinity, solvent molar volume and saturation vapor pressure, and Flory–Huggins interaction parameter has been confirmed. It was also shown that one of the main factors controlling the swelling of butyl rubber appears to be the chemical class of the solvents. Within these classes, a linear relationship between butyl rubber swelling and solvent saturation vapor pressure was observed, and the correlation with molar volume is almost as good. On the other side, no correlation can be obtained with the Hansen affinity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Space efficient system for whole‐body exposure of unrestrained rats to 900 MHz electromagnetic fields
Authors: Puranen Lauri , Toivo Tim , Toivonen Tommi , Pitkäaho Risto , Turunen Asko , Sihvonen Ari‐Pekka , Jokela Kari , Heikkinen Päivi , Kumlin Timo , Juutilainen Jukka
Published: September 2008

The aim of this study was to design, implement and analyze a space‐efficient setup for the whole‐body exposure of unrestrained Wistar rats to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields at 900 MHz. The setup was used for 2 years in a cocarcinogenesis study and part of it for 5 weeks in a central nervous system (CNS) study. Up to 216 rats could be placed in separate cages in nine different exposure chambers on three racks requiring only 9 m2 of floor area (24 rats per m2). Chambers were radial transmission lines (RTL), where the rats could freely move in their cages where food and drinking water was provided ad libitum except during RF exposure periods. Dosimetrical analysis was based on FDTD computations with heterogeneous rat models and was validated with calorimetrical measurements carried out with homogeneous phantoms. The estimated whole‐body average specific absorption rates (SAR) of rats were 0 (sham), 0.4, and 1.3 W/kg in the cocarcinogenesis study and 0 (sham), 0.27, and 2.7 W/kg in the CNS study with an estimated uncertainty of 3 dB (K = 2). The instantaneous and lifetime variations of whole‐body average SAR due to the movement of rats were estimated to be 2.3 and 1.3 dB (K = 1), respectively. Bioelectromagnetics 30:120–128, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Teaching local area networking using Samba instead of Windows
Authors: Steffen G. D. , Abu‐Mulaweh H. I.
Published: September 2008

The objective of this article is to demonstrate that the same principal techniques for local area networking can be taught using Linux with Samba instead of Windows NT/2003 at a fraction of the cost. A brief history, availability, and cost of maintaining a Samba based network is presented. The paper also illustrates how existing Windows Server experiments can be modified to use Samba in its place. Important experimental issues such as domain controllers, shares, printing, authentication, and security are also addressed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 44–51, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae20160
Social and mental health profiles of young male offenders in detention in Greece
Authors: Maniadaki Katerina , Kakouros Efthymios
Published: September 2008

Background Among young offenders, mental health problems have been linked both to more serious delinquent acts and to high recidivism rates, but there has been little study of this in Greece.

Aims The aims of this study were to describe demographic and family characteristics of young incarcerated male offenders, to determine the prevalence of mental disorders among them and to compare native Greeks with immigrants on these variables.

Methods Ninety‐three young males, randomly selected from the three main juvenile detention facilities in Greece, completed the Greek version of the Youth Self Report (YSR); the institutions' social workers completed a questionnaire designed for the study on the youths' demographics and offending.

Results Results revealed over‐representation of immigrants, high levels of psychosocial adversity (large family size, low parental educational level, poverty and family offending history) and high prevalence rates not only of externalizing disorders, such as conduct disorder, but also internalizing disorders, including anxiety, depression and somatizing problems.

Conclusions and practice implications Young males in Greek correctional institutions need support at many levels, and especially for mental health problems. This will have implications for staff training and juvenile justice system reform. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory‐II with incarcerated male offenders aged 18–21 years
Authors: Palmer Emma J. , Binks Claire
Published: September 2008

Background The Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI‐II) is a self‐report measure of depression. Studies have shown it to have good psychometric properties with adult and adolescent clinical and non‐clinical populations. However, this research has mostly been conducted with North American samples.

Aims/hypotheses To examine the psychometric characteristics of the BDI‐II with male young adult offenders in the UK.

Methods The BDI‐II was administered to 117 incarcerated male young adult offenders aged 18–21 years from the UK.

Results The BDI‐II showed good internal consistency and concurrent validity. Factor analysis revealed two factors, relating to cognitive‐affective items and somatic items. The items loading on the two factors were very similar to those found in a North American adolescent (13–17 years) psychiatric inpatient sample.

Conclusions and implications for future research The findings suggest that the BDI‐II can be used with confidence in young adult male offenders. It would be useful to confirm its psychometric properties in other offender samples and establish offender population norms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prevalence and correlates of traumatic brain injury among delinquent youths
Authors: Perron Brian E. , Howard Matthew O.
Published: September 2008

Background Delinquent youth frequently exhibit high‐risk behaviours that can result in serious injury. However, little is known about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and their correlates in this population.

Aims To examine the period prevalence and correlates of TBIs in delinquent youths.

Method Interviews were conducted with 720 (97.3%) residents of 27 Missouri Division of Youth Services rehabilitation facilities between March 1 and May 31, 2003. Participants [mean age (Mage) = 15.5, standard deviation (SD) = 1.2, 87% male] completed measures assessing TBI, substance use, psychiatric symptoms, and antisocial traits/behaviours. TBI was defined as ever having sustained a head injury causing unconsciousness for more than 20 minutes.

Results Nearly one‐in‐five youths (18.3%) reported a lifetime TBI. Youths with TBIs were significantly more likely than youths without to be male, have received a psychiatric diagnosis, report an earlier onset of criminal behaviour/substance use and more lifetime substance use problems and past‐year criminal acts, evidence psychiatric symptoms, report lifetime suicidality, be impulsive, fearless, and external in locus of control and criminally victimized in the year preceding incarceration. Male gender and frequency of own criminal victimization were important predictors of TBI in multivariate analyses. Regression analyses adjusted for demographic factors, indicated that youths with TBIs were at significantly elevated risk for current depressive/anxious symptoms, antisocial behaviour, and substance abuse problems.

Conclusions TBI is common among delinquent youth and associated with wide ranging psychiatric dysfunction; however, the causal role of TBIs in the pathogenesis of co‐morbid conditions remains unclear. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Powered partial least squares discriminant analysis
Authors: Liland Kristian Hovde , Indahl Ulf Geir
Published: September 2008

From the fundamental parts of PLS‐DA, Fisher's canonical discriminant analysis (FCDA) and Powered PLS (PPLS), we develop the concept of powered PLS for classification problems (PPLS‐DA). By taking advantage of a sequence of data reducing linear transformations (consistent with the computation of ordinary PLS‐DA components), PPLS‐DA computes each component from the transformed data by maximization of a parameterized Rayleigh quotient associated with FCDA. Models found by the powered PLS methodology can contribute to reveal the relevance of particular predictors and often requires fewer and simpler components than their ordinary PLS counterparts. From the possibility of imposing restrictions on the powers available for optimization we obtain an explorative approach to predictive modeling not available to the traditional PLS methods. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wnt/frizzled family members mediate olfactory sensory neuron axon extension
Authors: Rodriguez‐Gil Diego J. , Greer Charles A.
Published: September 2008

A comprehensive model has yet to emerge, but it seems likely that numerous mechanisms contribute to the specificity of olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) axon innervation of the olfactory bulb. Elsewhere in the nervous system the Wnt/Fz family has been implicated in patterning of anterior‐posterior axes, cell type specification, cell proliferation, and axon guidance. Because of our work describing cadherin‐catenin family member expression in the primary olfactory pathway, and because mechanisms of Wnt‐Fz interactions can depend in part on catenins, we were encouraged to explore Wnt‐Fz expression and function in OSN axon extension. Here, we show that OSNs express Fz‐1, Fz‐3, and Wnt‐5a, whereas olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) express Wnt‐4. Fz‐7 is also expressed in the olfactory nerve by cells that delineate large axon fascicles, but are negative for OEC markers. Fz‐1 showed a developmental downregulation. However, in adults it is expressed at different levels across the olfactory epithelium and in restricted glomeruli across the olfactory bulb, suggesting an important role in the formation and maintenance of OSN connections to the olfactory bulb. Reporter TOPGAL mice demonstrated that some OECs located in the inner olfactory nerve layer can respond to Wnt ligands. Of further interest, we show here with in vitro assays that Wnt‐5a increases OSN axon outgrowth and alters growth cone morphology. Our data point to a key role for Wnt/Fz molecules in the development of the mouse olfactory system, providing complementary mechanisms required for OSN axon extension and coalescence. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:301–317, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Functional foveae in an electrosensory system
Authors: Bacelo Joao , Engelmann Jacob , Hollmann Michael , von der Emde Gerhard , Grant Kirsty
Published: September 2008

Several species of Mormyrid weakly electric fish have a mobile chin protuberance that serves as a mobile antenna during prey detection, tracking behaviors, and foraging for food. It has been proposed that it constitutes a fovea of the electrosensory system. The distribution of the three types of receptor organs involved in active imaging of the local surroundings, prey detection, and passive electroreception, and their central projection to the electrosensory lobe (ELL), have been studied in Gnathonemus petersii. Density distributions were compared for different body regions. Primary afferent projections were labeled with biocytin or biotinylated dextrans. This showed that there is considerable central “over‐representation” of the mandibular and nasal regions of the sensory surface involved in electrolocation, at the expense of the other body regions investigated. This over‐representation is not a mere effect of the very high density of receptor organs in these areas, but is found to be due to central magnification. This magnification differs between the subclasses of electroreceptors, suggesting a functional segregation in the brain. We conclude that the chin protuberance and the nasal region are the regions of greatest sensitivity for the resistive, capacitive, and low‐frequency characteristics of the environment, and are probably most important in prey detection, whereas other regions of the skin with a lesser resolution and sensitivity to phase distortion of the EOD, in particular the trunk, are probably designed for imaging larger, inanimate features of the environment. Our data support the hypothesis that the chin appendage and nasal region are functionally distinct electrosensory foveae. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:342–359, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adult dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons express the early neuronal fate marker doublecortin
Authors: Dellarole Anna , Grilli Mariagrazia
Published: September 2008

It has been widely accepted that doublecortin (DCX) may represent a neuronal fate marker transiently expressed by immature neurons during development of the central and peripheral nervous tissue and in neurogenic areas of the adult brain. Previous work described the presence of DCX in the developing dorsal root ganglia (DRG), structures of the peripheral nervous system originating from the neural crest, but no information is available on its expression in adulthood. To this purpose, we have performed an immunohistochemical and biochemical analysis for DCX expression in DRG from adult male mice and rats. To our surprise, we demonstrated that the majority of DRG neurons do express DCX, both in somata and in fibers. DCX+ cells have been characterized morphologically and phenotypically with well‐established markers of DRG neuronal subpopulations. A large number of DCX+ cells belong to the small and medium‐sized nociceptive neurons. Additionally, DCX immunoreactivity is present in the spinal cord dorsal horns, the projection area of DRG neurons. The novel and unexpected localization for DCX protein opens up new, interesting vistas on the functional role of this protein in mature neurons and in particular in sensory neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:318–328, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Thalamocortical maturation in mice is influenced by body weight
Authors: Hoerder‐Suabedissen Anna , Paulsen Ole , Molnár Zoltán
Published: September 2008

The emergence of the whisker‐related patterning of the barrel cortex during the first postnatal week is a frequently assessed feature of rodent cortical development and has been used extensively to screen for effects of genetic mutations on neural development in mice. As alterations in body weight often accompany genetic mutations, we asked whether body weight itself might affect the progression of barrel cortex development in wildtype C57/BL6 mice. The body weight varied considerably between as well as within litters, and could differ by a factor of up to 1.6 between littermates. The establishment of the periphery‐related and barrel patterning was assessed at postnatal (P days) 4 and 6 using cytochrome oxidase and Nissl staining. We found that only 20% of the mouse pups had an established thalamocortical afferent pattern in the barrel cortex at P4 (4 out of 21 brains), while the majority of the pups showed a well‐established pattern at P6 (13 of 16 brains). At both ages the more developed barrel structure was found in the heavier littermates. Conversely, no periphery‐related pattern was apparent in the somatosensory cortex at either P4 or P6 below a critical body weight of 2.6 g and 2.0 g, respectively. These findings may have implications for the interpretation of developmental changes in the barrel cortex of genetically modified mice. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:415–420, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A discontinuous finite element method for elasto‐plasticity
Authors: Hansbo Peter
Published: September 2008

We propose an interior penalty discontinuous finite element method for small strain elasto‐plasticity using triangular or tetrahedral meshes. A new penalty formulation suitable for plasticity, in particular allowing for inter‐element slip, is introduced. The method is also locking free, which is crucial as the plastic zone may exhibit an incompressible response. Numerical results are presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A dcI–Vmodel for short‐channel polygonal enclosed‐layout transistors
Authors: López Paula , Hauer Johann , Blanco‐Filgueira Beatriz , Cabello Diego
Published: September 2008

Despite the demonstrated radiation immunity of gate‐enclosed layout transistors in deep submicron CMOS technologies, there is a significant lack of a thorough theoretical study addressing fundamental design issues on this kind of transistors. In this paper we propose a physical dcI–Vmodel for short‐channel polygonal‐shape enclosed‐layout transistors in both the linear and saturation regions of operation accounting for second‐order effects such as depletion region non‐uniformity, carrier velocity and channel length modulation. The impact of this layout style on the driving capability of the devices is also investigated. Experimental results based upon a fabricated NMOS test chip containing these devices in a standard 0.18µm CMOS technology process are presented. The comparison of the theoretical prediction with the experimental data show close agreement. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Immunophenotypic profile of acute leukemia: Critical analysis and insights gained at a tertiary care center in India
Authors: Gujral S. , Badrinath Y. , Kumar A. , Subramanian P. G. , Raje G. , Jain H. , Pais A. , Kadam P. S. Amre , Banavali S. D. , Arora B. , Kumar P. , Menon V. G. Hari , Kurkure P. A. , Parikh P. M. , Mahadik S. , Chogule A. B. , Shinde S. C. , Nair C. N.
Published: September 2008

Background

To analyze the spectrum of various types and subtypes of acute leukemia.

Methods

Two thousand five hundred and eleven consecutive new referral cases of acute leukemia (AL) were evaluated based on WHO classification.

Results

It included 1,471 cases (58%) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 964 cases (38%) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 45 cases (1.8%) of chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis (CMLBC), 37 cases (1.5%) of biphenotypic acute leukemia (BAL), 1 case of Triphenotypic AL, and 2 cases of acute undifferentiated leukemia (AUL). Common subtypes of ALL were B‐cell ALL (76%), which comprised of intermediate stage/CALLA positive (73%), early precursor/proBALL (3%). T‐cell ALL constituted 24% (351 cases) of ALL. Common subtypes of AML included AMLM2 (27%), AMLM5 (15%), AMLM0 (12%), AMLM1 (12%), APML (11%), and AML t(8;21) (9%). CMLBC was commonly of myeloid blast crisis subtype (40 cases).

Conclusion

B‐cell ALL was the commonest subtype in children and AML in adults. Overall incidence of AML in adults was low (53% only). CD13 was most sensitive and CD117 most specific for determining myeloid lineage. A minimal primary panel of nine antibodies consisting of three myeloid markers (CD13, CD33, and CD117), B‐cell lymphoid marker (CD19), T‐cell marker (CD7), with CD45, CD10, CD34, and HLADR could assign lineage to 92% of AL. Cytogenetics findings lead to a change in the diagnostic subtype of myeloid malignancy in 38 (1.5%) cases. © 2008 Clinical Cytometry Society
A new distributed QoS routing algorithm using mean field approximation method
Authors: Qian Fei , Hirata Hironori
Published: September 2008

Today various real‐time services, such as audio and video conferencing and telemedicine are being deployed over the Internet. This requires the network to provide guarantees of the service provided to the receiver. The needs of applications are specified in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) metrics such as the desired bandwidth, response time, loss rate, expected reliability, etc. Support for QoS must be provided at each of the layers of the protocol stack for overall efficiency in network utilization. Routing algorithms supporting QoS differentiation differ from traditional routing algorithms in that, in QoS routing, the path from the source to the destination must satisfy multiple constraints simultaneously, while in conventional routing, routing decisions are made only on a single metric, such as cost or delay. However, it is well known that the problem of path selection subject to two or more independent additive metrics is NP‐complete which means that there is no efficient (polynomial) exact solution for the general multi‐constrained path (MCP) selection problems. In this paper, we present an outline of distributed QoS routing problems and propose a mean field annealing (MFA) heuristic algorithm to solve the MCP problem. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(1): 1– 10, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10019
Emergence of burden sharing by robots equipped with an emotional model
Authors: Kusano Takuya , Nozawa Akio , Ide Hideto
Published: September 2008

Cooperative multirobot systems are much superior to single‐robot systems. They are able to adapt to various circumstances and they exhibit flexibility of response to various task requests. For effective functioning of a multirobot system, the robots must develop appropriate coordination and organization. In this context we consider the group behavior of insects, which lack advanced individual capabilities. For instance, ants and bees, which are considered social insects, use very simple means of communication such as pheromones or dance movements to perform systematic activities by interaction. The ants have evolved chemical communication, but humans have learned to communicate with words and gestures.

In this study, a human emotion model based on psychological interaction was adapted to a multirobot system to achieve methods for organization of multiple robots. This study evaluates the behavior of real robots when this algorithm is used. Specifically the robots move back and forth on a test field with or without an obstacle. Despite the simple experimental design, the results indicate the occurrence of burden sharing which would be impossible with a centralized control system. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(1): 52–58, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10020
Medical association rule mining using genetic network programming
Authors: Shimada Kaoru , Wang Ruochen , Hirasawa Kotaro , Furuzuki Takayuki
Published: September 2008

An efficient algorithm for building a classifier is proposed based on an important association rule mining using genetic network programming (GNP). The proposed method measures the significance of the association via the chi‐squared test. Users can define the conditions of important association rules for building a classifier flexibly. The definition can include not only the minimum threshold chi‐squared value, but also the number of attributes in the association rules. Therefore, all the extracted important rules can be used for classification directly. GNP is one of the evolutionary optimization techniques, which uses the directed graph structure as genes. Instead of generating a large number of candidate rules, our method can obtain a sufficient number of important association rules for classification. In addition, our method suits association rule mining from dense databases such as medical datasets, where many frequently occurring items are found in each tuple. In this paper, we describe an algorithm for classification using important association rules extracted by GNP with acquisition mechanisms and present some experimental results of medical datasets. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(2): 46–54, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10022
Asset inequality and economic activity in artificial societies
Authors: Kikuchi Toshiko
Published: September 2008

In this paper, using multiagent simulations, the effect asset inequality has on an artificial society is analyzed. It is shown that it is possible for a sustainable society to decrease in asset inequality and at the same time increase economic activity. In sustainable societies, the asset inequality increases as the consumption tax is raised, and in artificial societies where the tax rate is the same, inequality increases in the society in which agents with even a small surplus undertake altruistic actions. In sustainable societies that employ both income and consumption tax, an increase in asset inequalities leads to an increase in economic activity. But in sustainable societies which levy only the income tax, this result does not necessarily hold. These results show that if economic activity is increased in sustainable societies where the consumption tax rate is raised for the sake of fiscal stability, an expansion in inequality is an acceptable consequence. However, the sustainable society with the highest economic activity is realized when only the income tax is levied. In sustainable societies that levy only income tax, it is possible to decrease inequality while simultaneously increasing economic activity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(2): 14–22, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10023
Global optimization by equilibrium‐point search of gradient‐based dynamical system
Authors: Masuda Kazuaki , Kurihara Kenzo
Published: September 2008

This paper proposes a global optimization method based on thoroughly searching for equilibrium points of gradient‐based dynamical systems. Such a method is possible due to the linkage between equilibrium points of nonlinear systems and the outstanding properties of gradient dynamics. As the essence of this study, a general form of computational procedure for efficiently finding equilibrium points of nonlinear dynamical system based on the use of trajectories initiating from already known points into their eigendirections is provided. Then, optimization is realized by incorporating the procedure to gradient‐based models for obtaining various local optima as their stable equilibrium points. Its application to constrained global optimization is also discussed, and the effectiveness of our method is demonstrated through numerical simulations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(1): 19– 31, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10026 Copyright © 2008
Development of microdevices for physioelectrical measurement of biological cells
Authors: Akagi Takanori , Minamino Atsushi , Ichiki Takanori
Published: September 2008

Electrical characteristics of biological cells are important indices for obtaining information about the state and function of a cell. In this paper, we report the development of microdevices for physioelectrical measurement of cells by applying nano/microfabrication technologies. These devices enable the highly precise measurement of cell membrane potential and zeta potential of individual cells in a minimally invasive manner. Such a fusion of the microdevice technologies and biotechnologies is expected to provide power diagnostic tools for future cell study and cell therapy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(1): 40– 45, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10027
Proposal of particle swarm optimization methods with nonlinear dissipative term
Authors: Murata Hideki , Yasuda Keiichiro , Aiyoshi Eitaro
Published: September 2008

Optimization methods based on metaheuristics are proposed as a class of global optimization methods, by which the global minimum can be obtained without being trapped in local minima. Particle swarm optimization (PSO), which is one of these methods, is known for its high searching ability and easy implementation. However, it might be difficult to find the global optimum for optimization problems with a number of decision variables and multiple local optima. In this paper, we propose three types of new PSO methods to overcome this difficulty. One is a model with nonlinear dissipative term introduced by Fujita and colleagues [4] to prohibit the search point's velocity from being zero. The others are models with the nonlinear dissipative term with the pbest or the gbest information to disturb the search around them. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(2): 23–30, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10028
Virus‐evolutionary linear genetic programming
Authors: Tamura Kenji , Mutoh Atsuko , Nakamura Tsuyoshi , Itoh Hidenori
Published: September 2008

Many kinds of evolutionary methods have been proposed. GA and GP in particular have demonstrated their effectiveness in various problems recently, and many systems have been proposed. One is Virus‐Evolutionary Genetic Algorithm (VE‐GA), and the other is Linear Genetic Programming in C (LGPC). The performance of each system has been reported. VE‐GA is the coevolution system of host individuals and virus individuals. That can spread schema effectively among the host individuals by using virus infection and virus incorporation. LGPC implements the GP by representing the individuals to one dimension as if GA. LGPC can reduce a search cost of pointer and save machine memory, and can reduce the time to implement GP programs. We have proposed that a system introduce virus individuals in LGPC, and analyzed the performance of the system on two problems. Our system can spread schema among the population, and search solution effectively. The results of computer simulation show that this system can search for solution depending on LGPC applying problem's character compared with LGPC. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 91(1): 32– 39, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10030