bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reactive compatibilization of an immiscible polyester/polyolefin blend with PP‐g‐MAH and PMPI dual compatibilizers
Authors: Shin Ji Hee , Lee Hyun Kyu , Kim Kyung Moon , Lee Kwang Hee 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTBlends of a polyester hot melt resin and a poly‐α‐olefin hot melt resin were modified using the reactive compounding technique. The effects of the compatibilizers were evaluated by studying the mechanical properties, the morphology, and the thermal properties of the modified blends. A pronounced compatibilizing effect was obtained with dual compatibilizers composed of maleated polypropylene and poly[methylene (phenylene isocyanate)] (PMPI). The addition of 1 phr of PMPI was sufficient to improve the elongation and tensile strength. From the results, it is anticipated that PMPI can be used as an efficient coupler to enhance the compatibility of immiscible polyester/polyolefin blends. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40232.
Feldspar/titanium dioxide/chitosan as a biophotocatalyst hybrid for the removal of organic dyes from aquatic phases
Authors: Yazdani Maryam , Bahrami Hajir , Arami Mokhtar 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTFeldspar/titanium dioxide/chitosan hybrid, a photoactive biocompatible adsorbent for anionic dyes, was synthesized, characterized, and successfully tested. The adsorbent characterization, pH role, adsorbent dose effect, equilibrium data, kinetic plats, and thermodynamic parameters are reported. The point of zero charge for the hybrid was measured to be 8.3, and the most favorable pH range for the adsorption process was found to be below this pH value. The adsorption equilibrium study demonstrated that the Freundlich model was best fitted to the experimental data. Without UV light exposure, the prepared adsorbent adsorbed 72 mg of Acid Black 1 (AB1)/g of sorbent (86% removal) from a 100‐mL solution with an initial dye concentration of 50 mg/L, whereas UV irradiation resulted in an increase in the elimination of AB1 dye (97% removal). The kinetic data was depicted well by the pseudo‐second‐order model. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the reaction between the hybrid and the dye was exothermic and also spontaneous at lower temperatures. In the batch desorption process, several aqueous solutions adjusted to different pH values were tested, and the best desorption performance (90% desorption) was achieved at pH 11. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40247.
Efficient production of fermentable sugars from oil palm empty fruit bunch by combined use of acid and whole cell culture–catalyzed hydrolyses
Authors: Li Qingxin , Ng Wei Ting , Puah Sze Min , Bhaskar Ravindran Vijay , Soh Loon Siong , MacBeath Calum , Parakattil Pius , Green Phil , Wu Jin Chuan 
Published: December 2013

AbstractEmpty fruit bunch (EFB) of oil palm trees was converted to fermentable sugars by the combined use of dilute acids and whole fungal cell culture–catalyzed hydrolyses. EFB (5%, w/v) was hydrolyzed in the presence of 0.5% H2SO4 and 0.2% H3PO4 at 160 °C for 10 Min. The solid fraction was separated from the acid hydrolysate by filtration and subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis at 50 °C using the whole cell culture of Trichoderma reesei RUT‐C30 (2%, w/v), which was prepared by cultivation at 30 °C for 7 days to reach its maximal cellulase activity. The combined hydrolyses of EFB gave a total sugar yield of 82.0%. When used as carbon sources for cultivating Escherichia coli in M9 medium at 37 °C, the combined EFB hydrolysates were shown to be more favorable or at least as good as pure glucose for cell growth in terms of the higher (1.1 times) optical density of E. coli cells. The by‐products generated during the acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis did not seem to obviously affect cell growth. The combined use of acid and whole cell culture hydrolyses might be a commercially promising method for pretreatment of lignocellulose to get fermentable sugars.
Catalytic and synergistic antibacterial potential of green synthesized silver nanoparticles: Their ecotoxicological evaluation on Poecillia reticulata
Authors: Borase Hemant P. , Patil Chandrashekhar D. , Salunkhe Rahul B. , Suryawanshi Rahul K. , Salunke Bipinchandra K. , Patil Satish V. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractIn the present study, stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were fabricated at a rapid rate from leaf extract of medicinally important plant Alstonia macrophylla. Biosynthesized AgNPs are of spherical shape and narrow size (70 nm), exhibiting a surface plasmon resonance peak at 435 nm, and a zeta potential of –30.8 mV and have a crystalline nature. A diverse biochemical consortium of protein, terpenoids, phenolics, and flavonoids in leaf extract of A. macrophylla was found to be responsible for AgNP synthesis as evidenced from qualitative–quantitative chemical analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies. Nitroaromatic compounds are anthropogenic pollutants with long‐lasting environmental persistence and are needed to transform into less toxic derivatives. 4‐Nitrophenol and p‐nitroaniline were reduced to less hazardous and commercially useful 4‐aminophenol and p‐phenylenediamine by phytosynthesized AgNPs. Rate constants of 0.052 and 0.040 Min−1 were calculated for 4‐nitrophenol and p‐nitroaniline reduction, respectively. Thin‐layer chromatography also confirms the reduction of these nitroaromatic compounds. Combinational studies could be one of the strategies to overcome microbial resistance to antibiotics. In synergistic antibacterial assay, the highest increase in a fold area of 3.84 was reported against Staphylococcus aureus using a combination of AgNPs with penicillin. Biosynthesized AgNPs were found to be less toxic (LC50 = 9.13 ppm) than chemically synthesized AgNPs having a LC50 value of 2.86 ppm against nontarget fish Poecillia reticulata. Our green nanosynthesis method offers a faster rate of formation of stable AgNPs having antibacterial and catalytic potential with lower environmental toxicity.
Stereoselective Bromofunctionalization of Alkenes
Authors: Tan Chong Kiat , Yu Wesley Zongrong , Yeung Ying‐Yeung 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTThe stereoselective bromofunctionalization of alkenes, particularly the enantioselective format, has been a subject of intense research in recent years. The ground‐breaking works are documented in recent reviews. On the other hand, this account will provide an insight into our group's approach in tackling the challenges in enantioselective bromocyclization of alkenes as well as the development of diastereoselective N‐bromosuccinimide‐initiated multicomponent reactions. Chirality 26:328–342, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Communication and computation optimization of concurrent kernels using kernel coalesce on a GPU
Authors: Neelima B. , Ram Mohana Reddy G. , Raghavendra Prakash S. 
Published: December 2013

SUMMARYGeneral purpose computation on graphics processing unit (GPU) is rapidly entering into various scientific and engineering fields. Many applications are being ported onto GPUs for better performance. Various optimizations, frameworks, and tools are being developed for effective programming of GPU. As part of communication and computation optimizations for GPUs, this paper proposes and implements an optimization method called as kernel coalesce that further enhances GPU performance and also optimizes CPU to GPU communication time. With kernel coalesce methods, proposed in this paper, the kernel launch overheads are reduced by coalescing the concurrent kernels and data transfers are reduced incase of intermediate data generated and used among kernels. Computation optimization on a device (GPU) is performed by optimizing the number of blocks and threads launched by tuning it to the architecture. Block level kernel coalesce method resulted in prominent performance improvement on a device without the support for concurrent kernels. Thread level kernel coalesce method is better than block level kernel coalesce method when the design of a grid structure (i.e., number of blocks and threads) is not optimal to the device architecture that leads to underutilization of the device resources. Both the methods perform similar when the number of threads per block is approximately the same in different kernels, and the total number of threads across blocks fills the streaming multiprocessor (SM) capacity of the device. Thread multi‐clock cycle coalesce method can be chosen if the programmer wants to coalesce more than two concurrent kernels that together or individually exceed the thread capacity of the device. If the kernels have light weight thread computations, multi clock cycle kernel coalesce method gives better performance than thread and block level kernel coalesce methods. If the kernels to be coalesced are a combination of compute intensive and memory intensive kernels, warp interleaving gives higher device occupancy and improves the performance. Multi clock cycle kernel coalesce method for micro‐benchmark1 considered in this paper resulted in 10–40% and 80–92% improvement compared with separate kernel launch, without and with shared input and intermediate data among the kernels, respectively, on a Fermi architecture device, that is, GTX 470. A nearest neighbor (NN) kernel from Rodinia benchmark is coalesced to itself using thread level kernel coalesce method and warp interleaving giving 131.9% and 152.3% improvement compared with separate kernel launch and 39.5% and 36.8% improvement compared with block level kernel coalesce method, respectively.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Detecting and characterizing cellular responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis from histology slides
Authors: Niazi M. Khalid Khan , Beamer Gillian , Gurcan Metin N. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractInfection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) results in immune cell recruitment to the lungs, forming macrophage‐rich regions (granulomas) and lymphocyte‐rich regions (lymphocytic cuffs). The objective of this study was to accurately identify and characterize these regions from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)‐stained tissue slides. The two target regions (granulomas and lymphocytic cuffs) can be identified by their morphological characteristics. Their most differentiating characteristic on H&E slides is cell density. We developed a computational framework, called DeHiDe, to detect and classify high cell‐density regions in histology slides. DeHiDe employed a novel internuclei geodesic distance calculation and Dulmange Mendelsohn permutation to detect and classify high cell‐density regions. Lung tissue slides of mice experimentally infected with M.tb were stained with H&E and digitized. A total of 21 digital slides were used to develop and train the computational framework. The performance of the framework was evaluated using two main outcome measures: correct detection of potential regions, and correct classification of potential regions into granulomas and lymphocytic cuffs. DeHiDe provided a detection accuracy of 99.39% while it correctly classified 90.87% of the detected regions for the images where the expert pathologist produced the same ground truth during the first and second round of annotations. We showed that DeHiDe could detect high cell‐density regions in a heterogeneous cell environment with non‐convex tissue shapes. © 2013 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Generation of a mouse line harboring a bi‐transgene expressing luciferase and tamoxifen‐activatable creERT2 recombinase in cartilage
Authors: Cascio Leandro Lo , Liu Ke , Nakamura Hiro , Chu Grace , Lim Ngee Han , Chanalaris Anastasios , Saklatvala Jeremy , Nagase Hideaki , Bou‐Gharios George 
Published: December 2013

SummaryWe have used an aggrecan gene enhancer to generate a transgenic murine line (Acan‐CreER‐Ires‐Luc) expressing firefly luciferase and tamoxifen activatable Cre recombinase (Cre‐ERT2). The expression and efficiency of the inducible Cre recombinase activity were tested in double transgenic mice created by crossing the Acan‐CreER‐Ires‐Luc line with a Rosa26‐lacZ reporter mouse. The expression pattern of the transgene of our line was restricted to cartilage from embryonic to adult stages. β‐galactosidase staining was observed in growth plate, articular cartilage, as well as fibrocartilage of meniscus, trachea, and intervertebral discs. Similar staining was observed in a previously described Agc1 tm(IRES‐creERT2) murine line. The presence of luciferase in our transgene allows the visualization of the transgene expression in live animals. Weekly measurements from 2 to 8 weeks of age showed a reduction in luminescence in knee joints between 2 and 4 weeks of age, but stabilization thereafter. Following the surgical induction of osteoarthritis at 12 weeks of age, the level of luminescence remained the same in the knee joints for 8 weeks. This Acan‐CreER‐Ires‐Luc murine line allows indirect monitoring of the transcriptional activity of the Acan gene via expression of luciferase, while the inducible Cre recombinase activity facilitates studies involving gain or loss of gene expression in cartilage. genesis 52:110–119. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Workspace‐Based Controller Design and Performance Evaluation of MDOF Force Sensorless Bilateral System
Authors: Horie Ryosuke , Murakami Toshiyuki 
Published: December 2013

SUMMARYRedundant multi‐degree‐of‐freedom (MDOF) bilateral system in workspace is expected to be a key technology for the development of next‐generation robots because of the variety of feasible tasks. Nowadays, four‐channel bilateral structures based on acceleration control have been introduced to realize both position and force tracking in a bilateral control system. Additionally, torque observers have been implemented to facilitate force feedback without the use of torque/force sensors. However, differences in controller composition between the joint space and workspace are still unclear. In particular, observer designs in both spaces are important for a realization of torque/force sensorless bilateral control. This paper presents a performance evaluation of an MDOF force sensorless bilateral system performed by considering the design space of observers by numerical and experimental analyses. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(4): 70–80, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22481
Estimation and Reduction of Motor Input Surge Voltage Using Frequency Response Analysis
Authors: Wakimoto Toru , Takahashi Yoshimitsu , Kimura Norihito , Narumi Yukitoshi , Hayakawa Naoki 
Published: December 2013

SUMMARYThis paper presents a plain method of calculating the voltage waveform at motor input terminals from the inverter output terminal voltage and also a method of reducing the voltage. The voltage waveform at the motor input terminals is obtained by a frequency domain calculation using the transfer function of the cable and the frequency characteristics of the voltage waveform at the inverter output terminals. The analysis using this method clarifies the mechanism of the rise of the maximum voltage at the motor input terminals, that is, ringing at the motor input terminals, which occurs at specific frequencies at which the transfer gain increases, causing the rise of the maximum voltage. Therefore, to decrease the maximum voltage at the motor input terminals, it is effective to shorten the cable length or cancel the ringing voltage by preswitching. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(4): 11–19, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22482
Influence of morphology and ammonium polyphosphate dispersion on the flame retardancy of polystyrene/nylon‐6 blends
Authors: Lu Chang , Cao Qing‐qing , Hu Xiao‐ning , Liu Cui‐yun , Huang Xin‐hui , Zhang Yu‐qing 
Published: December 2013

SUMMARYThe influences of the distribution of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) in polystyrene/nylon‐6 [PS/polyamide‐6 (PA6)] blends and the continuity of the (PA6 + APP) phase on flame retardancy were investigated. The flame retardant properties were evaluated by limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical flammability test and cone calorimeter tests. The results showed that APP is exclusively dispersed in the PA6 phase, and (PA6 + APP) phase formed a continuous state when the content of PA6 in PS/PA6 blends was higher than 32% (w/w). For blends with a continuous (PA6 + APP) phase, the decrease of PA6 content caused an increase in LOI values from 26% to 33% and a reduction of peak heat release rate. The improvement of flame retardancy was attributed to the increase of APP concentration in the PA6 phase, which benefited the fast formation of a continuous intumescent charred layer. The transformation of (PA6 + APP) phase morphology from a continuous state to a discontinuous state at a PA6 content of below 32% (w/w) caused a decrease in LOI. Results of thermo‐gravimetric and cone calorimeter tests indicated that the discontinuous intumescent charred layer thus formed could be responsible for the deterioration of flame retardant properties, which was also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Transformational Leadership and Creative Problem‐Solving: The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety and Reflexivity
Authors: Carmeli Abraham , Sheaffer Zachary , Binyamin Galy , Reiter‐Palmon Roni , Shimoni Tali 
Published: December 2013

AbstractPrevious research has pointed to the importance of transformational leadership in facilitating employees' creative outcomes. However, the mechanism by which transformational leadership cultivates employees' creative problem‐solving capacity is not well understood. Drawing on theories of leadership, information processing and creativity, we proposed and tested a model in which psychological safety and reflexivity mediate the effect of transformational leadership and creative problem‐solving capacity. The results of survey data collected at three points in time indicate that transformational leadership facilitates the development of employees' creative problem‐solving capacity by shaping a climate of psychological safety conducive to reflexivity processes. However, the findings also indicate that psychological safety is related both directly and indirectly, through reflexivity, to employees' creative problem‐solving capacity. This study sheds further light on the ways in which transformational leaders help to develop and cultivate employees' capacity for creative problem‐solving.
Minimum required angular resolution of smartphone displays for the human visual system
Authors: Spencer Lee , Jakobsen Martin , Shah Sunay , Cairns Graham 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThere has been a rapid increase in the resolution of small‐sized and medium‐sized displays. This study determines an upper discernible limit for display resolution. A range of resolutions varying from 254–1016 PPI were evaluated using simulated display by 49 subjects at 300 mm viewing distance. The results of the study conclusively show that users can discriminate between 339 and 508 PPI and in many cases between 508 and 1016 PPI.
A Reversible Multi‐Stimuli‐Responsive Fluorescence Probe and the Design for Combinational Logic Gate Operations
Authors: Xia Hongyan , Xu Yangyang , Yang Guang , Jiang Hao , Zou Gang , Zhang Qijin 
Published: December 2013

Here, a novel multi‐stimuli‐responsive fluorescence probe is developed by incorporating spiropyran group into the coumarin‐substituted polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles. The fluorescence of PDA can be turned on upon heating, and can be quenched upon exposure to UV light irradiation or pH stimuli owing to the fluorescene resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the red‐phase PDA and the open merocyanine (MC) form of spiropyran. Moreover, we have designed and experimentally realized a set of logic gate operations for the first time based on the fluorescence modulation of the designed system upon thermal, photo, and pH stimuli. This novel type of resettable logic gates augur well for practical applications in information storage, optical recording, and sensing in complicated microenvironments.
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New Evidence for Fish Processing in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean: FormalisedEpinephelusButchery in Fifth CenturybcKinet Höyük, Turkey
Authors: Çakırlar C. , Ikram S. , Gates M‐H. 
Published: December 2013

AbstractArchaeological evidence for fish preparation in the Eastern Mediterranean is scarce. A Late fifth century deposit at Kinet Höyük provides tangible evidence for the systematic butchering of large individuals ofEpinephelus(groupers), and possibly of Mugilidae (mullets), andClarias gariepinus(African catfish). Butchery marks on head and proximal trunk regions of groupers follow a consistent pattern, indicating the processing of large fish heads for, apparently, local redistribution and consumption at the settlement. Although elements of the vertebral column remaining between the atlas and the ultimate vertebra are virtually absent in the assemblage associated with these butchered fish remains, this differential representation of elements does not appear to be an unequivocal reflection of fish processing techniques and subsequent trade. The insufficiency of research on ancient fisheries and fishing in the Eastern Mediterranean poses an obstacle to contextualise this deposit within a general historical and archaeological framework. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Longer time‐to‐pregnancy in spontaneously conceived pregnancies is associated with lower PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG in first trimester screening for Down syndrome
Authors: Kirkegaard I. , Uldbjerg N. , Tabor A. , Henriksen T. B. 
Published: December 2013

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate whether subfertility, measured as longer time‐to‐pregnancy (TTP) in spontaneously conceived pregnancies, affects the first trimester levels of pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A (PAPP‐A) and free beta‐human chorionic gonadotrophin (β‐hCG) and hence the risk estimates in Down syndrome screening.MethodsThe study included a cohort of 10 469 singleton pregnant women who underwent first trimester combined screening and responded to a questionnaire regarding TTP. PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG levels were measured between gestational week 8 + 0 and 13 + 6 and were related to TTP.ResultsThe median PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG MoMs were significantly lower in women with a TTP ≥24 months compared with the reference group with a TTP <6 months (PAPP‐A: 0.96 vs 1.06 MoM, p = 0.003; free β‐hCG: 1.04 vs 1.12 MoM, p = 0.03). This led to an increased odds for trisomy 21 risk ≥1 : 300 for TTP ≥24 months compared with TTP <6 months, but when adjusting for potential confounders, the odds ratio (OR) lost significance (OR 1.4, 95% confidence interval; 0.8–2.4).ConclusionTime‐to‐pregnancy ≥24 months in spontaneously conceived pregnancies is associated with decreased levels of PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Controlled synthesis of poly[(butyl methacrylate)‐co‐(butyl acrylate)] via activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization: insights and improvement
Authors: Payne Kevin A , Van Steenberge Paul HM , D'hooge Dagmar R , Reyniers Marie‐Françoise , Marin Guy B , Hutchinson Robin A , Cunningham Michael F 
Published: December 2013

AbstractThe copolymerization of butyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate initiated by CuBr2/tris[(2‐pyridyl)methyl]amine/ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate, with tin(II) 2‐ethylhexanoate as reducing agent, is studied experimentally and using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations at 70 and 90 °C under batch activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization conditions in anisole at low Cu levels (down to 35 ppm Cu on a molar basis with respect to monomer). With increasing initial butyl acrylate content, the initiator efficiency is improved with an accompanying increase in polymer dispersity due to oligomer formation. The addition of reducing agent during the polymerization, i.e. a semi‐batch approach, allows an increase in polymerization rate and initiator efficiency, driving the polymerization towards full conversion and allowing for better initiator consumption. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry