bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How Johns Manville radically—and humanely—transformed its IT function into a world‐class business partner
Authors: Catton Karin 
Published: August 2008

AbstractAn IT function—hamstrung with a patchwork of legacy systems, a fragmented functional structure, out‐of‐date technical skills, and a reactive mind‐set—had little choice but to change its people before it could hope to deliver a platform of world‐class systems and technology to support a global company's profitability and growth. The organizational transformation discarded functional silos for customer‐focused centers of excellence and opened all positions to be staffed according to explicit new requirements for both “hard” and “soft” skills. Vigorous change management efforts included assimilation plans for new incumbents, outplacement support, and carefully timed communication. Leadership and team coaching helped set cultural/behavioral expectations and aided individual development, team building, and creation of a shared vision, strategy, and values. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Conducting business in Malta: A brief for international managers
Authors: Jones Stephanie 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMalta, with its diversified free‐market economy, is an attractive location for international business—in complex manufacturing (electronics, pharmaceuticals, software development) and in services (financial, gaming, shipping, information and communications technology [ICT]). With a well‐established regulatory environment now based on European Union (EU) laws, with a favorable tax environment and attractive government incentives, it is widely agreed that the presence of a skilled, loyal, well‐educated and multilingual workforce is one of the strongest reasons to set up a business in this Mediterranean island. The smallest member of the EU, Malta is a well‐kept secret—it does not advertise and market itself as much as it perhaps could. Its size limitations mean that the existing Maltese window of opportunity will not be open forever. Already, the infrastructure (such as roads and housing) is showing signs of coming under pressure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
De‐esterification pattern of Valencia orange pectinmethylesterases and characterization of modified pectins
Authors: Lee Hyoungill , Rivner Josh , Urbauer Jeffrey L , Garti Nissim , Wicker Louise 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBACKGROUND: Pectinmethylesterase (PME, E.C. 1.1.11) isozymes from Valencia orange preparations with different specific activities were used to de‐esterify citrus and sugar beet pectins. Enzymatic modification offers the opportunity to create pectins of tailored functionality and gelling ability.RESULTS: Based on nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, catalysis by all PME extracts produced block‐wise de‐esterification patterns in both citrus and sugar beet pectins. PME activity resulted in increased numbers of contiguous de‐esterified groups and decreased numbers of contiguous esterified groups. De‐esterification by PMEs increased the elastic property (G′) of citrus and sugar beet pectins in the presence of calcium from 10 to 571 and from 0.05 to 201 Pa, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the predilection of citrus PMEs toward block wise de‐esterification of pectins and the relationship between calcium binding ability and de‐esterification degree and patterning. Within a narrow range of de‐esterification (37–48%) and with a narrow distribution of contiguous groups, PME modification did not markedly change gelling ability. At lower or higher de‐esterification values, a 2‐fold increase or 50‐fold decrease, respectively in G′ values was observed. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Stability of limonin glucoside in beverage matrices
Authors: Breksa III Andrew P , Hidalgo Marlene B , Wong Rosalind Y 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBACKGROUND: We completed a study over a 200‐day period examining the stability of limonin glucoside formulated into three beverage matrices.RESULTS: Beverages containing limonin glucoside were found to contain limonin (0.13–20.10 mg L−1) during their initial testing; however, these concentrations were directly attributable to the presence of contaminating limonin in the particular lot of limonin glucoside used to prepare the beverage and did not increase over the test period. Likewise, limonin glucoside concentrations did not vary significantly, with the exception of the beverage matrix that included vitamin B2. Exposure of the vitamin B2‐containing beverages to light resulted in a rapid reduction in the limonin glucoside content. Liquid chromatographic–mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance results from the analyses of pre‐ and post‐light exposed beverages suggest photooxidation of the furan moiety as the likely degradation pathway.CONCLUSION: Results from this study indicate that limonin glucoside is resistant to degradation into limonin, the stability of limonin glucoside formulated into beverages exceeds six months and that limonin glucoside should not be formulated into beverages containing vitamin B2 unless the beverages are protected from light. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Investigations on the microstructures and properties of in‐situ synthesized (TiB2+Fe2B)/steel‐based composites
Authors: Xue Z. , Kuang J. , Fu H. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBy adding titanium and boron elements in the molten steel whose compositions were 0.10–0.30 %C, 0.20–0.50 %Si, 0.60–1.20 %Mn and 0.50–1.50 %Cu, particulate‐reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) were obtained. The reinforced phase and matrix were studied by means of the optical microscopy (OM), the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, the mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of steel‐based MMCs were measured. The results show that the in‐situ reinforced particulates of steel‐based MMCs are TiB2 and Fe2B. After heat treatment, the in‐situ reinforced particulates change into the nodular and granular forms from the broken networks. The mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of steel‐based MMCs are improved obviously. At last, the reason that in‐situ reinforced particulates improve the properties of steel‐based MMCs is particularly analyzed.
Fog prediction using a very high resolution numerical weather prediction model forced with a single profile
Authors: Tang Yong Ming , Capon Rachel , Forbes Richard , Clark Peter 
Published: August 2008

AbstractFog and low level cloud forecasting is crucial for aviation, land transport and shipping, Current numerical weather prediction (NWP) models can give a broad indication of fog formation and dissipation on scales of a few tens of kilometres, but can provide little detail especially in areas of complex terrain. One‐dimensional models for specific locations taking into account the impact of the surrounding orography on the flow have been developed as a cheap solution, but they are unable to treat complex three dimensional flows. A full NWP model running at a horizontal resolution of around 1 km (or better) may be required to address the three‐dimensional fog forecasting problem in full. Enhancement of the model resolution to such a scale is restrained by available computing power and is not presently feasible for general coverage. However, in the weakly forced situations leading to fog formation, the use of a small, local area (e.g. 50 km × 50 km), high resolution NWP model may be a viable alternative.In this study, the local area NWP model approach is explored, initializing and forcing the model with a time series of single forcing profiles from either a low resolution NWP model, or from a local radiosonde profile. This method of homogeneous single‐profile forcing (SPF) allows the model to be run locally with a small volume of input data. The UK Met Office Unified Model (UM) is set‐up for a 50 km by 50 km horizontal domain, with real orography and a grid spacing of 1 km and 76 vertical levels. The model is initialized and forced with temperature, humidity and wind profiles from a 12 km coarse resolution model. Some typical results from a single‐profile forcing (SPF) model run will be shown and compared with the output from a full NWP model with 1 km resolution and with observational data. © Crown Copyright 2008. Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Rheumatoid arthritis, alcohol, leflunomide and methotrexate. Can changes to the BSR guidelines for leflunomide and methotrexate on alcohol consumption be justified?
Authors: Rajakulendran Shyra , Gadsby Kate , Deighton Chris 
Published: August 2008

AbstractIntroduction: The summary of product characteristics for leflunomide and methotrexate recommend avoiding alcohol. By contrast, the latest British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) guidelines suggest that alcohol should be ‘well within national limits’. A postal survey was performed of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to address their alcohol consumption, and assess whether this influenced any rise in alanine transaminase (ALT) levels while on leflunomide or methotrexate.Methods: RA patients commenced on methotrexate or leflunomide within the preceding two years were identified using the departmental database. A total of 200 patients on methotrexate or leflunomide were sent questionnaires covering demographics, disease details, duration of disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drug (DMARD) use, previous medical and drug history, alcohol advice recalled, and alcohol consumption while on the drug. ALT levels at drug commencement and the highest level on the drug were recorded.Results: Replies were received from 69.5% of methotrexate and 57.5% of leflunomide patients. 68.6% of patients recalled receiving alcohol advice. 55.8% of leflunomide patients did not drink alcohol prior to taking the DMARD, compared with 39.4% of methotrexate patients. 27.7% of leflunomide patients continued to drink alcohol compared with 64.3% on methotrexate. For both drugs, no patterns emerged to suggest that baseline or highest ALT levels were influenced by higher levels of alcohol consumption.Discussion: No differences were found with either methotrexate or leflunomide for self‐reported alcohol consumption influencing ALT levels. It is appropriate to give similar alcohol advice to patients beginning therapy with either methotrexate or leflunomide. This research has not found any evidence to contradict the relaxation of advice on alcohol consumption with methotrexate and leflunomide in the updated BSR guidelines. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of calcium malonate on the formation of β crystalline form in isotactic poly(propylene)
Authors: Dou Qiang , Lu Qu‐Liang 
Published: August 2008

AbstractCalcium malonate (Camt) is used to induce the β crystalline form in isotactic polypropylene (iPP) for the first time. The relative content of the β crystalline form (K value) increases markedly with the addition of Camt and attains the maximum value of 73.48% at 0.40% Camt. The amounts of bright and colorful β spherulites increase and the spherulitic sizes decrease with the increase in Camt contents. The tensile strength and the Izod notched impact strength of the nucleated iPP samples increase with the addition of Camt; in particular, the latter almost doubles at 0.40% Camt compared to that of the blank iPP sample. The β nucleation mechanism of Camt is analyzed by the dimensional lattice match criterion. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of acrylic acid neutralization on ‘livingness’ of poly[styrene‐ran‐(acrylic acid)] macro‐initiators for nitroxide‐mediated polymerization of styrene
Authors: Lessard Benoît , Marić Milan 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBACKGROUND: The effect of acrylic acid neutralization on the degradation of alkoxyamine initiators for nitroxide‐mediated polymerization (NMP) was studied using styrene/acrylic acid and styrene/sodium acrylate random copolymers (20 mol% initial acrylate feed concentration) as macro‐initiators. The random copolymers were re‐initiated with fresh styrene in 1,4‐dioxane at 110 °C at SG1 mediator/BlocBuilder® unimolecular initiator ratios of 5 and 10 mol%.RESULTS: The value of kpK (kp = propagation rate constant, K = equilibrium constant) was not significantly different for styrene/acrylic acid and styrene/sodium acrylate compositions at 110 °C (kpK = 2.4 × 10−6–4.6 × 10−6 s−1) and agreed closely with that for styrene homopolymerization at the same conditions (kpK = 2.7 × 10−6–3.0 × 10−6 s−1). All random copolymers had monomodal, narrow molecular weight distributions (polydispersity index M̄w/M̄n = 1.10–1.22) with similar number‐average molecular weights M̄n = 19.3–22.1 kg mol−1. Re‐initiation of styrene/acrylic acid random copolymers with styrene resulted in block copolymers with broader molecular weight distributions (M̄w/M̄n = 1.37–2.04) compared to chains re‐initiated by styrene/sodium acrylate random copolymers (M̄w/M̄n = 1.33).CONCLUSIONS: Acrylic acid degradation of the alkoxyamines was prevented by neutralization of acrylic acid and allowed more SG1‐terminated chains to re‐initiate the polymerization of a second styrenic block by NMP. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Synthesis and characterization of hyperbranched polymers with increased chemical versatility for imprint lithographic resists
Authors: Khan Anzar , Malkoch Michael , Montague Martha F. , Hawker Craig J. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractHyperbranched polymers were prepared from a variety of mono‐ and difunctional monomers and used in the development of novel UV‐imprint lithography (UV‐IL) resists. The unique physical and chemical properties of these hyperbranched materials significantly increase the range of molecular systems that could be imprinted. Traditional challenges, such as the use of monomers that have low boiling points or the use of insoluble/highly crystalline momomers, are overcome by the preparation of hyperbranched polymers that incorporate these repeat units. In addition, the low viscosity of the hyperbranched macromolecules and the large number of reactive chain ends overcome many difficulties that are traditionally associated with the use of polymeric materials as imprint resists. Hyperbranched polymers containing up to 12 mol % pendant vinyl groups, needed for secondary crosslinking during imprinting, were prepared with a wide range of repeat unit structures and successfully imprinted with features from tens of microns to ∼ 100 nm. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6238–6254, 2008
Oxidative degradation of poly(isophthaloylhydrazine‐1,2‐diyl)s
Authors: Kihara Nobuhiro , Iino Yusuke , Misawa Tatsuya 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe condensation polymerization of isophthalodihydrazide and diphenyl isophthalate affords poly(isophthaloylhydrazine‐1,2‐diyl). High‐molecular‐weight poly(5‐tert‐butylisophthaloylhydrazine‐1,2‐diyl) is prepared by the polycondensation of 5‐tert‐butylisophthalodihydrazide and bis(4‐nitrophenyl) 5‐tert‐butylisophthalate in NMP at 100 °C. Td of the poly(diacylhydrazine) is observed above 300 °C. No Tg is observed below Td. The high‐molecular‐weight poly(diacylhydrazine) exhibits a film‐forming ability. The poly(diacylhydrazine) decomposes on treatment with an oxidant such as sodium hypochlorite solution to obtain the corresponding carboxylic acid and nitrogen. However, poly(diacylhydrazine) was stable to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide even in the presence of transition metal ions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6255–6262, 2008
Syntheses and characterization of physically crosslinked hydrogels from dithiocarbamate‐derived polyurethane macroiniferter
Authors: Patel Alpesh , Mequanint Kibret 
Published: August 2008

AbstractA dithiocarbamate (DC)‐based polyurethane macroiniferter (PUMI) was synthesized and used to prepare physically crosslinked polyurethane‐block‐poly (acrylamide) (PU‐b‐PAAm) and polyurethane‐block‐poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PU‐b‐PVP) hydrogels. The success of the reactions has been confirmed by FTIR, 1H‐NMR, and 13C‐NMR Spectroscopy analyses. The number average molecular weight of the block copolymers increased linearly with conversion and copolymerization time and thus followed a “living” radical mechanism. The water transport behavior of these polyurethane‐based hydrogels such as water uptake rate, equilibrium water content (EWC), transport number (n), characteristic diffusion rate constant (K), diffusion coefficient (D), and pH effect on EWC has been investigated. The results revealed that PU‐b‐PAAm hydrogels followed Fickian diffusion suggesting diffusion controlled swelling kinetics, whereas the PU‐b‐PVP hydrogels followed non‐Fickian diffusion indicating that both diffusion and structural relaxation controlled the water transport. The PU‐b‐PAAm hydrogels showed higher swelling at both low and high pH than at a neutral pH. This is attributed to protonation of the tertiary amines of N,N′‐diethyl‐N,N′‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) thiuram disulfide (DHTD) at low pH and base hydrolysis of amide segments at high pH. In the thermogravimetric analysis; PUMI, PU‐b‐PVP and PU‐b‐PAAm have degraded in three distinct stages related to CS2 evolution, hard segment degradation, and soft segment degradation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6272–6284, 2008
Poly(caprolactone) containing highly branched segmented poly(ester urethane)s via A2 with oligomeric B3 polymerization
Authors: Unal Serkan , Ozturk Gozde , Sisson Kristin , Long Timothy E. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractHighly branched, poly(caprolactone) (PCL) containing segmented poly(ester urethane)s were synthesized via polymerization of A2 and oligomeric B3 type monomers. An isocyanate functional butanediol‐based A2 hard segment was synthesized and immediately reacted with a poly(caprolactone)‐based trifunctional (B3) soft segment. Characterization of thermal properties using DMA and DSC analysis demonstrated that the PCL segment remained amorphous in branched poly(ester urethane)s. Conversely, the crystallinity of PCL segment was retained to some extent in a linear analogue with equivalent soft segment molecular weight. Tensile testing revealed a slight decrease in Young's modulus and tensile strength for the highly branched polymers compared with a linear analogue. However, highly branched poly(ester urethane)s demonstrated lower hysteresis. In addition to synthesis of highly branched polymers, poly(ester urethane) networks were synthesized from a highly branched hydroxyl‐terminated precursor and a low molar mass diisocyanate as the crosslinking agent. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6285–6295, 2008
β‐Hydrogen transfer from poly(methyl methacrylate) propagating radicals to the nitroxide SG1: Analysis of the chain‐end and determination of the rate constant
Authors: Dire Charlotte , Belleney Joël , Nicolas Julien , Bertin Denis , Magnet Stéphanie , Charleux Bernadette 
Published: August 2008

AbstractMethyl methacrylate (MMA) was polymerized in bulk at 70 °C in the presence of an alkoxyamine initiator with low dissociation temperature (the so‐called BlocBuilder™) and increasing amounts of free N‐tert‐butyl‐N‐(1‐diethylphosphono‐2,2‐dimethylpropyl) nitroxide (SG1). Low final monomer conversions were reached, indicating a loss in radical activity due to side reactions such as irreversible homoterminations between the propagating radicals and β‐hydrogen transfer (also called disproportionation) from a propagating radical to a free‐SG1 nitroxide. Proton NMR and MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry were used to analyze the polymer chain‐ends and to clearly identify the main mechanism of irreversible termination. In particular, it was shown that all polymer chains were terminated by an alkene function in the presence of a large excess of free SG1, meaning that β‐hydrogen transfer from PMMA propagating radicals to the nitroxide SG1 was the major chain‐stopping event. On the other hand, for a low excess of free SG1, the two termination modes coexisted. Kinetic modeling was then performed using the PREDICI software, and the rate constant of β‐hydrogen transfer, kβHtr, was estimated to be 1.69 × 103 L mol−1 s−1 at 70 °C. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6333–6345, 2008
A visual approach to providing prognostic information to parents of children with retinoblastoma
Authors: Panton Rachel L. , Downie Robert , Truong Tran , MacKeen Leslie , Kabene Stefane , Yi Qi‐Long , Chan Helen S. L. , Gallie Brenda L. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractObjective: Parents must rapidly assimilate complex information when a child is diagnosed with cancer. Education correlates with the ability to process and use medical information. Graphic tools aid reasoning and communicate complex ideas with precision and efficiency.Methods: We developed a graphic tool, DePICT (Disease‐specific electronic Patient Illustrated Clinical Timeline), to visually display entire retinoblastoma treatment courses from real‐time clinical data. We report retrospective evaluation of the effectiveness of DePICT to communicate risk and complexity of treatment to parents. We assembled DePICT graphics from multiple children on cards representing each stage of intraocular retinoblastoma. Forty‐four parents completed a 14‐item questionnaire to evaluate the understanding of retinoblastoma treatment and outcomes acquired from DePICT.Results: As a proposed tool for informed consent, DePICT effectively communicated knowledge of complex medical treatment and risks, regardless of the education level. We identified multiple potential factors affecting parent comprehension of treatment complexity and risk. These include language proficiency (p=0.005) and age‐related experience, as younger parents had higher education (p=0.021) but lower comprehension scores (p=0.011), regardless of first language.Conclusion: Provision of information at diagnosis concerning long‐term treatment complexity helps parents of children with cancer. DePICT effectively transfers knowledge of treatments, risks, and prognosis in a manner that offsets parental educational disadvantages. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Religiosity and its relation to quality of life in Christian Orthodox cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
Authors: Assimakopoulos Konstantinos , Karaivazoglou Katerina , Ifanti Amalia A. , Gerolymos Miltiadis K. , Kalofonos Haralabos P. , Iconomou Gregoris 
Published: August 2008

AbstractObjectives: The first objective of the current observational study was to assess the levels of religiosity in Greek Christian Orthodox cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The second objective was to evaluate the associations between religiosity and quality of life (QoL), an endpoint of considerable importance in clinical cancer research and practice.Method: One hundred eighteen adult outpatients with solid tumors, who consented to participate, were administered the Systems of Belief Inventory (SBI‐15R) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ‐C30) questionnaire.Results: The analysis revealed high scores on religiosity, especially among female patients, who reported significantly higher levels of religious beliefs and practices as well as perceived social support provided by the religious community than did their male counterparts. Of all EORTC QOL‐C30 subscales, only global QoL was found to be significantly associated with the SBI‐15R religious beliefs subscale. The analysis revealed no significant correlations between the SBI‐15R social support subscale and all QoL subscales.Conclusions: The current study reported high levels of religiosity among Greek Christian Orthodox cancer patients. However, levels of religiosity were only weakly associated with patients' QoL. The SBI‐15R appeared to be a well‐accepted and reliable tool, potentially useful for future research in Greek settings. Wide‐scale studies from the same and diverse religious and cultural backgrounds are needed to clarify further the connections between religiosity, QoL, coping, and other health outcomes with the aim to devise appropriate multicomponent interventions to enhance patients' QoL. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.