bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anionic homo‐ and copolymerization of styrenic triple‐tailed polybutadiene macromonomers
Authors: Nikopoulou Anastasia , Iatrou Hermis , Lohse David J. , Hadjichristidis Nikos 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA number of well‐defined complex macromolecular architectures have been synthesized using an efficient macromonomer technique. Styrenic triple‐tailed polybutadiene (PBd) macromonomers (sTMMB), synthesized by selective reaction (titration) of living PBd tails with the SiCl groups of 2‐(dichloromethylsilyl)ethylchloromethylsilyl‐4‐styrene (TCDSS), were polymerized in situ without isolation of sTMMB with s‐BuLi, using high vacuum techniques. Taking advantage of the living character of the anionic polymerization of sTMMB, the following complex macromolecular architectures were prepared: PBd‐g‐(PBd)3 (triple‐combs), PS‐g‐(PBd)3 (triple‐grafts), [PBd‐g‐(PBd)3]3 (3‐arm triple‐comb stars), and triple molecular brushes (tmbPBd) or triple polymacromonomers (tPMMB). Characterization carried out by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), equipped with refractive index and light scattering detectors, indicated that the synthesized novel architectures have a high degree of molecular and compositional homogeneity. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3513–3523, 2007
Diblock copolymers based on allyl methacrylate: Synthesis, characterization, and chemical modification
Authors: París Rodrigo , de la Fuente José Luis 
Published: June 2007

AbstractDifferent diblock copolymers constituted by one segment of a monomer supporting a reactive functional group, like allyl methacrylate (AMA), were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Bromo‐terminated polymers, like polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) were employed as macroinitiators to form the other blocks. Copolymerizations were carried out using copper chloride with N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as the catalyst system in benzonitrile solution at 70 °C. At the early stage, the ATRP copolymerizations yielded well‐defined linear block copolymers. However, with the polymerization progress a change in the macromolecular architecture takes place due to the secondary reactions caused by the allylic groups, passing to a branched and/or star‐shaped structure until finally yielding gel at monomer conversion around 40% or higher. The block copolymers were characterized by means of size exclusion chromatography (SEC), 1H NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition, one of these copolymers, specifically P(BA‐b‐AMA), was satisfactorily modified through osmylation reaction to obtain the subsequent amphiphilic diblock copolymer of P(BA‐b‐DHPMA), where DHPMA is 2,3‐dihydroxypropyl methacrylate; demonstrating the feasibility of side‐chain modification of the functional obtained copolymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3538–3549, 2007
Exhaled nitric oxide: Interactions between asthma, hayfever, and atopic dermatitis in school children
Authors: Welsh Liam , Lercher Peter , Horak Elisabeth 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackgroundClinicians frequently rely on reported symptoms and basic pulmonary function testing to assess asthma prevalence in the community. However, given that spirometry results are often normal for asthmatic children and the fact that there is no equivalent word for ‘wheeze’ in languages other than English, the assessment of asthma prevalence can be troublesome.ObjectiveTo evaluate in a population based setting, whether FeNO as a non‐invasive marker, contributes to the detection of asthma.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study was carried out on primary school children from Northern and Southern Tyrol. FeNO measurements were made using the online single breath technique prior to spirometry. Symptom status including asthma, hayfever and atopic dermatitis was determined by the ISAAC questionnaire.ResultsSix hundred and forty‐four Tyrolean children aged 8–10 years participated. In terms of FEV1 % predicted, the asthma and hayfever group had significantly lower values compared to the asymptomatic group, the hayfever only, and the atopic dermatitis only groups. For FeNO, participants with asthma and hayfever, asthma and atopic dermatitis, and hayfever only recorded significantly greater FeNO values when compared to the asymptomatic group. Moreover, the asthma and atopic dermatitis group recorded significantly greater FeNO when compared to the asthma only group. Multivariate regression revealed that asthma had a small significant inverse association with FEV1 % predicted for the individual model and when combined with hayfever. For FeNO, each of the individual and combined model analyses achieved significance.Conclusion:Although FeNO appears to be influenced by asthma, the presence of other atopic conditions confounds the relationship. Elevated levels of FeNO do not distinguish between asthma and other atopic conditions. Therefore, FeNO does not contribute to the detection of asthma in the community.Clinical ImplicationFeNO is not a valuable tool for the detection of asthma in the community as it is confounded by other atopic conditions. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:693–698. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
N‐terminal pro B‐type natriuretic peptide (N‐BNP) levels in cystic fibrosis patients
Authors: Ben Tov Amir , Paret Gideon , Sela Ben‐Ami , Blau Hannah , Hegesh Julius , Efrati Ori , Yahav Yaacov , Augarten Arie 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBackgroundThe diagnosis of right heart failure and pulmonary hypertension in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with advanced pulmonary disease is sometimes difficult on clinical grounds alone. B‐type natriuretic peptide (BNP) & N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (N‐BNP) levels were found to be useful in differentiating heart failure from various pulmonary diseases. However, its level was never measured in CF patients. The aim of this study was to measure N‐BNP level in CF patients without heart failure.MethodsThe study included 49 patients. Of these, 32 had CF and 17 were control subjects who were matched by age and sex variables to the study group. We looked for a correlation between N‐BNP and lung function test, genetic profile, height percentiles, and weight percentiles. N‐BNP level was measured using an immunoassay that contains polyclonal antibodies that recognize epitopes located in the N‐terminal part of proBNP.ResultsN‐BNP level among CF patients without heart failure, after age and sex adjustments, was similar to the control group (Median: 47 pg/ml vs. 38 pg/ml, P = 0.248, interquartile range: 33–99 pg/ml vs. 31–76 pg/ml). A correlation between N‐BNP level to age was found in both groups (CF: R = −0.398; P = 0.024, Control: R = −0.054; P = 0.024). There was no correlation between N‐BNP level to FEV1, O2 saturation and nutritional status. Among CF patients, eight (25%) had a mildly elevated N‐BNP level whereas none was found in the control group (P = 0.038).ConclusionWe conclude that N‐BNP level among CF patients is similar to the normal population and that it has no correlation to lung function impairment. Therefore, measurement of elevated N‐BNP level in CF patients might be a predictor to the development of pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:699–703. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Novel spacer device does not improve adherence in childhood asthma
Authors: Burgess S.W. , Sly P.D. , Cooper D.M. , Devadason S.G. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe Funhaler (FH) is a novel spacer device (holding chamber) that has been designed to improve adherence and aerosol delivery in young asthmatic children using a metered dose inhaler. A pilot study reported a 38% increase in parent‐reported adherence over 2 weeks compared with the child's normal spacer. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the FH would be associated with superior adherence in the medium term (3 months) using an objective assessment. Forty‐seven children aged 18 months to 7 years were randomised to a FH or control small volume spacer. Participants were reviewed monthly for 3 months. Adherence was measured using an electronic monitoring device (Smartinhaler). Disease control was based on symptom scores and exacerbation rates. Twenty‐six children were randomised to the FH and 21 to the control spacer. Three children withdrew (FH = 2). Median adherence each month for the 3 months was 74%, 54%, and 46% for the FH and 70%, 73%, and 54% for the control spacer. The difference in adherence was not statistically significant (P = 0.47, 0.37, and 0.23, respectively). There was also no significant difference in exacerbation rates or symptom scores. Seven of the FHs broke during the study. The FH was preferred by 21/24 parents randomised to the FH compared with their child's normal spacer. Despite the FH being popular with children and parents its use was not associated with improved adherence or disease control. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:736–739. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Impact of human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus co‐infection in severe bronchiolitis
Authors: McNamara Paul S. , Flanagan Brian F. , Smyth Rosalind L. , Hart C. Anthony 
Published: June 2007

AbstractWe have previously shown high rates of co‐infection with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) in infants with severe bronchiolitis at our institution in 2000–2002, and that co‐infection was associated with increased disease severity. In this study, we have attempted to identify differences in intubated infants with severe RSV infection with and without hMPV co‐infection. Here we show that RSV+/hMPV+ were clinically symptomatic for longer than RSV+/hMPV− infants, but that no differences in airway total cell concentration, differential cell count or cytokine/chemokine concentrations were detectable. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2007; 42:740–743. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prediction of protein loop geometries in solution
Authors: Rapp Chaya S. , Strauss Temima , Nederveen Aart , Fuentes Gloria 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe ability to determine the structure of a protein in solution is a critical tool for structural biology, as proteins in their native state are found in aqueous environments. Using a physical chemistry based prediction protocol, we demonstrate the ability to reproduce protein loop geometries in experimentally derived solution structures. Predictions were run on loops drawn from (1)NMR entries in the Protein Databank (PDB), and from (2) the RECOORD database in which NMR entries from the PDB have been standardized and re‐refined in explicit solvent. The predicted structures are validated by comparison with experimental distance restraints, a test of structural quality as defined by the WHAT IF structure validation program, root mean square deviation (RMSD) of the predicted loops to the original structural models, and comparison of precision of the original and predicted ensembles. Results show that for the RECOORD ensembles, the predicted loops are consistent with an average of 95%, 91%, and 87% of experimental restraints for the short, medium and long loops respectively. Prediction accuracy is strongly affected by the quality of the original models, with increases in the percentage of experimental restraints violated of 2% for the short loops, and 9% for both the medium and long loops in the PDB derived ensembles. We anticipate the application of our protocol to theoretical modeling of protein structures, such as fold recognition methods; as well as to experimental determination of protein structures, or segments, for which only sparse NMR restraint data is available. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
(Al,In,Ga)N‐based photodetectors. Some materials issues
Authors: Muñoz Elías 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIII‐nitrides have become the most exciting optoelectronic materials along the last fifteen years. In the area of photodetection, their intrinsic properties and progresses in available substrates, layer growth and device processing, have made possible the development of AlGaN‐based detectors for the UV region, and by the use of InGaN alloys, for the full UVA and near visible ranges. In this article, a certain overview of III‐nitrides photodetector developments, present activities and foreseeing research paths are presented. The aim is to extract materials issues as the various detector structures and their performance are described. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The growth of high quality GaMnAs layers and heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy
Authors: Campion R. P. , Grant V. A. , Edmonds K. W. , Gallagher B. L. , Foxon C. T. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe growth of high quality GaMnAs layers and heterostructures by low‐temperature molecular beam epitaxy is discussed in detail in this article, together with the annealing procedures used to remove Mn interstitials, which degrade the performance of the films and devices. Examples of the use of this technique for lateral and vertical transport devices are also mentioned briefly in the article. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Spin lifetime of (In,Ga)As/GaAs (110) quantum wells
Authors: Schreiber L. , Duda D. , Beschoten B. , Güntherodt G. , Schönherr H.‐P. , Herfort J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractUndoped and strained (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum wells of different width and height were grown on GaAs(110) by molecular beam epitaxy and characterized by photoluminescence and atomic force microscopy. The effect of geometry and interface quality on the out‐of‐plane electron spin lifetime is investigated for a wide temperature range by both time‐resolved Faraday rotation and time‐resolved transmission. Due to the suppression of the D'yakonov Perel' spin relaxation mechanism, the electron spin lifetime of the (110) quantum well is peaked at a temperature, which depends on In concentration, whereas the quantum well width, interface roughness and compositional fluctuations in the quantum well determine the maximum value of the spin lifetime. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Spin‐dependent electron tunnelling and spin relaxation in quantum dots in regime with filling factor of around two
Authors: Tarucha S. , Hitachi K. , Sugawa J. , Yamamoto M. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractSpin‐dependent electron tunnelling and spin relaxation were studied for a quantum dot in the regime with a filling factor between two and four. In this regime, the electronic configuration of a quantum dot undergoes transitions between a spin singlet and triplet states for an even number of electrons, and between two doublet states for an odd number of electrons. These transitions were clearly distinguished by using quantum wires as spin filtering contact leads to the dot. In addition, the temporal behaviour of electron tunnelling was studied for a quantum dot in a similar filling factor regime, using a quantum point contact as a charge sensor. Electron tunnelling through the dot in a spin singlet state could be well distinguished from that in a triplet state using the fact that the tunnelling rate was much larger for the triplet state. The difference in the tunnelling rate was also used to derive a triplet‐to‐singlet‐state relaxation time. The obtained relaxation time agreed fairly well with that predicted by the theory of spin‐orbit interaction. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Music signal spotting retrieval by a humming query using model driven path continuous dynamic program
Authors: Hashiguchi Hiroki , Nishimura Takuichi , Xin Zhang J. , Takita Junko , Oka Ryuichi 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn this paper the authors propose a search method for finding within various time series for acoustic analysis patterns for music the similar periods in a search query consisting of a time series of pitch differences (intervals) extracted from humming. The proposed method (model driven path Continuous Dynamic Programming) is an extension of continuous DP which allows for spotting searches and has the benefit of having the time series for the reference model directly identify the form of the slope limitations used in continuous DP. In this paper the authors perform humming query experiments for 20 songs of popular music and demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 38(10): 95–104, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.10232
Bidirectional clustering of weights for neural networks with common weights
Authors: Saito Kazumi , Nakano Ryohei 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper proposes a method which succinctly structures neural networks having a few thousand weights. Here structuring means weight sharing where weights in a network are divided into clusters and weights within a cluster have the same value. We newly introduce a weight sharing technique called bidirectional clustering of weights (BCW), together with second‐order optimal criteria for both cluster merging and splitting. Our experiments using two artificial data sets showed that the BCW method works well to find a succinct network structure from a neural network having about 2000 weights in both regression and classification problems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 38(10): 46–57, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20535
Spatial prefiltering scheme based on anisotropic diffusion in low‐bitrate video coding
Authors: Tsuji Hiroyuki , Tokumasu Shinji , Takahashi Hiroki , Nakajima Masayuki 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIt is desirable for a prefilter used for low‐bitrate video coding to have a nonlinear characteristic achieving reduction in the amount of data by smoothing, as well as preserving as much as possible of edges that are visually important. Thus, we conducted a basic study for formulating an edge‐preserving smoothing filter using anisotropic diffusion. It is known that if the conventional anisotropic diffusion Perona–Malik (PMD) diffusion is used as a smoothing filter, there will be problems such as noise with large gradients remaining and excessive edge enhancement. In this paper, we determine the conditions that the edge‐stopping function must satisfy to solve these problems and derive a concrete function according to those conditions. Also, we verify by numerical experiments that the above problems are solved by anisotropic diffusion with our proposed edge‐stopping functions. Further, targeting application to a prefilter for low‐bitrate video coding, bit count reduction effect of our proposed filter was tested to verify its effectiveness. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 38(10): 34–45, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.20566
Posterior pelvic floor disorders: a prospective comparison using introital ultrasound and colpocystodefecography
Authors: Grasso R. F. , Piciucchi S. , Quattrocchi C. C. , Sammarra M. , Ripetti V. , Zobel B. Beomonte 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo compare introital ultrasound with colpocystodefecography (CCD) in quantifying the anorectal angle and in the diagnosis of posterior pelvic floor disorders.MethodsForty‐three consecutive women with functional impairment of the posterior pelvic floor were enrolled after a clinical evaluation. Using both CCD and introital ultrasound examination, the anorectal angle was measured during squeezing to evaluate the strength of voluntary muscle contraction and during straining to assess pelvic floor relaxation. Rectocele depth and the presence of intussusception were assessed. The performance of CCD and that of introital ultrasound were compared.ResultsGood concordance was obtained between introital ultrasound and CCD. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.69–0.89) for measurement of the anorectal angle during squeezing and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.47–0.81) during straining. Rectoceles > 4 cm on CCD were detected by introital ultrasound in 100% of cases, and there was 91% agreement for rectal intussusception. Cohen's kappa index was moderate for rectocele assessment (0.41, P < 0.01) and excellent for intussusception (0.91, P < 0.001). It was also noted that introital ultrasound could be used to detect pelvic floor dyssynergia.ConclusionsIntroital ultrasound is a simple, accurate, non‐invasive method with which to assess anorectal dynamics. Copyright © 2007 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Density and viscosity of vegetable oils
Authors: Rodenbush C. M. , Hsieh F. H. , Viswanath D. S. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA generalized method was developed to estimate the liquid density of vegetable oils and fatty acids. The correlation for vegetable oils was based on fatty acid critical properties and composition of the oil. The correlations predicted the density of vegetable oils and fatty acids with an average absolute deviation of 0.21 and 0.77%, respectively. The present method is slightly more accurate in predicting vegetable oil density and simpler than the method of Halvorsen et al. Also, a method is introduced that predicts viscosity from density data, thus relating two key properties of vegetable oils.
Participation of pepper seed in the stability of paprika carotenoids
Authors: Pérez‐Gálvez Antonio , Garrido‐Fernández Juan , Mínguez‐Mosquera Ma. Isabel 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe degradation of carotenoid pigments present in dried, milled pepper fruit in the absence and presence of different proportions of seed at 70°C in an oven was studied. The thermodegradation reaction rate was inversely proportional to the percentage of seed in the mixture in a first stage. Beyond that stage, the mixtures with lower proportions of seed lost pigmentation more slowly with increasing reaction time. In taking the experiment as a whole, the value of the reaction rate was inverted, and was higher the greater the amount of seed. The presence of higher seed levels involve the addition of unsaturated fatty acids (mainly linoleic) that are prone to oxidation. Finally, in a mixture representing a commercial paprika, the effect of the presence of some 40% of seed on the degradation of the red and yellow pigment fractions was determined.
A solvent extractor system for the rapid extraction of lipids and trace bioactive micronutrients in oilseeds
Authors: Singleton J. A. , Stikeleather L. F. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA low‐cost laboratory extractor has been designed and constructed that selectively extracts polar and nonpolar components from oilseeds and other matrices. The extractor uses available high‐performance liquid chromatography laboratory equipment for pumping the solvent into the extractor. Pressure, temperature, and valving arrangements are automatically controlled by commercially available components. Advantages of this system include low initial investment, reduced solvent consumption, shorter extraction times, quantitative lipid recovery, use of multiple extraction solvents, and reduction in cost per sample. The method has broader applications that include extraction of trace components from a variety of matrices, for example, the extraction of pesticides from foods and polychlorobiphenyls from soil. Class separation of components from different matrices can be achieved easily by selection of solvents with the appropriate polarity characteristics. Very small samples can be extracted simply by changing cell size or by adding an inert material to the cell to fill the void volume. Analyte collection can be accomplished by collecting in a test tube with an appropriate solvent, or on a solid‐phase material. Optimization of extraction times, number of extractions, matrices, and solvent used is described. Neutral lipids were extracted from peanut meal in 70 min by the rapid extraction method compared to 1440 min required to extract the comparable amount of neutral lipids from a similar sample by the Soxhlet extraction method.