bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mechanical properties and biodegradability of green composites based on biodegradable polyesters and lyocell fabric
Authors: Shibata Mitsuhiro , Oyamada Shingo , Kobayashi Shin‐ichi , Yaginuma Daisuke 
Published: April 2004

AbstractGreen composites composed of regenerated cellulose (lyocell) fabric and biodegradable polyesters [poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvarelate) (PHBV), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and poly(lactic acid) (PLA)] were prepared by compression‐molding method. The tensile moduli and strength of all the biodegradable polyester/lyocell composites increased with increasing fiber content. When the obtained PLA/lyocell composites were annealed at 100°C for 3 h, the tensile strength and moduli were lowered despite the increase of degree of crystallization of the PLA component. The SEM observation of the composites revealed that the surface of the annealed composite has many cracks caused by the shrinkage of the PLA adhered to lyocell fabric. Multilayered PLA/lyocell laminate composites showed considerably higher Izod impact strength than PLA. As a result of the soil viral test, although the order of higher weight loss for the single substance was lyocell > PHBV > PBS > PLA, the biodegradability of the green composites did not reflect the order of a single substance because of the structural defect of the composite. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3857–3863, 2004
Preparation, properties, and mathematical modeling of microparticle drug delivery systems based on biodegradable amphiphilic triblock copolymers
Authors: Yan Guo‐Ping , Li Hua , Cheng Si‐Xue , Bottle Steven E. , Wang Xiao‐Gui , Yew Yong Kin , Zhuo Ren‐Xi 
Published: April 2004

AbstractA series of biodegradable amphiphilic A‐B‐A type triblock copolymers P(BLA‐PEG‐BLA), composed of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a middle block component (B) and hydrophobic poly(β‐benzyl‐L‐aspartate) as outer polypeptide block components (A), were synthesized by copolymerization of β‐benzyl‐L‐aspartate N‐carboxy anhydride (BLA‐NCA) and the diaminated PEG with the primary amino groups capped at both ends. These P(BLA‐PEG‐BLA) copolymers were characterized by 1H‐NMR, DSC, and GPC. The triblock copolymers were used to prepare three kinds of drug delivery systems including Norfloxacin (INN)‐incorporated P(BLA‐PEG‐BLA) microparticles and tablets. The morphologies of the microparticles were characterized by SEM. The in vitro release properties of the microparticles and tablets in PBS were also evaluated. A mathematical model, which incorporates a linear first‐order dissolution term and the transient Fickian diffusion equation, was developed to account for the kinetics of drug release from the INN‐incorporated P(BLA‐PEG‐BLA) microparticles. The results indicated that the overall release process was well controlled by both drug dissolution and diffusion. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3869–3873, 2004
Removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by chelating starch derivatives
Authors: Li Yi Jiu , Xiang Bo , Ni Ya Ming 
Published: April 2004

AbstractTwo chemically modified starch derivatives, crosslinked amino starch (CAS) and dithiocarbamates modified starch (DTCS), were prepared and used for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. CAS was found to be effective for the adsorption of Cu(II), which tended to form a stable amine complex. Adsorption of Cu(II) onto DTCS was higher than that onto CAS. Experiments showed that the adsorption processes of Cu(II) on both CAS and DTCS were endothermic, and followed Freundlich isothermal adsorption. For both adsorbents, dynamic modeling of their adsorption showed that the first‐order reversible kinetic model described the adsorption process. The adsorption rate constants of CAS and DTCS were 1.578 and 10.32 h−1, respectively. From the results of the thermodynamic analysis, free energy ΔG, enthalpy ΔH, and entropy ΔS of the adsorption process were calculated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3881–3885, 2004
Study on processing of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/polypropylene blends: Capillary flow properties and microstructure
Authors: Liu Gongde , Chen Yingzi , Li Huilin 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThe capillary flow properties and morphologies of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/polypropylene (UHMWPE/PP) blends were studied. The results show that UHMWPE is difficult to process. The melts flowed unsteadily at lower shear rate. With 10 wt % PP contained in the UHMWPE/PP blends, the apparent melt viscosity was much lower than that of UHMWPE. When the PP content increased to 20 and 30 wt %, no pressure vibration occurred throughout the whole shear rate range. Microstructure analysis showed that PP prefers to locate in the amorphous or low crystallinity zones of the UHMWPE matrix. The flowability of UHMWPE increased substantially with the addition of PP. The addition of PE could not effectively reduce the chain entanglement density of UHMWPE. The improvement of processability of UHMWPE by the addition of PE was rather limited. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3894–3900, 2004
Interlayer delamination and adhesion of coextruded films
Authors: Zhou Hongyi 
Published: April 2004

AbstractEfforts to evaluate interlayer adhesion of coextruded films are often hampered by the inability to initiate delamination. On the other hand, interlayer delamination was often noticed at cut or trimmed edges of coextruded films. In this study, a test method was developed by first initiating delamination by uniaxial stretching and then measuring interlayer adhesion by peel test. Delamination was initiated by uniaxial stretching under controlled conditions for samples with double‐neck geometry. The double‐neck geometry was designed to create a specimen for the subsequent 180° peel test. Peel force was used to quantify interlayer adhesion of coextruded films based on polycarbonate and its copolymers. With this two‐step technique, coextruded films with peel force as high as 5300 N/m or 30 lb./in. were quantified. In addition, effects of copolymer composition and coextrusion processing condition on interlayer adhesion of these coextruded films were clearly demonstrated. A great deal of variation of interlayer adhesion across film surface was also revealed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3901–3909, 2004
Vascular supplies differ in regenerating and nonregenerating amputated rodent digits
Authors: Said Suleman , Parke Wesley , Neufeld Daniel A. 
Published: April 2004

AbstractBone regenerates following amputation through the level of the nail, but bone is capped following amputation through more proximal levels. Because osteogenesis requires an ample blood supply, we postulated that a restricted vascular supply might be correlated with restricted regenerative ability at proximal levels. More than 40 rats and mice were injected with ink or resin to visualize vascular supplies of intact, regenerating, and nonregenerating rat and mouse digits. Ink‐injected specimens were viewed as histological sections or cleared whole mounts. Partially digested resin casts were viewed using scanning electron microscopy. Contrary to our hypothesis, prior to amputation, proximal sites are more vascular than distal sites. At both proximal and distal levels, endosteal and periosteal vascular systems are evident. However, in proximal phalanges, additional subcutaneous and dermal layers encircle the bone. Beneath the distal nail, these layers are absent, and a single layer of vessels provides both periosteal and cutaneous supplies. After amputation at both levels, new vessels sprout profusely in osteogenic areas of both endosteum and periosteum. However, at proximal levels, the additional hypodermal and dermal vessels contribute to a vascular plexus that, paradoxically, may impair bone regrowth by contributing to the formation of dermal scar rather than bone. Anat Rec Part A 278A:443–449, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Ontogenetic observations on the vomeronasal organ in two species of tamarins using neuron‐specific β‐tubulin III
Authors: Smith Timothy D. , Dennis John C. , Bhatnagar Kunwar P. , Bonar Christopher J. , Burrows Annie M. , Morrison Edward E. 
Published: April 2004

AbstractCallitrichid primates (tamarins, marmosets) have extreme variation in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), including ontogenetic differences in the neuroepithelium and vomeronasal duct (VND) patency at birth. Such differences render the timing and extent of VNO maturation debatable in callitrichids, but no studies have used neuron‐specific immunohistochemical markers to address this question. The present study compared the number of VNO epithelial cells that express immunoreactivity to neuron‐specific β‐tubulin III (BT), VNO length, and VNO cross‐sectional area between two species of tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia and Saguinus geoffroyi) that differed in perinatal VND patency. Neonatal lemurs and adult marmosets and bushbabies were also examined for a comparison to species previously shown to have a relatively large amount of VNO neuroepithelium and patent VNDs. The head of each specimen was serially sectioned in the coronal plane. Based on known rostrocaudal start/stop points of the VNO, selected unstained sections were used for BT protocols and area measurement at three percentiles (25th, 50th, 75th) in each specimen. Each section was photographed and enlarged for cell counts and measurement of cross‐sectional epithelial area. In each specimen, the number of BT+ cells in the VNO was counted at each percentile and expressed as a number per mm2. Results indicated that lemur VNOs had a dense population of BT+ cells at birth, but the VNO was more varied in the tamarin species. S. geoffroyi had few or no BT+ cells in VNOs of neonates, which had fused VNDs, but had an increased BT+ population by 1 and 2 months postnatal age, when the VND was patent. Of the species with patent VNDs at birth, neonatal L. rosalia had a denser population of BT+ cells compared to S. geoffroyi, though not to the degree seen in neonatal lemurs or adult marmosets and bushbabies. These findings show that BT immunohistochemistry is a useful comparative method for the study of VNOs in subadult primates. Since the quantity of nonsensory VNO epithelium varies substantially between species, epithelial area measurements may be misleading, and BT+ cell counts appeared to be the best quantitative method for comparing receptor neuron numbers among primates. It is suggested that the greater BT+ cell population in L. rosalia at all subadult stages examined reveals an earlier maturation of the neuroepithelium compared to S. geoffroyi. Further investigation should consider whether this may relate to a comparatively brief subadult ontogeny and early onset of adult behaviors in L. rosalia compared to other tamarins studied to date. Anat Rec Part A 278A:409–418, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bioreactor cultivation enhances the efficiency of human embryoid body (hEB) formation and differentiation
Authors: Gerecht‐Nir Sharon , Cohen Smadar , Itskovitz‐Eldor Joseph 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThe promise of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to provide an unlimited supply of cells for cell therapy and tissue engineering depends on the availability of a controllable bioprocess for their expansion and differentiation. We describe for the first time the formation of differentiating human embryoid bodies (hEBs) in rotating bioreactors to try and control their agglomeration. The efficacy of the dynamic process compared to static cultivation in Petri dishes was analyzed with respect to the yield of hEB formation and differentiation. Quantitative analyses of hEBs, DNA and protein contents, and viable cell concentration, as measures for culture cellularity and scale‐up, revealed 3‐fold enhancement in generation of hEBs compared to the static culture. Other metabolic indices such as glucose consumption, lactic acid production, and pH pointed to efficient cell expansion and differentiation in the dynamic cultures. The type of rotating vessel had a significant impact on the process of hEB formation and agglomeration. In the slow turning lateral vessel (STLV), hEBs were smaller in size and no large necrotic centers were seen, even after 1‐month cultivation. In the high aspect rotating vessel (HARV), hEB agglomeration was massive. The appearance of representative tissues derived from the three germ layers as well as primitive neuronal tube organization, blood vessel formation, and specific‐endocrine secretion indicated that the initial developmental events are not altered in the dynamically formed hEBs. Collectively, our study defines the culture conditions in which control over the aggregation of differentiating hESCs is obtained, thus enabling scaleable cell production for clinical and industrial applications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Kupffer cell‐derived prostaglandin E2 is involved in regulation of lipid synthesis in rat liver tissue
Authors: Neyrinck Audrey M. , Margagliotti Sabrina , Gomez Cristina , Delzenne Nathalie M. 
Published: April 2004

AbstractOur recent studies suggest that Kupffer cells play a role in the physiological regulation of lipid metabolism of the adjacent hepatocytes. In the present study, we have tested the hypothesis that inhibition of Kupffer cells decreases prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release inside liver tissue, a phenomenon contributing to lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. PGE2 secretion as well as lipid synthesis were assessed in precision‐cut liver slices (PCLS) from rats previously treated with Kupffer cell inhibitors (GdCl3 10 mg kg−1 body wt, i.v. injection and glycine 5% in diet). In addition, lipid synthesis was assessed in primary rat hepatocytes cultured in the absence or presence of PGE2 (0.01, 1 and 10 μM). Inhibition of Kupffer cell activity by GdCl3 decreases PGE2 secretion by PCLS and resulted in a higher lipid synthesis. Since incubation with PGE2 over 48 h decreases lipid synthesis from acetate in cultured hepatocytes, we propose that the lower PGE2 secretion linked to Kupffer cell inhibition, partly explains a higher rate of synthesis of lipids with a subsequent accumulation in liver tissue, as previously shown in fasted rats. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Glutamylated and glycylated tubulin isoforms in the aberrant sperm axoneme of the gall‐midge fly, Asphondylia ruebsaameni
Authors: Mencarelli Caterina , Caroti Daniela , Bré Marie‐Hélène , Levilliers Nicolette , Mercati David , Robbins Leonard G. , Dallai Romano 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThe axonemal organization expressed in the sperm flagella of the cecidomyiid dipteran Asphondylia ruebsaameni is unconventional, being characterized by the presence of an exceedingly high number of microtubular doublets and by the absence of both the inner dynein arms and the central pair/radial spoke complex. Consequently, its motility, both in vivo and in vitro, is also peculiar. Using monoclonal antibodies directed against posttranslational modifications, we have analyzed the presence and distribution of glutamylated and glycylated tubulin isoforms in this aberrant axonemal structure, and compared them with those of a reference insect species (Apis mellifera), endowed with a conventional axoneme. Our results have shown that the unorthodox structure and motility of the Asphondylia axoneme are concomitant with: (1) a very low glutamylation extent in the α‐tubulin subunit, (2) a high level of glutamylation in the β‐subunit, (3) an extremely low total extent of glycylation, with regard to both monoglycylated and polyglycylated sites, either in α‐ or in β‐tubulin, (4) the presence of a strong labeling of glutamylated tubulin isoforms at the proximal end of the axoneme, and (5) a uniform distribution of glutamylated as well as glycylated isoforms along the rest of the axoneme. Thus, our data indicate that tubulin molecular heterogeneity is much lower in the Asphondylia axoneme than in the conventional 9+2 axoneme with regard to both isoform content and isoform distribution along the axoneme. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 58:160–174, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A measure for assessing edge fidelity of coded images based on shape analysis
Authors: Ito Hiroshi , Matsuyama Takashi 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThe authors propose a method for quantifying the edge degradation of a coded image produced by aliasing distortion or block distortion based on the change in its shape. Essentially, when a change is generated in a smooth portion, a human can quickly detect it. With conventional techniques based on signal differences, it was difficult to assess a geometric distortion for which continuity or uniformity changed. The proposed technique obtains mutually corresponding edge segments for the original image and coded image and quantifies the shape degradation based on their curvature. To match subjective assessments, the measure that was obtained takes into consideration (1) the spatial size of the shape change, (2) the shape error masking effect, and (3) the edge gradient (contrast) effect in the quantification process. The authors performed simulations for several standard images while changing the coding rate and coding method, and the results that were obtained reflected the impressions of the images well. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(8): 9–23, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10157
A study on a multiple adaptive notch filter with a cost function of E[ep(n)]
Authors: Kobayashi Masaki , Nagasaka Yasunori , Itoh Yoshio 
Published: April 2004

AbstractThis paper proposes a multiple adaptive notch filter with the p‐th power average of the estimated error E[ep(n)] ‖as the cost function. The adaptive filter consists of a cascade connection of second‐order adaptive notch filters composed of the allpass filters. In general, the elimination bandwidth of the notch filter is desirably small from the practical point of view. However, as the elimination bandwidth is set smaller, the convergence speed of the tap coefficients of the adaptive filter becomes much slower. From the point of view of convergence theory, the radius of the pole of the second‐order allpass filter needs to be close to 1, so that the elimination bandwidth must be extremely small. Convergence speed must be sacrificed due to the practical and theoretical points of view. In this paper, an adaptive notch filter is studied in which the elimination bandwidth of the notch filter is designed small while the gradient of the tap vector of the cost function used in the adaptive algorithm is made effectively equal to the case in which the elimination bandwidth is rather large. In this way, realization of a multiple adaptive notch filter with a high convergence is possible. The absolute value of the transfer function of the notch filter is close to 0 near the elimination frequency while it is close to 1 at other frequencies. Hence, by setting the power of the absolute value larger, the elimination bandwidth becomes larger and the smoothness near the elimination frequency is increased. By means of the gradient algorithm with a cost function E[ep(n)], this property can be utilized so that excellent convergence speed and steady‐state characteristics can be obtained. Finally, verification of the analytical results and comparison with the conventional method are carried out by computer simulation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(8): 1–8, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.10162
Workflow analysis method using activity‐based costing management with information allocation
Authors: Watanabe Sadaki , Kaneda Shigeo 
Published: April 2004

AbstractIn a workflow information processing system, usually optimization of the workflow overall and design of each process which comprises the workflow are performed separately. As a result, inefficient procedures and duplication of processes remain in the workflow. In order to resolve this problem, the authors apply activity‐based costing management (ABM), a managerial accounting method, to workflow design in this paper. Note, however, that under a conventional ABM which allocates cost and time, sufficient analytical results cannot be obtained. Thus, in this paper the authors propose a new analysis method which allocates data items in the system. Under this method, a data item in the system or an operator process is defined as “information,” and then classified as value‐added information or non‐value‐added information depending on whether or not it contributes to the manufacturing resource produced by the system. The authors apply their proposed method to the workflow of the research paper manuscript system at the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers and confirm that it reduces the number of steps in the workflow by 12%. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(8): 55–65, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20087
Synthesis of facial caricature using eigenspaces
Authors: Xu Guang Zhe , Kaneko Masahide , Kurematsu Akira 
Published: April 2004

AbstractA facial caricature expresses features of an individual face summarily and has many uses for newspapers, magazines, home pages, agents, and the like. This paper presents a method of synthesizing a caricature having higher flexibility in controlling individual shape features of various parts of a face, as well as features of arrangements and inclines of these parts. In addition, it obtains eigenspaces for contours of facial parts such as the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. It also obtains eigenspaces for arrangements of various facial parts. Next, it obtains differences of the shapes and arrangements of the facial parts with the average face and performs orthogonal expansion to the eigenspace bases (eigenvectors) on these differences. It determines magnifying power according to the coefficients obtained by orthogonal expansion and performs an emphasizing procedure on eigenvectors. The differences with the slopes of the facial parts of the average face are emphasized for the slopes of the facial parts using a second‐order function. It obtains the shape of a caricature by adding the mean shape, mean arrangement, and mean slope to these results. The efficacy of the caricature synthesis method is verified by subjective evaluation tests on synthesized faces. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 87(8): 43–54, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20088
A boundary‐domain integral equation method in viscous fluid flow
Authors: Gao Xiao‐Wei 
Published: April 2004

AbstractIn this paper, the reciprocal work theorem for viscous fluid flow is established for Newtonian fluids and, based on this theorem, a set of boundary‐domain integral equations is derived from the continuity and momentum equations for two‐dimensional viscous flows. The complex‐variable technique is used to compute velocity gradients in the use of the continuity equation. The primary variables involved in these integral equations are velocity, traction and pressure. Although the numerical implementation is only focused on steady incompressible flows, these equations are applicable to solving steady, unsteady, compressible and incompressible problems. In this method, the pressure can be expressed in terms of velocity and traction such that the final system of equations entering the iteration procedure only involves velocity and traction as unknowns. Two commonly cited numerical examples are presented to validate the derived equations. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.