bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improving Polylactide/Starch Biocomposites by Grafting Polylactide with Acrylic Acid – Characterization and Biodegradability Assessment
Authors: Wu Chin‐San 
Published: April 2005

AbstractSummary: In this article, the properties of a polylactide and starch composite (PLA/starch) and an acrylic acid grafted polylactide and starch composite (PLA‐g‐AA/starch) were compared. The composite containing PLA‐g‐AA was found to have much better dispersion and homogeneity of starch in the polymer matrix than the composite containing PLA, indicating better compatibility between the two phases. Better mechanical and thermal properties of the PLA‐g‐AA/starch composite, notably an increase in tensile strength and elongation at breakpoint, evidenced its superiority to the PLA/starch composite. Furthermore, the lower viscosity of PLA‐g‐AA/starch makes it easier to process than PLA/starch. Weight loss on exposure to a soil environment over a period of three months showed that the starch in the composites was almost completely biodegradable, even at a high degree of substitution (60 wt.‐% starch). After three months in soil, a reduction in the mechanical properties of the blends was observed, especially in those with higher starch contents.Formation of composite and SEM micrographs of PLA/starch exposed to a soil environment.magnified imageFormation of composite and SEM micrographs of PLA/starch exposed to a soil environment.
Novel Shape‐Memory Polymer with Two Transition Temperatures
Authors: Liu Guoqin , Ding Xiaobin , Cao Yiping , Zheng Zhaohui , Peng Yuxing 
Published: April 2005

AbstractSummary: This communication describes a novel kind of PMMA‐PEG semi‐interpenetrating network (semi‐IPN) which shows excellent shape‐memory behavior at two transition temperatures, the Tm of the PEG crystal and the Tg of the semi‐IPN. Based on a reversible order‐disorder transition of the crystals below and above the Tm of PEG, and the large difference in storage modulus below and above the Tg of the semi‐IPN, the polymer has a recovery ratio of 91 and 99%, respectively.Shape‐memory phenomena of PMMA‐PEG2000 semi‐IPN.magnified imageShape‐memory phenomena of PMMA‐PEG2000 semi‐IPN.
Characterization of ADN and ADN‐Based Propellants
Authors: Jones David E. G. , Kwok Queenie S. M. , Vachon Marie , Badeen Christopher , Ridley William 
Published: April 2005

AbstractAmmonium dinitramide (ADN), NH4N(NO2)2 is being considered as one of the potential new energetic oxidizers for composite propellants. In this study, ADN crystals, prills and two ADN‐based propellants having different relative amounts of ingredients were characterized. The concentration of the crystals and the prills samples was determined using ion chromatography. The thermal behavior of the crystals, prills and propellants was studied using DSC, simultaneous TG‐DTA‐FTIR‐MS, ARC (accelerating rate calorimeter), HFC (heat flux calorimeter) and INC (isothermal nanocalorimeter). Decomposition of ADN was observed from all of the samples at temperatures above the melting point of ADN (~ 92 °C). Formation of N2O, NO2, H2O, CO2, CO, N2 and NO was detected during the ADN decomposition. The thermal stability of the ADN samples at temperatures below the melting point of ADN was studied. Early solid decomposition of ADN, which generates N2O and H2O, was observed at 60 °C. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and impact sensitivity of the ADN samples were determined. The crystals and prills are sensitive to impact, while the two propellants are relatively less ESD and impact sensitive.
Dynamical Effects of the Oxide Layer in Aluminum Nanoenergetic Materials
Authors: Wang Shufeng , Yang Yanqiang , Yu Hyunung , Dlott Dana D. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractDynamical effects of the aluminum nanopowder oxide layer are investigated in nanoenergetic materials consisting of nitrocellulose (NC) oxidizer containing embedded ~ 60 nm diameter Al having thinner (2.5 nm) or thicker (6 nm) oxide layers. Following laser flash‐heating, a hot spot is formed near each Al particle. The mean distance of reaction propagation drxn from the hot spot through the nitrocellulose is determined with ~100 nm resolution. With 100 ps pulses a shock propagation mechanism is dominant, and with 10–25 ns pulses reaction a thermal explosion mechanism is dominant. When higher energy picosecond pulses are used, drxn is observed to be significantly increased with thicker oxide layers, but using nanosecond pulses drxn is slightly decreased with thicker oxide layers. This oxide layer enhancement of drxn with picosecond pulses is attributed to the thicker oxide layer confining the hot Al for several tens of picoseconds, resulting in a larger shock wave. This work supports the view of the oxide layer as deadweight for slower heating rate processes such as combustion, but it suggests a thicker oxide layer may be of some benefit for extremely high heating rate processes involved in detonation or high speed deflagration of nanoenergetic materials.
Schemes for capacity increase in multiple‐rate dual‐class DS/CDMA systems
Authors: Jeszensky Paul Jean Etienne , Hemsi Cyro Scarano 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThis paper presents and compares the capacities of multi‐cell and power constrained direct sequence‐code division multiple access (DS/CDMA) systems with different transmission or detection schemes. In the single‐class case (voice), we considered conventional and successive interference cancellation (SIC) schemes, determining the maximum number of users of each mode. Next, modeling and results proposed in the literature are extended for multi‐cell dual‐class systems (voice and data) and we compare the maximum data throughputs obtained with conventional, SIC and scheduling (transmission) schemes, for some user configurations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Graded coronary stenosis and coronary flow during acute normovolemic anemia
Authors: Geha Alexander S. , Baue Arthur E. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractAcute normovolemic anemia is associated with increase in coronary blood flow to approximately 185% of control at a hematocrit of 20%, and no significant change in peak reactive hyperemia flow. Other parameters of cardiac function are not significantly changed. The effect of varying degrees of accurately graded coronary artery stenosis was studied in 12 dogs with a normal hematocrit and a hematocrit of 20% achieved by bleeding and simultaneous infusion of plasma. There was no significant change in parameters of cardiac function at normal hematocrit with left anterior descending coronary stenosis of up to 67%. Similarly, cardiac function was not significantly affected by acute normovolemic anemia and up to a 50% reduction in luminal diameter of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. However, the combination of anemia and a 67% LAD coronary artery stenosis resulted in electrocardiographic evidence of ischemia in the LAD coronary artery territory and mild deterioration of cardiac function. Resting coronary flow was not affected by up to a 67% reduction of lumen diameter (90% reduction in cross‐sectional area) at normal hematocrit, but peak flow after 30 seconds of occlusion was significantly decreased with transient ischemia. At a hematocrit of 20%, resting flow increased as expected in the unobstructed artery and with 50% stenosis, but peak∶resting flow ratio was only 1.34 at 50% stenosis. With 67% stenosis, resting flow was impaired and there was no further increase after a 30‐second occlusion period which frequently led to severe arrhythmias. Acute normovolemic anemia compromises coronary reserve and, in the presence of significant coronary stenosis, leads to myocardial ischemia. It should be avoided in patients with coronary occlusive disease.
Neurohormonal control of biliary secretion and gallbladder function
Authors: Kaminski Donald L. , Nahrwold David L. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThe primary determinant of bile formation is the hepatic excretory rate of bile salts, which is controlled by the rate of return of bile salts to the liver by the enterohepatic circulation and by the synthesis of new bile salts. The gastrointestinal hormones secretin, cholecystokinin (CCK), sulfated gastrin, and glucagon increase bile volume and inorganic ion excretion into bile, but none of them influence bile salt secretion. The action of secretin is clearly physiologic. Nonsulfated gastrin and pentagastrin are not choleretics. The choleretic property of CCK derivatives is dependent upon the presence of sulfated tyrosine at position 7. Catecholamines increase bile flow by a mechanism that involves beta receptors, but the precise mechanism is unknown. The role of the parasympathetic nervous system is not clear. There is no evidence that hepatic secretion of bile salts is under neural control. The tone of the gallbladder and sphincter of Oddi regulates the amount of bile that actually enters the duodenum. CCK is the only known physiologic cholecystokinetic gastrointestinal hormone. It contracts the gallbladder and relaxes the sphincter of Oddi by direct action on the muscle of these structures. The parasympathetic nervous system probably participates in regulation of gallbladder muscle tone.
Does vagotomy and pyloroplasty change the location of gastrointestinal tumors?
Authors: Junghanns Klaus , Seufert Rainer , von Gerstenbergk Leopold , Ivankovic Stan 
Published: April 2005

AbstractSince the long‐term effects of vagotomy on carcinogenesis in the gastrointestinal tract is not known, truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty was carried out in 59 Wistar rats, while 65 rats served as controls. All rats were fed 4 mg of MNG (N‐methyl‐N′‐nitro‐N‐nitroso‐guanidine) per day for a period of up to 695 days. In the vagotomy and pyloroplasty group, 31 rats survived long enough to develop tumors after a mean time of 430 days. The average total dose of MNG was 1.2 g/animal. In the control group, 37 of 49 rats developed tumors with a mean latency period of 562 days and an average MNG dose of 2.2 g/animal. In the experimental group, 18 tumors arose in the stomach, 10 in the duodenum, and 6 in the jejunum following vagotomy and pyloroplasty. In the control group, there were 19 gastric cancers, 4 duodenal, and 17 jejunal. Therefore, after vagotomy and pyloroplasty, tumors appeared more frequently in the upper part of the bowel than in the control group. This difference is statistically significant (χ2=5.559, σ=5%,p=0.018) and may be the result of the acid reduction produced by vagotomy.
Surgical management of ventricular septal defects complicating myocardial infarction
Authors: Daggett Willard M. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractVentricular septal rupture is an infrequent but often catastrophic complication of acute myocardial infarction. Occasional patients can be treated conservatively until an interval of 3–4 weeks postinfarct, a propitious time for surgical repair of the septal defect. However, the vast majority of patients who sustain interventricular septal rupture will not survive more than a few days unless the problem is dealt with promptly and definitively. The techniques for successfully closing postinfarct interventricular septal defects (VSD) are now at hand, and markedly improved results of emergency surgical closure have resulted from the application of these techniques. In anterior or apical defects secondary to acuteanterior myocardial infarction, the technique of closing the VSD by approximation of the septum to the right ventricular wall with Teflon® felt buttressing, or the technique of apical amputation, has resulted in a high rate of success, even in patients requiring operation less than 3 weeks after infarction. However, only recently have techniques been developed which yield similarly successful results in patients after acuteinferior infarction with a posteriorly placed VSD. Recent experience has indicated that prosthetic fabric replacement of the septum, ventricular free wall, or both is necessary for permanent closure of posterior VSD's. The use of prosthetic fabric in this manner allows for maintenance of left ventricular volume but, most importantly, prevents tearing out of sutures used to close the defect or the ventriculotomy itself because of undue tension on the friable myocardium. One of the most gratifying aspects of the treatment of patients after septal rupture is the dramatic palliation which is achieved by successful closure of the VSD. Virtually all surviving patients achieve the status of New York Heart Association functional Class 1 or Class 2.
The Emergence of Magic in the Modern World
Authors: Styers Randall G. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThis chapter offers an account of the social and intellectual contexts within which definitions of magic emerged in the modern West, beginning with various early modern philosophical responses to the European witchcraft persecutions. Following the Reformation and the Enlightenment, intellectualized and privatized notions of religion gained prominence, particularly in Protestant anti-Catholic polemics. Coupled with this development was the proliferation of capitalism and Western science, both of which assert distinctive forms of mechanistic and rational manipulation of nature. Finally, with the European conquest of much of the non-Western world, the discourse on “primitive” culture came to play a significant role in legitimating colonial conquests and exploitation. In this context, magic came to serve as a particularly pliable tool in efforts to prescribe norms for liberal religious piety, modern scientific rationality, and capitalist social relations.
The Central Argument of the Analytic (I)
Authors: Dicker Georges 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThis chapter introduces the Transcendental Deduction as an attempt to refute the Humean view of experience by validating the categories of substance and cause. It reconstructs the first edition version of the Deduction, drawing on the work of Robert Paul Wolff. It offers two versions of this argument, treating the second version as a prolongation of the first version. It defends the argument against objections, but also shows the need for the further prolongation of the argument that takes place in the Analogies of Experience.
The Second Analogy
Authors: Dicker Georges 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThis chapter gives an analysis of Kant’s attempt to prove the causal principle in the Second Analogy. After presenting an analysis of Kant’s strategy that draws on the work of Lewis White Beck, it examines two different interpretations of Kant’s argument, by P. F. Strawson and by Paul Guyer. It concludes by presenting a final reconstruction of the overall argument of the Analytic whose first stage is the Transcendental Deduction as given in either the first or the second edition of the Critique and whose final stage is based on Guyer’s analysis of the Second Analogy.
Causal Interpretation in Structural Models
Authors: Woodward James 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThis chapter applies the ideas about intervention and invariance developed in previous chapters to so-called causal models of the sort used in the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Both regression models and structural equation models are explored and a modularity condition is defended in connection with the latter. Connections with the Causal Markov condition are also briefly discussed.
Certifying Eugenic Purity in the Churches
Authors: Rosen Christine 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
This chapter further places religious leaders’ enthusiasm for eugenics in the context of both Progressivism and the Social Gospel movement. As eugenic ideas gained in popularity, religious leaders such as Rev. Walter Taylor Sumner, a Protestant Episcopal Dean in Chicago, began crafting their own eugenic proposals, which they administered in their churches. Dean Sumner’s eugenic “marriage health certificate” plan garnered publicity and many imitators. This chapter describes such proposals and places them in the context of the growing social service movement in the Protestant churches in particular, and the public’s increasing interest in eugenics in general. It also discusses the many “eugenic family studies” published in the 1910s.
Sterilization, Birth Control, and the Catholic Confrontation with Eugenics
Authors: Rosen Christine 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
Although engaged in questioning the precepts of the eugenics movement from its inception, Catholic leaders’ interest in the movement reached its apogee in the late 1920s, when the twin issues of compulsory sterilization and birth control came to dominate the debate over eugenics. Through an examination of the work of Rev. John A. Ryan and Rev. John M. Cooper, two Catholic leaders who were once members of the American Eugenics Society, this chapter describes the intellectual journey of the Catholics who eventually became the eugenics movement’s most fervent opponents. It reviews Catholic debate about eugenic sterilization, the reaction to Margaret Sanger’s fledgling birth control movement, and the lay and clerical reaction to Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Casti Connubi.
Assessing the Value of IT
Authors: Luftman Jerry N. , Koeller C. Timothy 
Published: April 2005

AbstractThe value management approach provides organizations seeking an IT-leveraged path to competitiveness with a model to help identify improvements in customer-focused processes. It begins by understanding business objectives and value. Next, it reviews the business process changes necessary to obtain the business value. Finally, the information technologies necessary to change the business process that will bring the business value are defined.
Chief Information Officers: Strategic Roles and Peer Influence
Authors: Huff Sid L. , Enns Harvey G. , Schneberger Scott L. 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
This chapter examines the ways in which chief information officers (CIOs) influence peer executives within an organization regarding strategic IT objectives and plans. It presents the results of a field study based on in-depth interviews with 14 CIOs and their executive peers. CIOs today are involved in shaping and supporting business strategy, and exerting their influence in more than just IT technical projects. The CIO who exercises influence well can be more effective in future IT strategy planning and implementation, and business strategy planning efforts.
Information Technology Human Resource Strategies
Authors: McLean Ephraim R. , Schneberger Scott L. 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
Competitive advantage in future business environments will come from applying the right human capital to information technology. This human capital includes all IT professionals as well as corporate users of IT. Successful IT strategies will rely on how IT is applied rather than to what. This chapter discusses the five fundamental challenges in selecting, acquiring, and utilizing human IT capital.
Guests of God
Authors: Bianchi Robert R. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractEach year, more than two million pilgrims from over 100 countries converge on the holy city of Mecca to reenact the ritual dramas that Muslims have been performing for centuries. While it is first and foremost a religious festival, the hajj is also a major political event. The Muslim world's leading multinational organization, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, has established the first international regime explicitly devoted to pilgrimage. Every large Muslim nation has developed a comprehensive hajj policy and a powerful bureaucracy to enforce it. Yet no authority–secular or religious, national or international–can really control the hajj. Pilgrims believe that they are entitled to travel freely to Mecca as "Guests of God"–not as guests of any nation or organization that might wish to restrict or profit from their efforts to fulfill a fundamental religious obligation. Blending social science with the humanities and international law,Guests of God tells the stories of hajjis and hajj managers from Nigeria, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia exploring one of the greatest human experiences of our time.
Pilgrimage and Power
Authors: Bianchi Robert R. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractDebates over the politics of pilgrimage revolve around three key questions. Do pilgrimages tend to fall under the control of entrenched authorities–secular and religious–or do they remain independent social movements inherently hostile to hierarchy and hegemony? Do pilgrimages encourage universal and egalitarian identities or do they harden parochial loyalties already dividing nations, sects, and social groups? And are modernization and globalization destroying pilgrimages or making them more vigorous than ever–reducing them to quasi-secular tourism or turning them into truly worldwide expressions of spiritual revivals? Although there is truth in both explanations, Western narrators tend to view the hajj as a bulwark of the status quo whereas Muslims overwhelmingly see it as embodying irrepressible demands for equality and universal community–a vision that inevitably contradicts parochial identities, including nationalism.
Indonesia
Authors: Bianchi Robert R. 
Published: April 2005

AbstractWhen Suharto began losing support in the military, he tried to shore up popularity by making the Indonesian hajj the largest in the world and dragging his whole family to Mecca to deflect outrage over their business scandals. His gesture put the pilgrimage in play as a legitimate subject for political debate and manipulation. After Suharto’s downfall, the hajj quickly became one of the most attractive battlegrounds for Muslim politicians competing for votes in Indonesia’s new democracy. All the major Muslim leaders have made the hajj–some of them several times–and all have written about their experiences in ways that are calculated to market their political personas. Indonesia’s current debates over the hajj and its meanings are a microcosm of power struggles in the world’s largest Islamic movements, particularly the Muhammadiyah and the Nahdlatul Ulama.
Introduction
Authors: FISHBANE MICHAEL 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
This introductory chapter begins with an exploration of the concept of myth and the influence of Greek myths on Jewish culture. It then explains the typological approach used to examine the texts in this book, as well as the principles of evaluation and analysis that will guide the present study. The tradition and transmission of myth, the place of myth in biblical scripture, and the role of Scripture in Jewish myth and mythmaking are discussed.
Combat Myths and Divine Actions: Prayers and Prophecies of Divine Might
Authors: FISHBANE MICHAEL 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
The psalms and prophecies where God’s victory over primordial sea monsters is recalled or invoked are characterized by situations of suffering or distress. Speakers recall to God His own past acts of power and salvation to induce their repetition in the present. It is argued that the standpoint of the speaker, and the urgency of the appeal are crucial for appreciating how each recitation or reference to the combat myth renews its actuality and truth in the present. Focus is given to matters of genre and form, as well as language and imagery to facilitate a comparative analysis of texts.
The Primordial Serpent and the Secrets of Creation
Authors: FISHBANE MICHAEL 
Published: April 2005

Abstract
Biblical references of an ancient combat between God and a great sea dragon have gained prominence in Jewish texts. These images have migrated across time and have regenerated in new ways such as references to great sea serpents. This chapter presents an analysis of serpent myths and the mystery of evil. Parallels have been found between certain serpent traditions found in medieval Zoharic corpus and some Gnostic myths from late antiquity preserved by the Church Fathers in their attempt to rebut views deemed heretical or dangerous to Christianity.