cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Manipulated Electrospun PVA Nanofibers with Inexpensive Salts

PVA nanofibers have been successfully prepared via an electrospinning process by optimizing the electrospinning operational parameters including applied voltage, polymer concentration, feed rate, and working distance. Inexpensive NaCI and Fe(NO 3 ) 3 are found to reduce the fiber size drastically (minimum of 157 and 169 nm, respectively) even at a low loading. The thermal stability is investigated by both thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is utilized to characterize the functionality of the fibers and to investigate the interaction between PVA and inorganic additions. Glass transition and melting temperatures of the PVA fibers have slight change with the increase of the salt loading.
Adoption of smart grid technologies by electric utilities: factors influencing organizational innovation in a regulated environment

Incorporation of information and communications technologies has the potential to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation and distribution while improving the quality, reliability and efficiency of electricity supply. However, integrating smart grid technologies presents major organizational challenges to utilities, and adoption rates are still low. New knowledge is needed on organizational innovation in response to this potentially disruptive technology in the context of a regulated monopoly. This study examines factors influencing the adoption of smart grid technologies using data from 15 interviews with 12 U.S. utilities. The study provides useful insights and implications for utilities and regulators.
Calcium gating of H+ fluxes in chloroplasts affects acid-base-driven ATP formation

In previous work, calcium ions, bound at the lumenal side of the CF0H+ channel, were suggested to keep a H+ flux gating site closed, favoring sequestered domain H+ ions flowing directly into the CF0-CF1 and driving ATP formation by a localized delta approximately mu H+ gradient. Treatments expected to displace Ca++ from binding sites had the effect of allowing H+ ions in the sequestered domains to equilibrate with the lumen, and energy coupling showed delocalized characteristics. The existence of such a gating function implies that a closed-gate configuration would block lumenal H+ ions from entering the CF0-CF1 complex. In this work that prediction was tested using as an assay the dark, acid-base jump ATP formation phenomenon driven by H+ ions derived from succinic acid loaded into the lumen. Chlorpromazine, a photoaffinity probe for many proteins having high-affinity Ca(++)-binding sites, covalently binds to the 8-kDa CF0 subunit in the largest amounts when there is sufficient Ca++ to favor the localized energy coupling mode, i.e., the "gate closed" configuration. Photoaffinity-bound chlorpromazine blocked 50% or more of the succinate-dependent acid-base jump ATP formation, provided that the ionic conditions during the UV photoaffinity treatment were those which favor a localized energy coupling pattern and a higher level of chlorpromazine labeling of the 8-kDa CF0 subunit. Thylakoids held under conditions favoring a delocalized energy coupling mode and less chlorpromazine labeling of the CF0 subunit did not show any inhibition of acid-base jump ATP formation. Chlorpromazine and calmidazolium, another Ca(++)-binding site probe, were also shown to block redox-derived H+ initially released into sequestered domains from entering the lumen, at low levels of domain H+ accumulation, but not at higher H+ uptake levels; ie., the closed gate state can be overcome by sufficiently acidic conditions. That is consistent with the observation that the inhibition of lumenal succinate-dependent ATP formation by photoaffinity-attached chlorpromazine can be reversed by lowering the pH of the acid stage from 5.5 to 4.5. The evidence is consistent with the concept that Ca++ bound at the lumenal side of the CF0 H+ channel can block H+ flux from either direction, consistent with the existence of a molecular structure in the CF0 complex having the properties of a gate for H+ flux across the inner boundary of the CF0. Such a gate could control the expression of localized or delocalized delta approximately mu H+ energy coupling gradients.
Possible design of the brazilian ancillary service market for generation reserves

This paper deals with the possibility of the supply of generation reserve be considered an ancillary service in the Brazilian system. The hydroelectric nature of the generating units, the energy market design and the Independent System Operator (ISO) rules for reserves are taken into account. Important aspects such as reserve types, reserve requirements, reserve allocation are addressed in order to form the basis for establishing the future market. The proposed method for reserve procurement and reserve selling is based on the Rational Buyer's method and includes several important features. The computational algorithm used to find the solution is fast enough to be adequate for a system with two hundred generators bidding for the one-hour ahead market.
The C-terminal domain of the nuclear factor I-B2 isoform is glycosylated and transactivates the WAP gene in the JEG-3 cells

The transcription factor nuclear factor I (NFI) has been shown previously both in vivo and in vitro to be involved in the cooperative regulation of whey acidic protein (WAP) gene transcription along with the glucocorticoid receptor and STAT5. In addition, one of the specific NFI isoforms, NFI-B2, was demonstrated in transient co-transfection experiments in JEG cells, which lack endogenous NFI, to be preferentially involved in the cooperative regulation of WAP gene expression. A comparison of the DNA-binding specificities of the different NFI isoforms only partially explained their differential ability to activate the WAP gene transcription. Here, we analyzed the transactivation regions of two NFI isoforms by making chimeric proteins between the NFI-A and B isoforms. Though, their DNA-binding specificities were not altered as compared to the corresponding wild-type transcription factors, the C-terminal region of the NFI-B isoform was shown to preferentially activate WAP gene transcription in cooperation with GR and STAT5 in transient co-transfection assays in JEG-3 cells. Furthermore, determination of serine and threonine-specific glycosylation (O-linked N-acetylglucosamine) of the C-terminus of the NFI-B isoform suggested that the secondary modification by O-GlcNAc might play a role in the cooperative regulation of WAP gene transcription by NFI-B2 and STAT5.
Aeolian dune-field pattern boundary conditions

Aeolian dune-field patterns reflect the complex external environment within which the pattern evolves. These external environmental controls are the boundary conditions on aeolian dune-field pattern formation. The influences of boundary conditions such as wind regime and sediment supply are well-known, however, boundary conditions represent a relatively unexplored area of dune-field pattern formation. Source-area geometry and areal limits are two newly recognized boundary conditions. Measurements of crest spacing and crest length from satellite images of dune-field patterns with point and line source-area geometries show an increase in spacing and crest length over distance, whereas spacing and crest length in plane-sourced patterns emerge equally across the dune field. The impact of the size and shape of a dune field on crest spacing is tested using a previously established analytical model. Model results indicate that the area of a dune field limits the maximum spacing that can occur within a given area, and that dune fields that are five times longer in the direction of dune migration than in the crest-parallel direction can achieve the greatest spacing within a given area. Empirical measurements of spacing, defect density and dune-field area from ten different dune fields, ranging over four-orders of magnitude in size, show that spacing increases and defect density decreases as dune-field area increases. Because the formation of all dune fields involves a wind regime and sediment supply, there must be interplay of boundary conditions within the same dune field. At different stages of pattern development one boundary condition may dominate over others, and with changing climatic, eustatic or tectonic parameters, boundary conditions may change to modify an existing pattern. Recognizing boundary condition controls on aeolian dune-field pattern formation provides a framework for recognizing the signature of the external environment in which a pattern developed and can be used for reconstructing past dune constructional events and climatic change.
Ground cover potential of forage grass cultivars mixed with alfalfa at divergent locations.

Forage grass cultivars are often grown in binary mixtures with forage legumes. Because performance of grass-legume mixtures cannot be reliably predicted from pure stand information of the components, testing of grass-legume mixtures is necessary to develop reliable mixture recommendations. The objectives of this study were to evaluate a large number of cultivars of several temperate forage grasses in binary mixtures with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) for ground cover potential in a range of Wisconsin environments, and to develop an efficient cultivar screening program (...)
A rugged 1700 m2 proportional tube array

Abstract We have built a proportional tube array to serve as a cavern-liner active shield for the Soudan-II nucleon decay experiment. The array is constructed of eight-cell modules which interlock to form panels having no insensitive intermodular gaps. The design and manufacture of the proportional tube modules and associated electronics are described, and measurements of panel performance are presented.
Scentsational ion channels.

Finally, but perhaps most enticing, Coburn and Bargmann also observed striking defects in the growth of sensory axons in tax-2 and tax-4 mutants. The defects were primarily expressed as an overgrowth of axonal processes, with subsets of sensory neurons displaying either inappropriate additional axonal branches or a failure to terminate upon reaching their target. Coburn and Bargmann used a Tax-2/GFP fusion protein and observed strong expression of the CNG channel β subunit in both the cilia and the axons, in particular at the synaptic terminals of chemosensory neurons.A possible role for CNG channels in development has been quietly gaining currency. CNG channels can be activated by nitric oxide (NO) in the absence of cyclic nucleotide (Broillet and Firestein 1996xBroillet, M.-C. and Firestein, S. Neuron. 1996; 16: 377–385Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (124)See all ReferencesBroillet and Firestein 1996), and NO synthase is known to be expressed transiently in the mammalian olfactory epithelium during development and neuronal regeneration (Roskams et al. 1994xRoskams, A.J., Bredt, D.S., Dawson, T.M., and Ronnett, G.V. Neuron. 1994; 13: 289–299Abstract | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (201)See all ReferencesRoskams et al. 1994). It was recently proposed that this might be a mechanism for providing activity during neuronal growth in the absence of a stimulus (Broillet and Firestein 1996xBroillet, M.-C. and Firestein, S. Neuron. 1996; 16: 377–385Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (124)See all ReferencesBroillet and Firestein 1996). Now it appears that the effect may be even more direct, especially if CNG channels can also be localized to axons of vertebrate chemosensory neurons. Kai Zinn and his associates have recently found high levels of expression of β subunit in the growth cones of hippocampal neurons in culture (as discussed by Coburn et al.), and the β subunit alone, while unresponsive to cyclic nucleotides, can be activated by NO (Broillet and Firestein 1996xBroillet, M.-C. and Firestein, S. Neuron. 1996; 16: 377–385Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (124)See all ReferencesBroillet and Firestein 1996Soc. Neurosci., abstract). This may also help to explain the striking finding in the knockout mouse that the olfactory epithelium appeared to have developed normally, in spite of the complete anosmia owing to the loss of the α subunit. Perhaps β subunits are still expressed in the neuronal axons, permitting normal growth and development. It appears that CNG channels may be for more than just smelling the roses.
Induction of methionine sulfoxide reductase activity by pergolide, pergolide sulfoxide, and S-adenosyl-methionine in neuronal cells

The reduction of methionine sulfoxide in proteins is facilitated by the methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr) system. The Msr reduction activity is important for protecting cells from oxidative stress related damages. Indeed, we have recently shown that treatment of cells with N-acetyl-methionine sulfoxide can increase Msr activity and protect neuronal cells from amyloid beta toxicity. Thus, in search of other similar Msr-inducing molecules, we examined the effects of pergolide, pergolide sulfoxide, and S-adenosyl-methionine on Msr activity in neuronal cells. Treatment of neuronal cells with a physiological range of pergolide and pergolide sulfoxide (0.5-1.0 μM) caused an increase of about 40% in total Msr activity compared with non-treated control cells. This increase in activity correlated with similar increases in methionine sulfoxide reductase A protein expression levels. Similarly, treatment of cells with S-adenosyl methionine also increased cellular Msr activity, which was milder compared to increases induced by pergolide and pergolide sulfoxide. We found that all the examined compounds are able to increase cellular Msr activity to levels comparable to N-acetyl-methionine sulfoxide treatment. Pergolide, pergolide sulfoxide, and S-adenosyl methionine can cross the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, we hypothesize that they can be useful in the treatment of symptoms/pathologies that are associated with reduced Msr activity.
Heat shock protein expression during stress and diapause in the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus

Calanoid copepods, such as Calanus finmarchicus, are a key component of marine food webs. C. finmarchicus undergo a facultative diapause during juvenile development, which profoundly affects their seasonal distribution and availability to their predators. The current ignorance of how copepod diapause is regulated limits understanding of copepod population dynamics, distribution, and ecosystem interactions. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are a superfamily of molecular chaperones characteristically upregulated in response to stress conditions and frequently associated with diapause in other taxa. In this study, 8 heat shock proteins were identified in C. finmarchicus C5 copepodids (Hsp21, Hsp22, p26, Hsp90, and 4 forms of Hsp70), and expression of these transcripts was characterized in response to handling stress and in association with diapause. Hsp21, Hsp22, and Hsp70A (cytosolic subfamily) were induced by handling stress. Expression of Hsp70A was also elevated in shallow active copepodids relative to deep diapausing copepodids, which may reflect induction of this gene by varied stressors in active animals. In contrast, expression of Hsp22 was elevated in deep diapausing animals; Hsp22 may play a role both in short-term stress responses and in protecting proteins from degradation during diapause. Expression of most of the Hsps examined did not vary in response to diapause, perhaps because the diapause of C. finmarchicus is not associated with the extreme environmental conditions (e.g., freezing and desiccation) experienced by many other taxa, such as overwintering insects or Artemia cysts.
Murein (peptidoglycan) structure of Vibrio fetus comparison of a venereal and an intestinal strain

Abstract The murein of a venereal and an intestinal strain of Vibrio fetus was isolated by extraction with hot 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate, indicating the absence of covalently bound protein. Murein was composed of muramic acid, glucosamine, alanine, glutamic acid and diaminopimelic acid in molar ratios of 1:1:2:1:1. Approx. 30% of Dpm molecules were involved in peptide cross linkages and analyses of lysozyme split products indicated a structure similar to that of other Gram-negative genera. Evidence was obtained for the occurrence of chromatographically distinct fractions of the disaccharide tetrapeptide (GlcNAcMurNAc l Ala d GlumesoDpm d Ala). Digestion products also included variable concentrations of free murein peptides and glucosamine, whose origin is unexplained. In no instance were differences observed between mureins of intestinal and venereal strains of V. fetus.
Dilution of body fluid electrolytes affects bioelectrical impedance measurements

This study was designed to assess how acute perturbation in electrolyte concentration of body fluids affects the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measurement of resistance (R) and derived total body water (TBW) in humans. After an initial measurement of R, subjects drank either water (group W: n = 8, 1211 ± 119 ml) or a hypotonic rehydration beverage (group H: n = 8, 1211 ± 118 ml, 18 mEq/L) or an isotonic solution composed of the rehydration beverage supplemented with 209 mEq/L sodium chloride (group I: n = 8, 1196 ± 118 ml, 308 mEq/L) to produce a 3% increase in TBW. R was measured approximately 3 to 5 minutes following fluid intake, and three additional times at 30‐minute intervals. In all groups, R increased significantly immediately following fluid intake (p ≤0.05). However, the subsequent changes in R were dependent on beverage electrolyte concentration. Ninety minutes after fluid ingestion, the mean R for groups W and H remained elevated, whereas R for group I had decreased significantly (p <...
SHEAR STRESSES AND THE HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OF EARTH DAM SOILS

ABSTRACT Stiff clays and shales forming part of earth dams contain cracks in their structure. Cracks develop in these materials during and after the construction of the dams. It has been suggested that hydraulic fracturing after the first reservoir filling causes the growth of the cracks that develop into continuous channels through which concentrated water leaks take place. Current methods of analysis of crack propagation in earth dams assume that the cracks grow when water pressures on the walls of the cracks become greater than the dam stresses acting normal to the walls of the cracks. Current methods of analysis do not take into consideration the effect on crack propagation of any shear stresses that could act parallel to the plane of the cracks. In the present study, a theoretical approach for the interpretation of crack growth in earth dams is presented. This is a new approach and it is based on Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics theory. Using this theory crack propagation and interaction in earth dams are studied considering not only the water pressures and normal stresses acting on the cracks but the effect of any shear stresses as well.
Optical relational database filter

The management of current and future very large databases necessitates the development of secondary storage with massive capacity and transfer rates as well as highly parallel processing techniques. Parallel read-out optical disks can satisfy both memory requirements and, thus, constitute a suitable candidate for database storage. In this paper, we describe the architecture and functionality of an optical database filter based on parallel optical disks and capable of performing several relational database operations. As the disk rotates, records are retrieved in parallel and compared to search arguments loaded in spatial light modulators. Only data that satisfy a query are allowed to pass through a photodetector to an electronic buffer for further processing. Initial performance analysis has shown that the system is capable of processing data at a rate exceeding one million tuples per second.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Geology in partnership with American industry

TWENTY-FIVE years ago the college student was fairly certain in making his choice of a life-work between science and business. Then the dividing lines were fairly distinct between a life of quiet study in a search for truth and a life of strenuous activity in a struggle for wealth; now much of that distinction has been lost, for we find science and business working together and the scientist even earning a salary comparable with that once thought of only as the compensation of the merchant prince or the captain of industry. It is because of these changed conditions that I have followed the thought of Editor Rickard, of the lMining and Scientific Press, that the geologist “ has developed from the academic student of Lyell’s and Murchison’s time to a pioneer of commerce; he has been required to submit his work to the test of economic usefulness, and he has succeeded triumphantly; he has become a real partner to the engineer and to the capitalist, and they appreciate his comradeship.” With that thought in mind I will discuss with you the partnership of geology with industry. Science of all kinds has become more practical; whether we who chose science as a shrine at which to worship like it or not, science has become a centre of service. This utilitarian trend of science has logically brought it into close touch with industry, and the scientist can now claim partnership with the industrial executive. The linking of scientific research with industrial practice has in recent years found definite expression in the system of industrial fellowships. The latest administrative report of such an industrial experiment-station in your own State lists nearly fifty of these fellowships, and I was interested to note that nearly one-fourth of the subjects under investigation are connected with the utilization of mineral products. This is a very practical kind of partnership between science and industry, and the fact that industrial corpora-
On the Iteratively Reweighted Rank Regression Estimator

The finite sample performance of the rank estimator of regression coefficients obtained using the iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) of Sievers and Abebe (2004) is evaluated. Efficiency comparisons show that the IRLS method does quite well in comparison to least squares or the traditional rank estimates in cases of moderate-tailed error distributions; however, the IRLS method does not appear to be suitable for heavy-tailed data. Moreover, our results show that the IRLS estimator will have an unbounded influence function even if we use an initial estimator with a bounded influence function.
Intelligent object-based image retrieval suing cluster-driven personal preference learning

This paper introduces a personalization method for image retrieval based on the learning of personal preferences. The proposed system indexes objects based on shape and groups them into a set of clusters, or prototypes. Our personalization method refines corresponding prototypes from objects provided by the user in the foreground, and simultaneously adapts the database index in the background.
Interdiffusion Coefficient and Dynamic Viscosity for the Mixture 2,6-Lutidine + Water near the Lower Consolute Point

Abstract The mixture, 2,6-lutidine + water has a lower consolute point at a temperature of 33.9°C and a lutidine concentration of 2.78 M. The interdiffusion coefficient of this mixture was measured over a wide range of concentrations along the isotherms at 25.00°C and 33.00°C, and over a wide range of temperatures along the critical isopleth. Critical slowing down of diffusion was evident along all three paths. The dynamic viscosity was measured along the isotherm at 25.00°C and along the critical isopleth at temperatures below critical. Along the critical isopleth, the viscosity increased rapidly as the critical temperature was approached. These data are discussed in terms of the cross over function theory, which is used to connect divergent data near the critical point to smoothly varying data away from the critical point.
MIND AND CONTEXT IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

MIND AND CONTEXT IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. Cristina Sanz (Ed.) . Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2005. Pp. xii + 302. $49.95 paper. This edited collection emanates from a course taught by the editor, Sanz, at Georgetown University. Its chapters are derived from guest lectures given by her colleagues at Georgetown as well as one by VanPatten. The uniting theme of the volume, therefore, seems to be the Georgetown faculty's interests, rather than a specific intellectual focus or theoretical orientation that, broadly speaking, takes a cognitive perspective on second language (L2) learning. Nevertheless, the volume packs in an impressive and wide-ranging amount of information, and most of the chapters stand on their own as extremely valuable tutorials on the topics that they cover—although it is not clear that the intended audience for each of the chapters is the same. One of the most useful features of this volume is the excellent guided critiques at the end of each chapter, which lead those new to the research area through a sample study.
Physical and Sensory Properties of Chicken Patties Made with Varying Proportions of White and Dark Spent Fowl Muscle

Spent fowl was flaked and formulated to include: (1) 100% dark meat; (2) 75% dark meat, 25% white meat; (3) 50% dark meat, 50% white meat; (4) 25% dark meat, 75% white meat; and (5) 100% white meat. Patties were made and half from each formulation were coated with calcium alginate. Proximate analysis of patties before and after cooking, calculation of cooking loss, and evaluations for textual properties and sensory attributes were performed. As the proportion of white meat increased, the samples contained less fat, had less cooking loss and shrinkage, and received higher sensory preference scores. Patties coated with calcium alginate were more desirable in texture, flavor, juiciness, and overall palatability as compared to the controls.
The Changing Disease-Scape in the Third Epidemiological Transition

The epidemiological transition model describes the changing relationship between humans and their diseases. The first transition occurred with the shift to agriculture about 10,000 YBP, resulting in a pattern of infectious and nutritional diseases still evident today. In the last two centuries, some populations have undergone a second transition, characterized by a decline in infectious disease and rise in degenerative disease. We are now in the throes of a third epidemiological transition, in which a resurgence of familiar infections is accompanied by an array of novel diseases, all of which have the potential to spread rapidly due to globalization.
Seasonal bacterial community dynamics in a full-scale enhanced biological phosphorus removal plant.

Activated sludge is one of the most abundant and effective wastewater treatment process used to treat wastewater, and has been used in developed countries for nearly a century. In all that time, several hundreds of studies have explored the bacterial communities responsible for treatment, but most studies were based on a handful of samples and did not consider temporal dynamics. In this study, we used the DNA fingerprinting technique called automated ribosomal intergenic spacer region analysis (ARISA) to study bacterial community dynamics over a two-year period in two different treatment trains. We also used quantitative PCR to measure the variation of five phylogenetically-defined clades within the Accumulibacter lineage, which is a model polyphosphate accumulating organism. The total bacterial community exhibited seasonal patterns of change reminiscent of those observed in lakes and oceans. Surprisingly, all five Accumulibacter clades were present throughout the study, and the total Accumulibacter community was relatively stable. However, the abundance of each clade did fluctuate through time. Clade IIA dynamics correlated positively with temperature (ρ = 0.65, p < 0.05) while Clade IA dynamics correlated negatively with temperature (ρ = −0.35, p < 0.05). This relationship with temperature hints at the mechanisms that may be driving the seasonal patterns in overall bacterial community dynamics and provides further evidence for ecological differentiation among clades within the Accumulibacter lineage. This work provides a valuable baseline for activated sludge bacterial community variation.
The Anytime Anyplace Degree in Information Resources and Library Science

Abstract The innovative distance education program at the School of Information Resources and Library Science is a model for higher education and the information industry for instructing information specialists and librarians on how to move information from place to place and from person to person. Geographically dispersed students experience direct electronic learning and communication via the Internet. Looking ahead to the future, this electronic wave of knowledge dissemination is increasingly in demand and requires skills and expertise to successfully serve a clientele. This distance education program may be the only way a graduate student interested in information resources and library science can complete a program given his or her geographic location or other responsibilities that preclude moving near a university or driving long distances.
Is Globalization Making Us All the Same

When I ﬁrst began teaching organizational sociology to undergraduates inthe late 1980s, the students could not get enough of Japan. It was obvious tothem and (to come clean) to their teachers that Japan was the way of thefuture and that the American corporation would need to remake itself radi-cally to compete in the global economy. Japan had, for reasons of culture orhistory or politics, happened on a model of corporate organization that wasmore stable, more innovative and more productive than the warmed-overFordism found in American ﬁrms. Change or rust, that was the lesson forAmerica.Fast-forward a decade or so and the period of Japan worship is regardedas folly, as misplaced American self-doubt. Japan was the model for us; nowwe are surely the model for Japan. The new generation of undergraduatescannot get too little of Japan. It is now the poster child for crony capitalismand all that went wrong in Asia. It is obvious to the students, and (again) totheir teachers, that the United States is now the way of the future. We are inthe midst of a period of mass amnesia of the sort usually seen only in scienceﬁction movies.Sanford Jacoby has written an erudite and accessible book that looks atwhat is really going on in corporate America and corporate Japan throughthe keyhole of the human resources (HR) function. Through backgroundchapters on the history of HR in each country, in-depth studies of a handfulof matched companies and a survey of HR practices and corporate roles,Jacoby paints a picture of two business communities that have retained theirdistinctive characteristics even as they have responded to common globalpressures. The big question here is whether national management approachesare converging on America’s market-orientated shareholder-value model.And the big answer is no, they are not. Corporations in the United Statesand Japan alike now embrace market principles, but differences have notnarrowed. Moreover, the drift towards market co-ordination of careers hascome about not because market co-ordination is superior but becauseAmerica has once again become the country to follow. Every country triesto be more American, even America.Jacoby is a historian teaching in a business school, and from his vantagepoint we see the role of history in shaping early corporate HR and governance
The Proviso Problem: a note

Several theories of presupposition projection predict that some sentences which intuitively yield unconditional presuppositions should have weaker, conditional ones. For instance, If John is realistic, he knows that he is incompetent is predicted to have the presupposition that if John is realistic, he is incompetent, whereas one certainly infers that John is in fact incompetent. We summarize some difficulties faced by three solutions, DRT, Singh’s ‘Formal Alternatives’, and Singh’s ‘Interacting Alternatives’; we then offer a new analysis which is compatible with several semantic theories of projection, and which does not require the addition of a new representational module. In essence, we obtain unconditional inferences by assuming that speakers may ignore certain parts of a sentence when they accommodate a presupposition—presumably to simplify their computational work. They do so by adding to the context an assumption that would satisfy the presupposition of the sentence no matter which meaning some of its elements have. Depending on which elements are ignored in this way, a variety of strengthened presuppositions are obtained. We speculate on a possible mechanism (which follows some of Singh’s earlier ideas) to determine which of these strengthened inferences are in fact obtained. The analysis correctly predicts some new instances of the Proviso Problem in quantificational examples.
Procrastination, busyness and bingeing.

Abstract The first inquiry employed repeated surveys and direct observations of procrastinators to question two traditional assumptions about procrastinators—that they are reliable reporters of how they spend workweeks, and that they are not easily observed in the act of procrastinating. The second inquiry tested an intervention for procrastination (helping new faculty find brief, daily sessions in which to write) that proved effective and relatively unaversive. The effectiveness of the intervention helped to confirm the notion that procrastination of a relatively unstructured activity like scholarly writing has at least two central components, bingeing and busyness.
Microbial quality and persistence of enteric pathogens in graywater from various household sources

Abstract This study was designed to evaluate the microbial quality and safety of graywater for reuse purposes. The microbial and chemical composition of graywater from shower/bath, wash cycle and rinse cycle of a clothes washing machine was determined. Graywater composed from all sources within a house was also monitored each week over a 2–3-month time period. Samples were taken from a diverse group of families with children (18 months–9 years of age) and without children. Standard plate count bacteria (SPC) ranged from 105 to 1010 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 ml for shower and bath water, and an average of 104 to 106 cfu per 100 ml for total coliforms. Families with small children produced wash cycle graywater containing 106 cfu per 100 ml of fecal coliforms. During investigations on storage of graywater, it was found that total bacterial SPC and coliform baceria increased one order of magnitude. Salmonella atyphimurium and Shigella dysenteriae seeded into graywater were found to persist for at least several days. Poliovirus type 1 added to graywater decreased 99 and 90% at 25 and 17°C, respectively, after 6 d of storage in graywater. These data imply that there may be some risk associated with reuse of graywater when these pathogenic bacteria or viruses are being excreted by an individual producing the graywater.
Statistical learning of higher-order temporal structure from visual shape sequences.

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated the ability of observers to extract the probabilities of successive shape co-occurrences during passive viewing. Participants became sensitive to several temporal-order statistics, both rapidly and with no overt task or explicit instructions. Sequences of shapes presented during familiarization were distinguished from novel sequences of familiar shapes, as well as from shape sequences that were seen during familiarization but less frequently than other shape sequences, demonstrating at least the extraction of joint probabilities of 2 consecutive shapes. When joint probabilities did not differ, another higher-order statistic (conditional probability) was automatically computed, thereby allowing participants to predict the temporal order of shapes. Results of a single-shape test documented that lower-order statistics were retained during the extraction of higher-order statistics. These results suggest that observers automatically extract multiple statistics of temporal events that are suitable for efficient associative learning of new temporal features. Our visual experience consists almost entirely of spatiotemporal events created by observer movement through the visual array (through eye, head, and body movements) and/or by independent movements of objects with respect to the static environment. Therefore, the computational task facing the visual system during the interpretation or learning of new visual scenes is one of extracting spatiotemporal correlations. A simple classification of these spatiotemporal correlations is illustrated in Figure 1, in which low-level visual analyzers respond to the presence of one or more object features in two or more time frames. Several different types of spatiotemporal correlations could be present across multiple time frames: (a) no change in the features or the position of the object, (b) a change in object position, with no change in the features of the object, (c) a smooth transformation of one or more features, with no change in position, or (d) an abrupt change in one or more features of the object, with or without a change in position. Type A is a prototypical example of static vision, in which high spatial correlations among a set of features are present for extended periods of time. Type B is an example of object motion (short- or long-range, depending on the magnitude of the change in position across frames). Type C is an example of object rotation (in either 2-D or 3-D) or object deformation. And Type D is an example of a sudden replacement of one object with a new object, or a saccade to a new target.
Ion-Selective Optodes in a Sampling Capillary for Tear Fluid Analysis

Plasticized PVC membrane-based potassium or sodium ion-selective optodes were incorporated into sampling capillaries in combination with sol-gel-based hydrogen ion-selective optodes for the sampling and analysis of minute tear fluid samples. The performance characteristic of the K+/pH and Na+/pH sensor arrays were optimized for an adequate dynamic response range, sensitivity, stability, and response time. The precision and accuracy of the combined sampling/measurement system was evaluated both in stopped flow and continuous flow modes using aqueous standard solutions. By using a two point calibration protocol, with pH standards bracketing the sample, the pH of 20 µL pooled human tear samples could be determined with a precision less than ±0.03 pH units. Errors in the pH measurements have a significant influence on the attainable precision and accuracy of the ion-exchange-based K+ and Na+ optodes. Nevertheless, the results of the quantitative assessment of the K+ and Na+ concentrations in “check” standards and pooled human tear fluid samples were within ±5 % of the nominal values or of the results of the determinations with atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Cationic surfactants in artificial tear drops were found to interfere with the K+ and Na+ optode responses. No interference was detected in the presence of anionic and nonionic surfactants.
RTA removal of E-beam-induced damage in GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructures as determined by magnetotransport characterization

Measurement was made of the effect of electron energy on the 2D EG transport properties of high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures at low temperatures. The structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with a 2D EG approximately 850A below the surface. A Cambridge EBMF 10.5 was used for electron irradiation with electron energies between 2.5 and 20 keV. The HEMTs were fabricated into Hall bars, and damage was assessed by changes in the 2D EG concentrations as determined from Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and changes in the mobility as determined from the zero magnetic-field resistivity. For electron energies from 5.0 to 12.5 keV, the electron dose produced a degradation of the Hall mobility. No damage was observed for electron energies outside this range; this result is attributed to the penetration depth and damage distribution. The effect of performing RTA on all samples simultaneously at 450° C for 30 sec was to remove damage and in some cases restore the sample to its original mobility.
Hybrid fracture and the transition from extension fracture to shear fracture

Fracture is a fundamental mechanism of material failure. Two basic types of brittle fractures are commonly observed in rock deformation experiments--extension (opening mode) fractures and shear fractures. For nearly half a century it has been hypothesized that extension and shear fractures represent end-members of a continuous spectrum of brittle fracture types. However, observations of transitional fractures that display both opening and shear modes (hybrids) in naturally deformed rock have often remained ambiguous, and a clear demonstration of hybrid fracture formation has not been provided by experiments. Here we present the results of triaxial extension experiments on Carrara marble that show a continuous transition from extension fracture to shear fracture with an increase in compressive stress. Hybrid fractures form under mixed tensile and compressive stress states at acute angles to the maximum principal compressive stress. Fracture angles are greater than those observed for extension fractures and less than those observed for shear fractures. Fracture surfaces also display a progressive change from an extension to shear fracture morphology.
miRNA-Based Therapeutic Strategies

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA species, thought to act primarily through downregulation of target mRNA species with subsequent decrease in encoded proteins. Recent studies revealed that miRNAs play pivotal roles in physiology and disease, and therapeutic targeting has started being investigated. Generally, the upregulation of miRNAs is achieved through administration of synthetic miRNAs or administration of miRNA expressing vectors. The downregulation of miRNAs is achieved through administration of anti-sense nucleotides, often chemically modified to ensure stability and specificity. There are multiple potential limitations associated with the development and testing of miRNA-based therapeutics. These issues include, but are not limited to, off-target effect, avoidance from internal nucleases, and toxicity for miRNA therapy. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in miRNA based therapeutic strategies.
In Defense of the Trichotomy Thesis

According to a standard picture, for any two comparable objects and a basis for comparison, either one is greater than the other or they are equal with respect to the basis. This picture has been called the Trichotomy Thesis, and although it is intuitive and plausible, it has been called into question by such philosophers as Derek Parfit, James Griffin, Joseph Raz, and Ruth Chang. Chang’s discussion is particularly rich, for she proposes and provides a detailed account of a possible fourth relation that, she argues, provides a satisfying explanation of hard cases of comparison. In this paper, I will examine a version of the main argument against the Trichotomy Thesis and attempt to show that it is unsound.
Subcellular distribution of tyrosine aminotransferase in rat brain.

Abstract Tyrosine aminotransferase activity was found in all regions of the adult rat brain. Enzymatic activity was determined in brain subcellular fractions prepared from homogenates by differential centrifugation or by continuous sucrose gradients. More than 95% of the total tyrosine aminotransferase activity was found to be associated with the particulate fractions and 65 to 70% of the total activity was found rather tightly bound in the mitochondrial fraction. The mitochondrial fraction was purified further by fractionation on discontinuous sucrose gradients (0.8 to 1.4 m ). The resultant four mitochondrial subfractions were analyzed for tyrosine aminotransferase and monoamine oxidase activities and were examined for morphological structure with the electron microscope. The crude mitochondrial fraction contained mitochondria, some nerve endings, myelin, and membranous fragments. About two thirds of the total tyrosine aminotransferase activity was found in the highly purified mitochondrial fraction. Monoamine oxidase and tyrosine aminotransferase activities paralleled each other for the different mitochondrial fractions. Tyrosine aminotransferase from rat brain was most active with α-ketoglutarate (100%) as an amino group acceptor but also used oxaloacetic acid (75%) and pyruvate (25%). The apparent K m for tyrosine was 6.3 m m which made direct measurement of maximal velocities impractical due to limited solubility of tyrosine. With crude extracts various aromatic amino acids (tyrosine, monoiodotyrosine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and dihydroxyphenylalanine) were found to undergo transamination. On the basis of initial velocities, tyrosine and monoiodotyrosine were the best substrates. The solubilized enzyme, partially purified 160-fold over the brain homogenate, catalyzed the transamination reaction equally well with oxaloacetate or α-ketoglutarate at 1 m m ; however, oxaloacetate at 10 m m inhibited the reaction whereas α-ketoglutarate did not.
Descriptions of the larvae of four nearctic species ofEpoicocladius (Diptera: Chironomidae) with a redescription ofEpoicocladius ephemerae (Kieffer)

The larvae of four species ofEpoicocladius from eastern North America are described along with a redescription of the European species,Epoicocladius ephemerae (Kieffer). A key to known 4th instar Nearctic and western PalaearcticEpoicocladius larvae is presented. Previous species descriptions and records of NearcticEpoicocladius spp. are discussed in reference to the larvae described here. Larvae ofEpoicocladius ephemerae (Kieff.), a species described from Europe which is currently synonymized with the NearcticE. flavens, have yet to be collected in North America. This suggests that the synonymy is invalid andE. ephemerae should be considered a legitimate species. A likely candidate to be the larva ofEpoicocladius flavens (Malloch) is suggested. However, until reared adults are obtained, the larva ofE. flavens remains unknown.