Teleconferencing: A Better Way to Meet

As most IS managers know, time is often wasted during most business meetings. As technological advances in the various types of teleconferencing systems continue, teleconferencing will serve as the preferred method of conducting meetings because of the resulting time and cost savings.     

CORPORATE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE Pulblic, Private, or Hybrid?

Designing a geographically extensive corporate network at the lowest cost means dealing with the vagaries of handling multiple carriers and widely varying levels of service. Further complicating matters are tariff structures that often dictate optimum corporate network infrastructures. This column reviews some of the available and emerging services and the best network structure options.     

H2S optimization for lignite liquefaction

Two lignite samples, Beulah No. 3 and Big Brown No. 1, were liquefied at 420 °C using H₂ and synthesis gas to determine the optimum beneficial amount of H₂S in the batch autoclave reactor. Under the conditions employed, 50–100 psi partial pressure of H₂S, nominally 4–10 wt% of daf lignite, was optimum for both samples. Synthesis gas outperformed H₂ with and without H₂S for the liquefaction of the two coals.     

Salt-water up-coning during extraction of fresh water from a tropical island

Rainwater can collect in a lens-shaped region within the rock of a tropical island, and may be separated from the underlying salt water by a sharp interface. This paper presents a nonlinear theory for determining the shape of this interface. The island is assumed to be saturated with rain, and provision is made for the outflow of rain-water through the sides of the island. The effect of a bore well on the shape of the interface is investigated, and the problem is solved using a spectral method. An integral-equation method is also presented for the case when the island has infinite width.     

Transmission electron microscopic analysis of kidney glomeruli obtained by fine-needle aspiration

Aspiration biopsy of tumors and transplanted organs is a popular atraumatic method for diagnosis and also for the management of patients. Apart from the cytological analyses, it is clear that large aggregates of cells are obtained and these may be examined by electron microscopy. A study was carried out with dogs to assess the yield of intact glomeruli and tubules, resulting from a standard fine-needle aspiration procedure. Employing a 20-gauge needle, yields of approximately ten intact glomeruli were obtained with a tissue processing protocol that utilized filtration through a nylon mesh and backwashing, to resuspend the trapped aggregates. Processing for electron microscopy was carried out in microcentrifuge tubes. The ultrastructural preservation was excellent and the extension of these studies to investigations of not only renal transplantation, but also for diagnosis in human renal diseases of a broad spectrum, is suggested.     

Boys and violence: A gender-informed analysis.

This article discusses the phenomenon of youth violence from a psychology of gender perspective. Although other factors are discussed--including gun availability, violence-related media influence, family and caretaker factors, and effects of teasing and bullying--the intention is to highlight new thinking on the potential relationship between boys' traditional masculine socialization experiences and violence. In this new perspective, traditional masculine socialization estranges and isolates many boys from their genuine inner lives and vital connections to others, which is theorized to heighten their risk of engaging in acts of violence. The authors identify school and community programs that may be helpful in counteracting damaging socialization experiences and supporting boys' healthier emotional and psychological development. Finally, the article discusses approaches that psychologists and other mental health professionals can use to help address this vital issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hybrid wafer-dicing process for GaAs MMIC production

A dicing process for GaAs MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) wafers using spin-on wax for wafer mounting and a hybrid process of wet chemical etching/mechanical sawing for chip dicing is described. This process minimizes ragged chip edges and reduces generation of microcracks in addition to the elimination of the plated gold burrs on the backside of the diced MMIC chips. This process gives a uniformity of -3 μm across a 2-in wafer following the completion of the whole backside process. This GaAs chip dicing technique is amenable to production because it exhibits both a very high chip yield (>90%) and nearly flawless edges     

Forced oscillations in an exothermic chemical reaction

We study non-linear behaviour in a model chemical reaction scheme (proposed by Sal?nikov), in which a single chemical species undergoes a two-stage, first-order decay process. The second stage is exothermic and has a temperature-dependent rate, and as a result, spontaneous oscillations in the temperature and the concentration of an intermediate chemical are known to be possible. An additional oscillation is imposed on the system by varying the ambient temperature in a sinusoidal manner. Primary resonance occurs when the forcing frequency coincides with the frequency of the natural oscillations in this scheme and an infinite sequence of super-and subharmonic resonances is also present. Chaos is possible for appropriate parameter values and may result either from the Feigenbaum period-doubling cascade, or else as a result of the Ruelle-Takens approach through quasi-periodicity.