Flattering and unflattering personality portraits of integratively simple and complex managers.

Research has revealed a good deal about both the situational determinants and judgmental and behavioral consequences of integrative complexity. Little is known, however, about people who are prone to think in integratively simple or complex ways. The present study fills this gap by drawing on data collected during in-depth assessments of MBA candidates. Integrative complexity was correlated with a broad range of self-report, observer-rating, semiprojective, and managerial-simulation measures. Results revealed a more complex pattern of correlates than one would expect from the flattering theoretical portrayals of integrative complexity. On self-report measures, complex persons scored higher on openness and creativity and lower on social compliance and conscientiousness. On personality-observer ratings, they emerged as narcissistic and somewhat antagonistic. On managerial-observer ratings, complex persons emerged as higher on initiative and self-objectivity. On semiprojective measures, complex persons scored higher on power motivation. The integratively complex manager is reminiscent of creative architects, scientists, and writers who participated in previous assessments over the past 3 decades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

C₆₀ oxide as a key component of aqueous C₆₀ colloidal suspensions

Stable aqueous fullerene colloidal suspensions (nC(60)) are demonstrated to rely on the [6,6]-closed epoxide derivative of the fullerene (C(60)O) for stability. This derivative is present, though often unrecognized, in small quantities in nearly all C(60) starting materials due to a reaction with air. The low-yield formation of nC(60) from organic solvent solutions results from a preferential partitioning and thus enrichment of C(60)O in the colloidal particles. This partitioning is significantly retarded in the nC(60) synthesis method that does not involve organic solvent solutions: long-term stirring in water. Instead, this method relies on trace levels of ozone in the ambient atmosphere to produce sufficient C(60)O at the surfaces of the nC(60) particles to allow stable suspension in water. Controlled-atmosphere syntheses, deliberate C(60)O enrichment, light scattering measurements, and extraction followed by HPLC analysis and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy support the above model of nC(60) formation and stabilization.     

Oxidation behavior of metallic interconnects for SOFC in coal syngas

Crofer 22 and Haynes 230 alloys, which are candidates for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) interconnects, were exposed at 800 °C to a simulated coal syngas (29.1CO + 28.5H₂ +11.8CO₂ + 27.6H₂O + 2.1N₂ + 0.01CH₄) and air. The samples were characterized by SEM/EDS, XRD and ASR. Results indicated that the compositions of the oxide scales in syngas and in air were similar. For Crofer 22, scales formed in both air and coal syngas were composed of (Cr,Fe)₂O₃, Mn–Cr compounds and Fe₃O₄. For Haynes 230 the main composition was Cr₂O₃. However, it was found that the morphologies of the scales formed in coal syngas were different from those formed in air. Besides, the cross section element distributions of oxide scales formed on Crofer 22 were disparate. In addition, the ASR values of the oxide scales formed in coal syngas and in air were similar at 800 °C but the activation energies for electronic conduction of the oxide scales formed in coal syngas were higher.     

Green Roof Hydrological Modelling With GRU and LSTM Networks

Green Roofs (GRs) are increasing in popularity due to their ability to manage roof runoff while providing a number of additional ecosystem services. Improvement of hydrological models for the simulation of GRs will aid design of individual roofs as well as city scale planning that relies on the predicted impacts of widespread GR implementation. Machine learning (ML) has exploded in popularity in recent years, however there are no studies focusing on the use of ML in hydrological simulation of GRs. We focus on two types of ML-based model: long short-term memory (LSTM) and gated recurrent unit (GRU), in modelling GRs hydrological performance, with sequence input andsingle output (SISO), and synced sequence input and output (SSIO) architectures. Results of this paper indicate that both LSTM and GRU are useful tools for GR modelling. As the time window length (memory length, time step length of input data) increases, SISO appears to have a higher overall forecast accuracy. SSIO delivers the best overall performance, when the SSIO is close to, or even exceeds, the maximum window size.

     

Sulphur transformation and removal for Western Kentucky coals

Inhibition isotherms were measured for Western Kentucky No.9 coal. Crushed and sieved coal (?25 + 140 U.S. mesh) was fluidized in 10-g batches in a 22-mm i.d. quartz reactor up to a temperature of 870 °C. The release of hydrogen sulphide during heatup under nitrogen and at the run temperature (usually 1–2 h) under the same gas (pyrolysis), hydrogen, or hydrogen/hydrogen sulphide mixtures was followed by gas chromatography. The residue or char was analysed for pyritic, organic, sulphide, sulphate, and total sulphur. Inhibition isotherms, which are pseudo-equilibria between sulphur in the char and gaseous hydrogen sulphide, were measured at 600 and 870 °C. At the lower temperature the isotherm was found to be independent of the hydrogen sulphide concentration in the gas stream and the char sulphur content remained constant at 2.6%. At 870 °C the sulphur content of the char was greater than that of the original coal when gas mixtures of 1, 3, and 6% hydrogen sulphide in hydrogen were used, indicating the necessity of maintaining low hydrogen sulphide concentration for sulphur removal. In pure hydrogen, sulphur removal increased continuously from 47% at 600 °C to 84% at 870 °C. For pyrolysis under nitrogen, sulphur removal was 40% at 600 °C and increased to 59% at 740 °C. No further removal occurred above this temperature up to 870 °C. In addition to the inhibition isotherms, sulphur-form transformation diagrams were constructed for coal treated with nitrogen, hydrogen, and hydrogen/hydrogen sulphide mixtures. Pyritic sulphur, which comprised 40% of the sulphur in the original coal, was completely converted to ferrous sulphide at 600 °C in hydrogen and 740 °C in nitrogen. At 870 °C the sulphur content of the char produced under hydrogen was 1.1% made up of 48.4% ferrous sulphide, 43.4% organic sulphur, and 8.2% sulphate.     

Effect of 2-hexadecynoic acid on cultured 7288C hepatoma cells

The effects of 2-hexadecynoic acid on the growth and lipid metabolism of cultured 7288 (HTC) cells have been evaluated. Growth was inhibited by the acetylenic acid: the LD₅₀ was 35–85 μM as determined by two methods at low and high cell densities. Reduced growth did not result from damaged plasma membranes as determined by α-amino isobutyrate leakage. DNA synthesis was unaffected by the acetylenic acid and the effect on RNA and protein synthesis appeared to be secondary to the effects on lipid metabolism. The 2-hexadecynoic acid inhibited lipid metabolism of the HTC cells at least at two levels. Data from both mass studies and radioactive acetate distributions in cellular and media lipids indicated that fatty acid elongation and acylation, especially triglyceride synthesis, were inhibited.     

Ontogeny of behavioral arousal in rats: effect of maternal and sibling presence

Spontaneous locomotor activity of 5- to 30-day-old rats housed either alone or in the presence of various components of the normal nest and litter stimuli was recorded by means of time-lapse videography. Developing animals observed alone showed a sharp increase in total daily locomotor activity from Day 5 to Day 15 followed by a rapid decline from Day 15 to Day 30. Individual animals observed in the context of the normal litter environment showed an entirely different pattern of development. They were relatively inactive during the first 15 days of life and then began a gradual increase of activity which continued for the next 15 days. The heightened activity characteristic of the isolated 15-day old inhibited by the presence of four siblings, an anesthetized lactating female, or an anesthetized adult male rat. Thermal conditioning, including heating of the floor to approximately nest temperature or the presence of a heated tube in one corner of the test apparatus, did not inhibit the heightened activity. These results question the generality of the ontogenetic sequence of excitation and inhibition proposed by Campbell and his associates - at least a portion of the heightened activity seem around 15 days of age was the result of isolation distress, not merely maturational changes in the brain.     

Beach sand and sediments are temporal sinks and sources of Escherichia coli in Lake Superior

The Duluth Boat Club (DBC) Beach, located in the Duluth-Superior harbor of Lake Superior, is frequently closed in summer due to high counts of Escherichia coli, an indicator of fecal contamination. However, the sources of bacteria contributing to beach closure are currently unknown. In this study, we investigated the potential sources of E. coli contaminating the DBC beach by using modified rep-PCR (HFERP) DNA fingerprinting. Over 3600 E. coli strains were obtained from 55 lake water, 25 sediment, and 135 sand samples taken from five transects at the DBC beach at 11 different times during the summer through fall months of 2004 and 2005. Potential sources of E. coli at this beach were determined by using a known-source DNA fingerprint library containing unique E. coli isolates from wildlife, waterfowl, and treated wastewater obtained near Duluth, MN. Amounts E. coli in the samples were enumerated by membrane filtration counting, and the presence of potentially pathogenic E. coli was determined by using multiplex PCR. E. coli counts in all samples increased during the summer and early fall (Julyto September). While E. coli in spring samples originated mainly from treated wastewater effluent, the percentage of E. coli from waterfowl increased from summer to fall. DNA fingerprint analyses indicated that some E. coli strains may be naturalized, and autochthonous members of the microbial community in the beach sand and sediments were examined. However, multiplex PCR results indicated that <1% of the E. coli strains at the DBC was potentially pathogenic. Our results also suggest that wave action may influence the early colonization and homogeneous distribution of E. coli in beach sand and the subsequent release of sand or sediment-borne E. coli into lake water. Taken together, these results indicate that sand and sediment serve as temporal sources and sinks of human and waterfowl-derived E. coli that contribute to beach closures.     

Time-resolved characterization of diesel particulate emissions. 2. Instruments for elemental and organic carbon measurements

The measurement of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) mass for particles emitted by diesel vehicles is currently accomplished using particle collection on filters, followed by analysis using the thermal/optical reflectance carbon analysis method (TOR) or one of its variations. Such filter methods limit time resolution to a minimum of several minutes, making it impossible to study emissions during transient operating conditions. Testing of five different measurement methods has demonstrated that fast response measurement of diesel exhaust particulate EC and OC concentrations, consistent with TOR filter measurements, is feasible using existing technology. EC mass concentrations are best measured through determination of particulate light absorption with a photoacoustic instrument or determination of light extinction with a smoke meter. The photoacoustic instrument has the better dynamic range and sensitivity, whereas the smoke meter is a simpler instrument. Fast response OC measurements cannot be made with any single instrument tested. However, a combination of real time weighing as implemented in the tapered element oscillating microbalance with the photoacoustic instrument has been shown to be capable of determining OC concentrations with good time response. The addition of a nephelometer to the OC measurement could potentially improve time resolution, freedom from interferences, and sensitivity.     

IMPLEMENTATION OF HACCP TO BULK CONDENSED MILK PRODUCTION LINE

A hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) program itself is a straightforward and logical system of enhancing food safety through the prevention of problems. This paper focuses on the role of each step in HACCP programs. Condensed milk products, which have wide application in many sectors of the food industry, are relatively short shelf-life products. Therefore, HACCP analysis of this product is an important issue for public health. Implementation of the HACCP system to production of bulk-condensed milk proved to be a valuable tool for improving the safety and quality characteristics of that product. Chemical and microbiological test results, in addition to the other programs, play a lead role in developing monitoring strategies and generating validation data to help the HACCP team assess the effectiveness of the processing controls being used.