Preparation of the international employee: Career and consultation needs.

Studied how 26 senior managers and 47 senior professional technical staff (recently repatriated) of 4 US owned multinational organizations viewed their international posting, specifically with respect to career path satisfaction. Results of satisfaction scales indicate that many Ss felt under-prepared for their international assignment. It is suggested that a comprehensive international employee development program should assess, provide feedback, and coach individuals on career path, culture shock and adjustment, and performance issues prior, during, and on return from the expatriate assignment. Results suggest that opportunities exist for individual and organizational intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ultralow-Dielectric-Constant foams by crystallisation from supercritical solution: Application to advanced electronic packaging

Accurate moulding of polymer foams of density 0.02–0.3 g cm^?3 has been achieved by crystallising polyethylene and ethylene/methlacrylate copolymers from dry supercritical solutions. Adherent thick films can be sealed to electronic substrates and are proposed as insulating layers for interconnections on multichip modules and other high-speed electronic devices. The dielectric constant achieved for films of several-mil thickness is between 1.05 and 1.3 and can be tailored along with the physical properties of the film by adjusting the density and composition of the copolymer. Planarisation or complex patterning is possible by detailing the mould.     

Dual role of alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis

The alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase gene aldB is clustered with the genes for the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. It can be transcribed with BCAA genes under isoleucine regulation or independently of BCAA synthesis under the control of its own promoter. The product of aldB is responsible for leucine sensibility under valine starvation. In the presence of more than 10 microM leucine, the alpha-acetolactate produced by the biosynthetic acetohydroxy acid synthase IlvBN is transformed to acetoin by AldB and, consequently, is not available for valine synthesis. AldB is also involved in acetoin formation in the 2,3-butanediol pathway, initiated by the catabolic acetolactate synthase, AlsS. The differences in the genetic organization, the expression, and the kinetics parameters of these enzymes between L. lactis and Klebsiella terrigena, Bacillus subtilis, or Leuconostoc oenos suggest that this pathway plays a different role in the metabolism in these bacteria. Thus, the alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase from L. lactis plays a dual role in the cell: (i) as key regulator of valine and leucine biosynthesis, by controlling the acetolactate flux by a shift to catabolism; and (ii) as an enzyme catalyzing the second step of the 2,3-butanediol pathway.     

Human wound contraction: collagen organization, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts

The closure of ungrafted sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus excisional wounds was studied in 15 patients. Wound punch biopsies were taken on a regular basis, and histologic sections were made. To document changes, computer-assisted morphometric image analysis was employed. Initial average wound depth was 37.8 +/- 4.6 mm, and complete closure (0 wound depth) was reached by 68 days. Wound contraction contributed 88 percent to wound closure, whereas the deposition of scar only contributed 12 percent. Maximum cells density within granulation tissue was reached by day 18. Myofibroblasts, identified by alpha-smooth muscle actin immunostaining, first appeared on day 11. Unlike those observed in laboratory animals, myofibroblasts were a minor cell population of granulation tissue, never exceeding 10 percent of the cells. The pattern of collagen fiber organization was documented by polarized light microscopy of Sirius red-stained sections. Early granulation tissue collagen fibers demonstrated a fine greenish birefringence, whereas more mature granulation tissue collagen fibers were thicker, displaying orange-yellowish birefringence. Myofibroblasts were associated exclusively with thicker collagen fibers, whereas fibroblasts were associated with both fine and thick collagen fibers. It is proposed that human wound contraction involves a volume change whereby normal dermal and adipose tissues are pulled into the defect by forces generated within fibroblasts.     

Active memory chips: A brief survey and case study

Conventional random access memories are capable only of writing data into and reading data from the storage location corresponding to a given address. The availability of VLSI circuits containing hundreds of thousands of switching devices, however, has recently made practical the implementation of active memory chips capable of performing a range of complex operations on their stored data. Such designs are characterized by the extensive intermingling of processing and memory resources within a single chip to achieve the rapid and cost-effective parallel execution of operations relevant to such tasks as image processing, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and database management.This paper presents a brief survey of a number of active memory chips that have been implemented or proposed, along with a more detailed examination of a particular active memory circuit, the NON-VON 3 primary processing subsystem chip.This research was supported in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, under contract N00039-84-C-0165, in part by the New York Center for Advanced Technology in Computers and Information Systems at Columbia University, and in part by an IBM Faculty Development Award.     

Rechargeable sodium batteries—VI. Cycling behavior of VS2, ‘VCl3 + nS’ and NbS2Cl2 cathodes in molten NaAlCl4

The electrochemistry of VS₂ in molten NaAlCl₄ has been investigated in relation to its usefulness as a reversible positive electrode for sodium batteries operating in the moderate temperature range of 160–200°C. VS₂ reacted with NaAlCl₄ during early stages of cell cycling, and became VS₂Cl showing a reversible capacity of 2.8 electrons/vanadium. The electrochemistry of mixtures of VCl₃ and S in molten NaAlCl₄ showed similarities to that of VS₂Cl. The VS_xCl_y cathodes obtained via the two different routes exhibited excellent rechargeability as evidenced by the long-term cycling behavior of cells of the configuration, Na_(l)/β″-Al₂O₃/NaAlCl_4(l), cathode material. When NbS₂Cl₂ was used as the cathode material it underwent a structural change in the first cycle to form what appeared to be NbS₂Cl₂, the Nb analog of VS_xCl_y. The structurally modified niobium sulfur chloride cathode exhibited excellent rechargeability.