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.     

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.     

The effects of observational feedback on treatment integrity in school-based behavioral consultation.

Evaluated the effects of performance feedback on levels of treatment integrity in school-based behavioral consultation. Three teachers employed in a residential treatment community were responsible for treatment implementation. Treatment integrity was defined as the percentage of 2-min intervals during which contingent teacher reinforcement for student on-task behavior was directly observed. Teacher and child behavior were monitored across baseline, traditional consultation, and consultation with performance feedback conditions in a multiple baseline design. Following a Problem Identification Interview and Problem Analysis Interview (J. R. Bergan, 1977), mean levels of treatment integrity for the 3 teachers ranged from 9% to 37%. The addition of a performance feedback package increased treatment integrity for all 3 teachers to levels ranging from 60% to 83%. The findings contribute to a growing literature supporting the need for direct assessment of treatment integrity in school-based consultation research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of the blood-borne somatotroph-differentiating factor during chicken embryonic development

Somatotrophs become a significant population by day 16 of chicken embryonic development. We have previously demonstrated that an earlier induction of GH cell differentiation is possible with the addition of day 16 embryonic serum to cultures of day 12 pituitary cells, an age when somatotrophs are rare. The present study was designed to identify the blood-borne signal(s) responsible for the serum activity, using reverse hemolytic plaque assays to identify individual GH-secreting cells. The activity was found to be a heat-stable, ether-soluble compound(s) that is bound or inhibited by a trypsin-sensitive protein. The extent of GH cell differentiation was greater (P < 0.05; n = 3) in response to the ether phases of heated day 16 (14.1 +/- 0.4% of all cells) and day 12 sera (9.3 +/- 0.4%) than with untreated serum from days 16 and 12 (6.1 +/- 0.4% and 0.82 +/- 0.4%, respectively). Furthermore, ether-extracted day 16 serum was more effective than ether-extracted day 12 serum, which was also different from basal (0.85 +/- 0.4%; P < 0.05). Based on this biochemical profile, the abilities of various steroids to stimulate differentiation were tested. Three steroids were found to stimulate somatotroph differentiation in vitro: 17beta-estradiol, corticosterone, and progesterone. However, the estradiol receptor antagonist, tamoxifen, while abolishing the effect of estradiol, had no effect on the induction of differentiation by day 16 serum. In contrast, RU486, a specific glucocorticoid receptor antagonist in chickens, blocked the stimulatory effects of corticosterone, progesterone, and day 16 serum on somatotroph differentiation. We next tested whether the active compound in day 16 embryonic serum was corticosterone, the predominant glucocorticoid in chickens. Incubation of day 16 serum with corticosterone antiserum, but not control antiserum, suppressed day 16 serum-induced GH cell differentiation. Therefore, we conclude that corticosterone is the blood-borne signal capable of stimulating somatotroph differentiation in vitro. The present findings together with previous reports indicate that somatotroph differentiation during embryonic development may result from an increase in circulating glucocorticoid concentrations.     

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)     

Do You Know What I Know? A Shared Understandings Perspective on Text‐Based Communication

This article illustrates how the hermeneutic analysis of text illuminates how shared understandings affect our interpretations of lean communication in distributed work environments. It is proposed that in contrast to the pessimistic conclusions of media richness theory that lean communication channels cannot support complex or equivocal work tasks, miscommunications are not the result of technology, but rather occur due to a lack of shared understandings among the individuals communicating. An illustrative case study based on fieldwork in franchise organizations is presented to demonstrate the possibilities for how the hermeneutic analysis of coherence, invention, intention, and reference can be used to discover how workers create and recreate shared understandings through text.     

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