1,017 research outputs found
Some problems in the actual installation of cost systems
Many books have been written on the subject of cost accounting, but generally the chief object has been to establish fixed principles, describe various forms and methods in considerable detail, and to set forth the many reasons why every manufacturer should have a good cost accounting practice. This article will forego all such discussion, and will be confined to an outline of the more important problems that must be solved during the installation of a cost system, and of the factors that should be considered in arriving at the solution of those problems. Many cost systems have failed to accomplish the desired results because they were installed without an adequate conception of the problems involved or the factors that should have been considered. It is possible, therefore, that this brief discussion of this question may prove helpful to some of those concerned with the installation and operation of cost systems. The suggestions should be equally helpful to the professional and to the cost accountant directly employed in the factory concerned
HERSCHEL OBSERVATIONS OF EXTRA-ORDINARY SOURCES: H2S AS A PROBE OF DENSE GAS AND POSSIBLY HIDDEN LUMINOSITY TOWARD THE ORION KL HOT CORE
We present Herschel/HIFI observations of the light hydride H2S obtained from the full spectral scan of the Orion Kleinmann-Low nebula (Orion KL) taken as part of the Herschel Observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources GT (guaranteed time) key program. In total, we observe 52, 24, and 8 unblended or slightly blended features from H2 32S, H2 34S, and H2 33S, respectively. We only analyze emission from the so-called hot core, but emission from the plateau, extended ridge, and/or compact ridge are also detected. Rotation diagrams for ortho and para H2S follow straight lines given the uncertainties and yield T rot = 141 ± 12 K. This indicates H2S is in local thermodynamic equilibrium and is well characterized by a single kinetic temperature or an intense far-IR radiation field is redistributing the population to produce the observed trend. We argue the latter scenario is more probable and find that the most highly excited states (E up gsim 1000 K) are likely populated primarily by radiation pumping. We derive a column density, N tot(H2 32S) = 9.5 ± 1.9 × 1017 cm–2, gas kinetic temperature, T kin = 120 K, and constrain the H2 volume density, gsim 9 × 10 7 cm–3, for the H2S emitting gas. These results point to an H2S origin in markedly dense, heavily embedded gas, possibly in close proximity to a hidden self-luminous source (or sources), which are conceivably responsible for Orion KL's high luminosity. We also derive an H2S ortho/para ratio of 1.7 ± 0.8 and set an upper limit for HDS/H2S of <4.9 × 10 –3
A perpetual switching system in pulmonary capillaries
Of the 300 billion capillaries in the human lung, a small fraction meet normal oxygen requirements at rest, with the remainder forming a large reserve. The maximum oxygen demands of the acute stress response require that the reserve capillaries are rapidly recruited. To remain primed for emergencies, the normal cardiac output must be parceled throughout the capillary bed to maintain low opening pressures. The flow-distributing system requires complex switching. Because the pulmonary microcirculation contains contractile machinery, one hypothesis posits an active switching system. The opposing hypothesis is based on passive switching that requires no regulation. Both hypotheses were tested ex vivo in canine lung lobes. The lobes were perfused first with autologous blood, and capillary switching patterns were recorded by videomicroscopy. Next, the vasculature of the lobes was saline flushed, fixed by glutaraldehyde perfusion, flushed again, and then reperfused with the original, unfixed blood. Flow patterns through the same capillaries were recorded again. The 16-min-long videos were divided into 4-s increments. Each capillary segment was recorded as being perfused if at least one red blood cell crossed the entire segment. Otherwise it was recorded as unperfused. These binary measurements were made manually for each segment during every 4 s throughout the 16-min recordings of the fresh and fixed capillaries (>60,000 measurements). Unexpectedly, the switching patterns did not change after fixation. We conclude that the pulmonary capillaries can remain primed for emergencies without requiring regulation: no detectors, no feedback loops, and no effectors-a rare system in biology. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The fluctuating flow patterns of red blood cells within the pulmonary capillary networks have been assumed to be actively controlled within the pulmonary microcirculation. Here we show that the capillary flow switching patterns in the same network are the same whether the lungs are fresh or fixed. This unexpected observation can be successfully explained by a new model of pulmonary capillary flow based on chaos theory and fractal mathematics
The European Large Area ISO Survey II: mid-infrared extragalactic source counts
We present preliminary source counts at 6.7um and 15um from the Preliminary
Analysis of the European Large Area ISO survey, with limiting flux densities of
\~2mJy at 15um & ~1mJy at 6.7um. We separate the stellar contribution from the
extragalactic using identifications with APM sources made with the likelihood
ratio technique. We quantify the completeness & reliability of our source
extraction using (a) repeated observations over small areas, (b) cross-IDs with
stars of known spectral type, (c) detections of the PSF wings around bright
sources, (d) comparison with independent algorithms. Flux calibration at 15um
was performed using stellar IDs; the calibration does not agree with the
pre-flight estimates, probably due to effects of detector hysteresis and
photometric aperture correction. The 6.7um extragalactic counts are broadly
reproduced in the Pearson & Rowan-Robinson model, but the Franceschini et al.
(1997) model underpredicts the observed source density by ~0.5-1 dex, though
the photometry at 6.7um is still preliminary. At 15um the extragalactic counts
are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the Pearson & Rowan-Robinson
(1996), Franceschini et al. (1994), Guiderdoni et al. (1997) and the evolving
models of Xu et al. (1998), over 7 orders of magnitude in 15um flux density.
The counts agree with other estimates from the ISOCAM instrument at overlapping
flux densities (Elbaz et al. 1999), provided a consistent flux calibration is
used. Luminosity evolution at a rate of (1+z)^3, incorporating mid-IR spectral
features, provides a better fit to the 15um differential counts than (1+z)^4
density evolution. No-evolution models are excluded, and implying that below
around 10mJy at 15um the source counts become dominated by an evolving
cosmological population of dust-shrouded starbursts and/or active galaxies.Comment: MNRAS in press. 14 pages, uses BoxedEPS (included). For more
information on the ELAIS project see http://athena.ph.ic.ac.uk
Transgressing the moral economy: Wheelerism and management of the nationalised coal industry in Scotland
This article illuminates the links between managerial style and political economy in post-1945 Britain, and explores the origins of the 1984–1985 miners' strike, by examining in longer historical context the abrasive attitudes and policies of Albert Wheeler, Scottish Area Director of the National Coal Board (NCB). Wheeler built on an earlier emphasis on production and economic criteria, and his micro-management reflected pre-existing centralising tendencies in the industries. But he was innovative in one crucial aspect, transgressing the moral economy of the Scottish coalfield, which emphasised the value of economic security and changes by joint industrial agreement
Herpetofaunal Inventories of the National Parks of South Florida and the Caribbean: Volume II. Virgin Islands National Park
Amphibian declines and extinctions have been documented around the world, often in protected
natural areas. Concern for this alarming trend has focused attention on the need to document all species of
amphibians that occur within U.S. National Parks and to search for any signs that amphibians may be
declining. This study, an inventory of amphibian species in Virgin Islands National Park, was conducted
from 2001 to 2003. The goals of the project were to create a georeferenced inventory of amphibian
species, use new analytical techniques to estimate proportion of sites occupied by each species, look for
any signs of amphibian decline (missing species, disease, die-offs, etc.), and to establish a protocol that
could be used for future monitoring efforts.
Several sampling methods were used to accomplish these goals. Visual encounter surveys and
anuran vocalization surveys were conducted in all habitats throughout the park to estimate the proportion
of sites or proportion of area occupied (PAO) by amphibian species in each habitat. Line transect methods
were used to estimate density of some amphibian species and double observer analysis was used to refine
counts based on detection probabilities. Opportunistic collections were used to augment the visual
encounter methods for rare species. Data were collected during four sampling periods and every major
trail system throughout the park was surveyed.
All of the amphibian species believed to occur on St. John were detected during these surveys.
One species not previously reported, the Cuban treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis), was also added to
the species list. That species and two others (Eleutherodactylus coqui and Eleutherodactylus lentus) bring
the total number of introduced amphibians on St. John to three. We detected most of the reptile species
thought to occur on St. John, but our methods were less suitable for reptiles compared to amphibians.
No amphibian species appear to be in decline at this time. We found no evidence of disease or of
malformations. Our surveys provide a snapshot picture of the status of the amphibian species, so
continued monitoring would be necessary to determine long-term trends, but several potential threats to
amphibians were identified. Invasive species, especially the Cuban treefrog, have the potential to decrease
populations of native amphibians. Introduced mammalian predators are also a potential threat, especially
to the reptiles of St. John, and mammalian grazers might have indirect effects on amphibians and reptiles
through habitat modification. Finally, loss of habitat to development outside the park boundary could
harm some important populations of amphibians and reptiles on the island
Reversal of infall in SgrB2(M) revealed by Herschel/HIFI observations of HCN lines at THz frequencies
To investigate the accretion and feedback processes in massive star
formation, we analyze the shapes of emission lines from hot molecular cores,
whose asymmetries trace infall and expansion motions. The high-mass star
forming region SgrB2(M) was observed with Herschel/HIFI (HEXOS key project) in
various lines of HCN and its isotopologues, complemented by APEX data. The
observations are compared to spherically symmetric, centrally heated models
with density power-law gradient and different velocity fields (infall or
infall+expansion), using the radiative transfer code RATRAN. The HCN line
profiles are asymmetric, with the emission peak shifting from blue to red with
increasing J and decreasing line opacity (HCN to HCN). This is most
evident in the HCN 12--11 line at 1062 GHz. These line shapes are reproduced by
a model whose velocity field changes from infall in the outer part to expansion
in the inner part. The qualitative reproduction of the HCN lines suggests that
infall dominates in the colder, outer regions, but expansion dominates in the
warmer, inner regions. We are thus witnessing the onset of feedback in massive
star formation, starting to reverse the infall and finally disrupting the whole
molecular cloud. To obtain our result, the THz lines uniquely covered by HIFI
were critically important.Comment: A&A, HIFI special issue, accepte
Benevolent characteristics promote cooperative behaviour among humans
Cooperation is fundamental to the evolution of human society. We regularly
observe cooperative behaviour in everyday life and in controlled experiments
with anonymous people, even though standard economic models predict that they
should deviate from the collective interest and act so as to maximise their own
individual payoff. However, there is typically heterogeneity across subjects:
some may cooperate, while others may not. Since individual factors promoting
cooperation could be used by institutions to indirectly prime cooperation, this
heterogeneity raises the important question of who these cooperators are. We
have conducted a series of experiments to study whether benevolence, defined as
a unilateral act of paying a cost to increase the welfare of someone else
beyond one's own, is related to cooperation in a subsequent one-shot anonymous
Prisoner's dilemma. Contrary to the predictions of the widely used inequity
aversion models, we find that benevolence does exist and a large majority of
people behave this way. We also find benevolence to be correlated with
cooperative behaviour. Finally, we show a causal link between benevolence and
cooperation: priming people to think positively about benevolent behaviour
makes them significantly more cooperative than priming them to think
malevolently. Thus benevolent people exist and cooperate more
Herschel Observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources: H_2S as a Probe of Dense Gas and Possibly Hidden Luminosity Toward the Orion KL Hot Core
We present Herschel/HIFI observations of the light hydride H_2S obtained from the full spectral scan of the Orion Kleinmann-Low nebula (Orion KL) taken as part of the Herschel Observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources GT (guaranteed time) key program. In total, we observe 52, 24, and 8 unblended or slightly blended features from H_2^(32)S, H_2^(34)S, and H_2^(33)S, respectively. We only analyze emission from the so-called hot core, but emission from the plateau, extended ridge, and/or compact ridge are also detected. Rotation diagrams for ortho and para H_2S follow straight lines given the uncertainties and yield T_(rot) = 141 ± 12 K. This indicates H_2S is in local thermodynamic equilibrium and is well characterized by a single kinetic temperature or an intense far-IR radiation field is redistributing the population to produce the observed trend. We argue the latter scenario is more probable and find that the most highly excited states (E_(up) ≳ 1000 K) are likely populated primarily by radiation pumping. We derive a column density, N_(tot)(H_2^(32)S) = 9.5 ± 1.9 × 10^(17) cm^(–2), gas kinetic temperature, T_(kin) = 120±^(13)_(10) K, and constrain the H_2 volume density, n_H_2 ≳ 9 × 10^7 cm^(–3), for the H_2S emitting gas. These results point to an H_2S origin in markedly dense, heavily embedded gas, possibly in close proximity to a hidden self-luminous source (or sources), which are conceivably responsible for Orion KL's high luminosity. We also derive an H_2S ortho/para ratio of 1.7 ± 0.8 and set an upper limit for HDS/H_2S of <4.9 × 10^(–3)
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