3,375 research outputs found
The Permeability of Network Boundaries: Strategic Alliances in the Japanese Electronics Industry in the 1990s
This paper looks at the choice of strategic partners for alliance formation in the Japanese electronics industry during the post-bubble economic period 1992-97. Results from a dyad analysis of 128 companies suggest that firms tend to look for partners within their existing vertical keiretsu networks of organizations for alliances that target the creation of resources that build on existing knowledge (production or distribution) but that this common keiretsu effect disappears for alliances that involve new knowledge creation (new product or technology development). The role of corporate networks, environmental uncertainty and their implications for our understanding of strategic alliance formation and the dynamics of social networks are discussed.
Malassezia Yeasts in Veterinary Dermatology: An Updated Overview
Lipophilic yeasts of the genus Malassezia are important skin commensals and opportunistic skin pathogens in a variety of animals. The species M. pachydermatis was first isolated from the skin of a captive Indian rhinoceros with an exfoliative dermatitis in 1925, recognized as an important otic pathogen of dogs in the 1950's, and finally accepted, after several years of controversy, as a common cause of canine dermatitis in the 1990's. Since then, there has been considerable research into the biology of Malassezia yeasts and their interaction with their animal hosts. In dogs and cats, M. pachydermatis is associated with ceruminous otitis externa and a “seborrhoeic” dermatitis, wherein pruritic, erythematous skin lesions, often with brown/black greasy, malodourous material matting hairs, preferentially develop in intertriginous areas. Skin disease is favored by folds, underlying hypersensitivity disorders, endocrinopathies, defects of cornification, and in cats, various visceral paraneoplastic syndromes. Diagnosis is based on detecting the yeast in compatible skin lesions, usually by cytology, and observing a clinical and mycological response to therapy. Treatment normally comprises topical or systemic azole therapy, often with miconazole—chlorhexidine shampoos or oral itraconazole or ketoconazole. Management of concurrent diseases is important to minimize relapses. Historically, wild-type Malassezia isolates from dogs and cats were typically susceptible to azoles, with the exception of fluconazole, but emerging azole resistance in field strains has recently been associated with either mutations or quadruplication of the ERG11 gene. These observations have prompted increased interest in alternative topical antifungal drugs, such as chlorhexidine, and various essential oils. Further clinical trials are awaited with interest
EPDM rocket motor insulation
A novel and improved EPDM formulation for a solid propellant rocket motor is described wherein hexadiene EPDM monomer components are replaced by alkylidene norbornene components and with appropriate adjustment of curing and other additives functionally-required rheological and physical characteristics are achieved with the desired compatibility with any one of a plurality of solid filler materials, e.g. powder silica, carbon fibers or aramid fibers, and with appropriate adhesion and extended storage or shelf life characteristics
Diluted planar ferromagnets: nonlinear excitations on a non-simply connected manifold
We study the behavior of magnetic vortices on a two-dimensional support
manifold being not simply connected. It is done by considering the continuum
approach of the XY-model on a plane with two disks removed from it. We argue
that an effective attractive interaction between the two disks may exist due to
the presence of a vortex. The results can be applied to diluted planar
ferromagnets with easy-plane anisotropy, where the disks can be seen as
nonmagnetic impurities. Simulations are also used to test the predictions of
the continuum limit.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Interfaces and Grain Boundaries of Lamellar Phases
Interfaces between lamellar and disordered phases, and grain boundaries
within lamellar phases, are investigated employing a simple Landau free energy
functional. The former are examined using analytic, approximate methods in the
weak segregation limit, leading to density profiles which can extend over many
wavelengths of the lamellar phase. The latter are studied numerically and
exactly. We find a change from smooth chevron configurations typical of small
tilt angles to distorted omega configurations at large tilt angles in agreement
with experiment.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures 9 pages, 6 figure
Atmospheric, Evolutionary, and Spectral Models of the Brown Dwarf Gliese 229 B
Theoretical spectra and evolutionary models that span the giant planet--brown
dwarf continuum have been computed based on the recent discovery of the brown
dwarf, Gliese 229 B. A flux enhancement in the 4--5 micron window is a
universal feature from Jovian planets to brown dwarfs. We confirm the existence
of methane and water in Gl 229 B's spectrum and find its mass to be 30 to 55
Jovian masses. Although these calculations focus on Gliese 229 B, they are also
meant to guide future searches for extra-solar giant planets and brown dwarfs.Comment: 8 pages, plain TeX, plus four postscript figures, gzipped and
uuencoded, accepted for Scienc
SOPHIE velocimetry of Kepler transit candidates III. KOI-423b: an 18 Mjup transiting companion around an F7IV star
We report the strategy and results of our radial velocity follow-up campaign
with the SOPHIE spectrograph (1.93-m OHP) of four transiting planetary
candidates discovered by the Kepler space mission. We discuss the selection of
the candidates KOI-428, KOI-410, KOI-552, and KOI-423. KOI-428 was established
as a hot Jupiter transiting the largest and the most evolved star discovered so
far and is described by Santerne et al. (2011a). KOI-410 does not present
radial velocity change greater than 120 m/s, which allows us to exclude at 3
sigma a transiting companion heavier than 3.4 Mjup. KOI-552b appears to be a
transiting low-mass star with a mass ratio of 0.15. KOI-423b is a new
transiting companion in the overlapping region between massive planets and
brown dwarfs. With a radius of 1.22 +- 0.11 Rjup and a mass of 18.0 +- 0.92
Mjup, KOI-423b is orbiting an F7IV star with a period of 21.0874 +- 0.0002 days
and an eccentricity of 0.12 +- 0.02. From the four selected Kepler candidates,
at least three of them have a Jupiter-size transiting companion, but two of
them are not in the mass domain of Jupiter-like planets. KOI-423b and KOI-522b
are members of a growing population of known massive companions orbiting close
to an F-type star. This population currently appears to be absent around G-type
stars, possibly due to their rapid braking and the engulfment of their
companions by tidal decay.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures, accepted in A&
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