Rare-gas optics-free stable extreme-ultraviolet photon spectrometer for solar system studies

We have developed a prototype spectrometer for space applications that require long-term stable EUV photon flux measurements. In this recently developed spectrometer, the energy spectrum of the incoming photons is transformed directly into an electron energy spectrum by taking advantage of the photoelectric effect in one of several rare gases at low pressures. Using an electron energy spectrometer operating at a few electron volts, and followed by an electron multiplying detector, pulses due to individual electrons are counted. The overall efficiency of this process is essentially independent of gain drifts in the signal path, and the secular degradation of optical components that is often a problem in other techniques is avoided

Historical survey of the progressivity of the U.S. income tax

While filing the 1988 tax returns, many taxpayers will see the full impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Perhaps the most important changes made by this Act altered the progressivity of the federal income tax. . Given these very significant changes to the U.S. income tax and also given that the full impact of this tax law is effective on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 1913 adoption of the income tax, it is worth the time to look back and contemplate how progressivity of the income tax structure has changed over time. This paper summarizes the historical findings

What is publishable; Accounting history research: An editorial view

Although this is the first issue of The Accounting Historians Journal that has been published by the new editorial team, the current editors and reviewers have been processing manuscripts for nearly a year. During that time, 40 manuscripts have been received and, so far, only six have been accepted for publication. The majority have failed to meet the expectations of reviewers because of a lack of significance of subject matter or weaknesses in research methodology. For these reasons, this essay is designed to give potential authors some guidance in what and how to research

Advanced imaging microscope tools applied to microgravity research investigations

The inability to observe and interact with experiments on orbit has been an impediment for both basic research and commercial ventures using the shuttle. In order to open the frontiers of space, the Center for Microgravity Automation Technology has developed a unique and innovative system for conducting experiments at a distance, the “Remote Scientist.” The Remote Scientist extends laboratory automation capability to the microgravity environment. While the Remote Scientist conceptually encompasses a broad spectrum of elements and functionalities, the development approach taken is to:  • establish a baseline capability that is both flexible and versatile  • incrementally augment the baseline with additional functions over time. Since last year, the application of the Remote Scientist has changed from protein crystal growth to tissue culture, specifically, the development of skeletal muscle under varying levels of tension. This system includes a series of bioreactor chambers that allow for three-dimensional growth of muscle tissue on a membrane suspended between the two ends of a programmable force transducer that can provide automated or investigator-initiated tension on the developing tissue. A microscope objective mounted on a translation carriage allows for high-resolution microscopy along a large area of the tissue. These images will be mosaiced on orbit to detect features and structures that span multiple images. The use of fluorescence and pseudo-confocal microscopy will maximize the observational capabilities of this system. A series of ground-based experiments have been performed to validate the bioreactor, the force transducer, the translation carriage and the image acquisition capabilities of the Remote Scientist.  • The bioreactor is capable of sustaining three dimensional tissue culture growth over time.  • The force transducer can be programmed to provide static tension on cells or to simulate either slow or fast growth of underlying tissues in vivo, ranging from 0.2 mm per day to 32 mm per day.  • The two-axis translation carriage is capable of scanning the camera along the bioreactor and adjusting the focus with 25 μm resolution.  • Time-lapse sequences of images have been acquired, stored and transmitted to a remote computer system. Although the current application of the Remote Scientist technology is the observation and manipulation of a tissue culture growth system, the hardware has been designed to be easily reconfigured to accommodate a multitude of experiments, including animal observation, combustion studies, protein crystal growth, plant growth and aquatic research. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87421/2/647_1.pd

The remote scientist

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87390/2/877_1.pd

Early American corporate reporting and European capital markets: The case of the Illinois Central Railroad, 1851-1861

This study of the annual reports of the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) from the 1850s supports a conclusion that the statements, as to form and content, were developed to serve the needs of two classes of investors and to inform the general community of the activities of the company. The need to report to the public as to the success of the company\u27s role in its social contract to develop the state required details of a demographic nature, which were provided by the land commissioner. Operating results provided evidence of the ability to service the debts held by European investors and to inform British venture capitalists of the extent of the company\u27s operations. This communication with the distant capital providers was a new development in financial reporting as the capital-intensive railroads experienced management and ownership separation on a scale not seen before. In summary, the IC provided annual reports more detailed and informative than those of other corporations of the period because of a need to provide European investors with evidence of management\u27s activities

A new peer-to-peer aided acquisition approach exploiting C/N0 aiding

The aim of this paper is to present an acquisition strategy for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals exploiting aiding information provided by GNSS receivers in a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) positioning system. This work sheds light on the benefits of sharing information regarding the received satellite signal power: the Carrier-to-Noise density ratio (C/N0) estimated by aiding peers relatively close to each other, is used to optimize signal acquisition capability in terms of detection performance as well as Mean Acquisition Time (MAT). The proposed approach has been validated and assessed using real data collected with an experimental setup in light indoor conditions and by means of simulations. The performance obtained has also been compared with an Assisted-GNSS (A-GNSS) like acquisition strategy, showing the benefits of the availability of C/N0 aiding information in terms of MAT. ©2010 IEEE

Passenger mutations and aberrant gene expression in congenic tissue plasminogen activator‐deficient mouse strains

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134273/1/jth13338_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134273/2/jth13338.pd

Using a White-Collar Profession in accounting courses: Approaches to addressing diversity

Accounting educators no doubt agree that diversity is an important and much neglected part of accounting education. They further recognize that it is difficult to incorporate this important topic into the accounting curriculum. This paper describes the efforts of various professors to expose business and accounting students to the evolution of diversity issues related to the accounting profession by using the book A White-Collar Profession [Hammond, 2002]. A White-Collar Profession: African-American CPAs Since 1921 is a seminal work which presents a history of the profession as it relates to African-American CPAs and documents the individual struggles of many of the first one hundred blacks to become certified. This paper describes efforts of faculty at four different colleges to utilize this book in their teaching of accounting. Instructors found that students not only developed an enhanced awareness about the history of the accounting profession, but that other educational objectives were advanced, such as improved communication and critical thinking skills, increased social awareness, and empathy for others. African-American students, in particular, embraced the people in the book as role models, while most every student saw the characters as heroic in a day when the accounting profession is badly in need of role models and heroes. This is encouraging given the profession\u27s concern with diversity and the attention and resources directed at increasing the number of minorities entering the profession

Rare-gas optics-free stable extreme-ultraviolet photon spectrometer for solar system studies

We have developed a prototype spectrometer for space applications that require long-term stable EUV photon flux measurements. In this recently developed spectrometer, the energy spectrum of the incoming photons is transformed directly into an electron energy spectrum by taking advantage of the photoelectric effect in one of several rare gases at low pressures. Using an electron energy spectrometer operating at a few electron volts, and followed by an electron multiplying detector, pulses due to individual electrons are counted. The overall efficiency of this process is essentially independent of gain drifts in the signal path, and the secular degradation of optical components that is often a problem in other techniques is avoided