785 research outputs found
Engaging Students through a Virtual Live Case
Students are motivated to engage in their education when they understand how mastery of course content will translate to practical skills needed in the job market. In marketing education, live cases often are used to help students make a clear connection between course content and its application to real-world business problems. There are times, however, when a live case is not feasible or available. For these circumstances, the author has developed an innovative approach which approximates a live case. The approach combines components of a live case with historical analysis to have students perform an in-depth market strategy analysis of an industry in real-time
Secretion and composition of nectar and the structure of perigonal nectaries in Fritillaria meleagris L. (Liliaceae)
The structure of perigonal nectaries, nectar production and carbohydrate composition were compared at various stages in the lifespan of the flower of Fritillaria meleagris L. The six nectaries each occupied a groove that is located 2–4 mm above the tepal base. The average nectary measured 11.0 mm long and 1.0–1.2 mm wide. The structure of nectaries situated on both inner and outer tepal whorls was identical, and at anthesis they were equally accessible to potential pollinators. However, secretion from nectaries associated with inner tepals tended to exceed that produced by nectaries located on the outer tepals. On average, regardless of flower stage, one flower secreted 10.87 ± 12.98 mg of nectar (mean and SD; N = 182). The nectar concentration ranged between 3 and 75%, with average concentration of sugars exceeding 50%. Both nectar production and concentration were dependent on the stage of anthesis, with the highest scores being recorded during full anthesis (21.75 ± 16.08 mg; 70.5%, mass and concentration, respectively) and the lowest at the end of anthesis (1.32 ± 2.69 mg; 16.9%, mass and concentration, respectively). A decline in both mass of nectar secreted and nectar concentration during the final stage of anthesis indicates nectar resorption. Nectar was composed of sucrose, glucose and fructose in approx. equal quantities, and its composition did not change significantly during subsequent stages of flowering. The nectaries comprised a single-layered secretory epidermis and several layers of subepidermal parenchyma. The nectariferous cells did not accumulate starch during any of the investigated stages. The nectary was supplied with one large and several smaller vascular bundles comprising xylem and phloem. Transport of assimilates and nectar secretion by protoplasts of secretory cells (and probably also nectar resorption) were facilitated by cell wall ingrowths present on the tangential walls of epidermal cells and subepidermal parenchyma. Epidermal cells lacked stomata. Nectar passed across the cell wall and through the cuticle which was clearly perforated with pores
Quantum test of the equivalence principle for atoms in superpositions of internal energy eigenstates
The Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) has a central role in the
understanding of gravity and space-time. In its weak form, or Weak Equivalence
Principle (WEP), it directly implies equivalence between inertial and
gravitational mass. Verifying this principle in a regime where the relevant
properties of the test body must be described by quantum theory has profound
implications. Here we report on a novel WEP test for atoms. A Bragg atom
interferometer in a gravity gradiometer configuration compares the free fall of
rubidium atoms prepared in two hyperfine states and in their coherent
superposition. The use of the superposition state allows testing genuine
quantum aspects of EEP with no classical analogue, which have remained
completely unexplored so far. In addition, we measure the Eotvos ratio of atoms
in two hyperfine levels with relative uncertainty in the low ,
improving previous results by almost two orders of magnitude.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nature Communicatio
The connection between metallicity and metal-line kinematics in (sub-)damped Lyman-alpha systems
A correlation between the metallicity, [M/H], and rest-frame MgII equivalent
width, EW, is found from 49 DLAs and strong sub-DLAs drawn from the literature
over the redshift range 0.2<z_abs<2.6. The correlation is significant at 4.2
sigma and improves to 4.7 sigma when the mild evolution of [M/H] with redshift
is taken into account. Even when including only the 26 DLAs (i.e. excluding
sub-DLAs) which have Zn metallicities and EW>0.7A, the correlation remains at
>3 sigma significance. Since the MgII2796 transition is predominantly saturated
in DLAs (which always have EW greater than 0.3A), EW is far more sensitive to
the kinematic spread of the metal velocity components across the absorption
profile than it is to [M/H]. Thus, the observed [M/H]--EW correlation points to
a strong link between the absorber metallicity and the mechanism for producing
and dispersing the velocity components. We also note that approximately half of
the 13 known molecular hydrogen absorbers have very high EW and very broad
velocity structures which show characteristics usually associated with
outflows. Follow-up ultraviolet- and blue-sensitive high-resolution spectra of
high-EW systems, initially identified in low-resolution spectra, may therefore
yield a large number of new H_2 discoveries.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures (3 EPS files). Accepted by MNRA
Neutron-induced 2.2 MeV background in gamma ray telescopes
Neutron-induced gamma ray production is an important source of background in Compton scatter gamma ray telescopes where organic scintillator material is used. Most important is deuteron formation when atmospheric albedo and locally produced neutrons are thermalized and subsequently absorbed in the hydrogenous material. The resulting 2.2 MeV gamma ray line radiation essentially represents a continuous isotropic source within the scintillator itself. Interestingly, using a scintillator material with a high hydrogen-to-carbon ratio to minimize the scintillator material with a high hydrogen-to-carbon ratio to minimize the neutron-induced 4.4 MeV carbon line favors the np reaction. The full problem of neutron-induced background in Compton scatter telescopes has been previously discussed. Results are presented of observations with the University of California balloon-borne Compton scatter telescope where the 2.2 MeV induced line emission is prominently seen
Inhomogeneity of donor doping in SrTiO3 substrates studied by fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy
Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) was applied to investigate
the donor distribution in SrTiO3 single crystals. On the surfaces of Nb- and
La-doped SrTiO3, structures with different fluorescence intensities and
lifetimes were found that could be related to different concentrations of Ti3+.
Furthermore, the inhomogeneous distribution of donors caused a non-uniform
conductivity of the surface, which complicates the production of potential
electronic devices by the deposition of oxide thin films on top of doped single
crystals. Hence, we propose FLIM as a convenient technique (length scale: 1
m) for characterizing the quality of doped oxide surfaces, which could
help to identify appropriate substrate materials
El proceso atencional y comunicativo y el desarrollo de competencias interpretativas en la formación del pianista de cámara
Pianists performing chamber music require skills of conscious listening and non-verbal, body or visual communication to perfect coordination, synchrony and dynamic balance. This study hypothesize that pianists have perceptive-attentional and psychological skills that allow them to communicate with other musicians. These skills are hypothesized to be better in more experienced pianists. This survey was conducted with 278 graduate and under-graduate pianists from all parts of Spain, who reported that the attention and communication skills are important in chamber music performance. Women reported higher levels of multitask competencies pertaining to conscious listening, body language and visual efficiency. At the same time, participants who are more highly trained and experienced report higher levels of attention, communication and interpretation skills when compared to the participants with shorter training and experience. Future research and practice should focus on assessment and inclusion of these skills in the curriculum of future chamber music pianists.</jats:p
Diffuse Interstellar Bands in z < 0.6 CaII Absorbers
The diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) probably arise from complex organic
molecules whose strength in local galaxies correlates with neutral hydrogen
column density, N(HI), and dust reddening, E(B-V). Since CaII absorbers in
quasar (QSO) spectra are posited to have high N(HI) and significant E(B-V),
they represent promising sites for the detection of DIBs at cosmological
distances. Here we present the results from the first search for DIBs in 9
CaII-selected absorbers at 0.07 < z_abs < 0.55. We detect the 5780Ang DIB in
one line of sight at z_abs = 0.1556; this is only the second QSO absorber in
which a DIB has been detected. Unlike the majority of local DIB sight-lines,
both QSO absorbers with detected DIBs show weak 6284Ang absorption compared
with the 5780Ang band. This may be indicative of different physical conditions
in intermediate redshift QSO absorbers compared with local galaxies. Assuming
that local relations between the 5780Ang DIB strength and N(HI) and E(B-V)
apply in QSO absorbers, DIB detections and limits can be used to derive N(HI)
and E(B-V). For the one absorber in this study with a detected DIB, we derive
E(B-V) = 0.23mag and log[N(HI)] >= 20.9, consistent with previous conclusions
that CaII systems have high HI column densities and significant reddening. For
the remaining 8 CaII-selected absorbers with 5780Ang DIB non-detections, we
derive E(B-V) upper limits of 0.1-0.3mag.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted to MNRAS Letter
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