Sub-Cultural Differences in Information Ethics across China: Focus On Chinese Management Generation Gaps

We combined scenarios based on information ethics issues identified by Mason (privacy, accuracy, property, and access) with questions based on the stages of moral development proposed by Kohlberg to empirically test two theories rooted in sociology: generational subculture theory and life-cycle theory. Evidence from more than 1,100 managers across China strongly supports generational subculture theory by revealing significant differences in information ethics among the Republican, Revolutionary, and Reform generations. The generation gaps suggest that events such as the Cultural Revolution as well as the implementation of both the Open Door Policy and the One-Child Policy have shaped the information ethics of Chinese managers. We also discovered fundamental tensions between Western moral philosophies (based on rules, democracy, individual rights, and personal freedoms) and the traditions of Chinese culture (based on relationships, hierarchy, collective responsibilities, and social harmony). The ethical dimensions of the evolution from traditional China to modern China, and from particularistic trust to systemic trust, are discussed. Combined with previous Chinese management research by Martinsons, our study implies that it will be difficult to resolve data privacy and intellectual property issues. It also raises concerns about cross-cultural research such as GLOBE and Hofstede that rely on narrow demographic samples. Further research is recommended to examine the information and knowledge management of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (or Millennial Generation), and other sub-cultural groups, in order to determine the generalizability of “doing the right thing”

Discrete Element Method Approach to Simulate Cracks in Four-Point Flexural Test

Concrete is a material that is widely used in construction. Concrete research efforts are ongoing and through a series of experimental tests. On the other hand, experimental tests require a lot of money, take a long time, and create waste. Several studies have revealed that numerical testing can accurately test concrete to fractures. However, modeling for the four-point load flexure test pattern is still not widely discussed. This study aimed to model the four-point flexural test of concrete using the discrete element method (DEM) approach. Sieve gradation was performed to determine particle size, and flexure testing was performed to calibrate the DEM model. DEM flexure testing was made using Yet Another Dynamic Engine (YADE) software with ASTM D6272 reference and beam dimensions 105 x 105 x 535 mm. The cohesive contact model with spherical particles is used, and the algorithm developed modifies the faceted sphere of interaction. The study results revealed that DEM can simulate crack behavior in flexural testing of unreinforced concrete. The DEM results show only a 2.13% difference in the experimental results of the flexural strength test. Meanwhile, crack behavior can be observed directly in the DEM simulation. The results of this study can be used to predict the failure pattern of the flexural test structure and to design the right proportion of the mixture to match the desired flexural strength. So that material efficiency and concrete flexure testing time can be achieved

Current quark mass dependence of nucleon magnetic moments and radii

A calculation of the current-quark-mass-dependence of nucleon static electromagnetic properties is necessary in order to use observational data as a means to place constraints on the variation of Nature's fundamental parameters. A Poincare' covariant Faddeev equation, which describes baryons as composites of confined-quarks and -nonpointlike-diquarks, is used to calculate this dependence The results indicate that, like observables dependent on the nucleons' magnetic moments, quantities sensitive to their magnetic and charge radii, such as the energy levels and transition frequencies in Hydrogen and Deuterium, might also provide a tool with which to place limits on the allowed variation in Nature's constants.Comment: 23 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, 4 appendice

Quantitative Microscopy of Hepatic Changes Induced by Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in Fischer-344 Rats Fed Either a Cereal-Based Diet or a Purified Diet

Hepatic changes induced by phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in the liver of rats were determined by quantitative microscopy. Groups of male Fischer-344 rats were fed either a standard, cereal-based diet (Wayne rodent meal) or a purified diet (AIN-76A) containing PEITC at concentrations of 0.75 and 6.0 mmol/kg for 13 wk. Severe hepatic lipidosis was observed in control rats fed the purified diet. Addition of PEITC to the purified diet significantly reduced lipid content in hepatocytes. In contrast, lipid content in the liver of the rats fed the cereal-based diet containing PEITC was greater than in control rats maintained on the same diet. In addition, dose-related reductions in hepatocyte, lipid droplet, peroxisome, and mitochondrial volumes were observed in PEITC-treated rats fed the cereal-based diet. These results indicate that PEITC exerts differential effects on the liver of rats fed either the cereal-based or purified diet.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68493/2/10.1177_019262339502300602.pd

Guard cell SLAC1-type anion channels mediate flagellin-induced stomatal closure

During infection plants recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), and this leads to stomatal closure. This study analyzes the molecular mechanisms underlying this MAMP response and its interrelation with ABA signaling. Stomata in intact Arabidopsis thaliana plants were stimulated with the bacterial MAMP flg22, or the stress hormone ABA, by using the noninvasive nanoinfusion technique. Intracellular double-barreled microelectrodes were applied to measure the activity of plasma membrane ion channels. Flg22 induced rapid stomatal closure and stimulated the SLAC1 and SLAH3 anion channels in guard cells. Loss of both channels resulted in cells that lacked flg22-induced anion channel activity and stomata that did not close in response to flg22 or ABA. Rapid flg22-dependent stomatal closure was impaired in plants that were flagellin receptor (FLS2)-deficient, as well as in the ost1-2 (Open Stomata 1) mutant, which lacks a key ABA-signaling protein kinase. By contrast, stomata of the ABA protein phosphatase mutant abi1-1 (ABscisic acid Insensitive 1) remained flg22-responsive. These data suggest that the initial steps in flg22 and ABA signaling are different, but that the pathways merge at the level of OST1 and lead to activation of SLAC1 and SLAH3 anion channels.Peer reviewe

Phenotype Restricted Genome-Wide Association Study Using a Gene-Centric Approach Identifies Three Low-Risk Neuroblastoma Susceptibility Loci

Neuroblastoma is a malignant neoplasm of the developing sympathetic nervous system that is notable for its phenotypic diversity. High-risk patients typically have widely disseminated disease at diagnosis and a poor survival probability, but low-risk patients frequently have localized tumors that are almost always cured with little or no chemotherapy. Our genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified common variants within FLJ22536, BARD1, and LMO1 as significantly associated with neuroblastoma and more robustly associated with high-risk disease. Here we show that a GWAS focused on low-risk cases identified SNPs within DUSP12 at 1q23.3 (P = 2.07×10−6), DDX4 and IL31RA both at 5q11.2 (P = 2.94×10−6 and 6.54×10−7 respectively), and HSD17B12 at 11p11.2 (P = 4.20×10−7) as being associated with the less aggressive form of the disease. These data demonstrate the importance of robust phenotypic data in GWAS analyses and identify additional susceptibility variants for neuroblastoma

The Earth Regeneration Effect of Solar Neutrinos: a Numerical Treatment with Three Active Neutrino Flavors

We introduce an integrated algorithm for full scale investigation of the earth regeneration effect of solar neutrinos with all three active neutrinos. We illustrate that the earth effect on low energy solar neutrinos ($E_\nu < 20$ MeV) causes large variations in the survival probabilities for large values of the mixing angle $\theta_{12}$ for a given value of $\theta_{13}$. But it is maximal for small values of $\theta_{13}$ and diminishes for large values at a given value of $\theta_{12}$. The nadir angle dependence is sensitive to the value of $E'\equiv E/\Delta_{12}$. As far as low energy solar neutrinos are concerned we notice that the earth effect is more pronounced for core penetration. We confirm that the earth effect leaves the SMA region almost intact regardless of $\theta_{13}$ and that it is significant for high energy $^8$B and $hep$ neutrinos in the LMA region. We also show that for large values of $\theta_{13}$, the earth effect is significant for high energy neutrinos ($E'\gtrsim 10^9$) and it can be large at any nadir angle.Comment: 8 pages, 2 postscript figure

Wilson Expansion of QCD Propagators at Three Loops: Operators of Dimension Two and Three

In this paper we construct the Wilson short distance operator product expansion for the gluon, quark and ghost propagators in QCD, including operators of dimension two and three, namely, A^2, m^2, m A^2, \ovl{\psi} \psi and m^3. We compute analytically the coefficient functions of these operators at three loops for all three propagators in the general covariant gauge. Our results, taken in the Landau gauge, should help to improve the accuracy of extracting the vacuum expectation values of these operators from lattice simulation of the QCD propagators.Comment: 20 pages, no figure