683 research outputs found
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Dealing with propositional ambiguity in business process improvement
If it is true that people express their views about organisational issues in ambiguous terms then one needs to address this ambiguity instead of the ‘problems’ to find an appropriate methodological approach to resolving or dissolving problem situations in the organisation. This paper highlights and discusses those issues, which therefore relate to ambiguityin relation to decision making tasks within organisations, and the related Soft Systems Methodology / Systems Thinking school of thought, which traditionally constrains such ambiguities. A model of these issues is presented in terms of the Business Process Improvement (BPI) task to highlight these interdependencies
The Colleges Where Low-Income Students Get the Highest ROI
College typically pays off for low-income students, but not as much as it does for their peers. Low-income students, whose families earn 951,000), followed by private nonprofit institutions (763,000). The ROI for low-income students follows a similar pattern at colleges that primarily grant associate's degrees and certificates, with the highest returns from public institutions, followed by private nonprofit and for-profit institutions. However, low-income students' returns from associate's degrees can exceed $1 million, and certificates can be just as lucrative, depending on which college a student attends
A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 US Colleges And Universities
Using data from the expanded College Scorecard, this report ranks 4,500 colleges and universities by return on investment.A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges finds that bachelor's degrees from private colleges, on average, have higher ROI than degrees from public colleges 40 years after enrollment. Community colleges and many certificate programs have the highest returns in the short term, 10 years after enrollment, though returns from bachelor's degrees eventually overtake those of most two-year credentials
Buyer Beware: First-Year Earnings and Debt for 37,000 College Majors at 4,400 Institutions
Did you know that in the first year after graduation you can make more money with an associate's degree in nursing from Santa Rosa Junior College in California than with a graduate degree from some programs at Harvard University? Data from the College Scorecard reveal many more surprising details of post-college outcomes for students and families about that all-important first year after graduation. Buyer Beware: First-Year Earnings and Debt for 37,000 College Majors at 4,400 Institutions finds that first-year earnings for the same degree in the same major can vary by $80,000 at different colleges and universities. It also reveals that workers with less education can often make more than workers with more education, and that higher levels of education do not always result in higher student loan payments
Novel sialic acid derivatives lock open the 150-loop of an influenza A virus group-1 sialidase
This work was supported by the Medical Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council.Influenza virus sialidase has an essential role in the virus’ life cycle. Two distinct groups of influenza A virus sialidases have been established, that differ in the flexibility of the ‘150-loop’, providing a more open active site in the apo form of the group-1 compared to group-2 enzymes. In this study we show, through a multidisciplinary approach, that novel sialic acid-based derivatives can exploit this structural difference and selectively inhibit the activity of group-1 sialidases. We also demonstrate that group-1 sialidases from drug-resistant mutant influenza viruses are sensitive to these designed compounds. Moreover, we have determined, by protein X-ray crystallography, that these inhibitors lock open the group-1 sialidase flexible 150-loop, in agreement with our molecular modelling prediction. This is the first direct proof that compounds may be developed to selectively target the pandemic A/H1N1, avian A/H5N1 and other group-1 sialidase-containing viruses, based on an open 150-loop conformation of the enzyme.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Accurate distance control between a probe and a surface using a microcantilever
We demonstrate a method to accurately control the distance between a custom
probe and a sample on a {\mu}m to nm scale. The method relies on the
closed-loop feedback on the angular deflection of an in-contact AFM
microcantilever. High performance in stability and accuracy is achieved in this
method by taking advantage of the small mechanical feedback path between
surface and probe. We describe how internal error sources that find their
origin in the microcantilever and feedback can be minimized to achieve an
accurate and precise control up to 3 nm. In particular, we investigated how
hysteresis effects in the feedback caused by friction forces between tip and
substrate, can be minimized. By applying a short calibration procedure,
distance control from contact to several micrometers probe-sample distance can
be obtained with an absolute nanometer-scale accuracy. The method presented is
compatible with any probe that can be fixed on a microcantilever chip and can
be easily built into existing AFM systems
HIFI Spectroscopy of submm Lines in Nuclei of Actively Star Forming Galaxies
We present a systematic survey of multiple velocity-resolved HO spectra
using Herschel/HIFI towards nine nearby actively star forming galaxies. The
ground-state and low-excitation lines (E) show
profiles with emission and absorption blended together, while absorption-free
medium-excitation lines ()
typically display line shapes similar to CO. We analyze the HIFI observation
together with archival SPIRE/PACS HO data using a state-of-the-art 3D
radiative transfer code which includes the interaction between continuum and
line emission. The water excitation models are combined with information on the
dust- and CO spectral line energy distribution to determine the physical
structure of the interstellar medium (ISM). We identify two ISM components that
are common to all galaxies: A warm (),
dense () phase which dominates the
emission of medium-excitation HO lines. This gas phase also dominates the
FIR emission and the CO intensities for . In addition a cold
(), dense () more extended phase is present. It outputs the emission
in the low-excitation HO lines and typically also produces the prominent
line absorption features. For the two ULIRGs in our sample (Arp 220 and Mrk
231) an even hotter and more compact (R pc) region is present
which is possibly linked to AGN activity. We find that collisions dominate the
water excitation in the cold gas and for lines with
and in the warm and hot component, respectively.
Higher energy levels are mainly excited by IR pumping.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, in pres
Molecular lines as tracers of Compton-thick AGN ?
Recently, Papadopoulos et al., 2010 using sub-mm CO molecular line
observations of nearby ultra-luminous IRAS galaxies, (U)LIRGs, have found that
exceptionally large gas column densities (N_H > 10^25 cm-2) can be present
across some of the very dense gaseous disks that are typically found in these
objects. They also proposed a diagnostic for finding such sources using CO and
HCN molecular lines. Given that such high column densities are expected to
absorb any X-ray luminous AGN, yielding Compton-thick sources, we set out
toexplore whether this can be discerned using X-ray observations. More
specifically we examine X-ray spectral observations of 14 sources in their
sample, using public Chandra observations (0.5-10 keV) for eleven sources as
well as BeppoSAX results (2-100 keV) from the literature for another three
sources. Our goal is to find candidate Compton-thick AGN and to check whether
the molecular line selection criterion is successful in selecting such systems.
X-ray spectroscopy reveals four candidate Compton-thick AGN of which half fall
within the high obscuration region in the molecular line ratio diagnostics. Of
the remaining five sources falling into the `high dust obscuration' box, one
(Mrk273) is highly obscured (N_H ~4x10^23 cm-2) while in the other four the
X-ray emission is most probably associated with star-forming processes rather
than an AGN on the basis of their X-ray and mid-infrared properties. Overall,
we argue that although this method as expected cannot recover all Compton-thick
AGN, there are no examples of X-ray luminous AGN inside that region that have
low obscuration, suggesting that this method is efficient in finding heavily
obscured AGN in dust-enshrouded star-forming galaxies. The above results bear
important implications for future joint ALMA and X-ray observations for the
detection of Compton-thick AGN.Comment: To appear in A&A Letter
Integral-field near-infrared spectroscopy of two blue dwarf galaxies: NGC 5253 and He 2-10
We present integral field spectroscopy in the near infrared (NIR) of He 2-10
and NGC 5253, two well known nearby dwarf irregular galaxies showing high
star-formation rates. Our data provide an unprecedented detailed view of the
interstellar medium and star formation in these galaxies, allowing us to obtain
spatially resolved information from the NIR emission and absorption line
tracers. We study the spatial distribution and kinematics of different
components of the interstellar medium (ISM) mostly through the Bracket series
lines, the molecular hydrogen spectrum, [FeII] emission, and CO absorptions.
Although the ISM is mostly photo-excited, as derived by the [FeII]/Bry and H2
line ratios, some regions corresponding to non-thermal radio sources show a
[FeII]/Bry excess due to a significant contribution of SN driven shocks. In He
2-10 we find that the molecular gas clouds, as traced by CO(2-1) and H2
infrared line, show consistent morphologies and velocities when studied with
the two different tracers. Moreover, there is a clear association with the
youngest super star clusters as traced by the ionized gas. In the same galaxy
we observe a cavity depleted of gas, which is surrounded by some of the most
active regions of star formation, that we interpret as a signature of
feedback-induced star formation from older episodes of star formation. Finally,
we measured high turbulence in the ISM of both galaxies, sigma~30-80 km/s,
driven by the high star-formation activity.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Rhodococcus equi Infection after Alemtuzumab Therapy for T-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia
Rhodococcus equi, mainly known from veterinary medicine as a pathogen in domestic animals, can also cause infections in immunocompromised humans, especially in those with defects in cellular immunity. Alemtuzumab, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, causes lymphocytopenia by eliminating CD52-positive cells. We report a patient in whom Rhodococcus equi infection developed after alemtuzumab therapy
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