The Pulse Scale Conjecture and the Case of BATSE Trigger 2193

The pulses that compose gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are hypothesized to have the same shape at all energies, differing only by scale factors in time and amplitude. This "Pulse Scale Conjecture" is confirmed here between energy channels of the dominant pulse in GRB 930214c (BATSE trigger 2193), the single most fluent single-pulsed GRB that occurred before May 1998. Furthermore, pulses are hypothesized to start at the same time independent of energy. This "Pulse Start Conjecture" is also confirmed in GRB 930214c. Analysis of GRB 930214c also shows that, in general, higher energy channels show shorter temporal scale factors. Over the energy range 100 KeV - 1 MeV, it is found that the temporal scale factors between a pulse measured at different energies are related to that energy by a power law, possibly indicating a simple relativistic mechanism is at work. To test robustness, the Pulse Start and Pulse Scale Conjectures were also tested on the four next most fluent single-pulse GRBs. Three of the four clearly passed, with a second smaller pulse possibly confounding the discrepant test. Models where the pulse rise and decay are created by different phenomena do not typically predict pulses that satisfy both the Pulse Start Conjecture and the Pulse Scale Conjecture, unless both processes are seen to undergo common time dilation.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, analysis revised and extended, accepted to Ap

Perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in Mexico and the USA: a comparative study of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of Mexican and US employees about effective and ineffective managerial behaviour. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple cross-case comparative analysis of findings obtained from two past emic replication studies of observed effective and ineffective managerial behaviour carried out in Mexico and the USA respectively was conducted. Findings Notwithstanding the significant cultural variances between Mexico and the US underlined by various cross-cultural studies, our findings suggest that Mexican and US employees perceive effective and ineffective managerial behaviour in a very similar manner. Research limitations While the results of our study suggest that culture may not play a significant role in the way people perceive managerial and leadership effectiveness, we suggest that more replication studies with larger and more balanced gender samples using different methods need to be performed in both countries. Practical implications The findings of our study may be relevant for HRD professionals in both countries when providing training to expatriates for international assignments. Reinforcing the set of managerial practices that are perceived as effective in these two countries, and emphasizing those practices that may be particular to Mexico and the US respectively, could lead to an improvement in the performance of Mexican executives managing in the US and US executives managing in Mexico

Contemporary perceptions of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour: a 21st century case for the U.S.A.

This qualitative study explores how contemporary US managers and non-managerial employees in the metropolitan region of Atlanta, Georgia behaviorally differentiate effective managers from ineffective ones. We collected from 81 research participants 381 critical incidents (CIs) of observed effective and ineffective managerial behavior. These CIs were subjected to open, axial and selective coding which resulted in the emergence of 10 effective and 13 ineffective behavioral indicators of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness. The findings could be valuable to managers seeking to make better decisions about how best to behaviorally manage and lead US employees in the 21st century

Overprinting orogenic events, ductile extrusion and strain partitioning during Caledonian transpression, NW Mainland Shetland

A 3.6 km thick stack of mid-crustal deformed Precambrian rocks is associated with the North Roe Nappe (NRN) and Walls Boundary Fault in the northernmost Scottish Caledonides on NW Mainland Shetland. The greenschist- to amphibolite-facies rocks display unusually complex and heterogeneous combinations of coaxial and non-coaxial transpressional deformation. Previously published isotopic dating, together with new detailed field mapping and microstructural characterisation show that the NRN preserves a record of Neoarchaean, Neoproterozoic (Knoydartian) and Ordovician-Silurian (Caledonian) overprinting deformation and metamorphism. Neoarchaean events in the Uyea Gneiss Complex located in its footwall are reworked by younger events in the overlying nappe pile. The main ductile fabrics were formed during Caledonian top-to-the W/NW thrusting and top-to-the N sinistral shearing, with subordinate regions of top- to-the E extensional and NNE-SSW dextral shearing. In lower parts of the NRN, these different kinematic domains are texturally indistinguishable and overprinting relationships are absent. At higher levels, top-to-the-W/NW thrust-related fabrics are consistently overprinted by top-to-the-N/NE sinistral shearing. The highly partitioned transpressional deformation shows similarities with equivalent rocks of the Moine Nappe in NW Scotland

Toward a universalistic behavioural model of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness for the health services sector

This is an accepted manuscript of a paper published by SAGE, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1177/09514848211065462 The accepted manuscript of the publication may differ from the final published version.Much management and leadership development provision for healthcare professionals has been the subject of considerable criticism, and there have been numerous calls for training programmes explicitly focused on the specific managerial (manager/leader) behaviours healthcare managers, physician leaders and nurse managers need to exhibit to be perceived effective. The aim of our multiple cross-case/cross-nation comparative study has been to: i) identify similarities and differences between the findings of published qualitative critical incident studies of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour observed within British, Egyptian, Mexican and Romanian public hospitals, respectively, and ii) if possible, deduce from the identified commonalities a healthcare-related behavioural model of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness. Adopting a philosophical stance informed by pragmatism, epistemological instrumentalism and abduction, we used realist qualitative analytic methods to code and classify into a maximum number of discrete behavioural categories empirical source data obtained from five previous studies. We found high degrees of empirical generalization which resulted in the identification of five positive (effective) and four negative (ineffective) behavioural dimensions (BDs) derived, respectively, from 14 positive and 9 negative deduced behavioural categories (BCs). These BDs and underpinning BCs are expressed in the form of an emergent two-factor universalistic behavioural model of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness. We suggest the model could be used to critically evaluate the relevance and appropriateness of existing training provision for physician leaders, nurse managers and other healthcare managers/leaders in public hospitals or to design new explicit training programmes informed and shaped by healthcare-specific management research, as called for in the literature

Managerial and leadership effectiveness as perceived by managers and non-managerial employees in Mexico

Using the critical incident (CI) technique, concrete examples of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour (CIs) were collected from managers and non-managerial employees within private and public sector organizations situated in the north and southeast regions of Mexico. The CIs were content analysed using open, axial and selective coding to identify a smaller number of thematic categories. A total of 38 ‘manager’ and 35 ‘non-managerial employee’ behavioural categories were identified respectively, of which 82.19% (n = 60) were found to be either convergent or polar opposite in meaning. The findings suggest that what behaviourally differentiates effective managers from ineffective managers is perceived, described and defined by Mexican managers and non-managerial employees in much the same way. The study provides new insights on the issue of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in Mexico and is a rare example of indigenous managerial behaviour research in a non-Anglo country

Chronic rejection of mouse kidney allografts

Chronic rejection of mouse kidney allografts.BackgroundChronic renal allograft rejection is the leading cause of late graft failure. However, its pathogenesis has not been defined.MethodsTo explore the pathogenesis of chronic rejection, we studied a mouse model of kidney transplantation and examined the effects of altering the expression of donor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens on the development of chronic rejection.ResultsWe found that long-surviving mouse kidney allografts develop pathological abnormalities that resemble chronic rejection in humans. Furthermore, the absence of MHC class I or class II antigens did not prevent the loss of graft function nor alter the pathological characteristics of chronic rejection. Expression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a pleiotropic cytokine suggested to play a role in chronic rejection, was markedly enhanced in control allografts compared with isografts. However, TGF-β up-regulation was significantly blunted in MHC-deficient grafts. Nonetheless, these differences in TGF-β expression did not affect the character of chronic rejection, including intrarenal accumulation of collagens.ConclusionsReduced expression of either class I or II direct allorecognition pathways is insufficient to prevent the development of chronic rejection, despite a reduction in the levels of TGF-β expressed in the allograft. This suggests that the severity of chronic rejection is independent of the level of MHC disparity between donor and recipient and the level of TGF-β expression within the allograft

Part 2: Making the "unproven" "proven"

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Rice Galaxy: An open resource for plant science

Background: Rice molecular genetics, breeding, genetic diversity, and allied research (such as rice-pathogen interaction) have adopted sequencing technologies and high-density genotyping platforms for genome variation analysis and gene discovery. Germplasm collections representing rice diversity, improved varieties, and elite breeding materials are accessible through rice gene banks for use in research and breeding, with many having genome sequences and high-density genotype data available. Combining phenotypic and genotypic information on these accessions enables genome-wide association analysis, which is driving quantitative trait loci discovery and molecular marker development. Comparative sequence analyses across quantitative trait loci regions facilitate the discovery of novel alleles. Analyses involving DNA sequences and large genotyping matrices for thousands of samples, however, pose a challenge to non−computer savvy rice researchers. Findings: The Rice Galaxy resource has shared datasets that include high-density genotypes from the 3,000 Rice Genomes project and sequences with corresponding annotations from 9 published rice genomes. The Rice Galaxy web server and deployment installer includes tools for designing single-nucleotide polymorphism assays, analyzing genome-wide association studies, population diversity, rice−bacterial pathogen diagnostics, and a suite of published genomic prediction methods. A prototype Rice Galaxy compliant to Open Access, Open Data, and Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reproducible principles is also presented. Conclusions: Rice Galaxy is a freely available resource that empowers the plant research community to perform state-of-the-art analyses and utilize publicly available big datasets for both fundamental and applied science

Rate Dependent Performance Related to Crystal Structure Evolution of Na0.67Mn0.8Mg0.2O2 in a Sodium-Ion Battery

Sodium-ion batteries are considered as a favorable alternative to the widely used lithium-ion batteries for applications such as grid-scale energy storage. However, to meet the energy density and reliability that is necessary, electrodes that are structurally stable and well characterized during electrochemical cycling need to be developed. Here, we report on how the applied discharge current rate influences the structural evolution of Na0.67Mn0.8Mg0.2O2 electrode materials. A combination of ex situ and in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were used to probe the structural transitions at the discharged state and during charge/discharge. Ex situ data shows a two-phase electrode at the discharged state comprised of phases that adopt Cmcm and P63/mmc symmetries at the 100 mA/g rate but a predominantly P63/mmc electrode at 200 and 400 mA/g rates. In situ synchrotron XRD data at 100 mA/g shows a solely P63/mmc electrode when 12 mA/g charge and 100 mA/g discharge is used even though ex situ XRD data shows the p..