797 research outputs found
Transformational Leadership Among Retired Senior Military Officers in the Malaysian Corporate Sector
The purpose of this research was to understand the nature of
transformational leadership among retired senior military officers as
leaders in the Malaysian corporate sector. The research was conducted
through the examination of four research questions: (1) what are the
characteristics of transformational leaders; (2) what are the specific
practices that transformational leaders engage in; (3) what factors are
associated with the emergence or practice of transformational leadership;
and (4) what aspects of military leadership transfer to the corporate
setting. The study employed the qualitative methodology and the data
were collected through in-depth interviews, informal observations and
examination of related documents. Leaders in the Malaysian corporate sector were purposefully
selected to participate in this study. The partici pants included twelve
leaders who are retired senior military officers formerly with the Army,
Navy and the Air Force and presently holding senior positions in the
corporate sector. The interviews were intended to obtain their
perceptions, experiences, and practices related to their job as leaders
in the corporate sector. The main sources of data were from the semistructured
interviews that were taped, transcri bed and analysed. The
interviews with the participants were between one to two hours. Apart
from the leaders, data was also gathered from five subordinates who were
informerly interviewed with the purpose of confirming certain aspects and
triangulating the data obtained from the leaders.
The study revealed five characteristics of transformational leaders,
four aspects of transformational leadership practices, two main factors that
influence transformational leadership practices and three main aspects of
military leadership that emerged in leadership practices in the corporate
environment. Apart from these findings, two other distinct aspects were
also discovered to have emerged during the study. These aspects include
'a calling' for leadership prevalent among former military leaders and the
need for adjustment from military to the corporate environment
Apparent Role for \u3cem\u3eBorrelia burgdorferi\u3c/em\u3e LuxS During Mammalian Infection
The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, controls protein expression patterns during its tick-mammal infection cycle. Earlier studies demonstrated that B. burgdorferi synthesizes 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (autoinducer-2 [AI-2]) and responds to AI-2 by measurably changing production of several infection-associated proteins. luxS mutants, which are unable to produce AI-2, exhibit altered production of several proteins. B. burgdorferi cannot utilize the other product of LuxS, homocysteine, indicating that phenotypes of luxS mutants are not due to the absence of that molecule. Although a previous study found that a luxS mutant was capable of infecting mice, a critical caveat to those results is that bacterial loads were not quantified. To more precisely determine whether LuxS serves a role in mammalian infection, mice were simultaneously inoculated with congenic wild-type and luxS strains, and bacterial numbers were assessed using quantitative PCR. The wild-type bacteria substantially outcompeted the mutants, suggesting that LuxS performs a significant function during mammalian infection. These data also provide further evidence that nonquantitative infection studies do not necessarily provide conclusive results and that regulatory factors may not make all-or-none, black-or-white contributions to infectivity
Effect of the space environment on materials flown on the EURECA/TICCE-HVI experiment
The primary benefit of accurately quantifying and characterizing the space environmental effects on materials is longer instrument and spacecraft life. Knowledge of the limits of materials allows the designer to optimize the spacecraft design so that the required life is achieved. Materials such as radiator coatings that have excellent durability result in the design of smaller radiators than a radiator coated with a lower durability coating. This may reduce the weight of the spacecraft due to a more optimum design. Another benefit of characterizing materials is the quantification of outgassing properties. Spacecraft which have ultraviolet or visible sensor payloads are susceptible to contamination by outgassed volatile materials. Materials with known outgassing characteristics can be restricted in these spacecraft. Finally, good data on material characteristics improves the ability of analytical models to predict material performance. A flight experiment was conducted on the European Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier (EuReCa) as part of the Timeband Capture Cell Experiment (TICCE). Our main objective was to gather additional data on the dust and debris environments, with the focus on understanding growth as a function of size (mass) for hypervelocity particles 1E-06 cm and larger. In addition to enumerating particle impacts, hypervelocity particles were to be captured and returned intact. Measurements were performed post-flight to determine the flux density, diameters, and subsequent effects on various optical, thermal control and structural materials. In addition to these principal measurements, the experiment also provided a structure and sample holders for the exposure of passive material samples to the space environment, e.g., the effects of thermal cycling, atomic oxygen, etc. Preliminary results are presented, including the techniques used for intact capture of particles
RNA-Seq of \u3cem\u3eBorrelia burgdorferi\u3c/em\u3e in Multiple Phases of Growth Reveals Insights into the Dynamics of Gene Expression, Transcriptome Architecture, and Noncoding RNAs
Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, differentially expresses numerous genes and proteins as it cycles between mammalian hosts and tick vectors. Insights on regulatory mechanisms have been provided by earlier studies that examined B. burgdorferi gene expression patterns during cultivation. However, prior studies examined bacteria at only a single time point of cultivation, providing only a snapshot of what is likely a dynamic transcriptional program driving B. burgdorferi adaptations to changes during culture growth phases. To address that concern, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis of B. burgdorferi cultures at early-exponential, mid-exponential, and early-stationary phases of growth. We found that expression of nearly 18% of annotated B. burgdorferi genes changed significantly during culture maturation. Moreover, genome-wide mapping of the B. burgdorferi transcriptome in different growth phases enabled insight on transcript boundaries, operon structures, and identified numerous putative non-coding RNAs. These RNA-Seq data are discussed and presented as a resource for the community of researchers seeking to better understand B. burgdorferi biology and pathogenesis
An evaluation of the Elementary Evaluative Criteria
Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1955. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive
Evaluation of known and novel inhibitors of Orai1-mediated store operated Ca2+ entry in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells using a Fluorescence Imaging Plate Reader assay
The Orai1 Ca2+ permeable ion channel is an important component of store operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) in cells. It's over-expression in basal molecular subtype breast cancers has been linked with poor prognosis, making it a potential target for drug development. We pharmacologically characterised a number of reported inhibitors of SOCE in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells using a convenient Fluorescence Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) assay, and show that the rank order of their potencies in this assay is the same as those reported in a wide range of published assays. The assay was also used in a screening project seeking novel inhibitors. Following a broad literature survey of classes of calcium channel inhibitors we used simplified ligand structures to query the ZINC on-line database, and following two iterations of refinement selected a novel Orai1-selective dichlorophenyltriazole hit compound. Analogues of this were synthesized and evaluated in the FLIPR assay to develop structure-activity relationships (SAR) for the three domains of the hit; triazole (head), dichlorophenyl (body) and substituted phenyl (tail). For this series, the results suggested the need for a lipophilic tail domain and an out-of-plane twist between the body and tail domains. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Semiquantal dynamics of fluctuations: Ostensible quantum chaos
The time-dependent variational principle using generalized Gaussian trial
functions yields a finite dimensional approximation to the full quantum
dynamics and is used in many disciplines. It is shown how these 'semi-quantum'
dynamics may be derived via the Ehrenfest theorem and recast as an extended
classical gradient system with the fluctuation variables coupled to the average
variables. An extended potential is constructed for a one-dimensional system.
The semiquantal behavior is shown to be chaotic even though the system has
regular classical behavior and the quantum behavior had been assumed regular.Comment: 9 pages, TeX, 2 figures (not attached; hard copies available
immediately on request). To appear in Physical Review Letter
Thermal Emission of WASP-14b Revealed with Three Spitzer Eclipses
Exoplanet WASP-14b is a highly irradiated, transiting hot Jupiter. Joshi et
al. calculate an equilibrium temperature Teq of 1866 K for zero albedo and
reemission from the entire planet, a mass of 7.3 +/- 0.5 Jupiter masses and a
radius of 1.28 +/- 0.08 Jupiter radii. Its mean density of 4.6 g/cm3 is one of
the highest known for planets with periods less than 3 days. We obtained three
secondary eclipse light curves with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The eclipse
depths from the best jointly fit model are +/- at 4.5
{\mu}m and +/- at 8.0 {\mu}m. The corresponding brightness
temperatures are 2212 +/- 94 K and 1590 +/- 116 K. A slight ambiguity between
systematic models suggests a conservative 3.6 {\mu}m eclipse depth of
+/- and brightness temperature of 2242 +/- 55 K. Although extremely
irradiated, WASP-14b does not show any distinct evidence of a thermal
inversion. In addition, the present data nominally favor models with day night
energy redistribution less than . The current data are generally
consistent with oxygen-rich as well as carbon-rich compositions, although an
oxygen-rich composition provides a marginally better fit. We confirm a
significant eccentricity of e = 0.087 +/- 0.002 and refine other orbital
parameters.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figure
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