Basic memory module

Construction and electrical characterization of the 4096 x 2-bit Basic Memory Module (BMM) are reported for the Space Ultrareliable Modular Computer (SUMC) program. The module uses four 2K x 1-bit N-channel FET, random access memory chips, called array chips, and two sense amplifier chips, mounted and interconnected on a ceramic substrate. Four 5% tolerance power supplies are required. At the Module, the address, chip select, and array select lines require a 0-8.5 V MOS signal level. The data output, read-strobe, and write-enable lines operate at TTl levels. Although the module is organized as 4096 x 2 bits, it can be used in a 8196 x 1-bit application with appropriate external connections. A 4096 x 1-bit organization can be obtained by depopulating chips

Filling the "discursive void" in the construction of talent management policy knowledge: a Slovak case study [forthcoming]

HRM practices have fared well across national borders due to globalization. The field of international HRM has learnt us a great deal by exploring different effects on HRM implementation in different countries. Our symposium is rooted in two main streams of the literature, HRM effectiveness and HRM challenges of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) in different regions of the world. Overall, it is acknowledged that HRM philosophy and practices are context specific and shaped by specific organizational dynamics as well as socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. Therefore, one must expect HRM policies and practices to differ in content and emphasis across national borders. Along with a long list of HRM-related issues, the literature does not pay attention yet enough to the involvement of line managers in HRM implementation in international context. In case of MNCs structures, HRM philosophies and policies are usually designed at the headquarters and communicated through towards subsidiaries, but it may be line subsidiaries-based managers who, in the end, take final responsibilities to implement centrally designed HRM systems. In case of indigenous organizations, the main logic remains: line managers stay responsible for the execution of HR practices

The currency of talent management - a reply to "talent management and the relevance of context: towards a pluralistic approach"

In this paper we provide a commentary on the article in this special issue by Thunnissen, Boselie, and Fruytier on the relevance of context to the field of talent management. We agree that further research is needed to explore the link between macro, meso and micro-level considerations. The authors pose a question in relation to the contribution of talent management to the social and moral development of society; which, for us, raises issues as to the extent to which individual agency in ethical issues is possible in environments designed to regulate and control talent. We concur that a more critical, pluralist approach to talent management scholarship is needed and that talent management should go beyond a mere economic exchange. We suggest, as Yet unexplored, notions of strategic exchange, and individual identity provide a richer picture of the employment relationship. Thus this paper raises a number of possible directions for future TM research

Substrate-derived Sortase A inhibitors: targeting an essential virulence factor of Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria

The bacterial transpeptidase Sortase A (SrtA) is a surface enzyme of Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria. It has been shown to be an essential virulence factor for the establishment of various bacterial infections, including septic arthritis. However, the development of potent Sortase A inhibitors remains an unmet challenge. Sortase A relies on a five amino acid sorting signal (LPXTG), by which it recognizes its natural target. We report the synthesis of a series of peptidomimetic inhibitors of Sortase A based on the sorting signal, supported by computational binding analysis. By employing a FRET-compatible substrate, our inhibitors were assayed in vitro. Among our panel, we identified several promising inhibitors with IC50 values below 200 mu M, with our strongest inhibitor - LPRDSar - having an IC50 of 18.9 mu M. Furthermore, it was discovered that three of our compounds show an effect on growth and biofilm inhibition of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus, with the inclusion of a phenyl ring seemingly key to this effect. The most promising compound in our panel, BzLPRDSar, could inhibit biofilm formation at concentrations as low as 32 mu g mL(-1), manifesting it as a potential future drug lead. This could lead to treatments for MRSA infections in clinics and diseases such as septic arthritis, which has been directly linked with SrtA

Managing ecosystems for service innovation: A dynamic capability view

The success of service innovations is intertwined with firms’ capabilities to coordinate, orchestrate, and collaborate with a set of external actors. Adopting an ecosystem and dynamic capability perspective, this article examines ecosystem-related capabilities for developing service innovation in product-centric firms. The research uses a mixed-methods approach focusing on the energy utility sector: (1) a survey with 133 managers from 28 firms that allows a comparison of ecosystem-related capabilities between firms with high and low service-innovation intensity; and (2) a complementary interview study with 8 of these firms that have high service-innovation intensity, allowing a detailed understanding of the relevant ecosystem-related capabilities to be developed. From the data we derive a set of 12 ecosystem-related capabilities for service innovation related to the sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring of external resources. The results indicate that firms with high service-innovation intensity possess significantly stronger ecosystem-related capabilities than firms with lower service-innovation intensity. Those firms also seem to sense and seize external opportunities and resources to a greater extent in order to reconfigure their service-related ecosystems. The findings also show that successful service innovators consider not only value-adding partnerships, such as suppliers and customers, to be relevant for service innovation, but also relationships with non-direct value-adding ecosystem stakeholders (e.g., local governments, communities, legislators)

Zur Erhebung des adaptiven Verhaltens von zwei- und dreijährigen Kindern im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP)

Since the year 2003, SOEP has been systematically adding to its repertoire of survey instruments in the area of early childhood. The present study reports on the instrumental value of a 20-item "mother questionnaire" on the adaptive behavior of their two to three-year-old children (VABS) in the areas of language, everyday skills, motor skills, and social relationships. The survey was first employed in the year 2005. We study aspects of instrumental quality (reliability, validity, sensitivity to change), as well as bivariate and multivariate relationships with other characteristics of the child, the childcare situation, and the household and family. The authors conclude that SOEP-Vineland-Scale is very useful in the wider context of the SOEP data. Das SOEP baut seit dem Jahr 2003 das Erhebungsinstrumentarium für den Bereich der frühen Kindheit systematisch aus. Dieser Beitrag berichtet über die instrumentelle Güte eines 20 Items umfassenden Mütterfragebogens zum adaptiven Verhalten von zwei bis dreijährigen Kindern (VABS) in den Bereichen Sprache, Alltagsfertigkeiten, Motorik und soziale Beziehungen, der erstmals im Jahr 2005 eingesetzt wurde. Untersucht werden Aspekte der instrumentellen Güte (Reliabilität ; Validität ; Entwicklungssensitivität) sowie bi- und multivariate Zusammenhänge mit anderen Kindmerkmalen, der kindlichen Betreuungssituation und Haushalts- und Familienmerkmalen. Als Fazit kann festgehalten werden, dass die Autoren einen hohen Nutzen der Skala im Kontext des breiten Kranzes von SOEP-Daten sehen.

Anchor cell signaling and vulval precursor cell positioning establish a reproducible spatial context during C. elegans vulval induction

How cells coordinate their spatial positioning through intercellular signaling events is poorly understood. Here we address this topic using Caenorhabditis elegans vulval patterning during which hypodermal vulval precursor cells (VPCs) adopt distinct cell fates determined by their relative positions to the gonadal anchor cell (AC). LIN-3/EGF signaling by the AC induces the central VPC, P6.p, to adopt a 1° vulval fate. Exact alignment of AC and VPCs is thus critical for correct fate patterning, yet, as we show here, the initial AC-VPC positioning is both highly variable and asymmetric among individuals, with AC and P6.p only becoming aligned at the early L3 stage. Cell ablations and mutant analysis indicate that VPCs, most prominently 1° cells, move towards the AC. We identify AC-released LIN-3/EGF as a major attractive signal, which therefore plays a dual role in vulval patterning (cell alignment and fate induction). Additionally, compromising Wnt pathway components also induces AC-VPC alignment errors, with loss of posterior Wnt signaling increasing stochastic vulval centering on P5.p. Our results illustrate how intercellular signaling reduces initial spatial variability in cell positioning to generate reproducible interactions across tissues