Neurosensitivity in Business: Vantage Sensitivity as a Competitive Advantage?

This dissertation investigates the link between neurosensitivity (i.e., environmental sensitivity/sensory-processing sensitivity) and business-relevant behaviors. Study 1 conceptual-theoretically explores the link between neurosensitivity and organizational ambidexterity and social capital. Study 2 empirically examines neurosensitivity with organizational citizenship behavior and work conditions. Study 3 examines neurosensitivity with task performance and leadership. On the one hand, study 1 proposes that the diversity of neurosensitivity and, thus, neurodiversity, can serve as a source of competitive advantage. On the other hand, studies 2 and 3 suggest that vantage sensitivity can serve as a source of competitive advantage. In sum, the crucial question from a management perspective is not whether a person shows high or low levels of sensitivity, but rather whether that person is able to realize the potential of his or her vantage sensitivity level

Amorphous silicon-based microchannel plate detectors with high multiplication gain

With their fast response time and a spatial resolution in the range of a few microns, microchannel plates (MCPs) are a prominent choice for the development of detectors with highest resolution standards. Amorphous silicon-based microchannel plates (AMCPs) aim at overcoming the fabrication drawbacks of conventional MCPs and the long dead time of their individual channels. AMCPs are fabricated via plasma deposition and dry reactive ion etching. Using a state-of-the-art dry reactive ion etching process, the aspect ratio, so far limited to a value of 14, could be considerably enhanced with a potential for very high gain values. We show first fabricated AMCP devices and provide an outlook for gain values to be expected based on the fabrication results.Comment: Preprin

Biological oxidation of hydrogen in soils flushed with a mixture of H2, CO2, O2 and N2

A stainless steel cylinder filled with soil was flushed upstream with a H2/CO2/air mixture. The consequence was a strong enrichment of the aerobic, autotrophic hydrogen-oxidising microflora, which reached densities enabling them to oxidize 84.5 ml H2· dm−2· h−1 in the first 25-cm layer. H2 concentration profiles, hydrogen uptake activity and cell numbers correlated well with each other. Most of the organisms isolated were dinitrogen fixers. Thus, soils containing hydrogen-oxidising bacteria may act as a biological shield between H2-rich environments and air, and may be utilized as biofilters, e.g., in the waste-processing industr

A Content Analysis of Diverse Historical Figures within Picture Book Biographies

Picture book biographies present complex history in a way that attempts to balance historical accuracy with developmentally appropriate materials. They simplify historical language and omit disturbing or graphic material and often downplay the role of violence towards the disenfranchised. David A. Adler and Brad Meltzer are seminal authors within children’s biographies, with sixty-one combined titles. There is some overlap within their work, but notably, the two often portray the same historical figures differently. This relational analysis study takes a critical lens to the depictions of intersectional BIPOC communities within picture book biographies by Adler and Meltzer. I use the lens of Richard Delgado’s concept of Master Narratives and Counter Narratives to describe the ways in which the language and visual depictions of minorities affect the narrative being portrayed to children. Finally, I suggest ways in which educators can utilize both authors’ materials to expand student understanding of history.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Performance and Transient Behavior of Vertically Integrated Thin-film Silicon Sensors

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Immune signaling in arabidopsis thaliana upon perception of bacterial and viral molecular patterns with a special emphasis on roots

In order to recognize a vast variety of attackers, plants possess a plethora of sophisticated detection systems. Perception of microbe- or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs or PAMPs) by the plant pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) leads to subsequent initiation of defense responses, a process collectively referred to as pattern-triggered immunity (PTI). PTI has been extensively studied in plant leaves, especially of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana, whereas the mechanisms underlying PTI in roots so far attracted less attention. However, since a vast number of plant pests are soil-borne and attack roots in order to propagate and colonize whole plants, understanding the mechanisms underlying basic defense at the root level is of high interest for the development of new tools to combat root pathogens of crop plants. It has been demonstrated that recognition of flg22, the conserved epitope of the bacterial flagellin protein, leads to tissue-specific defense responses in roots. In order to investigate the cause for this tissue-specific induction of downstream responses, several approaches were employed during the course of this work. By studying the cellular localization of the PRR recognizing flg22, FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2), we were able to depict an expression map of FLS2 in wild-type Arabidopsis plants. Our study revealed that FLS2 was expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner in roots and shoots and that the FLS2 promoter activity was inducible upon environmental stimuli as well as during developmental processes, changing not only in intensity in expressing tissues but also in tissue-specificity. These results indicate an important role of the tissue-specific PRR localization in immunity mechanisms. In a parallel study, we expressed FLS2 under the control of several root tissue-specific promoters, which allowed us to analyze the competence of these tissues to detect flg22. Unexpectedly, all investigated root tissues were able to perceive externally applied flg22. In fact, PTI responses could be activated in intact roots as well as in dissected roots, suggesting that the peptide is able to penetrate through the different tissue layers. Remarkably, the expression level of the receptor was not the major parameter determining the magnitude of the immune response output. Thus, we postulated that perception of flg22 by certain tissues leads to stronger PTI responses potentially indicating why plants restrict immune receptor accumulation to tissue-specific locations possibly in order to balance the outcome of the defense activation. Due to the fact that many developmental or immunity processes in plants depend on systemic communication between different plant organs and that beneficial root microbes are known to prime and enhance resistance in aerial plant tissues, we hypothesized that MAMP perception by roots might induce a signaling event from roots to shoots. In order to address the potential existence of such systemic alarm signals, various methods were implemented. However, we encountered several technical limitations mainly concerning elicitor diffusion. Therefore, we focused on the development of an improved application method for studying systemic root-to-shoot signaling in Arabidopsis plants. Our system proved suitable to perform systemic signaling analysis and revealed that at the transcriptional level no systemically activated defense gene modifications were detectable in distal shoots of root-treated plants in our conditions. Like root pathogens, also viruses constitute a major threat in agro-economy and are responsible for immense crop losses. The basal defense response against viruses is thought to be mediated by RNA silencing, a process by which viral replication intermediates are cleaved and degraded by the plant silencing machinery through the recognition of virus-derived small RNAs. Intriguingly, a recent study conducted in our lab demonstrated a role of BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 (BRI1)-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE 1 (BAK1), a coreceptor of several PRRs involved in immunity and development, in antiviral defense. These results indicated that PTI may also contribute to antiviral resistance but the exact recognition process remained elusive. Because dsRNA produced during viral replication has been shown to act as a PAMP in animals, we decided to test whether dsRNA is perceived as a viral PAMP in planta as well. We found that natural as well as synthetic dsRNA is indeed perceived as a PAMP by Arabidopsis, leading to the activation of typical PTI responses. Remarkably, dsRNA application also promoted protection of Arabidopsis plants against viral infection. Taken together, this study provides new insights into the recognition mechanisms of bacteria- and virus-associated molecular patterns by different plant organs and contributes to elucidate the molecular defense strategy of plants against agriculturally important diseases

Microcrystalline p–i–n cells: a drift-controlled device?

The objective of this paper is to get more insight into the physics of microcrystalline silicon based solar cell by studying electric field profiles, spectral responses and current–voltage characteristics. Based on a comparison with a-Si:H p–i–n and c-Si p–n diodes, we concluded that μc-Si:H p–i–n devices are not field-controlled despite the presence of a high electric field in the i-layer