Is Sociological Theory Useful in Nonacademic Employment? The Views of Sociologists, Employers, and Former Students

This paper summarizes and critiques previous studies of the opinions of three groups (sociologists, nonacademic employers, and former sociology students) regarding the usefulness of sociological theory in nonacademic work. Existing studies show that: (1) most sociologists agree that sociological theory has much relevance to nonacademic employment; (2) nonacademic employers are somewhat skeptical and suspicious of the relevance of theoretical skills on the job; and (3) former sociology students have ambivalent opinions regarding the usefulness of theory to their careers. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the origins of employer suspicions concerning sociology and a call for "truth in advertising" when sociologists discuss the marketability of sociology degrees with students

Evolutionary Synthesis of HVAC System Configurations: Algorithm Development.

This paper describes the development of an optimization procedure for the synthesis of novel heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system configurations. Novel HVAC system designs can be synthesized using model-based optimization methods. The optimization problem can be considered as having three sub-optimization problems; the choice of a component set; the design of the topological connections between the components; and the design of a system operating strategy. In an attempt to limit the computational effort required to obtain a design solution, the approach adopted in this research is to solve all three sub-problems simultaneously. Further, the computational effort has been limited by implementing simplified component models and including the system performance evaluation as part of the optimization problem (there being no need in this respect to simulation the system performance). The optimization problem has been solved using a Genetic Algorithm (GA), with data structures and search operators that are specifically developed for the solution of HVAC system optimization problems (in some instances, certain of the novel operators may also be used in other topological optimization problems. The performance of the algorithm, and various search operators has been examined for a two-zone optimization problem (the objective of the optimization being to find a system design that minimizes the system energy use). In particular, the performance of the algorithm in finding feasible system designs has been examined. It was concluded that the search was unreliable when the component set was optimized, but if the component set was fixed as a boundary condition on the search, then the algorithm had an 81% probability of finding a feasible system design. The optimality of the solutions is not examined in this paper, but is described in an associated publication. It was concluded that, given a candidate set of system components, the algorithm described here provides an effective tool for exploring the novel design of HVAC systems. (c) HVAC & R journa

Cholesterol ester accumulation: An immediate consequence of acute in vivo ischemic renal injury

Cholesterol ester accumulation: An immediate consequence of acute in vivo ischemic renal injury.BackgroundCholesterol is a major constituent of plasma membranes, and recent evidence indicates that it is up-regulated during the maintenance phase of acute renal failure (ARF). However, cholesterol's fate and that of the cholesterol ester (CE) cycle [shuttling between free cholesterol (FC) and CEs] during the induction phase of ARF have not been well defined. The present studies sought to provide initial insights into these issues.MethodsFC and CE were measured in mouse renal cortex after in vivo ischemia (15 and 45 minutes)/reperfusion (0 to 120 minutes) and glycerol-induced myoglobinuria (1 to 2 hours). FC/CE were also measured in (1) cultured human proximal tubule (HK-2) cells three hours after ATP depletion and in (2) isolated mouse proximal tubule segments (PTSs) subjected to plasma membrane damage (with cholesterol oxidase, sphingomyelinase, phospholipase A2, or cytoskeletal disruption with cytochalasin B). The impact of cholesterol synthesis inhibition (with mevastatin) and FC traffic blockade (with progesterone) on injury-evoked FC/CE changes was also assessed.ResultsIn vivo ischemia caused approximately threefold to fourfold CE elevations, but not FC elevations, that persisted for at least two hours of reperfusion. Conversely, myoglobinuria had no effect. Isolated CE increments were observed in ATP-depleted HK-2 cells. Neither mevastatin nor progesterone blocked this CE accumulation. Plasma membrane injury induced with sphingomyelinase or cholesterol oxidase, but not with phospholipase A2 or cytochalasin B, increased tubule CE content. High CE levels, induced with cholesterol oxidase, partially blocked hypoxic PTS attack.ConclusionsIn vivo ischemia/reperfusion acutely increases renal cortical CE, but not FC, content, indicating perturbed CE/FC cycling. The available data suggest that this could stem from specific types of plasma membrane damage, which then increase FC flux via aberrant pathways to the endoplasmic reticulum, where CE formation occurs. That CE levels are known to inversely correlate with both renal and nonrenal cell injury suggests the potential relevance of these observations to the induction phase of ischemic ARF

Applying Global And Local SA In Identification Of Variables Importance With The Use Of Multi-Objective Optimization

Methods for global and local Sensitivity analysis are designed to identify and rank variables importance for each design objective and constraint. This paper investigates the application of local sensitivity analysis to a set of Pareto optimum solutions resulting from the multi-objective minimization of energy use and capital cost, with occupant thermal comfort acting as a constraint. It is concluded that the local sensitivities vary along the trade-off and that these sensitivities are different to the global sensitivities. Different sensitivity behaviour is also observed both along the Pareto trade-off and between variables

Discovery of a Classic FR-II Broad Absorption Line Quasar from the FIRST Survey

We have discovered a remarkable quasar, FIRST J101614.3+520916, whose optical spectrum shows unambiguous broad absorption features while its double-lobed radio morphology and luminosity clearly indicate a classic Fanaroff-Riley Type II radio source. Its radio luminosity places it at the extreme of the recently established class of radio-loud broad absorption line quasars (Becker et al. 1997, 2000; Brotherton et al. 1998). Because of its hybrid nature, we speculate that FIRST J101614.3+520916 is a typical FR-II quasar which has been rejuvenated as a broad absorption line (BAL) quasar with a Compact Steep Spectrum core. The direction of the jet axis of FIRST J101614.3+520916 can be estimated from its radio structure and optical brightness, indicating that we are viewing the system at a viewing angle of > 40 degrees. The position angles of the radio jet and optical polarization are not well-aligned, differing by 20 to 30 degrees. When combined with the evidence presented by Becker et al. (2000) for a sample of 29 BAL quasars showing that at least some BAL quasars are viewed along the jet axis, the implication is that no preferred viewing orientation is necessary to observe BAL systems in a quasar's spectrum. This, and the probable young nature of compact steep spectrum sources, leads naturally to the alternate hypothesis that BALs are an early stage in the lives of quasars.Comment: 14 pages, 6 postscript figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Comparison of Approaches to Stepwise Regression Analysis for Variables Sensitivity Measurements Used with a Multi-Objective Optimization Problem

Global sensitivity analysis can be used to identify and rank variables importance (sensitivities) for design objectives and constraints, where the solution space is sampled and a linear regression model is normally adopted in the stepwise manner. The relative importance of variables can be examined by three indicators: the order of variables entry into the linear regression model; the absolute values of the standardized regression coefficients or their rank transformation coefficients; and the size of the R2 changes (coefficient of determination) attributable to additional variables at each step. However, the robustness of the linear regression model constructed from a stepwise regression is related to the choice of procedure options, e.g. the set of samples and data formulation. Different procedure options could lead to different linear regression models, and therefore influence the indication of variables global sensitivities. Thus, this paper investigates the extent to which the procedure options of a stepwise regression can influence the indication of variables global sensitivities, measured by three different sensitivity indicators, for energy demand, capital costs and solution infeasibility, when using both the randomly generated samples and the biased solutions obtained at the start of a multi-objective optimization process (based on NSGA-II). It concludes that the most important variables are always ranked on the top no matter the choice of procedure options, but it is better to adopt both the entry-orders of variables and their standardized (rank) regression coefficients or the contributions to R2 changes, to provide robust orderings of variables importance, for design objectives and constraints. Moreover, when the sample size is smaller, re-generated separate set of samples for sensitivity analysis can avoid misleading variables importance, especially for the variables ranked in the middle. Finally, to improve computational efficiency, this paper concludes that the first 100 solutions obtained from a multi-objective optimization can be used to perform global sensitivity analysis, to identify the important variables for design objectives

Transport of cells in hydrogels

The present invention relates to hydrogels which may be used to encapsulate or entrap live cells. The invention further relates to methods for transporting live cells which are encapsulated or entrapped within hydrogels from a first location to a second location. The invention further relates to method of treating a wound, disease or tissue injury, e.g. an ocular injury or a damaged ocular surface in a subject using a hydrogel comprising corneal stem cells. The hydrogels used in such methods may be ones which have been transported from a first location to a second location

DNA sequences required for regulated expression of β-globin genes in murine erythroleukaemia cells.

We introduced into MEL cells rabbit beta-globin gene deletion mutants and two sets of hybrid genes constructed from the inducible human beta-globin gene and noninducible human gamma-globin gene or the murine H-2Kbm1 class I MHC gene. S1 nuclease analysis of gene transcripts before and after MEL differentiation showed that induction of the rabbit beta-globin gene did not require more than 58 bp of DNA 5' to the transcription initiation site. Hybrid genes were constructed with human beta-globin DNA sequences from either 5' or 3' of the translation initiation site linked to the complementary parts of the gamma or H2Kbm1 genes. Both types of constructs were inducible during MEL differentiation. The relative rates of transcription of the 5' gamma-3' beta and 5'H2-3' beta hybrid genes show that induction of the hybrid gene transcripts results at least in part from transcriptional activation of the genes. We suggest that DNA sequences that regulate beta-globin gene transcription during MEL differentiation are located both 5' and 3' to the translation initiation site