Search

Responding to calls by international business scholars to examine contextual factors driving cultural change in developing and traditionally collectivistic countries, we examine cultural values shift in one such country, Turkey, from 1998 to 2019. Confirming study hypotheses, results evidenced a trajectory toward individualism. The percentage of respondents endorsing personal focus values in 2019 was over double that in 2009. Generational differences drove this shift – Late Millennials (born 1992–2001) in 2019 were over twice as likely to endorse personal over social focus values as same-age Early Millennials (born 1982–1991) in 2009. These trends were most pronounced in the most urbanized Turkish provinces.

Scholars of comparative courts have long been fascinated with variations in judicial independence across states, regimes, and time. Whether independence, in turn, depends on political competition remains an open question, as extant research has reached uncertain conclusions, often relying on questionable assumptions and data sources. This paper presents a formal model predicting the conditions under which legislative political competition causes a political power vacuum, which necessitates judicial independence and policy making. In short, when an ineffectual legislature cannot address a policy seeker's proposal, the courts can intervene, causing a de facto increase in judicial independence. Empirical results confirm these theoretically derived expectations, as aggregate measures of political competition across space and time cause significant changes in de facto judicial independence. Our findings have practical implications regarding when we might observe policy-seekers litigating issues rather than seeking legislation.

Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted Highlights? VA has a successful IT program and a culture favorable to standards adoption. ? An internal team, a life cycle, and enterprise tools facilitate standards adoption. ? Alignment with business objectives is key. standards implementation is critical. ? A Likelihood of Adoption Scale is offered to assess ease of implementation. ? An agile process with incremental gains helps with standards adoption. The increased need for interoperable electronic health records in health care organizations underscores the importance of standards. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has a long history of developing and adopting various types of health care data standards. The authors present in detail their experience in this domain. A formal organization within VA is responsible for helping to develop and implement standards. This group has produced a Standards Life Cycle (SLC) process endorsed by VA key business and information technology (IT) stakeholders. It coordinates the identification, description, and implementation of standards aligned with VA business requirements. In this paper, we review the adoption of four standards in the categories of security and privacy, terminology, health information exchange, and modeling tools; emphasizing the implementation approach used in each. In our experience, adoption is facilitated by internal staff with expertise in standards development and adoption. Use of processes such as an SLC and tools such as an enterprise requirement repository help formally track and ensure that IT development and acquisition incorporate these standards. An organization should adopt standards that are aligned with its business priorities and favor those that are more readily implementable. To assist with this final point, we offer a standard "Likelihood of Adoption Scale," which changes as standards specifications evolve from PDF documents only, to PDF documents with construction and testing tools, to fully functional reference implementations.

In this paper, it is shown that Siler cones K 3 and K 4 of positive semidefinite-preserving linear transformations are equal. In the process of showing this, a common characterization theorem is given.

A variety of robust, high-strength, magnetorheological fluids and devices that enable the benefits of controllable fluid technology are now commercially available. The key to success in all of these implementations is the ability of magnetorheological fluid to rapidly change its rheological properties upon exposure to an applied magnetic field. Examples of three different implementations of magnetorheological fluid for semi-active control are described.

Magnetorheological (MR) fluids, foams and elastomers comprise a class of smart materials whose rheological properties may be controlled by the application of an external magnetic field. MR fluids are liquids whose flow or shear properties are easily controlled to enable a variety of unique torque transfer or vibration control devices. MR foams, in which the controllable fluid is contained in an absorptive matrix, provide a convenient way of realizing the benefits of MR fluids in highly cost sensitive applications. MR elastomers are solid, rubber-like materials whose stiffness may be controlled to provide tunable or adjustable mounts and suspension devices.

The concept of Lyapunov diagonal (semi)stability is generalized to the block diagonal case, unifying the theory of Lyapunov diagonal stability and Lyapunov stability. The corresponding generalizations of the concepts of maximal Lyapunov scaling factors are applied to study the Lyapunov semistability of block triangular matrices.

To determine photochemical reactivity of surface microlayer components and to estimate residence times of phenolic materials at the ocean surface, we evaluated photo-induced degradation of three tracer phenols (phloroglucinol [1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene), TMP (2,4,6-trimethylphenol), and cresol (3-methylphenol)) added to samples of surface microlayers and subsurface waters. When all samples were exposed to the same natural sunlight conditions, first-order degradation rates of phloroglucinol in microlayer samples from surface slicks were always faster than degradation rates in microlayer samples not from slicks or in samples from subsurface seawaters. TMP was less photo-reactive than phloroglucinol, probably because of its lower dissociation to phenoxide ion at seawater pH. Degradation rates of phloroglucinol and TMP in microlayer samples from surface slicks were depressed by the presence of 50 μM NaN3, a common singlet oxygen quencher, suggesting the involvement of photo-induced singlet oxygen. Generally, degradation of cresol was slower than either phloroglucinol or TMP, although it should have had a higher degree of dissociation than TMP at seawater pH; degradation of cresol in seawater may be not via singlet oxygen. Dark control experiments exhibited < 10% decreases in tracer phenol concentrations, indicating that microbial activities had little effect on degradation of these phenols. Because photoreactivity in samples from surface slicks was generally much greater than in other samples, microlayer photochemistry cannot be estimated by simply extrapolating near-surface reaction rates to surface light intensities.

A dimeric derivative of ethidium (ethidium homodimer) was used to fluorometrically assay for in situ levels of cellular DNA and RNA in artificial seawater samples. This derivative was utilized because of the very high binding affinity for both RNA and DNA. A significant increase of sensitivity of up to 100 times smaller concentrations of nucleic acids can be determined than when using ethidium bromide. This assay was used to detect nucleic acids from the 1 μg·ml−1 to 10 ng·ml−1 range. The ultrasensitivity of this assay was required due to the reduced levels of cellular DNA and RNA found during latter state of starvation-survival of the marine bacteria ANT-300. The ratios of DNA/RNA as well as RNA/DNA were estimated from ANT-300 cells grown at different growth rates during the various stages of stavation-survival.

Conditions are given on maps A, C∈ L(X, V) and B, D ∈ L(Y, V) for which Cx∧Dy = Ax∧By for all x ∈ X and y ∈ Y, and, when X = Y, for which Cx∧Dx = Ax ∧Bx for all x ∈ X.

A thick (29.2 cm), large area (18.2 cm dia) liquid scintillator (7.41 of NE224) neutron detector of high efficiency has been developed for long flight path, time-of-flight studies. Photomultipliers view the scintillator from the front and rear faces allowing a time compensation to eliminate thickness limitations on time resolution. The detector is cylindrically symmetric and designed for the detection of neutrons traveling parallel to its major axis. Such a geometry allows the detector to be easily collimated and shielded. A simple method of time-compensation, amenable to analog electronic processing, has been developed.

Given a matrix M= A B C D , the Schur complements of A in M are the matrices of the form S = D − CaB, where a is a generalized inverse of A. We survey several recent characterizations of Schur complements, and discuss where they arose and how they are related.

A Lyapunov transformation is a linear transformation on the set H n of hermitian matrices H ϵ C n,n of the form L A(H) = A∗H + HA, where A ϵ C n,n. Given a positive stable A ϵ C n,n, the Stein-Pfeffer Theorem characterizes those K ϵ H n for which K = L B(H), where B is similar to A and H is positive definite. We give a new proof of this result, and extend it in several directions. The proofs involve the idea of a controllability subspace, employed previously in this context by Snyders and Zakai.

Most of the dissolved organic materials (DOM) in coastal Maine, Gulf of Maine, and North Atlantic seawaters had molecular weights (MW), determined by ultrafiltration, less than 1000. Only 34% of the DOM had MW greater than 1000, only 6% had MW greater than 30 000, and only 1% was of MW greater than 100 000. The majority of ultrafilter-derived MW data are consistent with patterns shown here; earlier reports of high-MW DOM in seawater were apparently exaggerated due to procedural and ultrafilter artifacts. It is also shown that most ultrafiltration data do not clearly indicate loss of high-MW DOM during estuarine mixing, and that apparent removal could result from decreased retention as ionic strength increases.

An exposition is given of some recent and important work by E. Marques de Sa and R. C. Thompson, which characterized the relationship between the similarity invariants of a square matrix over a field and those of a principal submatrix of that matrix. This work is then related to results on eigenvalues of complex hermitian matrices (the Courant-Fischer minimax theorem and the Cauchy interlacing theorem), on singular values of rectangular complex matrices (due to Thompson), and on invariant factors of rectangular matrices over a principal ideal domain (due to Sa and Thompson). A partial unification of these theories is presented, and several open questions stated.

Several monomeric organic compounds, including amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids, were found to bind abiologically to dissolved macromolecular materials in particle-free seawater at natural substrate concentrations. The binding primarily occurred in ocean surface waters, at rates slower than in situ biological utilization rates of most of the compounds. Seasonal patterns of binding in Gulf of Maine waters may have been related to seasonal variations in macroalgal exudation of polyphenolic materials. Enhanced reactivity of relatively hydrophobic monomers implicated hydrophobic effects as potentially important in marine organic condensations. The resultant condensates showed high particle reactivity, consistent with low concentrations of dissolved condensed materials in seawater.

Criteria are given for the controllability of certain pairs of tridiagonal matrices. These criteria may be used, with the Chen-Wimmer theorem, to obtain inertia results. Also, a characterization is given of those nonsingular tridiagonal matrices with certain principal minors nonnegative which are positive stable. This extends a previous characterization of the real D -stable tridiagonal matrices.

A set of simultaneously triangularizable square matrices over an arbitrary field is considered. If the matrices are also quasicommutative, then they have a common eigenvector for every distinct set of corresponding eigenvalues. Conversely, if the set of matrices has this common eigenvector property hereditarily (i.e., for every set of corresponding blocks in every simultaneous block triangularization), then the matrices are quasicommutative.

In a paper of the same title, Carlson and Hill [2] established results in inertia theory and controllability for a large class of linear transformations on the space of n × n hermitian matrices. Extensions of some of those results and some generalizations of theorems of Wimmer [12] and of Carlson and Loewy [3] are given here.

Field studies of surface microlayer sampling methods involving simultaneous use of glass plates and two depths of screens have been conducted. Intercomparisons of the two methods are based upon thicknesses of sample and amounts of dissolved organic carbon, dissolved UV-absorbing phenolic materials, chlorophyll a, ATP and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen collected. Plate samples are always thinnest, and are influenced by wave state and bulkwater temperature. Amounts of materials collected generally follow sample thicknesses. Biases toward fractions of microlayer materials are not evident in either method. It was concluded that intercomparisons of data collected separately by the two methods is inadvisable.

Carbon from glucose and leucine added at natural concentrations to seawater was biologically transformed to higher molecular weight (mol. wt) dissolved materials that persisted through 6 months of incubation. At the end of incubation, the amount of carbon in high mol. wt dissolved fractions was approximately equal to the amount of carbon incorporated into particulate fractions. In tests of their resistance to biological utilization, only 1–17% of the high mol. wt materials were respired when re-incubated with seawater microbial populations, whereas 40–75% of the monomers were respired over the same time span. In situ transformations of biologically available carbon may be an important source of refractory dissolved organic carbon in the oceans.

In recent papers, [1] and [5], “ M -complementable” matrices were defined by T. Ando and “almost definite” matrices by Duffin and Morley. In this paper additional characterizations are given for these sets of matrices making use of the generalized inverse. Also rank properties and generalized inverses of these matrices are discussed.

A new surface microlayer sampler provides real-time information on interfacial chemical and biological components. The sampler consists of a partly immersed rotating glass cylinder oriented parallel to the direction of travel. The orientation eliminates build-up of surface components ahead of the sampler and minimizes fouling of the sampler by floating debris. The sampler has been towed successfully in the eastern Pacific Ocean and in coastal areas off Oregon and Maine. Coupled with absorbance and fluorescence detectors, the sampler allows measurements of interfacial chemistry and biology to be made concurrently with measurements of hydrographic and atmospheric conditions over a wide range of ocean surface conditions. The sampler also provides volumes of microlayer sample sufficient for analyses of trace components, for physiological measurements, and for laboratory (e.g. film balance) experiments.

We survey related nonsingularity criteria for matrices which involve combinatorial considerations, generally involving combinatorial restrictions on the matrices considered and conditions on various graphs of those matrices. These criteria include the existence of nonzero diagonal products for matrices over arbitrary fields; sign-nonsingularity (due to J. Maybee), potential nonsingularity, and stable nonsingularity (due to W. Anderson), all for real matrices; and some recent work for matrices over arbitrary fields involving a closure operator on matrices (due to the author and D. Hershkowitz).

The study of adenovirus types 2 and 5 viral nuclear RNAs present at early times during a productive infection was analyzed by hybridization of pulse-labeled RNA to restriction fragments of Ad2 and Ad5 DNA. The RNA studied was the total nuclear infected cell population and the double-stranded nuclear RNAs formed after self-annealing, RNase digestion, and selection by Sephadex chromatography. In addition, the viral RNAs were synthesized in the presence and absence of cycloheximide (to restrict the infection to the early phase) at 32° and 41° (to provide control conditions for the H5ts125 mutant defective in the initiation of viral DNA synthesis at the restrictive temperature). The results of these studies established that (1) transcription of the genome is not qualitatively, but is quantitatively, affected by the use of inhibitors of viral DNA synthesis, (2) all regions of the genome are abundantly transcribed including those regions that do not code for early viral mRNA, and (3) most of these non-early messenger RNAs (which include both late mRNA and anti-sense sequences) have been post-transcriptionally modified by polyadenylation. Additionally, liquid hybridization studies of early Ad2 viral nuclear RNA to separated strands of Ad2 Eco (R1-A) fragment DNA indicate that all of these sequences (both sense and anti-sense) are represented in the RNA population and that neither the l nor r strands are preferentially transcribed. All of these results show that self-complementary RNA transcription and the transcription of non-early mRNAs is an integral part of the productive infection of human KB cells by adenovirus 2 and 5. Some of the possible functions of these sequences are discussed.

A method for monitoring accelerator pulsed beam time performance is described. This method has minimized the time and effort necessary to tune the pulsing system on a tandem Van de Graaff accelerator.

A low-mass, small-volume gas target which utilizes O-rings for mounting the entrance window is described. The target is intended as a neutron source using the D(d,n)/sup 3/He, T(d,n)/sup 4/He and T(p,n)/sup 3/ He reactions. The prformance of the gas target with respect to gas pressures and beam intensities is discussed.

Blistering of gold and platinum beam stops used in cells to contain tritium gas for neutron production targets has been observed. Such blistering becomes apparent after heavy bombardment by proton or deuteron beams of 2–10 MeV. Left unchecked, the blisters grow and eventually rupture, weakening the beam stop and possibly allowing leakage of tritium.