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A case study on how to apply phenomenological methodology to games research and evaluation criteria is presented, from two studies where participants analyzed offline adventure and role-play computer games. The evaluation approach offers bridges between the design and analytical sciences.

G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) microarrays on porous glass surface and functional assays to monitor their activation are studied. The results suggest that functional GPCR microarrays could potentially streamline drug discovery by helping integrate primary screening with selectivity and safety screening, without compromising the essential functional information that is obtained using conventional cell-based assays.

We present data that distinguishes the long-known Littlefield Rhyolite of eastern Oregon (northwestern United States) into two distinct, voluminous, Snake River-type, high-temperature rhyolite lava packages that erupted in short sequence over <100 k.y., with minimum volumes of 100 and 150 km3 respectively, contemporaneous with flood basalt volcanism of the Grande Ronde Basalt phase of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Contemporaneity of rhyolites with flood basalts is exceptionally demonstrated within the Malheur Gorge by intercalated mafic units belonging to the Grande Ronde Basalt that are stratigraphically constrained by underlying and overlying Littlefield Rhyolite flows, and the underlying Dinner Creek Tuff (unit 1). Our new ages of 16.11 Ma and 16.02 Ma for the lower and upper Littlefield Rhyolite, respectively, provide a narrow age constraint on the controversial lower age of Grande Ronde Basalt volcanism. Petrological data on local, intercalated Fe-rich andesitic (icelanditic) lavas provide further evidence for coeval existence of rhyolitic and mafic magmas, and additionally provide location evidence for storage sites of Grande Ronde Basalt magmas. Based on these data in addition to similar data on the nearby Dinner Creek Tuff rhyolite center, as well as the locations of other rhyolite centers that fall within the same period of intense rhyolite volcanism of ca. 16.1 Ma, we infer that Grande Ronde Basalt crustal magma reservoirs were widespread in this area of eastern Oregon. We further infer that the main eruptions of stored flood basalt magmas followed the magmas' lateral transport from these reservoirs to the well-known dike swarms located at the periphery of the rhyolite distribution area where local eruptions of rhyolites are notably absent. Our study highlights the interplay of mafic and crustally derived rhyolite magmas, with implications for other continental flood basalt provinces that are less well preserved than the Columbia River Basalt province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do lobby groups help the American president achieve policy objectives? Existing research seldom evaluates interest groups and the president in conjunction, and as a result we have little systematic knowledge about how groups respond to presidential actions or whether they assist in realizing the president's policy agenda. Building on existing data obtained through interviews with 776 lobbyists, combined with variables we generate describing issue salience, congressional attention, the political context, and policy adoption, we show that interest groups adjusted their lobbying activity to better reflect the president's voiced preferences. Despite this strategy, we find that lobby groups had no significant marginal effect on policy adoption when controlling for the overwhelming influence of the president. The strong association between policy adoption and position-taking by the president withstands the inclusion of five alternative variables found in previous studies to condition the influence of the president over policy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved dispersed fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to study very low energy collision-induced vibrational relaxation in 1B2u benzene-d6 expanded in a supersonic free jet. Several expansion gases have been used to enable rate coefficients for vibrational relaxation to be obtained as a function of collision partner in the very low energy collision regime. Benzene-d6 is found to undergo vibrational deactivation with each of the chosen collision partners He, H2, N2, and Ar. This study focuses on measuring state-to-state relaxation rate coefficients and branching ratios for vibrational relaxation from the S1 vibrational level 61 (εvib =498 cm-1). Relaxation occurs to all the known S1 vibrational levels lying lower in energy than 61, namely 101 (εvib =454 cm-1), 162 (εvib =414 cm-1), 111 (εvib =382 cm-1), 41 (εvib =306 cm-1), 161 (εvib =207 cm-1), and 00 (εvib =0 cm-1). Two other unidentified channels also participate. Nitrogen and argon are found to be the most efficient collision partners in inducing relaxation (σobs/σhs ∼1.1, 1.7, respectively), whereas hydrogen and helium are found to be an order of magnitude less efficient (σobs/σhs ∼0.08, 0.02, respectively). The relaxation channels 61→101 and 61→111 are the dominant deactivation pathways for all the gases studied. The relative importance of relaxation pathways changes with collision partner. There appears to be a light or small collision partner effect, whereby the propensity for transfer through the channel 61→101 (Δεvib =-44 cm-1) seems to be redistributed among other channels, involving a greater energy or momentum gap, as the collision partner becomes lighter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction To understand what a 'nontraditional student' is, we should first define 'traditional student.' A traditional college student is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two, attends school full time, [...]

In this article, the author discusses contribution of law professor Joseph W. McKnight regarding Texas family law and he was regular contributor as the author and proponent of significant constitutional amendments and compensated on continuing legal education (CLE) programs for the State Bar.

This paper discusses the extent to which the science of urban climatology has informed local climate change strategies in four city case studies – Stuttgart, Tokyo, New York City, and Manchester. The paper draws on historical and contemporary policy documents along with 60 interviews with practitioners, city officials, politicians, and academics in order to understand the use or non-use of urban climatology science in local climate change strategies. It explores the historic successes and failures of urban climate management of the cities and how the impact of global climate change and perception of risk, local competency and capacity, national programmes, and the involvement of cities in networks influences the application, stabilization, and institutionalization of urban climatology into climate change strategies. It concludes by highlighting the high levels of variability present and potential reasons for local policy engagement or non-engagement in the use of urban climatology science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]