D\u27Ou Etes-Vous Revisited

D\u27Ou Etes-Vous deals with a phenomenon which has always been of interest to me. Not only in French, but in Russian as well, the naming of people from their places of origin is very complicated

Method for reducing snap in magnetic amplifiers

Method of reducing snap in magnetic amplifiers uses a degenerative feedback circuit consisting of a resistor and a separate winding on a magnetic core. The feedback circuit extends amplifier range by allowing it to be used at lower values of output current

Three Little Sacks

In former times people depended much more than nowadays on a well-stocked memory, or at least one differently stocked with little reference to printed materials. Few could read, fewer still had many books, and pens and paper were expensive. So it was, for instance, that names of rulers were associated with tags and epithets which immediately summoned up qualities or events which located them in the history of their countries. In the United States we have a few ekenames like The Father of His Country, Honest Abe and The Great Communicator, but of these only the first and second seem to have settled in, although neither is much used. The Great Communicator is more of a movable epithet than anything else, has been applied to others before, and undoubtedly will be applied to others later

Probing Coherent Vibrations of Organic Phosphonate Radical Cations with Femtosecond Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry

Organic phosphates and phosphonates are present in a number of cellular components that can be damaged by exposure to ionizing radiation. This work reports femtosecond time-resolved mass spectrometry (FTRMS) studies of three organic phosphonate radical cations that model the DNA sugar-phosphate backbone: dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), diethyl methylphosphonate (DEMP), and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP). Upon ionization, each molecular radical cation exhibits unique oscillatory dynamics in its ion yields resulting from coherent vibrational excitation. DMMP has particularly well-resolved 45 fs (732 ± 28 cm−1) oscillations with a weak feature at 610–650 cm−1, while DIMP exhibits bimodal oscillations with a period of ∼55 fs and two frequency features at 554 ± 28 and 670–720 cm−1. In contrast, the oscillations in DEMP decay too rapidly for effective resolution. The low- and high-frequency oscillations in DMMP and DIMP are assigned to coherent excitation of the symmetric O–P–O bend and P–C stretch, respectively. The observation of the same ionization-induced coherently excited vibrations in related molecules suggests a possible common excitation pathway in ionized organophosphorus compounds of biological relevance, while the distinct oscillatory dynamics in each molecule points to the potential use of FTRMS to distinguish among fragment ions produced by related molecules

Basic Science and Risk Communication: A Dialogue-Based Study

The authors use ethnographic analysis of a focus group discussion between scientists and laypersons to study information exchange in risk communication

Conserved Vibrational Coherence in the Ultrafast Rearrangement of 2-Nitrotoluene Radical Cation

2-Nitrotoluene (2-NT) is a good model for both photolabile protecting groups for organic synthesis and the military explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). In addition to the direct C−NO2 bond-cleavage reaction that initiates detonation in TNT, 2-NT undergoes an H atom attack reaction common to the photolabile 2-nitrobenzyl group, which forms the aci-nitro tautomer. In this work, femtosecond pump−probe measure- ments with mass spectrometric detection and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the initially prepared vibrational coherence in the 2-NT radical cation (2- NT+) is preserved following H atom attack. Strong-field adiabatic ionization is used to prepare 2-NT+, which can overcome a modest 0.76 eV energy barrier to H atom attack to form the aci-nitro tautomer as soon as ∼20−60 fs after ionization. Once formed, the aci-nitro tautomer spontaneously loses −OH to form C7H6NO+, which exhibits distinctly faster oscillations in its ion yield (290 fs period) as compared to the 2-NT+ ion (380 fs period). The fast oscillations are attributed to the coherent torsional motion of the aci-nitro tautomer, which has a significantly faster computed torsional frequency (86.9 cm−1) than the 2- NT+ ion (47.9 cm−1). Additional DFT calculations identify reaction pathways leading to the formation of the dissociation products C7H6NO+, C7H7+, and C6H6N+. Collectively, these results reveal a rich picture of coherently and incoherently driven dissociation pathways in 2-NT+

Probing Coherent Vibrations of Organic Phosphonate Radical Cations with Femtosecond Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry

Organic phosphates and phosphonates are present in a number of cellular components that can be damaged by exposure to ionizing radiation. This work reports femtosecond time-resolved mass spectrometry (FTRMS) studies of three organic phosphonate radical cations that model the DNA sugar-phosphate backbone: dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), diethyl methylphosphonate (DEMP), and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP). Upon ionization, each molecular radical cation exhibits unique oscillatory dynamics in its ion yields resulting from coherent vibrational excitation. DMMP has particularly well-resolved 45 fs (732 ± 28 cm−1) oscillations with a weak feature at 610–650 cm−1, while DIMP exhibits bimodal oscillations with a period of ∼55 fs and two frequency features at 554 ± 28 and 670–720 cm−1. In contrast, the oscillations in DEMP decay too rapidly for effective resolution. The low- and high-frequency oscillations in DMMP and DIMP are assigned to coherent excitation of the symmetric O–P–O bend and P–C stretch, respectively. The observation of the same ionization-induced coherently excited vibrations in related molecules suggests a possible common excitation pathway in ionized organophosphorus compounds of biological relevance, while the distinct oscillatory dynamics in each molecule points to the potential use of FTRMS to distinguish among fragment ions produced by related molecules

Continuity and Change in World Bank Development Discourses and the Rhetoric Role of Accounting

Purpose ? The paper traces how the World Bank has utilised accounting rhetoric/languages in articulating development discourses at different stages of global capitalism through the case study of development projects in Sri Lanka and published development reports. Design/methodology/approach ? Multiple methods are employed including archival research and interviews. In-depth interviews were organised with village level development project participants. Development reports published by the World Bank (1978-2006) are closely examined. Findings ? Development projects in Sri Lanka and development reports show that ideological shifts brought about the changes in accounting rhetoric in development discourses. The paper further shows that the articulations and re-articulations of development discourse have yet to grasp the real complexity of the local problems in those villages in Sri Lanka. The mere focus on management styles (albeit important) driven by the ideology of the aid agencies seems to bring little reward to villagers and, indeed, the policy makers. Research limitations/implications ? This study focuses on the effectiveness of development projects and shows how culture and values in a traditional local setting are in conflict with rational ideas imported from a different setting. This finding has policy implications for the economic development programmes often prescribed by the aid agencies without considering the local context. Originality/value ? The paper adds to the literature on the use of accounting languages in development discourses, especially in the context of Less Developed Countries (LDCs). It will be of great value to researchers and practitioners seeking to gain a better understanding of reforms driven by a particular set of accounting technology in distant places