Trans-urban Networks of Learning, Mega Events and Policy Tourism: The Case of Manchester's Commonwealth and Olympic Games Projects

This paper argues for a rethinking of our understanding of what and where go into the ‘urban’ in the New Urban Politics (NUP). It contends that these issues have always been more complex, complicated and, most importantly, contested than has sometimes appeared to be the case in the literature. Using the example of one trans-urban policy learning network—that around the city of Manchester’s bids for the Olympic and Commonwealth Games—the paper makes the case for taking seriously the politics around comparison and referencing in making possible the NUP. It argues that there is a need to study the circuits, networks and webs in and through which urban knowledge and learning are constituted and moved around, and that often underpin the territorial outcomes that have been the traditional focus of scholars working on the NUP

New Unity for Labor?

From the “Editor’s Introduction”: Within today’s AFL-CIO, a different set of frustrations with the bureaucratic structure and leadership is simmering. The relative lack of new organizing and the continuous toll of jurisdictional rivalries have produced a call for radical restructuring, or “New Unity Partnership” (NUP). As articulated by the leaders of some of the most powerful and dynamic of federation affiliates, including the Service Employees International Union’s president Andrew L. Stern, the promise (or threat, depending on one’s point of view) of the NUP deserves full scrutiny. To that end, we are pleased to present a forum organized by Ruth Milkman and Kim Voss of the University of California’s Institute for Labor and Employment, focused on the core concepts of the NUP proposal. The edited discussion features four labor policy experts: Stephen Lerner, director of the SEIU’s Building Services Division and a leading NUP draftsman; Kate Bronfenbrenner of the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations; Dan Clawson, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and Jane Slaughter, of Labor Notes

Uncertainties in the nu p-process: supernova dynamics versus nuclear physics

We examine how the uncertainties involved in supernova dynamics as well as in nuclear data inputs affect the nup-process in the neutrino-driven winds. For the supernova dynamics, we find that the wind termination by the preceding dense ejecta shell, as well as the electron fraction (Y_{e, 3}; at 3 10^9 K) play a crucial role. A wind termination within the temperature range of (1.5-3) 10^9 K greatly enhances the efficiency of the nu p-process. This implies that the early wind phase, when the innermost layer of the preceding supernova ejecta is still 200-1000 km from the center, is most relevant to the nup-process. The outflows with Y_{e, 3} = 0.52-0.60 result in the production of the p-nuclei up to A=108 with interesting amounts. Furthermore, the p-nuclei up to A=152 can be produced if Y_{e, 3} = 0.65 is achieved. For the nuclear data inputs, we test the sensitivity to the rates relevant to the breakout from the pp-chain region (A < 12), to the (n, p) rates on heavy nuclei, and to the nuclear masses along the nup-process pathway. We find that a small variation of the rates of triple-alpha and of the (n, p) reaction on 56Ni leads to a substantial change in the p-nuclei production. We also find that 96Pd (N=50) on the nup-process path plays a role as a second seed nucleus for the production of heavier p-nuclei. The uncertainty in the nuclear mass of 82Zr can lead to a factor of two reduction in the abundance of the p-isotope 84Sr.Comment: 20 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Broad Histogram: Tests for a Simple and Efficient Microcanonical Simulator

The Broad Histogram Method (BHM) allows one to determine the energy degeneracy g(E), i.e. the energy spectrum of a given system, from the knowledge of the microcanonical averages and of two macroscopic quantities Nup and Ndn defined within the method. The fundamental BHM equation relating g(E) to the quoted averages is exact and completely general for any conceivable system. Thus, the only possible source of numerical inaccuracies resides on the measurement of the averages themselves. In this text, we introduce a Monte Carlo recipe to measure microcanonical averages. In order to test its performance, we applied it to the Ising ferromagnet on a 32x32 square lattice. The exact values of g(E) are known up to this lattice size, thus it is a good standard to compare our numerical results with. Measuring the deviations relative to the exactly known values, we verified a decay proportional to 1/sqrt(counts), by increasing the counter (counts) of averaged samples over at least 6 decades. That is why we believe this microcanonical simulator presents no bias besides the normal statistical fluctuations. For counts~10**10, we measured relative deviations near 10**(-5) for both g(E) and the specific heat peak, obtained through BHM relation.Comment: 9 pages, plain tex, 3 PS figure

Co-dependence between trypanosome nuclear lamina components in nuclear stability and control of gene expression

The nuclear lamina is a filamentous structure subtending the nuclear envelope and required for chromatin organization, transcriptional regulation and maintaining nuclear structure. The trypanosomatid coiled-coil NUP-1 protein is a lamina component functionally analogous to lamins, the major lamina proteins of metazoa. There is little evidence for shared ancestry, suggesting the presence of a distinct lamina system in trypanosomes. To find additional trypanosomatid lamina components we identified NUP-1 interacting proteins by affinity capture and mass-spectrometry. Multiple components of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and a second coiled-coil protein, which we termed NUP-2, were found. NUP-2 has a punctate distribution at the nuclear periphery throughout the cell cycle and is in close proximity to NUP-1, the NPCs and telomeric chromosomal regions. RNAi-mediated silencing of NUP-2 leads to severe proliferation defects, gross alterations to nuclear structure, chromosomal organization and nuclear envelope architecture. Further, transcription is altered at telomere-proximal variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expression sites (ESs), suggesting a role in controlling ES expression, although NUP-2 silencing does not increase VSG switching. Transcriptome analysis suggests specific alterations to Pol I-dependent transcription. NUP-1 is mislocalized in NUP-2 knockdown cells and vice versa, implying that NUP-1 and NUP-2 form a co-dependent network and identifying NUP-2 as a second trypanosomatid nuclear lamina component

X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects - VI - HI line decrements

Hydrogen recombination emission lines commonly observed in accreting young stellar objects represent a powerful tracer for the gas conditions in the circumstellar structures. Here we perform a study of the HI decrements and line profiles, from the Balmer and Paschen lines detected in the X-Shooter spectra of a homogeneous sample of 36 T Tauri stars in Lupus, the accretion and stellar properties of which were already derived in a previous work. We aim to obtain information on the gas physical conditions to derive a consistent picture of the HI emission mechanisms in pre-main sequence low-mass stars. We have empirically classified the sources based on their HI line profiles and decrements. We identified four Balmer decrement types (classified as 1, 2, 3, and 4) and three Paschen decrement types (A, B, and C), characterised by different shapes. We first discussed the connection between the decrement types and the source properties and then compared the observed decrements with predictions from recently published local line excitation models. One third of the objects show lines with narrow symmetric profiles, and present similar Balmer and Paschen decrements (straight decrements, types 2 and A). Lines in these sources are consistent with optically thin emission from gas with hydrogen densities of order 10^9 cm^-3 and 5000<T<15000 K. These objects are associated with low mass accretion rates. Type 4 (L-shaped) Balmer and type B Paschen decrements are found in conjunction with very wide line profiles and are characteristic of strong accretors, with optically thick emission from high-density gas (log n_H > 11 cm^-3). Type 1 (curved) Balmer decrements are observed only in three sub-luminous sources viewed edge-on, so we speculate that these are actually reddened type 2 decrements. About 20% of the objects present type 3 Balmer decrements (bumpy), which cannot be reproduced with current models.Comment: 29 pages, accepted by A&