Enabling science with Gaia observations of naked-eye stars

ESA's Gaia space astrometry mission is performing an all-sky survey of stellar objects. At the beginning of the nominal mission in July 2014, an operation scheme was adopted that enabled Gaia to routinely acquire observations of all stars brighter than the original limit of G~6, i.e. the naked-eye stars. Here, we describe the current status and extent of those observations and their on-ground processing. We present an overview of the data products generated for G<6 stars and the potential scientific applications. Finally, we discuss how the Gaia survey could be enhanced by further exploiting the techniques we developed.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures. Submitted for the proceedings of the 2016 SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation and Telescopes conference (SPIE 9904

HB 452 - Domestic Terrorism

The Act creates and defines the offense of domestic terrorism in Georgia. It establishes that a person must have the intent to intimidate the public or coerce the government while causing significant harm in order to be liable for domestic terrorism. The Act also provides for training law enforcement to identify and combat domestic terrorism, to share the information with the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and for the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center to share that information with the United States Department of Homeland Security

Detection of human influence on a new, validated 1500-Year temperature reconstruction

Climate records over the last millennium place the twentieth-century warming in a longer historical context. Reconstructions of millennial temperatures show a wide range of variability, raising questions about the reliability of currently available reconstruction techniques and the uniqueness of late-twentieth-century warming. A calibration method is suggested that avoids the loss of low-frequency variance. A new reconstruction using this method shows substantial variability over the last 1500 yr. This record is consistent with independent temperature change estimates from borehole geothermal records, compared over the same spatial and temporal domain. The record is also broadly consistent with other recent reconstructions that attempt to fully recover low-frequency climate variability in their central estimate. High variability in reconstructions does not hamper the detection of greenhouse gas-induced climate change, since a substantial fraction of the variance in these reconstructions from the beginning of the analysis in the late thirteenth century to the end of the records can be attributed to external forcing. Results from a detection and attribution analysis show that greenhouse warming is detectable in all analyzed high-variance reconstructions (with the possible exception of one ending in 1925), and that about a third of the warming in the first half of the twentieth century can be attributed to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The estimated magnitude of the anthropogenic signal is consistent with most of the warming in the second half of the twentieth century being anthropogenic

Travelling waves in a drifting flux lattice

Starting from the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equations for a type II superconductor, we derive the equations of motion for the displacement field of a moving vortex lattice without inertia or pinning. We show that it is linearly stable and, surprisingly, that it supports wavelike long-wavelength excitations arising not from inertia or elasticity but from the strain-dependent mobility of the moving lattice. It should be possible to image these waves, whose speeds are a few \mu m/s, using fast scanning tunnelling microscopy.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 2 .eps figures imbedded in paper, title shortened, minor textual change

Characteristics of Five Propellers in Flight

This investigation was made for the purpose of determining the characteristics of five full-scale propellers in flight. The equipment consisted of five propellers in conjunction with a VE-7 airplane and a Wright E-2 engine. The propellers were of the same diameter and aspect ratio. Four of them differed uniformly in thickness and pitch and the fifth propeller was identical with one of the other four with exception of a change of the airfoil section. The propeller efficiencies measured in flight are found to be consistently lower than those obtained in model tests. It is probable that this is mainly a result of the higher tip speeds used in the full-scale tests. The results show also that because of differences in propeller deflections it is difficult to obtain accurate comparisons of propeller characteristics. From this it is concluded that for accurate comparisons it is necessary to know the propeller pitch angles under actual operating conditions. (author

Implementing the UN Action Programme for Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.

yesHistorically, UN conferences have been criticised for resulting more in compromises than in commitments to real change, which is also a charge that has been levelled against the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN Small Arms Conference). The consensus-based approach adopted throughout the negotiations had the advantage of binding all participating States to all aspects of the agreed Programme of Action (PoA), but it also ensured that it would be difficult to achieve a sufficiently rigorous and comprehensive agreement on all of the measures required to tackle the trafficking, proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW). Therefore, in spite of the efforts of many governments and NGOs, the UN Small Arms Conference did not agree sufficiently robust agreements in several areas. Nonetheless, it was a valuable and productive process. The resulting PoA includes a reasonably comprehensive set of key principles and commitments, which provide a basis for taking forward action at national, regional and global levels. The PoAwas agreed by all of the participating States, amounting to more than 100, and each are politically bound to adopt and implement it. Given that the UN Small Arms Conference was the first of its kind, its achievement in generating political will and momentum for efforts to control SALW is important. Although many of the commitments are weaker and less comprehensive than hoped for by many governments and organisations, it is significant that the PoAcontains at least some important commitments in all but two of the `core¿ issue areas raised by States. The two exceptions relate to transfers to non-State actors and to civilian trade, possession and use of SALW, restrictions which were strongly opposed by the USA. Equally, human rights related issues were noteworthy by their absence in the PoA. Whilst the process of reaching agreement began with a far-reaching draft PoA in December 2000 (A/Conf.192/L.4), most of the comments that were tabled on this text during the second Preparatory Committee in January 2001 came from countries that sought to weaken its commitments. The subsequent draft (A/Conf.192/L.4/Rev.1) was therefore weaker, with the result that progressive States faced an uphill task in seeking to strengthen its provisions. The next draft PoA emerged at the UN Small Arms Conference itself in the form of a third draft (A/Conf.192/L.5). Although still limited in a number of key areas ¿ such as export criteria and transparency ¿ this document went further than L.4/Rev.1 in a number of respects and included specific international commitments, including on brokering and tracing lines of supply. This, however, proved too ambitious an agenda for a small group of States and in the end the document that was adopted by consensus (A/Conf.192/L.5/Rev.1) represented a lower-level compromise. Despite the difficulties of agreeing the consensus-based PoA, the process culminating in the agreement was perhaps as important as the agreement itself. UN Small Arms Conference represented the first time that all UN Member States had met to discuss the illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects with a view to agreeing a comprehensive set of measures to address the problem. Although many of the commitments contained in the PoAare couched in equivocal language that will allow States to do as much or as little as they like, it is clear that the UN Small Arms Conference has contributed to a much better understanding, amongst all stakeholders, of the nature of the illicit trade in SALW and of the particular concerns and priorities of different countries and sub-regions. It is also clear that although the Programme of Action provides a set of minimum standards and commitments which all states should adopt, it also encourages further action from all States willing to adopt more stringent commitments and stronger programmes. There is a willingness among a number of States to build upon the PoAand take more concrete and far-reaching measures at national, sub-regional, regional and international levels, such as specific arrangements for tracing co-operation, or mechanisms to co-ordinate e fforts to improve stockpile security or weapons destruction. This briefing provides a critical assessment of key provisions in the UN Small Arms Conference PoA. Section 1 measures the overall outcomes of the conference against those that the Biting the Bullet (BtB) project proposed as optimal conclusions, and suggests ways to put the commitments contained in the PoA into practice. Section 2 assesses the implementation and follow-up commitments contained in the PoA, and identifies ways of promoting the implementation of Sections III and IV, as well as options for making the most of the Biennial Meetings of States and the Review Conference in 2006. Section 3 examines funding and resourcing possibilities for the PoA including identifying needs, mobilising resources and matching needs with resources. The final section of the briefing focuses on the way forward, and in particular on how implementation of the PoA could build on existing regional initiatives and develop common international approaches to controlling SALW proliferation, availability and misuse. It also examines how action to prevent and combat the illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects can be taken forward at sub-regional and regional levels in conjunction with all major stakeholders, including civil society, in the period leading up to the first Review Conference

Cob Development in Forage Maize: Influence of Harvest Date, Cultivar and Plastic Mulch

Forage maize grown for silage tends to be a compromise between reproductive and vegetative yield, and the cob component is the main driver of feeding value (Keane et al., 2003). Thus the aim is to produce a well-developed crop of high dry matter (DM) and starch content reflecting large cobs of well-filled grains rather than crops with low DM and starch contents reflecting poorly developed (immature) cob components at harvest. The use of plastic mulch can increase total DM yields with the increase in cob yield accounting for 75% of the total yield increase (Easson & Fearnehough, 1997). In this experiment the composition of cob components (i.e. rachis plus kernel) of two cultivars of different maturity under Irish conditions grown with or without plastic mulch were monitored between the harvest dates of 10 September to 9 November

Effectiveness of Remotely Delivered Interventions to Simultaneously Optimize Management of Hypertension, Hyperglycemia and Dyslipidemia in People With Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Remotely delivered interventions may be more efficient in controlling multiple risk factors in people with diabetes. Purpose: To pool evidence from randomized controlled trials testing remote management interventions to simultaneously control blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids. Data Sources: PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane library were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) until 20th June 2021. Study Selection: Included RCTs were those that reported participant data on blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid outcomes in response to a remotely delivered intervention. Data Extraction: Three authors extracted data using a predefined template. Primary outcomes were glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP & DBP). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration RoB-2 tool. Meta-analyses are reported as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Data Synthesis: Twenty-seven RCTs reporting on 9100 participants (4581 intervention and 4519 usual care) were included. Components of the remote management interventions tested were identified as patient education, risk factor monitoring, coaching on monitoring, consultations, and pharmacological management. Comparator groups were typically face-to-face usual patient care. Remote management significantly reduced HbA1c (SMD -0.25, 95%CI -0.33 to -0.17, p<0.001), TC (SMD -0.17, 95%CI -0.29 to -0.04, p<0.0001), LDL-c (SMD -0.11, 95%CI -0.19 to -0.03, p=0.006), SBP (SMD -0.11, 95%CI -0.18 to -0.04, p=0.001) and DBP (SMD -0.09, 95%CI -0.16 to -0.02, p=0.02), with low to moderate heterogeneity (I²= 0 to 75). Twelve trials had high risk of bias, 12 had some risk and three were at low risk of bias. Limitations: Heterogeneity and potential publication bias may limit applicability of findings. Conclusions: Remote management significantly improves control of modifiable risk factors