3,966 research outputs found
Continuing education: The 1998 survey of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: Continuing education (CE) is an essential professional activity. In the last decade, CE has been actively pursued by the medical profession in Australia and abroad. However, the uptake of CE in dentistry has been much slower and there is minimal Australian data on dental CE. Methods: To determine the level of CE activity, in 1998, postal questionnaires were sent to all fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. The responses were analysed. Results: There was a high reponse rate (90 per cent) but a moderate usable rate (54 per cent). The results show a biphasic distribution between high and low CE activity. The average amount of activity of those involved in CE was 116 hours per year, above the usually accepted minimum of 100 hours/year. Some groups, particularly members of the specialist divisions of oral and maxillofacial surgeons (215 hours) and periodontists (205 hours), have high levels of CE. However, approximately 25 per cent of college fellows reported little or no CE activity. The survey revealed that inactive fellows are more likely to be older and in general practice. Inactive fellows were also tardy in replying to the questionnaire. Conclusion: The high activity CE group needs to be recognised and encouraged to continue. Specific plans to help the low CE activity group should be developed. Although these findings relate directly to the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, they are presented as they have implications for the dental profession at large.P Sambrook, D Thomson, R Bastiaan and A Gos
Radio Recombination Lines from Starbursts: NGC 3256, NGC 4945 and the Circinus Galaxy
A renewed attempt to detect radio recombination lines from external galaxies
has resulted in the measurement of lines from several bright starburst
galaxies. The lines are produced by hydrogen ionized by young, high-mass stars
and are diagnostic of the conditions and gas dynamics in the starburst regions
without problems of dust obscuration. We present here detections of the lines
H91alpha and H92alpha near 8.6 GHz from the starburst nuclei in NGC 3256, NGC
4945, and the Circinus galaxy using the ATCA and VLA. Modelling the line
emitting region as a collection of H II regions, we derive the required number
of H II regions, their temperature, density, and distribution.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in "Proc 331. Heraeus Seminar: The Evolution of
Starbursts", Bad Honnef, Germany, Aug 16 - 20, 2004, Eds: S. Huettemeister,
S. Aalto, D.J. Bomans, and E. Manthe
PKS B1400-33: an unusual radio relic in a poor cluster
We present new arcminute resolution radio images of the low surface
brightness radio source PKS B1400-33 that is located in the poor cluster Abell
S753. The observations consist of 330 MHz VLA, 843 MHz MOST and 1398 and 2378
MHz ATCA data. These new images, with higher surface brightness sensitivity
than previous observations, reveal that the large scale structure consists of
extended filamentary emission bounded by edge-brightened rims. The source is
offset on one side of symmetrically distributed X-ray emission that is centered
on the dominant cluster galaxy NGC 5419. PKS B1400-33 is a rare example of a
relic in a poor cluster with radio properties unlike those of most relics and
halos observed in cluster environments.
The diffuse source appears to have had an unusual origin and we discuss
possible mechanisms. We examine whether the source could be re-energized relic
radio plasma or a buoyant synchrotron bubble that is a relic of activity in NGC
5419. The more exciting prospect is that the source is relic plasma preserved
in the cluster gaseous environment following the chance injection of a radio
lobe into the ICM as a result of activity in a galaxy at the periphery of the
cluster.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
The Radio Recovery of SN 1970G: The Continuing Radio Evolution of SN 1970G
Using the Very Large Array, we have detected radio emission from the site of
SN 1970G in the Sc galaxy M101. These observations are 31 years after the
supernova event, making SN 1970G the longest monitored radio supernova. With
flux densities of 0.12 +/- 0.020 mJy at 6 cm and 0.16 +/- 0.015 mJy at 20 cm,
the spectral index of -0.24 +/- 0.20 appears to have flattened somewhat when
compared with the previously reported value of -0.56 +/- 0.11, taken in 1990.
The radio emission at 20 cm has decayed since the 1990 observations with a
power-law index of beta_20cm = -0.28 +/- 0.13. We discuss the radio properties
of this source and compare them to those of other Type II radio supernovae.Comment: 11 pages, 1 table and 2 figures; To appear in Astrophysical Journal
Letter
Wide area detection system: Conceptual design study
An integrated sensor for traffic surveillance on mainline sections of urban freeways is described. Applicable imaging and processor technology is surveyed and the functional requirements for the sensors and the conceptual design of the breadboard sensors are given. Parameters measured by the sensors include lane density, speed, and volume. The freeway image is also used for incident diagnosis
The Sizes of 1720 MHz OH Masers: VLBA and MERLIN Observations of the Supernova Remnants W44 and W28
We have used the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to image OH(1720 MHz)
masers in the supernova remnants W28 and W44 at a resolution of 40 mas. We also
used MERLIN to observe the same OH(1720 MHz) masers in W44 at a resolution of
290 x 165 mas. All the masers are resolved by these VLBA and MERLIN
observations. The measured sizes range from 50 to 180 mas and yield brightness
temperature estimates from 0.3--20 x 10**8 K. We investigate whether these
measured angular sizes are intrinsic and hence originate as a result of the
physical conditions in the supernova remnant shock, or whether they are scatter
broadened sizes produced by the turbulent ionized gas along the line of sight.
While the current data on the temporal and angular broadening of pulsars,
masers and extragalactic soures toward W44 and W28 can be understood in terms
of scattering, we cannot rule out that these large sizes are intrinsic. Recent
theoretical modeling by Lockett et al. suggests that the physical parameters in
the shocked region are indicative of densities and OH abundances which lead to
estimates of sizes as large as what we measure. If the sizes and structure are
intrinsic, then the OH(1720 MHz) masrs may be more like the OH(1612 MHz) masers
in circumstellar shells than OH masers associated with HII regions. At two
locations in W28 we observe the classical S-shapes in the Stokes V profiles
caused by Zeeman splitting and use it to infer magnetic fields of order 2
milliGauss.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Ap
Dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla area, New South Wales, Australia
Dust deposition in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, New South Wales, Australia, arising from local industrial and mining activities, has been of major concern since the early 1960s. Reports dealing with dust deposition rates in the region have been published by different organisations where the data have been averaged for the region. This provides a general trend for the deposition rates for the whole region without considering the trends occurring in specific locations. This study was the first to examine the trends observed at 35 individual gauges to identify more localised trends in dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, and also to try and identify the contribution of some of the possible dust sources. The coverage span of the data was from 1991-2003. These data were compared with two guidelines. The results indicated that the trend for dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region is, generally, decreasing, but the patterns for different gauges varied both spatially and temporally. Several factors were suspected to influence dust deposition rates, including meteorological conditions, mainly wind direction, proximity to dust sources, dust control devices installed by industry, and other nearby activities that could affect the deposition rate measurements. Deposition rates in some residential areas exceeded the guidelines for recommended action. Further speciation and characterisation analyses of dust samples are needed to confirm their sources
The Structure of the Cold Neutral ISM on 10-100 Astronomical Unit Scales
We have used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the Very Large Array
(VLA) to image Galactic neutral hydrogen in absorption towards four compact
extragalactic radio sources with 10 milliarcsecond resolution. Previous VLBA
data by Faison et al (1998) have shown the existence of prominent structures in
the direction of the extragalactic source 3C~138 with scale sizes of 10-20 AU
with changes in HI optical depth in excess of 0.8 0.1. In this paper we
confirm the small scale \hi optical depth variations toward 3C~147 suggested
earlier at a level up to 20 % 5% . The sources 3C~119, 2352+495 and
0831+557 show no significant change in \hi optical depth across the sources
with one sigma limits of 30%, 50%, and 100%. Of the seven sources recently
investigated with the VLBA and VLA, only 3C~138 and 3C~147 show statistically
significant variations in HI opacities.
Deshpande (2000) have attempted to explain the observed small-scale structure
as an extension of the observed power spectrum of structure on parsec size
scales. The predictions of Deshpande (2000) are consistent with the VLBA HI
data observed in the directions of a number of sources, including 3C~147, but
are not consistent with our previous observations of the HI opacity structure
toward 3C~138
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