A burst from the direction of UZ Fornacis with XMM-Newton

The XMM-Newton pointing towards the magnetic cataclysmic variable UZ For finds the source to be a factor > 10^3 fainter than previous EXOSAT and ROSAT observations. The source was not detected for the majority of a 22 ksec exposure with the EPIC cameras, suggesting that the accretion rate either decreased, or stopped altogether. However a 1.1 ksec burst was detected from UZ For during the observation. Spectral fits favour optically thin, kT = 4.4 keV thermal emission. Detection of the burst by the on-board Optical Monitor indicates that this was most probably an accretion event. The 0.1-10 keV luminosity of 2.1 x 10^30 erg/s is typical for accretion shock emission from high state polars and would result from the potential energy release of ~ 10^16 g of gas. There is no significant soft excess due to reprocessing in the white dwarf atmosphere.Comment: 7 pages, 2 postscript figures, ApJL, in pres

‘Birds of a feather’? Assessing the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far right electorate

This article focuses on the prevalence of anti-immigration attitudes among the far-right electorate. Drawing on the distinction between the predictive power of immigration concerns, and the question of how widespread these concerns are among the far-right voter pool, we proceed in two steps. First, we assess the extent to which anti-immigration attitudes are a necessary condition for voting far right; and second we examine whether far right voters with different levels of anti-immigration attitudes exhibit similar individual and attitudinal characteristics. Using data from the 8th wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) we find that, surprisingly, anti-immigration attitudes are not a necessary condition for voting for the far right as approximately one third of far-right voters have no concerns over immigration. We further show that far-right voters with different levels of immigration concerns have different profiles when it comes to other predictors of the far right-vote including ideological affinity, attachment to the EU and government satisfaction. Our contribution is significant as we suggest that there are different routes to voting for the far right by groups with different grievances, including non- immigration related

Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: the role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce

Grey power and the economy: ageing and inflation across advanced economies

What explains the cross-national variation in inflation rates across countries? In contrast to most literature, which emphasises the role of ideas and institutions, this paper focuses on electoral politics and argues that ageing leads to lower inflation rates. Countries with a larger share of elderly exhibit lower inflation because older people are both more inflation averse and politically powerful, forcing parties seeking their votes to pursue lower inflation. Logistic regression analyses of survey data confirm that (1) older people are more inflation averse and (2) more likely to punish incumbents for inflation. Panel data regression analysis shows that (3) social democratic parties have more economically orthodoxy manifestos in European countries with more elderly people and that (4) the share of elderly is negatively correlated with inflation in both a sample of 21 OECD economies and a larger sample of 175 countries. Ageing therefore pushes governments to pursue lower inflation

Group-specific responses to retrospective economic performance: a multi-level analysis of parliamentary elections

What is the relationship between electoral and economic performance? Previous literature posits that poor economic performance hurts the incumbent at the ballot box because overall economic performance serves as a competence signal, which voters can readily access at low costs. Building on an emerging economic voting literature exploring heterogeneity in the electorate, this article argues that social groups are affected differently by various dimensions of economic performance and that their sociotropic sanctioning of incumbents is contingent on the retrospective performance of these dimensions. It theorizes how four social groups—low-skilled workers, pensioners, public sector employees, and high-income individuals—are differently affected by each of four economic dimensions: unemployment, inflation, stock market performance, and public spending; as a result, they penalize the incumbent to varying extents. Results from a multilevel logistic regression analysis from four modules of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems containing around seventy electoral contexts are consistent with the argument

Issues of diffuse pollution model complexity arising from performance benchmarking

Flow and nitrate dynamics were simulated in two catchments, the River Aire in northern England and the River Ythan in north-east Scotland. In the case of the Aire, a diffuse pollution model was coupled with a river quality model (CASCADE-QUESTOR); in the study of the Ythan, an integrated model (SWAT) was used. In each study, model performance was evaluated for differing levels of spatial representation in input data sets (rainfall, soils and land use). In respect of nitrate concentrations, the performance of the models was compared with that of a regression model based on proportions of land cover. The overall objective was to assess the merits of spatially distributed input data sets. In both catchments, specific measures of quantitative performance showed that models using the most detailed available input data contributed, at best, only a marginal improvement over simpler implementations. Hence, the level of complexity used in input data sets has to be determined, not only on multiple criteria of quantitative performance but also on qualitative assessments, reflecting the specific context of the model application and the current and likely future needs of end-users

Long-term ageing of PEDOT:PSS: wettability Study

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Known for its electric properties, poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has emerged as a good candidate for organic electronics and more recently for bio-applications. Despite its growing use in engineering applications, little is known about the stability in time of its interface properties. Here, we consider the surface ageing of PEDOT:PSS when it is stored in environments with various relative humidity and tem perature conditions and as a function of the cross-linking agent's (3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane) concentration. Our systematic wettability study over 6 months reveals that the PEDOT:PSS interface undergoes significant reorganization and some irreversible changes on these timescales regardless of the concentration of cross-linker added

Wettability of PEDOT:PSS films

Conducting polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) are increasingly used to interface electronics with biology. Their wettability, however, remains poorly understood. We show that the frequently-used sessile drop technique yields results that are strongly dependent on the experimental conditions (measurement duration and relative humidity), due to the hydrogel-like behavior of PEDOT:PSS. In contrast, the captive bubble technique on a fully wet film overcomes these limitations. Dynamic wettability measurements provide hysteresis values for this polymer and clarify the physical meaning of the static contact angles measured by sessile drop and captive bubble. Finally we show that aging the films in water leads to loss of PSS chains which makes the films more hydrophobic. The addition of a crosslinker reduces and slows down these effects

Electrowetting on Immersed Conducting Hydrogel.

Conducting polymers demonstrate an interesting ability to change their wettability at ultralow voltage (<1 V). While the conducting hydrogel poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is increasingly used as an interface with biology partly thanks to its mechanical properties, little is known about the electrical control of its wettability. We rely on the captive bubble technique to study this hydrogel property under relevant conditions (fully immerged). We here report that the wettability variations of PEDOT:PSS are driven by an electrowetting phenomenon in contrast to other conducting polymers which are thought to undergo wettability changes due to oxido-reduction reactions. In addition, we propose a modified electrowetting model to describe the wettability variations of PEDOT:PSS in aqueous solution under ultralow voltage and we show how these variations can be tuned in different ranges of contact angles (above or under 90°) by coating the PEDOT:PSS surface