Observation of soft X-rays from cosmic sources

A binary X-ray source, an extended extragalactic X-ray source and several nearby stars were surveyed for X-ray emission. The energy spectrum and time structure of X-ray flux from the binary source, Her X-l, was investigated in the range from 0.15 to 6 KeV. This source was observed at a binary phase of 0.18 with the system near elongation normal to the line of sight. Intense pulsations were observed in optical emission lines near this binary phase. The spectrum and angular distribution of X-ray emission from the X-ray source in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies, near M 87, was also observed. In addition, the stars Alpha Leo, Zeta Her, and Epsilon Vir were investigated. Epsilon Aur and Alpha Aur were also scanned. These stars were studied since there is increasing evidence that such objects may be transient sources of soft X-rays

Experimental study of spectral and spatial distribution of solar X-rays

The study of the physical conditions within the solar corona and the development of instrumentation and technical expertise necessary for advanced studies of solar X-ray emission are reported. Details are given on the Aerobee-borne-X-ray spectrometer/monochromator and also on the observing program. Preliminary discussions of some results are presented and include studies of helium-like line emission, mapping O(VII) and Ne(IX) lines, survey of O(VII) and Ne(IX) lines, study of plage regions and small flares, and analysis of line emission from individual active regions. It is concluded that the use of large-area collimated Bragg spectrometers to scan narrow wavelength intervals and the capability of the SPARCS pointing control to execute a complex observing program are established

Rocket studies of solar corona and transition region

The XSST (X-Ray Spectrometer/Spectrograph Telescope) rocket payload launched by a Nike Boosted Black Brant was designed to provide high spectral resolution coronal soft X-ray line information on a spectrographic plate, as well as time resolved photo-electric records of pre-selected lines and spectral regions. This spectral data is obtained from a 1 x 10 arc second solar region defined by the paraboloidal telescope of the XSST. The transition region camera provided full disc images in selected spectral intervals originating in lower temperature zones than the emitting regions accessible to the XSST. A H-alpha camera system allowed referencing the measurements to the chromospheric temperatures and altitudes. Payload flight and recovery information is provided along with X-ray photoelectric and UV flight data, transition camera results and a summary of the anomalies encountered. Instrument mechanical stability and spectrometer pointing direction are also examined

Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare.:Preliminary evidence of podcast impacts on equine welfare

SummaryBackground Podcasts have become a popular digital forum for discussing scientific information with peers, as well as with the non-scientific community, often referred to as ‘edutainment’. It is unclear how science-based podcasts can support the veterinary industry through, for example, supporting good husbandry practices.ObjectivesTo understand the influence of ‘edutainment’ on equine owners’ husbandry decisionsStudy DesignThe sample population was listeners of the Conversations in Equine Science (CES) podcast recruited to complete an online survey via a link promoted by the CES hosts. The survey contained Likert-like questions assessing how listeners rated the importance of different forms of evidence when making husbandry decisions and questions relating to husbandry changes made. MethodsA mixed methods approach was used to analyse the data. The Likert package for R was used to explore importance ratings. Free text questions were analysed via a content analysis with a constructionist epistemological position. Results The experience of veterinarians and scientific evidence was considered the most important forms of evidence that owners used when making decisions about their horse’s management (93% agreed and 91% agreed they were important respectively). Additionally, 74% of respondents had made a change to the management or training principles prompted by an episode of CES, suggesting edutainment can be a prompt to management change. Of these, the majority (55%) had done so based on a joint discussion of the podcast and their own reading of the evidence.Main LimitationsThis was an opportunistic sample of those already invested in the edutainment format, and may not represent those owners with no interest in scientific evidence. Conclusions Podcasts are an easy-access, low-cost medium to convey research and current trends in the equine/equitation science genre. They may be a valuable tool for the veterinary industry to employ to support horse welfare. <br/

Juvenile Secure Confinement and Recidivism Risk: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

Juvenile crime is a serious issue in the United States. Juveniles, those who are under 18 years of age, account for approximately 24% of the population (Census Bureau 2014). This segment of the population is responsible for over 10% of all crime committed in the United States (FBI 2012). Although secure confinement has been identified as one of the most significant contributors to a juvenile’s future risk of recidivism (Bezruki, Varana, and Hill 1999), few studies have directly examined the link between juvenile secure confinement and recidivism. Using official data from Montana’s Juvenile Court Accountability and Tracking System (JCATS) (n=2,897), this study contributes to the literature. The findings are based on propensity score matching to obtain a more comprehensive estimate of the influence placement in secure confinement has on a juvenile’s risk of recidivism. In the investigation, recidivism refers to involvement in delinquency within one year, following juvenile court intervention, including release from secure confinement. Close to 70% of juveniles released from secure confinement are involved in recidivism within one year (Bezruki, Varana, and Hill 1999). Propensity score matching approximates the conditions of a controlled experiment. Treatment can include any form of intentional intervention, in this case, placement in secure confinement. Treated cases are matched to non-treated cases based on their propensity to receive treatment (Apel and Sweeten 2010). This statistical analysis eliminates some of the problems of causal inference by ensuring that matched individuals are statistically equivalent. While controlling for covariates related to juvenile recidivism, propensity score matching allows for the estimation of the causal effect of treatment (Guo and Fraser 2015). Conclusions from this research will inform practitioners in the area of juvenile justice on the realities of a practice that has been described as dangerous (Holman and Ziedenberg 2006). Practitioners and researchers alike will be interested in the unique effect of a placement in secure confinement on a juvenile’s risk of recidivism. In addition, results from prior studies contrasted with results from this investigation have the potential to inform other researchers of a more valuable tool for analyzing quasi-experimental data

Serum fibroblast growth factor 23, serum iron and bone mineral density in premenopausal women

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) circulates as active protein and inactive fragments. Low iron status increases FGF23 gene expression, and iron deficiency is common. We hypothesized that in healthy premenopausal women, serum iron influences C-terminal and intact FGF23 concentrations, and that iron and FGF23 associate with bone mineral density (BMD). Serum iron, iron binding capacity, percent iron saturation, phosphorus, and other biochemistries were measured in stored fasting samples from healthy premenopausal white (n=1898) and black women (n=994), age 20-55years. Serum C-terminal and intact FGF23 were measured in a subset (1631 white and 296 black women). BMD was measured at the lumbar spine and femur neck. Serum phosphorus, calcium, alkaline phosphatase and creatinine were lower in white women than black women (p<0.001). Serum iron (p<0.0001) and intact FGF23 (p<0.01) were higher in white women. C-terminal FGF23 did not differ between races. Phosphorus correlated with intact FGF23 (white women, r=0.120, p<0.0001; black women r=0.163, p<0.01). However, phosphorus correlated with C-terminal FGF23 only in black women (r=0.157, p<0.01). Intact FGF23 did not correlate with iron. C-terminal FGF23 correlated inversely with iron (white women r=-0.134, p<0.0001; black women r=-0.188, p<0.01), having a steeper slope at iron <50mcg/dl than ≥50mcg/dl. Longitudinal changes in iron predicted changes in C-terminal FGF23. Spine BMD correlated with iron negatively (r=-0.076, p<0.01) in white women; femur neck BMD correlated with iron negatively (r=-0.119, p<0.0001) in black women. Both relationships were eliminated in weight-adjusted models. BMD did not correlate with FGF23. Serum iron did not relate to intact FGF23, but was inversely related to C-terminal FGF23. Intact FGF23 correlated with serum phosphorus. In weight-adjusted models, BMD was not related to intact FGF23, C-terminal FGF23 or iron. The influence of iron on FGF23 gene expression is not important in determining bone density in healthy premenopausal women

Toward Healthier Congregations in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

This project was designed to assist pastors and members of declining congregations in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod address membership loss and then realize a statistically verifiable increase within three years. Risen Savior Lutheran Church, located in Byron, IL, eighty-eight miles west of Chicago, was the test congregation. Byron is a modern, urban community with a population of 3,753. The congregation experienced the sudden resignation of its first full-time pastor in 2014 after serving twenty-five months. Beginning as a mission in 2005, it slowly grew to a membership high of sixty-two in 2013 and then began to decline not only membership, but also worship attendance and revenue. After relocating three times in its brief history, it remains served by part-time pastors who offer only a Sunday sermon. Walking alongside the leadership and part-time pastors, the facilitator developed a relationship of trust to benefit the congregation’s ministry throughout the community. Beginning with the creation of a healthy environment to stop declining membership the facilitator studied the congregation. This included church history, demographics, consultation with current leadership, the former full-time pastor, and pastors who served on a limited basis. Pertinent literature, both theological and biblical, was identified for a doctrinal framework that accounts for the confessional subscription of a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod congregation, as well as the scriptural practices and change dynamics that shape member congregations. Common practices of healthy parishes, as well as a Lutheran understanding of healthy worship provided for the goal and plan for implementation. To implement the desired change, significant training, mentoring and expository preaching are vital. Reversing the statistical decline of the test congregation involves numerous volunteers, as well as the cooperation of the pastor and other leaders. An evaluation following field-testing will lead to replication additional declining congregations. Content Reader: Randy Rowland, DMi

Probing Quark Fragmentation Functions for Spin-1/2 Baryon Production in Unpolarized e+e−e^+e^- Annihilation

We study the measurement of the quark fragmentation functions for spin-1/2 baryon production ($\Lambda$ and $\bar \Lambda$, in particular) in unpolarized $e^+e^-$ annihilation. The spin-dependent fragmentation functions $\hat g_1(z)$ and $\hat h_1(z)$ can be probed in the process as a result of quark-antiquark spin correlation and the weak decay of the baryons. The relevant cross section is expressed as a product of the two-jet cross-section, the fragmentation functions, and the differential width of the hyperon decay.Comment: 17 pages, ReVTeX with (1 figure available from authors), MIT-CTP: #236

Sunspot observations from the SOUP instrument on Spacelab 2

A series of white light images obtained by the SOUP instrument on Spacelab 2 of active region 4682 on August 5, 1985 were analyzed in the area containing sunspots. Although the umbra of the spot is underexposed, the film is well exposed in the penumbral regions. These data were digitally processed to remove noise and to separate p-mode oscillations from low velocity material motions. The results of this preliminary investigation include: (1) proper motion measurements of a radial outflow in the photospheric granulation pattern just outside the penumbra; (2) discovery of occasional bright structures (streakers) that appear to be ejected outward from the penumbra; (3) broad dark clouds moving outward in the penumbra in addition to the well known bright penumbral grains moving inward; (4) apparent extensions and contractions of penumbral filaments over the photosphere; and (5) observation of a faint bubble or loop-like structure which seems to expand from two bright penumbral filaments into the photosphere

Protocol for a national monthly survey of alcohol use in England with 6-month follow-up: 'The Alcohol Toolkit Study'.

Timely tracking of national patterns of alcohol consumption is needed to inform and evaluate strategies and policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm. Between 2014 until at least 2017, the Alcohol Toolkit Study (ATS) will provide such tracking data and link these with policy changes and campaigns. By virtue of its connection with the 'Smoking Toolkit Study' (STS), links will also be examined between alcohol and smoking-related behaviour