Elizabeth River Surface Circulation Atlas

The Elizabeth River Surface Circulation Atlas is a compendium of maps which detail the surface circulation throughout the main branch of the Elizabeth River, in the port of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Data for the Atlas maps were obtained directly from field experiments using Remote Sensing and dye-emitting low-windage surface drogues. The maps show surface Lagrangian trajectories under various combinations of wind and tide. The Atlas is not intended to duplicate NOAA tidal current tables, but rather to supplement the tables with empirical trajectory data at increased spatial resolution. Knowledge of surface currents under different tide and wind conditions enables a user to predict the movement of floating debris, such as oil spills, within the Elizabeth River Basin

NuSTAR reveals the hidden nature of SS433

SS433 is the only Galactic binary system known to accrete at highly super-critical rates, analogous to tidal disruption events, and needed to explain the mass of some high redshift quasars. Probing the inner regions of SS433 in the X-rays is crucial to understanding this system, and super-critical accretion in general, but has not yet been possible due to obscuration. NuSTAR observed SS433 in the hard X-ray band across multiple phases of its super-orbital precession period. Spectral-timing tools have allowed us to confirm that the hard X-ray emission from the inner regions is scattered towards us by the walls of the wind-cone. By comparing to numerical models, we determine an intrinsic X-ray luminosity of >= 3x10^37 erg/s and that, if viewed face on, the apparent luminosity would be > 1x10^39 erg/s, confirming its long-suspected nature as an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). A lag due to absorption by Fe XXV/XXVI in outflowing material travelling at least 0.14-0.29c matches absorption lines seen in ULXs and - in future - will allow us to map a super-critical outflow for the first time.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, submitted for publicatio

Political brand image: an investigation into the operationalisation of the external orientation of David Cameron’s Conservative brand

This paper seeks to address the limited understanding of how to operationalise the external brand image of a political brand. More specifically, this research critically assesses the transfer potential of the six variables of brand image by Bosch, Venter, Han and Boshoff to deconstruct the UK Conservative Party brand from the perspective of young people aged 18–24 years during the 2010 UK General Election campaign. This research demonstrates the applicability of the six variables otherwise known as the ‘brand image framework’ to the political environment. However, the application of the brand image framework in its original conceptualisation proved problematic. Many of the brand image variables were clarified, rearticulated and simplified to address the political context. This refined conceptualisation provided an in-depth understanding of how to investigate the political brand image of David Cameron’s Conservative Party. This study addresses the paucity of research that operationalises external brand image and provides practitioners and academics within and beyond the context of political branding a mechanism to understand the external orientation of brands. This research may also be used by political and non-political brands as a basis to explore external brand image and compare its consistency with internal brand identity

Peginterferon Alfa-2a plus Ribavirin versus Interferon Alfa-2a plus Ribavirin for Chronic Hepatitis C in HIV-Coinfected Persons

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a cause of major complications in persons who are also infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, the treatment of HCV infection in such persons has been associated with a high rate of intolerance and a low rate of response. We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial comparing peginterferon plus ribavirin with interferon plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in persons coinfected with HIV

NuSTAR reveals the hidden nature of SS433

SS433 is the only Galactic binary system known to accrete at highly super-critical rates, analogous to tidal disruption events and some high redshift quasars. Probing the inner regions of SS433 in the X-rays is crucial to understanding the system yet has not been possible due to obscuration. NuSTAR observed SS433 in the hard X-ray band across multiple phases of its super-orbital precession period. Spectral-timing tools have allowed us to determine that the hard X-ray emission from the inner regions is scattered towards us by the walls of the wind-cone. By comparing to numerical models, we determine an intrinsic X-ray luminosity of ≥ 1×10^(38) erg/s and a face-on luminosity of > 1×10^(39) erg/s. A lag due to absorption by Fe XXV/XXVI in outflowing material travelling at least 0.14-0.29c strengthens the association with ultraluminous X-ray sources and - in future - will allow us to map a super-critical outflow for the first time

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe