Models of OH Maser Variations in U Her

Arecibo spectra of the mainline OH maser emission from U Her over more than a decade show variations of the OH emission over these time scales. These observations are combined with high spatial resolution VLBA maps to investigate the causes of the variations in the velocities of the maser components. Global properties of the dust shell, such as accelerations, variations in the pump and shell-wide magnetic field changes are examined as possibilities, and eliminated. A possible solution to the problem involving plasma turbulence and the local magnetic field is introduced, and the relevant time scales of the turbulence are calculated. The turbulent velocity field yields time scales of the turbulence are calculated. The turbulent velocity field yields time scales that are too long (of order centuries), while the turbulent magnetic field produces variations on appropriate time scales of a few years. A line-of-sight model of the turbulence is developed and investigated. The complete exploration of this solution requires extensive theoretical and observational work. Possible avenues of investigation of the plasma turbulence model are presented.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figures, ApJ: accepted Sept, 199

Tunable dipolar magnetism in high-spin molecular clusters

We report on the Fe17 high-spin molecular cluster and show that this system is an exemplification of nanostructured dipolar magnetism. Each Fe17 molecule, with spin S=35/2 and axial anisotropy as small as D=-0.02K, is the magnetic unit that can be chemically arranged in different packing crystals whilst preserving both spin ground-state and anisotropy. For every configuration, molecular spins are correlated only by dipolar interactions. The ensuing interplay between dipolar energy and anisotropy gives rise to macroscopic behaviors ranging from superparamagnetism to long-range magnetic order at temperatures below 1K.Comment: Replaced with version accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

How should we turn data into decisions in AgriFood?

The AgriFood supply chain is under significant pressures related to food security, climate change, and consumer demands for affordable and higher quality food. Various technologies are already deployed producing a large amount of data, which can be utilised to guide decision-making to improve productivity, reduce wastage, and increase traceability across the AgriFood supply chain. Several examples of the use of data are given, including improving efficiency in livestock production, supporting automation and use of robotics in crop production, increasing food safety and evidencing its provenance. The opportunities and ways forward were discussed at a workshop in November 2017, run by the Society of Chemical Industry and the Knowledge Transfer Network in the UK. This paper presents a summary of the key messages from the presentations and focus-group discussions during this event, as interpreted by the authors. A number of challenges in digitalisation of the AgriFood supply chain are discussed, such as low inter-operability of different data sets, silo mentality, low willingness to share data and a significant skills gap. Various approaches are presented that could help to unlock the benefits of using data, from practical support to producers and addressing skills gaps, to industrial leadership and the role of government departments and regulatory bodies in leading by example. Looking forward, data are already revolutionising the AgriFood supply chain, however, the benefits will remain piecemeal until the leaders of today are able to bring together the disparate groups into a cohesive whole

The changing pattern of domestic cannabis cultivation in the UK and its impact on the cannabis market

With improvements in both technology and information cannabis is being increasingly grown indoors for domestic use, rather than being imported. This study examines 50 cannabis farms detected by an English police force, and examines the characteristics of the 61 suspects associated with them. The study highlights a UK pattern in domestic cultivation, that is moving away from large scale commercial cultivation, at times co-ordinated by South East Asian organised crime groups, to increased cultivation within residential premises by British citizens. Offenders range from those who have no prior criminal history to those who are serious and persistent offenders. The ramifications for law enforcement agencies and policy formers are discussed

Continuous-flow enzymatic determination of creatinine with improved on-line removal of endogenous ammonia

A new continuous-flow automated enzymatic method suitable for the direct determination of creatinine in physiological samples is described. The proposed system utilizes an on-line gas predialysis unit in conjuction with a flow-through enzyme reactor coil and a potentiometric ammonia detector. The enzyme reactor contains immobilized creatinine iminohydrolase (EC 3.5.4.21) which converts creatinine to ammonia and N-methylhydantoin. Ammonia liberated from this reaction is detected downstream with the membrane electrode-based detector. The novel gas predialysis unit effectively removes>99.8% of endogenous ammonia (up to 1 mM) present in the sample. Thus, final peak potentials recorded by the electrode detector are directly proportional to the logarithm of creatinine concentrations present. The method is shown to be precise (<3%), selective, and capable of accurately determining creatinine in serum and urine samples containing abnormally high endogenous ammonia levels. Determinations of creatinine in serum samples (n = 30) using this new method correlate well with an existing Technicon AutoAnalyzer colorimetric method (r = 0.996).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26866/1/0000431.pd

Legal determinants of external finance revisited : the inverse relationship between investor protection and societal well-being

This paper investigates relationships between corporate governance traditions and quality of life as measured by a number of widely reported indicators. It provides an empirical analysis of indicators of societal health in developed economies using a classification based on legal traditions. Arguably the most widely cited work in the corporate governance literature has been the collection of papers by La Porta et al. which has shown, inter alia, statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for investor protection. We show statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for societal health. Our comparative evidence suggests that the interests of investors may not be congruent with the interests of wider society, and that the criteria for judging the effectiveness of approaches to corporate governance should not be restricted to financial metrics

Soft X-ray Photochemistry at the L₂,₃-edges in K₃[Fe(CN)₆], [Co(acac)₃] and [Cp₂Fe][BF₄]

Soft X-ray photoreduction has been observed in K3[Fe(CN)6], [Co(acac)3] and [Cp2Fe][BF4]

Examining the Seyfert - Starburst Connection with Arcsecond Resolution Radio Continuum Observations

We compare the arcsecond-scale circumnuclear radio continuum properties between five Seyfert and five starburst galaxies, concentrating on the search for any structures that could imply a spatial or causal connection between the nuclear activity and a circumnuclear starburst ring. No evidence is found in the radio emission for a link between the triggering or feeding of nuclear activity and the properties of circumnuclear star formation. Conversely, there is no clear evidence of nuclear outflows or jets triggering activity in the circumnuclear rings of star formation. Interestingly, the difference in the angle between the apparent orientation of the most elongated radio emission and the orientation of the major axis of the galaxy is on average larger in Seyferts than in starburst galaxies, and Seyferts appear to have a larger physical size scale of the circumnuclear radio continuum emission. The concentration, asymmetry, and clumpiness parameters of radio continuum emission in Seyferts and starbursts are comparable, as are the radial profiles of radio continuum and near-infrared line emission. The circumnuclear star formation and supernova rates do not depend on the level of nuclear activity. The radio emission usually traces the near-infrared Br-gamma and H2 1-0 S(1) line emission on large spatial scales, but locally their distributions are different, most likely because of the effects of varying local magnetic fields and dust absorption and scattering.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

The Nature of Composite LINER/HII Galaxies, As Revealed from High-Resolution VLA Observations

A sample of 37 nearby galaxies displaying composite LINER/HII and pure HII spectra was observed with the VLA in an investigation of the nature of their weak radio emission. The resulting radio contour maps overlaid on optical galaxy images are presented here, together with an extensive literature list and discussion of the individual galaxies. Radio morphological data permit assessment of the ``classical AGN'' contribution to the global activity observed in these ``transition'' LINER galaxies. One in five of the latter objects display clear AGN characteristics: these occur exclusively in bulge-dominated hosts.Comment: 31 pages, 27 figures, accepted by ApJ