Swift monitoring of the central X-ray source in RCW 103

The X-ray source 1E 161348-5055 lies at the centre of the 2-kyr-old supernova remnant RCW 103. Owing to its 24-ks modulation, orders-of-magnitude flux variability over a few months/years, and lack of an obvious optical counterpart, 1E 161348-5055 defies assignment to any known class of X-ray sources. Starting from April 2006, Swift observed 1E 161348-5055 with its X-ray telescope for 2 ks approximately once per month. During the five years covered, the source has remained in a quiescent state, with an average observed flux of 1.7e-12 erg/cm^2/s (1-10 keV), about 20 times lower than the historical maximum attained in its 1999-2000 outburst. The long time-span of the Swift data allows us to obtain an accurate measure of the period of 1E 161348-5055 [P = 24030.42(2) s] and to derive the first upper limit on its period derivative (|dP/dt| < 1.6e-9 s/s at 3 sigma).Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Figures 2,3 and 5 in reduced qualit

The reflares and outburst evolution in the accreting millisecond pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658: A disk truncated near co-rotation?

© 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.43658 shows peculiar low luminosity states known as "reflares" after the end of the main outburst. During this phase the X-ray luminosity of the source varies by up to three orders of magnitude in less than 12 days. The lowest X-ray luminosity observed reaches a value of ~1032 erg s-1, only a factor of a few brighter than its typical quiescent level. We investigate the 2008 and 2005 reflaring state of SAX J1808.43658 to determine whether there is any evidence for a change in the accretion flow with respect to the main outburst. We perform a multiwavelength photometric and spectral study of the 2005 and 2008 reflares with data collected during an observational campaign covering the near-infrared, optical, ultra-violet and X-ray band. We find that the NIR/optical/UV emission, expected to come from the outer accretion disk, shows variations in luminosity over an order of magnitude. The corresponding X-ray luminosity variations are instead much deeper, spanning about 23 orders of magnitude. The X-ray spectral state observed during the reflares does not change substantially with X-ray luminosity, indicating a rather stable configuration of the accretion flow. We investigate the most likely configuration of the innermost regions of the accretion flow and we infer an accretion disk truncated at or near the co-rotation radius. We interpret these findings as due to either a strong outflow (due to a propeller effect) or a trapped disk (with limited/no outflow) in the inner regions of the accretion flow

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on violence against pre-hospital emergency health workers

BACKGROUND: Violence against pre-hospital emergency health workers is a growing problem worldwide and negatively impacts the effectiveness of emergency services. The social distancing, isolation and quarantine measures that have been employed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have also had economic and psychosocial effects. Therefore, it is important to explore how the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced these violent incidents that interfere with the work of emergency medical services (EMS). OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate how violence against EMS workers has been impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This study takes an interpretive social science approach, using the qualitative method of in-depth semi-structured interviewing. Audio of the interviews was recorded with the interviewee's consent. Sound recordings were transcribed and their content was categorised into themes. Categorised texts were then evaluated using descriptive analysis. RESULTS: Participants reported that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they encountered more violence than usual on EMS assignments to non-emergency situations, though a sense of gratitude towards health workers at the beginning of the pandemic and positives attitudes towards health workers also contributed to reduced violence towards them. The data indicate that workplace violence among EMS employees has increased as the problems caused by the pandemic have intensified, suggesting that additional measures need to be taken to protect them. CONCLUSION: In parallel with an increase in social violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, violence against EMS workers also increased in prevalence. A multidimensional approach should now be taken to determine how violence against EMS employees will be affected by risks such as the intergenerational transmission of social violence, a psychosocial repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially considering the increasing workplace violence among EMS employees

Intra-pulse variability induced by plasmoid formation in pulsar magnetospheres

Context. Pulsars show irregularities in their pulsed radio emission that originate from propagation effects and the intrinsic activity of the source. Aims. In this work, we investigate the role played by magnetic reconnection and the formation of plasmoids in the pulsar wind current sheet as a possible source of intrinsic pulse-to-pulse variability in the incoherent, high-energy emission pattern. Methods. We used a two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation of an orthogonal pulsar magnetosphere restricted to the plane perpendicular to the star spin axis. We evolved the solution for several tens of pulsar periods to gather a statistically significant sample of synthetic pulse profiles. Results. The formation of plasmoids leads to strong pulse-to-pulse variability in the form of multiple short, bright subpulses, which appear only on the leading edge of each main pulse. These secondary peaks of emission are dominated by the dozen plasmoids that can grow up to macroscopic scales. They emerge from the high end of the hierarchical merging process occurring along the wind current layer. The flux of the subpulses is correlated with their width in phase. Although the full-scale separation is not realistic, we argue that the simulation correctly captures the demographics and the properties of the largest plasmoids, and therefore of the brightest subpulses. Conclusions. The prediction of subpulses at specific pulse phases provides a new observational test of the magnetic reconnection scenario as the origin of the pulsed incoherent emission. High-time-resolution observations of the Crab pulsar in the optical range may be the most promising source to target for this purpose

Bürokratik işlemlerin ilk yardım uygulamalarına olan etkilerinin incelenmesi

Introduction: In the year 2001, an important progress on first aid training has been achieved and a statute published by the Turkish Ministry of Health. Although that statute has contraversial points, it was the first statute on this subject. We wanted to see how much the first aid providers are effected by bureaucratic procedures that they can run into. Material and Method: Our study groups included those who could more frequently face with the stuations that require first aid procedures. Majority of study groups included policeman, university students and workman. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their sociodemographic properties and bureaucratic procedures on an inquiry form. Results: 52.99% of study subjects had priorly taken first aid training but 46.79% of them did not. 20.51% of the participants had reported that they feel reluctant of the bureaucratic procedures which they face during the first aid procedures and no intervention would be made by them. 41.02% of the participants reported although they feel reluctant, they would intervene the situation. Conclusion: The present study reveals that although the ratio of taking first aid course amoung population is low, first aid providers' attitude is effected by bureaucratic procedures and first aid statutes.Giriş: 2001 yılında ülkemizdeki ilkyardım eğitimi ile ilgili önemli bir adım atıldı ve Sağlık Bakanlığı tarafından "ilkyardım yönetmeliği" yayınlandı. Bu yönetmelik çok tartışılmasına rağmen ilk olması nedeni ile önemlidir. Bu çalışmada ilkyardımcıların karşılarına çıkabilecek bürokratik işlemlerden ne derecede etkilendiklerini belirlemeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma için ilkyardım gerektirecek bir durum ile sık karşılaşabilecek grupları seçmeye özen gösterdik. Çalışmaya katılanların önemli bir kısmı polis memuru, üniversite öğrencisi ve fabrika işçilerinden oluşturuldu. Katılımcılara sosyodemografik özellikleri ve bürokratik işlemlere ilişkin sorular içeren anket formu verildi. Bulgular: Çalışmaya dahil edilen katılımcıların %52.99'nu daha önceden ilkyardım eğitimi almış, %46.79'unu ise daha önceden bir ilkyardım eğitimi almamıştı. Katılımcıların %20.51'i ilkyardım uygulaması gereken bir durumda karşısına çıkabilecek bürokratik işlemlerden çekindiğini ve olaya herhangi bir müdahalede bulunmayacağını belirtirken, %41.02'ı da bürokratik işlemlerden çekineceğini ama buna rağmen olaya müdahale edeceğini belirtmiştir. Sonuç: İlkyardım eğitimi alma oranı düşük olmakla birlikte, ilkyardım uygulamalarındaki bürokratik işlemlerin uygulamacılar için çekince oluşturduğu kanısındayız