Cleaning up Eta Carinae: Detection of Ammonia in the Homunculus

We report the first detection of ammonia in the Homunculus nebula around eta Carinae, which is also the first detection of emission from a polyatomic molecule in this or any other luminous blue variable (LBV) nebula. Observations of the NH3 (J,K)=(3,3) inversion transition made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array reveal emission at locations where infrared H2 emission had been detected previously, near the strongest dust emission in the core of the Homunculus. We also detect ammonia emission from the so-called ``strontium filament'' in the equatorial disk. The presence of NH3 around eta Car hints that molecular shells around some Wolf-Rayet stars could have originated in prior LBV eruptions, rather than in cool red supergiant winds or the ambient interstellar medium. Combined with the lack of any CO detection, NH3 seems to suggest that the Homunculus is nitrogen rich like the ionized ejecta around eta Car. It also indicates that the Homunculus is a unique laboratory in which to study unusual molecule and dust chemistry, as well as their rapid formation in a nitrogen-rich environment around a hot star. We encourage future observations of other transitions like NH3 (1,1) and (2,2), related molecules like N2H+, and renewed attempts to detect CO.Comment: 4 pages, accepted to ApJ letter

Cross-Subsidies: Government\u27s Hidden Pocketbook

Governments can use regulation to pay for public goods out of the pockets of consumers, rather than taxpayers. For example, the Affordable Care Act underwrites care for women and the infirm through higher insurance premium payments by healthy men. Building on a classic article from Richard Posner, we show that these “cross-subsidies” between consumers are a common feature of modern law, ranging from telecommunications to intellectual property to employee benefits. Critics of the ACA, and even some of its supporters, argue that taxes would be a better choice. Taxes are said to be more transparent, and to fit better with the recommendations of public finance economics. We show how these same arguments can be extended to many other contemporary cross-subsidies. We also argue, however, that the critics may well be wrong. Drawing on recent theoretical and empirical advances, we show that cross-subsidies can be more efficient than taxes, especially when they are used to redistribute wealth on grounds other than income, such as the ACA’s transfer from men to women. We then apply our analysis to several key contemporary cross-subsidies, including personal-injury law, patents, class action lawsuits, paid family leave, and of course the ACA

Dueling Stakeholders and Dual-Hatted Systems Engineers: Engineering Challenges, Capabilities and Skills in Government Infrastructure Technology Projects

An earlier version of this work was presented at the EGOS 2008 Summer Colloquium.Engineering projects that support government enterprises face substantial challenges due to demands from diverse stakeholders and rapidly-changing technologies. In this paper, we present findings from analysis of five case studies of systems engineering projects for large government enterprises. We focus on what can be learned from systems engineers, their essential role, and their engineering practices. As they work to establish interoperability across pre-existing and new technologies - thereby evolving infrastructure - the engineers commonly face “agonistic” tensions between groups of stakeholders. Temporal pacing conflicts are especially prevalent, such as those between stakeholder groups concerned with fast-paced streams of innovation and stakeholder groups concerned with current operations. In response, many engineers are following an evolutionary approach, developing new capabilities for managing projects and individual professional skill sets. The engineers’ adaptive response can be understood as incremental modularization and re/integration of technologies and associated practices across organizational (stakeholder) boundaries. Additionally, engineers are developing new skills of influence to support these capabilities for addressing stakeholder tensions. We close by discussing implications of our findings for the management of infrastructure technology projects, emergent design and engineering of organizational infrastructure, and the changing role of systems engineers

The Changing Nature of Systems Engineering and Government Enterprises: Report from a Case Study Research Effort

In this paper, we examine the changing nature of systems engineering work and, in particular, how The MITRE Corporation is confronting the challenges of expanding its role and capabilities to deliver what it calls “Enterprise Systems Engineering” to its government clients. Systems engineers exemplify technical knowledge workers whose work is expanding beyond the traditional skills and habits of thought developed through their disciplinary training (cf., Davidz 2006). Changes in technology, systems acquisition practices, and enterprise structures are challenging systems engineers to expand their roles and capabilities to manage the boundaries among technological systems and organizations of many sizes and types (e.g., government customers, systems integrators, suppliers, end users). Systems development takes place in an ever more complex environment of inter-organizational enterprises where implementation increasingly catalyzes enterprise change and demands greatly expanded and often unrecognized roles beyond that of technical expert or project manager

Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma Metastatic to Small Bowel Mucosa Causing Polyposis and Intussuseption

A report of alveolar soft part sarcoma metastatic to the small bowel is presented. Hematogenous metastases to the small bowel from primary tumors outside the abdominal cavity are uncommon, and most remain asymptomatic and are not discovered until autopsy. However, small bowel metastases can lead to intestinal obstruction, intussuseption or even perforation. While metastases to the small bowel have been described for other tumor types, including melanoma and lung cancer, this is extremely uncommon for sarcoma, especially alveolar soft part sarcoma. We describe a 42-year-old male with a long history of alveolar soft part sarcoma, metastatic to the lung and brain, who developed an intussuseption from metastases to the small bowel

High-speed plasma measurements with a plasma impedance probe

Plasma impedance probes (PIPs) are a type of RF probe that primarily measure electron density. This work introduces two advancements: a streamlined analytical model for interpreting PIP-monopole measurements and techniques for achieving $\geq 1$ MHz time-resolved PIP measurements. The model's improvements include introducing sheath thickness as a measurement and providing a more accurate method for measuring electron density and damping. The model is validated by a quasi-static numerical simulation which compares the simulation with measurements, identifies sources of error, and provides probe design criteria for minimizing uncertainty. The improved time resolution is achieved by introducing higher-frequency hardware, updated analysis algorithms, and a more rigorous approach to RF calibration. Finally, the new model and high-speed techniques are applied to two datasets: a 4 kHz plasma density oscillation resolved at 100 kHz with densities ranging between $2 \times 10^{14}$ to $3 \times 10^{15}$ m$^{-3}$ and a 150 kHz oscillation resolved at 4 MHz with densities ranging between $4 \times 10^{14}$ to $6 \times 10^{14}$ m$^{-3}$

Excision of a Rare Triquetral Body Fracture Nonunion

Aside from the more common dorsal avulsion fractures, isolated triquetral body fractures are a rare injury and often missed. When they are identified, conservative treatment via immobilization is often the standard of care for initial treatment. Rarely, triquetral body fractures can develop into symptomatic nonunions, causing considerable pain and disability. Multiple classification schemes have been described to categorize triquetrum fractures; however, distal triquetrum fractures fit into none of the established models. There is scarce literature describing treatment of triquetral body fracture nonunions. The few reports that exist often use a variation of open reduction internal fixation with or without grafting as treatment. We present the case of an unusual triquetral body fracture nonunion that was successfully treated via surgical excision of the ununited distal fragment

Assessing the Proposed IAM, UAW, and USW Merger: Critical Issues and Potential Outcomes

[Excerpt] We examine the many difficult issues facing the IAM, UAW, and USW as they move toward the creation of a single organization. In order to place this merger in con- text, the larger issue of mergers in the American labor movement will be addressed, as will the origins and history of each of the three unions. The specific issues confronting the unions will be examined in three categories — structure, administration, and functions and services. We conclude with an assessment of the current status of the unification effort and the prospects for its realization