568 research outputs found
High-resolution images of five radio quasars at early cosmological epochs
Context: Until now, there have only been seven quasars at z>4.5 whose the
high-resolution radio structure had been studied in detail with Very Long
Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) imaging. Aims: We almost double the number of
VLBI-imaged quasars at these high redshifts with the aim of studying their
redshift-dependent structural and physical properties in a larger sample.
Methods: We observed five radio quasars (J0813+3508, J1146+4037, J1242+5422,
J1611+0844, and J1659+2101) at 4.5<z<5 with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at
1.6 GHz on 29 October 2008 and at 5 GHz on 22 October 2008. The angular
resolution achieved ranges from 1.5 to 25 milli-arcseconds (mas), depending on
the observing frequency, the position angle in the sky, and the source's
celestial position. Results: The sources are all somewhat extended on mas
scales, but compact enough to be detected at both frequencies. With one
exception of a flat-spectrum source (J1611+0844), their compact emission is
characterised by a steep radio spectrum. We found no evidence of
Doppler-boosted radio emission in the quasars in our sample. The radio
structure of one of them (J0813+3508) is extended to ~7", which corresponds to
43 kpc projected linear size. Many of the highest redshift compact radio
sources are likely to be young, evolving objects, far-away cousins of the
powerful gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) and compact steep-spectrum (CSS)
sources that populate the Universe at lower redshifts.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for Astronomy & Astrophysic
Legume, cropping intensity, and N-fertilization effects on soil attributes and processes from an eight-year-old semiarid wheat system
A View through Faraday's Fog 2: Parsec Scale Rotation Measures in 40 AGN
Results from a survey of the parsec scale Faraday rotation measure properties
for 40 quasars, radio galaxies and BL Lac objects are presented. Core rotation
measures for quasars vary from approximately 500 to several thousand radians
per meter squared. Quasar jets have rotation measures which are typically 500
radians per meter squared or less. The cores and jets of the BL Lac objects
have rotation measures similar to those found in quasar jets. The jets of radio
galaxies exhibit a range of rotation measures from a few hundred radians per
meter squared to almost 10,000 radians per meter squared for the jet of M87.
Radio galaxy cores are generally depolarized, and only one of four radio
galaxies (3C-120) has a detectable rotation measure in the core. Several
potential identities for the foreground Faraday screen are considered and we
believe the most promising candidate for all the AGN types considered is a
screen in close proximity to the jet. This constrains the path length to
approximately 10 parsecs, and magnetic field strengths of approximately 1
microGauss can account for the observed rotation measures. For 27 out of 34
quasars and BL Lacs their optically thick cores have good agreement to a lambda
squared law. This requires the different tau = 1 surfaces to have the same
intrinsic polarization angle independent of frequency and distance from the
black hole.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal: 71 pages, 40 figure
Prediction of body composition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians by bioimpedance spectroscopy
Radio spectra and polarisation properties of a bright sample of Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line Quasars
The origin of broad-absorption-line quasars (BAL QSOs) is still an open
issue. Accounting for ~20% of the QSO population, these objects present broad
absorption lines in their optical spectra generated from outflows with
velocities up to 0.2c. In this work we present the results of a multi-frequency
study of a well-defined radio-loud BAL QSO sample, and a comparison sample of
radio-loud non-BAL QSOs, both selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS).
We aim to test which of the currently-popular models for the BAL phenomenon -
`orientation' or 'evolutionary' - best accounts for the radio properties of BAL
quasars. Observations from 1.4 to 43 GHz have been obtained with the VLA and
Effelsberg telescopes, and data from 74 to 408 MHz have been compiled from the
literature.
The fractions of candidate GHz-peaked sources are similar in the two samples
(36\pm12% vs 23\pm8%), suggesting that BAL QSOs are not generally younger than
non-BAL QSOs. BAL and non-BAL QSOs show a large range of spectral indices,
consistent with a broad range of orientations. There is weak evidence (91%
confidence) that the spectral indices of the BAL QSOs are steeper than those of
non-BAL QSOs, mildly favouring edge-on orientations. At a higher level of
significance (\geq97%), the spectra of BAL QSOs are not flatter than those of
non-BAL QSOs, which suggests that a polar orientation is not preferred.Comment: Accepted by A&
Radio Emission from GRO J1655-40 during the 1994 Jet Ejection Episodes
We report multifrequency radio observations of GRO J1655-40 obtained with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope
and the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory at the time of the major
hard X-ray and radio outbursts in 1994 August-September. The radio emission
reached levels of the order of a few Jy and was found to be linearly polarized
by up to 10%, indicating a synchrotron origin. The light curves are in good
agreement with those measured with the VLA, but our closer time sampling has
revealed two new short-lived events and significant deviations from a simple
exponential decay. The polarization data show that the magnetic field is well
ordered and aligned at right angles to the radio jets for most of the
monitoring period. The time evolution of the polarization cannot be explained
solely in terms of a simple synchrotron bubble model, and we invoke a hybrid
`core-lobe' model with a core which contributes both synchrotron and free-free
emission and `lobes' which are classical synchrotron emitters.Comment: 36 pages, 5 tables, 9 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
Emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli among Australian chickens in the absence of fluoroquinolone use
In a structured survey of all major chicken-meat producers in Australia, we investigated the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and genomic characteristics of Campylobacter jejuni (n = 108) and C. coli (n = 96) from cecal samples of chickens at slaughter (n = 200). The majority of the C. jejuni (63%) and C. coli (86.5%) samples were susceptible to all antimicrobials. Fluoroquinolone resistance was detected among both C. jejuni (14.8%) and C. coli (5.2%), although this only included three sequence types (STs) and one ST, respectively. Multidrug resistance among strains of C. jejuni (0.9%) and C. coli (4.1%) was rare, and fluoroquinolone resistance, when present, was never accompanied by resistance to any other agent. Comparative genome analysis demonstrated that Australian isolates were found dispersed on different branches/clusters within the international collection. The major fluoroquinolone-resistant STs of C. jejuni (ST7323, ST2083, and ST2343) and C. coli (ST860) present in Australian chickens were similar to those of international isolates and have been reported previously in humans and animals overseas. The detection of a subpopulation of Campylobacter isolates exclusively resistant to fluoroquinolone was unexpected since most critically important antimicrobials such as fluoroquinolones are excluded from use in Australian livestock. A number of factors, including the low level of resistance to other antimicrobials, the absence of fluoroquinolone use, the adoption of measures for preventing spread of contagion between flocks, and particularly the genomic identities of isolates, all point to humans, pest species, or wild birds as being the most plausible source of organisms. This study also demonstrates the need for vigilance in the form of surveillance for AMR based on robust sampling to manage AMR risks in the food chain
Radio interferometric observations of two core-dominated triple radio sources at z>3
Aims. We selected two radio quasars (J1036+1326 and J1353+5725) based on
their 1.4-GHz radio structure, which is dominated by a bright central core and
a pair of weaker and nearly symmetric lobes at ~10" angular separation. They
are optically identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at
spectroscopic redshifts z>3. We investigate the possibility that their
core-dominated triple morphology can be a sign of restarted radio activity in
these quasars, involving a significant repositioning of the radio jet axis.
Methods. We present the results of high-resolution radio imaging observations
of J1036+1326 and J1353+5725, performed with the European Very Long Baseline
Interferometry (VLBI) Network (EVN) at 1.6 GHz. These data are supplemented by
archive observations from the Very Large Array (VLA).We study the large- and
small-scale radio structures and the brightness temperatures, then estimate
relativistic beaming parameters. Results. We show that the central emission
region of these two high-redshift, core-dominated triple sources is compact but
resolved at ~10 milli-arcsecond resolution. We find that it is not necessary to
invoke large misalignment between the VLBI jet and the large-scale radio
structure to explain the observed properties of the sources.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Developing Health Information Literacy in Disadvantaged and Dependent Circumstances: The Everyday Role of Family Nurses
This paper examines the challenges of developing health information literacy (HIL) amongst disadvantaged and dependent populations from the perspective of non-information professionals occupying everyday support roles. Our participants were a team of UK Family Nurses providing outreach support to vulnerable young mothers from areas of multiple deprivations. Our data collection methods were observation, interviews, and focus groups. Our participants all believe that they have an important role in developing HIL in clients but are unfamiliar with fundamental overarching information literacy (IL) concepts and models. Consequently, their confidence in their own ability to develop HIL skills in clients is limited. We discuss that to extend primary healthcare practices beyond HIL support to HIL education requires not only IL training, but also an appropriate pedagogical approach adaptable to semi-structured problematic situations. We raise important questions regarding approaches to developing HIL in disadvantaged population
HI absorption towards nearby compact radio sources
We present the results of HI absorption measurements towards a sample of
nearby Compact Steep-Spectrum (CSS) and Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio
sources, the CORALZ sample, using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT).
We observed a sample of 18 sources and find 7 new detections. These sources are
of lower luminosity than earlier studies of CSS and GPS objects and we
investigate any dependence of HI absorption features on radio luminosity.
Within the uncertainties, the detection rates and column densities are similar
to the more luminous objects, with the GPS objects exhibiting a higher
detection rate than for the CSS objects. The relative velocity of the
blueshifted absorption features, which may be due to jet-cloud interactions,
are within 250 km s and do not appear to extend to values over
1000 km s seen for the more luminous objects. This could be due to the
weaker jets in these objects, but requires confirmation from observations of a
larger sample of sources. There appears to be no evidence of any dependence of
HI column density on either luminosity or redshift, but these new detections
are consistent with the inverse relation between HI column density and
projected linear size.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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