The COINS Sample - VLBA Identifications of Compact Symmetric Objects

We present results of multifrequency polarimetric VLBA observations of 34 compact radio sources. The observations are part of a large survey undertaken to identify CSOs Observed in the Northern Sky (COINS). Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) are of particular interest in the study of the physics and evolution of active galaxies. Based on VLBI continuum surveys of ~2000 compact radio sources, we have defined a sample of 52 CSOs and CSO candidates. In this paper, we identify 18 previously known CSOs, and introduce 33 new CSO candidates. We present continuum images at several frequencies and, where possible, images of the polarized flux density and spectral index distributions for the 33 new candidates and one previously known but unconfirmed source. We find evidence to support the inclusion of 10 of these condidates into the class of CSOs. Thirteen candidates, including the previously unconfirmed source, have been ruled out. Eleven sources require further investigation. The addition of the 10 new confirmed CSOs increases the size of this class of objects by 50%.Comment: 24 pages, incl 8 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figure quality degraded in the interests of space, full gzipped PS version also available at http://www.ee.nmt.edu/~apeck/papers

Russian Applied Research and Development: Its Problems and its Promise

This Research Report discusses the changing nature of research and development (R&D) in Russia. In the decades following World War II, the USSR was one of the two great powers in R&D; the other was the USA. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the R&D sector went into a precipitous decline that continued until at least 1995. The collection of papers in this report addresses what went wrong. A number of broad issues are covered, such as whether the decline of the R&D sector from 1991 to 1995 was too steep or too modest for the welfare of the Russian economy; how the structure and organization of Russian-applied R&D should be developed over the long term; and what role government policy should play in Russian-applied R&D. Chapters in the report were written by Russian senior officials and by scholars of R&D policy from outside Russia

Shifting ocean carbonate chemistry during the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition: implications for deep ocean Mg/Ca paleothermometry

To date, no conclusive evidence has been identified for intermediate or deep water cooling associated with the > 1 parts per thousand benthic delta O-18 increase at the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) when large permanent ice sheets first appeared on Antarctica. Interpretation of this isotopic shift as purely ice volume change necessitates bipolar glaciation in the early Oligocene approaching that of the Last Glacial Maximum. To test this hypothesis, it is necessary to have knowledge about deep water temperature, which previous studies have attempted to reconstruct using benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca ratios. However, it appears likely that contemporaneous changes in ocean carbonate chemistry compromised the Mg/Ca temperature sensitivity of benthic foraminifera at deep sites. New geochemical proxy records from a relatively shallow core, ODP Site 1263 (estimated paleodepth of 2100 m on the Walvis Ridge), reveal that carbonate chemistry change across the EOT was not limited to deep sites but extended well above the lysocline, critically limiting our ability to obtain reliable estimates of deep-ocean cooling during that time. Benthic Li/Ca measurements, used as a proxy for [CO32-], suggest that [CO32-] increased by similar to 29 mu mol/kg at Site 1263 across the EOT and likely impacted benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca. A [CO32-]-benthic Mg/Ca relationship is most apparent during the early EOT when the overall increase in [CO32-] is interrupted by an apparent dissolution event. Planktonic d18O and Mg/Ca records suggest no change in thermocline temperature and a delta O-18(seawater) increase of up to 0.6 parts per thousand at this site across the EOT, consistent with previous estimates and supporting the absence of extensive bipolar glaciation in the early Oligocene

Thinking beyond the hybrid:“actually-existing” cities “after neoliberalism” in Boyle <i>et al.</i>

In their article, ‘The spatialities of actually existing neoliberalism in Glasgow, 1977 to present’, Mark Boyle, Christopher McWilliams and Gareth Rice (2008) usefully problematise our current understanding of neoliberal urbanism. Our response is aimed at developing a sympathetic but critical approach to Boyle et al's understanding of neoliberal urbanism as illustrated by the Glasgow example. In particular, the counterposing by Boyle et al of a 'hybrid, mutant' model to a 'pure' model of neoliberalism for us misrepresents existing models of neoliberalism as a perfectly finished object rather than a roughly mottled process. That they do not identify any ‘pure’ model leads them to create a straw construct against which they can claim a more sophisticated, refined approach to the messiness of neoliberal urbanism. In contrast, we view neoliberalism as a contested and unstable response to accumulation crises at various scales of analysis

The Right to Rent : active resistance to evolving geographies of state regulation

Drawing on recent qualitative research on the UK's Immigration Act 2016, this article sets out to explain the opposition of social housing professionals to the imposition of the Right to Rent. By locating this policy intervention within the evolving geographies of state regulation, it is possible to account for the mechanisms through which housing professionals can resist the extension of duties that were previously the remit of border agents and immigration officials. Synthesizing Bourdieu's critical sociology with Boltanski and Thevenot's sociology of critique helps explain not only the governmental underpinnings of contemporary immigration rhetoric, but also the forms of resistance for which housing professionals display a strong justification in exercising. The universal nature of ‘classification struggles’ within and beyond state institutions extends the relevance of this research to encompass most, if not all, welfarist regimes operating within actually existing neoliberal orders. The analysis of the findings of this research has wider implications that reach beyond housing and urban studies while immigration persists as one of the most significant contemporary political issues, almost without geographical exception, right across the globe.PostprintPeer reviewe

Advanced radiator concepts utilizing honeycomb panel heat pipes

The feasibility of fabricating and processing moderate temperature range vapor chamber type heat pipes in a low mass honeycomb panel configuration for highly efficient radiator fins for potential use on the space station was investigated. A variety of honeycomb panel facesheet and core-ribbon wick concepts were evaluated within constraints dictated by existing manufacturing technology and equipment. Concepts evaluated include type of material, material and panel thickness, wick type and manufacturability, liquid and vapor communication among honeycomb cells, and liquid flow return from condenser to evaporator facesheet areas. A thin-wall all-welded stainless steel design with methanol as the working fluid was the initial prototype unit. It was found that an aluminum panel could not be fabricated in the same manner as a stainless steel panel due to diffusion bonding and resistance welding considerations. Therefore, a formed and welded design was developed. The prototype consists of ten panels welded together into a large panel 122 by 24 by 0.15 in., with a heat rejection capability of 1000 watts and a fin efficiency of essentially 1.0