The Linear-Size Evolution of Classical Double Radio Sources

Recent investigations of how the median size of extragalactic radio sources change with redshift have produced inconsistent results. Eales compared the radio and optical properties of a bright 3C and faint 6C sample and concluded that $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.1\pm0.5}$ ($\Omega_0 = 0$), with $D$ being the median size of the radio sources at a given epoch and z the redshift. Oort, Katgert, and Windhorst, on the other hand, from a comparison of the properties of a number of radio samples, found much stronger evolution, with $D\propto(1+z)^{-3.3 \pm0.5}$. In this paper we attempt to resolve the difference. We have repeated the analysis of Eales using the virtually complete redshift information that now exists for the 6C sample. Confining our analysis to FR2 sources, which we argue is the best-understood class of radio sources and the least likely to be affected by selection effects, we find $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.2\pm0.5}$ ($\Omega_0 = 0$) and $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.7\pm0.4}$ ($\Omega_0 = 1$). Our complete redshift information allows us to gain insight into our result by plotting a radio luminosity-size (P-D) diagram for the 6C sample. The most obvious difference between the 3C and 6C P-D diagrams is the clump of sources in the 6C diagram at $D\sim 100 kpc, P_{151}\sim 5x10^{27} WHz^{-1}sr^{-1}$. These clump sources have similar sizes to the emission-line regions found around high-redshift radio galaxies, suggesting that the presence of dense line-emitting gas around high-redshift radio galaxies is responsible for the size evolution. We show that this explanation can quantitatively explain the observed size evolution, as long as there is either little X-ray emitting gas around these objects or, if there is, it is distributed in a similar way to the emission-line gas: highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous.Comment: compressed and uuencoded postscript file. 33 pages including 5 figures (441951 bytes). Accepted for publication in September Ap

A Comparative Study of the Angoff and Nedelsky Methods: Implications for Validity

The Angoff and Nedelsky methods are two well-known procedures for setting passing scores on tests. Previous comparative studies indicate that the Nedelsky method tends to consistently set the lowest passing score relative to the Angoff and other methods. However, it cannot be concluded that the lower Nedelsky estimates are less accurate, because previous studies have not included a criterion of the correct passing score against which Nedelsky and other passing scores could be validated. The present paper describes an experiment in which criterion measures of the correct passing scores were generated and were compared for accuracy to Angoff and Nedelsky estimates

Characterization of skeletal phenotypes of TRα1(PV) and TRβ(PV) mutant mice: implications for tissue thyroid status and T3 target gene expression

Bone development is extremely sensitive to alterations in thyroid status. Recently, we analyzed the skeletal phenotypes of mice with the dominant negative resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) mutation PV targeted to either the thyroid hormone receptor (TR) α1 or β gene. This perspective summarizes our findings to date and explores the wider implications for thyroid status and T3 target gene expression in individual tissues

The GstLAL Search Analysis Methods for Compact Binary Mergers in Advanced LIGO's Second and Advanced Virgo's First Observing Runs

After their successful first observing run (September 12, 2015 - January 12, 2016), the Advanced LIGO detectors were upgraded to increase their sensitivity for the second observing run (November 30, 2016 - August 26, 2017). The Advanced Virgo detector joined the second observing run on August 1, 2017. We discuss the updates that happened during this period in the GstLAL-based inspiral pipeline, which is used to detect gravitational waves from the coalescence of compact binaries both in low latency and an offline configuration. These updates include deployment of a zero-latency whitening filter to reduce the over-all latency of the pipeline by up to 32 seconds, incorporation of the Virgo data stream in the analysis, introduction of a single-detector search to analyze data from the periods when only one of the detectors is running, addition of new parameters to the likelihood ratio ranking statistic, increase in the parameter space of the search, and introduction of a template mass-dependent glitch-excision thresholding method.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D, comments welcom

The GstLAL template bank for spinning compact binary mergers in the second observation run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo

We describe the methods used to construct the aligned-spin template bank of gravitational waveforms used by the GstLAL-based inspiral pipeline to analyze data from the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo. The bank expands upon the parameter space covered during the first observing run, including coverage for merging compact binary systems with total mass between 2 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ and 400 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ and mass ratios between 1 and 97.989. Thus the systems targeted include merging neutron star-neutron star systems, neutron star-black hole binaries, and black hole-black hole binaries expanding into the intermediate-mass range. Component masses less than 2 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ have allowed (anti-)aligned spins between $\pm0.05$ while component masses greater than 2 $\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ have allowed (anti-)aligned between $\pm0.999$. The bank placement technique combines a stochastic method with a new grid-bank method to better isolate noisy templates, resulting in a total of 677,000 templates.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure

A multiple sclerosis-like disorder in patients with OPA1 mutations.

We describe three unrelated patients presenting with a spinal cord syndrome and neuroimaging features consistent with multiple sclerosis (MS). All harbored a pathogenic OPA1 mutation. Although the neurological phenotype resembled neuromyelitis optica (NMO), anti-aquaporin 4 antibodies were not detected and the disorder followed a slow progressive course. The coincidental occurrence of OPA1 mutations and an MS-like disorder is likely to have modulated the phenotypic manifestations of both disorders, but unlike the previously reported association of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and MS (Harding disease), the optic neuropathy in patients with OPA1 mutations and an MS-like disorder can be mild with a good visual prognosis.PYWM is supported by a Clinician Scientist Fellowship Award (G1002570) from the Medical Research Council (UK), and also receives funding from Fight for Sight (UK), the UK National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) as part of the Rare Diseases Translational Research Collaboration, and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre based at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. PFC is a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in Clinical Science (101876/Z/13/ Z), and a UK NIHR Senior Investigator. PFC receives additional support from the Medical Research Council Mitochondrial Biology Unit (MC_UP_1501/2), the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research (096919Z/11/Z), the Medical Research Council (UK) Centre for Translational Muscle Disease (G0601943), the Medical Research Council (UK) Centre for Translational Muscle Disease research (G0601943), and EU FP7 TIRCON