Moral reasoning and homosexuality: the acceptability of arguments about lesbian and gay issues

In the political arena, lesbian and gay issues have typically been contested on grounds of human rights, but with variable success. Using a moral developmental framework, the purpose of this study was to explore preferences for different types of moral arguments when thinking about moral dilemmas around lesbian and gay issues. The analysis presented here comprised data collected from 545 students at UK universities, who completed a questionnaire, part of which comprised a moral dilemma task. Findings of the study showed that respondents do not apply moral reasoning consistently, and do not (clearly) favour human rights reasoning when thinking about lesbian and gay issues. Respondents tended to favour reasoning supporting existing social structures and frameworks, therefore this study highlights the importance of structural change in effecting widespread attitude change in relation to lesbian and gay rights issues. The implications of the findings for moral education are also discussed.</p

Antigenic and structural differences among six proteins II expressed by a single strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Gonococci express a family of related outer membrane proteins designated protein II (P.II), which undergo both phase and antigenic variation. Six P.II proteins have been identified in strain FA1090. We developed monoclonal antibodies specific for each P.II protein. Using these antibodies as probes, we purified the six different P.II proteins of this strain. Despite the relatedness of the proteins, we could not purify all of them by a single purification scheme. Four P.II proteins were purified by chromatofocusing, and the remaining two proteins were purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the proteins showed a high degree of sequence conservation. However, there was variability at specific amino acid residues, giving each P.II protein a unique N-terminal amino acid sequence. Thus P.II proteins of one strain differ among themselves not only in antigenic determinants and primary structure, but also in other characteristics affecting their properties in different chromatographic systems

Characterization of Neisseria gonorrhoeae protein II phase variation by use of monoclonal antibodies.

The protein II (P.11) outer membrane proteins of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which have been implicated in gonococcal pathogenesis, have been previously shown to undergo a type of phase variation in which expression of any of several different forms of the proteins may be switched on or off. We identified six electrophoretically distinct forms of P.11 proteins (designated P.IIa through P.11f) within strain FA1090, and we isolated colonial variants of FA1090 that expressed only one of the six different P.11 protein forms. Two monoclonal antibodies that bound specifically and differentially to P.11 proteins were produced. One antibody bound to proteins P.IIb and P.Ild and was bactericidal for all colonial variants expressing P.IIb. The second antibody bound to P.IIa and was bactericidal for colonial variants expressing P.IIa. P.JI protein profiles of survivors of antibody killing indicated that multiple P.11 protein species may be expressed on a single bacterium and that P.11 protein switching in the gonococcus is nonrandom

Search for High-Energy Neutrinos From Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817 With ANTARES, IceCube, and the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo observatories recently discovered gravitational waves from a binary neutron star inspiral. A short gamma-ray burst (GRB) that followed the merger of this binary was also recorded by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM), and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), indicating particle acceleration by the source. The precise location of the event was determined by optical detections of emission following the merger. We searched for high-energy neutrinos from the merger in the GeV–EeV energy range using the ANTARES, IceCube, and Pierre Auger Observatories. No neutrinos directionally coincident with the source were detected within ±500 s around the merger time. Additionally, no MeV neutrino burst signal was detected coincident with the merger. We further carried out an extended search in the direction of the source for high-energy neutrinos within the 14 day period following the merger, but found no evidence of emission. We used these results to probe dissipation mechanisms in relativistic outflows driven by the binary neutron star merger. The non-detection is consistent with model predictions of short GRBs observed at a large off-axis angle

Upper Limits on Gravitational Waves from Scorpius X-1 from a Model-Based Cross-Correlation Search in Advanced LIGO Data

We present the results of a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. The search method uses details of the modeled, parametrized continuous signal to combine coherently data separated by less than a specified coherence time, which can be adjusted to trade off sensitivity against computational cost. A search was conducted over the frequency range 25–$2000\,\mathrm{Hz}$, spanning the current observationally constrained range of binary orbital parameters. No significant detection candidates were found, and frequency-dependent upper limits were set using a combination of sensitivity estimates and simulated signal injections. The most stringent upper limit was set at $175\,\mathrm{Hz}$, with comparable limits set across the most sensitive frequency range from 100 to $200\,\mathrm{Hz}$. At this frequency, the 95% upper limit on the signal amplitude h 0 is $2.3\times {10}^{-25}$ marginalized over the unknown inclination angle of the neutron star\u27s spin, and $8.0\times {10}^{-26}$ assuming the best orientation (which results in circularly polarized gravitational waves). These limits are a factor of 3–4 stronger than those set by other analyses of the same data, and a factor of ~7 stronger than the best upper limits set using data from Initial LIGO science runs. In the vicinity of $100\,\mathrm{Hz}$, the limits are a factor of between 1.2 and 3.5 above the predictions of the torque balance model, depending on the inclination angle; if the most likely inclination angle of 44° is assumed, they are within a factor of 1.7

First Search for Nontensorial Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars

We present results from the first directed search for nontensorial gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for tensorial (plus and cross) modes only, a generic metric theory may, in principle, predict waves with up to six different polarizations. This analysis is sensitive to continuous signals of scalar, vector, or tensor polarizations, and does not rely on any specific theory of gravity. After searching data from the first observation run of the advanced LIGO detectors for signals at twice the rotational frequency of 200 known pulsars, we find no evidence of gravitational waves of any polarization. We report the first upper limits for scalar and vector strains, finding values comparable in magnitude to previously published limits for tensor strain. Our results may be translated into constraints on specific alternative theories of gravity

All-Sky Search for Long-Duration Gravitational Wave Transients in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in the data of the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston second generation detectors between and , with a total observational time of . The search targets gravitational wave transients of 10–500 s duration in a frequency band of 24–2048 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. No significant events were observed. As a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. We also show that the search is sensitive to sources in the Galaxy emitting at least  ~10−8 in gravitational waves

Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts During the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run and Implications for the Origin of GRB 150906B

We present the results of the search for gravitational waves (GWs) associated with γ-ray bursts detected during the first observing run of the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). We find no evidence of a GW signal for any of the 41 γ-ray bursts for which LIGO data are available with sufficient duration. For all γ-ray bursts, we place lower bounds on the distance to the source using the optimistic assumption that GWs with an energy of ${10}^{-2}{M}_{\odot }{c}^{2}$ were emitted within the $16$–$500$ Hz band, and we find a median 90% confidence limit of 71 Mpc at 150 Hz. For the subset of 19 short/hard γ-ray bursts, we place lower bounds on distance with a median 90% confidence limit of 90 Mpc for binary neutron star (BNS) coalescences, and 150 and 139 Mpc for neutron star–black hole coalescences with spins aligned to the orbital angular momentum and in a generic configuration, respectively. These are the highest distance limits ever achieved by GW searches. We also discuss in detail the results of the search for GWs associated with GRB 150906B, an event that was localized by the InterPlanetary Network near the local galaxy NGC 3313, which is at a luminosity distance of $54$ Mpc (z = 0.0124). Assuming the γ-ray emission is beamed with a jet half-opening angle $\leqslant 30^\circ$, we exclude a BNS and a neutron star–black hole in NGC 3313 as the progenitor of this event with confidence \u3e99%. Further, we exclude such progenitors up to a distance of 102 Mpc and 170 Mpc, respectively

GW170104: Observation of a 50-Solar-Mass Binary Black Hole Coalescence at Redshift 0.2

We describe the observation of GW170104, a gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of a pair of stellar-mass black holes. The signal was measured on January 4, 2017 at 10∶11:58.6 UTC by the twin advanced detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory during their second observing run, with a network signal-to-noise ratio of 13 and a false alarm rate less than 1 in 70 000 years. The inferred component black hole masses are 31.2 þ8.4 −6.0M⊙ and 19.4 þ5.3 −5.9M⊙ (at the 90% credible level). The black hole spins are best constrained through measurement of the effective inspiral spin parameter, a mass-weighted combination of the spin components perpendicular to the orbital plane, χeff ¼ −0.12 þ0.21 −0.30. This result implies that spin configurations with both component spins positively aligned with the orbital angular momentum are disfavored. The source luminosity distance is 880 þ450 −390 Mpc corresponding to a redshift of z ¼ 0.18 þ0.08 −0.07 .We constrain the magnitude of modifications to the gravitational-wave dispersion relation and perform null tests of general relativity. Assuming that gravitons are dispersed in vacuum like massive particles, we bound the graviton mass to mg ≤ 7.7 × 10−23 eV=c2. In all cases, we find that GW170104 is consistent with general relativity

Multi-Messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient\u27s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta