Observations of Very High Energy Gamma-Rays during Moonlight and Twilight with the MAGIC Telescope

We study the capability of the MAGIC telescope to observe under moderate moonlight. TeV gamma-ray signals from the Crab nebula were detected with the MAGIC telescope during periods when the Moon was above the horizon and during twilight. This was accomplished by increasing the trigger discriminator thresholds. No change is necessary in the high voltage settings since the camera PMTs were especially designed to avoid high currents. We characterize the telescope performance by studying the effect of the moonlight on the gamma-ray detection efficiency and sensitivity, as well as on the energy threshold.Comment: Contribution to the 30th ICRC, Merida Mexico, July 2007 on behalf of the MAGIC Collaboratio

The content of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the source of antisocial and prosocial learning.

As the youth crime rate continues to climb in the United States, concerned parents and government officials wonder how much television is influencing our nation\u27s children. Research most often reported by the media says that violent action shown on television can cause the same kind of action by children who watch those kinds of programs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers children\u27s television program has specifically been under attack by parents. CNN estimated that over 100 acts of violence per episode are being shown -- although no research supporting this figure could be found for documentation. The present study investigates the frequency of antisocial (violent) and prosocial (helpfulness) acts shown on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television program. The sample consists of 1O episodes, ranging from some of the very first episodes up until the release of the Power Rangers movie in 1995. The number of violent actions (hits, kicks, punches and other physical attacks) recorded in this study were much less than those reported by the media. CNN had reported more than 100 violent acts per episode. This study reports 43.9. On average, prosocial words/actions, which are rarely reported by the media, occurred 9.1 times per episode; problem-solving actions were shown 4.4 times per episode; conflict showing bad winning over good happened 16.1 times per episode; and conflict showing good winning over bad was shown 5.3 times per episode. There were more than four times the number of violent actions recorded in this study than there were prosocial actions. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers appears to have the possibility of being more harmful than helpful to a child\u27s social development. This study supports the contention that television content may have prosocial as well as antisocial effects on children\u27s behavior

The effects of magnetic field, age, and intrinsic luminosity on Crab-like pulsar wind nebulae

We investigate the time-dependent behavior of Crab-like pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) generating a set of models using 4 different initial spin-down luminosities ($L_0 =\{1,0.1,0.01,0.001\} \times L_{0, {\rm Crab}}$), 8 values of magnetic fraction ($\eta =$ 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.5, 0.9, 0.99, and 0.999, i.e., from fully particle dominated to fully magnetically dominated nebulae), and 3 distinctive ages: 940, 3000, and 9000 years. We find that the self-synchrotron Compton (SSC) contribution is irrelevant for $L_{SD}$=0.1, 1, and 10% of the Crab power, disregarding the age and the magnetic fraction. SSC only becomes relevant for highly energetic ($\sim 70$ of the Crab), particle dominated nebulae at low ages (of less than a few kyr), located in a FIR background with relatively low energy density. Since no pulsar other than Crab is known to have these features, these results clarify why the Crab Nebula, and only it, is SSC dominated. No young PWN would be detectable at TeV energies if the pulsar's spin-down power is 0.1% Crab or lower. For 1% of the Crab spin-down, only particle dominated nebulae can be detected by H.E.S.S.-like telescopes when young enough (with details depending on the precise injection and environmental parameters). Above 10% of the Crab's power, all PWNe are detectable by H.E.S.S.-like telescopes if they are particle dominated, no matter the age. The impact of the magnetic fraction on the final SED is varied and important, generating order of magnitude variations in the luminosity output for systems that are otherwise the same (equal $P$, $\dot P$, injection, and environment).Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Is there room for highly magnetized pulsar wind nebulae among those non-detected at TeV?

We make a time-dependent characterization of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) surrounding some of the highest spin-down pulsars that have not yet been detected at TeV. Our aim is assessing their possible level of magnetization. We analyze the nebulae driven by J2022+3842 in G76.9+1.0, J0540-6919 in N158A (the Crab twin), J1400--6325 in G310.6--1.6, and J1124--5916 in G292.0+0.18, none of which have been found at TeV energies. For comparison we refer to published models of G54.1+0.3, the Crab nebula, and develop a model for N157B in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We conclude that further observations of N158A could lead to its detection at VHE. According to our model, a FIR energy density of 5 eV cm$^{-3}$ could already lead to a detection in H.E.S.S. (assuming no other IC target field) within 50 hours of exposure and just the CMB inverse Compton contribution would produce VHE photons at the CTA sensitivity. We also propose models for G76.9+1.0, G310.6--1.6 and G292.0+1.8 which suggest their TeV detection in a moderate exposure for the latter two with the current generation of Cherenkov telescopes. We analyze the possibility that these PWNe are highly magnetized, where the low number of particles explains the residual detection in X-rays and their lack of detection at TeV energies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

An Occupational Therapist\u27s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards

In recent years, healthcare service delivery has been influenced by one factor that has shown to considerably limit occupational therapy (OT) practitioners’ ability to be mindful in the work setting (Black, 2010). This influential factor involves increased productivity standards resulting in high burnout, empathic fatigue, job dissatisfaction, lack of mindful practice, and distress to the point of clinical effectiveness (Irving, Dobkin, & Park, 2009; Poulsen et al., 2014; Vadnais, 2014). In the midst of high productivity standards, a need surfaced for the production of a tool that assisted OT practitioners to overcome these standards as well as to incorporate a mindful approach in practice; thus, An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards was created. The methodology of this guide included an extensive process. First, the authors of the guide reflected upon personal values, interests, and areas that inspired further exploration in the field of OT. Once the topic of mindfulness was collaborated upon, the authors of the guide utilized literature to reveal the literature gap and justify the need of this scholarly project. Then, the authors of the guide synthesized all of the research information into a detailed literature review. The gap guided from the research illustrated that the topic of mindfulness needed to address how OT practitioners may utilize mindful techniques within their practice in order to face high productivity demands in fast-paced health care settings. An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards utilized the concepts of andragogy (Knowles, 1984) and the Person-Environment-Occupation model (Law et al., 1996) as organizational frameworks to match the learning needs of the intended readers. The guide included quotes, figures and tables, worksheets, case studies, and mindfulness techniques and strategies that may be incorporated into the workplace setting for OT practitioners. Specifically, the information outlined in the guide related to the OT process of evaluation, goal-setting, and intervention. Ultimately, the purpose of the guide was for the practitioners to experience a transformative process that enhanced their personal and professional wellbeing, their surroundings to promote efficiency and efficacy within their workplace environment, the quality of care they provided, and the satisfaction received from their role as an OT

Determination of the Night Sky Background around the Crab pulsar using its optical pulsation

The poor angular resolution of imaging gamma-ray telescopes is offset by the large reflector areas of next generation telescopes such as MAGIC (17~m diameter), which makes the study of optical emission associated with some gamma-ray sources feasible. Furthermore, the extremely fast time response of photomultipliers (PMs) makes them ideal detectors for fast (subsecond) optical transients and periodic sources like pulsars. The optical pulse of the Crab pulsar was detected with the HEGRA CT1 central pixel using a modified PM, similar to the future MAGIC camera PMs. The purpose of these periodic observations was to determine the light of the night sky (LONS) for the galactic anticenter Crab region.Our results are between 2.5 and 3 times larger than the previously measured LONS (outside the galactic plane), as expected since the Crab pulsar is in the galactic plane, which implies a slightly higher energy threshold for Crab observations, if the higher value of CT1 measured LONS rate for galactic sources is used.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physic