Correlated flux densities from VLBI observations with the DSN

Correlated flux densities of extragalactic radio sources in the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) astrometric catalog are required for the VLBI tracking of Galileo, Mars Observer, and future missions. A system to produce correlated and total flux density catalogs was developed to meet these requirements. A correlated flux density catalog of 274 sources, accurate to about 20 percent, was derived from more than 5000 DSN VLBI observations at 2.3 GHz (S-band) and 8.4 GHz (X-band) using 43 VLBI radio reference frame experiments during the period 1989-1992. Various consistency checks were carried out to ensure the accuracy of the correlated flux densities. All observations were made on the California-Spain and California-Australia DSN baselines using the Mark 3 wideband data acquisition system. A total flux density catalog, accurate to about 20 percent, with data on 150 sources, was also created. Together, these catalogs can be used to predict source strengths to assist in the scheduling of VLBI tracking passes. In addition, for those sources with sufficient observations, a rough estimate of source structure parameters can be made

Challenging the 'local turn' in migrant integration in the South East of England under the Coalition and Conservative Governments 2010-2018: a whole policy approach

In recent years increasing bodies of research have supported the idea that integration takes place on the local level (Jimenez 2009, Penninx & Martiniello 2007, Rutter 2015, Jensen 2011). Consequently, when the Coalition government claimed to be ushering in a radical new form of Localism and designated integration as a ‘local issue’, there was an apparent consensus between policy and academia alike that this localist turn was to be ‘welcomed’ (Ali & Gidley, 2014, p. 23). Nevertheless, this apparent consensus makes two assumptions. The first is that Localism is always a positive thing for the local level and the second is that greater autonomy at the local level will materialise in greater migrant integration activities. Consequently, research in this area spans two bodies of academic literature, Localism, and that of the ‘local turn’ in integration policies, and is the first time these two related fields have been combined. The primary research question of this thesis is “Did the designation of migrant integration as a ‘local issue’ under the Coalition and Conservative Governments 2010-2018 help or hinder the ability of local authorities to facilitate migrant integration in their localities?”. The research uses as its case study the South East (SE) of England as the region is home to the highest number of migrants in the UK second only to London, and has also not been covered in academic research on this area to date. It is also a predominantly rural area and as such adds to much needed research on migrant integration outside of urban or peri-urban settings. The principal research question is broken down into the following sub questions designed to unpack the aforementioned assumptions. Did a local turn in migrant integration policy take place under the Localism of the Coalition and Conservative Governments 2010 to 2018? How can a whole policy approach help us to map the aggregate demand on local authorities when it comes to migrant integration?” Both these questions are analysed using a trio of qualitative research methods, policy analysis, participant observation and semi-structured interviews, in order to highlight the danger of relying on policy frame analysis alone. This mixed method approach is also used to map the effects of a policy at regional and at local level in order to best address the primary question about what impact was had on the local level for migrant integration as a result of Coalition and Conservative government Localism policies. The policy analysis undertaken uses a modified version of Emilsson’s (2015) power lens approach mapping the impacts of normative, legislative and economic power levers in order to assess the cumulative effects of a policy rather than relying on policy frame alone. The findings demonstrate that rather than providing enabling conditions for migrant integration, Coalition and Conservative Localism reduced the activities local authorities could undertake to their core statutory duties, of which migrant integration is not one. Furthermore, this research also highlighted how, once all policies impacting on migrant integration are taken into account, (such as immigration, housing or employment), these governments made it significantly harder for local authorities to facilitate migrant integration. In particular, the role of the hostile environment and the increasing neo-liberalisation of government policies are seen to have negatively impacted upon every aspect of the integration process. The research also saw that running parallel to these detrimental policies was the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VRPS). This scheme was voluntary for local authorities to opt into but fully funded and coordinated by central government. Contrary to the scaling back of all non-statutory services which Localism and its accompanying austerity had necessitated, the VPRS led to an expansion in services for migrants including cohorts which were not refugees. The scheme also meant that local authority officers working on the VPRS were forced to navigate the hostile policies migrants face when accessing accommodation, bank accounts, registering with GPs, obtaining driving licences and other such aspects. This research shows that there are many types of Localism and that it is essential to examine the policy levers accompanying them in order to assess the impact there may be on migrant integration. It also demonstrates that a whole policy approach must be taken when considering migrant integration and that as such, it is dangerous to designate integration as a purely ‘local issue’

Quick disconnect latch and handle combination Patent

Quick disconnect latch and handle combination for mounting articles on walls or supporting bases in spacecraft under zero gravity condition

Type 2 diabetes in Tirana City, Albania: a rapid increase in a country in transition.

AIMS: To determine how the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus has changed in Tirana, the capital of Albania, over 20 years. METHODS: Cluster sampling was used to select 700 households including 1540 adults 25 years of age and over in Tirana City, Albania in 2001. RESULTS: Of 1540 potential subjects, 1120 participated (response rate 72.7%). Using the 1985 WHO criteria to provide comparability with earlier data, the overall prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the age group 25+ was 6.3% (95% confidence interval 4.8-7.7); 6.9% (4.8-9.1%) male; 5.6% (3.8-7.5%) female. The age-adjusted prevalence in those aged 25+ was 5.4%. Of respondents, 3.4% were known to have diabetes, and 2.9% were newly identified through the survey. The prevalence of diabetes increased with age, although among men there was a slight decline after age 65. Impaired glucose tolerance was found in a further 2.9% of respondents, again increasing with age. The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly since 1980, doubling in the age group 50+. Use of the 1999 WHO diagnostic criteria produces a higher unadjusted prevalence, at 9.7% (8-11.4%). In a logistic regression model, obesity and family history were independent determinants of the probability of having diabetes. Among those known to have diabetes, control was poor. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of diabetes in Albania has increased rapidly, consistent with what has been seen in other countries undergoing rapid modernization. It is likely to increase further in the future, with important implications for health policy

Civil liberties and public good: detention of tuberculous patients and the Public Health Act 1984.

On 30 August 1998, the Mail on Sunday, under the headline “TB refugee ‘must be held in hospital’”, described the case of a Somalian man who had been “ordered by a court to remain in hospital for six months to prevent him spreading a highly infectious deadly disease”. That disease was tuberculosis and a court order had been issued “after the man had twice staggered into Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, North-West London, for treatment but left without trace. He failed to take prescribed treatment and his condition rapidly deteriorated, forcing him to return to hospital a third time.”</jats:p

Detection of Turbidity Dynamics in Tampa Bay, Florida Using Multispectral Imagery from ERTS-1

Detection of turbidity dynamics in Tampa Bay, Florida using multispectral imagery from ERTS-

“Do you think this is not happening?”: Rhetorical laundering and the federal hearings over Planned Parenthood

This essay offers a rhetorical reading of Congressional hearings investigating the Center for Medical Progress’s (CMP’s) videos falsely accusing Planned Parenthood of selling fetal tissue. Despite the suspect nature of the allegation at the time it was levied, and subsequent investigations rejecting the CMP’s claims, the notion that Planned Parenthood profits from the sale of fetal tissue has persisted alongside accelerated antiabortion jurisprudence and vitriolic rhetoric. This acceleration and persistence may be the result of what I term “rhetorical laundering” wherein suspect evidence is justified as worthy of study in a credible public forum, only to have its treatment in that forum insulate the evidence from criticism such that it adopts the weight and character appropriate to federal hearings. By virtue of its treatment by politicians, the evidentiary force of the CMP videos changed from questionable to actionable and facilitated uncompromising antiabortion legislation and jurisprudence suggesting abortion is a social ill. This transfiguration of the videos afforded a fringe antiabortion political imagination, one that envisions those who seek and perform abortions as indices of social rot, urgency that justifies the (violent) removal of abortion providers generally and Planned Parenthood specifically by importing moralizing and dehumanizing language into the broader political culture. The essay concludes with implications of this laundered evidence for both communication studies and public policy