Considerations of high altitude emissions

The status of the Federal Aviation Administration's High Altitude Pollution Program is described which was instituted to develop the detailed quantitative information needed to judge whether or not regulatory action to limit such exhaust emissions would be necessary. The complexities of this question and the nature and magnitude of uncertainties still present in our scientific understanding of the potential interactions between aircraft exhaust emissions and stratospheric ozone and climate are reviewed. The direction and scope of future Federal and international activities are described

An extreme rotation measure in the high-redshift radio galaxy PKS B0529-549

We present the results of a radio polarimetric study of the high-redshift radio galaxy PKS B0529-549 (z=2.575), based on high-resolution 12 mm and 3 cm images obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The source is found to have a rest-frame Faraday rotation measure of -9600 rad m^{-2}, the largest seen thus far in the environment of a z > 2 radio galaxy. In addition, the rest-frame Faraday dispersion in the screen responsible for the rotation is calculated to be 5800 rad m^{-2}, implying rotation measures as large as -15400 rad m^{-2}. Using supporting near-IR imaging from the Very Large Telescope (VLT), we suggest that the rotation measure originates in the Ly-alpha halo surrounding the host galaxy, and estimate the magnetic field strength to be ~10 microGauss. We also present a new optical spectrum of PKS B0529-549 obtained with the New Technology Telescope (NTT), and propose that the emission-line ratios are best described by a photoionization model. Furthermore, the host galaxy is found to exhibit both hot dust emission at 8.0 microns and significant internal visual extinction (~1.6 mag), as inferred from Spitzer Space Telescope near/mid-IR imaging.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

'What you look like is such a big factor': interviews with adolescent girls about the appearance culture in an all-girls' school

High school is a key venue for the development and expression of body image concerns in adolescent girls. Researchers have begun to investigate the role of school-based ‘appearance cultures’ in magnifying the body image concerns of students. To date, however, no research has examined girls’ experience as participants within these cultures, and thus the opportunity to learn how girls account for the development and maintenance of these cultures has been missed. In interviews with nine girls attending an all-girls’ school, the existence of a strong ‘appearance culture’ in the school was identified as a major influence on the body image concerns of students. Girls talked about the ways in which appearance-focused conversations, dieting, and weight monitoring occurred as part of the everyday interaction with friends and peers at school. They also identified many ways in which their school attempted to address body image concerns, although these attempts were often portrayed as ineffective, if not counter-productive. These findings suggest that attempts to address the body image concerns of students will need to be sensitive to the lived reality of appearance cultures within schools

Where are all the gravastars? Limits upon the gravastar model from accreting black holes

The gravastar model, which postulates a strongly correlated thin shell of anisotropic matter surrounding a region of anti-de Sitter space, has been proposed as an alternative to black holes. We discuss constraints that present-day observations of well-known black hole candidates place on this model. We focus upon two black hole candidates known to have extraordinarily low luminosities: the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A*, and the stellar-mass black hole, XTE J1118+480. We find that the length scale for modifications of the type discussed in Chapline et al. (2003) must be sub-Planckian.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

TOPBP1 recruits TOP2A to ultra-fine anaphase bridges to aid in their resolution.

During mitosis, sister chromatids must be faithfully segregated to ensure that daughter cells receive one copy of each chromosome. However, following replication they often remain entangled. Topoisomerase IIα (TOP2A) has been proposed to resolve such entanglements, but the mechanisms governing TOP2A recruitment to these structures remain poorly understood. Here, we identify TOPBP1 as a novel interactor of TOP2A, and reveal that it is required for TOP2A recruitment to ultra-fine anaphase bridges (UFBs) in mitosis. The C-terminal region of TOPBP1 interacts with TOP2A, and TOPBP1 recruitment to UFBs requires its BRCT domain 5. Depletion of TOPBP1 leads to accumulation of UFBs, the majority of which arise from centromeric loci. Accordingly, expression of a TOPBP1 mutant that is defective in TOP2A binding phenocopies TOP2A depletion. These findings provide new mechanistic insights into how TOP2A promotes resolution of UFBs during mitosis, and highlights a pivotal role for TOPBP1 in this process.We thank Drs G. Stewart and F. Esashi for cell lines, Professor T.D. Halazonetis, Dr G.J. Gorbsky and Dr G. Stewart for plasmids and antibodies. We also thank Dr C. Lagerholm (Wolfson Imaging Centre, Oxford) and Dr D. Waithe (CBRG, Oxford) for their help with microscopy and image analysis, and the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (IBB PAS) for their work on analyses of GFP–TOP2A immunoprecipitation experiments. We also thank Professor I. Hickson for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was funded by a Worldwide Cancer Research International Fellowship (to W.N.), a WIMM/Medical Research Council Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship (to W.N.), a Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education fellowship (to J.N.) and Polish National Science Center grant N N303 571539 (to J.N.).This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150312/ncomms7572/full/ncomms7572.html#abstract

A systematic literature review of open source software quality assessment models

Background: Many open source software (OSS) quality assessment models are proposed and available in the litera- ture. However, there is little or no adoption of these models in practice. In order to guide the formulation of newer models so they can be acceptable by practitioners, there is need for clear discrimination of the existing models based on their speci c properties. Based on this, the aim of this study is to perform a systematic literature review to inves- tigate the properties of the existing OSS quality assessment models by classifying them with respect to their quality characteristics, the methodology they use for assessment, and their domain of application so as to guide the formula- tion and development of newer models. Searches in IEEE Xplore, ACM, Science Direct, Springer and Google Search is performed so as to retrieve all relevant primary studies in this regard. Journal and conference papers between the year 2003 and 2015 were considered since the rst known OSS quality model emerged in 2003. Results: A total of 19 OSS quality assessment model papers were selected. To select these models we have devel- oped assessment criteria to evaluate the quality of the existing studies. Quality assessment models are classi ed into ve categories based on the quality characteristics they possess namely: single-attribute, rounded category, community-only attribute, non-community attribute as well as the non-quality in use models. Our study re ects that software selection based on hierarchical structures is found to be the most popular selection method in the existing OSS quality assessment models. Furthermore, we found that majority (47%) of the existing models do not specify any domain of application. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study will be a valuable contribution to the community and helps the quality assess- ment model developers in formulating newer models and also to the practitioners (software evaluators) in selecting suitable OSS in the midst of alternatives

The Intrinsic Size of Sagittarius A* from 0.35 cm to 6 cm

We present new high-resolution observations of Sagittarius A* at wavelengths of 17.4 to 23.8 cm with the Very Large Array in A configuration with the Pie Town Very Long Baseline Array antenna. We use the measured sizes to calibrate the interstellar scattering law and find that the major axis size of the scattering law is smaller by ~6% than previous estimates. Using the new scattering law, we are able to determine the intrinsic size of Sgr A* at wavelengths from 0.35 cm to 6 cm using existing results from the VLBA. The new law increases the intrinsic size at 0.7 cm by ~20% and <5% at 0.35 cm. The intrinsic size is 13^{+7}_{-3} Schwarzschild radii at 0.35 cm and is proportional to lambda^gamma, where gamma is in the range 1.3 to 1.7.Comment: ApJL, in pres

Effect of a Fundamental Motor Skills Intervention on Fundamental Motor Skill and Physical Activity in a Preschool Setting: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To determine the effect of a 12-week fundamental motor skill (FMS) program on FMS and physical activity (PA) on preschool-aged children. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial. The intervention (PhysicaL ActivitY and Fundamental Motor Skills in Pre-schoolers [PLAYFun] Program) was a 12-week games-based program, delivered directly to the children in childcare centers by exercise physiologists. Children in the control arm received the usual preschool curriculum. Outcomes included FMS competence (Test of Gross Motor Development-2) and PA (accelerometer) assessed at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks (12-wk postintervention). Results: Fifty children (mean age = 4.0 [0.6] y; 54% male) were recruited from 4 childcare centers. Two centers were randomized to PLAYFun and 2 centers were randomized to the waitlist control group. Children attended on average 2.0 (1.0) 40-minute sessions per week. The PLAYFun participants demonstrated significant increases in object control (P < .001) and total FMS (P = .010) competence at week 12, compared with controls in a group × time interaction. Girls, but not boys, in PLAYFun significantly increased moderate to vigorous PA after the intervention (P = .004). These increases were not maintained 12-week postcompletion of PLAYFun. Conclusions: The PLAYFun Program is effective at improving FMS competence in boys and girls and increasing PA in girls. However, improvements are not maintained when opportunities to practice are not sustained

Advances and limitations in the modelling of fabricated photonic bandgap fibers

Copyright © 2006 IEEEWe model fabricated silica photonic bandgap fibers and achieve good agreement between simulated and measured properties. We identify the size of the SEM bitmap image as the ultimate limit to the accurate calculation of surfaces modes within the bandgapF. Poletti, M. N. Petrovich, R. Amezcua-Correa, N. G. Broderick, T. M. Monro and D. J. Richardsonhttp://eprints.soton.ac.uk/47883