Abstract: We report new observations with the Very Large Array, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and Submillimeter Array at frequencies from 1.0 to 355 GHz of the Galactic Center black hole, Sagittarius A*. These observations were conducted between October 2012 and November 2014. While we see variability over the whole spectrum with an amplitude as large as a factor of 2 at millimeter wavelengths, we find no evidence for a change in the mean flux density or spectrum of Sgr A* that can be attributed to interaction with the G2 source. The absence of a bow shock at low frequencies is consistent with a cross-sectional

Abstract: We report new observations with the Very Large Array, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and Submillimeter Array at frequencies from 1.0 to 355 GHz of the Galactic Center black hole, Sagittarius A*. These observations were conducted between October 2012 and November 2014. While we see variability over the whole spectrum with an amplitude as large as a factor of 2 at millimeter wavelengths, we find no evidence for a change in the mean flux density or spectrum of Sgr A* that can be attributed to interaction with the G2 source. The absence of a bow shock at low frequencies is consistent with a cross-sectional area for G2 that is less than $2 \times 10^{29}$ cm$^2$. This result fits with several model predictions including a magnetically arrested cloud, a pressure-confined stellar wind, and a stellar photosphere of a binary merger. There is no evidence for enhanced accretion onto the black hole driving greater jet and/or accretion flow emission. Finally, we measure the millimeter wavelength spectral index of Sgr A* to be flat; combined with previous measurements, this suggests that there is no spectral break between 230 and 690 GHz. The emission region is thus likely in a transition between optically thick and thin at these frequencies and requires a mix of lepton distributions with varying temperatures consistent with stratification.

Abstract: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images reveal a vast, globally distributed network of over 3200 lobate thrust fault scarps, making them the most common tectonic landform on the Moon. Based on their small scale and crisp appearance, crosscutting relations with small-diameter impact craters, and rates of infilling of associated small, shallow graben, these fault scarps are estimated to be younger than 50 Ma and may be actively forming today. The non-random distribution of the scarp orientations is inconsistent with isotropic stresses from late-stage global contraction as the sole source of stress. We propose that tidal stresses contribute significantly to the current stress state of the lunar crust. Orbital recession stresses superimposed on stresses from global contraction with the addition of diurnal tidal stresses result in non-isotropic compressional stress and thrust faults consistent with lobate scarp orientations. The addition of diurnal tidal stresses at apogee result in peak stresses that may help trigger coseismic slip events on currently active thrust faults on the Moon.

Abstract: MAXI J1836-194 is a Galactic black hole candidate X-ray binary that was discovered in 2011 when it went into outburst. In this paper, we present the full radio monitoring of this system during its 'failed' outburst, in which the source did not complete a full set of state changes, only transitioning as far as the hard intermediate state. Observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) show that the jet properties changed significantly during the outburst. The VLA observations detected linearly polarized emission at a level of similar to 1 per cent early in the outburst, increasing to similar to 3 per cent as the outburst peaked. High-resolution images with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) show an similar to 15 mas jet along the position angle -21 +/- 2 degrees, in agreement with the electric vector position angle found from our polarization results (-21 +/- 4 degrees), implying that the magnetic field is perpendicular to the jet. Astrometric observations suggest that the system required an asymmetric natal kick to explain its observed space velocity. Comparing quasisimultaneous X-ray monitoring with the 5 GHz VLA observations from the 2011 outburst shows an unusually steep hard-state radio/X-ray correlation of L-R alpha L-X(1.8 +/- 0.2), where L-R and LX denote the radio and X-ray luminosities, respectively. With ATCA and Swift monitoring of the source during a period of re-brightening in 2012, we show that the system lay on the same steep correlation. Due to the low inclination of this system, we then investigate the possibility that the observed correlation may have been steepened by variable Doppler boosting.

Abstract: Nanostructured silver films are studied using computational and experimental methods. Surface plasmon resonance-related phenomena are emphasized. Resonant optical absorption band changes due to the influence of noxious gases are investigated. Amplification of light at the film surface due to local electromagnetic field enhancement at the nanoscale is discussed based on finite difference time domain calculations.

Abstract: Over the past decade, evidence has mounted that several aspects of black hole (BH) accretion physics proceed in a mass-invariant way. One of the best examples of this scaling is the empirical “fundamental plane of BH accretion” relation linking mass, radio, and X-ray luminosity over eight orders of magnitude in BH mass. The currently favored theoretical interpretation of this relation is that the physics governing power output in weakly accreting BHs depends more on relative accretion rate than on mass. In order to test this theory, we explore whether a massinvariant approach can simultaneously explain the broadband spectral energy distributions from two BHs at opposite ends of the mass scale but that are at similar Eddington accretion fractions. We find that the same model, with the same value of several fitted physical parameters expressed in mass-scaling units to enforce self-similarity, can provide a good description of two data sets from V404 Cyg and M81 * , a stellar and supermassive BH, respectively. Furthermore, only one of several potential emission scenarios for the X-ray band is successful, suggesting it is the dominant process driving the fundamental plane relation at this accretion rate. This approach thus holds promise for breaking current degeneracies in the interpretation of BH high-energy spectra and for constructing better prescriptions of BH accretion for use in various local and cosmological feedback applications.

Abstract: The accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J18084--3658 shows peculiar low luminosity states known as "reflares" after the end of the main outburst During this phase the X-ray luminosity of the source varies by up to three orders of magnitude in less than 1-2 days The lowest X-ray luminosity observed reaches a value of ~1e32 erg/s, only a factor of a few brighter than its typical quiescent level We investigate the 2008 and 2005 reflaring state of SAX J18084-3658 to determine whether there is any evidence for a change in the accretion flow with respect to the main outburst We perform a multiwavelength photometric and spectral study of the 2005 and 2008 reflares with data collected during an observational campaign covering the near-infrared, optical, ultra-violet and X-ray band We find that the NIR/optical/UV emission, expected to some from the outer accretion disk shows variations in luminosity which are 1--2 orders of magnitude shallower than in X-rays The X-ray spectral state observed during the reflares does not change substantially with X-ray luminosity indicating a rather stable configuration of the accretion flow We investigate the most likely configuration of the innermost regions of the accretion flow and we infer an accretion disk truncated at or near the co-rotation radius We interpret these findings as due to either a strong outflow (due to a propeller effect) or a trapped disk (with limited/no outflow) in the inner regions of the accretion flow

Abstract: Coordinated landing requires preparation. Muscles in the limbs important for decelerating the body should be activated prior to impact so that joints may be stiffened and limbs stabilized during landing. Moreover, because landings vary in impact force and timing, muscle recruitment patterns should be modulated accordingly. In toads, which land using their forelimbs, previous work has demonstrated such modulation in muscles acting at the elbow, but not at the shoulder. In this study, we used electromyography and high-speed video to test the hypothesis that antagonistic muscles acting at the wrists of toads are activated in advance of impact, and that these activation patterns are tuned to the timing and force of impact. We recorded from two wrist extensors: extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) and extensor digitorum communis longus (EDCL), and two wrist flexors: flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) and palmaris longus (PL). Each muscle was recorded in 4–5 animals (≥15 hops per animal). In all muscles, activation intensity was consistently greatest shortly before impact, suggesting the importance of these muscles during landing. Pre-landing recruitment intensity regularly increased with aerial phase duration (i.e. hop distance) in all muscles except PL. In addition, onset timing in both wrist flexors was also modulated with hop distance, with later onset times being associated with longer hops. Thus, activation patterns in major flexors and extensors of the wrist are tuned to hop distance with respect to recruitment intensity, onset timing or both.

Abstract: Javad Tabatabai, a leading theorist and historian of political thought in Iran, has presented a controversial theory regarding the causes of the decline of political thought and society in Iran over the last few centuries. His ideas on Iranian decline have affected the intellectual debates on modernity and democracy currently underway in Iran. Tabatabai's career-long research has revolved around this question: “What conditions made modernity possible in Europe and led to its abnegation in Iran?” He answers this question by adopting a “Hegelian approach” that privileges a philosophical reading of history on the assumption that philosophical thought is the foundation and essence of any political community and the basis for any critical analysis of it as well. This article critically engages with Tabatabai's ideas of “crisis,” and “decline” by challenging his exposition of the Persian tradition.

Abstract: France in the early 1960s witnessed on the one hand a soaring demand for rock and twist music, and, on the other, popular and commercial resistance to foreign-language songs. This combination created an enormous opportunity for French-language remakes (‘adaptations’) sung by artists who could benefit from massive promotion by a record industry that was not yet multinational. Through a statistical analysis of hit parades from 1960 to 1970, a watershed decade for the globalisation of popular music, this article quantifies the ‘adaptations’ wave and contextualises its rise and decline. By way of conclusion, an epilogue jumps forward some 30 years to consider radio quotas and the adoption of English by young French songwriters.

Abstract: Dani and Mainkar introduced a method for constructing a 2-step nilpotent Lie algebra $\mathfrak{n}_G$ from a simple directed graph $G$ in 2005. There is a natural inner product on $\mathfrak{n}_G$ arising from the construction. We study geometric properties of the associated simply connected 2-step nilpotent Lie group $N$ with Lie algebra $\mathfrak{n}_G$. We classify singularity properties of the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{n}_G$ in terms of the graph $G$. A comprehensive description is given of graphs $G$ which give rise to Heisenberg-like Lie algebras. Conditions are given on the graph $G$ and on a lattice $\Gamma \subseteq N$ for which the quotient $\Gamma \backslash N$, a compact nilmanifold, has a dense set of smoothly closed geodesics.

Abstract: Social media has increasingly become a place consumers go to for interpersonal communication, information gathering and sharing, and recreation. Understanding social media user perceptions in relation to how they use social media can benefit marketers in developing social media strategies and content, as well as selecting the specific social media networks to use. This research examined user perceptions and frequency of use of social media in relation to the uses of selected social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest – among undergraduate university students 18 to 23 years old. The findings indicate the importance of frequency of use, perceived usefulness and enjoyment, and showed a relevant though lesser role of enjoyment on the uses of social media.

Abstract: Cosmic ray anisotropy has been observed in a wide energy range and at different angular scales by a variety of experiments over the past decade. However, no comprehensive or satisfactory explanation has been put forth to date. The arrival distribution of cosmic rays at Earth is the convolution of the distribution of their sources and of the effects of geometry and properties of the magnetic field through which particles propagate. It is generally believed that the anisotropy topology at the largest angular scale is adiabatically shaped by diffusion in the structured interstellar magnetic field. On the contrary, the medium- and small-scale angular structure could be an effect of non-diffusive propagation of cosmic rays in perturbed magnetic fields. In particular, a possible explanation of the observed small-scale anisotropy observed at TeV energy scale, may come from the effect of particle scattering in turbulent magnetized plasmas. We perform numerical integration of test particle trajectories in low-$\beta$ compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence to study how the cosmic rays arrival direction distribution is perturbed when they stream along the local turbulent magnetic field. We utilize Liouville's theorem for obtaining the anisotropy at Earth and provide the theoretical framework for the application of the theorem in the specific case of cosmic ray arrival distribution. In this work, we discuss the effects on the anisotropy arising from propagation in this inhomogeneous and turbulent interstellar magnetic field.

Abstract: There are many reasons to include texts written by women in early modern philosophy courses The most obvious one is accuracy: women helped to shape the philosophical landscape of the time Thus, to craft a syllabus that wholly excludes women is to give students an inaccurate picture of the early modern period Since it seems safe to assume that we all aim for accuracy, this should be reason enough to include women writers in our courses This article nonetheless offers an additional reason: when students are exposed to philosophical texts written by women, they learn that women have been, are, and can be philosophers Given how underrepresented women are in philosophy, this finding is significant If we aim to change the face of philosophy—so that it includes more women—we must include texts written by women in our syllabi The article considers various obstacles faced by those who work to respond to this call to action

Abstract: I examine resilience in the context of a noted health care social enterprise, the Aravind Eye Care System (Aravind) in India. Among other attributes, what is unique about Aravind is its ability to maintain a stable core of activities which define its operation while simultaneously developing organizational elements which help it to manage, or even welcome, change and uncertainty. In this sense the organization illustrates well the five processes of “high reliability” which, according to Weick and colleagues, form a foundation for the functioning of resilient organizations: (1) preoccupation with failure; (2) reluctance to simplify assumptions; (3) sensitivity to operations; (4) continuous learning and knowledge-sharing; and (5) under-specification of structures (Weick, Sutcliffe & Obstfeld, 1999). I use these processes as a basis for examining Aravind’s functioning, and hope that examining this organization will help managers in the social enterprise and health care fields and beyond to understand how resilient organizations might be developed and sustained over time.

Abstract: The embryos of echinoids (sea urchins and sand dollars) serve as excellent models for studying cilia differentiation and stages of the cilia life cycle including ciliogenic initiation, growth, maintenance, and retraction. Early in echinoid development, uniform motile cilia form on all cells simultaneously but then rapidly differentiate into multiple cilia types that differ in morphology, motility, and signaling sensitivity. Metal ion treatments that shift germ layer boundaries and thereby “animalize” or “vegetalize” embryos can be used to enrich for low-abundance cilia types rendering those specialized cilia and the differentiation processes they exhibit much easier to study. The experimental advantages of having robust cilia growth and differentiation is tempered by the challenge of restraining ciliated embryos well enough to view the process of ciliogenesis live. We have developed four observation chambers as modifications of the Kiehart chamber for long-term light microscopic imaging of ciliated echinoid embryos. One of these systems employs paramagnetic beads to render ciliated larvae magnetic so they can be gently and reversibly trapped directly under the objective lens. With this magnetic trapping system, the larva can be positioned and repositioned until they achieve the orientation with the clearest view of any cilia of interest. These methods of gentle embryo restraint allow normal embryo development and the normal ciliogenic cycle and ciliary differentiation processes to continue in direct view. Sequential image series can then be collected and analyzed to quantitatively study the wide spectrum of cilia behaviors and properties that arise in developing echinoid embryos.

Abstract: The ability to write software (to script, to program, to code) is a vital skill for students and their future data-centric, multidisciplinary careers. We present a ten-year effort to teach introductory programming skills in domain-focused courses to students across divisions in our liberal arts college. By creatively working with colleagues in Biology, Statistics, and now English, we have designed, modified, and offered six iterations of two courses: “DNA” and “Computing for Poets”. Larger percentages of women have consistently enrolled in these two courses vs. the traditional first course in the major. We share our open source course materials and present here our use of a blended learning classroom that leverages the increasing quality of online video lectures and programming practice sites in an attempt to maximize faculty-student interactions in class.

Abstract: In 1962 Spira found an example of open map from ℝn onto ℝn that is discontinuous at a Cantor set. Subsequent published examples of everywhere discontinuous open maps from ℝn onto ℝn are eit...

Abstract: XTE J1908+094 is an X-ray transient black hole candidate in the Galactic plane that was observed in outburst in 2002 and 2013. Here we present multi-frequency radio and X-ray data, including radio polarimetry, spanning the entire period of the 2013 outburst. We find that the X-ray behaviour of XTE J1908+094 traces the standard black hole hardness-intensity path, evolving from a hard state, through a soft state, before returning to a hard state and quiescence. Its radio behaviour is typical of a compact jet that becomes quenched before discrete ejecta are launched during the late stages of X-ray softening. The radio and X-ray fluxes, as well as the light curve morphologies, are consistent with those observed during the 2002 outburst of this source. The polarisation angle during the rise of the outburst infers a jet orientation in agreement with resolved observations but also displays a gradual drift, which we associate with observed changes in the structure of the discrete ejecta. We also observe an unexpected 90deg rotation of the polarisation angle associated with a second component.

Abstract: Terezia Mora, the translingual author of Alle Tage, Der einzige Mann auf dem Kontinent and Das Ungeheuer, demands an unqualified place within German literature, claiming ‘Ich bin genauso deutsch wie Kafka’. With Kafka, Mora chooses an author who shows the importance of Eastern European influences on German literature and how ‘the foreign’, especially the geographically close Eastern European, is, and always has been, part of ‘Germanness.’ I argue that Mora's protagonists seek a form of the German language which allows the expression of specific experience and emotion, and that this flexibility within language is necessary for a more complex contemporary German identity. Only through the openness of Darius Kopp to his wife's translingualism does this protagonist of Mora's latest two novels – and the most emphatically ‘German’ of her characters – come closer to an emotionally meaningful use of the German language, as she returns Kopp to aspects of his identity that he has lost. Terezia Mora, die translinguistische Autorin von Alle Tage, Der einzige Mann auf dem Kontinent und Das Ungeheuer, behauptet sie sei ‘genauso deutsch wie Kafka’ und ebenso sehr beteiligt an der deutschen Literatur. Moras Erwahnung von Kafka zeigt die Wichtigkeit des osteuropaischen Einflusses auf die deutsche Literatur. ‘Das Fremde’, besonders das geographisch nahe Osteuropaische, ist, und war immer, Teil des Deutschen. In dieser Arbeit behaupte ich, dass Moras Figuren eine Sprache suchen, die ihre besonderen Erfahrungen und Emotionen ausdrucken kann, und dass diese Flexibilitat der Sprache fur eine erweiterte heutige deutsche Identitat notwendig ist. Nur durch die offene Haltung gegenuber der translinguistischen Sprache seiner Frau findet Darius Kopp (Moras Hauptfigur in den letzten zwei Romanen) eine emotional bedeutsame Sprache, da er durch sie zu verlorenen Aspekten seiner Identitat zuruckfindet.

Abstract: We describe totally geodesic subalgebras of a metric 2-step nilpotent Lie algebra $ $. We prove that a totally geodesic subalgebra of $ $ is either abelian and flat or can be decomposed as a direct sum determined by the curvature transformation. In addition, we give conditions under which a totally geodesic submanifold of a simply connected 2-step nilpotent Lie group is a totally geodesic subgroup. We follow Eberlein's 1994 paper in which he imposes the condition of nonsingularity on $ $. We remove this restriction and illustrate the distinction between the nonsingular case and the unrestricted case.

Abstract: HBO’s series The Wire (2002–2008) is perhaps the most critically acclaimed show that has ever been on television. The Wire is different from nearly every other show in a number of ways. First, like HBO’s newest series The Leftovers, The Wire focuses on those left behind. While The Leftovers focuses on individuals after the rapture and the spontaneous disappearance of many community members, The Wires’ characters – and in particular its central character, the city of Baltimore itself – are instead left behind in the new economy. The inhabitants of the city are extraneous, deliberately forgotten both on the screen and off. Second, the narrative trajectory of The Wire does not follow traditional rules for episodic television. Not every plotline is resolved and the timeline for resolution does not neatly follow episodes or even seasons. There is, as in life in the neighbourhoods of Baltimore, no promise of satisfactory or just endings. Finally, The Wire is a story of institutions at least as much as it is a story about individuals. Each season explores different institutions in the city, constructing layer by layer what makes the city work and uncovering the circumstances within which its characters operate. While each of its five seasons invites viewers into the world of street-level drug dealers and the police who try to stop them, season 2 examines the remnants of the once thriving world of the docks and their workers, season 3 lays bare the political scene in a hotly contested mayoral election, season 4 the underfunded and struggling urban schools, and season 5 the newsroom charged with telling Baltimore’s stories.

Abstract: Charles Wright Mills was one of the most famous American sociologists of the mid-twentieth century. A public political intellectual, he wrote about the moral uneasiness of the post-War era. Mills's major works include a treatise on social psychology, a trilogy on the American class structure and power system, mass-market paperbacks on nuclear war and the Cuban Revolution, and his most famous book on the sociological imagination. In Mills's view, freedom and reason were being threatened in post-War America. He believed that through a particular way of thinking – what he called the ‘sociological imagination’ – individuals can better understand the meaning of their epoch for their own lives, and also become active participants in history making.

Abstract: We present the results of our observations of the early stages of the 2012-2013 outburst of the transient black hole X-ray binary (BHXRB), Swift J1745-26, with the Very Large Array, Submillimeter Array, and James Clerk Maxwell telescope (SCUBA-2). Our data mark the first multiple-band mm and sub-mm observations of a BHXRB. During our observations the system was in the hard accretion state producing a steady, compact jet. The unique combination of radio and mm/sub-mm data allows us to directly measure the spectral indices in and between the radio and mm/sub-mm regimes, including the first mm/sub-mm spectral index measured for a BHXRB. Spectral fitting revealed that both the mm (230 GHz) and sub-mm (350 GHz) measurements are consistent with extrapolations of an inverted power law from contemporaneous radio data (1-30 GHz). This indicates that, as standard jet models predict, a power law extending up to mm/sub-mm frequencies can adequately describe the spectrum, and suggests that the mechanism driving spectral inversion could be responsible for the high mm/sub-mm fluxes (compared to radio fluxes) observed in outbursting BHXRBs. While this power law is also consistent with contemporaneous optical data, the optical data could arise from either jet emission with a jet spectral break frequency of ν ≳ 1 x 10^14 Hz or the combination of jet emission with a lower jet spectral break frequency of ν break ≳ 2 x 10^11 Hz and accretion disk emission. Our analysis solidifies the importance of the mm/sub-mm regime in bridging the crucial gap between radio and IR frequencies in the jet spectrum, and justifies the need to explore this regime further.