Behavior at a Nesting Site and Prey of \u3ci\u3eCrabro Cribrellifer\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

In Michigan, Crabro cribrellifer tends to show nest clumping within a nest aggregation. Its nesting behavior is similar to that of other Crabro, and it preys on Neoitamus flavofemoratus (Diptera: Asilidae) on warm days in July. Miltogrammine flies Metopia campestris are active at the nesting site

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei III: Discovery of Late-Stage Galaxy Mergers with The Hubble Space Telescope

Galaxy pairs with separations of only a few kpc represent important stages in the merger-driven growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, such mergers are difficult to identify observationally due to the correspondingly small angular scales. In Paper I we presented a method of finding candidate kpc-scale galaxy mergers that is leveraged on the selection of X-ray sources spatially offset from the centers of host galaxies. In this paper we analyze new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3 imaging for six of these sources to search for signatures of galaxy mergers. The HST imaging reveals that four of the six systems are on-going galaxy mergers with separations of 1.2-6.6 kpc (offset AGN). The nature of the remaining two spatially offset X-ray sources is ambiguous and may be associated with super-Eddington accretion in X-ray binaries. The ability of this sample to probe small galaxy separations and minor mergers makes it uniquely suited for testing the role of galaxy mergers for AGN triggering. We find that galaxy mergers with only one AGN are predominantly minor mergers with mass ratios similar to the overall population of galaxy mergers. By comparison, galaxy mergers with two AGN are biased toward major mergers and larger nuclear gas masses. Finally, we find that the level of SMBH accretion increases toward smaller mass ratios (major mergers). This result suggests the mass ratio effects not only the frequency of AGN triggering but also the rate of SMBH growth in mergers.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

WTG Energy Systems' Rotor: Steel at 80 Feet

The design, specifications, and performance of the 80 foot diameter fixed pitch rotor operating on the MP1-200 wind turbine generator installed as part of the Island of Cuttyhunk's electric power utility grid system are described. This synchronous generating system rated 200 kilowatts at 28 mph wind velocity, and produces constant 60 Hz, 480 VAC current at +/- 1 percent accuracy throughout the machine's operating range. Future R & D requirements and suggestions are included with cost data

Clinical Management of Injured Birds-of-Prey

In the future, veterinarians will play an important role in the maintenance and propagation of predatory birds in captivity. This is partially attributed to the fact that the mortality rate of first year birds in the wild is very high. Falconers are increasingly demanding veterinary attention for their trained birds. Numerous zoological parks display birds-of-prey in exhibits that routinely need veterinary care. For these reasons, veterinary aspects of rehabilitating predatory species are extremely relevant in applied animal medicine today

Advancing Aircraft Operations in a Net-Centric Environment with the Incorporation of Increasingly Autonomous Systems and Human Teaming

NextGen has begun the modernization of the nations air transportation system, with goals to improve system safety, increase operation efficiency and capacity, provide enhanced predictability, resilience and robustness. With these improvements, NextGen is poised to handle significant increases in air traffic operations, more than twice the number recorded in 2016, by 2025.1 NextGen is evolving toward collaborative decision-making across many agents, including automation, by use of a Net-Centric architecture, which in itself creates a very complex environment in which the navigation and operation of aircraft are to take place. An intricate environment such as this, coupled with the expected upsurge of air traffic operations generates concern respecting the ability of the human-agent to both fly and manage aircraft within. Therefore, it is both necessary and practical to begin the process of increasingly autonomous systems within the cockpit that will act independently to assist the human-agent achieve the overall goal of NextGen. However, the straightforward technological development and implementation of intelligent machines into the cockpit is only part of what is necessary to maintain, at minimum, or improve human-agent functionality, as desired, while operating in NextGen. The full integration of Increasingly Autonomous Systems (IAS) within the cockpit can only be accomplished when the IAS works in concert with the human, formulating trust between the two, thereby establishing a team atmosphere. Imperative to cockpit implementation is ensuring the proper performance of the IAS by the development team and the human-agent with which it will be paired when given a specific piloting, navigation, or observational task. Described in this paper are the steps taken, at NASA Langley Research Center, during the second and third phases of the development of an IAS, the Traffic Data Manager (TDM), its verification and validation by human-agents, and the foundational development of Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT) between the two

Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Triggering in Galaxy Mergers

Galaxy mergers are likely to play a role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but the conditions under which this process occurs are poorly understood. In Paper I, we constructed a sample of spatially offset X-ray AGNs that represent galaxy mergers hosting a single AGN. In this paper, we use our offset AGN sample to constrain the parameters that affect AGN observability in galaxy mergers. We also construct dual-AGN samples with similar selection properties for comparison. We find that the offset AGN fraction shows no evidence for a dependence on AGN luminosity, while the dual-AGN fractions show stronger evidence for a positive dependence, suggesting that the merger events forming dual AGNs are more efficient at instigating accretion onto supermassive black holes than those forming offset AGNs. We also find that the offset and dual-AGN fractions both have a negative dependence on nuclear separation and are similar in value at small physical scales. This dependence may become stronger when restricted to high AGN luminosities, although a larger sample is needed for confirmation. These results indicate that the probability of AGN triggering increases at later merger stages. This study is the first to systematically probe down to nuclear separations of (~0.8 kpc) and is consistent with predictions from simulations that AGN observability peaks in this regime. We also find that the offset AGNs are not preferentially obscured compared to the parent AGN sample, suggesting that our selection may be targeting galaxy mergers with relatively dust-free nuclear regions

Blade Displacement Measurements of the Full-Scale UH-60A Airloads Rotor

Blade displacement measurements were acquired during a wind tunnel test of the full-scale UH-60A Airloads rotor. The test was conducted in the 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at NASA Ames Research Center. Multi-camera photogrammetry was used to measure the blade displacements of the four-bladed rotor. These measurements encompass a range of test conditions that include advance ratios from 0.15 to unique slowed-rotor simulations as high as 1.0, thrust coefficient to rotor solidity ratios from 0.01 to 0.13, and rotor shaft angles from -10.0 to 8.0 degrees. The objective of these measurements is to provide a benchmark blade displacement database to be utilized in the development and validation of rotorcraft computational tools. The methodology, system development, measurement techniques, and preliminary sample blade displacement measurements are presented

OntoMathPROOntoMath^{PRO} Ontology: A Linked Data Hub for Mathematics

In this paper, we present an ontology of mathematical knowledge concepts that covers a wide range of the fields of mathematics and introduces a balanced representation between comprehensive and sensible models. We demonstrate the applications of this representation in information extraction, semantic search, and education. We argue that the ontology can be a core of future integration of math-aware data sets in the Web of Data and, therefore, provide mappings onto relevant datasets, such as DBpedia and ScienceWISE.Comment: 15 pages, 6 images, 1 table, Knowledge Engineering and the Semantic Web - 5th International Conferenc

Expression of Galpha14 in sweet-transducing taste cells of the posterior tongue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>"Type II"/Receptor cells express G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for sweet, umami (T1Rs and mGluRs) or bitter (T2Rs), as well as the proteins for downstream signalling cascades. Transduction downstream of T1Rs and T2Rs relies on G-protein and PLCβ2-mediated release of stored Ca²⁺. Whereas Gαgus (gustducin) couples to the T2R (bitter) receptors, which Gα-subunit couples to the sweet (T1R2 + T1R3) receptor is presently not known. We utilized RT-PCR, immunocytochemistry and single-cell gene expression profiling to examine the expression of the Gαq family (q, 11, 14) in mouse taste buds.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By RT-PCR, Gα14 is expressed strongly and in a taste selective manner in posterior (vallate and foliate), but not anterior (fungiform and palate) taste fields. Gαq and Gα11, although detectable, are not expressed in a taste-selective fashion. Further, expression of Gα14 mRNA is limited to Type II/Receptor cells in taste buds. Immunocytochemistry on vallate papillae using a broad Gαq family antiserum reveals specific staining only in Type II taste cells (i.e. those expressing TrpM5 and PLCβ2). This staining persists in Gαq knockout mice and immunostaining with a Gα11-specific antiserum shows no immunoreactivity in taste buds. Taken together, these data show that Gα14 is the dominant Gαq family member detected. Immunoreactivity for Gα14 strongly correlates with expression of T1R3, the taste receptor subunit present in taste cells responsive to either umami or sweet. Single cell gene expression profiling confirms a tight correlation between the expression of Gα14 and both T1R2 and T1R3, the receptor combination that forms sweet taste receptors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gα14 is co-expressed with the sweet taste receptor in posterior tongue, although not in anterior tongue. Thus, sweet taste transduction may rely on different downstream transduction elements in posterior and anterior taste fields.</p