78 research outputs found
Re-estimation of small-scale fishery catches for U.S. flag-associated island areas in the western Pacific: the last 50 years
Nearshore fisheries in the tropical Pacific play an important role, both culturally and as a reliable source of food security, but often remain under-reported in statistics, leading to undervaluation of their importance to communities. We re-estimated nonpelagic catches for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and summarize previous work for American Samoa for 1950−2002. For all islands combined, catches declined by 77%, contrasting with increasing trends indicated by reported data. For individual island entities, re-estima-tion suggested declines of 86%, 54%, and 79% for Guam, CNMI, and American Samoa, respectively. Except for Guam, reported data primarily represented commercial catches, and hence under-represented contributions by subsistence and recreational fisheries. Guam’s consistent use of creel surveys for data collection resulted in the most reliable reported catches for any of the islands considered. Our re-estimation makes the scale of under-reporting of total catches evident, and provides valuable baselines of likely historic patterns in fisheries catches
Fisheries catches for the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem since 1950
Marine fisheries catch data is presented on spatially allocated basis for the Exclusive Economic Zones of the member countries as well as the high seas for the period 1950-2008
CSO and CARMA Observations of L1157. II. Chemical Complexity in the Shocked Outflow
L1157, a molecular dark cloud with an embedded Class 0 protostar possessing a
bipolar outflow, is an excellent source for studying shock chemistry, including
grain-surface chemistry prior to shocks, and post-shock, gas-phase processing.
The L1157-B1 and B2 positions experienced shocks at an estimated ~2000 and 4000
years ago, respectively. Prior to these shock events, temperatures were too low
for most complex organic molecules to undergo thermal desorption. Thus, the
shocks should have liberated these molecules from the ice grain-surfaces en
masse, evidenced by prior observations of SiO and multiple grain mantle species
commonly associated with shocks. Grain species, such as OCS, CH3OH, and HNCO,
all peak at different positions relative to species that are preferably formed
in higher velocity shocks or repeatedly-shocked material, such as SiO and HCN.
Here, we present high spatial resolution (~3") maps of CH3OH, HNCO, HCN, and
HCO+ in the southern portion of the outflow containing B1 and B2, as observed
with CARMA. The HNCO maps are the first interferometric observations of this
species in L1157. The maps show distinct differences in the chemistry within
the various shocked regions in L1157B. This is further supported through
constraints of the molecular abundances using the non-LTE code RADEX (Van der
Tak et al. 2007). We find the east/west chemical differentiation in C2 may be
explained by the contrast of the shock's interaction with either cold, pristine
material or warm, previously-shocked gas, as seen in enhanced HCN abundances.
In addition, the enhancement of the HNCO abundance toward the the older shock,
B2, suggests the importance of high-temperature O-chemistry in shocked regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
A Search for Light Hydrides in the Envelopes of Evolved Stars
We report a search for the diatomic hydrides SiH, PH, and FeH along the line
of sight toward the chemically rich circumstellar envelopes of IRC+10216 and VY
Canis Majoris. These molecules are thought to form in high temperature regions
near the photospheres of these stars, and may then further react via gas-phase
and dust-grain interactions leading to more complex species, but have yet to be
constrained by observation. We used the GREAT spectrometer on SOFIA to search
for rotational emission lines of these molecules in four spectral windows
ranging from 600 GHz to 1500 GHz. Though none of the targeted species were
detected in our search, we report their upper limit abundances in each source
and discuss how they influence the current understanding of hydride chemistry
in dense circumstellar media. We attribute the non-detections of these hydrides
to their compact source sizes, high barriers of formation, and proclivity to
react with other molecules in the winds.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 table
Non-detection of HC_(11)N towards TMC-1: constraining the chemistry of large carbon-chain molecules
Bell et al. reported the first detection of the cyanopolyyne HC_(11)N towards the cold dark cloud TMC-1; no subsequent detections have been reported towards any source. Additional observations of cyanopolyynes and other carbon-chain molecules towards TMC-1 have shown a log-linear trend between molecule size and column density, and in an effort to further explore the underlying chemical processes driving this trend, we have analysed Green Bank Telescope observations of HC_9N and HC_(11)N towards TMC-1. Although we find an HC_9N column density consistent with previous values, HC_(11)N is not detected and we derive an upper limit column density significantly below that reported in Bell et al. Using a state-of-the-art chemical model, we have investigated possible explanations of non-linearity in the column density trend. Despite updating the chemical model to better account for ion–dipole interactions, we are not able to explain the non-detection of HC_(11)N, and we interpret this as evidence of previously unknown carbon-chain chemistry. We propose that cyclization reactions may be responsible for the depleted HC11N abundance, and that products of these cyclization reactions should be investigated as candidate interstellar molecules
Non-detection of HC_(11)N towards TMC-1: constraining the chemistry of large carbon-chain molecules
Bell et al. reported the first detection of the cyanopolyyne HC_(11)N towards the cold dark cloud TMC-1; no subsequent detections have been reported towards any source. Additional observations of cyanopolyynes and other carbon-chain molecules towards TMC-1 have shown a log-linear trend between molecule size and column density, and in an effort to further explore the underlying chemical processes driving this trend, we have analysed Green Bank Telescope observations of HC_9N and HC_(11)N towards TMC-1. Although we find an HC_9N column density consistent with previous values, HC_(11)N is not detected and we derive an upper limit column density significantly below that reported in Bell et al. Using a state-of-the-art chemical model, we have investigated possible explanations of non-linearity in the column density trend. Despite updating the chemical model to better account for ion–dipole interactions, we are not able to explain the non-detection of HC_(11)N, and we interpret this as evidence of previously unknown carbon-chain chemistry. We propose that cyclization reactions may be responsible for the depleted HC11N abundance, and that products of these cyclization reactions should be investigated as candidate interstellar molecules
Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx)
The Habitable-Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) is a candidate flagship mission being studied by NASA and the astrophysics community in preparation of the 2020 Decadal Survey. The first HabEx mission concept that has been studied is a large (~4m) diffraction-limited optical space telescope, providing unprecedented resolution and contrast in the optical, with extensions into the near ulttraviolet and near infrared domains. We report here on our team’s efforts in defining a scientifically compelling HabEx mission that is technologically executable, affordable within NASA’s expected budgetary envelope, and timely for the next decade. We also briefly discuss our plans to explore less ambitious, descoped missions relative to the primary mission architecture discussed here
A Spitzer-MIPS search for dust in compact high-velocity HI clouds
We employ three-band Spitzer-MIPS observations to search for cold dust
emission in three neutral hydrogen compact high-velocity clouds (CHVCs) in the
vicinity of the Milky Way. Far-infrared emission correlated with HI column
density was previously reported in HVC Complex C, indicating that this object
contains dust heated by the Galactic radiation field at its distance of ~10kpc.
Assuming published Spitzer, IRAS, and Planck IR-HI correlations for Complex C,
our Spitzer observations are of sufficient depth to directly detect 160um dust
emission in the CHVCs if it is present at the same level as in Complex C, but
no emission is detected in any of the targets. For one of the targets (CHVC289)
which has well-localized HI clumps, we therefore conclude that it is
fundamentally different from Complex C, with either a lower dust-to-gas ratio
or a greater distance from the Galactic disk (and consequently cooler dust
temperature). Firm conclusions cannot be drawn for the other two
Spitzer-observed CHVCs since their small-scale HI structures are not
sufficiently well known; nonetheless, no extended dust emission is apparent
despite their relatively high HI column densities. The lack of dust emission in
CHVC289 suggests that at least some compact high-velocity clouds objects may
exhibit very low dust-to-gas ratios and/or greater Galactocentric distances
than large HVC complexes.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, text and Figure 4 substantially revised to
include Planck results after referee repor
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Identifying best approaches for engaging patients and family members in health informatics initiatives: a case study of the Group Priority Sort technique
Background
Patient engagement strategies in health service delivery have become more common in recent years. However, many healthcare organizations are challenged in identifying the best methods to engage patients in health information technology (IT) initiatives. Engaging with important stakeholders to identify effective opportunities can inform the development of a resource that addresses this issue and supports organizations in their endeavors. The purpose of this paper is to share our experience and lessons learned from applying a novel consensus-building technique in order to identify key elements for effective patient engagement in health IT initiatives. This will be done through a case study approach.
Methods
Patients, family members of patients, health professionals, researchers, students, vendor representatives and individuals who work in health IT roles in health organizations were engaged through a one-day symposium in Toronto, Canada in September, 2018. During the symposium, the Group Priority Sort technique was used to obtain structured feedback from symposium attendees in the context of small group discussions. Descriptive statistics and a content analysis were undertaken to analyze the data collected through the Group Priority Sort as well as participant feedback following the symposium.
Results
A total of 37 participants attended the symposium from a variety of settings and organizations. Using the Group Priority Sort technique, 30 topics were classified by priority to be included in a future resource. Participant feedback pertaining to the symposium and research methods was largely positive. Several areas of improvement, such as clarity of items, were identified from this case study.
Conclusions
The Group Priority Sort technique was an efficient method for obtaining valuable suggestions from a diverse group of stakeholders, including patients and family members. The specific priorities and feedback obtained from the symposium will be incorporated into a resource for healthcare organizations to aid them in engaging patients in health IT initiatives. Additionally, five important considerations were identified when conducting future work with the Group Priority Sort technique and are outlined in this paper
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