First Canadian Record of \u3ci\u3eHexacola Neoscatellae\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae), A Parasitoid of the Shore Fly, \u3ci\u3eScatella Stagnalis\u3c/i\u3e

This paper documents the first occurrence of Hexacola neoscatellae, a shore fly parasitoid, in Canada. The discovery of H. neoscatellae is significant because currently there are no suitable biological control agents available for shore fly control to the floriculture industry

The opposites task: Using general rules to test cognitive flexibility in preschoolers

A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. Executive functions play an important role in cognitive development, and during the preschool years especially, children's performance is limited in tasks that demand flexibility in their behavior. We asked whether preschoolers would exhibit limitations when they are required to apply a general rule in the context of novel stimuli on every trial (the "opposites" task). Two types of inhibitory processing were measured: response interference (resistance to interference from a competing response) and proactive interference (resistance to interference from a previously relevant rule). Group data show 3-year-olds have difficulty inhibiting prepotent tendencies under these conditions, whereas 5-year-olds' accuracy is near ceiling in the task. (Contains 4 footnotes and 1 table.

Collateral and Debt Maturity Choice. A Signaling Model

This paper derives optimal loan policies under asymmetric information where banks offer loan contracts of long and short duration, backed or unbacked with collateral. The main novelty of the paper is that it analyzes a setting in which high quality firms use collateral as a complementary device along with debt maturity to signal their superiority. The least-cost signaling equilibrium depends on the relative costs of the signaling devices, the difference in firm quality and the proportion of good firms in the market. Model simulations suggest a non-monotonic relationship between firm quality and debt maturity, in which high quality firms have both long-term secured debt and short-term secured or non-secured debt.

Integral-Field Spectroscopy of the Post Red Supergiant IRC +10420: evidence for an axi-symmetric wind

We present NAOMI/OASIS adaptive-optics assisted integral-field spectroscopy of the transitional massive hypergiant IRC +10420, an extreme mass-losing star apparently in the process of evolving from a Red Supergiant toward the Wolf-Rayet phase. To investigate the present-day mass-loss geometry of the star, we study the appearance of the line-emission from the inner wind as viewed when reflected off the surrounding nebula. We find that, contrary to previous work, there is strong evidence for wind axi-symmetry, based on the equivalent-width and velocity variations of H$\alpha$ and Fe {\sc ii} $\lambda$6516. We attribute this behaviour to the appearance of the complex line-profiles when viewed from different angles. We also speculate that the Ti {\sc ii} emission originates in the outer nebula in a region analogous to the Strontium Filament of $\eta$ Carinae, based on the morphology of the line-emission. Finally, we suggest that the present-day axisymmetric wind of IRC +10420, combined with its continued blueward evolution, is evidence that the star is evolving toward the B[e] supergiant phase.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. B&W-optimized version can be downloaded from http://www.cis.rit.edu/~bxdpci/pubs.htm

Microstructure of the Local Interstellar Cloud and the Identification of the Hyades Cloud

We analyze high-resolution UV spectra of the Mg II h and k lines for 18 members of the Hyades Cluster to study inhomogeneity along these proximate lines of sight. The observations were taken by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Three distinct velocity components are observed. All 18 lines of sight show absorption by the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), ten stars show absorption by an additional cloud, which we name the Hyades Cloud, and one star exhibits a third absorption component. The LIC absorption is observed at a lower radial velocity than predicted by the LIC velocity vector derived by Lallement & Bertin (1992) and Lallement et al. (1995), (v(predicted LIC) - v(observed LIC) = 2.9 +/- 0.7 km/s), which may indicate a compression or deceleration at the leading edge of the LIC. We propose an extention of the Hyades Cloud boundary based on previous HST observations of other stars in the general vicinity of the Hyades, as well as ground-based Ca II observations. We present our fits of the interstellar parameters for each absorption component. The availability of 18 similar lines of sight provides an excellent opportunity to study the inhomogeneity of the warm, partially ionized local interstellar medium (LISM). We find that these structures are roughly homogeneous. The measured Mg II column densities do not vary by more than a factor of 2 for angular separations of < 8 degrees, which at the outer edge of the LIC correspond to physical separations of < 0.6 pc.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, AASTEX v.5.0 plus EPSF extensions in mkfig.sty; accepted by Ap

Axial Symmetry and Rotation in the SiO Maser Shell of IK Tauri

We observed v=1, J=1-0 43-GHz SiO maser emission toward the Mira variable IK Tauri (IK Tau) using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The images resulting from these observations show that SiO masers form a highly elliptical ring of emission approximately 58 x 32 mas with an axial ratio of 1.8:1. The major axis of this elliptical distribution is oriented at position angle of ~59 deg. The line-of-sight velocity structure of the SiO masers has an apparent axis of symmetry consistent with the elongation axis of the maser distribution. Relative to the assumed stellar velocity of 35 km/s, the blue- and red-shifted masers were found to lie to the northwest and southeast of this symmetry axis respectively. This velocity structure suggests a NW-SE rotation of the SiO maser shell with an equatorial velocity, which we determine to be ~3.6 km/s. Such a NW-SE rotation is in agreement with a circumstellar envelope geometry invoked to explain previous water and OH maser observations. In this geometry, water and OH masers are preferentially created in a region of enhanced density along the NE-SW equator orthogonal to the rotation/polar axis suggested by the SiO maser velocities.Comment: 17 Pages, 4 figures (2 color); accepted for publication in Ap

Consumer credit information systems: A critical review of the literature. Too little attention paid by lawyers?

This paper reviews the existing literature on consumer credit reporting, the most extensively used instrument to overcome information asymmetry and adverse selection problems in credit markets. Despite the copious literature in economics and some research in regulatory policy, the legal community has paid almost no attention to the legal framework of consumer credit information systems, especially within the context of the European Union. Studies on the topic, however, seem particularly relevant in view of the establishment of a single market for consumer credit. This article ultimately calls for further legal research to address consumer protection concerns and inform future legislation

Violent quenching : Molecular Gas Blown to 1000 km s -1 during a Major Merger

Accepted for publication in ApJ LettersWe present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of a massive () compact ( pc) merger remnant at z = 0.66 that is driving a 1000 km s -1 outflow of cool gas, with no observational trace of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We resolve molecular gas on scales of approximately 1-2 kpc, and our main finding is the discovery of a wing of blueshifted CO J(2 → 1) emission out to-1000 km s -1 relative to the stars. We argue that this is the molecular component of a multiphase outflow, expelled from the central starburst within the past 5 Myr through stellar feedback, although we cannot rule out previous AGN activity as a launching mechanism. If the latter is true, then this is an example of a relic multiphase AGN outflow. We estimate a molecular mass outflow rate of approximately 300 M o yr -1, or about one third of the 10 Myr-Averaged star formation rate. This system epitomizes the multiphase "blowout" episode following a dissipational major merger-a process that has violently quenched central star formation and supermassive black hole growth.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio