Spatially-Resolved Spectra of the "Teacup" AGN: Tracing the History of a Dying Quasar

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Galaxy Zoo project has revealed a number of spectacular galaxies possessing Extended Emission-Line Regions (EELRs), the most famous being Hanny's Voorwerp galaxy. We present another EELR object discovered in the SDSS endeavor: the Teacup Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN), nicknamed for its EELR, which has a handle like structure protruding 15 kpc into the northeast quadrant of the galaxy. We analyze physical conditions of this galaxy with long-slit ground based spectroscopy from Lowell, Lick, and KPNO observatories. With the Lowell 1.8m Perkin's telescope we took multiple observations at different offset positions, allowing us to recover spatially resolved spectra across the galaxy. Line diagnostics indicate the ionized gas is photoionized primarily by the AGN. Additionally we are able to derive the hydrogen density from the [S II] 6716/6731 ratio. We generated two-component photoionization models for each spatially resolved Lowell spectrum. These models allow us to calculate the AGN bolometric luminosity seen by the gas at different radii from the nuclear center of the Teacup. Our results show a drop in bolometric luminosity by more than two orders of magnitude from the EELR to the nucleus, suggesting that the AGN has decreased in luminosity by this amount in a continuous fashion over 46,000 years, supporting the case for a dying AGN in this galaxy independent of any IR based evidence. We demonstrate that spatially resolved photoionization modeling could be applied to EELRs to investigate long time scale variability.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Population Properties of Brown Dwarf Analogs to Exoplanets

We present a kinematic analysis of 152 low surface gravity M7-L8 dwarfs by adding 18 new parallaxes (including 10 for comparative field objects), 38 new radial velocities, and 19 new proper motions. We also add low- or moderate-resolution near-infrared spectra for 43 sources confirming their low surface gravity features. Among the full sample, we find 39 objects to be high-likelihood or new bona fide members of nearby moving groups, 92 objects to be ambiguous members and 21 objects that are non-members. Using this age-calibrated sample, we investigate trends in gravity classification, photometric color, absolute magnitude, color–magnitude, luminosity, and effective temperature. We find that gravity classification and photometric color clearly separate 5–130 Myr sources from \u3e3 Gyr field objects, but they do not correlate one to one with the narrower 5–130 Myr age range. Sources with the same spectral subtype in the same group have systematically redder colors, but they are distributed between 1 and 4σ from the field sequences and the most extreme outlier switches between intermediate- and low-gravity sources either confirmed in a group or not. The absolute magnitudes of low-gravity sources from the J band through W3 show a flux redistribution when compared to equivalently typed field brown dwarfs that is correlated with spectral subtype. Low-gravity, late-type L dwarfs are fainter at J than the field sequence but brighter by W3. Low-gravity M dwarfs are \u3e1 mag brighter than field dwarfs in all bands from J through W3. Clouds, which are a far more dominant opacity source for L dwarfs, are the likely cause. On color–magnitude diagrams, the latest-type, low-gravity L dwarfs drive the elbow of the L/T transition up to 1 mag redder and 1 mag fainter than field dwarfs at M J but are consistent with or brighter than the elbow at M W1 and M W2. We conclude that low-gravity dwarfs carry an extreme version of the cloud conditions of field objects to lower temperatures, which logically extends into the lowest-mass, directly imaged exoplanets. Furthermore, there is an indication on color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs; such as M J versus (J–W2)) of increasingly redder sequences separated by gravity classification, although it is not consistent across all CMD combinations. Examining bolometric luminosities for planets and low-gravity objects, we confirm that (in general) young M dwarfs are overluminous while young L dwarfs are normal compared to the field. Using model extracted radii, this translates into normal to slightly warmer M dwarf temperatures compared to the field sequence and lower temperatures for L dwarfs with no obvious correlation with the assigned moving group

Hunger among Inuit children in Canada

Background and objectives. Inuit populations may be at increased risk for experiencing poor nutrition or hunger due to limited access and availability to food. The prevalence and correlates of parental perceptions of hunger among a nationally representative sample of Inuit children in Canada have not yet been reported. Design. Data are from the 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey (ACS). Sociodemographic information, dietary behaviours and hunger status were parent-reported via a household interview for Inuit children aged 2–5 years (n=1,234). Prevalence of hunger was calculated among Inuit children by sociodemographic factors and by dietary behaviours. In addition, a multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to determine factors associated with parental perception of ever experiencing hunger. Results. The prevalence of Inuit children in Canada aged 2–5 years ever experiencing hunger was 24.4%. Children who were reported to have experienced hunger consumed milk and milk products (p<0.001); fish, eggs and meat (p<0.05); fruits (p<0.001); and vegetables (p<0.001) significantly less often than never-hungry children. Fast food and processed foods, soft drinks and juice, and salty snacks, sweets and desserts were consumed as often as never-hungry children (all p>0.05). The majority (81%) of Inuit parents/guardians of ever-hungry children sought help from family or friends. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing hunger include sociodemographic characteristics (such as income and household size), living in an Inuit region and living in a community with cultural activities. Conclusion. About 1 in 4 Inuit children were reported by their parents to have experienced hunger, and hunger was associated with region, sociodemographic and community factors. Future research could further examine the impact of ever experiencing hunger on the health status of Inuit children and their families in Canada

Positive psychology of Malaysian students: impacts of engagement, motivation, self-compassion and wellbeing on mental health

Malaysia plays a key role in education of the Asia Pacific, expanding its scholarly output rapidly. However, mental health of Malaysian students is challenging, and their help-seeking is low because of stigma. This study explored the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs (academic engagement, motivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing), and evaluated the relative contribution of each positive psychological construct to mental health in Malaysian students. An opportunity sample of 153 students completed the measures regarding these constructs. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. Engagement, amotivation, self-compassion, and wellbeing were associated with, and predicted large variance in mental health. Self-compassion was the strongest independent predictor of mental health among all the positive psychological constructs. Findings can imply the strong links between mental health and positive psychology, especially selfcompassion. Moreover, intervention studies to examine the effects of self-compassion training on mental health of Malaysian students appear to be warranted.N/

2012 Market Report on U.S. Wind Technologies in Distributed Applications

At the end of 2012, U.S. wind turbines in distributed applications reached a 10-year cumulative installed capacity of more than 812 MW from more than 69,000 units across all 50 states. In 2012 alone, nearly 3,800 wind turbines totaling 175 MW of distributed wind capacity were documented in 40 states and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with 138 MW using utility-scale turbines (i.e., greater than 1 MW in size), 19 MW using mid-size turbines (i.e., 101 kW to 1 MW in size), and 18.4 MW using small turbines (i.e., up to 100 kW in size). Distributed wind is defined in terms of technology application based on a wind project’s location relative to end-use and power-distribution infrastructure, rather than on technology size or project size. Distributed wind systems are either connected on the customer side of the meter (to meet the onsite load) or directly to distribution or micro grids (to support grid operations or offset large loads nearby). Estimated capacity-weighted average costs for 2012 U.S. distributed wind installations was $2,540/kW for utility-scale wind turbines,$2,810/kW for mid-sized wind turbines, and $6,960/kW for newly manufactured (domestic and imported) small wind turbines. An emerging trend observed in 2012 was an increased use of refurbished turbines. The estimated capacity-weighted average cost of refurbished small wind turbines installed in 2012 was$4,080/kW. As a result of multiple projects using utility-scale turbines, Iowa deployed the most new overall distributed wind capacity, 37 MW, in 2012. Nevada deployed the most small wind capacity in 2012, with nearly 8 MW of small wind turbines installed in distributed applications. In the case of mid-size turbines, Ohio led all states in 2012 with 4.9 MW installed in distributed applications. State and federal policies and incentives continued to play a substantial role in the development of distributed wind projects. In 2012, U.S. Treasury Section 1603 payments and grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program were the main sources of federal funding for distributed wind projects. State and local funding varied across the country, from rebates to loans, tax credits, and other incentives. Reducing utility bills and hedging against potentially rising electricity rates remain drivers of distributed wind installations. In 2012, other drivers included taking advantage of the expiring U.S. Treasury Section 1603 program and a prosperous year for farmers. While 2012 saw a large addition of distributed wind capacity, considerable barriers and challenges remain, such as a weak domestic economy, inconsistent state incentives, and very competitive solar photovoltaic and natural gas prices. The industry remains committed to improving the distributed wind marketplace by advancing the third-party certification process and introducing alternative financing models, such as third-party power purchase agreements and lease-to-own agreements more typical in the solar photovoltaic market. Continued growth is expected in 2013

The Science Case for an Extended Spitzer Mission

Although the final observations of the Spitzer Warm Mission are currently scheduled for March 2019, it can continue operations through the end of the decade with no loss of photometric precision. As we will show, there is a strong science case for extending the current Warm Mission to December 2020. Spitzer has already made major impacts in the fields of exoplanets (including microlensing events), characterizing near Earth objects, enhancing our knowledge of nearby stars and brown dwarfs, understanding the properties and structure of our Milky Way galaxy, and deep wide-field extragalactic surveys to study galaxy birth and evolution. By extending Spitzer through 2020, it can continue to make ground-breaking discoveries in those fields, and provide crucial support to the NASA flagship missions JWST and WFIRST, as well as the upcoming TESS mission, and it will complement ground-based observations by LSST and the new large telescopes of the next decade. This scientific program addresses NASA's Science Mission Directive's objectives in astrophysics, which include discovering how the universe works, exploring how it began and evolved, and searching for life on planets around other stars.Comment: 75 pages. See page 3 for Table of Contents and page 4 for Executive Summar

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometric detection of small Ca2+-induced conformational changes in the regulatory domain of human cardiac troponin C

AbstractTroponin C (TnC), a calcium-binding protein of the thin filament of muscle, plays a regulatory role in skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction. NMR reveals a small conformational change in the cardiac regulatory N-terminal domain of TnC (cNTnC) on binding of Ca2+ such that the total exposed hydrophobic surface area increases very slightly from 3090 ± 86 Å2 for apo-cNTnC to 3108 ± 71 Å2 for Ca2+-cNTnC. Here, we show that measurement of solvent accessibility for backbone amide protons by means of solution-phase hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange followed by pepsin digestion, high-performance liquid chromatography, and electrospray ionization high-field (9.4 T) Fourier transform Ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry is sufficiently sensitive to detect such small ligand binding-induced conformational changes of that protein. The extent of deuterium incorporation increases significantly on binding of Ca2+ for each of four proteolytic segments derived from pepsin digestion of the apo- and Ca2+-saturated forms of cNTnC. The present results demonstrate that H/D exchange monitored by mass spectrometry can be sufficiently sensitive to detect and identify even very small conformational changes in proteins, and should therefore be especially informative for proteins too large (or too insoluble or otherwise intractable) for NMR analysis

Age-Related Changes in the Daily Rhythm of Photoreceptor Functioning and Circuitry in a Melatonin-Proficient Mouse Strain

Retinal melatonin is involved in the modulation of many important retinal functions. Our previous studies have shown that the viability of photoreceptors and ganglion cells is reduced during aging in mice that lack melatonin receptor type 1. This demonstrates that melatonin signaling is important for the survival of retinal neurons. In the present study, we investigate the effects of aging on photoreceptor physiology and retinal organization in CH3-f+/+ mice, a melatonin proficient mouse strain. Our data indicate that the amplitude of the a and b waves of the scotopic and photopic electroretinogram decreases with age. Moreover, the daily rhythm in the amplitude of the a- and b- waves is lost during the aging process. Similarly, the scotopic threshold response is significantly affected by aging, but only when it is measured during the night. Interestingly, the changes observed in the ERGs are not paralleled by relevant changes in retinal morphological features, and administration of exogenous melatonin does not affect the ERGs in C3H-f+/+ at 12 months of age. This suggests that the responsiveness of the photoreceptors to exogenous melatonin is reduced during aging