A New Approach toward Transition State Spectroscopy

Chirped-Pulse millimetre-Wave (CPmmW) rotational spectroscopy provides a new class of information about photolysis transition state(s). Measured intensities in rotational spectra determine species-isomer-vibrational populations, provided that rotational populations can be thermalized. The formation and detection of S0 vinylidene is discussed in the limits of low and high initial rotational excitation. CPmmW spectra of 193 nm photolysis of Vinyl Cyanide (Acrylonitrile) contain J=0-1 transitions in more than 20 vibrational levels of HCN, HNC, but no transitions in vinylidene or highly excited local-bender vibrational levels of acetylene. Reasons for the non-observation of the vinylidene co-product of HCN are discussed.Comment: Accepted by Faraday Discussion

Biogeographic analysis of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve: Examining the refuge effect following reserve establishment

Almost 120 days at sea aboard three NOAA research vessels and one fishing vessel over the past three years have supported biogeographic characterization of Tortugas Ecological Reserve (TER). This work initiated measurement of post-implementation effects of TER as a refuge for exploited species. In Tortugas South, seafloor transect surveys were conducted using divers, towed operated vehicles (TOV), remotely operated vehicles (ROV), various sonar platforms, and the Deepworker manned submersible. ARGOS drifter releases, satellite imagery, ichthyoplankton surveys, sea surface temperature, and diver census were combined to elucidate potential dispersal of fish spawning in this environment. Surveys are being compiled into a GIS to allow resource managers to gauge benthic resource status and distribution. Drifter studies have determined that within the ~ 30 days of larval life stage for fishes spawning at Tortugas South, larvae could reach as far downstream as Tampa Bay on the west Florida coast and Cape Canaveral on the east coast. Together with actual fish surveys and water mass delineation, this work demonstrates that the refuge status of this area endows it with tremendous downstream spillover and larval export potential for Florida reef habitats and promotes the maintenance of their fish communities. In Tortugas North, 30 randomly selected, permanent stations were established. Five stations were assigned to each of the following six areas: within Dry Tortugas National Park, falling north of the prevailing currents (Park North); within Dry Tortugas National Park, falling south of the prevailing currents (Park South); within the Ecological Reserve falling north of the prevailing currents (Reserve North); within the Ecological Reserve falling south of the prevailing currents (Reserve South); within areas immediately adjacent to these two strata, falling north of the prevailing currents (Out North); and within areas immediately adjacent to these two strata, falling south of the prevailing currents (Out South). Intensive characterization of these sites was conducted using multiple sonar techniques, TOV, ROV, diver-based digital video collection, diver-based fish census, towed fish capture, sediment particle-size, benthic chlorophyll analyses, and stable isotope analyses of primary producers, fish, and, shellfish. In order to complement and extend information from studies focused on the coral reef, we have targeted the ecotone between the reef and adjacent, non-reef habitats as these areas are well-known in ecology for indicating changes in trophic relationships at the ecosystem scale. Such trophic changes are hypothesized to occur as top-down control of the system grows with protection of piscivorous fishes. Preliminary isotope data, in conjunction with our prior results from the west Florida shelf, suggest that the shallow water benthic habitats surrounding the coral reefs of TER will prove to be the source of a significant amount of the primary production ultimately fueling fish production throughout TER and downstream throughout the range of larval fish dispersal. Therefore, the status and influence of the previously neglected, non-reef habitat within the refuge (comprising ~70% of TER) appears to be intimately tied to the health of the coral reef community proper. These data, collected in a biogeographic context, employing an integrated Before-After Control Impact design at multiple spatial scales, leave us poised to document and quantify the postimplementation effects of TER. Combined with the work at Tortugas South, this project represents a multi-disciplinary effort of sometimes disparate disciplines (fishery oceanography, benthic ecology, food web analysis, remote sensing/geography/landscape ecology, and resource management) and approaches (physical, biological, ecological). We expect the continuation of this effort to yield critical information for the management of TER and the evaluation of protected areas as a refuge for exploited species. (PDF contains 32 pages.

Using productivity and susceptibility indices to assess the vulnerability of United States fish stocks to overfishing

Assessing the vulnerability of stocks to fishing practices in U.S. federal waters was recently highlighted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as an important factor to consider when 1) identifying stocks that should be managed and protected under a fishery management plan; 2) grouping data-poor stocks into relevant management complexes; and 3) developing precautionary harvest control rules. To assist the regional fishery management councils in determining vulnerability, NMFS elected to use a modified version of a productivity and susceptibility analysis (PSA) because it can be based on qualitative data, has a history of use in other fisheries, and is recommended by several organizations as a reasonable approach for evaluating risk. A number of productivity and susceptibility attributes for a stock are used in a PSA and from these attributes, index scores and measures of uncertainty are computed and graphically displayed. To demonstrate the utility of the resulting vulnerability evaluation, we evaluated six U.S. fisheries targeting 162 stocks that exhibited varying degrees of productivity and susceptibility, and for which data quality varied. Overall, the PSA was capable of differentiating the vulnerability of stocks along the gradient of susceptibility and productivity indices, although fixed thresholds separating low-, moderate-, and highly vulnerable species were not observed. The PSA can be used as a flexible tool that can incorporate regional-specific information on fishery and management activity

NMFS / Interagency Working Group Evaluation of CITES Criteria and Guidelines.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: At present, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) criteria used to assess whether a population qualifies for inclusion in the CITES Appendices relate to (A) size of the population, (B) area of distribution of the population, and (C) declines in the size of the population. Numeric guidelines are provided as indicators of a small population (less than 5,000 individuals), a small subpopulation (less than 500 individuals), a restricted area of distribution for a population (less than 10,000 km2), a restricted area of distribution for a subpopula-tion (less than 500 km2), a high rate of decline (a decrease of 50% or more in total within 5 years or two generations whichever is longer or, for a small wild population, a decline of 20% or more in total within ten years or three generations whichever is longer), large fluctuations (population size or area of distribution varies widely, rapidly and frequently, with a variation greater than one order of magnitude), and a short-term fluctuation (one of two years or less). The Working Group discussed several broad issues of relevance to the CITES criteria and guidelines. These included the importance of the historical extent of decline versus the recent rate of decline; the utility and validity of incorporating relative population productivity into decline criteria; the utility of absolute numbers for defining small populations or small areas; the appropriateness of generation times as time frames for examining declines; the importance of the magnitude and frequency of fluctuations as factors affecting risk of extinction; and the overall utility of numeric thresh-olds or guidelines

Ultralow-Temperature Measurements of Submicron Devices

Contains research summary.Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAALO03-86-K-0002

The Vector Population Monitoring Tool (VPMT): High-Throughput DNA-Based Diagnostics for the Monitoring of Mosquito Vector Populations

Regular monitoring of mosquito vector populations is an integral component of most vector control programmes. Contemporary data on mosquito species composition, infection status, and resistance to insecticides are a prerequisite for effective intervention. For this purpose we, with funding from the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), have developed a suite of high-throughput assays based on a single “closed-tube” platform that collectively comprise the “Vector Population Monitoring Tool” (VPMT). The VPMT can be used to screen mosquito disease vector populations for a number of traits including Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus species identification, detection of infection with Plasmodium parasites, and identification of insecticide resistance mechanisms. In this paper we focus on the Anopheles-specific assays that comprise the VPMT and include details of a new assay for resistance todieldrin Rdl detection. The application of these tools, general and specific guidelines on their use based on field testing in Africa, and plans for further development are discussed

Natural Hendra virus infection in flying-foxes - tissue tropism and risk factors

Hendra virus (HeV) is a lethal zoonotic agent that emerged in 1994 in Australia. Pteropid bats (flying-foxes) are the natural reservoir. To date, HeV has spilled over from flying-foxes to horses on 51 known occasions, and from infected horses to close-contact humans on seven occasions. We undertook screening of archived bat tissues for HeV by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Tissues were tested from 310 bats including 295 Pteropodiformes and 15 Vespertilioniformes. HeV was detected in 20 individual flying-foxes (6.4%) from various tissues including spleen, kidney, liver, lung, placenta and blood components. Detection was significantly higher in Pteropus Alecto and P. conspicillatus, identifying species as a risk factor for infection. Further, our findings indicate that HeV has a predilection for the spleen, suggesting this organ plays an important role in HeV infection. The lack of detections in the foetal tissues of HeV-positive females suggests that vertical transmission is not a regular mode of transmission in naturally infected flyingfoxes, and that placental and foetal tissues are not a major source of infection for horses. A better understanding of HeV tissue tropism will strengthen management of the risk of spillover from flying-foxes to horses and ultimately humans

Residential radon-222 exposure and lung cancer: exposure assessment methodology

Although occupational epidemiological studies and animal experimentation provide strong evidence that radon-222 (222Rn) progeny exposure causes lung cancer, residential epidemiological studies have not confirmed this association. Past residential epidemiological studies have yielded contradictory findings. Exposure misclassification has seriously compromised the ability of these studies to detect whether an association exists between 222Rn exposure and lung cancer. Misclassification of 222Rn exposure has arisen primarily from: 1) detector measurement error; 2) failure to consider temporal and spatial 222Rn variations within a home; 3) missing data from previously occupied homes that currently are inaccessible; 4) failure to link 222Rn concentrations with subject mobility; and 5) measuring 222Rn gas concentration as a surrogate for 222Rn progeny exposure. This paper examines these methodological dosimetry problems and addresses how we are accounting for them in an ongoing, population-based, case-control study of 222Rn and lung cancer in Iowa

Direct detection of Rydberg–Rydberg millimeter-wave transitions in a buffer gas cooled molecular beam

Millimeter-wave transitions between molecular Rydberg states (n ∼ 35) of barium monofluoride are directly detected via Free Induction Decay (FID). Two powerful technologies are used in combination: Chirped-Pulse millimeter-Wave (CPmmW) spectroscopy and a buffer gas cooled molecular beam photoablation source. Hundreds of Rydberg–Rydberg transitions are recorded in 1 h with >10:1 signal:noise ratio and ∼150 kHz resolution. This high resolution, high spectral velocity experiment promises new strategies for rapid measurements of structural and dynamical information, such as the electric structure (multipole moments and polarizabilities) of the molecular ion-core and the strengths and mechanisms of resonances between Rydberg electron and ion-core motions. Direct measurements of Rydberg–Rydberg transitions with kilo-Debye dipole moments support efficient and definitive spectral analysis techniques, such as the Stark demolition and polarization diagnostics, which enable semi-automatic assignments of core-nonpenetrating Rydberg states. In addition, extremely strong radiation-mediated collective effects (superradiance) in a dense Rydberg gas of barium atoms are observed.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant No. CHE-1361865)United States. Department of Defense (National Defence Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) Program