Distinguishing Adult Pectinophora scutigera (Holdaway) According to Larval Diet by X-Ray Microanalysis

In an exploratory study using scanning electron microscope (SEM) based energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) of X-rays, differences were detected in the elemental compositions of adult Pectinophora scutigera raised on contrasting diets - cotton, Hibiscus tiliaceus and laboratory medium. X-ray spectra were collected from the thorax and abdomen of 13 male and 13 female moths. X-ray yields are optimised by ashing the insects for 1 h at 400-600°C, and by operating the SEM at 25 kV. Spectrum matching, element matching, discriminant analysis and principal components analysis were used to classify the specimens on the basis of diet with 54-100% success. Spectra were considered as a whole or processed using either a digital filter to remove background or a ZAF program to compute semiquantitative elemental concentrations. Background corrected peaks is the favoured data format, having high discriminating power and being simple to obtain and interpret. Better classification is apparent when subsets of the same sex, body part or both are employed; and when the data for each element is normalised to a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. The chief discriminating elements appear to be F, Na, Mg, P, Cl, K and Ca with Si, S, Mn, Fe and Zn being of little assistance

Proximity effect in Nb-Mo layered films: Transition temperature and critical current dependence on period

The behavior of the transition temperature and critical current density for a Mo/Nb repeated bilayer system as a function of the number of periods was explored. The measured values of the transition temperature are compared to the theoretical predictions for the proximity effect in the dirty limit. We find that the transition temperature does not decrease as the number of periods increase. In addition, inductive critical current density measurements also show a scaling that indicates the superconductivity properties are not dependent on the number of bilayers.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, to be published Journal of Applied Physic

Study of the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy from the DART CaII triplet survey

We use VLT/FLAMES intermediate resolution (R~6500) spectra of individual red giant branch stars in the near-infrared CaII triplet (CaT) region to investigate the wide-area metallicity properties and internal kinematics of the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph). Our final sample consists of 174 probable members of Sextans with accurate line-of-sight velocities (+- 2 km/s) and CaT [Fe/H] measurements (+- 0.2 dex). We use the MgI line at 8806.8 \AA\, as an empirical discriminator for distinguishing between probable members of the dSph (giant stars) and probable Galactic contaminants (dwarf stars). Sextans shows a similar chemo-dynamical behaviour to other Milky Way dSphs, with its central regions being more metal rich than the outer parts and with the more metal-rich stars displaying colder kinematics than the more metal-poor stars. Hints of a velocity gradient are found along the projected major axis and along an axis at P.A.=191 deg, however a larger and more spatially extended sample may be necessary to pin down the amplitude and direction of this gradient. We detect a cold kinematic substructure at the centre of Sextans, consistent with being the remnant of a disrupted very metal poor stellar cluster. We derive the most extended line-of-sight velocity dispersion profile for Sextans, out to a projected radius of 1.6 deg. From Jeans modelling of the observed line-of-sight velocity dispersion profile we find that this is consistent with both a cored dark matter halo with large core radius and cuspy halo with low concentration. The mass within the last measured point is in the range 2-4 x 10^8 M_sun, giving very large mass-to-light ratios, from 460 to 920 (M/L)_(V,sun).Comment: 30 pages, 17 figures; 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Table 4 will appear as online material in the published version of the manuscript. Typo correcte

Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of β-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation

Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Contrasting carbonate depositional systems for Pliocene cool-water limestones cropping out in central Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

Pliocene limestone formations in central Hawke's Bay (eastern North Island, New Zealand) accumulated on and near the margins of a narrow forearc basin seaway within the convergent Australia/Pacific plate boundary zone. The active tectonic setting and varied paleogeographic features of the limestone units investigated, in association with probable glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations, resulted in complex stratigraphic architectures and contrasting types of carbonate accumulation on either side of the seaway. Here, we recognise recurring patterns of sedimentary facies, and sequences and systems tracts bounded by key physical surfaces within the limestone sheets. The facies types range from Bioclastic (B) to Siliciclastic (S) end-members via Mixed (M) carbonate-siliciclastic deposits. Skeletal components are typical cool-water associations dominated by epifaunal calcitic bivalves, bryozoans, and especially barnacles. Siliciclastic contents vary from one formation to another, and highlight siliciclastic-rich limestone units in the western ranges versus siliciclastic-poor limestone units in the eastern coastal hills. Heterogeneities in facies types, stratal patterns, and also in diagenetic pathways between eastern and western limestone units are considered to originate in the coeval occurrence in different parts of the forearc basin of two main morphodynamic carbonate systems over time

Human Interaction with Robot Swarms: A Survey

Recent advances in technology are delivering robots of reduced size and cost. A natural outgrowth of these advances are systems comprised of large numbers of robots that collaborate autonomously in diverse applications. Research on effective autonomous control of such systems, commonly called swarms, has increased dramatically in recent years and received attention from many domains, such as bioinspired robotics and control theory. These kinds of distributed systems present novel challenges for the effective integration of human supervisors, operators, and teammates that are only beginning to be addressed. This paper is the first survey of human–swarm interaction (HSI) and identifies the core concepts needed to design a human–swarm system. We first present the basics of swarm robotics. Then, we introduce HSI from the perspective of a human operator by discussing the cognitive complexity of solving tasks with swarm systems. Next, we introduce the interface between swarm and operator and identify challenges and solutions relating to human–swarm communication, state estimation and visualization, and human control of swarms. For the latter, we develop a taxonomy of control methods that enable operators to control swarms effectively. Finally, we synthesize the results to highlight remaining challenges, unanswered questions, and open problems for HSI, as well as how to address them in future works

SiO masers in TX Cam: Simultaneous VLBA observations of two 43 GHz masers at four epochs

We present the results of simultaneous high resolution observations of v=1 and v=2, J=1-0 SiO masers toward TX Cam at four epochs covering a stellar cycle. Near maser maximum (Epochs III and IV), the individual components of both masers are distributed in ring-like structures but the ring is severely disrupted near stellar maser minimum (Epochs I and II). In Epochs III and IV there is a large overlap between the radii at which the two maser transitions occur. However in both epochs the average radius of the v=2 maser ring is smaller than for the v=1 maser ring, the difference being larger for Epoch IV. The observed relative ring radii in the two transitions, and the trends on the ring thickness, are close to those predicted by the model of Humphreys et al. (\cite{humphreys02}). In many individual features there is an almost exact overlap in space and velocity of emission from the two transitions, arguing against pure radiative pumping. At both Epochs III and IV in many spectral features only 50% of the flux density is recovered in our images, implying significant smooth maser structure. For both transitions we find that red- and blue-shifted masers occur in all parts of the rings, with relatively few masers at the systemic velocity. Thus there is no evidence for rotation, although the blue-shifted masers are somewhat more prominent to the west. At all four epochs red-shifted components are generally brighter than blue-shifted ones. At Epochs III and IV, we see many filamentary or spoke-like features in both v=1 and v=2 masers, especially in the red-shifted gas. These spokes show systematic velocity gradients consistent with a decelerating outward flow with increasing radius. We outline a possible model to explain why, given the presence of these spokes, there is a deficit of maser features at the systemic velocity.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figs, accepted to A&A, Abstract is reduced (see the paper for full length