Delivering the Goods : Scaling out Results of Natural Resource Management Research

To help integrated natural resource management (INRM) research "deliver the goods" for many of the world's poor over a large area and in a timely manner, the authors suggest a problem-solving approach that facilitates the scaling out of relevant agricultural practices. They propose seven ways to foster scaling out: (1) develop more attractive practices and technologies through participatory research (2) balance supply-driven approaches with resource user demands, (3) use feedback to redefine the research agenda, (4) encourage support groups and networks for information sharing, (5) facilitate negotiation among stakeholders, (6) inform policy change and institutional development, and (7) make sensible use of information management tools, including models and geographic information systems (GIS). They also draw on experiences in Mesoamerica, South Asia, and southern Africa to describe useful information management tools, including site similarity analyses, the linking of simulation models with GIS, and the use of farmer and land type categorie

XMM-Newton and SRG/eROSITA observations of the isolated neutron star candidate 4XMM J022141.5-735632

We report the results of follow-up investigations of a possible new thermally emitting isolated neutron star (INS), 4XMM J022141.5-735632, using observations from XMM-Newton and Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) eROSITA. The analysis is complemented by Legacy Survey imaging in the optical and near-infrared wavelengths. The X-ray source, the first to be targeted by XMM-Newton in an effort to identify new INS candidates from the fourth generation of the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue Data Release 9 (4XMM-DR9), shows a remarkably soft energy distribution and a lack of catalogued counterparts; the very high X-ray-to-optical flux ratio virtually excludes any other identification than an INS. Within current observational limits, no significant flux variation nor change of spectral state is registered over nearly ten years. Future dedicated observations, particularly to search for pulsations, are crucial to shed further light on the nature of the X-ray source and relations to other Galactic neutron stars

Finding Strong Gravitational Lenses in the DESI DECam Legacy Survey

International audienceWe perform a semi-automated search for strong gravitational lensing systems in the 9000 deg2 Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), part of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Legacy Imaging Surveys. The combination of the depth and breadth of these surveys are unparalleled at this time, making them particularly suitable for discovering new strong gravitational lensing systems. We adopt the deep residual neural network architecture developed by Lanusse et al. for the purpose of finding strong lenses in photometric surveys. We compile a training sample that consists of known lensing systems in the Legacy Surveys and the Dark Energy Survey as well as non-lenses in the footprint of DECaLS. In this paper we show the results of applying our trained neural network to the cutout images centered on galaxies typed as ellipticals in DECaLS. The images that receive the highest scores (probabilities) are visually inspected and ranked. Here we present 335 candidate strong lensing systems, identified for the first time

Testicular structure of three species of neotropical freshwater pimelodids (Pisces, Pimelodidae)

The testes structure of the following Siluriformes was studied: Pimelodus maculatus (Lacepède, 1803), Iheringichtys labrosus (Lütken, 1874) and Conorhynchos conirostris (Valenciennes, 1840). The testes of these species were dissected into cranial and caudal regions. The fringes of mature testes were counted and measured. Student's t-test was used to identify significant differences between fringe lengths of the two regions. To study the whole testes of each species in its resting and mature stage, testes were fixed in Bouin liquid for 6-8 hours and submitted to routine histological techniques. Standard histochemical techniques were used to detect carbohydrates and proteins. The testes of all species were paired and fringed organs. Histologically, cranial fringes of all species were spermatogenic with cells inside cysts at the same phase of development. Caudal fringes of C. conirostris were spermatogenic; while P. maculatus and I. labrosus showed caudal fringes only during secretion. Histochemically, neutral glycoproteins, acid glycoconjugates, acid carboxilates, sialomucines, and acid and sulfates glycoconjugates were detected in the caudal fringe secretions of P. maculatus; and neutral glycoproteins in I. labrosus. Significant differences between the fringe lengths of the cranial and caudal regions were found for all the species studied.<br>Estudou-se a estrutura testicular dos seguintes peixes Siluriformes: Pimelodus maculatus (Lacepède, 1803), Iheringichtys labrosus (Lütken, 1874) e Conorhynchos conirostris (Valenciennes, 1840). Os testículos foram dissecados e divididos anatomicamente em regiões cranial e caudal. As franjas dos testículos em maturação foram contadas e mediu-se o comprimento das mesmas. O teste t de Student foi utilizado para verificar diferenças significativas entre o comprimento das franjas das duas regiões. Para estudo histológico, testículos inteiros de cada espécie, em repouso e em maturação, foram fixados em líquido de Bouin por 6-8 horas e submetidos às técnicas histológicas de rotina. Utilizaram-se técnicas histoquímicas clássicas para detectar carboidratos e proteínas. Os testículos das espécies estudadas são órgãos pares e franjados. Histologicamente, as franjas da região cranial de todas as espécies são espermatogênicas, com células da linhagem em mesma fase de desenvolvimento contidas em cistos. As franjas da região caudal de C. conirostris são também espermatogênicas, enquanto P. maculatus e I. labrosus apresentam franjas caudais exclusivamente secretoras. Histoquímicamente detectou-se na secreção das franjas caudais de P. maculatus glicoproteínas neutras, glicoconjugados ácidos carboxilados, incluindo sialomucinas e glicoconjugados ácidos e sulfatados e em I. labrosus glicoproteínas neutras. Houve diferenças significativas entre o comprimento das franjas das regiões cranial e caudal para todas as espécies estudadas

New measurements of the Lyman-α\alpha forest continuum and effective optical depth with LyCAN and DESI Y1 data

International audienceWe present the Lyman-$\alpha$ Continuum Analysis Network (LyCAN), a Convolutional Neural Network that predicts the unabsorbed quasar continuum within the rest-frame wavelength range of $1040-1600$ Angstroms based on the red side of the Lyman-$\alpha$ emission line ($1216-1600$ Angstroms). We developed synthetic spectra based on a Gaussian Mixture Model representation of Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) coefficients. These coefficients were derived from high-resolution, low-redshift ($z<0.2$) Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph quasar spectra. We supplemented this COS-based synthetic sample with an equal number of DESI Year 5 mock spectra. LyCAN performs extremely well on testing sets, achieving a median error in the forest region of 1.5% on the DESI mock sample, 2.0% on the COS-based synthetic sample, and 4.1% on the original COS spectra. LyCAN outperforms Principal Component Analysis (PCA)- and NMF-based prediction methods using the same training set by a factor of two or more. We predict the intrinsic continua of 83,635 DESI Year 1 spectra in the redshift range of $2.1 \leq z \leq 4.2$ and perform an absolute measurement of the evolution of the effective optical depth. This is the largest sample employed to measure the optical depth evolution to date. We fit a power-law of the form $\tau(z) = \tau_0 (1+z)^\gamma$ to our measurements and find $\tau_0 = (2.46 \pm 0.14)\times10^{-3}$ and $\gamma = 3.62 \pm 0.04$. Our results show particular agreement with high-resolution, ground-based observations around $z = 2$, indicating that LyCAN is able to predict the quasar continuum in the forest region with only spectral information outside the forest