Improving CMB non-Gaussianity estimators using tracers of local structure

Local non-Gaussianity causes correlations between large scale perturbation modes and the small scale power. The large-scale CMB signal has contributions from the integrated Sachs Wolfe (ISW) effect, which does not correlate with the small scale power. If this ISW contribution can be removed, the sensitivity to local non-Gaussianity is improved. Gravitational lensing and galaxy counts can be used to trace the ISW contribution; in particular we show that the CMB lensing potential is highly correlated with the ISW signal. We construct a nearly-optimal estimator for the local non-Gaussianity parameter \fnl and investigate to what extent we can use this to decrease the variance on {\fnl}. We show that the variance can be decreased by up to $20\%$ at Planck sensitivity using galaxy counts. CMB lensing is a good bias-independent ISW tracer for future more sensitive observations, though the fractional decrease in variance is small if good polarization data is also available.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Comments welcom

Diets of Baird’s Beaked Whales, \u3ci\u3eBerardius bairdii\u3c/i\u3e, in the Southern Sea Of Okhotsk and Off the Pacific Coast Of Honshu, Japan

Stomach contents were analyzed from 127 Baird’s beaked whales, Berardizls bairdii, taken in coastal waters of Japan. During late July-August of 1985- 1987, 1989, and 1991, 107 samples were collected from off the Pacific coast of Honshu. An additional 20 samples were collected from whales taken in the southern Sea of Okhotsk during late August-September of 1988 and 1989. Prey identification using fish otoliths and cephalopod beaks revealed the whales fed primarily on deep-water gadiform fishes and cephalopods in both regions. Prey species diversity and the percentage of cephalopods and fish differed between the two regions. Off the Pacific coast of Honshu the whales fed primarily on benthopelagic fishes (81.8%) and only 18.0% on cephalopods. Eight species of fish representing two families, the codlings (Moridae) and the grenadiers (Macrouridde), collectively made up 81.3% of the total. Thirty species of cephalopods representing 14 families made up 12.7%. In the southern Sea of Okhotsk, cephalopods accounted for 87.1% of stomach contents. The families Gonatidae and Cranchiidae were the predominant cephalopod prey, accounting for 86.7% of the diet. Gadiform fish accounted for only 12.9% of the diet. Longfin codling, Laernonma longipes, was the dominant fish prey in both regions. Depth distribution of the two commonly consumed fish off the Pacific coast of Honshu indicate the whales in this region fed primarily at depths ranging from 800 to 1,200 m

Mandibular fractures in short-finned pilot whales, \u3ci\u3eGlobicephala macrorhynchus\u3c/i\u3e

This study’s objective was to investigate mandibular fractures in 50 short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, from two mass strandings. Based on current theories that this species is sexually dimorphic and polygynous, hypotheses were: (1) males should suffer more frequent or more substantial mandibular fractures than should females, and (2) fracture occurrence should increase with male reproductive maturity and potential correlates of maturity, such as age and length. Fractures were described and correlated with physical characteristics to infer possible explanations for injuries. Mandibular fractures were surprisingly common in males and females, being found in more than half of the animals examined (27/50, or 54% overall; 17/36 or 47% of females and 10/14 or 71% of males). Length was the only correlate of fracture presence; the proportion of animals showing evidence of fracture increased with length. These results offer some support to initial hypotheses, but there must be another set of consequences that contribute to mandibular fractures in females. A combination of intra- and interspecific interactions and life history characteristics may be responsible for fractures. Further research from a larger sample of this and other cetacean species are suggested to help elucidate both the causes and implications of mandibular fractures

Probing the cosmic web: inter-cluster filament detection using gravitational lensing

The problem of detecting dark matter filaments in the cosmic web is considered. Weak lensing is an ideal probe of dark matter, and therefore forms the basis of particularly promising detection methods. We consider and develop a number of weak lensing techniques that could be used to detect filaments in individual or stacked cluster fields, and apply them to synthetic lensing data sets in the fields of clusters from the Millennium Simulation. These techniques are multipole moments of the shear and convergence, mass reconstruction, and parameterized fits to filament mass profiles using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. In particular, two new filament detection techniques are explored (multipole shear filters and Markov Chain Monte Carlo mass profile fits), and we outline the quality of data required to be able to identify and quantify filament profiles. We also consider the effects of large scale structure on filament detection. We conclude that using these techniques, there will be realistic prospects of detecting filaments in data from future space-based missions. The methods presented in this paper will be of great use in the identification of dark matter filaments in future surveys.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS accepted, (replacement due to corrupted end of pdf file

Nesting biology of the bee Caupolicana yarrowi.

20 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 26 cm. Appendix: Use of nectar by the desert bee Caupolicana yarrowi (Colletidae) in cell construction / James H. Cane and Jerome G. Rozen, Jr.The first part of this publication, written by a group of participants in Bee Course 2018, results from the discovery of three nests of Caupolicana yarrowi (Cresson, 1875) at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The nests are deep with branching laterals that usually connect to large vertical brood cells by an upward turn before curving downward and attaching to the top of the chambers. This loop of the lateral thus seems to serve as a "sink trap," excluding rainwater from reaching open cells during provisioning. Although mature larvae had not yet developed, an egg of C. yarrowi was discovered floating on the provisions allowing an SEM examination of its chorion, the first such study for any egg of the Diphaglossinae. Larval food for this species at this site came from Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. (Solanaceae). Nests were parasitized by Triepeolus grandis (Friese, 1917) (Epeolini), which previously was known to attack only Ptiloglossa (Diphaglossinae: Caupolicanini). The subterranean nest cells of the desert bee Caupolicana yarrowi (Colletidae), which are enveloped by a casing of hardened soil that easily separates from the surrounding matrix, are discussed in a separate appendix. Chemical analysis revealed the casing to be rich in reducing sugars, indicating that the mother bee had regurgitated floral nectar onto the rough interior walls of the cell cavity before smoothing and waterproofing them. This novel use of nectar in nest construction is compared with that of other bee species that bring water to a nest site to soften soil for excavation

From paradox to pattern shift: Conceptualising liminal hotspots and their affective dynamics

This article introduces the concept of liminal hotspots as a specifically psychosocial and sociopsychological type of wicked problem, best addressed in a process-theoretical framework. A liminal hotspot is defined as an occasion characterised by the experience of being trapped in the interstitial dimension between different forms-of-process. The paper has two main aims. First, to articulate a nexus of concepts associated with liminal hotspots that together provide general analytic purchase on a wide range of problems concerning “troubled” becoming. Second, to provide concrete illustrations through examples drawn from the health domain. In the conclusion, we briefly indicate the sense in which liminal hotspots are part of broader and deeper historical processes associated with changing modes for the management and navigation of liminality

Beyond words: Aesthetic knowledge and knowing in design

Aesthetic knowledge comes from practitioners understanding the look, feel, smell, taste and sound of things. It is vital to work in many organizational contexts. In this paper, we explore aesthetic knowledge and knowing in organizations through detailed observation of design work in the architectural practice Edward Cullinan Architects. Through our research, we explore aesthetic knowledge in the context of architectural work, we unpack what it is, how it is generated, and how it is applied in design projects, shared between practitioners and developed at the level of the organization. Our analysis suggests that aesthetic knowledge plays an important part in organizational practice, not only as the symbolic context for work, but as an integral part of the work that people do. It suggests that aesthetic reflexivity, which involves an opening up and questioning of what is known, is experienced as part of practice as well as a `time out' from practice

Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma americanum Ticks, Tennessee and Georgia, USA

To determine the geographic distribution of the newly recognized human pathogen Rickettsia parkeri, we looked for this organism in ticks from Tennessee and Georgia, USA. Using PCR and sequence analysis, we identified R. parkeri in 2 Amblyomma americanum ticks. This rickettsiosis may be underdiagnosed in the eastern United States

The discursive construction of childhood and youth in AIDS interventions in Lesotho's education sector: Beyond global-local dichotomies

This is the post-print version of this article. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Environment and Planning D,Society and Space 28(5) 791 – 810, 2010, available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Pion.In southern Africa interventions to halt the spread of AIDS and address its social impacts are commonly targeted at young people, in many cases through the education sector. In Lesotho, education-sector responses to AIDS are the product of negotiation between a range of ‘local’ and ‘global’ actors. Although many interventions are put forward as government policy and implemented by teachers in schools, funding is often provided by bilateral and multilateral donors, and the international ‘AIDS industry’—in the form of UN agencies and international NGOs—sets agendas and makes prescriptions. This paper analyses interviews conducted with policy makers and practitioners in Lesotho and a variety of documents, critically examining the discourses of childhood and youth that are mobilised in producing changes in education policy and practice to address AIDS. Focusing on bursary schemes, life-skills education, and rights-based approaches, the paper concludes that, although dominant ‘global’ discourses are readily identified, they are not simply imported wholesale from the West, but rather are transformed through the organisations and personnel involved in designing and implementing interventions. Nonetheless, the connections through which these discourses are made, and children are subjectified, are central to the power dynamics of neoliberal globalisation. Although the representations of childhood and youth produced through the interventions are hybrid products of local and global discourses, the power relations underlying them are such that they, often unintentionally, serve a neoliberal agenda by depicting young people as individuals in need of saving, of developing personal autonomy, or of exercising individual rights.RGS-IB

Translating and transforming care: people with brain injury and caregivers filling in a disability claim form

This article examines how the Disability Living Allowance claim form, used in the United Kingdom to allocate £13 billion of disability benefits, translates and transforms disability and care. Twenty-two people with acquired brain injury and their main informal caregivers (n = 44) were video-recorded filling in the disability claim form. Participants disagreed on 26% of the questions, revealing two types of problems. Translation problems arose as participants struggled to provide categorical responses to ambiguous questions and were unable to report contextual variability in care needs or divergences of perception. Transformation problems arose as participants resisted the way in which the form positioned them, forcing them to conceptualize their relationship in terms of dependency and burden. The disability claim form co-opts claimants to translate care and disability into bureaucratically predefined categories, and it transforms the care relationship that it purports to document