A Theoretical Investigation of the Ground and Low‐Lying Excited States of Butadiene Radical Cation

Results are presented from ab initio calculations on the ground and several low‐lying excited states of the butadiene radical cation. In particular, we have calculated geometries for the ground and several excited states at the multiconfiguration self‐consistent field level and characterized the planar stationary points. The vertical ionization potentials from the neutral molecule ground state and vertical excitation energies at the computed equilibrium geometry of the cation were also examined. A variety of methods were tested for the calculation of ionization potentials and excitation energies, including multiconfiguration self‐consistent field, multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction (with and without size‐consistency correction), and multireference averaged coupled pair functional theory. It is found that several of the excited states are strong mixtures of so‐called Koopmans’ and non‐Koopmans’ configurations. In most cases, good agreement is found with experiment, but the excitation energy for the second excited π state, a state which is multiconfigurational at zeroth order, is apparently overestimated at all levels of theory employed here

Investigating the source of Planck-detected AME: high resolution observations at 15 GHz

The Planck 28.5 GHz maps were searched for potential Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) regions on the scale of $\sim3^{\circ}$ or smaller, and several new regions of interest were selected. Ancillary data at both lower and higher frequencies were used to construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs), which seem to confirm an excess consistent with spinning dust models. Here we present higher resolution observations of two of these new regions with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Small Array (AMI SA) between 14 and 18 GHz to test for the presence of a compact ($\sim$10 arcmin or smaller) component. For AME-G107.1+5.2, dominated by the {\sc Hii} region S140, we find evidence for the characteristic rising spectrum associated with the either the spinning dust mechanism for AME or an ultra/hyper-compact \textsc{Hii} region across the AMI frequency band, however for AME-G173.6+2.8 we find no evidence for AME on scales of $\sim 2-10$ arcmin.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Advances in Astronomy AME Special Issu

Isolation and identification of Aspergillus spp. from brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) nocturnal houses in New Zealand

Aspergillosis, a disease caused by infection with Aspergillus spp., is a common cause of death in birds globally and is an irregular cause of mortality of captive kiwi (Apteryx spp.). Aspergillus spp. are often present in rotting plant material, including the litter and nesting material used for kiwi in captivity. The aim of this study was to survey nocturnal kiwi houses in New Zealand to assess the levels of Aspergillus currently present in leaf litter. Samples were received from 11 nocturnal kiwi houses from throughout New Zealand, with one site supplying multiple samples over time. Aspergillus was isolated and quantified by colony counts from litter samples using selective media and incubation temperatures. Isolates were identified to the species level by amplification and sequencing of ITS regions of the ribosomal. Aspergillus spp. were recovered from almost every sample; however, the levels in most kiwi houses were below 1000 colony-forming units (CFU)/g of wet material. The predominant species was Aspergillus fumigatus, with rare occurrences of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, and Aspergillus parasiticus. Only one site had no detectable Aspergillus. The limit of detection was around 50 CFU/g wet material. One site was repeatedly sampled as it had a high loading of A. fumigatus at the start of the survey and had two recent clinical cases of aspergillosis diagnosed in resident kiwi. Environmental loading at this site with Aspergillus spp. reduced but was not eliminated despite changes of the litter. The key finding of our study is that the background levels of Aspergillus spores in kiwi nocturnal houses in New Zealand are low, but occasional exceptions occur and are associated with the onset of aspergillosis in otherwise healthy birds. The predominant Aspergillus species present in the leaf litter was A. fumigatus, but other species were also present. Further research is needed to confirm the optimal management of leaf litter to minimize Aspergillus spore counts. However, in the interim, our recommendations are that leaf litter should be freshly collected from areas of undisturbed forest areas and spread immediately after collection, without interim storage

Using cm observations to constrain the abundance of very small dust grains in Galactic cold cores

In this analysis, we illustrate how the relatively new emission mechanism, known as spinning dust, can be used to characterize dust grains in the interstellar medium. We demonstrate this by using spinning dust emission observations to constrain the abundance of very small dust grains (a ≲ 10 nm) in a sample of Galactic cold cores. Using the physical properties of the cores in our sample as inputs to a spinning dust model, we predict the expected level of emission at a wavelength of 1 cm for four different very small dust grain abundances, which we constrain by comparing to 1 cm CARMA observations. For all of our cores, we find a depletion of very small grains, which we suggest is due to the process of grain growth. This work represents the first time that spinning dust emission has been used to constrain the physical properties of interstellar dust grains

Self-reported physical functional health predicts future bone mineral density in EPIC-Norfolk cohort.

Using a large population sample from the UK, we found that self-reported physical functional health may be used to predict future bone mineral density especially in women. It may be a useful and inexpensive way to identify individuals before further decline in bone mineral density and the risk of fracture. PURPOSE: Self-reported physical functional health may predict bone mineral density (BMD) and thus provide a method to identify people at risk of low BMD. In this study, the association between the 36-item short-form questionnaire (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) score and future BMD in participants aged 40-79 years enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk study was investigated. METHODS: Associations between a participant's SF-36 PCS score, measured 18 months after baseline health check, and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA-a measure of BMD), measured 2-5 years after baseline, were examined using sex-specific linear and logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, BMI, medical co-morbidities, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: Data from 10,203 participants, mean (standard deviation (SD)) age 61.5 (8.9) years (57.4% women), were analysed from 1993 to 2000. For every five points lower PCS score in men and women, there was approximately a 0.5 dB/MHz lower mean BUA. In women, a PCS score of less than one standard deviation (1SD) below the sex-specific mean was associated with having a low BUA (< 1SD below sex-specific mean) and very low BUA (< 2.5SD below the sex specific mean); odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) 1.53 (1.24, 1.88) and 8.28 (2.67, 25.69), respectively. The relationship was lesser so in men; corresponding OR (95% CI) were 1.34 (0.91, 1.98) and 2.57 (0.72, 9.20), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported physical functioning predicts BMD in an apparently healthy population, particularly in women. This could potentially provide an inexpensive, simple screening tool to identify individuals at risk of osteoporosis

The efficacy of electrical stunning of New Zealand rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and freshwater crayfish (Paranephrops zealandicus) using the Crustastun™

Large numbers of decapod crustacea are farmed and harvested globally for human consumption. Growing evidence for the capacity of these animals to feel pain, and therefore to suffer, has led to increased concern for their welfare, including at slaughter. In New Zealand, decapod crustacea are protected by animal welfare legislation. There is a requirement that all farmed or commercially caught animals of these species killed for commercial purposes are first rendered insensible. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Crustastun™, a commercially available bench-top electrical stunner, in two commercially important New Zealand crustacean species; the rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and kōura (freshwater crayfish [Paranephrops zealandicus]). Animals were anaesthetised via intramuscular injection of lidocaine and instrumented to record the electrical activity of the nervous system, prior to being stunned according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stunning efficacy was determined by analysing neural activity and observing behaviour post stunning. All ten P. zealandicus and three J. edwardsii appeared to be killed outright by the stun. Of the remaining J. edwardsii, six exhibited some degree of muscle tone and/or slow unco-ordinated movements of the limbs or mouthparts after stunning, although there was no recovery of spontaneous or evoked movements. One J. edwardsii was unable to be stunned successfully, likely due to its very large size (1.76 kg). None of the successfully stunned animals showed any evidence of return of awareness in the five minutes following stunning. It was concluded that the Crustastun™ is an acceptable method for killing P. zealandicus and for stunning all but the largest J. edwardsii

AMI-LA Observations of the SuperCLASS Super-cluster

We present a deep survey of the SuperCLASS super-cluster - a region of sky known to contain five Abell clusters at redshift $z\sim0.2$ - performed using the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager (AMI) Large Array (LA) at 15.5$~$GHz. Our survey covers an area of approximately 0.9 square degrees. We achieve a nominal sensitivity of $32.0~\mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$ toward the field centre, finding 80 sources above a $5\sigma$ threshold. We derive the radio colour-colour distribution for sources common to three surveys that cover the field and identify three sources with strongly curved spectra - a high-frequency-peaked source and two GHz-peaked-spectrum sources. The differential source count (i) agrees well with previous deep radio source count, (ii) exhibits no evidence of an emerging population of star-forming galaxies, down to a limit of 0.24$~$mJy, and (iii) disagrees with some models of the 15$~$GHz source population. However, our source count is in agreement with recent work that provides an analytical correction to the source count from the SKADS Simulated Sky, supporting the suggestion that this discrepancy is caused by an abundance of flat-spectrum galaxy cores as-yet not included in source population models.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

The highest frequency detection of a radio relic : 16 GHz AMI observations of the 'Sausage' cluster

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. © 2014 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.We observed the cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager at 16 GHz and present the first high radio-frequency detection of diffuse, non-thermal cluster emission. This cluster hosts a variety of bright, extended, steep-spectrum synchrotron-emitting radio sources, associated with the intracluster medium, called radio relics. Most notably, the northern, Mpc-wide, narrow relic provides strong evidence for diffusive shock acceleration in clusters. We detect a puzzling, flat-spectrum, diffuse extension of the southern relic, which is not visible in the lower radio-frequency maps. The northern radio relic is unequivocally detected and measures an integrated flux of 1.2 ± 0.3 mJy. While the low-frequency (<2 GHz) spectrum of the northern relic is well represented by a power law, it clearly steepens towards 16 GHz. This result is inconsistent with diffusive shock acceleration predictions of ageing plasma behind a uniform shock front. The steepening could be caused by an inhomogeneous medium with temperature/density gradients or by lower acceleration efficiencies of high energy electrons. Further modelling is necessary to explain the observed spectrum.Peer reviewe

A single fungal strain was the unexpected cause of a mass aspergillosis outbreak in the world's largest and only flightless parrot.

Kākāpō are a critically endangered species of parrots restricted to a few islands off the coast of New Zealand. Kākāpō are very closely monitored, especially during nesting seasons. In 2019, during a highly successful nesting season, an outbreak of aspergillosis affected 21 individuals and led to the deaths of 9, leaving a population of only 211 kākāpō. In monitoring this outbreak, cultures of aspergillus were grown, and genome sequenced. These sequences demonstrate that, very unusually for an aspergillus outbreak, a single strain of aspergillus caused the outbreak. This strain was found on two islands, but only one had an outbreak of aspergillosis; indicating that the strain was necessary, but not sufficient, to cause disease. Our analysis provides an understanding of the 2019 outbreak and provides potential ways to manage such events in the future