854 research outputs found
On board sampling of the rockfish and lingcod commerical passenger fishing vessel industry in northern and central California, May 1987 to December 1991
From May 1987 to June 1990 and from August to December 1991
Fishery Technicians sampled catches on board 690 Commercial
Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) trips targeting rockfish and lingcod from the general port areas of Fort Bragg, Bodega Bay, San Francisco, Monterey, and Morro Bay. Data are presented for species composition by port area, year, and month, for catch-per-unit-effort, mean length, and length frequency of lingcod and the 18 most frequently observed rockfish species, and for trends in fishing effort related to fishing time, depth, and distance from port. Total catch estimates are presented based on unadjusted logbook records, logbook records adjusted by sampling data and compliance rates, and effort data from a marine recreational fishing statistics survey.
Average catch of kept fish per angler day was 11.8 and average catch of kept fish per angler hour was 3.7. A trend of an increasing frequency of trips to deep (>40 fm) locations was observed in the Bodega Bay, San Francisco, and Monterey areas from 1988 to 1990-91. No trend was evident relative to trip frequency and distance from port.
A total of 74 species was observed caught during the study.
Rockfishes comprised 88.5% to 97.9% by number of the observed catch by port area. The five most frequently observed species were chilipepper, blue, yellowtail, and widow rockfishes, and bocaccio, with lingcod ranking seventh.
In general, mean length and catch-per-angler-hour of sport
fishes caught by CPFV anglers varied considerably and did not show steady declines during the study period. However, port-specific areas of major concern were identified for
chilipepper, lingcod, and black rockfish, and to a lesser
extent brown, canary, vermilion, yelloweye, olive, and widow rockfish. These areas of concern included steadily declining catch rate, steadily declining mean length, and a high percentage of sexually immature fish in the sampled-catch.
Recent sampling of the commercial hook-and-line fishery in
northern and central California indicated that most species of rockfishes taken by CPFV anglers are also harvested commercially. (261pp.
A Comparison of quality of life outcomes following different techniques of mastoid surgery
- Background: Mastoid surgery carried out to treat chronic otitis media (COM) can lead to an improvement in objective and subjective measures post-operatively. This study aims to look at the subjective change in quality of life using the Glasgow Benefit Inventory relative to the type of mastoid surgery undertaken.
- Method: A retrospective multi-centre postal questionnaire survey of 157 patients who underwent mastoid surgery from 2008-2012.
- Results: 83 questionnaire responses were received from patients having the surgery at 3 different hospitals (a response rate of 53%).
57% of patients had a Glasgow benefit Score of 0 indicating no change in quality of life post-operatively. 35% scored +50 indicating a significant improvement. The only significant difference found was that women fare worse after surgery than men.
- Conclusions: The choice of mastoid surgery technique should be determined by clinical need and surgeon preference. There is no improvement in quality of life for most patients
Using airborne LiDAR Survey to explore historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean
This article describes what appears to be the first archaeological application of airborne LiDAR survey to historic-era landscapes in the Caribbean archipelago, on the island of Montserrat. LiDAR is proving invaluable in extending the reach of traditional pedestrian survey into less favorable areas, such as those covered by dense neotropical forest and by ashfall from the past two decades of active eruptions by the SoufriĂšre Hills volcano, and to sites in localities that are inaccessible on account of volcanic dangers. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of the research: first, the importance of ongoing, real-time interaction between the LiDAR analyst and the archaeological team in the field; and second, the advantages of exploiting the full potential of the three-dimensional LiDAR point cloud data for purposes of the visualization of archaeological sites and features
The prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in a random sample from the Australian population
Objective: Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in older adults, and may increase the risk of cognitive impairment. The distribution of vitamin B12 insufficiency in younger age groups is less studied. This study aims to assess the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency (<156ρmol/L) and subclinical low-normal levels (156-250ρmol/L) in a large, random sample of the Australian population across the adult life span. Methods: We examined serum vitamin B12 levels in a random sample of 1,085 men and 1,125 women aged 20-97 years between 1994 and 2006; in the Barwon Statistical Division, a regional area in south eastern Australia that is representative of the socioeconomic status of the Australian population. Results: The age-standardised prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in this cohort of men and women was 3.6%. Subclinical low-normal vitamin B12 levels (156-250ρmol/L) were found in 26%. Serum vitamin B12 levels declined with age among men (p-value <0.001) and were lower in men than women (p-value <0.001). Vitamin B12 levels were higher among supplement users (8.0% of the cohort). Conclusions: Vitamin B12 levels decline with age, and have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. Early intervention by diet education or supplement use to address this age-associated decline in vitamin levels may be an effective strategy to prevent decline in a significant segment of the population. Such intervention may need to start in mid-life (from 50-years of age) before the onset age-related decline in vitamin B12 levels
Pulsar Timing with the Parkes Radio Telescope for the Fermi Mission
We report here on two years of timing of 168 pulsars using the Parkes radio
telescope. The vast majority of these pulsars have spin-down luminosities in
excess of 10^34 erg/s and are prime target candidates to be detected in
gamma-rays by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. We provide the ephemerides
for the ten pulsars being timed at Parkes which have been detected by Fermi in
its first year of operation. These ephemerides, in conjunction with the
publicly available photon list, can be used to generate gamma-ray profiles from
the Fermi archive. We will make the ephemerides of any pulsars of interest
available to the community upon request. In addition to the timing ephemerides,
we present the parameters for 14 glitches which have occurred in 13 pulsars,
seven of which have no previously known glitch history. The Parkes timing
programme, in conjunction with Fermi observations, is expected to continue for
at least the next four years.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASA.12 page
Formation of black-hole X-ray binaries in globular clusters
Inspired by the recent identification of the first candidate BH-WD X-ray
binaries, where the compact accretors may be stellar-mass black hole candidates
in extragalactic globular clusters, we explore how such binaries could be
formed in a dynamical environment. We provide analyses of the formation rates
via well known formation channels like binary exchange and physical collisions
and propose that the only possibility to form BH-WD binaries is via coupling
these usual formation channels with subsequent hardening and/or triple
formation. Indeed, we find that the most important mechanism to make a BH-WD
X-ray binary from an initially dynamically formed BH-WD binary is triple
induced mass transfer via the Kozai mechanism. Even using the most optimistic
estimates for the formation rates, we cannot match the observationally inferred
production rates if black holes undergo significant evaporation from the
cluster or form a completely detached subcluster of black holes. We estimate
that at least 1% of all formed black holes, or presumably 10% of the black
holes present in the core now, must be involved in interactions with the rest
of the core stellar population.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Ap
Fermi LAT observations of the Geminga pulsar
We report on the \textit{Fermi}-LAT observations of the Geminga pulsar, the
second brightest non-variable GeV source in the -ray sky and the first
example of a radio-quiet -ray pulsar. The observations cover one year,
from the launch of the satellite through 2009 June 15. A data sample of
over 60,000 photons enabled us to build a timing solution based solely on
rays. Timing analysis shows two prominent peaks, separated by = 0.497 0.004 in phase, which narrow with increasing energy. Pulsed
rays are observed beyond 18 GeV, precluding emission below 2.7 stellar
radii because of magnetic absorption. The phase-averaged spectrum was fitted
with a power law with exponential cut-off of spectral index = (1.30
0.01 0.04), cut-off energy = (2.46 0.04 0.17)
GeV and an integral photon flux above 0.1 GeV of (4.14 0.02 0.32)
10 cm s. The first uncertainties are statistical
and the second are systematic. The phase-resolved spectroscopy shows a clear
evolution of the spectral parameters, with the spectral index reaching a
minimum value just before the leading peak and the cut-off energy having maxima
around the peaks. Phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals that pulsar emission is
present at all rotational phases. The spectral shape, broad pulse profile, and
maximum photon energy favor the outer magnetospheric emission scenarios.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journal. Corresponding authors: Denis Dumora
([email protected]), Fabio Gargano ([email protected]),
Massimiliano Razzano ([email protected]
Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations of the Crab Pulsar and Nebula
We report on gamma-ray observations of the Crab Pulsar and Nebula using 8
months of survey data with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The high
quality light curve obtained using the ephemeris provided by the Nancay and
Jodrell Bank radio telescopes shows two main peaks stable in phase with energy.
The first gamma-ray peak leads the radio main pulse by (281 \pm 12 \pm 21) mus,
giving new constraints on the production site of non-thermal emission in pulsar
magnetospheres. The improved sensitivity and the unprecedented statistics
afforded by the LAT enable precise measurement of the Crab Pulsar spectral
parameters: cut-off energy at E_c = (5.8 \pm 0.5 \pm 1.2) GeV, spectral index
of Gamma = (1.97 \pm 0.02 \pm 0.06) and integral photon flux above 100 MeV of
(2.09 \pm 0.03 \pm 0.18) x 10^{-6} cm^{-2} s^{-1}. The first errors represent
the statistical error on the fit parameters, while the second ones are the
systematic uncertainties. Pulsed gamma-ray photons are observed up to ~ 20 GeV
which precludes emission near the stellar surface, below altitudes of around 4
to 5 stellar radii in phase intervals encompassing the two main peaks. The
spectrum of the nebula in the energy range 100 MeV - 300 GeV is well described
by the sum of two power-laws of indices Gamma_{sync} = (3.99 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.08)
and Gamma_{IC} = (1.64 \pm 0.05 \pm 0.07), corresponding to the falling edge of
the synchrotron and the rising edge of the inverse Compton components,
respectively. This latter, which links up naturally with the spectral data
points of Cherenkov experiments, is well reproduced via inverse Compton
scattering from standard Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) nebula models, and does not
require any additional radiation mechanism.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publications in Astrophysical
Journa
PSR J1907+0602: A Radio-Faint Gamma-Ray Pulsar Powering a Bright TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula
We present multiwavelength studies of the 106.6 ms gamma-ray pulsar PSR
J1907+06 near the TeV source MGRO J1908+06. Timing observations with Fermi
result in a precise position determination for the pulsar of R.A. =
19h07m547(2), decl. = +06:02:16(2) placing the pulsar firmly within the TeV
source extent, suggesting the TeV source is the pulsar wind nebula of PSR
J1907+0602. Pulsed gamma-ray emission is clearly visible at energies from 100
MeV to above 10 GeV. The phase-averaged power-law index in the energy range E >
0.1 GeV is = 1.76 \pm 0.05 with an exponential cutoff energy E_{c} = 3.6 \pm
0.5 GeV. We present the energy-dependent gamma-ray pulsed light curve as well
as limits on off-pulse emission associated with the TeV source. We also report
the detection of very faint (flux density of ~3.4 microJy) radio pulsations
with the Arecibo telescope at 1.5 GHz having a dispersion measure DM = 82.1 \pm
1.1 cm^{-3}pc. This indicates a distance of 3.2 \pm 0.6 kpc and a
pseudo-luminosity of L_{1400} ~ 0.035 mJy kpc^2. A Chandra ACIS observation
revealed an absorbed, possibly extended, compact <(4 arcsec) X-ray source with
significant non-thermal emission at R.A. = 19h07m54.76, decl. = +06:02:14.6
with a flux of 2.3^{+0.6}_{-1.4} X 10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. From archival
ASCA observations, we place upper limits on any arcminute scale 2--10 keV X-ray
emission of ~ 1 X 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. The implied distance to the
pulsar is compatible with that of the supernova remnant G40.5-0.5, located on
the far side of the TeV nebula from PSR J1907+0602, and the S74 molecular cloud
on the nearer side which we discuss as potential birth sites
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