Blue crab shedding plants

Cool weather and two northeast storms, in April and May, are believed by Rappahannock River crab fishermen and shedders to have caused a three to four week delay in crabs reaching the early peeler stages of development. Fishermen are still setting crab pound nets (=peeler traps, fykes). Fishermen recall that prior to 12-15 years ago the first run of peeler crabs occurred on the full moon of late April or early May. Recently the runs have been later, but never as late as this year

OH(1720 MHz) Masers As Signposts of Molecular Shocks

We present observations of molecular gas made with the 15-m James Clark Maxwell Telescope toward the sites of OH(1720 MHz) masers in three supernova remnants: W28, W44 and 3C391. Maps made in the 12CO J=3-2 line reveal that the OH masers are preferentially located along the edges of thin filaments or clumps of molecular gas. There is a strong correlation between the morphology of the molecular gas and the relativistic gas traced by synchrotron emission at centimeter wavelengths. Broad CO line widths (dV=30-50 km/s) are seen along these gaseous ridges, while narrow lines are seen off the ridges. The ratio of H2CO line strengths is used to determine temperatures in the broad-line gas of 80 K, and the 13CO J=3-2 column density suggests densities of 10^4-10^5 cm{-3}. These observations support the hypothesis that the OH(1720 MHz) masers originate in post-shock gas, heated by the passage of a supernova remnant shock through dense molecular gas. From the observational constraints on the density, velocity and magnetic field we examine the physical properties of the shock and discuss the shock-production of OH. These OH(1720 MHz) masers are useful ``signposts'', which point to the most promising locations to study supernova remnant/molecular cloud interactions.Comment: ApJ (in press

Bodyspace at the pub: sexual orientations and organizational space

In this article we argue that sexuality is not only an undercurrent of service environments, but is integral to the way that these workspaces are experienced and negotiated. Through drawing on Sara Ahmed’s (2006a) ‘orientation’ thesis, we develop a concept of ‘bodyspace’ to suggest that individuals understand, shape and make meaning of work spaces through complex sexually-orientated negotiations. Presenting analysis from a study of UK pubs, we explore bodyspace in the lived experience of workplace sexuality through three elements of orientation: background; bodily dwelling; and lines of directionality. Our findings show how organizational spaces afford or mitigate possibilities for particular bodies, which simultaneously shape expectations and experiences of sexuality at work. Bodyspace therefore provides one way of exposing the connection between sexual ‘orientation’ and the lived experience of service sector work

van der Kruit to Spitzer: A New Look at the FIR-Radio Correlation

We present an initial look at the far infrared-radio correlation within the star-forming disks of four nearby, nearly face-on galaxies (NGC~2403, NGC~3031, NGC~5194, and NGC~6946). Using {\it Spitzer} MIPS imaging and WSRT radio continuum data, we are able to probe variations in the logarithmic 70~$\mu$m/22~cm ($q_{70}$) flux density ratios across each disk at sub-kpc scales. We find general trends of decreasing $q_{70}$ with declining surface brightness and with increasing radius. We also find that the dispersion in $q_{70}$ within galaxies is comparable to what is measured {\it globally} among galaxies at around 0.2 dex. We have also performed preliminary phenomenological modeling of cosmic ray electron (CR$e^{-}$) diffusion using an image-smearing technique, and find that smoothing the infrared maps improves their correlation with the radio maps. The best fit smoothing kernels for the two less active star-forming galaxies (NGC~2403 and NGC~3031) have much larger scale-lengths than that of the more active star-forming galaxies (NGC~5194 and NGC~6946). This difference may be due to the relative deficit of recent CR$e^{-}$ injection into the interstellar medium (ISM) for the galaxies having largely quiescent disks.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, To appear in the proceedings of the "Island Universes: Structure and Evolution of Disk Galaxies" conference held in Terschelling, Netherlands, July 2005, ed. R. de Jong (Springer: Dordrecht

Estimation of Direct and Maternal Breed Effects for Prediction of Expected Progeny Differences for Birth and Weaning Weights in Three Multibreed Populations

Direct and maternal breed effects on birth and 200-d weights were estimated for nine parental breeds (Hereford [H], Angus [A], Braunvieh [B], Limousin [L], Charolais [C], Simmental [S], Gelbvieh [G], Red Poll [R], and Pinzgauer [P]) that contributed to three composite populations (MARC I = ¼B, ¼C, ¼L, ⅛H, ⅛A; MARC II = ¼G, ¼S, ¼H, ¼A; and MARC III = ¼R, ¼P, ¼H, ¼A). Records from each population, the composite plus pure breeds and crosses used to create each composite, were analyzed separately. The animal model included fixed effects of contemporary group (birth year-sex-dam age), proportions of individual and maternal heterosis and breed inheritance as covariates, and random effects of additive direct genetic ( a ) and additive maternal genetic (m) with covariance (a,m), permanent environment, and residual. Sampling correlations among estimates of genetic fixed effects were large, especially between direct and maternal heterosis and between direct and maternal breed genetic effects for the same breed, which were close to &#;1. This resulted in some large estimates with opposite sign and large standard errors for direct and maternal breed genetic effects. Data from a diallel experiment with H, A, B, and R breeds, from grading up and from a top cross experiment were required to separate breed effects satisfactorily into direct and maternal genetic effects. Results indicate that estimation of direct and maternal breed effects needed to predict hybrid EPD for multibreed populations from field data may not be possible. Information from designed crossbreeding experiments will need to be incorporated in some way

A Spitzer IRAC Census of the Asymptotic Giant Branch Populations in Local Group Dwarfs. II. IC 1613

We present Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC photometry of the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy IC 1613. We compare our 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 micron photometry with broadband optical photometry and find that the optical data do not detect 43% and misidentify an additional 11% of the total AGB population, likely because of extinction caused by circumstellar material. Further, we find that a narrowband optical carbon star study of IC 1613 detects 50% of the total AGB population and only considers 18% of this population in calculating the carbon to M-type AGB ratio. We derive an integrated mass-loss rate from the AGB stars of 0.2-1.0 x 10^(-3) solar masses per year and find that the distribution of bolometric luminosities and mass-loss rates are consistent with those for other nearby metal-poor galaxies. Both the optical completeness fractions and mass-loss rates in IC 1613 are very similar to those in the Local Group dwarf irregular, WLM, which is expected given their similar characteristics and evolutionary histories.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 26 pages, 10 figures, version with high-resolution figures available at: http://webusers.astro.umn.edu/~djackson

Perceptions About The ISO 9000 (2000) Quality System Standard Revision And Its Value: The Dutch Experience

The aim of the research reported in this paper is to assess the relative value of the 2000 version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management system standards in comparison to the 1994 version. 773 organisations in the Netherlands which have all been certified to the ISO 9000 standard were surveyed (a response rate of 21.4%) and of these only 22 had not yet converted to the 2000 version of the standard. Amongst the major findings are an overall positive perception of the value of the ISO 9000 (2000) quality system standard and a consistently higher appreciation of the 2000 version compared to the 1994 version

Generating multimedia presentations: from plain text to screenplay

In many Natural Language Generation (NLG) applications, the output is limited to plain text – i.e., a string of words with punctuation and paragraph breaks, but no indications for layout, or pictures, or dialogue. In several projects, we have begun to explore NLG applications in which these extra media are brought into play. This paper gives an informal account of what we have learned. For coherence, we focus on the domain of patient information leaflets, and follow an example in which the same content is expressed first in plain text, then in formatted text, then in text with pictures, and finally in a dialogue script that can be performed by two animated agents. We show how the same meaning can be mapped to realisation patterns in different media, and how the expanded options for expressing meaning are related to the perceived style and tone of the presentation. Throughout, we stress that the extra media are not simple added to plain text, but integrated with it: thus the use of formatting, or pictures, or dialogue, may require radical rewording of the text itself