The Milky Way bar/bulge in proper motions: a 3D view from VIRAC & Gaia

© 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We have derived absolute proper motions of the entire Galactic bulge region from VIRAC and Gaia. We present these as both integrated on-sky maps and, after isolating standard candle red clump (RC) stars, as a function of distance using RC magnitude as a proxy. These data provide a new global, 3-dimensional view of the Milky Way barred bulge kinematics. We find a gradient in the mean longitudinal proper motion, $\mu_l$, between the different sides of the bar, which is sensitive to the bar pattern speed. The split RC has distinct proper motions and is colder than other stars at similar distance. The proper motion correlation map has a quadrupole pattern in all magnitude slices showing no evidence for a separate, more axisymmetric inner bulge component. The line-of-sight integrated kinematic maps show a high central velocity dispersion surrounded by a more asymmetric dispersion profile. $\sigma_{\mu_l} / \sigma_{\mu_b}$ is smallest, $\sim1.1$, near the minor axis and reaches $\sim1.4$ near the disc plane. The integrated $$ pattern signals a superposition of bar rotation and internal streaming motion, with the near part shrinking in latitude and the far part expanding. To understand and interpret these remarkable data, we compare to a made-to-measure barred dynamical model, folding in the VIRAC selection function to construct mock maps. We find that our model of the barred bulge, with a pattern speed of 37.5 $\mathrm{km \, s^{-1} \, kpc^{-1}}$, is able to reproduce all observed features impressively well. Dynamical models like this will be key to unlocking the full potential of these data.Peer reviewe

Four Decades of the Journal \u3ci\u3eLaw and Human Behavior\u3c/i\u3e: A Content Analysis

Although still relatively young, the journal Law and Human Behavior (LHB) has amassed a publication history of more than 1300 full-length articles over four decades. Yet, no systematic analysis of the journal has been done until now. The current research coded all full-length articles to examine trends over time, predictors of the number of Google Scholar citations, and predictors of whether an article was cited by a court case. The predictors of interest included article organization, research topics, areas of law, areas of psychology, first-author gender, first-author country of institutional affiliation, and samples employed. Results revealed a vast and varied field that has shown marked diversification over the years. First authors have consistently become more diversified in both gender and country of institutional affiliation. Overall, the most common research topics were jury/judicial decision-making and eyewitness/memory, the most common legal connections were to criminal law and mental health law, and the most common psychology connection was to social-cognitive psychology. Research in psychology and law has the potential to impact both academic researchers and the legal system. Articles published in LHB appear to accomplish both

Intercomparison of standard resolution and high resolution TOVS soundings with radiosonde, lidar, and surface temperature/humidity data

One objective of the FIRE Cirrus IFO is to characterize relationships between cloud properties inferred from satellite observations at various scales to those obtained directly or inferred from very high resolution measurements. Satellite derived NOAA-9 high and standard resolution Tiros Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) soundings are compared with directly measured lidar, surface temperature, humidity, and vertical radiosonde profiles associated with the Ft. McCoy site. The results of this intercomparison should be useful in planning future cloud experiments

Gas injection into second mode instability on a 7 degree cone at Mach 7

The influence of injection gas type on second mode instabilities is researched on a 7 degree half-angle cone at Mach 7. The wind tunnel model of 594.5 mm length with a sharp nosetip is fitted with a porous aluminium patch that spans 60 degree in azimuth and 25 mm in axial length. Four different gases are injected into the boundary layer flow, namely nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium and argon. Three different tunnel test conditions with different unit Reynolds numbers provide a variety of amplification levels of the second mode instability at the injection location. Frequency data is obtained using PCB sensors and the density boundary layer thickness is inferred from high speed z-type schlieren images. Early analysis of initial data shows a drop in second mode frequency and second mode power behind the injector. If transition is not caused the effect weakens further downstream. Higher blowing ratios caused a stronger decrease in frequency and also reduced the power in the frequency band more. Larger blowing ratios are required at lower unit Reynolds numbers to achieve the same effect. The observed boundary layer thickness, as inferred from schlieren images, followed comparable dynamics. A larger blowing ratio of the same coolant gas lead to more thickening, while Helium had a significantly stronger total effect than carbon dioxide. Preliminary results suggest that helium injection at a moderate rate causes the second mode peak to be disproportionally damped and its bandpower to be significantly reduced. A strongly simplified analytical model suggest that the mechanical increase in boundary layer thickness alone may not be sufficient to explain all observed outcomes

Antibacterial assessment of TMPyP-incorporated p(HEMA-co-MMA)

IntroductionLight-triggered therapy to treat infectious diseases is called photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PACT).PACT has been widely shown to have a lethal effect against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites and it impacts different biofilms (Garcez et al., 2007) TMPyP (tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin) is a porphyrin frequently used in PACT, and exerts its phototoxic effect upon both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, via two reactions First, Type II reaction is considered the major pathway of photodynamic therapy. The second pathway, Type I reaction, involves transferring electrons/protons to a substrate and releasing a radical that can react with oxygen to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Brady et al., 2007). This study aims to develop a novel surface loading with TMPyP capable of reducing the adherence of bacteria.Materials and methodsTMPyP (tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin) IS the photosensitizer loaded into p(HEMA-co-MMA)hydrogel. S. aureus ATCC 29213 and E. coli ATCC 700928 which are required for the microbiological assessments. The LED light array activates TMPyP-incorporated p(HEMA-co-MMA). TMPyP was incorporated onto the surface of the p(HEMA-co-MMA) copolymer by swell-encapsulation shrink(SES) technique. Samples were prepared by loading them in different TMPyP soaking solutions for 2min. First, a TMPyP stock solution was prepared (2.18 mg/ml). Next, further dilutions to the appropriate concentration were made using PBS (at pH 7.4). S. aureus ATCC 29213 and E. coli ATCC 700928 represent gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and are used for assessing adherence percentages.ResultsThe percentage adherence (%) compared to dark control of S. aureus and E. coli when TMPyP-incorporated and unincorporated p(HEMA-co-MMA) were illuminated for 120 min using a whiteLED source providing a power of 5.33 mW/cm2, integrated between 450–700 nm, or in dark condition has been presented in Figure 1.DiscussionTMPyP incorporated copolymers (7.33x10-4 M and7.33x10-5 M) significantly reduced the percentage adherence of S. aureus and E. coli compared to dark control illustrating that these materials are less likely to colonize. This antimicrobial behaviour for hydrogels loaded with 7.33x10-4 M of TMPyP shows significant promise for the development of biomaterials to prevent the colonization of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and prevent biofilm formation.ConclusionOverall, the attachment of TMPyP into the surface of p(HEMA-co-MMA) copolymers resulted in a material with antimicrobial behaviour

Aircraft/island/ship/satellite intercomparison: Preliminary results from July 16, 1987

The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) objective of validating and improving satellite algorithms for inferring cloud properties from satellite radiances was one of the central motivating factors in the design of the specific field experimental strategies used in the July, 1987 marine stratocumulus intensive field observations (IFO). The in situ measuring platforms were deployed to take maximum advantage of redundant measurements (for intercomparison of the in situ sensors) and to provide optimal coverage within satellite images. One of the most ambitious of these strategies was the attempt to coordinate measurements from San Nicolas Island (SNI), the R/V Pt. Sur, the meteorological aircraft, and the satellites. For the most part, this attempt was frustrated by flight restrictions in the vicinity of SNI. The exception was the mission of July 16, 1987, which achieved remarkable success in the coordination of the platforms. This presentation concerns operations conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Electra and how data from the Electra can be integrated with and compared to data from the Pt. Sur, SNI, and the satellites. The focus is on the large-scale, integrated picture of the conditions on July 16 from the perspective of the Electra's flight operations

Investigating hookworm genomes by comparative analysis of two Ancylostoma species

Background Hookworms, infecting over one billion people, are the mostly closely related major human parasites to the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Applying genomics techniques to these species, we analyzed 3,840 and 3,149 genes from Ancylostoma caninum and A. ceylanicum. Results Transcripts originated from libraries representing infective L3 larva, stimulated L3, arrested L3, and adults. Most genes are represented in single stages including abundant transcripts like hsp-20 in infective L3 and vit-3 in adults. Over 80% of the genes have homologs in C. elegans, and nearly 30% of these were with observable RNA interference phenotypes. Homologies were identified to nematode-specific and clade V specific gene families. To study the evolution of hookworm genes, 574 A. caninum / A. ceylanicum orthologs were identified, all of which were found to be under purifying selection with distribution ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous amino acid substitutions similar to that reported for C. elegans / C. briggsae orthologs. The phylogenetic distance between A. caninum and A. ceylanicum is almost identical to that for C. elegans / C. briggsae. Conclusion The genes discovered should substantially accelerate research toward better understanding of the parasites' basic biology as well as new therapies including vaccines and novel anthelmintics

Casimir Force between a Dielectric Sphere and a Wall: A Model for Amplification of Vacuum Fluctuations

The interaction between a polarizable particle and a reflecting wall is examined. A macroscopic approach is adopted in which the averaged force is computed from the Maxwell stress tensor. The particular case of a perfectly reflecting wall and a sphere with a dielectric function given by the Drude model is examined in detail. It is found that the force can be expressed as the sum of a monotonically decaying function of position and of an oscillatory piece. At large separations, the oscillatory piece is the dominant contribution, and is much larger than the Casimir-Polder interaction that arises in the limit that the sphere is a perfect conductor. It is argued that this enhancement of the force can be interpreted in terms of the frequency spectrum of vacuum fluctuations. In the limit of a perfectly conducting sphere, there are cancellations between different parts of the spectrum which no longer occur as completely in the case of a sphere with frequency dependent polarizability. Estimates of the magnitude of the oscillatory component of the force suggest that it may be large enough to be observable.Comment: 18pp, LaTex, 7 figures, uses epsf. Several minor errors corrected, additional comments added in the final two sections, and references update

Developing an online environmental landscape certification program

Landscape maintenance is a large, rapidly growing, and unregulated small business sector South Carolina (SC). Beyond a pesticides applicators license, no experience or training is currently required in SC. A Lever-Initiative grant was awarded to develop an online Environmental Landscape Certification Program to help landscape professionals meet client expectations and protect SC natural resources. A survey was conducted to identify stakeholder buy-in including content, cost, and preference on learning style. In order to increase adoption by contractors and technicians, specific strategic areas throughout SC were selected to spearhead the program. Stakeholder meetings were held in March to identify barriers to success, fine-tune logistics and develop critical program content. Modules in development give detailed information on pertinent landscaping practices. This certification should help to increase the economic viability of the SC landscape industry while helping to protect natural resources

Neurons Responsive to Global Visual Motion Have Unique Tuning Properties in Hummingbirds

Neurons in animal visual systems that respond to global optic flow exhibit selectivity for motion direction and/or velocity. The avian lentiformis mesencephali (LM), known in mammals as the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT), is a key nucleus for global motion processing [1–4]. In all animals tested, it has been found that the majority of LM and NOT neurons are tuned to temporo-nasal (back-to-front) motion [4–11]. Moreover, the monocular gain of the optokinetic response is higher in this direction, compared to naso-temporal (front-to-back) motion [12, 13]. Hummingbirds are sensitive to small visual perturbations while hovering, and they drift to compensate for optic flow in all directions [14]. Interestingly, the LM, but not other visual nuclei, is hypertrophied in hummingbirds relative to other birds [15], which suggests enhanced perception of global visual motion. Using extracellular recording techniques, we found that there is a uniform distribution of preferred directions in the LM in Anna’s hummingbirds, whereas zebra finch and pigeon LM populations, as in other tetrapods, show a strong bias toward temporo-nasal motion. Furthermore, LM and NOT neurons are generally classified as tuned to ‘‘fast’’ or ‘‘slow’’ motion [10, 16, 17], and we predicted that most neurons would be tuned to slow visual motion as an adaptation for slow hovering. However, we found the opposite result: most hummingbird LM neurons are tuned to fast pattern velocities, compared to zebra finches and pigeons. Collectively, these results suggest a role in rapid responses during hovering, as well as in velocity control and collision avoidance during forward flight of hummingbirds