In our attempt to investigate the basic active galactic nucleus (AGN) paradigm requiring a centrally located supermassive black hole (SMBH), a close to Keplerian accretion disk and a jet perpendicular to its plane, we have searched for radio continuum in galaxies with H2O megamasers in their disks. We observed 18 such galaxies with the Very Large Baseline Array in C band (5 GHz, ~2 mas resolution) and we detected 5 galaxies at 8 σ or higher levels. For those sources for which the maser data is available, the positions of masers and those of the 5 GHz radio continuum sources coincide within the uncertainties, and the radio continuum is perpendicular to the maser disk’s orientation within the position angle uncertainties.

Many accretion disks surrounding supermassive black holes in nearby AGN are observed to host 22 GHz water maser activity. We have analyzed single-dish 22 GHz spectra taken with the GBT to identify 32 such “Keplerian disk systems,” which we used to investigate maser excitation and explore the possibility of disk reverberation. Our results do not support a spiral shock model for population inversion in these disks, and we find that any reverberating signal propagating radially outwards from the AGN must constitute <10% of the total observed maser variability. Additionally, we have used ALMA to begin exploring the variety of sub-mm water megamasers that are also predicted, and in the case of the 321 GHz transition found, to be present in these accretion disks. By observing multiple masing transitions within a single system, we can better constrain the physical conditions (e.g., gas temperature and density) in the accretion disk.

The response of Grapholita molesta (Busck) males to three-component sex pheromone blends containing a 100% ratio of the major sex pheromone component, (Z)-8-dodecenyl acetate and a 10% ratio of (Z)-8-dodecenol, but with varying ratios of (E)-8-dodecenyl acetate (0.4, 5.4, 10.4, 30.4, and 100.1% E-blends) was tested with populations in eight stone and pome fruit orchards in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Traps baited with the 5.4% E-blend caught significantly more males than traps with any other blend with all populations. Significantly more males were caught in traps baited with the 10.4% E-blend than in traps with the remaining blends, except with the 0.4% E-blend in Turkey. Significant differences in male moth catches occurred between the other blends with the 0.4>30.4% E-blend, and the 30.4>100.1% E-blend. Male moth catches with the 100.1% E-blend only differed from the hexane control in Chile. No apparent differences were noted to these blends in populations collected from pome or stone fruits. Flight tunnel assays to synthetic blends with a subset of populations were similar to the field results, but the breadth of the most attractive E-blends was wider. Flight tunnel assays also demonstrated a high level of male–female cross-attraction among field-collected populations. Female gland extracts from field-collected populations did not show any significant variation in their three-component blends. The only exceptions in these assays were that long-term laboratory populations were less responsive and attractive, and produced different blend ratios of the two minor components than recently collected field populations.

The imaginary part of the Clausius-Mossotti factor, Ki, is crucial for quantitative particle/cell manipulation and characterization using travelling wave dielectrophoresis (twDEP) and electrorotation (ER). It can be measured rather easily using twDEP instead of using ER, as numerical calculation of the electric field and complicated devices are not needed for evaluating Ki using twDEP. However, the current single frequency twDEP method works only for particles/cells exhibiting negative dielectrophoresis (DEP), which is in general the case when cells are manipulated in physiological strength buffers with conductivity of order of 1S/m. In order to remove such a restriction, a modified twDEP method is proposed using dual frequency operation here capable of measuring the Ki spectra of particles/cells for the entire range of medium conductivity, irrespectively of whether the particles/cells exhibit positive or negative DEP. The success of the modified method relies on the adequate design of force balance between various forces in a designed micro channel, which was discussed in details. The method was validated, and demonstrated by measuring Ki spectra of three human cancer cells for medium conductivity from 0.01 ~ 1.2S/m. Both the method and the cell result find biomedical and other industrial applications.

The Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) survey aims to characterise the physical and chemical evolution of high-mass star-forming clumps. Exploiting the unique broad frequency range and on-the-fly mapping capabilities of the Australia Telescope National Facility Mopra 22 m single-dish telescope 1 , MALT90 has obtained 3′ × 3′ maps towards ~2 000 dense molecular clumps identified in the ATLASGAL 870 μm Galactic plane survey. The clumps were selected to host the early stages of high-mass star formation and to span the complete range in their evolutionary states (from prestellar, to protostellar, and on to $\mathrm{H\,{\scriptstyle {II}}}$ regions and photodissociation regions). Because MALT90 mapped 16 lines simultaneously with excellent spatial (38 arcsec) and spectral (0.11 km s−1) resolution, the data reveal a wealth of information about the clumps’ morphologies, chemistry, and kinematics. In this paper we outline the survey strategy, observing mode, data reduction procedure, and highlight some early science results. All MALT90 raw and processed data products are available to the community. With its unprecedented large sample of clumps, MALT90 is the largest survey of its type ever conducted and an excellent resource for identifying interesting candidates for high-resolution studies with ALMA.

A survey of the Milky Way disk and the Magellanic System at the wavelengths of the 21-cm atomic hydrogen (H i) line and three 18-cm lines of the OH molecule will be carried out with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. The survey will study the distribution of H i emission and absorption with unprecedented angular and velocity resolution, as well as molecular line thermal emission, absorption, and maser lines. The area to be covered includes the Galactic plane (|b| < 10°) at all declinations south of δ = +40°, spanning longitudes 167° through 360°to 79° at b = 0°, plus the entire area of the Magellanic Stream and Clouds, a total of 13 020 deg2. The brightness temperature sensitivity will be very good, typically σT≃ 1 K at resolution 30 arcsec and 1 km s−1. The survey has a wide spectrum of scientific goals, from studies of galaxy evolution to star formation, with particular contributions to understanding stellar wind kinematics, the thermal phases of the interstellar medium, the interaction between gas in the disk and halo, and the dynamical and thermal states of gas at various positions along the Magellanic Stream.

We demonstrate the Kerr-effect induced by the electric field of single-cycle THz pulses in the relaxor ferroelectrics potassium-tantalum niobate KTa1-xNbxO3 (KTN) and K1-yLiyTa1-xNbxO3 (KLTN). We find a slow orientational relaxation with a time constant of 6 ps in KTN with x=1.8% at room temperature, that decreases upon approaching the transition temperature.

The objective of this study was to address the impact of heterogeneity of infectious period and contagiousness on Salmonella transmission dynamics in dairy cattle populations. We developed three deterministic SIR-type models with two basic infected stages (clinically and subclinically infected). In addition, model 2 included long-term shedders, which were defined as individuals with low contagiousness but long infectious period, and model 3 included super-shedders (individuals with high contagiousness and long infectious period). The simulated dynamics, basic reproduction number (R0) and critical vaccination threshold were studied. Clinically infected individuals were the main force of infection transmission for models 1 and 2. Long-term shedders had a small impact on the transmission of the infection and on the estimated vaccination thresholds. The presence of super-shedders increases R0 and decreases the effectiveness of population-wise strategies to reduce infection, making necessary the application of strategies that target this specific group.

Al x Ga1- x N/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures grown by ammonia-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) are focused-ion-beam implanted with 300 keV Gd-ions at room temperature. The two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) of these HEMT structures is located 27 nm underneath the sample surface. At 4.2 K, current-voltage characteristics across implanted rectangles show that the structures remain conducting up to a Gd-dose of 1×1012 cm-2. Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is observed at T = 4.2 K for structures implanted with Gd, whose dose is 3×1011 cm-2. Measurements of AHE in the wide temperature range from 2.4 K to 300 K show that the magnetic ordering temperature of these structures is around 100 K. Therefore, these Gd-implanted HEMT structures containing the still conducting 2DEG, which is now embedded in a ferromagnetic semiconductor, open the possibility to polarize the electron spins.

We present an atlas of extragalactic water vapor masers. As of 2007, one hundred galaxies have been detected as sources of water vapor maser emission, two thirds of them discovered since 2003. Extragalactic water masers fall in at least three categories: those associated with nuclear jets or winds, those in starbursts or star-forming regions, and those in AGN accretion disks. While all maser systems offer the possibility of unique investigations into their physical environments, it is the disk masers that have been most aggressively sought because of their potential for use as precision distance indicators. Type 2 Seyfert and LINER galaxies are hosts to such disk masers. Insingle-dish spectra, disk masers are often revealed by the presence of high-velocity emission features (defined roughly by having anomalous velocities in excess of 200 km s−1). About one third of the extragalactic water masers detected to date show evidence of disk origin. Only a few galaxies are currently identified as jet-type or star-forming type. The remaining systems show only a few narrow doppler components, usually near the systemic velocity, and are difficult to categorize. These unclassified systems are detected toward AGNs and are also possibly associated with disks or winds near the nucleus. Detection rates in large maser surveys are typically 5% or less, but the observing efficiency and sensitivity of the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) allow for short integration times (typically 10 minutes to detect a narrow 30 mJy line) so many galaxies can be searched. Recently, GBT surveys targeting type 2 Seyfert galaxies identified by the SDSS have been the most productive, identifying 17 systems in surveys observed during 2006.

This paper briefly describes the principle of operation and science goals of the AMANDA high energy neutrino telescope located at the South Pole, Antarctica. Results from an earlier phase of the telescope, called AMANDA-BIO, demonstrate both reliable operation and the broad astrophysical reach of this device, which includes searches for a variety of sources of ultrahigh energy neutrinos: generic point sources, Gamma-Ray Bursts and diffuse sources. The predicted sensitivity and angular resolution of the telescope were confirmed by studies of atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds. We also report on the status of the analysis from AMANDA-II, a larger version with far greater capabilities. At this stage of analysis, details of the ice properties and other systematic uncertainties of the AMANDA-II telescope are under study, but we have made progress toward critical science objectives. In particular, we present the first preliminary flux limits from AMANDA-II on the search for continuous emission from astrophysical point sources, and report on the search for correlated neutrino emission from Gamma Ray Bursts detected by BATSE before decommissioning in May 2000. During the next two years, we expect to exploit the full potential of AMANDA-II with the installation of a new data acquisition system that records full waveforms from the in-ice optical sensors.