IAU Commission 6 “Astronomical Telegrams” had a single business meeting during Honolulu General Assembly of the IAU. It took place on Tuesday, 11 August 2015. The meeting was attended by Hitoshi Yamaoka (President), Daniel Green (Director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, CBAT, via Skype), Steven Chesley (JPL), Paul Chodas (JPL), Alan Gilmore (Canterbury University), Shinjiro Kouzuma (Chukyo University), Paolo Mazzali (Co-Chair of the Supernova Working Group), Elena Pian (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Marion Schmitz (chair IAU Working Group Designations + NED), David Tholen (University of Hawaii), Jana Ticha (Klet Observatory), Milos Tichy (Klet Observatory), Giovanni Valsecchi (INAF\slash Italy), Gareth Williams (Minor Planet Center). Apologies: Nikolai Samus (General Catalogue of Variable Stars, GCVS).

IAU Commission 6 “Astronomical Telegrams” had a single business meeting during the Beijing General Assembly of the IAU. It took place on Friday, August 24, 2012. The meeting was attended by five C6 members (N. N. Samus; D. W. E. Green; S. Nakano; J. Ticha; and H. Yamaoka). Also present was Prof. F. Genova as a representative of the IAU Division B. She told the audience about the current restructuring of IAU Commissions and Divisions and consequences for the future of C6.

Poor fertility is a major problem on dairy farms. On-farm studies indicate than pregnancy rates to first service have declined from approximately 55% between 1975 and 1982 to 39% between 1995 and 1998 (Royal et al., 2000), illustrating a decline of approximately 1% per year during this period. The cause is multifactorial and influenced by many factors including genetics, management and nutrition. Previous studies have reported improved fertility through nutritional modification in early lactation (Gong et al., 2002). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutritional strategy in early lactation on reproductive performance.

We present the results from a suite of N-body simulations of the tidal stripping of two-component dwarf galaxies comprising some stars and dark matter. We show that recent kinematic data from the local group dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies suggests that dSph galaxies must be sufficiently massive ($10^9$–$10^{10}$M$_\odot$) that tidal stripping is of little importance for the stars. We discuss the implications of these massive dSph galaxies for cosmology and galaxy formation.

Cadmium Sulfide/Cadmium Telluride (CdS/CdTe) devices are subject to stress under various biases. Striking differences are observed with the Current-Voltage, and Capacitance- Voltage measurements for cells degraded at 100°C in dark under forward (FB), open circuit (OC), and reverse (RB) biases. RB stress provides the greatest degradation, and the apparent doping density profile shows anomalous behavior at the zero bias depletion width. Thin films of CdS, both doped and undoped, with Cu are characterized with photoluminescence (PL). The PL spectra from the CdS films are correlated with the CdS spectra from stressed devices, revealing that Cu signatures in the CdS layer of stressed devices are a function of stress biasing. Device modeling using AMPS-1D produces IV curves similar to that in RB degraded devices, by only varying the trap level concentration in the CdS layer.

Transparent conducting oxides (TCO) have relatively low mobilities, which limit their performance optically and electrically, and which limit the techniques that may be used to explore their band structure via the effective mass. We have used transport theory to directly measure the density-of-states effective mass and other fundamental electronic properties of TCO films. The Boltzmann transport equation may be solved to give analytic solutions to the resistivity, Hall, Seebeck, and Nernst coefficients. In turn, these may be solved simultaneously to give the density-of-states effective mass, the Fermi energy relative to either the conduction or valence band, and a scattering parameter, s, which characterizes the relaxation time dependence on the carrier energy and can serve as a signature of the dominate scattering mechanism. The little-known Nernst effect is essential for determining the scattering parameter and, thereby, the effective scattering mechanism(s). We constructed equipment to measure these four transport coefficients on the same sample over a temperature range of 30 – 350 K for thin films deposited on insulating substrates. We measured the resistivity, Hall, Seebeck, and Nernst coefficients for rf magnetron-sputtered aluminum-doped zinc oxide. We found that the effective mass for zinc oxide increases from a minimum value of 0.24me, up to a value of 0.47me, at a carrier density of 4.5 × 1020 cm−3, indicating a nonparabolic conduction energy band. In addition, our measured density-of-states effective values are nearly equal to conductivity effective mass values estimated from the plasma frequency, denoting a single energy minimum with a nearly spherical, constant-energy surface. The measured scattering parameter, mobility vs. temperature, along with Seebeck coefficient values, characterize ionized impurity scattering in the ZnO:AI and neutral impurity scattering in the undoped material.

Direct fabrication of metal near-net shapes from a computer model typically involves melting and solidification, which can cause high residual stresses, undesirable phases, poor microstructures, rough surface finishes, warpage, and other problems. This paper describes a new technology, still under development, that might be used to directly fabricate solid, near-fulldensity, free-form shapes of many metals, and even some composite materials, at or near room temperature without melting and solidification. In this process, tentatively called Cold Spray Direct Fabrication (CSDF), powder particles in a supersonic jet of compressed gas impact a solid surface with sufficient energy to cause plastic deformation and consolidation with the underlying material by a process thought to be analogous to explosive welding. Material deposition by cold spray methods has already been successfully demonstrated by several investigators. This paper presents results of an experimental study to investigate the effects of selected process variables on cold spray particle velocities. In addition, a key technical barrier to the CSDF concept is focusing the spray stream down to dimensions that would permit a useful level of part detail, while still providing practical build rates. This paper presents results of initial research to develop an aerodynamic lens that may provide the required particle stream focusing.

Background. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that low smooth pursuit gain in schizophrenia is related to an abnormality in motion perception.

Methods. The subjects were 19 schizophrenics treated with clozapine and 19 controls. In addition to smooth pursuit and motion perception paradigms, sustained attention was also assessed using a continuous performance task (CPT).

Results. In the patient group, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between smooth pursuit gain and motion perception threshold (r =−0·60, P<0·01). This relationship was not secondary to attention deficits as assessed by the CPT.

Conclusions. Our results are consistent with the notion that the smooth pursuit gain deficit is related to a deficit in motion perception rather than in attention. Brain area V5 (also referred to as ‘MT’ in macaque), located in the parieto-occipital region, is known to be critically important both for motion perception and gain. Thus, our results point to an abnormality in this area in schizophrenia.

In St Mary's Church, Barbados, there is a monument to a curate who died in 1851, and ‘whose labours as a clergyman of the Church of England for fifty years were distinguished by talent, energy & faithfulness. His efforts were unceasing to make known the truths of the Gospel to all classes in this island. At an early period in his ministry he led the way in rescuing the then slave population from spiritual bondage and darkness. In this work of Christian love he was ever resolute, singlemin-ded, Sc uncompromising’. Mr Harte's claim to our interest is further increased when we learn that he was once prosecuted by the vestry of his parish for, among other things, teaching slaves ‘doctrines of equality inconsistent with their obedience to their masters’ and for comparing the white inhabitants of his parish to those of Sodom and Gomorrah, somewhat to the advantage of the latter.