Discovery of a pupping site and nursery for critically endangered green sawfish Pristis zijsron.

A pilot study targeting sawfishes in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia, which is undergoing a major expansion in human activity, was conducted using gillnets during April and October 2011 in the Ashburton Estuary and adjacent mangrove creeks. Catch per unit effort was greatest in the Ashburton Estuary in October, due to an influx of green sawfish Pristis zijsron pups, and was orders of magnitude higher than previously reported for any Pristidae; the study sites contained P. zijsron up to almost 3 m total length. This study identified the first pupping site for P. zijsron in Western Australia, and the most southerly known nursery area for the species in Australian waters, and is potentially the most important globally.

An extremely energetic cosmic ray observed by a surface detector array.

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles from extraterrestrial sources, with the highest-energy events thought to come from extragalactic sources. Their arrival is infrequent, so detection requires instruments with large collecting areas. In this work, we report the detection of an extremely energetic particle recorded by the surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment. We calculate the particle's energy as [Formula: see text] (~40 joules). Its arrival direction points back to a void in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Possible explanations include a large deflection by the foreground magnetic field, an unidentified source in the local extragalactic neighborhood, or an incomplete knowledge of particle physics.

Spectral behavior of a terahertz quantum-cascade laser.

In this paper, the spectral behavior of two terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) operating both pulsed and cw is characterized using a heterodyne technique. Both lasers emitting around 2.5 THz are combined onto a whisker contact Schottky diode mixer mounted in a corner cube reflector. The resulting difference frequency beatnote is recorded in both the time and frequency domain. From the frequency domain data, we measure the effective laser linewidth and the tuning rates as a function of both temperature and injection current and show that the current tuning behavior cannot be explained by temperature tuning mechanisms alone. From the time domain data, we characterize the intrapulse frequency tuning behavior, which limits the effective linewidth to approximately 5 MHz.

Twin studies of affective illness.

In a summary of the major twin studies of affective illness, there are significant differences between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) concordance rates for both unipolar and bipolar illness, indicating the importance of genetic factors in the etiology of affective illness. However, since 28% of MZ twins are discordant for bipolar illness and 60% of MZ twins are discordant for unipolar illness, environmental factors are important as well. In addition, there is a significant difference between unipolar and bipolar concordance for MZ twins (although not for DZ twins). This supports other evidence that unipolar and bipolar illness are separate entities, and it suggests the possibility that genetic factors are more important in the occurrence of bipolar illness than in unipolar illness.

Psychophysiological correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans.

We measured event-related brain potential (ERP) component amplitudes and heart rate (HR) to four intensities of randomly presented tones in two matched groups of drug-free male Vietnam veterans: 12 patients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 6 normal combat veterans. Subjects were evaluated with structured diagnostic interviews and anxiety and depression rating scales. We found a significant group X intensity interaction for P2 peak amplitude at CZ. Subjects were classified as augmenters or reducers: positive P2 slopes as a function of stimulus intensity implying augmentation and negative slopes implying reduction. Nine of 12 PTSD subjects were reducers (sensitivity of 75%) and 5 of 6 normals were augmenters (specificity of 83.3%). By the third and fourth second following tone onset, the mean HR of PTSD subjects increased more than twice that of the normals. HR change scores were significantly responsive to the manipulation of stimulus intensity and to the difference between our two groups. P2 reduction differentiates Vietnam veterans with combat-related PTSD from combat veteran controls, and PTSD subjects are more autonomically arousable than their combat veteran peers.

Peer review of group therapy: Washington, D.C., 1972-1977.

The author discusses the evolution of psychiatric peer review in Washington, D.C. In its first six years (1972-1977) the Washington Psychiatric Society Peer Review Committee evaluated 146 cases, 23 (16%) of which focused on group therapy. Eight of these cases (35%) were partially or fully denied. Most of the cases involved outpatients with neuroses or character disorders who were treated in combined group and individual therapy. The author presents specific cases illustrating group therapy issues and peer review decisions. He discusses the benefits and liabilities of peer review and emphasizes its importance as a flexible, clinically sensitive, confidential, and meaningful process.

A psychodynamically oriented group training program for early childhood care givers.

A training program for enhancing the care-giving qualities of child-care workers was developed and implemented through semistructured groups for family day-care mothers. The authors describe the theoretical orientation, program goals, and the outcome for trainees and trainers. Most impressive was the group process and content, which indicated the effectiveness of psychodynamically oriented program for care givers--people who ordinarly would not be expected to integrate such an experience successfully.

Microfabricated microneedles: a novel approach to transdermal drug delivery.

Although modern biotechnology has produced extremely sophisticated and potent drugs, many of these compounds cannot be effectively delivered using current drug delivery techniques (e.g., pills and injections). Transdermal delivery is an attractive alternative, but it is limited by the extremely low permeability of skin. Because the primary barrier to transport is located in the upper 10-15 micron of skin and nerves are found only in deeper tissue, we used a reactive ion etching microfabrication technique to make arrays of microneedles long enough to cross the permeability barrier but not so long that they stimulate nerves, thereby potentially causing no pain. These microneedle arrays could be easily inserted into skin without breaking and were shown to increase permeability of human skin in vitro to a model drug, calcein, by up to 4 orders of magnitude. Limited tests on human subjects indicated that microneedles were reported as painless. This paper describes the first published study on the use of microfabricated microneedles to enhance drug delivery across skin.

Diode laser absorption sensors for gas-dynamic and combustion flows.

Recent advances in room-temperature, near-IR and visible diode laser sources for tele-communication, high-speed computer networks, and optical data storage applications are enabling a new generation of gas-dynamic and combustion-flow sensors based on laser absorption spectroscopy. In addition to conventional species concentration and density measurements, spectroscopic techniques for temperature, velocity, pressure and mass flux have been demonstrated in laboratory, industrial and technical flows. Combined with fibreoptic distribution networks and ultrasensitive detection strategies, compact and portable sensors are now appearing for a variety of applications. In many cases, the superior spectroscopic quality of the new laser sources compared with earlier cryogenic, mid-IR devices is allowing increased sensitivity of trace species measurements, high-precision spectroscopy of major gas constituents, and stable, autonomous measurement systems. The purpose of this article is to review recent progress in this field and suggest likely directions for future research and development. The various laser-source technologies are briefly reviewed as they relate to sensor applications. Basic theory for laser absorption measurements of gas-dynamic properties is reviewed and special detection strategies for the weak near-IR and visible absorption spectra are described. Typical sensor configurations are described and compared for various application scenarios, ranging from laboratory research to automated field and airborne packages. Recent applications of gas-dynamic sensors for air flows and fluxes of trace atmospheric species are presented. Applications of gas-dynamic and combustion sensors to research and development of high-speed flows aeropropulsion engines, and combustion emissions monitoring are presented in detail, along with emerging flow control systems based on these new sensors. Finally, technology in nonlinear frequency conversion, UV laser materials, room-temperature mid-IR materials and broadly tunable multisection devices is reviewed to suggest new sensor possibilities.