Evolutionary distinctiveness and status of the endangered Lake Eacham rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis)

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis) was declared extinct in the wild in the late 1980s after it disappeared from its only known locality, an isolated crater lake in northeast Queensland. Doubts have been raised about whether this taxon is distinct from surrounding populations of the eastern rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida splendida). We examined the evolutionary distinctiveness of M. eachamensis, obtained from captive stocks, relative to M. s. splendida through analysis of variation in mtDNA sequences, nuclear microsatellites, and morphometric characters Captive M. eachamensis had mtDNAs that were highly divergent from those in most populations of M. s. splendida. A broader geographic survey using RFLPs revealed some populations initially identified as M. s. splendida, that carried eachamensis mtDNA, whereas some others had mixtures of eachamensis and splendida mtDNA. The presence of eachamensis-like mtDNA in these populations could in principle be due to (1) sorting of ancestral polymorphisms, (2) introgression of M. eachamensis mtDNA into M. s. splendida, or (3) incorrect species boundaries, such that some populations currently assigned to M. s. splendida are M. eachamensis or are mixtures of the two species. These alternatives hypotheses were evaluated through comparisons of four nuclear microsatellite loci and morphometrics and meristics. In analyses of both data sets, populations of M. s. splendida with eachamensis mtDNA were more similar to captive M. eachamensis than to M. s. splendida with splendida mtDNA, supporting hypothesis 3. These results are significant for the management of M. eachamensis in several respects. First the combined molecular and morphological evidence indicates that M. eachamensis is a distinct species and a discrete evolutionarily significant unit worthy of conservation effort. Second it appears that the species boundary between M. eachamensis and M. s. splendida has been misdiagnosed such that there are extant populations on the Atherton Tableland as well as areas where both forms coexist. Accordingly we suggest that M. eachamensis be listed as vulnerable, rather than critical (or extinct in the wild). Third, the discovery of extant but genetically divergent populations of M. eachamensis on the Atherton Tableland broadens the options for future reintroductions to Lake Eacham.

Classical and quantum noise in electronic systems

We review the description of noise in electronic circuits in terms of electron transport. The Poisson process is used as a unifying principle. In recent years, much attention has been given to current noise in light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. In these devices, random events associated with electron transport are correlated with photon emission times, thus modifying both the current statistics and the statistics of the emitted light. We give a review of experiments in this area with special emphasis on the ability of such devices to produce subshot-noise currents and light beams. Finally we consider the noise properties of a class of mesoscopic devices based on the quantum tunnelling of an electron into and out of a bound state. We present a simple quantum model of this process which confirms that the current noise in such a device should be subshot-noise.

H-ras activation is an early event in the ptaquiloside-induced carcinogenesis: Comparison of acute and chronic toxicity in rats

Bracken fern (Pteridium spp.) produces cancer of the urinary bladder and oesophagus in grazing animals and is a suspected human carcinogen, The carcinogenic principle ptaquiloside (PT), when activated to a dienone (APT), forms DNA adducts which eventually leads to tumor. Two groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats were given a chronic dose of 3 mg APT weekly for 10 weeks either by intravenous (iv) tail vein or by intragastric (ig) route, A third group was given a weekly dose of 6 mg of APT for 3 weeks by the ig route corresponding to acute dosing. Both chronic iv and ig dosed animals showed ischemic tubular necrosis in the kidney but only iv dosed animals developed adenocarcinomas of the mammary glands. Acutely dosed ig animals produced apoptotic bodies in the liver, necrosis of blood cell precursors in the bone marrow and ischemic tubular necrosis in the kidney but they did not develop tumors, No mutations were found in the H-ras and p53 genes in the mammary glands of either the ig rats or the tumor-bearing iv rats. However, the mammary glands of a fourth group of rats, which received APT by iv and killed before tumor development, carried Pu to Pu and Pu to Py double mutations in codons 58 and 59 of H-ras. This study indicates that the route of administration plays a role in the nature of the disease expression from ptaquiloside exposure. In addition to confirming the role of APT in the PT-induced carcinogenesis our finding suggests that activation of H-ras is an early event in the PT-carcinogenesis model. (C) 1998 Academic Press.

Characterizing Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger correlations in nondegenerate parametric oscillation via phase measurements

We present a potential realization of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger all or nothing contradiction of quantum mechanics with local realism using phase measurement techniques in a simple photon number triplet. Such a triplet could be generated using nondegenerate parametric oscillation. [S0031-9007(98)07671-6].

Measurements on trapped laser-cooled ions using quantum computations

There are some interesting connections between the theory of quantum computation and quantum measurement. As an illustration, we present a scheme in which an ion trap quantum computer can be used to make arbitrarily accurate measurements of the quadrature phase variables for the collective vibrational motion of the ion. We also discuss some more general aspects of quantum computation and measurement in terms of the Feynman-Deutsch principle.

A framework to monitor sustainability in the grains industry

Community awareness of the sustainable use of land, water and vegetation resources is increasing. The sustainable use of these resources is pivotal to sustainable farming systems. However, techniques for monitoring the sustainable management of these resources are poorly understood and untested. We propose a framework to benchmark and monitor resources in the grains industry. Eight steps are listed below to achieve these objectives: (i) define industry issues; (ii) identify the issues through growers, stakeholder and community consultation; (iii) identify indicators (measurable attributes, properties or characteristics) of sustainability through consultation with growers, stakeholders, experts and community members, relating to: crop productivity; resource maintenance/enhancement; biodiversity; economic viability; community viability; and institutional structure; (iv) develop and use selection criteria to select indicators that consider: responsiveness to change; ease of capture; community acceptance and involvement; interpretation; measurement error; stability, frequency and cost of measurement; spatial scale issues; and mapping capability in space and through time. The appropriateness of indicators can be evaluated using a decision making system such as a multiobjective decision support system (MO-DSS, a method to assist in decision making from multiple and conflicting objectives); (v) involve stakeholders and the community in the definition of goals and setting benchmarking and monitoring targets for sustainable farming; (vi) take preventive and corrective/remedial action; (vii) evaluate effectiveness of actions taken; and (viii) revise indicators as part of a continual improvement principle designed to achieve best management practice for sustainable farming systems. The major recommendations are to: (i) implement the framework for resources (land, water and vegetation, economic, community and institution) benchmarking and monitoring, and integrate this process with current activities so that awareness, implementation and evolution of sustainable resource management practices become normal practice in the grains industry; (ii) empower the grains industry to take the lead by using relevant sustainability indicators to benchmark and monitor resources; (iii) adopt a collaborative approach by involving various industry, community, catchment management and government agency groups to minimise implementation time. Monitoring programs such as Waterwatch, Soilcheck, Grasscheck and Topcrop should be utilised; (iv) encourage the adoption of a decision making system by growers and industry representatives as a participatory decision and evaluation process. Widespread use of sustainability indicators would assist in validating and refining these indicators and evaluating sustainable farming systems. The indicators could also assist in evaluating best management practices for the grains industry.

El Nino and arboviral disease prediction

Recent El Nino events have stimulated interest in the development of modeling techniques to forecast extremes of climate and related health events. Previous studies have documented associations between specific climate variables (particularly temperature and rainfall) and outbreaks of arboviral disease. In some countries, such diseases are sensitive to Fl Nino. Here we describe a climate-based model for the prediction of Ross River virus epidemics in Australia. From a literature search and data on case notifications, we determined in which years there were epidemics of Ross River virus in southern Australia between 1928 and 1998. Predictor variables were monthly Southern Oscillation index values for the year of an epidemic or lagged by 1 year. We found that in southeastern states, epidemic years were well predicted by monthly Southern Oscillation index values in January and September in the previous year. The model forecasts that there is a high probability of epidemic Ross River virus in the southern states of Australia in 1999. We conclude that epidemics of arboviral disease can, at least in principle, be predicted on the basis of climate relationships.

Single-spin measurement using single-electron transistors to probe two-electron systems

We present a method for measuring single spins embedded in a solid by probing two-electron systems with a single-electron transistor (SET). Restrictions imposed by the Pauli principle on allowed two-electron states mean that the spin state of such systems has a profound impact on the orbital states (positions) of the electrons, a parameter which SET's are extremely well suited to measure. We focus on a particular system capable of being fabricated with current technology: a Te double donor in Si adjacent to a Si/SiO2, interface and lying directly beneath the SET island electrode, and we outline a measurement strategy capable of resolving single-electron and nuclear spins in this system. We discuss the limitations of the measurement imposed by spin scattering arising from fluctuations emanating from the SET and from lattice phonons. We conclude that measurement of single spins, a necessary requirement for several proposed quantum computer architectures, is feasible in Si using this strategy.

Development and standardization of the Self-regulation Skills Interview (SRSI): A new clinical assessment tool for acquired brain injury

The Self-regulation Skills Interview (SRSI) is a clinical tool designed to measure a range of metacognitive skills essential for rehabilitation planning, monitoring an individual's progress, and evaluating the outcome of treatment interventions. The results of the present study indicated that the SRSI has sound interrater reliability and test-retest reliability. A principle components analysis revealed three SRSI factors: Awareness, Readiness to Change, and Strategy Behavior. A comparison between a group of 61 participants with acquired brain injury (ABI) and a group of 43 non-brain-injured participants indicated that the participants with ABI had significantly lower levels of Awareness and Strategy Behavior, but that level of Readiness to Change was not significantly different between the two groups. The significant relationship observed between the SRSI factors and measures of neuropsychological functioning confirmed the concurrent validity of the scale and supports the value of the SRSI for post-acute assessment.

Neurons in the hilus region of the rat hippocampus are depleted in number by exposure to alcohol during early postnatal life

We have previously shown that exposing rats to a relatively high dose of ethanol during early postnatal life resulted in a deficit in spatial learning ability. This ability is controlled, at least in part, by the hippocampal formation. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether exposure of rats to ethanol during early postnatal life affected the number of specific neurons in the hippocampus. Wistar rats were exposed to a relatively high daily dose of ethanol between postnatal days 10 and 15 by placing them for 3 h each day in a chamber containing ethanol vapor. The blood ethanol concentration was about 430 mg/dl at the end of the exposure period. Groups of ethanol-treated (ET) rats, separation controls (SC), and mother-reared controls (MRC) were anesthetized and killed at 16 days of age by perfusion with phosphate-buffered glutaraldehyde (2.5%). The Cavalieri principle was used to determine the volume of various subdivisions of the hippocampal formation (CA1, CA2+CA3, hilus, and granule cell layer), and the physical disector method was used to estimate the numerical densities of neurons within each subdivision. The total number of neurons was calculated by multiplying estimates of the numerical density with the volume. There were, on average, about 441,000 granule cells in the granule cell layer and 153,000 to 177,000 pyramidal cells in both the CA1 and CA2+CA3 regions in all three treatment groups. In the hilus region, ET rats had about 27,000 neuronal cells. This was significantly fewer than the average of 38,000 such neurons estimated to be present in both MRC and SC animals. Thus, neurons in the hilus region may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of a high dose of ethanol exposure during early postnatal life. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Common chromosomal fragile site FRA16D sequence: identification of the FOR gene spanning FRA16D and homozygous deletions and translocation breakpoints in cancer cells

Fluorescence in situ hybridization of a tile path of DNA subclones has previously enabled the cytogenetic definition of the minimal DNA sequence which spans the FRA16D common chromosomal fragile site, located at 16q23.2. Homozygous deletion of the FRA16D locus has been reported in adenocarcinomas of stomach, colon, lung and ovary. We have sequenced the 270 kb containing the FRA16D fragile site and the minimal homozygously deleted region in tumour cells. This sequence enabled localization of some of the tumour cell breakpoints to regions which contain AT-rich secondary structures similar to those associated with the FRA10B and FRA16B rare fragile sites. The FRA16D DNA sequence also led to the identification of an alternatively spliced gene, named FOR (fragile site FRA16D oxidoreductase), exons of which span both the fragile site and the minimal region of homozygous deletion. In addition, the complete DNA sequence of the FRA16D-containing FOR intron reveals no evidence of additional authentic transcripts. Alternatively spliced FOR transcripts (FOR I, FOR II and FOR III) encode proteins which share N-terminal WW domains and differ at their C-terminus, with FOR III having a truncated oxidoreductase domain. FRA16D-associated deletions selectively affect the FOR gene transcripts. Three out of five previously mapped translocation breakpoints in multiple myeloma are also located within the FOR gene. FOR is therefore the principle genetic target for DNA instability at 16q23.2 and perturbation of FOR function is likely to contribute to the biological consequences of DNA instability at FRA16D in cancer cells.

Self-awareness and psychosocial functioning following acquired brain injury: An evaluation of a group support programme

This study investigated a group support programme designed to improve self-awareness deficits and psychosocial functioning in a group of chronic patients (N = 21) with acquired brain injury (ABI). The participants were on average 8.6 years (range: 1-36 years) post-injury and were seen at the Brain Injury Association of Queensland, Australia. The assessment of participants involved two standardised measures of intellectual self-awareness with collateral reports from relatives. The present study introduced a new measure called the Self-Regulation Skills Interview (SRSI) which assessed higher levels of self awareness and self-regulation skills. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using a standardised self-report measure. At baseline the group had a relatively high level of intellectual self-awareness regarding their deficits, a low to moderate level of self-regulation skills, and significant psychosocial impairment. The participants were involved in a 16-week group programme which involved components of cognitive rehabilitation, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and social skills training. A post-intervention assessment indicated that participants had significantly improved levels of self-regulation skills and psychosocial functioning. A 6-month follow-up assessment indicated that overall, participants had maintained the gains made during the programme. The important role of self-regulation skills is emphasised as the principle factor contributing to the maintenance of the gains observed.

Signatures of the pair-coherent state

We explore in detail the possibility of generating a pair-coherent state in the nondegenerate parametric oscillator when decoherence is included. Such states are predicted in the transient regime in parametric oscillation where the pump mode is adiabatically eliminated. Two specific signatures are examined to indicate whether the state of interest has been generated, the Schrodinger cat state-like signatures, and the fidelity. Solutions in a transient regime reveal interference fringes which are indicative of the formation of a Schrodinger cat state. The fidelity indicates the purity of our prepared state compared with the ideal pair-coherent state.

Opposite roles of O-2 in NO- and N2O-carbon reactions: An ab initio study

Previous experimental studies showed that the presence of O-2 greatly enhances NO-carbon reaction while it depresses N2O-carbon reaction on carbon surfaces. A popular explanation for the rate increase is that the addition of O-2 results in a large number of reactive carbon-oxygen complexes, and decomposition of these complexes produces many more active sites. The explanation for the latter is that excess O-2 simply blocks the active sites, thus reducing the rate of N2O-carbon reaction. The contradiction is that O-2 can also occupy active sites in NO-carbon reaction and produce active sites in N2O-carbon reduction. By using ab initio calculation, we find that the opposite roles of O-2 are caused by the different manners of N2O and NO adsorption on the carbon surface. In the presence of excess O-2, most Of the active sites are occupied by oxygen groups. In the competition for the remaining active sites, NO is more likely to chemisorb in the form of NO2 and NO chemisorption is mon thermodynamically favorable than O-2 chemisorption. By contrast, the presence of excess O-2 makes N2O chemisorption much less thermally stable either on the consecutive edge sites or edge sites isolated by semiquinone oxygen. A detailed analysis and discussion of the reaction mechanism of N-2 formation from NO- and N2O-carbon reaction in the presence of O-2 is presented in this paper.

Sudden drawdown and drainage of a horizontal aquifer

Drainage of a saturated horizontal aquifer following a sudden drawdown is reanalyzed using the Boussinesq equation. The effect of the finite length of the aquifer is considered in detail. An analytical approximation based on a superposition principle yields a very good estimate of the outflow when compared to accurate numerical solutions. An illustration of the new analytical approach to analyze basin-scale field data is used to demonstrate possible field applications of the new solution.