Dependence of the neodymium random laser threshold on the diameter of the pumped spot

We experimentally studied the dependence of the threshold energy density E/sub th//S in Nd/sub 0.5/La/sub 0.5/Al/sub 3/(BO/sub 3/)/sub 4/ random laser on the diameter of the pumped spot d and found that at d/spl ges/130/spl mu/m, E/sub th//S is proportional to 1/d+const. This functional dependence is different from the one commonly expected in the case of diffusion, /spl prop/1/d/sup 2/+const. However, the obtained experimental dependence does not mean the failure of the diffusion model. Calculating the mean photon's residence time /spl tau//sub res//sup p/ (which photons, making their diffusion-like random walks, spend inside the gain volume) as the function of d and further assuming that E/sub th//S/spl prop/(/spl tau//sup p//sub res/)/sup -1/, we predicted the experimentally obtained functional dependence, /spl prop/1/d+const. The major difference between our model and that of and was in the boundary conditions.     

Outcomes related to burn-related child abuse: a case series

Nationally, approximately 10% of child abuse cases involve burning, and up to 20% of pediatric burn admissions involve abuse or neglect. Historically, these cases have been more difficult to prosecute than nonburn cases for multiple reasons. Between 1995 and 1999, there were 285 pediatric (under 18) patients admitted to the Spectrum Health Regional Burn Center. Of these cases, 18 of the alleged perpetrators were legally investigated for suspicion of child abuse, and 7 received punitive sentences. We found that men tended to be prosecuted and convicted more often than women and that cases involving multiple instances of injury tended to be prosecuted more frequently. Similarly, we found that cases involving more severe injuries tended to be prosecuted more successfully. There are many psychological and social factors involved in handling burn abuse cases. However, by successful prosecution of these crimes, victims tend to fare better both socially and psychologically.     

89-GHz fT room-temperature silicon MOSFETs

The authors report the implementation of deep-submicrometer Si MOSFETs that at room temperature have a unity-current-gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 89 GHz, for a drain-to-source bias of 1.5 V, a gate-to-source bias of 1 V, a gate oxide thickness of 40 Å, and a channel length of 0.15 μm. The fabrication procedure is mostly conventional, except for the e-beam defined gates. The speed performance is achieved through an intrinsic transit time of only 1.8 ps across the active device region     

Attachment to the therapist.

This study examines the ways in which therapists function as attachment figures for patients. Patients in long-term psychoanalytic therapy answered questionnaires about their feelings about their therapists and their closest personal relationships. Components of attachment prominent in the therapeutic relationships were looking up to the therapist and feeling the therapist was responsive to emotional needs. Stronger attachment to therapists was associated with greater frequency and duration of therapy, a stronger working alliance, and greater security of the patients' attachment style, as well as with the gender of the patient and therapist. Using attachment theory to understand psychoanalytic relationships emphasizes the unique importance of a therapist to a patient and can offer new perspectives on both therapeutic and attachment processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical applications of fundus reflection densitometry

Fundus reflection densitometry or retinal densitometry is a non-invasive technique to examine the visual photopigment kinetics in living eyes. The technique is based on the comparison of the reflected light from the fundus in a fully light adapted eye (when all visual photopigment has been bleached) with the reflected light following complete dark adaptation (when the retina contains its maximum amount of visual photopigment). The technique provides a measure of the density of visual photopigment, its time constant of regeneration, its distribution and spectral characteristics if measured at a series of wavelengths. Fundus reflection densitometry in the human eye was introduced 40 years ago. Presently, it is the only available technique from which direct and objective insight can be obtained into visual photopigment. This knowledge is particularly relevant in eyes where abnormalities of photoreceptor function are suspected. This paper summarizes the current knowledge of fundus reflection densitometry in the diseased and in the aging human retina, gathered over the last 30 years. Considerable improvements of the instrument for clinical purposes have been obtained, and are also discussed.     

New advances in the treatment of infertility in women with ovarian failure

Ovarian failure is heterogeneous in etiology and may occur at various points in a woman's life. As such, it may interfere with fertility. Clinical presentation ranges from complete cessation of menses to oligomenorrhea to the continuation of menses with elevated gonadotropins. Various therapies have been used in an attempt to induce fertility, including sex steroids and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists to suppress circulating gonadotropin alone or in combination with estrogen or gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists to induce ovulation. Corticosteroids are also used to overcome autoimmunity. Randomized therapeutic trials are rare and fail to demonstrate any significant improvement in ovulation and pregnancy rates. Donor oocytes have demonstrated high success rates and have proven to be useful in patients with both premature ovarian failure and natural menopause. Pregnancies have been initiated and maintained in women through 60 years of age. Thus, for those accepting of the technique, oocyte donation appears to be the treatment of choice for hypergonadotropic hypogonadism.