System and Method for Multi-Wavelength Optical Signal Detection

The system and method for multi-wavelength optical signal detection enables the detection of optical signal levels significantly below those processed at the discrete circuit level by the use of mixed-signal processing methods implemented with integrated circuit technologies. The present invention is configured to detect and process small signals, which enables the reduction of the optical power required to stimulate detection networks, and lowers the required laser power to make specific measurements. The present invention provides an adaptation of active pixel networks combined with mixed-signal processing methods to provide an integer representation of the received signal as an output. The present invention also provides multi-wavelength laser detection circuits for use in various systems, such as a differential absorption light detection and ranging system

Macrofossils and pollen representing forests of the pre-Taupo volcanic eruption (c. 1850 yr BP) era at Pureora and Benneydale, central North Island, New Zealand.

Micro- and macrofossil data from the remains of forests overwhelmed and buried at Pureora and Benneydale during the Taupo eruption (c. 1850 conventional radiocarbon yr BP) were compared. Classification of relative abundance data separated the techniques, rather than the locations, because the two primary clusters comprised pollen and litter/wood. This indicates that the pollen:litter/wood within-site comparisons (Pureora and Benneydale are 20 km apart) are not reliable. Plant macrofossils represented mainly local vegetation, while pollen assemblages represented a combination of local and regional vegetation. However, using ranked abundance and presence/absence data, both macrofossils and pollen at Pureora and Benneydale indicated conifer/broadleaved forest, of similar forest type and species composition at each site. This suggests that the forests destroyed by the eruption were typical of mid-altitude west Taupo forests, and that either data set (pollen or macrofossils) would have been adequate for regional forest interpretation. The representation of c. 1850 yr BP pollen from the known buried forest taxa was generally consistent with trends determined by modern comparisons between pollen and their source vegetation, but with a few exceptions. A pollen profile from between the Mamaku Tephra (c. 7250 yr BP) and the Taupo Ignimbrite indicated that the Benneydale forest had been markedly different in species dominance compared with the forest that was destroyed during the Taupo eruption. These differences probably reflect changes in drainage, and improvements in climate and/or soil fertility over the middle Holocene

Late Holocene palynology and palaeovegetation of tephra-bearing mires at Papamoa and Waihi Beach, western Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand.

The vegetation history of two mires associated with Holocene dunes near the western Bay of Plenty coast, North Island, New Zealand, is deduced from pollen analysis of two cores. Correlation of airfall tephra layers in the peats, and radiocarbon dates, indicate that the mires at Papamoa and Waihi Beach are c. 4600 and c. 2900 conventional radiocarbon years old, respectively. Tephras used to constrain the chronology of the pollen record include Rotomahana (1886 AD), Kaharoa (700 yr B.P.), Taupo (Unit Y; 1850 yr B.P.), Whakaipo (Unit V; 2700 yr B.P.), Stent (Unit Q; 4000 yr B.P.), Hinemaiaia (Unit K; 4600 yr B.P.), and reworked Whakatane (c. 4800 yr B.P.) at Papamoa, and Kaharoa and Taupo at Waihi Beach. Peat accumulation rates at Papamoa from 4600 - 1850 yr B.P. range from 0.94 to 2.64 mm/yr (mean 1.37 mm/yr). At Waihi Beach, from 2900 yr B.P. - present day, they range from 0.11 to 0.21 mm/yr (mean 0.20 mm/yr). Peat accumulation at both sites was slowest from 1850 to 700 yr B.P., suggesting a drier overall climate during this interval. At both sites, the earliest organic sediments, which are underlain by marine or estuarine sands, yield pollen spectra indicating salt marsh or estuarine environments. Coastal vegetation communities declined at both sites, as sea level gradually fell or the coast prograded, and were eventually superseded by a low moor bog at Papamoa, and a mesotrophic swamp forest at Waihi Beach. These differences, and the marked variation in peat accumulation rates, probably reflect local hydrology and are unlikely to have been climatically controlled. The main regional vegetation during this period was mixed northern conifer-angiosperm forest. Kauri (Agathis australis) formed a minor component of these forests, but populations of this tree have apparently not expanded during the late Holocene at these sites, which are near its present southern limit. Occasional shortlived forest disturbances are detectable in these records, in particular immediately following the deposition of Taupo Tephra. However, evidence for forest clearance during the human era is blurred by the downward dislocation of modern adventi ve pollen at these sites, preventing the clear differentiation of the Polynesian and European eras

Impaired cardiac autonomic nervous control after cardiac bypass surgery for congenital heart disease

We undertook a study to describe changes in heart rate variability (HRV) postoperatively in children undergoing cardiac bypass surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). HRV was recorded for a 1-h period preoperatively and a 24-h period postoperatively in 20 children with CHD. We found a highly significant reduction in HRV in both time and frequency domain indices compared to preoperative values, which was sustained throughout the 24-h study period. There was a negative correlation between both time and frequency domain HRV measurements and length of cardiac bypass. HRV is reduced postoperatively and correlates with cardiac bypass time. Length of cardiac bypass time may be one mechanism whereby HRV is reduced following surgery

“He's Still the Winner in My Mind”: Maintaining the Collective Identity in Sport through Social Creativity and Group Affirmation

Social Creativity and Group Affirmation are two strategies by which individuals that identify with a sporting activity, team, group or individual may protect that sense of identification in light of negative events. This paper explores the use of such strategies through examining reactions to doping allegations surrounding Lance Armstrong to explain how members of two brand communities (one based on the brand of Armstrong as cyclist and the other on the brand of Armstrong as cancer survivor) maintain a sense of allegiance. Through undertaking a netnographic approach, six strategies were identified by members of these communities, three of which could be identified as Social Creativity Strategies (Lance Armstrong as “superhuman”, the notion of cycling as a ‘level playing field’, Armstrong as scapegoat) and three as Group Affirmation (Armstrong as a continuing inspiration, the Armstrong legacy, and denial). The two brand communities demonstrated differing patterns of maintenance, with those within the cycling community focusing more upon Social Creativity strategies, whereas those members of the Armstrong as cancer survivor brand tended to focus upon Group Affirmation strategies

From discovery to scale-up: alpha-lipoic acid : nicotinamide co-crystals in a continuous oscillatory baffled crystalliser

The crystalline nutritional supplement alpha-lipoic acid degrades rapidly on exposure to temperatures above its melting point 65 degrees C and to light. A small-scale experimental co-crystal screen has produced three novel co-crystals of alpha-lipoic acid that each display enhanced thermal stability and differences in aqueous solubilities compared to alpha-lipoic acid. In each case, the initial screening procedure produced tens of milligrams of material enabling initial identification, characterisation and crystal structure determination. The structure of the alpha-lipoic acid : nicotinamide co-crystal was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and used for subsequent phase identification. Scale-up of the co-crystallisation process of alpha-lipoic acid with nicotinamide was then investigated in a continuous oscillatory baffled crystalliser. Over 1 kg of solid co-crystals was produced using a continuous crystallisation process in a continuous oscillatory baffled crystalliser at a throughput of 350 g h-1 yielding a purity of 99% demonstrating this as an effective route to rapid scale-up of a novel co-crystal system

The perception of affective touch in Parkinson's disease and its relation to small fibre neuropathy.

Affective touch sensation is conducted by a sub-class of C-fibres in hairy skin known as C-Tactile (CT) afferents. CT afferents respond maximally to gentle skin stroking at velocities between 1-10 cm/sec. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by markedly reduced cutaneous C-fibres. It is not known if affective touch perception is influenced by C fibre density and if affective touch is impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. We predicted that perceived pleasantness to gentle stroking in PD would correlate with C afferent density and that affective touch perception would be impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. Twenty-four PD patients and 27 control subjects rated the pleasantness of brush stroking at an optimum CT stimulation velocity (3cm/sec) and two sub-optimal velocities (0.3cm/sec & 30cm/sec). PD patients underwent quantification of C-fibre density using skin biopsies and corneal confocal microscopy. All participants rated stroking velocity of 3cm/sec as the most pleasant with significantly lower ratings for 0.3cm/sec and 30cm/sec. There was a significant positive correlation between C-fibre density and pleasantness ratings at 3cm/sec and 30cm/sec but not 0.3cm/sec. Mean pleasantness ratings were consistently higher in PD patients compared to control subjects across all three velocities. This study shows that perceived pleasantness to gentle touch correlate significantly with C-fibre density in PD. The higher perceived pleasantness in PD patients compared to controls suggests central sensitisation to peripheral inputs, which may have been enhanced by dopamine therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Shifting attention in viewer- and object-based reference frames after unilateral brain injury

The aims of the present study were to investigate the respective roles that object- and viewer-based reference frames play in reorienting visual attention, and to assess their influence after unilateral brain injury. To do so, we studied 16 right hemisphere injured (RHI) and 13 left hemisphere injured (LHI) patients. We used a cueing design that manipulates the location of cues and targets relative to a display comprised of two rectangles (i.e., objects). Unlike previous studies with patients, we presented all cues at midline rather than in the left or right visual fields. Thus, in the critical conditions in which targets were presented laterally, reorienting of attention was always from a midline cue. Performance was measured for lateralized target detection as a function of viewer-based (contra- and ipsilesional sides) and object-based (requiring reorienting within or between objects) reference frames. As expected, contralesional detection was slower than ipsilesional detection for the patients. More importantly, objects influenced target detection differently in the contralesional and ipsilesional fields. Contralesionally, reorienting to a target within the cued object took longer than reorienting to a target in the same location but in the uncued object. This finding is consistent with object-based neglect. Ipsilesionally, the means were in the opposite direction. Furthermore, no significant difference was found in object-based influences between the patient groups (RHI vs. LHI). These findings are discussed in the context of reference frames used in reorienting attention for target detection

How old is the Tasmanian cultural landscape? a test of landscape openness using quantitative land-cover reconstructions

Aim: To test competing hypotheses about the timing and extent of Holocene landscape opening using pollen-based quantitative land-cover estimates. Location: Dove Lake, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Methods: Fossil pollen data were incorporated into pollen dispersal models and corrected for differences in pollen productivity among key plant taxa. Mechanistic models (REVEALS-Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) employing different models for pollen dispersal (Gaussian plume and Lagrangian stochastic models) were evaluated and applied in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Results: Validation of the REVEALS model with vegetation cover data suggests an overall better performance of the Lagrangian stochastic model. Regional land-cover estimates for forest and non-forest plant taxa show persistent landscape openness throughout the Holocene (average landscape openness similar to 50%). Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus, an indicator of moorland vegetation, shows higher values during the early Holocene (11.7-9 ka) and declines slightly through the mid-Holocene (9-4.5 ka) during a phase of partial landscape afforestation. Rain forest cover reduced (from similar to 40% to similar to 20%) during the period between 4.2-3.5 ka. Main conclusions: Pollen percentages severely under-represent landscape openness in western Tasmania and this bias has fostered an over-estimation of Holocene forest cover from pollen data. Treeless vegetation dominated Holocene landscapes of the Dove Lake area, allowing us to reject models of landscape evolution that invoke late-Holocene replacement of a rain forest-dominated landscape by moorland. Instead, we confirm a model of Late Pleistocene inheritance of open vegetation. Rapid forest decline occurred after c.4 ka, likely in response to regional moisture decline.Australian Research Council; AINSE AWARD [ALNGRA16024]; AINSE PGRA scholarship [12039]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vegetation and peat characteristics of restiad bogs on Chatham Island (Rekohu), New Zealand

Restiad bogs dominated by Sporadanthus traversii on Chatham Island, New Zealand, were sampled to correlate vegetation patterns and peat properties, and to compare with restiad systems dominated by Sporadanthus ferrugineus and Empodisma minus in the Waikato region, North Island, New Zealand. Classification and ordination resulted in five groups that reflected a disturbance gradient. The largest S. traversii group, which comprised plots from central, relatively intact bogs, had the lowest levels of total nitrogen (mean 1.20 mg cm-3), total phosphorus (mean 0.057 mg cm-3), total potassium (mean 0.083 mg cm-3), and available phosphorus (mean 18.6 μg cm-3). Modification by drainage, stock, and fires resulted in a decline of S. traversii and an increase of Gleichenia dicarpa fern cover, together with elevated peat nutrient levels and higher bulk density. Compared with peat dominated by Sporadanthus ferrugineus or Empodisma minus in relatively unmodified Waikato restiad bogs, Chatham Island peat under S. traversii has significantly higher total potassium, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, bulk density, and von Post decomposition indices, and significantly lower pH. Sporadanthus traversii and Empodisma minus have similar ecological roles in restiad bog development, occupying a relatively wide nutrient range, and regenerating readily from seed after fire. Despite differences in root morphology, S. traversii and E. minus are the major peat formers in raised restiad bogs on Chatham Island and in Waikato, respectively, and could be regarded as ecological equivalents