Cross-species evidence suggests that the ability to exert control over a stressor is a key dimension of stress exposure that may sensitize frontostriatal-amygdala circuitry to promote more adaptive responses to subsequent stressors. The present study examined neural correlates of stressor controllability in young adults. Participants (N = 56; Mage = 23.74, range = 18–30 years) completed either the controllable or uncontrollable stress condition of the first of two novel stressor controllability tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition. Participants in the uncontrollable stress condition were yoked to age- and sex-matched participants in the controllable stress condition. All participants were subsequently exposed to uncontrollable stress in the second task, which is the focus of fMRI analyses reported here. A whole-brain searchlight classification analysis revealed that patterns of activity in the right dorsal anterior insula (dAI) during subsequent exposure to uncontrollable stress could be used to classify participants' initial exposure to either controllable or uncontrollable stress with a peak of 73% accuracy. Previous experience of exerting control over a stressor may change the computations performed within the right dAI during subsequent stress exposure, shedding further light on the neural underpinnings of stressor controllability.

A number of laser facilities coming online all over the world promise the capability of high-power laser experiments with shot repetition rates between 1 and 10 Hz. Target availability and technical issues related to the interaction environment could become a bottleneck for the exploitation of such facilities. In this paper, we report on target needs for three different classes of experiments: dynamic compression physics, electron transport and isochoric heating, and laser-driven particle and radiation sources. We also review some of the most challenging issues in target fabrication and high repetition rate operation. Finally, we discuss current target supply strategies and future perspectives to establish a sustainable target provision infrastructure for advanced laser facilities.

Artificial rearing is a common practice for rearing calves from the dairy herd destined for beef production. In commercial practice calves are typically weaned from 5 to 9 weeks old. There are four criteria that can be used to determine weaning time: age, compound feed intake, liveweight and milk price. Late weaning systems are based on the theory of giving the calf the best possible start in life, but are costly with high milk intakes (Davis and Drackley, 1998). Hence emphasis is usually placed on early weaning of the calf and encouraging concentrate intake. A number of factors can affect concentrate intake including quality and quantity of milk fed, size of the calf and concentrate texture. Recommendations are to typically wean calves when eating 1kg concentrate per day. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of weaning twice daily milk fed calves on either a low (0.75kg) or high (1.25kg) concentrate intake on performance to 12 weeks old.

The recovery of nitrogen ‘retained’ through cover crop uptake, delayed ploughing and immobilization by straw was assessed in a spring cropping rotation on a chalk loam in Eastern England (1989–96). The effect of annual cover cropping on yield of the subsequent spring crops and on the soil N balance was also investigated. The recovery of retained N was in part dependent upon cover crop management. Late August-sown cover crops which were incorporated in February/March tended to reduce spring crop yields and crop N offtake. Adverse effects on soil N supply, seedbed conditions and soil water reserves were not in evidence and so an allelopathic effect from the decomposition of the rye cover crop, previously reported by others, may be responsible for the reduction in yield of spring crops. When the cover crops were drilled later and their early destruction was followed by a short fallow period, spring crop yields and N offtake were increased. The soil N balance indicated that over the course of the experiment there was a positive N input to the system due to continuous cover cropping. This input may be held as immobilized organic N, in which case it could be made available to subsequent crops over a number of years or lost via other routes. Nitrate concentrations in drainage water increased with the number of years under cover cropping.

Experiments are conducted to study the solidification from below of aqueous ammonium chloride. Thermochromic liquid crystal paints are used to visualize the temperature field simultaneously in both the liquid and the mushy layers. In a quasi-two-dimensional cell (thickness 10 mm), mushy-layer and boundary-layer convection are revealed as bumps in isotherms within and above the mushy layer, respectively. The onset, growth and decay of these convective modes are measured by monitoring the progression of the bumps during an experiment. The small-wavelength boundary-layer mode is short-lived (approximately 20–30 min), whereas the larger-wavelength mushy-layer mode survives for several hours, dominating the flow even long after the growth has stopped. Experiments in a Hele-Shaw cell (thickness 2.0 mm) enable simultaneous visualization of both the temperature field and the solid fraction. A coarsening mechanism is observed in which the flow spontaneously changes, reducing the strength of plume convection in one of the channels, and leading to growth of dendrites into the channel. An oscillatory convective mode is also observed, perhaps an indication of one of the oscillatory modes recently predicted by Chen, Lu & Yang (1994) and by Anderson & Worster (1995).

A total of 479 samples of nests or feeding sites of 38 species of Australian termite were plated onto a medium selective for isolation of Metarhizium spp. Sixty-seven samples were positive for Metarhizium spp. and a total of 97 isolates of M. anisopliae were obtained. Very few isolates were obtained directly from infected termites. Most isolates were obtained from nest-mound material from eastern Australia. Termite-associated material from the two common mound-building species of termite, Nasutitermes exitiosus and Coptotermes lacteus, provided 75 of the isolates. Similar material from 26 species of termites revealed no Metarhizium. A detailed study of two sites found that some of the Metarhizium isolates found in nest-mound material, including also some M. flavoviride and M. album, were of morphological types also present in adjacent soil. The DNA of isolates from mounds and the adjacent soil were compared using RAPDs and sequence analysis of the ITS region of the nuclear rDNA and the same types were found from both sources. The possible role of the fungus in termite ecology is discussed and it is thought most likely that Metarhizium is only opportunistically a pathogen of termites. Thus, isolates obtained from termite nest material are probably there because of the incorporation of soil into termite nests.

Since its inception in 1988 the Cochlear Implant Programme in Manchester has successfully implanted 69 adults and 23 children. Of these 92 procedures, three patients have undergone revision surgery with the insertion of either a new implant or re-positioning of the existing device. We examine the circumstances that lead to the need for reimplantation in these patients, discuss the technical aspects of revision surgery together with the functional results of such procedures.

A 47-year-old man developed a complete facial nerve palsy secondary to non-cholesteatomatous suppurative otitis media. At operation, this was seen to be due to destruction of the nerve from halfway along the horizontal segment to a point just distal to the second genu. The history of recent renal transplantation and subsequent immunosuppression was judged to be significant in the pathogenesis of the palsy.

Four cases with a neopharyngeal diverticulum following total laryngectomy are presented. Each patient required surgery for complications directly related to the pouch. The relevance of these diverticulae is discussed with reference to their aetiology, complications and management.

A series of 59 patients of all ages with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) treated over an 18-year period is presented. A number of these patients were initially diagnosed in childhood but required treatment throughout adult life. The frequency of laser treatment was not related to either disease duration or age at onset. In 28 patients, the HPV type was identified, showing that HPV type 11 was more common in children and ran a more protracted clinical course. The requirement for tracheostomy in this series was small, whereas the incidence of malignant change in adult patients was significant

In many regions, ammoniation of straw is hindered by the cost or non-availability of anhydrous or aqueous ammonia and by poor upgrading responses with urea. Ammonium salts constitute a safe, alternative source of ammonia. In vitro studies have shown that ammonia produced by heating ammonium ‘carbonate’ (mixture of the carbamate and bicarbonate) or bicarbonate to 90°C for 15 h with water produced improvements in the digestibility of straw which were similar to those achieved with aqueous ammonia. Under identical conditions ammonium sulphate gave a similar response only when reacted with a stoichiometric excess of quicklime (CaO) or slaked lime (Ca(OH)2 ) and water to produce ammonia. When the straw was treated at 20°C for 35 d, upgrading was achieved only when the volatile or non-volatile ammonium salts were mixed with an excess of CaO or Ca(OH)2 plus water.