We used a precision two-circle goniometer mounted to the stage of a compound microscope to determine the optical alignment and to measure the entrance aperture diameter of individual cuticular cones in the dioptric array of the lateral eye of juvenile horseshoe crabs in order to learn about the development of the visual field. Our results show that the extent of the visual field of juvenile horseshoe crabs with prosomal lengths about 20% ofadult size (14–21 mm) is about 70% that of the visual field of adult horseshoe crabs (prosomal lengths: 100+ mm). The visual field of such juvenile animals covers between 77 and 85 deg vertically and 140 and 145 deg horizontally. Assuming that the dioptric array is uniform and square packed, the average interommatidial angle of the juvenile animals is between 5.6 and 6.0 deg as compared to 4.6 deg for an adult animal. The diameter of the entrance aperture of individual cuticular cones increases markedly with increasing animal size. In addition, we noted a statistically significant trend for entrance aperture diameters to increase from anterior to posterior within the eye for animals of all sizes. There may be a slight trend for entrance aperture diameters to increase from dorsal to ventral within the eye. Our results indicate that the extent of the visual field and the resolution of the lateral eye approach adult values in advance of animals' reaching sexual maturity.

This study tested the hypothesis that the hippocampus has a relatively specific role in retaining information over delays. Thirty-seven subjects with probable Alzheimer's disease were evaluated with a verbal memory task and structural MRI. Cortical gray matter but not hippocampal volume predicted immediate free recall. In contrast, hippocampal volume was the best predictor of how well information was retained over a delay, even after controlling for levels of immediate recall. Results suggest that the role of the hippocampus is relatively specific to the consolidation of new memories. (JINS, 2004, 10, 639–643.)

We present Fabry-Perot observations of the velocity field of gas in the barred spiral NGC 4123, and 2-D hydrodynamical simulations of the gas flow in model potentials derived from I-band photometry. The simulated gas flow is quite sensitive to the details of the potential, which enables us to constrain parameters such as the M/L I of the bar and the bar pattern speed. The observations confirm that the dust lanes along the leading edges of the bar are the locations of shocks. Requiring models to produce shocks with the correct alignment constrains the Lagrange point L 1 (corotation) to be at a radius 1.1 – 1.4 times the semimajor axis of the bar, i.e. the bar is a fast rotator.