Leafhoppers in Utah frequently are parasitized to an important extent by the maggots of big-eyed flies. The following report deals largely with Pipunculus fiies collected in Utah canyons and apparently parasitizing the meadow and range leafhoppers which usually were abundant wherever the big-eyed flies were found in appreciable numbers. A number of the intermountain representatives of this important dipterous family appear to be undescribed.

Fe12%Cr was irradiated with 2MeV and 0.5MeV Fe+ ions at 320°C, to create a layer with a mean level of displacement damage of 6.18dpa to a depth of ∼800nm. Spherical indentation, with a nominal tip radius of 10μm, was used to investigate the mechanical properties of the damage layer. Indents produced with loads of 2mN, 3mN, 5mN and 10mN were cross-sectioned and fabricated into TEM foils using an in situ lift-out technique in a dual beam FIB-SEM microscope. The extent of the plastic zone beneath the indent was observed in the TEM for each indentation. The indentation results were analysed so as to give an indentation stress-strain curve, in which strain softening was found to occur beyond the yield point. At loads up to 3mN the plastic zone remained entirely within the damage layer, implying strain-softening of the damaged material. At higher indentation loads the plastic zone was observed to extend into the softer un-irradiated substrate, giving rise to a further fall in flow stress with increasing strain.

The performance of materials exposed to high doses of neutron radiation is currently of great interest for the development of nuclear fusion energy production. An Fe12%Cr alloy was subjected to high-dose (6 dpa) radiation with 2MeV Fe+ ions to simulate the damage structures caused by neutron radiation, resulting in a damage layer ∼0.7 μm in depth from the surface. Spherical nanoindentation, using indenters with radii of 5, 10, and 20 μm, was used to determine reliable values for the initial yield pressure, the evolution of plastic deformation and the elastic modulus of this material, in the irradiated and unirradiated condition. The results showed that the initial yield pressure within the damage layer can be determined and was approximately a factor of two higher than that of the same material in the unirradiated condition. The irradiated material appeared to display strain softening following yield.

This review was undertaken for the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries as part of their programme to encourage research collaborations between health researchers and actuaries in order to understand better the factors influencing mortality and longevity. The authors presented their findings in a number of linked sessions at the Edinburgh conference (Joining Forces on Mortality and Longevity) in October 2009 and contributed to this overview. The purpose is to review evidence for the impact on adult mortality of characteristics of the individual's lifetime socioeconomic or psychosocial environment or phenotype at the behavioural; multi-system (e.g. cognitive and physical function); or body system level (e.g. vascular and metabolic traits) that may be common risk factors for a number of major causes of death. This review shows there is growing evidence from large studies and systematic reviews that these individual characteristics, measured in pre-adult as well as the adult life, are associated with later mortality risk. The relative contribution of lifetime environment, genetic factors and chance, whether these contributions change with age, and the underlying social and biological pathways are still to be clarified. This review identifies areas where further life course research is warranted.

The lowland rain-forest ecosystem in Sundaland (Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula south of 10°N, and associated islands) has been recognized as a biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000). However, it is suffering from huge amounts of disturbance, and it is predicted that South-East Asia will lose three-quarters of its rain forest by the turn of next century (Sodhi et al. 2004).

Background. Jacobs and Bovasso reported (Psychological Medicine 2000, 30, 669–678) that maternal death in childhood and chronic severe depression in adulthood were associated with subsequent breast cancer. We have examined the effects of parental loss in childhood and psychiatric disorder in adult life on breast cancer risk using a national birth cohort study.

Method. Eighty-three cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in a study of 2253 women followed from birth to age 59 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to test whether breast cancer rates were higher in women who experienced parental death and divorce before age 16, psychiatric disorders between 15 and 32 years, symptoms of anxiety and depression at 36 years, or use of antidepressant medication at 31 or 36 years than in women who did not have these experiences.

Results. There was no overall association between parental death, parental divorce or psychiatric disorder and the incidence of breast cancer. There was some evidence that women with more severe psychiatric disorders between the ages of 15 and 32 years were more likely to develop breast cancer early. The interaction between parental divorce and severe psychiatric disorder was non-significant (p=0·1); however, the group who experienced both these events had an increased breast cancer risk compared with those who experienced neither [hazard ratio (HR) 2·64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·13–6·19].

Conclusions. Our study does not provide strong support for the hypothesis that early loss or adult psychiatric disorders are associated with breast cancer. A meta-analysis is needed that uses data from all available cohort studies and investigates possible interactive effects on breast cancer risk.

This paper evaluates the outcome of retrosigmoid microvascular decompression of the facial nerve in a series of patients suffering from hemifacial spasm who had been referred to the skull-base team (comprising senior authors DAM and DGH). The paper is a retrospective review of 15 patients who underwent retrosigmoid microvascular decompression of the facial nerve at Addenbrooke's Hospital between 1985 and 1995. In this series it was possible to obtain complete resolution of hemifacial spasm in 93.3 per cent of cases in the short term and in 80 per cent in the long term. Twelve patients (80 per cent) were symptom-free post-operatively. Two patients had minor recurrence of symptoms occurring within six months of the procedure. One patient with no identifiable vascular impingement of the facial nerve had no improvement following surgery. Three patients suffered sensorineural hearing loss. Two patients complained of post-operative tinnitus, and transient facial palsy was noted in one patient.

Retrosigmoid microvascular decompression of the facial nerve provides excellent long-term symptom control in a high percentage of patients with hemifacial spasm.

In February and in June 1998, two people developed acute hepatitis B following in-patient care in a district general hospital. Initial enquiries indicated their infections were not attributable to staff undertaking exposure-prone procedures (EPPs). We report the findings and implications of the subsequent investigation: a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency investigation, including molecular epidemiological analysis. Occupational Health records showed that staff involved in EPPs with the patients were HBsAg negative. No contact between the patients was identified nor were there failures in sterilization. The patients' HBV strains were identical, indicating a common source. A total of 231 out of 232 staff who might have treated either patient were tested for HBsAg; the remaining doctor, working abroad, was HBsAg- and HBeAg-positive and had the same HBV strain as the patients. On two occasions the doctor's hand had been cut while breaking glass vials, but there was no documentation linking these events to the two patients. The doctor had been vaccinated in 1993 and tested for anti-HBs prior to commencing work in 1997. The doctor was recalled to Occupational Health but did not attend and was not followed up. In total, 4948 patients potentially treated by the doctor received an explanatory letter and 3150 were tested for HBsAg. Only one was positive, and HBV sequencing showed no link to the doctor. Occasionally transmission of HBV from heath-care workers can occur in a non-EPP setting and the implications of this require examination by those setting national policy. Occupational Health Services should investigate clinical heath-care workers who do not respond to vaccination. They should ensure HBV carriers are identified and offer them appropriate advice to prevent transmission to patients.

Cavernous haemangiomas are rare lesions of the cerebello-pontine angle that can mimic the more commonly occurring vestibular schwannoma. A case report involving a patient with a cavernous haemangioma of the internal auditory canal (IAC) highlights this as a diagnostic possibility for lesions of the IAC by comparing and contrasting the clinical and radiological findings with the more commonly occurring vestibular nerve and facial schwannomas.

Symptoms such as hearing loss and facial paralysis that are disproportionate to the size of the lesion or fluctuate with hormonal changes such as those seen in pregnancy are suggestive of haemangioma. Radiological imaging demonstrating a lesion enchancing with gadolinium and containing areas of calcification is also suggestive of haemangioma. It is important to consider the possible diagnosis of haemangioma as early recognition of this entity may improve the chances of preserving the functional integrity of the facial nerve.

The successful demonstration of sequentially drying, calcining and vitrifying an oxalate slurry in the Drain Tube Test Stand (DTTS) vessel provided the process basis for testing on a larger scale in a cylindrical induction heated melter. A single processing issue, that of batch volume expansion, was encountered during the initial stages of testing. The increase in batch volume centered on a sintered frit cap and high temperature bubble formation. The formation of a sintered frit cap expansion was eliminated with the use of cullet. Volume expansions due to high temperature bubble formation (oxygen liberation from cerium reduction) were mitigated in the DTTS melter vessel through a vessel temperature profile that effectively separated the softening point of the glass cullet and the evolving oxygen from cerium reduction. An increased processing temperature of 1470°C and a two hour hold time to fine any remaining bubbles successfully reduced bubbles in the poured glass to an acceptable level. The success of the preliminary process demonstrations provided a workable process basis that was directly applicable to the newly installed Cylindrical Induction Melter (CIM) system, making the batch flowsheet the preferred option for vitrification of the americium-curium surrogate feed stream.

Une méthode de synthèse simple, permettant de faire croître des monocristaux de composition ${\rm Hg}_{{\rm l}-x}{\rm M}_x{\rm Ba}_2{\rm Ca}_{n-1}{\rm Cu}_n {\rm O}_{2n+2+\delta}$ (n = 1, 2 et 3) sans utiliser de boîte à gants ou de techniques sous hautes pressions, a été developpée en substituant partiellement le mercure par un cation M (M = Bi, Cu, Ti). Des études par microscopie électronique couplées avec des analyses EDX ont confirmé les modes d'empilement et l'introduction de 1'é1ément M sous la forme de couches mixtes ${\rm Hg}_{0,8}{\rm M}_{0,2}$. Les études structurales réalisées par diffraction de rayons X sur monocristal ont mis en évidence un éclatement du site oxygène lié à la couche mercure. Ces monocristaux, bruts de synthèses, présentent des Tc comparables à celles observées dans les céramiques "tout mercure" correspondantes. L'étude des propriétés d'ancrage des vortex, menée sur les cristaux dopés au bismuth, confirme la position intermédiaire du terme n = 1 par rapport aux termes n = 2 et n = 3. De plus, une comparaison entre les cristaux de type 1223 (n = 3) dopés successivement au titane (${\rm Hg}_{0,6}{\rm Ti}_{0,4}{-}1223$) et au bismuth (${\rm Hg}_{0,8}{\rm Bi}_{0,2}{-}1223$) semble mettre en avant les valeurs du rapport Hg/M et du paramètre c sur ces propriétés.