The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

Using data from the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, the prevalence of motor neurone disease (MND) was estimated for the Province of Alberta, Canada. Between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1995, 208 cases of MND (125 males, 83 females) were identified from physician billing records giving a period prevalence of 7.38 (8.9 for males, 5.9 for females) per 100,000 population. On prevalence day, July 1, 1995, there were 171 cases (103 males, 68 females) of MND giving a point prevalence estimate of 6.07 (7.3 for males, 4.8 for females) per 100,000 population. Males were more likely to be diagnosed (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.1, 2.1) with MND and there was an increased risk of receiving a diagnosis with increasing age (χ2trend = 281, p < 0.001). The mean age of the cases was 59.2 years (58.5 for males, 60.3 for females) and did not differ significantly between the sexes. Geographically, there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence across regions of the Province. During the study period, 28% of the cases had died (30% of males, 25% of females). The prevalence of MND in Alberta, is among the highest reported in the literature and requires additional investigation to verify these estimates and identify possible causative factors.

There is a high and increasing proportion of single-parent families in Jamaica. This has raised concerns about the potential impact of single-parent families on the social, cognitive and behavioural development of children, including their sexual relationships. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between being raised in a single-parent family and age of sexual debut among young people in Jamaica. The study was cross-sectional in design, and based on a multi-stage sampling procedure. The study was conducted in July/September 2016. The study sample comprised 233 respondents (110 males and 123 females) aged from 18 to 35 years (mean 26.37 years; SD 5.46). Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire with questions on socio-demographic characteristics, family structure, sexual debut and current sexual behaviour. Ninety-seven (41.7%) respondents grew up in single-parent families. A total of 201 (86.3%) had had sex (102 males and 99 females). Their mean age of sexual debut was 15.51 years (SD 3.41). Sixty-five (32.3%) had early sexual debut (<16 years). Respondents from single-parent families were more likely to have had early sexual debut (56.9%; n=37) compared with those from two-parent families (43.1%, n=28; p=0.004). Only 44.6% (n=29) of those who experienced early sexual debut used a condom during their first sexual encounter compared with 73% (n=100) of those who had a later sexual debut (≥16 years; p=<0.001). A single-father family structure was a significant predictor of early sexual debut (AOR 5.5; 95%CI: 1.1–25.8). The study found a significant association between single-parent family structure and age of sexual debut.

Chondrichthyan spines and dermal denticles are reported from the Middle Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation, Eagle County, Colorado. The most common element is a dorsal finspine referred to Ctenacanthus buttersi St. John and Worthen, 1883. Some of the specimens are more complete distally than the holotype and only previously figured specimen of C. buttersi. Less common remains include a dorsal finspine referred to Acondylacanthus nuperus St. John and Worthen, 1883, a smooth-ribbed dorsal finspine close to “Ctenacanthus” furicarinatus Newberry, 1875, a spine fragment probably referrable to Physonemus sp., and two large-noded dorsal finspines probably referrable to two different species of Bythiacanthus. Dermal denticles are referred to Petrodus patelliformis M'Coy, 1848. Ctenacanthus buttersi finspines and some large cladodont teeth, referred to “Symmorium” occidentalis (Leidy), 1859, may belong to the same species. This conjecture is based mainly on the relative abundances of chondrichthyan teeth found at the same locality.

The development of positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled us to perform in vivo measurements of certain aspects of regional cerebral function. Regional cerebral glucose metabolism may be readily quantified with [18F] fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) and presynaptic dopaminergic function may be studied with the labelled dopa analog 6-[18F] fluoro-L-dopa. We have applied a model to the analysis of 6-FD/PET data with which in vivo age-related changes in dopaminergic function may be demonstrated in normal subjects. With this technique, we have studied a series of asymptomatic MPTP-exposed subjects and have shown evidence of subclinical nigrostriatal pathway damage. Studies of regional cerebral glucose metabolism with FDG in early Huntington's disease have shown a characteristic impairment in caudate function which precedes the development of caudate atrophy. In addition, some asymptomatic individuals who are at risk for HD have caudate hypometabolism. We feel that, at the present time, PET provides information which is complementary to the clinical examination in establishing a diagnosis of HD. In the future these studies may also help in the investigation of at risk individuals

Background: Parkinson disease (PD) presents with motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS). The NMS often precede the onset of motor symptoms, but may progress throughout the disease course. Tremor dominant, postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD), and indeterminate phenotypes can be distinguished using Unified PD Rating scales (UPDRS-III). We hypothesized that the PIGD phenotype would be more likely to develop NMS, and that the non-dopamine–responsive axial signs would correlate with NMS severity. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional chart review to assess the relationship between NMS and PD motor phenotypes. PD patients were administered the NMS Questionnaire, the UPDRS-III, and the Mini-Mental State Examination score. The relationship between NMS burden and PD subtypes was examined using linear regression models. The prevalence of each NMS among difference PD motor subtypes was analyzed using chi-square test. Results: PD patients with more advanced disease based on their UPDRS-III had higher NMS Questionnaire scores. The axial component of UPDRS-III correlated with higher NMS. There was no correlation between NMS and tremor scores. There was a significant correlation between PIGD score and higher NMS burden. PIGD group had higher prevalence in most NMS domains when compared with tremor dominant and indeterminate groups independent of disease duration and severity. Conclusions: NMS profile and severity vary according to motor phenotype. We conclude that in the PD population, patients with a PIGD phenotype who have more axial involvement, associated with advanced disease and poor motor response, have a higher risk for a higher NMS burden.

We report here six families with Parkinson's disease in whom the onset of symptoms tended to occur at approximately the same time irrespective of the age of the patient. The mean difference in the time of onset in different generations was 4.6 years while the mean difference in age of onset in children and parents was 25.2 years. We construe this pattern of age separation within families as suggestive of an environmental rather than genetic cause. Support for this view derives from the lack of correlation between occurrence of the disease and the degree of consanguinity. We conclude that our findings are in accord with the hypothesis which attributes the cause of some cases of Parkinson's disease to early, subclinical environmental damage followed by age-related attrition of neurons within the central nervous system.

Dopamine agonists have yielded two important advances to our understanding of the basal ganglia – they have facilitated the subdivision of different classes of dopamine receptors, and they have established the fact that important dopaminergic effects can be achieved by activation of dopamine receptors in a manner that is unrelated to anoxal impulse traffic in dopaminergic neurons – a phenomenon similar in its diffuse, slow, characteristics to an endocrine effect.

The tangible clinical benefit of dopamine agonists has been evident in patients with prominent dyskinesia or wearing off reactions. It is possible that earlier use of agonists, in low doses combined with similarly low doses of levodopa, may improve the long term treatment of Parkinson’s disease, but as yet there is no firm evidence.

In the future, we can expect to see agonists with more prolonged effects, deriving from the formation of active metabolites. We can also hope to gain further insight into the correlations between the various animal models of dopaminomimetic activity, and specific aspects of drug efficacy and toxicity in parkinsonian patients. Such information should allow the design of improved pharmacotherapy.

Positron emission tomography provides a method for the quantitation of regional function within the living human brain. Studies of cerebral metabolism and blood flow in patients with Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and focal dystonia have revealed functional abnormalities within substructures of the basal ganglia. Recent developments permit assessment of both pre-synaptic and post-synaptic function in dopaminergic pathways. These techniques are now being applied to studies of movement disorders in human subjects.

During the investigation of intractable epilepsy, neuronal migration anomalies [NMA] were discovered in three patients. The first patient had abnormally positioned gray matter within the walls of both lateral ventricles. The second patient had a post operative cystic area in the right parietal-occipital lobes and an area of NMA within the right temporal lobe. The third patient had abnormally thickened gray matter in the right operculum. Long term CCTV-EEG monitoring of these three patients revealed ictal discharges originating from the area of abnormal gray matter in patients 2 and 3. PET scanning showed the areas of NMA in all three patients to have similar metabolic activity to normal gray matter. These cases illustrate the value of various imaging modalities and suggest some interesting physiology of a spectrum of neuronal migration anomalies.

A retrospective review of 253 patients who underwent coronary bypass surgery was performed. Eight (3.2%) had suffered a stroke either intra-operatively (4) or during the early post-operative period (4). A comparison of pre-operative and intra-operative variables between the stroke group and the stroke-free group showed a significant difference only for the hemoglobin level (p < 0.01). All intraoperative strokes occurred in patients who had undergone femoral cannulation; it is suggested that this may have been a source of embolic material in these patients. An embolic origin for most of the strokes (both intra-operative and post-operative) is postulated on the basis of clinical and pathological findings.