From anecdotes to evidence: Environmental DNA detection of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) at the southern limit of its circumpolar range.

The urgency of rapid species monitoring is at an all-time high due to the increasing threat of climate change to global ecosystems, in particular freshwater habitats. Fish such as Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, are particularly vulnerable to increasing water temperatures and changes in land use due to their dependence on cold waters and confinement to lacustrine environments. Nonetheless, current monitoring practices, relying on physical capture of organisms, are hindered by resource constraints, desire to manage habitats for recreational fishing, and restricted access to sites.

Supporting pre-registration nursing students in their exploration of death and dying.

Student nurses will be exposed to dying patients from the very start of their education. The authors believe that nurse lecturers have a duty of care towards both the student and the patient in preparing them to cope with this experience. End of life care deserves further emphasis within the forum of nurse education.

Determining tunable diode laser spectrometer performance through measurement of N(2)0 line intensities and widths at 7.8 microm.

The N(2)O R(8) doublet of the 11(1)0-01(1)0 band at 7.8 microm was measured by a tunable diode laser spectrometer designed and assembled at Perkin-Elmer. The spectra were digitized and least-squares fitted to Voigt line profiles to yield N(2)O line parameters and a quantitative measure of instrument performance.

Quantitative remote measurements of pollutants from stationary sources using Raman lidar.

The several advantages of Raman lidar for remote measurements of stationary source emissions were quantitatively evaluated using a calibration tank at a distance of 300 m at night. Measurements of ~10(3)-ppm SO(2) with a 12% accuracy were demonstrated in an observation time of 15 min using a 1.5-J ruby laser at 30 pulses/ min, 6-m range resolution, interference filters, photon counting detection, and a 20-cm receiver.

The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment: Accurate ranges have given a large improvement in the lunar orbit and new selenophysical information.

The lunar ranging measurements now being made at the McDonald Observatory have an accuracy of 1 nsec in round-trip travel time. This corresponds to 15 cm in the one-way distance. The use of lasers with pulse-lengths of less than 1 nsec is expected to give an accuracy of 2 to 3 cm in the next few years.