Neutrino mass measurements.

Before we can be sure we have a dark-matter problem we have to first be certain that no known particle can account for the missing matter. The last possibility has long been the neutrino, which, while massless in the Standard Model of particle physics, is the second most numerous particle in the Universe (after the photon) and thus (if massive) a potential source of substantial unaccounted for mass. Recent neutrino oscillation measurements have, in fact, confirmed that the Standard Model is incomplete and that neutrinos have mass. However, recent measurements have confirmed that the resulting mass is insufficient for neutrinos to make up the bulk of the dark matter. In fact, observations of the matter distribution in the Universe are now competing with laboratory measurements in their sensitivity to the absolute masses of neutrinos. The article discusses all these measurements and gives some guesses about where we may get in our measurements of neutrino masses in the future.

Facilitating facilitators' facilitation: experience with a model for teaching leaders of hypnosis practice groups.

We developed a 6 hour training seminar for leaders of small group practice sessions integral to introductory hypnosis workshops. It has been offered annually for 3 years to prepare new faculty for our Introductory Workshop. Applicants met specific experience criteria. Participation was limited to 8 to match and model 8 learners/small group in workshops. Learners reviewed principles of adult education, group dynamics, and guidelines for leaders. Each had the opportunity to role-play small group participant and small group leader in two 3 hour evening periods a week apart. Twenty-four learners participated. Some had taught before. Most were new to teaching small groups and desired specific training. Extensive evaluation of the training was integral to the process. Training was evaluated by examining ratings of leaders by participants in our Annual Introductory Workshop. Ratings used the same parameters taught and evaluated during the training seminar. The training curriculum is presented with the results of evaluations of group leaders' performances in the Annual Workshop. Ratings of "experienced" leaders who did not participate in the training are compared to those of newly trained teachers. Leaders with training plus experience were more effective then leaders with many years of experience.

Teaching college students better learning skills using self-hypnosis.

This paper reports the effects of self-hypnosis used by 51 college students enrolled in a 10-week course on efficient learning skills. All students were administered the Creative Imagination Scale. Subsequently, they learned to enter and deepen alert self-hypnosis. They gave themselves personal suggestions and then studied in hypnosis. They reported their depth of hypnosis and satisfaction with each session. Grades were collected the quarter before, during and after the course. Satisfaction and depth data indicated the students were involved all through the course. Statistical testing showed that students who scored highest on the CIS had the lowest initial GPA, improved most during the course, and significantly increased their GPA in the quarter after.

The effectiveness of the Navy's Hearing Conservation Program.

The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence of significant threshold shift (STS) for a large number of Naval fleet personnel, evaluate hearing conservation program (HCP) compliance for a large number of Naval ships, and determine whether two currently used compliance measures are useful means of evaluating HCP effectiveness. Data were collected from 12,492 medical records of 154 ships/submarines regarding STS incidence and follow-up, percent of valid audiograms, and other HCP elements. Data analyses suggested that STS incidence (29%) and follow-up compliance (62%) among fleet personnel may be too high and low, respectively, although audiogram compliance is 80.0 to 92.9%. Also, checklists commonly used to evaluate HCP compliance were not highly correlated with STS incidence. The data support literature recommendations for audiometric data base analyses to evaluate HCP effectiveness and for training for medical officers involved in the HCP. Recommendations and future implications are discussed.

The meteorological satellite: overview of 25 years of operation.

The first weather satellite was launched on 1 April 1960. In the 25 years since, weather satellites have contributed to improved weather analyses and forecasts worldwide. As a maturing component of a global observing system, the meteorological satellite promises even greater financial benefits and a higher quality of life to mankind.

Demonstration of binaural advantage in audiometric test rooms.

Binaural advantage was measured for 12 normally hearing subjects in a typical rectangular audiometric test room with a loudspeaker located in each corner. Four different loudspeaker configurations for presentation of signal and competition were evaluated. The results indicated that a configuration in which uncorrelated competition was delivered from both sides of the subject while the signal was presented from a 0 degree azimuth was the most resistant to interaural asymmetries resulting from the room geometry and produced the most consistent binaural advantages. Binaural advantage was then measured using this loudspeaker configuration for 15 hearing-impaired individuals wearing hearing aids. Although the group results indicate a mean unaided binaural advantage only slightly smaller than seen in the normal hearers, when hearing aids were worn an interaural asymmetry in a signal-to-competition ratio developed that reduced the clinical usefulness of the data for individuals. This outcome emphasizes that a valid clinical demonstration of binaural advantage is critically dependent on interaural symmetry in signal-to-competition ratios for both aided and unaided tests. Such symmetry may be difficult to achieve in a typical audiometric test room.

Earmold modification effect measured by coupler, threshold and probe techniques.

The validity of probe tube microphone measurements in providing data indicative of the magnitude of the change in subjects' threshold resulting from changes in earmold configuration was investigated. The relationship between these measures in the real ear canal and the changes observed in 2-cm3 and Zwislocki couplers under similar circumstances or earmold modification was also measured. Standard, vented and 'open' earmold conditions were utilized. Threshold and probe-tube measurements were made. Statistical evaluation revealed that these two techniques did not produce significantly different results except at 125--165 Hz, where noise masking may have been a factor influencing the threshold data. Neither coupler as used gave an accurate quantitative estimate of the in-use effects of vented earmolds or the open earmold configuration, but the Zwislocki coupler gave a better approximation than the 2-cm3 coupler.

Satellite observations of atmospheric water vapor.

Observations in the spectral window at 11-12 microm, in the carbon dioxide band at 13.3-13.4 microm, and in the water vapor rotation band at 18.7-18.8 microm have been made by the satellite infrared spectrometer and the vertical temperature profile radiometer on the Nimbus 4 and NOAA-2 satellites. Combinations of radiances measured by the separate instruments have been used to infer sea-surface temperatures and mesoscale precipitable water in tropical regions. In each spectral interval, atmospheric transmittances for these analyses were constructed from continuous absorption (of unexplained origin), which is dependent upon the square of the partial pressure of water vapor and about the inverse fifth power of temperature, in addition to absorption by resonance lines. Results are consonant with those from other laboratory and atmospheric transmittance measurements, and they underline the importance of properly modeling the water-vapor continuum in calculations of atmospheric radiation in the middle infrared.

SIRS: An Experiment to Measure the Free Air Temperature from a Satellite.

The Satellite Infrared Spectrometer (SIRS) on the Nimbus III satellite was designed to measure the earth's spectral radiances in the 15-microm band of carbon dioxide. From simultaneous measurements of spectral radiances it is possible to obtain the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere. The measurements are approximated by the integral equation of radiative transfer, modified by one or two layers of clouds. A solution requires that the surface radiative temperature and the surface air temperature be known. By iteration, a solution based upon the statistical behavior of the atmosphere is obtained for the free air temperature and the cloud heights and amounts. Examples are presented, comparing the SIRS soundings with coincident radiosonde soundings. The results from this experiment indicate that the technique can be applied as a routine observing tool for meteorological use.

Atmospheric temperature: successful test of remote probing.

The Nimbus III satellite carries the satellite infrared spectrometer (SIRS). It measures the radiance of the earth and the atmosphere in seven narrow spectral intervals in the 15-micrometer carbon dioxide band and in one interval of minimum absorption at 11.1 micrometers. Seven simultaneous equations are solved to obtain the vertical temperature profile; the eighth measurement is used to determine the boundary condition (cloud or surface temperature). Results agree with those obtained from conventional radiosondes.