What are effective treatments for panic disorder?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), benzodiazepines (BDZs), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are effective for panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia (NNT5 for complete remission). SSRIs may be most effective, but BDZs work faster. Clomipramine is more effective than other TCAs. CBT improves response and decreases relapse rates when used with medication. Severe symptoms may warrant short-term use of a BDZ until other therapies take effect (Grade of recommendation: A, based on systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials (RCTs); high quality RCTs)

Barkhausen Noise in a Relaxor Ferroelectric

Barkhausen noise, including both periodic and aperiodic components, is found in and near the relaxor regime of a familiar relaxor ferroelectric, PbMg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$O$_3$, driven by a periodic electric field. The temperature dependences of both the amplitude and spectral form show that the size of the coherent dipole moment changes shrink as the relaxor regime is entered, contrary to expectations based on some simple models.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX4, 5 figures; submitted to Phys Rev Let

Edwards-Wilkinson surface over a spherical substrate: 1/f1/f noise in the height fluctuations

We study the steady state fluctuations of an Edwards-Wilkinson type surface with the substrate taken to be a sphere. We show that the height fluctuations on circles at a given latitude has the effective action of a perfect Gaussian $1/f$ noise, just as in the case of fixed radius circles on an infinite planar substrate. The effective surface tension, which is the overall coefficient of the action, does not depend on the latitude angle of the circles.Comment: 6 page

The effect of capture and handling stress in Lophius americanus in the scallop dredge fishery

Capture and handling stress studies are considered a primary research priority, particularly for species and fisheries where discard rates are high, and/or for overfished stocks and species of concern. Lophius americanus, a commercially valuable finfish in New England, constitutes the second highest bycatch species within the sea scallop dredge fishery. Despite its commercial importance, no data exists on the capture and handling stress of monkfish for any gear type. Given these shortcomings, our goals were to evaluate the stress response of monkfish captured in scallop dredge gear by evaluating physical, behavioural and physiological responses to scallop fishing practices. While 80% of monkfish displayed little to no physical trauma, behavioural and physiological assessment indicated high levels of stress, especially as air exposure and tow duration increased. This finding suggests that the manifestation of stress in monkfish may be a cryptic response necessitating further research in addition to estimates of post-release mortality rates to appropriately advise fisheries management regarding the mortality of monkfish bycatch in the sea scallop fishery

First albedo determination of 2867 Steins, target of the Rosetta mission

We present the first albedo determination of 2867 Steins, the asteroid target o f the Rosetta space mission together with 21 Lutetia. The data were obtained in polarimetric mode at the ESO-VLT telescope with the FORS1 instrument in the V and R filters. Observations were carried out from Jun e to August 2005 covering the phase angle range from 10.3 deg. to 28.3 deg., allowing the determination of the asteroid albedo by the well known experimenta l relationship between the albedo and the slope of the polarimetric curve at th e inversion angle. The measured polarization values of Steins are small, confirming an E-type cla ssification for this asteroid, as already suggested from its spectral propertie s. The inversion angle of the polarization curve in the V and R filters is resp ectively of 17.3 +/-1.5deg. and 18.4+/-1.0 deg., and the corresponding sl ope parameter is of 0.037+/-0.003 %/deg and 0.032+/-0.003 %/deg. On the basis of its polarimetric slope value, we have derived an albedo of 0.45 +/-0.1, that gives an estimated diameter of 4.6 km, assuming an absolute V ma gnitude of 13.18 mag.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, letter accepted for pubblication on A&