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Vitamin B12 measurements across neurodegenerative disorders.
Background:Vitamin B12 deficiency causes a number of neurological features including cognitive and psychiatric disturbances, gait instability, neuropathy, and autonomic dysfunction. Clinical recognition of B12 deficiency in neurodegenerative disorders is more challenging because it causes defects that overlap with expected disease progression. We sought to determine whether B12 levels at the time of diagnosis in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) differed from those in patients with other neurodegenerative disorders. Methods:We performed a cross-sectional analysis of B12 levels obtained around the time of diagnosis in patients with PD, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). We also evaluated the rate of B12 decline in PD, AD, and MCI. Results:In multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, and B12 supplementation, we found that B12 levels were significantly lower at time of diagnosis in patients with PD than in patients with PSP, FTD, and DLB. In PD, AD, and MCI, the rate of B12 decline ranged from - 17 to - 47 pg/ml/year, much greater than that reported for the elderly population. Conclusions:Further studies are needed to determine whether comorbid B12 deficiency affects progression of these disorders
Elastic properties of cubic crystals: Every's versus Blackman's diagram
Blackman's diagram of two dimensionless ratios of elastic constants is
frequently used to correlate elastic properties of cubic crystals with
interatomic bondings. Every's diagram of a different set of two dimensionless
variables was used by us for classification of various properties of such
crystals. We compare these two ways of characterization of elastic properties
of cubic materials and consider the description of various groups of materials,
e.g. simple metals, oxides, and alkali halides. With exception of intermediate
valent compounds, the correlation coefficients for Every's diagrams of various
groups of materials are greater than for Blackaman's diagrams, revealing the
existence of a linear relationship between two dimensionless Every's variables.
Alignment of elements and compounds along lines of constant Poisson's ratio
, ( arbitrary perpendicular to ) is
observed. Division of the stability region in Blackman's diagram into region of
complete auxetics, auxetics and non-auxetics is introduced. Correlations of a
scaling and an acoustic anisotropy parameter are considered.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, presented on The Ninth International School on
Theoretical Physics "Symmetry and Structural Properties of Condensed Matter",
5 - 12 September 2007, Myczkowce, Polan
Study of the nucleon-induced preequilibrium reactions in terms of the Quantum Molecular Dynamics
The preequilibrium (nucleon-in, nucleon-out) angular distributions of
Al, Ni and Zr have been analyzed in the energy region from
90 to 200 MeV in terms of the Quantum Moleculear Dynamics (QMD) theory. First,
we show that the present approach can reproduce the measured (p,xp') and (p,xn)
angular distributions leading to continuous final states without adjusing any
parameters. Second, we show the results of the detailed study of the
preequilibrium reaction processes; the step-wise contribution to the angular
distribution, comparison with the quantum-mechanical Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin
theory, the effects of momentum distribution and surface refraction/reflection
to the quasifree scattering. Finally, the present method was used to assess the
importance of multiple preequilibrium particle emission as a function of
projectile energy up to 1 GeV.Comment: 22pages, Revex is used, 10 Postscript figures are available by
request from [email protected]
Particle-hole state densities with non-equidistant single-particle levels
The correct use of energy-dependent single-particle level (s.p.l.) densities
within particle-hole state densities based on the equidistant spacing model
(ESM) is analysed. First, an analytical expression is obtained following the
convolution of energy-dependent excited-particle and hole densities. Next, a
comparison is made with results of the ESM formula using average s.p.l.
densities for the excited particles and holes, respectively. The Fermi-gas
model (FGM) s.p.l. densities calculated at the corresponding average excitation
energies are used in both cases. The analysis concerns also the density of
particle-hole bound states. The pairing correlations are taken into account
while the comparison of various effects includes the exact correction for the
Pauli exclusion principle. Quantum-mechanical s.p.l. densities and the
continuum effect can also match a corresponding FGM formula, suitable for use
within the average energy-dependent partial state density in multistep reaction
models.Comment: 29 pages, ReVTeX, 11 postscript figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Predicting total reaction cross sections for nucleon-nucleus scattering
Nucleon total reaction and neutron total cross sections to 300 MeV for 12C
and 208Pb, and for 65 MeV spanning the mass range, are predicted using
coordinate space optical potentials formed by full folding of effective
nucleon-nucleon interactions with realistic nuclear ground state densities.
Good to excellent agreement is found with existing data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Studies of the dose-effect relation
Dose-effect relations and, specifically, cell survival curves are surveyed with emphasis on the interplay of the random factors — biological variability, stochastic reaction of the cell, and the statistics of energy deposition —that co-determine their shape. The global parameters mean inactivation dose, , and coefficient of variance, V, represent this interplay better than conventional parameters. Mechanisms such as lesion interaction, misrepair, repair overload, or repair depletion have been invoked to explain sigmoid dose dependencies, but these notions are partly synonymous and are largely undistinguishable on the basis of observed dose dependencies. All dose dependencies reflect, to varying degree, the microdosimetric fluctuations of energy deposition, and these have certain implications, e.g. the linearity of the dose dependence at small doses, that apply regardless of unresolved molecular mechanisms of cellular radiation action
Quantum Molecular Dynamics Approach to the Nuclear Matter Below the Saturation Density
Quantum molecular dynamics is applied to study the ground state properties of
nuclear matter at subsaturation densities. Clustering effects are observed as
to soften the equation of state at these densities. The structure of nuclear
matter at subsaturation density shows some exotic shapes with variation of the
density.Comment: 21 pages of Latex (revtex), 9 Postscript figure
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