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Associations between cadmium exposure and neurocognitive test scores in a cross-sectional study of US adults
Background: Low-level environmental cadmium exposure and neurotoxicity has not been well studied in adults. Our goal was to evaluate associations between neurocognitive exam scores and a biomarker of cumulative cadmium exposure among adults in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Methods: NHANES III is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of the U.S. population conducted between 1988 and 1994. We analyzed data from a subset of participants, age 20–59, who participated in a computer-based neurocognitive evaluation. There were four outcome measures: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SRTT: visual motor speed), the Symbol Digit Substitution Test (SDST: attention/perception), the Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT) trials-to-criterion, and the SDLT total-error-score (SDLT-tests: learning recall/short-term memory). We fit multivariable-adjusted models to estimate associations between urinary cadmium concentrations and test scores. Results: 5662 participants underwent neurocognitive screening, and 5572 (98%) of these had a urinary cadmium level available. Prior to multivariable-adjustment, higher urinary cadmium concentration was associated with worse performance in each of the 4 outcomes. After multivariable-adjustment most of these relationships were not significant, and age was the most influential variable in reducing the association magnitudes. However among never-smokers with no known occupational cadmium exposure the relationship between urinary cadmium and SDST score (attention/perception) was significant: a 1 μg/L increase in urinary cadmium corresponded to a 1.93% (95%CI: 0.05, 3.81) decrement in performance. Conclusions: These results suggest that higher cumulative cadmium exposure in adults may be related to subtly decreased performance in tasks requiring attention and perception, particularly among those adults whose cadmium exposure is primarily though diet (no smoking or work based cadmium exposure). This association was observed among exposure levels that have been considered to be without adverse effects and these levels are common in U.S. adults. Thus further research into the potential neurocognitive effects of cadmium exposure is warranted. Because cumulative cadmium exposure may mediate some of the effects of age and smoking on cognition, adjusting for these variables may result in the underestimation of associations with cumulative cadmium exposure. Prospective studies that include never-smokers and non-occupationally exposed individuals are needed to clarify these issues
Low energy n-\nuc{3}{H} scattering : a novel testground for nuclear interaction
The low energy n-\nuc{3}{H} elastic cross sections near the resonance peak
are calculated by solving the 4-nucleon problem with realistic NN interactions.
Three different methods -- Alt, Grassberger and Shandas (AGS), Hyperspherical
Harmonics and Faddeev-Yakubovsky -- have been used and their respective results
are compared. We conclude on a failure of the existing NN forces to reproduce
the n-\nuc{3}{H} total cross section.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.
Structure of boson systems beyond the mean-field
We investigate systems of identical bosons with the focus on two-body
correlations. We use the hyperspherical adiabatic method and a decomposition of
the wave function in two-body amplitudes. An analytic parametrization is used
for the adiabatic effective radial potential. We discuss the structure of a
condensate for arbitrary scattering length. Stability and time scales for
various decay processes are estimated. The previously predicted Efimov-like
states are found to be very narrow. We discuss the validity conditions and
formal connections between the zero- and finite-range mean-field
approximations, Faddeev-Yakubovskii formulation, Jastrow ansatz, and the
present method. We compare numerical results from present work with mean-field
calculations and discuss qualitatively the connection with measurements.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Phys. B. Ver. 2 is 28 pages with
modified figures and discussion
Solutions of the Faddeev-Yakubovsky equations for the four nucleons scattering states
The Faddeev-Yakubowsky equations in configuration space have been solved for
the four nucleon system. The results with an S-wave interaction model in the
isospin approximation are presented. They concern the bound and scattering
states below the first three-body threshold. The elastic phase-shifts for the
N+NNN reaction in different () channels are given and the corresponding
low energy expansions are discussed. Particular attention is payed to the n+t
elastic cross section. Its resonant structure is well described in terms of a
simple NN interaction. First results concerning the S-matrix for the coupled
N+NNN-NN+NN channels and the strong deuteron-deuteron scattering length are
obtained.Comment: latex.tar.gz, 36 pages, 10 figures, 11 tables. To be published in
Physical Review
Four-nucleon shell-model calculations in a Faddeev-like approach
We use equations for Faddeev amplitudes to solve the shell-model problem for
four nucleons in the model space that includes up to 14 hbar Omega
harmonic-oscillator excitations above the unperturbed ground state. Two- and
three-body effective interactions derived from the Reid93 and Argonne V8'
nucleon-nucleon potentials are used in the calculations. Binding energies,
excitations energies, point-nucleon radii and electromagnetic and strangeness
charge form factors for 4He are studied. The structure of the Faddeev-like
equations is discussed and a formula for matrix elements of the permutation
operators in a harmonic-oscillator basis is given. The dependence on
harmonic-oscillator excitations allowed in the model space and on the
harmonic-oscillator frequency is investigated. It is demonstrated that the use
of the three-body effective interactions improves the convergence of the
results.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, REVTe
Few-nucleon systems in translationally invariant harmonic oscillator basis
We present a translationally invariant formulation of the no-core shell model
approach for few-nucleon systems. We discuss a general method of
antisymmetrization of the harmonic-oscillator basis depending on Jacobi
coordinates. The use of a translationally invariant basis allows us to employ
larger model spaces than in traditional shell-model calculations. Moreover, in
addition to two-body effective interactions, three- or higher-body effective
interactions as well as real three-body interactions can be utilized. In the
present study we apply the formalism to solve three and four nucleon systems
interacting by the CD-Bonn nucleon-nucleon potential. Results of ground-state
as well as excited-state energies, rms radii and magnetic moments are
discussed. In addition, we compare charge form factor results obtained using
the CD-Bonn and Argonne V8' NN potentials.Comment: 25 pages. RevTex. 13 Postscript figure
Measurement of the cross-section ratio sigma_{psi(2S)}/sigma_{J/psi(1S)} in deep inelastic exclusive ep scattering at HERA
The exclusive deep inelastic electroproduction of and
at an centre-of-mass energy of 317 GeV has been studied with the ZEUS
detector at HERA in the kinematic range GeV,
GeV and GeV, where is the photon virtuality, is the
photon-proton centre-of-mass energy and is the squared four-momentum
transfer at the proton vertex. The data for GeV were taken in
the HERA I running period and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 114
pb. The data for GeV are from both HERA I and HERA II
periods and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 468 pb. The decay
modes analysed were and for the
and for the . The cross-section ratio
has been measured as a function of
and . The results are compared to predictions of QCD-inspired
models of exclusive vector-meson production.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
Measurement of neutral current e+/-p cross sections at high Bjorken x with the ZEUS detector
The neutral current e+/-p cross section has been measured up to values of
Bjorken x of approximately 1 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated
luminosity of 187 inv. pb of e-p and 142 inv. pb of e+p collisions at sqrt(s) =
318GeV. Differential cross sections in x and Q2, the exchanged boson
virtuality, are presented for Q2 geq 725GeV2. An improved reconstruction method
and greatly increased amount of data allows a finer binning in the high-x
region of the neutral current cross section and leads to a measurement with
much improved precision compared to a similar earlier analysis. The
measurements are compared to Standard Model expectations based on a variety of
recent parton distribution functions.Comment: 39 pages, 9 figure
Combined QCD and electroweak analysis of HERA data
A simultaneous fit of parton distribution functions (PDFs) and electroweak
parameters to HERA data on deep inelastic scattering is presented. The input
data are the neutral current and charged current inclusive cross sections which
were previously used in the QCD analysis leading to the HERAPDF2.0 PDFs. In
addition, the polarisation of the electron beam was taken into account for the
ZEUS data recorded between 2004 and 2007. Results on the vector and
axial-vector couplings of the Z boson to u- and d-type quarks, on the value of
the electroweak mixing angle and the mass of the W boson are presented. The
values obtained for the electroweak parameters are in agreement with Standard
Model predictions.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. D. Small corrections
from proofing process and small change to Fig. 12 and Table
Limits on the effective quark radius from inclusive scattering at HERA
The high-precision HERA data allows searches up to TeV scales for Beyond the
Standard Model contributions to electron-quark scattering. Combined
measurements of the inclusive deep inelastic cross sections in neutral and
charged current scattering corresponding to a luminosity of around 1
fb have been used in this analysis. A new approach to the beyond the
Standard Model analysis of the inclusive data is presented; simultaneous
fits of parton distribution functions together with contributions of "new
physics" processes were performed. Results are presented considering a finite
radius of quarks within the quark form-factor model. The resulting 95% C.L.
upper limit on the effective quark radius is cm.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Phys. Lett.
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