1,254 research outputs found
Anterior thigh composition measured using ultrasound imaging to quantify relative thickness of muscle and non-contractile tissue: a potential biomarker for musculoskeletal health
This study aimed to use ultrasound imaging to provide objective data on the effects of ageing and gender on relative thickness of quadriceps muscle and non-contractile tissue thickness (subcutaneous fat, SF, combined with perimuscular fascia). In 136 healthy males and females (aged 18-90 years n=63 aged 18-35 years; n=73 aged 65-90). Images of the anterior thigh (dominant) were taken in relaxed supine using B-mode ultrasound imaging. Thickness of muscle, SF and perimuscular fascia were measured, and percentage thickness of total anterior thigh thickness calculated. Independent t-tests compared groups. Correlation between tissue thickness and BMI was examined using Pearsonâs coefficient. Muscle thickness was: 39±8mm in young males, 29±6mm in females, 25±4mm in older males and 20±5mm in females. Percentage muscle to thigh thickness was greater in young participants (p=0.001). Percentage SF and fascia was 17±6% in young and 26±8% in older males, 32±7% in young and 44±7% in older females. BMI was similar for age and correlated moderately with non-contractile tissue (r=0.54; p<0.001) and poorly with muscle (r=-0.01; p=0.93). In conclusion, this novel application of ultrasound imaging as a simple and rapid means of assessing thigh composition (relative thickness of muscle and non-contractile tissue) may help inform health status, e.g. in older people at risk of frailty and loss of mobility, and aid monitoring effects of weight loss or gain, deconditioning and exercise
The relationship between agency, communion, and neural processes associated with conforming to social influence
Social influence is ubiquitous in our daily lives, influencing our opinions, beliefs, and behaviors. Individual differences may determine who is most likely to conform to the opinions of others. More specifically, individual differences in interdependent and independent self-construal determine an individual's sensitivity to and focus on their social surroundings. Relatedly, society traditionally ascribes and prescribes different levels of agency (independence) and communion (interdependence) to men and women. Here, we examined how individual differences in self-construal, and their congruence with gender expectations, influence how people process and respond to social feedback. Results from independent behavioral and neuroimaging samples show that a stronger interdependent self-construal was associated with increased likelihood of conformity, whereas an independent self-construal was not. Further, neuroimaging data suggests that the relationship between brain activity and conformity is moderated by the congruence of gender stereotypes and self-construal. Specifically, stereotypically congruent women (with stronger interdependence) and men (with stronger independence) showed increased activity in mentalizing regions (and value regions in men) when conforming. Stereotypically incongruent women (with stronger independence) and men (with stronger interdependence) showed decreased mentalizing activity when conforming. These results shed light on underlying (neuro)psychological mechanisms that are associated with conformity among different groups
Potential and current distribution in strongly anisotropic Bi(2)Sr(2) CaCu(2)O(8) single crystals at current breakdown
Experiments on potential differences in the low-temperature vortex solid
phase of monocrystalline platelets of superconducting Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8)
(BSCCO) subjected to currents driven either through an "ab" surface or from one
such surface to another show evidence of a resistive/nonresistive front moving
progressively out from the current contacts as the current increases. The depth
of the resistive region has been measured by a novel in-depth voltage probe
contact. The position of the front associated with an injection point appears
to depend only on the current magnitude and not on its withdrawal point. It is
argued that enhanced nonresistive superconducting anisotropy limits current
penetration to less than the London length and results in a flat rectangular
resistive region with simultaneous "ab" and "c" current breakdown which moves
progressively out from the injection point with increasing current.
Measurements in "ab" or "c" configurations are seen to give the same
information, involving both ab-plane and c-axis conduction properties.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, typo error corrected, last section was refine
Critical-point scaling function for the specific heat of a Ginzburg-Landau superconductor
If the zero-field transition in high temperature superconductors such as
YBa_2Cu_3O_7-\delta is a critical point in the universality class of the
3-dimensional XY model, then the general theory of critical phenomena predicts
the existence of a critical region in which thermodynamic functions have a
characteristic scaling form. We report the first attempt to calculate the
universal scaling function associated with the specific heat, for which
experimental data have become available in recent years. Scaling behaviour is
extracted from a renormalization-group analysis, and the 1/N expansion is
adopted as a means of approximation. The estimated scaling function is
qualitatively similar to that observed experimentally, and also to the
lowest-Landau-level scaling function used by some authors to provide an
alternative interpretation of the same data. Unfortunately, the 1/N expansion
is not sufficiently reliable at small values of N for a quantitative fit to be
feasible.Comment: 20 pages; 4 figure
Deterministic and stochastic descriptions of gene expression dynamics
A key goal of systems biology is the predictive mathematical description of
gene regulatory circuits. Different approaches are used such as deterministic
and stochastic models, models that describe cell growth and division explicitly
or implicitly etc. Here we consider simple systems of unregulated
(constitutive) gene expression and compare different mathematical descriptions
systematically to obtain insight into the errors that are introduced by various
common approximations such as describing cell growth and division by an
effective protein degradation term. In particular, we show that the population
average of protein content of a cell exhibits a subtle dependence on the
dynamics of growth and division, the specific model for volume growth and the
age structure of the population. Nevertheless, the error made by models with
implicit cell growth and division is quite small. Furthermore, we compare
various models that are partially stochastic to investigate the impact of
different sources of (intrinsic) noise. This comparison indicates that
different sources of noise (protein synthesis, partitioning in cell division)
contribute comparable amounts of noise if protein synthesis is not or only
weakly bursty. If protein synthesis is very bursty, the burstiness is the
dominant noise source, independent of other details of the model. Finally, we
discuss two sources of extrinsic noise: cell-to-cell variations in protein
content due to cells being at different stages in the division cycles, which we
show to be small (for the protein concentration and, surprisingly, also for the
protein copy number per cell) and fluctuations in the growth rate, which can
have a significant impact.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures; Journal of Statistical physics (2012
Determination of the Gamow-Teller Quenching Factor from Charge Exchange Reactions on 90Zr
Double differential cross sections between 0-12 degrees were measured for the
90Zr(n,p) reaction at 293 MeV over a wide excitation energy range of 0-70 MeV.
A multipole decomposition technique was applied to the present data as well as
the previously obtained 90Zr(p,n) data to extract the Gamow-Teller (GT)
component from the continuum. The GT quenching factor Q was derived by using
the obtained total GT strengths. The result is Q=0.88+/-0.06 not including an
overall normalization uncertainty in the GT unit cross section of 16%.Comment: 11 papes, 4 figures, submitted to Physics Letters B (accepted),
gzipped tar file, changed content
The self-consistent bounce: an improved nucleation rate
We generalize the standard computation of homogeneous nucleation theory at
zero temperature to a scenario in which the bubble shape is determined
self-consistently with its quantum fluctuations. Studying two scalar models in
1+1 dimensions, we find the self-consistent bounce by employing a two-particle
irreducible (2PI) effective action in imaginary time at the level of the
Hartree approximation. We thus obtain an effective single bounce action which
determines the rate exponent. We use collective coordinates to account for the
translational invariance and the growth instability of the bubble and finally
present a new nucleation rate prefactor. We compare the results with those
obtained using the standard 1-loop approximation and show that the
self-consistent rate can differ by several orders of magnitude.Comment: 28 pages, revtex, 7 eps figure
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