158 research outputs found
Relationship between cortisol and physical performance in older persons
Objective: Hypercortisolism is associated with muscle weakness. This study examines the relationship between cortisol and physical performance in older persons. Design/patients: The study was conducted within the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), an ongoing cohort study in a population-based sample of healthy older persons in the Netherlands. Data from the second (1995/1996) and fourth (2001/2002) cycle were used pertaining to 1172 (65-88 years) and 884 (65-94 years) men and women, respectively. Measurements: Physical performance was measured by adding up scores on the chair stands, tandem stand and walk test (range 0-12). In the second cycle serum total and calculated free cortisol were assessed; in the fourth cycle evening salivary cortisol was assessed. Regression analysis (stratified for sex, adjusted for age, body mass index, alcohol use, physical activity and region) was performed to examine the cross-sectional relationship between cortisol and physical performance. Results: Women with higher calculated free cortisol scored less well on physical performance (b = -0.28 per SD higher cortisol, P = 0.016), which was mainly explained by poorer performance on the tandem stand (OR = 1.32 for a lower score per SD higher cortisol, P = 0.003). Men with higher salivary cortisol scored less well on physical performance (b = -0.90 in the highest vs. the lowest quartile, P = 0.008), which was mainly explained by poorer performance on the chair stands and walk test (OR = 1.88, P = 0.020 and OR = 1.81, P = 0.027, respectively, in the highest vs. the lowest quartile). Conclusion: Physical performance is negatively associated with high cortisol levels in older persons. © 2007 The Authors
On the integrability of Wilson loops in AdS_5 x S^5: Some periodic ansatze
Wilson loops are calculated within the AdS/CFT correspondence by finding a
classical solution to the string equations of motion in AdS_5 x S^5 and
evaluating its action. An important fact is that this sigma-model used to
evaluate the Wilson loops is integrable, a feature that has gained relevance
through the study of spinning strings carrying large quantum numbers and
spin-chains. We apply the same techniques used to solve the equations for
spinning strings to find the minimal surfaces describing a wide class of Wilson
loops. We focus on different cases with periodic boundary conditions on the
AdS_5 and S^5 factors and find a rich array of solutions. We examine the
different phases that appear in the problem and comment on the applicability of
integrability to the general problem.Comment: LaTex, 49 pages, 8 figure
Phase structure of twisted Eguchi-Kawai model
We study the phase structure of the four-dimensional twisted Eguchi-Kawai
model using numerical simulations. This model is an effective tool for studying
SU(N) gauge theory in the large-N limit and provides a nonperturbative
formulation of the gauge theory on noncommutative spaces. Recently it was found
that its Z_N^4 symmetry, which is crucial for the validity of this model, can
break spontaneously in the intermediate coupling region. We investigate in
detail the symmetry breaking point from the weak coupling side. Our simulation
results show that the continuum limit of this model cannot be taken.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at the XXV International Symposium
on Lattice Field Theory, July 30 - August 4, 2007, Regensburg, German
BPS Wilson Loops on S^2 at Higher Loops
We consider supersymmetric Wilson loops of the variety constructed by
Drukker, Giombi, Ricci, and Trancanelli, whose spatial contours lie on a
two-sphere. Working to second order in the 't Hooft coupling in planar N=4
Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory (SYM), we compute the vacuum expectation value
of a wavy-latitude and of a loop composed of two longitudes. We evaluate the
resulting integrals numerically and find that the results are consistent with
the zero-instanton sector calculation of Wilson loops in 2-d Yang-Mills on S^2
performed by Bassetto and Griguolo. We also consider the connected correlator
of two distinct latitudes to third order in the 't Hooft coupling in planar N=4
SYM. We compare the result in the limit where the latitudes become coincident
to a perturbative calculation in 2-d Yang-Mills on S^2 using a light-cone
Wu-Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription. We are not able to calculate the SYM
result at the required order in the separation between the latitudes necessary
for a match with 2-d Yang-Mills; the result, however, does not preclude such a
match.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures. v2 references added, minor cosmetic changes. v3
minor error in eq. (40) corrected. v4 error in coincident limit of correlator
corrected; claims of disagreement with 2-d Yang-Mills retracte
An Exact Conformal Symmetry Ansatz on Kaluza-Klein Reduced TMG
Using a Kaluza-Klein dimensional reduction, and further imposing a conformal
Killing symmetry on the reduced metric generated by the dilaton, we show an
Ansatz that yields many of the known stationary axisymmetric solutions to TMG.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, v3: postprint, added one re
Latent Markov Latent Trait Analysis for Exploring Measurement Model Changes in Intensive Longitudinal Data
Drawing inferences about dynamics of psychological constructs from intensive longitudinal data requires the measurement model (MM)—indicating how items relate to constructs—to be invariant across subjects and time-points. When assessing subjects in their daily life, however, there may be multiple MMs, for instance, because subjects differ in their item interpretation or because the response style of (some) subjects changes over time. The recently proposed “latent Markov factor analysis” (LMFA) evaluates (violations of) measurement invariance by classifying observations into latent “states” according to the MM underlying these observations such that MMs differ between states but are invariant within one state. However, LMFA is limited to normally distributed continuous data and estimates may be inaccurate when applying the method to ordinal data (e.g., from Likert items) with skewed responses or few response categories. To enable researchers and health professionals with ordinal data to evaluate measurement invariance, we present “latent Markov latent trait analysis” (LMLTA), which builds upon LMFA but treats responses as ordinal. Our application shows differences in MMs of adolescents’ affective well-being in different social contexts, highlighting the importance of studying measurement invariance for drawing accurate inferences for psychological science and prac
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