7,929 research outputs found
Preferências nutricionais entre adolescentes da classe média de Manaus, AM (Brazil)
INTRODUÇÃO: O Brasil tem sido considerado um PaÃs em transição nutricional em razão dos recentes aumentos na prevalência de obesidade e doenças crônicas na classe média, sendo importante identificar os fatores que influenciam as preferências nutricionais desse grupo. Foi realizado estudo com estudantes de classe média de um colégio secundário, particular, em Manaus, AM, Brasil. Com o objetivo de determinar a disponibilidade e a acessibilidade das merendas e analisar as atitudes e preferências dos estudantes e a influência de vários fatores na escolha de merendas nutritivas. MÉTODOS: O estudo incluiu quatros fases: (a) discusão em um grupo de especialistas em nutrição sobre a disponibilidade e acessibilidade das merendas em Manaus; (b) inquérito junto a um grupo dos adolescentes (n=63) sobre suas preferências e hábitos nutricionais; (c) inquérito junto a supermercados selecionado para identificar a disponibilidade e acessibilidade das merendas preferidas; (d) um grupo acompanhado de uma subamostra dos adolescentes (n=55) para identificar a preferências e atitudes sobre o custo e disponibilidade das merendas. RESULTADOS: Foi constatado que os estudantes possuÃam condições financeiras para comprar merendas e que as merendas nutritivas não custam mais do que as não nutritivas. A preferência dos adolescentes foi por merendas não nutritivas. Os fatores que, principalmente, influenciam na escolha originam-se da famÃlia e da televisão. CONCLUSÃO: As implicações para futuras pesquisas e programas nutricionais são discutidos, recomendando-se campanha de educação nutricional para famÃlias, visto a importância desta na escolha de merendas entre esses adolescentes.INTRODUCTION: Brazil has been called a nation in nutrition transitional because of recent increases in the prevalence of obesity and related chronic diseases. With overweight conditions already prevalent among middle-income populations, there exists a need to identify factors that influence nutrition behavior within this group. OBJECTIVE: To address this subject, a research study was implemented among middle-class adolescents attending a large private secondary school in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. The study determined the availability and accessibility of snack foods as well as subjects’ attitudes and preferences towards, and the influence of family and friends on healthy (high-nutrient density) snack choices. METHODS: The 4-stage process included: (a) a nutrition expert focus group discussion that reported local nutrition problems in general and factors related to adolescent nutrition, (b) an adolescent pilot survey (n=63) that solicited information about snacking preferences and habits as well as resources for nutrition information and snack money; (c) a survey of various area food market sources to determine the availability and accessibility of high nutrient density snacks; and (d) a follow-up adolescent survey (n=55) that measured snack food preferences and perceptions about their cost and availability. RESULTS: Results included the finding that, although affordable high nutrient density snacks were available, preferences for low nutrient density snacks prevailed. The adolescents were reportedly more likely to be influenced by and obtain nutrition information from family members than friends. CONCLUSION: From study results it is apparent that a focus on food availability will not automatically result in proper nutritional practices among adolescents. This fact and the parental influence detected are evidence of a need to involve adolescents and their parents in nutrition education campaigns to improve adolescent snack food choices
Dynamical Mass Generation of Composite Dirac Fermions and Fractional Quantum Hall Effects near Charge Neutrality in Graphene
We develop a composite Dirac fermion theory for the fractional quantum Hall
effects (QHE) near charge neutrality in graphene. We show that the interactions
between the composite Dirac fermions lead to dynamical mass generation through
exciton condensation. The four-fold spin-valley degeneracy is fully lifted due
to the mass generation and the exchange effects such that the odd-denominator
fractional QHE observed in the vicinity of charge neutrality can be understood
in terms of the integer QHE of the composite Dirac fermions. At the filling
factor , we show that the massive composite Dirac fermion liquid is
unstable against chiral p-wave pairing for weak Coulomb interactions and the
ground state is a paired nonabelian state described by the Moore-Read Pfaffian
in the long wavelength limit.Comment: Extended, published version, 9 pages, 3 figure
Renormalized perturbation theory for Fermi systems: Fermi surface deformation and superconductivity in the two-dimensional Hubbard model
Divergencies appearing in perturbation expansions of interacting many-body
systems can often be removed by expanding around a suitably chosen renormalized
(instead of the non-interacting) Hamiltonian. We describe such a renormalized
perturbation expansion for interacting Fermi systems, which treats Fermi
surface shifts and superconductivity with an arbitrary gap function via
additive counterterms. The expansion is formulated explicitly for the Hubbard
model to second order in the interaction. Numerical soutions of the
self-consistency condition determining the Fermi surface and the gap function
are calculated for the two-dimensional case. For the repulsive Hubbard model
close to half-filling we find a superconducting state with d-wave symmetry, as
expected. For Fermi levels close to the van Hove singularity a Pomeranchuk
instability leads to Fermi surfaces with broken square lattice symmetry, whose
topology can be closed or open. For the attractive Hubbard model the second
order calculation yeilds s-wave superconductivity with a weakly momentum
dependent gap, whose size is reduced compared to the mean-field result.Comment: 18 pages incl. 6 figure
Quasi-long range order in glass states of impure liquid crystals, magnets, and superconductors
In this review we consider glass states of several disordered systems:
vortices in impure superconductors, amorphous magnets, and nematic liquid
crystals in random porous media. All these systems can be described by the
random-field or random-anisotropy O(N) model. Even arbitrarily weak disorder
destroys long range order in the O(N) model. We demonstrate that at weak
disorder and low temperatures quasi-long range order emerges. In
quasi-long-range-ordered phases the correlation length is infinite and
correlation functions obey power dependencies on the distance. In pure systems
quasi-long range order is possible only in the lower critical dimension and
only in the case of Abelian symmetry. In the presence of disorder this type of
ordering turns out to be more common. It exists in a range of dimensions and is
not prohibited by non-Abelian symmetries.Comment: 32 page
Enhanced Peculiar Velocities in Brane-Induced Gravity
The mounting evidence for anomalously large peculiar velocities in our
Universe presents a challenge for the LCDM paradigm. The recent estimates of
the large scale bulk flow by Watkins et al. are inconsistent at the nearly 3
sigma level with LCDM predictions. Meanwhile, Lee and Komatsu have recently
estimated that the occurrence of high-velocity merging systems such as the
Bullet Cluster (1E0657-57) is unlikely at a 6.5-5.8 sigma level, with an
estimated probability between 3.3x10^{-11} and 3.6x10^{-9} in LCDM cosmology.
We show that these anomalies are alleviated in a broad class of
infrared-modifed gravity theories, called brane-induced gravity, in which
gravity becomes higher-dimensional at ultra large distances. These theories
include additional scalar forces that enhance gravitational attraction and
therefore speed up structure formation at late times and on sufficiently large
scales. The peculiar velocities are enhanced by 24-34% compared to standard
gravity, with the maximal enhancement nearly consistent at the 2 sigma level
with bulk flow observations. The occurrence of the Bullet Cluster in these
theories is 10^4 times more probable than in LCDM cosmology.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. v2: added reference
Functional renormalization group approach to correlated fermion systems
Numerous correlated electron systems exhibit a strongly scale-dependent
behavior. Upon lowering the energy scale, collective phenomena, bound states,
and new effective degrees of freedom emerge. Typical examples include (i)
competing magnetic, charge, and pairing instabilities in two-dimensional
electron systems, (ii) the interplay of electronic excitations and order
parameter fluctuations near thermal and quantum phase transitions in metals,
(iii) correlation effects such as Luttinger liquid behavior and the Kondo
effect showing up in linear and non-equilibrium transport through quantum wires
and quantum dots. The functional renormalization group is a flexible and
unbiased tool for dealing with such scale-dependent behavior. Its starting
point is an exact functional flow equation, which yields the gradual evolution
from a microscopic model action to the final effective action as a function of
a continuously decreasing energy scale. Expanding in powers of the fields one
obtains an exact hierarchy of flow equations for vertex functions. Truncations
of this hierarchy have led to powerful new approximation schemes. This review
is a comprehensive introduction to the functional renormalization group method
for interacting Fermi systems. We present a self-contained derivation of the
exact flow equations and describe frequently used truncation schemes. Reviewing
selected applications we then show how approximations based on the functional
renormalization group can be fruitfully used to improve our understanding of
correlated fermion systems.Comment: Review article, final version, 59 pages, 28 figure
Superficial siderosis: a potential diagnostic marker of cerebral amyloid angiopathy in Alzheimer disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system results from chronic bleeding in the superficial layers of the cortex and spinal cord. In cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), there is amyloid deposition in meningeal and meningo-cortical arteries and capillaries, predisposing them to rupture. CAA is frequently associated with Alzheimer disease (AD).
METHODS: We report a series of 3 AD patients with MRI evidence of superficial siderosis. Two had neuropathological examination confirming superficial siderosis, AD, and CAA.
CONCLUSIONS: Superficial siderosis should be recognized within the spectrum of AD with CAA and considered as a possible antemortem diagnostic feature
d-wave superconductivity and Pomeranchuk instability in the two-dimensional Hubbard model
We present a systematic stability analysis for the two-dimensional Hubbard
model, which is based on a new renormalization group method for interacting
Fermi systems. The flow of effective interactions and susceptibilities confirms
the expected existence of a d-wave pairing instability driven by
antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. More unexpectedly, we find that strong
forward scattering interactions develop which may lead to a Pomeranchuk
instability breaking the tetragonal symmetry of the Fermi surface.Comment: 4 pages (RevTeX), 4 eps figure
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