A simple method to create a vortex in Bose-Einstein condensate of alkali atoms

Bose-Einstein condensation in alkali atoms has materialized quite an interesting system, namely a condensate with a spin degree of freedom. In analogy with the A-phase of the superfluid $^3$He, numerous textures with nonvanishing vorticity have been proposed. In the present paper, interesting properties of such spin textures are analyzed. We propose a remarkably simple method to create a vortex state of a BEC in alkali atoms.Comment: 2 pages, 1 eps figure. Proceedings of LT22. The title is changed from the submitted version: Vortices in Bose-Einstein condensate with spin degree of freedo

Effect of juggling therapy on anxiety disorders in female patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aims</p> <p>The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of juggling therapy for anxiety disorder patients.</p> <p>Design and Method</p> <p>Subjects were 17 female outpatients who met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders. Subjects were treated with standard psychotherapy, medication and counseling for 6 months. For the last 3 months of treatment, subjects were randomized into either a non-juggling group (n = 9) or a juggling therapy group (juggling group: n = 8). The juggling group gradually acquired juggling skills by practicing juggling beanbags (<it>otedama </it>in Japan) with both hands. The therapeutic effect was evaluated using scores of psychological testing (STAI: State and Trate Anxiety Inventry, POMS: Profile of Mood Status) and of ADL (FAI: Franchay Activity Index) collected before treatment, 3 months after treatment (before juggling therapy), and at the end of both treatments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After 6 months, an analysis of variance revealed that scores on the state anxiety, trait anxiety subscales of STAI and tension-anxiety (T-A) score of POMS were significantly lower in the juggling group than in the non-juggling group (p < 0.01). Depression, anger-hostility scores of POMS were improved more than non-jugglers. In the juggling group, activity scores on the vigor subscale of POMS and FAI score were significantly higher than those in the non juggling group (p < 0.01). Other mood scores of POMS did not differ between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that juggling therapy may be effective for the treatment of anxiety disorders.</p

Forprófun á íslenskri útgáfu Sjálfsmatskvarða Becks fyrir börn og unglinga

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenGerð var forprófun á Sjálfsmatskvörðum Becks fyrir börn á aldrinum 7-14 ára til þess að athuga próffræðilega eiginleika íslenskrar útgáfu af kvörðunum. Þátttakendur voru 293 úr 12 grunnskólum í Reykjavík. Próffræðilegir eiginleikar reyndust sambærilegir við erlendar rannsóknir. Innri áreiðanleiki var hár og fylgni atriða við heildarskor hvers kvarða viðunandi. Samleitni kvarða var athugað með þáttagreiningu og niðurstöður sýndu að þunglyndi, kvíði og hegðunarvandi voru einsleitir kvarðar en atriði sjálfsmyndar og reiði mynduðu tvo þætti. Gerð var þáttagreining á öllum 100 atriðum kvarðanna. Niðurstöður sýndu þrjá þætti sem skýrðu 38,6% dreifingar. Fyrsti þáttur samanstóð af þunglyndi, reiði og kvíða. Á annan þátt lögðust þrjú atriði reiði og 18 atriði hegðunarvanda og á þriðja þátt lögðust 18 atriði sjálfsmyndar. Há fylgni reyndist vera milli kvíða, þunglyndis og reiði en það er sambærilegt niðurstöðum erlendra rannsókna. Réttmæti kvarðanna var athugað með þremur spurningum um líðan í skóla og stríðni. Spurning um líðan í frímínútum hafði hæstu fylgni við þunglyndi sem bendir til þess að nemendur sem sýna þunglyndiseinkenni líður frekar illa í frímínútum. Spurning um líðan í kennslustundum hafði hæstu fylgni við hegðunarvanda og reiði og loks var hæst fylgni milli hegðunarvanda og stríðni. Enginn kynja- eða aldursmunur kom fram á kvörðum fyrir þunglyndi, reiði og kvíða. Hins vegar var meðaltal eldri hóps og drengja hærra á kvarða fyrir hegðunarvanda en hjá yngri hóp og stúlkum. Meðaltal á sjálfsmyndarkvarða var lægra í hópi eldri þáttakenda og meiri munur var á milli yngri og eldri stúlkna sem bendir til að sjálfsmynd verði neikvæðari á unglingsárum og sérstaklega hjá stúlkum. Próffræðilegir eiginleikar reyndust í megindráttum góðir en safna þarf meiri gögnum um áreiðanleika og réttmæti kvarðanna áður en hægt er að mæla með almennri notkun þeirra hér á landi.A pilot study of the Beck Youth Inventories (BYI) for children 7-14 years was undertaken to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version. Participants were 293 from 12 elementary schools in Reykjavík. Psychometric properties revealed similar findings as other studies abroad have revealed. The internal consistency reliability was high and item total correlation acceptable. A principal axis factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the homogeneity of the BYI. Depression, anxiety and disruptive behavior were unidimensional but self-concept and anger revealed two factors. Additionally a principal axis factor analysis of all items of the inventories indicated three factors explaining 38,6% of variance. Items of depression, anxiety and anger loaded on the first factor. Disruptive behavior and 3 items of anger loaded on the second factor. Items of self-concept loaded on the third factor. Depression, anxiety and anger correlated highly, consistent with studies abroad and the factor analysis results. The scales´ validity was evaluated by three items assesing emotional well being in school and teasing other pupils. The highest correlation was between emotional well being in school breaks and depression, emotional well being in classrooms and disruptive behavior and anger, and between teasing other pupils and disruptive behavior. No significant age and gender differences were found on depression, anxiety and anger. Mean score for boys was higher than for girls on disruptive behavior and older students scored higher than younger students. Older students´ mean score was lower than younger students´ mean on self-concept and this difference was greater for girls than boys. Psychometric properties were good, but additonal studies need to be undertaken on the scales´ reliability and validity before we can recommend general use of the scales for clinical purposes in Iceland

A novel method to create a vortex in a Bose-Einstein condensate

It has been shown that a vortex in a BEC with spin degrees of freedom can be created by manipulating with external magnetic fields. In the previous work, an optical plug along the vortex axis has been introduced to avoid Majorana flips, which take place when the external magnetic field vanishes along the vortex axis while it is created. In the present work, in contrast, we study the same scenario without introducing the optical plug. The magnetic field vanishes only in the center of the vortex at a certain moment of the evolution and hence we expect that the system will lose only a fraction of the atoms by Majorana flips even in the absence of an optical plug. Our conjecture is justified by numerically solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, where the full spinor degrees of freedom of the order parameter are properly taken into account. A significant simplification of the experimental realization of the scenario is attained by the omission of the optical plug.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

Architecture of the Subendothelial Elastic Fibers of Small Blood Vessels and Variations in Vascular Type and Size

Most blood vessels contain elastin that provides the vessels with the resilience and flexibility necessary to control hemodynamics. Pathophysiological hemodynamic changes affect the remodeling of elastic components, but little is known about their structural properties. The present study was designed to elucidate, in detail, the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of delicate elastic fibers in small vessels, and to reveal their architectural pattern in a rat model. The fine vascular elastic components were observed by a newly developed scanning electron microscopy technique using a formic acid digestion with vascular casts. This method successfully visualized the 3D architecture of elastic fibers in small blood vessels, even arterioles and venules. The subendothelial elastic fibers in such small vessels assemble into a sheet of meshwork running longitudinally, while larger vessels have a higher density of mesh and thicker mesh fibers. The quantitative analysis revealed that arterioles had a wider range of mesh density than venules; the ratio of density to vessel size was higher than that in venules. The new method was useful for evaluating the subendothelial elastic fibers of small vessels and for demonstrating differences in the architecture of different types of vessels

Features of the oral microbiome in Japanese elderly people with 20 or more teeth and a non-severe periodontal condition during periodontal maintenance treatment: A cross-sectional study

Introduction The aim of the present study was to characterize the profile and diversity of the oral microbiome of a periodontally non-severe group with >= 20 teeth in comparison with a severe periodontitis group of elderly Japanese people. Methods A total of 50 patients who had >= 20 teeth and aged >= 60 years were recruited, and 34 participants (13 non-severe participants) were analyzed. After oral rinse (saliva after rinsing) sample collection, the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene were sequenced to investigate microbiome composition, alpha diversity (Shannon index, Simpson index, richness, and evenness), and beta diversity using principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on weighted and unweighted UniFrac distances. A linear discriminant analysis effect size was calculated to identify bacterial species in the periodontally non-severe group. Results The periodontally non-severe group showed lower alpha diversity than that of the severe periodontitis group (p Conclusion The oral microbiome in elderly Japanese people with >= 20 teeth and a non-severe periodontal condition was characterized by low alpha diversity and the presence of four bacterial species

Quantitative Analysis of the Effects of a Bangerter Filter on Gross Stereopsis in Experimental Models of Reduced Visual Acuity

Although a 0.3 Bangerter filter, which reduces visual acuity, is frequently used for treating moderate amblyopia, the effects on gross stereopsis are not well known. This study quantitatively evaluated whether gross stereopsis is degraded by a Bangerter filter. Seven healthy subjects (median age: 29 years) participated in this psychophysical study. Targets with crossed disparities of 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, and 5° were randomly presented on a three-dimensional television display. The subjects indicated the point at which the targets popped out from the television screen (matching method). The distance from the screen to the point was defined as the degree of stereopsis. This experiment was performed with and without a 0.3 Bangerter filter. The corrected monocular visual acuities were decreased to about 20/63 by the filter in all subjects. No significant difference was observed for any of the disparities (1°-5°), between the degree of stereopsis visualized with and without filters for either the dominant or the non-dominant eye. The degree of stereopsis was not degraded by the reduced visual acuity induced by the use of 0.3 Bangerter filters. In this regard, the use of 0.3 Bangerter filters may be considered safer than occlusion eye patches for the patients with normal binocular vision

A multicenter prospective registry of Borden type I dural arteriovenous fistula: results of a 3-year follow-up study

PURPOSE: Although intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) without retrograde leptomeningeal venous drainage (Borden type I) is reported to have a benign nature, no study has prospectively determined its clinical course. Here, we report a 3-year prospective observational study of Borden type I DAVF. METHODS: From April 2013 to March 2016, consecutive patients with DAVF were screened at 13 study institutions. We collected data on baseline characteristics, clinical symptoms, angiography, and neuroimaging. Patients with Borden type I DAVF received conservative care while palliative intervention was considered when the neurological symptoms were intolerable, and were followed at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after inclusion. RESULTS: During the study period, 110 patients with intracranial DAVF were screened and 28 patients with Borden type I DAVF were prospectively followed. None of the patients had conversion to higher type of Borden classification or intracranial hemorrhage during follow-up. Five patients showed spontaneous improvement or disappearance of neurological symptoms (5/28, 17.9%), and 5 patients showed a spontaneous decrease or disappearance of shunt flow on imaging during follow-up (5/28, 17.9%). Stenosis or occlusion of the draining sinuses on initial angiography was significantly associated with shunt flow reduction during follow-up (80.0% vs 21.7%, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In this 3-year prospective study, patients with Borden type I DAVF showed benign clinical course; none of these patients experienced conversion to higher type of Borden classification or intracranial hemorrhage. The restrictive changes of the draining sinuses at initial diagnosis might be an imaging biomarker for future shunt flow reduction

Utility of a Fluorescence Microscopy Imaging System for Analyzing the DNA Ploidy of Pathological Megakaryocytes Including 5q- Syndrome

To investigate megakaryocyte (MK) DNA ploidy in various hematological diseases, fluorescence microscopy imaging system (FMI) can be used to analyze DNA ploidy with cell morphology at the single-cell level by using specialized image-processing software. Here we compared DNA ploidy obtained by FMI measured with that obtained flow cytometry (FCM). With FMI, we could evaluate the DNA ploidy in long-term preserved bone marrow smear samples after staining. We next analyzed the MK DNA ploidy in 42 bone marrow smear samples including 26 myeloid neoplasm cases, and we compared the DNA ploidy and platelet counts in the patients' peripheral blood; the production of platelets was significantly high compared to DNA ploidy in the myeloproliferative neoplasms group. The FMI method revealed that the patients with 5q- syndrome exhibited relatively low DNA ploidy despite high platelet counts, and this result suggested that increased DNA ploidy is not indispensable to abundant platelet production. The FMI method for DNA ploidy will be a useful tool to clarify the relationship between DNA ploidy and platelet production by MKs