Relationship between adiposity and admixture in African-American and Hispanic-American women.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate whether differences in admixture in African-American (AFA) and Hispanic-American (HA) adult women are associated with adiposity and adipose distribution.DesignThe proportion of European, sub-Saharan African and Amerindian admixture was estimated for AFA and HA women in the Women's Heath Initiative using 92 ancestry informative markers. Analyses assessed the relationship between admixture and adiposity indices.SubjectsThe subjects included 11 712 AFA and 5088 HA self-identified post-menopausal women.ResultsThere was a significant positive association between body mass index (BMI) and African admixture when BMI was considered as a continuous variable, and age, education, physical activity, parity, family income and smoking were included covariates (P<10(-4)). A dichotomous model (upper and lower BMI quartiles) showed that African admixture was associated with a high odds ratio (OR=3.27 (for 100% admixture compared with 0% admixture), 95% confidence interval 2.08-5.15). For HA, there was no association between BMI and admixture. In contrast, when waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was used as a measure of adipose distribution, there was no significant association between WHR and admixture in AFA but there was a strong association in HA (P<10(-4); OR Amerindian admixture=5.93, confidence interval=3.52-9.97).ConclusionThese studies show that: (1) African admixture is associated with BMI in AFA women; (2) Amerindian admixture is associated with WHR but not BMI in HA women; and (3) it may be important to consider different measurements of adiposity and adipose distribution in different ethnic population groups

Helical Organic and Inorganic Polymers

Despite being a staple of synthetic plastics and biomolecules, helical polymers are scarcely studied with Gaussian-basis-set {\it ab initio} electron-correlated methods on an equal footing with molecules. This article introduces an {\it ab initio} second-order many-body Green's-function [MBGF(2)] method with nondiagonal, frequency-dependent Dyson self-energy for infinite helical polymers using screw-axis-symmetry-adapted Gaussian-spherical-harmonics basis functions. Together with the Gaussian-basis-set density-functional theory for energies, analytical atomic forces, translational-period force, and helical-angle force, it can compute correlated energy, quasiparticle energy bands, structures, and vibrational frequencies of an infinite helical polymer, which smoothly converge at the corresponding oligomer results. These methods can handle incommensurable structures, which have an infinite translational period and are hard to characterize by any other method, just as efficiently as commensurable structures. We apply these methods to polyethylene ($2/1$ helix), polyacetylene (Peierls' system), and polytetrafluoroethylene ($13/6$ helix) to establish the quantitative accuracy of MBGF(2)/cc-pVDZ in simulating their (angle-resolved) ultraviolet photoelectron spectra, and of B3LYP/cc-pVDZ or 6-31G** in reproducing their structures, infrared and Raman band positions, phonon dispersions, and (coherent and incoherent) inelastic neutron scattering spectra. We then predict the same properties for infinitely catenated chains of nitrogen or oxygen and discuss their possible metastable existence under ambient conditions. They include planar zigzag polyazene (N$_2$)$_x$ (Peierls' system), $11/3$-helical isotactic polyazane (NH)$_x$, $9/4$-helical isotactic polyfluoroazane (NF)$_x$, and $7/2$-helical polyoxane (O)$_x$ as potential high-energy-density materials

Monte Carlo study of Si(111) homoepitaxy

An attempt is made to simulate the homoepitaxial growth of a Si(111) surface by the kinetic Monte Carlo method in which the standard Solid-on-Solid model and the planar model of the (7x7) surface reconstruction are used in combination. By taking account of surface reconstructions as well as atomic deposition and migrations, it is shown that the effect of a coorparative stacking transformation is necessary for a layer growth.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. For Fig.1 of this article, please see Fig.2 of Phys.Rev. B56, 3583 (1997). To appear in Phys.Rev.B. (June 1998

S1.23 Investigation of the sialyltransferases present in two populations of ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45635/1/10719_2005_Article_BF01209824.pd

Double-Exchange Ferromagnetism and Orbital-Fluctuation-Induced Superconductivity in Cubic Uranium Compounds

A double-exchange mechanism for the emergence of ferromagnetism in cubic uranium compounds is proposed on the basis of a $j$-$j$ coupling scheme. The idea is {\it orbital-dependent duality} of $5f$ electrons concerning itinerant $\Gamma_8^-$ and localized $\Gamma_7^-$ states in the cubic structure. Since orbital degree of freedom is still active in the ferromagnetic phase, orbital-related quantum critical phenomenon is expected to appear. In fact, odd-parity p-wave pairing compatible with ferromagnetism is found in the vicinity of an orbital ordered phase. Furthermore, even-parity d-wave pairing with significant odd-frequency components is obtained. A possibility to observe such exotic superconductivity in manganites is also discussed briefly.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Involvement of Mhc Loci in immune responses that are not Ir-gene-controlled

Twenty-nine randomly chosen, soluble antigens, many of them highly complex, were used to immunize mice of two strains, C3H and B10.RIII. Lymphnode cells from the immunized mice were restimulated in vitro with the priming antigens and the proliferative response of the cells was determined. Both strains were responders to 28 of 29 antigens. Eight antigens were then used to immunize 11 congenic strains carrying different H-2 haplotypes, and the T-cell proliferative responses of these strains were determined. Again, all the strains responded to seven of the eight antigens. These experiments were then repeated, but this time -antibodies specific for the A (AA) or E (EE) molecules were added to the culture to block the in vitro responsiveness. In all but one of the responses, inhibition with both A-specific and E-specific antibodies was observed. The response to one antigen (Blastoinyces) was exceptional in that some strains were nonresponders to this antigen. Furthermore, the response in the responder strains was blocked with A-specific, but not with E-specific, antibodies. The study demonstrates that responses to antigens not controlled by Irr genes nevertheless require participation of class II Mhc molecules. In contrast to Ir gene-controlled responses involving either the A- or the E-molecule controlling loci (but never both), the responses not Ir-controlled involve participation of both A- and E-controlling loci. The lack of Ir-gene control is probably the result of complexity of the responses to multiple determinants. There is thus no principal difference between responses controlled and those not controlled by Ir genes: both types involve the recognition of the antigen, in the context of Mhc molecules

On the Puzzle of Odd-Frequency Superconductivity

Since the first theoretical proposal by Berezinskii, an odd-frequency superconductivity has encountered the fundamental problems on its thermodynamic stability and rigidity of a homogenous state accompanied by unphysical Meissner effect. Recently, Solenov {\it et al}. [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 79} (2009) 132502.] have asserted that the path-integral formulation gets rid of the difficulties leading to a stable homogenous phase with an ordinary Meissner effect. Here, we show that it is crucial to choose the appropriate saddle-point solution that minimizes the effective free energy, which was assumed {\it implicitly} in the work by Solenov and co-workers. We exhibit the path-integral framework for the odd-frequency superconductivity with general type of pairings, including an argument on the retarded functions via the analytic continuation to the real axis.Comment: 6 pages, in JPSJ forma

On the Meissner Effect of the Odd-Frequency Superconductivity with Critical Spin Fluctuations: Possibility of Zero Field FFLO pairing

We investigate the influence of critical spin fluctuations on electromagnetic responses in the odd-frequency superconductivity. It is shown that the Meissner kernel of the odd-frequency superconductivity is strongly reduced by the critical spin fluctuation or the massless spin wave mode in the antiferromagnetic phase. These results imply that the superfluid density is reduced, and the London penetration depth is lengthened for the odd-frequency pairing. It is also shown that the zero field Flude-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov pairing is spontaneously realized both for even- and odd-frequency in the case of sufficiently strong coupling with low lying spin-modes.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

The orphan receptor ERRα interferes with steroid signaling

The estrogen receptor-related receptor α (ERRα) is an orphan member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that has been shown to interfere with the estrogen-signaling pathway. In this report, we demonstrate that ERRα also cross-talks with signaling driven by other steroid hormones. Treatment of human prostatic cells with a specific ERRα inverse agonist reduces the expression of several androgen-responsive genes, in a manner that does not involve perturbation of androgen receptor expression or activity. Furthermore, ERRα activates the expression of androgen response elements (ARE)-containing promoters, such as that of the prostate cancer marker PSA, in an ARE-dependent manner. In addition, promoters containing a steroid response element can be activated by all members of the ERR orphan receptor subfamily, and this, even in the presence of antisteroid compounds

Possible Odd-Frequency Superconductivity in Strong-Coupling Electron-Phonon Systems

A possibility of the odd-frequency pairing in the strong-coupling electron-phonon systems is discussed. Using the Holstein-Hubbard model, we demonstrate that the anomalously soft Einstein mode with the frequency $\omega_{\rm E}\ll\omega_{c}$ ($\omega_{c}$ is the order of the renormalized bandwidth) mediates the s-wave odd-frequency triplet pairing against the ordinary even-frequency singlet pairing. It is necessary for the emergence of the odd-frequency pairing that the pairing interaction is strongly retarded as well as the strong coupling, since the pairing interaction for the odd-frequency pairing is effective only in the diagonal scattering channel, $(\omega_{n},-\omega_{n})\to(\omega_{n'},-\omega_{n'})$ with $\omega_{n'}=\omega_{n}\gtrsim \omega_{\rm E}$. Namely, the odd-frequency superconductivity is realized in the opposite limit of the original BCS theory. The Ginzburg-Landau analysis in the strong-coupling region shows that the specific-heat discontinuity and the slope of the temperature dependence of the superfluid density can be quite small as compared with the BCS values, depending on the ratio of the transition temperature $T_{c}$ and $\omega_{c}$.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp