1,633 research outputs found
Proteomic analysis of the rat ovary following chronic low-dose exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a ubiquitously distributed endocrine-disrupting chemical and reproductive toxicant. In order to elucidate low-dose TCDD-mediated effects on reproductive or endocrine functions, female Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered various concentrations (20, 50, or 125 ng/kg once weekly) TCDD for 29 wk. A proteomic analysis of the ovaries by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) tandem mass spectrometry showed distinct changes in the levels of several proteins that are relevant markers of TCDD toxicity. Serum estradiol (E2) levels of TCDD-treated animals were markedly lower than control. There were no significant differences in bone mineral density (BMD) of femurs. The body weight of the 125-ng/kg TCDD group was significantly decreased relative to control and there was also a significant reduction in absolute and relative ovarian weights. Expressions of selenium binding protein 2, glutathione S-transferase mu type 3, Lrpap1 protein, NADPH, and peptidylprolyl isomerase D were upregulated, while prohibitin and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor expression levels were downregulated. Data provide further insight into the mechanisms by which TCDD disrupts ovarian function by indicating which differential protein expressions following low-dose TCDD exposure
The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction program on the mental health of family caregivers: a randomized controlled trial
<b>Background</b> Caregivers of people with chronic conditions are more likely than non-caregivers to have depression and emotional problems. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving their mental well-being. <p></p>
<b>Methods</b> Caregivers of persons with chronic conditions who scored 7 or above in the Caregiver Strain Index were randomly assigned to the 8-week MBSR group (n = 70) or the self-help control group (n = 71). Validated instruments were used to assess the changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms, quality of life, self-efficacy, self-compassion and mindfulness. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. <p></p>
<b>Results </b>Compared to the participants in the control group, participants in the MBSR group had a significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at 3 months post-intervention (p < 0.01). The improvement in state anxiety symptoms was significantly greater among participants in the MBSR group than those of the control group at post-intervention (p = 0.007), although this difference was not statistically significant at 3 months post-intervention (p = 0.084). There was also a statistically significant larger increase in self-efficacy (controlling negative thoughts; p = 0.041) and mindfulness (p = 0.001) among participants in the MBSR group at the 3-month follow-up compared to the participants in the control group. No statistically significant group effects (MBSR vs. control) were found in perceived stress, quality of life or self-compassion. <p></p>
<b>Conclusions </b>MBSR appears to be a feasible and acceptable intervention to improve mental health among family caregivers with significant care burden, although further studies that include an active control group are needed to make the findings more conclusive
Thermodynamics of charged and rotating black strings
We study thermodynamics of cylindrically symmetric black holes. Uncharged as
well as charged and rotating objects have been discussed. We derive surface
gravity and hence the Hawking temperature and entropy for all these cases. We
correct some results in the literature and present new ones. It is seen that
thermodynamically these black configurations behave differently from
spherically symmetric objects
Quantization of static space-times
A 4-dimensional Lorentzian static space-time is equivalent to 3-dimensional
Euclidean gravity coupled to a massless Klein-field. By canonically quantizing
the coupling model in the framework of loop quantum gravity, we obtain a
quantum theory which actually describes quantized static space-times. The
Kinematical Hilbert space is the product of the Hilbert space of gravity with
that of imaginary scalar fields. It turns out that the Hamiltonian constraint
of the 2+1 model corresponds to a densely defined operator in the underlying
Hilbert space, and hence it is finite without renormalization. As a new point
of view, this quantized model might shed some light on a few physical problems
concerning quantum gravity.Comment: 14 pages, made a few modifications, added Journal-re
Entropy spectrum of a Kerr anti-de Sitter black hole
The entropy spectrum of a spherically symmetric black hole was derived
without the quasinormal modes in the work of Majhi and Vagenas. Extending this
work to rotating black holes, we quantize the entropy and the horizon area of a
Kerr anti-de Sitter black hole by two methods. The spectra of entropy and area
are obtained via the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule and the adiabatic
invariance in the first way. By addressing the wave function of emitted
(absorbed) particles, the entropy and the area are quantized in the second one.
Both results show that the entropy and the area spectra are equally spaced.Comment: Accepted for publication in The European Physical Journal C, Volume
72, Issue
Association of MRI T1 relaxation time with neuropsychological test performance in manganese- exposed welders
This study examines the results of neuropsychological testing of 26 active welders and 17 similar controls and their relationship to welders' shortened MRI T1 relaxation time, indicative of increased brain manganese (Mn) accumulation. Welders were exposed to Mn for an average duration of 12.25 years to average levels of Mn in air of 0.11±0.05mg/m3. Welders scored significantly worse than controls on Fruit Naming and the Parallel Lines test of graphomotor tremor. Welders had shorter MRI T1 relaxation times than controls in the globus pallidus, substantia nigra, caudate nucleus, and the anterior prefrontal lobe. 63% of the variation in MRI T1 relaxation times was accounted for by exposure group. In welders, lower relaxation times in the caudate nucleus and substantia nigra were associated with lower neuropsychological test performance on tests of verbal fluency (Fruit Naming), verbal learning, memory, and perseveration (WHO-UCLA AVLT). Results indicate that verbal function may be one of the first cognitive domains affected by brain Mn deposition in welders as reflected by MRI T1 relaxation times
Coarse-Graining and Renormalization Group in the Einstein Universe
The Kadanoff-Wilson renormalization group approach for a scalar
self-interacting field theor generally coupled with gravity is presented. An
average potential that monitors the fluctuations of the blocked field in
different scaling regimes is constructed in a nonflat background and explicitly
computed within the loop-expansion approximation for an Einstein universe. The
curvature turns out to be dominant in setting the crossover scale from a
double-peak and a symmetric distribution of the block variables. The evolution
of all the coupling constants generated by the blocking procedure is examined:
the renormalized trajectories agree with the standard perturbative results for
the relevant vertices near the ultraviolet fixed point, but new effective
interactions between gravity and matter are present. The flow of the conformal
coupling constant is therefore analyzed in the improved scheme and the infrared
fixed point is reached for arbitrary values of the renormalized parameters.Comment: 18 pages, REVTex, two uuencoded figures. (to appear in Phys. Rev.
D15, July) Transmission errors have been correcte
Infection control and the burden of tuberculosis infection and disease in health care workers in China: a cross-sectional study
Can lepton flavor violating interactions explain the LSND results?
If the atmospheric and the solar neutrino problem are both explained by
neutrino oscillations, and if there are only three light neutrinos, then all
mass-squared differences between the neutrinos are known. In such a case,
existing terrestrial neutrino oscillation experiments cannot be significantly
affected by neutrino oscillations, but, in principle there could be an anomaly
in the neutrino flux due to new neutrino interactions. We discuss how a
non-standard muon decay would modify the
neutrino production processes of these experiments. Since violation
is small for New Physics above the weak scale one can use related
flavor-violating charged lepton processes to constrain these decays in a model
independent way. We show that the upper bounds on ,
muonium-antimuonium conversion and rule out any observable
effect for the present experiments due to
for , respectively. Applying similar arguments to
flavor-changing semi-leptonic reactions we exclude the possibility that the
"oscillation signals" observed at LSND are due to flavor-changing interactions
that conserve total lepton number.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, Latex; minor correction
Minimal Mass Matrices for Dirac Neutrinos
We consider the possibility of neutrinos being Dirac particles and study
minimal mass matrices with as much zero entries as possible. We find that up to
5 zero entries are allowed. Those matrices predict one vanishing mass state, CP
conservation and U_{e3} either zero or proportional to R, where R is the ratio
of the solar and atmospheric \Delta m^2. Matrices containing 4 zeros can be
classified in categories predicting U_{e3} = 0, U_{e3} \neq 0 but no CP
violation or |U_{e3}| \neq 0 and possible CP violation. Some cases allow to set
constraints on the neutrino masses. The characteristic value of U_{e3} capable
of distinguishing some of the cases with non-trivial phenomenological
consequences is about R/2 \sin 2 \theta_{12}. Matrices containing 3 and less
zero entries imply (with a few exceptions) no correlation for the observables.
We outline models leading to the textures based on the Froggatt-Nielsen
mechanism or the non-Abelian discrete symmetry D_4 \times Z_2.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures. Comments and references added. To appear in JHE
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