Flux Expulsion - Field Evolution in Neutron Stars

Models for the evolution of magnetic fields of neutron stars are constructed, assuming the field is embedded in the proton superconducting core of the star. The rate of expulsion of the magnetic flux out of the core, or equivalently the velocity of outward motion of flux-carrying proton-vortices is determined from a solution of the Magnus equation of motion for these vortices. A force due to the pinning interaction between the proton-vortices and the neutron-superfluid vortices is also taken into account in addition to the other more conventional forces acting on the proton-vortices. Alternative models for the field evolution are considered based on the different possibilities discussed for the effective values of the various forces. The coupled spin and magnetic evolution of single pulsars as well as those processed in low-mass binary systems are computed, for each of the models. The predicted lifetimes of active pulsars, field strengths of the very old neutron stars, and distribution of the magnetic fields versus orbital periods in low-mass binary pulsars are used to test the adopted field decay models. Contrary to the earlier claims, the buoyancy is argued to be the dominant driving cause of the flux expulsion, for the single as well as the binary neutron stars. However, the pinning is also found to play a crucial role which is necessary to account for the observed low field binary and millisecond pulsars.Comment: 23 pages, + 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Association of Superoxide Dismutase 2 (SOD2) Genotype with Gray Matter Volume Shrinkage in Chronic Alcohol Users: Replication and Further Evaluation of an Addiction Gene Panel.

BackgroundReduction in brain volume, especially gray matter volume, has been shown to be one of the many deleterious effects of prolonged alcohol consumption. High variance in the degree of gray matter tissue shrinkage among alcohol-dependent individuals and a previous neuroimaging genetics report suggest the involvement of environmental and/or genetic factors, such as superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2). Identification of such underlying factors will help in the clinical management of alcohol dependence.MethodsWe analyzed quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and genotype data from 103 alcohol users, including both light drinkers and treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent individuals. Genotyping was performed using a custom gene array that included genes selected from 8 pathways relevant to chronic alcohol-related brain volume loss.ResultsWe replicated a significant association of a functional SOD2 single nucleotide polymorphism with normalized gray matter volume, which had been reported previously in an independent smaller sample of alcohol-dependent individuals. The SOD2-related genetic protection was observed only at the cohort's lower drinking range. Additional associations between normalized gray matter volume and other candidate genes such as alcohol dehydrogenase gene cluster (ADH), GCLC, NOS3, and SYT1 were observed across the entire sample but did not survive corrections for multiple comparisons.ConclusionConverging independent evidence for a SOD2 gene association with gray matter volume shrinkage in chronic alcohol users suggests that SOD2 genetic variants predict differential brain volume loss mediated by free radicals. This study also provides the first catalog of genetic variations relevant to gray matter loss in chronic alcohol users. The identified gene-brain structure relationships are functionally pertinent and merit replication

The relationship between violence during pregnancy and low birth weight: A meta-analysis study

Background & Aim: Violence during pregnancy affects both mother and fetus. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between physical, sexual and psychological violence during pregnancy and low birth weight in the world as a meta-analysis. Methods & Materials: This study is a meta-analysis that was performed on articles published in Persian and English languages from the beginning of 1995 to the end of 2015. Articles were extracted by searching in the databases of Scopus, Medline, EMBASE, Pubmed, Web of Science, Google scholar, Science Direct, Irandoc, Magiran, Medlib, and SID using key words of violence during pregnancy, low birth weight, physical, sexual and psychological violence and their compounds. The results of studies were combined using a random effects model in the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity of studies was evaluated using the I2 index and meta-regression, and the data analysis was performed using STATA software v.11.2 and SPSS software v.16. Results: Of 254 found articles, 16 relevant articles with the sample number of 117287 people were included in the study. The results of meta-analysis showed that physical OR:1.61 (CI95:2.04–2.28), psychological OR:1.26 (CI95:1.02–1.56) and sexual violence OR:1.26 (CI95:1.02–1.56) during pregnancy, lead to an increase in the rate of low birth weight infants in the exposed mothers. Conclusion: Physical, psychological and sexual violence during pregnancy lead to an increase in the rate of low birth weight infants in the exposed mothers. Therefore, maternal screening and counseling by trained general practitioners and professionals before and during pregnancy are recommended. © 2016, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All Rights Reserved

Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb extract

Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb is a species from spergularia genus (Caryophyllaceae). This genus has some medicinal effects such as antidiabetic, antioxidant and diuretic effect. For many centuries people have been trying to alleviate and treat diseases with natural resources. Free radicals and oxidative agents cause disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. Synthetic antioxidants have toxic effects, so scientists are trying to find new antioxidants from natural resources such as plants. Nowadays plants are known as an important resource for treating different diseases such as: common cold, cough, diarrhea, bronchiolitis, respiratory infections, UTI, and skin lesions, because of this reasons, a lot of plants have been studied to make new drugs. Due to increasing drug resistant in microorganisms, it is necessary to find new compounds with antimicrobial properties. In this work, firstly the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Methanolic extract and Chloroform, Ethyl acetate and Water fractions from Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb were calculated, and then the antioxidant activites of all samples were determined using three methods, DPPH radical scavenging, Reducing power and Ferrous Chelating activity assay. In this assays VitC, VitE, BHA, EDTA, rutin and gallic acid were used as reference compounds. The antimicrobial activities of Methanolic extract from all part of plant determined against standard strains include: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherchia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia Marssns and Candida albicans by disc diffusion method. In all antioxidant methods, Methanolic extract was showed the highest antioxidant activity and chloroform extract was the lowest antioxidant activity (aerial parts, seeds and all parts of plant). The results show methanolic extract of all parts of plant have any effect against above microorganisms. KeyWords: Spergularia marina; caryophyllaceae; antioxidant; antimicrobial; DPPH;reducing power; ferrous chelating activit

Mobile addiction and its relationship with quality of life in medical students

Background: Quality of life is one of the most important health-related outcomes that can be affected by mobile phone addiction. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of mobile phone addiction and its relationship with quality of life in students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences (BUMS). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 360 students in BUMS in 2018. The sample was randomly selected from each faculty using proportional stratified sampling. To collect data, a questionnaire containing the demographic variables, the PMPAS questionnaire for mobile addiction and SF-12 for quality of life were used. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS (V.18). Results: The mean age of the students was 25.1 ± 6.3 years that 75.5 were female. In terms of marital status, 60.6 were single. Nearly 75 of students were with moderate or severe mobile phone addiction. The score of mobile phone addiction was higher in single and younger students (p < 0.001). The mean score of quality of life for the students in two aspects of the physical and mental component were 50.81 and 42.86 respectively. Based on the results, there was a significant inverse relationship between scores of mental function and mobile phone addiction (r = �0.35, p < 0.001), this relation was not significant for physical function (r = �0.60, p = 0.25). Conclusions: According to the results, the prevalence of mobile phone addiction among students was high and mobile phone addiction has a negative effect on the quality of life of students, which has a negative effect on psychological performance. © 2019 INDIACLE

Aplikasi Pengenalan Tempat Wisata Propinsi Bengkulu Menggunakan Teknologi Augmented Reality (Video Playback) Berbasis Android

—Aplikasi Pengenalan Tempat Wisata Propinsi Bengkulu Menggunakan Teknologi Augmented Reality (Video Playback) Berbasis Android dibangun untuk mempermudah mempromosikan tempat – tempat wisata yang ada di Propinsi Bengkulu serta mempermudah para wisatawan untuk mengetahui bentuk wisata di Propinsi Bengkulu. Aplikasi ini dibuat dengan menggunakan Unity 3D untuk editor, Adobe Photoshop untuk desain tampilan interface, vuforia untuk pengembangan Augmented Reality dan didukung oleh sebuah samples dari Vuforia yaitu Vuforia Video playback untuk Play Video saat marker ditemukan. Pengembangan aplikasi ini diharapkan mampu untuk mempromosikan tempat wisata yang ada di Propinsi Bengkulu ke semua kalangan dimanapun berada.Kata kunci—Augmented Reality; Wisata; Propinsi Bengkulu; Androi