Blue Zones: Unlocking Key Themes in the Centenarian\u27s Life

Longevity has been sought after in certain areas of the world, and there are specific regions where this has been achieved. There is an American average life expectancy of 72 years old, but individuals in “Blue Zones” here in America and other areas of the world are expected to and have proven to live well beyond 100. The areas of Okinawa, Sardinia, Nicoya, Ikaria, and Loma Linda are classified as Blue Zones, and there could be more of an understanding of how these people live the way they do to have such healthy physical outcomes. To deeply understand the strategy and routine that individuals have been practicing for years, researchers in multiple fields have set out to be informed and educated on the habits of centenarians. For this project, a pre-test was given to students to gauge their level of knowledge concerning Blue Zones prior to an educational session. Following the presentation, the same students took a post-test to reveal the knowledge they had acquired. By conducting literary as well as educational research through this study, students at Murray State were encouraged to be involved to understand what it means to live a healthy lifestyle to possibly increase their quality of life in all areas: physically, mentally, and spiritually

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANXIETY AND READING ACHIEVEMENT OF SIXTH GRADE BOYS AND GIRLS

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of anxiety and reading achievement levels. The study was concerned with the following questions: 1. Are the boys and girls who are achieving below their expected reading levels more anxious than those who are achieving above their reading levels? 2. Are the girls who are achieving below their expected reading levels more anxious than those who are achieving above their expected reading levels? 3. Are the boys who are achieving below their expected reading levels more anxious than those who are achieving above their reading levels? Sixty-four boys and girls were chosen at random from the total population of 271 sixth -grade students of the six elementary schools at Carthage, Missouri. These boys and girls were administered an anxiety test, an intelligence test, and a reading test. The anxiety test results were compared to the expected reading achievement levels to determine if anxiety had an effect on the students reading achievement. Analysis of variance was used to determine whether or not each of the null hypotheses of the study were to be retained or rejected. An analysis of the results obtained showed the following: 1. There were no significant differences in the anxiety means of the boys and girls. 2. Anxiety had little effect on the achieved reading levels of the boys and girls studied. 3. The boys tended to be less anxious than the girls. 4. The boys and girls had approximately the same average intelligence quotient. 5. The girls tended to score higher on reading achievement tests than the boys

Excitons in Electrostatic Traps

We consider in-plane electrostatic traps for indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells, where the traps are formed by a laterally modulated gate voltage. An intrinsic obstacle for exciton confinement in electrostatic traps is an in-plane electric field that can lead to exciton dissociation. We propose a design to suppress the in-plane electric field and, at the same time, to effectively confine excitons in the electrostatic traps. We present calculations for various classes of electrostatic traps and experimental proof of principle for trapping of indirect excitons in electrostatic traps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Numerical solution and spectrum of boundary-domain integral equation for the Neumann BVP with variable coefficient

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.In this paper, a numerical implementation of a direct united boundary-domain integral equation (BDIE) related to the Neumann boundary value problem for a scalar elliptic partial differential equation with a variable coefficient is discussed. The BDIE is reduced to a uniquely solvable one by adding an appropriate perturbation operator. The mesh-based discretization of the BDIEs with quadrilateral domain elements leads to a system of linear algebraic equations (discretized BDIE). Then, the system is solved by LU decomposition and Neumann iterations. Convergence of the iterative method is discussed in relation to the distribution of eigenvalues of the corresponding discrete operators calculated numerically.The work was supported by the grant EP/H020497/1 "Mathematical analysis of localised boundary-domain integral equations for BVPs with variable coefficients" of the EPSRC, UK

Prolonged Refractory Hypotension following Combined Amlodipine and Losartan Ingestion Responsive to Metaraminol

Introduction. Overdose with the calcium channel blocker amlodipine can cause profound hypotension that may be exacerbated by the concurrent ingestion of an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Best management of such overdoses is uncertain although the use of hyperinsulinaemia-euglycaemia (HIE) has been recommended. Case report. We report a case of mixed amlodipine and losartan overdose in a 50-year-old lady. Severe hypotension was resistant to conventional vasopressors and high-dose insulin/euglycaemia, but did respond to a metaraminol infusion. Conclusion. A trial of metaraminol early in severe cases of calcium channel blocker and angiotensin II receptor antagonist toxicity may be of benefit, especially when conventional ionotropic treatment measures are failing

Hydrodynamic dispersion within porous biofilms

Many microorganisms live within surface-associated consortia, termed biofilms, that can form intricate porous structures interspersed with a network of fluid channels. In such systems, transport phenomena, including flow and advection, regulate various aspects of cell behavior by controlling nutrient supply, evacuation of waste products, and permeation of antimicrobial agents. This study presents multiscale analysis of solute transport in these porous biofilms. We start our analysis with a channel-scale description of mass transport and use the method of volume averaging to derive a set of homogenized equations at the biofilm-scale in the case where the width of the channels is significantly smaller than the thickness of the biofilm. We show that solute transport may be described via two coupled partial differential equations or telegrapher's equations for the averaged concentrations. These models are particularly relevant for chemicals, such as some antimicrobial agents, that penetrate cell clusters very slowly. In most cases, especially for nutrients, solute penetration is faster, and transport can be described via an advection-dispersion equation. In this simpler case, the effective diffusion is characterized by a second-order tensor whose components depend on (1) the topology of the channels' network; (2) the solute's diffusion coefficients in the fluid and the cell clusters; (3) hydrodynamic dispersion effects; and (4) an additional dispersion term intrinsic to the two-phase configuration. Although solute transport in biofilms is commonly thought to be diffusion dominated, this analysis shows that hydrodynamic dispersion effects may significantly contribute to transport

On Predicting the Solar Cycle using Mean-Field Models

We discuss the difficulties of predicting the solar cycle using mean-field models. Here we argue that these difficulties arise owing to the significant modulation of the solar activity cycle, and that this modulation arises owing to either stochastic or deterministic processes. We analyse the implications for predictability in both of these situations by considering two separate solar dynamo models. The first model represents a stochastically-perturbed flux transport dynamo. Here even very weak stochastic perturbations can give rise to significant modulation in the activity cycle. This modulation leads to a loss of predictability. In the second model, we neglect stochastic effects and assume that generation of magnetic field in the Sun can be described by a fully deterministic nonlinear mean-field model -- this is a best case scenario for prediction. We designate the output from this deterministic model (with parameters chosen to produce chaotically modulated cycles) as a target timeseries that subsequent deterministic mean-field models are required to predict. Long-term prediction is impossible even if a model that is correct in all details is utilised in the prediction. Furthermore, we show that even short-term prediction is impossible if there is a small discrepancy in the input parameters from the fiducial model. This is the case even if the predicting model has been tuned to reproduce the output of previous cycles. Given the inherent uncertainties in determining the transport coefficients and nonlinear responses for mean-field models, we argue that this makes predicting the solar cycle using the output from such models impossible.Comment: 22 Pages, 5 Figures, Preprint accepted for publication in Ap

Effective NSAID treatment indicates that hyperprostaglandinism is affecting the clinical severity of childhood hypophosphatasia

BACKGROUND: Hypophosphatasia (HP) is an inborn error of bone metabolism characterized by a genetic defect in the gene encoding the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). There is a lack of knowledge as to how the variability and clinical severity of the HP phenotype (especially pain and walking impairment) are related to metabolic disturbances or impairments, subsequent to the molecular defect. METHODS: We analyzed the changes in clinical symptoms and the prostaglandin (PG) metabolism in response to treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in six children affected by childhood HP. In addition, by exposing HP fibroblasts to pyridoxal phosphate and/or calcium pyrophosphate in vitro, we analyzed whether the alterations in PG levels are sequelae related to the metabolic defect. RESULTS: Childhood HP patients, who often complain about pain in the lower limbs without evident fractures, have systemic hyperprostaglandinism. Symptomatic anti-inflammatory treatment with NSAIDs significantly improved pain-associated physical impairment. Calcium pyrophosphate, but not pyridoxal phosphate, induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene expression and PG production in HP and normal fibroblasts in vitro. CONCLUSION: Clinical features of childhood HP related to pain in the lower legs may be, at least in part, sequelae related to elevated PG levels, secondary to the primary metabolic defect. Consequently, NSAID treatment does improve the clinical features of childhood HP

Magnetic Moment Softening and Domain Wall Resistance in Ni Nanowires

Magnetic moments in atomic scale domain walls formed in nanoconstrictions and nanowires are softened which affects dramatically the domain wall resistance. We perform ab initio calculations of the electronic structure and conductance of atomic-size Ni nanowires with domain walls only a few atomic lattice constants wide. We show that the hybridization between noncollinear spin states leads to a reduction of the magnetic moments in the domain wall. This magnetic moment softening strongly enhances the domain wall resistance due to scattering produced by the local perturbation of the electronic potential.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure