483 research outputs found
Cut loci and conjugate loci on Liouville surfaces
In the earlier paper (Itoh and Kiyohara, Manuscr Math 114:247–264, 2004), we showed that the cut locus of a general point on two-dimensional ellipsoid is a segment of a curvature line and proved "Jacobi’s last geometric statement" on the singularities of the conjugate locus. In the present paper,we showthat a wider class of Liouville surfaces possess such simple cut loci and conjugate loci. The results include the determination of cut loci and the set of poles on two-sheeted hyperboloids and elliptic paraboloids
Magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with oleic and dodecanoic acids
Magnetic nanoparticles (NP) of magnetite (Fe3O4) coated with oleic acid (OA)
and dodecanoic acid (DA) were synthesized and investigated through Transmission
Electron Microscopy (TEM),magnetization M, and ac magnetic susceptibility
measurements. The OA coated samples were produced with different magnetic
concentrations (78, 76, and 65%) and the DA sample with 63% of Fe3O4. Images
from TEM indicate that the NP have a nearly spherical geometry and mean
diameter ~ 5.5 nm. Magnetization measurements, performed in zero field cooled
(ZFC) and field cooled (FC) processes under different external magnetic fields
H, exhibited a maximum at a given temperature TB in the ZFC curves, which
depends on the NP coating (OA or DA), magnetite concentration, and H. The
temperature TB decreases monotonically with increasing H and, for a given H,
the increase in the magnetite concentration results in an increase of TB. The
observed behavior is related to the dipolar interaction (DI) between NP which
seems to be an important mechanism in all samples studied. This is supported by
the results of the ac magnetic susceptibility Xac measurements, where the
temperature in which X' peaks for different frequencies follows the
Vogel-Fulcher model, a feature commonly found in systems with dipolar
interactions. Curves of H vs. TB/TB(H=0) for samples with different coatings
and magnetite concentrations collapse into a universal curve, indicating that
the qualitative magnetic behavior of the samples may be described by the NP
themselves, instead of the coating or the strength of the dipolar interaction.
Below TB, M vs. H curves show a coercive field (HC) that increases
monotonically with decreasing temperature. The saturation magnetization (MS)
follows the Bloch's law and values of MS at room temperature as high as 78
emu/g were estimated, a result corresponding to ~80% of the bulk value. The
overlap of M/MS vs. H/T curves for a given sample and the low HC at high
temperatures suggest superparamagnetic behavior in all samples studied. The
overlap of M/MS vs. H curves at constant temperature for different samples
indicates that the NP magnetization behavior is preserved, independently of the
coating and magnetite concentration.Comment: 8 pages and 9 figure
On one integrable system with a cubic first integral
Recently one integrable model with a cubic first integral of motion has been
studied by Valent using some special coordinate system. We describe the
bi-Hamiltonian structures and variables of separation for this system.Comment: LaTeX with AMS fonts, 9 page
Spectro-Polarimetric Observation of an Emerging Flux Region: Triggering Mechanism of Ellerman Bombs
High spatial resolution observation of an emerging flux region (EFR) was done
using a vector magnetograph and a H-alpha Lyot filtergraph with Domeless Solar
Telescope at Hida Observatory on October 22, 2006. In H-alpha wing images, we
could see many Ellerman bombs (EBs) in the EFR. Two observation modes, slit
scan and slit fixed, were performed with the vector magnetograph, along with
H-alpha filtergraph. Using H-alpha wing images, we detected 12 EBs during slit
scan observation period and 9 EBs during slit fixed observation period. With
slit scan observation, we found that all the EBs were distributed in the area
where the spatial gradient of vertical field intensity was large, which
indicates the possibility of rapid topological change in magnetic field in the
area of EBs. With slit fixed observation, we found that EBs were distributed in
the areas of undulatory magnetic fields, both in vertical and horizontal
components. This paper is the first to report the undulatory pattern in
horizontal components of magnetic field, which is also evidence for emerging
magnetic flux by Parker instability. These results allow us to confirm the
association between EBs and emerging flux tubes. Three triggering mechanism of
EBs is discussed with respect to emerging flux tubes: 9 out of 21 EBs occurred
at the footpoints of emerging flux tubes, 8 out of 21 EBs occurred at the top
of emerging flux tubes, and 4 out of 21 EBs occurred at unipolar region. Each
case can be explained by magnetic reconnection in the low chromosphere.Comment: 30 pages, 17 figure
Polymorphisms associated with the risk of lung cancer in a healthy Mexican Mestizo population: Application of the additive model for cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Mexico and worldwide. In the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of lung cancer cases in young people, which suggests an important role for genetic background in the etiology of this disease. In this study, we genetically characterized 16 polymorphisms in 12 low penetrance genes (AhR, CYP1A1, CYP2E1, EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTPI, XRCC1, ERCC2, MGMT, CCND1 and TP53) in 382 healthy Mexican Mestizos as the first step in elucidating the genetic structure of this population and identifying high risk individuals. All of the genotypes analyzed were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, but different degrees of linkage were observed for polymorphisms in the CYP1A1 and EPHX1 genes. The genetic variability of this population was distributed in six clusters that were defined based on their genetic characteristics. The use of a polygenic model to assess the additive effect of low penetrance risk alleles identified combinations of risk genotypes that could be useful in predicting a predisposition to lung cancer. Estimation of the level of genetic susceptibility showed that the individual calculated risk value (iCRV) ranged from 1 to 16, with a higher iCRV indicating a greater genetic susceptibility to lung cancer
Evaluation of a candidate breast cancer associated SNP in ERCC4 as a risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Results from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/BRCA2 (CIMBA)
Background: In this study we aimed to evaluate the role of a SNP in intron 1 of the ERCC4 gene (rs744154), previously reported to be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in the general population, as a breast cancer risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Methods: We have genotyped rs744154 in 9408 BRCA1 and 5632 BRCA2 mutation carriers from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) and assessed its association with breast cancer risk using a retrospective weighted cohort approach. Results: We found no evidence of association with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 (per-allele HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.93–1.04, P=0.5) or BRCA2 (per-allele HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.89–1.06, P=0.5) mutation carriers. Conclusion: This SNP is not a significant modifier of breast cancer risk for mutation carriers, though weak associations cannot be ruled out. A Osorio1, R L Milne2, G Pita3, P Peterlongo4,5, T Heikkinen6, J Simard7, G Chenevix-Trench8, A B Spurdle8, J Beesley8, X Chen8, S Healey8, KConFab9, S L Neuhausen10, Y C Ding10, F J Couch11,12, X Wang11, N Lindor13, S Manoukian4, M Barile14, A Viel15, L Tizzoni5,16, C I Szabo17, L Foretova18, M Zikan19, K Claes20, M H Greene21, P Mai21, G Rennert22, F Lejbkowicz22, O Barnett-Griness22, I L Andrulis23,24, H Ozcelik24, N Weerasooriya23, OCGN23, A-M Gerdes25, M Thomassen25, D G Cruger26, M A Caligo27, E Friedman28,29, B Kaufman28,29, Y Laitman28, S Cohen28, T Kontorovich28, R Gershoni-Baruch30, E Dagan31,32, H Jernström33, M S Askmalm34, B Arver35, B Malmer36, SWE-BRCA37, S M Domchek38, K L Nathanson38, J Brunet39, T Ramón y Cajal40, D Yannoukakos41, U Hamann42, HEBON37, F B L Hogervorst43, S Verhoef43, EB Gómez García44,45, J T Wijnen46,47, A van den Ouweland48, EMBRACE37, D F Easton49, S Peock49, M Cook49, C T Oliver49, D Frost49, C Luccarini50, D G Evans51, F Lalloo51, R Eeles52, G Pichert53, J Cook54, S Hodgson55, P J Morrison56, F Douglas57, A K Godwin58, GEMO59,60,61, O M Sinilnikova59,60, L Barjhoux59,60, D Stoppa-Lyonnet61, V Moncoutier61, S Giraud59, C Cassini62,63, L Olivier-Faivre62,63, F Révillion64, J-P Peyrat64, D Muller65, J-P Fricker65, H T Lynch66, E M John67, S Buys68, M Daly69, J L Hopper70, M B Terry71, A Miron72, Y Yassin72, D Goldgar73, Breast Cancer Family Registry37, C F Singer74, D Gschwantler-Kaulich74, G Pfeiler74, A-C Spiess74, Thomas v O Hansen75, O T Johannsson76, T Kirchhoff77, K Offit77, K Kosarin77, M Piedmonte78, G C Rodriguez79, K Wakeley80, J F Boggess81, J Basil82, P E Schwartz83, S V Blank84, A E Toland85, M Montagna86, C Casella87, E N Imyanitov88, A Allavena89, R K Schmutzler90, B Versmold90, C Engel91, A Meindl92, N Ditsch93, N Arnold94, D Niederacher95, H Deißler96, B Fiebig97, R Varon-Mateeva98, D Schaefer99, U G Froster100, T Caldes101, M de la Hoya101, L McGuffog49, A C Antoniou49, H Nevanlinna6, P Radice4,5 and J Benítez1,3 on behalf of CIMB
Cigarette smoking, cytochrome P4501A1 polymorphisms, and breast cancer among African-American and white women
INTRODUCTION: Previous epidemiologic studies suggest that women with variant cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) genotypes who smoke cigarettes are at increased risk for breast cancer. METHODS: We evaluated the association of breast cancer with CYP1A1 polymorphisms and cigarette smoking in a population-based, case–control study of invasive breast cancer in North Carolina. The study population consisted of 688 cases (271 African Americans and 417 whites) and 702 controls (285 African Americans and 417 whites). Four polymorphisms in CYP1A1 were genotyped using PCR/restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis: M1 (also known as CYP1A1*2A), M2 (CYP1A1*2C), M3 (CYP1A1*3), and M4 (CYP1A1*4) RESULTS: No associations were observed for CYP1A1 variant alleles and breast cancer, ignoring smoking. Among women who smoked for longer than 20 years, a modest positive association was found among women with one or more M1 alleles (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2–3.5) but not among women with non-M1 alleles (OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.9–1.6). Odds ratios for smoking longer than 20 years were higher among African-American women with one or more M3 alleles (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 0.9–7.1) compared with women with non-M3 alleles (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.8–2.2). ORs for smoking in white women did not differ appreciably based upon M2 or M4 genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smoking increases breast cancer risk in women with CYP1A1 M1 variant genotypes and in African-American women with CYP1A1 M3 variant genotypes, but the modifying effects of the CYP1A1 genotype are quite weak
Alcohol drinking and risk of Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Japan
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although some epidemiologic studies found inverse associations between alcohol drinking and Parkinson's disease (PD), the majority of studies found no such significant associations. Additionally, there is only limited research into the possible interactions of alcohol intake with aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 activity with respect to PD risk. We examined the relationship between alcohol intake and PD among Japanese subjects using data from a case-control study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From 214 cases within 6 years of PD onset and 327 controls without neurodegenerative disease, we collected information on "peak", as opposed to average, alcohol drinking frequency and peak drinking amounts during a subject's lifetime. Alcohol flushing status was evaluated via questions, as a means of detecting inactive ALHD2. The multivariate model included adjustments for sex, age, region of residence, smoking, years of education, body mass index, alcohol flushing status, presence of selected medication histories, and several dietary factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Alcohol intake during peak drinking periods, regardless of frequency or amount, was not associated with PD. However, when we assessed daily ethanol intake separately for each type of alcohol, only Japanese sake (rice wine) was significantly associated with PD (adjusted odds ratio of ≥66.0 g ethanol per day: 3.39, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-11.0, <it>P </it>for trend = 0.001). There was no significant interaction of alcohol intake with flushing status in relation to PD risk.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We did not find significant associations between alcohol intake and PD, except for the daily amount of Japanese sake. Effect modifications by alcohol flushing status were not observed.</p
Alcohol consumption and the risk of morbidity and mortality for different stroke types - a systematic review and meta-analysis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Observational studies have suggested a complex relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke, dependent on sex, type of stroke and outcome (morbidity vs. mortality). We undertook a systematic review and a meta-analysis of studies assessing the association between levels of average alcohol consumption and relative risks of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes separately by sex and outcome. This meta-analysis is the first to explicitly separate morbidity and mortality of alcohol-attributable stroke and thus has implications for public health and prevention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using Medical Subject Headings (alcohol drinking, ethanol, cerebrovascular accident, cerebrovascular disorders, and intracranial embolism and thrombosis and the key word stroke), a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CABS, WHOlist, SIGLE, ETOH, and Web of Science databases between 1980 to June 2009 was performed followed by manual searches of bibliographies of key retrieved articles. From twenty-six observational studies (cohort or case-control) with ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes the relative risk or odds ratios or hazard ratios of stroke associated with alcohol consumption were reported; alcohol consumption was quantified; and life time abstention (manually estimated where data for current abstainers were given) was used as the reference group. Two reviewers independently extracted the information on study design, participant characteristics, level of alcohol consumption, stroke outcome, control for potential confounding factors, risk estimates and key criteria of study quality using a standardized protocol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The dose-response relationship for hemorrhagic stroke had monotonically increasing risk for increasing consumption, whereas ischemic stroke showed a curvilinear relationship, with a protective effect of alcohol for low to moderate consumption, and increased risk for higher exposure. For more than 3 drinks on average/day, in general women had higher risks than men, and the risks for mortality were higher compared to the risks for morbidity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that heavy alcohol consumption increases the relative risk of any stroke while light or moderate alcohol consumption may be protective against ischemic stroke. Preventive measures that should be initiated are discussed.</p
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