3,775 research outputs found
Long-term health outcomes after exposure to repeated concussion in elite level: rugby union players
Background: There is continuing concern about effects of concussion in athletes, including risk of the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. However, information on long-term health and wellbeing in former athletes is limited.
Method: Outcome after exposure to repeated brain injury was investigated in 52 retired male Scottish international rugby players (RIRP) and 29 male controls who were similar in age and social deprivation. Assessment included history of playing rugby and traumatic brain injury, general and mental health, life stress, concussion symptoms, cognitive function, disability and markers of chronic stress (allostatic load).
Results: The estimated number of concussions in RIRP averaged 14 (median=7; IQR 5-40). Performance was poorer in RIRP than controls on a test of verbal learning (p=0.022) and of fine co-ordination of the dominant hand (p=0.038) and not significantly different on other cognitive tests (p>0.05). There were no significant associations between number of concussions and performance on cognitive tests. Other than a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease in controls, no group differences were detected in general or mental health or estimates of allostatic load. In RIRP, persisting symptoms attributed to concussion were more common if reporting more than nine concussions (p=0.028), although these symptoms were not perceived to affect social or work functioning.
Conclusions: Despite a high number of concussions in RIRP, differences in mental health, social or work functioning were not found late after injury. Subtle group differences were detected on two cognitive tests, the cause of which is uncertain. Prospective group comparison studies on representative cohorts are required
The haloes of merger remnants
We perform collisionless N-body simulations of 1:1 galaxy mergers, using
models which include a galaxy halo, disc and bulge, focusing on the behaviour
of the halo component. The galaxy models are constructed without recourse to a
Maxwellian approximation. We investigate the effect of varying the galaxies'
orientation, their mutual orbit, and the initial velocity anisotropy or cusp
strength of the haloes upon the remnant halo density profiles and shape, as
well as on the kinematics. We observe that the halo density profile (determined
as a spherical average, an approximation we find appropriate) is exceptionally
robust in mergers, and that the velocity anisotropy of our remnant haloes is
nearly independent of the orbits or initial anisotropy of the haloes. The
remnants follow the halo anisotropy - local density slope (\beta-\gamma)
relation suggested by Hansen & Moore (2006} in the inner parts of the halo, but
\beta is systematically lower than this relation predicts in the outer parts.
Remnant halo axis ratios are strongly dependent on the initial parameters of
the haloes and on their orbits. We also find that the remnant haloes are
significantly less spherical than those described in studies of simulations
which include gas cooling.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS accepted, edited to correct equation
Two-Band-Type Superconducting Instability in MgB2
Using the tight-binding method for the -bands in MgB, the Hubbard
on-site Coulomb interaction on two inequivalent boron -orbitals is
transformed into expressions in terms of -band operators. For scattering
processes relevant to the problemin which a wave vector {\bf q} is parallel to
, it is found to take a relatively simple form consisting of
intra-band Coulomb scattering, interband pair scattering etc. with large
constant coupling constants. This allows to get a simple expression for the
amplitude of interband pair scattering between two -bands, which diverges
if the interband polarization function in it becomes large enough.The latter
was approximately evaluated and found to be largely enhanced in the band
structure in MgB. These results lead to a divergent interband pair
scattering, meaning two-band-type superconducting instability with enhanced
. Adding a subsidiary BCS attractive interaction in each band into
consideration, a semi-quantitative gap equation is given, and and isotope
exponent are derived. The present instability is asserted to be the
origin of high in MgB.Comment: 4 pages, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. vol. 70, No.
Renormalization group approach to anisotropic superconductivity
The superconducting instability of the Fermi liquid state is investigated by
considering anisotropic electron-boson couplings. Both electron-electron
interactions and anisotropic electron-boson couplings are treated with a
renormalization-group method that takes into account retardation effects.
Considering a non-interacting circular Fermi surface, we find analytical
solutions for the flow equations and derive a set of generalized Eliashberg
equations. Electron-boson couplings with different momentum dependences are
studied, and we find superconducting instabilities of the metallic state with
competition between order parameters of different symmetries. Numerical
solutions for some couplings are given to illustrate the frequency dependence
of the vertices at different coupling regimes.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Final version as published in Phys. Rev.
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