2,201 research outputs found
Genetic modifiers of cognitive maintenance among older adults.
ObjectiveIdentify genetic factors associated with cognitive maintenance in late life and assess their association with gray matter (GM) volume in brain networks affected in aging.MethodsWe conducted a genome-wide association study of ∼2.4 M markers to identify modifiers of cognitive trajectories in Caucasian participants (N = 7,328) from two population-based cohorts of non-demented elderly. Standardized measures of global cognitive function (z-scores) over 10 and 6 years were calculated among participants and mixed model regression was used to determine subject-specific cognitive slopes. "Cognitive maintenance" was defined as a change in slope of ≥ 0 and was compared with all cognitive decliners (slope < 0). In an independent cohort of cognitively normal older Caucasians adults (N = 122), top association findings were then used to create genetic scores to assess whether carrying more cognitive maintenance alleles was associated with greater GM volume in specific brain networks using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsThe most significant association was on chromosome 11 (rs7109806, P = 7.8 × 10(-8)) near RIC3. RIC3 modulates activity of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which have been implicated in synaptic plasticity and beta-amyloid binding. In the neuroimaging cohort, carrying more cognitive maintenance alleles was associated with greater volume in the right executive control network (RECN; PFWE  = 0.01).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that there may be genetic loci that promote healthy cognitive aging and that they may do so by conferring robustness to GM in the RECN. Future work is required to validate top candidate genes such as RIC3 for involvement in cognitive maintenance
Large N Quantum Time Evolution Beyond Leading Order
For quantum theories with a classical limit (which includes the large N
limits of typical field theories), we derive a hierarchy of evolution equations
for equal time correlators which systematically incorporate corrections to the
limiting classical evolution. Explicit expressions are given for
next-to-leading order, and next-to-next-to-leading order time evolution. The
large N limit of N-component vector models, and the usual semiclassical limit
of point particle quantum mechanics are used as concrete examples. Our
formulation directly exploits the appropriate group structure which underlies
the construction of suitable coherent states and generates the classical phase
space. We discuss the growth of truncation error with time, and argue that
truncations of the large-N evolution equations are generically expected to be
useful only for times short compared to a ``decoherence'' time which scales
like N^{1/2}.Comment: 36 pages, 2 eps figures, latex, uses revtex, epsfig, float
From Instantons to Sphalerons: Time-Dependent Periodic Solutions of SU(2)-Higgs Theory
We solve numerically for periodic, spherically symmetric, classical solutions
of SU(2)-Higgs theory in four-dimensional Euclidean space. In the limit of
short periods the solutions approach tiny instanton-anti-instanton
superpositions while, for longer periods, the solutions merge with the static
sphaleron. A previously predicted bifurcation point, where two branches of
periodic solutions meet, appears for Higgs boson masses larger than .Comment: 14 pages, RevTeX with eps figure
Non-perturbative equivalences among large N gauge theories with adjoint and bifundamental matter fields
We prove an equivalence, in the large N limit, between certain U(N) gauge
theories containing adjoint representation matter fields and their orbifold
projections. Lattice regularization is used to provide a non-perturbative
definition of these theories; our proof applies in the strong coupling, large
mass phase of the theories. Equivalence is demonstrated by constructing and
comparing the loop equations for a parent theory and its orbifold projections.
Loop equations for both expectation values of single-trace observables, and for
connected correlators of such observables, are considered; hence the
demonstrated non-perturbative equivalence applies to the large N limits of both
string tensions and particle spectra.Comment: 40 pages, JHEP styl
The Use of Senior Volunteers in the Care of Discharged Geriatric Patients
This article reports on a project that utilized senior volunteers in the role of health advocates for geriatric patients discharged from a hospital. The project was evaluated to determine if healthy and active seniors could make a contribution to the health and social welfare of such discharged elderly persons. The study was conducted in Montreal, Canada and funded by a federal grant from Health Canada. The research collaborators came from a 414-bed secondary care university-affiliated community hospital, a community social service agency with a mandate to respond to the needs of its frail elderly constituents, and a university-based research centr
Quark-Gluon Plasma - New Frontiers
As implied by organizers, this talk is not a conference summary but rather an
outline of progress/challenges/``frontiers'' of the theory. Some fundamental
questions addressed are:
Why is sQGP such a good liquid? Do we understand (de)confinement and what do
we know about ``magnetic'' objects creating it? Can we understand the AdS/CFT
predictions, from the gauge theory side? Can they be tested experimentally? Can
AdS/CFT duality help us understand rapid equilibration/entropy production? Can
we work out a complete dynamical ``gravity dual'' to heavy ion collisions?Comment: final talk at Quark Matter 2008, Jaipur, India, Feb.200
One-Loop Quantum Energy Densities of Domain Wall Field Configurations
We discuss a simple procedure for computing one-loop quantum energies of any
static field configuration that depends non-trivially on only a single spatial
coordinate. We specifically focus on domain wall-type field configurations that
connect two distinct minima of the effective potential, and may or may not be
the solutions of classical field equations. We avoid the conventional summation
of zero-point energies, and instead exploit the relation between functional
determinants and solutions of associated differential equations. This approach
allows ultraviolet divergences to be easily isolated and extracted using any
convenient regularization scheme. Two examples are considered: two-dimensional
theory, and three-dimensional scalar electrodynamics with spontaneous
symmetry breaking at the one-loop level.Comment: RevTex, 29 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections, references adde
On Axially Symmetric Solutions in the Electroweak Theory
We present the general ansatz, the energy density and the Chern-Simons charge
for static axially symmetric configurations in the bosonic sector of the
electroweak theory. Containing the sphaleron, the multisphalerons and the
sphaleron-antisphaleron pair at finite mixing angle, the ansatz further allows
the construction of the sphaleron and multisphaleron barriers and of the
bisphalerons at finite mixing angle. We conjecture that further solutions
exist.Comment: 17 pages, latex, THU-94/0
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