3,469 research outputs found
Improved Working Memory but No Effect on Striatal Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Type 2 after Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation
Studies in rodents indicate that diets deficient in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) lower dopamine neurotransmission as measured by striatal vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT2) density and amphetamine-induced dopamine release. This suggests that dietary supplementation with fish oil might increase VMAT2 availability, enhance dopamine storage and release, and improve dopamine-dependent cognitive functions such as working memory. To investigate this mechanism in humans, positron emission tomography (PET) was used to measure VMAT2 availability pre- and post-supplementation of n-3 PUFA in healthy individuals. Healthy young adult subjects were scanned with PET using [11C]-(+)-α-dihydrotetrabenzine (DTBZ) before and after six months of n-3 PUFA supplementation (Lovaza, 2 g/day containing docosahexaenonic acid, DHA 750 mg/d and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA 930 mg/d). In addition, subjects underwent a working memory task (n-back) and red blood cell membrane (RBC) fatty acid composition analysis pre- and post-supplementation. RBC analysis showed a significant increase in both DHA and EPA post-supplementation. In contrast, no significant change in [11C]DTBZ binding potential (BPND) in striatum and its subdivisions were observed after supplementation with n-3 PUFA. No correlation was evident between n-3 PUFA induced change in RBC DHA or EPA levels and change in [11C]DTBZ BPND in striatal subdivisions. However, pre-supplementation RBC DHA levels was predictive of baseline performance (i.e., adjusted hit rate, AHR on 3-back) on the n-back task (y = 0.19+0.07, r2 = 0.55, p = 0.009). In addition, subjects AHR performance improved on 3-back post-supplementation (pre 0.65±0.27, post 0.80±0.15, p = 0.04). The correlation between n-back performance, and DHA levels are consistent with reports in which higher DHA levels is related to improved cognitive performance. However, the lack of change in [11C]DBTZ BPND indicates that striatal VMAT2 regulation is not the mechanism of action by which n-3 PUFA improves cognitive performance. © 2012 Narendran et al
Transverse expansion of hot magnetized Bjorken flow in heavy ion collisions
We argue that the existence of an inhomogeneous external magnetic field can
lead to radial flow in transverse plane. Our aim is to show how the
introduction of a magnetic field generalizes the Bjorken flow. We investigate
the effect of an inhomogeneous weak external magnetic field on the transverse
expansion of in-viscid fluid created in high energy nuclear collisions. In
order to simplify our calculation and compare with Gubser model, we consider
the fluid under investigation to be produced in central collisions, at small
impact parameter; azimuthal symmetry has been considered. In our model, we
assume an inhomogeneous external magnetic field following the power-law decay
in proper time and having radial inhomogeneity perpendicular to the radial
velocity of the in-viscid fluid in the transverse plane; then the space time
evolution of the transverse expansion of the fluid is obtained. We also show
how the existence of an inhomogeneous external magnetic field modifies the
energy density. Finally we use the solutions for the transverse velocity and
energy density in the presence of a weak magnetic field, to estimate the
transverse momentum spectrum of protons and pions emerging from the
Magneto-hydrodynamic solutions
Non-relativistic approximate numerical ideal-magneto hydrodynamics of (1+1) D transverse flow in Bjorken scenario
In this study, we investigate the impact of the magnetic field on the
evolution of the transverse flow of QGP matter in the magneto-hydrodynamic
(MHD) framework. We assume that the magnetic field is perpendicular to the
reaction plane and then we solve the coupled Maxwell and conservation equations
in (1+1D) transverse flow, within the Bjorken scenario. We consider a QGP with
infinite electrical conductivity. First, the magnetic effects on the QGP medium
at mid-rapidity are investigated at leading order; then the time and space
dependence of the energy density, velocity and magnetic field in the transverse
plane of the ideal magnetized hot plasma are obtained
Analytical method to measure three-dimensional strain patterns in the left ventricle from single slice displacement data
Background:
Displacement encoded Cardiovascular MR (CMR) can provide high spatial resolution measurements of three-dimensional (3D) Lagrangian displacement. Spatial gradients of the Lagrangian displacement field are used to measure regional myocardial strain. In general, adjacent parallel slices are needed in order to calculate the spatial gradient in the through-slice direction. This necessitates the acquisition of additional data and prolongs the scan time. The goal of this study is to define an analytic solution that supports the reconstruction of the out-of-plane components of the Lagrangian strain tensor in addition to the in-plane components from a single-slice displacement CMR dataset with high spatio-temporal resolution. The technique assumes incompressibility of the myocardium as a physical constraint.
Results:
The feasibility of the method is demonstrated in a healthy human subject and the results are compared to those of other studies. The proposed method was validated with simulated data and strain estimates from experimentally measured DENSE data, which were compared to the strain calculation from a conventional two-slice acquisition.
Conclusion:
This analytical method reduces the need to acquire data from adjacent slices when calculating regional Lagrangian strains and can effectively reduce the long scan time by a factor of two
Thermodynamics and Phase Transitions of Electrolytes on Lattices with Different Discretization Parameters
Lattice models are crucial for studying thermodynamic properties in many
physical, biological and chemical systems. We investigate Lattice Restricted
Primitive Model (LRPM) of electrolytes with different discretization parameters
in order to understand thermodynamics and the nature of phase transitions in
the systems with charged particles. A discretization parameter is defined as a
number of lattice sites that can be occupied by each particle, and it allows to
study the transition from the discrete picture to the continuum-space
description. Explicit analytic and numerical calculations are performed using
lattice Debye-H\"{u}ckel approach, which takes into account the formation of
dipoles, the dipole-ion interactions and correct lattice Coulomb potentials.
The gas-liquid phase separation is found at low densities of charged particles
for different types of lattices. The increase in the discretization parameter
lowers the critical temperature and the critical density, in agreement with
Monte Carlo computer simulations results. In the limit of infinitely large
discretization our results approach the predictions from the continuum model of
electrolytes. However, for the very fine discretization, where each particle
can only occupy one lattice site, the gas-liquid phase transitions are
suppressed by order-disorder phase transformations.Comment: Submitted to Molecular Physic
SPRINT INTERVAL TRAINING ON STATIONARY AIR BIKE SHOWS BENEFITS TO CARDIORESPIRATORY ADAPTATIONS WHILE BEING TIME-EFFICIENT
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Towards real-time classification of astronomical transients
Exploration of time domain is now a vibrant area of research in astronomy, driven by the advent of digital synoptic sky surveys. While panoramic surveys can detect variable or transient events, typically some follow-up observations are needed; for short-lived phenomena, a rapid response is essential. Ability to automatically classify and prioritize transient events for follow-up studies becomes critical as the data rates increase. We have been developing such methods using the data streams from the Palomar-Quest survey, the Catalina Sky Survey and others, using the VOEventNet framework. The goal is to automatically classify transient events, using the new measurements, combined with archival data (previous and multi-wavelength measurements), and contextual information (e.g., Galactic or ecliptic latitude, presence of a possible host galaxy nearby, etc.); and to iterate them dynamically as the follow-up data come in (e.g., light curves or colors). We have been investigating Bayesian methodologies for classification, as well as discriminated follow-up to optimize the use of available resources, including Naive Bayesian approach, and the non-parametric Gaussian process regression. We will also be deploying variants of the traditional machine learning techniques such as Neural Nets and Support Vector Machines on datasets of reliably classified transients as they build up
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