4,683 research outputs found
Orbitofrontal cortex volume and brain reward response in obesity.
Background/objectivesWhat drives overconsumption of food is poorly understood. Alterations in brain structure and function could contribute to increased food seeking. Recently, brain orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volume has been implicated in dysregulated eating but little is known how brain structure relates to function.Subjects/methodsWe examined obese (n=18, age=28.7±8.3 years) and healthy control women (n=24, age=27.4±6.3 years) using a multimodal brain imaging approach. We applied magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging to study brain gray and white matter volume as well as white matter (WM) integrity, and tested whether orbitofrontal cortex volume predicts brain reward circuitry activation in a taste reinforcement-learning paradigm that has been associated with dopamine function.ResultsObese individuals displayed lower gray and associated white matter volumes (P<0.05 family-wise error (FWE)- small volume corrected) compared with controls in the orbitofrontal cortex, striatum and insula. White matter integrity was reduced in obese individuals in fiber tracts including the external capsule, corona radiata, sagittal stratum, and the uncinate, inferior fronto-occipital, and inferior longitudinal fasciculi. Gray matter volume of the gyrus rectus at the medial edge of the orbitofrontal cortex predicted functional taste reward-learning response in frontal cortex, insula, basal ganglia, amygdala, hypothalamus and anterior cingulate cortex in control but not obese individuals.ConclusionsThis study indicates a strong association between medial orbitofrontal cortex volume and taste reinforcement-learning activation in the brain in control but not in obese women. Lower brain volumes in the orbitofrontal cortex and other brain regions associated with taste reward function as well as lower integrity of connecting pathways in obesity (OB) may support a more widespread disruption of reward pathways. The medial orbitofrontal cortex is an important structure in the termination of food intake and disturbances in this and related structures could contribute to overconsumption of food in obesity
Isotopic variation of parity violation in atomic ytterbium
We report on measurements of atomic parity violation, made on a chain of
ytterbium isotopes with mass numbers A=170, 172, 174, and 176. In the
experiment, we optically excite the 6s2 1S0 -> 5d6s 3D1 transition in a region
of crossed electric and magnetic fields, and observe the interference between
the Stark- and weak-interaction-induced transition amplitudes, by making field
reversals that change the handedness of the coordinate system. This allows us
to determine the ratio of the weak-interaction-induced electric-dipole (E1)
transition moment and the Stark-induced E1 moment. Our measurements, which are
at the 0.5% level of accuracy for three of the four isotopes measured, allow a
definitive observation of the isotopic variation of the weak-interaction
effects in an atom, which is found to be consistent with the prediction of the
Standard Model. In addition, our measurements provide information about an
additional Z' boson.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
Quantizing higher-spin gravity in free-field variables
We study the formulation of massless higher-spin gravity on AdS in a
gauge in which the fundamental variables satisfy free field Poisson brackets.
This gauge choice leaves a small portion of the gauge freedom unfixed, which
should be further quotiented out. We show that doing so leads to a bulk version
of the Coulomb gas formalism for CFT's: the generators of the residual
gauge symmetries are the classical limits of screening charges, while the
gauge-invariant observables are classical charges. Quantization in these
variables can be carried out using standard techniques and makes manifest a
remnant of the triality symmetry of . This symmetry can be
used to argue that the theory should be supplemented with additional matter
content which is precisely that of the Prokushkin-Vasiliev theory. As a further
application, we use our formulation to quantize a class of conical surplus
solutions and confirm the conjecture that these are dual to specific degenerate
primaries, to all orders in the large central charge expansion.Comment: 31 pages + appendices. V2: typos corrected, reference adde
Cosmological Birefringence: an Astrophysical test of Fundamental Physics
We review the methods used to test for the existence of cosmological
birefringence, i.e. a rotation of the plane of linear polarization for
electromagnetic radiation traveling over cosmological distances, which might
arise in a number of important contexts involving the violation of fundamental
physical principles. The main methods use: (1) the radio polarization of radio
galaxies and quasars, (2) the ultraviolet polarization of radio galaxies, and
(3) the cosmic microwave background polarization. We discuss the main results
obtained so far, the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and future
prospects.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the JENAM 2010 Symposium "From
Varying Couplings to Fundamental Physics", held in Lisbon, 6-10 Sept. 201
An approximate model for cancellous bone screw fixation
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Taylor & Francis.This paper presents a finite element (FE) model to identify parameters that affect the performance of an improved cancellous bone screw fixation technique, and hence potentially improve fracture treatment. In cancellous bone of low apparent density, it can be difficult to achieve adequate screw fixation and hence provide stable fracture fixation that enables bone healing. Data from predictive FE models indicate that cements can have a significant potential to improve screw holding power in cancellous bone. These FE models are used to demonstrate the key parameters that determine pull-out strength in a variety of screw, bone and cement set-ups, and to compare the effectiveness of different configurations. The paper concludes that significant advantages, up to an order of magnitude, in screw pull-out strength in cancellous bone might be gained by the appropriate use of a currently approved calcium phosphate cement
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An ASKAP Search for a Radio Counterpart to the First High-significance Neutron Star-Black Hole Merger LIGO/Virgo S190814bv
We present results from a search for a radio transient associated with the LIGO/Virgo source S190814bv, a likely neutron star-black hole (NSBH) merger, with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. We imaged a 30 deg2 field at ΔT = 2, 9, and 33 days post-merger at a frequency of 944 MHz, comparing them to reference images from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey observed 110 days prior to the event. Each epoch of our observations covers 89% of the LIGO/Virgo localization region. We conducted an untargeted search for radio transients in this field, resulting in 21 candidates. For one of these, AT2019osy, we performed multiwavelength follow-up and ultimately ruled out the association with S190814bv. All other candidates are likely unrelated variables, but we cannot conclusively rule them out. We discuss our results in the context of model predictions for radio emission from NSBH mergers and place constrains on the circum-merger density and inclination angle of the merger. This survey is simultaneously the first large-scale radio follow-up of an NSBH merger, and the most sensitive widefield radio transients search to-date
Supergravity Black Holes and Billiards and Liouville integrable structure of dual Borel algebras
In this paper we show that the supergravity equations describing both cosmic
billiards and a large class of black-holes are, generically, both Liouville
integrable as a consequence of the same universal mechanism. This latter is
provided by the Liouville integrable Poissonian structure existing on the dual
Borel algebra B_N of the simple Lie algebra A_{N-1}. As a by product we derive
the explicit integration algorithm associated with all symmetric spaces U/H^{*}
relevant to the description of time-like and space-like p-branes. The most
important consequence of our approach is the explicit construction of a
complete set of conserved involutive hamiltonians h_{\alpha} that are
responsible for integrability and provide a new tool to classify flows and
orbits. We believe that these will prove a very important new tool in the
analysis of supergravity black holes and billiards.Comment: 48 pages, 7 figures, LaTex; V1: misprints corrected, two references
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Weinberg like sum rules revisited
The generalized Weinberg sum rules containing the difference of isovector
vector and axial-vector spectral functions saturated by both finite and
infinite number of narrow resonances are considered. We summarize the status of
these sum rules and analyze their overall agreement with phenomenological
Lagrangians, low-energy relations, parity doubling, hadron string models, and
experimental data.Comment: 31 pages, noticed misprints are corrected, references are added, and
other minor corrections are mad
Designed Azolopyridinium Salts Block Protective Antigen Pores In Vitro and Protect Cells from Anthrax Toxin
Background:Several intracellular acting bacterial protein toxins of the AB-type, which are known to enter cells by endocytosis, are shown to produce channels. This holds true for protective antigen (PA), the binding component of the tripartite anthrax-toxin of Bacillus anthracis. Evidence has been presented that translocation of the enzymatic components of anthrax-toxin across the endosomal membrane of target cells and channel formation by the heptameric/octameric PA63 binding/translocation component are related phenomena. Chloroquine and some 4-aminoquinolones, known as potent drugs against Plasmodium falciparium infection of humans, block efficiently the PA63-channel in a dose dependent way.Methodology/Principal Findings:Here we demonstrate that related positively charged heterocyclic azolopyridinium salts block the PA63-channel in the μM range, when both, inhibitor and PA63 are added to the same side of the membrane, the cis-side, which corresponds to the lumen of acidified endosomal vesicles of target cells. Noise-analysis allowed the study of the kinetics of the plug formation by the heterocycles. In vivo experiments using J774A.1 macrophages demonstrated that the inhibitors of PA63-channel function also efficiently block intoxication of the cells by the combination lethal factor and PA63 in the same concentration range as they block the channels in vitro.Conclusions/Significance:These results strongly argue in favor of a transport of lethal factor through the PA63-channel and suggest that the heterocycles used in this study could represent attractive candidates for development of novel therapeutic strategies against anthrax. © 2013 Beitzinger et al
Mathematically gifted and talented learners: Theory and practice
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(2), 213-228, 2009, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207390802566907.There is growing recognition of the special needs of mathematically gifted learners. This article reviews policy developments and current research and theory on giftedness in mathematics. It includes a discussion of the nature of mathematical ability as well as the factors that make up giftedness in mathematics. The article is set in the context of current developments in Mathematics Education and Gifted Education in the UK and their implications for Science and Technology. It argues that early identification and appropriate provision for younger mathematically promising pupils capitalizes on an intellectual resource which could provide future mathematicans as well as specialists in Science or Technology. Drawing on a Vygotskian framework, it is suggested that the mathematically gifted require appropriate cognitive challenges as well as attitudinally and motivationally enhancing experiences. In the second half of this article we report on an initiative in which we worked with teachers to identify mathematically gifted pupils and to provide effective enrichment support for them, in a number of London Local Authorities. A number of significant issues are raised relating to the identification of mathematical talent, enrichment provision for students and teachers’ professional development
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