Water and T-maze protocols are equally efficient methods to assess spatial memory in 3xTg Alzheimer's disease mice.

Rodent spatial memory is commonly tested using the water-maze; however, there is a potential confound of stress on learning in this behavioural paradigm. This is particularly relevant when testing spatial memory in models of neurodegeneration, such as the 3xTg mouse model for Alzheimer's disease. Here, we first confirmed that 3xTgAD mice express fear conditioning and then compared the performance of young and middle-aged mice on short-duration versions of the radial arm water-maze (RAWM) and the minimally stressful T-maze spontaneous alternation task. Our main questions were: (1) does the reliance on stressors in water-maze training mask the true cognitive ability of 3xTgAD mice; and (2) are 3xTgAD mice similarly impaired in water-maze and T-maze protocols. Firstly, male and female 3xTgAD mice displayed intact freezing responses in both contextual and Pavlovian fear conditions. As male 3xTgAD mice displayed relatively enhanced fear responses the remaining tests were performed using only female 3xTgAD and control mice in order to equate for response to stressors. We found that alternation rates after both short and long delays were impaired at both ages in female 3xTgAD mice, indicative of robust spatial working memory deficits. For RAWM, again performance deficits were found in young 3xTgAD mice. As both tasks had similar efficacy at revealing early spatial memory deficits, we suggest that spontaneous behavioural protocols be prioritised over water maze testing in models such the 3xTgAD mouse as the former provide a far less stressful but equally effective alternative.

Lack of glucuronidation products of trans-resveratrol in plasma and urine of cats.

Resveratrol has generated interest in cats due to reported health benefits. Cats have low activity of ß-glucuronidase, and we hypothesized they could not form two common resveratrol metabolites, resveratrol-3-O-glucuronide and resveratrol-4'-O-glucuronide. Resveratrol, 3 mg/cat/day, was given orally to intact male (n = 5) and female cats (n = 5) for 4 weeks. A control group (8 intact males) was used for comparison. Plasma and urine were collected weekly and analysed using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate, but no glucuronide metabolites, were detected in plasma and urine. Median (range 10-90th percentile) plasma resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.46 ng/ml (0.02-1.74 ng/ml) and 0.96 ng/ml (0.65-3.21 ng/ml). Median (range) plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 6.32 ng/ml (2.55-10.29 ng/ml) and 11.45 ng/ml (1.47-53.29 ng/ml). Plasma resveratrol differed from control in week 4, while plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate was different in all weeks (p < 0.05). Median (range) urine resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.28 ng/ml (0.05-1.59 ng/ml) and 19.98 ng/ml (8.44-87.54 ng/ml). Median (range) urine resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 26.71 ng/ml (10.50-75.58 ng/ml) and 108.69 ng/ml (11.83-231.05 ng/ml). All time points for urine resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate were significantly different from control (p < 0.05), except for weeks 1, 3 and 4 for resveratrol. The results support our hypothesis that cats are unlikely able to glucuronidate resveratrol, most likely due to a reduction in the activity of ß-glucuronidase.

Modifying excitation transfer cross sections with an ac Stark effect.

We show that it is possible to manipulate electronic energy transfer collision cross sections between different atomic species by using a strong electromagnetic field close to resonance with a transition between two excited states to modify the energy levels (i.e., to create dressed states), which may be placed in or out of resonance with populated states (forming a population reservoir) in one of the species. We outline an estimate for a transfer cross section for a demonstration scheme and show that cross-section enhancements up to the order of 10(3) are possible.

Psychometric properties of a scale to measure menopause-related symptoms in two ethnicities.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a scale we constructed to measure menopause-related symptoms in Hispanic and White non-Hispanic women. METHODS: Items were generated from the literature and clinical experiences. Hispanic (n = 123, 51.34 +/- 5.14 years) and White (n = 210, 53.36 +/- 4.80 years) women completed the scale and other instruments used to validate respective constructs. A subgroup of 69 women completed our scale a second time. RESULTS: Following exploratory factor analysis using the entire sample, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for Hispanic and White women, separately. The same four-factor model (vasomotor, psychological symptoms, relationship(s), and other symptoms) fit data for both ethnic groups. The coefficient alpha for internal consistency was 0.852 and 0.849 for the initial and second administration, respectively, and the test-retest reliability was significant (p < 0.001). There were differences in factor scores among groups with different menopausal status. Factor scores were significantly correlated with scores of a global quality-of-life instrument (p < or = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the scale is appropriate for use for Hispanic and White non-Hispanic women and is capable of detecting differences among women with different menopause-related symptoms. Menopause-related symptoms measured by the scale were correlated with global quality of life.

Characterizing the coherence of Bose-Einstein condensates and atom lasers.

For a dilute, interacting Bose gas of magnetically-trapped atoms at temperatures below the critical temperature T0 for Bose-Einstein condensation, we determine the second-order coherence function g (2) (r1 ; r2) within the framework of a finite-temperature quantum field theory. We show that, because of the different spatial distributions of condensate and thermal atoms in the trap, g (2) (r1 ; r2) does not depend on jr1 r2j alone. This means that the experimental determinations of g (2) reported to date give only its spatial average. Such an average may underestimate the degree of coherence attainable in an atom laser by judicious engineering of the output coupler.

Factors affecting the incidence of genotoxicity biomarkers in peripheral blood lymphocytes: impact on design of biomonitoring studies.

A review of risk factors affecting background rates of micronuclei and chromosomal aberration (CA) formation in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) was undertaken with a view to aiding the interpretation of genotoxicity biomonitoring studies. Both endogenous factors and those due to methodological variation were evaluated. Background variation of other indices of genotoxicity in PBLs (specifically 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine and comet assays) were also considered as these data likely reflect overlapping causes of DNA damage and may provide some indicators for future research areas. A number of host risk factors, namely age, gender, smoking, vitamin B(12) and folate status, were identified for which there is strong or sufficient evidence that they impact on background levels of genotoxicity biomarkers. Evaluation of these factors should be routinely included in genotoxicity biomonitoring studies. Although data on the influence of smoking is somewhat inconsistent, because of its known association with cancer and DNA damage, it is also classified as a high-risk factor. A number of other factors were identified for which there is weak or insufficient evidence including alcohol consumption, disease conditions and infections, physical exercise, body mass index and genotype. The review shows that the evaluation of biomonitoring studies of genotoxicity is complex and there is a need to improve study designs by setting an a priori hypothesis, collecting good exposure data and stratifying groups appropriately, using appropriate power calculations before initiating biomonitoring studies, and collecting information on appropriate risk factors. There is a need for further collaborative work and the establishment of centres of excellence on genotoxicity biomonitoring. If these measures are achieved, then it would be possible to use the data from biomonitoring studies in risk assessments to derive risk management measures.

Social cognitive and physical health determinants of exercise adherence for HIV-1 seropositive, early symptomatic men and women.

This study examined social cognitive and physical health factors that might explain variations in exercise adherence in a 3-month supervised exercise intervention for a group of mildly symptomatic, HIV-1 seropositive men and women. The social cognitive predictor variables were outcome expectations and self-efficacy. The physical health predictor variables included CD4+ cell counts, self-report inventories of physical symptoms, and physicians' examinations. Self-report inventories of physical symptoms were associated with physicians' examinations and combined into a composite measure of physical health. Criterion variables included exercise adherence rates, VO2max change, and status as a 'remainder' versus 'drop-out.' The composite measure of physical health emerged as a significant predictor of adherence rate and gave perfect prediction of remainers and a moderate prediction of dropouts. No significant associations were observed between the social cognitive predictors and adherence. Results suggest that for this population physical health status is a better predictor of exercise adherence than either perceived self-efficacy or outcome expectancy.

Dynamics of the BCS-BEC crossover in a degenerate Fermi gas.

We study the short-time dynamics of a degenerate Fermi gas positioned near a Feshbach resonance following an abrupt jump in the atomic interaction resulting from a change of magnetic field. We investigate the dynamics of the condensate order parameter and pair wave function for a range of field strengths. When the jump is sufficient to span the BCS to Bose-Einstein condensation crossover, we show that the rigidity of the momentum distribution precludes any atom-molecule oscillations in the entrance channel dominated resonances observed in 40K and 6Li. Focusing on material parameters tailored to the 40K Feshbach resonance at 202.1 G, we comment on the integrity of the fast sweep projection technique as a vehicle to explore the condensed phase in the crossover region.

Structured assessment of current mental state in clinical practice: an international study of the reliability and validity of the Current Psychiatric State interview, CPS-50.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a reliable standardized assessment of psychiatric symptoms for use in clinical practice. METHOD: A 50-item interview, the Current Psychiatric State 50 (CPS-50), was used to assess 237 patients with a range of psychiatric diagnoses. Ratings were made by interviewers after a 2-day training. Comparisons of inter-rater reliability on each item and on eight clinical subscales were made across four international centres and between psychiatrists and non-psychiatrists. A principal components analysis was used to validate these clinical scales. RESULTS: Acceptable inter-rater reliability (intra-class coefficient > 0.80) was found for 46 of the 50 items, and for all eight subscales. There was no difference between centres or between psychiatrists and non-psychiatrists. The principal components analysis factors were similar to the clinical scales. CONCLUSION: The CPS-50 is a reliable standardized assessment of current mental status that can be used in clinical practice by all mental health professionals after brief training.

Quantitative test of thermal field theory for Bose-Einstein condensates.

We present numerical results from a second-order quantum field theory of Bose-Einstein condensates applied to the 1997 JILA experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 764 (1997)]]. Good agreement is found for the energies and decay rates for both the lowest-energy m=2 and m=0 modes. The anomalous behavior of the m=0 mode is due to experimental perturbation of the noncondensate. The theory is gapless and includes the coupled dynamics of the condensate and thermal cloud, the anomalous pair average, and all relevant finite size effects.

Long-range nature of feshbach molecules in bose-einstein condensates.

We discuss the long-range nature of the molecules produced in recent experiments on molecular Bose-Einstein condensation. The properties of these molecules depend on the full two-body Hamiltonian and not just on the states of the system in the absence of interchannel couplings. The very long-range nature of the state is crucial to the efficiency of production in the experiments. Our many-body treatment of the gas accounts for the full binary physics and describes properly how these molecular condensates can be directly probed.

Measurement-induced relative-position localization through entanglement.

We consider the localization of a pair of particles in relative-position space. We show how a sequence of scattering interactions progressively entangles two particles, giving rise to a robust state of well-defined separation and thus providing a natural description of relative position. We use two thought experiments to describe the localization process. The first is an interferometer with recoiling mirrors. The second, and more general, case considers photons scattering from a pair of particles and the resulting emergence of a Young's interference pattern. The underlying framework of the localization process suggests a prominent role for entanglement and relative observables at the boundary between quantum and classical mechanics.

Probing states in the Mott insulator regime in the case of coherent bosons trapped in an optical lattice.

We propose a method to probe states in the Mott insulator regime produced from a condensate in an optical lattice. We consider a system in which we create time-dependent number fluctuations in a given site by turning off the atomic interactions and lowering the potential barriers on a nearly pure Mott state to allow the atoms to tunnel between sites. We calculate the expected interference pattern and number fluctuations from such a system and show that one can potentially observe a deviation from a pure Mott state. We also discuss a method in which to detect these number fluctuations using time-of-flight imaging.

Dose-response effect of walking exercise on weight loss. How much is enough?

OBJECTIVE: Exercise is the cornerstone of behavioral weight loss programs. The total volume of exercise needed to both promote weight loss and elicit health benefits has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two different volumes of walking 'metabolic fitness' exercise prescriptions, in combination with a low-fat, ad libitum diet (LFAL) on weight loss and additional modifiable health-related variables (HRV) in an ethnically diverse sample of overweight premenopausal women. DESIGN: Clinical 12 week weight loss intervention study with a 5.0-5.8 MJ diet daily with (a). participants walking 30 min, 5 days per week (DEX1), (b). participants walking 60 min, five times per week (DEX2) or (c). a diet only control group (DO). SUBJECTS: A mixed racial sample (predominantly Hispanic) of 56 subjects (mean BMI=34.26+/-6.61, mean age= 39.45+/-7.34) completed the 12 week program. MEASUREMENTS: Various body weight, body composition and fat distribution variables, dietary intake and additional HRV such as blood lipids, blood pressure and an estimate of cardiorespiratory fitness at baseline and after 3 months. RESULTS: All groups showed similar and significant (P<0.001) declines in body weight, percentage body fat, BMI, WHR, fat mass, fat-free mass and diastolic blood pressure following the program. In addition, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and the TC:HDL ratio displayed a significant time effect (P<0.05). Significant interactions (P<0.05) were found for waist circumference, sagittal diameter, estimated VO(2max) and LDL-C, with both exercise groups showing similar and significantly greater (P<0.05) improvements than DO. Significant interactions (P<0.05) were also observed for several dietary variables. CONCLUSION: Our study showed no dose-response effect of walking exercise on weight loss over diet alone. Both lower and higher volume metabolic fitness prescriptions resulted in similar and significant beneficial changes in several HRV. This data suggests that 30 min of walking on most days of the week may be as beneficial as 60 min (in combination with diet) in promoting numerous additional healthful outcomes over diet alone following a 12 week weight loss program.

Interferometry below the standard quantum limit with Bose-Einstein condensates.

We discuss a scheme for using entangled Bose-Einstein condensates to detect phase differences with a resolution better than the standard quantum limit. To date, schemes have shown that the enhancement in phase resolution gained by entangling condensates is lost when dissipation is present. Here we show how this can be overcome by using number correlated condensates, as have been produced recently in the laboratory. We also outline a scheme for measuring this phase that is not destroyed when the effects of finite detector efficiency are considered.

Approaching classicality in quantum accelerator modes through decoherence.

We describe measurements of the mean energy of an ensemble of laser-cooled atoms in an atom optical system in which the cold atoms, falling freely under gravity, receive approximate delta-kicks from a pulsed standing wave of laser light. We call this system a "delta-kicked accelerator." Additionally, we can counteract the effect of gravity by appropriate shifting of the position of the standing wave, which restores the dynamics of the standard delta-kicked rotor. The presence of gravity (delta-kicked accelerator) yields quantum phenomena, quantum accelerator modes, which are markedly different from those in the case for which gravity is absent (delta-kicked rotor). Quantum accelerator modes result in a much higher rate of increase in the mean energy of the system than is found in its classical analog. When gravity is counteracted, the system exhibits the suppression of the momentum diffusion characteristic of dynamical localization. The effect of noise is examined and a comparison is made with simulations of both quantum-mechanical and classical versions of the system. We find that the introduction of noise results in the restoration of several signatures of classical behavior, although significant quantum features remain.

Simulations of Bose fields at finite temperature.

We introduce a time-dependent projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation to describe a partially condensed homogeneous Bose gas, and find that this equation will evolve randomized initial wave functions to equilibrium. We compare our numerical data to the predictions of a gapless, second order theory of Bose-Einstein condensation [S. A. Morgan, J. Phys. B 33, 3847 (2000)], and find that we can determine a temperature when the theory is valid. As the Gross-Pitaevskii equation is nonperturbative, we expect that it can describe the correct thermal behavior of a Bose gas as long as all relevant modes are highly occupied. Our method could be applied to other boson fields.