Fundamental dissipation due to bound fermions in the zero-temperature limit.

The ground state of a fermionic condensate is well protected against perturbations in the presence of an isotropic gap. Regions of gap suppression, surfaces and vortex cores which host Andreev-bound states, seemingly lift that strict protection. Here we show that in superfluid 3He the role of bound states is more subtle: when a macroscopic object moves in the superfluid at velocities exceeding the Landau critical velocity, little to no bulk pair breaking takes place, while the damping observed originates from the bound states covering the moving object. We identify two separate timescales that govern the bound state dynamics, one of them much longer than theoretically anticipated, and show that the bound states do not interact with bulk excitations.

Seasonal alterations in circadian melatonin rhythms of the European wild boar and domestic gilt.

The aims of the present study were: 1) to determine if the European wild boar exhibits a circadian pattern of melatonin secretion under its natural light environment; 2) to compare this pattern with the pattern in domestic pigs reared under the light environment typical for domesticity; and 3) to determine if there are seasonal alterations in melatonin rhythms. Four to six young, pure-bred, European wild boars and four to six cross-bred (Yorkshire x Finnish Landrace) domestic gilts were sampled at 2-hr intervals for 48 hr at the spring/autumn equinoxes and summer/winter solstices. Samples were obtained via saphenous arterial catheters from the wild boars and via ear vein catheters from the domestic gilts. The ambient light intensity was recorded simultaneously with sampling both outdoors and indoors. Following ether extraction, the serum samples were assayed for melatonin using a commercial RIA (Bühlman). All the experimental animals exhibited a distinct circadian pattern in melatonin secretion, with high concentrations occurring during the scotophase. There was no difference in scotophase melatonin response between the wild boars and domestic gilts in any season in terms of mean melatonin concentration or peak value. The mean duration of increased melatonin secretion (more than two standard deviations over a mean photophase concentration) in 24 hr in the wild boars in spring, summer, autumn and winter, was 10, 6, 11 and 17 hr, respectively, and in the domestic gilts, 9, 8, 12 and 11 hr, respectively. These results demonstrate the existence of circadian rhythm in melatonin secretion in both the European wild boar and domestic pig. In both groups, the duration of secretion is subject to seasonal alterations. The results suggest no difference in photoperiodic-melatonin transduction between the European wild boar and domestic pig whether due to altered genotype or reduced light environment.

Trends in drinking habits among Finnish adolescents from 1977 to 1999.

AIMS: Trends in adolescent drinking habits in Finland from 1977 to 1999 are studied with special attention to the onset of problem use and gender differences. DESIGN AND SETTING: Biennial cross-sectional mailed surveys (Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey). PARTICIPANTS: Representative samples of 12, 14, 16 and 18-year-olds. The number of respondents varied from 2832 to 8390 and the response rate from 88% to 76%. MEASUREMENTS: The frequencies of alcohol use and perceived drunkenness obtained from self-administered questionnaires. FINDINGS: Alcohol use remained rare among 12-year-olds. The overall trends in the frequencies of alcohol use and drunkenness increased considerably over time among the 14-18-year-olds. Age-adjusted monthly drunkenness among 14, 16 and 18-year-olds rose from 13% (1981) to 27% (1999) among boys and 6% to 22% among girls. Throughout the study period, the drinking style among boys became more drunkenness-orientated with age, but the opposite was true among girls. Birth cohort investigation showed that the onset of drunkenness moved towards an earlier age. Earlier onset predicted higher prevalence of problem use at the age of 18. Boys developed a regular pattern of drunkenness steadily increasing between ages 14-18 while among girls the increase of drunkenness started to level off between ages 16 and 18. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use among 12-year-olds remained rare, but became more prevalent and drunkenness-orientated among 14-18 year-olds. Gender differences in problem use diminished. Nevertheless, notable differences persist in the onset and development of drunkenness-orientated use.

Gender differences in alcohol consumption and adverse drinking consequences: cross-cultural patterns.

AIMS: To examine the consistency and/or variability of gender differences in drinking behavior cross-culturally. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Women's and men's responses in 16 general population surveys from 10 countries, analyzed by members of the International Research Group on Gender and Alcohol. MEASUREMENTS: Comparable measures of drinking, versus abstention, typical drinking frequencies and quantities, heavy episodic drinking, intoxication, morning drinking, and alcohol-related family and occupational problems. FINDINGS: Women and men differed little in the probability of currently drinking versus abstaining, but men consistently exceeded women in typical drinking frequencies and quantities and in rates of heavy drinking episodes and adverse drinking consequences, while women were consistently more likely than men to be life-time abstainers. In older age groups, both men and women drank smaller quantities of alcohol and were more likely to stop drinking altogether, but drinking frequencies did not change consistently with age. CONCLUSIONS: A theoretical synthesis proposes that gender roles may amplify biological differences in reactions to alcohol, and that gender differences in drinking behavior may be modified by macrosocial factors that modify gender role contrasts.

Gender differences for the risk of alcohol-related problems in multiple national contexts.

The primary research question asked is: After holding alcohol consumption constant, will men and women be at equal risk for a variety of alcohol-related problems? Since women are actually at a higher blood alcohol content at the same consumption levels, a physiological argument would suggest that women are at equal or greater risk for alcohol problems than men. However, variation in societal norms surrounding gender roles and/or societal-level stress may mediate the experience of men and women, regardless of the differences in physiology. Ten cross-sectional general population studies are used. Analyses control for individual-level variables (age, quantity, and frequency of drinking) and societal-level variables (proportion of women in the work force and female suicide rate) that might confound these relationships; cross-study homogeneity is examined.

Prognostic factors in unselected patients with nonseminomatous metastatic testicular cancer: a multicenter experience.

Between 1981 and 1986, 200 consecutive patients with metastatic nonseminomatous testicular cancer were entered into the Swedish Norwegian Testicular Cancer (SWENOTECA) project from 14 hospitals. The treatment plan was four chemotherapy cycles (cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin) followed by surgical resection of residual tumor masses. After a median observation time of 75 months, the overall 5-year survival rate was 82%. In a univariate analysis, the following parameters influenced the prognosis significantly: the extent of the disease (Medical Research Council [MRC] grouping); the prechemotherapy levels of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); the patients' age; the presence of extrapulmonary hematogeneous metastases; and/or particularly large lymph node metastases. Patients fared better when more than 3 weeks elapsed between orchiectomy and start of chemotherapy as compared with those who were treated within this interval. The place of treatment (a large oncology unit v smaller units) also represented a significant prognostic factor for patients with large-volume (LV) and very-large-volume (VLV) disease combined. Multivariate analysis (Cox regression proportional hazards model) performed in all 193 assessable patients showed the following adverse prognostic factors: high-volume metastatic burden, age older than 35 years, prechemotherapy AFP greater than 500 micrograms/L and/or HCG greater than 1,000 U/L, and an interval between orchiectomy and start of chemotherapy of less than 3 weeks. The place of treatment also significantly influenced the final outcome. If patients with LV and VLV disease were combined, the presence of two of the following risk factors represented an additional prognostic factor: AFP greater than 1,000 micrograms/L, HCG greater than 10,000 U/L, liver metastases, brain metastases, bone metastases, retroperitoneal tumor greater than or equal to 10 cm, and mediastinal tumor greater than or equal to 5 cm.

Trends in drinking habits among Finnish youth from 1973 to 1987.

The aim of this study has been to analyze the trends in drinking habits among Finnish youth from 1973 to 1987. The data were collected by questionnaires from representative nationwide samples of 14- to 18-year-olds in 1973, and from 1977, biennially. Response rates varied between 79% (1985) and 88% (1981). The use of alcohol was common among young people in the early 1970s, decreased until the beginning of the 1980s, and then increased again beginning in 1983. The use of alcohol had increased among young people in every sociodemographic group and school type in recent years. However, the increase, per capita, of alcohol consumption in Finland has grown in recent years after a long stable period due to an increase in the availability of alcoholic beverages and better economic conditions. The spending money available to young people for their leisure time activities, including alcohol consumption, increased markedly after 1983. The liberalization of alcohol policies in connection with fast economic development had a special effect on alcohol use among young people in the early 1970s and then again in the 1980s.