University of Otago

About: University of Otago is a education organization based out in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 21668 authors who have published 53810 publications receiving 1835189 citations. The organization is also known as: Otago University & otago.ac.nz.

What Is Intelligence?: Beyond the Flynn Effect

Abstract: Around their 18th birthday, basically all Dutch males born between 1934 and 1964 unknowingly took part in a study of the malleability of intelligence. When these young men appeared before the Dutch military draft board, they took a non-verbal IQ test based on Raven’s (1960) Progressive Matrices. With a little help from Piet Vroon, James Flynn (1987) discovered that those born in 1934 (cohort of 1952) scored on average 20 IQ points lower on the test than those born in 1964 (cohort of 1982). This suggested that in only 30 years, the Dutch male population had shown an increase of more than one standard deviation in average IQ. Flynn (1987) also documented this gain in average IQ in 13 other countries over the course of the 20th century and the effect is now commonly known as the Flynn effect. The Flynn effect raises many questions: How can IQ be substantially heritable, yet show such strong gains that appear to be due to environmental factors? Were Dutch males in 1982 so much smarter than Dutch males in 1952?

Mitochondria-Targeted Small Molecule Therapeutics and Probes

Abstract: Significance: Mitochondrial function is central to a wide range of biological processes in health and disease and there is considerable interest in developing small molecules that are taken up by mitochondria and act as either probes of mitochondrial function or therapeutics in vivo. Recent Advances: Various strategies have been used to target small molecules to mitochondria, particularly conjugation to lipophilic cations and peptides, and most of the work so far has been on mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and redox probes. In vivo studies will reveal whether there are differences in the types of bioactive functionalities that can be delivered using different carriers. Critical Issues: The outstanding challenge in the area is to discover how to combine the established selective delivery to mitochondria with the specific delivery to particular organs. Future Directions: These targeting methods will be used to direct many other bioactive molecules to mitochondria and many more wider applications...

Dynamics and statistical mechanics of ultra-cold Bose gases using c-field techniques

Abstract: We review phase-space techniques based on the Wigner representation that provide an approximate description of dilute ultra-cold Bose gases. In this approach the quantum field evolution can be represented using equations of motion of a similar form to the Gross-Pitaevskii equation but with stochastic modifications that include quantum effects in a controlled degree of approximation. These techniques provide a practical quantitative description of both equilibrium and dynamical properties of Bose gas systems. We develop versions of the formalism appropriate at zero temperature, where quantum fluctuations can be important, and at finite temperature where thermal fluctuations dominate. The numerical techniques necessary for implementing the formalism are discussed in detail, together with methods for extracting observables of interest. Numerous applications to a wide range of phenomena are presented.