Resonant and nonresonant D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) semileptonic decays

We analyse the semileptonic decay D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) using an effective Lagrangian developed previously to describe the decays D -> P l nu(l) and D -> V l nu(l). Light vector mesons are included in the model which combines the heavy quark effective Lagrangian and chiral perturbation theory approach. The nonresonant and resonant contributions are compared. With no new parameters the model correctly reproduces the measured ratio Gamma(nres)/Gamma(nres + res). We also present useful nonresonant decay distributions. Finally, a similar model, but with a modified current which satisfies the soft pion theorems at the expense of introducing another parameter, is analyzed and the results of the models are compared.Comment: 17 pages, 3 Postscript figures, standard Latex, extended revision, title, abstract and text (especially Sec. IV) changed, results unchange

Effectiveness of a worksite lifestyle intervention to reduce BMI among farmworkers in California: a cluster randomised controlled trial

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of PASOS SALUDABLES, a culturally tailored lifestyle intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes among Latino farmworkers, when implemented at large scale in the worksite.DesignThis study was a two-arm parallel group, cluster randomised controlled trial, where participants received either a twelve-session lifestyle intervention (intervention) or six-session leadership training (control) at their worksite. The intervention was delivered by Promotoras in Spanish. All sessions were conducted at the worksites (ranches) during meal breaks. Blinded, trained research assistants collected socio-demographic and outcome data (i.e. BMI as primary outcome and waist circumference, glycated Hb (HbA1c), cholesterol and blood pressure as secondary outcomes) at baseline and follow-up assessments (i.e. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 1·5 years).SettingRecruitment and intervention delivery occurred at twelve study ranches in Oxnard, California.ParticipantsWe enrolled farmworkers hired by a large berry grower company, who were ≥18 years old, spoke Spanish and were free of diabetes at screening.ResultsA total of 344 workers were enrolled in the intervention and 271 in the control group. The intervention resulted in attenuated increase of BMI over time; however, the difference in trend between groups was not significant (β = -0·01 for slope difference, P = 0·29). No significantly different trend by group was observed in secondary outcomes (P > 0·27).ConclusionsThe worksite intervention, implemented during meal breaks, did not reduce BMI or other clinical indicators. Nevertheless, this study supports the feasibility of recruiting and engaging the Latino farmworker population in workplace health promotion interventions

Voice processing for COVID-19 scanning and prognostic indicator

COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious risk of contagion to humans. There is a need to find reliable non-contact tests like vocal correlates of COVID-19 infection. Thirty-six Asian ethnic volunteers 16 (8M & 8F) infected subjects and 20 (10M &10F) non-infected controls participated in this study by vocalizing vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. Voice correlates of 16 COVID-19 positive patients were compared during infection and after recovery with 20 non-infected controls. Compared to non-infected controls, significantly higher values of energy intensity for /o/ ( = 0.048); formant F1 for /o/ ( = 0.014); and formant F3 for /u/ ( = 0.032) were observed in male patients, while higher values of Jitter (local, abs) for /o/ ( = 0.021) and Jitter (ppq5) for /a/ ( = 0.014) were observed in female patients. However, formant F2 for /u/ ( = 0.018), mean pitch F0 for /e/, /i/ and /o/ ( = 0.033; 0.036; 0.047) decreased for female patients under infection. Compared to recovered conditions, HNR for /e/ ( = 0.014) was higher in male patients under infection, while Jitter (rap) for /a/ ( = 0.041); Jitter (ppq5) for /a/ ( = 0.032); Shimmer (local, dB) for /i/ ( = 0.024); Shimmer (apq5) for /u/ ( = 0.019); and formant F4 for vowel /o/ ( = 0.022) were higher in female patients under infection. However, HNR for /e/ ( = 0.041); and formant F1 for /o/ ( = 0.002) were lower in female patients compared to their recovered conditions. Obtained results support the hypothesis since changes in voice parameters were observed in the infected patients which can be correlated to a combination of acoustic measures like fundamental frequency, formant characteristics, HNR, and voice perturbations like jitter and shimmer for different vowels. Thus, voice analysis can be used for scanning and prognosis of COVID-19 infection. Based on the findings of this study, a mobile application can be developed to analyze human voice in real-time to detect COVID-19 symptoms for remedial measures and necessary action