First Digit Distribution of Hadron Full Width

A phenomenological law, called Benford's law, states that the occurrence of the first digit, i.e., $1,2,...,9$, of numbers from many real world sources is not uniformly distributed, but instead favors smaller ones according to a logarithmic distribution. We investigate, for the first time, the first digit distribution of the full widths of mesons and baryons in the well defined science domain of particle physics systematically, and find that they agree excellently with the Benford distribution. We also discuss several general properties of Benford's law, i.e., the law is scale-invariant, base-invariant, and power-invariant. This means that the lifetimes of hadrons follow also Benford's law.Comment: 8 latex pages, 4 figures, final version in journal publicatio

Ultrasonic scouring of wool and its effects on fibre breakage during carding

Ultrasonics has shown the potential to reduce the cost and environmental impact of textile processing. This work investigates the impact of ultrasonic scouring on fibre entanglement caused during the scouring process. Levels of fibre entanglement were quantified by measuring fibre length using OFDA4000 after carding. A significant reduction in fibre entanglement after ultrasonic scouring was observed and this was due to a reduced fibre migration in the wash bath when compared with the mechanical agitation seen in conventional scouring process. Fibre cuticle scale damage resulting from the ultrasonic irradiation may also have contributed to the reduction in fibre entanglement. A reduced level of fibre entanglement from ultrasonic wool scouring leads to a reduction in fibre breakage during carding

Resting heart rate and risk of dementia: A Mendelian randomization study in the international genomics of Alzheimer’s project and UK Biobank

Background: Observational studies have demonstrated that a higher resting heart rate (RHR) is associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, it is not clear whether the association is causal. This study aimed to determine the causal effects of higher genetically predicted RHR on the risk of dementia. Methods: We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis to investigate the causal effect of higher genetically predicted RHR on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies. The generalized summary Mendelian randomization (GSMR) analysis was used to analyze the corresponding effects of RHR on following different outcomes: 1) diagnosis of AD (International Genomics of Alzheimer’s Project), 2) family history (maternal and paternal) of AD from UK Biobank, 3) combined meta-analysis including these three GWAS results. Further analyses were conducted to determine the possibility of reverse causal association by adjusting for RHR modifying medication. Results: The results of GSMR showed no significant causal effect of higher genetically predicted RHR on the risk of AD (βGSMR = 0.12, P = 0.30). GSMR applied to the maternal family history of AD (βGSMR = −0.18, P = 0.13) and to the paternal family history of AD (βGSMR = −0.14, P = 0.39) showed the same results. Furthermore, the results were robust after adjusting for RHR modifying drugs (βGSMR = −0.03, P = 0.72). Conclusion: Our study did not find any evidence that supports a causal effect of RHR on dementia. Previous observational associations between RHR and dementia are likely attributed to the correlation between RHR and other cardiovascular diseases

Women's Participation in Cardiovascular Clinical Trials From 2010 to 2017

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, yet, women have historically been underrepresented in cardiovascular trials. Methods: We systematically assessed the participation of women in completed cardiovascular trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov between 2010 and 2017, and extracted publicly available information including disease type, sponsor type, country, trial size, intervention type, and the demographic characteristics of trial participants. We calculated the female-to-male ratio for each trial and determined the prevalence-adjusted estimates for participation of women by dividing the percentage of women among trial participants by the percentage of women in the disease population (participation prevalence ratio; a ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 suggests comparable prevalence and good representation). Results: We identified 740 completed cardiovascular trials including a total of 862 652 adults, of whom 38.2% were women. The median female-to-male ratio of each trial was 0.51 (25th quartile, 0.32; 75th quartile, 0.90) overall and varied by age group (1.02 in ≤55 year old group versus 0.40 in the 61- to 65-year-old group), type of intervention (0.44 for procedural trials versus 0.78 for lifestyle intervention trials), disease type (0.34 for acute coronary syndrome versus 3.20 for pulmonary hypertension), region (0.45 for Western Pacific versus 0.55 for the Americas), funding/sponsor type (0.14 for government-funded versus 0.73 for multiple sponsors), and trial size (0.56 for smaller [n≤47] versus 0.49 for larger [n≥399] trials). Relative to their prevalence in the disease population, participation prevalence ratio was higher than 0.8 for hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension and lower (participation prevalence ratio 0.48 to 0.78) for arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, acute coronary syndrome, and heart failure trials. The most recent time period (2013 to 2017) saw significant increases in participation prevalence ratios for stroke (P=0.007) and heart failure (P=0.01) trials compared with previous periods. Conclusions: Among cardiovascular trials in the current decade, men still predominate overall, but the representation of women varies with disease and trial characteristics, and has improved in stroke and heart failure trials

Octet Quark Contents from SU(3) Flavor Symmetry

With the parametrization of parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton by Soffer \textit{et al.}, we extend the valence quark contents to other octet baryons by utilizing SU(3) flavor symmetry. We find the method practically useful. Fragmentation functions (FFs) are further obtained through the phenomenological Gribov-Lipatov relation at the $x \to 1$ region. Our results are compared with different models, and these different predictions can be discriminated by upcoming experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, final version for journal publicatio

Disability and Health in African Americans: Population Research and Implications for Occupational Therapy Community-Based Practice

Background: Population-based research and community-based interventions are integral to occupational therapy’s scope of practice, yet they are underdeveloped in actual implementation. Therefore, this paper focuses on some health challenges facing the African American population, guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model. Method: Using data from an observational cross-sectional nationwide telephone survey of African American adults, we examined differences between African Americans who are receiving disability payments (RDP) and those who are employed full time (FTE) on several physical health behaviors and psychosocial health indicators. We further compared the differences between African Americans RDP versus those FTE on those physical health behaviors and psychosocial health indicators across five US regions. Results: Findings suggest that African Americans RDP are engaging in fewer positive physical health behaviors and experiencing worse psychosocial health compared to their counterparts FTE. There are also nuanced regional variations in the differences between African Americans RDP and FTE in physical health behaviors and psychosocial health indicators. Conclusion: This research highlighted some health challenges of African Americans RDP and FTE using a regional lens, demonstrating the value of OT population-based research. There is a need for OT population-specific community-based practice to address the health disparities of underserved and minority populations, such as African Americans

Hypertension in China: burdens, guidelines and policy responses: a state-of-the-art review.

Hypertension is a leading risk factor of cardiovascular disease and it is becoming increasingly prevalent globally. Correspondingly, the Chinese government and public health institutions have issued a series of policy documents and guidelines for hypertension. However, no comprehensive review of such documents has been conducted. Hence, this review aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of not only the disease burden, but also hypertension management policies and guidelines in China. A total of 15 epidemiological studies based on national population surveys, 15 Chinese Hypertension Guidelines, and seven policy documents were identified. We found a larger burden of hypertension in men, while the awareness, treatment, and control rates have remained low in both sexes. The ranges of hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rate among hypertensive patients were 18.0-44.7%, 23.6-56.2%, 14.2-48.5%, and 4.2-30.1% respectively. Chinese hypertension guidelines provide evidence-based instructions to healthcare practitioners over hypertension management in which primary healthcare is increasingly emphasized. Finally, the policy documents set national goals for hypertension management and standardized the services provided in primary healthcare. The findings highlight the importance of integrating new guidelines into hypertension management provided by primary healthcare practitioners and the need to evaluate the implementation of guidelines and policies

Note on a new fundamental length scale ll instead of the Newtonian constant GG

The newly proposed entropic gravity suggests gravity as an emergent force rather than a fundamental one. In this approach, the Newtonian constant $G$ does not play a fundamental role any more, and a new fundamental constant is required to replace its position. This request also arises from some philosophical considerations to contemplate the physical foundations for the unification of theories. We here consider the suggestion to derive $G$ from more fundamental quantities in the presence of a new fundamental length scale $l$, which is suspected to originate from the structure of quantum space-time, and can be measured directly from Lorentz-violating observations. Our results are relevant to the fundamental understanding of physics, and more practically, of natural units, as well as explanations of experimental constraints in searching for Lorentz violation.Comment: 10 latex pages, final version for journal publicatio

Evaluating the softness of animal fibers

Softness is an important property of textile fibers, and animal fibers in particular. At present, there is no reliable method for objectively evaluating fiber softness. This paper examines a simple technique of such evaluations by pulling a bundle of parallel fibers through a series of pins. Softer fibers with lower bending rigidities and smoother surfaces should have lower pulling forces. Alpaca and wool fibers are used in this study to validate this technique, and the results suggest that pulling force measurements can reflect differences in fiber softness

A feasibility study on using smartphones to conduct short-version verbal autopsies in rural China

Background: Currently there are two main sources of mortality data with cause of death assignments in China. Both sources-the Ministry of Health-Vital Registration system and the Chinese Disease Surveillance Point system-present their own challenges. A new approach to cause of death assignment is a smartphone-based shortened version of a verbal autopsy survey. This study evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of this new method conducted by township health care providers (THP) and village doctors (VD) in rural China, where a large proportion of deaths occur in homes and cause of death data are inaccurate or lacking. Methods: The Population Health Metrics Research Consortium mobile phone-based shortened verbal autopsy questionnaire was made available on an Android system-based application, and cause of death was derived using the Tariff method (Tariff 2.0); we called this set of tools "msVA." msVA was administered to relatives of the deceased by six THPs and six VDs in 24 villages located in six townships of Luquan County, Hebei Province, China. Subsequently, interviews were conducted among 12 interviewers, 12 randomly selected respondents, and five study staff to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using msVA for mortality data collection. Results: Between July 2013 and August 2013, 268 deaths took place in the study villages. Among the 268 deaths, 227 VAs were completed (nine refusals, 31 migrations and one loss of data due to breakdown of the smartphone). The average time for a VA interview was 21.5 +/- 3.4 min (20.1 +/- 3.5 min for THP and 23.2 +/- 4.1 min for VD). Both THPs and VDs could be successful interviewers; the latter needed more training but had more willingness to implement msVA in the future. The interviews revealed that both interviewers and relatives of the deceased found msVA to be feasible, acceptable, and more desirable than traditional methods. The cost of conducting a new VA was $ 8.87 per death. Conclusions: Conduction of msVA by VDs in their own villages was feasible and acceptable in rural northern China. Broader implementation of msVA across rural China could potentially improve the coverage and quality of cause of death data, allowing for better national health evaluation and program planning.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services [HHSN268200900034C]; NHLBI-UHG Trainee Seed [email protected]