Perspective: the application of a priori diet quality scores to cardiovascular disease risk: a critical evaluation of current scoring systems

Healthy dietary habits are the cornerstone of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. Numerous researchers have developed diet quality indices to help evaluate and compare diet quality across and within various populations. The availability of these new indices raises questions regarding the best selection relevant to a given population. In this perspective, we critically evaluate a priori–defined dietary indices commonly applied in epidemiological studies of CVD risk and mortality. A systematic literature search identified 59 observational studies that applied a priori–defined diet quality indices to CVD risk factors and/or CVD incidence and/or CVD mortality. Among 31 different indices, these scores were categorized as follows: 1) those based on country-specific dietary patterns, 2) those adapted from distinct dietary guidelines, and 3) novel scores specific to key diet-related factors associated with CVD risk. The strengths and limitations of these indices are described according to index components, calculation methods, and the application of these indices to different population groups. Also, the importance of identifying methodological challenges faced by researchers when applying an index are considered, such as selection and weighting of food groups within a score, since food groups are not necessarily equivalent in their associations with CVD. The lack of absolute cutoff values, emphasis on increasing healthy food without limiting unhealthy food intake, and absence of validation of scores with biomarkers or other objective diet assessment methods further complicate decisions regarding the best indices to use. Future research should address these limitations, consider cross-cultural and other differences between population groups, and identify translational challenges inherent in attempting to apply a relevant diet quality index for use in CVD prevention at a population level

Light cigarette smoking increases risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: Findings from the NHIS Cohort Study

Very few studies have examined the association between light cigarette smoking (i.e., ≤5 cigarettes per day) and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the association of light cigarette smoking with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among adults in the United States. Data were from 13 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (1997 to 2009) that were linked to the National Death Index records through December 31, 2011. A total of 329,035 participants aged ≥18 years in the United States were included. Deaths were from all cause, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory disease and were confirmed by death certification. During a median follow-up of 8.2 years, 34,862 participants died, of which 8415 were from cancer, 9031 from CVD, and 2040 from respiratory disease. Compared with never-smokers, participants who smoked 1-2 (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.73-2.16) and 3-5 cigarettes (HR = 1.99, 1.83-2.17) per day were at higher risk of all-cause mortality after adjustment for demographic variables, lifestyle factors and physician-diagnosis of chronic disease. The associations were stronger for respiratory disease-specific mortality, followed by cancer-specific mortality and CVD-specific mortality. For example, the HRs (95% CIs) of smoking 1-2 cigarettes per day were 9.75 (6.15-15.46), 2.28 (1.84-2.84) and 1.93 (1.58-2.36), respectively, for these three cause-specific mortalities. This study indicates that light cigarette smoking increases risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in US adults

Light Cigarette Smoking Increases Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: Findings from the NHIS Cohort Study

Very few studies have examined the association between light cigarette smoking (i.e., = 18 years in the United States were included. Deaths were from all cause, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory disease and were confirmed by death certification. During a median follow-up of 8.2 years, 34,862 participants died, of which 8415 were from cancer, 9031 from CVD, and 2040 from respiratory disease. Compared with never-smokers, participants who smoked 1-2 (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.73-2.16) and 3-5 cigarettes (HR = 1.99, 1.83-2.17) per day were at higher risk of all-cause mortality after adjustment for demographic variables, lifestyle factors and physician-diagnosis of chronic disease. The associations were stronger for respiratory disease-specific mortality, followed by cancer-specific mortality and CVD-specific mortality. For example, the HRs (95% CIs) of smoking 1-2 cigarettes per day were 9.75 (6.15-15.46), 2.28 (1.84-2.84) and 1.93 (1.58-2.36), respectively, for these three cause-specific mortalities. This study indicates that light cigarette smoking increases risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in US adults

Coupling Superconducting Qubits via a Cavity Bus

Superconducting circuits are promising candidates for constructing quantum bits (qubits) in a quantum computer; single-qubit operations are now routine, and several examples of two qubit interactions and gates having been demonstrated. These experiments show that two nearby qubits can be readily coupled with local interactions. Performing gates between an arbitrary pair of distant qubits is highly desirable for any quantum computer architecture, but has not yet been demonstrated. An efficient way to achieve this goal is to couple the qubits to a quantum bus, which distributes quantum information among the qubits. Here we show the implementation of such a quantum bus, using microwave photons confined in a transmission line cavity, to couple two superconducting qubits on opposite sides of a chip. The interaction is mediated by the exchange of virtual rather than real photons, avoiding cavity induced loss. Using fast control of the qubits to switch the coupling effectively on and off, we demonstrate coherent transfer of quantum states between the qubits. The cavity is also used to perform multiplexed control and measurement of the qubit states. This approach can be expanded to more than two qubits, and is an attractive architecture for quantum information processing on a chip.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Natur

Computing prime factors with a Josephson phase qubit quantum processor

A quantum processor (QuP) can be used to exploit quantum mechanics to find the prime factors of composite numbers[1]. Compiled versions of Shor's algorithm have been demonstrated on ensemble quantum systems[2] and photonic systems[3-5], however this has yet to be shown using solid state quantum bits (qubits). Two advantages of superconducting qubit architectures are the use of conventional microfabrication techniques, which allow straightforward scaling to large numbers of qubits, and a toolkit of circuit elements that can be used to engineer a variety of qubit types and interactions[6, 7]. Using a number of recent qubit control and hardware advances [7-13], here we demonstrate a nine-quantum-element solid-state QuP and show three experiments to highlight its capabilities. We begin by characterizing the device with spectroscopy. Next, we produces coherent interactions between five qubits and verify bi- and tripartite entanglement via quantum state tomography (QST) [8, 12, 14, 15]. In the final experiment, we run a three-qubit compiled version of Shor's algorithm to factor the number 15, and successfully find the prime factors 48% of the time. Improvements in the superconducting qubit coherence times and more complex circuits should provide the resources necessary to factor larger composite numbers and run more intricate quantum algorithms.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Proximity to Sports Facilities and Sports Participation for Adolescents in Germany

Objectives - To assess the relationship between proximity to specific sports facilities and participation in the corresponding sports activities for adolescents in Germany. Methods - A sample of 1,768 adolescents aged 11–17 years old and living in 161 German communities was examined. Distances to the nearest sports facilities were calculated as an indicator of proximity to sports facilities using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Participation in specific leisure-time sports activities in sports clubs was assessed using a self-report questionnaire and individual-level socio-demographic variables were derived from a parent questionnaire. Community-level socio-demographics as covariates were selected from the INKAR database, in particular from indicators and maps on land development. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between proximity to the nearest sports facilities and participation in the corresponding sports activities. Results - The logisitic regression analyses showed that girls residing longer distances from the nearest gym were less likely to engage in indoor sports activities; a significant interaction between distances to gyms and level of urbanization was identified. Decomposition of the interaction term showed that for adolescent girls living in rural areas participation in indoor sports activities was positively associated with gym proximity. Proximity to tennis courts and indoor pools was not associated with participation in tennis or water sports, respectively. Conclusions - Improved proximity to gyms is likely to be more important for female adolescents living in rural areas

Formation of Super-Earths

Super-Earths are the most abundant planets known to date and are characterized by having sizes between that of Earth and Neptune, typical orbital periods of less than 100 days and gaseous envelopes that are often massive enough to significantly contribute to the planet's overall radius. Furthermore, super-Earths regularly appear in tightly-packed multiple-planet systems, but resonant configurations in such systems are rare. This chapters summarizes current super-Earth formation theories. It starts from the formation of rocky cores and subsequent accretion of gaseous envelopes. We follow the thermal evolution of newly formed super-Earths and discuss their atmospheric mass loss due to disk dispersal, photoevaporation, core-cooling and collisions. We conclude with a comparison of observations and theoretical predictions, highlighting that even super-Earths that appear as barren rocky cores today likely formed with primordial hydrogen and helium envelopes and discuss some paths forward for the future.Comment: Invited review accepted for publication in the 'Handbook of Exoplanets,' Planet Formation section, Springer Reference Works, Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Ed

The gravitino coupling to broken gauge theories applied to the MSSM

We consider gravitino couplings in theories with broken gauge symmetries. In particular, we compute the single gravitino production cross section in W+ W- fusion processes. Despite recent claims to the contrary, we show that this process is always subdominant to gluon fusion processes in the high energy limit. The full calculation is performed numerically; however, we give analytic expressions for the cross section in the supersymmetric and electroweak limits. We also confirm these results with the use of the effective theory of goldstino interactions.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure