Meson-Meson Scattering in Relativistic Constraint Dynamics

Dirac's relativistic constraint dynamics have been successfully applied to obtain a covariant nonperturbative description of QED and QCD bound states. We use this formalism to describe a microscopic theory of meson-meson scattering as a relativistic generalization of the nonrelativistic quark-interchange model developed by Barnes and Swanson.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure in LaTex, talk present at the First Meeting of the APS Topical Group on Hadronic Physics (Fermilab, October 24-26, 2004

Pion Interferometry for Hydrodynamical Expanding Source with a Finite Baryon Density

We calculate the two-pion correlation function for an expanding hadron source with a finite baryon density. The space-time evolution of the source is described by relativistic hydrodynamics and the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) radius is extracted after effects of collective expansion and multiple scattering on the HBT interferometry have been taken into account, using quantum probability amplitudes in a path-integral formalism. We find that this radius is substantially smaller than the HBT radius extracted from the freeze-out configuration.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Pion Interferometry for a Granular Source of Quark-Gluon Plasma Droplets

We examine the two-pion interferometry for a granular source of quark-gluon plasma droplets. The evolution of the droplets is described by relativistic hydrodynamics with an equation of state suggested by lattice gauge results. Pions are assumed to be emitted thermally from the droplets at the freeze-out configuration characterized by a freeze-out temperature $T_f$. We find that the HBT radius $R_{out}$ decreases if the initial size of the droplets decreases. On the other hand, $R_{side}$ depends on the droplet spatial distribution and is relatively independent of the droplet size. It increases with an increase in the width of the spatial distribution and the collective-expansion velocity of the droplets. As a result, the value of $R_{out}$ can lie close to $R_{side}$ for a granular quark-gluon plasma source. The granular model of the emitting source may provide an explanation to the RHIC HBT puzzle and may lead to a new insight into the dynamics of the quark-gluon plasma phase transition.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

QT peak prolongation predicts cardiac death following stroke

Cardiac death has been linked in many populations to prolongation of the QT interval (QTe). However, basic science research suggested that the best estimate of the time point when repolarisation begins is near the T-wave peak. We found QT peak (QTp) was longer in hypertensive subjects with LVH. A prolonged “depolarisation” phase, rather than “repolarisation” (T peak to T end) might therefore account for the higher incidence of cardiac death linked to long QT. Hypothesis: We have tested the hypothesis that QT peak (QTp) prolongation predicts cardiac death in stroke survivors. Methods and Results: ECGs were recorded from 296 stroke survivors (152 male), mean age 67.2 (SD 11.6) approximately 1 year after the event. Their mean blood pressure was 152/88 mmHg (SD 29/15mmHg). These ECGs were digitised by one observer who was blinded to patient outcome. The patients were followed up for a median of 3.3 years. The primary endpoint was cardiac death. A prolonged heart rate corrected QT peak (QTpc) of lead I carried the highest relative risk of death from all cause as well as cardiac death, when compared with the other more conventional QT indices. In multivariate analyses, when adjusted for conventional risk factors of atherosclerosis, a prolonged QTpc of lead I was still associated with a 3-fold increased risk of cardiac death. (adjusted relative risk 3.0 [95% CI 1.1 - 8.5], p=0.037). Conclusion: QT peak prolongation in lead I predicts cardiac death after strok

Diversity and Adaptation in Large Population Games

We consider a version of large population games whose players compete for resources using strategies with adaptable preferences. The system efficiency is measured by the variance of the decisions. In the regime where the system can be plagued by the maladaptive behavior of the players, we find that diversity among the players improves the system efficiency, though it slows the convergence to the steady state. Diversity causes a mild spread of resources at the transient state, but reduces the uneven distribution of resources in the steady state.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Association of antihypertensive monotherapy with serum sodium and potassium levels in Chinese patients

<b>Background</b> International guidelines on management of hypertension recommend any major classes of antihypertensive drugs. However, the low prescribing rate of thiazides has been attributed to concerns about electrolyte disturbances and studies between antihypertensive drug classes and hyponatremia/hypokalemia among Chinese patients were scarce. <p></p> <b>Methods</b> From clinical databases we included 2,759 patients who received their first-ever antihypertensive monotherapy from January 2004 to June 2007 in a large territory of Hong Kong. We studied the plasma sodium and potassium levels 8 weeks after prescriptions and factors associated with hyponatremia and hypokalemia by multivariable regression analyses. <p></p> <b>Results</b> Among major antihypertensive drug classes, thiazide users had the lowest sodium level (139.6 mEq/l, 95% confidence interval (CI) 139.3, 140.0, P < 0.001) and patients-prescribed calcium channel blockers (CCBs; 3.92 mEq/l, 95% CI 3.89, 3.95) or thiazide diuretics (3.99 mEq/l, 95% CI 3.93, 4.04) had the lowest potassium levels (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis reported that advanced age (>/=70 years, odds ratio (OR) 7.49, 95% CI 2.84, 19.8, P < 0.001), male gender (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.45, 3.91, P < 0.001), and thiazide users (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.29, 4.56, P = 0.006) were significantly associated with hyponatremia, while renin-angiotensin system (RAS) (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.13, 0.73, P = 0.008) and beta-blockers (BBs) (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.23, 0.54, P < 0.001) users were less likely to present with hypokalemia. However, the proportions having normonatremic (95.1%) and normokalemic (89.4%) levels were high. <p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> In view of the low prevalence of hyponatremia and hypokalemia associated with thiazides, physicians should not be deterred from prescribing thiazide diuretics as first-line antihypertensive agents as recommended by most international guidelines

Interventions to increase the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination among pregnant women: A systematic review

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.Background: Pregnant women and their infants under 6 months of age infected with influenza have a high risk of serious morbidity and mortality. Influenza vaccine during pregnancy offers 3-for-1 benefits to pregnant women, fetuses and newborn infants. Current vaccination uptake rates during pregnancy, however, are often lower than other high-risk groups and the general population. Methods: We systematically reviewed evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve influenza vaccination coverage in pregnant women. Risk differences (RDs) were calculated from the included studies. Results: Eleven studies were included in the review, of which four were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Three cohort studies assessed provider-focused interventions while four RCTs and one cohort study evaluated pregnant women-focused interventions. Two cohort studies and a prospective intervention study assessed the effectiveness of bundled interventions. No study solely assessed the effectiveness of interventions to enhance access to influenza vaccination. One moderate quality RCT showed that an influenza pamphlet, with or without a verbalized benefit statement, improved the vaccination rate (RD. =0.26; RD. =0.39). The other reviewed RCTs showed discordant results, with RDs ranging from -0.15 to 0.03. Although all observational studies significantly improved vaccination rates (RDs ranged from 0.03 to 0.44), the quality of the evidence varied. Conclusions: There is a lack of effective interventions to increase the influenza vaccination rate in pregnant women. Based on the existing research, we recommend that clinicians provide influenza pamphlets to pregnant women with a verbalized statement about the benefits of influenza vaccine to newborns. Further high-quality RCTs are needed to develop successful maternal influenza vaccination programs. Increased clarity in reporting the content of interventions would help to improve the comparability and generalizability of the published studies.postprin

Possible DDˉD\bar{D} and BBˉB\bar{B} Molecular states in a chiral quark model

We perform a systematic study of the bound state problem of $D\bar{D}$ and $B\bar{B}$ systems by using effective interaction in our chiral quark model. Our results show that both the interactions of $D\bar{D}$ and $B\bar{B}$ states are attractive, which consequently result in $I^G(J^{PC})=0^+(0^{++})$ $D\bar{D}$ and $B\bar{B}$ bound states.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.395