Enumeration of super-strong Wilf equivalence classes of permutations in the generalized factor order

Super-strong Wilf equivalence classes of the symmetric group ${\mathcal S}_n$ on $n$ letters, with respect to the generalized factor order, were shown by Hadjiloucas, Michos and Savvidou (2018) to be in bijection with pyramidal sequences of consecutive differences. In this article we enumerate the latter by giving recursive formulae in terms of a two-dimensional analogue of non-interval permutations. As a by-product, we obtain a recursively defined set of representatives of super-strong Wilf equivalence classes in ${\mathcal S}_n$. We also provide a connection between super-strong Wilf equivalence and the geometric notion of shift equivalence---originally defined by Fidler, Glasscock, Miceli, Pantone, and Xu (2018) for words---by showing that an alternate way to characterize super-strong Wilf equivalence for permutations is by keeping only rigid shifts in the definition of shift equivalence. This allows us to fully describe shift equivalence classes for permutations of size $n$ and enumerate them, answering the corresponding problem posed by Fidler, Glasscock, Miceli, Pantone, and Xu (2018).Comment: 18 pages, 5 table

Dietary components and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a review of evidence from meta-analyses

AIMS: The optimal diet for cardiovascular health is controversial. The aim of this review is to summarize the highest level of evidence and rank the risk associated with each individual component of diet within its food group. METHODS AND RESULTS: A systematic search of PudMed was performed to identify the highest level of evidence available from systematic reviews or meta-analyses that evaluated different dietary components and their associated risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease. A total of 16 reviews were included for dietary food item and all-cause mortality and 17 reviews for cardiovascular disease. Carbohydrates were associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (whole grain bread: relative risk (RR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82-0.89; breakfast cereal: RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83-0.92; oats/oatmeal: RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83-0.92). Fish consumption was associated with a small benefit (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97-1.00) and processed meat appeared to be harmful (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.07-1.45). Root vegetables (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.66-0.88), green leafy vegetables/salad (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.71-0.86), cooked vegetables (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.99) and cruciferous vegetables (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.95) were associated with reductions in all-cause mortality. Increased mortality was associated with the consumption of tinned fruit (RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.21). Nuts were associated with a reduced risk of mortality in a dose-response relationship (all nuts: RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.72-0.84; tree nuts: RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.75-0.90; and peanuts: RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69-0.86). For cardiovascular disease, similar associations for benefit were observed for carbohydrates, nuts and fish, but red meat and processed meat were associated with harm. CONCLUSIONS: Many dietary components appear to be beneficial for cardiovascular disease and mortality, including grains, fish, nuts and vegetables, but processed meat and tinned fruit appear to be harmful

All-cause and cause-specific mortality in individuals with zero and minimal coronary artery calcium: A long-term, competing risk analysis in the Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium.

Background and aimsThe long-term associations between zero, minimal coronary artery calcium (CAC) and cause-specific mortality are currently unknown, particularly after accounting for competing risks with other causes of death.MethodsWe evaluated 66,363 individuals from the CAC Consortium (mean age 54 years, 33% women), a multi-center, retrospective cohort study of asymptomatic individuals undergoing CAC scoring for clinical risk assessment. Baseline evaluations occurred between 1991 and 2010.ResultsOver a mean of 12 years of follow-up, individuals with CAC = 0 (45% prevalence, mean age 45 years) had stable low rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) death, cardiovascular disease (CVD) death (ranging 0.32 to 0.43 per 1000 person-years), and all-cause death (1.38-1.62 per 1000 person-years). Cancer was the predominant cause of death in this group, yet rates were also very low (0.47-0.79 per 1000 person-years). Compared to CAC = 0, individuals with CAC 1-10 had an increased multivariable-adjusted risk of CVD death only under age 40. Individuals with CAC>10 had multivariable-adjusted increased risks of CHD death, CVD death and all-cause death at all ages, and a higher proportion of CVD deaths.ConclusionsCAC = 0 is a frequent finding among individuals undergoing CAC scanning for risk assessment and is associated with low rates of all-cause death at 12 years of follow-up. Our results support the emerging consensus that CAC = 0 represents a unique population with favorable all-cause prognosis who may be considered for more flexible treatment goals in primary prevention. Detection of any CAC in young adults could be used to trigger aggressive preventive interventions

Associations of recreational and non-recreational physical activity with coronary artery calcium density vs. volume and cardiovascular disease events: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

AimsThe benefits of physical activity (PA) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) are well known. However, studies suggest PA is associated with coronary artery calcium (CAC), a subclinical marker of CVD. In this study, we evaluated the associations of self-reported recreational and non-recreational PA with CAC composition and incident CVD events. Prior studies suggest high CAC density may be protective for CVD events.Methods and resultsWe evaluated 3393 participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis with prevalent CAC. After adjusting for demographics, the highest quintile of recreational PA was associated with 0.07 (95% confidence interval 0.01-0.13) units greater CAC density but was not associated with CAC volume. In contrast, the highest quintile of non-recreational PA was associated with 0.08 (0.02-0.14) units lower CAC density and a trend toward 0.13 (-0.01 to 0.27) log-units higher CAC volume. There were 520 CVD events over a 13.7-year median follow-up. Recreational PA was associated with lower CVD risk (hazard ratio 0.88, 0.79-0.98, per standard deviation), with an effect size that was not changed with adjustment for CAC composition or across levels of prevalent CAC.ConclusionRecreational PA may be associated with a higher density but not a higher volume of CAC. Non-recreational PA may be associated with lower CAC density, suggesting these forms of PA may not have equivalent associations with this subclinical marker of CVD. While PA may affect the composition of CAC, the associations of PA with CVD risk appear to be independent of CAC

Technology selling sex versus sex selling technology

The object of this study is to conduct a semiotic analysis of two different websites’ advertising techniques: one that promotes sex toys by emphasizing their technological superiority, and another promoting technology products by employing content of a sexual nature to increase their appeal. By studying and comparing these approaches, useful conclusions can be drawn about the way digital tools utilize the concepts of sex and technology. Digital communication makes use of many different modes, and it is interesting to see both how these are employed to represent sex and technology in digital media. Results show that interactivity plays an important role in the experience and messages delivered by the websites, while sex and technology are presented as opposites and used in balance