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Outcomes in acute decompensated chronic heart failure patients discharged with and without ivabradine: Advantages beyond heart rate control
Get PDFBackground and Aim: Ivabradine is indicated in chronic heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (EF) of < 35% and resting heart rate (HR) of > 70 bpm. However, role of Ivabradine in acute decompensated chronic HF (ADCHF) is not well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate one-year outcomes of ADCHF patients discharged with and without Ivabradine. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study of ADCHF patients from January 2016 to January 2018. Main exclusion criteria was new onset de-novo acute HF, those with EF > 50% and atrial fibrillation. Data were analysed from 130 patients who were discharged with (62 patients) or without Ivabradine (68 patients). The primary end points were one-year re-hospitalization and cardiovascular mortality between two groups. Results: The mean age of patients were 56 ± 15 years and 61 ± 17 years between Ivabradine and Non-ivabradine groups. EF upon discharge was 37.48% ± 5.34% vs 40.01% ± 8. 12%, with p-value of 0.036. At discharge, higher HR was noted in patients with Ivabradine 84 ± 13 bpm compared to 77.84 ± 12. 13 bpm in patients without Ivabradine (p-value = 0.006). After a year, HR in Ivabradine group was low compared to non-Ivabradine group, but was not statistically significant, 66.15 ± 8 vs. 69.29 ± 11.3 bpm, respectively. In the Ivabradine group 27.4% of patients visited emergency room (ER) more than once compared to 60.2 % without Ivabradine (p-value = 0.0001). 9.7% of patients in Ivabradine group required one readmission compared to 55.9% without Ivabradine (p-value = 0.0001). Conclusions: In ADCHF patients there was significant reduction in ER room visit and re-admission rate in patients discharged with Ivabradine. Hence Ivabradine therapy may be considered in patients with ADCHF with EF < 50% and HR > 70 bpm to prevent re-hospitalization and save hospitalization costs
Text to video generation via knowledge distillation
Get PDFText-to-video generation (T2V) has recently attracted more attention due to the wide application scenarios of video media. However, compared with the substantial advances in text-to-image generation (T2I), the research on T2V remains in its early stage. The difficulty mainly lies in maintaining the text-visual semantic consistency and the video temporal coherence. In this paper, we propose a novel distillation and translation GAN (DTGAN) to address these problems. First, we leverage knowledge distillation to guarantee semantic consistency. We distill text-visual mappings from a well-performing T2I teacher model and transfer it to our DTGAN. This knowledge serves as shared abstract features and high-level constraints for each frame in the generated videos. Second, we propose a novel visual recurrent unit (VRU) to achieve video temporal coherence. The VRU can generate frame sequences as well as process the temporal information across frames. It enables our generator to act as a multi-modal variant of the language model in neural machine translation task, which iteratively predicts the next frame based on the input text and the previously generated frames. We conduct experiments on two synthetic datasets (SBMG and TBMG) and one real-world dataset (MSVD). Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with state-of-the-art methods demonstrate that our DTGAN can generate results with better text-visual semantic consistency and temporal coherence
Industry-related diversity, unrelated diversity and urban aggregate employment creation—Adjustment based on urban absorptive capacity and entrepreneurship level
Get PDFEmployment is the biggest livelihood of the people. What kind of industrial structure is more conducive to employment creation is an important issue for the government to consider when adjusting the industrial structure. Using enterprise and city data, using a spatial dynamic panel model that takes into account both the dynamic change of dependent variables and the spatial spillover effect, and can overcome the endogenous problem between variables, this paper examines the impact of industry-related diversity and unrelated diversity on urban aggregate employment creation. The study finds that both types of diversity are conducive to urban aggregate employment creation, but the role of related diversity is more prominent in comparison. Urban heterogeneity plays an important role in regulating the employment creation effect of industrial diversity. Among them, urban absorptive capacity strengthens the employment creation effect of the two types of industrial diversity, and is more conducive to promoting the employment creation effect of related diversity. However, the level of Urban Entrepreneurship is only positive for the employment creation effect of unrelated diversity
Analytical study on the coupling coordination degree of tourism and urban development—Taking Shaanxi as an example
Get PDFTourism has been instrumental in fostering regional economic growth, enhancing the quality of life of residents, and boosting the image of urban areas in Shaanxi, thanks to the accelerated economic and social development of recent years. Nevertheless, the issue of aligning urban development and tourism in terms of space, resources, and the industrial chain remains a significant concern. This paper establishes an evaluation index system for tourism and urban development in the Shaanxi region from 2009 to 2019. It then employs the systematic coupling coordination model to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the coupling coordination degree of tourism and urban development in the region, as well as its various influencing factors. The study demonstrates that the coupling and coordination degree of tourism and urban development in the Shaanxi region exhibited a trend of continuous improvement from 2009 to 2019. The region underwent three stages of development: “uncoordinated development (2009–2011), transformation development (2012–2016), and coordinated development (2017–2019).” The coupling coordination level was elevated from “mild dissonance” to “intermediate coordination” in 2019. In contrast, the tourism economic development of Shaanxi cities remains unequal, as evidenced by the existence of two distinct categories of development: the “lagging tourism economy” and the “coordinated tourism economy.” The findings of this investigation indicate that the general trend of urban development and tourism in Shaanxi is favorable; however, the disparities in the progress of the tourism economy among cities necessitate additional regional coordination and cooperation. The theoretical support for the relevant research and a reference basis for tourism development planning and urban policy making are provided by the evaluation index system and the systematic coupling coordination model proposed in this paper. This will facilitate the sustainable and coordinated development of the tourism industry and cities in Shaanxi
‘Work it and take care of it’ (Genesis 2:15): Investigating contemporary ecocide in Nigeria and the need for a legal policy
Get PDFThis paper explores the imperative for a legal policy addressing the ecological crisis in Nigeria, drawing insights from the biblical perspective of Genesis 2:15. This study adopted the narrative method with data gotten from literature and analysed using content analysis. Scholarly publications on ecological crises abound; however, this study goes a step further by providing responses from a legal and theological lens. Findings show that in Nigeria, large-scale deforestation, often driven by logging, agricultural expansion, and urbanisation, has contributed to the loss of critical ecosystems, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in Nigeria have resulted in air pollution, primarily in major cities. The study advocates for the development and implementation of laws that address destruction of the environment, emphasising the interconnectedness of legal, ethical, and biblical principles in fostering sustainable environmental policies for Nigeria
Patriarchy in Southern Africa and war in West Africa: Twin impediments to sustainable social development in Africa
Get PDFClose to 4 decades post-publishing of the Brundtland Report, a global blueprint that emphasised multilateralism and interdependence of nations as the basis for a tenable sustainable development, gender inequalities and untenable development persist in Africa. There is a need to continuously redefine the pathways for eliminating poverty and gender inequalities as the basis for sustainability. A better understanding of the causes of gender inequality as well as an acknowledgement of the fact that gender equality and sustainable development are inseparable is also imperative. This review study, through a desk review of available literature, explored three central issues: why gender inequality and sustainable development must be addressed together in everyday theory and practice, how patriarchy and war cause gender inequalities and untenable sustainability in Africa, and how these twin pandemics must be confronted to ensure achievement of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 86 targets, drawing from case studies of Southern and West Africa. Focusing on a number of social determinants of well-being, including good health for all, sexual and reproductive health services, education for all, quality of employment, gender rights, and basic requirements such as food and portable water, the review study argues that development efforts in Africa have proved gender unequal and thus unsustainable. The review study advanced arguments for a holistic view of sustainable social development, contending that market-focused indicators of development that disregard social determinants of well-being misrepresent reality. Market-focused neo-liberal patterns of growth neglect human needs and compound poverty and undergrowth. On the other hand, integrating a people centred approach to growth helps understand the connections, ruptures, and trade-offs between dimensions of gender equality and sustainability in a way that facilitates holistic growth
Glutathione’s potential to attenuate quorum sensing induced biofilm formation in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia marcescens
Get PDFRapid advancements not only facilitate human adaptation but also trigger environmental adjustments. While pivotal discoveries like Penicillin revolutionized medicine, the subsequent overuse of antibiotics led to diminishing efficacy due to antibiotic resistance. Addressing biofilm formation as a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance and recognizing quorum sensing as a key factor in biofilm formation, there is a need for new strategies. Glutathione, a natural antioxidant, has shown promising potential as an effective antimicrobial agent and a reliable component for cellular defence in the immune system. This study explores the capability of Glutathione to mitigate quorum sensing-induced biofilm formation in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia marcescens. The results demonstrated that glutathione induced ROS-mediated cell death in these bacteria. Glutathione exhibited a maximum inhibition of approximately 85% in biofilm formation for both K. pneumoniae and S. marcescens. It also effectively disrupted preformed biofilms by degrading the eDNA of the EPS layer of matured biofilms. Interestingly, glutathione attenuated the quorum sensing pathway, as evidenced by reduced production of virulence factors, thereby mitigating QS-induced biofilm formation in both bacteria. This work lays the groundwork for further exploration in developing glutathione as a novel antibiotic to combat antibiotic resistance
An analytical view on Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Get PDFUnmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is a booming technology with a future perspective and does have a huge potential to transfigure warfare and enable up-to-date civilian applications. It furthermore matures in a technological way as to be impinged into the civil society. In 2010, the importance of scientific applications in the respective field was demonstrated by DOD in the contemporary years. In recent years, UAS has played an integral role in a number of missions that are public, like law enforcement, which is local, board surveillance, weather monitoring, wildlife surveys, and military training. UAS do force some challenges that are numbered as lacking a pilot who is on-board in order to see and hence avoid supplemental aircraft, and furthermore, the extensive discrepancy in the missions related to UAS, and in order to implement the operations in the NextGen time frame impinged in NAS, the capabilities of the respective topic must be communicated. The applications of UAS are numbered as Ariel Mapping and Meteorology, intelligence, remote sensing, surveillance and reconnaissance, environmental monitoring and agriculture, border security, security applications and law enforcement, counter insurgency, electronic attacks, attack strikes, communication relays, target identification, and designation. Via this survey paper, it can be concluded that UAS is emerging as a valuable and helpful technology having tremendous potential for revolting warfare and enabling new applications w.r.t the UAS field
The vulnerable or high-risk plaque and coronary thrombotic events
Get PDFAtherosclerosis is a chronic systemic vascular disease known to start early in life. It progresses with age and other risk factors. When involving the coronary vessels, it may present gradually or acutely as anginal pain or as acute coronary syndrome. For decades this acute presentation has been studied. Certain plaque characteristics were identified to be the culprit for those acute coronary syndromes. Relentless efforts to increase the sensitivity of screening for these vulnerable plaques have been developed. The goal is to create a preemptive intervention strategy with effective medical or percutaneous therapies. In this article, we explore the different modalities for early identification and management of those vulnerable or high-risk plaques
Association of Serum CA15-3, CA125, and TPS Levels with Clinicopathological Factors in Patients with Breast Cancer
No full textBackground: Breast cancer, the most common cancer, is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women globally. To effectively reduce mortality, it has become a hot topic to find prognostic indicators that are highly correlated with poor prognosis of breast cancer in early stages. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the levels of serum cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), cancer antigen 125 (CA125), and tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) in individuals with breast cancer and to elucidate the relationship between these markers and clinicopathological factors, as well as their impact on disease prognosis. Methods: This study included 140 subjects diagnosed with breast cancer (breast cancer subgroup), 120 subjects with breast cancer benign lesions (breast benign disease subgroup), and 120 healthy controls (control subgroup). The clinical data and blood samples were collected from all study subjects. Furthermore, the serum levels of CA15-3, CA125, and TPS were evaluated using corresponding enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The correlation between serum indexes and clinicopathological factors was analyzed. Additionally, the 3-year survival rate of breast cancer patients was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed in the serum CA15-3, CA125, and TPS levels across three subgroups: breast subgroup, benign breast disease subgroup, and control subgroup (p < 0.05), with higher levels observed in the breast subgroup followed by benign breast disease subgroup. Furthermore, their levels were correlated with pathological type, tumor node metastasis classification tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, lymph node metastasis, and histological grade (p < 0.05, p < 0.001). Moreover, these markers were identified as independent risk factors for breast cancer using multivariate Logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05). The probability of survival of breast cancer subjects in high CA15-3 level subgroup, high CA125 level subgroup and high TPS level subgroup was notably lower than that in low level subgroup, which was shown by Kaplan-Meier analysis (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The serum levels of CA15-3, CA125, and TPS are significantly elevated in subjects with breast cancer, and their expression levels are correlated with pathological type, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and histological grade. These tumor markers can be used as predictors of breast cancer prognosis