Assessment of Biophilic Design Patterns on Skill Development, In Minna, Niger State

As an interactive sustainable alternative to existing sustainable design practices, biophilic design struggles to promote the possibility of merging the built and natural environment. The study is aimed at assessing the extent to which biophilic design patterns influences skill development in order to suggest interactive sustainable alternatives. The study adopted a mixed method of research. Qualitative data were obtained via the review of relevant literature while quantitative data were obtained via the use of a structured questionnaire administered to 32 respondents in the study population. The respondents were selected from the users of purposebuilt skill acquisition and development spaces in Minna, Niger state, to determine the level of satisfaction with the implementation of these patterns and considerations in skill acquisition and development space. The quantitative data was analysed with the use of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and the results presented descriptively with the use of tables. The findings suggest that most users were satisfied with patterns from nature in space patterns and natural analogue patterns relating to direct and indirect connection with natural system

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Diabetes mortality and trends before 25 years of age: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes, at younger ages can be a largely preventable cause of death with the correct health care and services. We aimed to evaluate diabetes mortality and trends at ages younger than 25 years globally using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Methods We used estimates of GBD 2019 to calculate international diabetes mortality at ages younger than 25 years in 1990 and 2019. Data sources for causes of death were obtained from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and other surveillance systems for 1990–2019. We estimated death rates for each location using the GBD Cause of Death Ensemble model. We analysed the association of age-standardised death rates per 100 000 population with the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and a measure of universal health coverage (UHC) and described the variability within SDI quintiles. We present estimates with their 95% uncertainty intervals. Findings In 2019, 16 300 (95% uncertainty interval 14 200 to 18 900) global deaths due to diabetes (type 1 and 2 combined) occurred in people younger than 25 years and 73·7% (68·3 to 77·4) were classified as due to type 1 diabetes. The age-standardised death rate was 0·50 (0·44 to 0·58) per 100 000 population, and 15 900 (97·5%) of these deaths occurred in low to high-middle SDI countries. The rate was 0·13 (0·12 to 0·14) per 100 000 population in the high SDI quintile, 0·60 (0·51 to 0·70) per 100 000 population in the low-middle SDI quintile, and 0·71 (0·60 to 0·86) per 100 000 population in the low SDI quintile. Within SDI quintiles, we observed large variability in rates across countries, in part explained by the extent of UHC (r2=0·62). From 1990 to 2019, age-standardised death rates decreased globally by 17·0% (−28·4 to −2·9) for all diabetes, and by 21·0% (–33·0 to −5·9) when considering only type 1 diabetes. However, the low SDI quintile had the lowest decline for both all diabetes (−13·6% [–28·4 to 3·4]) and for type 1 diabetes (−13·6% [–29·3 to 8·9]). Interpretation Decreasing diabetes mortality at ages younger than 25 years remains an important challenge, especially in low and low-middle SDI countries. Inadequate diagnosis and treatment of diabetes is likely to be major contributor to these early deaths, highlighting the urgent need to provide better access to insulin and basic diabetes education and care. This mortality metric, derived from readily available and frequently updated GBD data, can help to monitor preventable diabetes-related deaths over time globally, aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Targets, and serve as an indicator of the adequacy of basic diabetes care for type 1 and type 2 diabetes across nations

Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors, 1990–2019: Update From the GBD 2019 Study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases

Global burden of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, 1990–2019: update from the GBD 2019 study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases

Effect of Bambara Groundnut Flour (Vigna subterranea) Inclusion on the Functional, Pasting, Physical and Proximate Properties of Composite Cassava-bambara Flour

This study evaluated the effect of Bambara groundnut flour inclusion on the functional, pasting, physical properties and proximate compositions of composite flour (CF) from cassava and Bambara groundnut. Cassava variety (IITA-TMS-IBA011368) and Bambara groundnut were processed into flour and blended together based on D-Optimal mixture design with an outcome of eight experimental samples using Design Expert Software (Version 12.0). The flour blends were analyzed for functional, pasting, physical properties (color), baking strength and proximate composition. Data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance and means were separated using Ducan’s Multiple Range Test. Range of results for bulk density, water absorption capacity, swelling index, solubility index and oil absorption capacity of the composite flour are 0.64-0.80g/mL, 0.38-1.37%, 0.77-0.91%, 6.00-8.65, 1.58-2.97, respectively. The peak viscosity, trough, breakdown viscosity, final viscosity, setback viscosity, peak time and pasting temperature ranged from 162.84±2.09 to 426.50±1.83 RVU, 77.96±2.71 to 195.59±8.91 RVU, 84.88±0.63 to 234.75±5.58 RVU, 158.92±4.34 to 293.17±1.34 RVU, 76.88±18.04 to 101.42±5.08 RVU, 4.10±0.03 to 5.93±0.00 min and 75.05±0.05 to 94.78±0.38 oC, respectively. The baking strength characteristics of the flour blends such as moisture, ash, color, wet gluten, zenleny dry protein and wet protein ranged from 11.55 to 12.55%, 0.50 to 1.25%, 88.65 to 90.55, 8.35 to 13.80, -2.35 to 41.25, 4.92 to 13.85% and 4.53 to 11.99 %, respectively. Moisture, ash, fibre, fat, protein and carbohydrate of the composite flour ranged from 7.57 to 11.87%, 0.42 to 2.40 %, 1.78 to 3.00%, 2.81 to 5.62%, 8.42 to 12.68% and 67.61 to75.99%, respectively. Flour lightness, redness and yellowness ranged from 33.22 to 54.10, -2.89 to-1.14, 5.94 to 9.35, respectively. The inclusion of Bambara groundnut flour had a significant effect on the functional (swelling index, water and oil absorption capacity), pasting (peak, trough and final viscosity) and proximate (ash, fat and carbohydrate) properties of the flour blends

Ensemble-based support vector regression with gravitational search algorithm optimization for estimating magnetic relative cooling power of manganite refrigerant in magnetic refrigeration application

Magnetic refrigeration technology (MRT) is considered an energy-efficient and environmental-friendly system of refrigeration that has a considerable potential of replacing the classical gas-compression expansion method of refrigeration. Inclusion of manganite-based material (MBM) in MRT as a magnetic refrigerant has attracted significant attention recently due to cost effectiveness of the refrigerant as well as better resistance to oxidation and corrosion as compared to the commonly used metal gadolinium refrigerant. Relative cooling power (RCP) is one of the most important parameters to be considered while assessing the usefulness of MBM. Its value can be altered through doping with external materials and accurate estimation of the dopant influence is required to achieve the right amount of RCP. This present research work proposes support vector regression (SVR) ensemble models with gravitational search algorithm (GSA) hyper-parameters optimization, for estimating RCP of MBM and to determine the influence of dopants on RCP using ionic radii and dopant concentrations as descriptors. GSA-SVR ensemble model (GSE) is developed by employing the outputs of five different SVR models as descriptors while GSA-SVR ensemble model with averaging (GSEA) uses the average of the five different SVR models as its descriptor. The novel ensemble models outperform other SVR models, specifically; GSE performs better than GSA-SVR model and the conventional SVR model with performance improvement of 269.14% and 283.61%, respectively on the basis of root mean square error (RMSE). Furthermore, GSEA outperforms GSE, GSA-SVR model and conventional SVR with performance improvement of 27.51%, 370.70%, and 389.14%, respectively on the basis of RMSE. The developed GSE and GSEA also perform better than the existing RCP model in the literature with performance improvement of 11.53% and 42.21%, respectively. The results of this research work will not only serve to circumvent the experimental challenges of RCP measurement without loss of experimental precision but also further promotes environment-friendly system of refrigeration