OCT Angiography Flow Index and Projection Artifacts in Outer Retina

Introduction: Ocular vasculature investigation has always been difficult. Many devices have been invented to measure the hemodynamics of the eye but none of them completely satisfied the requirements because of specific limitations. With optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCTA) it is now possible to assess parameters of ocular hemodynamics non-invasively and quantitatively. Vessel density or density (%) and flow index or flow area (mm2) are quantitative parameters with proven importance in inner retinal diseases like glaucoma. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate quantitative flow area changes in external avascular retina as a result of diseases affect inner retinal layers and vessel density. Material and methods: Our observations are summarized via presentation of several case controls as a representative sample of the total number of participants. We investigated controls and patients with proven inner retinal disease (glaucoma and multiple sclerosis – MS). Non-invasive angio-OCT imaging technique was applied (AngioVue, OptoVue) and Flow Area values were measured in posterior pole around macula in circle area with maximum radius of 1.50 mm. Results: The investigation of Flow area parameter in external retina shows decreasing of the values in inner retinal diseases like glaucoma or neuritis optica associated with MS. It is best demonstrated when asymmetrical process is observed between two eyes. Conclusion: Flow area values vary over a large range in healthy people and a lot of factors may influence the results. Quantitative analysis of Flow area in external retina is a combination between artifacts (projection and dark areas) and real for external retina Flow area values. Flow area changes are indirect reflection of an inner retinal state

Integrating Legislative And Health Policies To Promote Child Health

Delivering an adequate promotion of child health, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, along with timely prevention of diseases and targeted health policy can be done with the active participation of the economy, financial sector, education, social care, sports, etc. Bulgaria is a member of the WHO European region and follows the European policy on health and well-being Health 2020. In Bulgaria, the mayor of a municipality manages the social services in the municipality which are state-delegated and local activities. The mayor is an employer of the heads of these services. Aim: The aim of this article is to conduct a review of the policy of Varna Municipality on preventive healthcare for children and young people part of Policy 7 of the National Health Strategy.Materials and Methods: Analysis of current programmes on mental and physical health in children and adolescents in the city of Varna, in accordance with national, European and global programmes has been done.  Conclusion: Central and local authorities that understand the need for public health promotion and prevention is the key to building a healthier society is in the future. Varna Municipality is committed to working on that by financing programmes for prevention, healthcare and social activities

Lifetime cost effectiveness of simvastatin in a range of risk groups and age groups derived from a randomised trial of 20,536 people

<i>Objectives</i>: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of 40 mg simvastatin daily continued for life in people of different ages with differing risks of vascular disease. Design A model developed from a randomised trial was used to estimate lifetime risks of vascular events and costs of treatment and hospital admissions in the United Kingdom. <i>Setting</i>: 69 hospitals in the UK. <i>Participants</i>: 20 536 men and women (aged 40-80) with coronary disease, other occlusive arterial disease, or diabetes. <i>Interventions</i>: 40 mg simvastatin daily versus placebo for an average of 5 years. <i>Main</i> <i>outcome</i> <i>measures</i>: Cost effectiveness of 40 mg simvastatin daily expressed as additional cost per life year gained. Major vascular event defined as non-fatal myocardial infarction or death from coronary disease, any stroke, or revascularisation procedure. Results were extrapolated to younger and older age groups at lower risk of vascular disease than were studied directly, as well as to lifetime treatment. <i>Results</i>: At the April 2005 UK price of £4.87 (€7; $9) per 28 day pack of generic 40 mg simvastatin, lifetime treatment was cost saving in most age groups and vascular disease risk groups studied directly. Gains in life expectancy and cost savings decreased with increasing age and with decreasing risk of vascular disease. People aged 40-49 with 5 year risks of major vascular events of 42% and 12% at start of treatment gained 2.49 and 1.67 life years, respectively. Treatment with statins remained cost saving or cost less than £2500 per life year gained in people as young as 35 years or as old as 85 with 5 year risks of a major vascular event as low as 5% at the start of treatment. <i>Conclusions</i>: Treatment with statins is cost effective in a wider population than is routinely treated at present

Circularly Polarized Aperture Coupled Microstrip Antenna with Resonant Slots and a Screen

A broadband circularly polarized (CP) Aperture Coupled Microstrip Antenna (ACMSA) is described herein. In order to decrease the back radiation of the antenna due to resonant coupling slots (a cross-slot) in the ground plane, a three-layer structure with a screen is proposed. As a result, the back radiation of the antenna is reduced by more than 12 dB and its gain is increased by about 1.3 dB compared to the conventional two-layer ACMSA with nonresonant coupling slots. The antenna is designed to operate within the Ku-band. Keeping its simple and compact construction and high mechanical characteristics it can be used as an element of CP microstrip antenna arrays with various applications in the contemporary communication systems. A comparison with two similar CP antennas with resonant slots, a two-layer ACMSA and a three-layer ACMSA with a patch reflector is accomplished

Anomaly detection in video with Bayesian nonparametrics

A novel dynamic Bayesian nonparametric topic model for anomaly detection in video is proposed in this paper. Batch and online Gibbs samplers are developed for inference. The paper introduces a new abnormality measure for decision making. The proposed method is evaluated on both synthetic and real data. The comparison with a non-dynamic model shows the superiority of the proposed dynamic one in terms of the classification performance for anomaly detection

A nonlinear land use regression approach for modelling NO2 concentrations in urban areas—Using data from low-cost sensors and diffusion tubes

Land Use Regression (LUR) based on multiple linear regression model is one of the techniques used most frequently for modelling the spatial variability of air pollution and assessing exposure in urban areas. In this paper, a nonlinear generalised additive model is proposed for LUR and its performance is compared to a linear model in Sheffield, UK for the year 2019. Pollution models were estimated using NO2 measurements obtained from 188 diffusion tubes and 40 low-cost sensors. Performance of the models was assessed by calculating several statistical metrics including correlation coefficient (R) and root mean square error (RMSE). High resolution (100 m × 100 m) maps demonstrated higher levels of NO2 in the city centre, eastern side of the city and on major roads. The results showed that the nonlinear model outperformed the linear counterpart and that the model estimated using NO2 data from diffusion tubes outperformed the models using data from low-cost sensors or both low-cost sensors and diffusion tubes. The proposed method provides a basis for further application of advanced nonlinear modelling approaches to constructing LUR models in urban areas which enable quantifying small scale variability in pollution levels

How Can Subsampling Reduce Complexity in Sequential MCMC Methods and Deal with Big Data in Target Tracking?

Target tracking faces the challenge in coping with large volumes of data which requires efficient methods for real time applications. The complexity considered in this paper is when there is a large number of measurements which are required to be processed at each time step. Sequential Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) has been shown to be a promising approach to target tracking in complex environments, especially when dealing with clutter. However, a large number of measurements usually results in large processing requirements. This paper goes beyond the current state-of-the-art and presents a novel Sequential MCMC approach that can overcome this challenge through adaptively subsampling the set of measurements. Instead of using the whole large volume of available data, the proposed algorithm performs a trade off between the number of measurements to be used and the desired accuracy of the estimates to be obtained in the presence of clutter. We show results with large improvements in processing time, more than 40 % with a negligible loss in tracking performance, compared with the solution without subsampling

Analysis of air pollution in urban areas with Airviro dispersion model—A case study in the city of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Two air pollutants, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10), are monitored and modelled employing Airviro air quality dispersion modelling system in Sheffield, United Kingdom. The aim is to determine the most significant emission sources and their spatial variability. NOx emissions (ton/year) from road traffic, point and area sources for the year 2017 were 5370, 6774, and 2425, whereas those of PM10 (ton/year) were 345, 1449, and 281, respectively, which are part of the emission database. The results showed three hotspots of NOx, namely the Sheffield City Centre, Darnall and Tinsley Roundabout (M1 J34S). High PM10 concentrations were shown mainly between Sheffield Forgemasters International (a heavy engineering steel company) and Meadowhall Shopping Centre. Several emission scenarios were tested, which showed that NOx concentrations were mainly controlled by road traffic, whereas PM10 concentrations were controlled by point sources. Spatiotemporal variability and public exposure to air pollution were analysed. NOx concentration was greater than 52 µg/m3 in about 8 km2 area, where more than 66 thousand people lived. Models validated by observations can be used to fill in spatiotemporal gaps in measured data. The approach used presents spatiotemporal situation awareness maps that could be used for decision making and improving the urban infrastructure

Прогнозирование доходов обязательного уровня пенсионной системы Российской Федерации

The pension system of the Russian Federation is undergoing structural transformations, connected with the formation of new pension institutions for the population. Mandatory pension insurance remains the basic element of the pension system. At the same time the budget of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation has deficit of its own revenues for the payment of insurance component of labor pension. In these circumstances special significance is placed on the development of methodological approaches to income projection of the obligatory level of the pension system. One of the peculiarities of the Russian Federation is the uneven territorial development caused by such factors as natural and climatic conditions, transport availability, natural-and-resource and infrastructure security. Therefore in the article was set a goal to develop a prediction technique for estimating the volume of pension insurance premium that would take into account territorial differences. The author using methods of statistical grouping revealed heterogeneous nature of distribution of constituent entities of the Russian Federation by the level of the received pension insurance premiums. Is established the expediency of using the method of panel data to model the revenues of the mandatory level of the pension system by the allocated groups of constituent entities. For every group of constituent entities were constructed (using methods of economic modeling) typological regression models, upon which was developed a short-term forecast of the volume of insurance premium transferred to the funded and insurance parts of the labour pension, allocated to the budget of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. Forecast results, received using typological regression models, regression model for all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and factual data for 2013, served as a basis for the conclusion that taking into account territorial differences in the conditions under which the base that is subject to pension premiums is formed (while making forecasts on the amount of incomes of the mandatory pension insurance) allows to increase the forecasting accuracy of assessments used for the budget planning of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.Пенсионная система Российской Федерации находится в состоянии структурных преобразований, связанных со становлением новых институтов пенсионного обеспечения населения. Базовым элементом пенсионной системы остается обязательное пенсионное страхование. В то же время бюджет Пенсионного фонда России испытывает дефицит собственных доходов для выплаты страховой части трудовой пенсии. В этих условиях особую актуальность приобретает разработка методических подходов к прогнозированию доходов обязательного уровня пенсионной системы. Особенностью Российской Федерации является неравномерность территориального развития, обусловленная такими факторами, как природно-климатические условия, транспортная доступность, природно-ресурсная и инфраструктурная обеспеченность. В этой связи в статье поставлена цель разработки методики прогнозирования объема взносов на обязательное пенсионное страхование, учитывающей территориальные различия. Автором с помощью методов статистической группировки выявлена неоднородность субъектов Российской Федерации по уровню поступления взносов на обязательное пенсионное страхование. Также обоснована целесообразность использования метода панельных данных для моделирования доходов обязательного уровня пенсионной системы по выделенным группам регионов. Для каждой группы регионов с использованием методов эконометрического моделирования построены типологические регрессионные модели по панельным данным, на основе которых разработан краткосрочный прогноз поступления в бюджет Пенсионного фонда России страховых взносов на обязательное пенсионное страхование для финансирования страховой и накопительной части трудовой пенсии. На основе сравнения результатов прогнозирования, полученных с использованием типологических регрессионтх моделей, регрессионной модели по всем субъектам Российской Федерации и фактических данных за 2013 г., сформулирован вывод, что учет территориальных различий условий формирования базы, облагаемой пенсионными взносами, при прогнозировании доходов обязательного уровня пенсионной системы позволяет повысить точность прогнозных оценок, используемых при планировании бюджета Пенсионного фонда Российской Федерации

Impact of the 2003 to 2018 Population Salt Intake Reduction Program in England A Modeling Study

The United Kingdom was among the first countries to introduce a salt reduction program in 2003 to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence risk. Despite its initial success, the program has stalled recently and is yet to achieve national and international targets. We used age- and sex-stratified salt intake of 19 to 64 years old participants in the National Diet and Nutrition Surveys 2000 to 2018 and a multistate life table model to assess the effects of the voluntary dietary salt reduction program on premature CVD, quality-adjusted survival, and health care and social care costs in England. The program reduced population-level salt intake from 9.38 grams/day per adult (SE, 0.16) in 2000 to 8.38 grams/day per adult (SE, 0.17) in 2018. Compared with a scenario of persistent 2000 levels, assuming that the population-level salt intake is maintained at 2018 values, by 2050, the program is projected to avoid 83 140 (95% CI, 73 710–84 520) premature ischemic heart disease (IHD) cases and 110 730 (95% CI, 98 390–112 260) premature strokes, generating 542 850 (95% CI, 529 020–556 850) extra quality-adjusted life-years and £1640 million (95% CI, £1570–£1660) health care cost savings for the adult population of England. We also projected the gains of achieving the World Health Organization target of 5 grams/day per adult by 2030, which by 2050 would avert further 87 870 (95% CI, 82 050–88 470) premature IHD cases, 126 010 (95% CI, 118 600–126 460) premature strokes and achieve £1260 million (95% CI, £1180–£1260) extra health care savings compared with maintaining 2018 levels. Strengthening the salt reduction program to achieve further reductions in population salt intake and CVD burden should be a high priority