Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Technology and the city

No abstract available

Watching semiconductor circuitry work

Semiconductor devices that are not generally thought of as light sources do emit radiation in the visible and the near infrared as they operate. Observation of this electroluminescence furnishes insight into the operation of the devices and of the circuitry that they constitute but it requires an extremely sensitive light detector and picosecond time resolution. This can be achieved using a Mepsicron™ photodetector system that enables single photon counting time-correlated imaging with a spatial resolution of about 1 μm and a time resolution approaching 10 ps. Information extracted from the time-resolved imagery can be compared with circuit layout and topology and individual device structures and with electrical measurements that are performed concurrently. These time-correlated measurements allow signal waveforms to be determined optically, much as the waveforms measured electronically with an oscilloscope and microprobing, but with the advantage that the acquisition is entirely non-invasive. Images can be dissected in both space and time to provide information for individual components of a circuit or regions of a device. This imaging equipment has been used in our laboratory for measurements on Si, GaAsP and GaN technologies and analyses will be presented

Energy transfer upconversion determination by thermal-lens and Z-scan techniques in Nd(3+)-doped laser materials

The Z-scan and thermal-lens techniques have been used to obtain the energy transfer upconversion parameter in Nd(3+)-doped materials. A comparison between these methods is done, showing that they are independent and provide similar results. Moreover, the advantages and applicability of each one are also discussed. The results point to these approaches as valuable alternative methods because of their sensitivity, which allows measurements to be performed in a pump-power regime without causing damage to the investigated material. (C) 2009 Optical Society of AmericaFAPESPCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)FAPEALCNP

A HPLC method to evaluate the influence of photostabilizers on cosmetic formulations containing UV-filters and vitamins A and E

This paper reports a simple and reliable HPLC method to evaluate the influence of two currently available photostabilizers on cosmetic formulations containing combined UV-filters and vitamins A and E. Vitamins and UV-filters, widely encountered in products of daily use have to be routinely evaluated since photoinstability can lead to reductions in their efficacy and safety. UV-irradiated formulation samples were submitted to a procedure that included a reliable, precise and specific HPLC method employing a C18 column and detection at 325 and 235 nm. Methanol, isopropanol and water were the mobile phases in gradient elution. The method precision was between 0.28 and 5.07. The photostabilizers studied [diethylhexyl 2,6-naphthalate (DEHN) and benzotriazolyl dodecyl p-cresol (BTDC)], influenced the stability of octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) associated with vitamins A and E. BTDC was considered the best photostabilizer to vitamins and OMC when the UV-filters were combined with both vitamins A and E. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP

Windowed growth of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures on Silicon 〈111〉 substrates for future MOS integration

A novel windowed growth technique that allows for the exposure of a smooth silicon surface for MOS circuitry between AlGaN/GaN HEMT layers has been developed. A sacrificial oxide based dielectric stack is used to protect regions of the silicon surface before growth by ammonia-MBE. SIMS analysis shows elevated oxygen impurity incorporation in the stress-relief layer, but controllable levels in the C-doped GaN buffer. A Hall mobility of 1.37 × 10 3 cm 2/Vs is measured in the AlGaN/GaN regions. AFM results show a RMS roughness of 0.12 nm on the silicon surface

Wavelength independent SOI polarization splitter based on zero-order arrayed waveguide gratings

Novel Zero-order arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) based polarization splitters in the silicon-on-insulator platform are reported and experimentally demonstrated. These passive devices employ the cladding-induced stress for achieving the polarization splitting function