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Background and Objective: Approximately 38 million people worldwide experience heart failure (HF), with more than 10 million in China. Heart failure exacerbations are the main cause of HF hospitalization, and hospitalizations are the main driver of HF-associated costs. Vericiguat is recommended to treat patients who have had worsening HF despite guideline-directed medical therapy. However, the cost effectiveness of adding vericiguat to the standard treatment of this population in China remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the cost effectiveness of adding vericiguat to standard treatment in patients with HF in the Chinese population Methods: A lifetime Markov model with a 1-month cycle length was developed to compare the cost effectiveness of vericiguat plus standard treatment versus standard treatment alone in Chinese patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction following an HF exacerbation, from the perspective of Chinese healthcare providers. The clinical data were obtained from the VICTORIA study. The cost was accessed from our institution or studies conducted in China. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, representing incremental cost per incremental quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Vericiguat was considered highly cost effective if the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio obtained was lower than 12,551 USD/QALY, cost effective if the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was between 12,551 and 37,654.5 USD/QALY, and not cost effective if the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was higher than 37,654.5 USD/QALY. A scenario analysis, one-way sensitivity analysis, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to test the robustness of the results. Results: For a 67-year-old patient with HF following an HF exacerbation, the lifetime cost was 17,721 USD if vericiguat plus standard treatment was given, compared to 7907 USD if standard treatment alone was prescribed. The corresponding effectiveness was 2.20 QALY and 2.10 QALY, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of vericiguat plus standard treatment versus standard treatment alone in Chinese patients with HF was 89,429 USD/QALY, higher than the willingness-to-pay threshold of 37654.5 USD/QALY. The scenario analysis and sensitivity analysis showed the robustness of our results. Conclusions: The addition of vericiguat to the treatment regimen of Chinese patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction following an HF exacerbation resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $89,429 USD/QALY compared to standard treatment. This incremental cost-effectiveness ratio exceeds the willingness-to-pay threshold and thus, vericiguat was deemed not cost effective in the Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to local villagers, the main Beiguo landslide on the Heyang Loess Tableland in China occurred several decades ago (the specific time is unknown). After the initial occurrence of the main landslide, there was no major activity for several decades until December 17–22, 2017 (2 months after the rainy season), when the main landslide was completely reactivated. One of the interesting findings of our field survey is that there are two erosion gullies and numerous loess caves (groups) developed at the top of the Beiguo landslide, which are generally considered to be the dominant channels by which rainwater or surface runoff enters the deep underground space. In order to better understand the process and triggering factors of the main landslide's reactivation, a multidisciplinary investigation including satellite remote sensing, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey, a terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) survey, an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey, laboratory experiments, real-time monitoring using an inclinometer, and field investigations of the Beiguo landslide was conducted. We believe that the reactivation of the main Beiguo landslide may have been occurring for more than 10 years, or perhaps even longer. Since 2011, there have been several signs of local activity in the main landslide body, and the last accelerated stage of the entire deformation process occurred in 2017. The development and existence of loess caves directly destroyed the stability of the slope, and the rainfall and surface runoff quickly entered the interior of the main landslide. The influence of the loess caves on the landslide's reactivation was long-term and continuous. The results of this study suggest that the several days of abundant and continuous rainfall in the rainy season in 2017 were the last direct trigger of the final reactivation of the main landslide. The secondary landslide significantly changed the original slope, including the aspect of the slope profile's morphology, the slope gradient, relief, erosion, and accumulation, which accelerated the evolution of the tableland landform. This study enhances our understanding of the reactivation behavior of loess landslides, and also provides important support for the monitoring and prevention of reactivated landslides in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flavor stability during storage is very important to the freshness and shelf life of beer. However, beer fermented with a yeast strain which is prone to autolyze will significantly affect the flavor of product. In this study, the gene encoding β-1,3-glucan synthetase catalytic subunit ( fks1) of the lager yeast was destroyed via self-clone strategy. β-1,3-glucan is the principle cell wall component, so fks1 disruption caused a decrease in β-1,3-glucan level and increase in chitin level in cell wall, resulting in the increased cell wall thickness. Comparing with wild-type strain, the mutant strain had 39.9 and 63.41 % less leakage of octanoic acid and decanoic acid which would significantly affect the flavor of beer during storage. Moreover, the results of European Brewery Convention tube fermentation test showed that the genetic manipulation to the industrial brewing yeast helped with the anti-staling ability, rather than affecting the fermentation ability. The thiobarbituric acid value reduced by 65.59 %, and the resistant staling value increased by 26.56 %. Moreover, the anti-staling index of the beer fermented with mutant strain increased by 2.64-fold than that from wild-type strain respectively. China has the most production and consumption of beer around the world, so the quality of beer has a significant impact on Chinese beer industry. The result of this study could help with the improvement of the quality of beer in China as well as around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 12 August 2004, Typhoon Rananim (0414) moved inland over China and stagnated over the Poyang Lake area, resulting in torrential rainfall and severe geologic hazards. The Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting (ARW-WRF) model and its different land surface models (LSMs) were employed to study the impacts of land surface process on the inland behavior of Typhoon Rananim. Results show that simulations, coupled with LSMs or not, have no significant differences in predicting typhoon track, intensity, and largescale circulation. However, the simulations of mesoscale structure, rainfall rate, and rainfall distribution of typhoon are more reasonable with LSMs than without LSMs. Although differences are slight among LSMs, NOAH is better than the others. Based on outputs using the NOAH scheme, the interaction between land surface and typhoon was explored in this study. Notably, typhoon rainfall and cloud cover can cool land surface, but rainfall expands the underlying saturated wetland area, which exacerbates the asymmetric distribution of surface heat fluxes. Accordingly, an energy frontal zone may form in the lower troposphere that enhances ascending motion and local convection, resulting in heavier rainfall. Moreover, the expanded underlying saturated wetlands provide plentiful moisture and unstable energy for the maintenance of Typhoon Rananim and increased rainfall in return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]