Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis?

Background: Many complex public health evidence gaps cannot be fully resolved using only conventional public health methods. We aim to familiarise public health researchers with selected systems science methods that may contribute to a better understanding of complex phenomena and lead to more impactful interventions. As a case study, we choose the current cost-of-living crisis, which affects disposable income as a key structural determinant of health.

Nonpharmaceutical interventions reduce the incidence and mortality of COVID-19: A study based on the survey from the International COVID-19 Research Network (ICRN).

The recently emerged novel coronavirus, "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)," caused a highly contagious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has severely damaged the world's most developed countries and has turned into a major threat for low- and middle-income countries. Since its emergence in late 2019, medical interventions have been substantial, and most countries relied on public health measures collectively known as nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

Retrieval Of Balloon From Right Coronary Artery Surgically.

Angioplasty balloon entrapment remains an infrequent but dangerous obstacle that requires forbearance and pre-built management strategies in order to avoid morbidity or worse, mortality. Here, we discuss an un-expected hurdle of an undeflated stuck balloon with fractured shaft during angioplasty of proximal right coronary artery (RCA) in a 60-year-old male which was attempted percutaneously and redeemed surgically but massive infarction to RCA territory was inevitable.

The impact of design on improved learning in virtual worlds: an experimental study.

Virtual worlds are the most advanced form of virtual environments, which offer one of the best platforms for serving various domains. They are, especially, well suited for education, to cope with the physical restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 outbreak, as they offer classroom experience to their users through immersion. They are online interactive spaces which are collaborative, persistent, coherent, and social in nature.

A computational study of suppression of sharp wave ripple complexes by controlling calcium and gap junctions in pyramidal cells.

The hippocampus plays a key role in memory formation and learning. According to the concept of active systems memory consolidation, transiently stored memory traces are transferred from the hippocampus into the neocortex for permanent storage. This phenomenon relies on hippocampal network oscillations, particularly sharp wave ripples [SPW-Rs).

On the effectiveness of multi-feature evacuation systems: an agent-based exploratory simulation study.

Evacuation modeling and simulation are usually used to explore different possibilities for evacuation, however, it is a real challenge to integrate different categories of characteristics in unified modeling space. In this paper, we propose an agent-based model of an evacuating crowd so that a comparative analysis of a different sets of parameters categorized as individual, social and technological aspects, is made possible. In particular, we focus on the question of rationality vs.

Analytical Data Review to Determine the Factors Impacting Risk of Diabetes in North Al-Batinah Region, Oman.

Diabetes is one of the most widespread diseases resulting in an increase in mortality rate, and negatively affecting Oman's economy. In 2019, an estimated 1.5 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes world health organization (WHO).

Common Predisposing Factors in Mortality of Patients After Undergoing Mitral Valve Surgery at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi.

Background Isolated mitral valve replacement is a routinely performed procedure at our institute due to higher prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in every age category. Hardly any researches are available that dictate the predictors of surgical mortality in isolated mitral valve procedure. The aim of this study was to identify the most prevailing pre-operative factors in patients who had mortality after isolated mitral valve surgery.

An Overview of First 100 Cardiac Surgery Cases at a Newly Developed Satellite Center in Sukkur, Pakistan.

Introduction The aim of this research is to evaluate the in-hospital and early outcomes of the first 100 adult cardiac surgeries performed at a newly developed satellite center in Sukkur, Pakistan. Methods This is an audit of the first 100 adult cardiac surgeries performed at a newly developed satellite center of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at Sukkur, Pakistan, from March 2018 to November 2018 with 12 months of post-operative follow-up. Patients were offered off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), on-pump coronary artery bypass (ONCAB), mitral valve replacement (MVR), aortic valve replacement (AVR), minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), and congenital adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) procedures by expert faculty of NICVD with a minimum of five years of post-fellowship experience.

Conversion from Off to On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. Is it Avoidable?

Background With the emergence of new technologies to stabilize the heart off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB), there is an increasing trend that is being observed throughout the world. In certain circumstances, OPCAB needs to be converted to on-pump CABG (ONCAB). In this study, we aim to identify certain risk factors mandating conversions and their associated short-term outcomes.

Initial Experience of Minimally Invasive Concomitant Aortic and Mitral Valve Replacement/Repair at a Tertiary Care Cardiac Centre of a Developing Country.

Introduction Minimally invasive double valve replacement (DVR) surgery through a small transverse anterior thoracotomy is an alternate technique to sternotomy for concomitant aortic and mitral valve (AVR, MVR) surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in-hospital and early outcomes of direct vision minimal invasive double valve surgery (DVMI-DVR) at a tertiary care cardiac center of a developing country. Methods This study was conducted at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Karachi, Pakistan from January 2018 to September 2018.

Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Among Patients Undergoing Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Introduction Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest of all the known cardiac arrhythmias after cardiac surgery. The postoperative AF has both short- and long-term adverse impacts on patients, like prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay, increased frequency of reoperations, myocardial infarction, increased use of inotropes, and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). There is a paucity of data regarding the postoperative AF after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and its risk factors in our geographic location.