Saturday 15 June 2019

Teaching AI agents navigation subroutines by feeding them videos

Researchers at UC Berkeley and Facebook AI Research have recently proposed a new approach that can enhance the navigation skills of machine learning models. Their method, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, allows models to acquire visuo-motor navigation subroutines by processing a series of videos.

* This article was originally published here

CDC: prevalence of meeting exercise guidelines recently increased

(HealthDay)—From 2008 to 2017, there was an increase in the prevalence of meeting physical activity guidelines among adults living in rural and urban areas, according to research published in the June 14 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

* This article was originally published here

Linagliptin improved albuminuria but effect on eGFR and CV risk in patients with diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a significant and growing health problem which contributes significantly to the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). According to the ERA-EDTA Registry, nearly a quarter (23 percent) of all patients who started renal replacement therapy in 2016 were patients with diabetes. The underlying idea of the study, which has been presented as a late breaking clinical trial at the ERA-EDTA congress in Budapest today, was to assess the potential of the DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin (LINA), an oral diabetes drug, to reduce the burden of CKD and cardiac complications as secondary diseases in people with diabetes. Only a few weeks ago it had been shown that SGLT2 inhibitors, another class of diabetes drugs, could slow CKD progression in this patient group.

* This article was originally published here

Indigestion remedy slows kidney function decline and improves survival in late-stage CKD

As chronic kidney disease (CKD) progresses, the kidneys become less able to maintain a healthy balance of acids in the body. To maintain healthy acid levels, people with CKD are treated with alkaline substances such as sodium bicarbonate, also commonly used to neutralize heartburn and indigestion. The UBI study shows that sodium bicarbonate halves the risk of kidney disease progression, the likelihood of needing dialysis or transplantation) and overall mortality in people with CKD.

* This article was originally published here