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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have already become the leading cause of death in Bangladesh. Hence, the purpose of the study was to identify the prevalence and determinants of NCDs risk factors among cardiovascular patients in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 355 cardiovascular patients, aged 18 years and above visiting several tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh. A validated, structured WHO NCD STEPS questionnaire was utilized to collect information including blood glucose level and lipid profile. Among patients, 58.9% were males and 41.1% females. Tobacco use was observed in 28.7% of the patients and only 1.7% consumed alcohol. Low levels of physical activity were recorded among 44.5% of the participants. Most of the subjects (83.1%) consumed an insufficient amount of fruits and vegetables. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 41.7% and raised blood pressure was noted among 56.9% of participants. Only 1.7% of respondents were reported to be free from any selected NCDs risk factors. The present study showed a high prevalence of NCDs risk factors among cardiovascular patients and demands a multisectoral approach by the government and other stakeholders to lessen the impact of NCDs.

Abstract Noodles are popular food and fortified noodles with vital nutrients may build a healthy food habit among people. Oat is a cereal with high nutritional value. Therefore, the current research was undertaken to increase the nutrient content of noodles using oat flour and to evaluate the effects of oat flour on the physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of the noodles. The noodles were prepared following five different formulations (oats: wheat flour in the ratio of 0:100, 20:80, 25:75, 30:70 and 35:65). Other ingredients like table salt, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), corn starch, and water were equal in each formulation. To evaluate the best formulation, proximate analysis, functional characteristics and sensory assay were conducted on samples. The formulation having 70% of wheat flour and 30% of oat flour showed the best performance in proximate analysis and sensory evaluation. This formulation of noodles has 13.03% of protein, 1.51% of fat, 1.46% of total ash, 0.76% of fibre, 73.87% of carbohydrate, 361.19 kcal of energy and also a good amount of important minerals. The formulation regarding wheat flour 70% and oat flour 30% may be suggested to the large population who are habituated to consume noodles regularly as the main diet.

ABSTRACT The enhancement of rice production numbers can be achieved by using quality rice cultivars and fertilizers. The double rice cropping model has given rise to an important rice production system in southern China. Exploring the possibility of whether hybrid vigor could make a substantial contribution to early and late season rice production, and how the heterosis expression of hybrid rice functions under different levels of fertilizer application is of great significance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the grain yield and associated plant traits of popular hybrid and inbred rice varieties with large–scale promotion under conditions of customary (high) and combined (low) fertilization in the early and late seasons of 2017–18 in Changsha County, Hunan Province, China. We found that hybrid rice varieties displayed their respective advantages in the early and late rice seasons, but the advantages in their relative yield traits varied. The leading advantages of early season rice were effective panicle number per hill (EPN), 1000–grain weight (KGW), harvest index (HI), yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), whereas in late season rice, the foremost advantages were grain number per panicle (GNP), HI, yield, and NUE. The EPN was the prime advantage of early season hybrid rice with a short growth period, and the GNP was the main advantage of late season hybrid rice with a long growth period. Notably, the main yield advantage of hybrid rice was stronger under combined (low) fertilization than under customary (high) fertilization. Hence, high yield can be achieved by selecting the best hybrid rice varieties supported by combined fertilization (lower fertilizer use with higher efficiency).

Pesticide helps to enhance agricultural production, however, it significantly affect both socio and environmental entities of a country. In Nigeria, pesticide is widely used, thus its traces have been detected in water, soil and air. Several studies have already indicated that most of the environmental ecology (air, water, and soil) in Nigeria has been contaminated by persistent organic pesticides like organochlorine and organophosphate. Other reasons of high pesticide residues present in Nigeria environment is due to inappropriate dosage applied of pesticides that leaves behind excess. However, its residues are found above safety levels in the air, water, and soil across the nation. Based on previous analysis, it is indicated that 125,000-130,000 metric ton pesticides are being applied annually in Nigeria. Despite banned of some pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane- and -Hexachlorocyclohexane, they are still being used by farmers in their agricultural production. Many of the Class 1 (high extremely toxic) pesticides are still being used in developing countries like Nigeria. Hence, there is need to sensitize and educate the general public especially the end-users (farmers) particularly on management practices of pesticides. Considering these entire hazardous situations, in this article the history of pesticide used in Nigeria has been reviewed in detail. The article also discussed the effects of pesticide use in Nigerian waters, soil and on crops. The risk of residual pesticide on agricultural workers, pesticide residue risk preventive measures by the Federal Government of Nigeria, banned and restricted pesticides in Nigeria, Nigerian Government and its efforts to eliminate persistent organic pesticides in use are also reviewed in details.

The elderly people in Cambodia are confronting multiple sources of vulnerability; these include living with poorness, health functional disabilities, health issues, social isolation, and limited opportunities to get involved. The government of Cambodia is concerning about the welfare of the elderly, as expressed in the National Development Strategy where government pledges its commitment to promoting the welfare of the elderly by protecting and ensuring that the elderly people are provided with basic needs. On the other hand, social protection in Cambodia has been largely neglected or addressed with inadequate tools and insufficient funds, which leads Cambodia to vulnerability. The principal purpose of this review is to produce a summary of overall social protection system and government associated with the elderly in Cambodia.

ABSTRACT The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of pineapple (Ananas comosus) leaf powder (PLP) on broiler performance. One hundred male broiler chicks (aged one day) were divided into five groups consisting of four pens as replicates, which were treated with basal diet (normal control); basal diet supplemented with 1, 2, and 3% PLP; or 50 mg/kg of zinc bacitracin (ZnB) as a positive control for 35 days. Body weights were significantly increased by 1.06, 5.67, 13.15, and 11.92%, respectively, and feed conversion ratios were decreased by 2.36, 8.49, 12.06, and 11.43%, respectively, in 1, 2, 3% PLP- and ZnB-supplemented groups, compared with the normal control group. Notably, the 2 and 3% PLP supplementations had beneficial effects on broiler performance, similar to that of the positive group. Haematological parameters, such as red blood count, haemoglobin, and haematocrit, were improved in the 3% PLP-supplemented group, but no significant differences in white blood count and its differential count were observed. The serum biochemical parameters, such as creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, were found to be decreased in the 2 and 3% PLP-supplemented groups, compared with the normal control group. Finally, 2 and 3% PLP supplementations dramatically decreased the caecal coliform and Escherichia coli populations, but increased the lactobacillus population. Taken together, our results suggest that PLP improves the performance of broilers and balances the gut microbial population. Therefore, PLP can be used as a supplement in the diet of broilers.

Both the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) are popular and ubiquitous technologies. However, RFID is lagging behind due to vendor specific solutions and excessive reader cost. A WiFi compatible IEEE 802.11 RFID tag can eliminate the reader. A digital modulator and demodulator for the reader-less RFID tag in IEEE 802.11 protocol employing Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Barker code are proposed in this paper. To generate the 11-bit Barker code, MOD-11 synchronous counter and encoder are designed by utilizing only four D flip-flops instead of preloading the code sequence in multiple registers. For modulation, data are multiplied with this Barker code and for demodulation, the received data are multiplied with the same Barker code. Designed in 0.18 µm CMOS technology, the minimum, average and maximum power consumptions are 3.64 nA, 17.64 µA and 7.61 mA, respectively. The simulation results show the correct functionality of the modulator and demodulator where 1 bit is spread to 11 bits and 11 bits received data are de-spread to 1 bit, respectively. The design would help to implement the modulator and demodulator for the reader-less RFID tag with resistance to multi-path fading and interference and covering the highest distance with lower Bit Error Rate (BER).

Fetal monitoring may help with possible recognition of problems in the fetus. This research work focuses on the design of the Back-propagation Neural Network (BPNN) and Adaptive Linear Neural Network (ADALINE) to extract the Fetal Electrocardiogram (FECG) from the Abdominal ECG (AECG). FECG is extracted to assess the fetus well-being during the pregnancy period of a mother to overcome some existing difficulties regarding the fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring system. Different sets of ECG signal has been tested to validate the algorithm performance. The accuracy of the QRS detection using the designed algorithm is 99%. This research work further made a comparison study between various methods' performance and accuracy and found that the developed algorithm gives the highest accuracy. This paper opens up a passage to biomedical scientists, researchers, and end users to advocate to extract the FECG signal from the AECG signal for FHR monitoring system by providing valuable information to help them for developing more dominant, flexible and resourceful applications.

Study of data collected from 56 users by the administrating questionnaires among their attitudes towards reading habits and purpose of the visiting of libraries at Delhi Public Library, New Delhi, indicate that the, purpose of reading, preference of language, form of library collection, assistance from the library staff in the use of resources and services is necessary to help users meet their information requirements. Finds that people are unable to visit the library regularly due to lack or shortage of time and literature being mostly read by the users are magazines and newspapers.

O estudo de usuário obtido por meio da aplicação de um questionário em 56 (cinquenta e seis) usuários da Biblioteca Pública de Délhi, Nova Délhi visando verificar os hábitos de leitura e o objetivo ao visitarem a Biblioteca, propiciou informações sobre os objetivos de leitura, a preferência de idioma e o tipo de acervo utilizado. Observa-se que auxílio dos funcionários da Biblioteca se faz necessário para ajudar os usuários no uso de recursos e serviços para satisfazer suas necessidades de informação. O estudo também revela que os usuários não podem visitar a biblioteca frequentemente devido à falta de tempo, bem como revela que os materiais impressos mais lidos dentre os usuários são revistas e jornais.

A study was performed for investigating accumulation, distribution and toxicological effects induced by chromium (Cr) on the development of the mangrove seedling Kandelia candel (L.) Druce. Seedlings treated with increasing concentrations of CrCl3 solution (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 mg L-1, respectively) were grown in a basic nutrient solution for three months. The five month old seedlings were harvested for the experiment. This study showed that Cr treatment significantly decreased growth of K. candel in terms of seedling height, leaf number and total biomass. At the highest 3 mg L-1 Cr exposure, there was a 34.47% decrease in final seedling height, 68.95% decrease in leaf number and a 60.65% decrease in total biomass. The present study demonstrates that Cr accumulation ability of K. candel seedlings increased with the increase of treatment strength up to certain level. The concentrations of Cr in root, hypocotyl, stem and leaf ranged from 22.87 to 1.43 mg kg-1, 1.30 to 0.68 mg kg-1, 2.42 to 0.91 mg kg-1, and 1.74 to 0.74 mg kg-1, respectively. When comparing Cr concentration in different plant parts with respect to their controls, the results showed that treated plant root bioaccumulated high amounts of Cr. Almost 80% of Cr was accumulated mainly in roots. The distribution pattern of Cr in K. candel was Root > Stem > Leaf > Hypocotyl. Our findings indicated that the high concentration of Cr supply may interfere with several metabolic processes of seedlings, causing toxicity to plants as exhibited by chlorosis, necrosis, and finally, plant death.

O pensamento ocidental está infectado de Universais, que são meras anotações formais de supostos freqüentes primários ou secundários. É o campo do Nominalismo, em que a freqüência, por maior que seja, não prova universalidade no campo do espontâneo, do dado. Só se pode falar em universal como postulado suficiente para sustentar como axioma a produção de uma teoria. É um postulado útil no caso, mas contestável por outra teoria. Qualquer crença já é uma paranóia, é a sintomatização de uma hipótese, de uma conjetura, como sustentada por um suposto universal. O relativismo cultural é um universalismo disfarçado: a cultura se torna o valor. O valor é: haver cultura.

A descoberta psicanalítica do Revirão (1982) como função catóptrica (reversão) diferente da função especular (imagem) é anterior à descoberta dos neurocientistas de que a linguagem falada surge de um entendimento sintático gerado pelos neurônios-espelho. O Revirão produz a linguagem. A experiência lingüística de evocar algo in praesentia ou in absentia expõe o Revirão. Não há fronteira entre natureza e cultura: tudo é artifício, logo tudo é natural. O princípio de disjunção é universal em qualquer cultura.

ABSTRACT: Heavy metal pollution of the soil environment has become a major source of concern and continues to pose serious health problems to both humans and ecological systems worldwide. Phytoremediation is a biological treatment whereby plants are used to remove pollutant from the environment. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of Melastoma malabathricum as a phytoremediator to absorb heavy metals from soil contaminated with sewage sludge. Melastoma malabathricum seedlings were planted on six different growth media: T0 - Control (100 % soil), T1 (80 % soil + 20 % sewage sludge), T2 (60 % soil + 40 % sewage sludge), T3 (40 % soil + 60 % sewage sludge), T4 (20 % soil + 80 % sewage sludge) and T5 (100 % sludge). There were differences found in both growth parameters and plant biomass. The highest growth performance such as plant height and number of leaves was found in T3. Iron was highly accumulated in the roots, Cu in the stems in T3, while Pb was accumulated in leaves in T5. The results showed the lowest Translocation Factor (TF) and highest Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) values in relation to the following elements: Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. Melastoma malabathricum roots are able to uptake and translocate the elements into the plant's shoots. Therefore, it can be considered a good accumulator plant due to its capability of concentrating contaminants in aerial tissue. Melastoma malabathricum were thus found to be suitable for absorbing heavy metals in contaminated soils, and this species can also be considered an effective phtyoremediator of contaminated soil and mitigator of soil pollution.

We examined the factors associated with the evaluation of health description vignettes and how Japanese people make decisions related to the eight health dimensions (mobility, emotions, pain, relationship with others, sleep and energy, vision, recognition/remembering abilities, and self-care). We investigated a dataset of 4,959 respondents (≥ 18 years) from the Japanese World Health Survey. Ordered probit models were used to identify factors associated with all health dimensions. On all dimensions, older people appraised extreme problems as less problematic than young people did. Compared with men, women reported greater severity in the case of extreme problems on three health dimensions: emotion, pain, and sleep/energy. The study also found negative effects of alcohol consumption in almost all dimensions. Doctors and other health care workers should be careful when assessing severity of health problems in older individuals; in this population, health problems may be more severe than reported.