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Introduction: Medication noncompliance is a necessary but neglected factor for the negative cardiovascular outcome. Despite various studies on the issue, the factors behind noncompliance still need to be explored properly. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the magnitude and factors associated with noncompliance with antihypertensive Medication. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on 200 hypertensive patients in Dhaka Medical College Hospital for six months. Patients were included by purposive sampling, aged 18-70 years, and the duration of diagnosis of at least three months. In addition, demographic data, hypertension diagnosis, antihypertensive drugs, factors related to noncompliance, knowledge of hypertension, perception, and family support were included in the questionnaire. Result: About 85% of the patients were non-compliant with treatment in their course of illness, and the main reason behind it was forgetfulness (48.2%). Other factors were inability to buy, side effects, busy schedule, intentionally, bored, and traveling. The highest prescribed drug was beta blockers (41%). Eighty percent of the patients knew that uncontrolled hypertension could lead to stroke, and 54% knew it could lead to heart disease. The majority (87.5%) of the participant went for follow-up only when they felt hypertensive. Regarding perception, 63% of patients felt hypertension is not a curable disease. Furthermore, though all patients were asked for follow-up by their physician, 94% missed their follow-up. Conclusion: Despite the availability of various types of effective antihypertensive drugs, many patients experience difficulty controlling hypertension due to noncompliance. Patient and family member education efficiently prevented many factors behind the disobedience. However, further studies with large sample sizes in multiple centers could explain this more precisely. TAJ 2022; 35: No-2: 103-110

Background: Acute poisoning is a common medical emergency in the pediatric unit. It is a common preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Most of the poisoning in children less than five years of age is accidental. This study aimed to determine the associated factors and clinical profile of childhood poisoning. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 69 children aged six months to 12 years with a history of poisoning over six months. History, clinical examination, and details of the poisoning were obtained by using a structured questionnaire during admission. Analysis was done through standard statistical tests. Result: Among the 69 children of poisoning, 92.8% were accidental, and 7.2% were suicidal. Most cases (79.7%) were from the 6 - 59 months age group with male-female ratio 1.7:1. Most of the fathers (65.2%) and mothers (75.4%) had primary education, and 75.4% were poor. The most common cause of the poisoning was insecticide (60.9%), and the poison was stored at an available site (91.3%) in an unsealed container (47.8%). Accidental poisoning was more common in younger age group (10 years) in females (80%) patient with h/o familial disharmony (60%). Conclusion: Insecticides and kerosene were the common cause of poisoning. Most of the materials were stored in an unsafe place and stored in an attractive bottle. Poison should be stored in a safe home with a sealed container. Simple and active family preventive measures can reduce accidental poisoning. TAJ 2022; 35: No-2: 75-82

1. Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that involves multiple organ systems. Lipid profile is a panel of blood test that serves as an initial broad medical screening tool for abnormalities in lipid such as cholesterol and triacylglycerol. The result of this test can identify certain genetic diseases and can determine approximate risk for cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and certain form of pancreatitis and other diseases. Premature cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity in lupus which may be directly associated with altered lipid metabolism in systemic lupus erythematosus patient. Objective: To find out the relation of serum lipid profile with systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka from January 2017 to December 2017. In this study, fifty diagnosed patients of SLE (Group A) and fifty apparently healthy individuals (Group B) of both sexes were selected according to the selection criteria from Department of Medicine, Dhaka medical college hospital, Dhaka (Group A) and by personal contact (Group B). Baseline parameters (body mass index, blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose) of both groups were measured. Serum lipid profile was estimated by enzyme immune assay, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and high density cholesterol (HDL-c) was estimated by enzymatic method. Results: Among the parameters of lipid profile serum TC, TG and LDL-C were significantly higher (p

The emergence of a new strain during a pandemic, like the present COVID-19, is a serious concern to the healthcare system. The most effective strategy to control this pandemic is vaccination. Many studies suggest that vaccine efficacy against the new strain may reduce. Additionally, the new strain’s late arrival has a significant impact on the disease dynamics and vaccine coverage. Focusing on these issues, this study presents a two-strain epidemic model along with two vaccination provisions based on human behavior dynamics, in which the new strain appears with a time delay. Individuals can commit vaccination before and after being infected with strain 1 and both vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals can be infected with strain 2. Our findings suggested that delaying the second strain increases the overall vaccination coverage and reduces the peak size of the infected individuals.

This study examines the perceived quality of public aquaculture extension services in a selected sub-district of Bangladesh. The SERVPERF scale data were collected from 230 randomly selected fish farmers who resided in the 15 villages under the selected sub-district. The research findings suggest that the aquaculture extension service performs satisfactorily in assurance, responsiveness and tangible dimensions and is relatively low in reliability and empathy. The logistic regression findings confirm that among the dimensions of the SERVPERF, reliability, assurance and empathy can significantly influence the client’s overall satisfaction with the aquaculture extension service. The factor analytic results show that among the 20 statements of SERVPERF, nine statements grouped into three factors can be a viable tool for measuring the quality of aquaculture extension service. This study recommends individualistic client care, the development of extension skills and the intention of the extension agents to provide need-based prompt service and to arrange extension programs considering the client’s convenience.

Background: Urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra which can either be congenital or acquired. In most cases, it is an acquired disorder. Congenital stricture is less common and even less commonly found in paediatric population. Case presentation: A 4-Month-old baby attended outpatient department with complaint of high fever and excessive crying that was more pronounced before and during urination along with whitish discharge mixed with urine. Urine R/M/E detected plenty pus cell. Left ureter appears grossly dilated, tortuous in USG. Constriction is noted in the distal part of urethra with proximal dilatation with bilateral vesico-ureteric reflux. Conclusion: As, no other cause i.e., iatrogenic, traumatic, inflammatory, post-infectious, was found out, there remain only one possibility for this baby having urethral stricture which is idiopathic or congenital cause. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 22 No. 01 January’23 Page : 239-241

Human–robot interaction has extended its application horizon to simplify how human beings interact with each other through a remotely controlled telepresence robot. The fast growth of communication technologies such as 4G and 5G has elevated the potential to establish stable audio–video-data transmission. However, human–robot physical interactions are still challenging regarding maneuverability, controllability, stability, drive layout, and autonomy. Hence, this paper presents a systematic design and control approach based on the customer’s needs and expectations of telepresence mobile robots for social interactions. A system model and controller design are developed using the Lagrangian method and linear quadratic regulator, respectively, for different scenarios such as flat surface, inclined surface, and yaw (steering). The robot system is capable of traveling uphill (30\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{\circ }$$\end{document}∘) and has a variable height (600–1200 mm). The robot is advantageous in developing countries to fill the skill gaps as well as for sharing knowledge and expertise using a virtual and mobile physical presence. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12369-020-00676-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

During a pandemic event like the present COVID-19, self-quarantine, mask-wearing, hygiene maintenance, isolation, forced quarantine, and social distancing are the most effective nonpharmaceutical measures to control the epidemic when the vaccination and proper treatments are absent. In this study, we proposed an epidemiological model based on the SEIR dynamics along with the two interventions defined as self-quarantine and forced quarantine by human behavior dynamics. We consider a disease spreading through a population where some people can choose the self-quarantine option of paying some costs and be safer than the remaining ones. The remaining ones act normally and send to forced quarantine by the government if they get infected and symptomatic. The government pays the forced quarantine costs for individuals, and the government has a budget limit to treat the infected ones. Each intervention derived from the so-called behavior model has a dynamical equation that accounts for a proper balance between the costs for each case, the total budget, and the risk of infection. We show that the infection peak cannot be reduced if the authority does not enforce a proactive (quantified by a higher sensitivity parameter) intervention. While comparing the impact of both self- and forced quarantine provisions, our results demonstrate that the latter is more influential to reduce the disease prevalence and the social efficiency deficit (a gap between social optimum payoff and equilibrium payoff).

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a wide range of negative consequences for higher education students. We explored the generalizability of the control-value theory of achievement emotions for e-learning, focusing on their antecedents. We involved 17019 higher education students from 13 countries, who completed an online survey during the first wave of the pandemic. A structural equation model revealed that proximal antecedents (e- learning self-efficacy, computer self-efficacy) mediated the relation between environmental antecedents (cognitive and motivational quality of the task) and positive and negative achievement emotions, with some exceptions. The model was invariant across country, area of study, and gender. The rates of achievement emotions varied according to these same factors. Beyond their theoretical relevance, these findings could be the basis for policy recommendations to support stakeholders in coping with the challenges of e-learning and the current and future sequelae of the pandemic. Ostali avtorji: Roxana Balbontín-Alvarado, Denilson da Silva Bezerra, Roberto Burro, Maria Cheraghi, Beata Dobrowolska, Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe, MoezAlIslam Ezzat Faris, Thais França, Belinka González-Fernández, Rob Hall, Fany Inasius, Sujita Kumar Kar, Damijana Keržič, Kornélia Lazányi, Florin Lazăr, Juan D. Machin-Mastromatteo, João Marôco, Bertil P. Marques, Oliva Mejía-Rodríguez, Silvia Mariela Méndez Prado, Alpana Mishra, Cristina Mollica, Silvana G. Navarro Jiménez, Alka Obadić, Md Mamun-ur-Rashid, Dejan Ravšelj, Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić, Nina Tomaževič, Chinaza Uleanya, Lan Umek, Giada Vicentini, Özlem Yorulmaz, Ana- Maria Zamfir, Aleksander Aristovnik. Št. članka: 101629. Bibliografija: str. 8-10. Abstract. Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije (ARRS), P5-0093 Odlični v znanosti 2022 (ARRS)

Which of the two climate change adaptation strategies – adjusting or improving farming (defined as Stepping Up) versus reducing or exiting farming (defined as Stepping Out) – provides better developmental outcomes for smallholder farmers? Are the drivers of these two strategies different? Do the outcomes and drivers vary according to farmland holding size? We investigated these unanswered questions, inspired primarily by a widespread but unverified suggestion that stepping out of farming can be a better option for smallholders. We utilised recent survey data from over eight hundred smallholder households located in climatic hazard-prone areas in Bangladesh. We applied a holistic Driver-Strategy-Outcome analytical framework and rigorous statistical methods, including index-based data aggregation, and Structural Equation Modelling with ‘mediation’ and ‘moderation’ analyses. Contrary to widespread speculations, we found that Stepping Out had a large negative effect on smallholders’ livelihood Outcomes; while Stepping Up had a moderate, but positive effect. The natural-environmental Drivers of Stepping Up and Stepping Out were similar; however, the psychological-institutional Drivers of each differed, with the same factor acting as a driver for one strategy whilst as a deterrent for the other. We found significant ‘mediatory’ effects of both the adaptation Strategies on Outcomes as well as significant ‘moderation’ effects of farmland holding size on the Drivers and Outcomes, with the positive effect of Stepping Up observed for smallholders owing lands of

With the aim of evaluating the effect of Government Youth Development Training on the KSA of the incumbents, this research used structured interview schedule and accomplished face-to-face interview of 142 randomly selected trainees from four purposefully selected Youth Training Centers. A strong positive significant change of KSA occurred due to the training and major change happened in knowledge followed by skill and attitude. The regression analysis shows that the traits of the trainers, location of the training center, and regularity in class attendance had significant relationship with knowledge change of the incumbents, while the traits of the trainers, experience of other trainings, and location of the training centers were significant determinants of skill change. Continuous improvement of trainer’s traits as well as inclusion of more practical field works in training sessions, and frequent evaluation of each training program based on KSA( Knowledge Skill & Attitude) is crucial to improve the effect of government youth development training in the study area.

Classification of samples into one or more populations is one of the main objectives of gene expression data (GED) analysis. Many machine learning algorithms were employed in several studies to perform this task. However, these studies did not consider the outliers problem. GEDs are often contaminated by outliers due to several steps involve in the data generating process from hybridization of DNA samples to image analysis. Most of the algorithms produce higher false positives and lower accuracies in presence of outliers, particularly for lower number of replicates in the biological conditions. Therefore, in this paper, a comprehensive study has been carried out among five popular machine learning algorithms (SVM, RF, Naïve Bayes, k-NN and LDA) using both simulated and real gene expression datasets, in absence and presence of outliers. Three different rates of outliers (5%, 10% and 50%) and six performance indices (TPR, FPR, TNR, FNR, FDR and AUC) were considered to investigate the performance of five machine learning algorithms. Both simulated and real GED analysis results revealed that SVM produced comparatively better performance than the other four algorithms (RF, Naïve Bayes, k-NN and LDA) for both small-and-large sample sizes. J. bio-sci. 28: 69-80, 2020

With the rapid development of high-throughput DNA microarray technologies, researchers can measure expression profiles of thousands of genes simultaneously with low costs. These massive amounts of gene expression (GE) data often contain missing values or outliers due to various reasons of data generating process. Most of the statistical methods were developed based on complete dataset. As a result, for subsequent analysis using incomplete dataset, these methods strongly suffer and we cannot find our target. A numerous methods have been developed to impute missing values and they are available in the literature. Albeit, missing values imputation and outliers handling both are equally important for analyzing GE, most of the methods perform these tasks separately and produce misleading results. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt is made to develop a new hybrid approach which is robust against outliers and missing values, simultaneously. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method in a comparison of popular missing value imputation method K-NN while performing feature selection using both simulated and real GE datasets. The Results obtain from simulated as well as real data studies show that the proposed method outperforms K-NN in presence of different percentages of missing values and outliers. On the other hand, in absence of outliers with missing values, the proposed method keeps equal performance with the other methods. J. bio-sci. 27: 31-41, 2019

This study investigated the current practice of learning, teaching and assessment in science, particularly in classrooms at primary level in a division of Bangladesh. In addition, this study also focused on the role of DPEd program in the development of the professional preparation of teachers' for improving their quality of science teaching. For the purpose of this study, a mixed method research design which used both quantitative and qualitative method to gather and analyse data. A random stratified sampling process was used to select 150 primary science teachers and 60 students in grade 5 (10 + years) students for collecting quantitative data while a purposeful sampling process was used for qualitative inquiry. Qualitative data was obtained through analysis of the national documents and the interviews of Head teachers of primary schools, Assistant Upazila (Sub-district) Education Officers and Instructors of Primary Training Institutes (PTI) and Upazila Resource Centers. Quantitative data was analysed by using descriptive statistics and qualitative data was transcribed and labelled into emerging themes. A triangulation technique was used to establish the findings of this study. The findings of this study revealed that the present practice of learning and teaching science is mostly teacher centred with little active pupil participation, limited opportunity for hands on activity and discussion. The major barriers for teachers' to teach science effectively were large class sizes, insufficient materials, lack of teacher's knowledge and skills, absence of assessment for learning strategies, inadequate opportunities for professional development and poor quality of support from the stakeholders. The current DPEd program has consist of limited focus on hands of activities, insufficient learning assessment capacity of the PTI instructors, and a lack of teacher monitoring in placement schools during training. The basic recommendation suggested by this research is to enhance the use of an inquiry oriented science learning and teaching approach with associated assessment for learning strategies for ensuring the quality of science learning and teaching. For preparing a better quality teacher, ensuring subject based training and to review the current teacher training program is further suggested. The result of this study can be used for future development of science learning and teaching practice at elementary level in Bangladesh and similar other developing countries., Current practice; Learning and teaching; Primary level; Professional preparation; Quality; Triangulation; Teacher-centered; Pupil participation; Inquiry oriented; Scientific literacy.

Background Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major cause of death globally. Countries vary in their rates, and changes have occurred over time. Nowadays, developing countries pose new public health challenges. Objectives The objective of the present study was to appraise the alterations in the levels of serum Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn that occur in patients with ischemic heart disease and to depict the correlations of the effects of these changes that lead to the pathogenesis of IHD. Methods Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn in the IHD patients were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Results This study evaluated 52 patients with IHD, and 61 healthy volunteers served as controls. The primary outcomes of interest were explored regarding the correlations of the serum levels of these trace elements in patients with IHD. The secondary outcomes were explored in terms of inter-element relations to connect them with the pathogenesis of IHD. Our study found significantly reduced levels of Zn and Cu (2.50 ± 0.19 mg/L and 2.52 ± 0.17 mg/L, respectively) and an elevated level of Fe (148.97 ± 17.25 mg/L) in the patient group with IHD. The level of Mn (7.32 ± 1.23 mg/L) was elevated in the sera of the patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) compared to healthy control subjects. Conclusion Our results indicate strong associations of the pathogenesis of IHD with depleted serum levels of Zn and Cu and elevated Fe and Mn levels, which may provide a prognostic tool for the treatment of this concerning the disease., Cardiology; Biochemistry; Molecular biology; Pathophysiology; Public health; Pharmacology; Clinical research; Ischemic heart disease, Case-control study, Trace elements, Pearson's correlation, Bangladesh.

In this research work, Homotopy perturbation method (HPM) is applied to find the approximate solution of the Van der Pol Differential equation (VDPDE), which is a well-known nonlinear ODE. Firstly, the approximate solution of Van Der Pol equation is developed using Dirichlet boundary conditions. Then a comparison between the present results and previously published results is presented and a good agreement is observed. Finally, HPM method is applied to find the approximate solution of VDPDE with Robin and Neumann boundary conditions.

Smart grid is a new highly integrated power grid which refers to the next generation power grid, with advanced features and two-way flow of electricity and communication. The smart grid is expected to provide real-time information and near instantaneous balance between supply side and demand side. It combines with the advanced information and communication technology such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). Wi-Fi is a wireless network technology that allows smart meters and other electronic devices to communicate over a wireless medium. In this paper, we have introduced and modeled a new architecture for a community smart grid, where an information center is established as the controller of the community power grid. Based on this new approach, the potential impact of smart battery, smart metering and renewable energy sources have been studied. Then, we provided an optimal approach for power allocation in the new architecture, which can reduce the power taken from the regular utility even in situations of overloading, and reduce the line loss of power scheduling. Finally, we proposed a methodology to analyze the daily load profile for residential clients with renewable energy resources.

Progressive importance, swelling investment, and mounting national and global competition necessitate evaluation of the service quality of higher education. Quantifiable indicators such as student teacher ratio, student number, women participation, establishing new departments, and increase in the number of universities are no longer enough unless the student’s stand point is considered. This research probed the service quality of higher education in a public university in southern Bangladesh utilizing modified SERVQUAL gap model. The t-test results suggest that there is a significant service gap in all the selected service dimensions such as learning, teaching, recognition, assessment system, internet and library facilities, campus life, and non-academic administration. The results also mirror that little more than half (54.1%) students are satisfied with the service quality of the selected university and almost similar proportion (52.1 %) of the students have future interest in studying in the same university. Regression analysis reveals that learning and recognition are two important determinants of client’s overall satisfaction with the service of selected university. Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) advocates that the university should take immediate step in improving internet and library facilities, campus life, and non-academic administration. Factor analysis output confirms that slight modification of the proposed seven set model into six set factors can be employed by the management as off-the-rack service quality measurement tool. Key words: service quality, higher education, SERVQUAL, Bangladesh.

This paper presents localization of tumor at 13 different positions deep inside a dense human breast using only 4 meander line microstrip patch antennas of operating frequency 1.5 GHz for the detection of breast cancer. The reflection coefficients of the antennas demonstrates a very uniform pattern for localization of the tumors in CST Microwave Studio simulation environment. The result of this work can help to develop a portable medical device for breast cancer detection at home by analyzing the reflection coefficient data of the 4 antennas.

This article proposed a novel miniaturized design of coplanar wave guide (CPW) fed ultra wide band (UWB) tapered slot Vivaldi antenna for microwave imaging applications. Broken line exponential tapered profile and different types of slots have been incorporated in order to obtain the better performance and miniaturized antenna. All the important performance parameters of the proposed antenna such as return loss, BW, gain, directivity, VSWR, axial ratio, front to back ratio, accepted power, radiated power, surface current, radiation efficiency have been analyzed and enhanced up to the acceptable level. Finally, from the simulated validation, it is noticed that the proposed antenna would be a potential candidate for microwave imaging applications.

A slotted patch rectangular microstrip patch antenna (RMPA) has been designed and observed the effect of slotted patch in this paper. The slotted patch and photonic band gap (PBG) substrate increase the gain, bandwidth as well as efficiency of the proposed antenna which resonates at 2.4 GHz. In the proposed antenna, Glass (pyrex) (lossy) substrate is used having dielectric constant of 4.82 and tangent loss of 0.0054. All data of the characteristic parameters have been estimated by using computer simulation technology (CST) microwave studio (MWS) suite of version 2017. The bandwidth of the proposed antenna is of 174.3 MHz which covers entire ISM band (2 GHz – 2.49GHz). It possesses F/B ratio of 10.74 dB, return loss of −20.116 dB and efficiency of 68.79% at center operating frequency.

This paper presents a wearable planar printed meandering monopole textile antenna design having operating frequency of 2.4 – 2.45 GHz on 3 flexible substrate materials: Jeans, Leather and Cordura®. The printed elements have been designed by using a mender line technique to reduce the size of the antenna significantly than the proposed antennas of past literature. Antenna performance is analyzed for different bending conditions and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is evaluated when the antenna is in contact with human body using CST Microwave Studio. The compact design and miniature size of the antenna is suitable for easy integration in smart clothing for tracking, healthcare, security and other ISM applications.