Factors Affecting Customer’s Preferences in Selecting Credit Card in Bangladesh

This paper focuses on the different factors that affect the customer’s preference in selecting credit cards in Bangladesh. More than three hundred and fifty credit card users are taken as a sample from the south region of Bangladesh of different banks. In this study the most important influencing factors are discount and reward, maximum credit limit, loan payment system and loan processing system to the users of credit card. One way ANOVA test was used to test the significance between different factors.  KMO and Barlett’s test was also used to measure sampling adequacy and to analyze the strength of associations among different variables. Other influencing factors are annual charge, interest rate on unpaid amount, accessibility, validity period, loan payment time, different favorable terms. ‘Interest rate’ is the most critical factor in this research that affects the customer preference greatly in selecting credit cards. The interest rate is as high as thirty to forty percent annually. Even interest is charged daily basis on the unpaid amount. Annual charge on credit card is also high and on an average difficult to avoid. Keywords: Credit card, customer’s preference, principal factors, card holder, grace period, Bangladesh

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Expression of a Dominant-Negative Mutant of p21ras Inhibits Induction of Nitric Oxide Synthase and Activation of Nuclear Factor-kB in Primary Astrocytes

The present study underlines the importance of p21ras in regulating the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in primary astrocytes. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides induced the GTP loading of p21ras, and the expression of a dominant-negative mutant of p21ras (Dp21ras) inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced GTP loading in rat primary astrocytes. To delineate the role of p21ras in the induction of iNOS, we examined the effect of Dp21ras on the expression of iNOS and the production of nitric oxide. It is interesting that expression of Dp21ras markedly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and the expression of iNOS in lipopolysaccharide- and pro-inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin-1b; interferon- g)-stimulated rat and human primary astrocytes. Inhibition of iNOS promoter-derived chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity by Dp21ras suggests that p21ras is involved in the transcription of iNOS. As activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is necessary for the transcription of iNOS, we examined the effect of Dp21ras on the activation of NF-kB. Expression of Dp21ras inhibited the DNA binding as well as the transcriptional activity of NF-kB in activated astrocytes, suggesting that Dp21ras inhibits the expression of iNOS by inhibiting the activation of NF-kB. These studies also suggest that inhibitors of p21ras may be used as therapeutics in nitric oxide- and cytokine-mediated neuro-inflammatory diseases

A Novel IoT-based Framework for Non-Invasive Human Hygiene Monitoring using Machine Learning Techniques

People's personal hygiene habits speak volumes about the condition of taking care of their bodies and health in daily lifestyle. Maintaining good hygiene practices not only reduces the chances of contracting a disease but could also reduce the risk of spreading illness within the community. Given the current pandemic, daily habits such as washing hands or taking regular showers have taken primary importance among people, especially for the elderly population living alone at home or in an assisted living facility. This paper presents a novel and non-invasive framework for monitoring human hygiene using vibration sensors where we adopt Machine Learning techniques. The approach is based on a combination of a geophone sensor, a digitizer, and a cost-efficient computer board in a practical enclosure. Monitoring daily hygiene routines may help healthcare professionals be proactive rather than reactive in identifying and controlling the spread of potential outbreaks within the community. The experimental result indicates that applying a Support Vector Machine (SVM) for binary classification exhibits a promising accuracy of ~95% in the classification of different hygiene habits. Furthermore, both tree-based classifier (Random Forrest and Decision Tree) outperforms other models by achieving the highest accuracy (100%), which means that classifying hygiene events using vibration and non-invasive sensors is possible for monitoring hygiene activity

Iron Toxicity Tolerance of Rice Genotypes in Relation to Growth, Yield and Physiochemical Characters

Iron (Fe) toxicity, generated from excess reduced ferrous Fe (Fe2+) ion formation within the soil under submerged condition, is a potent environmental stress that limits lowland rice production. Total 11 diverse Thai rice genotypes, including a recognized tolerant genotype Azucena and a susceptible genotype IR64, were evaluated against 5 Fe2+ levels [0 (control), 150, 300, 600 and 900 mg/L] to screen the tested genotypes for their Fe-toxicity tolerance and to classify them as a sensitive/tolerant category. The evaluation was conducted by a germination study, followed by a polyhouse study on growth, yield and physiochemical performances. Results showed significant variations in Fe2+-tolerance across genotypes. Increasing Fe2+ level beyond 300 mg/L was detrimental for germination and growth of all the tested genotypes, although germination responses were negatively affected at Fe2+ ≥ 300 mg/L. Physiochemical responses in the form of leaf greenness, net photosynthetic rate, membrane stability index and Fe contents in leaf and root were the most representative of Fe2+-toxicity-mediated impairments on overall growth and yield. Difference in physiochemical responses was effectively correlated with the contrasting ability of the genotypes on lowering excess Fe2+ in tissues. Analysis of average tolerance and stress tolerance index unveiled that the genotypes RD85 and RD31 were the closest to the tolerant check Azucena and the sensitive check IR64, respectively. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means clustering revealed three major clusters, with cluster II (four genotypes) being Fe2+ tolerant and cluster I (four genotypes) being Fe2+ sensitive. Principal component (PC) analysis and genotype by trait-biplot analysis showed that the first two components explained 90.5% of the total variation, with PC1 accounting for 56.6% and PC2 for 33.9% of the total variation. The identified tolerant rice genotypes show potentials for cultivation in Fe2+-toxic lowlands for increased productivity. The findings contribute to the present understanding on Fe2+-toxicity response and provide a basis for future genotype selection or rice crop improvement programs against Fe2+-toxicity

Yield reduction and arsenic accumulation in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an arsenic contaminated soil

The different levels of arsenic (As) had a significant effect on the yield, yield reduction and As accumulation of different potato varieties. The yield was negatively affected by the As contamination and decreased with the increasing As levels in the soil, but remained statistically similar up to 25 mg kg-1 soil of As and thereafter drastically decreased with the increasing As levels. The yield reduction (%) and accumulation of As in the tuber peels and flesh increased with the increasing As levels. Among the fourteen potato varieties, 'Felsina' had the maximum yield and showed the lowest percentage of yield reduction; 'Jam alu' and 'Cardinal' accumulated the least amount of As in their peels and flesh, respectively. Among the treatment combinations, 'Felsina' cultivated in an As-free soil had the highest yield/plant (454.8 g fresh weight). 'Laura' grown in 25 mg kg-1 soil of As showed the lowest yield reduction (%). Although 'Jam alu' and 'Cardinal' produced a slightly lower yield compared to some other varieties, these two varieties accumulated the least amount of As, both in the peels and flesh, when grown in 25 mg kg-1 soil of As

Interactive effects of silicon and potassium on photosynthesis and physio-biochemical traits of rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaf mesophyll under ferrous iron toxicity

Iron toxicity originated from excess ferrous ion (Fe2+) availability within plant growth medium remains a potent stress severely limiting rice productivity via alteration of photosynthetic and metabolic processes. Silicon (Si) or potassium (K) individually can enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, including metal toxicity. However, their combined mitigation effects lack proper exploration even though greater alleviation potential could possibly be achieved. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential of combined application of Si and K in mitigating Fe2+ toxicity impairments to rice leaf mesophyll tissue. The experiment was laid out in a factorial combination of two Fe2+ levels (0 and 300 mg L−1), two Si levels (0 and 56 mg L−1), and two K levels (0 and 200 mg L−1) following a completely randomized design. Excess Fe2+ impaired leaf mesophyll performance by negatively affecting all tested parameters; however, Si and K significantly reduced those impairments. The integrated application of Si and K resulted in the maximum mitigation effects as high as 23%, 27%, 14%, 40%, 25%, 37%, 24%, 48%, 34%, 28%, 41%, and 15% for total chlorophyll content, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II, membrane stability index, relative cell death, lipid peroxidation, total protein content, free proline content, total polyphenol content, hydrogen peroxide content, total antioxidant activity, net photosynthetic rate, and plant biomass, respectively, compared with the control, with 29% decrease in Fe content and 4.2-fold and 1.7-fold respective increase in Si and K content of rice leaf mesophyll. Silicon or K enhanced photosynthetic performance by boosting antioxidant activity, proline content, and polyphenol content, thereby reducing oxidative damages from Fe2+-generated free radicals like hydrogen peroxide; however, K was comparatively more effective than Si. The combined application of Si and K resulted in significantly better Fe2+ toxicity alleviation response over their sole application for the maximum studied traits. The findings would contribute to the present understanding of Fe2+ toxicity alleviation and help in strategizing crop management practices for sustainable rice production in Fe2+-toxic lowlands