Ownership and attitudes towards technology use in physiotherapy students from seven countries

PURPOSE: To assess differences in prerequisites to blended learning such as technology use and Internet access in an international sample of physiotherapy students from Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Luxembourg, Sudan, Switzerland and South Africa. RESULTS: Students' digital technology experiences were generally low. They primarily used a smartphone and a laptop to connect to the Internet. However, there was a significant difference between institutions in owning a laptop and access to Internet. Most students preferred learning in environments that included some online components but had never used Twitter or written a blog post and wanted less social media in their learning environments. CONCLUSION: Physiotherapy students would prefer an increase in the use of digital tools in their learning. However, differences in technology use and access highlight the challenges inherent to offering international online courses. Therefore decisions around online and blended course design in health professions education must be made with caution.Michael Rowe receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation

Non performing loans - its causes, consequences and some learning

Investment in productive sector is the precondition for achieving the economic growth from a country perspective. Capital formation positively supports this investment function. Once a satisfactory level of capital is formed, the option of sound investment comes that ultimately leads to flow additional capital in future. The financial institutions, mainly banks, do these functions. In countries like ours, investment leakage in the form of non-functionalities poses a great threat on the sound running of this ‘capital formation – investment – capital formation’ process. This paper deals with non performing loan situations, basically the causes and consequences of this economic devil that is very much embedded in current economic structure. The possible steps are also pointed out to handle such situation.capital formation, workout, LRA, recovery agency

Experimental Measurement of Near-field Radiative Heat Transfer Between Two Macroscale Planar Media

Radiative heat transfer between two media separated by a gap smaller than the wavelength of thermal radiation (10 μm at room temperature) is referred to as near-field RHT. Near-field RHT exceeds the RHT between two blackbodies which is the maximum limit for RHT in the far-field regime (i.e., when the separation gap is much larger than the thermal wavelength). Due to this enhanced heat transfer, near-field RHT has found promising applications, for power enhancement of thermophotovoltaic devices, thermal rectification, localized cooling, and photonic cooling to name only a few. Graphene is an ideal material for near-field RHT applications as it is one of the materials with the largest heat flux and it also can emit surface plasmon polaritons resulting a resonantly enhancement of heat flux. In this thesis, we implement an experimental setup for measuring far-field and near-field RHT between two macroscopic planar media separated by a nanoscale vacuum gap. The validity of the setup is demonstrated by comparing the measured heat flux data with theoretical predictions. The implemented setup is then used for demonstrating that the near-field RHT between two dissimilar dielectric media can be enhanced by depositing a layer of graphene on one of the media. The outcome of this study is an experimental setup which can be used for measuring the far-field and near-field RHT between arbitrary materials as well as experimental demonstration of the graphene potential for near-field RHT applications

Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in 52 Countries Results of the INTERHEART Study

Background: Diet is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it varies markedly in different regions of the world. The objectives of the present study were to assess the association between dietary patterns and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) globally. Methods and Results: INTERHEART is a standardized case-control study involving participants from 52 countries. The present analysis included 5761 cases and 10 646 control subjects. We identified 3 major dietary patterns using factor analysis: Oriental (high intake of tofu and soy and other sauces), Western (high in fried foods, salty snacks, eggs, and meat), and prudent (high in fruit and vegetables). We observed an inverse association between the prudent pattern and AMI, with higher levels being protective. Compared with the first quartile, the adjusted ORs were 0.78 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.88) for the second quartile, 0.66 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.75) for the third, and 0.70 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.80) for the fourth (P for tren

Refinement and validation of an FFQ developed to estimate macro- and micronutrient intakes in a south Indian population

Objective: Potential error sources in nutrient estimation with the FFQ include inaccurate or biased recall and overestimation or underestimation of intake due to too many or too few items on the FFQ, respectively. Here we report the refinement of an FFQ that overestimated nutrient intake and its validation against multiple 24 h recalls. Study Design: Data on 2527 participants in south India (Trivandrum) were available for the original FFQ (OFFQ) that overestimated nutrient intake (132 food items). After excluding participants with implausible energy intake estimates (15.69 MJ/d (\u3e3750 kcal/d)) we ran stepwise regression analyses with selected nutrients as the outcomes and food intake (servings/d) as predictor variables (n 1867). From these results and expert consultation we refined the FFQ (RFFQ), and validated it by comparing intakes obtained with it and the mean of two 24 recalls among 100 participants. Results: The OFFQ overestimated usual daily nutrient intake before and after exclusions [for energy: 1339 (SD 5.46) MJ (3201 (SD 1305) kcal) and 1096 (sD 2.65) MJ (2619 (SD 634) kcal), respectively]. In stepwise analyses, fifty-seven food items explained 90% of the variance in nutrients, we retained thirteen food items because participants consumed them at least twice monthly and twelve food items that local nutritionists recommended. Mean energy intake estimated from the RFFQ (eighty-two food items) was 7.94 (SD 2.05) MJ (1897 (SD 489) kcal). The de-attenuated correlations between mean 24 h recall and RFFQ intakes ranged from 0.25 (vitamin A) to 0.82 (fat). Conclusion: We refined an FFQ that overestimated nutrient intake by shortening and redesigning, and validated it by comparisons with 24 h dietary recall data

INFLUENCE OF MANURES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF FIVE CHILLI GERMPLASM

DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE SHER-E-BANGLA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY DHAKA-1207The experiment was conducted in the Horticultural Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka during the period from September 2015 to January 2016. The experiment was consisted of two factors: Factor A: Five germplasm of chili viz; G 1 : Tree chili, G 2 : Surjomukhi, G : Bullet, G 4 : Agni, G 5 : Cayenee. Factor B : 4 levels of manure viz; O : No manure (control), O 1 : Cowdung 10 t ha -1 , O 2 : Vermicompost 5 t ha : Mustard oil cake 2 t ha -1 . There were 20 treatment combinations. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. In different germplasm the maximum vitamin C content (149.96 mg/100g), capsaicin content (1.64 %), yield ha -1 (14.51 t/ha) were recorded from G 5 and the minimum results were recorded from G . Due to different manures application, the maximum yield ha -1 1 (8.43 t/ha) were recorded from O but the maximum vitamin C content (128.27 mg/100 g) and maximum capsaicin content (1.23 %) were recorded from the O and minimum data were recorded from O 0 3 . For interaction effect, the maximum yield ha (17.06 t/ha) were recorded from G 5 O but the maximum vitamin C content (161.33 mg /100 g) and maximum capsaicin content (1.83 %) were recorded from G 2 . Minimum capsaicin content (0.70 %), minimum yield ha -1 (1.16 t/ha) were recorded from G 1 O and minimum vitamin C content (92.50 mg /100 g) was obtained from G 1 0 O . In this experiment the Cayenee germplasm and vermicompost performed the best results in maximum parameters.A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) IN HORTICULTUR

GROWTH, YIELD AND SHELF LIFE OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum) AS INFLUENCED BY NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Horticulture Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS) IN HORTICULTUREField and laboratory experiments were conducted at the farm and laboratory of the Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur during the period from October 2004 to April 2005. The objectives of the research work were to study the growth, yield, relative cost, returns, and shelf life of BARI tomato-9 as influenced by different levels of nitrogen and stages of fruit maturity. Two experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. There were seven nitrogen levels (0, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220 and 2-W Kg °!'-:ha) in the first experiment and SC\'Cll nitrogen levels (0. 1-llJ. I ()0. I SO. 200. 220 and 2-10 Kg I'\ ha) with three stages of maurritv (breaker stages. hal l-ripc. any lull ripe) in the second experiment. Plant height. number or k~I\ cs. da; s to :'()"" llU\\'Cring. number nl' llowcr clusters. number of flowers per cluster. fruits per plant. fruit length and diameter, weight of individual fruit and fruit yield were significantly influenced by different levels of nitrogen. The highest levels of nitrogen (240 Kg N/ha) produced the highest fruit yield (85.42 ton/ha) and gave maximum (3.07) Benefit cost ratio (BCR)

Dig Up Tall Fescue Plastid Genomes For The Identification of Morphotype-Specific DNA Variants

Background Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is an important cool-season perennial grass species. Hexaploid tall fescue has three distinct morphotypes used either as forage or turf purposes. Its chloroplast genome is conserved due to it being maternally inherited to the next generation progenies. To identify morphotype-specific DNA markers and the genetic variations, plastid genomes of all three tall fescue morphotypes, i.e., Continental cv. Texoma MaxQ II, Rhizomatous cv. Torpedo, and Mediterranean cv. Resolute, have been sequenced using Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. Results The plastid genomes of Continental-, Rhizomatous-, and Mediterranean tall fescue were assembled into circular master molecules of 135,283 bp, 135,336 bp, and 135,324 bp, respectively. The tall fescue plastid genome of all morphotypes contained 77 protein-coding, 20 tRNAs, four rRNAs, two pseudo protein-coding, and three hypothetical protein-coding genes. We identified 630 SNPs and 124 InDels between Continental and Mediterranean, 62 SNPs and 20 InDels between Continental and Rhizomatous, and 635 SNPs and 123 InDels between Rhizomatous and Mediterranean tall fescue. Only four InDels in four genes (ccsA, rps18, accD, and ndhH-p) were identified, which discriminated Continental and Rhizomatous plastid genomes from the Mediterranean plastid genome. Here, we identified and reported eight InDel markers (NRITCHL18, NRITCHL35, NRITCHL43, NRITCHL65, NRITCHL72, NRITCHL101, NRITCHL104, and NRITCHL110) from the intergenic regions that can successfully discriminate tall fescue morphotypes. Divergence time estimation revealed that Mediterranean tall fescue evolved approximately 7.09 Mya, whereas the divergence between Continental- and Rhizomatous tall fescue occurred about 0.6 Mya. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report of the assembled plastid genomes of Rhizomatous and Mediterranean tall fescue. Our results will help to identify tall fescue morphotypes at the time of pre-breeding and will contribute to the development of lawn and forage types of commercial varieties