Effect of Vitamin D, Calcium and Multiple Micronutrients Supplementation on Lipid Profile in Pre-menopausal Bangladeshi Garment Factory Workers with Hypovitaminosis D

Elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in sera are both well-known risk factors of coronary heart disease. Adequate vitamin D status is important for optimal function of many organs and tissues of our body. There is continuing controversy about the effect of adequate vitamin D consumption on serum lipids and lipoproteins. The present study assessed the effect of vitamin D, calcium and multiple micronutrients supplementation on the lipid profile in Bangladeshi young female garment factory workers who have hypovitaminosis D. This placebo-controlled intervention trial conducted over a period of one year randomly assigned a total of 200 apparently healthy subjects aged 16-36 years to 4 groups. The subjects received daily supplements of 400 IU of vitamin D (VD group) or 400 IU of vitamin D+ 600 mg of calcium lactate (VD-Ca group), or multiple micronutrients with 400 IU of vitamin-D+ 600 mg of calcium lactate (MMN-VD-Ca group), or the group consuming placebo (PL group). Serum concentrations of lipid and lipoprotein, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were measured at baseline and after one year of follow-up. No significant changes in the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-C/HDL-C ratio were observed in the supplemented groups compared to the placebo group. Supplementation had a positive effect (p<0.05) on very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and triacylglycerol (TAG). A negative correlation between changes in serum iPTH and HDL-C was observed, which indicated that subjects with the greatest decline in S-iPTH had the greatest increase in HDL-C. The results suggest that consumption of adequate vitamin D with calcium or MMN for one-year may have no impact on serum lipid profile in the subjects studied. Longer-term clinical trials with different doses of supplemental vitamin D are warranted in evaluating the effect of intervention.Peer reviewe

Salicylic acid in nutrient solution influence the fruit quality and shelf life of cherry tomato grown in hydroponics

Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant hormone that has functional effects in plant. This study was conducted to find out the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on cherry tomato fruit quality and shelf life. Different concentrations (0.13, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 mM) SA were added in nutrient solution of hydroponic system in plants vegetation and fruits development stage. Light-red maturity stage of cherry tomato fruits was harvested to measure the harvest time fruit quality and stored at 5℃ to measure the postharvest quality and shelf life. Ethylene production and respiration rate of tomato fruit at the harvest time and after storage was effectively reduced by the 0.50 mM SA treatment. Increased acetaldehyde (p≤0.05) as well as ethanol (p≤0.001) was performed in the 0.50 mM SA treatment at after storage. The 0.50 mM SA treatment showed the lowest fresh weight loss 3.08% and the longest shelf life 25 days by reducing decay, fruits softening and fungal infection. Significantly lower fungal incidence (p≤0.001) was observed in the 0.50 mM SA treatment. Final storage day color development and lycopene content was lower in the 0.50 mM SA treatment compare with other treatments. The 0.50 mM SA treatment obtained the highest firmness at harvest time and it retain after storage. Comparatively higher vitamin C and lower soluble solids was showed at the harvest time and after storage. Therefore, the 0.50 mM SA treatment is effective in increasing the quality and shelf life of cherry tomato fruit

Effect of Vitamin D, Calcium and Multiple Micronutrients Supplementation on Lipid Profile in Pre-menopausal Bangladeshi Garment Factory Workers with Hypovitaminosis D

Elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in sera are both well-known risk factors of coronary heart disease. Adequate vitamin D status is important for optimal function of many organs and tissues of our body. There is continuing controversy about the effect of adequate vitamin D consumption on serum lipids and lipoproteins. The present study assessed the effect of vitamin D, calcium and multiple micronutrients supplementation on the lipid profile in Bangladeshi young female garment factory workers who have hypovitaminosis D. This placebo-controlled intervention trial conducted over a period of one year randomly assigned a total of 200 apparently healthy subjects aged 16-36 years to 4 groups. The subjects received daily supplements of 400 IU of vitamin D (VD group) or 400 IU of vitamin D+600 mg of calcium lactate (VD-Ca group), or multiple micronutrients with 400 IU of vitamin-D+600 mg of calcium lactate (MMN-VD-Ca group), or the group consuming placebo (PL group). Serum concentrations of lipid and lipoprotein, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were measured at baseline and after one year of follow-up. No significant changes in the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-C/HDL-C ratio were observed in the supplemented groups compared to the placebo group. Supplementation had a positive effect (p&lt;0.05) on very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and triacylglycerol (TAG). A negative correlation between changes in serum iPTH and HDL-C was observed, which indicated that subjects with the greatest decline in S-iPTH had the greatest increase in HDL-C. The results suggest that consumption of adequate vitamin D with calcium or MMN for one-year may have no impact on serum lipid profile in the subjects studied. Longer-term clinical trials with different doses of supplemental vitamin D are warranted in evaluating the effect of intervention

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated factors among Bangladeshi slum and non-slum dwellers in pre-COVID-19 vaccination era: October 2020 to February 2021

Background Seroprevalence studies have been carried out in many developed and developing countries to evaluate ongoing and past infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Data on this infection in marginalized populations in urban slums are limited, which may offer crucial information to update prevention and mitigation policies and strategies. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and factors associated with seropositivity in slum and non-slum communities in two large cities in Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out among the target population in Dhaka and Chattogram cities between October 2020 and February 2021. Questionnaire-based data, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements and blood were obtained. SARS-CoV-2 serology was assessed by Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. Results Among the 3220 participants (2444 adults, ≥18 years; 776 children, 10–17 years), the overall weighted seroprevalence was 67.3% (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 65.2, 69.3) with 71.0% in slum (95% CI = 68.7, 72.2) and 62.2% in non-slum (95% CI = 58.5, 65.8). The weighted seroprevalence was 72.9% in Dhaka and 54.2% in Chattogram. Seroprevalence was positively associated with limited years of formal education (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.61; 95% CI = 1.43, 1.82), lower income (aOR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.46), overweight (aOR = 1.2835; 95% CI = 1.26, 1.97), diabetes (aOR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.21, 2.32) and heart disease (aOR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.86). Contrarily, negative associations were found between seropositivity and regular wearing of masks and washing hands, and prior BCG vaccination. About 63% of the population had asymptomatic infection; only 33% slum and 49% non-slum population showed symptomatic infection. Conclusion The estimated seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was more prominent in impoverished informal settlements than in the adjacent middle-income non-slum areas. Additional factors associated with seropositivity included limited education, low income, overweight and pre-existing chronic conditions. Behavioral factors such as regular wearing of masks and washing hands were associated with lower probability of seropositivity.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268093pubpu

Static Hand Gesture Recognition using Convolutional Neural Network with Data Augmentation

Computer is a part and parcel in our day to day life and used in various fields. The interaction of human and computer is accomplished by traditional input devices like mouse, keyboard etc. Hand gestures can be a useful medium of human-computer interaction and can make the interaction easier. Gestures vary in orientation and shape from person to person. So, non-linearity exists in this problem. Recent research has proved the supremacy of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for image representation and classification. Since, CNN can learn complex and non-linear relationships among images, in this paper, a static hand gesture recognition method using CNN was proposed. Data augmentation like re-scaling, zooming, shearing, rotation, width and height shifting was applied to the dataset. The model was trained on 8000 images and tested on 1600 images which were divided into 10 classes. The model with augmented data achieved accuracy 97.12% which is nearly 4% higher than the model without augmentation (92.87%).ISBN för värdpublikation: 978-1-7281-0788-2, 978-1-7281-0786-8A belief-rule-based DSS to assess flood risks by using wireless sensor network

Gaseous, Physicochemical and Microbial Performances of Silicon Foliar Spraying Techniques on Cherry Tomatoes

Silicon (Si) foliar spraying techniques (17 mM Si leaf and whole plant) were applied to determine the effect of gaseous, physicochemical and microbial activities on cherry tomatoes. Whole treated tomato plant showed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) the lowest respiration and ethylene production occurred during harvest time and after storage. The lowest fresh weight loss, fungal incidence and microbial activity were observed in whole plant treated tomatoes. In addition, the longest shelf life 24 days and the highest firmness were maintained by whole plant Si treated tomatoes. A higher vitamin C content was found in the whole Si treated tomato plants compared to Si leaf or no treated tomatoes. In addition, in the whole Si treated tomato plant showed the lowest soluble solid content by suppressing the color development. Based on the above results, whole plant Si treatment may be a useful technique to maintain respiration, ethylene production, firmness, shelf life and microbial activity of cherry tomatoes

Physicochemical and bread-making properties of flours from sweet potatoes with different flesh colours

Flour was prepared from Korean sweet potatoes (SPs) with different flesh colours (white, yellow/orange, and purple) and evaluated for physicochemical and pasting properties and their partial substitution for bread-making. SP tubers were soaked in sodium metabisulfite solution (anti-browning agent) and subjected to hot air drying, followed by grinding. SP flours with different colours showed variations in chemical compositions, especially amylose, dietary fibre, and starch contents. Yellow/orange-fleshed SP flour had the highest content of total carotenoid (5.26 mg/100 g) among all SP flours. The highest total anthocyanin content (59.92 mg/100 g) was reported for purple-fleshed SP flour. Water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), and an oil absorption of purple-fleshed SP flour were 1.63 g/g, 25.59%, and 187.21%, respectively, and relatively higher than those of white or yellow/orange-fleshed SP flour. Wheat flour was substituted with SP flour in bread at 10-30% level. The increase in the proportion of SP flour resulted in a significant decrease in loaf volume, and maximum reduction in loaf volume was reported for the bread containing purple-fleshed SP flour. However, SP flour may serve as a substitute for wheat flour at levels up to 10% without causing any deteriorating effects on the overall bread quality. Therefore, coloured SP flour could be useful in the bread-making industry to improve the nutritional value of bread

Influence of Temperature Conditions during Growth on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Potential of Wheat and Barley Grasses

Wheat and barley grasses are freshly sprouted leaves of wheat and barley seeds, and are rich sources of phytochemicals. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of day and night temperatures on the growth, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant potential of wheat and barley grasses. Briefly, each grass was cropped in an organic growing medium at 10/5 °C, 20/15 °C, and 30/25 °C (day/night temperature) in a growth chamber by maintaining specific light (12/12 h light/dark; light intensity 150 µmol photons m−2 s−1) and humidity (60%) conditions for 8 days. The highest growth parameters (height, weight, and yield) were observed at the 20/15 °C growth conditions in both types of grass. Conversely, the lowest growth parameters were observed at 10/5 °C. However, the low growth temperature of 10/5 °C resulted in increased levels of bioactive compounds (total phenol, total flavonoid, and total vitamin C), antioxidant activities (2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity)), and antioxidant enzymes (guaiacol peroxidase activity, catalase activity, and glutathione reductase) in both types of grass. Therefore, proper temperature growth conditions of wheat and barley grasses may be a convenient and efficient method to increase bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential in our diet to exploit the related health benefits

Effects of seed pre-soaking on bioactive phytochemical levels of wheat and barley microgreens grown under hydroponics <em>versus</em> organic soil conditions

This study was conducted to examine the effects of seed presoaking on bioactive phytochemicals in barley and wheat microgreens grown under two different growing media, i.e., hydroponics and organic soil. Microgreens were cultivated for 12 days in a plant growth chamber consistent with the following: light-dark interval (12/12 hours), light-dark temperature (20/15°C), light intensity (150 μmol‧m–2‧s–1), and relative humidity (60%). Both wheat and barley microgreens grown in organic soil from presoaked seeds showed increased levels of bioactive compounds, especially carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, total vitamin C, and anthocyanins. Antioxidant activities [2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity, nitrite scavenging activity, and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity] and antioxidant enzymes (catalase activity, glutathione reductase, and guaiacol peroxidase activity) were highest in both barley and wheat microgreens grown in organic soil from pre-soaked seeds