Prevalence and determinants of behavioral risk factors of non-communicable diseases among a selected slum population in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Low and middle income countries and also the underprivileged population both are susceptible for the increased burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the practice of their behavioral risk factors (BRFs) is the main cause. However, these BRFs and their determinants among the slum population of Bangladesh weren’t adequately evaluated. The present study was carried out with the aim to find out the prevalence and determinants of BRFs of NCDs among a selected slum population in Bangladesh.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in purposively selected Rayerbazar slum of Dhaka city, Bangladesh, in 2017. A total of 192 adult (aged 18 to 65 years) residents were enrolled in this study using the convenient sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire, adopted version of World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS instrument was used for data collection. Ascertainments of the risk factors were conducted as per the WHO STEPS guideline. Both descriptive and multivariate statistics were performed using the SPSS software.RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (72.4%) were men, and the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the ages was 37.0 ± 13.6 years. Half (50%) of the respondents were tobacco users. Almost all (98.4%) reported insufficient fruit and vegetables (FAVs) intake. Almost 7 out of 10 (67.7%) of the respondents reported to perform inadequate level of physical activity (PA). However, very negligible (2.6%) proportion of the respondents reported alcohol consumption. The group of the respondents with the age above the mean age (≥ 35 years) reported higher use of tobacco whereas, the group of the respondents with the age below the mean age (< 35 years) reported a higher level of inadequacy of PA.CONCLUSION: BRFs of NCDs were substantial among the selected slum population of Bangladesh, where age was the major determinant. Health promotion and health education measures are recommended for slum population of Bangladesh to aware them of the BRFs of NCDs

Model Predictive Control with Direct Feedthrough with Application on a Mist Reactor

Theoretical derivation of a controller formulation for systems with direct feedthrough from the input to the output is considered. The resulting model predictive control (MPC) scheme requires the use of a predictor for the output. Two forms of predictor are compared. This work opens up the possibility of applying MPCs to practical systems with direct feedthrough. The controller is applied to a multivariable mist reactor for cell culture. A linear parameter-varying (LPV) model is applied with the controller. This enables the controller to have low computational complexity and high accuracy in controlling the temperature and humidity in the reactor. With the successful implementation of the LPV model to the controller, the proposed MPC scheme with direct feedthrough is shown to be feasible for application in practical systems

Antiviral Activity of Withanolide A Against Different Infectivity Phases of Dengue Virus Serotype 2 in Vero Cell Line

Dengue fever is caused by the Aedes mosquito-borne dengue virus, which is a global threat with 400 million cases reported annually and 5–20% mortality rate. Currently, there is no effective treatment available for dengue fever. Natural products like withanolides, which are steroidal lactones, have shown many good properties, including antiviral activity against other viruses. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-dengue virus serotype 2 activity of withanolide A and withanone in Vero cells. Withanolide A and withanone were well-tolerated in Vero cells with a half-maximal cytotoxic concentration of 0.4982 and 1.186 µM, respectively. Withanolide A and withanone exhibited good direct virus-inactivating effects against dengue virus serotype 2 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.017 and 0.353 µM, respectively. Based on the selectivity index, withanolide A (selectivity index, 29.31) was determined to be safer and more effective in inhibiting dengue virus serotype 2 infection in Vero cells than withanone (selectivity index, 3.36). Further investigations conducted with withanolide A showed that it inhibited dengue virus serotype 2 during the pre- and post-infection stages in a dose-dependent manner. Withanolide A also effectively blocked dengue virus serotype 2 attachment and entry into Vero cells in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that withanolide A showed potent anti-dengue activity and could serve as a promising antiviral agent for treatment of dengue infections