Current knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards physical activity (PA) and its impact on obesity management in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Bangladeshi people's current knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) on obesity and physical activity (PA), as well as the associated factors. Methods: The KAP was evaluated using a standard questionnaire among 429 individuals, of whom 75.5% were men and had a mean age (±SD) of 28.9 ± 7.9 years. Using a mobile-based KoBo toolbox v.25.0 program, information was gathered from respondents who resided in various districts. A Chi-square test and a linear regression test were performed to determine the relationship between the variables, and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to the determine differences in means. Results: The study showed that more than 95% of participants had good knowledge level, although the attitude and practice levels were low. Based on ANOVA test, the mean knowledge score was significantly different (p < 0.05) with age, marital status, and education; attitude levels with education and body mass index (BMI); and practice levels with education, residence, marital status, and BMI. Linear regression analysis exhibited: the level of knowledge was associated with age (ß = -5.34), BMI (ß = 3.67), and attitude (ß = 0.46) while the level of attitude was associated with education (ß = 2.26), BMI (ß = -2.42), knowledge (ß = 0.2) and practice levels (ß = 0.18); and finally, the level of practice was associated with education (ß = -3.29), BMI (ß = -4.5) and attitude (ß = 0.35). Conclusion: The increased prevalence of obesity among the Bangladeshi population was indicated by optimal levels of knowledge but inadequate levels of attitude and practice toward PA. So, proper initiatives should be taken to educate people on the importance of regular PA to manage obesity by policymakers and the government.

Localization phenomena and electronic transport in irradiated Aubry-André-Harper systems.

The role of light irradiation on electronic localization is critically investigated for the first time in a tight-binding lattice where site energies are modulated in the cosine form following the Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model. The critical point of transition from delocalized-to-localized phase can be monitored selectively by regulating the light parameters that is extremely useful to have controlled electron transmission across the system. Starting with a strictly one-dimensional (1D) AAH chain, we extend our analysis considering a two-stranded ladder model which brings peculiar signatures in presence of irradiation. Unlike 1D system, AAH ladder exhibits a mixed phase (MP) zone where both extended and localized energy eigenstates co-exist. This is the fundamental requirement to have mobility edge in energy band spectrum. A mathematical description is given for decoupling the irradiated ladder into two effective 1D AAH chains. The underlying mechanism of getting a MP zone relies on the availability of two distinct critical points (CPs) of the decoupled chains, in presence of second-neighbor hopping between the two strands. Using a minimal coupling scheme the effect of light irradiation is incorporated following the Floquet-Bloch ansatz. The localization behaviors of different energy eigenstates are studied by calculating inverse participation ratio, and, are further explained in a more compact way by calculating two-terminal transmission probabilities together with average density of states. Finally, the decoupling procedure is extended for a more general multi-stranded AAH ladders where multiple CPs and thus multiple mobility edges are found. Our analysis may provide a new route of engineering localization properties in similar kind of other fascinating quasiperiodic systems.

Leveraging On-Chip Transistor Switching for Communication and Sensing in Neural Implants and Gastrointestinal Devices.

OBJECTIVE: This paper presents a Proof-of-Concept (POC) design and implementation of a biosensing and communication system that can be used for biotelemetry in neural and Gastrointestinal (GI) applications. METHODS: Our proposed system is based on backscattering from a semi-passive Radio-Frequency-Identification-Device (RFID) implemented using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) in which electronic switching between transistor gates in high and low states create an impedance difference, thereby effectively changing the ASIC's Radar Cross Section (RCS) and thus modulating its backscattered field. The ASIC is used in conjunction with a biosensor to measure and transmit vital signs from within the body. With this system, we conducted backscatter propagation experiments through different biological and phantom tissues (in ex-vivo and in-vitro) in the GI and neural environments. RESULTS: Our results show that the backscattered waveforms can penetrate tissues of various compositions and thicknesses with power received at distances of up to 55 cm away from the RFID ASIC. Furthermore, results from single- and multi-bit biotelemetry measurements showed a high signal fidelity with low Bit-Error-Rate (BER) while being able to resolve varying tissue temperatures measured by the biosensor in our system. CONCLUSION: We realized a POC system in which on-chip transistor switching in an ASIC can be used to achieve backscatter communication and biosensing. This system is deployable in neural and GI applications. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings in this work will provide an important practical basis for the design and development of RFID ASIC for biosensing and biotelemetry in medical applications.

Assessment of contamination level, pollution risk and source apportionment of heavy metals in the Halda River water, Bangladesh.

This study demonstrates the level of heavy metal pollution in the Halda River, the only natural breeding source of carps in Bangladesh. Water was collected from 12 different sampling points along the Halda River. Water at various locations was found satisfactory in terms of the assessed physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids). The presence of various cations and anions was also studied using ion chromatography. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to identify and quantify various heavy metals in the collected water samples. Among the heavy metals, Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb, Cu, and As concentration exceeded the safe limit suggested by WHO. The calculated heavy metal pollution index and metal index were found higher than the critical index value. The single-factor assessment (P i ) and Nemerow's multi-factor index (P N ) of heavy metals was calculated to find out the degree of pollution in the Halda River. The maximum values of P i (Cd), P i (Pb), P i (As), P i (Cu), and P i (Cr) were determined to be 26.67, 260.00, 17.00, 208.76 and 2.80 respectively. The maximum value of P N was found to be 289.04. The discharge of effluents from various large and small industries near the Halda River is considered to be the major source of the identified heavy metals. Multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis, Pearson correlation matrix and cluster analysis revealed that most of the heavy metals originated from different anthropogenic sources. Multivariate analysis also showed that Co, Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, NH4 +, NO3 - mainly came from artificial sources whereas Fe, Ca, As mainly originated from natural sources. Arsenic (As) also came from artificial sources with Cu.

Lactoferricin-Derived L5a Cell-Penetrating Peptide for Delivery of DNA into Cells.

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are small peptides which help intracellular delivery of functional macromolecules, including DNAs, RNAs, and proteins, across the cell membrane and into the cytosol, and even into the nucleus in some cases. Delivery of macromolecules can facilitate transfection, aid in gene therapy and transgenesis, and alter gene expression. L5a (RRWQW), originally derived from bovine lactoferricin, is one kind of CPPs which can promote cellular uptake of plasmid DNA and enters cells via direct membrane translocation. The peptide complexes noncovalently with DNA over a short incubation period. DNA plasmid and L5a complex stability is confirmed by a decrease in mobility in a gel retardation assay, and successful transfection is proven by the detection of a reporter gene in cells using fluorescent microscopy. Here, we describe methods to study noncovalent interactions between L5a and plasmid DNA, and the delivery of L5a/DNA complexes into cells. L5a is the one of the smallest CPPs discovered to date, providing a small delivery vehicle for macromolecules in mammalian cells. A small vehicle which can enter the nucleus is ideal for efficient gene uptake, transfer, and therapy. It is simple to complex with DNA plasmids, and its nature allows mammalian cells to be easily transfected.