The present study quantifies the drying kinetics of green banana during mechanical dehydration. The effect of loading density (sample thickness) and the temperature on the drying rate constant and drying time were investigated and quantified. Drying rate increased with increasing temperature but decreased with increase in loading density. The values of exponent ‘n’ of the two parameters power law model describing the drying rate constant (as a function of thickness) were less than 2 which indicated the presence of significant external resistance to mass transfer despite the dominance of internal mass transfer resistance.  Investigation with three drying air temperatures (55, 60 and 65oC) at constant air velocity (0.6 m/sec) resulted that the increase in drying air temperature increased the drying process.  The moisture diffusivity values were 1.25×10-10, 1.67×10-10 and 2.19×10-10 m2/sec at 55, 60 and 65oC respectively. The activation energy (Ea) indicating the temperature dependence of the diffusivity was 51.21 KJ/mole obtained using Arrhenius model. Mixing of green banana flour in the potato chips formulation enhanced the fiber and mineral content in the product.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/agric.v10i1.11069The Agriculturists 2012; 10(1): 87-97

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The study was concerned with determining the drying kinetics and sorption behavior of two varieties ripe banana of Bangladesh namely, Sagor and Sabri. The fresh ripe banana collected from the local market were sliced into three different thicknesses (4 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm) and dried at 45°C, 55°C and 65°C in a cabinet dryer. The result showed that the drying rate increases with the increase in temperature and decreases with the increase in slice thickness. The sorption properties of dried banana were studied over a wide range of water activity (0.11-0.93). The BET and GAB models were fitted to the sorption data. It was found that both varieties gave sigmoid (type II) shape isotherm and GAB equation gave the much higher value of monolayer moisture content compared to BET equation. The chemical compositions of fresh and dried banana were determined. The dried products gave substantially higher solid content as well as protein, ash and carbohydrate. SAARC J. Agri., 16(2): 181-193 (2018)

This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among the chronic asthma patients attending three Institutes of Dhaka city namely National Asthma Center, The National Institute of Diseases of Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), Mohakhali, and Dhaka Medical College Hospital to assess the level of knowledge regarding inhaler use. Convenient sampling was adopted. Data were collected using one semi-structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview. The patients were aged from 18 to 75 years with mean age being 40.68 years and sd ± 11.659 years. The mean monthly income of the respondents found was 8278.52 taka with standard deviation ± 3523.315 taka. Mean duration of bronchial asthma was 9.44 years with sd±4.862 years. Out of the total 298 respondents 103(35.8%) possessed "excellent knowledge" on inhalers. Ninety one (31.6%) had "adequate knowledge", sixty nine (24.0%) had "poor knowledge" and thirty five (8.7%) respondents were found having "no knowledge" about inhalers. Males were seen having better knowledge than the females (χ 2 =66.582, df=3, p<0.001). The respondents receiving treatment from the indoor possessed better knowledge than those from the outdoors (p<0.001). Level of Knowledge was also found to be associated with the educational status of the respondents. Respondents with higher education possessed more than the respondents with lower education (p<0.001). Though most of the physicians now prescribe inhalers, but many of them do not explain the proper use of inhaler. This may be corrected through training and motivation of physicians at Medical Colleges and Hospitals and during various medical conferences and other programs. To reduce the extent of suffering and economic burden of asthma patients and their families, active education program for the patients and training program for the health care providers, regarding "inhaler use technique" demands early consideration.

There are sufficient experimental evidences to establish the relationship between the elevated level of malondealdehyde (MDA)-the lipid peroxidation product and depleted level of antioxidants (Vitamin A, E, C and glutathione) in several psychiatric disorders. But previously no study was carried out to determine these components in panic disorder (PD) patients of Bangladesh. This study was conducted to assess the serum concentration of antioxidant vitamins, MDA and glutathione in 54 panic disorder patients and 52 healthy volunteers. Patients were recruited from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh by random sampling. Serum level of MDA, glutathione and vitamin C were determined by UV spectrophotometric method whereas Vitamins A and E were detected by RP-HPLC method. Data were analyzed by independent t test and Pearson's correlation analysis. It had been found that the PD patients had low level of antioxidants like vitamin A (p=0.041) and vitamin E (p=0.018) than the healthy controls whereas the change of vitamin C is not significant. It had been found that the MDA content was significantly higher (p<0.05) in PD patients than that of controls. There was no significant difference for the glutathione content between the 2 groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient suggested that there were significant negative correlation between the glutathione level and vitamin C (p=0.013) and a positive correlation between the vitamin E and vitamin A (p=0.020) in patient group. Our study reveals that panic disorder patients have considerably higher level of MDA, lower level of antioxidant vitamins and glutathione than the healthy control subjects.