Background: Excess of salt consumption increases blood pressure which is a leading risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. The real salt intake practice among Bangladeshi population is still unknown which demands further research. The objective of the study was to assess the salt intake pattern among the faculties and doctors of Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 92 faculties and doctors of BUHS in 2015 using a semi-structured, self-administered and modified version of WHO STEPS questionnaire of salt intake. The questionnaire included information regarding knowledge and practice of salt intake.Results: Among the total respondents 58% were women and 60% were academicians with mean age 41.1 ±10.6 years. The prevalence of added salt intake in meal was 28.2%. Regarding practice, 31.6% used salty sauce in meal, 52.8% used salty sauce in cooking, and 41.8% consumed processed food with high salt. But almost three fourth (72.8%) of the respondents believed that lowering salt in meal is very important and 93.5% of them believed that excess salt or salty sauce can cause a health problem.Conclusion: The respondents had overall good knowledge regarding added salt intake but the practice was low. To reduce the prevalence of added salt intake further awareness needs to be developed.Cardiovasc. j. 2016; 8(2): 94-98

Background: Doctors, despite being the public health leaders, are predisposed to the early development of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This study was done to determine the prevalence of risk factors of NCDs among doctors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the doctors of a course under the Distance Learning Program at BIRDEM General Hospital, Dhaka. It was done from March 2015 to February 2016. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, and physical and biochemical measurements. However, the measured variables were collected by the investigators. WHO STEPS questionnaire V 3.1, with adaptation to the local context, was used.Results: A total of 404 (223 men and 181 women) of 451 registered doctors participated (89.6%) in the study. The prevalence of smoking was 18.8% among men, and there was no woman smoker. Among the respondents, 17% of men and 0.6% of women drank alcohol at least once in their lifetime. Low physical activity (<600 METmin/week) was reported by 44.4% of men and 34.3% of women. Less than a quarter of them (22.3%) consumed five or more servings of fruit and vegetables. Almost 13% had high blood pressure, and 44.8% were overweight or obese. A total of 3.2% were diabetic, and 5.9% had hypercholesterolemia. Conclusion:High prevalence of NCD risk factors among the doctors in this study highlights the need to create awareness among them.

Dysregulated protein synthesis is seen in many aggressive cancers, including metastatic breast cancer. However, the specific contributions of certain translation initiation factors to in vivo disease remain undefined. This is particularly true of eIF4B, an RNA-binding protein and cofactor of the RNA helicase eIF4A and associated eIF4F cap-binding complex. While eIF4A, eIF4G, and eIF4E are well-known to contribute to the progression of many cancer types including metastatic breast cancers, the role played by eIF4B in breast cancer remains relatively unclear. We therefore explored how naturally divergent and experimentally modulated eIF4B levels impact tumor growth and progression in well- characterized murine triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) models. Surprisingly, we found that higher eIF4B levels in mouse and human breast cancers were associated with less aggressive phenotypes. shRNA-mediated eIF4B knockdown in TNBC lines failed to markedly alter proliferation and global translation in the cells in vitro and only modestly hindered their growth as primary mammary tumors growth in mice. However, eIF4B knockdown significantly enhanced invasive growth in vitro and exacerbated both tumor burden and mortality relative to nontargeting shRNA controls in a model of metastatic disease. Analysis of eIF4B levels and breast cancer patient survival reinforced a link to better outcomes. Interestingly, low eIF4B expression was also associated with more formidable immune evasion in vitro and in vivo, implicating a novel immunomodulatory role for this factor in the malignant setting that suggests a mode of action beyond its historical role as a co-activator of eIF4A/F.

Background: We conducted a survey of residents in an unplanned community in Sankar, Dhaka, Bangladesh to determine perceptions of the origin and manifestation of disease with the aim to create improved interventions to increase clinical care utilization. Currently, approximately 11% of local families use the Spreeha clinic.