BACKGROUND The four common non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 80% of NCD-related deaths worldwide. The four NCDs share four common risk factors. As most of the existing evidence on the common NCD risk factors is based on analysis of a single factor at a time, there is a need to investigate the co-occurrence of the common NCD risk factors, particularly in an urban slum setting in sub-S...

Drosophila Ncd, a kinesin-14A family member, is essential for meiosis and mitosis. Ncd is a minus-end-directed motor protein that has an ATP-independent microtubule binding site in the tail region, which enables it to act as a dynamic crosslinker of microtubules to assemble and maintain the spindle. Although a tailless Ncd has been shown to be nonprocessive, the role of the Ncd tail in single-m...

Normalized compression distance (NCD) is a parameter-free similarity measure based on compression. The NCD between pairs of objects is not sufficient for all applications. We propose an NCD of finite multisets (multiples) of objacts that is metric and is better for many applications. Previously, attempts to obtain such an NCD failed. We use the theoretical notion of Kolmogorov complexity that f...

In most countries, people who have a low socioeconomic status and those who live in poor or marginalised communities have a higher risk of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) than do more advantaged groups and communities. Smoking rates, blood pressure, and several other NCD risk factors are often higher in groups with low socioeconomic status than in those with high socioeconomic statu...

BACKGROUND Given the worldwide proliferation of cellphones, this paper examines their potential use for the surveillance of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors in a Middle Eastern country. METHODS Data were derived from a national household survey of 2,656 adults (aged 18 years or older) in Lebanon in 2009. Responses to questions on phone ownership yielded two subsamples, the 'cell ph...

Introduction: In recent years non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors such as tobacco consumption and high blood pressure (BP) have been increased. This study aimed to determine the frequency of risk factors of the main NCDs among inhabitants of Rafsanjan city. Methods: Our study is a part of NCD surveillance in Iran (SuRF NCD). A total of 640 people enrolled and divided in four age group...

As global donors shift their efforts from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCD), it is critical to capitalize on our prior mistakes and successes. Policy makers and public health administrators are often looking for magic bullets: drugs or treatments to eradicate disease. Yet, each potential magic bullet requires consistent, daily implementation and adherence to a new set of ha...

Heads of states and governments made commitments to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Political Declaration from the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs in September, 2011. A key commitment in the Political Declaration calls upon WHO to develop a comprehensive global monitoring framework to assess progress in the implementation of national strategies and plans for ...

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH Regular, physical activity is associated with increased life expectancy and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and osteoporosis. It has been suggested that promoting physical activity is “public health’s best buy”. However, most people are not regularly active and the challenge remains as to how “more people” can ...