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Nowadays, traffic congestion is a significant issue globally. The vehicle quantity has grown dramatically, while road and transportation infrastructure capacities have yet to expand proportionally to handle the additional traffic effectively. Road congestion and traffic-related pollution have increased, which is detrimental to society and public health. This paper proposes a novel reinforcement learning (RL)-based method to reduce traffic congestion. We have developed a sophisticated Deep Q-Network (DQN) and integrated it smoothly into our system. In this study, Our implemented DQL model reduced queue lengths by 49% and increased incentives for each lane by 9%. The results emphasize the effectiveness of our method in setting strong traffic reduction standards. This study shows that RL has excellent potential to improve both transport efficiency and sustainability in metropolitan areas. Moreover, utilizing RL can significantly improve the standards for reducing traffic and easing urban traffic congestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Undernutrition in children under 5 years of age is one of the most important measurements of assessing the excellence of human life as it confirms healthy growth in early childhood. The main objective of this study is to understand the potential patterns and factors of undernutrition in children under 5 years of age in Bangladesh from 2007 to 2017. Methods: Four cross-sectional rounds of data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (2007, 2011, 2014, and 2017) were used for this study. The ordinal logistic regression model was applied to explore the association between selected factors and undernutrition status (stunting, wasting, and underweight). Results: For stunting, the age of the child emerged as a significant factor. Between 2007 and 2017, older children (12–59 months) consistently exhibited a higher likelihood of severe stunting. In 2017, children aged 48–59 months had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.61 [confidence interval (CI): 1.34, 1.94] compared to those aged 0–11 months, a decrease from 3.04 (CI: 2.50, 3.71) in 2007. Regional disparities were notable, with children from the Sylhet division increasingly at risk. The OR for Sylhet rose from 1.02 (CI: 0.85, 1.22) in 2007 to 1.66 (CI: 1.35, 2.04) in 2017. In addition, socioeconomic factors shifted over time: OR for the poorest households decreased from 1.45 (CI: 1.21, 1.74) in 2007 to 1.18 (CI: 0.99, 1.42) in 2017, while children of mothers with higher education saw a consistent effect, with OR of 0.55 (CI: 0.38, 0.77) in 2007 and 0.49 (CI: 0.37, 0.66) in 2017. Over the survey years 2007, 2014, and 2017, girls were consistently less likely to be wasted than boys. In 2007, OR for girls was 0.86 (CI: 0.74, 0.99), slightly decreasing to 0.81 (CI: 0.68, 0.96) in 2017. Children of mothers with higher education were also less likely to be wasted compared to those of mothers without education. OR for children of mother with higher education was 0.79 (CI: 0.52, 1.20) in 2007, decreasing to 0.51 (CI: 0.35, 0.75) in 2017. In 2017, children aged 48–59 months had an OR of 1.84 (CI: 1.51, 2.24) for being underweight compared to those aged 0–11 months, slightly lower than the OR of 2.10 (CI: 1.75, 2.53) in 2007. In addition, in 2017, children from the richest families had OR of 0.68 (CI: 0.53, 0.87), consistent with that of 0.65 (CI: 0.52, 0.80) observed in 2007. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions addressing the specific needs of older children, those from low-income families, and regions with persistent disparities. Strengthening educational initiatives, enhancing nutritional programs, and promoting equitable healthcare access are crucial for sustaining the progress in reducing undernutrition in children under 5 years in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perception of social support among patients with advanced diseases is influenced by various factors. The socio-cultural context of Bangladesh significantly shapes the experience of patients with advanced cancer and their perception of social support. This study's aim was to assess the perceived social support by these patients and investigate the factors that shape their perception. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 115 advanced cancer patients admitted to the palliative medicine department of a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Perceived social support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Perceived social support was moderate to high for most (74.7%) of the participants. The majority (97.4%) perceived moderate to high level of support from their families. The lowest level of support was perceived from friends (53%). Factors such as economic status, family size, companionship of children, and emotional support from spouses influenced the level of perceived social support. Social support is one of the important aspects of palliative care. Identifying the factors influencing the perception of social support among cancer patients is essential for palliative care professionals to effectively address their care needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the healthcare domain, the essential task is to understand and classify diseases affecting the vocal folds (VFs). The accurate identification of VF disease is the key issue in this domain. Integrating VF segmentation and disease classification into a single system is challenging but important for precise diagnostics. Our study addresses this challenge by combining VF illness categorization and VF segmentation into a single integrated system. We utilized two effective ensemble machine learning methods: ensemble EfficientNetV2L-LGBM and ensemble UNet-BiGRU. We utilized the EfficientNetV2L-LGBM model for classification, achieving a training accuracy of 98.88%, validation accuracy of 97.73%, and test accuracy of 97.88%. These exceptional outcomes highlight the system's ability to classify different VF illnesses precisely. In addition, we utilized the UNet-BiGRU model for segmentation, which attained a training accuracy of 92.55%, a validation accuracy of 89.87%, and a significant test accuracy of 91.47%. In the segmentation task, we examined some methods to improve our ability to divide data into segments, resulting in a testing accuracy score of 91.99% and an Intersection over Union (IOU) of 87.46%. These measures demonstrate skill of the model in accurately defining and separating VF. Our system's classification and segmentation results confirm its capacity to effectively identify and segment VF disorders, representing a significant advancement in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and healthcare in this specialized field. This study emphasizes the potential of machine learning to transform the medical field's capacity to categorize VF and segment VF, providing clinicians with a vital instrument to mitigate the profound impact of the condition. Implementing this innovative approach is expected to enhance medical procedures and provide a sense of optimism to those globally affected by VF disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer patients experience significant changes in their social roles along with various physical and psychological challenges. Despite the growing recognition of the importance of palliative care in Bangladesh, there is a notable gap in research focusing on the psychosocial issues faced by patients with advanced cancer. Aim: This study aims to explore the level of social support perceived by Bangladeshi cancer patients and determine how this support relates to their mental health status. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 115 advanced cancer (stages III and IV) patients admitted to the palliative medicine department of a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Perceived social support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the mental health status of the patients was assessed by Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. Data collection was done from June to November 2023. Relationships between perceived social support, depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed by the Spearman correlation test. The moderating effect of perceived social support on patients' mental health variables was determined by multiple linear regression and simple slope analysis. p Value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Result: The study included an almost equal number of male (49.6%) and female (50.4%) patients, with a mean age of 50.7 ± 14.4 years. Overall, perceived social support was moderate to high for most (74.7%) of the participants. Among the participants, 78.3% experienced anxiety, 77.4% suffered from depression, and 70.5% experienced stress. Depression, anxiety, and stress were all negatively and significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with perceived social support. Younger patients reported higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Perceived social support had a significant buffering effect on depression and anxiety among the younger patients. Conclusion: Perceived social support has a profound and significant effect on the mental health of advanced cancer patients. Integrating psychosocial support early in palliative care can be highly beneficial to the mental health of these patients. Plain language summary: Social support and mental health of cancer patients This cross-sectional study was conducted among 115 patients with advanced cancer (stages III and IV) admitted to the palliative medicine department of a tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. The majority of the patients with advanced cancer suffer from depression and anxiety and experience high level of stress. Younger patients report more of these psychological issues. High level of perceived social support is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. It acts as a buffer against these negative emotions. Patients who experienced a high level of social support while dealing with physical pain reported less depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stroke poses the greatest disease burden in hospital admission among the non communicable diseases (NCD's). In majority of cases haemorrhagic stroke is the common neurological problem. Many of the patients develop swallowing difficulty and require nasogastric feeding for maintenance of nutrition. But this feeding can be a double-edged sword as it can lead to many complications due to various factors including errors in the feeding method, dislodgement of the tube and many other causes. Our intention was to look into this neglected part of clinical practice as this is mostly handled by internists. Objectives: To evaluate the complications of nasogastric tube feeding practice on haemorrhagic stroke patients. Materials and methods: One hundred (100) adult patients aged between 18-70 years with haemorrhagic strokeas enrolled in the study. Haemorrhagic stroke was diagnosed by the clinical presentation, neuroimaging (CT scan/MRI). Patients requiring nasogastric tube feeding were included in the study. They were systematically examined for any complications related to use of nasogastric tube. Their caregivers were also thoroughly interviewed using a standard pre formed questionnaire regarding any complications as well. All data were be collected by using a preformed data sheet and results were presented in standard method after statistical analysis. Results: Of the 100 patients studied, most common age group for stroke was 51-60 years (53%). Male to female ratio was 2.22:1. In this study population, 70% had intracerebral haemorrhage, 24% had sub arachnoid haemorrhage and 6% had aneurysmal haemorrhage. The most common indication for NG feeding was difficulty in swallowing (39%). Other common indications were semi consciousness (26%), unconsciousness (22%), inability to maintain feed (10%). Around 71 % of the patients had complications from NG tube feeding. Out of them, 53% of the patients had nasal irritation where 63.15%was suffering from intracerebral haemorrhage, 31.57% and 5.26% were suffering from subarachnoid haemorrhagic and aneurysmal haemorrhage respectively. 40 % patients developed aspiration pneumonia, out of them 65.51%wasintracerebral haemorrhage, 31.03% was subarachnoid haemorrhagie ,3.44% was aneurysmal haemorrhage. 38% of the patients were developed diarrhea. Diarrhoea was reported by 66.66%, 29.62%, 3.70% in intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhagic and aneurysmal haemorrhage respectively. 53% had tube blockage, out of them intracerebral haemorrhage 71.05%, subarachnoid haemorrhage 23.68%, aneurysmal haemorrhage 2.63%. 43% of the patients had electrolyte imbalance, among them intracerebral haemorrhage 67.74% and subarachnoid haemorrhage 32.25%. Tube displacement was experienced by intracerebral haemorrhage 74.16%, subarachnoid haemorrhage 25.80% and 18% of the patients were malnourished. Conclusion: NG tube feeding is an integral part of management of stroke patients with feeding difficulties. But often it is associated with various complications which can increase the morbidities in stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Noise induced hearing loss is a common and avoidable occupational hazards in urban environments. People in high noise area suffer from hearing impairment. They are considered as social burden in their late life. Identifying risk groups and providing them a safe occupational environment is the responsibility of welfare state. Aims and Objectives: To compare hearing between noise exposed traffic police with polices not exposed to high noise. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Rajarbagh police line hospital from July 2015 to November 2016 where 180 police personnel were enrolled and divided into two groups for comparison with mean duration of work in police force 11.06 years in group-I and 10.48 years in group-II. Work hours of traffic police was 8 hours per day. Result: 37.7% of traffic police found to suffer from mild and 41.75% suffer from moderate degree of hearing loss that need attention of appropriate authority. Conclusion: Environmental pollution in Dhaka city is very high. High noise is a risk factors for occupational hazards that must be looked after by civil society and law enforcing agency to implement sound pollution act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomatoes are essential fruits in numerous nations for their vast demand. It is very important to maintain the freshness of tomatoes. One of the primary challenges in the recent culinary landscape is accurately identifying healthy tomatoes while effectively eliminating damaged or rejected ones. Existing approaches employ various strategies for categorizing tomato fruit, but they often suffer from inaccuracies, slow detection, and suboptimal performance. Thus, motivated by this gap, in this paper, we propose a novel machine learning (ML) framework, ViT-SENet-Tom, which is a hybrid vision transformer (ViT) model with squeeze and excitation (SENet) block network for fast, accurate, and efficient tomato fruit classification. The framework works on three tomato classes, respectively, the ripe, unripe, and reject. In developing the proposed model, we utilized advanced and newly designed layers and functions. This integration created a more complex and sophisticated neural network, significantly enhancing efficiency and contributing to the model’s novelty. Our chosen dataset was small initially, but we implemented augmentation techniques to increase its size. This approach made our system more reliable, efficient, and effective. The hybrid ViT-SENet framework employs encoders and self-attention networks with squeeze and excitation channel functions to allow precise, robust, fast, and efficient tomato classification. In simulation, the framework achieves a training accuracy of 99.87% and validation accuracy of 93.87%, indicating the precise classification of tomatoes. Besides, this work tests accuracy using fivefold cross-validation. The highest accuracy seen at fold-5 is 99.90%. These testing results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework in real-deployment scenarios. The implementation has the potential to provide enhanced and more sustainable food security and safety in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop jute-reinforced polypropylene composites by incorporating low-heat conductive silica aerogel for enhanced thermal performance, envisioning their utilization as heat-insulating panels in buildings. The fabrication of hybrid composites using a heat press molding technique showed a significant improvement in thermal properties due to incorporating aerogel into the material. The lowest obtained thermal conductivity of hybrid composite was 0.0986 W/m·K, which was almost halved (0.1704 W/m·K) to the material without aerogel. The radiative heat resistance of hybrid composites was also improved with the aerogel in the material. Additionally, composites with higher amounts of aerogel showed superior flame resistance and thermal stability at high temperatures. The hybrid composites, however, demonstrated a decrease in tensile strength due to the presence of aerogel particles at the interface of composites. The composite without aerogel displayed the highest tensile strength of 64.67 MPa, which was the lowest (47.87 MPa) for the material with the maximum amount of aerogel. The fractographic investigation also revealed the existence of aerogel particles and their random distribution at the interface of the material. The low water absorption owing to reduced interfacial vacuities and the existence of super-hydrophobic aerogel in the interior of composites indicated their durability in humid conditions without deteriorating the dimensional stability. The outcomes of the study revealed a considerable effect of aerogel on the thermal performance of composites and ascertained their excellence as a prospective heat-insulating material for conserving thermal energy by minimizing heat transfer from inside to outside of the building and vice versa. [Display omitted] • Silica aerogel incorporated jute–PP hybrid bio-composite was developed for structural applications. • The aerogel composites demonstrated greater resistance to conductive and radiative heat. • The hybrid composites showed better flame resistance and superior thermal stability at high temperatures. • The durable application of composites in a humid ambiance has been confirmed by their low water absorption. • The hybrid composite demonstrated the potential of utilizing them as a heat-insulating material in various structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading cancers among the Bangladeshi women. Coping helps these patients to adjust with this life-changing disease. Each individual has unique and different coping mechanism. But we know a little regarding their coping strategies. This study aims to explore the different coping strategies adopted by the women with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer attending the palliative care unit and their relationship with the common mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 95 patients with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer attending the Department of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh from April 2021 to September 2021. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire adapted from Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS), Brief COPE inventory and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scale. Pearson correlation test was used to find the relationships between various domains of coping strategies and psychological variables. Correlation matrix was done to observe the internal correlation among different coping strategies. Kruskal-Wallis H test was done to find the relationship between different coping strategies and ECOG performance status. Result: The mean age of the respondents was 48.9 ± 9.9 years. Most of them were married (94.7%), Muslim (92.6%) and homemakers (82.1%). Commonly used coping strategies by the patients were: acceptance (median 10; IQR 10), religion (median 9; IQR 8–10) and instrumental support (median 9; IQR 6–10). Significantly strong positive correlation was found between emotional and instrumental support (R = 0.7; p = 0.01), planning, acceptance and active coping (R = 0.7; p = 0.01); behavioral disengagement, self distraction and denial (R = 0.5; p = 0.01). Significantly fair negative correlation was observed between active coping and depression (R = -0.4, p <0.001). Patients with better performance status on ECOG scale (Grade 0–2) leaned more on the positive coping strategies like instrumental support, emotional support, positive reframing and venting. Conclusion: Different coping strategies, especially positive coping helps the patients to adapt with their disease over time. All women suffering from breast cancer should be routinely screened and assessed for psychological distress and ensure early intervention and management to promote a better quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition is prevalent among children in developing countries. The cause of malnutrition, although complex, can be attributed to demographic factors, household food wastage, and food insecurity. This study aims to determine the under-five nutritional status of children and its association with household food wastage and food security in the Samarahan division in Sarawak, Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving 304 children from rural areas of Asajaya and Samarahan District using a random sampling technique. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the parents. The nutritional status of the children was assessed by anthropometry. IBM SPSS Version 27.0 and WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 were used for data analysis. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Analysis revealed that 9.5% of the children were moderately wasted, followed by 5.9% who were severely wasted; 20.4% were moderately stunted and 8.9% were severely stunted. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that male gender (AOR = 1.931, 95% CI: 1.139, 3.274; p<0.05), low birth weight (AOR =2.645, 95% CI: 1.245, 5.618, p<0.05), poor appetite (AOR = 2.547; 95% CI: 1.298, 4.995, p<0.05), and preventive attitude (AOR = 0.460, 95% CI: 0.227, 0.929, p < 0.05) of household food wastage appeared to be significant predictors of nutritional status. However, household food insecurity had a negative correlation but did not significantly impact the nutritional status. CONCLUSION: Under-five malnutrition was prevalent in the study area and still a public health concern. Although the study did not find any significant association between household food wastage and food security towards the nutritional status of children, addressing the nutritional problem warranted an appropriate Public Health approach for the specific group, especially the modifiable risk factors such as birth weights, appetite, and attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mucosal vaccines have the potential to elicit protective immune responses at the point of entry of respiratory pathogens, thus preventing even the initial seed infection. Unlike licensed injectable vaccines, mucosal vaccines comprising protein subunits are only in development. One of the primary challenges associated with mucosal vaccines has been identifying and characterizing safe yet effective mucosal adjuvants that can effectively prime multi-factorial mucosal immunity. In this study, we tested NanoSTING, a liposomal formulation of the endogenous activator of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway, cyclic guanosine adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP), as a mucosal adjuvant. We formulated a vaccine based on the H1 antigen (fusion protein of Ag85b and ESAT-6) adjuvanted with NanoSTING. Intranasal immunization of NanoSTING-H1 elicited a strong T-cell response in the lung of vaccinated animals characterized by (a) CXCR3+ KLRG1− lung resident T cells that are known to be essential for controlling bacterial infection, (b) IFNγ-secreting CD4+ T cells which is necessary for intracellular bactericidal activity, and (c) IL17-secreting CD4+ T cells that can confer protective immunity against multiple clinically relevant strains of Mtb. Upon challenge with aerosolized Mycobacterium tuberculosis Erdman strain, intranasal NanoSTING-H1 provides protection comparable to subcutaneous administration of the live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis vaccine strain Bacille–Calmette–Guérin (BCG). Our results indicate that NanoSTING adjuvanted protein vaccines can elicit a multi-factorial immune response that protects from infection by M. tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study was aimed to evaluate the association between serumD-dimer, serum Ferritin with disease severity in patents havingCOVID-19.Methods:Total 80 confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this cross sectional study. Samples were assessed by positive SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR testing and were collected from two tertiary Hospitals(IbnSina Medical College Hospital and Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital and Research Institute).We also performed CT findings of COVID patients with or without pulmonary involvement. COVIDpositive patients were divided into two groups (Group 1 and Group2) according to lungs involvement confirmed by CT-scan. In this analysis, several variables such as gender, age, D-dimer and serum ferritin were taken.Results: The Mean of D-dimer in Group-1 subjects was 4.26±3.60mg/L and in Group-2, this was 0.59±1.08mg/L. So D-dimer level was significantly raised in COVIDpneumonic patient (P value = <0.001). The mean of ferritin(554.65±515.841)ng/ml for pneumonic patient was also highly significant than the mean(133.70±109.22)ng/ml of COVID without pneumonia. Conclusion:D-dimer and S. ferritin were elevated in patients with COVID-19. These two reliable biomarkers are correlate with the disease severity and useful for better management of COVID positive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Smoking is a public health concern that contributes to non-communicable disease fatalities. Nearly five million Malaysians aged 15 years and above are estimated to be smokers. Quitting smoking is complicated and challenging for most smokers to attempt and succeed. Not everyone enjoys it, but some have decided and/or tried to stop smoking completely. This study aimed at identifying predictors of quit smoking attempts. Methods: The researchers designed a cross-sectional study conducted in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Data from 777 smokers were collected via face-to-face interview using a validated structured questionnaire. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with quit smoking attempts by IBM SPSS version 22.0. A p-value of =.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The average age of the smokers was 43.46 years old, with the male to female ratio of 8.96:1. The median age of starting and being regular smoking were 20 and 23 years, respectively. The hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis revealed that motivation (ß=.220, p<.001), intention to quit (ß=.148, p<.001), age at regular smoking (ß=.131, p<.01), gender (ß=.088, p<.01) appeared to be significant predictors of quit smoking attempt. Self-efficacy (ß=-.101, p<.05) had a negative effect on quit smoking. However, nicotine dependency and the age of respondents did not affect smoking cessation. Conclusion: Smoking cessation motivation, intention, and age of regular smokers were associated with quit attempts. Therefore, the aim of a future campaign should be to reinforce motivation, increase the level of intention and self-esteem for successful smoking cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work, the entropy generation due to radiation and variable viscosity magnetohydrodynamic effects with a porous medium in a circular pipe, has been obtained and studied numerically. The governing continuity, momentum, and energy equations in cylindrical coordination are converted into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by means of similarity transformation. The resulting system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations is solved numerically by a Runge-Kutta method and shooting technique. Numerical results are presented for velocity, temperature profiles, pressure profile, entropy generation rates, and Bejan number for different physical parameters of the problem. Also, the effects of the pertinent parameters on the skin friction and the rate of heat transfer are obtained and discussed numerically and illustrated graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 is associated with hyperinflammatory syndrome causing worsening of disease severity. SLE is a rare autoimmune disease. Concomitant presence of both diseases may worsen COVID-19. Objective: To characterize patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) affected by COVID-19 and to observe medications on COVID-19 outcomes. Methodology: SLE with confirmed COVID-19 patients on Hydroxychloroquine admitted in COVID dedicated hospital in Dhaka was included. Data were prospectively collected via a structured questionnaire form and review of medical records. Only hospital outcomes were observed. Results: Total 17 patients were included, 11 of them had only SLE, 5 had lupus nephritis and only 1 had CNS lupus. All of them had confirmed COVID-19 detected by RT-PCR. 17 (100%) were taking immunomodulator (Hydroxychloro-quine), 7 (41.2%) steroids, 5 (29.4%) taking Mycophenolate mofetil before having COVID-19. Eleven (64.7%) of them had mild to moderate severity where 4 (23.5%) had severe & 2 (11.8%) had critical conditions. Of those 17 patients, 11 required supplemental oxygen (64.7%) during hospitalization, 2 (11.8%) admitted into ICU and required mechanical ventilation. Fifteen of them were discharged after 11 days (minimum 9, maximum 21) where 2 (11.8%) died due to hypoxic respiratory failure. Seven patients out of eleven who required supplemental oxygen were on prednisolone before illness only suffered mild to moderate illness. Conclusion: Previous intake of immunosuppressants like Hydroxychloroquine & Mycophenolate mofetil before admission to hospital did not seem to influence the severity of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the pancreatic cancer can occur pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) that can be detected by measurement of fecal elastase-1 level. The aim of this study was to identify the proportion and the degree of PEI, proportion of steatorrhea in pancreatic cancer, the concentration difference offaecal elastase-1 between resectable and unresectable pancreatic cancer and mean concentration difference of faecal elastase-1 based on the stage of pancreatic cancer. Method: This was a cross-sectional study to determine the concentration difference offaecal elastase-1 between resectable and unresectable pancreatic cancer. This research was conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital, several network hospitals of Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital, and Wahidin Sudirohusodo Makasar hospital from November 2014 until May 2015. The statistical test used to assess differences in the levels of faecal elastase-1 between resectable and unresectable pancreatic cancer was Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test was performed to assess the differences between the mean levels of faecal elastase 1 based on stagingpancreatic cancer. Results: A total of 48 subjects with pancreatic cancer participated in this study, with resectable category was 19 (39.6%) subjects, and 29 (60.4%) subjects were unresectable. The proportion of patients w-ilhpancreatic cancer who experienced PEI was 75% (95% CI: 0.63 - 0.87) and the proportion ofpatients with pancreatic cancer who showed steatorrhea symptomswas 68.8% (95% CI: 0.557 - 0.819). There was no significant difference offaecal elastase-1 levels (P = 0.738) between the resectable and unresectable whereas the resectable group median value was 38.0 (15-500) pg/g and in unresectable group was 35.0 (15-500) pg/g. There was no significant difference (p = 0.767) in faecal elastase-1 levels based on the stage of pancreatic cancer with median (range) in stage IB 36 (15-100)pg/g, stagellA 62 (15-500)pg/g, stagelll 15 (15-500) pg/g, andstagelV 36 (15-500) pg/g. Conclusion: This study found a high proportion of PEI and steatorrhea in pancreatic cancer. There was no significant difference infaecal elastase-1 levels between the resectable and unresectable pancreatic cancer. There was no significant difference between mean levels of faecal elastase-1 based on the stage of pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Peritonitis secondary to gastrointestinal perforation is one of the commonest surgical emergencies encountered all over the world. This study was done to highlight the spectrum of perforation peritonitis encountered in surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Method: It was observational prospective of 100 cases of perforation peritonitis treated in our hospital. All cases of perforative peritonitis whether spontaneous, infective or neoplastic pathology were included in this study. Results: The maximum numbers of patients were in age group between 31 to 40 years (39 %) with mean age 35 years. Male female ratio was 9:1. The most common aetiology of perforation peritonitis was peptic ulcer disease (73%) followed by enteric fever (12%), appendicitis (10%), tuberculosis (3%) and malignancy (2%). The most common sites of perforation were in descending order of frequency - first part of the duodenum (65%), terminal ileum (12%), appendix (10%), gastric antrum (9%), jejunum (3%) and rectum (1%). Abdominal pain (100%) and vomiting (81%) were the most common symptoms while tachycardia (96%), muscle guard and rigidity (100%) were the common signs. Approximately 15-20% presented late with features of shock. Mortality rate was 2% and was significantly high in patients coming hospital late. Conclusion: Gastrointestinal perforations are one of the most common surgical emergencies. Duodenal perforations are most common. Ileal perforations secondary to enteric fever have highest morbidity. Early recognition and timely appropriate intervention is very important in reducing morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of thermophoresis on a magnetic field generation in a non‐Daracian porous medium flow with the variation of the viscosity fluid in the presence of Soret and Dufour, thermal reaction and diffusion effects over a stretching surface is investigated in the present analysis. The governing equations of continuity, momentum, energy, and concentration are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations, using similarity transformations and then solved numerically. The influence of various physical parameters on velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are illustrated graphically, and the physical aspects are discussed in detail. Finally, the effects of related physical parameters on the skin friction, the rate of heat and mass transfer are also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Jute reinforced low heat conductive bio-composite was developed for structural applications. • The performance of composites was compared with the commercial gypsum board. • Jute composites exhibited a significantly higher tensile and flexural strength. • Superior conductive and radiative heat resistance were observed for composites. • The developed composite demonstrated its potential to be utilized for heat insulation in buildings. Global environmental awareness and stringent regulations laid the foundation for utilizing natural fibers alternative to synthetic fibers in polymeric composites due to their biodegradability and low carbon footprint. This research demonstrates the fabrication of natural jute-reinforced polypropylene biocomposite and investigates its utilization for heat insulation in buildings. Different volume fractions of cellulosic jute fiber as reinforcement were used to fabricate jute-polypropylene (jute-PP) composites, and mechanical and thermal performance was assessed by comparing them with the commercial gypsum board. The developed composites exhibited considerably higher tensile and flexural strength than the commercial specimen because of strong interfacial adhesion between jute fiber and polypropylene. Such stable bonding at the interface of reinforcement and matrix was also confirmed by the fractographic investigation. The thermal characteristics, including the low thermal conductivity and enhanced conductive and radiative heat resistance, revealed the superior thermal barrier performance of jute–PP composites compared to their commercial counterpart. The developed composites also demonstrated almost comparable flame resistance due to the presence of lignin in jute fiber. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed the inferior thermal stability of jute–PP composites at high temperatures. Besides, the low water absorption because of reduced interfacial vacuity indicated the potentiality of using jute–PP composites in the structure with durability. Hence, designing green buildings utilizing such heat-insulating engineered biocomposites is expected to alleviate the burgeoning global carbon dioxide emission associated with the energy consumption of buildings and promote the sustainable growth of this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus is a common morbid disease in young adult patients with high recurrence rate. There are several surgical procedures for managing pilonidal sinus. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of limberg flap reconstruction surgery for the management of sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus. Methods: A prospective study was conducted over a period of more than two years from January 2017 to June 2019. A total of 21 patients were included in this study. All patients underwent Limberg flap reconstruction. Data collected in data collection sheet regarding demographic data, post operative complications and analyzed in tabulated form. Results: Total 21 patients were included in our study. Age ranged from 20-50 years. Male were 18(85.71%) and female were 3(14.29%). Post operative complications were seroma 2(9.52%), wound infection 1(4.76%). But no flap necrosis and recurrence had occurred. Conclusion: Limberg flap for reconstruction of the defect after excision of sacroccoccygeal pilonidal sinus is an effective and safe technique with low complication rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research has designed and prepared a protective clothing layer by integrating porous silica aerogel with nonwoven fabrics for simultaneous chemical and thermal protection. Protective interlining having resistance to heat and liquid chemical penetration was developed by sandwiching randomly distributed aerogel particles between viscose nonwoven fabric layers. The nonwoven layer and aerogel particle layer were explored by analysing fabric surface morphology. Physical characterization of the test specimens revealed that the weight and thickness of fabric increased after the integration of aerogel particles. Consequently, improved chemical resistance and thermal resistance were observed in the aerogel–nonwoven fabrics with higher aerogel concentration. For clothing comfort, the high air permeability indicated sufficient breathability by transferring air and water vapour from the body to the atmosphere and vice versa through apparel. Improved evaporative transmittance and cooling index of aerogel–fabrics suggested that the fabric will create a favourable thermal comfort microenvironment between the skin and apparel. For wear comfort regarding wet clinginess, the high water uptake and evaporation rate of the fabric specimens indicated their ability to retain and evaporate large amounts of perspiration vapour in a hot and humid atmosphere. The overall performance of the aerogel–nonwoven fabrics suggested that the integration of silica aerogel with viscose nonwoven fabric is a prospective approach for developing protective interlining that will provide reliable chemical and thermal protection as well as adequate clothing comfort to the wearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is by far the most common form of arthritis characterized by focal loss of articular cartilage, subchondral osteosclerosis, osteophyte formation at the joint margin, and remodeling of joint contour with enlargement of affected joints. This randomized, clinical trial aimed to compare the effectiveness of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) as individual treatments and PRP in combination with HA in the treatment of mild to moderate knee Osteoarthritis (OA). The study was conducted among 89 patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Patients were randomly allocated to one of the three interventions: HA (n=30), PRP (n=30), or HA+PRP (n=29). Patients in HA group received 3 intra-articular knee injections with 1 week interval while patients in PRP group and PRP+HA group received 2 intra-articular knee injections with 2 week interval. Functional outcome of the treatment were evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) questionnaire at baseline and after 1,3,6 and 9 months of treatment. Majority of the patients in all groups were female where mean age of the patients were about 50 years. Pain scores in VAS scale significantly reduced in PRP group when compared to HA group and also in PRP+HA when compared to HA group which persist till nine months (p<0.05). No significant statistical difference was found in VAS scores between PRP and PRP+ HA group. WOMAC pain scores also significantly reduced in PRP group when compared to HA group and also in PRP+HA when compared to HA group (p<0.05). WOMAC stiffness significantly reduced in PRP+ HA group when compared to HA group at three month (p<0.001) and at six month (p=0.011). At nine month, physical activity scores significantly reduced in PRP group compared to HA group (p=0.002) and in PRP+HA when compared to HA group (p<0.001). No significant reduction was observed in WOMAC scores when the outcome of PRP+HA was compared with PRP alone. PRP provides better functional outcome than HA. The combination of PRP and HA also provides better outcome than HA alone but does not provide better outcome than PRP alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emergency tracheostomy is the commonest surgical intervention performed as lifesaving procedure by ENT surgeons on patients in emergency room of ENT and ICU. Several operative and postoperative complications have been reported after tracheostomy including fatal hemorrhage. Massive subcutaneous neck emphysema occurred because ventilation started at the time when the hemorrhage was not completely managed and the tracheal tube was not fully secured. Objective: This study was conducted to compare haemorrhage and surgical emphysema as complication of emergency tracheostomy among patients admitted in Department of ENT and Head-Neck Surgery in Dhaka Medical College & Hospital. Methods and Materials: This was a Cross Sectional Study conducted in the ENT and Head-Neck Surgery Department, Dhaka Medical College Hospital from July 2015 to June 2016. A total of 90 patients were included who fulfilled the selection criteria. Non probability convenient sampling was used to collect data. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 21. Results: Mean± SD of the study subjects was 49.84±17.4 years with most patients belonged to 40-79 years age group. 28.9% patients had habit of smoking and betel nut chewing. (48.9%) patients suffered from Ca larynx. Out of 90 tracheostomy patients, 40(44.4%) patients had had different complications including haemorrhage (13.3%), surgical emphysema (10%), haemorrhage with surgical emphysema (6.7%), tube blockage (3.3%), wound infection (3.3%) and injury to local tissue (2.2%). Haemorrhage occurs from anterior jugular vein, middle thyroid veins and thyroid gland and included peroperative haemorrhage (7.8%), immediate post-operative haemorrhage, <24 hours, (4.43%) and late post-operative haemorrhage (1.2%). Conclusion: In this study, haemorrhage followed by surgical emphysema and haemorrhage with surgical emphysema were found as major complications following emergency tracheostomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to create both protective performance and thermal comfort of polyurethane (PU)-coated clothing by integrating a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) on cotton fabric. A protective surface on the fabric against chemical and water penetration was developed by coating the fabric with PU and SAP and characterised by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Surface wettability and liquid chemical-resistant properties of the coated fabrics were evaluated by measuring water contact angle, water repellency rating and chemical penetration through fabric. The experimental results demonstrated that SAP-coated cotton fabrics have almost the same water and chemical resistance properties, with no or slight deterioration in protection performance. Moreover, the coating of SAP on cotton fabric lead to improved heat and vapour transmittance that conferred much greater thermal comfort because of less sweat accumulation on the skin or inner clothing. In addition, a slight improvement in air permeability and unchanged moisture management profiles of SAP-coated fabrics indicates moisture vapour can only be diffused through coating due to strong hydrophilic nature of SAP. Integration of superabsorbent polymer on cotton fabric is a promising approach to develop protective clothing that provides simultaneous protection and thermophysiological comfort to the wearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ivermectin is a naturally-derived dihydro derivative of avermectin originating exclusively from a single microorganism isolated from Japanese soil displaying an exceptionally wide range of antiparasitic efficacy against internal and external parasites of human and domestic animals. At the outset introduced as veterinary drugs of commercial livestock and companion animals but it was quickly discovered to be ideal in tackling two of the world's most distressing and disfiguring diseases such as river blindness and elephantiasis which have besieged African countries for centuries. The kinetics of ivermectin is characterized in general terms by a slow absorption process, a broad distribution in the organism, low metabolism, and slow excretion. The pharmacokinetic parameters of ivermectin vary extensively and in accordance with many factors that can all influence the drug's plasma concentration. These factors, which include the animal species, route of administration, vehicle used in the commercial formulation, bodyweight, body condition, age, physiological status, and amount and type of nutrition, all of which contribute to differences in drug efficacy. Currently, ivermectin is one of the most important drugs for the control of endectoparasitic infection in human and veterinary medicine and was the joint focus of the 2015 Nobel Prize, some 3 decades after its remarkable discovery. Although best described for its activity on glutamate-gated chloride channels in parasites, understanding much of its therapeutic mechanism and wide array of novel targets remains to be elucidated. Today, ivermectin is continuing to surprise and excite scientists, with an extensive use and an enormous success as well as showing novel promise against a diverse range of human and animal diseases round the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stroke survivors experience long-term physical, psychosocial and cognitive impairment that are formidable challenges to caregivers because caring for stroke survivors needs explicit knowledge and caregivers have to endure the stressfulness as a result of caring. In addition, little is known about perceived benefits of the stroke care giving experience. Objectives: This study was aimed to determine the caregivers' burden and challenges as reported by caregivers of stroke survivors. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 18 stroke caregivers. The data were collected from November 2015 to June 2016 at a conveniently selected community rehabilitation centre in Kuching, Sarawak. Results: The qualitative data analysis revealed that the burden was aggravated by financial problems, multiple responsibilities hold by the caregivers, behavioural changes of the stroke survivors and lack of social support during care giving. Conclusion: This study highlighted the experiences by the caregivers in caring for the stroke survivors that focused on the different needs of the caregivers. Understanding these experiences may help the service providers to provide better support and resources for caregivers in caring for stroke survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this case study the persistence of hypertension in a patient after successful coronary angioplasty was assessed. Pulse and blood pressure were recorded twice daily for 33 days at random interval. The results show the patient had high blood pressure for a total of 17 days in the 33 days of study period after Coronary Angioplasty and Stenting. The patient's blood pressure never excided above 170/90 and pulse remained normal through the study period. In the case study multiple drugs failed to control blood pressure adequately. Other external factors may play a role in failure of management of BP. Indeed the patient's lack of lifestyle modification as per advice of the physician may play a significant role in the persistence of hypertension. The patient should seek further medical assistance from specialists and drugs should be altered to control blood pressure adequately. Further investigation might be considered to rule out secondary causes of persistent hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal seizures are common in the first month of life and may impair neurodevelopmental outcome. Phenobarbitone (PB) currently represents the anti epileptic drug (AED) of choice, despite related to cognitive impairment in human subjects and limited efficacy. Intravenous levetiracetam is increasingly being used in the neonatal period to treat seizures. Presently, insufficient data about the efficacy and safety of intravenous levetriacetam in neonates, we have structured a randomized control trial with levetiracetam in the initial treatment of acute neonatal seizure. Objective: To find out the efficacy of levtiraracetam for controlling the convulsions in acute neonatal seizures compared to phenobarbitone. Methodology: The study was a randomized control trial. A total of 100 neonates from 0 day to 28 days of age irrespective of sex with clinical presentation of neonatal seizures admitted in the special care baby unit (SCABU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital were included in the study and were randomly assigned to either levetiracetam or Phenobarbitone group after matching inclusion and exclusion criteria. The outcome variables were seizure control, times taken to be seizure free, and hospital stay. Outcome was evaluated through routine monitoring up to 48 hours and followed up to discharge or death. Result: The study groups were almost similar with respect to their demographic characteristics like age, sex and gestational age. According to maternal obstetric data i.e- antenatal care (ANC), modes of delivery in the both groups were statistically not significant. Seizures status was nonsignificant in both groups. The study demonstrated that controlling the seizure with levetiracetam & Phenobarbitone were 66.0% and 34.0% respectively. Length of the hospital stay was shorter in levetiracetam group. Eventually the phenobarbitone group required more than one drug to control seizures. But immediate adverse effect was not significant in both groups. Conclusion: The study concluded that levetiracetum significantly control the convulsion in comparison to phenobarbitone as first line antiepileptic drug in the initial treatment of acute neonatal seizures. Both the modalities of treatment were found to have no adverse effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cervical spine is a highly flexible anatomy and therefore vulnerable to injuries. Unfortunately, a large number of injuries in lateral cervical X-ray images remain undiagnosed due to human errors. Computer-aided injury detection has the potential to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis. Towards building an automatic injury detection system, in this paper, we propose a deep learning-based fully automatic framework for segmentation of cervical vertebrae in X-ray images. The framework first localizes the spinal region in the image using a deep fully convolutional neural network. Then vertebra centers are localized using a novel deep probabilistic spatial regression network. Finally, a novel shape-aware deep segmentation network is used to segment the vertebrae in the image. The framework can take an X-ray image and produce a vertebrae segmentation result without any manual intervention. Each block of the fully automatic framework has been trained on a set of 124 X-ray images and tested on another 172 images, all collected from real-life hospital emergency rooms. A Dice similarity coefficient of 0.84 and a shape error of 1.69 mm have been achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was laid out at Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Mymensingh, Bangladesh during January to May, 2012 to investigate the effect of different levels of silicon application on rice growth, yield contributing characters and grain yield of BINA Dhan-8. Silicon was applied through CaSiO3 viz. 0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 g per pot. This study was carried out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. It was found that silicon (Si) supply levels significantly increased the number of panicles, number of filled grains/panicle, 1000-grain weight and grain yields per pot. The maximum grain yield 46.50 g/pot obtained from 10 g per pot Si application level. In fine it was observed that judicious supply of silicon significantly influence growth, chlorophyll content and yield potentials of rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the studied effects of thermal radiation and chemical reaction on unsteady MHD non-Newtonian (obeying Walter’s B model) fluid in porous medium. The resulting problems are solved numerically. Graphical results for various interesting parameters are presented. Also the effects of the different parameters on the skin-friction and the heat fluxes are obtained and discussed numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper includes the investigation on the dyeing performance of reactive and basic dyestuff regarding jute fiber and discusses their benefits and shortcomings. Plain woven jute fabric samples of 261 GSM were dyed with 0.5%, 1.0%, and 4.0% shade of basic and reactive dyes. Then the dyeing performance of both dyestuffs was analyzed. It has been found that exhaustion of basic dye is considerably greater than reactive dye, while this exhaustion decreases for basic dye and increases for reactive dye with the increment of respective shade percentages. This phenomenon has also been verified through the absorption curve, i.e.K/Svalue of fabric dyed with both dyestuffs in three different shade percentages. Again strong covalent bond is formed during the fixation of reactive dye with the cellulose of jute fiber, and at the same time no strong bond was created in case of basic dye. Finally the color fastness properties have been assessed through rubbing and washing. Both the dye classes have shown nearly similar ratings in case of dry rubbing. However, in case of wet rubbing and wash fastness to color change and color staining; the samples dyed with reactive dyes showed superior fastness ratings over the basic dyed samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical entropy generation and magnetohydrodynamic effects on the unsteady heat and fluid flow through a porous medium have been numerically investigated. The entropy generation due to the use of a magnetic field and porous medium effects on heat transfer, fluid friction, and mass transfer have been analyzed numerically. Using a similarity transformation, the governing equations of continuity, momentum, and energy and concentration equations, of nonlinear system, were reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations and solved numerically. The effects of unsteadiness parameter, magnetic field parameter, porosity parameter, heat generation/absorption parameter, Lewis number, chemical reaction parameter, and Brinkman number parameter on the velocity, the temperature, the concentration, and the entropy generation rates profiles were investigated and the results were presented graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid protocol using shoot tip explants for micro propagation of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) types World queen (Japan), Top yield (Japan), Sugar baby (Denmark) and Field master (Hong kong) was achieved. Shoot tips from 5 day-old in vitro germinated seedlings of each genotypes of watermelon were used as experimental materials. The effects of the different concentrations of benzyl adenine (BA) singly or in combination with a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on shoot proliferation were examined. The results confirmed that 1.0 mg/L of BA was effective in promoting the shoot length and shoot number of cultures. The combination of 1.0 mg/L of BA and 0.2 mg/L NAA was effective in promoting the multiple shoot regeneration of cultures in the four genotypes. The highest percentage of root number and root length was achieved when medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was used for the four genotypes. In vitro results obtained in this study it was found that in all cases hybrid cultivar Top yield (Japan) showed best performances compared to other cultivars. There were no significant differences found between the direct seeded and micropropagated plants of four hybrid cultivars of watermelon in field condition. All the studied parameters of watermelon plants regenerated via in vitro culture have the same values with the direct-seeded plants. The Top yield (Japan) genotype produced a significantly higher yield, number of fruit and mean fruit weight than the World queen (Japan), Sugar baby (Denmark) and Field master (Hong kong) genotypes in both direct-seeded and transplanted watermelons. In conclusion, it should be stated that in vitro propagation method can be safely recommended for the reproduction of these watermelon cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the experience with patients treated by early endoscopic realignment of complete post-traumatic rupture urethra. Methods: The cross sectional study included 30 patients in Dhaka Medical College Hospital and different private hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between April 2010 and March 2014 with post traumatic complete posterior urethral disruption. Pre-operative retrograde urethrography (RGU), micturition cysto urethrography (MCU) and ultrasonography (USG) of abdomen were performed to identify and to evaluate the Urethral defect length, the bladder neck competence, the prostate position and extend of pelvic hematoma. In second week after trauma, antegrade and retro-grade urethroscopy were performed to identify both urethral ends and insert a catheter. Before removal of catheter, Patients were followed up by pericatheter urethrogram after 4 weeks completed postoperative period. If extravasation seen, catheter was again maintained for another 2 weeks. Follow up was done by abdominal ultrasound and uroflowmetry 3 monthly up to 6 months and 6 monthly thereafter. RGU and MCU were performed 8 weeks after removal of catheter. Urinary continence and post-operative erectile dysfunction were assessed by direct patient interview. Results: 30 patients in the age group 18-60 years (mean 36 years) were treated. Patients were followed up for 12 to 36 months. Complete healing of the urethra occurred in 10 patients. Passable urethral stricture developed in 12 patients. Complete urethral obstruction occurred in 8 patients. Conclusion: Early endoscopic realignment for complete posterior urethral rupture is a feasible technique with no or minimal intra-operative complications. The technique is successful as the definite line of therapy in reasonable number of patients and it is seems to be effective Intervention for the prevention of inevitable urethral stricture formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A charge sheet model is proposed to analyze the transistor characteristics of fully depleted SOI four gate field effect transistors (G4-FETs). The model is derived assuming a parabolic potential variation between the junction-gates and by solving 2-D Poisson’s equation. The proposed model facilitates the calculation of surface potential and charge densities as a function of all gate biases. Modifying this charge sheet model for non-equilibrium condition, current–voltage and capacitance–voltage characteristics are also analyzed. Different back surface charge conditions are considered for each analysis. The models are compared with 3-D Silvaco/Atlas simulation results which show good agreement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The presence of carcinogenic dye like rhodamine B (Rh-B) in textile wastewater affects the quality of water to consumers. The adsorption of Rh-B on used black tea leaves (UBTL) was studied in batch process to investigate its removal efficiency. The effects of contact time, concentration, temperature, pH etc. on adsorption have been investigated. The UV-visible spectrophotometer was used for analysis of Rh-B at constant pH. The adsorption isotherms were constructed for different temperatures using acidic solution of pH 2.0. Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin-Raduskevich (D-R) equations were used to analyze the equilibrium adsorption data. The experimental data follows Freundlich equation more precisely compare with the Langmuir one. The maximum amount adsorbed calculated from Langmuir equation is 72.5 mg/g at 30 °C which is increased with increasing temperature. Separation factor and thermodynamic parameters revealed that the process is favorable, spontaneous and endothermic nature. Possible mechanism of the process was elucidated from the effect of solution pH on amount adsorbed. The endothermic nature of the adsorption might be due to the fragmentation of Rh-B molecules during the adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Arsenic in drinking water is an important public health issue in Bangladesh, which is affected by households’ knowledge about arsenic threats from their drinking water. In this study, spatial statistical models were used to investigate the determinants and spatial dependence of households’ knowledge about arsenic risk. The binary join matrix/binary contiguity matrix and inverse distance spatial weight matrix techniques are used to capture spatial dependence in the data. This analysis extends the spatial model by allowing spatial dependence to vary across divisions and regions. A positive spatial correlation was found in households’ knowledge across neighboring districts at district, divisional and regional levels, but the strength of this spatial correlation varies considerably by spatial weight. Literacy rate, daily wage rate of agricultural labor, arsenic status, and percentage of red mark tube well usage in districts were found to contribute positively and significantly to households’ knowledge. These findings have policy implications both at regional and national levels in mitigating the present arsenic crisis and to ensure arsenic-free water in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Arsenic in drinking water is an important public health issue in Bangladesh, which is affected by households’ knowledge about arsenic threats from their drinking water. In this study, spatial statistical models were used to investigate the determinants and spatial dependence of households’ knowledge about arsenic risk. The binary join matrix/binary contiguity matrix and inverse distance spatial weight matrix techniques are used to capture spatial dependence in the data. This analysis extends the spatial model by allowing spatial dependence to vary across divisions and regions. A positive spatial correlation was found in households’ knowledge across neighboring districts at district, divisional and regional levels, but the strength of this spatial correlation varies considerably by spatial weight. Literacy rate, daily wage rate of agricultural labor, arsenic status, and percentage of red mark tube well usage in districts were found to contribute positively and significantly to households’ knowledge. These findings have policy implications both at regional and national levels in mitigating the present arsenic crisis and to ensure arsenic-free water in Bangladesh. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Densities and viscosities of the binary systems of phenylmethanol with 2-butanone were measured for the entire composition range at T= (303.15, 308.15, 313.15, 318.15, and 323.15) K and at the atmospheric pressure. The excess molar volumes were derived from the experimental data and were fitted with the Redlich–Kister equation to obtain their coefficients and standard deviations. The Grunberg–Nissan equation was used to correlate the viscosity data. Furthermore, kinematic viscosities were compared with those predicted by the UNIFAC-VISCO model. The cause of relatively large deviations between the experimental and predicted kinematic viscosities was explored by comparing the combinatorial and residual terms of the UNIFAC-VISCO model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new concept of functionalizing solid surfaces using polymeric self-assembled monolayers (PSAM) that are obtained by grafting onto solid surfaces an asymmetric block copolymer composed of a long rodlike block and a short surface-reactive block. Poly(n-hexylisocyanate)-b-poly[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate] (PHIC-b-PTMSM) is synthesized via a living anionic polymerization and an atom transfer radical polymerization. The new rod–coil block copolymer forms a polymeric self-assembled monolayer (PSAM) through covalent bonding of the sticky PTMSM block and planar adsorption of PHIC rodlike chains onto the substrate surface. The uniform PSAM with a thickness identical to the diameter of the rodlike chain is produced by the immersion coating method in a range of immersion solution concentrations and coating times. The PSAMs present unique properties thanks to the freedom of rotation of the end-grafted rodlike chains. The PSAMs exhibit nematic liquid crystalline ordering when the monolayer is fluidized by solvent vapor. A mixed SAM with a nanodot pattern is obtained by introducing a second coating agent of octadecyltrimethoxysilanes (ODTMS) onto the PSAM-coated substrate. The PSAM is micropatternable using photochemical cleavage of the anchoring blocks by brief exposure to UV. Use of the PSAMs as an additional dielectric layer in P3HT-based field effect transistors (FETs) is also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To report the persistence of glaucoma medical therapy in a database of 1006 patients with ocular hypertension (OHT), normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) attending the Glaucoma Clinic at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK. METHOD: Analyses have been carried out using specially written queries to generate reports relating to initial treatment choice and persistence for individual drugs. Queries were investigated in the database time period from 16 February 1982 to 11 February 2009. When investigating drug persistence, the results from the database were split into two distinct time periods from 1997 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2009 to reflect the available treatment options used. RESULTS: The number of patients with each diagnosis was as follows: POAG 608; OHT 246; NTG 152. The Kaplan–Meier estimate for mean persistence from 1997 to 2001 (time to treatment discontinuation) of latanoprost was 58.8±1.95 months, timolol was 41.8±3.94 months, brimonidine was 24.1±3.05 months, and betaxolol was 22.9±2.04 months. The Kaplan–Meier estimate for mean persistence from 2002 to 2009 of latanoprost (time to treatment discontinuation) was 52.0±2.26 months, bimatoprost was 25.8±2.89 months, and travoprost was 23.0±1.27 months. The Kaplan–Meier estimate for mean persistence of latanoprost (time to treatment change) was 37.5±2.47 months, travoprost was 30.2±2.70 months, and bimatoprost was 17.5±2.88 months. CONCLUSION: The introduction of the first prostaglandin analogue, latanoprost, dramatically improved treatment persistence for glaucoma patients. In the current prostaglandin-rich treatment environment, these data do not show any significant differences between prostaglandins with respect to treatment persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscosities of binary liquid mixtures of butan-2-one with benzene were measured at a number of mole fractions at T= (303.15, 313.15, and 323.15) K and atmospheric pressure. The viscometric behavior is discussed on the basis of structural and geometrical effects between the components. In addition, kinematic viscosities were calculated using the UNIFAC−VISCO model. The predicted kinematic viscosities are in good agreement with the experimental ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To report the initial findings of a unique database of 956 patients with ocular hypertension (OHT), normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) attending the Glaucoma Clinic at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK. METHOD: The database contains retrospective data from 1981 and prospective data from 1999. Analyses have been carried out using specially written queries to generate reports relating to prescription trends and reasons for treatment discontinuation. RESULTS: The database included the following numbers of patients: POAG 580; OHT 242; NTG 134. Of 2928 treatment-change episodes recorded, failure to reach or maintain a target intraocular pressure (IOP) accounted for 51.9%, while adverse effects accounted for 22.1%. Use of latanoprost has increased sharply since 1996, and that of brimonidine, betaxolol and dorzolamide has declined significantly. Bimatoprost had a higher rate of discontinuation due to adverse effects (25%) than travoprost (16.3%) or latanoprost (12.4%), but this was only statistically significant between latanoprost and bimatoprost (p = 0.0038). In 2000 the database informed the introduction of a new treatment protocol that resulted in a fall in discontinuations due to adverse effects by almost two-thirds. CONCLUSION: A large and unique treatment database has been established at the Glaucoma Clinic of Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Containing data spanning a 26-year period, it promises to be an invaluable resource for audit and research. It has already demonstrated its worth by informing changes in prescribing practice that have resulted in direct patient benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anionic polymerization of n-alkoxycarbonylaminohexyl isocyanates was carried out using a sodium benzanilide (Na-BA) as an initiator without additives in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at −98 °C under high vacuum (10−6Torr). The polymerization of methoxycarbonylaminohexyl isocyanate (MAHI) resulted in an insoluble material. However, the polymerization of n-propyloxycarbonylaminohexyl isocyanate (PAHI) with propyl side chain was moderately controlled and gave high yields (∼98%) of the polymers with polydispersity index (PDI 1.18−1.22). The results of the polymerization were improved significantly when n-pentanoxycarbonylaminohexyl isocyanate (PEAHI) with pentyl side chain was used. Poly(n-pentanoxycarbonylaminohexyl isocyanate) (PPEAHI) was isolated in ∼99% yields, controlled molecular weight, and a narrow PDI (1.08−1.14). The living nature of PPEAHI was indicated from the linear plot of the molar ratio of the monomer to the initiator versus the number-average molecular weight (Mn) in addition to the successful block copolymerization of PEAHI with another isocyanate monomer, n-hexyl isocyanate (HIC). Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding between the active hydrogen of the carbamate group of the PPEAHI and the nitrogen atom of the poly(2-vinylpyridine) formed a vesicle-like morphology in methanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental values of density of binary liquid mixtures of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) with n-hexane, cyclohexane, and benzene have been measured at a number of mole fractions at T= (303.15, 313.15, and 323.15) K. The excess molar volumes VmEhave been calculated from the density data. These quantities are further fitted to the appropriate polynomial equations. The sign and magnitude of the calculated excess values have been discussed in terms of the nature of the solvent−solvent interactions in binary mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]