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Tympanic membrane is the partition between the external ear and middle layer which is a vital component of the human ear. Neglected or maltreated earache, ear discharge and trauma lead to perforation of tympanic membrane. Tympanoplasty is the surgical procedure performed to repair a perforated tympanic membrane, with/without reconstruction of the ossicles, with the aim of preventing reinfection and restoring hearing ability. Type 1 tympanoplasty is the simple closure of the tympanic membrane perforation. To study the outcome of type 1 tympanoplasty operation by interlay technique, a descriptive longitudinal study was conducted among 200 patients in Community Based Medical College Hospital and in private clinics of Mymensingh from January 2012 to December 2021. Our inclusion criteria was population of age ranging from 15 to 55 yrs of both sexes having dry central perforation for at least 6 weeks and exclusion criteria was patient with active stage of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), ossicular discontinuity, sensory neural hearing loss. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 20.0. Prevalence of taking graft was 96.00%. Measured by difference of preoperative air bone gap (ABG) and postoperative ABG of 15 decibel (dB) hearing improvement rate was 90%. Complication was minimal (1%). The complication was infection due to non-compliance with postoperative advice and treatment. Type 1 tympanoplasty done by interlay technique has excellent results both in terms of graft taken and hearing improvement with minimal complications. CBMJ 2023 January: Vol. 12 No. 01 P: 67-72

The most studied thermoelectric element is tellurium (Te) because of its high Seebeck coefficient and low lattice thermal conductivity. Combining nanostructured Te with flexible polymers can be an effective strategy for flexible thermoelectrics.

In this exclusive interview between Pakistani authors Saba Karim Khan and Mohsin Hamid, Mohsin Hamid discusses his complex relationship with the concept of home.

Purpose While online classes have enabled many universities to carry out their regular academic activities, they have also given rise to new and unanticipated ethical concerns. We focus on the “dark side” of online class settings and attempt to illuminate the ethical problems associated with them. The purpose of this study is to investigate the affordances stemming from the technology-user interaction that can result in negative outcomes. We also attempt to understand the context in which these deleterious affordances are actualized. Design/methodology/approach We obtain the data from narratives written by students at a top private university in Bangladesh about their experiences of online classes and exams and from focus group discussions with them. We use the lens of affordance theory to identify the abilities that goal-oriented actors – primarily students – obtain from the technology-user interactions, which result in negative outcomes. We also attempt to understand the contextual actualization of those affordances through the lens of Routine Activity Theory (RAT). Findings We find three deleterious affordances and three associated deviant outcomes. Non-monitorability which results in academic dishonesty, disguiseability which results in cyber-truancy, and intrudeability which results in embarrassment and harassment. Our findings reveal a deeper underlying problem with the existing educational approach in the universities of Bangladesh and suggest that there is a need to introduce more modern teaching techniques focused on issues such as student engagement and interactive learning. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that combines affordance theory with RAT to identify unethical practices observed in online class settings in the context of a least developed country like Bangladesh and to examine the environmental components that give rise to the pre-conditions for the unethical practices to surface.

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19-related job insecurity on two types of employees’ behaviors: family undermining and withdrawal. This study also proposes emotional exhaustion as a mediator and symmetrical internal communication as a moderator in the relationship between COVID-19-related job insecurity and employees’ behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Using a time-lagged design, data were gathered from 193 employees working in Pakistan’s hospitality sector. Structural equation modeling in AMOS and PROCESS Macro were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that COVID-19-related job insecurity is positively related to family undermining and withdrawal behaviors, and these associations are mediated by emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, symmetrical internal communication weakens the positive influence of COVID-19-related job insecurity on emotional exhaustion. Additionally, the indirect impact of COVID-19-related job insecurity on employees’ behavioral outcomes via emotional exhaustion is stronger for employees with low symmetrical internal communication than for those with high levels of symmetrical internal communication. Practical implications Hospitality management needs to focus on transparent and horizontal communication patterns to reduce the ensuing negative behaviors from COVID-19-related job insecurity. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the impact of COVID-19-related job insecurity on two types of employees’ behaviors: family undermining and withdrawal. This study also offers new insights via mediating mechanisms and moderators associated with the relationship between COVID-19-related job insecurity and employees’ behavioral reactions.

Natural resource abundance has been linked to major violent conflicts in the world. Collier and Hoeffler (1998) were the first to discuss distributional concerns among different groups and its potential in instigating violence in the presence of natural resources. This work traces the theories that link natural resource rents to violence and develops a theoretical framework which can explain the role institutional accountability and third-party interference in that relationship. We have considered the dynamics between the dominant and minority groups in determining the shares in natural resources and then have adapted the framework by Elbadawi and Soto (2015) for explaining the motivation for exploitation and rebellion. Onwards, we modify the framework by incorporating institutional cost and third-party interference into the baseline analysis. The derived outcomes depict that indiscriminate institutional accountability for exploitation and aggression can be instrumental in neutralizing the effect of natural resource rents on political violence. Further, the effectiveness of institutional cost of violence is compromised in case of third-party interference. Our work makes a case for not only institutional reforms that would penalize exploitation and violence but also for a less conflictual foreign policy for a developing nation.

PurposeDrawing on the dual process model of ideology and prejudice, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether, how and when a supervisor's Machiavellianism leads to subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision. In doing so, the authors also explore the mediating role of the supervisor's competitive world views and the moderating role of subordinates' performance on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical model was tested using three sources of data from supervisors, their subordinates and the organization. Hierarchical linear model analysis was run on supervisor and subordinate dyadic data for testing whether subordinates' performance moderated the mediated relationships or not.FindingsThe results suggest that the supervisors' competitive worldviews explain the positive link between their Machiavellianism and subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision. The results highlight that the mediation effect of supervisors' competitive worldviews on the link between their Machiavellianism and their subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision is more pronounced when subordinates' performance is low than when it is high.Research limitations/implicationsThis research contributes to the authors’ knowledge of the link between supervisors' Machiavellianism and abusive supervision, and how the toxic influence of their Machiavellianism is mediated by supervisors' competitive worldviews.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on abusive supervision and personality by studying the role of personality as an antecedent of abusive supervision. Further, this study used subordinates' performance as a contextual variable for understanding abusive supervision.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying cognitive mechanisms between interpersonal justice and creativity. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model was tested through survey method in two distinct settings, i.e. student teams and organizational setting. Findings This study found evidence that interpersonal justice has an indirect relationship with creative behavior through two distinct paths of psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability in Study 1 and through psychological availability in Study 2. The results clarify and support the proposition in the justice literature that interpersonal fairness is relevant to creativity because of its relationship to risks associated with creativity, and that this affect holds when controlling for procedural, distributive and informational justice (Study 2). Research limitations/implications The results suggest that interpersonally fair supervision has a significant influence on employees’ creativity. Fair supervisory treatment adds value to the organization and contributes to the well-being of employees by directly influencing perceptions of psychological engagement factors of meaningfulness and availability of resources. Originality/value This study contributes to the justice, creativity and psychological engagement literatures by exploring the mechanisms linking organizational justice and creativity in a non-Western context.

PurposeThe authors investigated a psychological process that links characteristics of events related to the coronavirus disease (2019) COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. perceived novelty, disruptiveness and criticality) to compassion fatigue [(CF), a form of caregiver burnout] and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in nurses.Design/methodology/approachAdministering two online surveys (October and November 2020) resulted in matched data from 175 nurses responsible for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsPerceived disruptiveness and criticality of COVID-19 events were positively associated with nurses' CF, which also mediated those characteristics' effects on PTSD instigated by COVID-19. Contrary to the authors' hypothesis, the perceived novelty of COVID-19 events was not significantly associated with CF nor was the indirect effect of perceived novelty on PTSD mediated by CF.Originality/valueThe authors extend event system theory by investigating the psychological processes linking event features and resultant outcomes while providing practical implications on preparations for future unexpected and potentially life-altering events.

Background: Undoubtedly the port site infections have remarkably enhanced to be a stigma as post laparoscopic morbidity and is still a field of debate and further exploration to surgeons. These port site infections (PSI) are infrequent surgical site infection, complicating the recovery of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Hence, the necessity of further evaluation of the regarded facts was intended to be explored. Aim: This study was aimed to evaluate the factors that created or provoked PSI after laparoscopic removals of gall-bladder and at analysing which of these factors can be traced and modified to combat PSI in a trail to conquer these complications and to achieve maximum advantages from laparoscopic surgeries. Methods: A prospective descriptive qualitative study conducted on patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomies in our hospital as well as at other facilities remote from our work stations. Factors as gender, site of infected port, types of microorganism, acuteness versus chronicity of the disease, types of infection (superficial or deep infection) and intraoperative spillage of stones, bile or pus were analysed in our study. Swabs were taken for culture and sensitivity tests in all patients who developed infections. Explorations were done under GA for some patients who had deep surgical site infections and wound debridement was done, excisional biopsies were taken for histopathological studies, and tissue samples for Gene-Xpert analysis for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was done. All patients were followed up for six months postoperatively at our surgery unit rooms. Results: Port site infection rate was recorded in 40 cases amongst 340 procedures from the July 2018 to June 2020 (11.76%). A higher rate was observed in female patients 32 cases (9.41%) and 13 cases (3.82%) of acute cholecystitis. Larger number of cases of the PSI were superficial infections (77.5%) with non-specific microorganism in 34 cases (80.0%). Conclusion: We reconciled a significant association of PSI with spillage of bile or stones during the procedure and with acute cholecystitis. Most of the infections are superficial and more common in males. Precautions and protocols should be taken in measure to avoid unnecessary hurry and faulty procedure of sterilization during and prior to the whole surgery to combat PSI effectively. J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll 2020; 12(2): 76-81

CeO2@Bi van der Waals heterostructure has been utilized for photoelectrochemical-type photodetector. The photodetector shows self-powered photodetection with fast response speed and good long-term cycle stability in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte.

Introduction Adherence to daily oral antiretroviral therapy (ART) and regular clinic appointments can be challenging for individuals who experience adverse social determinants of health. Long-acting injectable ART administered outside of traditional clinic settings may be a promising solution to adherence barriers, but additional research is needed to assess patients’ perspectives. This study assessed perspectives of people living with HIV (PLWH) who had difficulty with adherence to traditional HIV care models and evaluated feasibility and acceptability of receiving a long-acting ART injection at a location outside of a traditional HIV clinic to address barriers to HIV care. Methods Qualitative interviews (n = 26) were conducted with PLWH who had experienced barriers to adherence. Participants were referred to the study by staff from Project Trust, a drop in harm reduction and sexually transmitted infection/HIV clinic. The interviews were conducted between May and November 2021. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, coded, and analyzed qualitatively using the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework. Results We identified 6 main themes regarding the acceptability of receiving a long-acting injection to treat HIV, and the acceptability and feasibility of receiving injections at an alternative care site. Participants specified that they: (1) have a general understanding about their HIV care and the importance of ART adherence, (2) prefer a long-acting injection over a daily pill regimen, (3) expressed concerns about injection safety and efficacy, (4) had specific logistical aspects around the delivery of long-acting injections, including location of injection administration, that they believed would improve their ability to adhere, (5) have confidence that they can become undetectable and then complete the oral lead-in required to begin receiving the injection, and (6) see potential barriers that remain a concern for successful adherence to long-acting injections. Conclusion To better treat HIV among people who are living with challenging social determinants of health, interventions that include a long-acting injection in a non-traditional care setting may prove to be a promising treatment option.

Nonlinear iris texture deformations due to pupil size variations are one of the main factors responsible for within-class variance of genuine comparison scores in iris recognition. In dominant approaches to iris recognition, the size of a ring-shaped iris region is linearly scaled to a canonical rectangle, used further in encoding and matching. However, the biological complexity of the iris sphincter and dilator muscles causes the movements of iris features to be nonlinear in a function of pupil size, and not solely organized along radial paths. Alternatively to the existing theoretical models based on the biomechanics of iris musculature, in this paper we propose a novel deep autoencoder-based model that can effectively learn complex movements of iris texture features directly from the data. The proposed model takes two inputs, (a) an ISO-compliant near-infrared iris image with initial pupil size, and (b) the binary mask defining the target shape of the iris. The model makes all the necessary nonlinear deformations to the iris texture to match the shape of the iris in an image (a) with the shape provided by the target mask (b). The identity-preservation component of the loss function helps the model in finding deformations that preserve identity and not only the visual realism of the generated samples. We also demonstrate two immediate applications of this model: better compensation for iris texture deformations in iris recognition algorithms, compared to linear models, and the creation of a generative algorithm that can aid human forensic examiners, who may need to compare iris images with a large difference in pupil dilation. We offer the source codes and model weights available along with this paper., Accepted to the IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) 2023

Traditional medicine is cheaper and easily available to local people, to care for most frequent diseases in the Northern parts of Pakistan. Our study aimed at inventorying medicine from local plants, documenting their uses, and assessing their market value in 2015-2018 during spring, summer, and winter seasons. A total of 15 trips were made, 5 in each season. Semi-structured interviews with 165 inhabitant’s age range between 20-80 years were conducted, analyzed the data is analyzed using Relative frequency of citation(RFC), Use Value(UV), Fidelity Level(FL), Informants consensus factor(ICF), and Jaccard index(JI) to find the most frequent and well-known used species in the area. A total of 86 species belonging to 39 vascular plant families, 33 genera were documented as medicinally important. Family Asteraceae was observed as the dominant family among all the families with 10 species, the leaf was the most used parts and decoction 36% was the most preferred preparation type. Herb was the predominant life form (67%). The maximum UV (0.92) was demonstrated by J. adhatoda L. species, while A. sativum L. shows maximum RFC (0.58), the highest ICF value represented by diarrhea and dermatitis 0.92, and high FL value is recorded 100%. According to our collections, wild species were 45%, invasive species were 38% and cultivated 17% recorded, dicots species were recorded more 81%. Seven 7 medicinal species is being economically important and export to the local and international market of the world, whereas P. integrima L. species were the most exported species according to the local dealers. The investigated area is rural and the local people depend on the area's plants for their health needs, and other uses like a vegetable, fuelwood, fodder, etc. The current result of RFC, UV, ICF, FL, and JI shows that medicinal flora needs to be pharmacologically and phytochemically investigated to prove their efficacy. The documentation of medicinal knowledge is important to preserve this precious old knowledge before it is lost forever, due to technological and environmental changes in the world. Resumo A medicina tradicional é mais barata e facilmente disponível à população local para cuidar das doenças mais frequentes nas áreas do norte do Paquistão. Nosso estudo teve como objetivo inventariar medicamentos de plantas locais, documentar seus usos e avaliar seu valor de mercado em 2015-2018 durante as temporadas de primavera, verão e inverno. Foram feitas 15 viagens, 5 em cada temporada. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 165 moradores na faixa etária de 20 a 80 anos, com dados analisados por meio de frequência relativa de citação (RFC), valor de uso (UV), nível de fidelidade (FL), fator de consenso de informantes (CIF), e o índice de Jaccard (JI) para encontrar as espécies utilizadas mais frequentes e conhecidas na área. Um total de 86 espécies pertencentes a 39 famílias de plantas vasculares, 33 gêneros foram documentados como medicamente importantes. A família Asteraceae foi observada como a família dominante entre todas as famílias com 10 espécies, a folha foi a parte mais utilizada e a decocção 36% foi o tipo de preparação mais preferido. A erva foi a forma de vida predominante (67%). O UV máximo (0,92) foi demonstrado pelas espécies de J. adhatoda L., enquanto A. sativum L. mostra RFC máximo (0,58), o maior valor de ICF representado por diarreia e dermatite 0,92, e alto valor de FL é registrado 100%. De acordo com nossas coleções, as espécies selvagens foram 45%, as espécies invasoras 38% e as cultivadas 17% registradas, as espécies dicotiledôneas foram registradas mais 81%. Sete espécies medicinais estão sendo economicamente importantes e exportadas para o mercado local e internacional do mundo, enquanto as espécies de P. integrima L. foram as espécies mais exportadas de acordo com os comerciantes locais. A área investigada é rural e a população local depende das plantas da área para suas necessidades de saúde e outros usos como vegetal, lenha, forragem etc. O resultado atual de RFC, UV, ICF, FL e JI mostra que a flora medicinal precisa ser investigada farmacológica e fitoquimicamente para comprovar sua eficácia. A documentação do conhecimento medicinal é importante para preservar esse precioso conhecimento antigo antes que se perca para sempre, devido às mudanças tecnológicas e ambientais do mundo.

Bi

not available CBMJ 2022 January: vol. 11 no. 01 P: 1-3

The loss of fresh fruits after harvesting is not new since it has constantly been a challenge for humankind. The growing population in developing countries, where food shortages exist, require serious food security measures to address hunger and malnutrition. Present research focused on the development, fabrication and testing of mango pulp extractor to assist small-scale fruit farmers in the countryside with a view to minimizing fruit spoilage. The unit, whose major material was food grade stainless steel (SS-304), consists of major components such as teflon brushes mounted shaft, motor, main frame, hopper, extraction compartment, pulp outlet, fruit residue outlet, perforated sieve and bearings. After construction, the machine was tested at three feed rate (2.0, 2.5, 3.0 kg/min) and extraction speed levels (500, 900 and 1400 rpm). Each of these factors was replicated three times, which resulted into 3 × 3 × 3 factorial experimental design. The optimum operating parameters for maximum pulp yield, maximum extraction efficiency and minimum extraction losses were determined. The physicochemical analysis of the extracted pulp was also carried out. Results revealed a maximum pulp yield of 77.9%, highest extraction efficiency of 96.03% and highest extraction loss of 9.3%. The mango pulp extraction machine was found to be affordable, easy to operate and maintain. The breakeven point of the machine was found to be 40 h if the machine is operated at its peak capacity. Therefore, it is recommended for small-scale farmers and for cottage industry.

Besides developing a large number of catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolytes, its conversion efficiency remained low. Herein, we have developed mixed-dimensional heterostructures of niobium disulfide (NbS2) with graphene foam grown on nickel foam (NbS2-Gr-NF). The strong lateral fusion results in activating the catalytic sites of NbS2, the three-dimensional substrate provides easy access of electrolyte to active sites and increased electrochemically active surface area, while enhanced conductivity provides faster transfer of electrons to and from active sites. Therefore, NbS2-Gr-NF heterostructures resulted in an exceptionally high current density of 500 mA cm−2 at a very low overpotential of 306 mV in 1 M KOH solution and even can achieve the current density values of 914 mAcm−2 at 338 mV only at a slight increase in overpotential (32 mV). Moreover, a Tafel value of ~72 mV dec−1 confirms that as-developed heterostructure provides fast reaction kinetics where the reaction is mainly controlled by the Volmer step. Achieving such high current density at a faster rate with high stability makes NbS2-Gr-NF heterostructures a potential candidate for water-splitting, especially in alkaline electrolytes.

Numerous research efforts aimed at the MgB2 (Magnesium diboride) as a superconducting material due to its higher critical temperature than Nb-based superconductors such as NbTi, Nb3Sn. Nowadays MgB2 is becoming more popular as the candidate to be applied on medical devices and large-scale applications because of its full coherence lengths, improved critical current density and fields, and simple crystal structure. In this study, we fabricated the 4 mm MgB2 superconducting wires by mixing stoichiometric mole ratio of Mg: B with 1.0:2.0 and 1.1:2.0 through the Powder-In-Sealed-Tube (PIST) method to optimize high critical temperature (TC) than the conventional MgB2 bulk and wire. Furthermore, we decreased the diameter of 4 mm to 1.8 mm wire and analyze the effect of critical temperature. The specimens were sintered at a different temperature to investigate the sintering effect of MgB2 superconducting wire. The resistivity versus temperature relationship, surface morphology, and crystal phase was characterized using Cryogenic system, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), and XRD (X-ray Diffractometer), respectively. We optimized the high Tc,onset for the bulk and 4 mm wire compared to other studies that are 42.1K and 40.3K respectively at 800°C sintered temperature. Finally, the results suggest that the stoichiometric ratio of MgB2 exhibited excellent feasibility to prepare conventional MgB2 superconducting wire.

Summary H2 as a storable fuel can be sustainably generated from direct cleavage of water with a catalytic approach. However, H2 generation is severely affected by poor catalytic activities and the instability of catalyst materials. Recently, transition-metal-based nitrides (TMNs) have been widely explored because of their intrinsic abilities to catalyze water splitting, wide pH stability, high corrosion resistance, and potential for structural modulations. Most investigations have focused on the design of advanced heterostructures for improving catalytic activity. However, identification of the active sites and decoding the inherent mechanisms are often neglected. Here, we investigate the fundamental aspects of H2 production to elucidate the cutting-edge progress of TMNs. First, we explore the engineering of the active sites of ordered and disordered structures and the relation with hydrogen evolution reaction activity. Second, we explain the development of advanced oxygen evolution reaction catalysts by focusing on minimizing autoxidation. Third and finally, we discuss complementary strategies for converting unifunctional TMNs to bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting.

Humans are born researchers. As a result, every human desire to arrive at the correct conclusion through investigation. There is no way to obtain absolute truths and solve the real problem without using ethics in research. The most significant and vital content of a study is ethics. Every researcher must maintain ethics from the beginning to the end of a study project. Ethics in research defines guidelines for conducting professional research. It also teaches and regulates researchers to ensure that they follow a strict code of ethics when conducting research. In this chapter, we will demonstrate how ethics is the most important aspect of any research.

Silk, seen as a material, is a fiber made from silkworm cocoons and spiders. They have standard structural components and hierarchical structures. Different manufacturing techniques allow obtaining silk in films, fibers, hydrogels, microspheres, and sponges. We can tune the properties through the structure of secondary proteins. The paper explores the application in biomedical, optics, and electronic fields by analyzing the technological trend.

Heterostructures have been extensively investigated for optoelectronic devices owing to their fantastic physicochemical properties. Herein, a mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) CeO

Skin cancers contribute very less to the total number of carcinomas. Particularly when on the face or exposed parts affect cosmetically more than functionally. Basal Cell Carcinoma over face is a locally destructive malignancy of the skin which rarely metastasizes. Basal cell carcinomas are the most common type of cancer in Europe, Australia, and the USA. A case of basal cell carcinoma is reported here in an adult female living in a rural area, who came for cosmetic purpose in the Department of Dermatology & Venereology, Community Based Medical College, Bangladesh (CBMC,B) Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh and was transferred to the Department of Otolaryngology & Neck-Head Surgery of the same institution for better management. She was treated with best of the modalities available, i.e., wide local excision with local Nasolabial flap reconstruction with follow up. CBMJ 2021 January: vol. 10 no. 02 P: 115-117

The successful preparation of graphene in research laboratory has brought a revolutionary progress in almost all the research fields including physical, chemical and biological sciences owing to its unique structural, electrical, chemical and optical properties. Being the first ‘two-dimensional (2D) material’, it has introduced a new class of ‘2D materials’. Continuous theoretical and experimental investigations are being made to know more about graphene to take more benefits from it. The structural properties of graphene are the fundamental properties which affect all its other properties. Defects in graphene can be considered a robust tool to tune its structural and other characteristics. In this review, we have summarized the recent and significant studies on defects in graphene. We have discussed different types of defects, how these can intentionally be produced, their influence on different properties of graphene and applications of defective graphene. This review presents a comprehensive study on all about defects in graphene and provides the basic understandings and worthy knowledge to researchers and scientists of this era for future studies to achieve the diversity of graphene applications.