Search

Dianhydride (3′, 4, 4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and Diamine (p-phenylediamine (PDA) in a ratio of 1:1 polymerize Polyimide (PI) in N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent. A series of PI films were made in presence of BPDA and two types of Diamines (PDA and HAB (4, 4′-Diamino-3, 3′-dihydroxybiphenyl) where Diamines ratios were 95:5, 90:10, 80:20, 50:50, 0:100. HAB was introduced as source of benzoxazole. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed that there was benzoxazole ring in polyimide after curing. FTIR, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), UV-spectrophotometer, Scanning electronic microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and stress-strain tests were used to measure the performance of the films. The results indicated that small content of benzoxazole (5%) increase thermal stability, glass transition temperature and tensile strength prominently than the pristine PI which may use for microelectronics.

This study performed catalytic depolymerization of alkali lignin over Ni-based catalysts. Effects of different promoters (Zr and W), Ni loadings, reaction temperatures, and the addition of formic acid and catalyst on lignin conversion and products distribution were all investigated. The result showed that the highest oil yield (40.1% (mass)) was obtained at 240 °C over Ni1.2/γ-Al2O3 promoted by Zr and W species. Quantitative analysis indicates that Zr and W species prefer to lignin depolymerization while Ni active phase prefer to hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenation. The interconversion of products derived from lignin depolymerization was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, which demonstrated that phenolic compounds were dominant products in all lignin derived bio-oils, wherein the proportion of vanillin was highest (65.7%) at 180 °C, while that of alkyl guaiacols increased with the increase of temperature (from 12.45% at 180 °C to 66.67% at 240 °C). Residual lignin obtained after lignin depolymerization was also investigated for detecting differences on functional groups, wherein the disappearing peaks at 1511 cm–1 (stretching of aromatic rings), 1267, 1215 and 1035 cm–1 (vibrations of guaiacyl and syringyl units) were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. Additionally, the higher O/C ratio measured by elemental analysis also confirmed that alkali lignin was depolymerized effectively under mild conditions.

The study was conducted to investigate the productivity and profitability of broiler on L-methionine supplemented diet. A total of 160 day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) was randomly distributed to four dietary supplements, D0 (Control), D1 (0.30 % L-Met), D2 (0.35 % L- Met) and D3 (0.40 % L- Met). Each treatment was replicated five times with 8 birds per cage. The chicks were reared in the battery cages while they were fed with broiler starter diet (crumble) until Day14 of age. The birds with fed with L-Met supplemented diets starting from Day15 until Day35 of age All the diets were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous.. Results revealed that the L-Met supplementations were in favor of higher live weight (LW) and better (p0.05) by the dietary supplements. No significant (p>0.05) difference was observed in the relative weights of visceral organs (small intestine, proventriculus, gizzard, liver and heart) except for the spleen. Relatively increased (p0.05) in the dietary groups. Higher profit (p

Halochromism or pH sensitivity has tremendous potential for applications in various textile fields, such as protective clothing, wound dressings, etc. Reactive dye is mostly used to colour cotton or other regenerated cellulose fibres due to its better fastness and wide range of hue, from vivid to dull shades. In this research work, an azo-based dichlorotriazine reactive dye was synthesised from H-acid (4-amino-5-hydroxy-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid) and 4-nitroaniline, which incorporates a halochromic behaviour. The change of colour of this dye was evaluated both in the the solution stage and coloured fabric stage in various pH solutions. A visible change of colour with the alteration of pH was observed after dyeing textile fabric with the synthesised dye. However, a significant difference was observed in a few cases with regard to the change of colour with the alteration of pH in the solution stage and coloured fabric stage. The dyed fabric also displayed very good to excellent wash fastness properties. Generally, the reactive dye synthesised in this research demonstrated an obvious change of colour with the alteration of the pH level.

The major findings in this report are (i) development of nanocomposite photocatalyst working through Z-scheme charge transfer pathway across the heterojunction, (ii) utilization of direct sunlight as the photo-source, (iii) prospect of ligand-hole in photocatalysis through enhanced sub-band gap absorption. The photocatalysts, namely LaNiO3, g-C3N4 and LaNiO3/g-C3N4 nanocomposites were synthesized via facile route and were characterized for their structure, morphology, microstructure, texture, elemental mapping and surface oxidation states by using several physicochemical techniques. The photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposite was tested through the degradation of hazardous azo dye pollutants, namely reactive black 5 and methylene blue as well as the colorless antibiotic-pollutant tetracycline hydrochloride in aqueous solution in presence of natural sunlight with excellent recycling activity. The 10%LaNiO3/g-C3N4 nanocomposite sample shows best catalytic activity, degrading respectively 94%, 98.6% and 88.1% of reactive black 5, methylene blue and tetracycline hydrochloride in 60 min, 180 min and 120 min. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite phase is several times superior to that of the pure phases. The improvements of photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 in the nanocomposite have been rationalized through the construction of direct Z-scheme heterojunction and suppression of electron-hole pair recombination efficiency. The enhanced photo-absorption of the nanocomposite can possibly be related to sub-bandgap absorption, which is associated to the midgap state originated from ligand-hole formation or defects in the structure. The photodegradation process is mediated through the formation of super oxide radical (˙O2¯) and hole (h+) as the main responsible species.

Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stress inhibiting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development. Therefore, finding efficient strategies to prevent salt-induced growth retardation and yield loss is critical for modern agriculture to sustain production. The role of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) and thiourea (TU) in regulating salt tolerance was investigated by evaluating morpho-physiological characteristics and antioxidant response in two wheat genotypes at the seedling stage. In both wheat genotypes, salt stress reduced growth characteristics and leaf water status, photosynthetic pigments, while simultaneously increasing the Na+/K+ ratio, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and malondialdehyde (MDA). In contrast, exogenous application of SA and/or TU alone in the salt-stressed plants significantly reduced the negative effects of salt stress and improved the growth performance by up-regulating photosynthetic pigments, leaf water status, and proline content in both genotypes. Besides, when compared to seedlings treated only with salt stress, SA and TU played an important role in maintaining lower Na+/K+ levels and reducing oxidative stress by lowering MDA and H2O2 levels in salt-stressed plants through boosting the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase. In addition, hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis revealed a significant interaction among growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, carotenoid content and antioxidant activity with the salt, SA, and/or TU treatments. The findings suggested that exogenous application of SA or TU could be a useful technique for reducing the negative effects of salinity on wheat growth and development.

As Gallium oxides have been using in optoelectronic devices due to its high potentiality and efficiency, therefore, the Gallium–Copper oxide crystal has been computationally designed and screened f...

We present the excellent and selective activity against human cancer cells and pathogens by double-layer carbon-encapsulated silver nanoparticles ([email protected]) and monolayer carbon-encapsulated silver nanoparticles ([email protected]). [email protected] were synthesized via a modified solvothermal approach, whereas [email protected] were prepared by exfoliation of the outer carbon layer of [email protected] The physicochemical structures and properties of the [email protected] and [email protected] are thoroughly examined; the carbon layer is found to ensure the needful release of Ag+ ions from the core Ag nanoparticles, and improve the biocompatibility and selectivity of NPs to kill the cancer cells. Hence, the [email protected] and [email protected] are substantiated to be beneficial for controlling the overtoxicity caused by unstable bare AgNPs and achieving the targeted actions. The Ag+ ions exhibit their toxic effects against cancer cells or pathogens chiefly through the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The Ag+-ion release and ROS generation of the [email protected] are found greater than those of the [email protected] because of the synergistic effect of the reduced thickness of carbon layer and increased specific surface area. The [email protected] and [email protected] were applied against cancer cells (K562 and Hep3B), normal cells (LO2), and pathogens in vitro. The [email protected] exhibit greater dose- and time-dependent late apoptosis of cancer cells than the [email protected], and reduce the viability of cancer cells more effectively than the [email protected] The crystal violet assay explicitly displays that the as-prepared samples exhibit preferential attack on cancer cells. In the analysis of apoptosis associated proteins, caspase-3 and PARP as markers, the protein expression was visible only for the cancer cells asserting that the prepared [email protected] and [email protected] act selectively, invading only the cancer cells. Moreover, the [email protected] exhibit a larger linear inhibition zone than the [email protected] against both Gram negative and Gram positive pathogenic bacterial stains in bactericidal activity probes.

The suppression of mosquito population is the basic public health aspect to mitigate some deadly diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika. Attractive toxic sugar baits are being successfully used to combat the mosquito vectors. In this preliminary study, effects of four different concentrations (0.5%, 0.75%, 1% and 2%) of boric acid were evaluated on the mortality, age and sex of Aedes aegypti in laboratory condition and among those 1% was found to be optimum. The lethal concentration (LC50) of boric acid were determined which is significantly different between male and female, ranged from 0.54 to 20.92, decreasing from 48 h to 72 h. Newly emerged adults were found to be most susceptible compared to 2 weeks and 1 week-old adults (P

D-arabitol is an important functional sugar alcohol, which can be used in the preparation of foods, chemicals, and medicines. Despite biological production of D-arabitol from low-cost substrates has recently been the focus of research, low yield of this technology has limited its large-scale exploitation. Optimization of this bioprocess could be a promising option to improve the yield of D-arabitol. In this study, one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) strategy and Box-Behnken design (BBD) were used to increase D-arabitol production by Metschnikowia reukaufii CICC 31858 through optimizing the fermentation conditions and medium composition. The OFAT optimization provided the optimal conditions for temperature, agitation speed, and fermentation time of 30℃, 220 rpm, and 144 h, respectively. Likewise, the optimum concentrations of peptone, ammonium sulfate, KH2PO4, MgSO4·7H2O, and fumaric acid in the fermentation medium were (g/L) 7.5, 1, 2 , 0.5 and 7.5, respectively. Under these optimum conditions, 80.43 g/L of D-arabitol was produced from 200 g/L of glucose, with a productivity of 0.56 g/L/h. The BBD optimization with three important components of fermentation medium (KH2PO4, MgSO4·7H2O and fumaric acid) showed that the predicted titer of D-arabitol varied from 47.21 g/L to 89.27 g/L, and the actual titer of D-arabitol ranged from 47.36 to 89.83 g/L. The optimum concentrations (g/L) of KH2PO4, MgSO4·7H2O, and fumaric acid in the fermentation medium were found to be 1.0, 0.5, and 4.7g/L, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, 92.45 g/L of D-arabitol was finally produced with the yield and productivity of 0.46 g/g and 0.64 g/L/h, respectively.

Background: Cancer is a global threat to humans and a leading cause of death worldwide. Cancer treatment includes, among other things, the use of chemotherapeutic agents, compounds that are vital for treating and preventing cancer. However, chemotherapeutic agents produce oxidative stress along with other side effects that would affect the human body. Objective: The aim of the study was to reduce the oxidative stress of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer and normal cells by naturally derived compounds with anti-cancer properties, and protect normal cells from the oxidation process. Therefore, the need to develop more potent chemotherapeutics with fewer side effects has become increasingly important. Method: Recent literature dealing with the antioxidant and anticancer activities of the naturally derived compounds, morin, myricetin, malvidin, naringin, eriodictyol, isovitexin, daidzein, naringenin, chrysin, and fisetin, has been surveyed and examined in this review. For this, data were gathered from different search engines, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scopus, and Scifinder, among others. Additionally, several patent offices such as WIPO, CIPO, and USPTO were consulted to obtain published articles related to these compounds. Result: Numerous plants contain flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds, such as morin, myricetin, malvidin, naringin, eriodictyol, isovitexin, daidzein, naringenin, chrysin, and fisetin, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic actions via several mechanisms. These compounds act as sensitizers of cancer cells and protector of healthy cells. Moreover, these compounds can reduce oxidative stress, which is accelerated by chemotherapeutics, and exhibit a potent anticancer effect on cancer cells. Conclusions: Based on these findings, more research is recommended to explore and evaluate such flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds.

The aerial parts of Haplophyllum tuberculatum (H. tuberculatum) have traditionally been used by local communities to treat fever, gastrointestinal disorders, worms, malaria and fractures, however, the responsible ingredients of the selected medicinal plant have not been identified. In the present study, antibacterial and antioxidant ingredients were isolated and characterized from the plant parts of locally grown H. tuberculatum, and their biological activity was evaluated. The powder aerial parts were extracted with methanol and the extract was successively fractionated with different polarities of solvents. All polarities of extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, methanol and water) were used to determine their antibacterial and antioxidant activity by established in-vitro method. The disk diffusion and free radical scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods were used to evaluate antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the prepared extracts and pure isolated compounds at different concentrations against three strains of Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria. The antibacterial activity results showed that all prepared fractions and isolated pure compounds of the plant species gave significant activity against all Gram (+ and –) bacterial strains with the range of inhibition 0–20 mm. The antioxidant activity of the prepared extracts at all concentrations also showed substantial activity. Based on the highest activity, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts were selected for the separation and isolation of antioxidant and antibacterial compounds by thin layer chromatography (TLC), column chromatography (CC), and preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLIC). The structure of the isolated antioxidant and antibacterial compounds from the ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts were determined on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectra. The isolated pure compounds and active extracts could be used as a medicine for various infectious related diseases.

A thin and broadband frequency selective surface (FSS)-based magnetic absorber is presented for low-microwave frequency applications. The design consists of a double-layers of FSS with the combination of two different magnetic substrates, which provides a much broader bandwidth compared to existing single-layered designs. The magnetic materials are in-house made by mixing different ratios of carbonyl-iron powder with silicone elastomer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The simple single-square loop (SSL) structure is used for both FSSs which are printed on a standard FR4 material using lossy resistive sheet. This configuration allows the use of a closed-form equivalent-circuit model for a fast and efficient bandwidth optimization. A genetic algorithm (GA) is utilized to obtain the design parameters for broadband absorption with minimum overall thickness. The measured results confirm that the proposed absorber operates from 0.78 to 4.8 GHz with -10 dB reflectivity. The design achieves 144% fractional-bandwidth with a 10.12 bandwidth-to-thickness ratio.

Symmetrical non-aqueous organic redox flow batteries are highly promising systems for electrochemical energy storage. A higher solubility and energy density of a previously described robust ROM was obtained by straightforward nitration of its core.

Oil contamination is a worldwide concern now. However, oil contaminated environment is enriched with microorganisms that can utilize petroleum oil and use hydrocarbon for their growth, nutrition and metabolic activities. In the present study, bacteria present in the oil contaminated soil were isolated by enrichment culture technique using Minimal Salt (MS) media supplemented with diesel oil and burned engine oil as a sole carbon source. The isolated bacteria were characterized by morphological and biochemical tests and identified by molecular tool through cycle sequencing method. Three isolates were morphologically characterized as gram-negative, cocci shaped and 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that the isolates are closely related to Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacter sp., and Enterobacter sp. respectively. Growth condition was optimized at pH 7.0 and temperature 37 °C. All the isolates were susceptible to several antibiotics and they have no antagonistic effect with soil beneficial bacteria. Three isolates were grown in two different concentrations of diesel oil and burned engine oil (4% v/v and 8%, v/v) respectively. Study revealed that with increasing the concentration of diesel oil in the media the growth rate of all the isolates were decreased. In contrast, the growth rates of all the three isolates were increased, with increasing concentration of burned engine oil. In our study, all the isolates showed their degradation efficacy in 4% v/v diesel oil and in 8% v/v burned engine oil. So, our research clearly shows that the isolates could be potentially used for bioremediation purposes for cleaning up petroleum polluted area.

Hydrogels were produced from mixtures of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and acrylic acid (AAc) using γ-radiation at doses of 3, 7, and 10 kGy and the effect of the variation in concentration of AAc within 0%–3% (w/v) on the gelation, swelling, crosslinking, thermal properties, crystallinity, mechanical properties, and surface morphology of the hydrogels were characterized and their adsorptive removal properties for methylene blue (MB) was investigated. The swelling trend was pH-dependent which was dictated by the dominance of two competing factors namely, crosslink density and hydrophilicity. Although thermal analysis showed that the presence of AAc decreased the thermal stability of the hydrogels, SEM images exhibited gradual morphological changes establishing the role of AAc as a crosslinker, and thus increasing the elastic moduli, toughness, and crystallinity of the hydrogels. However, correlation between the characterization results revealed that, in spite of AAc occupying some of the crosslinking sites within PVA–PVP networks, at low concentration (1% w/v), it could not polymerize enough to contribute to the crosslinks. FTIR spectral analysis revealed a possible gelation mechanism along with the points of interaction among the gel-components. MB adsorption capacity of the hydrogels reached a maximum of 117 mg/g following pseudo-second-order kinetics through film diffusion mechanism while the adsorption isotherm resembled most with that of Langmuir.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, and hepatoprotective effects of methanol and aqueous extracts of Ganoderma applanatum (MEGA, AEGA) in alloxan‐induced diabetic rats. The antidiabetic study was implemented by the induction of alloxan to the rats. The analysis of the hypolipidemic and liver‐protective effects of fungus extracts was studied by estimating the lipid profile and the liver marker enzymes. Besides, in silico screening of the compounds of Ganoderma applanatum has been incorporated thus to check the binding affinity of compounds and enzymes affinity. The Discovery Studio 2020, UCSF Chimera, and PyRx AutoDock Vina have been used to implement the docking analysis. Nine days of oral feeding of MEGA and AEGA of Ganoderma applanatum resulted in a significant (p, This study aggregates, consolidates, and validates the use of mushroom for the treatment of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hepatic degenerations, Besides, the bioactive compounds have been accelerated to investigate the binding reactions with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hepatic receptors.

It is crucial to monitor the microbial ambience in heavy metal enriched industrial effluents that generally discharge into the environment. Therefore, the present study aimed to understand the load of heavy metals in multidrug-resistant lactose fermenting microorganisms isolating from textile industry effluents. Samples were collected from five different textile industrial canals. In most of the cases, the colony forming units (CFUs) per plate were uncountable at 10-6 dilution but countable at 10-10 dilution. A total of 100 lactose fermenting (LF) isolates were selected using 4 differential media and tested for the determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of heavy metals and antibiotic susceptibility. For nickel (Ni), the MIC was 0.3 mM for almost 98% isolates. The MIC was 0.5 mM for chromium (Cr) in almost 99% isolates. For lead (Pb), 100% isolates had a MIC of 0.4 mM. The most prevalent (36%) resistance pattern was found for sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SXT) and only 10% isolates showed resistance to cefotaxime (CTX). The combined effect of heavy metals and antibiotics revealed that in most cases, the antibiotic zone of inhibition was increased. Plasmid profiling showed that among 14 selective isolates, high sized (21kb) plasmid was found in 6 isolates. Key words: Antibiotics, effluents, heavy metals, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), antimicrobial resistance.

Glycemic Index (GI) of six common rice varieties in the local markets of Bangladesh was assessed and categorized in this study to investigate manipulative varietal performance for the time being. After overnight fasting, each of ten selected healthy non-diabetic volunteers (males and females in ratio of 1:1) was fed with reference food (50 g glucose) and test foods (50 g carbohydrate-containing different rice varieties) in every two days intervals. After feeding, glucose levels (mmol/l) were measured at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. Incremental Area Under Curve (IAUC) of reference food and test food (avoiding the area beneath the baseline of reference food) was calculated to measure GI values. Amylose content (%) of different test foods was measured from the standard curve obtained from the spectrophotometric analysis after alcoholic-alkaline gelatinization that was followed by acidification and iodine mixing. The result showed that the GI values were 59.7±3.4; 50.5±2.6; 57.8±2.8; 51.3±2.3; 56.9±3.9 and 44.6±2.1, while the amylose content (%) were 23.6±0.6; 26.7±0.9; 21.3±0.7; 28.3±1.1; 22.2±2.3 and 29.8±1.5 for Nizershail, BRRI Dhan 29, Chinigura, Kalijira, Hybrid Hera Dhan 12 and Sworna, respectively. Moreover, the existing inverse relationship between the GI values and amylose content in this study was similar to other researchers’ findings. Categorization of the test foods based on the observed GI values ranked Sworna, BRRI Dhan 29 and Kalijira as low GI rice varieties that could be beneficial for consumption by diabetics as well as healthy individuals.

Fusarium moniliforme, a causal agent of rice Bakanae is a seedborne fungal disease which infects plants through the roots or crowns and it then grows systemically within the plant. From the in-vitro and in-vivo results, it was concluded that Bavistin, Knowin, Haydazim, Topsil plus and Sunphanate @ 0.3% could be effective as seed treating fungicides against bakanae disease. Overnight root dipping of seedlings with Bavistin and Knowin @ 0.3% was effective to control bakanae disease. Seed and seedling treatments with carbendazim fungicides could be used for further dissemination. In field trials, none of the fungicides namely Bavistin, Knowin, Ridomil, Forastin, Sunphanate and Cupravit @ 0.3% were effective against bakanae compared to rogueing when those were sprayed in the standing crop at tillering stage. In seedbed condition, wet seed bed reduced the % of bakanae infected hill (0.31%) in comparison with semi dry (2.18%) and dry (3.45%). In combination with seed bed conditions and seed treatments, wet seed bed with healthy or infected seed but treated with homai @ 0.3% reduced the bakanae incidence (0.21-0.39%). Semi dry seed bed with healthy or infected seed but treated with homai @ 0.3% also control the bakanae disease (0.32-2.68%) compared to dry seed bed (0.82-2.7%).

Objective: The study was carried out for molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance anal¬ysis of Escherichia coli isolated from different turkey farms in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Materials and methods: A total of 45 samples comprising feces (n = 23) and cloacal swabs (n = 22) were collected randomly from turkeys. The samples were subjected to isolation and identification of E. coli by cultural and biochemical characteristics, followed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. An antibiogram of the isolated E. coli isolates was carried out by following the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Results: Out of the 45 samples, 28 (62.21%) were positive for E. coli, of which 16 (35.55%) fecal samples were positive and 12 (26.66%) cloacal swabs were positive. The antibiotic sensitivity analysis revealed that all the E. coli isolates were 100% sensitive to levofloxacin, norfloxacin, neo¬mycin, gentamicin, and nitrofurantoin. On the other hand, all the isolates were 100% resistant to amoxicillin, azithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, bacitracin, cephalexin, nalidixic acid, van¬comycin, methicilin, piperacillin, pefloxacin, novobiocin, cefepime, trimethoprim, netilmicin, and aztreonam. Conclusion: This studys results uncover the occurrence and antibiotic resistance pattern of E. coli in the study areas turkeys. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2021; 8(1.000): 64-69]

In recent times, layered chalcogenide semiconductors have attracted great interest in energy harvesting device applications. In the present study, the structural, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of two isostructural chalcogenide materials, NaInS2 and NaInSe2 with hexagonal symmetry (R-3m) have been studied using the first principles method. A very good agreement has been found between our results with the available experimental and theoretical ones. The studied materials are semiconducting in nature as confirmed from the electronic band structure and optical properties. The strong hybridizations among s orbitals of Na, In and Se atoms push the bottom of the conduction band downward resulting in a narrower band gap of NaInSe2 compared to that of NaInS2 compound. Different optical (dielectric function, photoconductivity, absorption coefficient, reflectivity, refractive index and loss function) and thermoelectric (Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, power factor and thermal conductivity) properties of NaInX2 (X = S, Se) have been studied in detail for the first time. It is found that all these properties are significantly anisotropic due to the strongly layered structure of NaInX2 (X = S, Se). Strong optical absorption with sharp peaks is found in the far visible to mid ultraviolet (UV) regions while the reflectivity is low in the UV region for both the compounds. Such features indicate feasibility of applications in optoelectronic sector. The calculated thermoelectric power factors at 1000 K for NaInS2 and NaInSe2 along a-axis are found to be 151.5 μW/cmK2 and 154 μW/cmK2, respectively and the corresponding ZT values are ~ 0.70. The obtained thermal conductivity along a-axis for both compounds is high (~ 22 W/mK).This suggests that the reduction of such high thermal conductivity is important to achieve higher ZT values of the NaInX2-(X = S, Se) compounds.

The emerging variants of SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been continuously spreading all over the world and have raised global health concerns. The B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom), P.1 (Brazil), B.1.351 (South Africa) and B.1.617 (India) variants, resulting from multiple mutations in the spike glycoprotein (SGp), are resistant to neutralizing antibodies and enable increased transmission. Hence, new drugs might be of great importance against the novel variants of SARS-CoV-2. The SGp and main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 are important targets for designing and developing antiviral compounds for new drug discovery. In this study, we selected seventeen phytochemicals and later performed molecular docking to determine the binding interactions of the compounds with the two receptors and calculated several drug-likeliness properties for each compound. Luteolin, myricetin and quercetin demonstrated higher affinity for both the proteins and interacted efficiently. To obtain compounds with better properties, we designed three analogues from these compounds and showed their greater druggable properties compared to the parent compounds. Furthermore, we found that the analogues bind to the residues of both proteins, including the recently identified novel variants of SARS-CoV-2. The binding study was further verified by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and molecular mechanics/Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA) approaches by assessing the stability of the complexes. MD simulations revealed that Arg457 of SGp and Met49 of Mpro are the most important residues that interacted with the designed inhibitors. Our analysis may provide some breakthroughs to develop new therapeutics to treat the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo.

In many parts of the world, insect pests are a serious problem in tomato production. In tropical countries, the utilization of pest exclusive nets to protect garden crops has proven to be an effective and sustainable tool against lepidopteran insects, but not against small insects. This study evaluated the repellent effect of a 40-mesh net with a diameter of 0.9 mm treated with cypermethrin against major tomato pests (including small sucking insects). The study was conducted at the experimental farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka to evaluate the management practices of tomato pests using insecticide treated nets and its impact on natural enemies. BARI Tomato-1 (Manik) variety was used as the planting material. The insecticide treated nets and non-treated nets were used as treatments with a control plot without any netting. The efficacy of insecticide-treated and untreated nets was evaluated over a period of six months. In this experiment, the treatments were replicated 3 times in a completely randomized block design. The evaluation of the abundance of major insect pests and their natural enemies in tomato was carried out by collecting and counting their numbers every week for each replication. Mature tomatoes were harvested after twelve weeks of transplantation, sorted and divided into marketable and non-marketable fruits. The total number of saleable fruits and their weights were recorded. A total of 7 pest species (Aphis gossypii, Thrips tabaci, Bemisia tabaci, Haltica pyritosa, Helicoverpa armigera, Tetranychus spp. and Liriomyza trifolii) those infected tomato plants during field production were identified. The insecticides-treated nets were fruitful in protecting tomato plants from A. gossypii, B. tabaci, T. tabaci, L. trifolii and H. armigera. Compared with tomatoes harvested from unprotected tomatoes, the average marketable fruit weight of tomatoes harvested using treated nets was significantly higher. The results of this study reveal the potential of using insecticides-treated nets as a viable strategy to increase tomato yields by reducing the number of pests in crops. The netting covers can be used as an integral part of the integrated management of insect pests in tomato production.

The study was conducted to evaluate the culture and growth performance of spirulina (Spirulina platensis) in supernatant of three different amounts of digested rotten potato (DRP), and Kosaric medium (KM) as control in 16 days after 26 days digestion. Three different concentrations such as 20, 40 and 60% of DRP were used. Spirulina was inoculated in supernatant DRP along with 9.0 g/L NaHCO3 and micronutrients, and KM for a period of 14 days. The cell weight of spirulina was attained a maximum of 12.42 ± 0.21 mg/L in KM followed by 8.352 ± 0.21, 6.256 ± 2.34 and 9.505 ± 0.43 mg/L in supernatant of 40, 20 and 60% DRP, respectively on the 10th day of culture. Similar trend was also observed in the cases of optical density, chlorophyll a, total biomass, specific growth rates. Cell weight of spirulina grown in the media were highly significant (p

Taikor (Garcinia pedunculata Roxb.) is an underutilized, however nutritious fruit, typically found in Bangladesh and northeast parts of India. Taikor slices (1 ± 0.25 cm thickness) were pretreated for 10 min in 10% sucrose, 10% fructose, and 2% brine solution. Three different temperatures, such as 45, 50, and 55 °C were used to perform the drying operation at 30% constant relative humidity (RH). The thin-layer dehydration characteristics of taikor slices were analyzed using the Newtonian, Page, and Henderson and Pabi’s model. The changes in pH, total acidity, color, β-carotene, vitamin C, B vitamins, antioxidant activity, and microbial load calculation were done to compare the comprehensive quality of untreated and pre-treated dried taikor. After assessing the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) values, the Page model was obtained as the best-suited model. For this model, the R2 and RMSE values were found to be approximately 1 and below 0.1094, respectively. Among the pretreatments, sucrose helped retain quality characteristics like ascorbic acid (115.25 ± 0.19 mg/100 g), antioxidant activity (33.25 ± 0.07%) more in the dried samples. The brine pretreated sample had minimum microbial growth. Fructose pretreated taikor samples dried at 45 °C exhibited maximum value of B vitamins (B1 0.025 ± 0.002 mg/100 g, B2 0.016 ± 0.002 mg/100 g, B3 0.011 ± 0.001 mg/100 g), total phenolic content (15.78 ± 0.15 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid content (11.11 ± 0.08 mg QE/100 g). Overall, fructose pretreated sample dried at 55 °C was found to be the best method for preserving the maximum physical and chemical quality of dried Garcinia pedunculata.

The good photovoltaic (PV) properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and silicon (Si) can be used combinedly as a potential route for enhancing the efficiency of CZTS solar cell. In this work, a bilayer CZTS/Si absorber structure is presented to replace the conventional single CZTS absorber layer based solar cell. The numerical tool SCAPS-1D is utilized first to validate the structure with the help of J-V characteristics, generation rate, quantum efficiency and band diagrams. A similar tool is used afterwards to optimize the proposed structure considering different parameters such as layer thickness, defect density, carrier concentration and operating temperature. The highest yielded efficiency of the bilayer structure is 18.30% (VOC = 0.883 V, JSC = 25.90 mA/cm2). The thickness of both CZTS and Si layers are optimized and its effect on the performance parameters are discussed. The p-type doping concentrations of both layers are studied for the suitable range and optimized. Also, the electric field at the CZTS/Si interface is estimated. Next, the defect state density and operating temperature are varied to see the solar cell performances. The studied results provide a clear indication of the performance improvement of the CZTS solar cell using the bilayer CZTS/Si absorber structure.

A low‐calorie biscuit formulation containing quinoa flour (cultivars TTKK), isomalt, and maltodextrin was optimized using response surface methodology. Optimized samples were evaluated in terms of total phenolic compounds (TPC), sensory properties, and nutritional value while samples containing only wheat flour (Pishgam var.) and sucrose were used as control. Morphology of isolated starch from quinoa was also investigated. The results showed that with increasing amounts of quinoa, isomalt, and maltodextrin ΔE and Browning index increased, whereas hardness and L values decreased. The formulation containing 25% quinoa flour, 3.5% maltodextrin, and 10% isomalt was found to be optimal with an overall desirability value of 0.95. The sensory evaluation showed that replacement of wheat flour with 25 g/100 g quinoa flour in biscuits was acceptable. TPC of the optimal biscuit (1,180.34 ± 0.02 μg GAE/g) was higher than that of the control sample (729.95 ± 0.007 μg GAE/g). In addition, the optimized biscuit had more protein (8.36 ± 0.035%) and dietary fiber (2.14 ± 0.035%) content compared with the control sample (7.01 ± 0.007% and 1.66 ± 0.028%, respectively). The consumption of 100 g of optimized quinoa biscuits supplies the daily requirement of Fe, Mg, Ca, and Zn at 2.43%, 44.81%, 19.46% and 1.12%, respectively., A low‐calorie biscuit formulation containing quinoa flour (cultivars TTKK), isomalt, and maltodextrin was optimized using response surface methodology. The results showed that with increasing amounts of quinoa, isomalt, and maltodextrin ΔE and Browning index increased, whereas hardness and L values decreased. The formulation containing 25% quinoa flour, 3.5% maltodextrin, and 10% isomalt was found to be optimal with an overall desirability value of 0.95. The sensory evaluation showed that replacement of wheat flour with 25 g/100 g quinoa flour in biscuits was acceptable. In this study, the low‐calorie biscuit formulation was optimized using quinoa flour (cultivars TTkK), isomalt, and maltodextrin according to Response surface method. Optimized samples were evaluated in terms of total phenolic compounds and nutritional value while samples containing wheat flour (Pishgam var. and sucrose) were used as control.

Background Black pericarp rice has recently become popular among rice consumers for its diverse health benefits specially anti-cancer effect. Cyanidin-3-Glucosides (C3G), an prominant bioactive component of anthocyanins which is abundantly present in black pericarp rice. Objectives We investigated, how effectively it can be used to fortify Cyanidin-3-Glucosides (C3G) content in red and white pericarp polished rice or rice based bakery products for more nutritional value. Method In the present study, we have characterized several black pericarp rice cultivars along with some red pericarp and white pericarp rice cultivars by physicochemical including mineral profiling, and quantified the C3G by UFLC and LCMS. Results C3G content was significantly reduced from raw rice to cooked rice condition. All the black pericarp rice cultivars synthesized C3G, while this content was not detected in red and white pericarp rice cultivars. However, when 25% of black pericarp rice were mixed with 75% red or white pericarp polished rice, C3G content was significantly retained in cooked rice conditions. Formulation of rice-based bakery food product using black pericarp rice powder was also remarkably retained the C3G content as compared to that of cooking. Black rice is harder in texture, difficult to digest and needs higher energy for cooking. Therefore, we tried to circumvent these challenges by fortifying 25% of black pericarp rice with white or red pericarp rice. Conclusion Fortification of C3G enriched black rice (25%) with red or white pericarp rice (75%) might bring a better nutritional quality in both cooking and baking condition. This may lead a way to the effective management of the non-communicable disease such as cancer for common rice consuming population.

Background: To explore the effectiveness and safety of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist, Degarelix, for the treatment of advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer (PCa) in a real-world setting.Methods: In this noninterventional study, patients with advanced hormone-dependent PCa were included. Primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) failure defined as either prostate-specific antigen failure, additional therapy related to PCa, or death. Secondary endpoints included patient and physician satisfaction scores, urinary symptoms, and adverse events (AEs).Results: Of 274 patients with PCa, 271 received at least 1 dose of Degarelix. At a median follow-up of 12.2 (interquartile range 6.2-22.0) months, 148 patients (60.2%) had PFS failure. Thirty-five patients (13%) withdrew from the study due to AEs, 23 patients (8.4%) died, and 36 patients (13%) completed 3 years' follow-up. Urinary symptoms significantly decreased over time. In the safety population, 87.8% of patients reported AEs, with injection-site reactions commonly reported. The majority of physicians and patients considered the therapy satisfactory and well tolerated.Conclusions: In this observational study, Degarelix treatment was well accepted by men with advanced hormone-dependent PCa. Compared with phase III studies, a higher proportion of patients had PFS failure, possibly due to the inclusion of men with more advanced disease in the current study, and more men reported AEs.

Efficient, low-cost, and robust electrocatalysts development for overall water splitting is highly desirable for renewable energy production yet still remains challenging. In this work, Co9S8 nanoneedles arrays are synergistically integrated with NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets to form Co9S8@NiFe-LDH core-branch hierarchical architectures supported on nickel foam (Co9S8@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF). The Co9S8@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF exhibits high catalytic performances for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotential of 190 and 145 mV at 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The density functional theory calculations predict that the synergy between Co9S8 and NiFe-LDH contributes to the high catalytic performance by lowering the energy barrier of HER. When used as both anode and cathode electrocatalyst, it can deliver 10 mA cm−2 at a low cell voltage of 1.585 V with excellent long-term durability. This work opens a new avenue toward the exploration of highly efficient and stable electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

A novel conductive nano material, nano spinel ferrites having the composition of calcium chromium magnesium nanoferrites (CaxCr0.5−xMg0.5Fe2O4), was fabricated via sol-gel auto combustion process. The main objective was to fabricate highly stable nanocomposite as conductive material. Reaction among highly pure grade magnesium nitrate Mg (NO3)2·6H2O, calcium nitrate Ca (NO3)2·4H2O, and chromium nitrate Cr (NO3)3·9H2O, ferric nitrate Fe (NO3)3·9H2O took place to fabricate the desired material and, later on, an inductance (L)—capacitance (C)—resistance (R) meter (LCR meter) was used to determine the conductive behavior of the material. During characterization, thermogravimetric study confirmed that the stable phase was obtained above 950 °C. Fabricated ferrite FTIR spectrum was observed between 400 cm−1 and 4,500 cm−1. The entire sample’s structural investigation was carried out employing X-ray diffraction. Morphological analysis confirmed that particles possess angular structures having acute angles adjoining surfaces. During conductivity test, all fabricated nanoferrites presented that with the increase of frequency by LCR meter, AC conductivity had been increased. The outcome of doping of calcium on chromium magnesium nanoferrites on structural in addition to dielectric properties was synergistic.

The use of readily prepared bisphosphonic acids obtained in few steps through a thio-Michael addition of commercially available thiols on tetraethyl vinylidenebisphosphonate enables the straightforward surface modification of amorphous mesoporous zirconia nanoparticles. Simple stirring of the zirconia nanoparticles in a buffered aqueous solution of the proper bisphosphonic acid leads to the surface functionalization of the nanoparticles with different kinds of functional groups, charge and hydrophobic properties. Formation of both chemisorbed and physisorbed layers of the bisphosphonic acid take place, observing after extensive washing a grafting density of 1.1 molecules/nm2 with negligible release in neutral or acidic pH conditions, demonstrating stronger loading compared to monophosphonate derivatives. The modified nanoparticles were characterized by IR, XPS, ζ-potential analysis to investigate the loading of the bisphosphonic acid, FE-SEM to investigate the size and morphologies of the nanoparticles and 31 P and 1 H MAS NMR to investigate the coordination motif of the phosphonate units on the surface. All these analytical techniques demonstrated the strong affinity of the bisphosphonic moiety for the Zr(IV) metal centers. The functionalization with bisphosphonic acids represents a straightforward covalent approach for tailoring the superficial properties of zirconia nanoparticles, much straightforward compared the classic use of trisalkoxysilane or trichlorosilane reagents typically employed for the functionalization of silica and metal oxide nanoparticles. Extension of the use of bisphosphonates to other metal oxide nanoparticles is advisable.

Probiotics are live, non-pathogenic microorganisms which have enormous health benefits. Yogurt is a potential source of probiotic bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria are the most common and major group of probiotic bacteria that can be found easily in different dairy products. The aim of study was the genetic diversity analysis using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker from regional yogurt samples of Bangladesh. Ten probiotic isolates from yogurt samples of different sweet meat shops of Sylhet and Mymensingh Divisions of Bangladesh were used. Morphological and biochemical tests were performed to ensure the presumptive probiotic characteristics of isolated bacteria. All isolates were cultured in De Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium to exhort the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Genomic DNA was extracted by Ampicillin Lysozyme Tandem method. Four random RAPD primers were used in this study for detecting genetic diversity of these isolated bacteria. Among them, OPA 18 showed the maximum number of reproducible bands. Nei’s genetic distance was performed for determining Pair-wise Genetic Distance. UPGMA and NJ dendrogram were performed based on molecular data showing that all the isolates could be divided into two major clusters. Data analysis revealed that isolates from the same location were closely related and showed less genetic variation whereas, isolates from geographically different regions exhibited more genetic diversity. Bang. J. Livs. Res. Vol. 27 (1&2), 2020: P. 55-63

This research was conducted to study the types of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present in selected yogurts available in the local market of Bangladesh. For this purpose, nine different yogurt samples were collected (viz. MV, Mw, Pst, Psr, Bik, Bog, WF, Kw and Nab) and cultured in the selective MRS agar media for enumerating LAB colony. Out of 9 samples, colony forming LAB were found in 6 samples and the population ranged from 1.0×104 to 9.5×105 cfu/ml. Catalase negative and Gram’s positive colonies were initially identified as LAB. Then the isolates were purified by subsequent culturing in MRS broth and MRS agar media. Biochemical properties of selected colonies were evaluated by performing gas production from glucose, growth at different temperatures (10ºC, 15ºC and 45ºC), growth at different NaCl concentrations (2, 4 and 6.5% NaCl) and sugar fermentation tests (lactose, sorbitol, salicin, trehalose, melibiose, sucrose, mannitol, melezitose, maltose, galactose, glucose, arabinose, raffinose and ribose). According to the tests stated above, a total of five different species of LAB were identified from 6 samples. The isolate Lactobacillus lactis was identified in MV, PSr and Bog yogurt, while Lactobacillus bulgaricus was found in MV and Bik yogurt. The species Leuconostoc cremoris, a avor producing bacteria, was found in six yogurt samples. On the other hand, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus was found only in Pst and Psr samples, respectively. Bang. J. Livs. Res. Vol. 27 (1&2), 2020: P. 64-72

The 2:1 molar reaction of [Fe2(CO)6{(µ-SCH2)2CH2}] (1) and a bidentate diphosphine ligand, 1,6-bis(diphenylphosphino)hexane (dpph), in the presence of Me3NO resulted in the isolation of [Fe2(CO)5{Ph2P(CH2)3}{(µ-SCH2)2CH2}]2 (2) as red crystals in 71 % yield. The dpph ligand in compound 2, coordinates two Fe2S2 subunits as bridging mode and hence makes a linkage between two [Fe2(CO)5{(µ-SCH2)2CH2}] fragments. Each Fe2S2 butterfly of the complex consists of two fused Fe(S-C-C-C-S) six-membered rings, one of which attains a chair conformation, and the other is necessarily in a boat conformation. Compound 2 has unequivocally been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR and 31P NMR spectroscopy together with single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Crystals of 2 are triclinic, space group P-1, a = 9.918(4) A, b = 10.347(3) A, c = 14.581(5) A, α = 72.239(12)o, β = 80.342(12)o, γ = 68.550(14)o and Z = 1. A novel tetranuclear propane-1,3-dithiolate complex, [Fe2(CO)5{Ph2P(CH2)3}{(μ-SCH2)2CH2}]2 (2), bearing a bridging bis(diphenylphosphino)hexane (dpph) ligand, was synthesized from the Me3NO aided room temperature displacement of carbonyls from [Fe2(CO)6{(μ-SCH2)2CH2}] (1), and structurally characterized.

Enantiomerically pure 9-substituted 11-oxa[9]helicene derivatives have been synthesized through furan-ring formation by a nucleophilic cyclodehydration reaction of enantiomerically pure helical polycondensed 2,2′-diphenoquinone derivatives (1,1′-bibenzo[c]phenanthrenylidene-2,2′-diones). (P)-2,2′-diphenoquinone derivatives afforded (P)-oxa[9]helicenes, whereas (M)-2,2′-diphenoquinone derivatives afforded the corresponding (M)-oxa[9]helicenes. Therefore, the ring-closing reaction afforded the corresponding enantiomerically pure products without decreasing the enantiomeric excess, and it proceeded stereospecifically with retention of the configuration. The thermal stability of an oxa[9]helicene was studied by determining the decrease in its enantiomeric excess at various temperatures, and its racemization barrier was found to be 165.6 kJ/mol.

In general, modified starches provided a desirable feature so that they can be used in the food industry like food additive products. The awareness of eating healthy has become very evident. The food industry is willing to produce foods and food ingredients that not only maintain nutrition but also promote health and safety. Tartary buckwheat starch has been isolated to assess the effect of HMT on its digestibility, morphological structure, pasting, thermal and textural properties and compared with common buckwheat, sorghum, and broomcorn millet. HMT changed significantly the granular structure of native starches. The complete starch granular structure increased the size and changed into an irregular shape, with a rough surface. The modified starches exhibited higher onset and peak temperatures, while their amylose content, solubility, swelling power, gel hardness, and enthalpy of gelatinization were significantly reduced. In pasting properties, tartary buckwheat and sorghum modified starch had the highest thermal treatment stability with lower setback and breakdown viscosity. Moreover, after three hours of starch hydrolysis; Resistant (RS) starch was higher in tartary buckwheat followed by broomcorn millet and lastly sorghum. In this study, we reported that tartary buckwheat modified starch is more useful in the preparation of food with thermal stability combined with a high amount of resistant starch.

In this paper, a novel Sagnac Interferometer (SI) based chalcogenide Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) temperature sensor is theoretically and numerically analyzed operating in the mid infrared (MIR) region. The PCF cladding air holes are proposed to be filled with a highly temperature sensitive liquid chloroform to enhance the temperature sensitivity. The temperature sensing characteristics of three different infiltration technique is investigated theoretically and compared by Finite Element Method (FEM). Simulation results show that full infiltration performs better than partial infiltration. In the numerical analysis two sensing dips with high linearity is achieved for full infiltration which shows sensitivity of −5.77 nm/°C and 8.49 nm/°C when the temperature increases from 25 to 85 °C for the specific fiber length of 1.532 mm. The R2 values are 0.957446809 and 0.97680771 for the respective two sensing dips. The proposed highly sensitive sensor has broad detection window which can be applied in fingerprint unlocking, MIR radiation detection in human body, biomedicine applications, and environmental temperature monitoring.

The present study sought to evaluate the central nervous system (CNS) depressant, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activity of methanol and aqueous extract of Trametes versicolor (METV and AETV). The CNS activity was assessed by the open field, hole-cross, forced swimming, thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time, hole-board, and rotarod tests in Swiss albino mice. For both extracts, a substantial decrease in locomotion was observed in open field and hole-cross tests. In addition, the molecular docking study has been implemented through Maestro V11.1. The higher dose of METV (400 mg/kg) and the lower dose of AETV (200 mg/kg) exhibited a significant decrease in immobility time in forced swimming test and increased prolongation of sleep in thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time test, respectively. In contrast, a moderate finding was observed for the hole-board and rotarod tests. Additionally, a significant DPPH scavenging assay and a high toxicity effect in brine shrimp lethality assay were observed. Besides, five phenolic compounds, namely baicalin, quercetin, catechin, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and quinic acid, were used for the molecular docking study, whereas catechin demonstrated the highest binding affinity towards the targets. The findings conclude that the T. versicolor could be an alternative source for CNS anti-depressant and antioxidant activity.

Background: In acute myocardial infarction (AMI) the extent of the coronary artery lesion is evaluated by coronary angiogram (CAG). Recent evidences suggest that, ratio of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) could be a non-invasive marker for the prediction of the extent of coronary artery lesion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between TG/HDL-C ratio and the extent of coronary artery lesion assessed by coronary CAG among AMI patients. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess relationship between TG to HDL-C ratio and extent of coronary artery lesion in AMI patients. Materials & Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Cardiology, Chittagong Medical College Hospital in 224 admitted AMI patients. Blood samples were taken within 24 hours of admission following AMI for fasting lipid profile assessment, (total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and TG). Each patient was underwent CAG within 2 to 6 weeks of the events and angiographic findings were classified according to presence of significant stenosis, number of vessel involved and Gensini score. Results: The subjects consisted of 197 males and 27 females with a mean age of 51.24 (±11.22) years. Mean value of TC was 185.74 (±41.96) mg/ dL, TG was 222.17 (±99.05) mg/dL, HDL-C was 38.92 (±5.46) mg/dL, LDL-C was 127.99 (±36.94) mg/dL, TG/HDL-C was 5.91 (±2.99), median Gensini score was 28 (Range:1-146). Analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves showed that only TG/HDLC and TG were useful for detecting high Gensini score (score >42), with the former more area under the curve (AUC: 0.611; 95% CI: 0.531-0.691; p=0.008). The TG/HDL-C was an independent predictive factor (Odds ratio: 2.706; 95% CI: 1.397-5.242; p = 0.003) for the presence of significant coronary artery lesion on CAG. Linear regression analysis revealed that, age and TG/HDL-C ratio significantly predicted Gensini score. Conclusion: TG and HDL-C ratio was independently associated with extent of coronary artery lesion. Bangladesh Heart Journal 2021; 36(2): 82-88

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a traditionally important vegetable herb used to treat numerous illnesses, including diabetes mellitus, in many rural parts of Bangladesh and the South Asian subcontinent. However, the scientific evidence for the aforementioned properties has not been adequately validated. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the antidiabetic, antilipidemic activity of okra mucilage powder, and to compare its effectiveness with the isolated peel–seed of okra after mucilage extraction in Swiss albino mice. After extraction, both mucilage and peel–seed were made into powder. In addition, crude protein, mineral contents, and in vitro antioxidant activity of mucilage and peel–seed powder were assessed. After acute toxicity test, methanolic extracts of both powders were administered to alloxan‐induced diabetic mice for 3 weeks. Blood glucose levels were assessed weekly. Finally, blood samples were collected on day 21 to estimate blood glucose level, total protein (TP), and lipid profile levels. Okra mucilage powder showed less amount of protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and iron compared with peel–seed powder. In terms of antioxidant activity, the IC50 value and total phenolic content were found higher in okra mucilage powder in contrast to peel–seed powder. However, total flavonoid content was higher in peel–seed powder than mucilage powder. Three‐week administration of mucilage and peel–seed suspensions at a dose of 150 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg significantly (p, The present research provides evidence that mucilage of Abelmoschus esculentus has antioxidant properties. The results from this study also revealed that the mucilage of Abelmoschus esculentus is rich in protein and minerals. Three weeks of administration of mucilage and peel–seed suspensions reduced the blood glucose concentration of alloxan‐induced diabetic mice. Cholesterol, triglycerides, low‐density lipoproteins, high‐density lipoproteins, and total protein were found to be significantly improved after mucilage and peel–seed treatment.

Nowadays, effective medications as antioxidant agents are mandatory for a safe and sustainable environment. Dodonaea viscosa (D. viscosa) is used traditionally by the Omani people to treat rheumatism, toothaches, fever, cold, malaria, headaches, indigestion, ulcers, diarrhea, and constipation, dysmenorrheal and irregular menstruation. This study was carried out to prepare leaf extracts by different solvents and to determine their antioxidant activity and total phenols content. The selected plant was collected locally near the University Campus, Nizwa, Oman. The dried coarse powder was used for the extraction with methanol and it was defatted with water and successively partitioned with different polarity solvents with increasing solvent polarity. The total phenols content and antioxidant activity of the prepared different extracts were assessed by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (FCR) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) methods. The total phenols content of different extracts was in the range of 3.02-249.93 mg gallic acid/g dry extract. The chloroform extract showed the maximum amount of total phenol compounds (249.93 mg GAE acid/g dry extract) and the minimum content was found in water extract (3.02 mg GAE acid/g dry extract). The leaf crude extracts were obtained to significant levels of antioxidant activity that ranged from percentage of inhibition from 33-85.92 %. The water extract and n-butanol extracts showed significant levels of antioxidant activity (85.92 % and 84.99 %) against the DPPH free radical method. In conclusion, this study showed that different polarities crude extracts of D. viscosa comprise a significant amount of phenols plus antioxidant properties and have possibilities of being potential use of the selected species for a natural source of antioxidants.

Chitosan is a biodegradable natural compound that has a great potentiality in agriculture for controlling plant diseases. An attempt was made to control Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melongenae under inoculated field condition and increase the growth and yield of brinjal by chitosan. Before setting the experiments in the field, preliminary laboratory experiments were carried out to select virulent isolate and effective dose of chitosan against the mycelial growth of the selected pathogen. F. oxysporum f. sp. melongenae isolate F-1 was found to be the most virulent on brinjal in pathogenicity test. Chitosan @ 1.0% concentration was appeared to be the highest inhibitory to the test pathogen at in vitro condition. Additionally, seed treatment with 1.0% chitosan for 12 hrs resulted in the highest increased in germination and seedling growth of brinjal. The field experiment was conducted following Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments. No treatment was given in T1, the pathogen was inoculated in T2 and seed treatment and soil amendment with 1.0% chitosan was done in T3 and T4, respectively, in test pathogen inoculated condition. Application of 1.0% chitosan as a seed treatment (T3) or soil amendment (T4) significantly reduced pre- and post-emergence seedling mortality, incidence and severity of Fusarium wilt as well as enhanced germination percentage, plant growth and yield of brinjal. On the contrary, pre-emergence and post-emergence seedling mortality, disease incidence and severity of Fusarium wilt were highest in treatment T2 where the soil was inoculated with pathogen without chitosan. Therefore, chitosan could be used against this vascular disease as an alternative to inorganic fungicides and augment yield.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) initiates when a woman’s pancreas could not act appropriately to bypass the diabetogenic condition during pregnancy. It is increasing across the world, including Bangladesh. Triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) are strongly connected with insulin resistance in pregnant women. Observation of the role of lipid profiles and TG/HDL cholesterol ratio associated with fasting glucose in GDM subjects. In this experiment, a total of 232 individual subjects consisting of 132 GDM-positive and 100 GDM-negative pregnant women were examined and observed from 24 to 28 weeks of their pregnancy period. For this study, we had collected blood samples from selected women before and after breakfast and analyzed blood glucose level, triglyceride cholesterol level, HDL, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and TG/HDL ratio. TG and LDL-cholesterol were significantly higher (p

In vitro regeneration of cucumber is relatively difficult for genetic improvement. In this regard, different concentrations of growth regulators and three types of explants (cotyledon, hypocotyl and leaf disc) were investigated for their efficiency on callus induction potential. Among different explants explored for callus induction with different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), leaf disc responded earlier (4.67 days) and showed higher percentage of callus induction (91.50%) with 2 mg/l 2,4-D supplemented Murashige and Skoog (MS) media. The same concentration of 2,4-D resulted in the maximum callus fresh (0.56 g) and dry weight (0.39 g) from leaf disc explant. Then the callus was transferred to untreated, 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l NAA + 1.0 mg/l Kn, 2.0 mg/l BAP + 1.0 mg/l NAA + 1.0 mg/l Kn and 2.0 mg/l BAP + 1.5 mg/l NAA + 1.0 mg/l Kn fortified MS medium. After transferring the callus of different explants to shoot regeneration media containing different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and Kinetin (Kn), only cotyledon callus started to regenerate shoot. The combination of BAP (2 mg/l) + NAA (0.2 mg/l) + Kn (1 mg/l) showed highest shoot regeneration percentage (67.77%) and the maximum number of shoots (5.12) per explant were recorded in the treatment combination of 2 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l NAA + 1 mg/l Kn. These results provided a basis for the optimization of the callus induction protocol of cucumber for genetic transformation.

Background: The plant-derived bioflavonoid amentoflavone has many important biological activities, among them remarkable antiviral effects, even against severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It inhibits severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) with an IC50 value of 8.3 M. (TMPRSS-2 activity is now thought to be the only factor necessary for cell entry and viral pathogenesis). In comparison, 3CLPRO is needed for COVID-19 replication and maturation during its life cycle. Aim: This study aims to perform an in silico study on amentoflavone activity against structural and non-structural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLPRO) and human transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS-2) proteins. Materials and Methods: Molecular docking studies were carried out using compounds against 3CLPRO and TMPRSS-2 proteins through the Swiss model, Uniport, PROCHECK, Swiss PDB viewer, PyMol, PyRx, and Desmond (Schrodinger package) computerized software.