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Shrimp culture has become a part and parcel for continuing sustainable livelihood of the farmers in the coastal villages of Bangladesh. This study aimed to optimize stocking density for a disease-free and profitable Indian white shrimp (Penaeus indicus) farming. The experiment was conducted under three treatments each with three replications. Stocking density of 10 individuals m-2 was considered as treatment one (T1), 20 individuals m-2 as treatment two (T2) and 30 individuals m-2 as treatment three (T3) for farming Indian white shrimp. Generally, all the water quality parameters of the experimental ponds except the salinity were found within the optimum condition for Indian white shrimp culture. In modified extensive shrimp farming (MESF) system, T2 showed higher survival rate than any other treatments at a low salinity level. Besides, total production values were revealed very tiny gap between T2 and T3. Though the highest value of production was found in T3 but survival rate was lower than T2. Moreover, values of shrimp’s average body weight (ABW), daily weight gain (DWG), and specific growth rate (SGR) were the highest in T2. During 90 days of culture, the growth of the Indian shrimp was negative allometric (2.86), which value was about to the value (3.00) of isomerism. This study recommends MESF culture system for growing Indian white shrimp for a greater output in brackishwater farms. This investigation also suggests some future research by considering MESF system for other important indigenous shrimp species.

In the north-eastern part of Bangladesh, direct discharge of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) from upstream Khashi hill areas of Meghalaya into trans-boundary Rivers causes huge losses of fish and crops. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of coal mines on water quality on the basis of physico-chemical parameters, such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, and heavy metals viz. Fe, Pb, Cr and Cd. For this purpose, a total of 15 samples were collected with 3 replications from 5 different locations of Jadukata River. The mean values of the analyzed parameters for 5 different sampling sites ranged: pH: 6.63-8.47; temperature: 25.77-26.8 °C; EC 344.51-383.50 μS cm-1; DO: 7.60-8.30 mg l-1; TDS 337.33-454.33 ppm; BOD: 0.70-1.93 mg l-1; COD: 1.20-2.30 mg l-1; Fe: 0.69-0.86 mg l-1; Pb: 0.05-0.07 mg l-1; Cr: 0.04-0.06 mg l-1. Analyzed results show that, most of the values of the considered parameters were higher at Lakmachara point, which is the nearest site to the Indian border and low at Rajargao, the farthest from the border. Almost all the values of Pb and Cr in different sampling points were higher than their permissible limits for drinking but, the values were within limit for irrigation activities. Other parameters were found within the permissible limit for drinking and irrigation usage. The gradual descending variations of the analyzed parameters from downstream to upstream were mostly due to the effect of AMD, which was mixed with the water of Jadukata River. Leaching of heavy metals near Khashi hill areas of Meghalaya at the upstream of Jadukata River are the major causes of contamination of the Jadukata River.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the colony forming units (CFU) to isolate, identify, and antibiotic sensitivity of Staphylococcus aureus from chicken nuggets (CN). Materials and Methods: Sixty CN samples from two brands were collected from different super¬stores in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. Uncooked, oven-cooked (OC), or gas stove-cooked (GSC) CN samples were inoculated onto mannitol salt agar and blood agar. Results: The total staphylococcal count (TSC) for uncooked CN ranged from log 4.68 to log 5.11 CFU/gm. For OC CN, TSC ranged from log 3.29 to log 3.62 CFU/gm. For GSC CN, TSC ranged from log 3.09 to log 3.49 CFU/gm. Relative to uncooked CN, microwave oven-cooked and GSC samples significantly reduced the TSC of CN (p < 0.01). Using the polymerase chain reaction assay and standard biochemical testing, only 8 out of 60 CN samples contained S. aureus. Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to Ampicillin (100%), Amoxicillin (100%), Oxacillin (75%), Cefixime (87.5%), Doxycycline (75%), intermediately sensitive to Erythromycin (25%), Cephalexin (12.5%), Ciprofloxacin (25%), Gentamicin (12.5%), Doxycycline (12.5%) and sensitive to Oxacillin (25%), Azithromycin (100%), Erythromycin (75%) Cephalexin (87.5%), Cefixime (12.5%), Chloramphenicol (100%), Ciprofloxacin (75%), Gentamicin (87.5%), Doxycycline (12.5%), and Vancomycin (100%). Conclusion: This study reports the first isolation and identification of S. aureus from CN in Bangladesh. GSC CN was better than OC and uncooked CN. Data also suggest that CN is contami¬nated with multidrug-resistant S. aureus, which poses a public health hazard.

The present study was to optimize the brinjal pickle development process and investigate the effect of tamarind pulp on the nutritional, sensory qualities, and storage stability of brinjal pickles. The fresh brinjal and tamarind pulp were analyzed for nutritional composition. Developed brinjal pickles incorporation with tamarind pulp were analyzed for nutritional composition, sensory attributes, microbiological status, and overall storage stability. The nutritional compositions of developed pickles were different depending on the processing ingredients. Chemical analysis of developed pickles showed that the highest moisture content (60.23%) was given by sample A (500 g Brinjal + No tamarind pulp) followed by Sample B (450 g Brinjal + 50 g tamarind pulp), C (400 g Brinjal + 100 g tamarind pulp), and D(350 g Brinjal + 150 g tamarind pulp). Other components such as ash, protein, fat, fibre, vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, iron & total carbohydrate content increased with an increasing amount of tamarind pulp with brinjal. The acceptability of prepared pickles was organoleptically evaluated by the panelists using 1-9 hedonic scale. Sensory properties more specifically overall acceptability were in a rank like sample D>C>B>A. Storage studies were carried out for up to 4 months at room temperature (29°-30° C) at interval of one month. Microbial load decreased with the increasing amount of tamarind pulp, salt, sugar, and mustard oil in brinjal pickles. It could be due to the antimicrobial activity of tamarind pulp, salt, sugar, and mustard oil. The color, flavor & texture were unchanged up to 4 months of storage except slightly spoiled in samples A and B at 4th month.

Objective: Here, we developed and tested the efficacy of a vaccination protocol based on a commercially available live attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum (Salmonella galli¬narum) in layer chickens. Materials and Methods: 50 layer chickens of 16 weeks age were obtained and divided into two groups (n = 25), control and vaccinated. The vaccinated group received Salmonella vaccine at 0.2 ml/bird, s/c route at 16, 18, 30, and 42 weeks of age. At 21 weeks of age, birds from both groups were challenged with S. gallinarum orally at 4 × 107 colony-forming unit per bird. Results: Both rapid serum plate agglutination and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated a rising rate of seroconversion in vaccinated birds across the study period, with a 4% positive rate at 18 weeks, 56% at 21 weeks, 60% at 30 weeks, and 64% at each time point of 42 and 54 weeks. The vaccine showed 100% clinical protection and reduced the Salmonella shedding in the feces and eggs of the challenged birds. On the contrary, the unvaccinated challenged birds showed clinical signs and lesions typical of Salmonella infections with morbidity and mortality rates of 36% and 20%, respectively, and had high rates of Salmonella shedding in feces and eggs. Conclusions: With the proposed vaccination schedule Salmonella shedding was prevented, and a high seroconversion was confirmed. To prevent Salmonella infections in laying flocks, a 3-month interval immunization program is advised starting at the pre-laying stage.

Querying graph structured data is a fundamental operation that enables important applications including knowledge graph search, social network analysis, and cyber-network security. However, the growing size of real-world data graphs poses severe challenges for graph databases to meet the response-time requirements of the applications. Planning the computational steps of query processing — Query Planning — is central to address these challenges. In this paper, we study the problem of learning to speedup query planning in graph databases towards the goal of improving the computational-efficiency of query processing via training queries. We present a Learning to Plan (L2P) framework that is applicable to a large class of query reasoners that follow the Threshold Algorithm (TA) approach. First, we define a generic search space over candidate query plans, and identify target search trajectories (query plans) corresponding to the training queries by performing an expensive search. Subsequently, we learn greedy search control knowledge to imitate the search behavior of the target query plans. We provide a concrete instantiation of our L2P framework for STAR, a state-of-the-art graph query reasoner. Our experiments on benchmark knowledge graphs including dbpedia, yago, and freebase show that using the query plans generated by the learned search control knowledge, we can significantly improve the speed of STAR with negligible loss in accuracy.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Hematological features of the participants having high HbA2 level (HbA2 > 3.5%) without mutation in beta globin gene of hemoglobin.

An international, expert led consensus initiative was set up by the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS) group to develop systematic, evidence, and experience-based recommendations for the treatment of ocular TB using a modified Delphi technique process. In the first round of Delphi, the group identified clinical scenarios pertinent to ocular TB based on five clinical phenotypes (anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, choroiditis, retinal vasculitis, and panuveitis). Using an interactive online questionnaires, guided by background knowledge from published literature, 486 consensus statements for initiating ATT were generated and deliberated amongst 81 global uveitis experts. The median score of five was considered reaching consensus for initiating ATT. The median score of four was tabled for deliberation through Delphi round 2 in a face-to-face meeting. This report describes the methodology adopted and followed through the consensus process, which help elucidate the guidelines for initiating ATT in patients with choroidal TB.

Naproxen, a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), for pain management and immediate release tablet is more patient convenient for managing pain immediately. In this study, six different formulations (F1-F6) of naproxen immediate release tablets were prepared by wet granulation method and were designed to increase disintegration and drug release property by using two super disintegrants named sodium starch glycolate and crospovidone in different concentrations. After preparing the formulations, the physicochemical properties were evaluated according to the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) guideline. Among all the formulations, F6 proved to be the best immediate release formulation in terms of disintegration time (1.23 min) and dissolution (99.56% after 30 minutes). Other tablet properties of formulation F6 like average weight, diameter, thickness, hardness and friability were also within the USP limit. Drug release kinetics were analyzed through different models such as zero order, first order, Higuchi, Korsmeyer-Peppas and Hixson-Crowell model where the optimized formulation (F6) was best fitted in Hixson-Crowell model. The release mechanism of naproxen followed non-swellable matrix-diffusion, Quasi-Fickian diffusion. Moreover, F6 formulation was stable at 45 °C/ 75% RH for a period of three months and compatibility study was conducted by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) where no change was found in stability and peak positions. The optimized formulation (F6) was compared with eight (8) different naproxen immediate release tablet brands (B1-B8) available in market based on dissolution. F6 showed better release property than the marketed tablets. Thus, it can be comprehended that the formulation F6 was robust and stable with a better immediate release property.

Background: Knowledge about diabetes is the cornerstone of self-management, which is crucial for diabetes care. Improving patients’ knowledge and self-management toward their condition can achieve better control, delay complications, and improve their quality of life. However, there are great variations in the level of knowledge from population to population and this needs to be explored in different ethnic and sociocultural groups for designing appropriate preventive strategies. Due to lack of adequate studies in Bangladesh, this study aimed at assessing diabetes-related knowledge, its determinants and examined which subgroups of patients have the largest knowledge deficits. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 504 study participants with type 2 diabetes in the outpatient clinic of the Bangladesh Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS) hospital, a tertiary care center in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sociodemographic information, anthropometric knowledge about diabetes were collected by semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaires by the face-to-face interview technique. Respondents who achieved a 50% or higher score from a 16-item diabetic knowledge assessment questionnaire were considered to have good knowledge and their counterparts were considered as possessing poor knowledge about diabetes. Descriptive statistics was used to estimate the prevalence of knowledge. A univariate and multivariate logistic regression was carried out to identify significant factors associated with diabetic knowledge. Results: The participants’ mean age (±SD) was 52 ± 11years; among them, 57.3% were women, 17.1% were illiterate, and 31.5% belonged to a lower-income family. About one-third of them (29.2%) had good knowledge, and male participants were more educated and had higher diabetes knowledge compared with their counterparts. In particular, gender, education, occupation, monthly family income, and duration of diabetes showed a significant correlation with overall knowledge. On multivariate regression, age, education, duration of diabetes, and family members correlated independently with knowledge. Conclusions: On the basis of the current study, it is suggested that about two-third of the patients attending a tertiary care hospital had poor knowledge about diabetes. These results highlight the need for a coordinated educational program with a prioritized focus on older, newly diagnosed, and less educated groups, which reinforces the necessity for patient education.

Accurate quantum reactive calculations for the reaction Li + HD + ( v = 0 , 1 , j = 0 ) have been performed on the potential energy surface of Martinazzo et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 119 (21), 11241 (200...

Number of top 91 age-associated CpGs in common between different RefFreeEWAS models using original dataset and a) top 100 age-associated CpGs in Validation dataset or b) significant (< 5e-8) age-associated CpGs in the Validation dataset (PDF 69 kb)

Additional file 1: Table S1. Number of three different types of water samples collected from 15 Rohingya camps (50% of all functional tubewells of respective camps).

Appendix BMC Public Health Stigma-Adherence. (DOCX 16â kb)

Additional file 4. Checklist to identify study limitations.

Sequence alignment of the total sequences of the gene BoFLC3.C3 and BoFLC4.C3 cloned from early-flowering line (BN623) and late-flowering line (BN3848) aligned with reference sequence of BoFLC3.C3 and BoFLC4.C3 genes, respectively. Red highlighted letter indicate SNPs variations in the early-flowering line. Forward and reverse arrows indicate forward and reverse primer sets used for cloning and sequencing. (DOC 747 kb)

Shells for the five tables that will be included in the final report of the trial (do not include data). (DOCX 45 kb)

Top 50 results based on p-value for analysis methods Methylspectrum and RefFreeEWAS. (PDF 244 kb)

Additional file 15: Table S6. List of DEGs with significant Fold Changes in RPTEC/TERT1 cells without and with MSC co-culture in mannitol (MAN) condition.

Number of top 100 age-associated CpGs in common between different RefFreeEWAS models. (PDF 72 kb)

Number of top 100 age-associated CpGs in common between analysis methdos Methylspectrum and RefFreeEWAS. (PDF 222 kb)

Figure S1. PCR amplicons of BoFLC1.C9, BoFLC3.C3 and BoFLC4.C3 in late-flowering line BN3848 (P1) and early-flowering line BN623 (P2). PCR products with respective primers from start to stop codons of the genes (Additional file 1: Table S1A) were run on a 1.5% agarose gel and their corresponding amplicon sizes are mentioned. M is a 100-bp size marker. Figure S2. Sequence alignments of the BoFLC1.C9 gene cloned from early- and late-flowering lines. Variation of a 67-bp insertion in the early-flowering line BN623 is highlighted in red color. Figure S3. PCR-amplicons of 141 F2 segregating population with F7R7 primers of Indel marker of BoFLC1.C9 gene. P1 = Late-flowering parent (BN3848), P2 = Early-flowering parent (BN623), F1 = (BN3848 × BN623); black and red colored numbers of the F2 individual are matched and mismatched lines, respectively as early- and late-flowering lines. M = 100 bp DNA marker. Figure S4. Regression and correlation coefficient between marker dosage and phenotypes as days to flowering after sowing (DAS) explained by the F7R7 marker in 141 F2 individual. ** indicates p

Age distribution for males and females in HEALS. (PDF 56 kb)

UCSC genome location information for a subset of the top 100 age-associated CpGs observed to be significantly associated with its Illumina assigned gene expression (PDF 112 kb)

Age distribution for males and females in BEST. (PDF 55 kb)

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table.

Table S1. Ortholog species, ortholog ID, percent identity, percent query coverage and GOC of 25 genes of BoFLC, BoFT, BoSOC1, BoLFY, BoCO, BoVRN, BoVIN, BoSVP and BoSPL of B. oleracea. Table S2 A. List of newly designed primers on the identified 25 genes used for searching polymorphism by PCR. Table S2 B. List of previously published primers on the reported FLCs in B. oleracea used in this study. (DOC 272 kb)

Top 100 results across BEST (original) and HEALS (validation) datasets based on top age-associated CpGs observed in BEST. (PDF 69 kb)

Certain Trichoderma strains protect plants from diverse pathogens using multiple mechanisms. We report a novel mechanism that may potentially play an important role in Trichoderma-based biocontrol. Trichoderma virens and T. viride significantly increased the amount/activity of secreted antifungal metabolites in response to volatile compounds (VCs) produced by 13 strains of Fusarium oxysporum, a soilborne fungus that infects diverse plants. This response suggests that both Trichoderma spp. recognize the presence of F. oxysporum by sensing pathogen VCs and prepare for attacking pathogens. However, T. asperellum did not respond to any, while T. harzianum responded to VCs from only a few strains. Gene expression analysis via qPCR showed up-regulation of several biocontrol-associated genes in T. virens in response to F. oxysporum VCs. Analysis of VCs from seven F. oxysporum strains tentatively identified a total of 28 compounds, including six that were produced by all of them. All four Trichoderma species produced VCs that inhibited F. oxysporum growth. Analysis of VCs produced by T. virens and T. harzianum revealed the production of compounds that had been reported to display antifungal activity. F. oxysporum also recognizes Trichoderma spp. by sensing their VCs and releases VCs that inhibit Trichoderma, suggesting that both types of VC-mediated interaction are common among fungi.

Contemporary civilization is facing more than thousands of disorders accompanied with free radicals. Antioxidants from edible and non-edible mushrooms are gaining importance to fight these disorders. The current investigation was intended to evaluate antioxidant and cytotoxic effects of a well known edible oyster mushroom, Pleurotus highking (P. highking). Antioxidant activity of the methanolic crude extracts of Pleurotus highking was done on total phenolic contents and reducing power activity. Cytotoxic study was performed by brine shrimp lethality bioassay with the larvae of Artemia salina. Total phenolic contents of the extracts was found to be 20.100±0.049 mg of catechin/gm of dried extract whereas the reducing power activity of the extracts was found to be dose depended and was 0.062, 0.091, 0.146, 0.283 and 0.618 at concentration of 6.25 µg/ml, 12.5 µg/ml, 25 µg/ml, 50 µg/ml and 100 µg/ml of the extract respectively. The cytotoxic potentiality of the extracts was found as dose and time depended manner. 100% mortality rate of the brine shrimp larvae was found at a concentration of 480 µg/ml and more. The LC50 of the extracts was found to be 7.94 µg/ml. The present study suggests that the P. highking possesses remarkable antioxidant and cytotoxic property.

Logs of Khaya anthotheca wood has been studied for assessing the suitability of plywood and particleboard manufacture. It was found that 1.5 mm thick smooth and figured veneer can be made and dried easily. Three-ply plywood were made using veneer of this species bonded with liquid urea formaldehyde glue of 50% solid content extended with wheat flour and catalyzed (ammonium chloride) with 2% hardener under the specific pressures, viz, 1.05 N/mm2, 1.40 N/mm2, 1.76 N/mm2 in three replications at 6 minute press time and 120°C press temperature. Dry and wet shear test were conducted on the sample and their shear load at failure per unit area and percentage of wood failure were determined. 1.05 N/mm2 pressure for the manufacture of ply wood was found to be the best. The physical and mechanical properties of K.anthotheca particleboard were studied. The particleboards were tested for determining the strength and dimensional stability. The tensile strength (internal bond strength 0.68 N/mm2) passed the German and British standard specifications; bending strength (modules of rupture 11.25 N/mm2) passed the Indian Standard but did not pass the German and British standard specifications.

Bamboo in panel form is well suited to wood substitute can be used as furniture components. During the preparation of strips by four side planer huge amount of wastage are obtained. In the present study, Planer shavings of Bhyjja, (Bambusa vulgaris) and Borak, (Bambusa balcooa) bamboo are used for manufacturing particleboard and mat overlaid particleboard. Mitinga, (Bambusa tulda) bamboo is used for making mat. Borax-boric acid (BB) treatments were given to enhance the durability of mat. The treatment were carried out using borax-boric acid (1:1) aqueous solution of different concentrations at different time schedule by soaking process.. Retention 22.11 kg/m3 to 27.41 kg/m3 were obtained when the mat were treated with 5% and 7% BB solution for 1 to 3 days. The modulus of rupture of bamboo particle board and mat overlaid particleboard were found 16 N/ mm2 and 25 N/ mm2respectively using planer shavings of Bambusa balcooa. The modulus of rupture of bamboo particle board and mat overlaid particleboard were found 18 N/ mm2 and 26.5 N/ mm2 respectively using planer shavings of Bambusa vulgaris. It was observed that the strength properties of board made form B. vulgaris higher than that of B. balcooa . Static bending /modulus of rupture of the particleboard are satisfactory. Modulus of rupture and tensile strengths of all the boards, however, satisfy the Indian and British standards. The strength properties of the mat overlaid particle board were increased due to the use of bamboo mat in the face and back position.

Figure S2: Concentration screening of exogenous melatonin and 2, 4-epibrassinolide on tall fescue seedlings under heat stress condition. (PPTX 157 kb)

Figure S1: Effect of high temperature at 42 °C on growth of tall fescue seedlings. (PPTX 90 kb)