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Microstrip patch antennas are becoming increasingly popular because they are small, have low profiles, are easy to integrate, are very cheap, and work well. For this reason, this antenna could be used for wireless communication systems. This research paper reviews and studies 28 GHz microstrip patch antenna for wireless applications. Different substrate materials have been used to make these antennas, such as FR-4 (loss), FR-4 Epoxy, Rogers RT/droid 5880, TLC-30, Rogers RT/droid 5880 LZ, and others. Different substrate materials and shapes were used to make microstrip patch antennas with a frequency of 28 GHz. This article discusses the different sizes of antennas, the other geometric shapes antennas can take, the different ways antennas' properties can be analyzed, and the different types of antennas. It will also talk about the material, thickness, loss tangent, return loss, bandwidth, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), gain, efficiency, and directivity of the substrate. This antenna is used for super-high-frequency (SHF), radars, commercial wireless local area networks (LANs), cell phones, and other wireless communications systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladesh experienced widespread wheat blast infections for the first time in 2016. The outbreak of the disease has significantly affected wheat acreage and production. This study uses an 'action theory' framework to identify the determinants that affected wheat growers to adopt certain production practices to deal with the situation. We followed a multistage sampling procedure and interviewed 150 wheat growers from two severely blast-affected districts, Meherpur and Kustia. According to 91.3% of farmers, the most remarkable adoption strategies were 'improved intercultural practices,' 'shifting variety,' 'shifting crops', and 'undertaking off-farm activities,' of which farmers mostly followed the former. We also used multivariate probit model analysis to identify factors that shape farmers' adaptation choices in wheat blast-affected areas. The adaptation strategies are influenced mainly by farmers' education, primary occupation, family size, government incentives, extension services, access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and annual income. According to the notable similarities between the four adoption strategies, an adoption study should consider all potential factors influencing farmers' adoption decisions. Policy implications include strengthening extension services, developing tailored adaptation strategies, and conducting relevant research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have highlighted the Rohingya refugees as a threat to the national security of Bangladesh, but very few studies have analyzed the process of securitization of the Rohingyas in the country. This paper examines the process of securitization by applying securitization theory and makes two key arguments. First, contrary to the studies which presented the securitization of Rohingyas in Bangladesh as a recent phenomenon, we argue that the securitization process began in the 1990s and widely expanded in the 2010s. Second, the securitization of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has been done by employing both discursive (speech acts) and non-discursive securitizing practices. A qualitative investigation of official statements, policies, and available scholarly insights helps make sense of these arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a microstrip patch antenna that works at 3.6 GHz was built and tested to see how well it works. In this work, Rogers RT/Duroid 5880 has been used as the substrate material, with a dielectric permittivity of 2.2 and a thickness of 0.3451 mm; it serves as the base for the examined antenna. The computer simulation technology (CST) studio suite is utilized to show the recommended antenna design. The goal of this study was to get a more extensive transmission capacity, a lower voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), and a lower return loss, but the main goal was to get a higher gain, directivity, and efficiency. After simulation, the return loss, gain, directivity, bandwidth, and efficiency of the supplied antenna are found to be -17.626 dB, 9.671 dBi, 9.924 dBi, 0.2 GHz, and 97.45%, respectively. Besides, the recreation uncovered that the transfer speed side-lobe level at phi was much better than those of the earlier works, at -28.8 dB, respectively. Thus, it makes a solid contender for remote innovation and more robust communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resuscitation with blood products is often required for pediatric cardiac surgery patients following cardiopulmonary bypass. However, data suggest that blood product transfusion is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes. Most studies have specifically found detrimental effects of overall transfusion of red blood cells in particular, but few have analyzed outcomes by the other specific blood product components. Aims: The objective of this study is to analyze adverse outcomes associated with intraoperative transfusion of specific blood product components. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 643 pediatric patients who underwent cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass to evaluate the risk of selected adverse outcomes associated with intraoperative blood product transfusion. Adverse outcomes included thrombotic complications, stroke, acute kidney injury, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and death. Univariate logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to explore the association between various blood products and the occurrence of postoperative complications. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were performed adjusting for age, cyanotic status, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons‐European Association for Cardio‐Thoracic Surgery Score (STAT score), and cardiopulmonary bypass time. Results: Unadjusted analysis using univariate logistic and linear regressions showed statistically significant associations of almost all blood components (per 10 mL/kg dose increments) with multiple postoperative complications, including mortality, thrombotic complications, stroke, and days of mechanical ventilation. After adjusting for patient age, cyanotic status, STAT score, and cardiopulmonary bypass time, multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses revealed no association between transfusion of blood products with acute kidney injury and stroke. Administration of red blood cells was the only category significantly correlated with increased days of mechanical ventilation (0.5 days increase in mechanical ventilation per 10 mL/kg transfusion of red blood cells). The only blood product to show complete lack of a statistically significant association with any of the studied outcomes was cryoprecipitate. Conclusions: Transfusion of blood products following cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with postoperative adverse outcomes. Future studies aimed at strategies to reduce intraoperative bleeding and decrease the amount of blood products administered are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural cellulose, a sustainable bioresource, is highly abundant in nature. Cellulosic materials, particularly those that explore and employ such materials for industrial use, have recently attracted significant global attention in the field of material science because of the unique properties of cellulose. The hydroxyl groups enable the formation of intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding and the arrangement of cellulose chains in a highly ordered crystalline zone, with the remaining disordered structure referred to as an amorphous region. The crystalline areas of cellulose are well-known as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). In the present study, we extracted CNCs from pure cellulose isolated from waste jute fibers by sulfuric acid hydrolysis, followed by characterization. Pure cellulose was isolated from jute fibers by treating with sodium hydroxide (20% w/w) and anthraquinone (0.5%) solution at 170 °C for 2 h, followed by bleaching with chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide solution. CNCs were isolated from pure cellulose by treating with different concentrations (58% to 62%) of sulfuric acid at different time intervals (20 min to 45 min). The FTIR study of the CNCs reveals no peak at 1738 cm−1, which confirms the absence of hemicellulose in the samples. The CNCs obtained after 45 min of acid hydrolysis are rod-shaped, having an average length of 800 ± 100 nm and width of 55 ± 10 nm, with a high crystallinity index (90%). Zeta potential significantly increased due to the attachment of SO42− ions on the surface of CNC from −1.0 mV to about −30 mV, with the increment of the reaction time from 20 min to 45 min, which proved the higher stability of CNC suspension. Crystallinity increased from 80% to 90% when the reaction time was increased from 20 to 45 min, respectively, while a crystallite size from 2.705 to 4.56 nm was obtained with an increment of the acid concentration. Acid hydrolysis enhanced crystallinity but attenuated the temperature corresponding to major decomposition (Tmax) at 260 °C and the beginning of degradation (Ti) at 200 °C due to the attachment of SO42− ions on the surface, which decreased the thermal stability of CNC. The second degradation at 360 °C indicated the stable crystal structure of CNC. The endothermic peak at 255 °C in the DTA study provided evidence of sulfated nanocrystal decomposition and the recrystallization of cellulose I to cellulose II, the most stable structure among the other four celluloses. The proposed easy-to-reproduce method can successfully and efficiently produce CNCs from waste jute fibers in a straightforward way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the investigation of applicability of Sulfonated Glycidylmethacrylate (GMA) grafted non-woven polyethylene (PE) adsorbent for the efficient removal of uranium from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent film was prepared by the gamma radiation (pre-radiation) technique of GMA grafting onto non-woven PE and the epoxide group of GMA converted to sulfonic acid by sulfonation. The uranium loading capacity of the sorbent was investigated with different parameters contact time, initial uranium concentration, pH and temperature. The kinetics of the monolayer sorption was evaluated by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations. The uranium loading capacity depends on temperature. At 25 °C the value of ∆G is − 0.74 kJ mol−1 and at higher temperature it is also negative, indicates that the sorption process is spontaneous and thermodynamically favorable. The experimental data fitted best with the Langmuir isotherm model and the deliberate sorption capacity were 181.82 mg g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric patients are subject to numerous painful procedures during their hospitalization. These procedures can cause pain and anxiety that may be under-estimated and under-treated. Research shows that patients undergoing painful procedures receive suboptimal relief for pain and anxiety (Bice et al., 2014). Methods: A non-experimental design used retrospective chart reviews for comparison of patient care before and after implementation of a new nursing practice guideline (NPG) and order set/power plan (PP) on three inpatient units. An assessment of nursing and provider knowledge of pharmacologic and non- pharmacologic analgesia and the non-sedated procedural pain NPG/PP was completed. A nursing satisfaction survey assessed use and feasibility of the NPG. Findings: After educational implementation, nurses and providers significantly improved their knowledge of peak onset of morphine and oxycodone (p < 0.001). Nurses demonstrated significant improvement in reports of NPG utilization and knowledge of pharmacological and non-pharmacological resources (p < 0.001). Providers gained familiarity with the NPG/PP (p < 0.001). There was no evidence in the electronic health record (EHR) documentation to confirm the transfer of knowledge and compliance related to the NPG/PP. Discussion: This multidisciplinary quality improvement project improved nursing and provider knowledge of non-sedated pediatric procedural pain pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic resources in our organization. EHR documentation limitations may have contributed to the evaluation of resource application. Application to Practice: By improving knowledge of resources, we hope to increase compliance, improve pain control, and continue to evaluate their use during these short procedures. Redesign of the EHR is essential to help facilitate and evaluate NPG/PP compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to estimate arsenic (As) and iron (Fe) content in tubewell water (n = 58) in primary educational institutions and subsequently assess the health risks to school-going children. Results described that the As concentration ranged between 0.002 and 0.994 mg L−1 with an average value of 0.044 mg L−1; which exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value of 0.01 mg L−1. Similarly, the Fe content varied from 0.05 to 10 mg L−1 averaging to 2.84 mg L−1. Samples of 55.17% contained a greater As concentration than 0.01 mg L−1 and 18.97% greater than Bangladesh drinking water quality (BDWQ) standard of 0.05 mg L−1, respectively. Meanwhile, 75.86% of samples contained a higher Fe concentration than the maximum Bangladesh permissible limit of 1 mg L−1. Health risk assessment indicated that girls are more vulnerable than boys are. The average hazard quotients (HQs) for As intake through drinking water were 6.01 ± 17.85 and 7.41 ± 22.03 for boys and girls, respectively, implying non-carcinogenic health risks to both genders. The HQs for Fe intake were less than threshold value of 1 indicating no health issues may arise from Fe intake alone. However, consumption of As and Fe may trigger health risks to students as indicated by the hazard index (HI), which was higher than 1. The average cancer risk (CR) values for both boys (0.0027 ± 0.008) and girls (0.0033 ± 0.0099) exceeded the threshold limit of 10–6–10–4, suggesting a possibility of lifetime cancer risks to the school-going children. Consequently, school authorities should find alternative ways to ensure safe drinking water for school-going children to avoid possible cancer and non-cancer health risks through consumption of As-poisoning water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in deep neural networks have led to significant improvement of object detection accuracy. However, object detection in crowded scenarios is a challenging task for neural networks since extremely overlapped objects provide fewer visible cues for a model to learn from. Further complicating the detection of overlapping objects is the fact that most object detectors produce multiple redundant detections for single objects, which are indistinguishable from detections of separate overlapped objects. Most existing works use some variant of non-maximum suppression to prune duplicate candidate bounding boxes based on their confidence scores and the amount of overlap between predicted bounding boxes. These methods are unaware of how much overlap there actually is between the objects in the image, and are therefore inclined to merge detections for highly overlapped objects. In this paper, we propose an overlap aware box selection solution that uses a predicted overlap map to help it decide which highly overlapping bounding boxes are associated with actual overlapping objects and should not be pruned. We show our solution outperforms the state-of-the-art set-NMS bounding box selection algorithm for both the crowdHuman dataset and a sports dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malnutrition among women disproportionately exists across socioeconomic classes of Bangladesh. According to our knowledge, studies which attempted to identify determinants and their contributions to explain BMI-based nutritional gap between the poorest and the richest categories of Wealth Index are still scarce. Objectives: To identify the nutritional gap of women between the richest-poorest classes in Bangladesh, and to determine how much of this gap are attributed to differences in predictors and differences in coefficients. Study population: Reproductive-aged (15–49 years) women of Bangladesh. Methods and procedures: We utilized the latest round (2017–2018) data of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). Body mass index (BMI) has been used to measure the nutritional status of women. The kernel density was used to visualize the nutritional gap. The Oaxaca-Blinder (OB) decomposition method was used to ascertain influential determinants and their contributions to the existing gap between the richest-poorest classes of women. Results: We analyzed the data of 18,682 reproductive-aged women. There was a significant mean BMI gap of 4.1 unit (95% CI: 3.90–4.35) between the poorest-richest (25.6 vs 21.5) women. The overall prevalence of underweight, overweight and obese were 11.8%, 33.8% and 15.4%, respectively. The richest women were less underweight (7.5%) but more overweight (23.7%) and obese (42.2%). In contrast, the poorest women were more underweight (32.0%) but less overweight (13.9%) and obese (7.0%). According to results of OB decomposition method, all predictors combinedly can explain 1.62 units (95% CI: 1.31–1.93) of the total mean BMI gap (equivalent to 40%). Some of the major predictors were women years of education (0.45 units, 95% CI: 0.27–0.64), spouse years of education (0.16 units, 95% CI: -0.02–0.34), current working status (0.17 units, 95% CI: 0.10–0.34), access to Television (0.50 units, 95% CI: 0.28–0.72), and place of residence (0.37 units, 95% CI: 0.22–0.72). The unexplained part of the poorest-richest gap was 2.51 units (95% CI: 2.13–2.89), which means that this particular gap will remain unchanged even though the mean difference of the predictors was diminished. Conclusions: A large part of the nutritional gap (approximately 60%) between the poorest and richest classes of women are found to be unchanged by the predictors of the study. Therefore, further predictors should be identified to minimize such gap. Moreover, policy makers and relevant stakeholders should implement feasible strategies to minimize the existing differences in the major predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poultry can see in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum and supplementation of UVA has been shown to reduce laying hens' fear and stress. The shorter wavelengths (UVB) also facilitate vitamin D 3 production. However, UV spectrums are typically not included in indoor commercial poultry lighting which may result in less than optimum welfare of laying hens. This study predicted that UVA and UVA/B supplementation would increase desirable behaviours such as foraging and exploratory pecking and reduce measures of fear and stress. The effects of UV light supplementation were assessed on 252 ISA Brown hens during the period from 16 to 27 weeks of age. Birds were housed in eighteen pens (14 hens/pen) under three different light treatment groups each with six replications: (i) UV0: standard control lighting with LED white light, (ii) UVA: control lighting plus a supplemental 'daylight' avian bulb providing UVA, and (iii) UVA/B: control lighting plus a supplemental full spectrum reptile bulb containing both UVA and UVB wavelengths. Behavioural time budgets were assessed in the home pens at 18 and 24 weeks. At 20, 23, and 26 weeks, assessments included: individual behavioural tests of tonic immobility and open field, pen-level novel object tests and blood heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios. At 27 weeks the UV supplemental lights were turned off for 3 days as a 'stressor' with bird locations in the pen measured before and during the stressor, along with H/L ratio and attention bias test assessments. Results showed limited effects of the supplemental lights. At 26 weeks both UV light treatments reduced tonic immobility duration (P = 0.006) and vocalisations across time in the open field test (P = 0.0003), while the UVA/B hens had lower H/L ratios than the UV0 hens (P = 0.01). However, removing the treatment lights did not result in greater stress and anxiety and there were few differences observed in the home pen time budgets. Overall, these results align with complementary findings in the same birds showing minimal impact of the UV treatments on measures of egg production, egg quality, bone health, and circulating plasma P and Ca but with an increase in serum vitamin D (25(OH)D 3) for the UVA/B hens. The supplemental UV lights in this study were only on one side of the pens which could have minimised their impacts. Similarly, effects may vary at different points in the production cycle than included in this study. • Ultraviolet (UV) light supplementation reduced tonic immobility durations at 26 weeks • UVA/B supplementation reduced heterophil/lymphocyte ratios compared to control light • Removing UV supplementation did not increase measures of stress and anxiety • Overall, UV supplementation had limited positive or negative impacts during early lay [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, summer brings intense, bright sunlight with high ultraviolet (UV) radiation and hot temperatures, which might impact free-range hens' ranging outside. To determine how range use was correlated with different sunlight variables and weather factors, a study was carried out on three commercial free-range layer farms during the summer/autumn period (December-May) across diverse regions of Australia in Tasmania (TAS), Queensland (QLD), and Western Australia (WA). Hens' range distribution was determined by counting the number of hens in the direct sunlight ('sun') or 'cloud' and shaded areas ('sun-shade' or 'cloud-shade', in sunny or cloudy conditions, respectively) using image snapshots taken at 30 min intervals from video recordings of a portion of one shed comprising 20,000–30,000 hens on each farm during the production phase of the laying cycle. The solar radiation spectrum [UV radiation (UVAB) (288–432 nm), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; visible light) (400–700 nm), and total solar radiation (TSR) (285 nm-3000 nm)] and weather data (ambient temperature and relative humidity) were recorded through an on-site weather station. Data were analysed separately due to discrepancies between the farms' layouts. The effects of time of day and months on range use were analysed using General Linear Models in JMP® 16.0 and the relationship of sunlight and weather variables with hens' distribution in 'sun'/'sun-shade' and 'cloud'/'cloud-shade' in sunny and cloudy conditions respectively was determined by fitting linear ridge regression models using the 'lmridge' package in R. Overall, the time of day and month had significant effects on hens' distribution on the range (all p < 0.0001). Hens' range occupancy in the 'sun' decreased during the midday period with gradual increases in the late afternoon to evening, and the opposite pattern in the 'sun-shade'. A linear increase in the number of hens on the range over the months indicated the seasonal effects on hen ranging patterns. Temperature, UVAB and PAR were the most important factors for discouraging hens' range use in the 'sun' suggesting free-range systems in Australia should be designed to account for the extreme sunlight using adequate shade for optimum ranging across summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Simulation of highly efficient CZTS solar cell. • Introduce CZTSe back surface field (BSF) layer to reduce back contact recombination. • Marked enhancement in PCE achieved. • Effect of back contact metals analyzed and Mo, Ni, Au, and Pt proposed as back contacts. • Detail analysis presented to guide the cells grower. Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide (CZTS) thin film solar cell achieved a great attention of researchers due to its optimum direct energy gap, higher absorption coefficient and good electronic properties. In this work, the CZTS/CdS based solar cell structure with and without back surface field (BSF) layer has been investigated numerically by using SCAPS-1D. Firstly, a basic experimentally reported structure (FTO/ZnO/CdS/CZTS/Mo) without BSF layer is considered and replicated. Then, by inserting p-CZTSe material as BSF layer in between the absorber and back contact, a new device structure (FTO/ZnO/CdS/CZTS/CZTSe/Mo) has been proposed. The performance of both structures; with and without BSF layer, have been analyzed with respect to different layer parameters like: thickness, carrier concentration, and defect densities (N t). A negative effect on cell performance has been observed with working temperature. From these analyses the optimum conversion efficiency of CZTS based PV cell without BSF layer has been found to be around 8.55% using CZTS absorber. The cell with CZTSe BSF layer (FTO/ZnO/CdS/CZTS/CZTSe/Mo) gives an overall conversion efficiency of 22.03%. The efficiency of both cells improved by replacing back contact metal with higher work function. This study gives the highest efficiency of about 29.86% for FTO/ZnO/CdS/CZTS/CZTSe/Pt structure. These simulation results could be an important guideline to a researcher for fabricating cost effective, non-toxic, and highly efficient CZTS solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermented rice is a traditional dish of Bangladesh and believed to contain various beneficial bacterial species. This study has been conducted to isolate and characterize bacteria from the samples of fermented rice. For this purpose, the samples were collected from three different districts of Bangladesh, namely Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Kushtia. A total of three bacterial isolates, denoted as Isolate 1, Isolate 2 and Isolate 3, were isolated from the fermented rice samples and identified by a series of morphological and biochemical tests. The three isolates were gram-positive, round-shaped and non-motile. For the biochemical characterization, the isolated bacteria were tested with several media like Mannitol Salt Agar, MacConkey Agar, EMB Agar, TSI Agar, Simmons Citrate Agar, Urea Agar, BSA and Starch Agar with Catalase assay. Thus the isolates have been confirmed as Staphylococcus sp. both morphologically and biochemically. The isolates were also tested for their antibiotic sensitivities by the disc diffusion method with twelve different antibiotics. All of the isolated bacteria showed resistance to three of the antibiotics, namely aztreonam, ampicillin and penicillin, and showed susceptibility to four, such as imipenem, ciprofloxacin, rifampicin and doxycycline. According to this study, it can be concluded that Staphylococcus sp. could be found in the fermented rice, and antibiotics are available to control these bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bleeding, cardiopulmonary bypass, cryoprecipitate, pediatric cardiac surgery Overall, we agree with the commentary by Dr. Butt, et al. in that our study fails to provide "adequate evidence for the lack of any association between cryoprecipitate transfusion and adverse events after pediatric cardiac surgery." Keywords: bleeding; cardiopulmonary bypass; cryoprecipitate; pediatric cardiac surgery EN bleeding cardiopulmonary bypass cryoprecipitate pediatric cardiac surgery 592 593 2 06/07/23 20230701 NES 230701 DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study. [Extracted from the article]

Vaccinating dogs against rabies is an effective means of reducing human rabies. We subjected 1327 clinically diagnosed human rabies death and mass dog vaccination (MDV) data during 2006–2018 to quantify the impacts of MDV on human rabies incidence in Bangladesh and a subset of rabies death data (422) for clinico-epidemiological analysis. A positive and increasing trend of MDV (p = 0.01 and tau = 0.71) and a negative and declining trend (p < 0.001 and tau = −0.88) of human rabies cases (Correlation coefficient: −0.82) have been observed. Among 422 deaths, the majority (78%) of the victims sought treatment from traditional healers, and 12% received post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). The mean incubation period of rabies in cases with exposure sites on the head & neck (35 days) was shorter than the upper limb (mean = 64 days, p = 0.02) and lower limb (mean = 89 days, p < 0.01). MDV has been found to be effective for reducing human rabies cases in Bangladesh. Creating awareness among the animal bite victims to stop reliance on traditional healers rather seeking PEP, addressing the role of traditional healers through awareness education programme with respect to the treatment of dog bites, ensuring availability of PEP, and continuing to scale up MDV may help to prevent human rabies deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Objectives: This study's primary objective was to characterize attitudes to long-acting antiretrovirals (LAARV), among youth aged 13–24 years living with perinatally acquired HIV and nonperinatally acquired HIV. Secondary objectives included: assessing whether those with detectable HIV RNA PCR viral load had higher enthusiasm for LAARV compared to those with suppressed viral load, and examining characteristics associated with LAARV enthusiasm. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 303 youth living with HIV (YHIV) followed at 4 pediatric/adolescent HIV clinics in the United States was performed to determine interest in LAARV, using a modified survey instrument previously used in adults. Interest in LAARV across groups was compared. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to determine the impact of various characteristics on interest in LAARV. Findings: Overall, 88% of YHIV reported probable or definite willingness to use LAARV. The enthusiasm level was similar between youth with perinatally acquired HIV and nonperinatally acquired HIV (P = 0.93). Youth with HIV viral load >1000 copies per milliliter had significantly higher interest than youth with suppressed viral load [prevalence ratio 1.12 (95% confidence interval: 1.03 to 1.20); P = 0.005]. Female youth participants who had had past experience with implantable contraceptive methods had a significantly higher interest in LAARV (100% vs. 85.5%; P = 0.002). Proportion of respondents endorsing definite willingness to use was significantly higher with decreased injection frequency compared with increased injection frequency. Interpretation: YHIV at 4 urban US pediatric/adolescent HIV clinics had high levels of enthusiasm for LAARV. LAARV should be given high priority as a potentially viable treatment option to improve clinical outcomes in YHIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Alternanthera pungens kunth.The ethanolic extract of Alternanthera pungens (EAP) showed analgesic effects by exerting ameliorated reaction time 40.79% and 44.74% at a dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg,respectively, whereas standard was 41.78% by the hot plate test. Results of writhing inhibition were statistically significant (p <0.05) when compared to control. In addition to that, anti-inflammatory effects were also evaluated against denaturation of protein and the result was significant. Scavenging activity of EAP was 80.95% at the concentration of 800μg/mL. Moreover, HPLC-DAD analysis of EAP was also carried out to determine the presence of phenolic constituents & noted the presence of epicatechin,vanillin, p-coumaric acid etc. These studies inferred that EAP possesses analgesic, antiinflammatory and antioxidant potential which might be due to presence of phytochemicals like flavonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the success and rapid growth of the microfinance industry worldwide, there has been very little sign of any abatement of the high interest rates. High interest rates in microfinance rescind consumer benefits and limit the outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Hence, the aim of this study is to identify the determinants of portfolio yield by examining a longitudinal data of 169 MFIs from Bangladesh. The data are collected from the annual reports of the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) and cover the period from 2009 and 2014. Based on empirical results, the study found that sources of funds are optimally used in the microfinance industry in Bangladesh. Among other institutional characteristics and macroeconomic factors, only operating cost and inflation were found to be positively significant to portfolio yield, supporting the conventional views. Policy implications are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most affordable type of tablet is the immediately compressible tablet, which uses microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a popular pharmaceutical excipient, as a filler or binder. To make it compatible with different active drugs and excipients, we tried to change some physical properties of the MCC. In the current study, we used a chelating agent to pretreat the waste cotton before pulping, bleaching, and finally, hydrochloric acid degradation with a concentration of 2N at 100 °C temperature for 20 min to prepare MCC. The prepared MCC was treated with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide at room temperature or at −20 °C followed by precipitation with hydrochloric acid or ethanol with complete washing with distilled water till neutralization. Evaluation of the degree of polymerization (DP) and FT-IR spectrum confirm the identity of the microcrystalline cellulose. The DP was found to be 216. The bulk density of the unmodified MCC was 0.21 while that of modified MCC varied from 0.253 to 0.594. The modified MCC powder showed good flow properties compared to the unmodified MCC as evaluated by the Hausner index, Carr's index and the angle of repose. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the MCC revealed that the rod shape has been changed to an oval shape due to treatment with sodium hydroxide at −20 °C. The X-ray crystallographic (XRD) analysis indicated that the unmodified MCC and standard MCC showed the crystallinity index (CrI) value of 86.82% and 87.63%, respectively, while the value ranges from 80.18% to 60.7% among the modified MCC powder. The differences in properties of the MCC might be due to the variation of rearrangement of the cellulose chain among the MCC particles due to treatment with different concentrations of a base at different temperatures and precipitation environments. This has enabled us to prepare MCC with different properties which might be compatible with different drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second major global cereals mostly grown in winter season which led wheat plants to suffer with salinity stress. Twenty to thirty per cent of the arable land of the world is present in the saline area. Therefore, it is necessary to develop salinity tolerant wheat varieties to meet the future food demand. Methods: A field experiment was carried out during November 2018 to March 2019 to observe the effect of salinity on yield and other desired plant characters and finally screening of wheat genotypes for salinity tolerance. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomized design containing three treatments with three replications. The treatments were three levels of salinity such as control, 8 dS m-1 and 15 dS m-1. Multivariate and principal components analysis was executed to evaluate yield and other plant characters. Result: The results of the experiment revealed that different plant characters showed wide range of variation under different salinity levels. Biplot analysis considering PC1 and PC2 revealed that grain yield was positively correlated with grain spike-1, spike length, thousand seed weight and total tiller plant-1. Correlation study also revealed that total tiller plant-1, spikelet spike-1, grain spike-1 and thousand seed weight showed significant and positive relation with grain yield plant-1. On the basis of yield reduction per cent and yield the genotypes G12 (2.51 g), G16 (2.49 g) and G4 (2.19 g) were found suitable for 15 dS m-1 salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltammetric behaviors of copper (II) complex with nitrogen bearing nucleobase, thymine (C5H6N2O2), was studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV) on a glassy carbon electrode. Assessment of the chemical and physical conditions that may favor optimum current enhancement was done by studying the effect of variation of concentration of metal and ligand ions, scan rate, step height, pH values and supporting electrolyte as (NH4)2SO4, KCl and NaCl. It was observed that copper and thymine forms a 1:1 ratio complex and increasing the concentration of either metal ion or ligand ion increases the corresponding current. Increasing the scan rate increases the corresponding current linearly with the square root of the scan rate. As the step height decreases the peaks become sharper. Anodic and cathodic current increases linearly with decreasing step height. The highest degree of complexation was observed at pH ranging from 2.3 to 7.0. However, poor complexation was observed in slightly alkaline medium. The complexing order trend of supporting electrolytes was observed as (NH4)2SO4>NaCl>KCl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Australian sunlight is intense, and may impact range use by free-range hens. Range design and management are important for optimising commercial layer farms where artificial shelters may offer protection for ranging hens. This study investigated preferences among 34–40-week-old hens for artificial shade cloth shelters of different densities, using two flocks on a commercial farm during the summer. Three types of sunlight-filtering shade cloth shelters, i.e., blocking 50%, 70%, and 90% of ultraviolet (UV) light, each with three replicates, were placed on the range for each flock. The number of hens under each shelter was counted at 30-min intervals using image snapshots from video recordings for 14 to 17 days. An on-site weather station recorded sunlight intensity across different spectra, ambient temperature, and relative humidity. During the day, hens generally preferred the 90%, followed by 70% and 50% sunlight-filtering shelters. However, fewer hens were observed underneath shelters during times of peak sun intensity. Shelter preferences were mostly impacted by ambient temperature in both flocks, with all sunlight spectra having different degrees of effect depending on the shelter type and flock. Overall, shelters comprising higher densities of sunlight-filtering artificial cloth were preferred by hens on the range, but these may not be sufficient to attract more hens outside during intense sunlight and hot climatic conditions. Extreme sunlight might be aversive to free-range laying hens, discouraging them from going outside. Range enrichment with artificial shelters may protect hens from sunlight and increase range use. The preferences of 34–40-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens for artificial shelters were assessed by counting the number of hens under three densities of individual shelters (three replicates/density) from video recordings for 14 to 17 days for two flocks. The artificial shelters used shade cloth marketed as blocking 50%, 70%, and 90% of ultraviolet light, although other sunlight wavelengths were also reduced. Different sunlight spectral irradiances (ultraviolet radiation (UVAB) (288–432 nm), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (400–700 nm), and total solar radiation (TSR) (285 nm–3000 nm), ambient temperature, and relative humidity were recorded with an on-site weather station. There was a significant interaction between sunlight-filtering shelter and time of day (both Flocks, p < 0.0001), i.e., hens preferred shelters with the highest amount of sunlight-filtering at most time points. Regression models showed that the most variance in shelter use throughout the day resulted from the ambient temperature in both flocks, while sunlight parameters had different degrees of effect depending on the shelter type and flock. However, fewer hens under the shelters during the midday period suggest that during periods of intense sunlight, hens prefer to remain indoors, and artificial structures might not be sufficient to attract more hens outside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltammetric behaviors of Copper (II) nitrogen bearing nucleobases, such as Guanine (C5H4N5O2) was studied in electro analyzer using cyclic voltammetry (CV) on a Glassy Carbon Electrode. Assessment of the chemical and physical conditions that may favor optimum current enhancement was done by studying the effect of variation of concentration of metal and ligand ions, variation of scan rate, variation of step height, variation of pH values, and variation of supporting electrolyte as (NH4)2SO4, KCl, and NaCl. It was observed that Copper and Guanine forms a 1 : 2 ratio complex. The work reflects that increasing the concentration of either metal ion or ligand ion increases the corresponding current. Increasing the scan rate increases the corresponding current linearly with the square root of the scan rate. As the step height decreases the peaks become sharp. Anodic and cathodic current increases linearly with decreasing step height. For the complex mixture the complexation occurs maximum at a pH of 2.3-7.0 and is badly restricted in the slightly alkaline medium and the complexing order of the supporting electrolyte showed a trend as (NH4)2SO4 > NaCl > KCl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of ferryl porphyrin, induced by electrochemical reduction of FeIIITMPyP, was examined by measuring luminol chemiluminescence and recording the absorption spectrum using a flow-injection method. Both the anodic oxidation and the cathodic reduction of iron(III) porphyrin induced the formation of a ferryl species, which is widely accepted to be responsible for stimulating luminol chemiluminescence. Emission was observed both below the reduction potential of FeIIITMPyP (−0.08 V at pH 11, −0.02 V at pH 7 and 0.15 V at pH 3) and above the oxidation potential (0.6 V at pH 11, 0.75 V at pH 7 and 1.1 V at pH 3). The emission was relatively greater below the reduction potential than in the oxidative region. It was significantly higher especially at lower pH (424 nm) compared to the original spectrum of FeIIITMPyP (422 nm). Computer analysis also showed that the spectra on both sides were perfectly reproduced by a combination of two spectra, those of FeIIITMPyP and OᆖFeIVTMPyP (436 nm in pH 11). We therefore believed that the ferryl species, formed by the autoxidation reaction of electro-generated ferrous porphyrin, was responsible for the emission. Although, ferryl formation by anodic oxidation has been reported, this is the first time, to our knowledge, that the cathodic formation has been reported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sunlight intensity and UV radiation may affect free-range hens' use of the outside range, particularly when sunlight is intense with a high UV index. However, it is uncertain what aspect of sunlight (brightness or UV) may be most aversive to hens to discourage them from leaving standard indoor lighting conditions to venture outdoors. A controlled indoor-based choice study was conducted to determine whether hens showed preferences for different light wavelengths and intensities that may affect outdoor range usage. Cage-reared ISA Brown laying hens (n = 84) at 44 wk of age in 3 groups (28 hens/group) were tested for preferences of indoor standard light emitting diode (LED) white light (control) vs. one of three different treatment lights: 1) visible spectrum plus infrared wavelengths (VIS); 2) visible spectrum plus UVA wavelengths (UVA); and (iii) visible spectrum plus UVA and UVB wavelengths (UVA/B) presented successively at low, medium, or high levels of intensity. Hens within each group were individually tested for 2 h in an apparatus with 2 compartments (control vs. treatment) connected by a tunnel on both sides. Videos of hens' time spent in each compartment and behaviors were decoded and analyzed using GLMM. Hens spent more time under the low intensity of the UVA/B light treatment (62%), the low intensity of VIS light (61%), medium intensities of both UVA/B light (60%), and UVA light (59%), and the high intensity of the VIS light (58%) when compared with control light (all P ≤ 0.05). Hens spent less time feeding under all intensities of UVA light (all P ≤ 0.03) and showed more foraging, ground pecking, and preening at lower levels of UVA/B light (P < 0.05). The study suggests that UVA/B light (sunlight) may have positive effects for hen range use, but during peak sun intensities, hens may need additional measures (e.g., shelter) to protect themselves. Confirmation of these findings in a free-range setting is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective is to identify factors that impact the time to decannulation in pediatric patients ages 0 through 18 years who are tracheostomy-dependent. This retrospective chart review from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2020 identified pediatric tracheostomy patients at a single pediatric institution. Data extracted included demographic, socioeconomic factors, and clinical characteristics. Multivariate regression and survival analysis were used to identify factors associated with successful decannulation and decreased time with tracheostomy. Of the 479 tracheostomy-dependent patients identified, 162 (33.8%) were decannulated. Time to decannulation ranged from 0.5 months to 189.2 months with median of 24 months (IQR 12.91–45.71). In the multivariate analysis, patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (p = 0.021) and those with Passy-Muir® Valve at discharge (p = 0.015) were significantly associated with decannulation. In contrast, neurologic comorbidities (p = 0.06), presence of gastrostomy tube (p < 0.001), or discharged on a home ventilator (p < 0.001) were associated with indefinite tracheostomy. When adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and insurance status, for every one month delay in establishment of outpatient otolaryngology care, time to decannulation was delayed by 0.5 months (p = 0.010). For each additional outpatient otolaryngology follow-up visit, time to decannulation increased by 3.36 months (p < 0.001). Decannulation in pediatric tracheostomy patients is multifactorial. While timely establishment of outpatient care did correlate with quicker decannulation, factors related to medical complexity may have a greater impact on time to decannulation. Our results can help guide institutional decannulation protocols, as well as provide guidance when counseling families regarding tracheostomy expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple object tracking is an important but challenging computer vision problem. The complex motion of objects makes tracking difficult during long periods of object occlusion, and as a result occlusions frequently cause fragmented tracks with gaps. Previous works use linear interpolation to fill in such gaps, a technique which is only able to model simple motion. As a result, tracked bounding box locations can be quite poor in these situations. In this paper, we propose a 1D CNN based solution to filling gaps which models complex motion in a data-driven way. Our proposed solution uses only bounding box coordinates as input, and as such does not incur the computational cost of processing image features directly. We show that our model significantly outperforms linear interpolation on dynamic sports datasets in terms of mean intersection over union between predicted and ground truth bounding boxes. • Overlap between athletes in team sports creates fragmented tracks. • A learned method to fill fragmented tracks. • Repair fragmented tracks using 1-dimensional convolutional neural networks. • Track highly complex motion of players in team sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to focus attention on the choice of the reserve price made by the telecom regulator to explain the under-performance of spectrum auctions in Bangladesh. The overestimation of the reserve prices for several auctions in Bangladesh including the auction of the 3G – 2100 MHz band in 2013, the 2G - 1800 MHz band in 2015, and the 4G – 1800 and 2100 MHz bands in 2018 is established by comparing the reserve prices to the economic value of spectrum, determined by using the engineering valuation and production function approaches. Possible reasons for the inflation of the reserve price are discussed. • The resultant opportunity cost of spectrum clearly indicates the valuation gap. • Opportunity cost of spectrum decrease when the spectrum assignment increases. • Spectrum value impacts by the combined effect of spectral efficiency and the amount of spectrum. • Cobb Douglas production function and engineering valuation model shows almost similar results. • These methods are by nature more certain of past conditions than future scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Robin sequence (RS) consists of micrognathia and glossoptosis that result in upper airway obstruction (UAO). In RS patients who undergo tracheostomy, long-term goals include natural decannulation (ND) without further surgical airway intervention. The objective of this study was to identify long-term trends in the rate and length of time to ND. Methods: Retrospective chart review on 144 patients with RS treated from 1995 to 2020 at a pediatric tertiary care center. Patients were grouped by year of tracheostomy. Demographic data, UAO management, postoperative care, complications, and time to decannulation were recorded. Results: Thirty-six patients met the inclusion criteria. Tracheostomy was performed at a median age of 45.5 days. 19 (53%) patients experienced ND at a median time of 66.1 months. ND rate was higher in non-syndromic patients (93% non-syndromic vs 27% syndromic; P <.0001) and during the first study period (1995-2006: 78%, 2007-2020: 28%; P =.003). Cox proportional-hazard regression demonstrated that white race [aHR 0.15 (0.03-0.8); P =.023] and higher birthweight [aHR 0.9 (0.8-0.98); P =.018] were associated with a higher likelihood of ND while a syndromic diagnosis had a negative association with ND [aHR 12.5 (3.3-50.0); P <.001]. Conclusions: Our study documented that ND in patients with RS who underwent tracheostomy was significantly associated with ethnicity, birthweight, and syndromic status. The negative impact on successful ND was most observed in patients with syndromic associations. Additionally, ND rates are lower in the 2007 to 2020 subgroup. We suspect this is because alternative management techniques such as tongue lip adhesion and mandibular distraction osteogenesis became primary surgical treatment in severe RS upper airway obstruction at our institution starting in 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature infants represent a unique subset of patients who may require tracheostomy. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is among one of the most common sequelae of prematurity contributing to the need for prolonged ventilation requiring tracheostomy after other airway options have been exhausted. Our objective is to understand socioeconomic barriers to decannulation and identify factors that accelerate safe decannulation, focusing on patients with BPD. An existing internal database from a tertiary pediatric hospital of patients undergoing tracheostomy prior to one year old was reviewed. Data from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2020 was used to compare patients who were successfully decannulated to those who were not. A further subset of infants with BPD were identified and analyzed. Of those decannulated, survival analysis was used to identify factors associated with decreased time to decannulation. We identified 303 infants who underwent tracheostomy at less than one year old with 125 of those infants having a diagnosis of BPD. Of the 125 infants with BPD, 44 (35.2 %) were decannulated and 81 (64.8 %) were not. There was no significant difference in sex, race, ethnicity, insurance status, comorbidities, or presence of syndromes between those patients with BPD who were decannulated and those who were not. Those who were not decannulated had a significantly longer length of hospital stay, prolonged ventilator requirements after tracheostomy, and were more likely to be discharged home on the ventilator (p = 0.030; 0.020; 0.002, respectively). Of the 44 decannulated patients, mean and median time to decannulation were 37.9 and 27.8 months respectively (range 10.8–160.6 months). There was an inverse association with decannulation and both Black race (HR: 0.30) and neurological comorbidity (HR: 0.37) on multivariate analysis. Black race, presence of syndrome, and length of ventilator dependence were significantly associated with increased time to decannulation. Time to decannulation from time off the ventilator was not significantly influenced by sex, race, ethnicity, state of residence, or insurance status, but was significantly influenced by age (95 % CI: −6.9, −0.1; P = 0.044). While time from discharge to first follow up visit did not significantly impact time to decannulation, every additional follow up visit increased time to decannulation by 3.78 months when adjusting for confounding variables. In infants with BPD under one year requiring tracheostomy, socioeconomic factors were not found to influence likelihood of decannulation, however Black race, presence of underlying syndrome, and increased length of ventilator dependence were associated with prolonged timing. Children with more frequent follow up visits similarly had an increased time to decannulation, illustrating a vital point in the process. Ventilator weaning protocols and standardized decannulation protocols in patients with BPD, along with caregiver education, can safely expedite and facilitate decannulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic recalcitrant cough is present in 2/3 of pediatric patients evaluated in our tertiary-care multidisciplinary aerodigestive clinic (ADC). This study aimed to determine the impact of chronic cough and efficacy of ADC treatment using the validated Pediatric-Cough Quality-of-Life-27 tool (PC-QOL-27). Methods: The PC-QOL-27 survey was administered to ADC patients with chronic cough at initial clinic visit and 6 to 12 weeks after cough management. Pre and post survey scores, demographic data, treatment and evaluation season were collected over 16 months. Results: Twenty parents completed pre and post PC-QOL-27 surveys (mean 12.1 weeks later). Patient median age was 6.04 years (IQR: 2.2-10.44 years). A total of 65% were males and 65% were African American. Management was tailored based on clinical assessment and diagnostic studies, including direct laryngoscopy/bronchoscopy (4), pulmonary function tests (PFT's 9), esophagogastroduodenoscopy (9), and flexible bronchoscopy/lavage (9). Following ADC management, changes in physical, social and psychological domain scores of the PC-QOL-27 each met the threshold for minimal clinical important difference (MCID) indicating a clinically meaningful improvement. Improvements were most notable in the physical domain where post survey scores significantly improved from pre-survey scores (P =.009) regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, history of endoscopy and season. Conclusions: The physical impact of chronic cough in pediatric patients who failed prior management by a single specialist was lessened by an ADC team approach to management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six coumarins, one benzene, one flavone, one acridone, one limonoid, one triterpene and two phytosterol derivatives were isolated from the methanol, ethanol and chloroform leaf extracts of Citrus assamensis. Extensive spectroscopic studies, including high field 'H NMR and 13C NMR analyses, allowed the identification of thirteen known compounds as bergapten (1), umckalin (2), citropten (3), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (4), bergamottin (5), ß-amyrin (6), umbeliferone (7), scopoletin (8), citrusinol (9), citracridone-III (10), limonin(ll), stigmasterol (12), and ß-sitosterol (13). The identity of these compounds was confirmed by comparison with published data as well as co-TLC with authentic samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pediatric intestinal pseudo‐obstruction is a rare disorder affecting gastrointestinal motility leading to chronic symptoms and hospitalizations. There is limited understanding of the epidemiology and healthcare burden. Methods: We analyzed data from Kids' Inpatient Database from 2016, which includes inpatient discharge records from US hospitals. ICD‐10 codes were used to identify patients 0‐18 years with pediatric intestinal pseudo‐obstruction and comorbid conditions. Multivariable logistic regression and Wilcoxon rank‐sum test were used. Results: In 2016, there were 1671 inpatient discharges from US hospitals for patients 0‐18 years of age with this diagnosis. The incidence of inpatient admission was 29/100 000 patients. After controlling for age, race, income status, and insurance, males vs females (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.94‐1.28; P =.241) and caucasians vs other races (aOR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.27‐1.88; P <.001) were more likely to be admitted. Inpatient admissions incurred significant healthcare burden; median (inter quartile range IQR) cost of hospitalization of US$ 52 079 (US$ 23 530‐120 961) and a median (IQR) length of stay of 6 days (3‐14 days). Gastrostomy (32%) and ileostomy (12.6%) status appeared to incur lower healthcare burden. Parenteral nutrition, malnutrition, and central line/bloodstream infections resulted in higher healthcare burden. Conclusions: Pediatric intestinal pseudo‐obstruction is a rare diagnosis with a high incidence of inpatient admissions and healthcare burden. An aggressive multidisciplinary management is crucial in reducing inpatient admissions in this cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus assamensis (Family: Rutaceae), commonly known as Satkara, is a pharmacologically diverse medicinal plant. In the present study, the leaf extracts of C. assamensis were subjected to evaluate in vitro anti-diabetic as well as in vivo anti-diarrheal, gastrointestinal motility and acute toxicity activity on Swiss albino mice by using standard protocol. Ethanol and chloroform extracts showed significant inhibitory potentials (**p<0.01) against in vitro α-amylase enzyme at the concentration of 80μg/mL. Significant (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001) reduction in the number of wet feces and percentage inhibition of diarrheal activity over three hours was observed with all the test doses of the extract compared with the vehicle treated group. Both doses of methanol and ethanol extracts (*p<0.05) and chloroform extract at doses of 100 mg/kg significantly reduced the number of wet feces compared to the control. None of the extracts showed any significant in vivo acute toxicity effect on mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection are at increased risk for postanesthesia complications. There is minimal data regarding how long that elevated complication risk persists beyond initial SARS‐CoV‐2 diagnosis. Aims: We investigated postanesthesia complications in children with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection within 90 days of diagnosis. Methods: We completed a single‐center, retrospective, case–control study of pediatric patients with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection within 90 days undergoing anesthesia between January 3–October 7, 2020. Each SARS‐CoV‐2 positive patient was matched 1:2 by age and type of procedure with a non–SARS‐CoV‐2 cohort. The primary outcome was the rate of all postanesthesia complications within 30 days of the procedure, defined as unplanned escalations of care within 48 h, cardiac, respiratory, thrombotic, and hemorrhagic events within 30 days. Secondary outcomes were 30‐day mortality and hospital length of stay. Results: Of the 341 patients included, 114 patients were SARS‐CoV‐2 positive and 227 were SARS‐CoV‐2 negative. Patients with a positive test 0–7 days prior to anesthesia had an increased risk difference in all postanesthesia complications within 30 days (19.9, 95% CI [4.7, 35.1], p =.001) and increased risk difference in length of hospital stay (7.8, 95% CI [1.2, 14.4], p <.001). Patients who underwent anesthesia greater than 42 days from SARS‐CoV‐2 diagnosis had an increased risk difference in cardiac complications within 30 days (4.3, 95% CI [0.9, 10.0], p =.029). There was no increased hospital length of stay among SARS‐CoV‐2 positive patients diagnosed greater than 8 days before anesthetic. There were no deaths within 30 days of anesthetic. Conclusions: Postanesthesia complications are higher in children who undergo anesthesia within 7 days of SARS‐CoV‐2 diagnosis. Additional cardiac risk may persist beyond the immediate period of initial diagnosis. Larger samples are needed to further evaluate the risk of delayed postanesthesia complications and guide optimal timing of surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen-containing organic carbon (NOC) in atmospheric particles is an important class of brown carbon (BrC). Redox active NOC like aminophenols received little attention in their ability to form BrC. Here we show that iron can catalyze dark oxidative oligomerization of o- and p-aminophenols under simulated aerosol and cloud conditions (pH 1–7, and ionic strength 0.01–1 M). Homogeneous aqueous phase reactions were conducted using soluble Fe(III), where particle growth/agglomeration were monitored using dynamic light scattering. Mass yield experiments of insoluble soot-like dark brown to black particles were as high as 40%. Hygroscopicity growth factors (κ) of these insoluble products under sub- and super-saturated conditions ranged from 0.4–0.6, higher than that of levoglucosan, a prominent proxy for biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA). Soluble products analyzed using chromatography and mass spectrometry revealed the formation of ring coupling products of o- and p-aminophenols and their primary oxidation products. Heterogeneous reactions of aminophenol were also conducted using Arizona Test Dust (AZTD) under simulated aging conditions, and showed clear changes to optical properties, morphology, mixing state, and chemical composition. These results highlight the important role of iron redox chemistry in BrC formation under atmospherically relevant conditions. Iron is the most abundant redox active transition metal in mineral dust, but its role in nitrogen-containing organic carbon formation remains largely unexplored. Here, the authors show that Fe(III) catalyzes the dark oxidative oligomerization of o- and p-aminophenols under simulated aerosol and cloud conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rabies is one of the most lethal infectious diseases, with those living in Asia and Africa having the highest risk of dying from rabies. We conducted a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey in urban and peri-urban areas of Bangladesh to describe canine bite rates, rabies knowledge, and healthcare seeking behaviors and barriers to human and dog vaccination. A bite risk assessment score (BRAS) and healthcare-seeking behavior score (HSBS) was calculated for each bite victim. Respondents were given two hypothetical situations to assess potential behaviors after a bite and willingness to pay for rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin. In total, 2,447 households participated in the survey and 85 bite victims were identified. The BRAS identified that 31% of bites posed no risk of rabies transmission. Multivariate analyses showed that living in Chittagong (β = 1.4; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.7) was associated with a higher HSBS. Findings presented here provide useful information regarding bite occurrences, healthcare-seeking behaviors, and a need for strategies to increase rabies awareness. Author summary: Rabies is one of the most lethal infectious diseases and those living in Asia and Africa have the highest risk of dying from rabies. Bangladesh has the third highest number of estimated human deaths from rabies of all countries with an estimated 2,000–2,500 deaths annually. In 2018, a knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) survey was conducted to better describe the rabies burden in four urban and rural areas. Our manuscript will deepen the understanding of ways to develop cost-effective, risk-based PEP delivery to persons with probable rabies exposures to prevent unnecessary PEP shortages among urban and peri-urban populations. The findings here provide useful information regarding bite occurrences, healthcare-seeking behaviors, and a need for strategies to increase rabies awareness in urban and peri-urban areas. This study confirmed a high human rabies death rate in Bangladesh despite a high rate of PEP usage and completion rates and makes a case for IBCM as cost effective means to rabies control in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study has been performed to microencapsulate the antidiabetic drug of Vildagliptin to get sustained release of drug. The attempt of this study was to formulate and evaluate the Vildagliptin loaded microspheres by emulsion solvent evaporation technique using different polymers like Eudragit RL100, Eudragit RS100, Ethyl cellulose, and Methocel K100M. In vitro dissolution studies were carried out in 0.1 N HCl for 8 hours according to USP paddle method. The maximum and minimum drug release were observed as 92.5% and 68.5% from microspheres, respectively, after 8 hours. Release kinetics were studied in different mathematical release models to find out the linear relationship and release rate of drug. The SEM, DSC, and FTIR studies have been done to confirm good spheres and smooth surface as well as interaction along with drug and polymer. In this experiment, it is difficult to explain the exact mechanism of drug release. But the drug might be released by both diffusion and erosion as the correlation coefficient (R2) best fitted with Korsmeyer model and release exponent (n) was 0.45–0.89. At last it can be concluded that all in vitro and in vivo experiments exhibited promising result to treat type II diabetes mellitus with Vildagliptin microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigate an association between upper airway obstruction (UAO) management in Robin Sequence (RS) and need for bilateral myringotomy and tubes (BMT). Retrospective chart review of RS patients treated at a tertiary free-standing pediatric hospital from 1995 to 2020 was performed. Patients were grouped based on airway management: conservative, tracheostomy, tongue-lip adhesion (TLA), and mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO). Demographic data, cleft palate (CP) association, numbers of BMT and ear infections, and audiogram data including tympanograms were collected. One-way ANOVA and Chi-square/Fisher's exact tests were used to compare continuous and categorical data, respectively. Multivariable regression analysis was used to compare BMT rates between treatment groups. One hundred forty-eight patients were included, 70.3 % of which had CP. Most patients (67.6 %) had at least one BMT; 29.1 % required two or more BMT. The rate of BMT was higher in patients with CP compared to those with intact palates (p = 0.003; 95 % CI 1.30–3.57) and those treated with tracheostomy (p = 0.043; 95 % CI 1.01, 2.27). Surgically managed patients were more likely to have hearing loss (67.5 % vs. 35.3 %, p = 0.017) and ear infections (42.1 % vs. 20.0 %, p = 0.014) pre-compared to post-procedure for airway management. Most RS patients require at least 1 set of BMT. Those with CP and/or treated with tracheostomy had a higher likelihood of needing BMT. Rate of hearing loss and ear infection was higher in surgically managed RS patients. Patients with RS and overt CP require a statistically higher number of BMTs compared to those with either submucous cleft palate or intact palate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution of Fe- and Fe-Ti oxides in sands sourced from the Meghna River Bangladesh. Image prepared based on EPMA mapping of sample 5B from the Hizla, Barisal District. [Display omitted] • Bangladesh is an emerging source of valuable heavy minerals from river sands. • Heavy minerals in Meghna River sands were characterized. • The heavy minerals ilmenite and garnet were assessed for potential exploitation. • Ilmenite will require processing by the sulphate route to pigment. • Garnet compositions were similar to commercial abrasive concentrates. Heavy mineral (HM) concentrations in sand bar deposits of the Meghna River were evaluated using optical microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) to determine the mineralogy, geochemistry and likely source rocks of the sands, and to examine the distribution and HM potential of the valuable heavy minerals, ilmenite and garnet. The Meghna sands were dominated by the light minerals quartz and feldspar and grainsize analysis results showed that>78 wt.% of the sand population fell within the size range of fine to very fine sand (−250 + 63 μm). The HM component made up around 9 wt.% and consisted mainly of amphibole (∼17–46 wt.%), epidote (∼7–30 wt.%) and garnet (∼3–21 wt.%). Fe-Ti oxide minerals including ilmenite, rutile, and titanomagnetite were present at levels of 0.7–7 wt.% with the magnetite content at 0.9–7 wt.%. The textures (moderate sorting, sub angular) and significant feldspar (6–15 wt.%) content in the sands indicated low degrees of hydraulic sorting and low amounts of alteration/weathering. The HM assemblage indicated a likely mixed source area of varying metamorphic grade (low to high) facies and igneous rocks. EPMA results from the detrital ilmenites and garnets showed that for ilmenite, TiO 2 contents were between 42.9 and 54.5 wt.% (ave. 51 wt.%), with overall low impurities, while the garnet compositions were dominated by Fe-rich, almandine types. From the chemical analysis of individual garnet and ilmenite grains, it is likely the Meghna River sands have good potential for commercial extraction of garnet and ilmenite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is one of the frontline cereals in the world and the major cultivated crop in Bangladesh. A total of eleven simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and thirteen sequence-tagged site (STS) markers were used to characterize twenty-four rice cultivars in Bangladesh. Twenty-four markers generated 60 alleles with 2.5 alleles per locus. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) value was 0.40, while the mean value of heterozygosity, gene diversity, and major allele frequency were recorded as 0.10, 0.48 and 0.62, respectively. However, the SSR markers showed more specificity and a higher discrimination power than the STS markers. The cluster analysis displayed four major clusters with a genetic similarity coefficient value of 0.73. The morphological analyses of the grain identified that Binadhan-20 and BRRI dhan34 had the longest and the shortest seed size, respectively, with a variable correlation between the seed length, width and length/width ratio. The phenol reaction test distinguished seven cultivars as japonica and seventeen cultivars as indica or an intermediate type. All these results regarding the phenotypic data and marker information will be useful for parental selection in modern rice breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was intended to characterize the secondary metabolites of the endophyte Fusarium oxysporum isolated from the plant Aglaonema hookerianum Schott. And to investigate the cytotoxic and other pharmacological properties of the isolated compounds as part of the drug discovery and development process. Different chromatographic techniques were adopted to isolate the bioactive compounds that were identified by spectroscopic techniques. The cytotoxic properties of the compounds were assessed in the Vero cell line via the trypan blue method. Moreover, physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, bioactivity and toxicity profiles of the compounds were also investigated through in silico approaches. After careful spectral analysis, the isolated compounds were identified as 3β,5α-dihydroxy-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one (1), 3β,5α,9α-trihydroxy-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one (2), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (3), 3-(R)-7-butyl-6,8-dihydroxy-3-pent-11-enylisochroman-1-one (4) and beauvericin (5). An in vitro study in the Vero cell line revealed that the presence of the compounds reduced the number of cells, as well as the percentage of viable cells, in most cases. An in silico cytotoxic analysis revealed that compounds 1, 2 and 5 might be explored as cytotoxic agents. Moreover, compounds 3 and 4 were found to be highly mutagenic. The present study suggested that further thorough investigations are necessary to use these molecules as leads for the cytotoxic drug development process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video-based human activity recognition (HAR) means the analysis of motions and behaviors of human from the low level sensors. Over the last decade, automatic HAR is an exigent research area and is considered a significant concern in the field of computer vision and pattern recognition. In this paper, we have presented a robust and an accurate activity recognition system called WS-HAR that consists of wavelet transform coupled with stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SWLDA) followed by hidden Markov model (HMM). Symlet wavelet has been employed in order to extract the features from the activity frames. The most prominent features were selected by proposing a robust technique called stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SWLDA) that focuses on selecting the localized features from the activity frames and discriminating their class based on regression values (i.e., partial F-test values). Finally, we applied a well-known sequential classifier called hidden Markov model (HMM) to give the appropriate labels to the activities. In order to validate the performance of the WS-HAR, we utilized two publicly available standard datasets under two different experimental settings, n--fold cross validation scheme based on subjects; and a set of experiments was performed in order to show the effectiveness of each approach. The weighted average recognition rate for the WS-HAR was 97% across the two different datasets that is a significant improvement in classification accuracy compared to the existing well-known statistical and state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify 30-day complication rates specific to patients with diabetes mellitus following tonsillectomy. Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database was used to identify patients undergoing tonsillectomy between 2005 and 2018. Patients were stratified into 3 cohorts: insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and non-diabetes mellitus (NODM). Coarsened-exact-matching was utilized to account for baseline differences between cohorts. Outcomes studied included post-operate complications, prolonged hospitalization, and unplanned readmissions. Results: A total of 986 DM and 26 774 NODM patients were included, and the mean age of patients undergoing tonsillectomy was 29.5 ± 11.6 and 28.7 ± 11.0 years, respectively. The majority of patients were female (70.5% for both DM and NODM cohorts) and White/Caucasian (89.2% vs 89.3%). Among patients undergoing tonsillectomy, a greater proportion of DM patients experienced an operative time greater than or equal to the 75th percentile (35 minutes; 25.9% vs 22.8%, P =.024), overall morbidity (12.6% vs 5.4%, P <.001), pneumonia (0.6% vs 0.2%, P =.036), and reoperation (10.2% vs 3.5% P <.001) in comparison to NODM patients. In an analysis between IDDM (n = 379) and NIDDM (n = 211) patients, IDDM patients were at an increased risk for prolonged hospitalization (1.4% vs 0.0%, P =.045), pneumonia (5.2% vs 0.5%, P <.001), urinary tract infections (3.3% vs 0.3% P =.004), major complications (15.6% vs 7.7%, P =.002), minor complications (19.9% vs 8.2%, P <.001), and overall complications (10.0% vs 1.3%, P <.001). Conclusion: DM patients are at a heightened risk for complications following tonsillectomy. Standardized protocols, careful pre-operative planning, and stringent glycemic management may help optimize patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Awareness under general anesthesia occurs rarely, but can result in emotional trauma. Although well‐studied in adults, there is a paucity of data on unintentional awareness in children. Aims: This case series examines instances of self‐reported awareness registered with Wake Up Safe, a patient safety organization that maintains a database of adverse events in pediatric anesthesia. Methods: Cases of self‐reported intraoperative awareness submitted to Wake Up Safe from January 1, 2010 to May 31, 2020 were reviewed for circumstances, causative factors, and level of harm. Results: Fourteen cases of self‐reported intraoperative awareness out of 555 360 cases in patients aged 5–20 years were noted during the study period. Overall incidence of awareness was 2.52 (95% CI: 1.38–4.23) cases per 100 000 patients, or approximately 1:40 000. Self‐reported intraoperative awareness was more frequently associated with cardiac and gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Incidence for cardiac procedures was 20.34 (95% CI: 8.18–41.90) cases per 100 000 patients. Incidence for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures was 7.74 (95% CI: 1.60–22.62) cases per 100 000 patients. Most patients were assessed to have suffered harm. Conclusions: Self‐reported intraoperative awareness is a rare complication in pediatric patients that has implications for harm. Compared to awareness cases elicited by a questionnaire method, cases of self‐reported awareness during general anesthesia may represent those that have a greater impact. A preoperative discussion of intraoperative awareness should be considered for procedures that carry a higher likelihood of awareness in order to mitigate harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore long-term patient reported outcome (PRO) measures of pediatric paradoxical vocal cord motion (PVCM) including ease of diagnosis, management, symptom duration and effect on quality of life. Methods: All children >8 years of age diagnosed with PVCM at a tertiary pediatric hospital between 2006 and 2017 were invited to complete a survey addressing study objectives. Results: 21/47 eligible participants could be contacted and 18/21 (86%) participated. 78% were female with a mean age at diagnosis of 11.6 and 15.0 years at survey completion. Common PVCM symptoms reported were dyspnea (89%), globus sensation (56%), and stridor (50%). The median time to diagnosis was 3 months (IQR 2-5 months). Nearly all reported being misdiagnosed with another condition, usually asthma, until being correctly diagnosed usually by an otolaryngologist. Participants reported undergoing 3.7 diagnostic studies (range 0-8); pulmonary function testing was most common. Of numerous treatments acknowledged, breathing exercises were common (89%) but only reported helpful by 56%. Use of biofeedback was recalled in 1/3 of subjects but reported helpful in only 14% of them. Anti-reflux, allergy, anticholinergics, inhalers and steroids were each used in >50%, but rarely reported effective. PVCM was reportedly a significant stressor when initially diagnosed but despite 2/3 of participants still reporting ongoing PVCM symptoms, the perceived stress significantly decreased over time (Z = 3.26, P = 0.001). Conclusions: This first PVCM PRO study endorses that diagnosis is often delayed and prescribed treatments often viewed as ineffective. While biofeedback and breathing exercises may be critical for short-term control of PVCM episodes, lifestyle changes and stress reduction are likely necessary for long-term management. Increased awareness and improvements in management are needed for this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bangladesh has heavy mineral sands in shoreline and fluvial placer deposits. • Heavy minerals from the Jamuna River were separated and characterised. • Jamuna River sands have good potential for recovery of garnet and ilmenite. A mineralogical and chemical investigation of surface and subsurface samples from the upper, middle and lower parts of the Jamuna River was carried out with a view to assessing the distribution and recovery potential of the heavy minerals ilmenite and garnet. The HM component in the Jamuna sands is ~10% consisting predominantly of amphibole, epidote and garnet with significant amounts of opaque minerals (ilmenite, magnetite, titanomagnetite, etc). A greater abundance of garnet was present in the fine to medium sized fractions (125–250 µm) and lower garnet concentrations were observed in the very fine sized fraction (<63 µm). The fine size fractions also have increased amounts of clays and clay-like minerals. Potentially high value HMs such as zircon and rutile were also concentrated in the <63 µm size fractions. The ilmenite grains are characterised by TiO 2 content between 34.2 and 52.8 wt-% with low levels of impurities. The garnet geochemistry is more variable but dominated overall by almandine-rich compositions. The characteristic heavy mineral suite of garnet, epidote, amphibole, kyanite, and staurolite, as well as the garnet and ilmenite chemistry reveals the sediments are derived from mixed source areas of varying metamorphic grade (low to high) facies and igneous rocks. Based on these results, the Jamuna River sands have good potential for recovery and exploitation of both garnet and ilmenite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), results in approximately 4–5 million outpatient visits per year in the United States. In pediatric patients, OSA is primarily caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy, and therefore, adenotonsillectomy remains an effective surgical treatment. We investigate whether 3D ultrasound (3DUS) imaging can accurately and objectively assess tonsillar hypertrophy for the potential identification and stratification of candidates for adenotonsillectomy. A prospective study was performed evaluating pediatric patients (N = 17) between the ages of 4–14 years who were undergoing adenotonsillectomy for OSA symptoms. On the day of surgery, tonsillar ultrasound was performed by a single attending radiologist. Tonsillectomy was performed and each tonsils' principal axes and physical volume by water submergence were measured. The findings were compared using paired T-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. The average tonsillar physical measurements of length, width and height were 1.54 ± 0.28, 2.0 ± 0.31 cm and 2.72 ± 0.41 cm, and 1.73 ± 0.17, 1.61 ± 0.21 mm and 2.98 ± 0.28 mm from physical and 3DUS estimations, respectively (P < 0.001 for all measurements). The average tonsillar volume was 3.84 ± 1.23 ml and 4.30 ± 1.15 ml from physical and 3DUS measurements, respectively (p = 0.04). The Bland-Altman mean difference ± 95% limit of agreement between length, width, height, and volume results from the two measurements were −0.186 ± 2.01 cm, −0.393 ± 6.33 cm, 0.25 ± 7.71 cm, and 0.45 ± 2.32 ml, respectively. While 3DUS is feasible, it may not be an accurate estimate of tonsillar volume for assessing hypertrophy. A larger study will be required to establish the accuracy of 3DUS measurements of tonsillar volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]