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Abstract Objectives Hypertension is one of the major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Increased life expectancy leads to increase prevalence of non‐communicable diseases among the elderly people including Bangladesh. However, different studies reported high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension ranging from 52.6% to 67.9% among the elderly people in different countries. With this view, we aimed to assess the frequency of uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) among the elderly hypertensive people and its associated risk factors and treatment pattern in Bangladesh. Methodology This cross‐sectional type of observational study recruited 246 eligible hypertensive elderly patients attending in 250 Bedded General Hospital, Jashore, Bangladesh dated from 1st July to 31st December 2022. A structured questionnaire was developed and data on associated risk factors, treatment pattern and current blood pressure (BP) measurement were collected by face‐to‐face interview for the purposive sampling technique. Results The mean age of our study patients was 72 ± 7 years with a male and female ratio nearly 1:1. Of the total hypertensive patients aged over 65 years or more, 56.5% remained with uncontrolled hypertension even on their prescribed antihypertensive medications. The mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure were significantly high (P

Introduction: The whole world has been crippled by COVID-19 for a long period of time and a lot of its issues still remain unknown. The study was designed to assess the distribution of ABO blood group system, presentation, comorbidities, disease severity and outcome of COVID-19 patients in Jashore, Bangladesh. Methods: This retrospective type of observational study recruited 928 RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients above 18 years living in the district of Jashore, Bangladesh. Results: Mean age of the study population was 41.55±13.59 years including a significant age difference (p: <0.001) in disease severity and insignificant gender difference were observed (p: 0.291). Fever was frequently presenting symptoms (83.1%) in our study associated with cough 47.1%, fatigue 39.2%, myalgia 38.0%, distaste 35.3%, anosmia or hyposmia 33.3%. Diabetes (p: <0.001), hypertension (p: <0.001), chronic respiratory illness (p: <0.001), coronary artery diseases (p: 0.003) and malignancy (p: 0.003) played as potential risk factors for developing COVID-19 severity. Out of the total study patients, 36.9%, 29.1%, 22.5 and 11.5% COVID-19 patients came from blood B, O, A an AB respectively. On the other hand 95.5% COVID-19 patients were Rhesus positive. However, we did not found any significant association between disease severity and different ABO and Rh blood group (p: 0.379 and p: 0.092 respectively). A 97.6% of our patients had significantly (p: <0.001) been recovered from COVID-19 where most of the patients (81.1%) were managed at home. Though, 2% and 1.9% of our patients developed severe pneumonia and critically ill COVID-19, we had noticed significantly low mortality rate (1.4%, p: <0.001) in this current study. Conclusion: In this recent study, blood group B constituted the highest number of the COVID-19 patients. Fever, cough and fatigue were the most common presenting feature of COVID-19 patients. Preexistent diabetes, hypertension, chronic respiratory diseases, coronary artery diseases and malignancy played as significant potential risk factors of disease severity of COVID-19. A majority of the patients were significantly managed at home. A minimum portion of the COVID-19 patients developed severe pneumonia and critical illness; and a significant low case fatality occurred in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin-polarized electronic structure of iron octaethylporphyrin (FeOEP) molecules adsorbed on a pristine and on a c(2 x 2) oxygen-reconstructed Co(100) surface has been analyzed by means of spin-polarized photoemission spectroscopy (SPPES) and first-principles density functional theory with the on-site Coulomb repulsion U term (DFT + U) calculations with and without Van der Waals corrections. The aim is to examine the magnetic exchange mechanism between the FeOEP molecules and the Co(100) substrate in the presence or absence of the oxygen mediator The results demonstrate that the magnetic couphng from the ferromagnetic substrate to the adsorbed FeOEP molecules is ferromagnetic, whereas, the coupling is antiferromagnetic for the FeOEP on the c(2 x 2)O/Co(100) system. Spin-resolved partial densities of states extracted from ab initio DFT + U modeling are in fairly good comparison with the electronic spectral densities seen in angle-integrated SPPES energy dispersion curves for submonolayer coverages of FeOEP. Through combined analysis of these spectra and theoretical results, we determine that hybridization of 2p orbitals of N and O with Co 3d orbitals facilitates indirect magnetic exchange interactions between Fe and Co, whereas, a direct Fe-Co interaction involving the Fe dz2 orbital is also found for FeOEP on Co. It is observed through SPPES that the spin polarization of the photoemission-visible molecular overlayers decreases to zero as coverage is increased beyond the submonolayer regime, indicating that only interfacial magnetic coupling is at work. Microspot low-energy electron diffraction and low-energy electron microscopy were performed to characterize the physical order of the molecular coverage, revealing that FeOEP structural domains are orders of magnitude greater in size on c(2 x 2)O/Co(100) than on clean Co(100), which coincides with reduced scattering from the disorder and sharper features seen in SPPES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis of a (TMA)AgBr 2 (TMA = tetramethylammonium) crystal, which comprises inorganic anionic chains of -(AgBr 2 ) ∝ - stabilized by columnar stacks of organic TMA cations with a periodic arrangement of shorter and longer Ag(i)⋯Ag(i) bonds, even though all the Ag(i) ions are chemically equivalent. The presence of two chemically non-equivalent bridging Br ions is attributed to the primary cause of such an unusual arrangement, as clearly visualized in the charge density plot of (TMA)AgBr 2 extracted from the theoretical calculations based on density functional theory. Remarkably, we identified from the orbital-projected density of states the existence of alternate δ-like bonding involving d xy orbitals of 4d 10 Ag(i), which was attributed to the cause for ultralow thermal conductivity and thermally-deactivated electrical transport in (TMA)AgBr 2 . Barring the energetics, our observations on the existence of a δ-bond will shed new light in understanding the nature of metal-metal chemical bonding and its unprecedented implications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Metabolic Syndrome (METS) plays a pivotal role in the development of diabetes mellitus, coronary artery diseases and stroke. Due to the scarcity of data in this issue, this study aims to assess the frequency and risk factors association of METS among the hypertensive patients. This cross-sectional study recruited 667 eligible hypertensive patients aged between 20 and 70 years using non-probability purposive sampling method conducted from 1st January 2019 to 30th June 2019. Hypertensive patients with the known history of diabetes, thyroid, renal, cardiac, or hepatic disease, Cushing syndrome or malignancy and secondary causes of obesity, confirmed pregnancy, bed ridden, taking lipid lowering drugs or drugs that affect lipid and glucose metabolism were excluded from the study. METS among the hypertensive patients (DE novo or established hypertensive patients) of this study was demonstrated by NCEP-ATPIII (National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III) criteria having two or more of the following points [a) increased waist circumference ≥102cm in men and ≥88cm in women, b) hypertriglyceridemia: ≥150mg/dl, c) reduced High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <40mg/dL (1.04mmol/L) in men and <50mg/dL (1.29mmol/L) in women, d) high fasting blood glucose: 110mg/dl]. Significantly high frequency (69.9%, p<0.001) of METS was found with a significant female preponderance (52.5%, p<0.001) where the mean age of the study population was 48±11 years. Sex (p<0.001), education (p=0.041), occupation (p<0.001), Body mass index (BMI) (p<0.001) and hypertensive status (p=0.002) showed a highly significant role in the development of METS. Following binary logistic regression analysis after adjusting for confounders, the female sex was 17 times higher than the male [Adjusted odd ratio (AOR) =16.96, 95% CI=4.91-58.66, p<0.001)], obesity 4 times higher than non-obese [BMI (obese AOR=4.24, 95% CI=2.55-7.98, p<0.001)], hypertensive status [established hypertension two times higher than de novo (de-novo AOR=0.60, 95% CI=0.037-0.97, p=0.037)] were significant and independent predictors of METS. Significantly high BMI (27.7±4.2 and p<0.001), high waist circumference (60.4%, p<0.001) and hyper tri-glyceridaemia and reduced HDL (46.0%, p<0.001 and 51.3%, p<0.001) were found in the subjects with METS. In conclusion, high frequency of METS among the hypertensive patients was found in Jashore, Bangladesh with significant risk factors related to female sex, education, occupation, BMI and hypertensive status. So, a holistic evaluation of metabolic components among the hypertensive patients may reduce premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Covid-19 was first detected on 8th March of 2020 in Bangladesh after the global pandemic being started. As a new virus and disease there are scarcity of data of SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19 respectively in our country. Aim of this study is to assess the demographic characteristics, clinical profiles, underlying co-morbid conditions, treatment pattern and outcome of the SARS-CoV-2 positive patients in Jashore, Bangladesh. This retrospective study recruited 208 RT-PCR positive Covid-19 patients from 1st April 2020 to 15th May 2020 who appeared at Flu corner centre, 250 Bedded General Hospital, Jashore, Bangladesh. Data was collected online through telephone, mobile and email due to the high contagious property of Covid-19. Out of total 208 Covid-19 patients, the mean age of the participants was 37.0±15.0 years with a male and female ratio of 2.06:1. Underlying comorbidities were documented in 36.5% of total Covid-19 patents of which hypertension in 16.3%, diabetes in 14.4%, respiratory diseases in 8.7% and pre-existing coronary arterial diseases in 6.3% patients. Though 17.8% Covid-19 patients were asymptomatic, the most common symptoms were fever (68.8%), cough (30.8%), myalgia (30.8%), sore throat (22.1%), vertigo (21.6%), respiratory distress (20.7%), anorexia (17.8%), nasal congestion (16.3%), nausea or vomiting (13.9%) and diarrhoea (13.0%). Whereas, the symptomatic patients were classified as flu-like illness (77.9%), mild to moderate pneumonia (2.4%) and severe pneumonia (1.9%). Many patients (19.2%) recovered spontaneously and 22.1% patients cured by the only simple symptomatic treatment. The most commonly received antibiotics were Azithromycin and Doxycycline. Home stay management was demonstrated in 73.1% patients, whereas, 26.0% patients required general ward admission and only 0.9% patients required referral for the HDU or ICU management with an average duration of hospital stay of 16±6 days. A high satisfactory outcome was found as evident by complete recovery in 98.08% of Covid-19 patients, complications (0.48%) and fatality (1.44%) even in this secondary care center. Therefore, we can conclude that the disease was well managed with highly satisfactory outcomes even in the low resource health care setting in the early stage of Covid-19 pandemic era. Hence, the early case detection, identification of the high-risk groups and proper management may mitigate to develop complications and fatalities of Covid-19.

The everlasting pursuit of hybrid organic-inorganic lead-free semiconductors has directed the focus towards eco-friendly copper-based systems, perhaps because of the diversity in chemistry, controlling the structure-property relationship. In this work, we report single crystals of a Cu(i) halide-based perovskite-like organic-inorganic hybrid, (TMA)Cu 2 Br 3 , (TMA = tetramethylammonium), consisting of unusual one-dimensional inorganic anionic chains of -(Cu 2 Br 3 )-, electrostatically stabilized by organic cations, and the Cu(i)-Cu(i) distance of 2.775 Å indicates the possibility of cuprophilic interactions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements further confirmed the presence of exclusive Cu(i) in (TMA)Cu 2 Br 3 and electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory suggested a direct bandgap value of 2.50 eV. The crystal device demonstrated an impressive bulk photovoltaic effect due to the emergence of excitonic Cu(i)-Cu(i) interactions, as was clearly visualized in the charge-density plot as well as in the Raman spectroscopic analysis. The single crystals of a silver analogue, (TMA)Ag 2 Br 3 , have also been synthesized revealing a Ag(i)-Ag(i) distance of 3.048 Å (signature of an argentophilic interaction). Unlike (TMA)Cu 2 Br 3 , where more density of states from Cu compared to Br near the Fermi level was observed, (TMA)Ag 2 Br 3 exhibited the opposite trend, possibly due to variation in the ionic potential influencing the overall bonding scenario., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Endoscopic transnasal repair of CSF rhinorrhoea is gaining popularity around the world because of its tremendous success rate but it depends on defect site, size, technique of repair, experiences of surgeon and also patient's profile. Aim of this study was to analysis of surgical outcome of endoscopic transnasal repair of CSF rhinorrhoea. A retrospective study carried out in the department of ENT and Head neck surgery at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) from January 2018 to December 2019. Of the total of 24 patients 16(66.0%) were female and 8(33.0%) males. The commonest site of the leak was in the cribriform plate in 18(75.3%) followed by 5(20.8%) in the fovea ethmoidalis, and 1(4.0%) in the sphenoid sinus, the overall success rate of this series with first surgical procedure was 95.83% and 100.0% with a second procedure. Meticulous pre-operative evaluation, proper identification of leakage site, choice of graft materials and surgical technique are keys to attaining excellent results.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are usually associated with higher electrical conductivity and charge carrier mobility when compared with 3D MOFs. However, attaining metallic conduction in such systems through synthetic or postsynthetic modifications is extremely challenging. Herein, we present the fabrication of thin films of a 2D MOF, Cu 3 (HHTP) 2 (HHTP = 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibiting significant conductivity enhancement at room temperature. Variable-temperature electrical transport measurements across the low-temperature (200 K) to high-temperature (373 K) regime evidenced metallic conduction. Interestingly, thin films of a 3D MOF, CuTCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane), upon decoration with AgNPs, disclosed a converse trend. The origin of such distinctive observations on AgNPs@Cu 3 (HHTP) 2 and AgNPs@CuTCNQ systems was comprehended by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations and attributed to an interfacial electronic effect. Our work sheds new light on rationally designing synthetic modifications in thin films of MOFs to tune the electrical transport property.

Background and Objectives: Hypertension is one of the major risk factors of premature morbidity and mortality in our daily clinical practice. Various studies carried out in the urban settings, but there is scarcity of epidemiological data regarding hypertension among the rural people in Bangladesh. Therefore, this current study has been designed to find out the frequency and risk factors stratification of hypertension among the rural people in Jashore, Bangladesh., Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study recruited 1812 participants above 18 years attending on national hypertensive week of 2019 in Bagherpara and Keshabpur upazila (subdistrict) health complex in Jashore, Bangladesh. 2020 International Society of Hypertension Global Hypertension Practice Guidelines had been demonstrated to classify hypertension., Results: Out of the total study population, the frequency of hypertension was 20.6% (Grade 1 and Grade 2 hypertensive patients 15.8% and 4.9%, respectively), and high normal blood pressure was 9.0%. The mean age of the study population, Grade 1 hypertensive and Grade 2 hypertensive cohorts were 42 ± 16, 49 ± 15 and 51 ± 14 years, respectively, with a male and female ratio was 1:2. Progressive rise of mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were noticed with increasing age. Age ( P : <0.001), sex ( P : 0.004), occupation ( P : <0.001), BMI ( P : <0.001), family ( P : <0.001) and past history ( P : <0.001) of hypertension, sedentary life style ( P : 0.004), additional salt intake ( P : <0.001) and smoking ( P : 0.011) were significantly associated with hypertension following bivariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age after 50 years (AOR = 1.866, 95% CI: 1.210-2.876), positive past history of hypertension (AOR = 3.493, 95% CI: 2.676-4.558), additional salt intake (AOR = 0.591, 95% CI: 0.453-0.770) and obesity (AOR = 3.389, 95% CI: 1.830-6.274) were significantly associated with developing hypertension., Conclusion: High frequency of hypertension was found among the rural population in Bangladesh where presence with a lot of significantly associated risk factors. The data would be helpful for the health policymakers dealing noncommunicable diseases to reach the sustainable goal and mitigate morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)

Temperature-induced insulator-to-metal transitions (IMTs) where the electrical resistivity can be altered by over tens of orders of magnitude are most often accompanied by structural phase transition in the system. Here, we demonstrate an insulator-to-metal-like transition (IMLT) at 333 K in thin films of a biological metal-organic framework (bio-MOF) which was generated upon an extended coordination of the cystine (dimer of amino acid cysteine) ligand with cupric ion (spin-1/2 system) - without appreciable change in the structure. Bio-MOFs are crystalline porous solids and a subclass of conventional MOFs where physiological functionalities of bio-molecular ligands along with the structural diversity can primarily be utilized for various biomedical applications. MOFs are usually electrical insulators (so as our expectation with bio-MOFs) and can be bestowed with reasonable electrical conductivity by the design. This discovery of electronically driven IMLT opens new opportunities for bio-MOFs, to emerge as strongly correlated reticular materials with thin film device functionalities., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Downsizing materials into hetero-structured thin film configurations is an important avenue to capture various interfacial phenomena. Metallic conduction at the interfaces of insulating transition metal oxides and organic molecules are notable examples, though, it remained elusive in the domain of coordination polymers including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are comprised of metal centers connected to organic linkers with an extended coordination geometry and potential void space. Poor orbitals overlap often makes these crystalline solids electrical insulators. Herein, we have fabricated hetero-structured thin film of a Mott and a band insulating MOFs via layer-by-layer method. Electrical transport measurements across the thin film evidenced an interfacial metallic conduction. The origin of such an unusual observation was understood by the first-principles density functional theory calculations; specifically, Bader charge analysis revealed significant accumulation and percolation of charge across the interface. We anticipate similar interfacial effects in other rationally designed hetero-structured thin films of MOFs., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The study was aimed to assess the psychological aspects and relevant factors of the health-care workers (HCWs) working in COVID 19 pandemic condition in Bangladesh. This online cross-sectional survey was conducted from different tertiary, secondary and primary hospitals in Bangladesh. Eligible 638 HCWs who were directly involved in the caring of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients were recruited in this study. The mental health was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnare-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). High frequency of depression 536(84.0%), anxiety 386(60.5%) and insomnia 302(47.3%) was found among the HCWs, which were significantly higher in physicians (p<0.001) than nurses. Moderate to severe depression was significantly higher in female, whereas minimal to mild depression was significant in male HCWs (p=0.014). Symptoms of depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001) and insomnia (p=0.004) were significantly higher among the HCWs of primary and secondary compared to the tertiary level. The HCWs developed psychological trauma due to family health (45.3%) and contagious disease property (66.6%). After adjusting confounders, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that physicians and HCWs of secondary hospital had significant symptoms of severe depression (OR=2.95, 95% CI=0.50-17.24; p<0.001), anxiety (OR=2.64, 95% CI=0.80-8.72; p<0.001) and insomnia (OR=2.67, 95% CI=1.23-5.84; p=0.018); whereas female HCWs had more risk of developing symptoms of severe insomnia (OR= 1.84; 95% CI=1.23-2.75; p=0.003). High rate of depression, anxiety and insomnia was found among HCWs working in the COVID-19 pandemic condition in this survey.

A Ce/Ti-based bimetallic 2-aminoterephthalate metal-organic framework (MOF) was synthesized and evaluated for photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 in comparison with an isoreticular pristine monometallic Ce-terephthalate MOF. Owing to highly selective CO 2 adsorption capability, optimized band gaps, higher flux of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, and a lower rate of recombination, this material exhibited better photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 and lower hydrogen evolution compared to Ce-terephthalate. Thorough probing of the surface and electronic structure inferred that the reducibility of Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ was due to the introduction of an amine functional group into the linker, and low-lying Ti(3 d ) orbitals in Ce/Ti-2-aminoterephthalate facilitated the photoreduction reaction. Both the MOFs were calcined to their respective oxides of Ce 1- x Ti x O 2 and CeO 2 , and the electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 was performed over the oxidic materials. In contrast to the photocatalytic reaction mechanism, the lattice substitution of Ti in the CeO 2 fluorite cubic structure showed a better hydrogen evolution reaction and consequently, poorer electroreduction of CO 2 compared to pristine CeO 2 . Density functional theory calculations of the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction on the MOF and the oxide surfaces corroborated the experimental findings.

Planar magnetic molecules are of great research interest in the past few years because of their possible application in molecular spintronics. Microscopic understanding of the adsorption and magnetic exchange interaction of these molecules to the metallic/magnetic surfaces may pave the way in developing efficient molecular spin switching devices. Herein, using density functional theory + U calculations, we have studied the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of a Ni-dinuclear molecule chemically adsorbed on a Co(001) substrate. Switching of the spin and oxidation state of the Ni atom present in the molecule was observed due to the adsorption. We report a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the spins of the Ni-dinuclear molecule to the ferromagnetic Co(001) substrate. The study reveals an indirect exchange interaction between the magnetic center of the molecule and the substrate Co atoms. The exchange interaction is mediated through the ligands of the molecule that stabilizes the spin moment of the molecule in an antiferromagnetic alignment to the substrate magnetization. Our study also shows that the spin state and strength of MAE of the adsorbed molecule can be tailored through the magneto-chemical method by adding the Cl atom as an axial ligand to the magnetic center of the molecule., (© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Spin transport through monolayer and trilayers of molybdenum dichalcogenides were studied considering Co as leads. Detailed investigations of the electronic structure of the Co/MoS 2 interface and magnetic tri-junctions are carried out by using density functional theory calculations to understand transport behavior. The study revealed that new spin-polarized hybridized states appeared at the Fermi level due to the formation of Co/MoS 2 interface that effectively acted as a spin filter and enhanced the spin injection efficiency of the systems. Spin-polarized current through the system as well as the magnetoresistance (MR) was estimated at different applied bias voltages. Large MR up to 78% was calculated for the trilayer MoS 2 system at a relatively high applied bias voltage. The MR values are further improved by tuning the structure of the scattering region. A very large MR of 123% for MoS 2 /MoSe 2 /MoS 2 trilayer at an applied bias 0.8 V was observed, which is much higher than the previously reported bias dependent MR values in similar systems.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) are gaining attention and making a significant contribution to the area of lighting and displays technology. The synthesis of new materials that can act as a host as well as emissive materials is crucial and efforts have been made in this direction in this research. Here, four star-shaped fluorophores, with a donor-acceptor (D-A) structure and with triphenylamine and phenanthroimidazole groups with different substitutions at the N 1 position of the imidazole moiety, were designed and synthesized. Synthesized fluorophores showed sufficient thermal stability (10% T d in the range 230-280°C). Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra of the fluorophores showed multiple absorption bands (bands in the UV region, due to π-π* transitions of the conjugated aromatic portion) and all fluorophores showed blue emission in dichloromethane solution. Electrochemical analysis indicated that all fluorophores had excellent oxidation and reduction characteristics. Theoretical calculations were also performed to better understand the structural and electronic properties of the synthesized fluorophores. All fluorophores had higher triplet (T 1 ) energy (ranging from 2.49-2.52 eV) than the widely used green (Ir(ppy) 3 -2.4 eV) and red (Ir (piq) 2 acac - 2.2 eV) dopant materials. These results indicated that these fluorophores would be useful as host materials for efficient green and red phosphorescent OLEDs., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background and Objectives: Vitamin D has diversity of functions including diabetes mellitus by its anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory effects. With the scarcity of the regarding data in Bangladesh, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and diabetes mellitus among the postmenopausal women., Methods: An observational study conducted from 1 st July to 31 st December, 2018 in Jashore, Bangladesh that recruited 152 eligible apparently healthy natural postmenopausal women above 45 years without having any chronic diseases and drugs interfering vitamin D metabolism. Data was taken by face to face interview through self-administered questionnaires. Independent t -test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to extract P value and Hochberg's post-hoc test used as equal variance assumed in homogeneous sample to evaluate deference between different groups., Results: Among 152 study subjects, the frequency of diabetes and prediabetes were 28.3% and 31.6%, respectively, among the postmenopausal women by fasting blood sugar level according to the ADA guideline. The study revealed 86 (52.58%) deficient, 56 (36.84%) insufficient, and only 10 (6.58%) sufficient Vitamin D level. Illiterate subjects had less hypovitaminosis D than literate subjects. Urban subjects had more in deficiency state of Vitamin D than rural subjects' on the other hand rural subjects had more insufficiency of Vitamin D. Obese individuals suffered more in hypovitaminosis D than others. There was no significant statically relationship found between FBS and 25(OH)D Level in this study., Conclusion: With high frequency of diabetes and hypovitaminosis D among the postmenopausal women but there is no statically significant relationship found between diabetes and hypovitaminosis D in this study., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.)

In this work, we have reported the electronic structure, spin state, and optical properties of a new class of transition-metal (TM) dinuclear molecules (TM = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni). The stability of these molecules has been analyzed from the vibration spectra obtained by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The ground-state spin configuration of the tetra-coordinated TM atom in each molecule has been predicted from the relative total energy differences in different spin states of the molecule. The DFT + U method has been used to investigate the precise ground-state spin configuration of each molecule. We further performed time-dependent DFT calculations to study the optical properties of these molecules. The planar geometric structure remains intact in most of the cases; hence, these molecules are expected to be well adsorbed and self-assembled on metal substrates. In addition, the optical characterization of these molecules indicates that the absorption spectra have a large peak in the blue-light wavelength range; therefore, it could be suitable for advanced optoelectronic device applications. Our work promotes further computational and experimental studies on TM dinuclear molecules in the field of molecular spintronics and optoelectronics., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Metal sulfides are emerging as an important class of materials for photocatalytic applications, because of their high photo responsive nature in the wide visible light range. In this class of materials, CdS with a direct band gap of 2.4 eV, has gained special attention due to the relative position of its conduction band minimum, which is very close to the energies of the reduced protons. However, the photogenerated holes in the valence band of CdS are prone to oxidation and destroy its structure during photocatalysis. Thus constructing a CdS based heterostructure would be an effective strategy for improving the photocatalytic performance. In this work we have done a detail theoretical investigation based on hybrid density functional theory calculation to get insight into the energy band structure, mobility and charge transfer across the CdS/CdSe heterojunction. The results indicate that CdS/CdSe forms type-II heterostructure that has several advantages in improving the photocatalytic efficiency under visible light irradiation.

The electrochemical reduction of CO 2 (CO 2 RR) to produce valuable synthetic fuel like CH 3 OH not only mitigates the accumulated greenhouse gas from the environment but is also a promising direction toward attenuating our continuous reliance on fossil fuels. However, CO 2 RR to yield CH 3 OH suffers because of large overpotential, competitive H 2 evolution reaction (HER), and poor product selectivity. In this regard, intermetallic alloy catalysts open up a wide possibility of fine-tuning the electronic property and attain appropriate structures that facilitate selective CO 2 RR. Here, we report for the first time the CO 2 RR over carbon-supported PtZn nano-alloys and probed the crucial role of structures and interfaces as active sites. PtZn/C, Pt 3 Zn/C, and Pt x Zn/C (1 < x < 3) synthesized from the metal-organic framework material were characterized structurally and morphologically. The catalysts demonstrated structure dependency toward CH 3 OH selectivity, as the mixed-phase Pt x Zn/C outperformed the phase-pure PtZn/C and Pt 3 Zn/C. The structure-dependent reaction mechanism and the kinetics were elucidated over the synthesized catalysts with the help of detail experiments and associated density functional theory calculations. Results showed that in spite of low electrochemically active surface area, Pt x Zn could not only have facilitated the single electron transfer to adsorbed CO 2 but also showed better binding of the intermediate CO 2 •- over its surface. Moreover, the lower bond energy between the mixed-phase surface and -OCH 3 compared to the phase-pure catalysts has enabled higher CH 3 OH selectivity over Pt x Zn. This work opens a wide possibility of studying the role of interfaces between phase-pure nano-alloys toward CO 2 RR.

Cutting and ligation of facial artery is the conventional practice for excision of submandibular gland. Facial artery is the main arterial supply to the lower face. Its preservation results in preservation of large proportion of vascularity to the lower face, preserves vascularity of platysma myocutaneous flap, allows repair of lower lip using Bernard's technique; facial artery is one of the most important recipient artery for microvascular free flap in modern reconstructive surgery in head and neck oncology. This prospective study was carried out in Department of Otolaryngology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from October 2005 to October 2012 on 31 cases. Chronic submandibular sialoadenitis, benign submandibular gland tumours and cases of neck dissection where level I cervical lymph nodes were not involved by metastasis were included in this study. The facial artery was identified proximal to the gland and was dissected free from the gland by ligating or cauterizing its glandular branches to mobilize the gland. Appropriate anatomical aspects were noted and the time required for separation of the artery from the gland was recorded. Thirty-one consecutive cases were studied. The indications were chronic sialoadenitis (67.7%), pleomorphic adenoma (12.9%) and as a part of neck dissection for oncologic clearance of neck (19.4%). The mean duration of time for separation of the artery from the gland was 10.26 minutes. In two cases the facial artery could not be safely separated due to excessive adhesion from chronic inflammation. No significant complications were noted. Preservation of facial artery in submandibular gland excision is a simple procedure. So it should not be routinely sacrificed during this surgery.

To develop suitable ferromagnetic oxides with Curie temperature (T C ) at or above room temperature for spintronic applications, a great deal of research in doping ZnO with magnetic ions is being carried out over last decade. As the experimental results on magnetic ions doped ZnO are highly confused and controversial, we have investigated ferromagnetism in non-magnetic ion, Ag, doped ZnO. When Ag replaces Zn in ZnO, it adopts 4d 9 configuration for Ag 2+ which has single unpaired spin and suitable exchange interaction among these spins gives rise to ferromagnetism in ZnO with above room temperature T C . Experimentally, we have observed room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in Ag-doped ZnO with Ag concentration varied from 0.03% to 10.0%. It is shown that zinc vacancy (V Zn ) enhances the ferromagnetic ordering (FMO) while oxygen vacancy (V O ) retards the ferromagnetism in Ag-doped ZnO. Furthermore, the theoretical investigation revealed that V Zn along with Ag 2+ ions play a pivotal role for RTFM in Ag-doped ZnO. The Ag 2+ -Ag 2+ interaction is ferromagnetic in the same Zn plane whereas anti-ferromagnetic in different Zn planes. The presence of V Zn changes the anti-ferromagnetic to ferromagnetic state with a magnetic coupling energy of 37 meV. Finally, it has been established that the overlapping of bound magnetic polarons is responsible for RTFM in low doping concentration. However, anti-ferromagnetic coupling sets in at higher doping concentrations and hence weakens the FMO to a large extent.

Producing pure H 2 and O 2 to sustain the renewable energy sources with minimal environmental damage is a key objective of photo/electrochemical water-splitting research. Metallic Ni-based electrocatalysts are expensive and eco-hazardous. This has rendered the replacement or reduction of Ni content in Ni-based electrocatalysts a decisive criterion in the development of bifunctional electrocatalytic materials. In the current study, spinel/ilmenite composite nickel titanate (NTO) nanofibers were synthesised using sol-gel assisted electrospinning followed by pyrolysis at different soaking temperatures (viz., 773, 973, and 1173 K). The presence of a defective spinel NTO phase (SNTO) distributed uniformly along the nanofibers was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. The electron micrographs revealed the morphological change of NTO nanofibers from a mosaic to bamboo structure with an increase in pyrolysis soaking temperature. The electrocatalytic activity of NTO nanofibers obtained at different pyrolysis soaking temperatures for alkaline water-splitting was studied. The highly defective SNTO manifests properties similar to metallic Ni and favours H 2 evolution through the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by adsorbing more H + ions on active sites. In contrast, the ilmenite NTO favours O 2 discharge. These results are explained based on the morphology of the NTO nanofibers. The mosaic structure which has higher porosity and greater SNTO content shows excellent HER performance. In contrast, the large bamboo structured NTO nanofibers which have lesser porosity and SNTO content cage the bigger (OH) ads ions at their catalytic sites to facilitate OER performance.

It is widely reported during last decade on the observation of room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in doped ZnO and other transition metal oxides. However, the origin of RTFM is not understood and highly debated. While investigating the origin of RTFM, magnetic ion doped oxides should be excluded because it is not yet settled whether RTFM is intrinsic or due to the magnetic ion cluster in ZnO. Hence, it is desirable to investigate the origin of RTFM in non-magnetic ion doped ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO will be most suitable for this purpose. The important features of ferromagnetism observed in doped ZnO are (i) observation of RTFM at a doping concentration much below than the percolation threshold of wurtzite ZnO, (ii) temperature independence of magnetization and (iii) almost anhysteretic magnetization curve. We show that all these features of ferromagnetism in ZnO are due to overlapping of bound magnetic polarons (BMPs) which are created by exchange interaction between the spin of Cu 2+ ion and spin of the localized hole due to zinc vacancy [Formula: see text]. Both the experimental and theoretical investigation show that the exchange interaction between Cu 2+ -Cu 2+ ions mediated by [Formula: see text] is responsible for RTFM in Cu-doped ZnO.

Globally Vitamin D deficiency is a burning issue for the last two decades. Though the very high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is worldwide even in the South-East Asia but there is very limited data in Bangladesh. This observational study was designed to assess the status of Vitamin D deficiency among the clinically apparent healthy population in the district of Jessore, Bangladesh from January 2017 to June 2017. Both the male and female clinically healthy participants between the age of 10 and 70 years residing more than 3 years in Jashore were included in this study, while those having renal or liver failure or any other chronic diseases and using drugs that could potentially interfere the metabolism of vitamin D were excluded from the study. Here we leveled serum 25(OH)D concentration of ≤20ngm/dl as deficient, >20-30ngm/dl graded as insufficient and >30ngm/dl graded as sufficient. Among 160 participants 43.1% (n=69) were male and 56.9% (n=91) were female. And 102(63.7%) participants had deficient vitamin D, 50(31.3%) had insufficient vitamin D and only 8(5%) had sufficient vitamin D. The mean serum 25(OH)D levels in our study was 18.60±6.59ngm/dl. The mean serum 25(OH)D level in case of male participants was 19.72±7.10ngm/dl whereas in female the corresponding figure was 17.74±6.07gm/dl and no significant difference observed among the man and women (p=0.059). Sun exposure play a vital role in the vitamin D deficiency and we observed only 1-2 hours/day sun exposure was sufficient for normal vitamin D level (p=0.001). In case of women who used veil had significantly lower level of vitamin D (p=<0.001) due to lack of adequate sun exposure. Urban participants who also had significant low level of vitamin D due to the same reason (p=0.009). There was no deficiency observed in farmers and only 5(3.1%) had insufficient vitamin D. No significant difference observed in deficiency of vitamin D among the different age, sex, education level, skin complexion or BMI. But the obese participants had significant (p=0.041) lower vitamin D level. It was concluded with the high rate of vitamin D deficiency in this small scale study conducting in a district of Bangladesh demands a nationwide survey of vitamin D.

It is a subject of exploration whether the phase pure anatase or rutile TiO 2 or the band alignment due to the heterojunctions in the two polymorphs of TiO 2 plays the determining role in efficacy of a photocatalytic reaction. In this work, the phase pure anatase and rutile TiO 2 have been explored for photocatalytic nitroarenes reduction to understand the role of surface structures and band alignment towards the reduction mechanism. The conduction band of synthesized anatase TiO 2 has been found to be more populated with electrons of higher energy than that of synthesized rutile. This has given the anatase an edge towards photocatalytic reduction of nitroarenes over rutile TiO 2 . The other factors like adsorption of the reactants and the proton generation did not play any decisive role in catalytic efficacy.

A new organic receptor has been designed and synthesized by the combination of aromatic dialdehyde with nitro-substituted aminophenol resulting in a Schiff base compound. The receptor exhibited a colorimetric response for F(-) and AcO(-) ion with a distinct color change from pale yellow to red and pink respectively in dry DMSO solvent and yellow to pale greenish yellow in DMSO:H2O (9:1, v/v). UV-Vis titration studies displayed a significant shift in absorption maxima in comparison with the free receptor. The shift could be attributed to the hydrogen bonding interactions between the active anions and the hydroxyl functionality aided by the electron withdrawing nitro substituent on the receptor. (1)H NMR titration and density functionality studies have been performed to understand the nature of interaction of receptor and anions. The lower detection limit of 1.12ppm was obtained in organic media for F(-) ion confirming the real time application of the receptor., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Owing to long spin-relaxation time and chemically customizable physical properties, molecule-based semiconductor materials like metal-phthalocyanines offer promising alternatives to conventional dilute magnetic semiconductors/oxides (DMSs/DMOs) to achieve room-temperature (RT) ferromagnetism. However, air-stable molecule-based materials exhibiting both semiconductivity and magnetic-order at RT have so far remained elusive. We present here the concept of supramolecular arrangement to accomplish possibly RT ferromagnetism. Specifically, we observe a clear hysteresis-loop (H c ≈ 120 Oe) at 300 K in the magnetization versus field (M-H) plot of the self-assembled ensembles of diamagnetic Zn-phthalocyanine having peripheral F atoms (ZnFPc; S = 0) and paramagnetic Fe-phthalocyanine having peripehral H atoms (FePc; S = 1). Tauc plot of the self-assembled FePc···ZnFPc ensembles showed an optical band gap of ∼1.05 eV and temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) studies suggest semiconducting characteristics in the material. Using DFT+U quantum-chemical calculations, we reveal the origin of such unusual ferromagnetic exchange-interaction in the supramolecular FePc···ZnFPc system.

Hole transfer between a CdSe/CdS core/shell semiconductor nanorod and a surface-ligated alkyl ferrocene is investigated by a combination of ab initio quantum chemistry calculations and electrochemical and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. The calculated driving force for hole transfer corresponds well with electrochemical measurements of nanorods partially ligated by 6-ferrocenylhexanethiolate. The calculations and the experiments suggest that single step hole transfer from the valence band to ferrocene is in the Marcus inverted region. Additionally, time-resolved photoluminescence data suggest that two-step hole transfer to ferrocene mediated by a deep trap state is unlikely. However, the calculations also suggest that shallow surface states of the CdS shell could play a significant role in mediating hole transfer as long as their energies are close enough to the nanorod highest occupied molecular orbital energy. Regardless of the detailed mechanism of hole transfer, our results suggest that holes may be extracted more efficiently from well-passivated nanocrystals by reducing the energetic driving force for hole transfer, thus minimizing energetic losses.

Sinusitis is defined as a condition manifested by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nose & paranasal sinuses, fluid within this cavities and or underlying bone. Chronic rhinosinusitis is diagnosed by the presence of two or more of the following factors facial congestion/fullness, nasal obstruction, nasal discharge or discolored post nasal drainage, hyposmia/anosmia or one major and two of the following minor factors, headache. Halitosis, fatigue, dental pain, cough, ear pressure, fullness. The use of endoscope during surgery of nose & para nasal sinuses improves visualization enable greater preservation of normal structures and reduces the necessity for wide exposure. This cross-sectional study on 50 cases of chronic rhinosinusitis carried out during a period of 6 months. All the cases of both endonasal endoscopic sinus surgery (EESS) group and conventional group assessed clinically endoscopicaly and by imaging both pre and post-operative period. Twenty five cases were EESS group. Twenty five cases of conventional group. Follow-up frequencies are 1st week, 2nd week, 3rd week, 1st month, 3rd months, 6th months. In both type majority of patients in between 21-40 years, most of the cases were male, majority of patients present with headache (80)%, nasal discharge (70%), nasal obstruction (62%), major indication incase of EESS group were ethmoidal polyp 52% & conventional surgery group were chronic sinusitis (56%). Commonest complications were cheek swelling 10(40%) incase of conventional group, crusting 12(84%) in EESS group. Complete recovery incase of EESS were in 21(84%) cases and conventional surgery group 16(64%). Endonasal endoscopic sinus surgery has provided a safe & efficient method for dealing with different sinonasal diseases.

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements and density functional theory (DFT)+U calculations reveal an unexpected antiferromagnetic coupling between physisorbed paramagnetic Co-porphyrin molecules and a Ni surface, separated by a graphene layer. A positive magnetization at the Ni substrate atoms is mediated by graphene and induces a negative one at the Co site, despite only a very small overlap between macrocyclic π and graphene pz -orbitals., (Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Amazing ammonia: The molecular spin state of Ni(II) porphyrin, supported on a ferromagnetic Co surface, can be reversibly switched between spin-off (S = 0) and spin-on (S = 1) states upon coordination and decoordination of the gaseous ligand NH3, respectively (see picture). This finding clearly indicates the possible use of the system as a single-molecule-based magnetochemical sensor and in spintronics., (Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

This is a cross-sectional study done in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka Medical College & Hospital (DMCH) & Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation of Diabetic Endocrine and Metabolic Disorder (BIRDEM), Dhaka during the period of January 2009 to August 2010. This study included 60 cases of nasal polyposis, among them in 30 cases Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) was done and in 30 cases conventional surgical procedure was done as treatment procedure. Here mean age of patient in FESS was 45.43 years and in conventional surgery was 45.13 years and male female ratio was 3.3:1. In this study postoperative complication of FESS were found in 07(23.33%) cases whereas in conventional surgery it were in 16 (53.33%) cases (p = <0.01, df = 1, Chi-squire = 7.65). In case of outcome, complete relief of symptoms occur in 22(73.33%) cases by FESS and 14(46.66%) cases by conventional procedure (p = <0.05 df = 2, Chi-squire = 9.29). In FESS 22(73.33%) cases and in conventional technique 14(46.67%) cases discharged within 24-48 hours (p = <0.05, df = 1, Chi-squire = 4.44). Recurrence after FESS was 6.67% cases and conventional surgery was 30% cases. The results of this series reveled that FESS had the combined advantages of precise removal of the disease with minimal complication.

We explore a combination of density-functional theory with supplemented Coulomb U (DFT+U) and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the spin-crossover (SCO) phenomenon in coordination polymers. We demonstrate the applicability of the method for the case of bimetallic metal-organic framework Fe(2)[Nb(CN)(8)]·(4-pyridinealdoxime)(8)·2H(2)O [see S. Ohkoshi et al. Nat. Chem. 3, 564 (2011)]. Our study shows that this approach is capable of capturing the SCO transitions driven by pressure as well as temperature. In addition to discovering novel spin-state transitions, magnetic states involving changes in the long-range magnetic ordering pattern are achieved, thereby offering the tunability of spin states as well as the long-range order of the spins. We compare the SCO transition in the Fe-based framework with a computer designed Mn-based variant.