A pioneering study of the radiological mapping in the world's largest mangrove forest (the Sundarbans) and implications for the public and environment

Coastal Mangroves are facing growing threats due to the harmful consequences of human activities. This first-ever detailed study of natural radioactivity in soil samples collected from seven tourist destinations within the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, was conducted using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. Although the activity levels of 226Ra (11 ± 1-44 ± 4 Bq/kg) and 232Th (13 ± 1-68 ± 6 Bq/kg) generally align with global averages, the concentration of 40K (250 ± 20-630 ± 55 Bq/kg) was observed to surpass the worldwide average primarily due to factors like salinity intrusion, fertilizer application, agricultural runoff, which suggests the potential existence of potassium-rich mineral resources near the study sites. The assessment of the hazard parameters indicates that the majority of these parameters are within the recommended limits. The soil samples do not pose a significant radiological risk to the nearby population. The results of this study can establish important radiological baseline data before the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant begins operating in Bangladesh.

Computer simulation-based nanothermal field and tissue damage analysis for cardiac tumor ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is a nominally invasive technique to eradicate cancerous or non-cancerous cells by heating. However, it is still hampered to acquire a successful cell destruction process due to inappropriate RF intensities that will not entirely obliterate tumorous tissues, causing in treatment failure. In this study, we are acquainted with a nanoassisted RF ablation procedure of cardiac tumor to provide better outcomes for long-term survival rate without any recurrences. A three-dimensional thermo-electric energy model is employed to investigate nanothermal field and ablation efficiency into the left atrium tumor. The cell death model is adopted to quantify the degree of tissue injury while injecting the Fe3O4 nanoparticles concentrations up to 20% into the target tissue. The results reveal that when nanothermal field extents as a function of tissue depth (10 mm) from the electrode tip, the increasing thermal rates were approximately 0.54362%, 3.17039%, and 7.27397% for the particle concentration levels of 7%, 10%, and 15% compared with no-particle case. In the 7% Fe3O4 nanoparticles, 100% fractional damage index is achieved after ablation time of 18 s whereas tissue annihilation approach proceeds longer to complete for no-particle case. The outcomes indicate that injecting nanoparticles may lessen ablation time in surgeries and prevent damage to adjacent healthy tissue.

Assessment of radioactivity level and associated radiological hazard in fertilizer from Dhaka

Miners, factory workers, traders, end-users, and foodstuff consumers all run the risk of encountering health hazards derived from the presence of elevated levels of radiation in fertilizers, as these groups often come into direct or indirect contact with fertilizers as well as raw materials throughout various linked processes such as mineral extractions, fertilizer production, agricultural practices. A total of 30 samples of various kinds of fertilizer produced in different factories in Dhaka megacity were analyzed to quantify the concentrations of primordial radionuclides using HPGe detector. Among the analyzed samples, average (range) concentration of 40K was found to be 9920 ± 1091 (8700 ± 957-11,500 ± 1265), 9100 ± 1001 (8600 ± 946-9600 ± 1056), 2565 ± 282 (2540 ± 279-2590 ± 285), and 3560 ± 392 (2620 ± 288-4500 ± 495) Bq/kg in the samples of Muriate of Potash Fertilizer, Sulphate of Potash Fertilizer, Humic Acid Fertilizer, and NPKS Fertilizer, respectively. Elevated concentration of 226Ra was found in Triple Super Phosphate Fertilizer with a mean (range) of 335 ± 37 (290 ± 32-380 ± 42) Bq/kg. The higher activity of 40K can be linked to the greater levels of elemental potassium in phosphate fertilizer. Elevated concentrations of radionuclides may also result from variations in chemical processes as well as the local geology of the mining areas where the raw materials were extracted for fertilizer production. Numerous fertilizer brands surpass prescribed limits for various hazardous parameters, presenting significant health risks to factory workers, farmers, and consumers of agricultural products. This study provides baseline information on the radioactivity of fertilizers, which could be used to develop mitigation methods, establish national fertilizer usage limits, justify regulatory frameworks, and raise public awareness of fertilizer overuse. The findings of the study could potentially help to explore the impact of fertilizer on the food chain.

Penile Color Doppler Ultrasonography in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Presenting with Erectile Dysfunction: A Single-Center Experience from Bangladesh

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ED is considered the earliest marker of widespread endothelial dysfunction. Color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) of the penis is a valuable tool in identifying vasculogenic ED and may predict coronary vascular disease. In Bangladesh, no study has evaluated CDUS of the penis in such patients. This study assessed the penile CDUS characteristics of adult patients with T2DM having ED. This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2021 at a specialized diabetes hospital in Cumilla, Bangladesh. The baseline velocities of the right and the left cavernosal arteries were measured at the penile base. Arterial insufficiency was defined as a peak systolic velocity (PSV) value <25 cm/s and venous insufficiency was described as an end-diastolic velocity (EDV) >5 cm/s at the end of the examination. Eighty-seven subjects were evaluated; the mean age was 44.2±9.2 years, mean duration of DM was 7.9±2.8 years; of them, 31.0% were smokers, 75.9% obese, 92.0% central obese, 69.0% hypertensive, 96.6% dyslipidemic and 51.7% with low testosterone. The mean HbA1c was 9.3±1.9%; DM was uncontrolled in 89.7% of the study subjects. Penile vasculopathy was found in 21.8% (17.2% had arterial insufficiency, 2.3% had a venous leak, and 2.3% had arterial insufficiency with a venous leak). There were no statistical differences between the two groups, with and without penile vasculopathy, except for diastolic blood pressure, which was higher in the vasculopathy group. CDUS may be incorporated into the tools for evaluating diabetic ED to direct specific management.

Evaluation of radioactivity in soil and rock samples from an undiscovered sea beach in the southeastern coastline of Bangladesh and associated health risk

This study marks the first-ever assessment of radiological hazards linked to the sands and rocks of Patuartek Sea Beach, situated along one of the world's longest sea beaches in Cox' Bazar of Bangladesh. Through the utilization of an HPGe detector, a comprehensive analysis of the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K was conducted, and their activity ranged from 7 to 23 Bq/kg, 9-58 Bq/kg, and 172-340 Bq/kg, respectively, in soils, and 19-24 Bq/kg, 27-39 Bq/kg, and 340-410 Bq/kg, respectively, in rocks. Some sand samples exhibited elevated levels of 232Th, while the rock samples displayed higher levels of 40 K compared to the global average. The radiological hazard parameters were assessed, and no values surpassed the recommended limits set by several international organizations. Hence, the sands and rocks of Patuartek sea beach pose no significant radiological risk to the residents or tourists. The findings of this study provide crucial insights for the development of a radiological baseline map in the country, which is important due to the commissioning of the country's first nuclear power plant Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The data may also stimulate interest in the rare-earth minerals present in the area, which is important for the electronics industry, thorium-based nuclear fuel cycles.

Comparison of Serum Zinc in Children of Wilson Disease and Non-Wilsonian Volunteers in Bangladesh

Wilson disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism with diverse clinical manifestations. Zinc (Zn) has been used for treatment of WD. Recent studies showed low serum zinc level in patients suffering from WD than the normal. This cross-sectional analytical study has been designed to compare the serum zinc level between paediatric patients suffering from WD but yet not started treatment and children who have normal ALT level. This study was carried out at the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2018 to June 2019. Total 51 children were included in this study. Among them 27 were diagnosed case of WD aged between three to eighteen years and 24 children of same ages who were suffering from other than liver disease having normal ALT were included as volunteers. The patients of WD were divided into four groups according to their presentation as acute hepatitis, chronic liver disease (CLD), acute liver failure & neuropsychiatric manifestation. Informed written consent was obtained from all patients and volunteers for participation in this study. Along with other physical findings and laboratory investigations 3 ml of venous blood were collected for estimation of serum zinc level. After estimation of serum zinc level results were analyzed statistically. The difference in serum zinc levels were compared between the groups. Serum zinc level was significantly lower in Wilson disease patients (43.8±19.7μg/dl; range: 13-83) compared to volunteers group (67.8±11.8μg/dl; range: 47-97) p<0.001. Among the diseased group, serum zinc level were significantly lower in 18 CLD (38.4±17.4μg/dl) and in 4 acute liver failure (33.1±3.7μg/dl) compared to 4 acute hepatitis (71.8±4.3μg/dl) (p=0.001) and (p<0.001) respectively. Mean serum zinc level was low in 4 Wilsonian acute liver failure (33.1±3.7μg/dl), which was significant compared to those (23) who presented as Wilson disease non acute liver failure (45.7±20.8μg/dl) (p=0.013). Serum zinc level was significantly lower in Wilson disease children compared to the volunteers. Zinc level was also found significantly low in Wilson disease presented as CLD and acute liver failure in comparison to Wilson disease presented as acute hepatitis.

Evaluation of accessibility and equity to hospitals by public transport: evidence from six largest cities of Ohio

INTRODUCTION

In the United States, health care has long been viewed as a 'right,' and residents of the state of Ohio are no exception. The Ohio Department of Health ensures that this right exists for all residents of Ohio. Socio-spatial characteristics, however, can have an impact on access to health care, particularly among vulnerable groups. This article seeks to measure the spatial accessibility to healthcare services by public transport in the six largest cities of Ohio based on population and to compare the accessibility of healthcare to vulnerable demographic groups. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the accessibility and equity of hospitals by public transit across different cities in Ohio, allowing the identification of common patterns, difficulties, and knowledge gaps.

METHODOLOGY

Using a two-step floating catchment area technique, the spatial accessibility to general medical and surgical hospitals through public transportation was estimated, considering both service-to-population ratios and travel time to these health services. The average accessibility of all census tracts and the average accessibility of the 20% of most susceptible census tracts were determined for each city. Using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between accessibility and vulnerability, an indicator was then devised to evaluate vertical equity.

FINDINGS

Within cities (except Cleveland), people of vulnerable census tracts have less access to hospitals via public transportation. These cities (Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, and Dayton) fail in terms of vertical equity and average accessibility. According to this, vulnerable census tracts in these cities have the lowest accessibility levels.

CONCLUSION

This study emphasizes the issues connected with the suburbanization of poverty in Ohio's large cities and the need to provide adequate public transportation to reach hospitals on the periphery. In addition, this study shed light on the need for additional empirical research to inform the implementation of guidelines for healthcare accessibility in Ohio. Researchers, planners, and policymakers who want to make healthcare more accessible for everyone should take note of the findings in this study.

A study on measuring the 222Rn in the Buriganga River and tap water of the megacity Dhaka

Radon (222Rn), an inert gas, is considered a silent killer due to its carcinogenic characteristics. Dhaka city is situated on the banks of the Buriganga River, which is regarded as the lifeline of Dhaka city because it serves as a significant source of the city's water supply for domestic and industrial purposes. Thirty water samples (10 tap water from Dhaka city and 20 surface samples from the Buriganga River) were collected and analyzed using a RAD H2O accessory for 222Rn concentration. The average 222Rn concentration in tap and river water was 1.54 ± 0.38 Bq/L and 0.68 ± 0.29 Bq/L, respectively. All the values were found below the maximum contamination limit (MCL) of 11.1 Bq/L set by the USEPA, the WHO-recommended safe limit of 100 Bq/L, and the UNSCEAR suggested range of 4-40 Bq/L. The mean values of the total annual effective doses due to inhalation and ingestion were calculated to be 9.77 μSv/y and 4.29 μSv/y for tap water and river water, respectively. Although all these values were well below the permissible limit of 100 μSv/y proposed by WHO, they cannot be neglected because of the hazardous nature of 222Rn, especially considering their entry to the human body via inhalation and ingestion pathways. The obtained data may serve as a reference for future 222Rn-related works.

Evaluation of transfer factors of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K radionuclides from soil to grass and mango in the northern region of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a rapidly developing country, which is vulnerable to various types of pollution due to the large-scale industrial and associated human activities that might potentially affect the locally harvested foodstuffs. Therefore, the transfer factor is an essential tool to assess the safety of foodstuffs due to the presence of natural radioactivity in environmental matrix and/or strata. This is a first study of its kind conducted in a well-known region for mango farming in Bangladesh, measuring the uptake of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) by grass and mango from soil to assess the ingestion doses to humans. The HPGe gamma-ray detector was used to determine the concentrations of NORMs in samples of soil (20), grass (10), and mango (10), which were then used to calculate the transfer factors of soil to grass and soil to mango. Average activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in associated soil samples (47.27 ± 4.10, 64.49 ± 4.32, 421.60 ± 28.85) of mango and ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th in associated soil samples (45.07 ± 3.93, 52.17 ± 3.95) of grass were found to exceed the world average values. The average transfer factors (TFs) for mango were obtained in the order of ⁴⁰K(0.80) > ²²⁶Ra (0.61) > ²³²Th (0.31), and for grass, it shows the order of ⁴⁰K (0.78) > ²³²Th (0.64) > ²²⁶Ra (0.56). However, a few values (3 mango samples and 3 grass samples) of the estimated TFs exceeded the recommended limits. Moreover, Bangladesh lacks the transfer factors for most of the food crops; therefore, calculation of TFs in the major agricultural products is required all over Bangladesh, especially the foodstuffs produced near the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023.

Assessment of the Relationship between Non-motor features and Severity of Parkinson's Disease Patients in Bangladesh

Parkinson's disease (PD) is second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease that may present with both motor and non-motor symptoms (NMSs). Many of the ignored NMSs may potentiate further deterioration of the patient's quality of life (QoL). But there is scarcity of data regarding NMSs of PD patients and their relationship with the disease severity in Bangladesh. This study was aimed to investigate the frequency of NMSs and assess their debatable impact on the severity of PD patients in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional type of observational study was conducted in neurology department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from January 2012 to June 2013 which recruited 60 eligible PD patients. The PD patients and disease severity was demonstrated by UK Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank criteria for idiopathic PD and the Hoehn and Yahr scale respectively. Whereas, NMSs were demonstrated by the self-structured questionnaire which had encountered 30 common symptoms of PD. The mean age of our study cohort was found 57.88±10.56 years with male female ration 2:1. According to the Hoehn and Yahr (H & Y) severity scale 38.3%, 38.3%, 20.1% and 3.3% patients had been suffering from stage ?, stage II, stage III and stage ?V Parkinson's disease respectively. Irrespective of the severity of the PD the frequency of NMSs was nocturia (66.7%), sadness or blues (65.0%), memory disturbance (61.7%), anxiety (58.3%), insomnia (56.7%), orthostatic hypotension (55.0%), erectile dysfunction (50.0%), urinary urgency (46.7%), anhedonia (45.0%), olfactory disturbance (38.3%), constipation (38.3%), hyper or hypo sexuality (31.7%) and restless leg syndrome (31.7%). However, after head-to-head NMSs analysis, daytime dribbling of saliva (p=0.024), urinary urgency (p=0.036), nocturia (p=0.001), weight loss (p=0.001), anhedonia (p=0.027), excessive daytime sleepiness (p=0.024), insomnia (p=0.007), vivid dream (p=0.024), REM behavior disorder (p=0.010), restless leg syndrome/ periodic leg movements (p=0.043) had significantly been reported higher among the stage II PD patients than that of stage I patients. Whereas fall (p=0.001), dysphagia or choking (p=0.002), constipation (p=0.003), fecal incontinence (p=0.033), excessive daytime sleepiness (p=0.033), anxiety (p=0.036) and anhedonia (p=0.044) were significantly more prevalent among the advanced stage (III) than stage (II) PD patients. Mean total NMS increased significantly with PD severity based on H and Y staging with a mean NMSQ-T (Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire Test) of 5.43 in stage 1, 9.22 in stage 2, 13.75 in stage 3 and 17.0 in stage 4 (p=0.0001). This study revealed that there was high frequency of NMSs among the PD patients and most common symptoms were nocturia, sadness, memory impairment, anxiety, insomnia, orthostatic hypotension, erectile dysfunction, anhedonia, urinary urgency and constipation. Finally, the more advanced disease as indicated by a higher H&Y stage was associated with significantly higher number of reported NMSs.

Vertical distributions of radionuclides along the tourist-attractive Marayon Tong Hill in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh

This is the first attempt in the world to depict the vertical distribution of radionuclides in the soil samples along several heights (900 feet, 1550 feet, and 1650 feet) of Marayon Tong hill in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bandarban by HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, and ⁴⁰K were found to be 37.15 ± 3.76 Bqkg^-1, 19.69 ± 2.15 Bqkg^-1, and 347.82 ± 24.50 Bqkg^-1, respectively, where in most cases, ²³²Th exceeded the world average value of 30 Bqkg^-1. According to soil characterization, soils ranged from slightly acidic to moderately acidic, with low soluble salts. The radium equivalent activity, outdoor and indoor absorbed dose rate, external and internal hazard indices, external and internal effective dose rates, gamma level index, and excess lifetime cancer risk were evaluated and found to be below the recommended or world average values; but a measurable activity of ¹³⁷Cs was found at soils collected from ground level and at an altitude of 1550 feet, which possibly arises from the nuclear fallout. The evaluation of cumulative radiation doses to the inhabitants via periodic measurement is recommended due to the elevated levels of ²³²Th.This pioneering work in mapping the vertical distribution of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) can be an essential factual baseline data for the scientific community that may be used to evaluate the variation in NORMs in the future, especially after the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh in 2024.

Spectral characterization and biological evaluation of biomolecules from the peels of three orange fruits: a comparative study

The present work was designed to investigate the presence of bioactive chemicals in the reaction mixtures (RMs) of peels of Valencia, Mandarin, and African navel oranges, through GC-MS and FT-IR studies. Limonene, a unique compound, is present in the RMs of the three orange peels. Moreover, hexadecanoic acid 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester was identified in the RMs of all the three-orange peels. The RM of Mandarin orange exhibited potent cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 ATCC human breast cancer cells (HBC). All the three RMs exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against the human pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), Salmonella choleraesis (ATCC 10708), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and Proteus mirabilis (ATCC 299).

A molecular barcode and web-based data analysis tool to identify imported Plasmodium vivax malaria

Traditionally, patient travel history has been used to distinguish imported from autochthonous malaria cases, but the dormant liver stages of Plasmodium vivax confound this approach. Molecular tools offer an alternative method to identify, and map imported cases. Using machine learning approaches incorporating hierarchical fixation index and decision tree analyses applied to 799 P. vivax genomes from 21 countries, we identified 33-SNP, 50-SNP and 55-SNP barcodes (GEO33, GEO50 and GEO55), with high capacity to predict the infection's country of origin. The Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) for an existing, commonly applied 38-SNP barcode (BR38) exceeded 0.80 in 62% countries. The GEO panels outperformed BR38, with median MCCs > 0.80 in 90% countries at GEO33, and 95% at GEO50 and GEO55. An online, open-access, likelihood-based classifier framework was established to support data analysis (vivaxGEN-geo). The SNP selection and classifier methods can be readily amended for other use cases to support malaria control programs.

Impact of OsBadh2 Mutations on Salt Stress Response in Rice

Mutations in the Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (OsBadh2) gene resulted in aroma, which is a highly preferred grain quality attribute in rice. However, research on naturally occurring aromatic rice has revealed ambiguity and controversy regarding aroma emission, stress tolerance, and response to salinity. In this study, mutant lines of two non-aromatic varieties, Huaidao#5 (WT_HD) and Jiahua#1 (WT_JH), were generated by targeted mutagenesis of OsBadh2 using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The mutant lines of both varieties became aromatic; however, WT_HD mutants exhibited an improved tolerance, while those of WT_JH showed a reduced tolerance to salt stress. To gain insight into the molecular mechanism leading to the opposite effects, comparative analyses of the physiological activities and expressions of aroma- and salinity-related genes were investigated. The WT_HD mutants had a lower mean increment rate of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutamate, and proline content, with a higher mean increment rate of γ-aminobutyric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and catalase than the WT_JH mutants. Fluctuations were also detected in the salinity-related gene expression. Thus, the response mechanism of OsBadh2 mutants is complicated where the genetic makeup of the rice variety and interactions of several genes are involved, which requires more in-depth research to explore the possibility of producing highly tolerant aromatic rice genotypes.

Physician's Perception about the Use of PPE, COVID-19 Prevention and Management in Bangladesh

This study aims to explore physician's perceptions about the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), COVID prevention, and management during the COVID pandemic since knowledge on these might explain the reason behind infection and death of physicians in Bangladesh at an unexpected rate. This cross-sectional study was conducted based on an online questionnaire on 346 physicians (n=346) by the Department of Gastroenterology of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from 15th July 2020 to 14th September 2020. Physicians of different health care facilities across Bangladesh were invited to take part. Knowledge on specific points of the questionnaire was evaluated, scored, and compared between different groups by Independent sample t-test. Mean knowledge score between the respondents working up to 8 hours and beyond 8 hours per day was 17.28±1.28, 16.90±1.40 respectively (p=0.03). Mean knowledge score observed between graduate and post-graduate physicians and work experience of 5 years and beyond 5 years were 17.26±1.36 vs. 17.16±1.27; (p=0.40), 16.87±1.75 vs. 17.27±1.21; (p=0.11) respectively. Physician's safety should be first concern that is highlighted through proper use of PPE and prevention of COVID. Patient management skills would be better if physicians are trained well on infection prevention and control which in turn will reduce infection and death of physicians.

Search for an Axionlike Particle in B Meson Decays

Axionlike particles (ALPs) are predicted in many extensions of the standard model, and their masses can naturally be well below the electroweak scale. In the presence of couplings to electroweak bosons, these particles could be emitted in flavor-changing B meson decays. We report herein a search for an ALP, a, in the reaction B^{±}→K^{±}a, a→γγ using data collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. No significant signal is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the ALP coupling to electroweak bosons are derived as a function of ALP mass, improving current constraints by several orders of magnitude in the range 0.175  GeV<m_{a}<4.78  GeV.

Search for Lepton Flavor Violation in ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓}

We report on the first search for electron-muon lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the decay of a b quark and b antiquark bound state. We look for the LFV decay ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓} in a sample of 118 million ϒ(3S) mesons from 27  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider operating with a 10.36 GeV center-of-mass energy. No evidence for a signal is found, and we set a limit on the branching fraction B[ϒ(3S)→e^{±}μ^{∓}]<3.6×10^{-7} at 90% C. L. This result can be interpreted as a limit Λ_{NP}/g_{NP}^{2}>80  TeV on the energy scale Λ_{NP} divided by the coupling-squared g_{NP}^{2} of relevant new physics (NP).

Search for Darkonium in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions

Collider searches for dark sectors, new particles interacting only feebly with ordinary matter, have largely focused on identifying signatures of new mediators, leaving much of dark sector structures unexplored. In particular, the existence of dark matter bound states (darkonia) remains to be investigated. This possibility could arise in a simple model in which a dark photon (A^{'}) is light enough to generate an attractive force between dark fermions. We report herein a search for a J^{PC}=1^{--} darkonium state, the ϒ_{D}, produced in the reaction e^{+}e^{-}→γϒ_{D}, ϒ_{D}→A^{'}A^{'}A^{'}, where the dark photons subsequently decay into pairs of leptons or pions, using 514  fb^{-1} of data collected with the BABAR detector. No significant signal is observed, and we set bounds on the γ-A^{'} kinetic mixing as a function of the dark sector coupling constant for 0.001<m_{A^{'}}<3.16  GeV and 0.05<m_{ϒ_{D}}<9.5  GeV.

Effects of emulsifiers on an in vitro model of intestinal epithelial tight junctions and the transport of food allergens

SCOPE

Certain food emulsifiers may interfere with gut barrier function in ways correlating to increased exposure to allergens. Understanding the consequences of interactions between these food ingredients and the intestinal epithelium is important for evaluating allergen dose exposure characteristics.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Wechallenged Caco-2 cell monolayers, an in vitromodel of human intestinal epithelial tight junctions with synthetic polysorbate-80 or natural lecithin alone, or in combination with known allergens (egg proteins: ovalbumin, ovomucoid, and ovotransferrin; and a synthetic form of galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), an allergen of increasing concern). For most doses of individual emulsifiers and allergens, >90% cell viability and <15% cytotoxicity wasobserved; however, toxicity increased at a 0.5% concentration of emulsifiers. At low cytotoxic concentration (0.2%), only polysorbate-80 treatment reduced monolayer integrity (∼20%) with increased lucifer yellow passage. Dose-related differences in expression of tight junction genes and occludin proteins wereobserved with emulsifier treatments. The transport of all tested allergens across the cell monolayers, excluding ovotransferrin, nearly doubled in the presence of 0.2% polysorbate-80 compared to lecithin and untreated control.

CONCLUSION

By modulating paracellular permeability, polysorbate-80 may enhance absorption of allergens in a size-dependent manner. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and Functionalization of Coumarin-Pyrazole Scaffold: Recent Development, Challenges, and Opportunities

Heterocycles are the main structural motif of DNA and RNA and play a crucial role in various chemical reactions of metabolisms. Therefore, heterocyclic compounds show good physiological and pharmacological properties. Coumarin and pyrazole scaffolds are present in many commercial drug molecules and natural products. This review overviews the progress made in the synthesis and functionalization of the coumarin- pyrazole hybrid heterocycle. It also includes discussion on the possible reactive sites of heterocycles, functionalization, and mechanistic pathways to incorporate pyrazole pharmacophore unit in synthesis. Several synthesis and biological studies reveal that the combination of the coumarin-pyrazole moiety is a prominent structural motif to find lead compounds in drug discovery.

Image processing techniques to estimate weight and morphological parameters for selected wheat refractions

The geometric and color features of agricultural material along with related physical properties are critical to characterize and express its physical quality. The experiments were conducted to classify the physical characteristics like size, shape, color and texture and then workout the relationship between manual observations and using image processing techniques for weight and volume of the four wheat refractions i.e. sound, damaged, shriveled and broken grains of wheat variety PBW 725. A flatbed scanner was used to acquire the images and digital image processing method was used to process the images and output of image analysis was compared with the actual measurements data using digital vernier caliper. A linear relationship was observed between the axial dimensions of refractions between manual measurement and image processing method with R² in the range of 0.798–0.947. The individual kernel weight and thousand grain weight of the refractions were observed to be in the range of 0.021–0.045 and 12.56–46.32 g respectively. Another linear relationship was found between individual kernel weight and projected area estimated using image processing methodology with R² in the range of 0.841–0.920. The sphericity of the refractions varied in the range of 0.52–0.71. Analyses of the captured images suggest ellipsoid shape with convex geometry while the same observation was recorded by physical measurements also. A linear relationship was observed between the volume of refractions derived from measured dimensions and calculated from image with R² in the range of 0.845–0.945. Various color and grey level co-variance matrix texture features were extracted from acquired images using the open-source Python programming language and OpenCV library which can exploit different machine and deep learning algorithms to properly classify these refractions.

Spectral analysis and Antibacterial activity of the bioactive principles of Sargassum tenerrimum J. Agardh collected from the Red sea, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Seaweeds are a major marine resource that can be explored to develop novel pharmaceutical molecules. The present study showed the presence of unique bioactive components in the petroleum ether extract (PEE) and methanolic extract (ME) of Sargassum tenerrimum. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis suggested that the PEE of S. tenerrimum contained antibacterial biomolecules: hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, 17-pentatriacontene, dasycarpidan-1-methanol, and acetate (ester). However, the ME of S. tenerrimum exhibited better antibacterial effect than the PEE due to the presence of the bioactive compounds 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester, tetratetracontane, 1-docosene, 1,2-benzenediol, and benzoic acid. Thus, promising antibacterial molecules can be isolated from S. tenerrimum for better therapeutic use.

Real-world effectiveness of adalimumab in patients with moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa: the 1-year SOLACE study

BACKGROUND

Long-term, real-word data are needed to help manage patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) through this recurrent, painful and debilitating disease.

OBJECTIVES

To primarily measure real-world effectiveness of adalimumab in HS and to secondarily observe clinical course of HS in the light of patients' response.

METHODS

In SOLACE, adults with moderate-to-severe HS in need for change in ongoing therapy were treated with adalimumab for up to 52 weeks as per physician's medical practice. Treatment effectiveness was measured by Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response (HiSCR). Inflammatory nodules, abscesses and draining fistulas were counted, Hurley stage was assessed, and disease severity was rated using the International HS Severity Scoring System (IHS4). A post hoc analysis further explored the HiSCR response by abscess and inflammatory nodule (AN) count at baseline (low, medium and high) and gender. Spontaneously reported safety events were collected.

RESULTS

From 23 Canadian centres, 69% of the 138 patients achieved HiSCR at week 24, which increased to 82% and 75% at week 52 in patients with medium and high AN counts, respectively. Gender (4 times the odds for female) and age at HS onset (5% decrease with each additional year) had an effect on achieving HiSCR. Treatment with adalimumab led to an important decrease in number of lesions in responders, with most gains observed in inflammatory nodules, more frequently in the lower body area of patients in the high AN count group. The IHS4 scores of responders were substantially lowered, with a larger decrease in patients of the high AN count group. No new safety signal was detected.

CONCLUSIONS

The effectiveness of adalimumab was maintained during this 1-year period, and an optimal gain was documented for patients with medium and high AN counts. These real-world data support a prompt treatment of HS patients and the use of IHS4 to monitor treatment.

Evaluation of Surgical Correction of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis by Transpedicular Screws and Rods

Transpedicular screw fixation is a challenging procedure for the correction of deformity of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) in the dorso-lumbar spine. The inadvertently misplaced screws have a high risk of complications. The exactness of the pedicle screws is normally distinct as the screws axis being fully enclosed within the cortices of the pedicle. Evaluation of the surgical correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis by transpedicular screws and rods was done in single posterior dynamic approach. This prospective observational study was conducted in the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Dhaka and different Hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2015 to March 2017. Ten patients at the age >9 years and <19 years who were admitted with a diagnosis of AIS during the period of study. The pedicle is a power nucleus of the vertebra and offers a secure grip of all 3 columns. Pedicle screw instrumentation has advantages of rigid fixation with improved 3D correction and it has been accepted as a reliable method with a high margin of safety. Accurate placement of the pedicle screws is important to reduce possible irreversible complication. So, all cases were corrected by transpedicular screws and rods in single posterior approach. In every case fusion was done in selected segments. In this study out of 10 patients 7(70.0%) were 10 to 14 years of age and 3(30.0%) were 15 to 18 years. Mean age 9.51±2.13 years. Minimum 10 years and maximum 18 years. Majority 7(70.0%) of the patients were female and the rest 3(30.0%) male. Five (50.0%) presented with level of involvement, 3(30.0%) patients thoracic and 2(20.0%) patients had lumbar. Maximum 7(70.0%) presented right sided involvement and rest 3(30.0%) left sided involvement. Before surgical intervention 100% patients had rib hump and positive Adams forward bending test, 70.0% patients had asymmetry of shoulder and uneven hip and also 50% patients had pain. After surgical treatment with transpedicular screws and rods through posterior approach, 70% of patients improved in terms of deformity. The average major curve deformity as defined by Cobb angle measurements was measured to be 54.9°±9.9° (40°-68°) in pre-surgery. After surgery this deformity corrected to 16.0°±4.9° (10°-24°) on average as measured in erect posture posterior anterior and lateral view. This represents significant improvement average of 71.4±4.3% (64.6-75.09) (p<0.001). This correction was maintained at 24 months after surgery. Functional results assessed by Modified Macnab criteria, significant number of 7(70.0%) patients had excellent outcome, 2(20.0%) patients had good outcome, 1(10.0%) patients had fair outcome and no poor outcome. Ninety percent (90%) patients had satisfactory results. No patient deteriorates neurologically after surgery. It is concluded that satisfactory curve correction and maintenance thereof is possible in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, with posterior instrumentation by transpedicular screw and rods with effective reduction of cost and associated risks.

Aging-Induced Dysbiosis of Gut Microbiota as a Risk Factor for Increased Listeria monocytogenes Infection

Invasive foodborne Listeria monocytogenes infection causes gastroenteritis, septicemia, meningitis, and chorioamnionitis, and is associated with high case-fatality rates in the elderly. It is unclear how aging alters gut microbiota, increases risk of listeriosis, and causes dysbiosis post-infection. We used a geriatric murine model of listeriosis as human surrogate of listeriosis for aging individuals to study the effect of aging and L. monocytogenes infection. Aging and listeriosis-induced perturbation of gut microbiota and disease severity were compared between young-adult and old mice. Young-adult and old mice were dosed intragastrically with L. monocytogenes. Fecal pellets were collected pre- and post-infection for microbiome analysis. Infected old mice had higher Listeria colonization in liver, spleen, and feces. Metagenomics analyses of fecal DNA-sequences showed increase in α-diversity as mice aged, and infection reduced its diversity. The relative abundance of major bacterial phylum like, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes remained stable over aging or infection, while the Verrucomicrobia phylum was significantly reduced only in infected old mice. Old mice showed a marked reduction in Clostridaiceae and Lactobacillaceae bacteria even before infection when compared to uninfected young-adult mice. L. monocytogenes infection increased the abundance of Porphyromonadaceae and Prevotellaceae in young-adult mice, while members of the Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae family were significantly increased in old mice. The abundance of the genera Blautia and Alistipes were significantly reduced post-infection in young-adult and in old mice as compared to their uninfected counterparts. Butyrate producing, immune-modulating bacterial species, like Pseudoflavonifractor and Faecalibacterium were significantly increased only in old infected mice, correlating with increased intestinal inflammatory mRNA up-regulation from old mice tissue. Histologic analyses of gastric tissues showed extensive lesions in the Listeria-infected old mice, more so in the non-glandular region and fundus than in the pylorus. Commensal species like Lactobacillus, Clostridiales, and Akkermansia were only abundant in infected young-adult mice but their abundance diminished in the infected old mice. Listeriosis in old mice enhances the abundance of butyrate-producing inflammatory members of the Ruminococcaceae/Lachnospiraceae bacteria while reducing/eliminating beneficial commensals in the gut. Results of this study indicate that, aging may affect the composition of gut microbiota and increase the risk of invasive L. monocytogenes infection.

Short Segment Pedicle Screw Fixation Including Fracture Vertebrae for the Management of Unstable Thoracolumbar Burst Fracture

Stabilization procedures for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures remain controversial. Traditional stabilization procedures include short and long segment stabilization. Nowadays short-segment including fracture vertebrae stabilization is one of the modalities of treatment. This study aimed to analyze the radiological and functional outcome of the Short-segment fixation with the inclusion of the fracture level (SSFIFL) for the treatment of unstable thoracolumbar fractures. In this prospective study, 40 cases of thoracolumbar burst fractures with incomplete spinal cord injury were operated by SSFIFL from Jan 2016 to Jan 2019 in NITOR, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The mean follow-up period was 18 months. Pre-operative and post-operative radiological parameters were the kyphotic angle, kyphotic deformation, Beck index, and clinical parameters include ASIA impairment scale, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Mean age was 32.30±11.85 years, among whom 80% (32) were male in this study. Fall from height (85%) was the main cause and occurs mostly in day labors (45%). Most common skeletal level was L1 (52.5%) followed by L2 (32.5%). Most cases operated between 10-15 days with mean duration of 119.58±19.93 minutes and mean blood loss of 350.38±31.26ml. The pre-operative kyphotic angle was 22.75±4.53° and 9.13±3.04° at final follow-up with correction loss of 5.15±2.54° (p<0.05). Most of the patients were in ASIA-C grade (57.5%) pre-operatively and ASIA-E (67.5%) at final follow-up after surgery (p=0.001). ODI improved from 67.20±12.90 to 25.08±11.36 and VAS form 60.25±8.91 to 21.50±8.33 (p<0.05). Main complication was superficial infection (5 cases) followed by bent rod and CSF leakage in 2 cases each. Good radiological and clinical outcome can be achieved by inclusion of fracture level in a short-segment fixation for unstable thoracolumbar fractures. Finally, this technique may allow us to save two or more segments of vertebral motion.

Evaluation of Pre-peritoneal (Sublay) Mesh Repair for Treatment of Ventral Hernia

Ventral hernia after abdominal surgery is a common complication. Several techniques for the repair of ventral hernia have been described from time to time and it is a great challenge for a surgeon. The mesh placement by sublay technique authorized by Rives and Stoppa in Europe has been reported to be effective with low recurrence rate. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sublay technique of mesh placement in ventral hernia. This prospective study was carried out in the Department of Surgery, Dhaka Dental College, Bangladesh from January 2017 to December 2018. A total of 21 patients with ventral hernia were included in this study. Data collected in data collection sheet regarding demographic data, severity of symptoms and post operative complains of patients which were then analyzed. Age ranged from 21-60 years. Male were 5(23.80%) and female were 16(76.20%). Dragging pain were 7(33.33%), irreducibility were 4(19.05%) but swelling were 100%. Incisional hernia was 18(85.71%) and para-umbilical hernia was 3(14.29%). Post-operative complication were seroma1 (4.76%), major wound infection 1(4.76%), minor infection 1(4.76%) but no recurrence. Sublay mesh repair in ventral hernia was found to be a better and effective technique with minimal complication rate.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Molecular Docking Study of Cyclic Diarylheptanoids as Potential Anticancer Therapeutics

BACKGROUND

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality globally. To cope with cancer, it is necessary to develop anticancer drugs. Bioactive natural products, i.e. diarylheptanoids, have gained significant attention of researchers owing to their intriguing structures and potent biological activities. In this article, considering the development of anticancer drugs with enhanced selectivity towards cancerous cells, a series of Cyclic Diarylheptanoids (CDHs) are designed, synthesized and evaluated their biological activity.

OBJECTIVE

To establish an easy route for the synthesis of diarylheptanoids, and evaluate their antiproliferative, and topoisomerase-I & -IIα inhibitory activities, for developing potential anticancer drugs among CDHs.

METHODS

Diarylheptanoids were synthesized from reported linear diarylheptanoids using the classical Ullmann reaction. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by the filter paper disc diffusion method. Cell viability was assessed by measuring mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity with a Cell Counting Kit (CCK-8). Topoisomerases I and II (topo-I and -IIα) inhibitory activity was measured by the assessment of relaxation of supercoiled pBR322 plasmid DNA. IFD protocol of Schrodinger Maestro v11.1 was used to characterize the binding pattern of studied compounds with the ATPase domain of the human topo-IIα.

RESULTS

The synthesized CDHs were evaluated for their biological activities (antibacterial, antiproliferative, and topoisomerase-I & -IIα inhibitory activities, respectively). Leading to obtain a series of anticancer agents with the least inhibitory activities against different microbes, improving their selectivity for cancer cells. In brief, most of the synthesized CDHs had excellent antiproliferative activity against T47D (human breast cancer cell line). Pterocarine possessed the strongest activity (2i; IC50 = 0.63µM) against T47D. The cyclic diarylheptanoid 2b induced 30% inhibition of topoisomerase-IIα activity at 100μM compared with the reference of etoposide, which induced 72% inhibition. Among the tested compounds, galeon (2h) displayed very low activity against four bacterial strains. Compounds 2b, 2h, and 2i formed hydrogen bonds with Thr215, Asn91, Asn120, Ala167, Lys168 and Ile141 residues, which are important for binding of ligand compound to the ATPase binding site of topoisomerase IIα by acting as ATP competitive molecule validated by docking study. In silico Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) analysis revealed the predicted ADME parameters of the studied compounds which showed recommended values.

CONCLUSION

A series of CDHs were synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial, antiproliferative, and topo-I & -IIα inhibitory activities. SARs study, molecular docking study and in silico ADME analysis were conducted. Five compounds exhibited excellent and selective antiproliferative activity against the human breast cancer cell line (T47D). Among them, a compound 2h showed topo-IIα activity by 30% at 100µM, which represented a moderate intensity of inhibition compared with etoposide. Three of them formed hydrogen bonds with Thr215, Asn91, Asn120, and Ala167 residues, which are considered as crucial residues for binding to the ATPase domain of topoisomerase IIα. According to in silico drug-likeness property analysis, three compounds are expected to show superiority over etoposide in case of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

Outcome of Stapled Hemorrhoidopexy: Experience of 90 Cases

Hemorrhoidal disease is one of the commonest anorectal problems in worldwide. Stapled hemorrhoidopexy is the treatment choice due to less post-operative pain and early recovery. The aim of this study was to assess outcomes after Stapled hemorrhoidopexy (SH). This cross-sectional prospective study was performed in Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Dhaka from January 2016 to December 2017. Ninety patients with symptomatic hemorrhoidal diseases were included in this study. Data collected in data collection sheet regarding demographic data, severity of symptoms, post-operative complains of patient and outcome of patients which were then analyzed. Total 90 patients were included in this study. Age ranged from 18-50 years. Male were 59(65.56%) and female were 31(34.44%). 2° hemorrhoids were 11(12.22%), 3° hemorrhoids were 63(70%), 4° hemorrhoids were 16(17.78%). Post-operative complications were mild pain 73(81.11%), moderate pain 13(14.45%), severe pain 4(4.44%), early bleeding 23(25.56%), retention of urine 16(17.78%), early urgency 15(16.67%), infection 4(4.44%), constipation 9(10%), late recurrence 4(4.44%). Outcomes of stapled hemorrhoidopexy were satisfactory in most patients. Early recovery, low complication rate, minimal post-operative pain was encountered in treatment of symptomatic hemorrhoids by stapled hemorrhoidopexy.

Precision Measurement of the Ratio B(ϒ(3S)→τ^{+}τ^{-})/B(ϒ(3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-})

We report on a precision measurement of the ratio R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=B(ϒ(3S)→τ^{+}τ^{-})/B(ϒ(3S)→μ^{+}μ^{-}) using data collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e^{+}e^{-} collider. The measurement is based on a 28  fb^{-1} data sample collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.355 GeV corresponding to a sample of 122 million ϒ(3S) mesons. The ratio is measured to be R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)}=0.966±0.008_{stat}±0.014_{syst} and is in agreement with the standard model prediction of 0.9948 within 2 standard deviations. The uncertainty in R_{τμ}^{ϒ(3S)} is almost an order of magnitude smaller than the only previous measurement.

Search for a Dark Leptophilic Scalar in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions

Many scenarios of physics beyond the standard model predict the existence of new gauge singlets, which might be substantially lighter than the weak scale. The experimental constraints on additional scalars with masses in the MeV to GeV range could be significantly weakened if they interact predominantly with leptons rather than quarks. At an e^{+}e^{-} collider, such a leptophilic scalar (ϕ_{L}) would be produced predominantly through radiation from a τ lepton. We report herein a search for e^{+}e^{-}→τ^{+}τ^{-}ϕ_{L}, ϕ_{L}→ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} (ℓ=e, μ) using data collected by the BABAR experiment at SLAC. No significant signal is observed, and we set limits on the ϕ_{L} coupling to leptons in the range 0.04<m_{ϕ_{L}}<7.0  GeV. These bounds significantly improve upon the current constraints, excluding almost entirely the parameter space favored by the observed discrepancy in the muon anomalous magnetic moment below 4 GeV at 90% confidence level.

Study on Precipitating Factor of Chronic Hepatic Encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuro-psychiatric manifestation of chronic liver disease causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Though the exact mechanism is unknown but it is well accepted that various precipitating factors are involved in hepatic encephalopathy. Aim of the study was explore the precipitating factors of chronic hepatic encephalopathy. This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Medicine and Department of Hepatology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh during the period from April 2016 to October 2016. One hundred patients with hepatic encephalopathy fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were designed for all diagnosed cases of hepatic encephalopathy associated with cirrhosis of liver aged 18 years or above irrespective of sex. Patients with acute fulminant hepatitis and non-cirrhotic hepatic encephalopathy were excluded. The result of the study was mean age of hepatic encephalopathy was 52.81±8.15 years and 94.0% patients were above 40 years. Male (66.0%) were predominant over female (34.0%). HBsAg and Anti HCV were positive in 49.0% and 11.0% patients respectively. Stage of hepatic encephalopathy was stage-I in 8.0%, stage-II in 37.0%, stage-III in 39.0% and stage-IV in 16.0% patients. Changes of biochemical parameters were low haemoglobin level (70.0%), raised total count of leukocyte (25.0%), low platelet count (68.0%), low serum albumin (98.0%) raised prothrombin time (60.0%), low serum sodium (34.0%) and low serum potassium (63.0%). The recoded precipitating factors were gastrointestinal bleeding (14.0%), constipation (37.0%), hyponatremia (34.0%), hypokalemia (28.0%) infections (20.0%), use of diruretics (8.0%), use of sedatives (4.0%) and excess intake of protein (6.0%). While precipitating factor was absent in 11.0% of cases. In conclusion there are different factors which play a key role in precipitating hepatic encephalopathy but electrolytes imbalance, constipation, infections, Upper GI bleed, diuretics are the most common precipitating factors.

A Study of Association between H. Pylori Genotype and Chronic Gastritis

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is very high in Bangladesh. Chronic gastritis due to H. pylori is commonly associated with important gastric diseases such as peptic ulcer diseases or gastric carcinoma and MALT-oma. The natural course of chronic gastritis is HP-associated antral gastritis or pangastritis or rarely atrophies. This study was done to see the association of H. pylori genotypes with chronic gastritis. This observational cross sectional study was carried out at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University from July 2012 to April 2013 to find out the association of H. pylori genotypes with chronic gastritis in dyspeptic patients of Bangladesh. A total of 50 dyspeptic subjects were involved in the study whose upper GI endoscopies were carried out in presence of an experienced endoscopist. During the procedure four biopsies were taken, two from the antrum and two from body of the stomach. Endoscopic diagnosis was categorized into normal and erosive gastritis. Two (one from antrum and one from body) biopsy samples were collected in phosphate buffer saline and PCR analysis carried out by Multiplex PCR assay. Another two were collected in 10% formalin and histopathological examination was done according to updated Sydney system of classification. Among 50 patents only 34 were PCR positive. So, only 34 subjects were included in the study. Among them 21 patients (61.8%) were male and 13 patients (38.2%) were female, with the mean age of 29.91 years. Endoscopy revealed erosive gastritis in 5(14.7%) patients and normal findings in 29(86.3%) patients. Amongst the strains, cagA gene was detected in 58.8% and was not significantly associated with severity of any parameter of chronic gastritis such as H. pylori density, inflammation (mononuclear infiltration), activity (neutrophilic infiltration), atrophy and intestinal metaplasia. All the strains were positive for vacA allele. s1m1 (55.9%) genotype was most predominant. No vacA allele (s1m1, s1m2, s2m1 and s2m2) were significantly associated with severity of chronic gastritis. In this study, H. pylori genotype -cagA, vacA-s1, s2, m1, m2 allele and histological grading of chronic gastritis according to updated Sydney system of classification is identified. This study will identify the genotypes associated with severe gastritis in our country and thereby help us to take appropriate preventive measure. Further study with larger sample size may be carried out to establish proper association between different genotypes and parameters of chronic gastritis.

Measurements of the Absolute Branching Fractions of B^{±}→K^{±}X_{cc[over ¯]}

A study of the two-body decays B^{±}→X_{cc[over ¯]}K^{±}, where X_{cc[over ¯]} refers to one charmonium state, is reported by the BABAR Collaboration using a data sample of 424  fb^{-1}. The absolute determination of branching fractions for these decays are significantly improved compared to previous BABAR measurements. Evidence is found for the decay B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+} at the 3σ level. The absolute branching fraction B[B^{+}→X(3872)K^{+}]=[2.1±0.6(stat)±0.3(syst)]×10^{-4} is measured for the first time. It follows that B[X(3872)→J/ψπ^{+}π^{-}]=(4.1±1.3)%, supporting the hypothesis of a molecular component for this resonance.

Platelet Count as a Severity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogenous respiratory disease characterized by a progressive, not fully reversible airflow limitation associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lung to noxious stimuli. It is a disease presenting with pulmonary inflammation as well as a systemic one. Measurement of inflammatory marker is difficult but platelet count estimation is easy and less costly. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out at Department of Medicine, Mymensingh Medical college Hospital, Mymensingh, Bangladesh for a period of twelve months among fifty-nine COPD patients. Data were collected through interview, physical examination and laboratory investigations. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.0 for consistency and completeness. Age range of the patients was 40 to 49 years with a mean of 56.3±10.9 years. Age group 40-49 years contained the highest number (19; 32.3%) of patients. Majority 57(96.6%) of the respondents were male. Thirty seven (62.7%) of patients were illiterate. Majority 56(94.9%) of patients resided in rural area, of them most 38(64.4%) were farmers. According to Spirometric measurement among 59 respondents of COPD patient, 3(5.1%) were in GOLD stage-I, 9(15.3%) in GOLD stage-II, 27(45.8%) in GOLD stage-III and 20(33.9%) in GOLD stage IV group. Mean platelet count (10³/μl), 241.6±86.5 was found in mild, whereas 315.0±47.7 in moderate, 337.2±76.3 in severe, and 412.4±67.5 in very severe group of COPD patients. So increase in platelet count is statistically significant in severity of COPD. In conclusion, platelet count measurement is less costly to categorize COPD and may be a diagnostic marker.

Search for Rare or Forbidden Decays of the D^{0} Meson

We present a search for nine lepton-number-violating and three lepton-flavor-violating neutral charm decays of the type D^{0}→h^{'-}h^{-}ℓ^{'+}ℓ^{+} and D^{0}→h^{'-}h^{+}ℓ^{'±}ℓ^{∓}, where h and h^{'} represent a K or π meson and ℓ and ℓ^{'} an electron or muon. The analysis is based on 468  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected at or close to the ϒ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. No significant signal is observed for any of the twelve modes, and we establish 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions in the range (1.0-30.6)×10^{-7}. The limits are between 1 and 3 orders of magnitude more stringent than previous measurements.

Improvement in nutritional quality and thermal stability of palm olein blended with macadamia oil for deep-fat frying application

This study aimed to investigate the suitability of refined bleached deodorized palm olein oil (RBD POO) and Macadamia integrifolia oil (MO) blend as deep-fat frying substitute. Oxidative and hydrolytic stability of MO, POO and blends during 15 days of storage under accelerated oxidation condition (65 °C ± 1) studied by assessing free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide (PV), anisidine (AV) and TOTOX (TV) values. Blends formulated with POO: MO at 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100. Blending significantly affected the fatty acid profile, smoke point, FFA, PV, AV and TV of all samples (p < 0.05). Both independent variables (storage time and type of oil) and their interaction had significant effect on FFA, PV, AV and TV (p < 0.05). On day 15, the highest and the lowest FFA observed for MO and POO, respectively. The significant difference between FFA of MO and POO before incubation and day 15th was due to role of refining process in elimination of initial FFAs from POO. Results of PV, AV and TV showed that the highest and least changes were presented by POO and MO, respectively. Oil blends containing higher proportions of MO with a great percentage of monounsaturated and less polyunsaturated fats were more stable against oxidation. Also, presence of antioxidants played significant role against MO oxidation. From this research, blending POO with MO improved induction period of the blends and inhibited primary and secondary oxidation products formation. Blend 25:75 met the qualitative and nutritional criteria and suggested for formulation of a functional oxidative stable frying medium.

Extraction of form Factors from a Four-Dimensional Angular Analysis of B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ}

An angular analysis of the decay B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ}, ℓ∈{e,μ}, is reported using the full e^{+}e^{-} collision data set collected by the BABAR experiment at the ϒ(4S) resonance. One B meson from the ϒ(4S)→BB[over ¯] decay is fully reconstructed in a hadronic decay mode, which constrains the kinematics and provides a determination of the neutrino momentum vector. The kinematics of the semileptonic decay is described by the dilepton mass squared, q^{2}, and three angles. The first unbinned fit to the full four-dimensional decay rate in the standard model is performed in the so-called Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed approach, which employs a generic q^{2} parametrization of the underlying form factors based on crossing symmetry, analyticity, and QCD dispersion relations for the amplitudes. A fit using the more model-dependent Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert (CLN) approach is performed as well. Our form factor shapes show deviations from previous fits based on the CLN parametrization. The latest form factors also provide an updated prediction for the branching fraction ratio R(D^{*})≡B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ})/B(B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ})=0.253±0.005. Finally, using the well-measured branching fraction for the B[over ¯]→D^{*}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ} decay, a value of |V_{cb}|=(38.36±0.90)×10^{-3} is obtained that is consistent with the current world average for exclusive B[over ¯]→D^{(*)}ℓ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{ℓ} decays and remains in tension with the determination from inclusive semileptonic B decays to final states with charm.

Automated Lung Nodule Detection and Classification Using Deep Learning Combined with Multiple Strategies

Lung cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths due to its aggressive nature and delayed detections at advanced stages. Early detection of lung cancer is very important for the survival of an individual, and is a significant challenging problem. Generally, chest radiographs (X-ray) and computed tomography (CT) scans are used initially for the diagnosis of the malignant nodules; however, the possible existence of benign nodules leads to erroneous decisions. At early stages, the benign and the malignant nodules show very close resemblance to each other. In this paper, a novel deep learning-based model with multiple strategies is proposed for the precise diagnosis of the malignant nodules. Due to the recent achievements of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) in image analysis, we have used two deep three-dimensional (3D) customized mixed link network (CMixNet) architectures for lung nodule detection and classification, respectively. Nodule detections were performed through faster R-CNN on efficiently-learned features from CMixNet and U-Net like encoder-decoder architecture. Classification of the nodules was performed through a gradient boosting machine (GBM) on the learned features from the designed 3D CMixNet structure. To reduce false positives and misdiagnosis results due to different types of errors, the final decision was performed in connection with physiological symptoms and clinical biomarkers. With the advent of the internet of things (IoT) and electro-medical technology, wireless body area networks (WBANs) provide continuous monitoring of patients, which helps in diagnosis of chronic diseases-especially metastatic cancers. The deep learning model for nodules' detection and classification, combined with clinical factors, helps in the reduction of misdiagnosis and false positive (FP) results in early-stage lung cancer diagnosis. The proposed system was evaluated on LIDC-IDRI datasets in the form of sensitivity (94%) and specificity (91%), and better results were obatined compared to the existing methods.

Observation of the Decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-}

We report the observation of the rare charm decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-}, based on 468  fb^{-1} of e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data collected at or close to the center-of-mass energy of the ϒ(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We find the branching fraction in the invariant mass range 0.675<m(e^{+}e^{-})<0.875  GeV/c^{2} of the electron-positron pair to be B(D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-})=(4.0±0.5±0.2±0.1)×10^{-6}, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third due to the uncertainty in the branching fraction of the decay D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}π^{+}π^{-} used as a normalization mode. The significance of the observation corresponds to 9.7 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties. This result is consistent with the recently reported D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}μ^{+}μ^{-} branching fraction, measured in the same invariant mass range, and with the value expected in the standard model. In a set of regions of m(e^{+}e^{-}), where long-distance effects are potentially small, we determine a 90% confidence level upper limit on the branching fraction B(D^{0}→K^{-}π^{+}e^{+}e^{-})<3.1×10^{-6}.

Search for a Stable Six-Quark State at BABAR

Recent investigations have suggested that the six-quark combination uuddss could be a deeply bound state (S) that has eluded detection so far, and a potential dark matter candidate. We report the first search for a stable, doubly strange six-quark state in ϒ→SΛ[over ¯]Λ[over ¯] decays based on a sample of 90×10^{6}ϒ(2S) and 110×10^{6}ϒ(3S) decays collected by the BABAR experiment. No signal is observed, and 90% confidence level limits on the combined ϒ(2S,3S)→SΛ[over ¯]Λ[over ¯] branching fraction in the range (1.2-1.4)×10^{-7} are derived for m_{S}<2.05  GeV. These bounds set stringent limits on the existence of such exotic particles.

Study of the Prevalence of Dyspepsia in the Adult Population in a Rural Community of Bangladesh

Dyspepsia is a symptom complex that includes epigastric pain, post-prandial fullness, bloating, early satiety, belching, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, acid regurgitations and anorexia. The most widely applied definition of dyspepsia is the Rome working team formulation namely chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort centered in the upper abdomen. Till date the prevalence of dyspepsia in Bangladesh has not been studied much. The last study was done in 1987 in a rural community and the prevalence of dyspepsia was found to be 41.4%. However, associated risk factors were not assessed and definition of dyspepsia was much narrower as well as the dysmotility type dyspepsia was not included in that study. Hence it is now high time to carry out another study to see the prevalence of dyspepsia in Bangladesh and the risk factors associated with it. To determine the prevalence of dyspepsia and the demographic risk factors associated with dyspepsia in the adult population in the rural community of Bangladesh. This cross sectional population based study carried out in Ghior Union of Manikgonj district of Bangladesh from January 2007 to April 2008. All persons 18 years or above living in Ghior Union were considered as the study populations with using a pre-designed questionnaire. This study showed that the prevalence of dyspepsia to be 61.9%. Reflux- like dyspepsia was the commonest sub-type of dyspepsia without reflux symptoms comprising 43.9% of the total population and 70.9% of the dyspeptics. Dysmotility like dyspepsia comprised more than half of the dyspeptics. Nausea (40.7%) was the most predominant dysmotility like dyspeptic symptoms followed by early satiety (38.4%); 13.9% of the population had history of recurrent upper abdominal pain and 11.9% of the population had gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). There was considerable overlapping (16.7%) of IBS with dyspepsia. Female sex, younger age (<40 years), low family income (<5000 Taka per month), lower educational level (up to primary level), smoking and use of NSAIDs were significantly associated with dyspepsia. The prevalence of dyspepsia in adult population of Bangladesh is 61.9% which is very high compared to other countries and also much higher than the prevalence found in our country thirty years back. A great change in the socio-economic status and lifestyle of the people along with environmental pollution and food adulteration may be responsible for this increase in prevalence. This study was conducted in only one union of this country, so it was not representative of the whole population of the country. Therefore further study with large population size including rural and urban peoples from different parts of Bangladesh is needed to estimate the accurate prevalence of dyspepsia in our country.

First Evidence for cos2β>0 and Resolution of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Quark-Mixing Unitarity Triangle Ambiguity

We present first evidence that the cosine of the CP-violating weak phase 2β is positive, and hence exclude trigonometric multifold solutions of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) Unitarity Triangle using a time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} with D→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decays, where h^{0}∈{π^{0},η,ω} denotes a light unflavored and neutral hadron. The measurement is performed combining the final data sets of the BABAR and Belle experiments collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance at the asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The data samples contain (471±3)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the BABAR detector and (772±11)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the Belle detector. The results of the measurement are sin2β=0.80±0.14(stat)±0.06(syst)±0.03(model) and cos2β=0.91±0.22(stat)±0.09(syst)±0.07(model). The result for the direct measurement of the angle β of the CKM Unitarity Triangle is β=[22.5±4.4(stat)±1.2(syst)±0.6(model)]°. The measurement assumes no direct CP violation in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays. The quoted model uncertainties are due to the composition of the D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decay amplitude model, which is newly established by performing a Dalitz plot amplitude analysis using a high-statistics e^{+}e^{-}→cc[over ¯] data sample. CP violation is observed in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays at the level of 5.1 standard deviations. The significance for cos2β>0 is 3.7 standard deviations. The trigonometric multifold solution π/2-β=(68.1±0.7)° is excluded at the level of 7.3 standard deviations. The measurement resolves an ambiguity in the determination of the apex of the CKM Unitarity Triangle.

Demonstration of a 120° hybrid based simplified coherent receiver on SOI for high speed PON applications

We demonstrate the first simplified coherent receiver using a 120° hybrid on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) for high speed PON applications. This coherent receiver integrates an inverse taper edge coupler for the received signal, a vertical grating coupler for the local oscillator input, a polarization splitter and rotator (PSR), a 120° hybrid based on a 3×3 multimode interference (MMI) coupler, and three germanium photodetectors. We achieved 25 Gbit/s two-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-2) transmission over 30 km standard single mode fiber (SMF) in the C-band without any digital signal processing (DSP) (e.g., pre-emphasis, pulse shaping, equalization, nonlinearity compensation) and dispersion compensation (e.g., optical or digital) either at the transmitter or at the receiver. The requirements for frequency and phase locking of the local oscillator (LO) were avoided due to the use of intensity modulated signals. Receiver sensitivities of -23.70 dBm, -20.30 dBm, and -15.10 dBm are achieved at a bit error rate (BER) below the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold (i.e., 3.8 × 10^-3) in back-to-back (B2B), after 21 km and 30 km, respectively. We also demonstrate 25 Gbit/s PAM-4 transmission achieving receiver sensitivities of -15.30 dBm, -13.90 dBm, and -9.50 dBm below the HD-FEC threshold in B2B, after 10.5 km and 21 km, respectively.

Evaluation of Radiological Outcomes of Theracal Light Cured (TLC) And Calcium Hydroxide As Indirect Pulp Capping Agents In The Treatment Of Deep Carious Lesion Of Permanent Molar Teeth

To evaluate the radiographic changes in permanent molar teeth submitted to indirect pulp treatment (IPT) over 12 months period. This prospective comparative study was performed in Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from August 2016 to July 2017. Fifty permanent molar teeth with deep caries, but without preoperative signs and symptoms of irreversible pulpitis, received for indirect pulp capping. The teeth were randomly divided into two groups, according to the material used for protection of the dentin- pulp complex: Group A - Twenty five teeth were treated by using Ca(OH)₂ Control and Group B - Twenty five teeth were treated by using theracal light cured (TLC) experimental. Both groups were restored with composite restoration. All patient were evaluated radiographically at 3.6 and 12 months interval to assess formation of reparative dentin. The success of IPT was after 12 months observation period, 24 cases (96%) of TLC and 17(68%) Ca(OH)₂ treated teeth showed reparative dentin formation. A statistically significant was obtained in all observation periods where TLC showed more capable for reparative dentin formation than that of Ca(OH)₂. It can be concluded that radiographically TLC is more effective than that of Ca(OH)₂ as indirect pulp capping agent.

Comparative Study of Alginate and Omeprazole in Symptomatic Treatment of Non-erosive Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is widely reported most prevalent disease of the gastrointestinal tract. The burden of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing in Asia and the majority of patients have non-erosive reflux disease. This prospective, open label, non random (consecutive), experimental study was performed due to compare the therapeutic efficacy of alginate and omeprazole in relieving symptoms of non erosive reflux disease (NERD) and was carried out in the Outpatient Department of Gastroenterology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from December 2013 to May 2014. Sixty patients were enrolled for this study and were divided into two groups. Among them, 30 subjects were assigned to the omeprazole group (Group I) and 30 subjects to the alginate group (Group II). Omeprazole 20mg enteric coated capsule daily and alginate 10ml three times daily were administered 14 days in this study. In ITT analysis, achieving complete symptom relief (heart burn) was 56.7% in alginate group & 60% in omeprazole group. Statistically which was not significant (p=0.793). In PP analysis, this was 65.4% and 66.7% respectively. In this study, the overall satisfaction of omeprazole & alginate was more than 86% and the mean duration of heart burn free was found 5.0±4.0 days in Group I and 3.65±2.8 days in Group II. The difference was not statistically (p>0.05) significant between two groups in this study. Therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles of alginate were comparable to omeprazole after two weeks treatment in NERD subjects. So alginate may be considered as a relevant and effective alternative medication in non-erosive reflux.

Thyroid Dysfunction and Autoimmunity in First Trimester of Pregnancy, Single Center Experience in Bangladesh

Study on thyroid function and thyroid autoantibody status in pregnancy considering the trimester specific range, is scarce in Bangladesh. This cross sectional study done in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh from August 2012 to June 2013 encompassed 186 pregnant women of first trimester for study of thyroid function (TSH, FT₄) and anti-thyroid antibodies (anti-TPO, anti-TG). Age of the subjects was 25.4±4.9 years (mean±SD), median gestational age was 9 weeks. Applying the trimester-specific normal reference range set by American Thyroid Association (ATA), 48(25.8%) of the women were found to have thyroid dysfunction; 40(21.5%) subclinical hypothyroid (SCH), 1(0.5%) overt hypothyroid (OH) and 7(3.8%) hyperthyroid; 40(21.5%) women had goiter. If non-pregnant adult normal rage is used, 22 of SCH women as per ATA criteria will be labeled as normal and 19 normal women as per ATA cut off will be labeled as hyperthyroid. There was statistically significant disparity for functional status defined by these two references cut off value (p<0.001). 29(15.6%) women had thyroid autoimmunity and the autoantibody positivity was more frequent in women with thyroid dysfunction than euthyroid women (22.92% vs. 13.04%, p<0.001). Even though universal screening for thyroid dysfunction is not yet a recommendation, it should be considered in our population.

Vitamin D Status in Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Patients Attending in a Tertiary Hospital of Bangladesh

Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Vitamin D status may have a causal role in the onset of T2DM and may influence glycaemic control in these patients. However, data on vitamin D status among Bangladeshi T2DM patients are scarce. The present cross-sectional study was done among newly diagnosed 50 T2DM patients attending outpatient department of Comilla Diabetic Hospital, Bangladesh to address this lacuna. Serum 25(OH)D was measured in all and classified as normal (≥30ng/mL), insufficient (>20 to 29.9ng/mL), and deficient (≤20ng/mL). Mean serum 25(OH)D level was 27.91±2.58ng/mL (mean±SEM). Among the study subjects, 30% were D-deficient, 36% were D-insufficient and 34% had normal 25(OH)D. There was no statistical difference of 25(OH)D level between the younger (age <40 years) and older (≥40 years) patients (28.31±4.3 vs. 27.44±2.6ng/mL, mean±SEM; p=0.869); males and females (26.79±2.1 vs. 31.09±8.2ng/mL, mean±SEM; p=0.470); among smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers (26.86±4.31, 27.10±2.49 and 42.62±1.71ng/mL respectively, mean±SEM; p=0.363); among normal weight, overweight and obese (30.61±6.16, 35.61±9.52 and 24.27±1.71ng/mL respectively, mean±SEM; p=0.191); and among normotensive, borderline hypertensive and hypertensive (25.29±2.46, 32.57±5.32 and 20.84±3.66ng/mL respectively, mean±SEM; p=0.277) patients. 25(OH)D level showed significant negative correlation with body mass index (r= -0.391, p=0.017) and positive correlation (r=0.334, p=0.044) with fasting plasma glucose in male subjects. Age, sex, smoking status, BMI, systolic BP, diastolic BP, family history of DM and smoking status were not found to influence vitamin D level independently. Our study found high frequency of subnormal vitamin D in newly diagnosed T2DM patients. Screening for vitamin D status may be beneficial in T2DM patients.