AbstractLeptospiral 16S rRNA genes were detected in 13 blood samples from 74 febrile patients in north-central Bangladesh, and their sequences phylogenetically clustered with those of Leptospira ...interrogans or Leptospira wolffii. Genetic diversity in O-antigen polymerase ( wzy) was found in an L. interrogans sample.
Leptospira was detected in 48.9% of blood samples from 182 febrile patients in north-central Bangladesh in 2019. Most Leptospira were classified as L. wolffii (93%) on the basis of phylogenetic ...analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA genes, while others were assigned to L. borgpetersenii and L. meyeri.
Abstract Scrub typhus is a mite-borne rickettsial disease, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi which is endemic in Asia Pacific region. In this study, infection rate and molecular epidemiological traits ...of O. tsutsugamushi was investigated in Mymensingh, located in the north-central Bangladesh. Among the blood samples from 453 febrile patients who visited Mymensingh medical college hospital in 2018, 47-kDa protein gene of O. tsutsugamushi was detected in 78 samples (17.2%) by nested PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of O. tsutsugamushi 56-kDa protein gene (18 samples) revealed the predominance of Karp-related genotype (89%), while the remaining belonged to Gilliam genotype. Samples of the Karp-related genotype mostly clustered with those of China, Taiwan, Thailand, and India, etc., in emergent subgroups clade-2 and 4 which were distinct from clade 1 including prototype strains Karp. Among the 18 samples, three variable domains (VD) of 56-kDa type-specific antigen had different types of sequence diversity; VDI contained two or three repeats of eight amino acid-unit, while VDII and VDIII had amino acid substitution, deletion, or insertion. The present study documented potentially high prevalence of genetically diverse O. tsutsugamushi in north-central Bangladesh.
Predominance of genotype G3P8 rotavirus was revealed for children and adults with diarrhoea in north-central Bangladesh for a 1-year period from September 2018. The G3P8 rotaviruses were ...phylogenetically close to recent Indian strains, having antigenic variation in VP7 and VP4 compared with old Bangladeshi strains.
To analyse blebs of phacotrabeculectomies performed with Ologen collagen implants (ProTop & MediKing, Taipei, Taiwan) and to compare these with blebs of mitomycin C (MMC)–augmented ...phacotrabeculectomies.
33 participants underwent phacotrabeculectomy with Ologen implants, and 33 controls underwent phacotrabeculectomy with MMC. Blebs were analysed for height and area using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) at 30, 60 and 90 days after surgery and were also graded clinically with the Moorfields bleb grading system (MBGS) 60 days after surgery.
With ASOCT, there was no difference in mean bleb height at 30 and 60 days, but at 90 days, bleb height was lower in the Ologen group (Ologen vs MMC, 0.74±0.20 vs 1.00±0.28 mm, p<0.001). There was no difference in mean bleb area at 30, 60 or 90 days. Mean reduction in intraocular pressure at 90 days was greater in the MMC group (Ologen vs MMC, 2.18±4.93 vs 8.00 ±7.60 mm Hg, p<0.001). At 90 days, the Ologen implants were visible in ASOCT images in 13 (39.4%) of 33 participants. With the Moorfields bleb grading system at 60 days, there was no difference in maximal bleb area score between the groups, but bleb height score was lower (Ologen vs MMC, 1.53±0.51 vs 1.81±0.59, p=0.05) and central bleb vascularity score was higher in the Ologen group (3.88±0.55 vs 2.91±0.59, p<0.001).
Within 3 months of surgery, mean bleb height was lower in the Ologen blebs compared with the MMC blebs. The Ologen implants had not degraded in a third of eyes.
In this paper, the problem of writability in bit-patterned media (BPM) for high areal density will be discussed. A new film structure is proposed, made of a composite in-plane and perpendicular ...anisotropy layers to improve writability and reduce the time of magnetization switching in BPM. To demonstrate the efficiency of an in-plane anisotropy layer in assisting the switching of the magnetization of the high perpendicular anisotropy recording layer, we use micromagnetic simulation to study magnetization reversals in BPM for 5 Tb/in 2 . Experiments have been carried out on patterned arrays of 60-nm-size dots made of Co(0.3 nm)/Pd(0.8 nm) x15 multilayer and Co(2 nm)/Co(0.3 nm)/Pd(0.8 nm) x15 composite structure. The mean switching field calculated from remanence magnetization curves shows a reduction of more than 50% from its initial value by adding a 2-nm-thick Co bottom layer with in-plane anisotropy. No difference in switching field distribution was observed in the two structures studied, indicating the merit of assisting the switching of high anisotropy patterned media by exchange coupling to an in-plane anisotropy layer.
Abstract From July 2015 to December 2016, the presence of rickettsial pathogens was investigated for 414 patients with unknown fever in eight places in all the divisions of Bangladesh. Rickettsia ...felis was identified in blood samples from all the regions (overall detection rate, 19.6%), suggesting nationwide prevalence of R. felis infections.
Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness in the world. To date, common genetic variants associated with glaucoma only explain a small proportion of its heritability. We performed a genome-wide ...association study of intra-ocular pressure (IOP), an underlying endophenotype for glaucoma. The discovery phase of the study was carried out in the TwinsUK cohort (N = 2774) analyzing association between IOP and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) imputed to HapMap2. The results were validated in 12 independent replication cohorts of European ancestry (combined N = 22 789) that were a part of the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses of the significantly associated SNPs were performed using data from the Multiple Tissue Human Expression Resource (MuTHER) Study. In the TwinsUK cohort, IOP was significantly associated with a number of SNPs at 9q33.3 (P = 3.48 × 10(-8) for rs2286885, the most significantly associated SNP at this locus), within the genomic sequence of the FAM125B gene. Independent replication in a composite panel of 12 cohorts revealed consistent direction of effect and significant association (P = 0.003, for fixed-effect meta-analysis). Suggestive evidence for an eQTL effect of rs2286885 was observed for one of the probes targeting the coding region of the FAM125B gene. This gene codes for a component of a membrane complex involved in vesicular trafficking process, a function similar to that of the Caveolin genes (CAV1 and CAV2) which have previously been associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. This study suggests a novel association between SNPs in FAM125B and IOP in the TwinsUK cohort, though further studies to elucidate the functional role of this gene in glaucoma are necessary.
Background/aim: A current consensus in epidemiological studies of primary angle closure (PAC) is to diagnose the condition only if the posterior (usually pigmented) trabecular meshwork is seen for ...less than 90° of the angle circumference, termed an “occludable angle.” The authors sought to assess the validity of this epidemiological classification by exploring the relation between drainage angle width, peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS) and glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON). Methods: 918 Mongolians and 995 Chinese Singaporeans, both groups aged 40 years and older were examined in two population based surveys. Gonioscopic angle width was graded in five categories (0 = closed to 4 = wide open) according the scheme described by Shaffer. Cases with secondary PAS were excluded. Results: The rate of PAS was between 0.3% and 1.7% in people with wide angles (grades 3 and 4). In those with grade 2 angles, PAS were seen in between 8% of eyes. In eyes with grade 1 angles, the rate rose to 17% in Chinese Singaporeans, and 31% in Mongolians. The odds of PAS were higher in people with narrower angles. However, there was a greater absolute number of people with PAS whose drainage angles were classified as “not occludable” than those classified “occludable.” Conclusions: The traditional view that primary angle closure becomes a significant possibility in drainage angles of ⩽ grade 2 (approximately 20°) is valid in east Asians. The definition of an “occludable” angle examined here excludes many people with PAS. This probably serves to underemphasise the role of PAC in population surveys of glaucoma prevalence in Asian people.
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