•Steam-explosion-periodic-peristalsis used first in sequence to overcome corn-pericarp recalcitrance.•SE altered physicochemical functionalities and substituted the sub-process of grinding.•Unground ...SECPs achieved higher glucan and xylan conversion than ground one.•Periodic peristalsis facilitated digestibility and increased sugars conversion at high solids load.•SE-PPEH is a clean and cost-effective saccharification process.
A new sequence of steam explosion (SE) with periodic peristalsis (PP) exploited to fractionate corn pericarp (CP), and its high solid cellulosic hydrolysis to increase sugar yield. In this investigation, the optimum SE-condition was 0.8 MPa/5 min., recovered around 12.62 % total sugars than untreated CP, whereas glucan and xylan digestibility reached around 97 % and 87 %, respectively. Besides that, the unground SECP conversion increased by 27.10 % glucan and 34.18 % xylan than the ground one. FE-SEM, FTIR, XRD results confirmed that SE significantly fractionated the amorphous substances that driven the increment of the crystallinity index. SE changed the functional groups without altering the lignin, and also the formation of degradations products was negligible and not detrimental to sugars conversion. An unpolluted SEPP enzymatic hydrolysis system at high solid loading (25 %) with compatible low cellulase dose (15 FPU g−1 solids) was beneficial to intensified sugars conversion.
Assessing the suitability of an area for carp farming requires a considerable effort in terms of information collection that presents both opportunities and limitations to decision makers. This work ...describes a Geographical Information System (GIS) model, based on the Barhatta Upazilla, Netrokona District, Bangladesh, designed to identify suitability for carp farming potential based on the biological requirements of the fish, the quality and characteristics of land, availability of water, presence of transportation networks, market facilities, sources of fry, type of extension services, agricultural inputs and labor potential. The land suitability for carp farming was generated using Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) with Weighted Linear Combination (WLC). Competent management assumed the use of good-quality fry, agricultural inputs, draining facilities and control of predators. Results show that 58% of the area is ‘very’ and ‘moderately’ suitable for carp culture. Field verification data were employed for cross-checking with the model outputs. Outputs are consistent with the land suitability-modeling scheme. A sensitivity analysis revealed good results. Procedures developed show the significance of this model for the basis of identifying and delineating suitable land units at a detailed scale.
Field experiments were carried out in Pulses Research Centre Experimental Field, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh during November to March 2004-05 and ...2005-06 to study the effects of different insecticides on yield and yield attributes of chickpea. Seeds were preserved with different fungicides and stored them in earthen pots. The seeds were divided into four parts including a part considered as the control. For the insecticide treatment, fungicides such as Sevin, Mipsin and Asataf were used at the rate 1g/kg of chickpea seeds. Chickpea seeds were stored until next planting time and seed quality was observed during storage period. Significant effect of the fungicides was observed on pods/plant both in 2004-05 and 2005-06, seeds/pod in 2004-05 and seed yield both in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The highest values for almost of all these characters were observed when the seeds were preserved with Sevin. Sevin was at par with Mipsin for seed yield of chickpea in 2005-06 only. Among three insecticides, Asataf showed less effect. Sevin treated seeds gave the highest plant height, pods/plant (48.3 in 2004-05 and 48.6 in 2005-06), seeds/pod (1.77 in 2004-05 and 1.81 in 2005-06), 1000- seed weight (120 g in 2004-05 and 121 g in 2005-06) and seed yield (1304 kg/ha in 2004-05 and 1251 kg/ha in 2005-06) which were somewhat identical to Mipsin and Asataf but significantly higher over control.
Experiments were carried out in Seed Technology Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur during August-September 2004 and 2005 to study suitable preservatives for ...maintaining the quality of chickpea during storage. After processing and drying, chickpea seeds were divided into four parts including a part considered as the control. Three fourth of chickpea seeds were preserved with different fungicides such as Bavistin, Vitavax and Genuin at the rate of 2.5 g/kg in earthen pots. The chickpea seeds were stored until next planting time and seed quality i.e. data on moisture (%), germination (%), root length, shoot length and vigour index was observed during storage period. Germination percentage of the initial seed lot was on average 90% and moisture content of the seeds before storage was 9%. Seeds preserved with different fungicides had significant effect for most of the parameters studied. Among the three fungicides, Bavistin had remarkable effect for higher germination percentage (87.7% in 2004 and 89.4% in 2005), root length (19.70 cm in 2004 and 19.00 cm in 2005), shoot length (17.67 cm in 2004 and 18.40 cm in 2005), root plus shoot length (37.37 cm in 2004 and 37.40 cm in 2005) and vigour (3277 in 2004 and 3342 in 2005).
Pregnancy is a great stressful physiological condition in women during their reproductive period. During pregnancy several hemodynamic, biochemical and hematological modifications occur as a part of ...the physiological adaptation of the body. Changes in blood pressure occur in third trimester of pregnancy, which may be associated with increased maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Physiology, Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh, from July 2013 to June 2014. Study subjects were selected by following purposive sampling procedure and the protocol of this study was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) of Mymensingh. This study enrolled 100 pregnant women of third trimester of pregnancy and 100 aged matched non-pregnant women from Mymensingh district. Mean systolic blood pressure in study group were 124.8±14.51 mm of Hg and in control group were 106.50±10.67 mm of Hg, which was statistically increased. Diastolic blood pressure in study group was 83.00±13.37 mm of Hg and in control group 71.05±7.12 mm of Hg, which was also statistically significant. The changes in blood pressure in third trimester of pregnancy is the major concern of developing the risk of pre-eclampsia & eclampsia, and increased prevalence of IUGR, pre-maturity and perinatal mortality. This study reveals significant changes of blood pressure during third trimester of pregnancy.
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•A systematic ab-initio study has been carried out on cubic CaPd3B4O12 (B = Ti, V) quadruple perovskite via the DFT method.•Metallic and semiconducting characteristics have been ...observed for CPVO and CPTO, respectively.•CaPd3B4O12 shows mechanical and thermodynamical stability with anisotropic nature.•Phonon properties of CPBO perovskite are investigated.•The optical properties related to the electric structure of CaPd3B4O12 are investigated to justify the optoelectronic applications.•CPTO has potential candidacy in thermoelectric applications.
This study has explored numerous physical properties of CaPd3Ti4O12 (CPTO) and CaPd3V4O12 (CPVO) quadruple perovskites employing the density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated lattice constants show inclinable compliance with the experimental results that ensure their structural stability. The mechanical permanence of these two compounds was observed by the Born stability criteria as well. The mechanical and elastic behaviors have been rationalized to investigate elastic constants, bulk, shear, and Young’s modulus, Pugh’s ratio, Poisson’s ratio, and elastic anisotropy indexes. The ductility and anisotropic indexes confirm that both materials are ductile and anisotropic in essence. The band structure of CPTO reveals a 0.88 and 0.46 eV direct narrow band gap while using TB-mBJ and GGA-PBE potentials, respectively, which is an indication of its fascinating semiconducting nature. Whereas, CPVO perovskite exhibits a metallic character. The calculated partial density of states indicates the strong hybridization between Pd-4d and O-2p orbital electrons for CPTO, whereas Pd-4d and V-3d-O-2p for CPVO. The study of the chemical bonding nature and electronic charge distribution graph reveals the coexistence of covalent O-V/Pd bonds, ionic O-Ti/Ca bonds, as well as metallic Ti/V-Ti/V bonding for both compounds. The Fermi surface of CPVO ensures a kind of hole as well as electron faces simultaneously, indicating multifarious band characteristics. The prediction of the static real dielectric function (optical property) of CPTO at zero energy implies its promising dielectric nature. The photoconductivity and absorption coefficient of CPBO display good qualitative compliance with the consequences of band structure computations. The calculated thermodynamic properties manifest the thermodynamical stability for CPBO, whereas phonon dispersions of CPVO exhibit stable phonon dispersion in contrast to slightly unstable phonon dispersion of CPTO. The predicted Debye temperature (θD) has been utilized to correlate its topical features including thermoelectric behaviors. The studied thermoelectric transport properties of CPTO yielded a higher Seebeck coefficient (186 μV/K), power factor (11.9 μWcm−1K−2), and figure of merit (ZT) value of about 0.8 at 800 K, indicating that this material could be a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications.
N and P doped carbon nanoparticles decorated with tiny amounts of Pt nanoparticles (∼6.0 wt%) were synthesized and investigated for the catalytic performances to hydrogen and chlorine generation from ...fresh and sea water. First, the synthesized aminophenol resin spheres were pyrolyzed, followed by microwave irradiation with a Pt compound and additional phosphorization. The SEM image of Pt decorated NPC (Pt/NPC) reveals ∼ 200 nm nanoparticles of carbon decorated with ∼10.9 nm of Pt particles. Voltammograms for hydrogen production with the catalyst exhibited overpotentials of 33 mV in acidic and 25 mV in alkaline media at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. In the case of chlorine production, the catalyst displayed comparable activity to commercial Pt/C with a high selectivity of 99% at 100 mV overpotential. In seawater electrolysis, the catalyst presented low hydrogen and chlorine evolution overpotentials of 116 mV and 190 mV respectively, at a current density of 50 mA/cm2. The synergy between heteroatoms doped carbon and highly crystalized Pt nanoparticles by phosphorization provides extra active sites and causes the downshift of the d-band center of Pt particles by the interaction to negatively charged P doped carbon. Based on the DFT calculation, the electronic state of doped carbon modulated by electronegativity variations between C and N, P dopants, resulted in a reduced bandgap, which can facilitate charge transfer for the catalytic reaction. This different kinds of heteroatom doping strategy is one way to design the decoration of low content metal particles for enhanced catalytic activity of carbon materials.
Tiny amount of Pt nanoparticles (6.06 wt%) decorated N and P doped carbon (Pt/NPC) is firstly introduced as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen and chlorine generation from seawater, which exhibits highly catalytic activity compared to commercial Pt/C. The further phosphorization process, resulting in the electronic state of carbon network modulation due to electronegativity variations of C and N, P dopants, which not only provide extra active sites but also lead to downshift of the d-band center of Pt particles by the interaction effect between modified carbon matrix with Pt, confirming the excellent performance for seawater electrolysis. Display omitted
Background: Carcinoma cervix is a significant health concern, particularly in lower socioeconomic groups. The effectiveness of interdigitated versus sequential brachytherapy, both with concurrent ...chemoradiation, in treating this condition remains underexplored. Methods: This quasi-experimental study at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital enrolled 63 patients with biopsy- proven squamous cell cervical cancer. They were randomly divided into two arms: arm a received pelvic EBRT 50 Gy in 25 fractions, followed by HDR brachytherapy (7 Gy weekly * 3 weeks) starting after 30 Gy of EBRT; arm B received the same pelvic EBRT, followed by HDR brachytherapy (7 Gy weekly * 3 weeks) starting a week after the completion of EBRT. Results: Mean age was 47.82 + or - 8.45 years (range: 29-64 years). The mean OTT was significantly reduced in arm-A (36.58 days) compared to arm-B (59.5 days). In terms of treatment response, 90.32% of patients in arm-A and 78.12% in arm-B experienced a complete response. Conclusions: Interdigitated brachytherapy with concurrent chemoradiation significantly reduces treatment time without compromising treatment effectiveness. Despite a shorter treatment duration, the complete response rate was slightly higher in the interdigitated arm. Keywords: Sequential brachytherapy, Concurrent chemoradiation, Advanced carcinoma cervix
Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for the growth and development of plants. However, Zn deficiency is a common abiotic stress causing yield loss in crop plants. This study elucidates the ...mechanisms of Zn deficiency tolerance in maize through physiological and molecular techniques. Maize lines tolerant (PAC) and sensitive (DAC) to Zn deficiency were examined physiologically and by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Proteins, H
O
, SOD, POD, membrane permeability and gene expression (using real-time PCR) of roots and shoots of both maize lines were assessed. Zn deficiency had no significant effect on root parameters compared with control plants in PAC and DAC but showed a substantial reduction in shoot parameters in DAC. AAS showed a significant decrease in Zn concentrations in both roots and shoots of DAC but not PAC under Zn deficiency, implying that Zn deficiency tolerance mechanisms exist in PAC. Consistently, total protein and membrane permeability were significantly reduced in DAC but not PAC in both roots and shoots under Zn deficiency in comparison with Zn-sufficient plants. Real-time PCR showed that expression of ZmZIP1, ZmZIP4 and ZmIRT1 transporter genes significantly increased in roots of PAC, but not in DAC due to Zn deficiency compared with controls. The H
O
concentration dramatically increased in roots of DAC but not PAC. Moreover, tolerant PAC showed a significant increase in POD and SOD activity due to Zn deficiency, suggesting that POD- and SOD-mediated antioxidant defence might provide tolerance, at least in part, under Zn deficiency in PAC. This study provides an essential background for improving Zn biofortification of maize.
Retrobulbar abscess in a child Hossain, M I; Nahar, L; Talukder, A K ...
Mymensingh medical journal : MMJ
24, Issue:
2
Journal Article
A 14 months old male child was admitted into Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), Bangladesh, with fever, watering, swelling, redness of right eye and running nose. On initial examination, ...patient was febrile, toxic, right-sided severe proptosis, restricted ocular movement, conjunctival chemosis and exposure keratitis of right eye. A sluggish pupillary light reaction was present in the right eye. Visual acuity was not recordable. CT scan of Brain and Orbit revealed, retrobulbar abscess of right orbit. The left eye was normal. The abscess was drained through a wide bore needle. The extraocular motility improved and pupil became brisk with a reduction in the temperature and toxic signs within 48 hours following surgery. Proptosis at the time of discharge from the hospital was absent in the right eye with no other complication. Post operative 8 months follow up period was excellent.
