23 research outputs found

    Challenges To Sustainable Supply Chain Management And Their Interrelation In The Apparel Sector Of Bangladesh: A Dematel Approach

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    The apparel industry is the prime driving force of the Bangladesh economy, contributing 83% to the total export earning with 27.94 billion USD in 2019-2020. The apparel industry has to deal with an intricate supply chain globally. While many apparel-exporting countries adopt sustainable supply chains, Bangladesh is still under the traditional supply chain umbrella. Sustainable supply chain in the apparel sector of Bangladesh is in the nascent stage yet. This study explores the challenges to the sustainable supply chain and their interrelation in the apparel sector of Bangladesh. This study incorporates thirty barriers in five categories (environmental, economic, societal, knowledge & technology, and Management & Stakeholders). This study is quantitative in nature, and data collection was completed two-fold. Two questionnaires were designed to garner a response. The first questionnaire was used to collect responses from experts (academic, buying-house, and industry people)to determine the most prominent barriers and shortened number of obstacles from thirty to eighteen. The second questionnaire was designed to collect responses from hundred respondents as input in the comparison matrix of DEMATEL. Finally, DEMATEL based method was applied to investigate the interrelation among the barriers. From the result of the study, according to prominence value, lack of stakeholder involvement, high costs of sustainability adoption, insignificant financial gains, lack of supply chain integration are the prime barriers to SSCM. Moreover, this study unravels the cause-effect relationship among the barriers, ten barriers fall in the cause group, and eight barriers fall in the effect group, and finally, proposed corrective action to address the cause barriers

    PHOTOLYTIC DEGRADATION STUDY ON FILM COATED ATENOLOL TABLET AVAILABLE IN MARKET

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    Objective: Despite its sensitivity to light, atenolol has been manufactured as a film-coated tablet with normal blister packaging by several pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of light-induced potency degradation of a randomly selected film coated brand of atenolol.Methods: Atenolol tablets were exposed to different lighting conditions such as normal room light, direct sunlight and different incandescent lights (25W and 40W). Subsequently, UV spectroscopy technique was employed to determine the relative reduction of light absorbance compared to their respective controls. Thereafter, photolytic degradation was calculated by means of the potency reduction of tablets.Results: In all lighting conditions, atenolol tablets underwent exposure dependent gradual decrease in potency. Except for normal room light condition, a significant decrease in potency was found even after 4 to 6 h of exposure to all lighting conditions. After 6 h, potency reduction was found at 40-47%, 26-38% and 34-36% in the samples exposed to direct sunlight, 25 W bulb, and 40 W bulb respectively. Although the shelf life of the film coated tables was 2 y, surprisingly, statistically significant reduction in potency was observed within only 30 d in room light condition.Conclusion: In order to protect from light, blister packaging is not sufficient for film coated atenolol tablets. Photo-stability of all brands of atenolol must be ensured either by protective packaging materials or by optimizing the formulations

    Mode interactions in photonic crystal nano-cavity arrays

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    This thesis report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2014.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis report.Includes bibliographical references (page 44-45).Over the last few decades Photonic Crystals (PhCs) have enjoyed immense attention from engineers, physicists and other interested parties due to its unique characteristics and its promise to revolutionize optical communication technologies. PhCs are made of dielectric materials periodic in one, two, or three dimensions and can exhibit photonic band gaps to certain frequencies. Therefore, it can be used to trap or guide “light” of certain frequencies within it. This thesis uses this very idea to construct a Photonic Crystal Slab (PCS) of finite thickness using photonic band gap maps, where air holes are introduced to create the periodicity. Cavity arrays are formed by manipulating the properties of certain air holes and the interactions between the modes within the cavity are analyzed. Two types of cavities are formed- one consisting of similar defects and one consisting of dissimilar defects. The software used for this thesis is Rsoft CAD Suit and the simulation tools used are BandSOLVE and FullWAVE.Efaz Karim, Ehsanul Alam Sabbir, Md. Raisul Islam ShantoB. Electrical and Electronic Engineerin

    Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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    BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

    Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study