Corporate Sustainability Disclosure Practices In Bangladesh: A Comparison Of Two Banks From An Institutional Perspective

Sustainability is now a global concern because of the effects of climate change, social unrest, and economic depression. This has encouraged the corporate bodies to be accountable by disclosing their sustainability activities that may affect the earth and society at large. The study aims to focus on the extent of corporate sustainability disclosure (CSD) practices, and identification of the factors behind the disclosure and nondisclosure of CSD information by two selected banks in Bangladesh

In vitro evaluation of the sealing ability of three newly developed root canal sealers: A bacterial microleakage study

The purpose of this study was to compare the sealing ability of MTA Fillapex, Apatite Root Canal Sealer and AH26 sealers. The present in vitro study was carried out on 142 extracted single-rooted human mature teeth. The teeth were randomly divided into three experimental groups (n=44) and two control groups (n=5). Three root canal sealers were MTA Fillapex, Apatite Root Canal Sealer and AH26. The teeth in the control groups were either filled with no sealer or made completely impermeable. The root canals were prepared and obturated with gutta-percha and one of the sealers. The teeth were sterilized with ethylene oxide gas prior to the bacterial leakage assessment using Enterococcus faecalis. Leakage was evaluated every 24 hours for 90 days. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistical methods and chi-squared test. If the data were significant, a proper post hoc test was used. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. The positive control specimens exhibited total bacterial penetration whilst the negative control specimens showed no evidence of bacterial penetration. At the end of the study, the analysis of microleakage with chi-squared test showed no significant differences between the experimental groups (P<0.05). The results of chi-squared test analyzing the pair-wise differences between the groups considering the numerical values for leakage day indicated the lowest leakage with AH26 and the highest with Apatite root sealer. According to the results of the present study, sealing ability of AH26 was significantly higher than that of MTA Fillapex and Apatite Root Canal Sealer

Association of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Severity and Glycohemoglobin Levels in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Purpose: To investigate the association of meibomian gland dysfunction severity and glycated hemoglobin A (HbA1c) levels among type 2 diabetic patients. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional, 40 type 2 diabetic patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) were studied at Basir Eye Clinic, Tehran, Iran. An expert ophthalmologist determined the MGD stage based on staging scale outlined in American academy of ophthalmology's basic and clinical science course. The HbA1c level was measured applying a standard method, certified by the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP). We divided patients to two groups based on their HbA1C level; the first group included patients with HbA1c &lt; 6.5 % and the second group included patients with HbA1c ≥ 6.5  %.Results: Our results demonstrated that 12.5 % of the participants had minimal, 52.5 % had mild and 35 % had moderate to severe MGD. We observed that different levels of HbA1c (over or under 6.5 %) were significantly associated with MGD severity (P &lt; 0. 013). Moderate to severe MGD stage was observed in 43.7 % of individuals with HbA1c ≥ 6.5 %, while it was found in none of participants with HbA1c &lt; 6.5 %. With increase in HbA1c level, the risk of moderate to severe MGD occurrence increased (OR = 3.57; 95 % CI: 1.05-12.13; P = 0.041). This association was not confounded by age or gender.   Conclusion: Meibomian gland dysfunction severity has an association with HbA1c levels in diabetic type 2 patients, and a rise in HbA1c noticeably aggravates the MGD stage.Keywords: Glycated hemoglobin A; Meibomian gland dysfunction; Diabetes mellitus; Dry eye syndromes; Diabetes

Effect of Low Level Laser Irradiation on the Function of Glycated Catalase

Introduction: The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of low level laser irradiation (LLLI), by lasers with different wavelengths, on glycated catalase enzyme in vitro experimentally. This is done by measuring the activity and structure properties of glycated catalase enzyme. The structure properties were evaluated with circular dichroism (CD) and fluoroscopy methods. Three continuous wave (CW) lasers in visible spectrum (λ= 450, 530, 638 nm) and a 100-ns pulsed laser in infrared spectrum (λ= 905 nm) were chosen for comparison. For the infrared laser, same effects have been investigated for different energy doses. The effect of photon energy (hυ) at different wavelengths was measured on activity, CD, and fluoroscopy properties of catalase, and compared with the control group [samples without irradiation]. The energy intensity of laser should not exceed 0.1 J/cm2. Experiments were performed on glycated catalase between 2 to 16 weeks after glycation of catalase. The LLLI effect has also been investigated on the samples, by comparing the catalase activity, CD and fluoroscopy for different wavelengths.Results: Our results indicate, the decrease in catalase activity as a function of glycation time (weeks) for all samples, and a slight increase on its activity by different laser wavelengths irradiation for any fixed period of glycation time. Finally, as the laser’s photon energy (hυ) increases, the catalase activity also increases. More specifically, the blue laser (λ= 450nm) has the most and the red laser (λ = 638nm), has the least effect, and the green laser (λ = 530nm) has the medium effect on catalase activity. Furthermore, pulsed laser had an additional effect by increasing energy dosage. As we expected in all experiments, the increase in the catalase activity was coincident with the decrease in catalase fluoroscopy and CD parameters

Ethnobotanical and phytochemical aspects of the edible herb Coriandrum sativum L.

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGCoriandrum sativum (coriander) is an edible herb in the family Apiaceae. The leaves, fruits, and stems of C. sativum have long been used as culinary spice due to their favorable odor. Traditional practitioners used this plant for treating different diseases like blepharitis, scabies, aphthous stomatitis, laryngitis, headache, and palpitation. In modern researches, coriander has demonstrated anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, antimigraine, neuroprotective, analgesic, diuretic, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, anticancer, and antioxidant activities. Coriander contains a wide range of bioactive phytochemicals among which phenylpropenes, terpenoids, isocoumarins, phytosterols, and fatty acids are the most important. This review provides information about the botanical and ethnobotanical aspects, chemical profile, therapeutic uses in Islamic traditional medicine (ITM), and recent pharmacological studies of coriander effects. The results have shown that coriander and its monoterpenoid compound, linalool, can be considered as potential drug candidates for treating metabolic syndrome and different inflammatory conditions especially neural and CNS diseases

Social Phobia in Persian Adults with Stuttering

Background: Stuttering is a communication disorder. It is expected that stuttering may have negative impact on individuals’ mental and emotional health, which may affect their quality of life. Therefore, this paper aims to study components of social phobia inventory in Persian adults with stuttering and compare the likelihood (odds) of social phobia in the stuttering group to that in the control group. Methods: Using social phobia inventory, this case-control study compared social phobia in 33 adults with stuttering and 33 age-gender-education matched subjects with fluent speech. All the participants were 18 years or above. Results: Independent t-test showed that the total score of the social phobia inventory. Its fear component has significant statistical differences between group of adults with and without stuttering. Moreover, the adults with stuttering have over two times more social phobia symptoms than that in ones who don’t. Conclusion: Our results suggest that social phobia should be considered in therapy programs for adults with stuttering. In addition to restructuring speech, a part of the treatment program should address people’s social phobia, especially their feeling of fear, in order to curtail some of the negative consequences associated with stuttering

A modern formulation of traditional medicine: Jujube) Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit syrup

Ziziphus jujuba Mill.,commonly called jujube (Rhamnaceae) has been known for its health benefits and used to cure different diseases such as asthma, cough and anxiety. The aim of this study is a formulation of its syrup and evaluation of physicochemical properties in accelerated stability conditions. The isosbestic point of spinosin (as marker) and its stability kinetic was studied in different buffers (pH range: 3-8). The isosbestic point was 259 nm that was different from max (334 nm). It was found that spinosin was more stable at pH of 7. So, the pH of the syrup was adjusted to 7. The syrup was a brown viscous liquid with jujube fruit flavor. Dry residue, pH, density and viscosity of the syrup were found to be 0.8 g/mL, 7, 1.29 g/mL and 0.14 Pa/s, respectively. During accelerated stability studies no significant changes were observed in physical properties and 3.2% decrease in spinosin content was seen that is acceptable. The preservative effectiveness test showed that the free preservative formulation met the USP criteria. In conclusion, Z. jujuba fruit syrup has a suitable potential to be manufactured on the mass production for traditional herbal medicine markets

Two Iranian families with a novel mutation in GJB2 causing autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss

Mutations in GJB2 , encoding connexin 26 (Cx26), cause both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) at the DFNA3 and DFNB1 loci, respectively. Most of the over 100 described GJB2 mutations cause ARNSHL. Only a minority has been associated with autosomal dominant hearing loss. In this study, we present two families with autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss caused by a novel mutation in GJB2 (p.Asp46Asn). Both families were ascertained from the same village in northern Iran consistent with a founder effect. This finding implicates the D46N missense mutation in Cx26 as a common cause of deafness in this part of Iran mandating mutation screening of GJB2 for D46N in all persons with hearing loss who originate from this geographic region. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83755/1/33209_ftp.pd

Global, regional, and national burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.

BACKGROUND: The number of individuals living with dementia is increasing, negatively affecting families, communities, and health-care systems around the world. A successful response to these challenges requires an accurate understanding of the dementia disease burden. We aimed to present the first detailed analysis of the global prevalence, mortality, and overall burden of dementia as captured by the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) Study 2016, and highlight the most important messages for clinicians and neurologists. METHODS: GBD 2016 obtained data on dementia from vital registration systems, published scientific literature and surveys, and data from health-service encounters on deaths, excess mortality, prevalence, and incidence from 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2016, through systematic review and additional data-seeking efforts. To correct for differences in cause of death coding across time and locations, we modelled mortality due to dementia using prevalence data and estimates of excess mortality derived from countries that were most likely to code deaths to dementia relative to prevalence. Data were analysed by standardised methods to estimate deaths, prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs), years of life lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; computed as the sum of YLLs and YLDs), and the fractions of these metrics that were attributable to four risk factors that met GBD criteria for assessment (high body-mass index [BMI], high fasting plasma glucose, smoking, and a diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages). FINDINGS: In 2016, the global number of individuals who lived with dementia was 43·8 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 37·8-51·0), increased from 20.2 million (17·4-23·5) in 1990. This increase of 117% (95% UI 114-121) contrasted with a minor increase in age-standardised prevalence of 1·7% (1·0-2·4), from 701 cases (95% UI 602-815) per 100 000 population in 1990 to 712 cases (614-828) per 100 000 population in 2016. More women than men had dementia in 2016 (27·0 million, 95% UI 23·3-31·4, vs 16.8 million, 14.4-19.6), and dementia was the fifth leading cause of death globally, accounting for 2·4 million (95% UI 2·1-2·8) deaths. Overall, 28·8 million (95% UI 24·5-34·0) DALYs were attributed to dementia; 6·4 million (95% UI 3·4-10·5) of these could be attributed to the modifiable GBD risk factors of high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, smoking, and a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. INTERPRETATION: The global number of people living with dementia more than doubled from 1990 to 2016, mainly due to increases in population ageing and growth. Although differences in coding for causes of death and the heterogeneity in case-ascertainment methods constitute major challenges to the estimation of the burden of dementia, future analyses should improve on the methods for the correction of these biases. Until breakthroughs are made in prevention or curative treatment, dementia will constitute an increasing challenge to health-care systems worldwide

Global, regional, and national burden of traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) are increasingly recognised as global health priorities in view of the preventability of most injuries and the complex and expensive medical care they necessitate. We aimed to measure the incidence, prevalence, and years of life lived with disability (YLDs) for TBI and SCI from all causes of injury in every country, to describe how these measures have changed between 1990 and 2016, and to estimate the proportion of TBI and SCI cases caused by different types of injury. METHODS: We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) Study 2016 to measure the global, regional, and national burden of TBI and SCI by age and sex. We measured the incidence and prevalence of all causes of injury requiring medical care in inpatient and outpatient records, literature studies, and survey data. By use of clinical record data, we estimated the proportion of each cause of injury that required medical care that would result in TBI or SCI being considered as the nature of injury. We used literature studies to establish standardised mortality ratios and applied differential equations to convert incidence to prevalence of long-term disability. Finally, we applied GBD disability weights to calculate YLDs. We used a Bayesian meta-regression tool for epidemiological modelling, used cause-specific mortality rates for non-fatal estimation, and adjusted our results for disability experienced with comorbid conditions. We also analysed results on the basis of the Socio-demographic Index, a compound measure of income per capita, education, and fertility. FINDINGS: In 2016, there were 27·08 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 24·30-30·30 million) new cases of TBI and 0·93 million (0·78-1·16 million) new cases of SCI, with age-standardised incidence rates of 369 (331-412) per 100 000 population for TBI and 13 (11-16) per 100 000 for SCI. In 2016, the number of prevalent cases of TBI was 55·50 million (53·40-57·62 million) and of SCI was 27·04 million (24·98-30·15 million). From 1990 to 2016, the age-standardised prevalence of TBI increased by 8·4% (95% UI 7·7 to 9·2), whereas that of SCI did not change significantly (-0·2% [-2·1 to 2·7]). Age-standardised incidence rates increased by 3·6% (1·8 to 5·5) for TBI, but did not change significantly for SCI (-3·6% [-7·4 to 4·0]). TBI caused 8·1 million (95% UI 6·0-10·4 million) YLDs and SCI caused 9·5 million (6·7-12·4 million) YLDs in 2016, corresponding to age-standardised rates of 111 (82-141) per 100 000 for TBI and 130 (90-170) per 100 000 for SCI. Falls and road injuries were the leading causes of new cases of TBI and SCI in most regions. INTERPRETATION: TBI and SCI constitute a considerable portion of the global injury burden and are caused primarily by falls and road injuries. The increase in incidence of TBI over time might continue in view of increases in population density, population ageing, and increasing use of motor vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles. The number of individuals living with SCI is expected to increase in view of population growth, which is concerning because of the specialised care that people with SCI can require. Our study was limited by data sparsity in some regions, and it will be important to invest greater resources in collection of data for TBI and SCI to improve the accuracy of future assessments