The Experience of Self-Harming Behaviours That Inflict External Injuries to the Body in UK-Based Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani Females: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Previous studies carried out on self-harm have consistently reported a higher level of self-harm among South-Asian women. They have shown that these women are also least likely to seek professional support from mental health professionals. However, previous studies have clustered the large ethnic group together, regardless of the differences between them, looked at all types of self-harming behaviours as similar and predominantly carried out quantitative studies. Therefore, the present study investigated the experience of self-harming behaviour that inflicts external injuries to the body in Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi females. A total of eight participants were recruited via purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were carried out. The interviews were analysed from an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Analyses were carried out on an individual and group level and four super-ordinate themes, and eleven sub-ordinate themes emerged. The superordinate themes were: ‘Powerlessness’ (‘Entrapment’, ‘Internalised Negativity’ & ‘Abused by my Environment’), ‘Mitigation’ (‘Releasing my Overwhelming Emotions’, ‘Connecting to my Pain’ & ‘Addicted to Self-harm’) and ‘Self-harm is Wrong’ (‘It must be Hidden’, ‘What have I done to myself?’ & ‘My Self-harm is Sinful’). The analyses revealed what appears to be novel insights on the impact and importance of the South-Asian cultural values and beliefs on the experience of self-harm in South-Asian women. The findings have been discussed relative to previous studies of this phenomenon. Also discussed are the strengths and limits of the study, clinical recommendations, and future research areas

The experience of self-harming behaviours that inflict external injuries to the body in UK-based Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani women: a literature review

Studies carried out on self-harm in the UK have consistently reported a higher level of self-harm among women with South Asian heritage resident in the UK when age-compared with other British women. The reasons for this variation are many including but not limited exclusively to family environment and gender role expectations. These studies have also shown that these women are also least likely to seek psychological support from mental health professionals again with a number of explanations including stigma against help-seeking, notions of shame and other culture-specific factors. However, previous studies have clustered this large group together based on geographical heritage, regardless of the differences between religious and heritage groups and have reported on all types of self-harming behaviours as similar and predominantly carried out quantitative studies which while providing important statistical data have not always looked at the meaning of this experience for the participants. This paper presents a review of the relevant literature within the area of self-harm among Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani women living in the UK. It is noteworthy that many studies discussed are dated, this appears to reflect an apparent lack of recent interest in the topic

Assessment Of Pond Water Quality Of Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila For Fish Production

During dry season, physico-chemical properties of waters from 30 ponds of Thakugaon Sadar Upazila, Thakurgaon, Bangladesh were analyzed for its quality and suitability for aquaculture. The variation in the physico-chemical parameters of the aquaculture ponds above or below standard values has potential effects on the health and productivity of aquaculture. Overall, we found that the pond water were acidic to neutral in nature (pH varied from 6.0 to 7.2) and could be suitable for aquaculture. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration was suitable for fish production but more DO level should be present for all aquatic life especially for fish production. Chemical oxygen demands (COD) of all pond waters were within the permissible limits for fish production. The temperature values were remained within the standard values in all the aquaculture ponds. Pond water samples contained Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+ as the dominant cations and HCO3- and Cl- were the dominant anions. All samples were within soft class regarding hardness. Based on Zn2+, Mn2+, Fe3+, SO42-, NO3- and Cl- all pond water samples were within the safe limit for fish production during dry period. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 3 (1): 29-34, June, 2013 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v3i1.1605

Bio-inspired study of thermal effects on NACA0012 airfoil at Reynolds Number of 33,000

The amount of solar and background radiation absorbed by birds vary according to their wing shape, pigmentation, porosity, etc. Birds are equipped with unique features to thrive, including attracting opposite sex, regulating body temperatures, and soaring in the sky. The research focuses on solar/sky radiation by examining how NACA0012 airfoil, representing the wing of a bird, performs when its upper surface temperature is higher or lower than the surrounding air. This is realised by performing 2-dimensional simulations in OpenFOAM at a Reynolds Number of 33,000, where Spalart-Allmaras model is used to simulate the flow turbulence. The upper surface of the airfoil is warmed to 330 K and cooled to 270 K at a pressure of 1 atm, an ambient temperature of 300 K, and a Mach number of 0.0725. The results illustrate the airfoil with the cooler top surface exhibits a lower drag and higher lift than its warmer top surface counterpart. A maximum reduction of drag coefficient from 0.065 to 0.061 and increase in lift coefficient from 0.89 to 0.93 at an angle of attack 11° are achieved. In short, tuning the upper surface of NACA0012 airfoil to temperatures lower than the ambient provides better aerodynamic performance

Experimental Study on the Explosive Spalling in High-Performance Concrete: Role of Aggregate and Fiber Types

A complete description of the mechanical behavior of High-Performance Concrete in fire still requires further efforts to fully understand the tricky phenomenon of spalling, whose complexity comes from the interaction among different phenomena, namely: the microstructural changes occurring in concrete at high temperature, the pressure rising in the pores, and the stress induced by both thermal gradients and external loads. To what extent these different aspects influence each other is still not completely clear, and within this context a comprehensive experimental campaign has been launched at the Politecnico di Milano, focusing on the role played by concrete grade, aggregate type, and fiber type and content. Eleven concrete mixes are investigated considering three grades (fc ≥ 40, 60 and 90 MPa), three aggregate types (silico-calcareous, basalt and calcareous aggregates) and different fiber types and contents (steel and monofilament or fibrillated polypropylene fibers)

Phytochemical Screening and Hepatoprotective Effect of Alhagi maurorum Boiss (Leguminosae) Against Paracetamol-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rabbits

Purpose: To evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of aqueous-ethanol (30:70 %) extract of Alhagi maurorum Boiss. (Leguminosae) whole plant against paracetamol-induced liver injury in experimental rabbits.Methods: Aqueous-ethanol extract of Alhagi maurorum at doses of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight, p.o., was administered for 7 days in paracetamol (2 gm/kg, s.c.) intoxicated rabbits and compared with silymarine (50 mg/kg, p.o.)-treated rabbits. Biochemical parameters, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and total bilirubin (TB) levels were recorded to investigate the degree of improvement in the conditions of the rabbits. The liver was removed, washed with normal saline and preserved in 10 % formalin and used in histopathological studies of hepatic architecture by microscopy. Phytochemical screening of the extract was also carried out.Results: The levels of biochemical parameters were increased in paracetamol intoxicated rabbits when compared with the normal group. The extract, at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, exhibited significant (p < 0.001) reduction in biochemical parameters (ALP, SGOT, SGPT and TB). Hepatoprotective activity was also confirmed by histopathological findings. Furthermore, the phytochemical profile of the extract revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids.Conclusion: These results suggest that Alhagi maurorum extract possesses significant hepatoprotective effect against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity and this may be due to the presence of flavonoids and tannins.Keywords: Alhagi maurorum, Hepatoprotective, Paracetamol, Silymarin, Histopatholog

Accretion Flow Dynamics During 1999 Outburst of XTE J1859+226 - Modeling of Broadband Spectra and Constraining the Source Mass

We examine the dynamical behavior of accretion flow around XTE J1859+226 during the 1999 outburst by analyzing the entire outburst data ($\sim$ 166 days) from RXTE Satellite. Towards this, we study the hysteresis behavior in the hardness intensity diagram (HID) based on the broadband ($3 - 150$ keV) spectral modeling, spectral signature of jet ejection and the evolution of Quasi-periodic Oscillation (QPO) frequencies using the two-component advective flow model around a black hole. We compute the flow parameters, namely Keplerian accretion rate (${\dot m}_d$), sub-Keplerian accretion rate (${\dot m}_h$), shock location ($r_s$) and black hole mass ($M_{bh}$) from the spectral modeling and study their evolution along the q-diagram. Subsequently, the kinetic jet power is computed as $L^{\rm obs}_{\rm jet}\sim 3 - 6 \times 10^{37}$ erg~s$^{-1}$ during one of the observed radio flares which indicates that jet power corresponds to $8-16\%$ mass outflow rate from the disc. This estimate of mass outflow rate is in close agreement with the change in total accretion rate ($\sim 14\%$) required for spectral modeling before and during the flare. Finally, we provide a mass estimate of the source XTE J1859+226 based on the spectral modeling that lies in the range of $5.2 - 7.9 M_{\odot}$ with 90\% confidence.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Effects of deforestation on physicochemical properties and microbial population of soils in a South-East Asian tropical forest

The study was conducted in deforested land and adjacent natural forest in Chittagong Forest South Division, Bangladesh, to explore the effects of deforestation on physico-chemical properties of soil and the soil microbial population. Soil samples from surface (0-10 cm depth) or subsurface (10-20 cm depth) of two hill positions (top and bottom) of deforested land and an adjacent natural forest were collected and analysed for their physico-chemical properties and microbial population. The study reveals that there was no significant (p≤0.05) difference in soil texture for soil surfaces or hill positions between the deforested land and natural forest. However, significantly (p≤0.05) low moisture content and high pH was observed in both the surfaces and hill position in deforested land compared to the natural forest. The microbial community i.e., the fungal and bacterial population was also significantly (p≤0.05) lower in both surfaces (0-10 cm and 10-20 cm) of hill positions in the deforested land compared to natural forest. Fungal population ranged from 59 to 76 million g-1 and 78 to 153 million g-1 of dry soil in deforested land and in natural forest, respectively, whereas bacterial population ranged from 70 to 146 million g-1 in deforested land and from 127 to 218 million g-1 in natural forest. A total of seven genera of fungi were primarily identified from the soils of natural forest and six from the deforested land. The six common genera of identified fungi in both the land used were Mucor, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Trichoderma and the different one was Colletotrichum from the natural forest. Three genera of bacteria coccus, Streptococcus and Basillus were noticed in natural forest and two genera (coccus and Streptococcus) were recorded from deforested land