The triphenylmethane dye brilliant blue G is only moderately effective at inhibiting amyloid formation by human amylin or at disaggregating amylin amyloid fibrils, but interferes with amyloid assays; Implications for inhibitor design.

The development of inhibitors of islet amyloid formation is important as pancreatic amyloid deposition contributes to type-2 diabetes and islet transplant failure. The Alzheimer's Aβ peptide and human amylin (h-amylin), the polypeptide responsible for amyloid formation in type-2 diabetes, share common physio-chemical features and some inhibitors of Aβ also inhibit amyloid formation by h-amylin and vice versa. Thus, a popular and potentially useful strategy to find lead compounds for anti-amylin amyloid agents is to examine compounds that have effects on Aβ amyloid formation. The triphenylmethane dye, brilliant blue G (BBG, Sodium;3-[[4-[(E)-[4-(4-ethoxyanilino)phenyl]-[4-[ethyl-[(3-sulfonatophenyl)methyl]azaniumylidene]-2-methylcyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene]methyl]-N-ethyl-3-methylanilino]methyl]benzenesulfonate) has been shown to modulate Aβ amyloid formation and inhibit Aβ induced toxicity. However, the effects of BBG on h-amylin have not been examined, although other triphenylmethane derivatives inhibit h-amylin amyloid formation. The compound has only a modest impact on h-amylin amyloid formation unless it is added in significant excess. BBG also remodels preformed h-amylin amyloid fibrils if added in excess, however BBG has no significant effect on h-amylin induced toxicity towards cultured β-cells or cultured CHO-T cells except at high concentrations. BBG is shown to interfere with standard thioflavin-T assays of h-amylin amyloid formation and disaggregation, highlighting the difficulty of interpreting such experiments in the absence of other measurements. BBG also interferes with ANS based assays of h-amylin amyloid formation. The work highlights the differences between inhibition of Aβ and h-amylin amyloid formation, illustrates the limitation of using Aβ inhibitors as leads for h-amylin amyloid inhibitors, and reinforces the difficulties in interpreting dye binding assays of amyloid formation

Efficient Cell Phone Keypad Designing for Bangla SMS Using English Alphabets

Mobile phone networks are increasingly supporting the transmission of textual message between individuals. In this paper we have introduced a new approach that will enhance the speed of typing process in Bangla by using English mobile keypad. An example of making Bangla sentences using English keypad could be “Ami valo achiâ€. Traditional cell phone keypad is not suitable for Bangla typing using English alphabets and number of key pressing is high to make such Bangla SMS (Short Message Service). The proposed approach has been explored to speed up the typing process in Bangla using English alphabets. The alphabets are rearranged according to the priority of frequencies. The frequency of alphabet is appeared by most used letter in SMS. The letters which are mostly used are recognized as higher frequency. The proposed design consumes less time for typing Bangla SMS using English letter format. Keywords: Mobile keypad, unitap, multitap, Bangla SMS, frequency

Interventions to prevent burnout in high risk individuals: evidence review

Although there is existing evidence on what works to treat burnout and work-related stress, there is less on what works to prevent it from occurring in the first place. This report provides an overview of literature covering how to prevent burnout and work-related stress in individuals and within organisations

Prevalence and factors associated with depression and anxiety among first-year university students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

University students, especially those in their first year, not only face challenges related to their personal life but also to their academic performance. Such unfavorable conditions predispose them to psychological illnesses such as depression and anxiety. The present study surveyed first-year undergraduate students to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety and their potential underlying reasons. A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted with 400 first-year university students aged between 18 and 23 years residing at Jahangirnagar University (in Bangladesh). After providing informed consent, the participants completed a survey examining socio-demographic variables and behavioral variables, along with the PHQ-9 scale, and the GAD-7 scale. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine the significant associations between the variables under examination. The prevalence rates of moderate to extremely severe levels of depression and anxiety were 69.5% and 61%, respectively, with no significant gender differences. The main risk factors for depression were unsatisfactory sleep quality and lack of physical exercise. The main risk factor for anxiety was excessive internet use. The prevalence of depression and anxiety levels among first-year university students was high in the present study and appears to confirm the notion that first-year university students are a vulnerable group for mental illnesses. The findings suggest the need for intervention programs, alongside adequate and appropriate supportive services for Bangladeshi university students

Is there a commercially viable market for crop insurance in rural Bangladesh?

The study aims to assess the commercial viability of a potential crop insurance market in Bangladesh. In a large scale household survey, agricultural farm households were asked for their preferences for a hypothetical crop insurance scheme using double bounded (DB) contingent valuation (CV) method. Both revenue and production cost based indemnity payment approaches were applied to assess the commercial viability of a crop insurance program assuming a partner-agent (PA) model of insurance supply. Crop insurance is found marginally commercially viable in riverine flood plain areas. The expected indemnity payable consistently exceeds the expected insurance premium receivable by the insurer for the households living in wetland basin and coastal floodplain. We conclude that a uniform structure of crop insurance market does not exist in Bangladesh. The nature of the disaster risks faced by the farm households and the socio-economic characteristics of the rural farm communities need to be taken into careful consideration while designing such an insurance scheme. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Weight-related status and associated predictors with psychological well-being among first-year university students in Bangladesh: a pilot study

University students (especially first-years) not only have to cope with their academic curriculum but also issues such as being away from the home environment and living independently for the first time. Those who do not adapt quickly to these new conditions are likely to be susceptible to physical and psychological vulnerabilities. The present study surveyed first-year Bangladeshi undergraduate students to investigate their weight status (i.e., the prevalence of being normal weight, underweight, overweight, and obese) and the prevalence of depression and associated risk factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 404 first-year university students (aged 18–23 years) residing at a Bangladeshi university. The participants completed a survey examining socio-demographic and behavioral variables, alongside the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Binary logistic regression was performed to determine significant associations between the variables under examination. Prevalence rates of being normal weight, underweight, overweight, and obese were 66.8%, 20.3%, 9.7%, and 3.2% respectively. Associated predictors of weight-related problems were being female and lack of physical exercise. The prevalence rate of depression was 68.1%. There were no significant gender differences and associated predictors of depression were lack of physical exercise, unsatisfactory sleep quality, excessive internet use, and excessive reading hours. Being underweight, overweight, or being obese alongside the prevalence of depression among first-year university students were high. Findings indicate that first-year university students are a vulnerable group for some physical and psychological problems. Findings recommend the need for intervention programs, alongside adequate and appropriate supportive services for first-year Bangladeshi university students

Bacterial Isolates and Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Children with Acute Diarrhea at Ibn Sina Medical College, Bangladesh

Backround: Infectious diarrhea is one of common cause of children diarrhea causing mortality and morbidity worldwide. This study was performed to identify the common bacteria and their antimicrobial susceptibility in children with diarrhea. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from April 2014 to March 2016 at IBN SINA Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Stool samples were cultured on MacConkey agar and blood agar. A standard biochemical procedure was used for full identification of bacterial isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were done on Mueller-Hinton agar by using disc diffusion method. Data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20 and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 186 stool samples were tested for bacterial isolation and 55 (29.57%) cases were found to have bacterial isolates. From the total bacterial isolates, the predominant isolate was E. coli 39 (70.91%) followed by Salmonella 9 (16.36%) and Shigella Spp.7 (12.73%). As much as 84.62% E. coli were resistant to co-trimoxazole and cefuroxime while 92.31% E. coli were sensitive to amikacin and 71.79% were sensitive to cefepime and gentamicin. Salmonella were 100% sensitive to cefepime, ceftriaxone, cefixime, ceftazidime, and ciprofloxacin. Shigella were 85.71% sensitive to amikacin and cefepime. Conclusion: The results show that E. coli were the most frequently isolated pathogen in children. The majority of the bacterial isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Hence, antibiotics susceptibility test is mandatory before prescribing any antibiotics

Modelling quality dynamics on business value and firm performance in big data analytics environment

Big data analytics have become an increasingly important component for firms across advanced economies. This paper examines the quality dynamics in big data environment that are linked with enhancing business value and firm performance. The study identifies that system quality (i.e., system reliability, accessibility, adaptability, integration, response time and privacy) and information quality (i.e., completeness, accuracy, format and currency) are key to enhance business value and firm performance in a big data environment. The study also proposes that the relationship between quality and firm performance is mediated by business value of big data. Drawing on the resource based theory and the information systems success literature, this study extends knowledge in this domain by linking system quality, information quality, business value and firm performance

In Arabidopsis thaliana Heterosis Level Varies among Individuals in an F1 Hybrid Population.

Heterosis or hybrid vigour is a phenomenon in which hybrid progeny exhibit superior yield and biomass to parental lines and has been used to breed F1 hybrid cultivars in many crops. A similar level of heterosis in all F1 individuals is expected as they are genetically identical. However, we found variation in rosette size in individual F1 plants from a cross between C24 and Columbia-0 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. Big-sized F1 plants had 26.1% larger leaf area in the first and second leaves than medium-sized F1 plants at 14 days after sowing in spite of the identical genetic background. We identified differentially expressed genes between big- and medium-sized F1 plants by microarray; genes involved in the category of stress response were overrepresented. We made transgenic plants overexpressing 21 genes, which were differentially expressed between the two size classes, and some lines had increased plant size at 14 or 21 days after sowing but not at all time points during development. Change of expression levels in stress-responsive genes among individual F1 plants could generate the variation in plant size of individual F1 plants in A. thaliana