Effects of Herbicides on Growth and Sporulation of Bipolaris Sorokiniana and on Spot Blotch Development in Wheat Seedlings

Plant Patholog

Optimizing seed rate for summer mungbean varieties

An experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh from March to June, 2007 to investigate the effect of cultivar and seed rate on morphological characters, yield attributes and yield of summer mungbean. The experiment comprised four varieties viz., BINA moog2, BINA moog5, BINA moog6 and BINA moog7 and four seed rates viz. 30, 40, 50 and 60 kg ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Results revealed that variety and seed rate had significant effect on the studied crop characters and yield. The variety BINA moog7 showed superiority in relation to plant height, number of branches and effective pods per plant, number of seeds pod-1 compared to other varieties, which resulted in the highest seed yield both per plant and per hectare. The plant height, stover yield and number of non-effective pods per plant increased with the increase in seed rate, while branch number, number of effective pods per plant, seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, as well as seed weight per plant decreased with increasing seed rate. The higher number of branches and effective pods per plant, number of seeds pod, 100-seed weight and seed yield per plant were recorded at the rate of 30 and 40 kg seeds ha-1 and the lowest values for the above parameters were observed at the rate of 60 kg seeds ha-1. But per unit area basis, the highest seed yield was recorded in 40 kg seeds ha-1 followed by 50 kg seeds ha-1 due to accommodation of higher number of plants. BINA moog7 interacted favorably with the seed rate of 30 kg ha-1 to produce the highest seed yield

Relationship of maternal serum zinc level with gestational diabetes mellitus

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a prevalent pregnancy disease in Bangladesh that poses risks to the health of both mother and fetus. Glycosuria-related nutritional deficiencies are often associated with GDM. Zinc, an essential micronutrient, plays a central role in insulin-mediated glucose metabolism and storage. Because of its importance in insulin-related processes, zinc deficiency is potentially relevant to pregnancy-related carbohydrate intolerance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of maternal zinc deficiency with gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods: This case-control study, conducted from October 2020 to September 2022, involved 160 pregnant women aged 18-35 from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, BSMMU, Dhaka. Of these, 80 women diagnosed with GDM (24-40 weeks gestation) and 80 matched healthy controls were included in our study. Results: The mean (SD) zinc level was much lower in the cases than in the controls (59.60±19.37 µg/dl and 91.84±38.19 µg/dl, respectively; p-value = <0.001). There was a significant negative correlation of serum zinc levels with both FBG (r=-0.406, p<0.001) and 2HABG (r=-0.381, p<0.001). The likelihood of developing gestational diabetes was approximately 4.2 times higher in mothers with low serum zinc (<68 g/dL) than in mothers with zinc levels of 68 g/dL (p<0.001; OR=4.214; 95%- CI=2.158-8.231). Conclusions: Low maternal serum zinc levels have been found to be associated with gestational diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the serum zinc level can be used as a predictor to determine the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus.

Factors that Present Obstacles to the Learning of Quran: A Study based on Polonnaruwa District in Sri Lanka

Al-Quran is the divine revelation to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which started with the word "Iqra". Quranic education is an obligation to every Muslim. It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to help the new generation with Quranic learning so they become true Muslims and better humankind. Today, children and younger generations have more opportunities to learn the Quran properly, as compared to middle-aged people who do not have such opportunities even if they are interested in learning; Polonnaruwa district in Sri Lanka is no exception. In this study, we discovered the challenges that are faced by middle-aged people in learning the Holy Quran. This is a qualitative research. The key tool used in this study was a structured interview, which was participated by 40 middle aged people in Polonnaruwa. According to the results, it was found that the challenges faced by the participants include the lack of understanding on the importance of the Quran, the growing hatred toward Muslim “Alims”, inadequate teaching with a proper method to recite the Quran and the failure to teach the Quran with proper guidance. Such are the reasons for the middle-aged people not being able to recite the Quran properly at present, even though they had attended the madrassa at a young age. In terms of gender, it was found that females are more interested in Quranic learning than males. Factors namely the lack of formally trained teacher and the reluctance of middle-aged people in participating the Quranic lesson have been identified as the most critical challenges that hinder Quranic learning among the middle-aged people despite their desire to learn. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the training and courses related to Quranic learning specially for middle-aged people be made necessary for them by the local mosques and Sri Lankan Muslim Cultural and Religious Affairs Department. In addition, the “Alims” and “Alimahs”, who are graduated from Arabic colleges should come forward to teach the Quran to these middle-aged people. Keywords: Obstacle to learning the Quran, learningof Al Quran, Quran madrassa, Middle-aged People DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-13-04 Publication date:June 30th 202

Stressors perceived by the clinical undergraduate medical students towards the end of course

Response or reaction of the mind to the pressure of life is stress. Medical students of Bangladesh are in stress to meet the demands of the curriculum. This study was conducted on the regularly passed final year students of a medical college to find out the nature of stresses perceived by them. The response was collected on a validated structured set of questionnaire, 3 weeks prior to the University level summative examination and 63 students (33 male and 30 female) participated in the study. Stress was expressed in five levels and scored as 0 to 4. Academic related factors were identified as maximum stress provoking (2.5 ± 1.3) than group activity (1.6 ± 1.4), drive (1.4 ± 1.5), teaching-learning (2.3 ± 1.3), personnel (1.8 ± 1.6) or social (1.9 ± 1.5) related factors. Of that group of stress, ‘falling behind reading schedule’ and ‘large amount of content to be learned’ were revealed as heavy stressors. Examination was identified as a severe stressor in 42.4% male, but was marked less (16.7%) in the female. ‘Too much restriction in the campus’ was observed as heavy stressors among the factors other than the academic related stressors. Students may be motivated to develop a coping strategy for academic and teaching-learning related stress

Infection Control Measures Concerning Knowledge and Behavior among Bangladeshi Dental Professionals

Background and aim: Maintenance of universal infection protocol in all dental care processes in the dental office before, during, and immediately after dental care is of utmost importance. Very few studies were found to identify the bio-security standards for dental care. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and behavior of Bangladeshi dental professionals on the infection control system during clinical case management.Material and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 dental professionals in the Khulna district, Bangladesh. Semi-structured data were collected in this study through the face-to-face interview method.  Univariate multivariate techniques followed by regression modeling have been used for analysis.Results: About 67% of dental surgeons knew about infection prevention measures well, whereas only 33% had poor knowledge. However, instead of having good knowledge of infection control measures, 33% of dental surgeons were found to have poor behavior in their dental setting, and the rest, 34%, followed all the preventive measures to control infection. Binary regression analysis of this study revealed significant predictors associated with poor knowledge and behavior on infection control measures.Conclusions: This study revealed a depressive scenario regarding knowledge and behavior on infection control measures among dental professionals. A large-scale study is required to generalize the information and to improve the situation. Moreover, this study will provide a concrete base for further study and will significantly assist the policymakers of the pertinent arena

The spectrum and clinical impact of epigenetic modifier mutations in myeloma

Epigenetic dysregulation is known to be an important contributor to myeloma pathogenesis but, unlike in other B cell malignancies, the full spectrum of somatic mutations in epigenetic modifiers has not been previously reported. We sought to address this using results from whole-exome sequencing in the context of a large prospective clinical trial of newly diagnosed patients and targeted sequencing in a cohort of previously treated patients for comparison.Whole-exome sequencing analysis of 463 presenting myeloma cases entered in the UK NCRI Myeloma XI study and targeted sequencing analysis of 156 previously treated cases from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. We correlated the presence of mutations with clinical outcome from diagnosis and compared the mutations found at diagnosis with later stages of disease.In diagnostic myeloma patient samples we identify significant mutations in genes encoding the histone 1 linker protein, previously identified in other B-cell malignancies. Our data suggest an adverse prognostic impact from the presence of lesions in genes encoding DNA methylation modifiers and the histone demethylase KDM6A/UTX. The frequency of mutations in epigenetic modifiers appears to increase following treatment most notably in genes encoding histone methyltransferases and DNA methylation modifiers.Numerous mutations identified raise the possibility of targeted treatment strategies for patients either at diagnosis or relapse supporting the use of sequencing-based diagnostics in myeloma to help guide therapy as more epigenetic targeted agents become available

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Developmental Therapy – A Generic Professional Expertise within Child Development Centers in Bangladesh

The Developmental Therapist (DT) is a unique professional training in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy. There is unmet demand for developmental therapists in Bangladesh to manage the increasing number of childhood disabilities. However, no academic institute provides training for Developmental therapists in Bangladesh. This paper explains a three-month structured training program for the exercise of the developmental therapist. After completing this training, the DTs gained some essential skills which help them to assess the functional development of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, identify their problems and provide appropriate management