Study of Characteristics Curves Top-Gated Graphene FET Using SILVACO TCAD

This work presents a SILVACO TCAD based fabrication and device simulation of a top-gated graphene field-effect transistor. Effects of channel length and channel doping concentrations on the characteristics curves (transfer and output characteristics) of the GFET are also investigated and analyzed physically to obtain more physical insight

Correlation of troponin-I level with left ventricular systolic dysfunction after first attack of non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction

Background: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common category of the heart disease and is found to be the single most important cause that leads to premature death in the developed world. Recognizing a patient with ACS is important because the diagnosis triggers both triage and management. cTnI is 100% tissue-specific for the myocardium and it has shown itself as a very sensitive and specific marker for AMI. Ventricular function is the best predictor of death after an ACS. It serves as a marker of myocardial damage and provides information on systolic function as well as diagnosis and prognosis. The study aimed at investigating the impact of LVEF on elevated troponin-I level in patients with first attack of NSTEMI.Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the department of cardiology in Mymensingh Medical College Hospital from December, 2015 to November, 2016. Total 130 first attack of NSTEMI patients were included considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. The sample population was divided into two groups: Group-I: Patients with first attack of NSTEMI with LVEF: ≥55%. Group-II: Patients with first attack of NSTEMI with LVEF: <55%. Then LVEF and troponin-I levels were correlated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient test.Results: In this study mean troponin-I of group-I and group-II were 5.53±7.43 and 16.46±15.79ng/ml respectively. It was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean LVEF value of groups were 65.31±10.30% and 40.17±4.62% respectively. It was statistically significant (p<0.05). The echocardiography showed that patients with high troponin-I level had low LVEF and patients with low troponin-I level had preserved LVEF. Analysis showed that patients with highest level of troponin-I had severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF <35%) and vice versa-the patients with the lowest levels of troponin-I had preserved systolic function (LVEF ≥55%). In our study, it also showed that the levels of troponin-I had negative correlation with LVEF levels with medium strength of association (r= -0.5394, p=0.001). Our study also discovered that Troponin-I level ≥6.6ng/ml is a very sensitive and specific marker for LV systolic dysfunction.Conclusions: The study has enabled the research team to conclude that the higher is the Troponin-I level the lower is the LVEF level and thus more severe is the LV systolic dysfunction in first attack of NSTEMI patients

Implementation of Work Sharing Technique to Improve Line Efficiency in Sewing Section: A Case Study

This paper focuses on analyzing the garment processes and operation bulletin for a particular sewing line in Mahadi Fashion (PVT) Limited. The production rate of the existing layout was not close to the target. The target was 175 pieces per hour but actual production was 138 pieces per hour. So we analyzed the layout and found out the bottleneck area. Then we rearranged the workload by work sharing and reduced manpower. By doing so, actual production was 160 pieces per hour, which is near to the target, and line efficiency increased to 77%, where the existing sewing line layout was 55%. After reducing the bottleneck in sewing line capacity, we achieved 160 pieces per hour against the 138 pieces in the existing layout

MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES OF ADULTS WITH COMORBIDITY AND CHRONIC DISEASES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A MATCHED CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background: Individuals with certain pre-existing chronic health conditions have been identified as a high-risk group for fatalities of COVID-19. Therefore, it is likely that individuals with chronic diseases may worry during this pandemic to the detriment of their mental health. This study compares the mental health of Bangladeshi adults affected by chronic disease to a healthy, matched control group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects and methods: A matched case-control analysis was performed with data collected from 395 respondents with chronic diseases and 395 controls matched for age, gender, and residence. Inclusion criteria for cases were respondents who self reported having asthma, cardiovascular disease symptoms and/or diabetes. Respondents were recruited using an online survey, which included the DASS-21 measure to assess symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Chi-square test, t-test, Fisher’s exact test and a conditional logistic regression were performed to examine associations among variables. Results: The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms and the level of stress were significantly higher among cases (59%; 71.6%; 73.7%, respectively) than among controls (25.6%; 31.1%; 43.3%, respectively). Chi-square and t-test showed significant associations and differences between having chronic diseases and mental health outcomes. A conditional logistic regression showed that respondents with asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease symptoms, or any combination of these diseases had higher odds of exhibiting symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression than healthy individuals. Conclusion: These results underscore a subpopulation vulnerable to mental health consequences during this pandemic and indicate the need for additional mental health resources to be available to those with chronic diseases

Developing a video expert panel as a reference standard to evaluate respiratory rate counting in paediatric pneumonia diagnosis: protocol for a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Manual counting of respiratory rate (RR) in children is challenging for health workers and can result in misdiagnosis of pneumonia. Some novel RR counting devices automate the counting of RR and classification of fast breathing. The absence of an appropriate reference standard to evaluate the performance of these devices is a challenge. If good quality videos could be captured, with RR interpretation from these videos systematically conducted by an expert panel, it could act as a reference standard. This study is designed to develop a video expert panel (VEP) as a reference standard to evaluate RR counting for identifying pneumonia in children. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Using a cross-sectional design, we will enrol children aged 0–59 months presenting with suspected pneumonia at different levels of health facilities in Dhaka and Sylhet, Bangladesh. We will videorecord a physician/health worker counting RR manually and also using an automated RR counter (Children’s Automated Respiration Monitor) from each child. We will establish a standard operating procedure for capturing quality videos, make a set of reference videos, and train and standardise the VEP members using the reference videos. After that, we will assess the performance of the VEP as a reference standard to evaluate RR counting. We will calculate the mean difference and proportions of agreement within±2 breaths per minute and create Bland-Altman plots with limits of agreement between VEP members. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council, Bangladesh (registration number: 39315022021) and Edinburgh Medical School Research Ethics Committee (EMREC), Edinburgh, UK (REC Reference: 21-EMREC-040). Dissemination of the study findings will be through conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals

Perception and experiences of adolescent mothers and communities in caring for their preterm babies: findings from an in-depth study in rural Bangladesh.

BackgroundA significant concern for Bangladesh is the high prevalence of adolescent pregnancy and the associated negative consequences for mother and baby, including a teen-related increased risk of preterm birth (PTB). Bangladesh also has one of the highest incidences of PTB (19%). Despite these high numbers of adolescent pregnancies and PTB, little is reported about the experiences of adolescent mothers in caring for their preterm babies, and the interventions needed to support them. The aim of this study was to explore gaps and opportunities for improved care for preterm babies among adolescent mothers and communities in rural Bangladesh.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study in rural villages of Baliakandi sub-district of Bangladesh. Data collection involved in-depth interviews with adolescent mothers of premature and term babies, adult mothers with premature babies, and family members (n = 36); focus groups with community members (n = 5); and key informant interviews with healthcare providers (n = 13). Adolescent mothers with term and adult mothers with PTBs were included to elicit similarities and differences in understanding and care practices of PTB. A thematic approach was used for data analysis.ResultsWe explored two major themes- perceptions and understanding of PTB; care practices and care-seeking for illnesses. We observed gaps and variations in understanding of preterm birth (length of gestation, appearance, causes, problems faced) and care practices (thermal management, feeding, weight monitoring) among all, but particularly among adolescents. Immediate natal and marital-kins were prominent in the narratives of adolescents as sources of informational and instrumental support. The use of multiple providers and delays in care-seeking from trained providers for sick preterm babies was noted, often modulated by the perception of severity of illness, cost, convenience, and quality of services. Health systems challenges included lack of equipment and trained staff in facilities to provide special care to preterm babies.ConclusionA combination of factors including local knowledge, socio-cultural practices and health systems challenges influenced knowledge of, and care for, preterm babies among adolescent and adult mothers. Strategies to improve birth outcomes will require increased awareness among adolescents, women, and families about PTB and improvement in quality of PTB services at health facilities

Use of Fineness Modulus in Predicting Density of Clean Sand

Relative density is an indicator of compaction level of any granular or cohesionless soil. Sand is preferred for filling work due to its less affinity towards pore moisture content as compared to cohesive soils. It is very difficult to obtain homogeneous sands practically during various earth work operations or other construction practices, resulting in heterogeneous properties in used samples collected from various sources. There are many studies on numerous sand properties but there aren’t many studies relating relative density and fineness modulus of sand. The aim of this research is to carry out an experimental study regarding the relation between the density and fineness modulus of sand and to establish empirical relation between them

Molecular identification of Mycoplasma synoviae from seroprevalent commercial breeder farms at Chittagong district, Bangladesh

Aim: Worldwide, Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) is an important pathogen of poultry, especially for chicken and turkey. It causes respiratory tract infection and infectious sinusitis. The study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of MS infection with associated risk factors and identification of MS organism in unvaccinated flocks of commercial breeder farms of the Chittagong district, Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A total of 365 serum samples were collected and tested for MS using serum plate agglutination (SPA) test for determination of MS seroprevalence. On the other hand, tracheal swabs were collected from each seropositive flocks for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of MS organism. Results: Among the farms, the highest prevalence was found to be 69% and the lowest prevalence was 28% with the average 60%. The seroprevalence of MS infection in breeder farms was highest 70% with the flock size >10,000 birds, whereas it was lowest 57% in the flocks ranging from 4000 to 7000. According to age group, the prevalence was found highest 70% in >60 weeks age group of birds and lowest 42% in 10-19 weeks group. The seroprevalence of MS in winter season was found as highest as 64%, whereas it was found lowest 60% in the summer season. There was a statistically significant difference (p0.05) difference in the winter, summer, and rainy season. To confirm the presence of MS in the samples, PCR test was applied using specific primers to amplify a 214 bp region of the 16S rRNA gene of the organism. In PCR, all seropositive flocks showed a positive result for MS. Conclusion: As the plate agglutination test result showed 100% similar with PCR result, it can be suggested that agglutination test is better than molecular and culture techniques for MS detection and it is also cheaper and less time-consuming method

Healthcare-seeking behavior for infectious diseases in a community in Bangladesh

Background: Healthcare-seeking behavior is associated with the severity of infectious diseases, particularly in low-income countries. We need better understanding about the current healthcare-seeking behavior of rural people in low-resource settings. This study aimed to describe the healthcare-seeking behavior of rural people for infectious diseases and identify the associated factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a rural community in Bangladesh. We interviewed a total of 450 persons to collect data on demographics, household income, household expenditure, and healthcare-seeking behavior. We performed a descriptive analysis to summarize the demographic characteristics and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify the association between healthcare-seeking behavior and variables of interest. Results: Among the study participants, 42% went to the health facilities, 30% went to the pharmacy, 14% went to the nonregistered doctors, 1% went to the traditional healers, 1% went to the spiritual healer, and 2% took self-treatment. Proximity of the health-care facilities (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.49) and number of clinical symptoms (PR 1.23, 95% CI: 1–1.52) were significantly associated with the care-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Healthcare-seeking behavior for infectious diseases among rural people in Bangladesh was poor. Information obtained from this study could be useful to develop, design, and improve health-care systems in low-resource settings