New prenylated flavonoids from the leaves of Dodonea viscosa native to the Sultanate of Oman

AbstractTraditionally, in Oman, the whole plant is used to treat the body, including treatment of anaemia, arthritis and skin inflammation. Crude extracts were prepared from the leaves of Dodonea viscosa (D. viscosa) using different polarities of solvents to isolate flavonoid compounds from the highest activity crude extract of the selected plant species collected from AL-Jabal AL Akhdar, Nizwa. The plant samples were collected, processed and extracted with methanol using a hot extraction method. The prepared crude extract was dissolved in water and successively fractioned with different polarities of solvents to produce hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water crude extracts. The chloroform crude extract was used for the isolation of flavonoid compounds by thin layer chromatography, column chromatography and preparative thin layer chromatography. The free radical scavenging activity of the isolated pure compound and the different polarities of crude extracts were determined using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method.The highest antioxidant activity in crude extracts from the leaves of D. viscosa was in the hexane and chloroform crude extracts, and the lowest activity was in the water crude extract, followed by hexane > chloroform > ethyl acetate > methanol > butanol > water crude extracts. One new prenylated flavonoid along with one known compound were isolated from the chloroform crude extract of D. viscosa and were identified by their chemical structures using mass spectrometry, one and two dimension nuclear magnetic resonance. The isolated pure compound also showed significant antioxidant activity against DPPH. This is the first report of antioxidant compounds in the leaves of D. viscosa. The results obtained from this study might be a good natural antioxidant from the selected plant crude extracts

Evaluation of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of seed crude extracts of Ammi majus grown in Oman

AbstractAmmi majus has long been used as an herbal medicine in several countries for skin disorders, regulation of menstruation and for conditions in which diuresis is indicated. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of the crude extracts of locally growing Ammi majus (A. majus). Initially, methanol crude extract was prepared from powdered seed samples of A. majus by applying Soxhlet extraction method. Successive extracts were then derived by suspending methanol free crude extract in water followed by successive extraction with solvents of different polarities in an order of increasing polarity. The evaluations of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of seed crude extracts of A. majus were determined by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), agar disc diffusion and Artemia lethality methods, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in case of chloroform crude extract whereas the lowest activity was corresponding to methanol crude extract. However, the highest IC50 value was obtained with chloroform crude extract but the lowest result was observed in case of ethyl acetate crude extract. All crude extracts of A. majus displayed moderate antimicrobial activity against one Gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and three Gram negative bacteria, namely Escherichia coli (E. coli), Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae), and Proteus spp (Proteus spp), with growth inhibition zone of 0–15 mm. The cytotoxic activity results showed that all crude extracts of the seed had killed all the Artemia larvae at a concentration of 1000 µg/mL, being the highest for all extracts. However, regarding the overall magnitude of cytotoxic effect, chloroform crude extract showed the highest activity followed in a diminishing order by hexane, methanol, ethyl acetate, butanol and water crude extract. As such, the highest lethality was observed in case of chloroform crude extract where the lethal concentration (LC50) was 49.16 µg/mL, whereas the lowest lethal concentration was seen with water crude extract where the LC50 was 652.38 µg/mL. The present study demonstrates that all seed crude extracts of A. majus have significant antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects. These results warrant follow up bioassay intended for isolation of the active compounds from this plant

Investigating the Impact of Marketing Mix Elements on Tourists ‘Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on East Lake

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of marketing mix elements on tourists’ satisfaction. The data for this study were collected verified structured questionnaire from sample of 132 students from Wuhan University of Technology and Huazhong Normal University P.R. China. Target respondents were visited East Lake. Data were analyzed by using software SPSS-17 version by adopting the statistical techniques, correlation and regression. The findings of the study showed that six out of seven marketing mix elements were positively related to tourists’ satisfaction but price imposed by the authority is not satisfactory to the visitors’. Besides, some of the facilities and services did not meet visitor’s expectation. Therefore some recommendations have been given for policy makers for future improvement and to position this place in the tourists’ mind. Key words: Marketing mix elements, Tourism, Tourists’ satisfaction

Reproductive biology of Gagora catfish (Arius gagora) at Meghna river system, Kushiara River, Bangladesh

The gagora catfish, Arius gagora is a species of Ariidae family normally exist in estuaries and tidal rivers of Bangladesh and India. In the present study, the reproductive biology of A. gagora was assessed in Meghna River system at Kushiara River. Length-weight relationship was found strongly correlated for male (r2 = 0.98), female (r2 = 0.97) and combined sex (r2 = 0.81), respectively. Chi-square tests revealed no significant difference between sex ratios round the year and not deviated from the expected value of 1:1 (χ2 = 5.57) and the critical chi-square value calculated was 143.25. The fecundity found to be ranged from 43333.12±829.83 to 53948.81±1743.28 in April to August. The relationship of fecundity with ovary weight (r2 = 0.79), ovary length (r2 = 0.88), total length (r2 = 0.85) and total weight (r2 = 0.68) were found positively correlated. Monthly study of gonadosomatic index (GSI) revealed that the breeding season for this fish species may be between July to August with a single peak spawning month in August. Size at sexual maturity was estimated as 30.01 cm total length. Fulton's condition factor (K) value varied in both males and females and indicates that the overall health condition of both the male and female were excellent. Breeding season was found significantly correlated with rainfall, but not with other biological, meteorological, and hydrological parameters. Ovarian development of A. gagora was assessed macroscopically and three broad gonad developmental stages were identified. Maturity was specified based on the presence of green egg in the peritoneal cavity. These findings should benefit and improve the sustainable management and conservation of this species both in Bangladesh and its bordering countries

INDUCED SPAWNING AND LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF VIETNAMESE KOI, Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792), USING SALMON GONADOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE ANALOGUE (S-GnRHA)

The present research work has been carried out to obtain evidence on breeding and embryonic growth of A. testudineus by using S-GnRHa. Fish were injected with three different doses (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mL/kg body weight) of synthetic hormone S-GnRHa each with three replications, where male brood fish received half of the doses of female. The fecundity of A. testudineus was ranged from 47,227 to 77,561 during the study period and except control group all the hormone received group ovulated within 12 hours of hormone injection. Among all groups, the highest fertilization rate (89.33%), highest hatching rate (79.5%) as well as highest survival rate (67.0%) was obtained at 0.5 mL/kg body weight hormone dose recipient group. The fertilized egg’s diameter was recorded as 77.59 ± 3.50 µm. The first cleavage had appeared within 18-25 min of fertilization and eventually the morula, blastula, and gastrula stages were observed at 3:10 h, 4 h, and 5:30 h, respectively after fertilization. Larvae with distinguished head, body form and tail appendage spotted between 17-22 h and the larvae started hatching at 19 h after fertilization. The average length of larvae accounted as 105.41 ± 3.73 µm. The findings of present study revealed that 0.5 mL/kg S-GnRHa could be efficient dose for successful induced breeding of A. testudineus

Gingival health status of patients treated with full veneer crown and contra lateral natural tooth : A comparative study

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the gingival health of patients treated with full veneer crown (FVC) restoration with the contralateral natural tooth of that patients in different stages of treatment. Materials and methods: This study compared the gingival health status of 30 endodontically treated posterior teeth with FVC and 30 contralateral natural teeth of 19 patients in terms of gingival index, and plaque index. These patients have been examined from July 2017 to June 2019 in the Dept. of Prosthodontics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital. The gingival health was assessed with gingival index and plaque index by Leo H in different stages of treatment, also compared with the contralateral natural teeth. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) according to the study objectives. Results: Tooth with FVC restoration found high gingival index and plaque index compared to a contralateral natural tooth in different stages of treatment. The mean differences of the gingival index were not significant at baseline, 4th month visits, but it was significant, and highly significant at 8th month, 12th month follow-up visits respectively. The mean differences in plaque index were found significant in all visits except 12th month visit. The gingival index and plaque index increased from baseline to 4th, 8th,12th month visits gradually both in abutments and contralateral natural teeth. Conclusion: If the FVC is fabricated with maintaining proper anatomical contour, equigingival margin with proper marginal adaptation, despite maintaining oral hygiene as well as the general health of patients there is a chance of development of adverse effects on gingival health in comparison to the contralateral natural tooth

Utilization of fermented wheat bran extract medium as a potential low-cost culture medium for Chlorella ellipsoidea

Microalgae, Chlorella ellipsoidea is an excellent energy source for food and biofuel production. Nevertheless, the production cost of C. ellipsoidea using Bold's Basal Medium (BBM) is expensive, which led to exploring the alternation of a low-cost medium for large-scale production. Low-cost fermented wheat bran extract medium (FWBEM), which has good nutritional properties, might be an alternative approach to mass production of C. ellipsoidea. The present study was conducted to evaluate the growth and production of C. ellipsoidea using different concentrations of FWBEM. Wheat bran was fermented at the concentration of 8.33, 6.66, and 5.00 g/L water and used as treatments for T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The BBM was used as the control medium (T1). The growth and production of C. ellipsoidea were monitored at three days intervals through cell dry weight, specific growth rate, optical cell density, chlorophyll a content, and cell numbers. Those growth data revealed that C. ellipsoidea cultured at 6.66 g/L (T3) concentration did not vary significantly with the standard inorganic BBM. However, T2 and T4 showed substantially lower cell growth and chlorophyll a content than control and T3. Compared to the BBM, a significant reduction in production cost was obtained in the FWBEM. Based on the cell biomass growth, pigmentation, and production cost, FWBEM at a 6.66 g/L could be used as an alternative medium to BBM. Therefore, FWBEM has excellent potential to be used for the low-cost production of C. ellipsoidea

A 30-day follow-up study on the prevalence of SARS-COV-2 genetic markers in wastewater from the residence of COVID-19 patient and comparison with clinical positivity

Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) is an important tool to fight against COVID-19 as it provides insights into the health status of the targeted population from a small single house to a large municipality in a cost-effective, rapid, and non-invasive way. The implementation of wastewater based surveillance (WBS) could reduce the burden on the public health system, management of pandemics, help to make informed decisions, and protect public health. In this study, a house with COVID-19 patients was targeted for monitoring the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic markers in wastewa-ter samples (WS) with clinical specimens (CS) for a period of 30 days. RT-qPCR technique was employed to target non-structural (ORF1ab) and structural-nucleocapsid (N) protein genes of SARS-CoV-2, according to a validated experimental protocol. Physiological, environmental, and biological parameters were also measured following the American Public Health Association (APHA) standard protocols. SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in wastewater peaked when the highest number of COVID-19 cases were clinically diagnosed. Throughout the study period, 7450 to 23,000 gene copies/1000 mL were detected, where we identified 47 % (57/120) positive samples from WS and 35 % (128/360) from CS. When the COVID-19 patient number was the lowest (2), the highest CT value (39.4; i.e., lowest copy number) was identified from WS. On the other hand, when the COVID-19 patients were the highest (6), the lowest CT value (25.2 i.e., highest copy numbers) was obtained from WS. An advance signal of increased SARS-CoV-2 viral load from the COVID-19 patient was found in WS earlier than in the CS. Using customized primer sets in a traditional PCR approach, we confirmed that all SARS-CoV-2 variants identified in both CS and WS were Delta variants (B.1.617.2). To our knowledge, this is the first follow-up study to determine a temporal relationship be-tween COVID-19 patients and their discharge of SARS-CoV-2 RNA genetic markers in wastewater from a single house including all family members for clinical sampling from a developing country (Bangladesh), where a proper sewage system is lacking. The salient findings of the study indicate that monitoring the genetic markers of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater could identify COVID-19 cases, which reduces the burden on the public health system during COVID-19 pandemics.Peer reviewe

Breast cancer detection based on simplified deep learning technique with histopathological image using BreaKHis database

Presented here are the results of an investigation conducted to determine the effectiveness of deep learning (DL)-based systems utilizing the power of transfer learning for detecting breast cancer in histopathological images. It is shown that DL models that are not specifically developed for breast cancer detection can be trained using transfer learning to effectively detect breast cancer in histopathological images. The outcome of the analysis enables the selection of the best DL architecture for detecting cancer with high accuracy. This should facilitate pathologists to achieve early diagnoses of breast cancer and administer appropriate treatment to the patient. The experimental work here used the BreaKHis database consisting of 7909 histopathological pictures from 82 clinical breast cancer patients. The strategy presented for DL training uses various image processing techniques for extracting various feature patterns. This is followed by applying transfer learning techniques in the deep convolutional networks like ResNet, ResNeXt, SENet, Dual Path Net, DenseNet, NASNet, and Wide ResNet. Comparison with recent literature shows that ResNext-50, ResNext-101, DPN131, DenseNet-169 and NASNet-A provide an accuracy of 99.8%, 99.5%, 99.675%, 99.725%, and 99.4%, respectively, and outperform previous studies

Time Series Analysis and Forecasting of Air Pollutants Based on Prophet Forecasting Model in Jiangsu Province, China

Due to recent developments in the global economy, transportation, and industrialization, air pollution is one of main environmental issues in the 21st century. The current study aimed to predict both short-term and long-term air pollution in Jiangsu Province, China, based on the Prophet forecasting model (PFM). We collected data from 72 air quality monitoring stations to forecast six air pollutants: PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3. To determine the accuracy of the model and to compare its results with predicted and actual values, we used the correlation coefficient (R), mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). The results show that PFM predicted PM10 and PM2.5 with R values of 0.40 and 0.52, RMSE values of 16.37 and 12.07 μg/m3, and MAE values of 11.74 and 8.22 μg/m3, respectively. Among other pollutants, PFM also predicted SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 with R values are between 5 μg/m3 to 12 μg/m3; and MAE values between 2 μg/m3 to 11 μg/m3. PFM has extensive power to accurately predict the concentrations of air pollutants and can be used to forecast air pollution in other regions. The results of this research will be helpful for local authorities and policymakers to control air pollution and plan accordingly in upcoming years