Gender Differences in Undergraduate Physics Courses: A Comparative Study of Persistence

We have investigated the difference in persistence between male and female students while taking undergraduatephysics courses. To quantify the persistence of a certain group of students, we have defined 'persistence index' as the inverseof the decrease rate of the number of that group of students while taking a specific course. We have collected the data fromthree consecutive workshops on various topics of physics. After plotting the number of participations against the number ofdays attended, we have calculated the decrease rates and persistence indices for both male and female student groups on eachworkshop and compared the persistence indices on a bar diagram. The comparative statistics show that the persistence indicesof female student groups are significantly higher than that of male student groups. This leads us to the conclusion that thefemale students are more persistent than male students while taking an undergraduate physics course.Comment: The article is accepted by Science Journal of Education and will be published in Feburary 2017, Science Journal of Education, Science Publishing Group, 201

Buffalo Milk Yield, Quality, and Marketing in Different Agro-Climatic Districts of Bangladesh

The study was aimed at assessing the productive performance of dairy buffalo and milk marketing approaches in different agro-climatic districts of Bangladesh. Three (03) districts of Bangladesh viz. Bhola, Mymensingh, and Dinajpur were chosen from the coastal, river basin and semi-arid region, respectively. A triangulation method of survey was used to collect the data and the components of the triangle were buffalo farms, buffalo farmers and buffalo herdsmen. The investigation duration was twelve (12) months. The study revealed that the highest milk yield (5 L/h/d; p=0.010) was found in the river basin and semi-arid region. Lactation yield was also recorded double in the river basin and semi-arid districts compared to coastal districts (p=0.000). In the case of lactation length, the river basin buffaloes possessed 33 and 36% longer than coastal and semi-arid districts, respectively. All the chemical components were found significantly different (p≤0.050) but fat. Among different agro-climatic districts, about 92% of milk was traded in the coastal region after meeting the household's need but it was noted that the farmers from the semi-arid region kept more than 21% of milk for family consumption (p=0.000). The highest unit price (BDT 72/L) of milk was observed in the river basin district (p=0.011). In conclusion, the current situations of buffalo farming and milk marketing approaches in Bangladesh, varies considerably

Compositional Changes in Colostrum of Crossbred Dairy Cow

The research was conducted to examine the day-to-day variation in colostrum composition at the udder quarter level. For this purpose, a total of 3 Holstein Frisian crossbred cows were selected from Bangladesh Agricultural University Dairy Farm. Colostrum samples were collected both as mixed and separately from different teats. The concentration of major colostrum constituents (fat, protein, lactose, total solids, solids-not-fat, ash, pH, specific gravity) changed significantly (p≤0.05), the levels on day 4 were found similar to those of normal milk. The highest mean value of fat, protein, total solid, SNF, ash and specific gravity in colostrum was observed on 1st post-partum day as 6.02±0.70, 14.20±0.18, 23.88±1.25, 17.94±0.42, 1.03±0.05% and 1.05±0.00, respectively and later on, decreased as postpartum days advanced. Minimum average fat, protein, total solid, SNF, and ash content in colostrum was observed on 5th postpartum days as 3.75±0.11, 3.24±0.08, 12.00±0.20, 8.27±0.16% and 0.695±0.01, respectively. But lactose percent and pH showed an increasing trend from 1 to 5 postpartum days. Minimum average lactose and pH was observed on 1st and 5th postpartum days as 2.42±0.06%; 6.03±0.04% and 4.26±0.15; 6.30±0.04, respectively. The quality of colostrum produced by udder quarters was found significantly different (p<0.05). The rear quarters produced colostrum, which was significantly richer in fat, proteins, TS, pH compared to forequarters colostrum. The forequarters produced colostrum which was significantly richer in lactose, ash, SNF compared to forequarters colostrum. In conclusion, the results showed that colostrum composition was significantly changed up to 5 days post-partum

Pharmacological studies on the antinociceptive, anxiolytic and antidepressant activity of Tinospora crispa

Pharmacological studies were performed in mice on the methanol extract of Tinospora crispa (TC), and of its hexane (HF) and chloroform (CF) fractions. Significant antinociceptive activity was observed for TC, HF, and CF in the acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin-induced paw licking tests. Anxiolytic and antidepressant activity were assessed using the open field, hole board, and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests. TC, HF, and CF demonstrated a significant decrease in spontaneous locomotor activity. They also showed an increase in the number of head-dippings in the hole board test, suggesting decreased fearfulness. TC, and most of its fractions, showed a significant increase of the time spent in the opened arm of the EPM, indicating reduced anxiety. A computational study (PASS prediction, molecular docking and ADME/T analyses) was performed to identify the phytochemicals responsible for activity. Syringin and secoisolariciresinol, displayed a strong predictive binding affinity towards the cyclooxygenase COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes and the KcsA potassium channel while rumphioside B showed the highest predicted binding affinity towards the human serotonin receptor. This provided some support to explain the observed in-vivo antinociceptive, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects and the traditional use of T. crispa as a remedy for pain

Applicability of sawdust as a green additive to improve the rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluid: an experimental investigation

Abstract Drilling fluid is essential to oil and gas drilling operations due to its diverse functionality. But the most commonly used drilling fluid additives are hazardous chemicals and are not biodegradable. As a result, the demand for environment-friendly additives has been raised to replace the hazardous chemical additives. Considering the rising interest toward green additive, this study examined the applicability of sawdust to be used as a biodegradable drilling fluid additive to improve the rheological and filtration properties of water-based mud. Sawdust was chosen for this study because of its high cellulose content, widespread availability, and low cost. Following the guidelines set by the American Petroleum Institute (API), we carried out laboratory experiments that encompassed three distinct concentrations of sawdust: sample 1 (with 0.25% sawdust), sample 2 (with 0.50% sawdust), and sample 3 (with 0.75% sawdust). The concentrations of sawdust were measured as a weight percentage of the total volume of the base water. Concentrations above 0.75% led to gelation issues. Results showed minimal impact on mud weight at 0.25% sawdust, while 0.50 and 0.75% concentrations caused slight weight reduction due to foam development. Plastic viscosity increased by 28.5, 42.8, and 71.4% for sample 1, sample 2, and sample 3, respectively, compared to the base mud. Sawdust-containing mud exhibited desirable gel strength and shear-thinning behavior. Moreover, sawdust significantly improved filtration properties by reducing fluid loss and mud cake thickness. Sample 2 (0.5% sawdust) performed well in terms of filtration properties. Mud cake permeability followed the trend: $${k}_{\mathrm{BM}}>{k}_{0.75\% \mathrm{sawdust}}>{k}_{0.25\% \mathrm{sawdust}}>{k}_{0.50\% \mathrm{sawdust}}$$ k BM > k 0.75 % sawdust > k 0.25 % sawdust > k 0.50 % sawdust . Based on promising laboratory performance, lower concentrations of sawdust are recommended as a cost-effective and eco-friendly additive to enhance rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluid systems

Use of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) in raw cows milk preservation

Objective: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was used for the activation of lactoperoxidase system on preservation of milk. Materials and methods: Milk samples were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural University dairy farm. The collected milk samples were added with 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, 0.12 and 0.14% of 10% H2O2 along with control one. All milk samples were kept at room temperature (28-310C). Flavor, clot on boiling (COB), acidity %, and methylene blue reduction (MBR) test were observed every one hour interval. Results: The milk samples were acceptable in terms of flavor up to 18 h at 0.14% H2O2. Similarly, this milk sample took maximum time (19 h) to give COB positive test. Acidity % was within normal range for 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10, 0.12 and 0.14% H2O2 treated milk samples up to 8, 9, 11, 12, 12, 14, 17 and 18 h, respectively. Significant difference (P [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2017; 4(4.000): 371-377

A load balancing strategy for reducing data loss risk on cloud using remodified throttled algorithm

Cloud computing always deals with new problems to fulfill the demand of the challenging organizations around the whole world. Reducing response time without the risk of data loss is a very critical issue for the user requests on cloud computing. Load balancing ensures quick response of virtual machine (VM), proper usage of VMs, throughput, and minimal cost of VMs. This paper introduces a re-modified throttled algorithm (RTMA) that reduces the risk of data hampering and data loss considering the availability of VM which increases system’s performance. Response time of virtual machines have been considered in our work, so that when migration process is running, data will not be overflowed in the VMs. Thus, the data migration process becomes high and reliable. We have completed the overall simulation of our proposed algorithm on the cloud analyst tool and successfully reduced the risk of data loss as well as maintains the response time

Effect of pre-partum and post-partum concentrate supplementation on milk yield and quality, calf birth weight and post-partum heat period of Holstein-Friesian crossbred cows

Twelve Holstein-Friesian crossbred cows were selected for an on-farm study in a completely randomized design to exemplify the effects of pre- and post-partum concentrate supplementation on calf birth weight, milk production and composition; and post-partum resumption of ovarian cyclicity. Along with green grass (35.0 kg/cow/day) and daily farm allowance of concentrate mixture (2.0 kg/cow/day; regarded as control group 6 cows), extra amount (500 g) of concentrate supplementation was done in supplemented group (6 cows) using wheat bran (44%), mustard oil cake (44%), common salt (4%) and di-calcium phosphate (8%). Results revealed that calf birth weight was 11% higher (p=0.26) in supplemented group compared to the control group. Milk yield was recorded 49% higher (p=0.001) in supplemented cows than that of the control cows. Among the milk constituents, only milk protein was found significantly (p=0.0001) higher in cows received concentrate supplementation than that of the cows without concentrate supplementation. Moreover, the post-partum heat period was found significantly (p=0.014) lower in supplemented group than that of the control group and 83.33% cow in this group returned to heat within 60 days post-partum which was nil in the control group. In conclusion, offering concentrates during pre- and post-partum had positive impact on milk yield, milk protein and post-partum heat period. [Fundam Appl Agric 2018; 3(3.000): 579-585

Evaluation of prescription pattern of psycholeptic medications at hospital discharge for patients with cardiovascular diseases in national cardiovascular disease hospital of Bangladesh

Background: The association of mental disorder with cardiac disease is not a coincidence rather a strong relationship exists in between those two. Objective: We investigated the prescription pattern of psycholeptic drugs during the discharge of patients in a national cardiovascular hospital. Methods: Data was collected from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at Dhaka in Bangladesh. In total, 1076 prescriptions were collected randomly from July 2012 to June 2013. Data were analyzed by using the software Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, version 22). Results: Benzodiazepine was the highest (99.3%) prescribed psycholeptic class while Bromazepam (87.49%) the highest advised molecule. Psycholeptics were advised for 15 (38.77%), 10 (19.91%), 30 (15.72%) and 7 (13.39%) days. The patient group without psycholeptic medication (M=6.64 day) spent significantly (p < 0.05) a longer duration in the hospital compared to the psycholeptic medication (Mean=5.06 day) group. Age is significantly (p < 0.05) associated with the duration of staying in hospital and polymorbidity. Also, polymorbidity (p < 0.05) is significantly associated with the polypharmacy. No significant (p < 0.05) correlation has been found between age and polypharmacy. Duration of psycholeptics intake was not significantly (p < 0.05) related to either age, or polymorbidity,or length hospital stay. Conclusion: This study revealed that bromazepam is the utmost prescribed drug of choice at NICVD, Bangladesh. Frequent prescription of bromazepam indicates that this kind of patients' needs enough sleep to reduce their mental stress