Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: Role of Gut Microbiota is Dependent on Lipopolysaccharide-Toll-like Receptor-4 Axis

Hepatic steatosis is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome which is increasingly becoming a health problem worldwide, especially in the western hemisphere. Hepatic steatosis is benign, but long standing hepatic steatosis can lead to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is a form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease where excessive fat accumulation in the liver leads to chronic inflammation of a patient without any history of alcohol abuse. However, the mechanism underlying the progression of hepatic steatosis to NASH is unclear. Role of gut microbiota in metabolic syndrome has long been reported. Here, we hypothesized that gut microbiota plays an important role in the modulation of NASH through the involvement of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) pathway in dietary fat mediated hepatic steatosis. To test this hypothesis, germ free or broad-spectrum antibiotics-treated mice were fed high fat diet, which resulted in decreased level of inflammation in their fatty liver compared to the specific pathogen free control mice. This result demonstrated the involvement of gut microbiota in mediating NASH. To address the role of LPS-TLR-4 pathway, broad spectrum antibiotics-treated mice fed high fat diet were injected i.p. with low dose LPS, resulting in an increased level of inflammation in the liver which was decreased upon the co-treatment with TAK-242, an inhibitor of TLR-4. To investigate the role of TLR-4- expressing kupffer cells in mediating NASH, wild-type kupffer cells in the liver of wild-type mice were replaced with TLR-4 KO kupffer cells by bone marrow transplantation, which resulted in a decreased level of inflammation in liver upon NASH induction. It was also investigated whether the peroxisomal anti-oxidative function is altered in the livers of mice fed high fat diet in a TLR-4 dependent manner. Indeed, the level and function of catalase, the principal antioxidative enzyme in peroxisomes, was decreased in mice fed high fat diet, which was reversed in TLR-4 KO mice fed high fat diet. This individual piece of data demonstrated the role of TLR-4 pathway in modulating NASH through the alteration of peroxisomal anti-oxidative function. In conclusion, this project established the role of gut microbiota in modulating NASH which is dependent on LPS-TLR-4 pathway

DERIVATION OF TOLEROGENIC THERAPEUTIC VACCINES FOR MOUSE MODELS OF EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that results in autoimmune demyelination of the human central nervous system (CNS). Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a widely-studied animal model of multiple sclerosis which reflects many of the histopathological and immunological features of MS. Because currently used therapies for multiple sclerosis result in broad-spectrum immunosuppression, antigen specific vaccines may be an important alternative. Whereas the concept of traditional anti-microbial vaccination is to introduce the immune system with the foreign microbes to develop memory T and B cells, self-reactive T cell suppression is the fundamental principle of tolerogenic vaccines. For EAE, contemporary research is focused on the development of potent tolerogens. Fusion proteins of cytokine and neuroantigen (NAg) are assumed to be such potent tolerogens. Antigen presenting cells (APC) are targeted by the fusion proteins in a cytokine dependent manner. These APC have been shown to play a fundamental role in inducing sustainable self-tolerance. That is, autoimmune effector T cells are eliminated by regulatory T (Treg) cells that are stimulated and expanded in a negative thymic selection process where dendritic cells (DC) play an inevitable role. The principle is that the cytokine domain of the fusion protein will interact with cytokine receptors on the APC and facilitate the presentation of covalently linked NAg to self reactive T cells and thereby, induce a co-inhibitory signal leading to cytotoxicity and killing of NAg-specific autoreactive T cells. In an approach to induce tolerogenic response in EAE, I have studied two fusion proteins consisting of interferon-beta (IFN-[beta]) fused to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and IFN-[beta] fused to proteolipid peptide (PLP). Both fusion proteins were potent tolerogens. The fusion genes were cloned in pIRES2 expression plasmids and then expressed stably in human embryonic kidney cells, and the fusion proteins were purified by affinity chromatography. Functional integrity of the IFN-[beta] domain within the fusion protein was confirmed by a T cell anti-proliferative assay and a class-I MHC induction assay. Biological activity of NAg domains were tested by NAg specific T cell proliferative assays. The tolerogenic effect of the fusion protein was assessed in two ways. First, the preventive role of IFN-[beta]-PLP was examined by administering the protein before EAE induction which inhibited the subsequent incidence of EAE. Second, IFN-[beta]-MOG was administered after disease onset which halted disease progression. In both cases, covalent linkage between the IFN-[beta] and NAg domain was required to restore the tolerance.  M.S

The Basic Layout of a Denim Textile Industry: A Basic Review

Denim was produced in the city of Nîmes in France and was originally called the serge de Nîmes. The word denim is an English colloquialism of the French term: “denim.” Day by day Bangladesh denim sector very much developed and helps to increase productivity. Bangladesh have seen a significant increase in investing in denim fabric manufacturing, increasing the country’s production performance by reducing fabric dependence on imports. It is important due to its aspects of durability, and not easily torn which benefited physical laborers much. The government also plays a vital role in denim textile industry. This paper shows different section of denim textile industry such as: sewing section, cutting section, washing, IE and finishing department. The main aim of this paper is how to role all the section of denim textile industry. Textile education is insufficient without industry attachment, which bridges the gap between theoretical and practical aspects and acclimates students to the industrial world. We can gain about theoretical development on an industrial level from this attachment. We can understand more about the machines used in various departments, their technical specifications, characteristics, operating system, and so on, and we believe that without this type of industrial connection, it is impossible to obtain industry-based information about textile engineering adequately. The Industrial Attachment on Denim Manufacturing Technology was used to organize this study (sewing section, cutting, IE, washing section, CAD Section, and finishing department. Various operating procedures for the production of denim in the industry are presented in this paper. The technique and process of several procedures and processes are presented here such as machine specifications, manpower, maintenance, layout of the different section, dye processes and wet processes

An Analysis of the Production Function of Ready-Made Garments Industry in Bangladesh: A Case of Tex-Town Group Limited

More than 78% of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the garment industry. The ready-made garments (RMG) sector has a greater potential than any other sector in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings to reduce poverty and make a contribution to the national economy. In this paper, we attempt an econometric estimation of Cobb-Douglas production function in Bangladesh’s ready-made garments industry and also test the hypothesis that ready-made garments industry is expected to reap better economies of scale in a competitive environment. We try to resolve some econometric issues such as heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation and multicollinearity  in the production function estimates by adopting different solutions and adjustment procedures with a view to obtain reliable parameter estimates. . This study has been used the annually time series data about ready-made garments production, labour wages, and capital of Tex-Town Group Limited from 2002-2013. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method is used to estimate the model. The results show that there is a positive relationship between labour wages, capital and ready-made garments production in Bangladesh. The value of R2 is 0.687. This indicates that about 68.7% of the total variation in the ready-made garments production is explained by the labour wages and capital in Bangladesh. The results are statistically significant at 5% level of significance. This study suggests that increase in labour employment and capital to increase the production of ready-made garments in Bangladesh. Keywords: Ready-made Garments Industry; Production Function; Wage, Capital.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Soil-Native Bacteria in Precipitating Calcite to Stabilize Expansive Soils

The use of chemical additives to stabilize expansive soils is a common practice. However, the environmental concerns associated with the greenhouse gas generation during the production of these chemicals have launched engineers in search of sustainable stabilization alternatives. Microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a bio-cementation technique that could be a potential solution to this problem. Typically, MICP is achieved via bio-augmentation; however, bio-stimulation was argued to be a more realistic alternative due to its field implementation potential. Hence, in this research study, two expansive soils with varying plasticity characteristics were examined to understand the potential of MICP in treating expansive soils. These two soils were subjected to MICP treatments using enrichment and cementation solutions. The treatment effectiveness was studied via response measures such as Atterberg limits, unconfined compressive strengths, one-dimensional swell test, and calcium carbonate precipitation. The results indicate that MICP has potential in stabilizing expansive soils and further research is warranted to explore this idea

Evaluating the Applicability of Biostimulated Calcium Carbonate Precipitation to Stabilize Clayey Soils

Clayey soils with medium to high plasticity are prevalent in several parts of the world, causing billions of dollars in damage annually to various civil infrastructures. Several ground-improvement techniques can be employed to counteract this issue. However, these methods are impractical in certain situations and unsustainable in others due to their economic and environmental impacts. Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) could provide a more sustainable alternative. Researchers have successfully used MICP to alter specific geotechnical properties of sands and silts. This research investigates the applicability of MICP via biostimulation to treat clayey soils with low to high plasticity. The goal is to determine the viability of this technique to alter the engineering behavior of clayey soils, especially given the low permeability of these soils. For this purpose, four soils were selected from four different locations in Idaho and Montana. The soils were selected such that their plasticity varied from low to high to study the effect of plasticity index on the effectiveness of MICP treatments. In addition to the four soils, three additional artificial mixes were studied to study the effect of clay content on MICP effectiveness. Both macroscale and microscale studies were conducted on untreated and biostimulated soils to observe strength gain, swelling reduction, and calcium carbonate precipitation. The results show that MICP via biostimulation would be a promising method to treat problematic clayey soils

Study on EM Absorption Analysis of Mobile Handset Antenna

The development of the low SAR handset antenna with the apparition of advanced handset devices is presented in this paper. The main objective of the paper is to give an overview of the development of handset antenna with reducing specific absorption rate (SAR) and satisfying market demand in the last years. The development of handset antenna with higher efficiency, compact size, cost effective, multiband and Low SAR are studied for several types of antenn

Decent Work and Inclusive Economic Growth: Bangladesh Perspective

The study has made an effort to analyze the performance of Bangladesh economy in line with the decent work and inclusive economic growth target of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period of 2015 to 2019 and to identify the challenges of achieving decent work for all by 2030. Bangladesh has ranked 109th among the 166 countries and moved seven notches up from 116th of 2019 in the SDGs Index 2020. Analyzing the International Labour Organization (ILO) modeled estimated data on the decent work indicators like labour force participation rate, employment to population ratio, unemployment rate, youth unemployment, informal employment, child labour and employment in agriculture, industry and service sector, the study reveals that the high youth unemployment, informality in the job market, mismatch between demand and supply of skilled labour, less female participation in the labour force, insufficient investment, participation of child and forced labour in hazardous work, etc. are the major hindrance for ensuring decent work for all. Skill development programs, large scale investment, products diversification, good governance, elimination of child and forced labour from hazardous work, etc. may help to create more employment opportunities, decent work environment as well as inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Bangladesh. Keywords: Decent Work, Inclusive Economic Growth, SDGs, Bangladesh. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-16-02 Publication date:August 31st 202