Investigation on white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in Penaeus monodon brood, nauplii, post larvae and cultured shrimp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh by using nested PCR techniques

Investigations were carried out between April 2014 to June 2016 for detecting white spot syndrome virus (WSV) in tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon broods, nauplii, post larvae and cultured shrimp by using nested PCR techniques. The presence viral DNA was observed in shrimp culture farms in Cox’s Bazar. Of 558 grow out shrimp samples tested, 239 (42.83%) were found to be positive for WSSV by PCR assay. Of 91 post larvae collected in adjacent river and canal, 41 (45.05%) were infected with WSSV and 70 juvenile shrimps collected, 45 (64%) of the samples were positive for WSSV infection. Selected shrimp hatcheries in the region also showed continual occurrence of WSSV infection and 149 nauplii were tested, 39(26.17%) were positive for WSSV by PCR assay. In hatcheries, 248 nos. P. monodon broods collected, 125(50.40%) were found positive for WSSB. The average WSSV infection in brood shrimps were increased as 32%, 34% and 69% for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. P. monodon broods collected from the deep sea zone, WSSV prevalence was 57% in summer (May), falling to 0% during winter month (November). Many of the brooders and juveniles did not exhibit any external symptoms of WSSV infection, however, following PCR amplification with WSSV detection primers clear products were revealed, indicating the presence of latent infection. Thus, effective prevention and control measures are urgently needed to control the spread of the WSSV disease in the shrimp industry. Diagnostic PCR can be applied to screen for carrier brood stock and shrimp larvae used for shrimp culture

Exploring Systems Performance Using Modeling and Simulation – Project-based Study and Teaching

Modeling and Simulation (M&S) provides a risk-free environment allowing the users to experiment in a computer-generated virtual platform and analyze the what-if scenarios for effective decision support systems. Due to its pervasive usefulness, the concept of M&S is widely used across many sectors, including manufacturing, warehouse operations, supply chain, logistics, transportation, mining, and many more. The field of M&S requires computer-intensive and software-based training, which is very different from teaching in a regular classroom setting. Hence, we develop a three-stage (mimic-guide-scaffold) project-based teaching strategy to enhance students learning experience in M&S education. Here, students first follow the instructor to understand basics of simulation and become familiar with AnyLogic software. Second, the students work on a group project under the passive supervision of the instructor to enhance their problem-solving capability. In the third step, students work independently on a similar but extensive project to scaffold their knowledge. The project was designed to answer three high-level key research questions for a hospital system including systems throughput, resource utilization, and patients’ length of stay reduction. We performed a thorough evaluation using an anonymous survey, where thirty-one students participated to provide their feedback. This paper provides a detailed description of the projects including problem statements, learning objectives, evaluation rubrics, data collection criteria, and evaluation outcomes with detailed discussion

Clinicopathological Spectrum and Treatment Outcome of Clinically Suspected Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis: An Analysis of 35 Cases in a Tertiary Care Center, Bangladesh

Background and Aim: Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is characterized by a rapid decline in the renal function and urinary abnormalities. There is limited information on epidemiological factors and clinical and histopathological patterns of RPGN from developing countries. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the etiology, clinical features, histopathological patterns, and treatment outcomes of patients with clinically suspected RPGN. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Pediatric Nephrology Department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University from January 2014 to January 2019. Patients with clinically suspected RPGN that underwent renal biopsy were enrolled in this study. Results: Thirty-five patients were recruited in this study. Macroscopic hematuria, edema, hypertension, uremia, and oliguria were common clinical presentations. Diffuse proliferative GN (28.5%) and crescentic GN (22.8%) were the most common histological diagnoses in this study. Immune mediated GN (62%) followed by idiopathic GN (25%) were found to be the most frequent cause of crescentic GN. Renal replacement therapy was required in 45% of the cases and 11.4% of the patients developed end-stage renal disease.Conclusion: Renal histology is an integral part of the investigation of patients with suspected RPGN for both diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Diffuse proliferative GN was the most common histopathological diagnosis in patients with clinical RPGN in our population. Preservation of renal function depends on early intervention and detection of RPGN in pediatric patients.Keywords: Nephritis; Glomerulonephritis; ESRD; End-Stage Kidney Disease; Child.

Cyber victimization and cyber aggression among high school students: Emotion regulation as a moderator

Adolescents of Bangladesh today are facing significantly higher rates of stressors with differing severity and frequency of anxiety, depression, internalizing, and externalizing problems to mention a few (cited in Mullick et al., 2019). Many of them use cyberspace where their limited capacity for emotion regulation may put them at the risk of cyber aggression as well as cyber victimization. However, the true dynamics of the relationship between cyber aggression, cyber victimization, and emotion regulation are largely unknown. The present study is therefore undertaken to address the issue by testing the effect of two components of emotion regulation on the relationship between cyber victimization and cyber aggression. A questionnaire package including Bangla translated versions of Cyber-Victimization Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYVIC), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Cyber-Aggression Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYBA), and Personal Information Form (PIF) was administered to a purposive-convenience sample of 250 high school students (48% boys and 52% girls). The students were between the ages of 11 through 17 years with a mean age of 14.77 years (SD = 1.41). Independent sample t-tests revealed significant gender differences in all major variables; hence subsequent analyses were conducted on subsamples of boys and girls. Pearson product-moment correlation showed a significant association between key variables where the association of expressive suppression with cyber victimization and cyber aggression was negative for girls and positive for boys. Hierarchical regression analyses manifested buffering effect of both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression weakening the relationship between cyber victimization and cyber aggression for girls. A similar pattern was observed for boys where cognitive reappraisal only weakened the relationship between cyber victimization and cyber aggression but not for expressive suppression in boys. The findings have been interpreted in the light of past studies

Drying methods effect on bioactive compounds, phenolic profile, and antioxidant capacity of mango powder

The effects of various drying methods (spray drying, cabinet drying, vacuum drying, tunnel drying, rotary oven drying, and gas oven drying) on the phenolic profile, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacity of mango powder have been considered with the aim of discover the effective drying technique. To identify and quantify the phenolic profile, the Folin-Ciocalteu method was used, while 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging studies were utilized to elucidate the antioxidant capacity. Results showed that total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total anthocyanin content (TAC) and total carotenoid content (TCC) showed substantial variations (p < 0.05) between different drying methods, and the antioxidant properties were influenced to different degrees by drying methods. The antioxidant capacity of dried mango powder is strongly correlated with phenolic compounds (polyphenol, flavonoids, and anthocyanin). Caffeic acid was predominant among the 16 phenolics in mango powder. Flavonoids had higher retention factors (RF) than phenolic acids. Finally, our findings indicate that both cabinet drying and vacuum drying are appropriate for mango powder production. However, taking into account both economic viability and phenolic compound quality, cabinet drying would be the supreme choice for the outturn of mango powder as antioxidant-rich flavor enhancers

Histopathological Pattern of Difficult Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome in A Tertiary Care Centre, Bangladesh

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to know the spectrum of histopathology in children who underwent a renal biopsy for difficult NS in a tertiary care pediatric nephrology center.MethodThis prospective observational study took place in Pediatric Nephrology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka Bangladesh, from January 2011 to July 2018. Patients presented with difficult pattern of nephrotic syndrome and underwent renal biopsy were enrolled in this study.ResultsTotal 140 patients were recruited in this study. Patients with SRNS &amp; nephrotic syndrome with atypical presentation had renal biopsy ; a good number of atypical NS were SDNS. They were grouped into Group A: SRNS, Group B: SDNS, Group C:Nephrotic Syndrome with atypical presentation. Comparison among 3 groups were done. Regarding lab parameters, serum creatinine was raised in 40.6% patients in  nephrotic syndrome with atypical presentation and 16.2%in SRNS. In patients with SDNS, MCD (51.3%) was the most common histological pattern followed by MesPGN (33.3%); whereas MesPGN was the commonest histological pattern in SRNS (56.8%) and atypical presentation (54.7%) followed by MCD and FSGS.Most of the patients response to immunosuppressive therapy. In SRNS partial response achieved in 18.9% and CKD  developed in 16.2% cases. In comparison, nephrotic syndrome atypical presentation 10.9% patients achieved partial response and 7.8% developed CKD but these are not statistically significant. 5.4% patients of SRNS died.ConclusionMesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis was the most common histopathological diagnosis in patients with SRNS &amp; nephrotic syndrome atypical presentation  in our population. MCD is predominant among SDNS

Prevalence of silver resistance determinants and extended-spectrum β-lactamases in bacterial species causing wound infection: First report from Bangladesh

Background: The use of silver is rapidly rising in wound care and silver-containing dressings are widely used along with other antibiotics, particularly β-lactams. Consequently, concerns are being raised regarding the emergence of silver-resistance and cross-resistance to β-lactams. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the phenotypic and genotypic profiles of silver-resistance and extended-spectrum β-lactamases in isolates from chronic wounds. Methods: 317 wound swab specimens were collected from tertiary hospitals of Dhaka city and analysed for the microbial identification. The antibiotic resistance/susceptibility profiles were determined and phenotypes of silver resistant isolates were examined. The presence of silver-resistance (sil) genes (silE, silP, and silS) and extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) (CTX-M-1, NDM-1, KPC, OXA-48, and VIM-1) were explored in isolated microorganisms. Results: A total of 501 strains were isolated with Staphylococcus aureus (24%) as the predominant organism. In 29% of the samples, polymicrobial infections were observed. A large proportion of Enterobacterales (59%) was resistant to carbapenems and a significantly high multiple antibiotic-resistance indexes (>0.2) were seen for 53% of organisms (P ​< ​0.001). According to molecular analysis, the most prevalent types of ESBL and sil gene were CTX-M-1 (47%) and silE (42%), respectively. Furthermore, phenotypic silver-nitrate susceptibility testing showed significant minimum-inhibitory-concentration patterns between sil-negative and sil-positive isolates. We further observed co-occurrence of silver-resistance determinants and ESBLs (65%). Conclusions: Notably, this is the first-time detection of silver-resistance along with its co-detection with ESBLs in Bangladesh. This research highlights the need for selecting appropriate treatment strategies and developing new alternative therapies to minimize microbial infection in wounds

High resolution melting curve analysis enables rapid and reliable detection of G6PD variants in heterozygous females

Abstract Background Like glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient hemizygous males and homozygous females, heterozygous females could also manifest hemolytic crisis, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia or kernicterus upon exposure to oxidative stress induced by certain foods such as fava beans, drugs or infections. Although hemizygous males and homozygous females are easily detected by conventional G6PD enzyme assay method, the heterozygous state could be missed by the conventional methods as the mosaic population of both normal and deficient RBCs circulates in the blood. Thus the present study aimed to apply high resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis approach to see whether HRM could be used as a supplemental approach to increase the chance of detection of G6PD heterozygosity. Results Sixty-three clinically suspected females were evaluated for G6PD status using both enzyme assay and HRM analysis. Four out of sixty-three participants came out as G6PD deficient by the enzyme assay method, whereas HRM approach could identify nine participants with G6PD variants, one homozygous and eight heterozygous. Although only three out of eight heterozygous samples had G6PD enzyme deficiency, the HRM-based heterozygous G6PD variants detection for the rest of the samples with normal G6PD enzyme activities could have significance because their newborns might fall victim to serious consequences under certain oxidative stress. Conclusions In addition to the G6PD enzyme assay, HRM curve analysis could be useful as a supplemental approach for detection of G6PD heterozygosity