Realization of resistorless floating inductor using modified CDTA

This paper briefly introduces a modified current differencing trans-conductance amplifier (M-CDTA) and its application in the simple realization of floating inductors. The proposed inductor is positive floating and lossless type offering the advantage of wider frequency bandwidth. The resulting equivalent inductance has been realized using one M-CDTA and one grounded capacitor and its inductance value can be adjusted electronically by proper tuning of the bias current. Results demonstrating the behavior of the circuit and its application confirming the theoretical analysis are verified through PSPICE simulations

Rescheduling of wet season (T. Aman) rice planting for cropping intensification in coastal Bangladesh

About 1.0 million ha coastal lands in Bangladesh are mono-cropped suffer from varying degree of soil salinity, waterlogging and climate vulnerability. Low yielding, traditional T. Aman rice is grown only in wet season. Growing non-rice crop after late harvested T. Aman rice is not profitable. This study was aimed to introduce high yielding, short duration T. Aman rice varieties for advancing its harvesting time and to make the avenue for timely establishment of dry season crops. Varietal trials were made at Dacope and Amtali under ACIAR funded project during 2016-2018 and compared with local cultivars. Among tested varieties BRRI dhan76 followed by BRRI dhan77 and BRRI dhan54 in Dacope and BRRI dhan77 followed by BRRI dhan76 and BRRI dhan54 in Amtali were preferred for 0.5–1.0 tha−1 yield advantage and 15–25 days earliness compared to traditional varieties. Early harvesting of T. Aman created the avenue of timely establishment of rice and non-rice crops depending on availability of fresh water and thus crop intensification and land productivity was improved. The new cropping system increased annual rice yield and farmers’ profits by 1.5- to 2-folds compared with traditional system without environmental degradation. This technique can be replicated in similar coastal zones of Bangladesh

Emphysematous pyelonephritis

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is an acute necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma, prompt diagnosis and early treatment is crucial because of the high rate of mortality. We report a case of a 55-year-old female patient with ten-year history of diabetes mellitus presented with pain in right flank, fever and malaise. She was diagnosed as a case of emphyse­matous pyelonephritis, and was successfully treated in our department. The case is presented along with a literature review

Drug-Survival Profiling of Second-Line Biologic Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Choice of Another TNFi or a Biologic of Different Mode of Action?

OBJECTIVES: Aiming to assess the best choice of second-line therapy between second-line TNF-inhibitor (TNFi) and biologics of different mode of action (BDMA-rituximab/tocilizumab/abatacept) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by assessing their drug-survival spanning more that 10years, after discontinuation of the first-line TNFi. METHODS: This retrospective-observational drug-survival study was performed across 2-different hospitals in UK by conventional-statistics and machine-learning approach. RESULTS: From a total of 435-patients, 213 [(48.9%); TNFi-n=122 (57.3%), BDMA-n=91(42.7%)] discontinued their second-line biologic [median-drug-survival: TNFi-27months (95%CI 22-32months) vs BDMA-37months (95%CI 32-52months)]. As second-line, BDMA was likely to reduce the risk of treatment-discontinuation [Hazard-ratio/HR-0.63 (95%CI 0.48-0.83)] compared to TNFi, but only in seropositive-patients [HR-0.52 (95%CI 0.38-0.73)], not in seronegative-RA. Uncovered by the survival-tree and adjusted by propensity-score, drug-survival benefit of BDMA over TNFi was not observed if the seropositive-patients were previously exposed to monoclonal-TNFi (HR-0.77, 95% CI 0.49-1.22) versus soluble TNFi (etanercept or its biosimilar) or if first-line TNFi was terminated within 23.9months of initiation (HR-0.97, 95%CI 0.56-1.68). CONCLUSION: BDMA, as second-line biologic, is more likely to be sustained in seropositive-patients particularly if they were previously not exposed monoclonal TNFi. Drug-survival benefit of BDMA was not observed in seronegative-patients or if the first-line TNFi was stopped within 2 years

An integrated method for identifying present status and risk of drought in Bangladesh

The occurrence and severity of agricultural droughts may not be dependent upon climatic variables alone. Rather increasingly, drought is affected by human interventions such as irrigation. Anthropogenic activity has introduced uncertainty in the assessment of current drought and future drought risk in many parts of the world; neither climatic nor remote sensing data alone are able to assess drought conditions effectively. In response, we present a simple approach to assess drought by combining a remote sensing-based drought index, the Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI), climate data (i.e., rainfall and temperature), and field observations to evaluate recent drought conditions in northwestern Bangladesh (NWB). Applying this approach, we gained five insights: (i) the TVDI successfully indicated the drought conditions of NWB and agrees with field observations, (ii) the integrated use of TVDI and climate data (such as rainfall and temperature) provides the best understanding of the difference between meteorological drought and droughts resulting from surface moisture conditions, (iii) the TVDI results agree with rainfall data (r2 = 0.40 in March and r2 = 46 in April) in a part of the study area (NWB) where irrigation is not available, (iv) the TVDI can be used along with climate data to predict the potential risk of drought, and (v) while meteorological drought exists due to low rainfall and high temperature in this NWB in pre-monsoon season, because of widespread irrigation practices, meteorological drought is unable to trigger agricultural drought over most parts of the study area. The findings imply that there is a potential risk of drought in NWB, since any disruption of irrigation water supply could trigger a severe agricultural drought over the whole region. This is similar to what is currently observed over a small part of NW

Impact of Internal Factors on the Profitability of Banks: A Case of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh

The internal factors of the bank have a great influence on the profitability of the banks. This study is an effort to disclose the effect of bank’s internal factors on return on equity (ROE), return on asset (ROA), and net interest margin (NIM) of ten selected commercial banks in Bangladesh for the period of 2011-2015. Researchers used descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis as statistics tools to find out the results. The findings from descriptive statistics indicate that Eastern Bank Limited was ranked first regarding profitability. The correlation test found that total equity to total asset ratio (TETA) and cost to income ratio (CIR) significantly affects the ROA whereas loan to deposit ratio had significant positive effect on the NIM of the banks. The regression analysis revealed that the independent variables of the banks were significant enough to explain the variation of the dependent variables (ROA, ROE, and NIM) of the study

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals toward the novel coronavirus during the early stage of COVID-19 in a lower-and-middle income country, Bangladesh

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection because of their direct exposure to suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients in healthcare facilities. This condition is even more acute in low-and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the poor healthcare settings of Bangladesh, it is challenging to halt the spread of infection without proper knowledge, attitudes, and good behavioral practices (KAPs). Therefore, this study conducted a cross-sectional study from May 5 to 31, 2020, with 203 healthcare professionals to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19. Participants were doctors, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals. A self-administered questionnaire including several KAP-related items aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines was distributed over various online platforms to collect data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the factors influencing KAP levels. The majority of participants were male (52.22%). The prevalence of high knowledge levels, positive attitudes, and good practices were 51.23, 45.81, and 49.75%, respectively. Social media was the most common source for seeking coronavirus information. Workers at private institutions were less likely (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.30–0.95, p < 0.05) to be knowledgeable than workers at public institutions. Doctors had more positive attitudes than other healthcare professionals. Older participants showed high rates of good behavioral practices (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.06–1.32, p < 0.05) than younger ones. Workers at private institutions had a better practice level toward COVID-19 (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.17–3.83) than those at public institutions. These results point to the necessity for proper training programs for medical professionals that help them gain confidence to deliver the correct treatment to their patients and the need to implement preventative steps during pandemics

Prevalence of risk factors for hypertension: a cross-sectional study in an urban area of Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The prevalence of hypertension is increasing in Bangladesh, especially in urban areas. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors in an urban area of Bangladesh. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey involving participants aged ≥ 25 years in an urban area in Dhaka between June-December 2012, using multi-stage random sampling. Data on socioeconomic status, tobacco use, physical activity, diet, extra-salt use, family history of hypertension, CVD, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were collected using modified WHO-STEPS protocol. Hypertension and pre-hypertension were defined according to JNC-7. Multiple logistic regressions models were used to identify risk factors associated with hypertension. RESULTS: The overall age-adjusted prevalence hypertension and pre-hypertension among 730 participants was 23.7% and 19%, respectively, which was higher among males compared to females (23.6% vs 21.71% and 21.7% vs 17.0%, respectively). Bivariate analysis showed significant relationship of hypertension with age, BMI, no physical activity, tobacco use, extra salt intake and family history of stroke/cardiovascular disease. In the multivariate model, factors significantly associated with hypertension were older age (OR 19.18, 95% CI 13.58-28.11), smoking (OR 3.47, 95% CI 2.85-5.19), extra salt intake (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04-2.21), and high waist circumference (OR 3.41, 95% CI 2.81-5.29). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension was high among our study participants. Population-based intervention programs and policies for increased awareness about the risk factors, and life-style modification are essential for prevention of hypertension