A study on organic matter and nitrogen dynamics in wetland paddy soils of Bangladesh

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of different sources organic matter along with various level nitrogen fertilizations on nutrient dynamics and physicochemical variation of soil at different incubation periods in the research field of department of soil science, BSMRAU. RS, VC, RHB, CD and PM were used @ 2 t C ha-1 along with N rates 0, 100 and 150 kg ha-1 in a factorial randomized complete block design. Combined application of VC and RHB with N100 dose significantly reduces soil bulk density. PM-treated plot resulted the highest amount of TN at 90 DAT, while RHB treated plot at 45 DAT. N fertilized plot showed maxi-mum TN content at 75 DAT with N150 treatment. Significant interaction effects of OM and N on TN content of soil were exhibited at the incubation period 15, 30 and 45 DAT. Different organic amendment showed a dissimilar nutrient release pattern. Significantly higher phosphorus content was detected in VC treated soil while the S content was in the CD-treated soil. The RHB treated plots provide a significantly higher exchangeable K content in post-harvest soil. The available P, S and exchangeable K contents in post-harvest soil increased positively in all treatments as compared to initial soils. Organic manures and N fertilization had no significant effect on different chemical properties like soil pH, TN, available S and exchangeable K. Significant P enrichment was occurred in organic and N treated soil. Thus, organic and inorganic fertilization had a significant positive influence on the enrichment of physiochemical properties of wetland paddy soil

Comparison of the Knowledge and Practices in Medicine Dispensing between Retail Medicine Shops and Model Pharmacies in Dhaka Metropolis

Model pharmacy has been adopted recently to upgrade the healthcare delivery system in Bangladesh. This study was aimed to analyze and compare the effectiveness of drug dispensing patterns, practices, and knowledge of both clients and dispensers of model pharmacies over traditional retail medicine shops. Two established methods, namely, client simulated method (CSM) and provider interview method (PIM), were employed to determine the practice differences in 90 retail medicine shops and 90 model pharmacies in and around Dhaka city. The results are represented primarily in comparison with corresponding percentages. The survey results did not fully support the findings obtained from the observations of the CSM as PIM contrasted these to some extent, and the differences are statistically significant (p<0.0001). According to CSM, the presence of A-grade pharmacists during working hours in retail medicine shops was 0%, and 63% in model pharmacies. As reported by PIM, in the retail medicine shops, 36% of clients were ignorant of visiting doctors before purchasing medicine. On the other hand, only 18% of clients could visit doctors. As per CSM, 40% of clients did not follow doctors' recommendations for completion of the full dose of antibiotics bought from retail medicine shops and 51% did not finish full antibiotic courses collected from model pharmacies. Additionally, CSM revealed that 28% of the clients administered leftover drugs following old and obsolete prescriptions of retail medicine shops and 21% of clients followed the same practices in terms of model pharmacies. The report of CSM revealed that 95% of dispensers of retail medicine shops sold medicine without prescription except over-the-counter (OTC), and in the model pharmacies, the percentage was 77%. The qualitative findings revealed substandard practices and dispensing pattern too. Model pharmacies were established to prevent aberrant medicine dispensing patterns and ensure proper medication dispensing practices and medicine intake. This research could not verify the situation that pharmacists or owners of model pharmacies were fully abiding by the guidelines set for them by the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA)

A Review on Ship Recycling Industry in Bangladesh from Global Perspective

At present, the global center of the ship breaking and recycling industry is in South Asia, specifically Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. These three countries account for 70–80 percent of the international recycling market for ocean-going vessels, with China and Turkey covering most of the remaining market. Only about 5 percent of global volume is scrapped outside these five countries. Bangladesh has environmentally beneficial coastal region and affordable labor that make the shipbreaking and recycling business as a potential sector for the country. In addition, ship recycling and its related businesses are helping to solve our nation’s unemployment issues at all levels of the population. This study provides a statistical overview of ship recycling industries and the difficulties of this sector with feasible solutions. Firstly, this article tries to demonstrate the statistical analysis of Bangladesh\u27s ship recycling sector from a worldwide viewpoint as well as its contribution to the country\u27s economy. The graphical representation of the number of scrapped ships yearly and their GRT/LDT value shows a good comparison of the development of this industry in Bangladesh as well as other countries. Besides, the average number of breaking ships and their GRT /LDT values for a few years (2012-2021) also represents the growth of the ship breaking and recycling industry. The data in this study is based on public online journal articles, conference papers, reports from organizations (NGOs), reports from the steel and other industries, daily newspaper articles, etc. All of these data have been sorted according to country-wise, number of the scrapped ship, GRT value, etc., and represented by different graphical analyses. Despite the fact that this industry has helped the nation to gain a lot of reputation, it also has some challenges that need to be addressed immediately. The later part of this study discusses those challenges of these industries and finally, certain propositions have been proposed in order to overcome those challenges

Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies in Purchasing Foreign Products: A Study in Afghanistan / Tüketicilerin Etnosentrik Eğilimleri ve Yabancı Ürün Satın Alma Niyetleri: Afganistan’da Bir Araştırma

The major goal of this study is to ascertain the level of ethnocentrism to which Afghan consumers exhibit these tendencies when purchasing products from other countries as well as how their attitudes affect their intention to buy foreign items. It also aims to determine whether gender, marital status and visiting other countries have moderating role or not. Data were collected from 180 respondents in Kabul city, Afghanistan. Descriptive statistics and the structural equation model were used to examine the participant's demographic traits and to test the research Hypotheses. The result of this study shows that Afghan consumers are highly ethnocentric in consuming foreign products. As Afghanistan is an underdeveloped country, Afghan consumers usually evaluate the products and brands of their own countries as inferior to the products and brands of developed countries, and therefore, despite their ethnocentrism, they prefer foreign products. Additionally, gender, marital status and visiting other countries have moderating effects on the variables

Reduced tillage and crop diversification can improve productivity and profitability of rice-based rotations of the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Intensive rice (Oryza sativa)-based cropping systems in south Asia provide much of the calorie and protein requirements of low to middle-income rural and urban populations. Intensive tillage practices demand more resources, damage soil quality, and reduce crop yields and profit margins. Crop diversification along with conservation agriculture (CA)-based management practices may reduce external input use, improve resource-use efficiency, and increase the productivity and profitability of intensive cropping systems. A field study was conducted on loamy soil in a sub-tropical climate in northern Bangladesh to evaluate the effects of three tillage options and six rice-based cropping sequences on grain, calorie, and protein yields and gross margins (GM) for different crops and cropping sequences. The three tillage options were: (1) conservation agriculture (CA) with all crops in sequences untilled, (2) alternating tillage (AT) with the monsoon season rice crop tilled but winter season crops untilled, and (3) conventional tillage (CT) with all crops in sequences tilled. The six cropping sequences were: rice-rice (R-R), rice-mung bean (Vigna radiata) (R-MB), rice-wheat (Triticum aestivum) (R-W), rice-maize (Zea mays) (R-M), rice-wheat-mung bean (R-W-MB), and rice-maize-mung bean (R-M-MB). Over three years of experimentation, the average monsoon rice yield was 8% lower for CA than CT, but the average winter crops yield was 13% higher for CA than CT. Systems rice equivalent yield (SREY) and systems calorie and protein yields were about 5%, 3% and 6%, respectively, higher under CA than CT; additionally, AT added approximately 1% more to these benefits. The systems productivity gain under CA and AT resulted in higher GM by 16% while reducing the labor and total production cost under CA than CT. The R-M rotation had higher SREY, calorie, protein yields, and GM by 24%, 26%, 66%, and 148%, respectively, than the predominantly practiced R-R rotation. The R-W-MB rotation had the highest SREY (30%) and second highest (118%) GM. Considering the combined effect of tillage and cropping system, CA with R-M rotation showed superior performance in terms of SREY, protein yield, and GM. The distribution of labor use and GM across rotations was grouped into four categories: R-W in low-low (low labor use and low GM), R-M in low-high (low labor use and high GM), R-W-MB and R-M-MB in high-high (high labor use and high GM) and R-R and R-MB in high-low (high labor use and low GM). In conclusion, CA performed better than CT in different winter crops and cropping systems but not in monsoon rice. Our results demonstrate the multiple benefits of partial and full CA-based tillage practices employed with appropriate crop diversification to achieve sustainable food security with greater calorie and protein intake while maximizing farm profitability of intensive rice-based rotational systems

Status of ToRCH positivity among the children presented with congenital Hydrocephalus

Introduction: ToRCH is an acronym for four congenital infections that are sometimes difficult to distinguish: Toxoplasmosis, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). This group of organisms produces serious Central Nervous System (CNS) and other infections, which are potentially preventable and treatable.&#x0D; Methods: Neonates and infants with hydrocephalus (N = 65) identified via the outpatient department of the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital (NINS&amp;H), were prospectively screened for ToRCH antibodies. Hydrocephalus secondary to Tumor or Trauma was excluded from this study.&#x0D; Results: Evidence of 75.38 % (p = &lt;0.05) patient was positive for TORCH antibodies. Toxoplasma Gondi (T. Gondii) IgG 18.5 % ( p= &lt;0.05 ), CMV IgM 9.2 % (p = &lt;0.05), CMV Ig G47.7% ( p = &lt;0.5), Rubella, and HSV 1 &amp; 2 antibodies were also identified.&#x0D; Conclusion: The vast majority of cases of neonatal hydrocephalus at one institution was post-infectious in etiology and related to ToRCH infections. Many of these cases could be prevented with improved screening and treatment. While study of a single institution may not be the representative of the entire population, further study and implementation of a standardized screening protocol would likely benefit this population.&#x0D; Bang. J Neurosurgery 2020; 9(2): 121-125</jats:p

Chemical genetics strategies for identification of molecular targets

Chemical genetics is an emerging field that can be used to study the interactions of chemical compounds, including natural products, with proteins. Usually, the identification of molecular targets is the starting point for studying a drug’s mechanism of action and this has been a crucial step in understanding many biological processes. While a great variety of target identification methods have been developed over the last several years, there are still many bioactive compounds whose target proteins have not yet been revealed because no routine protocols can be adopted. This review contains information concerning the most relevant principles of chemical genetics with special emphasis on the different genomic and proteomic approaches used in forward chemical genetics to identify the molecular targets of the bioactive compounds, the advantages and disadvantages of each and a detailed list of successful examples of molecular targets identified with these approaches

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Simulation of weather effect minimization investment : an application to grain drying system design and management in a developing region

Typescript.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1985.Bibliography: leaves 101-106.Microfilm.xxiv, 193 leaves, bound ill. 29 cmThe effect of weather on agricultural production and processing is of vital concern to all farmers. Grain drying systems, especially in the developing world, are complex and weather dependent 0 Because of the large degree of risk due to the random nature of weather, farmers in developing nations have had problems in the adoption of artificial drying. The centralized grain drying facilities are usually designed without considering adequately the random effects of weather. As a result, most grain drying investments are found to be uneconomical. Efficient design and economic operation can only be achieved through better understanding of all the relevant variables and their interrelationships in the entire drying system. A general simulation model for grain drying (WEGDM) was developed ~ including the pertinent weather variables, either stochastic or deterministic, into a meaningful analysis. It is built to be general enough to simulate most grain drying systems. The model consists of three major computer programs, namely, Simulation Program for Weather Variables (SPWV); Simulation Program for Grainflow, Drying and Management (SPGDM); and Simulation Program for Financial Analysis (SPFA). The SPWV program simulates sunny and no-sunny days for grain drying harvest and no-harvest days; wind and no-wind days for grain harvesting; using Markov Transition Probabilities. The SPGDM program simulates the amount of grain flow, moisture content of the grain and grain losses in various stages of grain handling and processing. The program SPFA is designed to calculate and gather all pertinent cost information into a meaningful economic analysis. The Net Present Value (NPV) of cash flow has been considered as a decision criterion of the model. The main program with 23 subroutines in the FORTRAN 77 language has been designed to make the program flexible and easy to follow. The grain paddy and the Los Banos area of the Philippines were chosen for development and verification of this model. The application of the model is extensive. Design of a grain processing complex, economic analysis of an existing plant, feasibility study of a grain drying plant and evaluation of alternative drying strategies are the important areas of application of the model