New prenylated flavonoids from the leaves of Dodonea viscosa native to the Sultanate of Oman

AbstractTraditionally, in Oman, the whole plant is used to treat the body, including treatment of anaemia, arthritis and skin inflammation. Crude extracts were prepared from the leaves of Dodonea viscosa (D. viscosa) using different polarities of solvents to isolate flavonoid compounds from the highest activity crude extract of the selected plant species collected from AL-Jabal AL Akhdar, Nizwa. The plant samples were collected, processed and extracted with methanol using a hot extraction method. The prepared crude extract was dissolved in water and successively fractioned with different polarities of solvents to produce hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water crude extracts. The chloroform crude extract was used for the isolation of flavonoid compounds by thin layer chromatography, column chromatography and preparative thin layer chromatography. The free radical scavenging activity of the isolated pure compound and the different polarities of crude extracts were determined using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method.The highest antioxidant activity in crude extracts from the leaves of D. viscosa was in the hexane and chloroform crude extracts, and the lowest activity was in the water crude extract, followed by hexane > chloroform > ethyl acetate > methanol > butanol > water crude extracts. One new prenylated flavonoid along with one known compound were isolated from the chloroform crude extract of D. viscosa and were identified by their chemical structures using mass spectrometry, one and two dimension nuclear magnetic resonance. The isolated pure compound also showed significant antioxidant activity against DPPH. This is the first report of antioxidant compounds in the leaves of D. viscosa. The results obtained from this study might be a good natural antioxidant from the selected plant crude extracts

Some Aspects of Reproduction in Amblypharyngodonmola from Sylhet, Northeast Bangladesh

Themolacarplet,Amblypharyngodonmola(Hamilton,1822)isthemostcommonsmallindige-nous freshwater fish species in Bangladesh. The precise information addressing the reproduction in this species including breeding peak, ovarian histology, morphometry, and sex ration in nature is still insufficient. A one yearlong filed survey and different laboratory assays have been directed to disclose some key features of reproduction in female A. mola from wetland reservoirs in the great-er Sylhet region in Bangladesh. The total length and the body weight have shown a strong correla-tionwithgonadweight,occupyingstatisticalr2valuesof0.89and0.91,respectively.However,aChi-square test at P lt;0.05 reported no significant deviation in sex ration of the wetland’s stock. The maximum fecundity has been reported during the month of May as 12569+620 while the lowest is duringthemonthofJulyas9377+455.ThehighestvaluesforgonadosomaticindexhavebeenreportedinMaywhilethelowestisinJanuarywithanotherpeakinNovember.Thehistologicalstudy of ovarian cells resulted in the characterization of oocytes, previtellogenic oocytes, vitello-genic oocytes, perinuclear oocytes, and mature cells with yolk mass

Harnessing Data-Driven Insights: Predictive Modeling for Diamond Price Forecasting using Regression and Classification Techniques

In the multi-faceted world of gemology, understanding diamond valuations plays a pivotal role for traders, customers, and researchers alike. This study delves deep into predicting diamond prices in terms of exact monetary values and broader price categories. The purpose was to harness advanced machine learning techniques to achieve precise estimations and categorisations, thereby assisting stakeholders in informed decision-making. The research methodology adopted comprised a rigorous data preprocessing phase, ensuring the data's readiness for model training. A range of sophisticated machine learning models were employed, from traditional linear regression to more advanced   ensemble methods like Random Forest and Gradient Boosting. The dataset was also transformed to facilitate classification into predefined price tiers, exploring the viability of models like Logistic Regression and Support Vector Machines in this context. The conceptual model encompasses a systematic flow, beginning with data acquisition, transitioning through preprocessing, regression, and classification analyses, and culminating in a comparative study of the performance metrics. This structured approach underscores the originality and value of our research, offering a holistic view of diamond price prediction from both regression and classification lenses. Findings from the analysis highlighted the superior performance of the Random Forest regressor in predicting exact prices with an R2 value of approximately 0.975. In contrast, for classification into price tiers, both Logistic Regression and Support Vector Machines emerged as frontrunners with an accuracy exceeding 95%. These results provide invaluable insights for stakeholders in the diamond industry, emphasising the potential of machine learning in refining valuation processes

Evaluation of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of seed crude extracts of Ammi majus grown in Oman

AbstractAmmi majus has long been used as an herbal medicine in several countries for skin disorders, regulation of menstruation and for conditions in which diuresis is indicated. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of the crude extracts of locally growing Ammi majus (A. majus). Initially, methanol crude extract was prepared from powdered seed samples of A. majus by applying Soxhlet extraction method. Successive extracts were then derived by suspending methanol free crude extract in water followed by successive extraction with solvents of different polarities in an order of increasing polarity. The evaluations of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of seed crude extracts of A. majus were determined by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), agar disc diffusion and Artemia lethality methods, respectively. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in case of chloroform crude extract whereas the lowest activity was corresponding to methanol crude extract. However, the highest IC50 value was obtained with chloroform crude extract but the lowest result was observed in case of ethyl acetate crude extract. All crude extracts of A. majus displayed moderate antimicrobial activity against one Gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and three Gram negative bacteria, namely Escherichia coli (E. coli), Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae), and Proteus spp (Proteus spp), with growth inhibition zone of 0–15 mm. The cytotoxic activity results showed that all crude extracts of the seed had killed all the Artemia larvae at a concentration of 1000 µg/mL, being the highest for all extracts. However, regarding the overall magnitude of cytotoxic effect, chloroform crude extract showed the highest activity followed in a diminishing order by hexane, methanol, ethyl acetate, butanol and water crude extract. As such, the highest lethality was observed in case of chloroform crude extract where the lethal concentration (LC50) was 49.16 µg/mL, whereas the lowest lethal concentration was seen with water crude extract where the LC50 was 652.38 µg/mL. The present study demonstrates that all seed crude extracts of A. majus have significant antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects. These results warrant follow up bioassay intended for isolation of the active compounds from this plant

Investigating the Impact of Marketing Mix Elements on Tourists ‘Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on East Lake

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of marketing mix elements on tourists’ satisfaction. The data for this study were collected verified structured questionnaire from sample of 132 students from Wuhan University of Technology and Huazhong Normal University P.R. China. Target respondents were visited East Lake. Data were analyzed by using software SPSS-17 version by adopting the statistical techniques, correlation and regression. The findings of the study showed that six out of seven marketing mix elements were positively related to tourists’ satisfaction but price imposed by the authority is not satisfactory to the visitors’. Besides, some of the facilities and services did not meet visitor’s expectation. Therefore some recommendations have been given for policy makers for future improvement and to position this place in the tourists’ mind. Key words: Marketing mix elements, Tourism, Tourists’ satisfaction

Reproductive biology of Gagora catfish (Arius gagora) at Meghna river system, Kushiara River, Bangladesh

The gagora catfish, Arius gagora is a species of Ariidae family normally exist in estuaries and tidal rivers of Bangladesh and India. In the present study, the reproductive biology of A. gagora was assessed in Meghna River system at Kushiara River. Length-weight relationship was found strongly correlated for male (r2 = 0.98), female (r2 = 0.97) and combined sex (r2 = 0.81), respectively. Chi-square tests revealed no significant difference between sex ratios round the year and not deviated from the expected value of 1:1 (χ2 = 5.57) and the critical chi-square value calculated was 143.25. The fecundity found to be ranged from 43333.12±829.83 to 53948.81±1743.28 in April to August. The relationship of fecundity with ovary weight (r2 = 0.79), ovary length (r2 = 0.88), total length (r2 = 0.85) and total weight (r2 = 0.68) were found positively correlated. Monthly study of gonadosomatic index (GSI) revealed that the breeding season for this fish species may be between July to August with a single peak spawning month in August. Size at sexual maturity was estimated as 30.01 cm total length. Fulton's condition factor (K) value varied in both males and females and indicates that the overall health condition of both the male and female were excellent. Breeding season was found significantly correlated with rainfall, but not with other biological, meteorological, and hydrological parameters. Ovarian development of A. gagora was assessed macroscopically and three broad gonad developmental stages were identified. Maturity was specified based on the presence of green egg in the peritoneal cavity. These findings should benefit and improve the sustainable management and conservation of this species both in Bangladesh and its bordering countries

Delicar: A smart deep learning based self driving product delivery car in perspective of Bangladesh

The rapid expansion of a country’s economy is highly dependent on timely product distribution, which is hampered by terrible traffic congestion. Additional staff are also required to follow the delivery vehicle while it transports documents or records to another destination. This study proposes Delicar, a self-driving product delivery vehicle that can drive the vehicle on the road and report the current geographical location to the authority in real-time through a map. The equipped camera module captures the road image and transfers it to the computer via socket server programming. The raspberry pi sends the camera image and waits for the steering angle value. The image is fed to the pre-trained deep learning model that predicts the steering angle regarding that situation. Then the steering angle value is passed to the raspberry pi that directs the L298 motor driver which direction the wheel should follow. Based upon this direction, L298 decides either forward or left or right or backwards movement. The 3-cell 12V LiPo battery handles the power supply to the raspberry pi and L298 motor driver. A buck converter regulates a 5V 3A power supply to the raspberry pi to be working. Nvidia CNN architecture has been followed, containing nine layers including five convolution layers and three dense layers to develop the steering angle predictive model. Geoip2 (a python library) retrieves the longitude and latitude from the equipped system’s IP address to report the live geographical position to the authorities. After that, Folium is used to depict the geographical location. Moreover, the system’s infrastructure is far too low-cost and easy to install.publishedVersio

Effects of Salinity on Growth Performance and Blood Parameters of Butter Catfish, Ompok bimaculatus

Thestudywasconductedinlaboratoryconditionstoevaluatetheeffectsofsalinityongrowth,survival,andbloodchemistryofbuttercatfish,Ompokbimaculatusfingerlings.Thefry,initiallysized as 7.01 cm length and 1.69 g weight, were assigned in four different salinity treatments i.e., 0 ppt (TC), 2 ppt (T1), 4 ppt (T2) and 8 ppt (T3) with three replications, with 21 fry in each replication as well. Fish were fed commercial catfish diets with 43% protein and 8% lipid at 5% body weight three times a day for 90 days. The control (TC) treatment showed the significantly highest growth perfor-mance among treatments, (p lt;0.05). The T3 treatment group showed a lethal parameter and all fish died within 72 hours of exposure to it. The survival rate was recorded as 90.47% for Tc, 71.43% for T1 and 47.61% for T2 treatment. The mean weight and length gain 6.17 g and 4.93 cm observed in T1 followed by 4.59 g and 3.06 cm in T2 treatment. The specific growth rate (SGR) (%) mean weight gain, length gain, average daily weight gain, average daily length gain and percentage length gain were (%) found to be significantly higher in Tc in comparison to those in the salinity treated groups (p lt;0.05).SignificantlyhigherhemoglobinandWBCwereobservedinTcamongtreatmentsandhad the lowest value recorded in T1 and T2. There were no significant changes between RBC counts among treatments

INDUCED SPAWNING AND LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF VIETNAMESE KOI, Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792), USING SALMON GONADOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE ANALOGUE (S-GnRHA)

The present research work has been carried out to obtain evidence on breeding and embryonic growth of A. testudineus by using S-GnRHa. Fish were injected with three different doses (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mL/kg body weight) of synthetic hormone S-GnRHa each with three replications, where male brood fish received half of the doses of female. The fecundity of A. testudineus was ranged from 47,227 to 77,561 during the study period and except control group all the hormone received group ovulated within 12 hours of hormone injection. Among all groups, the highest fertilization rate (89.33%), highest hatching rate (79.5%) as well as highest survival rate (67.0%) was obtained at 0.5 mL/kg body weight hormone dose recipient group. The fertilized egg’s diameter was recorded as 77.59 ± 3.50 µm. The first cleavage had appeared within 18-25 min of fertilization and eventually the morula, blastula, and gastrula stages were observed at 3:10 h, 4 h, and 5:30 h, respectively after fertilization. Larvae with distinguished head, body form and tail appendage spotted between 17-22 h and the larvae started hatching at 19 h after fertilization. The average length of larvae accounted as 105.41 ± 3.73 µm. The findings of present study revealed that 0.5 mL/kg S-GnRHa could be efficient dose for successful induced breeding of A. testudineus

Gingival health status of patients treated with full veneer crown and contra lateral natural tooth : A comparative study

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the gingival health of patients treated with full veneer crown (FVC) restoration with the contralateral natural tooth of that patients in different stages of treatment. Materials and methods: This study compared the gingival health status of 30 endodontically treated posterior teeth with FVC and 30 contralateral natural teeth of 19 patients in terms of gingival index, and plaque index. These patients have been examined from July 2017 to June 2019 in the Dept. of Prosthodontics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital. The gingival health was assessed with gingival index and plaque index by Leo H in different stages of treatment, also compared with the contralateral natural teeth. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22) according to the study objectives. Results: Tooth with FVC restoration found high gingival index and plaque index compared to a contralateral natural tooth in different stages of treatment. The mean differences of the gingival index were not significant at baseline, 4th month visits, but it was significant, and highly significant at 8th month, 12th month follow-up visits respectively. The mean differences in plaque index were found significant in all visits except 12th month visit. The gingival index and plaque index increased from baseline to 4th, 8th,12th month visits gradually both in abutments and contralateral natural teeth. Conclusion: If the FVC is fabricated with maintaining proper anatomical contour, equigingival margin with proper marginal adaptation, despite maintaining oral hygiene as well as the general health of patients there is a chance of development of adverse effects on gingival health in comparison to the contralateral natural tooth