The relationship between pretest, posttest and course evaluation in the training courses of Ericsson Malaysia

This research explores the relationship between pretest, posttest and course evaluation in different groups of training in Ericsson. Ericsson Education has many training programs. Soine courses are attended by Ericsson staff only. Some courses are attended by customers' (non-Ericsson) staff only. Soine courses are inixed group. Customers of Ericsson are inostly telecommunication operators. Some trainees are from Malaysia and some trainees are from other countries especially from Asia Pacific region. Some courses are conducted in Ericsson Malaysia. Some courses are conducted in customer site whether in Malaysia or overseas. This research revealed the relationship between the tests for different groups with the customers' satisfaction (course evaluation). From the study, 3 outcomes were revealed. First, there was no significant difference in terms of test scores between courses -o f Ericsson employees only, customers only and mixed group. Secondly, there was no significant difference between the 3 types of groups with customers' satisfaction. Thirdly, there was no significant difference between test scores with customers' satisfaction. This study should help to improve Ericsson quality of service

Effect of 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP) on meristem culture for virus free seed production of some popular potato varieties in Bangladesh

The present study was undertaken to fix the suitable concentration of 6-benzyl aminopurine on shoot development from meristem for producing virus free potato plantlet. The experiment consisted of five potato cultivars namely Diamant, Heera, Dheera, Granula and Cardinal for meristem culture and four 6-benzyl aminopurine levels namely 0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg/l. As a whole, twenty treatments were allotted in complete randomized design with three replications. Resulted in vitro regenerated plantlets were used as treatment for double antibody sandwich (DAS-), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, while, the infected plant parts were used as positive control. In virus elimination through meristem culture, Cardinal with 1 mg l-1 6-benzyl aminopurine gave maximum number of shoots (2.43 cm) explant-1, whereas, Dheera with 1.5 mg l-1 6-benzyl aminopurine gave the tallest plantlet (5.23 cm). On the other hand, explants of Dheera and Cardinal with 1.5 mg l-1 6-benzyl aminopurine and explants of Diamant, Heera, Granula and Cardinal with 2.0 mg l-1 6-benzyl aminopurine produced no roots. Finally, after DAS-ELISA test, the infected field samples developed yellow color but in vitro regenerated plantlets of all the varieties under study showed 100% virus freeness.Keywords: Virus elimination, meristem culture, virus detection, seed potatoAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2406-241

Phytoplankton Community of Boalia Khal Tributary of the Halda River, Chattogram, Bangladesh

Boalia Khal is one of the important tributaries of the River Halda. The productivity of the Boalia Khal tributary of the Halda River mainly depends on the phytoplankton diversity. A study was conducted for two years period from January 2017 to December 2018 to identify the phytoplankton community of the Boalia Khal tributary. A total of 61 species of phytoplankton under 37 genera belonging to 8 classes were recorded. The dominant group of phytoplankton was 25 species of Diatoms (40.98 %) followed by 18 species of Green Algae (29.5 %), 9 species of Euglenophytes (14.75 %), 7 species of Blue Green Algae (11.48 %), and 2 species of Dinoflagellates (3.28 %). Therefore, the Boalia Khal is a productive ecosystem with a diverse group of phytoplankton species

Perceptions of Information Professionals about Knowledge Management in the Information Institutions of Bangladesh: An Exploratory Study

The main purpose of the study is to explore the perceptions of information professionals about Knowledge Management (KM) in Bangladesh. The study was conducted through survey using a pre-structured questionnaire. A short, well-structured both open and close ended questionnaire was sent 80 information professionals who had been working in different libraries of Bangladesh by post. The respondents were selected from each division of Bangladesh (30 respondents from Dhaka division, 10 each in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal and Sylhet division). We received 40 responses and the response rate was 40 percent. The results of the survey show that 90 percent of the information professionals of Bangladesh first read about KM in literature, but none had taken any courses on KM. 43 percent of the responded information professionals of Bangladesh agreed that KM is just another fad like Total Quality Management (TQM), 50 percent of the information professionals strongly agreed that KM is a new term for what information professionals were already doing. The government of Bangladesh as well as the higher educational institutions should provide better educational opportunities on KM

Comparative evaluation of doxofylline and theophylline in patients of mild bronchial asthma

Background: Asthma is common chronic disease worldwide. Methylxanthines has been used in the treatment of asthma. The study was undertaken to compare two Methylxanthines theophylline and doxofylline at doses recommended and commonly used in clinical practice in Mild Bronchial Asthma Patients.Methods: Study was conducted in patients of Mild Bronchial Asthma in TB and chest disease department of a medical college hospital. It was randomized, prospective and open label. A total of 107 patients were divided in two group .Group I was administered 400 mg theophylline SR once daily and group II was administered doxofylline 400 mg twice a day orally. Spirometric variables symptom score, and adverse effects were recorded on day 0, 7 and 21 of therapy. Data were compared and analysed using SPSS version 16.Results: Results of the study showed that there was significant improvement in spirometric variables and clinical symptom score compared to pretreatment values after medication in both groups on 7th and 21st days of treatment. But there was no statistically significant difference between improvement in theophylline and doxofylline groups with respect to spirometric variables and symptom score. There was no significant difference in two groups with respect to side effects (p>0.05).Conclusions: It is concluded in Patients of mild Bronchial Asthma Theophylline and doxofylline improve the spirometric and clinical symptoms and doxofylline has no advantage over theophylline in terms of either efficacy or safety on the doses commonly used in current clinical practice

Distribution, sources, and pollution levels of toxic metal(loid)s in an urban river (Ichamati), Bangladesh using SOM and PMF modeling with GIS tool

Indexical assessment coupled with a self-organizing map (SOM) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) modeling of toxic metal(loid)s in sediment and water of the aquatic environment provides valuable information from the environmental management perspective. However, in northwest Bangladesh, indexical and modeling assessments of toxic metal(loid)s in surface water and sediment are still rare. Toxic metal(loid)s were measured in sediment and surface water from an urban polluted river (Ichamati) in northwest Bangladesh using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer to assess distribution, pollution levels, sources, and potential environmental risks to the aquatic environment. The mean concentrations (mg/kg) of metal(loid)s in water are as follows: Fe (871) > Mn (382) > Cr (72.4) > Zn (34.2) > Co (20.8) > Pb (17.6) > Ni (16.7) > Ag (14.9) > As (9.0) > Cu (5.63) > Cd (2.65), while in sediment, the concentration follows the order, Fe (18,725) > Mn (551) > Zn (213) > Cu (47.6) > Cr (30.2) > Ni (24.2) > Pb (23.8) > Co (9.61) > As (8.23) > Cd (0.80) > Ag (0.60). All metal concentrations were within standard guideline values except for Cr and Pb for water and Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb, and As for sediment. The outcomes of eco-environmental indices, including contamination and enrichment factors and geo-accumulation index, differed spatially, indicating that most of the sediment sites were moderately to highly polluted by Cd, Zn, and As. Cd and Zn content can trigger ecological risks. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model recognized three probable sources of sediment, i.e., natural source (49.39%), industrial pollution (19.72%), and agricultural source (30.92%), and three possible sources of water, i.e., geogenic source (45.41%), industrial pollution (22.88%), and industrial point source (31.72%), respectively. SOM analysis identified four spatial patterns, e.g., Fe–Mn-Ag, Cd–Cu, Cr-Pb-As-Ni, and Zn–Co in water and three patterns, e.g., Mn-Co–Ni-Cr, Cd-Cu-Pb–Zn, and As-Fe-Ag in sediment. The spatial distribution of entropy water quality index values shows that the southwestern area possesses “poor” quality water. Overall, the levels of metal(loid) pollution in the investigated river surpassed a critical threshold, which might have serious consequences for the river’s aquatic biota and human health in the long run

Nanotechnology-Based Approach in Tuberculosis Treatment

Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is the second most fatal infectious disease after AIDS, caused by bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Prolonged treatment, high pill burden, low compliance, and stiff administration schedules are factors that are responsible for emergence of MDR and XDR cases of tuberculosis. Till date, only BCG vaccine is available which is ineffective against adult pulmonary TB, which is the most common form of disease. Various unique antibodies have been developed to overcome drug resistance, reduce the treatment regimen, and elevate the compliance to treatment. Therefore, we need an effective and robust system to subdue technological drawbacks and improve the effectiveness of therapeutic drugs which still remains a major challenge for pharmaceutical technology. Nanoparticle-based ideology has shown convincing treatment and promising outcomes for chronic infectious diseases. Different types of nanocarriers have been evaluated as promising drug delivery systems for various administration routes. Controlled and sustained release of drugs is one of the advantages of nanoparticle-based antituberculosis drugs over free drug. It also reduces the dosage frequency and resolves the difficulty of low poor compliance. This paper reviews various nanotechnology-based therapies which can be used for the treatment of TB

Checklist of Zooplankton of the Halda River, Chattogram, Bangladesh

The River Halda is one of the important natural breeding grounds of Indian major carp (Labeo rohita, Labeo calbasu, Gibelion catla, Cirrhinus mrigala) in Bangladesh for its unique physicochemical and biological properties of water. The productivity of the Halda ecosystem mainly depends on the plankton diversity. Zooplankton directly affects the productivity of the Halda River ecosystem. Research work was conducted for the two years extending from January 2017 to December 2018 to identify the zooplankton community of the Halda River. A total of 71 species of zooplankton under 37 genera belonging to 9 groups were identified. The dominant group of zooplankton was 44 species of Rotifers (61.98 %) followed by 12 species of Copepods (12.68 %), 5 species of Cladocerans (7.05 %), 3 species of Protozoans (4.22 %), 2 species of Mollusks larvae (2.82 %), 2 species of Insects (2.82 %), 1 species of Cnidarian (1.41 %), 1 species of Nematode (1.41 %) and 1 species of Ostracod (1.41 %). Therefore, the water body of the Halda is eutrophic in its nature

Toxicodynamics of Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Arsenic- induced kidney toxicity and treatment strategy: A mini review

Environmental pollution has become a concerning matter to human beings. Flint water crisis in the USA pointed out that pollution by heavy metal is getting worse day by day, predominantly by Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Arsenic. Despite of not having any biological role in flora and fauna, they exhibit detrimental effect following exposure (acute or chronic). Even at low dose, they affect brain, kidney and heart. Oxidative stress has been termed as cause and effect in heavy metal-induced kidney toxicity. In treatment strategy, different chelating agent, vitamins and minerals are included, though chelating agents has been showed different fatal drawbacks. Interestingly, plants and plants derived compounds had shown possible effectiveness against heavy metals induced kidney toxicity. This review will provide detail information on toxicodynamics of Pb, Cd, Hg and As, treatment strategy along with the possible beneficiary role of plant derived compound to protect kidney. Keywords: Heavy metals, Oxidative stress, Proteinuria, Kidney toxicity, Antioxidan