ROLE OF WOMEN FOR FOOD SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN BANGLADESH

Empowering women has multiple benefits for women themselves and for their families and communities. In Bangladesh, rural women are involved in different income generating activities. As a result, their empowerments are increasing beside the food security, environment and nutrition. The main focus of the study was to determine the women empowerment status through the participation for organic agriculture, food security, environment and nutrition, and to examine the selected characteristics of the rural women. Data were collected January to March, 2013 through pre-tested interview schedule from randomly selected 105 respondent from three villages of Pabna Sadar Upazilla. The selected ten characteristics of the rural women were considered as the independent variable while their empowerment status through participation in IGAs was the dependent variable. Majority (67.62 percent) of the women were medium empowered while 12.38 and 20.00 percent were highly and lowly empowered respectively. Among the six indicators or aspects of empowerment the mean participation in decision making of the respondents was the highest (19.46) and access to service providers was the lowest (10.11). The findings also revealed that the mean of contribution to household agriculture activity was 18.25, access to resources was 15.48 and access to information was 14.32. In the study area, majority of the respondent women were middle aged category, illiterate, medium family size, small farm size, medium family income, medium agricultural knowledge, short training experience, medium socio-economic status, medium attitude and very slight fatalistic category

An Ontology-based Approach for Model Representation, Sharing and Reuse

Although Decision Support Systems (DSS) play a dominant role in organizing data and models, its capability in supporting decision makers in collaborating distributed environments is still limited when it comes to the selection, sharing, and re-use of models. For mathematical models to be shared and reused, mechanisms are needed for understanding, implementing, modifying, discovering, selecting, engaging, and composing models. At a fundamental level, model representation will need to extend beyond model structure to include model semantics as well. This research leverages advances in Semantic Web technologies and ontologies to enable sharing and re-using of decision models by providing enriched semantics in collaborative decision making environments. The proposed approach builds on structured modeling (SM) as an underlying modeling formalism and is illustrated using the Web Ontology Language (OWL). A case study demonstrates the viability of the approach for capturing model semantics models using ontologies

Mutations at the same residue (R50) of Kir6.2 (KCNJ11) that cause neonatal diabetes produce different functional effects

Heterozygous mutations in the human Kir6.2 gene (KCNJ11), the pore-forming subunit of the ATP-sensitive K(+) channel (K(ATP) channel), are a common cause of neonatal diabetes. We identified a novel KCNJ11 mutation, R50Q, that causes permanent neonatal diabetes (PNDM) without neurological problems. We investigated the functional effects this mutation and another at the same residue (R50P) that led to PNDM in association with developmental delay. Wild-type or mutant Kir6.2/SUR1 channels were examined by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes. Both mutations increased resting whole-cell currents through homomeric and heterozygous K(ATP) channels by reducing channel inhibition by ATP, an effect that was larger in the presence of Mg(2+). However the magnitude of the reduction in ATP sensitivity (and the increase in the whole-cell current) was substantially larger for the R50P mutation. This is consistent with the more severe phenotype. Single-R50P channel kinetics (in the absence of ATP) did not differ from wild type, indicating that the mutation primarily affects ATP binding and/or transduction. This supports the idea that R50 lies in the ATP-binding site of Kir6.2. The sulfonylurea tolbutamide blocked heterozygous R50Q (89%) and R50P (84%) channels only slightly less than wild-type channels (98%), suggesting that sulfonylurea therapy may be of benefit for patients with either mutation

Preliminary results of electrical characterization of GO towards MCF7 and MCF10a at different concentrations

GO is the 2D carbon sheet with additional functional groups, is more stable in various solvents, easy to be produced and manipulated especially in biological system. At the moment, GO is only utilized as the drug delivery agent during treatment. In this study, the resistivity of GO towards breast cancer cell (MCF7) and normal breast cell (MCF10a) using interdigitated electrodes (IDE) were investigated. The interaction of different concentrations of GO as the sensing material on the tested cells which act as analyte can change electrical response. The tested cell were treated with six different concentrations of GO and was dropped to the IDE with different period of time in order to examine electrical behavior. For MCF10a, at high concentration the resistances of MCF10 remain in the same order of magnitude with increasing time of detection while for MCF7 at high concentration, the resistances were greatly influenced by the time of detection where the value significantly changed after 5 minutes and 10 minutes. The number of viable cell does not give effect to the resistance

EFL paraphrasing skills with QuillBot: Unveiling students' enthusiasm and insights

EFL students' attitudes are crucial for the development of writing abilities, which in the age of cutting-edge technology depend extensively on artificial intelligence -mediated tools, and paraphrasing draws no exception. Therefore, this study aims to identify English as a foreign language student’s enthusiasm and insights about utilizing QuillBot to improve their paraphrasing skills. To achieve the study objectives, the quasi-experimental design was employed. Thirty-one preparatory year students were recruited to answer a questionnaire and semi-structured interview having verified the validity and reliability of the instruments. The sample of the test demonstrated that students improved their performance in synonyms, sentence structure, and word choice. The respondents hold high enthusiasm and insights toward utilizing QuillBot to improve their paraphrasing skills. In addition, students had positive feelings about utilizing QuillBot to improve their paraphrasing skills. In light of the findings, the researchers recommended employing QuillBot in a writing class while learning paraphrasing skills

Ethnic differences in Glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus living in Scotland

Background and Aims: Previous studies have investigated the association between ethnicity and processes of care and intermediate outcomes of diabetes, but there are limited population-based studies available. The aim of this study was to use population-based data to investigate the relationships between ethnicity and glycaemic control in men and women with diabetes mellitus living in Scotland.<p></p> Methods: We used a 2008 extract from the population-based national electronic diabetes database of Scotland. The association between ethnicity with mean glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus was examined in a retrospective cohort study, including adjustment for a number of variables including age, sex, socioeconomic status, body mass index (BMI), prescribed treatment and duration of diabetes.<p></p> Results: Complete data for analyses were available for 56,333 White Scottish adults, 2,535 Pakistanis, 857 Indians, 427 Chinese and 223 African-Caribbeans. All other ethnic groups had significantly (p<0.05) greater proportions of people with suboptimal glycaemic control (HbA1c >58 mmol/mol, 7.5%) compared to the White Scottish group, despite generally younger mean age and lower BMI. Fully adjusted odds ratios for suboptimal glycaemic control were significantly higher among Pakistanis and Indians (1.85, 95% CI: 1.68–2.04, and 1.62,95% CI: 1.38–1.89) respectively.<p></p> Conclusions: Pakistanis and Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus were more likely to have suboptimal glycaemic control than the white Scottish population. Further research on health services and self-management are needed to understand the association between ethnicity and glycaemic control to address ethnic disparities in glycaemic control.<p></p&gt

Characterization and optimization of heroin hapten-BSA conjugates: method development for the synthesis of reproducible hapten-based vaccines

A potential new treatment for drug addiction is immunization with vaccines that induce antibodies that can abrogate the addictive effects of the drug of abuse. One of the challenges in the development of a vaccine against drugs of abuse is the availability of an optimum procedure that gives reproducible and high yielding hapten-protein conjugates. In this study, a heroin/morphine surrogate hapten (MorHap) was coupled to bovine serum albumin (BSA) using maleimide-thiol chemistry. MorHap-BSA conjugates with 3, 5, 10, 15, 22, 28, and 34 haptens were obtained using different linker and hapten ratios. Using this optimized procedure, MorHap-BSA conjugates were synthesized with highly reproducible results and in high yields. The number of haptens attached to BSA was compared by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) assay, modified Ellman’s test and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Among the three methods, MALDI-TOF MS discriminated subtle differences in hapten density. The effect of hapten density on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) performance was evaluated with seven MorHap-BSA conjugates of varying hapten densities, which were used as coating antigens. The highest antibody binding was obtained with MorHap-BSA conjugates containing 3–5 haptens. This is the first report that rigorously analyzes, optimizes and characterizes the conjugation of haptens to proteins that can be used for vaccines against drugs of abuse. The effect of hapten density on the ELISA detection of antibodies against haptens demonstrates the importance of careful characterization of the hapten density by the analytical techniques described. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00216-014-8035-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Should physical activity recommendations be ethnicity-specific? Evidence from a cross-sectional study of south Asian and European men

Background Expert bodies and health organisations recommend that adults undertake at least 150 min.week−1 of moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA). However, the underpinning data largely emanate from studies of populations of European descent. It is unclear whether this level of activity is appropriate for other ethnic groups, particularly South Asians, who have increased cardio-metabolic disease risk compared to Europeans. The aim of this study was to explore the level of MPA required in South Asians to confer a similar cardio-metabolic risk profile to that observed in Europeans undertaking the currently recommended MPA level of 150 min.week−1.<p></p> Methods Seventy-five South Asian and 83 European men, aged 40–70, without cardiovascular disease or diabetes had fasted blood taken, blood pressure measured, physical activity assessed objectively (using accelerometry), and anthropometric measures made. Factor analysis was used to summarise measured risk biomarkers into underlying latent ‘factors’ for glycaemia, insulin resistance, lipid metabolism, blood pressure, and overall cardio-metabolic risk. Age-adjusted regression models were used to determine the equivalent level of MPA (in bouts of ≥10 minutes) in South Asians needed to elicit the same value in each factor as Europeans undertaking 150 min.week−1 MPA.<p></p> Findings For all factors, except blood pressure, equivalent MPA values in South Asians were significantly higher than 150 min.week−1; the equivalent MPA value for the overall cardio-metabolic risk factor was 266 (95% CI 185-347) min.week−1.<p></p> Conclusions South Asian men may need to undertake greater levels of MPA than Europeans to exhibit a similar cardio-metabolic risk profile, suggesting that a conceptual case can be made for ethnicity-specific physical activity guidance. Further study is needed to extend these findings to women and to replicate them prospectively in a larger cohort.<p></p&gt