Colorimetric Sensors of Hg2+ Ion Based on Functionalized Gold and Silver Nanoparticles

Monitoring the levels of toxic Hg2+ metal ion in aquatic environment is important issue because this ion can have adverse effect in human health and environment. Therefore, detection of Hg2+ ion in water is very important issue for improving human health and water quality. Metallic nanoparticles such as gold and silver nanoparticles (AuNPs & AgNPs) have received much attention due to their colorimetric properties as well as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties. AuNPs and AgNPs can easily change their colour (AuNPs: Red to Pink/Blue; AgNPs: Yellow to orange/red) which is easily discriminate by visual inspection. Functionalization of AuNPs and AgNPs offers an excellent application in many scientific worlds as the choice of ligands/functionalizing groups is outmost importance for their colloidal stability and function of the nanoparticles. In this review, we have discussed the colorimetric sensors of gold and silver nanoparticles based on functionalization of organic ligands, polymers, amino acid, and proteins for the detection of Hg2+ ion in aqueous medium

Prevalence and determinants of behavioral risk factors of non-communicable diseases among a selected slum population in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Low and middle income countries and also the underprivileged population both are susceptible for the increased burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the practice of their behavioral risk factors (BRFs) is the main cause. However, these BRFs and their determinants among the slum population of Bangladesh weren’t adequately evaluated. The present study was carried out with the aim to find out the prevalence and determinants of BRFs of NCDs among a selected slum population in Bangladesh.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in purposively selected Rayerbazar slum of Dhaka city, Bangladesh, in 2017. A total of 192 adult (aged 18 to 65 years) residents were enrolled in this study using the convenient sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire, adopted version of World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS instrument was used for data collection. Ascertainments of the risk factors were conducted as per the WHO STEPS guideline. Both descriptive and multivariate statistics were performed using the SPSS software.RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (72.4%) were men, and the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the ages was 37.0 ± 13.6 years. Half (50%) of the respondents were tobacco users. Almost all (98.4%) reported insufficient fruit and vegetables (FAVs) intake. Almost 7 out of 10 (67.7%) of the respondents reported to perform inadequate level of physical activity (PA). However, very negligible (2.6%) proportion of the respondents reported alcohol consumption. The group of the respondents with the age above the mean age (≥ 35 years) reported higher use of tobacco whereas, the group of the respondents with the age below the mean age (< 35 years) reported a higher level of inadequacy of PA.CONCLUSION: BRFs of NCDs were substantial among the selected slum population of Bangladesh, where age was the major determinant. Health promotion and health education measures are recommended for slum population of Bangladesh to aware them of the BRFs of NCDs

Evaluation of Common Antimicrobials against Clinical Isolates: An In Vitro Study

Purpose: In this era of COVID-19, one of the most effective protective measures to prevent respiratory diseases is maintaining hand hygiene. Moreover, the use of hand sanitizer, hand wash, antiseptics, and disinfectants increased abruptly in this outbreak. Materials & Methods: An in vitro antimicrobial potential of twelve antimicrobials were chosen for this study. They were tested for their antibacterial activity using disk diffusion and agar well diffusion methods against eleven clinical isolates from urine, wounds, tracheal aspirate, and sputum. Results: Clinical isolates were presumptively identified using standard microbiological procedures as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter sp., and Streptococcus sp. Among all the antimicrobials, Savlon (family size) antiseptic disinfectant showed the highest zone of inhibition (ZOIs) against most of the bacterial isolates, followed by hand sanitizer Hexisol. Whereas, the least antimicrobial activity was observed by Savlon hand wash, Germ Kill hand sanitizer, and Dabur hand sanitizer among all the tested products. Conclusions: The variability in performance of those twelve products against bacterial pathogens revealed an urge to validate the antibacterial activity of antimicrobials and systematic monitoring of their effectiveness and uniformity in activity against pathogenic microbes

Behavioral Risk Factors of Noncommunicable Diseases Among Medical and Nonmedical Undergraduate Students of Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Background and aims: Behavioral risk factors of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are established during early age and continued into adulthood. In Bangladesh, the scenario of NCD risk factors among students was inadequately studied. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the prevalence of behavioral risk factors of NCDs between undergraduate medical and nonmedical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 undergraduate students (equal number of students from medical and nonmedical backgrounds). Respondents were selected purposively from 5 purposively-selected institutions. Modified WHO STEPS instrument was used for data collection. Respondents were asked about their behavioral risk factors (tobacco use, insufficient fruit and vegetable intake, inadequate physical activity, and alcohol consumption) by face-to-face interviews. Results: Men students were more in both groups. The mean age of the medical and nonmedical students was 22.1±2.0 and 21.8±1.9 years, respectively. Tobacco use was more among nonmedical students than that among the counterpart (22.1% vs. 15.7%). Medical students were more used to take insufficient fruits and vegetables compared to nonmedical students (97.9% vs. 93.6%). Equal proportions (71.4%) of students in both groups were used to perform inadequate physical activity. Alcohol consumption was observed more among nonmedical students (12.9% vs. 8.6%). Conclusion: Behavioral risk factors of NCDs were remarkable among students of both groups, mainly among nonmedical students

Presence of Heavy Metals in Vegetables Collected from Jashore, Bangladesh: Human Health Risk Assessment

This research was carried out to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) and to assess the human health risk. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Target Cancer Risk (TCR) were measured and the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks were calculated. The concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb were below the permission limit proposed by the joint FAO/WHO. Transfer factor of heavy metals from soil to vegetables was calculated and the decreasing order was Cu (0.786) > Cd (0.759) > Zn (0.569) > Pb (0.432) > Mn (0.167) > Fe (0.050). Assessment of non-carcinogenic health hazards by THQ indicated no concern for individual Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb. But the combined impact of all metals (HI = 8.64775) was very high than the acceptable limit of 1.0 for all vegetables. So, the consumption of these vegetables were the prime concern for non-carcinogenic health effects and all metals together may affect the human health as revealed by HI. The probability of developing cancer from the consumption of studied vegetable was greater than USEPA threshold risk limit (>10–5) for Mn (2.8E–3), Pb (1.17E–4) and Cu (9.5E–4); (> 10–3) for Zn (2.15E–2) and Fe (1.45E–1). These values indicated moderate cancer risk for Mn, Cu and Pb, high cancer risk for Fe and Zn whereas Cd showed low cancer risk from this study area

Investigation of Stretch and Recovery Property of Weft Knitted Regular Rib Fabric

Weft knitted regular rib (1×1) fabric stretch and recovery property are very tough to control. This project and thesis work have been devoted to studying the effect of variation of stitch length, yarn count, and GSM on the stretch and recovery properties of weft knit regular rib fabric. Three yarn counts, each with 4 level of stitch length, was manufactured for the purpose of this experiment, remaining the machine set up, dyeing and finishing process constant. In this research, it was found that the better stretch and recovery property of regular rib fabric can be produced by using 2.6 mm to 2.65 mm stitch length for yarn count of Ne 28/1 KH and GSM of 195 to 205

Study on the oscillation of solution to second-order impulsive systems

In the present article, we set the if and only if conditions for the solutions of the class of neutral impulsive delay second-order differential equations. We consider two cases when it is non-increasing and non-decreasing for quotient of two positive odd integers. Our main tool is the Lebesgue's dominated convergence theorem. Examples illustrating the applicability of the results are also given, and state an open problem

Knowledge attitude and practices towards chronic kidney disease among type-2 diabetic patients in Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: Having proper knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards chronic kidney disease (CKD) among type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is very important to reduce the disease burden. However, the information about KAP towards CKD among Bangladeshi T2DM patients is unknown, based on the available literatures till the date. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the KAP towards CKD among T2DM patients attended a selected hospital in Dhaka city. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this cross-sectional study, we conveniently selected Aalok hospital and also its 224 T2DM patients who attended the outdoor. We excluded the already developed CKD patients and aged over 70 years. We adopted a questionnaire from a validated instrument consisted of a 10 itemed knowledge, 8 itemed attitude, and 7 itemed practice domains towards CKD (total 25 items). Data were collected by face-to-face interviews. Both descriptive and comparative (Independent Sample t-tests and One-way ANOVA tests) statistics were used for data analysis where appropriates. RESULTS: Women respondents were higher (69.6%). The mean age of the respondents was 49.8±11.3 years. Most of them had average level of knowledge (69.6%) and attitude (60.7%). Majority also reported a good hypothetical practices in general if they would find out to have CKD. Knowledge was significantly associated (p<0.05) with sex, level of education, occupation, and income, whereas attitude was with sex, occupation, and income. CONCLUSION: T2DM patients of our study reported mostly average level of knowledge and attitude, and a good hypothetical practices in general towards CKD. Proper health awareness programs are needed to increase the KAP towards CKD among T2DM patients in Bangladesh

Mucormycosis of Pouch of Douglas in a diabetic woman

Mucormycosis is a severe fungal infection which is rare in clinical practice. This infection is usually acquired by inhalation; other portals of entry are ingestion and traumatic implantation, especially in immuno-compromised patients. Here, we present a case of mucormycosis in a 44-year-old diabetic woman. The patient had collection of fluid in the Pouch of Douglas (POD) and history of bleeding per vagina. Hysterectomy was done which showed a blackish serosal surface of the posterior uterus. Subsequent investigations revealed mycormycosis caused by Rhizopus oryzae (R. arrhizus) affecting the POD. Patient was treated with liposomal amphotericin B and is now keeping well