Modeling drivers to big data analytics in supply chains

The recent emergence of data-driven business markets and the ineligibility of traditional data management systems to trace them have fostered the application of Big Data Analytics (BDA) in supply chains of the present decade. Literature reviews reveal that the successful implication of BDA in a supply chain mainly depends on some key drivers considering the size and operations of an organization. However, collective analysis of all these drivers is still neglected in the existing research field. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify and prioritize the most significant drivers of BDA in the supply chains. To this aim, a novel Best-worst method (BWM) based framework has been proposed, which has successfully identified and sequenced the twelve most significant drivers with the help of previous literature and experts’ opinions. Theoretically, this study contributes to the BDA literature by offering some unique drivers to BDA in supply chains. The findings show that ‘sophisticated structure of information technology’ and ‘group collaboration among business partners’ are the top most significant drivers. ‘Digitization of society’ is identified as the least significant driver of BDA in this study. The outcome of this study is expected to assist the industry managers to find out the most and least preferable drivers in their supply chains and then take initiatives to improve the overall efficiency of their organizations accordingly

Re-Emargence of Susceptibility to Conventional First Line Drugs in Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi a Isolated from Enteric Fever Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Northern Bangladesh.

Enteric fever is endemic in Bangladesh and involves significant health care cost. The first-line drugs chloramphenicol and co-trimoxazole have not been the part of empirical therapy for decades due to development of multidrug resistant Salmonella strains. The objective of this study was to determine the antibiogram pattern of Salmonella strains isolated from the blood of clinically suspected enteric fever patients. A cross sectional study was conducted in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital & Dhaka Medical College from August 2014 to July 2015. Total 323 blood samples were collected from suspected enteric fever patients and isolation rate of Salmonella was 9.29% [S.typhi (3.41%), and S.paratyphi A (5.88%)]. Among isolated S.typhi, 9.09% were resistant to chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole and cefixime and there were no S.typhi resistant to azithromycin and cefotaxime. Among the isolated S.paratyphi A, 5.26% were resistant to chloramphenicol, co-trimoxazole, azithromycin, cefotaxime, and cefixime. There were no ceftriaxone resistant Salmonella. Low proportion of resistance to first line antibiotics (chloramphenicol, co-trimoxazole) suggests that these drugs can be used once again. Bangladesh J Med Microbiol 2017; 11 (1): 3-

Age-Related Differences of Risk Profile and Angiographic Findings in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major health problem which imposes a significant burden on health caresystems because of high morbidity and mortality. Objectives: To compare the risk factors profile for coronary heartdisease in young and old subjects. Methods: Total 100 patients (50 subjects less than 40 years of age and 50 subjectsmore than 40 years of age) with acute coronary syndrome or stable angina who were undergoing coronary angiogram inthe Department of Cardiology, University Cardiac Center, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Dhaka, fromJuly 2006 to June 2008 were evaluated for the presence coronary artery disease risk factors e.g. hypertension, dyslipidemiaand smoking. Results: The mean age of the study population in younger group was (33.0 ± 6.4) years and in older group(52.0±8.6). The male to female ratio in both groups was 4:1. Smokers were more in younger group (70.0% vs. 46.0%) (p =0.032). Hypertension was less in the younger group (38.0% vs. 58.0%) (p = 0.045). Presence of diabetes was higher in theolder age group (34.0% vs. 4.0%) (p = 0.001). Higher incidence of family history of coronary heart disease was in theyounger age group. The total cholesterol was higher in older group (182.9 ± 33.1) vs. (171.1 ± 24.8 mg/dl) (p = 0.047). 68%of patients of older group and 38% of younger group had stenosis in left anterior descending artery (p = 0.003). Theinvolvement of left circumflex and right coronary artery in older age group were higher (56% and 66% respectively) thanthose in younger group (36% and 40% respectively) (p = 0.045 and p = 0.009). Conclusion: Ischemic heart disease inyounger adults < 40 years had different risk profile characteristics than older patients.Key words: Coronary heart disease; acute coronary syndrome; stable angina; risk factors.DOI: 10.3329/bsmmuj.v3i1.5508BSMMU J 2010; 3(1): 13-1

Varietal differences influence arsenic and lead contamination of rice grown in mining impacted agricultural fields of Zamfara State, Nigeria.

In Zamfara state, Nigeria, rice is cultivated in fields contaminated with Pb (lead) from artisanal and illicit mining activities. Rice grown in such contaminated agricultural areas risks not only Pb contamination but also contamination from other toxic elements, like arsenic (As); co-contamination of Pb and As in rice cultivated in mining impacted areas has been previously reported and rice is a hyperaccumulator of As. A field study was conducted with ten different commonly-cultivated Nigerian rice varieties in the mining-impacted farmlands of Dareta village, Zamfara State. The aim was to determine the optimal rice variety for cultivation on these contaminated farmlands; an optimal variety would have the lowest contaminant concentrations and highest essential elements concentrations in the rice grains. A total of 300 paired soil and rice plants were collected. The mean As and Pb concentrations in paddy soils were 0.91 ± 0.82 mg kg-1 and 288.5 ± 464.2 mg kg-1, respectively. Mean As (30.4 ± 15.1 μg kg-1) content in rice grains was an order of magnitude lower than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1 (for milled rice) while the Pb content in all the rice varieties (overall mean of 743 ± 327 μg kg-1) was approximately four times higher than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1. Contrary to previous studies, a negative correlation was observed between As and Pb in rice grains across all the varieties. Rice variety Bisalayi was the variety with the lowest Pb transfer factor (TF = 0.08), but the average Pb concentration in rice grain was still above the Codex recommendation. Bisalayi also had the highest TF for iron. Variety ART_15, which had the lowest As uptake (TF = 0.10), had the highest TF for essential elements (magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and copper). In areas of Pb contamination, Bisalayi rice may therefore be a suitable variety to choose for cultivation

Pandemics, pathogenicity and changing molecular epidemiology of cholera in the era of global warming

BACKGROUND: Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative, non-spore forming curved rod is found in diverse aquatic ecosystems around the planet. It is classified according to its major surface antigen into around 206 serogroups, of which O1 and O139 cause epidemic cholera. A recent spatial modelling technique estimated that around 2.86 million cholera cases occur globally every year, and of them approximately 95,000 die. About 1.3 billion people are currently at risk of infection from cholera. Meta-analysis and mathematical modelling have demonstrated that due to global warming the burden of vector-borne diseases like malaria, leishmaniasis, meningococcal meningitis, viral encephalitis, dengue and chikungunya will increase in the coming years in the tropics and beyond. CHOLERA AND CLIMATE: This review offers an overview of the interplay between global warming and the pathogenicity and epidemiology of V. cholerae. Several distinctive features of cholera survival (optimal thriving at 15% salinity, 30 °C water temperature, and pH 8.5) indicate a possible role of climate change in triggering the epidemic process. Genetic exchange (ctxAB, zot, ace, cep, and orfU) between strains and transduction process allows potential emergence of new toxigenic clones. These processes are probably controlled by precise environmental signals such as optimum temperature, sunlight and osmotic conditions. Environmental influences on phytoplankton growth and chitin remineralization will be discussed alongside the interplay of poor sanitary conditions, overcrowding, improper sewage disposal and global warming in promoting the growth and transmission of this deadly disease. CONCLUSION: The development of an effective early warning system based on climate data could help to prevent and control future outbreaks. It may become possible to integrate real-time monitoring of oceanic regions, climate variability and epidemiological and demographic population dynamics to predict cholera outbreaks and support the design of cost-effective public health strategies

Inapparent infections and cholera dynamics

In many infectious diseases, an unknown fraction of infections produce symptoms mild enough to go unrecorded, a fact that can seriously compromise the interpretation of epidemiological records. This is true for cholera, a pandemic bacterial disease, where estimates of the ratio of asymptomatic to symptomatic infections have ranged from 3 to 100 (refs 1-5). In the absence of direct evidence, understanding of fundamental aspects of cholera transmission, immunology and control has been based on assumptions about this ratio and about the immunological consequences of inapparent infections. Here we show that a model incorporating high asymptomatic ratio and rapidly waning immunity, with infection both from human and environmental sources, explains 50 yr of mortality data from 26 districts of Bengal, the pathogen's endemic home. We find that the asymptomatic ratio in cholera is far higher than had been previously supposed and that the immunity derived from mild infections wanes much more rapidly than earlier analyses have indicated. We find, too, that the environmental reservoir(5,6) (free-living pathogen) is directly responsible for relatively few infections but that it may be critical to the disease's endemicity. Our results demonstrate that inapparent infections can hold the key to interpreting the patterns of disease outbreaks. New statistical methods(7), which allow rigorous maximum likelihood inference based on dynamical models incorporating multiple sources and outcomes of infection, seasonality, process noise, hidden variables and measurement error, make it possible to test more precise hypotheses and obtain unexpected results. Our experience suggests that the confrontation of time-series data with mechanistic models is likely to revise our understanding of the ecology of many infectious diseases.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62519/1/nature07084.pd

Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair and damage response genes and late normal tissue complications of radiotherapy for breast cancer

Breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy is effective in reducing recurrence; however, telangiectasia and fibrosis can occur as late skin side effects. As radiotherapy acts through producing DNA damage, we investigated whether genetic variation in DNA repair and damage response confers increased susceptibility to develop late normal skin complications. Breast cancer patients who received radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery were examined for late complications of radiotherapy after a median follow-up time of 51 months. Polymorphisms in genes involved in DNA repair (APEX1, XRCC1, XRCC2, XRCC3, XPD) and damage response (TP53, P21) were determined. Associations between telangiectasia and genotypes were assessed among 409 patients, using multivariate logistic regression. A total of 131 patients presented with telangiectasia and 28 patients with fibrosis. Patients with variant TP53 genotypes either for the Arg72Pro or the PIN3 polymorphism were at increased risk of telangiectasia. The odds ratios (OR) were 1.66 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–2.72) for 72Pro carriers and 1.95 (95% CI: 1.13–3.35) for PIN3 A2 allele carriers compared with non-carriers. The TP53 haplotype containing both variant alleles was associated with almost a two-fold increase in risk (OR 1.97, 95% CI: 1.11–3.52) for telangiectasia. Variants in the TP53 gene may therefore modify the risk of late skin toxicity after radiotherapy

Application of wood waste ash in concrete making: revisited

Portland cement production is a carbon dioxide trigger responsible for almost 5% of the worlds CO2 emissions. Pozzolanic inclusions could contribute to sustainability particularly if they are derived from waste. Managing solid waste is increasingly becoming a global challenge as a result of increasing volume of accumulated waste from industrial and agricultural by-products. Environmental concerns as well as economic implications related with disposal of these wastes have prompted many researches in order to provide viable solutions. Recycling of these waste materials into the construction industry seems to be a more promising and viable alternative most especially in the manufacturing of greener and sustainable concrete material. Wood ash (WA) is a by-product derived from incineration of wood as well as its products such as sawdust, wood bark and chips. This paper presents an overview on investigations performed on the applicability of this material in mortar and concrete making. Specifics on physical, chemical, mineralogical and elemental characteristics of the waste material are discussed. It highpoints the impact of wood ash on workability, compressive and flexure strengths, water absorption, drying shrinkage, carbonation, alkali–silica reaction (ASR) and chloride permeability of concrete