Knowledge and attitude of ethics committee (EC) members on bioethics and structure & function of EC in Bangladesh: A pilot study

Having scandalous unethical research practices in the mid and late 20th century, study protocols of biomedical research reviewed by the Ethics Committee (EC) has become the accepted international standard. The Declaration of Helsinki uniformly requires that all biomedical research involving human participants, including research on identifiable human material or data, should be approved by the EC. Today, concerns over the quality of the EC functions worldwide. There are research globally in this regard but no data are available from Bangladesh. Hence, we conducted a questionnaire based pilot study on knowledge and attitude of EC members on bioethics and structure & function of EC in Bangladesh

The association between bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances in adolescence: Evidence from a twin study

Bullying‐victimisation has been associated with sleep disturbances. This study investigated the degree to which subtypes of bullying‐victimisation in adolescence are linked with sleep disturbances. Genetic and environmental contributions underlying bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances were investigated. Participants (3,242–5,076 pairs) from a longitudinal community twin study reported on their bullying‐victimisation at the age of 14 years, and sleep quality and insomnia symptoms at age 16. Regression analyses were used, accounting for the role of individual and family factors. Structural equation twin model fitting was conducted. Bullying‐victimisation was modestly associated with sleep quality and insomnia symptoms (r = 0.22–0.23) and a similar strength of associations was found across bullying‐victimisation subtypes (r = 0.11–0.22). Bullying‐victimisation, sleep quality and insomnia symptoms were predominantly influenced by genes (25–59%) and non‐shared environments (40–62%). The association between bullying‐victimisation and sleep quality was explained by genetic and non‐shared environmental influences. For insomnia symptoms and sleep quality, the association with bullying‐victimisation was in part explained by a genetic overlap. Associations between bullying‐victimisation and sleep disturbances are not limited to specific aspects of bullying‐victimisation but appear to exist for all subtypes. These findings stimulate research questions regarding the mechanisms underlying these links. For example, could certain heritable traits, such as temperament, increase vulnerability to experiencing sleep disturbances and being bullied? Research on bullying and sleep should aim to take the role of genetic predisposition into account, while also noting that it is not the only causal influence. Understanding more about these pathways could strengthen the development of techniques to prevent these difficulties from occurring

Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation and Validation Bed Expansion of Three-Phase Co-Current Fluidized Bed

قد تمت دراسة الخصائص الهايدرودينامكية لعملية التميع لثلاثي أطوار في هذا العمل. أجري العمل التجريبي في عمود البرسبيكس بقطر 0.092 م وارتفاع (2). تم استخدام الكيروسين كطور مستمر والهواء كطور مشتت. استخدامت خرز الزجاج بقطر 0.0038 (م)، وكثافة 2247 كغ / م 3، والعامل المساعد المأخوذ من مفاعل معالجة الكيروسين الذي يقع في مصفاة الدورة بقطر 0.0025 (م)، وكثافة 2070 كغم / م 3 كمادة صلبة. قد تم التحقق من نتائج CFD)) من الخصائص الديناميكية التي تم الحصول عليها من المحاكاة مع النتائج التجريبية باستخدام أنسيز فلوئنت 16.0. أستخدم نهج التدفق الحبيبي لمتعدد المراحل يولريان والقادر على التنبؤ بالأداء العام لنظام ثلاثي اطوار من الغاز-السائل-الصلب. أوضحت النتائج أن ارتفاع الطبقة الموسعة للمادة الصلبة يتأثر أكثر من تغييرات سرع السائل، فإنه يزيد مع زيادة سرعة السائل.The bed expansion of gas-liquid-solid co-current fluidized bed is studied in the present work. Experimental work is carried out using Perspex column having 0.092 m inner diameter, 2 m height. Kerosene and air are used as continuous and dispersed phases, respectively. Glass beads having 0.0038 m diameter and 2247 kg/m3 density and catalyst particles having 0.0025 m diameter and   2070 kg /m3 density, which were taken from the kerosene hydrotreating reactor that is located in Al-Daura Refinery, are used as the solid phase. The Computational fluid dynamic CFD results of dynamic characteristics were obtained based on simulation using commercial CFD codes and ANSYS FLUENT 16.0 have been used for validation, by comparing the simulation and experimental results. Eulerian approach for flow of granular multiphase is utilized to predict the performance of the three-phase co-current fluidized bed. The results are indicated that the height of the expanded bed is having a strong function of liquid velocity, which increases as the liquid velocity increases too

Mediastinal mass diagnosed as a benign schwannoma

Neurogenic tumours of the mediastinum are most commonly present in the posterior mediastinal compartment. Schwannomas, being the most frequently encountered type, can be either benign or malignant, although the former is more common. They typically appear as an asymptomatic mass on radiographic imaging. These tumours with spindle-shaped cells are often asymptomatic, and are routinely detected on standard pulmonary radiography. However, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, especially for posterior mediastinal tumours, provide additional information and help to determine its possible extension to adjacent structures. Therefore, radiographic and histopathological examinations are vital diagnostic tools in the detection of these silent tumours. Complete surgical resection using video-assisted thoracic surgical technique is the mainstay of treatment, and offers an excellent prognosis

Effects of rehabilitation on the patients with chronic low back pain

This study was done to observe the effects of rehabilitation on chronic low back pain on 139 patient. They were divided into two groups:  a) One group (n=71) received naproxen (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, NSAID) with selective rehabilitation and b) another group (n= 68) treated with NSAID only. The patients were followed up weekly for eight weeks. The improvement was found in both groups after treatment. In patients with rehabilitation, the pre-treatment and post-treatment mean scores (Oswastry Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale and Modified Zung Index) were 34.3 ± 9.8 and 9.9 ± 8.0 respectively (p<0.001). Treatment with NSAID only reduced the mean scores from 34.9 ± 13.5 to 16.0 ± 14.4 (p<0.001) after treatment. There was no significant difference in clinical improvement between the groups in pre-treatment compare with week one, rehabilitation group (29.7 ± 8.7) vs NSAID group (31.5 ± 13.8). While significant improvement was found in rehabilitation group in comparison to NSAID group after 8th week, rehabilitation group vs NSAID group scores were 10.0 ± 7.9 vs 15.9 ± 14.5 respectively (p= 0.004). In conclusion, rehabilitation can be used as an adjunct to NSAID for better improvement

Effects of intralesional platelet-rich plasma in the patients with lateral epicondylitis of elbow

Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is a major cause of musculoskeletal pain involving common extensor origin of the forearm. This study was done to determine the effects of platelet-rich plasma on 15 patients with lateral epicondylitis. Selected patients were given intralesional platelet-rich plasma injection, activity of daily living instructions and paracetamol. Patients were assessed every 14 days interval by visual analogue scale, and the patient rated tennis elbow evaluation. Treatment response according to visual analogue scale and patient rated tennis elbow evaluation tool, the difference of improvement was found in respect to time, from pretreatment W1 (just before 1st Intervention) score to W11 score in every alternate week (p<0.005). This indicates that intralesional platelet-rich plasma is effective in the patients with lateral epicondylitis of elbow

Hydrodynamics, Mass and Heat Transferin Reactive Distillation

The ethyl acetate synthesis via heterogeneous reactive distillation is studied experimentally using ethanol and acetic acid. Three types of cation exchanging resins were used as catalysts: Zerolit 225, Zerolit 226 and Ambylite 400. Experiments were carried out in two units of the same dimensions. Each unit consisted of three sections: rectifying, reactive and stripping sections of heights (60+25+20) cm respectively and 2.5cm column diameter. The first unit (column-A-) was a fractionation type and the second unit (column-B-) was packed column. The packing type was hollow glass cylinders with 10 mm height, and 4, 5 mm inner and outer diameter respectively. <br /> The experiments were carried out by using two operation modes. The semi-batch and continuous operation mode. In the first part of present investigation, the semi-batch mode was used to evaluate the catalyst type and to evaluate the performance of reactive distillation unit configuration (Fractionation and packed column). Results show that, the column-B- gave higher conversion rates than column-A-. This is attributed to the high surface area available for liquid vapour contact in packed type column, which leads to increasing mass transfer rates. On the other hand, Ambylite 400 catalyst showed higher activity for esterification reaction than other two types of catalysts. <br /> The second part of work continued with column -B- only. It is well known that, the esterification process is regarded one of exothermic reactions. Therefore, the monitoring of the temperature distribution along column axial for all three types of catalysts showed that the temperature distribution was essentially the same due to steady state operation in continuous operation mode. On the other hand, the effect of reflux ratio on temperature distribution was clearly noted, that is as the reflux ratio increased the temperature distribution along the column was reduced for each type of catalysts.<br /> On the other hand, the experimental results point that, as a reflux ratio increases the conversion rates of acetic acid is increased too because such increasing is related to high mass transfer rates between vapour and liquid along reactive distillation column. <br /

Gastrointestinal helminthiasis presenting with acute diarrhoea and constipation: report of two cases with a second pathology.

Gastrointestinal helminthiasis in developing countries contributes to malnutrition and anemia. Diagnosis and treatment of helminthiasis, especially with low worm load is an unmet public health need in such settings. The infection may sometimes become manifest when a second pathology leads to purgation of the gastrointestinal tract. Two cases of helminthiasis are presented in which the infections only became amenable to diagnosis due to acute diarrhoea caused by giardiasis and lactulose administration. In the first case, acute giardiasis revealed Ascaris lumbricoides infestation, and in the second case primary helminthiasis (strongyloidiasis) was revealed by lactulose, and also led to Vibrio cholera bacteremia. These cases highlight the need to diagnose helminth infestations especially with low worm burdens by means of public health surveillance programmes. These cases highlight the need to diagnose helminth infestations especially with low worm burdens by means of public health surveillance programmes

Hydrogen induced optically-active defects in silicon photonic nanocavities

This work was supported by Era-NET NanoSci LECSIN project coordinated by F. Priolo, by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, FIRB contract No. RBAP06L4S5 and by the EPSRC UKSp project. Partial financial support by the Norwegian Research Council is also acknowledged.We demonstrate intense room temperature photoluminescence (PL) from optically active hydrogen- related defects incorporated into crystalline silicon. Hydrogen was incorporated into the device layer of a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer by two methods: hydrogen plasma treatment and ion implantation. The room temperature PL spectra show two broad PL bands centered at 1300 and 1500 nm wavelengths: the first one relates to implanted defects while the other band mainly relates to the plasma treatment. Structural characterization reveals the presence of nanometric platelets and bubbles and we attribute different features of the emission spectrum to the presence of these different kind of defects. The emission is further enhanced by introducing defects into photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities. Transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that the isotropicity of plasma treatment causes the formation of a higher defects density around the whole cavity compared to the ion implantation technique, while ion implantation creates a lower density of defects embedded in the Si layer, resulting in a higher PL enhancement. These results further increase the understanding of the nature of optically active hydrogen defects and their relation with the observed photoluminescence, which will ultimately lead to the development of intense and tunable crystalline silicon light sources at room temperature.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Exogenous melatonin enhances salt stress tolerance in tomato seedlings

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an essential molecule which regulates plant growth and development and alleviates the damaging effects of abiotic stresses. To evaluate the important functions of melatonin in response to salinity stress, the effects of exogenous melatonin on the antioxidant system and growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under 150 mM NaCl stress were investigated. The application of 100 μM melatonin compensated the growth inhibition caused by salt-stress. Melatonin treated seedlings had an increased fresh and dry masses of shoots and roots. The application of 1 - 200 µM melatonin notably enhanced the relative chlorophyll content (SPAD index), root characteristics, and gas exchange in tomato seedlings subjected to salt stress compared to seedlings treated with salt stress alone. Moreover, melatonin pretreatment minimized accumulation of reactive oxygen species and improved activities of antioxidative enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and ascorbate peroxidase.We would like to thank Wang Zhiwei from the College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Hainan University, Haikou for his kind guidance and laboratory equipment. This program was financially supported by the Innovative Team Program of Hainan Natural Science Foundation (2018CXTD334) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41871041)