Towards an M-banking framework for rural SMEs in Bangladesh

This research aims at discovering factors which impact on the intention of rural SME owners and managers to adopt m-banking in Bangladesh. Over the last ten years, a wide spectrum of mbanking frameworks has emerged that offers new insights into the adoption and acceptance of mbanking. However, m-banking has still not been extended to rural Bangladesh. To fill the gap this research surveyed 550 SMEs owners/managers in four rural villages. The result indicates that poor banking facilities, cost, credibility, gender, education and SME category are the main factors that significantly influence the intention to adopt m-banking. The analysis introduces three factors which have been largely overlooked in prior literature. The study broadens our understanding of m-banking and provides insights into developing m-banking strategies in Bangladesh. This research will be of potential value in accelerating the development of m-banking in Bangladesh

Smart Energy Management System for Minimizing Electricity Cost and Peak to Average Ratio in Residential Areas with Hybrid Genetic Flower Pollination Algorithm

Demand Side Management (DSM) plays a significant role in the smart grid to minimize Electricity Cost (EC). Home Energy Management Systems (HEMSs) have recently been studied and proposed explicitly for HEM. In this paper, we propose a novel nature-inspired hybrid Genetic Flower Pollination Algorithm (GFPA) to minimize cost with an affordable delay in appliance scheduling. Our proposed GFPA algorithm combines elements of the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) to create a hybrid approach. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we consider a scalable town consisting of 1, 10, 30, and 50 homes, respectively. The proposed solution finds an optimal scheduling pattern that simultaneously minimizes EC and Peak to Average Ratio (PAR) while maximizing User Comfort (UC). We assume that all homes are homogeneous regarding appliances and power consumption patterns. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme GFPA performs better when applying Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) signal using different Operational Time Intervals (OTIs) and compared with unscheduled, GA, and FPA-based solutions in terms of reducing cost since they achieve on average 98%, 36%, 23%, and 22%, respectively. Similarly, PAR averages 98%, 36%, 59%, and 55%, respectively. While, UC comparing to GA and FPA, are around 88%, 48%, and 63%, respectively. Our proposed scheme achieves better results by applying Real Time Pricing (RTP) signals and different OTIs. As these schemes, i.e., unscheduled, GA, FPA, and GFPA, achieve cost on average 92%, 50%, 29%, and 28%, respectively. While PAR on average 94%, 39%, 62%, and 56%, and UC for GA, FPA, and GFPA on average 98%, 52%, and 49%, respectively. Overall, ourproposed GFPA algorithm offers a more effective solution for minimizing EC with an affordable delay in appliance scheduling while considering PAR and UC

Kounis syndrome – Anaphylaxis-induced acute coronary syndrome

Kounis syndrome is an underdiagnosed condition in which anaphylaxis triggers vasospastic acute coronary syndrome, either with or without underlying coronary artery disease. The prevalence of this syndrome among hospitalized patients for allergic/hypersensitivity/anaphylactic reactions in the United States is 1.1%, with a 7% rate of all-cause inpatient mortality. This article presents an anaphylaxis-induced acute coronary syndrome case in a patient with underlying coronary artery disease. The pathophysiological mechanism of anaphylactic-induced acute coronary syndrome involves the inflammatory mediators of type I hypersensitivity reactions

Consumer Attitude Toward Product Placement: A Descriptive Study Between Bangladeshi & Indian Media Program

The aim of this study is to investigate Bangladeshi viewers’ attitudes towards product placement activities. Here product placement indicates a paid form of non-traditional advertisement where products or brand names are intentionally present along with the programs. Consumers’ purchase decisions relate to how they know the brand name, and traditional marketing activities failed several times to hit the customer’s black box. People are fascinated by an innovative way of product representation, a tough and challenging task for marketers. Embedded marketing or Product placement helps both viewers and marketers to build a bridge for communication. In Bangladesh, people are less conscious about their local products as well as their media programs

Patients\u27 satisfaction and opinions of their experiences during admission in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan - a cross sectional study

Background: It is often felt that developing countries need to improve their quality of healthcare provision. This study hopes to generate data that can help managers and doctors to improve the standard of care they provide in line with the wishes of the patients.Methods: It was a cross sectional study carried out at a major tertiary care hospital of Karachi. Patients between the ages of 18 and 80 years admitted to the hospital for at least one day were included. Patients in the maternity, psychiatry and chemotherapy wards and those in the ICU/CCU were excluded. A pretested, peer reviewed translation of a validated patient satisfaction scale developed by the Picker Institute of Europe was administered.Results: A total of 173 patients (response rate: 78.6 %) filled the questionnaire. Patient satisfaction was at levels comparable to European surveys for most aspects of hospital care. However, nearly half the patients (48%) felt they had to wait too long to get a bed in the hospital after presenting to the ER. 68.6% of the patients said that they were never asked for views on the quality of care provided. 20% of the patients did not find anyone in the staff to talk to about their worries and fears while 27.6% felt that they were given emotional support to only some extent. Up to one third of the patients said they were not provided enough information regarding their operative procedures beforehand.CONCLUSION: Although several components of patient care equal the quality levels of the west, many sections require considerable improvement in order to improve health care provision. The healthcare team needs to get more involved with the patients, providing them greater support and keeping them informed and involved with their medical treatment. Efforts should be made to get regular feedback from the patients

Types of neural guides and using nanotechnology for peripheral nerve reconstruction

Peripheral nerve injuries can lead to lifetime loss of function and permanent disfigurement. Different methods, such as conventional allograft procedures and use of biologic tubes present problems when used for damaged peripheral nerve reconstruction. Designed scaffolds comprised of natural and synthetic materials are now widely used in the reconstruction of damaged tissues. Utilization of absorbable and nonabsorbable synthetic and natural polymers with unique characteristics can be an appropriate solution to repair damaged nerve tissues. Polymeric nanofibrous scaffolds with properties similar to neural structures can be more effective in the reconstruction process. Better cell adhesion and migration, more guiding of axons, and structural features, such as porosity, provide a clearer role for nanofibers in the restoration of neural tissues. In this paper, basic concepts of peripheral nerve injury, types of artificial and natural guides, and methods to improve the performance of tubes, such as orientation, nanotechnology applications for nerve reconstruction, fibers and nanofibers, electrospinning methods, and their application in peripheral nerve reconstruction are reviewed

Design, Synthesis, and Testing of a Molecular Truck for Colonic Delivery of 5-Aminosalicylic Acid

A molecular scaffold bearing eight terminal alkyne groups was synthesized from sucrose. Eight copies of an azide-terminated, azo-linked precursor to 5-aminosalicylic acid were attached to the scaffold via copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition. The resulting compound was evaluated in a DSS model of colitis in BALB/c mice against sulfasalazine as a control. Two independent studies verified that the novel pro-drug, administered in a dose calculated to result in an equimolar 5-ASA yield, outperformed sulfasalazine in terms of protection from mucosal inflammation and T cell activation. A separate study established that 5-ASA appeared in feces produced 24–48 h following administration of the pro-drug. Thus, a new, orally administered pro-drug form of 5-aminosalicylic acid has been developed and successfully demonstrated

Identifying hotspots for antibiotic resistance emergence and selection, and elucidating pathways to human exposure: Application of a systems-thinking approach to aquaculture systems

Aquaculture systems are highly complex, dynamic and interconnected systems influenced by environmental, biological, cultural, socio-economic and human behavioural factors. Intensification of aquaculture production is likely to drive indiscriminate use of antibiotics to treat or prevent disease and increase productivity, often to compensate for management and husbandry deficiencies. Surveillance or monitoring of antibiotic usage (ABU) and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is often lacking or absent. Consequently, there are knowledge gaps for the risk of ABR emergence and human exposure to ABR in these systems and the wider environment. The aim of this study was to use a systems-thinking approach to map two aquaculture systems in Vietnam – striped catfish and white-leg shrimp – to identify hotspots for emergence and selection of resistance, and human exposure to antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. System mapping was conducted by stakeholders at an interdisciplinary workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam during January 2018, and the maps generated were refined until consensus. Thereafter, literature was reviewed to complement and cross-reference information and to validate the final maps. The maps and component interactions with the environment revealed the grow-out phase, where juveniles are cultured to harvest size, to be a key hotspot for emergence of ABR in both systems due to direct and indirect ABU, exposure to water contaminated with antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and duration of this stage. The pathways for human exposure to antibiotics and ABR were characterised as: occupational (on-farm and at different handling points along the value chain), through consumption (bacterial contamination and residues) and by environmental routes. By using systems thinking and mapping by stakeholders to identify hotspots we demonstrate the applicability of an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to characterising ABU in aquaculture. This work provides a foundation to quantify risks at different points, understand interactions between components, and identify stakeholders who can lead and implement change