Perceived stress, coping strategies and psychological well-being of people with diabetes and people without diabetes in Bangladesh: a comparative study

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is any difference between individuals with diabetes and without diabetes in their perceived stress, use of coping strategies and psychological well-being. A comparative study was conducted on 240 Bangladeshi adult participants. Among them 120 participants were with diabetes ranging in age from 27 through 56 years (M = 40.10 years, SD = 6.86) and 120 were healthy persons without diabetes and their mean age was 41.07 years (SD = 6.81), with a range from 31 to 59 years. They were equally distributed according to sex. No significant differences were found between the two groups in their age, occupation, educational level, monthly family income using χ2 and Mann-Whitney U test. Data were collected using a package of self-report measures including: (1) the Bangla version of perceived stress scale (2) the Bangla version of coping scale (3) the Bangla version of psychological well-being scale and (4) Personal information form. The Results of Mann Whitney U test showed significant differences between participants with diabetes and participants without diabetes in perceived stress, coping strategies and psychological well-being. The findings suggest implications for healthcare practitioners to pay attention to psychological state of patients with diabetes. This research suggests that more research should explore the psychological state of poorly versus well controlled patients with diabetes

Postpartum breast complications and breast-feeding practices in a baby-friendly hospital in Bangladesh

Background: Breastfeeding is essential for health of both infants and mothers, but it often encounters challenges such as postpartum breast complications. These issues can adversely affect maternal health and significantly hinder success of breastfeeding practices. Aim of study was to assess postpartum breast complications and breast-feeding practices. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Dhaka medical college hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 2006 to July 2006. Two hundred patients in the postnatal ward who delivered their babies at DMCH were randomly selected. Result: Among 200 postnatal women, 33.5% experienced breast problems. Women with breast problems were designated as group A and women without breast problems were designated as group B. Most women in groups A and B were aged between 21-30 years with average 24.8 years for both groups. Antenatal check-ups were similar across groups, with breastfeeding advice given to 55.2% in group A and 64.7% in group B pre-lacteal feeds were given to 19.4% of group A and 21.8% of group B neonates, while colostrum was fed to the majority. Most neonates were breastfed within 2 hours. Good breastfeeding position and attachment were observed in most cases. Exclusive breastfeeding was more common in group B (73.7%) than in group A (58.2%). Breast problems in group A included engorgement, lactation insufficiency, and nipple issues. Conclusions: The study reveals that postpartum breast complications, notably breast engorgement and lactation insufficiency, significantly affects the breastfeeding effectiveness of new mothers

Antineoplastic Properties of Phyto-synthesized Silver Nanoparticles from Hibiscus Sabdariffa Linn. Bark Extract

Objectives: In recent years, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has gained much interest from researchers as biomedical treatments. The purpose of this study was to determine if AgNPs synthesized from Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. bark extract are an effective stabilizing agent and inhibit Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell growth. Methods: AgNPs were prepared by the reaction of 0.6mM silver nitrate and 5% bark extract. Synthesis of AgNPs were confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy as well as characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. AgNPs was applied on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2\u27-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) experiments to determine its antioxidant activity as well as its cytotoxic effect against EAC cells. In vivo, the antineoplastic effect of AgNPs was tested against EAC cells. Results: The synthesized AgNPs have a surface plasmon resonance band centered at 475 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed major peaks of phytochemicals and proteins involved in AgNPs biosynthesis by identifying different functional groups involved in effective capping of AgNPs. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of AgNPs showed spherical nanoparticles with mean size 90.82 nm. The DPPH and ABTS assays revealed the antioxidant activity of AgNPs with IC50 31.74±2.06 and 15.45±2.72 μg/ml that was comparable to catechin. The synthesized AgNPs exhibited effective cytotoxic activity against EAC cells and the inhibitory concentration (IC50) was recorded at 32.00 µg/ml. AgNPs showed effective cell growth inhibition, increased life span, reduced tumor weight, restored all hematological characteristics to normal level and also induced apoptosis of EAC cells. Conclusion: This study proves that the phyto-synthesized AgNPs show effective anticancer properties against EAC cells

Growth Inhibition and Apoptosis of Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma Cells by Methanol Extract from the Calyx of Hibiscus Sabdariffa Linn

Objectives: This study focused on the antioxidant and anticancer activities of methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx. Methods: In vitro methods were used to determine the different types of phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx as well as its cytotoxic effect against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells. In vivo, the antineoplastic effect of methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma was also evaluated by determining the viable tumor cell count, survival time, body weight gain, and hematological profi les of experimental mice along with observing morphological changes of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells by fl uorescence microscopy and determining the expression of p53 gene in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cell assayed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Chemical composition of methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results: Flavonoid rich methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx had showed remarkable antioxidant activity and in in vitro assay, methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx had potent inhibitory effect against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 28.16 µg/mL. Apoptotic morphological changes and increased expression of p53 gene in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells derived from methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx-treated (5 and 10 mg/kg/day) mice were also observed. Moreover, chemical constituents identifi ed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses were likely related to this activity. Conclusion: Methanolic extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx has promising antioxidant and antineoplastic potential and can be considered as a probable new source for antitumor agent

The Anti- Inflammatory Effects of Spinacia Oleracea Leaf Extract on Carrageenan Induced Inflammation in Rats

Context: Use of herbal medicine throughout the world is increasing. Plants still remaining the primary source of supply of many important drugs used in modem medicine. Spinacia Oleracea i,e spinach leaves contain more number of anti-inflammatory phytochemcicals such as carbohydratie, tanins and phenolic compounds, saponins, flavinoids and steroid. Better collagenation seen under the influence of the flavinoids, phenolic compound and saponins which is responsible for the free radical scavenging activity and are believed to be some of the most important component for wound healing and antioxident activity. Spinacia Oleracea scavenges free oxygen redicals and increases the catalase level in granulation tissue. Plants still remaining the primary source of supply of many important drugs used in modem medicine. Considering its medicinal value and availability in our country this study was undertaken to evaluate the antiinflammatory effect of the Spinacia Oleracea leaf extract in rat models. Material and Methods: The experiments were carried out on 30 (thirty) Swiss male albino rats. They were collected from the ICDDRB, Dhaka. The rats were of male weighing between 150- 200gm which were divided randomly into 5 groups each having 6 rats. Groups were labeled as group-I, group-II, group-III, group-IV and group-V. The anti inflammatory effect of Spinacia Oleracea leaf extract in experiment rat were evaluated and compared with the anti inflammatory effects of aspirin and hydrocortisone. The study was prospective experimental type and was conducted in the department of Pharmacology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka, from July 2011 to June 2012. Result : Administration of mathanolic extract and water extract of Spinacia Oleracea leaf at a dose of 200mg/kg body weight orally produced a significant (P<0.05) anti-inflammatory effect, and the percentage of inhibition of oedema formation was 28.75% and 40.79% respectively. There were highly significant (P<0.05) percentage of inhibition of oedema formation was observed in aspirin (40.52%) and in hydrocortisone (47.71%). Conclusion: Spinacia Oleracea leaf extract, possess significant anti-inflammatory activity in rats. J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 27, No.1, April, 2018, Page 88-9

Antioxidant and antineoplastic activities of methanolic extract of Kaempferia galanga Linn. Rhizome against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells

As sources of natural products, medicinal plants bear a great interest for researcher in recent decades and this interest has increased considerably in finding naturally occurring antioxidant and antineoplastic compounds. Kaempferia galangal Linn., is an important member of medicinal flora available in Bangladesh and used traditionally for the prevention of numerous diseases. The present study was designed to investigate the antioxidant and antineoplastic activities of methanol extract of Kaempferia galanga rhizome (MEKGR). In vitro models and MTT assays were used to determine the antioxidant and in vitro antineoplastic properties of MEKGR. Antineoplastic effect of MEKGR against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) were assessed in vivo by evaluating the viable tumor cell count, survival time, body weight gain due to tumor burden, observing morphological changes and nuclear damage of EAC cells by fluorescence microscope and estimating hematological profiles of experimental mice. Chemical composition was also analyzed by GC–MS. Treatment with MEKGR significantly (p < 0.05) reduced viable EAC cells and weight gain and increased life span. MEKGR restored all hematological parameters, such as RBC, WBC, hemoglobin (Hb%) of EAC-bearing mice towards normal level. Membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentations were observed after treatment with MEKGR. MEKGR exhibited strong antioxidant activity. TPC (Total phenolic content) and TFC (Total flavonoid content) were found strongly correlated (P < 0.05) with antioxidant activities of MEKGR. 2-Propenoic acid, phthalic acid, palmitic acid, sandaracopimaradiene, oleic acid, octadecanoic acid, 2-[2-(4-nonylphenoxy) ethoxy] ethanol and glycidyl stearate were identified as the major constituents of MEKGR by GC–MS analysis. The overall findings of this study suggest that MEKGR may provide a natural source of antioxidant and antineoplastic activities. Keywords: Kaempferia galanga L. rhizome, Antioxidant activity, Anticancer activity, Apoptosis, GC–MS analysi

Diagenetic Clay Minerals and Their Controls on Reservoir Properties of the Shahbazpur Gas Field (Bengal Basin, Bangladesh)

Clay mineralogy and diagenesis affect the reservoir quality of the Neogene Surma Group in the Hatiya trough of Bengal Basin, Bangladesh. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopic analyses of diagenetic clay minerals from Shahbazpur#2 well reveal that on average illite is the dominant clay mineral (50%), followed by chlorite (24%), kaolinite (23%) and smectite (2.50%). The absence of smectite at Core-2 (3259.80 m to 3269 m) results from the total transformation of smectite to illite owing to burial depth and high K&ndash;feldspar. The diagenetic changes are a result of chemical processes such as cementation, chlorite authigenesis, dissolution, alteration and replacement that have significantly affected the reservoir properties. Cementation plays an important role in reducing reservoir properties with pore and fracture filling cement. The relative percentage of illite and smectite minerals (&gt;90% illite in I/S mixed layer) and K&uuml;bler index value (0.34&deg; to 0.76&deg; &Delta;2&theta;) indicate a diagenetic zone with subsurface temperatures of 120&ndash;180 &deg;C in the studied samples. The temperature range determined using clay percentages and the K&uuml;bler index as a geothermometer is supported by observed diagenetic features such as quartz overgrowths, smectite to illite transformations and chlorite coatings. The diagenetic features cause variable reservoir porosity and permeability that are critical in planning exploration and development programs of this field or analog fields across the Bengal Basin