Global Visibility and Web Impact of Leading Universities of SAARC Nations

In the present time, the World Wide Web (WWW) is one of the main platforms for every forum who wants to be recognized on in the ‘factual world’. At the academic level, universities have to play significant part for communicating scientific and cultural achievements. Publication by scholars of the institutions on the internet I snot only a tool for scholarly communication but it is also a way to reach larger audiences and thus represents the performance of the institutions globally. Thus, there have been numerous endeavours to develop the web indicators that can eventually lead to build a university’s rankings (Aguillo, Ortega & Fernandez, 2008). In this milieu, the Web Ranking of Universities originally aims at promoting Web publications. The Webometrics ranking is not only centralized towards scholarly output but also in other indicators which may reflect better global quality of scholars and presence of research institutions worldwide. The present study made an attempt to explore the top universities of SAARC nations in order to find out their performance, web-presence and impact. It has been observed from the study that Indian universities are performing better than other SAARC nation universities in terms of average world rank, continental rank, impact rank and openness rank while as Pakistan outpace in terms of average presence rank. This indicates that Indian universities have better scholarly output though Pakistan universities are more visible on the WWW

Pharmaceutical patents and access to essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has reawakened old arguments over the impact of the intellectual property (IP) system on public access to essential medicines. As used here, essential medicines are those needed in symptom management, palliative care, and in the treatment of infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria, tuberculosis, and sleeping sickness in places like sub-Saharan Africa. Some argue that patents will further inhibit access to these medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. Others, however, argue the opposite. The latter maintain that patent protection under TRIPS can promote the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in places like sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, they assert that pharmaceutical patents are not responsible for the limited access to essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. Instead, they trace the problem of access to non-patent factors, such as poverty, the lack of supportive infrastructure, and poor governance. This paper set out to assess these contrasting arguments, with a view to determining the actual impact that pharmaceutical patents may be having on access to essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. Keyword search of electronic databases was conducted, in addition to a review of relevant literature from print sources. A manual analysis then followed. It was found that, rather than a single set of factors, both patent and nonpatent factors combine to inhibit access to essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. It is imperative for sub-Saharan African countries to review current tariff and taxation policies, take steps to improve the supply of vital infrastructure, and strengthen their overall healthcare systems. They should also ensure that their IP systems are supportive of public healthcare needs. Equally important, is that TRIPS and the IP system should be more supportive of sub-Saharan Africa’s struggle to bear its disease burden, rather than focusing narrowly on profit maximisation for pharmaceutical companies. Sub-Saharan Africa also needs increased international financing, private-public collaboration in research, and the sharing of benefits in order to cater effectively for the health needs of its citizens.Key words: Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (trips), essential medicines, sub-Saharan Africa, pharmaceutical, patents, access, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS)

Virulence gene profile and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Kashmir, India

The Staphylococcus aureusis often responsible for a number of diseases in humans and animals, and it is considered as a main etiological agent of bovine mastitis. The pathogenicity of S. aureus is due to both its ability to resist antibiotics, and the production of toxins. This study investigated virulence genes, prevalence and antibiogram profile of S. aureus isolated from dairy cows suffering from mastitis in the Kashmir. A total of 70 S. aureus isolates were obtained from 250 mastitic milk samples collected from both organized (47/150) and unorganized (23/100) dairy farms. Five pathogenic factors including clfA, hld, seo, lukM, and coa and one resistance gene mecAgene were checked through PCR. Clumping factor gene (clfA) was found in most of the isolates with a percentage of 81.42 % whereas,hld, seo, lukM, and coa were present in 61.2, 54.28, 70, and 71 percent of isolates, respectively. However, amplification of coagene yielded DNA bands of two different sizes. A high percentage of antimicrobial resistance rates were observed, wherein, Ampicillin showed highest resistance with 85.7 %, followed by Kanamycin, Cefotaxime, Sulphadizine and Streptomicin showing 71.42 %, 54.28 %, 51.48 % and 42 %, respectively. A high frequency of Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA 28.57 %) was observed in these isolates and all methicillin resistant isolates were found to be positive for mecA gene via PCR amplification. These results revealed that mastitis-associated S. aureus among bovines of Kashmir is able to accumulate different virulence factors and resistance to antimicrobials, making the treatment of infections difficult

Pattern of Childhood Malignant Tumour in the Paediatric Surgery Department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University

Background: Childhood malignancy is fast becoming an important paediatric problem in Bangladesh. They differ markedly from adult malignancy in their nature and distribution. This is a 5 years retrospective study of childhood malignant tumour as seen at the paediatric surgery department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the types of malignant patients admitted in the paediatric surgery department of BSMMU and also to know their age and sex distribution. Methods: This is a 5 years retrospective study from January 2005 to December 2009 in the paediatric surgery department of BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. All admitted malignant patients, aged up to 15 years diagnosed by means of histological or cytological examination included in this study. Results: Seventy (70) malignant patients were admitted during the study period, 65.7% patients were male and 34.3% patients were female with a male female ratio of 1.9:1. Fifty two (74.3%) patients were below 5 years and eighteen (25.7%) patients were between 5 to 15 years. The Wilms’ tumour was the most common malignant tumour which accounted for 42.8%. Hepatoblastoma was the second most common (24.2%). The other malignant tumours were neuroblastoma (15.7%), Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (5.7%), Rhabdomyosarcoma (4.2%), malignant fibrous histocytoma (1.4%), Fibroscarcoma (1.4%), Osteosarcoma (1.4%), malignant sacrococcygeal teratoma (1.4%), carcinoma of the rectum (1.4%0. Conclusion: Based on the result of this study, Wilms’ tumour is the commonest paediatric solid malignancy in our country. Carcinoma of the rectum may rarely occur in paediatric age group. Key words: Frequency; malignant solid tumor; children. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bsmmuj.v4i2.8638 BSMMU J 2011; 4(2):99-10

A Miniaturized Wide Band Implantable Antenna for Biomedical Application

In this paper, a miniaturized high gain antenna was designed for biomedical applications. The designed antenna operates on the industrial, medical, and scientific(2.40 - 2.4835) GHz band. The proposed antenna consists of the radiating element having rectangular, and circular slots, and a ground plane with rectangular slots. The total volume of the designed antenna is (7x7xO.2) mm 3 , and the thickness of the superstrate and substrate is 0.1 mm. The Rogers ULTRALAM (e , = 2.9, tanD = 0.0025) material is used for substrate and superstrate. The proposed antenna is placed inside the different phantoms of the human body. The maximum gain achieved by the simulations of the proposed antenna is -12 dBi at 2.45 GHz. The designed antenna has better results than the antennas discussed in the literature in term of size, gain, and bandwidth

5 × 5 MIMO Antennas for Future 5G mm-Wave Communication

A suggested MIMO antenna's goal is to function in one of the Federal Communication Commission's designated 5G spectral bands (FCC). Due to its propensity to handle both many inputs and numerous outputs, MIMO technology may effectively address issues with large amounts of transportation and high data rates. The overall dimension of a single-element antenna is 10 x 10 mm2, The proposed MIMO antenna design consists of twenty-five elements and the resonance frequency of each antenna element is 37 GHz. The maximum gain and directivity of an antenna are greater than 6 dB. For the designing and simulation of the proposed twenty-five element MIMO antennas is CST Studio Suite software. The proposed antenna will be a candidate for future mm-Wave communication applications in terms of compactness

Ultra wideband antenna for future 5G

An ultra-wideband miniature antenna based on circular patch with circular slots has been presented for future generation mm-wave indoor wireless applications. The proposed miniature antenna is fed by probe feed and, the maximum realized gain and the total efficiency throughout the three bands are 7.7 dBi in an upper higher band and 97% in the lower band, respectively. This proposed antenna covers the seven bands (five bands are in the existing allocation to mobile, and the other two bands are to be considered for allocation) for 5G higher bands and lower band covers uplink Ku-band (14GHz - 14.5GHz) for satellite communication. The proposed antenna in ultra-wideband has the impedance bandwidth of 31.8 GHz and the fractional bandwidth of 60.61%

Hemidiaphragmatic paralysis increases postoperative morbidity after a modified Fontan operation

AbstractObjectives: After a Fontan procedure, forward pulmonary blood flow is augmented during inspiration because of negative intrathoracic pressure. Total pulmonary blood flow is higher during inspiration. With hemidiaphragmatic paralysis, inspiratory augmentation of pulmonary flow is lost or diminished. The objective of this study was to compare early postoperative morbidity after the modified Fontan operation in patients with and without hemidiaphragmatic paralysis. Methods: A case-control analysis was performed comparing 10 patients with documented hemidiaphragmatic paralysis against 30 patients without paralysis who were matched for diagnosis, fenestration, and age. The following early postoperative outcomes were assessed: duration of ventilator support, duration of hospital stay, incidence of ascites, prolonged effusions, and readmission. Results: Preoperatively, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups. However, among the postoperative outcomes, the duration of hospital stay (25.4 ± 16.6 days vs 10.8 ± 6.3 days; P =.03), incidence of ascites (70% vs 3%; P ||.001), prolonged pleural effusions (60% vs 13%; P =.007), and readmission (50% vs 7%; P =.007) were significantly greater in patients with hemidiaphragmatic paralysis than in those without hemidiaphragmatic paralysis. Conclusions: Hemidiaphragmatic paralysis after the modified Fontan operation is associated with an increase in early morbidity. Care should be taken to avoid injury to the phrenic nerve. Patients with prolonged effusions should be evaluated for hemidiaphragmatic paralysis.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;122:856-6

Microbial Extraction of Antimony from Stibnite of Qillah Abdullah

The study involve bioleaching of antimony ore collected from Qillah Abdullah   Balochistan (Pakistan) by using Thiobacillus ferrooxidans isolated from coal mine drainage of district Harnai. Analysis of ore revealed that it has 19.54% antimony along with 42.24% SiO2  as gangue material. Trails for bioleaching were conducted in shake flasks having 10% (w/v) ore and growth medium. Isolated microorganisms were found more efficient for liquification of antimony contents at grain size -150#. Liquefied antimony was recovered as antimony sulphide by  precipitation  with H2S. Parameters affecting the process of bioleaching such as aeration, time period, temperature, grain size of ore and pH were also optimized. Overall recovery of product was estimated as 73% in 120 days.