Land utilization and ecological aspects in the Sylhet-Mymensingh Haor Region of Bangladesh: An analysis of LANDSAT data

The use of remote sensing data from LANDSAT (ERTS) imageries in identifying, evaluating and mapping land use patterns of the Haor area in Bangladesh was investigated. Selected cloud free imageries of the area for the period 1972-75 were studied. Imageries in bands 4, 5 and 7 were mostly used. The method of analysis involved utilization of both human and computer services of information from ground, aerial photographs taken during this period and space imageries

Robust vehicle suspension system by converting active and passive control of a vehicle to semi-active control ystem analytically

This research article deals with a simplified translational model of an automotive suspension system which is constructed by considering the translation motion of one wheel of a car. Passive Vehicle Suspension System is converted into Semi Active Vehicle System. Major advantage achieved by this system is that it adjusts the damping of the suspension system without the application of any actuator by using MATLAB® simulations. The semi-active control is found to control the vibration of suspension system very well

Thermoreflectance Technique for Thermal Properties Measurement of Micro/Nanoscale Cantilever Beams

Thermal property analysis of thin film materials on a semi-infinite substrate is a very important area of research in last few decades due to the deviation of their properties from its bulk values and measurement technique plays very important role to be free from the effect of interface conductance, surface impurities, convective and radiative losses and fabrication tolerances. Non-contact optical measurement technique drew attention to be applicable to measure thermal properties using pump-probe thermoreflectance where short pulse Laser beam applied to the film to avoid heat loss with the inclusion of the interfacial conductance and extract thermal diffusivity which is coupled to the thermal conductivity and the heat capacity of the film. This work extends the technique using Continuous Wave laser to freestanding cantilever beams for thermal properties measurement more accurately and without having any affect from interfacial conductance where heat flow is dominantly driven by 1-D heat conduction due to the device structure and experimental conditions. The pump beam applies a constant flux to the free end of the cantilever thereby inducing a thermal gradient along its length which is measured by the probe beam. Measurement of the thermal gradient allows for determination of the thermal conductivity of the material. First of all, the cantilever beam structure was chosen due to its 1D structure and free from the effect of the interface conductance and convective and radiative heat losses are minimized by performing the experiment at high vacuum and removing the substrate underneath the beam. Specific heat capacity of the cantilever beam also can be extracted by applying harmonic signal of the pump flux at the free end of the beam, furthermore the specific heat capacity verified using transient analysis of the heat flux using probe laser thermoreflectance. We demonstrate the technique by measuring the thermal conductivity of a 1.29 µm thick piece of Si. The sample demonstrated ~30% reduction in thermal conductivity when compared to the bulk value and the specific heat capacity ~ 760 , does not have much change from its bulk

Effects of maternal high fat diet and pharmacological intervention on the developmental origins of metabolic & cardiovascular disease

A high fat (HF) diet leads to hypercholesterolemia and predisposes the individual to developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesised that mother‘s HF diet before and during pregnancy and lactation can also influence predisposition to CVD in offspring fed a similar diet. The thesis sets out to investigate whether (1) the effects of long-term consumption of a HF diet by the mother predisposes her offspring to developing a CVD/ metabolic syndrome in adult life and (2) pharmacological intervention using statin alleviates the detrimental effects of maternal HF diet on the health of the dams and their offspring. Female C57BL/6 mice were fed either a HF diet (45% kcal fat) or standard chow (C; 21% kcal fat) from weaning through pregnancy and lactation. Pregnant C57/BL6 mice on HF diet were further given pravastatin in the drinking water (5 mg/kg of body weight per day) either short-term (2nd half of pregnancy and during lactation) or long-term (from weaning through to pregnancy and lactation) to lower cholesterol and improve post-weaning maternal blood pressure. Weaned female offspring from each group were then fed either a HF or C diets to adulthood. Body weight, blood pressure, plasma cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP) and bone marrow derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) were measured at 24, 28 and 36 weeks post-weaning in different experiments. Histology of the liver and kidneys were performed. Offspring from hypercholesterolemic mothers on HF diet were significantly obese (bodyweight in grams; 17.2+4.2 vs. 13.8+4.7; P&lt;0.05), hypertensive (SBP mmHg; 134+4.2 vs. 117+3.4; P&lt;0.001), less active (distance in cm; 312 + 31 vs. 563 + 45; P&lt;0.001), demonstrated increased lipid laden vacuoles in liver and kidneys; and showed reduced expression of EPC (P&lt;0.05) than offspring from C dams independent of their postnatal nutrition respectively. Pravastatin therapy in HF mothers resulted in abrogation of these variables in offspring independent of post weaning nutrition (P&lt;0.05). The effects were more permanent when the dams were given long-term statin treatment. The study demonstrates that long-term maternal HF feeding from weaning through pregnancy and lactation predisposes offspring to hypertension, raised plasma lipids, fatty liver, kidney disorders, raised CRP and inhibition of EPC numbers and expression in offspring. Pravastatin treatment of these dams inhibits these effects on the offspring and may reduce their risk of later cardiovascular pathophysiology. The findings may have implications for understanding the effects of the ?nutritional transition‘ to higher dietary intake of fat which could lead to increased cardiovascular disease in many societies.<br/

Preclinical translation of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells.

Exosomes are nanovesicles secreted by virtually all cells. Exosomes mediate the horizontal transfer of various macromolecules previously believed to be cell-autonomous in nature, including nonsecretory proteins, various classes of RNA, metabolites, and lipid membrane-associated factors. Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) appear to be particularly beneficial for enhancing recovery in various models of disease. To date, there have been more than 200 preclinical studies of exosome-based therapies in a number of different animal models. Despite a growing number of studies reporting the therapeutic properties of MSC-derived exosomes, their underlying mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, and scalable manufacturing remain largely outstanding questions. Here, we review the global trends associated with preclinical development of MSC-derived exosome-based therapies, including immunogenicity, source of exosomes, isolation methods, biodistribution, and disease categories tested to date. Although the in vivo data assessing the therapeutic properties of MSC-exosomes published to date are promising, several outstanding questions remain to be answered that warrant further preclinical investigation

A prospective study on the role of immunotherapy in metastatic cancer patients at Combined Military Hospital Dhaka

Background: Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses a person’s immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy can boost or change how the immune system works so it can find and attack cancer cells. Among several cancers, metastatic cancer causes high mortality, and immunotherapies are expected to be effective in the prevention and treatment of metastatic cancer patients. In Bangladesh, we do have not enough research-based information regarding the role of immunotherapy in treating metastatic cancer patients. This study aimed to assess the role of immunotherapy in treating metastatic cancer patients. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in combined military hospital Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from 26 March 2021 to 21 July 2022. In total 19 patients with metastatic cancer were enrolled in this study as study subjects. Proper written consent was taken from all the participants before data collection. Two (02) different outcomes were studied in this study; progression-free survival (PFS) and side effect percentages. A predesigned questionnaire was used in data collection. All data were processed, analyzed, and disseminated by using MS excel and SPSS version 23 program as per necessity. Results: In using pembrolizumab, side effects, fatigue, nausea, and decreased appetite were found 43%, 22%, and 20% lesser respectively than chemotherapy which was noticeable. In using nivolumab, as a side effect, skin rash was found 66% lesser than chemotherapy. Besides this, itching, face swelling, and apnea was found 33% lesser. On the other hand, in using atezolizumab, as side effects, swelling of arms and constipation were found 66% lesser, and itching, as well as apnea, was found 33% lesser than that in chemotherapy. At the 6-month follow-up we observed that in the nivolumab and atezolizumab treated groups 66% of cases survived separately whereas, in pembrolizumab treated group, 61% survived. Conclusions: In this study in all treatment groups, side effects were found as lesser than that in using chemotherapy. No major complication of any patients was observed in this study. So, can conclude that immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are better choice for metastatic diseases and ICIs exert lesser side effects than conventional chemotherapies

Fatty acid composition of some brown seaweeds (Phaeophyta) from the coast of Karachi

Ten species of filamentous and multicellular thalloid algae (Phaeophyta) belonging to six genera of the class Dictyophyceae were collected from different seawater habitats of Karachi, Pakistan at the northern boundary of the Arabian Sea during September 1997 and July 1998. They were extracted in chloroform: methanol, saponified, subjected to column chromatography (CC, TLC), esterified and analysed for fatty acid (FA) composition initially by gas-liquid-chromatography (GLC) and finally by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Algae of the classes Laminariophyceae and Fucophyceae (Phaeophyta) displayed only a few SCFAs, PUFAs and substituted FAs, no VLCFA, C22 UFA, CFA, DCFA and monoynoic FA, large amount of C16:0, very large quantity of C18:1, very small RCCL and FA-diversity, C18 UFAs up to four DBs, C20 UFAs up to three DBs only. They were characterized by the largest amount of C18:1, lowest degree of unsaturation of C20 UFAs, lack of C22 UFAs, the shortest RCCL and the smallest FA-diversity as compared to other phyla

La Poética y la Estética en la tradición literaria sufí persa

Abstract not availabl