The plight of the Bangladeshi silk industry: An empirical investigation

In spite of having a glorious history in the sericulture industry Bangladesh still is not a bright name in silk production and export. Although the agro-climatic situation in Bangladesh greatly favors the development of silk industry, Bangladesh produces very little amount of silk products every year, whereas India, situated beside Bangladesh, is the second largest producer of sericulture. To investigate the reason behind this, a questionnaire survey has been undertaken in which only the owners or managers have been considered as representatives of the industry. A total of 21 silk enterprises was randomly sampled. Data analyses show that almost 57% of the silk enterprises have less than 40 decimal of land while only 19% have more than 100 decimal of land. These enterprises provided very limited facilities for their workers and mostly depended on imported raw materials. Owners pointed out several constraints to the development of silk industry in Bangladesh including insufficient government patronization and recommended several remedial measures including that the Bangladesh Silk Board (BSB) gives out production credit without too much conditions, adoption of modern technology, and information dissemination . It is evident that government, through BSB and BSRTI (Bangladesh Silk Research and Training Institute) has to play a crucial role to pull this industry up from the brink of destruction

Etude Ethnobotanique des plantes médicinales utilisées dans le traitement traditionnel des hépatites virales B et C dans quelques départements du Bénin

L’étude ethnobotanique a été réalisée sur les plantes médicinales utilisées dans le traitement traditionnel des hépatites virales B et C. Elle a été menée dans cinq (05) départements du Bénin et avait pour objectif général d’inventorier et d’apporter davantage d’informations sur quelques plantes médicinales utilisées par la médecine alternative dans le traitement des infections virales B et C. Au cours de cette étude, une comparaison des résultats avec ceux des données bibliographiques concernant l’utilisation des plantes dans le traitement des hépatites virales a été réalisée. Au total, 54 plantes ont été recensées avec leurs modes d’utilisation. La décoction et la boisson sont les modes de préparation et d’administration les plus fréquents. Les feuilles constituent la partie de la plante la plus utilisée au cours des traitements. Aristolochia albida, Euphorbia hirta, Phyllanthus amarus et Opilia celtidifolia sont largement utilisées par les tradipraticiens du Bénin dans le traitement des hépatites virales B et C. Les propriétés antivirales de ces plantes sont certainement induites par des composés chimiques qui devront être identifiés ultérieurement à travers les recherches phytochimiques.Mots clés: Plantes hépatoprotectrices, activité antivirale, hépatite virale, tradithérapeutes, Bénin

EFFECT OF TRIDAXPROCUMBENS EXTRACTS ON BLOOD CLOTTING

Objective: The present work has focused on evaluating the effect of tridaxprocumbens on blood clotting.Methods: in the course of our study we have therefore carried out a Hydro ethanol extraction (50/50), Liquid-Solid extraction, and phytochemical screening. Thereafter our study was carried out on nine (09) male and female Wistar type rats aged from 10 to 12 w and weighing between 100 and 200 g. These animals were raised at the laboratory of Biomembranes Laboratory and Cell Signaling from FAST to UAC under standard environmental conditions. Animals have free access to water and food. 09 rats are experienced, divided in three batches of 3 rats each, submitted respectively to the following treatment: fed with distilled water, fed with 100 mg/kg P. C tridax extract procumbens, fed at 300 mg/kg P. C tridax extract procumbens. Evolution of the weight of rats during treatment was measured. After 7 d of treatment, the blood of the rats is taken for an experience of bleeding time, experience of coagulation time, and dosage of some blood parameters (platelet, partial thromboplastin, prothrombin).Results: Phytochemical screening carried out on the leaf and stem powder of Tridaxprocumbens revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, reducing sugar, mucilage, terpene and sterol, but at varying proportions. After 7 d of treatment, evaluation of the effect of the extractions on the body weight of the rats gave interesting conclusions. The weight of the control rats did indeed increase while that of the rats treated with the dose of (100 and 300 mg/kg) dropped. In addition, the effect of the hydroethanolic extract of the leaves and stems of Tridaxprocumbens on the coagulation of blood has been studied in order to verify the alleged property that the said extract can be used to manage bleeding. This was done by examining the effect of the extract on bleeding time, coagulation time, platelet count, activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin rate. These were carried out using the Duke method and the Lee and White method. In the bleeding time experiment, the mean time without adding the extract was 2.58±0.31 min, while the mean bleeding time after treatment with the extract was 1.61±0.70 min at a dose of 100 mg/kg PC and 1.77±0.69 min at a dose of 300 mg/kg PC, achieving 57% of the decrease in normal bleeding time. Thus the extract significantly lowers the bleeding time.When the extract was used for the coagulation time, it was found that the extract promotes blood clotting. In addition, this study reveals that Tridaxprocumbens significantly influences TCA, TP and platelet count at varying doses.Conclusion: The plant material studied in this study is, therefore, a credible alternative for an effective fight against bleeding and also promotes the coagulation of blood

Prévalence de l’anémie chez les enfants malnutris de 6 à 59 mois hospitalisés au CHD/Zou-Collines dans le plateau d’Abomey (Centre du Bénin)

L’anémie constitue un grand problème de santé publique associée à un risque accru de morbidité et de mortalité, surtout pour les femmes  enceintes et les jeunes enfants. L’objectif de cette étude est de cerner la prévalence de l’anémie chez les enfants de moins de 5 ans malnutris hospitalisés dans le service de pédiatrie du Centre Hospitalier  Départemental/Zou-Collines. Il s’agit d’une étude prospective, descriptive et analytique sur une période de six (6) mois porté sur 251 enfants malnutris hospitalisés et leurs mères. Il ressort de notre étude que 41,43% des enfants sont anémiés et que la prévalence de l’anémie est beaucoup plus  remarquable chez les enfants de moins 24 mois. Par ailleurs, 55,8% des enfants souffrent d’une anémie sévère. La principale cause de l’anémie reste la carence en  fer (78,80%). La mauvaise pratique de sevrage, l’insuffisance de consommation des aliments riches en fer biodisponible et des fruits seraient les facteurs mis en  cause dans l’avènement de l’anémie nutritionnelle au sein de la population étudiée. Il urge de mener des stratégies de lutte préventive en matière de soins de santé  primaire, d’intensification des campagnes d’information, d’éducation et de sensibilisation des populations par rapport aux pratiques  d’allaitement maternel  exclusif, à la diversification alimentaire et de conseil aux mères sur les avantages des surveillances pédiatriques.Mots clés : Bénin, enfants malnutris, anémie, carence en fer, pratique de sevrage

Prévalence et rôle des lipides dans l’avènement de l’obésité au Bénin

Le recueil des mesures anthropométriques des étudiants de l’Institut National Médico-Social (INMES) au Bénin nous a permis de calculer l’Indice de Masse Corporelle de cette population, seul indicateur pour évaluer l’état nutritionnel des adultes de point de vue énergétique. Au terme de cette évaluation, il ressort que la prévalence de l’obésité est plus élevée chez les femmes (9,81%) que chez les hommes (0,8%). L’indice de Masse Corporelle (IMC) médian est estimé à 23,03 chez les femmes contre 21,45 chez les hommes. Pour savoir les causes éventuelles de l’obésité, nous avons prélevé le sang de 41 étudiants supposés obèses et 92 ensurpoids et avons dosé les paramètres biologiques comme Cholestérol Total, Cholestérol-HDL, Cholestérol-LDL et Triglycérides. Il ressort de cette étude que, sur les quatre (04) composants lipidiques dosés, seul letaux de cholestérol-LDL est élevé au sein de cette population avec une valeur médiane de 1,52 g/l. Aussi, nous constatons une disparité dans les paramètres dosés. Par ailleurs, presque le quart (25%) des individus ensurpoids ou obèses ont une lipidémie normale. D’après nos résultats, c’est le métabolisme de Cholestérol-LDL qui est perturbé et que l’état d’obésité serait lié à d’autres facteurs tels que génétiques, hormonaux et autres

Etat nutritionnel des enfants de moins de 5 ans reçus à l’Unité de Vaccination du Centre de Santé de Hounsouko à Porto-Novo (Sud du Bénin)

La malnutrition constitue un problème de santé publique dans les pays en développement. La fréquentation des enfants dans les services de vaccination est une opportunité pour apprécier leur état nutritionnel. Il était question dans cette étude, d’évaluer l’état nutritionnel des enfants de moins de 5 ans reçus à l’Unité de Vaccination du Centre de Santé de Hounsouko à Porto-Novo. Il s’agit d’une étude transversale à visée descriptive et analytique portée sur 350 enfants de 0 à 59 mois reçus dans ledit centre. Les données anthropométriques ont été collectées. A partir de ces données, ont été calculés les indices Poids-pour-Taille, Taille-pour-Age, Poids-pour-Age. Ces données ont été traitées et analysées par les logiciels WHO Anthro®. Il ressort des résultats que 7,4% des enfants étaient émaciés, 30,3% présentaient un retard de croissance et 12,3% avaient une insuffisance pondérale. Par contre, 45,9% des enfants présentaient une surcharge pondérale dont 11,7% d’obèses. Par ailleurs, la surcharge pondérale touchait 65% des enfants de moins 5 mois. Les courbes de distribution des enfants comparativement aux courbes de référence sont décalées vers la gauche pour P/A et T/A, et vers la droite pour P/T évoquant respectivement une tendance à un état de sous-nutrition et de surnutrition.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Bénin, état nutritionnel, émaciation, retard de croissance, insuffisance pondérale, double fardeau "malnutrition"English Title: Nutritional status of children under 5 years received Immunization Unit of the Health Center of Hounsouko in Porto-Novo (Benin Southern)English AbstractMalnutrition is a public health problem in developing countries. The attendance of children in immunization services is an opportunity to appreciate their nutritional status. At issue in this study to assess the nutritional status of children under 5 years received Immunization Unit of the Health Center of Hounsouko in Porto-Novo. This is a cross-sectional study descriptive and analytical scope covered 350 children aged 0 to 59 months received in said center. Anthropometric data were collected. From these data were calculated indices Weight for Height, Height-for-age, weight-for-age. These data were processed and analyzed by the WHO Anthro® software. The results show that 7.4% of children were emaciated, 30.3% were stunted and 12.3% were underweight. By cons, 45.9% of children were overweight with 11.7% obese. Furthermore, overweight touched 65% of children aged 5 months less. Distribution of children compared to reference curves are shifted to the left to P/A and T/A, and right for P/T respectively evoking a tendency to a state of under nutrition and over-nutrition.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Benin, nutritional status, wasting, stunting, underweight, double burden "malnutrition

Cognitive and Composite Behavioural Welfare Assessments of Pet Cats between the Ages of 9–22 Months, Living in Single and Multi-Cat Households

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Although agonistic interactions between cats are often regarded clinically as a source of stress, there is currently limited research evidence regarding the welfare impact of keeping multiple cats as pets. The aim of this study was to compare welfare indicators between cats living in single and multi-cat households, as well as between cats living in multi-cat households where agonistic behaviour was/was not reported by owners. Indicators included a spatial judgment bias task (JBT) and the cat stress score (CSS). CSSs were higher in cats from single compared with multi-cat households. CSSs were lower for cats that showed a more ‘pessimistic’ response in the JBT, suggesting these cats appeared to be less stressed. JBT results did not vary depending on the presence of, or reports of agonistic behaviours between, cohabiting cats. These data suggest that mood states (as measured by the JBT) were not impacted by the social groupings investigated, and that cats from single-cat households showed more signs of stress (as measured by CSS) than those in multi-cat households. Alternative explanations cannot be discounted, particularly due to the narrow sample population and broad scope of husbandry conditions that were unaccounted for. Further research is warranted to explore the extent to which variables that could not be controlled may have confounded findings. ABSTRACT: Although agonistic interactions between cats are often regarded clinically as a source of stress, there is currently limited research evidence regarding the welfare impact of keeping multiple cats as pets. The aim of this study was to compare welfare indicators between cats living in domestic single and multi-cat households, as well as between multi-cat households where agonistic behaviour was/was not reported by owners. Indicators included a spatial judgment bias task (JBT), where longer latencies to ambiguous probes are interpreted as being related to a more ‘pessimistic’ mood state, and the cat stress score (CSS), where high scores are indicative of high stress levels. Of 128 focal cats between the ages of 9–22 months, 94 were from multi-cat households, 126 had useable CSS data and 42 had JBT results suitable for analysis. CSSs were significantly lower for cats showing a more ‘pessimistic’ response in the JBT. It is possible that the cats that appeared to be the most relaxed may have been showing inactivity relating to negative affective states and/or were the least active/food motivated, and therefore slower in the JBT. CSSs were significantly higher in cats from single compared with multi-cat households, and did not vary with reports of agonistic interactions in multi-cat households. JBT results did not vary depending on the presence of, or reports of agonistic behaviours between, cohabiting cats. These data suggest that cats from single-cat households may be more likely to show signs of acute stress than those in multi-cat households. Alternative explanations are possible. For example, lower CSSs in the multi-cat group may reflect ‘relief’ effects resulting from separating cats for the test period, or inactivity relating to negative affective states. Due to the narrow sample population and broad scope of husbandry conditions, the potential for confounding variables limits the degree by which results can be used to inform causation of the relationships identified. Further research is warranted to replicate this work and explore potential confounders

The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between epidemic anxiety and academic motivation of physical education teacher candidates

Background and Study Aim. In addition to their physiological effects, epidemics negatively affect the motivation of individuals by causing varying levels of psychosocial problems such as stress, fear, anxiety and depression. At this point, psychological resilience is considered as an important variable in reducing and preventing the psychological effects of epidemic anxiety. The main purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between epidemic anxiety of physical education teacher candidates and their academic motivation. Materials and Methods. The study group of the research, which was designed in the relational screening model, consists of 451 physical education teacher candidates. They are studying in the 4th grade of the Physical Education and Sports Teaching program of the universities. The data of the research was collected with “Personal Information Form”, “Epidemic Anxiety Scale”, “Academic Motivation Scale” and “Brief Psychological Resilience Scale”. Descriptive statistics techniques, correlation and regression analyzes were used to analyze the data. The PROCESS macro extension was used for mediation analysis. Results. The mean score levels of physical education teacher candidates were 57.03±14.52 for epidemic anxiety, 92.74±15.72 for academic motivation, and 20.26±5.00 for psychological resilience. While epidemic anxiety predicted psychological resilience (95%CI [-0.168; -0.109], p0.05) became insignificant. Psychological resilience has a mediating role in the relationship between epidemic anxiety and academic motivation. Conclusions. Psychological resilience emerged as an essential variable in preventing the psychological effects of physical education teacher candidates regarding epidemic anxiety and increasing their academic motivation

Image Enhancement via Extrapolation Techniques: A Two Dimensional Iterative Scheme a Direct Matrix Inversion Scheme

In [1] and [2], we have developed a model and three dimensional inversion algorithm for detecting flaw in structures. The model, based on rigorous electromagnetic theory, and the algorithm have as their main objective the high resolution imaging of the flaw. The algorithm is computationally intensive and, like other inversion techniques, involves the solution of some ill conditioned problems

Tracking motion and intensity variations using hierarchical 2-D mesh modeling for synthetic object transfiguration

We propose a method for tracking the motion and intensity variations of a 2-D mildly deformable image object using a hierarchical 2-D mesh model. The proposed method is applied to synthetic object transfiguration, namely, replacing an object in a real video clip with another synthetic or natural object via digital postprocessing. Successful transfiguration requires accurate tracking of both motion and intensity (contrast and brightness) variations of the object-to-be-replaced so that the replacement object can be rendered in exactly the same way from a single still picture. The proposed method is capable of tracking image regions corresponding to scene objects with nonplanar and/or mildly deforming surfaces, accounting for intensity variations, and is shown to be effective with real image sequences. © 1996 Academic Press, Inc