PDP4XL2: Personal Development Planning for Cross-Institutional Lifelong Learning. Final Report.

This collaborative project PDP4XL2 built on the strengths and successful outcomes of PDP4Life and took as its principal focus the use of personal development planning and e-portfolios to develop and sustain favourable learner attitudes towards lifelong learning and to understand the role that technology plays in supporting that process. Project objectives included identifying student and employer attitudes to and usage of PDP and e-portfolios in the creative industries and health cares. This final report documents the outcomes of the project

Spatial and temporal variations of PM10 in Chittagong City

Healthy environment is precondition of good health. Fresh air, pure water and soil are the main component of a healthy environment. Contaminants from different anthropogenic activities and natural sources such as, particulate matter (PM), Oxides of Sulphur (SOx), oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2) etc. contaminate and pollute this natural fresh air and threaten human life as well as environment.Every year the morbidity due to Particulate matter (PM) is about 50% of the total premature morbidity because of air pollution. World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer classified it as group 1 human carcinogen. Considering its importance, in most of the country, monitoring of particulate matter has been given priority in assessing air quality monitoring. Analyzing the concentrations of particulate matter measured by high volume air sampler from six sampling sites of the city, differences in the concentrations of PM10 were observed in this study. The monthly mean concentration of PM10 hardly remain within the standards of Bangladesh while, the mean annual average of PM10 at all sampling sites was many times higher than the standard of Bangladesh and WHO. As, the concentration of PM10in Chittagong is not praiseworthy enough and indicate a serious threat to human health, strategic air quality management and monitoring system are recommended in this study

Vaccine breakthrough hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs

Life-threatening `breakthrough' cases of critical COVID-19 are attributed to poor or waning antibody response to the SARS- CoV-2 vaccine in individuals already at risk. Pre-existing autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs underlie at least 15% of critical COVID-19 pneumonia cases in unvaccinated individuals; however, their contribution to hypoxemic breakthrough cases in vaccinated people remains unknown. Here, we studied a cohort of 48 individuals ( age 20-86 years) who received 2 doses of an mRNA vaccine and developed a breakthrough infection with hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia 2 weeks to 4 months later. Antibody levels to the vaccine, neutralization of the virus, and auto- Abs to type I IFNs were measured in the plasma. Forty-two individuals had no known deficiency of B cell immunity and a normal antibody response to the vaccine. Among them, ten (24%) had auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs (aged 43-86 years). Eight of these ten patients had auto-Abs neutralizing both IFN-a2 and IFN-., while two neutralized IFN-omega only. No patient neutralized IFN-ss. Seven neutralized 10 ng/mL of type I IFNs, and three 100 pg/mL only. Seven patients neutralized SARS-CoV-2 D614G and the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) efficiently, while one patient neutralized Delta slightly less efficiently. Two of the three patients neutralizing only 100 pg/mL of type I IFNs neutralized both D61G and Delta less efficiently. Despite two mRNA vaccine inoculations and the presence of circulating antibodies capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs may underlie a significant proportion of hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia cases, highlighting the importance of this particularly vulnerable population

Comparative effect of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr. leaves and stem barks on acetic acid induced pain model in mice and chromogenic reagents: exploring the analgesic potential and phytochemical groups

Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr (Anacardiaceae), a Bangladeshi medicinal plant, has long been used in indigenous medicine. The plant is reported to be used in the traditional medicine for all local swelling, pain and inflammation and in the treatment of tumour, ulcers, cancer, sprains, bruises, skin diseases, and dysentery. Both the leaves and the stem bark have painkilling and astringent property and so, mixed with toothpowder for use in toothache. The leaves are copped as fodder and fed the livestock in inflammatory and digestive problems. In this study, ethanol extracts of the leaves and stem bark of this traditionally valuable medicinal plant were screened for analgesic activity on acetic acid induced Swiss-albino mice- Mus musculus in vivo for the first time as well as studied for some important phytochemical groups. The dried extracts were dissolved in 99.8% ethanol and qualitatively analysed for bioactive chemical groups-alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, gums, reducing sugars, tannins, flavonoids, and saponins using standard chromogenic reagents. The colour intensity or the precipitate formation was used as analytical responses to these tests. Both the extracts were found to contain steroidal compounds, tannins, gums, reducing sugars, alkaloids as well as flavonoids as their major bioactive phytochemical groups. In analgesic activity test, the bark extract produced 92.92 % writhing inhibition and the leaf extract produced 95.14% writhing inhibition at the dose of 250 mg/kg of body weight compared to the standard diclofenac Na that inhibit 78.54% writhing inhibition at the dose of 25 mg/kg body weight by acetic acid induced writhing model in mice. Based on the results, it could be concluded that the ethanol extract of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr leaves and bark possess significant analgesic activity and mood of action might involve a peripheral mechanism. The results rationalize its use in folkloric remedies especially against pain and inflammation

An evaluation of nutritional constraints on irrigated rice yield

Nutritional constraints often restrict yields of field crops in farmers’ fields. The present study aimed to determine minimum rice yield target of high-yielding subpopulation in farmers’ fields and nutritional difference between high and low yielding subpopulation. Popular high yielding rice (variety BRRI dhan28) was grown in 42 farmers’ participatory nutrient management trials with two treatments – farmers’ nutrient management plan (FP) and improved nutrient management plan (INM). Nutrient composition was determined from Y-leaf after 45 – 50 days of transplanting. Yield cutoff value between low and high yield subpopulation was determined from compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND) generic model. The CND generic model gave 6.90 Mg ha – 1 as minimum cutoff yield of the high-yield subpopulation. Potassium was identified as the main yield limiting nutrient for rice in piedmont soils. Irrigated rice in farmers’ fields of Asia may require higher K fertilizer dose for better yield

An evaluation of nutritional constraints on irrigated rice yield

Nutritional constraints often restrict yields of field crops in farmers’ fields. The present study aimed to determine minimum rice yield target of high-yielding subpopulation in farmers’ fields and nutritional difference between high and low yielding subpopulation. Popular high yielding rice (variety BRRI dhan28) was grown in 42 farmers’ participatory nutrient management trials with two treatments – farmers’ nutrient management plan (FP) and improved nutrient management plan (INM). Nutrient composition was determined from Y-leaf after 45 – 50 days of transplanting. Yield cutoff value between low and high yield subpopulation was determined from compositional nutrient diagnosis (CND) generic model. The CND generic model gave 6.90 Mg ha – 1 as minimum cutoff yield of the high-yield subpopulation. Potassium was identified as the main yield limiting nutrient for rice in piedmont soils. Irrigated rice in farmers’ fields of Asia may require higher K fertilizer dose for better yield