Airflow-Oximetry Combined Signal Based Automatic Detection of Sleep Apnea in Adults

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, can significantly decrease the quality of life and is closely associated with major health risks such as cardiovascular disease, sudden death, depression, and hypertension. It also elicits brain and physiological changes that vary across the night. Conventional diagnosis of sleep apnea using polysomnography (PSG) is costly and time-consuming, requiring manual scoring of sleep stages and respiratory events. Current automatic diagnostic algorithms used to detect sleep apnea vary in approaches with the use of different physiological signals. An effective, reliable, and accurate automatic method for the diagnosis of sleep apnea will be time-efficient and economical. This thesis is a narration of the work that led to the development of a novel algorithm suitable for the automatic diagnosis of sleep apnea. A systematic literature review of the existing methods (approaches and algorithms) was performed before designing the algorithm. This review presented an overview of methods to diagnose sleep apnea using respiratory and oximetry signals. The review identified the research gaps with indicating the major concerns, challenges, benefits, and limitations of using respiratory and oximetry signals for the diagnosis of sleep apnea. This thesis examined the electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral powers resulting from apnea duration of varying length and reported the changes in the relative powers in EEG frequency bands before and at apnea termination. The study was carried out for the purpose of justifying the usability of EEG for the automatic diagnosis of sleep apnea. It investigated the spectral power changes in delta, theta, alpha, sigma, and beta frequency bands of EEG as a function of apnea duration from 375 events. The study revealed a significant reduction in EEG relative powers (the low frequency theta, alpha, and sigma powers) both before and at apnea termination. The findings from the EEG spectral analysis suggests that the application of EEG signal in sleep apnea diagnosis is not reliable due to the random variations in spectral powers as well as the major challenges associated with EEG acquisition and its processing. Due to the limitations associated with the EEG for an unattended home diagnosis of sleep apnea, the EEG signal was excluded from the automatic detection approach […

Convergence of Police History from a Comparative Analysis among Different Countries: Lessons for Bangladesh

Comparative study on the historical development of police is a good way to know the evolvement of different policing systems of the world. Thus, analyzing various policing systems of the world can aid the researchers and professionals to apprehend different facets of such systematic development of police forces. In this article, a comparative historical context has been extracted to apprehend the similarities and dissimilarities of the formal policing system of different countries. The aim of this study, therefore, is to analyze the development process of the various policing system and also to identify a common pattern for these developments. This study also aims at recommending some strategies for making the policing system of Bangladesh more effective analyzing the patterns of the historical context of American, English, Swedish, and Japanese policing system, arguing that the process of development of police force is almost same all over the world. For conducting this study, various secondary sources have been used generously and for analyzing the data different flow charts and tables have been used. This study thereby concludes that Japanese policing can be the model which fits with Bangladeshi policing system. This study also recommends to follow the way Japan developed its community policing environment being the perimeter of a centralized policing system. Keywords: Policing, model, community, citizen oversight, centralizatio

A Comparative Analysis Between the Juvenile Justice Process of Bangladesh and China

Juvenile delinquency is an issue of concern all over the world. It has long been an issue of discussion throughout the world among the legal scholars, psychologists, and world leaders. Many international conventions and treaties, therefore, are still in action to deal with the problem. These legal guidelines are set as the standard of the rights for the juveniles or children who come in contact or conflict with the law. The pattern of the delinquency, the definition of activities as delinquency and crimes and other associated issues are not equal in all the countries of the world. Western countries are clearly ahead in establishing a more liberal justice system for the juveniles than other countries. Some Asian countries are also concerned with the issue and continuously striving to change their system as per the guidelines of the international legal instruments. China has also undergone a considerable headway in the present years in reducing the delinquency adopting new measures in this regard. Bangladesh, on the other hand, enacted a new legal framework replacing the old one to create a more congenial environment for the juveniles. As a result, the juvenile justice system in both of these countries is achieving new dimensions. A comparative study between these two countries reveals that there are some differences in the ways of dealing with the juveniles who come in the contact or conflict with the law. China’s juvenile justice system is mostly criminal in nature where argumentative ways of prosecution are prevalent. On the other hand, seemingly the process of Bangladesh is more favourable for the juveniles. Both of these countries emphasise on the rehabilitation process while China has formally established that their means of handling juveniles will primarily be through the education followed by the punishment. Both of these countries need to establish many specialized treatment centres so that the juveniles can be rehabilitated properly under necessary supervision. Chinese Procuratorate system is also a good one that works like a circuit breaker in stopping mass and whimsical arrest of juveniles by police officers. This study, however, is based on content analysis and was conducted between January 2018 to March 2018.Keywords: Criminal justice system, international legal instruments, Beijing rules, comparison, dissimilaritie

Micro Credit-Women Empowerment Nexus Explored: A Study on the Women of Selected Rural Areas in Natore District, Bangladesh

The literatures on the ‘micro credit –women empowerment’ linkage reveal that there is a causal relationship between micro credit and women empowerment. The findings of this study affirmed that relationships exist between micro credit and women empowerment indeed vis-à-vis studying a selected sample of three hundred and eighty one rural women in Natore district, Bangladesh. This study reveals that a significant number of rural women (72%) attributed their empowerment after receiving micro credit while 33% of the respondents answered negatively. In this regard, this study also reveals that a significant number of respondents can participate in decision making regarding the issues such as cultivation (75%), use of contraceptive methods (76%), political interest (32%) and voting behavior (79%). This study found that receiving micro credit by rural women are significantly associated with their  empowerment through participation in decision making regarding conjugal life, child care, loan taking(p<0.01), use of money received from micro credit (p<0.05), interest in politics(p<0.05),voting behavior, determination  of voting and purchasing or selling of materials. The findings of the study have been explained vis-à-vis sociological theories in the South Asian context. Keywords: Micro credit, Women empowerment, Bangladesh, BRAC

IFN-γ Attenuates Eosinophilic Inflammation but Is Not Essential for Protection against RSV-Enhanced Asthmatic Comorbidity in Adult Mice

The susceptibility to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in early life has been associated with a deficient T-helper cell type 1 (Th1) response. Conversely, healthy adults generally do not exhibit severe illness from RSV infection. In the current study, we investigated whether Th1 cytokine IFN-γ is essential for protection against RSV and RSV-associated comorbidities in adult mice. We found that, distinct from influenza virus, prior RSV infection does not induce significant IFN-γ production and susceptibility to secondary Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in adult wild-type (WT) mice. In ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthmatic mice, RSV super-infection increases airway neutrophil recruitment and inflammatory lung damage but has no significant effect on OVA-induced eosinophilia. Compared with WT controls, RSV infection of asthmatic Ifng-/- mice results in increased airway eosinophil accumulation. However, a comparable increase in eosinophilia was detected in house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthmatic Ifng-/- mice in the absence of RSV infection. Furthermore, neither WT nor Ifng-/- mice exhibit apparent eosinophil infiltration during RSV infection alone. Together, these findings indicate that, despite its critical role in limiting eosinophilic inflammation during asthma, IFN-γ is not essential for protection against RSV-induced exacerbation of asthmatic inflammation in adult mice

Type I IFN Signaling Protects Mice from Lethal SARS-CoV-2 Neuroinvasion.

Multiple organ damage is common in patients with severe COVID-19, even though the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remain unclear. Acute viral infection typically activates type I IFN (IFN-I) signaling. The antiviral role of IFN-I is well characterized in vitro. However, our understanding of how IFN-I regulates host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo is incomplete. Using a human ACE2-transgenic mouse model, we show in the present study that IFN-I receptor signaling is essential for protection against the acute lethality of SARS-CoV-2 in mice. Interestingly, although IFN-I signaling limits viral replication in the lung, the primary infection site, it is dispensable for efficient viral clearance at the adaptive phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conversely, we found that in the absence of IFN-I receptor signaling, the extreme animal lethality is consistent with heightened infectious virus and prominent pathological manifestations in the brain. Taken together, our results in this study demonstrate that IFN-I receptor signaling is required for restricting virus neuroinvasion, thereby mitigating COVID-19 severity

IFN-γ Transforms the Transcriptomic Landscape and Triggers Myeloid Cell Hyperresponsiveness to Cause Lethal Lung Injury

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is an inflammatory disease that is associated with high mortality but no specific treatment. Our understanding of initial events that trigger ARDS pathogenesis is limited. We have developed a mouse model of inflammatory lung injury by influenza and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) coinfection plus daily antibiotic therapy. Using this pneumonic ARDS model, here we show that IFN-γ receptor signaling drives inflammatory cytokine storm and lung tissue damage. By single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis, we demonstrate that IFN-γ signaling induces a transcriptional shift in airway immune cells, particularly by upregulating macrophage and monocyte expression of genes associated with inflammatory diseases. Further evidence from conditional knockout mouse models reveals that IFN-γ receptor signaling in myeloid cells, particularly CD11c+ mononuclear phagocytes, directly promotes TNF-α hyperproduction and inflammatory lung damage. Collectively, the findings from this study, ranging from cell-intrinsic gene expression to overall disease outcome, demonstrate that influenza-induced IFN-γ triggers myeloid cell hyperresponsiveness to MRSA, thereby leading to excessive inflammatory response and lethal lung damage during coinfection

Multi-OMICS and Molecular Biology Perspective in Buffalo Genome

The bovine species buffalo was domesticated from its wild strain Bubalus arnee and is widely used livestock in southern Asia. There are two distinct types of Buffalo- the swamp buffalo (B. bubalis kerebau) and the river buffalo (B. bubalis bubalis), which diverged from the wild Asian water buffalo and then evolved in separate geographical regions. Several research studies performed on buffalo, like- characterization of trait-specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), genetic and phenotypic diversity, gene prediction and function annotation, mapping of the draft genome, have helped our understanding of the buffalo genome. Some advanced discovery as identification of Single Nucleotide Variant (SNVs), Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) marker and their association with various phenotypic traits, MicroRNA's expression profiling, whole-genome sequencing, etc. have also enabled us to track the chromosomal evolution, physiological processes, and gene expression of buffalo. Proper enhancement of these traits can lead us to apply multi-omics-based tools for better animal health and production. Recent advancement in genomic research on buffalo is being accelerated with the association of modern tools like- Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS), genotyping by sequencing, epigenomic screening, microRNA's expression profiling, microarray technology, and whole-genome sequencing. All these tools bear great significance in breed up-gradation, identification of the phylogenetic relationship between species in proteome and genomic level, study gene expression level, diagnose diseases or developmental stages, phenotypic diversity, etc. All this knowledge paved the way for better optimization of production efficiency, product quality, and resistance to certain health hazards

The Impact of Human Resource Development (HRD) Practices on Organizational Effectiveness: A Review

This paper attempted to review theoretically the HRD and its matrix and revealed to show the positive relationship between HRD and organizational effectiveness. In HRD shows the different variables (outcomes) such as HRD instruments, HRD processes & climate variables and organizational dimensions. HRD affects the organizational goals which may result from higher productivity, cost reduction, more profits, better image and more satisfied customers and stake holders considered as organization dimensions HRD activities, as such, do not reduce costs, improve quality or quantity, or benefit the enterprise in any way. It is the on-the- job applications of learning that ultimately can reduce costs, improve quality, and so forth. In the organizational context, therefore, HRD means a process which helps employees of an organization to improve their functional capabilities for their present and future roles, to develop their general capabilities, to harness their inner potentialities both for their self and organizational development and, to develop organizational culture to sustain harmonious superior-subordinate relationships, teamwork, motivation, quality and a sense of belongingness. The study also analyses the Kliman Model of HRM to show the path of mechanisms which could lead to competitive advantage. Today’s fast changing environment modern organizations are more careful to sustain in the competitive advantage relating to HRD our study has been developed to help the management students, academicians, and professionals to understand the subject properly and enhance their knowledge about HRD network within the organization for its effectiveness