Fish growth, yield and economics of conventional feed and weed based polyculture in ponds

Fish growth, yield and economics of polyculture were evaluated for six months from April to September, 2011 in ponds of Kushtia district, Bangladesh under 4 treatments of feeds and weeds as T0: rice bran, wheat bran and mustard oilcake; T1: Azolla; T2: Grass and T3: Banana leaf. Each treatment had 3 replications. Mean initial stocking weight of fishes like Hypophthalmichthyes molitrix, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon idella and Barbonymus gonionotus was 62, 64, 57, 54, 63, 65 and 25 g, respectively. Stocking density (11,115 fishes/ha), liming (250 kg/ha), basal fertilization (Cowdung, 1,500 kg/ha; urea, 60 kg/ha; and Triple Super Phosphate, TSP 60 kg/ha) and periodic fertilization (Urea, 2.5 kg/ha/day; TSP, 2.5 kg/ha/day) were same for all the treatments. Water quality parameters (water temperature, transparency, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity and free carbon dioxide) were monitored fortnightly and fish growth parameters (weight gain and Specific Growth Rate, SGR) were monitored monthly. Treatments did not vary significantly for the mean water quality parameters. Treatment T0 varied more significantly for the mean final weight,  weight gain, SGR, survival rate and yield for almost all the species except C. idella and B. gonionotus. Significantly highest CBR was recorded with treatment T1

NOVEL APPROACHES IN LIPID BASED DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

The use of lipids in drug delivery is by no means a new trend. “Old†lipid dosage forms such as suppositories, creams or emulsions have been on the market for a long time, and some of them in use since a long time. However, over the last decade, approaches in new designs of lipid carriers have considerably evolved for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs. Lipid based drug delivery systems (DDS) can play a direct role in improving efficacy and drug safety, whereby new and improved therapies are possible. The spectrum of applications for lipid based formulations has widened as the nature and type of active drugs under investigation vary. Lipid based formulations may also protect active compounds from biological degradation or transformation, which in turn can lead to an enhancement of drug potency. In addition, lipid based particulate DDS have been shown to reduce the toxicity of various drugs by changing the biodistribution of the drug away from sensitive organs. This article mainly focuses on novel lipid formulations namely emulsions, vesicular systems and lipid particulate systems and their subcategories as well as on their prominent applications in pharmaceutical drug delivery

Antidiarrheal, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Musa sapientum Seed

Abstract Musa sapientum (M.sapientum) commonly known as 'banana' is widely used in Bangladeshi folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments including diarrhea. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate antidiarrheal, antioxidant and antibacterial potential of the methanolic extract of M.sapientum seed (MMSS). The extract was studied for antidiarrheal property using castor oil and magnesium sulfate induced diarrheal model and charcoal induced gastrointestinal motility test in mice. Total phenolic and flavonoids content, total antioxidant activity, scavenging of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, as well as nitric oxide (NO) and assessment of reducing power were used to evaluate antioxidant potential of MMSS. In addition, disc diffusion methods were used for antibacterial assay using various diarrheal induced bacterial strains. At the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight, the extract reduced the frequency and severity of diarrhea in test animals throughout the study period. At the same doses, the extracts significantly (p<0.001) delayed the intestinal transit of charcoal meal in test animals as compared to the control. In DPPH and NO scavenging method, MMSS showed good antioxidant potentiality in a dose dependent manner with the IC 50 value of 12.32±0.33 μg/ml and 18.96±1.01 μg/ml, respectively with a significant (p<0.001) good reducing power. The extract also displayed strong antibacterial effect against when tested against Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenteriae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Altogether, these results suggest that the MMSS could be used as a potential antidiarrheal agent along with its antioxidant and antibacterial potentiality

Planning and Scheduling Supply Chain Integrated Projects

Project planning and scheduling are two major tasks directly impacting an organization’s profitability. Traditionally, project managers first schedule project activities and then plan for the associated supply chain, such as materials ordering, procurement, and supplier selection. This sequential, disintegrated approach lacks results in lower profit. Greater advantage can come from the integrated planning and scheduling of projects and their associated supply chain. This dissertation comprises three parts. The first part proposes two hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms for resource-constrained project scheduling problems with discounted cash flows (RCPSPDC). First, an immune genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed by hybridizing genetic algorithm (GA), and immune algorithm (IA) approaches. Two local searches, named variable insertion neighborhood search (VINS) and forward-backward improvement (FBI), are also utilized in the IGA to intensify the exploration of the solutions. Second, an adaptive multi-operator-based IGA (MO-IGA) is developed that prioritizes the most-suitable operator among various GA, IA, and local search operators. Both proposed algorithms, the IGA and MO-IGA, are shown to be effective in solving benchmark RCPSPDC instances. The second part develops a mathematical model and solution approaches for supply chain integrated resource-constrained single-project scheduling problems (SCIRCSPSP). A net present value (NPV) based mixed integer programming (MIP) approach is proposed for integrated supply chain planning and scheduling activities. Three meta-heuristics, IA, GA, and IGA, are proposed to solve the supply chain integrated single-project scheduling model. The hybrid IGA maximizes project NPV better than GA and IA. The final part develops a mathematical model and solution methods for supply chain integrated resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problems (SCIRCMPSP). The proposed SCIRCMPSP not only plans for the materials ordering and suppliers selection but also for allocating local resources within a project, allotting global resources among various projects, and scheduling project activities. Five meta-heuristic approaches are designed: IA, GA, IA with FBI (IA-FBI), GA with FBI (GA-FBI), and surrogation-based GA (SGA). The proposed SGA is shown to be effective in solving the SCIRCMPSP instances and in solving multi-project scheduling benchmark instances

Robustness-based portfolio optimization under epistemic uncertainty

Abstract In this paper, we propose formulations and algorithms for robust portfolio optimization under both aleatory uncertainty (i.e., natural variability) and epistemic uncertainty (i.e., imprecise probabilistic information) arising from interval data. Epistemic uncertainty is represented using two approaches: (1) moment bounding approach and (2) likelihood-based approach. This paper first proposes a nested robustness-based portfolio optimization formulation using the moment bounding approach-based representation of epistemic uncertainty. The nested robust portfolio formulation is simple to implement; however, the computational cost is often high due to the epistemic analysis performed inside the optimization loop. A decoupled approach is then proposed to un-nest the robustness-based portfolio optimization from the analysis of epistemic variables to achieve computational efficiency. This paper also proposes a single-loop robust portfolio optimization formulation using the likelihood-based representation of epistemic uncertainty that completely separates the epistemic analysis from the portfolio optimization framework and thereby achieves further computational efficiency. The proposed robust portfolio optimization formulations are tested on real market data from five S&P 500 companies, and performance of the robust optimization models is discussed empirically based on portfolio return and risk

Fish growth, yield and economics of conventional feed and weed based polyculture in ponds

Fish growth, yield and economics of polyculture were evaluated for six months from April to September, 2011 in ponds of Kushtia district, Bangladesh under 4 treatments of feeds and weeds as T0: rice bran, wheat bran and mustard oilcake; T1: Azolla; T2: Grass and T3: Banana leaf. Each treatment had 3 replications. Mean initial stocking weight of fishes like Hypophthalmichthyes molitrix, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon idella and Barbonymus gonionotus was 62, 64, 57, 54, 63, 65 and 25 g, respectively. Stocking density (11,115 fishes/ha), liming (250 kg/ha), basal fertilization (Cowdung, 1,500 kg/ha; urea, 60 kg/ha; and Triple Super Phosphate, TSP 60 kg/ha) and periodic fertilization (Urea, 2.5 kg/ha/day; and TSP, 2.5 kg/ha/day) were same for all the treatments. Water quality parameters (water temperature, transparency, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity and free carbon dioxide) were monitored fortnightly and fish growth parameters (weight gain and Specific Growth Rate, SGR) were monitored monthly. Treatments did not vary significantly for the mean water quality parameters. Treatment T0 varied more significantly (P<0.05) for the mean final weight, weight gain, SGR, survival rate and yield for almost all the species except C. idella and B. gonionotus. Significantly highest CBR was recorded with treatment T1

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AWARENESS AND ITS IMPACT ON BANGLADESHI PEOPLE: A COMMUNITY BASED SURVEY

Background: The present study has been carried out to find out the people’s perception about the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of this pandemic on their daily lives. Methods: A Google form was used to create an online survey questionnaire distributed via personal relationships and social media. Data were collected using questionnaires consisting of socio-demographic status of participants, COVID-19 concepts and changes in the participants’ lifestyle. A total of 1088 respondents took part in the survey, and the results were evaluated using several statistical approaches. The results were presented in a variety of tables and graphs. Results: Males made up 53.3% of the participants, while females made up 46.7% who were from villages (29.87%), cities (53.77%), and semi-urban areas (16.36%). Most participants reported that they got information about the COVID-19 pandemic from social media, and they cited 'fever' as an indicator of the sickness. Although the amount of physical interactions with friends and family has not dropped much, working conditions and employment status have significantly altered. The majority of the participants claimed they have no concerns about the COVID-19. Conclusion: For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19, people in Bangladesh from all walks of life rely largely on social media. COVID-19 awareness isn't enough to inhibit the spreading of the virus from community to community. Employees' work schedules have also been drastically altered. To prevent transmission, we should all follow the safety rules strictly. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Peer Review History: Received: 4 November 2021; Revised: 17 December; Accepted: 28 December, Available online: 15 January 2022 Academic Editor: Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, AIMST University, Malaysia, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency.&nbsp; Received file:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewers: Dr. Eyassu Mathewos, School of public health, college of health sciences and medicine, Wolaita Soddo university- P.O. Box 158, Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia. Dr. Barkat Ali Khan, Kampala International University , Uganda, [email protected] Similar Articles: &nbsp;COVID-19: PHARMACOLOGICAL AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES COVID-19 IN MEXICO: PREPARING FOR FUTURE PANDEMIC

PRESENT STATUS, PROSPECTS AND CONSERVATION OF HILSA, Tenualosa ilisha (CLUPEIFORMES: CLUPEIDAE) FISHERY IN BANGLADESH

Belonging to the family Clupeidae, hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) is an important fish species in the South and Southeast Asia, especially in Bangladesh. Due to its unique nature, the fish has gained national and international demands for its nutritional values, taste qualities, special aroma and high delicacy, and provides livelihoods to the millions of fishers directly or indirectly along the coastal and riverine stretches in its range of natural distribution. It is considered as the national and most important commercial fish species of Bangladesh and contributes significantly to the national economy. In this study, an attempt is made in evaluating the data currently available on hilsa to determine the impact of the current management approaches and improvement strategies of this important fishery. Hilsa is found primarily in marine and estuarine environments, but it has been declining gradually over the last 30 years, reaching a low point in 1991-1992 and continuing until 2002-2003. Recognizing the declining trend of hilsa, the government took action to increase production by implementing regulations on jatka (juvenile) catch and restrictions on brood hilsa catch during the breeding season. As a result, total hilsa catch increased from 2.55 million MT (metric ton) in 2003-04 to 3.94 million MT in 2015-2016. Under the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act of 1950, Hilsa production peaked in 2016-2017, with a total of 4.96 lakh metric tons. Hilsa management techniques contribute 12.9% of all fish produced, while in Bangladesh, the rate of increase in hilsa production is 25.69%. The annual increase of total hilsa production climbed from 3.5% to 9.0% after 2015 as a result of the government's general management activities, payments for ecosystem service (PES) and the environmental management strategies, resulting in annual total hilsa production of 5.50 lakh MT in 2019–2020. A number of recommendations for effective management of the hilsa fisheries that might be implemented into the national policy are elicited in order to improve the situation because the current hilsa management plan has an impact on the conservation of this important fishery to a greater extent in commensurate with its national and international demands