Functionalized single-walled carbon-nanotube-blended P3HT-based high performance memory behavior thin-film transistor devices.

We report on the fabrication and transport properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) blended with P3HT (poly 3-hexyl thiophene-2, 5-diyl). The composite is used as a hybrid organic active channel transistor. The performances of the fabricated devices were investigated as a function of the SWCNTs' loads in the composite, and their response evaluated under white light illumination. Our results show that for SWCNT loads ≤1.5 wt%, all the devices behave as p-type transistors, exhibiting excellent performance, with an I on /I off ratio of 104 and a maximum on-state current (I on) exceeding 80 µA. Moreover, compared with pristine transistors with a P3HT channel, the Hall mobility of these hybrid TFTs was found to increase by more than one order of magnitude, i.e. increasing from 0.062 to 1.54 cm2 V-1 s-1. Finally, under light illumination, the transfer characteristics (i.e. I DS as a function of V GS) were found to systematically undergo a typical shift together with a fully-reversible memory behavior. A fundamental understanding of this work can assist in providing new routes for the development of reliable efficient hybrid organic-based optoelectronic devices.

Bone Age Determination by Radiology & Imaging in Bangladesh Perspective.

Determination of age is one of the most important and vital demand in legal affairs, court and young sports, especially from 7-21 years. There is no established age determination table in our county. So we are dependent upon Galstaun, Bashu & Bashu and other European tables, which sometimes provide misinterpretation and variation of opinion. We should have our own table suitable for our nation. So, this prospective study was carried out in the Department of Radiology and Imaging of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2010 to June 2014 (five years) to assess the general skeletal maturity. Three hundred boys and girls of known date of birth were selected on random basis from Dhaka. Ages were limited within 7 to 21 year. Every 20 person for each age group, of them 10 were male and 10 were female. To observe the bony maturity, radiographs were taken at the end of their age belongs to. Thus a growth table is to be prepared for further evaluation.

Association between serum vitamin D, retinol and zinc status, and acute respiratory infections in underweight and normal-weight children aged 6-24 months living in an urban slum in Bangladesh.

We conducted a longitudinal assessment in 466 underweight and 446 normal-weight children aged 6-24 months living in the urban slum of Dhaka, Bangladesh to determine the association between vitamin D and other micronutrient status with upper respiratory tract infection (URI) and acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI). Incidence rate ratios of URI and ALRI were estimated using multivariable generalized estimating equations. Our results indicate that underweight children with insufficient and deficient vitamin D status were associated with 20% and 23-25% reduced risk of URI, respectively, compared to children with sufficient status. Underweight children, those with serum retinol deficiency were at 1·8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·4-2·4] times higher risk of ALRI than those with retinol sufficiency. In normal-weight children there were no significant differences between different vitamin D status and the incidence of URI and ALRI. However, normal-weight children with zinc insufficiency and those that were serum retinol deficient had 1·2 (95% CI 1·0-1·5) times higher risk of URI and 1·9 (95% CI 1·4-2·6) times higher risk of ALRI, respectively. Thus, our results should encourage efforts to increase the intake of retinol-enriched food or supplementation in this population. However, the mechanisms through which vitamin D exerts beneficial effects on the incidence of childhood respiratory tract infection still needs further research.

Spatial Variation of Arsenic in Soil, Irrigation Water, and Plant Parts: A Microlevel Study.

Arsenic pollution became a great problem in the recent past in different countries including Bangladesh. The microlevel studies were conducted to see the spatial variation of arsenic in soils and plant parts contaminated through ground water irrigation. The study was performed in shallow tube well command areas in Sadar Upazila (subdistrict), Faridpur, Bangladesh, where both soil and irrigation water arsenic are high. Semivariogram models were computed to determine the spatial dependency of soil, water, grain, straw, and husk arsenic (As). An arsenic concentration surface was created spatially to describe the distribution of arsenic in soil, water, grain, straw, and husk. Command area map was digitized using Arcview GIS from the "mouza" map. Both arsenic contaminated irrigation water and the soils were responsible for accumulation of arsenic in rice straw, husk, and grain. The accumulation of arsenic was higher in water followed by soil, straw, husk, and grain. Arsenic concentration varied widely within command areas. The extent and propensity of arsenic concentration were higher in areas where high concentration of arsenic existed in groundwater and soils. Spherical model was a relatively better and appropriate model. Kriging method appeared to be more suitable in creating interpolated surface. The average arsenic content in grain was 0.08-0.45 mg/kg while in groundwater arsenic level it ranged from 138.0 to 191.3 ppb.

Neonatal Conjunctivitis Leading to Neonatal Sepsis--A Case Report.

Neonatal conjunctivitis is the most common occular disease in neonates. Most infections are acquired during vaginal delivery. In spite most of these cases are benign; some of them may progress to systemic complications like loss of vision if left untreated. The authors present a case of a newborn who developed late onset neonatal sepsis from E. coli positive conjunctivitis. The baby was treated with Injection Meropenem and Injection Amikacin for 10 days. The course was uneventful, after that baby responded well and discharged home on 24th day.

A Survey on Current Practice of Management of Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis.

It was a survey type of cross sectional study where the participants were from different teaching/referral hospital across the country and was done to gather information regarding current practice of management of neonatal sepsis among paediatricians and neonatologists and was conducted on the spot during a national conference of Bangladesh Perinatal Society in December 2013. Specialists in neonatology, paediatrics, and some other disciplines working in different institutes across the country were requested to respond. Out of 150 physicians, 92 (61.33%) were neonatologists. Physicians suspected early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) when there is history suggestive of prolonged rupture of membrane (74.77%), prolonged labour (9.33%), chorioamnionitis (7.33%) and maternal fever (2%). Clinical sepsis is found commonly (53.33%) which is later proved by laboratory evidences such as Hb%, TC, DC PBF (peripheral blood film), C-reactive protein, chest X-ray etc. Injection Ampicillin and Gentamycin are still the first choice of antibiotics (61.3%). Preferred route was intravenous (95.3%). Antibiotics were given for 7-10 days by most of the physicians (48.77%). However there is lack of uniformity among the participants in regard to taking decision about antibiotics, the choice of first line and the subsequent options of antibiotics. So, neonatal sepsis is the most important cause of neonatal mortality in the community. Therefore a standard protocolized approach for diagnosis and management of Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis may prove critical which is currently not in practice uniformly.

Lack of BCG vaccination and other risk factors for bacteraemia in severely malnourished children with pneumonia.

We sought to examine the factors associated with bacteraemia and their outcome in children with pneumonia and severe acute malnutrition (SAM). All SAM children of either sex, aged 0-59 months, admitted to the Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh with radiologically confirmed pneumonia from April 2011 to July 2012 were enrolled (n = 405). Comparison was made between pneumonic SAM children with (cases = 18), and without (controls = 387) bacteraemia. The death rate was significantly higher in cases than controls (28% vs. 8%, P < 0·01). In logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for potential confounders, the SAM children with pneumonia and bacteraemia more often had a history of lack of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination (odds ratio 7·39, 95% confidence interval 1·67-32·73, P < 0·01). The results indicate the importance of continuation of BCG vaccination which may provide benefit beyond its primary purpose.

Re-DCR with Silicone Tube Intubation: An Effective Method of Management of Failed DCR.

This prospective observational study was performed with twenty nine eyes of Twenty eight patients who were operated upon for chronic dacryocystitis eight months to two years six months before, presented with history of persistent watering and discharge. Number of male was 6(21%) and female was 22(79%). Re-DCR with silicone tube intubation was performed in all the patients. Post operative follow up for a period of 12-24 months revealed absence of symptoms in 28 eyes (97%) while 1(3%) eye persisted with watering and discharge despite uncomplicated surgical procedure. There are so many options for management of Failed DCR, among them Re-DCR with Silicone Tube Intubation is the most safe and less cost effective method.

Retrobulbar abscess in a child.

A 14 months old male child was admitted into Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), Bangladesh, with fever, watering, swelling, redness of right eye and running nose. On initial examination, patient was febrile, toxic, right-sided severe proptosis, restricted ocular movement, conjunctival chemosis and exposure keratitis of right eye. A sluggish pupillary light reaction was present in the right eye. Visual acuity was not recordable. CT scan of Brain and Orbit revealed, retrobulbar abscess of right orbit. The left eye was normal. The abscess was drained through a wide bore needle. The extraocular motility improved and pupil became brisk with a reduction in the temperature and toxic signs within 48 hours following surgery. Proptosis at the time of discharge from the hospital was absent in the right eye with no other complication. Post operative 8 months follow up period was excellent.

Placental changes in pregnancy induced hypertension and its impacts on fetal outcome.

A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in the Gynae and Obstetrics & Pathology department of Mymensingh Medical College & Hospital (MMCH) to see the placental changes in normal & pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and its impacts on fetus for one year period. Total 80 placentas were collected, 40 from normal pregnant mothers having no hypertension and 40 from PIH group (one from gestational hypertension, 17 from pre-eclampsia and 22 from eclampsia. Macroscopic study of the placenta revealed placental weight, surface area and number of cotyledons were less in study group. Mean placental weight in study group was 419.50gm and in control group was 477.50 (p<0.001). Mean surface area in study group & control group were 232.29cm² and 304.80cm² respectively (p<0.001). Mean number of cotyledons were 15.39 and 17.40 in study & control group respectively (P<0.001) and lower diameter of umbilical cord (p<0.04667). But in the present study placental thickness was not significant (p<0.539). There was a single umbilical artery present in one patient in PIH group .In PIH group syncytial knots (95%), fibrinoid necrosis (80%), VSM (vasculosyncytial membrane) formation, sclerosis, chorangiosis and calcification were more marked. Infarction was present in placenta of PIH 34(85%) and in control group 8(20%). There was a tendency of lowering the weight of neonate 2.47kg in study group and 3.06kg in control group (p<0.001), number of asphyxiated babies and perinatal morbidity and mortality( still birth was 7.5 and neonatal death was 15%) were more marked in PIH group. In PIH group placental changes were related with fetal outcome. Common placental changes were significant in this study.

Association of Serum Magnesium Level with Severity of Neurological Disability in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Magnesium (Mg) has important effects on vascular system and deficiency of this cation is thought to be a risk factor for cerebrovascular atherosclerosis and complications. The study was planned to find out the association of serum magnesium level with severity of neurological disability in patient with acute ischemic stroke. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the department of Neurology and Medicine at Mymensingh Medical College & Hospital, Mymensingh from June, 2018 to October, 2019. Patients with acute ischemic stroke were evaluated following informed written consent. Diagnosis was confirmed by neuroimaging of brain. Moreover, serum magnesium assay was done for each patient. Data were collected by interview, clinical examination and laboratory investigations of patients using a case record form and analysis was carried out by using the SPSS 22.0 (IBM Inc., Armonk, NY, USA). Mean age of acute ischemic stroke patients was 63.94±13.93 years with male predominance (58.30%). Majority of the respondents (70.2%) had NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score 5-15 (moderate stroke), 13.1% had score 1-5 (minor stroke), 13.1% had score15-20 (Moderate to severe stroke) and 3.6% had score 21-42 (severe stroke). Mean serum magnesium level was 1.83±0.283mg/dl. Hypomagnesaemia was present in 28(33.3%) patients and it was related with higher NIHSS scoring (p<0.05). Multiple regression showed that among the risk factors, serum magnesium level was independently associated with severity of neurological disability of the acute ischemic stroke (p<0.001). In this study, the correlation coefficient between serum magnesium level and NIHSS score was found as r= - 0.667 which showed negative relationship between serum magnesium and NIHSS score. Lower serum magnesium level is associated with the severity of neurological disability of acute ischemic stroke patient. Further case-control studies are required to validate this finding.

Association between Serum Vitamin D Level and Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Stroke is one of the most common neurological disorder and third most common cause of death in the world. Low vitamin D concentrations have been shown to predict risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause of mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate serum vitamin D level in acute ischemic stroke patients. This comparative cross-sectional type of study was conducted in the Department of Neurology and Department of Medicine at Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh from November 2017 to June 2019 with a total number of 100 study subjects. Total fifty patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled in Group A and another fifty age and sex matched volunteer subjects were enrolled in Group B with no prior history of stroke or transient ischemic attacks. Serum vitamin D levels, fasting plasma glucose and lipid profile were assessed in both groups and compared with each other. P value <0.05 was considered as significant in the study. Mean fasting blood sugar, serum fasting total cholesterol (TC), serum fasting triglycerides, serum fasting Low density lipoprotein (LDL) were significantly higher in Group A than Group B (p<0.05). Serum vitamin D level in Group A was 25.28±8.47ng/ml and in Group B was 30.90±5.80, (p=0.001). Insufficient vitamin D level was found in 52.0% of ischemic stroke patients and in 30% of healthy controls (p=0.0002). Vitamin D deficiency was found in 20.0% ischemic stroke patients and 10.0% in healthy controls. This study demonstrates a positive association between low serum vitamin D level and acute ischemic stroke. Further studies are required to determine whether vitamin D supplementation could improve functional outcome in patients with ischemic stroke.

Frequency of Post Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Acute Pancreatitis in an Academic Hospital of Bangladesh.

Post-ERCP acute pancreatitis (PEP) is a common and serious complication with high morbidity and mortality rates. There is a paucity of data on the frequency of PEP in a resource constraint setting like Bangladesh. Hence we have conducted a prospective study to determine the frequency of PEP and the factors associated with its occurrence. This prospective, observational study was carried out in Gastroenterology Department of Dhaka Medical College & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from April 2018 to December 2018 on the consecutive patients who underwent ERCP. PEP and its severity were diagnosed according to consensus definition. Serum lipase was done in all patients before procedure and 24 hours after procedure or if patient develops abdominal pain after the procedure which became earlier. Total 168 patients were included (mean age 46.97±14.35 years; male 72(43.0%). The most common indication of ERCP was choledocholithiasis 97(58.0%) followed by malignant biliary obstruction 45(27.0%), recurrent pyogenic cholangitis 8(5.0%), chronic pancreatitis 4(2.3%), biliary ascariasis 4(2.3%) and others 10(6.0%). Overall post ERCP complication rate was 46(27.3%) including cholangitis 29(17.3%), pancreatitis 16(9.5%), bleeding 12(7.1%), aspiration pneumonia 4(2.4%) and death 3(1.8%). Regarding the severity of PEP, 50.0%, 43.7% and 6.3% patients developed mild, moderate and severe pancreatitis respectively. Number of cannulation attempts >5 times [22(48%) vs. 17(14%); p=0.001], cannulation attempts duration more than 10 minutes [25(55%) vs. 27(22%); p=0.001], unintentional passage of guide wire into the pancreatic duct [8(17%) vs. 18(15%); p=0.001], pancreatic duct contrast injection [12(26%) vs. 2(1.6%); p=0.001] and pre-cut sphincterotomy [16(35%) vs. 6(4.9%); p=0.001] were significantly different between the patients who developed PEP compared to those who did not. In multiple logistic regressions analysis, pancreatic duct contrast injection was significantly associated with PEP [OR 25.523 with 95% CI (4.049- 100.0%)]. Around ten percent patients had developed PEP. Regarding the severity half of them were mild, 44.0% patients had moderate and 6.0% patient had severe type of pancreatitis. Difficult cannulation, unintentional passage of guide wire into the pancreas, pancreatic duct contrast injection and pre-cut sphincterotomy were associated with PEP. Among them pancreatic duct contrast injection had independent significance in the causation of PEP.

Correction: Development of electrochemical sensors for quick detection of environmental (soil and water) NPK ions.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D4RA00034J.].

Development of electrochemical sensors for quick detection of environmental (soil and water) NPK ions.

All over the world, technology is becoming more and more prevalent in agriculture. Different types of instruments are already being used in this sector. For the time being, every farmer is trying to produce more crops on a piece of land. Eventually, soil loses its nutrients; however, to grow more crops, farmers use more fertilizers without knowing the proper conditions of the soil in real time. To overcome this issue, many scientists have recently focused on developing electrochemical sensors to detect macronutrients, i.e., nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), in soil or water rapidly. In this review, we focus mainly on the recent developments in electrochemical sensors used for the detection of nutrients (NPK) in different types of samples. As it is outlined, the use of smart and portable electrochemical sensors can be helpful for the reduction of excess fertilizer and can play a vital role in maintaining suitable conditions in soils and water. We are optimistic that this review can guide researchers in the development of a portable and suitable NPK detection system for soil nutrients.

Placental changes in pregnancy induced hypertension.

A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in Gynae and Obstetrics & Pathology department of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH) to see the placental changes in normal pregnant & pregnancy induced hypertensive (PIH) mother. Total 80 placentas were collected, 40 from normal pregnant mothers having no hypertension and 40 from PIH group (one from gestational hypertension, 17 from pre-eclampsia and 22 from eclamptic mother). Macroscopic study of the placenta revealed placental weight, surface area and number of cotyledons were less in study group. Mean placental weight in study group was 419.50gm and in control group was 477.50gm (p<0.001). Mean surface area in study group & control group were 232.29cm² and 304.80cm² respectively (p<0.001). Mean number of cotyledons were 15.39 and 17.40 in study & control group respectively (p<0.001) and lower diameter of umbilical cord p<0.04667. But in the present study placental thickness was not significant p<0.539. In PIH group, macroscopic infractions were more marked. There was a single umbilical artery present in one patient in PIH group. In PIH group syncytial knots (95%), fibrinoid necrosis (80%), VSM formation, sclerosis, chorangiosis and calcification were more marked. Infarction was present in placenta of PIH 34(85%) and in control group 8(20%). Common placental changes were significant in this study. So, early intervention in PIH is rational to get the good perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Prevalence of colour blindness among the first year medical & dental students of Mymensingh Medical College, Bangladesh.

The purpose of this study was to detect the etiology, type and prevalence of colour blindness & to create awareness among the blind personnel. A survey of colour blindness among 239 ( male-87 & female-152) Medical and Dental first year students during their medical checkup before admission into Mymensingh Medical College in the session of 2012-2013 was done. Among them 8(male-7, female-1) were colour blind and prevalence was 3.35 % with a marked male predominance (male 8.04%, female 0.66 %). In view of the potential difficulties faced by such personnel in clinical works, detection during medical admission allowed appropriate counseling regarding subject selection for their future carrier.

Clinicopathological Characteristics of Mucinous and Non-mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Colon and Rectum.

Colorectal carcinoma is the most common cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. More than 95.0% of the cancer is adenocarcinoma. Mucinous adenocarcinomas account for about 10.0% of all colorectal cancers. The expression of mucin themselves may play a role in the ability of tumors cells to escape the effect of systemic therapy and the process of tumor progression, invasion, survival and protection against the host immune response. The mucin lakes may also be a physiological barrier for the delivery of targeted therapy to the tumors cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the morphologic and histologic prognostic factors of mucinous and non-mucinous adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum. In this descriptive cross-sectional type of observational study a total of 98 samples with colorectal adenocarcinoma were evaluated on the basis of presence or absence of the mucin from 2017 and 2018. The study was conducted in paraffin-embedded tumor tissue whose slides were stained using the hematoxylin-eosin technique. Mucin was evaluated by Periodic acid schiff and Diastase periodic acid schiff stain. Totally, 27 of 98 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma (27.6%) had mucinous histologic subtype. Statistical significant results found in this research are as follows: Mucinous subtype tended to have present with moderate anaemia, history of low vegetable diet and larger tumor size, proximal colon involvement, infiltrative morphology and higher stage II compared to non-mucinous histologic subtype. Mucinous histologic subtype was associated with some adverse pathologic features in patients with colorectal cancer.

Relation of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio with Clinical Severity in Patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an acute autoimmune polyradiculoneuropathy. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a novel prognostic and inflammatory marker in patients with neurological diseases. The study was designed to observe the relation between neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and the clinical severity in patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the department of Neurology and Medicine, Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital from April 2019 to September 2020. Total 58 patients with GBS were enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria within 7 days of development of symptoms. The clinical diagnosis of GBS was done according to Ausbury and Cornblath's diagnostic criteria; moreover clinical severity was done according to Hughes and Rees scale, Medical Research Council (MRC) grade, cranial nerve involvement and autonomic involvement. After measuring complete blood count, NLR was calculated by dividing neutrophil count to lymphocyte count. Data analysis was done on SPSS 23.0. Mean age of the GBS patients was 36.21±11.55 years. Among 58 respondents 70.69% (41) were male and 29.31% (17) were female. Most of the patients had a GBS severity score of 4(62.07%) followed by 3(27.59%) and 5(10.34%). The mean NLR of the respondents was 3.22±2.25. Acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) was in 48.28% respondents and their mean NLR was 3.89±0.31, 31.03% had AIDP and mean NLR was 3.28±0.46 and 20.69% had Acute motor sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) and mean NLR was 4.5±0.52. The mean NLR of the MRC grade 0, 1, 2, 3 patients was 6.61±1.78, 3.39±0.92, 2.71±1.39 and 1.45±0.40 respectively. Hughes score had a positive correlation (r=0.5333 and p<0.01) and MRC grade had a negative correlation (r= - 0.76805 and p<0.01) with NLR. Severity of GBS was significantly associated with raised NLR. Increase Hughes and Rees scale and decrease MRC grade also related to increased NLR.

Ocular Involvement in Transfusion Dependent Thalassemia Children.

Thalassemia is one of the most common haemoglobinopathies in the world. Transfusion dependent thalassemia patients need regular blood transfusion. Repeated blood transfusions lead to iron overloads which can affect various organs in the body including eyes. The present study aims to evaluate the ocular involvements in transfusion dependent thalassemia children and their relationship with duration of the disease and serum ferritin level. This cross-sectional observational study included 46 multi-transfused thalassemia children aged 3-18 years. Detailed ophthalmological examination including visual acuity, slit lamp bio microscopy, direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy was done. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version (IBM) 23.0. Student's t-test and chi-square (χ²) test was done and p value of <0.05 was considered significant. Out of 46 thalassemia children male were 25(54.3%) and female were 21(45.7%). Mean age of the children was 8.94±5.04 years, mean duration of disease was 7.02±3.5 years and mean serum ferritin level 1543.68±914.43ng/dl. Ocular involvements were detected in 19(41.3%) children. Among them 8(17.39%) children had more than one ocular involvements. The ocular manifestations were decreased visual acuity in 17(36.95%), corneal dryness in 7(15.21%), lens opacity in 6(13.04%), optic disc atrophy in 7(15.21%), peripheral retinal pigmentation in 5(10.86%) and retinal vessels tortuosity in 3(6.52%) children. Higher serum ferritin level and increased duration of the disease were significantly (p<0.001) related with ocular involvement. Various ocular involvements were found in transfusion dependent thalassemia children. Therefore, transfusion dependent thalassemia children should be screened periodically for early detection and proper management of ocular changes.