South Asian consensus guideline: Use of GLP-1 receptor agonists during Ramadan: Update 2016 Revised Guidelines on the use of GLP-1A in Ramadan.

This guidance is an update to the South Asian Consensus Guideline: Use of GLP1RA in Diabetes during Ramadan, published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2012. A five country working group has collated evidence and experience to suggest guidelines for the safe and rational use of glucagon-like peptide1 receptor agonists during Ramadan. The suggestions contained herewith are based upon recently published evidence as well as available basic pharmacological data.

Validation of diagnostic tests and epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection in Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare five diagnostic tests for H. pylori infection and studied the epidemiology of the infection in Bangladesh. METHODOLOGY: Bangladeshi patients with dyspeptic symptoms referred for endoscopic examination were enrolled in this study. Each patient underwent upper endoscopic examination and four gastric biopsy specimens were taken. We used 5 tests for the diagnosis of H. pylori; culture, histology confirmed by immunohistochemistry, rapid urease test (RUT), urinary and serological test. Demographic and environmental variables were collected. RESULTS: A total of 133 patients participated in the study, 61 males and mean age 37.3 ± 12.3 years. We used the culture and/or histology results as the gold standard to estimate the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for the studied diagnostic tests. RUT, culture and histology had high sensitivity and specificity with moderate positive and negative likelihood ratio, whereas urine test and serology showed a good sensitivity and specificity but poor likelihood ratio. The overall prevalence of H. pylori among study subjects was 47% with no difference between gender and age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The invasive tests showed better performance than noninvasive tests among Bangladeshi population. The overall prevalence of H. pylori was less than the previously reported in the region with no difference among all age groups.

4f-4f absorption spectra of nine-coordinate Pr (III) and Nd (III) complexes in different environments.

Absorption spectroscopic studies on the mixed-ligand complexes of Pr (III) and Nd (III) with 2,2'-bipyridyl and thiocyanate in pyridine, DMSO, DMF and methanol are presented. The oscillator strengths for the hypersensitive and non-hypersensitive transitions have been calculated and variation in the oscillator strength and band shapes with respect to solvent type is rationalized in terms of solvent structures and coordinating properties. A comparison is made with 1,10-phenanthroline complexes and has been shown that bpy is a weaker ligand than phen for these ions. Pyridine has been found most effective in promoting 4f-4f intensity and the increase in the oscillator strength in this solvent is due to dynamic ligand polarization mechanism.

4f-4f absorption spectra and hypersensitivity in nine-coordinate Ho(III) and Er(III) complexes in different environments.

The effect of change in the environment upon 4f-4f absorption spectra of nine-coordinate Ho(III) and Er(III) complexes with thiocyanate and 2,2'-bipyridyl in methanol, DMSO, DMF and pyridine have been investigated. The oscillator strength for hypersensitive and non-hypersensitive transitions have been calculated and variation in the intensity and band shape with respect to solvent type is rationalized in terms of solvent structure and coordinating properties. A comparison with 1,10-phenanthroline complexes is investigated and has been found that phen has a larger impact on the transition intensities for these ions. Pyridine has been found most effective in promoting 4f-4f intensity. The results indicate that it is important to consider both the static and dynamic coupling mechanism while analysing the oscillator strength of hypersensitive transition.

In Bangladesh, overweight individuals have fewer symptoms of depression than nonoverweight individuals.

The aim of this study was to examine whether the association between overweight and depression usually found in western societies would also be found in locations where overweight is not stigmatized. A total of 1,271 individuals from rural Bangladesh were randomly selected; the response rate was 76%. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The sum MADRS scores were 13.4 (s.d. = 5.8) and 18.5 (8.1) for overweight vs. nonoverweight (t = 6.6; P < 0.000) men, respectively, and 19.7 (7.8) and 23.2 (7.9) for overweight vs. nonoverweight women, respectively (t = 4.2; P < 0.000). Thus the MADRS score was lower in overweight individuals. After adjusting for sex and age, BMI significantly predicted the MADRS score (beta = -0.3; t = 10.2; P < 0.000). These findings suggest that overweight may be related to fewer depressive symptoms in non western cultures.