bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Roentgenologic appraisal of low back pains in Uyo, Nigeria
Authors: Uduma Felix , Nottidge Tim E , Eduwem Dianabasi U , Dim Edwin N
Published: May 2013

Background: Low back pain is one of the commonest indices for referral to radiological evaluation of lumbo-sacral spine. The underlying pathology may be divulged by the exploit of conventional lumbo-sacral radiography. Purpose: By collating and analysing the lumbo-sacral radiographs of patients with low back pain, we hope to give an account of the accompaniments of low back pain and where possible, to deduce its causes in our local environ. Study design/Setting: A cross-sectional prospective study. Patient Sample: Two hundred and forty patients were enrolled in the study Outcome Measures: Pathologies were evaluated based on features seen on the paired lumbo-sacral radiographs of anterior-posterior and lateral. Methods: Anterior-posterior and lateral plain radiographs were done under standardized conditions after recording of patient’s biodata. Radiographs were analysed using SSPS 13 statistical computer package. Results: A total of 240 patients aged 10-89years with mean age of 48.9 and standard deviations of 25.4 were studied. Males were 130 while females were 110. The number of identifiable pathologies (n= 257) outweighed the number of patients (n=240). The commonest pathology was degenerative disc disease. This was seen in 67.5% of studied population. 15.83% had either normal radiographs, loss of lumbar lordosis or scoliosis. Conclusions: Degenerative disc disease is the commonest pathology seen in patients with low back pain in Uyo, Nigeria.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i2.6470 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 15-22
A newer approach for the serodiagnosis of leptospirosis using outer membrane proteins of leptospira interrogans serovar tarassovi
Authors: Premlatha MM , Kaur IR , Avasthi R , Dey AB , Chaudhry R
Published: May 2013

Objective: Leptospirosis in humans occurs throughout the world as an acute infection ranging imperceptible to severe, potentially fatal, renal and liver failure accompanied by haemorrhage and jaundice. In India, according to number of reports, Leptospirosis has been a significant health problem since 1980. This disease mimics influenza, hepatitis, dengue owing to which it often goes undiagnosed due to lack of awareness and diagnostic facilities in most of the laboratories in the country. This study was undertaken to diagnose suspected cases of Leptospirosis by IgM ELISA, DRIDOT and MAT, and also to standardize an in house IgM ELISA using OMP antigens of the L.tarassovi the predominant serovar in the study Materials & Methods: Blood samples were collected from a total of 287 patients (186 male and 101 female) presenting with acute febrile illness and fulfilling the criteria of clinical diagnosis of Leptospirosis. All the samples & healthy controls were subjected to ELISA (IgM serion), dridot, MAT, and Leptospira serovar Tarassovi OMP IgM ELISA, and for isolation of Leptospira. Results: IgM antibody could be detected by ELISA, Dridot and OMP ELISA of L. Tarassovi from Group I and Group II sera samples. It was observed by MAT that L.Tarassovi was the predominant serovar followed by L.australis, L.autumnalis, L.sejroe, L.pyrogenes, L.ballum, L.canicola, L.icterocopenhageni, L.cynopteri. A total of 5 isolates were recovered from Group I patients. Conclusion: IgM ELISA using sarcosyl extracted OMP antigens of serovar Tarassovi when compared with MAT the overall sensitivity and specificity was 72% and 81% respectively. The same sera reacted with serovar Australis, serovar Tarassovi, serovar Sejroe, serovar Pyrogenes, serovar Ballum and serovar Icterocopenhageni in MAT.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i2.6693 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 41-46
An acute ischemic stroke after multiple bee stings in an elderly patient
Authors: Rachaiah Niranjan Mambally , Kalegowda Rajashekar Hirisave , Krishnaswamy Rashmi Bhadravathy
Published: May 2013

Although bee stings can cause local and systemic allergic reactions, neurological complications are rare. There are few reports of stroke following bee or wasp stings. We report a 70-year-old healthy man developed a focal neurologic deficit 5 hours after multiple bee stings, which was confirmed to be an acute ischemic stroke on computed tomography (CT) scan.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i2.7892Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 55-58
Management of major degree placenta previa during LSCS operation - a new surgical technique (Dutta's)
Authors: Dutta Dilip Kumar , Dutta Indranil
Published: May 2013

Objectives: Evaluation of a new surgical technique (Dutta’s) to prevent postpartum hemorrhage due to major degree placenta previa during cesarean section. Methods:This study was conducted at tertiary care hospital(JNM,& NSGH) at Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India from the period January 2004 to December 2009.Ninty four (94) cases diagnosed to be having major degree placenta previa, undergoing LSCS operation, were selected for this study. New surgical technique(Dutta’s) was adopted in a stepwise manner = delivery of baby > bilateral uterine artery ligation by chromic catgut no-1 suture >injection tranexamic acid (1000mg) IM > injection oxytocin in intravenous infusion(10 units 30 drop /min in 500 ml of 5% dextrose)>delivery of placenta and membranes> checked properly if any tear or laceration in placental site > closure of uterine wound was done after securing bleeding from placental bed >closure of abdomen in layers by polyglycolic acid no 1 suture. Results: It was observed from this study that good effectiveness to control bleeding and intra operative blood loss less than 300cc were seen in 89(94.68%) cases respectively. Six (6.3%) cases required underlying interrupted suture for bleeding from placental bed. Subtotal cesarean hysterectomy was advocated in 3(3.28%) cases due to failure to control uterine atony. Immediate post operative bleeding less than 200c.c was found in 81 (86.16%) cases. Maternal mortality was found to be absent. Maternal morbidity was seen in 12(12.76%) cases. Subsequent menstrual cycles were found to be normal in 80(87.91%) cases and repeated pregnancy was observed in 26(28.57%) cases indicating non effect on gonadal function. Conclusion: Dutta’s new surgical technique during LSCS for major degree placenta previa was found to be simple, safe and quick procedure. It reduces perfusion pressure, permits time for further steps, thereby avoiding unnecessary ligation of bilateral internal iliac arteries and cesarean hysterectomy. Maternal mortality and morbidity were also found to be reduced. This technique is suitable for rural based hospital in absence of adequate blood transfusion facility.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i2.7958 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 1-7
Students’ views on audio visual aids used during didactic lectures in a medical college
Authors: Kumar Ashutosh , Singh Ramanuj , Mohan Lalit , Kumar Mani Kant
Published: May 2013

Introduction: Medical teachers have conventionally been using different teaching methods to educate medical students previously dominated by blackboard and slide projectors. Now day’s audiovisual aids such as power point have been used. The optimum use of audiovisual aids is essential forderiving their benefits. This study was done to know the students’ preference regarding the various audiovisual aids, with an aim to improve their use in didactic lectures. Material &Methods: Two hundred and eighty six from first, second and third professional medical students were invited to participate in a questionnaire based study. Two hundred and thirteen (74.4%) students completed the questionnaire and their responses were analyzed. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic and educational details. The second part consisted of 12 statements regarding the preference of audiovisual aids for various aspects of learning. Results: In this study, 90.1% of the respondents (first, second & third professional) were stimulated for further reading if they attended a lecture which was augmented by the use of visual aids. The respondents preferred a combination of audiovisual aids during a didactic lecture. The perception of diagrams, flow charts and note taking was best accepted with a power point presentation by first and second professional students, whereas OHP preferred by third professional students . In understanding a particular topic, a combination of aids scored over the use of a particular visual aid alone. In listening and understanding a particular topic, power point presentation was the most preferred aid, with the blackboard being preferred by third professional students. About 62.4% of the respondents were interested in taking notes during class compare to handouts. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that lectures delivered by using a combination of audio visual aids are more appreciated by the students. Furthermore, the lecture should be constructed in a fashion so as to enable the students to gather factual information easily and in a concise manner. Teachers should note that the students preferred a combination of visual aids and were interested in taking notes during lectures.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i2.8031 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 36-40
Effect of date of planting on the growth and leaf yield of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
Authors: Khan AR , Chowdhury SH , Karim MM
Published: May 2013

An experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh from December 2009 to March 2011 to determine the effect of date of planting on growth and leaf yield of Stevia. The experiment comprised 24 dates of planting in the year of 2010 viz. 1 January (T1), 15 January (T2), 1 February (T3), 15 February (T4), 1 March (T5), 15 March (T6), 1 April (T7), 15 April (T8), 1 May (T9), 15 May (T10), 1 June (T11), 15 June (T12), 1 July (T13), 15 July (T14), 1 August (T15), 15 August (T16), 1 September (T17), 15 September (T18), 1 October (T19), 15 October (T20), 1 November (T21), 15 November (T22), 1 December (T23) and 15 December (T24). The experiment was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design with three replications. Twenty four dates of planting were included in the experiment in 72 earthen pots (24 X 3) of 30 cm diameter X 30 cm height. Stem cuttings were placed in shaded seed bed for root initiation. Twenty one - day old stem cuttings were used as planting material. Stem cuttings were transplanted in the pots on the specific dates. Different dates of planting had significant effect on the growth and yield parameters. 1 April 2010 (T7) planting proved to be the superior to the other treatments i.e. plant height (68.50cm), number of leaves plant-1 (142.33), number of primary branches plant-1 (37.33), fresh weight of leaves plant-1 (14.11g), fresh weight of primary and secondary branches plant-1 (11.06g and 20.91g), dry weight of leaves plant-1 (3.38g) which might be due to warm environmental conditions like clear sunshine and high temperature. The overall results suggested that stevia seedlings may be planted from 15 February to 30 April for better yield of leaves. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14684 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 205-210, 2012
The feasibility of crop diversification in rice based cropping systems in haor ecosystem
Authors: Shopan J , Bhuiya MSU , Kader MA , Hasan MK
Published: May 2013

An experiment was conducted in five farmers field in Dingaputa haor of Purba Tetulia village, Mohangonj Upazila in Netrakona district during the period from 20 July 2010 to 15 May 2011. The objective of the study was to determine the feasibility of growing short duration vegetable and oil crops in seasonal fallow of Boro rice-Fallow-Fallow cropping patterns in terms of both combined yields and economic performance. Six short duration vegetables such as potato, red amaranth, stem amaranth, spinach, radish and mustard were the first crops and Boro rice (var. BRRI dhan28) was the second crop. Thus there were six types of cropping patterns Potato-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Red amaranth-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Stem amaranth-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Spinach-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Radish-Boro rice- Seasonal flood and Musturd-Boro rice- Seasonal flood. The agronomic productivity (rice equivalent yield t ha-1) of the cropping patterns Potato-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Red amaranth-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Stem amarnth-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Spinach-Boro rice- Seasonal flood, Radish-Boro rice- Seasonal flood and Mustard-Boro rice- Seasonal flood were 22.42, 15.47, 17.04, 17.79, 22.11 and 11.56 t ha-1, respectively with economic productivity (gross return Tk ha-1) of 364162.50, 251712.50, 276900.00, 292012.50, 359125.00 and 187850.00, respectively and the benefit cost ratio of 1.88, 1.52, 1.65, 1.69, 1.75 and 1.12, respectively From diversification practices in Dingaputa haor ecosystem Potato-Boro rice- Seasonal flood and Radish-Boro rice- Seasonal flood cropping patterns were found to be the most dominant cropping patterns in economic terms. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14697 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 211-216, 2012
Farmers awareness on environmental degradation nearby the brickfield areas
Authors: Hasan MB , Ali MA , Alam MS , Bhuyian MAS
Published: May 2013

This study was undertaken at Trishal upazila of Mymensingh, Bangladesh to investigate the farmers awareness on environmental degradation nearby the brickfield areas and to explore the relationship between the selected characteristics of the farmers (i.e. independent variables) with their awareness on environmental degradation (i.e. dependent variable). Thirty five farmers were selected randomly from a total of 175 farmers under Amiandangori village of Balipara union and thirty farmers were selected randomly from a total of 150 farmers under Dauaniabari village of Boilor union of Trishal upazila in Mymensingh district. Personal interview schedule was used for collecting data. Simple and direct questions and different scales were used to obtain desired information. Co-efficient of correlation (r) was computed in order to explore the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The findings revealed that majority (47.70 percent) of the farmers had medium level of awareness on environmental degradation nearby the brickfield areas. Farmers characteristics like academic qualification, farm size, annual income, extension media contact, and knowledge on environmental degradation had significant (p <0.05) positive relationship with their awareness on environmental degradation. Besides, the findings revealed that majority (57 percent) of the respondents expressed their opinion towards medium vulnerability, 15 percent low vulnerability and 28 percent high vulnerability of environmental degradation nearby the brickfield areas. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14716 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 229-233, 2012
Prevalence of helminth parasites in sheep (Ovis aries) in Tangail district, Bangladesh
Authors: Sangma A , Begum N , Roy BC , Gani MO
Published: May 2013

Prevalence of helminths of sheep in relation to age, sex, nutritional status, management system and flock size was studied at Tangail district, Bangladesh from July to December 2010 by fecal examination. A total of 190 sheep were examined of which 154 (81.1%) were positive for one or more species of helminth parasites. Seven species of helminths were identified, of them three species were trematodes, namely, Fasciola gigantica (8.4%), Paramphistomum spp. (44.2%) and Schistosoma indicum (3.7%); four species were nematodes, namely, Bunostomum sp (19.0%), Trichuris spp. (2.1%), Strongyles (62.6%) and Strongyloides spp. (9.5%). No cestodes were identified. Prevalence of helminths was significantly (p<0.01) higher in young sheep aged >1-2 year (92.7%) than adult aged > 2 years (83.3%) and lamb aged ? 1 year (63.6%). Higher prevalence was recorded in female than in male sheep. In relation to nutritional status and flock size, prevalence of helminths were significantly (p<0.01) higher in poor health and large flock sized animals. It is suggested that helminth infection is widely prevalent in sheep in Tangail district of Bangladesh.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14913 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 235-244, 2012
Effects of growth promoter and multivitamin-mineral premix supplementation on body weight gain in broiler chickens
Authors: Rahman MA , Parvin MS , Sarker RR , Islam MT
Published: May 2013

An experiment was conducted at the Khanpura Poultry Farm, near to the Babugonj campus of Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali during the period from August to September, 2011 to evaluate the effect of growth promoter and multivitamin-mineral premix on the body weight gain in broiler chickens. A total of 90 Cobb 500 day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into three equal groups (n = 30), namely Groups A, B and C. Broiler birds in groups A and B were supplemented with growth promoter and multivitamin-mineral premix, respectively in addition to commercial feed from day 4 till day 25. The dose of both the growth promoter and multivitamin-mineral premix was 2.5 g/kg of feed. Chickens of group C served as control and supplemented with commercial feed only. Body weight was recorded at three times as on day 11, 18 and 25, respectively. The mean body weight was insignificantly (p > 0.05) higher in birds of groups A (992.5±139.6g) and B (978.3±147.0g) than those of group C (926.7±133.2g). The percent increase in body weight gain compare to control was increased in both the supplemented groups (5.8% in group A and 8.8% in group B) though there was no significant difference. Based on the results, it is suggested that supplementation of growth promoter and multivitamin-mineral premix in broilers even after feeding of commercial feed has positive effect on the growth of broilers.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14914 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 245-248, 2012
PCR-based survey of vector-borne pathogens in dogs in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Talukder MH , Matsuu A , Iguchi A , Roy BC , Nishii N , Hikasa Y
Published: May 2013

To identify tick-borne pathogens in blood samples from 68 dogs were examined for Babesia, Anaplasma/Ehrichia, Mycoplasma, and Hepatozoon spp. by using a molecular tool. The detection of DNA was performed using specific primers for partial 16S rRNA or 18S rRNA sequence, and amplicon sequences were analyzed. Our investigation detected Babesia gibsoni (26 dogs) and Anaplasma sp. AnHl446 (2 dogs), Mycoplasma haemocanis (27 dogs), and an unknown Mycoplasma spp were detected (2 dogs), which was most closely related to Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis, on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. Hepatozoon DNA could not be detected in this study.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14915 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 249-253, 2012
Comparison of Chamcham manufactured from cow milk and buffalo milk
Authors: Haque MA , Rashid MH , Kajal MFI , Istiak MS
Published: May 2013

This experiment was conducted to study quality of Chamcham manufactured from cow milk and to compare it with Chamcham manufactured from buffalo milk and mixture of cow and buffalo milk. Three types of Chamcham were prepared from cow milk(A), buffalo milk(B) and 50% cow +50% buffalo milk(C).In this experiment the quality of prepared Chamcham were evaluated with the help of chemical test. The moisture, total solids, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate contents of cow milk and buffalo milk Chamcham were showed significant differences (p<0.01) except acidity and pH content. Results showed that chamcham manufactured from buffalo milk was superior to that of cow milk chamcham and 50% cow + 50% buffalo milk chamcham.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14916 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 255-260, 2012
Consumers preferences for processed milk  A study in Mymensingh town
Authors: Mila FA , Raha SK
Published: May 2013

The study examined the consumer preference for processed milk in Mymensingh town. The study was mainly based on primary data in which 40 consumers were purposively selected from Mymensingh town. In the study, preference of consumers for processed milk i.e. powder milk, condensed milk and pasteurized milk were investigated. Consumers preference for processed milk was ascertained through a 4-point numerical rating scale. The consumers highly preferred powder milk and the computed preference index of powder milk was 80. The computed preference index of pasteurized milk was 71. The computed preference index of raw milk was 54. The lowest preference of consumers was for condensed milk and the computed preference index of condensed milk was 36. The study revealed that Milk Vita has ranked first (90) followed by Diploma (85), Dano (81), Arong (68) and Red Cow (61) were the major brands preferred by the consumers. On the other hand, Danish (36), Nido (34), Starship (34), Marks (27) and Farmland (26) were less preferred for consumption of processed milk. The relationship between the factors that influencing consumers preferences and their preferences of processed milk was also explored. Spearman rank correlation coefficient test was used to explore relationship between the variables. The monthly income of the family, price level, taste level, fat content, nutritional value and attitudes towards processed milk of the consumers were significantly related with their preferences of processed milk while the other factors (age, family size, education level) were not significantly related.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14918 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 267-276, 2012
Genetically modified organisms and sustainable crop production: A critical review
Authors: Mozumdar Lavlu , Islam Mohammad Amirul , Saha Sumitra
Published: May 2013

Fighting against global hunger in the adverse climatic condition is a major concern of the governments around the globe. The pace of population growth is overwhelmingly defeating the growth in crop production. In this context, introduction of GMO is emerging as a probable solution for sustainable crop production. However, such developments are not beyond criticism. This paper assesses and evaluates the prospects and challenges of introduction of GMO in a global perspective. Experiences of GM crop cultivation in different countries are also considered. This paper is a review of all accessible literature on GMO and sustainable crop production. This review will give a flavor of the on going debate and help take decision by the interested countries regarding GMO adoption. Furthermore, on the basis of the review this paper suggests some policy recommendations.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14921 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 291-296, 2012
Kinetics of dehydration of potato and development of baked product based on dehydrated potato
Authors: Sarker A , Islam MN , Shaheb MR
Published: May 2013

The aims of this study were to determine the kinetics of dehydration of high yielding potato variety (Diamont), to investigate the various process parameters influencing mechanical drying of potatoes and to develop baked product from the dehydrated potato. From the developed equation it was found that the diffusion co-efficient increased with the increase in temperature. The exponential relationship between diffusion co-efficient (De) versus inverse absolute temperature (Tabs-1), activation energy (Ea) for diffusion of water HYV potato was found to be 7.98 Kcal/gm-mole. The influence of loading density as well as thickness of the product on drying rate were determined and the power law equations which described the relationship between drying rate constant and thickness gave an n-value of 0.4586 for HYV of potato. Organoleptic taste tests demonstrated that among biscuits made of various proportion of potato flour and wheat flour, the results of test panel showed that biscuit made of equal proportion (1:1) of potato flour and wheat flour secured the highest score (8.0). All the other samples of each type of product were also accepted by the panelists either as like moderately or like slightly.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14923 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 303-312, 2012
Selection of suitable media and intervals of media inoculation for culturing Tubificid worms
Authors: Mollah MFA , Mosharaf K , Mariom Dr
Published: May 2013

Tubificid worms are aquatic invertebrates, belonging to the class Oligochaeta and family Tubificidae, used as an important live food for fishes. The study was conducted to culture Tubificid worms under running water in order to develop a suitable culture media and an optimum duration of media inoculation for culturing Tubificid worms. The worms were cultured under two experiments in cemented culvert system (160×25×10 cm3) for 90 days. In the first experiment the worms were cultured in three different media designated as treatment-I, treatment-II and treatment-III. The highest yield (503.39±22.98 mg cm-2) was found at 70th day of culture duration in the culture media containing a mixture of 35% mustard oil cake, 20% wheat bran, 25% cow-dung and 20% fine sand (treatment-III). Only 1.99 kg media ingredients valued BDT 29.85 were needed to yield 1 kg worms. In the second experiment, the worms were cultured at three different intervals of media inoculation i.e., 6, 10 and 15 days interval designated as treatment-I, treatment-II and treatment-III respectively using the media found best in the first experiment. Inoculation of media at 10 days interval showed significantly (P<0.01) higher production (488.94±5.60 mg cm-2).DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14925 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 325-330, 2012
Quality deterioration of wet fish caught in Mymensingh farm in different steps of distribution channel towards Dhaka
Authors: Hossain MM , Hassan MN , Lithi UJ , Nowsad AAKM
Published: May 2013

The fish landed for domestic consumption suffers from serious post harvest loss due to ignorance and negligence of the people involved in the harvest, distribution, processing and trade. Low quality fish is a constraint for food security and public health and is a cause for economic loss. The present study was carried out to identify the cause and to quantify the post harvest loss by a sensory tool. Quality deterioration of some major inland species of wet fish was determined at different steps of distribution channel from the fish farm gate of Mymensingh to Dhaka retail markets in June and July 2010. Five distribution channels i.e. farm gate, transport, arot (commission agent), wholesale and retail markets were studied to find out the deterioration level of the quality of fish. Data were collected by travelling with fish and from the stakeholders in distribution channel through questionnaire interviews. In the distribution channel of wet fish RRA and SWOT analysis were done with fish farmer, arotder, transporter, wholesaler and retailer. The major species studied were Indian major carps (Labeo rohita, Catla catla and Cirrhina mrigala), pangas (Pagasius sutchi), silver carp (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix) and tilapia (Oriochromis niloticus). Different species showed different levels of deterioration of quality at various steps of distribution channels. The quality of fish was found to be changed in between arot and retail market. Inadequate knowledge and practice in handling, icing and container use were found to be the major bottlenecks to keep the fish in acceptable quality.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14926 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 331-337, 2012
Suitability of herbal pesticides, turmeric and neem, in repelling dry fish insect Necrobia sp. adult
Authors: Lithi UJ , Hassan MN , Hossain MM , Nowsad AAKM
Published: May 2013

Repellency effect of turmeric and neem was investigated against the mite Necrobia sp. and field doses were determined on the basis of their repellency, keeping quality, insect occurrence and sensory evaluation of turmeric and neem treated dry fish and their cooked products. Turmeric and neem were used in three forms, viz., i. extract, ii. powder and iii. pellet. The concentrations tested for turmeric and neem extracts were 2%, 3%, 4% and 3%, 5%, 7%, respectively, those of both powders were 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% and both pellets were 1, 2, 3 pieces on 100 g dry fish. The order of repellency among three products were: extract> powder> pellet. Turmeric extract and powder were more repellent than neem extract and powder. The color, odor, texture and general appearance of the untreated control and treated dry fish were almost similar after 2 month of storage at room temperature. After 4 month of storage, the sensory attributes like odor, texture and general appearance and the occurrence of insects in control dry fish fell down significantly but those in treated dry fish were mostly unchanged. Study suggested that turmeric at the rate of 3% extract or 1.5% powder or neem at the rate 5% extract or 1.5% powder could be suitable field doses for application of such herbs in dry fish directly to repel insects while storing the products.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14927 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 339-348, 2012
Credit utilization pattern and repayment behavior of the fish farmers in Mymensingh and Kishoreganj districts
Authors: Mondal MAH , Ali MM , Shamsuddin ABM
Published: May 2013

The study was conducted to assess the credit utilization pattern and repayment behavior of the fish farmers in Mymensingh and Kishoreganj districts during January to December, 2009. Data were collected from 600 fish farmers, 300 each from each district by employing stratified random sampling technique. Credit utilization rate in Mymensingh district was 49.04%, 56.73% and 70.29% in case of small, medium and better-off farmers, respectively. In Kishoreganj district, small, medium and better-off farmers utilized their credit money to the extent of 48.02%, 56.12% and 57.08%, respectively. Fifty eight percent of the credit money was utilized for aquaculture purpose. Credit repayment rate was 96% in both the two districts and the small farmers were found to be better re-payers than the others. Weekly repayment system was found to be the major hindering factor for timely repayment of credit. Utilization and repayment behavior of credit money were almost satisfactory after phasing out of the MAEP project.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14928 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 349-354, 2012
Development of protein enriched shrimp crackers from shrimp shell wastes
Authors: Khan M , Nowsad AKMA
Published: May 2013

A recipe of shrimp cracker (a type of crispy biscuit) enriched with shrimp shell protein was developed from underutilized shrimp shell wastes and the effects of different amount of shrimp shell powders on the quality and shelf life of the products were studied. Shrimp industry wastes (head, appendages, carapaces, and shell) were thoroughly washed, dried in hot air oven at 60°C for 24 h and ground by a blender. Fine shrimp shell powder thus obtained was used for making shrimp crackers. Hydrolyzed vegetable oil, was beaten by hand and other ingredients such as powder milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, flour and vanilla essence were mixed to make a dough. Various levels of shrimp shell powder (5%, 10%, and 20%) were mixed to the dough to enrich with shrimp protein. The dough was kept flatted in a tray, cut into pieces of different shape by dies and put into the oven at 100°C for 8 minutes. Increasing the quantity of shrimp shell powder in shrimp crackers increased the protein content but the quality in terms of taste, color and flavor was slightly decreased. Using of 10% shrimp shell powder obtained the best quality shrimp crackers, in terms of both protein enrichment and sensory quality. Quality of shrimp crackers was tested by both subjective and objective methods. Products made with 10% shrimp shell powder had an acceptable bacterial load in refrigeration up to 45 days but in room temperature up to 30 days. Low storage quality in room temperature might be due to inadequate packaging in the laboratory condition. This research revealed that high quality protein fortified shrimp crackers could be manufactured from unutilized shrimp shell wastes.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14930 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 367-374, 2012
Landmark-based morphometric and meristic variations of Glossogobius giuris in three stocks
Authors: Mollah MFA , Yeasmine S , Hossen MB , Ahammad AKS
Published: May 2013

Landmark-based morphometric and meristic analysis of pond, haor and estuary populations of Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton,1822) (Perciformes:Gobiidae) were done to find out variations among the three stocks. Samples were collected from three different regions such as pond of Mymensingh, haor of Kishoreganj and estuary of Barisal. Significant differences (*P<0.01) were observed in 13 general morphometric and 23 size adjusted landmark-based morphometric measurements among three stocks. Among the 11 meristic counts the first dorsal fin rays (D1FR), transverse scale above lateral line (TSALL), branchiostegal rays and number of vertebrae were same among fishes of these stocks. In case of pectoral fin rays (PcFR) and transverse scale on lateral line (TSOLL) the haor stock was significantly different from other two stocks. In discriminant space, pond stock was isolated from other two stocks. On the other hand, haor and estuary stocks showed very close relationship. A dendrogram based on the hierarchical cluster analysis using size adjusted general morphometric and landmark measurements formed two main clusterspond stock in one cluster and other two stocks (haor and estuary) remained in another cluster. It indicates that pond stock was separated. The second cluster explained that haor and estuary stocks had very close relationship.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14931 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 375-384, 2012
Use of low-cost chemotherapeutic and medicinal plants against Thai silver barb (Barbonymus gonionotus)
Authors: Chowdhury MBR , Rahman T
Published: May 2013

Studies were conducted to select and apply the effective low-cost chemotherapeutic and medicinal plants against diseased fish under laboratory and field condition. Thai silver barbs (Barbonymus gonionotus) weighing 20-25 gm were experimentally infected with a virulent bacterial pathogen (Aeromonas hydrophila) and a fungal pathogen (Aphanomyces invadans). Based on the previous studies, four chemotherapeutics, viz., salt + lime, alum, doxycycline and oxytetracycline were selected and applied to observe the therapeutic effects under laboratory and field condition. In the case of medicinal plants, leaves/ bulb / seeds/ rhizome of neem (Azadirachta indica), akand (Calotropis gigantea), garlic (Allium sativum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), shoti (Curcuma zedoaria), Indian sorrel (Oxalis corniculata), guava (Psidum guajava) and kalijira (Nigella sativa) were screened out and applied to the infected fish in laboratory and field condition to determine their efficacies. The antibiotics, both oxytetracycline and doxycycline were found to be very efficient followed by salt + lime and alum. For fungal infection, alum was excellent followed by salt + lime both under laboratory and field condition. Even in the pond trial, alum and salt + lime successfully checked the occurrence of epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) and similar diseases. In the case of medicinal plants, neem and akand together reduced the occurrence bacterial and fungal disease. Garlic was very efficient to check bacterial infection but weak against fungal disease. Turmeric and arrowroot were found to be highly effective against fungal disease but moderately effective against bacterial disease. Field trial revealed that Indian sorrel and guava were highly efficient against bacterial disease but poorly efficient against fungal disease. On the other hand, arrowroot and black cumin were highly efficient against fungal disease but moderately efficient against bacterial disease. The results would be useful to the all concerned for proper health management of cultured fishes.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v10i2.14932 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 10(2): 385-390, 2012
Animal Welfare and Food Safety Aspects of Confining Broiler Chickens to Cages
Authors: Shields Sara , Greger Michael
Published: May 2013

In most areas of the world, broiler chickens are raised in floor systems, but cage confinement is becoming more common. The welfare of broiler chickens in cages is affected by movement restriction, poor bone strength due to lack of exercise, and prevention of key behavioral patterns such as dustbathing and ground scratching. Cages for broiler chickens also have a long history of causing skin and leg conditions that could further compromise welfare, but a lack of controlled studies makes it difficult to draw conclusions about newer cage designs. Cage environments are usually stocked at a higher density than open floor systems, and the limited studies available suggest that caging may lead to increased levels of fear and stress in the birds. Further, birds reared on the floor appear less likely to harbor and shed Salmonella, as litter may serve as a seeding agent for competitive exclusion by other microorganisms. Cages for laying hens used in egg production have met with substantial opposition due to welfare concerns and caging broiler chickens will likely be subject to the same kinds of social disapproval.
Similarity Analysis in Scaling a Gas Hydrates Reservoir
Authors: Wang Yi , Xu Chun-Gang , Li Xiao-Sen , Li Gang , Chen Zhao-Yang
Published: May 2013

A complete set of scaling criteria for gas hydrate reservoir of five-spot well system case is derived from the 3D governing equations, involving the mass balance equation, the energy balance equation, the kinetic model, the endothermic model and the phase equilibrium model. In the scaling criteria, the key parameters of the experiment are the water/gas production rates, the water injection rate, and the production time. By using the scaling criteria, the experimental results can be enlarged to a field scale. Therefore, the experimental results and the scaling criteria could be used to evaluate the hydrate dissociation strategies and the gas production potential of the hydrate reservoir.
Reconsidering Richard Rorty’s Private-Public Distinction
Authors: Erez Lior
Published: May 2013

This article provides a new interpretation of Richard Rorty’s notion of the private-public distinction. The first section of the article provides a short theoretical overview of the origins of the public-private distinction in Rorty’s political thought and clarifies the Rortian terminology. The main portion of the article is dedicated to the critique of Rorty’s private-public distinction, divided into two thematic sections: (i) the private-public distinction as undesirable and (ii) the private-public distinction as unattainable. I argue that Rorty’s formulation provides plausible answers to the first kind of criticism, but not to the second. Finally, a reformulation of the private-public distinction will be suggested, which both mitigates the second line of criticism and better coheres with Rorty’s general theory.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Antibacterial Activity of Cross-Linked Chitosan-Glutaraldehyde
Authors: Li Bin , Shan Chang-Lin , Zhou Qing , Fang Yuan , Wang Yang-Li , Xu Fei , Han Li-Rong , Ibrahim Muhammad , Guo Long-Biao , Xie Guan-Lin , Sun Guo-Chang
Published: May 2013

This present study deals with synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of cross-linked chitosan-glutaraldehyde. Results from this study indicated that cross-linked chitosan-glutaraldehyde markedly inhibited the growth of antibiotic-resistant Burkholderia cepacia complex regardless of bacterial species and incubation time while bacterial growth was unaffected by solid chitosan. Furthermore, high temperature treated cross-linked chitosan-glutaraldehyde showed strong antibacterial activity against the selected strain 0901 although the inhibitory effects varied with different temperatures. In addition, physical-chemical and structural characterization revealed that the cross-linking of chitosan with glutaraldehyde resulted in a rougher surface morphology, a characteristic Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) band at 1559 cm−1, a specific X-ray diffraction peak centered at 2θ = 15°, a lower contents of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, and a higher stability of glucose units compared to chitosan based on scanning electron microscopic observation, FTIR spectra, X-ray diffraction pattern, as well as elemental and thermo gravimetric analysis. Overall, this study indicated that cross-linked chitosan-glutaraldehyde is promising to be developed as a new antibacterial drug.
Enantioselective Esterification of Ibuprofen under Microwave Irradiation
Authors: Yang Zecheng , Niu Xuedun , Fang Xuedong , Chen Ge , Zhang Hong , Yue Hong , Wang Lei , Zhao Dantong , Wang Zhi
Published: May 2013

Enantioselective esterification of ibuprofen has been successfully carried out in an organic solvent catalyzed by recombinant APE 1547 (a thermophilic esterase from the archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1). Here we used microwave irradiation (MW) as the mode of heating to improve the enzyme performance. Under the optimum conditions, the enzyme activity of APE 1547 was 4.16 μmol/mg/h and the enantioselectivity (E value) was 52.9. Compared with conventional heating, the enzyme activity and the enantioselectivity were increased about 21.9-fold and 1.4-fold, respectively. The results also indicated that APE 1547 can maintain 95% of its activity even after being used five times, suggesting that the enzyme is stable under low power MW conditions.
Synthesis, Antifungal and Antitumor Activity of Novel (Z)-5-Hetarylmethylidene-1,3-thiazol-4-ones and (Z)-5-Ethylidene-1,3-thiazol-4-ones
Authors: Insuasty Alberto , Ramírez Juan , Raimondi Marcela , Echeverry Carlos , Quiroga Jairo , Abonia Rodrigo , Nogueras Manuel , Cobo Justo , Rodríguez María , Zacchino Susana , Insuasty Braulio
Published: May 2013

New hetaryl- and alkylidenerhodanine derivatives 3a–d, 3e, and 4a–d were prepared from heterocyclic aldehydes 1a–d or acetaldehyde 1e. The treatment of several rhodanine derivatives 3a–d and 3e with piperidine or morpholine in THF under reflux, afforded (Z)-5-(hetarylmethylidene)-2-(piperidin-1-yl)thiazol-4(5H)-ones and 2-morpholinothiazol-4(5H)-ones 5a–d, 6a–d, and (Z)-5-ethylidene-2-morpholinothiazol-4(5H)-one (5e), respectively, in good yields. Structures of all compounds were determined by IR, 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectrometry. Several of these compounds were screened by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) to assess their antitumor activity against 60 different human tumor cell lines. Compound 3c showed high activity against HOP-92 (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer), which was the most sensitive cell line, with GI50 = 0.62 μM and LC50 > 100 μM from the in vitro assays. In vitro antifungal activity of these compounds was also determined against 10 fungal strains. Compound 3e showed activity against all fungal strains tested, but showed high activity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MIC 3.9 μg/mL).
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 3-Benzisoxazolyl-4-indolylmaleimides as Potent, Selective Inhibitors of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β
Authors: Ye Qing , Li Meng , Zhou Yubo , Pang Tao , Xu Lei , Cao Jiayi , Han Liang , Li Yujin , Wang Weisi , Gao Jianrong , Li Jia
Published: May 2013

A series of novel 3-benzisoxazolyl-4-indolyl-maleimides were synthesized and evaluated for their GSK-3β inhibitory activity. Most compounds exhibited high inhibitory potency towards GSK-3β. Among them, compound 7j with an IC50 value of 0.73 nM was the most promising GSK-3β inhibitor. Preliminary structure-activity relationships were examined and showed that different substituents on the indole ring and N1-position of the indole ring had varying degrees of influence on the GSK-3β inhibitory potency. Compounds 7c, 7f, 7j–l and 7o–q could obviously reduce Aβ-induced Tau hyperphosphorylation by inhibiting GSK-3β in a cell-based functional assay.
Animal Models of Varicella Zoster Virus Infection
Authors: Haberthur Kristen , Messaoudi Ilhem
Published: May 2013

Primary infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) results in varicella (chickenpox) followed by the establishment of latency in sensory ganglia. Declining T cell immunity due to aging or immune suppressive treatments can lead to VZV reactivation and the development of herpes zoster (HZ, shingles). HZ is often associated with significant morbidity and occasionally mortality in elderly and immune compromised patients. There are currently two FDA-approved vaccines for the prevention of VZV: Varivax® (for varicella) and Zostavax® (for HZ). Both vaccines contain the live-attenuated Oka strain of VZV. Although highly immunogenic, a two-dose regimen is required to achieve a 99% seroconversion rate. Zostavax vaccination reduces the incidence of HZ by 51% within a 3-year period, but a significant reduction in vaccine-induced immunity is observed within the first year after vaccination. Developing more efficacious vaccines and therapeutics requires a better understanding of the host response to VZV. These studies have been hampered by the scarcity of animal models that recapitulate all aspects of VZV infections in humans. In this review, we describe different animal models of VZV infection as well as an alternative animal model that leverages the infection of Old World macaques with the highly related simian varicella virus (SVV) and discuss their contributions to our understanding of pathogenesis and immunity during VZV infection.
Retrieval of Forest Aboveground Biomass and Stem Volume with Airborne Scanning LiDAR
Authors: Kankare Ville , Vastaranta Mikko , Holopainen Markus , Räty Minna , Yu Xiaowei , Hyyppä Juha , Hyyppä Hannu , Alho Petteri , Viitala Risto
Published: May 2013

Airborne scanning LiDAR is a promising technique for efficient and accuratebiomass mapping due to its capacity for direct measurement of the three-dimensionalstructure of vegetation. A combination of individual tree detection (ITD) and an area-basedapproach (ABA) introduced in Vastaranta et al. [1] to map forest aboveground biomass(AGB) and stem volume (VOL) was investigated. The main objective of this study was totest the usability and accuracy of LiDAR in biomass mapping. The nearest neighbourmethod was used in the ABA imputations and the accuracy of the biomass estimation wasevaluated in the Finland, where single tree-level biomass models are available. The relativeroot-mean-squared errors (RMSEs) in plot-level AGB and VOL imputation were 24.9%and 26.4% when field measurements were used in training the ABA. When ITDmeasurements were used in training, the respective accuracies ranged between 28.5%–34.9%and 29.2%–34.0%. Overall, the results show that accurate plot-level AGB estimates can beachieved with the ABA. The reduction of bias in ABA estimates in AGB and VOL wasencouraging when visually corrected ITD (ITDvisual) was used in training. We conclude that itis not feasible to use ITDvisual in wall-to-wall forest biomass inventory, but it could provide acost-efficient application for acquiring training data for ABA in forest biomass mapping.
Tile-Level Annotation of Satellite Images Using Multi-Level Max-Margin Discriminative Random Field
Authors: Hu Fan , Yang Wen , Chen Jiayu , Sun Hong
Published: May 2013

This paper proposes a multi-level max-margin discriminative analysis (M3DA) framework, which takes both coarse and fine semantics into consideration, for the annotation of high-resolution satellite images. In order to generate more discriminative topic-level features, the M3DA uses the maximum entropy discrimination latent Dirichlet Allocation (MedLDA) model. Moreover, for improving the spatial coherence of visual words neglected by M3DA, conditional random field (CRF) is employed to optimize the soft label field composed of multiple label posteriors. The framework of M3DA enables one to combine word-level features (generated by support vector machines) and topic-level features (generated by MedLDA) via the bag-of-words representation. The experimental results on high-resolution satellite images have demonstrated that, using the proposed method can not only obtain suitable semantic interpretation, but also improve the annotation performance by taking into account the multi-level semantics and the contextual information.