bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bill Louw’s Contextual Prosodic Theory as the basis of (foreign language) classroom corpus stylistics research
Authors: Milojkovic Marija
Published: June 2019

Corpus empiricism may alter the act of reading. This began as the reader searched a reference corpus for individual words and phrases. With the admission of lexicographers that intuition no longer suffices in providing a definition, corpus stylistics must go further by showing that a literary text can no longer be properly interpreted if not seen against the background of the wealth of recorded textual experience. This by no means suggests that a literary text may not have a satisfying impact on an individual reader; rather, corpus stylistics enhances our interpretation by means that are easily available. The core of Bill Louw’s stylistic approach is his claim that prior knowledge is no longer perceived as concepts (unsatisfyingly intuitive). Therefore, reference corpora may serve to enhance our stylistic interpretation of a literary text that was clearly written to be appreciated as a unique textual experience. Roughly, a large reference corpus will provide many parallel textual experiences, so that ‘events’ in the studied text are augmented by their counterparts in corpora. Thus, our understanding of the text will be augmented by what is absent from it, but present in the reference corpora. If, furthermore, our classroom is a foreign language one, the reference corpus will serve as missing anguage experience in the foreign language learner, even if the learner is very proficient. After giving a brief overview of Louw’s Contextual Prosodic Theory (CPT) and its implications for classroom corpus stylistics, the paper describes a study conducted with second-year students of English from the University of Belgrade. The aims of the study are to verify Louw’s principle that text reads text and to test the proposed CPT-based methodology. The study consists of a quantitative part (where the learning phase is followed by a final test) and a qualitative part (questionnaire). The proposed methodology relies on confronting the subjects with concordance lines as a means of interpreting a collocation in a given short excerpt, with an absolute minimum of theoretical background. The subjects are tested on semantic prosodies, absent collocates and auras of grammatical strings, through tasks that vary in format. The results obtained are encouraging for CPT, despite the study’s limitations, which are also discussed.
The overgeneration of be + verb constructions in the writing of L1-Malay ESL learners in Malaysia
Authors: Roslina Abdul Aziz , Don Zuraidah Mohd
Published: June 2019

This study investigates a syntactic problem in the writing of ESL learners whose first language is Bahasa Melayu or Malay. It focuses specifically on is, are, was, and were overgenerated with inflected and uninflected lexical verbs to form two primary constructions, namely be + V and be + Ved (or Ven in the case of strong verbs). This study aims to examine the patterns of be overgeneration constructions produced by the learners and determine if these are the outcome of tense and agreement marking, as postulated by Ionin and Wexler (2001, 2002). The data for the study were obtained from the Malaysian Corpus of Learner English (MACLE), a learner corpus developed by the University of Malaya. The findings reveal that uninflected verbs occur more frequently than inflected verbs in the position after be, which translates into higher occurrences of the be + bare V construction in comparison to the be + Ved construction. Both constructions are also found to occur more frequently with transitive verbs. The findings suggest that (i) the overgeneration of be + bare V is the result of agreement marking, while (ii) be + Ved is the outcome of assigning the tense feature. These findings suggest that the overgeneration of be constructions produced by L1-Malay ESL learners could be the product of a developmental aspect of language acquisition. This traces back to the system underlying the patterns of overgeneration, which is clearly made up of non-random constructions governed by very specific interlanguage grammar.
Introduction to stance language
Authors: Alonso Almeida Francisco
Published: June 2019

This paper presents a brief overview of stance language and the numerous linguistic phenomena included in the notion of stance. The paper also comments on the relation of corpus linguistics (CL) methodology and the study of stance devices in discourse. Although some of the drawbacks of this methodology are identified, the view in this study is very positive because CL allows the unparalleled analysis, interrogation and indexing of large amounts of texts only achievable through computing means. This introductory paper concerning the description of stance language and CL seeks to give context for the four articles contained in this special issue of Research in Corpus Linguistics. These contributions come to demonstrate the validity of CL methodology for the study of hedging, evaluation, style, and modality in different registers and specialised domains.
On self-repair in Spanish. A qualitative analysis using CORLEC
Authors: Hennemann Anja
Published: June 2019

Since self-repair represents a phenomenon that has not been investigated for native speakers of Spanish in interactive contexts, this study is an attempt to approach the different forms of self-repair in this Romance language. The theoretical basis are the studies by Cohen (1966) for the different types of speech errors that lead to self-repair, Levelt (1983) for the different forms of repair, and Schegloff et al. (1977) for the different phases of repair organisation. The data to be qualitatively analysed are retrieved from the corpus CORLEC. The study shows that the different forms of repair are more easily to be detected than the different types of speech error. The reason is that the influences of an earlier segment or of a following one are sometimes not clear. Additionally, the influences on the troublesome item are not always phonological in nature but cognitively motivated.
AEPC: Designing an Arabic/English parallel corpus
Authors: Alotaibi Hind M.
Published: June 2019

Parallel corpora ‒ collections of aligned translated texts of two or more languages ‒ play a significant role in translation and contrastive studies. Given the importance of the availability of such learning resources for the education and training of translators, Arabic suffers from a lack of such learning resources. Although there are a limited number of free Arabic/English parallel corpora, a major drawback is that they are domain-restricted corpora, which limits their benefits for Arabic translation education. This paper describes an ongoing project to design and construct a balanced, representative, and free-to-use Arabic English parallel corpus (AEPC). In addition, the project involves the design and implementation of an Arabic/English concordance tool. The proposed parallel corpus and its tool can be integrated into translators’ training institutions as an educational resource for translation studies and teaching. It can be used in training and testing Arabic/English machine translation systems. The first phase of this project involved compiling high-quality translated text samples; all translations were done by human translators. The corpus covers a wide range of text types and rich metadata. The target figure for the corpus is minimally 10 million words, with the intention to increase that figure in the future. After compiling the texts, manual (i.e. human-aided) alignment was performed, offering better outcomes in terms of accuracy compared to automated alignment. The second phase of this project involved designing a web interface with a bilingual concordancer, where users can explore the content of the AEPC in both English and Arabic.
Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2019
Authors: Miller Kimberly D. , Nogueira Leticia , Mariotto Angela B. , Rowland Julia H. , Yabroff K. Robin , Alfano Catherine M. , Jemal Ahmedin , Kramer Joan L. , Siegel Rebecca L.
Published: June 2019

The number of cancer survivors continues to increase in the United States because of the growth and aging of the population as well as advances in early detection and treatment. To assist the public health community in better serving these individuals, the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute collaborate every 3 years to estimate cancer prevalence in the United States using incidence and survival data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registries; vital statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics; and population projections from the US Census Bureau. Current treatment patterns based on information in the National Cancer Data Base are presented for the most prevalent cancer types. Cancer‐related and treatment‐related short‐term, long‐term, and late health effects are also briefly described. More than 16.9 million Americans (8.1 million males and 8.8 million females) with a history of cancer were alive on January 1, 2019; this number is projected to reach more than 22.1 million by January 1, 2030 based on the growth and aging of the population alone. The 3 most prevalent cancers in 2019 are prostate (3,650,030), colon and rectum (776,120), and melanoma of the skin (684,470) among males, and breast (3,861,520), uterine corpus (807,860), and colon and rectum (768,650) among females. More than one‐half (56%) of survivors were diagnosed within the past 10 years, and almost two‐thirds (64%) are aged 65 years or older. People with a history of cancer have unique medical and psychosocial needs that require proactive assessment and management by follow‐up care providers. Although there are growing numbers of tools that can assist patients, caregivers, and clinicians in navigating the various phases of cancer survivorship, further evidence‐based resources are needed to optimize care.
Serum Sodium Level in Children Suffering from Acute Bronchiolitis Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Shova Shamima Sharmin , Salim AFM , Mutanabbi Mahbub
Published: June 2019

Background: Acute bronchiolitis is a clinical syndrome produced by inflammation of the terminal bronchioles. It usually occurs in association with viral respiratory tract infection. Children with bronchiolitis are at risk of developing hyponatraemia. The objective of this study is to find out any change of serum Na+ values in bronchiolitis.

Methodology: A cross sectional observational study was done during January to June 2015 among the children between age of 2 months to 2 years admitted in the pediatric ward of Institute of Child Health & Shishu Sasthya Foundation Hospital, Dhaka, who were diagnosed as acute bronchiolitis. Data were collected by interviewing, physical examination and laboratory investigations and recorded through a proforma. Data were processed and analyzed using computer software SPSS.

Results: A total of 50 cases suffering from bronchiolitis were studied. Among them only 5 (10.0%) cases had hyponatraemia considered as group I and rest 45 (90.0%) patients had normonatraemia considered as group II. The mean age was found to be 10.8±5.3 months and 8.91±5.8 months in group I and group II respectively. Male was found 4 (80.0%) in group I and 27(60.0%) in group II. Mean respiratory rate was found to be 50.0±1.4 per min in group I and 54.18±3.9 per min in group II, which was significantly higher in normonatraemia group. Seizure, requirement for mechanical ventilation and mortality were not found in any child suffering from acute bronchiolitis.

Conclusion: These results indicate that normonatraemia was predominant and hyponatraemia was found only 10% cases and all were in mild degree. The clinical outcome of all the hyponatraemia cases was good and they were not associated with any complications.

Bangladesh J Child Health 2018; VOL 42 (3) :4-8
Birth Defect and it’s Impact in Neonatal Health : A Review
Authors: Mannan MA , Afroze Sharmin , Dey Sanjoy Kumer , Moni Sadeka Choudhury , Shabuj Mohammad Kamrul Hassan , Jahan Ismat , Sultana Shahjadi Nasreen , Shahidullah Mohammod
Published: June 2019

Birth defects are one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality worldwide. Every year more than 8.14 million children are born with a serious birth defect. The risk factors predictive of birth defects in babies vary from country to country even from region to region. About 60% of the causes of birth defect in humans are still unknown. However, in about 25% cases, the causes seem to be “multifactorial”, indicating a complex interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors. Many studies have been conducted to determine the association of various risk factors with the incidence of birth defects. Most of them found significant association with maternal age, parity, consanguinity, poor nutrition, life style factors, low socioeconomic condition and many more. But still there is debate in certain issues like common type of birth defect, specific age of mother for having birth defect babies, role of drugs during pregnancy etc. With advancement of diagnostic tools, birth defects can be identified both prenatally and post- natally. This helps further in decision making and planning for both parents as well as physicians to provide accurate treatment in time. Major birth defect babies require intensive care and more hospitalization. Often multidisciplinary approach is essential for them. But till now birth defect cases are neglected in society. Increasing awareness about maternal care during pregnancy, educational programs on birth defect and the consequences of consanguineous marriages need to be highlighted to decrease the incidence of birth defect and their co-morbidities as well as mortality.

Bangladesh J Child Health 2019; VOL 43 (1) :49-58
Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba Syndrome, Rare Etiology of Intestinal Hamartomatouspolyposis: A case report
Authors: Sonia Zannatul Ferdous , Rukunuzzaman Md , Karim ASM Bazlul , Yasmin Afsana , Thakur Shashi Bhushan
Published: June 2019

Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS) is a rare autosomal dominant congenital disorder, characterized bymacrocephaly, lipomas, hamartomas, and pigmented macule in genitalia.Several dozen cases have been reported in the medical literature, but no case has been reported in Bangladesh. We report a case of BRRS in a 11-year-old male child with recurrent per rectal bleeding with hamartomatouscolonic polyposis & multiple subcutaneous lipomas on the anterior abdominal wall.In addition, patient had macrocephaly, intellectual impairment.Bleeding polyps were removed by colonoscopic polypectomy.

Bangladesh J Child Health 2019; VOL 43 (1) :62-65
Myxedema Ascites: A Rare Case Report
Authors: Hamid Farzana , Quaium Syed Moosa MA , Rahman Azizur
Published: June 2019

Congenital hypothyroidism is a very common condition in developing world, but myxedema ascites is very rare in pediatric population. We report a case of 13 years old girl with congenital hypothyroidism on irregular thyroxin started on second half of infancy, presented with recurrent ascites excluding all other causes and discuss different aspects of the condition on the basis of literature review.

Bangladesh J Child Health 2019; VOL 43 (1) :66-68
Peroxidase from infected fruit of Solanum sp. grown in Nsukka
Authors: KO Omeje , SOO Eze , Chilaka FC
Published: June 2019

In this study, we characterized the activity of peroxidase a quality control enzyme from the infected fruit of Solanum sp. Peroxidase was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, ion exchange chromatography and size exclusion chromatography. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was 63000 da. The enzyme was shown to have two iso-enzymes with distinct optimum pH of 4.5 and 7.0 and optimum temperature of 40 and 70⁰C. The purified enzyme had broad substrate specificity with o-dianisidine being the ideal substrate. Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, Al3+ were shown to be activators of the enzyme, while the peroxidase activity was severely inhibited by Co2+.

Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.54(2), 131-138, 2019
Amelioration of lead (Pb) from contaminated soil using organic amendments
Authors: Mondol MN , Hussain KA , Zubaer MR , Hossain MA , Chamon AS
Published: June 2019

Pot experiments were conducted at the department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka to evaluate the effect of used tea leaves and poultry litter in ameliorating lead uptake and to alleviate toxicity of lead in Red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.). The length, fresh weight and dry weight of shoot was decreased significantly by 34.83, 34.69 and 36.48%, respectively, in 200 mg kg-1 Pb treated pots compared to the control. The similar significant decreasing trend in case of macro nutrient concentration in shoot and root samples were also observed. %N, P, K, S, Mg and Ca concentration in edible parts (shoots) decreased by 66.3, 5.27, 52.17, 30.32, 61.54 and 62.87% in 200 mg kg1 lead (Pb) treated pots compared to the control. On the other hand Pb concentration in shoot and root was the highest at 200 mg kg-1Pb treated pots (55 and 189 mg kg-1 pot-1) and the lowest was in the control treatment (0.45 and 20 mg kg-1 pot-1). Biomass production were positively influenced by the application of organic amendments as well as lead uptake was significantly ameliorated into Red amaranth shoot and root due to application of used tea leaves and poultry litter which reduced soil to plant transfer (TrF) of Pb by 47.39, 56.34 and 16.67, 22.22% in shoots and roots of red amaranth, respectively, compared to the untreated pots.

Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.54(2), 177-186, 2019
Incidence of Anal Fistula and Recurrent Abscesses following Management of Perianal Abscess
Authors: Begum Nasrin , Ahmed Quazi Sabran Uddin
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Most perianal abscesses originate from an infected anal gland. Obstruction of these glands leads to stasis, bacterial overgrowth and ultimately abscess. Approximately 10% of perirectal abscesses are thought not to be due to infected anal glands. It is unclear why some patients completely heal and others have recurrent disease.

Objective: To assess the incidence of anal fistula and recurrent abscess after incision and drainage of perianal abscess.

Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was done on 140 patients operated upon for perianal abscess in Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka. They underwent for one group only drainage, for other group drainage with primary fistulotomy under general or spinal anesthesia over two years from January 2015 to December 2016. The patients were followed up for an average 13 months (range, 4-18 months) after abscess drainage or until a fistula appears and abscess recurs. Their duration of hospital stay was 1–3 days. After discharge from hospital, they were examined in follow-up within 7 to 14 days. Subsequently, they were examined on a monthly basis until drainage ceased or until it became obvious that a fistula-in-ano had developed.

Results: Total 140 patients were treated for perianal abscess. Those patients were divided into two groups. The first group of 84 patients (60%) who underwent incision and drainage only. The second group consisted of 56(40%) patients who had low fistulas identified at the time of abscess drainage and underwent primary fistulotomy. The incidence of fistula formation after the operative procedures were 37(44.05%) in incision and drainage group and 5(8.93%) were in primary fistulotomy group. The most common site of abscess formation was posterior to anus. The incidence of recurrent abscess were 7(8.33%) in incision and drainage group; 2(3.57%) in primary fistulotomy group. The overall fistula formation (44.05% and 8.93%) and recurrence of abscess (8.33% and 3.57%) is low in primary fistulotomy group.

Conclusion: In this study the overall incidence of anal fistula is much higher than recurrence of perianal abscess following management of perianal abscess. Primary fistulolotomy at the time of drainage for perianal abscess reslult in a fewer persistent fistulas and recurrence of abscess.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 26-29
Nodal Metastasis in Neck: A Clinical Study of 60 Cases
Authors: Hossain Mohammad Kamal , Asaduzzaman AKM , Islam Md Tauhidul , Khan Ahsanuzzaman , Azad Muhammad Ali , Hossain Mohammad Delwar
Published: June 2019

Introduction: An enlarged neck node is frequently the first clinical manifestation of a neoplastic process in the head and neck region. The earlier the diagnosis is made, the greater the chance of improved survival. A common denominator to all head-neck malignancy is their ability to metastasize. Although metastasis is not a random event, some tumours have the propensity to extensive local invasion without metastasis whereas others metastasize early in their development.

Objective: To evaluate the different primary sites metastasizing to cervical lymph nodes.

Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out from July 2007 to March 2009 in the department of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka among 60 patients who had metastatic neck nodes with known primary in head-neck region and those with unknown primary were included in this study. Metastatic neck disease involving left supraclavicular or scalene nodes with a possible primary arising within the chest or abdomen were excluded from the study. All cases were advised for Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of enlarged neck nodes. Tissue samples were taken from primary sites for histopathology.

Results: Metastatic neck disease is commonly encountered in Bangladesh. A primary lesion was identified in 53(88.33%) cases however primary sites found undetected in 7(11.67%) cases. Among the primary sites 43(81.13%) cases were seen to arise from squamous lining of upper aero-digestive tract and 10(18.87%) cases were having a nonsquamous origin arising from thyroid gland (13.33%) and parotid gland (3.33%). Among the known primary sites highest incidence of metastatic neck nodes was found with carcinoma- larynx 22(36.66%) and pyriform fossa in 9(15%) cases. Forty seven (78.33%) patients were male and 13(21.67) were female with ratio being 3.6:1 of ages ranging from 20 years to 90 years.

Conclusion: Metastatic neck disease in commonly encountered in Bangladesh. Enlarged cervical nodes in an elderly patient should always be considered as metastatic until proved otherwise.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 56-59
Socio-demographic Status and Mode of Transmission of Avian Influenza among Poultry Farm Workers
Authors: Islam Sheikh Shahidul , Rahman Md Fashiur , Sarker Md Abu Sayeed , Begum Masuda , Kabir SM Humayun , Alam Md Jahangir , Uddin Md Jalal , Banu Selina , Rahman Md Bahanur
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Avian influenza is considered as serious global public health problem for poultry industry. Literature suggests that when HPAI/H5N1 Avian influenza (AI) outbreaks, humans are prone to increased risk of transmission. The recent pandemic caused by highly pathogenic AIA (H5N1) in domestic poultry is currently rated phase-3 by the World Health Organization on the pandemic alert scale. Every year 244 species of migratory birds visit Bangladesh in the winter season (October-March) of which approximately 21 species may carry the H5N1 or HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza) virus.

Objective: To assess socio demographic status and knowledge on mode of transmission of avian influenza among the poultry workers of selected poultry farms in Dhaka city.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among the poultry workers of selected poultry farms in Dhaka city. The study was conducted over a period of six months from January 2008 to June 2008. A total of 150 poultry workers aged 9 years and above irrespective of sexes were interviewed face to face by using semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: Majority of the respondents were male (92%) and nearly 78% of the respondents had educational level from Class-V to SSC. About three fourth of the respondents (68%) mentioned that avian influenza was transmitted by direct contact. Eighty percent (80%) of the respondents had the knowledge on transmission from poultry to human whereas 63% had the knowledge on transmission from human to human. Good, fair and poor knowledge on mode of transmission of avian influenza was found in 21.33%, 42.67% and 36% of the subjects respectively. Among the respondents belonging to <3 years and 3-5 years duration of service, 12% and 13.33% had poor knowledge followed by 14% and 9.33% had fair knowledge whereas 4% and 4.67% had good knowledge.

Conclusion: From the study it was revealed that one third of the workers had poor knowledge on mode of transmission of avian influenza. The study also found that the level of knowledge was found to be good among the older age group having higher educational level and longer duration of service.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 60-65
Severe Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions in Bangladesh: A Review in a Tertiary Level Hospital
Authors: Chowdhury Md Niamul Gani , Hoque Mohammad Enamul , Khan Md Abdul Latif , Khan Md Shirajul Islam
Published: June 2019

Introduction: The Severe Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions (SCADRs) are rare but life-threatening as these encompass drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP).

Objective: To estimate the incidence of SCADRs and to find out the cause in Bangladesh.

Materials and Methods: 50 patients with SCADRs were studied over a period of 1 year from January 2015 to December 2015 in the Department of Dermatology, Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka. Data were collected from the informant and recorded in structured Case Report Form. Quantitative data were expressed as mean and standard deviation and qualitative data as frequency and percentage.

Results: Clinical diagnosis of the study subjects recognized 46.0% cases as SJS, 28(19.0%) as TEN, 16.0% as DRESS and 10.0% as AGEP. The maximum incidence (46%) was seen in the age group of 31-50 years; mean age of the patient was 37.42+5.3 years. Male and female ratio was 2.84:1. Anticonvulsant group of drugs could give rise to maximum incidence of SCADRs. Carbamazepine was responsible in 22.0% cases of SCADRs, followed by Phenytoin in 16.0% patients and Phenobarbital in 14.0% cases.

Conclusion: SCADRs were seen mostly with the anticonvulsant drugs belonging to Carbamazepine and Phenytoin group. SCADRs deserve continuous monitoring to plan preventive strategies.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 71-75
Role of Acupuncture in Back Pain– Experience in the Department of Physical Medicine, CMH Dhaka
Authors: Haque SM Shahidul , Miah Md Abdul Ali , Rahman Md Fashiur , Yousuf Mohammad , Rahim Hasna Raihan
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Back pain is one of the common causes of pain after headache and a major debilitation in adult. Low back pain includes dorsal pain at anywhere between 12th thoracic vertebrae and lower buttock up to gluteal folds or anus. In United States, as many as one third of the population suffer from chronic pain conditions. Acupuncture is a recommended treatment for back pain. The action of acupuncture is an analgesic and considered a valuable asset in the specialty of pain management.

Objective: To evaluate the role of acupuncture on back pain and to follow up the quality of life in patients with back pain.

Materials and Methods: This was a prospective experimental study and was carried out at the Department of Physical Medicine, Combined Military hospital (CMH), Dhaka Cantonment from June 2015 to December 2015. A total of twenty two patients were enrolled and were randomly selected who received conservative treatment for pain management for 4 to 6 weeks and did not get improvement. Needling was done at acu-points on average of 15 to 20 needles for a period of 15-30 minutes for three days in a week for 06 weeks. The concise assessment was done for effectiveness in pain management.

Results: The result was observed in terms of the VAS (Visual analog scale) and disability scale. Relief of pain was noted to complete or to moderate in 58% of the cases. After 02 months of acupuncture treatment, 60% patients had relief of pain. After 06 months of acupuncture treatment, about 30% patients remained moderate to complete pain free.

Conclusion: Acupuncture remains one of the alternative medicine disciplines and there is mounting evidence of its effectiveness. Most of the patients were benefitted with acupuncture treatment regime after failure of conservative treatment for duration of 4-6 weeks for back pain.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 85-89
Indoor Patient Satisfaction on Doctor’s Care: A Tool to Improve Quality Service at Tertiary Level Military Hospital, Bangladesh
Authors: Munir AKM Mashiul , Halim AKM Yunus
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Patient satisfaction Survey has become a regulatory Tool to ensure quality of services and efficient use of resources. To endure quality service In-patient departments, doctors’ care undoubtedly a useful measure in CMH (Combined Military Hospital) where the number of patient flow is increasing day-by-day.

Objective: To find out the perceptions and expectations of the patients from the doctors in a tertiary level military hospital.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study 372 respondents were selected among the admitted patients of CMH Bogra. Respondents were randomly selected from all wards and were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire from May 2015 to December 2015.

Results: Out of 372 respondents, 68.8% were in age group between 25 to 50 years and majority (69%) of them were army personnel. Overall patients’ highly satisfaction levels on doctor’s services were doctors’ attitude (66%), patients’ privacy maintenance (61%), regular Ward visit (70%), counselling (59%) and importance of patients’ opinion (62%). Requirement of increased number of doctors and initiation of professional development program (PDP) for physicians were found important.

Conclusion: In Military Hospital, doctors are more accountable to their work. Therefore a management approach must be higher with more complicated expectation levels. This study showed a higher level of indoor patient satisfaction with doctors care at CMH Bogra.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 76-84
Contrast Sensitivity Change– A Tool of Monitoring Glaucoma Progression
Authors: Kajmina Natasha , Rahman Sayedur , Newaz Golam Shah , Haque Wasim Selimul
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Glaucoma is a potentially blinding disease,causing gradual loss of sight. It is often associated with increased intraocular pressure that can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain. Glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss, if the damage continues. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years. Glaucoma is one of the major causes of ocular morbidity and primary open–angle glaucoma is a major health problem. The prevalence of primary open- angle glaucoma (POAG) is estimated as being from 1.1-3% of western populations, over the age of 40 years, in both past and more recent population surveys.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the value of Contrast sensitivity (CS) and automated perimetry among primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients, glaucoma suspects and normal control.

Materials and Methods: It was a prospective observational hospital based study conducted in National Institute of Ophthalmology & Hospital (NIO&H), Dhaka during the period from January 2006 to December 2006. A total of 30 POAG patients, 30 glaucoma suspects and 30 normal control subjects were recruited for the study. After complete baseline evaluation, all the study subjects underwent visual field assessment by Octopus automated field analyzer and CS evaluation by Low Contrast Flip Chart. Outcome measures were baseline CS of POAG patients, glaucoma suspects and normal controls, mean CS of POAG patients at 3 months after treatment, baseline MS of POAG patients, glaucoma suspects and normal controls in Octopus perimetry and retinal mean sensitivity (MS) of POAG patients 3 months after treatment.

Results: Among the POAG patients MS was 22.23 dB, among glaucoma suspects MS was 27.50 dB and among normal controls mean MS was 30.0 dB; among the POAG patients mean CS was 2.99% whereas it was 2.20% and 1.41% respectively among glaucoma suspects and normal controls. Baseline CS had negative correlation with MS among POAG patients (correlation co-efficient, r = -0.908). It indicates that better CS is associated with higher MS. Out of 30 cases of POAG, 20 (66.67%) received medical and 10 (33.33%) received surgical treatment. Mean CS improves to 2.66% from baseline 2.99% after treatment and MS improves to 23.16 dB from base 22.23 dB after treatment. Correlation after three months of treatment was significantly negative (r = -0.86).

Conclusion: As increased loss of MS of perimetry has been found to be associated with increased loss of CS, assessment of CS may become an easy, convenient tool for glaucoma diagnosis.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 90-92
Correlation of Computed Tomographic Scan Findings in Children having Neurodisability– A Study of 100 Cases
Authors: Muid SMA Al , Beauty Anjuman Ara , Jubaida Nishat , Alam Md Taharul
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Neurodisability is an umbrella term for conditions associated with impairment involving the nervous system. The parents of these children remain worried about the cause of the disability and seek the diagnosis. Nowadays radiological diagnosis by CT scan is possible in most of the cases which may help in the management of such children.

Objective: To correlate between clinical and CT scan findings in neurodisabled children.

Materials and Methods: One hundred children with neurodisability were selected randomly who were scanned by 6, 16 and 128 slice CT scanners. This retrospective study was conducted in CMH Dhaka and Central Hospital Limited, Dhaka in between 2010 to 2014.

Results: Abnormal CT scan was found in 57 cases out of 100 patients having neurodisability. A large number of patients having neurodisability are suffering from psychomotor delay, motor delay, seizure disorder and speech difficulty. Hypoxic ischaemic injury in perinatal period is one of the major causes of the disability.

Conclusion: CT scan is very effective to find out the cause of neurodisability in less time (around 25 to 30 seconds) and is widely available in Bangladesh.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 93-97
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Packing with Nonpacking of Perianal Abscess Cav
Authors: Islam Md Tanvirul , Rahman Md Mahbubur , Begum Nasrin
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Anorectal abscess is a potentially debilitating condition and one of the common anorectal conditions encountered in practice. Anorectal abscesses are defined by the anatomic space in which they develop and are more common in the perianal and ischiorectal spaces. Traditional management of perianal abscess involves early incision, drainage, curettage and packing of the residual cavity. Cavity packing and dressings are problematic in that they cause significant discomfort and require multiple visits to change the packing until healing. An alternative to the traditional approach is to perform adequate incision and drainage and then to allow healing without the use of cavity dressings.

Objective: To compare the effects of packing with nonpacking of the perianal abscess cavity on patient discomfort and wound healing and subsidiary evaluation of the clinical outcomes.

Materials and Methods: This single centre randomized controlled trial was carried out on 50 patients who were operated upon for perianal abscess in Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka during the period of July 2014 to June 2016. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either packing or nonpacking treatment through allocation by sealed envelope. The packing (control) group was instructed to report to a single nursing staff for subsequent dressing with packing of the residual cavity. The nonpacking group was discharged with a superficial protective dressing; they did not undergo wound dressing but managed their own wounds until follow-up. Outcome measures were time of healing, abscess recurrence, fistula formation and post operative pain.

Results: A total of 54 patients were enrolled (4 lost in follow-up): 24 in the packing and 26 in the nonpacking arm. The two groups were comparable in terms of age and gender distribution, type, size of the abscess, duration of symptoms and length of follow-up. Healing in the non-packing group was faster compared to that of the packing group: mean 24.08 days versus 34.13 days (P=0.000). The rate of abscess recurrence was similar (P=0.664). Post operative fistula rates were similar (P=0.623). Pain scores appeared less in the nonpacking arm and statistically significant (7.25 vs. 4.24, P=0.000).

Conclusion: Small size of the study population was the limitation of this study. In order to obtain a higher level of evidence, an adequately powered multicentre based prospective randomized controlled trial is required to definitely address the question of packing of the cavity and its beneficial outcome following incision and drainage in the management of perianal abscess.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 111-116
Subtotal Gastrectomy for Atypical Carcinoid of Stomach– A Rare Tumour
Authors: Hossain SM Shahadat , Rahman Md Mahbubur , Mahmud Md Rayhan , Jahan Farhana Israt
Published: June 2019

The term carcinoid was first employed by Oberndorfer in 1907 to describe a group of tumours of the gastrointestinal tract that had a relatively indolent course and that were considered to be intermediate between adenoma and carcinoma in malignant potential. Gastrointestinal carcinoid tumours are a type of cancer that form in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract originating from entero-chromaffin like (ECL) cells. Gastric carcinoid tumours are rare tumors that develop within the gastric mucosa. They can present as an isolated lesion or there can be multiple lesions. The tumours can invade locally into deeper structures of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) wall. Solitary gastric carcinoids have a greater chance for the development of malignancy and metastases as compared to multiple gastric carcinoids due to hypergastrinemia. A 60 years old man presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and weight loss and was found to have carcinoid tumour of stomach without classic carcinoid syndrome (CS). Despite advances in the understanding of patho-physiology of carcinoid tumour its complications remain enigmatic. Early, accurate diagnosis and aggressive treatment is recommended.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.12(2) 2016: 145-148
Health Problems of Elderly People in Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Md Azizul , Rahman Md Fashiur
Published: June 2019

Abstract not available

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.13(1) 2017: 1-2
Medico-legal Issues and Socio-demographic Profile of Suicidal Deaths in People of Dhaka City-A Study of 827 Cases
Authors: Al Azad Md Abdus Samad , Rahman Md Saidur , Ahmad Mushtaq , Tabassum Taniza , Rahman Zubaidur
Published: June 2019

Introduction: There are two manners of death: Naturalwhere death is entirely caused by disease or ageing process, where poison or trauma does not take part to cause it and Unnatural- where death is sudden, suspicious, unexpected, litigious, unexplained and unattended either due to poison or trauma. Accident, homicide and suicide are the three unnatural manners of death. Death due to intentional injuries such as homicide or suicide and unintentional injuries of accidental manner, such as in transportation injury or industrial or machinery mishaps constitute unnatural deaths. Suicidal deaths are the acts or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind.

Objective: To ascertain the medico-legal issues and sociodemographic profile of suicidal death cases occuerd in Dhaka City.

Materials and Methods: A record based cross sectional study of postmortems was performed at the mortuary of the Forensic Medicine Department of Dhaka Medical College (DMC) from August 2009 to July 2010. A total of 3,337 cases brought to DMC mortuary from the south-eastern part of Dhaka district during this period were included in this study and thereafter 827 suicidal deaths were considered for this study.

Results: A total of 3,337 unnatural deaths (accidents, suicide and homicide) were reported at the mortuary of the Forensic Medicine Department of Dhaka Medical College (DMC) during the period of August 2009 to July 2010. This study revealed that 827(24.78%) individual committed suicide out of 3337 cases. There was a predominance of Muslims 779(94.19%), males 481(58.16%) over females 346(41.84%) in committing suicide. Majority of the victims belonged to the age group of 21-30 years in both sexes. Out of these suicidal cases, 318(38.45%) victims committed suicide by hanging. The other methods used for suicide were Organophosphorus compound poisoning (OPC) by 238(28.79%) victims, poisoning from other substances like Opiates, Ethanol, Methanol, Rodenticide, Barbiturate etc by 267 (32.28%); 3(0.36%) cases were identified as burn and 1 (0.12%) by firearm.

Conclusion: Suicide is the second most common manner of unnatural death flanked by accident and homicide. Suicide is one of the most multifaceted and media-sensitive phenomena. Suicide by hanging is an increasingly common method. All stakeholders such as government along with private agencies, non-government organizations, public health departments, social workers, community, religious leaders and media can take a leading step to prevent suicide

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.13(1) 2017: 33-36
Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Its Association with the Histological Pattern in Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome
Authors: Jalil Farhana , Hanif Mohammed , Uddin Golam Muin , Afroz Shireen
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is the most common glomerular disorder of childhood. Clinical outcome of children with nephrotic syndrome depends on underlying histopathlogy and responsiveness to steroid treatment. Minimal change disease (MCD) has a favorable long-term prognosis whereas, other than minimal change nephrotic syndrome is often resistant to steroid and is more likely to progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) which is a small protein belonging to the lipocalin superfamily has been demonstrated to be a powerful risk marker of chronic kidney disease progression. This study was undertaken to determine whether urinary NGAL could be used as a biomarker in differentiating minimal change disease from other glomerular histologic lesions in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between urinary NGAL and histological pattern in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Dhaka Shishu Hospital and Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University from June 2014 to May 2015. Fifty-one children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome comprising 12 children with minimal change disease (MCD) and 39 with other than minimal change nephrotic syndrome were included. Urinary NGAL was measured using a commercially available HUMAN NGAL/ LIPOCALIN 2 ELISA kit which employed the quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. Median urinary NGAL level were compared between MCD and other than MCD. Median urinary NGAL and urinary creatinine ratio also compared between two groups. The prognostic accuracy of urinary NGAL was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results: Median urinary NGAL (uNGAL) level of MCD group was 44.5 [IQR: 32-109.5] (ng/ml) and that of the other than MCD group was 130 [IQR:85-172] (ng/ml). This difference was statistically significant (p=0.004). Median urine NGAL and urine creatinine ratio was significant between two groups (MCD=105.5 ng/mg and other than MCD=288 ng/mg, p-value was<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) for the uNGAL as a biomarker to differentiate MCD from other than MCD was 0.78 [95% CI: 0.64-0.92] (p=0.004) and showed an optimized sensitivity of 0.82 and specificity of 0.75 with an optimal trade-off value of 72 ng/ml.

Conclusion: Urinary NGAL was found to be a reliable biomarker to differentiate the histological pattern in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.13(1) 2017: 51-55
Pattern of Children Presenting with Inguinal Hernia and Hydrocele- Experience in a Tertiary Level Hospital
Authors: Parveen Zinia , Khan Shams ud Din Elias , Sultana Sharmeen , Mithun Sangita , Nahar Mst Nasrin , Nessa Meherun
Published: June 2019

Introduction: Inguinal hernias and hydroceles are among the common surgical problems in children. Both the hernia and hydrocele share a similar aetiology. Inguinal hernia in a child is usually an indirect inguinal hernia due to patent processus vaginalis. Likewise a fluid filled sac typically found in the scrotum may result from patent processus vaginalis or due to an imbalance between the secretion and absorption within the tunica vaginalis. Very little study was done in Bangladesh on inguinal hernia and hydrocele though these are very common in children.

Objective: To observe the pattern of inguinal hernia and hydrocele amongst the children reported to a tertiary level hospital.

Materials and Methods: This observational study was carried out in the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka during the period of January 2014 to December 2017. During the study period, a total of 258 children with inguinal hernia and hydrocele admitted in this hospital for operative treatment were included in this study.

Results: During the study period 258 children with inguinal hernia and hydrocele were operated. Among them 246 (95.35%) had inguinal hernia and 12(4.65%) had hydrocele. Out of the children with inguinal hernia 206 (83.74%) were male and 40(16.26%) were female with male female ratio of 5.15:1. All had indirect inguinal hernia. Right side was involved in 140(56.91%) children. Out of 246 children with inguinal hernia, 161(65.44%) reported between 6 months to 5 years. Thirteen (5.28%) presented before 6 months and 72 (29.27%) presented after 5 years of age. All children were operated by traditional open method as admitted case. Among 12 children with hydrocele 10(83.33%) had right sided hydrocele and 2(16.67%) had hydrocele on the left side.

Conclusion: Inguinal hernia and hydrocele occur most frequently in premature neonates. Inguinal hernia does not resolve spontaneously and there is high risk of incarceration requiring operative treatment as early as possible.

Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.13(1) 2017: 46-50