The site of attachment of umbilical cord and branching pattern of umbilical arteries within the placenta

Placenta is the mirror of maternal and fetal status; it reflects the changes due to complication in pregnancy of mother. Numerous common and uncommon findings of the placenta, umbilical cord and membranes are associated with abnormal fetal development and perinatal morbidity. So, the examination of the placenta can yield information that may be important in the immediate and later management of mother and newborn. This information may also be essential for protecting the attending physician in the event of an adverse maternal or fetal outcome. This cross sectional descriptive study was carried out to determine the incidence of different types of placenta depending on attachment site and branching pattern of arteries of umbilical cord in Bangladeshi Women. To achieve this aim sixty placenta with umbilical cord were collected. Placenta was from 28 weeks to 42 weeks gestational age of normal pregnancy during normal labour at gynaecology and obstetric department of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. After preservation in 10% formol saline, study was done in the Department of Anatomy of Mymensingh Medical College. In the present study, incidence of different types of placenta depending on attachment site of umbilical cord was 50% Central, 46% Paracentral and 18% Marginal in type. In this study it was also observed that 58% placenta were Disperse in type and 42% were Magistral in type depending on the distribution of umbilical arteries. Observed findings of this study were compared with those of Western and Bangladeshi researchers.

Intermittent prophylaxis of recurrent febrile seizures with clobazam versus diazepam

Febrile seizures are the most common type of seizure among children that can be prevented by using prophylactic drugs like Clobazam and Diazepam. The present prospective study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital and Community Based Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh over a period of 1 year from July 2012 to June 2013 to compare the effectiveness of intermittent Clobazam versus Diazepam therapy in preventing the recurrence of febrile seizures and assessed adverse effects of each drug. A total of 65 patients (32 children administered Clobazam and rest 33 children received Diazepam) of simple and complex febrile seizures aged 6 months to 5 years of both sexes were the study population. Data were collected by interview of the patients, clinical examination and laboratory investigations using the research instrument. Data were analyzed by using Chi-square (χ2) Test, Student's 't' Test and Fisher's Exact Test. For all analytical tests, the level of significance was set at 0.05 and p<0.05 was considered significant. The proportion of patients was higher between age 12-36 months and male was predominant in the both Clobazam and Diazepam groups. Over 31% of patients in Clobazam group who experienced episode of fever within 3 months, 40.6% within 6 months and 9.4% within 9 months compared to 36.4% in Diazepam group within 3 months, 45.5% within 6 months & 12.1% within 9 months after discharge from the hospital. Three (9.4%) patients in Clobazam group and 7(21.3%) in Diazepam group who experienced febrile convulsion during the follow up period. From the data adverse effects within 3 and 6 months experienced by the patient's drowsiness, sedation and ataxia were higher in Diazepam group than those in Clobazam group. However, within 9 months lethargy and irritability were somewhat higher in Clobazam group than those in Diazepam group. The mean duration of hospitalization was significantly higher in Diazepam group compared to Clobazam group (6.0±1.0 vs. 4.6±0.08 days, P<0.001). Seven (21.2%) out of 33 children with febrile seizures in Diazepam group had a history of recurrent seizures, whereas 3(9.4%) of 32 children in the Clobazam group. The risks of recurrent febrile seizure in the Diazepam group was 2.6 times greater compared to those in the Clobazam group (P=0.186). The result indicates that Clobazam is safe, efficacious, requires less frequent dosing and has less adverse effects such as drowsiness, sedation, ataxia and irritability as compared to Diazepam. So, Clobazam may be an alternative to Diazepam given intermittently for prevention of recurrent febrile seizures.

Comparison between azithromycin and cefixime in the treatment of typhoid fever in children

An intervention study was carried out in the department of paediatrics of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh to compare the clinical efficacy of Azithromycin in the treatment of childhood typhoid fever with that of cefixime for a period of one year from January 2011 to December 2011. A total of 60 cases of typhoid fever were enrolled in to a randomized clinical trial and was divided into two groups. The inclusion criteria of the cases were: Documented fever for more than 4 days plus two or more of the following clinical features: toxic physical appearance, intestinal complaints, coated tongue, ceacal gurgling, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, diarrhoea and constipation plus positive Widal test and/or blood culture positivity. Patients who had complication like GIT heamorrhage; intestinal perforaion and/or shock were excluded from the study. Data were collected in a structured questionnaire. Azithromycin was given at a dose of 10mg/kg/day for a period of 07 days Cefixime was given at a dose of 20mg/kg/day in two divided dose for 14 days. The mean time of defervesence was 4.05+1.14 days with azithromycin and 3.41+0.95 with cefixime respectively. The minimum defervesence time was 02 days and maximum defervesence time was 07 days. Clinical cure rate was 87% in azithromycin group and 93% in cefixime group. No serious adverse effect was noted related to azithromycin and cefixime therapy except nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and jaundice. It was found that azithromycin is almost as effective as cefixime in the treatment of typhoid fever.

Vaginal rhinosporidiosis: a case report

The female genital tract is an extremely rare site for Rhinosporidiosis. Here we described a 13 year old girl who presented with a slow growing polypoid fleshy mass in the posterior vaginal wall near the orifice for 6 months with scanty bleeding from the mass. The girl was admitted to hospital with profuse watery vaginal discharge. Excision of the mass was followed by histopathological examination which confirmed the diagnosis Rhinosporidiosis.

Comparison of coronary CT angiography with conventional coronary angiography in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease

Noninvasive CT coronary angiography is a promising coronary imaging technique. In spite of the unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution and the inability to perform therapeutic interventions in the same session multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has been considering a promising alternative, non invasive tool for coronary artery imaging due to its high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of significant coronary artery stenosis. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice MDCT for assessing haemodynamically significant stenoses of the coronary arteries in comparison with the conventional standard cardiac angiography. Fifty patients scheduled for conventional coronary angiography at the department of Radiology and Imaging, United Hospital, Dhaka were enrolled between July 2007 and June 2008. All patients underwent both conventional and MDCT angiography within mean 10.70 days. Overall sensitivity of 64-slice MDCT for the detection of stenosis ≤ 50%, stenosis > 50%, and stenosis > 75% was 90.0%, 83.8%, and 80.7%, respectively, and specificity was 96.5%, 98.4%, and 98.3% respectively and accuracy was 96.0 %, 96.5%, and 96.6% respectively. Contrast-enhanced 64-slice MDCT allows the identification of coronary stenosis with excellent accuracy. Measurements of stenosis derived by MDCT correlated well with conventional angiogram. A major limitation is the insufficient ability of CT to exactly quantify the degree of stenosis.

Duodenal carcinoid tumor - a case report

Carcinoid tumors are well differentiated neuroendochrine tumors which most frequently involve the gastrointestinal tract; however duodenal carcinoid tumors are rare. They can present with various clinical symptoms and are difficult to diagnose. A 52 years old lady presented with the symptoms of recurrent upper abdominal pain, burning sensation of whole body and passage of loose stool. On endoscopy of upper GIT, there was a duodenal polyp. Polyp was removed by endoscopic resection and tissue was taken for biopsy. Histological findings of biopsy specimen shows carcinoid tumor. As duodenal carcinoid tumor is a rare presentation so we are going to present this case in this article.

Dieulafoy's lesion: an overview

Dieulafoy's lesion accounts for 1-5.8% of cases of acute upper GI bleeding. The two largest retrospective series, both from North America, found Dieulafoy's lesion as the source of hemorrhage in 1.9% and 1.2% of all endoscopies performed for acute GI bleeding. In the prospective study of Chung et al., Dieulafoy's Lesion was found in 3.4% of all patients with acute GI bleeding referred to their unit. The Dieulafoy's Lesion accounted for up to 40% of all causes of nonvariceal upper GI bleeding not caused by gastric or duodenal ulceration or esophageal varices in the prospective study of Matsui et al. In the study of Schmulewitz and Bailli, colonic Dieulafoy's Lesion were only found in 0.09% of all colonoscopies performed for lower GI bleeding. The actual incidence of both upper and lower GI bleeding from Dieulafoy's Lesion is likely higher than estimated because the diagnosis remains difficult. Recent advances in endoscopy have led to an increased detection of Dieulafoy's lesions. Initial GI endoscopy is effective in diagnosing up to 70% of patients. Several endoscopies may be required with 6% of patients, requiring three or more to establish the diagnosis. Angiography and/or red cell scanning can be used when endoscopy fails to diagnose a doubtful case. There is no definite unique policy for the treatment of Dieulafoy's lesions. Therapeutic endoscopy remains the first line of treatment option for controlling the bleeding while angiography is considered as a valuable alternative. Surgical intervention is kept for failure cases where it should be guided by preoperative localization. The mortality rate has decreased dramatically from 80% to 8.6% in recent times due to advancement in both diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

A high risk critical mitral valve stenosis with emergency management at Apollo Hospitals Dhaka

Heart valve surgery in high-risk patients with severe jaundice, congestive hepatomegaly and renal impairment is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Without operation the consequences are invariably grave. A 35 years old gentleman with congestive cardiac failure was initially treated in coronary care unit (CCU). Mitral valve area was 0.5cm², pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) was 110mmHg, serum bilirubin was 20mg/dl, SGPT & SGOT were 1024iu/l and 1027iu/l respectively. Serum creatinine was 3.35mmol/l. Serum bilirubin gradually diminished to 3.1mg/dl after 12 days treatment in Coronary Care Unit but next day it increased to 3.6mg/dl. Mitral valve was replaced on an emergency basis. Echocardiogram on the 5th post operative day showed well functioning prosthetic mitral valve in situ. Serum bilirubin decreased to 2.2mg/dl, SGPT, SGOT and serum creatinine to 43iu/l, 40iu/l and 1.34mmol/l respectively. After 8 weeks of postoperative follow up his serum bilirubin decreased to 0.8mg/dl.

Morphometric study of thyroid angle in different age and sex in Bangladeshi cadaver

This cross sectional descriptive study was to measure the thyroid angle and to establish the difference between sexes of different age groups in Bangladeshi cadaver. A total 60 human larynges were collected by purposive sampling from October 2008 to March 2009. Among them 45(male 23 and female 22) were collected from Bangladeshi cadavers (9 to 60 years) at the autopsy laboratory of Department of Forensic Medicine and 15 (male 6 and female 9) from stillborn infants of viable age (28 to 40 weeks of gestation) from Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department of Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh. The thyroid angle was measured and significant differences of the dimensions between different age and sex groups were observed. In the present study observed findings was compared with those of other researchers. The mean±SD thyroid angle was found as 65.00±11.65 degree in age Group A (28 to 40 weeks of gestation), 73.69±6.56 degree in age Group B (9 to 16 years) and 77.76±7.76 degree in age Group C (17 to 60 years). The mean thyroid angle was higher in female (83.1667±5.78220 degree) than that in male (73.9412±7.09460 degree) and statistically moderately significant in Group C, where t = 3.853 and p = 0.001. In statistical analysis, differences between age and sex groups were calculated by using Students (unpaired) 't' test. The present study revealed that the value was significantly greater in adult female than male and the value increased with age.

Characterizing microscale biological samples under tensile loading: stress-strain behavior of cell wall fragment of onion outer epidermis

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

The results of published studies investigating the tissue-scale mechanical properties of plant cell walls are confounded by the unknown contributions of the middle lamella and the shape and size of each cell. However, due to their microscale size, cell walls have not yet been characterized at the wall fragment level under tensile loading. It is imperative to understand the stress-strain behavior of cell wall fragments to relate the wall's mechanical properties to its architecture. •

METHODS

This study reports a novel method used to characterize wall fragments under tensile loading. Cell wall fragments from onion outer epidermal peels were cut to the desired size (15 × 5 µm) using the focused ion beam milling technique, and these fragments were manipulated onto a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) tensile testing device. The stress-strain behavior of the wall fragments both in the major and minor growth directions were characterized in vacuo. •

KEY RESULTS

The measured mean modulus, fracture strength, and fracture strain in the major growth direction were 3.7 ± 0.8 GPa, 95.5 ± 24.1 MPa, and 3.0 ± 0.5%, respectively. The corresponding properties along the minor growth direction were 4.9 ± 1.2 GPa, 159 ± 48.4 MPa, and 3.8 ± 0.5%, respectively. •

CONCLUSIONS

The fracture strength and fracture strain were significantly different along the major and minor growth directions, the wall fragment level modulus of elasticity anisotropy for a dehydrated cell wall was 1.23, suggesting a limited anisotropy of the cell wall itself compared with tissue-scale results.

Emotional and behavioral disorders in children with epilepsy

This cross sectional study was done to observe the prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in children with epilepsy, in the Department of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Neurology, of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Bangladesh from July 2007 to June 2008. In this study, information about psychiatric disorders of 50 epileptic children, age ranging from 5-17 years with mean±SD (11.1±1.43) years, and 50 age, sex and socio-demographic status matched controls children (age ranging from 5-18 years with mean±SD (11.6±1.82) years were enrolled by parent, teacher and self version of Development And Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) (Validated Bangla Version). Emotional disorders are more prevalent than behavioral disorders among epileptic children. Forty four percent (44%) of children with epilepsy had psychiatric disorder and this rate was significantly higher than that of healthy control (p>0.05). Disorders include major depressive disorder (20%), obsessive compulsive disorder (25%), other anxiety disorders (25%), specific phobia (15%), separation anxiety disorder (10%) and panic disorder with agoraphobia (5%).

Parathyroid failure following thyroid surgery

This cross-sectional study was done to see the association of post thyroidectomy parathyroid failure with thyroid disease and type of surgery. It was carried out in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka during the period of July 2008 to June 2010. Total 50 cases of thyroid malignancy and multinodular goiter who had undergone total or near total thyroidectomy with or without neck dissection were studied. In this study highest number of cases were found in 3rd decade of age (28%) and there was female predominance (M:F=1:3.54). Overall frequency of post operative hypocalcaemia was 30% (26% was temporary hypocalcaemia and 4% was permanent). Hypocalcaemia revealed clinically in 20% cases and remained subclinical in 10% cases. Hypocalcaemia developed in 42.30% cases of malignant thyroid disease and 16.66% cases of benign thyroid disease (p<0.05). It was found in 54.54% cases with neck dissection and 23.07% cases without neck dissection (p<0.05). Hypocalcaemia developed in 62.5% cases where parathyroid gland were not identified and 23.8% cases where parathyroid gland was identified. Hypocalcaemia developed most commonly on the 2nd post operative day (73.33%). There is a significance difference with development of parathyroid failure after thyroid surgery between benign and malignant thyroid disease and also between thyroid surgery with or without neck dissection.

Association of serum uric acid with ischemic stroke

The present study has examined the association between ischemic stroke and hyperuricemia in Bangladeshi population. This age and sex matched case control study was carried out in the Department of Neurology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of January 2007 to December 2008. A total of 120 subjects were included in this study, among them 60 were cases and another 60 were controls. Data were collected purposively. Multiple logistic regressions were done to identify the risk factors for ischemic stroke. In this study 68.3% were male and 31.7% were female in both the groups. Male and female ratio of stroke patients was 2.16:1. Mean±SD of serum uric acid level of case and control group was 4.94±1.76 and 3.72±1.09 respectively. Among the case group 76.7% had normal and 23.3% had abnormal serum uric acid level. On the other hand, 93.3% respondents of control group had normal and 6.7% had abnormal serum uric acid (SUA) level. Significant differences was found between case and control group in term of SUA level (p<0.05). Since SUA level is a quantitative numerical variable, an increase in 1mg/dl has a 47.0% (95% CI 1.0% to 2.16%) increase in odds ratio (OR) of having ischemic stroke. This 47.0% is obtained by taking OR for uric acid-1. Elevated serum uric acid level is not significant for ischemic stroke among the Bangladeshi population.

Factors affecting the first service conception rate of cows in smallholder dairy farms in Bangladesh

The successful outcome of an insemination is a combination of both male and female fertility-linked factors. We investigated the first service conception rate of cows at artificial insemination (AI) in the smallholder dairy farms in Bangladesh. Frozen straws were prepared from ejaculates of Bos indicus (n = 7) and Bos indicus × Bos taurus (n = 7) AI bulls. Fertility was determined from 6101 first services in cows that were performed by 18 technicians in four regions between April 2004 and March 2005. Pregnancy was diagnosed by rectal palpation between 60 and 90 days post-insemination. The Asian version of Artificial Insemination Database Application (AIDA ASIA) was used for bulls-, cows- and AI-related data recording, and later retrieved for analysis. The mean ± SD number of inseminations performed from individual bulls and their conception rates were 436.0 ± 21.6 and 50.7 ± 1.9%, respectively. Logistic regression demonstrated body condition scores (BCS), heat detection signs, months of AI and their interactions had greatest effects (odds ratios: 1.24-16.65, p < 0.04-0.001) on first service conception rate in cows. Fertility differed (p < 0.02-0.001) between the regions, previous calving months, months of AI, BCS, parity and heat detection signs of cows. Inseminations based on mounting activity (n = 2352), genital discharge (n = 3263) and restlessness and/or other signs (n = 486) yielded a conception rate of 53.6%, 48.8% and 50.1%, respectively (p < 0.05). Conception rate between technicians ranged between 43.4% and 58.6% (p < 0.05). The days interval from calving to first service (overall mean ± SD = 153.4 ± 80.6) had relationship (p < 0.001) with BCS, months of previous calving and parity of the cows. Fertility at AI in smallholder farms can be improved by training farmers on nutrition and reproductive management of the cows.

Psychiatric and psychological comorbidities in patients with psoriasis- a review

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease. The impact of psoriasis on quality of life is significant even when it involves relatively limited body surface area (BSA). Life stresses have been found as both a cause of psoriasis and as an aggravating factor in the disease. In different large epidemiological studies up to 79% patients of psoriasis had a negative impact on their lives, and Psoriasis was reported to be associated stressful life event in 10-90%, depression in 24-51%, felt shame and embarrassment over their appearance in 89%, lack of confidence in 42%, family friction in 26%, wish to be dead to active suicidal ideation in 9.7-5.5%, addiction and alcoholism in 18% and also significant impact upon sexual function. Children with psoriasis had 25-47% higher risk of developing any psychiatric disorder, 23-62% higher risk of develop depression and 32-250% higher risk of anxiety.

Health related Quality of Life with HIV/AIDS in different stages of HIV infection

Disease stages of HIV infection is one of the important predictor of Health related Quality of Life (HQoL) of the people living with HIV/AIDS. This cross sectional study was an attempt to compare the HQoL of HIV-infected patients across the three CDC stages of HIV-infection namely, asymptomatic, symptomatic, and AIDS-related conditions. A total of 82 patients, 28 in asymptomatic, 26 in symptomatic, and 28 in AIDS-related conditions, from three NGOs and one Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) were interviewed using interviewer administered semi structured questionnaire developed by adopting "World Health Organization Quality of Life HIV BREF (WHOQOL-HIV BREF) instrument". Analysis revealed that AIDS-related conditions and symptomatic patients were experiencing significantly poorer quality of life than asymptomatic patients in the domain of physical (F=7.006, p <0.005), level of independence) F=6.552, p<0.005(, overall perception of health related quality of life (F=3.634, p<0.05) and overall general health perception (F=7.842, p<0.001).

Primary total hip arthroplasty by cemented prosthesis in secondary osteoarthritis of the hip joint

Cemented total hip arthroplasty has been being practiced successfully all over the world for the last 5 decades. Osteoarthritis is the most common indication of total hip arthroplasty. This study was done to observe the outcome of primary total hip arthroplasty by cemented prosthesis in secondary osteoarthritis of the hip joint. This prospective study was conducted at the department of Orthopaedics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and some private hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 2008 to December 2009. Total 21 patients were evaluated. Among them 38.1% had rheumatoid arthritis, 19.1% had ankylosing spondylitis and 42.8% had avascular necrosis. Average duration of postoperative hospital stay was 14.09 days. Regarding the functional outcome, 76.2% patients had excellent, 19.1% had good and 4.8% had fair outcome. So out of 21 cases, 95.2% had satisfactory and 4.8% had unsatisfactory outcome. Cemented total hip arthroplasty is an effective procedure for the management of secondary osteoarthritis of the hip joint.

Evaluation of transurethral ethanol ablation of prostate for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia

Evaluating short-term (03 months) efficacy and safety of transurethral intraprostatic injection of absolute ethanol to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This intervention study was conducted to evaluate 30 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia treated by transurethral injection of dehydrated ethanol. Mean age was 69.96 years. Endoscopic injection of 6-13.5 ml ethanol was carried out at 4-8 sites in the prostate. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum flow rate, prostate volume, postvoid residual and side effects or complications were measured postoperatively. Mean IPSS (SD) improved significantly from 18.43 ± 2.38 preoperatively to 6.80 ± 1.34 at 03 months of follow-up, mean peak urinary flow rate increased from 7.33 ± 1.19 ml/s to 16.31 ± 1.69 ml/s after 3 months, mean residual urine volume had decreased from 54.16 ± 30.93 ml to 17.01 ± 9.59 ml after 3 months (p<0.05). The prostate volume decreased from 44.66 ± 9.52 gm preoperatively to 32.46 ± 7.78 gm after 3 months (statistically significant at 5% level). There were no intra-operative complications but post-operative haematuria occurred in two patients, urinary retention occurred in two patients after removal of the catheter. Urinary tract infection developed in one patient. Transurethral ethanol ablation of prostate appears to be safe and cost effective. No occurrence of retrograde ejaculation was detected. The short-term effects of ethanol injection at prostate were satisfactory and acceptable as a minimally invasive therapeutic modality in selected patients.

Can amorphization take place in nanoscale interconnects?

The trend of miniaturization has highlighted the problems of heat dissipation and electromigration in nanoelectronic device interconnects, but not amorphization. While amorphization is known to be a high pressure and/or temperature phenomenon, we argue that defect density is the key factor, while temperature and pressure are only the means. For nanoscale interconnects carrying modest current density, large vacancy concentrations may be generated without the necessity of high temperature or pressure due to the large fraction of grain boundaries and triple points. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) experiments on 200 nm thick (80 nm average grain size) aluminum specimens. Electron diffraction patterns indicate partial amorphization at modest current density of about 10(5) A cm(-2), which is too low to trigger electromigration. Since amorphization results in drastic decrease in mechanical ductility as well as electrical and thermal conductivity, further increase in current density to about 7 × 10(5) A cm(-2) resulted in brittle fracture failure. Our molecular dynamics (MD) simulations predict the formation of amorphous regions in response to large mechanical stresses (due to nanoscale grain size) and excess vacancies at the cathode side of the thin films. The findings of this study suggest that amorphization can precede electromigration and thereby play a vital role in the reliability of micro/nanoelectronic devices.

Morphometry of seminiferous tubules of human testes in different age groups in Bangladeshi cadavers

This cross sectional descriptive study was done to observe the mean diameter of seminiferous tubules and to determine its differences between different age groups in Bangladeshi male. Thirty human testes of different age groups were collected by purposive sampling technique. Among them 22 specimens were collected from cadavers during routine postmortem examination and 8 specimens were from dead fetuses from Gynaecology & Obstetrics Department. The specimens were grouped into three categories Group A (28 to 42 weeks of gestational age), Group B (Up to 14 years) and Group C (15 to 70 years). The mean diameter of seminiferous tubules was measured and significant differences of the dimensions between different age groups were determined. The mean±SD diameter was 85.37±15.51 μm in Group A, 144.04±63.34 μm in Group B and 227.92±22.47 μm in Group C. Statistically, differences between age groups were calculated by using Unpaired Students 't' test. The present study revealed that the diameter increased with age and mean differences were statistically significant between Groups A&C, B&C and A&B.

Multiferroic polymer composites with greatly enhanced magnetoelectric effect under a low magnetic bias

Multiferroic laminate composites consisting of chain-end cross-linked ferroelectric polymers and magnetostrictive Metglas are reported. The composites exhibit a greatly enhanced multiferroic voltage coefficient and sensitivity relative to analogous composites. These remarkable properties are attributed to high piezoelectric and electromechanical coupling coefficients, because of the formation of larger crystalline sizes and concurrent improvement in the polarization ordering in the cross-linked polymers.

Effectiveness of levofloxacin in enteric fever

This intervention study was conducted to determine the efficacy of Levofloxacin in the treatment of uncomplicated enteric fever. Among 100 patients, who were purposively selected for the study had presented sign and symptoms of enteric fever with blood culture positive salmonella in laboratory findings during the admission in the department of Medicine, Uttara Adhunik Medical College & Hospital, Dhaka. Patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups. One group was treated with oral levofloxacin 750mg once daily (OD) and another was injected with Levofloxacin 500mg once daily for 7 days. All the patients were examined twice daily to observe the clinical cure or failure of levofloxacin. Study was conducted from January 2008 to December 2008. Statistical analysis was performed by using statistical software SPSS version 12. Among the 100 patients in the study, majority of them 46(92%) were aged between 15 to 25 years, the next group was between 25 to 35 years 26(52%) and only three patients were aged above 65 years. Significant number of the patients were male (67), and the rest of them were female. The patients were clinically examined specially for anaemia, jaundice, caecal gurgling, hepatosplenomegaly in both the groups and the relevant investigations were performed. It was found that 46 patients in group A, who took oral levofloxacin, were cured after seven days, whereas 48 patients in group B were fully cured by taking injectable levofloxacin by seven days. In this study, levofloxacin was found to be the most effective drug in both oral and injectable form in one-week treatment of uncomplicated typhoid.

Awareness about organ donation among school girls

Prevalence of organ failure is high through out the world. Organ transplantation, the definitive treatment option of organ failure keeps very low due to scarcity of organ. Most of the people are not aware about organ donation. Adolescent girls will be the mother of future nation and they can motivate family members for organ donation. This study was carried out to see attitudes towards organ donation and determine the negative factors of organ donation prevailing among school girls. One hundred sixty eight girls from class VIII to class X of a higher secondary school were participated. A structured questionnaire was filled up by the girls. The data were processed from questionnaire and analyzed. Among study population, most of them (64%) had no idea about on going organ donation and transplantation. The positive attitude of the girls towards organ donation was low when they are live (16%) and their attitudes also kept low even after their death (14%). The girls who did not agree to donate organ were further asked to mention the reasons. The reasons of negative attitude were religious belief, fear of illness and social and familial reservation. The result of this study suggests that among girls, awareness and attitudes about organ donation is poor. There were several reasons identified for low consent rates. Multidisciplinary actions should be taken to improve the awareness of the people about organ donation and motivate them for donation.

Comparison between ultrasound and plain X-ray in evaluating the cause of shoulder pain

Painful shoulder is a common painful condition among patients. Apart from acute traumatic lesions such as fractures, dislocations, contusions, sprains and ruptured tendons, 85 to 90% of painful shoulders are due to adhesive capsulitis, acute or chronic calcific tendinitis, bursitis, bicipital tendinitis and lesions of the musculotendinous cuff. Arthritis is the cause of less than 5% of painful shoulders. For evaluating conditions of shoulder joint, X-ray has been regarded as only method of choice for long time. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an alternative procedure but the cost limits its utilization especially in Bangladesh. Ultrasonography is an effective imaging modality in the evaluation of both rotator and non-rotator cuff disorders. Because of low cost and availability, it can be an alternative procedure for the diagnosis of painful shoulder. The present study was conducted to assess ultrasonography as a useful modality in evaluating cases of shoulder pain and to compare the findings with X-ray findings. Thirty two patients with shoulder pain were evaluated by X-ray and Ultrasonography (USG). Clinical diagnosis was done for correlation. To identify the cause of shoulder pain, 100% patients were found normal in plain X-ray. On Ultrasonography (USG) 12.5% patients had displaced long head of biceps, 21.9% had biceps tendinitis, and 3.1% had bursitis. In the assessment of shoulder pathology, USG had a sensitivity of 73.3%, specificity of 88.2%, Positive predictive value (PPV) of 84.6%, Negative predictive value (NPV) of 78.9% and an accuracy of 81.3%. USG is a useful modality for evaluation the shoulder joint in case of painful shoulder even plain X-ray is non conclusive.

Room temperature amorphous to nanocrystalline transformation in ultra-thin films under tensile stress: an in situ TEM study

The amorphous to crystalline phase transformation process is typically known to take place at very high temperatures and facilitated by very high compressive stresses. In this study, we demonstrate crystallization of amorphous ultra-thin platinum films at room temperature under tensile stresses. Using a micro-electro-mechanical device, we applied up to 3% uniaxial tensile strain in 3-5 nm thick focused ion beam deposited platinum films supported by another 3-5 nm thick amorphous carbon film. The experiments were performed in situ inside a transmission electron microscope to acquire the bright field and selected area diffraction patterns. The platinum films were observed to crystallize irreversibly from an amorphous phase to face-centered cubic nanocrystals with average grain size of about 10 nm. Measurement of crystal spacing from electron diffraction patterns confirms large tensile residual stress in the platinum specimens. We propose that addition of the externally applied stress provides the activation energy needed to nucleate crystallization, while subsequent grain growth takes place through enhanced atomic and vacancy diffusion as an energetically favorable route towards stress relaxation at the nanoscale.