Effect of dairy milk, eggs, meat, fish and fruits intake on academic performances of secondary school students in Bangladesh

Background: Contribution of dairy milk and other food items and schools to academic performances of students are the important factors to build a peaceful meritorious nation with sound mental and physical health.Objective: This experiment was designed to study the contribution of dairy milk and other food item intake pattern and schools to academic performances.Method: Students of class nine in Bangladesh were enumerated using a preprescribed questionnaire during March 2016 to June 2016 by direct interview method. Collected primary data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 14.015.Results: Male (69.63%) students and students of schools in the town (84.97%) performed better. Majority of the students in towns (46.85%; 49.65%) and villages (45.51%; 50.90%) drank dairy milk and ate meat respectively, once or twice in a week. Many students in towns (30.77%) and villages (38.92%) ate eggs for 3 to 4 days in a week. Maximum students in town (53.50%) and in village (46.71%) took fish for 5 to 7 days and 3 to 4 days in a week, respectively. Many students in town (39.86%) and in village (59.88%) took fruits 1 to 2 days and 5 to 7 days in a week, respectively. Most (74.31%) of the students who took dairy milk, meat (73.68%), fruits (66.67%), fish (65.81%) and eggs (64.71%) everyday in a week obtained A grade.Conclusions: Schools, availability of dairy milk, meat, fruits, fish and eggs, Tiffin intake status and gender affected the academic performances but educational institutions had no effect on weekly dairy milk, eggs and meat intake of the students but weekly fish and fruits intake status were affected.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.17(3) 2018 p.355-359

The effect of temperate or tropical pasture grazing state and grain-based concentrate allocation on dairy cattle production and behavior

Grain-based concentrate (GBC) supplement is of high cost to dairy farmers as a feed source as opposed to grazed pasture. Milk production response to GBC is affected by the composition and nutritive value of the remainder of the diet, animal factors, and interactions between forage type and level of GBC. In grazing systems, dairy cattle encounter contrasting pasture states, primarily because the social structure of the herd affects the timing of when each animal accesses a paddock after milking as a result of a relatively consistent cow milking order. However, the effect of feed management, namely pasture state and GBC allocation, on dairy cattle production and behavior is unknown. We examined the effect of varying GBC allocation for dairy cattle grazing differing states of kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum, a tropical pasture species; experiment 1) and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L., a temperate pasture species; experiment 2) on dry matter intake, milk production and composition, and grazing behavior. For each experiment, 90 lactating dairy cattle were randomly allocated to 2 consistent (fresh-fresh and depleted-depleted) and 2 inconsistent (fresh-depleted and depleted-fresh pasture state treatments (defined as sequences of pasture state allocation for the morning and afternoon grazing events) and 3 GBC treatments [2.7, 5.4, and 8.1 kg of dry matter (DM)/cow per day], giving 12 treatment combinations for each experiment. The duration of each experiment was 14 d, with the first 7 d used as adaptation to treatment. In each experiment, 3 cattle were selected from each of the 12 pasture type × GBC treatment groups within the experimental herd to determine herbage intake and total DM digestibility using the n-alkanes method (n = 36). There was no interaction between kikuyu grass or ryegrass pasture state and GBC level for intake, digestibility, or milk yield or components. Dairy cattle offered fresh-fresh and depleted-fresh ryegrass produced 9% more milk yield, in line with greater pasture intakes, compared with fresh-depleted and depleted-depleted pasture states. Dairy cattle offered fresh-fresh kikuyu grass had 8% more milk yield and 14% more milk protein yield than other pastures states, but there was no effect of pasture state on milk composition. Milk yield increased with GBC level for both pasture species (∼0.7-0.8 kg of milk/kg of DM GBC) as GBC level increased from 2.5 to 5.4 kg of DM/cow per day. There was a poor response (0.3 kg of milk/kg of DM GBC), and no response, when GBC levels increased from 5.4 to 8.1 kg of DM/cow per day for kikuyu grass and ryegrass, respectively, in line with pasture DMD. Time spent grazing, lying, and ruminating were not associated with kikuyu grass pasture state, GBC, or their interaction. Despite this, there was a linear increase in grazing time in the afternoon coinciding with a linear decrease in lying and rumination time for both kikuyu grass and ryegrass pasture. Together these findings reveal the effect of pasture state and GBC allocation on dairy cattle production and behavior. Tailoring GBC allocation to the state of pasture accessed by cattle appears unwarranted, but there is an opportunity to alter the timing of pasture access to increase herd-level milk production efficiency.

Effect of irrigation and genotypes towards reduction in arsenic load in rice

Arsenic (As) bioaccumulation in rice grains has been identified as a major problem in Bangladesh and many other parts of the world. Suitable rice genotypes along with proper water management practice regulating As levels in rice plants must be chosen and implemented. A field study was conducted to investigate the effect of continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation on the bioaccumulation of As in ten rice cultivars at three locations having different levels of soil As and irrigation water As. Results showed that As concentration in different parts of rice plants varied significantly (P<0.0001) with rice genotypes and irrigation practices in the three study locations. Lower levels of As in rice were found in AWD irrigation practice compared to CF irrigation practice. Higher grain As bioaccumulation was detected in plants in areas of high soil As in combination with CF irrigation practice. Our data show that use of AWD irrigation practice with suitable genotypes led to 17 to 35% reduction in grain As level, as well as 7 to 38% increase in grain yield. Overall, this study advances our understanding that, for moderate to high levels of As contamination, the Binadhan-5, Binadhan-6, Binadhan-8, Binadhan-10 and BRRI dhan47 varieties were quite promising to mitigate As induced human health risk.

Geographical variation and age-related dietary exposure to arsenic in rice from Bangladesh

An extensive number (965) of rice samples collected by household survey from 73 upazilas (i.e. sub-districts) in Bangladesh was analyzed to determine regional variation, distribution and associated health risks from arsenic (As). No previous study had conducted a study examining such a large number of rice samples. The mean and median concentrations of total As were 126μg/kg and 107μg/kg, respectively, ranging from between 3 and 680μg/kg. Importantly, total As levels of aromatic rice were significantly lower (average 58μg/kg) than non-aromatic rice (average 150μg/kg) and also varied with rice grain size. The variation in As content was dominated by the location (47% among the upazilas, 71% among districts) and rice variety (14%). Inorganic As content in rice grain ranged between 11 and 502μg/kg (n=162) with the highest fraction being 98.6%. The daily intake of inorganic As from rice ranged between 0.38 and 1.92μg/kg BW in different districts. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for individuals due to the consumption of rice varied between 0.57×10^-3 to 2.88×10^-3 in different districts, and 0.54×10^-3 to 2.12×10^-3 in different varieties, higher than the US EPA threshold. The 2-10 age group experiences higher carcinogenic risks than others and females are more susceptible than males.

Variation in arsenic bioavailability in rice genotypes using swine model: An animal study

An in vivo assay using swine was used to measure the absolute bioavailability (AB) of As from cooked rice of twelve genotypes commonly grown in Bangladesh. An assessment of both total As in rice and its bioavailability is crucial for estimating human exposure following dietary intake by the local community. Average As concentrations in each rice genotype ranged from 108±4μg/kg to 580±6μg/kg. Arsenic speciation shows that most of the rice genotype contains 73 to 100% inorganic As. Swine were administered with As orally and via intravenous method, i.e. injection and fed certain common Bangladeshi rice genotypes (cooked). Swine blood As levels were measured to calculate As bioavailability from rice. Pilot studies shows that for As(III) and As(V), 90.8±12.4% and 85.0±19.2% of the administered oral dose was absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract whereas organic As was poorly absorbed resulting in low bioavailability values 20.2±2.6% (MMA) to 31.2±3.4% (DMA), respectively. These studies demonstrates that rice genotypic characters influenced As bioavailability in rice grown in As-contaminated areas and the bioavailability varied between 25% and 94%. Arsenic in salt tolerant rice genotypes Binadhan-10 and BRRI dhan47 as well as brown rice genotypes Kheali Boro and Local Boro has lower bioavailability (<50%) compared to other rice genotypes. The most commonly cultivated and consumed variety (BRRI dhan28) has As bioavailability of 70%, which poses a significant risk to consumers. Calculation of maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI) for humans due to consumption of rice based on bioavailability data was higher than those calculated based on inorganic and organic As concentration in rice genotypes.

Elevated Trimethylarsine Oxide and Inorganic Arsenic in Northern Hemisphere Summer Monsoonal Wet Deposition

For arsenic speciation, the inputs for wet deposition are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO) and inorganic arsenic are the dominant species in monsoonal wet deposition in the summer Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh, with inorganic arsenic dominating, accounting for ∼80% of total arsenic in this medium. Lower concentrations of both species were found in monsoonal wet deposition in the winter Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka. The only other species present was dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), but this was usually below limits of detection (LoD). We hypothesize that TMAO and inorganic arsenic in monsoonal wet deposition are predominantly of marine origin. For TMAO, the potential source is the atmospheric oxidation of marine derived trimethylarsine. For inorganic arsenic, our evidence suggests entrainment of water column inorganic arsenic into atmospheric particulates. These conclusions are based on weather trajectory analysis and on the strong correlations with known wet deposition marine derived elements: boron, iodine, and selenium. The finding that TMAO and inorganic arsenic are widely present and elevated in monsoonal wet deposition identifies major knowledge gaps that need to be addressed regarding the understanding of arsenic's global cycle.

Morphology and mechanics of fungal mycelium

We study a unique biomaterial developed from fungal mycelium, the vegetative part and the root structure of fungi. Mycelium has a filamentous network structure with mechanics largely controlled by filament elasticity and branching, and network density. We report the morphological and mechanical characterization of mycelium through an integrated experimental and computational approach. The monotonic mechanical behavior of the mycelium is non-linear both in tension and compression. The material exhibits considerable strain hardening before rupture under tension, it mimics the open cell foam behavior under compression and exhibits hysteresis and the Mullins effect when subjected to cyclic loading. Based on our morphological characterization and experimental observations, we develop and validate a multiscale fiber network-based model for the mycelium which reproduces the tensile and compressive behavior of the material.

Towards Attosecond High-Energy Electron Bunches: Controlling Self-Injection in Laser-Wakefield Accelerators Through Plasma-Density Modulation

Self-injection in a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator is usually achieved by increasing the laser intensity until the threshold for injection is exceeded. Alternatively, the velocity of the bubble accelerating structure can be controlled using plasma density ramps, reducing the electron velocity required for injection. We present a model describing self-injection in the short-bunch regime for arbitrary changes in the plasma density. We derive the threshold condition for injection due to a plasma density gradient, which is confirmed using particle-in-cell simulations that demonstrate injection of subfemtosecond bunches. It is shown that the bunch charge, bunch length, and separation of bunches in a bunch train can be controlled by tailoring the plasma density profile.

Avian influenza and Newcastle disease virusindead chickens in markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2011-2012

A virological survey for avian influenza (AI) and Newcastle disease (ND) was conducted in two selected live bird markets (LBMs), namely Kaptan Bazar and Karwan Bazar in Dhaka city, Bangladesh from August 2011 to July 2012. A total of 513 dead chickens were collected. An immune-chromatographic rapid antigen test for Type A influenza virus and both conventional and real time RT-PCR were used for the detection and characterization of AI and ND viruses. All carcasses were first screened by the rapid antigen test kit and 93 were positive for Type A influenza virus. RT-PCR on a representative number of rapid antigen test positive samples (n = 24) confirmed the presence of Type A influenza virus and mostly H5 influenza virus (22 out of 24 tested samples). Influenza rapid test negative samples (n = 420) were subjected to routine necropsy. Heat stress, suffocation and physical injury were the most common cause of mortality (163 cases), followed by ND, suspected to be the cause of 85 deaths. On molecular investigation of these 85 samples, the presence of ND virus was confirmed in 59 and AI virus in 6; 15 were negative for both ND and AI viruses and 5 were unsuitable for investigation. Among the 59 ND confirmed cases 18 also contained AI virus. In summary, out of 513 carcasses 117 (22.81%) contained AI virus and 59 (11.50%) contained ND virus. Eighteen (3.51%) carcasses contained both AI and ND viruses. The findings suggest that both AI and ND should be considered as major threats to the poultry industry.Bangl. vet. 2016. Vol. 33, No. 1, 8-15

Use of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE)-II and Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) for Assessment of Mortality of Patients with Sepsis in ICU

Critically ill patients of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) need highest level of monitoring, intense nursing care and integrated management which are very expensive and consume significant part of hospital resources. Prediction of outcome from disease has become an essential component of health science. So, various scoring systems have been developed to predict outcome of critically ill patients in ICU. There is no perfect model of severity score to predict ICU mortality. Search for new system is still remaining as continuous efforts to find the best model to get accurate information about the prognosis and outcome of critically ill patients. This observational prospective cohort study was carried out in ICU of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 2015 to September 2015 to evaluate the ability of mortality prediction of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE)-II after adding RDW. Total 62 patients, clinically diagnosed as sepsis with positive culture were included in this study after analyzing selection criteria. APACHE II score model was compared with APACHE II plus RDW score model in relation to mortality outcome assessment. Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive predictive value (PPV), Negative predictive value (NPV) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve were used as parameter to compare the predictive ability of the two models. The derived model APACHE II- RDW was found with higher predictive power (Pearson's correlation coefficient - 0.915) than APACHE II (Pearson's correlation coefficient - 0.885) in relation to mortality (p<0.01). Accuracy was compared by using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve between the two models and AUROC was found higher (AUC-0.87) in case of new model compared with conventional model (AUC-0.85). So combination of RDW with APACHE-II increases the predictive ability of the scoring model in relation to mortality.

Primary and Revision Lumbar Discectomy: A Four-Year Review from Our Private Practice

The surgical treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation is now focused on nerve root decompression with preservation of the bony and ligamentous stabilizers of the spine. Various techniques of discectomy have been devised in accordance with this principle and irrespective of the technique used; primary disc surgeries have generally known to give good results. This retrospective study was done in different private clinics & hospitals of Dhaka city, Bangladesh from January 2012 to December 2015. Of the 105 lumbar discectomies performed during the study period, 95(90.4%) patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Of these, 90 patients had primary discectomy, while the remaining 5 were revision surgeries. The follow-up varied from 1-4 years, but the clinical outcomes were evaluated at the end of one year from surgery in all the patients. In the primary surgery group there were 50(55.56%) men and 40(44.44%) women, while the revision group had 01(20%) men and 04(80%) women. The age distribution was similar in both the groups, with the maximum numbers (44% and 42.9%) in the fourth decade of life. Of the 05 patients who underwent revision surgery, 03 belonged to the primary surgery group of this study, while the remaining 02 had undergone their primary surgery elsewhere. Excluding the two residual discs, the remaining 03 patients with recurrences gave a history of complete resolution of symptoms after the primary surgery. Amongst these, 3(60%) had a history of a precipitating event prior to onset of pain, 2 had a definitive history of significant lack of physical activity. The time interval between the primary and revision surgery ranged from three months to 10 years (average 2.6 years).

Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP) Modelling of Severe Acute Mucositis using a Novel Oral Mucosal Surface Organ at Risk

AIMS

A normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model of severe acute mucositis would be highly useful to guide clinical decision making and inform radiotherapy planning. We aimed to improve upon our previous model by using a novel oral mucosal surface organ at risk (OAR) in place of an oral cavity OAR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Predictive models of severe acute mucositis were generated using radiotherapy dose to the oral cavity OAR or mucosal surface OAR and clinical data. Penalised logistic regression and random forest classification (RFC) models were generated for both OARs and compared. Internal validation was carried out with 100-iteration stratified shuffle split cross-validation, using multiple metrics to assess different aspects of model performance. Associations between treatment covariates and severe mucositis were explored using RFC feature importance.

RESULTS

Penalised logistic regression and RFC models using the oral cavity OAR performed at least as well as the models using mucosal surface OAR. Associations between dose metrics and severe mucositis were similar between the mucosal surface and oral cavity models. The volumes of oral cavity or mucosal surface receiving intermediate and high doses were most strongly associated with severe mucositis.

CONCLUSIONS

The simpler oral cavity OAR should be preferred over the mucosal surface OAR for NTCP modelling of severe mucositis. We recommend minimising the volume of mucosa receiving intermediate and high doses, where possible.

Three electron beams from a laser-plasma wakefield accelerator and the energy apportioning question

Laser-wakefield accelerators are compact devices capable of delivering ultra-short electron bunches with pC-level charge and MeV-GeV energy by exploiting the ultra-high electric fields arising from the interaction of intense laser pulses with plasma. We show experimentally and through numerical simulations that a high-energy electron beam is produced simultaneously with two stable lower-energy beams that are ejected in oblique and counter-propagating directions, typically carrying off 5–10% of the initial laser energy. A MeV, 10s nC oblique beam is ejected in a 30°–60° hollow cone, which is filled with more energetic electrons determined by the injection dynamics. A nC-level, 100s keV backward-directed beam is mainly produced at the leading edge of the plasma column. We discuss the apportioning of absorbed laser energy amongst the three beams. Knowledge of the distribution of laser energy and electron beam charge, which determine the overall efficiency, is important for various applications of laser-wakefield accelerators, including the development of staged high-energy accelerators.

Angiomyofibroblastoma of Vulva in a Very Young Adult Female: A Rare Case Report

Angiomyofibroblastoma is a rare, well circumscribed benign mesenchymal neoplasm, usually arising in the pelviperineal region, especially the vulva and apparently composed of stromal cells distinctive to this anatomic region. Preoperative diagnosis of Angiomyofibroblastoma is very difficult, mostly diagnosed as Barthloin cyst due to its anatomical location. It is a histological diagnosis. In this article we report a case of Angiomyofibroblastoma of vulva.

Arsenic accumulation in rice: Consequences of rice genotypes and management practices to reduce human health risk

Rice is an essential staple food and feeds over half of the world's population. Consumption of rice has increased from limited intake in Western countries some 50years ago to major dietary intake now. Rice consumption represents a major route for inorganic arsenic (As) exposure in many countries, especially for people with a large proportion of rice in their daily diet as much as 60%. Rice plants are more efficient in assimilating As into its grains than other cereal crops and the accumulation may also adversely affect the quality of rice and their nutrition. Rice is generally grown as a lowland crop in flooded soils under reducing conditions. Under these conditions the bioavailability of As is greatly enhanced leading to excessive As bioaccumulation compared to that under oxidizing upland conditions. Inorganic As species are carcinogenic to humans and even at low levels in the diet pose a considerable risk to humans. There is a substantial genetic variation among the rice genotypes in grain-As accumulation as well as speciation. Identifying the extent of genetic variation in grain-As concentration and speciation of As compounds are crucial to determining the rice varieties which accumulate low inorganic As. Varietal selection, irrigation water management, use of fertilizer and soil amendments, cooking practices etc. play a vital role in reducing As exposure from rice grains. In the meantime assessing the bioavailability of As from rice is crucial to understanding human health exposure and reducing the risk.

Assessing the Rehabilitation of Achilles Tendon Ruptures using Modified Teuffer and Lindholm Technique

The aim of this study is to assess the optimum rehabilitation and the functional outcome of open repaired Achilles tendon ruptures. This study was conducted for the 18 consecutive patients of complete ruptures at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from 2012 to 2013. Two groups were considered during 6 to 18 months post-operative observation and each group consist 9 patients. In the Group I, modified Teuffer's and in Group II, Lindholm operative methods were employed for the open repair of Achille tendon. The post operative outcomes were assessed for both of the groups through the modified Thermann's scores. In this study the patients median age was seen 39 years with 72.2% male and 27.8% female. The Thompson test was found positive in pre-operative and negative in post-operative outcome. The results shown that Achilles tendon ruptures occurred in 4 to 6cm rupture site, where the rupture side was 61.1% left and 38.9% right. The subjective overall assessment of total Thermann's scores were found very good (91 to 96) in 4 cases and (90 to 98) in 3 cases for Group I and Group II, respectively. Both of the operative techniques were found accountable results for rehabilitation. Therefore, based on the further statistical evidence of higher correlations and errors it may be concluded that Achilles tendon ruptures can be treated by modified Teuffer's or Lindholm technique.

Effect of different staking methods and stem pruning on yield and quality of summer tomato

The study was carried out during summer of 2012 with BARI hybrid tomato 4, planted in the Olericulture farm of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh to find out the response of plants to some staking and pruning treatments on yield, fruit quality and cost of production. A two factor experiment consisting of three staking methods and four level of pruning, laid out in complete block design with three repetitions. Plants were staked on inverted „V? shaped staking, high platform and string. The plants were pruned to two stem, three stem, four stem and no pruning as control. Results showed that significantly the highest total number of fruits per plant (37.1), marketable fruits per plant (33.7), yield per plant (1.68 kg) and total yield (44.6 t/ha) were produced by the plants having the treatment string staking with four stem. The highest fruit set (43.50%) was found in the plants staking with string having three stems. Plants grown on string staking allowing two stem gave the maximum length (4.71 cm), diameter (4.83 cm) and weight (53.4g) of single fruit as well as maximum fruit firmness (3.43 kg-f cm-2). From the economic point of view, it was apparent that summer tomato produced by string staking with four stem pruning exhibited better performance compared to other treatment combinations in relation to net return and BCR (2.10).Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 41(3): 419-432, September 2016

Gross and histomorphological effects of formaldehyde on brain and lungs of Swiss albino mice

Formaldehyde (FA) is toxic over a range of doses and of particular concern to anatomists and medical students on laboratory use. FA induces several characteristics of neurotoxicity in addition to systemic effects. Therefore, to know the toxic effects of FA on brain and lungs, mice were collected from international center for diarrheal disease research. They were divided into four groups i.e. control, inhalation, oral and intraperitoneal. The inhalation, oral and intraperitoneal exposure groups further divided into three subgroups which were subjected to exposure of FA daily for 30 days in case of inhalation and oral groups and 10 days in intraperitoneal group for acute toxic effects. Morphological study showed gross abnormalities i.e. congestion on lungs. But no gross abnormal features observed on brain. In 5 ppm treated inhaled group, lungs tissue revealed hemorrhages. In the inhaled groups, brain tissue showed degenerating neurons with either pyknotic or karyorrhectic nuclei are gradually increased in highest concentration group. These data supports the view that FA has adverse effects on the morphology of brain and lungs.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2016, 2(2): 229-235

Associations and Risk Factors of Diabetic Maculopathy

Diabetic maculopathy is characterised by increased capillary leakage in the main retinal vessels and by alterations in the microcirculation of the macula. Maculopathy occurs frequently in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Prevalence is higher in type 2 than in type 1 diabetic patients. Factors associated with the development of maculopathy are mostly unknown. As maculopathy is the main cause of vision deprivation in diabetic patients it is essential to know the associations and risk factors of diabetic maculopathy so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent as well as treat diabetic maculopathy. We started the research work to find out the relation between diabetic maculopathy and various associated factors and risk factors for patients with diabetic retinopathy with maculopathy. This cross-sectional observational study done at the Department of Ophthalmology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka & National Institute of Ophthalmology & Hospital (NIO & H), Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2006 to June 2006. In this study out of 50 patients, diabetes was controlled in 20(40%) patients and uncontrolled in 30(60%). A significant percentage of patients (40%) had elevated blood pressure. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy was observed in 24% cases and polyneuropathy was observed in 36% cases. It is evident that diabetic maculopathy has association with dyslipidaemia, abnormal renal function due to nephropathy. This study lighted on the association of diabetic maculopathy with diabetic nephropathy, cardiac abnormalities and diabetic neuropathy.

Huge Perineal Tumour: A Rare Presentation of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour of Rectum

Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) is a relatively rare neoplasm of gastrointestinal tract of which Rectal GIST is uncommon. It produces symptoms of per rectal bleeding or change in bowel habit. Recurrences following curative resection are predominantly intraabdominal, hepatic metastasis occurring at a median 20-25 months following the primary surgery. A 42 years old male presented a huge mass in hypogastrium, the size of which was reduced ofter neoadjuvant therapy for period of 1.5 years. He underwent abdominoperineal resection. He developed recurrences in perineum three times and in thigh at short intervals after primary resection. He also developed liver metastasis. He died two and half years after primary diagnosis. Rectal GIST should be included in differential diagnosis of intraabdominal mass and preoperative diagnosis based on histopathological as well as the immunohistochemical feature of the CD(117) and CD(34). Although complete surgical resection with negative tumour margin is the principal curative procedure for primary and non metastatic tumours, further studies are still needed for the determination of the most effective treatment strategy for patients of rectal GIST.

Comparison between Decompressive Craniectomy with Durotomy and Conservative Treatment in Spontaneous Supratentorial Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Large Intracerebral hematoma (ICH), compounded by perihematomal edema can produce severe elevations of intracranial pressure (ICP). Decompressive craniectomy (DC) beneficially addresses mass effect. Therefore this study is aimed to prove that decompressive craniectomy with durotomy has better outcome in patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH than conservatively treated patients. This Quasi-Experimental study was carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery, Dhaka Medical College & Hospital (DMCH), Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2012 to December 2013 using purposive sampling procedure. A total of 80 admitted adult hypertensive patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH were enrolled in the study population fulfilling all selection criteria. Of them 40 patients underwent decompressive craniectomy with durotomy was considered as surgical group and 40 patients were treated conservatively was considered as conservative group. All the cases were continuously followed up and GCS score at 7(th) day of treatment (D7) and at discharge was recorded. Mean±SD hematoma volume was 56.91±13.72ml in surgical patients and in conservative group 51.80±13.58ml. Outcome measured by modified Rankin Scale at 3 months. Sixty percent (60%) patients had good outcome (mRS 0-4) and 40% patients had poor outcome (mRS 5-6) in surgical group. On the other hand, 52.5% patients had good (mRS 0-4) and 47.5% had poor (mRS 5-6) outcome in conservative group. In logistic regression analysis, conservative group was 3.643 times more prone to develop poor outcome than surgical group which was statistically significant (95% CI, 1.040-13.047; p value <0.05) and volume of hematoma [OR (95% CI), 1.131(1.059-1.207); p value <0.001)] was the most important predictor of outcome. This study indicates that decompressive craniectomy with preservation of brain integrity in patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH is feasible and safe. It can be a useful alternative surgical procedure in the treatment of spontaneous supratentorial ICH.

Effect of deep placement of nitrogen fertilizers on rice yield and N use efficiency under water regimes

The experiments were conducted at the Soil Science Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during boro season of 2013 to evaluate the effect of deep placement of nitrogen (N) fertilizers on rice yield and N use efficiency under two different water regimes [continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD)]. After deep placement of USG and NPK briquettes and each split application of PU, the water samples were collected for five consecutive days and analyzed for ammonium-Nitrogen (NH4-N) concentration. In both water regimes the floodwater NH4-N concentration gave highest value at the second day of PU application followed by gradual decrease with time and in continuous flooding condition the release of NH4-N was higher compared to AWD condition. Deep placement of N fertilizers also increased grain yield under AWD compared to CF condition and the maximum value was obtained in treatment T5 [USG 78 kg N ha-1 + PM 3 t ha-1] statistically similar to T3 [USG, 156 kg N ha-1]. Due to application USG and NPK briquettes, the N uptake and N use efficiency also gave higher values in AWD compared to CF condition. The results revealed that the deep placement of USG with poultry manure performed better in terms yield, N uptake and N use efficiency by BRRI dhan29 under AWD condition. So, the deep placement of USG under AWD condition could be recommended for higher production of boro rice.SAARC J. Agri., 13(2): 161-172 (2015)

Effect of citric acid, herbal feed additive and their combination on the performance of broiler

The experiment was conducted with 108 day old straight-run Hubbard Classic broiler chicks for a period of 35 days to investigate the effects of citric acid, commercial herbal additive (Keqinling) and their combination on growth and carcass traits of broiler. The dietary treatments were control (T0), 0.5% citric acid (T1), 0.2% Keqinling (T2) and combination of 0.5% citric acid +0.2% Keqinling (T3).  Final live weight was 1615, 1710, 1707 and 1795g in control, 0.5% citric acid, 0.2% Keqinling and their combination groups respectively. The highest live weight gain (1748g) was found in combination group followed by 0.5% citric acid (1664g), 0.2% Keqinling (1660g), and the lowest (1568g)in control group. The highest feed consumption and feed conversion efficiency was observed in T3 and the lowest in group T0. Significantly (p<0.05) the highest dressed yield (%) was found in 0.5% citric acid group (56.65) than combination (55.73) and Keqinling (55.18) and lowest in control group (54.59). Citric acid reduced the pH of the both feed and faces. The cost of production (Tk/kg broiler) was lowest in citric acid group (Tk. 76.22). Net profit per broiler production was found in 0.5% citric acid group (Tk. 10.03/broiler) followed by combination (Tk. 9.28), Keqinling (Tk. 7.31) and control group (Tk. 6.98) respectively. The addition of 0.5% citric acid and 0.2% Keqinling individually or their combination increase the performance of broiler but citric acid showed better response than Keqinling.Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2015. 44 (3):143-150

Correlation of the Serum Level of Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Prolactin with Different Stages of Colorectal Carcinoma According to Dukes' Staging

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is well established tumor marker for colorectal cancers worldwide. Recent studies show that serum prolactin level is also raised in colorectal cancers. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the correlation of serum CEA and Prolactin with Dukes' staging of colorectal carcinomas. Between January 2013 and June 2013, Serum CEA and Serum Prolactin were measured by radioimmunoassay from 103 patients who were histopathologically diagnosed as colorectal carcinomas. Evaluation of the stages of the colorectal cancers was done on the basis of preoperative investigations and postoperative histopathology and correlated with Preoperative Serum CEA and Serum Prolactin. Results were presented as median value, range and percentage. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1 with median age of 42.26 years (range 17-78 years). Most of the patients in this series presented with carcinoma rectum (42%). Most of the patients (52%) were found in Dukes' stage C and 27% and 15% cases were found as Dukes' stage B and Dukes' stage D respectively. Stage of the disease is directly proportionate to percentage of the patient with high serum prolactin except early stage (Dukes' A-50%, Dukes' B-28.6%, Dukes' C-33.3% & Dukes' D-46.7%). Similarly serum CEA level is directly proportionate to tumor stage (Dukes' A-0%, Dukes' B-32%, Dukes' C-40.7% & Dukes' D-74.7%). A preoperative high serum CEA value suggests advanced disease either locally or with distant metastasis. In contrast preoperative high serum prolactin (hyperprolactinaemia) did not suggest advanced disease as it can be elevated even in early stage of disease. Serum CEA and Serum Prolactin both are valuable tumor markers but serum CEA could not be replaced by serum Prolactin. Serum Prolactin may be a helpful marker in earlier stages of the colorectal cancer.