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Optimizing the dose and foliar application frequency of growth regulators such as gibberellic acid (GA3) may play an important role in ensuring food security under changing climate scenarios by boosting grain yield of food legumes such as mungbean. A trial was conducted to evaluate the growth promoting effect of foliage applied gibberellic acid (GA3) at various spraying frequencies for mungbean crop. The employed treatments included four gibberellic acid levels (0, 100, 200, and 300 ppm) and two application frequencies (single spray at 30 days after sowing DAS, and two sprays at 30 and 40 DAS). Water relations, yield contributing characteristics and mungbean grain yield were among the response variables investigated. The research findings revealed that GA3 (200 ppm applied twice at pre-flowering and post-flowering stages) significantly improved the water relations, morphological and yield attributes of mungbean. This treatment combination remained unmatched by producing the highest relative water content in the stem (85.52), water retention capacity in the stem (17.24), and water uptake capacity in the stem and leaf (2.35). Furthermore, the same treatment combination resulted in the maximum plant height (50.04 cm), pods per plant (11.07), pod length (6.62 cm), grains number per pod (11.00), 100-grains weight (3.78 g), grain yield per plant (4.57 g), and a minimum water saturation deficit. Thus, GA3 foliage application at 200 ppm at 30 and 60 DAS has the potential to stimulate growth and increase the yield attributes and grain yield of mungbean. However, additional in-depth field trials with various doses of GA3 sprayed at a higher frequency may be required before recommending GA3 for general adoption to mungbean growers.

Green Infrastructure (GI) is rapidly gaining acceptance as an alternative to traditional infrastructure due to its multifold benefits. Green Infrastructure can provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to society. However, unlike economic and environmental benefits, the social benefits of GI are challenging to quantify which is why they are often overlooked when comparing the benefits of GI to other alternative options like gray/traditional infrastructure or a combination of green and gray infrastructure. Incorporating the social benefits into the benefit assessment framework can make GIs much more attractive alternatives to policymakers. This research develops a framework by incorporating the Analytical Hierarchy Process and Monte Carlo simulation to integrate GI's social benefits into the decision-making process and determine the effectiveness of different alternatives in accruing monetary gain from social benefits over the lifetime of the projects. The proposed framework was demonstrated for a case study and the results indicated that the more we integrate GI elements into a project the more cost-effective is the project when the decision-making criteria are based on public acceptance and monetary gain from social benefits over the lifetime of the project.

Preparation of biochar from kitchen waste could be a potential way of waste management. This research aimed to prepare biochar and compost from kitchen waste and test their effects on the yield and biomass production of maize. We separated kitchen waste from municipal waste to prepare biochar, compost and ComBio (co-composting with biochar). Four fertilizer combinations viz. T0 = Recommended doses of chemical fertilizer (RDF), T1= biochar (20 t ha-1) + RDF, T2= compost (15 t ha-1) + 75% RDF and T3= ComBio (15 t ha-1) + 50% RDF were used to grow maize. Maize biomass, and yield attributing characters and basic soil properties after harvesting maize were measured. Data explored that up to 50% reduction of chemical fertilizer has an insignificant effect on the growth and biomass accumulation of maize. Similarly, yield and yield contributing characteristics of maize such as cob length, cob diameter, the weight of 1000-grains and yield did not vary among the treatments. Further, soil pH, EC, TDS and SOM contents were higher in biochar treated soil compared to other treatments. The results indicate that the application of biochar has the potential to reduce the chemical fertilizer dose of maize by improving soil properties, a prerequisite issue of sustainable crop production.

This paper aims to analyze the impacts of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in relation to investor protection based on existing empirical literature. This study uses a historical approach and focuses on thirty-six relevant articles published in accounting and finance journals. The author provides a theoretical groundwork of the association between IFRS adoption and FPI and summarizes the results. The findings are critically analyzed by employing developed vs. developing country lens. The review study reveals that the effects of IFRS adoption on FPI significantly differ between developed and developing countries. Although the positive impact of IFRS adoption on FPI is documented in existing literature, not all countries (particularly developing countries), firms, and users have benefited or equally benefited from IFRS adoption regarding FPI. In addition, the positive impacts of IFRS adoption on FPI are associated with the country's regulatory environment, such as level of investor protection. The findings of the study suggest that developing countries should ensure a proper regulatory environment to reap the full benefits of IFRS adoption. This review contributes to the existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of IFRS adoption effect on FPI between developed and developing countries while also suggests future research avenues.

Background: In Bangladesh there is no complete data which would reflect the idea about the fate of double J stent used in pyelolithotomy and ureterolithotomy. Methods: This was a prospective observational study, conducted at the Department of Surgery, Comilla Medical College Hospital, Comilla, during the 6-month period of June 2013 to November 2013. Fifty patients diagnosed with Nephrolithiasis & ureterolithiasis admitted at the respective hospital were selected as the study sample. Proper informed consent was taken before the data collection from the concerns. Statistical analysis of the results was obtained by using window-based computer software devised with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS-22). Result: Among the 50 patients studied, >50% of the patients were distributed among the age group of 31-40 years and next was 21-30 years. 35 patients of the series were male (70%) and 15 were female (30%). In this series, male to female ratio was 2.33:1. Among the 50 stented patients, stone was located in kidney in 30 pts (60%), in upper ureter in 10 pts (20%), in mid and lower ureter in 4(8%) and 6(12%) patients respectively. In this study, the commonest indications of D J stenting were after pyelolithotomy, following ureteroscopy for obstructive uropathy due to ureteric stone. In this study, irritative voiding symptoms like dysuria, frequency/urgency occurred in 20% and 24% respectively, and haematuria in 10% of patients. Stent encrustation in 1 (2%), stent migration in 3 (6%), stent fracture in 1 (2%), urinary infection in 2(4%) and stent colic in 1(2%) were the complications noted. Conclusion: Ureteral stents are a convenient means of drainage for the upper urinary tract. However, their use is not devoid of side effects. Stent placement results in considerable morbidity in the form of irritative lower urinary tract symptoms. The side effects associated with ureteral stents must be kept in mind when deciding on stent placement and dwell time. ............

Background: Oesophageal cancer is one of the most serious gastrointestinal cancer worldwide, owing to its rapid development and fatal prognoses in most cases. There is a paucity of published data regarding esophageal cancer the study area in particular. Methods: This Descriptive-longitudinal study was done Department of Surgery Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh during August 2015 to February 2016. A total of 50 oesophageal cancer patients between 30-70 years of age attending Thoracic Surgery department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital during the last 6 months were included in this study. Exclusion criteria were Patient/attendant and unwilling to give informed consent to take part in the study and Patient with economic constraints to do the necessary investigations Collected data were classified, edited, coded and entered into the computer for statistical analysis by using SPSS version 22. Results: Among the 50 cases, mean age was 52.92(±10.60) years, minimum age was 30 years and maximum age was 80 years. Maximum 76% were male and 24% were female, male: female ratio was 3.17: 1. Common clinical staging (TNM) of the oesophageal cancer, T2 disease was 58% followed by T3, 26% and T1, 6%. Considering nodal status most of the cases were NO, 60% with N1, 24% and N2, 16%. Regarding metastasis, only 18% cases had evidence of metastasis. Conclusion: Predominant personal history was smoking, white tobacco chewing, betel nut, betel leaf and alcohol consumption. Most of the oesophageal cancers were middle and lower third. Majority of oesophageal cancers were squamous cell carcinoma of different grades. Regarding TNM staging most of the oesophageal cancers were T2 disease.

Background: Acute pancreatitis remains difficult to diagnose. The disease may occur at any age, with a peak in young men and older age. It is defined as an inflammatory process of the pancreas with possible peri- pancreatic tissue & multi-organ involvement inducing multi-organ dysfunction syndrome with an increased mortality rate. Majority of patients present with a mild disease, however approximately 20% run in a severe course and require appropriate management in an intensive care unit. According to the Atlanta Classification, severe acute pancreatitis is defined as an acute pancreatitis associated with local and/or systemic complications. Acute pancreatitis remains difficult to diagnose. The disease may occur at any age, with a peak in young men and older age. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine prognostic role of biochemical markers in severe acute pancreatitis. Methods: The Study was conducted in the department of surgery of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh to find out the common indications of prognostic role of biochemical markers in Severe Acute Pancreatitis. Fifty cases were randomly selected for the study. Clinical examination and evaluation were done from May 2017 to November 2017. Other necessary investigations were done if clinically indicated and to prepare the patient for anesthesia. Statistical analysis of the results was obtained by using window-based computer software devised with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS-22). Results: The maximum number of patients 23(46.0%) was found in the 31-40 years of age, the next was 16(32.0%) found in 41-50 years and the lowest percentage was 11(22.0%) in the 50-60 years. The mean age of the study group was 41.86±8.27 years, minimum age 31 and maximum 58 years. Conclusions: Clinical, biochemical parameters are related to the clinical course of acute pancreatitis and they can predict its severity. However, acute pancreatitis is a very complex disease, and despite.........

Purpose COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lives of people and businesses around the world in different ways. France, Spain, Italy and the UK are among the worst affected countries by this pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities taken by the clubs and player of the major football leagues of these four countries to develop a more comprehensive model of intervention. Design/methodology/approach This paper has analyzed the initiatives taken by these football clubs and players to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence among the stakeholders and compared them with the existing CSR and humanitarian models. A case study approach has been used to collect and analyze data related to the CSR activities taken by the players and club management. Official websites of the clubs, newspaper and journal articles were among the major sources used to collect data for the paper. Findings Football clubs and players of the four major leagues have raised funds through different campaigns and delivered foods and essential medical supplies to the communities and hospitals to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health issues and domestic violence within their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have provided guidance to their followers using social and television media to improve their physical and mental health during the pandemic. Online competitions, quizzes or virtual hangouts have also been used by the players to engage the stakeholders on a frequent basis. Football clubs have also initiated campaigns to raise awareness within the community on available medical services for the victims of domestic violence and also provided them with shelter, food, medical, legal and online counseling services. Originality/value Football clubs and players of the major leagues were always at the forefront to help the communities and hospitals to address issues related to mental health problems, financial vulnerabilities and domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this paper could help and guide other entities in designing a more comprehensive model of CSR interventions during pandemics or crisis situations to address financial vulnerabilities, mental health problems and domestic violence within their communities.

1AbstractCurrently Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is diagnosed via the combination of multiple medical tools and screening tests that require extensive amounts of time and money. Autism diagnosis can be formulated as a typical machine learning classification problem between ASD patients and a control group consisting of neurotypical individuals. In order for this to yield accurate results, large datasets with different modalities are required. However, the unavailability of such robust datasets stands as a threat to this automated diagnosis. To resolve this, we propose a method of Autism Classification using Visual and Behavioral Data. The proposed technique relates datasets of two modalities (visual and behavioral) collected from similar participants by generating common attributes among the records and distributing these records into sub classes. Then records within these subclasses are combined to form an integrated dataset. Finally, decision level fusion is performed on the multimodal data. The main contribution of our work can be outlined as follows: an accuracy of 97.57% in autism classification has been obtained from the integrated data, which is higher than detection from only visual data, we have shown that combining data within sub classes based on common attributes is more accurate than combining them arbitrarily, and finally, we have introduced a novel, integrated multimodal dataset in the ASD domain.

Eyesight is one of the most vital senses. In the year 2021, about 2.2 billion people will have vision impairment. Amongst them, 93 million were due to cataracts. In this paper, we have merged different image processing techniques and deep learning networks to diagnose and differentiate between various types of cataracts. The conventional Convolution Neural Network (CNN), in conjunction with support vector machines (SVM), classifies nuclear, cortical spoking, and capsular cataract eyes. The proposed method was successful in accurately classifying the two classes with an accuracy of 85.71%, while for a three-class classification, 83.33% was the maximum accuracy achieved.

Global food security is under-challenged due to over increasing human population, limited cropland, and risk of climate change. Therefore, an appropriate agricultural policy framework needs to be developed for food security that should be sustainable economically and ecologically. Nitrogen (N) is a crucial element that controls the growth productivity of crop plants. N accounts for around 78 volume per cent of the atmosphere but all crop plants cannot use it directly. Agricultural land is mostly dominated by cereals (e.g. rice, wheat, maize) which have specifically high N demand as compared to food legumes. Soybean exemplifies the most significant and cultivated food legume, presently cultivated worldwide under varying climatic conditions. It plays a significant role in global food security as well as agricultural sustainability due to a high seed protein and oil concentration, and low reliance on N fertilization. Soybean enriches soil health by fixing atmospheric N through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), the most productive and economical system for N fixation and crop production, associated with more intensive production systems. However, the efficiency of BNF depends on several factors. This study is focused to develop more reliable guidelines for managing BNF by using the potential of natural agro-ecosystems.

Coastal embankments often collapse due to the tremendous destructive energy of an overtopping tsunami flow due to a deep scour by nappe flow. Hence, to clarify the nappe flow formation condition due to the overtopping, a series of tests were carried out within a laboratory flume with immobile settings by lowering the downstream surface angle of an embankment model while keeping the upstream surface slope constant (1:1) with five non-dimensional overtopping depths and six different crest conditions. The conditions imposed on the embankment crest in the flow direction were without vegetation; horizontal crest, (−)4% descending crest slope, (+)4% ascending crest slope, and adding vegetation model with three different densities across the horizontal crest to improve resistance to the flow. The increased resistance provided by the vegetation models were categorized based on the spacing ratio between cylinders to diameter: sparse, intermediate, and dense. Increased vegetation density above the crest results in a significant reduction of flow energy by approximately 30–50% at the downstream brink edge and 40–60% at the downstream plunge basin. In contrast, the maximum energy reduction was found to be by the dense vegetation model. Additionally, owing to the steep slope of the water surface profile and the increasing vegetation density, the impinging jet’s impact point moved closer to the toe of an embankment. This implies that vegetation covers a smaller area while increasing density to mitigate the destructive intensity of flood/tsunami movement. Meanwhile, the descending crest scenario results in a faster nappe flow formation. In contrast, the ascending crest scenario delays the nappe formation while reducing the downstream slope angle. It maintains the sub-critical flow at the crest, except near the downstream brink edge.

Climate change poses a threat to crop production and livelihoods of rural farming communities in Kenya, a majority of whom are mainly dependent on rain-fed agriculture. The purpose of this study was to examine farm-level adaptation responses towards climate change and their influencing factors, using a case study of western Kenya. Structured questionnaire was administered to 210 farmers in selected locations in the region where households farm maize as the main crop. Logistic and multiple linear regression models were used to ascertain the factors that influence farmers’ adaptation practices. The results indicate that farmers perceived climate change as being responsible for the reduction in crop yield and production, crop failure and increase of fallow farms. The major adaptation strategies undertaken by the farmers included change in planting dates by either planting early or late during a season, diversification of crops, growing early maturing cultivars, use of drought-tolerant varieties and timely planting. The key determinants of adaptation strategies by the farmers included farm size, income and extension training. Understanding farmers’ responses to climate change in rain-fed crop production systems could assist in planning adaptation strategies towards sustainable crop production.

Changes in farming systems are dominated by changes in global climate and local environment, apart from the non-climatic drivers. Given the challenges in partitioning the contribution of climatic and non-climatic factors to the changes in farming systems, this paper aims to assess the types and changes of coastal farming systems, the farmer perceptions of the causes of the changes in farming systems, and the relationship between the influencing factors and perceptions. A structured interview schedule was used to collect data from 381 randomly selected coastal households during September–October 2018. The random forest classification model was applied to estimate the relative importance of the farmers’ characteristics on their perception of causes of changes in farming systems. This study reveals that the coastal farmers had mostly semi-subsistence type of mixed farming systems, which were going through dynamic changes in terms of their sizes and number of farmers. In general, the participation in rice, vegetables, and livestock farming was decreasing but increasing in fisheries, forestry, and fruit farming. Most (95.5%) of the farmers had to change at least one of the farming enterprises over the past decade (2009–2018) compared with the previous decade (1999–2008). About two-thirds of the farmers perceived that climate change had caused changes in their farming systems. Compared with the eastern coasts, the farmers in the western coasts tended to blame climate change to a higher extent for the effect on their agricultural activities. The random forest model outputs imply that the farmers who are younger in age and with less formal education, larger family, and smaller farmland should be supported with scientific knowledge on causes of changes in farming systems. This could help them more aware of climate change issues related to agriculture and increase their enthusiasm to take part in adaptive changes in farming systems.

Humayun Kabir,1,* Md Kamrul Hasan,1,2,* Ariful Haque Tutul,3,* Mohammad Shahidul Islam,3,* Safayet Jamil,4 Bikash Chandra Das,1 Md Fakrul Islam,1 Hasina Jannat,1 Rawshan Ara,5 Ojifa Akter,6 Lila Biswas,7 Md Ebrahim Miah,6,8 Dipak Kumar Mitra1 1Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh; 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tejgaon College, Dhaka, 1215, Bangladesh; 3Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh; 4Department of Pharmacy, Khwaja Yunus Ali University, Sirajganj, 6751, Bangladesh; 5Prime College of Nursing, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh; 6School of Medical Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh; 7Department of Nursing, CRP Nursing College, Savar, 1343, Bangladesh; 8Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Humayun Kabir; Md Kamrul Hasan, Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh, Tel +880 1785811449; +880 1684867565, Email humayun.kabir03@northsouth.edu; kamrul.hasan11@northsouth.eduIntroduction: Each year, antibiotics save hundreds of thousands of lives; nonetheless, antibiotic self-administration is a major concern all over the world. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antibiotic self-administration among two-month adult antibiotic users as well as the factors contributing to this prevalence.Method and Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 295 Bangladeshi adults between May 22nd and June 15th, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics included frequency distribution, while inferential statistics included the Pearson chi-square test. For data analysis, the statistical software STATA-16 was used.Results: In this study, the prevalence of antibiotic self-administration was 17.97%. Antibiotic self-administration was found to be significantly more prevalent among those who were unable to take antibiotic on time, incomplete doses, did not know over prescriptions may cause antibiotic resistance, and could not correctly recognize amoxicillin and azithromycin are antibiotics.Conclusion: Due to the increased rate of antibiotic self-administration among adults in Bangladesh, the responsible authority should give more attention towards the factors responsible for antibiotic self-administration and revise their current policy to ensure the safe and effective use of antibiotics.Keywords: antibiotic, self-administration, antibiotic resistance, Bangladesh

Red and green varieties of Syzygium samarangense, commonly known as Jamrul, are very popular as seasonal fruits to all ages of people in Bangladesh. Objective of the work was chemical and biological activity studies of S. samarangense red and green varieties grown in Bangladesh. Air-dried fruits of S. samarangense were successively extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol. The moisture and ash content of the raw fruits were determined by thermal heating at 105 and 700℃, respectively. Different biologically important functional groups were identified by FT-IR spectroscopy. The n-hexane, DCM and methanolic extracts were tested for cytotoxicity against HeLa and Vero cell lines. Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and total antioxidant capacity in the three extracts of both varieties were determined. The moisture content and ash content were 92% and 90%, and 0.12% and 0.16% in red variety and green variety, respectively. UV-Vis spectrum revealed the presence of long chain conjugation or polycyclic aromatic chromophores in n-hexane, DCM and methanolic extracts of S. samarangense. The DCM extract of both varieties had highest total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity compared to n-hexane and methanol extracts. The study concludes that the fruit of S. samarangense (red and green variety) grown in Bangladesh are rich source of phytochemicals which possess antioxidant activity and safe to health for their non-cytotoxic properties. The green variety contains more phenolic content and antioxidant capacity than red variety.

Background: Obesity and its complications are global health concerns with rising interests, and in Bangladesh, the scenario is not different. This study was designed to analyze the effect of BMI on postoperative outcomes in patients who underwent Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB)graft surgery. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted from September 2017 to August 2018 in the department of cardiac surgery, NICVD & 90 patients were divided into two groups. 43 patients in group A, with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and 47 patients in group B, with BMI

This study aims to empirically examine the effect of tourists’ grandiose narcissism and adventure experiences on their self-presentation and electronic word-of-mouth communication (e-WOM) intention in a water-based adventure tourism setting. Data were collected through a personal-administered survey of 357 tourists who had participated in various water-based adventure activities offered at Kota Kinabalu coastal areas in Sabah, Malaysia. A partial least-square -based structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data. The results signify that tourists’ water-based adventure experiences had a direct effect on their positive self-presentation and e-WOM intention while tourist grandiose narcissism had an indirect mediating effect on e-WOM intention through positive self-presentation. The findings provide theoretical knowledge in the literature as well as practical implications for tourism managers and practitioners, particularly in water-based adventure tourism settings.

This paper presents the findings of a study which aimed at exploring the washback of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) English examinations on English teaching and learning practice at secondary schools in Bangladesh. For this purpose, a qualitative research (employing interviews with English teachers, FGDs with students and classroom observations protocol) was conducted in 12 secondary schools. The results from data analysis indicate that the SSC English tests had strong negative washback on English teaching-learning practice at secondary schools resulting from a lack of a congruence between the objectives of the curriculum and the format of the tests, teachers’ lack of adequate understanding about the curriculum and present assessment system, respondents’ negative attitudes towards the test, and pressure from the schools and the parents to ensure good grades in the final examination. Consequently, teachers and learners adopted such teaching and learning approaches which are highly examination-oriented. The study puts forward some suggestions on how positive washback could be generated. The findings of the study have implications for the decision makers, designers of curricula, assessment and testing, teachers, and teacher trainers involved in the Bangladeshi educational system and elsewhere.

Background Wedelia chinensis has been reported as a folk medicine for the treatment of different diseases including neurodegenerative disease. Although the plant has been studied well for diverse biological activities, the effect of this plant in neurological disorder is largely unknown. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the cholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant potential of W. chinensis. Methods The extract and fractions of the plant were evaluated for acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity by modified Ellman method. The antioxidant activity was assessed in several in vitro models/assays such as reducing power, total antioxidant capacity, total phenolic and flavonoid content, scavenging of 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and hydroxyl radical, and inhibition of brain lipid peroxidation. Chromatographic and spectroscopic methods were used to isolate and identify the active compound from the extract. Results Among the fractions, aqueous fraction (AQF) and ethylacetate fraction (EAF) exhibited high inhibition against acetylcholinesterase (IC50: 40.02 ± 0.16 μg/ml and 57.76 ± 0.37 μg/ml) and butyrylcholinesterase (IC50: 31.79 ± 0.18 μg/ml and 48.41 ± 0.05 μg/ml). Similarly, the EAF and AQF had high content of phenolics and flavonoids and possess strong antioxidant activity in several antioxidant assays including DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging, reducing power and total antioxidant activity. They effectively inhibited the peroxidation of brain lipid in vitro with IC50 values of 45.20 ± 0.10 μg/ml and 25.53 ± 0.04 μg/ml, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between total flavonoids and antioxidant and cholinesterase inhibitory activity. Activity guided chromatographic separation led to the isolation of a major active compound from the EAF and its structure was elucidated as apigenin by spectral analysis. Conclusions The potential ability of W. chinensis to inhibit the cholinesterase activity and peroxidation of lipids suggest that the plant might be useful for the management of AD.

Urban growth possesses significant impact on land cover by replacing natural landscape into impervious surface. Substantial alteration of the green space into built-up areas have influential impact on the land surface temperature of a city. The aim of this study is to identify the land cover change on Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) area for the last twenty years (1998-2018) and to assess the impact of land cover change on land surface temperature. During the last two decades, constant expansion of built-up area within Rajshahi city encroach the substantial amount of vegetation, open space, and waterbody areas, which results in large area of impervious surface. Therefore, two spatial analysis software namely Arc GIS and Erdas Imagine have been used to identify the amount of land cover change and variation in land surface temperature through supervised image classification and spectral radiance calculation methods on Landsat satellite images (1998. 2008 and 2018). The result shows that, the built-up area have been doubled during the last two decades by covering 10.98 and 22.82 square kilometers areas in 1998 and 2018 respectively. With a strong positive correlation between the land surface temperature and the land cover area, the maximum temperature rises from 23.25 to 27.08 degrees Celsius. This trend of Land Surface Temperature indicates, Urban Heat Island is building up within Rajshahi city.

Haemophilia is one of the most common bleeding disorders globally. Though the prevalence of haemophilia in Bangladesh according to the ‘World Haemophilia Registry’ is ten per million people, the original prevalence would be much higher. There is lack of evidence about the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients. The objective of the present study was characterization of the haemophilia patients according their socio-demographic condition as well as their disease and treatment related profiles. All the patients who visited the haematology department of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) from May 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020 diagnosed as haemophilia were included in the study. Socio-demographic and clinical data from 74 haemophilia patients were analysed. Among them 72 patients were male. More than two-thirds of the patients were from rural area and belonged to lower socioeconomic status. Total 72 out of 74 patients were suffering from haemophilia A. Severity of the disease was mild 34%, moderate 63% and severe 3%. More than 86% patients reported target joint of bleeding and 78% of them had bleeding in last six months. A total of 73% patients received treatment within past six months of the current visit and all of them received factor concentrates. More than 94% patients received treatment on demand. Under the shed of findings of the present study it is recommended that a funded haemophilia management program and optimum use of prophylactic therapy is necessary to improve the quality of life as well as increase life expectancy of the patients.

To reduce human drudgery and the risk of labor shortages in the Asian developing countries, the appropriate introduction of agricultural machinery, especially combine harvesters, is an urgent task. Custom hiring services (CHSs) are expected to contribute to making paddy harvesters prevalent in developing countries; however, the economic performance has been rarely quantified. The study was carried out to precisely evaluate the machine performance attributes of medium and large combine harvesters using the real-time kinematic (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and to estimate the economic performance of CHSs of paddy harvesters in Japan, as a typical case of Asian countries. The financial profitability was evaluated by four major indicators: net present value, benefit–cost ratio, internal rate of return, and payback period. The financial indicators showed that both types of harvester could be considered financially viable. Thus, the investment in combine harvesters can be highly profitable for CHS business by a local service provider and custom-hire entrepreneur, providing a great opportunity to use a combine harvester without initial investment by general farmers. The findings demonstrated the high feasibility of CHSs of paddy harvesters in Japan, while they highlighted that further study is needed to estimate the feasibility of CHS in the other Asian developing countries.