Search

Background: In supraclavicular brachial plexus block, to prolong the duration of analgesia, many adjuvants have been tried in the past in many studies but an ideal adjuvant remains yet to be discovered. Dexmedetomidine, a selective Alfa-2 adrenergic agonist when added to local anesthetic has been reported to prolong the block duration and post-operative analgesia in various regional blocks. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives are to study the onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade, postoperative analgesia, and hemodynamic effects of addition of dexmedetomidine with ropivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Materials and Methods: Sixty patients aged between 18 and 60 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists class I and II, of both sexes, scheduled for upper limb surgery under supraclavicular brachial plexus block were randomly allocated into 2 groups. Group-A received 20 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine in brachial plexus block with 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine as adjuvant perineurally and Group-B received 20 mL 0.5% ropivacaine in brachial plexus block with dexmedetomidine intravenous infusion at 1 μg/kg over 10 min. Intraoperatively non-invasive blood pressure, heart rate, SpO2, and sedation were recorded every 5 min for the first 10 min and every 15 min thereafter till the end. Time of first rescue analgesic, intensity of postoperative pain, and total analgesic required were recorded. Results: Onset of sensory and motor block was faster in Group-A than Group-B. Duration of analgesia was prolonged in Group-A than Group-B. Hemodynamic stability was better maintained in Group-A than Group-B. Sedation was better in Group B. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine as adjuvant to ropivacaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus block is more efficacious in providing faster onset of motor and sensory blocks and prolonging duration of postoperative analgesia with better hemodynamic stability.

Bangladesh has been experiencing rapid urbanization and economic growth, motivating people to move towards the cities. Consequently, commercial areas of the cities are becoming highly occupied. The issue of overpopulation leads to congestion and shortage of open spaces, both reserved and publicly accessible, in such areas of the cities, affecting the physical and mental health of the users of these areas. To understand this situation, Chattogram in particular, the Chaktai commercial area is identified as the case study area for further investigation and research. This study will examine the present scenario of this densely built commercial area through an empirical analysis and field survey, focusing on collecting data related to major land-use types, street characteristics, major activities, traffic analysis, and environmental conditions. Additionally, an observational approach will be employed, along with one-to-one interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD), to gather user feedback on the space. By examining urban regeneration strategies for Asadganj, this study offers guidelines to improve conditions for its users including residents, business holders, and workers, to enhance the area's quality of life.

The ever-changing technology landscape has seen a significant breakthrough with the introduction of edge computing. This innovation has revolutionized various domains, and one of its critical applications is in the domain of accident detection. Edge computing can help enhance road safety and emergency response by enabling real-time processing and analysis of sensory information from onboard sensors, cameras, and other connected devices. By integrating edge computing into accident detection systems, we can overcome the limitations of conventional centralized cloud-based methods and create a safer transportation network. In this article, we have proposed an accident detection framework using Deep Learning (DL) in the edge cloud environment. For accident detection, we have used a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)- based DL model. The DL model detects the accident in the edge node which is near the data source. The proposed framework provides low latency, minimal network usage, and lower execution time as compared to only cloud-based deployment. Additionally, the proposed accident detection model is accurate up to 95.91% with Precision 0.9574, Recall 0.9574 and F1 score 0.9574 in the cloud-edge environment.

Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease (PD), a highly prevalent neuro-motor disorder is caused due to progressive loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons at substantia nigra region of brain. This leads to depleted dopamine (DA) content at striatum, thus affecting the fine tuning of basal ganglia. In patients, this imbalance is manifested by akinesia, catalepsy and tremor. PD associated behavioral dysfunctions are frequently mitigated by l-DOPA (LD) therapy, a precursor for DA synthesis. Due to progressive neurodegeneration, LD eventually loses applicability in PD. Although DA is cytotoxic, it is unclear whether LD therapy can accelerate PD progression or not. LD itself does not lead to neurodegeneration in vivo, but previous reports demonstrate that LD treatment mediated excess DA can potentiate neurotoxicity when PD associated genetic or epigenetic aberrations are involved. So, minimizing DA toxicity during the therapy is an absolute necessity to halt or slowdown PD progression. The two major contributing factors associated with DA toxicity are: degradation by Monoamine oxidase and DAquinone (DAQ) formation. Results Here, we report that apoptotic mitochondrial fragmentation via Calcineurin (CaN)-DRP1 axis is a common downstream event for both these initial cues, inhibiting which can protect cells from DA toxicity comprehensively. No protective effect is observed, in terms of cell survival when only PxIxIT domain of CaN is obstructed, demonstrating the importance to block DRP1-CaN axis specifically. Further, evaluation of the impact of DA exposure on PD progression in a mice model reveal that LD mediated behavioral recovery diminishes with time, mostly because of continued DAergic cell death and dendritic spine loss at striatum. CaN inhibition, alone or in combination with LD, offer long term behavioral protection. This protective effect is mediated specifically by hindering CaN-DRP1 axis, whereas inhibiting interaction between CaN and other substrates, including proteins involved in neuro-inflammation, remained ineffective when LD is co-administered. Conclusions In this study, we conclude that DA toxicity can be circumvented by CaN inhibition and it can mitigate PD related behavioral aberrations by protecting neuronal architecture at striatum. We propose that CaN inhibitors might extend the therapeutic efficacy of LD treatment.

The paper aims at expanding the TPB model to examine the relationship among attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, motivation, and behavioural intention as well as the extent to which satisfaction mediates the relationship in the link between TPB predictive constructs along with motivation and behavioural intention. A questionnaire survey technique was administered on domestic tourists and subsequently, structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3.0 was subjected to test the synthesized relationship among variables. The study findings support that attitude, subjective norms, and motivation significantly influence customer satisfaction and behavioural intention whereas perceived behavioural control does not. In addition, the study indicates that customer satisfaction mediates in the link between attitude, subjective norms, and motivation, and behavioural intention. However, despite the availability of international tourists, the study selected only domestic tourists that are liable for future research. Moreover, the findings of the study will enhance the understanding of hospitality researchers and managers what will significantly influence customer satisfaction and behavioural intention.

Biogas is one of the promising futuristic renewable energy sources with enormous market potential. However, the presence of CO2 lowers down the calorific value of biogas. Hence, various biogas upgradation technologies are under intense investigation to increase the methane content to the desired level. This study reports on enhancing methane content in biogas through CO2 sequestration into acetic acid via microbial electrosynthesis (MES) process. The previously enriched mixed chemolithoautotrophic microbial culture dominated by Acetobacterium spp. used CO2 present in the biogas as the sole carbon source. After establishing a stable performing biocathode at a fixed cathodic potential of −1 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) through batch mode operation, biogas was fed continuously at different feed rates, viz., 0.5, 0.3, and 0.2 ml/min to the cathode chamber. The highest feed rate of 0.5 ml/min was least effective both for methane content increment (from 61 ± 3% to 86 ± 2%) and acetic acid titer (1.5 ± 0.5 g/L; 0.107 ± 0.02 g/L/d.). In comparison, the lowest flow rate of 0.2 ml/min was the most effective for the intended process (methane upgradation from 62 ± 7% to 93 ± 3% and acetic acid titer 3.4 ± 0.6 g/L produced at 0.24 ± 0.04 g/L/d rate). Both acetic acid bioproduction and biogas upgradation occurred best at an Ecell of 3.3 ± 0.35 V at the low feed rate. A maximum of 84 ± 7%, 57 ± 10% and 29 ± 2% coulombic, carbon and energetic efficiencies, respectively, were achieved in acetic acid. Cyclic voltammograms of biocathodes revealed the decrease in hydrogen evolution potential and increased bioelectrocatalysis, thereby suggesting the contribution of microbes in the process. Acetobacterium, which is known for CO2 fixation, was found to be the dominant microbial genus in biogas fed reactors. The demonstrated approach not only offers the advantage of obtaining two products, one in the bulk phase and the other in the off-gas, it also validates the applicability of the bioelectrochemical biogas upgradation technology.

In the recent past, many of the deubiquitinases (DUB) were found to modulate mitochondrial clearance or mitophagy and thus they are currently projected as therapeutic targets against neurodegeneration. Among these DUBs, USP14 stands at a distinctive juncture, since it can influence both proteasome complex activity and autophagy process. USP14 interference can enhance mitochondrial clearance and thus can protect Parkinsonian phenotypes in Drosophila model. However, in higher animal models of neurodegenerative disorders, evaluation of the protective role of USP14 is yet to be done. In this perspective, we pointed out a few of the major considerations that should be classified before designing experiments to evaluate the therapeutic potential of this DUB in rodent models of neurodegeneration. These are mainly: level of USP14 in the concerned brain region and how the level alters in the model system. Because USP14 mediated mitophagy is Prohibitin2 dependent, the anticipated impact of this protein in this aspect is also discussed. To illustrate our view, we show that USP14 levels increases in adult rat brain substantia nigra (SN) and cerebellum compared to the young ones. We also depict that rotenone treatment can immediately lead to increased SN specific USP14 levels. Our perception thus portrays USP14 as a therapeutic target, especially for addressing SN specific neurodegeneration in adult rat brain, but may vary with the disease model.

Maize cultivation has been gaining popularly in the rangpur district of Bangladesh in recent years. The study is mainly an attempt to explore the reasons for the growing popularity of maize cultivation in the Gangachara upazila (Sub-district) of Rangpur district. It also examines the future viability of maize cultivation in this area. For data collection, three-stage cluster sampling method has been used to determine the setting of the study selecting 110 farmers who have been involving themselves in maize cultivation for at least ten years, by replacing traditional crops like tobacco and boro rice. Benefit-cost (ratio) analysis is carried out in the study for its purpose and it is found that the cultivation of maize is more profitable than that of boro rice and tobacco. Furthermore, water table data analysis in the study also reveals that the ground water level is depleting in the study area in rabi season and causing groundwater scarcity. Therefore, it would be viable to cultivate maize in the near future at the backdrop of the scarcity of the ground water as maize is less water-intensive crop than other traditional crops grown in this region.

Plants being sessile are always exposed to various stresses including biotic and abiotic stresses. Some of these stresses are genotoxic to cells causing DNA damage by forming lesions which include altered bases, cross-links, and breaking of DNA strands, which in turn hamper the genomic integrity. In order to survive through all these adverse conditions, plants have evolved different DNA repair mechanisms. As seen from the mammalian system and different human diseases, various microRNAs (miRNAs) can target the 3′-untranslated region of mRNAs that code for the proteins involved in DNA repair pathways. Since miRNAs play an important role in plant cells by regulating various metabolic pathways, it can also be possible that miRNAs play an important role in DNA repair pathways too. However, till date, only a handful of plant miRNAs have been identified to play important role in combating genotoxic stresses in plants. Limitation of information regarding involvement of miRNAs in DNA repair as well as in ROS scavenging prompted us to gather information about plant miRNAs specific for these tasks. This mini-review aims to present pertinent literature dealing with different genotoxic stresses that cause genome instability as well as plant specific responses to survive the damage. This is intertwined with the involvement of miRNAs in genotoxic stress in plants, challenges of applying miRNAs as a tool to combat DNA damage along with ways to overcome these challenges, and finally, the future prospective of these understudied aspects.

The efficacy and mechanism of flaxseed lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) on glucose hemostasis in obese mice were examined. Male C57BL/6J mice fed on a high-fat diet (60 kcal% fat) for 15 weeks were divided into four groups and treated by oral gavage with 0, 10, 100, or 1000 mg/kg/d of SDG dissolved in water for 6 weeks. Age-matched mice fed with a low-fat diet (10% kcal fat) were used as the normal control. SDG lowered fasting blood glucose, insulin, and free fatty acid levels and improved oral glucose tolerance, insulin response, and homeostatic model assessment-estimated insulin resistance index in mice fed the high-fat diet. Flaxseed SDG also increased GLUT4 expression and tended to increase phosphorylated AKT to total AKT ratio in the muscle tissue. The data demonstrated that flaxseed SDG improved glycaemic control, at least in part, by enhancing insulin signalling and sensitivity in diet-induced obese mice.

Persistence is a transient and non-inheritable tolerance to antibiotics by a small fraction of a bacterial population. One of the proposed determinants of bacterial persistence is toxin-antitoxin systems (TAS) which are also implicated in a wide range of stress-related phenomena. Maisonneuve E, Castro-Camargo M, Gerdes K. 2013. Cell 154:1140-1150 reported an interesting link between ppGpp mediated stringent response, TAS, and persistence. It is proposed that accumulation of ppGpp enhances the accumulation of inorganic polyphosphate which modulates Lon protease to degrade antitoxins. The decrease in the concentration of antitoxins supposedly activated the toxin to increase in the number of persisters during antibiotic treatment. In this study, we show that inorganic polyphosphate is not required for transcriptional activation of yefM/yoeB TAS, which is an indirect indication of Lon-dependent degradation of YefM antitoxin. The Δ10 strain, an Escherichia coli MG1655 derivative in which the ten TAS are deleted, is more sensitive to ciprofloxacin compared to wild-type MG1655. Furthermore, we show that the Δ10 strain has relatively lower fitness compared to the wild type and hence, we argue that the persistence related implications based on Δ10 strain are void. We conclude that the transcriptional regulation and endoribonuclease activity of YefM/YoeB TAS is independent of ppGpp and inorganic polyphosphate. Therefore we urge for thorough inspection and debate on the link between chromosomal endoribonuclease TAS and persistence.

The introduction of medical Internet of Things (IoT) for biomedical applications has brought about the era of proactive healthcare. Such advanced medical supervision lies on the foundation of a network of energy-constrained wearable or implantable sensors (or things). These miniaturized battery-powered biosensor nodes are placed in, on, or around the human body to measure vital signals to be reported to the sink. This network configuration deployed on a human body is known as the Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). Strategies are required to restrict energy expenditure of the nodes without degrading performance of WBAN to make medical IoT a green (energy-efficient) and effective paradigm. Direct communication from a node to sink in WBAN may often lead to rapid energy depletion of nodes as well as growing thermal effects on the human body. Hence, multi-hop communication from sources to sink in WBAN is often preferred instead of direct communication with high transmission power. Existing research focuses on designing multi-hop protocols addressing the issues in WBAN routing. However, the ideal conditions for multi-hop routing in preference to single-hop direct delivery is rarely investigated. Accordingly, in this paper an optimal transmission policy for WBAN is developed using Markov Decision Process (MDP) subject to various input conditions such as battery level, event occurrence, packet transmission rate and link quality. Thereafter, a multi-hop routing protocol is designed where routing decisions are made following a pre-computed strategy. The algorithm is simulated, and performance is compared with existing multi-hop protocol for WBAN to demonstrate the viability of the proposed scheme.