Osteopenia and Osteoporosis Among 16–65 Year Old Women Attending Outpatient Clinics

Women living in developing countries are more prone to osteoporotic fractures than women in developed countries. The objectives of this study were to estimate the burden of osteopenia and osteoporosis and examine their correlates among Bangladeshi women. This cross-sectional study consisted of 500 women aged 16–65 years attending gynecology and family planning clinics of a tertiary hospital which cares urban/suburban low income population in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the lumbar spine and femoral neck using dual X-ray absorptiometry. We calculated T scores based on sex-matched reference data from Caucasian women provided by the manufacturer. Osteoporosis was defined as a BMD at either site more than 2.5 standard deviations (SD) below the young healthy adult woman mean while the osteopenia was defined as a BMD between 1 and 2.5 SD below the mean as suggested by the World Health Organization. Separate multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine the correlates of osteopenia/osteoporosis among 16–45 and 46–65 year old women. Overall, 43.6 and 5.5 % of 16–45 year old women, and 40.7 and 41.8 % of 46–65 year old women had osteopenia and osteoporosis based on T scores either of the two sites (lumbar spine or femoral neck), respectively. Body mass index was negatively associated with osteopenia/osteoporosis at both lumbar spine and femoral neck, while age was positively associated. The burden of osteopenia/osteoporosis is very high in Bangladeshi women which warrants appropriate interventional strategies to minimize future fractures and reduce related social and economic burden of the society.     

A novel highly selective electrochemical chlorobenzene sensor based on ternary oxide RuO2/ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites

A novel electrochemical (EC) chlorobenzene (CBZ) sensor was fabricated using a ternary oxide RuO₂/ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite (NC)-decorated glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a wet-chemical method and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The synthesized RuO₂/ZnO/TiO₂ NC was layered as thin film on a GCE with Nafion (5% suspension in ethanol) adhesive, and the as-prepared sensor was subjected to CBZ analysis using an electrochemical approach. The calibration of the proposed CBZ sensor was executed with a linear relation of current versus concentration of CBZs known as the calibration curve. The sensitivity (32.02 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²) of the CBZ sensor was calculated from the slope of the calibration curve by considering the active surface area of the GCE (0.0316 cm²). The lower detection limit (LD; 98.70 ± 4.90 pM) was also calculated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Besides these, the response current followed a linear relationship with the concentration of chlorobenzene and the linear dynamic range (LDR) was denoted in the range of 0.1 nM to 1.0 μM. Moreover, the CBZ sensor was found to exhibit good reproducibility, reliability, stability, and fast response time. Finally, the sensing mechanism was also discussed with the energy-band theory of ternary doped semiconductor materials. The sensing activity of the proposed sensor was significantly enhanced due to the combined result of depletion layer formation at the heterojunction of RuO₂/ZnO/TiO₂ NCs as well as the activity of RuO₂ NPs as oxidation catalysts. The proposed CBZ sensor probe based on ternary oxide RuO₂/ZnO/TiO₂ NCs was developed with significant analytical parameters for practical application in monitoring the environmental pollutants of CBZs for the safety of environmental fields on a large scale.

A novel electrochemical (EC) chlorobenzene (CBZ) sensor was fabricated using a ternary oxide RuO₂/ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite (NC)-decorated glassy carbon electrode (GCE).     

Detection of malaria parasites in mosquitoes from the malaria-endemic area of Chakaria, Bangladesh

Malaria is one of the major public health problems of Bangladesh. We investigated the mosquito populations infected with malaria parasites in a malaria-endemic area Chakaria, Bangladesh, where Anopheles dirus and Anopheles minimus are the principal vectors. Anopheles mosquitoes were collected with a CDC miniature light trap from inside households in June 2007. A total of 868 mosquitoes were collected, among which females numbered 669 (77.1%). The species of female Anopheles mosquitoes were identified morphologically, and 651 were A. minimus and the remaining 18 were other Anopheles species. Malaria parasite DNA from individual female mosquitoes was extracted and distinguished using the microtiter plate hybridization (MPH) technique targeting the 18S rRNA of human malaria parasites. Nineteen mosquitoes were malaria parasite positive: 12 for Plasmodium falciparum, 1 for Plasmodium vivax, and 6 for both P. falciparum and P. vivax. This is the first time that the MPH technique was used for distinguishing malaria parasites in mosquitoes and the first report from Chakaria. Our results may contribute to planning and assessing malaria control strategies in Chakaria.