Factors associated with contraceptive practices of married women in Bangladesh with respect to their employment status.

OBJECTIVE: There might be a difference between non-working and working women in their perception of rights and privileges which may influence their contraceptive behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine contraceptive behavior among non-working and working women in Bangladesh determining associated factors. METHOD: Analysis was based on data from the 1999-2000 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey which employs nationally representative sample. RESULTS: The prevalence of current contraceptive use (any method) was 58.2% among non-working women and 65.5% among working women. Both rates are still low for the country. Some factors, such as discussed family planning with husband, husband approves family planning, desire for more children, and husband lives together, were influential determinants of lower contraceptive prevalence among the non-working women. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a necessity for social activities promoting husband-wife communication and women's participation in employment to enhance the use of contraceptives among Bangladeshi women, especially non-working women.     

Analysis on distribution and genomic diversity of high-level antiseptic resistance genes qacA and qacB in human clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

High-level antiseptic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus is mediated by multidrug efflux pumps encoded by qacA and qacB genes. We investigated distribution and genomic diversity of these antiseptic resistance genes in a total of 522 clinical strains of S. aureus isolated recently in a Japanese hospital. The qacA/B gene was detected in 32.6% of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 7.5% of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), whereas the low-level resistance gene smr, which was examined simultaneously, was detected at lower frequencies in both MRSA (3.3%) and MSSA (5.9%). Epidemiologic typing of S. aureus isolates suggested that higher prevalence of qacA/B in MRSA may be due to spread of a single predominant MRSA strain carrying qacA/B in the hospital. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis indicated higher prevalence of the qacB-type gene (59.3%) than the qacA-type gene (40.7%) among the qacA/B genes detected. Nucleotide sequencing analysis revealed the presence of two genetic variants in qacA (V1 and V2) and four variants in qacB (V1-V4) that differ from the qacA prototype in pSK1 by 1-5 nucleotides and 7-9 nucleotides, respectively. Although most strains with qacA-V1, qacA-V2, qacB-V3, and qacB-V4 showed high-level resistance to ethidium bromide (EB)(MIC > 100 microg/ml), all of the S. aureus isolates carrying qacB-V1 and qacB-V2 showed lower MICs of EB and some monovalent cationic antiseptic substances. By analysis of the genomic organization of the qacA/B downstream region, divergent forms of this region rearranged with an insertion of IS256 or IS257 were found primarily for qacB. The downstream region of qacA-V1 was suggested to be an evolutionary origin for other divergent forms. These findings indicated that both qacA and qacB are prevalent in recent clinical isolates, especially in MRSA, and these genes consist of variable genetic variants that may be responsible for different resistance levels against antiseptic substances.     

Multispectral autofluorescence characteristics of reproductive aging in old and young mouse oocytes

Biogerontology - Increasing age has a major detrimental impact on female fertility, which, with an ageing population, has major sociological implications. This impact is primarily mediated through...     

Subtypes A,C, G,and recombinant HIV type 1 are circulating in Bangladesh

We analyzed the genetic diversity of HIV-1 circulating in Bangladesh by direct sequencing and subsequent phylogenetic analysis of the V3 region of the env gene and p17 fragment of the gag gene from nine unrelated patients. The sequences from one sample grouped into subtype A, five samples grouped into subtype C, and one grouped into subtype G. In addition, two patients appeared to be infected with different recombinant viruses consisting of subtype A and unclassifiable viral sequences. Epidemiological analysis revealed heterosexual transmission in the majority of cases. Furthermore, most subjects had a history of traveling, either to India or to the Arabian Peninsula. This study shows that several HIV-1 subtypes are circulating in Bangladesh, and we conclude that there must have been several introductions of HIV-1 into the Bangladeshi population.     

Graphene oxide based crosslinker for simultaneous enhancement of mechanical toughness and self-healing capability of conventional hydrogels

Extraordinary self-healing efficiency is rarely observed in mechanically strong hydrogels, which often limits the applications of hydrogels in biomedical engineering. We have presented an approach to utilize a special type of graphene oxide-based crosslinker (GOBC) for the simultaneous improvement of toughness and self-healing properties of conventional hydrogels. The GOBC has been prepared from graphene oxide (GO) by surface oxidation and further introduction of vinyl groups. It has been designed in such a way that the crosslinker is able to form both covalent bonds and noncovalent interactions with the polymer chains of hydrogels. To demonstrate the efficacy of GOBC, it was incorporated in a conventional polyacrylamide (PAM) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel matrix, and the mechanical and self-healing properties of the prepared hydrogels were investigated. In PAM-GOBC hydrogels, it has been observed that the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young''s modulus, and toughness are significantly improved by the incorporation of GOBC without compromising the self-healing efficiency. The PAM-GOBC hydrogel with a modulus of about 0.446 MPa exhibited about 70% stress healing efficiency after 40 h. Whereas, under the same conditions a PAM hydrogel with commonly used crosslinker N,N′-methylene-bis(acrylamide) of approximately the same modulus demonstrated no self-healing at all. Similar improvement of self-healing properties and toughness in PAA-GOBC hydrogel has also been observed which demonstrated the universality of the crosslinker. This crosslinker-based approach to improve the self-healing properties is expected to offer the possibility of the application of commonly used hydrogels in many different sectors, particularly in developing artificial tissues.

Introduction of a two-dimensional graphene oxide-based crosslinker simultaneously improve the mechanical and self-healing properties of hydrogels by offering an interesting combination of covalent and reversible hydrogen bonds to polymer backbones.     

Painless reduction of anterior shoulder dislocation by Kocher's method

Kocher described his method of reduction of anterior shoulder dislocation in German, which was misinterpreted. A new element of traction was added which causes considerable pain. We present our experience with the original method in reducing 12 anterior shoulder dislocations without using sedation or anaesthesia. The original method is gentle, painless and requires neither sedation nor anaesthesia. Patient reassurance and confidence is essential. The patient initiates the movements, the surgeon just guiding him through the manoeuvre. It was successful in 10 dislocations. In two dislocations, the humeral head had to be gently guided laterally and superiorly into the glenoid using an index finger in the axilla. The method is easily reproducible after a demonstration. Patients can go home within a few minutes of the procedure.     

Changes in antipyrine clearance and platelet count,but not conventional liver tests,correlate with fibrotic change in chronic hepatitis C: value for predicting fibrotic progression

OBJECTIVE: We tested whether fibrotic progression in chronic hepatitis C could be predicted by liver tests, antipyrine clearance, or platelet count. METHODS: In 58 patients (6 untreated, 52 interferon-treated), a second liver biopsy was taken median 4.5 yr after first histologic diagnosis. We used receiver operating characteristic curves to determine whether changes in conventional liver tests, antipyrine clearance, or platelet count were predictive of altered hepatic fibrosis score. RESULTS: Apart from a weak association with change in ALT, conventional liver tests (albumin, bilirubin, prothrombin time) failed to correlate with changes (Delta) in hepatic fibrosis, but there were significant correlations between deltaantipyrine clearance or deltaplatelet count and deltafibrosis score (p < 0.01). As indicated by areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves, the diagnostic accuracy of deltaantipyrine clearance for fibrotic progression was 68%; for Deltaplatelet count it was 80%. With defined cut-off values (-0.05 ml/min/kg for deltaantipyrine clearance; -41 x 10(9)/L for deltaplatelet count), the negative predictive values for fibrotic progression were 85% with antipyrine clearance and 89% with platelet count. Corresponding positive predictive values were 48% and 91%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in antipyrine clearance and platelet count are more sensitive than conventional tests for indicating fibrotic change in chronic hepatitis C. Both could be used to reliably identify those who do not have fibrotic progression, and platelet count also has a high positive predictive value for disease progression.     

Developing scales to evaluate staff perception of the effects of the physical environment on patient comfort, patient safety, patient privacy, family integration with patient care, and staff working conditions in adult intensive care units: a pilot study

Studies suggest that the physical environment can be important for patient comfort, patient safety, patient privacy, family integration with patient care, and staff working condition in adult intensive care units (ICUs). In the absence of any measuring scales, however, evaluations of the physical environment of ICUs in terms of any of these dimensions have remained vague. For rigorous evaluations of ICU designs from the viewpoint of clinical staff, a self-report instrument with several multiple-item scales was created. These scales were tested in a pilot survey that was administered among a small group of nurse managers and ICU directors at several best practice example sites. Reliability analysis of the survey data showed some scales to be internally consistent. For the other scales, factor analysis revealed multiple components, which were then combined to create additional subscales. Using these scales and subscales, the underlying effects of design on staff perception were studied at the best practice example sites that participated in the pilot survey. The results, limitations, and the future directions of the study are discussed.     

Insect tolerance to the crystal toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab is mediated by the binding of monomeric toxin to lipophorin glycolipids causing oligomerization and sequestration reactions

Endotoxins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis are used worldwide to control insect pests and vectors of diseases. Despite extensive use of the toxins as sprays and in transgenic crops, their mode of action is still not completely known. Here we show that two crystal toxins binding to different glycoprotein receptors have similar glycolipid binding properties. The glycolipid binding domain was identified in a recombinant peptide representing the domain II of the crystal toxin Cry1Ac (M-peptide). The recombinant M-peptide was isolated from bacterial lysates as a mixture of monomers and dimers and formed tetramers upon binding to glycolipid microvesicles from gut tissues and lipid particles from hemolymph plasma. Likewise, when mature toxins and M-peptides where mixed with plasma, these peptides bind to lipid particles and can be separated with lipophorin particles on low-density gradients. When mature toxin and M-peptides are added to lipid particles in increasing amounts, the peptide-particle complexes form higher aggregates that are similar to aggregates formed in low-density gradients in the presence of the toxin. This could indicate that glycolipids on lipid particles are possible targets for toxin monomers in the gut lumen, which upon binding to the glycolipids form tetramers and aggregate particles and thereby sequester the toxin inside the gut lumen before it can interact with receptors on the brush border membrane. The implication is that domain II interacting with glycolipids mediate tolerance to the toxin that is separate from interaction of the toxin with glycoprotein receptors causing toxicity.