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  1. Fulltext Alpha-Glucosidase Enzyme Biosensor for the Electrochemical Measurement of Antidiabetic Potential of Medicinal Plants
    Mohiuddin M, Arbain D, Islam AK, Ahmad MS, Ahmad MN
    Nanoscale Res Lett, 2016 Dec;11(1):95.
    PMID: 26887579 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-016-1292-1
    A biosensor for measuring the antidiabetic potential of medicinal plants was developed by covalent immobilization of α-glucosidase (AG) enzyme onto amine-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-NH2). The immobilized enzyme was entrapped in freeze-thawed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) together with p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (PNPG) on the screen-printed carbon electrode at low pH to prevent the premature reaction between PNPG and AG enzyme. The enzymatic reaction within the biosensor is inhibited by bioactive compounds in the medicinal plant extracts. The capability of medicinal plants to inhibit the AG enzyme on the electrode correlates to the potential of the medicinal plants to inhibit the production of glucose from the carbohydrate in the human body. Thus, the inhibition indicates the antidiabetic potential of the medicinal plants. The performance of the biosensor was evaluated to measure the antidiabetic potential of three medicinal plants such as Tebengau (Ehretis laevis), Cemumar (Micromelum pubescens), and Kedondong (Spondias dulcis) and acarbose (commercial antidiabetic drug) via cyclic voltammetry, amperometry, and spectrophotometry. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) response for the inhibition of the AG enzyme activity by Tebengau plant extracts showed a linear relation in the range from 0.423-8.29 μA, and the inhibition detection limit was 0.253 μA. The biosensor exhibited good sensitivity (0.422 μA/mg Tebengau plant extracts) and rapid response (22 s). The biosensor retains approximately 82.16 % of its initial activity even after 30 days of storage at 4 °C.
  2. Prospects of Graphene as a Potential Carrier-Transport Material in Third-Generation Solar Cells
    Chowdhury TH, Islam A, Mahmud Hasan AK, Terdi MA, Arunakumari M, Prakash Singh S, et al.
    Chem Rec, 2016 Apr;16(2):614-32.
    PMID: 26816190 DOI: 10.1002/tcr.201500206
    Third-generation solar cells are understood to be the pathway to overcoming the issues and drawbacks of the existing solar cell technologies. Since the introduction of graphene in solar cells, it has been providing attractive properties for the next generation of solar cells. Currently, there are more theoretical predictions rather than practical recognitions in third-generation solar cells. Some of the potential of graphene has been explored in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), but it has yet to be fully comprehended in the recent third-generation inorganic-organic hybrid perovskite solar cells. In this review, the diverse role of graphene in third-generation OPVs and DSSCs will be deliberated to provide an insight on the prospects and challenges of graphene in inorganic-organic hybrid perovskite solar cells.
  3. Fulltext Parental knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antibiotic use for acute upper respiratory tract infections in children: a cross-sectional study in Palestine
    Zyoud SH, Abu Taha A, Araj KF, Abahri IA, Sawalha AF, Sweileh WM, et al.
    BMC Pediatr, 2015;15:176.
    PMID: 26561029 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-015-0494-5
    BACKGROUND: In primary health care centres, upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children are commonly encountered by physicians. Viruses cause most URTIs, but parents' attitudes often represent an important reason for antibiotic abuse, which leads to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The goal of this study was to examine parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) about antibiotic use for children with URTIs in Palestine.
    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in primary health care centres in Nablus city from 1 June to 31 October 2012. A questionnaire was developed and administered to determine parents' KAP regarding antibiotic use for their children with URTIs.
    RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty-five parents completed the questionnaire. A total of 79.7% of the parents were attentive to the truth that antibiotic misuse is responsible for bacterial resistance. Only 18.9% of parents thought that antibiotics did not have any harmful side effects. Fifty nine per cent of parents did not agree that URTIs are mostly viral in origin and are self-limited. Almost 73% of parents choose antibiotics as a treatment for URTIs, while earache (68%) and fever (64%) were the most common reasons for which parents expected antibiotics. However, more than 38% of the parents never asked the paediatrician to prescribe antibiotics, and only 6% congratulated their paediatricians for not prescribing antibiotics.
    CONCLUSIONS: Although there is a trusted relationship between parents and paediatricians, Palestinian parents have insufficient knowledge related to antibiotic use for URTIs in children, which results in inappropriate attitudes and practices. Educational interventions for both parents and physicians will reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and resistance.
  4. Analysis of crosstalk in the mechanomyographic signals generated by forearm muscles during different wrist postures
    Islam A, Sundaraj K, Ahmad RB, Sundaraj S, Ahamed NU, Ali MA
    Muscle Nerve, 2015 Jun;51(6):899-906.
    PMID: 25204740 DOI: 10.1002/mus.24454
    In this study, we analyzed the crosstalk in mechanomyographic (MMG) signals generated by the extensor digitorum (ED), extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU), and flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscles of the forearm during wrist flexion (WF) and extension (WE) and radial (RD) and ulnar (UD) deviations.
  5. Scheduling the blended solution as industrial CO2 absorber in separation process by back-propagation artificial neural networks
    Abdollahi Y, Sairi NA, Said SB, Abouzari-lotf E, Zakaria A, Sabri MF, et al.
    Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc, 2015 Nov 5;150:892-901.
    PMID: 26119355 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2015.06.036
    It is believe that 80% industrial of carbon dioxide can be controlled by separation and storage technologies which use the blended ionic liquids absorber. Among the blended absorbers, the mixture of water, N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and guanidinium trifluoromethane sulfonate (gua) has presented the superior stripping qualities. However, the blended solution has illustrated high viscosity that affects the cost of separation process. In this work, the blended fabrication was scheduled with is the process arranging, controlling and optimizing. Therefore, the blend's components and operating temperature were modeled and optimized as input effective variables to minimize its viscosity as the final output by using back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN). The modeling was carried out by four mathematical algorithms with individual experimental design to obtain the optimum topology using root mean squared error (RMSE), R-squared (R(2)) and absolute average deviation (AAD). As a result, the final model (QP-4-8-1) with minimum RMSE and AAD as well as the highest R(2) was selected to navigate the fabrication of the blended solution. Therefore, the model was applied to obtain the optimum initial level of the input variables which were included temperature 303-323 K, x[gua], 0-0.033, x[MDAE], 0.3-0.4, and x[H2O], 0.7-1.0. Moreover, the model has obtained the relative importance ordered of the variables which included x[gua]>temperature>x[MDEA]>x[H2O]. Therefore, none of the variables was negligible in the fabrication. Furthermore, the model predicted the optimum points of the variables to minimize the viscosity which was validated by further experiments. The validated results confirmed the model schedulability. Accordingly, ANN succeeds to model the initial components of the blended solutions as absorber of CO2 capture in separation technologies that is able to industries scale up.
  6. Fulltext Near Surface Mounted Composites for Flexural Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams
    Hosen MA, Jumaat MZ, Alengaram UJ, Islam ABMS, Bin Hashim H
    Polymers (Basel), 2016 Mar 03;8(3).
    PMID: 30979167 DOI: 10.3390/polym8030067
    Existing structural components require strengthening after a certain period of time due to increases in service loads, errors in design, mechanical damage, and the need to extend the service period. Externally-bonded reinforcement (EBR) and near-surface mounted (NSM) reinforcement are two preferred strengthening approach. This paper presents a NSM technique incorporating NSM composites, namely steel and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars, as reinforcement. Experimental and analytical studies carried out to explore the performance of reinforced concrete (RC) members strengthened with the NSM composites. Analytical models were developed in predicting the maximum crack spacing and width, concrete cover separation failure loads, and deflection. A four-point bending test was applied on beams strengthened with different types and ratios of NSM reinforcement. The failure characteristics, yield, and ultimate capacities, deflection, strain, and cracking behavior of the beams were evaluated based on the experimental output. The test results indicate an increase in the cracking load of 69% and an increase in the ultimate load of 92% compared with the control beam. The predicted result from the analytical model shows good agreement with the experimental result, which ensures the competent implementation of the present NSM-steel and CFRP technique.
  7. Fulltext Genome-Wide SNP Identification and Association Mapping for Seed Mineral Concentration in Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.)
    Wu X, Islam ASMF, Limpot N, Mackasmiel L, Mierzwa J, Cortés AJ, et al.
    Front Genet, 2020;11:656.
    PMID: 32670356 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00656
    Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) quality is dependent on seed chemical composition, which in turn determines the benefits of its consumption for human health and nutrition. While mung bean is rich in a range of nutritional components, such as protein, carbohydrates and vitamins, it remains less well studied than other legume crops in terms of micronutrients. In addition, mung bean genomics and genetic resources are relatively sparse. The objectives of this research were three-fold, namely: to develop a genome-wide marker system for mung bean based on genotyping by sequencing (GBS), to evaluate diversity of mung beans available to breeders in the United States and finally, to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for nutrient concentrations based on a seven mineral analysis using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy. All parts of our research were performed with 95 cultivated mung bean genotypes chosen from the USDA core collection representing accessions from 13 countries. Overall, we identified a total of 6,486 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the GBS dataset and found 43 marker × trait associations (MTAs) with calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, phosphorous, sulfur or zinc concentrations in mung bean grain produced in either of two consecutive years' field experiments. The MTAs were scattered across 35 genomic regions explaining on average 22% of the variation for each seed nutrient in each year. Most of the gene regions provided valuable candidate loci to use in future breeding of new varieties of mung bean and further the understanding of genetic control of nutritional properties in the crop. Other SNPs identified in this study will serve as important resources to enable marker-assisted selection (MAS) for nutritional improvement in mung bean and to analyze cultivars of mung bean.
  8. Inflammation targeted chitosan-based hydrogel for controlled release of diclofenac sodium
    Gull N, Khan SM, Butt OM, Islam A, Shah A, Jabeen S, et al.
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2020 Nov 01;162:175-187.
    PMID: 32562726 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.06.133
    Inflammation is a key challenge in the treatment of chronic diseases. Spurred by topical advancement in polymer chemistry and drug delivery, hydrogels that release a drug in temporal, spatial and dosage controlled fashion have been trendy. This research focused on the fabrication of hydrogels with controlled drug release properties to control inflammation. Chitosan and polyvinyl pyrrolidone were used as base polymers and crosslinked with epichlorohydrin to form hydrogel films by solution casting technique. Prepared hydrogels were analyzed by swelling analysis in deionized water, buffer and electrolyte solutions and gel fraction. Functional groups confirmation and development of new covalent and hydrogen bonds, thermal stability (28.49%) and crystallinity were evaluated by FTIR, TGA and WAXRD, respectively. Rheological properties including gel strength and yield stress, elasticity (2309 MPa), porosity (75%) and hydrophilicity (73°) of prepared hydrogels were also evaluated. In vitro studies confirmed that prepared hydrogels have good biodegradability, excellent antimicrobial property and admirable cytotoxicity. Drug release profile (87.56% in 130 min) along with the drug encapsulation efficiency (84%) of prepared hydrogels was also studied. These results paved the path towards the development of hydrogels that can release the drugs with desired temporal patterns.
  9. Fulltext Nipah virus dynamics in bats and implications for spillover to humans
    Epstein JH, Anthony SJ, Islam A, Kilpatrick AM, Ali Khan S, Balkey MD, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2020 11 17;117(46):29190-29201.
    PMID: 33139552 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000429117
    Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging bat-borne zoonotic virus that causes near-annual outbreaks of fatal encephalitis in South Asia-one of the most populous regions on Earth. In Bangladesh, infection occurs when people drink date-palm sap contaminated with bat excreta. Outbreaks are sporadic, and the influence of viral dynamics in bats on their temporal and spatial distribution is poorly understood. We analyzed data on host ecology, molecular epidemiology, serological dynamics, and viral genetics to characterize spatiotemporal patterns of NiV dynamics in its wildlife reservoir, Pteropus medius bats, in Bangladesh. We found that NiV transmission occurred throughout the country and throughout the year. Model results indicated that local transmission dynamics were modulated by density-dependent transmission, acquired immunity that is lost over time, and recrudescence. Increased transmission followed multiyear periods of declining seroprevalence due to bat-population turnover and individual loss of humoral immunity. Individual bats had smaller host ranges than other Pteropus species (spp.), although movement data and the discovery of a Malaysia-clade NiV strain in eastern Bangladesh suggest connectivity with bats east of Bangladesh. These data suggest that discrete multiannual local epizootics in bat populations contribute to the sporadic nature of NiV outbreaks in South Asia. At the same time, the broad spatial and temporal extent of NiV transmission, including the recent outbreak in Kerala, India, highlights the continued risk of spillover to humans wherever they may interact with pteropid bats and the importance of limiting opportunities for spillover throughout Pteropus's range.
  10. Scaling up of levan yield in Bacillus subtilis M and cytotoxicity study on levan and its derivatives
    Ragab TIM, Malek RA, Elsehemy IA, Farag MMS, Salama BM, Abd El-Baseer MA, et al.
    J Biosci Bioeng, 2019 Jun;127(6):655-662.
    PMID: 30795878 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2018.09.008
    This study focused on kinetics of levan yield by Bacillus subtilis M, in a 150 L stirred tank bioreactor under controlled pH conditions. The optimized production medium was composed of (g/L): commercial sucrose 100.0, yeast extract 2.0, K2HPO4 3.0 and MgSO4⋅7H2O 0.2; an increase in both carbohydrates consumption and cell growth depended on increasing the size of the stirred tank bioreactor from 16 L to 150 L. The highest levansucrase production (63.4 U/mL) and levan yield of 47 g/L was obtained after 24 h. Also, the specific levan yield (Yp/x) which reflects the cell productivity increased with the size increase of the stirred tank bioreactor and reached its maximum value of about 29.4 g/g cells. These results suggested that B. subtilis M could play an important role in levan yield on a large scale in the future. Chemical modifications of B. subtilis M crude levan (CL) into sulfated (SL), phosphorylated (PL), and carboxymethylated levans (CML) were done. The difference in CL structure and its derivatives was detected by FT-IR transmission spectrum. The cytotoxicity of CL and its derivatives were evaluated by HepGII, Mcf-7 and CaCo-2. In general most tested levans forms had no significant cytotoxicity effect. In fact, the carboxymethylated and phosphrylated forms had a lower anti-cancer effect than CL. On the other hand, SL had the highest cytotoxicity showing SL had a significant anti-cancer effect. The results of cytotoxicity and cell viability were statistically analyzed using three-way ANOVA.
  11. Fulltext Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Bangladeshi honeys stored for more than one year
    Islam A, Khalil I, Islam N, Moniruzzaman M, Mottalib A, Sulaiman SA, et al.
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2012;12:177.
    PMID: 23043497 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-177
    There is no available information on physicochemical and antioxidant properties on Bangladeshi honey. We investigated five different monofloral and three different multifloral honey samples collected from different parts of Bangladesh.
  12. Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Algerian honey
    Khalil I, Moniruzzaman M, Boukraâ L, Benhanifia M, Islam A, Islam N, et al.
    Molecules, 2012 Sep 20;17(9):11199-215.
    PMID: 22996344
    The aim of the present study was to characterize the physical, biochemical and antioxidant properties of Algerian honey samples (n = 4). Physical parameters, such as pH, moisture content, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), color intensity, total sugar and sucrose content were measured. Several biochemical and antioxidant tests were performed to determine the antioxidant properties of the honey samples. The mean pH was 3.84 ± 0.01, and moisture the content was 13.21 ± 0.16%. The mean EC was 0.636 ± 0.001, and the mean TDS was 316.92 ± 0.92. The mean color was 120.58 ± 0.64 mm Pfund, and the mean 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content was 21.49 mg/kg. The mean total sugar and reducing sugar contents were 67.03 ± 0.68 g/mL and 64.72 ± 0.52 g/g, respectively. The mean sucrose content was 2.29 ± 0.65%. High mean values of phenolic (459.83 ± 1.92 mg gallic acid/kg), flavonoid (54.23 ± 0.62 mg catechin/kg), ascorbic acid (159.70 ± 0.78 mg/kg), AEAC (278.15 ± 4.34 mg/kg), protein (3381.83 ± 6.19 mg/kg) and proline (2131.47 ± 0.90) contents, as well as DPPH (39.57% ± 4.18) and FRAP activities [337.77 ± 1.01 µM Fe (II)/100 g], were also detected, indicating that Algerian honey has a high antioxidant potential. Strong positive correlations were found between flavonoid, proline and ascorbic acid contents and color intensity with DPPH and FRAP values. Thus, the present study revealed that Algerian honey is a good source of antioxidants.
  13. Fulltext Genetic diversity of Nipah virus in Bangladesh
    Rahman MZ, Islam MM, Hossain ME, Rahman MM, Islam A, Siddika A, et al.
    Int J Infect Dis, 2021 Jan;102:144-151.
    PMID: 33129964 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.10.041
    BACKGROUND: Nipah virus (NiV) infection, often fatal in humans, is primarily transmitted in Bangladesh through the consumption of date palm sap contaminated by Pteropus bats. Person-to-person transmission is also common and increases the concern of large outbreaks. This study aimed to characterize the molecular epidemiology, phylogenetic relationship, and the evolution of the nucleocapsid gene (N gene) of NiV.

    METHODS: We conducted molecular detection, genetic characterization, and Bayesian time-scale evolution analyses of NiV using pooled Pteropid bat roost urine samples from an outbreak area in 2012 and archived RNA samples from NiV case patients identified during 2012-2018 in Bangladesh.

    RESULTS: NiV-RNA was detected in 19% (38/456) of bat roost urine samples and among them; nine N gene sequences were recovered. We also retrieved sequences from 53% (21 out of 39) of archived RNA samples from patients. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all Bangladeshi strains belonged to NiV-BD genotype and had an evolutionary rate of 4.64 × 10-4 substitutions/site/year. The analyses suggested that the strains of NiV-BD genotype diverged during 1995 and formed two sublineages.

    CONCLUSION: This analysis provides further evidence that the NiV strains of the Malaysian and Bangladesh genotypes diverged recently and continue to evolve. More extensive surveillance of NiV in bats and human will be helpful to explore strain diversity and virulence potential to infect humans through direct or person-to-person virus transmission.

  14. Probing the self-defining period in memories of the Bangladesh independence war generation
    Islam A, Haque S
    Memory, 2021 Nov;29(10):1296-1307.
    PMID: 34534045 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1978500
    This study investigated the self-defining periods (SPs) in private and public memories of Bangladeshi older adults (N = 476; mean age = 67.16 years) who, during adolescence and early adulthood, witnessed the 1960s Bengali nationalist movement and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. Each participant retrieved three private and three public memories they considered to be highly significant. The lifespan distributions for private and public memories were identical; in both cases, participants recalled more than half of their memories from 10 to 29 years of age. The calendar-year distributions revealed that nearly one-fourth of private and one-third of public memories were recalled from the year of the War of Independence. The memory content analysis showed that participants sampled more negative than positive memories: 55% versus 45% for private memory and 66% versus 34% for public memory. The enhanced recollection of private and public memories from 10 to 29 years of age was predominantly shaped by memories of the independence struggle-a period that was self-defining for the entire Bangladeshi society.
  15. Fulltext Living-in-history effect in the dating of important autobiographical memories
    Islam A, Haque S
    Mem Cognit, 2021 Nov 30.
    PMID: 34846637 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01250-6
    The tendency of a person to frequently use public (i.e., historical) events as temporal landmarks when dating personal memories is termed the living-in-history (LiH) effect. We investigated the LiH effect in autobiographical memories of Bangladeshi older adults who lived through the 1960s Bengali nationalist movement and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. 476 participants (mean age = 67.16 years; SD = 5.96 years), including 62 independence war veterans, retrieved and dated three important memories from their life and completed two scales: (a) a transitional impact-of-war scale and (b) a generational identity scale. Results showed that nearly one-third of the total memories (32%) were dated using public event references, demonstrating a LiH effect. However, this effect was twice as strong among veterans (58%) than among nonveterans (28%). The memory content analysis revealed that public event references were mostly used to date public memories (e.g., war and political struggle) and the memories with negative valence. Multivariate analyses showed that veteran identity, material changes due to war and participants' age significantly predicted the use of public event references to date one, two or three memories relative to no use of those references. The public memories that were personally significant and the extent participants experienced the material changes due to war mainly caused the LiH effect. We discuss the results considering current theories of autobiographical memory.
  16. Fulltext Modifiable and nonmodifiable factors associated with anxiety, depression, and stress after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic
    Islam A, Mahbuba P, Ahmed T, Haque S
    PLoS One, 2023;18(3):e0283422.
    PMID: 36952537 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283422
    BACKGROUND: People worldwide have experienced various mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the modifiable and nonmodifiable predictors of anxiety, depression, and stress among Bangladeshi participants after one year of the pandemic.

    METHOD: A large group of adult participants (N = 1897), recruited from eight administrative divisions in Bangladesh, completed an online survey in May and June 2021 when the Movement Control Order was in place. We used the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Perceived Stress Scale-4 to assess the participants' anxiety, depression, and stress. We also gave the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Life-Orientation Test-Revised to assess mindfulness and optimism.

    RESULTS: The results revealed that the prevalence rates for anxiety and depression were 62.5% and 45.3%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that several nonmodifiable factors, such as those who were students, unmarried and females, and those living in the Northern region (Rajshahi and Mymensingh division) and dwelling in the rural areas, suffered from worse mental health (accounted for 5%-23% of the variances in the mental health outcome scores). Modifiable factors accounted for an additional 10%-25% of the variances in the same outcome variables. Adults with higher mindfulness and optimism, living in the country's Southern region (Chattogram division) and those who took both vaccine doses and had no history of mental illness reported better mental health.

    CONCLUSION: Anxiety, depression, and stress remained high in Bangladeshi adults after one year of the pandemic. The community-based interventions should aim to increase the mindfulness and optimism levels among the sufferers. More accelerated vaccination programs across the country could protect people from suffering from overall mental distress.

  17. Fulltext Construction and Validation of a Generational Identity Scale on Bangladeshi Older Adults
    Islam A, Haque S
    Front Psychol, 2021;12:703237.
    PMID: 34421755 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703237
    There is a lack of a psychometric tool for generational identity. We have conducted two studies involving Bangladeshi older adults who have witnessed the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 to develop a new generational identity scale (GIS). The first study (N = 300) prepared an initial pool of 31 items and got them vetted by expert judges, which retained 21 items to form the provisional GIS (GIS-21). An exploratory factor analysis on GIS-21 excluded eight items and offered a two-factor solution: (i) identification with the generation and (ii) awareness of the generational importance. The second study (N = 176) ran a confirmatory factor analysis on the resulting GIS-13 and dropped another item to achieve a better model fit (SRMR =0.058, GFI = 0.986, AGFI = 0.980, and NFI = 0.980). The remaining 12-item GIS (GIS-12) showed excellent reliability (Mc Donald's omega = 0.898) and satisfactory temporal stability (ICC = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.27-0.77) over a 4-week interval. The scale's moderate correlation with another measure for generational identification demonstrates its convergent validity. Participants' transitional experience caused by the Bangladesh independence war in 1971 was also moderately correlated with the GIS-12 supporting further theoretical convergence of this scale. We recommend that researchers could use this scale on different populations and age groups upon appropriate validation.
  18. Fulltext Phytochemical Constituents and Allelopathic Potential of Parthenium hysterophorus L. in Comparison to Commercial Herbicides to Control Weeds
    Motmainna M, Juraimi AS, Uddin MK, Asib NB, Islam AKMM, Ahmad-Hamdani MS, et al.
    Plants (Basel), 2021 Jul 15;10(7).
    PMID: 34371648 DOI: 10.3390/plants10071445
    The allelopathic effect of various concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 50 and 100 g L-1) of Parthenium hysterophorus methanol extract on Cyperus iria was investigated under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. No seed germination was recorded in the laboratory when P. hysterophorus extract was applied at 50 g L-1. In the glasshouse, C. iria was mostly injured by P. hysterophorus extract at 100 g L-1. The phytochemical constituents of the methanol extract of P. hysterophorus were analyzed by LC-ESI-QTOF-MS=MS. The results indicated the presence of phenolic compounds, terpenoids, alkaloids, amino acids, fatty acids, piperazines, benzofuran, indole, amines, azoles, sulfonic acid and other unknown compounds in P. hysterophorus methanol extract. A comparative study was also conducted between P. hysterophorus extract (20, 40 and 80 g L-1) with a synthetic herbicide (glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium at 2 L ha-1) as a positive control and no treatment (negative control) on Ageratumconyzoides, Oryzasativa and C. iria. The growth and biomass of test weeds were remarkably inhibited by P. hysterophorus extract. Nevertheless, no significant difference was obtained when P. hysterophorus extract (80 g L-1) and synthetic herbicides (glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium) were applied on A.conyzoides.
  19. Fulltext Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Ageratum conyzoides, Oryza sativa f. spontanea (Weedy Rice) and Cyperus iria to Parthenium hysterophorus Methanol Extract
    Motmainna M, Juraimi AS, Uddin MK, Asib NB, Islam AKMM, Ahmad-Hamdani MS, et al.
    Plants (Basel), 2021 Jun 14;10(6).
    PMID: 34198474 DOI: 10.3390/plants10061205
    The current study was designed to investigate the effect of Parthenium hysterophorus L. methanol extract on Ageratum conyzoides L., Oryza sativa f. spontanea (weedy rice) and Cyperus iria L. in glasshouse condition. Here, Parthenium hysterophorus methanol extract at 20, 40, and 60 g L-1 concentrations was applied on the test species to examine their physiological and biochemical responses at 6, 24, 48 and 72 h after spraying (HAS). The phytotoxicity of P. hysterophorus was strong on A. conyzoides compared to weedy rice and Cyperus iria at different concentrations and exposure times. There was a reduction in photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration, chlorophyll content and carotenoid content when plants were treated with P. hysterophorus extract concentrations. Exposure to P. hysterophorus (60 g L-1) at 24 HAS increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline content by 152% and 130%, respectively, in A. conyzoides compared with control. The activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD)) were also increased in the presence of P. hysterophorus extract. Present findings confirm that the methanol extract of P. hysterophorus can disrupt the physiological and biochemical mechanism of target weeds and could be used as an alternative to chemical herbicides.
  20. Fulltext In silico-based vaccine design against Ebola virus glycoprotein
    Dash R, Das R, Junaid M, Akash MF, Islam A, Hosen SZ
    Adv Appl Bioinform Chem, 2017;10:11-28.
    PMID: 28356762 DOI: 10.2147/AABC.S115859
    Ebola virus (EBOV) is one of the lethal viruses, causing more than 24 epidemic outbreaks to date. Despite having available molecular knowledge of this virus, no definite vaccine or other remedial agents have been developed yet for the management and avoidance of EBOV infections in humans. Disclosing this, the present study described an epitope-based peptide vaccine against EBOV, using a combination of B-cell and T-cell epitope predictions, followed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation approach. Here, protein sequences of all glycoproteins of EBOV were collected and examined via in silico methods to determine the most immunogenic protein. From the identified antigenic protein, the peptide region ranging from 186 to 220 and the sequence HKEGAFFLY from the positions of 154-162 were considered the most potential B-cell and T-cell epitopes, correspondingly. Moreover, this peptide (HKEGAFFLY) interacted with HLA-A*32:15 with the highest binding energy and stability, and also a good conservancy of 83.85% with maximum population coverage. The results imply that the designed epitopes could manifest vigorous enduring defensive immunity against EBOV.
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