Source Tracking Of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen At Molecular Level During Storm Events In An Agricultural Watershed

Most Shirina Begum(Begum Most Shirina),Jin Hur(허진),Seung Yoon Lee(이승윤) 대한환경공학회 2021 대한환경공학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.2021 No.11

Evaluation of Two Promising Hybrids Viz., HSP1 (A3x935 E) and HSP2 (A3x916 B) in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

Begum, A.Naseema,Rekha, M.,Ahsan, M.M.,Rao, P.Sudhakara Korean Society of Sericultural Science 2000 International Journal of Industrial Entomology Vol.1 No.2

To evolve silkworm hybrids with higher survival and better cocoon characters, evaluation of semen hybrids in the laboratory (short-listed out of 143 hybrids) resulted in the identification of two promising hybrids, A3${\tines}$935 E (HSP1) and A3${\tines}$916 B (HSP2). The hybrids were evaluated at three different Regional Sericultural Research Stations of Central Silk Board during 1997-1998 and also tested with the farmers along with two control hybrids, KAxNB4D2 and PMxNB4D2. Evaluation of the hybrids indicated that these hybrids can be reared in all the seasons, especially during summer season. These hybrids show shorter larval duration (22 days 17 hrs against 23 days in control KAxNB4D2 and better cocoon characters as compared to the crossed breeds PM ${\tines}$NB4D2).

L1 Recombinant Proteins of HPV Tested for Antibody Forming Using Sera of HPV Quadrivalent Vaccine

Begum Akuzum,김시내,Tam Thanh Nguyen,홍재우,이시영,김은혜,김주희,최여옥,전현정,이영민,김현우,손동현,김수현 대한면역학회 2018 Immune Network Vol.18 No.3

Virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 capsid proteins were used for HPV quadrivalent recombinant vaccine. The HPV quadrivalent vaccine is administrated in a 3-dose regimen of initial injection followed by subsequent doses at 2 and 6 months to prevent cervical cancer, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. The type 6, 11, 16, or 18 of HPV infection is associated with precancerous lesions and genital warts in adolescents and young women. The HPV vaccine is composed of viral L1 capsid proteins are produced in eukaryotic expression systems and purified in the form of VLPs. Four different the L1 protein of 3 different subtypes of HPV: HPV11, HPV16, and HPV18 were expressed in Escherichia coli divided into 2 fragments as N- and C-terminal of each protein in order to examine the efficacy of HPV vaccine. Vaccinated sera failed to recognize N-terminal L1 HPV type 16 and type 18 by western blot while they detected N-terminal L1 protein of HPV type 11. Moreover, the recombinant C-terminal L1 proteins of type 16 was non-specifically recognized by the secondary antibody conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. This expression and purification system may provide simple method to obtain robust recombinant L1 protein of HPV subtypes to improve biochemical analysis of antigens with immunized sera.

Shift in Phenotypic Characteristics of Enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (ETEC) Isolated from Diarrheal Patients in Bangladesh

Begum, Yasmin Ara,Baby, Nabilah Ibnat,Faruque, Abu S. G.,Jahan, Nusrat,Cravioto, Alejandro,Svennerholm, Ann-Mari,Qadri, Firdausi Public Library of Science 2014 PLoS neglected tropical diseases Vol.8 No.7

<▼1><P><B>Background</B></P><P>Enterotoxigenic <I>Escherichia coli</I> (ETEC) is one of the most common causes of bacterial diarrhea. Over the last decade, from 1996 to 2012, changes in the virulence antigen properties of ETEC such as heat labile (LT) and heat stable (ST) toxins, colonization factors (CFs), and ‘O’-serogroups have been observed. The aim of this prospective study was to compare changes in antigenic profiles of ETEC strains isolated from a 2% surveillance system at the icddr,b hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh between 2007–2012 and an earlier time period of 1996–1998 conducted at the same surveillance site.</P><P><B>Methodology</B></P><P>In the surveillance system every 50<SUP>th</SUP> patient attending the hospital was screened for major enteric pathogens including ETEC, <I>Vibrio cholerae</I>, <I>Shigella</I> spp. and <I>Salmonella</I> spp. from January 2007 to December 2012.</P><P><B>Principal Findings</B></P><P>Of the 15,152 diarrheal specimens tested between 2007–2012, the overall rate of ETEC isolation was 11%; of these, 43% were LT/ST, 27% LT and 30% ST positive. Isolation rate of ST-ETEC (p<0.009) and LT/ST ETEC (p<0.011) during 2007–2012 period differed significantly compared to those seen between 1996–1998. In comparison to the 1996–1998 period, difference in CF profile of ETEC isolates during 2007–2012 was observed particularly for strains expressing CS7 (12.4%), CS14 (9.5%) and CS17 (10.0%). The predominant CF types were CS5+CS6, CFA/I, CS7, CS17, CS1+CS3, CS6 and CS14. The most common serogroups among the CF positive ETEC isolates were O115, O114, O6, O25 and O8. A strong association was found between CFs and ‘O’ serogroups i.e. between CS5+CS6 and (O115 and O126); CS7 and (O114), CFA/I and (O78 and O126), CS17 and (O8 and O167) and CS1/CS2+CS3 and (O6).</P><P><B>Conclusion</B></P><P>The analyses show a shift in prevalence of antigenic types of ETEC over the study period; the information is important in designing effective ETEC vaccines with broad protective coverage.</P></▼1><▼2><P><B>Author Summary</B></P><P>Diarrheal diseases constitute a major health problem in Bangladesh, where <I>Vibrio cholerae</I> and enterotoxigenic <I>Escherichia coli</I> (ETEC) are two most important causes of bacterial diarrhea. Prevention through vaccination is helpful to reduce the incidence and severity of diarrheal disease due to ETEC, particularly among children in low-resource settings. In this context, we collected stool and/or rectal swab (RS) specimens from patients with diarrhea between 2007 to 2012 under the 2% systematic routine surveillance system at the icddr,b hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh and screened for ETEC infection. We tested the specimens for two major virulence factors of ETEC: toxins and colonization factors. In this research article, we have focused on changes in toxin as well as colonization factor profiles of ETEC strains isolated from diarrheal patients seeking care at the icddr,b hospital between 2007–2012 and an earlier time period of 1996–1998. We concluded that, such shift in antigenic profile of ETEC over the study period is important in designing effective ETEC vaccines with broad protective coverage.</P></▼2>

Pathogenicity of Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium verticilloides in Okra

Begum Mashooda,Lokesh S.,Kumar T. Vasanth The Korean Society for Integrative Biology 2005 Integrative biosciences Vol.9 No.1

In okra Macrophomina phaseolina and Furasium verticilloides cause collar-rot, seedling-rot and other severe diseases at fruit maturing stages. These stages were located in all the components of the seeds. The seeds collected from seeds infected with Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium verticilloides revealed 100% infection. Such seeds resulted in pre- and post-emergence mortalities. Inoculated seeds also showed pre- and post-emergence death of the seedlings. The fungi seed-transmitted showed disease symptoms at different growth of okra plant. Fusarium verticilloides causes the wilt and Macrophomina phaseolina causes the collar-rot. Until now seed transmission of these fungi have not been studied. Hence, in the present study an attempt has been made to fill this lacunae.

Interaction of Delta-like 1 Homolog (<i>Drosophila</i>) with Prohibitins and Its Impact on Tumor Cell Clonogenicity

Begum, Asma,Lin, Qun,Yu, Chenye,Kim, Yuri,Yun, Zhong American Association for Cancer Research 2014 Molecular Cancer Research Vol.12 No.1

<P>Cancer stem cell characteristics, especially their self-renewal and clonogenic potentials, play an essential role in malignant progression and response to anticancer therapies. Currently, it remains largely unknown what pathways are involved in the regulation of cancer cell stemness and differentiation. Previously, we found that delta-like 1 homolog (<I>Drosophila</I>) or DLK1, a developmentally regulated gene, plays a critical role in the regulation of differentiation, self-renewal, and tumorigenic growth of neuroblastoma cells. Here, we show that DLK1 specifically interacts with the prohibitin 1 (PHB1) and PHB2, two closely related genes with pleiotropic functions, including regulation of mitochondrial function and gene transcription. DLK1 interacts with the PHB1–PHB2 complex via its cytoplasmic domain and regulates mitochondrial functions, including mitochondrial membrane potential and production of reactive oxygen species. We have further found that PHB1 and especially PHB2 regulate cancer cell self-renewal as well as their clonogenic potential. Hence, the DLK1–PHB interaction constitutes a new signaling pathway that maintains clonogenicity and self-renewal potential of cancer cells.</P><P><B>Implications:</B> This study provides a new mechanistic insight into the regulation of the stem cell characteristics of cancer cells. <I>Mol Cancer Res; 12(1); 155–64. ©2013 AACR</I>.</P>

Sources of Carbonaceous Materials in the Airborne Particulate Matter of Dhaka

Begum, Bilkis A.,Hossain, Anwar,Saroar, Golam,Biswas, Swapan K.,Nasiruddin, Md.,Nahar, Nurun,Chowdury, Zohir,Hopke, Philip K. Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment 2011 Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment (AJAE) Vol.5 No.4

To explore the sources of carbonaceous material in the airborne particulate matter (PM), comprehensive PM sampling was performed (3 to 14 January 2010) at a traffic hot spot site (HS), Farm Gate, Dhaka using several samplers: AirMetrics MiniVol (for $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$) and MOUDI (for size fractionated submicron PM). Long-term PM data (April 2000 to March 2006 and April 2000 to March 2010 in two size fractions ($PM_{2.2}$ and $PM_{2.2-10}$) obtained from two air quality-monitoring stations, one at Farm Gate (HS) and another at a semi-residential (SR) area (Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka Campus, (AECD)), respectively were also analyzed. The long-term PM trend shows that fine particulate matter concentrations have decreased over time as a result of government policy interventions even with increasing vehicles on the road. The ratio of $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ showed that the average $PM_{2.5}$ mass was about 78% of the $PM_{10}$ mass. It was also found that about 63% of $PM_{2.5}$ mass is $PM_1$. The total contribution of BC to $PM_{2.5}$ is about 16% and showed a decreasing trend over the years. It was observed that $PM_1$ fractions contained the major amount of carbonaceous materials, which mainly originated from high temperature combustion process in the $PM_{2.5}$. From the IMPROVE TOR protocol carbon fraction analysis, it was observed that emissions from gasoline vehicles contributed to $PM_1$ given the high abundance of EC1 and OC2 and the contribution of diesel to $PM_1$ is minimal as indicated by the low abundance of OC1 and EC2. Source apportionment results also show that vehicular exhaust is the largest contributors to PM in Dhaka. There is also transported $PM_{2.2}$from regional sources. With the increasing economic activities and recent GDP growth, the number of vehicles and brick kilns has significantly increased in and around Dhaka. Further action will be required to further reduce PM-related air pollution in Dhaka.

Application of Bayesian Computational Techniques in Estimation of Posterior Distributional Properties of Lognormal Distribution

Begum, Mun-Ni,Ali, M. Masoom Korean Data and Information Science Society 2004 한국데이터정보과학회지 Vol.15 No.1

In this paper we presented a Bayesian inference approach for estimating the location and scale parameters of the lognormal distribution using iterative Gibbs sampling algorithm. We also presented estimation of location parameter by two non iterative methods, importance sampling and weighted bootstrap assuming scale parameter as known. The estimates by non iterative techniques do not depend on the specification of hyper parameters which is optimal from the Bayesian point of view. The estimates obtained by more sophisticated Gibbs sampler vary slightly with the choices of hyper parameters. The objective of this paper is to illustrate these tools in a simpler setup which may be essential in more complicated situations.

Evaluation of Information Technology Impact on State-owned Commercial Banks' Efficiency: The Case of Bangladesh

BEGUM, Shakera,BATEN, Md. Azizul,ALI, Rahmat Korea Distribution Science Association 2022 Asian journal of business environment Vol.12 No.1

Purpose: This study measures the effect of Information Technology (IT) on both cost and profit efficiency of State-owned Commercial Banks (SOCBs) in Bangladesh. Research design, data and methodology: Yearly Non-IT and IT data are collected from the annual report of SOCBs of Bangladesh from 2008 to 2017. Variable Return to Scale (VRS) cost Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Profit DEA are employed to measure the efficiency of SOCBs and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) is used to investigate the impacts of ICT components on operating cost and profit efficiency for SOCBs. Results: The average cost efficiency (74.4%) was noticed higher than the average profit efficiency (20.6%) for SOCBs. SOCBs were more affordable and less profitable for both cost and profit efficiency. Rupali bank was the most cost efficient while Sonali bank was the most profit efficient. IT Investment and IT personnel expenses were positively significant for cost efficiency. IT income, IT personnel, IT personnel expenses, ATM expenses, and Credit card expenses were negatively significant for profit efficiency. Conclusion: The further studies can combine DEA with machine learning algorithms to study the impact of IT on banks' performances. The results could aid government to remove the hindrance of progress in Bangladesh.

Initiating Smokeless Tobacco Use across Reproductive Stages

Begum, Shahina,Schensul, Jean J.,Nair, Saritha,Donta, Balaiah Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.17

Background: The use of smokeless tobacco (SLT) among women is increasing in India, especially among those with limited education and resources. Preventing the initiation of SLT among women is critical since it has known negative consequences for oral and reproductive health. Most research on tobacco initiation in India focuses on adolescents. This paper addresses the unrecognized issues of post marital initiation among women of reproductive age, highlighting the importance of reproductive stages in women's tobacco initiation. The objective is to examine the correlates of SLT initiation among low income women in Mumbai from pre-marriage through early marriage, first pregnancy and beyond, using case examples to illustrate initiation during each of these stages. Materials and Methods: In 2011-2012, cross-sectional community level survey data were collected from a representative sample of 409 daily SLT-using married women aged 18-40 years in a low income community in Mumbai. Information on socio-demographics, initiation by reproductive stage, types of tobacco use, childhood exposure to tobacco, learning to use, and initiation influences and reasons were collected through a researcher-administered survey. Univariate and bivariate analysis assessed factors influencing initiation of SLT use by reproductive stage. In addition 42 narratives of tobacco use were collected from a purposive sample of pregnant and non-pregnant married women addressing the same questions in detail. Narratives were transcribed, translated, and coded for key concepts including initiation of tobacco use. Results: Thirty-two percent of women initiated SLT use before marriage, 44% initiated after marriage but before pregnancy, 18.1% initiated during their first pregnancy and the remainder started after their first pregnancy. Mean age of marriage among women in this study was 16 years. Younger women (i.e. age at time of the interview of less than 30 years) were 0.47 [95% CI (0.32, 0.87)] percent less likely to initiate after marriage than women aged more than 30 years. Women who got married before 18 years of age were 2.34 [95% CI (1.40, 3.93)] times more likely to initiate after marriage than their counterparts. Childhood exposure was a predictor for initiating SLT use prior to marriage but not after. Women reporting tooth and gum pain were 1.85 times more likely to initiate after marriage than their counterparts. Husband and neighbours were the most significant influences on post-marital initiation. Narratives highlighted differences in processes of initiation pre and post marriage and during pregnancy. Conclusions: Most tobacco prevention interventions are directed to adolescents in school. This study suggests that especially for low literate or illiterate women, school based interventions are ineffective. To be effective strategies to prevent SLT initiation must reach women in urban areas at or immediately after marriage and during their first pregnancy. Messages must negate culturally rooted beliefs about the health benefits of SLT in order to prevent initiation and onset of daily use.