Publications by authors named "Afrin S"

We present the genome of BDSA isolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) meat collected in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The genome displays the Listeria pathogenicity island 1 and virulence, stress response, and antimicrobial resistance genes. It was phylogenetically classified as ST7, and clustered with serotype 1/2a belonging to lineage II.

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By comparing infant-directed speech to spouse- and dog-directed talk, we aimed to investigate how pitch and utterance length are modulated by speakers considering the speech context and the partner's expected needs and capabilities. We found that mean pitch was modulated in line with the partner's attentional needs, while pitch range and utterance length were modulated according to the partner's expected linguistic competence. In a situation with a nursery rhyme, speakers used the highest pitch and widest pitch range with all partners suggesting that infant-directed context greatly influences these acoustic features.

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Background: Foodborne illness is a significant public health concern, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh. Young adults, aged 18-26 (including undergraduates and recent graduates), are especially vulnerable to the onset of unhealthy eating habits and nutritional imbalances as they begin living independently, often away from their families. This research aims to identify the risk factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to safe food handling among residential university students.

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Background: Exopolysaccharides (EPS) derived from microbial sources hold great promise for various industrial applications due to their biodegradability and diverse biological activities.

Methods And Results: In this study, EPS was isolated and characterized from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BDIFST240014, a Gram-positive bacterium known for its robust EPS production. Taxonomic classification was confirmed through 16 S rRNA gene sequencing.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bioengineered livers are being studied as alternatives to traditional liver transplants, addressing donor shortages, but they face issues like thrombosis due to incomplete endothelial layers.
  • This study focuses on applying heparin to decellularized liver scaffolds to improve blood compatibility, cell adhesion, and new blood vessel formation.
  • Results showed that heparin not only reduced blood clotting and increased cell attachment but also significantly enhanced the growth of blood vessels in the scaffolds when tested in mice.
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A new composite material has been synthesized by incorporating an amine-functionalized MIL-53 (Al) metal-organic framework (MOF) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) under hydrothermal conditions. This hybrid material combines the porosity of the MOF with the electrical conductivity of SWCNT. The preservation of MIL-53(Al)-NH MOF structure and morphology in the composite with SWCNT was verified by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis.

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Article Synopsis
  • * It focuses on the promising anticancer properties of mangrove plants and their compounds, which have been shown to have multiple beneficial biological effects such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.
  • * The study reviews the preclinical evidence gathered from various academic sources to suggest that mangrove-derived compounds could be valuable in developing new cancer therapies through several mechanisms, including inducing cell death and inhibiting tumor growth.
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In the United States, there are nearly 53 million informal or unpaid caregivers, many of whom experience mental and physical stress related to their caregiving duties and increased financial responsibility. We identified federal and state informal caregiver support policies authorized by specific legislation along with their key provisions and conducted a systematic review of the academic literature related to quantitative evaluations of these policies. Twenty policies, eight academic studies, and four gray literature reports were included in the study, with half of the policies introduced since 2000.

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Background: Excessive internet use is a growing concern globally, and internet addiction negatively impacts academic performance. Limited research has been conducted on this topic among undergraduate medical students in Bangladesh.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of internet addiction and its impact on academic performance among medical students in Bangladesh, with a focus on the role of yoga in reducing Internet addiction as a proposed intervention.

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Two-dimensional semiconductors exhibit pronounced many-body effects and intense optical responses due to strong Coulombic interactions. Consequently, subtle differences in photoexcitation conditions can strongly influence how the material dissipates energy during thermalization. Here, using multiple excitation spectroscopies, we show that a distinct thermalization pathway emerges at elevated excitation energies, enhancing the formation of trions and charged biexcitons in single-layer WSe by up to 2× and 5× , respectively.

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Background: Pooling data from complex survey designs is increasingly used in the health and medical sciences. However, current methodological practices are not well documented in the literature while performing the pooling strategy. We aimed to review related pooling studies and evaluate the quality of pooling within the framework of specific methodological guidelines, particularly when combining complex surveys such as Demographic & Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Cigarette butts (CBs) are small but have significant negative impacts on the environment, and this research focuses on their prevalence at Cox's Bazar Sea beach in February 2023.
  • A total of 13,988 CBs were collected, revealing a mean density of 0.388 m, with a high pollution status according to the CB Pollution Index (CBPI), where 25% of the area was categorized as having severe pollution.
  • The study identified 13 different cigarette brands, with Derby, B&H, and Star being the most commonly found, highlighting the need for greater awareness about the environmental consequences of improperly discarded cigarette butts.
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Background And Objective: Since plant-based natural drugs are widely accepted in modern times and possess numerous pharmacological effects with an extensive therapeutic range, an ethnomedicinal plant native to Bangladesh was selected to investigate for investigation of its various pharmacological effects. has been traditionally used and has demonstrated numerous pharmacological effects in preclinical investigations. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the central nervous system (CNS) depressant and antioxidant activities of the crude methanol extracts of the stem barks (MDMS), leaves (MDML), and their different fractions.

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Amyloidogenic transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis is a systemic disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid fibrils made of transthyretin. Transthyretin is primarily produced in tetrameric form by the liver, but also by retinal epithelium and choroid plexus. The deposition of these fibrils in the myocardium and peripheral nerves causes cardiomyopathies and neuropathies, respectively.

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Colistin is considered the last line therapy for treating multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections in humans. Therefore, the spread of colistin resistance poses a serious threat to human, and environmental health. Though Bangladesh is known as a hotspot of AMR, limited studies have been carried out regarding the status of colistin resistance.

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Foxtail millet (FM) and green banana (GB) are rich in health-promoting nutrients and bioactive substances, like antioxidants, dietary fibers, and various essential macro and micronutrients. Utilizing GB and FM flour as prebiotics is attributed to their ability to support gut health and offer multiple health benefits. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of incorporating 10% GB flour (GBF) and different proportions (10-40%) of FM flour (FMF) on the prebiotic potential, antioxidant, nutrient, color, cooking quality, water activity and sensory attributes of noodles.

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Biosurfactants are naturally occurring compounds synthesized by micro-organisms that increasingly attract attention due to both their living area and application in various industries. In this study, we explore and characterize a novel bacterium, strain BDIFST24001, isolated for its ability to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactants, with the aim of facilitating oil remediation processes. The isolation of this bacterium was carried out using Luria-Bertani (LB) broth media from environmental samples collected from oil-contaminated sites in Dhaka City.

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This study assessed the trends in inbreeding, effective population size, and genetic diversity across six Korean native chicken lines using pedigree records from 54,383 chickens. Understanding these genetic parameters is significantly important for maintaining healthy and viable chicken populations. The primary objective was to analyze the pedigree data to assess the levels of inbreeding and genetic diversity and to evaluate the effective population size across the different lines.

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The increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO) in the atmosphere, primarily due to the use of fossil fuels, pose a significant threat to the environment and necessitate urgent action to mitigate climate change. Carbon capture and utilization technologies that can convert CO into economically valuable compounds have gained attention as potential solutions. Among these technologies, biocatalytic CO hydrogenation using bacterial whole cells shows promise for the efficient conversion of CO into formate, a valuable chemical compound.

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ATTR amyloidosis results from the conversion of transthyretin into amyloid fibrils that deposit in tissues causing organ failure and death. This conversion is facilitated by mutations in ATTRv amyloidosis, or aging in ATTRwt amyloidosis. ATTRv amyloidosis exhibits extreme phenotypic variability, whereas ATTRwt amyloidosis presentation is consistent and predictable.

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Ompok pabda is gaining popularity in the aquaculture industry due to its increasing demand; however research on microbial diversity and antibiotic susceptibility remains limited. The present study was designed to identify the bacterial pathogens commonly found in the pabda farming system with their biofilm forming potential and antibiotic susceptibility. Different bacterial strains were isolated from water, sediments and gut, gill of pabda fish and the isolates were identified based on their morphological traits, biochemical and molecular analysis.

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Background Objectives: Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are two sympatric mosquito species that compete with each other for resources when their breeding habitats overlap. This study examines what happens when sympatric Ae.

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