Baseline Widal Titer Among Healthy Adult Males from the Greater Mymensingh Division of Bangladesh.

Background: Widal test is the most widely used laboratory investigation for diagnosis of typhoid. However, the test interpretation remains controversial in the context of endemic regions such as Bangladesh, as agglutination occurs at varied titrations among a large percentage of healthy population. Paired Widal tests are often not feasible; hence single unpaired test has to be used for screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Microinverter Thermal Performance in the Real-World: Measurements and Modeling.

Real-world performance, durability and reliability of microinverters are critical concerns for microinverter-equipped photovoltaic systems. We conducted a data-driven study of the thermal performance of 24 new microinverters (Enphase M215) connected to 8 different brands of PV modules on dual-axis trackers at the Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension (SDLE) SunFarm at Case Western Reserve University, based on minute by minute power and thermal data from the microinverters and PV modules along with insolation and environmental data from July through October 2013. The analysis shows the strengths of the associations of microinverter temperature with ambient temperature, PV module temperature, irradiance and AC power of the PV systems.

Drug resistance and molecular epidemiology of aerobic bacteria isolated from puerperal infections in Bangladesh.

Puerperal infection is a common complication during postnatal period in developing countries. Bacterial species, drug resistance, and genetic characteristics were investigated for a total of 470 isolates from puerperal infections in Bangladesh for a 2-year period (2010-2012). The most common species was Escherichia coli (n=98), followed by Enterococcus faecalis (n=54), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (n=33), Proteus mirabilis (n=32), Staphylococcus aureus (n=27), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=22), and Enterobacter cloacae (n=21).

Detection and genetic characterization of PVL-positive ST8-MRSA-IVa and exfoliative toxin D-positive European CA-MRSA-Like ST1931 (CC80) MRSA-IVa strains in Bangladesh.

Severe skin lesions caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection are associated with production from bacterial cells of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), a typical virulence factor of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA), as well as other toxins represented by exfoliative toxins. Through a retrospective study of 26 S.

S-1 and the treatment of gastric cancer with peritoneal dissemination.

Peritoneal dissemination is the most common metastatic pattern of gastric cancer. We frequently face the necessity for gastrectomy in the event of gastric stenosis or gastric bleeding. However, the indication for palliative gastrectomy and the effectiveness of palliative chemotherapy are not clear.

Analysis of Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Staphylococcus sciuri: identification of a novel ccr gene complex with a newly identified ccrA allotype (ccrA7).

Methicillin resistance in staphylococci is conferred by the acquisition in its chromosome of the mecA gene, which is located on a mobile genetic element called staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). Genetic type of SCCmec is defined by combination of mec gene complex class and cassette chromosome recombinase gene (ccr) allotype. In this study, we analyzed genetic diversity of the SCCmec in 11 Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains and a Staphylococcus sciuri strain, which were recently isolated from clinical specimens in Bangladesh.

Full genomic analyses of two human G2P[4] rotavirus strains detected in 2005: identification of a caprine-like VP3 gene.

Although G2P[4] rotaviruses are common causes of infantile diarrhoea, to date only the full genomes of the prototype (strain DS-1) and another old strain, TB-Chen, have been analysed. We report here the full genomic analyses of two Bangladeshi G2P[4] strains, MMC6 and MMC88, detected in 2005. Both the strains exhibited a DS-1-like genotype constellation.

Identification of P[8]b subtype in OP354-like human rotavirus strains by a modified RT-PCR method.

In our previous study, a novel P[8] subtype, i.e., P[8]b was identified for human rotavirus strains MMC38 and MMC71 detected in Bangladesh, of which the P types could not be determined by conventional RT-PCR genotyping methods.

Modulating effect of the PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002 on cisplatin in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Background: Chemoresistance is a serious problem in pancreatic cancer, but the mechanism of resistance and strategies against the resistance have not been elucidated. We examined the potential of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt inhibitor LY294002 to enhance the anti-tumor effect of cisplatin and investigated the mechanism of chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer cells using a combination therapy of cisplatin and LY294002, both in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: Cisplatin and LY294002, individually or in combination, were given to AsPC-1 and PANC-1 cell lines.

Phylogenetic analysis of rotaviruses with genotypes G1, G2, G9 and G12 in Bangladesh: evidence for a close relationship between rotaviruses from children and adults.

To clarify the phylogenetic relatedness of rotaviruses causing gastroenteritis in children and adults, an epidemiologic investigation was conducted in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, during the period between July 2004 and June 2006. A total of 2,540 stool specimens from diarrheal patients from three hospitals were analyzed. Overall, rotavirus-positive rates in children and adults were 26.

Ischemic preconditioning of the murine liver protects through the Akt kinase pathway.

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury occurs in the settings of transplantation, trauma, and elective liver resection. Ischemic preconditioning has been used as a strategy to reduce inflammation and organ damage from I/R of the liver. However, the mechanisms involved in this process are poorly understood.

Improved microcirculatory effect of D-allose on hepatic ischemia reperfusion following partial hepatectomy in cirrhotic rat liver.

D-allose, one of the rare sugars produced from D-psicose, has been shown to be effective against reperfusion injury after ischemia and partial hepatectomy in cirrhotic rat liver by improving remnant liver blood flow and survival rates, and decreasing liver enzyme levels and liver tissue injury levels. These findings demand further study of the clinical implications of this sugar in view to the advancing fields of liver surgery and transplantation.

D-Allose has a strong suppressive effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury: a comparative study with allopurinol and superoxide dismutase.

Background/purpose: D-Allose, a rare sugar, is one of the potent inhibitors of ischemia/reperfusion injury of the rat liver. To investigate the potency of this powerful agent we examined its effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury and compared it to that of allopurinol and superoxide dismutase.

Methods: Male Lewis rats were given water ad libitum preoperatively for 12 h and anesthetized by isoflurane inhalation anesthesia.

Protective effects of D-allose against ischemia reperfusion injury of the rat liver.

Background/purpose: D-allose, a rare sugar, has been reported to inhibit segmented neutrophil production without causing any significant detrimental clinical effects. Our previous study demonstrated the immunosuppressive effect of D-allose in a rat model of liver transplantation. Neutrophils are closely involved in the process of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Effect of short-term administration of prostaglandin E1 on viability after ischemia/reperfusion injury with extended hepatectomy in cirrhotic rat liver.

The cytoprotective effect of prostaglandin E(1) (PGE(1)) has been demonstrated experimentally and clinically against hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury and against the effects of partial hepatectomy in both individual and combined models of noncirrhotic livers. Cirrhotic livers are more vulnerable to ischemia/reperfusion injury during hepatectomy than are noncirrhotic livers, and postoperative malfunctioning complicates life with multiple organ failure. Cirrhotic livers with tumors have mostly been treated conservatively because extended hepatectomy with induced ischemia during surgery is impossible.