ABSTRACT
@#Dengue fever (DF) is one of the common mosquito-borne viral diseases. It is transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.The aim to study the clinical and laboratory manifestations of serologically confirmed cases of DF in outpatient clinics.This cross-sectional study was carried out in outpatient setting. According to WHO criteria all patients above 14 years old who were suspected to have DF were tested by IgM dengue antibody test. Additionally all patients underwent history, clinical examination and investigation including complete blood count, liver function test and abdominal ultrasound. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.Out of 126 patients presented with acute febrile illness, 71 (56.3%) had seroreactivity for dengue IgM antibodies. Fever, headache and muscloskeletal pain were the most common clinical presentation (100%). Decreased appetite (92.9%) , retro-orbital pain (78.8%) and dizziness(64.7%) were the next common symptoms. 29(40.8%) had hepatomegally, 11 (15.4%) had splenomegally.Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were observed in 58(81.6%) and 53(74.6%) respectively. Lastly; Fever associated with headache, retro-orbital pain, along with thrombocytopenia and elevated liver transaminases should prompt a clinician on the possibility of DF. Increased community awareness and vector control measures need to be strengthened to reduce the burden of dengue cases.
ABSTRACT
Objective To determine the total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties of the extracts of different Bangladeshi tea varieties such as flowery broken orange pekoe, broken orange pekoe, red dust and green tea. Methods Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin–Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride colorimetric assay, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was determined by ferric ion reducing antioxidant power and phosphomolybdenum method. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method in agar plate and subsequently, the minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by broth dilution method. Results Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in green tea compared to other three black tea varieties. The green tea also showed a higher free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities than all the other tea varieties tested (P < 0.05). In addition, the extracts of all four tea varieties showed inhibitory activity against several pathogenic bacteria and also the same trend of higher antimicrobial activity of green tea than other tea varieties was observed. Conclusions Taken together, the results of this study demonstrated that Bangladeshi tea, especially the green tea, may act as a substitute for natural antioxidants and as a promising antibacterial agent for beneficial influence in human health.
ABSTRACT
Acanthaster planci, the crown-of-thorns starfish, naturally endowed with the numerous toxic spines around the dorsal area of its body. Scientific investigations demonstrated several toxico-pharmacological efficacies of A. planci such as, myonecrotic activity, hemorrhagic activity, hemolytic activity, mouse lethality, phospholipase A2 [PLA2] activity, capillary permeability-increasing activity, edema-forming activity, anticoagulant activity and histaminereleasing activity from mast cells. The present study was performed to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of A. planci extracts obtained by different methods of extraction on MCF-7 and HCT-116, human breast and colon cancer cell lines, respectively. Results of the cell proliferation assay showed that PBS extract exhibited very potent cytotoxic activity against both MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell lines with IC[50] of 13.48 microg/mL and 28.78 microg/mL, respectively, while the extracts prepared by Bligh and Dyer method showed moderate cytotoxicity effect against MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell lines, for chloroform extract, IC[50] = 121.37 microg/mL [MCF-7] and 77.65 microg/mL [HCT-116], and for methanol extract, IC[50] = 46.11 microg/ml [MCF-7] and 59.29 microg/ml [HCT-116]. However, the extracts prepared by sequential extraction procedure from dried starfish found to be ineffective. This study paves the way for further investigation on the peptide composition in the PBS extract of the starfish to discover potential chemotherapeutic agents
ABSTRACT
Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare, locally aggressive, rarely metastatic skin tumor which tends to recur. A 45-year-old female presented with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans on her breast as a recurrent nodule after excision. Lump was re-excised with wide margins and irradiated. Follow-up was done monthly for two years, with no recurrence