Purification and Characterization of Peroxidase From Anthracnose Disease Infected Papaya (Carica papaya L.).

Peroxidase enzyme was isolated and purified from the pulp of disease infected ripen papaya of local variety by 90% ammonium sulphate precipitation, chromatography on DEAEcellulose followed by hydrophobic chromatography on Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B and the purifications achieved was about 7.2 fold with 2.5% recovery. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as judged by polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had a Mr of about 55,000 and 50 000 as determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 and SDS-PAGE, respectively. The molecular mass of the enzyme was found to be very similar under both reducing and non-reducing conditions indicating that the enzyme contains no subunit. The enzyme has the following characteristics: pH optima at 6.0, temperature optima around 38°C, enzyme activity was found to be strongly inhibited in the presence of potassium cyanide and Fe+2 while the activity was found to be remarkably increased in the presence of ammonium sulphate. The Km value for the peroxidase obtained with pyrogallol as substrate was 0.027 mM.

Thoracopagus conjoined twin - a case report.

A patient at her 38+ wks of pregnancy as a ultrasonographically diagnosed case of conjoined twin admitted in our department with ruptured membrane. Two live female babies joined at the chest were delivered by caesarean section. The parents refused a separation operation and the mother and the babies were discharged from hospital at 6th post natal day. A review of the literature suggests that early diagnosis by a combination of ultrasound and MRI is essential for management as it provides prognosis for viability and process of surgical separation and also the opportunity for early counseling of parents and termination if indicated.

Construction of fetal charts for biparietal diameter, fetal abdominal circumference and femur length in Bangladeshi population.

Infants born for small for date (SFD) fetuses have an increased risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Different methods have been applied to identify these fetuses including history, clinical examination and ultrasonography. Ultrasonography has a better predictive value and majority of such fetuses can be identified. Measurements of the fetal biparietal diameter (BPD), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) charts are widely used in dating pregnancies and follow-up of pregnant women in assessing fetal growth, identification of small for date (SFD) and growth retarded fetuses. This prospective study was performed to construct fetal chart for BPD, AC and FL at different gestational weeks from the Bangladeshi pregnant women. Seven hundred and ten women had ultrasonic measurements of fetal BPD, AC and FL between 12 to 42 weeks of pregnancy. Centiles, mean and the standard deviation (SD) were calculated for BPD, AC and FL. Mean maternal age was 24.73 +/- 4.48 (Mean +/- SD) and 310 (43.7%) were primigravidae. There was a gradual increase of the BPD (outer-inner), AC and FL measurements of 5th, 10th, 50th and 90th Centiles upto 38th weeks of gestation with a gradual increase of SD showing increasing dispersion of data. In cases of BPD and AC, After 38th weeks of gestation the Centiles showed a slower growth rate towards 42 weeks of pregnancy. This slower growth rate from 38 weeks of pregnancy was not noted in case of femur length. Fetal charts with the raw data for each measurement with superimposed fitted lines derived from polynomial (quadratic) regression were constructed. Quadratic model showed good fit to the data during construction of fetal charts. The new fetal measurement charts of BPD, AC and FL are unique for the Bangladeshi population and have not been found similar in the later weeks of pregnancy to those published for other Caucasian populations. These charts will help the clinicians and sonographers in dating pregnancy, identifying SFD and growth retarded fetuses.

Comparison of bone mineral density between premenopausal and postmenopausal women in Bangladesh.

This cross sectional study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka during July 1997 to June 1998. Two hundred and twenty (220) Bangladeshi premenopausal and post-menopausal women aged from 35 to 55 years were studied to compare the effect of age, parity, socioeconomic status and nutritional status on bone mineral density (BMD) of distal and ultra distal ends of radius and ulna. A bone densitometer (Single photon X-ray absorptiometry, DTX100, USA) was used to measure the BMD. BMD was calculated by taking the mean of the two sites and is expressed in g/cm2. Bone mineral density in post-menopausal women (0.48 +/- 0.1 g/cm2) was significantly lower than pre-menopausal women (0.61 +/- 0.06 g/cm2, p<0.001). Parity and number of family members were significantly greater in post-menopausal women compared to pre-menopausal women (6.5 +/- 2.9 vs. 4.2 +/- 2.3 and 8.1 +/- 2.5 vs. 6.2 +/- 2.3 respectively, p<0.001). Height was significantly lower in post-menopausal women (148.6 +/- 6.9 vs. 151.8 +/- 5.7 cm, p<0.001). After adjustment of various biological factors in multiple linear regression, body mass index (BMI) showed negative relationship with age (slope -0.0068, p<0.001) and positive relationship with weight (slope 0.0011, p<0.05). Peak BMD was observed upto the age of 40 years and thereafter declined and sharply after menopause. The study concluded that bone mineral density is greater in pre-menopausal women than post-menopausal women and remains high up to 35-40 years of age, and declines to older age. BMD positively correlates with weight of women. Premenopausal women have higher height than postmenopausal women though height does not have correlation with BMD in this study.

Seroprevalence of rubella antibodies among antenatal population attending a tertiary level hospital in Dhaka City.

This study was performed to identify the seroprevalence of rubella IgG among the antenatal population attending a tertiary level hospital in Bangladesh. Sera from 609 pregnant women were tested for rubella IgG antibody using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Of the 609 pregnant women, 85.9% were seropositive and 14.1% were seronegative. The prevalence of the antibody was 80% between 15 and 20 years of age. This figure gradually increased with age until it peaked at 90.2% in the age group of 31-36 years. Then the seropositivity decreased to 81.3% in the age group of >36 years. No statistically significant difference of seroprevalence was found among housewives vs service-holders. This small preliminary study indicates that, like many other countries rubella is endemic in Bangladesh. The results of this study indicate the need for more detailed epidemiological studies to be used as the basis for a national immunization programme.

Induction of labor by intracervical prostaglandin gel and oxytocin infusion in primigravid women with unfavorable cervix.

The rate of Cesarean Section for failed induction of labor and maternal and fetal compilations are high when labor is induced in a nulliparas women with an unripe cervix by amniotomy and oxytocin infusion. Prostaglandins (PG) in different forms have been used for ripening the cervix with an aim of reducing these problems. A prospective randomized trial was performed on one hundred primigravid women between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation with singleton pregnancy, cephalic presentation and unfavorable cervix (Modified Bishop Score < or = 5) in the department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of Institute of Postgraduate Medicine & Research from 1st May 1996 to 30th April 1997. In this study the efficiency of prostaglandin E2 intracervical (PGE2 IC) gel in induction of labor in a group of primigravid women with unripe cervix was assessed and compared with another group with similar characteristics using oxytocin infusion and artificial rupture of membrane (ARM). The Modified Bishop Score (MBS), interval between IOL and onset of labor and the duration of labor after insertion of PGE2 gel was significantly different from those of oxytocin infusion group. But the Apgar Score at 1 & 5 min had shown no statistically significant difference. Any significant difference could also not be detected in the mode of delivery between the two induction group. The proportion of emergency Cesarean Section (CS) was high in the oxytocin infusion group than that of in the prostaglandin group. There was also no significant difference regarding the acceptability of both the induction methods.