Outcome of Leflunomide in the Treatment of Proliferative Lupus Nephritis Compared to Cyclophosphamide

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most common presentations of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Cyclophosphamide is one of the key immunosuppressive agents for the management of LN. Leflunomide is an isoxazole immunomodulatory agent has been shown to be safe, well tolerated and effective in SLE and LN. Objective: To evaluate the outcome of leflunomide in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis compared to cyclophosphamide. Method: This randomized clinical trial was held in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 2017 to August 2019. A total of 66 patients of proliferative lupus nephritis who need induction therapy were enrolled in this study. Leflunomide 100 mg/day for consecutive 3 days followed by 0.5 mg/kg/day in divided dose was given in experimental group (n = 32) and intravenous cyclophosphamide 0.5 gm/m2 of body surface area monthly pulse was given in control group (n = 34). All study patients have received prednisolone and hydroxychloroquine according to KDIGO guideline then followed up monthly for 6 months. Outcomes were measured at 6th month by renal function [S. Creatinine, 24 hours urinary total protein (24-hr UTP)], changes in SELENA-SLEDAI score, anti-ds DNA level, serum complement levels (serum C3 & C4), remission (complete/partial) and adverse drug responses. Result: In experimental group, remission occurred in 18 (56.3%) patients and no remission in 14 (43.7%) patients. In control group, remission occurred in 24 (70.6%) patients and no remission in 10 (29.4%) patients. Adverse effects in experimental group were: elevated ALT (6.3%), hypertension (12.5%), infection (6.3%) and amenorrhea (12.5%). In control group, adverse effects were mainly leucopenia (5.9%), infection (17.7%) and amenorrhea (29.4%). Intergroup analysis for treatment responses and adverse effects showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Leflunomide combined with prednisolone is effective in the induction treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis in Bangladeshi patients in terms of response rate and adverse effects.

A Study on the Development of Touchless Mouse by Object Tracking through Webcam

In this paper, we study the continuous growth of computer technology and the increasing importance of human-computer interaction. Interactive touch-less is now an undergoing developing technology in real life. Touchless technology introduces a new way of interacting with computers by object tracking method. Nowadays most mobile devices are using touchscreen technology. However, this technology is still not cheap enough to be used in desktop systems. Designing a touchless device such as a mouse or keyboard using a webcam and computer vision techniques can be an alternative way of touch screen technology. Recent trends in technology aim to build highly interactive and easy-to-use applications as a replacement for conventional devices. Such a device is touchless mouse. Its development is completed on the MATLAB platform. The overall objective is to apply image processing techniques from video to track the movement of color which is captured by a webcam and that is converted into mouse movements and operations to control the system. The sub-system which is implemented here would allow a person to control his/her mouse without any input other than the marker movements. We use three fingers (with color) as three color markers (red, green, blue) for completing the activities of a mouse. My first goal was to successfully track the marker color and the second goal was to track the marker position from the acquired image frame for performing the mouse operations. The webcam is used to capture the information on the marker and trigger the associated actions. I use java.awt. Robot file for performing the mouse operations using the acquired data from the image frame.

Biomass and net primary productivity of mangrove communities along the Oligohaline zone of Sundarbans, Bangladesh

Background： The article presents the first estimates of biomass and productivity for mangrove forests along the Oligohaline zone of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest （SRF）, Bangladesh. This study was conducted overone year from March 2016 to April 20] 7. Stand structure, above and below-ground biomass changes, and litterfall production were measured within a 2100 m2 sample plot. Methods： All trees in the study plots were numbered and height （H） and diameter at breast height （DBH） were measured. Tree height （H） and DBH for each tree were measured in March 2016 and 2017. We apply the above and belowground biomass equation for estimating the biomass of the mangrove tree species （Chave et al. Oecologia 145：87-99, 2005; Komiyama et al. J Trop Ecol 21：471-477, 2005）. Litterfall was collected using 1-mm mesh litter traps with collection area of 0.42 m2. Net Primary Production （NPP） was estimated by the summation method of Ogawa Primary productivity of Japanese forests： productivity of terrestrial communities, JIBP synthesis （1977） and Matsuura and Kajimoto Carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystem： Systems approach to global environment （2013）. Results： Heritiero fomes has maintained its dominance of the stand and also suffered the highest tree mortality （2.4%） in the suppressed crown class. The total above-ground biomass （AGB） and below-ground biomass （BGB） of the studied stand was ]54.8 and 84.2 Mg.ha-1, respectively. Among the total biomass of the trees, 64.8% was allocated to AGB and 35.2% to BGB. In case of species-wise contribution of biomass allocation, Avicennia officinalis showed the highest score and Aglaia cucullota the lowest. Mean annual total litterfall was 10.1 Mg-ha 1.yr-1, with the maximum litterfall in winter or dry season and late summer or rainy season. The mean AGB increment and above-ground net primary productivity （AGNPP） were 7.1 and 17.2 Mg.ha-1.yr-1, respectively. Total net primary productivity （NPP） was estimated to be 21.0 Mg.ha Lyr-1 over the observed period. The results in the Sundarbans mangrove forests exhibited that mangrove communities with similar height and diameter produced different biomass production with the different basal area. The present analysis revealed that the root biomass was large enough and the mean ratio of above-/below-ground biomass was estimated to be 1.84. Conclusions： Mangrove communities growing at the oligohaline zone of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh showed high biomass and net primary production indicating their ecological and conservation significance that may be considered in future decision making process for the area as well as in understanding the role of Sundarbans mangrove forest on mitigating the effect of global warming.

Comparative studies of elemental composition in leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus growing in Bangladesh

Objective:To investigate the elemental composition of the leaves and flowers of Catharanthus roseus(C.roseus) due to the plant's wide application in the indigenous medicinal system and its chemical constituents' importance.Methods:The atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for quantitative analysis of various elements.Results:Total 13 important elements were analyzed in leaves and flowers of C.roseus.Results indicated the presence of Na,K,Ca,Mg,Cr,Fe,Zn,Al,Cu,Ni,Pb,Cd and Mn in both leaves and flowers.The most important finding of the work was that,leaves of C.roseus showed high concentration of all elements except K and Zn while flowers of C.roseus showed higher concentration of K and Zn.Conclusions:The elemental composition in both leaves and flowers of C.roseus were found to be different.Therefore,different parts of this medicinal plant are enriched in some micro and macro nutrients like Fe,Ca,Na,K,Zn,which are very important for biological metabolic system as well as human health.

Human leukocyte antigen B polymorphism and association between HLA-B27 and endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 rs30187 SNP in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Bangladesh

Objectives:To determine the association of Human leukocyte antigen B(HLA‑B)alleles with ankylosing spondylitis and the allelic association of HLAB27 with endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1(ERAP1)single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)rs30187 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis(AS).Methods:We studied 48 consecutively enrolled well-defined AS patients and 48 healthy controls recruited from the outpatient clinic of the rheumatology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University(BSMMU),Dhaka,Bangladesh.To genotype HLA-B alleles from peripheral blood DNA,we designed sequence-specific primers for polymerase chain reaction.Sanger's sequencing method was used to detect the ERAP1 rs30187 SNP.The HLA-B allele distributions were compared between cases and controls.To infer an allelic association between HLA-B27 and ERAP1,allele distributions from both loci were compared using cross-tabulations.Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test was used to quantify the association,and their strength of association was tested by odds ratio(OR)with 95%confidence interval(CI).Results:The frequency of HLA-B27 was found to be higher in AS patients(60.4%)than in healthy controls(8.3%).HLA-B27 allele had an OR of 16.8(95%CI=5.2–54.4)for the development of AS.Overall,4%of AS patients had both HLA-B27 and HLA-B40.No significant association was found between ERAP1 rs30187 SNP and HLA-B27 in patients with AS(OR=1.7,95%CI=0.5–5.6).Conclusions:HLA-B27 was significantly associated with AS in patients in Bangladesh.However,no association between ERAP1 rs30187 SNP and HLA-B27 was observed.

HLA-DQ and-DR alleles in patients with SLE:A tertiary hospital-based case–control study in Bangladesh

Background:Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by the involvement of multiple organs and autoantibody production.This study aimed to determine the association of human leukocyte antigen(HLA)-DQ and-DR alleles with SLE at a tertiary hospital in Bangladesh.Methods:This case-control study was conducted in the Department of Rheumatology,Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University(BSMMU),Dhaka,Bangladesh.The patients who fulfilled the 1997 revised American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE were considered cases(n=41).The controls(n=32)were selected from the hospital staff of BSMMU,including doctors and nurses who did not suffer from any known rheumatic diseases,and there was no such disease in their first-degree relatives.Polymerase chain reaction using a sequence-specific primer(PCRSSP)in a low-resolution typing method was carried out on blood samples collected for HLA-DQ and-DR allele typing.Results:The cases and controls had comparable mean ages(31 vs.32 years),and most cases were female(95.1%vs.34.4%).The most frequent clinical manifestations were mucocutaneous(85.4%),followed by musculoskeletal(70.7%)and constitutional symptoms(58.5%).The cases had a significantly higher frequency of HLA-DR2 allele compared with healthy controls(70.7%vs.43.8%;odds ratio:3.1;95%confidence interval:1.2-8.2).In addition,HLADQ6 allele was found to have a significant association with mucocutaneous manifestations of the cases(88.9%,P=0.03).Conclusions:Bangladeshi adults having HLA-DR2 may be more susceptible to SLE.HLA-DQ6 allele might be associated with mucocutaneous manifestations of SLE.