Digital full adders are one of the major basic building blocks of modern high-performance arithmetic logic units due to which a wide range of full adder cells have been designed over the course of this. This research presents the design of a 1-bit full adder circuit in 16 nm FinFET process. Rather than using conventional CMOS logic, a hybrid logic style has been utilized. At first, a simultaneous XOR-XNOR signal generation circuit has been designed. Later, this XOR-XNOR circuit has been utilized as an input to sum and carry generation circuits. While simulating in 16 nm FinFET process with 0.8 V as supply, the design has a power dissipation of 1.29 μW and a worst-case delay of 12.23 ps. Also, performance analysis with different supply voltages has been conducted. The design presented in this research obtained better performance compared to the single logic Mirror CMOS full adder and several other state-of-the-art hybrid logic style based full adders.

Background: Improper health-seeking behaviours (HSB) have been correlated with detrimental health outcomes, elevated rates of illness and mortality. The study aimed to investigate how stroke patients in a rural community of Bangladesh seek health care. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Raiganj sub-district of Sirajganj district from January to June 2016, using a validated screening tool to identify stroke patients at the household level. Neurologists confirmed the diagnosis after examining all suspected cases. Out of the 419 suspected cases identified during the screening process, 186 cases were officially reported after undergoing a confirmed diagnosis. Information on health-seeking behaviour was collected through face-to-face interviews with patients or their attendants. Results: After experiencing a stroke, approximately 35% of patients received treatment from unregistered care providers and over 40% received treatment outside of a hospital setting. Males were significantly more likely than females to receive treatment from registered physicians or hospitals (P<.05 and P<.01). A significantly higher proportion of educated individuals sought healthcare from registered physicians or hospitals (P<.05). Although better health-seeking behaviour was observed among higher-income groups, the findings were not statistically significant. Around 67% of patients were found to be hypertensive, with about one-third of them not taking any medication for their elevated blood pressure. Approximately 37% of patients had elevated blood glucose levels but only 22% were taking medication. Conclusion: A notable proportion of stroke patients in rural Bangladesh sought treatment from unqualified service providers. Health-seeking behaviour was associated with factors such as gender, education, and economic condition.

Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrophysiological observing strategy to record the electrical activity of the brain which is used in a seizure disorder, organicity, and psychiatric conditions. In spite of the overwhelming burden of epilepsy in Bangladesh, there remains a relative scarcity of neurophysiology services and restricted distributed information on electroencephalography (EEG) highlights among the population. The aims of the study to explore the EEG findings of distinctive cases and their associations in various clinical scenarios. Methods: This study was a hospital-based retrospective study on the patients who underwent EEG in the EEG room in the department of Neurology & Medicine in Sir Salimullah Medical College & Mitford Hospital, Dhaka during January 2018 to December 2018. Data were recorded from EEG registers and reports. Data were analyzed utilizing SPSS version 25. Frequency distribution was studied and the Chi-Square test and Logistic Regression were applied for categorical variables. Results: Of the total 245 patients studied, he median age was 10.90 +/- 22.1 years and 53.9% were male. The patient attended for performing EEG the initial clinical diagnosis is not mentioned (64.5%). The commonest reason for EEG referral was to rule out seizure disorder (78.0%), requested mostly from the outpatient department (OPD). EEG abnormality was seen in 35.9% of patients and the site of EEG abnormality in the brain was hemispheric epilepsy (19.2%). The most common type of EEG abnormalities was slow-wave (9.8%). EEG diagnosis was normal (64.5%) most of the patients, whereas the rest of them (35.5%) diagnosed as epilepsy. The EEG abnormality detection rate was significant in those referred from the Department of the out-patient department (OPD) and Neurology. Conclusion: Epilepsy is more common in younger male and the most of the EEG were normal. The commonest type of abnormalities in EEG pattern was slow wave which was hemispheric. Bangladesh J Medicine 2022; 33: 138-144

Background: Outcome of TBM can be modified by several predictors. Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the predictors of outcome of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) at 6 and 9 months. Methodology: This hospital based prospective cohort study was carried out from October, 2016 to September, 2017 (1 year) in the in-patient Department of Neurology at the National Institute of Neurosciences & Hospital (NINS & H), Dhaka, Bangladesh. All the patients with age 18 years or more of both sexes with features of TBM fulfilling the case definition criteria was included as the study population. The outcome was measured at 6 and 9 months by modified Rankin Scale (mRS) with no disability (score=0-1), mild disability (score = 2), moderate disability (score=3-4), severe disability (score=5) and dead (score=6). For statistical analysis outcome was classified as death and survival group. A number of clinical, laboratory and radiological parameters were evaluated initially by univariate and finally multiple regression analysis. Results: A total 54 TBM patients were included in this study. Over 70% of the patients were adolescent or young adult (< 30 years) with mean age of 28.2 ± 12.3 years and 63% were female. Staging of the TBM showed that nearly half (48.1%) were at stage II and 37% cases were in stage III disease. Baseline imaging (CT-scan and MRI) showed basal meningeal enhancement in 40.7% cases, hydrocephalus in 40.7%, infarction 46.3% and tuberculoma in 29.6% cases. Final diagnosis was established as definite TBM in 3(5.6%) cases, probable TBM 30(55.6%) and possible TBM in 21(38.9%) cases. In terms of 6-months outcome, 16(29.6%) cases died and 10(18.5%) had recovered without any neurological sequelae; however, mild, moderate and severe disability were in11.1%, 27.8% and 13% cases respectively. At the 9 months of evaluation 13 (24.0%) had complete recovery without any neurological sequelae, 22 (40.9%) patients survived with various degree of disabilities like visual impairment, hemi or paraplegia, cognitive impairment, rests died giving a total mortality of 19(35.1%). In univariate analysis, age >50 years (p=0.019), duration of illness before initiation of treatment (>45 d) (p = 0.041), convulsion (p = 0.010), altered sensorium (p<0.001), delayed initiation of treatment >1 month (p=0.041) and stage III TBM (p<0.001) were significantly associated with mortality. In multivariate analyses stage III TBM (p=0.004), altered sensorium (p=0.036), delayed initiation of treatment >1 month (p=0.043) emerged as independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: In conclusion stage III TBM, altered sensorium and delayed initiation of treatment more than 1 month are the independent predictors of mortality in TBM patients. Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, January 2021, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 14-19

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities across the globe, disproportionately affecting those with poor social determinants of health (SDOHs). It is imperative to understand how SDOH influences the transmission and outcomes (positive case, hospitalisation and mortality) of COVID-19. This systematic review will investigate the impact of a wide range of SDOHs across the globe on the transmission and outcomes of COVID-19. Methods and analysis This review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol guidelines. We will search three electronic bibliographical databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase and Scopus), as well as the WHO COVID-19 Global Research on Coronavirus Disease database. We will consider observational studies that report statistical relationships between the SDOHs (as listed in PROGRESS-Plus and Healthy People 2020) and COVID-19 transmission and outcomes. There will be no limitation on the geographical location of publications. The quality of included observational studies will be assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A narrative synthesis without meta-analysis reporting standards will be used to report the review findings. Ethics and dissemination This review will be based on published studies obtained from publicly available sources, and therefore, ethical approval is not required. We will publish the results of this review in a peer-reviewed journal, as well as present the study findings at a national conference. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021228818.

Winter pea (Pisum sativum L.) can be used as a forage and cover crop in the southeast and mid-Atlantic United states; however, minimal effort has been devoted to optimize winter pea genetics for forage and cover crop production in these regions. Studies were conducted from 2015-2017 in Maryland and North Carolina screening 18 winter pea genotypes for forage and cover crop use. Winter pea genotypes were compared with widely grown crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth]. All legume genotypes were harvested across four timings. Legume winter hardiness, disease incidence, biomass production, quality, and N release were estimated. Winter hardiness was severe with many winter pea genotypes at the Maryland environments, which restricted winter pea biomass production. There was considerable variation for disease incidence among the winter pea genotypes depending on biotic stressors at each environment. At the North Carolina environments, several winter pea genotypes produced similar biomass to crimson clover and hairy vetch across harvest timings. At the Maryland environments, crimson clover and hairy vetch biomass exceeded winter pea biomass. The winter pea genotypes varied considerably for quality traits including protein, lignin, and cellulose. Relative forage value declined as biomass harvest was delayed and was generally higher with all winter pea genotypes than crimson clover or hairy vetch. These results show wide genetic variation in the winter pea genotypes screened for biomass and quality; this variation could be utilized in breeding efforts to enhance winter pea production in the region.

Organic growers use a wide range of organic fertilizers and materials to supply nutrients and meet plant demand of N. These products range from commercially processed animal and plant byproducts to composts and poultry litters. To better synchronize N release with plant demand, we investigated the rate and pool of potentially mineralizable N from 22 commercial, organic fertilizers; 15 poultry litters; and 11 composts. Fertilizers and organic materials were mixed with soil and inorganic N was measured over 99 days under optimal conditions (50% estimated water holding capacity and 30 degrees C). Net N mineralized from the organic fertilizer or material was determined and fit to first-order kinetics to determine the rate of mineralization (k) and the pool of mineralizable nitrogen (N0). Net N mineralized ranged from 25-93%, 10-55%, and 1-5% of the organic N applied for the fertilizers, poultry litters, and composts that mineralized, respectively. The pool of mineralizable N was accurately predicted from the initial total N of the materials, but no characteristics predicted the rate constant, k. Using a grouped approach based on product type and the percentage of N mineralized to determine k, we were able to predict net mineralized for fertilizers (R-2 = 0.84) and poultry litters (R-2 = 0.62).

Background: Epilepsy is a neuronal disorder that is observed globally but still it is not explored very well in most parts of the world. Objective: The aim of our study was to determine the types of epilepsies along with their treatment strategies among patients attending the outdoor epilepsy clinic in a referral tertiary care hospital. Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out from the records of weekly epilepsy clinic of Department of Neurology at National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2018 to August 2019. Data were collected through a predesigned questionnaire containing information about demography, clinical features, EEG and imaging findings and treatment of patients. Results: A total number of 1832 patients were recruited. There was a male (55.3%) and urban (61.1%) predominance. Most (75.1%) of the patients were young (age range from 10 to 29 years). A large number of patients were student (44.4%) and 24.2% were unemployed. The duration of epilepsy in most patients were less than 5 years (40.7%). 58.3% patients took various forms of indigenous treatment prior to attending this clinic. 54.7% patients had no comorbid illness. EEG was abnormal in 34.5% patients of which 24.4% had focal abnormality and 10.1% had generalized epileptic discharge. In brain imaging (CT/MRI) only 16.4% showed abnormal findings. 49.5% patients were suffering from generalized epilepsy whereas 44.6% had partial epilepsy. Among the generalized epilepsy group, most of them had generalized tonic clonic seizure (GTCS) (75.4%), while 8.9% had absence seizure and 7.9% had tonic seizure. In partial epilepsy group, the majority were secondary generalized seizure (74.7%), followed by complex partial seizure (CPS) (18.7%) and simple partial seizure (6.6%).42.7% patients got single antiepileptic drug whereas 37.4% patients received dual drug. Polytherapy (three or more drugs) were prescribed in 14% patients. Valproic acid was the highest prescribed drug (29.3%) either as monotherapy or in combination. Carbamazepine (27.4%) was the second common drug followed by Levetiracetam (15.1%). Conclusion: Epilepsy affects almost all groups of the society. Most of the patients remain seizure-free with judicious anti-epileptic drugs. Therefore, more effort is needed for early accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of epilepsy Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, 2020;6(1): 3-8

This research proposes a hybrid Full Adder (FA) cell using a combination of Gate Diffusion Input (GDI) technique, Transmission Gate (TG) and conventional Static CMOS (C-CMOS) logic. To test performance parameters, simulation has been conducted using Cadence Virtuoso in 65 nm technology. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the proposed design with 13 existing state of art FAs has been presented in this research to observe the performance improvements obtained by the proposed FA. In addition, the proposed and existing FAs have been cascaded to implement 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit adder to test their performance and feasibility in large structures. The proposed design exhibited remarkable performance both as single cell and cascaded mode. Besides, the proposed technique for FA design removes the defect of voltage degradation in GDI technique and low drivability of TG based design by utilizing C-CMOS logic in the output terminals.

Binary magnitude comparator is considered as an elementary apparatus in Arithmetic Logic Unit. Due to increased use of portable devices nowadays, energy efficient designs having less delay have become essential. This research introduces a new two-bit binary magnitude comparator consisting 46 transistors. To analyze performance, simulation of the proposed design has been conducted using Cadence Computer Aided Design apparatus in 90 nm Technology. To analyze design feasibility, the proposed design has been compared with the existing two-bit binary magnitude comparator design. According to simulation result, the proposed design displayed 9.865 $\mu$ W average power consumption, 0.193 ns delay and 1.904 fJ Power Delay Product which was significantly less than the existing two-bit magnitude comparator designs.

A single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scan is a functional nuclear imaging technique performed to evaluate regional cerebral perfusion. Because cerebral blood flow is closely linked to neuronal activity, the activity distribution is presumed to reflect neuronal activity levels in several areas of the brain. Although structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) provide exquisite anatomical detail, SPECT provide complementary functional information. Frequently, brain pathology will manifest as functional changes before anatomical changes are detectable. SPECT has clinical value in the diagnosis, therapeutic management, and follow-up of patients. A general consideration of the clinical value of this technique is followed by relevant information on cerebral physiology and pathology for proper understanding of brain SPECT images. The diversity of central nervous system diseases and therefore the still incomplete knowledge of the mechanisms that underlie them have contributed to the success of brain perfusion SPECT as a research tool in neurosciences. Finally, stepby- step recommendations for interpreting and reporting brain perfusion SPECT images are provided to get the utmost clinical beneût from this technique. Bangladesh Journal of Neuroscience 2018; Vol. 34 (2): 96-105

Full Adders considered as the major component in Arithmetic Logic Unit of digital signal processing chips and microprocessors gained much interest among researchers over the years. As a result, various adder cells have been developed by employing various logic styles. Therefore, it is necessary to have a complete overview of the various sorts of full adders to Figure out their performance level. This paper presents an overview and comparative analysis of different sorts of full adder cells. Analysis and simulation on Complementary Pass Logic, Complementary CMOS, Transmission Gate, Transmission Function, 24 Transistor, 14 Transistor, 10 Transistor, Swing Restored Complementary Pass Logic, Hybrid Pass Static CMOS, Double Pass Transistor and some Hybrid full adder cells have been conducted using Cadence Virtuoso Tools in 90nm technology. It was observed that Complementary Pass Logic adder cell had the least delay and 14-Transistor adder cell displayed the worst delay. Hybrid Pass Static CMOS full adder had the least power consumption whereas 24 Transistor full adder consumed highest power. Highest power-delay product was displayed by Double Pass Transistor Logic adder cell.

BACKGROUND Winter pea (Pisum sativum L.) grows well in a wide geographic region, both as a forage and cover crop. Understanding the quality constituents of this crop is important for both end uses; however, analysis of quality constituents by conventional wet chemistry methods is laborious, slow and costly. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a precise, accurate, rapid and cheap alternative to using wet chemistry for estimating quality constituents. We developed and validated NIRS calibration models for constituent analysis of this crop. RESULTS Of the 11 constituent models developed, nine constituents including moisture, dry-matter, total-nitrogen, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, AD-lignin, cellulose and non-fibrous carbohydrate had low standard errors and a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.88-0.98; 1 - VR, which is the coefficient of determination during cross-validation = 0.77-0.92) for both calibration and cross-validation, indicating their potential for quantitative predictability. The calibration models for ash (R2 = 0.65; 1 - VR = 0.46) and hemicellulose (R2 = 0.75; 1 - VR = 0.50) also appeared to be adequate for qualitative screening. Predictions of an independent validation set yielded reliable agreement between the NIRS predicted values and the reference values with low standard error of prediction (SEP), low bias, high coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.82-0.95), high ratios of performance to deviation (RPD = SD/SEP; 2.30-3.85) and high ratios of performance to interquartile distance (RPIQ = IQ/SEP; 2.57-7.59) for all 11 constituents. CONCLUSION Precise, accurate and rapid analysis of winter pea for major forage and cover crop quality constituents can be performed at a low cost using the NIRS calibration models developed. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Throughout the United States, laboratories use different sampling methods (“Direct Fill” vs. “Submerged Bottle” methods), sample preparations (“Simultaneous Drawing” vs. “Separate Drawing”), scintillators (“Mineral Oil” vs. “Opti-Fluor”), volume of water plus scintillator in the cocktail (“8 mL plus 8 mL” vs. “10 mL plus 10 mL”), and liquid scintillation counting assays (“Full Spectrum: 0 - 2000 keV” vs. “Region of Interest: 130 - 700 keV”) for analyzing radon (222Rn) in water. We compared these and few other variables on the recovery of radon from two “Proficiency Test (PT)” samples and four “Household Well Water” samples from Georgia. The “130 - 700 keV” assay had significantly higher radon recovery than the “0 - 2000 keV” assay. The “Direct Fill” sampling produced significantly lower radon recovery than the “Submerged Bottle” sampling. “Simultaneous Drawing” of both scintillator and water sample yielded higher radon recovery than “Separate Drawing”. Air bubble in the samples resulted in significant loss of radon gas; and such loss became greater as the air bubble was larger. A “10 mL scintillator + 10 sample” combination appeared better than “8 mL scintillator + 8 mL sample”. Mixing scintillator and sample in the laboratory, when compared with doing it on-site, was found superior for better results and practicality of testing radon in private well waters. “Mineral Oil” scintillator provided higher radon activity than “Opti-Fluor”. However, in 10 consecutive measurements of the two proficiency test (PT) samples at 60 days interval (i.e., with full ingrowing), “Mineral Oil” overestimated the radon activity compared to the predicted/assigned value in most cases, whereas “Opti-Fluor” invariably produced results close to the predicted/assigned value. There were noticeable temporal variations in both radon and uranium concentrations in the study wells; nevertheless, uranium and radon concentrations had good positive correlation. Despite this, the use of uranium concentration over 30 ppb (the MCL of uranium in drinking water) as a trigger for recommending test for radon in well water remains questionable because there may be the safe level of uranium but unsafe level of radon in a well and vice versa.

Soil mineral (or inorganic) nitrogen (SMN), which primarily exists as exchangeable and soluble ammonium (NH4(+)) and the nitrate (NO3-) ions, represents readily available nitrogen for plant growth. Over the years a 2M potassium chloride (KCl) solution has become the extraction solution of choice for extracting SMN. In the research and service laboratories, either distillation-titration method (DTM) or colorimetric method (CM) is virtually the standard to measure NH4+- and NO3--N in the 2M KCl soil extracts. However, being a time-consuming and labor intensive method, DTM generally has a very low throughput. Likewise, CM is affected by interferences from pH variation, color, turbidity, presence of organic species, and some other constituents in the extracts. In contrast, diffusion conductivity method (DCM) is a less expensive and high throughput one, which is also relatively free from common interferences. In this study, we, therefore, compared the extraction efficiency of various KCl concentrations and performance of diffusion conductivity method (DCM) with DTM in measuring NH4+-N and NO3--N in KCl extracts of 32 agricultural soils of Georgia. A 0.2M KCl solution extracted statistically similar amounts of NH4+-N and NO3--N as did 2M KCl, suggesting that a 10-fold dilute KCl solution than the standard 2M KCl might be good enough to extract and estimate the most of SMN. For the analyses of NH4+- and NO3--N in the KCl extracts, the DCM produced results statistically similar to those produced by DTM. The deviation between the results given by DCM and DTM was no more than +/- 10%. Thus, DCM appears to be an attractive alternative to the labor intensive and time-consuming DTM for measuring NH4+- and NO3--N in the KCl extract of soils in the research and service laboratories.

BACKGROUND Olive is a new, expanding crop in Georgia. Its oil content steadily increases with maturity, but eventually plateaus at the maximum when the olives should be promptly harvested, avoiding overripening and quality degradation. This requires frequent testing. However, olive quality analysis by wet chemistry is laborious, slow and costly, whereas near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS), being precise, accurate, rapid and cheap, could be suitable. We developed and validated NIRS calibration models for moisture, fresh-matter-oil (oil-FMO), dry-matter-oil (oil-DMO) and major fatty acid composition analyses. RESULTS Of the12 models developed, seven constituents - moisture, oil-FMO, oil-DMO, and palmitic, palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic acids (representing 88-97% of the total fatty acids) had low standard errors and high coefficients of determination (R2 = 0.81-0.98; 1 - VR = 0.74-0.86) for both calibration and cross-validation. For these seven constituents, predictions of an independent validation set yielded excellent agreement between the NIRS predicted values and the reference values with low standard error of prediction (SEP), low bias, high coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.80-0.93) and high ratios of performance to deviation (RPD = SD/SEP; 2.21-3.85). CONCLUSION Precise, accurate and rapid analysis of fresh olives for moisture, oil and major fatty acid composition can be done at a low cost using NIRS, meeting the analytical needs of the industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Selenium (Se) exhibits a "double-edged" behavior in animal and human nutrition.It is a micronutrient required in low concentrations by animals and humans, but toxic at high concentrations.Selenium deficiency has been associated with cancer and other health problems.Selenium requirements are commonly met through soils and plants such as wheat, rice, vegetables and maize in many countries.Selenium concentration in the soil generally ranges from 0.01-2.0mg kg -1 but seleniferous soils usually contain more than 5 mg kg -1 .Seleniferous soils have been reported in Ireland, China, India and USA.Weathering of parent rocks and atmospheric deposition of volcanic plumes are natural processes increasing Se levels in the environment.Anthropogenic sources of Se include irrigation, fertilizer use, sewage sludge and farmyard manure applications, coal combustion and crude oil processing, mining, smelting and waste incineration.Mobility of Se in the soil-plant system largely depends on its speciation and bioavailability in soil which is controlled by pH and redox potential.Plant uptake of Se varies with plant species and Se bioavailability in the soil.The uptake, translocation, transformation, metabolism, and functions of Se within the plant are further discussed in the paper.The release of Se in soils and subsequent uptake by plants has implications for meeting Se requirements in animals and humans.

Selenium (Se) dependent enzymes play important roles in physiological functions such as thyroid hormone metabolism, strengthens anti-oxidant defense system and immune system. However, about 800 million people worldwide are believed to be deficient in Se which is attributed to low Se levels in the soil. This is because Se in plant and animal products in human diet depends upon the available Se in the soil. Deficiency of Se can be prevented or treated by adequate dietary intake or through direct supplementation. There have been reports that patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, HIV viral loads and cancer have responded to Se supplementation. However, food fortification has been found to be more efficient than supplementation. Both agronomic biofortification and genetic biofortification have been used to increase Se content of food crops and animal products. Genetic engineering makes use of key genes of Se hyperaccumulators to increase Se accumulating potential of food crops. Agronomic biofortification increases Se content of food crops by adding Se rich fertilizers to the soil or foliar application of Se. Selenium can also be added to animal diets or feedstuff to increase Se content of meat, eggs, and milk. Although inorganic forms of Se are approved as feed additives, they are less efficient than organic sources such as selenomethionine (SeMet) which is the dominant form in plants and animals. Animal products have been found to have higher Se content than plant products with fish having the highest Se content. Fruits and vegetables have a low content of Se probably because of their low protein content. Recommendations for dietary intake of Se vary with country, age and sex. There are concerns that the present recommended Se daily allowance may not be adequate due to discovery of other selenoenzymes with higher Se requirements than gluthathione peroxidase. There may be a need to review the current recommended daily allowance for Se in order to improve human health.