Dhaka University Journal of Biological Sciences

A taxonomic survey of pteridophytic flora of Lalmai Pahar and Mainamati of Cumilla district, Bangladesh

Nadra Tabassum — 2024-04-08

This study aims to investigate the pteridophytic flora of the Lalmai Pahar, Mainamati, located at the Cumilla district of Bangladesh. Despite the absence of extensive pteridophyte surveys in this hilly forest, it is known to harbour a diverse range of pteridophyte species. This study presents a survey of the pteridophyte diversity within the specified area, documenting a total of 27 taxa. The voucher specimens have been deposited at the Salar Khan Herbarium, Department of Botany at the University of Dhaka.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 1-21, 2024 (January)

Unveiling the avian community structure, habitat preference, and conservation concerns in the sal forest of central bangladesh

Mohammad Firoj Jaman — 2024-04-08

A study on avifaunal diversity was conducted in Bhawal National Park, Gazipur, Bangladesh, from November 2020 to October 2021 using direct field observation. The study area was divided into five sites based on the habitat structure. A total of 138 bird species and 1,808 individuals were directly counted, representing 17 orders and 49 families. The order Passeriformes and the family Cuculidae had the highest number of species. During the winter season, the richness, abundance, and diversity was the maximum (116 species, 1132 individuals, H= 4.151, Ds= 0.976), with resident bird surpassing migratory species. Among the five study sites, the deep forest area exhibited the greatest number of bird species (75 species, H= 3.983, Ds= 0.975) and trees were the used microhabitat for the birds (101 species, 1521 individuals, H= 4.1, Ds= 0.977). Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striata) had the maximum relative abundance and the ten most abundant species constituted 36.7% of total individuals. A total of 25 habitat generalist species was observed using more than one habitat during the study, while the rest were found in single habitat. Among all the bird species, 136 were Least Concern, one was Near Threatened, and one was Data Deficient. Based on the observation status, it was determined that the majority of bird species (97 species, 70.28%) were classified as few, while 25 species (18.11%) were as uncommon, 12 species (8.69%) as common, and 4 species (2.89%) as very common. The area was noted for its widespread use for recreational activities, and the disturbance caused by visitors lacking awareness poses a significant threat to the local bird population and biodiversity.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 1-21, 2024 (January)

Cross-cultural anxiety, parental and partner attachments and their correlation with relationship satisfaction

Safina Binte Enayet — 2024-04-08

The present study was designed to investigate the cross-cultural anxiety, parental attachment, partner attachment and their correlation with the relationship satisfaction. In this study, the data were collected by voluntary sampling method and a total of 434 participants were recruited. One-way ANOVA analysis showed that Americans, Bangladeshi, and English reported higher levels of anxiety in their life than Thai nationalities which indicated that Thai have more relationship satisfaction than other nationalities. Further analysis showed that there is a significant positive correlation between anxiety and avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, mother avoidant, mother anxious, father avoidant, father anxious. In the analysis of attachment style, it was found that father avoidant and mother avoidant attachment was higher than father anxious and mother anxious attachment with their children.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 23-31, 2024 (January)

Clinical manifestations and seasonal occurrence of patients with dengue hospitalized at Dhaka city of Bangladesh in 2021

Priyanka Barua — 2024-04-08

For the past few years, the intensity of dengue in Bangladesh has been rising. The current study was done among 533 dengue patients hospitalized in 2021 in Dhaka to observe the different aspects of clinical manifestations and seasonal occurrence of dengue. Due to COVID-19 restriction, hospital entry and face-to-face interview of the patients was not possible. Hence, contact numbers of the hospitalized dengue patients were collected from Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and patients were interviewed over the phone. Out of 533 patients, majority were from Dhaka south city corporation (DSCC) (53.7%), had a monthly household income of 30001≥ BDT (67.4%), and lived in small sized families (76.9%). High fever (p=0.013), headache (p<0.001), body pain (p<0.001), vomiting/nausea (p=0.0085), skin rash (p=0.033), eye lesion/red eyes (p=0.0011), pleural effusion (p=0.0404), weakness (p=0.017) and gum bleeding (p=0.014)- were significantly associated with age groups whereas vomiting/nausea (p=0.048), skin rash (p=0.002) and eye lesion/red eyes (p=0.032) were significantly associated with gender. 86.7% suffered from thrombocytopenia (<150000 per microliter blood), while 27% were in serious condition with lowest platelet count ≤ 20000 per microliter blood. 3.6% patients were admitted to ICU and 1.7% died of dengue. Death due to dengue was significantly associated with age groups (p <0.05) and majority among them were children (≤ 10 years). Family members of 44.6% patients were also affected with dengue and majority of the patients belonged to small sized families. Dengue occurrence had significant association with season where majority of the patients were from monsoon season (65.29%) followed by post-monsoon (33.21%) season. Dengue manifests a wide spectrum of symptoms as shown by the study, so now it is necessary to identify the changes in pattern of the clinical manifestations, and effective disease management to lessen the severity of the outbreak.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 33-46, 2024 (January)

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among adults

Tanzina Zakir — 2024-04-08

Childhood maltreatment is the potential background under the umbrella of adverse childhood experience (ACE). The history of childhood trauma as well as child abuse can be affected lifelong through their adulthood stages. In addition, suicide is the most global issue among young generation. The present focused study determined to get the essence of the direction into the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation among adults in Bangladesh context. The cross sectional survey design was adopted for data collection purpose among 160 adults having age ranges between 18 to 40 years. Correlation analysis findings recommended that there is a strong association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation (Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient, r = 0.80, p < 0.01) and (Kendall’s tau-b rank order correlation coefficient, r = 0.62, p< 0.01). Furthermore, controlling with another aspect of chronological age, socio-economic status, profession and mental health service also indicating a moderate strong relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation (Partial correlation coefficient, r (160) = 0.62, p < 0.01), (Partial correlation coefficient, r (160) = 0.63, p < 0.01), (Partial correlation coefficient, r (160) = 0.60, p < 0.01) and (Partial correlation coefficient, r (160) = 0.68, p < 0.01). The present research is the resource for mental health practitioner, academia, researcher, professional child psychologist, scholar, social worker etc who are willing to influence and contribute in mental health areas.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 47-55, 2024 (January)

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on gender based violence: a study on TMSS microcredit members

Most Aeysha Sultana — 2024-04-08

The present study was aimed at investigating if the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on gender-based violence (GBV) among TMSS microcredit users. The study was designed to gather data using both quantitative (individual interviews) and qualitative (Focus Group Discussion) method. One hundred and eighty-five married women of Bogura district made up the sample. The sample included 159 microcredit members and 26 non-members. Majority of the participants experienced financial hardships during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data showed that a significant portion of microcredit participants (56%) experienced physical, mental, or both types of violence from their husbands during the lockdown. However, the TMSS Microcredit members had greater exposure to GBV than non-members, according to qualitative findings. The same factors—such as income loss, staying at home constantly, and concern about providing for family needs—were highlighted by both microcredit members and non-members as probable causes for the rise in violence during lockdown. But microcredit members mentioned that the lack of microcredit loans and the pressure to make loan payments also resulted in violence against women during lockdown. Quantitative data also indicated that women who experienced violence from their husbands had trouble accessing medical care and law enforcement support. The present study recommended that during emergency situation the microcredit providers should take different policies to help people cope with their financial crisis and government and non-government organizations should take safeguards to prevent gender based violence.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 57-65, 2024 (January)

Exploring clinical features of children with autism in Bogura city of Bangladesh

Mst Ambia Khatun — 2024-04-08

Autism is marked by a dense shortage of social, language, and cognitive abilities. To become aware and start earlier treatment, these criteria needed to be known from their cultural context, helpful for the betterment of children with autism and their caregivers. The study aimed to explore the severity of six clinical features (e.g., socio-emotional, language, behavioral, affective, cognitive, and physical symptoms) of Bangladeshi children with autism according to the DSM-V. Thirty six parents (55.56% mother and mean age = 33.75 years) of autistic children participated as respondents. Required data were collected using a personal information form and the Bangla version of the Clinical Features of Autistic Children Questionnaire. Data were analyzed through frequency, percentage, and correlation. The results showed that the severity of social and physical developmental symptoms was comparatively lower, while language, behavioral, affective, and cognitive developmental symptoms were comparatively higher among children with autism. In addition, no significant correlation was found among socio-emotional, language, behavioral, affective, cognitive, and physical symptoms in terms of parents’ educational qualifications and family income of children with autism. The study recommends that the concerned authorities should immediately focus on the more severe clinical features and affecting factors for the betterment of both children with autism and their caregivers.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 67-77, 2024 (January)

Induction of mutation in Neurospora Crassa using neem (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss) leaf extract

Rikta Khatun — 2024-04-08

Filamentous fungus has been used as a significant source of biotechnological applications. Neurospora crassa, a type of red bread mold, has been well recognized as a model system in fundamental scientific investigations. It can be effectively utilized as a valuable resource for molecular tools, and many mutations are available. Furthermore, N. crassa exhibits rapid growth and has no harmful properties. These characteristics indicate a significant, although unexplored, capacity of this fungus for use in biotechnological endeavors. The present investigation aimed to induce morphological changes in the N. crassa wild type by employing leaf extracts derived from Azadirachta indica A. Juss. To determine the mutagenic and growth-inhibitory effects of A. indica leaves, morphological mutants were identified and individually examined. Six morphological mutants such as albino (al), cauliflower (clf), conidial band (co.band), ropy light (ro.lig), dirty (dir), and ropy (ro) were obtained from the conidia of the wild-type N. crassa Ema (5297) strain, treated with A. indica A. Juss. leaf extracts. These mutants were compared to the wild-type, natural form of the organism in terms of their morphology, radial growth, and reproduction ability. Apparent variations were observed when a comparative study of Ema and the selected morphological mutants was undertaken. Linkage among the selected mutants in their specific linkage group was determined. Ropy, dirty, and albino were all linked to leu-3 (linkage group I), conidial-band and ropy light to trp-1 (linkage group III), and cauliflower to trp-4 (linkage group VII). Complementation was not observed in similar morphological N. crassa mutants.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 79-98, 2024 (January)

Psychometric evaluation of the Bengali brief pain inventory in a sample of Bangladeshi cancer patients

Md Ashiquir Rahaman — 2024-04-08

Pain is a common complain among oncology patients, and success of its management requires accurate assessment. However, the status of pain treatment in Bangladesh is largely undocumented. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Bengali version of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-Bengali) in a Bangladeshi sample of cancer patients. BPI-Bengali and the Questionnaire on Stress in Cancer Patients Revised (QSC-R 23) were administered to a convenience sample of 60 adult oncology patients receiving pain treatment. Cronbach alpha coefficients were 0.89 and 0.94 for the severity and interference items respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the test-retest stability were 0.65 (p<0.01) for the pain intensity scale and 0.88 (p<0.01) for the pain interference scale. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) yielded two components, indicating pain severity and interference clusters by explaining 75% of the variance. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated the model as moderate fit to the data (CFI=0.89, RMSEA=0.16). Convergent validity of the pain severity and interference was demonstrated by significant correlations with stress level (r=0.67, p<0.01), (r=0.66, p<0.01). The findings of this study support the psychometric properties of Bengali BPI among cancer population in terms of validity, reliability and factor structure.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 99-108, 2024 (January)

Isolation and characterization of Chromobacterium violaceum and antibacterial activities of its metabolite violacein

Shah Md Minhajul Abedin — 2024-04-08

Violacein is a naturally-occurring bacterial secondary metabolite which is known to demonstrate a wide range of biological properties including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral as well as anticancer and antitumor activities. Bacteria belonging to the genus Chromobacterium are the most studied microorganisms for violacein production. In this study, indigenous violacein-producing Chromobacterium violaceum was isolated from water and sediment samples of Bijaypur white clay hill lake, Netrokona, Bangladesh, and identified by biochemical and molecular characterization. After confirming the presence of the vioB gene in a polymerase chain reaction, crude violacein was purified from C. violaceum CV1 by ethanol extraction followed by filtration through 0.22 µm syringe filters. The partially-purified pigment exhibited significant antibacterial activity against three Gram-positive pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp, and Listeria monocytogenes, with the later demonstrating the highest sensitivity. The bactericidal activity was more pronounced when combined with an antibiotic, thereby producing a drug-metabolite synergistic antibacterial activity.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 109-119, 2024 (January)

Phylogenetic analysis among five medicinally significant Phyllanthus L. Species in Bangladesh based on taxonomic and molecular approach

Md Shahidur Rahman — 2024-04-08

A combination of taxonomical and molecular technique had done for authentic characterization of medicinally important five Phyllanthus species viz. P. acidus, P. emblica (small and large fruit form), P. niruri, P. reticulatus and P. urinaria. They were analyzed with several taxonomical parameters such as branching pattern, morphology of bark, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. A dichotomous bracketed key is created for easy identification of the species. RAPD analysis of five Phyllanthus species displayed that P. emblica and P. reticulatus were closely related whereas P. acidus and P. emblica were genetically distantly related. The genus Phyllanthus are diverse, as seen by the 71.68% polymorphism among the five studied species determined by RAPD analysis. The two forms (small and large fruit forms) of P. emblica showed similarity as well as dissimilarity in taxonomic and molecular features. Thus, a subtle revision is necessary in the taxonomical point of view to update their taxa.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 121-131, 2024 (January)

Assessing the relationship of prospective, retrospective, and everyday memory with cognitive failure among Bangladeshi adults

Fariea Bakul — 2024-04-08

Memory has a profound impact on every aspect of who we are. The present study explored the extent to which deficits in everyday memory (EM), prospective memory (PM), and retrospective memory (RM) serve as predictive indicators of cognitive failure (CF) in the context of the Bangladeshi population, as well as to identify differences for the variables across various age cohorts and genders. A total of 352 participants took part in the cross-sectional survey of PM, RM, EM, CF, and the demographic questionnaire package. The main goal of this study was accomplished by the findings, which showed a positive link between CF and EM, PM, and RM. Additionally, the results show that while deficiencies in RM have a somewhat smaller correlation with CF, lapses in EM and PM primarily serve as predictive indications of CF. The results of the current study reveal a recurrent pattern of memory recall and cognitive failure, where men are doing generally better than those of women. A noteworthy finding was the superior performance of middle-aged adults in comparison to their younger counterparts. Hence the majority of memory research is conducted on Western or European people, therefore the current study and its findings can serve as a strong starting point for determining the reasons, nature, and direction of the correlations between memory types and cognitive failures.

Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 33(1): 133-142, 2024 (January)