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Fish farming in homestead ponds help alleviate poverty, provide animal source food, micronutrients, and indirect income and various jobs in developing nations. This study investigated the impact of homestead pond fish farming on dietary diversity (HDDS and MDD-W), food security (HFIAS and ELCSA), income, and women's engagement. A total of 185 households were selected randomly for data collection through well-structured questionnaire interviews in the central coast of Bangladesh. HDDS revealed significant dietary diversity (73.3%) among beneficiary farmers, surpassing controls and nearly doubling that of non-aquaculture farmers (41.1%). Additionally, this study found that 86.7% and 74.3% of women in beneficiary and homestead pond farmers exhibited high dietary diversity (MDD-W ≥ 5), whereas 48.6% of women in non-aquaculture farmers' households had low dietary diversity (MDD-W ≥ 5). Based on both ELCSA and HFIAS, higher prevalence of food security was observed among the beneficiary farmers that was about 60% and 63.3%, respectively compared with the control farmers. Most non-aquaculture farmers (62.9%) indicated their family consumed fish for one week before the research. More than half of the homestead pond culture (55.7%) and more than 90% of the beneficiary farmers, aquaculture farmers and non-aquaculture farmers had gross income (

Background: Cancer patients are confronted with a variety of other health-related issues, including physical disability, poor quality of life, and psychological challenges. This study aims to quantify the association of dietary, behavioural and lifestyle risk factors and comorbidities on the magnitude and distribution of disability burden among cancer patients in Australia., Methods: This study comprised a sample of 2283 cancer patients drawn from the latest nationwide Australian National Health Survey conducted in 2017-18. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of the number of disabilities and its associations., Results: Forty-five percent of cancer patients experienced at least one disability. The magnitude of disability was significantly associated with sugar-sweetened drink consumption ≥ 3 days per week (IRR= 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02-1.26), a lack of physical activity (IRR = 1.69, 1.38-2.07), frequent or regular alcohol consumption (IRR = 1.95, 1.84-2.08), poor health status (IRR = 1.99, 1.78-2.24) and the presence of five or more chronic comorbid conditions (IRR = 3.59, 2.90-4.46). Cancer patients who consumed vegetables at least two or more times per day had a 10% lower risk of disability burden (IRR = 0.90, 0.82-0.99)., Conclusions: This study shows the association of diet, behavioural, and lifestyle risk factors on the degree of disability burden among cancer patients, highlighting the need for bold and effective policies. The findings will inform the implementation of evidence-based lifestyle interventions and offer a foundation for evaluating their influence on cancer survivors' health., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Traditional vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors can manage angiogenesis; however, severe toxicity and resistance limit their long-term applications in clinical therapy. Shikonin (SHK) and its derivatives could be promising to inhibit the VEGFR-2 mediated angiogenesis, as they are reported to bind in the catalytic kinase domain with low affinity. However, the detailed molecular insights and binding dynamics of these natural inhibitors are unknown, which is crucial for potential SHK based lead design. Therefore, the present study employed molecular modeling and simulations techniques to get insight into the binding behaviors of SHK and its two derivates, β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin (β-HIVS) and acetylshikonin (ACS). Here the intermolecular interactions between protein and ligands were studied by induced fit docking approach, which were further evaluated by treating QM/MM (quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The result showed that the naphthazarin ring of the SHK derivates is vital for strong binding to the catalytic domain; however, the binding stability can be modulated by the side chain modification. Because of having electrostatic potential, this ring makes essential interactions with the DFG (Asp1046 and Phe1047) motif and also allows interacting with the allosteric binding site. Taken together, the studies will advance our knowledge and scope for the development of new selective VEGFR-2 inhibitors based on SHK and its analogs., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Global emergence and dissemination of carbapenemases are clinically threatening, notably in countries with endemic bla NDM . To analyze the extent of carbapenemases in Bangladesh, 71 isolates were collected from 7 different clinical sources: wound swab (n = 38), pus (n = 13), urine (n = 9), blood (n = 4), tracheal aspirate (n = 3), pleural fluid (n = 1) and vaginal swab (n = 3) from Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh. Among the isolates, 25 were resistant to at least one of the three carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem and doripenem), including 15 being resistant to all. These resistant isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, P. hibiscicola, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii and Citrobacter sedlakii. Carbapenemase detection among these 25 isolates varied in individual phenotypic assays (83% in Modified Hodge Test, 50% in Combined Disk Test for Metallo-β-lactamase prediction) as compared with the genotypes observed (96% prevalence of various carbapenemases including bla OXA-1,48 , bla NDM-1,5 , bla VIM-2,5 ). bla OXA-48 was the most prevalent gene (84%) followed by bla NDM (72%). Coexistence of multiple gene combination such as bla NDM +bla OXA-48 +bla OXA-1 was prevalent (48%). Harborage of bla VIM-5 (n = 1) was characterized for the first time, while bla NDM-5 (n = 5) was reported contemporarily with a recent study in Bangladesh. Presence of plasmids (64%) and integron class 1 (100%) signifies the transferable potential of resistant traits. The emergence of such new variants along with the presence of the mobile genetic elements demands strict surveillance and combating strategies., (Copyright © 2019 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To identify the factors associated with adolescent maternal healthcare utilization in Bangladesh., Study Design: A secondary analysis was undertaken using the latest data set from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (2014). Data were collected from the cross-sectional survey carried out from June to mid November 2014. In total, 17,863 ever-married women aged 15-49 years were interviewed. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, 2029 of these women were adolescents and therefore eligible for inclusion in this study., Methods: Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the factors influencing adolescent pregnancy, use of contraception, use of antenatal care services, facility-based delivery and presence of a skilled birth attendant at the last birth. The results are presented in terms of adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), at a significance level of 5%., Results: Maternal age, education, knowledge of menstrual regulations i.e. any procedure which disrupts the intra uterine environment, awareness of community clinic, household size, socio-economic status and administrative division were found to have a significant effect on adolescent pregnancy in Bangladesh. Sexual knowledge has a significant positive role in the use of modern contraceptives. Adolescents of low socio-economic status are significantly more likely to deliver at home compared with adolescents in the richest quintile (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.15-0.47; P < 0.001). The likelihood of delivering at a health facility was higher among adolescents who had knowledge about sexually transmitted infections (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.28-2.65; P < 0.001) and menstrual regulations (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.91; P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Adolescent maternal healthcare utilization was associated with a number of factors including low socio-economic status, limited reproductive knowledge (e.g. menstrual regulations, sexually transmitted infections) and geographical region. The study findings will serve to inform policy and would be beneficial for introducing need-based adolescent maternal health programmes by targeting a range of maternal health services and opportunities that contribute to better health and development for adolescent mothers in Bangladesh., (Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The microbial community on a host relies on its immune status and pathophysiological condition. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder associated with a 25% increased risk of developing foot infection. The pathophysiological differences between diabetic foot infection (DFI) and non-DFI patients may alter the microbial composition in infections. The present study aims to comparatively analyze the microbes colonized in DFI and non-DFI patients in Bangladesh. Pus specimens were collected from 67 DFI and 12 non-DFI patients to investigate the bacteria associated with foot infection. For this investigation, an array of microbiological, molecular biological and immunological approaches were performed. Common bacteria detected in both DFI/non-DFI samples were Pseudomonas spp. (22/29%), Bacillus spp. (12/3%), Enterobacter spp. (22/7%), Staphylococcus spp. (13/13%) and Acinetobacter spp. (10/10%). Enterococcus spp. (9%) and Klebsiella spp. (8%) occurred only in DFI patients, whereas Citrobacter spp. (29%) was only detected in non-DFI samples. The rate of occurrence of three organisms, namely, Enterococcus spp. |Z|=2.2125, Klebsiella spp. |Z|=1.732, Bacillus spp. |Z|=1.9034, were also statistically significant. Most of the isolates from DFI patients were commonly resistant to the cephalosporin (Ceftazidime, Ceftriazone, Cefurozime) and monobactam (Aztreonam) groups of antibiotics. DFI patients had comparatively higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels than non-DFI patients, and a positive correlation was observed between multi-antibiotic resistance and CRP levels (one of the markers of chronic subclinical inflammation). The present investigation implicated a complex association of the bacterial population in DFI compared with non-DFI with different antimicrobial resistance properties, which was linked with CRP levels., (Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has been reported to induce podocyte injury through down regulation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and activation of renin angiotensin system; however, the involved mechanism is not clear. Since HIV has been reported to modulate gene expression via epigenetic phenomena, we asked whether epigenetic factors contribute to down regulation of VDR. Kidney cells in HIV transgenic mice and HIV-infected podocytes (HIV/HPs) displayed enhanced expression of SNAIL, a repressor of VDR. To elucidate the mechanism, we studied the effect of HIV on expression of molecules involved in SNAIL repressor complex formation and demonstrated that HIV enhances expression of the histone deacetylase HDAC1 and DNA methyl transferases DNMT3b and DNMT1. 293T cells, when stably transfected with SNAIL (SNAIL/293T), displayed suppressed transcription and translation of VDR. In SNAIL/293T cells, co-immunoprecipitation studies revealed the association of HDAC1, DNMT3b, DNMT1, and mSin3A with SNAIL. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed the presence of the SNAIL repressor complex at the VDR promoter. Consistent with the enhanced DNA methyl transferase expression in HIV/HPs, there was an increased CpG methylation at the VDR promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay confirmed occurrence of H3K4 trimethylation on SNAIL promoter. Neither a VDR agonist (VDA) nor an HDAC inhibitor (HDACI) nor a demethylating agent (DAC) individually could optimally up regulate VDR in HIV milieu. However, VDA and HDACI when combined were successful in de-repressing VDR expression. Our findings demonstrate that SNAIL recruits multiple chromatin enzymes to form a repressor complex in HIV milieu that down regulates VDR expression., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose:Runs of homozygosity (ROHs) represent a measure of the extent of autozygosity and are correlated with the extent of inbreeding. Recently, it has been suggested that ROHs may contribute to the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The high rate of consanguinity and CRC in the Saudi population prompted us to test the role of autozygosity in the CRC risk.Methods:We compared 48 Saudi CRC patients to 100 ethnically matched controls, processed on the Affymetrix 250K StyI SNP GeneChip platform and analyzed using the plink package.Results:We could find no evidence of a significant relationship between autozygosity and CRC risk.Conclusion:The negative results in our study add additional significance to what has been previously reported in literature, as this is the first study to address these questions in an inbred population. Our subgroup analysis of patients with microsatellite unstable-positive tumors as compared with other groups did not significantly change our results. Although these results do not rule out the presence of recessively acting CRC-predisposing genes in a small percentage of patients, which our relatively small sample size could not capture, they suggest that such genes are unlikely to account for the disturbingly high incidence of CRC in our consanguineous population.Genet Med advance online publication 5 April 2012.

Substantial evidence implicates the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C) gene, in several human cancers, including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). We therefore investigated the prognostic value of UBE2C alterations in CRC and UBE2C signaling in CRC cell lines. UBE2C protein expression and UBE2C gene copy number were evaluated on clinical samples by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization in a TMA format. The effect of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and small-interfering RNA knockdown was assessed by apoptotic assays and immunoblotting. UBE2C dysregulation was associated with proliferative marker Ki-67, accumulation of cyclin A and B1, and a poor overall survival. UBE2C expression was an independent prognostic marker in early-stage (I and II) CRC. UBE2C depletion resulted in suppression of cellular growth and accumulation of cyclin A and B1. In vitro, bortezomib treatment of CRC cells caused inhibition of cell viability via down-regulation of UBE2C. UBE2C knockdown by bortezomib or transfection with specific small-interfering RNA against UBE2C also caused cells to be arrested at the G2/M level, leading to accumulation of cyclin A and cyclin B1. In vivo, a significant reduction in tumor volume and weight was noted in mice treated with a combination of subtoxic doses of oxaliplatin and bortezomib compared with treatment with oxaliplatin or bortezomib alone. Altogether, our results suggest that UBE2C and the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway may be potential targets for therapeutic intervention in CRC., (Copyright © 2011 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Estimated at 3.6 million, Afghans are the largest population of refugees in the world. Information on the magnitude, causes, and preventable factors of maternal deaths among Afghan refugees may yield valuable information for prevention., Methods: Deaths were recorded between Jan 20, 1999, and Aug 31, 2000, during a census carried out in 12 Afghan refugee settlements in Pakistan. Deaths among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were further investigated by verbal autopsy interviews to determine their cause, risk factors, and preventability, and to ascertain the barriers faced to obtaining health care., Findings: The census identified 134406 Afghan refugees and 1197 deaths; a crude mortality rate of 5.5 (95% CI 5.2-5.8) per thousand population. Among the 66 deaths among women of reproductive age, deaths due to maternal causes (n=27) exceeded any other cause (41% [95% CI 29-53]). 16 liveborn and nine stillborn infants were born to women who died of maternal causes; six of the liveborn infants died after birth. Therefore, 60% (15 of 24) of infants born to these women were either born dead or died after birth. Compared with women who died of non-maternal causes, women who died of maternal causes had a greater number of barriers to health care (p=0.001), and their deaths were more likely to be preventable (p<0.05)., Interpretation: Maternal deaths account for a substantial burden of mortality among Afghan refugee women of reproductive age in Pakistan. The high prevalence of barriers to health care access indicates opportunities for reducing maternal deaths in refugee women and their children.

Naltrindole-5'-isothiocyanate (5'-NTII), a nonequilibrium delta opioid receptor antagonist, has been shown to antagonize differentially the antinociception induced by DSLET without affecting that induced by DPDPE. In the present study, we investigated whether or not 5'-NTII can differentially affect DSLET and DPDPE binding to receptor sites in striatal slices of mouse brain. We found that 5'-NTII only changed the binding characteristics of [3H]DSLET and not that of [3H]DPDPE. Saturation binding studies revealed that 5'-NTII treatment in vitro inhibited [3H]DSLET binding by decreasing the affinity but not the number of binding sites. This finding was supported by saturation studies with [3H]DSLET in striatal slices from mice that were pretreated with 5'-NTII (10 nmol, i.c.v. or 10 mg/kg, s.c.). Thus, the results suggest that 5'-NTII can antagonize differentially the binding to striatal slices of mice of [3H]DSLET but not that of [3H]DPDPE. The binding parameters also suggest that 5'-NTII may not antagonize [3H]DSLET binding by alkylating at the receptor recognition site because the number of binding sites did not decrease. 5'-NTII may bind to some other part of the membrane to indirectly desensitize the receptor to a low affinity form. Lastly, the differential alteration of binding sites between [3H]DSLET and [3H]DPDPE by 5'-NTII strongly support the postulated existence of delta opioid receptor subtypes.

The pharmacological profile of naltrindole (NTI) and three of its analogues, N-methyl-NTI (N-Me-NTI), oxymorphindole (OMI) and naltriben (NTB) were studied in antinociceptive assays. The compounds were found to have agonist activities that appear to be mediated mainly by kappa opioid receptors because norbinaltorphimine (nor-BNI), the selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist inhibited their effects significantly. All of the compounds, behaved as antagonists at doses that were lower than those that produced agonist effects and they possessed a profile that was very selective for inhibiting the antinociceptive activities of delta opioid receptor agonists. Differential antagonism by NTB of the activities of DSLET and DPDPE was demonstrated.