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Background: The most prevalent probiotic bacterium employed in the food industry is Lactobacillus because it can produce metabolites with antibacterial capabilities and exhibits hostility towards infections and microorganisms that cause spoilage. Aim: This study set out to identify naturally occurring Lactobacillus and plantaricin (pln EF) coding genes in raw cow milk and to assess the antibacterial potency of isolated Lactobacillus isolates. Methods: Following enrichment in De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth, single colonies were isolated, and pure colonies were obtained by streaking on MRS agar. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm the cultural positivity of all isolates. Additionally, the presence of plantaricin was verified by targeting the pln EF gene through PCR. Outcome: Out of the 166 raw milk specimens acquired from cows, 153 (91.17%; CI: 86.98–95.76) were identified as positive for Lactobacillus through both culture and biochemical screening. Subsequently, 121 (72.89%; CI: 65.46–79.49) of the isolates were affirmed to harbour Lactobacillus through PCR analysis. Within this subset, 6 isolates (4.96%; CI: 1.84–10.48) were found to possess the plnEF gene. When exposed to Lactobacillus isolates, Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella enterica displayed an average maximum zone of inhibition with a diameter measuring 24 mm. In contrast, Escherichia coli exhibited an average minimum zone of inhibition, featuring a diameter of 11 mm. Additionally, the Lactobacillus isolates demonstrated inhibitory zones against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, measuring 14, 22 and 19 mm, respectively. Clinical significance: Lactic acid bacteria, particularly Lactobacilli, are plentiful in cow milk and possess broad‐spectrum antibacterial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children's development is multifactorial. Although there have been several studies exploring the association of children's development with maternal, child, and environmental factors, we are unaware of any study that assessed those factors in children whose mothers were enrolled in a social safety net programme in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with disadvantaged children's cognitive, language, and motor development at age 6–16 months in deprived settings of urban Bangladesh and to identify relative importance of these factors of children's development. We also explored if there were any gender differences in child development. Methods: This cross‐sectional study was conducted in a deprived setting of urban Bangladesh. Bayley III was used for assessing children's cognitive, language, and motor development. Multivariable linear regression model was used to find the factors associated with children's development, and dominance analysis was used to explore the relative importance of the factors. Results: Out of the total 599 mother–child dyads, 303 (50.58%) were girls. The factors associated with children's development were length‐for‐age Z‐score (cognitive: B = 1.21 [95% CI = 0.31, 2.11], P = 0.008; language: 1.67 [0.79, 2.55] P < 0.001; motor: 2.15 [1.01, 3.29] P < 0.001) and home environment (cognitive: 0.58 [0.27, 0.89] P < 0.001; language: 0.59 [0.27, 0.92], P < 0.001; motor: 0.44 [0.09, 0.79] P = 0.013). Girls had higher cognitive (1.90 [0.17, 3.6], P = 0.031) and language (2.53 [0.55, 4.51], P = 0.013) development compared with boys. Families with a higher number of under five children within the households had lower language (−1.57 [−2.78, −0.36], P = 0.011) development. Violence against the mother and the families' food security status were not associated with the children's development. Children's length‐for‐age Z‐score (27%) and home stimulation environment (23%) were the most important factors of cognitive development. Conclusion: Children's nutritional status and home environment are important factors for disadvantaged children's development in deprived urban settings of Bangladesh. Both early child development‐focussed parenting and nutrition interventions should be considered when designing child development programmes in urban settings in low‐ and middle‐income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like most crops, sugarcane needs to be kept upright until it is harvested. The lodging of sugarcane has significant negative effects on the cane yield and sugar content of sugarcane. To keep sugarcane upright, earthing up is an essential in the cultural part of the operation. In Bangladesh, most of the sugarcane cultivation operations, including earthing-up, are generally performed in a traditional manual method which increases the production costs as well as reduces the income of sugarcane growers. Therefore, a cost-effective two-wheeled tractor (2WT)-mounted earthing-up machine was developed at the Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute (BSRI), Pabna, to reduce drudgery and the cost of sugarcane production. Field tests were conducted in an experimental sugarcane field at BSRI and technical and economic performances of the developed earthing-up machine were also carried out based on the field test. The average effective field capacity and field efficiency of the earthing-up machine were found to be 0.16 ha/h and 77.41%, respectively. The 2WT-driven earthing-up machine was not found to be economically viable when it was used only for earthing-up operations. However, when the 2WT was used as the main driver for other activities, including earthing-up operation, the earthing-up machine became economically beneficial with net cash flow (NCF), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit–cost ratio (BCR), and payback period (PP) of BDT 148,497/ha, BDT 23,184, 3%, 3.81:1, and approximately 1 year, respectively. On the contrary, considering the cost of only earthing-up tool without 2WT, it was found to be economically beneficial with NCF, NPV, IRR, BCR, and PP of BDT 16,428/ha, BDT 3053, 4.7%, 2.71:1, and approximately 2 years, respectively. In Bangladesh, 2WT is commonly used for versatile farming purposes. Therefore, the versatile use of 2WT as a prime mover for other machines, including the earthing-up machine, can make earthing-up machine economically viable and beneficial for sugarcane growers in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The studied area is the single largest fishery in Bangladesh. The present work was conducted at two points of the Padma River (Sureshwar and Tarabunia) from July 2019 to June 2021 to monitor the efficiency of the 5th Hilsa sanctuary. Proportion of spent rate, length frequency, larvae and Jatka abundance, CPUE of larvae, the length-weight relationship of Jatka, plankton composition, and physico-chemical parameters of water were assessed and found adequate in the Hilsa sanctuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 10.6% patients were CRE positive. Only 27% patients were prescribed at least 1 antibiotic to which infecting pathogen was susceptible. Burn and ICU admission and antibiotics exposures facilitate CRE acquisition. Escherichia coli ST167 was the dominant CRE clone. Background Given the high prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) across South Asian (SA) hospitals, we documented the epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infections at Dhaka Medical College Hospital between October 2016 and September 2017. Methods We enrolled patients and collected epidemiology and outcome data. All Enterobacterales were characterized phenotypically and by whole-genome sequencing. Risk assessment for the patients with CRE was performed compared with patients with carbapenem-susceptible Enterobacterales (CSE). Results 10.6% of all 1831 patients with a clinical specimen collected had CRE. In-hospital 30-day mortality was significantly higher with CRE [50/180 (27.8%)] than CSE [42/312 (13.5%)] (P =.001); however, for bloodstream infections, this was nonsignificant. Of 643 Enterobacterales isolated, 210 were CRE; bla NDM was present in 180 isolates, bla OXA-232 in 26, bla OXA-181 in 24, and bla KPC-2 in 5. Despite this, ceftriaxone was the most commonly prescribed empirical antibiotic and only 27% of patients were prescribed at least 1 antibiotic to which their infecting pathogen was susceptible. Significant risk factors for CRE isolation included burns unit and intensive care unit admission, and prior exposure to levofloxacin, amikacin, clindamycin, and meropenem. Escherichia coli ST167 was the dominant CRE clone. Clustering suggested clonal transmission of Klebsiella pneumoniae ST15 and the MDR hypervirulent clone, ST23. The major trajectories involved in horizontal gene transfer were IncFII and IncX3, IS 26 , and Tn 3. Conclusions This is the largest study from an SA public hospital combining outcome, microbiology, and genomics. The findings indicate the urgent implementation of targeted diagnostics, appropriate antibiotic use, and infection-control interventions in SA public institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal pollution in sediment from construction areas raises ecological and health concerns, yet source-based sediment pollution in Bangladesh remains understudied. Our investigation focused on fifteen locations in the Kohelia River and the coastal regions near the Matarbari projects (Matarbari Power Plant, Matarbari Deep Seaport), assessing metal concentrations' sources and impacts on ecology and human well-being. Sediment quality indices indicated high Cd and Cr contamination, with sites near Matarbari projects being the most polluted. The positive matrix factorization model identified three anthropogenic sources and mixed sources. Matarbari projects contributed significantly to As (67.9 %), Mn (50.25 %), Cd (48.35 %), and Cr (41.0 %), while ship-breaking yards contributed Fe (58.0 %), Zn (55.5 %), Pb (53.8 %), and Cu (36.1 %). Ecological indices showed different impacts on aquatic life from metal pollution, but cancer risk levels stayed below the threshold set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. These findings underscore the need for targeted measures to address metal pollution. [Display omitted] • Sediment quality indices were used to compare metal contents. • PMF model was applied for metal source apportionment. • Matarbari Projects and ship breaking yards were identified as potential sources of metals. • The pollution had serious negative impacts on ecosystem and human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invention of the plastics has largely been considered as a boon for the modern life due to their light weight, high strength, and versatile application while being cheaper than other alternative materials. However, with the low biodegradability, over consumption, and widespread mismanagement, plastics have now become ubiquitous in all the environmental compartments and are held responsible for causing enormous pollution to air, soil, and water bodies. Bangladesh is no different from this global scenario, though there has been a little effort to assess the amount of plastic waste and its consequence which is necessary to encounter this mounting threat effectively. Taking this into consideration, current study investigates the impacts of plastic pollution including its most threatening formmicroplastics on environment and human health in Bangladesh. The study is based on critical review of existing literatures from the global perspective. It has been found that a major percentage of the used plastic is mismanaged in Bangladesh, posing a great threat to the environment and human health. This article also put forward some recommendations to tackle this pervasive problem alongside the measures already taken by the government. Overall, this work is aimed at creating an urge among the researchers to study the plastic pollution in Bangladesh comprehensively and raising a concern among the appropriate authorities to develop policies and impose necessary actions against plastic pollution before it is too late. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Gene alterations are required for the development of gastric cancer, which are influenced by environmental and host factors. We conducted the present study to find the status of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and its association with altered genes P53, hMLH1, and HER2 in gastric cancer patients and to analyze their correlation with clinical, pathological, and environmental factors. Method: This was a cross-sectional study. For genetic (P53 and hMLH1) study of the gastrectomized tissue DNA extraction and optimization, we performed PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. HER2 was studied by immunochemical technique. The results were matched with tumor status, age and sex, smoking, and H. pylori antibody status of the patients to find their association. Results: The mean age of the patients was 52.91 (±13.94) years. Among the 45 patients selected for genetic tests, 12 aged 40 or more and 33 aged over 40. Among the genes, 33(73.3%) in P53 and 17(37.7%) in hMLH1 were mutated and 11(24.2%) in HER2 were found to be overexpressed. Chi square and regression analysis showed that they all had associations with H. pylori positivity (P < 0.05, odds ratio >1). hMLH1 was associated with the location of the tumor, smoking, sex, blood group, and age, and P53 was found to be affected by extra salt intake, sex, blood group, and age of the patients (P ≤ 0.05 ). Conclusion: Genetic mutation was found in nearly all the patients with gastric cancer, which was significantly associated with H. pylori infection. Mass eradication of this organism might play a role in reducing cancer incidence in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is an emerging shrimp (Penaeus monodon) disease caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP) since 2013 in Bangladesh. The aim of this work was to evaluate a PCR and RT-PCR techniques as rapid methods for detecting V. parahaemolyticus AHPND-positive P. monodon using genetic markers. Healthy and diseased shrimp (P. monodon) samples were collected from three monitoring stations. The samples were enriched in TCBS plates and DNA extraction from the cultured bacteria. DNA quantifications, PCR amplification, RT-PCR, and gene sequencing were done for the detection of V. parahaemolyticus AHPND-positive P. monodon. The sequence of PCR amplicons showed 100% identity and significant alignment with V. parahaemolyticus. The primers used provided high specificity for V. parahaemolyticus in PCR detection compared with another Vibrio species. In the PCR, amplification resulted positive amplicons, whereas, non-AHPND isolates showed no amplicons. Neighbor-joining methods indicated that all genes evolved from a common ancestor and clades have different traits with very low genetic distance and low variability. The pairwise alignment scores of atpA, tox, blaCARB, 16S rRNA, and pirA genes were 100.0, 98.90, 98.89, 95.53, and 41.42, respectively. The RT-qPCR exposed variable expression levels for all genes in the AHPND-positive strain. Homology analysis and distance matrix exhibited all genes to have the lowest similarity and most divergence, offering the highest specificity. In this study, the expression and variability of target genes confirmed the presence of V. parahaemolyticus in all sampling sites. The results suggested that PCR amplification, RT-qPCR, and gene sequencing can be used for the rapid detection of V. parahaemolyticus in AHPND-positive P. monodon that may lead to subsequent prevention and treatment research in the future for managing this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of serious pathogens in cystic fibrosis patients and causes life threatening infections in immunocompromised patients. Species within the Bcc are widely distributed within the environment, can survive the presence of disinfectants and antiseptics, and are inherently multidrug resistant (MDR). Methods: Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) patients with a B. cepacia positive blood culture between 20 October 2016 to 23rd September 2017 were considered as outbreak cases. Blood stream infections (BSIs) were detected using BacT/ALERT 3D at DMCH. B. cepacia was isolated on chromogenic UTI media followed by MALDI-TOF. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of clinically relevant antibiotics was determined by agar dilution. Whole genome sequencing was performed on an Illumina MiSeq platform. Patients' demographic and clinical data were collected. Patients' clinical history and genomic data of the outbreak strains were merged to investigate possible outbreaks. Ninety-one B. cepacia genomes were downloaded from 'Burkholderia Genome Database' and the genomic background of the global strains were compared with our outbreak strains. Results: Among 236 BSIs, 6.35% (15/236) were B. cepacia. Outbreak cases were confined to the burn critical care unit and, to a lesser extent, the paediatrics department. There was a continuum of overlapping cases at DMCH between 23 October 2016 to 30 August 2017. Core genome SNPs showed that the outbreak strains were confined to a single clade, corresponded to a common clone (ST1578). The strains were shown to be MDR and associated with a mortality of 31% excluding discharge against medical advice. MIC profiles of the strains suggested that antibiotics deployed as empirical therapy were invariably inappropriate. The genetic background of the outbreak strains was very similar; however, a few variations were found regarding the presence of virulence genes. Compared to global genomic dataset from the Burkholderia Genome Database, the Bangladeshi strains were genetically distinct. Conclusions: Environmental surveillance is required to investigate the aetiology and mode of transmission of the B. cepacia outbreak. Systematic management of nosocomial outbreaks, particularly in resource limited regions will mitigate transmission and improve patients' outcomes. Author summary: The Governmental health system in Bangladesh is free to the general public but given the huge burden (4–5 times hospital capacity), the Governmental hospitals are always overcrowded, and infection control is minimal. Antibiotics are used empirically to manage infections and invariably offered to all patients admitted. Outbreaks are a regular phenomenon in the public hospitals of Bangladesh which are rarely fully analysed. Herein, we report a B. cepacia outbreak from a burn unit for a protracted period where the patients were treated with inappropriate antibiotic therapies. B. cepacia is a Gram-negative bacterium, mostly a lung pathogen in cystic fibrosis patients but can also produce infections in immunosuppressed patients. The epidemiology and molecular data from the outbreak strains indicate the need for interventions and improved infection control programs to manage outbreaks in Bangladeshi hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic municipal solid waste (OMSW) - a potential energy source - is creating serious environmental hazards across Bangladesh, but it can be digested for biogas production to meet the ever-increasing energy demand of the country. The present study applied the dry anaerobic digestion (DAD) process for biogas production from OMSW with inoculum cow manure (CM) and anaerobic sludge (AS) in single and mixed modes. The performance of the DAD process was evaluated in batch digesters with a multilayer inoculum flow pattern maintained at the constant mesophilic condition of 37 °C. Firstly, CM and AS were studied individually, and later on, both of them were used together in different ratios (AS:CM = 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 2:1) to maximize the biogas yield from the DAD process. CM alone produced a total of 2.91 ml biogas/ g of biomass over 35 days of DAD while this yield was increased to 3.19 ml/g for mixed inoculum at the ratio of 1:3. These results imply that mixedmode inoculums would be a promising option in the DAD process for biogas production which will reduce both the energy scarcity and the burden of municipal solid waste (MSW) management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a clonal outbreak of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella variicola (sequence type [ST] 771) in a Bangladeshi neonatal unit from October 2016 to January 2017, associated with high mortality (54.5%). During the outbreak, K. variicola ST771 acquired an MDR plasmid harboring blaNDM-1, linked to high exposure to ceftriaxone and amikacin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a bibliometric analysis of nutrition literature of Bangladesh. A list of periodical articles on various aspects of nutrition research of Bangladesh published during 1972 - 2006 was compiled for analysis. A total of 636 articles by 998 authors were identified. The articles were published in 100 local and foreign journals. The five-yearly distribution of nutrition literature shows that there is a rapid growth of nutrition literature from 1987 onwards. Lotka's law is found to be applicable to nutrition literature of Bangladesh. Bradford-Zipf distribution also appears to be applicable to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The emergence of plasmid mediated mcr in bacteria has become global public health threat. Herein, we report a mcr-1 positive E. coli in normal human flora from a patient admitted in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Methodology: In total, 700 non-duplicate rectal swabs were collected from DMCH during 13th May to 12th June 2018. E. coli from rectal swabs were isolated on chromogenic UTI media containing vancomycin 10mg/l (Liofilchem, Italy) and confirmed by MALDI-TOF. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by agar dilution and interpreted according to EUCAST breakpoints. Genomic analysis of mcr positive E. coli (MCRPEC) was performed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using S1 nuclease DNA digests and blamcr-1 probing. Transferability of blamcr-1 were determined by conjugation assays. Results: We found one MCRPEC from 700 rectal swab screening which was isolated from the rectal swab culture of a 17-year boy who was admitted to the burns ICU, DMCH with 53% flame burn involving much of the trunk and face. Genome sequencing revealed that mcr-1 was present on an IncH12 plasmid of 257,243 bp and flanked by ISApaI1. The colistin resistance can be transferred to the recipient Klebsiella varricola with a frequency of 8.3 × 10-5. Transconjugants were more resistant to colistin than donor (MIC 32 µg/mL). Conclusions: This is the first human associated mcr in Bangladesh. These data indicate the need for a systematic "one health" surveillance in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]