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The present study was undertaken to evaluate how much water could be saved by using alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation. The experiments were carried out under the deficit irrigation conditions in a sandy loam with pH 6.57 during Rabi season. Potato of Rojagold variety was used. Randomized complete block in a split design was used in this experiment. M1: Alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation (AWDFI) and M2: Traditional furrow irrigation (TFI) were used. The plot size was 760 ft2 with 5ft×5ft per plot. Planting was done furrow to furrow center distance of 60cm. The depth of furrow was 10-15 cm, plant to plant spacing was 25cm. The effect of irrigation levels showed that the level I1 (100% field capacity) produced significantly higher crop growth rate compared to the lower level of irrigation I2 (80% FC) and I3 (60% FC). The yield results indicated that when less amount of irrigation water was applied, AWDFI (M1) had insignificantly reduced yield. AWDFI could maintain approximately similar grain yield compared to TFI with almost 50% reduction in irrigation water. However considering the overall performance alternate wetting and drying furrow irrigation was found effective water saving technologies than traditional furrow irrigation.

Received: June 2nd, 2022 ; Accepted: August 4th, 2022 ; Published: August 18th, 2022 ; Correspondence: aamamun@bsmrau.edu.bd The low temperature (LT) is detrimental to growth of rice seedling during boro season in Bangladesh. An experiment was conducted in growth chamber during June to October, 2021 using BRRI dhan29 as planting material. The aim of this experiment was to determine the effect of variable duration of LT on growth, physiological and biochemical traits of rice seedling and to determine the age of seedling that can tolerate cold effect. In this experiment 5, 10, 15 and 20 days old seedling (DOS) were exposed to 6 °C for 1, 2, 3 and 4 days. Seedlings were also grown under room temperature (25 °C, RT) which consider as control treatment. Seedlings were grown in plastic trays filled with mixture of soil and cowdung. The experiment was conducted following completely randomized design with 3 replications. Data on shoot length and weight, root length and weight, chlorophyll (Chl), carotenoids, malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline contain were determined after 5 days of temperature sock. The results revealed that the LT was injurious to younger rice seedling when they were exposed to LT for 1 to 2 days. The shoot and root length as well as their dry weight were reduced under low temperature. Further, the Chl and carotenoid content of younger rice seedlings degraded within 2 days of LT exposure. On the contrary, the proline and MDA content of rice seedlings increased to reduce the harmful effect of under LT. It could be concluded that the rice seedlings could tolerate the detrimental effect of LT when they attain at least 15 days.

Background: Typhoid and paratyphoid fever (enteric fever) is a common cause of non-specific febrile infection in adults and children presenting to health care facilities in low resource settings such as the South Asia. A 7-day course of a single oral antimicrobial such as ciprofloxacin, cefixime, or azithromycin is commonly used for its treatment. Increasing antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of these treatment choices. We hypothesize that combined treatment with azithromycin (active mainly intracellularly) and cefixime (active mainly extracellularly) will be a better option for the treatment of clinically suspected and culture-confirmed typhoid fever in South Asia.\ud \ud Methods: This is a phase IV, international multi-center, multi-country, comparative participant-and observer-blind, 1:1 randomised clinical trial. Patients with suspected uncomplicated typhoid fever will be randomized to one of the two interventions: Arm A: azithromycin 20mg/kg/day oral dose once daily (maximum 1gm/day) and cefixime 20mg/kg/day oral dose in two divided doses (maximum 400mg bd) for 7 days, Arm B: azithromycin 20mg/kg/day oral dose once daily (max 1gm/day) for 7 days AND cefixime-matched placebo for 7 days. We will recruit 1500 patients across sites in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. We will assess whether treatment outcomes are better with the combination after one week of treatment and at one- and three-months follow-up.\ud \ud Discussion: Combined treatment may limit the emergence of resistance if one of the components is active against resistant sub-populations not covered by the other antimicrobial activity. If the combined treatment is better than the single antimicrobial treatment, this will be an important result for patients across South Asia and other typhoid endemic areas.\ud \ud Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT04349826 (16/04/2020)

- Label: BACKGROUND NlmCategory: BACKGROUND content: "Sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia contributed 81% of 5\xC2\xB79 million under-5 deaths and 77% of 2\xC2\xB76 million stillbirths worldwide in 2015. Vital registration and verbal autopsy data are mainstays for the estimation of leading causes of death, but both are non-specific and focus on a single underlying cause. We aimed to provide granular data on the contributory causes of death in stillborn fetuses and in deceased neonates and children younger than 5 years, to inform child mortality prevention efforts." - Label: METHODS NlmCategory: METHODS content: "The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network was established at sites in seven countries (Baliakandi, Bangladesh; Harar and Kersa, Ethiopia; Siaya and Kisumu, Kenya; Bamako, Mali; Manhi\xC3\xA7a, Mozambique; Bombali, Sierra Leone; and Soweto, South Africa) to collect standardised, population-based, longitudinal data on under-5 mortality and stillbirths in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, to improve the accuracy of determining causes of death. Here, we analysed data obtained in the first 2 years after the implementation of CHAMPS at the first five operational sites, during which surveillance and post-mortem diagnostics, including minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), were used. Data were abstracted from all available clinical records of deceased children, and relevant maternal health records were also extracted for stillbirths and neonatal deaths, to incorporate reported pregnancy or delivery complications. Expert panels followed standardised procedures to characterise causal chains leading to death, including underlying, intermediate (comorbid or antecedent causes), and immediate causes of death for stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and child (age 1-59 months) deaths." - Label: FINDINGS NlmCategory: RESULTS content: Between Dec 10, 2016, and Dec 31, 2018, MITS procedures were implemented at five sites in Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Mali, and Bangladesh. We screened 2385 death notifications for inclusion eligibility, following which 1295 families were approached for consent; consent was provided for MITS by 963 (74%) of 1295 eligible cases approached. At least one cause of death was identified in 912 (98%) of 933 cases (180 stillbirths, 449 neonatal deaths, and 304 child deaths); two or more conditions were identified in the causal chain for 585 (63%) of 933 cases. The most common underlying causes of stillbirth were perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia (130 [72%] of 180 stillbirths) and congenital infection or sepsis (27 [15%]). The most common underlying causes of neonatal death were preterm birth complications (187 [42%] of 449 neonatal deaths), perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia (98 [22%]), and neonatal sepsis (50 [11%]). The most common underlying causes of child deaths were congenital birth defects (39 [13%] of 304 deaths), lower respiratory infection (37 [12%]), and HIV (35 [12%]). In 503 (54%) of 933 cases, at least one contributory pathogen was identified. Cytomegalovirus, Escherichia coli, group B Streptococcus, and other infections contributed to 30 (17%) of 180 stillbirths. Among neonatal deaths with underlying prematurity, 60% were precipitated by other infectious causes. Of the 275 child deaths with infectious causes, the most common contributory pathogens were Klebsiella pneumoniae (86 [31%]), Streptococcus pneumoniae (54 [20%]), HIV (40 [15%]), and cytomegalovirus (34 [12%]), and multiple infections were common. Lower respiratory tract infection contributed to 174 (57%) of 304 child deaths. - Label: INTERPRETATION NlmCategory: CONCLUSIONS content: Cause of death determination using MITS enabled detailed characterisation of contributing conditions. Global estimates of child mortality aetiologies, which are currently based on a single syndromic cause for each death, will be strengthened by findings from CHAMPS. This approach adds specificity and provides a more complete overview of the chain of events leading to death, highlighting multiple potential interventions to prevent under-5 mortality and stillbirths. - Label: FUNDING NlmCategory: BACKGROUND content: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Highlights • Japanese encephalitis (JE) is largely preventable through vaccination. • Several JE vaccines prequalified by World Health Organization are available. • Hospital-based surveillance were conducted in Bangladesh to describe JE epidemiology. • JE cases were identified each year, among all age groups, and from a widespread geographical area. • Routine childhood immunization program or mass vaccination need to be examined., Background Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is recognized as a major cause of encephalitis in Bangladesh. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends human immunization as the most effective means to control JE. Several WHO-prequalified vaccines are available to prevent JE but no vaccination program has been implemented in Bangladesh. Methods We conducted hospital-based surveillance for acute meningitis-encephalitis syndrome (AMES) to describe JE epidemiology and help inform policy decisions about possible immunization strategies for Bangladesh. Results During 2007–2016, a total of 6543 AMES patients were identified at four tertiary hospitals. Of the 6525 patients tested, 548 (8%) were classified as JE cases. These 548 patients resided in 36 (56%) out of 64 districts of Bangladesh, with the highest proportion of JE cases among AMES patients (12% and 7%) presenting at two hospitals in the northwestern part of the country. The median age of JE cases was 30 years, and 193 (35%) were aged ≤15 years. The majority of JE cases (80%) were identified from July through November. Conclusions Surveillance results suggest that JE continues to be an important cause of meningo-encephalitis in Bangladesh. Immunization strategies including JE vaccine introduction into the routine childhood immunization program or mass vaccination in certain age groups or geographic areas need to be examined, taking into consideration the cost-effectiveness ratio of the approach and potential for decreasing disease burden.

Background Understanding the true burden of emergent diseases is critical for assessing public-health impact. However, surveillance often relies on hospital systems that only capture a minority of cases. We use the example of Nipah-virus infection in Bangladesh, which has a high case-fatality ratio and frequent person-to-person transmission, to demonstrate how healthcare-seeking data can estimate true burden. Methods We fit logistic-regression models to data from a population-based, healthcare-seeking study of encephalitis cases to characterize the impact of distance and mortality on attending one of three surveillance hospital sites. The resulting estimates of detection probabilities, as a function of distance and outcome, are applied to all observed Nipah outbreaks between 2007 and 2014 to estimate the true burden. Results The probability of attending a surveillance hospital fell from 82% for people with fatal encephalitis living 10 km away from a surveillance hospital to 54% at 50 km away. The odds of attending a surveillance hospital are 3.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.6, 6.6) times greater for patients who eventually died (i.e. who were more severely ill) compared with those who survived. Using these probabilities, we estimated that 119 Nipah outbreaks (95% confidence interval: 103, 140)—an average of 15 outbreaks per Nipah season—occurred during 2007–14; 62 (52%) were detected. Conclusions Our findings suggest hospital-based surveillance missed nearly half of all Nipah outbreaks. This analytical method allowed us to estimate the underlying burden of disease, which is important for emerging diseases where healthcare access may be limited.