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Introduction: Diarrhea is a loose-waterly stool and is the second leading cause of death among children under five years. Oral rehydration solution and Zinc supplementation are cost-effective, easy to get, and are used to prevent dehydration among acute watery diarrhea (AWD) patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Using ORS and Zinc among Mothers of Acute Watery Diarrhea Patients in the Paediatric Outpatients Department of 250 Bed General Hospital, Jamalpur. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Paediatric Outpatients Department of 250 Bed General Hospital, Jamalpur from 01-01-2021 to 30-06- 2021 on 188 mothers (N=188) who brought their babies suffering from AWD. Questions were based on knowledge about diarrhea, ORS use, and Zinc supplementation. The data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0 and the level of statistical significance was set at p

The textile sector of Bangladesh has positively contributed to a significant impact on its national economy and employment opportunities due to its rapid growth. The increasing number of wet processing units has led to a growing amount of wastewater volume as well as textile sludge (a byproduct of wastewater or effluent treatment plants). In 2015, the government of Bangladesh instituted the “Bangladesh Standards and Guidelines for Sludge Management”. Therefore, this case study aimed to assess these standards’ impact on the textile industry’s sludge management practices, informing academic scholars of the research opportunities available, and serving as a policymaking tool for various other South Asia and Southeast Asia economies. The sludge management situation of thirty-six industries (namely, twelve dyeing, twelve printing, and twelve washing) was herein assessed through a self-administered questionnaire survey of respondents from the respective ‘Top Management’ and ‘Environmental Chemical Responsible’ (ECR) departments. Among the findings, the assessment revealed that neither treatment procedures nor reuse and recycling activities are present for sludge management in any of the studied industries. The responsible personnel from the textile industries have not undergone any level of technical training, and 41.7% of the printing industries still dump sludge in the open environment. The majority (83%) of stakeholders are unaware of the dangers and potential effects of improper sludge treatment. The key factors—responsibility, knowledge, behavior, and consideration—analyzed in this study, together with the study’s recommendations, will be a vital step forward in formulating policy advocacy for hazardous sludge management within the textile sector of Bangladesh. Published version

Purpose: The intervertebral disc is a leading avascular organ in the body that may gather nutrition through diffusion. It maintains homeostasis by the use of autophagy and apoptosis to survive in unfavorable conditions such as stress and mechanical force. Therefore, excessive force and stress beyond normal conditions may cause intervertebral disc degeneration. The purpose of this study was to examine which is the better method, either external fixator (EF) or saline injection (SI), for inducing autophagy and apoptosis-mediated nucleus pulposus (NP) cell death in the discs of rat tail’s. Methods: Sixteen, nine-weeks-old male Sprague–Dawley rat tails were treated with 0.9% saline and EF (two-cross Kirschner wires) for a period ofsix and twelve weeks. Treated discs were dissected to identify the participation of autophagy and apoptosis in intervertebral disc degeneration. For identification purposes, H&E staining, Masson’s trichrome staining, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for LC3, beclin-1, and P62 in addition to MMP-2, MMP-3, and TIMP-1 were performed. Furthermore, we performed real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to observe autophagy-related gene expression (beclin-1, LC3, and P62) and apoptosis-related gene expression (MMP-2, MMP-3, and TIMP-1). Results: TheEF group showed more insidious NP cell degeneration than the control (Ctrl) group. Degeneration was elevated with increasing compression duration of EF group, whereas the SI group could not distinguish the margin of annulus fibrosus (AF) and NP cells. LC3, beclin-1, and P62 showed the highest and lateral expression whilst MMP-2, MMP-3, and TIMP-1 showed up-regulated and central expression in both groups, although the SI group could not recognize the boundary between NP and AF cells. The EF group showed the highest autophagy-related gene expression whereas the SI group showed lower expression. In addition, the EF group showed more autophagy-accumulating materials than the SI group which elevated with increasing compression duration. Furthermore, the SI group induced the highest apoptotic gene expression, but the EF group showed the lowest expression. Conclusion: The EF method was better for studying autophagy and apoptosis because it enhanced intervertebral disc degeneration after compression, which is actively linked to autophagy and apoptosis. The degeneration process was elevated by increasing the compression duration, but SI could not distinguish AF and NP cell margins.

This paper examined the impact on employment of a credit plus program designed for ultra-poor households in the Northwest region of Bangladesh. Both descriptive and econometric techniques were used, and four regression models were estimated for each of the dependent variables with linear and log-lin specifications: one is a simple model considering only time effect and program effect, and the others were the extended models which included various characteristics of the households and the regions. The descriptive analysis showed that most of the beneficiary households had shifted from single earning members to multiple earning members. Women had started to contribute to household earnings. The results showed that the participant ultra-poor households had gained around 21.1% additional employment days due to the program participation opportunities within 2008-2013, with an annual rate of 4.2% gain. The extra earning days included wage-employment days and self-employment days and the results showed that due to the program, the wage-employment days had increased by 2.6% annually and the self-employment days increased by 6.6% annually holding the effects of other explanatory variables constant. The working days of non-participants had increased but at a lower rate than that of the program participant households. The results confirmed that the credit program for ultra-poor households had a significantly positive effect on the creation of employment days and employment opportunities.

Purpose: Intervertebral disc is a leading avascular organ in the body. Hence, it may utilize autophagy and apoptosis to alive in unfavorable condition like stress and mechanical force. But excessive force and stress is a key cause to intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Purpose of this study is to identify, external fixator (EF) and saline injection (SI) may induce autopahgy and apoptosis mediated nucleus pulposus (NP) cells death in rat tail’s disc and which method is better for studying autophagy and apoptosis. Methods: Sixteen 9-week-old male Sprague–Dawley rat tails were treated with 0.9% saline and EF (two-cross kirschner wires) for 6 weeks and 12 weeks as well. Treated discs were dissected for checking out participation of autopahgy and apoptosis to intervertebral disc degradation (IVDD). For identifying them, we performed H&E staining, Masson’s trichrome staining, and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for LC3, Beclin-1and P62 as well as MMP-2, MMP-3 and TIMP-1.Furthermore, we performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)to check out autophagy related gene expression (beclin-1, LC3 and P62) and apoptosis related gene expression (MMP-2, MMP-3 and TIMP-1) respectively. Results: More insidious nucleus pulposus (NP) cell degeneration was indentified in (EF) group than in (Ctrl) control group. And rate of degradation was elevated with increasing duration of compression, but SI group cannot distinguish the margin of AF and NP cells. Highest along with lateral expression was found for LC3, Beclin-1, and P62 of both groups. Up-regulated and central expression was observed for MMP-2, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 of both groups, although SI group cannot recognize the margin between NP and AF cells. Utmost autophagy related gene expression was identified in EF group than in SI group. Besides, maximum autophagy accumulating materials was found in EF group than in SI group. And it was amplified along with increasing the duration of compression. Highest, apoptotic gene expression was observed in SI group, whereas, EF group showed lowest expression. Conclusion: External fixator (EF) method was better to study autophagy and apoptosis because it enhanced IVDD after compression which is actively linked with autophagy and apoptosis. Degeneration process was conversely proportional along with duration of compression. On contrary, saline injection (SI) could not distinguish AF and NP cell border.

To minimize the side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs and enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment, it is necessary to find a suitable drug delivery carrier for anticancer drugs. Recently nanomaterials are extensively being studied as drug vehicles and transport drugs in tumor cells. Using DFT calculations, the adsorption behavior with electronic sensitivity and reactivity of pristine and doped (Al, Ga and In)-BNNS towards the nitrosourea (NU) drug has been investigated in gas as well as water media. Our calculations showed that the NU drug is physically adsorbed on the pristine BNNS with −0.49 and −0.26 eV by transferring little amount of charge of about 0.033e and 0.046e in gas and water media in the most stable complex. But after replacing one of the central B atoms with an Al or Ga or In atom, the sensitivity of the doped BNNS remarkably enhances towards the NU drug molecules. The NU drug prefers to be chemically adsorbed on the BN(Al)NS, BN(Ga)NS and BN(In)NS by −1.28, −1.58 and −3.06 eV in the gas phase and −1.34, −1.23 and −3.65 eV in water media in the most stable complexes respectively. The large destabilization of LUMO energies after the adsorption of the NU drug on the BN(Al)NS, BN(Ga)NS and BN(In)NS significantly reduces their Eg from 4.37 to 0.69, 4.37 to 1.04 and 4.33 to 0.66 eV in the S1 complex respectively. The reduction of Eg of doped BNNS by the NU drug greatly enhances the electrical conductivity which can be converted to an electrical signal. Therefore, this doped BNNS can be used as a fascinating electronic sensor for the detection of NU drug molecules. Furthermore the work function of the doped BNNS was largely affected by the NU drug adsorption about 47.3%, 39.3% and 40.4% in the gas phase and 41.3%, 36.6% and 31.6% in water media in the S1 complex of NU/BN(Al)NS, NU/BN(Ga)NS and NU/BN(In)NS respectively. Thus, the doped BNNS may be used as a Ф type sensor for NU drug molecules.

An anthropogenically less affected transboundary river (Punarbhaba, Bangladesh) was studied to detect associated risks from the combined origin(s) of geochemically and toxicologically significant elements in benthic sediments. A total of 30 river bed sediments were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis targeting the 15 chemical elements viz., Na, Al, K, Ti, Cr, Mn, Co, Zn, As, Rb, Sb, Cs, Ba, Th, and U. Among the estimated elements, the mean abundances (μg/g) of Rb (136), Sb (0.66), Cs (6.66), Th (14.6), and U (3.92) were 1.4-1.7 times higher than the crustal origin. These elements are primarily responsible for the contaminated state of the Punarbhaba River. The studied area is 'moderately polluted' (I

The goal of this study was to identify the genomic variants and determine molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 virus during the early pandemic stage in Bangladesh. Viral RNA was extracted, converted to cDNA, and amplified using Ion AmpliSeq™ SARS-CoV-2 Research Panel. 413 unique mutants from 151 viral isolates were identified. 80% of cases belongs to 8 mutants: 241C toT, 1163A toT, 3037C toT, 14408C toT, 23403A toG, 28881G toA, 28,882 G toA, and 28883G toC. Observed dominance of GR clade variants that have strong presence in Europe, suggesting European channel a possible entry route. Among 37 genomic mutants significantly associated with clinical symptoms, 3916CtoT (associated with sore-throat), 14408C to T (associated with cough-protection), 28881G to A, 28882G to A, and 28883G to C (associated with chest pain) were notable. These findings may inform future research platforms for disease management and epidemiological study.

Water containing heavy metal such as lead (Pb(II)) should be removed for supplying the pure water before discharge to water bodies. In this study, the Pb(II) monitoring and removal were evaluated by the ligand anchoring onto the mesoporous silica based conjugate materials. The material characterization was evaluated to understand the nature of the prepared hybrid type material affinity to the Pb(II) ion. The conjugate material was exhibited highly ordered structure and able to open high functionality for Pb(II) capturing. The material was enhanced the color upon addition of different concentrations of Pb(II) for defining the sensitivity based on the complexation mechanism by charge transfer elucidations. The effective pH range was 5.20 for significant color formation and the high removal efficiency of Pb(II). The low limit detection was measured and this value of 0.27 μg/L was remarkable for ultra-trace Pb(II) monitoring in the on-site sample. The physico-chemical behavior was assayed according to the experimental parameter of optimum pH conditions, contact time, ion selectivity, isothermal equilibrium and regeneration ability. The adsorption isotherm data were well fitted to the Langmuir model as expected from the structural homogeneity of the conjugate material, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 179.82 mg/g, which was compared to the other forms of adsorbent material. The effect of foreign ion was evaluated, and the data revealed that this conjugate material was highly selective to Pb(II) ion at pH 5.20. The Pb(II) adsorbed material was regenerated with 0.10 M HCl and then reused after washing with water in several cycles without deterioration in its case cavities. The appropriate procedure was effectively captured the P(II) with a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner for production of clean water to safe-guard the public health.

In our DFT investigations, pristine BNNS as well as trivalent and pentavalent atoms doped BNNS have been taken into consideration for Favipiravir (FPV) drug carriers for the treatment of COVID-19. Among the nanosheets, In doped BNNS (BN(In)NS) interacts with FPV by favorable adsorption energies about -2.44 and -2.38 eV in gas and water media respectively. The charge transfer analysis also predicted that a significant amount of charge about 0.202e and 0.27e are transferred to BN(In)NS in gas and water media respectively. HOMO and LUMO energies are greatly affected by the adsorption of FPV on BN(In)NS and energy gap drastically reduced by about 38.80 % and 64.07 % in gas and water media respectively. Similar results are found from the global indices and work function analysis. Therefore, it is clearly seen that dopant In atom greatly modified the BNNS and enhanced the adsorption behavior along with sensitivity, reactivity, polarity towards the FPV.

RationaleThe global public health is in serious crisis due to emergence of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Studies are ongoing to reveal the genomic variants of the virus circulating in various parts of the world. However, data generated from low- and middle-income countries are scarce due to resource limitation. This study was focused to perform whole genome sequencing of 151 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from COVID-19 positive Bangladeshi patients. The goal of this study was to identify the genomic variants among the SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates in Bangladesh, to determine the molecular epidemiology and to develop a relationship between host clinical trait with the virus genomic variants.MethodSuspected patients were tested for COVID-19 using one step commercial qPCR kit for SARS-CoV-2 Virus. Viral RNA was extracted from positive patients, converted to cDNA which was amplified using Ion AmpliSeq™ SARS-CoV-2 Research Panel. Massive parallel sequencing was carried out using Ion AmpliSeq™ Library Kit Plus. Assembly of raw data is done by aligning the reads to a pre-defined reference genome (NC_045512.2) while retaining the unique variations of the input raw data by creating a consensus genome. A random forest-based association analysis was carried out to correlate the viral genomic variants with the clinical traits present in the host.ResultAmong the 151 viral isolates, we observed the 413 unique variants. Among these 8 variants occurred in more than 80 % of cases which include 241C to T, 1163A to T, 3037C to T,14408C to T, 23403A to G, 28881G to A, 28882 G to A, and finally the 28883G to C. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a predominance of variants belonging to GR clade, which have a strong geographical presence in Europe, indicating possible introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into Bangladesh through a European channel. However, other possibilities like a route of entry from China cannot be ruled out as viral isolate belonging to L clade with a close relationship to Wuhan reference genome was also detected. We observed a total of 37 genomic variants to be strongly associated with clinical symptoms such as fever, sore throat, overall symptomatic status, etc. (Fisher’s Exact Test p-valueConclusionTo our knowledge, this study is the first large scale phylogenomic studies of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating in Bangladesh. The observed epidemiological and genomic features may inform future research platform for disease management, vaccine development and epidemiological study.

The rapid growth of industrial and agricultural activities in Malaysia are leading to the impairment of most of the rivers in recent years through realising various trace metals. This leads to toxicity, particularly when the toxic has entered the food chain. Perak River is one of the most dynamic rivers for the Malaysian population. Therefore, in consideration of the safety issue, this study was conducted to assess the concentration of such metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Pb) in the muscles of most widely consumed fish species (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, Puntius bulum, Puntius daruphani, Hexanematichthys sagor, Channa striatus, Mystacoleucus marginatus, and Devario regina) from different locations of Perak River, Malaysia by employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Among the trace metals, Fe and Cd were found to be the highest (29.33-148.01 μg/g) and lowest (0.16-0.49 μg/g) concentration in all of the studied species, respectively. Although the estimated daily intakes (μg/kg/day) of Cd (0.65-0.85), Fe (79.27-352.00) and Pb (0.95-12.17) were higher than their reference, the total target hazard quotients values suggested that the local residents would not experience any adverse health effects from its consumption. In contrast, the target cancer risk value suggested that all fish species posed a potential cancer risk due to Cd and cumulative cancer risk values, strongly implying that continuous consumption of studied fish species would cause cancer development to its consumers.

The recovery of waste as feedstock away from organizational limitations corresponds to a prospective supplementary revenue stream for the organization. A novel waste eggshell of Gallus domesticus derived superbasic nanocatalyst was synthesized through betaine amphoteric surfactant-assisted decomposition, adsorption and precipitation processes. By varied the duration synthesis of gel mixture, the morphology transformation from liquid-solid interconnected macro-size particles to regular spheroidal nanoassemblies particles is detected. The surfactant at the liquid-solid interface facilitates the mono dispersion of nanoparticles by hindering growth of crystals. The average particle diameter of the produced superbasic nanocatalyst was in the range of 27–16 nm. The synthesized nanoparticle formation mechanism in the presence surfactant has also been addressed in this study. The catalytic activity of superbasic nanocatalyst was investigated for biodiesel production from crude Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) via glycerolysis and transesterification with methanol at atmospheric pressure. Artificial neural network (ANN) based on the genetic algorithm (GA) was applied for optimization of varied reaction parameters. It was observed that the reduction of acidity varied with varying reaction conditions. The highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield (97%) was obtained when the reaction was allowed to run at 60 °C for 300 min, while at 90 °C the maximal FAME yield of 98% was achieved after 120 min. The kinetic parameters of nanocatalyst were determined, and the reaction system followed pseudo first order kinetics. The results suggest that this two steps process using superbasic nanocatalyst affords a promising method to convert oils with high FFA level to biodiesel.

Simultaneous detection and removal of heavy metals with high sensitivity and adsorption capacity of a suitable material is an ultimate goal in industry for the purification of contaminated water samples. This study was investigated the use of functional ligand immobilized mesoporous silica based nano-conjugate materials for efficient detection and removal of cobalt (Co(II)) ions from wastewaters with optical color optimization. The mesoporous silica, newly prepared organic ligand and the nano-conjugate materials were characterized systematically. The effect of pH on the sensitivity and selectivity of the formed complexes was studied after adding the Co(II) ions in specific condition. Under optimum conditions, the nano-conjugate materials was formed visible color after capturing of the Co(II) ions. The data of calibration graphs were linear in the low concentration level of Co(II) ions with the detection limit of 0.33 µg/L. The performance of the solid-phase adsorption was enriched the Co(II) ions efficiently into the materials surface. The kinetic performance was high and the isotherm study was conducted using the Langmuir adsorption model. The results exhibited very high adsorption capacity of 170.17 mg/g and this capacity was compared with different forms of materials. In addition, the materials was adsorbed the Co(II) ions with higher 96% from the synthetic multi-mixture metal ions containing samples and this is confirmed the materials high selectivity for efficient detection and adsorption of Co(II) ions. Desorption experiments were carried out with 0.30 M HCl proved that without significant loss in its original performance that could be reused in several cycles. Therefore, the proposed materials here is an interesting and promising attempt for the trace Co(II) ions capturing in water samples and will have much more applied field.

The separation of lanthanide (Ln(III)) elements from various waste materials is a significant issue facing developed countries. However, the chemical behaviour of Ln(III) are very similar and complex, and it is an important to understand clearly to optimize the separation processes under various conditions based on the ion-selective ligands and ligand field effect for specific Ln(III) separation with semi-cavity and high flexibility for competitiveness of industries and continuous economic growth. The study developed the hybrid Lewis base ligand functionalized alumina-silica based composite nanomaterials for heavier Ln(III) of Dy(III) and Ly(III) separation and recovery. The alumina-silica fabrication, intra-series separation, solution acidity, ion-selective and coordination mechanism by EXAFS were carried out systematically. The Dy(III) and Lu(III) adsorption was high in acidic region as the high pH area is avoided due to the hydroxyl precipitation. The adsorption data were fitted well with the Langmuir adsorption model for the both elements and the calculated maximum adsorption capacity was 125.44 and 129.77 mg/g for Dy(III) and Lu(III) ions, respectively. The ion selectivity was also performed in the presence of divers ions and Dy(III) or Lu(IIII) ions was preferentially adsorbed in a competitive environment. In the coordination mechanism by EXAFS, the Dy(III) and Lu(III) ions were strongly coordinated with the O and N atoms of the hybrid Lewis base ligand in the composite nanomaterial. Moreover, adsorption–elution cyclic results demonstrated that Dy(III) and Lu(III) ions adsorbed composite nanomaterial could be effectively desorbed HNO3 acid, and the regenerated nanomaterial was able to repeated use without significant deterioration in its original performances. All these characteristics make the nanomaterial an ideal solid-phase materials for effective Dy(III) and Lu(III) ions adsorption in complicated matrix samples.

This article has no abstract. The first 100 words appear below: A 50-year-old female, hailing from Patuakhali, was admitted at the Department of Ophthalmology for the management of severe reduction of vision and pain at the right eye for the last 7 months following cataract surgery at a government hospital. Her cataract surgery (small incision cataract surgery with PC-IOL implantation) of the right eye was performed on October 28, 2018. On the first post-operative day, she developed pain, redness and severe reduction of vision in the right eye. The following day, she was discharged with the advice of some medications like moxifloxacin, dexamethasone, bromfenac eye drops and oral acetazolamide and potassium.

Autism is a complex and developmental neurobehavioral disorder which indicates difficulties with communication skills and social interactions. Because of various types of symptoms, this condition is also refers to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many autism centers to help and facilitate children with autism. To make an autism center automatic and capable of responsive in real time, the next generation of cellular network, i.e. 5G can play a vital role. We have found minor contribution towards healthcare monitoring system for autism centers in a network that offers ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC), higher data rates and massive connectivity of devices in Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Medical things (IoMT). Therefore, we have proposed "AutiLife"- an impeccable healthcare monitoring system for autism centers in 5G cellular network using Machine Learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine (SVM). Our proposed system model will collect health related data (Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Body Temperature, Body Motion, Speech Signals) using various sensors and devices from autistic children. Then using ML algorithm the system will accomplish some course of actions and alert the controllers and nearby hospitals if any health falling issues are found. We resolutely believe, our proposed system "AutiLife" may handle any emergency issues for example epilepsy, heart stroke, heart attack, anxiety, hysteria that can occur on any sudden moment in an autism center and may save inestimable life of children with autism.

The need for better control of foodborne pathogens has been of paramount importance in recent years as one of the major concerns to ensure food safety. This study was aimed to determine whether Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) and Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) derived essential oils (EOs) could be used to control Listeria monocytogenes in ground beef. When L. monocytogenes contaminated ground beef was exposed to 5% and 10% of crude and commercial clove EOs or 2.5% and 5.0% of crude and commercial cinnamon EOs and stored at refrigeration (8 °C), chilling (0 °C) temperatures for 7 days as well as at freezing (−18 °C) temperatures for 60 days, it was found that 10% clove (both crude and commercial) could completely inactivate L. monocytogenes in ground beef within 3 days of post inoculation, irrespective of storage temperature. However, 5.0% clove EOs (both crude and commercial) was not found effective in killing L. monocytogenes throughout the storage period. On the other hand, both 2.5% and 5.0% of crude and cinnamon EOs was not found effective in inactivating L. monocytogenes throughout the storage period. However, 5.0% commercial cinnamon EOs was able to reduce 3.5–4.0 log CFU/g of L. monocytogenes populations depending on the storage temperature and time. The 3.5–4.0 log CFU/g reduction of L. monocytogenes was achieved within 7 days at refrigeration and chilling temperatures but it takes 60 days while storage at freezing temperature. This finding suggested that the effectiveness of reducing L. monocytogenes populations in ground beef by chinamon EOs was influenced by storage temperature and time. On the other hand, this influence was not observed in clove EOs indicating that use of clove EOs is better in killing pathogen populations in ground beef, than that of cinnamon EOs. Hence, could be useful in controlling L. monocytogenes in ground beef meat and improve the safety of ground beef products.

The conjugate nanomaterial (CNM) was prepared by sulfur donor containing organic ligand onto the silica substrate for simultaneous mercury (Hg(II)) ions detection and removal from water samples through a batch technique. The potential and feasibility of the CNM as Hg(II) ions selective materials were evaluated in terms sensitivity, selectivity both in the detection and removal operations. In detection, the absorbance spectra increment was linear with the Hg(II) ions concentration in low concentration area, and the detection limit of the CNM was 0.26 μg/L. In addition, the colorimetric changes were extremely specific for Hg(II) ions, and no significant color change was evident in case of other competing metal ions in the sample matrix. In removal, the optimization of experimental conditions, including effect of pH, equilibrium time, initial Hg(II) ion concentration was examined. Due to the strong interaction between Hg(II) ions and sulfur atoms of the active surface, the CNM exhibited high adsorption capacity and excellent selectivity during Hg(II) adsorption. The experimental results showed that the solution pH had a major impact for Hg(II) adsorption by the CNM. The experimental data were well fitted with the linear form of Langmuir model the maximum adsorption capacity of Hg(II) ions was 164.22 mg/g. The Hg(II) loaded CNM could be successfully desorbed with 0.20 M HCl solution, and the adsorption capacities were not decreased sharply even after six cycles showing the practical significance in remediation of Hg(II) contaminated wastewater. In addition, the present approach has the advantages of sensitivity, selectivity, rapidity, simplicity, and low cost for Hg(II) detection and removal, and the newly developed assay might open a new assay avenue for Hg(II) ions contaminated water treatment.

A sensitive and selective colorimetric method for simultaneous detection and removal of copper (Cu(II)) ion from contaminated water samples was developed based on the functional ligand embedded mesoporous conjugate materials. The synthesized material’s characterization was also presented. The conjugate materials exhibited an obvious color change from colorless to dark yellow in the presence of Cu(II) ion according to the pH values. Also, the Cu(II) ion were detected and removed through naked-eye. The prepared material exhibited significant color change upon addition of Cu(II) ion even in the presence of other competing ions, and the limit of detection was calculated to be 0.15 μg/L. Excellent selectivity toward Cu(II) ion was observed due to a specific complex formation between Cu(II) ion and organic ligand of the conjugate materials. In Cu(II) adsorption operation, several affecting factors, including the solution pH, contact time, initial Cu(II) ion concentration, foreign ions and reuses were investigated. The results showed that the conjugate materials exhibited excellent adsorption capacity and adsorption equilibrium was reached rapidly. The adsorption results were well fitted with Langmuir adsorption isotherms and the maximum adsorption capacity by the materials for Cu(II) ion was 174.76 mg/g. We claimed from this study that Cu(II) could be successfully detected and removed by the adsorption method developed in the current work. The present work is obviously much simpler and greener than the conventional comprising multistep processes. The results demonstrated that Cu(II) ion loaded conjugate materials was effectively regenerated using HCl acid solution, and the regenerated materials was repeated to use many cycles without significant capacity loss, indicating the good stability of prepared conjugate materials.

Clopidogrel is an oral antiplatelet agent used in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), myocardial infarction (MI), cerebrovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease. It is also indicated in combination with aspirin in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Clopidogrel is a pro-drug which is converted into its active metabolite by several hepatic enzymes, especially CYP2C19. There is wide variability among patients in response to clopidogrel therapy, which is attributable to genetic variations at several locations of the CYP2C19 gene leading to either loss or gain of function of the enzyme. Here, we report a simple and fast multiplexed allele-specific PCR-based method to detect the clinically important variants of CYP2C19. CYP2C19*1 is the wild-type form of the gene that encodes an enzyme encodes with normal activity. Other variants such as, CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*3, CYP2C19*4 result in loss of function, whereas CYP2C19*17 imparts gain of function. This multiplexed method does not call for high-end and expensive laboratory equipment, but can reliably detect clinically important CYP2C19 variants. This method was further validated by direct sequencing of the target variants. We applied this method to determine the genotypes of 673 Bangladeshi individuals. Our study showed that the CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*17 variants are present at high frequencies in Bangladeshi population. This method may be applied in routine genotyping of patients under clopidogrel regimen.

Background Chikungunya virus causes mosquito-transmitted infection that leads to extensive morbidity affecting substantial quality of life. Disease associated morbidity, quality of life, and financial loss are seldom reported in resources limited countries, such as Bangladesh. We reported the acute clinical profile, quality of life and consequent economic burden of the affected individuals in the recent chikungunya outbreak (May to September 2017) in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study during the peak of chikungunya outbreak (July 24 to August 5, 2017) to document the clinical profiles of confirmed cases (laboratory test positive) and probable cases diagnosed by medical practitioners. Data related to clinical symptoms, treatment cost, loss of productivity due to missing work days, and quality of life during their first two-weeks of symptom onset were collected via face to face interview using a structured questionnaire. World Health Organization endorsed questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life. Results A total of 1,326 chikungunya cases were investigated. Multivariate analysis of major clinical variables showed no statistically significant differences between confirmed and probable cases. All the patients reported joint pain and fever. Other more frequently reported symptoms include headache, loss of appetite, rash, myalgia, and itching. Arthralgia was polyarticular in 56.3% of the patients. Notably, more than 70% patients reported joint pain as the first presenting symptom. About 83% of the patients reported low to very low overall quality of life. Nearly 30% of the patients lost more than 10 days of productivity due to severe arthropathy. Conclusions This study represents one of the largest samples studied so far around the world describing the clinical profile of chikungunya infection. Our findings would contribute to establish an effective syndromic surveillance system for early detection and timely public health intervention of future chikungunya outbreaks in resource-limited settings like Bangladesh., Author summary A major outbreak of chikungunya virus occurred for the first time in Dhaka, Bangladesh between May and September 2017. In this study, a face-to-face interview with a structured questionnaire was conducted to collect data to investigate the clinical symptoms, quality of life, and economic aspects of 1,326 chikungunya patients during the first two weeks of infection. The severity of the disease was similar to previously reported severe outbreaks elsewhere but joint pain prior to fever emerged as a unique symptom in the Dhaka outbreak. This unique clinical feature was consistent across age and sex of the patients. Some clinical symptoms varied with age. For instance, a higher proportion of skin rash were found among children (under 15) while morning stiffness, severity, and duration of pain were proportionally higher among other age groups. Joint swelling was most commonly noted in elderly patients (60+ years). About 83% of the patients reported low to very low overall quality of life (QoL) during first two weeks of chikungunya infection. Elderly patients reported lower average QoL scores compared to $606 per month) reported the lowest average overall score. Nearly 95% of the patients have mostly confined to sickbed and approximately 30% of them lost more than 10 days of productivity due to severe arthropathy. Our study would contribute to establishing an effective syndromic surveillance system for early detection and timely public health intervention of future chikungunya outbreaks in resource-limited countries like Bangladesh.

Selenium occurs naturally in the environment and is toxic at elevated concentrations, which has been a challenging issue for environmental scientists. This work was devoted to the detection and removal the selenium (Se(IV)) from aqueous solutions using organic ligand an immobilized conjugate adsorbent. The organic ligand of (3-(3-(methoxycarbonyl) benzylidene)hydrazinyl) benzoic acid was synthesized and indirectly immobilized onto the mesoporous silica. The adsorbent was applied to detect and remove Se(IV) in aqueous solutions at optimum conditions. This adsorbent exhibited high surface area-to-volume ratios and pores were uniform nanostructures. The adsorbent permitted rapid Se(IV) capturing detectable by naked eye observation. The limit of detection was 2.02 μg/L by the proposed method of the conjugate adsorbent. The Se(IV) capture system was optimized by varying the parameters of contact time, pH, initial concentration, competing ions and elution operations. The pH effect played an important role and the solution pH ranging from 0.5 to 7.0 was investigated. The data confirmed that acidic pH enhanced the Se(IV) sorption on the conjugate adsorbent resulting in an increased sorption efficiency percentage of Se(IV) to >98% at pH 1.50. The data were also fitted to the Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum sorption capacity was 93.56 mg/g. The introduction of diverse ions was individually added to solution, and these had no significant effect on the Se(IV) sorption by the adsorbent. The 0.20 M NaOH was used an eluent in the elution operation, and the adsorbent was used in many cycles without loss of cage cavities. Therefore, the conjugate adsorbent has shown favorable capturing ability in water samples, and this could be used as efficient adsorbents in potential practical applications for Se(IV) detection and removal from wastewater.

The study was intended for identification and characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from raw cow milk. A total of 47 milk samples were collected from Sheshmore, Shutiakhali and Bangladesh Agricultural University Dairy Farm, Mymensingh. Using bacteriological, biochemical and PCR-based identification schemes, 12 (25.53%) isolates were confirmed as S. aureus. All the isolates showed β-hemolysis on 5% sheep blood agar. S. aureus specific nuc gene (target size 279-bp) was amplified in the cases of all isolates. The isolates were found as resistant to Penicillin (100%), Erythromycin (75%) and Amoxicillin (100%). On the other hand, the isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin (83.33%), Oxacillin (100%), Cloxacillin (100%) and Neomycin (100%). The isolated S. aureus showed increased resistance to broad spectrum antibiotic (e.g., Ciprofloxacin). As many people have a tendency to drink raw milk and raw milk products, there is high risk of S. aureus infection in human.

A novel functionalized mesoporous silica based meso-adsorbent was prepared for simple, efficient and rapid determination, sorption and recovery of trace palladium(II) in wastewater. The meso-adsorbent was prepared by indirect immobilization of ((3-(3-(methoxycarbonyl)benzylidene)hydrazinyl)benzoic acid) onto the cage-pored mesoporous silica. The optimum conditions were measured as a function of solution acidity, contact time, ion selectivity and adsorption isotherms models. The data revealed that meso-adsorbent offered simple and one-step procedure without using high tech instruments. The determined detection limit and sorption capacity were 0.11 μg/L and 184.50 mg/g, respectively. The meso-adsorbent can be repeatedly recycled without deterioration of the unique mesostructures and maintaining the same functionality for detection/sorption operations in next uses.

The functionalized mesoporous silica based meso-adsorbent was developed for ultra-trace Cu(II) detection and removal from wastewater. The meso-adsorbent was fabricated by direct immobilization of N,N-bis(salicylidene)1,2-bis(2-aminophenylthio)ethane onto mesoporous silica monoliths. The calculated HOMO–LUMO small energy gap suggested that the electrons excitation according to the electron/energy transfer mechanism was evident in the intense of color complexation during selective detection and removal. The adsorbent was successfully applied in the determination and removal of Cu(II) ions in environmental samples. Therefore, the meso-adsorbent has been shown to have the potential to be used as an effective adsorbent for trace Cu(II) capturing from wastewater.

The pH dependent Cu(II) and Pd(II) ions detection and removal efficiency was investigated using ligand embedded mesoporous adsorbent. The mesoporous adsorbent was successfully prepared by 6-((2-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthoyl)hydrazono)methyl)benzoic acid (HMBA) embedded onto mesoporous silica monoliths. The mesoporous adsorbent has the large surface area-to-volume ratios and uniformly shaped pores, and its active sites are working for complexation to Cu(II) and Pd(II) ions with uniformly shaped pores in mesostructures. The adsorbent permits to fast and specific visualization of Cu(II) and Pd(II) ions detection and removal from aqueous media via a colorimetric signal visible to the naked eye. The mesoporous adsorbent enhanced the color formation by stable complexation during recognition and removal operations in a specific area. The extent of detection and removal efficiency was evaluated as a function of solution pH, contact time, initial concentration and diverse competing ions. The adsorbent showed very high adsorption capacity (182.39 and 172.53 mg/g for Cu(II) and Pd(II), respectively) and adsorption uptake on the adsorbent reaching equilibrium was also very rapid with extreme selectivity in ionic competition. Importantly, the mesoporous adsorbent was retaining functionality in spite of many chemical treatments during detection/removal-elution-regeneration cycles. Furthermore, the usage of mesoporous adsorbent to remove Cu(II) ions from the real environmental sample were performed. Therefore, the present study revealed that mesoporous adsorbent as low cost material could be used as potential adsorbent for the selective detection and removal of Cu(II) and Pd(II) ions from wastewater effluents.

Rapid and selective gold (Au(III)) recognition and recovery was investigated by a new type mesoporous adsorbent. The adsorbent was prepared by direct immobilization of 3-(3-(methoxycarbonyl)benzylidene)hydrazinyl) benzoic acid (MBHB) onto highly ordered mesoporous silica monoliths. The adsorbent enhanced the color formation by stable complexation as [Au(III)-MBHB] n + complexes during recognition and adsorption operations. The several influence factors such as solution acidity, color optimization in recognition system, Au(III) adsorption capacity of the adsorbent, competing metal ions effect and Au(III) extraction/recovery behaviour were systematically studied. The effective pH for Au(III) ions recognition and adsorption was 2.0 and the maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was as high as 177.94 mg/g. In addition, the simultaneous Au(III) recognition and recovery from simulated urban mining solution was investigated. The data revealed that the recognition system was in a one-step and, even ultra-trace Au(III) concentrations without using highly sophisticated instruments implied the adsorbent was novel. The adsorbed Au(III) was extracted and recovered as pure Au(III) in a two-step elution process. After extraction, the adsorbent was regenerated simultaneously and found selective to Au(III) exhibiting the same capturing capacity as fresh adsorbent after rinsing with water. Performance of the regenerated adsorbent was checked and it was found that the adsorbent can be used up to seven reuse cycles. The selectivity experiments indicated that adsorbent possessed excellent recognition and adsorption property to Au(III) ions, offering potential applications in recovery of Au(III) from multi-ionic aqueous systems.

Article, Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers. 21(6): 539-555 (2006)

Immobilization of liposomes on hydrophobized Sephacryl gel and controlled detachment of the liposomes from the gel were examined. The gel was chemically modified and bore octyl, hexadecyl or cholesteryl moiety via disulfide linkage as anchors to liposomal bilayer membrane. Upon interaction with the gel, egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes were successfully immobilized onto the gel. The gel with cholesteryl moiety showed 1.7 times higher liposome immobilization per anchor moiety than the gels with the alkyl moieties. The immobilization of liposomes on the gel was stable, and no significant spontaneous detachment of phospholipid or leakage of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran encapsulated in the immobilized liposomes was observed in 24h. Reductive cleavage of the disulfide linkage by dithiothreitol resulted in detachment of the liposomes from the gel. The majority of the detached liposomes were found encapsulating the dextran derivative, and these liposomes should have kept their structural integrity throughout the immobilization and the detachment processes. The release of the liposomes was insignificant until the ratio of the dithiothreitol to the hydrophobic anchor reached a threshold. The presence of the threshold suggests that the immobilization of liposomes should require a certain minimum number of the hydrophobic moieties anchored in the liposomal membrane. By applying the present immobilization-detachment system, preparation of liposomes encapsulating the dextran derivative without using costly gel filtration or ultracentrifugation procedure was successfully demonstrated.