Hilsa shad is one of the most important fisheries, contributing about 12.9% of the country's (Bangladesh) total fish production. There was no previous study on microplastic contamination of this ...important commercial fish. This study aims to identify, classify, and quantify microplastics (MPs) ingested by the national fish of Bangladesh, Hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha. A total of 287 MPs were recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts. All the fishes analyzed were contaminated with MPs. The mean (±SD) of the number of MPs was 19.13 ± 10.77 particles/fish, ranging from 7 to 51 particles/fish. Significant correlation was not found between the fish body length and MP abundance (rs = 0.287, p = 0.299), and between the fish body weight and MPs abundance (rs = 0.261, p = 0.347). The most dominant color was transparent (30%), followed by gray and black, contributing to 26% and 23%, respectively. The maximum number of MPs accounted for in the 300–1500 μm size class where fiber was the most dominant (50%) shape of observed MPs. These results provide a baseline of MP contamination in seafood from Bangladesh that should be useful for future monitoring efforts. The present study is the first research on MP contamination of Hilsa shad.
•100% of analyzed Hilsa shad had microplastics in their gastrointestinal tract.•A total of 287 MPs were obtained from all samples.•The dominant color of polymers was transparent (30%), gray (26%) and black (23%).•The maximum number of MPs were in the 300–1500 μm size class
The present study is the first attempt to investigate the occurrence and distribution pattern of microplastics (MPs) in the beach sediments covering a 36 km long beach at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. ...Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to identify the MP particles (>300 μm). The mean abundance of plastics in this study site was 8.1 ± 2.9 particles kg−1. The abundance of MPs in the sediments was found in the following order: Fragments>Fibers>Foams>Beads>Films. The most abundant polymer types were Polypropylene (PP) (47%) and Polyethylene (PE) (23%). Most of the PP was atactic, while the low-density and high-density PE were in the balance. A higher abundance of MPs was observed in the wrack line compared to the other zones across the shore. The designated public tourist spots corresponding to few sampling sites showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher MPs than the sites with no tourist activity.
•First attempt to investigate the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in Cox’s Bazar beach sediments, Bangladesh.•The mean abundance of plastics in this study site was 8.1 ± 2.9 particles kg-1•Fragments were the most abundant shape, and polypropylene was the most abundant polymer type in the studied sediments.•Tourist designated sample sites show significantly (P <0.05) higher MPs than the other sites.
Food, including rice, is the major source of toxic element cadmium (Cd) for human exposure. Globally, many populations rely on the consumption of significant amounts of rice as a staple food. Using ...dietary intake and concentration of Cd, this study determines the risk posed to both adults and children due to Cd exposure from consumption of rice sold in Bangladeshi markets. Polished rice samples (n = 144) were collected from the markets of 16 districts of Bangladesh to determine the distribution, regional variability and associated health risk from Cd. The mean and median concentrations of Cd in rice were 44 μg/kg and 34 μg/kg, respectively, ranging between 1 and 180 μg/kg, dry weight. The Cd concentrations of the rice samples did not exceed the safe limit of EU/CODEX but 9% exceeded the safe limit of FSANZ (Food standards Australia New Zealand) values. Results indicated that there were significant variations of Cd among (33%) and within (67%) the districts. Some rice brands such as Najirshail, Katarivogh and Chinigura had Cd levels of 81, 70 and 68 μg/kg, respectively. Cadmium ingested on a daily basis ranged between 0.09 and 0.58 μg/kg body weight (bw) with the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for individuals varying between 1.35 × 10−3 and 8.7 × 10−3 in different districts. The age groups (2–5 yrs) and (6–10 yrs) experienced higher risks than others and both males and females were found to be susceptible from Cd exposure of rice.
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•Most of the rice grains contained Cd concentrations less than EU or CODEX standard values.•9% of rice samples contained Cd concentrations which exceeded the FSANZ standard.•Cadmium concentrations in rice are influenced by locations and brands.•Daily intake of Cd from rice varied between 0.09 and 0.58 μg/kg bw.•HQ values were < 1 for both districts and rice brands indicated no non-carcinogenic risk.
Sediment samples were collected from ten selected sites of the lower Meghna River estuary, and six heavy metals were analyzed with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) to assess the ...contamination level and the metals’ association with sediment grain size. The current results revealed that the mean concentrations of the studied metals were ranked in descending order of iron (Fe) (1.29 × 103 mg/kg) > zinc (Zn) (42.41 mg/kg) > lead (Pb) (12.48 mg/kg) > chromium (Cr) (10.59 mg/kg) > copper (Cu) (6.22 mg/kg) > cadmium (Cd) (0.28 mg/kg). The geo-accumulation, contamination, and pollution load indexes suggested that the lower Meghna river estuary was not contaminated by Fe, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cu. The mean size of the sediment ranged from 28.92 to 126.2 μm, and the Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant association between Fe and Pb (coefficient of determination, r2 = 0.836; p < 0.05), and no significant correlation was found between individual metals and grain size, indicating no or low influence on the metals distribution.
A brain tumor is a life-threatening neurological condition caused by the unregulated development of cells inside the brain or skull. The death rate of people with this condition is steadily ...increasing. Early diagnosis of malignant tumors is critical for providing treatment to patients, and early discovery improves the patient's chances of survival. The patient's survival rate is usually very less if they are not adequately treated. If a brain tumor cannot be identified in an early stage, it can surely lead to death. Therefore, early diagnosis of brain tumors necessitates the use of an automated tool. The segmentation, diagnosis, and isolation of contaminated tumor areas from magnetic resonance (MR) images is a prime concern. However, it is a tedious and time-consuming process that radiologists or clinical specialists must undertake, and their performance is solely dependent on their expertise. To address these limitations, the use of computer-assisted techniques becomes critical. In this paper, different traditional and hybrid ML models were built and analyzed in detail to classify the brain tumor images without any human intervention. Along with these, 16 different transfer learning models were also analyzed to identify the best transfer learning model to classify brain tumors based on neural networks. Finally, using different state-of-the-art technologies, a stacked classifier was proposed which outperforms all the other developed models. The proposed VGG-SCNet's (VGG Stacked Classifier Network) precision, recall, and f1 scores were found to be 99.2%, 99.1%, and 99.2% respectively.
Rapid and early detection of drug susceptibility among multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients could guide the timely initiation of effective treatment and reduce transmission of ...drug-resistant TB. In the current study, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of GenoType MTBDRsl (MTBDRsl) ver1.0 assay for detection of resistance to ofloxacin (OFL), kanamycin (KAN) and ethambutol (EMB), and additionally the XDR-TB among MDR-TB patients in Bangladesh.
The MTBDRsl assay was performed directly on 218 smear-positive sputum specimens collected from MDR-TB patients and the results were compared with the phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) performed on solid Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) media. We also analyzed the mutation patterns of gyrA, rrs, and embB genes for detection of resistance to OFL, KAN and EMB, respectively.
The sensitivity and specificity of the MTBDRsl compared to phenotypic L-J DST were 81.8% (95% CI, 69.1-90.9) and 98.8% (95% CI, 95.6-99.8), respectively for OFL (PPV: 95.7% & NPV: 94.1%); 65.1% (95% CI, 57.5-72.2) and 86.7% (95% CI, 73.2-94.9), respectively for EMB (PPV: 94.9% & NPV: 39.4%); and 100% for KAN. The diagnostic accuracy of KAN, OFL and EMB were 100, 94.5 and 69.6%, respectively. Moreover, the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of MtBDRsl for detection of XDR-TB was 100%. The most frequently observed mutations were at codon D94G (46.8%) of gyrA gene, A1401G (83.3%) of rrs gene, and M306V (41.5%) of the embB gene.
Considering the excellent performance in this study we suggest that MTBDRsl assay can be used as an initial rapid test for detection of KAN and OFL susceptibility, as well as XDR-TB directly from smear-positive sputum specimens of MDR-TB patients in Bangladesh.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Several treatments are available for cancer treatment, but many treatment methods are ineffective against multidrug-resistant cancer. Multidrug ...resistance (MDR) represents a major obstacle to effective therapeutic interventions against cancer. This review describes the known MDR mechanisms in cancer cells and discusses ongoing laboratory approaches and novel therapeutic strategies that aim to inhibit, circumvent, or reverse MDR development in various cancer types. In this review, we discuss both intrinsic and acquired drug resistance, in addition to highlighting hypoxia- and autophagy-mediated drug resistance mechanisms. Several factors, including individual genetic differences, such as mutations, altered epigenetics, enhanced drug efflux, cell death inhibition, and various other molecular and cellular mechanisms, are responsible for the development of resistance against anticancer agents. Drug resistance can also depend on cellular autophagic and hypoxic status. The expression of drug-resistant genes and the regulatory mechanisms that determine drug resistance are also discussed. Methods to circumvent MDR, including immunoprevention, the use of microparticles and nanomedicine might result in better strategies for fighting cancer.
Countries around the world have already been experiencing the repercussions of climate change. Bangladesh is cited as one of the most vulnerable countries among them. Due to the utmost contribution ...to the country’s economy and continuous exposure to climatic extremes, climate change scenarios for the largest division in the country, the Chittagong Division, have a major concern. This study analyzed the potential climatic changes by the downscaling approach for the Chittagong Division under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) i.e., RCP 2.5, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, and Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) i.e., A2, A1B, and B2 scenarios. Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) was used for downscaling three General Circulation Models (GCMs) viz. HadCM3, CanESM2, and CGCM3. A quantitative approach was used for both calibration and validation, where the results indicated the suitability of SDSM for downscaling daily mean temperature and precipitation under different scenarios for three future time horizons, i.e., early-twenty-first, mid-twenty-first, and late-twenty-first century. Additionally, bias correction was applied to downscaled climate variables. The downscaled projection showed increasing trends in mean annual temperature and precipitation for all the scenarios by the end of the century. Under CanESM2, the highest increase in temperature and precipitation were projected as 1.1 °C and 1.7 mm for the RCP 8.5. On the other hand, the highest increase in temperature and precipitation were projected as 0.5 °C and 1.4 mm for the SRES scenario A2 under CGCM3 and HadCM3. The spatial distribution of projections shows that the southern coastal part of the division is marked by remarkable future changes. The downscaled pathways have set a basis for assessing the impacts of future climate change on different sectors for the Chittagong Division and other areas in the country.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of tuberculosis infection (TBI). We estimated the prevalence and incidence of TBI and risk factors among HCWs in Bangladeshi hospitals to target TB ...infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions. During 2013-2016, we conducted a longitudinal study among HCWs in four chest disease hospitals. At baseline, we administered a questionnaire on sociodemographic and occupational factors for TB, tuberculin skin tests (TST) in all hospitals, and QuantiFERON .sup.® -TB Gold in-Tube (QFT-GIT) tests in one hospital. We assessed factors associated with baseline TST positivity (induration greater than or equal to10mm), TST conversion (induration increase greater than or equal to10mm from baseline), baseline QFT-GIT positivity (interferon-gamma greater than or equal to0.35 IU/mL), and QFT-GIT conversion (interferon-gamma <0.35 IU/mL to greater than or equal to0.35 IU/mL). We included factors with a biologically plausible relationship with TBI identified in prior studies or having an association (p = <0.20) in the bivariate analyses with TST positivity or QFT-GIT positivity in multivariable generalized linear models. The Kaplan-Meier was used to estimate the cumulative TBI incidence rate per 100 person-years. Of the 758 HCWs invited, 732 (97%) consented to participate and 731 completed the one-step TST, 40% had a positive TST result, and 48% had a positive QFT-GIT result. In multivariable models, HCWs years of service 11-20 years had 2.1 (95% CI: 1.5-3.0) times higher odds of being TST-positive and 1.6 (95% CI 1.1-2.5) times higher odds of QFT-GIT-positivity at baseline compared with those working less than or equal to10 years. HCWs working 11-20 years in pulmonary TB ward had 2.0 (95% CI: 1.4-2.9) times higher odds of TST positivity, and those >20 years had 2.5 (95% CI: 1.3-4.9) times higher odds of QFT-GIT-positivity at baseline compared with those working <10 years. TBI incidence was 4.8/100 person-years by TST and 4.2/100 person-years by QFT-GIT. Females had 8.5 (95% CI: 1.5-49.5) times higher odds of TST conversion than males. Prevalent TST and QFT-GIT positivity was associated with an increased number of years working as a healthcare worker and in pulmonary TB wards. The incidence of TBI among HCWs suggests ongoing TB exposure in these facilities and an urgent need for improved TB IPC in chest disease hospitals in Bangladesh.
Micronutrient deficiency is one of the biggest public health concerns in Bangladesh. As per World Health Organisation (WHO) in the 2016 report, 40% women of reproductive age suffer from anaemia. ...According to the National Micronutrient Survey 2011-2012, 57% women suffer from zinc deficiency. The objective of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of fortified rice (FFR in addressing anaemia and zinc deficiency among vulnerable women. Baseline and endline surveys were conducted among female Vulnerable Group Development (VDG) beneficiaries in five districts in Bangladesh before and after 12 months of FFR distribution. The intervention group received 30 kg FFR; the control group received 30 kg non-FFR for every month from January 2013 to December 2013. The sample sizes were 870 women (435/group) at baseline and 800 (400/group) at endline. Difference-in-difference (DID) was estimated to measure the effect of FFR on anaemia and serum zinc. In the baseline survey, 39% of the FFR group and 34% of the non-FFR group had anaemia. At endline, 34% of women in the FFR group were anaemic compared to 40.7% in the non-FFR group. At endline, prevalence of anaemia was reduced in the FFR group by 4.8% but increased in the non-FFR group by 6.7%. The DID estimation showed the reduction in anaemia after 12 months of FFR consumption was significant (p = 0.035). The DID in mean haemoglobin level after 12 months of FFR consumption was also statistically significant (p = 0.002). Zinc deficiency decreased by 6% in the FFR group at endline, though the DID was not significant. Most of the respondents of the FFR group reported that they received their entitled rice on a regular basis however only half of the non-FFR respondents received every month in 12 months. Anaemia was significantly associated with not consuming fortified rice, geographical region, older age and heavy menstrual bleeding (P<0.05). FFR reduced anaemia and zinc deficiency prevalence. Replacement of regular rice with FFR in the VGD programme is recommended to reduce anaemia among vulnerable groups.
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