Is famine exposure during developmental life in rural Bangladesh associated with a metabolic and epigenetic signature in young adulthood? A historical cohort study

Objectives Famine exposure in utero can ‘programme’ an individual towards type 2 diabetes and obesity in later life. We sought to identify, (1) whether Bangladeshis exposed to famine during developmental life are programmed towards diabetes and obesity, (2) whether this programming was specific to gestational or postnatal exposure windows and (3) whether epigenetic differences were associated with famine exposure. Design A historical cohort study was performed as part of a wider cross-sectional survey. Exposure to famine was defined through birth date and historical records and participants were selected according to: (A) exposure to famine in postnatal life, (B) exposure to famine during gestation and (C) unexposed. Setting Matlab, a rural area in the Chittagong division of Bangladesh. Participants Young adult men and women (n=190) recruited to a historical cohort study with a randomised subsample included in an epigenetic study (n=143). Outcome measures Primary outcome measures of weight, body mass index and oral glucose tolerance tests (0 and 120 min glucose). Secondary outcome measures included DNA methylation using genome-wide and targeted analysis of metastable epialleles sensitive to maternal nutrition. Results More young adults exposed to famine in gestation were underweight than those postnatally exposed or unexposed. In contrast, more young adults exposed to famine postnatally were overweight compared to those gestationally exposed or unexposed. Underweight adults exposed to famine in gestation in utero were hyperglycaemic following a glucose tolerance test, and those exposed postnatally had elevated fasting glucose, compared to those unexposed. Significant differences in DNA methylation at seven metastable epialleles (VTRNA2-1, PAX8, PRDM-9, near ZFP57, near BOLA, EXD3) known to vary with gestational famine exposure were identified. Conclusions Famine exposure in developmental life programmed Bangladeshi offspring towards diabetes and obesity in adulthood but gestational and postnatal windows of exposure had variable effects on phenotype. DNA methylation differences were replicated at previously identified metastable epialleles sensitive to periconceptual famine exposure

Effects of age on the survival and recovery of submerged rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) seedlings

Post-submergence (about 100 cm water depth for ten days) survivality and recovery of rice seedlings were studied in a greenhouse experiment. Irrespective of varieties, 10 and 15-day-old seedlings barely could recover from the shock. More than 80% of 20-day-old seedlings of variety FR13A survived. With the increase of seedling age, elongation of plants decreased during submergence. The variety FR13A and BRRI dhan32 recovered considerably at the seedling age exceeding 20-day, whereas BR6110-10-2-1 and BR11 performed the same not below 40-day-old seedlings. At the higher seedling age, all the varieties maintained higher level of soluble sugar and starch both before and after submergence. During the submergence, the depletion rate of soluble sugar was more or less similar in all the varieties, but the rate of starch depletion was the lowest in FR13A. Therefore, the amount of total carbohydrate both pre- and post-submergence was higher in tolerant variety FR13A that might contribute to the better survivality and recovery ability. Key words: Rice; T. Aman; Carbohydrate content; Seedling age; Survival; Recovery DOI: 10.3329/bjb.v39i1.5522Bangladesh J. Bot. 39(1): 21-28, 2010 (June)</jats:p

Investigation on to the Illness and Death of Zebra at Dhaka Zoo along with Isolation and Identification of Causal Organism

Zebra is the member of the equide family available at Dhaka Zoo and gradually disappeared due to inadequate health management and varies maladies. The aim of this study was to investigate the cause of illness and death of zebras (Equus burchelli) at Dhaka Zoo. Two zebras died on 10 and 25 January, 2010, one become seriously ill on 15 February, 2010 and was considered as the study samples. The dead animals were necropsized, representative samples were collected in formalin for histopathological examination. Thoracic fluid, cardiacfluid, abdominal fluid and blood from these zebras were also used for isolation of causal bacteria. Blood sample was also collected from the sick zebra and subjected for bacteriological examination. Results of necropsy examination revealed hydrothorax, pneumonia and septicemia. Histopathological findings revealed pulmonary emphysema, interstitial pneumonia, bronchitis, pulmonary thrombosis, exudates in lung alveoli and granulomatous lesions in lungs. Other important findings were hemosiderosis and anthracosis. Based on the cultural, morphological and biochemical tests, Pasteurella sp. was identified. Bacteriological examination revealed that the organism bears similarities with P. multocia, P. hemolytica and P. aerogenes but definite bacterial species was not identified. The zebras were collected from Africa and the bacterial nature identified was Pasteurella but definite species could not be identified; could be a Pasteurella available in Africa. Therefore, it needs investigation at other biochemical and genetic level to confirm the bacterial species involved. There occurrence of similar disease at later on was also observed in zebra at DhakaZoo and responded well to treatment for pasteurellosis; the cause of illness was, therefore, confirmed as Pasteurellosis.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v21i1-2.16755 Progress. Agric. 21(1 &amp; 2): 83 - 92, 2010</jats:p

Obesity in Women: An Observational Study in a District Hospital

Introduction: Overweight and obesity presents a major challenge in women around the world, with mainly associated with epidemiological factors. The study aim was to evaluate Socio-Economic Factors Associated with Obesity in Women &gt;20 Years of Age. Materials and Methods: This was a community based observational study conducted at the Department of Physiology, Dhaka Central International Medical College (DCIMC), and Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of January 2020 to March 2021. Two hundred participants were selected through a purposive sampling technique as study participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Results: Among the participants, the majority (32%) was from the age group of 30-39 years. 27.5% were in the age group of 20-29 years, and 21.5% were from the age group of 40-49 years. 55% were Muslim, 41% were Hindu and 4% were Christian. The majority of the participants (86%) were currently married. 75% were modern nuclear families, and 20% were joint families. Over half (51%) of the participants were illiterate. The Mean ± SD weight was 50.34 ± 6.78 in the non-obese group, and 68.85 ± 8.38 in the obese groups. The Mean ± SD BMI was 21.72 ± 2.56 in the non-obese group and 29.85 ± 3.81 in the obese group. The difference between the age groups of participants between the obese and non-obese groups was statistically significant, and the difference in religion and education between the two groups was statistically non-significant. Conclusion: This community-based study was able to understand certain socio-economic factors associated with obesity in adult women.</jats:p

Sensitivity and Specificity of MRI in Intraspinal Tumor Patients

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, causing a global 10 million deaths just in 2018. Cancer has no cure, but is preventable if diagnosed early. Among the methods of diagnosing cancer, MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging is one of the most accurate ones. This study was done with the aim of evaluating the diagnostic usefulness of MRI in detection of intraspinal tumor and comparison with histopathological findings. Aim of the study: The study aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of MRI in respect to intraspinal tumor patients. Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Radiology and Imaging, NITOR, Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the period of July 2019 to December 2020 with a sample size of 100 clinically suspected cases of intraspinal tumor aged between 10-70 years. Results: Among the participants, male: female ratio was 3:2. Thirty-Four (34) % of patients belonged to the age group of 41-50 years. 10% were from the youngest age group of 11-20 years, and 6% were from the oldest age group of 61-70 years. The mean age of the participants was 38.89 years. Weakness of the limbs was present in 92% of the participants, back pain was present in 90% percent of the participants. 58% of the participants had tumors in intradural extramedullary region. According to the MRI diagnosis, 55.56% of the participants had Sequestrated disc, 33.33% had Chronic Inflammatory lesion, and 11.11 % had Epidural abscess. According to the histopathological diagnosis of the patients, 32% had schwannoma tumors, 27% had meningioma tumors, 17% had ependymoma tumors, 5% had metastasis tumors, and 2% neurofibroma and hemangioma were present among the participants. After cross analysis of the MRI diagnosis with histopathological diagnosis, 76 cases were true positive, 2 cases were false positive, 6 cases were false negative and 16 cases were true negative. Sensitivity was found 92.68%, specificity was 88.88 % and accuracy was 82.60%. Conclusion: This study.......</jats:p

Serological and pathological investigation of brucellosis in dairy cows of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh

Brucellosis is a widespread and economically important infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the members of the genus Brucella. The disease is manifested by abortion, birth of unthrifty calves and retained placentae in female animals. The correct and prompt diagnosis is important for controlling and eradicating the disease from animals. This experiment was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to detect Brucella antibody in dairy cows using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (i-ELISA) and histopathology. The study was carried out between the periods of January 2012 to September 2012. Placental tissue obtained from aborted cow and internal organs of aborted fetus were used in histopathological study. A total of 190 sera sample were collected with the history of reproductive disorders, like late abortion, retained placenta and anestrous from Veterinary Hospital, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and meat market Kewatkhali, Mymensingh. The seroprevalance of brucellosis using RBPT and iELISA were 2.63% and 1.05% respectively. Histopathological study revealed multifocal necrosis in hepatic parenchyma, depletion of lymphocytes in spleen and lymphnodes and distended trabeculi in spleen and lymphnodes in aborted calf, diffuse fibrosis around the placental epithelia and in placental tissues. Distinct histopathological lesions in the liver and spleen of Brucella suspected calf were not evident but the retained fetal membrane showed characteristics fibrosis and reactive cellular infiltration. It needs to adopt nucleic acid based technologies in order to confirm the species of Brucella involved and as well as to avoid cross reactivity of antibodies as seen in RBPT and iELISA.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjvm.v11i2.19124 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2013). 11 (2): 107-112</jats:p

Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Bangladesh: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (0e12 years) and adolescents (13e19 years) has emerged as a major public health threat in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, there is a serious paucity of credible data on these issues that can be used for policy and programmatic development. This article presents a systematic review of studies on overweight and obesity to present a more accurate estimate by pooling results

Living standards : reexamining the standard of living of the people of the Southwest coastal areas of Bangladesh : evidences from the Sustainable Development Goal 9

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are considered a blueprint to achieve a better, peaceful, and sustainable future for the world. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without ensuring an improved standard of living (SL) for individuals. Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in poverty alleviation, food security, primary school enrolment, gender parity in primary and secondary level education, lowering the infant and under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio, improving immunization coverage, and reducing the incidence of communicable diseases in the recent past decades. Such achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) confirms the strong commitment of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) towards the implementation of 17 goals for the sustainable development. According to the SDG Index (2018), between 2015 and 2018, globally, Bangladesh ranks 111 out of 156 countries for achieving targets of SDGs. The SDG 9 – industry, innovation, and infrastructure – is one of the goals, in which extremely little progress has been made since 2015 when the country adopted SDG. The achievement of SDG 9 in the coastal areas, constituting one-third of the country’s total land mass of Bangladesh, is potentially challenging. The coastal areas are geographically vulnerable because there are poor infrastructural facilities (such as fragile roadway and transportation system, and an absence of industry) and economic resource constraints. Between 2007 and 2019, the inhabitants of the coastline have experienced long-term effects of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones (Foni, Royanu, Mora, Mohasen, Aila, and Sidr), storms, salinity intrusion, and heatwaves, which have severely impacted their lives and livelihoods. Consequently, for the inhabitants of coastal areas, the standard of living as social progress and accessing basic needs have been uncertain and unstable over the years. Taking these aspects into account, this paper surveys literature addressing the standard of living in coastal areas of Bangladesh. The current study also documents the interrelation between SDG 9 and the SL, considering the initiatives taken by the Government of Bangladesh in the coastal region of the country