Drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of antimalarial treatment and molecular markers of Plasmodium falciparum resistance in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. METHODS: A total of 203 patients infected with P. falciparum were treated with quinine 3 days plus sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) combination therapy, and followed up during a 4-week period. Blood samples collected before treatment were genotyped for parasite mutations related to chloroquine (pfcrt and pfmdr1 genes) or SP resistance (dhfr and dhps). RESULTS: Of 186 patients who completed follow-up, 32 patients (17.2%) failed to clear parasitaemia or became positive again within 28 days after treatment. Recurring parasitaemia was related to age (chi(2) = 4.8, P < 0.05) and parasite rates on admission (t = 3.1, P < 0.01). PCR analysis showed that some of these cases were novel infections. The adjusted recrudescence rate was 12.9% (95% CI 8.1-17.7) overall, and 16.6% (95% CI 3.5-29.7), 15.5% (95% CI 8.3-22.7) and 6.9% (95% CI 0.4-13.4) in three age groups (<5 years, 5-14, > or =15). The majority of infections carried mutations associated with chloroquine resistance: 94% at pfcrt and 70% at pfmdr. Sp-resistant genotypes were also frequent: 99% and 73% of parasites carried two or more mutations at dhfr and dhps, respectively. The frequency of alleles at dhfr, dhps and pfmdr was similar in cases that were successfully treated and those that recrudesced. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical trial showed that quinine 3-days combined to SP is still relatively effective in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. However, if this regimen is continued to be widely used, further development of SP resistance and reduced quinine sensitivity are to be expected. The genotyping results suggest that neither chloroquine nor SP can be considered a reliable treatment for P. falciparum malaria any longer in this area of Bangladesh

Conflict and Livelihood Decisions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

__Abstract__ We analyse rural household livelihood and child school enrolment decisions in the post-conflict setting of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh. What makes this paper innovative is the use of current subjective perceptions regarding the possibility of violence in the future and past actual experiences of violence in explaining household economic decision-making. Preferences are endogenous in line with behavioural economics. Regression results show that heightened subjective perceptions of future violence and past actual experiences of conflict influence current consumption and child enrolment and could encourage risky mixed crop cultivation. The trauma emanating from past experiences combined with current high perceptions of risk of violence may induce bolder and riskier behaviour in line with prospect theories of risk. Furthermore, a postconflic

Composition of the Essential Oil of Clausena Suffruticosa Leaf and Evaluation of its Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities

Purpose: To investigate the essential oil content of Clausena suffruticosa leaf for its in-vitro antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities.Methods: The essential oil of Clausena suffruticosa leaf was extracted by hydrodistillation using a modified Clevenger-type apparatus and was analyzed by GC-MS using electron impact ionization method. Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic screenings were made by disc diffusion technique,poisoned food technique and brine shrimp lethality bioassay, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the oil was determined by measuring the zone of inhibition, with tetracycline as reference standard. Fluconazole served as standard in the antifungal assessment.Results: A total of twenty two compounds, of which Estragole, Anethole and â-Ocimene were the major ones, were found in the essential oil of C. suffruticosa. The oil showed higher antibacterial activity against Shigella flexneri than the reference, tetracycline (p &lt; 0.05). Significant activity (p &lt; 0.001) against other Gram-positive microbes - Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus megaterium – was also observed. However, Gram-negative bacteria -Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella sonnei - showed no sensitivity to the oil. In the antifungal assay, the oil exhibited greater activity (p &lt; 0.001) against Aspergillus ochraceus than the reference, fluconazole, Inhibition of other fungal strains tested was also statistically significant (p &lt; 0.001). The lethal concentration (LC50) of the oil against brine shrimp was 41.2 ìg/ml in the cytotoxic assay.Conclusion: It is evident that the essential oil of C. suffruticosa is a potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic agent that should be further evaluated.Keywords: Clausena suffruticosa, Essential oil, Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial, Brine shrim

The role of medical support workers during the Covid-19 pandemic in the National Health Service in the UK: a qualitative service evaluation at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

We conducted a service evaluation of the Medical Support Worker (MSW) role at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust following the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to explore the roles of MSWs, their contributions to the NHS, factors influencing their career choices, and the position's goals, to inform quality improvement in relation to their integration into the Trust. The perspectives of MSWs, their supervisors, and recruiters were analysed through nine semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions involving 18 participants. Results were categorized into micro, meso, and macro levels of the health system. At the micro level, MSWs were recognised as a diverse group of highly qualified international medical graduates (IMGs) who played a crucial role during the pandemic. At the meso level, participants emphasized the importance of a comprehensive induction by the hospital, to clarify responsibilities and familiarize MSWs with the health system. At the macro level, the role facilitated MSWs’ integration within the NHS, with the aim of practising as doctors. The importance of comprehensive hospital induction, with role clarity for both MSWs and their teams, supportive supervision, and assistance with applying for registration with the General Medical Council, were highlighted as key quality improvement areas

Molecular Docking against SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Antiviral, Dynamics and Quantum Chemical Modeling of Mannopyranoside Derivatives

Researchers worldwide are prompting their hard and soul effort to develop the best possible therapeutic options to eliminate vaccination-related difficulties to effectively manage SARS-CoV-2, which is now sweeping the world. The present study was undertaken to investigate the computational properties of methyl α-D-mannopyranoside and its designed derivatives to assess their thermophysical and biochemical parameters. The PASS prediction score was reported to be 0.233&lt;Pa&lt;0.403 for antiviral, 0.473&lt;Pa&lt;0.569 for antibacterial, 0.628&lt;Pa&lt;0.680 for antifungal, and 0.242&lt;Pa&lt;0.349 for antibiotic. For this purpose, previously synthesized potential derivatives of methyl α-D-mannopyranoside were assessed with six different variants of the COVID-19 protein and docking studies by AutoDock. The highest binding affinity from the molecular docking score was obtained at -8.5 against the alpha variant (PDB ID 7EKF) in L06 against each of the SARS-CoV-2 targeted proteins. In addition, good energy values were found against the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (PDB ID 6vxx), Omicron variant (PDB ID 7T9J) and Delta variant (PDB ID 7V8B). Although all the synthesized compounds have opposed to standard affinities, the docking scores of newly derivative compounds were found to be the highest in contrast to the alpha variant (PDB ID 7EKF) (-8.5 kcal/mol), where the standard Molnupiravir has been shown to be -6.9 kcal/mol against the alpha variant. In addition, all possible candidates for the new drug show an excellent pharmacokinetic profile, are noncarcinogenic, are highly water soluble, fulfill PASS prediction, and have drug-likeness that meets all the pharmacokinetic parameters. Therefore, this methyl-α-D-mannopyranoside and its derivatives might be useful to inhibit the mentioned COVID-19 variants as a potential drug(s) candidate

Rat floods and water floods: the ecological and sociological dynamics of rodent management in Bangladesh

Chakma, N., Belmain, S.R., Sarker, N.J., Sarker, S.U., Kamal, N.Q., Sarker, S.K

Low-Cost 3D Printer Drawn Optical Microfibers for Smartphone Colorimetric Detection.

A fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer extruder was utilized as a micro-furnace draw tower for the direct fabrication of low-cost optical fibers. An air-clad multimode microfiber was drawn from optically transparent polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) filament. A custom-made spooling collection allows for an automatic variation of fiber diameter between ϕ ∼ 72 to 397 μm by tuning the drawing speed. Microstructure imaging as well as the 3D beam profiling of the transmitted beam in the orthogonal axes was used to show good quality, functioning microfiber fabrication with uniform diameter and identical beam profiles for orthogonal axes. The drawn microfiber was used to demonstrate budget smartphone colorimetric-based absorption measurement to detect the degree of adulteration of olive oils with soybean oil

Nutritional Profiling of Wild (Pangasius pangasius) and Farmed (Pangasius hypophthalmus) Pangasius Catfish with Implications to Human Health

publishedVersio

Sonochemical Synthesis of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles

Cobalt ferrite being a hard magnetic material with high coercivity and moderate magnetization has found wide-spread applications. In this paper, we have reported the sonochemical synthesis of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles using metal acetate precursors. The ferrite synthesis occurs in three steps (hydrolysis of acetates, oxidation of hydroxides, and in situ microcalcination of metal oxides) that are facilitated by physical and chemical effects of cavitation bubbles. The physical and magnetic properties of the ferrite nano-particles thus synthesized have been found to be comparable with those reported in the literature using other synthesis techniques

Smoking and pre-existing co-morbidities as risk factors for developing severity of COVID-19 infection: Evidence from a field hospital in a rural area of Bangladesh

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting information files available online at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295040#sec019 ..Since August 2020; the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) in collaboration with UNICEF has been operating a COVID-19 field hospital at the Teknaf sub-district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. This paper is focused on estimating the effects of a history of tobacco smoking and pre-existing co-morbidities on the severity of COVID-19 infection among adult patients admitted into the aforesaid hospital. We conducted a retrospective data analysis of COVID-19 adult patients hospitalized from August 27, 2020 to April 20, 2022. Based on inclusion criteria; a total of 788 admitted patients were included in the analysis. We conducted a Chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test for the categorical variables to see their associations. Multinomial logistic regression models were performed to explore the risk factors for the severity of COVID-19 infection. Among 788 patients, 18.4%, 18.8%, 13%, 7.1%, 3.4%, and 1.9% have had a history of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and asthma respectively. Overall, the mean age of the patients was 40.3 ± 16.4 years and 51% were female. In multivariate analysis, history of smoking and co-morbidities were identified as the risk factors for the severity of COVID-19 infection; the history of smoking was found linked with an increase in the risk of developing critical, severe, and moderate level of COVID-19 infection- notably 3.17 times (RRR = 3.17; 95% CI: 1.3–7.68), 2.98 times (RRR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.87–4.76) and 1.96 times (RRR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.25–3.08) respectively more than the patients who never smoked. It was evident that patients with at least one of the selected co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, COPD, CVD, and asthma exhibited a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing severe illness of COVID-19 compared to patients without any co-morbidity. History of tobacco smoking and pre-existing co-morbidities were significantly associated with an increased severity of COVID-19 infection.The author(s) received no specific funding for this work