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Increasing evidence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection in healthcare facilities poses an alarming threat to public health. There is little evidence on the occurrence of this organism in Bangladeshi hospitals.We collected 117 environmental swab samples from two tertiary care hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh and tested for Pseudomonas species by nonselective enrichment of swabs followed by plating on Cetrimide agar. We confirmed the isolates as P. aeruginosa by API 20NE test and polymerase chain reaction Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for 16S rRNA gene. We analysed P. aeruginosa isolates for susceptibility against 15 clinically important antibiotics and tested the carbapenem-resistant isolates for metallo β-lactamase (MBL). All CRPA isolates were characterised for carbapenem-resistant genes, virulence genes and biofilm formation genes.Of 117 swab samples, 82 (70%) were tested positive for P. aeruginosa. All P. aeruginosa isolates were multidrug-resistant, and 39% (n = 32) of isolates were CRPA. Around 56% (n = 18) of CRPA were MBL-producing; 22% (n = 7) of isolates were positive for carbapenemase gene blaHospital environments in Bangladesh are contaminated with highly virulent CRPA, which might be a potential source of hospital-acquired infections, accentuating the need for strengthening hospital infection control programs.

Background The impact of rapid urbanization taking place across the world is posing variegated challenge. Especially in terms of communicable disease, the risk is more concentrated in urban poor areas where basic amenities are inadequate. In this context, the aim of this study was to carry out an evidence synthesis on the state-of the art effective community-based interventions in tackling infectious diseases among the urban poor in the LMICs across the globe. Methods This review has been registered in PROPSPERO (CRD42021278689). A total of 18,260 published articles were primarily selected; after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria 115 studies were considered for full-text screening. Among them, 17 articles were included. Afterwards, reference check was done and finally total of 21 articles were considered for the systematic review. Narrative synthesis was done. Results The pathway to identifying and addressing the SDOH through community-based intervention in the urban poor setting was complex. For effectiveness of a community-based intervention, the socio-cultural context is found extremely important. From this review, the effective community-based interventions were- community-based screening and socio-economic support, community-based vector control, behaviour change communication, capacity building of the Community Health Workers, health education and e-health interventions. Interventions need to be delivered considering the day-to-day realities of the urban poor. While some studies considered the outcome of specific diseases through vertical intervention approach, scarcity of evidence was found in terms of taking an intersectional approach. Discussion The effectiveness of an intervention are inextricable linked with social context, stakeholder dimensions and macro level social issues. The review results thus suggestive of an intervention package that considers a systems approach. Conclusion Considering this complex reality of an intervention to be effective, this evidence-synthesis therefore advocates for designing the intervention package with multiple components related to prevention and control of communicable diseases in poor urban areas. PROSPERO registration number: This review has been registered in PROPSPERO (CRD42021278689).

In this study, we developed a nanoformulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) for tumor-targeted photodynamic therapy, in which 5-ALA was conjugated with a biocompatible polymer N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) through the hydrazone bond, i.e., P-ALA. P-ALA behaves as the nano-sized molecule with an average size of 5.5 nm in aqueous solution. P-ALA shows a largely increased release rate in acidic pH than physiological pH, suggesting the rapid release profile in acidic tumor environment. P-ALA did not show apparent cytotoxicity up to 0.1 mg/ml, however, under light irradiation, remarkable cell death was induced with the IC

Antibiotic resistance is a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide. Heavy metals such as arsenic have been shown to drive co-selection of antibiotic resistance, suggesting arsenic-contaminated drinking water is a risk factor for antibiotic resistance carriage. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and abundance of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (AR-Ec) among people and drinking water in high (Hajiganj, >100 μg/L) and low arsenic-contaminated (Matlab, E. coli isolates from 10 households. Prevalence of AR-Ec was significantly higher in water in Hajiganj (48%) compared to water in Matlab (22%, p p E. coli isolates from Hajiganj were multidrug-resistant (83%) compared to isolates from Matlab (71%, p 0.2) was observed in a higher proportion of water (78%) and child stool (100%) isolates in Hajiganj than in water (57%) and children (89%) in Matlab (p p E. coli isolates did not reveal any clustering based on arsenic exposure and no significant difference in resistome was found among the isolates between the two areas. The positive association detected between arsenic exposure and antibiotic resistance carriage among children in arsenic-affected areas in Bangladesh is an important public health concern that warrants redoubling efforts to reduce arsenic exposure.

Biodegradable nanomedicines are widely studied as candidates for the effective treatment of various cancerous diseases. Here, we present the design, synthesis and evaluation of biodegradable polymer-based nanomedicines tailored for tumor-associated stimuli-sensitive drug release and polymer system degradation. Diblock polymer systems were developed, which enabled the release of the carrier drug, pirarubicin, via a pH-sensitive spacer allowing for the restoration of the drug cytotoxicity solely in the tumor tissue. Moreover, the tailored design enables the matrix-metalloproteinases- or reduction-driven degradation of the polymer system into the polymer chains excretable from the body by glomerular filtration. Diblock nanomedicines take advantage of an enhanced EPR effect during the initial phase of nanomedicine pharmacokinetics and should be easily removed from the body after tumor microenvironment-associated biodegradation after fulfilling their role as a drug carrier. In parallel with the similar release profiles of diblock nanomedicine to linear polymer conjugates, these diblock polymer conjugates showed a comparable in vitro cytotoxicity, intracellular uptake, and intratumor penetration properties. More importantly, the diblock nanomedicines showed a remarkable in vivo anti-tumor efficacy, which was far more superior than conventional linear polymer conjugates. These findings suggested the advanced potential of diblock polymer conjugates for anticancer polymer therapeutics.

Move Method Refactoring (MMR) is used to place highly coupled methods in appropriate classes for making source code more cohesive. Like other refactoring techniques, it is mandatory that applying MMR will preserve applications’ behaviors. However, traditional MMR techniques failed to meet this essential precondition for Action methods in web-based application and API methods in libraries projects. The reason is that applying MMR on these methods changes the behaviors of the projects by raising Application-breaking issues, for instance, failure of browser requests and compilation errors in client projects. To resolve this problem, developers are suggested to manually check Action and API methods while applying MMR. However, manually inspecting thousands of lines of code for these issues is a time-consuming and hectic task. In this paper, an advanced MMR technique is proposed which automatically identifies Application-breaking MMR suggestions. This technique first takes the initial move method suggestions from the existing prominent MMR techniques e.g. JDeodorant. For each of the suggestions, it parses the source code and construct Abstract Syntax Tree to examine two types of usage. One is whether a suggestion has not been used in any unit test and Regular Class, and another is whether the suggestion has been used in unit test classes only. If any MMR suggestion is found having one of these two types of usage or both, the respective suggestion is marked as Application-breaking. In order to evaluate the proposed technique, several experiments have been conducted on open source projects. The experimental results show that the proposed technique achieved 96.4% Precision, 90% Recall and 93.1% F-score in detecting Application-breaking MMR suggestions, because of considering external dependencies of the MMR suggestions.

Workplace bulling is a ubiquitous phenomenon with negative consequences for the mental and physical health of targets and the output of organizations. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of workplace bullying among the academic and non-academic staffs of two sampled universities. Primary data were collected through a well-structured self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version: 24) software. The study found that some incidence of bullying are addressed in both institutions in the mode of withholding valuable information, ordered to do unpleasant tasks, overburdened by goals, excessive monitoring, try to finds faults, ignored in workplace, indication for leaving job, hostility in workstation, unwelcomed message or phone calls, being shouted, and fill threatened. The types of bullying presence are from 3% to 30% and DIU has more occurrences of bullying in comparison to HSTU. The present study revealed that some respondents are not conscious about bullying even they are not concern on such issues. They are reluctant to report the incidents happened on them or others. The study suggests that the universities and decision makers must be aware to address the modes of different bullying to resolve negative acts in workplace.

In this paper, we obtained the exact solutions of the [Formula: see text]-dimensional nonlinear dispersive modified Benjamin–Bona–Mahony (DMBBM) and the seventh-order Sawada–Kotera–Ito (S-K Ito) equations with the help of the [Formula: see text]-expansion method specially the [Formula: see text]-expansion and [Formula: see text]-expansion methods. Soliton solutions found for the given equations are in the form of hyperbolic, trigonometric and rational solutions. All obtained solutions were checked. 3D and 2D graphs of some solutions were given and discussed.

This research has contributed to the impact and association of Everything But Arms Scheme, Export to EU market from Bangladesh, Foreign Exchange Reserve of Bangladesh and Dhaka Stock Exchange. Here, data are secondary and collected from the authentic sources such as World Bank, Bangladesh Bank and Dhaka Stock Exchange. Export of Bangladesh of the year 2000 and 2015 of 171 destinations are used as Panel data whereas time series data of from January, 1986 to December, 2017. Difference-in-Difference (DID) and Error Correction Econometrics Methods have been used for analyzing the panel and time series data respectively. Later on, impact of Export via Foreign Exchange Reserve on Market Capitalization of Stock Exchange is checked. Appropriate econometric model has been selected based on Unit Root and Gregory and Hansen Test. Justification the accuracy of result has also been checked using econometric test like Heteroskedasticity, Multicollinearity, Durbin-Watson, Breusch-Godfrey LM, White and Cumulative Summation. Reliability analysis shows that EBA is responsible for enhancement of 97% export to EU market which raised 58% of export as a whole. This enhancement is associated with Foreign Exchange Reserve by 23%; the contribution of EBA on GDP and employment is 7.28% and 2.66 million respectively. This research shows the duration of adjustment factor for return to equilibrium which is 10.30% in a month; Foreign Exchange Reserve has positive impact on the capitalization of DSE in long run. The overall impact of Everything But Arms (EBA) on Market Capitalization of Dhaka Stock Exchange is 72.18% in the same direction.

The prevalence of fecal colonization with extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing

Polymer nanomedicines with anti-tumor activity should exhibit sufficient stability during systemic circulation to the target tissue; however, they should release the active drug selectively in the tumor. Thus, choice of a tumor-specific stimuli-sensitive spacer between the drug and the carrier is critical. Here, a series of polymer conjugates of anti-cancer drugs doxorubicin and pirarubicin covalently bound to copolymers based on N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide via various enzymatically cleavable oligopeptide spacers were prepared and characterized. The highest rate of the drug release from the polymer carriers in presence of the lysosomal protease cathepsin B was determined for the copolymers with Val-Cit-Aba spacer. Copolymers containing pirarubicin were more cytotoxic and showed higher internalization rate than the corresponding doxorubicin counterparts. The conjugates containing GFLG and Val-Cit-Aba spacers exhibited the highest anti-tumor efficacy in vivo against murine sarcoma S-180, the highest rate of the enzymatically catalyzed drug release, and the highest cytotoxicity in vitro.

The unacknowledged usage of Intellectual Property (IP), for example, academic or scientific writings, is considered plagiarism. People get involved in this unethical practice in order to achieve rewards or society's attention effortlessly. For example, students often copy & paste from other's documents to achieve better marks. However, it is crucial to detect plagiarism to reward the actual owners of IP like academic or scientific writings. The existing studies are better at identifying external online sources of plagiarism for a given document. However, busy academics need to identify plagiarism among a set of offline writings or documents more often. To this end, we develop a tool named AcPgChecker to assist busy academicians. Initially, this tool measure similarity among a set of documents using a well-known information retrieval technique, Cosine Similarity. Then, it compares the measured similarities with a predefined threshold to detect plagiarism. The main attractions of this tool are: it is open source and freely available for anyone whereas equivalent existing tools are very expensive.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) accounts for a significant morbidity and mortality across the world and is a leading cause for antibiotic prescriptions in the community especially in developing countries. Empirical choice of antibiotics for treatment of UTI is often discordant with the drug susceptibility of the etiologic agent. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of community-acquired UTI caused by antibiotic resistant organisms. This was a cross-sectional study where urine samples were prospectively collected from 4,500 patients at the icddr,b diagnostic clinic in Dhaka, Bangladesh during 2016–2018. Urine samples were analyzed by standard culture method and the isolated bacteria were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by using disc diffusion method and VITEK-2. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of community acquired UTI (CA-UTI) by different age groups, sex, and etiology of infection. Relationship between the etiology of CA-UTI and age and sex of patients was analyzed using binary logistic regression analysis. Seasonal trends in the prevalence of CA-UTI, multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens and MDR Escherichia coli were also analyzed. Around 81% of patients were adults (≥18y). Of 3,200 (71%) urine samples with bacterial growth, 920 (29%) had a bacterial count of ≥1.0x105 CFU/ml indicating UTI. Women were more likely to have UTI compared to males (OR: 1.48, CI: 1.24–1.76). E. coli (51.6%) was the predominant causative pathogen followed by Streptococcus spp. (15.7%), Klebsiella spp. (12.1%), Enterococcus spp. (6.4%), Pseudomonas spp. (4.4%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. (2.0%), and other pathogens (7.8%). Both E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were predominantly resistant to penicillin (85%, 95%, respectively) followed by macrolide (70%, 76%), third-generation cephalosporins (69%, 58%), fluoroquinolones (69%, 53%) and carbapenem (5%, 9%). Around 65% of patients tested positive for multi-drug resistant (MDR) uropathogens. A higher number of male patients tested positive for MDR pathogens compared to the female patients (p = 0.015). Overall, 71% of Gram-negative and 46% of Gram-positive bacteria were MDR. The burden of community-acquired UTI caused by MDR organisms was high among the study population. The findings of the study will guide clinicians to be more selective about their antibiotic choice for empirical treatment of UTI and alleviate misuse/overuse of antibiotics in the community.

The COVID-19 pandemic forces people to be vaccinated as early as possible. The COVID-19 vaccination program certainly raised the medical waste volume all over the world, including in Bangladesh. Numerous recent reports showed a fragile medical waste management system in Bangladesh; during the pandemic, the situation became worse. In addition, the nation-wide ongoing COVID-19 vaccination processes have been posing an extra burden to the existing biomedical waste management in the country. Failing to proper management of this waste might be a threat to human and environmental health. Therefore, the study investigated the current COVID-19 vaccine waste management practices in Bangladesh and made a comparison to the proposed standard operating procedures of international organizations and vaccine waste management practices of two other countries (USA and India). The study was carried out through a mixed methodological approach such as qualitative and quantitative, including a questionnaire survey in 15 Upazila of 4 Districts (Dhaka, Narayanganj, Manikganj, and Gazipur) of Bangladesh. The article focused on a nation-wide legitimate COVID-19 vaccination waste estimation, strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis and drivers, pressure, state, impact, and response (DPSIR) framework analysis to identify the present state of medical waste management in the study area. The study found an excellent segregation system (100%) but very poor waste handling (35.5%) along with very poor syringes and sharps disposal method (open burning without buried 46.6%) and poor vials disposal method (without disinfection/open dump 52%) of vaccine waste. It is estimated that about 58 and 257.85 tonnes of syringes (with needles and packaging) and vaccine vials (Sinopharm 2 doses) waste have been generated since the mass-vaccination program started. Upon SWOT analysis, good separation techniques, poor waste management (ex-situ), enough space for management, and environmental and human health concerns were mostly identified as a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat, respectively. Finally, a DPSIR framework was prepared for vaccine waste generation and its consequences in the studied area. This study will be useful to prepare a suitable vaccination waste management system in Bangladesh.

For more than three decades, enhanced permeability and retention (EPR)-effect-based nanomedicines have received considerable attention for tumor-selective treatment of solid tumors. However, treatment of advanced cancers remains a huge challenge in clinical situations because of occluded or embolized tumor blood vessels, which lead to so-called heterogeneity of the EPR effect. We previously developed a method to restore impaired blood flow in blood vessels by using nitric oxide donors and other agents called EPR-effect enhancers. Here, we show that two novel EPR-effect enhancers—isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN, Nitrol®) and sildenafil citrate—strongly potentiated delivery of three macromolecular drugs to tumors: a complex of poly(styrene-co-maleic acid) (SMA) and cisplatin, named Smaplatin® (chemotherapy), poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide) polymer-conjugated zinc protoporphyrin (photodynamic therapy and imaging), and SMA glucosamine-conjugated boric acid complex (boron neutron capture therapy). We tested these nanodrugs in mice with advanced C26 tumors. When these nanomedicines were administered together with ISDN or sildenafil, tumor delivery and thus positive therapeutic results increased two- to four-fold in tumors with diameters of 15 mm or more. These results confirmed the rationale for using EPR-effect enhancers to restore tumor blood flow. In conclusion, all EPR-effect enhancers tested showed great potential for application in cancer therapy.

Background: Human exposure to intensively farmed livestock is a potential risk for transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) but few studies have assessed the relative role of animal vs. environmental sources of ARB in low-resource community settings. Objectives: We conducted an observational study to compare ARB colonization and antibiotic-resistant gene prevalence and abundance in humans with high or low exposure to poultry in rural households, commercial poultry farms, and urban markets in Bangladesh. Methods: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and carbapenem-resistant E. coli were quantified in feces from adults with high or low poultry exposure (n=100, respectively), poultry (n=200), drinking water (n=120), and wastewater (n=120) from 40 rural households, 40 poultry farms, and 40 urban markets. Results: ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) prevalence was 67.5% (95% CI: 61.0, 74.0) in samples from adults, 68.0% (95% CI: 61.5, 74.5) in samples from poultry, and 92.5% (95% CI: 87.7, 97.3) in wastewater samples. Carbapenem-resistant E. coli prevalence was high in market wastewaters [30% (95% CI: 15.0, 45.0)] but low in humans (1%) and poultry (1%). Human, poultry, and wastewater isolates shared common resistance genes: blaCTX-M-1, qnr, and blaTEM. Human colonization was not significantly associated with exposure to poultry or setting (rural, farm, or market). Ninety-five percent of commercial poultry farms routinely administered antibiotics. Susceptibility tests were significantly different in household vs. farm and market poultry isolates for four of seven antibiotic classes. In human isolates, there were no differences except aminoglycoside resistance (16.4% high vs. 4.4% low exposure, p=0.02). Urban market wastewaters and poultry samples had significantly higher concentrations of ESBL-EC (p

Background: Human exposure to intensively farmed livestock is a potential risk for transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) but few studies have assessed the relative role of animal vs. environmental sources of ARB in low-resource community settings. Objectives: We conducted an observational study to compare ARB colonization and antibiotic-resistant gene prevalence and abundance in humans with high or low exposure to poultry in rural households, commercial poultry farms, and urban markets in Bangladesh. Methods: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and carbapenem-resistant E. coli were quantified in feces from adults with high or low poultry exposure (n=100, respectively), poultry (n=200), drinking water (n=120), and wastewater (n=120) from 40 rural households, 40 poultry farms, and 40 urban markets. Results: ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) prevalence was 67.5% (95% CI: 61.0, 74.0) in samples from adults, 68.0% (95% CI: 61.5, 74.5) in samples from poultry, and 92.5% (95% CI: 87.7, 97.3) in wastewater samples. Carbapenem-resistant E. coli prevalence was high in market wastewaters [30% (95% CI: 15.0, 45.0)] but low in humans (1%) and poultry (1%). Human, poultry, and wastewater isolates shared common resistance genes: blaCTX-M-1, qnr, and blaTEM. Human colonization was not significantly associated with exposure to poultry or setting (rural, farm, or market). Ninety-five percent of commercial poultry farms routinely administered antibiotics. Susceptibility tests were significantly different in household vs. farm and market poultry isolates for four of seven antibiotic classes. In human isolates, there were no differences except aminoglycoside resistance (16.4% high vs. 4.4% low exposure, p=0.02). Urban market wastewaters and poultry samples had significantly higher concentrations of ESBL-EC (p

D614G genotype of SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly infectious and responsible for almost all infection for 2nd wave. However, there are currently no reports with D614G as vaccine candidate. Here we report the development of an mRNA-LNP vaccine with D614G variant and characterization in animal model. We have used special mRNA-architecture and formulation that provides suitable response of the product. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) data with spike protein (S) revealed that immunization generated specific antibody pools against the whole extracellular domain (RBD and S2) of the spike protein. The anti-sera and purified IgGs from immunized mice neutralized SARS-CoV-2-pseudoviruses in ACE2-expressing HEK293 cells in a dose dependent manner. Importantly, single-dose immunization protected mice-lungs from homotypic-pseudovirus entry and cytopathy. The immunologic responses have been implicated by a balanced and stable population of CD4+ cells with a Th1 bias. The data suggested great promise for immediate translation of the technology to the clinic.

Intralipid, a clinically used lipid emulsion, was reportedly utilized as one strategy to suppress off-target delivery of anticancer nanomedicines; Intralipid also effectively improved drug delivery to tumors and produced better therapeutic effects. However, the mechanisms involved—the why and how—in Intralipid's facilitation of delivery of nanomedicines to tumors have not yet been reported in detail. In this study, we investigated Intralipid and discovered the beneficial effects of Intralipid pretreatment when using three anticancer nanomedicines, including the clinically approved drug doxorubicin (Doxil). Intralipid pretreatment induced a 40% reduction in liver uptake of a polymeric nanoprobe used in photodynamic therapy as well as a 1.5-fold-increased nanomedicine accumulation in tumors. This increased accumulation consequently led to significantly better therapeutic effects, and this finding was validated by using Doxil. As an interesting result, Intralipid pretreatment significantly prolonged the plasma half-life of nanomedicines in normal healthy mice but not in tumor-bearing mice, which suggests that tumors become an alternative route of nanomedicine delivery when liver delivery is suppressed. Also, we found markedly increased tumor blood flow, as measured by fluorescence angiography, and significantly lower blood viscosity after Intralipid pretreatment. All our results together indicate that Intralipid treatment not only suppressed off-target nanomedicine delivery by the reticuloendothelial system, but more important, it enhanced nanomedicine delivery to tumors by improving tumor blood flow, which is key to satisfactory drug delivery via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. Significantly better therapeutic outcomes were thus achieved by the strategy of combining utilization of nanomedicines and Intralipid pretreatment. Statement of significance Off-target delivery to organs such as the liver and obstructed tumor blood flow as is often seen in advanced cancers are major barriers to the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer nanomedicines. Intralipid has been shown effective for suppressing nanomedicine accumulation in the liver, resulting in improved anticancer effects. Unraveling the mechanisms involved in this process will be greatly helpful for the clinical application of anticancer nanomedicines. We reported here that Intralipid could also significantly increase tumor delivery of nanomedicine, which is beneficial for improving tumor blood flow and lowering blood viscosity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the role of Intralipid in this regard. This knowledge provides a solid rationale for the use of Intralipid in combination with anticancer nanomedicines.

The spatial distribution of clinically important antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and associated genes is important to identify environmental distribution of contamination and ‘hotspots’ of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We conducted an integrated survey of AMR in drinking water, wastewater and surface water (rivers and ponds) in three settings in Bangladesh: rural households, rural poultry farms, and urban food markets. Spatial mapping was conducted via geographic information system (GIS) using ArcGIS software. Samples (n = 397) were analyzed for the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec), carbapenem-resistant E. coli (CR-Ec) and resistance genes (blaCTX-M-1, blaNDM-1). In rural households, 5% of drinking water supply samples tested positive for ESBL-Ec, and a high proportion of wastewater, pond and river water samples were positive for ESBL-Ec (90%, 76%, and 85%, respectively). In poultry farms, 10% of drinking water samples tested positive for ESBL-Ec compared to a high prevalence in wastewater, pond and river water (90%, 68%, and 85%, respectively). CR-Ec prevalence in household wastewater and pond water was relatively low (8% and 5%, respectively) compared to river water (33%). In urban areas, 38% of drinking water samples and 98% of wastewater samples from markets tested positive for ESBL-Ec while 30% of wastewater samples tested positive for CR-Ec. Wastewaters had the highest concentrations of ESBL-Ec, CR-Ec, blaCTXM-1 and blaNDM-1 and these were significantly higher in urban compared to rural samples (p

Tumor-targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) using polymeric photosensitizers is a promising anticancer therapeutic strategy. Previously, we developed several polymeric nanoprobes for PDT using different polymers and PDT agents. In the study, we synthesized a styrene maleic acid copolymer (SMA) micelle encapsulating temoporfin (mTHPC) that is a clinically used PDT drug, SMA@mTHPC, with a hydrodynamic size of 98 nm, which showed high water solubility. SMA@mTHPC maintained stable micelle formation in physiological aqueous solutions including serum, however, the micelles could be disrupted in the presence of detergent (e.g., Tween 20) as well as lecithin, the major component of cell membrane, suggesting micelles will be destroyed and free mTHPC will be released during intracellular uptake. SMA@mTHPC showed a pH-dependent release profile, for which a constant release of ≈20% per day was found at pH 7.4, and much more release occurred at acidic pH (e.g., 6.5, 5.5), suggesting extensive release of free mTHPC could occur in the weak acidic environment of a tumor and further during internalization into tumor cells. In vitro cytotoxicity assay showed a lower cytotoxicity of SMA@mTHPC than free mTHPC, however, similar in vivo antitumor effects were observed by both SMA@mTHPC and free THPC. More importantly, severe side effects (e.g., body weight loss, death of the mice) were found during free mTHPC treatment, whereas no apparent side effects were observed for SMA@mTHPC. The superior safety profile of SMA@mTHPC was mostly due to its micelle formation and the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect-based tumor accumulation, as well as the tumor environment-responsive release properties. These findings suggested SMA@mTHPC may become a good candidate drug for targeted PDT with high safety.

The enhanced (G′/G)-expansion method presents wide applicability to handling nonlinear wave equations. In this article, we find the new exact traveling wave solutions of the Benney–Luke equation by using the enhanced (G′/G)-expansion method. This method is a useful, reliable, and concise method to easily solve the nonlinear evaluation equations (NLEEs). The traveling wave solutions have expressed in term of the hyperbolic and trigonometric functions. We also have plotted the 2D and 3D graphics of some analytical solutions obtained in this paper.

Here, we describe innovative synthesis of well-defined biocompatible N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA)-based polymer carriers and their drug conjugates with pirarubicin intended for controlled drug delivery and pH-triggered drug activation in tumor tissue. Polymer carrier synthesis was optimized to obtain well-defined linear HPMA-based polymer precursor with dispersity close to 1 and molar mass close to renal threshold with minimal synthesis steps. The developed synthesis enables preparation of tailored polymer nanomedicines with highly enhanced biological behavior in vivo, especially the biodistribution, urine elimination, tumor accumulation and anticancer activity. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The manuscript reports on novel synthesis and detailed physicochemical characterization and in vivo evaluation of well-defined biocompatible hydrophilic copolymers based on N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) and their drug conjugates with pirarubicin enabling controlled drug delivery and pH-triggered drug activation in tumor tissue. Polymer carrier synthesis was optimized to obtain well-defined linear HPMA-based polymer precursor with minimal synthesis steps using controlled polymerization. Compared to previously published HPMA-based polymer drug conjugates whose polymer carriers were prepared by classical route via free radical polymerization, the newly prepared polymer drug conjugates exhibited enhanced biological behavior in vivo, especially the prolonged blood circulation, urine elimination, tumor accumulation and excellent anticancer activity. We believe that the newly prepared well-defined polymer conjugates could significantly enhance tumor therapy in humans.

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance is a widespread, alarming issue in global health and a significant contributor to human death and illness, especially in low and middle-income countries like Bangladesh. Despite extensive work conducted in environmental settings, there is a scarcity of knowledge about the presence of resistant organisms in the air. OBJECTIVE The objective of this protocol is to quantify and characterize the airborne resistomes in Bangladesh, which will be a guide to identify high-risk environments for multidrug-resistant pathogens with their spatiotemporal diversity. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study with an environmental, systematic, and grid sampling strategy focused on collecting air samples from different outdoor environments during the dry and wet seasons. The four environmental compartments are the frequent human exposure sites in both urban and rural settings: urban residential areas (n=20), live bird markets (n=20), rural households (n=20), and poultry farms (n=20). We obtained air samples from 80 locations in two seasons by using an active microbial air sampler. From each location, five air samples were collected in different media to yield the total bacterial count of 3rd generation cephalosporin (3GC) resistant Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. RESULTS The study started in January 2018, and the collection of air samples was completed in November 2018. We have received 800 air samples from 80 study locations in both dry and wet seasons. Currently, the laboratory analysis is ongoing, and we expect to receive the preliminary results by October 2019. We will publish the complete result as soon as we clean and analyze the data and draft the manuscript. CONCLUSIONS The existence of resistant bacteria in the air like those producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus will justify our hypothesis that the outdoor environment (air) in Bangladesh acts as a reservoir for bacteria that carry genes conferring resistance to antibiotics. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the presence of superbugs in the air in commonly exposed areas in Bangladesh.

In this article, we implement the modified simple equation (MSE) and improve F-expansion method to find the exact solutions of the (2 ​+ ​1)-dimensional Heisenberg Ferromagnetic Spin Chain (HFSC) equation and construct traveling wave solutions in terms of hyperbolic functions, trigonometric functions and rational functions with arbitrary parameters. Some 2D and 3D graphics of analytical solutions obtained are presented in this paper. The methods are capable and highly effective mathematical tool for extracting exact traveling wave solutions to nonlinear evolution equations (NLEEs) arising in mathematical physics and engineering fields.

Gift tax is a direct tax in nature which is levied on the taxable gifts under Gift Tax Act-1990 that was adopted from Pakistani Gift Tax Act 1963 with some modifications in Bangladesh. In some countries gift tax and inheritance tax is one and the rate of inheritance tax depends on the closeness of the relationship. Gift consists of the extinction of one’s own property and the generation of another property, that can also be termed as present and Gift tax is paid on the gifted money or money’s worth. Gift tax is digressive in structure of tax rate. Generally up to Tk 20,000 of gifts is exempted from tax. The valuation of gifts should be made according to the rules prescribed in Gift Tax Act 1990. However gifts made to spouse and blood related persons like parents, own brothers and sisters and the gift of property situated outside Bangladesh are normally exempted from taxation. Moreover gifts made to charitable institutions are also exempted from taxation even government enjoys the power to exempt any gifts from taxation. Although there are provision and laws of gift tax, still the collection of tax revenue from this source is not mentionable but the scenario can be changed by taking necessary steps by the respective authorities.

The enhanced (G'/G)-expansion method is very effective and powerful method to find the exact traveling wave solutions of nonlinear evolution equations. We choose the Phi-4 equation to illustrate the validity and advantages of this method. As a result, many exact traveling wave solutions are obtained, which include soliton, hyperbolic function and trigonometric function solutions.

In this paper, the enhanced (G'/G)-expansion method is used to assemble the traveling wave solutions involving parameters of the Foam Drainage equation, where G =G(ξ) satisfies a second order linear differential equation. The traveling wave solutions are expressed by the hyperbolic functions and the trigonometric functions. When some arbitrary functions included in these solutions are taken as some special functions, these solutions possess profuse structures. This method is direct, concise elementary and effective and can be used for many other nonlinear evolutions equations.