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Adopting improved management practices for rearing carp can play a vital role in developing the aquaculture sector of Bangladesh. This study identifies the factors that facilitate the adoption of improved management practices and their relationship with productivity. Primary data was collected from 300 carp farmers through face-to-face interviews. Improved management practices were divided into three categories: simple, intermediate and complex. Findings indicated that high adopters (those who adopted at least one simple, one intermediate and one complex practice) were only around 10% of respondents. The adoption of improved management practices was influenced by spousal education level, training, extension contact, and off-farm income sources. Productivity of high adopters was 38% higher than that of non-adopters. Policy implications from this research included improving extension facilities from public agencies to facilitate adoption of improved practices and to increase and sustain productivity in carp farming. Modifying the current extension approach and diversifying income sources among farmers will facilitate widespread adoption of improved management practices.

Highlights • Different fishes were collected and were subjected to form an in vitro biofilm. • Huge array (up to 107 cfu/ml or g) of pathogenic bacteria. • Few of the isolates were sensitive and few were resistant against the antibiotics but after bio-film formation all the species acquired resistance., Background The ability of many bacteria to adhere on the host surfaces and forming biofilms has major implications in a wide variety of industries including the food industry, where biofilms may create a persistent source of contamination. In the same environmental condition, the multiple bacterial species can closely interact with each other and may easily enhance their drug resistance capability, which finally increases the multi-drug resistant (MDR) attribute of the species. Objective The present study examined whether the mixed-species biofilm possesses any impact on the enhancement of the antibiotic resistance of the planktonic or single-cell bacterial isolates present in the fish samples. Methods In this regard, Cyprinus rubrofuscus (Koi), Heteropneustes fossilis (Shing) and Mystus vittatus (Tengra) fishes were collected and subjected to form an in vitro biofilm by shaking condition into the wise bath. The drug-resistant pattern was determined by the Kirby Bauer technique. Results All the samples exhibited a huge array (up to 107 cfu/ml or g) of bacteria such as E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., Proteus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. The isolates from both the bulk samples and their corresponding biofilms were subjected to antibiogram assay using antibiotics such as Ampicillin (10 µg), Erythromycin (15 μg), Streptomycin (STP 10 μg), Oxacillin (10 µg), Nalidixic acid (30 µg). Before biofilm formation, few of the isolates were found to be sensitive and few were resistant against the antibiotics. But when the species were isolated from the biofilm the sensitive one acquired drug resistance and resistant strain unveiled more resistance towards the same antibiotics. The present study revealed extensive bacterial contamination in fish samples among those some were resistant against the supplied drugs. Conclusion After the formation of multi-species biofilm, the isolates became more resistant against the same drugs that is alarming for consumers and major obstacles to maintain sustainable health.

Laboratory experiment was conducted to study the biochemical and quality parameters of tea i.e. Polyphenol, Theaflavin (TF), Thearubigin (TR), Caffeine, Lipid, Total ash, Chlorophyll, Moisture content etc. under different variables designed for age, topography, and processing system imposed on an established tea orchard. Results revealed that plant age and topography do not have any significant effect on most of the studied parameters. In case of plant age, tannin is found to be significantly higher in mature tea plant (39.35 ppm) whereas young plant showed significantly lower total sugar content (28.98 ppm). In case of land elevation, significantly higher tannin (37.41 ppm) and lower carotenoid content (0.74 mg/g) were evident in plants from kunchi topography where flat topography showed significantly higher total sugar (26.62 ppm) in leaves. The handmade tea flavoured with significantly higher amount of polyphenol (58.57 ppm) and caffein (43.30 ppm) but industry made tea showed significantly higher amount of tannin (37.65 ppm), total sugar (15.25 ppm) and TF:TR (1:10). Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(3): 633-639, 2021 (September)

The aim of this study is modify dessert for patients or people with diabetes mellitus in the form of Bread Fruit Pudding with natural sweeteners. Bread Fruit Pudding products use the main ingredients of jelly and low fat milk and fruit as a sweet taste. Pudding product development into bread fruit pudding is attempted to increase public insight regarding the importance of considering the use of sugar and changing the negative stigma of society regarding the consumption of fruit with a sweet taste. The production stage of Bread Fruits Pudding products consists of the preparation of materials and tools, the processing stage using the boiling technique (100˚C) and serving (150 grams/serving). The nutritional content of Bread Fruits Pudding is 92.7 Calories of energy; 5.3 grams of protein; 3.8 grams of fat; 12.9 grams of carbohydrates; 2.2 grams of fiber and 6.6 grams of natural sugar. The result of the preference test obtained that 78% liked the appearance and portion of the product, 56% liked the taste and 89% liked the texture. The composition of ingredients in pudding products in the community generally uses a lot of sugar or added artificial sweeteners that increase the risk of Diabetes Mellitus, Pudding product development into bread fruit pudding is efforts are made to become a solution for pudding products that are safe for consumption without any risk to health in consuming it.

Background: Fish is a source of nutrition; however, toxic substances and heavy metals may enter human body due to consuming contaminated fish. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of heavy metals and DDTs in Liza parsia, a fish species, and assess the health risk of the contaminants in the fish samples. Methods: The extracted fish lipid was added with n-hexane and H2SO4 and was kept for long time. The upper organic part was collected for the analysis of DDTs by gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detector. The fish samples were homogenized by wet digestion method, and the heavy metal contents were analyzed, using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The health risks of the fish samples were assessed based on target hazard quotient and target cancer risk. Results: The pesticide contents of DDT, DDD, DDE and DDTs in the fish samples were 0.0414, 0.000253, 0.015 and 0.0567ng/g, respectively. Also, the mean concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn were 35.42±10.05, 318.75±242.45, 41.67±4.78 and 281.25±5.42 mg/kg, respectively. Of note, the Cd and Pb contents were below the detection limits. The concentrations of other heavy metals were above the reference limits, which can cause various disease processes. Conclusion: The contents of four heavy metals and DDTs in the samples were above the limits. The main sources of these substances are likely due to human anthropogenic activities. Fish and other edible aquatic animals should be monitored regularly and the heavy metal levels be determined and declared to the public.

Food security and maximum land use system are the priorities of crop production technique in the present global food growing environment. The tomato-Albizia lebbck agroforestry is an effective smart production approach. The aim of this research is to find out the appropriate combination of organic mulch leads the tomato Albizia lebbck agroforestry production as compared to sole cropping technique for growth, yield, and quality that brings health hygiene for fresh and cooked consumption. The experiment was laid out following two factors split plot design with three (3) replications. Tomato in open field (T0) and tomato under Albizia lebbeck woodlot agroforestry system (T1) were arranged in main plots. Conversely, the usage of organic mulches was set in sub-plots viz. M0= No mulch, M1= Ash mulch, M2= Saw dust mulch, and M3= Water hyacinth mulch. The results indicated the highest yield (32.65 t/ha) was found in water hyacinth mulch (M3) and the lowest yield (21.37 t/ha) was detected in M0 without mulch (control). The treatment M3 (water hyacinth mulch) gave the maximum sugar-acid ratio (12.04%) and minimum sugar-acid ratio (9.42%) was found in control (no mulch). Furthermore, the result showed the production potentiality was the highest yield (29.41 t ha-1) was found in tomato- Albizia lebbeck agroforestry (T1) and the lowest yield (25.95 t ha-1) was recorded in sole cropping of tomato (T0). The maximum sugar-acid ratio (11.37%) was found in tomato- Albizia lebbeck agroforestry (T1) and the minimum sugar-acid ratio (10.31%) was found in sole cropping of tomato (T0). On the other, the combined effect tomato- Albizia lebbeck agroforestry with water hyacinth mulch gave the highest yield (35.01 while, the lowest yield (22.47 t ha-1) was observed in sole cropping of tomato without mulch. The research finding also revealed the maximum benefit-cost ratio (4.94) was found from the tomato- Albizia lebbeck agroforestry which was 20 % higher than tomato was grown in sole cropping. Finally, the tomato- Albizia lebbeck agroforestry production in association with organic hyacinth mulch can be an effective production approach for maximum return in terms of yield, quality and money.

Latar belakang. Lactobacillus gasseri merupakan jenis bakteri asam laktat (BAL) yang dapat menghasilkan bakteriosin sebagai suatu senyawa antibakteri. Objektif. untuk mengetahui potensi aktivitas bakteriosin Lactobacillus gasseri terhadap pertumbuhan Salmonella typhi dengan menilai Kadar Hambat Minimal (KHM) dan Kadar Bunuh Minimal (KBM). Metode. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan teknik dilusi dan menggunakan desain Rancangan Acak Lengkap. Konsentrasi bakteriosin Lactobacillus gasseri dibagi dalam berbagai kelompok konsentrasi yaitu 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 10% dan 0% (kontrol) dengan empat kali pengulangan. Nilai KHM dan KBM ditentukan dengan menghitung jumlah koloni bakteri yang tumbuh dari masing-masing konsentrasi. Hasil penelitian dianalisis secara statistik dengan uji One-way ANOVA dan Post-Hoc LSD. Hasil. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bakteriosin Lactobacillus gasseri dapat menghambat pertumbuhan Salmonella typhi namun tidak ditemukan nilai KHM dan KBM. Dengan perhitungan statistik ditemukan perbedaan yang bermakna pada konsentrasi 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% dan 20% terhadap kontrol. Simpulan. bakteriosin Lactobacillus gasseri memiliki efek bakteriostatik terhadap pertumbuhan Salmonella typhi tetapi tidak memiliki efek bakterisidal. Kemampuan daya hambat bakteriosin Lactobacillus gasseri terhadap pertumbuhan Salmonella typhi dipengaruhi oleh konsentrasi bakteriosinya. Kata kunci: Antibakteri, Bakteriosin, Lactobacillus gasseri, Salmonella typhi Background. Lactobacillus gasseri is a type of lactic acid bacteria (BAL) that can produce bacteriocin as an antibacterial compound. Objective. To determine the potential activity of Lactobacillus gasseri bacteriocin on the growth of Salmonella typhi by assessing the Minimum Inhibitory Level (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Method. This research was conducted with the dilution technique and using a completely randomized design. The concentration of Lactobacillus gasseri bacteriocin was divided into various concentration groups namely 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 10% and 0% (control) with four repetitions. The MIC and MBC values were determined by counting the number of bacterial colonies that grew from each concentration. The results of the study were statistically analyzed with the One-way ANOVA and Post-Hoc LSD tests. Results. The results showed that the bacteriocin Lactobacillus gasseri could inhibit the growth of Salmonella typhi but found no MIC and MBC values. Statistical calculations found significant differences in the concentration of 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% of the controls. Conclusion. bacteriocin Lactobacillus gasseri has a bacteriostatic effect on the growth of Salmonella typhi but has no bactericidal effect. The ability of Lactobacillus gasseri bacteriocin to inhibit the growth of Salmonella typhi is influenced by the concentration of bacteriocytes. Keyword: Antibacterial, Bacteriocin, Lactobacillus gasseri, Salmonella typhi

Background Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is widely used, but the evidence of the long-term effects on the gut microbiota and subsequent health of children is limited. Here, we compared the impacts of perinatal antibiotic exposure and later courses of antibiotic courses on gut microbiota. Methods This was a prospective, controlled cohort study among 100 vaginally delivered infants with different perinatal antibiotic exposures: control (27), IAP (27), postnatal antibiotics (24), and IAP and postnatal antibiotics (22). At 1 year of age, we performed next-generation sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene of fecal samples. Results Exposure to the perinatal antibiotics had a clear impact on the gut microbiota. The abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum was significantly higher in the control group, whereas the relative abundance of Escherichia coli was significantly lower in the control group. The impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than exposure to later courses of antibiotics (28% of participants). Conclusions Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the gut microbiota at the age of 1 year. The timing of the antibiotic exposure appears to be the critical factor for the changes observed in the gut microbiota. Impact Infants are commonly exposed to IAP and postnatal antibiotics, and later to courses of antibiotics during the first year of life. Perinatal antibiotics have been associated with an altered gut microbiota during the first months of life, whereas the evidence regarding the long-term impact is more limited. Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the infant’s gut microbiota at 1 year of age. Impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than that of the later courses of antibiotics at the age of 1 year.

The excess use of antimicrobial agents in the poultry industry is a significant reason for the gradual spread and increasing level of multidrug resistance bacteria. This article is based on a study in which the antibacterial activity of aqueous, methanolic, ethanolic and acetonic extracts of eight medicinal plants were evaluated by standard disc diffusion method against multidrug resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from broiler meat. The multidrug resistance was checked by commercially available antibiotics using standard disc diffusion method. The results have indicated that the ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa showed maximum zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli, while Asparagus racemosus showed maximum zone of inhibition against Salmonella spp. Other experimental plant extracts had showed moderate activity against these multidrug-resistant bacteria, which can also be considered as potential source of active beneficial phytochemicals. Proper management and application of these plant extracts may be a wonderful alternative of commercially available antibiotic to minimize the risk.

Microplastics pollution and seawater temperature rise have been the major environmental issues, threatening the survival and biodiversity of marine organisms. This study evaluated the combined effect of temperature and polystyrene microplastics (MP) on Artemia, a filter-feeding crustacean that is widely used for environmental toxicology studies. Brine shrimp Artemia franciscana were exposed to three MP concentrations (0, 0.2, and 2.0 mg/L) and three temperatures (22, 26, and 30 ℃) for 14 d. In general, higher MP concentration and temperature led to a decreased survival rate and growth. Two-way ANOVA analysis indicated that the survival rate of Artemia was significantly impacted by both MP concentration and temperature (P 0.05). Growth of Artemia was significantly impacted by temperature (P < 0.05), and with a significant interaction between two factors (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the enzymatic activity, intestinal histological analyses, and immune gene expression were determined for Artemia reared at 30 ℃ with three MP concentrations (0, 0.2, and 2.0 mg/L). The results showed that 2.0-mg/L MP resulted in reduced Artemia intestinal microvilli and exfoliated epithelia cells, significantly increased acid phosphatase (ACP) activity (P < 0.05) and immunerelated gene ADRA1B and CREB3 expression, revealing that higher MP concentration could induce oxidative and immunological stress on Artemia at 30 ℃. Overall, our study suggests that MP and temperature have combined adverse effect on Artemia, especially at relatively high temperature and polystyrene MP concentration. These findings are important to understand the potential ecological risks posed by these two factors on the organisms in marine environment.

Plant extracts were evaluated on bacteria isolated from poultry farm for developing substitutive therapeutic agent of antibiotics. A diverse range of bacterial load observed both in total viable count (TVC) and in total coliform count (TCC) in 30 samples randomly collected from poultry feeds, drinking water and faeces. A total of six bacterial isolates e.g. Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Citrobacter spp., Vibrio spp., Escherichia coli and Plesiomonas spp. were found in the samples cultured in MacConkey Agar medium. Fifteen antibiotics were studied against bacterial susceptibility. All the bacterial isolates exhibited multi-antibiotic resistance (MAR) with gross resistance to erythromycin and ampicillin. E. coli had the highest MAR (53.3%), and Vibrio spp. as well as Plesiomonas spp. both had the same MAR (46.7%). Methanolic extract of Terminalia chebula and Azadirachta indica showed significant zone of inhibition against all the tested bacteria. These findings confirm the presence of multidrug resistant bacteria in poultry environment that reveals a possibility of cross-contamination to human and animals. The plant extracts could be developed into therapeutic drugs to rein antibiotic poultry resistant bacteria. Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 30(1): 119-130, 2020 (June)

Severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) is a multifactorial disease that can lead to suffering and reduced oral health–related quality of life in young children. The bacterial and fungal composition of dental plaque and how children’s sex is associated with S-ECC are largely unknown. In this study, V4-16S rRNA and ITS1 rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was used to compare the plaque bacteriome and mycobiome of children 0.05). Significant differences in the relative abundance of Mycosphaerella, Cyberlindnera, and Trichosporon fungal species were also observed between the caries-free and S-ECC groups ( P < 0.05). Machine learning analysis revealed the most important bacterial and fungal species for classifying S-ECC versus caries-free. Different patterns of crosstalk between microbial species were observed between male and female children. Our work demonstrates that plaque microbiota and sex may be important determinants for S-ECC and could be factors to consider for inclusion in caries risk assessment tools.

An experiment was conducted at the Landscaping Section of the Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during the period from November 2017 to May 2018 to investigate the effect of varieties and inorganic fertilizers on growth and flowering of gerbera. The experiment consisted of two factors viz., Factor A: varieties (V1= Mini Daisy, V2= Aladin) and Factor B: Different levels of inorganic fertilizers (T0 = 0, T1 = N 300 kg/ha, T2 = P 275 kg/ha, T3 = K 225 kg/ha, T4= N+P+K 300+275+225 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Varieties and different levels of inorganic fertilizers had significant effect on plant height, number of leaves per plant, spread of leaves, days to first flower bud emergence, days to harvest maturity, total number of flowers produced and spread of flowers and field life of gerbera. Total number of flowers per plant (10.89) was recorded from Aladin (V2), which was higher than that of Mini Daisy (V1) (10.16). The highest number of flowers per plant(12.44), while, the lowest number of flowers (9.10) was obtained from T0 (control). Considering the combined effect, the maximum number of flowers per plant (12.87) was obtained from the treatment combination of V2T4 (Aladin+N+P+K), while, the lowest number of flowers per plant (8.67) was recorded from V1T0 (Control). Therefore, combined application of N, P and K fertilizers along with variety Aladin was found to be better in respect of growth and flowering of gerbera.

Stomata are turgor-driven microscopic epidermal valves of land plants. The controlled opening and closing of the valves are essential for regulating the gas exchange and minimizing the water loss and eventually regulating the internal temperatures. Stomata are also a major site of pathogen/microbe entry and plant defense system. Maintaining proper stomatal density, distribution, and development are pivotal for plant survival. Arabidopsis is a model plant to study molecular basis including signaling pathways, transcription factors, and key components for the growth and development of specific organs as well as the whole plant. It has intensively been studied and found out the driver for the development and patterning of stomata. In this review, we have explained how the MAPK signaling cascade is controlled by TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM) receptor-like protein and the Erecta (ER) receptor-like kinase family. We have also summarized how this MAPK cascade affects primary transcriptional regulators to finally activate the main three basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) principal transcription factors, which are required for the development and patterning of stomata. Moreover, regulatory activity and cellular connections of polar proteins and environmentally mediated ligand–receptor interactions in the stomatal developmental pathways have extensively been discussed in this review.

The Sydney rock oyster (SRO; Saccostrea glomerata) is the most intensively farmed oyster species in Australia however, Queensland unknown (QX) disease has resulted in substantial losses and impeded productivity. QX disease is caused by infection with the parasite Marteilia sydneyi, and like other diseases, outbreaks are driven by a series of complex environmental and host factors such as seasonality, seawater salinity and oyster genetics. A potential but understudied factor in QX disease is the SRO microbiota, which we sought to examine before and during a QX disease outbreak. Using 16S rRNA (V1 – V3 region) amplicon sequencing, we examined the microbiota of SROs deployed in an estuary where QX disease occurs, with sampling conducted fortnightly over 22 weeks. Marteilia sydneyi was detected in the SROs by PCR (QX-positive), 16 weeks after the first sampling event and sporonts were observed in the digestive gland two weeks later on. There were no apparent patterns observed between the microbiota of QX-positive SROs with and without digestive gland sporonts however, the microbiota of QX-positive SROs was significantly different from those sampled prior to detection of M. sydneyi and from those negative for M. sydneyi post detection. As a result, shifts in microbiota structure occurred before sporulation in the digestive gland and either before or shortly after pathogen colonisation. The microbiota shifts associated with QX-positive oysters were principally driven by a relative abundance increase of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) assigned to unclassified species of the Borrelia and Candidatus Hepatoplasma genera and a relative abundance decrease in an OTU assigned to an unclassified species of the Mycoplasma genus. Since Mycoplasma species are common microbiota features of SROs and other oysters, we propose that there may be an important ecological link between Mycoplasma species and the health state of SROs.

Development of a variety having high oil content and desirable fatty acid compositions is a major objective of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) breeding programmes. To study the gene action (through combining ability) and heterosis for oil and fatty acids, an experiment was conducted using a 4 × 4 full diallel method. Four parents and their 12 F1 hybrids were evaluated following a randomized complete block design. Data were recorded for oil, fatty acids and oleic-linolenic (O/L) acid ratio. Highly significant genotypic variation was found among the parents and their F1 hybrids for the studied traits. The combining ability studies (general, specific and reciprocal) reflected that the oil and fatty acid traits were controlled by both non-additive and additive genes having significant maternal effects. Results also revealed that the parent China Badam was the best general combiner for oil, linolenic acid and O/L ratio whereas the parent Binachinabadam-4 for oleic and linoleic acids. Best SCA performance was found from the cross Dacca-1 × China Badam and Binachinabadam-4 × China Badam for oil, oleic- and linolenic-acid contents. Significant heterosis for oil content was observed in F1 hybrids obtained from the cross Binachinabadam-4 × China Badam and its reciprocal cross. The cross China Badam × GC (24)-1-1-1 showed a higher O/L ratio (>4) along with lower level of saturated fatty acids. Therefore, these crosses could be exploited in future breeding programmes to develop new lines for higher oil and healthy fatty acid compositions.

Protein isolate was prepared from dark red kidney bean and was subjected to hydrolysis by two different proteases pepsin and papain by separate experiments. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the resulting hydrolysates were evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and agar diffusion method, respectively. The resulting pepsin hydrolysate DPH-1 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 0.015 ± 0.004 mg/mL compared to protein isolate DPI (0.115 ± 0.023 mg/mL) and papain hydrolysate DPH-2 (0.066 ± 0.014 mg/mL). Hydrolysis resulted in the significant (p

Quantitative and qualitative analyses of important bacterial content for public health concern (total bacterial count, total coliforms, faecal coliforms, Salmonella and Vibrio cholerae) of cultured fresh water prawn and farm water which has significant role in order to manage sustainable aquaculture were carried out. Microbiological parameters of prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and farm water were determined by following the ISO standard methods. Total bacterial Count (standard plate count) found in prawn samples ranged from 5.55 to 5.71 log CFU/g while 4.13 to 4.18 log CFU/mL in water sample. On the other hand, total coliforms found in prawn sample ranged between 1.96 to 2.46 log CFU/g whereas in water sample 2.07 to 2.46 log CFU/mL total coliforms were detected. In case of faecal coliforms, the number ranged between 0.96 to 1.42 log CFU/g in prawn sample and 1.59 to 1.81 in water sample. While Vibrio cholerae was absent in both prawns and water sample and Salmonella was detected in two tested ponds for both prawn and water sample.

Infections due to Gram-negative bacteria are common affairs in cancer patients during aggressive therapy. The present study characterizedmulti-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) isolated from cancer aspirates collected from patients admitted to the National Cancer Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 210 aspirate samples were collected from cancer patients. Out of 210 samples Acinetobacter spp.led the list of isolates (8.89%, n=45). Of these species, 50% exhibited resistance to Amoxycillin and Nitrofurantoin, each, 25% exhibited resistant to Cefotaxime, Azithromycin, Ciprofloxacin, Clindamycin, and Sulfamethoxazole. A total of 33.33% of the Bordetella spp.which accounted 6.67%of the total isolates exhibited resistance to Cefotaxime. All oftheLegionellapneumophila,comprising 4.4%of the isolated species, wereresistant to Cefotaxime, Azithromycin, and Clindamycin.In contrast, 50% were resistant to Cefotaxime, Azithromycin, and Ceftriaxone. Of the Escherichia coli(4.4%, n=45) isolated,50% exhibited resistance to Cefotaxime, Clindamycin, Ceftriaxone, Amoxycillinand Sulfamethoxazole.The only isolate of Klebsiella sp. was demonstrated to be an ESBL producer. The isolation of multidrug resistant bacteria from cancer patients is of particular concern in Bangladesh where cancer and drug resistance are both common phenomena but treatment facilities are poor. To our knowledge this is the first report of the isolation of drug resistant bacteria from cancer patients from Dhaka city. Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 35 Number 1 June 2018, pp 61-66

Water is one of the most vital elements of ecosystem and human being, but unfortunately nowadays, the pollution of surface and drinking water is an alarming problem. The present work deals with the assessment of physicochemical and bacteriological profile of several pond, jar and tube-well water samples to ensure its suitability for using and drinking. Total 30 samples were randomly selected and collected from Nakla Paurosova of Sherpur district by following the standard procedure. Bacteriological analysis was carried out by following the standard bacteriological methods. Most of the surface water sampling points were polluted by dumping of waste, cattle wash and were not suitable for drinking or other domestic purposes. Among three heavy metals, only Iron was detected in six tube-well water samples, one was also positive to arsenic, rest of the water bodies were negative to all of these metals. In case of most of the water bodies, different physicochemical properties were below standard limit. In pond water, the Total Viable Count (TVC) ranged from 2.7 × 107 cfu/100ml to 4.4 × 1015 cfu/100ml and Total Coliform Count (TCC) were 3.4 × 105 cfu/100ml to 4.8 × 1013 cfu/100ml, where the mean concentration of Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) was 2.4 × 105 cfu/100ml and 1.8 × 105 cfu/100ml in jar and tube-well water respectively. On the other hand, the Total Coliform Count of supply water was 33 cfu/100ml and tube-well water was 14 cfu/100ml. Fecal coliform was detected in all of the pond water samples, four jar and three tube-well water too. E. coli was present in all pond water samples, and also detected in 80% supply and 50% tube-well water also. Shigella spp. was found in two pond water and in one supply water, where tube-well water was free from it. Salmonella spp. was also detected in 30% of pond and 20% of supply water, whereas absent in tube-well water. 50% of pond, 40% of supply and 30% of tube-well water were contaminated with Vibrio spp. The total counts of these pathogenic bacteria exceeded the acceptable limit both surface and drinking water and also showed resistance against a broad range of commercially available antibiotics. Survey-based result revealed that, peoples of the study area who were using or drinking these water, were suffering from various water borne diseases. These kinds of water sources pose a major threat to public health. So, public awareness, proper treatment and precise management are needed prior to use and drink of these water.

Key steps in viral propagation, immune suppression, and pathology are mediated by direct, binary, physical interactions between viral and host proteins. To understand the biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we generated an unbiased systematic map of binary interactions between viral and host proteins, complementing previous co-complex association maps by conveying more direct mechanistic understanding and potentially enabling targeted disruption of direct interactions. To this end, we deployed two parallel strategies, identifying 205 virus-host and 27 intraviral binary interactions amongst 171 host and 19 viral proteins, and confirming high quality of these interactions via a calibrated orthogonal assay. Host proteins interacting with SARS-CoV-2 proteins are enriched in various cellular processes, including immune signaling and inflammation, protein ubiquitination, and membrane trafficking. Specific subnetworks provide new hypotheses related to viral modulation of host protein homeostasis and T-cell regulation. The binary virus-host protein interactions we identified can now be prioritized as targets for therapeutic intervention. More generally, we provide a resource of systematic maps describing which SARS-CoV-2 and human proteins interact directly.

Nitrate is a chemical compound naturally present in fruits and vegetables. This study aims at assessing the nitrate levels and health risks arising from high consumption of fruits and vegetables in Bangladesh. Sixteen species of fruits and vegetables were examined for nitrates using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photo Diode Array (PDA) detector. Ward’s hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out to identify the cluster of tested fruits and vegetables for the nitrate contents. A point estimate of the daily intake was applied to find the health risks that arise due to elevated levels of nitrate in fruits and vegetables. The results show that root and tuber vegetables accumulate significantly higher levels of nitrate in comparison to fruits and fruit vegetables (P ). In cluster analysis, the nitrate accumulation of fruits and vegetables show four clear clusters contributing to 29.54%, 7.17%, 4.42%, and 58.57% of the total nitrate content in the entire sample. The risk assessment of the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and Health Risk Index (HRI) of almost all the tested samples was in the acceptable range, except for radish, thereby indicating the acceptance of risk due to nitrate intake in Bangladesh. As nitrate may have had risk factor for health, during cultivation and storing the product should be properly monitored.

Background Dicranopteris linearis L. is among the popular tribal plants used for various ailments, although many of its pharmacological potentials have not been investigated yet. The neuropharmacological potentials of the leaf, including sedative-anxiolytic potential, were previously studied however, the antidepressant activity was yet to be examined. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the serotonergic, noradrenergic and opioidergic response of D. linearis leaf extracts. Methods The plant leaf was extracted in three solvents- water (DLAQ), ethanol (DLET) and ethyl acetate (DLEA) and applied each in 200 and 400 mg.kg− 1 per body weight of Swiss Albino mice. Forced Swim Test (FST) and Tail Suspension Test (TST) were conducted to evaluate antidepressant potential. In FST, latency and duration of immobility, swimming and climbing time were recorded. In TST, immobility, swinging, curling and pedaling were observed. Alongside, preliminary screening through acute toxicity study and pentobarbitone induced sleep test were performed. Results Both in FST and TST, the duration of immobility was reduced by the standard imipramine and DLET 200 and 400. In FST, DLEA 200 and 400 increased the climbing time suggesting noradrenergic mechanism of action and decreased the swimming time suggesting deficit of serotoninergic mechanism of action. Interestingly, DLET increased both the parameters presenting a dual action. However, in TST, DLEA decreased immobility but increased swinging and curling response which indicated its opioidergic mechanism. On the other hand, DLET proved to mediate through serotonin and/or NA reuptake mechanism by having decreased curling time. Conclusion Among the three extracts, the ethanol extract proved to be more potent. DLET mimicked the standard imipramine in all parameters except for the curling behavior. The result thus suggests D. linearis as a potent antidepressant agent however, recommends its medicinal use after further investigation to identify bioactive compounds.

Although vaccines have become available, emergence and rapid transmission of new variants have added new paradigm in the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Weather, population and host immunity have been detected as the regulatory elements of COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the effects of weather, population and host factors on the outcome of COVID-19 and mutation frequency in Japan. Data were collected during January 2020 to February 2021. About 92% isolates were form GR clades. Variants 501Y.V1 (53%) and 452R.V1 (24%) were most prevalent in Japan. The strongest correlation was detected between fatalities and population density (rs = 0.81) followed by total population (rs = 0.72). Relative humidity had the highest correlation (rs = −0.71) with the case fatality rate. Cluster mutations namely N501Y (45%), E484K (30%), N439K (16%), K417N (6%) and T478I (3%) at spike protein have increased during January to February 2021. Above 90% fatality was detected in patients aged >60 years. The ratio of male to female patients of COVID-19 was 1.35:1. This study will help to understand the seasonality of COVID-19 and impact of weather on the outcome which will add knowledge to reduce the health burden of COVID-19 by the international organisations and policy makers.

Plants contain a variety of bioactive compounds that provide them antimicrobial properties, which can be used to develop novel antibiotics. The current research evaluated the antibacterial activity of 6 medicinal plants Sphagneticola calendulacea (Chinese wedelia), Enydra fluctuans (Buffalo spinach), Chenopodium album (Goosefoot), Mentha arvensis (Wild mint), Mimosa diplotricha (Nila grass), and Averrhoa bilimbi (Cucumber tree) against Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) causing pathogens (Staphylococcus spp., Proteus spp., Pseudmonas spp., Escherichia coli and Enterobacter spp.). The bacterial contamination of these plants was evaluated by using their surface-washed water. The combined effects of commercially available antibiotics along with these medicinal plants were also tested. We used the solvent extraction method, conventional cell culture technique, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay, and disc diffusion method for our analysis. Although the plants had bacterial contamination, they displayed notable antibacterial activity against most of the tested bacteria. Ethanol and hot water extract of plants exhibited minimum inhibitory effects, while the methanol extract of plants showed very potent antibacterial activity against most of the bacteria with inhibitory zone diameter up to 14 mm. In the case of combined effects, the zone diameter increased up to 26 mm, which is a significant improvement compared to the individual plant extracts. This suggested that the combination of two antibacterial agents would be more efficient in the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria than a single monotherapy of either of the antibacterial agents. Funding Information: There is no funding basis. Declaration of Interests: Authors have no conflict of interest.

Microbiomes, micro organisms living in a host environment, play significant r ole i n t he r egular a ctivities and abnormalities of the host. Researches throughout the world has found symbiotic relations between the human microbiomes and human physiology, immunity, diseases etc. Outstanding development in sequencing technology has paved the way to analyze large number of samples with reasonable cost. Applying supervised machine learning techniques on these data can help to find out the most important m icrobiomes residing in the host environment and build a predictive model to classify unknown samples. In this study, we have applied different supervised classification a lgorithms a long w ith s ome e nsemble techniques to find a b etter p redictive m odel t o p redict t he t rait o f human host for the prognosis of colorectal cancer. Our study finds that, tree based classification a lgorithms w orks b est f or classifying the human microbiome data for colorectal cancer which are large, sparse and dispersed in nature. We have also identified important microbiomes that acts as a deciding factor behind colorectal cancer.

Potatoes are a well-known vegetable to all of us. If the other countries are taken into consideration, it can be easily concluded that potatoes are the number one vegetable all over the world, which has been increasingly claimed by many Agricultural departments. Despite the hype, potato leaf disease causes significant damage to the potatoes.. Various types of diseases such as early blight, late blight, septoria blight etc. will attack potato plants and exhibit their syndrome in the leaf of these disorders. The farmer would not face incurring major economic losses if these outbreaks are detected at the primary stage and sufficient action is taken. The proposed model will strongly identify and detect diseases of potato leaf stand on image processing methods in this research paper. Machine Learning includes several algorithms, but the CNN model is used for this research to detect the disease from images of the potato leaf because in CNN is used for image classification & it gives the best result than others. There are 5 algorithms is used for this research they are AlexNet, VggNet, ResNet, LeNet & Sequential model which is our offered one. Normal & disorder-impacted leaf were used for the model provided in order to segregate normal and abnormal aspects of potato leaf. Those kind of photographs are then analyzed through the algorithm provide & the potato plant leaf is labeled as either diseased or normal. This provided model established 97% of great precision.

Natural abundances of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) can vary with both dietary intake and metabolic (specifically catabolic) state. In low-income countries, weaning is a period of dietary transition from milk to plant-based foods and a high-risk period for malnutrition. We explored how diet and malnutrition impact hair δ15N and δ13C in young children by an observational, cross-sectional study in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh [255 children, 6–59 months with 19.6% wasted (7.1% severely) and 36% stunted (9.8% severely)]. Hair δ15N and δ13C exhibited exponential decreases with age, with the loss of one trophic level (3.3‰ and 0.8‰, respectively) from 6 to 48 months, which we associate with the shift from exclusive breastfeeding to complete weaning. After adjustment for age and breastfeeding status, hair isotopic values were unaffected by wasting but lower in severe stunting (−0.45‰ to −0.6‰, P 15N and δ13C values in severely stunted children that likely indicate chronic exposure to diets low in animal products.

This study aims to identify the determinants of the adoption of improved management practices and their impacts on freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh. To achieve the study objectives, the researchers employed Poisson regression, regression adjustment (RA), and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) techniques. A total of 300 prawn farmers were surveyed in 2018, and the results indicated that prawn farmers were reluctant to adopt all of the improved practices that were recommended. Their decision regarding whether to adopt new practices was significantly influenced by the number of days in training, extension contact, credit access, and perception of profit. The impact on productivity with the adoption of the three improved practices investigated in this study was 68 % and 47 %, based on RA and IPWRA, respectively. The impact on profitability was 226 % and 124 % on the basis of RA and IPWRA, respectively. Improved access to financial institutions for farmers and modifications to current extension approaches can raise levels of adoption. Incentives for institutions involved in transferring the improved management practices of prawn at the farm level would also be of benefit.

The world is facing a global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Here we describe a collection of codon-optimized coding sequences for SARS-CoV-2 cloned into Gateway-compatible entry vectors, which enable rapid transfer into a variety of expression and tagging vectors. The collection is freely available. We hope that widespread availability of this SARS-CoV-2 resource will enable many subsequent molecular studies to better understand the viral life cycle and how to block it.

The world is facing a major health crisis, the global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, for which no approved antiviral agents or vaccines are currently available. Here we describe a collection of codon-optimized coding sequences for SARS-CoV-2 cloned into Gateway-compatible entry vectors, which enable rapid transfer into a variety of expression and tagging vectors. The collection is freely available via Addgene. We hope that widespread availability of this SARS-CoV-2 resource will enable many subsequent molecular studies to better understand the viral life cycle and how to block it.

Objective: A 5 month old, premature male infant with history of hydrops fetalis and hernia repair presented unresponsive in respiratory distress requiring intubation and was found to have pH 6.93, bicarbonate 6 mmol/L, anion gap 23 mmol/L, glucose 669 mg/dL and HbA1c 14.2%. His condition improved with insulin drip, fluid and electrolyte management. Work-up revealed negative autoantibodies and the University of Chicago Neonatal Diabetes Sequencing Panel was performed. Testing revealed a heterozygous sequence variant of unknown significance in the INS gene (c.289A>C), resulting in the amino acid change p.T97P. In silico pathogenicity prediction tools provided contradictory results. Neither parent carried the variant. INS gene mutations have been associated with Mutant INS-gene-induced Diabetes of Youth (MIDY) that includes permanent neonatal diabetes and MODY 10. Expression of mutant proinsulin is thought to lead to misfolded complexes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to ER stress and β-cell death. Methods: To determine the effects of this variant on insulin processing and release, we utilized a validated luminescent insulin secretion assay where Gaussia luciferase is inserted into the C-peptide portion of proinsulin. We compared luciferase secretion for wild type and variant INS sequences. Results: The mutation decreased luciferase release ∼10-fold versus wild type. Proteasome inhibition led to partial rescue. However, overall expression of proinsulin-luciferase peptide was unchanged between the wild type and mutant. Therefore, it is likely that the mutation causes disruptions in processes downstream of transcription and translation, such as folding, proteolytic processing and transport. Conclusions: The novel INS p.T97P is the first identified A-chain mutation resulting in MIDY not involving the creation or deletion of cysteine residues. The substitution of the polar threonine with nonpolar proline may be sufficient to disrupt nearby disulfide bonding in the proinsulin folding pathway. Disclosure R. Lal: Consultant; Self; Abbott, Biolinq. H.P. Moeller: None. R. Freeman: None. P. Prahalad: None. J.P. Annes: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (1K12DK122550, T32DK007217, R01DK101530, T32GM113854, P30DK116074)

The world is facing a major health crisis, the global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, for which no approved antiviral agents or vaccines are currently available. Here we describe a collection of codon-optimized coding sequences for SARS-CoV-2 cloned into Gateway-compatible entry vectors, which enable rapid transfer into a variety of expression and tagging vectors. The collection is freely available via Addgene. We hope that widespread availability of this SARS-CoV-2 resource will enable many subsequent molecular studies to better understand the viral life cycle and how to block it.

The switching of serotype from Ogawa to Inaba and back to Ogawa has been observed temporally in Vibrio cholerae O1, which is responsible for endemic cholera in Bangladesh. The serospecificity is key for effective intervention and for preventing cholera, a deadly disease that continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the present study, WGS of V. cholerae allowed us to better understand the factors associated with the serotype switching events observed during 2015 to 2018. Genomic data analysis of strains isolated during this interval highlighted variations in the genes ctxB, tcpA, and rtxA and also identified significant differences in the genetic content of the mobilome, which included key elements such as SXT ICE, VSP-II, and PLE. Our results indicate that selective forces such as antibiotic resistance and phage resistance might contribute to the clonal expansion and predominance of a particular V. cholerae serotype responsible for an outbreak., The temporal switching of serotypes from serotype Ogawa to Inaba and back to Ogawa was identified in Vibrio cholerae O1, which was responsible for seasonal outbreaks of cholera in Dhaka during the period 2015 to 2018. In order to delineate the factors responsible for this serotype transition, we performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of V. cholerae O1 multidrug-resistant strains belonging to both the serotypes that were isolated during this interval where the emergence and subsequent reduction of the Inaba serotype occurred. The whole-genome-based phylogenetic analysis revealed clonal expansion of the Inaba isolates mainly responsible for the peaks of infection during 2016 to 2017 and that they might have evolved from the prevailing Ogawa strains in 2015 which coclustered with them. Furthermore, the wbeT gene in these Inaba serotype isolates was inactivated due to insertion of a transposable element at the same position signifying the clonal expansion. Also, V. cholerae isolates in the Inaba serotype dominant clade mainly contained classical ctxB allele and revealed differences in the genetic composition of Vibrio seventh pandemic island II (VSP-II) and the SXT integrative and conjugative element (SXT-ICE) compared to those of Ogawa serotype strains which remerged in 2018. The variable presence of phage-inducible chromosomal island-like element 1 (PLE1) was also noted in the isolates of the Inaba serotype dominant clade. The detailed genomic characterization of the sequenced isolates has shed light on the forces which could be responsible for the periodic changes in serotypes of V. cholerae and has also highlighted the need to analyze the mobilome in greater detail to obtain insights into the mechanisms behind serotype switching.

et al., Global insights into cellular organization and genome function require comprehensive understanding of the interactome networks that mediate genotype–phenotype relationships1,2. Here we present a human ‘all-by-all’ reference interactome map of human binary protein interactions, or ‘HuRI’. With approximately 53,000 protein–protein interactions, HuRI has approximately four times as many such interactions as there are high-quality curated interactions from small-scale studies. The integration of HuRI with genome3, transcriptome4 and proteome5 data enables cellular function to be studied within most physiological or pathological cellular contexts. We demonstrate the utility of HuRI in identifying the specific subcellular roles of protein–protein interactions. Inferred tissue-specific networks reveal general principles for the formation of cellular context-specific functions and elucidate potential molecular mechanisms that might underlie tissue-specific phenotypes of Mendelian diseases. HuRI is a systematic proteome-wide reference that links genomic variation to phenotypic outcomes., This work was primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) grant U41HG001715 (M.V., F.P.R., D.E.H., M.A.C., G.D.B. and J.T.) with additional support from NIH grants P50HG004233 (M.V. and F.P.R.), U01HL098166 (M.V.), U01HG007690 (M.V.), R01GM109199 (M.A.C.), Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Foundation Grants (F.P.R. and J. Rak), the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program (F.P.R.) and an American Heart Association grant 15CVGPS23430000 (M.V.). D.-K.K. was supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1A6A3A03004385). C. Pons was supported by a Ramon Cajal fellowship (RYC-2017-22959). G.M.S. was supported by NIH Training Grant T32CA009361. M.V. is a Chercheurv Qualifié Honoraire from the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS, Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Belgium).

The worldwide SARS-CoV-2 outbreak poses a serious challenge to human societies and economies. SARS-CoV-2 proteins orchestrate complex pathogenic mechanisms that underlie COVID-19 disease. Thus, understanding how viral polypeptides rewire host protein networks enables better-founded therapeutic research. In complement to existing proteomic studies, in this study we define the first proximal interaction network of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, at the whole proteome level in human cells. Applying a proximity-dependent biotinylation (BioID)-based approach greatly expanded the current knowledge by detecting interactions within poorly soluble compartments, transient, and/or of weak affinity in living cells. Our BioID study was complemented by a stringent filtering and uncovered 2,128 unique cellular targets (1,717 not previously associated with SARS-CoV-1 or 2 proteins) connected to the N- and C-ter BioID-tagged 28 SARS-CoV-2 proteins by a total of 5,415 (5,236 new) proximal interactions. In order to facilitate data exploitation, an innovative interactive 3D web interface was developed to allow customized analysis and exploration of the landscape of interactions (accessible at http://www.sars-cov-2-interactome.org/). Interestingly, 342 membrane proteins including interferon and interleukin pathways factors, were associated with specific viral proteins. We uncovered ORF7a and ORF7b protein proximal partners that could be related to anosmia and ageusia symptoms. Moreover, comparing proximal interactomes in basal and infection-mimicking conditions (poly(I:C) treatment) allowed us to detect novel links with major antiviral response pathway components, such as ORF9b with MAVS and ISG20; N with PKR and TARB2; NSP2 with RIG-I and STAT1; NSP16 with PARP9-DTX3L. Altogether, our study provides an unprecedented comprehensive resource for understanding how SARS-CoV-2 proteins orchestrate host proteome remodeling and innate immune response evasion, which can inform development of targeted therapeutic strategies.

Stocking specific-pathogen-free (SPF) shrimp postlarvae (PL) has been reported to have much potential to enhance production by notably reducing the infection-driven mortality. In terms of SPF PL production in Bangladesh, except white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), several potential viruses such as hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV), monodon baculovirus (MBV), hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV), and yellow head virus (YHV) which may synergistically cause mortality are ignored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the viral contamination in hatchery-brood-shrimps in Bangladesh as the broods horizontally and/or vertically transfer the viruses to their offspring. Five randomly selected representative hatcheries were investigated over 3 months (January to March) to know the status of viral contamination. Broods in all the hatcheries were found to be contaminated with WSSV, IHHNV, MBV, HPV, and YHV. The results showed that the prevalence of WSSV, MBV, HPV, and YHV did not significantly differ between hatcheries. The highest (72%) and the lowest (30%) prevalence of MBV and WSSV, respectively, were recorded in January. In February, the highest (81%) and the lowest (28%) prevalence were found in MBV and HPV, respectively, where the highest and the lowest prevalence were 88% and 40% for IHHNV and HPV, respectively, in March. The prevalence of IHHNV and MBV were not significantly different. The relative prevalence of WSSV, HPV, and YHV were significantly low compared with that of IHHNV and MBV. Notably, increasing water temperature from January (22 ± 0.71 °C) to March (27 ± 1 °C) increased the prevalence of all the viruses and subsequently the extremity of infection. The contamination in broods forwarding to the production of multiple-virus-contaminated PL is considered as an obstacle to higher production of shrimp at farm level in Bangladesh. Hence, the present study suggests focusing on the deleterious-virus-free shrimp broods in commercial shrimp hatcheries in Bangladesh.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment are an exposure risk to humans and animals and is emerging as a global public health concern. In this study, mercury (Hg) driven co-selection of ARGs was investigated under controlled conditions in two Australian non-agricultural soils with differing pH. Soils were spiked with increasing concentrations of inorganic Hg and left to age for 5 years. Both soils contained ARGs conferring resistance to tetracycline (tetA, tetB), sulphonamides (sul1), trimethoprim (dfrA1) and the ARG indicator class 1 integron-integrase gene, intI1, as measured by qPCR. The last resort antibiotic vancomycin resistance gene, vanB and quinolone resistance gene, qnrS were not detected. Hg driven co-selection of several ARGs namely intI1, tetA and tetB were observed in the alkaline soil within the tested Hg concentrations. No co-selection of the experimental ARGs was observed in the neutral pH soil. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed proliferation of Proteobacteria and Bacteriodetes in Hg contaminated neutral and alkaline soils respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed a strong effect of Hg, soil pH and organic carbon content on the co-selection of ARGs in the experimental soils. Additionally, although aging caused a significant reduction in Hg content, agriculturally important bacterial phyla such as Nitrospirae did not regrow in the contaminated soils. The results suggest that mercury can drive co-selection of ARGs in contaminated non-agricultural soils over five years of aging which is linked to soil microbiota shift and metal chemistry in the soil.

Gmelina arborea Roxb. is a fast-growing, deciduous tree species native to Bangladesh. It has been widely planted since 1992 for commercial production of pulpwood in hilly areas of Bangladesh. The purpose of this study was to derive well-fitting allometric models for estimation of aboveground biomass, and carbon and nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) stocks in G. arborea to ensure sustainable production and management of this species. Eight linear models with 64 regression equations were tested for estimation of aboveground biomass, carbon and nutrient stocks in different parts (leaves, branches, bark and stem) of the plant. The best-fitting allometric models were selected in accordance with various relevant statistical criteria.Keywords: allometry, biomass, carbon, Gmelina arborea, nutrients

Protease enzymes are ubiquitous in nature and usually found in all living organisms. The present study was conducted for screening bacteria with the ability to produce extracellular proteases. Attempts were made to isolate protease producing bacterial strains from soil samples of tannery wastes from Hazaribag, Bangladesh and subsequent partial characterization was performed. A number of biochemical assays was performed for presumptive identification of the bacteria. Subsequent molecular identification of bacterial isolates was performed using 16S rRNA sequence analysis, which revealed that the isolated bacterium R82 to be Bacillus subtilis. The protease enzyme activity was determined 60.50 U/mL. Further characterization showed that the enzyme produced from the bacteria was extracellular and alkaline protease in nature. The optimum reaction incubation time, pH and temperature were found to be 30 min, 8.0 and 50°C, respectively. Bacterial culture supernatant was used to carry out dehairing of leather (2ʹʹ×2ʹʹ), which was achieved in 24 h. The results showed that isolated bacterial strain could be employed for strain improvement towards commercial production of protease with a promise for dehairing in leather processing industries.Jahangirnagar University J. Biol. Sci. 7(1): 23-34, 2018 (June)

An experiment was carried out on the spawning and mortality of eggs and larvae of Magur, Clarias batrachus collected from brood-stock pond during the study period.The lowest spawn production (3774 eggs) was recorded in the fish having 23 cm total length and 115 g total body weight and the highest spawn production (10102 eggs) was recorded in the fish having 26.4 cm total length and 230 g total body weight. The spawn production was found to increase with the increase of total length,standard length and total body weight following the equations, Y= –13921+833.7X, r= 0.685, Y= 13965+909.8X, r= 0.667 and Y= 1326+33.02X, r= 0.810, respectively. The relationships between spawn production with total length, standard length and total body weight of the fish were found to be linear and significant (p

An experiment was conducted to compare effect of stocking density on growth performance of monosex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with Indian spinach (Basella alba) in a recirculating aquaponic system. The experiment was set-up for 8 weeks under 4 treatments with three replications, where stocking density of tilapia were 30, 50, 70 and 90 fish/tank (300 litre) in treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Water from the tank was recirculated through a vegetable growing tray. Each of the tray was 0.15 m3in size, which was planted with 12 plants (Indian spinach). The fish of all the treatments was fed two times a day. During the experimental period,the range of water temperature was 27.1 to 31.50 C, pH 7.48 to 8.28, ammonia 0.2 to 2.0 mg/l and dissolve oxygen 5.11 to 6.58 mg/l. At the end of the experiment, average weight gain, final length, specific growth rate (%/day), survival rate was significantly higher in T1 (30 fish/tank) treatment while the net yield of fish and plant biomass was higher in T2 (50 fish/tank) treatment.Therefore, the study suggests that stocking density of 50 fish/tank for tilapia, i.e. 167 fish/m3, is suitable for production of both plant and fish in a recirculating aquaponic system.

Physiological responses and activities of antioxidative enzymes were investigated in pepper(Capsicum annuum) seedlings subjected to low temperature stress. The seedlings were exposed to 7℃, 11℃, or 15℃ for 4 h during the early seedling stage of pepper plants. The results showed that plant height and chlorophyll content were unaffected by the treatments. Polyphenol content in seedlings exposed to 7℃ was higher than that at 11℃ and 15℃ for 2 h. After 3 h of treatment, the flavonoid content was higher in pepper seedlings exposed to 7℃ than 11℃ and 15℃, which was slightly higher than that detected in the control. The H2O2 content increased remarkably with increasing exposure time to low temperature(i.e., 7℃) as compared to that at 11℃ and 15℃. The levels of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT), ascorbate peroxidase(APX), and peroxidase(POD) fluctuated. These results provide basic information that can be utilized to maintain efficient temperature in greenhouses for sustainable growth of pepper under severe low temperature conditions.

Substrate composition and container size are considered crucial for apple rootstock grown in a plug seedling system. This study investigated the effect of substrate material’s proportion and different container volumes on the growth of apple rootstock (M-9) plants propagated by tissue culture. In substrate composition, three different ratios of peat moss (PM): vermiculite (VL): perlite (PL) at 1:1:1 (S1), 1:2:3 (S2), 3:1:2 (S3) were used. For container size, plants were grown in 1000 mL (C1), 500 mL (C2), and 300 mL (C3) containers filled by 1:1:1 mixture of PM, VL and PL. In both cases, plants were treated eleven weeks in a green house. Our results demonstrate that the plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, shoot fresh weight and root fresh weight of apple rootstock were significantly higher in substrate composition S3 compared with S1 composition. However, chlorophyll content (SPAD) and photosynthesis rate were unaffected by variation of substrate composition. Furthermore, rootstock grown in C1 container showed plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, number of nodes, root length, shoot and root’s fresh and dry weight were significantly higher than those grown in C2 and C3 volume containers. The chlorophyll content and transpiration rate were not significantly affected by the different container volumes. These results suggest that the substrate ratio 3:1:2 of PM:VL:PL and container size 1000 mL were more favorable than other treatments for initial growth and development of the tissue culture propagated apple rootstock plants.

A mercury resistant bacterial strain, SA2, was isolated from soil contaminated with mercury. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of this isolate showed 99% sequence similarity to the genera Sphingobium and Sphingomonas of α-proteobacteria group. However, the isolate formed a distinct phyletic line with the genus Sphingobium suggesting the strain belongs to Sphingobium sp. Toxicity studies indicated resistance to high levels of mercury with estimated EC50 values 4.5 mg L-1 and 44.15 mg L-1 and MIC values 5.1 mg L-1 and 48.48 mg L-1 in minimal and rich media, respectively. The strain SA2 was able to volatilize mercury by producing mercuric reductase enzyme which makes it potential candidate for remediating mercury. ICP-QQQ-MS analysis of Hg supplemented culture solutions confirmed that almost 79% mercury in the culture suspension was volatilized in 6 h. A very small amount of mercury was observed to accumulate in cell pellets which was also evident according to ESEM-EDX analysis. The mercuric reductase gene merA was amplified and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence demonstrated sequence homology with α-proteobacteria and Ascomycota group. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Simple Summary The weaning process can be detrimental to piglets and often leads to low feed intake, low weight gain, diarrhea, and eventually increased mortality. Resin acid-enriched composition (RAC) is an innovative natural feed ingredient that contains 90% fatty acids, mostly linoleic and oleic, pinolenic acids, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). It also contains 9% active component resin acid (RA), mostly abietic and dehydroabietic, and pimaric acids. It possesses antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties and has been used in feed to improve performance in pigs. We hypothesized that RAC supplementation to sow and piglet diets might modulate intestinal microbiota, and improve post-weaning growth and reduce post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) and gut inflammation. Sow diets were supplemented with RAC from the last six weeks of gestation until weaning, and piglets were fed RAC trough creep feed and post weaning feed until seven weeks of age. Results indicated that supplementing sow and piglet diets with RAC during late gestation, lactation and at post weaning modulates gut microbiota, reduces inflammatory biomarkers, improves growth performance of post-weaning piglets, and prevents PWD in weaned piglets. Considering these results, RAC supplementation represents a potential strategy to improve piglet growth performance, and is a natural alternative to antibiotics for preventing PWD. Abstract The weaning process represents a delicate phase for piglets, and is often characterized by lower feed intake, lower weight gain, diarrhea, and ultimately increased mortality. We aimed to determine the effects of RAC supplementation in diets on improving piglet growth and vitality, reducing post-weaning diarrhea, and enhancing gut health. In a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment, we selected forty sows and their piglets. Piglets were followed until seven weeks of age. There were no significant differences found between RAC treated and control piglets until weaning (p = 0.26). However, three weeks after weaning, RAC treated piglets had higher body weight and average daily growth (ADG) than the control piglets (p = 0.003). In addition, the piglets that received RAC after weaning, irrespective of mother or prior creep feed treatment, had lower post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) and fecal myeloperoxidase (MPO) level than control piglets. Gut microbiota analysis in post-weaning piglets revealed that RAC supplementation significantly increased Lachnospiraceae_unclassified, Blautia, Butyricicoccus, Gemmiger and Holdemanella, and decreased Bacteroidales_unclassified. Overall, RAC supplementation to piglets modulated post-weaning gut microbiota, improved growth performance after weaning, reduced post-weaning diarrhea and reduced fecal myeloperoxidase levels. We therefore consider RAC to be a potential natural feed supplement to prevent enteric infections and improve growth performance in weaning piglets.