Search

In 2021, the United Nations Committee on Development Policy adopted a resolution that Bangladesh would graduate from least developed country (LDC) status after a period of 5 years. This means that in 2026 Bangladesh would have to forego its exemption to intellectual property (IP) provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Bangladesh has taken advantage of the policy space it was granted under the LDC exemption to build a generic medicines industry that not only serves Bangladesh but also other LDCs. We examine how IP provisions in the WTO will impact the price of insulin in Bangladesh and the subsequent impacts on welfare and poverty. We find that LDC graduation will trigger a significant jump in insulin prices that could cause about a 15% decline in the welfare of households in Bangladesh with one or more members living with diabetes, increasing the poverty rate of such households unless policy adjustments are carried out.

There is a huge potential for recycling animal manure in agricultural farms, but fecal microorganisms from land-applied animal manure can join shallow groundwater through leaching especially in alluvial formations. Thus, this study investigated the leaching rate of total viable count (TVC) below a 1.1-m soil depth in a field lysimeter planted with rice–maize–rice rotation, where the rotation received different treatments, i.e., chemical fertilizer, dry manure, fresh manure, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation, and traditional irrigation. Leachate samples of six major irrigation/rainfall events were collected and analyzed for TVC concentration. In the Aman rice season, manure application had a significantly higher TVC leaching (5.5 × 106 colony forming units (CFU) per milliliter) than the no-manure treatment (8.2 × 104 CFU/mL). In the maize season, manure application increased more than one log-scale of TVC leaching concentration. A higher concentration of TVC leaching (3 × 105 CFU/mL) was observed even after 93 d of fresh manure application. The fresh manure had a higher TVC load, and it possibly helped microorganisms survive longer by providing a more manure-like environment in the soil. In the Boro rice season, manure application increased the TVC leaching up to 3–4 log-scale compared with the control treatment. The AWD irrigation increased TVC leaching compared with the continuous irrigation because the desiccation fractures developed in the AWD irrigation helped TVC bypass the organic-rich topsoil. The Boro rice fields had higher TVC leaching than the maize fields with higher manure doses. The study suggests that there is scope to improve manure management to protect the groundwater quality.

Fungal environments are rich in natural and engineered antimicrobials, and this, combined with the fact that fungal genomes are rich in coding sequences for transporters, suggests that fungi are an intriguing group in which to search for evidence of antimicrobial efflux pumps in mitochondria. Herein, the range of protective mechanisms used by fungi against antimicrobials is introduced, and it is hypothesized, based on the susceptibility of mitochondrial and bacterial ribosomes to the same antibiotics, that mitochondria might also contain pumps that efflux antibiotics from these organelles. Preliminary evidence of ethidium bromide efflux is presented and several candidate efflux pumps are identified in fungal mitochondrial proteomes.

Mulching and no-till are recommended practices to conserve soil water and soil health, but their effects on nutrient leaching in maize fields under monsoon rainfall need to be assessed. Soil water, soil temperature, and root and shoot growth of maize under plastic mulch, straw mulch, and no-till treatments were observed. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching below a 110-cm deep lysimeter after heavy rainfall events were determined. The mulching and no-till treatments increased soil water content by 0.022–0.025 cm3/cm3 and reduced daytime soil temperature by 0.5–2.6 °C. Average leaching concentrations of total N and available P at 63 and 93 DAS (days after sowing) were 2.4 and 4.9 mg N/L and 0.12 and 0.08 mg P/L, respectively. For the control condition, the leaching concentrations of N and P decreased between 63 and 93 DAS. The mulching treatments did not influence nutrient leaching load at 63 DAS, but at 93 DAS the N leaching load increased by 181–248 g/ha and P load by 3.1–4.9 g/ha compared with the control treatment. The mulch treatments had taller shoots (5.1–18.3 cm) and a higher root-shoot ratio. The higher soil water content in the mulched treatments facilitated nutrient redistribution, plant growth, nutrient transport, and leaching. No-till increased N leaching by 103 g N/ha per leaching event but not P leaching. The no-till treatment had shorter shoots but longer roots than the conventional tillage treatment due to poor nutrient redistribution in the no-till soil. A modification in the nutrient management plan is needed to better control nutrient redistribution and minimize leaching.

A study was conducted to evaluate the quality of groundwater in Barishal district of Bangladesh for both irrigation and drinking purposes. Sixty water samples were collected and analyzed in the Biochemistry laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University for the assessment of their quality based on a number of parameters, namely - total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kellys ratio (KR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), pH and magnesium absorption ratio (MAR), salinity and alkalinity hazard, total cation and anion. Most of the water samples were found as acceptable in terms of TDS, EC, SAR and TH values, but unacceptable based on pH. Though the water samples were demonstrated as good and satisfactory water class in terms of SSP and KR, respectively, they were categorized as harmful water class in term of MAR. However, in terms of salinity and alkalinity hazard, most of the water samples were found as good water class for irrigation. In case of drinking purpose, most of the samples were found as permissible, good and safe based on EC, pH, and TDS, respectively. Though the samples were demonstrated as suitable and good water class in terms of TH and nitrate, respectively, they were classified as unsatisfactory based on sulphate. Overall for the groundwater samples, SSP-KR and pH-TH had a very strong correlation with a correlation coefficient around 1, and EC, TH and pH showed a negative correlation with most of the parameters. The study revealed that the quality of groundwater for most of the locations in the area was permissible and good for irrigation and drinking purposes. [Fundam Appl Agric 2019; 4(1.000): 632-641]

Background and objectives High out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) increases the probability that households will become impoverished or will forgo needed care. The aim of this paper is to study household medicines expenditure and its associated determining factors to develop policies to protect households from financial hardship. Methods The present cross-sectional and population-level study used the Bangladesh 2016–17 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). The final sample size was 46,080 households. We analyzed the probability of OOPE for medicines, the share of total OOPE due to medicines out of total OOPE in health (reported as a ratio between zero and one), the OOPE amount for medicines reported (in United States Dollars), and the share of OOPE amount on medicines out of total household expenditure (reported as a ratio between zero and one). Predictors of analyzed outcomes were identified using three regression models. Results Out of those households who spent on healthcare, the probability of having any OOPE on medicines was 87.9%. Of those who spent on medicines, the median monthly expenditure was US$3.03. The poorest households spent 9.97% of their total household expenditure as OOPE on medicines, nearly double that of the wealthiest households (5.86%). The characteristic which showed the most significant correlation to a high OOPE on medicines was the presence of chronic diseases, especially cancer. Twenty six percent of all surveyed households spend more than 10% of their OOPE on medicines. Conclusions Our study shows that financial protection should be targeted at the poorest quintiles and such protection should include enrollment of rural households. Further, outpatient medicines benefits should include those for non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Background We present a systematic review describing ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of the impacts of intellectual property provisions in trade treaties on access to medicine in low and middle income countries. These evaluations focused on multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. We ascertained which IP provisions impacting access to medicines were the focus of these evaluations. We provide a further research agenda related to investigating the effect of trade agreement’s intellectual property provisions on access to medicines. We followed systematic review guidelines with 7 different databases to identify post-2000 ex ante and ex post evaluations of trade treaties on access to medicines in low and middle-income countries. We included only quantitative ex-ante studies that used structural modeling and simulations to derive quantitative predictions and ex-post studies that utilized empirical data and econometric techniques to quantify the effects of intellectual property provisions in free trade agreements on host country’s pharmaceutical industry. The search strategy identified 744 titles after removal of duplicates. We identified 14 studies that fulfilled all eligibility; 7 studies are ex-ante and 7 are ex-post. The studies looked at medicine price and cost, affordability, welfare effects and speed of medicine market launch. Changes in intellectual property policy due to the implementation of trade agreements affect price, medicines expenditure and sales, consumer welfare, and ultimately the affordability, of medicines. The direction and magnitude of the price effects differ between ex-ante and ex-post studies. Further, the reported impacts of policy changes due to trade agreements on medicine access seem clearly multifactorial. Conclusion Both ex ante and ex post methods have advantages and limitations and, on balance, both types report, for the most part, an increase in price and a decrease in consumer welfare with imposition of intellectual property protection in trade agreements. The main differences between these studies are in the magnitude of the changes. There is a gap in our empirical understanding of the mechanisms through which such changes affect access to medicines and which outcomes relevant to access are most affected by which type of changes in intellectual property policy and law.

This article unravels the nature and causes of inequality and riskiness of poverty in Bangladesh. Using Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2010, the authors attempt to unmask the factors responsible for deprivation and discrimination in Bangladesh. The authors have constructed a probit model and run mean test to check which factors are significant in determining poverty status. Contrary to general belief, the authors find that the gender and religion do not play significant role in determining the poverty status of households. However, other factors such as age, rural-urban distribution, education, marital status, disability, remittance, region, and so on have noteworthy impact on poverty condition.

Bacteriophages can survive under unfavorable conditions and their abilities of survivality are highly diversified. The influence of different physical and chemical conditions, such as temperature, pH and salts on the survivability of coliphages and shigaphages isolated from local clinical sewage samples have been summarized. Temperature at 45°C for 30 min caused 53.13% decrease in the number of coliphages but rather increased the number of shigaphages in present study. Temperature at 56°C for 30 min caused 91.41 and 100% fall in the number of coli- and shigaphages, respectively. pH 4 mediated 96.88% and pH 11 caused 100% decline in the number of plaques for coliphages. On the other hand, number of plaques of shigaphages was diminished by 100% at pH 4 and 91.67% at pH 11. MgCl2, MgSO4 and Na2SO4 salt solutions increased the number of coliphage plaques by 287.5, 125 and 37.5%. On the contrary, the decrease in the number of shigaphages was 79.31, 10.34 and 44.83%, respectively through the treatment. The various physical and chemical conditions investigated in this research have affected the test bacteriophages diversely. Temperature while applied at higher level (56ºC) affected the growth of both coliphages and shigaphages. Acidic and alkaline pH modified coli- and shigaphages' survivality and growth negatively. The three salts in question augmented the growth of isolated coliphages profoundly. However, the same three salts failed to do so for the isolated shigaphages. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 25(2): 185-194, 2016 (July)

Present study was designed to explore the influences of different categories of chemical factors, such as organic solvents, oxidizing agents, anionic detergent and dye on persistence of locally isolated coliphages and shigaphages from clinical sewage samples. Thirty percent ethanol initiated 83.20 and 62.86% reduction in the number of coliphage and shigaphage plaques in our study respectively. Chloroform mediated decrease in our observation was 53.13 and 88.33% for coliphages and shigaphages, respectively. The number of the shigaphage plaques was reduced by 62.5% following biphasic diethyl ether (DEE) treatment. About 72.66% of coliphages were deactivated after exposure to biphasic diethyl ether. Exposure of the isolated coliphages and shigaphages to 1% formalin had completely destroyed the viability of the bacteriophages. Coliphage survival in this investigation was 37.5% and 2.4% following treatment with 0.3 and 3.0% hydrogen peroxide respectively. The decrease in overall coliphage and shigaphage population was 95.83% and 94.14% while treated with 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The number increased for the viruses infecting E. coli by 9.52% where the number of shigaphages declined by 14.63% while growing in presence of a divalent cation [Ca(NO3)2]. Coliphage and shigaphage populations were diminished by 61. 76% and 53.48% respectively after treatment with the neutral red (0.0075%) followed by exposure to visible light.Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 31, Number 1-2,June-Dec 2014, pp 47-52

An experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) to investigate the effects of dairy farm’s wastewater irrigation on wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. BARI "Shatabdi") production and soil health during 30 November 2013 through 22 March 2014. Three irrigation and three fertilizer treatments were involved in the experiment. The experiment was laid down in a split-plot design with three replications of the treatments. Various growth and yield data of the crop were recorded. For the effect of irrigation water quality, the highest and the lowest grain yield (2.88 t ha-1 and 2.71 t ha-1) were obtained under I3 and I2, respectively. For the effect of fertilizer, the highest and the lowest grain yield (4.42 t ha-1and 1.59 t ha-1) were obtained under F2 and F0, respectively. The interaction effect between irrigation and fertilizer exerted a significant impact on the grain yield of wheat. Irrigation by wastewater did not significantly alter the quality parameters of the irrigated soils. The raw wastewater supplied more nutrients to the soil of the wheat field. Therefore, it may be used as a source of irrigation and fertilizer for wheat production without any hazard of the soil health.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(2): 157-162 2015

In this article, the authors attempted to evaluate the contribution of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for development (ICT4D) project in a context of developing country: Bangladesh. Though ICT4D is a general term referring to the application of ICT within the fields of development of a country, there are many cases where the potential benefits of ICT linked with the individual, group/community and organizational level. Considering two case studies, the authors have attempted to understand how ICT can be linked with the lives of community in rural areas of Bangladesh. They have adopted Amartya Sen's five freedoms as conceptual framework for this study. Through a quantitative perspective the authors argue that ICT projects can lead to development in general and five freedoms at particular.

A study was carried out at Panchbibiupazila in Joypurhat district, Bangladesh, where underground geology is limestone enriched, to investigate the effect of climate change on groundwater quality for irrigation purpose using numerical simulation model. The numerical simulation model included dispersion/diffusion, advection, ion exchange, formation of complexes in the aqueous phase, and the dissociation of water. Fifteen groundwater samples were collected from the study area to evaluate the quality parameters used for the purpose are pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solid (TDS), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR) and total hardness (TH). Only two samples were in dangerous category in terms of magnesium adsorption ratio. Rest of the parameters showed that groundwater is suitable for irrigation purpose. In the numerical simulation model the mass action, transport, and site action equations are expressed in a differential/algebraic form and solved by finite element method (FEM). Results revealed that the dissolution of limestone was directly proportional to the acidification of rainwater i.e. inversely proportional to the pH of rainwater. Dissolution of limestone was also proportional to the increase of intensity of rain that leads to the increase of velocity of water and vice versa. Dissolution of limestone was directly proportional to the increase of temperature as well. Among the factors that were included in the study, pH of water in contact had the maximum effect on the dissolution of limestone. The enhanced dissolution of calcium ions may be expected to block the filter of the pumping well and deteriorate the quality of groundwater as well. Water also becomes hard for increasing the dissolution of calcium ions will limit the suitability of the water for irrigation.