The street-vended fruit beverages are considered as a source of disease causing microorganisms despite their high consumer demand and nutritional value. The study was conducted for the assessment of antibiotic resistance food-borne pathogens in street-vended fruit beverages available in an industrial zone of Bangladesh. A total of 50 samples constituting five different types of street-vended fruit beverages were collected from Gazipur city of Bangladesh. All the samples were examined for total viable microbial count followed by isolation, identification and antibiogram profile of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The total viable microbial count ranged from 2.3 to 8.9 log cfu/ml suggesting a significant bacterial load that exceeds the maximum permitted level of microbial load for freshly extracted fruit juices. Of the 50 samples, 29 (58.0%) were appeared as Staphylococcus aureus positive and 24 (48.0%) samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli. Antibiogram profile revealed Staphylococcus aureus resistance to penicillin (82.8%), amoxicillin (75.9%) and oxacillin (17.2%). The resistance to β-lactam antibiotic like oxacillin indicates the presence of highly pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus which is obviously a potent public health issue. In contrary, Escherichia coli isolates were resistant to amoxicillin (100%) and erythromycin (100%). All the isolates were found highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. The antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolated organisms could complicate the treatment of food-borne illness in people. Development of holistic approach and their effective application could ensure the hygienic quality of these beverages as well as the health standard of the consumers.
Background: Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is a progressive disease with poor prognosis. An emerging consensus on classification based on immunofluorescence findings separates MPGN into two groups: immune complex-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN. This study was undertaken to investigate the clinical, biochemical, and histopathological parameters in-between these two groups histologically diagnosed as MPGN previously. Materials and Methods: We conduct a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out at the Department of Pathology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka during the period from June 2016 to December 2017. A total of 67 histologically diagnosed MPGN cases were enrolled in the study. Immunofluorescence evaluations were performed and correlated with retrospective clinical and biochemical data. Results: Immune complex-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN cannot be differentiated by histopathology. There were no significant differences between clinical (age, sex, clinical presentation) and biochemical (serum creatinine, C3 level, C4 level) parameters between immune complex-mediated MPGN and complement-mediated MPGN. Conclusion: Clinical and biochemical and histopathological parameters in-between these two groups of MPGN show no significant difference.
Regional feed library contains information in regional languages for available feeds/fodders and by-products that are being fed to the livestock.The lack of dynamic feed quality information containing complete nutrient profile, anti-nutritional factors, and digestibility information at the regional level for current varieties of feed and fodder species and their by-products leads to the misuse of valuable crop residues and supplements.The problem is more rampant in Southern Asian countries, like India and Bangladesh.This causes low per animal productivity, more green house gas (GHG) emissions, and wastage of valuable feed material.Modern feed libraries are dynamic and inlcude latest varieties/cultivars/genotypes of feed and fodder along with the most common feeds/fodders available in that region.This assists the small scale and commercial livestock producers in selecting the best locally available fodders/feeds combinations to meet the nutrient requirement of their livestock depending on the physiological stage and productivity.This allows efficient use of available feed resources, low-cost ration formulations and enhance the income of livestock farmers while contributing lower GHG emission from ruminant animals.
The issue of e-learning as an advanced system for training and educating mass people using information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been received an increasing level of interest in recent years in most of the western countries. In spite of socio-economic constraints, ICTs are rapidly expanding in the developing countries, and thus offering a new scope for the use of e-learning for the promotion of distance education. In Bangladesh, e-learning was first introduced as early as 1960s as a Radiobroadcast followed by a pilot project School Broadcasting Program (SBP) in 1980s and then expanded by the establishment of the National Institute of Educational Media and Technology (NIEMT), which was later transformed into Bangladesh Institute of Distance Education (BIDE) in 1985. The significant progress has been done after the establishment of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) in 1992 as the first and only national distance learning university. Within a decade of its establishment, enrollment of BOU students have reached nearly 400 thousands, and thus enlisted it as one of the mega-universities. BOU has been offering a variety of formal and non-formal academic programs from certificate to Masters levels using print, TV and radio broadcasts, audio-cassettes and face to face tutorials as the media of delivering its academic courses. Considering the rapid expansion of computer and internet in Bangladesh after 1998s, it is now appropriate time to consider inclusion of some interactive ICTs i.e. e-learning in delivering course materials of BOU or other institutes to promote distance education in Bangladesh. In this paper, we discuss the current situation and future prospects for e-learning in Bangladesh considering the current trend of ICTs expansion in the country.
The gradual increase of salinity in the coastal areas of Bangladesh instigates several challenges for normal plant growth. The responses of forest communities to the rise of salinity are somehow documented. However, the adjustments of non-forest plant communities against salinity are still limited in the literature. This study reports the abundance and species richness of herbaceous plant population along with the soil salinity gradients in a coastal area of Bangladesh. Twenty-five roadside quadrants were systematically selected and studied for herbaceous plant diversity and soil properties. Soil Electrical conductivity (EC) and moisture show a generally rising trend from the north to the south. Moreover, the quadrants closer to the river or aquaculture with low elevation represents the salinity hot spots. About 1116 herbaceous plants belonging to 11 species were recorded. Croton bonplandianum baill is the dominant species and showed higher adaption capacity against soil EC values. Four out of 25 quadrants with higher EC, moisture, and lower elevation recorded no plants. The herbaceous plant biodiversity reveals a strong spatial pattern and tendency to shrink with the rise of soil salinity while progressing towards the south-east direction. The area is evident in the contagious distribution of plant species and accommodates four dominant clusters. Overall, the study outcomes improve our understanding of the impact of environmental stressors on the distribution of herbaceous plants in the coastal area.
