Antibody level against COVID-19 among the vaccinated infected and non-infected doctors by SARS-COV-2: A Comparative study

Introduction: A novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2) emerged at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China named as COVID-19. IgM, the first antibody produced by the body, is generated gradually 1 week after symptom onset and declines by 4 weeks after the COVID infection. In this background, the antibody response was observed in vaccinated (by Oxford-AstraZeneca) doctors of SSMC(Sir Salimullah Medical College) with or without previous COVID-19 infection. Methodology: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at SSMC and BSMMU. A total of 70 doctors of SSMC aged 25-59 years were enrolled according to inclusion criteria. Among them 35 vaccinated doctors were previously infected by SARS-CoV-2 regarded as group A and another vaccinated 35 doctors were non-infected regarded as group B. Collected data was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science 26 (SPSS 26). The data were expressed as frequency and percentage, mean ± SD for normally distributed data or median (inter-quartile rage) for data not normally distributed. Mann-Whitney test was done to compare IgG status between vaccinated SARS-CoV-2 infected and non-infected individuals. Result: There was significantly higher level of antibodies (serum IgG level) present in fully vaccinated doctors with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection than in only vaccinated doctors without prior infection

Effect of Indole Acetic Acid and Boron on the Nutrient Contents of Summer Tomato Cultivar Bina Tomato-3

A pot experiment was carried out with tomato variety BINA Tomato-3 in the net house of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh from March to August, 2010 to study the effect of Indole Acetic Acid(IAA) and Boron(B) on the nutrient contents of BINA Tomato-3. There were four doses of IAA viz. 0, 20, 40 and 60 ppm and B viz. 0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 kg ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replications. The result revealed that nutrient contents of tomato fruits and plants such as N, P, Ca, Mg and B were significantly influenced by the application of IAA and B. The highest N (0.70%), Ca (0.69%), Mg (0.80%) in tomato fruits and highest N (0.40%), Ca (0.93%), Mg (0.90%) in tomato plants  were obtained in 60 ppm IAA along with 2.0 kg B ha-1 and the lowest was obtained in the control treatment. In tomato fruits the highest P (0.41%) was found in IAA40B2.0 treatment, while the lowest P (0.18%) was recorded in IAA0B0.0. The lowest B (4.55µgg-1) was recorded in control, while the highest B (15.72µgg-1) was found in IAA20B2.0in tomato fruits. In tomato plants the highest P (0.34%) was recorded in IAA60B1.5 and the lowest P (0.20%) was found in control. The lowest B (4.15µgg-1) was recorded in IAA0B0.0, while the highest B(13.33µgg-1) was found in IAA40B2.0 in tomato plants. The overall results suggest that treatment IAA60B2.0 was the best from other treatments

Native tree species diversity of Rampahar Natural Forest Reserve in Rangamati South Forest Division, Bangladesh

Tropical forests of Bangladesh are facing rapid loss in floristic diversity and resultant changes of vegetation necessitates the assessment of plant composition and diversity. The present study was conducted to assess the composition of native tree species of Rampahar Forest Reserve of Rangamati hill district, Bangladesh. Rampahar is a remnant tropical semi-evergreen natural forest extending to an area of 648 ha. Simple random sampling method with 20 m × 20 m sized 20 and 5 m × 5 m sized 10 samples plots were used to study both tree species composition and seedling status of tree species. A total of 50 tree species under 28 families and 15 regenerating tree species under 13 families were recorded in the study area. Family Moraceae possessed the highest number of tree species (6 species) while families Anacardiaceae and Sterculiaceae possessed the highest number (2 species) for regenerating tree species. The survey indicated that Protium serratum (Wall. ex Colebr.) Engl. is the most dominant tree species with the highest relative density (RD), relative frequency (RF) and importance value index (IVI). Basal area of all the tree species was 13.13 m2/ha where Ficus religiosa was represented by the highest basal area (1.14 m2/ha). Protium serratum was also a dominant regenerating tree species with highest RD (15.24%), RF (16.30%) and IVI (50.09). The native trees species of this remnant forest need attention for immediate conservatio

Agronomic approaches to biofortify iron in tomato

The study was conducted to biofortify Fe in tomato fruit. Seven tomato varieties were tested in this study to screen out the potential variety for biofortification. Based on Fe concentrations of tomato fruit, BARI Tomato-14 was selected as test crop. Six different methods for Fe application viz. 100% as seedling priming, 50% in soil + 50% as foliar spray at seedling stage, 50% as seedling priming + 50% as foliar spray, 100% as foliar spray at seedling stage, 100% as foliar spray at flowering stage and 100% as foliar spray at fruiting stage @ 4 kg Fe ha-1. Iron was applied for 3 times at 7 day interval at all growth stages. Experiments were laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 replications. Different application methods of Fe significantly influenced the growth, yield contributing characteristics, yield, biochemical constituents, nutrient concentrations and their uptake by BARI Tomato-14. The highest values of most of the studied parameters including Fe content and uptake were recorded from the application of 50% Fe as seedling priming + 50% Fe as foliar spray. Significant and positive correlations among the growth and yield contributing parameters due to the application of Fe were observed. Interestingly the highest vitamin-C, protein, lycopene, N, K and Ca contents and uptake were observed in 50% as seedling priming + 50% as foliar spray of Fe @ 4 kg ha-1. Except few most of the studied nutrients were negatively correlated with Fe. Iron was biofortified by 66.28 µg g-1 in BARI Tomato-14. Results suggest that application of 2 kg Fe ha-1 as seedling priming + 2 kg Fe ha-1 as foliar spray at seedling stage for 3 times at 7 days interval along with the recommended doses of NPK fertilizers in soil can be practiced for Fe biofortification in tomato. [J Bangladesh Agril Univ 2022; 20(4.000): 362-372

New Analytical Approaches for Effective Quantification and Identification of Nanoplastics in Environmental Samples

Nanoplastics (NPs) are a rapidly developing subject that is relevant in environmental and food research, as well as in human toxicity, among other fields. NPs have recently been recognized as one of the least studied types of marine litter, but potentially one of the most hazardous. Several studies are now being reported on NPs in the environment including surface water and coast, snow, soil and in personal care products. However, the extent of contamination remains largely unknown due to fundamental challenges associated with isolation and analysis, and therefore, a methodological gap exists. This article summarizes the progress in environmental NPs analysis and makes a critical assessment of whether methods from nanoparticles analysis could be adopted to bridge the methodological gap. This review discussed the sample preparation and preconcentration protocol for NPs analysis and also examines the most appropriate approaches available at the moment, ranging from physical to chemical. This study also discusses the difficulties associated with improving existing methods and developing new ones. Although microscopical techniques are one of the most often used ways for imaging and thus quantification, they have the drawback of producing partial findings as they can be easily mixed up as biomolecules. At the moment, the combination of chemical analysis (i.e., spectroscopy) and newly developed alternative methods overcomes this limitation. In general, multiple analytical methods used in combination are likely to be needed to correctly detect and fully quantify NPs in environmental samples

Agronomic biofortification of zinc in tomato

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is a major public health issue worldwide. The biofortification of Zn in popular vegetables could be a promising way to address this burning issue. To enrich tomatoes with bioavailable Zinc through agronomic biofortification. Seven tomato varieties were examined to identify the best one for Zn biofortification based on fruit Zn concentrations. Then six levels of Zn viz., 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 kg ha−1 were applied to screen out the best Zn dose for maximum biofortification. Finally, the identified Zn dose was applied using six strategies viz., 100% seedling priming, 50% soil + 50% foliar spray at seedling stage, 50% seedling priming + 50% foliar spray, 100% foliar spray at seedling stage, 100% foliar spray at flowering stage and 100% foliar spray at the fruiting stage to recognize the best application strategy. These three experiments were executed following a completely randomized design with three replications. In screening, BARI Tomato-14 showed the lowest Zn concentration compared to all other varieties. The application of 5 kg Zn ha−1 showed the highest Zn concentration in tomato with better yield and quality. Finally, 5 kg Zn ha−1 as 50% soil application + 50% foliar spray showed the maximum biofortification of Zn in BARI Tomato-14 with the highest growth, yield and quality. Therefore, application of 5 kg Zn ha−1 as 50% soil and 50% foliar spray on BARI tomato-14 could be a potential option to mitigate Zn deficiency.</p

Characterization of phytoconstituents and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of silver-extract nanoparticles synthesized from Momordica charantia fruit extract

Abstract Background Our present study was conducted to characterize the phytoconstituents present in the aqueous extract of Momordica charantia and evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of silver-extract nanoparticles (Ag-Extract-NPs). Methods Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared by reducing AgNO3; and NaBH4 served as reducing agent. After screening of phytochemicals; AgNPs and aqueous extract were mixed thoroughly and then coated by polyaniline. These NPs were characterized by using Visual inspection, UV spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM and TEM techniques. Antimicrobial activities were assessed against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results Aqueous extract of M. charantia fruits contain alkaloid, phenol, saponin etc. UV–Vis spectrum showed strong absorption peak around 408 nm. The presence of –CH, −NH, −COOH etc. stretching in FTIR spectrum of Ag-Extract-NPs endorsed that AgNPs were successfully capped by bio-compounds. SEM and TEM result revealed that synthesized NPs had particle size 78.5–220 nm. Ag-Extract-NPs showed 34.6 ± 0.8 mm zone of inhibition against E. coli compared to 25.6 ± 0.5 mm for ciprofloxacin. Maximum zone of inhibition for Ag-Extract-NPs were 24.8 ± 0.7 mm, 26.4 ± 0.4 mm, 7.4 ± 0.4 mm for S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. We found that Ag-Extract-NPs have much better antibacterial efficacy than AgNPs and M. charantia extract has individually. It is also noticed that gram negative bacteria (except S. typhi) are more susceptible to Ag-Extract-NPs than gram positive bacteria. Conclusion Ag-Extract-NPs showed strong antibacterial activity. In order to make a reliable stand for mankind, further study is needed to consider determining the actual biochemical pathway by which AgNPs-extracts exert their antimicrobial effect

UNVEILING THE NATURE OF CARBON DECOMPOSITION ON DIFFERENT ORGANIC MANURE SOURCES: THE IMPACT OF TEMPERATURE REGIMES IN A SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE

Organic sources are vital for crop nutrient management, but nutrient release from organic manure depends on temperature and other factors. We conducted a laboratory incubation study to investigate how temperature (15, 25, 35°C) affects the decomposition of common organic manure, which has not yet been explored in Bangladesh. The organic manures used in this study are poultry manure (PM), vermicompost (VC), bio-slurry (BS), cow dung (CD), water hyacinth compost (WHC) and rice straw compost (RSC), which were compared with a control treatment (only soil). Carbon mineralisation and CO2 emission from microbial respiration varied among organic manures and temperature regimes. The RSC- and WHC-treated soils had a higher C mineralisation than the other manures at 35°C. The mineralisation of C among the organic manures followed the order: RSC > WHC > CD > VC > BS > PM > control. Among the temperature regimes, C mineralisation followed the order 35°C > 25°C > 15°C. Manure mineralisation was associated with mineralisable C pools (carbon availability factor, Caf), and 16.4–36.5% organic C was released. Irrespective of temperature regimes, the highest easily mineralisable Caf was recorded in PM-amended soil, followed by VC-amended soil. RSC had the lowest Caf under all temperature regimes. The Caf values of all incubated manures were higher under a 35°C temperature regime. Compost preparation from organic manure and its utilisation as an integrated nutrient management component can play essential roles in mitigating climate change, reducing environmental degradation, and building more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Characterization of phytoconstituents and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of silver-extract nanoparticles synthesized from Momordica charantia fruit extract

Antibacterial efficacy of M. charantia, AgNPs and Ag-Extract-NPs. (XLSX 13 kb