Farmers’ Perception and Adoption of Agroforestry Practices in Faridpur District of Bangladesh

This study mainly focused on exploring perception of farmers' towards agroforestry practices and identifying the demographic factors influencing agroforestry adoption in Faridpur district. Field survey was conducted during November-December, 2016 using semi-structured questionnaire. Multi-stage random sampling was used to select upazillas, unions and villages. Snowball purposive sampling was applied to select 84 respondents in total for the questionnaire survey. Chi-square was used to test variables at 5% level of significance. Homestead agroforestry was found to be the most common agroforestry practice (39.28%), followed by fruit-based agroforestry (21.42%), woodlot plantation (13.09%) and so on. Agroforestry was perceived to increase farm productivity by 82.14% of the respondents, 73.8% opined that agroforestry increase household income, while 30.95% perceived it as a means to food security. On the contrary, 34.52% opined that agroforestry practices decrease cash crops production, 17.85% of the respondents stated agroforestry as a difficult practice. Chi-square test showed no significant association between the adoption of agroforestry practices and respondent's age (P > 0.05) or income range (P > 0.05) of the respondents. On the other hand, there is a positive significant association between the adoption of agroforestry practices and educational level (p< 0.05) as well as the farm size (p< 0.05) of the respondents. The study suggests raising awareness regarding the benefits of agroforestry practices as well as providing technical assistance

Ovarian function following intra-ovarian injection of platelet rich plasma in premature ovarian aging

Background: Premature ovarian aging as evidenced by AMH levels less than 0.5 ng/ml is predictive of reduced success in management of infertility. The most effective treatment is in vitro fertilization which is not affordable or acceptable to most of our patients with low socioeconomic background. Intra-ovarian injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) improves the ovarian reserve markers but it remains to be seen whether it improves the pregnancy rate.Methods: This was a prospective study of 29 patients with poor ovarian reserve (age between 30-40 years, AMH<0.5 ng/ml), AFC<4 in both ovaries) who received intra ovarian injection of platelet rich plasma. The patients were followed up for one year and data was collected about clinically relevant outcomes like pregnancy.Results: Four women (13.8%) had pregnancy, of which 3 were spontaneous and one was following ovarian stimulation and intrauterine insemination. All had diagnosed clinical pregnancy, of which two women had live birth.Conclusions: Given the 13.8% rate of pregnancy within one year we can speculate that PRP injection may be a reasonable alternative to in vitro fertilization in women with diminished ovarian reserve.

Genomic Distribution and Divergence of Levansucrase-Coding Genes in Pseudomonas syringae

In the plant pathogenic bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae, the exopolysaccharide levan is synthesized by extracellular levansucrase (Lsc), which is encoded by two conserved 1,296-bp genes termed lscB and lscC in P. syringae strain PG4180. A third gene, lscA, is homologous to the 1,248-bp lsc gene of the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, causing fire blight. However, lscA is not expressed in P. syringae strain PG4180. Herein, PG4180 lscA was shown to be expressed from its native promoter in the Lsc-deficient E. amylovora mutant, Ea7/74-LS6, suggesting that lscA might be closely related to the E. amylovora lsc gene. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that lscB and lscC homologs in several P. syringae strains are part of a highly conserved 1.8-kb region containing the ORF, flanked by 450-452-bp and 49-51-bp up- and downstream sequences, respectively. Interestingly, the 450-452-bp upstream sequence, along with the initial 48-bp ORF sequence encoding for the N-terminal 16 amino acid residues of Lsc, were found to be highly similar to the respective sequence of a putatively prophage-borne glycosyl hydrolase-encoding gene in several P. syringae genomes. Minimal promoter regions of lscB and lscC were mapped in PG4180 by deletion analysis and were found to be located in similar positions upstream of lsc genes in three P. syringae genomes. Thus, a putative 498-500-bp promoter element was identified, which possesses the prophage-associated com gene and DNA encoding common N-terminal sequences of all 1,296-bp Lsc and two glycosyl hydrolases. Since the gene product of the non-expressed 1,248-bp lscA is lacking this conserved N-terminal region but is otherwise highly homologous to those of lscB and lscC, it was concluded that lscA might have been the ancestral lsc gene in E. amylovora and P. syringae. Our data indicated that its highly expressed paralogs in P. syringae are probably derived from subsequent recombination events initiated by insertion of the 498-500-bp promoter element, described herein, containing a translational start site

Vertical Transfer of Humoral Immunity against Nipah Virus: A Novel Evidence from Bangladesh

A major obstacle to in-depth investigation of the immune response against Nipah virus (NiV) infection is its rapid progression and high mortality rate. This paper described novel information on the vertical transfer of immune properties. In January 2020, a female aged below five years and her mother from Faridpur district of Bangladesh were infected. Both had a history of raw date palm sap consumption and were diagnosed as confirmed NiV cases. The daughter passed away, and the mother survived with significant residual neurological impairment. She conceived one and a half year later and was under thorough antenatal follow-up by the surveillance authority. A healthy male baby was born. As part of routine survivor follow-up, specimens were collected from the newborn and tested for NiV infection at the reference laboratory to exclude vertical transmission. Although testing negative for anti-Nipah IgM and PCR for NiV, a high titre of anti-Nipah IgG was observed. The transfer of humoral immunity against NiV from mother to neonate was confirmed for the first time. The article will serve as a reference for further exploration regarding NiV-specific antibodies that are transferred through the placenta, their potential to protect newborns, and how this may influence vaccine recommendations

Papaverine: A Miraculous Alkaloid from Opium and Its Multimedicinal Application

The pharmacological actions of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are quite substantial, and have recently attracted much attention. One of the principle benzylisoquinoline alkaloids has been found in the unripe seed capsules of Papaver somniferum L. Although it lacks analgesic effects and is unrelated to the compounds in the morphine class, it is a peripheral vasodilator and has a direct effect on vessels. It is reported to inhibit the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase in smooth muscles, and it has been observed to increase intracellular levels of cAMP and cGMP. It induces coronary, cerebral, and pulmonary artery dilatation and helps to lower cerebral vascular resistance and enhance cerebral blood flow. Current pharmacological research has revealed that papaverine demonstrates a variety of biological activities, including activity against erectile dysfunction, postoperative vasospasms, and pulmonary vasoconstriction, as well as antiviral, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, and gestational actions. It was recently demonstrated that papaverine has the potential to control SARS-CoV-2 by preventing its cytopathic effect. These experiments were carried out both in vitro and in vivo and require an extensive understanding of the mechanisms of action. With its multiple mechanisms, papaverine can be considered as a natural compound that is used to develop therapeutic drugs. To validate its applications, additional research is required into its precise therapeutic mechanisms as well as its acute and chronic toxicities. Therefore, the goal of this review is to discuss the major studies and reported clinical studies looking into the pharmacological effects of papaverine and the mechanisms of action underneath these effects. Additionally, it is recommended to conduct further research via significant pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies

Ethnobotanical Uses, Phytochemistry, Toxicology, and Pharmacological Properties of <i>Euphorbia neriifolia</i> Linn. against Infectious Diseases: A Comprehensive Review

Medicinal plants have considerable potential as antimicrobial agents due to the presence of secondary metabolites. This comprehensive overview aims to summarize the classification, morphology, and ethnobotanical uses of Euphorbia neriifolia L. and its derived phytochemicals with the recent updates on the pharmacological properties against emerging infectious diseases, mainly focusing on bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections. The data were collected from electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Semantic Scholar, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink by utilizing several keywords like ‘Euphorbia neriifolia’, ‘phytoconstituents’, ‘traditional uses’, ‘ethnopharmacological uses’, ‘infectious diseases’, ‘molecular mechanisms’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘bacterial infection’, ‘viral infection’, etc. The results related to the antimicrobial actions of these plant extracts and their derived phytochemicals were carefully reviewed and summarized. Euphol, monohydroxy triterpene, nerifoliol, taraxerol, β-amyrin, glut-5-(10)-en-1-one, neriifolione, and cycloartenol are the leading secondary metabolites reported in phytochemical investigations. These chemicals have been shown to possess a wide spectrum of biological functions. Different extracts of E. neriifolia exerted antimicrobial activities against various pathogens to different extents. Moreover, major phytoconstituents present in this plant, such as quercetin, rutin, friedelin, taraxerol, epitaraxerol, taraxeryl acetate, 3β-friedelanol, 3β-acetoxy friedelane, 3β-simiarenol, afzelin, 24-methylene cycloarenol, ingenol triacetate, and β-amyrin, showed significant antimicrobial activities against various pathogens that are responsible for emerging infectious diseases. This plant and the phytoconstituents, such as flavonoids, monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, and alkaloids, have been found to have significant antimicrobial properties. The current evidence suggests that they might be used as leads in the development of more effective drugs to treat emerging infectious diseases, including the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Event based surveillance of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS- CoV) in Bangladesh among pilgrims and travelers from the Middle East: An update for the period 2013–2016

<div><p>Introduction</p><p>Every year around 150,000 pilgrims from Bangladesh perform Umrah and Hajj. Emergence and continuous reporting of MERS-CoV infection in Saudi Arabia emphasize the need for surveillance of MERS-CoV in returning pilgrims or travelers from the Middle East and capacity building of health care providers for disease containment. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research (IEDCR) under the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MoHFW), is responsible for MERS-CoV screening of pilgrims/ travelers returning from the Middle East with respiratory illness as part of its outbreak investigation and surveillance activities.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Bangladeshi travelers/pilgrims who returned from the Middle East and presented with fever and respiratory symptoms were studied over the period from October 2013 to June 2016. Patients with respiratory symptoms that fulfilled the WHO MERS-CoV case algorithm were tested for MERS-CoV and other respiratory tract viruses. Beside surveillance, case recognition training was conducted at multiple levels of health care facilities across the country in support of early detection and containment of the disease.</p><p>Results</p><p>Eighty one suspected cases tested by real time PCR resulted in zero detection of MERS-CoV infection. Viral etiology detected in 29.6% of the cases was predominantly influenza A (H1N1 and H3N2), and influenza B infection (22%). Peak testing occurred mostly following the annual Hajj season.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Respiratory tract infections in travelers/pilgrims returning to Bangladesh from the Middle East are mainly due to influenza A and influenza B. Though MERS-CoV was not detected in the 81 patients tested, continuous screening and surveillance are essential for early detection of MERS-CoV infection and other respiratory pathogens to prevent transmissions in hospital settings and within communities. Awareness building among healthcare providers will help identify suspected cases.</p></div

Respiratory viral pathogens detected in pilgrims and returning travelers.

<p>Respiratory viral pathogens detected in pilgrims and returning travelers.</p

Testing of respiratory viral pathogens in 2013 to 2016 by month.

<p>Testing of respiratory viral pathogens in 2013 to 2016 by month.</p

Demographic characteristics of 81 patients tested, October 2013 to June 2016.

<p>Demographic characteristics of 81 patients tested, October 2013 to June 2016.</p