Prevalence of seed-borne fungi of different vegetables seeds in Bangladesh

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of seed-borne fungi of ten selected vegetables seeds e.g. amaranth, Indian spinach, bottle gourd, sweet gourd, snake gourd, okra, bitter gourd, cucumber, brinjal and country bean. Untreated and unknown grower’s bulk vegetables loose seeds were collected from three different seed sources of Rangpur district, Bangladesh e.g. New Bangla Seeds; Islam Seeds and Rafiq Traders. The high level of infection was found in the seeds of Rafiq Traders and the lowest infection was observed in the seeds of New Bangla Seeds. Islam Seeds provided moderate infection of fungal pathogens. Fungal fruiting bodies, mycelium (white and cottony) and acervuli were found under microscopic observation. The observed physical abnormalities viz. deformed, shrinkage, swelling, spotted and undersized seeds were recorded from all seed sources. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., Chaetomium sp., Rhizopus sp. and unidentified bacteria were observed by blotter method. Aspergillus flavus showed maximum incidence (9.0%) in okra and minimum incidence (5.50%) in brinjal. Aspergillus niger was the most predominant (9.0%) in sweet gourd and minor (5.0%) in bottle gourd. Incidence of Fusarium sp. (5.0%) and Rhizopus sp. (8.75%) were predominant in bottle gourd. The lowest incidence for Fusarium sp. (2.50%) and Rhizopus sp. (3.0%) were found in snake gourd and amaranth respectively. The highest incidence of Alternaria sp. (4.75%) and Chaetomium sp. (9.0%) were found both in sweet gourd and bitter gourd but minimum incidence of Alternaria sp. (2.0%) and Chaetomium (3.75%) were recorded in amaranth and okra respectively. In case of unidentified bacteria, maximum incidence (4.50%) was recorded in bottle gourd

Complementary Feeding Practices among Mothers in Selected Slums of Dhaka City: A Descriptive Study

Improper complementary feeding (CF) practice is one of the main reasons for malnutrition among Bangladeshi children aged less than two years. In this context, using the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), this study assessed the CF practices among mothers in four selected slums (Tejgoan, Rayerbazar, Beribadh, and Jafrabad) of Dhaka city. This descriptive study, conducted during January-June 2010, included 120 mother-child pairs from the selected slums. Samples were selected conveniently, and the sociodemographic profiles of mothers in the four slums were similar. The mean (standard deviation) age of the children was 14.68\ub15.55 months. A questionnaire, developed following the guidelines of WHO for CF practices, was used for collecting data. Twenty-seven (23%) mothers were exclusively breastfeeding (EBF) their children. Among non-EBF mothers, 15 (16%) started CF after the recommended time. At 6-8 months of age, 2 (40%) of the EBF and 12 (67%) of the non-EBF mothers gave complementary foods twice a day to their children. In both the groups\u20149-11 months of age\u2014about 70% mothers gave complementary foods twice a day to their children. The frequency of CF was acceptable (3 times a day) in 13 (81%) of the EBF and 32 (56%) of the non-EBF children at 12-23 months of age. Complementary foods given by 24 (89%) of the EBF and 86 (93%) of the non--EBF mothers to their children were not adequate in energy contents. Two (7%) EBF and 16 (17%) non-EBF mothers did not wash their hands after defaecation. Three (11%) EBF and 24 (26%) non-EBF mothers did not properly clean their hands and utensils before feeding. Nine (33%) EBF mothers did not wash their children\u2019s hands. Fifty (54%) non-EBF mothers also did not do this. Feeding with psychosocial care practices was not perfect in either of the groups. The findings showed that, according to the WHO guidelines, the CF practices among mothers of children aged less than two years were very poor in the selected slums of Dhaka city. These findings indicate that there is a considerable gap between the recommendations of WHO and the energy intake among this group of children

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Assessment of Gap between Knowledge and Practices among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients at a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Bangladesh

Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2 DM) patients who do not receive diabetes education (DE) have average knowledge on DM, and their practices about diabetes need to be improved. This prompted us to evaluate what happens when old diagnosed patients receive DE. The study therefore assessed the association between knowledge and practices in terms of Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) among 500 diagnosed T2 DM using a cross-sectional design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for assessing their knowledge. The mean knowledge score of the patients was 15.29 ± 3.6. A significant negative association was found between the knowledge score and the HbA1c level. Age was positively associated with HbA1c and WC. Duration of DM was positively and education was negatively associated with HbA1c. Gender was negatively associated with BMI while income was positively associated with BMI and WC. All the associations were significant. The diagnosed T2 DM patients are deficient of sufficient knowledge; the knowledge score and HbA1c have a significant negative relationship, not other actions. The risk factors for the patients’ outcome include old age, female gender, years of education, economic status, and duration of DM