Epidemiology of childhood and adolescent cancer in Bangladesh, 2001-2014

Background: Cancer burden among children and adolescents is largely unknown in Bangladesh. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview on childhood and adolescent cancers and to contribute to the future strategies to deal with these diseases in Bangladesh. Methods: Data on malignant neoplasms in patients aged less than 20years diagnosed between 2001 and 2014 (N=3143) in Bangladesh was collected by the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital and ASHIC Foundation. The age pattern and distribution of cancer types were analysed and the incidence rates were calculated. Results: The age-standardised incidence rate was 7.8 per million person-years for children (0-14 years) in the last time period (2011-2014). Retinoblastoma (25%) and leukaemia (18%) were the most common childhood cancers. For adolescents (15-19 years), the age-specific incidence rate was 2.1 per million person-years in the same time period. Most common adolescent cancers were malignant bone tumours (38%), germ cell and gonadal tumours (17%), and epithelial tumours (16%). There were more boys affected (M: F ratio 2.0 in children and 1.4 in adolescents) than girls. Conclusion: Cancer incidences were lower than expected most likely due to a low level of awareness about cancer among clinicians and the population, inadequate access to health care, lack of diagnostic equipment and incomplete recording of cases. Improvements on different levels should be made to get a better epidemiologic insight and to detect cancer earlier resulting in a better outcome for affected chil

Drinking Water Salinity and Raised Blood Pressure: Evidence from a Cohort Study in Coastal Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Millions of coastal inhabitants in Southeast Asia have been experiencing increasing sodium concentrations in their drinking-water sources, likely partially due to climate change. High (dietary) sodium intake has convincingly been proven to increase risk of hypertension; it remains unknown, however, whether consumption of sodium in drinking water could have similar effects on health. OBJECTIVES: We present the results of a cohort study in which we assessed the effects of drinking-water sodium (DWS) on blood pressure (BP) in coastal populations in Bangladesh. METHODS: DWS, BP, and information on personal, lifestyle, and environmental factors were collected from 581 participants. We used generalized linear latent and mixed methods to model the effects of DWS on BP and assessed the associations between changes in DWS and BP when participants experienced changing sodium levels in water, switched from "conventional" ponds or tube wells to alternatives [managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and rainwater harvesting] that aimed to reduce sodium levels, or experienced a combination of these changes. RESULTS: DWS concentrations were highly associated with BP after adjustments for confounding factors. Furthermore, for each 100 mg/L reduction in sodium in drinking water, systolic/diastolic BP was lower on average by 0.95/0.57 mmHg, and odds of hypertension were lower by 14%. However, MAR did not consistently lower sodium levels. CONCLUSIONS: DWS is an important source of daily sodium intake in salinity-affected areas and is a risk factor for hypertension. Considering the likely increasing trend in coastal salinity, prompt action is required. Because MAR showed variable effects, alternative technologies for providing reliable, safe, low-sodium fresh water should be developed alongside improvements in MAR and evaluated in "real-life" salinity-affected settings. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP659

Ocean governance in Bangladesh: Necessities to implement structure, policy guidelines, and actions for ocean and coastal management

After the permanent demarcation of Exclusive Economic Zone boundaries with Myanmar and India through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Bangladesh has exclusive rights to exploit and to explore marine resources across 118,813 km(2) in the Bay of Bengal. To reap economic benefits from maritime space, the government of Bangladesh recently emphasized the development of a blue economy. Maritime economic activities, including shipping, trade, fishing, fishing industries, mineral extraction, exploitation of hydrocarbons, salt production, production of renewable energy, and marine and coastal tourism, are key elements of the maritime interests of policymakers. However, the safety of maritime activities also raises concerns that include shipping accidents, smuggling, and illegal fishing, which pose threats to maritime interests. Enhancing blue economic growth and protecting marine and coastal environments are essential to ensure maritime security. Therefore, in the framework of a comprehensive ocean governance approach, we suggest establishing a separate Ministry of Ocean Affairs with essential functions to formulate an integrated coastal and marine strategy, to address the policy guidelines, and to implement action plans for coastal management in Bangladesh. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Genetic variability, Correlation and Path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in lentil (Lens culinaris M.) genotypes

Genetic diversity is essential for genetic improvement of any crops. The common problems in Bangladesh are the low yield of lentil probably due to the lack of genetic variability. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to evaluate twenty lentil genotypes for eleven yield and yield contributing characters by studying genetic diversity. Genotypic variance (σ2g), phenotypic variance (σ2p), phenotypic co-variance (PCV), genotypic co-variance (GCV), heritability, genetic advance, genetic advance as a percentage of mean, correlation coefficient and path coefficient were estimated. A significant genetic variation was observed for all the traits viz., days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of primary branches plantˉ1, pods peduncleˉ1, pods plantˉ1, seeds plantˉ1, seeds podˉ1, 100-seed weight and seed yield plantˉ1. Significant differences of PCV were higher than GCV for all the traits indicated that the traits are less influenced by the environment. The highest estimates of GCV and PCV were observed for seed yield plantˉ1 (23.80% and 24.03%, respectively) followed by number of pods peduncleˉ1 (16.91% and 19.80%, respectively) and number of seeds plantˉ1 (19.48% and 19.63% respectively). All the studied traits expressed high heritability ranging from 64.89% to 98.46% and the maximum was recorded for seed plant-1 (98.46%) followed by pod plant-1 (998.35%) and seed yield plant-1 (98.10%). High heritability along with high genetic advance was noticed for number of pods plantˉ1 (98.35% and 50.63, respectively) and number of seeds plantˉ1 (98.46% and 96.01, respectively) and high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for number of number of seeds plantˉ1 (no.) (98.46%, 39.80%) followed by number of pods plantˉ1 (no.) (98.35%, 33.03%) and seed yield plantˉ1 (g) (98.10%, 48.56%) reflected the accumulation of additive gene which could be used for the improvement of lentil through selection. The study of associations among the different traits revealed that seed yield plantˉ1 was significantly and positively correlated with number of primary branches plantˉ1, pods plantˉ1 and seeds plantˉ1 and 100-seed weight. Path analysis also reported that number of pods plantˉ1 and seeds podˉ1 and 100-seed weight was related to the seed yield mostly through the direct positive effect. Therefore, number of primary branches plantˉ1 and pod plantˉ1, and 100-seed weight should get the major importance for lentil yield improvement as those traits had positive and significant correlation as well as direct positive effect with seed yield plantˉ1. The information of wide genetic diversity among the genotypes for all the traits could be used in future systematic lentil breeding programs for the improvement of seed yield. [Fundam Appl Agric 2019; 4(2.000): 769-776

Prevalence of Vibrio cholerae in Coastal Alternative Supplies of Drinking Water and Association with Bacillus-Like Spore Formers

The scarcity of hygienic drinking water is a normal phenomenon in the coastal areas of Bangladesh due to the high salinity of ground water. The inhabitants of this locality, therefore, live on alternative supplies of water including rain-fed pond water, and rainwater with persistent complex microbial interactions therein, often contaminated with life-threatening pathogens. Hence, this study was aimed at analyzing the prevalence of Vibrio cholerae (Vc) in the alternative drinking waters of Mathbaria, a coastal subdistrict neighboring the Bay of Bengal, the efficacy of pond sand filter (PSF) and the co-association among Bacillus-like spore formers (Sf) and Vc. Vc presumably entrapped into the membrane filter was enriched in alkaline peptone water medium and was isolated on selective thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose and taurocholate-tellurite-gelatin agar media. They were finally identified by immunochromatographic one step rapid test and serology test. A total of 26% Vc positive samples were obtained out of 100 [ponds—48, household (HH)—29, and PSFs—23] where 13% cases were pathogenic (Vc O1) and 13% were non-pathogenic (Vc non-O1/non-O139). The distribution of Vc as observed was 33, 26, and 13.8% in waters derived from pond surface, PSF, and HH reservoirs, respectively, and for pathogenic type, it was 62.5%, 50%, and nil, respectively. Although none of the samples was identified with pathogenic Vc O139, the statistics represents a significant and augmentative risk of cholera outbreak in the focused area. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern in this study resembled the trend observed during last few years for Vc. The PSF demonstrated its inability to remove Vc from any of the samples and in addition, the filter itself was evidenced to be the source of pathogens and spores in further contamination and transmission. The development of biofilm in the PSF could be hypothesized as the reservoir in contaminating pathogen-free water samples. From the test of homogeneity, the risk levels of alternative water sources were estimated equal regarding Vc. Simultaneously, it was determined statistically that the prevalence of Vc, by no means, is influenced by Bacillus-like Sf be it for pond surface, HH, or PSF derived water