Ecological impact of antibiotic treatment on human normal microflora

The skin and the mucosal surfaces of humans are colonized with microorganisms which are often referred as the normal microflora. There is a biological balance between the human host and the normal microflora in health. The extensive use of antibiotics in both humans and animals has caused the development of many resistant bacteria. Administration of antibacterial agents can cause disturbances in the ecological balance between the host and microorganisms. Ceftobiprole is a new broad-spectrum cephalosporin active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Twelve healthy volunteers received ceftobiprole. Plasma and fecal samples were collected according to the study design for analysis. Plasma concentrations of ceftobiprole were 14.7- 24.5 mg/l. No measurable concentrations of ceftobiprole were found in feces. There were minor to moderate changes in the numbers of enteric bacteria, enterococci, Candida albicans, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, clostridia and Bacteroides spp. No Clostridium difficile strains and no new colonizing bacteria were found. Ciprofloxacin is a well-known fluoroquinolone active against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Thirty-six healthy female volunteers according to the study design received either the extended release formulation of ciprofloxacin or the immediate release formulation. Mean fecal concentrations were 453 mg/kg and 392 mg/kg, respectively. The numbers of Escherichia coli were significantly suppressed while the enterococci decreased moderately in both treatment groups. No toxigenic C. difficile strains were found. Telavancin is a new glycopeptide for the treatment of Gram-positive infections. Thirteen healthy volunteers received telavancin. Fecal and urine samples were collected according to the study design. There were no measurable concentrations of telavancin in feces. No significant effects on the number of Enterobacteriaceae, enterococci, C. albicans, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, clostridia and Bacteroides spp. were observed in the study. No C. difficile strains and no new colonizing Gram positive bacteria were found. Thirty-four healthy volunteers were included and received either doxycycline or placebo for 16 weeks. Plasma, saliva and fecal samples were collected according to the study design. The plasma concentrations of doxycycline in the doxycycline group were 0.20-1.49 mg/l. The fecal concentrations of doxycycline in the doxycycline group were 0-4.10 mg/kg. Minor effects on the oropharyngeal microflora were observed in both groups. There were minor changes in the number of enterococci and E. coli in both groups. No C. difficile strains were isolated. This thesis shows that intravenous administration of antibiotics (ceftobiprole and telavancin) had less impact on the intestinal microflora. Both antibiotics caused minor disturbance on the normal microflora indicting a low risk to develop C. difficile infection. Ciprofloxacin had impact on the microflora regardless of the formulation of the drug. Doxycycline sub-antimicrobial dose had minor effect on the normal microflora and development of resistance

Improving aquaculture feed in Bangladesh: From feed ingredients to farmer profit to safe consumption

Use of manufactured feeds in aquaculture in Bangladesh has grown rapidly over the last five years. More than 1 million tonnes of commercially formulated feeds and 0.3-0.4 million tonnes of farm-made feeds were produced in 2012, and sectoral growth is projected to increase substantially over the medium term. This working paper summarizes findings from a study, conducted as part of the WorldFish/USAID “Feed the Future-Aquaculture” project in 2012, assessing the current status of the aquaculture feed sector in Bangladesh. Fish feed value chains, market trends, ingredients and formulation systems, farm feeding practices, ancillary services and feed regulations were investigated. The study identifies a number of entry points for interventions in the sector, and investments which would improve feed quality and farmer access to better feeds and support the growth of sustainable aquaculture

Development of a modified material balance equation for complex reservoirs with the inclusion of fluid velocity

Material Balance Equation (MBE) is among the most widely used techniques to estimate the reserve of any types of hydrocarbon reservoir. Complex reservoirs, such as fractured oil reservoir and shale gas reservoir have been recognized as a potential energy sources where a substantial amount of reserve are trapped. Modified MBE for complex reservoir enhances the accuracy and assists production engineers to take a proper decision regarding the selection of the recovery techniques. The one of the aims of this study is to review the existing knowledge and find out the significant gap in previous research on numerous recently developed material balance equation. The central goal of this work is to develop two modified MBE for the mentioned reservoir types. These equations include the velocity of the fluid and other rocks and fluid properties: viscosity, permeability and length of the reservoir. The results showed that incorporating the velocity and other fluid properties increases the recovery of the reserves. An important factor to derive an MBE is effective compressibility which is ultimately influenced by fluid velocity, viscosity and permeability. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted that shows the influence of the change of these properties on effective compressibility. Performing reserve estimation procedure without shut in is a big challenge for the production engineer. No researcher has introduced any parameter of fluid velocity in MBE which are so far reviewed in this study. Because of the absence of velocity in the established MBE, production is needed to be shut in to estimate the reserve. The developed material balance model includes this important velocity term which enhances the recovery of reserves and allows to calculate the reserve without shut in. The results of the modelling and sensitivity analysis can be a future guideline to develop an impressive material balance model for fractured reservoir

Fish feed in Bangladesh: Where are the women?

Peer Revie

Palliative care for slum population: a case from Bangladesh

As is the case in other developing countries, palliative care remains a major unmet need in Bangladesh. Shahaduz Zaman and colleagues present a project undertaken to provide community-based palliative care to people living in two slum towns in Bangladesh

Independent Evaluation of UNHCR’s Emergency Response to the Rohingya Refugees Influx in Bangladesh August 2017– September 2018

The evaluation of UNHCR’s response to the Rohingya refugee emergency in Bangladesh follows on from the declaration of the Level 3 (L3) emergency for Bangladesh, effective 19 September 2017. It is undertaken in line with UNHCR’s revised Evaluation Policy approved by the High Commissioner on 16 October 2016. The evaluation started in January 2018 and was conducted over a period of 10 months and covers the first 12 months of the response. The purpose of the evaluation is to analyse the extent to which UNHCR provided a timely and effective response to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh. It will be used to reinforce the organization’s global approaches to emergency response in refugee situations as well as to provide recommendations to strengthen UNHCR’s operations in Bangladesh in the second year

Service Quality of Public and Private Agricultural Extension Service Providers in Bangladesh

Quality has become a crucial concern for the successful survival of any organization in a competitive environment. With the aim of determining service quality of multiple public and private agricultural extension service providers in Bangladesh this research adopted SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990). A total of 318 randomly selected farmer respondents from nine selected organizations were interviewed on a face to face setting using the structured interview schedule. Probable causes impede service quality were identified using qualitative methods, such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions and informal interviews. According to Z statistics all the selected organizations represented a significant negative breach between perceived and expected ratings on all the service quality dimensions viz. tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Regression analysis confirmed that all the five selected dimensions of service quality can describe 74.6% variation in client satisfaction with the extension service in Bangladesh. Bringing program flexibility, offering rapid service, willingness to help clients, maintaining client records, and keeping the promise are some common areas of service improvement, need consideration for all kinds of service providers. Major impediments of service quality were less logistic support, scarcity of fund for doing practical extension programs, less use of information communication technology, lack of co-ordination among research-extension and extension service providers themselves, political interference, etc