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Heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils and food crops around the ship breaking area is of great environmental and human health concern. In this work, we have spectroscopically determined the concentrations of Cd, Pb, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, and Ni in agricultural soils and commonly consumed vegetables, fruits, and rice grain collected from the Sitakunda ship breaking area of Chittagong, Bangladesh, in order to evaluate their contamination levels and probable human health risk with a multivariate statistical approach. Multivariate analyses such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis of the analytical data indicate a significant metal contamination in the samples which could be attributed to industrial activities such as ship breaking. The results of soil contamination evaluation indices such as enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index, and contamination factor demonstrated that the soils around the ship breaking area are mainly contaminated by Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu while food crops were mostly contaminated by Zn, Cr, and Cu. The Pb contaminated the olive and teasle gourd while Cd contamination in rice grain was at the threshold limit for health hazard. Mn was slightly accumulated in banana. Transfer coefficient values of Cd, Zn, and Cu for almost all food crops were higher than other metals, and Cd showed the highest transfer. Estimated daily intake values for Ni exceeded the standard limit (1.3 μg kg −1  day −1 ). Target hazard quotient values of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd indicate that the local inhabitants who consume the contaminated food crops are being exposed to potential health risks. Graphic abstract

Industrial effluents are one of the foremost concerns relating to the anthropogenic environmental pollution. The effluents from the tanning and textile industries in Dhaka, Bangladesh, were characterized chemically and physicochemically with multivariate statistical techniques. The concentrations of heavy metals viz. , Pb, Cd, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn were determined by atomic absorption spectrometer while concentrations of anions viz. , F − , Cl − , NO 2 − , NO 3 − , and SO 4 2− were measured by ion chromatograph. The physicochemical parameters viz. , temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), and biological oxygen demand (BOD) were measured by a multiparameter meter while total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured gravimetrically. This study showed that effluents from both industries demonstrated high levels of TSS, TDS, EC, and heavy metals. Tannery effluents have lower pH and DO, and higher BOD, Cl − , SO 4 2− , and Cr concentrations while textile dyeing effluents have higher pH, NO 2 − , and NO 3 − concentrations, compared to the standard limits promulgated by the Bangladesh government. Multivariate statistical techniques such as cluster analysis and principal component analysis along with the correlation matrices showed significant association among the measured parameters and identified pollution sources as well as effluent types in the study area which could be linked to the processes used in textile dying and tanning industries. This study will be useful for identifying pollutants emanating from the two industries and will guide future industrial aquatic studies where multiple industrial runoffs are concerned.

Pimpinella anisum L. seeds of the two cultivars were assessed for their nutritional quality and safety assessment through proximate, chemical and pharmacological studies. The proximate composition along with rich mineral elements as well as minor level of toxic elements indicated the good quality of seeds. The GC–MS analyses of hydro distilled volatile oils of two cultivars contained 16 constituents. The main constituents in BSRC (Bangladesh Spice Research Centre) seeds were trans -anethole (83.67%), fenchone (5.29%) and 1,2-diisopropenylcyclobutane (6.31%) whereas, trans -anethole (69.94%), fenchone (11.184%) and d -limonene (13.007%) were the main constituents in local market seeds. The IC 50 values of DPPH antioxidant activity showed at 48.71 and 52.48 mg/mL, in BSRC and local market seeds cultivars essential oils respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils showed moderate activity in both cultivars against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Both oils had some similarity in physiochemical properties and antimicrobial activity. The brine shrimp cytotoxic activity of the essential oils exhibited weaker activity than the standard drug at 3.06 and 2.86 μg/mL (IC 50 ) in BSRC and local market seed cultivars respectively. The present investigation demonstrated good nutritional quality with rich bioactive phytoconstituents as well as low level of toxic elements of anise seeds. The research findings can open up a new possibility for exportation of indigenously cultivated spices as well as recommendations for food and pharmaceutical industries.

The essential oil of Zingiber officinale Rosc. was extracted from China and Bangladeshi varieties and yielded 0.21% and 0.23 % by hydro-distillation method on fresh weight basis respectively. Fifteen compounds were identified and quantified by GC-MS. The major constituents of China and Bangladeshi ginger essential oils were zingiberene 38.10 % and 41.49%, β-phellandrene 12.0% and 9.92%, α-citral 11.48% and 9.76 %, α-curcumene 9.22% and 11.58%, camphene 5.94% and 4.60% , β-bisabolene 4.39% and 5.0% respectively. The IC50 (DPPH method ) values were found 61.18 µg/mL and 56.71 µg/mL with the highest inhibition of 78.49 % and 80.77% and the LC50 values in the brine shrimp lethality cytotoxicity bioassay were found 0.4842 µg/mL and 0.7151 µg/mL in China and Bangladeshi ginger essential oil respectively. Both the essential oils showed significant activities against some gram positive, gram negative bacteria and fungi. The proximate composition of the China and Bangladeshi variety showed the ash (7.12±0.151, 8.15±0.18%), protein (5.47±0.19, 6.60±0.16%), crude fibre (4.32±0.10, 4.61±0.12%), carbohydrate (16..06±0.35, 18.38±0.41) and food energy (70.50±0.89, 81.74±1.01 kcal/100g.) respectively. The elemental compositions of the both varieties were found rich in Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, Se, Na and K. These results indicate the quality composition of the two varieties may find interest in spice and culinary industries as well as in medicinal preparation.

Background Medicinal herbs are used for the treatment of different ailments since antiquity. Different parts of Anethum sowa L. is used in folk medicine as a carminative for the treatment of flatulence, colic and hiccups of infants and children, antioxidant, antimicrobial and antispasmodic agent. The aim of our present study is to evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oil, proximate and elemental composition, amino acid, fatty acid profile and thermal behaviour of its root part as well as different pharmacological activities like antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity of the root essential oil. Methods The air-dried roots of Anethum sowa L. were subjected to hydro-distillation to yield the essential oil. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil was studied by DPPH radical scavenging activity. The antimicrobial activity was tested against four Gram-positive, six Gram-negative bacteria and four fungi species. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum bacterial concentration (MBC) for each examined microorganism were determined using the micro-dilution method. The LC50 value of the oil was also evaluated by brine shrimp lethality assay. The subsequent proximate analysis was also done by AOAC methods. The elemental analysis of the root powder was analysed by ICP-MS, AAS and FP system. The fatty acid was extracted by hot and cold extraction method and the analyses were carried out by GC. The amino acid profile was done by the amino acid analyzer. The DTA, DTG and TG of the root powder were taken by the thermogravimetric analyzer. Results A total of 24 constituents was identified and quantified in the essential oil and its water extract portion by GC and GC-MS. Apiol (81.99 and 74.779%) was found the highest phenylpropanoid constituent followed by m-diaminobenzene (10.446 and 8.778%) in the essential oil and aqueous extract portion. On the other hand, β-butyrolactone (5.13%) and isobutyl acetone (3.73%) were found in the major constituents in the water extract part. The IC50 value of the essential oil was found to be 3.07 mg/mL by DPPH radical assay methods. The LC50 value of the brine shrimp cytotoxicity assay of the essential oil was observed at 0.81 μg/mL. The essential oil showed better activity on Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. The proximate composition showed that root contained 5.29% ash, 2.01% protein, 54.09% crude fibre, 0.15% essential oil and 1.14% fatty oil for hot extract and 0.23% for cold extract on the dried basis. The palmitic (33.81 & 31.58%) and linoleic acid (30.03 & 23.79%) were the major saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the cold and hot extracted root powder respectively. Ca (23,600 mg/kg), Mg (7620.33 mg/kg) and K (1286.15 mg/kg) were the most predominant elements followed by Ni (1187.30 mg/kg), Se (913.79 mg/kg), Li (317.84 mg/kg), Na (288.72 mg/kg) and Fe (206.88 mg/kg). The toxic elements were found to be within the permissible limit. Glutamic acid (19.37%), glycine (14.53%) and lysine (17.08%) were found as the major amino acids. The decomposition rates were obtained by TG, DTG and DTA curve of the powder sample at various temperature ranges. Conclusions The results demonstrated that the root part of Anethum sowa L. is a rich source of mineral elements, essential amino acid and fatty acids. The essential oil is the highly potential as bioactive oil for pharmaceuticals and medical applications, possessing antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. The thermal analysis suggested as a simple, effective and rapid method to characterize the Anethum sowa L. species as well as to assess for herbal formulation.

This article explored the mediating and moderating factors of financial technology (FinTech) adoption for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) innovations. A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed as a study method. The current research involved an in-depth evaluation of 96 articles published in English between 2000 and 2023. The methods were developed from meta-analysis and SLR's indicated reporting items. The articles were collected by carrying out keyword searches on the Scopus-indexed database. The study identified the research gaps in understanding mediating and moderating factors of FinTech adoption for innovation in SMEs. Previous studies, through SLR, have identified a limited mediator or moderator role between FinTech adoption and innovation in SMEs. Due to the limited exploration of mediator or moderator variables, this research offers novel directions for future research about the various FinTech's mediation and/or moderating role for innovation in SMEs. The outlined moderators and mediators in this study are found by combining both intuitive insights and analytical methods. In addition, the study findings will aid SME business owners, professionals, and practitioners to understand how mediating and moderating factors lead to FinTech adoption for innovation in their businesses. Overall, this research has the potential to drive significant positive change in the SME sector by enhancing their ability to innovate and thrive in a digital-first economy, thereby contributing to broader economic growth and development.

AI‐powered monitoring platforms can significantly enhance the accessibility and responsiveness of water quality assessment in decentralized and resource‐limited settings. Conventional methods for detecting heavy metal ions, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), offer high accuracy but require expensive instrumentation, trained personnel, and laboratory infrastructure, limiting their use in field applications. Here, SmartDetectAI, a low‐cost, portable, AI‐powered web application designed for rapid, on‐site colorimetric detection of heavy metal ions in water is presented. The system integrates silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) prepared from plant extract with a custom‐built imaging chamber and a web‐based application (web app) for automated and remote analysis. Supported by a computer vision model (YOLOv8n) for region detection and a machine learning algorithm (XGBoost) for concentration estimation, SmartDetectAI enables automated, real‐time quantification of mercury‐ and cadmium‐based species, which are the predominant aqueous forms under near‐neutral pH conditions. Users capture sensor images with a smart device and receive result outputs through an intuitive graphical interface hosted on a Flask‐based server. Field validation using pond water samples spiked with 1 and 10 μM Cd2+ shows strong agreement with standard AAS measurements, achieving an average predictive accuracy of ≈84%. SmartDetectAI integrates silver nanoparticle‐based colorimetric sensing with an AI‐powered web app for rapid, on‐site detection of toxic heavy metals in water. By combining aggregation‐driven optical changes with machine learning analysis of red ‐ green ‐ blue values, the platform achieves portable, low‐cost, and accurate monitoring of Hg‐ and Cd‐based species, validated against atomic absorption spectroscopy in real water samples.

Loss and damage in an area after an earthquake is increased due to complex nature of awareness, knowledge and perception influencing vulnerability of exposed communities. In this regard, the objectives of this research are firstly to understand the existing condition and distinction among people’s earthquake awareness, knowledge and their actualized perception in relation to their personal contexts and social capital and secondly to explore how such distinction influences earthquake vulnerability of the community. Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to earthquake, where Mymensingh municipality is located in high earthquake hazard prone zone. In this regard, Ward no. 14 of Mymensingh municipality has been considered as the study area. For the purpose of this research, questionnaire survey of 700 sample households in the study area was carried out. The study reveals that in spite of lower participation in earthquake-related program, most residents are aware of earthquake vulnerability of the area. But such awareness encompasses very limited knowledge. In spite of such lack of knowledge, most of the residents have better perception and are willing to work as a volunteer. In contrary, people, especially the owners, are in denial of their own vulnerability. The awareness, knowledge and perception is higher among educated people and people having social interaction. The findings of this study should be considered to design awareness raising and capacity building programs to ensure their success with participation of local people and thereby implement community-based disaster management in the study area. This study has opportunity to be replicated in other areas of Bangladesh as well as other countries with necessary modifications considering respective contexts and other hazards.

Middle-Income Trap (MIT) is a phenomenon wherein a nation finds itself unable to progress from a middle-income status to a high-income economy. Despite Bangladesh's rapid economic growth as a developing economy following its transition to the lower-middle-income category, the country faces various economic challenges that may impede its advancement to higher-income tiers. Consequently, this study delves into whether Bangladesh can successfully navigate its way out of the lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income traps. To assess this, the study initially employed a time threshold method known as the \"Number of Years Method.\" It determined that Bangladesh is poised to break free from the lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income traps by 2029 and 2041, provided the nation can sustain a per capita Gross National Income (GNI) growth rate of 9.69%. To further evaluate the sustainability of this income growth, the study utilized three quantitative approaches: Catch-up Growth, Growth Report, and Growth Acceleration. Interestingly, these methods yielded contrasting results. The insights generated by this study hold significance for economists and policymakers in Bangladesh and other developing economies facing similar challenges. These findings enable them to assess the likelihood of becoming ensnared in the middle-income trap and, as a result, formulate appropriate strategies to overcome it.