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A series of methyl β-D-galactopyranoside (MGP, 1) analogs were selectively acylated with cinnamoyl chloride in anhydrous N,N-dimethylformamide/triethylamine to yield 6-O-substitution products, which was subsequently converted into 2,3,4-tri-O-acyl analogs with different acyl halides. Analysis of the physicochemical, elemental, and spectroscopic data of these analogs revealed their chemical structures. In vitro antimicrobial testing against five bacteria and two fungi and the prediction of activity spectra for substances (PASS) showed promising antifungal functionality comparing to their antibacterial activities. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests were conducted for four compounds (4, 5, 6, and 9) based on their activity. MTT assay showed low antiproliferative activity of compound 9 against Ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells with an IC50 value of 2961.06 µg/mL. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to calculate the thermodynamic and physicochemical properties whereas molecular docking identified potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (6Y84). A 150-ns molecular dynamics simulation study revealed the stable conformation and binding patterns in a stimulating environment. In-silico ADMET study suggested all the designed molecules to be non-carcinogenic, with low aquatic and non-aquatic toxicity. In summary, all these antimicrobial, anticancer and in silico studies revealed that newly synthesized MGP analogs possess promising antiviral activity, to serve as a therapeutic target for COVID-19.

The mismatch in current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) modules causes significant power loss in a large PV array, which is known as mismatch power loss (MML). The PV array output power generation can be improved by minimizing MML using different techniques. This paper investigates the performance of different module arrangement techniques to minimize MML both for long series string (LSS) and long parallel branch (LPB) in series-parallel (SP) array configurations at uniform irradiance condition. To investigate the significance of MML LSS-SP configuration with dimensions: 1 × 40, 2 × 20, 4 × 10, 5 × 8 and LPB-SP configuration with dimensions: 40 × 1, 20 × 2, 10 × 4, 8 × 5 were used. A comparative analysis is made to find the effectiveness of MML reduction techniques on PV arrays with three different power ratings. Simulation results show that the PV modules arrangement obtained by the genetic algorithm (GA) and current based arrangement (Im) performed better than the arrangements obtained by all other techniques in terms of PV array output power and MML minimization. The performance of the proposed technique was analyzed for both LSS-SP and LPB-SP array configurations in 400 W, 3400 W, and 9880 W arrays. To substantiate the simulation results experiment was performed using a 400 W PV array in outdoor weather condition and obtained similar results. It was also observed that the percentage of recoverable energy (%RE) obtained by arranging the modules using the GA method was higher than Im based method for both LSS-SP and LPB-SP array configurations. A maximum %RE of 4.159 % was recorded for a 5 × 8 LSS-SP array configuration by applying the GA based MML reduction method.

Nutrient profiling is a method that classifies foods based on their nutrient content and identifies foods that are high in micronutrients both across and within food groups. This study aimed to identify foods that are rich sources of the seven micronutrients (iron, zinc, calcium, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin B 12 ) of public health concern for the Bangladeshi population. . This study developed a metric termed “naturally nutrient-rich score 7 (NNR 7 )” specifically for third-trimester pregnant women to identify nutrient-dense foods. Further, it computed the nutrient adequacy score (NAS) of the top NNR 7 -scored foods for seven micronutrients to assess the extent (percent) to which foods can meet pregnant women’s recommended dietary allowances (RDA). A linear programming technique was then used to construct a nutrient-adequate model diet for third-trimester pregnant women using the top ten NNR 7 -scored foods. According to the NNR 7 , food groups such as leafy vegetables, fish, meat, poultry and eggs, and vegetables are the richest sources of the problem micronutrients. Mutton liver (916.7%), soybean (39.3%), lamb liver (2160%) and duck liver (50.0%) were found to fulfill the highest percentage of the RDA of vitamin A, zinc, vitamin B 12, and iron, respectively. In the formulated nutrient-adequate diets for pregnant women, rice, potato, brown wheat flour, and soya oil were universal to all three diets and Bengal gram, orange, Ganges River sprat, and duck liver were the most common ones. The study findings highlight the need for the consumption of foods such as leafy vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, eggs, pulses and vegetables to increase the intake of problematic micronutrients. Planning a nutrient-adequate diet for pregnant women using linear programming can be an alternative approach to optimize and shape food choices to meet their nutritional requirements.

Oral antidiabetic drugs mainly act by stimulating pancreatic β-cells, but prolonged stimulation may lead to exhaustion and impaired insulin secretion. In contrast, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) lowers blood glucose through an insulin-independent pathway, offering therapeutic potential. This study aims to identify AMPK activators in oyster mushrooms and fenugreek using GC-MS and bioinformatics analysis. The bioactive compounds in both samples were identified through GC-MS analysis. Molecular docking, pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness, toxicity, and molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) were employed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the identified phytochemicals. The results showed that the ester class of compounds was the most abundant in both fenugreek and oyster mushroom extracts, identified by GC-MS analysis. Molecular docking revealed that the selected ligands exhibited strong binding affinities to the AMPK target protein. Pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness analyses confirmed that most compounds met acceptable ranges for potential AMPK activators. Molecular dynamics simulations further demonstrated that the selected ligands formed more stable ligand–protein complexes with fewer fluctuations compared to the control drug, glibenclamide. Overall, this study suggests that 2′,6′-Dihydroxyacetophenone, 1-Methyl-2-phenylbenzimidazole, and N-Methylphthalimide are potential AMPK direct activators capable of mitigating Type 2 diabetes through an insulin-independent pathway. However, further in vitro and in vivo validation is required.

Heart disease is a significant public health threat, and its burden is increasing worldwide. Recent evidence suggests that dietary pattern is a key modifiable factor for heart disease. Research regarding dietary patterns and heart disease in Bangladesh with their spatial variability is limited. In this study, the spatial variation and relationship between dietary patterns and heart disease among Bangladeshi people was investigated. The country-representative Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016 dataset was used, and a total of 77,207 participants aged 30 years and over were included. A principal component analysis was conducted to derive the dietary patterns. Both statistical and spatial analyses were performed. The overall prevalence of heart disease was 3.6%, with a variation of 0.6% to 10.4% across districts of Bangladesh. Three major dietary patterns, named “festival pattern”, “pickles and fast foods pattern”, and “rice and vegetable pattern” were identified, accounting for 25.2% of the total dietary variance. Both the dietary pattern and heart disease rate varied across the region. A higher risk of heart disease was persistent in the western-south, southern, central, and eastern regions, as was greater adherence to the “festival pattern” and “pickles and fast foods pattern.” After adjusting for confounders, participants with the highest adherence to the \"rice and vegetable pattern\" were associated with a lower likelihood of developing heart disease (AOR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64–0.95, p <0.05), while the highest adherence to the \"pickles and fast foods pattern\" was associated with a higher likelihood of developing heart disease (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.27–1.76, p <0.001). The spatial disparities in the prevalence of heart disease and dietary patterns underscore the significance of prioritizing intervention at the district level, especially in the western-south, southern, central, and eastern regions, to control the rising heart disease trends in Bangladesh.

Background Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Bangladesh, are experiencing a nutritional transition characterized by rising unhealthy food consumption (UFC), which increases the risk of nutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases in children. Despite this concern, research on UFC among Bangladeshi children aged 6–23 months is limited. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the prevalence and identify the factors contributing to UFC in this age group. Methods This study analyzed the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2022 dataset, including 2,499 children aged 6–23 months. UFC was defined as the consumption of sweetened beverages or sentinel unhealthy foods within the past 24 hours. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with UFC. Results The prevalence of UFC among children was 61.8%, with 49.2% consuming sentinel unhealthy foods and 31.4% consuming sweetened beverages. The strongest predictor of UFC was older child aged 18–23 months (AOR: 3.31, 95% CI: 2.55–4.32), and consuming minimum diversified diet (AOR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.98–3.15). Other significant factors included recent morbidity (AOR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01–1.53), maternal employment (AOR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04–1.77), media exposure (AOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.02–1.59), and lower paternal education [primary (AOR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.21–2.44); secondary (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.14–2.18)]. However, maternal decision-making power (AOR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.58–0.96) and intended pregnancies (AOR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59–0.97) were associated with lower odds of UFC. Regional disparities were observed, with higher UFC prevalence in Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and Rangpur. Conclusion The study highlights Bangladeshi children’s high prevalence of UFC, which demands public health interventions together with integrating behavior change communication into health, community and family-level services.

As the price of local onions is greatly impacted by the price of imported onions at these two levels of the supply chain, the goal of this study was to ascertain whether onion prices in Bangladesh are transmitted asymmetrically at the wholesale and retail levels. To analyze asymmetry, the study employed the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model in the short and long run using monthly time series data from January 2006 to December 2020. The NARDL model captures the effects of both positive and negative shocks in the short as well as in the long run. The empirical results from the NARDL indicate that the wholesale price of local onion shares a short-run relationship with the wholesale price of imported onion while the local retail price of onion shares a long-run relationship with the imported retail price of onion. In addition, the short-run impact of local wholesale and imported wholesale prices is asymmetric. Long-run evidence supports the existence of an asymmetric effect between the local and imported retail onion prices. Using the Pairwise Granger causality test, we examined the causal relationships between wholesale and retail prices. The direction of the casual relationship indicates that the wholesale and retail prices of imported onions lead to the wholesale and retail prices of local onions. A clear understanding of the onion market, how prices move between market actors, and its role in determining market price interaction could be gained by analyzing the asymmetric relationship between the local and imported onion prices. As a result, significant policy recommendations could be made to control the onion price in Bangladesh.

Background The aim of this study was to examine the effect of household food security on childhood anemia in Bangladesh while controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors. Methods We used nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS) 2011 data for this study, the only existing survey including anemia information and household food security. The sample included 2171 children aged 6–59 months and their mothers. Differences between socioeconomic and demographic variables were analyzed using Chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the effects of different socioeconomic and demographic factors on childhood anemia. We also performed mediation analysis to examine the direct and indirect effect of household food security on childhood anemia. Results In Bangladesh, 53% male (95% CI: 50–56) and 51% female (95% CI: 47–54) children aged 6–59 months were anemic in 2011. The food insecure households have 1.20 times odds (95% CI: 0.97–1.48) of having anemic children comparing to food secure households in the unadjusted model. On the other hand, anemic mothers have 2 times odds (95% CI: 1.67–2.44) of having anemic children comparing to non-anemic mothers. However, household food security is no longer significantly associated with childhood anemia in the adjusted model while mothers’ anemia remained a significant factor (OR 1.87: 95% CI: 1.53–2.29). Age of children is the highest associated factor, and the odds are 4.89 (95% CI: 3.21–7.45) for 6–12 months old children comparing to 49–59 months in the adjusted model. Stunting and household wealth are also a significant factor for childhood anemia. Although food security has no significant direct effect on childhood anemia, maternal anemia and childhood stunting mediated that relationship. Conclusions Future public health policies need to focus on improving mothers’ health with focusing on household food security to eliminate childhood anemia.

Background Informal and unregulated rural medical practitioners (RMPs) provide healthcare services to about two-thirds of people in Bangladesh, although their service is assumed to be substandard by qualified providers. As the RMPs are embedded in the local community and provide low-cost services, their practice pattern demands investigation to identify the shortfalls and design effective strategies to ameliorate the service. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2015–16 using a convenient sample from all 64 districts of Bangladesh. Personnel practising modern medicine, without any recognized training, or with recognized training but practising outside their defined roles, and without any regulatory oversight were invited to take part in the study. Appropriateness of the diagnosis and the rationality of antibiotic and other drug use were measured as per the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guideline. Results We invited 1004 RMPs, of whom 877 consented. Among them, 656 (74.8%) RMPs owned a drugstore, 706 (78.2%) had formal education below higher secondary level, and 844 (96.2%) had informal training outside regulatory oversight during or after induction into the profession. The most common diseases encountered by them were common cold, pneumonia, and diarrhoea. 583 (66.5%) RMPs did not dispense any antibiotic for common cold symptoms. 59 (6.7%) and 64 (7.3%) of them could identify all main symptoms of pneumonia and diarrhoea, respectively. In pneumonia, 28 (3.2%) RMPs dispensed amoxicillin as first-line treatment, 819 (93.4%) dispensed different antibiotics including ceftriaxone, 721 (82.2%) dispensed salbutamol, and 278 (31.7%) dispensed steroid. In diarrhoea, 824 (94.0%) RMPs dispensed antibiotic, 937 (95.4%) dispensed ORS, 709 (80.8%) dispensed antiprotozoal, and 15 (1.7%) refrained from dispensing antibiotic and antiprotozoal together. Conclusions Inappropriate diagnoses, irrational use of antibiotics and other drugs, and polypharmacy were observed in the practising pattern of RMPs. The government and other stakeholders should acknowledge them as crucial partners in the healthcare sector and consider ways to incorporate them into curative and preventive care.

Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella Typhi restricts typhoid treatment options, heightening concerns for pan-oral drug-resistant outbreaks. However, lack of long-term temporal surveillance data on AMR in countries with high burden like Bangladesh is scarce. Our study explores the AMR trends of Salmonella Typhi isolates from Bangladesh, drawing comparisons with antibiotic consumption to optimize antibiotic stewardship strategies for the country. The typhoid fever surveillance from 1999 to 2022 included two pediatric hospitals and three private clinics in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Blood cultures were performed at treating physicians' discretion; cases were confirmed by microbiological, serological, and biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined following CLSI guidelines. National antibiotic consumption data for cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin was obtained from IQVIA-MIDAS database for comparison. Over the 24 years of surveillance, we recorded 12,435 culture-confirmed typhoid cases and observed declining resistance to first-line drugs (amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole); multidrug resistance (MDR) decreased from 38% in 1999 to 17% in 2022. Cotrimoxazole consumption dropped from 0.8 to 0.1 Daily defined doses (DDD)/1000/day (1999-2020). Ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility persisted at >90% with unchanged consumption (1.1-1.3 DDD/1000/day, 2002-2020). Low ceftriaxone resistance (<1%) was observed, with slightly rising MIC (0.03 to 0.12 mg/L, 1999-2019). Azithromycin consumption increased (0.1 to 3.8 DDD/1000/day, 1999-2020), but resistance remained ≤4%. Our study highlights declining MDR amongst Salmonella Typhi in Bangladesh; first-line antimicrobials could be reintroduced as empirical treatment options for typhoid fever if MDR rates further drops below 5%. The analysis also provides baseline data for monitoring the impact of future interventions like typhoid conjugate vaccines on typhoid burden and associated AMR.