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Obtaining edible oil from animals and plant sources is an ancient practice of the people in the tropical regions of the globe. Industrialization of oil and fats began with the creation of a cotton seed mill, due to higher demand several different plants have been studied to get good and healthy oil and fats. In this research the fixed oil from the berries of Sea Buckthorn was characterized and studied for its fatty acid composition by biochemical tests and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS). The chemical characteristics of oil from seeds showed the saponification value 248.36, iodine value 80.49 and free fatty acid value 11.28%. While the identified fatty acids were palmitic acid (C16, 0) 24.98%, oleic acid (C18, 1) 20.97%, linoleic acid (C18:2) 11.51%, linolenic acid 4.31(C18:3) %, and stearic acid (C18, 0) 0.29%. The fatty acid profile and physico chemical value of the oil showed that oil has health promoting chemistry and good source of energy. These findings provide essential data explaining that the oil obtained from the berries is nothing less than any other good quality of edible oil.

This study was performed for the nutritional evaluation of butter prepared from cow's milk free of adulterants. Fresh cow's milk was analysed for various physico-chemical parameters such as detergents, urea, sugar, starch, glucose, sorbitol, hydrogen peroxide, formalin and salts. The cream was prepared from the milk, which by a conventional method of stirring transformed to the butter. Butter was divided into four parts in separate containers already having different concentrations of sodium chloride as the preservative. One sample was kept as blank while the remainder of the three samples contained respectively 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0% sodium chloride. The chemical composition of the butter samples was determined by analyzing the percentage of moisture, ash, total protein and fat. All butter samples were stored under refrigeration at 12 ° C. The development of rancidity was studied for almost two months. Refrigeration and sodium chloride as a preservative played an important role in preventing the development of rancidity in butter. The quality assessment report showed that the unsalted butter sample was not saturated at a temperature of 12 ° C for almost six weeks and salted butter samples with 1.0 and 2.0% sodium chloride were not staled for more than two months.Therefore it was concluded that for long term consumption, butter must be kept at 12 °C and could be preserved using at least 1 % sodium chloride.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of Pistia stratiotes for treatment of domestic wastewater in a free surface water flow constructed wetland. The objective of the study was to evaluate contaminants removal efficiency of the constructed wetland vegetated with P. stratiotes in treatment of domestic wastewater against Hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10, 20 and 30 days was investigated. This asks for newer and efficient low-cost nature-based water treatment system which along with cost takes into consideration the sustainability of the ecosystem. Five constructed wetland setups improved the wastewater quality and purify it significantly by reducing the TDS by 83%, TSS by 82%, BOD by 82%, COD by 81%, Chloride by 80%, Sulfate by 77%, NH 3 by 84% and Total Oil and Grease by 74%. There was an increase in pH of about 11.9%. Color and odor of wastewater was also improved significantly and effectively. It was observed that 30 days’ HRT was optimum for the treatment of domestic wastewater. The final effluent was found to be suitable as per national environmental quality standards and recycled for watering plants and crop irrigation but not for drinking purposes. The treatment in constructed wetland system was found to be economical, as the cost of construction only was involved and operational and maintenance cost very minimal. Even this research was conducted on the sole purpose of commuting the efficiency of pollutant removal in short span time.

In the era of industrialization, chromium (Cr) as a metal poses a substantial threat to the ecosystem. Selenium (Se) is essential for minimizing heavy metal stress in crops and effectively reducing their accumulation in edible plant parts. This research work aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of compost and Se for alleviation of Cr stress in chili plants. A greenhouse trail was conducted to investigate the individual and combined effects of foliage applied selenium (Na 2 SeO 4  = 3 µM) and soil applied compost (250 mg kg −1 , w/w) on the growth, physio-biochemical, antioxidant and of chili grown under varying levels of induced Cr stress (0, 100, and 200 mg kg −1 using K 2 Cr 2 O 7 ). Findings revelaed that a significant linear reduction was observed in growth, biomass, and physiological parameters of chili plant with an increasing level of Cr concentrations. Maximum decrease in relative water content (20.04 and 27.21%) and total chlorophyll concentrations (11.73 and 20.57%) and increased in electrolyte leakage (59.14 and 130.52%) was observed at 100 and 200 mg kg −1 of Cr levels in soil in comparison with the control, respectively. Combined application of compost and selenium showed significant increase regardless of Cr concentrations in the soil. Synergistic approach of compost and selenium showed improved growth in comparison with the sole application in limiting the movement and uptake of Cr in the roots and fruits of chili plants. Moreover, improved physiological and antioxidant potential of chili plants helped to cope with higher levels of Cr stress by limiting the lipid peroxidation and membrane damange. The combined use of compost and selenium induces the physio-biochemical defense responses against of the varying levels of Cr stress in chili plants. This promising approach highlights the significant potential for growing chili crop in Cr-contaminated soils to achieve better quality and higher yields.

The Sundarbans, a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the largest mangrove forests in one stretch. Mangrove plants from this forest are little studied for their endophytic fungi. In this study, we isolated fourteen endophytic fungi from the plants Ceriops decandra and Avicennia officinalis collected from the Sundarbans. Five of them were identified as Aspergillus sp. and one as Penicillium sp. by macroscopic and microscopic observation. Antibacterial activity of the crude extracts obtained from these endophytes was determined against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using resazurin-based microtiter assay. The isolated endophytes showed varying degrees of antibacterial activity with MICs ranging between 5 and 0.078 mg/mL. Molecular identification of the most active endophyte revealed its identity as Aspergillus fumigatus obtained from the leaves of C. decandra. Acute toxicity study of the ethyl acetate extract of A. fumigatus in mice revealed no mortality even at the highest dose of 2000 mg/kg bodyweight, though some opposing results are found in the subacute toxicity study. The extract was subjected to silica gel and Sephadex column chromatography resulting in the isolation of three pure compounds. LC-MS analysis of these pure compounds revealed their identity as fumigaclavine C, azaspirofuran B, and fraxetin. This is the first report of fraxetin from A. fumigatus. All three identified compounds were previously reported for their antibacterial activity against different strains of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, the observed antibacterial activity of the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract of A. fumigatus could be due to the presence of these compounds. These results support the notion of investigating fungal endophytes from the Sundarbans for new antimicrobial compounds.

In her 2023 report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on digital innovation, technology, and the right to health, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health underscored the positive impact of the digital transformation on young people, but also noted serious concerns, calling for greater efforts to consult and engage with youth and civil society. In our study, early-career researchers from Bangladesh and Colombia collaborated within a broader international research and advocacy project to investigate how diverse young adults experience digital health and to invite their recommendations and collaborative advocacy. Researchers held focus group discussions and interviews with young adults aged 18–30 (in Bangladesh, predominantly men; in Colombia, people living with HIV, gay men, and transgender women). In both countries, young adults said the digital turn had transformed their access to sexual and reproductive health and HIV information, highlighting both the positive role of young social media influencers and the harms caused by misinformation, lack of confidentiality, and widespread stigma. They called for greater government efforts to develop digital health, including through social media platforms. We find that transnational collaborations like this one offer the potential to generate actionable insights and inform the development of rights-based digital governance.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic posed a danger to global public health because of the unprecedented physical, mental, social, and environmental impact affecting quality of life (QoL). The study aimed to find the changes in QoL among COVID-19 recovered individuals and explore the determinants of change more than 1 year after recovery in low-resource settings. Methods COVID-19 patients from all eight divisions of Bangladesh who were confirmed positive by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction from June 2020 to November 2020 and who subsequently recovered were followed up twice, once immediately after recovery and again 1 year after the first follow-up. The follow-up study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 among 2438 individuals using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). After excluding 48 deaths, 95 were rejected to participate, 618 were inaccessible, and there were 45 cases of incomplete data. Descriptive statistics, paired-sample analyses, generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to test the mean difference in participants’ QoL scores between the two interviews. Results Most participants ( n  = 1710, 70.1%) were male, and one-fourth (24.4%) were older than 46. The average physical domain score decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up, and the average scores in psychological, social, and environmental domains increased significantly at follow-up ( P  < 0.05). By the GEE equation approach, after adjusting for other factors, we found that older age groups ( P  < 0.001), being female ( P  < 0.001), having hospital admission during COVID-19 illness ( P  < 0.001), and having three or more chronic diseases ( P  < 0.001), were significantly associated with lower physical and psychological QoL scores. Higher age and female sex [adjusted odd ratio (a OR ) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval ( CI ) 1.0–1.6] were associated with reduced social domain scores on multivariable logistic regression analysis. Urban or semi-urban people were 49% less likely (a OR  = 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.7) and 32% less likely (a OR  = 0.7, 95% CI 0.5–0.9) to have a reduced QoL score in the psychological domain and the social domain respectively, than rural people. Higher-income people were more likely to experience a decrease in QoL scores in physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains. Married people were 1.8 times more likely (a OR  = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3–2.4) to have a decreased social QoL score. In the second interview, people admitted to hospitals during their COVID-19 infection showed a 1.3 times higher chance (a OR  = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6) of a decreased environmental QoL score. Almost 13% of participants developed one or more chronic diseases between the first and second interviews. Moreover, 7.9% suffered from reinfection by COVID-19 during this 1-year time. Conclusions The present study found that the QoL of COVID-19 recovered people improved 1 year after recovery, particularly in psychological, social, and environmental domains. However, age, sex, the severity of COVID-19, smoking habits, and comorbidities were significantly negatively associated with QoL. Events of reinfection and the emergence of chronic disease were independent determinants of the decline in QoL scores in psychological, social, and physical domains, respectively. Strong policies to prevent and minimize smoking must be implemented in Bangladesh, and we must monitor and manage chronic diseases in people who have recovered from COVID-19. Graphical Abstract