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Dengue virus is one of the most significant emerging viruses that cause dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic disease and dengue shock syndrome, threatening one-third of the world’s population. There are currently no vaccinations or antiviral therapies available for this disease. Dengue virus protease (NS2B-NS3pro) is a therapeutic target since it is essential for viral processing and replication. The study aimed to describe an in-silico analysis to uncover efficient Dengue virus inhibitors. In this work, we used computer-assisted virtual screening, ADMET and molecular dynamics-based analysis focus using the NS2B-NS3 protease to find effective Dengue virus inhibitors. Through literature mining, forty-seven phytochemicals from Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit) were retrieved and screened against the targeted protein. According to their binding free energy in MM-GBSA, Oxidihydroartocarpesin (-36.19 kcal/mole), Cyanomaclurin (-34.09 kcal/mole) and Dihydromorin (-32.44 kcal/mole) were expected to be potent inhibitors of the NS2B-NS3 protease. These ligands showed several noncovalent interactions with the catalytic triad (His51-Asp75-Ser135), required for the target protein inhibition. Notably, the ligand-bound complexes exhibited lower RMSD values (≈ 0.18–0.25 nm) compared to the apo protein (≈ 0.30 nm), indicating enhanced structural stability upon ligand binding. RMSF analysis further demonstrated reduced flexibility around the catalytic residues His51, Asp75, and Ser135 in the presence of the selected phytochemicals, while stable radius of gyration and solvent-accessible surface area profiles confirmed compact and well maintained protein-ligand conformations throughout the simulation period. Additionally, the ligand-bound systems maintained a consistent radius of gyration (~ 1.85–1.90 nm) and sustained an average of 3–6 intermolecular hydrogen bonds throughout the simulation, further supporting the structural integrity and dynamic stability of the complexes relative to the apo form. As a consequence, our computational analysis may be useful in the future development of Dengue Virus inhibitors.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) requires regular biochemical monitoring of renal function and mineral metabolism; however, the invasiveness of serum-based testing limits frequent assessment, prompting interest in saliva as a non-invasive alternative despite ongoing challenges related to collection methods and biomarker specific limitations. In this cross-sectional study, paired saliva and serum samples were collected from 47 healthy adults and 47 CKD patients. Saliva was obtained via passive drool, Salivette , and cotton roll. Creatinine, urea, calcium, and PTH were measured using standardized assays. Inter-method agreement was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis, correlations salivary and serum biomarkers were assessed using correlation analyses evaluated salivary-serum associations, and linear regression examined predictive performance. ICC analysis showed moderate agreement for salivary creatinine, urea, and PTH across collection methods, with average-measure ICCs consistently higher than single-measure, while calcium had poor agreement. Bland-Altman plots revealed narrower limits of agreement for creatinine and urea, especially using cotton roll and passive drool, versus wider limits for calcium and PTH. Salivary creatinine and urea correlated moderately to strongly with serum levels, highest with cotton roll (creatinine ρ = 0.584; urea ρ = 0.648), and predicted serum concentrations in CKD patients (R² = 0.214, 0.339) better than in healthy controls, whereas calcium and PTH showed weak correlations and minimal predictive value. Salivary creatinine and urea show reliable agreement with serum levels and modest predictive value, supporting their potential utility as non-invasive biomarkers for renal function monitoring in CKD, although further validation is required before clinical implementation, whereas calcium and PTH are less valid, with cotton roll collection performing comparably to passive drool.

Objectives This study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practices and explore knowledge and practices related to antibiotic use among readymade garment (RMG) workers in Bangladesh. Study design This large-scale cross-sectional survey was conducted among garment workers in three different garment factories in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Methods Data were collected from 1743 participants, using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and regression analyses were performed to examine sociodemographic factors, medication patterns, and antibiotic knowledge and practices among the workers. Results A significant proportion of the participants (42.4%) only had a primary level of education and majority (80.3%) were not engaged in lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or chewing betel leaves (80.3%). Cough, cold, and fever were the most reported health complications (66.0%). Most of the participants obtained their medications from pharmacies (66.4%). Self-medication was reported by 93.4% of them, with 55.9% practiced it thinking the disease was not severe. Poor knowledge and practice levels about antibiotics were observed. Gender and educational background influenced the participants' knowledge, while the presence of common diseases affected the practice score. Conclusion The study demonstrated a high prevalence of self-medication practices among garment workers in Bangladesh, particularly with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The findings suggest developing interventions to improve knowledge and practices related to antibiotic use and promote responsible self-medication practices among garment workers to mitigate potential risks and adverse effects.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an emerging health issue globally, posing a threat to zoonotic pathogens and foodborne diseases. In Bangladesh, the poultry sector supplies the majority of the demand for animal-source protein. The irrational and excessive use of antimicrobials (AMU) has been observed in the poultry sector. The development of AMR is associated with many factors, including the knowledge and attitudes of poultry farmers. Therefore, AMR reduction requires intervention from all the stockholders, including the farmers who are considered as end users of antimicrobials. This current research conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of poultry farmers on AMU and AMR in Bangladesh. We determined the KAP of poultry farmers (broiler and layer farmers) of some selected districts of the country using a tested and paper-based questionnaire. The results demonstrated that most of the respondents have insufficient KAP regarding AMU and AMR. The respondents used a variety of antimicrobials primarily in the treatment of various diseases in poultry. One-third of the farmers did not seek antimicrobials from registered vets. Instead, they depended on others or themselves. The factor score analysis further revealed that the farmers’ demographic and socioeconomic variables were significant factors influencing the KAP. An adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that older farmers with 9–12 years of farming experience and graduate-level education, engaging in medium-sized layer farming, were more likely to have correct KAP on AMU and AMR. Further, farmers from the Cox’s Bazar region showed correct knowledge, whereas farmers of the Chattogram region showed a correct attitude towards AMU and AMR. A Spearman’s rank-order correlation revealed a positive association between knowledge–attitudes and knowledge–practices. The findings of the current investigation provide baseline evidence about the KAP of poultry farmers from low-income resources and offer insights into designing interventions and policies for the use of AMU and AMR in Bangladesh.

Lack of appropriate early diagnostic tools for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and their incomplete drug susceptibility testing (DST) profiling is concerning for TB disease control. Existing methods, such as phenotypic DST (pDST), are time-consuming, while Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and line probe assay (LPA) are limited to detecting resistance to few drugs. Targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) has been recently approved by WHO as an alternative approach for rapid and comprehensive DST. We aimed to investigate the performance and feasibility of tNGS for detecting DR-TB directly from clinical samples in Bangladesh. pDST, LPA and tNGS were performed among 264 sputum samples, either rifampicin-resistant (RR) or rifampicin-sensitive (RS) TB cases confirmed by Xpert assay. Resistotypes of tNGS were compared with pDST, LPA and composite reference standard (CRS, resistant if either pDST or LPA showed a resistant result). tNGS results revealed higher sensitivities for rifampicin (RIF) (99.3%), isoniazid (INH) (96.3%), fluoroquinolones (FQs) (94.4%), and aminoglycosides (AMGs) (100%) but comparatively lower for ethambutol (76.6%), streptomycin (68.7%), ethionamide (56.0%) and pyrazinamide (50.7%) when compared with pDST. The sensitivities of tNGS for INH, RIF, FQs and AMGs were 93.0%, 96.6%, 90.9%, and 100%, respectively and the specificities ranged from 91.3 to 100% when compared with CRS. This proof of concept study, conducted in a high-burden setting demonstrated that tNGS is a valuable tool for identifying DR-TB directly from the clinical specimens. Its feasibility in our laboratory suggests potential implementation and moving tNGS from research settings into clinical settings.