Insect Cell-Based Quadrivalent Seasonal Influenza Virus-like Particles Vaccine Elicits Potent Immune Responses in Mice.

Influenza viruses can cause highly infectious respiratory diseases, posing noteworthy epidemic and pandemic threats. Vaccination is the most cost-effective intervention to prevent influenza and its complications. However, reliance on embryonic chicken eggs for commercial influenza vaccine production presents potential risks, including reductions in efficacy due to HA gene mutations and supply delays due to scalability challenges.

Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBL): Challenges and Opportunities.

The rise of antimicrobial resistance, particularly from extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing (ESBL-E), poses a significant global health challenge as it frequently causes the failure of empirical antibiotic therapy, leading to morbidity and mortality. The - and -derived CTX-M genotype is one of the major types of ESBL. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are involved in spreading ESBL genes among the bacterial population.

Semi-Scavenging Poultry as Carriers of Avian Influenza Genes.

Ducks are the natural reservoir of influenza A virus and the central host for the avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H5N1, which is highly pathogenic. Semi-scavenging domestic ducks allow for the reemergence of new influenza subtypes which could be transmitted to humans. We collected 844 cloacal swabs from semi-scavenging ducks inhabiting seven migratory bird sanctuaries of Bangladesh for the molecular detection of avian influenza genes.

Isolation and molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli from chicken meat.

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) are common in retail poultry products. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize multidrug resistant (MDR) E.

Geochemical transformations beneath man-made ponds: Implications for arsenic mobilization in South Asian aquifers.

The role of man-made ponds on arsenic mobilization was examined in Bangladesh. Here, we describe a field experiment that shows how recharge from a newly constructed pond creates a reactive front that moves downward into the underlying aquifer, but only advances slowly, less than 8 cm/year. We found that pond recharge introduces organic carbon that likely drives the reduction of sulfate and solid-phase iron.

Susceptibility and Multidrug Resistance Patterns of Isolated from Cloacal Swabs of Live Broiler Chickens in Bangladesh.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major health problem, particularly in developing countries like Bangladesh, where there is a paucity of information on resistance patterns and prevalence of antimicrobial determinants. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of resistance, including multi-drug resistance (MDR), and the associated genetic determinants in isolates from cloacal swabs of live broiler chickens in Bangladesh. Altogether, 400 cloacal swabs (200 from Rajshahi and 200 from Dhaka divisions) were randomly collected from individual chickens in 50 broiler farms.

Recent advances in exploitation of nanomaterial for arsenic removal from water: a review.

Recently, increasing research efforts have been made to exploit the enormous potential of nanotechnology and nanomaterial in the application of arsenic removal from water. As a result, there are myriad of types of nanomaterials being developed and studied for their arsenic removal capabilities. Nevertheless, challenges such as having a complete understanding of the material properties and removal mechanism make it difficult for researchers to engineer nanomaterials that are best suited for specific water treatment applications.

Sealing rice field boundaries in Bangladesh: a pilot study demonstrating reductions in water use, arsenic loading to field soils, and methane emissions from irrigation water.

Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated and methane-rich groundwater loads arsenic into field soils and releases methane into the atmosphere. We tested the water-savings potential of sealing field bunds (raised boundaries around field edges) as a way to mitigate these negative outcomes. We found that, on average, bund sealing reduced seasonal water use by 52 ± 17% and decreased arsenic loading to field soils by 15 ± 4%; greater savings in both water use and arsenic loading were achieved in fields with larger perimeter-to-area ratios (i.

Detecting well casing leaks in Bangladesh using a salt spiking method.

We apply fluid-replacement logging in arsenic-contaminated regions of Bangladesh using a low-cost, down-well fluid conductivity logging tool to detect leaks in the cased section of wells. The fluid-conductivity tool is designed for the developing world: it is lightweight and easily transportable, operable by one person, and can be built for minimal cost. The fluid-replacement test identifies leaking casing by comparison of fluid conductivity logs collected before and after spiking the wellbore with a sodium chloride tracer.

Arsenic removal from flowing irrigation water in bangladesh: impacts of channel properties.

Across Bangladesh, dry-season irrigation with arsenic-contaminated well water is loading arsenic onto rice paddies, leading to increased arsenic concentrations in plants, diminished crop yields, and increased human health risks. As irrigation water flows through conveyance channels between wells and rice fields, arsenic concentrations change over space and time, indicating that channels may provide a location for removing arsenic from solution. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the processes controlling arsenic concentrations in irrigation channels, limiting the ability to manipulate these systems and enhance arsenic removal from solution.

Arsenic transport in irrigation water across rice-field soils in Bangladesh.

Experiments were conducted to analyze processes impacting arsenic transport in irrigation water flowing over bare rice-field soils in Bangladesh. Dissolved concentrations of As, Fe, P, and Si varied over space and time, according to whether irrigation water was flowing or static. Initially, under flowing conditions, arsenic concentrations in irrigation water were below well-water levels and showed little spatial variability across fields.

Rice field geochemistry and hydrology: an explanation for why groundwater irrigated fields in Bangladesh are net sinks of arsenic from groundwater.

Irrigation of rice fields in Bangladesh with arsenic-contaminated groundwater transfers tens of cubic kilometers of water and thousands of tons of arsenic from aquifers to rice fields each year. Here we combine observations of infiltration patterns with measurements of porewater chemical composition from our field site in Munshiganj Bangladesh to characterize the mobility of arsenic in soils beneath rice fields. We find that very little arsenic delivered by irrigation returns to the aquifer, and that recharging water mobilizes little, if any, arsenic from rice field subsoils.

Arsenic dynamics in porewater of an intermittently irrigated paddy field in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, irrigation of dry season rice (boro) with arsenic-contaminated groundwater is leading to increased As levels in soils and rice, and to concerns about As-induced yield reduction. Arsenic concentrations and speciation in soil porewater are strongly influenced by redox conditions, and thus by water management during rice growth. We studied the dynamics of As, Fe, P, Si, and other elements in porewater of a paddy field near Sreenagar (Munshiganj), irrigated according to local practice, in which flooding was intermittent.

Arsenic in soil and irrigation water affects arsenic uptake by rice: complementary insights from field and pot studies.

Groundwater rich in arsenic (As) is extensively used for dry season boro rice cultivation in Bangladesh, leading to long-term As accumulation in soils. This may result in increasing levels of As in rice straw and grain, and eventually, in decreasing rice yields due to As phytotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the As contents of rice straw and grain over three consecutive harvest seasons (2005-2007) in a paddy field in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, which exhibits a documented gradient in soil As caused by annual irrigation with As-rich groundwater since the early 1990s.

Arsenic accumulation in a paddy field in Bangladesh: seasonal dynamics and trends over a three-year monitoring period.

Shallow groundwater, often rich in arsenic (As), is widely used for irrigation of dry season boro rice in Bangladesh. In the long term, this may lead to increasing As contents in rice paddy soils, which threatens rice yields, food quality, and human health. The objective of this study was to quantify gains and losses of soil As in a rice paddy field during irrigation and monsoon flooding over a three-year period.

Expected-value techniques for Monte Carlo modeling of well logging problems.

This article describes research performed to develop an expected-value (EV) estimation capability for improving the efficiency of Monte Carlo simulations of oil well logging problems. The basic idea underlying EV estimation is that event-level interaction and transport probabilities are known and can be averaged exactly to produce estimators that properly account for potential future events in the simulation. Conventional surface-crossing and track-length based estimators do not provide any information unless a particle history actually reaches a detector region.

Spatial distribution and temporal variability of arsenic in irrigated rice fields in Bangladesh. 2. Paddy soil.

Arsenic-rich groundwater from shallow tube wells is widely used for the irrigation of boro rice in Bangladesh and West Bengal. In the long term this may lead to the accumulation of As in paddy soils and potentially have adverse effects on rice yield and quality. In the companion article in this issue, we have shown that As input into paddy fields with irrigation water is laterally heterogeneous.

Spatial distribution and temporal variability of arsenic in irrigated rice fields in Bangladesh. 1. Irrigation water.

Around 38% of the area of Bangladesh is irrigated with groundwater to grow dry season crops, most importantly boro rice. Due to high As concentrations in many groundwaters, over 1000 tons of As are thus transferred to arable soils each year, creating a potential risk for future food production. We studied the reactions and changing speciation of As, Fe, P, and other elements in initially anoxic water during and after irrigation and the resulting spatial distribution of As input to paddy soils near Sreenagar (Munshiganj), 30 km south of Dhaka, in January and April 2005 and February 2006.

Groundwater dynamics and arsenic mobilization in Bangladesh assessed using noble gases and tritium.

The contamination of groundwater by geogenic arsenic is the cause of major health problems in south and southeast Asia. Various hypotheses proposing that As is mobilized by the reduction of iron (oxy)hydroxides are now under discussion. One important and controversial question concerns the possibility that As contamination might be related to the extraction of groundwater for irrigation purposes.

Arsenic removal from Bangladesh tube well water with filter columns containing zerovalent iron filings and sand.

Arsenic removal is often challenging due to high As(III), phosphate, and silicate concentrations and low natural iron concentrations. Application of zerovalent iron is promising, as metallic iron is widely available. However, removal mechanisms remained unclear and currently used removal units with iron have not been tested systematically, partly due to their large size and long operation time.

Arsenic mobility and groundwater extraction in Bangladesh.

High levels of arsenic in well water are causing widespread poisoning in Bangladesh. In a typical aquifer in southern Bangladesh, chemical data imply that arsenic mobilization is associated with recent inflow of carbon. High concentrations of radiocarbon-young methane indicate that young carbon has driven recent biogeochemical processes, and irrigation pumping is sufficient to have drawn water to the depth where dissolved arsenic is at a maximum.