2023

Enzymes are important biological catalysts that perform specialized functions within living organisms. Industrial enzymes are crucial in various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, the textile industry, the manufacturing of chemicals, biodiesel, the food and beverages industry, and consumer goods. Enzymes can be obtained from multiple sources, including microbes, animals, and plants.  Microorganisms, especially bacteria and fungi, provide more than 50% of industrial enzymes because of their advantageous growth features, low nutritional needs, and biochemical diversity.  Bangladesh's economy relies heavily on agriculture and generates biomass energy from waste such as rice husk, straw, jute sticks, and sugarcane bagasse. To reduce the environmental impact, it is vital to modify these waste materials into beneficial industrial and commercial products, like enzymes. This review article investigates the current landscape, scope, and challenges of industrial enzyme production in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has become an appealing destination for biotech firms due to variables such as yearly bio-product imports, local market consumer demand, and the availability of resources and competent people. In 2021, Bangladesh ranked as the 34th largest importer of enzymes worldwide, with an import value of $47.4 million. Bangladesh mainly imports enzymes from Turkey, Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. This study identifies a critical research gap, which is the lack of a dedicated industrial enzyme production industry in Bangladesh. This gap is impeding large-scale implementation, despite ongoing research efforts. Furthermore, we suggest the establishment of a specialized industrial enzyme production sector in Bangladesh, which would benefit the environment and promote economic growth through the utilization of agro-industrial waste resources. Finally, this thorough assessment of current industrial enzyme research in Bangladesh seeks to provide researchers and stakeholders with essential information for future development. Collaboration between the government, businesses, and academics is critical to fostering growth and capitalizing on the potential of the worldwide enzyme industry.

Birds are mainly categorized as either monomorphic or dimorphic based on phenotypic characteristics. It is believed that nearly 60 % of the bird species are monomorphic and difficult to distinguish the sex during their early stages of life. It is important to identify the different sexes at a distance when birds are in the wild or in natural habitats, especially for bird lovers, biologists and conservationists to differentiate the behavioral patterns of birds. However, even aviculturists and experienced biologists have faced difficulties in identifying the different sexes of monomorphic birds at a distance. The key genes responsible for the sex differentiation of chickens are unclear due to their multiple gene expressions. Therefore, the sex determination of birds is more important in aviculture, poultry farming and in research fields. Hence, this review mainly focused on those invasive (laparoscopy), moderately invasive/ minimally invasive (Karyotyping and DNA-based techniques), and non-invasive methods (steroid sexing, vent sexing, morphometric observations, voicing) of sex identification of birds as much as possible and discussed the reliability of those techniques on the identification of the sex of birds. In light of the discussion, the accuracy of non-invasive techniques is very low and quite questionable. Despite the high accuracy, laparoscopy poses a life threat to the birds during the surgery due to the damage of internal organs while probing. DNA-based methods are concluded to be the best and most accurate techniques among almost all the techniques that require sophisticated laboratory facilities. Hence, the on-farm approach of Recombines polymerase amplification combined with a lateral-flow dipstick (RPA-LFD) can be suggested as one of the best alternatives to laboratory protocols that can be practiced without bringing down the accuracy of the sex determination of birds.

Rabies, a viral disease affecting warm-blooded animals, poses a significant public health concern in Ethiopia, particularly concerning human transmission through dogs. To shed light on the status of suspected rabies cases in humans in the Jimma zone and surrounding areas, a retrospective study was conducted at the Jimma Town Health Center from November 2021 to May 2022. The area's rabies status had been unknown since 2012. From 2019 to 2022, a total of 2,223 suspected human rabies cases were recorded at the Health Center, with Jimma town and Xiro Afeta districts of Jimma zone reporting the highest (62%) and lowest (0.3%) numbers, respectively. Of these cases, 96.9% (2,155) resulted from dog bites, with children under 15 years old constituting the majority (52.8%) of victims. Town areas accounted for 66.8% (1,378) of the cases. Significantly variable occurrences were observed in relation to religious category, season, source of exposure, affected body part, and districts within the Jimma zone (P=0.000). The main challenges identified included an increase in stray dog populations, the absence of control centers, lack of awareness about pre-exposure vaccination for owned dogs, a scarcity of rabies vaccine in local veterinary services, and the unavailability of post-exposure prophylaxis at district health centers. Addressing these issues through awareness campaigns for dog owners on pre-exposure vaccination and ensuring the provision of post-exposure prophylaxis to all district health centers is crucial for controlling and preventing rabies in the study area.

In consideration of the characteristics inherent to the estuarine ecosystem, the employment of the estuarine set bag net (ESBN) emerges as an effective instrument for the capture of a diverse spectrum of finfish and shellfish species. The present investigation, conducted between May and December 2015 in Kattoli, a representative locality along the Chattogram coast, was undertaken to perform a comprehensive bio-socio-economic analysis of the ESBN fishery. The analysis of the catch composition in Kattoli revealed that finfish constituted 67.67%, shrimp accounted for 24.34%, and crab made up 7.99% of the total catch. The average daily catch per boat in Kattoli was determined to be 25.8 kg. The zenith of the total daily catch per boat, reaching 70 kg, was observed in December, while the nadir occurred in August, when no fishing activities were recorded in Kattoli. The cumulative catch over the study period in Kattoli amounted to 26,664 kg, with a complete absence of fishing in August. Moreover, the average daily catch per fisherman stood at 6.19 kg in Kattoli. In terms of economic considerations, the mean monthly cost per boat in the Kattoli region was approximately 8,750 BDT, while the average monthly sales revenue exceeded 28,695 BDT in Kattoli. Notably, during July and August, a substantial proportion of fishermen were engaged in Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) fishing utilizing gill nets, which resulted in a diminished catch with ESBN during these months. Furthermore, the preliminary socio-economic conditions of the study area were also explored. This research offers valuable insights into the bio-socio-economic dimensions of the ESBN fishery in the Kattoli coastal area, with potential practical implications for fisheries management and the livelihoods of the local fishing community.

The treatment of alopecia is widely available, and numerous studies have been conducted for its improvement. However, research focusing on the Bangladeshi population is extremely rare. A number of dermatology clinics in Bangladesh are providing advanced treatment; therefore, the efficacy of those treatments needs to be assessed. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of alopecia in Bangladesh and identify the factors that are associated with poor treatment responses to administered therapies. We conducted a cross-sectional study among alopecia patients who were getting treatment at Aurora Skin and Aesthetics and completed at least six sessions under an experienced physician. Interviews run by experienced physicians collected demographic, clinical, treatment, and comorbidity-related information from patients aged between 18 and 65 years. The collected data were analyzed using STATA (version 16.0). Among our participants, male pattern baldness (stage-2) was most common (43.6%), followed by male pattern baldness (stage-3) (18.8%) and female pattern hair loss (FPHL), stage-2 (13.9%). The treatment efficacy was good for 46.5% of patients, medium for another 42.56%, and only 10.9% showed poor efficacy. The oily hair of participants showed a statistically significant negative association with treatment efficacy (P=0.018). The presence of chronic disease and stress among alopecia patients also negatively impacts the treatment process (P<0.05). Smoking among alopecia patients also hampers the treatment process and is significantly associated with poor treatment efficacy. From this study, it is clear that the ongoing treatment has overall excellent efficacy; however, attention should be given to the comorbidities and habits of patients to improve the treatment outcome. The findings of this study would help skin specialists make decisions during alopecia treatment.