Occurrences, sources, fate and impacts of plastic on aquatic organisms and human health in global perspectives: What Bangladesh can do in future?

Bangladesh is not an exception to the growing global environmental problem of plastic pollution. Plastics have been deemed a blessing for today's world thanks to their inexpensive production costs, low weight, toughness, and flexibility, but poor biodegradability and massive misuse of plastics are to blame for widespread contamination of the environmental components. Plastic as well as microplastic pollution and its adverse consequences have attracted significant investigative attention all over the world. Plastic pollution is a rising concern in Bangladesh, but scientific studies, data, and related information are very scarce in numerous areas of the plastic pollution problem. The current study examined the effects of plastic and microplastic pollution on the environment and human health, and it examined Bangladesh's existing knowledge of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems in light of the rapidly expanding international research in this field. We also made an effort to investigate the current shortcomings in Bangladesh's assessment of plastic pollution. This study proposed several management approaches to the persistent plastic pollution problem by analyzing studies from industrialized and emerging countries. Finally, this work pushed investigators to investigate Bangladesh's plastic contamination thoroughly and develop guidelines and policies to address the issue.

Presence of toxic metals in rice with human health hazards in Tangail district of Bangladesh.

Rice is the staple food of Bangladeshi people and is consumed at least twice a day. Thus, the presence of toxic metals in rice grains has become a major public health concern in Bangladesh. The present research was conducted to investigate the concentrations of toxic metals in rice grains and their possible human health risks in the Tangail district of Bangladesh. Toxic metals were measured by using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), and the mean concentrations of toxic metals in rice samples were found in order of Cr > Pb > Ni > As > Cu > Cd. The concentrations of Cr, Pb, As, and Cd in the studied rice grain samples exceeded the FAO/WHO standard values for food samples by 100%, whereas the Ni concentrations by 10%. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant anthropogenic contributions of Cr, Ni, As, and Pb concentrations in rice grains. The metal concentrations in rice grain samples showed strong significant correlations by forming primary clusters with each other. The estimated daily intake (EDI) values of Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb from all samples were higher than the maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI) allowed. The total targeted hazard quotient (TTHQ) values of Cu, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb also exceeded the threshold value of 1.00, indicating a potential non-carcinogenic risk. The estimated target carcinogenic risk of As was higher than the USEPA threshold level 10-4 (0.0001) indicating increased risk of cancer for adults and children in the study area.

Wildfires in Australia: a bibliometric analysis and a glimpse on 'Black Summer' (2019/2020) disaster.

A wildfire, an unplanned fire that is mainly uncontrolled and originates in combustible vegetation in rural or urban settings, is one of the most pervasive natural catastrophes in some areas, such as Siberia, California and Australia. Many studies, such as standard reviews, have been undertaken to look into the works of literature on wildfires or forest fires and their effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Regrettably, conventional literature reviews failed to identify the important researchers, evolving complexities, emerging research hotspots, trends and opportunities for further research on the ground of wildfire study. The present study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate this study area qualitatively and quantitatively. The Scopus database systems and Web of Science Core Collection yielded 78 qualifying papers, which were then evaluated using Biblioshiny (A bibliometrix tool of R-studio). According to the statistics, the discipline is expanding at a pace that is 13.68% faster than average. So far, three key periods of transformation have been documented: preliminary evolution (8 articles; 1999-2005), gentle evolution (14 articles; 2006-2013) and quick evolution (56 articles; 2014 to 2021). Forest Ecology and Management and Science journals have the highest number of publications, accounting for 7.70% of total wildfire-related articles published from 1999 to 2021. However, recent data indicate that investigators are shifting their focus to wildfires, with the term 'Australia' having the highest frequency (91) and 'wildfire' having the second highest (58) as the most appeared keywords. The present study will provide a foundation for future research on wildfire incidence and management by receiving information by synthesising previously published literature in Australia and around the world.

Species identification, reproductive biology, and nutritional value of marine shellfish (Meretrix lyrata) in the Bay of Bengal.

Meretrix lyrata which is under the family of Veneridae and under the order of Venerida, is a nutritionally and economically important edible mussel in Bangladesh. However, studies on species identification and nutritional value in M. lyrata are scarce. Therefore, a detailed investigation was conducted on (i) species identification of the common edible mussel through DNA-barcoding and morphometrics, (ii) reproductive features, such as size at sexual maturity, spawning, and peak-spawning seasons under different environmental factors, and (iii) nutritional status through proximate analysis of M. lyrata mussel collected from the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. The results indicated that the size at sexual maturity for M. lyrata was 4.2 cm and the spawning seasons were significantly affected by the dissolve oxygen and salinity. The study also demonstrated that the spawning of M. lyrata occurred from January to June and December while peak spawning season was May in the Bay of Bengal. The higher protein and moisture contents with lower fat in M. lyrata indicated that are value-added seafood with higher nutritional values for consumers.

Receptor model-oriented sources and risks evaluation of metals in sediments of an industrial affected riverine system in Bangladesh.

Toxic metals in river sediments may represent significant ecological concerns, although there has been limited research on the source-oriented ecological hazards of metals in sediments. Surface sediments from an industrial affected Rupsa River were utilized in this study to conduct a complete investigation of toxic metals with source-specific ecological risk assessment. The findings indicated that the average concentration of Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, As, Cu, Mn and Pb were 50.60 ± 10.97, 53.41 ± 7.76, 3.25 ± 1.73, 147.76 ± 36.78, 6.41 ± 1.85, 59.78 ± 17.77, 832.43 ± 71.56 and 25.64 ± 7.98 mg/kg, respectively and Cd, Ni, Cu, Pb and Zn concentration were higher than average shale value. Based on sediment quality guidelines, the mean effective range median (ERM) quotient (1.29) and Mean probable effect level (PEL) quotient (2.18) showed medium-high contamination in sediment. Ecological indexes like toxic risk index (20.73), Nemerow integrated risk index (427.59) and potential ecological risk index (610.66) posed very high sediment pollution. The absolute principle component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model indicated that Zn (64.21%), Cd (51.58%), Cu (67.32%) and Ni (58.49%) in APCS-MLR model whereas Zn (49.5%), Cd (52.7%), Cu (57.4%) and Ni (44.6%) in PMF model were derived from traffic emission, agricultural activities, industrial source and mixed sources. PMF model-based Nemerow integrated risk index (NIRI) reported that industrial emission posed considerable and high risks for 87.27% and 12.72% of sediment samples. This work will provide a model-based guidelines for identifying and assessing metal sources which would be suitable for mitigating future pollution hazards in Riverine sediments in Bangladesh.

Investigation of trace metals in riverine waterways of Bangladesh using multivariate analyses: spatial toxicity variation and potential health risk assessment.

Minute quantities of trace metals have delirious effects in the human body causing acute and chronic toxicities. These trace metals have the ability to bind with enzymes and proteins causing an alteration in their activity, and, consequently, their damage. In this study, water samples were collected from five sites in Rupsa River (Bangladesh) during dry and wet seasons aiming to assess the trace metal concentration and the correlated health risk for people living in the area. Six trace metals, namely arsenic (Ar), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni), were measured for further analyzing their spatial and seasonal variations. The measured trace metal concentrations followed this decreasing order: Cr > Pb > As > Cu > Ni > Cd for the dry season, and Cr > Pb > As > Cu > Ni > Cd for the wet season. Among the trace metals, As, Ni, Cr, and Pb exhibited a statistically significative variation throughout the study period. The PCA analysis accounted for 64.5% and 64.4% total variations of the trace metals in dry and wet seasons, respectively. The Euclidean distance of trace metals in water samples across five sites showed significantly different distribution patterns, which were further confirmed by PERMANOVA. Furthermore, CAP model disclosed that trace metals are source-specific: brickfields and sewage effluents were potential sources for Cd, whereas different industries were potential sources for As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb. Correlation analysis showed that Ni and Cr significantly correlated with pH and electrical conductivity. Correlation among the trace metals unveiled that they depended on each other as for their origin, magnitude, and existence in the riverine waterways. As for the health risk assessment, a non-carcinogenic health hazard due to ingestion during regular activities and dermal contact during fishing activity to all kind of people (adult males, adult females, and children) in the studied area was retrieved based on the hazard index (HI) of trace metals, which was higher than the recommended value (HI > 1). Moreover, also the carcinogenic risks of Ni and As due to regular activities via ingestion and dermal contact pathways were higher than the standard value (CR > 1.0E-04), suggesting the occurrence of cancer risk to humans in the study area.

Valve-sparing replacement of the aortic root for a 2-year-old child with Loeys-Dietz syndrome.

Loeys-Dietz syndrome is a newly recognized constellation that presents with aortic aneurysm or dissection similar to Marfan's syndrome. We describe successful surgical treatment in a 2-year-old with the syndrome in whom we performed a valve-sparing replacement of the aortic root because of significant dilation of the aortic root and the ascending aorta.

Presence of cadmium and lead in tobacco and soil with ecological and human health risks in Sichuan province, China.

This study was conducted to assess the concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in soils of tobacco field and plants were collected in the edge of Sichuan Basin, China (Panzihua, Guangyuan, Luzhou and Yibin). Ecological risk of Cd and Pb in soil and human health risk from tobacco leaves were also assessed. The maximum Cd and Pb concentrations in soil were obtained in Yibin (2.94 mg/kg) and Luzhou (54.2 mg/kg), respectively. Ecological risk of Cd and Pb in tobacco soils was assessed based on geoaccumulation index, potential ecological risk (PER) and toxic units. Among four study sites, Cd and Pb concentrations in leaves and stems of Yibin were higher than all samples collected from other three study sites. Health risk was estimated from the concentration of Cd and Pb in tobacco leaves. The carcinogenic risk range for Cd was 7.9E - 04 to 1.4E - 01 and for Pb was 5.7E - 03 to 2.8E - 02, respectively. The increased chronic carcinogenic values for Cd in Luzhou and Yibin crossed the USEPA acceptable limit (> 1.00E - 4) indicating that Cd poses cancer risk after consumption of tobacco leaves.

A patient with dysphagia.

Mitral stenosis (MS) is the most common valvular heart disease in developing countries where rheumatic fever is common. It is also more common in women. The normal mitral orifice is 4-5 square cm in area and the symptoms do not occur until the orifice area falls to below 2.0 square cm and usually below 1.5 square cm. The orifice area decreases by 0.1-0.3 square cm per year. Rarely, the dilatation of the left atrium may cause the symptoms of dysphagia from esophageal compression. Although cardiovascular dysphagia is rare, it should be considered in the case of mitral stenosis. The etiologies of mitral stenosis can be congenital, acquired, or iatrogenic. This case report presents a patient having dysphagia due to an enlarged left atrium.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the right pulmonary artery.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery (LCA) from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly, one which requires a high index of suspicion in order to be diagnosed promptly and managed accurately. ALCAPA from the right branch pulmonary artery (RPA) is a small subset of ALCAPA in general, with only a few reported cases in the world literature. We report two cases of ALCAPA from the RPA: the first case, an infant, presented in severe cardiac failure requiring preoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for stabilization; and the second, a neonate, presented with severe aortic coarctation (CoA). Both patients underwent successful complete surgical repair using a modified surgical technique, and are doing well in midterm follow-up. We describe our operative technique and review the literature of this rare congenital anomaly.

Individualized approach to the surgical treatment of tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia.

BACKGROUND: Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia is a heterogeneous group of defects, characterised by diverse sources of flow of blood to the lungs, which often include multiple systemic-to-pulmonary collateral arteries. Controversy surrounds the optimal method to achieve a biventricular repair with the fewest operations while basing flow to the lungs on the native intrapericardial pulmonary arterial circulation whenever possible. We describe an individualized approach to this group of patients that optimizes these variables. METHODS: Over a consecutive 10-year period, we treated 66 patients presenting with tetralogy of Fallot and pulmonary atresia according to the source of the pulmonary arterial flow. Patients were grouped according to whether the flow of blood to the lungs was derived exclusively from the intrapericardial pulmonary arteries, as seen in 29 patients, exclusively from systemic-to-pulmonary collateral arteries, as in 5 patients, or from both the intrapericardial pulmonary and collateral arteries, as in the remaining 32 patients. We divided the latter group into 9 patients deemed simple, and 23 considered complex, according to whether the pulmonary arterial index was greater than or less than 90 millimetres squared per metre squared, and whether the number of collateral arteries was less than or greater than 2, respectively. RESULTS: We achieved complete biventricular repair in 58 patients (88%), with an overall mortality of 3%. Repair was accomplished in a single stage in all patients without systemic-to-pulmonary collateral arteries, but was staged, with unifocalization, in the patients lacking intrapericardial pulmonary arteries. Complete repair without unifocalization was achieved in all patients with the simple variant of the mixed morphology, and in 56% of patients with the complex variant. The average number of procedures per patient to achieve complete repair was 1, 2.2, 3.8, and 2.6 in patients with exclusively native intrapericardial, simple and mixed, complex and mixed and exclusively collateral pulmonary arterial flow, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An individualized approach based on the morphology of the pulmonary arterial supply permits achievement of a high rate of complete intracardiac repairs, basing pulmonary arterial flow on the intrapericardial pulmonary arteries in the great majority of cases, and has a low rate of reoperation and mortality.