Healthcare waste in Bangladesh: Current status, the impact of Covid-19 and sustainable management with life cycle and circular economy framework.

COVID-19 has accelerated the generation of healthcare (medical) waste throughout the world. Developing countries are the most affected by this hazardous and toxic medical waste due to poor management systems. In recent years, Bangladesh has experienced increasing medical waste generation with estimated growth of 3 % per year. The existing healthcare waste management in Bangladesh is far behind the sustainable waste management concept. To achieve an effective waste management structure, Bangladesh has to implement life cycle assessment (LCA) and circular economy (CE) concepts in this area. However, inadequate data and insufficient research in this field are the primary barriers to the establishment of an efficient medical waste management systen in Bangladesh. This study is introduced as a guidebook containing a comprehensive overview of the medical waste generation scenario, management techniques, Covid-19 impact from treatment to testing and vaccination, and the circular economy concept for sustainable waste management in Bangladesh. The estimated generation of medical waste in Bangladesh without considering the surge due to Covid-19 and other unusual medical emergencies would be approximately 50,000 tons (1.25 kg/bed/day) in 2025, out of which 12,435 tons were predicted to be hazardous waste. However, our calculation estimated that a total of 82,553, 168.4, and 2300 tons of medical waste was generated only from handling of Covid patients, test kits, and vaccination from March 2021 to May 2022. Applicability of existing guidelines, and legislation to handle the current situation and feasibility of LCA on medical waste management system to minimize environmental impact were scrutinized. Incineration with energy recovery and microwave sterilization were found to be the best treatment techniques with minimal environmental impact. A circular economy model with the concept of waste minimizaton, and value recovery was proposed for sustainable medical waste management. This study suggests proper training on healthcare waste management, proposing strict regulations, structured research allocation, and implementation of public-private partnerships to reduce, and control medical waste generation for creating a sustainable medical waste management system in Bangladesh.

Sustainable futures in agricultural heritage: Geospatial exploration and predicting groundwater-level variations in Barind tract of Bangladesh.

Groundwater resources are one of the essential aspects of achieving self-sufficiency in a country's agricultural production, poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic development, particularly in agricultural heritage management and practices. In the Barind Tract in Bangladesh, groundwater levels have steadily declined due to growing irrigation demand. Surface water sources become scarce during the dry season, and groundwater levels fall to levels that make minimum cultivation challenging. In these circumstances, determining the current status of groundwater is key to any action in the future. This study investigated the existing geospatial pattern and critical zone of groundwater level in Chapainawabganj District, a significant area of the Barind Tract of Bangladesh, and predicted future groundwater levels considering multiple factors. Kriging, a sophisticated geostatistical method, was performed to examine the geographical pattern and groundwater variations, and time series analysis was employed to determine data trends and make future projections. The current study used groundwater level data from 23 monitoring stations over 10 years (2009-2018). Exponential, Gaussian, and Spherical models were cross-matched here for the best predictor model in four fitness measures to determine groundwater concentrations (RMSE, ME, RMSS, ASE), and Box-Jenkins ARIMA (3,1,0) was found best-fit for predictions, and variance estimation. Likewise, cross-validation has been assessed for the accuracy of anticipated results across spatial scales. Although more research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms, critical zones, and their pattern of modification, possible recharge zones and their locations have been identified. Future groundwater levels, critical zones, and recharge locations have been indicated for the research area and potential recommendations.

Biophysical, Biochemical, and Molecular Docking Investigations of Anti-Glycating, Antioxidant, and Protein Structural Stability Potential of Garlic.

Garlic has been reported to inhibit protein glycation, a process that underlies several disease processes, including chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. Biophysical, biochemical, and molecular docking investigations were conducted to assess anti-glycating, antioxidant, and protein structural protection activities of garlic. Results from spectral (UV and fluorescence) and circular dichroism (CD) analysis helped ascertain protein conformation and secondary structure protection against glycation to a significant extent. Further, garlic showed heat-induced protein denaturation inhibition activity (52.17%). It also inhibited glycation, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation as well as lent human serum albumin (HSA) protein structural stability, as revealed by reduction in browning intensity (65.23%), decrease in protein aggregation index (67.77%), and overall reduction in cross amyloid structure formation (33.26%) compared with positive controls (100%). The significant antioxidant nature of garlic was revealed by FRAP assay (58.23%) and DPPH assay (66.18%). Using molecular docking analysis, some of the important garlic metabolites were investigated for their interactions with the HSA molecule. Molecular docking analysis showed quercetin, a phenolic compound present in garlic, appears to be the most promising inhibitor of glucose interaction with the HSA molecule. Our findings show that garlic can prevent oxidative stress and glycation-induced biomolecular damage and that it can potentially be used in the treatment of several health conditions, including diabetes and other inflammatory diseases.