In developing countries threat of cholera is a significant health concern whenever water purification and sewage disposal systems are inadequate. Vibrio cholerae is one of the responsible bacteria involved in cholera disease. The complete genome sequence of V. cholerae deciphers the presence of various genes and hypothetical proteins whose function are not yet understood. Hence analyzing and annotating the structure and function of hypothetical proteins is important for understanding the V. cholerae. V. cholerae O139 is the most common and pathogenic bacterial strain among various V. cholerae strains. In this study sequence of six hypothetical proteins of V. cholerae O139 has been annotated from NCBI. Various computational tools and databases have been used to determine domain family, protein-protein interaction, solubility of protein, ligand binding sites etc. The three dimensional structure of two proteins were modeled and their ligand binding sites were identified. We have found domains and families of only one protein. The analysis revealed that these proteins might have antibiotic resistance activity, DNA breaking-rejoining activity, integrase enzyme activity, restriction endonuclease, etc. Structural prediction of these proteins and detection of binding sites from this study would indicate a potential target aiding docking studies for therapeutic designing against cholera.

Childhood obesity is rapidly rising in many developing countries such as Bangladesh; however, the factors responsible for this increase are not well understood. Being the primary caregivers of children, particularly in developing countries, maternal perceptions and knowledge could be important factors influencing the weight status of children. This study aimed to assess maternal perceptions of childhood obesity and associated socio-demographic factors in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study using stratified random sampling was conducted among 585 mothers whose children aged 4 to 7 years attended preschools in a district town. Body Mass Index of the children was calculated and weight status categorized according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) criteria. Maternal perceptions were assessed using a self- or interviewer-administered questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression was used to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios. Fourteen percent of children were overweight or obese and approximately 30% were underweight. Only 3.1% of children were perceived as overweight/obese by their mothers. Over one-third (35%) of mothers perceived that childhood overweight/obesity could be a health problem and over two-thirds (68.6%) were not aware of any health consequences of childhood obesity. Maternal perceptions were significantly associated with maternal education, family income, and weight status of the child but were not associated with the sex of the child. We have identified knowledge gaps regarding maternal perception of childhood obesity and its contributing factors in a developing country. These findings can be used to develop and test parent-focused educational interventions for preventing childhood obesity in Bangladesh.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was the first oncogenic human retrovirus identified in humans which infects at least 10–15 million people worldwide. Large HTLV-1 endemic areas exist in Southern Japan, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East, Melanesia, and equatorial regions of Africa. HTLV-1 TAX viral protein is thought to play a critical role in HTLV-1 associated diseases. We have used numerous bio-informatics and immuno-informatics implements comprising sequence and construction tools for the construction of a 3D model and epitope prediction for HTLV-1 Tax viral protein. The conformational linear B-cell and T-cell epitopes for HTLV-1 TAX viral protein have been predicted for their possible collective use as vaccine candidates. Based on in silico investigation two B cell epitopes, KEADDNDHEPQISPGGLEPPSEKHFR and DGTPMISGPCPKDGQPS spanning from 324–349 and 252–268 respectively; and T cell epitopes, LLFGYPVYV, ITWPLLPHV and GLLPFHSTL ranging from 11–19, 163–171 and 233–241 were found most antigenic and immunogenic epitopes. Among different vaccine constructs generated by different combinations of these epitopes our predicted vaccine construct was found to be most antigenic with a score of 0.57. T cell epitopes interacted strongly with HLA-A*0201 suggesting a significant immune response evoked by these epitopes. Molecular docking study also showed a high binding affinity of the vaccine construct for TLR4. The study was carried out to predict antigenic determinants of the Tax protein along with the 3D protein modeling. The study revealed a potential multi epitope vaccine that can raise the desired immune response against HTLV-1 and be useful in developing effective vaccines against Human T-lymphotropic virus.

Aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars are strong aromatic rice cultivars which can thrive well in rice fields prone to flood, drought and other soil constraints. The present investigation was undertaken to determine a suitable media compositions for callus induction and regeneration using immature embryo of six aromatic grown rice cultivars of Bangladesh, namely, Chinigura, Kalijira, Radhuni Pagal, Modhumala, Kataribog and Mohonbhog. For callus induction different concentrations and combinations of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyaceticacid (2, 4-D) along with NAA were evaluated. Maximum callus induction (97.22%) was observed in Kalijira when 2 mg/L of 2, 4-D and 0.5 mg/l NAA was used and less Modhumala (66.67%) and remaining cultivars showed moderate. For regeneration initially different concentrations and combinations of 6-BenzylAminoPurine (BAP) and Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IBA) were tested. Maximum regeneration frequency (91.67%) was observed Kalijira when the optimum concentrations and combinations of 0.5 mg/l of BAP + 0.1 of mg/l IBA were used. Presently optimized regeneration method holds promise for facilitating the deployment of agronomical important trait through genetic transformation for the improvement of this important food crops.

BackgroundHuman Adenoviruses are divided into 7 species of Human Adenovirus A to G based on DNA genome homology. The Human Adenovirus E (HAdVs-E) genome is a linear, double-stranded DNA containing 38 protein-coding genes. Wild-type adenoviruses type E, are linked to a number of slight illnesses. The most important part of HAdVs-E is E3 CR1-beta protein which controls the host immune response and viral attachment.MethodWe use numerous bio-informatics and immuno-informatics implements comprising sequence and construction tools for construction of 3D model and epitope prediction for HAdVs-E.ResultsThe 3D structure of E3 CR1-beta protein was generated and total of ten antigenic B cell epitopes, 6 MHC class I and 11 MHC class II binding peptides were predicted.ConclusionThe study was carried out to predict antigenic determinants/epitopes of the E3 CR1-beta protein of Human Adenovirus E along with the 3D protein modeling. The study revealed potential T-cell and B-cell epitopes that can raise the desired immune response against E3 CR1-beta protein and useful in developing effective vaccines against HAdVs-E.