The B subunit (BS) of cholera toxin and that of the heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are antigenically similar. We therefore assessed whether a combined cholera toxin BS/whole-cell (BS-WC) oral vaccine against cholera conferred cross-protection against LT-producing ETEC (LT-ETEC) diarrhea in a randomized, double-blind field trial among rural Bangladeshi children and women. The 24,770 persons who ingested two or more doses of BS-WC vaccine were compared with 24,842 controls who took two or more doses of killed whole-cell (WC) oral cholera vaccine. Sixty-seven percent fewer episodes of LT-ETEC diarrhea were noted in the BS-WC group than in the WC group during short-term (three-month) follow-up (P less than .01), but no reduction was evident during the ensuing nine months. Short-term protection was particularly notable against LT-ETEC diarrhea causing life-threatening dehydration (protective efficacy, 86%; P less than .05).

We assessed the protective efficacy (PE) of three doses of B subunit-killed whole cell (BS-WC) and killed whole cell-only (WC) oral cholera vaccines in a randomized, double-blind trial among 62,285 children and women residing in rural Bangladesh. After one complete year of surveillance, 110 cases of cholera were detected in the placebo group, 52 in the WC group (PE, 53%; P less than .0001), and 41 in the BS-WC group (PE, 62%; P less than .0001). Protection was greater for BS-WC recipients than for WC recipients only during the initial eight months of observation. Both vaccines conferred equivalent protection against cholera associated with life-threatening dehydration and against less severe cholera. High-grade, sustained protection was observed in persons vaccinated when older than five years; in younger persons protection was transient. We conclude that BS-WC and WC vaccines confer significant protection against cholera, particularly in persons vaccinated when older than five years.

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The prevalence of kidney disease, particularly diabetic and hypertensive kidney disease is increasing rapidly specially in the disadvantageous group of population throughout the world. A cross sectional survey was carried out at certain selected slum areas of Mirpur in Dhaka city of Bangladesh over the period from July 2003 to June 2005, and a total of participants ranging from 15 to 65 years were studied. The analysis discovered that 4.1% of the participants were diabetic, 11.6% were hypertensive, and 7.7% had proteinuria. Based on MDRD equation, 13.1% of the participants were detected as having chronic kidney disease (CKD) while with Cockcroft-Gault equation 16% had CKD. Accordingly, the difference between the two equations was not significant. Association of sociodemographic factors with CKD was not significant except age more than 40 years and marital status. The association between CKD and risk factors like proteinuria, obese and overweight, use of tobacco, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension was highly significant. Combined prevalence of DM, hypertension, and proteinuria among CKD group was also demonstrated to be significantly higher (3.8% with Cockcroft-Gault equation and 5.3% with MDRD equation) than that of normal population. The survey data revealed that CKD and its risk factors like DM and hypertension are alarmingly high in disadvantageous population and adding further pressure to the existing burden of CKD.

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Background: Studies indicate a 30% increase in demand for all types of food and non-food grade gelatins in the world. The largest volume of gelatin production comes from mammal sources (cows and pigs). Nowadays, health, cultural, and religious concerns have arisen due to consumption of mammalian gelatin. This has prompted scientists to look for non-mammal sources that closely resembles the desirable physicochemical, functional, and sensory characteristics of mammalian gelatins. Non-mammalian gelatin from poultry and fish by-products are also gaining importance in food industry. Over the past decade, poultry production has increased by about 37.34%. Poultry by-products have good potential for replacing mammalian sources for gelatin extraction. Scope and approach: This paper reviews in detail the fundamental properties of poultry gelatins (PG), including rheological, functional and physicochemical properties. This study provides a perspective on their potential food, pharmaceutical, medical and industrial applications. Key findings and conclusions: The highest quality PG was extracted through acid treatments. PG extracted in this way exhibited favorable rheological, fat replacement, film formation, foaming, emulsifying and sensory properties, and nutritional quality. PG films showed better barrier properties than mammal-origin gelatin, making them ideal for food and medical applications. The amino acids composition of PG, especially the imino acid and hydrophobic amino acids, which determine the physicochemical and functional properties of gelatin, are higher than gelatin obtained from mammals and fish that classifies them in the upper Bloom category.

Background Lizardfish (Saurida tumbil Bloch, 1795) bone is a fish by-product generated during industrial surimi processing. This by-product is an important source of collagen production since the use of terrestrial animal-based collagens no longer sought due to concern regarding the transfer of infectious diseases and religious issues. Hence, this study was carried out to determine the biochemical analysis of collagens from the bone of lizardfish extracted with different acids. Methods Lizardfish bone collagens were extracted with various acids (i.e., acetic, lactic and citric acids). All extraction processes were conducted in a chiller room (4 °C). The extracted collagens were biochemically characterized, such as hydroxyproline content, Ultraviolet (UV) absorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and solubility in different pH values and NaCl concentrations. Results The yield of extracted collagens ranged between 1.73% and 2.59%, with the highest (p < 0.05) observed in citric acid-extracted collagen (CaEC). Protein patterns confirmed that all-collagen samples had two identical subunits, α1 and α2, representing type I collagen. The highest whiteness value was found in acetic acid-extracted collagen (AaEC), but there was no significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) compared to lactic acid-extracted collagen (LaEC). UV absorption and XRD analysis reflected the characteristics of the collagen, as reported in the literature. For the FTIR, all acid-extracted collagen samples presented a triple helical structure. The thermal transition temperature (Tmax = 77.92–89.04 °C) was in accordance with collagen extracted from other fish species. All extracted collagens were highly soluble in acidic pH and low concentrations of NaCl (0–20 g/L). In conclusion, collagens extracted from lizardfish bone may be used as alternative sources of collagen in industrial settings, and AaEC would be considered superior in terms of the characteristics evaluated in this study.

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