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Introduction: Air pollution is a global issue that poses a significant threat to public health. Children, due to their developing physiology, are particularly susceptible to the inhalation of environmental pollutants. Exposure can trigger immune modulation and organ damage, increasing susceptibility to respiratory diseases. Therefore, we aim to examine the association between heavy metal and particulate matter exposure with tuberculosis in children., Methods and Analysis: As a case-control study, we will include children diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (n=60) and matched healthy controls (n=80) recruited from the same communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Exposure data for both cases and controls will be collected by a trained field team conducting home visits. They will administer an exposure questionnaire, measure child anthropometry, collect blood and household dust samples and instal 48-hour air quality monitors. The blood samples will be analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for serum heavy metal concentrations (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium), as a representative marker of exposure, and the presence of inflammatory biomarkers. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance and conditional regression analysis, will be used to quantify heavy metal and particulate matter exposure status in tuberculosis cases compared with healthy controls, while accounting for potential confounders. Dust samples and air quality results will be analysed to understand household sources of heavy metal and particulate matter exposure. To test the study hypothesis, there is a positive association between exposure and tuberculosis diseases, we will also measure the accumulated effect of simultaneous exposures using Bayesian statistical modelling., Ethics and Dissemination: This study has been approved by International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh's Institutional Review Board (PR-22030). The study findings will be disseminated at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The partograph has been endorsed by World Health Organization (WHO) since 1994 which presents an algorithm for assessing maternal and foetal conditions and labor progression. Monitoring labour with a partograph can reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prolonged labor, emergency C-sections, birth asphyxia and stillbirths. However, partograph use is still very low, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh the reported partograph user rate varies from 1.4% to 33.0%. Recently, an electronic version of the partograph, with the provision of online data entry and user aid for emergency clinical support, has been tested successfully in different settings. With this proven evidence, we conducted and operations research to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing an e-partograph, for the first time, in 2 public hospitals in Bangladesh., Methods: We followed a prospective crossover design. Two secondary level referral hospitals, Jessore and Kushtia District Hospital (DH) were the study sites. All pregnant women who delivered in the study hospitals were the study participants. All nurse-midwives working in the labor ward of study hospitals were trained on appropriate use of both types of partograph along with standard labour management guidelines. Collected quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 23 statistical software. Discrete variables were expressed as percentages and presented as frequency distribution and cross tabulations. Chi square tests were employed to test the association between exposure and outcome variables. Potential confounding factors were adjusted using multivariate binary logistic regression methods. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)., Findings: In total 2918 deliveries were conducted at Jessore DH and 2312 at Kushtia DH during one-year study period. Of them, 1012 (506 in each facility) deliveries were monitored using partograph (paper or electronic). The trends of facility based C-section rates was downwards in both the hospitals; 43% to 37% in Jessore and from 36% to 25% in Kushtia Hospital. There was a significant reduction of prolonged labour with e-partograph use. In Kushtia DH, the prolonged labour rate was 42% during phase 1 with the paper version which came down to 29% during phase-2 with the e-partograph use. The similar result was observed in Jessore DH where the prolonged labour rate reduced to 7% with paper partograph from the reported 30% prolonged labour with e-partograph. The e-partograph user rate was higher than the paper partograph during both phases (phase 1: 3.31, CI: 2.04-5.38, p < .001 and in phase 2: 15.20 CI: 6.36-36.33, p < .001) after adjusting for maternal age, parity, gestational age, religion, mother's education, husband's education, and fetal sex., Conclusion: The partograph user rate has significantly improved with the e- partograph and was associated with an overall reduction in cesarean births. Use of the e-partograph was also associated with reduced rates of prolonged labour. This study has added to the growing body of evidence on the positive impact of e-partograph use. We recommend implementing e-partograph intervention at scale in both public and private hospitals in Bangladesh., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03509103., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The rapid and unprecedented expansion of the global population highlights concerns about the sufficiency of food resources to sustain this growth. This study investigates and substantiates the feasibility of renewable food resources in order to meet the nutritional requirements of consumers. Three edible aquatic weeds, helencha (Enhydra fluctuans), malancha (Alternanthera philoxeroides), and kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica), were used to produce edible paper sheets. The composition of the raw aquatic weeds and paper sheet samples was analyzed, including the proximate composition, amino acid content, minerals and heavy metal contents, and bioactive compounds. The dried raw aquatic weeds and paper sheets showed similar proximate compositions, with carbohydrates being the highest component (50.38–64.63%), followed by crude protein (15.25–19.13%), ash (9.30–15.88%), and lipid (1.55–3.43%). The raw weeds and paper sheets were rich in essential minerals like Na, Ca, and Zn with contents ranging from 27.7 mg/100 g to 30.4 mg/100 g, 126.8 mg/100 g to 489.65 mg/100 g, and 4.5 mg/100 g to 16.3 mg/100 g, respectively. Acceptable levels of heavy metals, including Ni, Pb, and Cu, were found. The paper sheets contained seven essential and eight non-essential amino acids. Among the essential amino acids, the phenylalanine content was the highest at 2735.9 mg/100 g in E. fluctuans paper sheets, followed by methionine at 2377.29 mg/100 g in the raw E. fluctuans and histidine at 1972.6 mg/100 g in E. fluctuans paper sheets. A. philoxeroides sheets showed the highest total amino acid content (16,146.81 mg/100 g), while I. aquatica showed the lowest (13,118.67 mg/100 g). The aquatic weed paper sheets were rich in bioactive compounds, and the numbers in E. fluctuans, A. philoxeroides, and I. aquatica paper sheets were 31, 33, and 40, respectively. There were no significant changes in the nutritional content of the aquatic weeds in paper sheet form compared with the raw weeds, which suggests promising prospects for their production and consumption as a source of nutrition and bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading is a basic learning tool for an individual that begins early and continues throughout life. It would appear that the world is digitally at one's fingertips, with everything connected to the internet with the increasing dominance of digital reading over paper reading. On the other hand, it is fair to assume that books will continue to be printed for a very long time despite the rise in e-book readers. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the actual trends in using printed books among university students. The study collected data from 233 undergraduate students from different Four (04) universities in Bangladesh through a survey questionnaire. The results show that despite the increasing use of digital devices and e-books, printed books remain the preferred medium for reading. Results suggest that young adults spend hours watching television and chatting on social media at the expense of reading and that reading culture has been in decline. The findings explored that a small percentage of respondents consistently use printed books, while a significant number resort to them for specific academic purposes. The study also highlights the varying levels of engagement, with some respondents dedicating several hours to reading printed books. Self-development and job preparation emerged as the primary reasons for using printed books, while entertainment played a lesser reason to read books on printed paper. The study further analyzes the preferred locations for reading printed books, with libraries and homes being the most commonly chosen settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestational age (GA) is a key determinant of newborn survival and long-term impairment. Accurate estimation of GA facilitates timely provision of essential interventions to improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Menstrual based dating, ultrasound based dating, and neonatal estimates are the primarily used methods for assessing GA; all of which have some strength and weaknesses that require critical consideration. Last menstrual period (LMP) is simple, low-cost self-reported information, recommended by the World Health Organization for estimating GA but has issues of recall mainly among poorer, less educated women and women with irregular menstruation, undiagnosed abortion, and spotting during early pregnancy. Several studies have noted that about 20-50% of women cannot accurately recall the date of LMP. The goal of this study is therefore to improve recall and reporting of LMP and by doing so increase the accuracy of LMP based GA assessment in a rural population of Bangladesh where antenatal care-seeking, availability and utilization of USG is low., Method: We propose to conduct a 4- parallel arm, superiority, community based cluster randomized controlled trial comparing three interventions to improve recall of GA with a no intervention arm. The interventions include (i) counselling and a paper based calendar (ii) counselling and a cell phone based SMS alert system (iii) counselling and smart-phone application. The trial is being conducted among 3360 adolescent girls and recently married women in Mirzapur sub-district of Bangladesh., Discussion: Enrolment of study participants continued from January 24, 2017 to March 29, 2017. Data collection and intervention implementation is ongoing and will end by February, 2019. Data analysis will measure efficacy of interventions in improving the recall of LMP date among enrolled participants. Results will be reported following CONSORT guideline. The innovative conventional & e-platform based interventions, if successful, can provide substantial evidence to scale-up in a low resource setting where m-Health initiatives are proliferating with active support from all sectors in policy and implementation., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02944747 . The trial has been registered before starting enrolment on 24 October 2016.

Water hyacinth (WH) is considered as the worst aquatic weed in the world because of its rapid growth and fast spread into new areas of fresh water bodies. We investigated the potentiality of using WH as a raw material for production of handmade paper and compost in Bangladesh. Potash pulping was done using potassium hydroxide (KOH) at different alkali concentrations (8-12%) with a liquor to solid ratio of 7:1 at 145 °C for 2 h. The pulp was bleached using hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and pulp properties (brightness, tear index and tensile index) of bleached and unbleached pulps were analyzed following the respective TAPPI standards. The produced black liquor was mixed with WH along with kitchen bio-wastes to produce compost. The properties of the compost were tested following the published protocols, i.e., wet digestion, Kjeldahl, vanadomolybdophosphoric acid, and Flame Spectrophotometry methods. Brightness, tensile index and tear index of bleached hand sheets were found to be 37.2%, 49.2 N m/g and 6.79 m.Nm 2 /g, respectively suggesting significant contribution of bleaching on WH paper quality. Addition of black liquor significantly increased the nitrogen and potassium content of bio-waste compost. Thus, WH can be used as a raw material for making handmade paper while the process by-product can be supplemented to improve the nutritional quality of compost. Such cottage-industry fabrication of WH green products could be developed to control the infestation of WH in water bodies, and this technology may provide for new possible sustainable livelihood option., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Protecting the health of farmworkers is a crucial issue. Previous studies report that safety training and educational interventions might increase farmworkers' protective behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of distributing a checklist as an interventional measure for pesticide protection in rural Asia, where pesticide poisoning is a major problem. This study was a community-based interventional study, using the distribution of a checklist with pesticide protective habits in Narail district, Bangladesh, with a total of 100 eligible males. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted before distributing the checklist and 25 days after. Change between the baseline and follow-up surveys was measured by frequency scores of protective behavior. The average pesticide-protective behavioral score increased from 4.58 in the baseline survey to 8.11 in the follow-up. Additionally, the checklist was more effective in the group with higher education, the younger group, and the group with lower pesticide-protective behavioral scores in the baseline survey. The paper checklist on protective behaviors against pesticide poisoning was effective because of the increase in the frequency of such positive behavior among farmworkers. Thus, intervention measures should be implemented to increase the knowledge and awareness regarding pesticide protection habits to protect the health of farmworkers.

Industrial pollution in Bangladesh has posed a serious threat to human health, economic activity, and the environment. By emphasizing industries that produce major pollutants, substantial improvements can be made to pollution mitigation measures. In countries where primary pollution data is not readily available, the Industrial Pollution Projection System (IPPS) could be used to calculate the pollution load utilizing total industrial output or employment data. IPPS data, which was designed for developed countries like the USA, had been used directly for other countries without any normalization in previously reported studies. The main purpose of this study is to modify the current IPPS approach for any other country by incorporating specific correction factor for a specific country. In this study, a specific correction factor for Bangladesh was determined, taking into account the country's major polluting industries, and used to estimate the pollution scenario for the year 2020. The accuracy of the specific pollution intensities was also evaluated by comparing the data obtained using both gross output and employee number. According to this study, the top three air-polluting industries are structural clay products, cement-lime-plaster industry, and iron and steel industry. Similarly, for water pollution, the food industry, paper and paper product industry, and textile industry are the largest pollutant contributors. The detailed pollution load matrix in terms of air and water pollution is also developed, and can be used to predict both short-term and long-term scenarios of industrial pollution in Bangladesh, which eventually will assist the policy makers to adopt appropriate pollution management approach. Moreover, the methods developed in this study will help to tailor the IPPS data for any country and increase the accuracy of the pollution load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central role of electricity in shaping the worldwide economy is broadly acknowledged in the energy literature. Having identified the then ongoing crisis of the electricity sector, the present Awami League government initiated restructuring the energy sector since 2009 to quicken the pace of the developmental activities. All these efforts resulted in landmark achievements in the Bangladesh energy sector, especially in increasing the electricity generation capacity. However, the global Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath effects on the Bangladesh economy require a policy revision in Bangladesh's energy sector and electricity generation mix. To our knowledge, there is no study to analyse the adverse consequences of the Covid-19 in Bangladesh energy sector. By employing a SARIMA forecasting model, we reveal that electricity demand will remain less than the actual generation in the upcoming two years. Also, the DGE model finds that due to Covid-19, the economic growth rate will be around 4.5 percent in the long-run. We further simulate that the steady-state electricity demand and standard consumption values would fall by 8-10 percent and 6 percent, respectively. We recommend that a review of the power sector master plan is needed for future energy security and economic stability in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This white paper recognises that for the decision makers and policy makers implementation of any intervention for changing the existing service delivery model, production model, market or regulatory model that impacts consumers and citizens are the most challenging tasks. Uncertainties about consumers and citizens' responses lead to delays or suboptimality in action. Ten priority actions with major direct SDG links that can reduce uncertainty in decision making in energy, climate change and disaster contexts of Bangladesh are derived from the assessment of research outputs of more than 70 lead subject experts and peer reviewed through blind review process by 50 expert reviewers from all over the world published in two special issue volumes of this Journal and research undertaken under the Bangabandhu Chair endowment at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensor-based agriculture monitoring systems have limited outcomes on the detection or counting of vegetables from agriculture fields due to the utilization of either conventional color transformations or machine learning-based methods. To overcome these limitations, this research is aimed at proposing an IoT-based smart agriculture monitoring system with multiple algorithms such as detection, quantification, ripeness checking, and detection of infected vegetables. This paper presents smart agriculture monitoring systems for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The CHT has been applied to detect and quantify vegetables from the agriculture field. Using color thresholding and color segmentation techniques, defected vegetables have also been detected. A machine learning method-convolutional neural network (CNN) has been used for the development and implementation of all algorithms. A comparison between traditional methods and CNN has been simulated in MATLAB to find out the optimal method for its implementation in this agricultural monitoring system. Compared to the traditional methods, the CNN is the optimal method in this research work which performed better over the previously developed algorithms with an accuracy of more than 90%. As an example (case study), a tomato field in Chittagong, Bangladesh, was chosen where a camera-mounted mobile robot captured images from the agriculture field for which the proposed IoT-based smart monitoring system was developed. This system will benefit farmers through the digitally monitored output at an agriculture field in Bangladesh as well as in Malaysia. Since this proposed smart IoT-based system is still driven by bulky, costly, and limited powered sensors, in a future work, for the required power of sensors, this research work is aimed at the design and development of an energy harvester (hybrid) (HEH) based on ultralow power electronics circuits to generate the required power of sensors. Implementation of multiple algorithms using CNN, circular Hough transformation (CHT), color thresholding, and color segmentation methods for the detection, quantification, ripeness checking, and detection of infected crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attack phase of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) elimination program in Bangladesh aims to decrease the burden of VL incidence from close to 20 cases to less than one case per 10,000 at sub-district level. The consolidation phase will aim to confirm no increase in VL in endemic areas through active surveillance. During this phase, a reliable diagnostic tool for mass screening is required. Here, we report the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of a filter paper-based agglutination test (FP-DAT) for diagnosis of VL in patients admitted to an upazila health complex in Mymensingh, a VL-endemic region of Bangladesh. The sensitivity of both the conventional direct agglutination test (DAT) and FP-DAT were 100% and 96%, respectively. The specificity of both assays was 100%. However, when the performances of the two assays were compared using McNamar's test, neither the sensitivity nor the specificity of the FP-DAT differed significantly from conventional DAT., (© The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)

Generosity and selflessness from the host community in Cox's Bazar were deemed to be instrumental in supporting Rohingyas who sought refuge in Bangladesh in 2017. Thousands of Rohingyas had to flee from their own country to save lives due to state-supported military violence. Initially, Bangladeshi media and civil society were largely supportive of the Rohingyas. However, the initial sympathy later withered away and may have turned into frustration and hostility. Based on 39 in-depth interviews with hot community members and humanitarian professionals, this paper argues that protraction of the crisis, inability to access natural resources due to the refugee camps, some Rohingyas' involvement in various unlawful activities, a perceived sense of neglect from the international community, and disruption in local labour market/trade affecting cost of living conditions for low-income people seem to have played important roles in creating widespread tensions between the host community and Rohingya refugees. We contend that findings of this study will add to the critical scholarship of humanitarian development in deepening the understanding of host and refugee communities' relationships. This paper will also have a positive impact on future policies toward harmonious coexistence between host communities and displaced refugees and potential sustainable solutions to the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to analyze the impact of microfinance programs on women’s empowerment needs in Bangladesh. It seeks to explore how involvement in microfinance programs influences the recipients and their children’s health and education, asset ownership and control, and gender division of labor of women. Methods: This study has adopted a qualitative case study design. Thirty-two recipients of micro-credit loans were selected through purposive network sampling from two of the leading non-governmental organizations of Bangladesh. Primary data of this study were collected through in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion. Nongovernmental organization officials and staff and female borrowers’ husbands were the key informants. Collected primary data were analyzed thematically. Results: Findings of this study revealed that microfinance programs have a positive impact over the practical gender needs of the female borrowers as it enables them to access better health care and education for themselves and their children. However, microfinance has minimal role in meeting their strategic gender needs as it hardly addresses existing disparities in gender division of labor and subordination of women in Bangladeshi society. Conclusion: The paper concludes that microfinance organization can be treated as a multi-level construct, at global, state, community, and individual levels. Women and their children are benefited through microfinance. While microfinance empowers women by meeting their practical gender needs, it does not address the socially created gender division of labor let alone it puts extra work burden on women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance education has emerged out of social compulsion, the dynamics of change and new cultures. It was the failure of traditional systems to be able to meet the demand in countries, where the resources available for tertiary education are limited, which basically gave birth to the new trend of education known as open and distance education. This new and innovative system of education has received a high level of acceptance in different countries as it offers flexible educational opportunities for continuing education to a large segment of their population. The increasing number of older adult learners with varying lifestyles in the population, increasing competitiveness of getting places in tertiary institutions, higher cost of education and a shortage of teachers are the main factors for increasing the popularity of distance education (Duncan, "et al.," 2003). Bangladesh has also taken the opportunity to provide a uniform and mass oriented universal system of education through open and distance education establishing Bangladesh Open University (BOU) in 1992. Objectives of the Study: The main objectives of this study are: (1) to assess the overall status of BOU in comparison with the open universities of two neighboring South Asian countries considering the following aspects: (a) Administrative structural functions; (b) Courses and instructional strategies; (c) Learning opportunities, and (d) Library, laboratory and counselling facilities; (2) to explore the potential of improvement for BOU to enable it to meet the challenges of the country's educational needs in the next millennium. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.)

Background: Acute diarrhoeal disease management often requires rehydration alone without antibiotics. However, non-indicated antibiotics are frequently ordered and this is an important driver of antimicrobial resistance. The mHealth Diarrhoea Management (mHDM) trial aimed to establish whether electronic decision support improves rehydration and antibiotic guideline adherence in resource-limited settings., Methods: A cluster randomised controlled trial was done at ten district hospitals in Bangladesh. Inclusion criteria were patients aged 2 months or older with uncomplicated acute diarrhoea. Admission orders were observed without intervention in the pre-intervention period, followed by randomisation to electronic (rehydration calculator) or paper formatted WHO guidelines for the intervention period. The primary outcome was rate of intravenous fluid ordered as a binary variable. Generalised linear mixed-effect models, accounting for hospital clustering, served as the analytical framework; the analysis was intention to treat. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03154229) and is completed., Findings: From March 11 to Sept 10, 2018, 4975 patients (75·6%) of 6577 screened patients were enrolled. The intervention effect for the primary outcome showed no significant differences in rates of intravenous fluids ordered as a function of decision-support type. Intravenous fluid orders decreased by 0·9 percentage points for paper electronic decision support and 4·2 percentage points for electronic decision support, with a 4·2-point difference between decision-support types in the intervention period (paper 98·7% [95% CI 91·8-99·8] vs electronic 94·5% [72·2-99·1]; p interaction =0·31). Adverse events such as complications and mortality events were uncommon and could not be statistically estimated., Interpretation: Although intravenous fluid orders did not change, electronic decision support was associated with increases in the volume of intravenous fluid ordered and decreases in antibiotics ordered, which are consistent with WHO guidelines., Funding: US National Institutes of Health., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Data scarcity and discontinuity are common occurrences in the healthcare and epidemiological dataset and often is needed to form an educative decision and forecast the upcoming scenario. Often to avoid these problems, these data are processed as monthly/yearly aggregate where the prevalent forecasting tools like Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA), and TBATS often fail to provide satisfactory results. Artificial data synthesis methods have been proven to be a powerful tool for tackling these challenges. The paper aims to propose a novel algorithm named Stochastic Bayesian Downscaling (SBD) algorithm based on the Bayesian approach that can regenerate downscaled time series of varying time lengths from aggregated data, preserving most of the statistical characteristics and the aggregated sum of the original data. The paper presents two epidemiological time series case studies of Bangladesh (Dengue, Covid-19) to showcase the workflow of the algorithm. The case studies illustrate that the synthesized data agrees with the original data regarding its statistical properties, trend, seasonality, and residuals. In the case of forecasting performance, using the last 12 years data of Dengue infection data in Bangladesh, we were able to decrease error terms up to 72.76% using synthetic data over actual aggregated data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate how politically based trade union power can determine the fate of a regulatory body's organizational reform and undermine public accountability in a purportedly democratic developing country (DC). A large regulatory organization in Bangladesh was examined as a case study to uncover how political actors and power were embedded in a World Bank (WB)‐led organizational reform designed to contribute to public accountability and democracy. Interviews and media (newspaper) were utilized to identify the contestation of powers at macro‐ and micro‐levels. The explanation of reform implementation was informed by New Institutional Theory and its derived concept of institutional logics. Finding that political recruitment of the organization's senior executives made it susceptible to the pressures of political agents, the study reveals how politically supported union actions interrupted a WB‐led organizational reform that was seeking to secure democracy and public accountability. It finds that the pre‐existing institutional arrangements resurfaced over time as the political agents secured more power to restore past practices that adversely impacted public accountability. The lack (absence) of accountability in a so‐called democratic regime facilitated political interference with the regulatory governance and reforms that undermined organizational accountability to external stakeholders. The case‐study organization's institutional environment, agents, and interests were unique situational conditioners that nonetheless may be relevant to other similar public accountability organizations in DCs. The findings of the paper have important implications for policymakers who design, implement, and evaluate public accountability reforms in DCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media is the principal channel of communication that structures people's consciousness. Such influence of media is often constructed through particular framing which reaches powerful organizations and encourages them to work on different social issues like child abuse. The present study is designed to assess the trend of episodic and thematic media framing on child-abusing news and its relation with the adaptation of The Children Act along with UNICEF's reporting principles. With media framing theory this paper executed a quantitative study through content analysis. A total of 1091 news articles were studied from two broadsheets and one tabloid newspaper within a timeline of one year. Results revealed that episodic news has a higher tendency of violating reporting principles than thematic. Incidents of sexual abuse received most of the coverage in Bangladeshi newspapers where girls were found most likely to be the victims of misrepresentation. Finally, the tabloid newspaper was found guiltier of unethical reporting than the broadsheets which established a significant connection between the tendency of principles violation and newspaper type. The paper recommended policymakers, child welfare institutes, and mass media promote children's rights to decrease the rate of abuse cases in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is increasing interest in using verbal autopsy to produce nationally representative populationlevel estimates of causes of death. However, the burden of processing a large quantity of surveys collected with paper and pencil has been a barrier to scaling up verbal autopsy surveillance. Direct electronic data capture has been used in other large-scale surveys and can be used in verbal autopsy as well, to reduce time and cost of going from collected data to actionable information. Methods: We collected verbal autopsy interviews using paper and pencil and using electronic tablets at two sites, and measured the cost and time required to process the surveys for analysis. From these cost and time data, we extrapolated costs associated with conducting large-scale surveillance with verbal autopsy. Results: We found that the median time between data collection and data entry for surveys collected on paper and pencil was approximately 3 months. For surveys collected on electronic tablets, this was less than 2 days. For small-scale surveys, we found that the upfront costs of purchasing electronic tablets was the primary cost and resulted in a higher total cost. For large-scale surveys, the costs associated with data entry exceeded the cost of the tablets, so electronic data capture provides both a quicker and cheaper method of data collection. Conclusions: As countries increase verbal autopsy surveillance, it is important to consider the best way to design sustainable systems for data collection. Electronic data capture has the potential to greatly reduce the time and costs associated with data collection. For long-term, large-scale surveillance required by national vital statistical systems, electronic data capture reduces costs and allows data to be available sooner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current methods to identify the etiology of diarrhea require laboratory facilities for storage of pathogens, which is often challenging in low-resource settings. This study evaluated the efficacy of a low-cost method for preserving stool specimens for the detection of parasitic enteropathogens using Whatman 903 protein saver cards (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). Stool samples known to be positive by multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction for Giardia lamblia , Cryptosporidium spp., and Entamoeba histolytica parasites were preserved on 232 Whatman cards. DNA was then extracted from cards using Chelex and Qiagen extraction protocols, and tested for these parasites using multiplex real-time PCR. We included stool samples known to have a higher parasite load (cycle threshold [ct]-value < 30) and those with a lower parasite load (ct values 30-35). Sensitivities and specificities were determined using DNA extracted directly from whole stool samples using Qiagen kits (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). For whole stool samples with ct values < 30, preserved directly on Whatman 903 protein saver cards for Giardia analysis, the sensitivity was 100% for both Qiagen and Chelex DNA extraction. For E. histolytica , this was 100% for sensitivity for Qiagen and 80% for Chelex DNA extractions, and for Cryptosporidium , this was 80% for Qiagen and 50% for Chelex DNA extraction. The specificity was 100% for all parasites for all extraction procedures. Given the high sensitivity for stool samples with higher parasite loads, we recommend the use of the Whatman 903 protein saver card for preserving fecal specimens for the analysis of Giardia and E. histolytica using Qiagen DNA extractions in low-resource settings.

Sexual assault and rape are pervasive across all nations and cultures. This gender-based crime is considered one of the most heinous crimes in Bangladesh. A first information report (FIR) and subsequent investigation by police officers are the first steps in the criminal justice response to rape. Unfortunately, it is frequently difficult for law enforcement officials to conduct an investigation and guarantee justice for the victims. Delays and improper investigations dampen the enthusiasm of rape victims seeking justice. This paper explores the issues and challenges the police officers confront when investigating rape cases. A qualitative research approach has been applied to this study, where a total of 15 police officers participated in in-depth interviews. This paper reveals that problems with existing legal instruments, crime scene management, and evidence collection processes are apparent in rape case investigations. Furthermore, challenges pertaining to medical and forensic examinations, insufficient logistical support, an excessive number of responsibilities, and various internal and external pressures have a detrimental impact on the efficacy of police investigations. Victim and witness non-cooperation, delays in filing cases, practices of filing false rape cases, informal mediation, and out-of-court settlements all reduce the success rate of police investigations and result in low conviction rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial development of a country plays a vital role in its overall progress and is closely tied to its capacity of electricity generation. However, the scarcity of natural resources and increasing costs of fuel in global markets pose significant challenges for developing countries like Bangladesh in managing the rising expenses of electricity generation. Consequently, the government of Bangladesh is exploring alternative energy resources such as solar, wind, hydroelectricity, biomass, and biogas to supplement fossil fuels and optimize electricity generation cost. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current status of natural resources, including gas, coal, and oil, which are conventionally used for electricity generation in Bangladesh. It highlights concerns about dwindling resource availability and their impact on the country's energy landscape. Through numerical analysis, it demonstrates the detrimental effects of relying heavily on gas‐based power plants, leading to electricity supply instability. To address the ongoing energy crisis, the paper proposes the adoption of renewable energy sources as a viable solution. Additionally, it also acknowledges the challenges associated with implementing large‐scale renewable projects in distinct areas of the country, such as limited infrastructure, technical constraints, and the need for significant investment. Overcoming these barriers is crucial for achieving widespread utilization of renewable resources. This paper concludes by offering recommendations to overcome these challenges and maximize the contributions of renewable energy in meeting future energy demands. The suggestions include developing robust infrastructure, implementing policy reforms to attract investment, emphasizing research and development, and promoting community engagement in renewable energy initiatives. It also highlights the potential of renewable energy resources in shaping a more secure and sustainable energy future for Bangladesh, emphasizing the importance of electricity generation for socio‐economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, conservation of resource theory and job demands-resources model, this paper aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership on psychological empowerment and employee engagement of faculty members in Bangladesh and Thailand. This study also integrates Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory to justify whether transformational leadership could affect psychological empowerment of faculty members in these two countries differently. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected from a total of 457 faculty members from two universities in Bangladesh (n = 243) and two universities in Thailand (n = 241). This study used partial least squares structural equation modeling for analyzing the proposed model. Findings: The evidence shows that faculty members who worked for department heads and who exhibited transformational leadership demonstrated high level of psychological empowerment and employee engagement. Psychological empowerment also mediates the effect of transformational leadership on employee engagement. Moreover, the degree to which transformational leadership positively affects psychological empowerment is stronger for faculty members in a higher power distance culture (Thailand) than for those faculty members in a lower power distance culture (Bangladesh). Practical implications: Because human capital plays a crucial role in determining the potential of universities to achieve superior performance, universities should provide leadership training to help department heads understand the key elements of transformational leadership and apply them in their management practices to promote empowerment and engagement of their faculty members. Originality/value: The finding provides new evidence that broadens the knowledge from existing research about the cross-cultural effectiveness of transformational leadership, which has not been explored in the area of psychological empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of the community of inquiry framework on enhancing English as a foreign language proficiency in a blended learning context in Bangladesh. The primary aims are to examine how integrating teaching, social, and cognitive presences improves EFL speaking skills and to identify teachers' perspectives and recommendations on implementing blended learning and community of inquiry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a qualitative case study approach with ten teachers from a private university after a two-day professional development workshop and a subsequent four-week application of CoI principles in their classes. The findings reveal a positive influence on students' speaking skills, notably boosting motivation, confidence, and peer collaboration. However, challenges like better teacher training in technology and pedagogy and insufficient institutional support for online resources were identified. Despite these obstacles, the study emphasizes how the community of inquiry can revolutionize Bangladeshi education by promoting the idea that English should be viewed as a communication tool outside of the classroom. The paper concludes with recommendations for effective community of inquiry and blended learning implementation, stressing the importance of comprehensive training and institutional backing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents the trends in authorship pattern and author collaborative in the Biotechnology research field with the sample of 18119 articles which collected from Scopus database for the year 2007 to 2016. The search string used for data download is same for all country and all data downloaded for each country. The three scientometric tools; Collaboration Coefficient, Authorship pattern and Activity Index have been used for the data analysis. The multi- authorship articles are greater than single authorship. The study found that the researchers in Biotechnology move towards team research or group research rather than solo research. The average Activity Index of four SAARC countries for ten years' time spam is highest for India and lowest counted for Sri Lanka followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh at the 3rd and 4th place. The international collaboration shows that the United States has taken the top position for India and Sri Lanka, another hand China important for Pakistan and Bangladesh contributed with Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eye is an important sensing organ of the human body, as it reacts to light and allows vision for humans. Many Bangladeshi people become nearsighted when it comes to the awareness of vision loss due to eye disease. Many Bangladeshis people are more concerned about losing their money than getting nearsighted or blind, due to a combination of poverty and illiteracy. With this view, this paper proposes an osteopathic expert system that can deal with an image of the eye and recognize the disease. Here, we have focused on the three most common eye diseases in Bangladesh, namely cataract, chalazion, and squint. We have modeled six convolutional neural networks (CNN's), namely VGG16, VGG19, MobileNet, Xception, InceptionV3, and DenseNet121 to recognize the diseases. We have reached the best configuration of each of these CNN models after adequate investigation. After performing satisfactory experimentation, we have found that the MobileNet model gives the best performance based on accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. At last, we have compared our findings with the recently reported relevant works to show their efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use qualitative research data to explore the phenomenon of the boundaryless work-life interface during the COVID-19 pandemic as perceived by working parents. We define a boundaryless work-life interface as the weak or virtually absent boundary between work and life domains. We look closer at the relations between space, time, emotions, roles and the boundaryless work-life interface among working parents. The first two subsections introduce the linkages between the boundaryless work-life interface, focusing primarily on time and space in what we call 'collapsed role boundaries'. The second subsection examines the issues related to mental and emotional tensions the perceived boundarylesness has caused during the pandemic. The paper's final subsection provides a summary with interpretations and conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major source of disease burden worldwide, with an estimated 296 million individuals living with infections worldwide. Although vaccine programs exist to control infections, certain sub-populations around the world continue to have very high prevalence of HBV infection. Methods: A systematic search of studies of HBV published after 2010 was conducted for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Each paper was independently screened for risk of bias and inclusion. Data were extracted from included studies before being analysed to estimate pooled prevalence, and to conduct sub-group analyses. Random-effects models were used for estimating summary prevalence due to a high level of heterogeneity between studies, and funnel plots were combined with Egger's test to assess publication bias. Meta-regression was conducted to investigate sources of between-study heterogeneity. Results: The pooled prevalence of HBV across all studies was 3% (95% CI 0.02, 0.05). For countries with multiple studies, the pooled prevalence in India was 3% (95% CI 0.02, 0.04), in Pakistan 6% (95% CI 0.03, 0.09), in Bangladesh 5% (95% CI of 0.02, 0.12), and in Nepal 1% (95% CI 0.00, 0.08). There was some evidence of publication bias, and a high level of heterogeneity across studies. Risk of bias analysis found most studies to be of fair or moderate quality. Conclusions: The prevalence of HBV among countries in the sub-continent was higher than the global average, but was not as high as some other regions. Countries with greater numbers of displaced persons had higher prevalence of HBV, with a wide range of prevalence between subpopulations likely reflecting differential uptake, and implementation, of vaccination programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, fifth-generation (5G) mobile connectivity has been launched in Bangladesh on a trial-run basis. 5G is a super-speed mobile network that is much faster than the existing fourth-generation (4G) technology. It is excruciatingly hard to deploy a fully functioning 5G in any country regardless of its available resources and technological advancements because of some apparent technological complexity and limitations. In addition, when deploying this technology in developing countries such as Bangladesh, the costs come into play. To cope with the world's advancement in science and technology, Bangladesh is planning to implement 5G covering the whole country. In this paper, we present the major challenges in implementing a wide area 5G network in Bangladesh and find some possible solutions. This research work has also tried to get a clear picture of the service quality of the existing 4G cellular communication by analyzing some of the mobile operators' download speeds over 24 hours. In addition, this paper presents the current comparison of Internet facilities in Bangladesh with those of other countries across the globe. To the best of our knowledge, there is no publicly available study that has focused on the deployment of the 5G network in Bangladesh after assessing the current state of the cellular network. Therefore, this study could serve as a guiding resource, providing valuable information for decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]