Search

Ashraful Hoque,1 Anindita Das Barshan,2 Forhad Uddin Hasan Chowdhury,2 Jannatul Fardous,3 Mohammad Jahid Hasan,3 Md Abdullah Saeed Khan,3 Ahmedul Kabir4 1Department of Blood Transfusion, Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Medicine, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 3Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Division, Pi Research Consultancy Center, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 4Department of Medicine, Mugda Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, BangladeshCorrespondence: Mohammad Jahid Hasan Email dr.jahid61@gmail.com; jahid@pircc.orgPurpose: The aim of the study was to assess the antibody response to the ChAdOx1-nCoV vaccine in individuals who were not previously infected by COVID-19.Patients and Methods: All people aged 18– 65 years who received their first vaccination with ChAdOx1-nCoV from March to May 2021 were approached for inclusion. Individuals with sufficient antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccination were considered previously infected and were excluded from the analysis. We observed viral spike protein RBD-S1-specific IgG antibody levels at day 28 of the first dose of vaccination and day 14 of the second dose of vaccination (74 days from index vaccination). An optical density ratio (ODR) of > 1.1 was considered to have a positive antibody response, 0.8 to 1.1 borderline and < 0.8 was denoted as negative. Informed consent was ensured before enrollment, and ethical principles conformed with the current Declaration of Helsinki.Results: This observational study comprised 769 infection-naïve individuals (mean age 40.5 years, 38.9% female). Spike-specific IgG antibody responses elicited after the first and second doses of vaccine were 99.9% and 100%, respectively. The median ODR was 5.43 (interquartile range [IQR]: 4.32– 6.98) and 10.90 (IQR 9.02– 11.90) after the first and second doses. Higher age was associated with lower antibody levels after both dosages. However, no sex-specific variation was seen. People with comorbidity had a lower antibody level after the second dose. Tenderness (51.46%) and fever (19.30%) were the most common local and systemic side effects after vaccination.Conclusion: This study was one of the earlier attempts in the country to assess the antibody response to ChAdOx1-nCoV vaccine recipients. The results imply that general people should be encouraged to take the vaccine at their earliest.Keywords: ChAdOx1-nCoV, vaccine, COVID-19, Bangladesh, antibody response

Mohammad Ali Hossain,1 Md Utba Bin Rashid,2 Md Abdullah Saeed Khan,3 Sabrina Sayeed,4 Md Abdul Kader,5 Mohammad Delwer Hossain Hawlader6 1Ibn Sina Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh; 2Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh; 3Infectious Disease Hospital, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh; 4Eminence Associates for Social Development, Dhaka, 1207, Bangladesh; 5International Organization for Migration, Cox’s Bazar, 4700, Bangladesh; 6Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, 1229, BangladeshCorrespondence: Md Utba Bin RashidNutrition and Clinical Service Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, BangladeshTel +8801673306380Email utba.rashid@northsouth.eduPurpose: Adequate knowledge, positive attitude, and proper practice of personal protective equipment by healthcare workers are necessary to get protection from COVID-19 infection. But this area is yet to be explored. Hence, we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) among healthcare workers, along with a survey of the possible determinants.Subjects and Methods: For this cross-sectional study, online and offline surveys were conducted among a sample of 393 healthcare workers from five different districts of Bangladesh. A validated self-administered questionnaire comprising five sections (socio-demography, work-related information, knowledge, attitude, and practice) was used for data collection. Multivariate stepwise forward logistic regression was applied to find significant factors associated with good attitude, and practice using SPSS version 25.Results: The average age of the 393 participants was 28.9± 5.2 years with a male-female ratio of one. Of them, 99.5% (n=391) had good knowledge, 88.8% (n=349) had positive attitude and 51.7% (n=203) had good practice regarding PPE. Results revealed that being a physician and living at home were significantly associated with a positive attitude. While being a non-physician, having lower education, working in private hospitals, and using office transport were associated with good practice regarding PPE.Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that the healthcare workers had an overall good knowledge and a positive attitude but a poor practice regarding PPE. This study also highlighted the factors influencing KAP towards PPE that must be addressed in future education, awareness, and counseling programs.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, personal protective equipment, health personnel

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan,1,2 Jianguo Du,1 Farooq Anwar,2 Hira Salah ud Din Khan,1 Fakhar Shahzad,1 Sikandar Ali Qalati1 1School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Lahore Business School, University of Lahore, Lahore, Punjab, PakistanCorrespondence: Jianguo DuSchool of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-157-5100-8313Email dujianguoju@hotmail.comBackground: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is emerging as a relevant subject in the business world and in the field of management research. Therefore, the current study incorporates classifications often used in organizational level CSR research that distinguish social responsibility relevant to its focus (internal and external), in proposing diverse routes that link various CSR practices (ie, internal and external) to employees’ choice of emotional labor strategy (ie, via perceived organizational support and perceived external prestige).Methods: Data were collected from front-line employees of banks operating in Pakistan. Due to the study’s focus on front-line employees, other personnel were excluded for data collection. We collected data through a self-administered questionnaire. The structural equation model (SEM) was employed on 376 valid responses using Smart-PLS3 to test the study hypotheses.Results: After the analysis, we found satisfactory results for the fitness of both measurement and satisfactory models. Moreover, the results strongly support our proposed theoretical framework, and all proposed hypotheses were accepted.Discussion: This study confirms that the perception of external prestige is a strong predictor of employees’ emotions and relevant behaviors. Moreover, this study discusses under the light of social exchange theory that perceived organizational support strongly predicts employees’ emotional labor, which diminishes the myth that prestige is the only factor to influence employees’ emotions in the workplace. Moreover, this study negates the findings of Anwar et al that perceived external prestige does not have a significant negative effect on surface acting. It provides an insight not only for managers and researchers but also for society, especially in an Eastern workplace setting like Pakistan’s banking sector.Keywords: CSR, perceived external prestige, perceived organizational support, emotional labor, employees’ welfare

Cai Li, Shumaila Naz, Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan, Basil Kusi, Majid MuradSchool of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: This study aimed to investigate the effect of a high-performance work system (HPWS) on employee performance and the intervening role of mediators in this relationship.Methods: The study was quantitative in nature and used a questionnaire as its instrument. Two hundred and fifty respondents from the private textile sector, located in Lahore and Faisalabad, Pakistan, were selected using a stratified sampling technique. For statistical analysis and to test the proposed research model, partial least squares–structural equation modeling was applied.Results: HPWS was positively related to employee performance. Furthermore, job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and employee engagement positively and significantly mediated between HPWS and employee performance. Thus, the study provided evidence for the underpinning models of social exchange theory, and ability, motivation, and opportunity framework.Conclusion: The study emphasizes that practitioners should develop strategies that could foster positive work attitudes and increase perceived organizational support to achieve higher levels of performance. It further describes some limitations and gaps for future research.Keywords: high-performance work system, employee performance, job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, employee engagement

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan,1 Du Jianguo,1 Ahmed Abdul Hameed,2 Tehseen UL Mushtaq,2 Muhammad Usman2 1School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore, Pakistan Purpose: The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, we examined the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance and tested the role of affective commitment foci – namely, affective coworker commitment, affective supervisor commitment, and affective organizational commitment – as parallel mediators in the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Second, we tested the moderating role of culture on the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance. Methods: A two-wave (3-month interval) survey data were collected from 312 paramedics – 162 and 150 from Pakistani and Chinese public-sector hospitals, respectively. The first and second waves of data collection took place in January and May 2017, respectively. Structural equation modeling (SEM), bootstrapping technique, and multigroup analysis were used to test the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance and to examine the cross-cultural differences in these interrelations. Results: Results obtained using SEM show that workplace romance positively influences employee performance. Importantly, the study revealed that the three foci of affective commitment – namely, coworker affective commitment, supervisor affective commitment, and organizational affective commitment – as parallel mediators fully mediate the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance. Moreover, national culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance, where workplace romance is stronger for the Chinese data sample. Conclusion: It is concluded that workplace romance is positively related to employee job performance and that affective commitment foci fully mediate the positive relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Moreover, culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. The study contributes to theory and practice by studying an essential but largely ignored aspect of the workplace and portraying it as a constructive influence on employee job performance and their affective commitment to coworkers, supervisor, and organization. Keywords: workplace romance, job performance, affective commitment, paramedical staff, health sector, cross-cultural comparison, People’s Republic of China, Pakistan

BackgroundThere is a documented need to build capacity for theory- and evidence-informed knowledge translation (KT) and patient engagement (PE) practice in health research. Dissemination of foundational content online coupled with social media promotion may build capacity by increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes. ObjectiveThis retrospective study sought to (1) describe exposure and engagement of the KnowledgeNudge KT and PE dissemination strategy (online blog and Twitter profile) over 2 years and (2) identify and compare characteristics of individual posts with the most and least exposure and reach. MethodsExposure was assessed by blog site views per month and Twitter profile impressions per month. Engagement was assessed by Twitter profile interactions per month. Descriptive statistics were calculated for 6-month blocks and compared using one-way analysis of variance or Student t test. Individual post exposure was assessed by average post views per week. Individual post reach was assessed by average post reads per week. High- and low-profile blog posts with the highest and lowest 10th percentile for exposure and reach were identified. ResultsA total of 99 posts and 755 tweets were published during the study period. There was a significant increase in exposure (P=.004) and reach (P

Environmental pollution from metal toxicity is a widespread concern. Certain bacteria hold promise for bioremediation via the conversion of toxic chromium compounds into less harmful forms, promoting environmental cleanup. In this study, we report the isolation and detailed characterization of a highly chromium-tolerant bacterium, Bacillus tropicus CRB14. The isolate is capable of growing on 5000 mg/L Cr (VI) in an LB (Luria Bertani) agar plate while on 900 mg/L Cr (VI) in LB broth. It shows an 86.57% reduction ability in 96 h of culture. It can also tolerate high levels of As, Cd, Co, Fe, Zn, and Pb. The isolate also shows plant growth-promoting potential as demonstrated by a significant activity of nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, IAA (indole acetic acid), and siderophore production. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the isolate lacks Cr resistance genes in their plasmids and are located on its chromosome. The presence of the chrA gene points towards Cr(VI) transport, while the absence of ycnD suggests alternative reduction pathways. The genome harbors features like genomic islands and CRISPR-Cas systems, potentially aiding adaptation and defense. Analysis suggests robust metabolic pathways, potentially involved in Cr detoxification. Notably, genes for siderophore and NRP-metallophore production were identified. Whole-genome sequencing data also provides the basis for molecular validation of various genes. Findings from this study highlight the potential application of Bacillus tropicus CRB14 for bioremediation while plant growth promotion can be utilized as an added benefit.

Background: COVID-19 has been linked to hyperglycemia and diabetes, with noteworthy variation in outcomes. This study aimed to compare the sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, and in-hospital and short-term post-discharge outcomes between COVID-19 patients with new onset hyperglycemia and pre-existing diabetes patients in tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh., Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among adult COVID-19 patients with new onset hyperglycemia or pre-existing diabetes admitted to the COVID-19 unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital between April 2021 and October 2021. Patients were conveniently selected from indoors. Bivariate analysis was used to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics at admission and short-term outcomes. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to examine factors associated with time to death in the hospital. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata Version 17., Results: A total of 169 patients were included. Of these, 29 died in the hospital, and four left against medical advice. Out of the 136 survivors, 135 came for follow-up two weeks after discharge. At baseline, 30.18% of patients had new onset hyperglycemia, and 69.8% had pre-existing diabetes. The average age of patients was 56.38 ± 14.21 years, and 60.36% were male. A significantly higher proportion of COVID-19 patients with new onset hyperglycemia were smokers than those with pre-existing diabetes (p = 0.003). However, pre-existing diabetes was associated with higher lung involvement (p = 0.047) and comorbidities (p = 0.002). Age, income over 35,000 BDT (USD 335.5$), and a BMI over 25 kg/m2 emerged as significant predictors of prolonged hospital stay and mortality. Post-discharge follow-up indicated that new-onset hyperglycemia resolved in 8.89% of patients, whereas 19.26% continued to exhibit hyperglycemia, with smoking being a significant determinant of its persistence (p = 0.001)., Conclusion: In conclusion, our investigation illuminates the clinical trajectory of new-onset hyperglycemia in the context of COVID-19 and reinforces the necessity for diligent monitoring and management post-discharge. Therefore, close monitoring and follow-up of COVID-19 patients is recommended for the early detection and management of hyperglycemia and the prevention of diabetes development in the long run., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Sultana Kakoly et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: The study aimed to assess health-seeking behaviour (HSB) and associated factors among hypertensive patients in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hypertension & Research Centre, Rangpur, Bangladesh, between January 2022 and June 2022. A total of 497 hypertensive adults were recruited consecutively. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was deployed by the research team for data collection. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to explore the predictors of HSB. Results: The mean age of the hypertensive patients was 52 ± 11 (SD) years. Most of them were aged between 51 and 60 years (33%), female (55%), came from rural areas (57%), and belonged to middle socioeconomic class (68%). One-fourth of the patients (27%) had chosen informal healthcare providers for their first consultation. Fear of stroke (244, 45%), headache (170, 36%), and neck pain (81, 17%) were the three most common compelling causes of their visit to the hypertension centre. Age (aOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.68 - 0.89), male sex (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.05 - 3.10), living in semi-urban (aOR 4.68, 95% CI 1.45 - 15.10) and rural area (aOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.01 - 2.80), farmers as occupation (aOR: 3.24, 95%CI: 1.31 - 8.06) and belonging to lower social economic class (aOR 4.24, 95% CI 1.68 - 10.69) were predictors of visiting informal providers of hypertensive patient. One-fourth of the hypertensive patients received consultation from informal healthcare providers. Conclusions: Raising awareness among patients and proper referral to specialised hypertension centres could promulgate the patients towards appropriate behaviour.

Background: To align with the 2030 vision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure 90% of girls receive the HPV vaccine before turning 15, Bangladesh has recently started the (HPV) vaccine campaign nationwide. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the level of its acceptance among parents of eligible daughters in Bangladesh., Methods: This nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted among the self-identified parents of daughters in the age group of 9-15 years between June 28 and August 2, 2023. A total of 2,151 parents were conveniently selected from all eight divisions of Bangladesh. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. The Health Belief Model was used to appraise respondents' beliefs concerning HPV and its vaccination. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. R Studio (Version 2023.09.0+463) was used as an interface for data analysis, while R (the programming language) was used for statistical computations., Results: The mean age of the study participants was 38.18 (±5.86) years. The overall acceptance rate of the HPV vaccine was 86.61% (95%CI: 85.09-88.02). The vaccine acceptance level was positively associated with all the domains of the HBM (p<0.001), except in the perceived barrier domain (p = 0.489). After adjustment for other factors, it was found that higher age was associated with a decreased acceptance (AOR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.89-0.95). The urban residents exhibited 42% lower odds of vaccine acceptance than rural (AOR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36-0.92). Similarly, participants of the middle-income group had 44% lower odds than the lower-income group (AOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.32-0.97)., Conclusion: Our study found a reasonably good level of acceptance of the HPV vaccine among the parents of eligible daughters. Multiple factors such as younger age, urban residence, belonging to the middle income group, history of regular routine health check-ups, knowledge of cervical cancer, positive perception about benefits of the vaccine, and positive cues to actions were associated with HPV vaccine acceptance., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Hawlader et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Chest X-ray is an important diagnostic aid frequently used alongside microscopic smear of sputum for the confirmation of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). However, there is a dearth of literature investigating the clinical and radiological pattern of sputum positive pulmonary TB among adults in Bangladesh. The current study explored these patterns in presentation. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at outpatients in department of medicine of a tertiary care hospital. A total of 50 newly diagnosed adult cases of smear positive pulmonary TB attending at the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) corners were consecutively included. Informed written consent was taken before inclusion. Data were collected through face-to-face interview. Radiological presentation was explored using chest X-ray. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 26.0. The average age of patients was 41.0±17.12 years and majority were male (78.0%). The most prevalent respiratory symptom was cough (80.0%) followed by constitutional symptom like fever (70.0%) and weight loss (72.0%). Wasting was the predominant sign (60.0%). Radiologically both lungs were involved in 32.0%, left lung were involved in 30.0% cases and right lung were involved in 26.0% of cases. Twelve percent (12.0%) of patients had normal chest X-ray. Upper zone involvement was commonly observed in this study's patients (66.0%). The predominant pattern was consolidation (46.0%) followed by fibrosis (26.0%), nodular opacity (12.0%), collapse (10.0%), cavity (6.0%), pleural effusion (2.0%) and bronchiectasis (2.0%). Findings of this study would help familiarize and identify the common clinical and radiological presentations of sputum positive pulmonary TB patients in day-to-day practice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-dependent neurodegenerative disease characterized by extracellular Amyloid Aβ peptide (Aβ) deposition and intracellular Tau protein aggregation. Glia, especially microglia and astrocytes are core participants during the progression of AD and these cells are the mediators of Aβ clearance and degradation. The microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) is a complex interactive network between the gut and brain involved in neurodegeneration. MGBA affects the function of glia in the central nervous system (CNS), and microbial metabolites regulate the communication between astrocytes and microglia; however, whether such communication is part of AD pathophysiology remains unknown. One of the potential links in bilateral gut-brain communication is tryptophan (Trp) metabolism. The microbiota-originated Trp and its metabolites enter the CNS to control microglial activation, and the activated microglia subsequently affect astrocyte functions. The present review highlights the role of MGBA in AD pathology, especially the roles of Trp per se and its metabolism as a part of the gut microbiota and brain communications. We (i) discuss the roles of Trp derivatives in microglia-astrocyte crosstalk from a bioinformatics perspective, (ii) describe the role of glia polarization in the microglia-astrocyte crosstalk and AD pathology, and (iii) summarize the potential of Trp metabolism as a therapeutic target. Finally, we review the role of Trp in AD from the perspective of the gut-brain axis and microglia, as well as astrocyte crosstalk, to inspire the discovery of novel AD therapeutics.

The rising frequency of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii infections represents a significant public health challenge in Bangladesh. Genomic analysis of bacterial pathogens enhances surveillance and control efforts by providing insights into genetic diversity, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles, and transmission dynamics. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of 82 whole-genome sequences (WGS) of A. baumannii from Bangladesh to understand their genomic epidemiological characteristics. WGS of the MDR and biofilm-forming A. baumannii strain S1C revealed the presence of 28 AMR genes, predicting its pathogenicity and classification within sequence type ST2. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) genotyping suggested heterogeneity in the distribution of clinical A. baumannii strains in Bangladesh, with a predominance of ST575. The resistome diversity was evident from the detection of 82 different AMR genes, with antibiotic inactivation being the most prevalent resistance mechanism. All strains were predicted to be multidrug-resistant. The observed virulence genes were associated with immune evasion, biofilm formation, adherence, nutrient acquisition, effector delivery, and other mechanisms. Mobile genetic elements carrying AMR genes were predicted in 68.29% (N = 56) of the genomes. The "open" state of the pan-genome and a high proportion of accessory genes highlighted the genome plasticity and diversity of A. baumannii in Bangladesh. Additionally, phylogenomic analysis indicated clustering of A. baumannii strains into three separate clades according to sequence type. In summary, our findings offer detailed insights into the genomic landscape of A. baumannii in Bangladesh, contributing to our understanding of its epidemiology and pathogenicity and informing strategies to combat this pathogen., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study aimed to explore the key determinants that impact the quality of life (QoL) transformation of those who have recuperated from COVID-19 in the Dhaka metropolis, particularly 18 months post-recovery. RT-PCR confirmed that 1,587 COVID-19 patients from Dhaka were included in the study. The baseline was June - November 2020, subsequently recovered and interviewed 18 months after their initial recovery. The follow-up included 1587 individuals using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. After excluding 18 deaths, 53 refusals, 294 inaccessible participants, and 05 incomplete data entries, we analysed the data of the 1217 respondents. The average physical domain score decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up, whereas a significant increase in average scores has been observed in other domains at the follow-up (p<0.05). GEE equation shows after adjusting for other factors, older age, female gender, higher education, higher family income, hospital admission during COVID-19, and the number of comorbidities were significantly associated with changing individuals' QoL scores. Monthly family income >60000 BDT, being married and having no previous vaccination history are significant in reducing people's QoL scores in the psychological domain. On the other hand, age, employment status, monthly family income, marital status, smoking history, and COVID-19 reinfection were significantly associated with altering an individual's QoL scores in the social domain. The overall QoL of COVID-19 recovered people improved in all domains after 18 months, except the physical realm. Participants' age, employment status, family income, marital status, smoking history, comorbidities, COVID-19 vaccination, and COVID-19 reinfection were responsible for altering people's QoL index., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Rashid et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Awareness of electronic waste (e-waste) improves safety practices among workers, thereby reducing health risks associated with pollutants. Investigating the awareness and safe practices among these workers could help identify areas for improvement, a task not yet undertaken in Bangladesh. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the awareness, safety measures, and associated factors among e-waste workers in the country. In this cross-sectional study, 236 workers from an e-waste recycling facility located near Dhaka were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire from August to September 2022. Eight questions captured information on socio-demographics and work factors, 24 questions on e-waste awareness, and 11 questions on safety practices. Total awareness and safety scores were calculated and categorized as "good" and "poor" based on a cut-off point of 80% of the total score. Bivariate and regression analyses were done to determine associated factors. Only 25% of workers had good e-waste awareness; major knowledge gaps were regarding minimization, health hazards, and environmental impact. Good awareness was significantly associated with female gender, higher education, income, smoking, experience ⩾5 years, and training. About 58% followed good safety practices, but the use of boots and helmets was inadequate. Good safety practices were significantly associated with higher education, income, smoking, experience, training, and overtime work. On multivariable analysis, those with higher education had 12 times (95% CI 4.83-32.81) and 6 times (95% CI 2.94-12.81) higher odds of good awareness and practices, respectively. Trained workers had 3.6 times (95% CI 1.67-7.52) higher odds of good practices. There was a significant correlation between awareness and practices (r = .70, P < .001). The study found poor awareness and inadequate safety practices related to e-waste among the workers. Urgent interventions like training, the use of protective gear, and stringent policies are warranted to increase awareness and safety behaviors., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Background: Bad breath (halitosis) is a common problem affecting psycho-social wellbeing of young people. We aimed to explore the extent of self-perceived halitosis and associated factors among university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students from November 2021 to April 2022. Six private and two public universities were approached. A total of 318 participants were conveniently selected for the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Students unwilling to participate were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with halitosis. Statistical analysis was conducted using Stata Version 17., Results: A total of 55.97% of students had self-perceived halitosis, with females (74.53%) having a significantly higher proportion than males (36.94%) (p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of halitosis was found among participants who were overweight ( 61%), had obesity (60.77%), smoked cigarette (46.79%), consumed alcohol (71.43%), lacked exercise (66.29%), were on unhealthy diet (57.35%), consumed coffee/tea (61.35%), breathed through mouth (64.60%), brushed tooth infrequently (85.71%), changed toothbrush after 6 months (77.42%), did not use toothpaste (94.74%), did not use/ sometimes used fluoride toothpaste (75.76%), lacked dental floss use (60.85%), did not use toothpick (62.87%), did chew or sometimes chewed sugar-free chewing gum (75.82%), did not clear / cleaned tongue sometimes (76.14%), did use mouth freshener regularly or occasionally (64.97%), did not use or used mouthwash sometimes (58.87%) were also associated with higher self-perceived halitosis (p < 0.05 for all). Students with gum bleeding, swollen gums, dry mouth, dental caries, food accumulation, and tooth sensitivity had a significantly (p < 0.05 for all) higher proportion of self-perceived halitosis (76.85%, 81.82%, 72.50%, 67.78%, 64.13% and 67.40%, respectively) compared to those without this problem. Being female (OR = 5.04; 95% CI: 2.01-12.62; p < 0.001), alcohol consumers (OR 7.35; 95% CI: 1.77-30.50; p = 0.006); not using sugar free chewing gum (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.10-0.58; p = 0.001), lack of tongue cleaning (OR 4.62; 95% CI: 2.16-9.84; p < 0.001), and gum bleeding (OR = 7.43; 95% CI: 3.00-18.35; p < 0.001) were independently associated with halitosis on multivariable regression., Conclusion: This study reveals a high proportion of self-perceived halitosis and relevant factors. There should be more public education on the causes of halitosis and potential management approaches., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The evidence clearly shows that education greatly impacts people's well-being. Bangladesh has two main education systems-general and traditional religious schooling. The current study aimed to measure the quality of life of madrasa students and find out the factors influencing it. This was a cross-sectional study on a group of madrasa students in the Mirpur area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data were collected using two-stage stratified random sampling between April and May 2022. The final sample size was 373. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was calculated using the KIDSCREEN-10 index, and the median split was used to categorize the score into 'good' and 'poor' categories. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all statistical tests. Among the participants, most (56%) reported having a good HRQoL. The median age (IQR) of the participants was 10.0 (8.0-12.0) years. Most of the participants were male (91%) and were not orphans (95%). The current study also found that a higher feeling of safety (AOR 3.7; 95% CI 1.3-10.4; p = 0.016) increased the odds of having good HRQoL. However, having a present illness decreased the odds (AOR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4-0.9; p = 0.10) of having a good HRQoL. The key results show that the majority reported a good HRQoL. Promoting students' physical, mental, and social well-being through health education, anti-bullying initiatives, regular school health screening, and institutional & community involvement can help to improve the overall HRQoL of madrasa students., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The escalating incidence of foodborne salmonellosis poses a significant global threat to food safety and public health. As antibiotic resistance in Salmonella continues to rise, there is growing interest in bacteriophages as potential alternatives. In this study, we isolated, characterized, and evaluated the biocontrol efficacy of lytic phage L223 in chicken meat. Phage L223 demonstrated robust stability across a broad range of temperatures (20-70 °C) and pH levels (2-11) and exhibited a restricted host range targeting Salmonella spp., notably Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis. Characterization of L223 revealed a short latent period of 30 min and a substantial burst size of 515 PFU/cell. Genomic analysis classified L223 within the Caudoviricetes class, Guernseyvirinae subfamily and Jerseyvirus genus, with a dsDNA genome size of 44,321 bp and 47.9% GC content, featuring 72 coding sequences devoid of antimicrobial resistance, virulence factors, toxins, and tRNA genes. Application of L223 significantly (p < 0.005) reduced Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14,028 counts by 1.24, 2.17, and 1.55 log CFU/piece after 2, 4, and 6 h of incubation, respectively, in experimentally contaminated chicken breast samples. These findings highlight the potential of Salmonella phage L223 as a promising biocontrol agent for mitigating Salmonella contamination in food products, emphasizing its relevance for enhancing food safety protocols., (© 2024. The Author(s).)