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Objectives This study determined the prevalence and trends in caesarean section (C-section) deliveries and the factors associated with the utilization of C-section deliveries among Indonesian mothers from 2007 to 2017. Methods We used Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey data sets (2007, 2012, and 2017) to assess the prevalence, trends, and factors associated with C-section delivery through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Results A 10% increase in C-section delivery among Indonesian women was observed between the years 2007 and 2017. Mothers from urban areas tended to receive more C-sections than mothers from rural areas (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.49). More educated mothers were more likely (aOR = 3.373) to receive C-sections than mothers without formal education. Mothers from wealthy family backgrounds were more (aOR = 1.97) likely to receive C-sections than mothers from low-income families. Antenatal care (ANC) visits were significantly positively associated with receiving C-sections; mothers with more than four ANC visits (aOR = 4.54) tended to receive more C-sections than mothers with no ANC visits. For first births, mothers over 25 years of age were more likely (aOR = 2.07) to receive C-sections than mothers less than 18 years of age. Conclusion The percentage of C-sections has alarmingly increased. Thus, authorities in Indonesia should consider these findings and take necessary steps to decrease C-sections. The results of this study should help policymakers formulate appropriate policies that will encourage regular delivery where most appropriate.

Introduction This study aimed to investigate the associated factors and changes in childhood vaccination coverage over time in Bangladesh. Methods Bangladesh’s Demographic and Health Surveys from 2011, 2014, and 2017-18 provided data for this study on vaccination coverage among children aged 12 to 35 months. For three survey periods, multilevel binary logistic regression models were employed. Results The overall prevalence (weighted) of full vaccination among children aged 12–35 months were 86.17% in 2011, 85.13% in 2014, and 89.23% in 2017-18. Children from families with high wealth index, mothers with higher education, and over the age of 24 and who sought at least four ANC visits, as well as children from urban areas were more likely to receive full vaccination. Rangpur division had the highest change rate of vaccination coverage from 2011 to 2014 (2.26%), whereas Sylhet division had the highest change rate from 2014 to 2017-18 (34.34%). Conclusion To improve immunization coverage for Bangladeshi children, policymakers must integrate vaccine programs, paying special attention to mothers without at least a high school education and families with low wealth index. Increased antenatal care visits may also aid in increasing the immunization coverage of their children.

Problematic use of Internet (PUI) and problematic use of Facebook (PUF) has been linked to escalating behavioral health issues among university students and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study estimated the prevalence of and explored associated factors for PUI and PUF among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken among 1101 Bangladeshi university students between November and December 2020. The Internet Addiction Test and Facebook Addiction Scale were used to assess PIU and PUF, respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounders. Among the participants, PUI and PUF were found in 39.3% and 37.1%, respectively. The multiple linear regression model indicated PUI was significantly associated with participants residing in a village, arts majors, those unsatisfied with their major, having mediocre parental relationships, failure in romantic relationships, physical comorbidities, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, using social media, and downloading movies/TV series. PUF was significantly associated with village residence, lower income, arts majors, failure in romantic relationships, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, and downloading movies/TV series. Both PUI and PUF have been prevalent among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal & exploratory studies are warranted in the future to identify causal factors for PUI and PUF and appropriate interventions should be designed quickly for this population.

COVID-19 is one of the most life-threatening and dangerous diseases caused by the novel Coronavirus, which has already afflicted a larger human community worldwide. This pandemic disease recovery is possible if detected in the early stage. We proposed an automated deep learning approach from Computed Tomography (CT) scan images to detect COVID-19 positive patients by following a four-phase paradigm for COVID-19 detection: preprocess the CT scan images; remove noise from test image by using anisotropic diffusion techniques; make a different segment for the preprocessed images; and train and test COVID-19 detection using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models. This study employed well-known pre-trained models, including AlexNet, ResNet50, VGG16 and VGG19 to evaluate experiments. 80% of images are used to train the network in the detection process, while the remaining 20% are used to test it. The result of the experiment evaluation confirmed that the VGG19 pre-trained CNN model achieved better accuracy (98.06%). We used 4861 real-life COVID-19 CT images for experiment purposes, including 3068 positive and 1793 negative images. These images were acquired from a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil and two other different data sources. Our proposed method revealed very high accuracy and, therefore, can be used as an assistant to help professionals detect COVID-19 patients accurately.

Background Much scholarly debate has centered on Bangladesh's family planning program (FPP) in lowering the country's fertility rate. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of using modern and traditional contraceptive methods and to determine the factors that explain the contraceptive methods use. Methods The study used data from the 2017–18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), which included 11,452 (weighted) women aged 15–49 years in the analysis. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with the contraceptive method use. Results The prevalence of using modern contraceptive methods was 72.16%, while 14.58% of women used traditional methods in Bangladesh. In comparison to women in the 15–24 years age group, older women (35–49 years) were more unwilling to use modern contraceptive methods (RRR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.21–0.37). Women who had at least a living child were more likely to use both traditional and modern contraceptive methods (RRR: 4.37, 95% CI: 3.12–6.11). Similarly, given birth in the previous 5 years influenced women 2.41 times more to use modern method compared to those who had not given birth (RRR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.65–3.52). Husbands'/partners’ decision for using/not using contraception were positively associated with the use of both traditional (RRR: 4.49, 95% CI: 3.04–6.63) and modern methods (RRR: 3.01, 95% CI: 2.15–4.17) rather than using no method. This study suggests rural participants were 21% less likely to utilize modern methods than urban participants (RRR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.67–0.94). Conclusion Bangladesh remains a focus for contraceptive use, as it is one of the most populous countries in South Asia. To lower the fertility rate, policymakers may design interventions to improve awareness especially targeting uneducated, and rural reproductive women in Bangladesh. The study also highlights the importance of male partners’ decision-making regarding women's contraceptive use.

The present study has focused on the detailed dilatometric and electron microscopic analysis of the formation of austenite and its decomposition in two Cerium (Ce) modified steels containing 0.6 and 0.03 wt pct Ce. Despite a long incubation time, the austenite formation is very fast in the high-Ce steel (0.6 wt pct Ce) during heating. Whereas, the low-Ce steel (0.03 wt pct Ce) promotes early nucleation of austenite but shows a significant delay in the completion of the transformation. Similar trend has been observed for the decomposition of austenite during cooling; the low-Ce steel shows early start of transformation with a sluggish kinetics. The role of Ce on the overall transformation kinetics of austenite during the heating–cooling cycle has been investigated and discussed from thermodynamic viewpoint and nucleation probability. Engineering stress–strain curves have shown a better combination of strength and ductility in the low-Ce steel compared to the high-Ce one. Coarse and spherical Ce2O3 particles (average dia. ~ 4 µm) in grain interior along with the brittle and grain boundary elongated Ce-C/Ce-Fe intermetallic phases (length ~ 8 µm and width ~ 3 µm) are responsible for the lower strain hardening as well as an early failure of the high-Ce steel. Finally, the microstructure-tensile property correlation has been established using chemical composition and fractographic analysis.

In this paper, the effect of two options (first option: fluidized bed drying (120–160 °C) + sun drying; second option: fluidized bed drying (120–160 °C) + again fluidized bed drying (65 ± 2 °C)) of two-stage drying on kinetics, energy consumption, quality of dried maize as color, nutritional properties, and hardness was evaluated to assess the drying performance. First stage drying for both options was executed by FBD at 7.0 cm bed thickness within the temperature range of 120–160 °C for 1.5–4 min. Then, the samples were tempered for 45 min in a closed container after completion of first stage drying. Second stage drying was then done by sun drying method (temperature: 33–36°C, RH: 52–65%, air velocity 0.4–0.6 m/s) for first option while for second option, it was accomplished again by FBD (65 ± 2°C). Drying time was shorter in the case of second option (2.23 h) than first option (4.98 h). Effective moisture diffusivity was found higher in both options of two-stage drying (10.5 × 10−09 m2/s to 63 × 10−09 m2/s) than control drying. Specific energy consumption was lower in first option compared to second option. Color of dried maize in two-stage options deteriorated markedly. However, nutritional qualities of dried grain for two-stage drying technique were similar to control sample. Hardness of the two-stage dried maize was lesser than control product. The two-stage drying options of maize drying instead of conventional sun drying method can be considered an alternative drying technique for the commercial maize drying industries.

Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is crucial for mothers as well as children’s health, and also has the potential to prevent neonatal mortality. Thus, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with EIBF among mothers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2019, based on a sample of 422 mothers of children aged under 6 months. Data were collected by in-person interviews from a hospital’s outdoor through a structured questionnaire consisted of demographic, reproductive, and healthcare utilization information. Association between variables was assessed by multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of EIBF among mothers was 48.3% [95% CI: 43.4–53.3]. Multiple logistic regression showed that being a housewife, having family income of > 10,000 BDT (Bangladeshi currency) per month, mothers education level, being multiparous, normal delivery, ANC (antenatal care) visits for ≥ 3 times, counseling prior to conception, and skin-to-skin contact after delivery significantly increased the likelihood of EIBF among mothers. Besides, mothers who gave birth to low-weight babies and provided pre-lacteal feeds to them were negatively associated with EIBF. EIBF has improved in Bangladesh during MDG era, but progress still remains slower. Key modifiable factors such as maternal education, normal delivery, ANC visits, skin-to-skin contact, and pre-lacteal feeding need to be improved to enhance the EIBF for reducing child malnutrition and mortality.

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death among under five children in developing countries. The burden of child diarrhea in Bangladesh is still significant. Safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) can limit the events. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of WASH education of mothers or caregivers on child diarrhea. A community-based randomized control trial was conducted in the selected households of a rural community in Dumki Upazila, Patuakhali from March–June 2019. A total of 202 mothers/caregivers received intervention and 202 did not receive intervention. A pre-structured questionnaire was used to gather information on household WASH activities and diarrheal cases. Baseline data were collected first from the intervention group before providing education. WASH messages were given to the intervention group by face-to-face discussion. Both groups were followed up for diarrheal episodes for 3 months. Diarrheal prevalence of intervening group is compared with that of baseline and control. The results revealed that diarrheal prevalence was 11.4% (95% CI: 7.4–16.59%), 4.0% (95% CI: 1.7–7.65%), and 14.9% (95% CI: 10.25–20.52%) in baseline, intervention, and control group, respectively. Also, diarrhea was found lower in the intervention group than baseline (Z = − 2.524; P value = 0.012) and control (Z = − 1.85; P value = 0.04). WASH interventions were found effective to reduce the diarrheal episodes among under five children in rural community. Further investigation is necessary to assess the long-term effect of such intervention in other similar settings.

In Bangladesh, 36% of children under the age of 5 are moderately or severely stunted, impeding the country’s overall public health outcomes. Some differences have been found in the associations of risk factors and two forms of stunting; therefore, investigating why these differences exist is necessary. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for moderate and severe stunting in Bangladeshi children < 5 years old. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014 (BDHS 2014) data were analyzed in this study; the information of 7131 mother-child pairs was available. Height-for-age z-scores (HFAz) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 growth standards were used to define moderate (HFAz

The present study investigates the orientation dependence of deformation-induced martensite (DIM) transformation in carbide-free bainitic steel using experimental macrotexture analysis and crystal plasticity-based modelling. The results indicate that the P {110}〈122〉 component of retained austenite preferentially undergoes DIM transformation during uniaxial tensile deformation at room temperature. It is also found that the P component of retained austenite possesses the lowest Schmid factor value compared with other possible texture components. The lowest Schmid factor value of the P component results in the highest resolved shear stress value for its slipping. As a result, during plastic deformation when most of the initial components of the retained austenite reorient themselves to other relatively stable orientations, the P component remains almost unaffected. Accumulation of stress concentration thus increases along this component, which eventually leads to its deformation-induced transformation to martensite.

Conventional copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS)-based solar cells offer higher efficiency than other second-generation technologies such as hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)- or cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based solar cells, but higher manufacturing cost due to the use of the rare metals indium and gallium. The purpose of the work presented herein is to improve the efficiency of such devices by using cheaper materials. Accordingly, a back-surface field layer made of low-cost and widely available barium silicide (BaSi2) with a thickness of 0.3 µm is introduced for the first time into the basic CIGS solar cell structure consisting of Al/ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo, resulting in the alternative structure of Al/FTO/CdS/CIGS/BaSi2/Mo, with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) as the window layer. One-dimensional simulations of the solar cell capacitance are employed to study the photovoltaic parameters such as the power conversion efficiency, short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and quantum efficiency of the devices. The thickness of the CIGS absorber layer is varied from 0.1 to 3 µm to optimize the device. Besides, the effects of the acceptor ion and bulk defect densities in the CIGS absorber layer, cell resistances, and operating temperature on the overall performance are also investigated. The proposed structure offers an efficiency of 26.24% with a thin CIGS layer of only 0.8 µm. In addition to reduced CIGS thickness and cost, the presented approach results in CIGS solar cells with enhanced performance compared with previously reported conventional designs.

The widespread hillslope failures largely depend on the degree of weathering. Different weathering processes, especially chemical weathering, are the consequence of the variation of climatic factors, e.g., temperature and precipitation. The present study describes the various chemical and mineralogical properties of bedrock and soil samples from granite and granodiorite landslide areas under continental temperate, temperate and subtropical climate regions in central to southwestern Japan. The XRD and SEM–EDS analyses were carried out for mineralogical and chemical analyses. It is evident that bedrock samples contain quartz, k-feldspar, plagioclase, biotite and amphibole, whereas the slip surface and the upper surface soil samples are enriched with kaolin minerals, mica clay minerals and vermiculite or 14 A intergrade minerals. Mobile elements showed decreasing values, whereas immobile elements showed increasing values with progressive weathering due to leaching (dissolution of cations) in all studied areas. The analysis of weathering indices indicated weathering progress in the order from bedrock, slip surface and upper surface soil. The relationship of mean annual air temperature and precipitation for 30 years (1981–2010) with CIA and Si–Al ratio indices showed that CIA values increased and Si–Al ratio decreased with increasing temperature whereas, precipitation did not follow that identical trend. Therefore, temperature is the key factor for chemical weathering in all cases and is more prominent on granodiorite areas than granite areas.

In Bangladesh, there are an estimated 1.5 million children who are forced to live and/or work on the streets. These children are commonly referred to as street-connected children, children in street situations, or street children. The present article draws on findings related to Bangladeshi street children’s income-generating activities (IGAs) in the informal economy, from a larger qualitative study, in which 75 street children participated in in-depth interviews. The authors explored street children’s experiences of human rights violations while working in the informal economy and the nature of their employment including employment-related risks, abuse, and exploitation. The following questions were considered: what types of jobs did street children secure?; what were the risks involved in these jobs?; and what types of human rights abuses and exploitation did children encounter in these jobs? Findings indicated that the IGAs most available to street children were “3-D” jobs (dirty, dangerous, and demanding), which placed children at greater risk for abuse, including sexual abuse, and exploitation, while the conditions faced by street children involved in IGAs violated their human rights on a daily basis. In order to protect these vulnerable children, policy and program interventions are urgently needed, as well as the strict enforcement of human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Globally, malnutrition in mother–child pairs is steadily diminishing. However, the coexistence of different forms of double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is rising worldwide, including Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore the coexistence of different forms of DBM and their associated factors in the same household level for Bangladesh. The study utilized the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2014 dataset. Chi-square test of association was conducted to identify the significant factors for various forms of DBM. For the measurement of adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, multivariate logistic regression (MLR) analysis was performed. In this study, the overall prevalence of DBM was 5.8% as several sociodemographic and economic factors correlate and contribute to this burden. Results of MLR analyses showed that potential factors with increasing DBM were: poor wealth stratum, use of unhygienic toilet, mother's age in years, child delivery procedure, child's birth order, and father’s education. The prevalence of DBM is still high in Bangladesh, based on different associated sociodemographic factors. Public health stakeholders in Bangladesh should address these factors and implement appropriate interventions with regard to minimizing the DBM.

Heart disease, alternatively known as cardiovascular disease, is the primary basis of death worldwide over the past few decades. To make an early diagnosis, a data-driven prediction model considering the associate risk factors in heart disease can play a significant role in healthcare domain. However, to build such an effective model based on machine learning techniques, the quality of the data, e.g., data without “anomalies” or outliers, is important. This research investigates anomaly detection in the healthcare domain to effectively predict heart disease using unsupervised K-means clustering algorithm. Our proposed model first determines an optimal value of K using the Silhouette method to form the clusters for finding the anomalies. After that, we eliminate the identified anomalies from the data and employ the five most popular machine learning classification techniques, such as K-nearest neighbor, random forest, support vector machine, naive Bayes, and logistic regression to build the resultant prediction model. The efficacy of the proposed methodology is justified using a standard heart disease dataset. We also take into account the data plotting to test the exactness of the detection of anomalies in our experimental analysis.