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BACKGROUND: Poor immune function increases childrens risk of infection and mortality. Several maternal factors during pregnancy may affect infant immune function during the postnatal period. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate whether maternal micronutrients, stress, estriol, and immune status during the first or second trimester of pregnancy were associated with child immune status in the first two years after birth. METHODS: We conducted observational analyses within the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) Benefits Bangladesh randomized controlled trial. We measured biomarkers in 575 pregnant women and postnatally in their children. Maternal biomarkers measured during the first and second trimester of pregnancy included nutrition status via vitamin D (25-hydroxy-D [25(OH)D]), ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and retinol-binding protein (RBP); cortisol; estriol. Immune markers were assessed in pregnant women at enrollment and their children at ages 14 and 28 mo, including C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), and 13 cytokines (including IFN-γ). We generated a standardized sum score of log-transformed cytokines. We analyzed IFN-γ individually because it is a critical immunoregulatory cytokine. All outcomes were prespecified. We used generalized additive models and reported the mean difference and 95% confidence intervals at the 25th and 75th percentiles of exposure distribution. RESULTS: At child age 14 mo, concentrations of maternal RBP were inversely associated with the cytokine sum score in children (-0.34 adjusted difference between the 25th and 75th percentile [95% confidence interval -0.61, -0.07]), and maternal vitamin A deficiency was positively associated with the cytokine sum score in children (1.02 [0.13, 1.91]). At child age of 28 mo, maternal RBP was positively associated with IFN-γ in children (0.07 [0.01, 0.14]), whereas maternal vitamin A deficiency was negatively associated with child AGP (-0.07 [-0.13, -0.02]). Maternal iron deficiency was associated with higher AGP concentrations in children at age 14 mo (0.13 [0.04, 0.23]), and maternal sTfR concentrations were positively associated with child CRP concentrations at age 28 mo (0.18 [0, 0.36]). CONCLUSION: Maternal deficiencies in vitamin A or iron during the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy may shape the trajectory of a childs immune status.

Following COVID-19, the global educational landscape shifted dramatically. Almost every educational institute in Bangladesh undertook a strategic move to begin offering online or blended learning courses to mitigate the challenges created by the pandemic. The TVET sector, particularly the polytechnic institute of Bangladesh, endeavored to explore the blended learning approach as an immediate and long-term solution to address the educational dislocation caused by the pandemic. This study attempts to conceptualize a pedagogical design based on the ADDIE and rapid prototyping model to make a reliable and robust instructional design to be used in the blended learning context. A content validity index (CVI) was used to validate the proposed model; a technology acceptance model (TAM) was employed to examine its acceptability to students; and finally, students' academic performances were analysed to evaluate the overall performance of the proposed instructional design. The findings reveal that the proposed instructional design can be a reliable and valid pedagogical approach to be implemented in the blended learning context for polytechnic students. The proposed instructional design may help TVET educators and course designers to create a robust blended learning environment in the TVET sector and in other similar disciplines, such as science and engineering education.

The prime objectives of this study were to unveil the level of anxiety and the sources of English language anxiety of the tertiary level students of Bangladesh. Through a questionnaire survey using Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. (1986), the study found that most of the tertiary level learners have high anxiety of English as a foreign language. Based on an exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis and varimax rotation (Kaiser Normalization), a four-factor (communication anxiety, comprehension and test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and lack of anxiety) solution emerged. Following a close analysis of the EFA and other established valid models, the study found that six components, namely, speaking anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, peer pressure/social-image anxiety, comprehension-related anxiety, negative attitude towards class, and test anxiety were the main sources of anxiety, which need to be addressed for alleviating the anxiety of the students.

Technological innovations and changing learning environments are influencing student engagement more than ever before. These changing learning environments are affecting the constructs of student behavioural engagement in the online environment and require scrutiny to determine how to facilitate better student learning outcomes. Specifically, recent literature is lacking in providing insights into how students engage and interact with online content in the self-regulated environment, considering the absence of direct teacher support. This paper investigates how instructional design, informed by the factors relating to behavioural engagement, can influence the student-content interaction process within the fabric of inquiry-based learning activities. Two online learning modules on introductory science topics were developed to facilitate students' independent study in an asynchronous online environment. The study revealed that students showed a high commitment to engaging and completing the tasks that required less manipulative and pro-active effort during the learning process. The findings also revealed that instructional guidance significantly improved the behavioural engagement for student groups with prior learning experience in science simulations and technology skills. This study highlights several issues concerning student engagement in a self-regulated online learning environment and offers possible suggestions for improvement. The findings might contribute to informing the practice of teachers and educators in developing online science modules applicable to inquiry-based learning.