Millions of children and others across the world are being dangerously exposed to tobacco smoke and toxins in their own homes. Whilst there is limited interest in laws and interventions controlling ...tobacco use in public places in Bangladesh, no attention has been given to preventing tobacco-use inside homes. This study explores the familial and socio-cultural factors that provide obstacles for ensuring tobacco-free homes in Bangladesh.
A mixed-method design was adopted and from among the 1,436 tobacco users identified in a population of 11,853, 400 (tobacco users) were selected for cross-sectional survey. This survey involved a probability proportional sampling procedure, and 24 In-Depth Interviews. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to explore the association of familial and socio-cultural factors with tobacco-use at home adjusted by other demographic characteristics. Thematic content analysis was done on the qualitative data, and then inferences were drawn out collectively.
This study revealed that the prevalence of tobacco-use in the home was 25.7% in urban residential areas in Bangladesh. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that familial and socio-cultural factors were significantly associated with tobacco-use at home: marital status (OR 3.23, 95% CI: 1.37-6.61), education (OR 2.14, 95% CI: 1.15-3.99), smoking habits of older family members (OR 1.81 95% CI: 0.91-2.89), tobacco being offered as hospitality and for entertainment (OR 1.85, 95% CI: .94-2.95) and lack of religiosity practice (OR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.27-4.54). Qualitative findings indicated that social customs, lack of religious practice, tobacco-use of older family members, and lack of family guidance were key obstacles for enabling tobacco-free homes in urban areas.
Use of tobacco at home is continuing as part of established familial and socio-cultural traditions. If tobacco-use at home is not addressed seriously by the authorities then the emerging threat of second-hand smoke exposure and harmful consequences of tobacco- use will be exacerbated.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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•Fabrication of ultrathin heterostructures of Al2O3/TiO2 by atomic layer deposition.•Blue shift in optical bandgap indicates presence of quantizing effect.•Designing new materials ...with tunable refractive index and bandgap combinations.
Atomically thin heterostructures and superlattices are promising candidates for various optoelectronic and photonic applications. Different combinations of Al2O3/TiO2 composites are obtained by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). Their growth, composition, dispersion relation, and optical bandgap are systematically studied by means of UV/VIS spectrophotometry, spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), x-ray reflectometry (XRR), scanning transmission electron microscopy(STEM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Besides, an effective medium approximation (EMA) approach is applied to model the heterostructures theoretically. The refractive index and the indirect bandgap of the heterostructures depend on the ratio of the two oxides, while the bandgap is very sensitive to the thicknesses of the barrier and quantum well layers. A large blue shift of the absorption edge from 400 nm to 320 nm is obtained by changing the TiO2 (quantum well) thickness from ~2 nm to ~0.1 nm separated by ~2 nm of Al2O3 (barrier) layers. PEALD unfolds the possibility of achieving optical quantizing effects within complex heterostructures enabling control of their structures down to atomic scale. It enables a path towards atomic scale processing of new ‘artificial’ materials with desired refractive indices and bandgap combinations by precise control of their compositions.
ObjectiveThis study is concerned with helping to improve the health and care of newborn babies in Bangladesh by exploring adverse maternal circumstances and assessing whether these are contributing ...towards low birth weight (LBW) in neonates.Study designs and settingsData were drawn and analysed from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014. Any association between LBW and adverse maternal circumstances were assessed using a Chi-square test with determinants of LBW identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis.ParticipantsThe study is based on 4728 children aged below 5 years and born to women from selected households.ResultsThe rate of LBW was around 19.9% (199 per 1000 live births) with the highest level found in the Sylhet region (26.2%). The rate was even higher in rural areas (20.8%) and among illiterate mothers (26.6%). Several adverse maternal circumstances of the women included in the survey were found to be significant for increasing the likelihood of giving birth to LBW babies. These circumstances included the women being underweight (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.26, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.49); having unwanted births (AOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.44); had previous pregnancies terminated (AOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.57); were victims of intimate partner violence (AOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.45) and taking antenatal care <4 times (AOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.48). Other important risk factors that were revealed included age at birth <18 years (AOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.83) and intervals between the number of births <24 months (AOR 1.25, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.55). When taking multiple fertility behaviours together such as, the ages of the women at birth (<18 years with interval <24 months (AOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.57) and birth order (>3 with interval <24 months (AOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.37), then the risk of having LBW babies significantly increased.ConclusionThis study finds that adverse maternal circumstances combined with high-risk fertility behaviours are significantly associated with LBW in neonates. This situation could severely impede progress in Bangladesh towards achieving the sustainable development goal concerned with the healthcare of newborns.
This study aims to examine transnational belonging among Bangladeshi migrants in South Korea. The results showed that Bangladeshi migrants in South Korea have strong transnational belonging to their ...homeland. The highest degrees of transnational belonging were found to be a motherhood-like relationship with their homeland, in the category of autographical belonging; talking in their native language and eating traditional food in the area of cultural originality belonging; watching Bangladeshi television in cultural entertainment belonging; taking care of families who stay in the homeland in economic livelihood belonging; saving money for future wellbeing in economic financial belonging; feeling proud of being a Bangladeshi citizen in legal psychological belonging; and feeling secure as a Bangladeshi citizen in legal safety and security belonging. Transnational belonging to the homeland varies more by present occupation, visa status, and reason for migration, while labor migrants who hold E9 visas and migrants who migrated for economic reasons showed stronger transnational economic livelihood belonging and economic finance belonging. This study suggests subsequent studies to compare transnational belonging of various migrant groups through sampling based on socio-demographic factors. KCI Citation Count: 0
Pediatric acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is one of the most curable subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia of childhood. But it may have many early complications, especially in developing countries. ...This study aims to describe the outcome and complications of pediatric APL patients in Bangladesh. This prospective observational study was conducted in the pediatric hematology and oncology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from September 2017 to March 2019. In this study, PML:RAR-α (Promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor-α) positive APL cases were included and observed while being treated with risk-directed ATRA (All-trans-retinoic acid) based chemotherapy. Among twenty PML:RAR-α positive APL cases, 13 children were in the high risk group and hemorrhagic manifestations were present in 95% of patients. Post-induction remission was achieved in 85% of the patients. 3-year overall survival was 70% (45-85% with 95% confidence interval). There was no refractory disease or relapses. Neutropenic sepsis was the most common complication and also the most common cause of mortality. In Bangladesh, the 3-year overall survival of pediatric APL is 70% (45-85% with 95% CI). Post-chemotherapy neutropenic sepsis is the most common complication and also the most common cause of mortality in this potentially curable malignancy in Bangladesh.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
ObjectivesChildren, pregnant women and the elderly at a global level are all being dangerously exposed to tobacco use in the household (HH). However, there is no understanding of the familial and ...socio-cultural factors that provide barriers to ensuring tobacco-free homes in Bangladesh either in urban or rural areas (U&RAs). This study therefore investigates those barriers to help enable a move towards tobacco-free homes in Bangladesh.DesignComparative cross-sectional study.SettingsData were collected from both urban and rural settings in Bangladesh.ParticipantsA probability proportional sampling procedure was used to select 808 participants in U&RAs out of a total of 3715 tobacco users. Semi-structured interviews through the use of a questionnaire were conducted with the participants followed by a multivariate logistic regression analysis of the data in order to explore the familial and socio-cultural factors associated with tobacco use at home.ResultsThe prevalence of tobacco use at home was 25.7% in urban areas and 47.6% in rural areas. In urban areas: marital status (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.23, 95% CI 1.37 to 6.61), education (AOR=2.14, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.99), the smoking habits of elderly family members (AOR=1.81, 95% CI 0.91 to 2.89), offering tobacco as a traditional form of leisure activity at home (AOR=1.85, 95% CI 0.94 to 2.95) and lack of religious practices (AOR=2.39, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.54) were identified as significant socio-cultural predictors associated with tobacco use at home. In rural areas: age (AOR=5.11, 95% CI 2.03 to 12.83), extended family (AOR=3.08, 95% CI 1.28 to 7.38), lack of religious practices (AOR=4.23, 95% CI 2.32 to 7.72), using children to buy or carry tobacco (AOR=3.33, 95% CI 1.11 to 9.99), lack of family guidance (AOR=4.27, 95% CI 2.45 to 7.42) and offering tobacco as a traditional form of leisure activity at home (AOR=3.81, 95% CI 2.23 to 6.47) were identified as significant determinants for tobacco use at home.ConclusionThis study concludes that socio-cultural traditions and familial norms in Bangladesh provide significant barriers for enabling tobacco-free homes. The identification of these barriers can aid policymakers and programme planners in Bangladesh in devising appropriate measures to mitigate the deadly consequences of tobacco use in the home. The consequences also include the dangers involved in family members being exposed to secondhand smoke.
The study aimed to investigate parental knowledge of tobacco effects on health and parental perceptions on tobacco control measures at households in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Out of 1436 tobacco-using ...parents, a total of 400 participants were selected for the cross-sectional survey using a multi-stage probability sampling. Overall knowledge and perceptions of parents were scored. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were performed. There were 19.8% of parents who had good knowledge about health effects of tobacco and 40.8% had positive perception on home initiatives of tobacco control measures respectively. The study revealed that knowledge of overall tobacco effects on health (AOR = 20.92, 95% CI = 2.60-167.83), asthma (AOR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.17-0.49), infertility (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.24-0.77) and pre-eclampsia (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.14-0.90) were significantly increased the odds of parents good knowledge. Whereas parental perceptions indicate that living in the joint family was positively associated with controlling tobacco use (AOR = 3.10, 95% CI = 1.88-5.13). It suggests that health education programs need to be developed to improve parental awareness on the adverse health effects of tobacco use at households.
Background
Recently, medicinal plants have grabbed attention worldwide in the field of neurosciences for therapeutic intervention. Traditionally,
Ceriscoides turgida
is used to treat scorpion string, ...epilepsy, stomachache etc. Present study was designed to peruse neuropharmacological properties of leaf and root extract of
C. turgida
.
Methods
The neuropharmacological activities were examined by thiopental sodium induced sleeping time, hole cross, hole board and open field tests in mice at the doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg body weight.
Results
All the extracts exhibited significant reduction of onset and duration of sleep in thiopental sodium induced sleeping time test. Besides, significant reduction of spontaneous locomotor and exploratory activities was found in both hole cross and open field test. Furthermore, both extracts also decreased the number of head dips by mice in hole-board test.
Conclusion
Altogether, these results suggest that experimental extracts of
C. turgida
possesses potent CNS depressant and hypnotic properties, which support its use in traditional medicine.
The distal femurs of 100 subjects (50 men, 50 women) from the Malay population aged between 19 and 38 years were scanned to measure the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) width. The mean ...AP values were 64.02 ± 3.38 mm and 57.33 ± 3.26 mm for men and women, respectively, and the mean ML values were 74.91 ± 3.52 mm and 64.53 ± 3.07 mm. We compared our data to that published previously for the Chinese and Indian populations. It was found that the Malay population had smaller distal femur than that of the Chinese but was larger than that of the Indian population (P < 0.05). In conclusion, although it is well established that Asians have a smaller distal femur size than that of the Western population, the variations in different Asian ethnicities may need to be considered when designing the appropriate knee implant.
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