The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden has frequently been changing over time due to epidemiological and demographic transitions. To safeguard people, particularly women of reproductive age, ...who can be exposed to transmitting this burden to the next generation, knowledge regarding this life-threatening virus needs to be increased. This research intends to identify the trends and associated correlates of "low" HIV knowledge among ever-married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh from 1996 to 2014.
We analyzed data derived from six surveys of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2011, and 2014. Analyses were primarily restricted to ever-married women aged 15-49 years who had ever heard of HIV. The correlates of "low" HIV knowledge were investigated using multiple binary logistic regression models.
The study found that the proportion of women with "low" HIV knowledge decreased from 72% in 1996 to 58% in 2014. In adjusted models, age at first marriage, level of education, wealth quintile, and place of residence (except in the survey year 2011) were found to be potential correlates of "low" HIV knowledge in all survey years. In the pooled analysis, we found lower odds of "low" HIV knowledge in the survey years 1999 (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.78), 2004 (AOR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.70), 2007 (AOR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.60), 2011 (AOR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.42) and 2014 (AOR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.54) compared to the survey year 1996.
The proportion of "low" HIV knowledge has declined over time, although the proportion of women with "low" HIV knowledge still remains high. The prevention of early marriage, the inclusion of HIV-related topics in the curricula, reduction of disparities between urban-rural and the poorest-richest groups may help to improve the level of HIV knowledge among ever-married Bangladeshi women.
Monotonous and sedentary work is significantly associated with the worst health of workers. There is a scarcity of data investigating the musculoskeletal health of sedentary workers working in ...low-income and middle-income settings. This study aimed to measure the prevalence and predictors of musculoskeletal health complaints (MHC) among Bangladeshi shopkeepers.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data from 1553 Bangladeshi shopkeepers aged 18 years and above were analyzed. MHC was measured using the musculoskeletal subscale of the subjective health complaints scale. The descriptive analysis helped to compute MHC prevalence and compare the prevalence across groups. Regression analysis revealed the predictors of MHC for the shopkeepers.
The prevalence of MHC among shopkeepers was 58.0%. The prevalence of low back pain was the highest (55.5%), followed by neck pain (48.0%) and upper back pain (43.5%). Regression analysis identified sex (aOR 1.301, CI 0.996 to 1.700), age (aOR 1.405, CI 1.047 to 1.886), body mass index (aOR 0.495, CI 0.397 to 0.617), and substance abuse (aOR 1.998, CI 1.136 to 3.514) as independent predictors of MHC among the shopkeepers. Furthermore, significantly higher odds of MHC have been found among tobacco users (OR 1.234, CI 1.009 to 1.510).
This study revealed a high prevalence of MHC and unhealthy lifestyles among shopkeepers in Bangladesh. Shopkeepers should be provided with better health literacy to follow healthy lifestyles and prevent MHC among this cohort.
In this paper, a circular core shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed and the optical propagation characteristics are investigated and simulated by applying the finite element method (FEM) ...with the help of COMSOL Multiphysics software. The cladding of this PCF is composed of fused silica including a large center air-hole. The simulation process is performed within 1000–2000 nm wavelength. The raised PCF supports up to 38 OAM modes with larger bandwidth (1000 nm) as well as flat dispersion variations. The refractive index difference can exceed
10
-
4
for each OAM mode. The confinement loss of this PCF remains low approximately around
10
-
9
to
10
-
8
dB/m, comparatively better the nonlinearity, the numerical aperture, and the dispersion variation evolves into smoother. So, all these optimizing optical properties prove that our designed PCF is a promising candidate for the OAM mode transmission and other relevant optical communications.
The ready-made garment (RMG) sector is a significant contributor to the economic growth of Bangladesh, accounting for 10% of the country's GDP and more than 80% of its foreign exchange earnings. The ...workforce in this sector is predominantly made up of women, with 2.5 million women working in the industry. However, these women face numerous challenges in carrying out their culturally-expected household responsibilities, including childcare, due to severe resource constraints. As a result, the children of these working women have a higher incidence of malnutrition, particularly stunted growth. This study aims to identify the factors that contribute to stunting in children under the age of five whose mothers work in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.
The study collected data from 267 female RMG workers in the Gazipur district of Bangladesh using a simple random sampling technique. Chi-square tests were used to determine the associations between the factors influencing child stunting, and Multinomial Logit Models were used to estimate the prevalence of these factors.
The study found that the prevalence of moderate and severe stunting among the children of RMG workers living in the Gazipur RMG hub was 19% and 20%, respectively. The study identified several significant predictors of child stunting, including the mother's education level, nutritional knowledge, control over resources, receipt of antenatal care, household size, sanitation facilities, and childbirth weight. The study found that improving the mother's education level, increasing household size, and receiving antenatal care during pregnancy were important factors in reducing the likelihood of child stunting. For example, if a mother's education level increased from no education to primary or secondary level, the child would be 0.211 (0.071-0.627) and 0.384 (0.138-1.065) times more likely to have a normal weight and height, respectively, than to be moderately stunted.
The study highlights the challenges faced by working women in the RMG sector, who often receive minimal wages and have limited access to antenatal care services. To address these challenges, the study recommends policies that support antenatal care for working-class mothers, provide daycare facilities for their children, and implement a comprehensive social safety net program that targets child nutrition. Improving the socioeconomic status of mothers is also critical to reducing child malnutrition in this population.
In this letter, a hollow core ring based circular photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is explored and proposed with stably supporting terahertz (THz) orbital angular momentum (OAM) states transmission. The ...proposed PCF is discussed, investigated, analyzed and simulated with optical properties in a terahertz frequency spectrum ranging from 0.20 THz to 0.55 THz. The OAM and THz communication-based parameters of the fiber are deliberated extensively under various conditions through using the full vector finite element method (FEM). Some significant parameters of PCF like effective refractive index difference, dispersion profile, confinement loss, effective mode area, numerical aperture, power fraction and isolation effects are numerically discussed for the first time with their effects and applications on the THz OAM transmission. The mentioned PCF has supported 48 OAM modes with a large effective refractive index difference up to 10−3. The confinement loss of the PCF around 10−10 dB/cm, and the average dispersion profile variation is 1.0055 ps/THz/cm. Besides, the highest numerical aperture and power fraction of the PCF are 0.35 and 99.7882%, respectively. Also, a higher isolation power effect around 267 dB, and crosstalk less than −14 dB are obtained for the PCF. Moreover, this kind of PCF would be a robust candidate for efficient THz OAM transmission, high capacity and high feasibility of optical fiber communications.
•A hollow core ring based C-PCF is explored and proposed with stably supporting THz OAM.•Some significant parameters of PCF discussed for the first time with their effects and applications.•The mentioned PCF has supported 48 OAM modes with a large RI index difference up to 10−3 .•The confinement loss of the PCF around 10−10 dB/cm.•The average dispersion profile variation is 1.0055 ps/THz/cm.•A higher isolation power effect around 267 dB, and crosstalk less than −14 dB are obtained.
In this paper, a novel design, photonic crystal fiber (PCF) has been reported to support more orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes for the first time. The cladding region formed by employing the ...three-layer chain shaped air cavities. The OAM properties and parameters are calculated by optimizing the design of the PCF. The simulation results can support 26 OAM modes with a wider bandwidth (750 nm). The confinement loss of the most OAM modes is below average 10
−7
dB/m and the nonlinear coefficient is less than 4 W
−1
/km. Some OAM modes with comparatively flat dispersion variation (such as 3.8684 ps/km-nm) for HE
2,1
are noticed from the design. Moreover, fundamental optical characteristics have been rigorously computed by utilizing the finite element method. Now, it can be anticipated that, these excellent optical characteristics confirm the introduced design as a prominent candidate for the OAM transmission and other relevant areas of optical communications.
In this letter, two novel hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are proposed, simulated, and analyzed. The PCFs stably support Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) transmission. These PCFs are ...theoretically and systematically investigated, discussed, and compared their properties, structures, and parameters. Besides, an effect of core size and pattern of air holes on OAM parameters is investigated with these two PCFs. The proposed PCFs support up to 38 OAM states with 1,200 nm bandwidth ranging from 800 nm to 2,000 nm with a large effective refractive index difference of above 10−4. The average confinement losses of these PCFs less than 10−7 dB/m, and the lowest dispersion variations are 3.7980 ps/nm/km and 4.7489 ps/nm/km. In addition, a low nonlinearity, flatten dispersion variation are obtained for these PCFs. Moreover, this type of optical fiber would be a strong candidate for stable transmissions, high capacity of optical fiber communications, and OAM sensing applications.
•The proposed PCFs support up to 38 OAM states with 1,200 nm bandwidth ranging from 800 nm to 2,000 nm.•The outcomes show a large effective refractive index difference of above 10−4.•The average confinement losses of these PCFs less than 10−7 dB/m, and.•The lowest dispersion variations are 3.7980 ps/nm/km and 4.7489 ps/nm/km.•It will be a strong candidate for stable transmissions, high capacity of optical fiber communications, and OAM sensing applications
There is paucity of knowledge on the histological features of the intestinal mucosa in malnourished adults of Bangladesh. The purpose of the study was to explore the histological features of the ...intestinal mucosa in malnourished adults of Bangladesh and to compare the findings with their well-nourished counterparts. 64 adults (37 malnourished with body mass index, BMI < 18.5 kg/m
and 27 controls with BMI > 18.5 kg/m
) from the Bangladesh Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (BEED) study, who underwent upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy, were selected for this study. With a view to address the association of environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) with malnutrition, upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed and mucosal biopsies from the distal duodenum were studied for histopathology. Villous height, crypt depth, and presence of inflammatory infiltrates in lamina propria were investigated. Bivariate analysis was performed to quantify the relation between malnutrition and the histological features. About 95% adults, irrespective of nutritional status, were diagnosed to have chronic non-specific duodenitis on histopathology. Malnourished adults suffered significantly more from chronic active duodenitis compared to their well-nourished counterparts (p = 0.003). Malnourished adults also had significantly higher frequency of subtotal villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia and marked cellular infiltration in the lamina propria than the healthy controls (p < 0.05).
The association between mother's education and the World Health Organization's (WHO's) eight Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) core indicators has yet to be explored in South Asia (SA). This ...study aimed to explore the association between mother's education and the WHO's eight IYCF core indicators in SA. We analyzed data from the most recent nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys of six South Asian Countries (SACs)-Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan. We found significantly higher odds (adjusted odds ratio, AOR, 1.13 to 1.47) among mothers who completed secondary or higher education than among mothers with education levels below secondary for the following seven IYCF indicators: early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months (EBF), the introduction of solid, semisolid or soft foods (ISSSF), minimum dietary diversity (MDD), minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum acceptable diet (MAD), and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods (CIRF); the exception was for the indicator of continued breastfeeding at one year. Country-specific analyses revealed significantly higher odds in EIBF (AOR 1.14; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.18) and EBF (AOR 1.27; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.34) among mothers with secondary or higher education levels in India. In contrast, the odds were lower for EIBF in Bangladesh and for EBF in Pakistan among mothers with secondary or higher education levels. For country-specific analyses for complementary feeding indicators such as ISSSF, MDD, MMF, MAD, and CIRF, significantly higher odds (AOR, 1.15 to 2.34) were also observed among mothers with secondary or higher education levels. These findings demonstrate a strong positive association between mother's education and IYCF indicators. Strengthening national policies to educate women at least to the secondary level in SACs might be a cost-effective intervention for improving IYCF practices.
Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a dermatosis that occurs 2-3 years after an apparently successful treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). In rare cases, PKDL occurs concurrently with ...VL and is characterized by fever, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly or lymphadenopathy, and poor nutritional status and is known as Para-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (Para-KDL). Co-association of active VL in PKDL patients is documented in Africa, but very few case reports are found in South Asia. We present a case of Para-kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (Para-KDL) in a 50-year-old male patient with a history of one primary Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) and 2 times relapse of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). The patient presented with fever, skin lesions, and hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory tests revealed LD bodies in the slit skin smear and splenic biopsy. The patient was treated with two cycles of Amphotericin B with Miltefosine in between cycles for 12 weeks to obtain full recovery.
This case report serves as a reminder that Para-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis can develop as a consequence of prior visceral leishmaniasis episodes, even after apparently effective therapy. Since para-kala-azar is a source of infectious spread, endemics cannot be avoided unless it is effectively recognized and treated.
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