THE IMPACT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON SELECTING POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN BANGLADESH

With the advent of globalization, postsecondary education is considered a very significant part for any country's socio-economic development. Higher education in Bangladesh is in a state of flux while responding to the challenges of globalization and the privatization policies of the government in line with the neo-liberal economy have resulted in progressive growth of private universities in Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of socioeconomic status on selecting postsecondary institution in Bangladesh. Survey method with a semi-structured questionnaire is used to explore the consequences and the result reveals that socioeconomic status of the students has been playing an important role on selecting post-secondary institutions in Bangladesh. Consequently, competent recommendations are proposed to improve the situation in institutional and policy levels.  Article visualizations

Time trends and sociodemographic determinants of preterm births in pregnancy cohorts in Matlab, Bangladesh, 1990-2014.

INTRODUCTION: Preterm birth is the major cause of under-five mortality. Population-based data on determinants and proportions of children born preterm are limited, especially from low-income countries. This study aimed at assessing time trends and social, reproductive and environmental determinants of preterm births based on a population-based pregnancy cohort over 25 years in rural Bangladesh. METHODS: In this cohort study in Matlab, a rural area in Bangladesh, we used data from the Health and Demographic Surveillance System from 1990 to 2014. Gestational age at birth was based on the reported last menstrual period and verified by ultrasound assessments. Preterm birth proportions were assessed within strata of social and reproductive characteristics, and time series analysis was performed with decomposition for trend and seasonality. We also determined the prevented fractions of preterm birth reduction associated with social and demographic changes during the follow-up period. RESULTS: Analyses were based on 63 063 live births. Preterm birth decreased from 29% (95% CI 28.6 to 30.1) in 1990-1994 to 11% (95% CI 10.5 to 11.6) in 2010-2014. Low education, older age and multi-parity were associated with higher proportions of preterm births across the study period. Preterm births had a marked seasonal variation. A rapid increase in women's educational level and decrease in parity were associated with the decline in preterm births, and 27% of the reduction observed from 1990 to 2014 could be attributed to these educational and reproductive changes. CONCLUSION: The reduction in preterm birth was to a large extent associated with the sociodemographic transition, especially changes in maternal education and parity. The persistent seasonal variation in the proportion of preterm birth may reflect the environmental stressors for pregnant women across the study period. Continued investments in girls' education and family planning programmes may contribute to further reduction of preterm births in Bangladesh

Application of gamma radiation and physicochemical treatment to improve the bioactive properties of chitosan extracted from shrimp shell

The aim of this study is to exploit a suitable chitosan extraction method from the chitin of indigenous shrimp shells by employing different physicochemical treatments and to improve different bioactive properties of this extracted chitosan (CS) by applying gamma radiation. Chitin was prepared from shrimp shell by pretreatment (deproteination, demineralization and oxidation). Chitosan was extracted from chitin by eight different methods varying different physicochemical parameters (reagent concentration, temperature and time) and assessed with respect to the degree of deacetylation, requirement of time and reagents. The method where chitin was repeatedly treated with 121°C for 30 min with 20 M NaOH, produced the highest degree of deacetylation (DD) value (92%) as measured by potentiometric titration, with the least consumption of time and chemicals, and thus, selected as the best suitable extraction method. For further quality improvement, chitosan with highest DD value was irradiated with different doses (i.e., 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 kGy) of gamma radiation from cobalt-60 gamma irradiator. As the radiation dose was increased, the molecular weight of the wet irradiated chitosan, as measured by the viscosimetric method, decreased from 1.16 × 105 to 1.786 × 103, 1.518 × 103, 1.134 × 103, 1.046 × 103 and 8.23 × 102 dalton, respectively. The radiation treatment of chitosan samples increased the antimicrobial activity significantly in concentration dependent manner on both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria, as determined by the well-diffusion method. Four to five percent wet chitosan treated with a radiation dose range of 5.0–10.0 kGy rendered the highest antimicrobial activity with least energy and time consumption. Solubility, water binding capacity (WBC) and fat binding capacity (FBC) also improved due to irradiation of chitosan

Body mass index in early-pregnancy and selected maternal health outcomes : Findings from two cohorts in Bangladesh

Background: Maternal nutrition is one of the most influential factors that affect the health of the mother and her offspring and remains a significant public health challenge globally. There is a lack of studies evaluating the trends of maternal nutrition and its impact on the burden of pregnancy complications from low-income countries, including Bangladesh. We aimed to determine the burden of early-pregnancy nutrition status based on body mass index (BMI), and the associations of nutritional status with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), cesarean section (CS) delivery, perineal tear and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in a rural area in Bangladesh. Methods: This prospective study analyzed data from two cohorts: the Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) project carried out from January 2008 to June 2010, and the Preterm and Stillbirth Study, Matlab (PreSSMat) conducted from October 2015 to March 2018. In total, information of 9287 women who gave birth from the two cohorts was available for analysis. Early-pregnancy BMI was categorized into underweight, normal-weight, and overweight groups. The change in the burden of malnutrition between two cohort periods and the associations between women's BMI and maternal health outcomes were presented in odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Between the two cohort periods, the prevalence of underweight decreased from 17.5% to 15.4%, and overweight increased from 10.8% to 20.9%. The risk of being overweight in pregnant women was about two times (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.94-2.46) higher in the PreSSMat cohort than in the MNCH cohort. After multivariate-adjustment for socio-demographic factors, the pooled ORs of PIH, CS delivery, perineal tear, and PPH were 2.41 (95% CI = 1.95-2.99), 2.12 (95% CI = 1.86-2.41), 2.46 (95% CI = 1.54-3.92), and 1.68 (95% CI = 1.12-2.53), respectively, in women with overweight compared to the normal-weight group. Conclusions: The results confirmed the existence of a double burden of malnutrition in rural women in Bangladesh. Women with overweight had an increased risk of selected pregnancy complications. The findings call for the adoption of appropriate prenatal counseling and preparedness tailored to women's nutritional status to prevent possible adverse health outcomes

Trends and risk of recurrent preterm birth in pregnancy cohorts in rural Bangladesh, 1990-2019.

INTRODUCTION: A history of preterm birth reportedly increases the risk of subsequent preterm birth. This association has primarily been studied in high-income countries and not in low-income settings in transition with rapidly descending preterm birth figures. We evaluated the population-based trends of preterm births and recurrent preterm births and the risk of preterm birth recurrence in the second pregnancy based on prospectively studied pregnancy cohorts over three decades in Matlab, Bangladesh. METHODS: A population-based cohort included 72 160 live births from 1990 to 2019. We calculated preterm birth and recurrent preterm birth trends. We assessed the odds of preterm birth recurrence based on a subsample of 14 567 women with live-born singletons in their first and second pregnancies. We used logistic regression and presented the associations by OR with a 95% CI. RESULTS: The proportion of preterm births decreased from 25% in 1990 to 13% in 2019. The recurrent preterm births had a similar, falling pattern from 7.4% to 3.1% across the same period, contributing 27% of the total number of preterm births in the population. The odds of second pregnancy preterm birth were doubled (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.96 to 2.43) in women with preterm birth compared with the women with term birth in their first pregnancies, remaining similar over the study period. The lower the gestational age at the first birth, the higher the odds of preterm birth in the subsequent pregnancy (test for trend p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In this rural Bangladeshi setting, recurrent preterm births contributed a sizeable proportion of the total number of preterm births at the population level. The increased risk of recurrence remained similar across three decades when the total proportion of preterm births was reduced from 25% to 13%

Dung Beetle Activity Is Soil-Type-Dependent and Modulates Pasture Growth and Associated Soil Microbiome

The introduction of numerous exotic dung beetles across southern Australia in regions where native dung beetles are not generally efficient in processing livestock dung has resulted in significant reductions in the quantity of such dung on the soil surface in recent years. However, the direct impacts of such ecosystem services on pasture quality and soil nutrient mobility have not yet been investigated in the Riverina region of New South Wales (NSW), an area recognised for prime cattle and sheep production in Australia. Utilising 48 soil columns for lysimetry, we quantified the impact of a common introduced dung beetle (Bubas bison) in this region on water quality after permeation through four different soil types sown to winter annual pastures. Dung beetle treatments included dung plus dung beetles, dung alone and no dung beetles, and no dung and no beetles as a control. Dung beetles and soil type impacted on the performance of improved overseeded annual pastures as measured by biomass accumulation over a four-month growing season. The four soil types, namely, Chromosol, Kandosol, Rudosol, and Vertosol, differed considerably with respect to their water-holding capacity and nutrient profiles, as assessed by initial soil testing and soil leachate evaluation following rainfall plus simulated rainfall events. The concentration of Escherichia coli resulting from cattle dung, cattle dung plus beetles, and the control soils without dung or beetles was assessed in collected leachates over a three-month period. E. coli numbers were significantly increased following B. bison activity, when compared to the dung-only and control treatments. Evaluation of the soil microbiome, by assessing genomic DNA in soils sampled 10 cm below the soil surface where dung beetles remained active following tunnelling, revealed significant differences among soil types with respect to bacterial and fungal communities. Within each soil type, dung beetle activity impacted the fungal community structure, but not the bacterial community. Pasture performance as assessed by biomass accumulation was significantly improved following dung beetle activity in later stages of pasture growth, while E. coli numbers and total coliforms appeared unaffected by beetle presence

Progress in developing perennial wheats for grain and grazing

Dual-purpose cereals have been important for increasing the flexibility and profitability of mixed farming enterprises in southern Australia, providing winter feed when pasture dry matter production is low, and then recovering to produce grain. A perennial dual-purpose cereal could confer additional economic and environmental benefits. We establish that, at the end of a second growth season, selected perennial cereals were able to achieve up to 10-fold greater below-ground biomass than a resown annual wheat. We review and expand the data on available, diverse, perennial, wheat-derived germplasm, confirming that perenniality is achievable but that further improvements are essential through targeted breeding. Although not yet commercially deployable, the grain yields and dry matter production of the best performing lines approach the benchmarks predicted to achieve profitability. On reviewing the genomic composition of the most promising wheat-derived perennials, we conclude that the best near-term prospect of a productive breeding program for a perennial, wheat-derived cereal will utilise a diploid, perennial donor species, and the most promising one thus far is Thinopyrum elongatum. Furthermore, the breeding should be aimed at complete wheat-Th. elongatum amphiploids, a hybrid synthetic crop analogous to triticale. We advocate the generation of many primary amphiploids involving a diversity of Th. elongatum accessions and a diversity of adapted annual wheat cultivars. Primary perennial amphiploids would be inter-crossed and advanced with heavy, early-generation selection for traits such as semi-dwarf plant height, non-shattering heads, large seed size and good self-fertility, followed by later generation selection for robust perenniality, days to flowering, grain yield, forage yield, stability of grain yield across seasons, and disease resistance

Dung Beetle Activity Is Soil-Type-Dependent and Modulates Pasture Growth and Associated Soil Microbiome

The introduction of numerous exotic dung beetles across southern Australia in regions where native dung beetles are not generally efficient in processing livestock dung has resulted in significant reductions in the quantity of such dung on the soil surface in recent years. However, the direct impacts of such ecosystem services on pasture quality and soil nutrient mobility have not yet been investigated in the Riverina region of New South Wales (NSW), an area recognised for prime cattle and sheep production in Australia. Utilising 48 soil columns for lysimetry, we quantified the impact of a common introduced dung beetle (Bubas bison) in this region on water quality after permeation through four different soil types sown to winter annual pastures. Dung beetle treatments included dung plus dung beetles, dung alone and no dung beetles, and no dung and no beetles as a control. Dung beetles and soil type impacted on the performance of improved overseeded annual pastures as measured by biomass accumulation over a four-month growing season. The four soil types, namely, Chromosol, Kandosol, Rudosol, and Vertosol, differed considerably with respect to their water-holding capacity and nutrient profiles, as assessed by initial soil testing and soil leachate evaluation following rainfall plus simulated rainfall events. The concentration of Escherichia coli resulting from cattle dung, cattle dung plus beetles, and the control soils without dung or beetles was assessed in collected leachates over a three-month period. E. coli numbers were significantly increased following B. bison activity, when compared to the dung-only and control treatments. Evaluation of the soil microbiome, by assessing genomic DNA in soils sampled 10 cm below the soil surface where dung beetles remained active following tunnelling, revealed significant differences among soil types with respect to bacterial and fungal communities. Within each soil type, dung beetle activity impacted the fungal community structure, but not the bacterial community. Pasture performance as assessed by biomass accumulation was significantly improved following dung beetle activity in later stages of pasture growth, while E. coli numbers and total coliforms appeared unaffected by beetle presence