Parliamentary Election and Political Violence in Bangladesh

Politics of Bangladesh has been criminalized over the last four decades resulting multi-level political violence. Political violence is particularly high during the parliamentary election period. This study analyses the nature, causes, and immediate fatalities of political violence during parliamentary election in Bangladesh. Secondary research methods have been used to conduct this study. Data were collected using structured checklist technique analyzing the newspaper contents. This study has revealed that incidents of violence in the month of parliamentary election as well as before and after the month of election are higher than other months. People also become more victim of violence in the month of parliamentary election, before and after the month of parliamentary election than other months. This study has found that the main causes of political violence are strike, blockade, internal and external conflict between political parties, political conflicts, political revenge and establishing political supremacy over a certain area. This study also found that police responses to the incidents of political violence is very low. This rationale of the study implies on that the descriptive findings of the study that can be used to understand the issues and formulate policy to prevent political violence as well as to improve political environment in Bangladesh encouraging the democratic culture to fulfill their goals avoiding the means of violence and conflict. Keywords: Politics, Violence, Election, Political conflicts, Democracy DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/89-11 Publication date:September 30th 201

A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study about the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Safety Measures among Rural Households in Bangladesh

Background. Food handlers have been found to play essential roles in transmitting foodborne diseases and can pose a significant public health problem. Our study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of food safety measures among the rural households of Bangladesh. Materials and Methods. We conducted this community-based cross-sectional study among women above 18 years involved with food preparation in rural households of four villages in Bangladesh. A total of 400 respondents were selected using the multistage cluster sampling technique. Data were collected using pretested and predesigned questionnaires based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) five keys for food safety. We used Stata (Version 16) for all statistical analyses. Results. The mean age of the participants was 42.09 ± 12.96 years. The median KAP scores [interquartile range (IQR)] were 7 (21–10), 16 (5–18), and 26 (9–30), respectively. We found the median KAP scores were significantly lower in the age group >55 years than in age groups of 18–25, 26–35, 36–45, and 46–55 years (P5,000 BDT (P5,000 BDT was a significant predictor of good knowledge [Adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 3.51, 95%CI: 1.55–7.98], good attitude (aOR: 5.82, 95%CI: 2.80–11.70), and good practice (aOR: 3.18, 95%CI: 1.67–6.07). Age >55 years was a significant predictor of good attitude (aOR: 0.38, 95%CI: 0.17–0.81) and good practice (aOR: 0.48, 95%CI: 0.21–0.89). Having ≤4 members in the family was a significant predictor of good practice (aOR: 1.85, 95%CI: 1.13–3.03) regarding food safety measures. Conclusion. The study found that KAP among rural Bangladeshi women regarding food safety were relatively satisfactory. However, having a poor monthly income and living in a large family were impediments to good food-safety practices where work can be done. The findings of this study may help develop health intervention programs for food handlers to further improve KAP toward food safety, thereby reducing foodborne illness in households

Antidiabetic Potential of Commonly Available Fruit Plants in Bangladesh: Updates on Prospective Phytochemicals and Their Reported MoAs

Diabetes mellitus is a life-threatening disorder affecting people of all ages and adversely disrupts their daily functions. Despite the availability of numerous synthetic-antidiabetic medications and insulin, the demand for the development of novel antidiabetic medications is increasing due to the adverse effects and growth of resistance to commercial drugs in the long-term usage. Hence, antidiabetic phytochemicals isolated from fruit plants can be a very nifty option to develop life-saving novel antidiabetic therapeutics, employing several pathways and MoAs (mechanism of actions). This review focuses on the antidiabetic potential of commonly available Bangladeshi fruits and other plant parts, such as seeds, fruit peals, leaves, and roots, along with isolated phytochemicals from these phytosources based on lab findings and mechanism of actions. Several fruits, such as orange, lemon, amla, tamarind, and others, can produce remarkable antidiabetic actions and can be dietary alternatives to antidiabetic therapies. Besides, isolated phytochemicals from these plants, such as swertisin, quercetin, rutin, naringenin, and other prospective phytochemicals, also demonstrated their candidacy for further exploration to be established as antidiabetic leads. Thus, it can be considered that fruits are one of the most valuable gifts of plants packed with a wide spectrum of bioactive phytochemicals and are widely consumed as dietary items and medicinal therapies in different civilizations and cultures. This review will provide a better understanding of diabetes management by consuming fruits and other plant parts as well as deliver innovative hints for the researchers to develop novel drugs from these plant parts and/or their phytochemicals