Planning a User-centered Process Improvement for Academic Libraries: A Pathway of Satisfying Users’ Needs

The purpose of this study is to design a user-centered process improvement for academic libraries. The study proposes a theoretical framework to continuously improve the existing library service processes thus improving user satisfaction, loyalty and retention. The paper is based on a review of literature collected through the secondary sources such as books, research reports and journal articles. This paper attempts to gather and review the literatures on relevant topics and give a theoretical analysis as we try to draw up a conceptual foundation of user-centered process improvement methods and techniques for academic libraries. The proposed framework may provide librarians understanding about what their users’ needs and wants, identifying how they can best meet these needs, let them to know how to ensure quality across the library functions, strengthen users’ satisfaction and loyalty, and thus achieving the library’s goal

Nutritional status of adolescent girls in a selected secondary school of north-eastern part of Nigeria

Background: Adolescence is the most critical period of human life when transitioning occurs from childhood to adulthood. Malnutrition is one of the major global health problems faced by many developing countries across the globe. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the nutritional status of adolescent girls in a selected secondary school in Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 250 adolescent girls who were available during the study period. A nutrition expert, together with an epidemiologist, gathered anthropometric information and measured the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of the participants. The BMI was calculated, and the dietary habits of the participants were reported based on their usual food habits. It is part of our limitations and has been addressed under the limitations. Data were collected using a self-administered and semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the adolescent girls was 15.9 ± 0.9 years, and more than half (53.2%) were students of senior secondary class 1 (SS-1). More than half (54.4%) of the adolescent girls had average body weight, 36.0% were underweight, and only 9.6% were overweight. The following socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with the BMI of adolescent girls: Age, class of the students, monthly family income, mothers’ educational status, and area of residence. Close to four-fifths (78.4%) of the participants consumed rice more than twice in a week; more than eight-tenths (88.8%) of the participants consumed milk/milk products at least ≤ 2 in a week. About 84.4% of the participants took red meat at least ≤ 2 in a week; more than half (55.2%) of the participants consumed vegetables and fruits more than twice a week. Most (84.8%) of the participants took lunch regularly, and 91.6% of the adolescent girls took breakfast regularly. Conclusions: The study revealed that nearly one-third of the adolescent girls were underweight, indicating a severe public health concern. Early nutritional screening and interventions are recommended to improve the nutritional status of the adolescent girl school in Nigeria

Pre-existing COPD is associated with an increased risk of mortality and severity in COVID-19: a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate COVID-19 mortality and severity among patients with pre-existing COPD. Methods: We performed systematic searches in Ovid Medline, Embase via Ovid, PubMed, and Scopus from 15 December 2019 to 7 July 2020. Studies which reported the association and presented data on risk estimate (Hazard Ratio [HR]) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were extracted. A random-effects model was used to obtain the pooled estimates, and a pooled Risk Ratio (RR) was calculated. Study quality was assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Our meta-analysis showed an increased likelihood of mortality in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing COPD (RR 3.18, 95% CI 2.11-4.80, HR 1.90, 95%CI 1.11-3.26). Furthermore, the pooled estimate for the association between pre-existing COPD and severity due to COVID-19 was also significant (RR 3.63, 95%CI 2.48-5.31). Males had an increased risk of mortality (RR 1.20, 95%CI 1.12-1.29) compared to females. Conclusion: We found that patients with pre-existing COPD had more than 3 times higher risk of mortality and severe COVID-19. There is a need to identify patients with pre-existing COPD during the pandemic so that early interventions can be aimed at this group of patients. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman” is provided in this record*

Load-Adaptive Practical Multi-Channel Communications in Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent years, a significant number of sensor node prototypes have been designed that provide communications in multiple channels. This multi-channel feature can be effectively exploited to increase the overall capacity and performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we present a multi-channel communications system for WSNs that is referred to as load-adaptive practical multi-channel communications (LPMC). LPMC estimates the active load of a channel at the sink since it has a more comprehensive view of the network behavior, and dynamically adds or removes channels based on the estimated load. LPMC updates the routing path to balance the loads of the channels. The nodes in a path use the same channel; therefore, they do not need to switch channels to receive or forward packets. LPMC has been evaluated through extensive simulations, and the results demonstrate that it can effectively increase the delivery ratio, network throughput, and channel utilization, and that it can decrease the end-to-end delay and energy consumption

Sustainable Antibiotic-Free Broiler Meat Production: Current Trends, Challenges, and Possibilities in a Developing Country Perspective

Antibiotic-free broiler meat production is becoming increasingly popular worldwide due to consumer perception that it is superior to conventional broiler meat. Globally, broiler farming impacts the income generation of low-income households, helping to alleviate poverty and secure food in the countryside and in semi-municipal societies. For decades, antibiotics have been utilized in the poultry industry to prevent and treat diseases and promote growth. This practice contributes to the development of drug-resistant bacteria in livestock, including poultry, and humans through the food chain, posing a global public health threat. Additionally, consumer demand for antibiotic-free broiler meat is increasing. However, there are many challenges that need to be overcome by adopting suitable strategies to produce antibiotic-free broiler meat with regards to food safety and chicken welfare issues. Herein, we focus on the importance and current scenario of antibiotic use, prospects, and challenges in the production of sustainable antibiotic-free broiler meat, emphasizing broiler farming in the context of Bangladesh. Moreover, we also discuss the need for and challenges of antibiotic alternatives and provide a future outlook for antibiotic-free broiler meat production

Risk factors and in-hospital outcome of acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in young Bangladeshi adults

BackgroundSouth Asians have a higher overall incidence rate and younger age of onset for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to Western populations. However, limited information is available on the association of preventable risk factors and outcomes of AMI among young individuals in Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors and in-hospital outcome of AMI among young (age &le;40 years) adults in Bangladesh.MethodsWe conducted a prospective observational study among consecutive 50 patients aged &le;40 years and 50 patients aged &gt;40 years with acute ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) and followed-up in-hospital at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). Clinical characteristics, biochemical findings, diet, echocardiography and in-hospital outcomes were compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the association between risk factors and in-hospital outcome in young patients adjusting for other confounding variables.ResultsThe mean age of the young and older patient groups was 36.5&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;4.6 years and 57.0&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;9.1 years respectively. Male sex (OR 3.4, 95 % CI 1.2&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;9.75), smoking (OR 2.4, 95 % CI 1.04&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;5,62), family history of MI (OR 2.4, 95 % CI 1.11&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;5,54), homocysteine (OR 1.2, 95 % CI 1.08&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;1.36), eating rice &ge;2 times daily (OR 3.5, 95 % CI 1.15&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;10.6) and eating beef (OR 4.5, 95 % CI 1.83&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;11.3) were significantly associated with the risk of AMI in the young group compared to older group. In multivariate analysis, older patients had significantly greater chance of developing heart failure (OR 7.5, 95 % CI 1.51 to 37.31), re-infarction (OR 7.0, 95 % CI 1.08&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;45.72), arrhythmia (OR 15.3, 95 % CI 2.69&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;87.77) and cardiogenic shock (OR 69.0, 95 % CI 5.81&thinsp;&minus;&thinsp;85.52) than the younger group.ConclusionYounger AMI patients have a different risk profile and better in-hospital outcomes compared to the older patients. Control of preventable risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, obesity and dyslipidemia should be reinforced at an early age in Bangladesh.<br /

Research prioritisation on prevention and management of preterm birth in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a special focus on Bangladesh using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method

Background Fifteen million babies are born preterm globally each year, with 81% occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of newborn deaths and significantly impact health, quality of life, and costs of health services. Improving outcomes for newborns and their families requires prioritising research for developing practical, scalable solutions, especially in low-resource settings such as Bangladesh. We aimed to identify research priorities related to preventing and managing preterm birth in LMICs for 2021-2030, with a special focus on Bangladesh. Methods We adopted the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method to set research priorities for preventing and managing preterm birth. Seventy-six experts submitted 490 research questions online, which we collated into 95 unique questions and sent for scoring to all experts. A hundred and nine experts scored the questions using five pre-selected criteria: answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, maximum potential for burden reduction, and effect on equity. We calculated weighted and unweighted research priority scores and average expert agreement to generate a list of top-ranked research questions for LMICs and Bangladesh. Results Health systems and policy research dominated the top 20 identified priorities for LMICs, such as understanding and improving uptake of the facility and community-based Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), promoting breastfeeding, improving referral and transport networks, evaluating the impact of the use of skilled attendants, quality improvement activities, and exploring barriers to antenatal steroid use. Several of the top 20 questions also focused on screening high-risk women or the general population of women, understanding the causes of preterm birth, or managing preterm babies with illnesses (jaundice, sepsis and retinopathy of prematurity). There was a high overlap between research priorities in LMICs and Bangladesh. Conclusions This exercise, aimed at identifying priorities for preterm birth prevention and management research in LMICs, especially in Bangladesh, found research on improving the care of preterm babies to be more important in reducing the burden of preterm birth and accelerating the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of newborn deaths, by 2030

Introducing pulse oximetry for outpatient management of childhood pneumonia::An implementation research adopting a district implementation model in selected rural facilities in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Pulse oximetry has potential for identifying hypoxaemic pneumonia and substantially reducing under-five deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) setting. However, there are few examples of introducing pulse oximetry in resource-constrained paediatric outpatient settings, such as Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) services. METHODS: The National IMCI-programme of Bangladesh designed and developed a district implementation model for introducing pulse oximetry in routine IMCI services through stakeholder engagement and demonstrated the model in Kushtia district adopting a health system strengthening approach. Between December 2020 and June 2021, two rounds of assessment were conducted based on WHO's implementation research framework and outcome variables, involving 22 IMCI service-providers and 1680 children presenting with cough/difficulty-in-breathing in 12 health facilities. The data collection procedures included structured-observations, re-assessments, interviews, and data-extraction by trained study personnel. FINDINGS: We observed that IMCI service-providers conducted pulse oximetry assessments on all eligible children in routine outpatient settings, of which 99% of assessments were successful; 85% (95% CI 83,87) in one attempt, and 69% (95% CI 67,71) within one minute. The adherence to standard operating procedure related to pulse oximetry was 92% (95% CI 91,93), and agreement regarding identifying hypoxaemia was 97% (95% CI 96,98). The median performance-time was 36 seconds (IQR 20,75), which was longer among younger children (2-11 months: 44s, IQR 22,78; 12-59 months: 30s, IQR 18,53, p < 0.01) and among those classified as pneumonia/severe-pneumonia than as no-pneumonia (41s, IQR 22,70; 32s, IQR 20,62, p < 0.01). We observed improvements in almost all indicators in round-2. IMCI service-providers and caregivers showed positive attitudes towards using this novel technology for assessing their children. INTERPRETATION: This implementation research study suggested the adoption, feasibility, fidelity, appropriateness, acceptability, and sustainability of pulse oximetry introduction in routine IMCI services in resource-poor settings. The learning may inform the evidence-based scale-up of pulse oximetry linked with an oxygen delivery system in Bangladesh and other LMICs. FUNDING: This research was funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE); 16/136/109) using UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research