In Vitro Interaction Between Oral Hypoglycemic Drug And Herbal Sex Stimulants: Drug Interactions

Sexual dysfunction is a common, underappreciated complication of diabetes. Male sexual dysfunction among diabetic patients can include disorders of libido, ejaculatory problems, and erectile dysfunction (ED). All three forms of male dysfunction can cause significant bother for diabetic patients and can affect their quality of life. Diabetic patients take oral hypoglycemic drug to control their diabetic as well as take herbal sex stimulants to control to increase the libido. The combined use of herbs and drugs has increased the possibility of herb-drug interactions. The study was undertaken to explore the herb-drug interactions. To investigate the herbdrug interactions an in vitro dissolution study in different simulated pH medium were performed. In this study gliclazide containing tablet of 80mg as oral hypoglycemic drug and different herbal sex stimulants available in local market were used. The release mechanism was explored and explained with zero order, first order and Higuchi equations to identify drug interaction. Higher percentage release of gliclazide was found at simulated phosphate buffer of pH 7.4 compared to gastric medium of pH 1.2 and also in presence of herbal sex stimulants. Increased release pattern of gliclazide by concomitant administration of herbal sex stimulants gives slightly higher absorption, which gives the indication of herb-drug interactions

Adoption Determinants of Exotic Rice Cultivars in Bangladesh

Agrarian Bangladesh relies heavily on rice. Since independence, many varieties have been released and targeted to increase productivity, farmers' income, and food security. However, few gained widespread adoption. Moreover, farmers in the border regions are adopting exotic cultivars, and it's gradually spreading throughout the country. But, the reasons for adopting exotic rice cultivars are still unexplored. Using field data from 1,260 farm households and 42 focus group discussions, this study analyzes farmers' preferences for domestic and exotic rice varieties and identifies the factors of adoption linked to design national breeding programs and farmers' welfare. Findings show, exotic varieties (69%) monopolized the area coverage in the dry season, whereas in the wet season, domestic varieties (58%) dominated. Farmers select exotic varieties for their better yield and price, low production costs, high grain quality, resistance to pests and diseases, and ability to withstand stresses. Risk analysis shows domestic varieties adoption is riskier with lower returns. The empirical findings indicate that household characteristics, access to institutions and infrastructure, varietal characteristics, and weather condition, all play a significant role in adoption decisions. National breeding should focus on developing rice varieties in response to market demands and farmer preferences toward sustainable food security in Bangladesh

An Action Plan for Adaptation in Bangladesh Agriculture under Climate Change

This report is the outcome of a study titled 'An Action Plan for Adaptation in Bangladesh Agriculture under Climate Change', carried out with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). This report prepared by the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) delineates an action plan to prioritize adaptation options after considering the inputs by experts and scrutiny by stakeholders. It aims to promote precision agriculture and commercialization of crop agriculture with strong institutional and financial footing to tackle climate change

Climate Urbanism as a New Urban Development Paradigm: Evaluating a City’s Progression towards Climate Urbanism in the Global South

Climate change impacts, the resulting spatiotemporal changes, and growing uncertainty exert pressure on city leaders and policy makers to create climate adaptive development strategies worldwide. This article introduces climate urbanism as a new development paradigm that advocates for a climate adaptive urban development process, safeguarding urban economics and infrastructure, and ensuring equitable implementation of related strategies. The objective of this article is to determine how far a climate vulnerable city in the Global South has progressed toward climate urbanism. The study employs Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to develop a conceptual framework. Afterward, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and indexing are used to develop a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) method to assess the selected climate sensitive factors related to climate urbanism. Findings reveal that the city of Khulna’s climate urbanism index score is 0.36, which is extremely low and denotes subpar urban performance. ‘Climate Conscious Governance’ and ‘Climate Smart Infrastructure’ contribute little, while ‘Adaptive and Dynamic Urban Form’ and ‘Urban Ecosystem Services’ contribute even less. The binary logistic regression analysis reveals the significant indicators of (transformative) climate urbanism. The article provides a critical lens for stakeholders to evaluate climate urbanism and promote urban sustainability in the face of climate change

A cross-sectional study on patient satisfaction in an Urban Health Care Centre of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Darjeeling, West Bengal

Background: Patient satisfaction can be explored which may draw attention of the health care providers, administrators, and health policy makers, in order to monitor the performance, determine patients′ needs, plan the development of services, and provide evidence to support the applications for financial support and expenditure. Aims and Objectives: To assess the level of satisfaction of patients regarding the different aspects of health care in an Urban Health Care Centre of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Darjeeling, West Bengal and to identify the reasons of dissatisfaction among patients in that urban health care center. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey on 102 patients with a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 was done. Systematic random sampling was adopted to draw samples. Results: Overall satisfaction was 73.1% with a mean value of 3.655. Highest satisfaction was in general satisfaction, and the lowest was in time spent with doctors Conclusion: Mean score and percentage of the patient satisfaction was high in that Urban Health Centre. Only matter of concern was time spent with the doctor. Doctor′s time, lack of facility and poor quality of services were the major reasons for dissatisfaction among a few dissatisfied patients

Epidemiological predictors of metabolic syndrome in urban West Bengal, India

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is one of the emerging health problems of the world. Its prevalence is high in urban areas. Though pathogenesis is complex, but the interaction of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, dietary, and genetic factors are known as contributing factors. Community-based studies were very few to find out the prevalence or predictors of the syndrome. Objectives: To ascertain the prevalence and epidemiological predictors of metabolic syndrome. Materials and Methods: A total of 690 study subjects were chosen by 30 clusters random sampling method from 43 wards of Durgapur city. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 20 software and binary logistic regression was done to find out statistical significance of the predictors. Results: Among 32.75% of the study population was diagnosed as metabolic syndrome according to National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III definition with a modification for Asia Pacific cut-off of waist circumference. Odds were more among females (2.43), upper social class (14.89), sedentary lifestyle (17.00), and positive family history. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was high in urban areas of Durgapur. Increased age, female gender, higher social status, sedentary lifestyle, positive family history, and higher education were the statistically significant predictors of metabolic syndrome

Foreign direct investment and agricultural output nexus in Bangladesh: An autoregressive distributed lag approach

Foreign Direct Investment’s (FDI) contribution to the agricultural share of GDP is a questionable topic in Bangladesh’s current economy. Therefore, this study aims to inspect the effect of FDI inflow in agriculture on the agriculture sector’s contribution to Bangladesh’s economic development. The study used advanced econometric tools to the time series data obtained from the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Economic Review from 1996 to 2021. For the empirical analysis, the authors employ the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) co-integration approach to measure short-run dynamics and long-run relationship between FDI inflow in agriculture (AFDI) and agricultural share to GDP (AGDP) in Bangladesh. The findings from the estimation confirm that AFDI has a statistically significant effect on AGDP in the short run; in the long run, it is insignificant. Bangladesh will have to improve its policy for creating the environment to attract FDI in the agricultural sector to draw more promising investments to boost agricultural productivity. In this regard, the country can reform its taxation and agricultural investment policies to create an ‘investment-friendly climate’ for attracting long-term foreign capital in agriculture

Health Disorder of Climate Migrants in Khulna City:An Urban Slum Perspective

As the most vulnerable climatic region in the country, Khulna City is increasingly experiencing climate-change-induced urban problems. For instance, occupancy by climate migrants (delete the term “illegal migrant”), drainage congestion, water logging and reduced fresh water availability are all increasing problems. In the last decade, the population in the city increased by more than 20 per cent due to migration from nearby climate vulnerable districts. This study explores the health disorders of climate migrants occupying the urban slums and squats of the Khulna City area. This study found that these climate migrants settled in the urban slums and squats and, as such, they do not have access to urban amenities such as clean drinking water, hygiene services, and health facilities. This study noted that these displaced people are at increased risk of health issues from unhygienic and overcrowded living conditions and from water and sanitation problems. They often suffer from different waterborne diseases, under-nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. This study suggests that there is a need for better planning, preparation and training in Bangladesh to which migrants move, including better training in health and related services on how to recognize and respond to health problems that may be slow to manifest. Education and training also need to be provided for the migrants themselves, to help them adapt culturally and to enhance their skills and potential for employment