Premature Deindustrialization and Environmental Degradation

It is well recognized that countries' economic growth processes structurally shift from the agricultural sector to the industrial sector and, accordingly, the service sector. Premature deindustrialization, on the other hand, refers to the situation in which the transition from the industrial sector to the service sector occurs earlier than the transformation of the developing countries in the structural transformation process that these countries underwent in the 20th and 21st centuries. Although the shift from the industrial to the service sectors is typically seen as a positive thing for the environment, it is still unclear how the transformation that took place prior to the industrialization process's maturity period, or the loss of technological advancements obtained from the industrial sector, will affect the environment. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to explore at the environmental impacts of deindustrialization in both industrialized developed countries and developing countries which are accepted as risky countries in terms of premature deindustrialization. In order to do this, the recently developed panel non-linear ARDL approach is used, and the potential asymmetry between the industrialization process and environmental deterioration is thus investigated. The results show that both country groups experience an increase in environmental deterioration as a result of the industrialization process (positive shocks of industrialization). Conversely, the deindustrialization process (negative shocks of industrialization) slows down environmental deterioration in developed nations while speeding it up over time in developing nations. Therefore, the results show that premature deindustrialization has long-term negative effects on environmental quality

Early outcome of radiculopathy with local application of steroid in perineural space in lumbar discectomy

Lumbar disc herniation resulting in compression and inflammation of nerve roots causes low back pain and radiculopathy. Per-operative use of steroids may help reduce inflammatory reaction and scar formation, causing less postoperative pain. The study aimed to assess the early outcome of radiculopathy with local application of steroids in peri-neural space after lumbar discectomy. This experimental study was carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery of the National Institute of Neuroscience and Hospital (NINS&H), Dhaka from March 2019 to August 2020. A total of 68 patients operated for prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc (PLID) at L4/L5 and /or L5/S1 levels were divided into two groups. Patients who did not receive steroids (n=34) and those who received steroids (n=34) in peri-neural space were considered group A and group B, respectively. Patients were examined on the 1st, 2nd and 14th postoperative days to measure the pain intensity by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Pre-operatively mean (standard deviation, sd) VAS was 7.41 (1.28) in Group A and 7.91 (0.9) in Group B (p-value >.05). Mean (sd) improvement of pain intensity on day 1, was 58.82 (17.55)% in Group A and 70.59 (12.26)% in Group B from pre-operative VAS. On day 2, 71.69 (12.43)% improvement was seen in Group A and 79.78 (9.74)% in Group B. On day 14, 75.37 (9.96)% improvement was seen in Group A and 83.46 (7.36)% in Group B from pre-operative. The improvements of VAS in all 1st, 2nd and 14th days were statistically significant (p-value <.05) between the two groups. Local application of steroids in peri-neural space found effective in reducing early postoperative radiculopathy following lumbar discectomy. BSMMU J 2022; 15(2): 107-10

Can small-scale biogas projects mitigate the energy crisis of rural Bangladesh? A study with economic analysis

Energy usage disparity is burgeoning across the world. Therefore, biogas can be promising towards energy solution in bucolic regions of Bangladesh. Exploiting small-scale plants (3.45, 2.4, 2.7, 3 and 3.3 m3), this study elucidates the economic congruity of gasification through cost–benefit analysis. The estimated mean investment cost was BDT 39260/plant, whereas an average BDT of 8792.85 and 6856/year/plant return obtained from biogas and bio-fertiliser. All plants yielded positive net present value (NPV) in both 10% and 15% discount rates. Complacent internal rate of return (average 33.2%), positive benefit–cost ratio and lower PBP (average 2.5) debunk the feasibility of a capital-intensive investment like biogas. Sensitivity analysis elicits discount rate as the most sensitive and endorses inverse relationship between cost items and NPV. The average value of the biogas/plant is approximately tantamount to 1650 kWh electricity/year/plant which is sufficient for the energy demand of seven people. Therefore, this study espouses galvanising rural households to confide more on renewable energies like biogas

Surface water quality profiling using the water quality index, pollution index and statistical methods: A critical review

Surface water is heavily exposed to contamination as this is the ubiquitous source for most of the water needs. This situation is exaggerated by the excessive population, heavy industrialization, rapid urbanization, and improper sanitation. Comprehensive measurement and knowledge extraction of surface water quality is therefore pivotal for ensuring safe and hygienic water use. Consequently, surface water quality profiling has received remarkable academic attention in recent decades that produces an ample amount of research results. This study, therefore, conducts a comprehensive systematic literature review to summarize and structure the existing literature and to identify current research trends and hotspots. Reported results suggest that the terrain of fresh surface water includes 13 distinct water sources that are predominantly used in 5 sectors. These sectors often cause the water pollution in the form of industrial effluents, agricultural runoffs, and domestic sewage. For profiling the water quality, around 23 Water Quality Index (WQI) models, and 10 Pollution Index (PI) models are used in research. These models often use several water quality parameters. This study reports an exhaustive taxonomy of 69 prominent quality parameters in three categories which will support their adoption for these models. Finally, the limitations of the current manual water quality measurement approaches are summarized to propose a set of seven requirements for the tech-intensive water quality profiling research and system development

A comprehensive standardized dataset on Mental Health Problems (MHPs) of University Students

Research in assessing the Mental Health Problems (MHPs), e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression of university students has had much interest worldwide for the last decade. This article provides a large and comprehensive dataset concerning the MHPs of 2028 students from 15 top-ranked universities in Bangladesh, including 9 government/public universities and 6 private universities. To collect the data, the GAD-7 (for Anxiety), PSS-10 (for Stress), and PHQ-9 (for Depression) models are adopted to reflect equivalent academic perspectives. Additionally, student sociodemographic data are collected. The adoption of these three models are done by a team of five professors and a student psychologist to best capture the academic and socio-demographic factors that influence MHPs among university students. To conduct the survey google form is developed and circulated among the 15 faculty representatives from the participating universities who further circulated and conducted the survey with the students. Collected data is evaluated to ensure the sufficiency of sample size, and internal consistency and reliability of the response. Furthermore, the levels of anxiety, stress, and depression are calculated using the data to demonstrate its' applicability. This dataset can be used to measure the trajectory of students’ the mental and psychosocial stressors, to adopt required mental health and counseling services, and to conduct data intensive Machine Learning (ML) model development to predictive MPH assessment

A Case Series Describing the Recurrence of COVID-19 in Patients Who Recovered from Initial Illness in Bangladesh

To date, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 80 million people globally. We report a case series of five clinically and laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients from Bangladesh who suffered a second episode of COVID-19 illness after 70 symptom-free days. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), is a leading public health research institution in South Asia. icddr, b staff were actively tested, treated and followed-up for COVID-19 by an experienced team of clinicians, epidemiologists, and virologists. From 21 March to 30 September 2020, 1370 icddr,b employees working at either the Dhaka (urban) or Matlab (rural) clinical sites were tested for COVID-19. In total, 522 (38%) were positive; 38% from urban Dhaka (483/1261) and 36% from the rural clinical site Matlab (39/109). Five patients (60% male with a mean age of 41 years) had real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) diagnosed recurrence (reinfection) of SARS-CoV-2. All had mild symptoms except for one who was hospitalized. Though all cases reported fair risk perceptions towards COVID-19, all had potential exposure sources for reinfection. After a second course of treatment and home isolation, all patients fully recovered. Our findings suggest the need for COVID-19 vaccination and continuing other preventive measures to further mitigate the pandemic. An optimal post-recovery follow-up strategy to allow the safe return of COVID-19 patients to the workforce may be considered

The Etiology of Childhood Pneumonia in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia remains the leading infectious cause of death among children &lt;