Decline in Child Marriage and Changes in Its Effect on Reproductive Outcomes in Bangladesh

This paper explores the decline in child marriage and changes in its effect on reproductive outcomes of Bangladeshi women, using the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Chi-square tests, negative binomial Poisson regression and binary logistic regression were performed in analyzing the data. Overall, 82% of women aged 20-49 years were married-off before 18 years of age, and 63% of the marriages took place before 16 years of age. The incidence of child marriage was significantly less among the young women aged 20-24 years compared to their older counterparts. Among others, women's education appeared as the most significant single determinant of child marriage as well as decline in child marriage. Findings revealed that, after being adjusted for sociodemographic factors, child marriage compared to adult marriage appeared to be significantly associated with lower age at first birth (OR=0.81, 95% CI=76-0.86), higher fertility (IRR=1.45, 95% WCI=1.35-1.55), increased risk of child mortality (IRR=1.64, 95% WCI=1.44- 1.87), decreased risk of contraceptive-use before any childbirths (OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.50-0.63), higher risk of giving three or more childbirth (OR=3.94, 95% CI=3.38-4.58), elevated risk of unplanned pregnancies (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.02-1.45), increased risk of pregnancy termination (OR=1.16, 95% CI=1.00-1.34), and higher risk of the use of any current contraceptive method (OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.06-1.35). Increased enforcement of existing policies is crucial for the prevention of child marriage. Special programmes should be undertaken to keep girls in school for longer period to raise the age of females at first marriage in Bangladesh and thereby reduce the adverse reproductive outcomes

Preference for Institutional Delivery and Caesarean Sections in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, preference for place of delivery and socioeconomic factors associated with caesarean section are not well-understood. This paper examines the socioeconomic correlates of preference for institutional delivery and caesarean sections in Bangladesh. The study used data from the nationally-representative 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Both bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models were constructed to assess the effect of sociodemographic factors on the use of medical facilities and caesarean section for childbirth. Overall, 15% of women underwent institutional delivery, and 8% deliveries were performed by caesarean sections. Both institutional deliveries and caesarean sections have increased in recent years. The bivariate and multivariate analyses both confirmed that place of residence, religion, birth order, frequent pregnancy, antenatal care-seeking, and wealth index were important predictors of the use of medical facilities and caesarean sections for childbirth. Women's education appeared as the most single significant determinant for the use of both services. The findings underlie the importance of monitoring caesarean section as well as professional attendance for safe motherhood. Programmes should aim to inform women highlighting the benefits of the use of skilled maternal healthcare services and demerits of home-delivery practices

GENETIC DIVERSITY OF WILD AND FARMED KALIBAUS (Labeo calbasu, Hamilton, 1822) BY RAPD ANALYSIS OF THE GENOMIC DNA

Genetic diversity of two wild Kalibaus, Labeo calbasu populations and one hatchery stock was studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. The three 10–mer random primers (OPA01, OPB02 and OPC03) yielded a total of 26 reproducible and consistently scorable RAPD bands of which 15 (57.69%) were considered as polymorphic (P95) indicating a high level of genetic variation in all the studied populations. Among the three populations, Padma population shows low level of genetic diversity (0.1238) compared to other two and it might be caused by habitat degradation in many ways which ultimately affects the genetic variation of Kalibaus. The UPGMA dendrogram based on Nei’s (1972) original measures of genetic distance (D) indicated the segregation of two wild and hatchery populations of L. calbasu into two distinct clusters: the Hatchery and Padma populations produced one cluster whereas the Jamuna population belonged to another cluster. This indicates that hatchery brood stock is derived from Padma River. Nevertheless, the preliminary study revealed that RAPD technique could be an effective tool in the assessment of population genetic structure of Kalibaus

Dual Burden of Underweight and Overweight among Women in Bangladesh: Patterns, Prevalence, and Sociodemographic Correlates

The discourse of dual burden caused through underweight and overweight is well-documented globally but this issue and its connection with women\u2019s health in Bangladesh is yet to be explored widely. To enrich the current debate, this study, in the context of Bangladesh, examines the patterns, prevalence, and socioeconomic factors influencing the ever-married women of being underweight and overweight over normal weight. Data used in this study have been extracted from the most recent 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. To achieve results connected with the research objectives, both bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses have been employed. In bivariate analysis, we used seven categories of BMI cutoff points for Asian countries as prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). Multinomial logistic regression model was constructed to investigate the net effect of socioeconomic factors on underweight, pre-overweight, and overweight over normal weight. The results confirm the co-existence of underweight and overweight among women as we found the prevalence of underweight, normal weight, pre-overweight, overweight, and obesity to be 24.1%, 46.7%, 12.8%, 13.5%, and 2.9% respectively. Compared to the richest, the women from the poorest households were significantly (p<0.001) most likely to be underweight (OR=2.75, 95% CI 2.27-3.35) and least likely to be overweight (OR=0.15, 95% CI 0.12-0.19) over normal weight. The urban women, compared to their rural counterparts, were significantly (p<0.001) less likely to be underweight (OR=0.80, 95% CI 0.71-0.91) and more likely to be overweight (OR=1.33, 95% CI 1.18-1.51) than normal weight. The other socioeconomic grades that were most marked to be underweight and overweight are age, women\u2019s education, marital status, age at first childbirth, parity, number of children aged 645 years at the household, and food security. The findings confirm the dual burden of both under- and overweight. Systematic and regular monitoring and surveillance of the social trajectory of nutritional status of women and men in Bangladesh is crucial to develop apposite strategy that addresses the persistent and chronic problem of underweight and the emerging problem of overweight. The dual existence of both types of malnutrition among women in Bangladesh must be taken into consideration so that public health interventions may be adopted through appropriate policy

CERTAIN BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS, THRESHOLD OF DEVELOPMENT AND THERMAL UNITS FOR HYMENIA recurvalis (FAB.), (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALLIDAE)

Biological studies on the Hawaiian beet webworm, Hymenia recurvalis were carried out under laboratory conditions of 18.6 ± 2°C and 70 ± 5% R. H. The incubation period ranged between 5 and 7 days with a mean of 6.0 ± 0.3 days. The mean durations of larval, prepupal and pupal stages were 26.29 ± 0.3, 5.04 ± 0.08 and 16.86 ± 0.18 days, respectively. Mean adult longevities were 28.42 ± 1.80 and 26.08 ± 1.83 days, ranging between 19-41 and 15-37 days for female and male, respectively. The sex ratio was about 1 : 1.3 (♀ : ♂ ). Accumulative thermal units needed for certain biological features of H. recuurvalis were calculated and the estimated thermal thresholds were 10.97, 12.14, 10.49 and 13.55°C for egg, larval, pre – pupal and pupal stages, respectively. The corresponding values for the thermal units needed for development of these stages were 51.49, 168.47, 47.88 and 102.59 day degree at 25°C for the respective stages

Integrated application of bacterial carbonate precipitation and silicon nanoparticles enhances productivity, physiological attributes, and antioxidant defenses of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under semi-arid conditions

The use of calcium carbonate-precipitating bacteria (CCPB) has become a well-established ground-improvement technique. However, the effect of the interaction of CCPB with nanoparticles (NPs) on plant performance is still meager. In this study, we aimed at evaluating the role of CCPB and/or silicon NPs (Si-NPs) on the growth, physio-biochemical traits, and antioxidative defense of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under semi-arid environmental conditions. A 2-year pot experiment was carried out to determine the improvement of the sandy soil inoculated with CCPB and the foliar application of Si-NPs on wheat plants. We tested the following treatments: spraying plants with 1.0 or 1.5 mM Si-NPs (control = 0 mM Si-NPs), soil inoculated with Bacillus lichenforms (MA16), Bacillus megaterium (MA27), or Bacillus subtilis (MA34), and the interaction of individual Bacillus species with Si-NPs. Our results showed that soil inoculation with any of the three isolated CCPB and/or foliar application of Si-NPs at the rates of 1.0 or 1.5 mM significantly improved (p ≤ 0.05) the physiological and biochemical attributes as well as the enzymatic antioxidant activities of wheat plants. Therefore, the combined treatments of CCPB + Si-NPs were more effective in enhancing physio-biochemical characteristics and enzymatic antioxidant activities than the individual treatments of CCPB or Si-NPs, thus achieving the best performance in the treatment of MA34 + 1.5 mM Si-NPs. Our results demonstrated that the co-application of CCPB and Si-NPs, particularly MA34 + 1.5 mM Si-NPs, considerably activated the antioxidant defense system to mitigate the adverse effects of oxidative stress, thus increasing tolerance and enhancing the production of wheat plants in sandy soils under semi-arid environmental conditions

Clonal Propagation of Flacourtia indica for Ensuring Quality Planting Materials and Sustainable Supply of Edible Fruits

The present study was carried out at the Agriculture research field, Patuakhali Science And Technology University(PSTU), Patuakhali, from March, 2015 to April, 2016 to explore the domestication potential and to evaluate the rooting performance of Flacourtia indica (katabohori), a wild fruit species in Bangladesh, through clonal propagation by stem cutting under 3 different doses of rooting hormone IBA (Indole Buetaric Acid) and planted in the perforated plastic tray filled with coarse sand and gravel placed in the non-mist propagator. The experiment was laid out following a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 4 treatments and 4 replications (blocks). The treatments were T0= control, T1 = 0.2% IBA, T2 = 0.4% IBA, T3 = 0.8% IBA. The rooting ability of cuttings was significantly influenced by the application of IBA. The results showed that the highest rooting percentage (100) and maximum root number (8) of Flacourtia indica stem cuttings were obtained from the cuttings treated with 0.4% IBA followed by 0.2% IBA where as the longest root length (8.998 cm) was recorded with 0.2% IBA followed by 0.4% IBA. Survival percentage of the cutlings (the rooted cuttings) after 3 months of transferring them into poly bags was also significantly enhanced by exogenous rooting hormone (IBA) application. The highest survival percentage (84.5 %) was for the cuttings treated with 0.4% IBA followed by 0.2% IBA (71%). The similar trend was also observed for average cutling height and number of leaf. Findings of the present study reveal that the plant species is highly amenable for clonal propagation by stem cuttings using low-cost non-mist propagator. Considering both rooting percentage and root number, 0.4% IBA treatment of stem cuttings may be recommended for mass production of quality planting stocks for the domestication of the species in homestead agroforestry or in fruit orchards to provide edible fruit to rural poor people of natural disaster vulnerable Bangladesh

Discrepancies in Chest X-Ray among Patients with Tuberculous Cervical Lymphadenitis

Abstract Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis is not an uncommon entity when it comes to otolaryngology practice and that too in Bangladesh. In tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis the bacilli may reach the neck nodes from the lungs as well, through circulation. This study was done in the department of ENT and Head Neck Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, from January 2012 to January 2013 and was designed to find out chest x-ray abnormalities in apparently chest asymptomatic confirmed tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis without associate disease. The diagnosis of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis was confirmed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and/or smear for acid-fast bacillus, and chest x-ray (PA view) was done in all confirmed cases (n=183). (13%) and abnormal chest x-ray in 51 cases (27.87%). Pulmonary infiltration, the commonest radiological finding was detected in 32 cases (17.49%), hilar enlargement in 17 cases (9.29%), right paratracheal opacity in 2 (1.09%), obliteration of costophrenic angles in 3 cases (1.64%) and miliary mottling in one case (0.55%). Upper zonal predominance of lung parenchymal infiltrations was noted in 12.57% and right lung involvement in 16.39%. Single zone was affected in 9.84% cases and multiple zones were involved in 7.65% cases. We observed right hilar enlargement in 6.56%, left hilar lymphadenopathy in 4.37% and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy in 2.73% cases. We concluded that routine chest x-ray PA view should be done in all tuberculous lymphadenitis before categorization and starting of treatment

Personalized peptide-based vaccination for treatment of colorectal cancer: rational and progress

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers globally and is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. A large proportion of patients with early stage CRC who undergo conventional treatments develop local recurrence or distant metastasis and in this group of advanced disease, the survival rate is low. Furthermore there is often a poor response and/or toxicity associated with chemotherapy and chemo-resistance may limit continuing conventional treatment alone. Choosing novel and targeted therapeutic approaches based on clinicopathological and molecular features of tumors in combination with conventional therapeutic approach could be used to eradicate residual micrometastasis and therefore improve patient prognosis and also be used preventively. Peptide-based vaccination therapy is one class of cancer treatment that could be used to induce tumor-specific immune responses, through the recognition of specific antigen-derived peptides in tumor cells, and this has emerged as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategy. The aim of this review was to summarize the main findings of recent studies in exciting field of peptide-based vaccination therapy in CRC patients as a novel therapeutic approach in treatment of CRC