Electronic cigarettes or vaping : are there any differences in the profiles, use and perceptions between a developed and a developing country?

The use of electronic cigarettes or vaping is currently increasing in popularity globally. Debate continues regarding their potential role for smoking cessation. We aimed to compare the profiles, use and perceptions of using e-cigarettes amongst online forum users in a developed and a developing country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among members of different popular online forums in Australia and Bangladesh who were current or ex-users of e-cigarettes. There were 422 study participants, 261 (62%) from Australia and 161 (38%) from Bangladesh. The mean age was 36.3 (±12) years and 83% were men. Australians were more likely to be exclusive users of e-cigarettes (70% vs. 30%, AOR 3.05 [95% CI 1.63–5.71]), but less likely to be dual users of smoking and e-cigarettes (43% vs. 57%, 0.36 [0.19–0.69]); they were also more likely to mention that the perceived reasons for using were their low cost, good taste/flavour, safety and assistance in reducing or quitting smoking (66% vs. 34%, 5.10 [2.04–12.8]), but less likely to mention a social/cool image as a reason for use (23% vs. 77%, 0.11 [0.01–0.87]) compared with Bangladeshi participants. About two-thirds of the participants in both countries perceived the use of e-cigarettes as less addictive than cigarettes and more than three-quarters perceived them as less harmful. E-cigarette users in Australia were more likely to use them to reduce or quit cigarettes compared with those in Bangladesh, and dual use was common in Bangladesh. These findings warrant the consideration of precautions for promoting e-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy for smoking cessation in developing countries, such as Bangladesh. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Pulmonary scedosporiosis mimicking aspergilloma in an immunocompetent host: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract A case of localized lung scedosporiosis is reported here that mimicked aspergilloma in an immunocompetent host. Through this case the importance of considering Scedosporium spp. in differential diagnosis of locally invasive lung infections and fungal ball is highlighted. As it is difficult to differentiate Scedosporium from Aspergillus on clinical grounds, microscopy, radiology and histopathology, this case is further emphasizing the significance of the definitive etiological characterization of Scedosporium through culture or molecular diagnostic tools. Accurate identification of Scedosporium, surgical resection and high-dose voriconazole has been associated with favorable outcome in most reported cases of scedosporiosis

Evaluation of lipid profile pattern and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) having type-2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh

Background: Dyslipidemia has been noted to play an integral role in the pathogenesis and progression of micro and macrovascular complications in Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients. The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of dyslipidemia and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients as it has not been reported previously in BangladeshMethods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Armed Forces Institute of pathology, Bangladesh from November 2016 to October 2017. A total number of 300 patients having diabetes in the age group of 30-60 years have been selected using a non-probability method. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), serum total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) levels were estimated by laboratory tests.Results: The prevalence of dyslipidemia in at least one lipid parameter was found in 282 patients (94%), while 18 patients (6%) had no dyslipidemia. High levels of TC, TG and LDL-C were found in 134 (47.3%), 230 (76.7%) and 124 (41.3%) patients, respectively. On the other hand, low levels of HDL-C were found in 180 patients (60%). An increased risk of AIP was found in 298 patients (99.3%), whereas only 2 patients (0.7%) were in low risk. FPG was positively correlated with TC, TG, LDL-C and AIP, while negatively correlated with HDL-C. A significant positive correlation was also observed between FPG and AIP.Conclusions: The Study revealed that dyslipidemia is very common in type 2 diabetic patients and the most common abnormality observed was increased serum triglyceride levels followed by decreased serum HDL-C levels. The AIP is also significantly higher in type 2 diabetic patients

Haemoglobin E/Beta Thalassaemia- A Study in BSMMU

Background: Thalassaemias and haemoglobinopathies have been found sporadically in every ethnic group and geographic region, they occur with particularly high frequency from the shores of the Mediterranean and Africa through the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Burma and Southeast Asia. Objective: The study was designed to find out the incidence of HbE/beta thalassaemia in BSMMU. Method: A total of 700 patients suspected to have been suffering from haemolytic anaemia were included in the study. Patients having evidence of haemolysis in peripheral blood film were selected for reticulocyte count and haemoglobin electrophoresis in cellulose acetate membrane at pH 8.6. Result: The study group of 700 patients underwent Hb-electrophoresis of which only 52 (7.4%) cases were diagnosed as HbE/beta thalassaemia. Out of 52 cases, 34 (65.4%) patients were found symptomatic and the remaining 18 (34.6%) patients were asymptomatic. Out of 34 symptomatic cases of HbE/beta thalassaemia, only 14 cases needed blood transfusion. Among the 14 patients, only 8 patients needed more than 10 units of transfusion and 6 patients needed frequent transfusion that is two units of blood in every month. Conclusion: It is clearly evident from the present and other studied so far carried out in this Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia that hereditary haemolytic anaemia due to globin chain defects are quite common in this region, especially in Bangladesh and are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality. Key words: Thalassaemia; Haemoglobinopathies; HbE/beta thalassemia. DOI: 10.3329/bsmmuj.v2i2.4762 BSMMU J 2009; 2(2): 78-8

Diagnosed hematological malignancies in Bangladesh - a retrospective analysis of over 5000 cases from 10 specialized hospitals

Background The global burden from cancer is rising, especially as low-income countries like Bangladesh observe rapid aging. So far, there are no comprehensive descriptions reporting diagnosed cancer group that include hematological malignancies in Bangladesh. Methods This was a multi-center hospital-based retrospective descriptive study of over 5000 confirmed hematological cancer cases in between January 2008 to December 2012. Morphological typing was carried out using the “French American British” classification system. Results A total of 5013 patients aged between 2 to 90 years had been diagnosed with malignant hematological disorders. A 69.2% were males (n = 3468) and 30.8% females (n = 1545), with a male to female ratio of 2.2:1. The overall median age at diagnosis was 42 years. Acute myeloid leukemia was most frequent (28.3%) with a median age of 35 years, followed by chronic myeloid leukemia with 18.2% (median age 40 years), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (16.9%; median age 48 years), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (14.1%; median age 27 years), multiple myeloma (10.5%; median age 55 years), myelodysplastic syndromes (4.5%; median age 57 years) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (3.9%; median age 36 years). The least common was chronic lymphocytic leukemia (3.7%; median age 60 years). Below the age of 20 years, acute lymphoblastic leukemia was predominant (37.3%), followed by acute myeloid leukemia (34%). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma had mostly occurred among older patients, aged 50-over. Conclusions For the first time, our study presents the pattern and distribution of diagnosed hematological cancers in Bangladesh. It shows differences in population distributions as compared to other settings with possibly a lower presence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There might be under-reporting of affected women. Further studies are necessary on the epidemiology, genetics and potential environmental risk factors within this rapidly aging country

Mitigation of water scarcity with sustained growth of Rice by plant growth promoting bacteria

Climate change augments the risk to food security by inducing drought stress and a drastic decline in global rice production. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been known to improve plant growth under drought stress. Here in the present study, we isolated, identified, and well-characterized eight drought-tolerant bacteria from the rice rhizosphere that are tolerant to 20% PEG-8000. These strains exhibited multiple plant growth-promoting traits, i.e., 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity, exopolysaccharide production, phosphate (P)-solubilizing activity (51–356 µg ml-1), indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) production (14.3–46.2 µg ml-1), and production of organic acids (72–178 µg ml-1). Inoculation of bacterial consortium (Bacillus subtilis NM-2, Brucella haematophilum NM-4, and Bacillus cereus NM-6) significantly improved seedling growth and vigor index (1009.2-1100) as compared to non-inoculated stressed plants (630-957). Through rhizoscanning, efficiency of the consortium was validated by improved root parameters such as root length (17%), diameter, and surface area (18%) of all tested genotypes as compared with respective non-inoculated stressed treatments. Furthermore, the response of consortium inoculation on three rice genotypes was positively correlated with improved plant growth and drought stress ameliorating traits by the accumulation of osmoprotectant, i.e., proline (85.8%–122%), relative water content (51%), membrane stability index (64%), and production of antioxidant enzymes to reduce oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species. A decrease in temperature and improved chlorophyll content of inoculated plants were found using infrared thermal imaging and soil plant analyzer development (SPAD), respectively. The key supporting role of inoculation toward stress responses was validated using robust techniques like infrared thermal imaging and an infrared gas analyzer. Furthermore, principal component analysis depicts the contribution of inoculation on stress responses and yield of tested rice genotypes under water stress. The integration of drought-tolerant rice genotype (NIBGE-DT02) and potential bacterial strains, i.e., NM-2, NM-4, and NM-6, can serve as an effective bioinoculant to cope with water scarcity under current alarming issues related to food security in fluctuating climate

PENGARUH KOMBINASI PRENATAL YOGA DENGAN AROMATERAPI LAVENDER TERHADAP NYERI PUNGGUNG PADA IBU HAMIL DI PMB RATRI RESTUNI

Abstract Pregnancy causes various physical changes such as back pain. Complementary exercise therapies such as prenatal yoga and aromatherapy are commonly utilized by pregnant woman to manage their symptoms. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of combination of prenatal yoga with lavender aromatherapy for pregnancy-related back pain. The methods in this study is quasi experiment with two group pre-test and post test design. 15 pregnant women conducted Prenatal Yoga that combine with lavender aromatherapy (intervention group), and 15 pregnant women for Prenatal Yoga as control group. The result of this study indicate there is significant differences at pain scale between 2 groups after intervention (p-value = 0,0023) with a = 0,05, which means there is an effect of giving combination of prenatal yoga with lavender aromatherapy for pregnant woman’s back pain.   Keywords : Prenatal Yoga, Lavender Aromatherapy, Pregnant Woman   Abstrak   Kehamilan menyebabkan terjadinya berbagai perubahan, baik anatomis maupun fisiologis pada ibu yang sering mengakibatkan timbulnya keluhan-keluhan seperti nyeri punggung  Berbagai upaya untuk mengatasi nyeri dapat dilakukan melalui kegiatan tanpa pemberian obat diantaranya aromaterapi dan prenatal yoga. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengetahui pengaruh kombinasi prenatal yoga dengan aromaterapi lavender terhadap nyeri punggung ibu hamil. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah quasy experiment yang menggunakan pendekatan two group pre-test and post-test design. Populasi adalah ibu hamil yang mengikuti prenatal yoga di PMB Ratri Restuni. Teknik pengambilan sampel adalah total sampling sebanyak 15 sampel setiap kelompok. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan terdapat perbedaan skor nyeri yang signifikan antara kedua kelompok saat dilakukannya intervensi (p-value = 0,0023) dengan nilai a = 0,05, sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa kombinasi prenatal yoga dengan aromaterapi lavender dapat dijadikan sebagai terapi non-farmakologis bagi ibu hamil dengan keluhan nyeri punggung   Kata Kunci : Prenatal Yoga, Aromaterapi Lavender, Ibu Hamil Abstract Pregnancy causes various physical changes such as back pain. Complementary exercise therapies such as prenatal yoga and aromatherapy are commonly utilized by pregnant woman to manage their symptoms. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of combination of prenatal yoga with lavender aromatherapy for pregnancy-related back pain. The methods in this study is quasi experiment with two group pre-test and post test design. 15 pregnant women conducted Prenatal Yoga that combine with lavender aromatherapy (intervention group), and 15 pregnant women for Prenatal Yoga as control group. The result of this study indicate there is significant differences at pain scale between 2 groups after intervention (p-value = 0,0023) with a = 0,05, which means there is an effect of giving combination of prenatal yoga with lavender aromatherapy for pregnant woman’s back pain.   Keywords : Prenatal Yoga, Lavender Aromatherapy, Pregnant Woman   Abstrak   Kehamilan menyebabkan terjadinya berbagai perubahan, baik anatomis maupun fisiologis pada ibu yang sering mengakibatkan timbulnya keluhan-keluhan seperti nyeri punggung  Berbagai upaya untuk mengatasi nyeri dapat dilakukan melalui kegiatan tanpa pemberian obat diantaranya aromaterapi dan prenatal yoga. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengetahui pengaruh kombinasi prenatal yoga dengan aromaterapi lavender terhadap nyeri punggung ibu hamil. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah quasy experiment yang menggunakan pendekatan two group pre-test and post-test design. Populasi adalah ibu hamil yang mengikuti prenatal yoga di PMB Ratri Restuni. Teknik pengambilan sampel adalah total sampling sebanyak 15 sampel setiap kelompok. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan terdapat perbedaan skor nyeri yang signifikan antara kedua kelompok saat dilakukannya intervensi (p-value = 0,0023) dengan nilai a = 0,05, sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa kombinasi prenatal yoga dengan aromaterapi lavender dapat dijadikan sebagai terapi non-farmakologis bagi ibu hamil dengan keluhan nyeri punggung   Kata Kunci : Prenatal Yoga, Aromaterapi Lavender, Ibu Hami