Impact of Edible Oil Import on GDP Growth in Bangladesh: A Panel Analysis

Oil is one of the major imported products and an essential factor in the aggregate production function of Bangladesh. The objective of this study is to see the trend of selected 11 edible oils imports and the effect of selected edible oils imports on GDP growth in Bangladesh. The study uses a secondary data of 26 years for the period 1995-2020 obtained from “The Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics”, published by the National Statistical Organization (NSO) and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Descriptive statistics and econometric techniques are used to determine the trends of edible oils imports and to evaluate the effect of edible oils imports on GDP growth in Bangladesh. In descriptive statistics, it is observed that money value for import of selected edible oils and quantity of imported selected edible oils are volatile in the whole study period 1995-2020. Trends of imports of selected edible oils in Bangladesh are sighted overall increasing pattern with irregular fluctuations in the study period but imports of mustard oil has a decreasing trend in the same period. The study also found that the considered data has no serial correlation and non existence of heteroskedasticity. The research work has fitted a fixed effect panel regression model with robust standard error for the considered data. Wald test and Hausman test also conferred to fit the fixed effect panel model. The work shows that the money value for import edible oils and quantity of imported edible oils have a negative relationship with GDP growth in Bangladesh. This might be happened due to continuous increasing the price of USD against BDT that results devaluation of BDT which directly impact on imports. Key Words: Edible Oil, GDP, Panel Analysis, Hausman Test, Fixed Effect Model

Efficacy of nebulised L-adrenaline with 3% hypertonic saline versus normal saline in bronchiolitis

Background: Bronchiolitis is one of the most common respiratory diseases requiring hospitalization. Nebulized epineph­rine and salbutamol therapy has been used in different centres with varying results. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline with nebulised adrenaline diluted with normal saline in bronchiolitis. Methods: Fifty three infants and young children with bronchiolitis, age ranging from 2 months to 2 years, presenting in the emergency department of Manikganj Sadar Hospital were enrolled in the study. After initial evaluation, patients were randomized to receive either nebulized adrenaline I .5 ml ( 1.5 mg) diluted with 2 ml of3% hypertonic saline (group I) ornebulised adrenaline 1.5 ml (1.5 mg) diluted with 2 ml of normal saline (group II). Patients were evaluated again 30 minutes after nebulization. Results: Twenty eight patients in the group I (hypertonic saline) and twenty five in groupII (normal saline) were included in the study. After nebulization, mean respiratory rate decreased from 63.7 to 48.1 (p<.01), mean clinical severity score decreased from 8.5 to 3.5 (p<.01) and mean oxygen satw·ation increased 94.7% to 96.9% (p<.01) in group I. In group II, mean respiratory rate decreased from 62.4 to 47.4 (p<.01), mean clinical severity score decreased from 7.2 to 4.1 (p<.01) and mean oxygen saturation increased from 94. 7% to 96. 7% (p<.01). Mean respiratory rate decreased by 16 in group I versus 14.8 (p>.05) in group 11, mean clinical severity score decreased by 4.6 in group versus 3 (p<.05) in group, and mean oxygen saturation increased by 2.2% and 1.9% in group and group respectively. Difference in reduction in clinical severity score was statistically significant , though the changes in respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study concluded that both nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline and nebulised adrenaline with normal saline are effective in improving respiratory rate, clinical severity score and oxygen saturation in infants with bronchiolitis; and nebulised adrenaline with hypertonic saline is more effective than nebulised adrenaline with normal saline in improving clinical severity score in bronchiolitis

Do the dietary and lifestyle practices make the private medical students overweight: A cross-sectional study in Bangladesh?

Introduction: Increased mechanization and change in the food patterns are leading to physical inactivity and more energy intake globally. That’s why, obesity and overweight are no longer confined to the industrialized countries; it has spread to the developing countries as well. In Bangladesh also over-nutrition is increasing alarmingly. As the future doctors, medical students should adopt healthy dietary and lifestyle practices from the very beginning of their youth for contributing more effectively and efficiently to the country’s healthcare. Objectives: The study assessed the prevalence of overweight, the dietary and lifestyle determinants of overweight among the students of an urban private medical college of Bangladesh. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ibrahim Medical College, a private medical college in Dhaka city. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. Data Analysis was done by SPSS version 17.0 Results: The Prevalence of overweight among the medical students was found to be 27.16% (Male 39% and female 22%) . 58% of the respondents had positive family history of overweight/obesity and around 70% of them had positive family history of Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension. The dietary factors associated with overweight were increased frequency of eating at fast food shops and drinking sweetened tea or coffee. Among the lifestyle factors, liberal family rules regarding food, prolonged gap (?120 minutes) between waking up and having breakfast, taking meal while watching TV or using computer and inadequate sleep (<7 hours of sleep) were found to be associated with being overweight. Binary logistic regression concludes that positive family history of overweight/obesity; inadequate sleep and a prolonged gap between waking up and having breakfast were significantly contributing to be overweight. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight among the urban private medical college students was found to be higher than the available data of overweight in Bangladesh. Along with dietary habits, lifestyle practices are also becoming more and more important determinants of being overweight. The medical students should be counseled and advised to bring positive attitude towards healthy lifestyle and dietary practices. Keywords: Non-communicable disease, overweight, obesity, medical students, BM

A Follow-up Experience of 6 months after Treatment of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Aim: As there is lack of information about what happens to children after recovery from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), we report their relapse, morbidity, mortality and referral during follow-up period. Methods: From February 2001 to November 2003, 180 children completing acute and nutrition rehabilitation (NR) phases of protocolized management were advised for 6-months follow-up. The mean (SD) age was 12 (5) months, 55% were infants, 53% were male and 68% were breast-fed. Results: The follow-up compliance rate dropped from 91% at first to 49% at tenth visit. The common morbidities following discharge included fever (26%), cough (24%) and diarrhoea (20%). Successful follow-up done in 124 children [68.9% (95% CI 61.8-75.2%)], partial follow-up in 45 [25% (95% CI 19.2-31.8%)], relapse in 32 [17.8% (95% CI 12.9-24%)] and 5 [2.8% (95% CI 1.2-6.3%)] died. Conclusion: Our findings highlight need for follow-up as part of overall management of SAM and recommend an effective community follow-u

Pornography and Sexual Violence Against Women in India: A Scoping Review

In recent decades, surge in the usage of pornography is promoting a severe negative impact on health and well-being throughout the world. In recent times, there is a surge in rape cases in India. There may be a relation between pornography addiction and an increase in sexual crime against women. This review aims to document the association between sexual violence and addiction to pornography in India. Six original articles were retrieved from databases for the initial review of the literature, such as PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCOhost, CINAHL plus, and PubMed Central. Out of the six included cross-sectional research, 50% reported primary (sample sizes range from 100 to 600), 33.3% secondary data, and 16.7% study assessed data from Google trend. Only 16.7% of included articles unveiled a significant association between the number of Internet users and increased sexual violence (rapes and or crimes) toward females that revealed an insignificant association when variables were controlled. About 33.3% of studies reported that the male gender was more vulnerable to pornography addiction among medical students than females. Pornography search had no significant association with literacy level. Female population ratio in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes positively and urbanization and female workforce participation negatively impacted crime against women

Eco-friendly and simple synthesis of some non-natural flavones through chalcones

A distinctive feature of polyphenolics is the possession of biological properties such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Simple synthesis and study about such important class of compounds and their analogs are very important to enhance the understanding of their role in human health and diseases. Accordingly, a series of chalcones (2a-f) have been synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction with required acetophenones and aromatic aldehydes in high yields. The conversion of chalcones to the corresponding flavones (1a-g) taking minimal amount of dimethyl sulfoxide with iodine in presence of sulfuric acid was carried out under microwave conditions in high yields

Efficacy of nebulised L-adrenaline with 3% hypertonic saline versus normal saline in bronchiolitis

Background: Bronchiolitis is one of the most common respiratory diseases requiring hospitalization. Nebulized epineph­rine and salbutamol therapy has been used in different centres with varying results. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline with nebulised adrenaline diluted with normal saline in bronchiolitis. Methods: Fifty three infants and young children with bronchiolitis, age ranging from 2 months to 2 years, presenting in the emergency department of Manikganj Sadar Hospital were enrolled in the study. After initial evaluation, patients were randomized to receive either nebulized adrenaline I .5 ml ( 1.5 mg) diluted with 2 ml of3% hypertonic saline (group I) ornebulised adrenaline 1.5 ml (1.5 mg) diluted with 2 ml of normal saline (group II). Patients were evaluated again 30 minutes after nebulization. Results: Twenty eight patients in the group I (hypertonic saline) and twenty five in groupII (normal saline) were included in the study. After nebulization, mean respiratory rate decreased from 63.7 to 48.1 (p.05) in group 11, mean clinical severity score decreased by 4.6 in group versus 3 (p<.05) in group, and mean oxygen saturation increased by 2.2% and 1.9% in group and group respectively. Difference in reduction in clinical severity score was statistically significant , though the changes in respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study concluded that both nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline and nebulised adrenaline with normal saline are effective in improving respiratory rate, clinical severity score and oxygen saturation in infants with bronchiolitis; and nebulised adrenaline with hypertonic saline is more effective than nebulised adrenaline with normal saline in improving clinical severity score in bronchiolitis