Organic Farming in Bangladesh: To Pursue or not to Pursue? An Exploratory Study Based on Consumer Perception

The development of organic agriculture in Bangladesh has been slow. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2018), approximately 12,000 farmers in Bangladesh produce organic crops on around 7,000 hectares of land. The transition from conventional to organic farming has been an issue of debate, especially in the context of developing nations such as Bangladesh. The debate stresses the urgency for the transition to preserve environment and health and to ensure a safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly food production system, but also emphasizes the pressure of maintaining food production for a large growing population. We focus on the debate in the context of Bangladesh, and question whether it is the proper time and stage in the development process to attempt the transition from conventional to organic food production systems. We ask why the organic rice market is not expanding in Bangladesh and explain the slow market growth through the two main factors of income constraint and lack of awareness among people about the environmental and health detriments of non-organic farming. The exploratory study finds that it is not mainly the lack of awareness but the income constraint that can be principally attributed to the slow expansion of the organic rice market in Bangladesh. Through exploring consumers’ awareness about organic farming methods and their demand for organic products, this study shows how income as a major constraint, besides price, affects consumers demand for organic and non-organic rice in Bangladesh. Income being identified as the major barrier reveals the potential of the organic rice market to grow in the future, as Bangladesh continues its journey towards becoming a middle-income country

Impact of a global pandemic on surgical education and training- review, response, and reflection

The catastrophic effects of the coronavirus disease-2019 global pandemic have revolutionised human society. The unprecedented impact on surgical training needs to be analysed in detail to achieve an understanding of how to deal with similar situations arising in the foreseeable future. The challenges faced by the surgical community initiated with the suspension of clinical activities and elective practice, and included the lack of appropriate personal protective equipment, and the self-isolation of trainees and reassignment to coronavirus patient-care regions. Together, all these elements had deleterious effects on the psychological health of the professionals. Surgical training irrespective of specialty is equally affected globally by the pandemic. However, the global crisis inadvertently has led to a few constructive adaptations in healthcare systems, including the development of tele-clinics, virtual academic sessions and conferences, and increased usage of simulation. The current review article was planned to highlight the impact of corona virus disease on surgical training and institutions\u27 response to the situation in order to continue surgical training, and lessons learnt from the pandemic

Promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour can minimise the risk of suicidal behaviours among adolescents

Suicide is a leading cause of premature mortality and a major public health concern (1). It is more common in low‐ and middle‐income countries like Bangladesh, where the rate is 39.6 per 100,000 population, compared to the estimated global average of 11.4 (2). Adolescents represent more than one‐fifth of the Bangladeshi population (3), but there is limited information on how health behaviours like physical activity (PA) affect suicidal thoughts and behaviours in this vulnerable group. Identifying potentially modifiable risk behaviours is essential to reduce the country's adolescent suicide rate

In a digitally connected world through likes, hashtags and followers - advancing surgical research through a social media: A narrative review

In this era of modern information technology, the world is now digitally connected through various platforms on social media, which has changed the way medical professionals work, communicate and learn. The use of social media in surgery is expanding, and it is now becoming an essential tool for surgical training, research and networking. Articles, journal clubs and surgical conferences are within reach of everyone regardless of geographical location worldwide. Electronic publications have now resoundingly replaced printed editions of journals. Collaborative research through social media platforms helps collect diverse data, enhancing the research\u27s global generalisability. The current narrative review was planned to discuss the importance of social media in advancing surgical research and the use of different social media applications in the context of promoting and disseminating surgical research alongside its evolving ethical challenges

Physical education class participation is associated with physical activity among adolescents in 65 countries

In this study we examined the associations of physical education class participation with physical activity among adolescents. We analysed the Global School-based Student Health Survey data from 65 countries (N = 206,417; 11–17 years; 49% girls) collected between 2007 and 2016. We defined sufficient physical activity as achieving physical activities ≥ 60 min/day, and grouped physical education classes as ‘0 day/week’, ‘1–2 days/week’, and ‘ ≥ 3 days/week’ participation. We used multivariable logistic regression to obtain country-level estimates, and meta-analysis to obtain pooled estimates. Compared to those who did not take any physical education classes, those who took classes ≥ 3 days/week had double the odds of being sufficiently active (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.84–2.28) with no apparent gender/age group differences. The association estimates decreased with higher levels of country’s income with OR 2.37 (1.51–3.73) for low-income and OR 1.85 (1.52–2.37) for high-income countries. Adolescents who participated in physical education classes 1–2 days/week had 26% higher odds of being sufficiently active with relatively higher odds for boys (30%) than girls (15%). Attending physical education classes was positively associated with physical activity among adolescents regardless of sex or age group. Quality physical education should be encouraged to promote physical activity of children and adolescents

Changing face of trauma and surgical training in a developing country: A literature review

Trauma continues to be the major cause of disability and death globally and surgeons are often involved in immediate care. However there has been an exponential decrease in the number of the trained trauma surgeons. The purpose of the current review article is to summarize the published literature pertaining to trauma education in postgraduate surgical training programmes internationally and in a developing country as Pakistan. Several electronic databases like MEDLINE, PubMed, Google scholar and PakMediNet were searched using the keywords \u27trauma education\u27 or \u27trauma training\u27 AND \u27postgraduate medical education\u27, \u27surgery residency training\u27, \u27surgery residents\u27 and \u27surgeons\u27. The current training in most surgical residency programmes, locally and globally, is suboptimal. Change in trauma management protocols, and decrease in volume of trauma cases results in variable and/ or inadequate exposure and hands-on experience of the surgical trainees in operative and non-operative management of trauma. This warrants collaborative measures for integration of innovative educational interventions at all levels of the surgical educational programmes

Prevalence and sociodemographic patterns of physical activity among Bangladeshi young adult

Background: Physical activity offers physical and psychosocial health benefits that are important during young adulthood and later in life. However, little is known about the physical activity of young adults in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this study was to estimate the participation of physical activity in Bangladeshi young adults and to assess differences by gender, age and family income. Methods: This cross-sectional study with a self-administered survey used a convenience sample of 573 young adults aged 18\u201324 years from six purposively selected universities in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Data were collected during September\u2013November 2015. Medians and their interquartile ranges of weekly time spent in total physical activity, and in different domains of physical activity, were computed. Non-parametric equality of medians test was used to examine gender differences in the median values. Chi-square test and Fisher\u2019s exact test were used to examine gender differences in the prevalence of meeting physical activity recommendations and frequency of participation in different leisure-time physical activities, and differences in meeting the activity recommendations by age and family income. Results: Seventeen percent of the participants were meeting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations with a significantly higher proportion of males than females (27 vs. 6%, p < .0001). Median duration of MVPA was significantly higher (p < .0001) for males [120 min/week (80, 190)] than females [90 min/week (50, 120)]. Jogging/running was the most commonly reported leisure-time physical activity, with 20% of males and 12% of females doing this at least once a week. Age and family income were not significantly associated with meeting MVPA recommendations. Conclusions: Four out of five young adults in Dhaka City did not meet the physical activity recommendations. Additional population-based studies, including regional and metropolitan areas, and using objective measurement, are needed to understand the physical activity patterns of Bangladeshi young adults

Comparison of Outcome of two different Methods for the treatment of Intra-articular fracture of Distal Radius

Objective: It is to compare the radiological and functional outcome of two different fixation methods for displaced intra articular distal radius fracture (DRF): open reduction and internal fixation with anatomical plate and closed reduction with percutaneous K-wires. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Orthopaedics department, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore for one year; from April 2017 to March, 2018. Total 90 patients were selected in the study by ‘non-probability, consecutive sampling technique’ with 45 patients in each group of the study; Group-A (fixation method: Open reduction with internal fixation with volar plate) and Group-B (Fixation method: Kirschner-wire known as K-wire). Results: The mean age in the group A and group B was 53.7 ± 11.8 years and 55.2 ± 12.3 years respectively. There were 58 male and 32 females in the study. The differences in volar tilt, radial inclination, radial length and modified Mayo score were significantly better in group A than group B (p-value < 0.05). The differences were not significantly different for articular step off in the two study groups (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion: Open reduction with internal fixation using volar locking plates yielded significantly better radiological and functional outcomes than percutaneous fixation using K-wire in the 6 months’ postoperative period