Bangladesh

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network within a small geographical area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, office building or group of buildings. A LAN is composed of interconnected workstations and personal computers which are each capable of accessing and sharing data and devices, such as printers, scanners and data storage devices, anywhere on the LAN. LANs are characterized by higher communication and data transfer rates and the lack of any need for leased communication lines. Communication between remote parties can be achieved through a process called Networking, involving the connection of computers, media and networking devices. When we talk about networks, we need to keep in mind three concepts, distributed processing, network criteria and network structure. The purpose of this Network is to design a Local Area Network (LAN) for a BAEC (Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission) Head Quarter and implement security measures to protect network resources and syst...

Background To determine whether waist-to-height ratio correlates with coronary artery disease (CAD) severity better, than the body mass index (BMI) as assessed by coronary angiography in Bangladeshi population. Methods This cross sectional study was done on patients in Department of Cardiology in DMCH and those referred in the cath-lab of the Department of Cardiology for CAG during November 2009 to October 2010 involving 120 patients. They were divided into group-A (with coronary score ≥7) and group-B (coronary score <7) depending on Gensisni score. Result There were no statistically significant difference regarding the distribution of age, sex and clinical diagnosis and parameters between the two groups. The mean age of patients was 51.7 ± 8.2 years and 48.8 ± 9.1 years in Group A and Group B respectively with a male predominance in both the groups. Patients in group A had higher BMI ≥25 and waist to height ratio (≥0.55) than Group B which showed a statistically significant asso...

This report—including interviews with more than 331 workers employed in 32 factories that supply to H&M—documents the experiences of women garment workers at the base of H&M garment supply chains. Concentrated in short term, low-skill, and low-wage positions, they are at daily risk of gender based violence and harassment at work.

This new research documents sexual harassment and violence including physical violence, verbal abuse, coercion, threats and retaliation, and routine deprivations of liberty including forced overtime. The research also makes clear these are not isolated incidents and that gender based violence in the H&M garment supply chain is a direct result of how H&M conducts business.

Based upon analysis of the spectrum of gender based violence and associated risk factors in the garment industry, these reports include concrete recommendations for an ILO Convention to eliminate gender based violence and harassment in the world of work.

Realizing the constructed nature of gender is often described as a twentieth-century
Western phenomenon. Nevertheless, in several South Asian
religious traditions, practitioners are instructed through songs and oral teachings
to exchange and ultimately transcend gender identities. In this article
I discuss the practices aimed at transcending gender identity among some
contemporary Bengali lineages that have been defined as “heterodox” by
nineteenth-century reformers. Several lineages in West Bengal and Bangladesh
perform cross-dressing and meditative identification with the opposite
sex. I discuss such practices using songs, riddles, and oral sources collected
during fieldwork conducted between 2011 and 2015. I then briefly trace the
history of religious transvestism in South Asian literature, while contextualizing
this practice within Vaishnava and Sufi traditions. Finally, I discuss how
similar phenomena have been interpreted by modern and postmodern scholarship
to conclude with a conceptual framework for interpreting “pregnant
males” and “barren mothers” in light of contemporary gender theories, with
reference to performativity and ritual liminality.

Bangladesh is all set to become the next global ICT hub. For this to happen, it requires more women to participate in the sector in order to maintain its competitive edge in terms of a young, driven and relatively cheap workforce. However, this is easier said than done in light of the negative perceptions of Bangladeshi women against the ICT sector. By examining the cases of female students and professionals in the ICT sector, the paper sought to find out the factors that would attract local women to prepare for and join the profession. It also explored the circumstances that would enable Bangladeshi women to remain and prosper in the said sector.

In many developing nations, tourism has been a major engine of international trade and socioeconomic growth. Over the last few decades, tourism development has been steadily increasing over the world. This has encouraged a greater understanding of the necessity of ensuring that this expansion is ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable. Over the decades, tourism is diversifying to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors on the planet. The Bangladesh Tourism Board is now working on a ‘Tourism Master Plan’ for the next 20 years, with the goal of making travel and leisure the third major economic engine in Bangladesh after textiles and remittances. Furthermore, several attempts have been undertaken to promote this sector in order for it to contribute more to the national GDP. This chapter has addressed a few of the efforts. For efficient planning and implementation, Bangladesh’s tourism sector requires a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder strategy. The importance of sustainable tourism in promoting sustainable development should be given more emphasis by the relevant government agencies. To solve the country’s urgent issues, more scientific research and studies on tourism are required.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals are well known environmental pollutants. Even though numerous studies have been carried out to assess human exposures to these compounds, there is still a lack of data on humans from developing countries, especially in underprivileged children. The objective of this study was to assess the exposure to POPs and heavy metals in children from Dhaka, Bangladesh. One specific aim was to investigate whether children working at, or living close to, open waste disposal sites (WDSs) were more heavily exposed than other urban children. In 2008, blood and serum were collected from 73 children aged 7-16 from five neighbourhoods. Some of the children lived and worked at WDSs (N ¼ 31), others lived next to a WDS (N ¼ 17), whereas some children lived far from such sites (N ¼ 25). Blood levels of lead (B-Pb), cadmium (B-Cd), and selenium (B-Se) were determined by ICP-MS for all subjects. The metal levels were high, with B-Pb overall mean 120 mg L À1 (range 40-220), B-Cd 0.74 mg L À1 (0.22-4.1), and B-Se 120 mg L À1 (81-170). There were no marked differences between children from the different neighbourhoods, or between WDS workers and other children. PCB levels were low and with no contrast between neighbourhoods, for CB-153 the overall mean was 7.0 ng g À1 fat (2.8-51). In contrast, high levels of DDTs were observed in all children, for 4,4 0-DDE 1300 ng g À1 fat (420-4600), and for 4,4 0-DDT 326 ng g À1 fat (44-1400), indicating ongoing exposure. PBDE levels were low, and BDE-209 was quantitated mainly in children working at or living close to WDSs. In conclusion, the high levels of DDTs, lead and cadmium observed in children from Dhaka are of concern. Many children were exposed at levels where health effects have been observed, or at levels without safety margins.

To assess whether the key informant method (KIM) is an effective method to identify children with disabling sensory or physical impairments, or epilepsy (tonic-clonic seizures), in a low-income setting. Methods: In one subdistrict each, the Key Informants (KIs) were trained to recognize children with visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment and epilepsy, respectively. In the fifth subdistrict, the KIs were trained to recognize all four conditions. Results: Of the 2260 children identified by KIs, 1227 attended for examination (54%), of which 911 were diagnosed to have a disabling impairment (74%). KIM had a high sensitivity (average 98%) for case detection in all groups but specificity was lower (average 44%), particularly for hearing impairment. Conclusions: KIs were able to identify children with epilepsy, sensory and physical impairments. KIM is an effective and low-cost method to identify children with disability in a low-income setting.

Background: This study compared the diversity of common diarrhoeal pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility in four hospitals in Bangladesh. Methodology: A total of 13,959 diarrhoea patients, comprising rural Mirzapur [2,820), rural Matlab (2,865), urban Dhaka (5,287) and urban Mirpur (2,987) were included under the diarrhoeal disease surveillance system of icddr,b during 2010-2011; stool specimens were tested for Shigella spp., Vibrio cholerae, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and rotavirus. Results: Rotavirus was highest in Mirzapur (28%) followed by Dhaka (24%), Matlab (19%) and Mirpur (18%). Overall, Shigella was significantly more prevalent in rural sites (Mirzapur 13% and Matlab 7%), than in urban sites (Dhaka 3% and Mirpur 3%). Vibrio cholerae was more common in the urban sites of Dhaka (14%) and Mirpur (12%). 72% of Shigella isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin in Mirzapur, and 88% to mecillinam. In Dhaka, the figures for Shigella were 65% and 50%, in Matlab 65% and ...

Background: Diarrheal diseases continue to contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in infants and young children in developing countries. There is an urgent need to better understand the contributions of novel, potentially uncultured, diarrheal pathogens to severe diarrheal disease, as well as distortions in normal gut microbiota composition that might facilitate severe disease. Results: We use high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to compare fecal microbiota composition in children under five years of age who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe diarrhea (MSD) with the microbiota from diarrhea-free controls. Our study includes 992 children from four low-income countries in West and East Africa, and Southeast Asia. Known pathogens, as well as bacteria currently not considered as important diarrhea-causing pathogens, are positively associated with MSD, and these include Escherichia/Shigella, and Granulicatella species, and Streptococcus mitis/pneumoniae groups. In both cases and controls, there tend to be distinct negative correlations between facultative anaerobic lineages and obligate anaerobic lineages. Overall genus-level microbiota composition exhibit a shift in controls from low to high levels of Prevotella and in MSD cases from high to low levels of Escherichia/Shigella in younger versus older children; however, there was significant variation among many genera by both site and age. Conclusions: Our findings expand the current understanding of microbiota-associated diarrhea pathogenicity in young children from developing countries. Our findings are necessarily based on correlative analyses and must be further validated through epidemiological and molecular techniques.

Keywords: Mortality/statistics; Cause of death; Statistics; Africa South of the Sahara; Bangladesh (source: MeSH, NLM). ... OBJECTIF: Fournir des données comparables au niveau international sur la fréquence des différentes causes de décès. MÉTHODES: Il s'agissait d'analyser les ...

This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a sample of 226 women with disabilities living in four different districts of Bangladesh. It also explored the physical and psychological suffering of women experiencing violence and their various coping strategies. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 226 women with disabilities to measure the prevalence of IPV, and 16 in-depth interviews were conducted to document in detail the experiences of violence encountered by the abused women. Among the 226 women interviewed in the survey, about 84% reported ever having experienced at least one act of emotional abuse, physical, or sexual violence from their partner during their lifetime. Women who were older (aged above 32 years), separated, and members of economic/savings group were more likely to report ever having experienced any IPV than women with disabilities who were younger (aged 32 years and less), married, and not members of economic/sav...

Maternal undernutrition and low macro- and micronutrient intake and weight gain during pregnancy have been reported in Bangladesh. We aimed to determine the effects of lipid-based nutrient supplements for pregnant and lactating women (LNS-PL) on weight gain and midupper arm circumference (MUAC) during pregnancy. The Rang-Din Nutrition Study, a cluster-randomized effectiveness trial conducted in Bangladesh, enrolled 4011 pregnant women at ≤20 wk gestation who received either 60 mg Fe + 400 μg folic acid/d or 20 g LNS-PL/d (118 kcal) containing essential fatty acids and vitamins and minerals until delivery. At 36 wk gestation, women were interviewed at home and then attended a follow-up examination at local clinics (n = 2877), where anthropometric measurements were taken. No significant differences between intervention groups in maternal weight gain per week, low weight gain per week, or MUAC at 36 wk gestation were observed in the full sample. However, among multiparous women aged ≥2...

বাংলাদেশের উচ্চশিক্ষার শতবর্ষের অগ্রযাত্রায় গত শতাব্দীর নব্বই এর দশকের শুরুতে আমাদের শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থায় বেসরকারিকরণের প্রক্রিয়া শুরু হয়। আমাদের উচ্চ শিক্ষাব্যাবস্থার এই দুই ধারার মধ্যে তুলনামূলক ও গুণগত আলোচনার স্বল্পতা লক্ষনীয়। এই প্রবন্ধে একটি তুলনামূলক আলোচনার মাধ্যমে সরকারি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলোর পাশাপাশি, বেসরকারি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়গুলো কি করে আমাদের সমাজ কাঠামোতে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা পালন করছে সে বিষয়টি তুলে ধরা হয়েছে। যা আমাদের শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থা ও জাতীয় উন্নয়নের জন্য একটি ইতিবাচক দিক ।

Asian economic and aid Giant Japan and rising power and emerging donor China-the Asian Dragon give aid to Bangladesh in the name of development. But what are the politics and policy of aid that shape their engagement with Bangladesh? And as a recipient what is Bangladesh to do in the shifting balance of power scenario between these two rivals?

Aims We carried out a survey of important nonclinical issues including awareness and self-management of diabetes on a group of South Asian and Caucasian patients attending diabetic clinics within a set period.Methods A structured questionnaire examined various issues including demographics, perceived knowledge and awareness of diabetes, perceived self-help/support, and psycho-social factors. A total of 500 patients (268 South Asians and

The study was conducted to determine the occurrence of infectious diseases in broiler chickens at kapasia in Gazipur district during the period from 16th October to 16th December 2008. Detection was made on the basis of history, clinical findings and post-mortem lesions. A total of 199 broiler chickens were examined during the study where Colibacillosis 104 (52.26%), Mycoplasmosis 25 (12.56%), Salmonellosis 02 (1.01%), Omphalitis 23 (11.56%), Coccidiosis 09 (4.52%), Gumboro 22 (11.06%), Mycotoxicosis 11 (5.53%) and mixed infection of Gumboro & Coccidiosis 03 (1.51%) were recorded. In the conclusion it has been remarked that Collibacillosis is a major problem for broiler production and hence poultry farmers can not earn their profit perfectly due to adverse effect of those diseases. Further laboratory examination is needed to confirm the identified diseases.

Zoonoses in swine are increasingly becoming a global public health concern. Understanding how livestock farmers perceive animal illnesses will help to develop locally acceptable and effective public health intervention strategies to control and manage zoonoses. The authors describe Bangladeshi pig raisers' perception of pig illnesses and their behaviour towards sick pigs. We collected qualitative data from August 2007 to September 2008. Included in our study are backyard pig raisers from three districts, namely: Faridpur, Chapainobabgonj and Tangail and nomadic herders from six districts, namely: Mymensingh, Tangail, Sherpur, Sirajgonj, Bogra and Pabna. We conducted in-depth interviews (n=34) and made observations of human interactions with pigs (n=18). Pig raisers reported several illnesses that caused their pigs to suffer and die. They had close contact with sick pigs whilst caring for them. They slaughtered sick pigs and consumed and sold the pork if they thought that the pig...

Bangladesh lagged in microfinance regulation until 2006 when it established Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA). So far, MRA has granted license to around 650 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs); and has been supervising them with prudential and non-prudential regulations. We assessed the impact of regulation on cost efficiency using from pre-regulation and post-regulation data of 182 MFIs. Panel data analyses robustly show that regulation improves cost efficiency; directly through changing behavior of the MFIs, and indirectly through increasing staff productivity and portfolio size. We found partners of PKSF—the wholesale lending agency in Bangladesh—and unsubsidized MFIs are more efficient than others.

In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, many of the overseas American Cultural Centers or binational centers sponsored or supported by the U.S. Information Service (USIS) organized annual Gettysburg Address speech contests.  The contests helped local students develop speaking and oratorical skills while they learned about the U.S. war over slavery and "government of the people, by the people, for the people."  "A speech or essay contest . . . may encourage hundreds of students to strive for the prize.  Win or lose, every contestant benefits from the effort."  Includes recollections from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Taiwan, and China.

Introduction: We investigated a cluster of patients with encephalitis in the Manikgonj and Rajbari Districts of Bangladesh in February 2008 to determine the etiology and risk factors for disease. Methods: We classified persons as confirmed Nipah cases by the presence of immunoglobulin M antibodies against Nipah virus (NiV), or by the presence of NiV RNA or by isolation of NiV from cerebrospinal fluid or throat swabs who had onset of symptoms between February 6 and March 10, 2008. We classified persons as probable cases if they reported fever with convulsions or altered mental status, who resided in the outbreak areas during that period, and who died before serum samples were collected. For the case-control study, we compared both confirmed and probable Nipah case-patients to controls, who were free from illness during the reference period. We used motion-sensor-infrared cameras to observe bat's contact of date palm sap. Results: We identified four confirmed and six probable case-patients, nine (90%) of whom died. The median age of the cases was 10 years; eight were males. The outbreak occurred simultaneously in two communities that were 44 km apart and separated by a river. Drinking raw date palm sap 2-12 days before illness onset was the only risk factor most strongly associated with the illness (adjusted odds ratio 25, 95% confidence intervals 3.3-N, p < 0.001). Case-patients reported no history of physical contact with bats, though community members often reported seeing bats. Infrared camera photographs showed that Pteropus bats frequently visited date palm trees in those communities where sap was collected for human consumption. Conclusion: This is the second Nipah outbreak in Bangladesh where date palm sap has been implicated as the vehicle of transmission. Fresh date palm sap should not be drunk, unless effective steps have been taken to prevent bat access to the sap during collection.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building in Bangladesh, which resulted in the loss of at least 1134 lives and injuries to hundreds more, exposed the brutality of a global production system in which labour rights have become privatised, circumscribed, and deterritorialised. Unprecedented for an incident of its kind, affected families received $30 million in "compensation" from global apparel companies through the Rana Plaza Arrangement, a voluntary initiative overseen by the International Labour Organization (ILO). This article situates the Arrangement in debates over labour rights in global supply chains, presenting it as a hybrid mechanism that recognises workers' right to compensation for injury or death but relies on the voluntarism of corporate social responsibility for funding. Exploring the complex role of neoliberal regulation in reproducing geographies of uneven development, I show how a transnational initiative can restrict labour rights even as it attempts to expand such rights.

This paper attempts to focus on some of the issues and problems related to poverty and sustainable development in Bangladesh from the perspective of environmental protection and ecological balance. It has been argued that poverty alleviation and environmental protection are in harmony to reinforce sustainable development. This paper is an attempt to analyze the development scenario that aims at reducing poverty. However, in spite of the best efforts of government and NGOs the various indices of development in the developing countries have already faced difficulties in the context of achieving their goals and targets. This paper argues that instead of contributing to sustainability most of the development programs having a negative effect on overall environment and society.

Large-scale mass poisoning through arsenic contaminated groundwater is a global concern and Bangladesh is among the countries exposed to high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater. As arsenic is a widespread contaminant, several studies have been conducted on it but only a few of these studies were held on micro regions by assessing its role on water quality index. In this study, the source and mobilization of arsenic, its effect on soil and plant, level and consequence of toxicity in human health along with current and potential methods to eliminate arsenic from groundwater in Bangladesh were reviewed based on previous researches. Along with the review, an experimental study was also carried out in an arsenic prone region of Bangladesh named Faridpur Sadar Upazila to delineate the role of arsenic in contamination by generating two synthetic scenarios where water quality was measured by the weighted arithmetic water quality index (WQI) method. From the review it was found that, both geogenic, as well as anthropogenic sources, contribute to arsenic affluence in groundwater in Bangladesh. The most accepted theory states that the Himalayan is the primary geogenic source of arsenic in the Bangladesh. Arsenic arrived in the aquifer transported with sediments which eventually releases into groundwater by several biogeochemical processes. This arsenic-contaminated groundwater is extensively used for drinking purpose and irrigation resulting in accumulation of arsenic in human body, soils and plants. Moreover, the accumulated arsenic in soil and plants transmits into the human body jeopardizes human health. Though, several arsenic removal technologies are now in practice in Bangladesh, more eco-friendly and convenient methods may be utilized to attenuate the level of toxicity. The experimental study revealed that, if the arsenic amount was reduced from the present condition, the overall WQI increases considerably. At one location, the index changed from category E to category B while considering a synthetic scenario of no arsenic in water. This indicates that arsenic is the key pollutant of groundwater in the area. This paper expects the kind attention of the local people and policymakers about the severity of arsenic pollution in the region.

Bangladesh and India Sharing fifty-four trans-boundary rivers water that flows from India to Bangladesh. Bangladesh is mostly dependent on India for their water and has no control over the water shed management policy of the rivers. Being a smaller, weaker military and economy than India, Bangladesh cannot influence the watershed management policies and face floods and water scarcity, reducing yield production and fish productivity, an ecological imbalance in estuarine areas, saline water intrusion in the southwestern part of Bangladesh and reduced navigation. Water governance is the combination of the political, social, economic and administrative system, which manage the water resources and provide services in the different level of society. Based on the water governance definition the researchers find out the different stakeholder in the management of water governance and the lack of practices of the theoretical concept of water governance and try to indicate the possibilities of...

The present study aims to estimate the incidence of preventable infectious diseases or associated symptoms among young children in Bangladesh and also determine the factors affecting these conditions. The study hypothesised that various background characteristics of children as well as their parents influence the incidence of morbidity of children aged below 5 years. Setting: The study used data from the most recent nationally representative cross-sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) conducted in 2011. Participants: A total of 7550 children aged below 5 years during the survey from mothers aged between 12 and 49 years are the participants of the study. Results: In general, younger children were more likely to suffer from multiple health conditions than their older counterparts. Children belonging to households classified as poor (OR=1.425, 95% CI (1.130 to 1.796)) or middle (OR=1.349, 95% CI (1.113 to 1.636)) faced greater risk of illness than those from well-off households. A combination of source and treatment practices of drinking water showed a significant impact on incidence of childhood morbidity. Children from households using untreated non-piped water were 85.8% (OR=1.860, 95% CI (1.269 to 2.728)) more likely to suffer from comorbidity than those who treat their piped drinking water. However, we observed that water treatment alone has no impact unless the water itself was sourced from a pipe. Conclusions: Accelerated programmes promoting access to safe drinking water along with water treatment practices, and better household environment may prove effective in reducing the incidence of childhood morbidity in Bangladesh.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are health conditions that cannot be transmitted from one patient to another, and usually manifest a prolonged, persistent, and slow pathology. NCDs are responsible for over 70% of all deaths, with nearly 80% of these deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries. In addition, NCDs constitute approximately 80% of all years lived with disability globally. With the global population aging, rises in multi-morbidity, longer life expectancies, and increasing survival rates, more and more people are expected to live with the health burden of NCDs (WHO, 2020).
COVID-19 is an ongoing pandemic that emerged at the end of 2019 in China and spread quickly to the rest of the world, affecting, both directly and indirectly, the health and life of the global population. This research attempts to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on NCDs in Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Colombia, DRC, Nigeria, and Syria. All six countries are included in the iMMAP COVID-19 Situational Analysis Program, as they are affected by humanitarian crises and conflicts. The report covers the effects of COVID-19 on access to health services, resources allocations, and the medical status of the patients with NCDs.
The research relies on the data collected from trusted academic and institutional sources stored in the DEEP Platform, or directly from World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), British Medical Journal (BMJ), and ELSEVIER. This secondary data review was complemented with primary data, collected through a key informants’ survey conducted using Kobo Toolbox. For the complete questionnaire.

The impact of a water, sanitation and hygiene education intervention project on diarrhoeal morbidity in children under 5 years old was evaluated in a rural area of Bangladesh. Data were collected throughout 1984–1987, covering both pre-and post-intervention periods, from an ...

Background: The people of low and middle income countries bear about 80% of the global burden of diseases that are attributable to high blood pressure. Hypertensive people contribute half of this burden; the rest is among the people with lesser degrees of high blood pressure. Prehypertension elevates the risk of CVD, and that of end-stage renal disease. Bangladesh is a developing country, with more than 75% of the population live in rural area. This study aims to determine the prevalence and predictors of pre-hypertension and hypertension among the adults in rural Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study of major non-communicable disease risk factors (tobacco and alcohol use, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity) was conducted in rural surveillance sites of Bangladesh. In addition to the self-reported information on risk factors, height and weight, and blood pressure were measured during household visits using standard protocols of the WHO STEPwise approach to Surveillance. The study population included 6,094 men and women aged 25 years and above. Adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of prehypertension and hypertension with various factors. Results: The prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension was 31.9% and 16.0%, respectively. The men had a higher prevalence (33.6%) of pre-hypertension compared to the women (30.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that increasing age [OR 2.30 (1.84-2.87)] and higher BMI [OR 4.67 (3.35-6.51) were positively associated with pre-hypertension. For hypertension, multivariate analysis showed that increasing age [OR 4.48 (3.38-5.94)] and higher BMI (specially the overweight category) was positively associated. Significant linear relationships of prehypertension were found with age [P for trend < 0.0001] and BMI [P for trend < 0.0001]. Linear regression for hypertension shows significant association with age [P for trend < 0.0001] but not with BMI [P for trend 0.3783]. Conclusion: Approximately one third and one-sixth of the adult population of rural Bangladesh are affected with pre-hypertension and hypertension, respectively. This poses a great challenge ahead, as most of the people with pre-hypertension will progress towards hypertension until otherwise undergo in any pharmacological or lifestyle intervention.

This paper illustrates the result of land use/ cover change in Dhaka Metropolitan of Bangladesh using topographic maps and multi-temporal remotely sensed data from 1960 to 2005. The Maximum likelihood supervised classification technique was used to extract information from satellite data, and post-classification change detection method was employed to detect and monitor land use/cover change. Derived land use/cover maps were further validated by using high resolution images such as SPOT, IRS, IKONOS and field data. The overall accuracy of land cover change maps, generated from Landsat and IRS-1D data, ranged from 85% to 90%. The analysis indicated that the urban expansion of Dhaka Metropolitan resulted in the considerable reduction of wetlands, cultivated land, vegetation and water bodies. The maps showed that between 1960 and 2005 built-up areas increased approximately 15,924 ha, while agricultural land decreased 7,614 ha, vegetation decreased 2,336 ha, wetland/lowland decreased 6,385 ha, and water bodies decreased about 864 ha. The amount of urban land increased from 11% (in 1960) to 344% in 2005. Similarly, the growth of landfill/bare soils category was about 256% in the same period. Much of the city's rapid growth in population has been accommodated in informal settlements with little attempt being made to limit the risk of environmental impairments. The study quantified the patterns of land use/cover change for the last 45 years for Dhaka Metropolitan that forms valuable resources for urban planners and decision makers to devise sustainable land use and environmental planning.

Characteristics on admission of children on standardised protocol (n=334) and non-protocol children (n=293) were similar except that more children on standardised protocol had oedema, acidosis, and Vibrio cholerae isolated from stools. 199 (59·9%) of children on ...

The aim of the research is to trace causes of the wave of terrorism in present day Bangladesh, to analyze the government’s response to it and to give possible scenarios of the further development of Bangladesh as the result of the clash between the government and radical Islamic terrorists. The research task is to make the monitoring of a press, the list of terrorist events and the list of victims and to analyze them. The main research method employed is historic one that puts all the events into the system of causes and consequences. The author finds the roots of present political instability in the ambiguous nature of Bangladesh and the conflict of the secular and the religious in its base. Bangladesh is the product of na-tionalist secession from the Islamic state of Pakistan while Pakistan is the result of Islamist secession from India. The author discusses numerous cases of terror in Bangladesh and attempts to give possible scenarios of political development in this South Asian country. The four most probable scenarios are the victory of the secular government, the change of the government and the domination of ‘mild Islamists’ in the new government, the Islamist victory and the new military coup that would suppress radical Islamists but also will suppress all legal political activity.

The future of biodiversity in Asia is increasingly dependent on networks of effective protected areas. Three wildlife sanctuaries of the Bangladesh Sundarbans are typical examples of protected areas where detection and monitoring of threats is difficult due to low densities of patrol staff and low frequency of patrolling relative to the area that requires monitoring. The aim of this study was to use camera traps to quantify: 1) the levels of different types of illegal human activities (IHA), 2) spatio-temporal variation in illegal human activities, and 3) what proportion of camera trap records can be used to identify perpetrators. Each photograph was categorized as either illegal human activity (IHA) or legal human activity (LHA) based on interpretation of the particular human activity and equipment observed in photograph. For IHA, infraction type was based on the Bangladesh Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act 2012. A total of 914 unique human activity events were recorded (872 IHA and 42 LHA) in camera trap photos over a total of 1039 trap nights. The best model suggests that during spring tide 91% of camera trapped locations in the West Sanctuary had IHA occurring in them during the survey period, while 84% and 74% locations had IHA in the South Sanctuary and East Sanctuary respectively. Camera trapping in remote areas can potentially help protected area managers to increase rates of detection of IHA in their conservation landscapes and increase rates of arrests and prosecutions by providing appropriate supporting evidence.

Background/Objective: Psychosocial stimulation (PS) and food supplementation (FS) improve development of malnourished children. This study evaluates the effects of a community-based approach of PS and FS on growth and development of severely malnourished children. Subjects/Methods: Severely underweight hospitalised children aged 6-24 months (n ¼ 507) were randomly allocated on discharge to five groups: (i) PS, (ii) FS, (iii) PS þ FS, (iv) clinic-control and (v) hospital-control. PS included play sessions and parental counselling on child development. This was done at each fortnightly follow-up visit, that is, every second week, for 6 months at community clinics. FS included distribution of cereal-based food packets (150-300 kcal/day) for 3 months. All groups received medical care, micronutrient supplementation, health-education and growth monitoring. Children's development was assessed using revised version of Bayley Scales of Infant Development at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of intervention. Anthropometry was measured using standard procedure. Results: Comparing groups with any stimulation with those with no stimulation there was a significant effect of stimulation on children's mental development index (group * session interaction P ¼ 0.037, effect size ¼ 0.37 s.d.) and weight-for-age Z-score (group * session interaction P ¼ 0.02, effect size ¼ 0.26 s.d.). Poor levels of development and nutritional status were sustained, however, due to their initial very severe malnutrition. There was no effect on motor development and linear growth. Conclusion: Children receiving any stimulation showed a significant benefit to mental development and growth in weight. More intensive intervention with longer duration is needed to correct their poor developmental levels and nutritional status.