Search

Abstract Objectives This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with multimorbidity among adults in community settings in Bangladesh. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 600 individuals aged ≥ 50 years living in three districts of Bangladesh. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used. Data were collected through structured interviews covering individual-level, household-level, and community-level factors. The presence of multimorbidity was determined based on self-reporting of two or more known diagnoses of chronic conditions. Logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with multimorbidity. Results The prevalence of multimorbidity among individuals was around 39% (95% CI: 34.6–42.4), with hypertension (35%) being the most common condition. Being unemployed, having a smaller family size, and a lower monthly income were significantly associated with higher odds of multimorbidity, with odds ratios of 1.78 (95% CI: 1.02–3.10), 1.49 (95% CI: 1.04–2.13), and 1.72 (95% CI: 1.11–2.68), respectively. Conclusions We found a 39% prevalence of multimorbidity among older adults in Bangladesh, having hypertension as the most prevalent condition. Our findings may help to emphasize the importance of providing awareness-building programs and increasing investment in healthcare services to provide services for decreasing multimorbity

Due to microscale size and infinitesimal stiffness, the undesirable surface and external forces influence the mechanical behaviors of microstructures. It hinders MEMS functions, degrades reliability, and acts as a disturbance. Since MEMS functions based on microstructure mechanical behaviors, therefore, their quantification in microstructures is vital. However, the direct quantification is costly, difficult, and requires a controlled environment and unique experimental setups. Analytical assessment is also complex because of multi-physics involvement, nonlinearity of forces, and a lack of suitable mathematical models. Numerical analysis of microstructures is performed in the absence of all disturbance forces, whereas their influences cannot be eliminated during the experiment. This study aims to quantify the sum of disturbance forces in a microwire for the push-pull sliding motion against two opposite microprobes from the difference between experimental and numerical study and incorporating adhesive and electrostatic forces from literature for a single microprobe. The effect of the nonlinearity of surface forces is counted by iterating the initial difference of forces for which the numerically predicted contact force matches the experimental one. The sum of surface and external disturbance forces in the microwire is estimated to be 0.295 μN, including external disturbances of 0.177 μN. The predicted adhesive, electrostatic, and the sum of van der Waals, capillary, and hydrogen bonding forces are 0.118034, 0.02014, and 0.097894 μN, respectively. This study will help in quantifying disturbance forces in microstructures, like microbars, microrods, microplates, etc., and the appropriate design of MEMS devices.

The establishment of a feeding regimen for cladocerans is crucial in contemporary aquaculture due to their significance as nutrient-rich live feeds for various aquatic species. Three experiments were conducted to optimize the growth and reproduction rates of cladocerans (Moina sp. and Diaphanosoma sp.) using various stocking densities, types of food, and feeding regimens, emphasizing the importance of Haematococcus sp. in enhancing aquaculture productivity. In the first experiment, five different initial stocking densities: 1 × 103 indv. L−1 (T1), 3 × 103 indv. L−1 (T2), 6 × 103 indv. L−1 (T3), 9 × 103 indv. L−1 (T4), and 12 × 103 indv. L−1 (T5) of cladocerans were tested over a 10-day culture period, where T3 demonstrated the best growth. Using the best initial stocking density from experiment 1, the second experiment assessed varying concentrations of Haematococcus sp.: 1 × 105, 5 × 105, 10 × 105, 15 × 105, and 20 × 105 cells mL−1 in T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively as feed of cladocerans; among them, T3 exhibited the highest population density. Experiment 3 evaluated the effects of three different diets including live Haematococcus sp. (T1), baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (T2), and Haematococcus sp. + baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (T3) on the growth of cladocerans over 10 days. The study employed the optimal initial stocking density of cladocerans and the feeding concentration of Haematococcus sp. as determined from the prior two experiments. Notably, T3 yielded the highest zooplankton density in this investigation. These findings indicate that elevating the initial stocking density of cladocerans and increasing the concentrations of Haematococcus sp. as feed up to an optimal level can effectively enhance the population growth of cladocerans. Both very low and excessively high initial stocking density, as well as suboptimal and excessively high concentrations of Haematococcus sp., negatively impact the growth of cladocerans. Moreover, using Haematococcus sp. alone or in combination with baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) enhances the growth and reproduction rates of cladocerans, indicating potential benefits for aquaculture systems.

In this study, a novel green adsorbent, Tabernaemontana divaricata leaf powder (TD), was prepared, and its efficacy in removing malachite green (MG) dye from water, along with the associated mechanism and kinetics, was systematically evaluated for the first time. Characterization of TD was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Optimization of MG dye removal was conducted by varying parameters such as pH, initial dye concentration, contact time, and TD dosage. Results demonstrated that TD exhibited a high adsorption capacity for MG dye (5.2131 mg.g−1), achieving a maximum removal efficiency of 89.5 % under optimized conditions: pH 7.0, initial dye concentration of 20 ppm, contact time of 120 min, TD dosage of 4 g/L, and temperature of 28.1 °C. Kinetic and isotherm models were applied to analyze the experimental data, revealing that the adsorption process most accurately followed Ho's pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999). The high heats of adsorption observed in the isotherm study suggest prominent electrostatic interactions between adsorbate molecules and the surface, governing the chemisorption mechanism that dominates at the solid-liquid interface. This study underscores the potential of Tabernaemontana divaricata (jasmine) leaf powder as a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and efficient adsorbent for the remediation of MG dye-contaminated water.

Abstract Cholera, an acute waterborne diarrheal disease, remains a major global health challenge. Despite being curable and preventable, it can be fatal if left untreated, especially for children. Bangladesh, a cholera‐endemic country with a high disease burden, experiences two peaks annually, during the dry pre‐monsoon spring and the wet post‐monsoon fall seasons. An early warning system for disseminating cholera risk, which has potential to reduce the disease burden, currently does not exist in Bangladesh. Such systems can raise timely awareness and allow households in rural, riverine areas like Matlab to make behavioral adjustments with water usage and around water resources to reduce contracting and transmitting cholera. Current dissemination approaches typically target local government and public health organizations; however, the vulnerable rural populations largely remain outside the information chain. Here, we develop and evaluate the accuracy of an early warning system—CholeraMap that uses high‐resolution earth observations to forecast cholera risk and disseminate geocoded risk maps directly to Matlab's population via a mobile smartphone application. Instead of relying on difficult to obtain station‐based environmental and hydroclimatological data, this study offers a new opportunity to use remote sensing data sets for designing and operating a disease early warning system. CholeraMap delivers monthly, color‐coded geospatial maps (1 km × 1 km spatial resolution) with household and community cholera risk information. Our results demonstrate that the satellite‐derived local‐scale risk model satisfactorily captured the seasonal cholera pattern for the Matlab region, and a detailed high‐resolution picture of the spatial progression of at‐risk areas during outbreak months.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in medicinal and specialty crops due to their high content of health-promoting compounds, such as quinic acid and caffeic acid derivatives. In light of this, the objective of this study was to analyze the levels of caffeic and quinic acid, specifically caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, in water and water-ethanolic extracts obtained from medicinal plants, including chocolate mint (Mentha piperita L), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), and sweet potato tops (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) using high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the water extracts contained significantly higher amounts of caffeoylquinic acid derivatives than the ethanolic extracts. Among the plants tested, sweetpotato leaves exhibited the highest total phenolic acids content (28.60 mg CQA·g−1), followed by lemon balm (14.71 mg CQA·g−1) and chocolate mint (5.49 mg CQA·g−1) in water-ethanolic extracts. The water-ethanolic extracts from sweet potato leaves were particularly rich in caffeoylquinic acids, especially 5-CQA (10.84 ± 0.31 mg CQA·g−1) and 3-CQA (6.69 ± 0.14 mg CQA·g−1), followed by lemon balm (3.81 ± 0.14 and 1.37 ± 0.05 mg CQA·g−1). On the other hand, sweet basil had the lowest content of all compounds (0.41 and 2.29 mg CQA·g−1). Additionally, an identifiable compound, 3, 4, 5 tri-caffeoylquinic acids (2.98 ± 0.09 mg CQA·g−1), was detected only in sweetpotato leaves and not in the other herbs studied. The findings of this study highlight the significant phytochemical properties present in these medicinal plants, which could have potential therapeutic applications for various conditions.

BackgroundCervical cancer is a major public health challenge in Africa. We analyzed the presence and content of policies for the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of cervical cancer in Africa, to identify areas of opportunity for policy strengthening in the region most affected by cervical cancer globally.MethodsWe searched for publicly-available policy documents among countries in Africa. Using a data extraction form, we gathered data from these policies about key elements of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention approaches and activities based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We also contacted key stakeholders in each country to confirm these details. We summarized each country's policy details (summed score for each prevention stage and overall), and compared these scores across individual countries and groups of countries based on economic, policy and public health characteristics.ResultsMost countries had at least one policy addressing some aspect of cervical cancer prevention. Primary and secondary prevention were more commonly addressed, and certain details like age of vaccination, screening age/interval and method, were frequently mentioned in these policies.ConclusionCountries with high HIV burden and relatively more donor financing for health had more comprehensive cervical cancer policies; there was no apparent association with cervical cancer mortality, female representation in government, or economic indicators (poverty prevalence or income inequality).Policy summaryThere is room to improve cervical cancer policy comprehensiveness in Africa, and to bring these policies in line with evidence and expert recommendations. This analysis is timely given upcoming monitoring of the WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem. These findings suggest some improvements in African cervical cancer policy, including increased inclusion of vaccination, but many topics remain under-specified. The influence of internal and external factors on policymaking should also be considered.

This study aimed to investigate the leaves of six cultivars of Ipomoea batatas L. from the USA, focusing on their Total Polyphenol Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC), antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. TPC and TFC ranged from 7.29 ± 0.62 to 10.49 ± 1.04 mg TAE/g Dw, and from 2.30 ± 0.04 to 4.26 ± 0.23 mg QE/g Dw, respectively, with the highest values found in the ‘O’Henry’ variety. RP-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography identified six phenolic and flavonoid compounds: caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, and quercetin, excluding gallic acid. The highest levels of these compounds were found in acidified methanolic extracts. Antioxidant activities, measured by ABTS and DPPH assays, showed low IC50 values ranging from 94.6 ± 2.76 to 115.17 ± 7.65 µg/mL, and from 88.83 ± 1.94 to 147.6 ± 1.22 µg/mL. Ferric Ion-Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP) measurements indicated significant antioxidant levels, varying from 1.98 ± 0.14 to 2.83 ± 0.07, with the ‘O’Henry’ variety exhibiting the highest levels. The antimicrobial activity test included five Gram-positive bacteria, three Gram-negative bacteria, and two pathogenic fungi. S. aureus, S. mutans, L. monocytogenes, E. coli, S. dysenteriae, and C. albicans were most susceptible to the methanolic extract. This study underscores the impressive antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of sweet potato leaves, often discarded, making them a valuable source of natural antioxidants, antimicrobials, and other health-promoting compounds.

There is now a worldwide collective obligation, a reality, to acknowledge environmental challenges. The paper discusses and analyses the principles of international environmental laws and how those are applied in international conventions and treaties, and the effectiveness and weaknesses of those laws. This discussion mainly focuses on the principles’ backdrop, what they mean, and how they have been adopted in international environmental law. Furthermore, the paper focuses on the outcomes of formulating the principles and enforcement of the legal framework. It analyses their prospect to strengthen the legal framework to achieve the objective of these principles. Besides, some recommendations have been made to strengthen these legal frameworks. It shows why it is essential to form efficient environmental platforms in present climate issues and how all nations can be brought under a common platform where they can take decisions regarding the safeguard amid the evolving environmental situations.

Ureteral fistulas are a rare occurrence that can arise from iatrogenic trauma, radiation, malignancy, and inflammation. Treatment options of urinary tract fistulas are handled on a case-by-case basis, and can necessitate a surgical approach. The authors present the case of an 85-year-old female patient with a ureterocutaneous fistula, where conservative management with percutaneous nephrostomy is a viable alternative to surgical intervention.