Search

Aims In the densely populated Korail slum of Bangladesh, there is a critical gap in mental health care provision and utilization that was revealed in our ethnographic study. We observed the pivotal role of Community Health Workers (CHWs), Medicine Sellers, and Traditional and Faith-Based Healers (TFHs) in the existing health care service delivery. Moreover, we explored the opportunity to collaborate with them to ensure universal access to biomedical care for serious mental disorders in this slum. As a part of this collaborative approach, we aimed to train these 4 key stakeholders through co-designed training programs that were codeveloped through extensive community engagement including 5 co-designing workshops and 2 writing workshops with them. Furthermore, we refined the initial training program by an expert committee and stakeholders. This training program was piloted to find out the acceptability, feasibility, impact, challenges and areas of improvement. Methods We followed mixed-methods approach to evaluate the 3-day pilot training with 20 participants at Mirpur, Dhaka. In quantitative part of evaluation we used a) pre and post test assessment that has been carefully designed to assess knowledge, skills, communication, attitudes and motivation, b) session specific questionnaire to find out feedback of the content, activities and time sensitivity of the session, anonymous feedback forms. In the qualitative part, we conducted a) focus group discussions (FGDs) after completion of training with each group, b) observational notes from each session for deeper understanding. Results The pilot training engaged a diverse group of 20 participants and their age ranged from 24 to 52 years, representing 11 different organizations. Though most of the participants were working in the health sector for a long time, we found more than 10% of the participants believed there was no effective biomedical care for the serious mental disorder during pretesting. However, their perception changed during the training. The role playing and case scenario was the most engaging and enjoyable part. We found the participants considered their knowledge regarding the mental health increased up to 80% from their baseline. Our research team also found the increased number of referrals to the biomedical care from the community after the pilot training. Conclusion The increased motivation and sense of responsibility reported by participants underscore the training program's effectiveness and the experience and learning from this pilot helped us to further refinements of the training program for the traditional and faith based healer, community health workers and medicine to transform the mental health scenario in Bangladesh.

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is one of the most important root vegetables of Bangladesh. Mulching and micronutrients have strong effect on growth, yield and quality of carrot. An experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm of the Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during the period from November 2021 to February 2022 to examine the effect of mulching and micronutrients on growth, yield and quality of carrot. The two-factor experiment consisted of four mulching treatments viz. control (no mulch), water hyacinth, rice straw and black polythene, and four types of micronutrients viz. control (no micronutrient), boron (3 kg/ha), zinc (2 kg/ha), boron+ zinc (3+2 kg/ha). The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. Result of the experiment revealed that application of mulching materials and different levels of micronutrients alone or in combination significantly influenced all the parameters studied. The highest gross yield of root (29.4 t/ha) was obtained from black polythene mulch. The lowest gross yield of root (14.9 t/ha) was obtained from control (no mulch) treatment. The highest gross yield of root (31.7 t/ha) was obtained from (boron+ zinc) micronutrient treatment. On the contrary, the lowest gross yield of root (13.3 t/ha) was obtained from control treatment. Among the treatment combinations, the highest gross yield of root (39.8 t/ha) was obtained from Black polythene with (boron+ zinc) micronutrient treatment. On the contrary, the lowest gross yield of root (10.6 t/ha) was obtained from control treatment. The highest gross was obtained from black polythene mulch with (boron+ zinc) micronutrient treatment. Therefore, application of black polythene mulch along with combined treatment (boron+ zinc) was found to be better in respect of growth, yield and quality of carrot. [Fundam Appl Agric 2023; 8(4.000): 639-648]

Abstract Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is the gold standard method for SARS-CoV-2 detection, and several qRT-PCR kits have been established targeting different genes of the virus. Due to the high mutation rate of these genes, false negative results arise thus complicating the interpretation of the diagnosis and increasing the need of alternative targets. In this study, an alternative approach for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA targeting the membrane (M) gene of the virus using qRT-PCR was described. Performance evaluation of this newly developed in-house assay against commercial qRT-PCR kits was done using clinical oropharyngeal specimens of COVID-19 positive patients. The limit of detection was determined using successive dilutions of known copies of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. The M gene based assay was able to detect a minimum of 100 copies of virus/mL indicating its capacity to detect low viral load. The assay showed comparable accuracy, sensitivity and specificity with commercially available kits while detecting all the variants efficiently. The study concluded that the in-house M gene based assay might be an effective alternative for the currently available commercial qRT-PCR kits.

Abstract Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology has become extremely demanding for delivering RNA-products and other drugs. However, there is no platform to manufacture pharmaceutical-grade LNPs with desired particle size from a wide range in continuous mode. We have developed a unique platform to obtain any specific size-range of LNPs from 60 to 180 nm satisfying pharmaceutical regulatory requirements for polydispersity index, sterility, dose uniformity and bio-functionality. We applied design of experiment (DoE) methodology and identified the critical process parameters to establish the process for global application. Cross-point validation within the response map of DoE confirmed that the platform is robust to produce specific size (± 10 nm) of LNPs within the design-range. The technology is successfully transformed to production scale and validated. Products from R&D, pilot and production batches for a candidate SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-vaccine generated equivalent biological responses. The data collectively established the robustness and bio-uniformity of doses for global RNA-vaccine/drug formulation.

In this study, we evaluated the performance of the in-house developed rRT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA targeting the envelope (E) and nucleocapsid (N) genes with internal control as human RNase P. A total of 50 positive samples and 50 negative samples of SARS-CoV-2 were tested by a reference kit at site 1 and a subset (30 positives and 16 negatives) of these samples are tested blindly at site 2. The limit of detection (LoD) was calculated by using a replication-deficient complete SARS-CoV-2 genome and known copy numbers, where Pseudo-virus samples were used to evaluate accuracy. On site 1, among the 50 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples 24, 18, and eight samples showed high (Ct < 26), moderate (26 < Ct ≤ 32), and low (32 < Ct ≤ 38) viral load, respectively, whereas in site 2, out of 30 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples, high, moderate, and low viral loads were found in each of the 10 samples. However, SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in the negative sample. So, in-house assays at both sites showed 100% sensitivity and specificity with no difference observed between RT PCR machines. The Ct values of the in-house kit had a very good correlation with the reference kits. LoD was determined as 100 copies/mL. It also displayed 100% accuracy in mutant and wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus. This Bangasure™ RT-PCR kit shows excellent performance in detecting SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA compared to commercially imported CE-IVD marked FDA authorized kits.

Background: Understanding health in daily life can vary from person to person. The concept of health arises from the perspective of an individual's experience. People face several kinds of barriers while seeking healthcare services, where rickshaw pullers are one of the most vulnerable groups to meet their basic health needs. This study aimed to investigate Bangladeshi rural rickshaw pullers’ perception regarding health and what obstacles they face while seeking healthcare services. Methods: This study followed a qualitative approach conducted in-depth interviews involving 20 rickshaw pullers in rural Bangladesh from 4th to 15th December 2020. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The verbatim transcription was performed, and the thematic analysis was done through manual coding and NVivo version 12. Results: According to the study’s findings, participants’ perception regarding health were mainly based on physical, nutritional, and social points of view. The financial hardship to convey medical costs, long waiting time in receiving healthcare services, social class inequality, low trustworthiness on diagnostic services, and mastery of broker in the hospital setting were acknowledged as prevailing barriers to seeking healthcare services. Conclusion: Several health perceptions existed among the rural rickshaw pullers. They faced different kinds of barriers while seeking healthcare services, and those obstacles made them hopeless and worried about getting quality healthcare services. Concerned authorities, including government and private organizations, should take effective strategies to ensure that healthcare services are available, reliable, and affordable.

Needless electrospinning (NES) is the most advanced and robust method to generate biopolymeric nanofibers. NES overcomes the needle clogging and low throughput issues of conventional needle based electrospinning (ES). However, the issue with all ES techniques is the absence of generalized methods in the literature, and most of the work is being done empirically. The solvent system dictates the feasibility of the ES process, and solvent system based studies can help create more generalized ES methods. The current work provides a systematic approach to fabricating tribiopolymeric nanofibers. NES was used to fabricate chitosan (CS)/polylactic acid (PLA)/nanocellulose (NCC) based nanofibers by optimizing the solvent system using dichloromethane (DCM) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Biopolymeric blend PLA/CS/NCC (10:0.1:0.05 w/v %) in various formulated solvent systems were made and analyzed for their physical properties (sedimentation rate, particle size, viscosity, and surface tension) and subjected to NES. The binary solvent system SS91 (DCM (90):TFA (10) %) showed the lowest sedimentation rate and viscosity while the highest particle size and surface tension, resulting in the beads free nanofibers. The viscosity and surface tension comparison were used to determine a critical point for the feasibility of nanofiber fabrication. Overall, the study showed a systematic approach for fabricating complex tri‐biopolymeric nanofibers in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundFacebook addiction (FA) has been suggested as a potential behavioral addiction. There is a severe lack of research evidence regarding the Facebook addiction behavior among university students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with Facebook addiction among Bangladeshi university students.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 2,161 Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic from June 2021 to September 2021. A well fitted regression model in R programming language was used for this study.ResultsFemale respondents and those whose family monthly income was ConclusionOveruse of social media is problematic as it can trigger several mental health symptoms, especially among students. Adequate and effective interventions are required to educate students about the dangers of Facebook addiction and to provide an alternative, healthy options.