BackgroundMalnutrition in children under five years remains a significant problem in Bangladesh, despite substantial socio-economic progress and a decade of interventions aimed at improving it. Although several studies have been conducted to identify the important risk factors of malnutrition, none of them assess the role of low birth weight (LBW) despite its high prevalence (36%). This study examines the association between LBW and malnutrition using data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2011 and provides practical guidelines for improving nutritional status of children.MethodsMalnutrition in children is measured in terms of their height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age. Children whose Z-scores for either of these indices are below two standard deviations (–2SD) from median of WHO’s reference population are considered as stunted, wasted or underweight, respectively. The association between malnutrition and LBW was investigated by calculating adjusted risk-ratio (RR), which controls for potential confounders such as child’s age and sex, mother’s education and height, length of preceding-birth-interval, access to food, area of residence, household socio-economic status. Adjusted RR was calculated using both Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel approach and multivariable logistic regression models controlling for confounder.ResultsThe prevalence of malnutrition was markedly higher in children with LBW than those with normal birth-weights (stunting: 51% vs 39%; wasting: 25% vs 14% and underweight: 52% vs 33%). While controlling for the known risk factors, children with LBW had significantly increased risk of becoming malnourished compared to their counter part with RR 1.23 (95% CI:1.16–1.30), 1.71 (95% CI:1.53–1.92) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.38–1.56) for stunting, wasting and underweight, respectively. The observed associations were not modified by factors known to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, such as higher education of mother, better household socio-economic conditions and longer birth-interval.ConclusionsHigher education of mother, better household socio-economic conditions and prolonged birth intervals alone are not sufficient in bringing about substantial reductions in prevalence of child malnutrition in Bangladesh. Targeted interventions should be designed to reduce prevalence of LBW in addition to improving mother’s education and other socio-demographic conditions.

1We present an extensive river sediment dataset covering the Ganga basin from the Himalayan 2 front downstream to the Ganga mainstream in Bangladesh. These sediments were mainly 3 collected over several monsoon seasons and include depth profiles of suspended particles in 4 the river water column. Mineral sorting is the first order control on the chemical composition 5 of river sediments. Taking into account this variability we show that sediments become 6 significantly depleted in mobile elements during their transit through the floodplain.

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BackgroundTo quarantine the spreading possibility of HIV virus to general population boosting public awareness is must. But the proper awareness level is substantially low in Bangladesh. This paper aims to identify the factors associated with the awareness regarding HIV/AIDS through a bivariate and multivariate analysis using the data extracted from Bangladesh Demography and Health Survey (BDHS) 1999–2000.ResultsThe findings of both techniques show that education, occupation, socioeconomic status, status of household food consumption, area of residence and media exposure have significant (p < 0.001) contribution in determining HIV/AIDS awareness level. It also reveals that media, particularly TV, and education play the leading role regarding this issue while the others have an indirect relationship. The odds of awareness among higher educated women and men were 4.69 and 77.73 times of no educated women and men respectively. In addition, both women and men those who regularly watch TV were 8.6 times more likely to be aware about AIDS compared to those who never watch TV. This phenomenon holds true for both women and men.ConclusionAt this instant it is urgent to give emphasis on education, alleviation of poverty, ensuring electronic media exposure, head to head communication program, institutional based sex education and necessary information to learn about HIV/AIDS for the young, adult and adolescents all over the country.

Our study aimed to understand the acceptance level of the COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants among the adult Bangladeshi population. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in all eight divisions of Bangladesh. Data from 7,357 adult respondents were collected between January 17 and February 2, 2021, using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical software STATA (Version 16.1) was used for all analyses. Results: The majority of study participants were from the Dhaka division (34.24%). The most common age group was 30 years (46.18%). Almost two-thirds of respondents were male (65.50%) and married (67.76%). A large portion (79.85%) of people who had positive vaccine intentions believed that vaccination should be made mandatory for everyone. The majority of the respondents thought that the vaccine would work against COVID-19 infection (67%). In the binary logistic regression analysis, participants who had the education level of graduation or above (AOR ¼ 1.80), age 50 years (AOR ¼ 1.97), students (AOR ¼ 2.98), monthly income 41,000 BDT (AOR ¼ 2.22), being resident of rural area (AOR ¼ 2.24), respondents from Khulna division (AOR ¼ 6.43) were more likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who had family members diagnosed with COVID-19 (AOR ¼ 1.24), presence of chronic disease (AOR ¼ 0.72), and those who were vaccinated in the last few years (AOR ¼ 1.32) were also more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: Most of the respondents were willing to be vaccinated based on the belief that the vaccine will work against COVID-19. As rumors are generating daily, there is a need for policy-level initiative and evidence-based mass media promotion to keep inspired the general Bangladeshi people to accept the COVID-19 vaccine whenever it will be available at the individual level.