Background In developing countries like Bangladesh, self-medication has become a predicament associated with health risks and clinical complications. To date, no studies have been conducted on the practice of self-medication among the indigenous population living in Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT). Objectives This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of self-medication and analyzing the factors associated with it among the indigenous population in CHT. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from late October to early December 2020; among different indigenous group populations residing in the three districts of CHT aged 18 or more. A pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire was developed to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, health status, frequency of self-medication, reasons for self-medication in last one year, as well as other variables. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess associated factors with self-medication. Results A total of 1350 people from different indigenous populations were interviewed, among whom 49.9% practiced self-medication. The rate of self-prescribed antibiotics usage (80.9%) was significantly higher compared to other drugs. Self-prescribed medications were mostly used for diarrhea and food poisoning (60.6%), cough, cold and fever (51.4%), and headache (51.4%). A common source of self-prescribed medicines was community or retail pharmacy and the most reported reason for self-prescribed medication was the long-distance of healthcare facilities from home. Conclusion The prevalence of self-medication is substantially high among indigenous people and the effect is alarming. Particular concern is the misuse of antibiotics and analgesic drugs. Increasing awareness among the population of the negative effect of self-medication and implementation of proper policies and actions are urgently needed to prevent self-medication among indigenous population in Bangladesh.

BRICS countries have experienced rapid economic growth and played a vital role in the world economy because of their capacity to produce large number of manufacturing products, supplies of raw materials, natural resources and the advantage of geographical locations and demographic attributes. Extremely speedy process of industrialization process has been acting as one of the key driving forces for rapid economic growth. According to the IAEA, coal use in India and China will more than double by 2050. To achieve high economic growth, these countries are facing severe environmental problem. India and China were the top two nations with largest total ecological footprints in 2003. Research question of the study is whether relationship between Environmental Performance Index and GDP growth rate in BRICS countries prevails? The study used secondary sources. The study used a sample of five emerging developing countries (BRICS) namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This study examined Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and GDP trends. Based on the collected data covering the period of 2002 to 2016, the analysis indicates that there is a negative relationship between GDP growth rate and Environmental Performance index. However, the study observed that strong correlation between EPI and GDP growth rate except Russia did not prevail. National accounting procedure should include environmental impact which needs to be addressed by the policy makers as suggested by authors.

BackgroundIn the context of zoonosis, Bangladesh's small‐scale dairying is yet to frame satisfactory levels due to poor biosecurity practices.ObjectivesThis study intended to reveal the degree of knowledge, attitudes and biosecurity practices among Sylhet district, Bangladesh's small‐scale dairy farmers. We also focused on the association between biosecurity practices and the incidence of non‐specific enteritis in humans.MethodsA questionnaire‐based survey was conducted on the farmers’ KAP via personal interviews of 15 farmers from the randomly selected fifteen small‐scale dairy farms. The questionnaire was developed with 6 questions for knowledge, 6 questions for attitude and 12 questions for the practice of biosecurity measures. Alongside that, data on the number of non‐specific enteritis cases experienced by the farmers or their family members were also recorded. Spearman correlation was used to find out the correlation among KAP variables and between practice scores and non‐specific enteritis incidences.ResultsWe found an insignificant (p > 0.05) influence of demographic characteristics over knowledge, attitude and biosecurity practices. Significant (p < 0.05) and strong correlations were found in knowledge–attitude (r = 0.65), knowledge–practice (r = 0.71) and attitude–practice (r = 0.64). Incidences of non‐specific enteritis and biosecurity measures’ practice were also strongly correlated (r = −0.9232) and statistically significant (p < 0.05).ConclusionsOur study suggests that increasing knowledge and developing a good attitude are necessary to increase the adaptation of biosecurity measures as three of these factors are correlated. Moreover, farm biosecurity measures are closely related to human health.

Background People worldwide have many misconceptions regarding reproductive health and fertility because infertility is still a taboo subject. The general public seek medical and psychological counsel and assistance from health experts about male infertility. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding male infertility among medical students and health care workers of Bangladesh. Method This cross-sectional study used quota sampling to assure equal participation from each of the eight divisions of Bangladesh and convenience. 46 structured questions were used to assess respondents' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (34-items for knowledge, 5-items for attitudes, and 7-items for perceptions).Two scoring systems were employed with the mean scores as cut-off value for good knowledge and positive attitude. The mean knowledge and attitude scores were then correlated with sociodemographic factors using chi-square and two-independent sample t-tests. Finally, we performed binary logistic regression to explore predictors of good knowledge and positive attitude. Result Among the participant, 49.82% did not have a good male infertility knowledge and nearly 60.79% had negative attitudes regarding male infertility. Young (23-26 years) healthcare professionals and medical students were more likely to have good knowledge than others (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.099 to 2.988). Surprisingly, females were more likely to have positive attitude (OR=1.48; 95%CI: 1.002 and 2.19, p=0.049) compared to males. Among all the professions, MBBS doctors were most likely to have good knowledge and positive attitude regarding male infertility. Good knowledge of male infertility predicted positive attitude (OR=1.61; 95% CI: 1.105 and 2.346, p=0.013) and vice versa. Conclusion Our research found that despite favourable opinions, healthcare professionals and medical students in Bangladesh had inadequate knowledge and negative attitudes regarding male infertility. This emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary training programs, standardization of healthcare worker guidelines, and curricular adjustments for medical students.

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BackgroundIn the context of zoonosis, Bangladesh’s small-scale dairying is yet to frame satisfactory levels due to poor biosecurity practices.ObjectivesThis study intended to reveal the degree of knowledge, attitudes, and biosecurity practices among Sylhet district, Bangladesh’s small-scale dairy farmers. We also focused on the association between biosecurity practices and the incidence of non-specific enteritis in humans.MethodsA questionnaire-based survey was conducted on the farmers’ KAP via personal interviews of 15 farmers from the randomly selected fifteen small-scale dairy farms. The questionnaire was developed with six questions for knowledge, six questions for attitude, and 12 questions for the practice of biosecurity measures. Alongside that, data on the number of non-specific enteritis cases experienced by the farmers or their family members were also recorded. Spearman correlation was used to find out the correlation among KAP variables and between practice scores and non-specific enteritis incidences.ResultsWe found an insignificant (p > 0.05) influence of demographic characteristics over knowledge, attitude, and biosecurity practices. Significant (p<0.05) and strong correlations were found in knowledge-attitude (r = 0.65), knowledge-practice (r = 0.71), and attitude-practice (r = 0.64). Incidences of non-specific enteritis and biosecurity measures’ practice were also strongly correlated (r = -0.9232) and statistically significant (p<0.05).ConclusionsOur study suggests that increasing knowledge and developing a good attitude are necessary to increase the adaptation of biosecurity measures as three of these factors are correlated. Also, farm biosecurity measures are closely related to human health.

Trade and investment have positive effects on economic growth and development, especially for developing countries, where trade openness could play a crucial role to eliminate poverty. But in the same way trade and investment can also harm the environment by producing GHG, pollutions and other environmental negative externalities. Since economic development, trade and environment are elaborately interconnected, it is indispensable to amalgamate environmentally affiliated issues on the development agenda. With expansion of economic activities and trade on the one hand and consequent threats to the environment on the other, the question of environment-friendly trade has emerged as a serious policy agenda in recent years. In that context, trade in climate smart goods (CSGs) is assumed to play a significant role in promoting sustainable development pathway. Given that China’s global trade is expanding at an unprecedented scale, the present paper is designed to analyze the trends and trading patterns of China’s trade in CSGs with the rest of the world. Based on the collected data covering the period of 1992 to 2016 from UN Comtrade, the analyses indicate that total trade in CSGs by China has been increasing, but its share in total trade volume is still very low. It is understood that China’s exports and imports of CSGs are dominated by a few products, namely photosensitive semiconductor devices (854,140), static converters (850,440), articles of plastic and arts of other material (392,690), photovoltaic system controller (853,710), discharge lamps, fluorescent (853,931), parts of electric motors, generators, generating sets and rotary converters (850,300), machine and mechanical appliance (847,989), other lead-acid accumulators (850,720), prism, mirrors and other optical elements unmounted (900,190), cooking appliances and plate warmers (732,111), gears and gearing, other than toothed wheels (848,340), other machinery, plant and equipment (841,989), filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for gases (842,139), etc. While the major trading partners of China for CSGs are the USA, Japan, India, Malaysia, Germany, Korea Republic, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Russia, Brazil, Australia, Pakistan, Israel, among others.