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Faculty members and students are invited to submit their research publications, theses, dissertations, and scholarly works to increase visibility, access, and long-term preservation.
Recent Submissions
Cultural dimensions of depression in Bangladesh: A qualitative study in two villages of Matlab
(International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, 2010-01-01) Selim, Nasima; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health
This article reports the results of a qualitative study conducted in two villages of Matlab to explore the cultural dimensions of depression. Participants included adult men and women with and without a history of depressive episode (n=42), formal and informal healthcare providers (n=6), and caregivers (n=2). Adults (n=10) with a history of depressive episode were selected from a 2005 survey conducted by ICDDR,B. A case vignette was used for eliciting local terms for depression, perceived causes, impact, and treatments. Hardly anyone recognized the term bishonnota (literal translation of depression) used in the past survey. The participants thought that the vignette was about chinta rog (worry illness), and they spoke of somatic symptoms in relation to this condition. When explored further, they mentioned sadness and psychological complaints. Men felt that it affected them more while women felt the opposite. They associated chinta rog with poverty and social issues with impacts on marriage, work, and education. From their responses, it seemed that they preferred a psychosocial framework attributing the cause to thoughts and emotions, resulting from social causes. Commonly-suggested treatments were more income, better relationships, and tablets. Former health providers were often the first choice for help-seeking. The study hopes to 'culturally inform' the formal healthcare providers and programme planners.
Strategies to reduce exclusion among populations living in urban slum settlements in Bangladesh
(International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, 2009-01-01) Rashid, Sabina Faiz; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health
The health and rights of populations living in informal or slum settlements are key development issues of the twenty-first century. As of 2007, the majority of the world's population lives in urban areas. More than one billion of these people, or one in three city-dwellers, live in inadequate housing with no or a few basic resources. In Bangladesh, urban slum settlements tend to be located in low-lying, flood-prone, poorlydrained areas, having limited formal garbage disposal and minimal access to safe water and sanitation. These areas are severely crowded, with 4-5 people living in houses of just over 100 sq feet. These conditions of high density of population and poor sanitation exacerbate the spread of diseases. People living in these areas experience social, economic and political exclusion, which bars them from society's basic resources. This paper overviews policies and actions that impact the level of exclusion of people living in urban slum settlements in Bangladesh, with a focus on improving the health and rights of the urban poor. Despite some strategies adopted to ensure better access to water and health, overall, the country does not have a comprehensive policy for urban slum residents, and the situation remains bleak.
Estimation of the ablation velocity of atoms in a laser-induced plasma through the Doppler effect
(Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, 2024-12-01) Khan Z.H.; Lubna R.S.; Haider A.F.M.Y.; Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The dynamics of laser-induced plasma plumes were investigated using the Doppler effect and the spectroscopic analysis for the first time. Plasma is generated on silver, copper, and gold targets in ambient air at atmospheric pressure and room temperature using laser ablation with a Q-switched Nd: YAG laser. The laser setup included specific parameters: a pulse duration of 8 ns, a repetition rate of 10 Hz, laser pulse energies of 40 mJ, and a grating with 2400 grooves/mm. When the input end of the optical fiber is perpendicular to the sample surface, a Doppler shift in the emitted wavelength occurs. By analyzing this Doppler shift of the emission wavelengths at two distinct source-detector relative positions, we can accurately estimate the velocities of silver, copper, and gold atoms within the laser-induced plasma.
Ethnic disparities in the distribution of gene expression modulating polymorphisms in key pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with COVID-19 severities
(Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, 2023-06-27) Ahsan T.; Fatema, Kaniz; Shoily S.S.; Haidar Z.; Sajib A.A.; Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is linked to pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. There are still many unanswered questions regarding COVID-19 pathogenesis and prognosis. Significantly increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines characterize severe COVID-19 compared to those with a mild-to-moderate form of the disease. In this study, we used in silico tools to explore the variant allele frequency distributions of three important pro-inflammatory cytokine genes: interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA), as well as their linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in worldwide populations. These cytokines were chosen for their pro-inflammatory properties, importance in determining COVID-19 outcomes, and potential as disease treatment targets. Twenty-two of the variants correlate with altered cytokine expression levels, which may also influence the expression of several other mediators of immune responses. These variants also appear to be associated with several COVID-19 comorbidities, such as diabetes, asthma, obesity, and heart conditions. At least one variant (rs1800795 in IL6) is likely associated with an altered response to TNFA inhibitors, which are considered COVID-19 treatment options. The European super-population has high variant allele frequencies (VAF ? 0.2) at thirteen of these variant loci. High genetic heterogeneity at these loci is present in the admixed American populations, whereas the East Asian populations appear genetically more homogeneous. Interethnic differences are more pronounced at the IL6 SNP loci, which may cause variances in the expression level of a long non-coding RNA gene, IL6-AS1. Stronger and more extensive LD (R2 ? 0.8) exists among the IL6 and IL8 variants in the European super-population and among the TNFA variants in the East and South Asian populations. In general, the European super-population has higher frequencies of haplotypes with multiple variant alleles. Such interethnic differences may shed more light on the disparities in COVID-19 severities and the responses to treatments across ethnic groups.
Estimation of prolonged lifetimes of excited states of neutral oxygen atom (OI) by time-resolved laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (TR-LIBS)
(Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, 2022-12-31) Haider, Abul Fazal Mohammed Yusuf; Hoque N.M.R.; Rahaman A.; Khan Z.H.; Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Lifetimes of the upper states of excited oxygen atoms corresponding to transitions to the common lower state in the case of the emission lines around 777 nm and 844 nm have been estimated by measuring the line intensities as a function of the delay time between the Q-switching of the laser and the opening of the window of the ICCD. In the case of the emission line around 777 nm, resulting from the transitions from the three very closely spaced upper energy levels, 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p5P3 (777.194 nm), 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p5P2 (777.417 nm) and 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p5P1 (777.539 nm) to the common lower energy level 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3s5S2, the lifetime was measured to be 253 ns. Similarly, in the case of the emission-line around 844 nm, resulting from the transitions from the three very closely spaced upper energy levels 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p3P0 (844.625 nm), 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p3P2 (844.636 nm) and 2s2 2p3 (4S0) 3p3P1 (844.676 nm) to the common lower energy level 2p3 (4S0) 3s3S1, the lifetime was measured to be 278 ns by this technique. The measured lifetimes in our experiment, for both 777 nm and 844 nm atomic transition lines of oxygen (O), are almost nine times higher than the theoretical value. Self-absorption and radiation trapping are possible mechanisms responsible for the mismatch between measured and intrinsic lifetimes. Last but not least, utilizing the TR-LIBS technique is yet another incredible application to estimate the prolonged lifetime of closely spaced excited states of an atom in the presence of self-absorption and radiation trapping. The average plasma cooling temperature (excitation temperature) lifetime was found to be 1183 ns, which is compatible with the previously reported values.