Rangpur District Research Articles

The Especial Causes of Weakness behind Learning English language in the Secondary Schools: a Case Study of Rangpur District

The remarkable aim of this research paper is to investigate the difficulties of learning English language among the secondary-level learners of Cantonment Public School & College, Rangpur under Rangpur Division, a northern part of Bangladesh. It is a real statement that many of our learners hardly received standard education of English due to skilled teachers, financial limitations, lack of multimedia project teaching & learning systems, lack of English Language clubs, lack of passion of learners, lack of social attitude, lack of high ambition, poor salary system, lack of government policy & international policy & lack of English learning short films. This case study targets to look at inspiring young learners so that they can be able to build up their basic knowledge of four skills spite of depriving them of innovative facilities. For this intention, the recent research collected all data through a questionnaire and interview process. 20 sets of questions were provided among 20 students to find out their fundamental or basic ideas of English language. In the field survey, 20 sets of questions were provided among 20 students to find out their fundamental or basic ideas of English language. In the field survey, 72 participants were selected for interview. They were as follows 20 learners, 12 guardians, and 40 teachers where they were 50 male & 22 female participants in Rangpur District. These questionnaires were used to calculate the major reasons for learners' weaknesses in reading, writing, and & speaking skills. They all expressed their different observations about English language learning obscurities. Many of them responded that students were weak in English Grammar, Vocabulary, listening, reading, writing & speaking skills. After understanding their English learning complexities the researcher came to conclusions and recommendations. Finally this case study would like to show a new dimension of English language learning for the secondary level students at Rangpur District in the northern part of Bangladesh.

Assessing the internal out-migration on basis of influence area: a case study of Kurigram, Rangpur and Gaibandha districts, Bangladesh

Assessing the internal out-migration on basis of influence area: a case study of Kurigram, Rangpur and Gaibandha districts, Bangladesh

Organoleptic and Biochemical Analysis of Traditional and Customized Product of Shidhils

A detailed survey was conducted to collect information on the present status of traditional preparation procedure of Shidhil at the Northern region of Bangladesh. A total of 10 samples of traditionally prepared Shidhil was collected from Rangpur, Kurigram and Nilphamari districts and brought to the Department of Fisheries Technology in zipper polythene packets. Proximate composition of the traditionally prepared Shidhil showed that, percent moisture content in Rangpur samples was higher than other samples whereas the percent protein found higher in kurigram samples. Customized product of improved Shidhils were prepared in the same laboratory with kachki (Corica soborna), mola (Amblypharyngodon mola), punti (Puntius ticto) and mixture of these three species of fishes. The survey on traditional preparation procedure of Shidhil revealed that the traditional preparation procedure of Shidhil is quite similar among the districts though there were some differences in shape and weight. Variations were observed in the price of Shidhils per piece and it ranged from 10 to 40 taka/piece. No wholesaler could be found in the marketing channel of Shidhil and it is prepared mostly for home consumption. The biochemical study of the improved Shidhils showed that the percent mean value of moisture, protein lipid and ash of dried fishes obtained at the initial stage changed while Shidhil was prepared using these dry fishes. In the case of kachki fish percent moisture content increased from were 16.12 to 23.84. The percent mean value of protein of dried punti fish were 51.48 which decreased to 41.07% after preparing Shidhil. On the other hand, the percent lipid value was 15.08 for dried mola which increased to 24.25 in mola Shidhil. In the case of mixture of three species of these fishes the percent mean value of ash was 12.73 which decreased 10.38 after preparing Shidhil.
 J. of Sci. and Tech. Res. 4(1): 01-12, 2022

Groundwater level fluctuations and associated influencing factors in Rangpur District, Bangladesh, using modified Mann-Kendall and GIS-based AHP technique

Groundwater level fluctuations and associated influencing factors in Rangpur District, Bangladesh, using modified Mann-Kendall and GIS-based AHP technique

Morpho-meristic characteristics and growth pattern of walking snakehead (Channa orientalis) collected from different locations of Northwestern Bangladesh

This study aimed to reveal the morphometric and meristic variations, length-weight relationships, and condition factor of Channa orientalis collected from three regions (Kurigram, Rangpur, and Lalmonirhat districts) of Northwestern Bangladesh. Fifteen morphometric and six meristic characteristics were selected. Eight morphometric characteristics were significantly different (p<.05) among the regions; three characteristics were highly significant (p<.001) in Kurigram (Pre-orbital distance, PrOD; Lower-jaw length, LJL; Upper-jaw length, UJL) indicating C. orientalis population of Kurigram was significantly different (p<.001) from the other two locations. On the other hand, among six meristic characteristics, number of dorsal fin rays (DFR), pectoral fin rays (PFR), anal fin rays (AFR), and branchiostegal rays (BR) were found to be significantly different among three locations. The values of PFR varied significantly (p<.05) in Kurigram, which distinguishes the other two regions. Likewise, DFR and BR showed significant variations in the Rangpur region, whereas AFR significantly (p<.001) separated the Lalmonirhat population from the others. In length-weight relationships, the generalized relationship between total length (TL) and body weight (BW) were BW=0.007TL3.147 (r2=0.945), BW=0.03TL2.573 (r2=0.916) and BW=0.008TL3.084 (r2=0.899) for Kurigram, Rangpur, and Lalmonirhat, respectively. The growth pattern showed positive allometric in Kurigram (b=3.14) and Lalmonirhat (b=3.08). Negative allometric was observed in Rangpur (b=2.57). The study exhibited a higher condition factor (K) value in Kurigram (1.068) and Rangpur (1.049) whereas the lowest in Lalmonirhat (0.978). The study reveals that the C. orientalis population`s morpho-meristic and growth status were comparatively better in Kurigram region.

Spatio-temporal analysis and cellular automata-based simulations of biophysical indicators under the scenario of climate change and urbanization using artificial neural network

Rapid urbanization is an indicator of infrastructure and economic development. Changes in the urbanization pattern contribute significantly to land use land cover (LULC) change, precipitation pattern, and vegetation cover (VC). These changes are intensified by climate change and the increasing population. Understanding the responses of the biophysical indicators such as precipitation accumulation (PA), trends, and vegetation cover to climate change and rapid urbanization is the key to predicting future scenarios. This study aims to monitor and simulate the scenario of the biophysical indicators in response to urbanization and climate change in the Rangpur district, Bangladesh. Landsat 4–5 TM and 8 OLI satellite images, data regarding meteorological conditions, and biophysical indicators from 2001 to 2020 were used to quantify the LULC, PA, and VC changes and predict future scenarios for 2025 and 2030 using machine learning algorithms such as cellular automata (CA) and artificial neural network (ANN). Between 2001 and 2020, urban areas and vegetation have increased by 768% and 27.9% respectively, followed by redactions in water bodies and barren land by 65% and 77.5% respectively. Simulation results indicate significant growth in urban areas by 17.4% and 25.1% in 2030 and 2040, flowed by decreased vegetation cover (1.2% and 1.8%), water bodies (12.9% and 17.2%), and barren lands (22.9% and 31.5%). Mann Kendall trend test also shows no pattern for eight months in one year, suggesting changing precipitation pattern. These changes are indicative of climate change at a micro-level and threaten sustainable development and climate resilience.

Study on present status of dairy farming at sadar upazila of Rangpur district

This study was conducted to investigate the present status of dairy farming through a field survey at Rangpur Sadar Upazila, Rangpur, Bangladesh from December 2020 to December 2021. A total of 14 indigenous and 95 crossbred cows were selected randomly from the selected dairy herds. The results indicated that most of the farmers were male (25-35 years) and 17.24% of farmers involved in dairy farming were graduated. With regards to the housing system, the percentage of rearing system was found equal and the majority of the farmers could not afford fodder cultivation (70%). In the case of cross-breed animals like HF cross the farmers provided green grass and concentrate in a high amount of 11.03±0.76 kg and 4.82±0.33 kg per animal per day respectively. Likewise, straw feeding was found higher in indigenous animals (06.64±0.55 kg/animal/day). Most of the farmers followed AI (91.7%) with frozen semen (99.08%) for reproduction purposes in which 37.61% of cows need double services for conception. The age of first puberty was lower (19.97±0.57 months) in HF cows. In contrast, the average number of services per conception was lower in indigenous cows which was 1.95±0.14. The average milk yields of indigenous, HF, and SL crossbred cows were 2.36±0.118, 15.07±0.457and 3.2±0.287 L/day/cow, respectively. However, enhancing the availability of feeds and fodder, the proper market price of milk, and minimization of veterinary costs might improve dairy production in the study area as well as in other districts of Bangladesh. Res. Agric. Livest. Fish. 10(1): 83-90.

Estimating the potato farming efficiency: A comparative study between stochastic frontier analysis and data envelopment analysis.

The government of Bangladesh has been trying to encourage potato consumption to reduce pressure on rice consumption and earn foreign currency along with ensuring zero hunger that helps to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal. It is necessary to use farmers' resources and current technology more efficiently to meet the demand. Therefore, the authors aimed to evaluate the farm-level efficiency of potato farming in Bangladesh. The Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and the input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods are used to compute farm-level technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies and inefficiency of potato farming. The primary data were collected through interviews of 300 potato farmers from Munshigonj, Rangpur, Dinajpur, and Joypurhat districts of Bangladesh. The findings revealed that the efficiency score of the SFA model is higher than the DEA model, which implies that the SFA frontier fits better than the DEA frontier. In the case of DEA, variable returns to scale (VRS) technical efficiency (TE) enveloped data more closely than constant returns to scale (CRS) TE. Results of efficiency suggest significant economic, technical, and allocative inefficiencies in potato farming and there is a scope to increase potato production levels through efficiency improvement. Inefficiency analysis shows that infrastructure and socio-economic factors jointly influence potato production variability. The authors suggest for using the SFA to find efficiencies in the agriculture sector. To achieve efficiency in potato production, the government needs to pay attention for improving the allocative and economic efficiencies along with emphasizing to choose the appropriate technology and efficient use of resources for the scale of operation.

Evaluation of Cardiovascular Sympathetic Nerve Function Status by Cold Pressor test in Healthy Adult Male Sedentary Individuals

Background: Sedentary lifestyle is an issue of great concern because of its deleterious health implication. It is associated with limited physical activity. Regular physical activity with good physical fitness are widely accepted as factors that reduce all cause of mortality and improve number of health outcome. Objective: To assess the cardiovascular sympathetic nerve function status by the cold pressor test in healthy adult male sedentary workers. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from January 2019 to December 2019 in the Department of Physiology, Rangpur Medical College, Rangpur. After obtaining permission, a total 60 subjects who were met the inclusion criteria was enrolled in the study after briefing them objectives of the study. Among them 30 were healthy adult male heavy workers (Group-A) and 30 were healthy adult male sedentary workers (Group-B). The basal systolic and diastolic blood pressure was recorded in resting condition. The evaluation of sympathetic nerve functions in selected individuals was done by cold pressor test. The individuals were selected from different areas of Rangpur district. For statistical analysis unpaired t-test was performed by computer-based software SPSS-23.0 version for windows. Results: The resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure are non-significant in selected individuals. Diastolic blood pressure response by cold pressor test was significantly lower in sedentary workers. (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The study thus concluded that decreased diastolic blood pressure response by cold pressor test in sedentary individuals indicate impairment of the sympathetic nerve function. J Rang Med Col. March 2023; Vol. 8, No. 2:59-64

Repeat breeding: prevalence and potential causes in dairy cows at different milk pocket areas of Bangladesh

The objective of this study was to figure out the prevalence and probable causes of repeat breeding (RB) in dairy cows. Hence, a cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected 265 dairy farms in Sirajganj, Bogura, Rangpur, Satkhira, and Munshiganj districts of Bangladesh from December 2018 to February 2019. Data were collected through a direct interview method using a survey questionnaire. The reproductive organs of repeat breeder cows were examined for pathological, infectious, and functional reasons, and genital tract abnormalities. Additionally, the influence of nutrition, season, and age on the frequency of RB was recorded. The prevalence of RB was 28% among the 3824 cows investigated. Among the total repeat breeder cases, 72.54% of RB cases were found in Holstein-Friesian crossbred, 23.90% in Jersey crossbred, 1.50% in Sahiwal crossbred, and 2.06% in indigenous cows. The prevalence of RB was significantly highest (P < 0.01) in Satkhira (44.35%) and lowest in the Munshiganj district (15.87%). Data indicated that a major proportion of cows significantly (P < 0.05) faced RB problems due to functional causes (34.18%), followed by pathological causes (28.01%), genital tract abnormalities (21.32%), and infectious causes (16.49%). Furthermore, the cows were remarkably (P < 0.001) affected in RB during the summer season and nutritional deficient diseases like milk fever (70%). Age (3-7years) had a significant (P < 0.001) effect on the RB occurrence (90%) in crossbred cows. However, particular focus should be given to systematic breeding, balanced nutrition, artificial inseminator efficiency, and hygienic inseminating tools to reduce RB incidence in high-yielding crossbred cows.

Green grass production for improving farmers’ socioeconomic status in major milk pocket areas of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to assess the impact of cultivating green grass on farmers’ livelihood in major milk pocket areas of Bangladesh. A total of 180 farmers were interviewed following stratified random sampling technique from Sirajganj, Pabna and Rangpur districts. A combination of descriptive, mathematical and statistical techniques was used to analyze the data. Green grass is one of the major ruminant foods and its nutritive value is very high. Profitability analysis showed that benefit cost ratio of green grass production was 1.84 and it was comparatively profitable than the competing crop Boro rice. Age of household head, annual income from grass production, households’ training and experience in green grass production were the significant factors influencing farmers’ decision to adopt green grass production. The study found that more than 50% of the farmers’ socioeconomic status and livelihood assets increased after adopting green grass production. SWOT analysis indicated nutritive value of green grass as major strength and its high demand for as major opportunity. The study recommended that input support, training programmes and extension services by government and non-government organizations should be organized, and contract-based cooperative groups should be established to raise farmers’ awareness on producing green grass.

Frequency of respiratory symptoms among rice mill workers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study.

Rice mill workers are frequently exposed to rice dust specks containing bacteria, endotoxins, spores, and chemicals in workplaces. Consequently, they develop diverse respiratory symptoms that lead to increased disability and social burden. The present study was conducted to observe the frequency of respiratory symptoms among rice mill workers in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted at different rice mills in Rangpur district of Bangladesh. Three hundred and forty-six rice mill workers, both male and female of 18 years and above, with a job experience of at least 3 years, were selected as study subjects. An equal number of people who had never worked at rice mills were selected from the nearby locality as the nonexposed group. Enquiries were made regarding respiratory symptoms with the help of a preformed questionnaire which contained sociodemographic characteristics, occupational history, potential confounding factors, and physical parameters. A respiratory dust sampler was used to measure workplace dust concentration. The presence of one or more respiratory symptoms was significantly higher among rice mill workers than in the nonexposed group (52.3% vs. 17.6%). Rice mill workers who worked for more than 10 h and had a working experience of more than 15 years had a higher frequency of respiratory symptoms (41.3% and 39.8%, respectively). Rice mill workers with body mass index (BMI)<18.5 also exhibited more respiratory symptoms (25.4%). All working sections had a higher-than-average dust concentration level, with the milling section being the dustiest (PM 2.5 492.1 µg/m3). This study showed an increased frequency of respiratory symptoms among rice mill workers of Bangladesh. Longer working experience and working hours, low BMI and high dust concentration levels were strongly associated with that increase in frequency.

Impact of Farm Diversification on Income and Expenditure of Small Scale Farm Households in Rangpur District of Bangladesh

Farm production diversification has the potential to broaden and strengthen the sources of farm and non-farm incomes of rural households. This study intends to estimate the impact of farm diversification on income and expenditure of smallholder farm households. A total sample of 100 farmers were randomly selected from the three villages namely South Panapukur, Gaghottari and Betgari under Gangachara upazila of Rangpur district in Bangladesh. Both tabular and quantitative analyses were done to achieve the major objectives of the study. The findings show that the socioeconomic characteristics, cropping pattern, land type, soil type of Gangachara upazila are suitable for farm diversification. From 100 farmers about 55 percent farmers practiced 11-16 numbers of crops, vegetables, livestock and fish. Smallholder farm households were also involved in both farm and non-farm activities which were 71 percent of farm households. Average annual income from farm and non-farm activities were Tk. 75150.00 and Tk. 23350.00 respectively. Average annual expenditure on farm and non-farm practices was Tk. 43000.00 and Tk. 12000.00, respectively. In the present findings, the average annual expenditure on food and non-food items was Tk. 41000.00 per family. The Poisson regression was run to predict the determinants of farm diversification in the last 12 months where soil type, farm size and employment member of family were statistically significant at one percent level of significance and education was statistically significant at five percent level of significance. The Multiple regressions were done to estimate the impact of farm diversification on income and expenditure where farm size and combination of farm and non-farm practices were statistically significant at one percent probability level. But all the explanatory variables included in the model were not statistically significant as were generally expected. Farmers faced different problems and constraints in diversifying farm. In spite of the entire problems, this study has thrown light on some important issues regarding farm diversification of the study areas. Overall results indicate that rather than farm diversifications, diversification of income from farm to non-farm sources positively and significantly affect the household income and expenditure.

Evaluation of Groundwater Using Single Cell Thana Model: Study on Pirgachha Upazila, Rangpur District, North-Western Part of Bangladesh

Evaluation of Groundwater Using Single Cell Thana Model: Study on Pirgachha Upazila, Rangpur District, North-Western Part of Bangladesh

A comparative study on boro rice production under solar and non-solar irrigation practice: A case study of the northern region in Bangladesh.

The study aimed to find out the factors and reasons affecting strengthening renewable energy technologies of boro rice production through solar irrigation practice in Bangladesh. Personal interview technique was used to collect the data on solar and non-solar based boro rice farmers in the selected areas of Rangpur and Bogura district. Randomly eighty households (where forty of solar irrigation users and remaining forty of non solar users) were interviewed. Cobb-Douglas production function and descriptive statistics were used to explore the relationship between inputs and output. The major findings of the study are that socio-economic characteristics of small, medium and large farmers were different from each other in respect of age, literacy rate, farm size, and occupation, livestock ownership status, household income and expenditure. The Cobb-Douglas production found that, the solar irrigation cost, seed cost, harvesting cost and transportation cost have significant effect on solar irrigation based boro rice production and seed cost, labour cost, harvesting cost, transportation cost have significant effect on non-solar irrigation based boro rice production. Net Return and BCR for solar based per hectare rice production in Rangpur and Bogura were Tk 28580.66, Tk 21943.71 and 1.49, 1.46 respectively and for non solar based per hectare rice production in Rangpur and Bogura were Tk. 27745.40, Tk 22144.64 and 1.46, 1.43 respectively. Thus, solar practice is relatively more profitable. It suggested that the renewable based solar irrigation is assisting on sustainable crop production and also study found that it is economically viable, socially accepted and environmentally friendly.

Performance and supply chain analysis of Binalebu-1 in some selected areas of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to find out the performance and supply chain of Binalebu-1 in four major Binalebu-1growing areas of Bangladesh, namely Cumilla, Mymensingh, Rangpur and Dhaka districts. Simple random sampling technique was followed for this study. The average cost of lemon production was estimated at Tk. 206127 per hectare of which about 68% was variable cost and 32% was fixed cost. Human labour cost was the lion share (32%) of total cost and it followed by irrigation cost (6.63%), Insecticide (2.64%) sapling (2.60%), and in the study areas. The average yield of Binalebu-1 was recorded 28.32 t/ha in all study areas while it was highest in 3rd year (30.24 t/ha) followed by 2nd year (28.17 t/ha) and 1st year (26.58 t/ha). The average gross return, gross margin and net return of lemon were found to be Tk 744517.62/ha, Tk 454521.67/ha, and Tk 538390.75/ha, respectively. Average BCR was found to be 2.71 on the basis of total cost. Supply chain was classified into four types: Channel 1: Accounts for 40 % which was ranked as I; Channel II: Accounts for 20 % which was Ranked as II; Channel III: Accounts for 18 % which was Ranked as III, Channel IV: Accounts for 12 % which was ranked as IV; Channel V: Accounts for 10 % which was Ranked as V. It was revealed that the value addition of the Faria, Bepari, Paiker, Arathdar, Retailer were Tk.135, Tk.95, Tk.55, Tk.39 and, Tk155 per quintal, respectively.

Mineral compositional constraints on the petrogenesis of gabbroic and monzodioritic rocks in Rangpur District, NW Bangladesh

This research deals with the petrography and mineral chemistry of gabbroic and monzodioritic rocks to characterize the minerals, including their genesis and tectonic evolution. The rocks are dominated by gabbro in Barapaharpur and monzodiorite in Voktipur, and they contain plagioclase, hornblende, biotite, and magnetite, with few epidote and apatite, as well as clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene in gabbroic member. Chemical analyses of minerals were carried out by an electron microprobe analyzer. The chemistry of plagioclases is compositionally oligoclase-andesine and andesine, amphiboles are dominantly magnesiohornblende, biotites are Mg-biotites (phlogopite), and pyroxenes are diopside and enstatite types. The calculated P-T conditions of the gabbroic rocks yielded about 850–957 °C and 5.8–9.3 kbar, which are the highest geothermobarometric values in the region. However, the monzodioritic rocks yielded about 696–723 °C and 5.6–6.2 kbar. The estimated emplacement depths from the calculated highest pressure values equalize at ∼ 20–33 km and at ∼ 19–22 km, respectively. Biotite chemistry provides quantitative fO2 within QFM and HM buffers ranging from −10.6 to −12.0 in gabbroic rocks and −11.6 to −13.5 in quartz monzodiorite, respectively. These data are also echoed by amphibole and pyroxene mineral chemistry, which collectively demonstrate that the source materials were in a relatively higher oxidation state within arc magmatism. The mineral data also offer calc-alkaline I-type suites formed within subduction-related environments. However, gabbroic rocks show a dominantly island arc signature substantiating the suprasubduction zone, and also have the affinity of the island arc tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basaltic equivalents within orogenic environments and marginally boninitic affinities.

Postharvest Losses of Cucumber Production at Farm Level in Selected Areas of Bangladesh

The study assessed the volume and value of postharvest losses of cucumber in Rajshahi, Rangpur and Bandarban districts of Bangladesh. The survey covered 180 cucumber farmers. Multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Postharvest loss was calculated by evaluating the quantitative and qualitative losses of cucumber. Among the respondents 71% were belonged to small farm size category followed by medium (21%) and marginal farm size category (6%). Average per hectare postharvest loss was 3929 kg in the survey areas. Postharvest loss was found highest in Rangpur (5781kg) followed by Rajshahi (4075kg) and Bandarban (1931kg). Total postharvest loss was 51.79% due to complete physical damage and the rest (48.21%) was due to partial physical damage. Sorting and grading stages accounted to 27.52% and 24.98% respectively were responsible for complete physical damage and partial physical damage. The least postharvest loss (3.61%) was due to storing of cucumber, whereas the highest loss (24.03%) was due to insect infestation. Besides, rotten and skinning causes for complete and partial physical damages of cucumber in Rajshahi district, where it was due to insect infestation in Bandarban and Rangpur district. The farmer of Rangpur district spent 81720 per hectare of cucumber cultivation, whereas it was Tk. 62354 and Tk. 34826 Rajshahi and Bandarban district respectively.&#x0D; Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 45(3): 269-277, September 2020

Molecular detection of Babesia and Theileria from crossbred cattle in Sirajganj and Rangpur districts of Bangladesh.

Babesia and Theileria are potential threats to the livestock industry, causing considerable economic losses. These tick-borne blood parasites are more prevalent in crossbred cattle than local cattle in Bangladesh. To confirm the species of Babesia and Theileria in crossbred cattle from the northern part of Bangladesh using conventional and molecular tools. A total of 385 crossbred cattle blood samples were subjected to DNA extraction and PCR. For molecular detection, B. bigemina rhoptry-associated protein 1a, B. bovis spherical body protein-4, and Theileria spp. 18S rRNA were used as the marker genes. Using PCR, only 72 (18.7%) samples were found piroplasm positive, of which 12.2% Theileria, 4.7% Babesia, and 1.8% mixed infections. Both Babesia (7.3%), Theileria (7.7%) and mixed (2.8%) infections were detected in Sirajganj, and only Theileria (20.4%) was detected in Rangpur district. By PCR and nPCR we detected B. bigemina and T. annulata in Sirajganj district, and Theileria sp. in Rangpur district. The target gene sequences of isolated pathogens confirmed B. bigemina and T. annulata, and Theileria sp from these samples. Blood smears of all samples were also examined microscopically for Babesia and/or Theileria spp. and 14.3% of samples were found positive, of which 5.9% Babesia and 8.3% Theileria. Generally, the pathogens detected in Sirajgang and Rangpur were genetically related to South Asia, particularly South East Asian isolates. These findings provide information for a better understanding of the epidemiology of Babesia and Theileria as well as to improve the approaches for diagnosis and control of tick-borne diseases in Bangladesh.

Construction of the active aging index in Bangladesh: challenges and opportunities

BackgroundBangladesh is one of the fastest-growing older populations in the world. However, there has been little initiative in constructing an Active Aging Index (AAI) to monitor the quality of life of senior citizen. ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to construct an AAI to know the active aging scenario of the population in Bangladesh. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 518 respondents aged 60 years or older from six villages and six wards. Three villages and three wards from Rangpur district and three villages and three wards from Dhaka district were selected for the collection of data. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the eight indicators of the ‘health dimension’, three indicators of the ‘participation dimension’, and seven indicators of the ‘security dimension’ for the AAI using the World Health Organization (WHO) model. The responses for each of the indicators (ranges from 0, 1, 2, or 3) in each dimension were added to create a composite index (CI) for each of the dimensions. Descriptive statistical methods with significance tests were applied to analyze the data. ResultsThe findings provide opportunities to view the 18 aspects of the quality of life of the older population by sex and place of residence. Among the respondents, the overall AAI score shows that 48.1% of the health, 28.9% of the participation, and 48.5% of the security dimensions score fall in the lower active category. Gender differences were distinct in all three dimensions, where the moderate AAI score for females from both rural (41.5%) and urban areas (62.7%) was lower than for males in rural (73.5 %) and urban areas (76.3%). Conversely, the AAI value for urban older adults was higher in all dimensions in comparison with rural older adults. Overall, 62.7% of the respondents were moderately active (a range within 0.50–0.79), while 34.4% were poorly active (a range within 0.0–0.49) and only 3.9% were highly active (a range within 0.80+). ConclusionEffective initiatives are needed to improve the individual scores of each of the three dimensions of the AAI. Attention should be given to addressing the gender and residential variations in all three dimensions of the AAI. The incorporation of indicator-specific measures is essential to the existing plan of action and programs to improve the situation of the older population that is poorly and moderately active. This result will help policymakers from concerned ministries to focus on specific dimensions to improve the AAI situation in the country. A nationally representative study is needed regularly to monitor the AAI situation.