Dhaka National Medical College

Data science and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly used in public health surveillance, triage, diagnostics, and service delivery, while legal and audit controls often lag behind deployment. This paper integrates the third wave of digital era governance (DEG3) with corporate governance mechanisms to frame public health AI as auditable decision infrastructure. Using a structured review and qualitative documentary analysis of public records from 12 jurisdictions between 2016 and 2024, the study identifies recurring failures in senior oversight, contracting transparency, audit rights, model documentation, monitoring and redress. Findings show that capability-first deployments scale faster than accountability mechanisms, whereas pooled standards, auditable procurement and independent assurance reduce repeated failures. The paper proposes a corporate-governance-informed control architecture for lawful, auditable and rights-based scaling of public health AI.

Varicocele is the most frequent surgically correctable cause of male factor infertility and the mechanisms underlying the detrimental impact of varicocele on testicular function are not fully understood. The current evidence suggests that varicocele is accompanied by significant changes of the microenvironment of the testicles, not only are the veins dilated, but there are also deep changes. Venous drainage defects and abnormal testicular hemodynamic can favour the development of hyperthermia, hypoxia, oxidative stress, inflammation and hormonal disturbances, which can affect cellular homeostasis, impairing spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis. A growing body of evidence also indicates that there is considerable variation in the clinical presentation and reproductive outcomes of affected men, which may be attributable to genetic susceptibility, epigenetic dysregulation, and molecular alterations. The above changes have been associated with sperm DNA damage, dysfunction of sperm, Leydig cell dysfunction and progressive loss of testicular architecture. While varicocele surgery can enhance semen quality and reproductive outcomes in the right patients, there is great variability in response to surgery. The use of molecular profiling and multi-omics technologies has now enhanced the understanding of the molecular pathways involved in varicocele-associated infertility and may enable the development of predictive biomarkers and more personalized treatment plans. This review synthesises current evidence regarding the pathophysiological, genetic, and molecular mechanisms underlying varicocele associated male infertility and examines their clinical implications for diagnosis, treatment, and future precision-based approaches.

Background:Childhood eating behaviors arise from the interaction of socio-demographic, emotional, and environmental influences that shape food-related responses early in life. Guided by a behavioral-ecological perspective, this study explored key determinants of emotional, physical-activity-related, and social-interaction-based eating behaviors among school-aged children in Bangladesh. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 school-going children (aged 4-12 years) across urban, semi-urban, and rural areas in Bangladesh. Data were collected through structured interviews with guardians. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata 17. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics, while Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results:Behavioral changes were most frequent in the emotional domain (90.5%), followed by physical activity-related (88.1%) and social interaction-related behaviors (86.2%). Parental education and urban residence were consistent predictors of greater behavioral variation. Higher household income was associated with lower odds of physical-activity-related changes (AOR = 0.09, P < .05), while religion was linked to social eating differences (AOR = 0.32, P < .05). Conclusion:Parental education, residence, income, and religion significantly shape children's eating behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of integrating emotional and environmental perspectives in designing child nutrition programs, particularly for low-income and less-educated families.

Hydrogels with tunable physicochemical properties are being increasingly explored for advanced biomedical applications. In this study, two composite hydrogels were rapidly fabricated through the free radical polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) with the in situ formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the presence and absence of graphene oxide (GO). The resulting GO-AgNP-poly(acrylic acid) and AgNP-poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels have been systematically characterized by functional group analysis, crystallinity, thermal stability, elemental analysis, and morphological studies using attenuated total reflectance-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and field-effect scanning electronic microscopy, respectively. Both hydrogels demonstrated pH-switchable swelling-deswelling (on/off) behavior; however, the incorporation of GO provided interfacial channels that enhanced solvent interaction. The in situ-formed AgNPs (∼13 nm) endowed the hydrogels with strong antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. Cytotoxicity studies confirmed excellent biocompatibility with Vero, HeLa, and BHK-21 cell lines. The synergistic combination of pH-responsiveness, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, and cytocompatibility positions these novel composite hydrogels as promising candidates for smart wound healing and tissue engineering applications.

Background Bangladesh bears a substantial burden of advanced coronary artery disease (CAD), yet affordable biomarkers that can help predict angiographic disease severity before invasive assessment remain limited. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a marker of vascular inflammation, has been linked to atherosclerosis, but its utility in predicting multivessel disease in resource-limited settings remains uncertain. The primary objective of this study was to compare hs-CRP levels between patients with angiographically confirmed CAD and those without CAD. The secondary objective was to evaluate the association and predictive utility of hs-CRP with the angiographic severity of CAD, with particular emphasis on multivessel involvement among patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods This cross-sectional study included 300 adult participants undergoing coronary angiography, comprising 150 angiographically confirmed CAD cases and 150 controls without CAD. Participants were enrolled purposively from the Department of Cardiology of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) and Dhaka National Medical Institute Hospital (DNMIH), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from January 2024 to December 2024. CAD severity was categorised as single-vessel, double-vessel, and triple-vessel disease according to the number of major coronary arteries involved. Laboratory investigations, including fasting lipid profile, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), and hs-CRP, were measured using standardised automated laboratory platforms. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Review Board of Dhaka National Medical College, Dhaka. Results Most participants in both groups were aged 41-60 years, and the median age was similar between cases and controls (52 (19-68) years vs. 52 (28-70) years, p-value: 0.569). Male participants were significantly more frequent in the case group than in the control group (114 (76.0%) vs. 95 (63.3%), p-value: 0.017). hs-CRP levels were significantly higher among CAD cases than controls (p value: <0.001) and increased progressively with angiographic severity. A moderate positive correlation was observed between hs-CRP and the number of diseased vessels (rs=0.449, p value:<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed moderate ability of hs-CRP to discriminate multivessel CAD (area under the curve (AUC)=0.729, 95% CI: 0.651-0.808). A cut-off value of ≥22.89 mg/L provided 95.1% specificity and 97.0% positive predictive value. Triple-vessel disease was present in 68 (45.3%) cases, while hypertension and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. Conclusion Elevated hs-CRP was significantly associated with both the presence and angiographic severity of CAD. It may serve as a useful adjunctive biomarker for identifying advanced coronary disease in resource-limited settings.