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"Basit Abdul"
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Changes in the prevalence of diabetes, prediabetes and associated risk factors in rural Baluchistan; a secondary analysis from repeated surveys (2002–2017)
To observe trends of diabetes and its associated risk factors from health surveys 2002–2017 in rural areas of Baluchistan-Pakistan and a secondary analysis based on community based health surveys of Baluchistan conducted between 2001–02, 2009–10, and 2016–17. A total of 4250 participants were included in this combined analysis, 2515 from 2001–2002, 1377 from 2009–2010 and 358 from 2016–2017 survey year. In each survey, detailed information of baseline parameters were noted on a predesigned questionnaire. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was used for diagnosis of diabetes for comparative purposes in this analysis. Cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors including hypertension, obesity, dyslipidaemia, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and physical activity were compared. Most subjects were aged 30–50 years and males were found higher in 2016–17 compared to 2001–02 and 2009–10. Pronounced increases in BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, and family history of diabetes were observed in 2016–17. Diabetes prevalence was 4.2 (3.4–4.9), 7.8 (6.6–9.2) and 31.9 (26.9–37.4), whilst pre-diabetes was 1.7 (1.3–2.2), 3.6 (2.8–4.6) and 10.7 (7.6–14.9) in years 2001–02, 2009–10, and 2016–17, respectively. Among those aged 20-39years, prevalence of diabetes was stable from 2001–10 yet increased considerably between the ages of 30-39years in 2016–17. Throughout the observed period, rapid increases were observed in hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidaemia, however, addiction to tobacco use and alcohol intake decreased. Adjusted odd ratios showed age, marital status, education, hypertension, and family history of diabetes as associated risk factors for glycaemic dysregulation. The rural Baluchistan population is confronted with increasing trends of early onset diabetes due to highly associated CVD risk factors, especially central obesity and dyslipidaemia, raising a major public health challenge.
Journal Article
Hardware Without Software: Teachers’ Cultural Silence and Menstrual Hygiene Management in Rural Bangladeshi Schools
In low‐income settings like Bangladesh, most menstrual hygiene management (MHM) initiatives are still limited to hardware, such as toilets, water, or waste disposal systems, but software aspects such as culture, attitudes, and institutional behaviors are neglected. This qualitative study aimed to analyze how teachers’ perspectives, social constraints, and institutional preparedness influence MHM implementation in schools in flood‐prone rural haor regions. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews and nonparticipant observations with 52 teachers (22 female, 30 male) in 11 secondary schools. Thematic analysis shows that, although menstruation is biologically recognized, it remains a socially taboo subject in the school environment. Male teachers, in particular, avoid discussing MHM in class due to the Shorom–Lojja (a culturally embedded shame–modesty norm) culture and fear of social stigma. This cultural software reduces the effectiveness of existing hardware in schools, resulting in the creation of a silent infrastructure. Institutional silence, lack of teacher training, and inadequate infrastructure exacerbate this deprivation. The research shows that achieving true menstrual equity requires a two‐pronged transformation: on the one hand, improving school hardware, and on the other, changing cultural and institutional software. Providing teachers with social recognition, training, and policy support can make the infrastructure effective. It is important to recognize MHM not only as an individual issue but also as an issue of dignity, education, and public health. This study reveals how cultural taboos, teacher discomfort, and inadequate school infrastructure collectively silence menstrual hygiene management education in rural haor schools of Bangladesh, contributing to student absenteeism and unmet health needs despite teachers’ awareness of its importance.
Journal Article
Does SDG Coverage Influence Firm Performance?
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on firm performance. The study examines the SDG coverage of international firms in six industries listed in the Corporate Knights’ Index, including banking, insurance, petroleum refineries, real estate investment and services, and investment services. Through a content analysis approach, the annual and sustainable reports of these firms for the year 2020 were used to extract financial and SDG information, respectively. The findings indicate that SDG coverage has no effect on firm performance. The results also show that SDGs 5, 8, and 13 appear to be the most widely adopted SDGs by companies from all industries, while SDGs 2, 6, and 14 tend to be the least focused on of all SDGs. This study can assist regulators and investors in better understanding the role of SDGs in achieving an organization’s success.
Journal Article
3D Printing of Tunable Zero-Order Release Printlets
Zero-order release formulations are designed to release a drug at a constant rate over a prolonged time, thus reducing systemic side effects and improving patience adherence to the therapy. Such formulations are traditionally complex to manufacture, requiring multiple steps. In this work, fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing was explored to prepare on-demand printlets (3D printed tablets). The design includes a prolonged release core surrounded by an insoluble shell able to provide zero-order release profiles. The effect of drug loading (10, 25, and 40% w/w paracetamol) on the mechanical and physical properties of the hot melt extruded filaments and 3D printed formulations was evaluated. Two different shell 3D designs (6 mm and 8 mm diameter apertures) together with three different core infills (100, 50, and 25%) were prepared. The formulations showed a range of zero-order release profiles spanning 16 to 48 h. The work has shown that with simple formulation design modifications, it is possible to print extended release formulations with tunable, zero-order release kinetics. Moreover, by using different infill percentages, the dose contained in the printlet can be infinitely adjusted, providing an additive manufacturing route for personalizing medicines to a patient.
Journal Article
Influence of Geometry on the Drug Release Profiles of Stereolithographic (SLA) 3D-Printed Tablets
Additive manufacturing (3D printing) permits the fabrication of tablets in shapes unattainable by powder compaction, and so the effects of geometry on drug release behavior is easily assessed. Here, tablets (printlets) comprising of paracetamol dispersed in polyethylene glycol were printed using stereolithographic 3D printing. A number of geometric shapes were produced (cube, disc, pyramid, sphere and torus) with either constant surface area (SA) or constant surface area/volume ratio (SA/V). Dissolution testing showed that printlets with constant SA/V ratio released drug at the same rate, while those with constant SA released drug at different rates. A series of tori with increasing SA/V ratio (from 0.5 to 2.4) were printed, and it was found that dissolution rate increased as the SA/V ratio increased. The data show that printlets can be fabricated in multiple shapes and that dissolution performance can be maintained if the SA/V ratio is constant or that dissolution performance of printlets can be fine-tuned by varying SA/V ratio. The results suggest that 3D printing is therefore a suitable manufacturing method for personalized dosage forms.
Journal Article
A comprehensive survey of AI-enabled phishing attacks detection techniques
In recent times, a phishing attack has become one of the most prominent attacks faced by internet users, governments, and service-providing organizations. In a phishing attack, the attacker(s) collects the client’s sensitive data (i.e., user account login details, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) by using spoofed emails or fake websites. Phishing websites are common entry points of online social engineering attacks, including numerous frauds on the websites. In such types of attacks, the attacker(s) create website pages by copying the behavior of legitimate websites and sends URL(s) to the targeted victims through spam messages, texts, or social networking. To provide a thorough understanding of phishing attack(s), this paper provides a literature review of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Hybrid Learning, and Scenario-based techniques for phishing attack detection. This paper also presents the comparison of different studies detecting the phishing attack for each AI technique and examines the qualities and shortcomings of these methodologies. Furthermore, this paper provides a comprehensive set of current challenges of phishing attacks and future research direction in this domain.
Journal Article
Exploring the path to optimal diabetes care by unravelling the contextual factors affecting access, utilisation, and quality of primary health care in West Africa: A scoping review protocol
The prevalence of diabetes in West Africa is increasing, posing a major public health threat. An estimated 24 million Africans have diabetes, with rates in West Africa around 2-6% and projected to rise 129% by 2045 according to the WHO. Over 90% of cases are Type 2 diabetes (IDF, World Bank). As diabetes is ambulatory care sensitive, good primary care is crucial to reduce complications and mortality. However, research on factors influencing diabetes primary care access, utilisation and quality in West Africa remains limited despite growing disease burden. While research has emphasised diabetes prevalence and risk factors in West Africa, there remains limited evidence on contextual influences on primary care. This scoping review aims to address these evidence gaps.
Using the established methodology by Arksey and O'Malley, this scoping review will undergo six stages. The review will adopt the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines to ensure methodological rigour. We will search four electronic databases and search through grey literature sources to thoroughly explore the topic. The identified articles will undergo thorough screening. We will collect data using a standardised data extraction form that covers study characteristics, population demographics, and study methods. The study will identify key themes and sub-themes related to primary healthcare access, utilisation, and quality. We will then analyse and summarise the data using a narrative synthesis approach.
The findings and conclusive report will be finished and sent to a peer-reviewed publication within six months.
This review protocol aims to systematically examine and assess the factors that impact the access, utilisation, and standard of primary healthcare services for diabetes in West Africa.
Journal Article
An Overview of 3D Printing Technologies for Soft Materials and Potential Opportunities for Lipid-based Drug Delivery Systems
PurposeThree-dimensional printing (3DP) is a rapidly growing additive manufacturing process and it is predicted that the technology will transform the production of goods across numerous fields. In the pharmaceutical sector, 3DP has been used to develop complex dosage forms of different sizes and structures, dose variations, dose combinations and release characteristics, not possible to produce using traditional manufacturing methods. However, the technology has mainly been focused on polymer-based systems and currently, limited information is available about the potential opportunities for the 3DP of soft materials such as lipids.MethodsThis review paper emphasises the most commonly used 3DP technologies for soft materials such as inkjet printing, binder jetting, selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), fused deposition modeling (FDM) and semi-solid extrusion, with the current status of these technologies for soft materials in biological, food and pharmaceutical applications.ResultThe advantages of 3DP, particularly in the pharmaceutical field, are highlighted and an insight is provided about the current studies for lipid-based drug delivery systems evaluating the potential of 3DP to fabricate innovative products. Additionally, the challenges of the 3DP technologies associated with technical processing, regulatory and material issues of lipids are discussed in detail.ConclusionThe future utility of 3DP for printing soft materials, particularly for lipid-based drug delivery systems, offers great advantages and the technology will potentially support patient compliance and drug effectiveness via a personalised medicine approach.
Journal Article
Greenhouse gases emission reduction for electric power generation sector by efficient dispatching of thermal plants integrated with renewable systems
This research aims to contribute in developing a mathematical model for the composite probabilistic energy emissions dispatch (CPEED) with renewable energy systems, and it proposes a novel framework, based on an existing astute black widow optimization (ABWO) algorithm. Renewable energy power generation technology has contributed to pollution reduction and sustainable development. Therefore, this research aims to explore the CPEED problem in the context of renewable energy generation systems to enhance the energy and climate benefits of the power systems. Five benchmark test systems, combined with conventional thermal power plants and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, are considered herein to obtain the optimum solution for cost and pollutant emission by using the ABWO approach. The ascendancy is not limited to environmental impacts, but it also provides the diversification of energy supply and reduction of reliance on imported fuels. As a result, the research findings contribute in lowering the cost of fuel and pollutant emissions, correlated with electricity generation systems, while increasing the renewable energy usage and penetration. Finally, the performance and efficacy of the designed scheme have been fully validated by comprehensive experimental results and statistical analyses.
Journal Article