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Although several studies have been conducted in Bangladesh regarding sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, none have utilized a large nationwide sample or presented their findings based on nationwide geographical distribution. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the total sleep duration, night-time sleep, and daily naptime and their associated factors as well as geographic information system (GIS) distribution. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 9730 people in April 2020, including questions relating to socio-demographic variables, behavioral and health factors, lockdown, depression, suicidal ideation, night sleep duration, and naptime duration. Descriptive and inferential statistics, both linear and multivariate regression, and spatial distribution were performed using Microsoft Excel, SPSS, Stata, and ArcGIS software. The results indicated that 64.7% reported sleeping 7–9 h a night, while 29.6% slept less than 7 h nightly, and 5.7% slept more than 9 h nightly. 43.7% reported 30–60 min of daily nap duration, whereas 20.9% napped for more than 1 h daily. Significant predictors of total daily sleep duration were being aged 18–25 years, being unemployed, being married, self-isolating 4 days or more, economic hardship, and depression. For nap duration, being aged 18–25 years, retired, a smoker, and a social media user were at relatively higher risk. The GIS distribution showed that regional division areas with high COVID-19 exposure had higher rates of non-normal sleep duration. Sleep duration showed a regional heterogeneity across the regional divisions of the country that exhibited significant associations with a multitude of socioeconomic and health factors.

The recently developed Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a seven-item uni-dimensional scale that assesses the severity of fears of COVID-19. Given the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh, we aimed to translate and validate the FCV-19S in Bangla. The forward-backward translation method was used to translate the English version of the questionnaire into Bangla. The reliability and validity properties of the Bangla FCV-19S were rigorously psychometrically evaluated (utilizing both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis) in relation to socio-demographic variables, national lockdown variables, and response to the Bangla Health Patient Questionnaire. The sample comprised 8550 Bangladeshi participants. The Cronbach α value for the Bangla FCV-19S was 0.871 indicating very good internal reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the uni-dimensional factor structure of the FCV-19S fitted well with the data. The FCV-19S was significantly correlated with the nine-item Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-90) ( r  = 0.406, p  < 0.001). FCV-19S scores were significantly associated with higher worries concerning lockdown. Measurement invariance of the FCV-19S showed no differences with respect to age or gender. The Bangla version of FCV-19S is a valid and reliable tool with robust psychometric properties which will be useful for researchers carrying out studies among the Bangla speaking population in assessing the psychological impact of fear from COVID-19 infection during this pandemic.

It is said that psychological stressors have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contribute to suicidality. A few studies were conducted investigating suicidality amid the first wave of the pandemic in Bangladesh, but none of these studies explored the predictive role of the suicidality-related factors (eg, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19). Thus, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of suicidality and the predictive models explaining suicidality variance among Bangladeshi young adults during the second wave of the pandemic. An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic (between 1 and 13 April 2021; a year after the pandemic's inception in the country). The survey questionnaire collected information on socio-demographics, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. A total of 756 data were analyzed (male 59%; mean age 22.24 ±4.39 years), and hierarchical regression was performed considering suicidality as the dependent variable. A -value <0.05 was set to be statistically significant with a 95% of confidence interval. About 8.2% reported having at least suicidal thoughts within the pandemic inception to survey time (one-year suicidal ideation). More specifically, 7.40% had only suicidal ideation, whereas 0.10% planned for suicide, 0.70% attempted suicide. None of the socio-demographic variables was significantly associated with suicidality. Taking drugs, performing less physical activity, poor self-reporting health condition, being comorbid, being at higher COVID-19 risk, having fear of COVID-19 infection, and suffering from depression and anxiety were significantly associated with a higher risk of suicidality. However, the final model including all of the studied variables explained a 17.1% (F=8.245, <0.001) variance in terms of suicidality. Although this study reported a lower severity of suicidality than prior Bangladeshi studies conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, a portion of people are still at risk of suicide and they should be given attention.

Improving crop productivity and soil fertility through the balanced application of inorganic and organic nutrient sources is a sustainable approach in modern agriculture. Char land soils, widely distributed in riverine Bangladesh, are generally low in organic matter status and deficient in necessary nutrient elements for crop production. Addressing this challenge, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of various organic nutrient sources with inorganic fertilizers on crop yields, nutrient uptake, and soil fertility in farm (L1) and char land (L2) of Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh, Bangladesh from 2022 (Y1) to 2023 (Y2). For each location, eight treatments viz. T1 (Control), T2 [100% recommended fertilizer dose (RFD)], T3 (75% RFD), T4 (75% N from RFD + 25% N from cow dung), T5 (75% N from RFD + 25% N from poultry manure), T6 (75% N from RFD + 25% N from vermicompost), T7 (75% N from RFD + 25% N from household compost) and T8 (75% N from RFD + 25% N from rice straw compost) were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications using Wheat–Mungbean–T. Aman rice cropping pattern where three way interaction was considered for results. Treatment T5 performed the best in both years in both locations as it enhanced the yield components (p < 0.05) and caused yield increment over control. The yield improvement in Char land soils was higher than that in farm soils. For all three crops, treatment T5 consistently augmented the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur by different parts of the crops and improved soil fertility properties such as organic matter status, cation exchange capacity, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and sulphur as well as exchangeable potassium in both locations in both years. Cost and return analysis of different treatments for the whole cropping system showed that the highest marginal benefit-cost ratio (16.35 and 15.07) and gross return (about Tk 768,595/ha and 728,341/ha) were obtained from the T5 treatment in farm soils and Char land soils, respectively. Followed by poultry manure, vermicompost performed well in addition to mineral fertilizers for improving crop yield and soil fertility but its economic efficiency was less due to high input cost. These findings may be useful to the smallholder farmers in char areas, who could benefit from increased productivity, reduced reliance on chemical fertilizers, and improved soil health, contributing to the long-term sustainability of char land agriculture.

The rising demand for freshly cut agricultural produce like bananas, apples, pears, potatoes, and roots due to health concerns and modern lifestyles has heightened awareness of their susceptibility to browning, which diminishes their appeal and contributes to food waste. The present study explored the efficacy of natural anti‐browning agents in prolonging the quality and shelf‐life of freshly cut green banana slices. The bananas underwent treatment with normal water (NW), lemon juice (LJ), and coconut water (CW), and the changes in physicochemical properties, such as browning intensity, color, firmness, total soluble solid (TSS), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and also microbial attributes, were evaluated during their storage at 4 ± 1°C for 12 days. The results demonstrated significant enhancements in treated samples compared to untreated ones. While normal water and lemon juice‐treated banana slices exhibited visual browning during storage, coconut water immersion proved superior in maintaining visual appeal, whiteness, and lightness while delaying yellowing and browning. Coconut water‐treated samples also displayed firmer texture (0.75 kg), lower TSS (5.67 °Brix), and reduced weight loss (9.14%) after 12 days, in contrast to samples subjected to lemon juice and normal water treatments which showed lesser texture (0.68 kg, 0.58 kg), higher TSS (5.87 °Brix, 6.10 °Brix), and greater weight loss (11.76%, 16.09%), respectively. Furthermore, coconut water‐treated samples retained higher levels of total phenols (392.67 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalent)/100 g FW (fresh weight), total flavonoids (55.67 mg QE (quercetin equivalent)/100 g FW), and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity (38.68%). Coconut water treatment also significantly suppressed polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity (14 U/g) compared to lemon juice (16 U/g) and normal water (26 U/g) treatments, and untreated samples (133 U/g) after 12 days. Additionally, microbial load remained within acceptable limits for all samples, with coconut water‐treated samples showing the lowest values. Thus, coconut water is a promising natural solution for inhibiting browning and preserving the quality of fresh‐cut green banana slices during storage. This study explores natural anti‐browning agents' efficacy in preserving fresh‐cut green bananas. Treatments with normal water, lemon juice, and coconut water were compared over a 12‐day storage period at 4 ± 1°C. Results indicate that coconut water immersion significantly improves visual appearance, firmness, and biochemical quality, effectively reducing browning and microbial load compared to other treatments and raw samples. Coconut water emerges as a promising natural solution for extending the shelf‐life and quality of fresh‐cut produce.

Synthetic colorants may have adverse health effects, therefore, it is necessary to ensure controlled use of these colorants in various alimentary products. In this study, 54 samples of six brands of orange jellies were analyzed for the determination of ‘Sunset Yellow’ color by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The results showed that the value of Sunset Yellow in one brand of orange jelly exceeded the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) value, the values in four other brands were within the range of the BSTI value, and it was absent in the last one. One brand yielded more than twice the maximum BSTI value and four times the maximum value from the European Union. These results indicated that there is a need to monitor the amounts of synthetic colorants used in food products to protect the public health from serious adverse effects related to such chemicals and to create awareness to the consumers as well as policy makers.