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The author takes some tentative steps toward building a theory of the foreign policy of Bangladesh. After identifying the causal factors of Bangladesh foreign policy, operationalizing the variables and presenting them as a conceptual model, he deduces a set of "if-then" hypotheses linking the diverse causal variables. He develops 3 models hypothesizing the impact of external threat on the direction of Bangladesh foreign policy. (DÜI-Sen)

There has been a great revival of interest in recent years in the concerns of Islamic political economy after several hundred years of hiatus in its long history. The independence of Muslim countries and the revival of Islamic movements around the world have been among the factors encouraging new interest among the Muslims and others in how economies and economic theory can be brought into line with the Islamic vision of a just society. Masudul Alam Choudhury shows that the contribution which Islamic political economy can make requires a study first of epistemological principles, about the purpose and sources of knowledge, the role of reason and the relationship between self-and social-interest in human affairs. The conclusions which arise from this analysis - about the role and limits of markets, the goal of combining efficiency and equity and the means of doing so with state provision of welfare everywhere in crisis - will prove illuminating to all of those interested in Islamic studies and political economy as well as to other observers and analysts of contemporary society.

This paper presents antimicrobial activity of some selected plants viz.; Tamarindus indica L, Emblica officinalis Gaertn. Linn, Alpinia nigra (L) willd, Azadiracta indica A.Juss, Cynodon dactylon (L) Pers, Dipteris wallichi L, Curcuma longa L, Chromolena odoratum L, Blechnum orientales, Centella asiatica(L) urban. Methanol and Acetone extract of these plants were used against E. coli, Staphyllococus sp, Klebsiella sp, Candida sp, Aspergillus sp, using disc diffusion method . It has been observed that zone of inhibition of Acetone extract of Alpinia nigra (10.0 mm) against Candida sp, Azadiracta indica(10.0mm) against Aspergillus sp, Apinia nigra (12.5 mm) against E. coli, showed high antimicrobial activity compared to other plant extracts. For Methanol extract, the highest zone of inhibition was observed in Azadiracta indica (20.3 mm, 12.9 mm) against Candida sp and Aspergillus sp, respectively. Whereas Centella asitica (15.0 mm ) showed highest zone of inhibition against E. coli and showed no zone of inhibition against Candida sp. For Staphyllococcus sp the zone of inhibition was found average ranging from (6.0 to9.8) in both Acetone and methanol extract.In case of Klebsiella sp the highest zone of inhibition was found in case of Alpinia nigra (10.0 mm, 11.2 mm) for Methanol and Acetone extract.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of establishing a simple maternal morbidity surveillance system in Assam (Indian Obstetric Surveillance System-Assam (IndOSS-Assam)) to investigate the incidence and trends in severe maternal complications. This study presents the surveillance platform of IndOSS-Assam. Design: Four tasks were undertaken: (i) setting up a steering committee; (ii) establishing priorities for the region; (iii) mapping of surveillance sites; (iv) piloting case-notification system in selected centres. Setting: Two government tertiary hospitals in the state. Study population: Pregnant women delivering in the hospitals between March and August 2015. Main outcome measures: Incidence and case fatality rates with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Local stakeholder ownership and a simple uncomplicated anonymous system for case notification were the key strengths of this project. Cases and deaths were reported for six conditions: eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage, puerperal sepsis, septic abortion, uterine rupture and anaemic heart failure. Among 10,475 women delivering over six months, 402 had one of these conditions and 66 died (case fatality 16%). The incidence of eclampsia was 17 per 1000 deliveries (95%CI=14 to 19), postpartum haemorrhage 11 per 1000 deliveries (95%CI=10 to 13) and anaemic heart failure was 3 per 1000 deliveries (95%CI=2 to 5). For each of the other three conditions, puerperal sepsis, septic abortion and uterine rupture, the incidence rate was 2 per 1000 deliveries. Conclusion: IndOSS-Assam was shown to be a feasible and simple system for ongoing surveillance of maternal morbidity which can be used to monitor the trends in the incidence of specific severe life-threatening conditions during pregnancy.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of establishing a simple maternal morbidity surveillance system in Assam (Indian Obstetric Surveillance System-Assam (IndOSS-Assam)) to investigate the incidence and trends in severe maternal complications. This study presents the surveillance platform of IndOSS-Assam. Design: Four tasks were undertaken: (1) setting up of a steering committee; (2) establishing priorities for the region; (3) mapping of surveillance sites; (4) piloting case-notification systems in selected centres. Setting: Two government tertiary hospitals in the state. Study: population Pregnant women delivering in the hospitals between March and August 2015. Main: outcome measures Incidence and case fatality rates with 95% CIs. Results: Local stakeholder ownership and a simple uncomplicated anonymous system for case notification were the key strengths of this project. Cases and deaths were reported for six conditions: eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage, puerperal sepsis, septic abortion, uterine rupture and anaemic heart failure. Among 10 475 women delivering over 6 months, 402 had one of these conditions and 66 died (case fatality 16%). The incidence of eclampsia was 17 per 1000 deliveries (95% CI 14 to 19), postpartum haemorrhage was 11 per 1000 deliveries (95% CI 10 to 13) and anaemic heart failure was 3 per 1000 deliveries (95% CI 2 to 5). For each of the other three conditions—puerperal sepsis, septic abortion and uterine rupture—the incidence rate was 2 per 1000 deliveries. Conclusions: IndOSS-Assam was shown to be a feasible and simple system for ongoing surveillance of maternal morbidity that can be used to monitor the trends in the incidence of specific severe life-threatening conditions during pregnancy.

Background: Studies that use ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) or wearable sensors to track numerous attributes, such as physical activity, sleep, and heart rate, can benefit from reductions in missing data. Maximizing compliance is one method of reducing missing data to increase the return on the heavy investment of time and money into large-scale studies. Objective: This paper aims to identify the extent to which compliance can be prospectively predicted from individual attributes and initial compliance. Methods: We instrumented 757 information workers with fitness trackers for 1 year and conducted EMAs in the first 56 days of study participation as part of an observational study. Their compliance with the EMA and fitness tracker wearing protocols was analyzed. Overall, 31 individual characteristics (eg, demographics and personalities) and behavioral variables (eg, early compliance and study portal use) were considered, and 14 variables were selected to create beta regression models for predicting compliance with EMAs 56 days out and wearable compliance 1 year out. We surveyed study participation and correlated the results with compliance. Results: Our modeling indicates that 16% and 25% of the variance in EMA compliance and wearable compliance, respectively, could be explained through a survey of demographics and personality in a held-out sample. The likelihood of higher EMA and wearable compliance was associated with being older (EMA: odds ratio [OR] 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.03; wearable: OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.04), speaking English as a first language (EMA: OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.05-1.80; wearable: OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.05-1.85), having had a wearable before joining the study (EMA: OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.51; wearable: OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.23-1.83), and exhibiting conscientiousness (EMA: OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.51; wearable: OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.14-1.58). Compliance was negatively associated with exhibiting extraversion (EMA: OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.64-0.85; wearable: OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.57-0.78) and having a supervisory role (EMA: OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.54-0.79; wearable: OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.54-0.81). Furthermore, higher wearable compliance was negatively associated with agreeableness (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.56-0.83) and neuroticism (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-0.98). Compliance in the second week of the study could help explain more variance; 62% and 66% of the variance in EMA compliance and wearable compliance, respectively, was explained. Finally, compliance correlated with participants' self-reflection on the ease of participation, usefulness of our compliance portal, timely resolution of issues, and compensation adequacy, suggesting that these are avenues for improving compliance. Conclusions: We recommend conducting an initial 2-week pilot to measure trait-like compliance and identify participants at risk of long-term noncompliance, performing oversampling based on participants' individual characteristics to avoid introducing bias in the sample when excluding data based on noncompliance, using an issue tracking portal, and providing special care in troubleshooting to help participants maintain compliance.