Investigating the Association Between ABO Blood Groups and Rhesus Factors with Dengue and Chikungunya Virus Infections During the 2017 Outbreak in Bangladesh.

This retrospective study was conducted in 2017 during the dual dengue and chikungunya outbreak in Bangladesh. Febrile participants underwent blood tests for chikungunya, dengue, and ABO groups and rhesus (Rh) factors. Blood grouping information was gathered from healthy donors. Males and those aged between 18 and 49 years had a higher risk of contracting dengue and chikungunya. Blood group O exhibited the highest infection rates at ∼50%, whereas group AB had the lowest at ∼9% among the participants in the study. Yet, when considering the general population's blood group distribution, the combined odds of infection were 2.0, 3.5, and 1.4 times higher in groups B, O, and AB, respectively, than in group A. Infection rates were greater in Rh-negative people. Blood groups B, O, and AB showed higher susceptibility than blood group A according to adjusted odds ratios. Blood groups ABO and Rh factor hold significance in disease susceptibility and vaccine effectiveness. Keeping these implications in mind, further investigations are necessary to understand the mechanisms underlying these connections and their effects on the efficacy of dengue and chikungunya vaccines.

Impact of social media usage on academic performance of university students: Mediating role of mental health under a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.

Background and Aim: Social media is undeniably more accessible and more appreciated today. It is undoubtedly one of the most crucial instruments for student communication. Mental health status can also meaningfully influence the students at the higher levels of the educational institutions. This study aims to evaluate the social media usage of university students and its impact on academic performance and mental health. Methods: To examine under confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) several scale measurements were confirmed by justifying the validity and reliability of several necessary indices and structural equation model. The mediation analysis was also estimated to evaluate the students' Social media addiction (employed Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale) under maximum likelihood estimation with 2000 bootstrapping and 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Results: This study shows that the usage of social media significantly improves academic performance on psychological well-being, with a Comparative Fit Index of 0.921 and an RMSEA of 0.06 indicating a good fit of the CFA model. Finally, we exhibit a strong statistically significant positive impact of social media usage on academic success, and as supporting the hypothesis, the study observed a positive mediating role of mental health between social media addiction and academic performance. Conclusion: The present research investigations produced unique results, that is, online social media enhances mental health and mediates the link between social media addiction and academic performance in Bangladeshi students. This finding also add to the empirical database on social media usage and have significant theoretical and practical ramifications.

A model of factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: A synthesis of the theory of reasoned action, conspiracy theory belief, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use.

The aim of this study is to investigate the key factors influencing the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and develop a model based on the theory of reasoned action, belief in conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The authors created and distributed a self-administered online questionnaire using Google Forms. Data were collected from 351 respondents ranging in age from 19 to 30 years, studying at the graduate and postgraduate levels at various public universities in Bangladesh. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that belief in conspiracy theory undermines COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, thereby negatively impacting the individual attitudes, subjective norms, and acceptance. Individual awareness, on the other hand, has a strong positive influence on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of vaccination and the perceived ease of obtaining the vaccine positively impact attitude and the acceptance of immunization. Individuals' positive attitudes toward immunization and constructive subjective norms have a positive impact on vaccine acceptance. This study contributes to the literature by combining the theory of reasoned action with conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use to understand vaccine acceptance behavior. Authorities should focus on campaigns that could reduce misinformation and conspiracy surrounding COVID-19 vaccination. The perceived usefulness of vaccination to prevent pandemics and continue normal education will lead to vaccination success. Furthermore, the ease with which people can obtain the vaccine and that it is free of cost will encourage students to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and society.