BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Bangladesh government declared a general holiday beginning on March 26, 2020 aimed to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of the general holiday on air quality in Dhaka city area of Bangladesh. METHODS: Hourly PM2. 5 (aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2. 5 μ m) data was collected from publicly available World’ s Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index Project from March 1 to May 16 for the five years 2016 to 2020. Tukey Multiple Comparison test was conducted to address the observable level of air quality changes between the years. Additionally, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer using the Aerosol Optical Depth with 550nm wavelength was analyzed during the same time period. FINDINGS: This Study found that, between April 7 and May 16, the mean daily reading of PM2. 5 was less in 2020 when compared to previous years. The mean hourly reported PM2. 5 during working hours of 6AM and 8 PM for 2020 was statistically lower (at α = 0. 01 level) than all other years 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. The mean hourly reported PM2. 5 for 2019 was statistically higher (at α = 0. 01 level) than all other years 2020, 2018, 2017, and 2016. The Bus Rapid Transit and Mass Rapid Transit Construction in 2019 contributed between 24. 2% and 38. 6% of the PM2. 5 dust during this period. The elimination of diesel bus traffic during working hours in 2020 reduced the dust levels between 15. 9% and 36. 3% compared to the previous four years. A declining trend of AOD550 values was observed from April 7 to May 16, 2020 compared to previous four years (2016-2019). CONCLUSION: During the general holiday period in Dhaka, the daily and working hour PM2. 5 as well as daily Aerosol Optical Depth were reduced compared to previous four years (2016-2019). Government action is recommended to reduce dust created during major construction projects. It is recommended the government authorize the replacement of buses with less polluting vehicles.

Dear Editor, COVID‑ 19 is a big pandemic at present and accepted as an emergency problem internationally. Several preventive measurements against COVID‑ 19 have been used. [1, 2] Control of population movement is a basic principle. The control of intercountry population movement is usually by border closure. For intracountry control, school/office closure is generally used. Another interest method is holiday postponement aiming at blocking of mass population movement from capital to rural areas within the country. The effect of holiday postponement has to be carefully considered since it can affect the epidemic characteristics in both capital and rural areas...

Background: Ocular trauma is an important cause of preventable morbidity, and accounts for half a million cases of monocular blindness worldwide. Objectives: This study conducted to evaluate the profile of ophthalmic emergencies in a tertiary educational hospital during the “ Nowruz” holiday 2019 in Birjand, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional survey included all patients visiting the eye-related Emergency Department during “ Nowruz” holiday 2019 in the Valiasr Hospital of Birjand. The demographic information and clinical findings, such as presented complaints, the diagnosed eye disease, and the need for hospitalization were recorded. Descriptive statistics (i. e., frequencies and percentages) were calculated. Results: In the study, 86 patients with a mean age of 42. 9 years were enrolled. The number of male subjects was more than female patients (60 (69. 8%) and 26 (30. 2%), respectively). The most presenting complaints were foreign body sensation (34. 9%), followed by red-eye (30. 2%) and ocular pain (11. 6%). The most frequent diagnosis was corneal metal foreign body (24. 4%), followed by conjunctivitis (16. 3%) and ocular trauma (10. 5%). All patients with penetrating injuries were younger than 12 years. Five patients (5. 8%) needed hospitalization and surgery. Approximately, half of the patients were not considered as true emergency case. Conclusions: In holidays, work-related injuries were the major causes of referral to eye emergency ward with the worse prognosis for children. Therefore, special educational prevention programs to care children should be provided for their parents.

Background: The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes can be a life-changing moment for our patients particularly having to live with the idea of taking insulin all their life and the barriers it can bring about. Case report: We report a patient with ten years of autoimmune type 1 diabetes treated with insulin. He was able to stop insulin in favour of oral diabetes agents after dynamic endocrine tests confirmed micro insulin secretion despite autoimmunity. Our case demonstrates that a detailed history and thorough investigations adopting a holistic approach can sometimes change the course of disease management and can leave a positive impact on the life of our patients. Conclusion: Patients with partial retention of beta-cell function in type 1 diabetes can temporarily stop insulin safely with ongoing surveillance.

Introduction: Tourism has become one of the largest global economic sectors in the world and contributes significantly to national and local economies. Climate has a significant influence on tourism decision-making process. It is a key factor considered by the tourists either explicitly for the purpose of travel planning or as a primary motivator. The first attempt to develop a numerical index to evaluate climate for tourism purposes was by Mieczkowski (1985) who designed the „Tourism Climate Index‟ (TCI). …