Effect of stocking density on growth performance of monosex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with Indian spinach (Basella alba) in a recirculating aquaponic system

An experiment was conducted to compare effect of stocking density on growth performance of monosex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with Indian spinach (Basella alba) in a recirculating aquaponic system. The experiment was set-up for 8 weeks under 4 treatments with three replications, where stocking density of tilapia were 30, 50, 70 and 90 fish/tank (300 litre) in treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Water from the tank was recirculated through a vegetable growing tray. Each of the tray was 0.15 m3in size, which was planted with 12 plants (Indian spinach). The fish of all the treatments was fed two times a day. During the experimental period,the range of water temperature was 27.1 to 31.50 C, pH 7.48 to 8.28, ammonia 0.2 to 2.0 mg/l and dissolve oxygen 5.11 to 6.58 mg/l. At the end of the experiment, average weight gain, final length, specific growth rate (%/day), survival rate was significantly higher in T1 (30 fish/tank) treatment while the net yield of fish and plant biomass was higher in T2 (50 fish/tank) treatment.Therefore, the study suggests that stocking density of 50 fish/tank for tilapia, i.e. 167 fish/m3, is suitable for production of both plant and fish in a recirculating aquaponic system

Association of serum leptin and ghrelin with depressive symptoms in a Japanese working population: a cross-sectional study

Leptin and ghrelin have been implicated in the pathogenesis of major depression. However, evidence is lacking among apparently healthy people. This study examined the relationship of these appetite hormones to depressive symptoms in a Japanese working population

Chitosan for Plant Growth Promotion and Disease Suppression against Anthracnose in Chilli

Chitosan is naturally occurring compound potentially used in sustainable agriculture to control plant diseases and enhance growth. An attempt was made to control anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli caused by Colletotrichum capsici in the field under inoculated condition and to increase the growth and yield of chilli by different concentrations of chitosan as seed treatment and foliar application methods. C. capsici isolate “So” was found to be the most virulent against chilli at the time of pathogenicity test. Chitosan at 1% concentration was found to be most effective against the radial growth of C. capsici. Subsequently, seed treatment or foliar spray was done with C. capsici spore suspension (5×106 ml-1) and different concentrations of chitosan as per requirement of the treatments. Anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli and post-harvest disease incidence (DI) and percent disease index (PDI) were significantly lowest in the treatment T8, where seeds were treated with 1% chitosan combination with foliar spray of chitosan (0.5%) in pathogen inoculated condition. On the contrary, anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli and post-harvest DI and PDI were significantly highest in the treatment T1, where seeds were treated with C. capsici. Germination percentage, growth promoting components, yield and thousand seed weight (TSW) were also highest in treatment T8 compared to all other treatments. As a result, the combined use of chitosan as seed treatment (1%) and foliar spray (0.5%) appeared to be most effective in controlling anthracnose of chilli and increased yield and yield contributing characters

Changes in consumer purchasing behavior due to COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is facing historical challenges without prior preparation. Because of the unavoidable economic crisis for the shutdown of numerous trade and industrial activities the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered substantial modifications in the habits of consumers all over the world. The pandemic has led to key changes in consumers purchasing and consumption behavior as the result of lockdown, social distancing, and uncertainty about the future due to its infectious nature. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic outbreak on consumers’ purchasing and consumption behavior in a developing country such as Bangladesh. An online survey was conducted for collecting data about the changes in buying behavior through a structured questionnaire. The research targeted 200 respondents belonging to different age-gender segments, qualifications & occupations, and household monthly income. The 191 completed responses had received and analyzed among 200 distributed structured questionnaires. The Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) method was applied, with the Smart PLS software v.3.3.2 for analyzing the proposed theoretical model and to test the developed hypotheses. The outcomes of the research strongly indicate that the health and safety concern, imposed restrictions, financial condition, surrounding environment-people, and other realities caused a remarkable change in consumer buying behavior. The outcomes of this study provide significant guidance to policy interventions, marketing decisions, and strategies for doing business as usual during and after the pandemic and perhaps add to the understanding of this unprecedented and ongoing phenomenon

The burden of diabetes mellitus during pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries : a systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Hormonal contraceptive use and the risk of sexually transmitted infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis

fals

Workforce interventions to deliver postnatal care to improve neonatal outcomes in low and lower-middle income countries: a narrative synthesis

CAUL read and publish agreement 2023fals

Changes in neonatal mortality and newborn health-care practices: descriptive data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys 2011 and 2014

Background: Bangladesh has made major improvements in health outcomes over the past two decades, with falls in mortality rates in mothers and in infants and young children aged under 5 years. Despite these improvements, neonatal mortality rates (NMRs) are high in Bangladesh. This paper describes recent changes in NMRs and health-care practices, disaggregated by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.Methods: Summary statistics from the reports of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) were examined. The BDHS is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey and the two most recent rounds of surveys, 2007-2011 and 2010-2014, were included in the analysis. The variables considered in this study were neonatal deaths and related health-care practices, including antenatal care visits, facility-based delivery, assistance from a medically trained provider during delivery, postnatal care from a trained provider and essential newborn care.Results: Between the two survey periods, NMRs increased in Chittagong (average increase 4.5% per year) and Khulna (8.3% per year), remained unchanged in Rangpur, and decreased in Barisal (average decrease 19.8% per year), Dhaka (12.2% per year), Rajshahi (7.7% per year) and Sylhet (4.8% per year). A larger average annual reduction in the NMR was observed in urban areas than in rural areas (14.0% versus 2.1%). There was also a large average annual reduction in NMR in the fourth and fifth richest quintiles for socioeconomic status (SES quintiles; 12.0% and 16.5% per year, respectively). Differences according to neonatal sex were also noted: the NMR for female neonates remained unchanged and that for male neonates reduced by an annual average of 7.7%. General improvements were observed in all health-care practices across all demographic and socioeconomic groups. However, the urban-rural gap in the uptake of antenatal care services, facility-based delivery, assistance from a medically trained provider during delivery, and postnatal care from a trained provider was roughly similar in both surveys. A similar unchanging gap was also seen between the poorest and richest SES quintiles.Conclusion: The study analysis indicates that improvements in NMRs between the two survey periods are mixed. Further attention is required to improve the rate of reduction of neonatal mortality in some divisions in Bangladesh, and it may be useful to investigate whether the higher NMR in rural areas and for households with lower socioeconomic status can be reduced by strengthening the uptake of antenatal care services, facility-based delivery, assistance from a medically trained provider during delivery, and postnatal care from a trained provider. The static NMR for female neonates may encourage policy-makers to focus not only on ensuring standard essential newborn care practices for both sexes but also on ensuring adequate and appropriate care-seeking for illness in female neonates

What impact do essential newborn care practices have on neonatal mortality in low and lower-middle income countries? evidence from Bangladesh

CAUL read and publish agreement 2023fals