Effects of Son Preference and Sociodemographic Determinants on Parity Progression in Bangladesh

This study aims to determine whether son preference exists in Bangladesh and to identify the different socio-demographic factors that have affected women’s movement from one parity to another. The analysis was carried out on 17,006 women selected from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey of 2017/18 who at the time of interview met the criteria of being married and had at least one living child. The probability of women’s movement from parity to parity was assessed using the binary logistic regression method. The effect of variables such as the education of women and their partner’s education, work status of woman, partner’s profession, age at first marriage, place of residence, religion, access to mass media, wealth index, and the administrative division were important determinants of the parity progression of women. The study found that parity movement is also associated with the number of living sons. At parity 2 and parity 3, women with no sons were more likely to move to the next parity than those with at least one son. Moreover, having a higher-level education, living in an urban area, and having access to mass media were found to be significant factors in terms of decreasing the odds of women’s movement from parity to next parity. Additionally, respondents from the Chittagong and Sylhet divisions were more likely to have subsequent births than those from other divisions

Anthelmintic activity of Hygrophila difformis Blume

This study evaluated the anthelmintic activity of the petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, ethanol extracts of aerial parts of Hygrophila difformis (Family: Acanthaceae).  The Pheretima posthuma were used for all the experimental protocol due to their anatomical and physiological resemblance with the intestinal roundworms of human beings and other ruminants. The worms were treated with the extract solutions containing three different concentrations (10, 25 and 30 mg/ml), for each extracts supplemented with 1% gum acacia in normal saline at 37 ± 1°C. Albendazole at a dose of 10 mg/ml was used as reference. The effectiveness of the extracts was judged on the basis of the loss of spontaneous movement and/or death of the worms. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of different extracts of the plant was carried out following the standard procedure. All extracts at different dose levels effectively paralyzed and killed the worm in dose-dependent fashion (***p < 0.001). Maximum anthelmintic activity was found with benzene extract. Cardiac glycosides, tannins, steroids, flavonoids and saponins were found positive in phytochemical analysis. The present study established the anthelmintic activity of H. difformis and can be utilized for the ruminants

Factors Affecting an Age at First Marriage among Female Adolescents in Bangladesh

The aim of this paper is to study the factors associated with age at first marriage among female adolescents utilizing the nationally representative survey data of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), 2007. Logistic regression analyses have been used to study the factors affecting on age at first marriage in Bangladesh. Respondent’s educations, husband’s education, region and working status of respondents are found to have significant effect on age at first marriage. Findings need to be scientifically utilized in developing suitable programs addressing the case of early marriage, particularly in Barisal, Khulna and Rajshahi. Keywords: Adolescence, Age at first marriage, Contingency table, Odds ratio

Fisheries and aquaculture

Consumption of fish has increased rapidly over the past decades, particularly in Africa, and is likely to continue into the future (World Bank 2013). With a potential global shortfall in fish supply for direct human consumption of around 62 million metric tonnes by 2030, increasing attention is focused on the capacity of the global fish food system to meet demand (Hall and Schaffer 2015). Options for increasing the production of fish include wild capture fisheries and aquaculture production. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment report predicts that the geographic ranges of many global marine species will change, that marine biodiversity will reduce in sensitive regions, and that this will affect fisheries productivity. Small-scale fisheries in coastal and inland waterways may similarly decline in the face of a changing climate, and land-use change (Welcomme et al. 2010). In particular, it is believed that aquaculture, in view of its resilience and adaptability and diversity of species cultured, will emerge as an alternative source of livelihoods for many

Organizational Midline Study: Bagerhat, Bangladesh

This report summarizes the findings from the Organizational Midline Study (OMS) carried out in August-September of 2019 in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. The interviews were conducted with the same 10 organizations interviewed during the Organizational Baseline Study (OBS). The organizations are all still working directly with farmers in Bagerhat, Bangladesh

A new cinnamic ester derivative from Glochidion velutinum leaves and evaluation of its antioxidant and antibacterial activity

The plant Glochidion Velutinum (GV) family Euphorbiaceae, a medicinal plant, is reported to possess various therapeutic applications such as antidiabetic, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory etc. However, the compounds responsible for therapeutic value have not yet been isolated. The present study reports the isolation of a compound from the leaves of GV. The compound is identified as a cinnamic acid derivative (p-pentadecayl ethyl cinnamate) through extensive spectral studies. Its antioxidant nature such as DPPH free radical scavenging assay, total antioxidant capacity, and antibacterial activity have been evaluated. The compound exhibited lower antioxidant properties compared to the standard. It has shown moderate antimicrobial activity against ten bacteria and significant antibacterial activity against Proteus Vulgaris compared to standard ciprofloxacin

Midline Household Survey Results: Bagerhat, Bangladesh

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, with the collaboration of WorldFish Bangladesh, carried out the household midline surveys in 2019 in the Morrelganj Upazila area of the Bagherhat district, Khulna division. A total of 140 household surveys were administered in 7 villages, namely Gabgachhia, Chak Vatkhali, Uttar Sutalori, Chak Putikhali, Dharadoha, Gazalia and Borshibaoa. The survey was conducted using the open data kit (ODK) on Android devices, in this case smartphones and tablets. The household questionnaire was translated into the local language, Bangla, and the field enumerators were trained for a week in July 2019. The questionnaires were then field- tested to assess the adequacy of the language used and to further develop the capacities of the enumerators. The regional team leader and the on-site team leader monitored the field survey activities and checked the quality of data regularly. The midline survey gathered information at the household-level on agricultural practices, changes made on those over time and in particular since the baseline, sources of weather, climate and agriculture related information, livelihood/agriculture/natural resource management strategies pursued and the current risk management, mitigation and adaptation practices adopted. The survey also collected information on each household’s demography and characteristics, including asset ownership and livelihood type