Delivering E-governance services in Bangladesh through Libraries and Information Centers: Realities, Challenges and Possibilities

Bangladesh is trying to achieve Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041 to put the country on a new, sustainable path of growth while also serving as a role model for other developing nations. With that goal in mind, the government is trying to introduce e-governance services in every government sector. This study looks into user perspectives, obstacles, and suggestions for offering e-governance services through libraries and information centers. A proposed e-governance service delivery model for public libraries is also presented in this paper

Evaluation of chickpea lines/mutants for high growth and yield attributes.

A study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of 23 advanced chickpea mutants/lines along with two check varieties Binasola-3 and Binasola-4 at the farmer’s field in Godagari under Rajshahi district during 2006-2007. There was a significant genotypic difference with respect to morphological, physiological, phenological characters, and yield and yield components. Seed yield was positively correlated with plant height, primary and secondary branches, total dry matter (TDM) and number of pods per plant but negatively correlated with days to flowering, days to maturity and protein content. Four mutants/lines viz., CPC-814, CPC-830, CPM-825 (gr) and CPM-834 showed early maturity, higher number of pods and seed yield per plant than all the studied entries, which might be selected for further trials. The highest seed yield (6.93 g plant-1) was recorded in CPC-830. The line CPC-814 produced the highest number of filled pods per plant and the mutant CPM-834 took the shortest days to maturity. Only the mutant CPM-825 (gr) had distinct greenish seed coat color, which could be a genetic marker for identification of developed chickpea genotypes. It was evident that taller plants with higher number of branches and TDM per plant produced higher number of pods per plant as well as seed yield

Assessment of genetic variation in selected germplasm of white jute (Corchorus capsularis L.)

Fifty-one genotypes of white jute from different geographic origins were evaluated to study their genetic variability with 11 morphological characters. Significant variation was observed among the genotypes for all the characters. Multivariate techniques were used to classify 51 genotypes. All the genotypes were grouped into six different clusters. Principal component analysis, principal coordinate analysis and canonical vector analysis gave similar results to that of cluster analysis. The highest inter-genotypic distance (1.84) was found between G15, G50 and the lowest distance between G38 and G26. The highest inter-cluster distance (14.37) was observed between cluster I, IV and the lowest distance (2.46) was between cluster III and V. The highest intra-cluster distance was found in cluster I and lowest in cluster V. Considering genetic parameters, high genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) was observed in branches per plant. High heritability values with moderate genetic advance in percentage of mean were obtained for leaf width, petiole length, nodes per plant. Regarding the cluster distance, inter-genotypic distance and other agronomic performance, the genotypes G47, G33, G48 from cluster I; G27, G17, G23 from cluster III and G13, G40, G45 from cluster II were considered to be better parents for future use in hybridisation programmes

Concept for a Web Map Implementation with Faster Query Response

Vector data and in particular road networks are being used in many application domains such as in mobile computing. These systems would prefer to receive the query results very quickly. Lots of research is going on to make the query response faster. One technique is to compress vector data so that they can be transferred to the client quickly. If we look different compression technique that are used to make the response faster, we will see that some of them do not make the response fast enough and some of them make response fast but very complex to implement. We report the concept for the implementation of a web map with a simple compression technique to send query response to the client, and found it making response fast. We have used some open source/free components to make the development quick and easy. This paper may work as a guide line for quick implementation of a web map. Keywords: Web Map, PostGIS, Geoserver, GeoWebCache, Compression

Integrated nutrient management for tomato-okra-stem amaranth cropping pattern in homestead area.

Due to increasing population, availability of crop land is decreasing rapidly and many croplands are being turned into homestead. The utilization of homestead is very important. Intensive crop cultivation with high yielding varieties to fulfil food demand for a swelling population has led to mining out the inherent plant nutrients from the soil. An experiment was conducted with tomato-okra-stem amaranth cropping pattern in a homestead area in Chhiata Series of Grey Terrace Soil (Aric Albaquept) under AEZ- 28 at Gazipur to find out the optimum dose of chemical fertilizer and organic manure for obtaining higher crop yield and to study the effect of integrated nutrient management (INM) on soil properties. The experiment consisted of eight treatments: T 1 (Poultry manure, PM @ 5 t ha -1), T 2 (Cowdung, CD @ 10 t ha -1), T 3 (Household waste, HW @ 10 t ha -1), T 4 (PM @ 2.5 t ha -1 + reduced recommended dose of fertilizer, RDF), T 5 (CD @ 5 t ha -1 + reduced RDF), T 6 (HW @ 5 t ha -1 + reduced RDF), T 7 (100% RDF) and T 8 (Control). Among the treatments, 2.5 ton poultry manure along with reduced rate of RDF performed the best in recording yields of tomato, okra and stem amaranth. Next to PM, HW @ 5 t ha -1 + reduced RDF had better results in respect of yield. Bulk density and organic C were improved by the application of organic manure; the highest nutrients uptake and availability was found in T 4 followed by T 6

Storage behaviour of exotic potato genotypes and hybrid clones under natural condition

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the storability of hybrid clones and exotic genotypes at room temperature during April to August 2011 and April to August 2012. Fourteen hybrid clones and 14 exotic genotypes were stored for five months at ambient temperature. Hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 showed better performance in respect of storage behaviour (minimum weight and rottage loss) at ambient temperature. The maximum storability was found in Labadia, Liseta, Albaata, Lambada and Amanda exotic genotypes. Moreover, hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 exhibited minimum weight and rottage loss in both the hybrid clones and the exotic genotypes. Based on their storage behaviour at ambient temperature, it may be concluded that hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 are found to be suitable for storage under ordinary room temperature conditions for a period of 90 to 120 days and slow release to market for avoiding distress sale

Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake: Differences Between Rural and Urban Privately-Insured Population

Earlier studies investigated rural-urban colorectal cancer (CRC) screening disparities among older adults or used surveys. The objective was to compare screening uptake between rural and urban individuals 50-64 years of age using private health insurance. Data were analyzed from 58,774 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska beneficiaries. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between rural-urban and CRC screening use. Results indicate that rural individuals were 56% more likely to use the Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) compared with urban residents, but rural females were 68% less likely to use FOBT. Individuals with few Primary Care Physician (PCP) visits and rural-women are the least to receive screening. To enhance CRC screening, a policy should be devised for the training and placement of female PCP in rural areas. In particular, multilevel interventions, including education, more resources, and policies to increase uptake of colorectal cancer screening, are needed. Further research is warranted to investigate barriers to CRC screening in rural areas

Status of major diseases of brinjal and tomato in charland of Jamalpur and Sherpur districts of Bangladesh

Brinjal and tomato, both of these Solanaceous crops, suffer from different diseases based on their surrounding environment. In charland ecosystem, due to the current trend of climate change these two crops have become vulnerable to disease infection. A comprehensive survey was conducted in Jamalpur and Sherpur districts to measure the severity of major diseases of brinjal and tomato in this region during the rabi season of 2018-19. This survey was based on farmers’ fields targeting 10 different locations where brinjal and tomato were grown extensively. Data were collected from randomly selected farmer’s vegetable fields where incidence and severity were recorded. Through the survey, five (5) diseases based on their incidence and severity were categorized as major diseases in studied areas. Bacterial wilt of brinjal (60%) and viral disease of tomato (41.67%) were found to be higher in incidence. This was a major limiting factor for decreasing total brinjal and tomato production in the charland of Jamalpur and Sherpur. Wilting of tomato (20%), viral disease of brinjal (20%) and phomopsis blight of brinjal (13.33%) were medium in incidence at different locations. Farmers of these areas found these diseases to be a serious threat to future cultivation and expansion of brinjal and tomato in charland