Impact of pre-sowing treatment on seed germination and seedlings growth attributes of Calamus longisetus Griff. at nursery and field conditions

The paper describes the germination behaviour of Calamus longisetus Griff. seeds under three different pre-sowing treatments and seedlings growth performance in nursery and field condition. Whole fruits, seeds with pulp and cleaned seeds were sown in germination trays filled with soils mixed with decomposed cowdung at a ratio of 3:1. The growth performance of the seedlings were determined by transferring the young seedlings (having 2 – 3 leaves) from germination bed to the polybags filled with soil mix followed by outplanting (at 1-year old) in the field. Germination percentage was significantly (p ≤0.001) enhanced by the pre-sowing treatment where the highest germination percentage was in cleaned seeds followed by the seeds with pulp and lowest in whole fruits. The survival percentage was over 91% in the field after one year and the average height 126.2 cm after two years of planting. Clean seeds for nursery raising and one-year old seedlings for outplanting were found suitable for raising successful plantations for the species

Analyzing spatial and space-time clustering of facility-based deliveries in Bangladesh

BackgroundA spatial and temporal study of the distribution of facility-based deliveries can identify areas of low and high facility usage and help devise more targeted interventions to improve delivery outcomes. Developing countries like Bangladesh face considerable challenges in reducing the maternal mortality ratio to the targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals. Recent studies have already identified that the progress of reducing maternal mortality has stalled. Giving birth in a health facility is one way to reduce maternal mortality.MethodsFacility delivery data from a demographic surveillance site was analyzed at both village and Bari (comprising several households with same paternal origins) level to understand spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Global spatial autocorrelation was detected using Moran’s I index while local spatial clusters were detected using the local Getis Gi* statistics. In addition, space-time scanning using a discrete Poisson approach facilitated the identification of space-time clusters. The likelihood of delivering at a facility when located inside a cluster was calculated using log-likelihood ratios.ResultsThe three cluster detection approaches detected significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the distribution of facility deliveries in the study area. The hot and cold spots indicated contiguous and relocation type diffusion and increased in number over the years. Space-time scanning revealed that when a parturient woman is located in a Bari inside the cluster, the likelihood of delivering at a health facility increases by twenty-seven times.ConclusionsSpatiotemporal studies to understand delivery patterns are quite rare. However, in resource constraint countries like Bangladesh, detecting hot and cold spot areas can aid in the detection of diffusion centers, which can be targeted to expand regions with high facility deliveries. Places and periods with reduced health facility usages can be identified using various cluster detection techniques, to assess the barriers and facilitators in promoting health facility deliveries

Using geospatial techniques to develop an emergency referral transport system for suspected sepsis patients in Bangladesh.

A geographic information system (GIS)-based transport network within an emergency referral system can be the key to reducing health system delays and increasing the chances of survival, especially during an emergency. We employed a GIS to design an emergency transport system for the rapid transfer of pregnant or early post-partum women, newborns, and children under 5 years of age with suspected sepsis under the Interrupting Pathways to Sepsis Initiative (IPSI) project.A GIS database was developed by mapping the villages, roads, and relevant physical features of the study area. A travel-time algorithm was developed to incorporate the time taken by different modes of local transport to reach the health complexes. These were used in a network analysis to identify the shortest routes to the hospitals from the villages, which were categorized into green, yellow, and red zones based on their proximity to the nearest hospitals to provide transport facilities. An emergency call-in centre established for the project managed the transport system, and its data was used to assess the uptake of this transport system amongst distant communities.Fifteen pre-existing and two new routes were identified as the shortest routes to the health complexes. The call-in centre personnel used this route information to direct both patients and transport drivers to the nearest transport hubs or pick-up points. Adherence with referral advice was high in areas where the IPSI transport operated. Over the study period, the utilisation of the project's transport doubled and referral compliance from distant zones similarly increased.The GIS system created for this study facilitated rapid referral of patients in emergency from distant zones, using locally available transport and resources. The methodology described in this study to develop and implement an emergency transport system can be applied in similar, rural, low-income country settings

Project area: The Bhuapur and Gopalpur upazilas in the Tangail district.

<p>Inset map shows the location of the upazilas in Bangladesh.</p

Flow chart explaining the full methodology of developing the transport model.

<p>Flow chart explaining the full methodology of developing the transport model.</p

Status of Initial Management and Immediate Resuscitation of syndromic sepsis patients in the inpatient department.

<p>Status of Initial Management and Immediate Resuscitation of syndromic sepsis patients in the inpatient department.</p

Percentage of zonal compliance with the referral advice during the four semesters.

<p>Polynomial and linear trend lines show the compliance pattern from the red zone.</p

Description of routes.

<p>Description of routes.</p

The operational schematic of the IPSI emergency referral transport system.

<p>Dotted lines represent the processes that directly employed information from the GIS database.</p

Transport network developed by the network analysis.

<p>Transport network developed by the network analysis.</p