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Abstract This study investigates the current state of population aging in Sichuan Province, China, and proposes effective countermeasures to address this pressing issue. Through an in-depth analysis of data from the 2020 seventh population census, the research examines key aspects of population aging, including demographic profiles, self-reported health status of the elderly, primary livelihood sources, and old-age dependency ratios. The findings revealed that Sichuan Province has exceeded the national average in population aging, marking its entry into a deep aging stage. Notably, over half of the elderly population reported confidence in their overall health, and retirement pensions had become their primary income source. A comparative analysis with 2010 census data highlights evolving trends and challenges in Sichuan’s population aging. The study recommends practical countermeasures, including exploring smart aging solutions, to address these challenges.

Background: Peninsular India, being completely under the influence of monsoonal climate, suffers crop yield variability due to rainfall distribution-induced soil moisture constraints. Timely and appropriate assessment of this rainfall and soil moisture-induced crop yield variability serves as a key for exemplary relief assistance. Per cent available soil moisture (PASM) is one among several drought declaration indices followed by stakeholders in India for declaration of drought, needs re-evaluation as the existing criteria in unable to capture the yield loss due to ineffective classification of PASM categories. This study attempts to revise the agricultural drought classes by PASM based on relationships established between yield of major rainfed crops of the study region and PASM.Methods: Analysis of yield variability due to PASM was carried out based on long term observations in experiments conducted at five dry farming locations (Akola, Parbhani, Kovilpatti, Ananthapuramu and Bengaluru) of peninsular India. The average yield for each category of PASM was calculated and tabulated for regression analysis. The PASM versus yield in each group was correlated and regression equations were developed if significant positive correlations were established.Results: The range of available soil moisture to obtain at least 50 percent of optimum yield in cereals (maize: 26 and finger millet: 52.9 PASM), pulses (pigeon pea: 37.2 PASM), oilseeds (soybean: 26.8 to 30.5, groundnut: 53.8 to 61.7 PASM) and commercial crops (cotton: 26.3 PASM) was 26–61 percent.Conclusion: The revised PASM-based drought classes (0–50 severe; 51–75 mild and 76–100 no drought) would help in drought declaration and precise identification of drought-hit areas for meaningful relief assistance. However, there is further investigation is needed to include a soil component for further fine-tuning of the criteria.

Abstract Empirical studies have indicated that benefit finding and optimism greatly help caregivers of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Specifically, it has been suggested that these two constructs serve as critical coping strategies for those engaged in the caregiving process. Here, a qualitative study was undertaken to explore the impacts of benefit finding and optimism on caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Malaysia. Twenty (20) caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities were interviewed concerning their perception and use of benefit finding and optimism. Results identified these strategies as supporting and guiding caregiving responsibilities and skills, improving personal growth, relationships and spirituality, as well as increasing positive perceptions. Therefore, policymakers and stakeholders in Malaysia should implement targeted interventions to facilitate and support caregivers in applying benefit-finding and optimism in their caregiving, thereby assisting them to better cope with the physical and mental demands of caring for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This article examines the complex relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and neoliberalism in India. It explores the consequences of the right-wing authoritarian electoral majority and its alliance with neoliberal forces on democracy, economic development and distributive justice in India. It attributes the decline in economic growth, widespread unemployment, and precariousness of labor market to the alliance between right-wing extremist forces and neoliberal capital. It specifically exposes the colossal economic muddle created by austerity measures and the retreat of the state from distributional spheres. It argues that authoritarian shocks injected by the state have played a decisive role in expanding the network of primitive accumulation through widespread displacement and dispossession of petty and small producers.

Fishing is a longstanding occupation in the world. Small-scale fishing (SSF) communities of South Asia face many challenges in their lives and livelihoods. This study was conducted in one Jaladas village of southeastern Bangladesh to determine the conditions of fishing labours in big boats and provide some evidence-based recommendations for enhancing their holistic well-being. This study adopted the qualitative research design, specifically the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). A random survey of 50 households was conducted to find out socio-economic conditions. This paper finds that the young Jaladas are pushed away from their birth-ascribed occupation and engaged as fishing labours in big boats. Their existing working environment is like an ancient slavery system. Fishing labours are bound to work under such adversative conditions for survival. SSF communities become poorest of the poor due to lake of sufficient concentration from the government, NGOs, private sector, international development agencies and other actors. Moreover, relevant articles of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and FAO initiated SSF Guidelines are not implemented properly in support of fishing labours working in large boats. Highest profit-earning mentality of commercial entrepreneurs, apathy, absence of rules of law; and non-recognition the rights of labours under small-scale fisheries sector in Labour Law of Bangladesh are major reasons for plights of fishing labours. Still research works are very inadequate in this area. Therefore, global human rights organizations are in dark from real scenario. This paper urged that the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) should include prioritized needs of fishing labour as provisions during the amendment of Labour Law. Proper execution of Labour Law and establishing the rules of law are concerning issues for ensuring the well-being of fishing labours.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the treatment of choice for cholelithiasis; however, there are procedural difficulties in determining preoperative detection of a difficult LC. The current methods using clinical and sonographic variables to identify difficult LCs have limitations to identify gallbladder adhesions which form the most common cause. We present a new method of evaluation using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI)-based virtual touch imaging (VTI) for the detection and classification of these patients. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients of cholelithiasis were evaluated preoperatively using conventional scoring system (CSS) and by new adhesion detection and staging (ADS) system, and patients were classified into three classes (I–III) with class I being easy, II and III being moderate-to-high difficulty LCs. Peroperative classification was done based on the difficulty level during surgery after visualization of gallbladder adhesions. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curves (AUCs) of both systems were compared. Results: Out of 50 patients, 72% and 54% of patients were in class I by CSS and ADS classification, while 28% and 46% were in class II and III, respectively, and were labeled as difficult LC cases; differences being two classifications were statistically significant (P = 0.02). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and accuracy for ADS were 91%, 100%, 93.1%, and 96.0%, and for CSS, 60.9%, 100%, 75%, and 82% with AUCs of 1.0 and 0.63, respectively. Conclusion: ARFI-based VTI accurately detects gallbladder adhesions and can determine the difficult cases of LCs preoperatively using ADS classification and shows higher accuracy than CSS classification, which results in lower operative time and risk of complications.

Biometric sensing technology has become a frequent element of everyday life as a result of the global demand for information security and safety legislation. In recent years, multimodal biometrics technology has become increasingly popular due to its ability to overcome the shortcomings of unimodal biometric systems. A HGSSA-Bi LSTM (Bi-directional long short-term memory) modal is presented in this paper for multimodal biometric identification. For removal of noise (unwanted) the pre-processing stage is used in the initial stage. An extended cascaded filter (ECF) is used with a combination of median and wiener filter in the pre-processing stage. Then, using the CNN model, feature extraction is utilized to extract features from the processed images. After feature extraction, fusing of feature is used with the aid of discriminant correlation analysis (DCA). Finally, the recognition process is performed by using the novel optimized hunger game search self-attention based Bi-LSTM model (HGSSA-Bi LSTM). The obtained outcome for the developed model is finally compared with other previous approaches such as CNN, RNN, DNN, and autoencoder models and the calculated performance based on accuracy 98.5%, precision 98%, F1-score 97.5%, sensitivity 98.5%, and specificity 99% accordingly.

BackgroundPsychological counseling is perceived as a treatment that could significantly improve older individuals’ psychological and behavioral functioning. There is a dearth of information on the impact of psychological counseling on preserving dignity and facilitating good aging among older people in Singapore. ObjectiveThe objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to assess advance care planning among older people and their perception of life and health, end of life, and end-of-life care; (2) to explore older people’s accessibility and receptiveness toward counseling; (3) elucidate older people’s perspectives on counseling and its impact on emotional management and decision-making; (4) to assess older people’s competencies in emotional management; and (5) to propose an intervention model for enhancing older people’s well-being and dignity through psychological counseling in Singapore. MethodsA mixed method study design involving quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. Older individuals receiving some form of preventive, primary, or long-term care in the community through voluntary welfare organizations from the senior activity centers located in eastern Singapore participated in the qualitative phase. Six older individuals from each senior activity center have been enrolled for the interview phase to explore 6 components: the Advanced Care Planning (ACP) booklet, Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS), accessibility and receptiveness toward counseling, and emotional management and decision-making. The ACP, an instrument designed to assess advanced care planning among older individuals, and the TMMS, an instrument developed to measure meta-mood experience and emotional management, were used in the quantitative phase among 100 participants. The data will be analyzed thematically using NVivo version 12, whereas descriptive statistics and a 2-tailed, 1-sample t test will be conducted in SPSS (version 25; IBM Corp) for empirical data analyses. ResultsThe qualitative phase, which involves a semistructured interview, has been completed among 20 older individuals aged 66-86 years. Thematic analysis of the data is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the quantitative phase commenced on March 22, 2022, with 100 participants providing signed informed consent to participate in the study. The study is expected to be completed by March 2023. ConclusionsThe mixed methods study will document the current awareness of ACP, accessibility and receptiveness toward counseling, and the potential use of psychological counseling in enhancing well-being and dignity among older people in Singapore. The research findings will benefit policy makers in their decision-making when attempting to mitigate the potential barriers to seeking counseling assistance among older people. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/45557

Herein, a metal-organic framework (Cu-β-CD-MOF) was prepared that incorporates copper (Cu) and beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) via vapor diffusion. Cu-β-CD-MOF was employed as a catalyst for the reduction of various nitroaromatics (NACs) compounds viz. 4-Nitrophenol(4-NP), Nitrobenzene (NB), 2-Nitrophenol(2-NP) and 4-Nitroaniline(4-NA). Cu-β-CD-MOF was analyzed using diverse techniques, which disclosed a narrow band gap (2.23 eV), enhanced thermal stability, and rod-like crystal morphology. Cu-β-CD-MOF exhibited high catalytic activity, reducing all NACs in 4 min. As a result of its high photocatalytic efficiency, low cost, non-toxic, and adherence to green chemistry principles, Cu-β-CD-MOF could be considered for wastewater treatment applications.

Gender discrimination and HIV stigma among women living with HIV/AIDS are significant psychosocial and public health issues that influence health and well-being. Most adolescent girls exposed to early and forced marriages, sexual violence, and unwanted practices increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS. The objective of this study is to explore the influence of psychosocial determinants of gender discrimination and HIV stigma on the health and well-being of women living with HIV/AIDS in North Central Nigeria. The study employs qualitative research using research protocol to interview participants and collect data with the approval of the National Health Research Ethics of the Ministry of Health. Forty participants, male and female aged 18 and above selected through purposive sampling technique from Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed through thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti8 software to code, transcribe, and present a graphical and words cloud frequency analysis. The findings indicate that forced marriage predominantly among the uneducated and low socioeconomic status is a socio-cultural practice that contributes to gender discrimination and HIV stigma. It leads to psychological problems like anxiety and depression in marriage. The study, therefore, concludes that community-based behavioral intervention strategies should advocate gender equality and anti-discrimination law. Also, public awareness on sex education, forced marriage, skills acquisition, and social support system be encouraged.

Despite ongoing public health measures and increasing vaccination rates, deaths and disease severity caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its new emergent variants continue to threaten the health of people around the world. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel strategies for research, diagnosis, treatment, and government policies to combat the variant strains of SARS-CoV-2. Since the state-of-the-art COVID-19 pandemic, the role of selenium in dealing with COVID-19 disease has been widely discussed due to its importance as an essential micronutrient. This review aims at providing all antiviral activities of nanoselenium (Nano-Se) ever explored using different methods in the literature. We systematically summarize the studied antiviral activities of Nano-Se required to project it as an efficient antiviral system as a function of shape, size, and synthesis method. The outcomes of this article not only introduce Nano-Se to the scientific community but also motivate scholars to adopt Nano-Se to tackle any serious virus such as mutated SARS-CoV-2 to achieve an effective antiviral activity in a desired manner.

BackgroundImpairment in cognitive function is a recognized outcome of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the degree of impairment has variable relationship with TBI severity and time post injury. The underlying pathology is often due to diffuse axonal injury that has been found even in mild TBI. In this study, we examine the state of white matter putative connectivity in patients with non-severe TBI in the subacute phase, i.e., within 10 weeks of injury and determine its relationship with neuropsychological scores.MethodsWe conducted a case-control prospective study involving 11 male adult patients with non-severe TBI and an age-matched control group of 11 adult male volunteers. Diffusion MRI scanning and neuropsychological tests were administered within 10 weeks post injury. The difference in fractional anisotropy (FA) values between the patient and control groups was examined using tract-based spatial statistics. The FA values that were significantly different between patients and controls were then correlated with neuropsychological tests in the patient group.ResultsSeveral clusters with peak voxels of significant FA reductions (p < 0.05) in the white matter skeleton were seen in patients compared to the control group. These clusters were located in the superior fronto-occipital fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, and cingulum, as well as white matter fibers in the area of genu of corpus callosum, anterior corona radiata, superior corona radiata, anterior thalamic radiation and part of inferior frontal gyrus. Mean global FA magnitude correlated significantly with MAVLT immediate recall scores while matrix reasoning scores correlated positively with FA values in the area of right superior fronto-occipital fasciculus and left anterior corona radiata.ConclusionThe non-severe TBI patients had abnormally reduced FA values in multiple regions compared to controls that correlated with several measures of executive function during the sub-acute phase of TBI.

The present research article focused on the factual findings of the potential usage of the combinational Feed-Forward Back Propagation Neural Network as a judgment making for lung cancer. In this context, Support Vector Machine is integrated with Feed-Forward Back Propagation Neural Network to create a hybrid algorithm that further helps in reducing the computation complexity of the classification. A set of 500 images are utilized in which 75% data is used for the training purpose and the rest 25% is used to achieve the classification. In the view of forgoing, a three-block mechanism is proposed for the classification in which the first block preprocesses the dataset, the second block extracts the features via the SURF technique followed by the optimization using Genetic Algorithm and the terminal block is for the classification via FFBPNN. The hybrid classification algorithm is named as Kernel Attribute Selected Classifier and the overall classification accuracy of the proposed algorithm is 98.08%. Herein, the objective of the study is to enhance the classification accuracy by applying a hybrid classification algorithm.

Machining operation optimization improves the quality of the product, reduces cost, enhances overall efficiency by reducing human error, and enables consistent and efficient operation. It is a vital decision-making process and achieves the best solution within constraints. It reduces reliance on machine-tool technicians and handbooks to identify cutting parameters, as a lack of awareness of the optimal combination of machining parameters leads to several machining inefficiencies. Subsequently, the optimization of the machining process is more useful for units of production, particularly machining units. In multi-objective optimization (MOO) problems, weights of importance are assigned, mostly identical. But, nowadays, the weights assignment techniques have received a lot of consideration from the professionals and researchers in MOO problems. Various techniques are developed to assign weights of significance to responses in MOO. The Entropy weights method (EWM) continues to work pleasingly across diverse machining operations to allocate objective weights. In this paper, a literature review is conducted to classify the articles on EWM applications in machining operations. The categorization proposal for the EWM reviews included 65 academic articles from different journals, books, and conferences since the year 2009. The EWM applications were separated into 18 categories of conventional and non-conventional machining operations. The implementation procedure of EWM is presented with an example along with method development. Scholarly articles in the EWM applications are further inferred based on (1) implementation of EWM in different machining operations, (2) MOO methods used with entropy weights in machining operations, (3) application of entropy weights by citation index and publication year, and (4) entropy weights applications in other fields. The review paper provided constructive insight into the EWM applications and ended with suggestions for further research in machining and different areas.

Purpose – Advanced medical technology has reduced the mortality rate among traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. This, however, has led to an increasing number of surviving patients with a major disability. As a consequence, these patients need attentive care which becomes an important issue for the society, particularly family members. Thus, this paper aims to review some of the salient roles, challenges and needs of the family caregivers in caring or nursing for their family members diagnosed with TBI. Design/methodology/approach – An inclusive search of the literature was undertaken to identify the family roles, challenges and needs in supporting and nursing TBI patients. Findings – Previous studies have shown that the family needs to address two important aspects of taking care of TBI patients, which involve emotional and physical affairs. Hence, it is essential for the family members to have adequate information on healing treatment, nursing and care methods, financial support, support groups, managing self-care and, more importantly, emotional and social support. Originality/value – This paper is not currently under consideration, in press or published elsewhere. In Malaysian culture, nursing disabled patients have always been a family responsibility. The role of nursing the patients has been done domestically and is considered a private affair. In order to execute the role, some put the patient needs as their priority and leave aside their needs and matters.

The classical and neo-classical economists present capitalism as a self-regulating and self-sustaining system. A system works on Say's law of market or Walrasian general equilibrium lines where market device works so efficiently that there are no possibilities of instability. The full utilization of available resources keeps the economy on a steady state growth path. However, Marxian and Keynesian economists do not believe in this idealistic interpretation of the working of capitalist economic system. They argue that cyclical instability is a fundamental tendency of capitalist economic structure. Historically, it has been proven that the capitalist system, from its very inception, has required state intervention, not only in its external relations but also in its internal functioning. The stability of capitalism depends upon the stability of capital accumulation which in turn depends upon state facilitation and direct state intervention in the economic affairs. In the light of these facts, the present paper makes an attempt to scrutinize the role of state in the accumulation process, which has evolved with the evolution of social classes and has been dominating economic and social affairs in accordance with the needs of the dominant class.

This study reports a rare case of cryptococcoma of the brain and review the related literature. An intracranial lesion, in a healthy, middle-aged adult who underwent surgery with a preoperative diagnosis of neoplastic/metastatic lesion, which turned out to be cryptococcoma, is being reported. Histopathological examination revealed that this immunocompetent patient had cryptococcoma of the cerebellum. He responded to antifungal chemotherapy (amphotericin B initially for 2 weeks and later oral fluconazole for 10 weeks) very well. Occurrence of cryptococcomas in immunocompetent patients is rare and responds to antifungal chemotherapy very well. Only six cases (including this) have been reported in literature till now.

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is an important commercial crop grown globally for its sugar-rich stalk. Low genetic variations and unwanted flowering in modern sugarcane varieties affect sugarcane quality and production. Therefore, a panel of 628 genetically diverse sugarcane clones were evaluated under field conditions at the Regional Research Station, Kapurthala, Punjab Agricultural University during 2019–20, for quality, yield and yield traits. The effect of flowering on quality and yield traits on a sub-set of 34 flowering sugarcane clones was also studied. A panel of 628 sugarcane clones showed greater genetic diversity for all the traits. HR brix per cent varied from 14–24%, number of millable cane (NMC) varied from 13–80 and single cane weight varied from 0.4–2.6 kg in 628 clones under field conditions. Non-flowering sugarcane clones’ mean performance was greater than flowering clones for most of the traits. However, no significant differences in quality traits among the clones at different flowering stages (flag leaf, tip emergence and complete flowering) were observed. Therefore, there is a huge genetic diversity in sugarcane germplasm for quality and yield traits and it should be exploited by breeding community for the development of sugarcane varieties with improved yield and better quality.

The debilitating effect of traumatic brain injury (TBI) extends years after the initial injury and hampers the recovery process and quality of life. In this study, we explore the functional reorganization of the default mode network (DMN) of those affected with non-severe TBI. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a wide-spectrum disease that has heterogeneous effects on its victims and impacts everyday functioning. The functional disruption of the default mode network (DMN) after TBI has been established, but its link to causal effective connectivity remains to be explored. This study investigated the differences in the DMN between healthy participants and mild and moderate TBI, in terms of functional and effective connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Nineteen non-severe TBI (mean age 30.84 ± 14.56) and twenty-two healthy (HC; mean age 27.23 ± 6.32) participants were recruited for this study. Resting-state fMRI data were obtained at the subacute phase (mean days 40.63 ± 10.14) and analyzed for functional activation and connectivity, independent component analysis, and effective connectivity within and between the DMN. Neuropsychological tests were also performed to assess the cognitive and memory domains. Compared to the HC, the TBI group exhibited lower activation in the thalamus, as well as significant functional hypoconnectivity between DMN and LN. Within the DMN nodes, decreased activations were detected in the left inferior parietal lobule, precuneus, and right superior frontal gyrus. Altered effective connectivities were also observed in the TBI group and were linked to the diminished activation in the left parietal region and precuneus. With regard to intra-DMN connectivity within the TBI group, positive correlations were found in verbal and visual memory with the language network, while a negative correlation was found in the cognitive domain with the visual network. Our results suggested that aberrant activities and functional connectivities within the DMN and with other RSNs were accompanied by the altered effective connectivities in the TBI group. These alterations were associated with impaired cognitive and memory domains in the TBI group, in particular within the language domain. These findings may provide insight for future TBI observational and interventional research.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era also known as digital age is central to the advancement of the construction industry as the industry is currently facing a myriad of challenges, including poor productivity and project failure. Therefore, there is an urgent need for industry to adopt 4IR innovations to increase the building business’s performance. The study explored the relationship between the critical barriers to 4IR innovations to foster sustainable development. The study embraced a numerical exploration approach which employed a questionnaire to obtain information from building industry experts. The questionnaire data were used to classify the 4IR barriers into policy and structure, readiness, and acquisition, using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Likewise, a predictive model was developed using Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS). It explained the relationship between the barrier categories and the barriers to 4IR innovation adoption for sustainable development. The results showed that policy and structure were critical components of 4IR adoption that the stakeholders of the construction industry must pay close attention to. The study also provided valuable areas for future research to enhance 4IR innovation adoption for sustainable development.

Codonopsis bhutanica Ludlow, a lesser-known endemic species to central and eastern Himalaya, collected for the first time from Arunachal Pradesh, India. The species was previously known only from Bhutan and Nepal. The species is reported here with a detailed taxonomic description along with habitat image, a photo-plate illustrating different features and a map showing the locality in Arunachal Pradesh as a new record to Indian flora.

Corallodiscus cooperi (Craib) B.L. Burtt is reported here as a new record for India. The IUCN Red-listed Vulnerable species was earlier known only from Bhutan and has been collected for the first time from outside the country, from Zemithang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. A detailed description along with images and notes are provided to facilitate its easy identification.

Malaysia had looked to Japan to search for a sustainable and efficient development model under the Look East Policy (LEP) initiative launched in 1982 by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. At the time, this ideal formula, intended for the betterment of the Malaysian economy, was designed to incorporate the Japanese attitude to work, their moral values, progressive norms, and work ethics. Since then, more than 15,000 Malaysians expatriated to Japan due to this very purpose, and bilateral relations between them have blossomed. In this paper, the LEP is revisited, and Japan-Malaysia relations will be analysed to understand the change and continuity aspects of this policy in the past 35 years. Furthermore, this paper will also seek to forecast the challenges Japanese and Malaysian institutions may face in establishing cooperation under the second phase of this policy after 35 years of success. Besides, exploring a new paradigm for Japan and Malaysia’s relations as proposed by the former Prime Minister, Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak.

The development studies have traditionally neglected the role of religious faith and its role in the lives of the poor throughout the developing world. However, recently, there has been greater recognition and value given to the contributions of Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in providing social services and poverty reduction. Bangladesh is a bulky and profoundly densely populated country in South Asia with an estimated 170 million population for the year 2018. The poverty rate is also the highest in rural areas, at 36%, compared with 28% in the urban area (BBS, 2016). Poor people unable to meet their basic needs due to unequal distribution of income, and that income gap is getting wider between the rich and the poor. Muslim FBOs are one of the largest sectors of development agencies that are making significant contributions towards historical poverty reduction process in Bangladesh. Zakat (almsgiving) and waqf (public charity) are Islamic faith-based organizations and is seen to be being underutilized for poverty reduction in many of these poor Muslim countries. Since zakat constitutes one of the pillars of Islam, it is logical to assume that policymakers should pay serious attention to it. This conceptual paper aims to examine the role of FBOs for poverty reduction in the light of Islam. The paper contends that the elements of social work practice can further contribute to the community development by allowing social work practitioners to engage in the analysing the existing policies or advocating for a relevant policy with regards to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh. It is also the role of the social workers to guide the relevant stakeholders involving in the poverty alleviation, either locally and globally, to implement further new outcomes related to poverty alleviation concerns.

Summary: Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Summary: Background: Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease that can cause permanent disability through disruption of the lymphatic system. This disease is caused by parasitic filarial worms that are transmitted by mosquitos. Mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelmintics is recommended by WHO to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. This study aims to produce the first geospatial estimates of the global prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection over time, to quantify progress towards elimination, and to identify geographical variation in distribution of infection. Methods: A global dataset of georeferenced surveyed locations was used to model annual 2000–18 lymphatic filariasis prevalence for 73 current or previously endemic countries. We applied Bayesian model-based geostatistics and time series methods to generate spatially continuous estimates of global all-age 2000–18 prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection mapped at a resolution of 5 km2 and aggregated to estimate total number of individuals infected. Findings: We used 14 927 datapoints to fit the geospatial models. An estimated 199 million total individuals (95% uncertainty interval 174–234 million) worldwide were infected with lymphatic filariasis in 2000, with totals for WHO regions ranging from 3·1 million (1·6–5·7 million) in the region of the Americas to 107 million (91–134 million) in the South-East Asia region. By 2018, an estimated 51 million individuals (43–63 million) were infected. Broad declines in prevalence are observed globally, but focal areas in Africa and southeast Asia remain less likely to have attained infection prevalence thresholds proposed to achieve local elimination. Interpretation: Although the prevalence of lymphatic filariasis infection has declined since 2000, MDA is still necessary across large populations in Africa and Asia. Our mapped estimates can be used to identify areas where the probability of meeting infection thresholds is low, and when coupled with large uncertainty in the predictions, indicate additional data collection or intervention might be warranted before MDA programmes cease. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Two different field experiments were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bathinda, (1) to manage optimum source-sink relationship through mepiquat chloride (MC) in Bt cotton hybrid and (2) to find feasibility of MC application on non hybrid compact cotton genotype under high density planting system (HDPS) with varied nitrogen levels. Raw data for growth and yield parameters was recorded from each treatment and statistically analysed. In experiment (1), application of MC 75 g active ingredient per hectare (a.i./ha) irrespective of splits between 60 and 90 days after sowing (DAS) was effective for significant reduction in plant height, increase in bolls per plant as compared to control and de-topping treatments. All these led to significantly highest seed cotton yield (SCY) and monetary returns under MC 75 g a.i./ha as compared to de-topping treatment. In experiment (2) of high density planting of cotton, sympods per plant, bolls per plant, SCY as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and monetary returns were increased significantly with 25% increase in recommended dose of nitrogen. Among the growth retardants, application of MC 20 g a.i./ha once and twice reduced plant height, increased sympods and boll per plant significantly which led to significantly higher SCY production as compared to control. Similarly, NUE and monetary returns were also significantly higher under MC treatments as compared to control. Application of MC 75 g a.i./ha in either two or three splits on Bt cotton hybrid under normal plant density and MC 20–40 g a.i./ha on non Bt compact genotype under high plant density optimized source-sink relationship which improve crop productivity and profitability.

Summary: Background: Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000–17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings: While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62·6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000–7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910–68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation: To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers' understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The current study was carried out at the experimental farm of Rana Sugars Ltd., Buttar Seviyan, Amritsar, Punjab, India, to identify methods to improve the yield and quality of ratoon sugarcane in potassium-deficient soils. The treatments comprised two levels of irrigation, resulting in plants which either received sufficient water (I1) or were water-stressed (I2), and four rates of potassium (K) application: 0 (K1), 40 (K2), 80 (K3) and 120 (K4) kg K2O ha−1. The results showed that the irrigation levels did not influence crop parameters significantly, although all parameters presented higher values for I1-treated plots. Compared to the K1 (i.e., 0 kg ha−1 K fertiliser applied) treatment, the K2, K3 and K4 treatments yielded 11.16, 37.9 and 40.7%, respectively, higher millable canes and 1.25, 5.62 and 13.13% more nodes per plant, respectively. At 280 days after harvest of the first (plant) crop, the I1 treatment provided ratoons which were up to 15.58% higher than those obtained with the I2 treatment, with cane girths up to 7.69% wider and yields up to 7.29% higher than those observed with the I2 treatment. While the number of nodes per plant did not differ significantly between treatments, there were significant differences in other parameters. Quality parameters (with the exception of extraction percentage) were significantly enhanced by the K3 treatment. The benefit-to-cost ratio (B/C) was higher for the I1 treatment than for the I2, due to a reduced productivity associated with the I2 treatment. At both irrigation levels, the K3 treatment resulted in the highest quality parameters. K1-, K2- and K4-treated plots presented more instances of insect infestations than plots receiving the K3 treatment. Relative to the K3 plots, infestation by the early shoot borer (Chilo infuscatellus) was 18.2, 6.0 and 12.2% higher, respectively, in plots that underwent the K1, K2 and K4 treatments, while infestation by the top borer (Scirpophaga excerptalis) was 21.2, 9.21 and 14.0% higher, and that by the stalk borer (Chilo auricilius) was 10.7, 0 and 8.10% higher. Not all infestation differences between treatments were significant. Our research demonstrates that growing sugarcane in potassium-deficient soils with applications of 80 kg K2O ha−1 under irrigation should be recommended to increase yield and quality while minimising insect infestation and to implement sustainable ratoon sugarcane production.

Abstract Symbiotic effectiveness of rhizobitoxine (Rtx)-producing strains of Bradyrhizobium spp. in soybean (cultivar NRC-37/Ahilya-4) under limited soil moisture conditions was evaluated using phenomics tools such as infrared(IR) thermal and visible imaging. Red, green and blue (RGB) colour pixels were standardized to analyse a total of 1017 IR thermal and 692 visible images. Plants inoculated with the Rtx-producing strains B. elkanii USDA-61 and USDA-94 and successive inoculation by B. diazoefficiens USDA-110 resulted in cooler canopy temperatures and increased canopy greenness. The results of the image analysis of plants inoculated with Rtx-producing strains were correlated with effective nodulation, improved photosynthesis, plant nitrogen status and yield parameters. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the reliability of the phenomics approach over conventional destructive approaches in assessing the symbiotic effectiveness of Bradyrhizobium strains in soybean plants under watered (87.41–89.96%) and water-stressed (90.54–94.21%) conditions. Multivariate cluster analysis (MCA) revealed two distinct clusters denoting effective (Rtx) and ineffective (non-Rtx) Bradyrhizobium inoculation treatments in soybean. Furthermore, correlation analysis showed that this phenotyping approach is a dependable alternative for screening drought tolerant genotypes or drought resilience symbiosis. This is the first report on the application of non-invasive phenomics techniques, particularly RGB-based image analysis, in assessing plant-microbe symbiotic interactions to impart abiotic stress tolerance.

To quantify the effect of different sowing environments and weather conditions on incidence of whitefly on cotton, experiments were conducted at PAU Regional Research Station, Bathinda during kharif 2014-2017) with Bt cotton hybrids 'NCS-855 BGII' at normal and late sowing. The mean incidence of whitefly was ranged from 0.0–39.5, 11.2–124.0, 0.2–26.4 and 0.7–15.5 adults/leaf during 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. The maximum adult population of whitefly was recorded in month of August almost in all the years, having its peak between 31–34 standard meteorological weeks (SMW). Among years, whitefly population was negatively correlated with rainfall, morning and evening relative humidity, while positively correlated with maximum temperature (except 2014) and minimum temperature (except 2014 and 2017). Moreover, bright sunshine showed positive correlation with whitefly population. In respect of pooled data, whitefly population showed negative correlation for minimum and maximum temperature and rainfall, while, positive correlation with morning and evening relative humidity and bright sunshine hours. Overall, crop sown at normal date was less affected by infestation of whitefly than late sown crop. So, this information would be helpful in developing efficient pest management strategies on cotton crop in order to get good harvest.

An attempt has been made to highlight some important issues in order to examine the inclusiveness of growth during the era of neoliberalism in India. The article is an attempt to examine the changing role of State within the capitalistic economic structure: how Indian State, which as an inseparable part of international capitalism, has shifted its path from welfare or Interventionist State to laissez-faire neoliberal State. The retreat of the State causes the marketisation of health and educational facilities, which has brought these two significant social services to the market as attractive profit earning commodities. The process of commodification of these services does lead to the deterioration and inaccessibility of these facilities to the masses. The article also scrutinises the question of livelihood through the study of changing structure of employment. The distribution of population employed in various activities and change in the status of employment after the introduction of neoliberal policies are also examined. The process of casualisation and informalisation of livelihood opportunities is also studied in order to grasp the extent of relative surplus population in India. The question of absolute reserve army of labour (wholly unemployed population) examined through the study of workers who are eligible for work but unable to get any work due to jobless growth process in India. The development of an imported industrialisation process has resulted in the increase in proportion of constant capital (machines and related equipments) relative to variable (human labour) capital in manufacturing sectors. In the whole discussion on employment and unemployment, an attempt has been made to apply the Marxian conception of reserve army of labour on Indian working population in order to examine the emerging working-class structure.

Sebaceous glands have high concentration over head and neck region. Despite high concentration, sebaceous cell adenoma and carcinomas are infrequent. Sebaceous cell carcinoma is an uncommon, cutaneous aggressive tumor arising from the sebaceous glands and seen almost exclusively on the eyelids (75%). It accounts for just 0.2-0.7% of all eyelid tumors in the USA and very few cases that have originated in areas other than the eyelids have been reported. A 67-year-old male presented with swelling (3 cm Χ 4 cm), on the right postauricular region, since about 1-month. The swelling became ulcerative and associated with progressive tinnitus and hoarseness of voice. The patient was investigated. Fine-needle aspiration cytology suggested sebaceous cell carcinoma. Then excision biopsy was done, and histopathological examination of excised tissue confirmed the diagnosis. Extraorbital sebaceous cell carcinoma is an aggressive and invasive malignancy. It clinically mimics other diseases and is difficult to diagnose. Hence, an accurate and prompt diagnosis is crucial because of its fulminant course, serious associations with Muir-Torre syndrome and high potential for regional and distant metastasis.

Blastoschizomyces capitatus is an arthrospore filamentous fungus. Lung infection by Blastoschizomyces can develop as an opportunistic infection in patients with underlying conditions especially when there is immunosuppression including neutropenia. However, it can occur in non-neutropenic patients with solid organ transplant and patients whose local pulmonary defenses are altered by chronic underlying lung pathology. We report here a case of pulmonary infection by B. capitatus in an old tuberculosis patient.