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We demonstrate an ultrasonication-assisted synthesis without polar solvent of CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and their reversible transformation. The as-prepared CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs exhibit different optical properties that depend on their morphology, size, and structure. The photoluminescence (PL) emission and quantum yield (QY) of the CsPbBr3 PNCs can be tuned by changing the ultrasound power, radiation time, and the height of the vibrating spear. The optimized CsPbBr3 PNCs show a good stability and high PL QY of up to 85%. In addition, the phase transformation between CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs can be obtained through varying the amount of oleylamine (OAm) and water. The mechanism of this transformation between the CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs and their morphology change are studied, involving ions equilibrium, anisotropic growth kinetics, and CsBr-stripping process.We demonstrate an ultrasonication-assisted synthesis without polar solvent of CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and their reversible transformation. The as-prepared CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs exhibit different optical properties that depend on their morphology, size, and structure. The photoluminescence (PL) emission and quantum yield (QY) of the CsPbBr3 PNCs can be tuned by changing the ultrasound power, radiation time, and the height of the vibrating spear. The optimized CsPbBr3 PNCs show a good stability and high PL QY of up to 85%. In addition, the phase transformation between CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs can be obtained through varying the amount of oleylamine (OAm) and water. The mechanism of this transformation between the CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs and their morphology change are studied, involving ions equilibrium, anisotropic growth kinetics, and CsBr-stripping process.

Background Postnatal care (PNC) is crucial for maternal and newborn health. Healthcare-seeking practices within the postpartum period help healthcare providers in early detection of complications related to childbirth and post-delivery period. This study aims to investigate trends of PNC utilization from 2006 to 2018, and to explore the effects of multi-level determinants of both maternal and newborn PNC in Pakistan. Methods Secondary data analysis of the last three waves of the nationally representative Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys (PDHSs) was conducted Analysis was limited to all those women who had delivered a child during the last 5 years preceding each wave of PDHS Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was applied to determine the association of maternal and newborn PNC utilization with multi-level determinants at individual, community, and institutional levels. Results In Pakistan, an upward linear trend in maternal PNC utilization was found, with an increase from 43.5 to 63.6% from 2006 to 2018. However, a non-linear trend was observed in newborn PNC utilization, with an upsurge from 20.6 to 50.5% from 2006 to 2013, nonetheless a decrease of 30.7% in 2018. Furthermore, the results highlighted that the likelihood of maternal and newborn PNC utilization was higher amongst older age women, who completed some years of schooling, were employed, had decision-making and emotional autonomy, had caesarean sections, and delivered at health facilities by skilled birth attendants. Multivariate analysis also revealed higher odds for women of older age, who had decision-making and emotional autonomy, and had caesarean section deliveries over the period of 2006–2018 for both maternal and newborn PNC utilization. Further, higher odds for maternal PNC utilization were found with parity and size of newborn, while less for ANC attendance and available means of transportation. Furthermore, increased odds were recorded for newborn PNC utilization with the number of children, ANC attendance, gender of child and mass media exposure from 2006 to 18. Conclusion A difference in maternal and newborn PNC utilization was found in Pakistan, attributed to multiple individual (socio-demographic and obstetrics), community, and institutional level determinants. Overall, findings suggest the need to promote the benefits of PNC for early diagnosis of postpartum complications and to plan effective public health interventions to enhance women’s access to healthcare facilities and skilled birth assistance to save mothers’ and newborns’ lives.

Plant nitrogen concentration (PNC) is a critical indicator of N status for crops, and can be used for N nutrition diagnosis and management. This work aims to explore the potential of multispectral imagery from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for PNC estimation and improve the estimation accuracy with hyperspectral data collected in the field with a hyperspectral radiometer. In this study we combined selected vegetation indices (VIs) and texture information to estimate PNC in rice. The VIs were calculated from ground and aerial platforms and the texture information was obtained from UAV-based multispectral imagery. Two consecutive years (2015 & 2016) of experiments were conducted, involving different N rates, planting densities and rice cultivars. Both UAV flights and ground spectral measurements were taken along with destructive samplings at critical growth stages of rice ( L.). After UAV imagery preprocessing, both VIs and texture measurements were calculated. Then the optimal normalized difference texture index (NDTI) from UAV imagery was determined for separated stage groups and the entire season. Results demonstrated that aerial VIs performed well only for pre-heading stages ( = 0.52-0.70), and photochemical reflectance index and blue N index from ground (PRI and BNI ) performed consistently well across all growth stages ( = 0.48-0.65 and 0.39-0.68). Most texture measurements were weakly related to PNC, but the optimal NDTIs could explain 61 and 51% variability of PNC for separated stage groups and entire season, respectively. Moreover, stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) models combining aerial VIs and NDTIs did not significantly improve the accuracy of PNC estimation, while models composed of BNI and optimal NDTIs exhibited significant improvement for PNC estimation across all growth stages. Therefore, the integration of ground-based narrow band spectral indices with UAV-based textural information might be a promising technique in crop growth monitoring.

Phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC) is the tendency of lineages to retain their niche-related traits through speciation events. A recent surge in the availability of well-sampled molecular phylogenies has stimulated phylogenetic approaches to understanding ecological processes at large geographical scales and through macroevolutionary time. We stress that PNC is a pattern, not a process, and is found only in some traits and some lineages. At the simplest level, a pattern of PNC is an inevitable consequence of evolution – descent with modification and divergence of lineages – but several intrinsic causes, including physicochemical, developmental and genetic constraints, can lead directly to a marked pattern of PNC. A pattern of PNC can also be caused indirectly, as a by-product of other causes, such as extinction, dispersal limitation, competition and predation. Recognition of patterns of PNC can contribute to understanding macroevolutionary processes: for example, release from constraint in traits has been hypothesized to trigger adaptive radiations such as that of the angiosperms. Given the multiple causes of patterns of PNC, tests should address explicit questions about hypothesized processes. We conclude that PNC is a scientifically useful concept with applications to the practice of ecological research.

In the general population, more severe, recurrent subthreshold psychosis spectrum (PS) symptoms are associated with a heightened risk of poor outcomes. Here, we expanded and temporally extended our prior 2-year follow-up of community youth with recurrent PS symptoms in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) by characterizing longer-term trajectories of symptom domains and global functioning compared to youth with other recurrent psychopathology. The PNC Time 1 included 9498 community youth (age 8-21) recruited from a pediatric healthcare network. A subsample (n = 752) participated in prospective evaluations (mean visits = 2.75; interval range years first:last visit = 0.2:9.3; mean = 4.52 years; age range years first:last visit = 8.1-21.9:9.5-29.9). Youth were classified based on psychopathology at first and last visits. Longitudinal trajectories of symptom domains (positive, negative, disorganized, general) and global functioning were modeled using generalized additive mixed models. Youth with recurrent PS displayed a nonlinear developmental trajectory of positive psychosis symptoms such that severity increased slowly until the early 20s, and then briefly plateaued before increasing significantly in the late 20s. They also exhibited increases over time in disorganized and negative symptoms, and in general symptoms, which were lower in severity and relatively stable in other groups. Global functioning in recurrent PS declined from moderate to serious impairment over time, compared to youth with recurrent other psychopathology, where higher and more stable functioning was observed. Results underscore that PS symptoms in community adolescents reflect dynamic developmental processes into early adulthood, and support evaluating trajectories of multiple symptom and functional domains.

Using postnatal care (PNC) within the first week following childbirth is crucial, as both the mother and her baby are particularly vulnerable to infections and mortality during this period. In this study, we examined the factors associated with early postnatal care (EPNC) use in Afghanistan. We used data from the multiple indicator cluster survey (MICS) 2022–2023. The study population was ever-married women who delivered a live child during their recent pregnancy within the 2 years preceding MICS 2022–23. The outcome was EPNC and defined as the first check of the mother within the first week of delivery. A binary logistic regression was used, and odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were obtained. Out of 12,578 women, 16.0% received EPNC. EPNC was lower in women who delivered at home [AOR 0.35 (95% CI 0.28–0.44)] compared with women who delivered at public clinics. EPNC was higher in women with ≥ 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits [1.29 (1.02–162)], in women in the highest quintile of wealth status [1.70 (1.25–2.32)], and in women with access to radio [1.76 (1.45–2.15)]. EPNC use among Afghan women remains low (16.0%). Key factors associated with ENPC utilization include place of delivery, ANC utilization, wealth status, and radio access.

Background Pakistan, being a developing country, presents the dismal picture of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. The majority of maternal and neonatal deaths could be avoided if Continuum of Care (CoC) is provided in a structured pathway from pregnancy to birth and to the first week of life of the newborn child. This study aimed to analyse the trends of CoC at all three levels (antenatal care, skilled delivery and postpartum care) and to identify various factors affecting the continuation in receiving CoC in Pakistan during 2006 to 2012. Methods Secondary data analysis was performed on nationally representative data from the last two iterations of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), conducted during 2006/07 to 2012/13. The analysis is limited to women of the reproductive age group (15–49 years) who gave birth during the last five years preceding both surveys. This leads to a sample size of 5,724 and 7,461 respondents from PDHS 2006/07 and 2012/13 respectively. The association between CoC and several factors, including individual attributes (reproductive status), family influences, community context, as well as cultural and social values was assessed in bivariate analyses in a first step. Furthermore, odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals using a binary and multivariable logistic regression were calculated. Results Our research presents the trends of a composite measure of CoC including antenatal care, delivery assistance and postpartum care. The largest gap in CoC was observed at antenatal care followed by delivery and postnatal care within 48 h after delivery. Results show that CoC completion rate has increased from 15% to 27% amongst women in Pakistan over time from 2006 to 2012. Women with high age at first birth, having less number of children, with higher education, belonging to richest quintile, living in Sindh province and urban areas, having high autonomy and exposure to mass media were most likely to avail complete CoC. Conclusions The findings show that women in Pakistan still lack the CoC. This calls for attention to develop and implement tailored interventions, focusing on the needs of women in Pakistan to provide CoC in an integrated manner, involving both public and private sectors by appropriately addressing the factors hindering CoC completion rates.

Background Little is known whether women’s knowledge of perceived severity of illness and sociodemographic characteristics of women influence healthcare seeking behavior for maternal health services in Afghanistan. The aim of this study was to address this knowledge gap. Methods Data were used from the Afghanistan Health Survey 2018. Women’s knowledge in terms of danger signs or symptoms during pregnancy was assessed. The signs or symptoms were bleeding, swelling of the body, headache, fever, or any other danger sign or symptom (e.g., high blood pressure). A categorical variable of knowledge score was created. The outcome variables were defined as ≥ 4 ANC vs. 0–3 ANC; ≥ 4 PNC vs. 0–3 PNC visits; institutional vs. non-institutional deliveries. A multivariable generalized linear model (GLM) was used. Results Data were used from 9,190 ever-married women, aged 13–49 years, who gave birth in the past two years. It was found that 56%, 22% and 2% of women sought healthcare for institutional delivery, ≥ 4 ANC, ≥ 4 PNC visits, respectively, and that women’s knowledge is a strong predictor of healthcare seeking [odds ratio (OR)1.77(1.54–2.05), 2.28(1.99–2.61), and 2.78 (2.34–3.32) on knowledge of 1, 2, and 3–5 signs or symptoms, respectively, in women with ≥ 4 ANC visits when compared with women who knew none of the signs or symptoms. In women with ≥ 4 PNC visits, it was 1.80(1.12–2.90), 2.22(1.42–3.48), and 3.33(2.00–5.54), respectively. In women with institutional deliveries, it was 1.49(1.32–1.68), 2.02(1.78–2.28), and 2.34(1.95–2.79), respectively. Other strong predictors were women’s education level, multiparity, residential areas (urban vs. rural), socioeconomic status, access to mass media (radio, TV, the internet), access of women to health workers for birth, and decision-making for women where to deliver. However, age of women was not a strong predictor. Conclusion Our findings suggest that pregnant women’s healthcare seeking behaviour is influenced by women’s knowledge of danger signs and symptoms during pregnancy, women’s education, socioeconomic status, access to media, husband’s, in-laws’ and relatives’ decisions, residential area, multiparity, and access to health workers. The findings have implications for promoting safe motherhood and childbirth practices through improving women’s knowledge, education, and social status.

Objective We assess how countries in regions of the world where maternal mortality is highest—South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa—are performing with regards to providing women with vital elements of the continuum of care. Methods Using recent Demographic and Health Survey data from nine countries including 18,036 women, descriptive and multilevel regression analyses were conducted on four key elements of the continuum of care—at least one antenatal care visit, four or more antenatal care visits, delivery with a skilled birth attendant and postnatal checks for the mother within the first 24 h since birth. Family planning counseling within a year of birth was also included in the descriptive analyses. Results Results indicated that a major drop-out (>50 %) occurs early on in the continuum of care between the first antenatal care visit and four or more antenatal care visits. Few women (<5 %) who do not receive any antenatal care go on to have a skilled delivery or receive postnatal care. Women who receive some or all the elements of the continuum of care have greater autonomy and are richer and more educated than women who receive none of the elements. Conclusion Understanding where drop-out occurs and who drops out can enable countries to better target interventions. Four or more ANC visits plays a pivotal role within the continuum of care and warrants more programmatic attention. Strategies to ensure that vital services are available to all women are essential in efforts to improve maternal health.

Background The Indian tribal population is varied, with a wide range of customs, ways of life, and cultural practices. However, there is one thing that all Indian tribal communities have in common: they have worse health indicators, a higher rate of illness and mortality, and very restricted access to medical care. Their health issues require extra consideration in the right setting (Salil, Health and Population Perspectives and Issues 23:61-70, 2000). Growth in the utilization of reproductive and maternal health services will not only curtail down the reproductive morbidities, but it will also reduce the child mortality (Sharma et. al, Utilization of health services and RCH status in Madhya Pradesh: a District Level Analysis. In Proceedings of National Symposium on Tribal Health 2011). Men’s participation in prenatal care, delivery and postpartum period is rarely found, especially among tribal communities, due to their economic instabilities and priorities. Also our health system does not promote the involvement of men in the maternal and child health care. Hence, there was a need felt for development of gender and community sensitive interventions package that could address the individual and the community health care facility level barriers of male involvement in utilisation of the maternal care services. Our study was an effort to determine the feasibility of implementing a behaviour Change Communication Interaction developed for improvement in utilisation of maternity care services through male participation among the Saharia Tribes in Gwalior District, Madhya Pradesh. Methods The Study utilised a qualitative approach. Various activities were organised as a part of BCC, viz., Community mobilization, Campaign/Rallies, Interpersonal Communication-Drama & Mock Sessions, Face to Face counselling and Quiz etc. Action technique called Transect was used in order to know more about the environment and living of the people of Saharia Tribes in Gwalior District, Madhya Pradesh. Feasibility of the model was assessed by focusing on three main principles i.e., acceptability, integration and limited-efficacy testing. Result Acceptability testing study reveal that BCC intervention was successfully accepted by intended individual- both targeted individuals and those involved in implementing programs. Integration approach reveal that no major change in infrastructure of Govt. Programmes and facilities is required. Instead, effective application relies on the engagement of key community members and local health service workers. Limited-efficacy testing reveals that there is a behavioural change in men’s perception of accompanying their spouse to the health centre; same was observed on the vaccination day in the village. Conclusions The BCC intervention proved to be feasible to implement. The Proposed BCC interaction is feasible and accepted by both Programme stake holders and beneficiaries.