Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) Reporting Practices in a Developing Country: Evidence from Bangladesh

This study explores CSER reporting phenomenon in Bangladesh. Constructivist ontology and interpretivist epistemology research methodology was used. Findings from this engagement-based study reveal the underpinning assumptions of CSER regarding enablers and barriers, stakeholders’ expectations and suggested strategies. Findings and the social system-based theories resonate well with the literature providing theoretical and practical contributions to the body of knowledge. This study provides valuable insights for scholars, policy makers, managers and organisations

Improving Aspen/SP Computer Model of Great Plains Coal Gasifiers

The Great Plains Gasification Plant located in Beulah, North Dakota, operated by the Dakota Gasification Company (DGC) is the only commercial production plant in the United States making synthetic natural gas (SNG) from coal. DGC operates 14 Lurgi gasifiers to produce 158 million ft3/day of SNG from 17,000 tons of North Dakota lignite coal. As the first step in constructing a model of the entire plant to control its operation and optimize the economic performance, an ASPEN/SP computer model (called RGAS) of a Lurgi gasifier was developed with the combined effort of several researchers. RGAS will predict the impact of changes in inputs on production rates and efficiency. The model parameters (i.e., kinetic constants, heat transfer coefficient to the reactor wall, heat capacity of the volatiles, etc.) were previously optimized in different stages to obtain the best possible model predictions. Unfortunately, the model did not predict the output variables within desirable accuracy, necessitating further improvements to the RGAS model. In this study some model improvements were made or tried. The FORTRAN routine, which models the combustion and gasification zones in the gasifier, requires an iterative approach for solution. The efficiency of the FORTRAN code has been enhanced by changing the convergence scheme, which reduced the simulation time by 75%. In addition, a Hooke-Jeeves pattern search algorithm has been included in the RGAS subroutine URE09, so that any optimization of parameters can be done automatically. This made optimization easy and efficient. Contrary to the actual volatile evolution, RGAS assumes devolatilization to be a linear, temperature dependent evolution of volatile matter. However, limited data on North Dakota lignite and available literature information indicate that the temperature dependence of volatile evolution is non-linear. A non-linear devolatilization model was tried, but it did not result in any significant improvements in the RGAS predictions so, the simple linear model was retained. An optimized value of 1.7 for the activity of carbon was included in the definition of the equilibrium constants of the reversible reactions (previously it was assumed to be unity), which improved the flow predictions significantly. This can be justified by the fact that amorphous carbon from lignite coal has higher free energies than graphite. This research project has been very successful. After the improvements were incorporated into the RGAS model, it predicted nine of the ten responses studied (the exception being reactor steam utilization) within the accuracy of the data. The RGAS model is now complete, in terms of giving good predictions for the coal (lignite) used during the study period. However, kinetic parameters vary with coal composition since several of the reactions are catalyzed by the metals present in the coal. The addition of metal composition catalytic effects would allow predictions to take into account changing coal composition. This is recommended as the next step in making the RGAS model even more valuable as an optimization and control tool for the DGC plant in Beulah, North Dakota

The influence of rural transportation systems on regional economic development and commercialization of agriculture in some selected areas of Comilla District, Bangladesh

The economic progress of a country like Bangladesh cannot be considered without giving top priority to the improvement of rural life. Among the economic and social factors contributing towards development, the role of rural transportation systems is a significant one. This study investigates the contributions that appropriate rural transportation systems have on the developmental process in the Comilla district. A case study of two selected regions was undertaken. These are the regions of Kotwali with a relatively better transport system and the Burichong region regarded as control. A contrasting picture of the two regions' agricultural development was revealed by the analysis. To investigate the possible causes of such a picture, the efficiency and cost structure of the different modern and traditional modes of transport such as truck, tractor, cycle rickshaw, bullock cart, country boat and human modes (shoulder or head 1oad) were discussed using statistical and econometric techniques. utilizing the available information on the rice trade of transportation pattern, cost of production and prices in the two regions, the economic benefits of rural roads were assessed by estimating the producer surplus. Examples of social benefits were enumerated. The effects of distance covered and volume hauled on transport cost for the different modes was examined using a quadratic transport cost function. Finally, the most economic rice transport task, i.e., the least-cost combination of modes and routes subject to given assumptions relati.ng to production and consumption centres was attempted. This was based on the results arrived at using a network analysis approach

Exploring Demographic Properties and Amplification Efficiency of N and ORF-1ab Gene in Suspected COVID-19 Patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background: In late December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia with an unknown cause occurs in Wuhan, China. Later, the causative agent was identified as SARS-CoV-2. Early laboratory diagnosis plays an important role in any outbreak by cutting the spread of infection by isolating the infected person. Nucleic acid detection via PCR remains the gold standard because no alternative scientific method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 is available. Objective: The goal of this study was to learn more about the demographic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2-affected people and the sensitivity pattern of the N & ORF-1ab gene among them. Methods: A swab from the nasopharynx for nucleic acid detection was collected from 3183 SARS-CoV-2 suspected cases attending outdoors and indoors at Aichi Hospital and Japan East-West Hospital. Results: 649 (20.4%) were found PCR positive. Among the positive cases, the male was 478 (73.7%) and the female was 171 (26.3%), mean age was 40.35 ± 14.551 years, ranging from 4 – to 90 years. The highest prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was identified in the 21–40 years old group (50.7%), followed by the 41–60 years old group (33.1%). The N gene was found to be 100% positive and ORF-1ab was 22.03% positive. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, males and younger generations are at an elevated risk of contracting the virus, and maybe a source of infection for other family members. According to this study, the N gene has higher sensitivity and amplification efficiency than ORF-1ab

Single-cell analysis reveals differences among iNKT cells colonizing peripheral organs and identifies Klf2 as a key gene for iNKT emigration

Invariant natural killer T cell (iNKT) subsets are differentially distributed in various immune organs. However, it remains unclear whether iNKT cells exhibit phenotypical and functional differences in different peripheral organs and how thymic iNKT cells emigrate to peripheral organs. Here, we used single-cell RNA-seq to map iNKT cells from peripheral organs. iNKT1 cells from liver, spleen, and lymph node appear to have distinct phenotypic profiles and functional capabilities. However, iNKT17 transcriptomes were comparable across peripheral organs. In addition, by integrating data with a thymic iNKT cell study, we uncovered a transient population of recent thymic emigrants, a cluster of peripheral iNKT cells with high expression of transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (Klf2). Deletion of Klf2 led to a severe impairment of iNKT differentiation and migration. Our study revealed that iNKT subsets are uniquely distributed in peripheral organs with some inter-local tissue variation, especially for iNKT1 cell, and identified Klf2 as a rheostat for iNKT cell migration and differentiation

Short Communication: Evaluation of a New Rapid Diagnostic Test for Quality Assurance by Kala Azar Elimination Programme in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, serological tests have been widely used for the primary screening of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Several serologic tests are available for the diagnosis of VL. Selection of the best test is important to permit diagnostic differentiation between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and to reduce cross-reactivity. We evaluated the effectiveness of a new serological test “Onsite Leishmania Ab Rapid Test” as a part of “quality assurance” activities for the kala azar elimination programme of the Government of Bangladesh. Plasma samples of 100 parasitologically confirmed cases of VL along with 101 healthy controls were tested, and “Onsite Leishmania Ab Rapid Test” strip tests were positive in 94 out of 100 confirmed VL cases, whereas four out of 51 healthy subjects from the VL endemic areas also tested positive. All the 50 healthy volunteers tested negative. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of “Onsite Leishmania Ab Rapid Test” strip test were found to be 94% (95% CI: 87–98) and 96% (95% CI: 90–99), respectively. This study showed that the performance of the “Onsite Leishmania Ab Rapid Test” strip tests was up to the recommended level

Financial threat, hardship and distress predict depression, anxiety and stress among the unemployed youths: a Bangladeshi multi-cities study

Introduction: Unemployment has a contributory role in the development of mental health problems and in Bangladesh there is increasing unemployment, particularly among youth. Consequently, the present study investigated depression, anxiety, and stress among recent graduates in a multi-city study across the country. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 988 Bangladeshi graduate jobseekers in six major cities of the country between August to November 2019. The measures included socio-demographics and life-style factors, study and job-related information, Economic Hardship Questionnaire, Financial Threat Scale, Financial Well-Being Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Results: Depression, anxiety and stress rates among the present sample were 81.1% (n=801), 61.5% (n=608) and 64.8% (n=640) respectively. Factors related to gender, age, socio-economic conditions, educational background, lack of extra-curricular activities, and high screen activity were significant risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress. Structural equation modeling indicated that (while controlling for age, daily time spent on sleep study, and social media use), financial threat was moderately positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress. Financial hardship was weakly positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas financial wellbeing was weakly negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Limitations: Due to the nature of the present study (i.e., cross-sectional study) and sampling method (i.e., convenience sampling), determining causality between the variables is not possible. Conclusions: The present results emphasized the important detrimental role of financial troubles on young people's mental health by showing that financial problems among unemployed youth predict elevated psychiatric distress in both men and women

First-principles study on the structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of LiNbO3

The structural, electronic, elastic, mechanical and optical properties of technologically important lithium niobate (LiNbO3) have been investigated by using the first-principle calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) implemented in the CASTEP code. The lattice constants and unit cell volume were calculated from the optimized unit cell, which were in well agreement with the reported theoretical as well as experimental values. Bulk modulus B, Young's modulus Y, shear modulus G, Poisson's ratio σ, elastic anisotropy A and compressibility K were determined based on the computed values of independent elastic constants (C11, C12, C13, C14, C33, C44 and C66). Electronic band structure and density of states (DOS) demonstrated its semiconducting nature showing a band gap of 3.54 eV. Furthermore, several optical properties, such as absorption coefficient, reflectivity, refractive index, dielectric function, optical conductivity and electron energy loss function have been calculated

Enablers for corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices: evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose - the purpose of this paper is to explore the enablers of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices in Bangladesh by seeking the views of senior managers of listed companies in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach - Understanding the emerging phenomenon of CSER in Bangladesh requires an inquiry paradigm utilising constructivist ontology and interpretive epistemology. A series of in depth interviews were conducted with 20 senior managers, complemented by utilizing observations with experiential local working knowledge from one of the researchers, along with documentation, provided rich sources of information in this paper. Findings - Preliminary findings reveal that the enablers of CSER in Bangladesh include: social obligation; regulations, poverty alleviation desire; and corporate branding motivation. The primary motivation for embracing CSER by the textile sectors appear to stem from powerful stakeholder pressures such as international buyers. Research limitations/implications - This study focuses on corporate social and environmental responsibility phenomenon within Bangladesh context. It must be noted that due to the perceived sensitivity of both social and the environmental management issues for some respondents, ‘politically correct’ responses may have prevailed either intentionally or unintentionally. Original value - This paper addresses the literature ‘gap’ in the empirical study of CSER in a rapidly emerging nation such as Bangladesh. The findings from this study have the potential to provide useful understanding of the enablers for CSER practices in Bangladesh and other fast developing countries