The Trade-Off in ‘Relocation’: A Comparative Understanding of Vulnerabilities of Disadvantaged Migrants Moving from Rural Origins to Urban Areas in the Context of Bangladesh

Background: It has been widely recognized by academics and policy makers that people across the world are moving from their habitual residence driven by poverty, war, political insurgency, environmental degradation and the climate change impacts amongst others (Salauddin, 2010; Lilleor & van den Broeck, 2011; IPCC, 2014). Until recently the issue received comparatively little attention within mainstream debates that the majority of this mobility will take place within the geographical boundaries of affected countries than across borders; referred to as internal migration (International Organization for Migration, 2009). By this century, the number of internal migrants may increase from approximately 25 million to over 200 million worldwide (see projections in IOM, 2009; IDMC, 2016; Biermann & Boas, 2010). For many low incomecountries, most of the internal migrants from rural areas are attracted to cities. Cities of many low-income countries like Bangladesh have limited infrastructural and governance capacity to response to the high number of disadvantaged migrants coming every year in search of livelihood (IDMC, 2016; Black, Bennett, Thomas & Beddington, 2011). Hence the increasing influx of rural-urban migrant increases densification of slum population that leads to further deteriorating living condition and widening intra-urban inequalities (Greiner und Sakdapolrak, 2013). Traditionally, policy-making has viewed the vulnerabilities of such disadvantaged groups from a static geospatial point of view i.e. either from geographic origin or from geographic destinations (Zimmerman, Kiss and Hossain, 2011). Yet the vulnerabilities of contemporary mobility are more complex often involving multistage exposure to various risks including environmental, economic and social components (Gray et al, 2014). Such exposures may occur several times considering what the migrants may experience throughout the process of mobility involving various issues in travel and destination phases. This study makes a comparative assessment of general vulnerabilities of disadvantaged migrants at their place of geographic origins and present geographic destinations. The paper tests whether the migrants’ vulnerabilities reduce after migrating from rural areas to slums in larger cities in Bangladesh. Grounded on recent theoretical development in vulnerability and migration scholarship, the study fieldwork involved interviewing household members of migrants both at geographic origins and at destinations. The drivers of vulnerability that are affecting their livelihood in both geographic origins and geographic destinations have been compared. Objectives: This study aims compare the drivers of vulnerability of the disadvantaged rural-urban migrants at two different locations – before migration at geographic origins and after migration at geographic destinations in the context of Bangladesh. Methodology: This study identified two Northern districts of the country as geographic origins which are (natural hazard) hotspots for seasonal drought, crop failure and riverbank erosion. Secondly, four urban locations have been identified which largely recognized as usual geographic destinations of the migrant population are coming from the identified geographic origins. Data was obtained at two stages, firstly at the geographic origins and then at geographic destinations. In total 115 in-depth interviews (75 interviews at geographic origins and 40 at geographic destinations) have been conducted. Additionally, 10 Focus Group Discussions with local participants and 20 Key Informant Interviews involving different government and non-government stakeholders and policy makers across the country have been considered as the primary method for data collection. Results: The drivers of vulnerabilities have been classified into some broader categories involving financial, infrastructural, environmental, governance, political, health and social components. Result compared the drivers of vulnerabilities identified at geographic origins and geographical destinations. While at origins, most of the households stressed financial drivers including poverty and credit burden as top drivers negatively influencing their livelihood stability at destinations, the most frequently appearing drivers of vulnerabilities include infrastructural issues like risk of eviction at slums, followed by social issues. In contrary with geographic origins, higher frequency of social issues like drug abuse, child labour and sexual harassment appeared at geographic destinations as key drivers of vulnerabilities affecting disadvantaged rural-urban migrants. Conclusion: From the perspective of vulnerabilities this study will argue that understanding vulnerabilities at the geographic origins are important policy information for planning any intervention at both geographic origins and destinations, such as knowing about communicable diseases at geographic origins is helpful to design health activities and vaccination for short term migrants roaming over geographic destinations. Again, some of the pre-migration vulnerabilities from geographic origins like stress may escalate new vulnerabilities such as high blood pressure and heart disease at geographic destinations. Policies to protect such disadvantaged migrant in cities and manage vulnerabilities will be most effective if they consider issues involved at both locations, not only at geographic destinations

FPGA Processor In Memory Architectures (PIMs): Overlay or Overhaul ?

The dominance of machine learning and the ending of Moore's law have renewed interests in Processor in Memory (PIM) architectures. This interest has produced several recent proposals to modify an FPGA's BRAM architecture to form a next-generation PIM reconfigurable fabric. PIM architectures can also be realized within today's FPGAs as overlays without the need to modify the underlying FPGA architecture. To date, there has been no study to understand the comparative advantages of the two approaches. In this paper, we present a study that explores the comparative advantages between two proposed custom architectures and a PIM overlay running on a commodity FPGA. We created PiCaSO, a Processor in/near Memory Scalable and Fast Overlay architecture as a representative PIM overlay. The results of this study show that the PiCaSO overlay achieves up to 80% of the peak throughput of the custom designs with 2.56x shorter latency and 25% - 43% better BRAM memory utilization efficiency. We then show how several key features of the PiCaSO overlay can be integrated into the custom PIM designs to further improve their throughput by 18%, latency by 19.5%, and memory efficiency by 6.2%.Comment: Accepted in 2023 33rd International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL

Accelerating LSTM-based High-Rate Dynamic System Models

In this paper, we evaluate the use of a trained Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network as a surrogate for a Euler-Bernoulli beam model, and then we describe and characterize an FPGA-based deployment of the model for use in real-time structural health monitoring applications. The focus of our efforts is the DROPBEAR (Dynamic Reproduction of Projectiles in Ballistic Environments for Advanced Research) dataset, which was generated as a benchmark for the study of real-time structural modeling applications. The purpose of DROPBEAR is to evaluate models that take vibration data as input and give the initial conditions of the cantilever beam on which the measurements were taken as output. DROPBEAR is meant to serve an exemplar for emerging high-rate "active structures" that can be actively controlled with feedback latencies of less than one microsecond. Although the Euler-Bernoulli beam model is a well-known solution to this modeling problem, its computational cost is prohibitive for the time scales of interest. It has been previously shown that a properly structured LSTM network can achieve comparable accuracy with less workload, but achieving sub-microsecond model latency remains a challenge. Our approach is to deploy the LSTM optimized specifically for latency on FPGA. We designed the model using both high-level synthesis (HLS) and hardware description language (HDL). The lowest latency of 1.42 $\mu$S and the highest throughput of 7.87 Gops/s were achieved on Alveo U55C platform for HDL design.Comment: Accepted at 33rd International Conference on Field-Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL

Evidencing the experience of violence and loss of dignity among the forcibly displaced Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

This research offers a detailed account of the Rohingya peoples’ experience of exclusion, discrimination and violence in Myanmar and their journey to Bangladesh to escape that violence and how/whether this has contributed to the loss of their dignity. It also documents their experiences of living as a forcibly displaced group in Bangladesh (since they are not officially recognised by Bangladesh as refugees) and the extent to which their dignity has been restored before going on to consider medium- and long-term solutions for the crisis they find themselves in. It is important to note that the Government of Bangladesh does not officially recognise the Rohingyas as refugees. However, the international community, certainly the UN has extended them refugee status. The Rohingyas themselves often refer to themselves as refugees. This report will generally identify them as refugees though may also use the term displaced Rohingya. The field research highlights what realistic changes would make a positive difference to leading safe and peaceful lives for the Rohingya. In essence they need a permanent home where they will be awarded full citizenship and treated with dignity, justice and equality and be supported out of poverty and to re-build their lives and positive communities. In doing so, it is necessary to recognise and address issues that are important to the dignity and well-being of those being helped. It is thus imperative to understand what the Rohingya refugees perceive as dignity (or its loss) and how it underpins their calls for supporting their future. The main objectives of this research focused on understanding: the pattern of oppressions the Rohingya experienced in Myanmar before 2017; the nature of violence experienced by the Rohingya in 2017 in Myanmar: the causes of their displacement and their displacement journey; how the Rohingya conceptualise their sense of dignity, and loss of dignity; the socioeconomic conditions the Rohingya are living in and the impact of displacement and delivery of assistance on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the Rohingya and on their dignity in the camps; the conceptualisations of dignity among those working to deliver aid to the Rohingya refugees and among Bangladesh Government representatives and their experiences of providing assistance; ways in which dignity might be improved and how they might find medium-tolong-term solutions to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar as suggested by respondents from the Rohingya camps, international humanitarian aid organisations and representatives of the Government of Bangladesh; and how to begin to deliver durable solutions which are meaningful to the Rohingya - to recommend actionable policy recommendation

Hepatoprotective role of vitexin against cadmium-induced liver damage in male rats: A biochemical, inflammatory, apoptotic and histopathological investigation

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGCadmium (Cd) is one of the potent occupational and environmental toxicants, which induces oxidative stress to the multiple organs of the body, including liver. The present investigation was planned to evaluate the protective role of vitexin against Cd-prompted hepatotoxicity in rats. 24 male rats were divided into 4 groups viz. control, Cd-induced group (5 mg/kg), Cd + vitexin-treated group (2 mg/kg + 30 mg/kg), and vitexin-treated group (30 mg/kg). After 30 days of treatment, it was indicated that Cd escalated the level of liver function enzymes namely alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as total bilirubin. Whereas the levels of albumin and total proteins were decreased in the rats. Additionally, it reduced the enzymatic activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GSR) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), in addition to glutathione (GSH) content, whereas levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were escalated. Furthermore, level of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as the activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were increased. Besides, the level of Bax, caspase-9 and caspase-3 were elevated, while the Bcl-2 level was reduced following the Cd intoxication. Histopathological observation revealed significant hepatic tissue damage in Cd-administered rats. However, treatment of rats with vitexin significantly (p < 0.05) improved the Cd-induced disruptions in biochemical parameters as well as histological damages. Therefore, it is concluded that vitexin could be used as a therapeutic agent to counter the Cd-generated hepatic toxicity in rats owing to its anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory potential

High frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with SCCmec type III and spa type t030 in Karaj’s teaching hospitals, Iran

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been one of the most important antibiotic-resistant pathogen in many parts of the world over the past decades. This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate MRSA isolated between July 2013 and July 2014 in Karaj, Iran. All tested isolates were collected in teaching hospitals from personnel, patients, and surfaces and each MRSA was analyzed by SCCmec and spa typing. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was accomplished by disk diffusion method. Out of 49 MRSA isolates from the Karaj’s teaching hospitals, 82%, 10%, and 6% of the isolates were SCCmec types III, II, and I, respectively. The main spa type in this study was spa t030 with frequency as high as 75.5% from intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospitals and high rate of resistance to rifampicin (53%) was found in MRSA isolates. In conclusion, high frequency of spa t030 with SCCmec type III and MRSA phenotype illustrated circulating of one of the antibiotic-resistant strains in ICU of Karaj’s teaching hospitals and emphasizes the need for ongoing molecular surveillance, antibiotic susceptibility monitoring, and infection control

The global, regional, and national burden of cirrhosis by cause in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases (collectively referred to as cirrhosis in this paper) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally, although the burden and underlying causes differ across locations and demographic groups. We report on results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 on the burden of cirrhosis and its trends since 1990, by cause, sex, and age, for 195 countries and territories. Methods We used data from vital registrations, vital registration samples, and verbal autopsies to estimate mortality. We modelled prevalence of total, compensated, and decompensated cirrhosis on the basis of hospital and claims data. Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were calculated as the sum of years of life lost due to premature death and years lived with disability. Estimates are presented as numbers and age-standardised or age-specific rates per 100 000 population, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). All estimates are presented for five causes of cirrhosis: hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcohol-related liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other causes. We compared mortality, prevalence, and DALY estimates with those expected according to the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) as a proxy for the development status of regions and countries. Findings In 2017, cirrhosis caused more than 1.32 million (95% UI 1.27-1.45) deaths (440000 [416 000-518 000; 33.3%] in females and 883 000 [838 000-967 000; 66.7%] in males) globally, compared with less than 899 000 (829 000-948 000) deaths in 1990. Deaths due to cirrhosis constituted 2.4% (2.3-2.6) of total deaths globally in 2017 compared with 1.9% (1.8-2.0) in 1990. Despite an increase in the number of deaths, the age-standardised death rate decreased from 21.0 (19.2-22.3) per 100 000 population in 1990 to 16.5 (15.8-18-1) per 100 000 population in 2017. Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest age-standardised death rate among GBD super-regions for all years of the study period (32.2 [25.8-38.6] deaths per 100 000 population in 2017), and the high-income super-region had the lowest (10.1 [9.8-10-5] deaths per 100 000 population in 2017). The age-standardised death rate decreased or remained constant from 1990 to 2017 in all GBD regions except eastern Europe and central Asia, where the age-standardised death rate increased, primarily due to increases in alcohol-related liver disease prevalence. At the national level, the age-standardised death rate of cirrhosis was lowest in Singapore in 2017 (3.7 [3.3-4.0] per 100 000 in 2017) and highest in Egypt in all years since 1990 (103.3 [64.4-133.4] per 100 000 in 2017). There were 10.6 million (10.3-10.9) prevalent cases of decompensated cirrhosis and 112 million (107-119) prevalent cases of compensated cirrhosis globally in 2017. There was a significant increase in age-standardised prevalence rate of decompensated cirrhosis between 1990 and 2017. Cirrhosis caused by NASH had a steady age-standardised death rate throughout the study period, whereas the other four causes showed declines in age-standardised death rate. The age-standardised prevalence of compensated and decompensated cirrhosis due to NASH increased more than for any other cause of cirrhosis (by 33.2% for compensated cirrhosis and 54.8% for decompensated cirrhosis) over the study period. From 1990 to 2017, the number of prevalent cases snore than doubled for compensated cirrhosis due to NASH and more than tripled for decompensated cirrhosis due to NASH. In 2017, age-standardised death and DALY rates were lower among countries and territories with higher SDI. Interpretation Cirrhosis imposes a substantial health burden on many countries and this burden has increased at the global level since 1990, partly due to population growth and ageing. Although the age-standardised death and DALY rates of cirrhosis decreased from 1990 to 2017, numbers of deaths and DALYs and the proportion of all global deaths due to cirrhosis increased. Despite the availability of effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B and C, they were still the main causes of cirrhosis burden worldwide, particularly in low-income countries. The impact of hepatitis B and C is expected to be attenuated and overtaken by that of NASH in the near future. Cost-effective interventions are required to continue the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis, and to achieve early diagnosis and prevention of cirrhosis due to alcohol-related liver disease and NASH. Copyright (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations