Technological Progress and Emergence of Policies with Priorities for the Development of Land-Poor Farmers in Bangladesh

This macro-level research analyzed sequential changes in agricultural policies and evaluated their impacts among various groups of farmers classified based on the land ownership. All supply-side agricultural policies from their origins to current year were divided into four phases where, government supports for agriculture were changed from adverse circumstances support, to direct enormous support, to reform-embedded support, and finally to collaborative support with private sector and Non-government Organizations (NGOs). The changing policies favored all types of farmers among whose reform policies contributed more. The small farmers in the past were not benefited from government policies but they were lately more benefited from coherent policies emphasized on the development of land-poor farmers.

Quantification of Rotavirus Diarrheal Risk Due to Hydroclimatic Extremes Over South Asia: Prospects of Satellite‐Based Observations in Detecting Outbreaks

Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrheal disease among children under 5. Especially in South Asia, rotavirus remains the leading cause of mortality in children due to diarrhea. As climatic extremes and safe water availability significantly influence diarrheal disease impacts in human populations, hydroclimatic information can be a potential tool for disease preparedness. In this study, we conducted a multivariate temporal and spatial assessment of 34 climate indices calculated from ground and satellite Earth observations to examine the role of temperature and rainfall extremes on the seasonality of rotavirus transmission in Bangladesh. We extracted rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Measurement and temperature data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sensors to validate the analyses and explore the potential of a satellite‐based seasonal forecasting model. Our analyses found that the number of rainy days and nighttime temperature range from 16°C to 21°C are particularly influential on the winter transmission cycle of rotavirus. The lower number of wet days with suitable cold temperatures for an extended time accelerates the onset and intensity of the outbreaks. Temporal analysis over Dhaka also suggested that water logging during monsoon precipitation influences rotavirus outbreaks during a summer transmission cycle. The proposed model shows lag components, which allowed us to forecast the disease outbreaks 1 to 2 months in advance. The satellite data‐driven forecasts also effectively captured the increased vulnerability of dry‐cold regions of the country, compared to the wet‐warm regions

Shape anisotropy effect on magnetic domain wall dynamics in nanowires under thermal gradient

We investigate the magnetic-domain wall (DW) dynamics in uniaxial/biaxial-nanowires under a thermal gradient (TG). The findings reveal that the DW propagates toward the hotter region in both nanowires. In uniaxial-nanowire, the DW propagates accompanying a rotation of the DW-plane. In biaxial nanowire, DW propagates in the hotter region, and the so-called Walker breakdown phenomenon is observed. The main physics of such DW dynamics is the magnonic angular momentum transfer to the DW. The hard (shape) anisotropy exists in biaxial-nanowire, which contributes an additional torque; hence DW speed is larger than that in uniaxial-nanowire. But rotational speed is lower initially as hard anisotropy suppresses the DW-rotation. After certain TG, DW-plane overcomes the hard anisotropy; thus, the rotational speed increases again. DW dynamics show a decreasing trend with the damping since the magnon propagation length decreases. Therefore, the above findings might be useful to realize the spintronics (i.e., fast racetrack memory) devices

An Assessment to Human Perception to the Origin of Coronavirus by the Impact of Climate Change and Preventative Management of Pandemic Coronavirus COVID-19

On 12 January 2020, the WHO confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, China. The aims of the study to assess the human perception to the origin of Coronavirus with relation to nature and find out preventative management about coronavirus. Primary data was collected for analyzing some factors regarding the Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of climate change. Primary data was collected through an online questionnaire survey. An online questionnaire survey is used for human perception for taking public opinion about the origin of Coronavirus and preventative management which are conducted in Bangladesh. SPSS software is used for Linear Regression analysis and correlation with some variables. A total of three variables were considered in the model estimation of which are dependent variables Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of climate change and independent variables such as Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of environmental pollution, Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of global heat and Coronavirus microorganism originated by the sources of the impact of ice melting polar region. From the analysis, it is found that the Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of climate change that makes a unique and statistically significant contribution to the prediction. Among 200 respondents, about 70% of peoples said “Maybe” Coronavirus microorganism formed by the impact of climate change, and it’s some factor. It is also found from the correlation analysis that the epidemic effects of COVID-19 will high on Bangladesh, if immigrant persons come, if Curfew doesn’t issue, if peoples are not conscious, if peoples are not properly using mask and hand gloves, if they are not maintaining social distance and lock down rules. In the finding that, in the polar region, there are many ice stacks where thousands of years ago, the animals are dead but the virus and bacteria are in a state of sleep. As the heat increases, all glaciers and permafrost start to melt in the Polar region. As a result, many types of viruses, bacteria are starting to live. These viruses including Coronavirus will be mixed with different environmental elements such as water, biodiversity. This will easily affect biodiversity and other animals including humans. Above all Climate change may play a significant role in the transmission of many infectious diseases including Coronavirus. Community responses are important for outbreak management during the early phase of major preventive options

Botanicals to Control Soft Rot Bacteria of Potato

Extracts from eleven different plant species such as jute (Corchorus capsularis L.), cheerota (Swertia chiraita Ham.), chatim (Alstonia scholaris L.), mander (Erythrina variegata), bael (Aegle marmelos L.), marigold (Tagetes erecta), onion (Allium cepa), garlic (Allium sativum L.), neem (Azadiracta indica), lime (Citrus aurantifolia), and turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) were tested for antibacterial activity against potato soft rot bacteria, E. carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc) P-138, under in vitro and storage conditions. Previously, Ecc P-138 was identified as the most aggressive soft rot bacterium in Bangladeshi potatoes. Of the 11 different plant extracts, only extracts from dried jute leaves and cheerota significantly inhibited growth of Ecc P-138 in vitro. Finally, both plant extracts were tested to control the soft rot disease of potato tuber under storage conditions. In a 22-week storage condition, the treated potatoes were significantly more protected against the soft rot infection than those of untreated samples in terms of infection rate and weight loss. The jute leaf extracts showed more pronounced inhibitory effects on Ecc-138 growth both in in vitro and storage experiments

Physicochemical and functional properties of cassava flour grown in different locations in Sabah, Malaysia

The tuber of cassava is used as raw materials in the bakery, food, pharmaceutical and garment industries. The nutritional value of cassava roots is important because they are the main part of the plant consumed in developing countries. However, there is much variation in the nutrient quality of the cassava root depends on the several factors, such as geographic location, variety, age of the plant, and environmental conditions. This study was performed to compare and provide information on physicochemical and functional properties of cassava flour planted in two different districts in Sabah, Malaysia, namely Tawau and Semporna. Proximate analysis showed significant differences (p<0.05) in crude protein (2.07 and 2.69%), crude fat (0.55 and 0.68%) and dietary fibre contents (2.38 and 2.09%). Determinations on physicochemical and functional characteristics of the cassava flour showed significant differences (p<0.05) in bulk density (0.57 and 0.79 g/ cm3 ), pH (6.75 and 6.72), colour and foam capacity (3.66 and 7.33%) while there was no significant difference shown in water and oil absorption capacities as well as emulsion capacity. Cassava planted in Semporna was observed to have high values of all pasting property parameters relative to the one planted in Tawau except for the setback viscosity. Gelatinization properties of flours showed significant differences (p<0.05) in onset (70.59 and 68.99°C) and end temperatures (79.81 and 80.03°C)

Isolation, Characterization, and Identification of Biological Control Agent for Potato Soft Rot in Bangladesh

A total of 91 isolates of probable antagonistic bacteria of potato soft rot bacterium Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc) were extracted from rhizospheres and endophytes of various crop plants, different soil varieties, and atmospheres in the potato farming areas of Bangladesh. Antibacterial activity of the isolated probable antagonistic bacteria was tested in vitro against the previously identified most common and most virulent soft rot causing bacterial strain Ecc P-138. Only two isolates E-45 and E-65 significantly inhibited the in vitro growth of Ecc P-138. Physiological, biochemical, and carbon source utilization tests identified isolate E-65 as a member of the genus Bacillus and the isolate E-45 as Lactobacillus sp. The stronger antagonistic activity against Ecc P-138 was found in E-65 in vitro screening and storage potatoes. E-65 reduced the soft rot infection to 22-week storage potatoes of different varieties by 32.5–62.5% in model experiment, demonstrating its strong potential to be used as an effective biological control agent for the major pectolytic bacteria Ecc. The highest (62.5%) antagonistic effect of E-65 was observed in the Granola and the lowest (32.7%) of that was found in the Cardinal varieties of the Bangladeshi potatoes. The findings suggest that isolate E-65 could be exploited as a biocontrol agent for potato tubers

Experimental design of supercritical fluid extraction: a review

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), a sustainable green technology leads a wide range of applications since the past decade. Like many other processes, SFE is sometimes criticized for its large number of factors which need to be properly adjusted before every single run. Experimental design and proper statistical analysis with small number of trials in adjusting the SFE parameters become popular in this regard. This paper is aimed to review the common experimental designs that are frequently used in the SFE process. Utilizations of different experimental designs in SFE with the intention of either screening the most influential factors or optimizing the selected factors are briefly reviewed. Strategies and recommendation addressing the choice of appropriate design, constructing design matrix, experimental trial and data analysis are discussed in this paper. For more application oriented readers of SFE, an effective and easy chart on choosing proper experimental design and a list of experimental design software are also included