TEMPORARY RURAL URBAN MIGRATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: A STUDY ON SELECTED RICKSHAW PULLERS IN AGARGAON AREA, DHAKA.

A thesis Submitted to the Department of Development & Poverty Studies Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY STUDIESRural-Urban migration is the most crucial component of internal migration of any country. It plays an important role in poverty reduction and economic development. In Bangladesh rural-urban migration is the most important factor for rapid urbanization. In urban centers, slum is a popular destination for poor rural-urban migrants. More than 15 million people lives in the slums of six divisional cities of Bangladesh. Megacity Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, alone holds about 3.4 million people in 4966 slums. A significant number of slum dwellers are rickshaw pullers and residing temporarily and seasonally in Dhaka city. Present study was an effort to examine socio-economic condition of rickshaw pullers, to investigate their nature of rickshaw pulling, to explore their income and expenditure pattern and lastly to identify their problems and solutions altogether. Moreover, this study attempted to highlight the impacts of the earnings from city on the rural rickshaw pullers’ household level. To fulfill the objectives, Agargaon area of Dhaka was purposively selected. Simple random sampling technique were used for collecting cross sectional data from a total of 117 rickshaw pullers with the help of pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics like average, percentage, etc., were followed to analyze the data and to achieve the objectives of the study. It was found from the study that all the respondents and their family have improved their food consumption level through the income from rickshaw pulling. Not only the food consumption, but also this rickshaw pulling occupation made them capable of educated their children and improved their clothing style. This study showed that the monthly average household income distribution among rickshaw pullers were significantly better than the national average rural household income. Study found that more than half of their incomes spend for food items. This will directly enhance the family calorie intake level. Savings from rickshaw pulling has also increased the ability to spend in education for their children and also in agriculture as well as acquiring land from others

Epidemiology of childhood and adolescent cancer in Bangladesh, 2001-2014

Background: Cancer burden among children and adolescents is largely unknown in Bangladesh. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview on childhood and adolescent cancers and to contribute to the future strategies to deal with these diseases in Bangladesh. Methods: Data on malignant neoplasms in patients aged less than 20years diagnosed between 2001 and 2014 (N=3143) in Bangladesh was collected by the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital and ASHIC Foundation. The age pattern and distribution of cancer types were analysed and the incidence rates were calculated. Results: The age-standardised incidence rate was 7.8 per million person-years for children (0-14 years) in the last time period (2011-2014). Retinoblastoma (25%) and leukaemia (18%) were the most common childhood cancers. For adolescents (15-19 years), the age-specific incidence rate was 2.1 per million person-years in the same time period. Most common adolescent cancers were malignant bone tumours (38%), germ cell and gonadal tumours (17%), and epithelial tumours (16%). There were more boys affected (M: F ratio 2.0 in children and 1.4 in adolescents) than girls. Conclusion: Cancer incidences were lower than expected most likely due to a low level of awareness about cancer among clinicians and the population, inadequate access to health care, lack of diagnostic equipment and incomplete recording of cases. Improvements on different levels should be made to get a better epidemiologic insight and to detect cancer earlier resulting in a better outcome for affected chil

Drinking Water Salinity and Raised Blood Pressure: Evidence from a Cohort Study in Coastal Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Millions of coastal inhabitants in Southeast Asia have been experiencing increasing sodium concentrations in their drinking-water sources, likely partially due to climate change. High (dietary) sodium intake has convincingly been proven to increase risk of hypertension; it remains unknown, however, whether consumption of sodium in drinking water could have similar effects on health. OBJECTIVES: We present the results of a cohort study in which we assessed the effects of drinking-water sodium (DWS) on blood pressure (BP) in coastal populations in Bangladesh. METHODS: DWS, BP, and information on personal, lifestyle, and environmental factors were collected from 581 participants. We used generalized linear latent and mixed methods to model the effects of DWS on BP and assessed the associations between changes in DWS and BP when participants experienced changing sodium levels in water, switched from "conventional" ponds or tube wells to alternatives [managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and rainwater harvesting] that aimed to reduce sodium levels, or experienced a combination of these changes. RESULTS: DWS concentrations were highly associated with BP after adjustments for confounding factors. Furthermore, for each 100 mg/L reduction in sodium in drinking water, systolic/diastolic BP was lower on average by 0.95/0.57 mmHg, and odds of hypertension were lower by 14%. However, MAR did not consistently lower sodium levels. CONCLUSIONS: DWS is an important source of daily sodium intake in salinity-affected areas and is a risk factor for hypertension. Considering the likely increasing trend in coastal salinity, prompt action is required. Because MAR showed variable effects, alternative technologies for providing reliable, safe, low-sodium fresh water should be developed alongside improvements in MAR and evaluated in "real-life" salinity-affected settings. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP659

Ocean governance in Bangladesh: Necessities to implement structure, policy guidelines, and actions for ocean and coastal management

After the permanent demarcation of Exclusive Economic Zone boundaries with Myanmar and India through the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Bangladesh has exclusive rights to exploit and to explore marine resources across 118,813 km(2) in the Bay of Bengal. To reap economic benefits from maritime space, the government of Bangladesh recently emphasized the development of a blue economy. Maritime economic activities, including shipping, trade, fishing, fishing industries, mineral extraction, exploitation of hydrocarbons, salt production, production of renewable energy, and marine and coastal tourism, are key elements of the maritime interests of policymakers. However, the safety of maritime activities also raises concerns that include shipping accidents, smuggling, and illegal fishing, which pose threats to maritime interests. Enhancing blue economic growth and protecting marine and coastal environments are essential to ensure maritime security. Therefore, in the framework of a comprehensive ocean governance approach, we suggest establishing a separate Ministry of Ocean Affairs with essential functions to formulate an integrated coastal and marine strategy, to address the policy guidelines, and to implement action plans for coastal management in Bangladesh. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Study of Nanocrystalline Formation of Magnetic Properties in fe72.5ag2nb3si13.5b9 Metallic Ribbon

This thesis is submitted to the Department of Physics, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physics, March 2017.Cataloged from PDF Version of Thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 76-84).This thesis focuses on the experimental investigation of the effect of grain size and phase constitution on the magnetic properties of Fe72.5Ag2Nb3Si13.5B9 alloys in the amorphous and annealed states. The sample has been prepared by rapid solidification technique and their amorphous nature has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystallization behavior and the nanocrystal formation have been studied by Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and XRD. Magnetization measurements have been carried out using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The ribbon sample has been annealed in a controlled way in the temperature range 550oC to 750oC for 2 hours. DTA runs for the sample show the existence of one exothermic peak for α-Fe(Si) phase. Thermal analysis experiment and from the obtained data activation energy of primary crystallization products α-Fe(Si) phase is 5.78 eV. The XRD experiments are in order to study the effect of structural parameters such as lattice parameter, crystallites size and silicon content of the nanocrystalline α-Fe(Si) grain. In the optimized annealing condition the grain size has been obtained in the range of 50 - 69nm. The peak shift indicates the change of the values of Si-content of nanograins and therefore, the change of the lattice parameter of nanograins. The saturation magnetization (Ms) has been observed 114emu/gm and in as prepared condition Curie temperature (Tc) has been found to be 305oC. The critical composition for disappearance of ferromagnetism fall of curves Ms with the replacement Cu by Ag of FINEMET, where the nearest neighbor coupling to longer dominant and intermediate range occurs and the magnetization process of this amorphous ribbon sample are soft behavior of magnetic material.Md. Mahmuduzzaman TawhidMaster of Science in Physic

Review Article: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disorders(GERD) are group of conditions where gastric contents are refluxed into the esophagus and produce troublesome symptoms mainly heartburn and regurgitation. It may present with complications as well. Atypical presentation is also not very uncommon. Proper diagnosis and differentiation from other diseases can ensure appropriate treatment and thus better quality of life. Unlike many other diseases, diagnosis of GERD is relatively straight forward through symptomatology and a few investigations, even though few cases require special and technologically newer modalities of investigative tools for confirmation. Option for treatment are many and mostly medical; surgical and other methods are very rarely needed to pose better life. New molecules are recently being used with variable promising results and need exploration.J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, June 2016, Vol.8(1); 30-33</jats:p

Genetic variability, Correlation and Path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in lentil (Lens culinaris M.) genotypes

Genetic diversity is essential for genetic improvement of any crops. The common problems in Bangladesh are the low yield of lentil probably due to the lack of genetic variability. Therefore, an experiment was carried out to evaluate twenty lentil genotypes for eleven yield and yield contributing characters by studying genetic diversity. Genotypic variance (&#963;2g), phenotypic variance (&#963;2p), phenotypic co-variance (PCV), genotypic co-variance (GCV), heritability, genetic advance, genetic advance as a percentage of mean, correlation coefficient and path coefficient were estimated. A significant genetic variation was observed for all the traits viz., days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of primary branches plant&#713;1, pods peduncle&#713;1, pods plant&#713;1, seeds plant&#713;1, seeds pod&#713;1, 100-seed weight and seed yield plant&#713;1. Significant differences of PCV were higher than GCV for all the traits indicated that the traits are less influenced by the environment. The highest estimates of GCV and PCV were observed for seed yield plant&#713;1 (23.80% and 24.03%, respectively) followed by number of pods peduncle&#713;1 (16.91% and 19.80%, respectively) and number of seeds plant&#713;1 (19.48% and 19.63% respectively). All the studied traits expressed high heritability ranging from 64.89% to 98.46% and the maximum was recorded for seed plant-1 (98.46%) followed by pod plant-1 (998.35%) and seed yield plant-1 (98.10%). High heritability along with high genetic advance was noticed for number of pods plant&#713;1 (98.35% and 50.63, respectively) and number of seeds plant&#713;1 (98.46% and 96.01, respectively) and high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for number of number of seeds plant&#713;1 (no.) (98.46%, 39.80%) followed by number of pods plant&#713;1 (no.) (98.35%, 33.03%) and seed yield plant&#713;1 (g) (98.10%, 48.56%) reflected the accumulation of additive gene which could be used for the improvement of lentil through selection. The study of associations among the different traits revealed that seed yield plant&#713;1 was significantly and positively correlated with number of primary branches plant&#713;1, pods plant&#713;1 and seeds plant&#713;1 and 100-seed weight. Path analysis also reported that number of pods plant&#713;1 and seeds pod&#713;1 and 100-seed weight was related to the seed yield mostly through the direct positive effect. Therefore, number of primary branches plant&#713;1 and pod plant&#713;1, and 100-seed weight should get the major importance for lentil yield improvement as those traits had positive and significant correlation as well as direct positive effect with seed yield plant&#713;1. The information of wide genetic diversity among the genotypes for all the traits could be used in future systematic lentil breeding programs for the improvement of seed yield. [Fundam Appl Agric 2019; 4(2.000): 769-776

Correlation between bright echogenic liver, elevated liver enzymes and liver histology

A total of 30 cases having bright echogenic liver on ultrasonography and raised ALT levels without Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infection and without having history of alcohol consumption were referred to Gastroenterology department of BIRDEM Hospital and selected for liver biopsy in the study. The patient’s BMI and demographic profiles were recorded and necessary biochemical tests were carried out. After obtaining the histopathological reports, the correlation between different possible risk factors including biochemical findings and histological findings was sorted out. Based on BMI of Asian population, 73.4% of patients were over weight, 23.3% were obese and only 3.3% were with normal BMI. 90% patients presented with diabetes and 80% had some form of dyslipidaemia. 41% patients exhibited hypertriglycerdaemia, 21% had hypercholesterolaemia and both cholesterol and triglyceride were high in 34% patients. Histopathological study revealed that all 30 patients exhibited fatty change with macrovesicular type being the predominant. 43.3% patients had mild (&lt;33%) steatosis and the rest 56.7% had moderate (33-66%) steatosis. In terms of staging of fibrosis in the liver, 83.3% exhibited stage-1 fibrosis and only 6.7% had stage-2 fibrosis. The rest 10% of the patients did not have any fibrosis. No correlation was established between hepatic enzyme levels (AST &amp; ALT levels) and grading of steatosis &amp; stage of fibrosis. Study of association between possible risk factors (Age, Sex, Diabetes Mellitus, Dyslipidaemia &amp; BMI) and grading of steatosis and stage of fibrosis demonstrated that none of these risk factors was associated with those histological findings. Therefore it can be concluded that the patients presenting with bright echogenic liver on ultrasonography and elevated liver enzymes without having hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection and history of alcohol consumption are almost certainly to have Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) specially if they are diabetic, dyslipidaemic and overweight or obese.The level of liver enzymes and the possible risk factors like age, sex, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia and BMI do not seem to be good estimates of the severity of NAFLD. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v17i1.12184 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2011; 17 (01): 8-13</jats:p