162 research outputs found
Womenas Empowerment : Concept and Beyond
Long before the word empowerment became popular women were speaking about gaining control over their lives and participating in making the decisions that affect them in home and community in government and international development policies But problem is very few have clear conception on empowerment This is very easy to say but difficult to understand what is empowerment This article takes an initiative to clarify the concept based on several scholar s views And finally make a conclusion with alternative analysis of women s empowermen
Listening Unheard Voices of the Age-old People: An Evidence-based Study in Bangladesh
There are many problems in Bangladesh society and few of them are visible and few are invisible The life of Age-old people is mostly unheard of the collected information However all acknowledge their contribution to family and society as well national level There is a Chinese proverb Death of an older person is the end of a library Besides they are sometimes addressed Old is Gold but in reality the Age-old people are ignored fully in our present fabricated social structure This study collected evidence and testimonies of twenty-five age-old people both male and female in Bangladesh Research revealed that most of them are suffering without minimal assistance from government and society and it has intersectional characters also Female is more sufferer than male and it has another gender dimension In a nutshell both male and female both are existing out-side of security circle This article helps to understand the life-cycle of age-old people and make recommendations that will be helpful for aging and social policy area For Bangladesh they will be benefitted and get rid of an intersectional life cycle by implementation of the recommendation
Status, prospects and potentials of echinoid sea urchins in Malaysia
Among the bottom-dwelling invertebrates, sea urchins have been considered as the high-valued new marine bioresource in Asia. They inhabit the depths of coral reefs and rocky shores that are covered with coralline algae and seaweeds. They are usually spherical in shape, and their whole body is covered by numerous thorns or spines that act as defense mechanism against predators. The sea urchin gonad has been used as luxury food and folk medicine by the peoples of certain countries. For this reason, sea urchin became an important product and fetches high price in international markets. It also plays an important role towards providing employment opportunity and income source to the coastal communities in many Pacific island countries including Malaysia. Sea urchin gonad is very rich in essential proteins, lipids and bioactive compounds having profound nutraceutical and pharmaceutical importance. Nowadays, sea urchins have been harvested for trade with Asia and are perhaps one of the worthy exports from the Indo-Pacific islands. Unluckily, owing to increasing demand and prices, combined with the development of cash economies and growing coastal populations, it has led to extensive overfishing of the resource across much of this region, especially in Pulau Bum Bum near Semporna between Philippines and Eastern Malaysia. Nevertheless, some Pacific island countries have completed research trials on breeding, nursing and culture techniques, but such types of research works are yet to be completely explored and determined in Malaysia. In the recent years, undiscriminating catching and over-exploitation of sea urchin turns out to be excessive and disrupts its sustainability. Because of this prevalent situation, aquaculture of sea urchins through the appropriate breeding, seed production and culture techniques in captivity should be the best alternative to solve these problems in a worthwhile and sustainable manner
Growth and survival of the tropical sea urchin, Salmacis sphaeroides fed with different macroalgae in captive rearing condition
An experiment was undertaken to develop appropriate culture techniques for high-valued tropical sea urchin, Salmacis sphaeroides under captive aqua-rearing conditions. Three-month-old juveniles produced through induced breeding, larval rearing and metamorphic induction were stocked with 20 juveniles in each of nine well-aerated glass aquaria (46 x 30 x 30 cm).? Juveniles fed with red alga (Amphiroa fragilissima) were designated as Treatment-1 (T1), brown alga (Sargassum polysystum) as Treatment-2 (T(2)) and sea grass (Enhalus acoroides) as Treatment-3 (T(3)). At the time of stocking, juveniles were under the same age group and batch-reared with a mean length and weight of 9.98 ? 0.56 mm and 0.49 ? 0.11 g, respectively. The juveniles were fed ad libitum, and the seawater in each rearing aquarium was changed at bi-monthly intervals. The culture was carried out for one year during which time the juveniles attained sexual maturity. Growth performances (viz., final weight, weight gain, final length, length gain, specific growth rate and daily growth rate) and survival of adults were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in T(1) than those in T(2) and T(3), respectively. Gonad production, in terms of wet gonad weight and gonad index, also followed the same trend as that for growth. Hence, of the three algal feed evaluated, red alga appeared to be the most suitable food for rearing of S. sphaeroides under captive conditions. The present study is the first demonstration of successful culturing of S. sphaeroides in a static aquarium system, the findings of which could be helpful towards the commercial sea urchin aquaculture
Effects of delayed metamorphosis on larval survival, metamorphosis, and juvenile performance of four closely related species of tropical sea urchins (genus Echinometra)
We report here, the effects of extended competency on larval survival, metamorphosis, and postlarval juvenile growth of four closely related species of tropical sea urchins, Echinometra sp. A (Ea), E. mathaei (Em), Echinometra sp. C (Ec), and E. oblonga (Eo). Planktotrophic larvae of all four species fed on cultured phytoplankton (Chaetoceros gracilis) attained metamorphic competence within 22–24 days after fertilization. Competent larvae were forced to delay metamorphosis for up to 5 months by preventing them from settling in culture bottles with continuous stirring on a set of 10 rpm rotating rollers and larval survival per monthly intervals was recorded. Larval survival was highest at 24 days, when competence was attained (0 delayed period), and there were no significant differences among the four species. Larvae that had experienced a prolonged delay had reduced survival rate, metamorphosis success, and juvenile survival, but among older larvae, Em had the highest success followed by Ea, Eo, and Ec. Juveniles from larvae of all four species that metamorphosed soon after becoming competent tended to have higher growth rates (test diameter and length of spines) than juveniles from larvae that metamorphosed after a prolonged period of competence with progressively slower growth the longer the prolonged period. Despite the adverse effects of delaying metamorphosis on growth parameters, competent larvae of all four species were able to survive up to 5 months and after metamorphosis grew into 1-month-old juveniles in lab condition. Overall, delayed larvae of Em showed significantly higher larval survival, metamorphosis, and juvenile survival than Ea and Eo, while Ec showed the lowest values in these performances. Em has the most widespread distribution of these species ranging from Africa to Hawaii, while Ec probably has the most restricted distribution. Consequently, differences in distribution may be related to differences in the ability to delay metamorphosis
Trends, prospects and utilizations of sea cucumber fisheries in Malaysia
The holothurian or sea cucumber is one of the marine resources, which has been used not only as luxury food
for certain countries but also as medicines. Because of its’ higher nutraceutical and pharmaceutical values, sea cucumber has become one of the most important products and it has high price in international market and thus provide an important employment and income source to the coastal communities in many Pacific island countries including Malaysia. They have been harvested for hundreds of years for trade with Asia and were probably one of the worthy exports from the Indo-Pacific islands. Unfortunately, the increase in demand and price, combined with the development of cash economies and growing coastal populations in many islands, has led to widespread overfishing of the resource across much of this region. There is a high level of interest in adoption of aquaculture and stock enhancement techniques to restore production phases,but different capacity levels require implementation of different techniques.Some Pacific island countries and territories have completed successful research trials of hatchery, nursery and release techniques,and now have capacity to scale up this activity but such types of research are still in the initial stage in Malaysia. Factors that work in favor of successful aquaculture include pristine marine environments,long familiarity with sea cucumbers as a commodity,and traditional marine tenure systems that in some
places can provide a basis for management of released sea
cucumbers.Currently,the exploitation of sea cucumber turns
out to be excessive and disrupts its sustainability. Aquaculture is the best way to prevent this severe problem. The success of sea cucumber culture is very depending on broodstock management,seed availability and suitable food for larvae as well as juvenile along with appropriate grow-out culture techniques under controlled rearing protocols
Nutritional quality of tropical black long-spined urchin, Diadema setosum gonads: a comparative analysis between male and female gonads
Sea urchin gonads or roes are luxurious culinary and medicinal ingredient of which quality is greatly influenced by their biochemical compositions. This study aimed to assess and compare nutritional compositions between roe of male and female black long-spined urchin (Diadema setosum) inhabiting a tropical coastal area of Malaysia. The proximate nutritional composition of both male and female roe exhibited an order of protein > carbohydrate > lipid, which is contradictory to that of temperate D. setosum. Major amino acids in D. setosum roe were glycine, glutamate, aspartate, leucine and lysine whereas dominant fatty acids were C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:1 n-9; C20:4 n-6 and C20:5 n-3. The ratio of essential amino acids to non-essential amino acids; unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) to saturated fatty acids (SFA); as well as PUFA to saturated fatty acids of roe from either gender were found to be similar i.e. 0.6, 1.2 and 0.5 respectively. Prominent protein as well as AHA and EPA content suggest D. setosum roe as an interesting subject recommended for investigation as active ingredient in nutraceutical, functional food and pro-health formulations. This study is also the first to illustrate some variations between tropical and temperate species of D. setosum
First successful documentation on the embryonic, larval and juvenile development of the tropical sea urchin, Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778)
The tropical sea urchin, Diadema setosum belonging to the Family Diadematidae, is one of the regular echinoids, widely distributed throughout the warm Indo-West Pacific Ocean including the Malaysian intertidal reef. It has profound biological, ecological, aquacultural and pharmaceutical significance, but yet to be fully determined and explored. In order to examine the developmental basis of morphological changes in embryos, larvae, we have thoroughly studied the ontogeny of D. setosum in a controlled laboratory condition. Gametes were obtained from the sexually matured adult individuals and the eggs fertilized using limited concentration of “dry” sperm (10-5 dilution). Fertilization rate was estimated to be 96.8±1.3% and the resulting embryos were reared at 24-25°C. The first cleavage (2-cell), 4-cell, 8-cell, 16-cell, 32-cell and multi-cell (Morulla) stages were achieved at 01.20, 02.14, 02.44, 03.09, 03.32 and 03.54 h post-fertilization, respectively. Ciliated blastulae with a mean length of 111.47 ± 1.88 μm hatched 08.45 h following sperm entry. The Gastrulae attained at 16.36 h post-fertilization and the archenteron extended constantly, while the ectodermal red-pigmented cells migrated synchronously to the apical plate. The 4-arm pluteus larva formed with two well-developed postoral arms 48.30 h following fertilization In this stage, pluteus larva experienced with complete digestive tract and was able to feed on unicellular algae (Chaetoceros calcitrans) in 2 d, grew continuously, and finally attained metamorphic competence at 35 d after fertilization. Settlement induction and metamorphosis took approximately 1 h 30 min from the attachment on the substratum followed by the complete resorption of larval tissues and the development of complete juvenile structure with adult spines, extended tubefeet and well-developed pedicellaria, the whole event usually took place within 1 d post-attachment. The newly formed juvenile (473.16 ± 6.96 μm) with a complete adult structure (mouth, gut, anus, spine, tubefeet etc) then grew on coralline algae to 1-, 2- and 3-month old juvenile by increasing the overall juvenile body, spine and tube foot lengths. The 3-month old juvenile represents the “sea urchin seed” for stocking in grow-out culture. This study is the first successful investigation on embryonic, larval and juvenile development of D. setosum, the findings of which would immensely be helpful towards the development of induced breeding, seed production and aquaculture of sea urchins in captive rearing condition
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