Bangladesh Jatka Marine conservation programme: case study Module 2

"Evidence from the international research community shows that careful management of nature results in benefits to people’s wellbeing. Poor people especially depend more heavily on the quality of the ecosystems and have less access to substitutes when they are degraded. Making meaningful impacts in the way ecosystems are managed requires governments to step in and scale up, but the evidence also shows that empowered communities can make strong calls to enact and implement change at the local level. Positive incentives like payments for ecosystem services (PES) and other forms of conditional transfers can provide important signals to enact this behavioural change into positive actions. Carefully designed, these incentives can also contribute to the wellbeing of people, especially poor and vulnerable groups. New tools emerge that can help with scaling up and dealing with inevitable trade-offs, but more efforts are needed to bring this information closer to those making decisions. This case study accompanies a Guidance for Practitioners that helps to bridge this space by: 1) making evidence accessible, bringing the latest evidence from research on PES in theory and practice with documented case studies written for practitioners; and 2) supporting capacity building to ‘train the trainers’, through teaching modules which can be used to promote capacity building of practitioners.

Bangladesh Jatka Marine conservation programme: case study Module 2

"Evidence from the international research community shows that careful management of nature results in benefits to people’s wellbeing. Poor people especially depend more heavily on the quality of the ecosystems and have less access to substitutes when they are degraded. Making meaningful impacts in the way ecosystems are managed requires governments to step in and scale up, but the evidence also shows that empowered communities can make strong calls to enact and implement change at the local level. Positive incentives like payments for ecosystem services (PES) and other forms of conditional transfers can provide important signals to enact this behavioural change into positive actions. Carefully designed, these incentives can also contribute to the wellbeing of people, especially poor and vulnerable groups. New tools emerge that can help with scaling up and dealing with inevitable trade-offs, but more efforts are needed to bring this information closer to those making decisions. This case study accompanies a Guidance for Practitioners that helps to bridge this space by: 1) making evidence accessible, bringing the latest evidence from research on PES in theory and practice with documented case studies written for practitioners; and 2) supporting capacity building to ‘train the trainers’, through teaching modules which can be used to promote capacity building of practitioners.

From seeds to survival rates: investigating Linum usitatissimum’s potential against ovarian cancer through network pharmacology

Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor that primarily forms in the ovaries. It often goes undetected until it has spread to the pelvis and abdomen, making it more challenging to treat and often fatal. Historically, natural products and their structural analogues have played a pivotal role in pharmacotherapy, especially for cancer. Numerous studies have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of Linum usitatissimum against ovarian cancer, but the specific molecular mechanisms remain elusive. This study combines data mining, network pharmacology, and molecular docking analysis to pioneer an innovative approach for ovarian cancer treatment by identifying potent phytochemicals. Findings of current study revealed that Apigenin, Vitamin E, Palmitic acid, Riboflavin, Isolariciresinol, 5-Dehydro-avenasterol, Cholesterol, Pantothenic acid, Nicotinic acid, Campesterol, Beta-Sitosterol, Stigmasterol, Daucosterol, and Vitexin suppress tumor growth by influencing AKT1, JUN, EGFR, and VEGFA. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis spotlighted AKT1, JUN, EGFR, and VEGFA as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for ovarian cancer. However, it is imperative to conduct in vivo and in vitro examinations to ascertain the pharmacokinetics and biosafety profiles, bolstering the candidacy of L. usitatissimum in ovarian cancer therapeutics

The Race to Replace PDE5i: Recent Advances and Interventions to Treat or Manage Erectile Dysfunction: Evidence from Patent Landscape (2016–2021)

For a few decades, globally, erectile dysfunction (ED) has become more prominent even in young adults and represents a mounting health concern causing a significant effect on men’s quality of life. There is an expectation that by the end of 2025, the number of ED cases can rise to 322 million. We aimed to comprehensively analyze the scientific output of scholarly articles and studies in the field of ED (2016–2021). Data from scholarly articles were collected using Pubmed, and clinical trials-related information was accessed from the clinical trials website. An extensive patent search was conducted using databases such as USPTO (United States patent and trademark office) and EPO (European patent office), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), etc. Owing to the high market value of ED drugs, considerable interest was attained to grab the opportunities. The race to replace the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5 inhibitor-PDE5i) can be identified as evident from the significant number of patents filed and the inventions cleared with clinical trials. Some other intriguing interventions are identified for ED treatment but have yet to gain public acceptance. The current analysis confirms the overall evolution and unexplored corners of research on ED treatment strategies with a current global projection

Human Rights of the Police in Bangladesh

This thesis explored the human rights situation of the police in Bangladesh through the investigation of their work-life experience with respect to working conditions, salaries and other organizational factors. In addition to addressing the problem mentioned above, this study also investigated the possible consequences of the poor working environment to and outside the organization. This study employed a qualitative research method in which fifteen police officers from different units were purposively selected and interviewed. Their descriptions were examined and analyzed to produce themes relating to their personal feelings. The themes revealed that the economic and social rights of the police members were subject to wide range of violations due to poor working conditions, low wage, and other internal and external organizational and social factors. Analysis of data also disclosed that all these factors can bring negative impacts on individual and social life from human rights perspective. Recommendations were made so that human rights of both the police and the public could be ensured through the improvement of working conditions, enhancement of salaries and providing human rights training and other logistics and social supports. The study also called for striking a balance between the rights and responsibility of the police officers. It was concluded that the human rights of the police is also important to ensure the human rights of millions of citizens. And the realization of citizen’s rights is possible only when police ensure social order through effective policing. this study also investigated the possible consequences of the poor working environment to and outside the organization. This study employed a qualitative research method in which fifteen police officers from different units were purposively selected and interviewed. Their descriptions were examined and analyzed to produce themes relating to their personal feelings. The themes revealed that the economic and social rights of the police members were subject to wide range of violations due to poor working conditions, low wage, and other internal and external organizational and social factors. Analysis of data also disclosed that all these factors can bring negative impacts on individual and social life from human rights perspective. Recommendations were made so that human rights of both the police and the public could be ensured through the improvement of working conditions, enhancement of salaries and providing human rights training and other logistics and social supports. The study also called for striking a balance between the rights and responsibility of the police officers. It was concluded that the human rights of the police is also important to ensure the human rights of millions of citizens. And the realization of citizens rights is possible only when police ensure social order through effective policing

Regulation of Foxn4 during retina development

Transcription factor forkhead box N4(Foxn4) is a key regulator involved in a variety of biologic processes in development and metabolism. In particular, Foxn4 plays an essential role in the genesis of amacrine and horizontal neurons from neural progenitors in the retina. Although the functions of Foxn4 have been well established, the transcriptional regulation of Foxn4 expression during progenitor cell differentiation remains unclear. The goal of this dissertation is to identify regulatory mechanisms that define the expression of Foxn4 during retinogenesis. Four evolutionarily conserved regions (CR1-CR4) from non-coding sequences of Foxn4 gene were computationally predicted as cis-elements. Their gene regulatory potential was individually tested in developing chick and mouse embryonic retina using electroporation transfection technique with a reporter assay system. In this dissertation, I describe that CR4.2 (a 129 bp DNA fragment of CR4, located approximately 50kb upstream of Foxn4 transcription start site) functions as a novel cis-regulator that directs retinal cell type specific gene expression. CR4.2 is preferentially active in the Foxn4 expressing cells, primarily in the differentiating and differentiated horizontal and amacrine cells as shown by reporter assays. Specific trans-acting factors, e.g., Meis1, were found to interact with CR4.2 by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA). Mutation and/or deletion of the Meis1 binding motif through site-directed mutagenesis diminishes the ability of CR4.2 to drive reporter GFP expression. Furthermore, the role of Meis1 in regulating Foxn4 expression during progenitor cell differentiation was determined using a RNAi-based gene silencing assay. Knockdown of Meis1 by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) specific to Meis1 genes abolishes gene regulatory activity of CR4.2, and further diminishes the endogenous level of Foxn4 expression. In addition, cells with Meis1 knockdown failed to differentiate into horizontal cells. Taken together, I demonstrate that Meis1 transcription factor regulate the expression of Foxn4 expression and horizontal cell lineage development in the vertebrate retina via their interactions with CR4.2. These findings provide new insights into molecular mechanisms that govern gene regulation in retinal progenitors and vertebrate retinal cell development.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Mohammed Monirul Isla

A Critical, Temporal Analysis of Saudi Arabia’s Initiatives for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction in the Energy Sector

The per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Saudi Arabia were more than three times the global average emissions in 2019. The energy sector is the most dominant GHG-emitting sector in the country; its energy consumption has increased over five times in the last four decades, from over 2000 quadrillion joules in 1981 to around 11,000 quadrillion joules in 2019, while the share of renewable energy in 2019 was only 0.1%. To reduce GHG emissions, the Saudi Arabian government has undertaken initiatives for improving energy efficiency and increasing the production of renewable energies in the country. However, there are few investigative studies into the effectiveness of these initiatives in improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This study provides an overview of the various energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives undertaken in Saudi Arabia. Then, it evaluates the effectiveness of energy-related policies and initiatives using an indicator-based approach. In addition, this study performs temporal and econometrics analyses to understand the trends and the causal relationships among various drivers of energy sector emissions. Energy intensity and efficiency have improved moderately in recent years. This study will support policymakers in identifying significant policy gaps in reducing the emissions from the energy sector; furthermore, this study will provide a reference for tracking the progress of their policy initiatives. In addition, the methodology used in this study could be applied in other studies to evaluate various climate change policies and their progress