Fighting Irrelevance: The Role of Regional Trade Agreements in International Production Networks in Asia

This chapter contains the sectoral case study on the textiles and clothing (T&C) in Bangladesh. The objectives of the chapter were to clarify value chain development in the export-oriented T&C sector of Bangladesh and the factors responsible for its development since its inception in the early 1980s. An in-depth analysis was carried out that covered: (a) the pattern of trade in T&C products between Bangladesh and other countries, (b) the dynamics and changes of the trade pattern and (c) the role of trade policies that focus on regional trade agreements (RTAs). Based on the analysis, the study makes policy suggestions for effective IPN operation in the T&C sector of Bangladesh.trade liberalization, international production networks, regional trade agreements, value chain, Asia, textile and clothing, East Asia, Bangladesh

Jute Manufacturing Sector of Bangladesh Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Options

Major objectives of the present study are : a) To understand the changes in structure and composition of jute manufacturing sector of Bangladesh and analyse economic, technological, managerial and labour related issues of the jute manufacturing sector under different regimes. b) To study economic, technological and worker related issues of jute mills currently inoperation, under the public and private sectors, in order to identify major factors responsible for their efficiencies/ inefficiencies. c) To identify opportunities and challenges that needs to be confronted by the jute manufacturing sector in the near future. d) To extract appropriate policy suggestions with a view to develop a viable and efficient jute manufacturing sector.Bangladesh, Jute Manufacturing

Islamic Management and its Present Applications in Islamic Organizations in Bangladesh

As Islamic Economics and Islamic Banking concepts are established practically, now it is our obligation to establish Islamic Management as a distinct concept. In this article an attempt has been taken to define Islamic Management, to identify its special features and principles, and to prove the distinctness of its entity. But it is a fact that traditional authors ignore the great contributions of Islam towards management. But it is Islam, where managerial appeals were coming from the very beginning of civilization the messengers of Allah (SWT) and it culminated in the last prophet Muhammad (SAW). Due to lack of research and deviation from Islam the golden history of the Muslims is dominated day by day by secular and materialistic managerial concepts. Unfortunately many conventional managerial concepts remain unsuitable to the organizations of Muslim society. Consequently Islamic Organizations, from family to national level, cannot show productive role in comparison to conventional organizations. In these circumstances, it has been proposed in the present study to practice management based on Islamic values, adopting the exemplary leadership role, human resource management and development strategy proposed by Islam and application of motivational techniques according to divine teachings. Lastly the constraints and possible remedial measures of Islamic Management have been pointed out

Efficacy of Cyclophosphamide versus Cyclosporine in Frequent Relapse Nephrotic Syndrome – A Hospital Based Study

Introduction: The clinical outcome of patients with Frequent Relapse Nephrotic Syndrome (FRNS) or Steroid Dependent Nephrotic Syndrome (SDNS) treated with cyclophosphamide or cyclosporine (CsA) is yet to be established. This study was carried out to compare the efficacy of CsA with cyclophosphamide in patients with FRNS or SDNS.Materials and Methods: A total of 54 FRNS or SDNS children were randomly enrolled in this prospective study from August 2013 to July 2014. All the study subjects were treated with prednisolone 60 mg/m2 /day until the patients were in remission for three consecutive days. The patients were then randomly divided into two groups (Group-A & Group-B). Group-A was treated with cyclophosphamide at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day for 60 days, along with tapering dose prednisolone for 8 weeks. The Group-B study population was treated with cyclosporine at a dose of 3 mg/kg/day for 6 months or longer along with tapering dose of alternate day prednisolone for the initial 8 weeks. Four patients in Group-B and one patient in Group-A did not continue the treatment. So, we followed-up 49 children during this period.Results: The efficacy of both drugs was good after 6 months of treatment. Remission was observed in 80% of the cases in Group-A and 79% of the cases in Group-B. Even after 6 months of treatment 6.7% and 10.5% of the patients with SDNS in Group-A and Group-B needed to continue corticosteroid therapy, respectively. The side effects of immunosuppressive therapy were more frequently observed in Group-B patients. On the other hand, the mean serum creatinine level after 6 months therapy was 0.55±0.21mg/dl in Group-A and 0.84±0.43 mg/dl in Group-B. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: This study showed that both drugs were effective in FRNS and SDNS.Keywords: Child; Nephrotic syndrome; Cyclophosphamide; Cyclosporine

Pattern of infection in children presented with obstructive uropathy: A hospital-based study

Background: Obstructive uropathy refers to the structural impedance to the flow of urine anywhere along the urinary tract which may result from congenital (anatomic) lesions or can be caused by trauma, neoplasia, calculi, inflatnmatory process or surgical procedure. It is responsible for about 4% of end-stage renal disease. Obstructive uropathy is invariably associated with some co-morbid conditions specially infection.Objecctive: This study was conducted in the department of pediatric nephrology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh with an objective to identify different pattern of infections in children with obstructive uropathy. Methods: A total of 55 patients of obstructive uropathy were enrolled. Thorough clinical and laboratory evaluation including hematological, biochemical, radiological and radio nucleotide imaging were done along with blood and urine culture. Result: Out of 55 cases, 42.27% of obstructive uropathy was detected between I to 5 years and 89.27% was infected. Among obstructive uropathy cases, majority had posterior urethral valve (PUV) (42.27%). Urinary tract infection was the commonest (60%) type of infections followed by septicemia and respiratory tract infection. Conclusion: Age between 1 to 5 years was the commonest age of children for hospital admission due to obstructive uropathy. Among various manifestations of obstruc­tive uropatby, infections, mostly urinary tract infection was the commonest one

Prevalence of Parasitic Diseases (Clinical Cases) in Cattle at Joypurhat Sadar Upazila of Bangladesh.

A study was undertaken to determine the clinical prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle at the Upazilla Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Sadar, Joypurhat district of Bangladesh during June, 2016 to July, 2017. According to the case record, a total of 3560 sick cattle were examined during this period. Disease diagnosis was made on the basis of owner’s statement, general examination, physical examination and clinical examination. Out of 3560 clinical caseof cattle, 681 (19.13%) cattle were infested with different ecto and endoparasites. According to the study the prevalence of tick infestation (5.48%) was highest followed by fascioliasis (2.98%), ascariasis (2.44%), paramphistomiasis (2.13%), maggot (1.71%), mite infestation (1.32%), schistosomiasis (1.24%), hump sore (1.18%) and haemonchiasis (0.65%) respectively. The sexwise prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle was found more or less similar in male (19.0%) and female animals (19.26%). It was observed that there was no significant (P>0.05) variation in the prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle in relation to age of the cattle and season of the year. The overall prevalence of parasitic diseases was found more in young (19.76%) than adult (18.59%) cattle. The overall prevalence of parasitic diseases was higher in winter season (20.10%) followed by rainy season (19.7%) and summer season (17.85%) respectively. This study will provide necessary information regarding parasitic diseases in cattle of Joypurhat Sadar for their effective control and better production of cattle which will be beneficial for poor farmer.A study was undertaken to determine the clinical prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle at the Upazilla Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Sadar, Joypurhat district of Bangladesh during June, 2016 to July, 2017. According to the case record, a total of 3560 sick cattle were examined during this period. Disease diagnosis was made on the basis of owner’s statement, general examination, physical examination and clinical examination. Out of 3560 clinical caseof cattle, 681 (19.13%) cattle were infested with different ecto and endoparasites. According to the study the prevalence of tick infestation (5.48%) was highest followed by fascioliasis (2.98%), ascariasis (2.44%), paramphistomiasis (2.13%), maggot (1.71%), mite infestation (1.32%), schistosomiasis (1.24%), hump sore (1.18%) and haemonchiasis (0.65%) respectively. The sexwise prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle was found more or less similar in male (19.0%) and female animals (19.26%). It was observed that there was no significant (P>0.05) variation in the prevalence of parasitic diseases in cattle in relation to age of the cattle and season of the year. The overall prevalence of parasitic diseases was found more in young (19.76%) than adult (18.59%) cattle. The overall prevalence of parasitic diseases was higher in winter season (20.10%) followed by rainy season (19.7%) and summer season (17.85%) respectively. This study will provide necessary information regarding parasitic diseases in cattle of Joypurhat Sadar for their effective control and better production of cattle which will be beneficial for poor farmer

Ageing Effects of Na-Alginate/PEO Spinning Solution on Electrospinnability and Morphology of Nanofibres

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) loaded alginate nano-fibres were produced by electrospinning of the 4 % (w/w) of 70:30 Na-alginate/PEO spinning solution. In this research, the effects of solution viscosity and storage time of the spinning solution on fibre diameter and morphology were studied. Results show that the viscosity of the spinning solution was 2284 cP at the age of day 1, which was dropped slowly and reached at 2184 cP until day 5. However, the viscosity sharply decreased after 5 days of storing and the mean diameter of the fibres remain similar until 20 days though the uniformity of the fibre diameters decreased significantly. At day 40, the viscosity of the spinning solution dropped 48 cP which yields beads-onstring fibres. The solutions of 5 days and 10 days old produced smooth and uniform nanofibres having mean diameter of 133 nm and 132 nm, respectively. They also produced stable electrospinning fibre jet compared to other solutions. Overall, the results revel that the electrospinnability of Naalginate/PEO spinning solution remain suitable until 10 days of storing time

Feasibility Study of Integrated Desizing, Scouring and Bleaching of Cotton Woven Fabric with H2O2 and Investigation of Various Physical Properties with Traditionally Treated Fabric

Pre-treatment plays a significant role for the successful coloration of any kind of natural textile fiber like cotton, wool, flax, silk etc. This research work overview the influence of various types of traditional preparation techniques applied on cotton fiber before coloration such as desizing, scouring and bleaching. The traditional pre-treatment processes consume plenty of environmentally unfriendly chemicals those generate pollution in the effluents. In this research work an endeavour has been made to desize, scour and bleach grey cotton woven fabric simultaneously using caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide. The physical properties like whiteness, percent loss in fabric weight, tensile strength of the treated fabric have been compared with those of the fabric treated to conventional desizing, scouring and bleaching process. It is observed that the whiteness (ready for colouration) obtained by this process is quite satisfactory. Moreover, this process has some other merits such as ecological, economical, energy conserving and time saving aspect

Measuring Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Each Attribute of a Product: A Review on Hedonic Pricing Model

The Hedonic pricing model requires that a good, per se does not provide utility; it is the characteristics of the good that gives rise to utility. The total amount of utility a consumer receives from the consumption of a good is subject to the total amount of the characteristics contained in a good purchased. The marginal monetary value of the good’s characteristics is the product of the marginal unit of the characteristics in the good and the marginal implicit prices of the characteristics. In fact, this model reflects actual choices made by consumers, and they can adopt it to estimate their willingness to pay for a good’s characteristics considering several possible interactions between the good’s characteristics–both internal and external. It can be used in product innovation, product packaging, and designing additive services, which gives a producer a competitive advantage in the market. On the other hand, this model may be counterproductive in an environment where information asymmetry exists as it captures only the willingness to pay for perceived differences of attributes and their direct consequences. Therefore, the effective analysis of this model highly depends on the correctness of model specification and different functional forms. Keywords: Hedonic pricing model, willingness to pay, revealed preference, equilibrium price, and regression analysi

Development of Cost-Effective Menstrual Absorbent Pad with Eco-Friendly Antimicrobial Finish

Management of menstrual hygiene is a critical problem for Bangladeshi women and girls as the sanitary pads are expensive. Therefore, purchasing sanitary napkins for incredibly poor and middle-class families is very challenging. Many retail sanitary napkins are available on the local market, but most of them are costly. However, poor women’s are unable to purchase or use high-quality sanitary napkins. Thus, a maximum of nine sanitary napkin pad samples with very cheap raw materials (natural fibres) have been produced in this study. Newly manufactured products even undergo antimicrobial treatment with natural antimicrobial agents such as Tulshi and Aloe Vera accompanied by a simple production process, which ultimately makes the product cheaper and safer for the consumer during use. A maximum of nine samples were produced and compared with commercial samples for cost analysis. The primary objective of this research is to develop such a kind of sanitary napkin that will be cheaper as well as user-friendly in contrast to commercial samples. More interestingly, poor women are not used to wear underwear, because of which they are not interested in using pads as commercial sanitary napkins; panty or other underwear is required. For this reason, an adjustable waistband support is used in this experiment to easily attach the sanitary napkin without any gum. Since menstruation is directly linked to the human reproductive process, it is important for women and girls to manage menstruation appropriately. In addition, the material (especially sanitary napkin core forming materials) used in commercial sanitary napkins is synthetic and may lead to accelerated growth of bacteria and germs by long term use of the pad. The goal of this research was to construct an inexpensive sanitized pad that was treated with Aloe Vera and Tulshi extract. Tulshi and Aloe Vera modified non-woven fabrics incorporate antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Therefore, as it can be used without undergarments, sanitary napkin is not only hygienic but also inexpensive and comfortable with effective protection against leakage. Findings demonstrate the newly developed prototype's substantial design and cost-effectiveness. &nbsp