Riverbank erosion and rural food security in Bangladesh

The erosion of riverbanks has a negative impact on many nations across the world, costing them land, buildings, food, fish, and other living things, which forces people to relocate. Both the frequency and severity of riverbank erosion are alarming in Bangladesh. In Zajira Upazila, a baseline investigation was carried out to evaluate the effects of river erosion on the local availability of food. The results show how erosion threatens the majority of residents in the research territory. Additionally, as a consequence of the depletion of farmland brought on by the disaster and its effects, crop production is steadily dropping. Occasionally, people lose whole properties, leaving them with few employment options and little spending power. As a result, they are always in danger of experiencing a shortage of food. The suffering people use various coping strategies to deal with these challenging circumstances, such as shifting to cheaper or less appealing eating options. Despite the fact that local governing bodies have put in place various programs to help them, including food assistance and social protection programs, these are inadequate because of the government’s constrained organizational assets and competence The study’s findings will aid scientists and decision-makers in Bangladesh and abroad in better comprehending the requirements of vulnerable riverine populations and in designing programs that would increase those societies’ food safety Therefore, these results imply that developing and implementing efficient rural development strategies could increase the food security of those residing in Bangladeshi regions threatened by riverbank erosion

Toxoplasma gondii Infection Is Associated with Low Birth Weight: Findings from an Observational Study among Rural Bangladeshi Women

Gestational Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection may cause substantial adverse effects on developing fetuses, newborns and also mothers. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii among rural Bangladeshi pregnant women and determine the risk of a low birth weight (LBW). We followed a longitudinal design where 208 pregnant women were followed until the birth of their infants. Levels of IgG and IgM of T. gondii were assessed using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted associations and multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the confounding and modifying effects of the variables. Thirty-nine (19%) children were born with LBW, among whom 15 (39%) mothers were positive for T. gondii IgG during pregnancy. After adjusting for several confounders and modifiers, pregnant women with T. gondii IgG or IgM seropositivity were significantly associated with LBW of infants (aRR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.17-3.42). The strength of this association increased after adjusting for maternal education (aRR: 4.88, 95% CI: 1.74-13.69). The final model had an AROC of 0.84 with a sensitivity of 36% and specificity of 97%. Although causality is yet to be established, the study observed an association between T. gondii infection during pregnancy among rural Bangladeshi women and LBW of newborns

Management of Climate-Stressed Wetlands to Create Climate Resilience of Bangladeshi Wetland Communities

In Bangladesh, wetland areas are ecologically and socio-economically important. Half of the total land area of the country is occupied by wetlands. The protection of wetland ecosystems is of special concern in Bangladesh as they are richly biodiverse, support various types of fisheries, and give shelter to both domestic and migratory birds. Adverse effects such as drought, early rain, and reduced rainfalls have already become a problem due to climate change. Like other wetlands in Bangladesh, the once ecologically rich Hakaluki haor, situated in the northeastern part of the country and the biggest freshwater wetland area of the country, is now in a critical condition. Therefore, local communities, especially the fishers who were once dependent on this haor, are now threatened by the prospect of losing their livelihoods. To address this urgent issue, the government of Bangladesh and various international organisations have invested in various projects to facilitate community-based climate change adaptation and resilience. The community-based adaptation (CBA) approach is popular because it helps to build the resilience of the vulnerable residents of climate-stressed areas through activities that based on local knowledge and experience. The Community-Based Adaptation in Ecologically Critical Areas through Biodiversity Conservation and Social Protection (CBA-ECA) Project, which was implemented from 2010-2015 to manage the Hakaluki haor, was the case study of this thesis. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to explore what factors contributed to whether this project was successful or not to manage climate-stressed wetlands and build climate resilience. The study found that the overall impact of the project was positive in the short term, while the project was being implemented, but showed long-term promise for only some of the interventions. Local people can now explain the impact of climate change in their community. They can face natural disasters more confidently and in a more united way than they were able to before the project. One of the most significant impacts of the project was on gender equity with women reporting they feel more capable than they did before joining the project. These interventions also helped to increase the financial capacity, as well as the resilience of the local household members and the overall community. On the other hand, the study found that the project faced several challenges in its attempt to fulfil the principles of CBA. The foremost challenge was to ensure democracy in the design and implementation of the CBA-ECA project and results demonstrated that this participation was ‘tokenistic’ or ‘for show’: community people were ‘heard’ but their opinions were not followed in the decision-making process. Another major challenge arose from the interference of ‘community elites’ who exploited the natural resources for profit and interfered with the decision-making process to benefit themselves, to the detriment of the poor and marginalised non-elites. Further, while the fish diversity and the plant diversity initially increased due to the participatory wetland management activities, the benefits associated with this, both for the ecosystem and the people whose livelihoods depended upon it, have diminished over time. This dissertation contributes to the literature by empirically identifying the challenges and constraints this CBA approach faced in practice in the context of managing climate-stressed wetlands in a developing country. Recommendations include that CBA projects need to be redesigned, and that decision-making should be democratically devolved to CBOs whose members are representative of the community and empowered to participate actively. In addition, the capacity and livelihood of local people should be built through more appropriate training and cash investment, with trainers from the same region and social class of the trainees preferred and realistic loans and grants offered. Members of the CBOs should be legally, socially and, if necessary, physically protected from elite capture, and NGOs should serve as outside expert advisors supporting community mobilisation and collaborative effort.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 202

Fisheries in the Context of Attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh: COVID-19 Impacts and Future Prospects

Fisheries and the aquaculture sector can play a significant role in the achievement of several of the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. However, the current COVID-19 situation can negatively impact the fisheries sector, impeding the pace of the achievement of development goals. Therefore, this paper highlighted the performance and challenges of the fisheries sector in Bangladesh, emphasising the impact of COVID-19 and the significance of this sector for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through primary fieldwork and secondary data. The total fish production in the country has increased more than six times over the last three decades (7.54 to 43.84 lakh MT) with improved culture techniques and extension services. Inland closed water contributions have increased to 16%, while inland open water has declined to 10%, and marine fisheries have dropped to 6% over the past 18 financial years (2000–2001 to 2018–2019). COVID-19, a significant health crisis, has also affected various issues associated with aquatic resources and communities. Transportation obstacles and complexity in the food supply, difficulty in starting production, labour crisis, sudden illness, insufficient consumer demand, commodity price hikes, creditor’s pressure, and reduced income were identified as COVID-19 drivers affecting the fisheries sector. The combined effect of these drivers poses a significant threat to a number of the SDGs, such as income (SDG1), nutrition (SDG2), and food security (SDG3 and SDG12), which require immediate and comprehensive action. Several recommendations were discussed, the implementation of which are important to the achievement of the SDGs and the improved management of the aquatic sector (SDG14—life below, and SDG16—life above water)

Riverbank Erosion and Rural Food Security in Bangladesh

The erosion of riverbanks has a negative impact on many nations across the world, costing them land, buildings, food, fish, and other living things, which forces people to relocate. Both the frequency and severity of riverbank erosion are alarming in Bangladesh. In Zajira Upazila, a baseline investigation was carried out to evaluate the effects of river erosion on the local availability of food. The results show how erosion threatens the majority of residents in the research territory. Additionally, as a consequence of the depletion of farmland brought on by the disaster and its effects, crop production is steadily dropping. Occasionally, people lose whole properties, leaving them with few employment options and little spending power. As a result, they are always in danger of experiencing a shortage of food. The suffering people use various coping strategies to deal with these challenging circumstances, such as shifting to cheaper or less appealing eating options. Despite the fact that local governing bodies have put in place various programs to help them, including food assistance and social protection programs, these are inadequate because of the government’s constrained organizational assets and competence The study’s findings will aid scientists and decision-makers in Bangladesh and abroad in better comprehending the requirements of vulnerable riverine populations and in designing programs that would increase those societies’ food safety Therefore, these results imply that developing and implementing efficient rural development strategies could increase the food security of those residing in Bangladeshi regions threatened by riverbank erosion

Analysis of Climate Change Impacts on the Food System Security of Saudi Arabia

Climate change poses a challenge to the security and long-term viability of the global food supply chain. Climate unpredictability and extreme weather events have significant impacts on Saudi Arabia’s vulnerable food system, which is already under stress. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces distinct challenges in comparison to other dry locations across the world. Here, the per capita water demand is high, the population is growing, the water resources are extremely limited, and there is little information on the existing groundwater supplies. Consequently, it is anticipated that there will be formidable obstacles in the future. In order to make data-driven decisions, policymakers should be aware of causal links. The complex concerns pertaining to the Saudi Arabian food system were analyzed and rationally explained in the current study. A causality analysis examined different driving factors, including temperature, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, population, and gross domestic product (GDP) that cause vulnerabilities in the country’s food system. The results of the long-run causality test show that GDP has a positive causal relationship with the demand for food, which implies that the demand for food will increase in the long run with an increase in GDP. The result also shows that Saudi Arabia’s GDP and population growth are contributing to the increase in their total GHG emissions. Although the Kingdom has made some efforts to combat climate change, there are still plenty of opportunities for it to implement some of the greatest strategies to guarantee the nation’s food security. This study also highlights the development of appropriate policy approaches to diversify its import sources to ensure future food security

\u3cem\u3eIn Vitro\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eIn Vivo\u3c/em\u3e Synergistic Antitumor Activity of the Combination of BKM120 and Erlotinib in Head and Neck Cancer: Mechanism of Apoptosis and Resistance

We previously reported that the EGFR-targeted inhibitor erlotinib induces G1 arrest of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) cell lines without inducing significant apoptosis. Large-scale genomic studies suggest that \u3e50% of SCCHN cases have activation of PI3K pathways. This study investigated whether cotargeting of EGFR and PI3K has synergistic antitumor effects and apoptosis induction. We examined growth suppression, apoptosis, and signaling pathway modulation resulting from single and combined targeting of EGFR and PI3K with erlotinib and BKM120, respectively, in a panel of SCCHN cell lines and a xenograft model of SCCHN. In a panel of 12 cell lines, single targeting of EGFR with erlotinib or PI3K with BKM120 suppressed cellular growth without inducing significant apoptosis. Cotargeting of EGFR and PI3K synergistically inhibited SCCHN cell line and xenograft tumor growth, but induced variable apoptosis; some lines were highly sensitive, others were resistant. Mechanistic studies revealed that the combination inhibited both axes of the mTORC1 (S6 and 4EBP1) pathway in apoptosis sensitive cell lines along with translational inhibition of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1, but failed to inhibit p-4EBP1, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1 in an apoptosis-resistant cell line. siRNA-mediated knockdown of eIF4E inhibited Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 and sensitized this cell line to apoptosis. Our results strongly suggest that cotargeting of EGFR and PI3K is synergistic and induces apoptosis of SCCHN cell lines by inhibiting both axes of the AKT–mTOR pathway and translational regulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins. These findings may guide the development of clinical trials using this combination of agents

Diarrhoea and smoking: An analysis of decades of observational data from Bangladesh Health behavior, health promotion and society

Background: Although cigarette smoking affects all biological systems of the human body including the gastrointestinal tract, there is a lack of evidence regarding its effect on the severity of diarrhoeal disease and whether a dose-response relationship exists. We therefore tested for the presence of specific causative pathogens for infectious diarrhoea, assessed the independent effect of smoking on its severity and tested whether any dose-response relationship existed while controlling for subjects' age, sociodemographic characteristics and presence of causative pathogens in an urban setting in Bangladesh. Methods: A total of 20,757 patients aged 15 years and above with diarrhoea were enrolled into the Diarrhoeal Disease Surveillance System, managed by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, from 1993 to 2012. We collected data on individuals' current daily consumption of cigarettes and bidis (traditional hand-rolled cigarettes) and conducted an ordered logistic regression to determine the effect of smoking on diarrhoeal disease severity and whether a dose-response relationship exists. Results: We identified 19 % of patients with diarrhoea as smokers, of whom 52 % smoked 1-9 cigarettes per day. While 97 % of smokers were Male, 41 % were aged 15-30 years of age. Smokers were found to have a significantly lower severity of diarrhoeal disease (OR: 0.92, 95 % CI: 0.85-0.99, p∈=∈0.025) after adjusting for age, wealth quintile, illiteracy and the presence of specific causative pathogens (Vibrio cholerae and Shigella). We observed no dose-response relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and disease severity when adjusting for the same covariates. Smokers were more frequently infected with Shigella (7 vs. 6 %, p