Bridging the climate information gap for adaptation: Mainstreaming climate services into higher education in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has proactively integrated climate change into national policies, and is renowned for constantly improving adaptation capacity. Yet, much of the focus has concentrated on long-term climate change scenarios and short-term weather forecasts. Additionally, most decision-makers (both policymakers and practitioners) lack the knowledge and skills to understand and use available climate information (past, present, short-, medium- and long-term future) that can support locally-led adaptation and reduce loss and damage. Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has been working with IRI and others to improve not only the range and quality of information products but also its communication modalities. International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) jointly created the Bangladesh Academy for Climate Services (BACS) to strengthen national climate services through training, academic engagement and stakeholder convening. This report describes the outcomes of an Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) funded microgrant project aligned with the BACS goals of co-producing climate services content that can help bridge the climate services knowledge gap in Bangladesh through transdisciplinary collaboration. The project was a collaboration between several universities across the country to support a long-term vision where young people are trained in every climate-sensitive sector to make use of all information available to improve their resilience

Is Cadaveric Dissection Essential in Medical Education? A Qualitative Survey Comparing Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Anatomy Courses

CONTEXT: With the surge of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19]), the modality of teaching anatomy has shifted from in-person cadaveric dissection to virtual lessons for incoming first-year medical students. As a result, we aim to assess the impact that this curriculum change has on student perspectives. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to understand the relative effect of a virtual anatomy course implemented during the pandemic (2019-2020) on the confidence, skills, and perspectives of first-year medical students compared to medical students who had traditional in-person anatomy at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (Rowan SOM) in Stratford, New Jersey. METHODS: The authors developed a 14-question survey to target gross anatomy students of the Classes of 2023 and 2024 at Rowan SOM. The Class of 2024 had a virtual anatomy lab compared to the Class of 2023, who had an in-person anatomy lab in their first year of medical school. The responses were analyzed to understand the difference between a hands-on cadaver lab and a virtual anatomy lab utilizing SPSS. RESULTS: The survey was administered to approximately 400 people, from which we received 149 responses (37.3%). Among all responses, 36.2% (n=54) belonged to the Class of 2023 who encountered hands-on cadaver experience, whereas 63.8% (n=95) belonged to the Class of 2024 who gained virtual anatomy lab experience. An independent t-test statistical analysis was utilized. Under the confidence domain, when students were asked about the understanding of trauma after their respective anatomy labs, 64.0% of the Class of 2023 (n=50) showed significantly higher confidence with p CONCLUSIONS: Based on current results, it can be established that medical students who had in-person cadaveric dissection had a favorable attitude toward their anatomy course compared to students who had virtual anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Investigation of mechanical properties of rattan and bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl ester composite material for automotive application

In scope of this research, manufacturing and mechanical characterization of rattan and bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl ester composite material were carried out. Bamboo and rattan fiber was extracted by using retting process followed by chemical treatment to enhance mechanical properties. The composite was manufactured using bidirectional fiber mat in vacuum bag molding and hand layup process. The weight fraction between reinforcement and matrix was 24% and 76% respectively. Three types of composites were manufactured; Bamboo Fiber Composite (BFC), Rattan Fiber Composite (RFC), and Rattan (12%) and Bamboo (12%) Fiber Composite (RBFC). Different mechanical behavior of the composite was investigated, such as tensile strength, flexural strength, hardness, and impact strength. The maximum flexural and impact strength was found for RBFC with 57.66 MPa and 44.49 kJ/m2, respectively. It was found that about 29% and 17% of flexural strength and 29% and 78% of impact strength was improved for RBFC than BFC and RFC respectively. Finally, fabricated composites mechanical characteristics were compared to the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene or ABS plastic materials mechanical characteristics

CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing for Insect Pest Stress Management in Crop Plants

Global crop yield and food security are being threatened by phytophagous insects. Innovative methods are required to increase agricultural output while reducing reliance on hazardous synthetic insecticides. Using the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas technology to develop insect-resistant plants appears to be highly efficient at lowering production costs and increasing farm profitability. The genomes of both a model insect, Drosophila melanogaster, and major phytophagous insect genera, viz. Spodoptera, Helicoverpa, Nilaparvata, Locusta, Tribolium, Agrotis, etc., were successfully edited by the CRISPR-Cas toolkits. This new method, however, has the ability to alter an insect’s DNA in order to either induce a gene drive or overcome an insect’s tolerance to certain insecticides. The rapid progress in the methodologies of CRISPR technology and their diverse applications show a high promise in the development of insect-resistant plant varieties or other strategies for the sustainable management of insect pests to ensure food security. This paper reviewed and critically discussed the use of CRISPR-Cas genome-editing technology in long-term insect pest management. The emphasis of this review was on the prospective uses of the CRISPR-Cas system for insect stress management in crop production through the creation of genome-edited crop plants or insects. The potential and the difficulties of using CRISPR-Cas technology to reduce pest stress in crop plants were critically examined and discussed

CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing for Insect Pest Stress Management in Crop Plants

Global crop yield and food security are being threatened by phytophagous insects. Innovative methods are required to increase agricultural output while reducing reliance on hazardous synthetic insecticides. Using the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas technology to develop insect-resistant plants appears to be highly efficient at lowering production costs and increasing farm profitability. The genomes of both a model insect, Drosophila melanogaster, and major phytophagous insect genera, viz. Spodoptera, Helicoverpa, Nilaparvata, Locusta, Tribolium, Agrotis, etc., were successfully edited by the CRISPR-Cas toolkits. This new method, however, has the ability to alter an insect’s DNA in order to either induce a gene drive or overcome an insect’s tolerance to certain insecticides. The rapid progress in the methodologies of CRISPR technology and their diverse applications show a high promise in the development of insect-resistant plant varieties or other strategies for the sustainable management of insect pests to ensure food security. This paper reviewed and critically discussed the use of CRISPR-Cas genome-editing technology in long-term insect pest management. The emphasis of this review was on the prospective uses of the CRISPR-Cas system for insect stress management in crop production through the creation of genome-edited crop plants or insects. The potential and the difficulties of using CRISPR-Cas technology to reduce pest stress in crop plants were critically examined and discussed

Climate Services for Resilient Development in South Asia Annual Report: January to December 2019

Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD) is a global partnership that connects climate science, data streams, decision support tools, and training to decision-makers in developing countries. CSRD addresses the climate challenges faced by smallholder farmers in South Asia. The partnership is led by the United States Government and supported by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID), the UK Meteorological Office, ESRI, Google, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the American Red Cross. The CSRD in South Asia initiative3 ran from November 2016 to December 2019 and was led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded by USAID. The consortium worked to increase resilience to climate change in South Asia by creating and making available timely and useful climate data, information, tools and services. These activities aligned with the Global Framework for Climate Services and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). In South Asia, the CSRD consortium focused primarily on Bangladesh (in alignment with Objective 1 as described above), with a secondary emphasis on Nepal and India (supporting Objective 2), and overall capacity development and awareness raising efforts across countries (Objective 3). To improve the usefulness and agricultural relevance of climate information and weather forecasts, the consortium developed strong science partnerships, and moved research into action and impact. The overarching goal was to develop and sustain the capacity development of agricultural climate services in the region. Throughout its duration, the consortium benefited from valuable inputs and guidance from USAID and its multi-partner CSRD Steering Committee

Climate Services for Resilient Development in South Asia: Mid-term Report, January - June 2018

A global partnership that is aligned with the Global Framework for Climate Services, Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD) works to link climate science, data streams, decision support tools, and training with decision-makers in developing countries. CSRD is led by the United States Government and is supported by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID), UK Meteorological Office, ESRI, Google, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the American Red Cross. Led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the CSRD initiative in South Asia works with partners to conduct applied research and facilitate the use of climate information to reduce risk for smallholder farmers. This report details activities of the CSRD project in South Asia during 2018, with emphasis on the second half of 2018 (activities in the first half of 2018 can be found in the semi-annual report)