A structural model of enterprise GIS requirement for Johor Bahru City Council

The city council has been using rapid information technology (IT), especially geographical information system (GIS) to improve their performance. Most initiatives in IT applications, including GIS, are limited to individuals of each department rather than supporting a comprehensive operating institution. Even though GIS is now increasingly popular, implementation of an enterprise system is low compared to developed countries. Lack of awareness on the importance of geospatial data, capability of GIS and GIS application are the reasons for the low implementation rate. In this study, the collection of information is based on the requirements of MBJB (Johor Bahru City Council) in the development of the structural model of Enterprise GIS which covers five departments. Enterprise GIS can help the council in their day-to-day management of their activities especially spatial data sharing to provide the better services to the public. The analysis is based on five categories which are data, organisation information, work information, technology information and process. Following that, analysis using four partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based empirical studies was carried out to examine Enterprise GIS requirement. Data analysis was carried out using Software Packages SmartPLS. Structural model was constructed which showed the value of relationship between independent and dependent variables. The highest value was found to be the organization information

Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience - Climatic Trends in Bangladesh. Research Report No. 10

This study was conducted as part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project “Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and layers of resilience”. Long term climatic datasets were analyzed for Bangladesh and for specific study locations in the country. The report gives general climatic characteristics of the country and trend analysis of important climatic parameters such as temperature, rainfall, etc. Mean annual maximum and minimum temperature showed a rising trend from 1971 to date. During the last decade, there is a reduction in the number of potential rainy days with respect to the 40 year normal in the majority of meteorological stations across the country. However, the annual total rainfall showed an increasing trend in the flood and drought prone areas of the country. The numbers of instances of extreme events, ie, floods, has been high during the last decade

Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience - Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change in Bangladesh. Research Report No. 16

Bangladesh is considered to be one of the countries highly vulnerable to climate change. As part of the ADB funded project, “Vulnerability to Climate Change, Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience”, analysis of climate change vulnerability using two popular methods was carried out for Bangladesh. A set of indicators defining the three components of vulnerability, ie, exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity were selected considering their functional relationship and their contribution to the vulnerability. The aim of the exercise is to characterize different regions and ecological zones (EZ) of the country in terms of vulnerability related to climate change. From the analysis, we conclude that the majority of the regions are very highly vulnerable to climate change. These regions should receive high priority for channelizing resources such as technologies, finances and developmental programs to enhance their ability to cope with the impacts. Appropriate action should be planned and carried out in advance so as to foresee the anticipated impacts of climate change and the expected vulnerability of the regions and the population

Impact of financial inclusion in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of reviews

Financial inclusion programmes seek to increase access to financial services such as credit, savings, insurance and money transfers and so allow poor and low-income households in low- and middle-income countries to enhance their welfare, grasp opportunities, mitigate shocks, and ultimately escape poverty. This systematic review of reviews assesses the evidence on economic, social, behavioural and gender-related outcomes from financial inclusion. It collects and appraises all of the existing meta-studies - that is systematic reviews and meta-analyses - of the impact of financial inclusion. The authors first analyse the strength of the methods used in those meta-studies, then synthesise the findings from those that are of a sufficient quality, and finally, report the implications for policy, programming, practice and further research arising from the evidence. Eleven studies are included in the analysis

GWAS meta-analysis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy implicates multiple hepatic genes and regulatory elements

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder affecting 0.5–2% of pregnancies. The majority of cases present in the third trimester with pruritus, elevated serum bile acids and abnormal serum liver tests. ICP is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including spontaneous preterm birth and stillbirth. Whilst rare mutations affecting hepatobiliary transporters contribute to the aetiology of ICP, the role of common genetic variation in ICP has not been systematically characterised to date. Here, we perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analyses for ICP across three studies including 1138 cases and 153,642 controls. Eleven loci achieve genome-wide significance and have been further investigated and fine-mapped using functional genomics approaches. Our results pinpoint common sequence variation in liver-enriched genes and liver-specific cis-regulatory elements as contributing mechanisms to ICP susceptibility

The stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-18-(6S,9R,10R)-bovidic acid

An expedient stereoselective total synthesis of 18-carbon (+)-(6S,9R,10R)-bovidic acid, isolated from the pelage and skin of a gaur B. frontalis is described using l-proline catalysed sequential α-aminoxylation and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination of aldehyde, cross metathesis and tandem Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation-SN2 cyclization reaction as the key steps