Environmental pressures and rural-urban migration: The case of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, like other least developed countries (LDC), has a large rural population and agricultural labor force. At the turn of the Millennium 75 percent of the LDCs’ population still lived in rural areas and 71 percent of the LDCs’ labor force was involved in agriculture. Yet, even the least developed countries are affected by rapidly accelerating rural-to-urban migration. This decade, 2001-2010, is the first ever in which the urban population grows faster than the rural population in the LDCs. And this change is also associated with a historic employment transition, where the agricultural sector gradually loses importance. Both the population and the employment transition that can be observed for the group of least develops countries, are largely attributable to LDC's in Asia, and in particular Bangladesh. The very large rural-urban migration in Bangladesh, in comparison with other least developed countries, is attributable to relatively strong push factors on the one hand, and strong pull factors on the other. The principle factor that encourages people to leave their homes in the country side is the frequent recurrence of natural disasters, which undermine agricultural development and cause food crisis. By contrast, the principle factor that attracts people to urban centers is the expansion of the non-agricultural sectors, industry and services, which promises jobs and higher household incomes.Bangladesh; climate change; rural-urban migration; agricultural development; urban planning; dual-dual model; employment; poverty

Damage-cluster distributions and size effect on strength in compressive failure

We investigate compressive failure of heterogeneous materials on the basis of a continuous progressive damage model. The model explicitely accounts for tensile and shear local damage and reproduces the main features of compressive failure of brittle materials like rocks or ice. We show that the size distribution of damage-clusters, as well as the evolution of an order parameter, the size of the largest damage-cluster, argue for a critical interpretation of fracture. The compressive failure strength follows a normal distribution with a very small size effect on the mean strength, in good agreement with experiments

Book reviews

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Monitoring the dynamics of Src activity in response to anti-invasive dasatinib treatment at a subcellular level using dual intravital imaging

Optimising response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in cancer remains an extensive field of research. Intravital imaging is an emerging tool, which can be used in drug discovery to facilitate and fine-tune maximum drug response in live tumors. A greater understanding of intratumoural delivery and pharmacodynamics of a drug can be obtained by imaging drug target-specific fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensors in real time. Here, we outline our recent work using a Src-FRET biosensor as a readout of Src activity to gauge optimal tyrosine kinase inhibition in response to dasatinib treatment regimens in vivo. By simultaneously monitoring both the inhibition of Src using FRET imaging, and the modulation of the surrounding extracellular matrix using second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging, we were able to show enhanced drug penetrance and delivery to live pancreatic tumors. We discuss the implications of this dual intravital imaging approach in the context of altered tumor-stromal interactions, while summarising how this approach could be applied to assess other combination strategies or tyrosine kinase inhibitors in a preclinical setting

Discerning Devotion: Devotion and Disciplieship in a Discontented Age

Dr. Schmitt discusses Discerning Devotion: Devotion and Disciplieship in a Discontented Ag

Theoretical considerations on a 2D compliant tensegrity joint in context of a biomedical application

In this paper, a two-dimensional compliant tensegrity joint was investigated for potential biomedical applications such as orthotics or exoskeletons. The structure consists of two compressed members connected by five compliant tensioned members. The concept is based on the tensegrity principle, which allows the realization of dynamic orthoses without conventional hinge joints. Another advantage is the adaptability to the individual needs of the patient through a suitable design of the structure and the careful selection of the characteristics of the elements. Using geometric nonlinear analysis, the mechanical behavior of the structure was investigated, focusing on mechanical compliance. The main objective was to determine the influence of the initial length and stiffness of the tensioned members and the influence of the magnitude of external forces on the overall stiffness of the movable member of the structure. The results highlight the significant impact of member parameters on the structure's stiffness and movability under varying load magnitudes. The research laid the foundation for future development of dynamic orthoses based on this structure

Episode 6 - Honest Repentance and the Law

In this week’s episode we talk with Dr. David Maxwell, professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary, St Louis. Maxwell recently wrote a series of sermons exploring the ways in which our understanding of the law, faith, and salvation influence our ability to repent. This episode explores the first concept in the series, titled LAW. “The image is that the Bible’s like an anvil on your chest that crushes the life out of you…this is the kind of thing that I think makes people want to hide.” Dr. Maxwel