Evaluation of the genetic structure of the urban dwelling species of Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginisnus) using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis

We used the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique to decipher the genetic structure of the Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginisnus) in Pakistan. The samples were collected from four cities namely: Dera Ghazi Khan, Jahanian, Khanewal and Gujranwala. The analysis showed a high genetic diversity at species level (H = 0.318, S = 0.467) but low levels at population levels (H = 0.047, S = 0.069 to H = 0.195, S = 0.283). The four populations analyzed were genetically distant from each other and hinted the effect of urbanization role in isolating the urban dwelling species. The genetic distances between populations ranged from D = 0.2403 to D = 0.3419 and the similarity coefficient showed low range from 0.66 to 0.70. This study will help in future conservation plans and also help the understanding of the role of urbanization on fragmentation of species’ natural distribution and dispersal mechanism.Key words: Acridotheres ginginisnus, Bank Myna, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), genetic structure

Nanomedicines as cancer therapeutics: Current status

As of 21st century, cancer is arguably the most complex and challenging disease known to mankind and an inevitable public health concern of this millennium. Nanotechnology, suitably amalgamated with cancer research, has ushered an era of highly personalized and safer medicines which can improve cancer diagnosis and therapy. A wide variety of nanomedicines are currently under investigation, including polymeric/non-polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, lipid- and micelle-based nanoparticles. The bases of these nanomedicines in reducing toxicity associated with cancer therapy are their ability to carry a large payload and multivalent-ligand targeting. This imparts specificity for targeting the tissues as well as bypass resistance mechanisms. The major hurdles on these future medicines are potential toxicity of nanoparticles, which imposes the need of extensive regulatory evaluation before nanomedicines could be utilized as cancer therapeutics. This review highlights nanopharmaceuticals that have been investigated in oncology for various applications (diagnosis, therapeutic delivery and theranostics). It also discusses the effects of nano-sized materials on tissues/organ functions, the possibility of overcoming multi-drug resistance by using nanomedicines and their current clinical status

Implications of ecotourism development in protected areas: A study from Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh

This article is based on visitors profile study of protected area based tourist spots of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary (RKWS), Bangladesh to ascertain the potential of ecotourism. Study findings shows that 69% male constitute the visitors group while the maximum number of visitors was found in the age of below 30 years. Most of the visitors were literate and among them 43% visitors were student. Most (53%) of visitors preferred to get recreation in holidays as they were employed. Visitors were highly preferred to come with friends group. About 92% respondents showed positive mind to come here in future while 89% respondents view that park has tourism potential. Most of the respondents reported the presence of wildlife (48%) most notable followed by plant diversity and tribal community as recreational. From χ2 test it is found that highly significance association present between tourism potentiality of the wildlife sanctuary and some demographic variable like income of tourists (χ2 = 49.138, p < 0.000), visiting pattern (χ2 = 19.344, p < 0.000), education of tourists (χ2 = 50.226, p < 0.000), travelling distance (Km - χ2 = 11.427, p < 0.022), duration of staying (χ2 = 12.867, p < 0.002), frequency of visit (χ2 = 8.456, p < 0.015), visiting time (χ2 = 6.530, p < 0.011), problem in the study area (χ2 = 14.962, p < 0.021), occupation of tourists (χ2 = 8.848, p < 0.031). If the problems addressed by the visitors were solved, RKWS would be a bright place of eco-tourism in Bangladesh

AN EXTENSIVE VIRTUAL OUTREACH APPROACH BY SPE DHAKA UNIVERSITY CHAPTER FOR GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Dhaka University (DU) Chapter in Bangladesh commenced its journey on 1st October 2007. From the beginning, it has always been students-centered and fixated to pique broader geoscience disciplined-based interests of the members and arrange several annual seminars, conferences, lecture programs, workshops, and general meetings. Many of these webinars were led by distinguished geoscience professionals known domestically and globally. Engaging and inspiring students, particularly females, in practical and innovative thinking concerning the present energy crisis and exploring the world’s energy sectors remain the central theme in its offerings. The SPE DU Chapter organized a wide variety of events, emphasizing on technical knowledge regarding the exploration, development & production of petroleum and strengthening the students’ professional and improving soft skills. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the SPE to shift the technical sessions, symposium, and quiz competition online. The SPE also conducted an awareness campaign for COVID-19 via social media. Notably, the SPE organized a webinar on the right mindsets in the new normal situation and stepped in to disseminate general geology-related essential contents to its members and invitees to reduce the learning loss due to the pandemic. Noticing the dwindling oil price because of COVID-19, this chapter arranged a timely virtual lecture program on the future of oil and gas. The SPE DU chapter effectively adjusted its whole operation concerning COVID-19 and the safety of its members. The Geological Excursion and Gas field Visit, Petromania, and Geo-modelling Jumpstart: Software Experience are the other signature events of SPE DU Chapter. The former president of the SPE DU Chapter, Noshin Sharmili, attended the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2020 in Saudi Arabia and obtained the second position in the “Unlock the Reserve” competition. Being motivated, the chapter hosted a pivotal session delivering the tips of a successful application for IPTC Education Week. The SPE DU Chapter and its executive members have received the AAPG Foundation L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, the SPE DU Chapter has been awarded the Student Chapter Excellence Award for 2021 and 2020. This prestigious award is the second-highest honor a student chapter may receive and is awarded to only 20% of student chapters around the world

Vulnerability of low-arsenic aquifers to municipal pumping in Bangladesh

Sandy aquifers deposited >12,000 years ago, some as shallow as 30 m, have provided a reliable supply of low-arsenic (As) drinking water in rural Bangladesh. This study concerns the potential risk of contaminating these aquifers in areas surrounding the city of Dhaka where hydraulic heads in aquifers >150 m deep have dropped by 70 m in a few decades due to municipal pumping. Water levels measured continuously from 2012 to 2014 in 12 deep (>150 m), 3 intermediate (90-150 m) and 6 shallow (<90 m) community wells, 1 shallow private well, and 1 river piezometer show that the resulting drawdown cone extends 15-35 km east of Dhaka. Water levels in 4 low-As community wells within the 62-147 m depth range closest to Dhaka were inaccessible by suction for up to a third of the year. Lateral hydraulic gradients in the deep aquifer system ranged from 1.7 × 10-4 to 3.7 × 10-4 indicating flow towards Dhaka throughout 2012-2014. Vertical recharge on the edge of the drawdown cone was estimated at 0.21 ± 0.06 m/yr. The data suggest that continued municipal pumping in Dhaka could eventually contaminate some relatively shallow community wells

Real-Time Cleaning and Refinement of Facial Animation Signals

With the increasing demand for real-time animated 3D content in the entertainment industry and beyond, performance-based animation has garnered interest among both academic and industrial communities. While recent solutions for motion-capture animation have achieved impressive results, handmade post-processing is often needed, as the generated animations often contain artifacts. Existing real-time motion capture solutions have opted for standard signal processing methods to strengthen temporal coherence of the resulting animations and remove inaccuracies. While these methods produce smooth results, they inherently filter-out part of the dynamics of facial motion, such as high frequency transient movements. In this work, we propose a real-time animation refining system that preserves -- or even restores -- the natural dynamics of facial motions. To do so, we leverage an off-the-shelf recurrent neural network architecture that learns proper facial dynamics patterns on clean animation data. We parametrize our system using the temporal derivatives of the signal, enabling our network to process animations at any framerate. Qualitative results show that our system is able to retrieve natural motion signals from noisy or degraded input animation.Comment: ICGSP 2020: Proceedings of the 2020 The 4th International Conference on Graphics and Signal Processin