Showing papers by "Nazrul Islam published in 2014"

Proteomic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm cells grown under physiologically relevant fluid shear stress conditions

Abstract: The biofilm forming bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for maladies ranging from severe skin infection to major diseases such as bacteremia, endocarditis and osteomyelitis. A flow displacement system was used to grow S. aureus biofilms in four physiologically relevant fluid shear rates (50, 100, 500 and 1000 s-1) to identify proteins that are associated with biofilm. Global protein expressions from the membrane and cytosolic fractions of S. aureus biofilm cells grown under the above shear rate conditions are reported. Sixteen proteins in the membrane-enriched fraction and eight proteins in the cytosolic fraction showed significantly altered expression (p < 0.05) under increasing fluid shear. These 24 proteins were identified using nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. They were found to be associated with various metabolic functions such as glycolysis / TCA pathways, protein synthesis and stress tolerance. Increased fluid shear stress did not influence the expression of two important surface binding proteins: fibronectin-binding and collagen-binding proteins. The reported data suggest that while the general metabolic function of the sessile bacteria is minimal under high fluid shear stress conditions, they seem to retain the binding capacity to initiate new infections.

Chinese Medicine as a product filling the wellness health tourism niche in China: Prospect and challenges

Abstract: With the boom of China`s economy and an influx of foreign visitors Chinese Medicine and related health services have increasingly become popular for tourists. This study includes a survey to explore the pattern of tourists` health product and services consumption during their stays in China. The research team also visited a couple of resorts and observed the pattern of health products and services that were offered under the brand name of Chinese Medicine. The vast majority of these tourists was short term visitors and had consumed Chinese herbal medicine, body massage, hot spring baths, foot massage, and spa activities for health rejuvenation and relaxation. This trend has made Chinese Medicine a prime label for promoting various health products and services as wellness tourism. The major reasons for tourists` consumption of such Chinese Medicine appear to be to reduce stress, relax, reduce pain, and try new things which are not accessible or affordable in their own countries. However, concern has risen about the quality and authenticity of the Chinese Medicine products and services tourists consume. As the data show, very few of the expatriates were aware of the professional background of the service providers and had little knowledge about Chinese Medicine. This paper concludes that Chinese Medicine has been used as a label to cater to tourists, where the prime selling points are Chinese culture, minimum side-effects, and stress reduction. However, this development has also been facing various challenges, such as quality control, lack of regulation and the authenticity of the Chinese Medicine products and services involved.

Socio-economic factors of readymade garments workers in bangladesh

Abstract: Readymade garment industry is the prime sector of foreign earnings of Bangladesh. There are more than 4,500 garment companies are operating in Bangladesh. More than 80% of the foreign earnings are coming from this sector. At present, four million workers are working in this sector in which 90% are rural women. It is claimed by the employers that the garment companies have helped to develop the socio-economic status of the rural women employed in this sector. Hence, this paper aims at identifying the socio-economic status factors of the garment workers of Bangladesh. This study suggests that housing, water and sanitation conditions, medical facilities and first aid treatment, wages, social status, adaptation of cultural values and norms, attachment with labor unions, ownership arrangement, leave with pay and overtime are significantly related to the socio-economic status of the garments workers of Bangladesh. This study recommends that the measures for improving the socio-economic status of the women workers are related to the improvement of their housing conditions, education, health and sanitation, and the favorable service rules for the women workers.

Socioeconomic factors and the labor unrest in ready- made garment industry of Bangladesh

Abstract: Readymade Garment (RMG) Industry is the prime source of foreign earnings of Bangladesh in last two decades. This sector contributed about 80% of the total export earnings of the country. About 5,100 garment companies have been established in Bangladesh and 3.60 million workers are working in this sector in which more than 85% of them are female who are mostly coming from the rural areas of Bangladesh. In the recent years, it is observed that the workers are coming down in the street and making insurgence on their demand and they try to destruct public properties and the national assets. As a result, companies are losing working-hours and production targets. It also hampers export earnings and the image of our country to the international buyers. Keeping this in mind, the study tries to find out the factors behind the unrest in the ready-made garment industry of Bangladesh and identify some measures to improve the situation. In this study, 244 workers were interviewed from the different garment factories located in Savar and Gazipur district. After collection of data, they were analyzed with regression model, factor analysis and by other suitable statistical tools. The results show that the main causes of labor unrest include lack of additional benefits and irregularities in payment of overtime, deferred festival bonus, lack of motivational training program , conflicting perception about the rich people of the society, and demand of minimum wage . If the policy makers of Bangladesh consider these causes and make policies to overcome the problems the labor unrest in garment sector will be eliminated or minimized.

Implementing a multi-staged methodology to micro and nanotechnology: technology maturity assessment and framework

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-staged methodology for the assessment of technology maturity profiles. In particular, this research is being developed to simplify the maturity evaluation procedure in order to combine a large number of inputs from R&D projects and thus to obtain a broad picture of technology maturity profiles that is not specific to a particular organisation, industry sector or particular process. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-stage method was employed. The first stage of which was a workshop involving a range of eminent academics and senior professionals from institutes or industry in order to outline the maturity scale and its defining characteristics. The second stage was to develop a questionnaire to investigate the maturity of particular technologies in the wider research portfolio. Finally, a case study was conducted to validate the practicability of the method by assessment of industry capability and advancement. Findings – Based on the responses received from the questionnaire, a maturity profile was constructed for each project, displaying percentages of R&D efforts along the adopted maturity scale. The findings demonstrate that the real value of the generic matrix is in tailoring the framework according to the particular context of a firm in order to identify risks that would compromise the exploitation of the emerging technologies under development. Research limitations/implications – There are some limitations in this study which provide ground for future research. For instance, the proposed methodology could be applied to industrially sponsored R&D projects in addition to the publicly funded projects, which have been targeted in this study. This study uses a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method, but this could be applicable to other industry domain. Further testing of the method is necessary in order to increase its robustness and to better understand its applicability and feasibility. Originality/value – It could be considered that the success of this study could be emulated in a wider context of new manufacturing technologies which are being taken up by industry, utilising a comparable but amended scale of technology vs level of take-up and/or funding. It is potentially a useful way for funding bodies to monitor impact of sponsored R&D projects. For industry, it is also a vital link to the academic institutions developing emerging technologies, by guiding both industry sectors and individual customers to the relative maturity of particular technologies.

Response of a Double Pendulum CompliantOffshore Tower to Collinear Wave andCurrent Forces

Abstract: Compliant offshore platforms are designed to allow controlled movement of the platform as an alternative to near rigid resistance to environmental forces by fixed platform designs. The dynamic response of a double articulated offshore loading structure to collinear wave and a steady current is studied for large and moderate sea states. The governing equations of motion are derived by the Lagrange’s method where the wave and current forces are computed by a modified Morison’s equation which takes account for the relative velocity of the water particle with respect to the oscillating tower. The analysis is carried out in time domain assuming rigid body motion, and the solution is generated by Wilson-𝛉 method integration scheme. Numerical studies are conducted to compare the responses under large and moderate sea states with and without current forces. Results show that the presence of current in the wave field increases the responses in all the cases taken for the study

Behaviour of RCC Multistorey Structure Withand Without Infill Walls

Abstract: Framed reinforced concrete structures are most commonly types of structures constructed all over the world due to ease of construction and rapid progress of work. Generally brick or block work masonry is done in these frames which act as an infill panels in the framed structure. Infill walls provide the lateral stiffness to the structure. Its behaviour is very different from the bare frame structure

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives: Implications for Segmenting Mobile Phone Consumers in Bangladesh

Abstract: The tremendous increase of the use of mobile phones in Bangladesh by the young users has expanded the cellular phones market that has also attracted the attention of the foreign investors. This article attempts to investigate underlying sets of consumer motives for using cellular phones in Bangladesh. A primary survey was conducted among 157 young Bangladeshi mobile phone users aged from 20 to 30 years reside in Dhaka city. Structured questionnaire was used to interview the respondents. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the factors for using cellular phones in Bangladeshi young mobile phone users. Results show that there are five important factors that are considered by the Bangladeshi young mobile phone users. The factors are concerned with value added services, social connectivity, connection with the family, obtaining information on foreign education and facing emergency situation. This study also identified five different patterns of possible segmentation of cellular phone users that is, conscious, connective, communicative, continental and contingent and constitute the basis for strategic positioning.