• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.49-61
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• 2015

Knowledge Management (KM) has become a fundamental process for all types of institutions in society. Academic libraries are also an integral part of the knowledge system, these institutions being one of the forms that contribute to knowledge development. This study aims to find out the challenges and opportunities associated with KM practices in Dhaka University Library (DUL). The specific objectives were to ascertain the understanding of KM concepts among library professionals of DUL, to explore an overview of KM and its role, and to identify the rationale behind not practicing KM properly at DUL. Appropriate methods were employed. The findings indicate that limited expertise and lack of clear guidelines are the major challenges for the implementation of KM in DUL.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2802-2811
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• 2023

In a first-of-its-kind study, terrestrial radionuclide concentrations were measured in 35 topsoil samples from the outskirts of Dhaka using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry to assess the radiological consequences of such a vast number of brick kilns on the plant workers, general as well as dwelling environment. The range of activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K is found at 19 ± 3.04 to 38 ± 4.94, 39 ± 5.85 to 57 ± 7.41, and (430 ± 51.60 to 570 ± 68.40) Bq/kg, respectively. ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K concentrations were higher than the global averages. Bottom ash deposition in lowlands, fly ash buildup in soils, and the fallout of micro-particles are all probable causes of the elevated radioactivity levels. ¹³⁷Cs was found in the sample, which indicates the migration of ¹³⁷Cs from nuclear accidents or nuclear fallout, or the contamination of feed coal. Although the effective dose received by the general public was below the recommended dose limit but, most estimates of hazard parameters surpass their respective population weighted global averages, indicating that brick kiln workers and nearby residents are not safe due to prolonged exposures to terrestrial radiation. In addition, the soil around sampling sites is found to be unsuitable for agricultural purposes.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.559-562
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• 2006

Although flood is a very common natural disaster in Bangladesh, recently Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh got flooded even in moderate rainfall. Accordingly, on January 2002 the sale and use of polythene bags were banned, by identifying it as one of the main causes for such flooding. Now the question arises, whether only polythene shopping bags are alone responsible for causing water logging problem. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to detect the reason(s) for the recent prolonged water logging problem in Dhaka City, even by small amount of rainfall. Both contingent valuation method and remote sensing technique were used for comparison of the results. The results of the study indicated that, not only polythene bags, but also unplanned land filling is also liable for creating water logging problem in Dhaka City. Finally, the study suggested that, the value of wetlands lost, which is directly related to the recent water logging problem, is more higher than what actually thought by the citizens of Dhaka City.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.200-205
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• 2009

The n-hexane and carbon tetrachloride soluble fractions of a methanolic extract of the stem bark of the Couroupita guianensis furnished three compounds, identified as $\beta$-amyrin (1), betulin-$3{\beta}$-caffeate (2) and lupeol-$3{\beta}$-caffeate (3). The structures of the isolated compounds were deduced by extensive spectroscopic analysis as well as by comparison with published values. Compounds 1-3 were subjected to antioxidant screening through free radical scavenging activity by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), where compound 2 showed moderate antioxidant activity with $IC_{50}$ value $108.0{\mu}g/ml$.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.95-105
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• 2021

A prerequisite of a sound financial system is effective channeling of financial resources to efficient users; hence maximizing economic and societal welfare. To that end, the prevalence of bad loans in banks in emerging economies is a major policy concern. In an attempt to add to the growing body of literature explaining the interrelationship between macroeconomic and firm-specific factors, and non-performing loans (NPL), this paper examines data from 24 scheduled commercial banks in Bangladesh from 2008 to 2019. Macroeconomic factors as well as firm-specific factors related to profitability, capital strength, and efficiency are considered. Panel data regression analysis is performed to estimate pooled OLS, fixed effects, and random effects models. Following the necessary testing, it was found that the fixed effects model with robust standard error is appropriate. Results show that return on assets and inflation have a negative influence on NPL, but GDP growth has a favorable impact. The paper concludes by asserting that the evidence supports similar findings from studies both in Bangladesh and elsewhere and it is noted that a combination of these macroeconomic and firm-specific factors explains only a small portion of the total variation in NPL.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.9
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• pp.75-91
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• 2022

This study assesses the Internet banking adoption tendency by existing bank customers of Bangladesh. Currently, almost all the leading banks in the country have implemented Internet banking platforms. However, the active user count remains relatively low and there hasn't been any conclusive research on the drivers and inhibitors of Internet banking. This study evaluates the reasons and quantitatively establishes the factors leading to the adoption and usage continuance of internet banking by existing bank customers. Responses from 460 bank account holders were collected via online questionnaires using a purposive sampling approach, and a core conceptual framework based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology Readiness Index (TRI) was used. The study concluded that internet banking adoption is significantly impacted by the ease of use, customer service, and technology familiarity. Similarly, customer satisfaction is affected by the perceived value and the perceived risk. Through regression analysis, it was found that usage continuance is 89% explained by adoption and customer satisfaction. Multi-group moderation showed significant impact by groups divided based on usage frequency, income level, and age. Perceived risk weakened the impact of perceived value and technology familiarity on usage adoption. Additionally, perceived risk reduced the impact of consumer satisfaction and usage continuance.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.162-164
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• 1999

Dehydroaltenusin (1) was isolated from the chloroform extract of the culture filtrate of a Streptomyces sp. and its structure was determined from spectral data as well as by comparison with published values. In an XTT-based in vitro anti-HIV assay, dehydroaltenusin effectively inhibited the cytopathic effects of HIV infection at a concentration of $1-5\;{\mu}g/mL$.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.237-246
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• 2011

To explore the sources of carbonaceous material in the airborne particulate matter (PM), comprehensive PM sampling was performed (3 to 14 January 2010) at a traffic hot spot site (HS), Farm Gate, Dhaka using several samplers: AirMetrics MiniVol (for $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$) and MOUDI (for size fractionated submicron PM). Long-term PM data (April 2000 to March 2006 and April 2000 to March 2010 in two size fractions ($PM_{2.2}$ and $PM_{2.2-10}$) obtained from two air quality-monitoring stations, one at Farm Gate (HS) and another at a semi-residential (SR) area (Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka Campus, (AECD)), respectively were also analyzed. The long-term PM trend shows that fine particulate matter concentrations have decreased over time as a result of government policy interventions even with increasing vehicles on the road. The ratio of $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ showed that the average $PM_{2.5}$ mass was about 78% of the $PM_{10}$ mass. It was also found that about 63% of $PM_{2.5}$ mass is $PM_1$. The total contribution of BC to $PM_{2.5}$ is about 16% and showed a decreasing trend over the years. It was observed that $PM_1$ fractions contained the major amount of carbonaceous materials, which mainly originated from high temperature combustion process in the $PM_{2.5}$. From the IMPROVE TOR protocol carbon fraction analysis, it was observed that emissions from gasoline vehicles contributed to $PM_1$ given the high abundance of EC1 and OC2 and the contribution of diesel to $PM_1$ is minimal as indicated by the low abundance of OC1 and EC2. Source apportionment results also show that vehicular exhaust is the largest contributors to PM in Dhaka. There is also transported $PM_{2.2}$from regional sources. With the increasing economic activities and recent GDP growth, the number of vehicles and brick kilns has significantly increased in and around Dhaka. Further action will be required to further reduce PM-related air pollution in Dhaka.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.427-432
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• 2003

Jute is the principal coarse fiber for commercial production and use in Bangladesh. Therefore, the development of a high-yielding and environmental-stress tolerant jute variety would be beneficial for the agro economy of Bangladesh. Two molecular fingerprinting techniques, random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified-fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were applied on six jute samples. Two of them were cold-sensitive varieties and the remaining four were cold-tolerant accessions. RAPD and AFLP fingerprints were employed to generate polymorphism between the cold-sensitive varieties and cold-tolerant accessions because of their simplicity, and also because there is no available sequence information on jute. RAPD data were obtained by using 30 arbitrary oligonucleotide primers. Five primers were found to give polymorphism between the varieties that were tested. AFLP fingerprints were generated using 25 combinations of selective-amplification primers. Eight primer combinations gave the best results with 93 polymorphic fragments, and they were able to discriminate the two cold-sensitive and four cold-tolerant jute populations. A cluster analysis, based on the RAPD and AFLP fingerprint data, showed the population-specific grouping of individuals. This information could be useful later in marker-aided selection between the cold-sensitive varieties and cold-tolerant jute accessions.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2008

A total of five compounds namely, 2-methylanthracene-9, 10-dione (1), 1-hydroxy-6-methylanthracene-9,10-dione (2), $\beta$-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) and sitosterone (5) were isolated from the stem extracts of Polygonum lanatum for the first time. The structures of the isolated compounds (1-5) were established by extensive spectroscopic studies, including 2D NMR such as $^{1}H-^{1}H$ COSY, HSQC and HMBC studies. The crude extracts and purified compound (1) were screened for antimicrobial activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi by the disc diffusion method. The n-hexane and dichloromethane soluble partitionates of the methanolic extract revealed mild to moderate inhibition of growth of the test organisms. The cytotoxic potential of the extractives and compound 1 was also determined by using brine shrimp lethality bioassay, where the extractives demonstrated significant cytotoxic activities.