Journal of Life and Earth Science

Effect of Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (Ems) on Incubation Period, Pupal Period and Reproductive Potential of Ladybird Beetle, Epilachna Vigintioctopunctata Fab

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20156

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 119-122, 2013

An Introduction to Morphology of the Reproductive System and Anatomy of Hens Egg

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The present study was designed to investigate the morphology of reproductive system and egg anatomy of the domestic hen (Gallus domesticus L.). The system consists of oviduct and ovary. The oviduct consists of infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus and vagina which are sole distributor for making nutrition enriched egg. The anatomy of egg revealed that there are calcareous eggshell, shell membranes, egg white, vitelline membrane, egg yolk, and germinal disc. The fertilized egg showed a concentric circle around the nucleus known as blastoderm that contained area pellucida and area opaca whereas an unfertilized egg showed nucleus as white spot (blastodisc). Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are progenitor cells of ova and spermatozoa and they originate from the epiblast of the central part of the area pellucida. The microscopic structure of eggshell rendered leathery cuticle, fibrous matrix and shell membranes. The egg protects itself by its own mechanism from being injured and provides a complete diet for the developing embryo.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20133

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 1-10, 2013

Insecticidal Activities of Abroma Augusta (L.) Chloroform and Methanol Extracts Against Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst) Adults

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The chloroform and methanol extracts of the leaves, root wood, stem bark, stem wood and seeds of Abroma augusta (L.) (Ulatkambal) were tested against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) adults through residual film assay. The seed extracts (CHcl₃ and MeOH) were found to offer the highest mortality of the beetles and the LD50 values were 3046.083, 247.9217 and 75.96001 ?g/cm² and 6598.793, 340.4855 and 113.6461 ?g/cm² for the (CHCl₃50 values of 1127.785, 312.5822 and 146.3708 ?g/cm² and 1689.468, 449.8259 and 134.9692 ?g/cm² for the (CHCl₃350 values of 3466.807, 450.3049 and 175.7438 ?g/cm² and 4654.238, 1010.538 and 333.7202 ?g/cm² for the(CHCl₃350 values of 3295.859, 1137.558 and 363.1539 ?g/cm² and 3717.851, 566.2215 and 230.7044 ?g/cm² for the (CHCl₃3A. augusta did not show any activity against the beetles. According to the intensity of activity observed through mortality of the adult beetles the potentiality of the chloroform extracts could be arranged in a descending order of seeds> root wood > leaf> stem bark and for the methanol extracts, seed>root wood > stem bark > leaf.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20134

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 11-15, 2013

Efficient Direct Organogenesis from Shoot Tips and Nodal Segments of Ash Gourd (Benincasa Hispida L.)

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The effect of external application of phytohormone on explants viz., shoot tips and nodal segments of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida L.) was tested on the frequency of shoot and root induction. Shoot tips and nodal segments were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of cytokinins (BAP, Kinetin), auxin (IBA, NAA) and gibberellic acid (GA₃) for multiple shoot formation and root induction. The highest number (up to 90%) of multiple shoot formation was obtained from the shoot tips in MS medium fortified with 1.5 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l GA₃, where average number of shoots per culture was 5.55. In case of nodal segment, better response (up to 78%) for shoot multiplication was found in MS with 2.0 mg/l BAP + 0.2 mg/l GA₃. The concentration of 1.0 mg/l IBA was found to be most effective for root initiation in microshoot developed from both types of explants. Rooted plantlets were acclimatatized and established in sandy soil with good survival rate

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20135

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 17-20, 2013

Agricultural Land Conversion in the Sub-Urban Area: A Case Study of Rajshahi Metropolitan City

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Bangladesh is a land scarce country where per capita cultivated land is only 12.5 decimals. It is claimed that every year about one percent of farm land in the country is being converted to non-agricultural uses. The study is based mainly on field survey covering 2 villages (Narikel Baria and Baze Silinda) from 10 sub-urban villages around Rajshahi City Corporation under Paba Upazila of Rajshahi district. The study area was selected purposively and the respondents of this research work were selected randomly. The major focus was on to mention the general land use pattern of the area, estimates the agricultural land conversion besides determining the causes and consequences affecting such conversion. Both Narikel Baria and Baze Silinda villages were selected as study area because of its relatively higher growth in infrastructure. In order to fulfill the goal of this study, primary and secondary data were collected from various sources and to analyze and process of collected data the SPSS, Excel and Arc GIS software were used. Different types of descriptive statistics were applied for representing the analyzed data. It is observed that the land conversion form agriculture to non-agriculture allied in recent time is more than the previous time due to gradually increasing land demand in housing and relevant services which invites adverse impact on agricultural land as well as its dependent population. So, it is necessary to take integrated land-use planning to offer better options for the fulfillment of land demand both of housing and agricultural sectors.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20136

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 21-30, 2013

Parental Acceptance and Academic Achievement of Tribal and Non-Tribal Children of Bangladesh

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The present study designed to explore the relationship between parental acceptance and academic achievement of tribal and non tribal children of Bangladesh. For this purpose, Bangla Version (Uddin, 2011) of PARQ/CQ (Short Form) for mother and father (Originally by Rohner, 2005) was administered on 96 respondents (48 tribal and 48 non-tribal) selected purposively from Khagrachari district, Bangladesh. Results indicated significant negative correlations between maternal acceptance scores and academic achievement scores and between paternal acceptance scores and academic achievement scores. Furthermore, results revealed significant differences in maternal acceptance, paternal acceptance and academic achievement between tribal and non-tribal children. From the results parental acceptance (maternal and paternal acceptance) found to be a stronger predictor of academic achievement where maternal acceptance created 8.3% variations and paternal acceptance created 10.3% variations in academic achievement of tribal and non-tribal children.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20137

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 31-39, 2013

Climate Change Induced Flood Risk and Adaptation in the Padma River Island, Bangladesh: A Local Scale Approach

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Assessment of hazard characteristics, exposure, vulnerability, resilience and risk at a local scale is an important tool for identifying the capacities of households and local communities to adapt with climate change induced flood. Repeated floods with different magnitudes under variable climatic conditions are great catastrophe for the people living in flood prone regions specifically in Islands. People, infrastructure and economy are highly exposed to flood and that results in devastating flood disaster. In the Padma river Islands frequent flooding makes the life and livelihoods of people vulnerable and this vulnerability is conditioned by different factors such as peoples physical, social, economic and environmental condition. The higher is the level of vulnerability the higher is the level of flood risk. Hence, peoples resilience can minimize the negative impacts of flood disaster. A composite risk index (related to the probability of occurrence of the event, magnitude of the event, quantity and cost of the element at risk, vulnerability and resilience) was prepared to realize the climate change induced flood disaster risk. Some adaptive strategies are explored to adapt with climate change induced flood risk. Finally, Local Scale Disaster Risk Model (LSDR) was proposed to present the framework of climate change induced flood disaster risk and adaption at a local scale.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20138

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 41-48, 2013

Correlation Analysis of Flag Leaf with Yield in Several Rice Cultivars

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The uppermost leaf below the panicle is the flag leaf that provides the most important source of photosynthetic energy during reproduction and grain filling, thereby has great impact in panicle development and grain yield in rice. In the present investigation in order to explore the relationship between grain yield and flag leaf parameters, yield composition, length and width of the flag leaf, and panicle length were measured in some rice cultivars. Statistical analysis indicated that flag leaf length was positively correlated with panicle length for the studied cultivars demonstrating higher grain yield. Chlorophyll measurement indicated that flag leaf contained more chlorophyll than penultimate leaf. Yield of all the cultivars upon excision of flag leaf was also compared. Removal of flag leaf led to a decline in the seed-setting rate which eventually reduced the grain yield. Besides this, variable pollen viability was also noticed in the different cultivars.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20139

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 49-54, 2013

Perception Level of Potato Growers Towards Production Technologies in Northwest Bangladesh

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

The main focus of the study was to assess the extent of perception level of potato growers towards the potato production technologies. The study was carried out in the Rajshahi district which is considered as a part of the northwest area of Bangladesh. Two hundred thirty-two farmers were randomly selected as potato growers for data collection from twenty villages under the Upazilla namely, Mohonpur, Bagmara and Durgapur of Rajshahi district. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect the data from the respondents in July 2010 to February 2011. For measuring the perception of modern variety potato production technologies by the potato growers, 11 technologies for modern variety potato production were considered. Descriptive statistical measures such as number, percentage distribution, range, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were used in describing the variable. More or less similar percentage (37%) of the growers had medium and high perception whereas 26.29 percent low perception. Analysis indicated that among the extent of perception of modern eleven technologies use of quality seed was at top highest ranking by the perception adoption index of 253.88, whereas plant spacing was bottom lowest. The perception variations in different technologies will not be improved unless intensive and effective steps are taken to increase growers access to various information sources of agriculture which increase the knowledge and then perception.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20140

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 55-61, 2013

Vulnerability Concepts and its Application in Various Fields: A Review on Geographical Perspective

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Vulnerability has no universal definition. Experts from various disciplines use the concept and define vulnerability, which leads diverse measuring methods to serve their own purpose and interests. Approaches to define vulnerability vary among the disciplines because of the various components of risk, household response and welfare outcomes. The objective of this paper is to present an overview based on available scientific literature from various disciplines to examine the origin, evolution and use of the vulnerability concept across different field of studies. Vulnerability is exclusively used in various disciplines such as geography, anthropology, economics, ecology, public health, poverty and development, sustainable livelihoods, famine and food security, sustainability science, land management, disaster management and climate change. Therefore, different disciplines have their own reasons for defining, measuring and developing conceptual models of vulnerability; hence there is no reason to presume that concepts, measures and methods will be universal across the disciplines. Lessons learned from one area may not be equally suitable for all. Hence, differences between various fields need to be bridged by a holistic approach and multidisciplinary research cooperation, and geography as a unique multidisciplinary field of study has the major disciplinary legitimacy to fill up the gaps and to create a common platform to work together in vulnerability research among the various research traditions.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20150

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 63-81, 2013

Climate Change and Land Use Change in the Eastern Coastal Belt of Bangladesh, Elucidated by Analyzing Rice Production Area in the Past and Future

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Climate change is an important issue now-a-days. Global warming i.e. climate change causes sea level rise and that affect the coastal agricultural areas of Bangladesh. The net-cropped area of eastern coastal zone in Bangladesh has been decreasing over the years due to various purposes and the most common one is the land inundation and salinity intrusion by tidal water. The main aims of the study is to assess the change in climatic conditions particularly temperature, rainfall and agricultural land use change in the past and future. Past rainfall, temperature and salinity data have been used to assess the climatic and salinity conditions of the area under investigation. Normalized difference vegetation Index (NDVI) and False Color Composite (FCC) of digital Land sat images have been used to identify land use pattern and Boro rice coverage area. During last 31 years (1978 -2009) 31% rice production land has converted to shrimp culture and salt farming. Salinity intrusion is one of the major causes of agricultural land use change. Salinity level has increased dramatically in dry season during last decade due to increase of temperature, low rainfall pattern, high evaporation rate and low water discharge to the river systems. Future landuse has been projected for 2039 by Markov Model. Result shows that rice production area will decrease rapidly due to salinity intrusion as well as climate change which may threat for food security of Bangladesh. Hereafter, the Government of Bangladesh, national and international institutions will have to work together for minimizing the effect of climate change for food security.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20151

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 83-91, 2013

Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Ficus Racemosa Plant Extracts From North-Western District of Bangladesh

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Antioxidant is a new hype in naturopathy and at present it has huge demand in cosmetic, nutritional supplementation and pharmacological industry. It reduces cell damages caused by free-radical which are responsible for various ailment like ageing, cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative disorders, atherosclerosis, cataracts and inflammation. At present any comprehensive data on the antioxidant content and extent of their activity of the indigenous medicinal plants of Bangladesh is not available. Therefore, here antioxidant activity of a popular medicinal plant - Ficus racemosa was determined. Methanolic extract was prepared from the leaf and stem bark of F. racemosa. Their total phenolics and free radical scavenging capacity was determined using folin-ciocalteu reagent (FCR) assay and DPPD-radical scavenging assay respectively. Stem bark and leaves of F. racemosa contains 242.97 and 235.45 mg of GAE / gm of dried extract of phenolics respectively. Current studies also show that F. racemosa barks contain a high antioxidant activity. IC50 value of bark extract was found to be 19?g/ml which is even better that of the standard BHT. Therefore, present studies suggest that F. racemosa bark has a huge potential in terms of commercial use as source of antioxidant.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20152

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 93-99, 2013

Evaluation of Biological Activities of Evolvulus Nummularius L. through Insecticidal, Insect Repellency and Brine Shrimp Lethality Tests

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Assessment of Evolvulus nummularius L. through whole plant extracts (collected in petroleum ether [Pet.E.], chloroform [CHCl₃] and methanol [MeOH]) were made against Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.) for insecticidal and insect repellency and against Artemia salina L. for brine shrimp lethality, and the results were promising. The LC₅₀ values against T. castaneum adults for Pet.E. extract were 1.280, 1.220, 1.096 and 1.030?g cm^-2; for CHCl₃ extract 3.249, 2.990, 2.526 and 2.204?g cm^-2; and for MeOH extract 2.925, 1.899, 1.875 and 1.789?g cm^-2, respectively for 12, 24, 36 and 48h of exposure. The intensity of activity could be arranged in a descending order: Pet.E. extract> MeOH extract> CHCl₃ extract. For repellency, CHCl₃ and MeOH extracts offered moderate activity (P <0.01), but the Pet.E. extract did not show efficacy against the beetles. The same extracts responded positively in brine shrimp lethality assay where the LC₅₀ values for Pet.E. extract were 141.553, 98.941, 24.684 and 8.560ppm; for CHCl₃ extracts 699.048, 366.663, 326.0039 and 40.114ppm; and for MeOH extracts 2336.982, 1258.605, 355.962 and 137.0589ppm respectively for 12, 18, 24 and 30h of exposure. However, the intensity of activity could be arranged in a descending order: Pet.E. extract> CHCl3 extract> MeOH extract.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20153

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 101-104, 2013

Occurrence of Penta-Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Jaintia and Barail Group Mudstones, Northeastern Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

In the present experiment, concentration, distribution and sources of penta-aromatic hydrocarbons in seven drill core and outcrop samples from Jaintia and Barail Group mudstones, northeastern Bengal Basin, Bangladesh have been studied. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to obtain composition details about the sedimentary organic matter (OM). Mudstone samples were found to contain relatively high penta-aromatic hydrocarbon abundances in the lower Jaintia Group than in the overlying Barail Group. High concentration of perylene suggests terrigenous sources and significantly higher content of total organic carbon in the samples. A biogenic origin of perylene therefore indicates oxygen deficient environmental condition for deposition of OM. Perylene over pentacyclic aromatic hydrocarbon isomers regulating in-situ diagenetic origin.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20154

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 105-112, 2013

Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Mio-Pliocene Bivalve Shells and Calcareous Sediments in Nhila Anticline, Southeast Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

2014-08-23T09:39:18+00:00

Stable carbon (?¹³C) and oxygen (?¹⁸O) isotopes of bivalve shells and calcareous sediments of the Mio-Pliocene Nhila Anticline, southeast Bengal Basin, Bangladesh have been investigated to obtain information on paleoclimate and paleoenvironment conditions during deposition. The ?¹³CPDB, ?¹⁸OPDB and ?¹⁸OSMOW values in bivalve shell range from -2.81 to -1.56, -3.57 to -2.39 and 27.18 to 28.40 in bivalve shells and -13.90 to -1.75, -4.71 to -2.13 and 26.01 to 28.66 in calcareous sediments, respectively. The ?¹³CPDB values in bivalve shells are comparable to that of calcareous sediments (~ -1.75) in the upper section, but ?¹³CPDB values in calcareous sediments are more negative excursion towards lower section (up to -13.90). These results signify that salinity gradients could modified the isotope values and/or strong influence of freshwater conditions. The variable ?¹⁸OPDB values in both bivalve shell and calcareous sediment suggesting diagenetic alteration of carbonates and water temperature effects. The more negative ?¹⁸OPDB values imply humid paleoclimatic conditions during the Mio-Pliocene sedimentation. Therefore, the ?¹⁸OPDB values of the Mio-Pliocene sediments of Nhila Anticline are probably controlled by paleotemperature leading to intensification of high rainfall.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20155

J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 113-117, 2013

Journal of Life and Earth Science

Effect of Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (Ems) on Incubation Period, Pupal Period and Reproductive Potential of Ladybird Beetle, Epilachna Vigintioctopunctata Fab

An Introduction to Morphology of the Reproductive System and Anatomy of Hens Egg

Insecticidal Activities of Abroma Augusta (L.) Chloroform and Methanol Extracts Against Tribolium Castaneum (Herbst) Adults

Efficient Direct Organogenesis from Shoot Tips and Nodal Segments of Ash Gourd (Benincasa Hispida L.)

Agricultural Land Conversion in the Sub-Urban Area: A Case Study of Rajshahi Metropolitan City

Parental Acceptance and Academic Achievement of Tribal and Non-Tribal Children of Bangladesh

Climate Change Induced Flood Risk and Adaptation in the Padma River Island, Bangladesh: A Local Scale Approach

Correlation Analysis of Flag Leaf with Yield in Several Rice Cultivars

Perception Level of Potato Growers Towards Production Technologies in Northwest Bangladesh

Vulnerability Concepts and its Application in Various Fields: A Review on Geographical Perspective

Climate Change and Land Use Change in the Eastern Coastal Belt of Bangladesh, Elucidated by Analyzing Rice Production Area in the Past and Future

Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Ficus Racemosa Plant Extracts From North-Western District of Bangladesh

Evaluation of Biological Activities of Evolvulus Nummularius L. through Insecticidal, Insect Repellency and Brine Shrimp Lethality Tests

Occurrence of Penta-Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Jaintia and Barail Group Mudstones, Northeastern Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Mio-Pliocene Bivalve Shells and Calcareous Sediments in Nhila Anticline, Southeast Bengal Basin, Bangladesh

An Introduction to Morphology of the Reproductive System and Anatomy of Hens Egg