Tartary buckwheat is one of the nutritious minor cereals and is grown in high-cold mountainous areas of arid and semi-arid zones where drought is a common phenomenon, potentially reducing the growth and yield. Melatonin, which is an amphiphilic low molecular weight compound, has been proven to exert significant effects in plants, under abiotic stresses, but its role in the Tartary buckwheat under drought stress remains unexplored. We evaluated the influence of melatonin supplementation on plant morphology and different physiological activities, to enhance tolerance to posed drought stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alleviating lipid peroxidation. Drought stress decreased the plant growth and biomass production compared to the control. Drought also decreased Chl a, b, and the Fv/Fm ratio by 54%, 70%, and 8%, respectively, which was associated with the disorganized stomatal properties. Under drought stress, H2O2, O2•−, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased by 2.30, 2.43, and 2.22-folds, respectively, which caused oxidative stress. In contrast, proline and soluble sugar content were increased by 84% and 39%, respectively. However, exogenous melatonin (100 µM) could improve plant growth by preventing ROS-induced oxidative damage by increasing photosynthesis, enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase), secondary metabolites like phenylalanine ammonialyase, phenolics, and flavonoids, total antioxidant scavenging (free radical DPPH scavenging), and maintaining relative water content and osmoregulation substances under water stress. Therefore, our study suggested that exogenous melatonin could accelerate drought resistance by enhancing photosynthesis and antioxidant defense in Tartary buckwheat plants.

No abstract

With continued climate change, coastal areas are subjected to undesirable situations in the form of sea-level rise and its adverse outcomes like storm surge, flooding and erosion. Being a unique geographic location, low topography, relatively higher population density as well as overwhelming dependence on natural resources, Bangladesh is one of the vulnerable countries exposed to the impacts of global warming and climate change. Bhola in southern Bangladesh represents the world's most dynamic estuary is potentially vulnerable to accelerated sea level rise and associated calamities. The present study aims to develop a coastal vulnerability index (CVI) using eight parameters namely (a) geomorphology, (b) slope, (c) relative sea level change rate, (d) mean tide range (e) shoreline erosion and accretion, (f) population (g) bathymetry and (h) coastal flooding which were addressed as the relative risk variable for the study area using geospatial techniques i.e., Remote Sensing and GIS. The aforementioned parameters were ranked on the basis of their potential contribution to physical changes on the coast, as sea-level rises, and the final calculation was done over 263.87 km shoreline by the square root of the mean values of the ranked variables. According to the vulnerability index, about 22 % corresponding to 57.23 km of the entire coast is under very high-risk and another 29 % representing 75.26 km is under high-risk. Again, 25 % encompassing 67.69 km shoreline is at moderate risk and 24 %, that is 63.69 km shoreline is found to be at low risk. The most vulnerable coastal regions are found mainly along the western coast of Char Fasson and northern and southwestern coast of Bhola Sadar of Bhola Island.

An investigation was undertaken to determine the general clinical prevalence of diseases and disorders in cattle and goats at the Upazilla Veterinary Hospital, Mohammadpur, Magura during the period from January to December 2010. A total of 536 clinical cases (327 cattle and 209 goats) were recorded and analyzed. Diagnosis of each of the clinical cases was made on general examination, physical examination, clinical examination, microscopic examination and using common laboratory techniques. The clinical cases were divided into three groups on the basis of treatment required viz. (1) Medicinal, (2) Gynaeco-obstetrical and (3) Surgical cases. Among the three types of ruminant cases, medicinal cases constituted highest percentage (cattle 86.5% and goats 90.4%) in comparison to gynaeco-obstetrical (cattle 6.1% and goats 0.9%) and surgical (cattle 7.3% and goats 8.6%) cases. Among the medicinal cases, gastrointestinal nematodiasis (cattle 37.8% and goats 19.6%), diarrhoea (cattle 13.4% and goats 19.6%), fascioliasis (cattle 12.4% and goats 1.6%), paramphistomiasis (cattle 8.8% and goats 2.6%), fever (cattle 7.8% and goats 12.7%) were recorded major disease problems in cattle and goats. Among the gynaeco-obstetrical cases, retained placenta (cattle 30% and goats 50%) and repeat breeding (cattle 70% and goats 50%) were recorded as major gynaeco-obstetrical problems in cattle and goats. Abscess (cattle 45.8% and goats 5.6%), myiasis (cattle 20.8% and goats 20.8%), navel ill (cattle 12.5), urolithiasis (cattle 20.8% and goats 44.4%) and overgrown hoof (goats 33.3%) and gid disease (goats 5.6%) were recognized as the main disorders which required surgical interventions. It may conclude that a number of diseases have been occurring in the Mohammadpur upazila and this report may help to develop control strategies against major diseases reported in this study.

The purpose of this study was to examine how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication of Facebook is influenced by social exchanges, social capital, and service quality dimensions. The online survey was conducted with a pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire, and a structural equation model was used to examine the hypothetical relationships. The results of the structural model provide insights into four key antecedents for the effective use of eWOM communication from a social capital and exchange perspective. In particular, reciprocity, tie strength, trust, and interaction service quality significantly and positively influence eWOM communication, demonstrating that social media users engage in online communication when they have a positive perception toward these psychological dimensions. The comprehensive study offers an extended theoretical perspective on eWOM literature for emerging market context and clearly examines the influencing factors of eWOM that remain to be addressed in this context. Since eWOM is widely used in social media to promote viral marketing through its powerful connection and interpersonal relationship-building capabilities, the results of the study have important implications for the practitioners with respect to sustainable advertising and business strategies.