Mutation of the chitinase-like protein-encoding AtCTL2 gene enhances lignin accumulation in dark-grown Arabidopsis seedlings

Aktar Hossain, M.,Noh, H.N.,Kim, K.I.,Koh, E.J.,Wi, S.G.,Bae, H.J.,Lee, H.,Hong, S.W. G. Fischer 2010 Journal of plant physiology Vol.167 No.8

Several genes that encode a chitinase-like protein (called the CTL group) have been identified in Arabidopsis, rice, pea, and cotton. Members of the CTL group have attracted much attention because of their possible role in the biosynthesis of the cell wall in plants. The hot2 mutation in the CTL1 (AtCTL1) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana causes multiple defects in growth and development. The Arabidopsis genome possesses the AtCTL2 gene, which exhibits 70% similarity to AtCTL1 at the amino acid level. We showed that the AtCTL2 gene was predominantly expressed in stems, which was in contrast to the presence of AtCTL1 transcripts in most organs of Arabidopsis. In addition, β-glucuronidase (GUS) staining was detectable in all tissues of the stem in transgenic plants expressing the AtCTL1::GUS construct, while GUS activity under control of the AtCTL2 promoter was significantly restricted to the xylem and to interfascicular fibers in stems. The phenotypes of atctl2 single mutant and of hot2, atctl2 double mutant plants were significantly similar to those of wild-type and of hot2 single mutant plants, respectively. The expression levels of CESA1 and CESA4 transcripts were not affected in the two single mutants or corresponding double mutant plants, compared with the levels in wild-type plants. The accumulation of lignin in etiolated hypocotyls, however, was increased by mutation of AtCTL2. These findings suggest that AtCTL2 is required for proper cell wall biosynthesis in etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis.

A Mixed-Methods Approach to Exploring EFL Listening Strategy Use: Bangladeshi Tertiary Learners’ Perceived and Task-Based Strategy Use

Tasnima Aktar 아시아테플 2023 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.20 No.3

This study explored strategy use as metacognition in action among tertiary-level learners in an inputpoor EFL context of Bangladesh. It specifically investigated relationship between strategy use and listening comprehension and differences between the less successful listeners (LSLs) and the more successful listeners (MSLs) in two conditions- off-line, perceived and on-line, task-based. Employing an explanatory mixed-methods design, data were collected in two phases: 1) perceived strategy use via a Listening Strategy Questionnaire and listening comprehension via a practice IELTS test from a larger sample of 388, 2) task-based strategy use via think aloud protocols and listening task performance from a subsample of 30. Data were analysed using Correlations and ANOVA in Phase I, and content analysis (Correlations and Mann-Whitney U) and thematic analysis in Phase II. Contrary to almost no significant findings in perceived strategy use, task-based strategy use revealed significant correlations for overall metacognitive strategies and several individual strategies. Task-based strategy use further revealed both significant and in-depth differences in strategy orchestration between the LSLs and MSLs. The study has methodological and pedagogical implications: triangulation of findings advocates for think aloud technique as a more productive and reliable tool; EFL listeners (particularly the LSLs) can benefit from the dynamic strategic behaviour of the MSLs.

Engaging Local Community Youth and Secondary School Students for Raising Awareness on Human Rights and Gender Equality through Theatre and Cultural Activism

Solnara Aktar 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2015 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 학술대회자료집 Vol.2015 No.7

Ending VAW through Adoption of Good Practices/Models

Flowra AKTAR 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2015 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 학술대회자료집 Vol.2015 No.1

Violence against women is a human rights violation. To stop these human rights violations, we need to build a space within the culture of a country and within the family as well where violence against women is recognized as a human rights violation. More specifically, in order to do this, we need to rebuild a system and culture in the family and society but also in educational institutions, the transportation system, work place and the state where women can move without fear of violence and live with dignity and honor. Therefore, we need a country where women are as respected and well-protected as the men are. The BNWLA has been working to develop 12 VAW free model villages in Bangladesh where everyone has the right to live without fear of violence and abuse. At the middle stage of this initiative, the interventions of the model village were incredibly sustainable because the youth groups including women or girls were growing up as leaders with the necessary knowledge of existing laws that are intended to protect their own rights. This paper outlines the model village concept including their goals and their objectives as well as the strategy of the VAW free model village, the baseline situation, midterm progress, good practices, lessons learnt, youth group’s interventions and how different organizations should adopt the good practices/models.

Transnational feminism and women’s activism: Strategies for engagement and empowerment in Bangladesh

Solnara Aktar 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2019 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.25 No.2

This article aims to review the strategic experience of individuals and human rights organizations for human rights, women's rights, gender equality and social justice in Bangladesh. Following an empirical research methodology, this article has been written on the four themes: education, engagement, empowerment, and advocacy. The organizations were selected because of their creative concepts, innovative approaches, achievements and impact on the public. The study focuses on how the “Unite for Body Rights” program provides education related to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR); how men from local community engage themselves in promoting gender equality and social justice; how “acid survivors” transform themselves into “survivor ambassadors” and empower themselves as women’s rights activists; and how the five leading human rights organizations in Bangladesh contributed to “banning the ‘two-finger test’ on rape survivors.” This article also evaluates the obstacles faced and marks them as lessons for the future.

Groundwater Quality for Drinking and Irrigated Agriculture in Northern Bangladesh

Sharmin Aktar,Jahidul Mohammad Islam,Airin Akter,Aysha Siddiqa,Mohammad Abdul Hai Siddiqi 강원대학교 환경연구소 2013 Journal of the Environment Vol.10 No.1

BEMD-HT Based RGB Color Image Robust Information Hiding Algorithm Using Block Averaging Technique

Most. Shelina Aktar,K.M. Ibrahim Khalilullah,Shugufta Abrahim,Md. Ekramul Hamid 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.9 No.12

The paper proposes an information hiding technique for steganography and digital watermarking using Bi-dimensional Empirical Mode Decomposition (BEMD) and Hilbert Transform (HT). We use RGB color image as a cover image. The cover image is divided into a number of blocks. Then each block of the cover image is putrefied into a number of Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) using BEMD. We embed secret information with private key into a significant IMF. The embedded secret information, called watermark, is a matrix of 1 and -1. However, this watermark is generated by mapping pseudo-random numbers. Therefore, any unauthorized person who does not possess the private key cannot extract the watermark. The significant IMF is a highest energetic IMF which is selected according to the energy distribution of the putrefied IMFs. Thus the selected IMF is less sensitive to common image and signal processing manipulation. In watermark extraction process, we transform the watermarked object into frequency domain using HT bypassing the use of BEMD due to its empirical characteristics. Thereafter, we extract the watermark bit using block averaging technique. The experimental results of this algorithm demonstrate that the proposed method has better imperceptibility and it is more robust against several image processing and geometric manipulations.

Flavonoid Compounds Are Enriched in Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) Leaves by a High Level of Sucrose and Confer Increased Antioxidant Activity

Hossain, Md. Aktar,Kim, Sooah,Kim, Kyoung Heon,Lee, Sung-Joon,Lee, Hojoung American Society for Horticultural Science 2009 HortScience Vol.44 No.7

<P>Medicinal plants are widely used in traditional medicine because plant secondary metabolites have been shown to benefit a broad spectrum of health conditions. Lemon balm, <I>Melissa officinalis</I> L., a member of the mint family, is native to Europe and is well known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep, and ease pain and discomfort associated with digestion. In various plant species, strong anthocyanin induction is triggered by sucrose, but not by other sugars or osmotic stress; however, the mechanisms that induce anthocyanin accumulation in lemon balm leaves in response to sucrose and phytohormones remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms that lead to increased levels of flavonoids in lemon balm plants. We observed that sucrose significantly increases the level of flavonoids in lemon balm plants and that sucrose induction appears to be mediated by the phytohormones abscisic acid and ethylene. We also identified delphinidin as the anthocyanidin that is primarily enriched in leaves grown in high-sucrose medium. Finally, we observed that reactive oxygen species levels are positively correlated with sucrose-mediated anthocyanin accumulation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the level of flavonoids in lemon balm can be increased significantly and that plants such as lemon balm could potentially be used to prevent diseases that have been purported to be caused by free radical damage. Chemical abbreviations used: ABA, (+)-cis, transabscissic acid; ACC, 1-aminocyclopropane-carboxylic acid; <I>CHI</I>, chalcone isomerase; <I>CHS</I>, chalcone synthase; DPPH, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; GA, gibberellic acid; IAA, indole-3-acetic acid.</P>

Mice with conditional NeuroD1 knockout display reduced aberrant hippocampal neurogenesis but no change in epileptic seizures

Brulet, Rebecca,Zhu, Jingfei,Aktar, Mahafuza,Hsieh, Jenny,Cho, Kyung-Ok Academic Press 2017 Experimental neurology Vol.293 No.-

<P>Adult neurogenesis is significantly increased in the hippocampus of rodent models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). These adult-generated neurons have recently been shown to play a contributing role in the development of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS). In order to eventually target pro-epileptic adult neurogenesis in the clinical setting, it will be important to identify molecular players involved in the control of aberrant neurogenesis after seizures. Here, we focused on NeuroD1 (ND1), a member of the bHLH family of transcription factors previously shown to play an essential role in the differentiation and maturation of adult-generated neurons in the hippocampus. Wild-type mice treated with pilocarpine to induce status epilepticus (SE) showed a significant up regulation of NeuroD1 + immature neuroblasts located in both the granule cell layer (GCL), and ectopically localized to the hilar region of the hippocampus. As expected, conditional knockout (cKO) of NeuroDi in Nestin-expressing stem/progenitors and their progeny led to a reduction in the number of NeuroD1 + adult-generated neurons after pilocarpine treatment compared to WT littermates. Surprisingly, there was no change in SRS in NeuroD1 cKO mice, suggesting that NeuroDi cKO fails to reduce aberrant neurogenesis below the threshold needed to impact SRS. Consistent with this conclusion, the total number of adult-generated neurons in the pilocarpine model, especially the total number of Prox1 + hilar ectopic granule cells were unchanged after NeuroDi cKO, suggesting strategies to reduce SRS will need to achieve a greater removal of aberrant adult-generated neurons. Published by Elsevier Inc.</P>

Response of Physico-chemical Properties of Pond Water on Algae and Fish Production in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh

Airin Akter,Mohammad Jahidul Islam,Sharmin Aktar,Aysha Siddiqa,AKM Shajedur Rahman 강원대학교 환경연구소 2013 Journal of the Environment Vol.10 No.1