Profitability, marketability, and CSR disclosure efficiency of the banking industry in Bangladesh.

Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, this study measures the profitability, marketability, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure efficiencies from 2012 to 2021 of listed banks in Bangladesh. The results show that Bangladeshi banks are, on average, inefficient in terms of all efficiencies, profitability (0.703), marketability (0.56), and CSR disclosure (CSRD) (0.903) over the sample period. Further, the study compared the three efficiencies between Islamic and conventional banks and found that conventional banks are more efficient than Islamic banks in terms of profitability and marketability at 5% and 8%, respectively, while, in terms of CSRD efficiency, Islamic banks are by 1% more efficient than conventional banks. Furthermore, ordinary least square (OLS) regression has been used to investigate the impact of financial constraints, political connections, and Shari'ah regulations on firm efficiencies. The results showed that financial constraints negatively impact the firms' all three efficiencies, while political connections and Shari'ah regulations negatively affect the banks' marketability efficiency. The findings advocate more compliance with corporate regulation and considerable contributions to CSR, leading to increased stakeholder loyalty and improved efficiency of banks. The findings provide insight for the banks' management to improve their efficiency level, investors and depositors to make proper judgments about their investment, and clients to compare among banks for better decision making. In addition, academicians and researchers have necessary insight from the DEA's noble use in Bangladesh's banking sector.

Public policies and tax evasion: evidence from SAARC countries.

In compliance with the socioeconomic theory, the study has strived to investigate the impact of economic and non-economic public policies on tax evasion using panel data of 7 SAARC countries covering the period from 1998 to 2015. The study has applied the ordinary least square with fixed effect and random effect models to analyze the data assembled. The result of the study implies that the higher the degree of economic freedoms, the lower the tax evasion. More specifically, the government policies about property rights, monetary freedom, fiscal freedom and investment freedom have a negative influence on taxpayers' choices of tax evasion while financial freedom result shows a positive effect on tax evasion. Additionally, there is a negative impact of public sector governance and religiosity on tax evasion, which implies the higher the public sector governance and the higher the religious faith amid the people, the lower the degree of tax evasion. The findings of the study are supposed to offer the governments, tax authorities, and research scholars the valuable insights into public policies for reducing the tax evasion to a significant extent.

Organizational Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Effect of Triple Bottom Line.

Limited research in the area of the triple bottom line (TBL) mediation effect on the relationship between organizational strategic performance (OSP) and corporate social responsibility performance (CSRP) has motivated this study. The objective of this study is to investigate how OSP affects CSRP and the mediation impact of TBL elements through the decision-making process of business management. Considering a sample of 250 employees from Bangladesh, this study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the relevant research hypotheses. Through the lens of stakeholder, institutional, legitimacy and resource-based view theories along with rigorous statistical techniques, this study has found that OSP is positively related to CSRP. In terms of the mediation effect, this study has found that economic responsibility has no intervening role while environmental and social responsibility significantly mediated the relationship between OSP and CSRP. Finally, the full mediation power of the model suggests that OSP affects a firm's strategic decision and CSR outcomes directly as well as indirectly through TBL.

Physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of honey obtained through sugar feeding of bees.

This study was planned to characterize the physicochemical and antioxidant properties, and microbiological quality of honey obtained from the sandbar pumpkin field. In this study, four sugar supplemented and one control (without sugar fed) honey sample was used. Results revealed that all samples exhibited appropriate maturity considering their low moisture content (~ 19%) and high total solids (~ 80%) and TSS (~ 79%). Total acidity (< 40 meq/kg) and pH (~ 4.5) directed the absenteeism of detrimental fermentation. Ash (~ 0.29%) and electrical conductivity (~ 700 µS/cm) were reasonable and distinctive of dark yellowish-brown honey, which is buttressed by color attributes. Reducing sugars, glucose, fructose, and sucrose values ranged from 68.98 to 75.82%, 26.01 to 33.84%, 34.93 to 38.70%, and 1.74 to 5.96%, respectively. Proline (~ 400 mg/kg), HMF (< 40 mg/kg) and diastase action (~ 14° Gothe) were found within accepted limits, and also possesses good antioxidants in terms of total phenol (~ 160 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid (4.67-6.25 mg CE/100 g), and DPPH-RSA (30.65-35.97%). The microbial study revealed that the total viable count ranged between 33.33 and 27.66 CFU/g, while yeasts and mold count varied between 14.33 and 12 CFU/g. Principle component analysis (PCA) results revealed that all the studied parameters could be used effectively to discriminate the honey sample. The overall results signpost a new information regarding the quality i.e. processing, maturity, freshness and composition of honey obtained from the sandbar pumpkin field.

Plant hormone effects on isoprene emission from tropical tree in Ficus septica.

Plant hormones and the circadian rhythm have been implicated in coordinated control of isoprene emission in plants. To gain insights into the signalling networks, foliar application of plant hormones was conducted in a native emitter, Ficus septica. Spraying of 50 µM jasmonic acid (JA) gradually decreased isoprene emission by 88% compared with initial levels within 5 days, and emission increased after relief from JA application. We further explored the molecular regulatory mechanism of isoprene emission by analysing photosynthetic rate, gene expression of 2-C-methyl-D-erythrytol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, hormone signalling and circadian rhythm processes, and metabolite pool sizes of MEP pathway. Results show that isoprene emission strongly correlated with isoprene synthase (IspS) gene expression and IspS protein levels over the period of JA treatment, indicating transcriptional and possible translational modulation of IspS by JA. Application of JA coordinately modulated genes in the auxin, cytokinin (CK), and circadian rhythm signal transduction pathways. Among the transcriptional factors analysed, MYC2 (JA) and LHY (circadian clock) negatively correlated with isoprene emission. Putative cis-elements predicted on IspS promoter (G-box for MYC2 and circadian for LHY) supports our proposal that isoprene emission is regulated by coordinated transcriptional modulation of IspS gene by phytohormone and circadian rhythm signalling.

Molecular regulatory mechanism of isoprene emission under short-term drought stress in the tropical tree Ficus septica.

Isoprene is emitted by many plants and is thought to function as an antioxidant under stressful conditions. However, the detailed regulatory mechanism of isoprene emission in relation to the antioxidant system remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we explored the molecular regulatory mechanism of isoprene emission under short-term drought stress in the tropical tree Ficus septica Burm.f. We found that the soil moisture content gradually decreased from 55% on Day 1 (D1) to 23% (wilting point) on D5 after withholding water for 4 days and then returning to the initial level following re-watering on D6. On D5, drought-stressed plants had more than twofold higher isoprene emission and 90.6% lower photosynthesis rates, 99.5% lower stomatal conductance and 82.3% lower transpiration rates than well-watered control plants. It was also estimated that the isoprene concentration inside the leaf greatly increased on D5 due to the increased isoprene emission rate and reduced stomatal conductance. Among the traits related to the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, which is responsible for isoprene biosynthesis, the isoprene synthase (IspS) protein level was positively correlated with the isoprene emission rate in stressed plants. The transcripts of the antioxidant genes peroxidase 2 (POD2), POD4, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase 2 (Cu-ZnSOD2) and manganese superoxide dismutase 1 (Mn-SOD1) also increased during the drying period, while those of ascorbate peroxidase 1 (APX1) decreased. However, there was only a weak correlation between isoprene emission and antioxidant enzyme gene expression, indicating that the regulation of isoprene biosynthesis is not directly linked to the antioxidant defense network in drought-stressed F. septica. These findings suggest that the post-transcriptional regulation of IspS led to the observed change in isoprene emission rate, which enhanced the quenching of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and, in combination with the increased antioxidant enzyme activity, conferred tolerance to drought stress in this species.

Molecular characterization of cytosolic cysteine synthase in Mimosa pudica.

In the cysteine and mimosine biosynthesis process, O-acetyl-L-serine (OAS) is the common substrate. In the presence of O-acetylserine (thiol) lyase (OASTL, cysteine synthase) the reaction of OAS with sulfide produces cysteine, while with 3-hydroxy-4-pyridone (3H4P) produces mimosine. The enzyme OASTL can either catalyze Cys synthesis or both Cys and mimosine. A cDNA for cytosolic OASTL was cloned from M. pudica for the first time containing 1,410 bp nucleotides. The purified protein product from overexpressed bacterial cells produced Cys only, but not mimosine, indicating it is Cys specific. Kinetic studies revealed that pH and temperature optima for Cys production were 6.5 and 50 °C, respectively. The measured Km, Kcat, and Kcat Km-1 values were 159 ± 21 µM, 33.56 s-1, and 211.07 mM-1s-1 for OAS and 252 ± 25 µM, 32.99 s-1, and 130.91 mM-1s-1 for Na2S according to the in vitro Cys assay. The Cy-OASTL of Mimosa pudica is specific to Cys production, although it contains sensory roles in sulfur assimilation and the reduction network in the intracellular environment of M. pudica.

Characterization of bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus bovis J2 40-2 isolated from traditional fermented milk 'Dahi'.

A bacteriocin-producing strain Streptococcus bovis J2 40-2 was isolated from traditional fermented milk 'Dahi' in Bangladesh. Despite its narrow antimicrobial spectrum, it showed strong antimicrobial activity against extremely challenging and problematic organisms in foods, such as Listeria monocytogenes. Bacteriocin was sensitive to several proteolytic enzymes and showed antimicrobial activity over a wide pH range of 2.0-10.0. It was stable when heated to 110 degrees C for 20 min, but lost 25% of its activity when heated to 121 degrees C for 15 or 20 min. Optimum bacteriocin production (5600 AU/mL) was achieved when the strain was cultured at 37 degrees C for 24 h in MRS medium rather than in TYLG, GM17, or skim milk medium. Bacteriocin was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation (80% saturation), dialysis (cut-off MW: 3500) and gel filtration chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that bacteriocin had a molecular weight of approximately 4.5 kDa.