Effects of integrated weed management practices on the performance of boro rice cultivars

An experiment was conducted during the period from November 2016 through May 2017 to evaluate the effect of integrated weed management practices on weed suppression and on the performance of boro rice cultivars. The experiment consisted of two cultivars viz., BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29 along with eight different weed management practices. Cultivar did not exert any significant effect on weed density and dry weight. Integrated weed management practices exerted significant effect on weed density and dry weight. The highest weed dry weight was observed in no weeding treatment and lowest one was recorded in application of pre-emergence herbicide followed by one hand weeding at 35 DAT. BRRI dhan28 × no weeding treatment produced the highest weed dry weight and BRRI dhan28 × application of pre-emergence herbicide followed by one HW produced the lowest weed dry weight at different DATs. BRRI dhan28 produced higher grain and straw yields than BRRI dhan29. The highest grain yield was obtained from application of pre-emergence herbicide followed by one hand weeding at 35 DAT. BRRI dhan28 × application of pre-emergence herbicide followed by one HW at 35 DAT produced the highest grain yield and the lowest grain yield was resulted from BRRI dhan28 × no weeding treatment. From the study it may be concluded that BRRI dhan28 × application of pre-emergence herbicide followed by one HW at 35 DAT may be recommended for controlling weeds effectively and for getting the highest grain yield in boro rice

Design and Implementation of Automated Ankle Foot Orthosis for Foot Drop Patients Using Gait Cycle EMG Analysis

Foot drop is known as gait abnormality in which the dropping of the forefoot happens due to the weakness of Tibialis Anterior Muscle for the damage of the common fibular nerve in the anterior portion of the lower leg. In this research, those patients are considered who have foot drop for Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a peripheral nerve disorder for which bilateral foot drop happens to the patients. So, the aim of this research is to develop an automated Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) which will aid the GBS patients in their gait cycle while walking. For the development of this AFO, an EMG analysis has been conducted on both normal people (20 persons, Male 20-45 years) and GBS patients (10 patients, Male 20-45 years) and compared to find out the deviation of the patient’s one from the normal people. The findings of the EMG study show that the stance phase of the gait cycle is not affected by the GBS as correlation coefficient values are in between 0.95 to 1 where the swing phase very much deviates from the normal pattern as the coefficient values are in between 0.6 to 0.7 as well as short swing phase and no heel strike during walking. Considering these, automated AFO has been developed and implemented to test the feasibility and effectiveness on patients. The experimental results show that the effect of GBS on swing phase can be lessened as the value of correlation coefficient increases to 0.85 to 0.9 with long swing phase and proper heel strike on terminal swing phase

Financial Reforms in the Banking Sector of Bangladesh- An Evaluative Study

The aim of this study is to summarize the major reforms undertaken in the banking industry of Bangladesh from 1971 to 2015. The Financial Sector Reform is a continuous process. It comprises policy reforms and basic institutional changes in the status and their respective goals. Although Bangladesh became independent in 1971, the financial reform process in our economy started since early 80s with privatization of NCBs and allowing private sector banks and major changes have been brought about in policy areas with our own initiative and also under the surveillance and supervisory guidance of IMF and World Bank. The study suggests some policy implication like Implementing Basel III, Ensuring the optimum utilization of fund, Keeping additional capital and the like

Quality Assessment of Shoe Leather Based on the Properties of Strength and Comfort, Collected from Different Footwear and Leather Industries in Bangladesh

Based on the environmental condition, a shoe manufactured with different suitable materials has to provide optimum comfort and strength features by using high-quality leather parts. The aim of the study is to evaluate the quality of the shoe upper leather in Bangladesh. Ten different types of shoe leather, made from cow hides and goat skins, were collected from different footwear and leather industries in Bangladesh. The research was carried out by using approved methods of analysis as per the International Union of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists’ official methods for physical and chemical analysis. Physical and chemical properties, which were studied three times for each of the samples, were tensile strength, percentage of elongation, tearing strength, grain crack resistance, water vapor permeability, flexing endurance, scuff resistance, perspiration fastness, color rub fastness, bond strength of the finish film, the pH, moisture content, chromic oxide content and fat content, respectively. From the study, it has been revealed that samples 02 and 08 were completely unacceptable, samples 04, 05 and 07 were moderately acceptable, and the remaining samples, 01, 03, 06, 09 and 10, were strongly acceptable on the basis of the ISO standard for shoe leather. To get the better quality, the above mentioned tests should be improved, thus the demand and the value of shoe leather, as well as footwear, will be increased and the rejection rate will be decreased gradually

Single feed circularly polarized crescent-cut and extended corner square microstrip antennas for wireless biotelemetry

In this paper, the development of two novel circularly polarized microstrip antennas is thoroughly explained. These antennas are fed by coaxial feeding technique. One of the primary objectives of the proposed work is to tune the antennas to work in ISM band. This frequency band refers to the internationally recognized radio frequency bandwidth which is to be used explicitly for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical applications. Therefore, these antennas would be suitable to use in the field of wireless biotelemetry. Two new antenna design techniques have been introduced to produce circular polarization, and details of these schemes are described. The proposed microstrip antennas are designed and simulated on Advanced Design System (ADS) software. The return loss of the proposed crescent-cut antenna is -19.3 dB at the operating frequency. The extended corner antenna has the return loss of -29.3 dB at the tuned frequency. The simulation results are also presented and discussed

Dry matter and nutrient partitioning of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) varieties grown on sandy bris soil

Dry matter and nutrient partitioning of different kenaf varieties grown on sandy Beach Ridges Interspersed with Swales (BRIS) soils were investigated. The experiment was conducted under a shade house condition. Five kenaf varieties, V36, G4, KK60, HC2 and HC95 were grown in pots, replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. Plants were partitioned into roots, stems, and leaves and the dry weights were recorded at harvesting time. The dry matter accumulation differed significantly among varieties. Total biomasses for the different varieties ranged from 56.19g to 63.33g. Stem accounted for the greatest proportion of dry matter (63.98%), followed by root (18.99%). The proportion of the dry matter accumulation in stem was highest (64.28%) in HC2, followed by V36 (64.04%). The average dry matters were 76.83% and 20.56%. in stems and leaves, respectively. The proportion of the macro- and micronutrients in kenaf parts differed significantly among varieties. Nitrogen content had the highest proportion (27.54 to 28.04%) in leaves and lowest (8.06 to 8.24%) in stem, which followed by K, Ca, P and Mg. Most of the kenaf varieties showed variation in nutrient use efficiency (NUE), respect to the measured nutrient elements. The NUE values of < 1.0 g dry matter mg-1nutrient were observed for macronutrients, whereas higher NUE values obtained for micronutrients. Total nutrient accumulation in the plant components differed among the kenaf varieties. Partitioning of dry matter and nutrients in kenaf provides a means to select better varieties and makes it possible to grow kenaf on BRIS soil using better fertilizer program

Improved Solar Photovoltaic Array Model with FLC Based Maximum Power Point Tracking

This paper presents an improved model of solar photovoltaic (PV) array along with the implementation of fuzzy logic as maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The proposed PV array behavioral model is more accurate and with reduced complexity though considered discrete components. The PV array model was well verified by considering the effect of change of environmental conditions, mainly intensity of solar irradiation (insolation) and temperature. The model was tested by feed a single phase inverter. MPPT control the operating voltage of  PV arrays in order to maximize their power output as a result maximize the array efficiency and minimize  the overall system cost. Using a Fuzzy logic based algorithm, the duty cycle of the converter inserted between source and load is adjusted continuously to track the MPP and compared with the conventional perturb and observed (P&amp;O) method for changing environmental conditions. It was found that the Fuzzy logic based method can track the MPP more precisely and rapidly than the conventional one. In P&amp;O method, if step size of input variable is very small, the accuracy in tracking MPP is sufficient but tracking speed becomes too slow. On the other hand if the step size is increased to imitate the rapidly changing weather conditions, accuracy deteriorates and unexpected results occur due to oscillation around a mean point although tracking speed increased. But in the case of proposed FLC whatever the step size of input variable it best suited to track MPP continuously and accurately. The obtained simulation results validate the competent of the solar PV array model as well as the fuzzy controller.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v2i6.132

Growth, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content and nutrient partitioning of kenaf as influenced by different levels of carbon

The effects of carbon (C) levels on growth, photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and nutrient partitioning on five kenaf varieties were investigated. Kenaf plants were grown in pots containing sandy beach ridges interspersed with swales (BRIS) soil. Organic carbon at levels of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 t ha−1, were applied to the pots. The results showed that plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, leaf area, chlorophyll content and photosynthesis rate increased with an increase in carbon levels up to 20 t ha−1but decreased with additional increase in carbon levels. The proportion of nitrogen in leaves was minimum at 0 and maximum at 20 t ha−1carbon levels. In stem and roots, proportion of nitrogen (N) decreased after 10 t ha−1carbon, while in leaves phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) increased after 20 t ha−1. Variety HC2 showed maximum N, P, and K in leaves and total nutrient content

Nitrogen management in boro rice using chlorophyll meter (SPAD) under sub-tropical condition

Nitrogen deficiency in rice has so far received limited attention in Bangladesh. Balanced fertilization is a pre-requisite for better rice production and it is necessary to determine optimum combination of fertilizer dose and varieties. The field experiment was carried out during the period from November 2020 to May 2021 at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh to study the SPAD value and yield performance of boro rice varieties at different nitrogen levels. The experiment comprised of four boro rice varieties viz., BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan58, BRRI dhan74, BRRI dhan81 and four level of nitrogenous fertilizers viz. 50 kg N ha-1, 100 kg N ha-1, 150 kg N ha-1 and 200kg N ha-1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. SPAD value ranged from 34.01 to 42.12 for variety and 37.81 to 42.15 for nitrogen application, while leaf nitrogen ranged from 2.98 to 3.67 % for variety and 2.94 to 3.48%.&nbsp; The yield contributing parameter varied significantly with variety and nitrogen rate. The highest grain yield (6.13 t ha-1) was found in BRRI dhan58 and the lowest (3.89 t ha-1) was observed in BRRI dhan28. In terms of fertilizer management, the highest grain yield (5.35 t ha-1) was obtained due to the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and the lowest grain yield (4.72 t ha-1) was recorded from50 kg N ha-1. The interactive effect of variety and fertilizer application exerted that the yield of BRRI dhan58 with 150 kg N ha-1 was the highest (6.59 tha-1) and the lowest performance (3.42 tha-1) in grain yield was found in BRRI dhan28 with 50 kg N ha-1. Thus, the variety BRRI dhan58 with 150 kg N ha-1 was superior for attaining the highest yield

Statistical Damage Localization with Stochastic Load Vectors Using Multiple Mode Sets

International audienceThe Stochastic Dynamic Damage Locating Vector (SDDLV) method is an output-only damage localiza-tion method based on both a Finite Element (FE) model of the structure and modal parameters estimated from output-only measurements in the damage and reference states of the system. A vector is obtained in the null space of the changes in the transfer matrix computed in both states and then applied as a load vector to the model. The damage localization is related to this stress where it is close to zero. In previous works an important theoretical limitation was that the number of modes used in the computation of the transfer function could not be higher than the number of sensors located on the structure. It would be nonetheless desirable not to discard information from the identification procedure. In this paper, the SDDLV method has been extended with a joint statistical approach for multiple mode sets, overcoming this restriction on the number of modes. The new approach is validated in a numerical application, where the outcomes for multiple mode sets are compared with a single mode set. From these results, it can be seen that the success rate of finding the correct damage localization is increased when using multiple mode sets instead of a single mode set