In quest of the better mobile broadband solution for South Asia taking WiMAX and LTE into consideration

Internet generation is growing accustomed to having broadband access wherever they go and not just at home or in the office, which turns mobile broadband into a reality. This paper aims to look for a suitable mobile broadband solution in the South Asian region through comparative analysis in various perspectives. Both WiMAX and LTE are 4G technologies designed to move data rather than voice having IP networks based on OFDM technology. Proving competency in various significant aspects WiMAX and LTE already have made a strong position in telecommunication industry. Again, because of certain similarities in technology; they aren’t like technological rivals as of GSM and CDMA. But still they are treated as opponents and viewed as a major threat in case of the flourishing of each other. Such view point is surely not conducive for getting the best out of them. In this paper various aspects and applications of WiMAX and LTE for deployment have been analyzed. South Asia being the residence of an enormous number of people presents an exciting opportunity for mobile operators, developers and internet service providers. So, every consideration that has been made here also correlates successfully with south Asia i.e. how mass people of this region may be benefited from it. As a result, it might be regarded as a good source in case of making major BWA deployment decisions in this region. Besides these, it also opens the path for further research and thinking in this issue

Conservation agriculture for rice-based intensive cropping by smallholders in the Eastern Gangetic Plain

We review the recent development of Conservation Agriculture (CA) for rice-based smallholder farms in the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) and the underpinning research on agronomy, weed control, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions being tested to accelerate its adoption in Bangladesh. The studies are based mostly on minimum soil disturbance planting in strip planting (SP) mode, using the Versatile Multi-crop Planter (VMP), powered by a two-wheel tractor (2WT). One-pass SP with the VMP decreased fuel costs for crop establishment by up to 85% and labour requirements by up to 50%. We developed strip-based non-puddled rice (Oryza sativa) transplanting (NPT) in minimally-disturbed soil and found that rice grain yield increased (by up to 12%) in longer-term practice of CA. On farms, 75% of NPT crops increased gross margin. For non-rice crops, relative yield increases ranged from 28% for lentil (Lens culinaris) to 6% for wheat (Triticum aestivum) on farms that adopted CA planting. Equivalent profit increases were from 47% for lentil to 560% for mustard (Brassica juncea). Moreover, VMP and CA adopting farms saved 34% of labour costs and lowered total cost by up to 10% for production of lentil, mustard, maize (Zea mays) and wheat. Effective weed control was obtained from the use of a range of pre-emergent and post-emergence herbicides and retention of increased crop residue. In summary, a substantial body of research has demonstrated the benefits of CA and mechanized planting for cost savings, yield increases in many cases, increased profit in most cases and substantial labour saving. Improvement in soil quality has been demonstrated in long-term experiments together with reduced greenhouse gas emissions

Simulation-based model for handling iteration and feedback loop in design

Proceedings of IGLC17: 17th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction511-52

Reduced duration of the design projects with the concept of early estimation of design tasks

Proceedings of IGLC16: 16th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction485-49

Influence of thermal radiation on contaminated air and water flow past a vertical wavy frustum of a cone

This paper aims to present detailed numerical solutions of natural convection flow of contaminated air and water along the vertical wavy frustum of a cone. This investigation is particularly conducted to characterize the flow behavior of spherical particles suspended in radiating Newtonian liquids. The governing equations are converted into dimensionless equations by using a set of suitable continuous transformations and solved through the implicit finite difference method. Comprehensive flow formations of the gas and particle phases are given with the aim to predict the enhancement of heat transport across the heated wavy frustum cone. It is recorded that the air-metal mixture can promote the rate of heat transfer drastically whereas water-metal mixture contributes a little in this regard

Effect of salt stress on growth of sorghum germplasms at vegetative stage

Soil salinity is an increasing problem in the world and main obstacle to agricultural productivity especially in areas where irrigation is necessary. It adversely affects plant growth and development. Adoption of salt tolerant variety is more important here and so screening of salt tolerant germplasms is essential. For this reason, a germination test under salinity and a hydroponic experiment were conducted at Plant Physiology Laboratory, Department of Crop Botany, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to investigate the effect of NaCl on germination, morphological characters and growth of sorghum seedlings. The experiment comprised of two levels of NaCl concentration viz. Control (without NaCl and EC 1.36 dSm−1 in hydroponic culture) and 80 mM NaCl and five sorghum germplasms viz. BD 700, BD 703, BD 707, BD 710 and BD 726. There were 10 (5×2) treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Results showed that germination percentage, hypocotyls and epicotyls length, root and shoot length, leaf length, leaf sheath length, fresh and dry mass production were influenced by NaCl stress. However, among tested germplasms, BD 707 showed the best performance considering the seedlings growth, germination percentage and other parameters. BD 710 and BD 703 showed the highest sensitivity to NaCl stress based on the above parameters studied. These results suggested that sorghum is able to grow with moderate salinity

Tilapia from most of the sources in Bangladesh are safe for human consumption: A Hazard Index (HI) based study on heavy metals

The present study was conducted to determine the variations of heavy metal (Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, and Zn) bioaccumulation in edible muscles among the wild, pond-, gher- and cage-cultured tilapia, followed by risk assessment in humans caused by consumption of the contaminated fish. A total of 120 fishes from four different aquatic environments were collected, and the heavy metal levels were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The result found the highest Zn concentration in all tilapia samples; however, the Ni was below the detection limit. The average concentrations of metals were found as Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu in wild tilapia, Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu > Cd in pond-cultured tilapia, Zn > Pb > Cr > Cd in gher-cultured tilapia, and Zn > Cd > Cr > Pb > Cu in cage-cultured tilapia. The estimated daily intake (EDI) value was lower than the maximum tolerable daily intake value, and target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) for adults, adolescent, and children was < 1 for wild and cultured tilapia, indicating that tilapia is safe for human consumption. However, high HI of Pb and Cd might be alarming and need further investigation in the near future

Conformal growth of nanocrystalline CdX (X = S, Se) on mesoscopic NiO and their photoelectrochemical properties

10.1039/c3cp43613fPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics15134767-4774PPCP

Dolistna aplikacja kwasu salicylowego wpływa korzystnie na parametry wzrostu i plonowania roślin Brassica campestris rosnących w glebie zanieczyszczonej ołowiem poprzez pozytywną regulację systemu obrony antyoksydacyjne

Lead (Pb) toxicity causes a severe impact on plant growth and productivity. A protective role of salicylic acid (SA) is well known under different abiotic stress conditions. However, very little is known about the SA-induced Pb resistance mechanism. In this study, we investigated the effect of SA on mustard plants (Brassica campestris L.) under Pb-stress conditions. Plants were exposed to three levels of Pb amendment to the soil (0.25, 0.50, 1.00 mM), with or without SA (0.25 mM). Plant growth, yield attributes, and yield at harvest were reduced depending on the severity of the Pb stress. Exogenous application of SA improved plant growth and yield. Biochemical data revealed that Pb toxicity resulted in higher oxidative damage by reducing nonenzymatic antioxidants such as ascorbate and glutathione at the higher dose of Pb treatment. Antioxidant enzymes (ascorbate peroxidase – APX, monodehydroascorbate reductase – MDHAR, dehydroascorbate reductase – DHAR, glutathione reductase – GR, guaiacol peroxidase – POD, glutathione S-transferase – GST, and catalase – CAT) responses varied with the Pb doses. Both the nonenzymatic and enzymatic components of the antioxidant defense system were upregulated after application of SA, resulting in lower oxidative damage under Pb-stress conditions. Taken together, the results suggest that exogenous application of the SA mitigates Pb-induced oxidative damage and consequently results in better growth and yield in mustard plants.Toksyczność ołowiu (Pb) wywiera silny wpływ na wzrost i produktywność roślin. Ochronna rola kwasu salicylowego (SA) jest dobrze znana w warunkach różnych stresów abiotycznych. Jednak niewiele wiadomo na temat indukowanego SA mechanizmu oporności na Pb. W przeprowadzonych badaniach określiliśmy wpływ SA na rośliny gorczycy (Brassica campestris L.) w warunkach stresu wywołanego Pb. Rośliny poddano działaniu trzech poziomów Pb wprowadzonych do gleby (0,25, 0,50, 1,00 mM), z lub bez SA (0,25 mM). Wzrost, wskaźniki plonowania oraz plon roślin uległy zmniejszeniu w zależności od nasilenia stresu indukowanego Pb. Egzogenna aplikacja SA wpłynęła na poprawę wzrostu i plonowania roślin. Wyniki analiz biochemicznych wykazały, że toksyczność Pb powodowała większe uszkodzenia oksydacyjne związane z obniżeniem zawartości nieenzymatycznych antyoksydantów, takich jak askorbinian i glutation, w obecności wyższych stężeń tego metalu. Aktywność enzymów antyoksydacyjnych (peroksydazy askorbinianowej – APX, reduktazy monodehydroaskorbinianowej – MDHAR, reduktazy dehydroaskorbiniano- wej – DHAR, reduktazy glutationowej – GR, peroksydazy gwajakolowej – POD, S-transferazy glutationowej – GST i katalazy – CAT) była uzależniona od stężenia Pb. Zarówno nieenzymatyczne, jak i enzymatyczne elementy systemu obrony antyoksydacyjnej były pozytywnie regulowane po zastosowaniu SA, co powodowało mniejsze uszkodzenia oksydacyjne występujące w warunkach stresu Pb. Podsumowując, uzyskane wyniki sugerują, że egzogenna aplikacja SA łagodzi uszkodzenia oksydacyjne wywołane obecnością Pb, a w konsekwencji prowadzi do lepszego wzrostu i plonowania gorczycy w warunkach ekspozycji na różne poziomy stresu indukowanego Pb

Effects of fresh and saline water irrigation for maize in coastal areas of Bangladesh

Farmers are being encouraged to represent the conjunctive use of fresh water (FW) and saline water (SW) irrigation for the future agriculture in the coastal saline prone areas of Bangladesh where the scarcity of FW. Therefore, the effects of fresh and saline water irrigation for maize was performed on the crop performances, water use, water productivity (WP), soil salinity and scope for maize cultivation in coastal areas. The experiment was carried out at farmers’ field at two locations with six irrigation treatments and replicated thrice during 2016–2017 and 2017–2018. Results showed that the effect of FW (0.5 ≤ salinity ≤ 1.5 dS/m) at early growth stages and SW (1.5 ≤ salinity ≤ 5 dS/m) at later growth stages had insignificant difference compared to the treatment of FW irrigation. Yield slightly increased with increased number of irrigations but there was no significant differences among the treatment. WP significantly affected by irrigation frequency in both locations, decreasing greatly with increasing amount. The more changes in soil water occurred at upper layer than lower depth of soil profiles. The highest changes soil salinity (ECe) occurred at mid-February of the crop growing season compared to the beginning and later growth stages of maize in 60 cm soil profiles. The technique of fresh and saline water irrigation at different growth stages of maize in coastal regions could be an alternative irrigation scheduled and method for increasing yield and WP through establishment of maize compared to no crops at fallow lands during rabi (dry) season in the salt affected areas of Bangladesh