生化学ネットワークの確率論的ダイナミクスのシミュレーションと理論解析

九州工業大学博士学位論文（要旨）学位記番号：情工博甲第330号 学位授与年月日：平成29年9月22

Assessing Water Charges under Changing Institutional Irrigation Management in Pakistan: A Methodological Framework

The Government of Pakistan has opted for institutional reforms for canal irrigation system of the country with a view to undertaking efficient operation and maintenance of the system and improving cost recovery. In the new reforms, the Farmers’ Organisations will manage distributaries and minors and pay the cost of upstream water in full. The complex hierarchy of the system poses serious challenges for working out the cost of water delivery for various channels. The paper presents a methodological framework for assessing the recoverable O&M costs from the farmers benefiting from an irrigation network. Hakra 4-R Distributary in the Eastern Sadiqia Canal serves as an illustration. The methodology shows how the beneficiary farmers can share the costs of the system. Simple methods are provided for working out water rates on the basis of volume of water received, commanded area, and duration of the irrigation turn. Out of the three methods, the area-based and time-based water rates have comparative advantage over the volumetric water rates owing to the resource endowments of the farmers

Analysis of a U.S. Fashion Brand\u27s Outsourcing from Bangladesh: Problems and Proposed Solution

This research focused on exploring the role of apparel outsourcing from Bangladesh for the U.S. and the ways to reduce the effect of inefficiency factors to make this outsourcing long-term sustainable. In this research, a sequential mixed case study was conducted. Gary Teng and Jaramillo\u27s (2005) supplier evaluation model was used to evaluate the outsourcing performance of Bangladeshi and Vietnamese suppliers for a U.S. fashion brand (i.e., Phillips Van-Heusen (PVH). The supplier evaluation model has 20 factors under five clusters (i.e., delivery, flexibility, cost, quality & reliability). On the other part of the research, in-depth interviews were taken from three buyers in the Bangladeshi local office of PVH and three Bangladeshi suppliers from three different companies. The supplier evaluation scores revealed that the Bangladeshi supplier had a very competitive position compared to its competitor (Vietnamese supplier). Bangladesh scored 0.410 while Vietnam scored 0.307 out of 1.0. In terms of the five clusters, Bangladesh (0.106) has a great advantage in the cost cluster over Vietnam (0.281). Bangladesh (0.204) is also more advanced in the quality cluster than Vietnam (0.192). For the remaining three clusters, Vietnam has marginal advancement than Bangladesh. Specifically, the Bangladeshi supplier performed higher than expected in the capacity, negotiability, continuous improvement, and certification factors. The Bangladeshi supplier just met the buyer\u27s expectations in information sharing, customization, customer service, feeling of trust, and country\u27s political situation factors. This research gives an overview of the apparel business practice in Bangladesh to the unexplored part of the U.S. fashion industry

CONSCIOUS USE OF CODE-SWITCHING TO IMPROVE FLUENCY IN SPOKEN ENGLISH OF BANGLADESHI STUDENTS

Purpose: Present-day English language teaching in Bangladesh, despite adopting Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), focuses more on accuracy (i.e. grammar) than fluency which is proved as a weak strategy. Fluency acquisition in speaking includes pronunciation, but focusing on pronunciation first, slows down the process of becoming a fluent speaker. Methodology: As code-switching exists at the tertiary level in Bangladesh and because of the tremendous fascination of Bangladeshi students towards Bengali, code-switching can be utilized as a tool to improve fluency in spoken English. Thus, this research proposes an alternative to existing approaches. Result: Once desired fluency is achieved; grammar and pronunciation will be emphasized respectively to attain proper speaking skills. The success of this process can be studied in three phases. In the first phase, it examines whether allowing code-switching while speaking English helps Bengali students achieve fluency or not. Applications: This research can be used for universities, teachers, and students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of the Conscious Use of Code-Switching to Improve Fluency in Spoken English of Bangladeshi Students is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner

COVID-19 infection and vaccine status in patients with chronic kidney diseases

Background: The COVID-19 virus has had a great effect globally, changing many commonalities. The incidence of COVID-19 had weakened the immune system, leading to more severe outcomes of various common diseases. Since its early development, the vaccination of COVID-19 has also had mixed responses. The aim of the study was to observe the incidence rate of COVID-19 infection and vaccination status among chronic kidney disease patients. Methods: In this study 50 (27 male and 23 female) adult skulls were investigated to determine the type of asterion, its distance from important bony landmarks and also the nearby venous sinuses were measured. Results: Majority (41.61%) of the participants had been between the ages of 41-55 years old, and 64.84% male prevalence was observed. 60.65% of the participants had been from rural areas. A large portion of the participants (38.06%) did not have any comorbidities, while multiple comorbidities were present among many of the remaining participants. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity, observed in 56.45% of the participants. 72.26% of the present study participants had been asymptomatic, while 13.23% had a fever as their symptom of COVID-19. COVID-19 test was done on 81 patients, among whom 64 had tested positive. Among the total 310 participants, 29.03% had not received any vaccinations, while 14.19% had received only 1st dose of vaccination, 47.2% had received up to their 2nd dose, and 9.35% had received their booster dose. Conclusions: The present study observed a low incidence rate of COVID-19 positive patients among those affected by chronic kidney disease. However, the study also observed a significant positive relation between COVID-19 positive patients and the need for additional medical support, leading to the conclusion that COVID-19 can significantly affect the severity of CKD.

Pattern of Pharmacotherapy of Patients Having Ischemic Heart Disease at a Specialized Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A Survey Based Study on Patients Discharged from Hospital

Aims: Study on pharmacotherapeutic pattern on cardiovascular patients is rarely done. Patient’s demography, drug usage and its clinical outcome are the basis for the assessment of cardiac treatment. The aim of this study to analyze the demography of patients of ischemic heart disease along with drug usage and current trends of practice in Bangladesh. Methods: This study was carried out over a period of two months at different units of NICVD, situated at Dhaka, Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire was prepared to collect necessary data from patients. Descriptive statistics was used to represent the data. Results: A total 363 discharged patients were interviewed followed by the verification of their discharge report and other medical documents to obtain necessary information. Out of 363 patients, frequency of male patients were high (74.66%, N= 271) than female patients (25.34%, N=92). There is a trends of ischemic heart disease development after 40 years of age and found significant in this study (P< 0.05). In this study, 83.19% of total patients were above 40 years of age. We found a significant number of patients also had diabetes, asthma and chronic kidney disease. Treatment approach of ischemic heart disease includes pharmacotherapy, revascularization and percutaneous coronary intervention. 48 patients (13.22%) out of 363 went for revascularization and percutaneous coronary intervention was done to 25 patients (6.89%). The goal of Pharmacotherapy is to reduce blood cholesterol level, prevention of further platelet aggregation, reduction of angina and control of heart rate. In our study, we found that, statins, anti platelet and anti angina/anti ischemic drugs are core in the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Beta blocker, ACE inhibitor or ARB, CCB is commonly added to standard therapy to reduce mortality and for better therapeutic outcome. Among statins, the frequency of use of atorvastatin (87.93%), combination of clopidogrel and aspirin (73.90%) among anti platelet agents, combination of trimetazidine and nitroglycerine (61.56%) among anti angina/anti ischemic agents were highest. In our study, we found that bisoprolol was most commonly prescribed by the physicians among other beta blockers. Conclusion: The outcome of this study will be helpful for young professionals, general physicians and other professionals involved in the health care setting for the rational use of drugs and to formulate effective strategy for the management of ischemic heart disease

A census of the warm-core rings of the Gulf Stream: 1980-2017

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 125(8), (2020): e2019JC016033, doi:10.1029/2019JC016033.A census of Gulf Stream (GS) warm‐core rings (WCRs) is presented based on 38 years (1980–2017) of data. The census documents formation and demise times and locations, and formation size for all 961 WCRs formed in the study period that live for a week or more. A clear regime shift was observed around the Year 2000 and was reported by a subset of authors (Gangopadhyay et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48661-9). The WCR formation over the whole region (75–55°W) increased from an average of 18 per year during Regime 1 (1980–1999) to 33 per year during Regime 2 (2000–2017). For geographic analysis formation locations were grouped in four 5° zones between 75°W and 55°W. Seasonally, WCR formations show a significant summer maxima and winter minima, a pattern that is consistent through all zones and both temporal regimes. The lifespan and size distribution show progressively more rings with higher longevity and greater size when formed to the east of 70°W. The average lifespan of the WCRs in all four zones decreased by 20–40% depending on zones and/or seasons from Regime 1 to Regime 2, while the size distribution remained unchanged across regimes. The ring footprint index, a first‐order signature of impact of the WCRs on the slope, increased significantly (26–90%) for all zones from Regime 1 to Regime 2, with the highest percent increase in Zone 2 (70–65°W). This observational study establishes critical statistical and dynamical benchmarks for validating numerical models and highlights the need for further dynamical understanding of the GS‐ring formation processes.The authors acknowledge financial support from NOAA (NA11NOS0120038), NSF (OCE‐0815679 and OCE‐1851242), and SMAST and UMass Dartmouth. G. G. was supported by NSF under Grant OCE‐1657853 as well as a Senior Scientist Chair from WHOI. We have benefitted from many discussions on Gulf Stream and WCR with Magdalena Andres, Andre Schmidt, Paula Fratantoni, Jon Hare, Wendell Brown, Kathy Donohue, Tom Rossby, Peter Cornillon, and Randy Watts.2020-12-2

Low-Cost Aquifer Storage and Recovery: Implications for Improving Drinking Water Access for Rural Communities in Coastal Bangladesh

Fresh water resources are scarce in rural communities in the southern deltaic plains of Bangladesh where both shallow and deep groundwater is frequently brackish, and fresh water ponds have been increasingly salinized by inundation during storm surges and brackish-water aquaculture. Low-cost aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) schemes were constructed at 13 villages in three coastal districts by developing storage in shallow confined fine to medium sand aquifers overlain by variable thicknesses of silt and clay. A typical ASR scheme consisted of a double-chambered graded sand filtration tank with a volume of 19.5  m3 that feeds filtered pond water to four to six large diameter (d=30.5 or 56 cm) infiltration wells through PVC pipes fitted with stop valves and flow meters. The infiltration wells were completed at 18–31 m below ground and filled with well-sorted gravel capped with a thin layer of fine sand that acts as a second stage filter. Infiltration rates at 13 sites averaged 3  m3/day (range: 3–6  m3/day) over one year of operation. At 11 sites where water was abstracted, the recovery rate ranged from 5 to 40%. The source pond source water frequently had turbidity values of ≥100  NTU. After sand filtration, the turbidity is typically 5 NTU. Despite this, clogging management involving frequent (monthly to weekly) manual washing to remove fine materials deposited in the sand filtration tank and the infiltration wells is found to be necessary and effective, with post-manual-washing operational infiltration rates restored to annual average values. E. coli counts in recovered water are greatly reduced compared to raw pond water, although E. coli is still detected in about half of the samples. Arsenic in recovered water was detected to be at level of > 100  μg/L repeatedly at three sites, suggesting that As risks must be carefully managed and require further investigation

Characterization of PECVD Silicon Nitride Photonic Components at 532 and 900 nm Wavelength

Low temperature PECVD silicon nitride photonic waveguides have been fabricated by both electron beam lithography and 200 mm DUV lithography. Propagation losses and bend losses were both measured at 532 and 900 nm wavelength, revealing sub 1dB/cm propagation losses for cladded waveguides at both wavelengths for single mode operation. Without cladding, propagation losses were measured to be in the 1-3 dB range for 532 nm and remain below 1 dB/cm for 900 nm for single mode waveguides. Bend losses were measured for 532 nm and were well below 0.1 dB per 90 degree bend for radii larger than 10 mu m