Fourier transform for functions of bicomplex variables

This paper examines the existence and region of convergence of Fourier transform of the functions of bicomplex variables with the help of projection on its idempotent components as auxiliary complex planes. Several basic properties of this bicomplex version of Fourier transform are examined.Comment: 1 figur

Hydraulic analysis of ice-covered river flow

For a substantial portion of the year many Canadian rivers are frozen. River ice is known to have an important impact on the water cycle and hydraulic engineering infrastructures. From the hydraulics perspective, the formation of an ice cover on the river surface causes an increase in resistance to flow and therefore a decrease in discharge to downstream. In the subject area of ice covered river hydraulics, there have been limited studies. In this study we have quantified the differences in flow velocity, discharge and flow energy distributions between conditions with and without the ice cover. We have also estimated the roughness of the ice cover underside using the boundary layer theory. Based on our flow analysis of a larger number of ice-covered rivers in Canada, the boundary layer profiles beneath the ice cover and above the channel bed are rarely symmetric, i.e. the dynamic effect of the ice cover and that of the channel bed differ. Many of the observed velocity profiles are too complicated to be described using simple analytical functions. The presence of the ice cover can reduce the hydraulic radius of a cross section by as much as 46% and flow discharge by 60%, in comparisons to the corresponding values associated with open channel conditions. Under ice covered conditions the flow is very sensitive to the friction parameter. For a given river cross section, the difference in flow velocities with and without an ice cover is between 39% and 60

A Codebook Compression Method for Vector Quantization Algorithm

This study introduces a novel approach to enhance the compression ratio of the vector quantization (VQ) algorithm by specifically targeting the compression of its codebook. The VQ algorithm typically generates an index matrix and a codebook to represent compressed images. The proposed method focuses on reducing the size of the codebook, which comprises N codewords, each with elements quantized into four levels. Each 8-bit element in a codeword is compressed to 2-bits, and the encoded codeword is accompanied by the minimum value and a threshold value in the codebook. Experimental results on benchmark color images, such as baboon, airplane, Lena, and others, demonstrate a significant reduction of 62.50% in the size of the VQ codebook

Research prioritisation on prevention and management of preterm birth in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a special focus on Bangladesh using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method

Background Fifteen million babies are born preterm globally each year, with 81% occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of newborn deaths and significantly impact health, quality of life, and costs of health services. Improving outcomes for newborns and their families requires prioritising research for developing practical, scalable solutions, especially in low-resource settings such as Bangladesh. We aimed to identify research priorities related to preventing and managing preterm birth in LMICs for 2021-2030, with a special focus on Bangladesh. Methods We adopted the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method to set research priorities for preventing and managing preterm birth. Seventy-six experts submitted 490 research questions online, which we collated into 95 unique questions and sent for scoring to all experts. A hundred and nine experts scored the questions using five pre-selected criteria: answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, maximum potential for burden reduction, and effect on equity. We calculated weighted and unweighted research priority scores and average expert agreement to generate a list of top-ranked research questions for LMICs and Bangladesh. Results Health systems and policy research dominated the top 20 identified priorities for LMICs, such as understanding and improving uptake of the facility and community-based Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), promoting breastfeeding, improving referral and transport networks, evaluating the impact of the use of skilled attendants, quality improvement activities, and exploring barriers to antenatal steroid use. Several of the top 20 questions also focused on screening high-risk women or the general population of women, understanding the causes of preterm birth, or managing preterm babies with illnesses (jaundice, sepsis and retinopathy of prematurity). There was a high overlap between research priorities in LMICs and Bangladesh. Conclusions This exercise, aimed at identifying priorities for preterm birth prevention and management research in LMICs, especially in Bangladesh, found research on improving the care of preterm babies to be more important in reducing the burden of preterm birth and accelerating the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3 target of newborn deaths, by 2030

Implementation of eggshell extracted calcium acetate in biocementation via soybean urease

Biocementaion, a promising soil improvement technique, mostly utilizes calcium chloride (CaCl2) as its calcium source. However, using CaCl2 poses a critical environmental problem of producing ammonium chloride as a by-product. Alternatively, when calcium acetate (Ca(CH3COO)2) is used as the calcium source, the production of ammonium chloride during biocementation can be reduced. Ca(CH3COO)2 can be easily derived from waste eggshells. Nevertheless, such research has been conducted only with Microbial Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) to date. This paper aims to study the implementation of eggshell Ca(CH3COO)2 in the more effective biocementation approach: Enzyme Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) via soybean urease. For this study, EICP solutions of varying molar ratios and concentrations were studied for their precipitation efficiency and reinforcement effect on poorly graded sandy soil. The findings showed that the EICP solution composition of 1:1 molar ratio between Ca(CH3COO)2 and urea, added with 50 g/L soybean solution reached the maximum precipitation efficiency. It also produced the highest 7-day UCS of 371 kPa at a calcium carbonate content of 0.40%. Furthermore, the eggshell-soybean EICP produced 8.5% higher UCS than CaCl2-soybean EICP despite having similar calcium carbonate content

Exploring Facility Management (7D) with BIM Considering Quality and Performance Assessment Models

The fields of Construction Management are so vast these days that it enriched with so many elements contemplate to 7D of BIM (Building Information Modeling). Facility Management holds the 7D position to understand and acquire proper knowledge about the quality and performance of a building structure. The purpose of this paper is to identify research gaps in the field of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Facility Management (FM) business, as well as practical issues that facility management professionals face while using BIM. The key to successful BIM deployment in the FM business is to improve communication among various stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle. However, there is still some debate over the value of FM in the construction business. To put it another way, construction does not comprehend FM. There are also concerns about interoperability and data exchange. The Quality of information is connected with PIM and AIM with various IQ perspectives. It is determined that BIM-based FM procedures have the potential to change not just the perspective of the FM sector, but also the perspective of the whole industry, as they are based on a collaborative approach to the delivery of intelligent facilities

Productivity and Profitability of Jackfruit-Eggplant Agroforestry System in the Terrace Ecosystem of Bangladesh

Multistoried agroforestry systems as a form of jackfruit-eggplant based is increasingly recognized as a promising option to counteract the catastrophic effects of climate change through providing multifaceted benefits. Unfortunately, farmers of Bangladesh did not manage their jackfruit orchard in a scientific manner. Therefore, the present study was aimed to assess the productivity and profitability of jackfruit-eggplant based agroforestry system after modification from a traditional jackfruit orchard during the period of July 2012 to December 2013. Five treatments covering four orientations of jackfruit tree and an open field was used as a control treatment. To observe the growth and economic performance of the system; soil moisture and temperature, DBH, number of fruits per tree, fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, total yield, BCR, and LER were calculated following different established methods. The yield of jackfruit dramatically increased by 81% in the agroforestry system in compared to sole cropping, while eggplant shows inverse trend. Soil moisture was high in agroforestry system than that of control plot while soil temperature shows reverse pattern. Indeed, agroforestry system had some negative effects on growth performance of understorey crops. Despite, net return and BCR from jackfruit based agroforestry system were 5.58 lakh and 4.56, which was 66 and 45%, respectively higher than sole cropping systems. The LER of jackfruit-eggplant based agroforestry system was 2.17. Considering the main findings, we can elucidate that jackfruit orchards can be transformed to agroforestry system for maximizing production, generating income and conserving environment

KNOWLEDGE OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS IN A DIABETIC POPULATION

This cross-sectional, questionnaire based descriptive study was carried out to evaluate the individual knowledge of diabetic complications in the diabetic patients and also to find the association of knowledge towards educational status and other socio-demographic profiles. A total 184 patients were included in this study. In this study, we found 91 subjects (48.9%) knew that heart disease was the most important diabetic complication, if blood glucose level wasn’t controlled properly followed by cerebrovascular disease 27(14.7%), renal disease 24(13%) and eye diseases 9(4.9%). Unfortunately, awareness about frequency of diabetic foot disease, peripheral neurological problems, occurrence of sudden death were found in only 1(0.5%) cases. Awarness about other complications (miscellaneous) was 12(6.5%) and 8(4.3%) didn’t know any of the above mentioned complications. Each subject was also asked whether they were apprehensive about the dreaded diabetic complications or not. Statistical difference wasn’t observed in any of the parameter (i.e., individual education, an area of residence, monthly income, occupations, family history of individual) when compared with the degree of apprehension. None of the parameters was statistically significant. Further expansion of diabetic education programs like using mass media and involving national curriculum of education can improve self-regulatory awareness of diabetic complications which may reduce the morbidity and mortality of diabetic patients. Key words: diabetic complication, apprehension

Neurological Manifestations in Leprosy: A Study in Tribal Community of Hill Tracts

Background: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease having major burden on humans over thousands of years. If untreated, it results in permanent damage to various systems and organs. So we designed this study to evaluate the neurological complications in early stage in adult leprosy patients. Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the pattern of neurological manifestations among adult leprosy patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study on 85 adult tribal leprosy patients was conducted in a district level health care facility from January to December 2014 using simple, direct, standardized questionnaire including history and neurological examinations. Results: The commonest age group affected was 18–30 years (62.4%). Male group was predominant (68.2%). Majority cases (66%) had multibacillary leprosy. At first visit 72.7% cases with neurological findings could not be diagnosed correctly by primary health care personnel. More than six months were required for correct diagnosis in 61.2% cases. Numbness was the commonest (74.5%) neurological symptom. In upper limb, motor findings were predominant with wasting in 50.9% cases. In lower limb, sensory findings were predominant with stock pattern sensory impairment being the commonest (56.4%). Ulnar nerve was the commonest peripheral nerve to enlarge with tenderness. Facial nerve was the commonest cranial nerve involved. All cases with multiple cranial nerves involvement were of multibacillary type. Due to physical disability 92.7% cases lost their jobs. Conclusion: In this study neurological involvement was found associated with severe disability