MICRO CLIMATIC HOUSE DESIGN: A WAY TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE? THE CASE OF GHAR KUMARPUR VILLAGE IN BANGLADESH

Doubt on global warming is over in the presence of firm scientific evidence supporting this phenomenon. There is not enough room to indefinitely explore the discourses on climate change; rather it is the time to act together in local and global scale for the common future of this planet. This, then, raises the question of what actions should be taken by the communities within their respective nation states and larger multi-national and global associations. Especially, in the case of developing countries, which are worst affected being in the forefront of global climate change, actions at the community level becomes paramount. One of the poorest nations- Bangladesh is worst hit by the recurrent floods and cyclones that are caused by increased global warming. The recent cyclone Sidr, which caused around 3,000 deaths and several million dollars of property loss, is an example of the devastating consequences of climatic change. Coastal areas of this country are in danger and highly vulnerable to cyclones and floods. This paper is based on the study carried out on the south-western coastal areas adjacent to the Sundarbans and such adjacency makes them unique in relation to dependency on resources. Prime focus of this paper is on the micro-climatic design of houses in response to frequent cyclone and the ways they should be designed in a more sustainable way, with available resources affordable to the community habitants. In the end, this paper raises some general questions about urban design and climate change.global warming, climate change, micro-climatic design, urban design

THz band multipath measurements and analysis

Abstract. The THz band is now becoming the core interest for many researchers as it offers massive bandwidth and high transmission rates. It is expected to be a solution to ongoing spectrum scarcity in the wireless communication world. Wave propagating through a channel is affected by various phenomena, especially in the case of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) condition. In this thesis work, measurement results on several NLOS propagation mechanisms such as reflection, diffraction, and penetration have been reported in the terahertz band ranging from 0.1 THz to 3 THz. Here, the primary focus is to measure the possible NLOS multipath, such as reflected, diffracted, and penetrated paths or a combination of multiple NLOS components. The goal is to evaluate and analyze the feasibility of those multipath in order to estimate the possibility to establish a communication link via such paths. The measurements have been conducted by using TeraView TeraPulse 4000, a measurement device that is based on THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). Measurements were made under various NLOS propagation scenarios with several common indoor materials. Characteristics of the measured materials have also been reported. The results have been given as a function of frequency and measurement angles. Corresponding background theories and comparisons with the measurement results have also been investigated with subsequent analysis to check the relevance of the measurement results. The idea was to find possible multipath signals after various NLOS events while traveling through a channel and behavioural changes of the transmitted signal with the change of measurement scenarios. The measurement results agreed with the corresponding theories as expected. The THz band offers overall a decent NLOS wireless communication link between the receiver and transmitter at the lower angles

First record of important biological parameters of Badis badis: A small indigenous species in Bangladesh

A total of 286 Badis badis were collected from the Sutiyahali Reservoir in Mymensingh from January to December 2022, and their sex ratios, first sexual maturity, length-weight relationships and condition factors were evaluated. The weight and length of B. badis varied from 0.81 to 1.01g (0.89±0.30) and 4.08 to 4.60cm (4.36±0.31), respectively. Logistic curves depicting a sex ratio and 50% maturity (L50) estimated at 4.5cm for females and 4.05cm for males, as well as males reaching first sexual maturity with a shorter length than females. Regression coefficients in every month differ significantly (p<0.05), according to the regression equations. Each month, the values of the exponent b were less than 3 (b<3), with the highest value of b recorded in August (2.80) and the lowest value recorded in January (2.33). This led to a monthly negative allometric growth being seen. A strong positive relationship is evident from the coefficient of determination (r2) values, which ranged from 0.92-0.98 with an average of 0.961. During the study, the average condition factor (Kn) value for B. badis was found to be 1.02±0.13, which is a positive indicator of the fish's physical well-being. The condition factor values varied between 0.84 to 1.39, making it abundantly clear that B. badis are in good health and the waterbody is an ideal habitat for their survival. Relative condition factor (Kr) values, which varied between studies and ranged from 0.78 to 1.01, also exhibited a noteworthy difference (p<0.05). For its long-term management, the above findings will be very helpful

Examining the Walking Accessibility, Willingness, and Travel Conditions of Residents in Saudi Cities

Rapid urban expansion and population growth in Saudi cities over the past four decades have increased vehicular accidents and traffic congestion and have impacted the daily walking conditions of the residents. Walking has various health and environmental benefits. In North American and European countries, three factors have been found to motivate a resident to walk within their community: their accessibility to community social and business facilities, their perception and willingness, and the safety conditions of the roads and sidewalks within their community for walking. This study examined these factors and their role in the walking habits of the residents in the neighborhoods of Doha and Dana districts in Saudi Arabia&rsquo s eastern city of Dhahran. Data were collected through field observations and by randomly sampling and interviewing 200 residents. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and SPSS statistical software were used for data analysis. The results show that most of the community facilities are randomly placed in the districts. Mosques are the closest facility to each resident with an average accessibility distance of 242m. Almost 43% of the respondents prefer daily walking while the rest are hesitant due to hot weather during summer and narrow and poorly designed sidewalks. The sidewalks were also found to be blocked by trees, street signals, and illegally parked vehicles. Future studies should explore the accessibility to facilities, willingness, climate, and health conditions of the residents, and the road and sidewalk conditions for walking in other cities of the Kingdom. Document type: Articl

Milt quality determination of a critically endangered fish, olive barb (Puntius sarana, Ham.) in Bangladesh

The present study was aimed to evaluate the characteristics of the olive barb sperm. Milt was collected fortnightly from 49 male fish (mean weight 90.8 g and length 18.64 cm) from April to July in 2008. In the olive barb ejaculated milt, volume (µl/g), motility (%), duration of motility (s), concentration (x 10 super(10)/ml) and pH values were found to be 6.06±0.32, 88.27±0.71, 171.41±7.41, 5.16±0.05 and 7.75±0.04, respectively. Milt volume was significantly (P<0.05) correlated with sperm concentration. Milt volume, sperm concentration, motility and duration of motility significantly varied (P<0.05) during spawning season

Culture suitability of stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis in homestead tank: Selection of suitable stocking size

The present experiment was conducted for a period of 150 days to assess the effects of different stocking size on growth and production of stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) in three homestead cemented tanks (12×10×4 ft). Three different size groups of fish viz., 3.79±0.11, 3.09±0.13 and 2.53±0.18 cm was stocked at treatment T1, T2 and T3, respectively at a stocking density of 5000 individuals/tank each with three replications. Fish were feed twice daily with floating feed containing 35-40% protein at the rate of 15-10% for 1st 60 days, 8-6% for 2nd 60 days and 5-2.50% for rest of the culture period. The water quality parameters were within the suitable ranges for the fish culture. Mean weight gain (g) of stinging catfish was 49.03 ± 1.04, 36.72 ± 1.59 and 28.09 ± 0.41g, specific growth rate was 1.76 ± 0.02, 1.70 ± 0.04 and 1.66 ± 0.05 %/day in T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Food conversion ratio was 3.45 ± 0.82, 3.31 ± 0.10 and 3.30 ± 0.06 and survival rate were 90.67 ± 1.51, 88.20 ± 2.62 and 87.56 ± 1.26% in T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Higher stocking size also resulted in a significantly higher economic output in the form of benefit cost ratio (BCR) at T1 (2.13 ± 0.05) and the lowest at T3 (1.21 ± 0.03). The findings of the present study revealed that the highest weight gain and BCR was found in T1 which dictates that larger stocking size has a significant impact on better production

Hybrid CNN-SVD Based Prominent Feature Extraction and Selection for Grading Diabetic Retinopathy Using Extreme Learning Machine Algorithm

Funding Information: This work was supported in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea-Grant funded by the Government of Korea (Ministry of Science and ICT) under Grant NRF-2020R1A2B5B02002478, and in part by Sejong University through the Faculty Research Program under Grant 20212023Peer reviewedPublisher PD

ANCA-negative Churg-Strauss Syndrome

A rare and a disease of unknown etiology, Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a granulomatous necrotizing small vessel vasculitis characterized by the presence of asthma, sinusitis, and hypereosinophilia, which is initially described by Churg and Strauss in 1951. Because of its clinical and pathological features that overlap with those of the other anti-neutrophil antibody (ANCA)-associated systemic vasculitides (AASVs) and now the disease is classified as AASVs. The ANCA status may dictate the clinical phenotype. ANCA-positive patients are significantly more likely to have disease manifesta­tions associated with small-vessel vasculitis, including oecrotising glomemlonephritis, mononeuritis and purpura, whereas ANCA-negative cases predominantly likely to have cardiac and lung involvement. The objective of this case report is to point out the possibility of vasculitic rash in ANCA-negative CSS in a 35-year-old man and the disease rarely occurs in Bangladeshi population. We analyze the history, clinical examinations and relevant investigations related to the patient to establish the diagnosis in our department. The clinical scenario and biopsy help us to attain the diagnosis. But due to unavailability of patients' cohort we have limitations of comparison of ANCA status in Bangladeshi populations. Though ANCA-positive and ANCA-negative CSS differ phenotypically, primary therapy for both the conditions is systemic glucocorticoids. Additional immunosuppressive agents like cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, rituxin1ab are occasionally added in patients with more advanced or refractory disease

Effects of dietary Cu nanoparticles on growth performance, physiology and bioaccumulation in Asian walking catfish (Clarias batrachus)

The present investigation was conducted to determine the optimal dietary Cu-NPs requirement of Asian walking catfish, Clarias batrachus (7.46 ± 0.15 cm; 5.28 ± 0.10 g) by feeding with diets supplemented with different concentrations of Cu-NPs (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/kg) and control group. Each experimental diet was hand-fed to triplicate groups of fish for 60 days in glass aquarium. Results showed that fish group fed with 20 mg/kg Cu-NPs in feed exhibited highest (P &lt; 0.05) growth performance and feed utilization compared to the control group. However, increased level of Cu-NPs from 30 to 50 mg/kg in feed significantly reduced the growth performance. Significantly higher protein and lipid were also recorded at 20 mg/kg Cu-NPs supplemented group. Haematological parameters, serum lipid and enzymatic profile were found to influence significantly with the addition of Cu-NPs in feed compared to the control group. Based on the polynomial regression analysis between FW, WG and SGRW against dietary Cu-NPs levels, the optimal dietary supplementation of Cu-NPs for C. batrachus were estimated to be ranged between 19.98 to 20.05 mg/kg per diet, respectively. Bioaccumulation of Cu was the highest in liver compared to muscle and serum, whereas the highest Cu accumulation was observed at 50 mg/kg Cu-NPs supplemented group. The findings of the present study will be helpful for formulating nutrient rich low cost catfish feed