Extracting Relevant Information Using Handheld Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) technology is being incorporated into education materials to attract students and to make the learning experience more engaging. This study focuses on the development of 3D object, audio-visual and interaction in Handheld AR. This research aims to bridge that gap using Handheld AR for a magazine, which allows students to get an overview and interact with the 3D model of the campus, view general information and events of the university. This magazine also benefits students that live outside Dhaka, who are unable to visit the campus beforehand. The users can use their Android phone camera for real-time video capture and render virtual objects in the augmented environment through Vuforia and Unity engine integration. To evaluate system effectiveness and user satisfaction, a survey is conducted. The survey consists of user background information, functionality tests and a user feedback questionnaire. The outcome of the survey shows satisfactory of the successful implementation of 3D and multimedia modules. This paper also discusses the future scopes and summarizes how to extract relevant information for students to gain knowledge and get entertainment by using handheld AR

Connecting Canadians: Ensuring universal access to wireless services

The market for wireless services in Canada is characterized by the presence of significant market power of the three national service providers: Bell, Rogers and Telus. This reduces consumer welfare through reduced access to high quality wireless services in underserved areas. I conduct an empirical analysis to find that reduced mobility of subscribers, as illustrated by the low churn rate, contributes to greater profit margins, and thus market power. Using this and information gathered from expert interviews, I identify low subscriber mobility, and unutilized spectrum owing to the existing regulatory framework as factors contributing to welfare loss. I recommend that ISED create Tier 5 service areas for spectrum licenses immediately. I also recommend that ISED create a secondary market for unused spectrum once the Tier 5 service areas are fully implemented. Together these policy recommendations will ensure universal access to wireless services for all Canadians and increase welfare

Molecular Pathways Responsible for NMDA Receptor-mediated Behavioural Plasticity

Neurodevelopmental disorders occur from genetic and environmental risk factors that impair the formation of networks involved in learning and memory. Impaired NMDA receptor signaling has been implicated in the pathobiology of schizophrenia and autism. A mouse model of NMDA receptor knockdown and inducible rescue was used to determine the reversibility of neurodevelopmental insults on hippocampal function. Mice were studied for their ability to learn and remember using the fear-conditioning paradigm, which engages the hippocampus in the formation and recall of contextual memory. In addition, studies were performed to determine whether immediate-early genes were induced in the hippocampus of NMDA receptor deficient mice. The findings of this study show that NMDA receptor deficient mice lack the ability to form fear memories, and that this can be partially rescued by increasing the levels of NMDA receptors in adult mice. Furthermore, several immediate early genes are induced without a resulting formation of fear memory.M.Sc

Potentiality of Biodiesel Production From Non-Edible Oil: Bangladesh Perspective

The present study focuses potentiality of biodiesel production in Bangladesh from non-edible oil. The increasing demands of energy are consumed by using fossil fuels which are non-renewable and will be depleted within 150 years from now if this growth rate stays but if this rate increases further the depleting time will decrease from the estimated one. Because of low reservation of crude oil, Bangladesh has to import oils from other countries, these costs a lot. About 95% of these demands can be meted through biodiesel. Biodiesel prepared from both edible and non-edible oils. After meeting demands of edible oil of the country it is impossible to produce biodiesel from edible oils. But it is possible to meet the biodiesel demand of the country almost 100% through non-edible oil derived biodiesel. Arable lands of Bangladesh can’t be used for the growing purposes of non-edible oil seeds, but if rail and road sides are used there is no need for extra lands. After surveying lands for this purpose it seems that Bangladesh can get a total amount of 47750 Km of road and rail side areas for the cultivation of non-edible seeds. Among these forest seeds Nageswar, Pitraj, Sultana champa Ponyal, Rata, Oil palm, Chaulmoogra, Bakul, Kusum, jaina have sufficient oil content along with plenty of growth in Bangladesh. Cultivating these seeds 1100000 tones of biodiesel can be produced on the basis of their oil content and yield. Which decreases the amount of imported crude oil as well as meets the oil demand of the country, thus Bangladesh can be able to save about $6 billion per year means a great economic savings that can be used for the development of the country

Earnings quality and financial flexibility: A moderating role of corporate governance

The aim of this study is primarily to demonstrate how earnings quality is an influential determinant of financial flexibility. Secondly, how earnings quality affects financial flexibility. And finally, to provide evidence of the role of corporate governance between earnings quality and financial flexibility composing overall corporate governance index (CG-INDEX). This study considered unbalanced panel data from the year 2007 to 2020 from the database CSMAR yielding 14,088 firm-year observations. This study used liquidity as the proxy of financial flexibility, and also used a comprehensive index of corporate governance constructed by adopting the principal component analysis and STATA has been used for analyzing data. The study used System GMM regression for analysis and controls endogeneity by applying lag financial flexibility as an instrumental variable. The empirical results reveal that poor earnings quality significantly negatively influences the level of corporate financial flexibility. The results also demonstrate that corporate governance can significantly positively moderate the relationship between earnings quality and financial flexibility. This suggests that when the earnings quality is poor, firms are less likely to be financially flexible in holding liquidity. More specifically, firms with poor earnings quality will reduce their financial flexibility of firms; hence, firms need to provide high-quality earnings in order to be more financially flexible. Earnings quality is an important factor, which led the author to examine how earnings quality influences financial flexibility. Under the views of agency theory and positive accounting theory, poor earnings quality is a source of amplified shareholder’s concern of increased informational asymmetry, which may adversely affect the firm’s financial flexibility. Conversely, higher earnings quality reduces the information asymmetry which leads to higher financial flexibility. This study provides a way how to achieve financial flexibility with the assistance of corporate governance which is essential to combat financial crises and smooth business operations successfully

Shifting generation of energy of solar PV using OPTANG method-case study Sandwip area

The objective of this paper is to discover the amount of shifted energy produced by solar photovoltaic panel from lower demand period to higher demand period using the optimum tilt angle method. When the incident ray is at right angles to the panel plane, the output of a panel is highest. For maximum generation, the alignment of the panel should be changed according to the sun's position due to variations in the locus of the sun over the year. However, solar tracking system may not be suitable for this purpose as it requires high cost, maintenance and space. For an isolated area demand profile and generation profile may not be same and hence surplus or shortage will be occurred. It is hardly possible to use surplus energy considering certain demand profile constraints. Even, it is not possible to store the surplus energy of a season to any device for long time to use it for another season. Optimum tilt angle (OPTANG) method has been analysed for an isolated island of Bangladesh and shown that it is possible to shift the surplus energy to shortage season from surplus season

Primitive and Definitive Neural Precursor Cells Are Present in Human Cerebral Organoids

Activation of neural stem cells (NSCs) correlates with improved functional outcomes in mouse models of injury. In the murine brain, NSCs have been extensively characterized and comprise (1) primitive NSCs (pNSCs) and (2) definitive NSCs (dNSCs). pNSCs are the earliest cells in the NSC lineage giving rise to dNSCs in the embryonic and adult mouse brain. pNSCs are quiescent under baseline conditions and can be activated upon injury. Herein, we asked whether human pNSCs and dNSCs can be isolated during the maturation of human cerebral organoids (COs) and activated by drugs known to regulate mouse NSC behavior. We demonstrate that self-renewing, multipotent pNSC and dNSC populations are present in human COs and express genes previously characterized in mouse NSCs. The drug NWL283, an inhibitor of apoptosis, reduced cell death in COs but did not improve NSC survival. Metformin, a drug used to treat type II diabetes that is known to promote NSC activation in mice, was found to expand human NSC pools. Together, these findings are the first to identify and characterize human pNSCs, advancing our understanding of the human NSC lineage and highlighting drugs that enhance their activity

Transplantation of Human Cortically-Specified Neuroepithelial Progenitor Cells Leads to Improved Functional Outcomes in a Mouse Model of Stroke.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide. Current therapeutic options are limited in terms of their time for implementation and efficacy in promoting recovery. Cell transplantation has been shown to have promise in several animal models however significant challenges remain, including the optimal source of cells to promote neural repair. Here, we report on the use of a population of human ESC derived, cortically specified, neuroepithelial precursor cells (cNEPs) that are neurally restricted in their lineage potential. CNEPs have the potential to give rise to mature neural cell types following transplantation, including neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. With a view towards translation, we sought to determine whether this human cell source was effective in promoting improved functional outcomes following stroke. Undifferentiated cNEPs were transplanted in a pre-clinical endothelin-1 (ET-1) model of ischemic motor cortical stroke in immunocompromised SCID-beige mice and cellular and functional outcomes were assessed. We demonstrate that cNEP transplantation in the acute phase (4 days post-stroke) improves motor function as early as 20 days post-stroke, compared to stroke-injured, non-transplanted mice. At the time of recovery, a small fraction (<6%) of the transplanted cNEPs are observed within the stroke injury site. The surviving cells expressed the immature neuronal marker, doublecortin, with no differentiation into mature neural phenotypes. At longer survival times (40 days), the majority of recovered, transplanted mice had a complete absence of surviving cNEPS. Hence, human cNEPs grafted at early times post-stroke support the observed functional recovery following ET-1 stroke but their persistence is not required, thereby supporting a by-stander effect rather than cell replacement

Transplantation of Human Cortically-Specified Neuroepithelial Progenitor Cells Leads to Improved Functional Outcomes in a Mouse Model of Stroke.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide. Current therapeutic options are limited in terms of their time for implementation and efficacy in promoting recovery. Cell transplantation has been shown to have promise in several animal models however significant challenges remain, including the optimal source of cells to promote neural repair. Here, we report on the use of a population of human ESC derived, cortically specified, neuroepithelial precursor cells (cNEPs) that are neurally restricted in their lineage potential. CNEPs have the potential to give rise to mature neural cell types following transplantation, including neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. With a view towards translation, we sought to determine whether this human cell source was effective in promoting improved functional outcomes following stroke. Undifferentiated cNEPs were transplanted in a pre-clinical endothelin-1 (ET-1) model of ischemic motor cortical stroke in immunocompromised SCID-beige mice and cellular and functional outcomes were assessed. We demonstrate that cNEP transplantation in the acute phase (4 days post-stroke) improves motor function as early as 20 days post-stroke, compared to stroke-injured, non-transplanted mice. At the time of recovery, a small fraction (<6%) of the transplanted cNEPs are observed within the stroke injury site. The surviving cells expressed the immature neuronal marker, doublecortin, with no differentiation into mature neural phenotypes. At longer survival times (40 days), the majority of recovered, transplanted mice had a complete absence of surviving cNEPS. Hence, human cNEPs grafted at early times post-stroke support the observed functional recovery following ET-1 stroke but their persistence is not required, thereby supporting a by-stander effect rather than cell replacement

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater of Dhaka City, Bangladesh : approach to complement public health surveillance systems

Background Wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance has been considered a powerful tool for early detection and monitoring of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and its lineages circulating in a community. This study is aimed to investigate the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in Dhaka city by examining its genetic variants in wastewater. Also, the study seeks to determine a connection between the SARS-CoV-2 variations detected in clinical testing and those found in wastewater samples. Results Out of 504 samples tested in RT-qPCR, 185 (36.7%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. The median log10 concentration of SARS-CoV-2 N gene copies/Liter of wastewater (gc/L) was 5.2, and the median log10 concentration of ORF1ab was 4.9. To further reveal the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, ten samples with ORF1ab real-time RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values ranging from 28.78 to 32.13 were subjected to whole genome sequencing using nanopore technology. According to clade classification, sequences from wastewater samples were grouped into 4 clades: 20A, 20B, 21A, 21J, and the Pango lineage, B.1, B.1.1, B.1.1.25, and B.1.617.2, with coverage ranging from 94.2 to 99.8%. Of them, 70% belonged to clade 20B, followed by 10% to clade 20A, 21A, and 21J. Lineage B.1.1.25 was predominant in Bangladesh and phylogenetically related to the sequences from India, the USA, Canada, the UK, and Italy. The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was first identified in clinical samples at the beginning of May 2021. In contrast, we found that it was circulating in the community and was detected in wastewater in September 2020. Conclusion Environmental surveillance is useful for monitoring temporal and spatial trends of existing and emerging infectious diseases and supports evidence-based public health measures. The findings of this study supported the use of wastewater-based epidemiology and provided the baseline data for the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the wastewater environment in Dhaka, Bangladesh