An intelligent computer-aided design system incorporating considerations for aesthetics and the environment

Amidst intense competition, manufacturers are constantly striving to improve their competence with others. In this respect, aesthetics of the product has become one of the prime factors in capturing market share. On the other hand, ever increasing pressure from the public, customers and governments has forced manufacturers to take environmental considerations very seriously. This study focuses on the development of an intelligent computer-aided design system in order to assist designers to design specifically on the basis of aesthetic and environmental considerations. The study began with an extensive literature survey. It was found that small volume of research work had been done in the topic of design for aesthetics whereas a substantial volume of research had been ongoing in the field of design for environmental considerations. Although the aspect of combination of these two factors of design was not fully investigated. So the project was understood to be a novel one. To achieve the objectives of the research, two research surveys were conducted to gauge public viewpoint about the aesthetical attributes of the bottles of several consunler products. The first survey was conducted among Dublin City University (DCU)'s students and staff, and the second one among the residents of Dublin city and its suburb. The information obtained from these two surveys was used in the development of the design system. The design system consists of overall score & aesthetics advisor, simple material selection for bottles index, simple life cycle analysis and golden section ruler modules. The author created threshold values for the first three modules that work as benchmarks to judge the design in terms of aesthetics and environmental considerations. This novel approach of design and the software tool developed will be helpful aids to the designers to consider aesthetics and environmental aspects of design at the primary stage leading to faster product development and savings of money

Critical agency and glocal subjectivity in ELT material development: an analysis of English language textbook of Bangladesh

This paper explores ‘glocal subjectivity’ in an English language textbook produced by National Curriculum and Textbook Board of Bangladesh for Grades XI-XII. In the era of globalization (Mukherjee & Krieckhaus 2011), glocal subjectivity, i.e. creation of self that appreciates the ingredients of both global and local spaces (Gutierrez 2013) is relevant for material development in ELT, as it carries implications for critical agency (Richmond 2011). In post-colonial countries, critical agency allows non-native textbook writers to exercise freedom in selecting themes and designing language learning activities which may be used in the classrooms to develop critical minds (Pineda-Báez 2004). Through qualitative content analysis (Julien 2008), this research examines how the non-native material writers in Bangladesh exerted critical agency to construct glocal subjectivity in the English textbook. Findings reveal that textbook writers constructed glocal subjectivity by selecting appropriate topics. Nevertheless, the textbook contains the following limitations: pedagogically unsound language learning activities, low aesthetic quality, misrepresentation of Bangladesh, and post-colonial ambivalence. Based on the findings, this paper suggests that textbook writers in the post-colonial countries need to be aware of the issue of representation and make use of the wisdom of Applied Linguistics to produce politically correct and pedagogically effective English language textbook

Performance of Cement Boards in Presence of Waste Paper

The possibility of using waste paper in manufacturing of cement board has been investigated in this paper. Cement fiber ratio and pressure is the two variables in this experimental work. Samples were prepared with fiber/cement ratios of 5:95, 15:85 and 25:75 by weight. Every mixing ratio was divided in seven sub categories depending on the pressure of 0, 1.4, 2.4, 4.2, 5.5 6.9 and 8.3 MPa. Three boards were prepared for each category to evaluate the mechanical and physical properties of the boards according to ASTM standard. It is observed that the mechanical and physical properties of the board are directly influenced with pressure. However, the flexural strength and modulus of rupture were decreased with an increase of the amount of waste paper in the board. Five percent addition of waste paper exhibits the best performance of cement board in all aspect. The optimum production condition was obtained when the fiber content and pressure were 5% and 6.9 MPa respectively. At this optimum condition the prepared cement board satisfies the flexural strength requirement for Grade 2 type cement board according to ASTM C 1186

Secure Electronic Payment: Proposed method for the growth of E-commerce in Bangladesh

The innovations in technologies are changing the social, cultural and economic relationships in a vast variety of ways. Information technology has become a necessary tool for today’s organizations and banking industry is not an exception. Electronic commerce is rapidly growing modern business process in all over the world, but in Bangladesh it is increasing comparatively slower rate. Though Bangladesh was comparatively a late introducer of e-banking but now almost all the banks are providing internet banking to their customers. But what is important is the lack of comprehensive study of the e-payment security covering organizational and customers’ point of view. Considering the importance of secure e-payment to grow up e-commerce in Bangladesh this study was taken up. It was revealed from the survey that the customers’ and service providers main concern was security. E-banking service providers should have to ensure that online banking is safe and secure for every user in all kind of transactions. The Authors also proposed a secure e-payment model in general and on debit card and credit card to bring customers confidence on e-payment and increase the volume of e-commerce in the context of Bangladesh. &nbsp

Changes in Indian Summer Monsoon Using Neodymium (Nd) Isotopes in the Andaman Sea During the Last 24,000 years

Dramatic changes from a cold and dry last glacial to a warm and wet Holocene period intensified the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), resulting in vigorous hydrology and increased terrestrial erosion. Here we present seawater neodymium (Nd) data (expressed in εNd) from Andaman Sea sediments to assess past changes in the ISM and the related impact of Irrawaddy–Salween and Sittoung (ISS) river discharge into the Andaman Sea in the northeastern Indian Ocean. Four major isotopic changes were identified: (1) a gradual increase in εNd toward a more radiogenic signature during the Last Glacial Maximum (22–18 ka), suggesting a gradual decrease in the ISS discharge; (2) a relatively stable radiogenic seawater εNd between 17.2 and 8.8 ka, perhaps related to a stable reduced outflow; (3) a rapid transition to less radiogenic εNd signature after 8.8 ka, reflecting a very wet early–mid-Holocene with the highest discharge; and (4) a decrease in εNd signal stability in the mid–late Holocene. Taking into account the contribution of the ISS rivers to the Andaman Sea εNd signature that changes proportionally with the strengthening (less radiogenic εNd) or weakening (more radiogenic εNd) of the ISM, we propose a binary model mixing between the Salween and Irrawaddy rivers to explain the εNd variability in Andaman Sea sediments. We hypothesize that the Irrawaddy river mainly contributed detrital sediment to the northeastern Andaman Sea for the past 24 ka. Our εNd data shed new light on the regional changes in Indo-Asian monsoon systems when compared with the existing Indian and Chinese paleo-proxy records

Reproductive biology of paradise threadfin Polynemus paradiseus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Shibsa River in Bangladesh

The paradise threadfin, Polynemus paradiseus is one of the commercially important brackishwater finfish of the family Perciformes in Bangladesh. The present study aimed to investigate the reproductive biology of paradise threadfin from Shibsa River in Bangladesh. The fish samples (66) were collected from May 2021 to April 2022. The relationship between body weight (BW) and total length (TL) of sampled fish were analyzed with a non-linear power equation where R2 = 0.915 and ‘b’ value (3.22) indicates a positive allometric growth pattern. Linear relationship indicates gonad weight (GW) increases with the BW and fecundity increases with BW, TL, GW and gonadosomatic index (GSI). The highest GSI was recorded in June (11.10±0.91), whereas, the lowest in November (0.44±0.08). The maximum fecundity was found in June (32410±7790). Ovarian histology displayed different stages of oocyte development. Late yolk granule stage (LYGS) was found in the months of September-October and May-July, respectively. Based on the GSI, fecundity and ovarian histology, it was revealed that the spawning season of P. paradiseus was from May to October with a major peak in June and minor one in September. The knowledge on different aspects of reproductive biology of paradise threadfin would be helpful for planning captive breeding and to design sustainable management policies for conservation of this species in the south-west coast of Bangladesh

Increasing Spectrum in Antimicrobial Resistance of Shigella Isolates in Bangladesh: Resistance to Azithromycin and Ceftriaxone and Decreased Susceptibility to Ciprofloxacin

Antimicrobial resistance of Shigella isolates in Bangladesh, during 2001-2002, was studied and compared with that of 1991-1992 to identify the changes in resistance patterns and trends. A significant increase in resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (from 52% to 72%, p<0.01) and nalidixic acid (from 19% to 51%, p<0.01) was detected. High, but unchanged, resistance to tetracycline, ampicillin, and chloramphenicol, low resistance to mecillinam (resistance 3%, intermediate 3%), and to emergence of resistance to azithromycin (resistance 16%, intermediate 62%) and ceftriaxone/cefixime (2%) were detected in 2001-2002. Of 266 recent isolates, 63% were resistant to ≥3 anti-Shigella drugs (multidrug-resistant [MDR]) compared to 52% of 369 strains (p<0.007) in 1991-1992. Of 154 isolates tested by E-test in 2001-2002, 71% were nalidixic acid-resistant (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] ≥32 μg/mL) and had 10-fold higher MIC90 (0.25 μg/mL) to ciprofloxacin than that of nalidixic acid-susceptible strains exhibiting decreased ciprofloxacin susceptibility, which were detected as ciprofloxacin-susceptible and nalidixic acid-resistant by the disc-diffusion method. These strains were frequently associated with MDR traits. High modal MICs were observed to azithromycin (MIC 6 μg/mL) and nalidixic acid (MIC 128 μg/mL) and low to ceftriaxone (MIC 0.023 μg/mL). Conjugative R-plasmids-encoded extended-spectrum ß-lactamase was responsible for resistance to ceftriaxone/cefixime. The growing antimicrobial resistance of Shigella is worrying and mandates monitoring of resistance. Pivmecillinam or ciprofloxacin might be considered for treating shigellosis with caution