People’s perception on agricultural vulnerabilities to climate change and SLR in Bangladesh: adaptation strategies and explanatory variables

The objective of this research is to evaluate people’s perception on vulnerabilities of agriculture and to explore effective adaptation options with identifying the underlying demographic, socio-economic and other relevant variables that influence the adaptation strategies in the sea level rise (SLR) hazard induced coastal areas of Bangladesh. The study finds that climate change and induced SLR are emerging threats to coastal agriculture of Bangladesh; hence, farmers are applying different adaptation strategies to reduce the vulnerabilities of coastal agriculture. Selection of effective adaptation strategies to vulnerabilities of agriculture depends not only on the magnitude, intensity and the impacts of climate change and SLR, but also perceptions and types of farmer, land, educational level, indigenous knowledge about adaptation, locational advantages, external support, community awareness and sharing of different effective mechanisms among the farmers. Effective adaptation strategies with high perceptions have significant influence to reduce the vulnerabilities of agriculture considering the adverse impacts of climate change and SLR. In time of extreme climatic hazards when a great loss in agriculture hamper the coastal agrobased economy, different effective indigenous local adaptation strategies through farmer awareness and community co-operation become vital for minimizing the impact of climatic hazards and reducing the vulnerabilities of coastal agriculture.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 8 (1): 70-78, June, 201

Impact of climate change and land use on groundwater salinization in southern Bangladesh-implications for other Asian deltas

Pervasive salinity in soil and water is affecting agricultural yield and the health of millions of delta dwellers in Asia. This is also being exacerbated by climate change through increases in sea level and tropical storm surges. One consequence of this has been a widespread introduction of salt water shrimp farming. Here, we show, using field data and modeling, how changes in climate and land use are likely to result in increased salinization of shallow groundwater in SE Asian mega-deltas. We also explore possible adaptation options. We find that possible future increase of episodic inundation events, combined with salt water shrimp farming, will cause rapid salinization of groundwater in the region making it less suitable for drinking water and irrigation. However, modified land use and water management practices can mitigate the impacts on groundwater, as well as the overlying soil, from future salinization. The study therefore provides guidance for adaptation planning to reduce future salinization in Asian deltas

Perceived and actual risks of drought: household and expert views from the lower Teesta River Basin of northern Bangladesh

Disaster risk perception and risk appraisal are essential in formulating an appropriate disaster risk reduction policy. This study examines the actual vs perceived drought risks by constructing risk indices at the household and expert levels using survey data from the lower Teesta River Basin in northern Bangladesh. The survey data were collected from 450 farmers using a structured questionnaire conducted between August and September 2019. A composite drought risk index was developed to understand households’ perceived and actual risks in the designated areas. The results show that the actual and perceived risk values differ significantly among the three case study sites locally known as Ganai, Ismail, and Par Sekh Sundar. The risk levels also differ significantly across the households’ gender, income, occupation, and educational attainment. People with insolvent socioeconomic status are more prone to drought risk compared to others. Results also reveal that the mean level of perceived risk agrees well with the actual risk, whereas females perceive comparatively higher risk than their male counterparts. Expert views on drought risk are similar to the individual household level perceived risk. The outcomes of this study would assist the policymakers and disaster managers to understand the concrete risk scenarios and take timely disaster risk reduction actions for ensuring a drought-resistant society

Measuring entanglement entropy through the interference of quantum many-body twins

Entanglement is one of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics. It describes non-local correlations between quantum objects, and is at the heart of quantum information sciences. Entanglement is rapidly gaining prominence in diverse fields ranging from condensed matter to quantum gravity. Despite this generality, measuring entanglement remains challenging. This is especially true in systems of interacting delocalized particles, for which a direct experimental measurement of spatial entanglement has been elusive. Here, we measure entanglement in such a system of itinerant particles using quantum interference of many-body twins. Leveraging our single-site resolved control of ultra-cold bosonic atoms in optical lattices, we prepare and interfere two identical copies of a many-body state. This enables us to directly measure quantum purity, Renyi entanglement entropy, and mutual information. These experiments pave the way for using entanglement to characterize quantum phases and dynamics of strongly-correlated many-body systems.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures (6 in the main text, 6 in supplementary material

Performance and Economic Suitability of Three Fast Growing Broiler Strains Raised Under Farming Condition in Bangladesh

The performance and profitability of three commercial broiler strains reared under farming system were investigated in this study. Day-old broiler chicks (n=156) of three different commercial strains (Hubbard classic, Cobb-500 and MPK) were assigned to three treatment groups in a completely randomized block design, each treatment replicated four times, 13 birds per replicate. The birds were reared from d1 to 35 days of age with similar housing, feeding and environmental management condition. Regarding to all parameters collected, live weight and body weight gain were higher (P<0.001) in T2(Cobb-500) group, while the birds of T3 (MPK) group were the lowest. Birds of T1(Hubbard Classic) and T2 (Cobb-500) strain group consumed higher (P<0.001) feeds, while the birds of T3(MPK) had the lowest feed intake. Cobb-500 broiler strain achieved superior (P<0.001) FCR, while the birds of T1 (Hubbard classic) strain group had poorer FCR. Liveability of the broiler strains was unaffected by all the treatment groups. Higher net profit and lower production cost observed in T2(Cobb-500) group than those of other strains, although the difference between the treatment groups was similar. The highly significant measurements of live body weight, weight gain and better FCR values were recorded for Cobb-500 broiler strain, followed by Hubbard classic and MPK, respectively. In conclusion, Cobb-500 broiler strain is appeared to be the most economic to rear amongst the three broiler strains investigated here in response to their performance records. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v1i1-2.13931 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 1 (1&2): 37-43, December, 201

Evaluation of postharvest quality of edible coated mandarin at ambient storage

An experiment was conducted to assess the influence of edible coatings on postharvest quality of mandarin during 20 days of ambient storage. Sorted fruits were washed; fruit surface water was removed and then coated with 100% liquid paraffin wax, 0.5% chitosan, 1.0% chitosan, 1.5% chitosan, and 100% coconut oil. After coating, fruit surface was air dried and kept at ambient condition (25±3 °C, 60–70% RH) and analyzed periodically for weight loss, respiration rate, firmness, decay incidence, TSS, pH, ascorbic acid content, and sensory properties. The results revealed that coconut oil had immense effect on the reduction of the weight loss and respiration rate and preserved firmness, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total sugar and reducing sugar and no incidence of moulds & their growth was found up to 16 days of storage.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 8 (1): 18-25, June, 201

Effect of integrated approach of plant nutrients on yield and yield attributes of different crops in wheat-sesame-T. Aman cropping pattern

The experiment was carried out at FSRD site, Pushpopara, Pabna, during November, 2010 to December, 2011 to observe the comparative performance of integrated plant nutrients management (IPNS) system through the use of organic (cowdung, cowdung slurry) manure and inorganic fertilizer on wheat, sesame and T. Aman crops under wheat-sesame-T. Aman cropping pattern. The experiment was consisted with four treatments viz. T1: Soil test based inorganic fertilizer dose for high yield goal, T2: Cowdung @ 5 t ha-1 + IPNS basis inorganic fertilizer dose for high yield goal, T3: Cowdung slurry @ 5 t ha-1 + IPNS basis inorganic fertilizer dose for high yield goal and T4: Fertilizer dose usually practiced by the farmers. In case of wheat, the highest grain yield (3.80 t ha-1) was obtained from bio-slurry treated plot that means T3 treatment followed by T2 and the lowest (3.31 t ha-1) from T4. Higher seed yield (1.31 t ha-1) of sesame was obtained from T3 that was statistically identical to T2 and T1 and the lower (1.01 t ha-1) from T4. For T. Aman rice, the highest grain yield (4.89 t ha-1) was obtained from T3 which was statistically indistinguishable from T1 where as the lowest grain yield (4.1 t ha-1) was recorded from T4. Considering the whole pattern, it is observed that the highest gross return (271100 Tk ha-1) was obtained from T3 followed by T2 and the lowest (225650 Tk ha-1) from T1 treatment. Total variable cost was recorded as the highest (100368 Tk ha-1) in T2 followed by T3 and the lowest (86775 Tk ha-1) in T4 treatment. The highest marginal value of product (45450 Tk ha-1) was recorded in T3 followed by T2 where as the minimum (28710 Tk ha-1) was found in T1 over the T4 treatment. Marginal variable cost was observed as the highest (13593 Tk ha-1) in T2 treatment followed by T3 and the minimum (8899 Tk ha-1) was recorded in T1 treatment. The highest MBCR (4.15) was recorded from T3 followed by T2 and the minimum (2.31) from T2 treatment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v3i2.17847 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 3 (2): 66-71, December, 201

Applying Machine Learning Tools to Detect Cyber Attacks in Financial Firms and Banks

The use of machine learning in cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important for detecting cyber attacks in financial firms and banks. Machine learning offers improved scalability, efficiency, and actionability compared to traditional methods that rely on human interaction. Various machine learning techniques, including deep learning, support vector machines, and Bayesian classification, have shown promise in detecting cyber attacks. This study uses machine-learning techniques and tools to detect cyber attacks in financial firms and banks, and recommends the use of XGBoost due to its high performance. Ensuring cybersecurity in financial firms and banks is crucial for maintaining the integrity, confidentiality, and transparency of transactions in virtual and online banking systems

HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECTS OF FISH AND VEGETABLE OILS ON THE SERUM LIPID PROFILE OF EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RATS

Aims: This study was conducted to find out the effect of fish and vegetable oils on the serum lipid profile of experimentally induced hypercholesterolemic rats. Methods: Long Evan rats were fed with cholic acid and cholesterol for 14 days to make them hypercholesterolemic. The hypercholesterolemic rats were then supplemented with the oils of Pangsius pangasius fish, Soybean, Flaxseed, Sesame, Black seed and Mustard for 35 days. Serum lipid profile (total cholesterol-TC, low density lipoprotein-LDL, high density lipoprotein-HDL and triglyceride-TG) was determined with ELISA plate reader using commercial kits. Results: All of the oils tested were noted to reduce the serum TC, LDL and TG, but had increase the good cholesterol HDL level in the hypercholesterolemic rats. Among these oils, Pangsius pangasius fish oil showed the strongest anticholesterol property. In reduction of total cholesterol, after the Pangsius fish oil, the next prominent activity was given by black seed oil followed by flaxseed oil, sesame oil, mustard oil and soybean oil and in term of lowering of LDL level, the effect was in order of black seed, flaxseed, mustard, sesame and soybean oil. In giving the effect on good cholesterol HDL level, mustard oil showed the strongest increasing effect, which was followed by black seed oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, Pangsius oil and soybean oil. The drop of triglyceride level by the tested oils, it was in line of Pangsius oil, sesame oil, black seed oil, flaxseed oil, soybean oil and mustard oil. Conclusion: The present study showed that both the fish and vegetable oils have significant anticholesterol effects on hypercholesterolemic rats. However, compared to the vegetable oil, fish oil has stronger effect on the blood lipid profile. Regular dietary intake of fish and vegetable oils would reduce the risk of cardiovascular complication