Parliamentary By-Election in Bangladesh: The Study of Bhola-3 Constituency

This analytical study based on the secondary sources examines the nature of the by-election in the Bhola-3 constituency held on April 24, 2010. The ruling party Awami League (AL) took this by-election as a prestige issue and chance for a renewed mandate in favour of the Hasina government, while the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) plan was to create an issue by saying that the by-election was rigged. The Election Commission (EC) and the ruling party clamed that the poll was free and fair, while the BNP rejected the electoral outcome for widespread corruption. The analysis shows that the election was not free, fair and peaceful and the role of EC was controversial. The EC didn’t deploy the army, although BNP demanded this several times to maintain law and order. Moreover, the EC didn’t take any action against the violation of electoral laws by the ruling party’s candidate. Widely shared anecdotal evidence of voter intimidation and physical violence besmirched the election.Key words: By-election; AL; BNP; Election Commissio

Enhancement of Web Security Against External Attack

The security of web-based services is currently playing a vital role for the software industry. In recent years, many technologies and standards have emerged in order to handle the security issues related to web services. This paper shows techniques to enhance the security of web services, and some of the recent challenges and recommendations of a proposed model to secure web services. It shows the security process of a real life web application, which includes; HTML5 forms, login security, and a single signon solution. This paper also aim to discuss the ten (10) most common web security vulnerabilities and how to prevent the web application from three (3) of the vulnerabilities. Amongst them are; SQL Injection, Cross Site Scripting and Broken Authentication, and Session Management

A Novel Design and Implementation of 8-3 Encoder Using Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) Technology

In recent years Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) has been considered one of the emerging nano-technology for future generation digital circuits and systems. QCA technology is a promising alternative to Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Thus, QCA offers a novel electronics paradigm for information processing and communication system. It has attractive features such as faster speed, higher scale integration, higher switching frequency, smaller size and low power consumption compared to the transistor based technology. It is projected as a promising nanotechnology for future Integrated Circuits (ICs). A quantum dot cellular automaton complex gate is composed from simple 3-input majority gate. In this paper, a 8-3 encoder circuit is proposed based on QCA logic gates: the 4-input Majority Voter (MV) OR gate. This 7-input gate can be configured into many useful gate structures such as a 4-input AND gate, a 4-input OR gate, 2-input AND and 2-input OR gates, 2-input complex gates, multi-input complex gates. The proposed circuit has a promising future in the area of nano-computing information processing system and can be stimulated with higher digital applications in QCA

Avirulence gene based RFLP and rep-PCR distinguish the genetic variation of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae pathotypes in Bangladesh

Bacterial blight (BB) caused by X. oryzae pv. oryzae is one of the devastating diseases of rice mostly in Asia. Genomes of X. oryzae pv. oryzae is highly variable due to rearrangement of the large contents of transposable elements and dynamic changes of X. oryzae pv. oryzae population regulated efficiency of the control measures used for BB management of rice worldwide. In this study, genetic variation of X. oryzae pv. oryzae pathotypes of Bangladesh was studied using aviruelnce gene based RFLP and rep-PCR techniques aimed to formulate pathogen targeted effective control measures against BB of rice. Eight pathotypes of X. oryzae pv. oryzae field isolates were identified based on their reactions against 10 Near Isogenic Lines (NILs). Among eight pathotypes, pathotypes IV and V contained higher number of isolates which were 30.13% and 23.01% respectively while pathotype VIII revealed as minimum containing only 2.51% of total isolates. These eight pathotypes were studied for their genetic variation by RFLP using avrBs3 repeat domain as probe. The results conceded that Bangladeshi X. oryzae pv. oryzae strains seem carrying a minimum of two and maximum of nine avrBs3 family genes homologs. The resistance phenotype on IRBB7 and IRBB10 NILs also indicated presence of two major avrBs3 family genes viz. avrxa7 and avrXa10 in some pathotypes. Relationship of phylogenicity exhibited that X. oryzae pv. oryzae pathotypes assorted into two RFLP haplotypes as well as these haplotypes are largely distributed in Bangladesh. Phylogenetic analyses carried out by (REP, ERIC), rep-PCR and BOX depicted the presence of two main molecular haplotypes of X. oryzae pv. oryzae pathotypes. The relationship between pathotypes and molecular haplotypes of X. oryzae pv. oryzae in Bangladesh indicated that the same lineage possesses different pathotypes and different lineage possesses different pathotypes. The results indicated that eight different pathotypes might have originated from common inherited haplotypes with a wide genetic variation

Osmolyte-induced water deficit stress mitigation during panicle initiation stage in transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field experiment was conducted to observe the osmolyte-induced water deficit stress mitigation during the panicle initiation stage in transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. BRRI dhan72). At the panicle initiation stage, plants were simulated with four levels of water regimes viz., well-irrigated (D0), water deficit for 5 d (D1), 10 d (D2) and 15 d (D3). Plants were treated with or without 10 mM of proline (Pro) and trehalose (Tre) as foliar spray started at mid-vegetative stage and continued till the end of stress period. Results revealed that water deficit stress drastically reduced most of the plant morpho-physiological attributes while other yield contributing characters were also affected due to prolonged water deficit stress. However, exogenous application of osmolytes like Pro and Tre significantly increased all those morphological, physiological and yield contributing parameters. Foliar addition of osmolytes concomitantly decreased the number of non-effective tillers hill-1 and the number of unfilled grain panicle-1 under water stress condition. Although both the osmolytes performed well under multiple duration of drought stress, the application of 10 mM Pro markedly improved all growth and yield contributing parameters under D1 water deficit stress compared to other stress durations. Hence, it may be concluded that the use of osmolytes would be a prospective remedy against moderate water deficit stress in transplanted rice production

A comprehensive analysis of improving the QoS of IMM traffic for high speed wireless campus network

Interactive Multimedia (IMM) applications such as voice and video conferencing are very important in our learning environment. They offer useful services that benefit its users but these services suffers performance degradation from today’s high speed Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). However, guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) remains the bottleneck in the network which becomes a great challenge in attempting to improve its performance. This work reviewed many approaches and considers mapping QoS class parameters such as Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI), Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) and Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP) to the upstream and downstream data flowing in the network as an attempt to improve its performance. Priority is then given to the QoS bearer packets by associating Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP). A comprehensive analysis of QoS in different protocols in wireless networks has been studied. Open issues and research directions have been addressed with a proposed mechanism to enhance the QoS of the wireless networ

Socio-Economic Conditions of Small-Scale Hilsa Fishers in the Meghna River Estuary of Chandpur, Bangladesh

Hilsa fish (Tenualosa ilisha) have become an essential factor behind the well-being of the fishing community, giving fishers their identity as a source of cultural heritage. A field survey was conducted to understand the socio-economic conditions of hilsa fishers at the Meghna river estuary of Chandpur District using well-structured questionnaire interviews (N = 250) with hilsa fishers. The survey revealed that fishers’ livelihoods and living conditions were still below average due to low literacy levels, lack of professional skills, and low incomes. More than two-thirds of the fishers were entirely dependent on hilsa fishing, while more than one-third had between 11 and 20 years of fishing experience. More than two-thirds of the fishers did not have an alternative occupation during ban periods, and the incentives provided by the government were not adequately received by half of the fishers. Fishers were divided into three groups according to their dependence on hilsa fishing. Significant differences were found between these groups in terms of the age of fishers, annual income from fishing, and annual fishing activity days. Therefore, the government, Fisheries cooperatives, NGOs, and other relevant organizations must unite to support fishers for sustainable hilsa fishery management

Performance evaluation of a cabinet solar dryer for drying red pepper in Bangladesh

A cabinet type solar dryer was designed and fabricated over a collector and dryer area of 4.00 m2 and 7.5 m2 respectively for the geographical condition of Bangladesh. Red pepper was used to test the performance of the dryer. The upper tray and lower tray pepper drying needed 36 and 41 h to reduce moisture from 73% (wet basis) to 10% (wet basis) respectively and found 9 kg dried pepper from 30 kg fresh red ripe pepper. In contrast, open sun drying needed 85 h to reduce moisture from 73% (wet basis) to 11% (wet basis) and produced 2.43 kg dried pepper from 8 kg red ripe pepper. The average global radiation was about 133 W/m2 while the flux incidence and flux absorbed on collector was about 128 W/m2 and 103 W/m2 respectively. The average collector and dryer efficiency was about 48% and 34% respectively. The average exergy efficiency was obtained 63%. The average rate of top, bottom and side collector loss was 37 W/m2, 20 W/m2 and 3 W/m2 respectively. The upper tray, lower tray and open sun pepper seed germination was 76%, 81% and 85% respectively (P≥0.01). The redness value of lower tray pepper (a*=27.1) was higher followed by upper tray (a*=24.7) and open sun pepper powder (a*=21.1), which means direct exposure of sunlight diminishes the quality of pepper colour. The redness value of fabricated solar drying was significantly (P≤0.01) higher than that of open sun drying

Women’s Preferences for Maternal Healthcare Services in Bangladesh: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment

Despite substantial improvements in several maternal health indicators, childbearing and birthing remain a dangerous experience for many women in Bangladesh. This study assessed the relative importance of maternal healthcare service characteristics to Bangladeshi women when choosing a health facility to deliver their babies. The study used a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative methods (expert interviews, focus group discussions) were initially employed to identify and develop the characteristics which most influence a women’s decision making when selecting a maternal health service facility. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was then constructed to elicit women’s preferences. Women were shown choice scenarios representing hypothetical health facilities with nine attributes outlined. The women were then asked to rank the attributes they considered most important in the delivery of their future babies. A Hierarchical Bayes method was used to measure mean utility parameters. A total of 601 women completed the DCE survey. The model demonstrated significant predictive strength for actual facility choice for maternal health services. The most important attributes were the following: consistent access to a female doctor, the availability of branded drugs, respectful provider attitudes, a continuum of maternal healthcare including the availability of a c-section delivery and lower waiting times. Attended maternal healthcare utilisation rates are low despite the access to primary healthcare facilities. Further implementation of quality improvements in maternal healthcare facilities should be prioritised