Synthesis, Derivatives, and Applications of Structured Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials offer abundant applications not accessible in regular bulk structures. A nanotubular structure (nanoscroll or nanotube) is a 1D architecture with distinct properties varying from that of the parent material. The new structure for example provides more surface area and presents more active sites on the structure exterior, interior, or edges. In this research, different nanotubular materials were targeted including nanopeapods (NPPs), nanoscrolls (NScs), and their various derivatives. Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were used as pod materials to grow noble metal NPs in their lumen. The synthesis was done rapidly, within 2 minutes at 55 ⸰C. This allows the growth of gold (Au) NPs, silver (Ag) NPs, and palladium (Pd) NPs in HNTs. Concurrently, the growth of NPs in the HNTs were studied utilizing different amounts of reducing agents. Kaolinite has a similar chemical formula to HNTs but with a different morphology, was used as a precursor to synthesize kaolinite NScs through a microwave process. The outcome of the experiments shows that the desired NScs can be achieved within 14 hours. Alternating the final intercalating agent allowed the formation of either thin and thick outer layered NScs. Hexaniobate (HNB) NPPs were synthesized through a solvothermal process where titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) act as peas. The nanocomposites were found to be photochemically active and were employed to degrade organic dyes in the aqueous medium after methylation of the nanocomposites. Ultrathin vanadate nanosheets (NSs) are highly desirable in a variety of applications including batteries and capacitors. Vanadate NSs were readily made by the thermal processing of vanadate NScs. The newly synthesized NSs are well dispersed and have a 4 nm average thickness

Impact of Basel II on Bank Portfolios in Australia

This paper analyses the sensitivity of various risk-weighted assets and liabilities to regulatory capital ratios of domestic and foreign banks in Australia. In particular, this paper investigates whether the growth of various risk-weighted assets changes during the post-Basel II period and whether those changes are caused by the more rigorous capital regulation introduced by the Basel II. The empirical analysis shows that Australian local banks is found to experience a substantial increase of the high-risk weighted assets (namely, non-residential loans) and subordinated debt with respect to their tier 1 capital ratio. The same changes, however, are found to have insignificant influence on the growth of low-risk weighted assets and total asset. Keywords: Regulatory capital; Basel II; Bank; Australia DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-5-0

Computational Study of Geometry, Solvation Free Energy, Dipole Moment, Polarizability, Hyperpolarizability and Molecular Properties of 2-Methylimidazole

Ab initio calculations were carried out to study the geometry, solvation free energy, dipole moment, molecular electrostatic potential (MESP), Mulliken and Natural charge distribution, polarizability, hyperpolarizability, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) energetic and different molecular properties like global reactivity descriptors (chemical hardness, softness, chemical potential, electronegativity, electrophilicity index) of 2-methylimidazole. B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory was used to optimize the structure both in the gas phase and in solution. The solvation free energy, dipole moment and molecular properties were calculated by applying the Solvation Model on Density (SMD) in four solvent systems, namely water, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), n-octanol and chloroform. The computed bond distances, bond angles and dihedral angles of 2-methylimidazole agreed reasonably well with the experimental data except for C(2)-N(1), C(4)-C(5) and N(1)-H(7) bond lengths and N(1)-C(5)-C(4) bond angle. The solvation free energy, dipole moment, polarizability, first order hyperpolarizability, chemical potential, electronegativity and electrophilicity index of 2-methylimidazole increased on going from non-polar to polar solvents. Chemical hardness also increased with increasing polarity of the solvent and the opposite relation was found in the case of softness. These results provide better understanding of the stability and reactivity of 2-methylimidazole in different solvent systems

Competitive Position of Bangladesh and China in the Global Clothing Export Market: An Analysis of Revealed Comparative Advantage

Purpose of the article: The Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry remains the most crucial segment of Bangladesh’s economy besides the agricultural sector in terms of foreign currency earning via export and employment generation. Several international studies predict that Bangladesh will be the next apparel sourcing hotspot after China due to the availability of reasonably priced labour force and other factors of production. This paper intends to exhibits the relative competitive position of China and Bangladesh for the ready-made garment industry in the global made-up clothing market and how its pattern has changed over the period of 2001–2017. Methodology/methods: Balassa’s RCA indices have been used to calculate for all the 34 product groups under HS 61 and HS 62 for up to four digits level of the study period of 2001 to 2017 of both countries. Descriptive statistical techniques have been applied to reveal the sustainability and predictability of the comparative advantage of both countries. Scientific aim: The findings of the study would be beneficial for the policy-makers and researchers in developing export promotion policies for generating industry competitiveness considering the valuable factors of both countries such as factors of production and geological position. Findings: The analysis has revealed that Bangladesh has achieved a significant comparative advantage over China in 26 product categories out of 34 product categories in 2017, whereas China has able to gain the RCA on only 8 product groups in the same study period. The findings also reveal that although Bangladesh has achieved significant RCA in most of the product types, its volatility remains on the higher side. Conclusion: This paper is one of the trivial pursuits to perform an organized analysis of revealed comparative advantage of Bangladesh and China on clothing (RMG) trade to major global market

Studies on in vitro response to callus induction and gene transfer technique of five high yielding indica rice varieties.

Due to growing population, there is an increasing demand of rice production but the productivity of rice is lessened day by day. To overcome this problem various biotechnological tools can be used for developing various rice varieties. However, the lack of a simple and efficient protocol for callus induction, embryogenic callus formation and quick plant regeneration in this cereal crop. In this study embryogenic calli from mature seeds of five indica rice varieties viz. Binadhan-5, Binadhan-6, BRRI dhan-48, BRRI dhan-58 and IR-64were observed that is done in four different concentration of growth regulators (2,4-D). The highest callus induction were observed in media containing 2 mg/L 2,4-D. Among those varieties BRRI dhan-48 showed highest rate of callus induction. In this experiment Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer is also tried although plants were found nut need to be tested by molecular methods and tested the desired characters for selecting those plantlets as transgenic plant. This study will be useful for selecting suitable callus induction medium for callus induction in future

Pott’s Paraplegia

Spinal tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide public health issue which is one of the main causes of disability. In regions with high TB incidence, Pott’s disease, also known as spinal tuberculosis, is also highly prevalent. Osteoarticular tuberculosis, which affects 1–2% of people with tuberculosis, is always a secondary infection that individuals with primary TB elsewhere in the body have. The most serious kind of bone TB is Pott’s paraplegia. The spinal cord is compressed, there is a gradual neurologic loss, and there may be deformity as the infection often starts from the vertebral body with noticeable damage and creation of a cold abscess. The management and treatment of spinal TB is challenging and intricate. Despite the availability of cutting-edge surgical techniques, imaging modalities, and anti-tubercular chemotherapy, managing Pott’s paraplegia can be challenging, particularly for those strains having multidrug resistant capacity. In order to achieve the desired neurological outcome, therapy should be tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Early diagnosis and prompt therapy are the main initial challenges in the management. The pathophysiology, imaging differential diagnosis, neuroimaging characteristics, surgical choice, and neurological prognosis of Pott’s paraplegia patients from previous literatures have been highlighted in this chapter

Levels, Trends and Differentials of Natural Births and Cesarean Births in Chittagong, Bangladesh

The type of last delivery of a mother is vital as it has a significant impact on mother and child health. The percentage of cesarean or C-section births has increased alarmingly in Bangladesh. Births through C-section have complicated and unsafe when compared to normal deliveries although sometimes it is unavoidable. This study assessed the current scenario of cesarean births and natural births in the region of Chittagong, Bangladesh. A total of 569 mothers’ data have been collected by schedule methods from the different areas of Chittagong from October to December 2018. Descriptive Statistics, chi-square (χ2) test and binary logistic regression have been used to determine the performance of delivery status in Chittagong. Chi-square (χ2) test reveals that a number of factors are significantly associated with the performance of the delivery type. Binary logistic regression shows that only two factors ‘Delivery place’ and ‘Cost of last delivery’ have a significant effect on delivery status in Chittagong. Keywords: Delivery type; C-section; Natural birth; Chittagong; Bangladesh DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/69-04 Publication date: December 31st 201

The evolution of resource distribution, slow diffusion, and dispersal strategies in heterogeneous populations

Population diffusion in river-ocean ecologies and for wild animals, including birds, mainly depends on the availability of resources and habitats. This study explores the dynamics of the resource-based competition model for two interacting species in order to investigate the spatiotemporal effects in a spatially distributed heterogeneous environment with no-flux boundary conditions. The main focus of this study is on the diffusion strategy, under conditions where the carrying capacity for two competing species is considered to be unequal. The same growth function is associated with both species, but they have different migration coefficients. The stability of global coexistence and quasi-trivial equilibria are also studied under different conditions with respect to resource function and carrying capacity. Furthermore, we investigate the case of competitive exclusion for various linear combinations of resource function and carrying capacity. Additionally, we extend the study to the instance where a higher migration rate negatively impacts population growth in competition. The efficacy of the model in the cases of one- and two-dimensional space is also demonstrated through a numerical study.AMS subject classification 201092D25, 35K57, 35K50, 37N25, 53C35

Transformer-Based Deep Learning Model for Stock Price Prediction: A Case Study on Bangladesh Stock Market

In modern capital market the price of a stock is often considered to be highly volatile and unpredictable because of various social, financial, political and other dynamic factors. With calculated and thoughtful investment, stock market can ensure a handsome profit with minimal capital investment, while incorrect prediction can easily bring catastrophic financial loss to the investors. This paper introduces the application of a recently introduced machine learning model - the Transformer model, to predict the future price of stocks of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the leading stock exchange in Bangladesh. The transformer model has been widely leveraged for natural language processing and computer vision tasks, but, to the best of our knowledge, has never been used for stock price prediction task at DSE. Recently the introduction of time2vec encoding to represent the time series features has made it possible to employ the transformer model for the stock price prediction. This paper concentrates on the application of transformer-based model to predict the price movement of eight specific stocks listed in DSE based on their historical daily and weekly data. Our experiments demonstrate promising results and acceptable root mean squared error on most of the stocks.Comment: 16 Pages, 14 Figures (including some containing subfigures