bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Response of elevated temperature on carbohydrate accumulation and grain yield in different wheat cultivars
Authors: Khatun Soyema , Ahmed Jalal Uddin
Published: August 2015

In order to study the response of terminal heat stress on carbohydrate accumulation and grain yield of three wheat cultivars namely BARI Gom 25, BARI Gom 26 and Pavon 76 were sown on 18 November, 2011 in experimental field of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur in Bangladesh and two temperature regimes viz. normal (23°C in open field) and elevated (6 ± 1°C higher compare to open field mean air temperature in polythene chamber) were created. Elevated temperature shortened the grain filling duration by 5-day in BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 and 10-day in Pavon 76. Under elevated temperature condition grain starch synthesis was found to be stopped at 25 days after anthesis (DAA) in Pavon 76 which in BARI Gom 26 appeared 5-day later (30 DAA) in spite of higher level of soluble sugar in grain. Results indicate that early failure of conversion of sugar to starch rather than supply of soluble sugar under elevated temperature condition were responsible for shortening of grain filling duration and smaller grain size in all wheat cultivars. Smaller reduction of grain size and grain number along with smaller reduction of grain weight per main stem under elevated temperature condition finally contributed to sustain negligible loss of grain yield, biological yield and harvest index in BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 compare to Pavon 76.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 40(2): 205-215, June 2015
Effect of phosphorus in reducing arsenic availability in soils and arsenic uptake by maize
Authors: Naser Habib Mohammad , Sultana Sarmin , Akhter Sohela , Begum Rowshan Ara
Published: August 2015

A pot experiment was carried out in the net house of Soil Science Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur Gazipur on 16 March 2010 and 12 January 2011 with a view of study the effect of P addition to As-contaminated soils and the consequences on As uptake of maize (Zea mays L.) plants. Experiments were conducted in consecutive two years. Arsenic was added to the pots at the rates of 0, 20 and 30 mg kg?1, and P at 0, 30 and 60 mg kg?1. Thus there were seven treatment combinations, i.e., As0P0, As20P0, As30P0, As20P30, As20P60, As30P30, and As30P60. Phosphorus fertilization increased total As uptake, but the increase was restricted to the root. As concentration of root was much higher than that of shoot. As concentrations in shoot and root were positively correlated (r = 0.913, r = 0.975; P<0.01) in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and plant As was positively correlated to the plant P in shoot (r = 0.883 and 0.875; P<0.01) and in root (r = 0.829, P<0.05 and 0.917; P<0.01). The plants took up much greater amounts of P than As. Although it is well known that phosphate inhibits arsenate uptake (Wang et al., 2002), but it is highlighted the role of P fertilization to increase As uptake in maize plants. The results presented here indicate P supply may effect in higher As allocation to the plant parts, which has practical application in soil-crop systems. These findings could have important implications for human health and agricultural systems, since it may reduce As contamination through the consumption of crops (phytoextraction) grown on contaminated soils.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 40(2): 217-227, June 2015
Technical and economic performance of combined harvester in farmers field
Authors: Hossain MA , Hoque MA , Wohab MA , Miah MA M , Hassan MS
Published: August 2015

Labour scarcity, harvesting loss, timely harvesting and harvesting cost are crucial in rice and wheat harvesting in Bangladesh. Combine harvester is a newly introduced harvesting machine in Bangladesh. This study was undertaken to evaluate the technical and economic performance of combine harvester available in farmers? field and farmer?s perception regarding the use of combine. Field tests of two new (CLASS andDaedong) and two refresh (Kukje and Anower) combine harvesters were conducted for harvesting rice and wheat in the farners? field of Jessore, Pabna,Dinajpurand Thakurgaon districts during 2011-12. Primary data were collected from 30 adopter and 30 non-adopter farmers from each district of Bogra, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon through direct interviewingduring 2012-13. Information was also collected from different combine harvester traders available in Bangladesh. Average time, cost and grain saving by combine harvester over manual methods were 97.50, 35.00 and 2.75%, respectively. Benefit cost ratio of CLASS, Daedong, Kukje and Anower combine harvesters were found to be 2.68, 2.11, 2.29 and 2.70, respectively. The payback periods of refresh combine harvesters were lower than the new combine harvester. There were some mechanical problems observed in refresh combine harvesters during field operations. New harvester was observed almost trouble free and popular to the famers. Scarcity of spare parts and mechanic service were the main problems for repair and maintenance of the combine harvesters in farm level. Considering the technical performance of combine harvester and demand of the farmers, new combine harvester may be introduced in commercial basis in Bangladesh.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 40(2): 291-304 June 2015
Genetic variability, character association and path analysis in Brassica rapa L. Genotypes
Authors: Naznin S , Kawochar MA , Sultana S , Bhuiyan MSR
Published: August 2015

Thirty three genotypes of Brassica rapa L. were evaluated in order to find out their inter-genotypic variability; character association and path coefficient of seed yield/plant and its component characters. BARI sarisha-6 x TORI-7 S-45 showed best result in terms of early maturity (75 days) and higher seed yield/plant (5.28g) than check varieties. The character, plant height, was highly influenced by the environment whereas, all other characters influenced the least. Number of secondary branches/plant showed the highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation. Moreover, number of siliquae/plant, number of secondary branches/plant and number of primary branches/plant showed high heritability (93.16%, 75.69% and 68.03%, respectively) couple with high genetic advance in percent of mean (37.74%, 73.55% and 26.82%, successively). The seed yield/plant showed significant positive correlation with number of siliquae/plant (rg = 0.7011**, rp = 0.5684**), number of primary branches/plant (rg = 0.5611**, rp = 0.4016*) and number of secondary branches/plant (rg = 0.5160**, rp = 0.4098*) revealing that selection based on these traits would be judicious. Path analysis showed that the number of siliquae/plant (0.4679), number of primary branches/plant (0.2823) and number of secondary branches/plant (0.0092) were the most important contributors to seed yield/plant. The results indicated that number of siliquae/plant, number of primary branches/plant and number of secondary branches/plant can be used as selection criteria to increase seed yield/plant in rapeseed.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 40(2): 305-323 June 2015
Current Trends in Pediatric Robotic Surgery
Authors: Garcia Isabella , De Armas Ismael A. Salas , Pimpalwar Ashwin
Published: August 2015

Not available.
Laparoscopic Assisted Orchidectomy Eases Future Insertion of Testicular Prosthesis in Paediatric Patients
Authors: Abdul Aziz Dayang Anita , Abidin Zainal Adwin , Nor Mahmud Mohd , Md Pauzi Suria Hayati , Rasat Rahmah , Latiff Zarina Abdul
Published: August 2015

High ligation orchidectomy in paediatric patients is performed for testicular tumours. This is carried out via open surgery at the inguinal or groin region. In these boys, elective insertion of testicular prostheses is carried out later to improve the external genitalia appearance. In most cases, insertion of testicular prosthesis or implant is carried out via the previous scar, to avoid prosthesis extrusion; however this is usually difficult due to scarring and may cause haematoma and possible infection. We report a novel technique of laparoscopic assisted orchidectomy in an adolescent boy with disorder of sexual development (DSD) whom was suspected of having bilateral gonadal (testicular) malignant change, he successfully underwent bilateral ligation of testicular vessels laparoscopically and removal of both testes via a midline scrotal raphe incision; hence avoiding bilateral groin incisions. With this method, future insertion of testicular prostheses can be carried out via virgin inguinal incisions.
Laparoscopic Excision of A Rare Retroperitoneal Non-Pancreatic Pseudocyst
Authors: Islam Sardar Rezaul , Rahman Shafiqur , Pasha Kamal , Sayem ASM
Published: August 2015

Retroperitoneal cysts (RCs) are rare. They are composed of both epithelial and mesothelial tissues, and those without an epithelial lining in the wall are called pseudocysts. Most retroperitoneal pseudocysts are pancreatic in origin, and nonpancreatic pseudocysts are very rarely reported.We report a case of large cystic lesion adjacent to the left kidney in a 25 years old man. He presented with 2 and half years history of gradual swelling of left upper abdomen. Abdominal ultrasonography and CT scan showed a large unilocular cystic mass in left side of the abdomen, which was attached with the lower pole of the left kidney. The cystic mass was excised laparoscopically. Histology showed a fibrous wall without epithelial lining thus confirming the diagnosis of a nonpancreatic pseudocyst.
Dissipation Pattern and Residue of Fenvalerate in Tea of Bangladesh
Authors: Nahar Nilufar , Sharma Hiron Moy , Shoeb Mohammad , Mamun M Iqbal Rouf , Sarker Mihir Lal
Published: August 2015

Fenvalerate, a non-systematic insecticide is extensively used for protection of tea leaves in Bangladesh. Excessive use of insecticides with improper pre-harvest intervals may cause the tea unsuitable for consumption and trade. The study was designed to determine the safe per-harvest interval after the application of fenvalerate on tea trees at two different doses. Fenvalerate was applied on tea plants in experimental plots at the full and half of the recommended doses (0.1 kg a.i /ha and 0.05 kg a.i /ha, respectively). Tea leaves were collected at 0 (2 h after application), 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days after application of the insecticide and made into black tea which was infused with hot water. Both brew and brew free residue were extracted, cleaned up and analyzed by GC-ECD. The residue levels in the brew were 0.189, 0.033 and 0.007 mg/kg at zero, 7 and 10 days, respectively, when it was applied at half of the recommended dose. In case of the recommended dose, residue levels were 0.644 and 0.010 mg/kg at 0 and 10 day, respectively. Residues were below the maximum residue level (MRL: 0.1 mg/kg) on 5 day at half of the recommended dose and on 7 day at recommended dose. Dissipation of fenvalerate followed first order kinetics at both doses with half lives of 2.6 days in brew part and 4.6 days in brew free part. Recoveries were 6.56±0.003% and 90.6±0.033% in brew part and brew free residue part, respectively, giving a total recovery of 96.6±0.036%. LOD and LOQ were 0.002 and 0.006 mg/kg, respectively.Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 63(2):73-76, 2015 (July)
An Alternative Approach for Solving Extreme Point Linear and Linear Fractional Programming Problems
Authors: Hossain Touhid , Arefin Md Rajib , Islam Md Ainul
Published: August 2015

The paper considers a class of optimization problems known as extreme point mathematical programming problems. The objective of this paper is to improve the established methods for solving extreme point linear and linear fractional programming problems. To overcome the cumbersome and time consuming procedures of these existing methods, we propose an alternative algorithm to solve such types of problems which is simple and need less computational effort. Two simple examples are given to elucidate our proposed algorithm.Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 63(2):77-84, 2015 (July)
Removal of Arsenic (III) Present in Ground Water of Bangladesh with Polymer Supported Hydrated Fe(III) Oxides
Authors: Rahman Mohammad Arifur , Kabir Evanta , Alam AM Shafiqul
Published: August 2015

In the present study, a technique to remove arsenic has been developed with a polymer-supported hydrated Fe(III) oxide (HFO) by using a strongly basic anionic exchanger IRA-420 as the host material and FeCl3-HCl-NaCl solution as the reaction environment. The optimized conditions were applied to a sample collected from Sonargaon, Dhaka. The removal efficiency of this method was more than 80%, which indicates that this method can be used as an efficient method for arsenic removal in Bangladesh. IRA-420-HFO exhibits more preferential adsorption of arsenic ions which is attributed to the Donnan membrane effect exerted by the host resin (IRA-420) as well as to the loaded HFO particles for specific interaction toward arsenic (III) ions. All the results indicated that HFO polymer derivative is an attractive adsorbent for efficient arsenic (III) removal from contaminated groundwater of Bangladesh.Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 63(2):85-89, 2015 (July)
Combined Effects of Viscous Dissipation and Thermal Radiation on non-Newtonian FluidAlong a Surface with Heat Generation and Uniform Surface Heat Flux
Authors: Pal D R , Samad MA
Published: August 2015

The paper analyses the effects of Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) free convective heat and mass transfer flow on non-Newtonian power law fluids along a continuously moving stretching sheet with radiation, heat generation and viscous dissipation under the simultaneous action of suction, thermal radiation, heat source, uniform transverse magnetic field and viscous dissipation. The governing non-linear partial differential equations describing the flow fields under consideration are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations by using appropriate analysis of similarity and then solved the resulting problem numerically by applying Nachtsheim-Swigert shooting iterative technique along with sixth order Runge-Kutta integration scheme. The computational results of the skin friction coefficient (Cf) the rate of heat transfer namely the local Nusselt number (Nux) and the mass transfer coefficient namely the local Sherwood number (Shx) have also been presented in tabular form. In the present study, a comparison has also been done with a published article and found a good agreement.Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 63(2):97-104, 2015 (July)
Genetic divergence of jesso-balam rice (Oryza sativa L.) of Bangladesh
Authors: Ahmed MS , Bashar MK , Wazuddin M , Shamsuddin AKM
Published: August 2015

In total 27 genotypes of Jesso-Balam pure line rice germplasm were studied for fourteen morpho-physiological and four physico-chemical characters at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, during T. Aman 2009 and T. Aman 2011 seasons. According to principal component scores, the two-dimensional scatter diagram (Z1-Z2) has apparently distributed the genotypes into seven clusters. According to Mahalanobis D2 statistic for the studied characters, the genotypes were clubbed into seven groups. The highest number of genotypes (6) were included in clusters I and III and the lowest two (2) in cluster V and VII. It was also revealed that no duplicate was existed among the genotypes. The intra-cluster distance was maximum (0.77) in cluster III and minimum (0.28) in cluster VII, while the maximum intercluster distance (28.37) was observed between the clusters III and IV and the minimum (2.49) between the clusters I and VII. The cluster V has produced the highest means for plant height (148.18 cm), straw yield per hill (39.97 g), panicle length (28.14 cm) and protein content (9.61%). But, the cluster IV has showed the highest means for seedling height (69.5 cm), flag and penultimate leaf area (1059.5 cm2), culm diameter (5.8 cm), filled grain number per panicle (3.64), grain length (8.63 mm) and 1000-grain weight (21.78 g), while the cluster VII had the highest means for grain yield per hill (31.27 g) and effective tiller number per hill (13.5) and the lowest mean for days to maturity (144). Therefore, the genotypes of cluster V need to be crossed with the genotypes of cluster IV or cluster VII, for developing new Balam rice with maximum other good characters. Finally, it could be concluded that the studied Jesso-Balam pure lines germplasm is a good source of valuable genes.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 5 (1): 22-27, June, 2015
Socio-personal correlates of participation in livelihood activities among rural youth in Jabalpur district of Madhya pradesh, India
Authors: Umunnakwe VC , Adedamola FO Olajide
Published: August 2015

The increasing realization of the negative political, social and economic consequences stemming from the precariousness of youths livelihoods, underscores the need to understand their livelihood activities, which is a requisite for curbing social ills and reducing rural poverty. The paper examined the participation of rural youth in livelihood activities, their socio-personal characteristics, the relationship between their socio-personal characteristics and their participation in livelihood activities as well as the interrelationships among their socio-personal characteristics. Multi-stage random sampling was used to collect data from 247 respondents through interview schedule. Frequency counts and percentages were used to present data while Pearson product moment correction (PPMC) was used to test relationships. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were from other backward caste (66%), married (72.10%), belonged to joint (57.90%) and medium (50.60%) size families as well as families that were self-employed in agriculture (59.50%). Higher percentages of the respondents and their fathers were educated up to higher school and above. Huge majority (75.71%) of the respondents participated in cereal production while more than half of the respondents were involved in pulse production (56.28%) and petty trading (53.44%). Marital status; fathers educational attainment; family type and family size had significant relationship with participation in livelihood activities. Inter-correlations among socio-personal characteristics showed that caste was related to marital status and educational attainment. It is concluded that socio-personal attributes of rural youth are related to their participation in livelihood activities. The study recommends that socio-personal variables of present study be considered by rural development policy makers when undertaking programmes aimed at enhancing rural youths livelihoods.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 5 (1): 28-35, June, 2015
Effects of brining process on nutrient composition of fish species (kharo, govazim and kijar) from Iran
Authors: Aberoumand Ali , Nejad Saeed Ziaei
Published: August 2015

This research work was directed on the study of the proximate chemical composition to compare the effect of the brining constant concentration and different times on the nutritive value of fish. The proximate composition of treated Chirocentrus nudus (protein, fat, ash and energetic value) for 8% salt and 18 h brining was 61.2%, 15.2%, 23.2% and 381.60 kcal/100g respectively. Fat and ash contents in brined fillets of Nemipterus japonicus and Saurida tumbil were found lower and more than C. nudus respectively. As for the proximate composition of C. nudus, it is clearly observed that all the studied parameters are significantly different in fresh and treated samples. Variations appeared in nutrients was due to the interaction of the salting treatment. It is concluded that fish treated C. nudus was best option.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 5 (1): 36-39, June, 2015
Effect of foliar application of urea and planofix on the foliage yield of coriander
Authors: Rakib Abdur , Moniruzzaman M , Hasan M , Rahman MM
Published: August 2015

Note: The authorship was changed on 23.02.2016 FROM Abdur Rakib, M. Kamruzzaman1*, Soyema Khatun1 and M. Moniruzzaman2  TO Abdur Rakib1*, M. Moniruzzaman2, M. Hasan3 and M.M. Rahman3. The authorship is changed due to request of the principal author to add two co-authors of his major professor and advisory committee member of postgraduate study and two co-authors are excluded from the authorship and acknowledged them for their contribution in the manuscript.______________________________________________________________Abstract:An experiment on coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) was conducted at the experimental field of Department of Horticulture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur during November 2012 to April 2013 to find out the suitable foliar doses and application frequency of urea and planofix (NAA). The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatment consisted of six foliar dozes viz. T1 (Tap water as control), T2 (0.10 % urea), T3 (0.25 % urea), T4 (0.40 % urea), T5 (5 ppm planofix) and T6 (10 ppm planofix) and three application frequencies viz. F1 [20 days after sowing (20 DAS)], F2 (30 DAS) and F3 (20 and 30 DAS). Maximum foliage yield (6.94 t/ha) was recorded in 10 ppm planofix coupled with its twice application at 20 and 30 DAS which was closely followed the foliage yield (6.33 t/ha) by 5 ppm planofix with the same application frequency. The foliage yield was increased with the increase in urea concentration. The highest foliage yield (5.37 t/ha) was also recorded from twice application of urea and planofix at 20 and 30 DAS, respectively. Planofix 10 ppm with its twice application at 20 and 30 DAS gave the highest benefit-cost of ration 2.51.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 5 (1): 40-44, June, 2015
Early Detection of Right Ventricular Dysfunction by Myocardial Performance Index in Diabetic Patients
Authors: Nahar Samsun , Ahmed Choudhury Meshkat , Siddique Md Abu , Parveen Tanjima , Shakil Shiblee Sadeque , Hoque Md Harisul
Published: August 2015

In diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, left ventricular dysfunction is widely evaluated and established by conventional diagnostic methods, whereas right ventricular (RV) function is not sufficiently evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess the right ventricular function in type 2 diabetic patients by myocardial performance index (MPI) . In this cross-sectional study, 49 diabetic patients and 49 non-diabetic healthy volunteers were studied who were devoid of any other conditions that may influence the both systolic and diastolic function of the RV. In addition to 2D and M-mode evaluation, standard Doppler, pulsed tissue Doppler of both ventricles were performed. MPI was significantly (p<0.05) higher in diabetic patients compared to control group . Right ventricular early diastolic velocity (E) and late diastolic velocity (A), E/A were significantly (p<0.05) lower in DM compared to control group. Myocardial performance index is a useful noninvasive tool for the detection of early right ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients .University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2014; 3-6
Frequency of the High Body Mass Index in School Going Children in Dhaka City
Authors: Siddique Lamisa Saiyara , Nahar Samsun , Parvin Tanjima
Published: August 2015

Childhood obesity is highly prevalent in urban areas of Bangladesh but information is limited. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of obesity in children aged 9-11 years and raise awareness about obesity and its complications. The study was conducted in a Private English Medium school in Dhaka involving 140 students whose height and weight was measured. The BMI was calculated by software provided by Centre of Disease Control. In the present study, we showed that 50% of the students were either overweight or obese out of which26.4% were obese. Majority of those found obese or overweight consumed fast foods. In conclusion, prevalence of obesity was high in a private school, which houses children from mostly middle to high income families. Enforcing healthy eating habits amongst parents could yield better results in lowering the BMI. Further surveillance in this population is essential in verifying the impact of obesity.University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2014; 23-26
Prevention of Ischaemic Heart Disease
Authors: Mahmood Manzoor , Hoque Md Harisul , Mahmood SA , Quayum Mohammad Abdul , Arzu Jahanara , Rahman Kazi Sharmin
Published: August 2015

Prevention strategies are based on identification and modulation of cardiovascular risk factors. Targeting high risk individuals is cost-effective. More relevant to the practising clinicians is Identification of those individuals in whom intervention (life style or pharmacological) will prevent cardiovascular events (fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction) and/or the need for interventional or surgical procedures, extending duration and quality of life (QOL). Modification of reversible risk factors (rather than interventional procedures) has been largely responsible for the decline in age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality.University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2014; 27-30
A Case Report of Tubercular Constrictive Pericarditis
Authors: Basak Rajib Kumar , Aftabuddin Md , Adhikary Asit Baran , Khan Omar Sadeque , Rahman Khan Mohammad Amanur
Published: August 2015

Diagnosis of Constrictive pericarditis is sometimes become difficult because that requires a high degree of clinical suspicion due to nonspecific sign and symptoms. But in endemic area like our country the presentation of tubercular constrictive pericarditis is common. Here we report a case of 28 year Bangladeshi male with tubercular constrictive pericarditis presenting with progressive exertional dyspnea, ankle edema, puffyness of face, dry nonproductive caugh. After physical examination and investigation, the patient was diagnosed as constrictive pericarditis. Patient was previously diagnosed as a tubercular patient and still now on antitubercular cat-1 chemotherapy. So finally diagnosis becomes tubercular constrictive pericarditis. After improvement of the symptoms with medical treatment, the definitive surgical intervention, pericardiectomy done. Then removed pericardial tissue was sent for histopathological examination and histopathological report confirmed the diagnosis of tubercular pericarditis. This case is a late presentation of extrapulmonary manifestation of pulmonary tuberculosis, which is present as a consequence or, complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. So, early diagnosis and treatment is very much important in this case to prevent late consequence like tubercular constrictive pericarditis.University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2014; 42-44
The dilemmas of victim positioning
Authors: Søndergaard Dorte Marie
Published: August 2015

This article centres on some of the dilemmas contained within victim positioning. Such dilemmas are often overlooked by the authorities involved with people subjected to relational aggression. 2 For example, when teachers rule out cases of bullying because the victim has ‘participated in’ or ‘laughed at’ some of the bullies’ initiatives, or when a rape victim’s status as a victim is questioned because, in the lead up to the assault, she was supposedly friendly to the rapist. In these cases, it could be useful to explore the reason for the bullying victim’s apparent collusion or to better understand the premises for the rape victim’s positioning options in relation to the perpetrator. In other words, it could be fruitful to explore the dynamics and dilemmas of the victim position. In this article, I aim to reflect on the motivational conditions of the victim phenomenon. These reflections are based on an analysis of qualitative data produced through interviews with school children as well as on relevant secondary literature.
Configuration of Green Spaces for Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Future Building Energy Conservation in Hanoi Master Plan 2030
Authors: Trihamdani Andhang , Lee Han , Kubota Tetsu , Phuong Tran
Published: August 2015

The study aims to assess the urban heat island (UHI) effects in the city under the present land use conditions as well as those conditions proposed by the Hanoi Master Plan 2030 through numerical simulation, using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF). Furthermore, this paper assesses additional land use scenarios with different spatial and green space configurations. The results show that the implementation of the master plan does not significantly affect the peak air temperature in the built-up areas (approximately 1 °C higher at the maximum). However, high temperature areas, with temperature of 40–41 °C, would expand widely over the new built-up areas. On the other hand, the nocturnal air temperature would increase by up to 2–3 °C over the newly expanded built-up areas. The number of hotspots increased further when the strategic green spaces in the master plan were not taken into account. However, the cooling effect of the strategic green spaces did not reach the existing city center sufficiently because the green spaces are located far from the city center. The large and centralized green spaces proposed in the master plan were seen to be insufficient to mitigate UHIs compared to the equally distributed green spaces. Moreover, the greater reduction of hotspot areas by up to 56.5% was seen when the mixed forest is employed as the land cover in the green spaces.
Novel Method for Measuring the Heat Collection Rate and Heat Loss Coefficient of Water-in-Glass Evacuated Tube Solar Water Heaters Based on Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machine
Authors: Liu Zhijian , Li Hao , Zhang Xinyu , Jin Guangya , Cheng Kewei
Published: August 2015

The determinations of heat collection rate and heat loss coefficient are crucial for the evaluation of in service water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters. However, the direct determination requires complex detection devices and a series of standard experiments, which also wastes too much time and manpower. To address this problem, we propose machine learning models including artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVM) to predict the heat collection rate and heat loss coefficient without a direct determination. Parameters that can be easily obtained by “portable test instruments” were set as independent variables, including tube length, number of tubes, tube center distance, heat water mass in tank, collector area, final temperature and angle between tubes and ground, while the heat collection rate and heat loss coefficient determined by the detection device were set as dependent variables respectively. Nine hundred fifteen samples from in-service water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters were used for training and testing the models. Results show that the multilayer feed-forward neural network (MLFN) with 3 nodes is the best model for the prediction of heat collection rate and the general regression neural network (GRNN) is the best model for the prediction of heat loss coefficient due to their low root mean square (RMS) errors, short training times, and high prediction accuracies (under the tolerances of 30%, 20%, and 10%, respectively).
Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A and Mitochondrial Genome as Molecular Targets for Cisplatin-Based Cancer Chemotherapy
Authors: Kohno Kimitoshi , Wang Ke-Yong , Takahashi Mayu , Kurita Tomoko , Yoshida Yoichiro , Hirakawa Masakazu , Harada Yoshikazu , Kuma Akihiro , Izumi Hiroto , Matsumoto Shinji
Published: August 2015

Mitochondria are important cellular organelles that function as control centers of the energy supply for highly proliferative cancer cells and regulate apoptosis after cancer chemotherapy. Cisplatin is one of the most important chemotherapeutic agents and a key drug in therapeutic regimens for a broad range of solid tumors. Cisplatin may directly interact with mitochondria, which can induce apoptosis. The direct interactions between cisplatin and mitochondria may account for our understanding of the clinical activity of cisplatin and development of resistance. However, the basis for the roles of mitochondria under treatment with chemotherapy is poorly understood. In this review, we present novel aspects regarding the unique characteristics of the mitochondrial genome in relation to the use of platinum-based chemotherapy and describe our recent work demonstrating the importance of the mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) expression in cancer cells.
News Schemes for Activity Recognition Systems Using PCA-WSVM, ICA-WSVM, and LDA-WSVM
Authors: Abidine M’hamed , Fergani Belkacem
Published: August 2015

Feature extraction and classification are two key steps for activity recognition in a smart home environment. In this work, we used three methods for feature extraction: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). The new features selected by each method are then used as the inputs for a Weighted Support Vector Machines (WSVM) classifier. This classifier is used to handle the problem of imbalanced activity data from the sensor readings. The experiments were implemented on multiple real-world datasets with Conditional Random Fields (CRF), standard Support Vector Machines (SVM), Weighted SVM, and combined methods PCA+WSVM, ICA+WSVM, and LDA+WSVM showed that LDA+WSVM had a higher recognition rate than other methods for activity recognition.
Algebra of Complex Vectors and Applications in Electromagnetic Theory and Quantum Mechanics
Authors: Muralidhar Kundeti
Published: August 2015

A complex vector is a sum of a vector and a bivector and forms a natural extension of a vector. The complex vectors have certain special geometric properties and considered as algebraic entities. These represent rotations along with specified orientation and direction in space. It has been shown that the association of complex vector with its conjugate generates complex vector space and the corresponding basis elements defined from the complex vector and its conjugate form a closed complex four dimensional linear space. The complexification process in complex vector space allows the generation of higher n-dimensional geometric algebra from (n — 1)-dimensional algebra by considering the unit pseudoscalar identification with square root of minus one. The spacetime algebra can be generated from the geometric algebra by considering a vector equal to square root of plus one. The applications of complex vector algebra are discussed mainly in the electromagnetic theory and in the dynamics of an elementary particle with extended structure. Complex vector formalism simplifies the expressions and elucidates geometrical understanding of the basic concepts. The analysis shows that the existence of spin transforms a classical oscillator into a quantum oscillator. In conclusion the classical mechanics combined with zeropoint field leads to quantum mechanics.
Effect of an Introduced Phytoene Synthase Gene Expression on Carotenoid Biosynthesis in the Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Authors: Kadono Takashi , Kira Nozomu , Suzuki Kengo , Iwata Osamu , Ohama Takeshi , Okada Shigeru , Nishimura Tomohiro , Akakabe Mai , Tsuda Masashi , Adachi Masao
Published: August 2015

Carotenoids exert beneficial effects on human health through their excellent antioxidant activity. To increase carotenoid productivity in the marine Pennales Phaeodactylum tricornutum, we genetically engineered the phytoene synthase gene (psy) to improve expression because RNA-sequencing analysis has suggested that the expression level of psy is lower than other enzyme-encoding genes that are involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. We isolated psy from P. tricornutum, and this gene was fused with the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene to detect psy expression. After transformation using the microparticle bombardment technique, we obtained several P. tricornutum transformants and confirmed psy expression in their plastids. We investigated the amounts of PSY mRNA and carotenoids, such as fucoxanthin and β-carotene, at different growth phases. The introduction of psy increased the fucoxanthin content of a transformants by approximately 1.45-fold relative to the levels in the wild-type diatom. However, some transformants failed to show a significant increase in the carotenoid content relative to that of the wild-type diatom. We also found that the amount of PSY mRNA at log phase might contribute to the increase in carotenoids in the transformants at stationary phase.
The Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Algae-Derived Lipid Extracts on Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Stimulated Human THP-1 Macrophages
Authors: Robertson Ruairi , Guihéneuf Freddy , Bahar Bojlul , Schmid Matthias , Stengel Dagmar , Fitzgerald Gerald , Ross R. , Stanton Catherine
Published: August 2015

Algae contain a number of anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and chlorophyll a, hence as dietary ingredients, their extracts may be effective in chronic inflammation-linked metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. In this study, anti-inflammatory potential of lipid extracts from three red seaweeds (Porphyra dioica, Palmaria palmata and Chondrus crispus) and one microalga (Pavlova lutheri) were assessed in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human THP-1 macrophages. Extracts contained 34%–42% total fatty acids as n-3 PUFA and 5%–7% crude extract as pigments, including chlorophyll a, β-carotene and fucoxanthin. Pretreatment of the THP-1 cells with lipid extract from P. palmata inhibited production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 (p < 0.05) and IL-8 (p < 0.05) while that of P. lutheri inhibited IL-6 (p < 0.01) production. Quantitative gene expression analysis of a panel of 92 genes linked to inflammatory signaling pathway revealed down-regulation of the expression of 14 pro-inflammatory genes (TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, TLR8, TRAF5, TRAF6, TNFSF18, IL6R, IL23, CCR1, CCR4, CCL17, STAT3, MAP3K1) by the lipid extracts. The lipid extracts effectively inhibited the LPS-induced pro-inflammatory signaling pathways mediated via toll-like receptors, chemokines and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling molecules. These results suggest that lipid extracts from P. lutheri, P. palmata, P. dioica and C. crispus can inhibit LPS-induced inflammatory pathways in human macrophages. Therefore, algal lipid extracts should be further explored as anti-inflammatory ingredients for chronic inflammation-linked metabolic diseases.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Selected Benzimidazole Derivatives as Potential Antimicrobial Agents
Authors: Alasmary Fatmah , Snelling Anna , Zain Mohammed , Alafeefy Ahmed , Awaad Amani , Karodia Nazira
Published: August 2015

A library of 53 benzimidazole derivatives, with substituents at positions 1, 2 and 5, were synthesized and screened against a series of reference strains of bacteria and fungi of medical relevance. The SAR analyses of the most promising results showed that the antimicrobial activity of the compounds depended on the substituents attached to the bicyclic heterocycle. In particular, some compounds displayed antibacterial activity against two methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) comparable to the widely-used drug ciprofloxacin. The compounds have some common features; three possess 5-halo substituents; two are derivatives of (S)-2-ethanaminebenzimidazole; and the others are derivatives of one 2-(chloromethyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole and (1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)methanethiol. The results from the antifungal screening were also very interesting: 23 compounds exhibited potent fungicidal activity against the selected fungal strains. They displayed equivalent or greater potency in their MIC values than amphotericin B. The 5-halobenzimidazole derivatives could be considered promising broad-spectrum antimicrobial candidates that deserve further study for potential therapeutic applications.
Themed Volumes: A Blessing or a Curse?
Authors: Brooks Mary , Ison Stephen
Published: August 2015

Research in Transportation Business and Management (RTBM) was launched in 2009 with the first volume appearing in August 2011. The format of the journal is somewhat different to that of conventional journals in that each volume is themed focusing on a particular aspect of transportation from a business and management perspective. This paper focuses on the format of the journal and the decisions taken at the time of launch, eventually drawing conclusions about the chosen format and whether it has been an effective format for the competitive space into which the journal was launched. With four years of production data available, the authors conclude that the format has offered both positive and negative aspects, but that overall the launch format chosen was right for the competitive environment faced.
Cross-Calibration of GF-1/WFV over a Desert Site Using Landsat-8/OLI Imagery and ZY-3/TLC Data
Authors: Yang Aixia , Zhong Bo , Lv Wenbo , Wu Shanlong , Liu Qinhuo
Published: August 2015

The wide field of view (WFV) is an optical imaging sensor on-board the Gao Fen 1 (GF-1). The WFV lacks an on-board calibrator, so on-orbit radiometric calibration is required. Zhong et al. proposed a method for cross-calibrating the charge-coupled device on-board the Chinese Huan Jing 1 (HJ-1/CCD) that can be applied to the GF-1/WFV. However, the accuracy is limited because of the wider radiometric dynamic range and the higher spatial resolution of the GF-1/WFV. Therefore, Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery with a radiometric resolution similar to that of the GF-1/WFV and DEM extracted from ZY-3 three-line array panchromatic camera (TLC) with a higher spatial resolution were used. A calibration site with uniform surface material and a natural topographic variation was selected, and a model of this site’s bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) was developed. The model has excellent agreement with the real situation, as shown by the comparison of the simulations to the actual OLI surface reflectance. Then, the model was used to calibrate the WFV. Compared with the TOA reflectance from synchronized Landsat-8/OLI images, all errors calculated with the calibration coefficients retrieved in this paper are less than 5%, much less than the errors calculated with the calibration coefficients given by the China Centre for Resource Satellite Data and Application (CRESDA).
The Thermoluminescence Response of Ge-Doped Flat Fibers to Gamma Radiation
Authors: Nawi Siti , Wahib Nor , Zulkepely Nurul , Amin Yusoff , Min Ung , Bradley David , Nor Roslan , Maah Mohd
Published: August 2015

Study has been undertaken of the thermoluminescence (TL) yield of various tailor-made flat cross-section 6 mol% Ge-doped silica fibers, differing only in respect of external dimensions. Key TL dosimetric characteristics have been investigated, including glow curves, dose response, sensitivity, fading and reproducibility. Using a 60Co source, the samples were irradiated to doses within the range 1 to 10 Gy. Prior to irradiation, the flat fibers were sectioned into 6 mm lengths, weighed, and annealed at 400 °C for 1 h. TL readout was by means of a Harshaw Model 3500 TLD reader, with TLD-100 chips (LiF:Mg, Ti) used as a reference dosimeter to allow the relative response of the fibers to be evaluated. The fibers have been found to provide highly linear dose response and excellent reproducibility over the range of doses investigated, demonstrating high potential as TL-mode detectors in radiation medicine applications. Mass for mass, the results show the greatest TL yield to be provided by fibers of the smallest cross-section, analysis indicating this to be due to minimal light loss in transport of the TL through the bulk of the silica medium.
Context Aware Middleware Architectures: Survey and Challenges
Authors: Li Xin , Eckert Martina , Martinez José-Fernán , Rubio Gregorio
Published: August 2015

Context aware applications, which can adapt their behaviors to changing environments, are attracting more and more attention. To simplify the complexity of developing applications, context aware middleware, which introduces context awareness into the traditional middleware, is highlighted to provide a homogeneous interface involving generic context management solutions. This paper provides a survey of state-of-the-art context aware middleware architectures proposed during the period from 2009 through 2015. First, a preliminary background, such as the principles of context, context awareness, context modelling, and context reasoning, is provided for a comprehensive understanding of context aware middleware. On this basis, an overview of eleven carefully selected middleware architectures is presented and their main features explained. Then, thorough comparisons and analysis of the presented middleware architectures are performed based on technical parameters including architectural style, context abstraction, context reasoning, scalability, fault tolerance, interoperability, service discovery, storage, security & privacy, context awareness level, and cloud-based big data analytics. The analysis shows that there is actually no context aware middleware architecture that complies with all requirements. Finally, challenges are pointed out as open issues for future work.
Seeing GMOs from a Systems Perspective: The Need for Comparative Cartographies of Agri/Cultures for Sustainability Assessment
Authors: Herrero Amaranta , Wickson Fern , Binimelis Rosa
Published: August 2015

Over the past twenty years, agricultural biotechnologies have generated chronically unresolved political controversies. The standard tool of risk assessment has proven to be highly limited in its ability to address the panoply of concerns that exist about these hybrid techno/organisms. It has also failed to account for both the conceptual and material networks of relations agricultural biotechnologies require, create and/or perform. This paper takes as a starting point that agricultural biotechnologies cannot be usefully assessed as isolated technological entities but need to be evaluated within the context of the broader socio-ecological system that they embody and engender. The paper then explores, compares and contrasts some of the methodological tools available for advancing this systems-based perspective. The article concludes by outlining a new synthesis approach of comparative cartographies of agri/cultures generated through multi-sited ethnographic case-studies, which is proposed as a way to generate system maps and enable the comparison of genetically modified (GM) food with both conventional and alternative agri-food networks for sustainability assessment. The paper aims to make a unique theoretical and methodological contribution by advancing a systems-based approach to conceptualising and assessing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and proposing a synthesised methodology for mapping networks of relations across different agri/cultures.
Antecedents of Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile Telecommunication Services: Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Technology Acceptance
Authors: Lee Sanghoon , Park Eunil , Kwon Sang , Del Pobil Angel
Published: August 2015

The concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and user experience have been identified as core determinants of the success of service providers. Accordingly, practitioners and researchers have investigated the effects of service providers’ CSR and user experience on behavioral intention to use a particular service. Based on the importance of these concepts, the current study integrates subjective dimensions of CSR with the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore whether the CSR efforts of mobile telecommunication services providers and the service acceptance of their customers have significant effects on behavioral intention to use a service. We apply structural equation modeling and find that two factors from the TAM (i.e., usefulness and ease of use) as well as economic, social, and environmental responsibility are significantly related to customer attitude and satisfaction. Moreover, our results show that there are significantly positive relationships between customer attitude and behavioral intention to use a service, as well as between customer satisfaction and intention. Practical and theoretical implications along with notable limitations of the current study are presented.