Indoor air quality for poor families: new evidence from Bangladesh

Indoor air pollution (IAP) from cooking and heating is estimated to kill a million children annually in developing countries. To promote a better understanding of IAP, the authors investigate the determinants of IAP in Bangladesh using the latest air monitoring technology and a national household survey. The study concludes that IAP is dangerously high for many poor families in Bangladesh. Concentrations of respirable airborne particulates(PM10) 300 ug/m3 or greater are common in the sample, implying widespread exposure to a serious health hazard. Poor households in Bangladesh depend heavily on wood, dung, and other biomass fuels. The econometric results indicate that fuel choice significantly affects indoor pollution levels: Natural gas and kerosene are significantly cleaner than biomass fuels. However, household-specific factors apparently matter more than fuel choice in determining PM10 concentrations. In some biomass-burning households, concentrations are scarcely higher than in households that use natural gas. The results suggest that cross-household variation is strongly affected by structural arrangements-cooking locations, construction materials, and ventilation practices. The authors'analysis also suggests that poor families may not have to wait for clean fuels or clean stoves to enjoy significantly cleaner air. Within their sample household population, some arrangements are already producing relatively clean conditions, even when"dirty"biomass fuels are used. Since these arrangements are already within the means of poor families, the scope for cost-effective improvements may be larger than is commonly believed.Sanitation and Sewerage,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Montreal Protocol,Construction Industry,Montreal Protocol,Transport and Environment,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,TF030632-DANISH CTF - FY05 (DAC PART COUNTRIES GNP PER CAPITA BELOW USD 2,500/AL,Sanitation and Sewerage

Who suffers from indoor air pollution? evidence from Bangladesh

In this paper the authors investigate individuals'exposure to indoor air pollution. Using new survey data from Bangladesh, they analyze exposure at two levels-differences within households attributable to family roles, and differences across households attributable to income and education. Within households, they relate individuals'exposure to pollution in different locations during their daily round of activity. The authors find high levels of exposure for children and adolescents of both sexes, with particularly serious exposure for children under 5. Among prime-age adults, they find that men have half the exposure of women (whose exposure is similar to that of children and adolescents). They also find that elderly men have significantly lower exposure than elderly women. Across households, they draw on results from their previous paper (Dasgupta et al, 2004), which relate pollution variation across households to choices of cooking fuel, cooking locations, construction materials, and ventilation practices. They find that these choices are significantly affected by family income and adult education levels (particularly for women). Overall, the authors find that the poorest, least-educated households have twice the pollution levels of relatively high-income households with highly-educated adults. For children in a typical household, pollutionexposure can be halved by adopting two simple measures-increasing their outdoor time from 3 to 5 or 6 hours a day, and concentrating outdoor time during peak cooking periods. The authors recognize that weather and other factors may intervene occasionally, and that child supervision outdoors may be difficult for some households. However, the potential benefits are so great that neighbors might well agree to pool outdoor supervision once they became aware of the implications for their children's health.Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Population&Development,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Water and Industry,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Water and Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Population&Development,TF030632-DANISH CTF - FY05 (DAC PART COUNTRIES GNP PER CAPITA BELOW USD 2,500/AL

Improving indoor air quality for poor families : a controlled experiment in Bangladesh

The World Health Organization's 2004 Global and Regional Burden of Disease Report estimates that acute respiratory infections from indoor air pollution (pollution from burning wood, animal dung, and other bio-fuels) kill a million children annually in developing countries, inflicting a particularly heavy toll on poor families in South Asia and Africa. This paper reports on an experiment that studied the use of construction materials, space configurations, cooking locations, and household ventilation practices (use of doors and windows) as potentially-important determinants of indoor air pollution. Results from controlled experiments in Bangladesh are analyzed to test whether changes in these determinants can have significant effects on indoor air pollution. Analysis of the data shows, for example, that pollution from the cooking area diffuses into living spaces rapidly and completely. Furthermore, it is important to factor in the interaction between outdoor and indoor air pollution. Among fuels, seasonal conditions seem to affect the relative severity of pollution from wood, dung, and other biomass fuels. However, there is no ambiguity about their collective impact. All are far dirtier than clean fuels. The analysis concludes that if cooking with clean fuels is not possible, then building the kitchen with porous construction material and providing proper ventilation in cooking areas will yield a better indoor health environment.Renewable Energy,Energy Production and Transportation,Air Quality&Clean Air,Pollution Management&Control,Sanitation and Sewerage

Recent activities of IAG working group “Ionosphere Prediction”

Ionospheric disturbances pose, for instance, an increasing risk on economy, national security, satellite and airline operations, communications networks and the navigation systems. Constructing forecasted ionospheric products with a reliable accuracy is still an ongoing challenge. In this sense, a Working Group (WG) with the title “Ionosphere Prediction” within the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) under Sub-Commission 4.3 “Atmosphere Remote Sensing” of the Commission 4 “Positioning and Applications” has been created and is actively working since 2015 to encourage scientific collaborations on developing models and discussing challenges of the ionosphere prediction problem. Different centers contribute to the WG such as the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Technical University of Munich (TUM) and GMV. One of the main focus of the WG is to evaluate different ionosphere prediction approaches and products which are highly depending on solar and geomagnetic conditions as well as on data from different measurement techniques (e.g. GNSS) with varying spatial-temporal resolution, sensitivity and latency. In this contribution, the recent progress of the WG on ionosphere prediction studies including individual and cooperated activities will be presented.Postprint (published version

A Cellular Automata Model with Probability Infection and Spatial Dispersion

In this article, we have proposed an epidemic model by using probability cellular automata theory. The essential mathematical features are analyzed with the help of stability theory. We have given an alternative modelling approach for the spatiotemporal system which is more realistic and satisfactory from the practical point of view. A discrete and spatiotemporal approach are shown by using cellular automata theory. It is interesting to note that both size of the endemic equilibrium and density of the individual increase with the increasing of the neighborhood size and infection rate, but the infections decrease with the increasing of the recovery rate. The stability of the system around the positive interior equilibrium have been shown by using suitable Lyapunov function. Finally experimental data simulation for SARS disease in China and a brief discussion conclude the paper

Ionospheric Propagation Effects on GNSS Signals and New Correction Approaches

The ionosphere is the ionized part of the earth’s atmosphere lying between about 50 km and several earth radii (Davies, 1990) whereas the upper part above about 1000 km height up to the plasmapause is usually called the plasmasphere. Solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at wave lengths < 130 nm significantly ionizes the earth’s neutral gas. In addition to photoionisation by electromagnetic radiation also energetic particles from the solar wind and cosmic rays contribute to the ionization. The ionized plasma can affect radio wave propagation in various ways modifying characteristic wave parameters such as amplitude, phase or polarization (Budden, 1985; Davies, 1990). The interaction of the radio wave with the ionospheric plasma is one of the main reasons for the limited accuracy and vulnerability in satellite based positioning or time estimation. A trans-ionospheric radio wave propagating through the plasma experiences a propagation delay / phase advance of the signal causing a travel distance or time larger / smaller than the real one. The reason of the propagation delay can be realized considering the nature of the refractive index which depends on the density of the ionospheric plasma. The refractive index (n ≠ 1) of the ionosphere is not equal to that of free space (n = 1). This causes the propagation speed of radio signals to differ from that in free space. Additionally, spatial gradients in the refractive index cause a curvature of the propagation path. Both effects lead in sum to a delay / phase advance of satellite navigation signals in comparison to a free space propagation. The variability of the ionospheric impact is much larger compared to that of the troposphere. The ionospheric range error varies from a few meters to many tens of meters at the zenith, whereas the tropospheric range error varies between two to three meters at the zenith (Klobuchar, 1996). The daily variation of the ionospheric range error can be up to one order of magnitude (Klobuchar, 1996). After removal of the Selective Availability (SA, i.e., dithering of the satellite clock to deny full system accuracy) in 2000, ionosphere becomes the single largest error source for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) users, especially for high-accuracy (centimeter - millimeter) applications like the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and Real Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning. Fortunately, the ionosphere is a dispersive medium with respect to the radio wave; therefore, the magnitude of the ionospheric delay depends on the signal frequency. The advantage is that an elimination of the major part of the ionospheric refraction through a linear combination of dual-frequency observables is possible. However, inhomogeneous plasma distribution and anisotropy cause higher order nonlinear effects which are not removed in this linear approach. Mainly the second and third order ionospheric terms (in the expansion of the refractive index) and errors due to bending of the signal remain uncorrected. They can be several tens of centimeters of range error at low elevation angles and during high solar activity conditions. Brunner & Gu (1991) were pioneers to compute higher order ionospheric effects and developing correction for them. Since then higher order ionospheric effects have been studied by different authors during last decades, e.g., Bassiri & Hajj (1993), Jakowski et al. (1994), Strangeways & Ioannides (2002), Kedar et al. (2003), Fritsche et al. (2005), Hawarey et al. (2005), Hoque & Jakowski (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010b), Hernández-Pajares et al. (2007), Kim & Tinin (2007, 2011), Datta-Barua et al. (2008), Morton et al. (2009), Moore & Morton (2011). The above literature review shows that higher order ionospheric terms are less than 1% of the first order term at GNSS frequencies. Hernández-Pajares et al. (2007) found sub-millimeter level shifting in receiver positions along southward direction for low latitude receivers and northward direction for high latitude receivers due to the second order term correction. Fritsche et al. (2005) found centimeter level correction in GPS satellite positions considering higher order ionospheric terms. Elizabeth et al. (2010) investigated the impacts of the bending terms described by Hoque & Jakowski (2008) on a Global Positioning System (GPS) network of ground receivers. They found the bending correction for the dual-frequency linear GPS L1-L2 combination to exceed the 3 mm level in the equatorial region. Kim & Tinin (2011) found that the systematic residual ionospheric errors can be significantly reduced (under certain ionospheric conditions) through triple frequency combinations. All these studies were conducted to compute higher order ionospheric effects on GNSS signals for ground-based reception. Recently Hoque & Jakowski (2010b, 2011) investigated the ionospheric impact on GPS occultation signals received onboard Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) satellite. In this chapter, the first and higher order ionospheric propagation effects on GNSS signals are described and their estimates are given at different level of ionospheric ionization. Multi-frequency ionosphere-free and geometry-free solutions are studied and residual terms in the ionosphere-free solutions are computed. Different correction approaches are discussed for the second and third order terms, and ray path bending correction. Additionally, we have proposed new approaches for correcting straight line of sight (LoS) propagation assumption error, i.e., ray path bending error for ground based GNSS positioning. We have modelled the excess path length of the signal in addition to the LoS path length and the total electron content (TEC) difference between a curved and LoS paths as functions of signal frequency, ionospheric parameters such as TEC and TEC derivative with respect to the elevation angle. We have found that using the TEC derivative in addition to the TEC information we can improve the existing correction results

12th International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials (ICFPAM 2013)

This research is to develop the natural Activated Carbon (AC) composites prepared from carbon coconut shell reinforced with recycled polyethylene (PET). Carbon coconut shell were selected from in-productive of coconut shell (without endocarp and exorcap) specifically namely as carbon Komeng coconut shell (CKCS) with different weight percentages of AC(2, 4 and 6wt%) and recycled PET(4, 6 and 8wt%) contents. The entire specimens were prepared using SRM (Silicon Rubber Moulds) with dumbbell shape and rectangular shape according to the standard ASTM D2099 and ASTM D256 respectively. The mechanical properties of all samples were investigated to characterise the quality of the samples. The morphological study of reinforced samples was also conducted in this research by using SEM machine. The results showed that tensile stress increases when AC is increased specifically for samples with (PET-2wt%+AC-8 wt%) with maximum tensile stress as 388.37MPa

2003 National Seminar on the Role of Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources for National Development (SRRAESND-2003)

[Abstract]: Bangladesh is a relatively poor country. Although its infrastructure level is relatively low, with few paved roads and poor telephone or electricity access, the potential for growth is quite high and entails a large future increase in energy demand. And although it is the most densely populated agricultural country in the world it also falls among the lowest per capita energy users in the world. However, Bangladesh was recently discovered to contain large reserves of natural gas, a major attraction to foreign investors. Natural gas is also a good source of relatively clean energy for the future, especially in a country where energy demand is growing at a rate of about 10% per year. This survey will first look at the past trends of energy use in Bangladesh, the current energy profile of the country's production, imports, exports and usage of fossil fuels and/or biomass. It will then address the predicted energy increases over the next twenty years, and conclude with an estimation of what the energy mix may look like by the year 202

Evaluation of optimizing Monteggia fracture-dislocation care: surgical innovations, radiological insights, and functional rehabilitation in adult patients

Background: Monteggia fractures, rare in adults, involve proximal ulna fracture and radial head dislocation. Managing these injuries poses challenges, fueling historical debates and driving advancements in internal fixation. Watson Jones' frustration highlights the ongoing pursuit of effective surgical approaches for optimal outcomes and functional limb restoration. his study aims to evaluate Monteggia fracture-dislocation treatment by analyzing radiological outcomes for structural insights and alignment post-surgery. Methods: This prospective observational study, conducted at Swapno general hospital, Mirpur-2, Dhaka, Bangladesh from 1st January 2021 to 31 January 2024, enrolled 30 patients with radiologically confirmed Monteggia fracture-dislocation. Surgical procedures involved creating an interval, anatomical reduction, and fixation, with regular follow-ups assessing outcomes, including range of motion, X-rays, and VAS scores, while statistical analysis utilized SPSS version 23. Results: The highest frequency percentage in the age distribution was observed among individuals aged 41-45, constituting 20% of the total sample, while the lowest frequencies were recorded in the 31-35 and &gt;51 age groups, each representing 10% of the sample. Physical assault emerged as the leading cause of injury, accounting for 40% of cases, followed by road traffic accidents at 36.66% and falls at 23.33%. In terms of final outcomes, the majority of patients (43.33%) achieved a good outcome, while the lowest percentage (10%) resulted in poor outcomes.  Conclusions: In conclusion, addressing Monteggia fracture-dislocation in adults requires navigating inherent complexities. Modern internal fixation methods prove impactful, emphasizing the need for precise classification and stable anatomical reduction

PLANNING AND OPTIMIZATION OF A STOCHASTIC MULTI-PHASE MULTI- CRITERIA MULTI-ECHELON HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS NETWORK

Disasters, may that be anthropogenic or natural, cause much havoc to vast area and population. Property and infrastructures get destroyed. People are often in need of urgent relief like dry foods and water to survive. In a country which is in the underdeveloped part of the world, relief and evacuation activities are usually carried out by local government run aid agencies. Most of the time, the local decision makers do the coordination or planning of these humanitarian activities largely based on either past experience or sometimes just pure hunch, which is neither efficient nor economic. Proper planning and coordination in the humanitarian activities in the pre and post disaster planning period can save many human lives and property, while saving money to the local relief agencies as well. In an agricultural country like Bangladesh, rivers are usually important assets. But in a District like Sylhet, Bangladesh, these rivers can sometimes cause serious problems. During monsoon season, there are often too much rain in neighboring Indian up-steam hilly region, where most of these rivers are originated. This leads to a deluge of water abruptly surging through, mostly Surma and Kushiara rivers, in the down-steam regions of Sylhet district, which inundates the vast surrounding areas close to the riverbanks. Due to heavy river-bed sedimentation, these narrow rivers can’t always hold this sudden deluge of water and hence the flash flooding occurs. These floods are called “flash” floods as they stay for a short period of time, but cause large economical damage and human suffering to the surrounding areas. Most of the people living on those affected areas are usually farmers. Heavy inundation causes the crops of those agricultural area to get washed away, on which people of those region mostly subsist on. In such situations, people in that area will starve to death, if the relief agencies don’t promptly respond to their needs for relief. These flash flood problems in that area of Bangladesh is recurrent in nature. So, good working pre and post disaster planning models can really help the local relief agencies to be better prepared for the disaster relief activities, in order to minimize casualties. Keeping that in mind, this research has developed three multi-criteria multi-echelon pre and post disaster planning models, which will help the incumbent agencies with various important pre and post disaster decision making activities. In our study, the first pre-disaster planning model tends to minimize the travelling distances from the tentative supplier to tentative regional warehouse location sites as well as distances from the warehouses to the affected locations. The model picks maximum allowed number of best suppliers from a pool of suppliers, based on their total performance ratings on several evaluation criteria for multiple relief items, as well as other issues like their location distances and available capacities. The model also picks the optimum locations for setting up the warehouses, along with their expected capacities. Quantity of necessary relief goods that needs to be transported under different scenarios will be also obtained as output from this model, which has later been used to determine the appropriate level of prepositioned inventories that we can hold at the selected distribution center locations in the third post-disaster model, to reduce the load on the logistics system in the post disaster period. Once the warehouses have been set up at the selected locations, they are then ready to be used as permanent storage infrastructures. We have used scenario-based approach here to make sure that the facilities are built in such a way that it can accommodate moderate fluctuations in demand that might happen in near future. The second pre-disaster planning model is a bi-objective model that finds appropriate routes to be used among different relevant network nodes considering both the actual path distance and the route reliability under each partially observed scenario. The third post-disaster model manages the prepositioning of relief goods, the distribution of relief goods and medical supplies, evacuation of people who needs medical attention, ensuring the equity of the service provided at each affected node and optimizes the use of available transportation facilities by minimizing the number of trips required. These three models are designed to be solved sequentially to provide the users all the necessary information to design the desired efficient aid logistics network. This research has used the recurrent flash flood problem of Sylhet, Bangladesh as the test case to check the effectiveness of the model that intends to assist in the development an effective relief logistics network. Use of this proposed research will mitigate this recurrent problem that is causing misery to a vast population. To solve the developed MILP models, CPLEX version 12.8 has been used, which has utilized a Branch and Cut algorithm to solve the problems. Obtained results has been demonstrated both numerically and graphically in the result and discussion section of this dissertation for the better visual understanding by the decision maker, which can help them to plan an efficient and economic humanitarian logistics network. In summary , the author of this dissertation is hopeful that this research will provide the aid management authorities with necessary decision making models that will help them effectively in disaster mitigation, which will not only reduce human suffering and wastage of relief goods but also will minimize the overall operational cost at the same time