Modelling the Behavioural Response to Congestion Pricing in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and the home of more than 15 million people, is subjected to severe traffic congestion on a regular basis resulting in lost productivity, fuel wastage, commuter frustration and environmental degradation. The problem is getting more acute day by day due to alarming increase in car usage. According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, the number of newly registered private cars per year in the city has more than quadrupled between 2004 and 2015.Congestion pricing schemes, which have been successful in many parts of the world, have a good potential to minimize the number of cars on the roads and reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka. This paper investigates the potential response to congestion pricing in Dhaka using Stated Preference (SP) surveys where users are presented with hypothetical choice scenarios involving varying amounts of congestion charges and travel time savings alongside improved public transport options. Two case studies have been conducted in this regard focusing on shopping and work trips respectively. Discrete choice models have been developed to model the sensitivity towards congestion pricing and to quantify the potential effectiveness of this measure in different trip contexts. Results indicate that car users, especially those having lower incomes (less than 50,000 BDT/month), have significant sensitivity towards congestion charge and have a substantial chance of shifting to improved public transport and/or park-and-ride facilities. The findings of the study can help in formulating effective congestion reduction policies in Dhaka

Nutritional Value of Dry Fish in Bangladesh and Its Potential Contribution to Addressing Malnutrition: A Narrative Review

Understanding the linkage between the nutrient composition of foods and individuals’ recommended nutrient intake is important to address malnutrition. Despite it being a traditional and popular food item in Bangladesh, the nutrient composition of dry fish has not been reviewed yet. This study used a narrative review to assess the nutrient composition of dry fish and estimated its potential contribution to addressing some common nutritional deficiencies among children and pregnant and lactating women in Bangladesh. Records were collected from different databases, including the Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Banglajol, and ResearchGate. Data were extracted from 48 articles containing 1128 entries regarding nutrient composition. Most of the nutrient analyses estimated the proximate composition, whereas vitamin, mineral, amino acid, and fatty acid compositions were scarce in the literature. We found that dry fish has high protein and mineral content and could contribute highly to meeting the recommended nutrient intake of protein, iron, zinc, and calcium for children and pregnant and lactating women. The summarized nutrient composition data could be useful for further research to observe how dry fish could be best utilized to address malnutrition in Bangladesh. This narrative review recommends that further nutrient analysis, with emphasis on vitamin, mineral, and fatty acid compositions

Enhancing catalytic and antibacterial activity with size-controlled yttrium and graphene quantum dots doped MgO nanostructures: A molecular docking analysis

Designing efficient catalysts that possess large number of active sites, high catalytic activity and selectivity while also exhibiting strong antimicrobial activity is a challenging task because of poor control over material fabrication. Therefore, developing new and innovative approaches for the synthesis of catalytic materials is crucial for addressing these challenges. Here, we report the controlled fabrication of GQDs/Y-doped MgO nanoparticles achieved by co doping of yttrium (Y) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in magnesium oxide (MgO) based nanostructures (NSs) using the co-precipitation method. The co-doping of GQDs and Y was controlled by manipulating the ratio of precursors where introduction of GQD resulted in higher surface area and enhanced conductivity while the doping of Y enhanced the number of active sites in the final product. The GQDs/Y-doped MgO exhibited an average particle size of ∼50 nm and a bandgap of 3.6 eV. Owing to these excellent characteristics, the GQDs/Y-doped MgO was utilized as a catalyst for treatment of the organic pollutants from water as well as antibacterial activity. The modified GQDs/Y-doped MgO nanostructure exhibited excellent activity of over 99.9 % for dye removal and versatility in a broad range of pH which clearly indicated the application in a range of different environments. Furthermore, the GQDs/Y-doped MgO exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) bacteria. To gain further insights into the origins of this excellent activity response, the molecular docking simulations (MDS) is utilized against DNA gyrase and FabI (two enzymes critical to nucleic acid and fatty acid biosynthesis, respectively), to uncover the mechanism behind the observed antibacterial effects. In summary, the modified catalyst provides a pathway to design highly efficient catalysts for all pH range water treatment as well as good activity against microbes

Rice Production In Bangladesh Employing By Arima Model

The present study was carried out to estimate growth pattern and also examine the best ARIMA model to efficiently forecasting Aus, Aman and Boro rice production in Bangladesh. It appeared that the time series data for Aus and Aman were 1st order homogenous stationary but Boro was 2nd order stationary. The study revealed that the best models were ARIMA (4,1,4), ARIMA (2,1,1), and ARIMA (2,2,3) for Aus, Aman, and Boro rice production, respectively. The analysis indicated that short-term forecasts were more efficient for ARIMA models compared to the deterministic models. The production uncertainty of rice could be minimized if production were forecasted well and necessary steps were taken against losses. The findings of this study would be more useful for policy makers, researchers as well as producers in order to forecast future national rice production more accurately in the short run.   Keywords: Production; ARIMA model; forecasting of rice. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v36i1.9229 BJAR 2011; 36(1): 51-62</jats:p

Assessment of Technical Efficiency of Inbred HYV and Hybrid Rice Cultivation at Farm Level

This study is very important in the present perspective of rice economy as  comparative economics of inbred HYVs and hybrid rice production was very  scanty. As such, the present study was conducted to examine the relative  productivity, profitability, and comparative technical efficiency of inbred HYVs  and hybrid rice production in some selected areas of Gazipur district. The study  was conducted in four villages in Sadar Upzila under Gazipur district, namely  Kesurita, Martarchar, Harinal, and Samantapur. A total of 80 farmers from the  four villages were interviewed consisting of 40 farmers for hybrid and 40 for  inbred HYVs rice. Data were generated by personal interview using structured  questionnaire through conducting farm level survey. The analysis revealed  that there was no significant difference between farmers’ practices and  recommended rate of hybrid seed, TSP, and MP. But the farmers used  urea and seed of inbred HYVs significantly higher than recommend  rate. Hybrid farms incurred total cost of Tk. 63377/ha and inbred farms  incurred Tk. 61195/ha, respectively. Net returns obtained from hybrid rice was  Tk. 59,056/ha whereas it was Tk. 42,818/ha for inbred HYVs rice. Average net  return of inbred rice was 38% lower compared to that of hybrid rice.  Benefit cost ratio of inbred and hybrid production was estimated to be  1.93 and 1.70, respectively. The average yield of inbred HYV was 6.03 t/ha and  by product was 4.50 t/ha, while those of hybrid were 7.76 t/ha and 5.50 t/ha,  respectively. The estimates of technical inefficiency implied that education,  farming experience, extension contact, land type, seedling age, and number of  seedlings per hill were the major determinants of inefficiency for both inbred  and hybrid rice growers. The mean technical efficiency was about 80% for  inbred and 86% for hybrid rice producers, respectively, indicating hybrid rice  growers were technically more efficient than inbred growers. Higher-level of  education and more contact with extension agents were found to contribute in  reducing technical inefficiency of both inbred and hybrid rice producers.  Although, inbred and hybrid rice producers faced some problems, but it was  more severe for hybrid DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v37i2.11225 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 37(2): 235-250, June 2012  </jats:p

Study of Abdominal Injury: An Analysis of 50 Cases

Abdominal injury is an important aspect of trauma because of difficulty in diagnosis and its lethal potential if not properly treated. Fifty cases of abdominal injury admitted in the surgical wards of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital over 2 years have been studied here. All the patients underwent laparotomy for their management. The age range of the patient was 14 to 70 years and most commonly involved age group was 21 to 30 years. Male to female ratio was 15.6:1. The incidence of penetrating injury predominated (64%) over non-penetrating injury and majority had stab injuries. Road traffic accident predominated in blunt injury. Small gut injury outnumbered all other injuries in both groups. Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom. Most of the patient arrived in the hospital within 24 hours. Considering clinical presentations and results of investigations, decision for laparotomy was taken with prior resuscitation.   doi: 10.3329/taj.v17i2.3452 TAJ 2004; 17(2): 84-88</jats:p

Fungal disease of freshwater fishes in Natore district of Bangladesh

An investigation was conducted on fungal disease of freshwater fishes in Natore district of Bangladesh from September 2005 to February 2006. A total of 2097 fish specimens where about 300 fishes under 15 fish species (8 culturable and 7 non culturable) were infected with fungal disease. Among culturable species most fungal infected fishes was C. mrigala (24.71%) where the total length, total weight and group of this infected fish was 10.8 to 40 cm, 10 to 995 g and 10.1 to 15 cm respectively followed by C. idellus (16.28%) and L. rohita (13.43%). Among non culturable species the most fungal infected fish was C. punctatus (22.42%) where the total length, total weight and group of this infected fish was 11 to 23 cm, 15 to 20 g and 20.1 to 25 cm respectively followed by C. striatus (16.88%) and P. ticto (15.31%). Disease in culturable fish species was less (13.40%) than non-culturable species (15.19%). Three genera of fungi were identified where Branchiomyces sp. was associated with gill rot disease and Saprolegnia sp. and Aphanomyces sp. were associated with ulcer types of disease. The incidence (%) of disease was highest in the month of December (22.49%) followed by November (20.25%) and January (18.00%). Keywords: Fungal disease; Infected fish; Incidence DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v7i1.4979 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 7(1): 157-162, 2009</jats:p

Is Agricultural Credit Programme Effective in Boro Cultivation? Evidence from State-owned Bank of Mymensingh District

High input-intensive Boro rice cultivation needs substantial agricultural credit for the resource-poor Bangladeshi farmers. An investigation was conducted at Fulbaria upazila of Mymensingh district to assess loan attainment cost from Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) and its utilization pattern; evaluate the effects of credit on Boro cultivation, and identify the major drivers of the agricultural credit programme. For the study, 140 farmers were divided into two groups: those who took a loan from BKB and those who did not. Results revealed that the borrowers had to pay Tk 10.23 for getting a hundred taka loan from BKB most of which was an unofficial cost. More than half of the obtained loan was used for Boro cultivation whereas 21% was used for family consumption and the rest (25%) was used for other purposes such as reimbursement of the previous loan from formal and informal sources, wedding and other income-generating activities including petty business. BKB credit borrowers obtained more benefits through Boro cultivation than non-borrowers. The major strengths of the BKB’s agricultural credit programme were well-established infrastructure, experienced manpower, country-wide network, and lower interest rate. Whereas complex and lengthy institutional procedures, the inevitability of collateral and poor institutional capacity were being revealed as the weaknesses of the programme. Prevalence of brokers or corrupt officials and political influence were identified as the major constraints for the loan acquirement. More advanced research is recommended, with an emphasis on agricultural credit programmes, to ensure their effectiveness.&#x0D; Bangladesh Rice J. 24 (1): 85-95, 2020</jats:p

Malrotated Gut Mimcking Gastric Out Let Obstruction in an Adolescent- A Case Report

Most of the patients with mal-rotated gut present in neonate and infancy either with acute strangulating obstruction or with recurrent episodes of sub-acute obstruction. Here an adolescent male patient of 17 years with mal-rotated gut presented with upper abdominal pain, vomiting after meal and loss of weight mimicking gastric out let obstruction. Because of rarity of the condition at this age, we are inspired to report this case.   doi: 10.3329/taj.v18i1.3307 TAJ 2005; 18(1): 53-54</jats:p

On the profitability of commercial banks: the Sri Lankan case

This study determines the factors affecting the profitability of licensed commercial banks (LCBs) in Sri Lanka, including the effect of the prolonged conflict which ended in 2009. Using an error correction model together with data for the period 2006–2014 of 10 major LCBs, the results reveal that, in the short run, capital and liquidity have a positive effect on bank profitability and default loans, interest margin (IM), operating cost, and interest rates (IRs) have a negative effect. In the long run, bank profitability is significantly impacted by default loans, IM, real GDP, inflation, IRs, capital, operating cost, and conflict. The ending of the prolonged conflict has significantly contributed to improved bank performance.No Full Tex