2005 Labrecque et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed und... more 2005 Labrecque et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
ABSTRACT Bangladesh stock markets experienced an unsustainable bubble and burst in December 2010.... more ABSTRACT Bangladesh stock markets experienced an unsustainable bubble and burst in December 2010. Since then the markets observed a falling turnover and a depressed phase of pricing. Millions of small savers lost their savings and the issue became a public policy debacle for the then government. A reduction in corporate tax rates could mean a major stimulus to corporate investments and future profitability. Its effect on stock market performance will be unambiguous and positive.
Geometric Modeling and Imaging--New Trends (GMAI'06)
The computer-graphics aspects of the visualization of large data sets, in particular, digital mod... more The computer-graphics aspects of the visualization of large data sets, in particular, digital models of real or planned solid objects in a heterogeneous distributed environment are investigated. It is demonstrated that binaryswap compositing does not scale well on networks of workstations. A multi-server system, based on scanline algorithms and using Java technology, is proposed. The proposed system is efficient as servers only need to solve a problem of growth rate of n log n, it is fault tolerant as both lost messages and server failures are tolerated, and it has negligible hardware costs as it runs on existing networks of workstations. The system is also scalable, as data sets are sent to all servers in the same packets, regardless of the number of servers, and the amount of data sent back by servers only depends on the resolution of the final image.
Serum amyloid A3 (SAA3) is the predominant SAA isoform secreted by mammary epithelial cells in da... more Serum amyloid A3 (SAA3) is the predominant SAA isoform secreted by mammary epithelial cells in dairy cows; it is also expressed in bovine adipose tissue (AT). The adipokine SAA3 is linked to obesity and insulin resistance of AT and the respective inflammatory response, at least in mice. Dietary treatment with conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) reportedly also affects insulin sensitivity and inflammatory status in monogastrics. Both SAA3 and CLA thus seem to alter similar functions. Based on changes in insulin sensitivity and the inflammatory status throughout lactation, we hypothesized that the mRNA abundance of SAA3 in various tissues might be regulated as well and that CLA could be a modulator of SAA3 mRNA expression. In 2 trials, 21 pluriparous and 25 primiparous Holstein cows were fed 100 g/d of a CLA or a control fat supplement from d 1 to 182 or 105 postpartum, respectively. Biopsies from liver and subcutaneous (s.c.) AT from pluriparous cows and samples from 3 different visceral AT and 3 s.c. AT, muscle, mammary gland, and liver tissue from slaughtered primiparous cows were obtained. In an adipocyte cell culture system, cell samples were collected during differentiation of bovine preadipocytes at d 0, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13 relative to the onset of differentiation. The SAA3 mRNA abundance in tissues and in differentiating bovine preadipocytes was measured by real-time PCR. The presence of the SAA protein was confirmed by Western blotting. Treatment with CLA yielded only few and inconsistent effects on SAA3 mRNA abundance. In both trials, SAA3 mRNA peaked at d 1 postpartum in all tissues except in mesenteric AT, in which the change was not significant. The highest SAA3 mRNA expression was observed in the mammary gland, followed by omental AT. The SAA protein was present in the visceral and s.c. AT depots investigated. Adipocytes as one source of SAA3 were confirmed by the SAA3 mRNA profile in differentiating adipocytes. The longitudinal changes observed point to SAA3 being involved in the inflammatory situation around parturition.
The effectiveness of commonly suggested public health interventions to control childhood iron-def... more The effectiveness of commonly suggested public health interventions to control childhood iron-deficiency anemia has been low. To determine whether iron provided in Sprinkles daily or in a higher dose once weekly affected hemoglobin, serum ferritin levels, and serum transferrin receptor levels, and to determine whether there were differences in the effects of the two regimens. In this cluster-randomized, community-based trial conducted in rural areas of Bangladesh, 136 children aged 12 to 24 months with mild to moderate anemia (hemoglobin 70-109 g/L) were randomly allocated to receive Sprinkles daily (12.5 mg of elemental iron, n = 79) or once weekly (30 mg of elemental iron, n = 73) for 8 weeks. Hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and serum transferrin receptor were assessed at the start and end of the intervention. In both groups, there were significant increases in hemoglobin and serum ferritin and a significant decrease in serum transferrin receptor (p < .01). There were no significan...
... The Effect of Integration with Global Apparel Value Chain Mizanur Rahman*a, Takrima Sayedab a... more ... The Effect of Integration with Global Apparel Value Chain Mizanur Rahman*a, Takrima Sayedab aAsian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo, Japan ... Corresponding author: Tel: +81 3 3593 5522; Fax: +81 3 3595 4270 E-mail: [email protected] (Mizanur Rahman) ...
International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2014
In Bangladesh, both menstrual regulation (MR), which is thought to be a relatively safe method, a... more In Bangladesh, both menstrual regulation (MR), which is thought to be a relatively safe method, and abortion, which in this setting is often performed using unsafe methods, are used to terminate pregnancies (known or suspected). However, little is known about changes over time in the use of these methods or their relative mortality risks. Data from the Demographic Surveillance System in Matlab, Bangladesh, on 110,152 pregnancy outcomes between 1989 and 2008 were used to assess changes in mortality risks associated with MR (and a small number of dilation and curettage procedures), abortion and live birth. Tabulation and logistic regression analyses were used to compare outcomes in two areas of Matlab--the comparison area, which receives standard government health and family planning services, and the Maternal and Child Health-Family Planning (MCH-FP) area, which receives enhanced health and family planning services. In Matlab as a whole, the proportion of pregnancies ending in MR inc...
International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2014
Menstrual regulation (MR), a relatively safe form of pregnancy termination, is legal in Banglades... more Menstrual regulation (MR), a relatively safe form of pregnancy termination, is legal in Bangladesh during the early stages of pregnancy. However, little is known about the factors associated with whether women who terminate pregnancies choose this method or a less-safe one. Data from the Matlab Demographic Surveillance System on 122,691 pregnancies-5,221 (4.3%) of which were terminated-were used to examine trends between 1989 and 2008 in termination and in use of safer methods (MR or dilation and curettage) and less-safe (all other) methods of pregnancy termination. Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with whether women terminate pregnancies and whether they use safer methods. Sixty-seven percent of pregnancy terminations were by safer methods and 33% by less-safe means. The proportion of pregnancies that were terminated increased between 1989 and 2008; this increase was entirely due to increased use of safer methods. Women younger th...
Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is an acute phase protein involved in host response to G... more Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is an acute phase protein involved in host response to Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. It is synthesized by hepatocytes and released as 60-65kDa glycoprotein in plasma. Little is known about the distribution of LBP in non-pathological bovine tissues. The aim of the present study was to investigate the extra hepatic expression of LBP in different bovine tissues by qualitative and quantitative real time (RT) PCR. The presence of the protein was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry using an anti-human LBP antibody preliminarily validated by cross-reactivity in bovine tissues. While a wide panel of organs and tissues was investigated, the attention was focused on the digestive tract and mammary gland. Moderate amount of mRNA was detected in most of the tissues involved in this study. Extra hepatic LBP mRNA expression was particularly high in parotid and submandibular salivary glands. Remarkably, LBP mRNA was found in rumen, reticulum and omasum. High expression was also found in the mammary gland. Intensity of protein staining paralleled mRNA expression in most tissues, with the exception of lung, ovary and thyroid gland. The presence of LBP throughout epithelial mucosal tissues is indicative of an important role of LBP in mucosal immunity at sites of bacterial exposure. These results suggest that ruminant forestomachs may mount a local acute phase reaction.
Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper presents an integrated simulator “CUIntegration” to evaluate routing strategi... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an integrated simulator “CUIntegration” to evaluate routing strategies based on energy and/or traffic measures of effectiveness for any Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs). The CUIntegration can integrate vehicle models of conventional vehicles as well as AFVs developed with MATLAB-Simulink, and a roadway network model developed with traffic microscopic simulation software VISSIM. The architecture of this simulator is discussed in this paper along with a case study in which the simulator was utilized for evaluating a routing strategy for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs). The authors developed a route optimization algorithm to guide an AFV based on that AFV driver’s choice, which included; finding a route with minimum (1) travel time, (2) energy consumption or (3) a combination of both. The Application Programming Interface (API) was developed using Visual Basic to simulate the vehicle models/algorithms developed in MATLAB and direct vehicles in a roadway network model developed in VISSIM accordingly. The case study included a section of Interstate 83 in Baltimore, Maryland, which was modeled, calibrated and validated. The authors considered a worst-case scenario with an incident on the main route blocking all lanes for 30 min. The PHEVs and EVs were represented by integrating the MATLAB-Simulink vehicle models with the traffic simulator. The CUIntegration successfully combined vehicle models with a roadway traffic network model to support a routing strategy for PHEVs and EVs. Simulation experiments with CUIntegration revealed that routing of PHEVs resulted in cost savings of about 29% when optimized for the energy consumption, and for the same optimization objective, routing of EVs resulted in about 64% savings.
The reactions of a variety of divalent transition metal ions with 3-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-, ... more The reactions of a variety of divalent transition metal ions with 3-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-, 3-methyl-5-(2-thienyl)and 3-methyl-5-(2-furyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazolidine-2-thiones (htt, ttt and ftt, respectively) are accompanied by opening of the thiadiazolidine ring and rearrangement to the corresponding Schiff base (Hhts, Htts and Hfts, respectively) with the concomitant formation of complexes of the general formulae, [M(hts)] (M = Ni, Cu, Zn or Pd), [M(hts) (py)] (M = Ni, Cu), [Co(Hhts)(hts)], and [ML2] (M = Ni, Cu, Zn or Cd); L = tts or fts). The complexes have been characterised by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. The fungitoxicities of the corresponding Schiff base metal complexes have been investigated.
ABSTRACTThis paper estimates the impact of intra‐regional real exchange rate flexibility on East ... more ABSTRACTThis paper estimates the impact of intra‐regional real exchange rate flexibility on East Asian exports. The hypothesis is that the impact would be negative for East Asian countries regardless of their exchange rate regimes. The results validate the hypothesis. The findings show that for Chinese exports the long‐run effect is as much as that of a real appreciation of renminbi. By contrast, for Japanese exports the effect is three times larger than that of a real appreciation of the yen. The findings imply that a regional currency basket mechanism would lessen the adverse effect of exchange rate flexibility and engineer a collective exchange rate adjustment for resolving the global payment imbalance against East Asia.
The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity an... more The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity and technical efficiency in rice production in Bangladesh using farm level survey data. Results reveal that land fragmentation has a significant detrimental effect on productivity and efficiency as expected. The elasticity estimates of land fragmentation reveal that a one percent increase in land fragmentation reduces rice output by 0.05 percent and efficiency by 0.03 percent. On the other hand, ownership of key resources (land, family labour, and draft animals) significantly increases efficiency. The mean elasticity estimates reveal that a one percent increase in family labour and owned draft animal improve technical efficiency by 0.04 and 0.03 percent, respectively. Also, a one percent increase in the adoption of modern technology improves efficiency by 0.04 percent. The mean technical efficiency in rice production is estimated at 0.91 indicating little scope to improve rice production per se using existing varieties. Policy implications include addressing structural causes of land fragmentation (e.g., law of inheritance and political economy of agrarian structure), building of physical capital (e.g., land and livestock resources), improvements in extension services and adoption of modern rice technology.
This paper assesses the impact of agricultural training on technical efficiency using country-wid... more This paper assesses the impact of agricultural training on technical efficiency using country-wide data from 515 rice producing households in The Gambia. We use the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to generate technical efficiency scores and to identify factors influencing technical efficiency using a Tobit model. We apply propensity score matching, using technical efficiency scores as the outcome variable, to control for selection bias and identify causal effects of participation in agricultural training programs. To test the plausibility of conditional independence, we conduct Rosenbaum bounds sensitivity analysis with matched data as well as mean absolute standard bias tests between participants and non-participants. The results indicate that agricultural training significantly increases the technical efficiency of smallholder rice farmers by 10 percentage points. Further analysis reveals that farmer contact with extension workers and association membership are significant factors influencing technical efficiency.
IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2013
ABSTRACT Driver behaviors, particularly lane-changing behaviors, have an important effect on the ... more ABSTRACT Driver behaviors, particularly lane-changing behaviors, have an important effect on the safety and throughput of the roadway-vehicle-based transportation system. Lane-changing models are a vital component of various microscopic traffic simulation tools, which are extensively used and playing an increasingly important role in Intelligent Transportation Systems studies. The authors conducted a detailed review and systematic comparison of existing microscopic lane-changing models that are related to roadway traffic simulation to provide a better understanding of respective properties, including strengths and weaknesses of the lane-changing models, and to identify potential for model improvement using existing and emerging data collection technologies. Many models have been developed in the last few decades to capture the uncertainty in lane change modeling; however, lane-changing behavior in the real world is very complex due to driver distraction (e.g., texting and cellphone or smartphone use) and environmental (e.g., pavement and lighting conditions) and geometric (e.g., horizontal and vertical curves) factors of the roadway, which have not been adequately considered in existing models. Therefore, large and detailed microscopic vehicle trajectory data sets are needed to develop new lane changing models that address these issues, and to calibrate and validate lane-changing models for representing the real world reliably. Possible measures to improve the accuracy and reliability of lane-changing models are also discussed in this paper.
Obtaining primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) for in vitro studies is limited by the ... more Obtaining primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) for in vitro studies is limited by the scarcity of adequate human material and the inability to passage these cells in culture for long periods. Immortalization of these cells would greatly facilitate studies; however, the process of immortalization often results in abnormal karyotypes and aberrant functional characteristics. To meet this need, we have introduced telomerase into cultured HESCs to prevent the normal shortening of telomeres observed in adult somatic cells during mitosis. We have now developed and analyzed a newly immortalized HESC line that contains no clonal chromosomal structural or numerical abnormalities. In addition, when compared with the primary unpassaged parent cells, the new cell line displayed similar biochemical endpoints after treatment with ovarian steroids. Classical decidualization response to estradiol plus medroxyprogesterone acetate were seen in both morphologically, and progestin was seen to induce or regulate the expression of IGF binding protein-1, fibronectin, prolactin, tissue factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and Fas/Fas ligand. In summary, an immortalized HESC line has been developed that is karyotypically, morphologically, and phenotypically similar to the primary parent cells, and it is a powerful and consistent resource for in vitro work. (Endocri
2005 Labrecque et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed und... more 2005 Labrecque et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
ABSTRACT Bangladesh stock markets experienced an unsustainable bubble and burst in December 2010.... more ABSTRACT Bangladesh stock markets experienced an unsustainable bubble and burst in December 2010. Since then the markets observed a falling turnover and a depressed phase of pricing. Millions of small savers lost their savings and the issue became a public policy debacle for the then government. A reduction in corporate tax rates could mean a major stimulus to corporate investments and future profitability. Its effect on stock market performance will be unambiguous and positive.
Geometric Modeling and Imaging--New Trends (GMAI'06)
The computer-graphics aspects of the visualization of large data sets, in particular, digital mod... more The computer-graphics aspects of the visualization of large data sets, in particular, digital models of real or planned solid objects in a heterogeneous distributed environment are investigated. It is demonstrated that binaryswap compositing does not scale well on networks of workstations. A multi-server system, based on scanline algorithms and using Java technology, is proposed. The proposed system is efficient as servers only need to solve a problem of growth rate of n log n, it is fault tolerant as both lost messages and server failures are tolerated, and it has negligible hardware costs as it runs on existing networks of workstations. The system is also scalable, as data sets are sent to all servers in the same packets, regardless of the number of servers, and the amount of data sent back by servers only depends on the resolution of the final image.
Serum amyloid A3 (SAA3) is the predominant SAA isoform secreted by mammary epithelial cells in da... more Serum amyloid A3 (SAA3) is the predominant SAA isoform secreted by mammary epithelial cells in dairy cows; it is also expressed in bovine adipose tissue (AT). The adipokine SAA3 is linked to obesity and insulin resistance of AT and the respective inflammatory response, at least in mice. Dietary treatment with conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) reportedly also affects insulin sensitivity and inflammatory status in monogastrics. Both SAA3 and CLA thus seem to alter similar functions. Based on changes in insulin sensitivity and the inflammatory status throughout lactation, we hypothesized that the mRNA abundance of SAA3 in various tissues might be regulated as well and that CLA could be a modulator of SAA3 mRNA expression. In 2 trials, 21 pluriparous and 25 primiparous Holstein cows were fed 100 g/d of a CLA or a control fat supplement from d 1 to 182 or 105 postpartum, respectively. Biopsies from liver and subcutaneous (s.c.) AT from pluriparous cows and samples from 3 different visceral AT and 3 s.c. AT, muscle, mammary gland, and liver tissue from slaughtered primiparous cows were obtained. In an adipocyte cell culture system, cell samples were collected during differentiation of bovine preadipocytes at d 0, 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 13 relative to the onset of differentiation. The SAA3 mRNA abundance in tissues and in differentiating bovine preadipocytes was measured by real-time PCR. The presence of the SAA protein was confirmed by Western blotting. Treatment with CLA yielded only few and inconsistent effects on SAA3 mRNA abundance. In both trials, SAA3 mRNA peaked at d 1 postpartum in all tissues except in mesenteric AT, in which the change was not significant. The highest SAA3 mRNA expression was observed in the mammary gland, followed by omental AT. The SAA protein was present in the visceral and s.c. AT depots investigated. Adipocytes as one source of SAA3 were confirmed by the SAA3 mRNA profile in differentiating adipocytes. The longitudinal changes observed point to SAA3 being involved in the inflammatory situation around parturition.
The effectiveness of commonly suggested public health interventions to control childhood iron-def... more The effectiveness of commonly suggested public health interventions to control childhood iron-deficiency anemia has been low. To determine whether iron provided in Sprinkles daily or in a higher dose once weekly affected hemoglobin, serum ferritin levels, and serum transferrin receptor levels, and to determine whether there were differences in the effects of the two regimens. In this cluster-randomized, community-based trial conducted in rural areas of Bangladesh, 136 children aged 12 to 24 months with mild to moderate anemia (hemoglobin 70-109 g/L) were randomly allocated to receive Sprinkles daily (12.5 mg of elemental iron, n = 79) or once weekly (30 mg of elemental iron, n = 73) for 8 weeks. Hemoglobin, serum ferritin, and serum transferrin receptor were assessed at the start and end of the intervention. In both groups, there were significant increases in hemoglobin and serum ferritin and a significant decrease in serum transferrin receptor (p < .01). There were no significan...
... The Effect of Integration with Global Apparel Value Chain Mizanur Rahman*a, Takrima Sayedab a... more ... The Effect of Integration with Global Apparel Value Chain Mizanur Rahman*a, Takrima Sayedab aAsian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo, Japan ... Corresponding author: Tel: +81 3 3593 5522; Fax: +81 3 3595 4270 E-mail: [email protected] (Mizanur Rahman) ...
International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2014
In Bangladesh, both menstrual regulation (MR), which is thought to be a relatively safe method, a... more In Bangladesh, both menstrual regulation (MR), which is thought to be a relatively safe method, and abortion, which in this setting is often performed using unsafe methods, are used to terminate pregnancies (known or suspected). However, little is known about changes over time in the use of these methods or their relative mortality risks. Data from the Demographic Surveillance System in Matlab, Bangladesh, on 110,152 pregnancy outcomes between 1989 and 2008 were used to assess changes in mortality risks associated with MR (and a small number of dilation and curettage procedures), abortion and live birth. Tabulation and logistic regression analyses were used to compare outcomes in two areas of Matlab--the comparison area, which receives standard government health and family planning services, and the Maternal and Child Health-Family Planning (MCH-FP) area, which receives enhanced health and family planning services. In Matlab as a whole, the proportion of pregnancies ending in MR inc...
International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2014
Menstrual regulation (MR), a relatively safe form of pregnancy termination, is legal in Banglades... more Menstrual regulation (MR), a relatively safe form of pregnancy termination, is legal in Bangladesh during the early stages of pregnancy. However, little is known about the factors associated with whether women who terminate pregnancies choose this method or a less-safe one. Data from the Matlab Demographic Surveillance System on 122,691 pregnancies-5,221 (4.3%) of which were terminated-were used to examine trends between 1989 and 2008 in termination and in use of safer methods (MR or dilation and curettage) and less-safe (all other) methods of pregnancy termination. Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with whether women terminate pregnancies and whether they use safer methods. Sixty-seven percent of pregnancy terminations were by safer methods and 33% by less-safe means. The proportion of pregnancies that were terminated increased between 1989 and 2008; this increase was entirely due to increased use of safer methods. Women younger th...
Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is an acute phase protein involved in host response to G... more Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is an acute phase protein involved in host response to Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. It is synthesized by hepatocytes and released as 60-65kDa glycoprotein in plasma. Little is known about the distribution of LBP in non-pathological bovine tissues. The aim of the present study was to investigate the extra hepatic expression of LBP in different bovine tissues by qualitative and quantitative real time (RT) PCR. The presence of the protein was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry using an anti-human LBP antibody preliminarily validated by cross-reactivity in bovine tissues. While a wide panel of organs and tissues was investigated, the attention was focused on the digestive tract and mammary gland. Moderate amount of mRNA was detected in most of the tissues involved in this study. Extra hepatic LBP mRNA expression was particularly high in parotid and submandibular salivary glands. Remarkably, LBP mRNA was found in rumen, reticulum and omasum. High expression was also found in the mammary gland. Intensity of protein staining paralleled mRNA expression in most tissues, with the exception of lung, ovary and thyroid gland. The presence of LBP throughout epithelial mucosal tissues is indicative of an important role of LBP in mucosal immunity at sites of bacterial exposure. These results suggest that ruminant forestomachs may mount a local acute phase reaction.
Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper presents an integrated simulator “CUIntegration” to evaluate routing strategi... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an integrated simulator “CUIntegration” to evaluate routing strategies based on energy and/or traffic measures of effectiveness for any Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs). The CUIntegration can integrate vehicle models of conventional vehicles as well as AFVs developed with MATLAB-Simulink, and a roadway network model developed with traffic microscopic simulation software VISSIM. The architecture of this simulator is discussed in this paper along with a case study in which the simulator was utilized for evaluating a routing strategy for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs). The authors developed a route optimization algorithm to guide an AFV based on that AFV driver’s choice, which included; finding a route with minimum (1) travel time, (2) energy consumption or (3) a combination of both. The Application Programming Interface (API) was developed using Visual Basic to simulate the vehicle models/algorithms developed in MATLAB and direct vehicles in a roadway network model developed in VISSIM accordingly. The case study included a section of Interstate 83 in Baltimore, Maryland, which was modeled, calibrated and validated. The authors considered a worst-case scenario with an incident on the main route blocking all lanes for 30 min. The PHEVs and EVs were represented by integrating the MATLAB-Simulink vehicle models with the traffic simulator. The CUIntegration successfully combined vehicle models with a roadway traffic network model to support a routing strategy for PHEVs and EVs. Simulation experiments with CUIntegration revealed that routing of PHEVs resulted in cost savings of about 29% when optimized for the energy consumption, and for the same optimization objective, routing of EVs resulted in about 64% savings.
The reactions of a variety of divalent transition metal ions with 3-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-, ... more The reactions of a variety of divalent transition metal ions with 3-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-, 3-methyl-5-(2-thienyl)and 3-methyl-5-(2-furyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazolidine-2-thiones (htt, ttt and ftt, respectively) are accompanied by opening of the thiadiazolidine ring and rearrangement to the corresponding Schiff base (Hhts, Htts and Hfts, respectively) with the concomitant formation of complexes of the general formulae, [M(hts)] (M = Ni, Cu, Zn or Pd), [M(hts) (py)] (M = Ni, Cu), [Co(Hhts)(hts)], and [ML2] (M = Ni, Cu, Zn or Cd); L = tts or fts). The complexes have been characterised by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. The fungitoxicities of the corresponding Schiff base metal complexes have been investigated.
ABSTRACTThis paper estimates the impact of intra‐regional real exchange rate flexibility on East ... more ABSTRACTThis paper estimates the impact of intra‐regional real exchange rate flexibility on East Asian exports. The hypothesis is that the impact would be negative for East Asian countries regardless of their exchange rate regimes. The results validate the hypothesis. The findings show that for Chinese exports the long‐run effect is as much as that of a real appreciation of renminbi. By contrast, for Japanese exports the effect is three times larger than that of a real appreciation of the yen. The findings imply that a regional currency basket mechanism would lessen the adverse effect of exchange rate flexibility and engineer a collective exchange rate adjustment for resolving the global payment imbalance against East Asia.
The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity an... more The paper analyzes the impact of land fragmentation and ownership of resources on productivity and technical efficiency in rice production in Bangladesh using farm level survey data. Results reveal that land fragmentation has a significant detrimental effect on productivity and efficiency as expected. The elasticity estimates of land fragmentation reveal that a one percent increase in land fragmentation reduces rice output by 0.05 percent and efficiency by 0.03 percent. On the other hand, ownership of key resources (land, family labour, and draft animals) significantly increases efficiency. The mean elasticity estimates reveal that a one percent increase in family labour and owned draft animal improve technical efficiency by 0.04 and 0.03 percent, respectively. Also, a one percent increase in the adoption of modern technology improves efficiency by 0.04 percent. The mean technical efficiency in rice production is estimated at 0.91 indicating little scope to improve rice production per se using existing varieties. Policy implications include addressing structural causes of land fragmentation (e.g., law of inheritance and political economy of agrarian structure), building of physical capital (e.g., land and livestock resources), improvements in extension services and adoption of modern rice technology.
This paper assesses the impact of agricultural training on technical efficiency using country-wid... more This paper assesses the impact of agricultural training on technical efficiency using country-wide data from 515 rice producing households in The Gambia. We use the Data Envelopment Analysis technique to generate technical efficiency scores and to identify factors influencing technical efficiency using a Tobit model. We apply propensity score matching, using technical efficiency scores as the outcome variable, to control for selection bias and identify causal effects of participation in agricultural training programs. To test the plausibility of conditional independence, we conduct Rosenbaum bounds sensitivity analysis with matched data as well as mean absolute standard bias tests between participants and non-participants. The results indicate that agricultural training significantly increases the technical efficiency of smallholder rice farmers by 10 percentage points. Further analysis reveals that farmer contact with extension workers and association membership are significant factors influencing technical efficiency.
IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2013
ABSTRACT Driver behaviors, particularly lane-changing behaviors, have an important effect on the ... more ABSTRACT Driver behaviors, particularly lane-changing behaviors, have an important effect on the safety and throughput of the roadway-vehicle-based transportation system. Lane-changing models are a vital component of various microscopic traffic simulation tools, which are extensively used and playing an increasingly important role in Intelligent Transportation Systems studies. The authors conducted a detailed review and systematic comparison of existing microscopic lane-changing models that are related to roadway traffic simulation to provide a better understanding of respective properties, including strengths and weaknesses of the lane-changing models, and to identify potential for model improvement using existing and emerging data collection technologies. Many models have been developed in the last few decades to capture the uncertainty in lane change modeling; however, lane-changing behavior in the real world is very complex due to driver distraction (e.g., texting and cellphone or smartphone use) and environmental (e.g., pavement and lighting conditions) and geometric (e.g., horizontal and vertical curves) factors of the roadway, which have not been adequately considered in existing models. Therefore, large and detailed microscopic vehicle trajectory data sets are needed to develop new lane changing models that address these issues, and to calibrate and validate lane-changing models for representing the real world reliably. Possible measures to improve the accuracy and reliability of lane-changing models are also discussed in this paper.
Obtaining primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) for in vitro studies is limited by the ... more Obtaining primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) for in vitro studies is limited by the scarcity of adequate human material and the inability to passage these cells in culture for long periods. Immortalization of these cells would greatly facilitate studies; however, the process of immortalization often results in abnormal karyotypes and aberrant functional characteristics. To meet this need, we have introduced telomerase into cultured HESCs to prevent the normal shortening of telomeres observed in adult somatic cells during mitosis. We have now developed and analyzed a newly immortalized HESC line that contains no clonal chromosomal structural or numerical abnormalities. In addition, when compared with the primary unpassaged parent cells, the new cell line displayed similar biochemical endpoints after treatment with ovarian steroids. Classical decidualization response to estradiol plus medroxyprogesterone acetate were seen in both morphologically, and progestin was seen to induce or regulate the expression of IGF binding protein-1, fibronectin, prolactin, tissue factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and Fas/Fas ligand. In summary, an immortalized HESC line has been developed that is karyotypically, morphologically, and phenotypically similar to the primary parent cells, and it is a powerful and consistent resource for in vitro work. (Endocri
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Papers by mizanur rahman