THE IMPACT OF SEASONALITY ON TOURIST’S ARRIVAL IN BANGLADESH BY USING SANCOVA MODEL

In this study, we aim to highlight the impact of climate change as well as seasonality on tourist’s arrival in Bangladesh. The SANCOVA modeling framework modified by the ANCOVA model is used to examine the impact of climate change on tourists’ arrivals. The results show seasonality has a 91% effect on tourist’s arrival in Bangladesh. The maximum and minimum variation of climatic variables on tourists’ arrival in Bangladesh is rainfall and humidity, respectively. The winter and summer seasons have similar and more impact on tourist’s arrival in Bangladesh. Our findings indicate that the tourism industry of Bangladesh is more vulnerable to seasonal variation than the overall economy. The present study has significant implications for both policymakers and tourisms destination alike to plan for tourism in Bangladesh.

Tree growth optimization based control of grid-tied PV system

This paper presents a tree growth optimization based control of a grid-tied dual-stage photovoltaic system. The tree growth optimization has been employed for optimizing the proportional and integral controller gains for direct current bus voltage (V dc ) regulation to have minimum variation during dynamic conditions and to generate an accurate loss component of current (i Loss ). The accurate , further enhance the control's performance by generating the accurate reference currents. The presented system is simulated and analyzed in a MATLAB simulation environment under various dynamic conditions, i.e., irradiation variation, unbalanced and abnormal grid voltage. The overall performance is satisfactory as per IEEE 519 standards.

VARIATIONS OF ACORN MORPHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN THE VORONEZH REGION

The acorn morphometric analysis was carried out. Acorns of Quercus robur collected in populations of the Shilovo, Krasnolesnyy, BSSC «Maklok», Shipov forest. The indicators of acorn were weight, in g., acorn length and width, in cm. The widest limits of variation in weight, length, and diameter are observed in acorns from the experimental territory «Shipov forest»: from 0.55 to 10.43 g, from 1.52 to 4.7 cm, and from 0.86 to 2.31 cm, respectively. The smallest differences between the maximum and minimum weight (from 1.53 to 5.48 g) and the diameter (from 1.1 to 1.69 cm) are observed in the experimental territory «Krasnolesny», and the minimum variation in length was observed in acorns from the experimental territory of «Shilovo» from 2.29 to 3.36 cm.

Number of progenies and repetitions for reciprocal full-sib recurrent selection programs in maize

ABSTRACT For a reciprocal recurrent selection (RRS) program to succeed, it is essential to maintain genetic variability throughout the selection cycles and to obtain accurate estimates of genetic parameters, which in turn are directly related to the number of progenies and repetitions evaluated. This study evaluates the potential of maize progenies of the sixth cycle of RRS and proposes, using simulation methods, the ideal combination of the number of progenies and repetitions to employ in reciprocal full-sib recurrent selection. A total of 163 full-sib progenies were evaluated in a randomized block design with six repetitions. Based on the yield data, analysis of variance was carried out, and different scenarios were simulated using the Monte Carlo chain method. These scenarios varied in the number of repetitions (two, four, and six) and progenies (30 to 163). The contrast between progenies and controls was significant, revealing the potential of the progenies of the sixth cycle of RRS. The high magnitude of the selective accuracy (0.77) was reflected in high estimates of heritability, which allowed for efficient phenotypic selection, obtaining selection gains of 14.07%. From the estimates of phenotypic and genotypic variance, heritability, accuracy, and standard error, it was found that a repetition number above two results in drastic changes in the estimates of these parameters; however, with the use of 130 progenies, these estimates tend to stabilize, implying that a high number of progenies does not interfere decisively in the quality of most parameters, except for the limits of maximum and minimum variation.

Squeak and Rattle Prevention by Geometric Variation Management Using a Two-Stage Evolutionary Optimisation Approach

Squeak and rattle are annoying sounds that often are regarded as the indicators for defects and quality issues by the automotive customers. Among the major causes for the generation of squeak and rattle sounds, geometric variation or tolerance stack-up is a key contributor. In the assembly process, the dimensional variation in critical interfaces for generating squeak and rattle events can be magnified due to tolerance stack-up. One provision to manage the tolerance stack-up in these critical interfaces is to optimise the location of connectors between parts in an assembly. Hence, the focus of this work is to prevent squeak and rattle by introducing a geometric variation management approach to be used in the design phase in the automotive industry. The objective is to identify connection configurations that result in minimum variation and deviation in selected measure points from the critical interfaces for squeak and rattle. In this study, a two-stage evolutionary optimisation scheme, based on the genetic algorithm employing the elitism pool, is introduced to fine-tune the connectors’ configuration in an assembly. The objective function was defined as the variation and the deviation in the normal direction and the squeak plane. In the first stage, the location of one-dimensional connectors was found by minimising the objective function in the rattle direction. In the second stage, the best combination of some of the connectors from the first stage was found to define planar fasteners to optimise the objective function both in the rattle direction and the squeak plane. It was shown that by using the proposed two-stage optimisation scheme, the variation and deviation results in critical interfaces for squeak and rattle improved compared to the baseline results.

A cost variation analysis of various brands of oral anti-diabetic drugs currently available in Indian pharmaceutical market

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder requiring lifelong treatment. There are a large number of anti-diabetic drugs available in the Indian market. The cost of drugs plays an important role in patient’s care, warranting the need for all physicians to keep themselves updated with the latest prices and price variation of various brands of anti-diabetic drugs. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cost of oral anti-diabetic drugs of different brands currently available in the Indian market.Methods: Cost of oral anti-diabetic drugs manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies in the same strength and dosage forms was obtained. The percentage price variation and cost ratio for each formulation was calculated.Results: In sulfonylurea group of drugs, maximum price variation was seen in glimepiride 1mg 1366% and minimum was seen in glipizide 2.5 mg 17%. In non-sulfonylurea group of drugs, a maximum variation was seen in metformin 500 mg 809% and a minimum variation was seen in acarbose 100 mg 10%. Among the fixed dose combination therapy, glimepiride 2 mg and metformin 500 mg showed the highest price variation 555% and pioglitazone 7.5 mg and metformin 500 mg showed the least price variation 8%.Conclusions: Our study showed that there is a very high price variation for oral anti-diabetic drugs by different brands. Since diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness, cost of the drug plays an important role in compliance to the treatment regimen. It is necessary to bring awareness regarding this wide variation in prices, such that the drug costs can be reduced and made more affordable to the common man.

Indicators of dentoalveolar width in structure of craniofacial complex

The morphometric parameters of the mandible dentoalveolar arches depth depending on the craniotype were investigated. The work was performed on 185 preparations of skull of people of both sexes of mature age. It is established that the indicators of the maxillary dental arches width and depth have certain limits of the minimum and maximum variation. At the same time, their average statistical values can be larger the value of the minimum variation, and significantly lesser the value of the maximum variation.

A Study on Variation in Channel Width and Braiding Intensity of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India

The Brahmaputra River flows through Assam, India, for about 670 km along an alluvial valley as a wide braided river. The width of the river varies with time along its course. The braiding intensity of this river is estimated using the braiding index (BI) of Brice (1964), which also changes with space and time along the course of the river. Temporal changes of both width and BI have been studied using topographic maps of 1912–1928 and 1963–1975, and dry season satellite data of 1996, 2000, 2007 and 2009. The mean widths of the Brahmaputra River channel in Assam during 1912–1928, 1963–1975, 1996, 2000, 2007 and 2009 were 5949 m, 7455 m, 7505 m, 8008 m, 8308 m and 9012 m, respectively, confirming an overall increase in width with time. Both the width and variation of width are lowest in four short narrower segments of the river. Three of these segments represent hard points comprising gneissic rock, and one segment is on alluvium comprising cohesive clay. The increase in width is correlated to enormous sediment load produced by the great Assam earthquake of 1950 and large-scale deforestation in the Himalayas. The mean BIs for the Brahmaputra for 1963–1975, 1996, 2000, 2007 and 2009 were 8.59, 8.43, 6.67, 6.58 and 7.70, respectively, indicating in general a decreasing trend up to 2007. The BI showed low variation at the four narrow segments where there is also a minimum variation of the channel width. The BI has increased significantly in the upstream part of the river. Very high fluctuation of discharge (17,000 m 3 / s − 1 in 24 h) and high sediment loads of the Brahmaputra (daily mean sediment discharge of 2.0 million tonnes during monsoon), erodible alluvial banks and high width/depth ratios are the main causes of development of braiding. The interrelationship between channel width and BI of the Brahmaputra shows a positive correlation, indicating an increase in BI with increasing channel width.