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Purpose of the study: The objective of this study is to find out the tannery relocation’s impact on the surrounding environment, social, economic, livelihood conditions, and institutional and stakeholder perception in Hazaribag. Methodology: The methodological framework includes a field survey and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools, i.e., Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII). Main Findings: After the relocation, the surrounding environment, odour, and surface water condition have improved at a very satisfactory rate. Nevertheless, many tannery workers either become unemployed or transferred to their non-expertise field, and the economic and business condition of the area has decreased. Also, there are some conflicts between the owner and workers. After the relocation, the government has not properly managed the post-relocation situation in the brownfield. Research implications/limitations: The research findings will be helpful in planning the utilization of the brownfield. The study's limitations include reliance on respondents' perceptions and opinions and not conducting chemical analysis for water and environmental monitoring. Continuous monitoring of the change is needed to find the impact in the long run. Novelty/Originality of this study: Many studies were conducted on the impact of the Tannery in the Hazaribag area, and the Tannery was eventually relocated. The study fills a gap in the literature by presenting the scenario after the relocation to address the impact of relocation in Hazaribag, which is a significant observation for further development of the brownfield area.

The goal of the study is to evaluate the improvements of the stability of the hot mix asphalt (HMA) after the addition of ground steel slag. Steel slag was grounded into finer 75µm particles at Bangladesh Road Research Laboratory (BRRL). Then the ground steel slag powder was added to asphalt binder for penetration and softening point tests. Three modified HMA mixes were prepared with 20%, 30% and 40% of steel slag powder and 2% of cement for the Marshall test with a control mix containing 2% of cement only. The Marshall stability result shows increased stability and decreased flow. Marshall stability reached to maximum at the level of 30% of steel slag powder. The flow values obtained showed a slightly decreasing pattern with the increase in steel slag. The density of the mixes slightly decreases with the increase of steel slag content in the asphalt binder. It was found that the ground steel slag has a negligible effect on air voids (Va), voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), and voids filled with asphalt (VFA). A designed mix was also achieved the best possible result for all parameters in this experiment setup. Ground steel slag can be used in HMA and asphalt pavement construction, which can result in reduced maintenance work and minimize the frequency of rehabilitation and contributes to economic and environmental development.

Investigating the factors that exert an influence on CO2 emissions represents a critical undertaking for the formulation of effective policies aimed at reducing such emissions. Numerous past studies have attempted to explore the potential relationships between CO2 emissions and a variety of potential influencing factors. However, many of these investigations have been constrained by the inability to fit large sample datasets, as well as by the limitations of conventional research methods in addressing non-linear relationships. The aforementioned insufficiencies have resulted in a situation wherein a restricted set of factors can be examined in tandem within a singular model. This restriction has impeded the comprehensive investigation of multiple variables and their potential interrelationships. To bridge these research gaps, this research employed machine learning models to fit voluminous datasets concerning urban CO2 emissions and socioeconomic factors. This research also incorporated explainable techniques to disentangle the intricate relationships between the factors under investigation. The results demonstrated that urban fiscal structure, urban energy consumption, urban land use, and urban capital accumulation represented the primary factors driving urban CO2 emissions. The ALE test was employed to discern the specific relationships between these factors and CO2 emissions, ultimately revealing that almost all of these factors positively impacted CO2 emissions as their values rise. In both univariate and bivariate ALE tests, Expenditures on Science and Technology had emerged as a highly influential feature in terms of its impact on urban CO2 emissions. While the interaction effects elicited by Expenditures on Science and Technology had the potential to curb urban CO2 emissions in several ways, this research identified that these effects may be constrained. The relationship identified between urban socio-economic development and CO2 emissions also indicated that achieving low-carbon development in urban areas necessitates optimal resource allocation and the transformation of energy consumption structures. Furthermore, each city needs to tailor its low-carbon development pathway to its distinct characteristics.

Monkeypox virus (MPXV), causing zoonotic diseases in humans, is a member of Orthopoxvirus under Poxviridae family. The virus was first reported in monkeys in 1959 in Denmark and in humans in 1970 in the Congo. Outside Africa, the virus first appeared in the USA in 2003 and since then occurred sporadically. The virus reemerged in 2017 and now spreading globally. African wild rodent mammals are thought to be the reservoir of MPXV. Exotic trade of animals and international travel favors the dissemination of MPXV. Genetic analysis shows two clades of the MPXV. Smallpox vaccine shows cross-protection and people who never in contact with Orthopoxvirus affected more than exposed ones. Fever, muscle pain, headache, and vesicle formation are the dominant clinical sign. Guarnieri-like inclusions and Ballooning degenerations are important pathognomic lesion of MPXV. It may produce case fatality rate up to 11%. Genetic materials alterations may favor the reemergence of the virus. The continuing occurrence over 73437 cases in 109 countries shows that MPXV can spread among humans competently and can be a serious issue of global public health concern. Here, we summarize the existing knowledge about re-emergence and insights into MPXV which will be of useful to curb its occurrence.

Human activities significantly contribution to the yearly generated plastic wastes. Moreover, the enormous in-crease in face masks and face shields caused by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has doubled the generated plastic wastes. Although there is an added benefit of using plastic waste in construction, the cost associated with their application, specifically the face mask, has not been addressed. This paper presents a simplified and rapid estimation of the cost associated with the collection, processing, and application of face masks in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements. Two scenarios, mask modified asphalt pavement and conventional asphalt pavement, are considered. The total cost is based on market price and prices from waste management facilities and plastic processing companies. Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is used to evaluate the long-term costs of mask modified asphalt pavement and conventional asphalt pavement. Results show that no significant dif-ference in initial total cost between the two scenarios for pavement sections with lengths less than 500m and the number of lanes less than 6. The difference in total cost begins with lengths greater than 500 m for 5 and 6 Lanes. Despite the higher initial costs for the mask modified asphalt pavement, the LCCA shows that there is a 29% maintenance cost reduction over the 40 years life cycle of the asphalt pavement. The use of LCCA shows the benefit of the selection of the most cost-effective strategy and how the use of mask modified asphalt pavement over the conventional asphalt pavement can save money over the life cycle of the asphalt and improve rutting and stiffens. Published version

Last cholera epidemic has been recorded in Bangladesh between 1992–1993, while few sporadic localized outbreaks have been reported as recent as 2005. Serotype O1 of Vibrio cholera is considered as the principal causative agent which transmits through contaminated drinking water resulting that epidemic. Therefore, the objective of this research was to isolate V. cholera in 3 different water sources; River, pond and tube-well, in 5 different locations of Gazipur, Bangladesh, and to analyze their antibiogram study. A total of 45 water samples were randomly collected for the isolation and identification of Vibrio spp. Samples are then serially diluted in alkaline peptone water and streak on Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salt Sucrose-TCBS agar for quantification of V. spp. For V. cholera isolation water samples were first enriched in nutrient broth at 37 °C for 16 hours followed by cultivation in selective media; TCBS agar at 37 °C for 24 hours. Yellow colonies on TCBS agar were screed as V. cholera and was confirmed by analyzing their biochemical characteristics like Catalase, Oxidase, MR, VP, Indole, Sugar fermentation. Following isolation antibiotic sensitivity test was performed on each V. cholera isolates to determine their antibiotic sensitivity profile. The results showed, out of 45 samples 12 contained V. cholera. Tube-well water has significantly lower concentration (log CFU/mL) of V. spp. than river and pond water (P < 0.05). Bacterial concentration doesn't deviate (P > 0.05) significantly in 5 different location the sample was collected from. All the 12 isolates were sensitive to Gentamicin and ciprofloxacin (100%), while Chloramphenicol (91.67%), Sulfamethoxazole (91.67%), Azithromycin (66.67%) showed high sensitivity. Isolates showed marginal sensitivity towards Tetracycline (33.33%), and Cephalexin (16.67%) and 100% resistance against antibiotics like Vancomycin, Penicillin, Erythromycin, and Nalidixic Acid. Based on these data we recommend using tube-well water instead of river and pond water for drinking purposes. Furthermore, we suggest selective use of sensitive antimicrobials listed here for therapeutics of cholera outbreak.

A three dimensional numerical study has been conducted on finned-tube heat exchanger with multiple rows of tubes using ANSYS (Fluent). The objective of this study is to numerically investigate finned tube heat exchanger with different type of tubes such as circular, elliptical and rectangular tubes. As circular tubes has much pressure drop so elliptical and rectangular tubes has been introduced in order to reduce pressure drop. As well as heat transfer has also been examined. The finite volume based CFD code ANSYS Fluent 16.2 is used to calculate the flow and temperature fields and by applying SIMPLEC algorithm. At low velocity of air and water, nothing significant occurred for the combination of tubes. At high velocity in maximum tube combination there was heat transfer (HT) enhancement and pressure drop reduction when compared with circular tubes only in case of air. When the combinations of circular, elliptical and rectangular tubes has been compared with circular tube heat exchanger (CTHX) heat transfer reduces as well as pressure drop (PD) also reduces for air. In case of water vapor HT and PD behaves the same. When those combinations has been compared with elliptical tube HX, for air in some cases heat transfer remains same and on other case it increases. For pressure drop in case of air, in some cases it reduces and on other cases it reduces. For elliptical tube HX for the fluid water vapor HT and PD both remains same or reduces. This work has not been with conducted any numerical simulation on rectangular Heat exchanger reason behind it there isn’t any existence of this kind of heat exchanger. However, it could be numerically conducted to examine the results between those combination and rectangular heat exchanger.

Urbanization and the evolution of people's lifestyles have a significant impact on the quantity of waste that is generated and dumped each year. In addition, due to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of masks has increased significantly, and the amount of plastic waste generation worldwide has doubled. These wastes have had a negative impact on the environment and have attracted the attention of many departments. Faced with both increasing amounts of generated plastic wastes and the growing interest of sustainability, the construction sectors must take an advantage using recycled plastic wastes in construction applications to reduce the negative impacts of the generated plastic wastes, while meeting future infrastructure demand. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities and challenges of plastic waste application in the construction industry. In this context the objective of the study is to (i) explore the most used plastic wastes in construction industry, (ii) explore potential application of plastic waste in construction industry, (iii) explore potential application of COVID-19 plastic waste in construction industry, (iv) outline challenges and opportunities involving the applications, and (v) Provide recommendations for advanced research required for plastic waste application in construction industry. It is concluded that the use of plastic waste in construction will significantly improve environmental sustainability, reduce the construction cost, improve the performance of construction, and serve as a reliable supply of construction materials. Finally, to overcome challenges areas for further research are also suggested.

Bangladesh is a developing country with huge population. As the country has excessive population, we have shortage of land for accommodation and transportation. We don’t have sufficient roadway for several vehicles and the existing roads are quite narrow to maintain a huge amount of vehicles. The government has planned to build new flyovers with an aim to increase mobility and facilitate the city habitants with a reliable transport network free from the perennial traffic congestion in Dhaka as well as others busiest cities of the country. The transportation specialist think that flyovers are able to save the cities from several transport problems. Seven flyovers have been constructed in the capital of Bangladesh. The three major flyovers in Dhaka city are- Mohakhali, Khilgaon and Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover. After constructing these three flyovers, the habitants of the city are facing less transportation problems as compared to past days. Several surveys and analysis were performed to achieve the temporal variation (weekday-day; weekday-night ; weekend-day and weekend-night ) to access how far the objectives have been met through the construction of these flyovers. From the assessment of traffic flow Mohakhali Flyover is the most useful flyover as compared to Khilgaon and Jatrabari flyover. In this flyover almost 36.396 % of vehicles passing above grade among all vehicles at grade and above grade on weekdays and 62.67% of vehicles passing above grade among at grade and above grade on weekend. Jatrabari Flyover performed too much close which almost 28.269 % of vehicles passed above grade among all vehicles at grade and above grade at weekdays and 50.64% of vehicles passing above grade among at grade and above grade at weekend. However, Khilgaon flyover performed very poorly and it is used by small amount of vehicles. Overall analysis has revelated the traffic volume in the above of these Flyover and determined the temporal variation of different types of vehicles. In Mohakhali flyover the highest flow of Vehicles are for microbus/car/jeep which is around (62 to 50) % both weekdays and weekends. In khilgaon flyover highest flow of vehicles are for motorcycle which is around (48 to 30) % both weekdays and weekend. Jatrabari flyover shows in weekend highest flow of Vehicles are for Motorcycle which is around 32% but in weekdays car\jeep are dominating. According to study, firstly the amount of private transports (car, bicycle) are much higher than public transport. Secondly, it has been shown that there are some discrepancies in performances between the flyovers and the roads. The factors are low maintenance service, footpaths are controlled by hawker on road and illegal car parking, sound pollution etc. are most abusive problems in the access road of this flyover. We believe the result from this research will be helpful in understand the traffic volume in those flyover location and it can be helpful for further studies in relevant topic., {"references":["https://civilmint.com/flyover","A case study of Mohakhali flyover. Department of URP, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh","Moslem Uddin, M. (2006). \"Assessment of Khilgaon flyover under seismic load\", Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh","https://dailyasianage.com/news/23063/khilgaon-flyover-extension-opens-today","https://www.thedailystar.net/news/jatrabari-flyover-opens-today","Chandra, S., Kumar, V., & Sikdar, P. K. (1995). Dynamic PCU and estimation of capacity of urban roads. Indian Highways, 23(4).","Sikdar, S. C. P. (2000). Factors affecting PCU in mixed traffic Situations. Road & Transport Research, 9(3), 40.","Central Road Research Institute, (1988), \"Capacity of Roads in Urban Areas\", Project sponsored by Ministry Surface Transport, September, 1988.","Chandra, S., & Prasad, N. V. (2004). Capacity of multilane urban roads under mixed traffic conditions. In Highway Research Bulletin, Indian Roads Congress (Vol. 75, pp. 97-103).","Arkatkar, S. S. (2011). Effect of intercity road geometry on capacity under heterogeneous traffic conditions using microscopic simulation technique. International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, 4(6), 375-380."]}

Today, the world faces an enormous increase in plastic waste pollution caused by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plastic pollution has been already one of the greatest threats to our planet before the Coronavirus outbreak. The disposal of millions of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of face masks has significantly contributed to the generation of plastic waste and has exacerbated plastic pollution. In an attempt to mitigate pollution caused by the excess PPE waste, an innovative way was developed in this research to reduce pandemic-generated wastes by using the shredded face mask (SFM) fibers as an additive to hot mix asphalt (HMA) to enhance rutting resistance. Rutting or permanent deformation is one of the major distresses of asphalt pavement. Since the SFM behaves as a semi-liquid between 115.5 and 160 °C, which is in the range of HMA mixing and paving temperature, it can function as a binding agent to glue the aggregates. When the pavement is cooled down to ambient temperature, the hardened SFM can provide stability and stiffness to HMA. Based on the results of this study, the modified mixes exhibited excellent resistance to permanent deformation under the Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA), as rutting depth values were reduced from 3.0 mm to 0.93 mm by increasing the SFM content from 0% to 1.5%. From the rutting test results and premature distress mechanism study, the appropriate addition of SFM modifiers could improve the high-temperature properties of HMA that can be used to strengthen high-compression and shearing zones in the pavement structure.

Heritage management is important to conserve the identity of history and culture, which can generate economic activity, enhance aesthetics, increase surrounding land value, and transfer knowledge from generation to generation. Bangladesh is a land that belongs to various forms of heritage, and Rajshahi city is not an exception with different cultural and natural heritage. Overpopulation growth, unplanned urbanization, poor infrastructure, and weak urban management are imposing risks on deteriorating heritage in current days. This study was conducted to rummage the involvement of community people in imperishability and management of heritage in the Rajshahi City Corporation of Bangladesh. To fulfill the objectives, 205 individual surveys, 3 Focus Group Discussions, and 10 Key Informant Interviews were conducted to ascertain public engagement and their visualization in respect to predicament of heritage, conservation, and the way for the future. Findings reveal that 95% of respondents thought that all the heritages express the identity of Rajshahi, where around 30% of people identified some heritages as directly or indirectly related to their family. Besides, 56.67% of people strongly expressed their views that they want to conserve their heritage through the development process, while 34.17% usually accept this argument. This research also shows a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) matrix regarding heritage management, where a priority and decision matrix have been carried out to a certain internal and external factors for heritage conservation. This research thus expected to help different people from government, non-government and local people take action regarding different forms of heritage conservation in Bangladesh.

Last cholera epidemic has been recorded in Bangladesh between 1992–1993, while few sporadic localized outbreaks have been reported as recent as 2005. Serotype O1 of Vibrio cholera is considered as the principal causative agent which transmits through contaminated drinking water resulting that epidemic. Therefore, the objective of this research was to isolate V. cholera in 3 different water sources; River, pond and tube-well, in 5 different locations of Gazipur, Bangladesh, and to analyze their antibiogram study. A total of 45 water samples were randomly collected for the isolation and identification of Vibrio spp. Samples are then serially diluted in alkaline peptone water and streak on Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salt Sucrose-TCBS agar for quantification of V. spp. For V. cholera isolation water samples were first enriched in nutrient broth at 37 °C for 16 hours followed by cultivation in selective media; TCBS agar at 37 °C for 24 hours. Yellow colonies on TCBS agar were screed as V. cholera and was confirmed by analyzing their biochemical characteristics like Catalase, Oxidase, MR, VP, Indole, Sugar fermentation. Following isolation antibiotic sensitivity test was performed on each V. cholera isolates to determine their antibiotic sensitivity profile. The results showed, out of 45 samples 12 contained V. cholera. Tube-well water has significantly lower concentration (log CFU/mL) of V. spp. than river and pond water (P < 0.05). Bacterial concentration doesn't deviate (P > 0.05) significantly in 5 different location the sample was collected from. All the 12 isolates were sensitive to Gentamicin and ciprofloxacin (100%), while Chloramphenicol (91.67%), Sulfamethoxazole (91.67%), Azithromycin (66.67%) showed high sensitivity. Isolates showed marginal sensitivity towards Tetracycline (33.33%), and Cephalexin (16.67%) and 100% resistance against antibiotics like Vancomycin, Penicillin, Erythromycin, and Nalidixic Acid. Based on these data we recommend using tube-well water instead of river and pond water for drinking purposes. Furthermore, we suggest selective use of sensitive antimicrobials listed here for therapeutics of cholera outbreak.

Despite sign language being the primary medium of conversation with deaf and dumb (DD) individuals, it is hard to grasp for any class of people, making communication immensely challenging. Bengali being one of the most spoken languages globally, significant research works on Bangla Sign Language (BdSL) have come to light to deal with this challenge. In recent years, researchers from diverse backgrounds have proposed solutions to automate the process of BdSL recognition. In this literature review, we have explored the trends of research on BdSL by comparing incorporated features and evaluation results of systems between 2002-2021 and techniques applied on different existing and new datasets. We have also collected and combined metadata from datasets of all BdSL Alphabets and numerics used so far. The literature findings of this paper indicate that most proposed models perform well on images containing static and single-handed signs but, performance falls significantly in complex backgrounds. Moreover, we focused on identifying insights and similarities of the existing system, finding research gaps and propose possible future directions. We expect this article will draw the attention of more researchers into this domain and this is the first identifiable academic literature review of BdSL recognition systems to the best of our knowledge.

The use of Mobile Robots in diverse sectors are increasing day by day. Nowadays, mobile robots are widely used in industrial sectors, but real-time path planning and collision free path tracking raises more challenging issues. A good path planning process for these mobile robots is needed in order for them to perform better. In path planning problems, the $A^{\ast}$ algorithm has been widely investigated and applied, but the cost and efficiency of the path is not completely taken into consideration. This algorithm has been tweaked and improved in a number of ways to facilitate path planning. Taking into account the variable-step-length $A^{\ast}$ search algorithm, which can take steps longer than one. This method uses a fixed step length and produces a better path than the $A^{\ast}$ Search algorithm. However, if the step length can be modified in the process as required, a more optimal direction can be obtained. As a result, this paper proposes an improved updated variable-step-length based $A^{\ast}$ algorithm that can update or change step length. This algorithm will efficiently find a path with a shorter length. In order to check the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed system, simulation and practical experiments are carried out. The findings show that the improved $A^{\ast}$ algorithm will increase the planned route’s safety and efficiency while also reducing the robot’s movement time in difficult terrain.

Paralyzed people face a lot of challenges and difficulties in their regular activities. Even a simple task such as controlling electrical devices also very difficult for them. This study's primary purpose is to develop a cost-effective home automation system based on the human-centered design (HCD) that could reduce some people's difficulties. The proposed approach takes voice or gesture as input and performs necessary actions according to the information. The proposed system helps all paralyzed people except quadriplegia operate the room appliances without regular attention from a caretaker or nurse.

Wind power capacity around the world is increasing day by day, but the production of wind energy greatly depends on the wind speed, where the wind speed has stochastic nature over time. In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) technique to forecast wind speed for the next hour in Newfoundland, Canada is proposed. As, deep learning models are combined with different hyperparameters, in our study, the selection of important hyperparameters are conducted by applying the Bayesian optimization algorithm. The wind speed forecasting performance of the proposed model is compared with other recognized models like support vector machine (SVM), random forest (R.F.) and decision tree (D.T.), where it is observed that our proposed model performs better than the other models in terms of mean absolute error (M.A.E.) and root mean squared error (R.M.S.E.). The proposed Bayesian optimized artificial neural network is fed with five input features and delivers M.A.E. and R.M.S.E. of 1.09 and 1.45.

Coastal areas are considered as one of the important hubs of natural properties and people, where different forms of natural and man-made calamities alter the standard of resources. Salinity is an emerging issue in coastal areas for which land use changes appear to have impacts on livelihood in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Following the statement, this research was conducted to understand the relationship between salinity intrusion and land use changes in the perspective of different forms of land use pattern. This study was done in Bagerhat district through image classification from 1980 to 2018 and 27 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done to understand the land use dynamic. This research stated that agricultural land was decreased around 303 km2 (7.97 km2/year) from 1980 to 2018 in Bagerhat district while aquaculture is increasing dramatically at the rate of 486 km2 (12.78 km2/year). Along with natural event induced salinity intrusion, people’s perception identified poor water management and upstream intervention as reasons behind the consequence of saline water intrusion induced land use change. This study will help the government, non-government authorities and local representatives to initiate necessary steps regarding sustainable land use management in coastal areas of Bangladesh.