Is the Sundarbans of Bangladesh in a State of Pollution?

The Sundarbans is the world’s most extensive natural mangrove forest and home to various natural resources. The population in the vicinity has increased, causing more dependency on the resources of the Sundarbans. The increasing industrialization, urbanization, aquaculture, intensive agricultural practices, seaports, tourism facilities, and so on in the peripheral areas of the Sundarbans have made significant changes in the surrounding and upstream land uses of the Sundarbans. This situation may have detrimental influences on the ecosystem components of the Sundarbans. Therefore, it is highly demanded to prepare a piece of baseline information or database of different sources of pollution and their present status in the various components of the Sundarbans. This effort helps to identify issues and concerns, determine the key elements of the ecosystem to monitor the level or overall quality of the Sundarbans ecosystem. The present study systematically collects the potential sources of pollution, types, and current levels in the ecosystem components of the Sundarbans using academic databases, libraries, and online resources. Discharge of industrial waste into water, soil and air, heavy metal pollution, use of agrochemicals, oil (refined and crude) pollution, plastic materials from urban areas, and tourism are the major issues and concerns related to the sustainability of the Sundarbans ecosystem. The air quality of the Sundarbans is in good condition with 0 - 50 AQI of Bangladesh. While BOD, COD, TDS, TSS varied from 2.0 to 3.8 mg/L, 21.6 to 416 mg/L, 146.9 to 24,100 mg/L and 54 to 155 mg/L, respectively. Soil EC, organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus ranged from 3.01 - 5.82 mS/cm, 1.41% - 2.69%, 0.51 - 1.05 mg/g, and 0.32 - 0.51 mg/g respectively. The air, water and soil quality parameters varied with the sites and seasons and not much at the state of contamination. Indeed, we must pay much attention to the Sundarbans’ air, water and soil quality with the massive and progressive change of the nearby land use pattern.

A Photonic Crystal Fiber Based Asymmetric Slotted Structured Highly Sensitive Refractive Index Plasmonic Biosensor

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors have grown in popularity owing to their sensitivity, precision, and capacity for a variety of applications, including detection, monitoring, and sensing, among others. Sensitivity and resolution are two areas where this technology has room for development. A plasmonic biosensor based on an asymmetric slotted PCF structure with extremely high sensitivity has been described and theoretically investigated. This high performance sensor is constructed and completely characterized using finite element method in COMSOL Multiphysics software environment. Sensitivity and resolution are analyzed as performance parameters for the proposed sensor. Numerical simulation exhibits the maximum wavelength-sensitivity of 1100 nm/RIU with 9.09 × 10-6 RIU resolution in the broad measurement range of refractive index from 1.30 to 1.44. A polarization controller can be used to fine-tune this extremely sensitive and wide-ranging refractive index sensor to fulfil a variety of practical needs. This is performed with the consideration of the variation in the refractive index (RI) of the analyte channels. In comparison with earlier PCF-based sensors, the fiber design structure is basic, symmetrical, simple to produce, and cost-effective. Because of the asymmetric air holes and higher sensitivities of the refractive index detector, it is possible to identify biomolecules, biochemicals and other analytes.

Mitogenomic phylogeny of the Asian colobine genus Trachypithecus with special focus on Trachypithecus phayrei(Blyth, 1847) and description of a new species

Trachypithecus,which currently contains 20 species divided into four groups,is the most speciose and geographically dispersed genus among Asian colobines.Despite several morphological and molecular studies,however,its evolutionary history and phylogeography remain poorly understood.Phayre’s langur(Trachypithecus phayrei) is one of the most widespread members of the genus,but details on its actual distribution and intraspecific taxonomy are limited and controversial.Thus,to elucidate the evolutionary history of Trachypithecus and to clarify the intraspecific taxonomy and distribution of T.phayrei,we sequenced 41 mitochondrial genomes from georeferenced fecal samples and museum specimens,including two holotypes.Phylogenetic analyses revealed a robustly supported phylogeny of Trachypithecus,suggesting that the T.pileatus group branched first,followed by the T.francoisi group,and the T.cristatus and T.obscurus groups most recently.The four species groups diverged from each other 4.5-3.1 million years ago(Ma),while speciation events within these groups occurred much more recently(1.6-0.3 Ma).Within T.phayrei,we found three clades that diverged 1.0-0.9 Ma,indicating the existence of three rather than two taxa.Following the phylogenetic species concept and based on genetic,morphological,and ecological differences,we elevate the T.phayrei subspecies to species level,describe a new species from central Myanmar,and refine the distribution of the three taxa.Overall,our study highlights the importance of museum specimens and provides new insights not only into the evolutionary history of T.phayrei but the entire Trachypithecus genus as well.

Biomaterial-based in vitro 3D modeling of glioblastoma multiforme

Adult-onset brain cancers,such as glioblastomas,are particularly lethal.People with glioblastoma multiforme(GBM)do not anticipate living for more than 15 months if there is no cure.The results of conventional treatments over the past 20 years have been underwhelming.Tumor aggressiveness,location,and lack of systemic therapies that can penetrate the blood–brain barrier are all contributing factors.For GBM treatments that appear promising in preclinical studies,there is a considerable rate of failure in phaseⅠandⅡclinical trials.Unfortunately,access becomes impossible due to the intricate architecture of tumors.In vitro,bioengineered cancer models are currently being used by researchers to study disease development,test novel therapies,and advance specialized medications.Many different techniques for creating in vitro systems have arisen over the past few decades due to developments in cellular and tissue engineering.Later-stage research may yield better results if in vitro models that resemble brain tissue and the blood–brain barrier are used.With the use of 3D preclinical models made available by biomaterials,researchers have discovered that it is possible to overcome these limitations.Innovative in vitro models for the treatment of GBM are possible using biomaterials and novel drug carriers.This review discusses the benefits and drawbacks of 3D in vitro glioblastoma modeling systems.

Improved voltage tracking of autonomous microgrid technology using a combined resonant controller with lead-lag compensator adopting negative imaginary theorem

Growing application of distributed generation units at remote places has led to the evolution of microgrid(MG)technology.When an MG system functions independently,i.e.,in autonomous mode,unpredictable loads and uncertainties emerge throughout the system.To obtain stable and flexible operation of an autonomous MG,a rigid control mechanism is needed.In this paper,a robust high-performance controller is introduced to improve the performance of voltage tracking of an MG system and to eliminate stability problems.A combination of a resonant controller and a lead-lag compensator in a positive position feedback path is designed,one which obeys the negative imaginary(NI)theorem,for both single-phase and three-phase autonomous MG systems.The controller has excellent tracking performance.This is investigated through considering various uncertainties with different load dynamics.The feasibility and effectiveness of the controller are also determined with a comparative analysis with some well-known controllers,such as linear quadratic regulator,model predictive and NI approached resonant controllers.This confirms the superi-ority of the designed controller.