A full permutation polygon synthetic indicator (FPPSI) approach for measuring and evaluating city prosperity: case study in Da Nang City, Vietnam

Economic growth has dominated development strategies and goals for many years, but prosperity encompasses more than that. In 2013, UN-Habitat proposed the City Prosperity Initiative (CPI) as a tool to quantify cities' prosperity and sustainable development. The CPI is accompanied by six essential components with 62 indicators associated with the urban settlement, incorporating productivity, infrastructure development, quality of life, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and urban governance and legislation. The research aims to use the indicators of CPI and adopted the Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator method to measure and evaluate the level of prosperity of Da Nang City of Vietnam with data from 2004 to 2019. According to the findings of our study, the value of a synthetic indicator for the prosperity of Da Nang City increased, from 0.34 in 2004 to 0.36 in 2009, 0.43 in 2014, and 0.45 in 2019, which indicates a moderate level of wealth. On the one hand, Da Nang City has high levels of quality of life, equity and social inclusion, and urban governance and legislation. However, the city still has modest determinants of prosperity in terms of the environment, productivity and infrastructure. The Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator technique provides a comprehensive solution that illustrates the system integration idea. As a result, the proposed methodology offers a potential foundation for decision-making to promote sustainable urban development strategies and assess the effectiveness of these action

CHANGES IN PLASMA LEVELS OF STEROID HORMONES DURING SEXUAL MATURATION OF MALE HELICOPTER CATFISH (WALLAGO ATTU) IN CAPTIVITY

In order to provide reliable indicators of the spawning season of captive helicopter catfish (Wallago attu), this study evaluated the temporal variation in gonadosomatic index (GSI), plasma levels of testosterone (T), and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) in male broodstock in captivity. GSI was estimated as the percentage of the relative weight of testis to total body weight. Plasma levels of sex steroids were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA). Testis samples were dehydrated and embedded in paraffin, then sectioned at 5 μm thickness. The highest level of T (402.1 ± 16.7 pg/mL) was found in June, followed by a peak in 11-KT level (76.9 ± 4.7 pg/mL) in May. Testes containing the highest concentrations of spermatozoa were observed from June to August. The GSI of males increased significantly from January to June and peaked in July (2.14%). Taken together, we conclude that the spawning season of captive helicopter catfish occurs from June to August. These results will contribute to the basic knowledge of the reproductive biology of helicopter catfish, which can be useful in artificial breeding

Machine Learning Models for Inferring the Axial Strength in Short Concrete-Filled Steel Tube Columns Infilled with Various Strength Concrete

Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns are used in the construction industry because of their high strength, ductility, stiffness, and fire resistance. This paper developed machine learning techniques for inferring the axial strength in short CFST columns infilled with various strength concrete. Additive Random Forests (ARF) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) models were developed and tested using large experimental data. These data-driven models enable us to infer the axial strength in CFST columns based on the diameter, the tube thickness, the steel yield stress, concrete strength, column length, and diameter/tube thickness. The analytical results showed that the ARF obtained high accuracy with the 6.39% in mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and 211.31 kN in mean absolute error (MAE). The ARF outperformed significantly the ANNs with an improvement rate at 84.1% in MAPE and 65.4% in MAE. In comparison with the design codes such as EC4 and AISC, the ARF improved the predictive accuracy with 36.9% in MAPE and 22.3% in MAE. The comparison results confirmed that the ARF was the most effective machine learning model among the investigated approaches. As a contribution, this study proposed a machine learning model for accurately inferring the axial strength in short CFST columns

Chemical profiles and biological activities of acetone extracts of nine Annonaceae plants

This study investigated the chemical components and bioactivities of acetone leaf extracts of nine Annonaceae plants collected in the Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam. A total of 182 constituents were identified, with linolenic acid, diaeudesmin, germacrene D, 1-octadecenoic acid, 8-(3-octyl-2-oxiranyl)-1-octanol, oleic acid, and phenylmethyl ester being the major compounds. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated using a disc diffusion assay. Eight of the nine extracts, except for the Mitrephora thorelii extract, showed an inhibition effect against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using DPPH assay, and the cytotoxic activity was deter mined using SRB assay. The results showed that the acetone extracts of Artabotrys hexapetalus, Uvularia grandiflora, Polyalthia luensis, Xylopia pierrei, Sphaerocoryne affinis, Desmos cochinchinensis, Uvaria littoralis, Mitrephora thorelii, and Goniothalamus touranensis had significant activity with IC50 for the DPPH radical scavenging activity ranging from 18.56 to 702.33 μg/mL, and the IC50 for the cytotoxic effects ranged from 5.39 to 251.77 μg/mL. Overall, the results obtained provide experimental evidence for the potential use of these plants in medicine and other related fields

Humibacter ginsengiterrae sp. nov., and Humibacter ginsengisoli sp. nov., isolated from soil of a ginseng field

Two novel Gram-staining-positive bacteria, designated DCY60T and DCY90T, were isolated from soil of a ginseng field in the Republic of Korea. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons showed the two novel strains were closely related to members of the genus Humibacter with greatest similarity to Humibacter antri KCTC 33009T (98.8 and 98.4 % for DCY60T and DCY90T, respectively). The predominant menaquinones present were MK-11 and MK-12. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C17 : 0 and summed feature 8 containing C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c. The DNA G+C contents of strains DCY60T and DCY90T were 62.8 and 66.8 mol%, respectively. The peptidoglycan of both strains contained the amino acids ornithine, 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, alanine, glutamic acid and glycine. The cell-wall sugars of strain DCY60T comprised glucose, galactose, rhamnose and xylose, while strain DCY90T contained glucose, galactose, rhamnose and ribose. The major polar lipids of both strains were phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified glycolipid, and an unknown phospholipid. On the basis of the phenotypic analysis strains DCY60T and DCY90T represent novel species of the genus Humibacter, for which names Humibacter ginsengiterrae sp. nov. (type strain DCY60T = KCTC 33520T = JCM 30079T) and Humibacter ginsengisoli sp. nov. (type strain DCY90T = KCTC 33521T = JCM 30080T) are proposed

Universality in odd-even harmonic generation and application in terahertz waveform sampling

Odd-even harmonics emitted from a laser-target system imprint rich, subtle information characterizing the system's dynamical asymmetry, which is desirable to decipher. In this Letter, we discover a simple universal relation between the odd-even harmonics and the asymmetry of the THz-assisted laser-atomic system -- atoms in a fundamental mid-IR laser pulse combined with a THz laser. First, we demonstrate numerically and then analytically formulize the harmonic even-to-odd ratio as a function of the THz electric field, the source of the system's asymmetry. Notably, we suggest a scaling that makes the obtained rule universal, independent of the parameters of both the fundamental pulse and atomic target. This universality facilitates us to propose a general pump-probe scheme for THz waveform sampling from the even-to-odd ratio, measurable within a conventional compact setup

Habenaria diphylla (Nimmo) Dalzell (Orchidaceae), new record for the flora of Vietnam

Habenaria diphylla (Nimmo) Dalzell is reported for the first time as a new discovery for the flora of Vietnam based on the specimens collected in Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The present study provided the detailed characteristics of the species including detailed photographs of the morphological characteristics, the cross section of the leaf, inflorescence axis and root. Furthermore, the information about the species, including distribution, habitat, ecology and conservation status were also provided

Slip Resistance Test Apparatus of Synthetic Rubber Trackpad on Photovoltaic Surface

The increasing development of the solar energy industry in many countries has led to a rising frequency of human and robot presence in this area. To ensure occupational safety, various protective equipment, including rubber material, is commonly used for slip resistance while moving on the surface of solar PV panels. Therefore, the slip resistance test apparatus is built for testing the slip resistance between the synthetic rubber trackpad and the photovoltaic panel (PV) surface. Synthetic rubber is a man-made material, so it is difficult to control the parameters of its mechanical and chemical properties absolutely. Variations in wet/dry working conditions or Shore hardness are factors that make slip computation more challenging. Therefore, an apparatus with the principle of converting the reciprocating motion of the screw and the casters into the rotation of the hinge is introduced to adjust the tilt angle of the upper surface, detect and evaluate the slippage of the rubber trackpad by sensors. Some parameters related to accuracy such as vibration and theoretical-empirical assessment, are also mentioned. In addition to designing a reliable apparatus, the article also succeeded in providing a safety standard for synthetic rubber with Shore A30-A40 when moving on PV surfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figures, The 20th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (UR 2023

Phlogacanthus cornutus: chemical profiles and antioxidant effects

Phlogacanthus cornutus is a rare species and the chemical profiles and the bioactivities of this plant are unknown. In present study, the chemical components of the acetone extract as well as the antioxidant activity of acetone extract and its fractions such as n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate of P. cornutus were firstly reported. A total of 33 constituents were identify in the acetone extract of this plant using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry assay, in which trans-cinnamic acid (21.26%), neophytadiene (6.36%), linolenic acid (5.86%), dihydroagathic acid (5.71%), n-hexadecanoic acid (5.53%), phytol (4.14%) and cis-cinnamic acid (3.23%) were the major compounds. The acetone extract and its fractions such as n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate of P. cornutus showed DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 234.31, 185.95, 758.65 and 458.52 µg/mL respectively