Effects of cellulose nanofibers on soil water retention and aggregate stability

Innovative solutions that address global challenges such as water scarcity and soil erosion are critical for maintaining sustainable agriculture. Due to their water-absorbing and soil-binding properties, cellulose nanofibers (CNF) can be applied to soil to enhance soil water retention and aggregate stability. In this study, we analyzed the effects of the drying temperature, dosage, irrigation water quality, and soil type on the efficacy of CNFs. Our results revealed that CNF dried at 5 degrees C is more effective at absorbing water than others, and adding 1% CNF enhanced soil water content up to 98%. The CNF samples absorbed water due to their hydrophilic molecular groups and morphological structure, as confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. CNF addition increased the soil volumetric water content and prolonged water retention by 22 days in the paddy soil samples, highlighting its potential for drought-prone areas. Furthermore, irrigation water quality, such as pH and cation values, influenced the interactions between CNF and water molecules, suggesting adjustments to the water retention curve. In its hydrated state, CNF promotes colloid flocculation and binds to soil particles, thereby strengthening the bonds crucial for aggregate formation and stability. CNF enhanced macro-aggregate formation by up to 48% and 59% in the masa and paddy soil samples, respectively. Our study emphasizes the potential of CNF for water conservation, soil health, and overall agricultural sustainability

An effective method for clustering-based web service recommendation

Normally web services are classified by the quality of services; however, the term quality is not absolute and defined relatively. The quality of web services is measured or derived using various parameters like reliability, scalability, flexibility, and availability. The limitation of the methods employing these parameters is that sometimes they are producing similar web services in recommendation lists. To address this research problem, the novel improved clustering-based web service recommendation method is proposed in this paper. This approach is mainly dealing with producing diversity in the results of web service recommendations. In this method, functional interest, quality of service (QoS) preference, and diversity features are combined to produce a unique recommendation list of web services to end-users. To produce the unique recommendation results, we propose a varied web service classification order that is clustering-based on web services’ functional relevance such as non-useful pertinence, recorded client intrigue importance, and potential client intrigue significance. Additionally, to further improve the performance of this approach, we designed web service graph construction, an algorithm of various widths clustering. This approach serves to enhance the exceptional quality, that is, the accuracy of web service recommendation outcomes. The performance of this method was implemented and evaluated against existing systems for precision, and f-score performance metrics, using the research datasets

Antioxidant activity of isolated compounds from ethyl acetate extract of Bruguiera parviflora

Bruguiera parviflora belongs to Bruguiera genus, which possesses several biological activities such as antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. Phytochemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract from Bruguiera parviflora leaves was carried out bioassay-guided isolation and obtained three known compounds, namely kochioside A (1), oleanolic acid (2) and quercitrin (3). The chemical structures of isolated compounds were identified by spectroscopic method and comparison with previously published data. All isolated compounds were evaluated for antioxidant activity with the free radical scavenging ability on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Among them, quercitrin (3) was the most potent compound against DPPH radical with the IC50 value of 16.4 ± 0.2 µg/mL, compared to vitamin C, which was used as a positive control

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from leaves of Magnolia coriacea (Hung T. Chang & B. L. Chen) figlar growing in Vietnam

Leaf essential oil of Magnolia coriacea (Hung T. Chang B. L. Chen) Figlar growing wild in the Bat Dai Son Nature Reserve, Ha Giang Province, Viet Nam was obtained by hydrodistillation and its chemical composition was analyzed using GC/MS. In total, 45 compounds were detected in the essential oil, accounting for 87.1% of the oil, in which 37 compounds were identified accounting for 66.9%. Bicyclogermacrene (12.6%) and spathulenol (17.0%) were the main components of the leaf essential oil of M. coriacea. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil sample was tested against three microorganism strains using an agar disk diffusion method. The results show that the inhibitory zone diameters ranged from 8.5 to 20.5 mm. Median inhibitory concentration (IC50) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oil was determined using microdilution broth susceptibility assay against seven test microorganism strains. Bacillus subtilis had the highest sensitivity with IC50 and MIC values of 185.9 and 512 µg/mL, respectively. 

Study on the effect of processing methods on the total polyphenol, 2,3,5,4’-tetrahydroxystilben-2-O-β-D-glucoside, and physcion contents in Fallopia multiflora Thunb. Haraldson root

This study investigated the changes in the ingredients in Fallopia multiflora Thunb. Haraldson (FMT) root after processing it with different methods such as soaking, stewing, and steaming or combined methods. The total polyphenol, 2,3,5,4′-tetrahydroxystilben-2-O-β-D-glucoside (THSG), and physcion contents in FMT products after processing were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) methods. The results demonstrated that the processing method and time significantly affected the contents of polyphenol, THSG, and physcion. The physcion and total polyphenol content increased or decreased during processing depending upon the processing time, while the THSG content gradually decreased with an increase in the processing time. The content of physcion (a substance that can cause liver toxicity) was analysed, and the suitable conditions for processing of the FMT products were determined as initial soaking in rice swill for 24 h and subsequent stewing with black beans and water for 12 h

Study on conformational structure of tamarind seed polysaccharide and its sulfated derivative by light scattering method

The aim of this study was to study the conformational changing when sulfated groups were introduced to the molecular chain of native tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP). Light Scattering (LS) method was used to determine conformation of TSP and its sulfated derivative TSPS. The results indicated that both TSP and TSPS have a highly branched and more sphere-like molecule; however, after sulfation, the TSPS became more branched structure than native polysaccharide. Keywords. Tamarind seed polysaccharide, conformation, light scattering

The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Organizational Commitment in Multinational Corporations in Ho Chi Minh City

Based on the theoretical background of previous studies and the increasing context of personnel turnover in multinational companies, the authors conduct this study with the research objective to test and measure the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on employee’s organizational commitment through the effect of organizational identification and organizational trust. The combined qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to process and analyse the data. Research data was collected from 271 employees working in multinational corporations in Ho Chi Minh City. The study also discusses and provides some governance implications to help MNCs improve their social responsibility towards social and non-social stakeholders, employees, customers and the government as well as increase employee organizational engagement through identification and trust in the organization. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, employee organizational commitment, organizational identification, organizational trus

Screening yeast strains for alcohol fermentation from the dried traditional yeast

Methods to produce rice alcohol by dried traditional yeast are unstable because the yeast system in dried traditional yeast has depended on nature and not been controlled. In this study, a total of 15 different kinds of dried traditional yeast were prepared and screened. Each yeast strain was evaluated by analyzing its fermentation property and alcohol tolerance. There are 19 yeast strains were isolated and their growth conditions and ethanol producing properties were examined. Results showed that three strains S1, BT, BL3 grew and produced ethanol at temperature 28-30oC, and pH 5-5.5. Especially, high concentration ethanol tolerance ability of the three strains was at 8-18%. Our results showed that these strains were valuable microorganisms and could be utilized as a basis for further study of dried traditional yeast in traditional alcoholic beverages

A High-Quality Genome Assembly of Striped Catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) Based on Highly Accurate Long-Read HiFi Sequencing Data

The HiFi sequencing technology yields highly accurate long-read data with accuracies greater than 99.9% that can be used to improve results for complex applications such as genome assembly. Our study presents a high-quality chromosome-scale genome assembly of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), a commercially important species cultured mainly in Vietnam, integrating HiFi reads and Hi-C data. A 788.4 Mb genome containing 381 scaffolds with an N50 length of 21.8 Mb has been obtained from HiFi reads. These scaffolds have been further ordered and clustered into 30 chromosome groups, ranging from 1.4 to 57.6 Mb, based on Hi-C data. The present updated assembly has a contig N50 of 14.7 Mb, representing a 245-fold and 4.2-fold improvement over the previous Illumina and Illumina-Nanopore-Hi-C based version, respectively. In addition, the proportion of repeat elements and BUSCO genes identified in our genome is remarkably higher than in the two previously released striped catfish genomes. These results highlight the power of using HiFi reads to assemble the highly repetitive regions and to improve the quality of genome assembly. The updated, high-quality genome assembled in this work will provide a valuable genomic resource for future population genetics, conservation biology and selective breeding studies of striped catfish