Spatial Variation of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in Agricultural Soils Collected from Different Geographical Regions in Vietnam

Rare earth elements (REEs) exist commonly in minerals, such as carbonates, silicates, fluorides, and phosphates. REEs are also found in coals, animals, algae, and plants which were proven to increase the growth, development, yield, and quality of crops. In the present study, a preliminary assessment of REEs contents in soils collected from different areas in Vietnam was performed using the methods of Fe(OH)3 and Mg(OH)2 co-precipitation to exclude interferences from the sample matrix before analyzing REEs on ICP-MS system. The contents of REEs (mg kg-1) were in descending of Ce > Nd > La > Pr > Sm > Gd > Dy > Tb > Er > Yb > Lu. The light REEs contents were always higher than the heavy REEs, accounting for more than 70% of the total contents. In addition, the REEs also differed in total contents between areas. The contents of REEs were as follows Northwest > Northeast > Central Highland > Southeast. These differences could be related to influences during the natural weathering processes for soil formation and human activities such as mining and cultivation via fertilizers

Assessment of aflatoxin B1 contamination in rice and maize

Introduction: Aflatoxins B1 are among the most common poisonous mycotoxins produced by certain fungi that harm animals and crops. Mycotoxins can cause a variety of adverse health effects and pose a serious health threat to humans. The Maximum Residue Limits of aflatoxin B1 in processed cereals and ingredients are 2 parts per billion (ppb) and 5 ppb, respectively. Objectives: To evaluate the status of aflatoxin B 1 contamination in rice, corn and staple food produced in Ha Giang province compared with the maximum permitted levels. Methods: A total of 210 rice and maize samples were analyzed to quantify the level of aflatoxin B1. Analysis of mycotoxins was conducted by High Performance Liquid Chromatography using a fluorescence detector. Results: It was found that rice, rice products, maize, and maize products had a mean aflatoxin B1 content of 1.79 ppb, 2.55 ppb, 2.19 ppb, and 6.35 ppb, respectively. The results also showed that 71.9% of samples were contaminated with mycotoxins, and 14.28% of samples exceeded the maximum allowable limit. Conclusion: The concentration of aflatoxin B1 in 14.28% of the samples are over permissible limits by nationwide regulations

A Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation of the First Reported Human Infection With the Zoonotic Parasite Trypanosoma evansi in Southeast Asia.

BACKGROUND: Trypanosomais a genus of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa.Trypanosoma bruceispecies and Trypanosoma cruziare the major agents of human trypanosomiasis; other Trypanosomaspecies can cause human disease, but are rare. In March 2015, a 38-year-old woman presented to a healthcare facility in southern Vietnam with fever, headache, and arthralgia. Microscopic examination of blood revealed infection with Trypanosoma METHODS: Microscopic observation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of blood samples, and serological testing were performed to identify the infecting species. The patient's blood was screened for the trypanocidal protein apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1), and a field investigation was performed to identify the zoonotic source. RESULTS: PCR amplification and serological testing identified the infecting species as Trypanosoma evansi.Despite relapsing 6 weeks after completing amphotericin B therapy, the patient made a complete recovery after 5 weeks of suramin. The patient was found to have 2 wild-type APOL1 alleles and a normal serum APOL1 concentration. After responsive animal sampling in the presumed location of exposure, cattle and/or buffalo were determined to be the most likely source of the infection, with 14 of 30 (47%) animal blood samples testing PCR positive forT. evansi. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first laboratory-confirmed case ofT. evansiin a previously healthy individual without APOL1 deficiency, potentially contracted via a wound while butchering raw beef, and successfully treated with suramin. A linked epidemiological investigation revealed widespread and previously unidentified burden ofT. evansiin local cattle, highlighting the need for surveillance of this infection in animals and the possibility of further human cases

On the Design of NOMA-Enhanced Backscatter Communication Systems

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and backscatter communication (BackCom) are two emerging technologies for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This paper addresses the performance of a monostatic BackCom system employing the hybrid time-division multiple-access (TDMA)/power-domain (PD) NOMA, where a reader simultaneously serves multiple backscatter nodes (BNs). While the conventional schemes are mainly for static NOMA-aided monostatic BackCom systems, we instead introduce the design framework for dynamic systems. Moreover, we also present novel schemes to further improve the performance of such conventional static systems. Specifically, as for the static NOMA-enhanced monostatic BackCom systems, we investigate two schemes: (i) a two-node pairing (TNP) scheme to increase the possibility of successfully decoding NOMA groups by not randomly pairing BNs for such groups as in conventional approach and (ii) an adaptive power reflection coefficient (APRC) scheme to enhance the system performance by adjusting BN’s power reflection coefficient based on the channel conditions. Regarding the dynamic NOMA-enhanced monostatic BackCom systems, two schemes, namely dynamic-sized pairing (DSP) and hybrid APRC/DSP, are proposed, in which the number of BNs in a NOMA group is not necessarily to be a fixed size. To illustrate the enhanced system using the proposed schemes, we analyze the performance of the BackCom system in terms of the number of successful backscatter nodes and the number of bits that can be successfully decoded by a controller/reader. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of our proposed schemes compared to the conventional ones over the state-of-the-art

Strategy in Dispatching Trucks and Shovels with Different Capacity to Increase the Operating Efficiency in Cao Son Surface Coal Mine, Vietnam

In surface mining operations, the operating costs of truck-shovel system constitutes 50-60% of the total. Only a little save in the operation costs in this system will bring large profit for the mines. Due to many investment periods, the capacity of both trucks and shovels in Cao Son surface coal mine is different. This leads to the low efficiency and the difficulty in dispatching strategy for the mine. This paper presents the current situation and selection of advanced dispatching strategy for increasing the efficiency trucks and shovels at this surface coal mine. The results show the detailed match factor reflects the state of each team of loader and trucks and should be use as the indicator for dispatching decision for the heterogeneous truck and shovel fleet at Cao Son surface coal mine

Evaluation des patients relevant de la réanimation adressés aux urgences par un médecin en ambulance non médicalisée

LE KREMLIN-B.- PARIS 11-BU Méd (940432101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF