The Current Adoption of Dry-Direct Seeding Rice (DDSR) in Thailand and Lessons Learned for Mekong River Delta of Vietnam

The paper documents the joint study trip, organized by CCAFS Southeast Asia for Vietnamese rice researchers, extension workers, as well as local decision makers, to visit Thailand in April 2018. The goal of the study trip was to observe and learn the experience of Thai farmers on the large-scale adoption process of dry-direct seeding rice (DDSR), a viable alternative to address regional scarcity of fresh water in irrigation caused by the drought and salinity intrusion in the Mekong River Delta

Fiber-Optic Network Architectures for Onboard Avionics Applications Investigated

This project is part of a study within the Advanced Air Transportation Technologies program undertaken at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The main focus of the program is the improvement of air transportation, with particular emphasis on air transportation safety. Current and future advances in digital data communications between an aircraft and the outside world will require high-bandwidth onboard communication networks. Radiofrequency (RF) systems, with their interconnection network based on coaxial cables and waveguides, increase the complexity of communication systems onboard modern civil and military aircraft with respect to weight, power consumption, and safety. In addition, safety and reliability concerns from electromagnetic interference between the RF components embedded in these communication systems exist. A simple, reliable, and lightweight network that is free from the effects of electromagnetic interference and capable of supporting the broadband communications needs of future onboard digital avionics systems cannot be easily implemented using existing coaxial cable-based systems. Fiber-optical communication systems can meet all these challenges of modern avionics applications in an efficient, cost-effective manner. The objective of this project is to present a number of optical network architectures for onboard RF signal distribution. Because of the emergence of a number of digital avionics devices requiring high-bandwidth connectivity, fiber-optic RF networks onboard modern aircraft will play a vital role in ensuring a low-noise, highly reliable RF communication system. Two approaches are being used for network architectures for aircraft onboard fiber-optic distribution systems: a hybrid RF-optical network and an all-optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network

Improving sulfonamide antibiotics removal from swine wastewater by supplying a new pomelo peel derived biochar in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor.

Sulfonamide antibiotics (SMs), as a class of antibiotics commonly used in swine industries, pose a serious threat to animal and human health. This study aims to evaluate the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) with and without supplying a new pomelo peel derived biochar to treat swine wastewater containing SMs. Results show that 0.5 g/L biochar addition could increase more than 30% of sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethazine (SMZ) removal in AnMBR. Approximately 95% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed in the AnMBR at an influent organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.27 kg COD/(m3·d) while an average methane yield was 0.2 L/g CODremoved with slightly change at a small dose 0.5 g/L biochar addition. SMs inhibited the COD removal and methane production and increased membrane fouling. The addition of biochar could reduce the membrane fouling by reducing the concentration of SMP and EPS

Effect of ciprofloxacin dosages on the performance of sponge membrane bioreactor treating hospital wastewater

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This study aimed to evaluate treatment performance and membrane fouling of a lab-scale Sponge-MBR under the added ciprofloxacin (CIP) dosages (20; 50; 100 and 200 µg L−1) treating hospital wastewater. The results showed that Sponge-MBR exhibited effective removal of COD (94–98%) during the operation period despite increment of CIP concentrations from 20 to 200 µg L−1. The applied CIP dosage of 200 µg L−1 caused an inhibition of microorganisms in sponges, i.e. significant reduction of the attached biomass and a decrease in the size of suspended flocs. Moreover, this led to deteriorating the denitrification rate to 3–12% compared to 35% at the other lower CIP dosages. Importantly, Sponge-MBR reinforced the stability of CIP removal at various added CIP dosages (permeate of below 13 µg L−1). Additionally, the fouling rate at CIP dosage of 200 µg L−1 was 30.6 times lower compared to the control condition (no added CIP dosage)

Women's perspectives on termination service delivery in Vietnam: a cross-sectional survey in three provinces.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives of abortion service users regarding termination methods and abortion service delivery in Vietnam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Structured exit interviews were conducted between August and November 2011 with women who underwent termination of pregnancy at 62 public health facilities in Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. All women presenting for termination during the study period were recruited to participate in the study. Following their abortion, women were asked about their perspectives on abortion service delivery and attributes of medical abortion (MA) versus manual vacuum aspiration (MVA). Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between current method uptake and each attribute. RESULTS: A total of 1,233 women were included in the survey: 541 (43.9%) from Hanoi, 163 (13.2%) from Khanh Hoa, and 529 (42.9%) from Ho Chi Minh: 23.1% underwent MA; 78.9% reported that women should be given a choice between MA and MVA; and 77.6% thought that abortion services were accessible. Among the 48% who responded, 30.1% thought that MA should be made available at primary/secondary health care facilities. Among women who had previously undergone both methods, women who reported that MA "feels more natural" (like a menstrual regulation/period) were more likely to choose MA for their current abortion (odds ratio 2.15, 95% confidence interval 1.26-3.69). CONCLUSION: MA uptake is significantly lower than MVA uptake. Further insights to women's perceptions of MA in Vietnam could help improve abortion service delivery in the country

Attributes and perspectives of public providers related to provision of medical abortion at public health facilities in Vietnam: a cross-sectional study in three provinces.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate attributes of public service providers associated with the provision of medical abortion in Vietnam. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study via interviewer-administered questionnaire among abortion providers from public health facilities in Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam between August 2011 and January 2012. We recruited abortion providers at all levels of Vietnam's public health service delivery system. Participants were questioned about their medical abortion provision practices and perspectives regarding abortion methods. RESULTS: A total of 905 providers from 62 health facilities were included, comprising 525 (58.0%) from Hanoi, 122 (13.5%) from Khanh Hoa, and 258 (28.5%) from Ho Chi Minh City. The majority of providers were female (96.7%), aged ≥25 years (94%), married (84.4%), and had at least one child (89%); 68.9% of providers offered only manual vacuum aspiration and 31.1% performed both medical abortion and manual vacuum aspiration. Those performing both methods included physicians (74.5%), midwives (21.7%), and nurses (3.9%). Unadjusted analyses showed that female providers (odds ratio 0.1; 95% confidence interval 0.01-0.30) and providers in rural settings (odds ratio 0.3; 95% confidence interval 0.08-0.79) were less likely to provide medical abortion than their counterparts. Obstetricians and gynecologists were more likely to provide medical abortion than providers with nursing/midwifery training (odds ratio 22.2; 95% confidence interval 3.81-129.41). The most frequently cited advantages of medical abortion for providers were that no surgical skills are required (61.7%) and client satisfaction is better (61.0%). CONCLUSION: Provision of medical abortion in Vietnam is lower than provision of manual vacuum aspiration. While the majority of abortion providers are female midwives in Vietnam, medical abortion provision is concentrated in urban settings among physicians. Individuals providing medical abortion found that the method yields high client satisfaction

Impact of reactor configurations on the performance of a granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd This study compared overall performance of an external granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor and a submerged granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor (EG-AnMBR and SG-AnMBR, respectively), to determine which type of G-AnMBRs is more preferred for municipal wastewater treatment. Both systems presented similar COD removal efficiencies (over 91%) and methane yield of 160 mL CH4 (STP) (g COD removed)−1 although volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation was found in the SG-AnMBR. Membrane direct incorporation into the SG-AnMBR significantly affected the concentration and properties of microbial products (e.g. soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)) in the cake layer, mixed liquor and granular sludge, as well as granular sludge size and settleability. The EG-AnMBR demonstrated less SMP and EPS in the mixed liquor and cake layer, which might reduce the cake layer resistance and lower the fouling rate. Liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) analysis of foulant revealed that biopolymers along with low molecular weight neutrals and acids and building blocks were responsible for higher fouling propensity in the SG-AnMBR. It is evident that compared to the SG-AnMBR, the EG-AnMBR serves as a better G-AnMBR configuration for municipal wastewater treatment due to less fouling propensity and superior granule quality

A critical review on antibiotics and hormones in swine wastewater: Water pollution problems and control approaches.

Swine wastewater (SW) is an important source of antibiotics and hormones (A&H) in the environment due to their large-scale application in swine industry. A&H in SW can be released into the water environment through the direct discharge of SW, effluent from SW treatment plants, and runoff and leaching from farmland polluted by swine wastes. The presence of A&H in the water environment has become an increasing global concern considering their adverse effects to the aquatic organism and human. This review critically discusses: (i) the occurrence of A&H in global water environment and their potential risks to water organisms and human; (ii) the management and technical approaches for reducing the emission of A&H in SW to the water environment. The development of antibiotic alternatives and the enhanced implementation of vaccination and biosecurity are promising management approaches to cut down the consumption of antibiotics during swine production. Through the comparison of different biological treatment technologies for removing A&H in SW, membrane-based bioprocesses have relatively higher and more stable removal efficiencies. Whereas, the combined system of bioprocesses and AOPs is expected to be a promising technology for elimination and mineralization of A&H in swine wastewater. Further study on this system is therefore necessary

Presence of e-EDCs in surface water and effluents of pollution sources in Sai Gon and Dong Nai river basin

© 2016 This study aimed to assess the presence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (e-EDCs) including estriol, bisphenol A (BPA), atrazine (ATZ), octylphenol, octylphenol diethoxylate, octylphenol triethoxylate, nonylphenol, Nonylphenol triethoxylate (NPE3), nonylphenol diethoxylate (NPE2) and 17β-estradiol in: (i) Sai Gon and Dong Nai river waters which have been major raw water sources for drinking water supply for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and neighbouring provinces, and (ii) water pollution sources located in their catchment basin. NPE3 and NPE2 were detected in most of the surface water samples. Concentrations of NPE3 were in a range of less than 5.9–235 ng L−1, whereas BPA was detected at significantly high concentrations in the dry season in canals in HCMC. In the upstream of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers, ATZ concentrations were observed at water intake of water treatment plants served for HCMC water supply system. Similarly, high potential risk of NPE2 and NPE3 contamination at Phu Cuong Bridge near Hoa Phu water intake was identified. The significant correlation between NPE2, dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen was found. Estrogenic equivalent or estrogenic activity of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers was lower than those of the previous studies. Compared with other studies, e-EDCs of pollution in Sai Gon river basin were relatively low