On Building a Community to Exchange and Share Sustainable Fashion Applications

Sustainable development is a standard plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, set forth by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all United Nations member states and agreed to in 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call to action for all developed and developing countries in relation to global cooperation. Many factors cause environmental pollution, but the fashion industry is considered by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the second most polluting industry in the world. It accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and transportation. In particular, the factors that strongly affect the environment in the fashion industry are the textile materials, the fabric dyeing industry, and the rapid development of fast fashion. The data was collected through an online survey of 101 fashion consumers and interviews with nine target audiences who need to buy and sell used clothes or are interested in buying and selling used clothes or sustainable fashion. Sustainable design is not a new concept, but it is still quite strange to the Vietnamese. Consumer ignorance about sustainable consumption and the harmful effects of the fashion industry on planet Earth is a big reason why consumers constantly plunge into the shopping vortex. The problem of wasteful and unsustainable fashion consumption is a big global problem at a time when the fashion industry is gradually emerging into the sustainable fashion movement. This is an opportunity to build a community by connecting consumers through their essential needs, helping them raise awareness, change their behavior, and make each individual part of a sustainable fashion community. They are thus contributing to sustainable development in the future. Keywords: SDGs, sustainable fashion, sustainable consumption, communit

An algorithm for hybrid regularizers based image restoration with Poisson noise

summary:In this paper, a hybrid regularizers model for Poissonian image restoration is introduced. We study existence and uniqueness of minimizer for this model. To solve the resulting minimization problem, we employ the alternating minimization method with rigorous convergence guarantee. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and stability of the proposed method for suppressing Poisson noise

Influence of biofertilizer produced using drumstick (Moringa oleifera L.) unused parts on the growth performance of two leafy vegetables

The non-edible parts of Moringa oleifera, such as stems, branches or leaf petioles, have often been discarded while the leaves are consumed as a vegetable or are used to produce organic fertilizer. This study aimed to determine the optimal conditions for producing Moringa organic fertilizer (MOF) from previously unused parts and to compare these fertilizers with cow manure and bio-organic fertilizer. Seventy kilograms of the unused Moringa parts were blended with fifty kilograms of manure, 0.2 kilogram of Trichoderma-based product and two kilograms of superphosphate. The mixture was incubated at different intervals, including 5, 7 or 9 weeks. Next, the effects of MOF on the growth, yield, ascorbic acid content and Brix of lettuce and mustard spinach were also determined and compared with other organic fertilizers (cow manure and bio-organic fertilizer). Results of the study revealed that 25 tons per ha of MOF were significantly superior to those treated with cow manure and bio-organic fertilizer in the case of vegetable yields. Further, 7 weeks of MOF incubation was found suitable to produce an optimal yield during the various incubation period. These results suggested that the Moringa non-edible parts can make organic fertilizer and enhance growth, yield, and leafy vegetable production

1M parameters are enough? A lightweight CNN-based model for medical image segmentation

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Transformer-based models are being widely applied in medical image segmentation thanks to their ability to extract high-level features and capture important aspects of the image. However, there is often a trade-off between the need for high accuracy and the desire for low computational cost. A model with higher parameters can theoretically achieve better performance but also result in more computational complexity and higher memory usage, and thus is not practical to implement. In this paper, we look for a lightweight U-Net-based model which can remain the same or even achieve better performance, namely U-Lite. We design U-Lite based on the principle of Depthwise Separable Convolution so that the model can both leverage the strength of CNNs and reduce a remarkable number of computing parameters. Specifically, we propose Axial Depthwise Convolutions with kernels 7x7 in both the encoder and decoder to enlarge the model receptive field. To further improve the performance, we use several Axial Dilated Depthwise Convolutions with filters 3x3 for the bottleneck as one of our branches. Overall, U-Lite contains only 878K parameters, 35 times less than the traditional U-Net, and much more times less than other modern Transformer-based models. The proposed model cuts down a large amount of computational complexity while attaining an impressive performance on medical segmentation tasks compared to other state-of-the-art architectures. The code will be available at: https://github.com/duong-db/U-Lite.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Preparation and characterization of magnesium hydroxyapatite coatings on 316L stainless steel

Magnesium hydroxyapatite coatings (MgHAp) were deposited on the surface of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) substrates by electrodeposition technique. Different concentrations of Mg2+ ion were incorporated into the apatite structure by adding Mg(NO3)2 into electrolyte solution containing 3×10-2 M Ca(NO3)2, 1.8×10-2 M NH4H2PO4 and   6×10-2 M NaNO3. With Mg2+ concentration 1×10-3 M, the obtained coatings have 0.2 wt% Mg2+. The influences of scanning potential ranges, scanning times to deposit MgHAp coatings were researched. The analytical results FTIR, SEM, X-ray, EDX, thickness and adhension strength showed that MgHAp coatings were single phase of HAp, fibrous shapes, thickness 8.1 µm and adhesion strength 7.20 MPa at the scanning potential ranges of 0÷-1.7 V/SCE and scanning times of 5 scans. Keywords. 316L SS, Electrodeposition, MgHAp

Estimating Water Content and Grain Size of Intertidal Flat Sediments Using Visible to Shortwave-Infrared Reflectance and Sentinel 2A Data: A Case Study of the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Sediment properties such as water content (WC) and grain size (GS) are essential to characterize the environmental conditions of tidal flats. This article aimed to develop appropriate models to estimate the WC and GS of surface sediments for an intertidal flat on the Red river delta (Vietnam) using Sentinel 2A (S2A) images. The spectral reflectance, WC, and GS of 96 sub-samples from 12 sediment samples collected on December 17, 2017 were measured to clarify their relationships. The WC was highly correlated with the reflectance ratio of two shortwave-infrared bands, R(2190)/R(1610) (R² = 0.93). The median GS (D₅₀) at 0%, 15%, and 20% of WC was significantly correlated with the reflectance ratio of the near-infrared band (842 nm) versus the visible-green band (560 nm) (R² > 0.78). Next, D₅₀ was estimated from a multivariate regression model using this band ratio, the visible-red band (665 nm), and WC. The accuracy of the models was verified by comparisons with WC and D₅₀ from 20 samples collected on March 12th 2019 (RMSE of both WC and D₅₀ 30%) in very fine sediments (silts), which is consistent with other intertidal flats with similar sediment types. This article was limited to fine sediment samples. Therefore, our next step is to incorporate coarse sediments into the models to provide more universal mapping of WC and sediment types

Invited review. Bond dissociation enthalpies in benzene derivatives and effect of substituents: an overview of density functional theory (B3LYP) based computational approach

In this review, we have mainly focused on the recent computational studies on the bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE) of the X‒H bonds of the para and meta substituted benzene derivatives (3Y-C6H4X‒H and 4Y-C6H4X‒H with X = O, S, Se, NH, PH, CH2, SiH2 and Y = H, F, Cl, CH3, OCH3, NH2, CF3, CN, NO2). In addition, the remote substituent effects on the BDE(X‒H), the radical stability and parent one have also been discussed in terms of the calculated ground state effect, radical effect and total effect. Model chemistry of ROB3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) can reproduce the BDE values with the accuracy of 1.0‒2.0 kcal/mol. The good linear correlations between Hammett constants and BDE values were discovered for both para and meta substitutions in phenols, thiophenols, benzeneselenols, anilines and phenylposphines with the R-squared lager than 0.94. In contrast, it does not occur in case of toluenes and phenylsilanes.Keywords. Benzene derivatives, density functional theory, bond dissociation enthalpies, substituent effects, radical effect, ground state effect, total effect, Hammett constants

Factors Affecting Successful Quality Assurance Implementation in Vietnamese Higher Education: A Qualitative Study

Quality assurance and accreditation was officially introduced into the higher education system in Vietnam over ten years ago. It is evident that quality assurance has resulted in positive impacts on university management, teaching, learning and research activities. This paper aims to explore factors that aid the successful implementation of higher education quality assurance and accreditation in Vietnam. Through semi-structured interviews with 32 participants, this study identified a number of factors that contributed to quality assurance processes, including awareness of the importance of quality assurance, better institutional manager leadership, support of university lecturers, staff, and students, and the vital responsibility of internal quality assurance staff. These confirm that internal stakeholders play an important role in undertaking quality assurance programmes and activities

In-action reflective teaching in Vietnam: A qualitative exploration of practices, influences and implications

Reflective teaching plays a crucial role in the field of education though its intricacies in particular cultural contexts like Vietnam are still little understood. This study aims to investigate reflective teaching practices in more detail within the context of Vietnamese education.  This study used a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews with twelve Vietnamese teachers, each representing a different stage of their careers to shed light on the many forms of in-action reflective practices and their implementation, benefits, drawbacks and even cultural influences. The results of this in-depth investigation provided an overview of the wide range of in-action reflective practices that are actively used in the classroom.  The enhancement of adaptive teaching methodologies and the bolstering of student engagement are prominent among the many advantages that were noted.  Teaching in the Vietnamese context also presents unique challenges. Teachers often struggle with the demands of multitasking, the complexities of navigating uncertainties in real-time classroom scenarios   and the predominant challenge of managing large class sizes. Moreover, it was surprising to learn how many Vietnamese cultural, social   and educational factors influenced teacher understanding and use of in-action reflection.  The understanding of reflective teaching practices is enhanced by the research findings which also have broad implications for areas such as instructional strategies, teacher preparation programmes, academic research perspectives and even the development of educational policies.  The study strongly emphasizes the pressing need for more context-specific investigations into reflective teaching and underscores the indispensable role of reflection in fostering an environment conducive to effective teaching and learning

Multi-faceted identities of teacher assessors: A qualitative study in the Vietnamese educational context

Within the educational landscape of Vietnam, the professional identity of teachers when acting as assessors remains a comparatively uncharted domain and requires further explorations. Consequently, this qualitative investigation was initiated to delve deeper into the intricate identities Vietnamese teachers adopt in their capacities as assessors. Relying upon frameworks such as Constructivist Grounded Theory and Identity Theory, the study meticulously analyzed self-reported narratives from 15 tertiary lecturers based in Vietnam. Through this rigorous analysis, a spectrum of fifteen distinct identities was uncovered. These identities included “Gatekeepers of Knowledge and Competency”, “Nurturers”, “Diplomatists”, “Auditors”, “Confusian Sages”, “Innovators”, “Social Justice Advocators”, “Cultural Mediators”, “Emotional Anchors”, “Scalfolders”, “Technological Navigators”, “Lifelong Learners”, “Community Builders”, “Ethical Guardians”, and “Democratic Facilitators.” Intriguingly, these identities were not merely seen as additional layers to their professional duties; instead, they emerged as foundational components of teachers’ professional self-image. The forces molding these roles are diverse, encompassing deep-seated cultural values, prevailing educational paradigms, and personal lived experiences of educators. Unraveling these identities offers consequential implications for the broader educational sector. It underscores the imperative to holistically re-envision teacher training programs and assessment design, ensuring they resonate with the multifaceted roles educators play in steering both academic achievements and wider societal outcomes