Applying the genetic algorithm and the consequential convex approximation programming for composite structure optimization

This paper applies the genetic algorithm and consequential convex approximation programming to deal with problems of minimizing the strain energy of a linear elastic fiber reinforced composite laminate in a state of plane stress. The directions of fibers are used as design variables. From the numerical results, an evaluation of two optimization techniques is performed

Organisational Baseline Study: Overview report for Tra Hat CSV, Vietnam (VN03)

This report covers the Organisational Baseline Study (OBS) for the CCAFS Climate-Smart Village Tra Hat in the South Viet Nam. During October 2014 interviews were conducted with local stakeholders at ten organisations who are working or collaborating with farmers and/or the community in Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province. The Tra Hat CSV is located near the coastal area, at tail end of a primary canal of Quan Lo Phung Hiep system (QLPH), the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, it usually causes lack of fresh water in from QLPH in dry season. There are two distinct dry season (December to April) and rainy season (May to November) which typhoon happens seldom in rainy season. Protected by dyke and sluice system of QLPH in Bac Lieu province, Tra Hat has not been affected by saline intrusion for last 15 years. The main farming systems in the village comprise two or three rice crops per year, small livestock as pig, chicken and ducks. Besides, mixed fruit garden and cash crop are often blended in residential area. Ground water and water in ponds is popular in household to provide domestic water, raising fish or garden irrigation and livestock, especially in dry season. The objectives of the OBS study are to: Provide indicators to monitor changes in behaviours and practices of locally relevant organisations that have climate change related activities in Bac Lieu over time Understand the provision of information/services at the local level that informs farmers’ decision making about their livelihood strategies in response to climate change This OBS report also supplements to the quantitative Household Baseline Survey (HBS) and the qualitative Village Baseline Studies (VBS) in Tra Hat CSV and surrounding villages

Village Baseline Study: Site Analysis Report for Tra Hat Village, Vinh Loi, Bac Lieu, Viet Nam (VNM 03)

This report presents data collected from the Village Baseline Study conducted on 2-4 October 2014 at the Tra Hat village, Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu, Vietnam. Data were collected through focus group discussions and participatory resource mapping with community members in the village. The Village Baseline Study is part of the baseline activities conducted under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) in South East Asia. The purpose is to collect data for indicators that will allow site comparability and monitoring to assess changes in terms of food security and natural resource management across time. Results show that the men and women in Tra Hat village consider farmland, rivers and canals as important natural resources. The quality, however, of land, water and wildlife habitats has declined in the last decade along with the improvement of farming techniques and intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Infrastructures such as roads, internal canals, hospitals, schools, water supply station and electricity transformer station have improved. The future is envisioned to have improved internal canals in farmlands and a developed irrigation system, dykes and sluices to support high agriculture production. Home garden diversification was also believed to enhance food security and improve livelihood resilience. To turn the vision into reality, the community expects support from the different organizations working in the area considering current impacts of salinity intrusion and sea level rise, the need interventions of CCAFS and its partners. Strengthening the irrigation system, improving local rice variety, and introducing modern farming techniques taking into account negative impacts of climate change are major recommendation for future intervention

PREPARATION OF ORAL CURCUMIN DELIVERY FROM 3D-NANO-CELLULOSE NETWORKS MATERIAL PRODUCED BY ACETOBACTER XYLINUM USING OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUE

Objective: To prepare oral curcumin delivery and optimize curcumin loading of 3D-nano-cellulose networks material (3DCM) by looking into the impact of process variables on the response utilizing response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design. Methods: Optimization of curcumin loading of 3DCM was conducted using RSM and Box-Behnken model. Impact of four independent variables, including, the concentration of curcumin (X1), temperature (X2), shaking speed (X3), and time of loading (X4), was studied on one dependent response, that is, an amount of loaded curcumin (Y). Characterization of optimized 3DCM including curcumin was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis . Results: R2 value for Y was approximately 0.94. X1 possessed the biggest positive impact compared to X2, X3 and X4. Optimized conditions for curcumin loading of 3DCM were X1 at 3 mg/ml, X2 at 40 °C, X3 at 120 rpm and X4 at 120 min. SEM photograph of 3DCM surfaces were found including fibers creating a 3D network structure. FTIR spectra studies depicted that there was no interaction between curcumin and 3DCM. Conclusion: The data obtained in this study thus suggest that curcumin loaded 3DCM was successfully fabricated to give a potential oral delivery system of curcumin

About an approximate method to solve the static boundary value problems in the isotropic hardening elastic-plastic solid

The paper presents the theory, model, weak form, finite element method and return-mapping algorithm for the isotropic hardening elastic-plastic problem. Then applying the algorithm to numerically simulate a variety of plane strain problems

Optimal operation of Hoa Binh reservoir for flood control on Hong-Thai Binh river system

In the paper the optimal operation of Hoabinh reservoir for flood control on Hong–Thai Binh river system is presented. The findings show that in the flood season in 1996 if the operation of gates and outlets of Hoa Binh reservoir was made base on the calculated release, the water level at Hanoi would be 12.3 m and the water level of Hoa Binh reservoir would be 98 m. So the calculated release from Hoabinh reservoir in August 1996 can be considered as optimal in the mean that the water level at Hanoi can be controlled and the Hoabinh reservoir still have necessary pool for controlling the next floods

Social Capital and Corporate Performance: Evidence from State Capital Enterprises in Vietnam

The research has been conducted to explore the combination of three intangible resources, including social capital, entrepreneurship, and resilience capability on the performance of State Capital Enterprises (SCEs) in Vietnam. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are applied in the study. An in-depth interview of ten CEOs at SCEs in Vietnam was made to explore new indicators for the contextual latent variables in the research models. By employing the data from the authors’ survey of 568 SCEs in Vietnam in 2019, using Cronbach’s alpha, confrmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis (SEM), the mechanism that social capital impacts on SCE performance has been analyzed. In addition to the direct role, social capital indirectly affects corporate performance through entrepreneurship and resilience capability. It was found that social capital has a larger impact on entrepreneurship than resilience capacity. However, the contribution of resilience capacity to the frm performance is much more than the entrepreneurship’s in Vietnamese context. This study enriches the theory by proposing a measurement scale of the contextual latent variables as a result of in-depth interviews with experts using a qualitative analysis technique. In addition, the path analysis fndings suggest practical implications for managers to effectively use their resources in SCEs

An effective algorithm for reliability-based optimization of stiffened Mindlin plate

Nowadays, stiffened plates have been widely used in many branches of structural engineering such as aircraft, ships, bridges, buildings etc... In comparison with common bending plate structures, stiffened plates not only have larger bending stiffness but also use less amount of material. Hence, it usually has higher economic efficiency. However, to obtain high effectiveness in solving the design problems of the stiffened plate, the reliability-based optimization problems need to be established together with the ordinary numerical computing methods. Therefore, the paper presents an approach to establish and solve the reliability-based optimization problem for the stiffened Mindlin plate. To analyze the behavior of Mindlin plate, we use the recently proposed CS-DSG3 element. The random variables are chosen to be elastic modulus, density of mass and external force. The design variables are the thickness, the width and the height of the stiffened plate. The objective function can be the strain energy or the mass of the structure and subjected to the constraints of displacement or vibration frequency. The reliability-based optimization algorithm used in this paper is a three-step closed loop: 1) Estimating the random variables by the Reliability Index (RI) method; 2) Solving the optimization problem using Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) method; 3) Checking and estimating the reliability by the first-order reliability method (FORM) in which the limit state function is the limit of displacement or vibration frequency of the structure

Identifying biofilm forming bacteria in cow milk in Mekong Delta, Viet Nam

Bacterial biofilms are agglomeration of bacterial cells, stuck to the material surfaces of material in wet environments and formed by a self-produced matrix. The formation of bacterial biofilms is a great risk for the milk processing industry, as the survival of many bacterial species in cow milk may lead to many problems such as microbial spoilage, deterioration in quality, and consumer health risks. This study aimed to identify biofilm formation bacteria from cow milk. The experiment included isolation; biofilm forming assay in 96-well microtiter plates and the identification of microbial isolates using classical and molecular biological methods. A total of 14 bacterial isolates from 10 cow milk samples were evaluated for their biofilm formatting ability. Among them, four isolates were identified as moderate and strong biofilm producers. These four isolates belong to the genera Serratia and Aeromonas. Out of the 4 isolates, Serratia marcescens VL41 was classed as a strong biofilm producer while Aeromonas veronii ST15, Aeromonas sp. ST17, Serratia marcescens VL13 were classed as moderate biofilm producers respectively. The findings of this study suggest that it is necessary to discover the contamination causes and prevention of genera Serratia, and Aeromonas into cow milk

Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoplates by a Seed-mediated Method

Silver nanoplates (SNPs) having different size were synthesized by a seed-mediated method. The seeds -silver nanoparticles with 4 – 6 nm diameters were synthesized first by reducing silver nitrate with sodium borohydride in the present of Trisodium Citrate and Hydrogen peroxide. Then these seeds were developed by continue reducing Ag$^+$ ions with various amount of L-Ascorbic acid to form SNPs. Our analysis showed that the concentratrion of L-Ascorbic acid, a secondary reducing agent, played an important role to form SNPs. In addition, the size and in-plane dipole plasmon resonance wavelenght of silver nanoplates were increased when the concentration of added silver nitrate increased. The characterization of SNPs were studied by UV-Vis, FE-SEM, EDS and TEM methods