Automatic Crack Detection in Built Infrastructure Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper addresses the problem of crack detection which is essential for health monitoring of built infrastructure. Our approach includes two stages, data collection using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and crack detection using histogram analysis. For the data collection, a 3D model of the structure is first created by using laser scanners. Based on the model, geometric properties are extracted to generate way points necessary for navigating the UAV to take images of the structure. Then, our next step is to stick together those obtained images from the overlapped field of view. The resulting image is then clustered by histogram analysis and peak detection. Potential cracks are finally identified by using locally adaptive thresholds. The whole process is automatically carried out so that the inspection time is significantly improved while safety hazards can be minimised. A prototypical system has been developed for evaluation and experimental results are included.Comment: In proceeding of The 34th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC), pp. 823-829, Taipei, Taiwan, 201

Multisensor Data Fusion for Reliable Obstacle Avoidance

In this work, we propose a new approach that combines data from multiple sensors for reliable obstacle avoidance. The sensors include two depth cameras and a LiDAR arranged so that they can capture the whole 3D area in front of the robot and a 2D slide around it. To fuse the data from these sensors, we first use an external camera as a reference to combine data from two depth cameras. A projection technique is then introduced to convert the 3D point cloud data of the cameras to its 2D correspondence. An obstacle avoidance algorithm is then developed based on the dynamic window approach. A number of experiments have been conducted to evaluate our proposed approach. The results show that the robot can effectively avoid static and dynamic obstacles of different shapes and sizes in different environments.Comment: In the 11th International Conference on Control, Automation and Information Sciences (ICCAIS 2022), Hanoi, Vietna

TẠO DÒNG VÀ BIỂU HIỆN PROTEIN hGM-CSF TRÊN TẾ BÀO CHO K1

GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor) is a cytokine with wide effects, not only on hematopoietic precursor cells, dendritic cells, but also on smooth muscle cells, epithelial cells and even neurons. Although, it does not play role in hGM-CSF biological functions, glycosylation enhances the protein in vivo stability. Therapeutic drugs containing recombinant hGM-CSF are mostly produced in Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which do not have post-translation modification mechanisms similar to those of humans. In this present study, the gene encoding for human (h)GM-CSF was transfected into the Chinese Ovary Cell (CHO)-K1 and expression of the protein was evaluated. Firstly, gene was inserted into the open reading frame after early promoter CMV at EcoRI and XhoI restriction sites. Recombinant vectors are screened by colony PCR, restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing. The recombinant vector was termed pcDNA-hGM and was transfected into CHO-K1 cells using cationic lipid method. Transformants was selected and maintained using antibiotic Geneticin. The results showed that the gene encoding for hGM-CSF was indeed cloned into pcDNA3.1+ vector at EcoRI and XhoI restriction sites. The conditioned medium collected from CHO‑K1/pcDNA-hGM stimulated the proliferation of TF-1, an hGM-CSF-dependent cell line. In summary, the recombinant vector pcDNA-hGM was cloned and the recombinant cell line CHO‑K1/pcDNA-hGM expressed active hGM-CSF. This is the first research on expression hGM-CSF in CHO-K1 cell line and providing evidence for further investigation on isolation and purification of hGM-CSF afterward.Nhân tố kích thích tạo cụm bạch cầu hạt và đại thực bào người (hGM-CSF, human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor) là một cytokine có phổ tác dụng rộng trong cơ thể, từ các tế bào tiền thân tạo máu, tế bào tua, đến tế bào cơ trơn, tế bào biểu mô và cả một số tế bào thần kinh. Sự glycosyl hóa, dù không đóng vai trò trong tương tác với thụ thể nhưng có tác dụng làm tăng độ bền cho hGM-CSF ở điều kiện in vivo. Những sản phẩm hGM-CSF tái tổ hợp sử dụng rộng rãi hiện nay chủ yếu được sản xuất từ Echerichia coli và Saccharomyces cerevisiae, những loại tế bào chủ không có bộ máy biến đổi sau dịch mã giống người. Trong nghiên cứu này, gene hgm-csf mã hóa cho protein hGM‑CSF được chuyển vào trong tế bào buồng trứng chuột hamster Trung Quốc (CHO-K1 cells) và đánh giá khả năng biểu hiện protein. Trước tiên, gene được chèn vào plasmid pcDNA3.1+ đúng khung đọc mở ngay sau promoter CMV tại vị trí EcoRI và XhoI. Plasmid tái tổ hợp được sàng lọc bằng PCR khuẩn lạc với cặp mồi đặc hiệu, cắt giới hạn và giải trình tự. Plasmid tái tổ hợp sau quá trình kiểm tra được đặt tên pcDNA-hGM. Sau đó, plasmid tái tổ hợp đưa vào tế bào CHO-K1 bằng phương pháp biến nạp sử dụng cationic lipid và nuôi chọn lọc bằng kháng sinh Geneticin. Kết quả cho thấy gene hgm-csf đã được dòng hoá vào plasmid pcDNA3.1+ tại vị trí EcoRI và XhoI. Dịch môi trường nuôi tế bào CHO-K1/ pcDNA‑hGM cho thấy khả năng kích thích sự tăng sinh của dòng tế bào TF-1, dòng tế bào sống phụ thuộc hGM-CSF. Như vậy, plasmid tái tổ hợp pcDNA-hGM đã được cấu trúc thành công và dòng tế bào mang gene tái tổ hợp CHO‑K1/pcDNA-hGM biểu hiện protein hGM‑CSF có hoạt tính. Đây là nghiên cứu đầu tiên về biểu hiện hGM-CSF trên tế bào CHO-K1 ở Việt Nam và là cơ sở cho bước khảo sát các điều kiện thu nhận và tinh chế hGM-CSF tiếp sau

The relationship between brand equity and intention to buy: the case of convenience stores

The research aims to identify the components of brand equity that affect consumer purchasing intentions and measure the effect of brand equity components on the intention of consumer purchases at the convenience stores in Ho Chi Minh City. The authors conduct the group discussions, expert discussion, and then analyze data from 200 valid questionnaires with four components of brand equity, namely perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand association, brand awareness. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) show that all four elements have a positive effect on the customer' intention to purchase in the convenience store of Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, the brand association factor has the strongest influence, followed by perceived quality, brand awareness, and brand loyalty. This research contributes that the results confirm the theory of Aaker (1991), Brown and Stayman (1992), Cobb-Walgren et al. (1995), MacKenzie (1986) in the new context of convenience stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Besides, the study gives some recommendations to help convenience stores improve the elements of brand equity and it, to enhance attraction for consumers

Reduced Need of Infiltration Anesthesia Accompanied With Other Positive Outcomes in Diode Laser Application for Frenectomy in Children

Introduction: The abnormal maxillary labial frenum is common in children during the primary or mixed dentition stage. A conventional surgery for this abnormality usually requires infiltration anesthesia which leads to fear in children and consequent noncooperation during the surgery. The aim of present study was to evaluate the reduction in the need of infiltration anesthesia, intraoperative bleeding control and postoperative pain and wound healing in children when using the diode laser for abnormal labial frenum in the maxilla.Methods: The present study was carried out among 30 children attending the Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. A Diode Laser with 810 nm wavelength and power of 0.8 W was used for frenectomy.Results: The proportion of procedures without any need of infiltration anesthesia was 70%, while 93.34% of children demonstrated positive and very positive behavior. Proportion of indolence on the first day after surgery was 83.3%. While 83.3% of children did not take any analgesics, not a single child complained of any pain 3 days after surgery.Conclusion: Our results indicated that the use of diode laser showed several benefits in maxillary labial frenectomy in children. These included reducing the need of infiltration anesthesia, increasing the children’s cooperation as well as decreasing the postoperative pain

Growth and development of transgenic peanut (Arachis hypogaea) lines containing chitinase 42 kDa gene from Trichoderma asperellum SH16

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is vulnerable to many diseases. Vietnam and other regions where peanut is widely cultivated have a high threat of fungal and other plant diseases. Various fungicides are available to control the fungal disease but these have various harmful effects on the natural flora, fauna, and environment. Transgenic peanut lines which possess antifungal activity provide a possible solution in managing fungal diseases apart from the traditional resistance and fungicide usage. Therefore, this study evaluated the probable growth and development of chitinase transgenic peanut lines against Sclerotium rolfsii, a pathogen that causes “southern blight” in plants, under greenhouse conditions. This study provided evidence that through Agrobacterium itumefaciens mediated transformation, 42 kDa chitinase genes from Trichoderma asperellum, which is under the regulation of 35S promoter, were successfully incorporated into the peanut’s (A. hypogaea L.) genome and expressed in their plants. This evidence also demonstrated that transgenic peanut lines were suitable for growing and developing in the greenhouse. Further, it was reported that transgenic peanut lines took approximately 133 to 145 days from planting to maturity. These results also revealed that various growth characteristics of transgenic peanut lines having two synthetic genes (syncod Chi42-2 i.e. S2-2, S2-4, S2-6, and syncod Chi42-1 i.e. S1-1, S1-2, S1-3) were greater than that from the wild-type Chi42 (WT-1, WT-2, and WT-3). In addition, yield-related parameters including the number of mature pods, 100 pods weight and 100 seeds weight for all the transgenic peanut lines were higher than that of the non-transformed plant. Among the transgenic lines, line S2-4 exhibited significantly higher growth and yield than the other transgenic lines. These results demonstrated that 42 kDa chitinase genes overexpressing peanut lines could be a candidate for improvement against plants to phytopathogenic fungus S. rolfsii and high yield.

Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Aneuploidy by Next Generation Sequencing: Association of Maternal Age and Chromosomal Abnormalities of Blastocyst

BACKGROUND: Aneuploidy is a major cause of miscarriages and implantation failure. Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is able to detect of the numeral and structural chromosomal abnormalities of embryos in vitro fertilization (IVF). AIM: This study was aimed to assess the relationship between maternal age and chromosomal abnormalities NGS technology. METHODS: 603 human trophectoderm (TE) biopsied samples were tested by Veriseq kit of Illumina. The relation of marternal age and chromosomal abnormality of blastocyst embryo was evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 603 TE samples, 247 samples (42.73%) presented as chromosomal abnormalities. The abnormalities occurred to almost chromosomes, and the most popular aneuploidy observed is 22. Aneuploidy rate from 0.87% in chromosome 11 to 6.06% in chromosome 22. The rate of abnormal chromosome increased dramatically in group of mother's ages over 37 (54.17%) comparing to group of mother's ages less than 37 (38.05%) (p < 0.000). The Abnormal chromosome and maternal age has a positive correlation with r = 0.4783 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: These results showed high rate abnormal chromosome and correlated with advanced maternal age of blastocyst embryos

Genome-wide association mapping for root traits in a panel of rice accessions from Vietnam

Background: Despite recent sequencing efforts, local genetic resources remain underexploited, even though they carry alleles that can bring agronomic benefits. Taking advantage of the recent genotyping with 22,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers of a core collection of 180 Vietnamese rice varieties originating from provinces from North to South Vietnam and from different agrosystems characterized by contrasted water regimes, we have performed a genome-wide association study for different root parameters. Roots contribute to water stress avoidance and are a still underexploited target for breeding purpose due to the difficulty to observe them. Results: The panel of 180 rice varieties was phenotyped under greenhouse conditions for several root traits in an experimental design with 3 replicates. The phenotyping system consisted of long plastic bags that were filled with sand and supplemented with fertilizer. Root length, root mass in different layers, root thickness, and the number of crown roots, as well as several derived root parameters and shoot traits, were recorded. The results were submitted to association mapping using a mixed model involving structure and kinship to enable the identification of significant associations. The analyses were conducted successively on the whole panel and on its indica (115 accessions) and japonica (64 accessions) subcomponents. The two associations with the highest significance were for root thickness on chromosome 2 and for crown root number on chromosome 11. No common associations were detected between the indica and japonica subpanels, probably because of the polymorphism repartition between the subspecies. Based on orthology with Arabidopsis, the possible candidate genes underlying the quantitative trait loci are reviewed. Conclusions: Some of the major quantitative trait loci we detected through this genome-wide association study contain promising candidate genes encoding regulatory elements of known key regulators of root formation and development

Emerging Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in Gastric Cancer

With over 1 million incidence cases and more than 780,000 deaths in 2018, gastric cancer (GC) was ranked as the 5th most common cancer and the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Though several biomarkers, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and cancer antigen 72-4 (CA72-4), have been identified, their diagnostic accuracies were modest. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cells derived from tumors and present in body fluids, have recently emerged as promising biomarkers, diagnostically and prognostically, of cancers, including GC. In this review, we present the landscape of CTCs from migration, to the presence in circulation, biologic properties, and morphologic heterogeneities. We evaluated clinical implications of CTCs in GC patients, including diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic management, as well as their application in immunotherapy. On the one hand, major challenges in using CTCs in GC were analyzed, from the differences of cut-off values of CTC positivity, to techniques used for sampling, storage conditions, and CTC molecular markers, as well as the unavailability of relevant enrichment and detection techniques. On the other hand, we discussed future perspectives of using CTCs in GC management and research, including the use of circulating tumor microembolies; of CTC checkpoint blockade in immunotherapy; and of organoid models. Despite the fact that there are remaining challenges in techniques, CTCs have potential as novel biomarkers and/or a non-invasive method for diagnostics, prognostics, and treatment monitoring of GC, particularly in the era of precision medicine

HIV-Associated TB in An Giang Province, Vietnam, 2001–2004: Epidemiology and TB Treatment Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Mortality is high in HIV-infected TB patients, but few studies from Southeast Asia have documented the benefits of interventions, such as co-trimoxazole (CTX), in reducing mortality during TB treatment. To help guide policy in Vietnam, we studied the epidemiology of HIV-associated TB in one province and examined factors associated with outcomes, including the impact of CTX use. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We retrospectively abstracted data for all HIV-infected persons diagnosed with TB from 2001-2004 in An Giang, a province in southern Vietnam in which TB patients receive HIV counseling and testing. We used standard WHO definitions to classify TB treatment outcomes. We conducted multivariate analysis to identify risk factors for the composite outcome of death, default, or treatment failure during TB treatment. From 2001-2004, 637 HIV-infected TB patients were diagnosed in An Giang. Of these, 501 (79%) were male, 321 (50%) were aged 25-34 years, and the most common self-reported HIV risk factor was sex with a commercial sex worker in 221 (35%). TB was classified as smear-positive in 531 (83%). During TB treatment, 167 (26%) patients died, 9 (1%) defaulted, and 6 (1%) failed treatment. Of 454 patients who took CTX, 116 (26%) had an unsuccessful outcome compared with 33 (70%) of 47 patients who did not take CTX (relative risk, 0.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-0.5). Adjusting for male sex, rural residence, TB smear status and disease location, and the occurrence of adverse events during TB treatment in multivariate analysis, the benefit of CTX persisted (adjusted odds ratio for unsuccessful outcome 0.1; CI, 0.1-0.3). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In An Giang, Vietnam, HIV-associated TB was associated with poor TB treatment outcomes. Outcomes were significantly better in those taking CTX. This finding suggests that Vietnam should consider applying WHO recommendations to prescribe CTX to all HIV-infected TB patients