Pretreatment of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) via wet torrefaction in inert and oxidative atmospheres

This study investigates the possibility of utilizing waste heat sources such as hot flue gas or hot air for wet torrefaction (WT) processes. Although waste heat sources are cheaper alternatives than pure nitrogen used as purging and pressurizing gas for WT, they contain some fractions of non-inert gases and potentially affect the yield and fuel properties of the solid product (hydrochar). To assess these possible influences, Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) was subjected to WT in different atmospheres, including N2, CO2, O2, air and synthetic flue gas (SFG), and the produced hydrochars were characterized. The results show that WT in different gas atmospheres at 200 °C and 20 bar yields 72.24–73.82% of hydrochar. In general, the fuel properties of the hydrochars are found to be superior to those of the untreated pine: the O/C ratio decreases from 0.703 (raw pine) to 0.582–0.588 (hydrochars), and the HHV increases from 19.22 MJ/kg (raw pine) to 20.80–20.99 MJ/kg (hydrochars). Furthermore, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and pairwise t-test were performed, and the results reveal that the effects of different atmospheres in WT are not statistically meaningful (p-values >0.05), except for the influence of CO2 on ash content. The results also indicate that the presence of oxidative gases such as O2 and CO2 in WT process at appropriate pressures and temperatures has almost insignificant effects on the yields and fuel properties of the hydrochar products. The findings from this study could encourage the utilization of waste heat sources for WT to reduce operating costs.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

RESEARCH ON THE MANUFACTURING MAGNESIUM FROM THANHHOA DOLOMITE BY PIDGEON PROCESS

The magnesium and magnesium alloys has applied widely in different industrial aspects in Vietnam in the modern life. Especially, the products from magnesium alloys implementing in the automotive have increased rapidly since the car elements tend to be generated by the light alloys in order to save the fuel. However, in the current time, Vietnam has no factories to produce the magnesium to adapt the domestic demand although it owns an enrich resource of raw materials. This research indicates the possibility of using the dolomite ore in Thanhhoa – Vietnam to make the magnesium as well as evaluate the primary factors like recovering temperature, reducing agent rate, recovering time having effect on the reduction efficiency of Thanhhoa dolomite by metallothermic method in vacuum (Pidgeon Process). This is basic process, low investment and suitable for the small and medium scales in Vietnam. The experiment includes heating, indicating the chemical ingredients and recovering experiment on the dolomite after calcination (dolime) by using ferrosilicon. The thermodynamic model is created to estimate the recovering efficiency in the Pidgeon. The result shows that the CaO/MgO molar ratio of calcination dolomite in Thanhhoa is nearly 1.5 which is suitable to produce magnesium in the case of highly-required efficiency and pureness. Besides, the result from the furnace of the experiment is lower than the one in the model. The samples are set up to check the influence of the rate of ferrosilicon in the compound. The result indicates that the ideal efficiency reaches 85 % with 30 % ferrosilicon. Moreover, the study confirms that the optimal operating conditions in this process are recovering during three hours at 1200 °C and 100 Pa pressure. This result proves the potential application of Thanhhoa dolomite in the industry suitable with the current condition in Vietna

Propagating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with coffee plant by using the herbaceous host

Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of important industrial crops. Additionally, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide many benefits for plants such as increasing nutrient uptake, enhancing tolerance in drought and stress condition, etc. Therefore, preservation and propagation of AMF spores collected from coffee’s rhizosphere are necessary for coffee cultivation. The AMF preservation on coffee plant is not feasible because coffee is a long-term plants, which led to study on symbiotic ability of AMF on several short-term host plants (maize (Zea mays), plantain (Plantago spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), beggarticks (Bidens pilosa), and bahia grass (Pensacola bahia)) to maintain AM association. Investigation of symbiosis ability with four types of AMF spores showed that maize had the highest rate of fungal infection. The total number of AMF spore per 50g soil after 3 months of inoculation on maize reached 352 spores, which was 4.1 times higher than that of the origin while the lowest figure recorded in bahia grass is with only 2.3 times

INFLUENCE OF SYNTHESIS FACTORS ON PROPERTIES OF GEOPOLYMERS BASED ON RED MUD AND RICE HUSK ASH

In this paper, the effect of mixing ratio of raw materials, curing temperature and time on geopolymerization between red mud and rice husk ash were investigated. The results showed that the optimum conditions were SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 4 and Na2O/Al2O3 ratio of 2.0, curing temperature of 100oC and curing time of 24 hours. The compressive strength, bulk density, total shrinkage of the obtained product were 22.8 MPa, 2.39 g.cm-3, 15%, respectively that met requirement of unsintered bricks using for construction

A STUDY ON THE SYNTHESIS OF MgAl2O4 SPINEL BY STARCH ASSISTED SOL-GEL PROCESS

In this paper, the synthesis of ceramic spinel MgAl2O4 by starch assisted sol - gel process is presented. The gel mixture was prepared by using Mg(NO3)2.6H2O, Al(NO3)3.9H2O as precursors and starch as a gel agent. The study focused on relevant components of gel mixture and the calcinating temperature. The results showed that suitable molar proportion of Mg2+/Al3+; starch/(Mg2+ + Al3+) and H2O/starch were 0.5, 0.4 and 60, respectively. The calcination at               1100 oC for 60 minutes was suitable for forming phase of spinel. The product was a single phase of spinel MgAl2O4 with excellent crystallinity and uniform size in the range of 300 to 400 nm

Spatiotemporal analysis of historical records (2001-2012) on dengue fever in Vietnam and development of a statistical model for forecasting risk

Background: Dengue fever is the most widespread infectious disease of humans transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. It is the leading cause of hospitalization and death in children in the Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions. We analyzed surveillance records from health centers in Vietnam collected between 2001–2012 to determine seasonal trends, develop risk maps and an incidence forecasting model. Methods: The data were analyzed using a hierarchical spatial Bayesian model that approximates its posterior parameter distributions using the integrated Laplace approximation algorithm (INLA). Meteorological, altitude and land cover (LC) data were used as predictors. The data were grouped by province (n = 63) and month (n = 144) and divided into training (2001–2009) and validation (2010–2012) sets. Thirteen meteorological variables, 7 land cover data and altitude were considered as predictors. Only significant predictors were kept in the final multivariable model. Eleven dummy variables representing month were also fitted to account for seasonal effects. Spatial and temporal effects were accounted for using Besag-York-Mollie (BYM) and autoregressive (1) models. Their levels of significance were analyzed using deviance information criterion (DIC). The model was validated based on the Theil’s coefficient which compared predicted and observed incidence estimated using the validation data. Dengue incidence predictions for 2010–2012 were also used to generate risk maps. Results: The mean monthly dengue incidence during the period was 6.94 cases (SD 14.49) per 100,000 people. Analyses on the temporal trends of the disease showed regular seasonal epidemics that were interrupted every 3 years (specifically in July 2004, July 2007 and September 2010) by major fluctuations in incidence. Monthly mean minimum temperature, rainfall, area under urban settlement/build-up areas and altitude were significant in the final model. Minimum temperature and rainfall had non-linear effects and lagging them by two months provided a better fitting model compared to using unlagged variables. Forecasts for the validation period closely mirrored the observed data and accurately captured the troughs and peaks of dengue incidence trajectories. A favorable Theil’s coefficient of inequality of 0.22 was generated. Conclusions: The study identified temperature, rainfall, altitude and area under urban settlement as being significant predictors of dengue incidence. The statistical model fitted the data well based on Theil’s coefficient of inequality, and risk maps generated from its predictions identified most of the high-risk provinces throughout the country

IDENTIFICATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ACTINOMYCETES STRAINS ISOLATED FROM SAMPLES COLLECTED IN THE COASTAL AREA OF HUE, DA NANG AND QUANG NAM PROVINCES, VIETNAM

Microorganisms are of particular interest because of their ability to synthesize high-value secondary compounds and provide us with novel and diverse chemical structures. The most common source of antibiotics is Actinomycetes which provide around two-third of naturally occurring antibiotics, including many of medical importance. In this study, 81 strains of actinomycetes were isolated from 145 samples including: sediments, sponges, soft corals, echinoderms and starfish collected from three sea areas of Vietnam: Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam. The strains were fermented in A+ medium and fermentation broths were extracted 5 times with ethyl acetate. The extracts were evaporated under reduced  pressure to yield crude extracts. Quantitative assay was used to determine MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration) of extract against 7 reference strains. From the results of screening, Seven strains of actinomycetes that have the highest biological activity (Code: G244, G246, G261, G266, G278, G280 and G290) were chosen to be identified by morphological and phylogenetic based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. The results showed that 6 strains G246, G261, G266, G278, G280 and G290 belonged to the genus Streptomyces; and the strain G244 belonged to the genus Micromonospora. In particular, strains G244, G278, G280 were resistant 5/7 strains of microorganisms test, with values  MICs from 2 µg/mL to 256 µg/mL; and three strains G261, G266, G290 showed the inhibitory effect towards 4/7 strains of microorganisms test, with respective values MICs from 2 µg/mL to 256 µg/mL. Moreover, six of the seven selected strains were highly resistant to yeast Candida albicans ATCC10231 with MIC values from 2 µg/mL to 256 µg/mL. These results indicated that marine Actinomycetes in Vietnam are also a potential source to find bioactive substances

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke