Cumulative Quality Modeling for HTTP Adaptive Streaming

Thanks to the abundance of Web platforms and broadband connections, HTTP Adaptive Streaming has become the de facto choice for multimedia delivery nowadays. However, the visual quality of adaptive video streaming may fluctuate strongly during a session due to bandwidth fluctuations. So, it is important to evaluate the quality of a streaming session over time. In this paper, we propose a model to estimate the cumulative quality for HTTP Adaptive Streaming. In the model, a sliding window of video segments is employed as the basic building block. Through statistical analysis using a subjective dataset, we identify three important components of the cumulative quality model, namely the minimum window quality, the last window quality, and the average window quality. Experiment results show that the proposed model achieves high prediction performance and outperforms related quality models. In addition, another advantage of the proposed model is its simplicity and effectiveness for deployment in real-time estimation. The source code of the proposed model has been made available to the public at https://github.com/TranHuyen1191/CQM

New Forests and New Forest People in Central Vietnam: The Acacia Boom

Vietnam is the country with the largest area of plantations of Australasian Acacia species (‘wattles’) in South-East Asia. Between 6 and 9% of the national land area is cultivated with tropical wattles (A. auriculiformis, A. mangium and A. × mangiiformis). From the perspective of its promoters, the wattle plantation industry in Vietnam may be seen as a success beyond expectations. We review the origins of this boom and ask what it has done to and for the coun- try’s landscape and people. The chapter combines findings and insights from an interdisciplinary research project in Thừa Thiên Huế province, north-central Vietnam. Research took place across upland and lowland wattle-growing regions, with ethnic minorities as well as the Kinh majority, and with long-term wattle growers as well as new en- trants. It drew on questionnaires, interviews and observations, as well as information from remote sensing, eco- logical surveys and hydrological assessments. We first describe how substantial areas of ‘new forest’ (short-rotation wattle plantations) were created, initially in degraded bushland, but now sometimes through clearing of highly bi- odiverse natural forest stands. These wattle plantations alter local hydrology, soils and biodiversity, and are exposed to risks including soil erosion and plant pathogens. The plantations provide wood chips and timber, supporting rev- enue, employment and a strong forestry industry. Incomes have risen appreciably for many, although unequally, and a class of successful entrepreneurs has emerged. These plantations alter the livelihoods and identities of upland ‘forest people’, historically shifting cultivators, contributing to what might be called ‘new forest people’. Ethnic mi- nority villagers are building new identities around the wattle economy and around their contracts with state forest agencies, seeing themselves increasingly as forest growers and protectors. We conclude by raising some questions regarding the social changes and issues of environmental sustainability linked to this wattle boom

Validation of Mesocyclops (Copepoda) and community participation as an effective combination for Dengue control in Northern Vietnam

The “Programme Meso-Vietnam” was implemented in Vietnam from October 2007 to December 2010 to reduce dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever incidence and to improve the quality of life in the four project communes. This dengue control project was based on biological control using Mesocyclops, a larvivorous micro-crustacean, as well as on the establishment of a strong community involvement to educate the population on dengue transmission and to reduce Aedes breeding by removal of containers. During three years, a network of collaborators was responsible for introducing Mesocyclops in all the containers defined as key breeding-sites, and regular activities such as community training workshops, school programmes, clean-up campaigns and health promotion through IEC programmess were performed. To make this programme sustainable, local leadership has been strengthened as well. The use of these larvivorous micro-crustaceans as a biological control strategy against dengue over the medium and long term, when combined with community participation and effective health promotion, demonstrated a significant reduction in dengue vector populations and dengue cases.  In Vietnam, this study reconfirms that there is an ecological alternative to systematic use of insecticides to control dengue vector population. (Abstract word count: 186)Le " Programme Meso-Vietnam " a été mis en œuvre au Vietnam entre octobre 2007 et décembre 2010. Ce programme vise à réduire l'incidence de la dengue et de la fièvre hémorragique de la dengue et à améliorer la qualité de vie dans les quatre communes sélectionnées pour le projet. Ce projet de lutte contre la dengue était basé sur un contrôle biologique assuré par des Mésocyclopes, micro-crustacés larvivores, et sur l'établissement d'une forte implication de la communauté pour éduquer la population sur la transmission de la dengue et pour réduire la reproduction des moustiques Aedes par élimination des conteneurs leur servant de site de ponte. Pendant trois ans, un réseau de collaborateurs a été chargé d'introduire des Mésocyclopes dans tous les conteneurs définis comme des sites de reproduction clés, et des activités régulières telles que des ateliers de formation communautaires, des programmes scolaires, des campagnes de nettoyage et des activités de promotion de la santé via les programmes IEC ont été mises en place. En outre, pour assurer la pérennité de ce programme, le leadership local a été renforcé. L'utilisation de ces micro-crustacés larvivores comme stratégie de contrôle biologique de la dengue à moyen et long terme, associée à une participation communautaire et à une promotion efficace de la santé, a permis d'aboutir à une réduction significative des populations vecteurs de la dengue et des cas de dengue. Au Vietnam, cette étude confirme une fois de plus qu'il existe une alternative écologique à l'utilisation systématique d'insecticides pour lutter contre les vecteurs de la dengue.El “Programa Meso-Vietnam” se implementó en Vietnam desde octubre de 2007 hasta diciembre de 2010 para reducir la incidencia del dengue y la fiebre hemorrágica del dengue y para mejorar la calidad de vida en los cuatro municipios del proyecto. Este proyecto de control del dengue se basaba en el control biológico usando Mesocyclops, un microcrustáceo larvívoro, así como en el establecimiento de una fuerte implicación comunitaria para educar a la población sobre la transmisión del dengue y para reducir la cría de Aedes mediante la eliminación de recipientes. Durante tres años, una red de colaboradores fue responsable de la introducción de Mesocyclops en todos los recipientes definidos como sitios clave para la cría, y se realizaron actividades regulares tales como talleres de formación comunitaria, programas escolares, campañas de limpieza y promoción de la salud a través de programas de IEC. Para hacer sostenible este programa, también se reforzó el liderazgo local. El uso de estos microcrustáceos larvívoros como estrategia de control biológico contra el dengue a medio y largo plazo demostró una reducción significativa de las poblaciones de vectores del dengue y los casos de dengue cuando se combinaba con la participación comunitaria y la promoción eficaz de la salud. En Vietnam, este estudio vuelve a confirmar que existe una alternativa ecológica al uso sistemático de insecticidas para controlar la población de vectores del dengue

Sub-optimal Deep Pipelined Implementation of MIMO Sphere Detector on FPGA

Sphere detector (SD) is an effective signal detection approach for the wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system since it can achieve near-optimal performance while reducing significant computational complexity. In this work, we proposed a novel SD architecture that is suitable for implementation on the hardware accelerator. We first perform a statistical analysis to examine the distribution of valid paths in the SD search tree. Using the analysis result, we then proposed an enhanced hybrid SD (EHSD) architecture that achieves quasi-ML performance and high throughput with a reasonable cost in hardware. The fine-grained pipeline designs of 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 MIMO system with 16-QAM modulation delivers throughput of 7.04 Gbps and 14.08 Gbps on the Xilinx Virtex Ultrascale+ FPGA, respectively

A comparison between Hydrochloric acid and Trifluoroacetic acid in hydrolysis method of exopolysaccharide from Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Monosaccharide composition analysis by GC-FID

The monosaccharide composition is one of the crucial factors affecting the bioactivity of exopolysaccharide (EPS) in Cordyceps species. Therefore, many scientists have studied, analyzed monosaccharide composition and structure of EPS from Cordyceps species, especially Ophiocordyceps sinensis (O. sinensis). This study aimed to compare hydrochloric acid (HCl) with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the EPS hydrolysis process in monosaccharide composition analysis by Gas Chromatography with Flame-Ionization Detection (GC-FID). The hydrolysis is a crucial step in forming the acetyl derivative, which helps the GC-FID technique to have good results in monosaccharide composition analysis. The results showed that hydrolysis with HCl gave a higher hydrolysis efficiency and was more suitable than hydrolysis by TFA in pretreatment to EPS for GC-FID. Hydrolysis results were analyzed through thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), then Acetyl derivatives were produced and finally analyzed by GC-FID to determine the monosaccharide composition of EPS. For EPS hydrolyzed by HCl, the analytical results presented that this sample had 6 kinds of monosaccharides, including rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, and galactose; the most monosaccharide was glucose. The EPS hydrolyzed by TFA only detected three kinds of monosaccharides, including mannose, arabinose, and galactose, mainly mannose. The study has set a foundation for further analysis of monosaccharide composition and structure of EPS from O. sinensis

Vietnam geographical exploitation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 (UNCLOS 1982)

As an active member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - UNCLOS, Vietnam has completed 3 Reports on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and has submitted two of them to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf - CLCS, before the deadline 13-5-2009. Those are: (1) Outer Limits of the Vietnam’s Extended Continental Shelf: North Area (VNM-N); (2) Outer Limits of the Vietnam’s Extended Continental Shelf: Middle Area (VNM-M) and (3) Vietnam - Malaysia Joint Continental Shelf Submission. The VNM-M has not yet been submitted but it was mentioned to the CLCS and will be submitted in the appropriate time.Vietnam’s submissions were highly appreciated by CLCS; although the CLCS has not yet organized a special sub-committee to look at our reports, the secretariat of CLCS has already posted the executive reports of our submissions, with our principle claims on the continental shelf, on the website of the CLCS since May 2009. This paper presents shortly the UNCLOS and its application in Vietnam case

THÀNH PHẦN LOÀI VÀ SINH KHỐI CỎ BIỂN TẠI ĐẦM SAM CHUỒN VÀ HÀ TRUNG, TỈNH THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

This research was conducted at Sam Chuon and Ha Trung lagoons, Thua Thien Hue province. The research has identified 5 seagrass species including Halophila beccarii, Zostera japonica, Halodule pinifolia, Halodule uninervis and Ruppia maritima in Sam Chuon and Ha Trung lagoons. The total biomass of seagrass fluctuates seasonally. In the dry season, the total biomass of seagrass at research station S6 is highest at 136.23 g/m2 and lowest at research stations H7 and H8 at 0.64 g/m2. In the rainy season, sampling station S6 also recorded the highest total biomass with a value of 113.20 g/m2, the lowest at two stations H7 and H8 with 0.64 g/m2. Halodule uninervis and Ruppia maritima are the dominant species, which appeared in 11/14 stations in total. While Ruppia maritima is only recognized at 3/14 stations in total.Nghiên cứu này được tiến hành khảo sát tại đầm Sam Chuồn và Hà Trung thuộc hệ đầm phá Tam Giang - Cầu Hai, tỉnh Thừa Thiên Huế. Nghiên cứu đã xác định được năm loài cỏ biển là Halophila beccarii (cỏ Nàn), Zostera japonica (cỏ Lươn nhật), Halodule pinifolia (cỏ Hẹ tròn), Halodule uninervis (cỏ Hẹ ba răng) và loài Ruppia maritima (cỏ Kim biển) phân bố tại đầm Sam Chuồn và Hà Trung. Tổng sinh khối của cỏ biển có sự biến động theo mùa. Vào mùa khô, tổng sinh khối của cỏ biển tại trạm nghiên cứu S6 cao nhất với 136,23 g/m2 và thấp nhất tại trạm nghiên cứu H7 và H8 với 0,64 g/m2. Vào mùa mưa tại trạm thu mẫu S6 cũng ghi nhận tổng sinh khối của cỏ biển cao nhất với giá trị đạt được 113,20 g/m2, thấp nhất tại hai trạm nghiên cứu H7 và H8 với 0,64 g/m2. Loài Halodule uninervis (cỏ Hẹ ba răng) chiếm ưu thế hơn cả với sự ghi nhận tại 11/14 trạm thu mẫu. Và loài Ruppia maritima (cỏ Kim biển) chỉ ghi nhận xuất hiện tại 3/14 trạm thu mẫu

Potential application of rhizobacteria isolated from the Central Highland of Vietnam as an effective biocontrol agent of robusta coffee nematodes and as a bio-fertilizer

[[abstract]]Robusta coffee is a major commercial crop in the Central Highland of Vietnam with high economic and export value. However, this crop is adversely affected by various pathogens, particularly nematodes. This study aimed to screen active anti-nematode rhizobacterial strains for sustainable coffee production. Among more than 200 isolates, the isolate TUN03 demonstrated efficient biocontrol with nearly 100% mortality of J2 coffee nematodes Meloidogyne spp. and 84% inhibition of nematode egg hatching. This active strain was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa TUN03 based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis. In greenhouse tests, the strain TUN03 significantly reduced the coffee nematode population in the rhizome-soil with an 83.23% inhibition rate and showed plant growth-promoting effects. Notably, this is the first report of the nematicidal effect of P. aeruginosa against coffee nematodes. This potent strain further showed an antifungal effect against various crop-pathogenic fungi and was found to be the most effective against Fusarium solani F04 (isolated from coffee roots) with a 70.51% inhibition rate. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that this bacterial strain also secretes plant growth regulators including indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin, and zeatin in significant amounts of 100, 2700, 37, and 9.5 µg/mL, respectively. The data from this study suggest that P. aeruginosa TUN03 may be a potential biocontrol agent and biofertilizer for the sustainable production of Robusta coffee and other crops.[[sponsorship]]科技部[[notice]]補正完