Food Loss and Food Waste as Global Issues

ABSTRACTThe entire world is facing significant challenges in the coming decades. It has been demonstrated that many countries must prepare themselves to face a considerable rise in food consumption and corresponding food waste. There must be a cooperation of consumers, retailers, producers and government to solve this complex issue. Their efforts to decrease food waste would offer a significant sustainable alternative to scale up food manufacturing that leading to a stabling food security internally and internationally. Governments and businesses should develop food loss and food waste prevention throughout the entire supply chain. There should be a higher effort on decreasing post-harvest losses in early stages in the food value chain in the developing countries. Meanwhile, in the developed countries, the government should have policies to reduce food waste at consumer level which could minimize food being unnecessarily thrown away. Governments should also support the establishment of independent organizations which could facilitate and assess efforts to decrease food waste, such as the WRAP in the UK in grocery and hospitality supply chain.Keywords: food loss, food waste, food value chain, reuse, cycl

Food Loss and Food Waste as Global Issues

The entire world is facing significant challenges in the coming decades. It has been demonstrated that many countries must prepare themselves to face a considerable rise in food consumption and corresponding food waste. There must be a cooperation of consumers, retailers, producers and government to solve this complex issue. Their efforts to decrease food waste would offer a significant sustainable alternative to scale up food manufacturing that leading to a stabling food security internally and internationally. Governments and businesses should develop food loss and food waste prevention throughout the entire supply chain. There should be a higher effort on decreasing post-harvest losses in early stages in the food value chain in the developing countries. Meanwhile, in the developed countries, the government should have policies to reduce food waste at consumer level which could minimize food being unnecessarily thrown away. Governments should also support the establishment of independent organizations which could facilitate and assess efforts to decrease food waste, such as the WRAP in the UK in grocery and hospitality supply chain. Keywords: food loss, food waste, food value chain, reuse, cycl

Layered double hydroxides as containers of inhibitors in organic coatings for corrosion protection of carbon steel

The present work focuses on the use of layered double hydroxides (LDH) as containers for corrosion inhibitors in an epoxy coating. 2-Benzothiazolylthio-succinic acid (BTSA), used as corrosion inhibitor, was intercalated by co-precipitation in magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxides. The obtained LDH-BTSA was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. BTSA release from LDH-BTSA in NaCl solutions was investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy. The inhibitive action of LDH-BTSA on carbon steel corrosion was characterized by electrochemical methods and the protective properties of an epoxy coating containing LDH-BTSA were evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was shown that the BTSA was intercalated in the layered double hydroxide and its loading was about 33%. The BTSA release was dependent on the NaCl concentration in the electrolyte. The polarization curves obtained on the carbon steel sample showed that the LDH-BTSA is an anodic inhibitor. Its efficiency was about 90% at a concentration of 3 g/l. The impedance results showed that the incorporation of LDH-BTSA (3%) in the epoxy matrix improved the corrosion protection of the carbon steel

QUÁ TRÌNH CHUYỂN PHA PHI CÂN BẰNG CỦA VẬT LIỆU HAI CHIỀU PENTA-GRAPHENE

Graphene has received enormous attention in the semiconductor industry during the last two decades. However, since graphene is a gapless semiconductor, it has critical challenges to be engineered into semiconductor devices. Recent reports have shown that penta-graphene stands out as a promising semiconductor candidate with an electronic bandgap between 2.2 and 4.3 eV; thus, it can surmount graphene’s obstacles. However, when being heated, penta-graphene can transform its configurations from pentagonal lattices to hexagonal graphene-like heterostructures, resulting in a significant electronic modification. In this paper, we investigate the effect of heating rates on the non-equilibrium phase transition of a two-dimensional penta-graphene by using molecular dynamic simulations. We have shown that, with a fast-heating process, penta-graphene naturally transforms to graphene without a clear phase separation point. Nevertheless, with a sufficiently slow heating protocol, this transition is a first-order phase transition from a pentagonal to a more stable hexagonal configuration. These results provide the possibility to implement penta-graphene in future optoelectronic devices.Graphene đã được chứng minh là vật liệu mang tính đột phá cho ngành vật liệu bán dẫn. Tuy nhiên, với độ rộng vùng cấm gần như bằng không, graphene có những hạn chế nhất định khi được ứng dụng để chế tạo linh kiện điện tử. Các nghiên cứu gần đây cho thấy penta-graphene với độ rộng vùng cấm 2,2–4,3 eV và độ bền cơ – nhiệt cao có thể dung hòa nhược điểm của graphene. Tuy nhiên, khi bị nung nóng, penta-graphene có thể chuyển từ cấu trúc vòng 5 điển hình sang cấu trúc vòng 6 của graphene, nhưng điều kiện cụ thể để quá trình chuyển pha này hình thành vẫn chưa được nghiên cứu chi tiết. Trong bài báo này, chúng tôi nghiên cứu sự ảnh hưởng của tốc độ nung đến tính chất nhiệt động phi cân bằng của penta-graphene bằng phương pháp mô phỏng động học phân tử. Ở tốc độ nung lớn, penta-graphene sẽ dần chuyển sang graphene mà không có điểm chuyển pha rõ nét. Tuy nhiên, nếu penta-graphene được nung rất chậm, quá trình chuyển pha từ penta-graphene sang graphene là quá trình chuyển pha loại I với sự gián đoạn của thông số nhiệt động tại điểm chuyển pha. Kết quả này sẽ góp phần bổ sung các thông số kỹ thuật quan trọng trong việc ứng dụng vật liệu penta-graphene để chế tạo các linh kiện quang – điện tử trong tương lai

Prospects of Blended Learning Implementation at FPT University Can Tho, Vietnam

Drawing on the evaluations of students’ attitudes toward learning aspects the mixed-method research aims to examine the prospects of Blended Learning at FPT University in Can Tho. Four hundred sixty-seven students partook in the study by providing answers for a 30-item questionnaire with open-ended questions. The results showed that most students have positive attitudes towards factors constructing their Blended Learning adaptability, including (1) Study Management and Online Learning, (2) Classroom Learning, and (3) Learning Flexibility. The results of Binary Logistic Regression also clarified the good promise of Blended Learning implementation and the discovery of other concerns that hindered informants’ willingness, namely Worriment about Learning Effectiveness, Online Learning Barriers, and Learners’ Ego. The research findings served as a reference for FPT University and other higher institutions to better grasp how students perceive Blended Learning to develop strategies for successful practices

HIGH PROTECTION PERFORMANCE OF COATING SYSTEMS BASED ON ZINC RICH PRIMER AND FLUOROPOLYMER COATING

Coating systems based on zinc rich primer and fluoropolymer top coat were exposed for 8 years at different atmospheric stations in Vietnam: Hanoi, Ha Long and Nha Trang. For comparison the coating system with zinc rich primer and polyurethane topcoat was also tested. The degradations of coating systems were evaluated by gloss measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The obtained results show that coating systems with zinc rich primer and top coatings based on fluoropolymer  and polyurethane topcoats show very high weather resistance and corrosion protection performance, but the systems with fluoropolymer are better than coating system with polyurethane topcoat

Improvement of adherence and anticorrosion properties of an epoxy-polyamide coating on steel by incorporation of an indole-3 butyric acid-modified nanomagnetite

In this study, synthesized magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles were treated with a corrosion inhibitor, indole-3 butyric acid (IBA) and incorporated in an epoxy-polyamide coating. The coating was applied on a carbon steel substrate. For comparison, coatings with- out particles or with nontreated Fe 3 O 4 particles were also prepared. The IBA-modified nanomagnetite (IBA–Fe 3 O 4 ) was characterized by infrared spec- troscopy and Zeta potential measurements. The inhibitive action of IBA was shown by electrochemical measurements (polarization curves) performed for a bare carbon steel in 0.1 M NaCl solution containing Fe 3 O 4 or IBA–Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles. Adherence and anticorrosion properties of the epoxy-based coatings containing Fe 3 O 4 or IBA–Fe 3 O 4 were compared to those of the pure epoxy-polyamide resin by dry and wet adherence measurements and by salt spray test. The results showed significant improvement of the film adherence and higher corrosion protection of the carbon steel in the presence of IBA–Fe 3 O 4 . It was concluded that the IBA effect was restricted to the metal/coating interface

Age-time-specific transmission of hand-foot-and-mouth disease enterovirus serotypes in Vietnam: a catalytic model with maternal immunity

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is highly prevalent in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in Vietnam. To develop effective interventions and efficient vaccination programs, we inferred the age-time-specific transmission patterns of HFMD serotypes enterovirus A71 (EV-A71), coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6), coxsackievirus A10 (CV-A10), coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from a case data collected during 2013–2018 and a serological survey data collected in 2015 and 2017. We proposed a catalytic model framework with good adaptability to incorporate maternal immunity using various mathematical functions. Our results indicate the high-level transmission of CV-A6 and CV-A10 which is not obvious in the case data, due to the variation of disease severity across serotypes. Our results provide statistical evidence supporting the strong association between severe illness and CV-A6 and EV-A71 infections. The HFMD dynamic pattern presents a cyclical pattern with large outbreaks followed by a decline in subsequent years. Additionally, we identify the age group with highest risk of infection as 1-2 years and emphasise the risk of future outbreaks as over 50% of children aged 6-7 years were estimated to be susceptible to CV-A16 and EV-A71. Our study highlights the importance of multivalent vaccines and active surveillance for different serotypes, supports early vaccination prior to 1 year old, and points out the potential utility for vaccinating children older than 5 years old in Vietnam

Viral Metagenomic Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Acute Central Nervous System Infections of Unknown Origin, Vietnam.

Central nervous system (CNS) infection is a serious neurologic condition, although the etiology remains unknown in >50% of patients. We used metagenomic next-generation sequencing to detect viruses in 204 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with acute CNS infection who were enrolled from Vietnam hospitals during 2012-2016. We detected 8 viral species in 107/204 (52.4%) of CSF samples. After virus-specific PCR confirmation, the detection rate was lowered to 30/204 (14.7%). Enteroviruses were the most common viruses detected (n = 23), followed by hepatitis B virus (3), HIV (2), molluscum contagiosum virus (1), and gemycircularvirus (1). Analysis of enterovirus sequences revealed the predominance of echovirus 30 (9). Phylogenetically, the echovirus 30 strains belonged to genogroup V and VIIb. Our results expanded knowledge about the clinical burden of enterovirus in Vietnam and underscore the challenges of identifying a plausible viral pathogen in CSF of patients with CNS infections

8-hydroxyquinoline-modified clay incorporated in an epoxy coating for the corrosion protection of carbon steel

In the present work, a well-known corrosion inhibitor (8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ)) was inserted within the montmorillonite platelets (8HQ-MMT) and the modified clay was incorporated (3 wt.%) into a solvent-free epoxy coating which was afterwards deposited on carbon steel substrates. First, the inhibitive action of 8HQ was investigated by electrochemical methods carried out on a bare carbon steel rotating disk electrode in a 0.1 M NaCl solution. Then, electrochemical impedance measurements were performed to assess the effect of the 8HQ-MMT in the epoxy coating for the corrosion protection. The results were compared with a reference sample constituted by the epoxy coating containing an ammonium quaternary salt-modified clay. It was shown that the two coatings presented good barrier properties. Dry and wet adherence measurements revealed an improvement of the adherence when the 8HQ-MMT was incorporated into the coating by comparison with the reference sample. It was concluded that the 8HQ mainly had an effect at the metal/coating interface but its concentration was too low to afford significant corrosion protection of the carbon steel