An efficient cuckoo-inspired meta-heuristic algorithm for multiobjective short-term hydrothermal scheduling

This paper proposes an efficient Cuckoo-Inspired Meta-Heuristic Algorithm (CIMHA) for solving multi-objective short-term hydrothermal scheduling (ST-HTS) problem. The objective is to simultaneously minimize the total cost and emission of thermal units while all constraints such as power balance, water discharge, and generation limitations must be satisfied. The proposed CIMHA is a newly developed meta-heuristic algorithm inspired by the intelligent reproduction strategy of the cuckoo bird. It is efficient for solving optimization problems with complicated objective and constraints because the method has few control parameters. The proposed method has been tested on different systems with various numbers of objective functions, and the obtained results have been compared to those from other methods available in the literature. The result comparisons have indicated that the proposed method is more efficient than many other methods for the test systems in terms of total cost, total emission, and computational time. Therefore, the proposed CIMHA can be a favorable method for solving the multi-objective ST-HTS problems

FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER’S UNSCURED BORROWING DECISIONS AT FINANCIAL COMPANIES IN TRA VINH CITY, TRA VINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM

This case study investigates the factors influencing customers’ unsecured loan decisions at financial institutions in Tra Vinh City. By collecting primary data from 224 customers in need of loans in Tra Vinh City and using quantitative data analysis methods, the study discovered five factors influencing customers’ unsecured loan decisions at financial institutions in Tra Vinh City: service quality, lending policy,  consumer behavior, financial situation, and subjective standards, respectively. The authors propose policy implications based on the research findings to improve credit quality in Tra Vinh City

ANTECEDENTS OF TOURISTS’ LOYALTY: THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF TOURISM PRODUCTS, DESTINATION IMAGE IN HOIAN WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITE

The study’s aim is to examine the antecedents of destination loyalty, and considers the role and influence of tourism products and destination image to international tourisms’ loyalty in case of HoiAn World Cultural Heritage Site. The study suggested an integrated approach to understand tourists’ loyalty model and investigate the empirical evidence about the relationship among tourism products, destination image, risk perception, tourist experience, destination satisfaction and tourists’ loyalty. This study also mentions important questions concerning how tourism products, destination image, tourist experience, risk perception, and tourists’ satisfaction affect tourists’ loyalty. Smart PLS3 is used to estimate and test the relationships in the research model. Mediation analysis and importance performance matrix analysis are also used to consider clearly the relationship between the constructs of research model. The study’s results indicate that tourism products, destination image, tourism experience, risk perception, and satisfaction are antecedents of international tourists’ loyalty in Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Site. And in them, tourism products affect significantly positively to destination imagine and satisfaction, beside destination image and satisfaction hold the role of mediator in this relationship. Implementing IPMA to identify the predecessors that have relatively high importance for loyalty but also a relatively low performance. The results pointed out that the constructs as satisfaction, tourism product, risk perception and image have a high importance for the tourist loyalty. The study added the antecedent of tourism products and risk perception to the model and could enrich the literature, pointing to be possibility of a destination loyalty model that can be applied to various contexts, especially after COVID- 19 pandemic. The study also discussed theoretical and managerial implications for marketing tourism

Efficient inference of large prokaryotic pangenomes with PanTA

Pangenome inference is an indispensable step in bacterial genomics, yet its scalability poses a challenge due to the rapid growth of genomic collections. This paper presents PanTA, a software package designed for constructing pangenomes of large bacterial datasets, showing unprecedented efficiency levels multiple times higher than existing tools. PanTA introduces a novel mechanism to construct the pangenome progressively without rebuilding the accumulated collection from scratch. The progressive mode is shown to consume orders of magnitude less computational resources than existing solutions in managing growing datasets. The software is open source and is publicly available at https://github.com/amromics/panta and at 10.6084/m9.figshare.23724705

Assessing the relationship between work-related factors and the quality of working life among nurses: A cross-sectional study in Laos

The quality of working life is crucial for improving work productivity, particularly among nurses, who often experience high levels of stress. This study aims to evaluate the quality of working life among nurses in Laos and identify the factors that influence it. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Laos nurses from August 2021 to July 2022. Data collection was conducted using an anonymous questionnaire distributed via the Internet. The Quality of Working Life version 2 (WRQoL-2) questionnaire, comprising 32 items divided into seven subscales, was employed to assess the quality of working life. Statistical tests such as t-tests, ANOVA, and Spearman correlation were applied to examine differences and correlations. A total of 326 participants were included, with an average age of 32.62±8.21 years. Among the seven subscales, the highest score was observed in the Job Career Satisfaction subscale (3.72±0.56), while the lowest score was found in the Safety at Work subscale (3.22±0.71). The overall mean score was 3.49±0.54. Significant differences in the quality of working life were observed among different groups categorized by age, job position, salary, and working hours. The WRQoL-2 questionnaire was found to be suitable for assessing the quality of working life in this study

KHỬ VẬT LIỆU α-MnO2/GO BẰNG ĐIỆN HOÁ VÀ ỨNG DỤNG VẬT LIỆU KHỬ VÀO PHÂN TÍCH MẪU THUỐC MỠ TRA MẮT

Manganese dioxide (MnO2) was directly synthesized on a graphene oxide (GO) substrate. The electrochemical reduction process of α-MnO2/GO was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (i-T) techniques. The obtained materials were studied by using FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, surface area analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The α-MnO2 structure was determined through FT-IR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy spectra at  507 and 642.5 cm–1. The α-MnO2/ErGOCV and α-MnO2/ErGOi-T reduction materials exhibit low electrochemical impedance (0,188 and 0,147 kΩ) and a large surface area of 1.7 times greater than that of α-MnO2/GO), indicating the superior properties of the α-MnO2/ErGO composite material. These properties facilitate electron transfer and enhance the electrocatalytic activity of the sensor on the modified electrode surface. The LS-AdCSV method utilizing the α-MnO2/ErGO electrode can be employed for the simultaneous analysis of chloramphenicol and tinidazole. The chloramphenicol content in eye ointment determined with the proposed method agrees well with the labelled value.Mangan dioxit (MnO2) được tổng hợp trực tiếp trên nền graphen oxit (GO). Chúng tôi nghiên cứu quá trình khử điện hoá vật liệu α-MnO2/GO bằng hai kỹ thuật chính là von-ampe vòng (CV) và điện thế thời gian (i-T). Các mẫu vật liệu được đặc trưngằng phổ FT-IR, phổ Raman, diện tích bề mặt và phân tích tổng trở điện hoá. Cấu trúc α-MnO2 được xác định thông qua phổ FT-IR và phổ Raman tại các bước sóng kích thích dao động 507 và 642,5 cm–1. Vật liệu khử α-MnO2/ErGOCV và α-MnO2/ErGOi-T có tổng trở điện hoá thấp (0,188 và 0,147 kΩ) và diện tích bề mặt lớn gấp 1,7 lần so với vật liệu α-MnO2/GO. Các tính ưu việt của vật liệu composite α-MnO2/ErGO thúc đẩy khả năng chuyển điện tử và tăng cường hoạt tính xúc tác điện hoá của sensor oxy hoá khử trên bề mặt của điện cực đã được biến tính. Ở các điều kiện thí nghiệm thích hợp, phương pháp LS-AdCSV sử dụng điện cực biến tính α-MnO2/ErGO có thể áp dụng để phân tích đồng thời chloramphenicol và tinidazole. Hàm lượng chloramphenicol trong thuốc mỡ tra mắt xác định trên điện cực này có giá trị đúng với số liệu ghi trên nhãn

Disinfection performance of an ultraviolet lamp: a CFD investigation

Ultraviolet (UV)-based devices have shown their effectiveness on various germicidal purposes. To serve their design optimisation, the disinfection effectiveness of a vertically cylindrical UV lamp, whose wattage ranges from P = 30 − 100 W, is numerically investigated in this work. The UV radiation is solved by the Finite Volume Method together with the Discrete Ordinates model. Various results for the UV intensity and its bactericidal effects against several popular virus types, i.e., Corona-SARS, Herpes (type 2), and HIV, are reported and analysed in detail. Results show that the UV irradiance is greatly dependent on the lamp power. Additionally, it is indicated that the higher the lamp wattage employed, the larger the bactericidal rate is observed, resulting in the greater effectiveness of the UV disinfection process. Nevertheless, the wattage of P ≤ 100W is determined to be insufficient for an effective disinfection performance in a whole room; higher values of power must hence be considered in case intensive sterilization is required. Furthermore, the germicidal effect gets reduced with the viruses less sensitive to UV rays, e.g, the bactericidal rate against the HIV virus is only ∼8.98% at the surrounding walls

AMRViz enables seamless genomics analysis and visualization of antimicrobial resistance

We have developed AMRViz, a toolkit for analyzing, visualizing, and managing bacterial genomics samples. The toolkit is bundled with the current best practice analysis pipeline allowing researchers to perform comprehensive analysis of a collection of samples directly from raw sequencing data with a single command line. The analysis results in a report showing the genome structure, genome annotations, antibiotic resistance and virulence profile for each sample. The pan-genome of all samples of the collection is analyzed to identify core- and accessory-genes. Phylogenies of the whole genome as well as all gene clusters are also generated. The toolkit provides a web-based visualization dashboard allowing researchers to interactively examine various aspects of the analysis results. Availability: AMRViz is implemented in Python and NodeJS, and is publicly available under open source MIT license at https://github.com/amromics/amrviz