The impact of financial inclusion on income inequality in transition economies

inancial inclusion is considered as a critical factor that contributes to the reduction of income imbalance. This paper uses a two-stage least squares (2SLS) model and two different financial inclusion index to examine the impact of financial inclusion on income inequality in 22 transition economies over 11 years from 2005 to 2015. The paper finds that there was a negative relationship between the financial inclusion index and the GINI coefficient. The paper also suggests some policy recommendations to reduce income inequality through developing financial inclusion

A Novel High-Speed Architecture for Integrating Multiple DDoS Countermeasure Mechanisms Using Reconfigurable Hardware

In this paper, we proposed a novel high-speed architecture to incorporate multiple stand-alone DDoS countering mechanisms. The architecture separates DDoS filtering mechanisms, which are algorithms, out of packet decoder, which is the basement. The architecture not only helps developers to give more concentration on optimizing algorithms but also integrate multiple algorithms to achieve more efficient DDoS defense mechanism. The architecture is implemented on reconfigurable hardware, which helps algorithms to be flexibly changed or updated. We implemented and experimented the system using NetFPGA 10G board with incorporation of Port Ingress/Egress Filtering and Hop-Count Filtering to classify IP spoofing packets. The synthesis results show that the system runs at 118.907 MHz, utilizes 38.99% Registers, and 44.75% BlockRAMs/FIFOs of the NetFPGA 10G board. The system achieves the detection rate of 100% with false negative rate at 0%, and false positive rate closed to 0.16%. The experimental results prove that the system achieves packet decoding throughput at 9.869 Gbps in half-duplex mode and 19.738 Gbps in full-duplex mode

A novel ontology framework supporting model-based tourism recommender

In this paper, we present a tourism recommender framework based on the cooperation of ontological knowledge base and supervised learning models. Specifically, a new tourism ontology, which not only captures domain knowledge but also specifies knowledge entities in numerical vector space, is presented. The recommendation making process enables machine learning models to work directly with the ontological knowledge base from training step to deployment step. This knowledge base can work well with classification models (e.g., k-nearest neighbours, support vector machines, or naıve bayes). A prototype of the framework is developed and experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed framework. © 2021, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved

Sedimentary petrology characteristics and their implications for provenance of Hoanh Bo Basin Neogene system in Quang Ninh province, north-eastern Vietnam

The Hoanh Bo Basin has developed over multiple periods since the Miocene period in association with the tectonic activity of the Chi Linh-Hon Gai and Trung Luong Faults. The basin is filled with Neogene continental sediments, comprising mainly polymictic conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, claystones, and shales. Coarser-grained polymictic deposits predominate along the northern and western margins of the basin, whereas different types of siltstones, claystones, and sandstones occur in its centre, as well as along its southern and eastern parts, toward the Ha Long Bay. The conglomerates and sandstones are composed mainly of quartz and sedimentary rock fragments, and a small amount of mica. Cement is mainly built of iron-oxide, clay or carbonate mud. The source area for the Hoanh Bo Basin sediments was located in the close vicinity of the basin. It was built of strongly weathered rocks of the Hon Gai, Ha Coi, Cat Ba Formations

Lithofacies and depositional environments of the Paleogene/Neogene sediments in the Hoanh Bo Basin (Quang Ninh province - NE Vietnam)

The Hoanh Bo Basin is a multiple period formed basin which is associated with the tectonic mechanism due to the activities of the Chi Linh - Dong Trieu and Trung Luong faults. The basin is filled with continental sediments, comprising mainly polymictic conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, claystones and shales. Coarser-grained polymictic deposits predominate along the northern and western margins of the basin, while different types of siltstones, claystones, even sandstones occur in its center, as well as along its southern and eastern parts toward the Ha Long Bay.            Based on the dominant grain-size class, texture, stratification, degree of clast rounding and sorting, 17 lithofacies were determined in the Hoanh Bo Basin infill, accumulating in alluvial fan, fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine environments.Alluvial fan and fluvial environments are characterized by an assemblage of lithofacies such as sand- and mud-supported disorganized breccias (Gb), clast- to sand-supported conglomerates (Gmm), clast-supported inverse-graded conglomerates (Gig), planar-cross-bedded conglomerates (Gp), trough cross-bedded conglomerates (Gt), horizontally stratified conglomerates (Gh), planar cross-bedded sandstones (Sp), trough cross-bedded sandstones (St), ripple cross-laminated sandstones (Sr), horizontally bedded sandstones (Sh), massive sandstones (Sm), massive mudstones, siltstones (Fm), laminated siltstones and mudstones (Fl), massive claystones (Fsm) and coaly lithofacies (C);  the deltaic assemblage is dominated by planar-cross-bedded conglomerates (Gp), horizontally stratified conglomerates (Gh), planar cross-bedded sandstones (Sp), horizontally bedded sandstones (Sh), low-angle cross-bedded sandstones (Sl); while the lacustrine assemblage consists of ripple cross-laminated sandstones (Sr), horizontally bedded sandstones (Sh), normally graded sandstones (Sng), massive mudstones, siltstones (Fm), laminated siltstones and mudstones (Fl), massive claystones (Fsm) and coaly lithofacies (C)

FPGA-Based Multiple DDoS Countermeasure Mechanisms System Using Partial Dynamic Reconfiguration

In this paper, we propose a novel FPGA-based high-speed DDoS countermeasure system that can flexibly adapt to DDoS attacks while still maintaining system performance. The system includes a packet decoder module and multiple DDoS countermeasure mechanisms. We apply dynamic partial reconfiguration technique in this system so that the countermeasure mechanisms can be flexibly changed or updated on-the-fly. The proposed system architecture separates DDoS protection modules (which implement DDoS countermeasure techniques) from the packet decoder module. By using this approach, one DDoS protection module can be reconfigured without interfering with other modules. The proposed system is implemented on a NetFPGA 10G board. The synthesis results show that the system can work at up to 116.782 MHz while utilizing up to 39.9% Registers and 49.85% BlockRAM of the Xilinx Virtex xcv5tx240t FPGA device on the NetFPGA 10G board. The system achieves the detection rate of 100% with the false negative rate at 0% and false positive rate closed to 0.16%. The prototype system achieves packet decoding throughput at 9.869 Gbps in half-duplex mode and 19.738 Gbps in full-duplex mode

Mobile colistin resistance: Prevalence, mechanisms, and current detection methods

Colistin is considered the last-line antibiotic against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. The global dissemination of Mobile colistin resistance mcr-harboring bacteria is threatening public health. Such isolates have been detected in various reservoirs including animals, food products, the environment, and humans. From these reservoirs, the isolates are approximate: 53% from animals; 39% from humans; 5% from the environment; and 3% from food. Bacterial distributions were: E.coli 91%; Salmonella 7%; and Klebsiella 2%. Among the 10 mcr variants, mcr-1 and mcr-9 are the most prevalent (up to 95% and 64.53%, respectively, in different studies) while other variants account for 5%. The coexistence of mcr and other antibiotic resistance genes in single isolates is a significant concern; mcr variants carried by different plasmid types increase antibiotic resistance and transfer of mcr genes to other bacteria. The hypothesis that the food chain is intimately involved in mcr gene transfer is supported by the presence of mcr-harboring isolates in animals and foods relative to humans. Cheaper, quicker, and more effective diagnostic tools for detecting colistin-resistant bacterial phenotypes and genotypes are essential and urgent. Currently, high quality tests include RPNP (99.3% specificity, 96.7% sensitivity) and MRPNP (95.4% specificity, ~100% sensitivity). LBJMR, CHROM agar, COL-APSE, and Super Polymyxin are now the best media to screen the bacteria, with near 100% selectivity. Multiplex PCR is a suitable method to quickly and accurately detect mcr genes in E. coli and Salmonella . Multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria remain a global burden and need to have continuous and effective surveillance

The effect of combustion temperature to low-tar gas production using oxygen-enriched air

Tar content in producer gas from biomass gasification is a serious problem for fuel gas utilization in downstream applications. This work presents the experimental studies of acacia woodchip gasification in a downdraft gasifier with two stages air supply. The effects of oxygen concentration in gasified agent on the temperature of gasifier, the syngas composition, the lower heating value and tar content in the producer gas are investigated. Results indicate that oxygen-enriched air rate not only favors to reduce tar component but also improves the heating value of the producer gas. When increasing oxygen concentration from 21 vol.% to 42 vol.% in the gasified agent, the tar content of the producer gas decreases from 67.4 mg/Nm3 to 30 mg/Nm3, hydrogen concentration increases from 7.28 to 13.15 vol.%, CO concentration increases from 19.65 vol.% to 26.52 vol.%, CH4 concentration increases from 1.4 to 3.3 vol.% and the low heating value increases from 4.45 MJ/m3 to 7.30 MJ/m3, respectively. On the other hand, the carbon conversion efficiency, gasification efficiency and gas yield of the gasifier are also presented in this approach. Keywords. Downdraft gasification, acacia woodchip, tar content, oxygen-enriched air

Exploiting Idioms and Proverbs of Vietnamese Regions in Teaching Mathematics in Primary Schools

Mathematics and idioms, as well as proverbs, all reflect the laws of life. At the same time, primary school children may have heard idioms and proverbs before attending school. Therefore, there are many possibilities to exploit and apply idioms and proverbs in teaching mathematics in primary schools. This study aims to identify appropriate situations and apply idioms and proverbs in different regions of Vietnam to teaching mathematics. The researchers selected 1155 expressions related to mathematics from many typical pieces of research on idioms and proverbs in Vietnam. After surveying 1822 teachers three times in many provinces and cities in all 3 regions of Vietnam: the North, the Central and the South, the researchers have classified the data according to the criteria from closed to open-ended questions. The results show a prominent level of interest (level 4/5) of all teachers participating in the survey, and there is no difference in the effectiveness in the three regions, but there is a clear difference in regions in using idioms and proverbs. Particularly, identifying situations to teach geometric and quantitative knowledge, as well as probability and statistics, allows one to apply idioms and proverbs at a high level. It is concluded that if idioms and proverbs from Vietnamese regions are appropriately selected and applied in teaching mathematics in primary schools, they will contribute to improving students' mathematical ability and preserving the national cultural heritage. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-SIED-015 Full Text: PD