Impact of bacteria and yeast with probiotic properties on performance, digestibility, health status and gut environment of growing pigs in Vietnam

This thesis aimed to evaluate the effects of six lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains and Bacillus subtilis H4, Saccharomyces boulardii Sb, and a microbial enzyme mixture, supplemented to basal diets on the performance, diet digestibility, health status, and gut environment of growing pigs under Vietnamese conditions. The results showed that three different 3-strain-LAB complexes, comprising combinations of Enterococcus faecium 6H2, Lactobacillus acidophilus C3, Pediococcus pentosaceus D7, L. plantarum 1K8 and L. plantarum 3K2 improved performance, digestibility, health status and gut environment of the LAB-supplemented piglets in the first two weeks post-weaning (Per I), but not in the following 3 weeks (Per II). Adding an LAB strain (L. fermentum NC1) alone or combined with the Bacillus, or combined with a Bacillus and yeast complex, to a 3-strain-LAB complex showed improvements in the performance, diet digestibility, health status and gut environment of the probiotics-supplemented piglets in both Per I and II. The inclusion of Bacillus resulted in higher nutrient digestibility, and the addition of Saccharomyces showed improvements in the scouring scores of the piglets. Supplementation with either a microbial enzyme mixture alone or a combination of a 3-strain-LAB complex and yeast in a weaner diet improved the performance and diet digestibility in piglets in Per I. In Per II, no changes in performance or digestibility were found in enzymes-fed piglets, while improved performance and diet digestibility were obtained in piglets fed the LAB-yeast diet. There was lack of response of piglets to this enzyme mixture when these enzymes were supplemented to the diet that contained the complex of LAB and yeast in both Per I and II. Dietary supplementation with the combination of Bacillus, Saccharomyces and 4-strain-LAB complex had positive effects on performance and digestibility in grower pigs, but not in finisher pigs, while supplementation with the Bacillus alone or combined with Saccharomyces did not affect the performance and digestibility in grower and finisher pigs. The results of these studies suggest that combinations of suitable strains of Bacillus, Saccharomyces and LAB can be used as an alternative to antibiotic feed additives in pig production under the conditions of Vietnam

Vietnamski in kitajski filmi o kraljevih družinah: od konfucijanske kozmologije do okoljevarstvenih politik

Since 2002, with the enormously successful release of the movie Hero by Zhang Yimou, we have been witnessing the resurrection of the royal theme in contemporary East Asian cinema, and the return of Confucian cosmology as its philosophical foundation. In this paper, I focus on Vietnamese films which represent royal subjects and court life, like Heroes of the Tay Son Dynasty (Tây Sơn hào kiệt; Lý Hùng, Lý Huỳnh, and Phượng Hoàng; 2010), Blood Letter (Thiên mệnh anh hùng, Victor Vũ, 2012), and Tam Cam The Untold Story (Tấm Cám chuyện chưa kể, Ngô Thanh Vân, 2016); and Chinese films, like Hero (英雄, Zhang Yimou, 2002), The Banquet (夜宴, Feng Xiaogang, 2006), and Red Cliff (赤壁, John Woo, 2008). Firstly and most importantly, my essay examines how the cosmic and environmental elements in such movies are manipulated to advocate some particular political discourse as a kind of ecological politics. From this analysis, I analyse and explain the similarities in how the filmmakers in Vietnam and China establish the stereotypes of power and legitimacy of authority utilizing and transforming the Confucian spiritual cosmology. I also try to clarify the difference between the two cinemas in how they express the concepts “the Unity of Heaven and Man” (tianren heyi), “Rectification of Names” (zhengming), and “Virtue of Loving Life” (haosheng) in their political implications. Finally, I will discuss the layers of meaning and visual narratives by analysing the characters and social contexts of the films to reaffirm the varying degrees of influence of Confucian tradition on contemporary forms of cultural and political practices.Od leta 2002, ko je bil prvič predvajan izjemno uspešen film Junak (英雄, Hero) v režiji Zhang Yimouja, smo bili priča ponovnega vstajenja kraljevske tematike v sodobnem vzhodnoazijskem filmu in vrnitvi konfucijanske kozmologije kot njegovega filozofskega temelja. V tem članku se osredotočam na vietnamske filme, ki uprizarjajo člane kraljevih družin in življenje na dvoru, kot na primer Junaki dinastije Tay Son (Tây Sơn hào kiệt; Lý Hùng, Lý Huỳnh in Phượng Hoàng; 2010), Krvavo pismo (Thiên mệnh anh hùng, Victor Vũ, 2012) in Tam Cam: Zamolčana zgodba (Tấm Cám chuyện chưa kể, Ngô Thanh Vân, 2016), ter kitajske filme, kot so Junak (英雄, Zhang Yimou, 2002), Gostija (夜宴, Feng Xiaogang, 2006) in Rdeča pečina (赤壁, John Woo, 2008). Najprej in najpomembneje, moj esej preučuje, na kakšen način tovrstni filmi ravnajo s kozmičnimi in okoljskimi elementi, da bi tako zagovarjali določen politični diskurz kot vrsto okoljevarstvene politike. V okviru te analize želim preučiti in razložiti podobnosti, kako z uporabo ter preobrazbo konfucijanske duhovne kozmologije kitajski in vietnamski filmarji ustvarjajo stereotipe moči in legitimnosti. V članku bom prav tako poskusil pojasniti razliko, kako s sporočanjem političnih implikacij obravnavani filmski industriji izražata »enotnost Neba in Človeka« (tianren heyi), »pravilnost imen« (zhengming) in »vrednoto ljubezni do življenja« (haosheng). Nazadnje bom z analizo likov in družbenih kontekstov v filmih obravnaval še njihove pomenske sloje ter vizualno narativo, da bi tako ponovno potrdil spreminjajoče se stopnje vpliva konfucijanske tradicije na oblike sodobnih kulturnih in političnih običajev

A rolling horizon approach for the locomotive routing problem at the Canadian National Railway Company

Cette thèse étudie le problème du routage des locomotives qui se pose à la Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada (CN) - le plus grand chemin de fer au Canada en termes de revenus et de taille physique de son réseau ferroviaire. Le problème vise à déterminer la séquence des activités de chaque locomotive sur un horizon de planification donné. Dans ce contexte, il faut prendre des décisions liées à l'affectation de locomotives aux trains planifiés en tenant compte des besoins d'entretien des locomotives. D’autres décisions traitant l'envoi de locomotives aux gares par mouvements à vide, les déplacements légers (sans tirer des wagons) et la location de locomotives tierces doivent également être prises en compte. Sur la base d'une formulation de programmation en nombres entiers et d'un réseau espace-temps présentés dans la littérature, nous introduisons une approche par horizon roulant pour trouver des solutions sous-optimales de ce problème dans un temps de calcul acceptable. Une formulation mathématique et un réseau espace-temps issus de la littérature sont adaptés à notre problème. Nous introduisons un nouveau type d'arcs pour le réseau et de nouvelles contraintes pour le modèle pour faire face aux problèmes qui se posent lors de la division de l'horizon de planification en plus petits morceaux. Les expériences numériques sur des instances réelles montrent les avantages et les inconvénients de notre algorithme par rapport à une approche exacte.This thesis addresses the locomotive routing problem arising at the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) - the largest railway in Canada in terms of both revenue and the physical size of its rail network. The problem aims to determine the sequence of activities for each locomotive over the planning horizon. Besides assigning locomotives to scheduled trains and considering scheduled locomotive maintenance requirements, the problem also includes other decisions, such as sending locomotives to stations by deadheading, light traveling, and leasing of third-party locomotives. Based on an Integer Programming formulation and a Time-Expanded Network presented in the literature, we introduce a Rolling Horizon Approach (RHA) as a method to find near-optimal solutions of this problem in acceptable computing time. We adapt a mathematical formulation and a space-time network from the literature. We introduce a new type of arcs for the network and new constraints for the model to cope with issues arising when dividing the planning horizon into smaller ones. Computational experiments on real-life instances show the pros and cons of our algorithm when compared to an exact solution approach

An observer design for the flux of line start permanent magnet synchronous motors

The permanent magnet flux is an important model parameter that determines the operation of the line start permanent magnet synchronous motor. It is degraded with operating time due to the permanent magnet demagnetization which is principally caused by the armature magnetic field interaction and operating temperature. This paper introduces an observer design study aimed at estimating the permanent magnet flux of the line start permanent magnet synchronous motor from the measurement of stator currents. Derived from the mathematical description in the dq0 reference frame, a model of the motor with state variables of stator currents, magnetic fluxes and rotor angular frequency is considered. Model analysis and with a new flux variable setting allow an estimation of the rotor flux through the open loops from the stator currents. The observer is then designed with a constant gain for the system with states of stator currents and permanent magnet flux. Simulation confirms the efficiency and robustness of the designed observer

Viscosity solutions to parabolic complex Monge-Amp\`ere equations

In this paper, we study the Cauchy-Dirichlet problem for Parabolic complex Monge-Amp\`ere equations on a strongly pseudoconvex domain by the viscosity method. We extend the results in [EGZ15b] on the existence of solution and the convergence at infinity. We also establish the H\"older regularity of the solutions when the Cauchy-Dirichlet data are H\"older continuous.Comment: 35 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1407.2494 by other author

Trans-Cultural Journeys of East-Asian Educators: The Impact of the Three Teachings

This paper presents the joint journeys, from the East to the West, of three emerging educators, who reflect on their lived experiences in an Asian educational context and their shaped identities through a connection between the motherland and the places to which they immigrated. They have grounded their identities in the inequities they experienced in Asian education and described their experiences through a cultural and social lens as Asian teachers studying in Canadian institutions. They story their lived experiences by using a Photo-voice research method to elicit the narratives of their East-to-West transcultural journeys. The major finding is the reconstructed identity of each of the researchers. The data collected through ‘Photo-voice’ sheds light on the influence on teachers’ mindset of the Three Teachings or Religions—Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism — across Asia on teachers' mindset, which are seen to cause inequities among the marginalized. The purpose of this research is an attempt by the authors, who have immersed themselves in each other’s journeys, to discuss how they have reformed their educator identities in a Canadian educational context in which equity, diversity, and inclusion are acknowledged