Monitoring Heart Rate Variability Based on Self-powered ECG Sensor Tag

This paper proposes a batteryless sensing and computational device to collect and process electrocardiography (ECG) signals for monitoring heart rate variability (HRV). The proposed system comprises of a passive UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, an extreme low power microcontroller, a low-power ECG circuit, and a radio frequency (RF) energy harvester. The microcontroller and ECG circuits consume less power of only ~30 µA and ~3 mA, respectively. Therefore, the proposed RF harvester operating at frequency band of 902 MHz ~ 928 MHz can sufficiently collect available energy from the RFID reader to supply power to the system within a maximum distance of ~2 m. To extract R-peak of the ECG signal, a robust algorithm that consumes less time processing is also developed. The information of R-peaks is stored into an Electronic Product Code (EPC) Class 1st Generation 1st compliant ID of the tag and read by the reader. This reader is functioned to collected the R-peak data with sampling rate of 100ms; therefore, the user application can monitor fully range of HRV. The performance of the proposed system shows that this study can provide a good solution in paving the way to new classes of healthcare applications

THE STATUS OF PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR SPORT TRAINING OF STUDENTS IN SOC TRANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM

The method of sociological investigation is used in the article to survey students' opinions at colleges in Soc Trang province and provided information on the status of participation in extracurricular sports of students at colleges in Soc Trang province by gender, ethnicity and purpose.  Article visualizations

Plastic Waste Generation and Management in Thoi Lai District, Can Tho City, Vietnam

The objective of this study was to assess the current situation of generation and management of plastic waste in Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city, Vietnam through collecting domestic solid waste samples from 30 households and interviewing 150 households using questionaires. The results showed that the average amount of domestic solid waste was 0.3 kg/person/day, in which the plastic waste accounted for 11.7% with generation rate of 0.035 kg/person/day. Shopping bags were dominant accounting for 34.7%, single-use plastic products accounting for 18.5% and food packaging plastic bags accounting for 9.51%. The generation rates of domestic solid waste and plastic waste had positive correlation with household’s size and income. In addition, the rate of plastic waste generation also appeared to have a relationship with the characteristics of the study area. Plastic waste has not been classified but it is mixed with other domestic solid waste. Knowledge of plastic waste impact has not been widely propagated in the community. Therefore, appropriate measures should be implemented to reduce municipal waste and plastic wastes

THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF PROMOTING THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HO CHI MINH CITY

The purpose of the study was to have a comprehensive understanding of the existing conditions assured to give physical education (PE) programs to students at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM). Through document synthesis, interviews, and statistical processing, the article gained a general evaluation of the current PE conditions according to the following aspects: facilities, administration, and curriculums. In terms of facilities, the total space for sports activities at VNUHCM is measured at 25,454m2, besides, the ratio of sports field area per student is 0.44m2/student. This indicates that VNUHCM’s students do not have enough space for their sports practice as standard. In terms of faculty, teachers at VNUHCM Sports Center are comprised 67.6% male, 88.2% at the age of thirty to fifty, and 100% holding postgraduate qualifications. In addition, 79.4% of the staff at the VNUHCM Sports Center graduated with PE specialized degrees, and 64.7% of them have less than five years of seniority. However, 68.8% of those who are currently delivering PE courses at this Center are visiting teachers. The statistic number reveals that the ratio of students per teacher at VNUHCM is 814.75 students/teacher, which reveals that the number of PE lecturers has not met the standard, and they have been in charge of a large teaching volume. In terms of curriculums, PE programs are conducted with 06 credits in total (90 periods), divided into 02 modules with 3 credits per each (45 periods). Students are allowed to choose their favorite PE content among 10 sports courses including football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, tennis, badminton, martial arts, aerobics, swimming, and chess. The results indicate that VNUHCM’s students actively participate in sports training and competitions to advance their physical fitness.  Article visualizations

DETERMINACIÓN DE CONDICIONES OPERATIVAS DE BIOTECNOLOGÃA VEGETAL IN VITRO PARA LA PROPAGACIÓN DEL HELECHO PLATYCERIUM

Este trabajo presenta el establecimiento de las condiciones operativas del Laboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal in vitro, para la propagación del helecho Platycerium bifurcatum, con el objetivo de realizar los protocolos necesarios para la recepción del material vegetal, desinfección del mismo, desinfectación del sitio e instrumental, preparación y almacenamiento de medios, siembra y transferencia de dicho helecho; siendo un referente teórico para futuras investigaciones por parte de los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ingeniería, Programa de Ingeniería Agroindustrial. Este helecho reviste importancia ya que es un referente paisajista de Colombia, y por ello, el presente trabajo gira en torno a su masificación basada en la biotecnología in vitro como soporte

The ancient phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling system is a master regulator of energy and carbon metabolism in algae

Algae undergo a complete metabolic transformation under stress by arresting cell growth, inducing autophagy and hyperaccumulating biofuel precursors such as triacylglycerols and starch. However, the regulatory mechanisms behind this stress-induced transformation are still unclear. Here, we use biochemical, mutational, and “omics” approaches to demonstrate that PI3K signaling mediates the homeostasis of energy molecules and influences carbon metabolism in algae. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the inhibition and knockdown (KD) of algal class III PI3K led to significantly decreased cell growth, altered cell morphology, and higher lipid and starch contents. Lipid profiling of wild-type and PI3K KD lines showed significantly reduced membrane lipid breakdown under nitrogen starvation (-N) in the KD. RNA-seq and network analyses showed that under -N conditions, the KD line carried out lipogenesis rather than lipid hydrolysis by initiating de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, which was supported by tricarboxylic acid cycle down-regulation and via acetyl-CoA synthesis from glycolysis. Remarkably, autophagic responses did not have primacy over inositide signaling in algae, unlike in mammals and vascular plants. The mutant displayed a fundamental shift in intracellular energy flux, analogous to that in tumor cells. The high free fatty acid levels and reduced mitochondrial ATP generation led to decreased cell viability. These results indicate that the PI3K signal transduction pathway is the metabolic gatekeeper restraining biofuel yields, thus maintaining fitness and viability under stress in algae. This study demonstrates the existence of homeostasis between starch and lipid synthesis controlled by lipid signaling in algae and expands our understanding of such processes, with biotechnological and evolutionary implications.Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning 2015M3A6A2065697Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2015018

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Major Habitats and Species in Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve, Vietnamese Mekong Delta

The study assessed the vulnerability of habitats and species to climate change in Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve (NR), Vietnam. The vulnerability assessment tools for habitat and species were developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Community members, NR managers and experts in the fields of environment, economic and rural development were involved in this study. The results showed that saltwater intrusion and inundation could cause serious threats to habitats (i.e., open water, Lung, agricultural and Melaleuca habitats) and freshwater species. The combined impacts of drought and high temperature potentially increase forest fires for the Melaleuca habitat and decrease the quantity and quality of open water habitats. The Melaleuca and Lung habitats have a high baseline conservation status, in which Melaleuca habitats are more vulnerable than Lung habitats. Conversely, open water and agricultural habitats are at low baseline conservation status, but open water habitats are more vulnerable. In addition, the proliferation of invasive alien species, encroachment on agricultural cultivation, and the degradation of water quality are also great threats to the NR. Key species, including Melaleuca cajuputi, Elaeocarpus hygrophilus, Chitala ornate, Channa micropeltes, were at low threat of climate change. However, C. ornate and C. micropeltes are seriously endangered by seawater intrusion, drought and poor water quality. The findings of this study can provide essential information for NR managers to formulate water management plans for the protection and management of the habitats and species in Lung Ngoc Hoang NR