Treatment of the sludge from water-purification plants is becoming more and more urgent due to the inability to increase its storage area. To avoid CO2 emissions, the use of non-Portland cement ...binders is recommended. The application of geopolymerization of waste sludge (WS) from water-purification plants is a novel solution. Curing conditions including high temperature, pressure or microwaves enhance the formation of geopolymer bonds. This paper presents the results of a research on the treatment of the WS of the Thu Duc water-purification plant (Vietnam) with the geopolymerization method. Solid phases were prepared by mixing the WS and fly ash (FA). The FA proportions of the solid phases were (10, 40, 70) w/%. The alkali-activated solution (AAS) was a mixture of a 40 w/% NaOH 6M solution and 60 w/% water glass (WG: Na2O.nSiO2 with n = 1.75 and volumetric density r = 1.40 kg/L). The geopolymer materials were mixtures containing an 80 w/% solid phase and a 20 w/% liquid phase of the AAS. Geopolymer samples were formed in a cylindrical steel mold with a diameter of 10 mm at a high pressure. The samples were cured in a 112 W microwave oven for 30 s or in a dryer at 110 °C for 24 h. The compressive strength and volumetric density of both sample groups were determined and compared to each other. The formation of geopolymer bonds was investigated using XRD, FTIR and SEM.
The main objective of the present study was to provide a novel methodological approach for flash flood susceptibility modeling based on a feature selection method (FSM) and tree based ensemble ...methods. The FSM, used a fuzzy rule based algorithm FURIA, as attribute evaluator, whereas GA were used as the search method, in order to obtain optimal set of variables used in flood susceptibility modeling assessments. The novel FURIA-GA was combined with LogitBoost, Bagging and AdaBoost ensemble algorithms. The performance of the developed methodology was evaluated at the Bao Yen district and the Bac Ha district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. For the case study, 654 floods and twelve geo-environmental variables were used. The predictive performance of each model was estimated through the calculation of the classification accuracy, the sensitivity, the specificity, the success and predictive rate curve and the area under the curves (AUC). The FURIA-GA FSM compared to a conventional rule based method gave more accurate predictive results. Also, the FURIA-GA based models, presented higher learning and predictive ability compared to the ensemble models that had not undergone a FSM. Based on the predictive classification accuracy, FURIA-GA-Bagging (93.37%) outperformed FURIA-GA-LogitBoost (92.35%) and FURIA-GA-AdaBoost (89.03%). FURIA-GA-Bagging showed also the highest sensitivity (96.94%) and specificity (89.80%). On the other hand, the FURIA-GA-LogitBoost showed the lowest percentage in very high susceptible zone and the highest relative flash-flood density, whereas the FURIA-GA-AdaBoost achieved the highest prediction AUC value (0.9740), based on the prediction rate curve, followed by FURIA-GA-Bagging (0.9566), and FURIA-GA-LogitBoost (0.8955). It can be concluded that the usage of different statistical metrics, provides different outcomes concerning the best prediction model, which mainly could be attributed to sites specific settings. The proposed models could be considered as a novel alternative investigation tools appropriate for flash flood susceptibility mapping.
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•Developing a novel approach for flash flood susceptibility modeling•Optimizing a fuzzy rule feature selection technique with Genetic Algorithms•FURIA-GA feature selection technique produced a highly predictive variable subset.•Tree based ensemble models perform well in flash flood susceptibility modeling.•FURIA-GA based ensemble models had higher accuracy compared to ensemble models.
Background
Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EP) is a severe necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma which is associated with significant case mortality. We sought to identify the incidence and ...predictive risk factors associated with EP mortality.
Methods
Two electronic databases, PubMed and Web of Science, were searched from their inception until June 06, 2021 for relevant articles. Two independent teams reviewed abstracts and extracted data from the selected manuscripts. A meta-analysis has been reported in line with PRISMA 2020 and AMSTAR Guidelines.
Results
Of the 1080 retrieved abstracts, 79 underwent full-text review and 45 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising a total cohort of 1303 patients and 177 mortalities. The pooled prevalence of mortality among the patients with EP disease was 13%. Our analysis found a significantly decreasing trend in mortality rates, an increasing trend in minimally invasive intervention and decreasing trends in emergency nephrectomy in the EP studies from 1985 to 2020. Significant risk factors that were associated with a negative impact on survival of EP patients included sepsis (OR = 15.99), shock (OR = 15.57), disturbance of consciousness (OR = 12.11), thrombocytopenia (OR 7.85), acute renal failure (OR = 5.41), Wan classification I (OR = 4.57), emergency nephrectomy (OR = 3.73), Huang–Tseng classification III–IV (OR = 2.4) and medical management alone (OR = 2.04). Female sex (OR = 0.52) and minimally invasive intervention (OR = 0.47) (percutaneous nephrostomy or ureteral stent placement) were associated with decreased mortality rates.
Conclusions
Our study results demonstrated several significant risk factors that could help guide treatment to reduce the mortality risk of EP patients. Clinically, early treatment with a combination of minimally invasive intervention and appropriate medical management may be protective for reducing mortality risk in EP patients.
Climate change is one of humanity's most significant challenges in the 21st century, directly affecting ecosystems, environmental resources, and human life. Besides, the evolution of the Covid-19 ...pandemic and various crises have significantly impacted Vietnam's sustainable development goals. Vietnam is a country that is firmly committed to the implementation of sustainable development goals through the issuance of the Vietnam sustainable development strategy in 2030. Vietnam is one of the five countries most severely affected by global climate change, affecting directly sustainable development in Vietnam for the following years. Thus, the article aims to determine the key factors influencing sustainable development and propose policy applications for meeting sustainable development goals. In addition, the article overviewed the situation of sustainable development in Vietnam from 2011 to 2020 based on qualitative and quantitative methods to process data through SPSS 20.0 software. The authors surveyed 400 leaders and other people working for 40 provinces in Vietnam. This study used descriptive statistical tools, measuring scales with Cronbach's Alpha, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and regression analysis. Finally, the article's novelty identifies three key factors affecting sustainable development with a significance of 1.0 percent. The original study recommends policymakers and managers of provinces in sustainable economic development, socially sustainable development, and environmentally sustainable development. Three factors are critical and indispensable for sustainable development in Vietnam. And this is also a significant scientific research result in a period when the world has many complicated changes.
Cassia grandis (CG) fruit extract, traditionally used in folk medicine, has found a new role as an eco-friendly material for synthesizing and stabilizing biogenic AuNPs, particularly for glucose and ...vitamin C detection. Based on the phenomenon related to Rayleigh scattering, the synthesis conditions have been optimized at a temperature of 100 °C for 50 min with 0.5 mM of Au3+ in an extract ratio of 1:5. The formation mechanism and catalytic mechanism of the biogenic AuNPs in the TMB oxidation is also elucidated in detail. The morphological properties of the synthesized AuNPs were investigated using FT-IR, XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, and DLS. The AuNPs are approximately 16.95 ± 2.57 nm in diameter, exhibiting a spherical structure. Notably, the AuNPs synthesized and stabilized by CG-extract phytochemicals demonstrate a zeta potential of −40.33 mV, surpassing that of nanoparticles derived from several other natural extracts. Even after one month of storage, this value decreased by approximately 7.5 %. Moreover, under the established optimal conditions, the colorimetric assay using CG-AuNPs showed remarkable sensitivity and selectivity for both glucose and vitamin C, with LODs of 8.68 and 5.26 μM in linear ranges of 10–800 and 5–50 μM, respectively.
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•Biogenic AuNPs synthesized using Cassia grandis fruit extract.•As-synthesized AuNPs displayed high stability with a zeta potential of −40.33 mV.•Colorimetrics based on the peroxidase-mimicking activity of AuNPs were assayed.•The colorimetric assay exhibited high sensitivity for glucose and vitamin C.
Several centers have reported their experience with single-port robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (SP-RAPN); however, it is uncertain if utilization of this platform represents an improvement in ...outcomes compared to multiport robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (MP-RAPN). To evaluate this, we performed a meta-analysis to compare the perioperative, oncological, and functional outcomes between SP-RAPN and MP-RAPN.
For relevant articles, three electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, were searched from their inception until January 1, 2023. A meta-analysis has been reported in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 and assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews (AMSTAR) guidelines. The odds ratio (OR) and weighted mean difference (MD) were applied for the comparison of dichotomous and continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Of the 374 retrieved abstracts, 29 underwent full-text review, and 8 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising a total cohort of 1007 cases of RAPN (453 SP-RAPN cases and 554 MP-RAPN cases). Compared to MP-RAPN, the SP-RAPN group had a significantly longer ischemia time (MD = 4.6 minutes, 95% CI 2.8 to 6.3,
< 0.001), less estimated blood loss (MD = -12.4 mL, 95% CI -24.6 to -0.3,
= 0.045), higher blood transfusion rate (OR = 2.97, 95% CI 1.33 to 6.65,
= 0.008), and higher postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 6 months (MD = 4.9 mL/min, 95% CI 0.2 to 9.7,
= 0.04). There was no significant difference in other outcomes between the two approaches, including the intraoperative complication, overall postoperative complication, minor postoperative complication (Clavien-Dindo I - II), major postoperative complication (Clavien-Dindo III-V), conversion to radical nephrectomy, pain score on day #1, pain score on discharge, morphine milligram equivalent usage, hospital stay, positive surgical margins, and postoperative eGFR.
SP-RAPN represents an emerging technique using a novel platform. Initial studies have demonstrated that SP-RAPN is a safe and feasible approach to performing partial nephrectomy, although with inferior outcomes for ischemia time and blood transfusion rates. Further studies will be necessary to define the best usage of SP-RAPN within the surgeon's armamentarium.
In this study, silver-immobilized graphene oxide/chitosan (AGC/CTS) membranes were assembled by the solvent evaporation method, wherein Curcuma longa extract was used to synthesize silver-immobilized ...graphene oxide (AGC) nanocomposite. The characterization results showed that the AGC was successfully synthesized with AgNPs distributed quite evenly on GO sheets. The as-prepared AGC also exhibited high antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity towards normal cell lines compared to human epithelial carcinoma cell lines. Besides, the fabrication of AGC/CTS membranes was additionally assessed with different AGC ratios and thicknesses. The results revealed the membrane containing 3 wt% of AGC with great hygroscopicity and elastic modulus of 27.03 ± 3.07 MPa. The samples also performed excellent bactericidal capability, along with good mechanical properties for banana preservation. Therewithal, the membrane-coated bananas were also elucidated to ripen at slower paces and less damage, with no appearance of patches of mold on the banana peel surface, eventually prolonging the shelf life of bananas up to 10 days as compared to the non-coated ones. The aforesaid results confirm the potential application of the AGC/CTS membrane as a safe and alternative fruit preservation agent in the food industry.
•Successful drafting silver-immobilized graphene oxide (AGC) nanocomposite into chitosan film•Various fundamental physicochemical properties of AGC/CTS films•Facilitating robustness of bioactives for AGC/CTS films•Shelf life prolongation and less physical damage when coating AGC/CTS film on bananas•No patches of mold and safety for using due to low silver ion concentration release
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