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C-doped CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method using glucose as carbon source. The structure of the C-doped CeO2 nanoparticles was controlled by the concentration of the glucose precursor. The structure and properties of the C-doped CeO2 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Microscopic morphology of nanoparticles was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Photocatalytic activity was assessed by considering the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. Results show that C-doping significantly improves the photocatalytic activity of CeO2 nanoparticles because of the combination of extending radiation absorption in visible light and the efficient separation of electron–hole pairs. These findings suggest that the present method is useful for controlling the microstructure and dye degradation properties of C-doped CeO2 nanoparticles, which is particularly important for catalyst engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design of robust hierarchical control for homogeneous linear multi-agent systems (MAS) subject to parametric uncertainty and external disturbance. Specifically, the control design is based on a two-layer hierarchical structure consisting of an upper layer and a lower layer. In the lower layer, each agent is represented by a linear time-invariant system and executes a local action. Moreover, each agent exchanges information with neighbouring agents in the upper layer through an undirected graph to achieve the global goal of stabilisation and disturbance attenuation for the MAS. We propose two robust control designs, namely, robust H ∞ hierarchical control and robust H 2 hierarchical control. The design of local and global feedback control laws is formulated as a constrained optimisation over linear matrix inequalities (LMI). The LMI formulation can effectively incorporate the design objective to minimise disturbance attenuation. Numerical results show that the proposed robust controls ensure robust stability of MAS and outperform the existing nominal controls by improving the disturbance attenuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web application firewall is a highly effective application in protecting the application layer and database layer of websites from attack access. This paper proposes a new web application firewall deploying method based on dynamic web application profiling (DWAP) analysis technique. This is a method to deploy a firewall based on analyzing website access data. DWAP is improved to integrate deeply into the structure of the website to increase the compatibility of the anomaly detection system into each website, thereby improving the ability to detect abnormal requests. To improve the compatibility of the web application firewall with protected objects, the proposed system consists of two parts with the main tasks are: i) Detect abnormal access in web application (WA) access; ii) Semi-automatic update the attack data to the abnormal access detection system during WA access. This new method is applicable in real-time detection systems where updating of new attack data is essential since web attacks are increasingly complex and sophisticated [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients by using microfracture technique in combination with autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation. METHODS: A clinical study was conducted between November 2011 and January 2015 and involved 46 patients (aged from 46 to 69) with primary knee OA grade II and III (according to Kellgren-Lawrence classification) at the Orthopedic Trauma Department, Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to receive knee arthroscopy and then bone-marrow stem cells from their pelvic bones via injection. RESULTS: The mean Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score of present pain decreased from 5.68 before surgery to 1.7 24 months after surgery. The mean preoperative Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was 36.34 (± 3.13), which increased to 74.62 (± 2.86) 24 months after surgery. On the MRI scans, the average Noyes score decreased from 12 (± 1.46) to 7 (± 1.50). Cartilage volume increased on average from 0.4512 (± 0.26) cm 3 to 0.5463 (± 0.29) cm 3 12–24 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: Treatment of osteoarthritis by a combination of arthroscopic microfracture and transplantation of autologous bone-marrow stem cells was an invasive, safe and effective method which showed an improvement in the clinical symptoms (VAS score) and knee functions (KOOS points). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic multi-criteria decision-making (DMCDM) models have many meaningful applications in real life in which solving indeterminacy of information in DMCDMs strengthens the potential application of DMCDM. This study introduces an extension of dynamic internal-valued neutrosophic sets namely generalized dynamic internal-valued neutrosophic sets. Based on this extension, we develop some operators and a TOPSIS method to deal with the change of both criteria, alternatives, and decision-makers by time. In addition, this study also applies the proposal model to a real application that facilitates ranking students according to attitude-skill-knowledge evaluation model. This application not only illustrates the correctness of the proposed model but also introduces its high potential appliance in the education domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage that can cause a temporary or permanent change in spinal cord functions., Aim: This work evaluates clinical signs, mental signs, and quality of life (QoL) after autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI)., Methods: In this study, 47 SCI patients were recruited and divided into two groups: intervention and control. ADSCs were isolated and cultured under the cell culture quality control procedure. All patients in both groups underwent neurosurgery with or without ADSC transplantation. The recovery regarding neurological muscle, QoL, neurogenic bladder, and mental improvement was assessed after transplantation., Results: All patients had improved in terms of motor function, bladder function, and daily living. No patients reported any side effect. MRI imaging showed significant changes in the lesion length of the spinal canal and the thickening of the spinal cord. Mental improvement was highest at six months after transplantation and lowest at one month after transplantation. The proportion of patients whose quality of life improved after treatment was 100%, while 80% of patients were satisfied with treatment outcomes., Conclusions: Thus, our data suggested that ADSCs transplantation was safe and effective for the treatment of SCI patients. Neurological muscle and neurogenic bladder were improved significantly after transplantation., (Copyright: © 2019 Nguyen Le Bao Tien, Nguyen Dinh Hoa, Vo Van Thanh, Nguyen Van Thach, Vo Truong Nhu Ngoc, Thien Chu Dinh, Thuy Nguyen Thi Phuong, Phung Lam Toi, Dinh Toi Chu.)