DNA barcoding based on a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is widely applied in species identification and biodiversity studies. The aim of this study was to establish a comprehensive barcoding database of coastal ray-finned fishes in Vietnam. A total of 3,638 specimens were collected from fish landing sites in northern, central and southern Vietnam. Seven hundred and sixty-five COI sequences of ray-finned fishes were generated, belonging to 458 species, 273 genera, 113 families and 43 orders. A total of 59 species were newly recorded in Vietnam and sequences of six species were new to the Genbank and BOLD online databases. Only 32 species cannot be annotated to species level because difficulty in morphological identifications and their Kimura-2-Parameter (K2P) genetic distances to most similar sequences were more than 2%. Moreover, intra-specific genetic distances in some species are also higher than 2%, implying the existence of putative cryptic species. The mean K2P genetic distances within species, genera, families, orders and classes were 0.34%, 12.14%, 17.39%, 21.42%, and 24.80, respectively. Species compositions are quite different with only 16 common species among northern, central and southern Vietnam. This may attribute to multiple habitats and environmental factors across the 3,260 km Vietnamese coastline. Our results confirmed that DNA barcoding is an efficient and reliable tool for coastal fish identification in Vietnam, and also established a reliable DNA barcode reference library for these fishes. DNA barcodes will contribute to future efforts to achieve better monitoring, conservation, and management of fisheries in Vietnam.

A numerical study was carried out to investigate the effects of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), and dimethyl ether (DME) on the combustion and emission characteristics of a four-stroke gas-diesel dual-fuel (DF) marine engine at full load. Three-dimensional simulations of the combustion process and emission formation inside the engine cylinder in the diesel and DF modes were performed using the AVL FIRE R2018a simulation software to analyze the in-cylinder pressure, temperature, and emission characteristics. The simulation results agreed well with the measured values reported in the engine shop test technical data. The simulation results showed reductions in the in-cylinder peak pressure and temperatures, as well as the emission formations, in the DF modes in comparison to the diesel mode. The DF mode could significantly reduce nitric oxide (NO) emissions (up to 96.225%) of DME compared to the diesel mode. Meanwhile, C3H8 and CH4 fuels effectively reduced the soot (up to 82.78%) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (by 21.33%), respectively, compared to the diesel mode. However, the results also showed longer ignition delay times of the combustion processes when the engine operated in the DF mode, particularly in the DME-diesel mode. The combustion and emission characteristics of the engine were also analyzed when varying the injection timing; the results showed that applying the injection timing adjustment method could further address NO emission problems but led to a decrease in the engine power. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the benefits and disadvantages of adopting the injection timing adjustment strategy to address certain engine emission problems. This study successfully analyzed the benefits of using various gas fuels as alternative fuels and the injection timing adjustment method in DF marine engines to meet the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission regulations without the use of any emission after-treatment devices.

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The family Gobiidae is a relatively high abundance family of coastal fish with about 2000 species in 210 genera described. In Vietnam, the study on Gobiidae is very complex due to the large number of species, small size and high morphological variation which makes difficulties in identification and classification. In this study, the DNA barcoding technique has been used through mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to classify 30 specimens of Gobiidae from three coastal areas (North, Central and South) in Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness compared to the morphological classification method. Results showed that 26 species belonging to 21 genera were determined by the COI barcode while 19 species (17 genera) were determined when using morphological method. Mahidolia mystacina was new recorded in Vietnam. The DNA barcodes of COI gene developed in this study could be useful for estimating phylogenetic diversity as well as other studies of gobiids in terms of conservation, management and utilization of fisheries resources in Vietnam. In addition, the results showed the high potentiality in using COI barcode to identify marine fish.

This paper presents research on the combustion and emission characteristics of a four-stroke Natural gas–Diesel dual-fuel marine engine at full load. The AVL FIRE R2018a (AVL List GmbH, Graz, Austria) simulation software was used to conduct three-dimensional simulations of the combustion process and emission formations inside the engine cylinder in both diesel and dual-fuel mode to analyze the in-cylinder pressure, temperature, and emission characteristics. The simulation results were then compared and showed a good agreement with the measured values reported in the engine’s shop test technical data. The simulation results showed reductions in the in-cylinder pressure and temperature peaks by 1.7% and 6.75%, while NO, soot, CO, and CO2 emissions were reduced up to 96%, 96%, 86%, and 15.9%, respectively, in the dual-fuel mode in comparison with the diesel mode. The results also show better and more uniform combustion at the late stage of the combustions inside the cylinder when operating the engine in the dual-fuel mode. Analyzing the emission characteristics and the engine performance when the injection timing varies shows that, operating the engine in the dual-fuel mode with an injection timing of 12 crank angle degrees before the top dead center is the best solution to reduce emissions while keeping the optimal engine power.