Genetic diversity of Afzelia xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib in Vietnam based on analyses of chloroplast markers and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

Afzelia xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib is not only an endangered species in Vietnam, but also around the world. The wood of this tree species is very valuable as it is used to construct houses and high quality furniture. Habitat loss and exploitation of A. xylocarpa by man have threatened the population to such an extent that the number of mature trees of this species has dwindled to quite a low quantity. Declining numbers of A. xylocarpa in turn causes a constriction of the gene pool. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the genetic diversity of A. xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib in order to conserve and sustain the surviving population of these trees. 50 samples of A. xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib were collected from seven locations in four provinces (Gia Lai, Dac Lac, Dong Nai and Ninh Thuan) and used to evaluate the genetic diversity of these trees based on the analysis of chloroplast 16S rRNA, non-coding regions between trnH-trnK, trnD-trnT and psbC-trnS chloroplast genes using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. The data obtained reveals that the 50 samples of A. xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib have low level of genetic diversity, as supported by the fact that the genetic similarity coefficients of the trees ranged from 49 to 100%. At the similarity level of 49%, the 50 samples were grouped into two main groups. There was no clear local specificities of the samples as the samples from same locality were not found in same group. Due to low level of genetic diversity, low numbers of trees and scattered occurrence, setting up suitable conservation strategies are urgently needed.Key words: Afzelia xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib, genetic diversity, non-coding sequences, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Musculoskeletal Pain and Work-related Risk Factors among Waste Collectors in Hanoi, Vietnam: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent among waste collectors (WCs) in developing countries. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and the factors associated with the risk of persistent musculoskeletal pain among WCs in Hanoi, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was utilized to study 468 WCs in 2017. The Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire and a questionnaire on demographic and work conditions were used to collect data. Descriptive and multivariate logistics regression analyzes were applied at a significance level of 0.05 to examine the factors related to the risk of persistent pain. FINDINGS: About 74.4% of the participants of this study experienced MSDs in at least one body region and 9.4% reported MSDs in all 10 body sites. The lower back was reported to be the most affected followed by the neck and shoulders. The risk of persistent musculoskeletal pain was significantly associated with age (odds ratio (OR) = 2.31, confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–5.09), gender (OR = 3.29, CI = 1.28–8.44), work hours (OR = 2.35, CI = 1.12–4.92), work shift (OR = 0.48, CI = 0.26–0.92), duration of poor postures of the neck (OR = 0.31, CI = 0.13–0.76), bent back (OR = 0.4 CI = 0.18–0.92) and for medial rotation (OR = 3.01, CI = 1.42–6.36), carrying heavy objects (OR = 2.94, CI = 1.15–7.48), and experience of work dissatisfaction (OR = 3.31, CI = 1.46-7.52), stress (OR = 7.14, CI = 3.14–16.24), or anxiety (OR = 6.37, CI = 3.07–13.21). CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of MSDs among WCs and its association with self-assessed unfavorable work postures and work-related stress implies the need of mechanical and social support at work for WC to prevent the development of MSDs and persistent pain

Investigating determinants of quality of life: The case of older people in Ho Chi Minh City

This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the quality of life in terms of the health of the elderly in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Health production theory was used to form the analytical framework for the study. The data set of 300 surveyed elderly people, which was randomly drawn from the list of 841,000 older people in HCMC by Excel random function, was used for quantitative analysis, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and linear regression. Research results show that gender and marital status are not statistically significant while education, employment, bonding, bridging, and linking social capital statistically significant impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Specifically, the level of education improves the quality of life while employment reduces the quality of life. This finding is an important implication for policies related to the retirement age of employees. The research results have also provided empirical evidence on the potential of social capital, a resource existing in the network of relationships, in improving the quality of life besides other traditional resources. This finding is an important basis for policymakers in mobilizing social capital resources in the context of resource scarcity

Optimization of Main Factors Affecting Construction Waste by the Supply Chain Management

A survey report of the Vietnam Urban Environment and Industrial Zone Association reveals that every day in 2009, about 1,000 tons of construction waste were generated in Hanoi and 2,000 tons Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It is forecasted that the coming years would see a vigorously growing amount of construction waste as a result of the plan to dismantle and renovate old apartment buildings in major cities. So, in this research we developed a supply chain management strategy for the waste controlling in the construction industry. While the bulky volume of construction wastes poses a great environmental threat to urban areas, response to it remains meager. Hence, this paper presents four primary factors affecting the management of construction wastes in Vietnam using fuzzy logic

Cloning and expression of gene FanC-2NT encoding K99-2NT fimbrial antigen of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli from diarrheic post-weaning piglets

Background and Purpose: The K99 (F5) is one pilus adhesin that mediates the attachment of enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strains to small intestines to cause to diarrhea in piglets, lambs and newborn calves. In this work, we carried out cloning and expression of the mature peptide of FanC subunit, K99 fimbriae, one of the most common adhesive antigens in E. coli. Materials and Methods: E. coli 2NT strain was isolated from fecal samples of post-weaning piglets with diarrhea. The coding sequence of the mature peptide of K99-2NT subunit was isolated by PCR amplification and cloned into pGEM®-T Easy vector for sequencing using fluorescent dideoxy-terminator method. Expression of K99-2NT protein which was inserted into pET200/D-TOPO vector induced with IPTG. The PCR product and expression level of protein was examined by agarose gel electrophoresis and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. Results and Conclusions: We cloned and expressed successfully the mature peptide of K99 subunit with molecular weight of approximately 17.5 kDa from E. coli 2NT strain (named K99-2NT). Nucleotide sequence of the K99-2NT subunit coding region of fanC-2NT gene is 477 bp in length and is 99% similarity with that of fanC gene (accession no: M35282). Highest expression level occurred after 12 h of induction with 0.75 mM IPTG at 37oC. This subunit antigen will be tested for immune response of rat in the next time

COMPARATIVE STUDY ON VOLATILE COMPOUNDS OF AGARWOOD FROM KHANH HOA PROVINCE EXTRACTED BY DIFFERENT METHODS

Agarwood from Aquilaria crassna cultivated in Khanh Hoa province was extracted by 5 methods, including simple, enzyme-assited, and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation, extraction with solvent and supercritical carbon dioxide. The volatile compounds of the products were analyzed by GC-MS. Almost all samples contain some common characteristic components, such as Valerianol, Agarospirol, Eudesmol b-, Eudesmol 10-epi-g-, 2-Allyl-4-methylphenol, Guaiol and Neopetasone. However, there were obvious differences in yields, composition, and number of identified components. The application of the more advanced methods for the extraction of agarwood resulted in saving of time and energy, and some improvement of product yield. However, these methods also lead to unconventional products with many unknown components, what requires further investigations

Measuring production efficiency level of Vietnam for inputs imported from China

In recent years, many countries in ASEAN have depended significantly on products imported from China. This study presents the analysis of dependence level of inputs imported by Vietnam from China. Using production elasticity index as the measurement, the results of research shows that the imported inputs from China are effective for Vietnam’s economy. In addition, in comparison to the inputs imported from other remaining countries in the world, the import from China brought higher production efficiency for Vietnam in most of the industries

Measuring Supply Chain Smart Village Headman Performance

The supply chain management as the general tool can be used for supporting and delivering the goods to the villages. The village head is the leader of the village government. The tenure of the village head is 6 years, and can be extended for another one term is expected to run the government with a good performance in providing services to the community. So with the proper use of the supply chain the needs of the villages can be provide by the government. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method can help decision making in determining the performance index of the village head. This research is conduct by looking for the performance of positive and negative ideal solutions. Applications with the highest V value will occupy the top size in this system. Then the criteria in determining the performance index of the head of the village are: timeliness, discipline, responsibility, leadership, presence, value. The results of the decision-making system resulted in 6 alternative suggested performance indexes of village heads, with the highest score of Sending Agung Village

Measuring Supply Chain Performance through Migrant Workers Placement

To facilitate existing procedures and improve decision making, a decision support system (SPK) needs to be built. This SPK aimed  to determine the placement of workers abroad using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method and supply chain process. This method was chosen because it is  able to select the best alternative from a number of alternatives, in this case the alternative in question was  someone who was entitled to receive Placement based on predetermined criteria. This research was conducted by looking for weight values for each individual. The Decision Support System produced was  capable of ranking prospective Indonesian migrant workers and  making it easier for BP3TKI to make decisions about Indonesian migrant workers by supply chain resource management for who will depart abroad