Organisational Baseline Study: Overview report for Tra Hat CSV, Vietnam (VN03)

This report covers the Organisational Baseline Study (OBS) for the CCAFS Climate-Smart Village Tra Hat in the South Viet Nam. During October 2014 interviews were conducted with local stakeholders at ten organisations who are working or collaborating with farmers and/or the community in Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province. The Tra Hat CSV is located near the coastal area, at tail end of a primary canal of Quan Lo Phung Hiep system (QLPH), the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, it usually causes lack of fresh water in from QLPH in dry season. There are two distinct dry season (December to April) and rainy season (May to November) which typhoon happens seldom in rainy season. Protected by dyke and sluice system of QLPH in Bac Lieu province, Tra Hat has not been affected by saline intrusion for last 15 years. The main farming systems in the village comprise two or three rice crops per year, small livestock as pig, chicken and ducks. Besides, mixed fruit garden and cash crop are often blended in residential area. Ground water and water in ponds is popular in household to provide domestic water, raising fish or garden irrigation and livestock, especially in dry season. The objectives of the OBS study are to: Provide indicators to monitor changes in behaviours and practices of locally relevant organisations that have climate change related activities in Bac Lieu over time Understand the provision of information/services at the local level that informs farmers’ decision making about their livelihood strategies in response to climate change This OBS report also supplements to the quantitative Household Baseline Survey (HBS) and the qualitative Village Baseline Studies (VBS) in Tra Hat CSV and surrounding villages

Village Baseline Study: Site Analysis Report for Tra Hat Village, Vinh Loi, Bac Lieu, Viet Nam (VNM 03)

This report presents data collected from the Village Baseline Study conducted on 2-4 October 2014 at the Tra Hat village, Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu, Vietnam. Data were collected through focus group discussions and participatory resource mapping with community members in the village. The Village Baseline Study is part of the baseline activities conducted under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) in South East Asia. The purpose is to collect data for indicators that will allow site comparability and monitoring to assess changes in terms of food security and natural resource management across time. Results show that the men and women in Tra Hat village consider farmland, rivers and canals as important natural resources. The quality, however, of land, water and wildlife habitats has declined in the last decade along with the improvement of farming techniques and intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Infrastructures such as roads, internal canals, hospitals, schools, water supply station and electricity transformer station have improved. The future is envisioned to have improved internal canals in farmlands and a developed irrigation system, dykes and sluices to support high agriculture production. Home garden diversification was also believed to enhance food security and improve livelihood resilience. To turn the vision into reality, the community expects support from the different organizations working in the area considering current impacts of salinity intrusion and sea level rise, the need interventions of CCAFS and its partners. Strengthening the irrigation system, improving local rice variety, and introducing modern farming techniques taking into account negative impacts of climate change are major recommendation for future intervention

ベトナム国南部における稲遺伝資源の探索収集

Collaborative exploration between Japan and Vietnam was conducted in the Mekong Delta area of Southern Vietnam from November 17 to December 16, 1998. A total of 124 landraces and 12 wild relatives, including Oryza rufipogon and O. officinalis were collected. Land races which are adapted to deep water conditions, acid sulfurate soils, aluminum soil, or salinity were found in various locations. Some land races were grown for their high quality as aromatic rice and glutinous rice. Twelve accessions of wild relatives of rice, which include Oryza rufipogon and O. officinalis, were also collected near former fields. Oryza officinalis was collected in Ca Mau province, which is the first accession of that species from that province

EVALUATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE BASED ON AGRO-MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

The study assessed the variations in nine agro-morphological characters among and within the black glutinous rice (Oryza sativa) population from Chau Thanh District, Tra Vinh Province. The nine quantitative agromorphological characters that were measured include culm length, leaf length, leaf width, number of panicles, panicle length, grain length, grain width, number of firm grain, and number of grain per panicle. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean method and principal coordinate analysis by the NTSYS program were applied in this study to classify the nine agro-morphological characters. In addition, to compare the variations in quantitative characters between O. sativa populations, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. The results showed significant differences between the black glutinous rice populations for all quantitative agro-morphological characters. Moreover, some agro-morphological characters showed positive correlations to each other. The dendrogram generated from the analysis process of the agromorphological data divided the O. sativa populations into two groups with unfamiliar features. However, the O. sativa populations assessed exhibited a wide range of variations in morphological characteristics, both within the same population and among other populations with the same strains

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030

Fabrication of copper nanoparticles/diatomite nanocomposite by irradiation method for antibacterial application

Natural diatomite (DA) contains over 63% silica was chemically modified by amine groups of the coupling agent - 3-amino propyl triethoxysilane before deposition of Cu2+ ions. The mixture of Cu2+/DA in chitosan stabilizer at 1% was irradiated by electron beam for reduction of Cu2+ ions to Cu0, and then aggregation into copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) fixing to the interior walls of porous DA forming nanocomposite – CuNPs/DA. Characterizations of copper nanoparticles were determined by UV-Vis spectra, Transmission Electron Micrography images, Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X ray diffraction patterns and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area. The antibacterial activities of CuNPs/DA samples corresponding to the content of CuNPs on DA were confirmed by testing paper disk diffusion and MIC against Edwardsiella ictaluri bacteria, a pathogenous agent for Tra catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)

Analysis of gender-differentiated climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation of smallholders in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces in the Mekong River Delta (MRD)

The objective of this study is to better understand socio-economic and gender-differentiated impacts and perceptions of climate change in rice farms in Southern Viet Nam. Focus group discussions and a household survey of both male and female farmers in 160 households were conducted in four villages of Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces. These coastal provinces are located at the mouth of the Mekong delta in southern Viet Nam, an area highly at risk of climate variability and climate change causing exacerbating problems of saline intrusion and drought episodes. The survey found that the farm households heavily relied on rice for their livelihood, and that rice contributed to 79 % of the farmer’s total income. In the last 10 years, 95 % of the Soc Trang households and 89 % of the Tra Vinh province had experienced damage to their livelihoods due to salinity and/or drought. The residents in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh province are mostly Khmer ethnic, followed by Kinh (Vietnamese) people. Most of the households are rice farmers, having their own lands. Husbands are generally the household heads and the landowners, and they little education, but in general more educated than women. Both male and female farmers perceived the existence of climate change and variability and recognized its adverse impacts on crop production, animal husbandry, and fishing, as well as other household activities. Low crop yields, and even occasionally total crop losses were rated as the major impacts, leading to increased debt and food insecurity. Farmers coping strategies included change of rice varieties; leave land fallow during severe drought; change of the cropping pattern; more cash crops; and off-farm work. Women not only did the same tasks as men in farming traditionally but also contributed to seed preparation, replanting, hand weeding, removing off types, drying and sacking. Womens’ workload inn recent years increased more than that of men due to climate variation. It was found that male farmers are more likely than female farmers to adopt technologies that can reduce vulnerability to climate change. These technologies included the use of stress-tolerant crop varieties; planting of early, medium or late varieties to avoid crop loss to variations in presence of drought/salinity; pest and disease management techniques; and development and use of crop varieties resistant to pests and diseases. Both female and male farmers had equal access to credit and money loans in the periods of extreme weather events. Moreover, female farmers tend to spend less money, and they stored food to cover basic needs, while male farmers are used to seek wage labor or migrate. The respondents, especially women, reported a lack of adequate extension and technical information about how to cope with agriculture under climate variability. Thus, in situations of salinity and drought, rice farmers reverted to traditional practices with low rice yield outputs, and the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) varied from 1.2 to 1.6 only. Given the important role of women in rice production , rural extension should not ignore women farmers in the development of the extension programs related to agriculture adaptation and climate change. Moreover, mitigation measures should address the needs of both men and women, and ethnic people living in the areas affected by climate change. Any new adaptation measures have to be simple, help in reducing GHGs, low cost and easily adaptable, since majority of farmers are small or marginal landholders with little education and low investment capacity and the government does not have adequate resources.publishedVersio