Agricultural production in the context of industrialization and food security in Vietnam

peer reviewedSince 1990s the bloom of industrialization and urbanization brings the changes of social and economic issue of Vietnam rural areas. During this process, rural households have reduced agricultural land for cultivating. From the status of food producers now they become food consumers. Through surveying 215 households in Bac Ninh province, the study shows that that industrialization and land conversion process affected household food security in several aspects: the lost of agricultural land and surplus agricultural production decrease; unguaranteed decent work for peasants and high living cost; the decline of living quality and food safety. Food consumption of the family has shifted from self-reliance to the way that more depend on market which increases food expense propotion on household budget. However, spending more on food does not mean satisfied since the suspiciousness of food quality. Household food security becomes more vulnerable, especially for households that have limited access to land and incapability of finding stable jobs. One of the strategies of rural households is diversify their livelihoods, accepted multi-spacial household model. And when income from non-farm jobs could relatively supply enough their need of cash, they would rather consume high quality food than grow and sell high yielding variable. Rural households move back to the local traditional agricultural activities to ensure their own food quality

The dynamic pathways of agrarian change in the Red River Delta of Vietnam

peer reviewedEven though agricultural production has not been the main source of income for rural households in Red River Delta, yet farming remains an important livelihood and security for many rural people. The empirical findings from fieldwork in a village in the Red River Delta of Vietnam show how dependence on agriculture is determined by family context, including land, education and job of household members, their gender and age. Most educated young people have successfully found employment opportunities outside in the village as migratory wage labour, and have capacity to attain higher social status and become rural entrepreneurs. While less educated and older villagers consider agriculture as a more favorable alternative and valuable security. Besides, maintenance agricultural production at reasonable level and return to traditional cultivation is also considered as a rural household strategy coping with food security in industrialization and rural-urban linkage. Diverse and special extended livelihoods are contributed by historical, cultural and economic specificities which are conditioned for rural transformation

Smallholder farming and youth’s aspirations: Case study in Bacninh province, Red River Delta, Vietnam

Smallholder farming which is the important source of employment as well as food security, has become a priority on the development agenda, focusing attention on the next generation of farmers. However, emerging researches show that even though youth have potential qualities to promote agriculture, most of them appear reluctant to enter farming. The study aimed at finding out the determinants which influence rural youth participation in agriculture, and identified conditions under which capable youth being interested in agriculture. Based on the empirical findings in a village in Bacninh province through systematic survey and interviews, the study revealed that that age, sex, marital status, education level, family background, as well as the ability of rural credit facilities and land access are important factors associated with rural youth’s participation in agricultural activities. Furthermore, the perception on agriculture as a heavy work, low income and low status made farming unattractive prospect for many. The analysis suggests that factors new information communication technologies and associates desire for consumption have influence on decisions about farming choice. Moreover, majority of the respondents were attracted to invest independent in their own farms rather than being employed as agricultural labour or involved in family farms

Symmetry-Driven Valleytronics in Single-Layer Tin Chalcogenides

The concept of valleytronics has recently gained considerable research attention due to its intriguing physical phenomena and practical applications in optoelectronics and quantum information. In this study, by employing GW-BSE calculations and symmetry analysis, we demonstrate that single-layer orthorhombic SnS and SnSe possess high carrier mobility and exceptional excitonic effects. Especially, these materials display spontaneous linearly polarized optical selectivity, a behavior that differs from the valley-selective circular dichroism observed in the hexagonal lattices. Specifically, when subjected to a zigzag polarization of light, only the A exciton (stemming from the X valley) becomes optically active, while the B exciton (arising from the Y valley) remains dark. The armchair-polarized light triggers the opposite behavior. This selective optical excitation arises from the symmetry of the bands under mirror symmetry. Additionally, the study reveals a strong coupling between valley physics and ferroelectricity in layered tin chalcogenides, enabling the manipulation of electronic transport and exciton polarization. Layered tin chalcogenides thus emerge as promising candidates for both valleytronic and ferroelectric materials

Antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticle LED-synthesized using Citrus maxima peels

Silver nanoparticles have garnered significant attention in research and applications due to their unique properties. The synthesis of these nanoparticles has aligned with the principles of green chemistry, utilizing environmentally-friendly materials and techniques. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using the Citrus maxima peel extract and blue LED irradiation. The pectin, flavonoids, and phenolic acids in the C. maxima extract acted as effective reductants and primary stabilizers for nanoparticle formation. The influence of different light-emitting diodes and irradiation time on nanoparticle synthesis was investigated. Ideal conditions for silver nanoparticle formation were observed with the assistance of blue LED irradiation for 120 min. Characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of spherical nanoparticles with an average size of 12.2 nm. The antibacterial activity of the silver nanoparticles was evaluated against four bacterial strains: Lactobacillus fermentum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella enterica. The nanoparticles exhibited stronger inhibitory effects against gram-negative compared to gram-positive bacteria, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 9.4, 18.1, 73.3, and 88.5 pM for P. aeruginosa, L. fermentum, S. aureus, and S. enterica, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of bio-synthesized nanoparticles with small size and high antibacterial activity

Economic Performance of offshore Fisheries - the Case of Trawling and Purse Seining in Ben Tre Province, Vietnam

Ben Tre, located on the Tien Delta Triangle--with a coastline of 65 km and the 20,000 km2 Exclusive Economic Zone--is one of the Mekong Delta’s 13 provinces. Given both its vast access to coastline and the EEZ, fisheries is one of the Ben Tre’s key economic sectors. This study specifies some factors affecting revenues of trawling and light purse seining vessels by using a multivariate regression model. Data was collected through direct and intensive interviews with vessel owners and fishermen. The results seem to demonstrate that single boat trawlers achieved the highest return on investment, followed by pairtrawlers and light purse seiners, respectively. Factors including the vessel length, engine capacity, captain’s experience, fishing gears, and vessel age have considerable effects on revenues of single-boat trawlers and lighted purse seiners. Based on these findings, this study provides some recommendations to offshore fisheries in Ben Tre province, Vietnam

An optimized HRM method for diagnosis of G6PD deficiency in kinh Vietnamese via viangchan mutation

With Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency being the most common enzyme disorder in human, there have been 184 discovered point mutations and several methods that have been applied for diagnosing this disease. However, these techniques often pose several major problems such as being time-consuming, low sensitivity and high cost. Recently, the High Resolution Melting (HRM) has been studied and proven to be effective for DNA genotyping, mutation scanning and sequence matching. Therefore, HRM has been chosen for diagnosing G6PD deficiency via Viangchan mutation in this study. In this study, a total of 56 dried blood spot samples (including six control samples which were known the exact genotype by sequencing and fifty unknown samples) were collected and extracted DNA by using QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit. Primers for HRM analysis were designed through by the Umelt software. Then HRM optimization was carried out for annealing temperature of primers (Ta) and MgCl2 concentration on six control samples. The optimized HRM protocol with 2.5 μM of MgCl2 and Ta at 62oC was applied for fifty G6PD samples and then comparing with ARMS-PCR genotyping results for the validation process. In the final step, genotyping results were confirmed by sequencing. In a results, both sensitivity and specificity of this technique reached 100%. Based on these favorable outcomes, this study has successfully optimized the HRM conditions for diagnosing fifty G6PD samples. It was such an essential precondition that showed HRM could be applied for other types of G6PD through other types of mutations such as Canton mutation or continues to be developed for HRM-Multiplex reactions