Productivity, net returns and efficiency: land and market reform in Vietnamese rice production

Extensive land and market reform in Vietnam has resulted in dramatic increases in rice output over the past thirty years. The land and market reforms in agriculture were pervasive, moving the system of rice production from commune-based public ownership and control to one with effective private property rights over land and farm assets, competitive domestic markets and individual decision making over a wide range of agricultural activities. The effect of this reform period and beyond is detailed with measures of total factor productivity (TFP), terms of trade and net returns in rice production in Vietnam from 1985 to 2006. Results show that TFP rises considerably in the major rice growing areas (the Mekong and Red River Delta areas) during the early years of reform, and beyond, but also that there is clear evidence of a productivity “slow-down” since 2000. The differences over time and by region speak directly to existing land use regulations and practices, suggesting calls for further land and market reform. To illustrate this, additional frontier and efficiency model estimates detail the effects of remaining institutional and policy constraints, including existing restrictions on land consolidation and conversion and poorly developed markets for land and capital. Estimates show that larger and less land-fragmented farms, farms in the major rice growing areas, and those farms that are better irrigated, have a greater proportion of capital per unit of cultivated land, a clear property right or land use certificate and access to agricultural extension services are more efficient

Factors affecting learner’s satisfaction towards online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Vietnam

Online learning is being considered a new model of knowledge exchange in modern education. In parallel with the incredible impacts of the global pandemic, this is considered an opportunity to promote the development of online learning globally. Therefore, this study proposed a research framework including four factors affecting learner satisfaction towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at a university, which are system quality, service quality, transformational leadership, and self-efficacy. A questionnaire was conducted online to assess which 131 respondents were representative students from two large private universities in Da Nang: FPT University and Duy Tan University. The results from the regression analysis show that three factors have a positive impact on learner satisfaction during COVID-19. This study concludes that students at private universities in Da Nang prioritize system quality as the most significant factor in their satisfaction with the online learning system, followed by transformational leadership and the last one is self-efficacy. Therefore, it can be more strategic for private organizations, developers, software designers, or even transformation-trained trainers to be emphasized to build a system of processes for implementing online learning for students effectively

Oil pollution in the Vietnamese waters

Enumeration of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms (HDM) and their degradative capacity studies were carried out in area IV of South China Sea (Vietnamese water). Microbial most probable number (MPN) varied from 101 to 105 cell/ ml of surface seawater or gram of sediment. Some microbial communities and bacterial strains isolated from 97 collected samples show high hydrocarbon degradation and surfactant producing abilities. Preliminary results of our microbial study indicated that oil pollution in IV area was not found in 30 research stations. Slight oil contamination was observed in 28 survey stations

Oil pollution in the Vietnamese waters

Enumeration of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms (HDM) and their degradative capacity studies were carried out in area IV of South China Sea (Vietnamese water). Microbial most probable number (MPN) varied from 101 to 105 cell/ ml of surface seawater or gram of sediment. Some microbial communities and bacterial strains isolated from 97 collected samples show high hydrocarbon degradation and surfactant producing abilities. Preliminary results of our microbial study indicated that oil pollution in IV area was not found in 30 research stations. Slight oil contamination was observed in 28 survey stations

Autologous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Treat Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Evaluation of Clinical Signs, Mental Signs, and Quality of Life

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). MATERIAL AND 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

SECURE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF ADAPTIVE ENERGY HARVESTING ENABLED RELAYING NETWORKS

In this paper, the impact of the jamming signal on the secrecy performance of Energy Harvesting (EH) enabled dual-hop amplify-and-forward relaying network is investigated. First, the security outage probability analysis is studied for conventional networks under a single passive eavesdropper attack. Then, the outage performance analysis in two cases regarding energy harvesting is investigated. Moreover, the proposed work enhances Physical Layer (PHY) security performance of two-hop relaying model using Cooperative Jamming Dual-Hop Techniques (CJDH). For this purpose, new closed-form expressions are derived for the outage probability of CJDH model in the presence of interference over Rayleigh fading channels. A power allocation optimization problem for energy harvesting protocol is formulated and solved for enhancing the system security. The derived analytical formulas herein are supported by numerical and simulation results to clarify the main contributions of the paper

Investigation of Thermal Annealing Condition on the Optical and Electrical Properties of Hybrid Silver Nanowires/Reduced Graphene Oxide (AgNWS/rGO) Films

Herein we report a electrode in the hybrid  structure of the silver nanowires (AgNWs) with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) deposited on glass or PET substrate. The assembly and contacting in procedures of this hybrid film have been strongly affected by preparation conditions, especially annealing temperature. In this work, we have investigated the effects of thermal annealing on interconnected at nanowire junctions and between AgNWS network and rGO films via their sheet resistance and transmission. The annealing temperature was varied from 120$^{\circ}$C to 180$^{\circ}$C with 10$^{\circ}$C step to find out optimal temperature at which the wires can be joined together. The results show that at 170$^{\circ}$C, the sheet resistance and transmission of the hybrid rGO/Ag NW film are $R_{s} = 10.7\;\Omega$ sq$^{ - 1 }$ and $T = 77$% (at wavelength 550 nm) corresponding to the ratio of direct conductivity to optical conductivity $\sigma _{DC}/\sigma _{OP} = 126$ which is the best obtained value. It is expected that the hybrid AgNWS/rGO film can replace ITO film in the near future

Limited contribution of non-intensive chicken farming to ESBL-producing Escherichia coli colonization in humans in Vietnam: an epidemiological and genomic analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk of colonization with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) in humans in Vietnam associated with non-intensive chicken farming. METHODS: Faecal samples from 204 randomly selected farmers and their chickens, and from 306 age- and sex-matched community-based individuals who did not raise poultry were collected. Antimicrobial usage in chickens and humans was assessed by medicine cabinet surveys. WGS was employed to obtain a high-resolution genomic comparison between ESBL-Ec isolated from humans and chickens. RESULTS: The adjusted prevalence of ESBL-Ec colonization was 20.0% (95% CI 10.8%-29.1%) and 35.2% (95% CI 30.4%-40.1%) in chicken farms and humans in Vietnam, respectively. Colonization with ESBL-Ec in humans was associated with antimicrobial usage (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.08-5.87) but not with involvement in chicken farming. blaCTX-M-55 was the most common ESBL-encoding gene in strains isolated from chickens (74.4%) compared with blaCTX-M-27 in human strains (47.0%). In 3 of 204 (1.5%) of the farms, identical ESBL genes were detected in ESBL-Ec isolated from farmers and their chickens. Genomic similarity indicating recent sharing of ESBL-Ec between chickens and farmers was found in only one of these farms. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of epidemiological and genomic data in this study has demonstrated a limited contribution of non-intensive chicken farming to ESBL-Ec colonization in humans in Vietnam and further emphasizes the importance of reducing antimicrobial usage in both human and animal host reservoirs

The impact of albendazole treatment on the incidence of viral- and bacterial-induced diarrhea in school children in southern Vietnam: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Anthelmintics are one of the more commonly available classes of drugs to treat infections by parasitic helminths (especially nematodes) in the human intestinal tract. As a result of their cost-effectiveness, mass school-based deworming programs are becoming routine practice in developing countries. However, experimental and clinical evidence suggests that anthelmintic treatments may increase susceptibility to other gastrointestinal infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or protozoa. Hypothesizing that anthelmintics may increase diarrheal infections in treated children, we aim to evaluate the impact of anthelmintics on the incidence of diarrheal disease caused by viral and bacterial pathogens in school children in southern Vietnam.This is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of albendazole treatment versus placebo on the incidence of viral- and bacterial-induced diarrhea in 350 helminth-infected and 350 helminth-uninfected Vietnamese school children aged 6-15 years. Four hundred milligrams of albendazole, or placebo treatment will be administered once every 3 months for 12 months. At the end of 12 months, all participants will receive albendazole treatment. The primary endpoint of this study is the incidence of diarrheal disease assessed by 12 months of weekly active and passive case surveillance. Secondary endpoints include the prevalence and intensities of helminth, viral, and bacterial infections, alterations in host immunity and the gut microbiota with helminth and pathogen clearance, changes in mean z scores of body weight indices over time, and the number and severity of adverse events.In order to reduce helminth burdens, anthelmintics are being routinely administered to children in developing countries. However, the effects of anthelmintic treatment on susceptibility to other diseases, including diarrheal pathogens, remain unknown. It is important to monitor for unintended consequences of drug treatments in co-infected populations. In this trial, we will examine how anthelmintic treatment impacts host susceptibility to diarrheal infections, with the aim of informing deworming programs of any indirect effects of mass anthelmintic administrations on co-infecting enteric pathogens.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02597556 . Registered on 3 November 2015

Regulators of G protein Signaling (RGS) proteins (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

Regulators of G protein signalling (RGS) proteins display a common RGS domain that interacts with the GTP-bound Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, enhancing GTP hydrolysis by stabilising the transition state [29, 419, 418], leading to a termination of GPCR signalling. Interactions through protein:protein interactions of many RGS proteins have been identified for targets other than heteromeric G proteins. Sequence analysis of the 20 RGS proteins suggests four families of RGS: RZ, R4, R7 and R12 families. Many of these proteins have been identified to have effects other than through targetting G proteins. Included here is RGS4 for which a number of pharmacological inhibitors have been described