NeCo@ALQAC 2023: Legal Domain Knowledge Acquisition for Low-Resource Languages through Data Enrichment

In recent years, natural language processing has gained significant popularity in various sectors, including the legal domain. This paper presents NeCo Team's solutions to the Vietnamese text processing tasks provided in the Automated Legal Question Answering Competition 2023 (ALQAC 2023), focusing on legal domain knowledge acquisition for low-resource languages through data enrichment. Our methods for the legal document retrieval task employ a combination of similarity ranking and deep learning models, while for the second task, which requires extracting an answer from a relevant legal article in response to a question, we propose a range of adaptive techniques to handle different question types. Our approaches achieve outstanding results on both tasks of the competition, demonstrating the potential benefits and effectiveness of question answering systems in the legal field, particularly for low-resource languages.Comment: ISAILD@KSE 202

An investment plan for low-emission rice production in the Mekong River Delta region in support of Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement

Rice production is integral to agriculture and food security in Vietnam, but it also contributes greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, paddy rice production emitted 44.61 million tons carbon dioxide equivalents (MtCO2e), 18% of total national GHG emissions. A variety of options to mitigate GHG emissions from paddy rice show promise and will contribute to implementing Vietnam’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and green growth strategies. One of the most promising options is alternate wetting and drying (AWD), a technique in which fields are allowed to dry out to a certain point before irrigation instances. This paper focuses on the Mekong River Delta region, which produces more than 50% of total rice production and 95% of rice exported from Vietnam. This study employs a literature review, a study of promising GHG mitigation options, and an analysis of cost and benefits of AWD to develop an investment plan for AWD in the Mekong River Delta. In our field survey, we found AWD contributed to increasing farmers’ net incomes primarily by decreasing production costs. The study proposes an investment plan with four outputs and 15 investment activities with a goal of practicing AWD on 900,000 hectares in the Mekong River Delta and mitigating 10.97 M.tCO2e. A co-benefit is additional net income for farmers of 8,540 billion VND (USD 371.36 million) per year compared to conventional rice cultivation. The budget is USD 721.78 million (81.32% for hard infrastructure, 18.19% for MRV operation, research, performance and planning), of which 36.9% is provided by the state, 29.92% from local provinces, 21.77% from international support and 11.42% from the private sector. Mobilization of financial resources from public and private sectors and the integration into government plans and programs are recommended

Promoting skills-based education in the 21st century: A dataset of Vietnamese secondary students

As the world has become more digitally interconnected than ever before in the 21stcentury, the next generation is required to possess various sets of new skills to succeed in their works and lives. The purpose of the article is to present a dataset of socio-demographic, in-school, out-of-school factors as well as the eight domains of 21st-century skills of Vietnamese secondary school students. A total of 1183 observations from 30 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas of Vietnam are introduced in this dataset. The linear regression analysis was also utilized as an analysis example for this dataset. The insights generated from the dataset are hoped to contribute to skills-based education and policy planning in Vietnam

Characteristics of Antibiotic-resistant E. coli Isolated from Perfume River in Hue City, Vietnam

Antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in aquatic environments is attracting increasing attention. However, the spread of ARB along Perfume River in Hue City is poorly understood. This study aimed to phenotypically and genotypically characterize β-lactam- and fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli isolates from this river. Water samples were collected from the urban, rural, agricultural, and less-affected areas in March 2020. E. coli susceptibility to seven commonly employed antibiotics was analyzed using the disk diffusion method, and the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, TEM, SHV, and CTX-M, were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of E. coli revealed that the rate of amoxicillin resistance was the highest (60%). PCR assays and sequencing of 12 β-lactam-resistant E. coli isolates indicated the presence of blaTEM and blaCTX-M-15 in 58.3% and 16.7% of the isolates, respectively. Only one of four fluoroquinolon -resistant E. coli isolates harbored the qnrS, while qnrA or qnrB genes were not detected. These findings suggest that this water may be an essential source of transmissible ARGs in Hue City, which may have a detrimental impact on the people living in this area

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

TÍCH LŨY SINH HỌC ĐỒNG VÀ CHÌ TRONG THỊT NGHÊU (Meretrix lyrata): NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP ĐỐI VỚI NGHÊU LẤY TỪ VÙNG NUÔI Ở CỬA SÔNG TIỀN, TỈNH TIỀN GIANG

The bivalve Meretrix lyrata was exposed to various dissolved levels of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) for 28 days. For the examination of the metal bioaccumulation in body tissues of the bivalve, a number of the metal concentrations in experimental tanks (containing the bivalve and water collected from farming area at the Tien estuary, Tien Giang province) were prepared: Control level (2.1 ± 0.4 ppb Cu and < 0.2 - 0.5 ppb Pb); level M1: 30 ppb Cu and 50 ppb Pb marked as M1–30–50; the other levels are as follows M2–60–150, M3–100–300 and M4–200–600. Under experimental conditions, strong linear correlations between the metal contents in the bivalve body tissues (y, ppb wet weight) and exposure times (x, day) were found with R = 0.97–0.99 (p < 0.05). There were also linear correlations between y and the metal concentrations in the experimental tank water (x, ppb) with R = 0.88–0.90; 0.95–0.99; 0.75–0.87 and 0.99 after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of exposure, respectively. However, for a high pollution level of the metal in the tank water (level M4), from the 14th day of exposure, the bivalve started excreting more metal than accumulating it and died after 21 days of exposure. Strong linear correlations between the rate of metal accumulation (RMA) in the bivalve (ppb/day) and the metal level in the tank water for 21–28 exposure days were found with R > 0.99 (p < 0.01). The maximum accumulation level of the metals in the bivalve was approximately 1500 ppb Cu and 25000 ppb Pb, or Pb accumulated in the bivalve was 17 times higher than Cu. The obtained results indicated that the Meretrix lyrata could be used as a bio-indicator for the metal pollution in aquatic environment at the Tien estuary area.Nghêu Meretrix lyrata được cho phơi nhiễm với các mức khác nhau của đồng (Cu) và chì (Pb) trong nước trong 28 ngày. Để kiểm tra mức tích lũy sinh học Cu và Pb trong thịt nghêu, các mức (hàm lượng) kim loại trong nước bể thí nghiệm (chứa nghêu và nước được lấy từ vùng nuôi nghêu ở cửa sông Tiền, tỉnh Tiền Giang) được chuẩn bị như sau: Mức đối chứng: 2,1 ± 0,4 ppb Cu và < 0,2 - 0,5 ppb Pb), Mức M1: 30 ppb Cu và 50 ppb Pb, ký hiệu là M1–30–50;  tương ứng các mức sau là M2–60–150; M3–100–300 và M4–200–600. Ở điều kiện thí nghiệm, đã tìm được tương quan tuyến tính chặt giữa hàm lượng kim loại (Cu, Pb) tích lũy trong thịt nghêu (y, ppb khối lượng tươi) và thời gian phơi nhiễm (x, ngày) với R = 0,97–0,99 (p < 0,05); giữa hàm lượng kim loại tích lũy trong thịt nghêu (y, ppb) và mức kim loại trong nước bể thí nghiệm (x, ppb) với R = 0,88–0,90; 0,95–0,99; 0,75–0,87 và 0,99 (tương ứng với sau 7, 14, 21 và 28 ngày phơi nhiễm). Tuy vậy, ở mức ô nhiễm cao của kim loại trong nước bể thí nghiệm (mức M4), từ ngày 14 nghêu bắt đầu đào thải kim loại nhiều hơn là tích lũy; sau 21 ngày phơi nhiễm, nghêu bắt đầu bị chết. Giữa tốc độ tích lũy kim loại (RMA) trong thịt nghêu (ppb/ngày) và mức kim loại trong nước bể thí nghiệm (ppb) trong 21–28 ngày phơi nhiễm cũng có tương quan tuyến tính chặt với R > 0,99 (p < 0,01). Ở điều kiện thí nghiệm, mức tích lũy kim loại cực đại trong thịt nghêu khoảng 1.500 ppb Cu và 25.000 ppb Pb hay Pb có khả năng tích lũy cao hơn 17 lần so với Cu. Các kết quả thu được cho thấy có thể sử dụng nghêu Meretrix lyrata làm chỉ thị sinh học cho sự ô nhiễm Cu và Pb trong môi trường nước vùng cửa sông Tiền

Modified Cuckoo Search Algorithm: A Novel Method to Minimize the Fuel Cost

Economic load dispatch (ELD) is an important optimization problem for operating and controlling modern power systems, and if ELD is effectively executed, power systems work stably and economically. The main objective of this paper is to develop a novel method to solve the ELD with the purpose of minimizing the total fuel cost of all available generating units while requirements are to satisfy all constraints regarding thermal units, generators, and transmission power networks. The proposed high performance cuckoo search algorithm (HPCSA) is developed from the efficient technique for the second new solution generation of conventional cuckoo search algorithm (CCSA), called adaptive mutation technique. This proposed technique diversifies the local search ability based on a new comparison criterion. The HPCSA is verified on difference systems under special conditions, namely the 10-unit system with multi fuels, 15-unit system considering prohibited operating zones, and three IEEE systems with 30, 57, and 118 buses considering transmission power network constraints. The specific evaluation of the HPCSA is compared to that of Lagrange optimization-based methods (LMS), neural network-based methods (NNMS), CCSA, and other popular methods such as Particle swarm optimization (PSO) variants, Differential evolution (DE) variants, Genetic Algorithm (GA) variants, and state-of-the-art methods. In comparison with CCSA, the proposed method is always more effective and more robust since the proposed method can find most solutions with better quality and faster convergence speed. In comparison with LMS and NNMS, the proposed method can also find solutions with approximate or equal quality. In comparison with popular methods and state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method has more potential since it can reach faster convergence to valid solutions with approximate or better quality. Consequently, it can be concluded that the proposed HPCSA is an effective optimization tool for dealing with ELD problems

Material Sourcing Characteristics and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study in Vietnam

With the evolution of today’s economy, supply chain management for raw materials is a complex task, but it can be simplified with the appropriate strategies. Thus, relationships between firms and suppliers have become critical for enterprise success and country development. This study investigates the effects of raw materials sources, including domestic and international ones, on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. Supporting this research, all the regression models are conducted on Stata version 16.0 software with the dataset of 3485 manufacturing SMEs, utilizing longitudinal data derived from bi-annually repeated surveys of randomly selected SMEs in ten provinces in Vietnam over the period of 2011–2015. Additionally, the results of this study indicate the significant positive effects of domestic raw materials on firm performance. Meanwhile, international raw material sources present SMEs with several disadvantages in maintaining the effectiveness of SMEs’ operations. In addition, the results also highlight that the overflow of raw materials from non-state enterprises has negative effects on firm performance. Alternatively, this study aims to fill the literature gap on supply chain management to suggest to SMEs some justifiable strategies to fortify sustainable growth and the rational flow of raw materials

Material Sourcing Characteristics and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study in Vietnam

With the evolution of today’s economy, supply chain management for raw materials is a complex task, but it can be simplified with the appropriate strategies. Thus, relationships between firms and suppliers have become critical for enterprise success and country development. This study investigates the effects of raw materials sources, including domestic and international ones, on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. Supporting this research, all the regression models are conducted on Stata version 16.0 software with the dataset of 3485 manufacturing SMEs, utilizing longitudinal data derived from bi-annually repeated surveys of randomly selected SMEs in ten provinces in Vietnam over the period of 2011–2015. Additionally, the results of this study indicate the significant positive effects of domestic raw materials on firm performance. Meanwhile, international raw material sources present SMEs with several disadvantages in maintaining the effectiveness of SMEs’ operations. In addition, the results also highlight that the overflow of raw materials from non-state enterprises has negative effects on firm performance. Alternatively, this study aims to fill the literature gap on supply chain management to suggest to SMEs some justifiable strategies to fortify sustainable growth and the rational flow of raw materials

Reading habits, socioeconomic conditions, occupational aspiration and academic achievement in Vietnamese junior high school students

Reading practices play an important role in the learning process of students. Especially in a fast-changing world where knowledge about nature and society is in a constant state of flux, book reading helps students foster skills such as thinking, valuing, adaptability and creativity for sustainable development. This research study used a dataset of 1676 observations of junior high school students from Northern Vietnam to explore students' academic achievement and its association with their reading passion, family socio economic condition, parental education and occupational aspiration. The empirical results show that higher grades in STEM-related subjects are predicted by reading interest (βReadbook = 0.425, p < 0.0001), with students who love reading books achieve higher score than those who take no interest in books. Remarkably, the education level of the mother strongly enhances academic performance, with β = 0.721 (p < 0.0001) in cases of mother having a university diploma or higher. Students coming from wealthy families are more likely to buy books whereas borrowing from the library is the main source of books for students who grow up in not-rich families. However, even among wealthy families, investment into buying books still rely more on personal interest, despite the aforementioned educational benefits of book reading, as evidenced by an over 7 percentage point disparity between the likelihood of purchasing books among wealthy-family students who took an interest in reading (45%) versus students of the same background who did not like to read (38.7%). The results present implications for education policy making with a vision towards United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe