Examining ordering effects in discrete choice experiments: A case study in Vietnam

The order of a series of choice tasks presented to respondents in a discrete choice experiment (DCE) could affect the choice outcomes. This study explores the ordering effects in a DCE surveying preferences for improvements in cyclone warning services in Vietnam. Respondents' choices are analysed non-parametrically and parametrically to investigate the ordering effects in their preferences. Across the sequence of six choice questions, the stated demand of respondents is statistically significantly different at the first position from all other positions. Based on a parametric analysis using mixed logit models, we also find that the willingness-to-pay for a number of improvement programs estimated at the first position is relatively larger when compared with the other positions. The findings indicate that although DCEs can provide additional information on respondents' preferences when compared with survey methods using a single valuation question, the trade-off for more information is the ordering effects over a sequence of repeated questions

Pro-poor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia: poverty in irrigated agriculture: issues and options: Vietnam

Irrigated farming / Poverty / Farm income / Irrigation management / Institutions / Legal aspects / Water rates / User charges / Participatory management / Privatization / Participatory rural appraisal / Performance indexes / Irrigation programs / Irrigation systems / Pumping / Irrigation canals / Social aspects / Economic aspects / Rivers / Hydrology / Dams / Households / Income / Regression analysis / Drainage / Cooperatives / Water delivery / Water distribution / Rice / Financing / Drought / Vietnam / Red River Delta / Nam Duong Irrigation System / Nam Thach Han Irrigation System / Han River

Liver Involvement Associated with Dengue Infection in Adults in Vietnam

Globally, the number of adults hospitalized with dengue has increased markedly in recent years. It has been suggested that hepatic dysfunction is more significant in this group than among children. We describe the spectrum and evolution of disease manifestations among 644 adults with dengue who were prospectively recruited on admission to a major infectious disease hospital in southern Vietnam and compare them with a group of patients with similar illnesses not caused by dengue. Transaminase levels increased in virtually all dengue patients and correlated with other markers of disease severity. However, peak enzyme values usually occurred later than other complications. Clinically severe liver involvement was infrequent and idiosyncratic, but usually resulted in severe bleeding. Chronic co-infection with hepatitis B was associated with modestly but significantly increased levels of alanine aminotransferase, but did not otherwise impact the clinical picture

Porandra microphylla Y. Wan (Commelinaceae): A new distributional record for Vietnam

Porandra microphylla Y. Wan, is a newly recorded species for the flora of Vietnam. This species was collected from Lai Chau and Vinh Phuc province of the country. Morphologically, P. microphylla is closely related to Porandra scandens D.Y. Hong, but differs by its smaller and abaxially glabrous leaves and oblong or subglobose anthers

Unexpected cases in field diagnosis of African swine fever virus in Vietnam: The needs consideration when performing molecular diagnostic tests

Background: The first confirmed case of African swine fever (ASF) in Vietnam was reported officially in February 2019. To date, ASF virus (ASFV) have been detected in 63/63 provinces in Vietnam. Currently, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considered to be a powerful tool for viral detection in field samples, including ASFV. However, some recent reports have suggested that mismatches in primer and probe binding regions may directly affect real-time PCR qualification, leading a false-negative result.Aim: This study aims to further examine a conflicting result obtained from two OIE recommended methods, conventional PCR and real-time PCR, for ASFV detection.Methods: Two ASF suspected pigs from different provinces in the north of Vietnam were selected for this study based on clinical signs and postmortem lesions. The different results obtained by OIE-recommended conventional PCR and real-time PCR were further analyzed by the Sanger sequencing method and virus isolation in combination with hemadsorption (HAD) test using porcine alveolar macrophages cells.Results: The results showed that when the primer sequence matched perfectly with the sequences of field isolates, a mutation in probe binding region was found, indicating that a single mismatch in the probe binding site may cause a false-negative result by real-time PCR in detecting ASFV in clinical samples in Vietnam. An agreement between conventional PCR, using PPA1/PPA2 primers and two golden standard methods, virus isolation in combination with HAD assay, and sequencing method was observed in this study.Conclusion: A single mismatch in the probe binding site caused a failse-negative result by realtime PCR method in field diagnosis of ASFV. The needs consideration when selecting the appropriate molecular diagnostic methods is based on the current databases of ASFV sequences,  particularly for epidemiological surveillance of ASF. Keywords: African swine fever, PCR, Pigs, Real-time PCR, Vietna

Determining regionally applicable economic values for coastal habitats and their use in evaluating the cost effectiveness of regional conservation actions: the example of mangroves, in the South China Sea

This paper outlines the process of: assembling an empirical data set relating to the values of resource ‘goods and services1’ derived from coastal habitats bordering the South China Sea; standardising these data as production values per hectare per annum; converting local currencies to US dollars; and converting these values to a standard year (2007) by means of the consumer price index. In order to address the problem of the wide variation in prices within one country, the data were weighted to determine a ‘Weighted Mean National Value’ that reflected both the prices for the same resource at each location and the ‘stock’ of that resource at the same locations. This results in a national value that reflects the totality of the national stock rather than being a simple arithmetic average of all values. The determination of weighted mean regional values was undertaken in a similar manner to the computation of weighted mean national values but using data and information concerning the total stock (or area) in each country and the weighted mean national values. These weighted regional mean values were subsequently used in a cost benefit analysis of actions to conserve regional coastal habitats. What has resulted from this work is a standardised method for calculating national and regional weighted mean values of resource ‘goods and services’ that can be applied more widely in handling and manipulating economic valuation data from multiple locations across any time span. The method can be applied in any region where multiple currencies, varying exchange rates and widespread inter-location variations in farm gate prices are found. The specific targets of the revised Strategic Action Plan for the South China Sea have been valued or, more specifically, the incremental benefit derived from achieving the SAP target has been valued. The values saved by achieving the targets are then compared with the costs of implementing the actions defined in the regional SAP through a cost benefit analysis

Synthesis of new simplified hemiasterlin derivatives with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety.

International audienceIn this Letter, we report a convenient and efficient method for the synthesis of new simplified derivatives of hemiasterlin in which the α,α-dimethylbenzylic moiety A is replaced by α,β-unsaturated aryl groups as Michael acceptor. Most of these derivatives have a strong cytotoxic activity on three human tumor cell lines (KB, Hep-G2 and MCF7). Analogs 17b and 17f showed a high cytotoxicity against KB and Hep-G2 cancer cell lines comparable to paclitaxel and ellipticine

Synthesis of new bioisosteric hemiasterlin analogues with extremely high cytotoxicity

International audienceIn this article, we report a convenient and efficient method for the synthesis of new simplified derivativesof hemiasterlin in which the α,α-dimethylbenzylic moiety A is replaced by α,β-unsaturated aryl groupsas Michael acceptor. Most of these derivatives have a strong cytotoxic activity on three human tumorcell lines (KB, Hep-G2 and MCF7). Analogs 17b and 17f showed a high cytotoxicity against KB andHep-G2 cancer cell lines comparable to paclitaxel and ellipticine

XÂY DỰNG BỘ CHỈ TIÊU PHÁT TRIỂN BỀN VỮNG VỀ CÁC LĨNH VỰC KINH TẾ, XÃ HỘI VÀ MÔI TRƯỜNG CÁC TỈNH TÂY NGUYÊN

A  sustainable  development  indication  set  plays  a  very  important  role  for  assessing,  monitoring  the  sustainable development  status  in  a  region,  supporting  policy,  decision makers to  propose  confident  decisions  to control  economic, social, and environmental themes toward sustainable developmet. The content, procedure, methodology, and methods to establish the sustainable development indicator set in Tay Nguyen (SDI) were figured out; proposing a list of sustainable development indicators for Tay Nguyen consisting of 77 indicators at regional scale, 70 indicators at provincial scale, 49 indicators at district scale. The  SDI could comprehensively show overall development process toward sustainable by 13 themes (economic field - 3 themes; social field - 5 themes; and environmental field - 5 themes). The paper outlined the SDI’s definition and indicated SDI’s significance through linkages between the sustainable development indicators and sustainable development themes.ReferencesLê Thạc Cán, Trần Thùy Chi, Nguyễn Thế Chinh, Nguyễn Viết Thịnh, Ngô Đăng Trí, Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn, Trần Văn Ý và James Hennessy, 2013. Kết quả bước đầu của Đề tài “Nghiên cứu xây dựng Bộ chỉ tiêu phát triển bền vững các lĩnh vực kinh tế xã hội và môi trường các tỉnh Tây Nguyên”, Tạp chí Khoa học Công nghệ Việt Nam, ISSN 1859-4794. No14, 2013, p 61-64. Dhakal S. 2002. Report on Indicator related research for Kitakyushu Initiative. Ministry of Environment, Japan. Harold A. Linstone, Murray Turoff, 2002. The Delphi Method: Techniques and Applications. Hui-Chun Chu, Gwo-Jen Hwang, 2008. A Delphi-based approach to developing expert systems with the cooperation of multiple experts, Expert Systems with Applications, 34(4), 2826- 840. (SCI). Jean Hugé, Hai Le Trinh, Pham Hoang Hai, Jan Kuilman and Luc Hens, 2009. Sustainability indicators for clean development mechanism projects in Vietnam, Springer Netherlands. Environment, Development and Sustainability, August 2010, Volume 12, Issue 4, pp 561-571. Trần Văn Ý, Lê Thạc Cán, Trần Thùy Chi, Nguyễn Thế Chinh, Ngô Đăng Trí, Nguyễn Viết Thịnh, Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn, 2013. Bộ chỉ tiêu phát triển bền vững về các lĩnh vực kinh tế, xã hội và môi trường các tỉnh Tây Nguyên. Kỷ yếu hội thảo quốc tế lần thứ tư, Việt Nam học, Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội, Hà Nội, ngày 26-28/11/2012, tập IV, 386-400. Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư, 2010. Hệ thống chỉ tiêu thống kê quốc gia (Ban hành theo Quyết định số 43/2010/QĐ/TTg ngày 02 tháng 6 năm 2010 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ). UNDP và MPI, 2005. Identification of a sustainable development indicators set and mechanism for building a sustainable development database in Vietnam (Project VIE/01/021 “Implementation of Vietnam Agenda 21”) United Nations, 2007. Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies. Thủ tướng Chính phủ, 2012. Các chỉ tiêu giám sát và đánh giá phát triển bền vững Việt Nam giai đọan 2011-2020 (Ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 432/QĐ-TTg ngày 12 tháng 4 năm 2012 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ). Thủ tướng Chính phủ, 2013. Bộ chỉ tiêu giám sát, đánh giá phát triển bền vững địa phương giai đoạn 2013-2020 (Ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 2157/QĐ-TTg ngày 11 tháng 11 năm 2013 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ). A  sustainable  development  indication  set  plays  a  very  important  role  for  assessing,  monitoring  the  sustainable development  status  in  a  region,  supporting  policy,  decision makers to  propose  confident  decisions  to control  economic, social, and environmental themes toward sustainable developmet. The content, procedure, methodology, and methods to establish the sustainable development indicator set in Tay Nguyen (SDI) were figured out; proposing a list of sustainable development indicators for Tay Nguyen consisting of 77 indicators at regional scale, 70 indicators at provincial scale, 49 indicators at district scale. The  SDI could comprehensively show overall development process toward sustainable by 13 themes (economic field - 3 themes; social field - 5 themes; and environmental field - 5 themes). The paper outlined the SDI’s definition and indicated SDI’s significance through linkages between the sustainable development indicators and sustainable development themes