Land Transactions in the North of Vietnam: A Modelling Approach

The use of mathematical models to describe the interactions of variables is useful in modern management. In this paper, a 'mixed' model combining the knapsack problem, a household model and a form of spatial equilibrium model into a modelling framework is developed. The impacts of changes in off-farm wage rates, transaction costs in the rental market, the output prices of paddy crops, and land transactions were examined in the model. The simulation has led to the conclusion that the real benefits to farm households from land consolidation may not be apparent until the real opportunity cost of farm labour begins to rise. In addition, a reform policy in the administrative sector which encourages, not only the process of land accumulation and the rental market to be more active, but also farmers to involve themselves more actively in farming will improve their well-being. Moreover, a policy which allows farmers to freely cultivate other annual crops (cash crops) instead of rice and corn may be important and it should be considered in the future.Land transactions, modelling, knapsack problem, Vietnam, Land Economics/Use, C6, Q15, Q24,

The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam

Land fragmentation, where a single farm has a number of parcels of land, is a common feature of agriculture in many countries, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, land fragmentation is common, especially in the north. For the whole country, there are about 75 million parcels of land, an average of seven to eight plots per farm household. Such fragmentation can be seen to have negative and positive benefits for farm households and the community generally. Comparative statics analysis and analysis of survey data have led to the conclusion that small-sized farms are likely to be more fragmented, and that fragmentation had a negative impact on crop productivity and increased family labour use and other money expenses. Policies which allow the appropriate opportunity cost of labour to be reflected at the farm level may provide appropriate incentives to trigger farm size change and land consolidation. Policies which tip the benefits in favour of fewer and larger plots, such as strong and effective research and development, an active extension system and strong administrative management, may also lead to land consolidation.development economics, land fragmentation, land use and tenure, production economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam

Land fragmentation, in which a single farm household operates more than one separate piece of land, is significant issue in Vietnamese agriculture, especially in the North. For the whole country, there are about 75 million plots of land, an average of 7-8 plots per farm household. Such fragmentation can be seen to have negative and positive benefits for farm households and the community generally. The negative impacts can be reduced mechanisation, higher cost, loss of land due to boundaries, increased negative externalities, and more limited application of new technologies. On the other hand, land fragmentation may have some benefits to farmers such as spreading output risk, seasonal labour use, and crop diversification. Comparative static analysis and analysis of survey data have led to the conclusion that small sized farms are likely to be more fragmented and the number of plots held by a household is not a significant determinant of yield and output risk spreading but is a significant factor in crop diversification. Policies which allow the appropriate opportunity cost of labour to be reflected at the farm level may provide appropriate incentives to trigger farm size change and land consolidation. Policies which tip the benefits in favour of fewer and larger plots such as strong and effective research and development, an active extension system and strong administrative management may also lead to land consolidation and thus allow some of the benefits which will accrue to the economy more generally to be obtained by farmers.Land Economics/Use,

Implementation of Health Policy on Establishment of Provincial Center of Diseases Control (CDC) in Vietnam

Purpose: There is increasing interest in the understanding of key influences over successful implementation of health policies within ever-changing contexts of national health systems. The epidemiological transition in Vietnam, combined with an urgent need for improving efficiency of the national health system under the government’s administrative reforms, form important facilitators of restructuring the public health system. This paper explored the implementation processes of policy on establishment of the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) in Vietnam during 2016– 2019. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional and mixed methods design. Staff surveys were collected at 55 out of 63 provinces and in-depth interviews, focus groups were conducted in three purposefully selected provinces. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The innovation implementation framework guided the study. Results: After 3 years of introduction, 82.5% of provinces had established the CDCs. Implementation of CDC establishment policy was influenced by 1) management support; 2) alignment between policy and practice; 3) values towards CDC,; and 4) implementation climate. Other external key influencers included political, social, and cultural factors. Conclusion: Our study provides a framework and evidence to guide future inquiry into the factors that affect the relationship between policy implementation and other contextual factors in healthcare organizations

Agricultural Development and Land Policy in Vietnam

International Development, Land Economics/Use,

Standardisation of Environmental Enrichment for Laboratory Mice and Rats: Utilisation, Practicality and Variation in Experimental Results

Rats and mice are the most commonly used species as laboratory animal models of diseases in biomedical  research. Environmental factors such as cage size, number of cage mates and cage structure such as environmental  enrichment can affect the physiology and behavioural development of laboratory animals and  their well-being throughout their lives. Therefore compromising the animals’ well-being due to inadequate  environmental conditions would diminish the value of the research models. In order to improve laboratory  animals’ well-being and promote the quality of animal based biomedical research, it is fundamentally  important that the environment of the animals meets the animals’ species typical behavioural needs. Standardisation  of environmental enrichment for laboratory rats and mice therefore should provide possibilities  for the animals to engage in at least the essential behavioural needs such as social contact, nest building,  exploring and foraging. There is a wide variety of environmental enrichment items commercially available  for laboratory mice and rats. However, how these items are used by the animals, their practicality in the  laboratory and whether these enrichments might lead to increased variation in experimental results have  not been widely assessed. In this study, we implemented two standardised enrichment items (shelters, nesting  materials) for rats and mice at different animal units. We instructed the animal care staff in monitoring  the use of enrichment items by the animals by means of a daily score sheet system. The animal staff ’s  viewpoint on practicality of the standardised enrichment program was assessed with a monthly score sheet  survey. Also we assessed whether the enriched environment affected breeding results and contributed to an  increase in variation of experimental data from several participating current studies. Our results show that  the animals readily used the provided enrichment items. A slight increase in workload for the animal staff  was reported. However, the overall judgement was mainly reported as good. Breeding results and variation  in experimental data did not reveal differences as compared to data from previous housing and/or non enriched  housing conditions. Overall, the results indicate that standard environmental enrichment that is species  appropriate may enhance the animal’s well-being without undesirable side effects on the experimental  outcome and daily working routine of the animal care staff.

Designing a novel heterostructure AgInS₂@MIL-101(Cr) photocatalyst from PET plastic waste for tetracycline degradation

Semiconductor-containing porous materials with a well-defined structure could be unique scaffolds for carrying out selective organic transformations driven by visible light. We herein introduce for the first time a heterostructure of silver indium sulfide (AgInS(2)) ternary chalcogenide and a highly porous MIL-101(Cr) metal–organic framework (MOF) synthesised from polyethylene terephthalate plastic waste. Our results demonstrate that AgInS(2) nanoparticles were uniformly attached to each lattice plane of the octahedral MIL-101(Cr) structure, resulting in a nanocomposite with a high distribution of semiconductors in a porous media. We also demonstrate that the nanocomposite with up to 40% of AgInS(2) doping exhibited excellent catalytic activity for tetracycline degradation under visible light irradiation (∼99% tetracycline degraded after 4 h) and predominantly maintained its performance after five cycles. These results could promote a new material circularity pathway to develop new semiconductors that can be used to protect water from further pollution

Toetsontwikkeling op virussen in Zantedeschia

Zantedeschia (=Calla) heeft zich ontwikkeld tot een belangrijk siergewas. Voor de productie van snijbloemen en potplanten is een goede kwaliteit vereist. Virus kan een sterk negatieve invloed hebben op de kwaliteit door o.a. groeimisvorming en kleurbreking op blad en bloem. Een kleine tien jaar geleden is de BKD op verzoek van het vak gestart met een keuring op o.a. zichtbaar virus. Sinds het groeiseizoen van 2003 zijn de virusproblemen ondanks de keuring alleen maar groter geworden. Het beperken van virusverspreiding in Zantedeschia is daarom recent in detail bestudeerd (PT-project 12048). Daarnaast is een goed toetsenpakket belangrijk om virusvrij uitgangsmateriaal te kunnen realiseren. Zonder robuuste toetsen op virussen in Zantedeschia is dit haast onmogelijk te verwezenlijken. Er zijn veel verschillende virussen gevonden in Zanedeschia en dit aantal is de afgelopen jaren verder gestegen. Een aantal virussen in Zanedeschia kan prima via serologische methoden als ELISA worden aangetoond; andere virussen alleen door middel van PCR. Voor sommige virussen in Zantedeschia waren bij de Bloembollenkeuringsdienst (BKD) en Praktijkonderzoek Plant en Omgeving (PPO-BBF) geen goede detectiemethoden aanwezig, of was bekend dat ze slecht met de bestaande toetsmethoden te detecteren zijn. Dit was een onbevredigende situatie, met name voor bedrijven die schoon uitgangsmateriaal willen uitleveren. Daarom heeft dit project als belangrijkste doel de kennis over virussen in Zantedeschia te vergroten en het pakket aan toetsmogelijkheden compleet te maken. De ELISA- en PCR-toetsen zijn binnen dit project gevalideerd met praktijkmateriaal en het protocol voor het toetsen op uitgangsmateriaal is geëvalueerd

Stepwise establishment of functional microbial groups in the infant gut between 6 months and 2 years: A prospective cohort study

The early intestinal colonization of functional microbial groups plays an essential role in infant gut health, with most studies targeting the initial colonization period from birth to 6 months of age. In a previous report, we demonstrated the metabolic cross-feeding of lactate and identified keystone species specified for lactate utilization in fecal samples of 40 healthy infants. We present here the extension of our longitudinal study for the period from 6 months to 2 years, with a focus on the colonization of functional groups involved in lactate metabolism and butyrate production. We captured the dynamic changes of the gut microbiota and reported a switch in the predominant lactate-producing and lactate-utilizing bacteria, from Veillonella producing propionate in the first year to Anaerobutyrycum hallii producing butyrate in the second year of life. The significant increase in butyrate producers and fecal butyrate concentration was also pinpointed to the weaning period between 6 and 10 months. Correlation analyses further suggested, for the first time, the metabolic cross-feeding of hydrogen in infants. In conclusion, our longitudinal study of 40 Swiss infants provides important insights into the colonization of functional groups involved in lactate metabolism and butyrate production in the first 2 years of life

Microbial vitamin production mediates dietary effects on diabetic risk

Adequate levels of essential vitamins are important for the prevention of diabetes. While the main efforts to address this are currently focused on the intake of vitamin supplements, improving and maintaining intrinsic vitamin production capacity, which is determined by gut microbes, has received insufficient attention. In this study, we systematically investigated the relationship between gut microbial vitamin production and factors related to diabetes and cardiometabolic health in a deeply phenotyped cohort, Lifelines-DEEP (N = 1,135). We found that blood glucose–related factors, lipids, circulating inflammation, and fecal short-chain fatty acids are associated with gut microbial vitamin production. Use of laxatives and metformin are associated with increased levels of vitamin B1/B6 biosynthesis pathways. We further reveal a mediatory role for microbial vitamin B1/B2 production on the influence of fruit intake on diabetes risk. This study provides preliminary evidence for microbiome-targeted vitamin metabolism interventions to promote health