Factors affecting consumer’s bargaining behavior: The case of fashionable clothing

Shopping is one of the current trends of the Vietnamese. According to Nielsen’s research results about consumer confidence in the fourth quarter of 2017, more than half of Vietnamese people (51%) use their spare money to buy new clothes at modern business models such as supermarkets, shopping centers, or at very traditional models like street vendors and wet markets where haggling (also known as bargaining) is considered as a common habit for Vietnamese. This is due to business characteristics from a very long time ago in Viet Nam. The bargaining behavior is not so hard to recognize in shopping. Even now, a large part of foreign tourists is familiar with the bargaining culture. This study aimed to discover bargaining behavior, the factors affecting such a behavior in buying fashionable clothing of the consumers in Ho Chi Minh City, and to consider whether the differences in bargaining behavior exist among different groups of gender, age, and income. The research was conducted using mixed methods concluding qualitative research (in-depth interview and focus group) and quantitative one (survey). The results showed that Attitude towards bargaining, Perceived behavioral control, Interest in bargaining affect Consumer’s bargaining behavior when buying fashionable clothes. Results were validated in Ho Chi Minh City context, and some conclusions were also presented

Characterizing pig value chains in Vietnam: descriptive analysis from survey data

The traditional pig sector plays a significant role in Vietnam’s economy from production, especially for farmers in rural areas, to consumption (more than 90% of pork consumed is supplied by conventional wet markets). At the same time, the traditional pig sector is under threat from animal health and food safety risks that impact both its profitability and future viability. However, little research exists on defining key intervention points that could manage risks in a propoor, cost-effective manner. Our study highlighted and reviewed the contrast between pig value chains in two provinces (Hung Yen and Nghe An) that represent different levels of economic development in the county. Based on semi-structured questionnaires, 400 pig producing farmers and 400 pork consumers were surveyed in both provinces during July and August 2013, paying particular attention to typologies of production and consumption in rural, semi-urban, and urban zones. We also obtained information on 200 other intermediary value chain actors through semi-structured and in-depth interviews. Preliminary descriptive analysis revealed the main characteristics of various actors in the sampled value chains, including (vet and feed) input suppliers, producers, traders, slaughterhouses (or abattoirs), processors, retailers, and consumers. In particular, we found that actors in Hung Yen are more likely to be active and commercialised in pig value chains than those in Nghe An. At the same time, Nghe An is exposed to operate its chains more ‘self-sufficiently’, with ownproduced inputs, particularly feeds, and has more state-owned farms involved in breed supply. In both study sites, middlemen often perform multiple functions and are generally the most powerful actors in the surveyed chains since they have better access to information and dominate value-added activities. This may imply a potential control point for risk management in response to diseases transmitted in short-term as well as (pro-poor) profit distribution in longerterm. Moreover, the behaviours of actors in these two provinces are dissimilar in terms of production and consumption practices as a result of differences in production scale, knowledge, attitude and habits. Information from this study will provide more insightful understanding of these existing value chains and serve as the base for further economic and risk analysis

Iridoid glycosides from Morinda tomentosa and their endoplasmic reticulum stress modulation activity

Three iridoids 1 - 3, asperulosidic acid, daphylloside, and asperuloside, were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaves of Morinda tomentosa. Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra and in comparison with those reported in the literature. The effects of these compounds on the endoplasmic reticulum stress in XBP1-eGFP-transfected the 293 T cells were measured. Compound 3 significantly reduced the ER-stress both in DMSO-treated and thapsigargin-treated cells. Unlike this compound, compound 3 selectively reduced thapsigargin-induced ER-stress without any effect on the level of XBP1 splicing in DMSO-treated cells. These results suggested that compounds 2 and 3 can be suggested as new ER stress regulators

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

Fading countermeasure for high frequency data communications using errors correcting codes

High Frequency (HF) data communication links remain relevant even in today's satellite era because they offer beyond line-of-sight without third-party equipment's and expensive satellite services. The disadvantage is that HF is a difficult medium to use, with significant channel distortion and background noise at any given frequency. This has severely limited the maximum data rate on HF data modems. In this paper the medium data rate communications on HF channels over seawater is considered using different approaches forward error correction (FEC) coding with adequate waveforms, and comparative evaluations are presented

Dr. PI POLYPHENOL CONTENT, PHYTOCHEMISTRY COMPOSITIONS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT EXTRACTS FROM MARINE SPONGE AAPTOS SUBERITOIDES GROWN IN NHATRANG BAY, VIETNAM

Objective: To investigate the content and antioxidant activities of polyphenol, the correlation between polyphenol content and their antioxidant activities, and phytochemistry compositions of different extracts from marine sponge Aaptos suberitoides commonly found growing in Nhatrang bay, Vietnam orienting application into functional food and pharmacy. Methods: Evaluating the toxicity of antioxidant polyphenol powder preparing from the initial concentrated extract was by the adjusted Behrens Karber method and a correlation between polyphenol content and antioxidant activities basing on the Pearson coefficient in Excel. Separating antioxidant polyphenol content was base on solvents polarization of n-hexane, chloroform, ethanol, ethyl acetate and n-butanol which the quantification of polyphenol content and antioxidant activities, and preliminary phytochemical compositions qualitative. Results: Antioxidant polyphenol powder did not affect mice weight during the assay time of 28 d. Polyphenol content and antioxidant activities got the highest value at chloroform extract in comparison to other extracts, a significant difference (p&lt;0.05) and strong correlation (R2&gt;0.9). Polyphenol content (122.682 mg gallic acid equivalent ml-1), total antioxidant activity (368.183 mg ascorbic acid equivalent ml-1), reducing power activity (24.08 mg FeSO4 equivalent ml-1) and DPPH scavenging (72.48±1.54 %) were the highest values. Alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins and triterpenoids existed in initial methanol extract. Weakly polarized polyphenol content was 70.27% in comparison to initial methanol extract. Conclusion: Antioxidant polyphenol of sponge Aaptos suberitoides has the potential for application into the field of functional food and pharmaceuticals

Simultaneous determination of chloramphenicol and tinidazole by electrochemical analysis using MnO2/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified electrode

Manganese (IV) oxide/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (MnO2/ErGO) composite was synthesized in an oxidation-reduction process followed by electrochemical reduction. The obtained materials were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray mapping (EDX mapping). The electrochemical reduction of a manganese dioxide/GO film pre-cast on a glassy carbon electrode to rGO was performed by using the chronoamperometric method for preparing the MnO2/ErGO modified electrode. The obtained modified electrode was employed to simultaneously determine chloramphenicol (CAP) and tinidazole (TNZ) with linear sweep adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (LS-AdCSV). The effect of experimental parameters, e.g., potential and time of accumulation, pH of the buffered solutions, and the potential sweep rate on the response, was examined. Under the optimal conditions, the modified electrode shows a wide linear response for the concentration of CAP and TNZ in the range of 0.1–20 μM with a detection limit of 0.58 and 0.33 μM. The practicability of the developed sensor was explored by detecting CAP and TNZ individually or simultaneously in honey, eye drops, and tablet samples with satisfactory results