FATTY ACID COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CAMELLIA NINHII SEED OIL COLLECTED IN LAM DONG PROVINCE

The seed oil of Camellia ninhii was studied for the first time on its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and antioxidant activity by the DPPH method. The results show that unsaturated fatty acids account for the largest amount, especially oleic acid with 45.43% of the total sample analyzed. In addition, other fatty acids, palmitic, linoleic, pentadecanoic, and two aromatic acids, benzoic and cinnamic, were present. The sample of C. ninhii seed oil exhibited mild antioxidant activity against DPPH free radicals with IC50 = 0.94 mg/mL

RESEARCH TRENDS ON COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM IN THE PERIOD 2013 - 2023

Community-based tourism (CBT) has been around since the 1970s and so far, has grown in popularity in most continents. This study systematically evaluates and generalizes theoretical and practical issues on CBT based on 87 related articles published in scientific journals under the Scopus system from 2013 to 2023 through the application of content analysis methods. The results also show that research in this area has different research areas and mainly uses qualitative methods. The literature review identified a number of key themes including: (1) benefits of CBT development, (2) community and stakeholder engagement, (3) advantages and barriers in CBT development, (4) community perceptions about CBT, and (5) sustainable CBT development. The article has analyzed research trends on CBT: theory and application.  Article visualizations

ASSESSING THE SATISFACTION OF DOMESTIC TOURISTS WITH ECO-TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN MANG DEN TOWN, KON PLONG DISTRICT, KON TUM PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Mang Den town, Kon Plong District, the Central Province of Kon Tum is one of the destinations of recent interest. With the advantage of the climate and unique high mountain ecosystem, eco-tourism development is one of the notable trends in Mang Den. Based on a survey of 130 domestic tourists to Mang Den, the study used SPSS software 20 to analyze domestic tourists' satisfaction with eco-tourism development in Mang Den. The findings of this research demonstrated the potential of ecotourism Mang Den Town as a destination for Vietnamese tourists seeking natural beauty, cultural experiences, and adventure activities. The positive satisfaction levels indicated that efforts have been made to provide a quality tourism experience. However, there is still room for improvement, particularly in infrastructure development and providing more interpretive and accommodation options. These results can guide tourism stakeholders in developing strategies to enhance ecotourism in Mang Den Town, as a Good Practice and ensure sustainable tourism growth in the Kon Plong District, Kon Tum Province.  Article visualizations

ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT SITUATION OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN MANG DEN TOWN, KON PLONG DISTRICT, KON TUM PROVINCE, VIETNAM

This study surveyed 120 domestic tourists in Mang Den Town, using the convenience sampling method. The method used to analyze primary data was descriptive statistics. The research results have proposed six factors to evaluate the current situation of tourism development in Mang Den Town, Kon Plong District, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam including: (1) Quality of tourism services and tourism resources; (2) Perceived prices; (3) Human resources; (4) Security, order, and safety; (5) Quality of tourism services and tourism infrastructure; (6) and Tourism resources and perceived prices, in which "Human resources" is the factor that has the strongest impact on the current situations of tourism development in Mang Den Town. Through research results, the article has proposed some solutions to develop tourism in Mang Den Town more effectively in the future.  Article visualizations

Molecular identification of three Habenaria species from Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam

The present provides molecular data for species of Habenaria diphylla (Nimmo) Dalzell, H. khasiana Hook.f. and H. rostellifera Rchb.f. collected from Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam for the first time. Along with other DNA sequences from GenBank database, the phylogenetic trees for Habenaria species from Vietnam have been established

Modeling quality of life of Ho Chi Minh City dwellers

Quality of life (QoL) has received more and more attention from scholars and researchers from various fields such as healthcare, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and especially economics after many decades of focusing on income. However, researchers have faced many challenges to gain the proper measurement of QoL due to the contextually based concept. This study employs the primary data conducted in Ho Chi Minh City including 500 observations in 2022, with the application of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to construct a hierarchical model to measure the QoL of the dwellers in Ho Chi Minh City. The empirical model supports the multi-level hierarchical structure of the QoL. The statistically significant contribution of economic, social, and environmental dimensions in the integrated index has been confirmed. The environmental component shares the highest weight, followed by the economic factor. The social aspect contributes the least share in the quality- of-life index. Further analysis of the sub-criteria in each dimension has been made. The findings implicitly suggest the policy concentration on sustainable factors enhancement to raise the QoL. It was a milestone for policy makers to switch the focus from material to non-material factors in the life quality model in Vietnam

Integrating of PLS-SEM and the Importance Performance Matrix Analysis to Exploring the Role of Provincial Competitiveness Index to Growth

Provincial competitiveness was one of the engines of growth under the institutional theory. The Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) has been surveyed since 2005 to reflect the perceptions of local business environments, categorized into 10 sub-indices with 128 indicators. The current PCI has challenged the governance due to its broad construction. This study aimed to reconstruct the indicators in each PCI sub-index to be more specific for improving governance. The paper further explored the importance-of performance of both the PCI sub-index and its indicators to the provincial growth in Vietnam. Secondary data of 63 provinces during the period of 2017-2020 have been used with the employment of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), and the extension of the importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA). Our results showed the reliability and validity of 21 measured items under 5 PCI sub-indices. The findings confirmed the positive impact of the PCI index on growth. Moreover, the highest importance but lowest performance of SLO (law and order) was implied. SLA (land access and security of tenure), on the contrary, peaked the performance with the lowest importance. The importance of STC (time costs and regulatory compliance), SPA (proactive provincial leadership), and SLP (labor quality) has been ranked with the former sharing the highest priority while similar performance of the four sub-indices has been found. The results implied that the provincial authorities should prioritize their efforts to improve governance based on the importance-performance analysis of PCI sub-indices. Moreover, the importance and performance of each sub-index indicator reflected the great governance improvement with an average performance of 50%. However, special attention should be focused on vocational training, effective state officials, and legal support to the business due to their high importance but low performance

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Child health and maternal health knowledge: evidence from Vietnam

The care and protection of children are vital because children are the future of the country. Their health links to the development of adult human capital and the national economy. Informal maternal education is the major driver of child health but has never been formalized. This paper investigates the effects of maternal health knowledge on child health using a survey of 200 households in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The theory of household production has been applied to create a child health model. Anthropometric indicators of weight-for-age and height-for-age are set as the proxies for child health. The models are regressed separately for the weight-for-age and height-for-age Z-scores of children under five. The research results showed that the number of years of maternal schooling does have a positive impact on child anthropometric outcomes but its effects are crowded out by maternal health gained from the mother’s access to health information through pubic media and genetic inheritance, but these are inferior to environmental factors such as housing, sanitation, and health knowledge. The findings confirm that Vietnam can improve the status of child care and protection can be improved even under the constraints of limited access to maternal formal education)

Evaluate Ho Chi Minh City Sustainability Using Fuzzy Extent Analysis Method

Sustainable development of cities was among the goals aimed by either country or region since the 1980s. Ho Chi Minh City was ranked as the most rapid urban development in Vietnam, which challenged the accommodation of the necessities for a pleasant life in a city with limited resources, including housing, public infrastructure, a clean environment, security, safety, employment, and other necessities. The purpose of this study was to measure city sustainability by employing fuzzy decision analysis. A systematic review of the literature has provided the theoretical framework for measuring sustainable cities. Further consent on the criteria of a sustainable city in the context of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was confirmed based on the evaluation of thirty experts with academic and practical experience in the field. The research findings provided the measurement model of city sustainability at three levels with three main criteria at 2nd level and twenty sub-criteria at 3rd level. The research results revealed that there is great consent for city performance and priority ranking in terms of the social dimension. However, great conflict in the importance and performance of economic and environmental dimensions has been found. This practically implied the strategies for bridging the gap between the city’s actual criteria performance and priority ranking in target city sustainability