The status of invasive plants and animals in Cu Lao Cham biosphere reserve, Quang Nam province, Vietnam

The biodiversity of Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve (Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province) has been faced with some passive impacts, one of which is invasion/expansion of alien species. In 2017, according to the data of GISD, CABI and the Inter-ministerial Circular No.27/2013/TTLT-BTNMT-BNNPTNT, based on filed survey conducted in May, 19 alien plant and 3 alien animal species were recorded in the biosphere reserve. Among them, 13 plant species were identified as invaders, of which details were assessed in this study; among those invader plants, 3 species were ranked at medium risk and the 10 others were ranked at low risk. All of the medium risk-invasive plant species have been appeared on the islands but one of them - siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) were not identified as impacting to the mainland of the biosphere reserve. Likewise, all of the alien animal species have been not recognized as the invasive species. In general, the impact of alien species found in the Cu Lao Cham was assessed as “Low Risk”. The impact status of invasive species in the Hoi An mainland part is more serious than the situation in the islands. Base on the results, we suggest that, five species, beggar-ticks (Bidens pilosa), coast morning glory (Ipomoea cairica) Bay Biscayne creeping-oxeye (Sphagneticola trilobata), Blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and billygoat-weed (Ageratum conyzoides) should be added in the invasive appendix of the national invasive species list while three other species as vilfa stellata (Cynodon dactylon), guava (Psidium guava) and rose myrtle (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa) should be listed in the potential appendix of that list. It is necessary to conduct some survey to obtain solution to control invasive species as soon as possible to protect the biodiversity of this study area. Citation: Vu Anh Tai, Uong Dinh Khanh, Luu The Anh, Le Thi Thu Hien, 2017. The status of invasive plants and animals in Cu Lao Cham biosphere reserve, Quang Nam province, Vietnam. Tap chi Sinh hoc, 39(4): 434-450. DOI: 10.15625/0866-7160/v39n4.10082.*Corresponding author: [email protected] 15 June 2017, accepted 12 December 201

Preliminary study on phytogeography of Dipterocarpaceae Blume family in Vietnam

Biogeographically mapping flora of Vietnam requires the studies on the distribution of some important species groups for identifying the typical species composition of each phytochorion. The Dipterocarpaceae family contains taxa originated in tropical Asia and its subfamily of Dipterocarpoideae is proved to have Southeast Asia origin. In Vietnam, this family includes 43 species in 7 genera. In this study, Dipterocarpaceae species from 645 sites in Vietnam are assessed and compared to those in over the world. In Vietnam, this family distributes in tropical and/or slightly passing to subtropical climate but none of its species is naturally found in the Red River and the Mekong River deltas. In the world, the Dipterocarpaceae species found in Vietnam concentrated distributes in Indochina floristic region, corresponding to the originative area of South Myanmar. Statistically, there are 12 endemic species for the Indochinese floristic region and five of them are endemic for four provinces of this region related to Vietnam, respectively as follows: South China - 1, North Indochina - 1, South Indochina - 2 and Annam - 1. Additionally, some species distribute in East Asia floristic region of Holarctic Kingdom because of expanding the distribution area from the Indochinese floristic region. All genera of this family in Vietnam were originated in the Indochinese floristic region. Moreover, the floristic data and phytogeographical phylogeny diagram, based on analyses of phytogeography and DNA, would be better to use for finding out the distributional source or the forming time of species or genus, then the phylogenetic diagram.ReferencesAngiosperm Phylogeny Group, 2009. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161(2), 105-121. Ashton P.S., 1982. Dipterocarpaceae. In: Van Steenis C.G.G.J., 1979-1983, Flora Malesiana. Dipterocarpaceae. Martinus Nijhoff Publisher, The Hague, London, 9(2), 250p. Averyanov L.V., Phan K.L., Nguyen T.H., Harder D.K., 2003. Phytogeographic review of Vietnam and adjacent areas of Eastern Indochina, Komarovia, Saint Petersburg, 3, 1-83. Kress W.J., DeFilipps R.A., Farr E. and Yin D.Y.K., 2003. A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers of Myanmar. National Museum of Nature History, Washington DC, 45, 1-590. Le Tran Chan (Editor), 1999. Some characteristics of the flora of Vietnam. Science and Technique publishing house, Hanoi, 305p (Vietnamese). Li X.W., Li J., Ashton P.S., 2007. Dipterocarpaceae. In: Wu Z.Y., Raven P.H. (Hrsg.). Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 13, 48-54. Nguyen Hoang Nghia, 2005. Dipterocarps of Vietnam. Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi, 100p. Nguyen Kim Dao, 2003. “Dipterocarpceae Blume, 1825” in Checklist Plant species of Vietnam. Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, 2, 328-340 (Vietnamese). Nguyen Nga Phi, 2009. Molecular phylogeny of Southeast-Asian Dipterocarps belonging to tribe Dipterocarpeae (family Dipterocarpaceae) based on non-coding sequence data of chloroplast and nuclear DNA. Department of Forest Genetics and Georest Tree Breeding, Büsgen Institute, Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology, Georg-August University of Göttingen. Göttingen, 142p. Nguyen Nghia Thin, 2004. Methods in Botanical Research. HNU publishing house, Hanoi, 172p (Vietnamese). Pham Hoang Ho, 2001. Illustration Flora of Vietnam, Youth Publishing House. Ho Chi Minh City, 2, 1022p (Vietnamese). Smitinand T., 1969. The distribution of Dipterocarpaceae in Thailand. National History Bull. Siam Soci., 23, 67-75. Smitinand T., J.E. Vidal, P.H. Ho, 1990. Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam, 25, Diptérocarpacées. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 123p (French). Takhtajan A. (Translated by Theodore J. Crovello), 1986. Floristic Regions of the World. University of California Press, 544p. Thai Van Trung, 1978. Tropical Forest Ecology systems of Vietnam. Science and Technique publishing house, Hanoi, 314p (Vietnamese). The Plant List (Version 1.1.), 2013. Dipterocarpaceae. http://www.theplantlist.org

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

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

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

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Public employees’ poor performance has been cited as one of the leading factors in the failure of reform programmes in developing countries. Although previous employee performance reforms have targeted selection, training, appraisal and compensation, agreement exists that these problems persist. Improving employee performance has proven difficult in developing and developed countries alike. Motivated by the New Public Management (NPM), employee performance management (PM) has been widely introduced by developed and developing countries as a public sector reform. Employee PM supposedly furthers development objectives by improving performance, enhancing accountability and aligning employee efforts with organisational goals. Unfortunately, the literature has reported many failed PM reforms. Arguably, employee PM in the public sector usually faces several difficulties, including the diversity of stakeholders, bounded delegated authority, ambiguous organisational and job goals, as well as the inherent complexity of employee PM activities. The situation is even more challenging for developing countries due to contextual problems of weak institutions, weak capacity and traditional cultures. There are perspectives that employee PM may not be compatible in developing contexts. Although there is no shortage of research on employee PM, most is theoretical research or conducted in developed countries. Empirical research in developing countries, particularly in the public sector, remains sparse. To address this gap, this research investigates whether employee PM is applicable or effective in the developing context, as well as exploring which contextual factors affect its development. To answer these research questions, a mixed methods approach guided by the research philosophy of pragmatism was adopted. The data for this research was gathered from 30 interviews and a survey of 322 respondents from 29 different organisations across five central Ministries and two provinces in Vietnam as a transitional economy with a strong effect of Confucian culture. This study contributes to the literature by providing some key findings. Firstly, it confirms that if well designed and implemented, PM can work in the public sector in developing countries. This finding supports the perspective that the failure of PM schemes is mostly because of implementation shortcomings rather than theory defects. Secondly, it proposes a formula for the effective implementation of PM in the developing context. Specifically, it is a combination of five PM practices, including goal-based appraisal, feedback, reward-for-performance, addressing poor performers and employee participation. Thirdly, the development of employee PM in developing countries is driven by three contextual factors: agency accountability, HR autonomy, and entrepreneurial leadership. Fourthly, PM is not only a tool to improve organisational performance, but also an important mediation agent to transmit the effect of other reform activities on desirable outcomes. Finally, the effect of the contextual factors on development of employee PM is weakened by interpersonal relationships and nepotism while being strengthened by communication and training. Based on these findings, this research proposes strategic solutions for policy-makers while providing specific suggestions for practitioners to develop effective PM systems. It also discusses some implications and identifies gaps for researchers in the future

VISION-COG: A NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC TOOL TO ASSESS COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN VISUALLY IMPAIRED OLDER ADULTS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (DUKE

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Public employees’ poor performance has been cited as one of the leading factors in the failure of reform programmes in developing countries. Although previous employee performance reforms have targeted selection, training, appraisal and compensation, agreement exists that these problems persist. Improving employee performance has proven difficult in developing and developed countries alike. Motivated by the New Public Management (NPM), employee performance management (PM) has been widely introduced by developed and developing countries as a public sector reform. Employee PM supposedly furthers development objectives by improving performance, enhancing accountability and aligning employee efforts with organisational goals. Unfortunately, the literature has reported many failed PM reforms. Arguably, employee PM in the public sector usually faces several difficulties, including the diversity of stakeholders, bounded delegated authority, ambiguous organisational and job goals, as well as the inherent complexity of employee PM activities. The situation is even more challenging for developing countries due to contextual problems of weak institutions, weak capacity and traditional cultures. There are perspectives that employee PM may not be compatible in developing contexts. Although there is no shortage of research on employee PM, most is theoretical research or conducted in developed countries. Empirical research in developing countries, particularly in the public sector, remains sparse. To address this gap, this research investigates whether employee PM is applicable or effective in the developing context, as well as exploring which contextual factors affect its development. To answer these research questions, a mixed methods approach guided by the research philosophy of pragmatism was adopted. The data for this research was gathered from 30 interviews and a survey of 322 respondents from 29 different organisations across five central Ministries and two provinces in Vietnam as a transitional economy with a strong effect of Confucian culture. This study contributes to the literature by providing some key findings. Firstly, it confirms that if well designed and implemented, PM can work in the public sector in developing countries. This finding supports the perspective that the failure of PM schemes is mostly because of implementation shortcomings rather than theory defects. Secondly, it proposes a formula for the effective implementation of PM in the developing context. Specifically, it is a combination of five PM practices, including goal-based appraisal, feedback, reward-for-performance, addressing poor performers and employee participation. Thirdly, the development of employee PM in developing countries is driven by three contextual factors: agency accountability, HR autonomy, and entrepreneurial leadership. Fourthly, PM is not only a tool to improve organisational performance, but also an important mediation agent to transmit the effect of other reform activities on desirable outcomes. Finally, the effect of the contextual factors on development of employee PM is weakened by interpersonal relationships and nepotism while being strengthened by communication and training. Based on these findings, this research proposes strategic solutions for policy-makers while providing specific suggestions for practitioners to develop effective PM systems. It also discusses some implications and identifies gaps for researchers in the future

Effect of Perinatal Dioxin Exposure Originating from Agent Orange on Gaze Behavior in 3-Year-Old Children Living in the Most Dioxin-Contaminated Areas in Vietnam

We investigated the effect of perinatal dioxin exposure indicated by dioxins in breast milk on children’s gaze behavior. We studied 142 children aged 3 years from the 2012 Bien Hoa birth cohort in a hotspot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam. Children’s faces were viewed using the eye-tracking method. Associations between gaze behavior of faces and neurodevelopmental indices and head circumference were analyzed to determine whether poor gaze behavior indicates increased autistic traits in these children. The gaze fixation duration on facial areas when viewing 10 still images of children was calculated as the gaze behavior index. Autistic behavior was assessed using the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale, and language development was evaluated by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Ver. 3. The face fixation duration (%) significantly decreased as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) concentrations increased in a dose–effect manner in girls, which suggested atypical gaze behavior for watching human faces. Furthermore, these girls with atypical gaze behavior showed lower social communication scores and smaller head sizes, suggesting increased autistic traits in girls. In conclusion, our findings show sex-specific effects (girls &gt; boys) of perinatal TCDD exposure on gaze behavior in young children

A generalized resource allocation framework in support of multi-layer virtual network embedding based on SDN

Network Virtualization (NV) allows multiple heterogeneous architectures to simultaneously coexist in a shared infrastructure. Embedding multiple virtual networks (VNs) in a shared substrate deals with efficient mapping of virtual resources in the physical infrastructure and is referred to as the Virtual Network Embedding problem (VNE-problem). Although there is recently a number of research work in the area of network virtualization based on the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technology, virtual network embedding in SDN remains challenging from both theoretical and practical points of view.This article focuses on virtual network embedding strategies and related issues for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) paradigms under the constraint of fixed virtual node locations. Special considerations are given to the problems related to resource allocation and link sharing of multi-layer virtual networks on top of the physical substrate. Firstly, a heuristic virtual network embedding algorithm is proposed that can improve the mapping acceptance ratio and resource efficiency in the IaaS context. Secondly, REsource reSERvation in generalized Virtual NETworks (ReServNet), a Software-Defined Networking platform designed for embedding multi-level virtual networks in physical infrastructures is developed. By defining new softwarized logical functions, ReServNet allows network administrators to create and manage multiple virtual networks on top of the physical network and allocate bandwidth resources to them accordingly. Moreover, the ReServNet framework allows for designing, prototyping, benchmarking and evaluating the performance of different network embedding algorithms easily in real SDN virtualization environments. Different issues related to virtual network embedding on SDN-based physical substrate are also analyzed and discussed in detail