Heat Stress Affects Seed Set and Grain Quality of Vietnamese Rice Cultivars during Heading and Grain Filling Period

Environmental stress trigger a variety of rice plant response, ranging from alters seed set, grain yield and grain quality during flowering and grain filling stage.  Efforts are required to improve our understanding of the impact of heat stress on rice production, which are essential strategies in rice cultivation. This article investigated the seed set, yield components and grain yield of Vietnamese rice cultivars (Indica germplasm) under high temperature environment during the flowering and grain filling stage. Six rice cultivars, including popular cultivars and new cultivars of Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, and one popular extraneous cultivar with differences in maturing time, were grown in pots at high temperature (HT) and natural temperature condition as control (CT). All rice cultivars were subjected to the high temperature starting from the heading stage to the harvest maturity, applied by greenhouse effect. The greenhouse has about 25 cm window opening on 3 sides for air ventilation. The seed set rate of the heat-sensitive rice genotypes decreased significantly under HT, leading to a significant reduction in grain yield. The lowest seed set was recorded in “OM4900” (44.3%) and “OM18” (39.9%) under high temperature environment. The lower yield in all rice cultivars at an elevated temperature resulted in a dramatic decrease of filled grains and contributed to a loss of 1000-grain weight. ‘“OM892” is a potential rice cultivar for heat tolerant breeding program due to the seed set percentage was above 80% in both HT and CT conditions. High temperature during the grain filling stage resulted in a decreased amylose and increased chalkiness for all OM cultivars

Autologous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Treat Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Evaluation of Clinical Signs, Mental Signs, and Quality of Life

BACKGROUD: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage that can cause a temporary or permanent change in spinal cord functions AIM: This work evaluates clinical signs, mental signs, and quality of life (QoL) after autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, 47 SCI patients were recruited and divided into two groups: intervention and control. ADSCs were isolated and cultured under the cell culture quality control procedure. All patients in both groups underwent neurosurgery with or without ADSC transplantation. The recovery regarding neurological muscle, QoL, neurogenic bladder, and mental improvement was assessed after transplantation. RESULTS: All patients had improved in terms of motor function, bladder function, and daily living. No patients reported any side effect. MRI imaging showed significant changes in the lesion length of the spinal canal and the thickening of the spinal cord. Mental improvement was highest at six months after transplantation and lowest at one month after transplantation. The proportion of patients whose quality of life improved after treatment was 100%, while 80% of patients were satisfied with treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, our data suggested that ADSCs transplantation was safe and effective for the treatment of SCI patients. Neurological muscle and neurogenic bladder were improved significantly after transplantation

Beyond the homestay: women’s participation in rural tourism development in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

This study examines the impact of the homestay tourism program in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, on women’s participation and empowerment in rural tourism development. As part of this study, 22 interviews were conducted with homestay owners to explore the benefits and challenges of women’s involvement in this type of tourism. The findings show that homestay tourism program has helped women to generate extra income, strengthen family ties, and increase their social influence while reducing domestic violence. However, cultural expectations and gender roles continue to pose challenges. This study underscores the importance of women’s participation in homestay tourism program and provides suggestions for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in tourism development. The study highlights the potential of women’s involvement in creating a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry and calls for further research and action to promote gender equality and women’s rights in tourism. The findings have practical implications for policymakers and practitioners in the tourism sector

Growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) affected by the light intensity of red and blue LEDs

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of four light intensities (90, 140, 190 and 240 μmol m-2 s-1) provided by red-blue LED light (spectrum ratio: R660/B450 = 4/1) on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach. The results showed that when the light intensity increased, plant height, leaf number, root length, leaf width, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight and root dry weight were increased but specific leaf weight and shoot-to-root ratio did not increase. The highest values of growth parameters were observed under 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment, while the lowest values were observed under 90 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment. At higher light intensities, K+, oxalic acid and nitrate contents tended to decrease but not Ca2+ content. Meanwhile, the highest values of Fe2+, crude fiber, soluble-solids, total polyphenol and vitamin C contents were observed under 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment, but 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment showed the lowest organic acid content. Our results indicated that among all experimental lighting treatments, 190 μmol m-2 s-1 light intensity showed the best effect on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach

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

How Vietnamese Export Firms Faced Financial Distress during COVID-19? A Bayesian Small Sample Analysis

A crucial role belongs to export firms in the export-led growth model of Vietnam. The COVID-19 disease has posed a serious challenge to the Vietnamese economy, having negatively impacted its influential export sector. However, investigating this export sector encounters small sample issues within the frequentist framework. So, by adopting a Bayesian approach, this study intends to explore the impact of COVID-19-specific factors on the financial distress of the export companies listed on the Vietnam stock exchange. In case frequentist and Bayesian estimation with non-informative priors cannot acquire statistical efficiency due to problems with insufficient data, thoughtful Bayesian analysis can yield meaningful outcomes. A Bayesian logistic regression model was employed to analyze the scarce data, and the posterior estimates of all the model parameters achieved significantly show that the main operating cash flow ratio to total debt, company size, and retained return on total assets are all negatively related to financial distress. Interestingly, financial leverage positively affects financial distress because a benefit from a tax shield could not compensate for the adverse impact of a debt burden, as suggested in the trade-off theory, which demonstrates the specific financial situation of the companies when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing