WATER MANAGEMENT AND METHANE EMISSION FROM RICE FIELDS IN AN GIANG PROVINCE, VIET NAM

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of irrigated water management to CH4 emission from the paddy fields. It was designed with (1) continuous flooding (CF) and (2) alternate for wetting and drying (AWD) which the water level was controlled + 5 cm and ± 5 cm than the soil surface, respectively at Cho Moi, Chau Thanh, Thoai Son and Tri Ton districts of An Giang province. The soil samples were collected to determine their physico-chemical properties. CH4 was collected weekly during the rice cultivation, and the rice yield was determined at the harvest. The results showed that pH 4.55 – 5.93, EC 105 – 175 µS.cm-1, organic matter 3.21 – 3.94 %, CEC 25.05 – 33.33 cmol.kg-1 of the soil were suitable for rice growth. The average rice yield was about 4.5 - 6.52 ton.ha-1. CH4 emissions of the AWD decreased 59.1 % compared to the CF which was 14.6 mg C-CH4.m-2.h-1. Therefore, the AWD is better than the CF in term of reducing CH4 emissions to the environment

THE IMPACT OF QUESTIONING AND SEMANTIC MAP IN PRE-READING STAGE ON STUDENTS' READING COMPREHENSION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Pre-reading activities play an important role in language reading classrooms since they help to activate students’ background knowledge of the topics being taught, which results in improving students’ reading comprehension. Most studies in the literature focus on exploring the effects of individual pre-reading activities such as brainstorming, pre-teaching vocabulary, questioning on students’ performance in doing comprehension tasks. Few studies have been conducted to explore whether one technique is better than the others in activating students’ schemata in reading lessons. The current study investigates the impact of Questioning and Semantic map in Pre-reading stage on EFL gifted high school students’ reading comprehension. The participants were 52 gifted students from two science classes for twelfth graders (they were non gifted English students). They shared the same culture, native language, educational background and age. The data were collected through two reading proficiency tests (pre-test and post-test) and individual interviews. The findings revealed that both Questioning and Semantic map had positive impacts on gifted students’ reading comprehension. Especially, the students who received Semantic treatment had significantly better improvement in their reading skill. The findings shed lights on what can be done to improve EFL students’ reading performance.  Article visualizations

Antidepressive and anxiolytic effects of ostruthin, a TREK-1 channel activator

We screened a library of botanical compounds purified from plants of Vietnam for modulators of the activity of a two-pore domain K+ channel, TREK-1, and we identified a hydroxycoumarin-related compound, ostruthin, as an activator of this channel. Ostruthin increased whole-cell TREK-1 channel currents in 293T cells at a low concentration (EC50 = 5.3 μM), and also activity of the TREK-2 channel (EC50 = 3.7 mM). In contrast, ostruthin inhibited other K+ channels, e.g. human ether-à-go-go-related gene (HERG1), inward-rectifier (Kir2.1), voltage-gated (Kv1.4), and two-pore domain (TASK-1) at higher concentrations, without affecting voltage-gated potassium channel (KCNQ1 and 3). We tested the effect of this compound on mouse anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and found anxiolytic activity in the open-field, elevated plus maze, and light/dark box tests. Of note, ostruthin also showed antidepressive effects in the forced swim and tail suspension tests, although previous studies reported that inhibition of TREK-1 channels resulted in an antidepressive effect. The anxiolytic and antidepressive effect was diminished by co-administration of a TREK-1 blocker, amlodipine, indicating the involvement of TREK-1 channels. Administration of ostruthin suppressed the stress-induced increase in anti-c-Fos immunoreactivity in the lateral septum, without affecting immunoreactivity in other mood disorder-related nuclei, e.g. the amygdala, paraventricular nuclei, and dorsal raphe nucleus. Ostruthin may exert its anxiolytic and antidepressive effects through a different mechanism from current drugs

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

Digital Transformation of the Banking Industry in Developing Countries

Purpose:  The study's objective is to test the impact of digital transactions on banking performance. Based on the previous research and the actual situations, it has been recognized that the critical role of digital banking is in developing the banking industry, especially in developing countries.   Theoretical framework:  In the next section, the study presents background information to promote the research. The digital transformation has changed how customers use financial services. This has pushed banks to adapt more quickly to the wave of digital transformation if they don't want to lose their valuable customer base.   Design/methodology/approach:  the methodology applied uses POOL, FEM, REM, and FGLS models to examine the impact of banking transactions made by digital technology on the bank's deposit and lending revenue. This article studies banking operations on digital platforms from 2012 to 2019 in developing countries.   Findings: The article's findings showed that digital banks' flexible products and services bring many benefits with a high level of interaction, such as supporting the relationship between customers and banks and improving operating revenue.   Research, Practical & Social implications: Practical implications enhanced the development potential of digital banking is relatively large, stemming from the market demand development orientation of the banking industry.   Originality/value: The paper's originality and value help banks invest in digital technology as the way forward to better serve their customers

ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AGRITOURISM IN BINH DINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM

This study evaluates the potential for agritourism development in Binh Dinh Province, Central Vietnam. The analytical hierarchical process is used to determine the weights of four factors with 25 measurement criteria to assess agritourism potential. The research results show that Binh Dinh Province has great agritourism potential based on four evaluation factors, including (1) local agricultural tourism resources, (2) the trend for agritourism development and the agritourism market, (3) the local community’s willingness, and (4) the supporting activities of the local government. In particular, the local agricultural tourism resources factor received the highest score, followed by the local community’s willingness and the supporting activities of the local government. The trend for agritourism development and the agritourism market was rated the lowest. Therefore, Binh Dinh has viable opportunities to encourage the growth of agritourism to improve farmers’ livelihoodsDu lịch nông nghiệp đem lại nhiều cơ hội cho phát triển kinh tế cũng như đa dạng hóa các loại hình du lịch và cải thiện đời sống sinh kế của người dân. Nghiên cứu sử dụng phương pháp phân tích thứ bậc (AHP) để tính các trọng số của các tiêu chí đánh giá tiềm năng phát triển du lịch nông nghiệp tại các huyện, thị xã phía bắc tỉnh Bình Định. Tiếp theo, kết quả mô hình hóa sơ đồ mạng cho thấy cả 4 địa phương An Lão, Hoài Ân, Phù Mỹ, thị xã Hoài Nhơn đều được đánh giá ở mức điểm cao về tiềm năng phát triển du lịch nông nghiệp trên các khía cạnh tài nguyên du lịch, xu hướng phát triển du lịch, sự ủng hộ của người dân địa phương và sự quan tâm của chính quyền địa phương. Tuy nhiên, yếu tố xu hướng phát triển thị trường du lịch nông nghiệp được đánh giá ở mức điểm thấp hơn. Điều này cũng xuất phát từ việc phát triển du lịch nông nghiệp tại các huyện, thị xã phía Bắc tỉnh Bình Định cũng mới bắt đầu nhận được sự quan tâm trong vài năm gần đây, số lượt khách tham quan các huyện, thị xã phía Bắc tỉnh Bình Định còn ít so với tiềm năng du lịch của địa bàn

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF COLLOCATIONS IN ACADEMIC ESSAYS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS OF THE HIGH-QUALITY PROGRAM AT CAN THO UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

One of the main goals of language learners is to master all four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing when it comes to their acquisition of the target language. However, during the process of learning English, learners inevitably face a variety of challenges related to their writing including grammatical errors, word choice, organization, idea development, and most importantly their difficulties in using collocations (Duong & Nguyen, 2021). Therefore, this study has been conducted to investigate the students’ use of English collocations in their academic essays associated with their difficulties so that appropriate pedagogical approaches and practices would be taken into consideration in order to help students improve their English collocational competences in academic writing. This descriptive study was carried out with 103 English-majored students of the High-quality program of the School of Foreign Languages at Can Tho University, Vietnam. A 5-point Likert scale survey with 18 questionnaire items was employed to examine the frequency of students' exposure to as well as their usage of English collocations, and their difficulties in using English collocations. The results of this study have shown that the most commonly used collocations in the students’ academic essays were ‘verb + noun’, and ‘adjective + noun’ lexical collocations. Additionally, the research outcomes have revealed that the types of English collocations that the students were more likely to make the most mistakes belonged to ‘verb + adverb’, and ‘adjective + noun’ lexical collocations.  Article visualizations

An Empirical Study of Affective Commitment: the Case of Machinery Enterprises in Hochiminh City

The study aims to investigate the impact of participation in decision-making (PDM) and perceived organizational support (POS) on affective commitment in machinery enterprises. The study applies structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the research hypotheses. The authors surveyed 220 employees who work in machinery enterprises to collect data for the research. The study results indicate that both PDM and POS positively impact affective commitment. The findings provide empirical evidence to support the theoretical models that PDM and POS have a positive effect on affective commitment. The findings have implications for management theory: PDM and POS are the key antecedents of affective commitment. The findings also have implications for practical management in the machinery enterprises that managers should practice both PDM and POS to increase affective commitment