Incentives for wastewater management in industrial estates in Vietnam

This report provides information on the level and effectiveness of wastewater pollution control in industrial estates in four provinces of Vietnam. It finds low levels of wastewater treatment in many industrial estates in the areas surveyed and identifies significant negative effects on many rivers. It investigates why many estates and the factories that operate inside them have not invested in wastewater treatment plants. It also looks at why many companies (even those connected to treatments plants) choose not to comply with wastewater treatment legislation. Among the reasons for this poor performance are a lack of investment capital, poor law enforcement, low penalties for non-compliance and an inappropriate fee structure for wastewater treatment

Potential of Biochar Production from Agriculture Residues at Household Scale: A Case Study in Go Cong Tay District, Tien Giang Province, Vietnam

This study was conducted in Go Cong Tay district (Tien Giang province, Vietnam) to estimate the potential of using residue from rice production, particularly, rice straw, to produce biochar at household scale. The annual rice yield of Go Cong Tay district is 185,072 tons/year. It creates about 233,190 tons of rice straw per year. Currently, most of these residues are open burned by the farmers. This study examined the experimental biochar production in different modes of combustion (6 h, 10 h and 15 h). The results show that 6 h of combustion is the best condition due to high yield of biochar, less ash and low amounts of incompleted biochar. With 100 kg of rice straw sticks, 48.25 ± 2.25 kg of biochar was produced. The amount of ash and incompleted biochar was low, 0.75 ± 0.13 kg and 3.95 ± 1.33 kg, respectively. The thermal energy of biochar from rice straw is about 4,030 kcal/kg, which is higher than other similar materials such as chaff, sawdust, etc. The suggested model of biochar production is compatible with household scale due to the short time of combustion, high productivity and the method is easy to perform. This practice reduces agricultural waste, protects soil and creates useful thermal energy for household activities (e.g., cooking). The ash created from biochar production can be used for fertilizing

Fractional flow reserve in assessment of intermediate non-culprit lesions in acute myocardial infarction

Context: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of intermediate non-culprit arteries can reduce death or heart attack risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease. Aims: To compare the effectiveness of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided PCI with angiography-guided PCI for intermediate non-culprit lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease. Methods: In this cohort study, acute myocardial infarction patients with multivessel coronary artery disease who had successful percutaneous coronary intervention of the culprit artery were divided into group of patients receiving FFR-guided PCI (FFR≤0.80, n = 31) and group of patients receiving angiography-guided PCI (diameter stenosis of 50-90%, n = 62) for lesions in non-culprit arteries. These two groups were followed for at least 1 year for major adverse cardiovascular events. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in major cardiovascular events between FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group and angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group. However, FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group had a lower mortality rate compared to the angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group (3.2% vs. 4.8%). Additionally, there were no reported cases of myocardial infarction in angiography-guided PCI group, while angiography-guided PCI group had a rate of 1.6%. Conclusions: This study found that it remains uncertain whether FFR-guided PCI is superior than angiography-guided PCI for intermediate non-culprit lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease

Characteristics of a snake community in the hilly forest of Quan Son District, northern Vietnam

The snake communities in Asian tropical forests are relatively unknown, with most studies focusing on species lists. We investigated species composition, relative abundance, and community ecology of snakes in a mature secondary hilly forest area in the Quan Son District, northern Vietnam. To our knowledge, it is one of the few field investigations focused on snake community structure to have been undertaken within the Indo-Burma Hotspot, which is one of the most biologically important regions on the planet. We surveyed snakes along random transects in forests during two time periods (10–12 d), between 500 and 1,350 m elevation. In 361.8 h of surveys, we encountered 19 species, with a clear altitudinal separation in snake assemblages and numbers. Encounter frequencies dropped with elevation but had a peak at the intermediate elevation of 600–699 m. We therefore observed a Mid Domain Effect in our snake community in terms of both species richness and number of individuals observed. Of the 19 recorded species (including one Pythonidae, 11 Colubridae, two Elapidae, one Pseudaspididae, three Viperidae, and one Xenodermidae), 78.9% were exclusively or primarily terrestrial, 42.1% were semiarboreal, and 21% were semiaquatic (with some species belonging to two guild categories). We also present new natural history observations of snakes in the region. We discuss the importance of our findings relative to other similar studies conducted in South America and Africa, in addition to those in Vietnam and South-East Asia

Pragmatic economic valuation of adaptation risk and responses across scales Case study in Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the countries particularly vulnerable to climate change. Increased temperatures, increased salinity intrusion due to sea-level rise and altering precipitation patterns significantly affect livelihood options of smallholder farmers, resulting in losses in agricultural production. These impacts are projected to become increasingly severe, hence, adaptation to climate change and sensitivity needs to be assessed and adaptation measures taken. This study provides a vulnerability assessment based on the results for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. This includes present and projected future climatic conditions and hazards, crop suitability analyses and socioeconomic assessments on a district scale. In addition, a case study is presented focusing on the two provinces of Tra Vinh and Ben Tre, identified as highly vulnerable in the Mekong Delta area. The case study shows opportunities, economic trade-offs and barriers of adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices to adapt to progressive climate change

Validation and utilization of an internally controlled multiplex Real-time RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of enteroviruses and enterovirus A71 associated with hand foot and mouth disease

Background: Hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a disease of public health importance across the Asia-Pacific region. The disease is caused by enteroviruses (EVs), in particular enterovirus A71 (EV-A71). In EV-A71-associated HFMD, the infection is sometimes associated with severe manifestations including neurological involvement and fatal outcome. The availability of a robust diagnostic assay to distinguish EV-A71 from other EVs is important for patient management and outbreak response. Methods: We developed and validated an internally controlled one-step single-tube real-time RT-PCR in terms of sensitivity, linearity, precision, and specificity for simultaneous detection of EVs and EV-A71. Subsequently, the assay was then applied on throat and rectal swabs sampled from 434 HFMD patients. Results: The assay was evaluated using both plasmid DNA and viral RNA and has shown to be reproducible with a maximum assay variation of 4.41 % and sensitive with a limit of detection less than 10 copies of target template per reaction, while cross-reactivity with other EV serotypes was not observed. When compared against a published VP1 nested RT-PCR using 112 diagnostic throat and rectal swabs from 112 children with a clinical diagnosis of HFMD during 2014, the multiplex assay had a higher sensitivity and 100 % concordance with sequencing results which showed EVs in 77/112 (68.8 %) and EV-A71 in 7/112 (6.3 %). When applied to clinical diagnostics for 322 children, the assay detected EVs in throat swabs of 257/322 (79.8 %) of which EV-A71 was detected in 36/322 (11.2 %) children. The detection rate increased to 93.5 % (301/322) and 13.4 % (43/322) for EVs and EV-A71, respectively, when rectal swabs from 65 throat-negative children were further analyzed. Conclusion: We have successfully developed and validated a sensitive internally controlled multiplex assay for rapid detection of EVs and EV-A71, which is useful for clinical management and outbreak control of HFMD. Keywords: Hand foot and mouth disease, Enteroviruses, Enterovirus A71, Real-time RT-PCR, Diagnosi

A generic assay for whole-genome amplification and deep sequencing of enterovirus A71

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) has emerged as the most important cause of large outbreaks of severe and sometimes fatal hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) across the Asia-Pacific region. EV-A71 outbreaks have been associated with (sub)genogroup switches, sometimes accompanied by recombination events. Understanding EV-A71 population dynamics is therefore essential for understanding this emerging infection, and may provide pivotal information for vaccine development. Despite the public health burden of EV-A71, relatively few EV-A71 complete-genome sequences are available for analysis and from limited geographical localities. The availability of an efficient procedure for whole-genome sequencing would stimulate effort to generate more viral sequence data. Herein, we report for the first time the development of a next-generation sequencing based protocol for whole-genome sequencing of EV-A71 directly from clinical specimens. We were able to sequence viruses of subgenogroup C4 and B5, while RNA from culture materials of diverse EV-A71 subgenogroups belonging to both genogroup B and C was successfully amplified. The nature of intra-host genetic diversity was explored in 22 clinical samples, revealing 107 positions carrying minor variants (ranging from 0 to 15 variants per sample). Our analysis of EV-A71 strains sampled in 2013 showed that they all belonged to subgenogroup B5, representing the first report of this subgenogroup in Vietnam. In conclusion, we have successfully developed a high-throughput next-generation sequencing-based assay for whole-genome sequencing of EV-A71 from clinical samples

Spatio-temporal analysis of locomotion in healthy and pathological dogs

Le tapis de pression est utilisé depuis 2000 pour analyser la marche chez l’homme mais seulement depuis 2004 chez le chien. Objectif : la codifier l’utilisation du système GAITRite® pour analyser la marche chez les chiens sains et pathologiques ; l’obtenir des bases de données concernant les paramètres spatio-temporels ainsi que cinétique lors de la marche de chiens sains de taille différente ; déterminer des modifications de ces paramètres selon les affections spontanées ou induites ; aider au diagnostic lors de consultation des animaux boiteux et évaluer le suivi de traitements médicaux ou chirurgicaux. Les résultats obtenus montrent que ce système est capable de fournir efficacement les paramètres spatio-temporels, ainsi que la qualification de l’appui des quatre membres en un même cycle, sur plusieurs foulées consécutives. Les conditions expérimentales de l’utilisation du tapis de pression sont les mêmes pour les appuis des quatre membres lors d’un même test, ainsi des comparaisons entre membres peuvent être raisonnablement réalisées alors que les systèmes à un plateau de force ne le permettent pas. Les calculs de ratio antérieur/postérieur et de symétrie gauche/droite facilitent l’interprétation des valeurs des différents paramètres de la marche du chien et permettent de faire rapidement une distinction entre un chien sain et un chien boiteux. Nous avons montré qu’il était possible d’effectuer le suivi de traitements chirurgicaux et d'évaluer l’efficacité de biomatériaux implantables pour la réparation du nerf péronier chez le chien. De ce travail, une approche particulière et unique de l’analyse de la marche chez les quadrupèdes est proposée. Elle offre la possibilité d’obtenir efficacement les paramètres spatio-temporels de l’appui des 4 membres de la marche aussi bien chez le chien sain que chez ceux présentant des affections locomotrices précoces, discrètes ou provoquéesPressure walkway was used for gait analysis in human since 2000 but only for a few years in dog. This thesis was proposed with the intension: to codify its utilization for walking analysis in healthy and pathological dogs; to obtain databases concerning spatial and temporal parameters as well as pressure parameter for 4 feet during walking in healthy dog of size difference; to define the variations according to the affections; to verify the assistance with the diagnosis during consultation orthopedic and to determine the performances of this material were also used to evaluate the follow-up of medical or surgical treatment.The advantages of this system were to be able to obtain the spatio-temporal parameters as well as qualification the support of 4 feet in the same cycle, on several consecutive strides. Contrary to a force platform, the experimental conditions during the use of the pressure walkway was the same for the supports of 4 feet during the same test, moreover the comparisons between foots can be reasonably realized. Calculations of the ratio fore/hind and the symmetry left/right helped more easily to walking analysis in dog and make it possible to quickly discriminate a healthy or a lame dog. This particular approach of walking analysis in the quadrupeds is unique, it was validated during this work by showing its power for the spatial, temporal characterization of the support of the 4 feet during walking in the large and small healthy dog as well as the dog presenting of the locomotors affections spontaneous or models induced for experimenta