Evaluation of the effectiveness of the national Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme on infant HIV measured at six weeks postpartum in South Africa

Aims and Objectives: The overall aim of this evaluation was to conduct a national facility-based survey to monitor the effectiveness of the South African National PMTCT programme. The primary objective was to measure rates of early MTCT of HIV at six weeks postpartum. The secondary objective was to periodically estimate coverage of key PMTCT interventions and services (e.g., HIV testing, CD4 cell count testing, infant antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis, infant feeding counselling).South African Medical Research Council, National Department of Health South Africa and PEPFAR/US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, UNICE

Financial reporting quality, ownership structure and investment efficiency: An empirical analysis of Vietnamese listed firms : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Investment efficiency (IE) is one of the most researched topics in corporate finance in the last 20 years. In an ideal world, firms invest until the marginal benefit of their investments equals the marginal cost. However, because of market imperfections such as information asymmetry, moral hazard and adverse selection, firms may deviate from the optimal level, which results in inefficient investment. Prior research suggests that inefficient investment negatively affects firm performance and leads to higher costs of equity. Given the importance of efficient investment to firm growth and performance, there has been a significant body of literature on the factors affecting IE. However, there is a limited number of studies exploring IE in newly emerging markets such as Vietnam. In order to enrich the literature on IE in emerging markets, this study examines the impacts of two firm-specific characteristics - ownership structure and financial reporting quality (FRQ) - on the IE of Vietnamese listed firms. This study uses four proxies for FRQ and three measures of ownership structure - ownership concentration, institutional ownership and managerial ownership - to test the effects of ownership structure and FRQ on IE. Using unbalanced panel data of 645 Vietnamese listed firms from 2007 to 2018, the results show that FRQ has a positive influence on IE. In addition, institutional ownership positively impacts IE but there is no significant relationship between managerial ownership and IE of Vietnamese listed firms. Ownership concentration also has a positive effect on the IE of Vietnamese listed firms but its effect disappears after we control for the effects of institutional ownership and managerial ownership. The impact of FRQ on IE is stronger in Vietnamese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, the impact of ownership concentration, institutional ownership and managerial ownership on IE shows no difference between SOEs and non-SOEs. Finally, ownership concentration and institutional ownership have no significant influence on the relationship between FRQ and IE. Managerial ownership, on the other hand, reduces the positive relationship of FRQ on IE. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the influence of ownership concentration, institutional ownership and managerial ownership on IE as well as the interaction effect of these three measures of ownership structure and FRQ on the IE of Vietnamese listed firms. The results of this study provide some managerial implications and suggestions for Vietnamese listed firms and policy-makers on how to mitigate firm-level investment inefficiency

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from leaves of Magnolia coriacea (Hung T. Chang & B. L. Chen) figlar growing in Vietnam

Leaf essential oil of Magnolia coriacea (Hung T. Chang B. L. Chen) Figlar growing wild in the Bat Dai Son Nature Reserve, Ha Giang Province, Viet Nam was obtained by hydrodistillation and its chemical composition was analyzed using GC/MS. In total, 45 compounds were detected in the essential oil, accounting for 87.1% of the oil, in which 37 compounds were identified accounting for 66.9%. Bicyclogermacrene (12.6%) and spathulenol (17.0%) were the main components of the leaf essential oil of M. coriacea. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil sample was tested against three microorganism strains using an agar disk diffusion method. The results show that the inhibitory zone diameters ranged from 8.5 to 20.5 mm. Median inhibitory concentration (IC50) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the essential oil was determined using microdilution broth susceptibility assay against seven test microorganism strains. Bacillus subtilis had the highest sensitivity with IC50 and MIC values of 185.9 and 512 µg/mL, respectively. 

Vai trò của nhóm nghiên cứu đối với việc công bố quốc tế trong lĩnh vực khoa học tự nhiên và kỹ thuật

Công bố khoa học được xem là một trong những thước đo trình độ phát triển khoa học công nghệ và sức cạnh tranh của mỗi một quốc gia do đó nó luôn là chủ đề gây chú ý đối với toàn xã hội trong những năm gần đây. Nâng cao số lượng và chất lượng nghiên cứu khoa học, công bố quốc tế được xem là một trong những yếu tố quan trọng quyết định đến sự hình thành và phát triển của các nhóm nghiên cứu cũng như quyết định cho sự thành công của các hoạt động khoa học công nghệ của bất kỳ cơ quan tổ chức nghiên cứu, giáo dục nào. Nghiên cứu này được thực hiện nhằm đánh giá vai trò của các nhóm nghiên cứu đối với việc công bố quốc tế riêng trong lĩnh vực khoa học tự nhiên và kỹ thuật

MACRO-ZOOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE IN RELATION TO METAL ACCUMULATION AND WATER QUALITY IN TRUC BACH LAKE

Urban lake pollution is one of the serious issues due to suffering of waste discharged from householders. However, there is a gap of knowledge about the diversity of zooplankton species and how metals accumulate in zooplankton in urban ecosystems. We addressed this by determining the rule of blooming macro-zooplankton in Truc Bach lake and levels of two essential metals: copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) and of three non-essential metals: arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) in water samples were determined. The results showed that Cladocerans and copepods are macro-zooplankton dominant species in Truc Bach Lake. Water temperature significantly affects the variety of copepod blooming. Arsenic concentration in water collected from the lake exceeded the safety level of current Vietnamese regulation. As concentration in macro-zooplankton positively correlated with metal concentrations in the water (p 0.05) while the concentration of Cu, Zn, and Pb in water has no significant correlation with the metal in zooplankton’s body. The relative abundance of adult copepods in Truc Bach lake had a negative correlation with As concentration in water (p = 0.01). The higher As concentration in water, the lower relative abundance of copepods was found in the sample

"We can't expect much": Childbearing women's 'horizon of expectations' of the health system in rural Vietnam.

Highlights • Responsiveness centres on understanding peoples' ‘legitimate’ expectations of their health system. • Healthcare-related expectations are shaped at the intersection of social, temporal, and spatial ‘locations’. • Expectations are also shaped by social norms, and market-driven practices and forces in the health system. • There is a need for health system actors to consider the impact of market forces on responsive care provision. • Active citizen participation and contestation is also needed to establish ‘legitimate’ expectations of care

Estimating Water Content and Grain Size of Intertidal Flat Sediments Using Visible to Shortwave-Infrared Reflectance and Sentinel 2A Data: A Case Study of the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Sediment properties such as water content (WC) and grain size (GS) are essential to characterize the environmental conditions of tidal flats. This article aimed to develop appropriate models to estimate the WC and GS of surface sediments for an intertidal flat on the Red river delta (Vietnam) using Sentinel 2A (S2A) images. The spectral reflectance, WC, and GS of 96 sub-samples from 12 sediment samples collected on December 17, 2017 were measured to clarify their relationships. The WC was highly correlated with the reflectance ratio of two shortwave-infrared bands, R(2190)/R(1610) (R² = 0.93). The median GS (D₅₀) at 0%, 15%, and 20% of WC was significantly correlated with the reflectance ratio of the near-infrared band (842 nm) versus the visible-green band (560 nm) (R² > 0.78). Next, D₅₀ was estimated from a multivariate regression model using this band ratio, the visible-red band (665 nm), and WC. The accuracy of the models was verified by comparisons with WC and D₅₀ from 20 samples collected on March 12th 2019 (RMSE of both WC and D₅₀ 30%) in very fine sediments (silts), which is consistent with other intertidal flats with similar sediment types. This article was limited to fine sediment samples. Therefore, our next step is to incorporate coarse sediments into the models to provide more universal mapping of WC and sediment types

IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PURPLE NONSULFUR BACTERIUM ISOLATED FROM COASTAL AREA OF HAI PHONG FOR USING IN PRODUCTION OF UNSATURATED FATTY ACID (OMEGA 6, 7, 9)

Purple nonsulfur bacteria are a group that has so much biotechnological applications, particularly in producing of functional food rich with unsaturated fatty acids. A purple nonsulfur bacterium (named HPB.6) was chosen based on its strong growth, high lipid and synthesis of unsaturated fatty acid (omega 6,7,9). Studying on basic biological characteristics showed that the cells of HPB.6 were observed as ovoid-rod shape, none motility, Gram negative staining. The diameter of single bacterium was about 0.8-1.0 µm. The cells divide by binary fission and had bacteriochlorophyll a (Bchl a). This bacterium grew well on medium with carbon and nitrogen sources such as acetate, succinate, pyruvate, butyrate, glutamate, arginine, leucine, tyrosine, alanine, methionine, threonine, glutamine, yeast extract and NH4Cl. This selected strain grew well on medium with salt concentrations from 1.5 - 6.0% (optimum 3%), pH from 5.0 to 8.0 (optimum at pH 6.5) and could withstand Na2S at 4.0 - 5.2 mM. Based on morphological, physiological properties and 16S rRNA analysis received demonstrated that HPB.6 strain belongs to the species Rhodovulum sulfidophilum

Reduced Need of Infiltration Anesthesia Accompanied With Other Positive Outcomes in Diode Laser Application for Frenectomy in Children

Introduction: The abnormal maxillary labial frenum is common in children during the primary or mixed dentition stage. A conventional surgery for this abnormality usually requires infiltration anesthesia which leads to fear in children and consequent noncooperation during the surgery. The aim of present study was to evaluate the reduction in the need of infiltration anesthesia, intraoperative bleeding control and postoperative pain and wound healing in children when using the diode laser for abnormal labial frenum in the maxilla.Methods: The present study was carried out among 30 children attending the Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam. A Diode Laser with 810 nm wavelength and power of 0.8 W was used for frenectomy.Results: The proportion of procedures without any need of infiltration anesthesia was 70%, while 93.34% of children demonstrated positive and very positive behavior. Proportion of indolence on the first day after surgery was 83.3%. While 83.3% of children did not take any analgesics, not a single child complained of any pain 3 days after surgery.Conclusion: Our results indicated that the use of diode laser showed several benefits in maxillary labial frenectomy in children. These included reducing the need of infiltration anesthesia, increasing the children’s cooperation as well as decreasing the postoperative pain

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from twigs and leaves of Magnolia macclurei (Dandy) Figlar from Ha Giang Province, Vietnam

The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the twigs and leaves of Magnolia macclurei collected in Hoang Su Phi, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam was analyzed using GC/MS. A total of 38 compounds were detected in essential oil, accounting for 94.49% of the oil, in which 37 compounds were identified accounting for 93.33%. cis-β-Elemene (14,30%), bicyclogermacrene (18,57%), and 10-epi-ᵧ-eudesmol (16,86%) were the main components of essential oil. The minor components present with rather high amount were: Germacrene D (2,12%), guaiol (8,52%), hinesol (2,34%), valerianol (6,76%), and bulnesol (2,93%). Antibiotic activity of the essential oil sample was tested against a Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, and a yeast Candida albicans using an agar disk diffusion method. All three microorganisms tested are resistant to the oil from twigs and leaves of M. macclurei. That is exhibited through the inhibitory zone diameters ranging from 4 to 12 mm