The Impact of Supporting Industries on Attracting Foreign Direct Investment: A Case Study in Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam

 Summary: This study focuses on explaining the theoretical basis of the impact of supporting industries (SI) on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI); assessing the state of the impact of SI on FDI attraction into Vietnam in general and Vinh Phuc province in particular. Quantitative analysis results show that, in the field of SI in Vietnam, import suppliers are dominating domestic suppliers, the factor that most affects FDI enterprises' satisfaction level is labor, especially hard-work and progressiveness, followed by quality and attitude of discipline compliance of labor resources. The domestic SI still face difficulties in approaching customers, quality assurance, with outdated technology, lack of high-tech manpower, poor innovative research capabilities... In the coming time, to contribute to FDI attraction into Vietnam, to become a supplier for FDI enterprises, domestic enterprises working in supporting industries (SI enterprises) need to increase the rate of capital investment on technology, improve the quality of human resources, and promote information exchange with FDI enterprises

Transformation of glycosyltransferase dnrs and auxiliary DNRQ genes into the Streptomyces peucetius MH9.2 for the enhance of doxorubicin production

Doxorubicin antibiotic produced by Streptomyces peucetius is a very crucial antibiotic with a large spectrum used as an anticancer drug and in clinical treatment. Production of doxorubicin from wild type strain by microbiological fermentation process is nomally very low yield and limited. The enhancement of doxorubicin production (DXR) by the genetically engineering of the auxiliary genes involved in the pathway of doxorubicin biosynthesis from Streptomyces peucetius has being focused by many research groups. The gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of doxorubicin had been isolated, sequenced and characterized. Among them, the dnrQ and dnrS genes belong to the gene cluster encoded for the glycosyltransferase and helper enzymes, which are responsible for attachment of sugar moiety to -rhodomycinon intermediate and regulation of doxorubicin production, respectively. In this research, the dnrQ and dnrS genes were isolated and cloned in the p25.1 vector containing the strong promoter (ermE*) to generate the p25.1QS as a recombinant vector. The obtained plasmid was transferred into the host strain Streptomyces peucetius MH9.2 by the protoplast transformation method to generate the S. peucetius MH9.2SQ strain. Doxorubicin production from the recombinant S. peucetius MH9.2SQ and the parent strain were extracted and purified by using chlorofrom and methanol solvents. The products were confirmed by HPLC, LC-mass analysis and antibacterial bioassay. The results showed that the over production of doxorubicin was accumulated by the recombinant strain from the fermentation broth. In the S. peucetius MH9.2SQ, the doxorubicin productivity was 3.1 to 3.6 folds higher than in the parent strain. This recombinant strain could be a potential candidate for further research in enhancement and larger biomass scale of DXR production

Musculoskeletal Pain and Work-related Risk Factors among Waste Collectors in Hanoi, Vietnam: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent among waste collectors (WCs) in developing countries. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and the factors associated with the risk of persistent musculoskeletal pain among WCs in Hanoi, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was utilized to study 468 WCs in 2017. The Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire and a questionnaire on demographic and work conditions were used to collect data. Descriptive and multivariate logistics regression analyzes were applied at a significance level of 0.05 to examine the factors related to the risk of persistent pain. FINDINGS: About 74.4% of the participants of this study experienced MSDs in at least one body region and 9.4% reported MSDs in all 10 body sites. The lower back was reported to be the most affected followed by the neck and shoulders. The risk of persistent musculoskeletal pain was significantly associated with age (odds ratio (OR) = 2.31, confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–5.09), gender (OR = 3.29, CI = 1.28–8.44), work hours (OR = 2.35, CI = 1.12–4.92), work shift (OR = 0.48, CI = 0.26–0.92), duration of poor postures of the neck (OR = 0.31, CI = 0.13–0.76), bent back (OR = 0.4 CI = 0.18–0.92) and for medial rotation (OR = 3.01, CI = 1.42–6.36), carrying heavy objects (OR = 2.94, CI = 1.15–7.48), and experience of work dissatisfaction (OR = 3.31, CI = 1.46-7.52), stress (OR = 7.14, CI = 3.14–16.24), or anxiety (OR = 6.37, CI = 3.07–13.21). CONCLUSIONS: High prevalence of MSDs among WCs and its association with self-assessed unfavorable work postures and work-related stress implies the need of mechanical and social support at work for WC to prevent the development of MSDs and persistent pain

FIELD TEST ON CLEANING OF OIL POLLUTION ON NHATRANG BEACH OF VIETNAM

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

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

Thói quen phát triển chuyên môn của giáo viên ở các trường phổ thông Việt Nam

Nguồn lực và chất lượng giáo viên là một trong những mối quan tâm thiết yếu để phát triển giáo dục bền vững. Thông qua phân tích bộ dữ liệu “Khảo sát thói quen phát triển chuyên môn giáo viên các trường phổ thông ở Việt Nam năm 2019” với 464 quan sát về thói quen học tập của giáo viên phổ thông từ các trường công lập và tư thục trên cả nước, chúng tôi thực hiện nghiên cứu phân tích thói quen phát triển chuyên môn của giáo viên. Nghiên cứu này là một phần kết quả của dự án nghiên cứu về năng lực chuyên môn giáo viên phổ thông Việt Nam giai đoạn 2020 – 2025 của Trung tâm nghiên cứu và Phát triển Giáo dục EdLab Asia. Bằng cách phân tích dữ liệu về số giờ tham gia hoạt động phát triển chuyên môn của giáo viên ở từng loại hình trường, nghiên cứu chỉ ra sự khác biệt về thói quen học tập của giáo viên các cấp phổ thông theo từng loại hình nhà trường. Nghiên cứu cũng chỉ ra rằng hoạt động phát triển chuyên môn giáo viên của trường tư thục tốt hơn trường công lập. Kết quả của nghiên cứu là gợi ý cho các nhà hoạch định chính sách, các nhà quản lý giáo dục tại các cơ sở giáo dục phổ thông, không kể công-tư tham chiếu và điều chỉnh các kế hoạch, chương trình phát triển chuyên môn giáo viên

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic among healthcare workers at the grassroots level in Vietnam

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, an immediate priority is to monitor rates of mental health issues to understand related factors and inform interventions. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychological and mental health impact of COVID-19 and some related factors among HCWs at the grassroots level in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 675 HCWs working at health facilities through questionnaires. The finding showed the rate of HCWs who were psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was 37.2%, of which 64.1% of HCWs were afraid to tell their families about the risk of exposure to COVID-19 at work. The 31.0% of HCWs had difficulty sleeping deeply/insomnia due to the COVID-19 epidemic. No statistically significant differences were found in the psychological impact of COVID-19 between HCW groups by age, gender, seniority, and professional qualifications. Some groups of HCWs were found to have poor psychological health. Our research suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic, HCWs working in healthcare facilities experienced an increased psychological burden; psychological interventions for those at high risk and with common mental disorders should be included to reduce this burden and protect HCWs' mental health

Knowledge of tuberculosis among physicians working at community health stations in Vietnam

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant health problem worldwide, including in Vietnam, where around 174,000 newly diagnosed cases and 13,200 patients died in 2018. There are challenges in the diagnostic process, treatment, and follow-up. The physicians with knowledge of TB working at commune health stations play an essential role in this struggle. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge of TB and related factors among physicians working at community health stations in the Northern provinces of Vietnam. A cross-sectional survey was implemented on 335 physicians working at community health stations in 5 Northern provinces in Vietnam from September 2019 to October 2020. The result showed that the TB knowledge of physicians was not good. There were some severe knowledge gaps concerning at-risk groups, the main symptoms of TB, sputum tests for both diagnosis and follow-up and management of attack therapy. The TB training participants had better TB knowledge than others (aOR=1.68; 95%CI: 1.047-2.712). This study underlines the importance of clinical experience and TB training to TB knowledge. We suggest that a TB training plan is required for physicians. Our survey results could inform the process of defining the physicians who work at community health stations' role in TB management in the future

The politics of numbers and additionality governing the national Payment for Forest Environmental Services scheme in Vietnam: A case study from Son La province

Payments for forest environmental services (PFES) is a major breakthrough policy in the Vietnamese forestry sector because it contributes 25% of the total investments in the forestry sector and serves as the first market-based instrument employed to protect forests. However, there is little empirical evidence of its effectiveness. Is the policy meeting the core objectives of improving forest cover and forest quality and is it also achieving its claims of supporting local livelihoods? This paper analyses the environmental, social, and economic impacts of PFES in Son La province, the longest standing implementation of a PFES scheme in Vietnam. Our study uses a sampling method that incorporates pre-matching and a before-after-control-intervention approach. Data was collected from government statistics, remote sensing analysis, focus group discussions involving 236 people, surveys with a total of 240 households, and key informant interviews with 45 people. Our findings show that additionality of PFES in Son La is controversial and depends on who collects the data and what data is used to evaluate the impacts of PFES. Data collection is also politicized to serve central, provincial and district government interests. Evidence shows that PFES has provided little additional income to individual villagers to protect forests in Son La. However, total PFES revenue paid to communities generates significant income for village communities. Moreover, not all villagers can receive continuous payments from PFES, meaning that PFES has not become a stable source of income, rendering the permanence of PFES limited. Improving monitoring and evaluation policies coupled with transparent, inclusive, independent mechanisms are essential to providing a more accurate reflection of impacts from PFES in Vietnam