Factors affecting the adoption of climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) in the North Central Coast of Vietnam

Climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) is considered an appropriate and effective adaptation approach for the coastal aquaculture sector under the climate change phenomenon. This study, applying probit model, aims to assess the influence of several factors on the farmers’ decision to apply CSAq practices in extensive coastal shrimp farming. Data were collected from interviews with 200 households who have both already applied and have yet to apply CSAq practices in five coastal districts of Thanh Hoa Province. The results showed six key factors that influenced the decision of the farmers to apply CSAq practices: availability of household labor; access to information on CSAq practices; market price of products applying CSAq practices; economic efficiency; ability to ensure food security; and improved pond environment when applying CSAq practices. These factors explained 69.41% of their decision to apply CSAq, among which economic efficiency had the greatest impact (30.2%). Market prices and access to information about CSAq are also important factors with respective levels of influence at 16.0% and 14.9%. The result implies that strengthening access to CSAq information and improving technical understanding of CSAq practices are important solutions to upscale CSAq in the North Central Coast of Vietnam

EVALUATION OF ACUTE AND SUB-ACUTE ORAL TOXICITY OF CLINACANTHUS NUTANS LEAVES EXTRACT IN MICE

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate acute and sub-acute oral toxicity of ethanol extract of Clinacanthus nutans leaves in Swiss mice. Methods: Acute oral toxicity study was performed as per OECD-423 guidelines. Sub-acute oral toxicity study was performed as per OECD-407 guidelines. The extract was dissolved in 10% dimethyl sulfoxide and administered orally, while the control group received only the vehicle. Results: The acute oral toxicity test on mice showed that this extract was well tolerated up to LD50 5000 mg/kg body weight/day oral dosage level and non-toxic to mice under the present experimental conditions. The sub-acute toxicity study was carried out on mice with the oral dosage of the extract from 100 mg/kg–500 mg/kg body weight/day and 5000 mg/kg body weight/day for 28 d. The results showed that this extract did not induce death or adverse effects in activity, feed consumption or body weight gain. There were not significant changes in heamotological and biochemical parameters between control and experiment groups. Conclusion: Thus, Clinacanthus nutans leaf has a very low toxicity value

Associations of Psychosocial Factors with Maternal Confidence Among Japanese and Vietnamese Mothers

We conducted this cross-sectional study among 392 Japanese and 294 Vietnamese mothers who attended routine child health visits in a Japanese city and at a tertiary hospital in Vietnam, in order to investigate the prevalence and associated sociodemographic, parenting, and psychological characteristics of low maternal confidence in child rearing among them. All data were collected from medical files in Japan, and from medical files and self-administered questionnaires in Vietnam. The proportion of mothers without secure feeling of confidence in the present study was 22% in Japan and 66% in Vietnam. Significant factors associated with a lack of confidence were first-time motherhood and unintended pregnancy in the Japanese dataset and younger age in the Vietnamese dataset. In both groups, a higher proportion of mothers who lacked confidence reported negative parenting outcomes than did confident mothers. Among the three psychological measurements (mood, self-efficacy and depression), higher self-efficacy was associated independently with a significantly reduced risk of not having confidence in child rearing. These results suggest the importance of developing parenting support programs to help Japanese and Vietnamese mothers, particularly those who are young, first-time mothers or who became pregnant unexpectedly, improve their self-efficacy

Enhanced Near-Infrared Fluorescent Sensing Using Metal-Dielectric-Metal Plasmonic Array

This work presents a numerical study of metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) plasmonic structure used to enhance a near-infrared fluorescent sensor. The MDM plasmonic structure consists of silver (Ag) subwavelength disk arrays on a thin silica (SiO2) spacing layer and 100-nm-thick-Ag film on a silicon (Si) substrate. The MDM plasmonic arrays with various structural parameters are designed and numerically investigated using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Results show that the optical properties of designed structures are slightly dependent on the height of the Ag disk and strongly dependent on the Ag disk diameter and SiO2 thickness. In the near-infrared wavelength range, the proposed MDM plasmonic array has low ohmic loss and shows the high fluorescent emitting enhancement and directivity of about 16 times and 625.0, respectively, thus making MDM plasmonic array an alternative approach for near-infrared fluorescence bioimaging and biosensing devices

Water Temperature Prediction Models in Northern Coastal Area, Vietnam

This paper presents the results of regression models (linear, nonlinear and stochastic regression) and artificial neural network models (ANN) using observed data of daily maximum air and water temperature at Bai Chay station in the coastal areas of Northern Delta, Vietnam. The accuracy of the models was evaluated and compared by R, RMSE, RMSE% and E indicators. The ANN model was highlight results with the RMSE = 1.24; R = 0.98; E = 0.9; RMSE% = 4. The results of the study also show that daily water temperature is affected by daily maximum and average air temperature of previous 1 and 2 days. The main contribution of this study is to identify the appropriate models and time lag factors for water temperature prediction from the air temperature applied to neighboring meteorological stations without water temperature monitoring data. The results of the study could be used as a basis for determining the spatial distribution of water temperature risk to aquaculture in the coastal areas of Northern Delta, Vietnam

Technical Report: Factors affecting the adoption of climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) in North Central Coast of Vietnam

Under the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Vietnam Institute of Fisheries Economics and Planning (VIFEP), WorldFish, and Thanh Hoa Agricultural Extension Centre had successfully implemented the pilot project “Enhancing community resilience to climate change by promoting climate smart aquaculture practices along the coastal areas of the North Central of Vietnam” (ECO-SAMP). From 2015-2017, the project was implemented by introducing sanility domesticated tilapia in improved extensive system of tiger shrimp in Hoang Phong commune, Thanh Hoa province. This technical report documents the follow-up activities that has been carried out by VIFEP in 2018 to find the out key factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) in North Central Coast of Vietnam

Environmental Effects on HV Dielectric Materials and Related Sensing Technologies

The increase in recent power failures, with negative impacts on humans and the economy, has been largely attributed to environmental effects and the aging of the power network. These have been accelerated in the last years due to two main factors: an increased load on the power network and material degradation owing to the presence of environmental pollutants. These factors together with specific weather conditions create the incipient conditions for power network degradation. In this paper, a review of the influence of environmental factors on high-voltage (HV) materials and components is provided. Sensing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies developed to prevent the failure of the material structure and HV components are also reported

Analisis hubungan antara motivasi dan masa kerja dengan produktivitas kerja karyawan : studi kasus pada PT Budi Manunggal

This report highlights the results of consultation meetings and field visits organized by the Department of Crop Production and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in Southeast Asia in association with the five offices of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong River Delta provinces of An Giang, Can Tho, Dong Thap, Long An, and Tra Vinh. This assessment report also looks at various issues that affect the agricultural transformation of the region such as failure to recognize risks brought about by climate change, unpredictable prices of agricultural products in the local and world market, lack of linkages between farmers and potential markets, lack of knowledge and skills in growing new crops, and spontaneous breaching of provincial government plans in changing cropping systems, and more investments in modernizing agricultural infrastructure, among others. The report draws upon the critical importance of the master plan mentioned earlier in rice restructuring within the context of the whole Mekong Delta to guide and shape the actions of the visited provinces. Climate-related risks maps and adaptation plans (CS MAP), which is applied in the five Mekong Delta Region provinces, are found to be valuable in complementing the planting calendar of rice seasons

Foresighting future climate change impacts on fisheries and aquaculture in vietnam

The Vietnamese fisheries sector, including both marine fisheries and aquaculture, has made spectacular progress in recent years, becoming one of the top seafood producing and exporting countries in the world. Looking forward, development goals of this sector must address challenges associated with climate change, including changing distribution of commercially important marine species such as tuna and disruptions to land-based aquaculture production systems. This study investigates the prospective climate change impacts on Vietnam's fisheries sector, focusing on four key commodities including capture fisheries (tuna), freshwater aquaculture (pangasius catfish and tilapia), and brackish water aquaculture (shrimp). The extent of impact varies, but climate change represents a potentially significant threat to sustainable production in each production system. Producers, policy makers, and other stakeholders need to plan for and adapt to climate change to ensure the sustainable development of Vietnam's fisheries sector

Manipulating intermediates at the Au-Ti0₂ interface over InP nanopillar array for photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) reduction of CO2 with H2O is a promising approach to convert solar energy and greenhouse gas into value-added chemicals or fuels. However, the exact role of structures and interfaces of photoelectrodes in governing the photoelectrocatalytic processes in terms of both activity and selectivity remains elusive. Herein, by systematically investigating the InP photocathodes with Au-TiO2 interfaces, we discover that nanostructuring of InP can not only enhance the photoresponse owing to increased light absorption and prolonged minority carrier lifetime, but also improve selectivity toward CO production by providing more abundant interfacial contact points between Au and TiO2 than planar photocathodes. In addition, theoretical studies on the Au-TiO2 interface demonstrate that the charge transfer between Au and TiO2, which is locally confined to the interface, strengthens the binding of the CO∗ intermediate on positively charged Au interfacial sites, thus improving CO2 photoelectroreduction to form CO. An optimal Au-TiO2/InP nanopillar-array photocathode exhibits an onset potential of +0.3 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a Faradaic efficiency of 84.2% for CO production at -0.11 V vs RHE under simulated AM 1.5G illumination at 1 sun. The present findings of the synergistic effects of the structure and interface on the photoresponse and selectivity of a photoelectrode provide insights into the development of III-V semiconductor-based PEC systems for solar fuel generation.National Research Foundation (NRF)This work was supported by the eCO2EP and C4T2 programs funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) program through the Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education in Singapore (CARES) and the Berkeley Educational Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS). The authors also acknowledge the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for financial support