The impact of the stimulus package on the agricultural sector in Vietnam

The global financial crisis in 2008-2009 has affected almost all countries. Vietnam was hit by a large fall in export demand and foreign direct investment. Many governments quickly prescribed stimulus packages and Vietnam was no exception. It reduced taxes and increased government spending, mainly by subsidizing loans to state-owned enterprises. The question is what the stimulated impact is, if any, and whether a better outcome could have been achieved by a different mix of policies. In this paper, we use a simple general equilibrium model to quantify the impact of the various components of the stimulus package on the whole economy as well as agricultural sector. The results suggest that, in the short run at least, the stimulus package marginally stabilised national production and income. The package led to a reduction in total welfare because it favoured the non-agricultural sector. The poor in the agricultural sector could be better off if the investment policy were to boost demand for agricultural products. Furthermore, the risk of inflation and real exchange rate appreciation could undermine national competitiveness.Vietnam, fiscal stimulus, agriculture, International Development, Public Economics, E62, D58, Q17,

Cohen-Macaulay edge-weighted graphs of girth 55 or greater

Let $G_\omega$ be an edge-weighted graph whose underlying graph is $G$. In this paper, we enlarge the class of Cohen-Macaulay edge-weighted graphs $G_\omega$ by classifying completely them when the graph $G$ has girth $5$ or greater

Art for science communication: The transformation in the personal sphere of adolescents in response to climate change

At the core of the study, it aims to make an in-depth and critical interpretation based on the data analysis through codes. The codes vary in the length of the text to highly conceptual answers (given by four groups: control and experimental groups). The study advocates that proper science communication through art-informed collaboration should be considered to achieve sustainability outcomes. The findings are expected to develop and show how arts can influence and effectively communicate with young people as the future generation through creative and attractive narratives with proper knowledge of climate change adaptation. The study results may have implications for climate change policymakers

Risks, impacts and management of invasive plant species in Vietnam

In Southeast Asia, research on invasive plant species (IPS) is limited and biased by geography, research foci and approaches. This may hinder understanding of the extent of invasion problems and effective management to prevent and control IPS. Because biological invasions are a complicated issue involving multiple disciplines, this thesis utilized diverse approaches to evaluate risk, impacts, and management of IPS in Vietnam. Distribution models of 14 species predicted that large areas of Vietnam are susceptible to IPS, particularly in parts bordering China. Native IPS, which are often overlooked in assessment, posed similar risks as non-native IPS. From the model results, a native grass Microstegium ciliatum was selected to quantify its impacts on tree regeneration in secondary forests. A field experiment in Cuc Phuong National Park found that tree seedling abundance and richness increased within one year of grass removal; this effect strengthened in the second year. These results highlight the impacts of IPS on tree regeneration and the importance of IPS management to forest restoration projects. Given the risks and impacts of IPS, strategic management is needed to achieve conservation goals in national parks (NPs). However, interviews with both state and non-state entities revealed poor and reactive management of IPS in Vietnamese NPs from national to local levels. Institutional arrangements challenge IPS management in Vietnam. Involvement of multiple sectors with unclear mandates leads to overlaps in responsibilities and makes collaboration among sectors difficult. Lack of top-down support from the national level (legislation, guidance, resources) and limited power at the local level weakens implementation and ability of NPs to respond to IPS. The findings of this thesis provide important information for achieving effective management of IPS in Vietnam. Knowledge of vulnerable areas and species likely to invade and cause impacts can help Vietnam efficiently allocate management resources to prevent and control IPS, but adjustments to institutional arrangements and enhanced cooperation may be necessary to ensure management occurs

Epidemiology of rotavirus in Southern Vietnam : results of a sentinel surveillance from 2013 to 2018

Rotavirus infects nearly every child by the age of 3–5 years and is the leading cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea in children aged <5 years worldwide. In Vietnam, nearly haft of diarrhea-related deaths are accounted for Rotavirus; the country also had one of the highest Rotavirus hospitalization figures in South East Asia. The two Rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix and Rotateq) were licensed in the state and available in the private sector, as well as Rotavin-M1 - a local licensed vaccine. In 1998, the Rotavirus sentinel surveillance was initiated in Vietnam. This study aimed to describe the Rotavirus sentinel surveillance findings from 2013 to 2018, including epics profile, clinical features, and genotyping information among hospitalized children under five years of age. Methods: A hospital-based study was performed from the Rotavirus sentinel surveillance at Paediatric Hospital No.1 in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Data were collected from children between 0 and 59 months of age whose primary reason for hospitalization was acute watery diarrhea. Children were included in the vaccine effectiveness analysis (VE) if they were at least six months old at the time of notification. Results: During 2013-2018, of 5,179 acute diarrhea cases included in the study, Rotavirus was detected in 2,424 cases (46.80%), a downward trend was observed from 2013 (55.27%) to 2018 (43.54%). Dry season months (from November to April) witnessed a 2.4 times higher occurrence of Rotavirus positive cases compared to rainy season months (May to October) (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 2.14 - 2.692, p<0.001). The mortality rate was 0.04%. The typical symptoms associated with Rotavirus AGE were vomiting (present of vomiting, average max number per day, duration), dehydration status, present of fever, diarrhea (average max number per day) (p<0.05). Rotavirus AGE was more likely to be severe than the negative group (p<0.001). Of 1,107 Rotavirus positive cases had PCR isolated for genotyping, G3P[8] was the most common G-P combined genotype (43.18%), followed by G8P[8], G1P[8], G2P[4] (constituted 19.69%, 12.92%, and 12.83%, respectively). We observed an enormous genotyping shift from 2013 to 2018: G3P[8] became more frequent during 2014-2018, with the rise from 8.13% in 2013 to a peak of 60.65% in 2017, then decreased to 41.15% in 2018. In contrast, G1P[8] considerably dropped from 69.92% in 2013 to no case in 2018. There also occurred a change in G8P[8] and G2P[4] prevalence. From no case in 2013, G8P[8] leaped to a peak of 47.21% in 2016 and was the predominant genotype at that year, before went down to 23.92% in 2018. G2P[4] showed a slight upward trend from 2013 to 2014 (from 15.45% to 37.41%), then dropped to 0.43% in 2016, before went up to 16.27% in 2018. The percentage of vaccinees among the study population was meager (3.84%). Among children ≥ 6 months of age, getting a completed schedule of Rotavirus vaccine in general, and the Rotarix vaccine in particular, had vaccine effectiveness against Rotavirus AGE at 82.34% (95% CI: 70.33%-89.49%), and 85.90% (95% CI: 74.10%-92.30%), respectively. Rotarix VE for G3P[8] was 88.35% (95% CI: 52.50%-97.14%). Conclusions: The findings in our study suggested that Rotavirus infection was still a significant cause of acute watery diarrhea among hospitalized children younger than five years old in Vietnam. There is a need to consider the recommended vaccine to use in the National Immunization Program in the dramatic genotyping shift situation. In addition to monitoring genotypes, whole genomic characterization of circulating Rotavirus strains before and after vaccine introduction will help to assess the vaccines' efficacy.open석