The impact of intraspecific competition on tree growth in planted Korean pine forest

The aim of this study was to explore the correlation of competition indices (CIs) on individual tree growth for Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) plantation using partial correlation analysis and generalized linear models. The data were collected from 15 permanent plots in Mengjiagang forestry farm, Northeast China. The results showed that the distance dependent CIs have a higher predictive capacity for individual growth of pine trees. The control index of competitive trees number (CI1) combined with the selection fixed competitor trees (M2) was found to be the most well correlated competition measure with five - years diameter increment. Thus, the competition index (CI1- M2) was recommended for developing individual tree growth models. The subject tree diameter at breast height, crown width, height to crown base, tree volume and basal area all showed a significantly linear correlation with tree competition intensity (P 0,05). Diameter at breast height, crown width, tree volume and basal area all decreased with increasing competition intensity, whereas the height to crown base increased. There was no significant relationship between competition intensity and tree height (P 0,05). The optimal model of predicting individual growth with logarithm of diameter at breast height and CIs as the independent variables due to the best fitting performance. This results also showed considerable improvement in predicting individual tree periodic growth when including competition indices that the mean absolute error is reduced in the range of 22−25%.

Flocculation of Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) using Alum and the Effects of Catalysts Addition

There are a variety of primary coagulants which can be used in a water treatment plant. One of the earliest, and still the most extensively used, is aluminum sulfate, also known as alum. Aluminum Sulfate (Alum) is one of the most commonly used flocculent in waste water treatment processes. Effectiveness of Alum in flocculation process is determined by many factors such as the effluents pH, flocculent dose as well as the use of catalyst to improve efficiency rate of flocculation. Hence special attention to these factors especially the use of catalyst has been brought about by this study. Experiments were carried out using Reactive Blue 19 Dye as the contaminant of waste water and two catalysts namely Calcium Hydroxide (CaOH2) and Poly Aluminum Chloride (PACl) were evaluated. The results obtained proved that indeed after addition of catalysts, removal efficiency rates of Alum can be increased up to 25% using Calcium Hydroxide and up to 35% using Poly Aluminum Chloride compared to Alum alone. The optimum conditions for this study were at pH 5.5 ~7.5, 300 mg/L of Alum 30seconds of rapid mixing time with 300 rpm , 30rpm of mixing rate for 5 minutes and 30 minutes of settling time. Moreover, Alum showed the highest performance under these conditions and using 50 mg/L PACl as catalyst with 98.52% of COD reduction and 90.60% of color reduction. In conclusion, Alum with the support of PACl as catalyst is an effective coagulant, which can reduce the level of COD and Dye Color in Reactive Blue 19 contaminated wastewater

The effects of free trade agreements on the stock market: Evidence from Vietnam.

This study examines the effects of news events related to the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) on the Vietnam stock market from 2010 to 2020. We calculate sectoral abnormal returns prior to, during, and after announcements and find that the Vietnamese stock market is susceptible to these events. We discovered that the announcement had a negative impact on the market, which might diminish the effectiveness of the Agreement. The findings show that more than half of Vietnam's sectors had an immediate reaction to EVFTA announcements, with fourteen reacting negatively and six responding positively. Two of the ten events did not have any immediate impact on these industries but all events resulted in either early or delayed reactions. We also find market scepticism and major changes in the deal led to the emergence of a diamond risk structure. We run multiple robustness tests to account for market integration and other factors that may affect stock returns. In addition, we explore potential sectoral systematic risk changes following these occurrences using different ARCH-type models. These additional tests confirm the robustness of our findings

Understanding Acceptability and Willingness-to-pay for a C-reactive Protein Point-of-care Testing Service to Improve Antibiotic Dispensing for Respiratory Infections in Vietnamese Pharmacies: A Mixed-methods Study

Background: Pharmacies are popular first points of contact for mild infections in the community. Pharmacy services in many countries have expanded to include vaccines and point-of-care tests. In low- and middle-income countries such as Vietnam, poor enforcement of regulations results in substantial volumes of over-the-counter antibiotic sales. Point-of-care tests could provide an economically viable way to reduce antibiotic sales, while still satisfying customer demand for convenient healthcare. C-reactive protein point-of-care testing (CRP-POCT) can reduce antibiotic prescribing for respiratory illness in primary care. Here, we explore the acceptability and feasibility of implementing CRP-POCT in pharmacies in Vietnam. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study between April and June 2021. A customer exit survey with 520 participants seeking acute respiratory infection treatment at 25 pharmacies evaluated acceptability and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for CRP-POCT and post-service satisfaction. Factors driving customers” acceptance and WTP were explored through mixed-effects multivariable regression. Three focus group discussions with customers (20 participants) and 12 in-depth interviews with pharmacists and other stakeholders were conducted and analyzed thematically. Results: Antibiotics were sold to 81.4% of patients with CRP levels <10 mg/L (antibiotics not recommended). A total of 96.5% of customers who experienced CRP-POCT supported its future introduction at pharmacies. Patients with antibiotic transactions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–4.48) and those suffering acute respiratory infection symptoms for more than 3 days (aOR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.08–4.08) were more likely to accept CRP-POCT, whereas customers visiting for children (aOR, 0.20; 95% CI, .10–.54) and those with preference for antibiotic treatment (aOR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.23–0.89) were less likely to accept CRP-POCT. A total of 78.3% (95% CI, 74.8–81.7) of customers were willing to pay for CRP-POCT, with a mean cost of US$2.4 (±1.1). Customer's income and cost of total drug treatment were associated with increased WTP. Enablers for implementing CRP-POCT included customers’ and pharmacists’ perceived benefits of CRP-POCT, and the impact of COVID-19 on perceptions of POCT. Perceived challenges for implementation included the additional burden of service provision, lack of an enabling policy environment, and potential risks for customers. Conclusions: Implementing CRP-POCT at pharmacies is a feasible and well-accepted strategy to tackle the overuse of antibiotics in the community, with appeal for both supply and demand sides. Creating an enabling policy environment for its implementation, and transparent discussion of values and risks would be key for its successful implementation

Effectiveness and safety of in vitro maturation of oocytes versus in vitro fertilisation in women with high antral follicle count : Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

This work was supported by Ferring grant number 000323 and sponsored by My Duc Hospital.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Perception of having children through surrogacy in individuals with MRKH in Vietnam: a qualitative study

IntroductionMayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH) is rare condition that has a negative impact on quality of life because affected women lack a uterus and vagina, and are therefore unable to engage in sexual intercourse and experience natural pregnancy. This study evaluated perceptions of surrogacy in Vietnamese women with MRKH who have started families.MethodWomen with MRKH who had undergone successful vaginal reconstruction, were married, and had started families participated in a semi-structured, in-depth, one-on-one online video interview with an experienced female psychologist. Open-ended questions were used to encourage participants to express their perceptions of surrogacy; prominent themes were discussed, compared, and combined.ResultsTwenty women (mean age 31 years) agreed to participate. Key themes identified from interviews were the importance of having genetic offspring, consideration of surrogacy as a preferred solution to infertility, the barriers to surrogacy in Vietnam, lack of reproductive information and counselling, individuals concealing their health condition, the impact of religion on the possibility of surrogacy, the economic cost of surrogacy, and the difficulty in finding a surrogate under the restrictions imposed by Vietnamese law.DiscussionBased on the perceptions of women from MRKH from Vietnam, there is an opportunity to improve how infertility is managed in these people, including information about surrogacy. These data show that individuals with MRKH should be provided with information about the possibility of surrogacy, encouraged to be open and seek support, and be managed by a multidisciplinary team that includes psychological support; the provision of economic support for fertility treatments in women with MRKH should also be considered

Cu–Fe Incorporated Graphene-Oxide Nanocomposite as Highly Efficient Catalyst in the Degradation of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) from Aqueous Solution

Fe/graphene oxide and Cu–Fe/graphene oxide nanocomposite were synthesized by the atomic implantation method to study the photocatalytic degradation of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by the XRD, N2 isotherms, SEM with EDX, TEM and XPS analysis. Characterization results have reported that oxides of Cu and Fe were uniformly distributed on graphene oxide and exited in the form of Cu+ and Fe2+ ions in Cu–Fe/graphene oxide nanocomposite. The high photocatalytic DDT removal efficiency 99.7% was obtained for Cu–Fe/graphene oxide under the optimal condition of 0.2 g/L catalyst, 15 mg/L H2O2 and pH 5. It was attributed to the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ by Cu+ ions and –OH radicals formation. However, it was dropped to 90.4% in the recycling study by leaching of iron and without a change in phase structure and morphology

Outpatient antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in Vietnamese primary care settings by the WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) classification: An analysis using routinely collected electronic prescription data

Background: This study aims to investigate patterns of antibiotic prescribing and to determine patient-specific factors associated with the choice of antibiotics by the World Health Organization's Access-Watch-Reserve (WHO AWaRe) class for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in rural primary care settings in northern Vietnam. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed health records for outpatients who were registered with the Vietnamese Health Insurance Scheme, visited one of 112 commune health centres in 6 rural districts of Nam Dinh province, Vietnam during 2019, and were diagnosed with ARIs. Patient-level prescription data were collected from the electronic patient databases. We used descriptive statistics to investigate patterns of antibiotic prescribing, with the primary outcomes including total antibiotic prescriptions and prescriptions by WHO AWaRe group. We identified patient-specific factors associated with watch-group antibiotic prescribing through multivariable logistic regression analysis. Findings: Among 193,010 outpatient visits for ARIs observed in this study, 187,144 (97.0%) resulted in an antibiotic prescription, of which 172,976 (92.5%) were access-antibiotics, 10,765 (5.6%) were watch-antibiotics, 3366 (1.8%) were not-recommended antibiotics. No patients were treated with reserve-antibiotics. The proportion of watch-antibiotic prescription was highest amongst children under 5-years old (18.1%, compared to 9.5% for 5–17-years, 4.9% for 18–49-years, 4.3% for 50–64-years, and 3.7% for 65-and-above-years). In multivariable logistic regression, children, district, ARI-type, comobid chronic respiratory illness, and follow-up visit were associated with higher likelihood of prescribing watch-group antibiotics. Interpretation: The alarmingly high proportion of antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs in primary care, and the frequent use of watch-antibiotics for children, heighten concerns around antibiotic overuse at the community level. Antimicrobial stewardship interventions and policy attention are needed in primary care settings to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance