Factors affecting Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of banks: The case of Vietnam

This study aims to identify factors affecting Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of commercial banks in Vietnam. To address the research problem, data of commercial banks in Vietnam from 2008 to 2017 were collected. This study applied a fixed-effects model in comparison with a random-effects model on a panel data of 200 observations. Results from the firmly fixed-effects model indicated that NPLs were positively affected by its lag of the previous year, capital structure, and interest rate. Additionally, returns on asset, inflation rate, and credit growth were found to have negative impacts on NPLs. However, impacts of firm size and gross domestic product were not found across the models. Based on the results, this research suggested several policy recommendations for the management of NPLs in the commercial banks

Collaboration Between Social Workers and Educational Forces in Schools: Advantages, Objectives, Content, and Form

Cooperation between social workers and educational forces in high schools is viewed as a two-way cooperative effort to assist learners needing intervention. Intervention, emergency support for teachers or students needing intervention or assistance; Organize events to promote student development, community integration, and assistance for teachers and parents in need. The evaluation criteria for the cooperation between social workers and educational forces are based on four coordination components. Includes four scales evaluating the advantages, objectives, contents, and form of cooperation between high school social work personnel and educational agencies. A review of the cooperation between social work personnel and educational forces in high schools is gaining interest, although no research has been conducted on this topic. According to research findings, coordination between social work personnel and educational forces in high schools has been formed, albeit to a low and inconsistent degree across activities. The institution must perfect the organizational structure of its operations, management, and social work divisions. Furthermore, when coordinating with educational forces, social work personnel must emphasize the benefits of cooperation with educational forces. In addition, social workers must be adaptable between forms and activities according to the conditions and nature of their work.Ho Chi Minh City University CS.2021.19.4

Factors affecting learner’s satisfaction towards online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Vietnam

Online learning is being considered a new model of knowledge exchange in modern education. In parallel with the incredible impacts of the global pandemic, this is considered an opportunity to promote the development of online learning globally. Therefore, this study proposed a research framework including four factors affecting learner satisfaction towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at a university, which are system quality, service quality, transformational leadership, and self-efficacy. A questionnaire was conducted online to assess which 131 respondents were representative students from two large private universities in Da Nang: FPT University and Duy Tan University. The results from the regression analysis show that three factors have a positive impact on learner satisfaction during COVID-19. This study concludes that students at private universities in Da Nang prioritize system quality as the most significant factor in their satisfaction with the online learning system, followed by transformational leadership and the last one is self-efficacy. Therefore, it can be more strategic for private organizations, developers, software designers, or even transformation-trained trainers to be emphasized to build a system of processes for implementing online learning for students effectively

Status of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) and other emerging diseases of penaeid shrimps in Viet Nam

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), formerly called early mortality syndrome (EMS), was first reported in 2010 among penaeid shrimps cultivated in the Mekong Delta Region of Viet Nam albeit without any laboratory confirmation. The disease subsequently spread to a wide range of shrimp production areas in the same region (Soc Trang: 1,719 ha; Bac Lieu: 346 ha; and Ca Mau: 3,493 ha), so that the Government of Viet Nam requested for technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 2011. In 2012, FAO supported Viet Nam through the project TCP/VIE/3304 Emergency assistance to control the spread of an unknown disease affecting shrimps in Viet Nam, under which the Department of Animal Health of Viet Nam (DAH) collaborated with the University of Arizona and FAO experts to carry out indepth studies to identify the etiologic agent of the disease. As a result, unique isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was identified as the causative agent of AHPND in 2013. Viet Nam has been vigilant and transparent with regard to aquatic animal diseases through official notifications to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA). AHPND outbreaks have no clear temporal pattern with black tiger (Penaeus monodon) and whiteleg (P. vannamei) shrimps showing similar incidence risk. The disease occurs at any stage of shrimp cultivation, i.e. on average about 35 days after stocking. To date, unwarranted outbreaks of AHPND in major shrimp-producing provinces in Viet Nam have been apparently regulated. Aside from AHPND, white spot disease (WSD) has also been a persistent problem responsible for serious economic losses in many shrimp-producing areas in Viet Nam. To prevent and control the further spread of infectious diseases of shrimps including AHPND and WSD, multiple control measures have been implemented including guidance of farmers to improve production conditions, facilities and biosecurity application, active surveillance of shrimp production areas for early warning, screening of broodstock and postlarvae for any OIE listed diseases, regulation on movement of stocks, and collaboration with regional and international organizations in carrying out in-depth epidemiological studies that will be needed in the formulation of pragmatic and holistic disease interventions

Miliutine A acid, a new cyclofarnesane sesquiterpene from the stems of <i>Miliusa velutina</i>

Six compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the stems of Miliusa velutina, including miliutine A acid (1), a new cyclofarnesane sesquiterpenoid; miliutine B methyl ester (2), a cyclofarnesane sesquiterpenoid which was determined the absolute configuration for the first time and four known phenol derivatives (3–6). NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometry were used for identifying relative configurations. The assignments of the absolute configurations were determined based on Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) and NOESY spectra analysis. All six compounds were screened for their in vitro cytotoxic activities against HepG2 cell line using the SRB assay and they showed weak or none activities.</p

The perspective of psychology students on the areas of psychology

Perception is defined as the result of an awareness process about phenomena, things (living animals, plants, or humans), connections between objects by activities including noticing, observing, differentiating, and acknowledging. A recent study was conducted to investigate the undergraduate’s perception of areas of psychology. This research used the Vietnamese version of the Scale of Interests by Areas of Psychology (EIAPsi), including ten subscales to survey 252 psychology students (57 males and 195 females) from four universities in Vietnam. The findings showed significant effects of university and major on psychology undergraduate’s perception of areas of psychology. Students majoring in Counseling and Clinical Psychology had more general knowledge about the functions and roles of Clinical and Health Psychology and Neuropsychology than other undergraduates. Industrial and Organizational Psychology students had more general knowledge about Organizational Psychology than students in other majors

The incidence and aetiology of hospitalised community-acquired pneumonia among Vietnamese adults: a prospective surveillance in Central Vietnam

Abstract Background Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) including Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious disease that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The patterns of aetiological pathogens differ by region and country. Special attention must be paid to CAP in Southeast Asia (SEA), a region facing rapid demographic transition. Estimates burden and aetiological patterns of CAP are essential for the clinical and public health management. The purposes of the study are to determine the incidence, aetiological pathogens, clinical pictures and risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the Vietnamese adult population. Methods A prospective surveillance for hospitalised adult CAP was conducted in Khanh Hoa Province, Central Vietnam. All adults aged ≥15 years with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) admitted to a provincial hospital from September 2009 to August 2010 were enrolled in the study. Patients were classified into CAP and non-pneumonic LRTI (NPLRTI) according to the radiological findings. Bacterial pathogens were identified from sputum samples by the conventional culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis; 13 respiratory viruses were identified from nasopharyngeal specimens by PCR. Results Of all 367 LRTI episodes examined, 174 (47%) were CAP. Older age, the presence of underlying respiratory conditions, and higher index score of smoking were associated with CAP. The one-year estimated incidence of hospitalised adult CAP in our study population was 0.81 per 1,000 person years. The incidence increased considerably with age and was highest among the elderly. The case fatality proportion of hospitalised CAP patients was 9.8%. Among 286 sputum samples tested for bacterial PCR, 79 (28%) were positive for H. influenzae, and 65 (23%) were positive for S. pneumoniae. Among 357 samples tested for viral PCR, 73 (21%) were positive for respiratory viruses; influenza A (n = 32, 9%) was the most common. Conclusions The current adult CAP incidence in Vietnam was relatively low; this result was mainly attributed to the young age of our study population

ĐA DẠNG DI TRUYỀN QUẦN THỂ CÁ CHÌNH HOA (Anguilla marmorata) TẠI QUẢNG TRỊ

This study was conducted to evaluate the population genetic diversity of the wild Anguilla marmorata in Quang Tri province by comparing the DNA sequences of the mitochondrial control region (CR) gene with those of other giant mottled eel populations in the world. The results indicate that the genetic distance between individuals in the Quang Tri population ranged from 0 to 0.261, with an average of 0.024. Among 31 individuals, there were 203 distinct polymorphism sites (S), which led to 209 mutation sites (Eta) and 31 different haplotypes. The average number of distinct nucleotides (k) was 29,299. The nucleotide diversity factor (Pi) accounted for 26.09 × 10–3, and the minimum number of recombination processes (Rm) in the population was 51 events. The majority of eel samples collected at the site had close genetic relationships with those of the North Pacific population (27/31 individuals), and four eel samples had close genetic relationships with those of the South Pacific population. The finding of the four giant mottled eels in Quang Tri belonging to the South Pacific population is considered a significant result of this study.Nghiên cứu này được thực hiện nhằm đánh giá đa dạng di truyền của quần thể cá Chình hoa (Anguilla marmorata) tự nhiên tại tỉnh Quảng Trị dựa trên việc so sánh trình tự DNA của vùng gene điều khiển CR (control region) ty thể với các quần thể cá Chình hoa trên thế giới. Kết quả cho thấy khoảng cách di truyền giữa các cá thể trong quần thể dao động từ 0 đến 0,261, đạt trung bình 0,024. Trong 31 cá thể, 203 vị trí đa hình tách biệt (S) đã tạo ra 209 vị trí đột biến (Eta) với 31 kiểu haplotype khác nhau. Số lượng các nucleotide khác biệt trung bình là 29.299 (k); hệ số đa dạng nucleotide chiếm 26,09 × 10–3 (Pi); số lượng tối thiểu để xẩy ra quá trình tái tổ hợp (Rm) trong quần thể tương ứng với 51 sự kiện. Phần lớn cá thể thu được tại Quảng Trị có quan hệ di truyền gần gũi với quần thể cá Chình hoa Bắc Thái Bình Dương (27/31 cá thể) và 4 cá thể có mối quan hệ di truyền gần gũi với quần thể Nam Thái Bình Dương. Việc phát hiện các cá thể Chình hoa tại Quảng Trị có di truyền gần gũi với các cá thể thuộc Nam Thái Bình Dương được xem như một điểm đáng chú ý trong nghiên cứu này

Multiple Wolbachia strains provide comparative levels of protection against dengue virus infection in Aedes aegypti.

The insect bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is being introgressed into Aedes aegypti populations as an intervention against the transmission of medically important arboviruses. Here we compare Ae. aegypti mosquitoes infected with wMelCS or wAlbB to the widely used wMel Wolbachia strain on an Australian nuclear genetic background for their susceptibility to infection by dengue virus (DENV) genotypes spanning all four serotypes. All Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were more resistant to intrathoracic DENV challenge than their wildtype counterparts. Blocking of DENV replication was greatest by wMelCS. Conversely, wAlbB-infected mosquitoes were more susceptible to whole body infection than wMel and wMelCS. We extended these findings via mosquito oral feeding experiments, using viremic blood from 36 acute, hospitalised dengue cases in Vietnam, additionally including wMel and wildtype mosquitoes on a Vietnamese nuclear genetic background. As above, wAlbB was less effective at blocking DENV replication in the abdomen compared to wMel and wMelCS. The transmission potential of all Wolbachia-infected mosquito lines (measured by the presence/absence of infectious DENV in mosquito saliva) after 14 days, was significantly reduced compared to their wildtype counterparts, and lowest for wMelCS and wAlbB. These data support the use of wAlbB and wMelCS strains for introgression field trials and the biocontrol of DENV transmission. Furthermore, despite observing significant differences in transmission potential between wildtype mosquitoes from Australia and Vietnam, no difference was observed between wMel-infected mosquitoes from each background suggesting that Wolbachia may override any underlying variation in DENV transmission potential