Impact of a Public-Private Interface Agency for Tuberculosis Reporting during COVID-19 Pandemic in Vietnam

Background: Viet Nam’s second prevalence survey uncovered a higher than expected burden of TB. Studies have indicated that people with TB who are ‘missed’ by existing services are equally split between those seeking care in the private sector and those not accessing healthcare. Intervention: We established a public-private interface agency (PPIA) to engage private doctors for TB treatment reporting in 14 districts across Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hai Phong, Viet Nam. Treatment data were collected and patients missing sputum results were offered an Xpert MTB/RIF test to increase the rate of bacteriologically-confirmed TB and to identify drug resistance. Initiative staff cleaned the data and checked for duplicates in the government’s e-reporting system (VITMES) before official notification. We collected aggregate notification data for all treatments sties in both cities to compare changes in notifications before (2019) and during (2020) our initiative. Results: 62 private providers shared treatment data for 1,746 patients with our initiative. 1,453 (83.2%) patients were then officially notified in VITIMES (1,186 in HCMC and 267 in Hai Phong). There were 19,271 notifications across the 38 districts of HCMC and Hai Phong in 2019, 16.0% of which originated at private sites. In 2020, notifications increased by just +1.3%. However, public-sector notifications declined by -5.1% and private notifications (excluding our initiative) declined by -12.1%. It is only with the addition of our initiative’s notifications that any gains were recorded at all. Although we reported fewer notifications in Hai Phong, our contribution to city-wide totals was twice as large as in HCMC (14.5% vs 6.7% of all notifications in 2020). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic likely resulted in the large declines observed public-sector notifications. Further evaluations of this PPIA initiative are needed to understand whether its notifications represent a displacement of existing notifications or outreach to previously ‘missed’ individuals

TURBIDITY REMOVAL BY MUCILAGE FROM BASELLA ALBA

Coagulation and flocculation are preliminary used in water treatment processes for turbidity removal, using popularily synthetic chemicals with health and environmental concerns. The use of natural flocculants has known to be a promising alteratives for chemical ones due to their environmental friendly behavior. This research investigated turbidity removal efficiency of mucilage extracted from Basella alba - an indigenous species in Vietnam - in the role of a flocculant. The removal efficiency of mucilage was investigated in combination with PAC or Alum on To Lich river water by mean of Jar tests. PAC or Alum alone can remove maximum 97% and 90% turbidity of To Lich river water at its original pH for the sedimentation time of 30 minutes. The combination of mucilage and PAC or Alum increased the efficiencies of turbidity removal and reduced the amount of chemicals needed. The corresponding increases were maximum 7% and 18%, respectively; while the reduction of PAC/Alum used was 75-80%

FACTORS AFFECTING SUPPLY CHAIN COOPERATION: A CASE-BASED STUDY IN THE ORGANIC AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY IN HANOI, VIETNAM

Purpose: After the covid 19 pandemic, cooperation has become increasingly necessary and important for the supply chain, especially the organic agricultural supply chain, which has loose and fragmented links. Furthermore, with the need for clean, safe food, organic agriculture is also receiving more attention from the government, consumers and businesses. This study aims to examine factors affecting supply chain cooperation based on a survey sample of 120 managers from businesses in the organic agricultural supply chain in Hanoi, Vietnam. From this analysis, we provide solutions to promote cooperation in the supply chain for the organic agriculture industry in Hanoi, Vietnam.   Design/Methodology/Approach: This article uses the research method of analyzing and synthesizing theories about cooperation in the supply chain, thereby providing a research model. Then we use quantitative methods, exploiting the random approach to analyze factors affecting cooperation in the organic agricultural supply chain through surveying subjects that involved in organic agricultural supply chains in Hanoi, Vietnam.   Findings: The research results describe the impact of factors affecting cooperation in the supply chain, showing the level of influence of these factors on cooperation. Through the level of impact, the authors propose solutions to enhance cooperation in the organic agricultural supply chain.   Originality/Value: To the author's knowledge, this study is original in describing the impacts of factors affecting the cooperation of organic agricultural supply chains in Hanoi, Vietnam. Furthermore, the article uses random approaches, contributing to research through a practical lens

Utilization of Schizochytrium mangrovei PQ6 as feed for rotifer Brachionus plicatilis in rearing black sleeper’s larvae (Bostrichthys sinensis, Lacepede, 1881)

 Schizochytrium mangrovei PQ6 contains many important polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22: 6w-3), eicosahexaenoic acid (EPA, C20: 5w-3) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, C22: 5w-6). These fatty acids are essential for survival and growth of many marine fish larvae. In this paper, fresh biomass of S. mangrovei PQ6 was used for culturing rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. In the first formula (L1), rotifers were fed on baker’s yeast; in second formula (L2), rotifers were fed on mixed two microalgae, Nannochloropsis oculata and Chaetoceros gracilis; in the third formula (L3), rotifers were fed on S. mangrovei PQ6 biomass. The results indicated that S. mangrovei PQ6 biomass can replace baker’s yeast and autotrophic microalgae in feeding rotifers. Total lipid, total fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents of rotifers fed on formula 3 (S. mangrovei PQ6) were higher than those within others. High polyunsaturated fatty acid (C ≥ 20) in omega-3 and 6 groups; DHA and DPA contents of rotifers fed on S. mangrovei PQ6 were the highest, accounting for 39.81% of total fatty acid; 41.95% and 8.24% polyunsaturated fatty acids, corresponding to 20.52; 12.15 and 2.4 mg/g of dried weight, respectively.The survival rate of black sleeper’s larvae was highest when they were fed on rotifers grown on L3 formula (51.20 ± 0.89%), followed by L2 formula (48.70 ± 2.67%) and the lowest with L1 formula (43.44 ± 1.54%) (P 0.05). However, among three formulas, no significant difference was found in the growth of black sleeper’s larvae (P 0.05). These results suggest that biomass of S. mangrovei PQ6 can replace traditional feed like autotrophic microalgae or baker’s yeast for biomass culture of the Brachionus plicatilis rotifer for rearing black sleeper’s larvae to enhance seed quality to meet demands of market.

ESG disclosure and financial performance: Empirical study of Vietnamese commercial banks

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure becomes vital for banks to be transparent and accountable for their investments and lending decisions to shareholders, regulators, and society. The potential enhancement of shareholder value through ESG disclosure is still inconsistent. Empirical studies on the association between ESG disclosure and financial performance are mixed and limited in emerging economies. This study aims to examine whether ESG disclosure impacts the financial performance of 24 Vietnamese commercial banks in terms of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and net interest margin (NIM). The study uses the feasible generalized least squares estimation method based on panel data from 2018 to 2022. The study employs content analysis on 12 themes related to environmental, social, and governance pillars to score policy disclosure based on the Fair Finance Guide Methodology. The results highlight the positive effects of ESG policy disclosure, individual environment disclosure (E), and individual governance disclosure (G) on bank financial performance. Notably, ESG, E, and G have the largest influence on ROE, with coefficients of 0.051, 0.036, and 0.027, respectively, at a 5% significance level. However, the study does not provide evidence of a statistically significant association between social disclosure and financial performance. These results provide empirical evidence for regulators and bank managers to shape ESG policies and practices aligning with international standards. AcknowledgmentESG disclosure score of 11 banks as primary data in this study is conducted under the project coordinated by the Fair Finance Vietnam coalition, as part of Fair Finance International

Expression of the recombinant enterocin E-760 in Pichia pastoris X33 and its antimicrobial activity towards Listeria monocytogenes

Bioactive compounds such as bacteriocins have become potent and promising alternatives to chemical food preservatives for extending food shelf-life and eliminating food loss from microbial spoilage. Enterocin E-760 is a specific bacterocin belonging to class II that possesses broad spectrum antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In this study, the enterocin E-760 gene was fused to a His-tag and cloned into the expression vector, pPICzαA, and transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α cells. The recombinant plasmid was isolated, linearised and transformed into competent Pichia pastoris X33 cells using electroporation. The Pichia transformants were determined using PCR and expressed under methanol induction with the highest antibacterial activity of culture supernatants reaching 40 AU/mL. Enterocin E-760 exhibited a molecular weight of approximately 5.5 kDa and was detected directly on a Tricine SDS-PAGE gel containing Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 35152 after ethanol precipitation at a concentration ranging from 30% to 70%. This study represented the initial stages of research into using enterocin as a biopreservative in food processing