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There have been many efforts to improve intermodal transport connectivity in South-East Asia. Strategic location of logistics centres can facilitate transportation, handling, storage and transshipment of goods moving in international trade. This paper considers various evaluation criteria for location analysis of logistics centres. The paper utilises the analytic hierarchy process and goal programming methodologies to analyse location of logistics centres in Laos, which aims to transform itself into a land-linked country from a land-locked country. Location models are developed based on primary data collected from public and private sector transport stakeholders. The results show similarity in final priority ranking of planned logistics centres. Also, the outcomes of both methodologies are consistent. However, some differences on the weights of the evaluation criteria were noted for the public sector, private sector and combined models. Finally, some policy considerations are offered for development of logistics centres and seamless flow of intermodal freight transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria morbidity and mortality have been significantly reduced through the proper use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, but the extra protection afforded by the insecticide diminishes over time. The insecticide depletion rates vary according to location where wash frequency and wear are influenced by cultural habits as well as the availability of water. Monitoring of available insecticides on the net surface is essential for determining the effective life of the net. Therefore, a rapid and inexpensive colorimetric field test for cyanopyrethroids (Cyanopyrethroid Field Test or CFT) was used to measure surface levels of deltamethrin on insecticide-coated polyester nets (PowerNets ™) in rural Lao PDR over a two-year period. Methods: Net surface levels of deltamethrin were measured by wiping the net with filter paper and measuring the adsorbed deltamethrin using the CFT. A relationship between surface levels of deltamethrin and whole net levels was established by comparing results of the CFT with whole levels assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). An effective deltamethrin surface concentration (EC80) was determined by comparing mosquito mortality (WHO Cone Test) with CFT and HPLC results. Five positions (roof to bottom) on each of 23 matched nets were assayed for deltamethrin surface levels at 6, 12, and 24 months. Mosquito mortality assays (WHO Cone Tests) were performed on a subset of eleven 24-month old nets and compared with the proportion of failed nets as predicted by the CFT. Results: At six months, the nets retained about 80% of the baseline (new net) levels of deltamethrin with no significant differences between net positions. At 12 months, ~15-40%, and at 24 months <10% of deltamethrin was retained on the nets, with significant differences appearing between positions. Results from the CFT show that 93% of the nets failed (deltamethrin surface levels 80) at 24 months. This value is in agreement with 91% failure as determined by the WHO Cone Test on a subset of 11 nets. The CFT results show that 50% of the nets from Laos failed at 12 months of normal use. Conclusion: The CFT is a useful and accurate indicator of net efficacy and may be substituted for mosquito bioassays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the history of Luang Namtha, an intermontane valley basin in northern Laos, based on the narratives of non-Tai ethnic groups that collectively constitute a majority in the region. The narratives demonstrate the possibility of alternative histories of muang polities, which are a core part of our understanding of Tai social and political organization. These narratives describe a central role for mountain people in the muang, including the formation, population, and development of what appears to be a Tai polity. This analysis suggests the need to open up our understanding of "traditional" Tai political spaces to accommodate an expanded historical agency for upland groups conventionally circumscribed within their own upland setting. This paper argues that the first step towards a more nuanced understanding of muang is recognizing them as cosmopolitan areas in which many sources of power, innovation, and transformation intersect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the governing of subjects and objects' mobility in the context of trans-border rice and corn trade on the China- Laos frontier. It traces the attempts by a group of ethnic Tai Lue traders from China to assert themselves as 'flexible subjects' and economically triumphant actors on the Upper Mekong market in the era of economic regionalization. It illustrates how, between 2005 and mid-2006, the traders' economic success relied on a variety of 'border strategies'. ' Border strategies' include a gender-balanced organization of trade, the instrumental deployment of trans-border ethnicity, the appropriation of a Han style of business, the opportunistic reliance on the Chinese administration's 'regime of graduated mobility', and the enactment of a 'war-machine' against Lao state agents. Yet, in late 2006, a new wave of state authoritarianism, enmeshed in corporate accumulation processes, inhibited the traders' success. The paper suggests that, unlike what some defenders of globalization and transnational theories maintain, in the age of economic regionalization, the alleged flexibility and increased mobility of subjects and objects across the borders of the Greater Mekong Subregion remain conditional on an unpredictable mechanism of loosening and tightening. This is part of a long-applied governing pattern of 'experimentation under hierarchy' on the Sino- Lao frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a multi-sited ethnography of cross-border rubber cultivation between China and Laos. Smallholder minority rubber farmers from Xishuangbanna ( China) have forged successful informal share-cropping arrangements to grow rubber trees on the land of relatives and friends in neighbouring Laos. By becoming rich and entrepreneurial rural citizens, Akha and Tai farmers have also, in their own eyes, raised their own 'quality' ( suzhi) and see themselves as 'modern'. By examining various meanings of 'modern' in China, and contrasting the rubber farmers' experience with Jacob Eyferth's notion of rural 'deskilling', this paper shows how through learning to plant, cultivate and tap rubber, these farmers have taken on the discipline and technical knowledge of 'modern' workers and become 'skilled'. By rising in 'quality', minority farmers on China's periphery challenge the entrenched binaries of urban/rural, modern/backward, prosperous/poor and Han/minority nationality. Xishuangbanna minority farmers acknowledge that they are also 'backward' in the Chinese social hierarchy, but their extension of rubber cultivation to kin and others in Laos has confirmed their modernity as dispensers of development, technical know-how and 'superior' Chinese culture to Lao farmers who are 'backward and poor'. In contrast to large state rubber farms that have failed to establish rubber plantations in northern Laos, minority farmers have created regionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that goods produced by landlocked developing countries must cross borders and may need to use low-quality seaports to access maritime transport, shipment times often vary. On routes with high variability, the expected shipment times are likely to be estimated on the basis of past shipment experiences rather than on that of general information such as timetables. The objectives of this paper are (1) to examine whether shipment experiences significantly affect the estimation of the expected shipment times and (2) to observe the change of importance in shipment experience on account of route shipment time variability In this study, using a generalised mean formula, a model was developed and applied to five routes originating from the Lao People's Democratic Republic and terminating at seaports in Thailand or Vietnam. We found that shipment experience is more significant than general information in estimating the expected shipment times. As route variability increases, recent experience and general information gain more significance in the estimation of shipment time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines theories of accumulation, dispossession and exclusion for analyzing the agrarian transformations that result from contemporary large-scale land acquisitions across the Global South. Building upon Marx's primitive accumulation, Harvey's accumulation by dispossession and Hall et al.'s Powers of Exclusion, conceptual lenses are developed through which to examine how land grabs transform property and social relationships of resource-based production. I examine the concession of 10,000 hectares by the central government of Laos to a Vietnamese corporation for extracting timber and planting rubber in the southern province of Attapeu. This acquisition has excluded farmers from land and resources that constituted their primary sources of (re)production, reconfigured rural property relations, altered the peasant relationship to land and produced new exploitative forms of wage labor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Asian Development Bank's rural road development scheme in Laos is designed to increase the opportunity for rural communities to participate in neighbouring emerging markets.Yet, this improved infrastructural strategy may result in increased social disparities betweenregions and within communities. This paper addresses the possible impact on intra-communityinequality using endowment and network data from a southern Lao commune. The objective is to analyse the way in which the village hierarchical social structure impedes individuals' ability to access emerging markets. The social hierarchy hinders the benefits of improved roads and marketisation trickling down to the poorest. Disruption to the trickledown effect means that existing rural development and anti-poverty strategies tend to favour the wealthy and well connected, and further marginalise the poor in the community. Therefore, it is crucial to recognise the importance of the village social hierarchy and define its contribution to the persistence of povertyand reinforcement of inequalities of opportunities for the rural poor. Policies need to directlytarget those of lower stratification by addressing underlying reasons for intergenerational inequalities of opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the potential effects of an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (C-L-M), the least developed economies of ASEAN. The authors explore how the particular structure of the ASEAN production sharing network might shed light on the transmission of effects. Gravity models for intra-regional trade are estimated for that purpose. Whereas the existing computable general equilibrium (CGE) analyses consider C-L-M as one rest category, a country-level analysis for the C-L-M countries is presented. It is shown that it is not straightforward that C-L-M would win from an ASEAN-EU FTA. At best, marginal absolute positive effects might be expected for the C-L-M economies. In relative terms, an FTA is not likely to contribute to more economic (and political?) cohesion in the region. It is therefore argued that it makes sense to (re-) connect C-L-M to the negotiation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations in Southeast Asia. The post-1975 government's policies regarding ethnic minority peoples are often considered to represent an ideological shift from earlier monocultural orientations to a discourse of interethnic equality and solidarity. Yet a deeper reading of official policies, combined with an examination of planning measures, reveals a persistent discourse of ethnic Lao centrality. This paper first examines the apparently contradictory official discourses on language, ethnic minorities and education in Laos, and how these discourses are reproduced, adapted or contested on the ground by teachers and students in ethnic minority classrooms. I first present a discourse analysis of selected policy documents, supported by interviews with key policy-makers followed by an analysis of teacher code choice in three ethnic minority classrooms together with data from teacher interviews. The paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Nalae district, Luang Nam Tha Province and five years of experience working in education development in the Lao PDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a study of the attitudes of residents towards tourism in the District of Viengxay, Lao People's Democratic Republic, where tourism is in its infancy. Based on focus group interviews, the paper analyses the societal and individual attitudes of the residents towards tourists, tourism development and employment in the tourism field. It was found that locals have little understanding of the motivations of tourists for visiting their villages. Villagers look forward to tourism development to bring more communication and fame to their village, as well as to tourism's contribution to the local economy. Community-mindedness, control and organisation, cultural exchange, understanding and cultural awareness are prime motivators in forming local attitudes towards tourism. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaling out and up are terms increasingly being used to describe a desired expansion of beneficial impacts from agricultural research and rural development. This paper explores strategies for scaling out production and livelihood impacts from proven technologies. We draw on a case study of forages and livestock production in Laos, a Southeast Asian country undergoing rapid economic and agricultural change. A facilitated learning environment stimulated farmers to adapt forages, livestock housing, and animal health practices to their own situations (scaling out). Regular follow-up visits and on-the-job mentoring for extension staff provided institutional support (scaling up). Within 5 years, the number of villages and households using forages and fattening livestock had increased six fold, with a 50% reduction in the time required for farmers to get significant benefits. The paper concludes that scaling out positive impacts from systems change requires field tested and proven technologies, evidence of significant livelihood impacts, fostering of local innovation, competent field staff, effective peer learning, and ongoing institutional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) first opened its doors to foreign tourists in the early 1990s, the number of tourists to the country has increased significantly. However, the Lao PDR remains one of the poorest countries in the world and tourism is seen by the Laotian government and by non-governmental organizations active in the country as a tool to alleviate poverty. Nonetheless, the Laotian government has until now lacked the financial means and know-how to enact a concerted and effective plan to use tourism to promote poverty alleviation in the country. The paper investigates the current state of pro-poor tourism development in Viengxay and aims to gain an impression of the actual and potential roles and motivations of various stakeholders within the endeavour of tourism for poverty alleviation. The paper concludes with an analysis of the opportunities and barriers to pro-poor tourism in Viengxay, in which the improvement of linkages between the private sector and local development is an important aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an overview of issues pertaining to highland minorities in the three socialist countries sharing portions of the Southeast Asian Massif, namely China, Vietnam and Laos. It presents the historical complexity of highland minority policy in these countries. The paper thus depicts prevalent state strategies that aimed, and largely still aim, to handle highland minorities in the most effective and economical way, to ensure that the nation will progress steadily forward. The six current issues of borders and transnationality, taxonomy, indigenous peoples' status, customary land tenure, tourism and environmental issues are then explored critically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a mine risk assessment undertaken in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). More than thirty years after the Second Indochina War, the Lao PDR remains heavily contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO), the result of nine years of intense aerial bombing and sustained land battles. This UXO contamination continues to pose a threat to affected populations and while there is no nationwide UXO injury surveillance system, available statistics suggest that UXO injuries due to both voluntary and involuntary exposure to live ordnance are increasing. The study presented here aimed to identify people at risk, determinants of risk behaviour, and what Humanitarian Mine Action and Mine Risk Education programmes can do about it. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey was carried out in five of the most UXO contaminated provinces. A multi-stage cluster sampling and probability proportional to size design was used to determine the sampling size with random sampling used to identify the sampling frame. Respondents included men, women and children, most of whom were subsistence rice farmers. The KAP survey was followed by qualitative interviews in two provinces with respondents selected based on the characteristics of at-risk sub-groups identified in the KAP. The study found that almost all respondents were potentially exposed to UXO risk on a regular basis and that most often this exposure was deliberate and voluntary with respondents aware of the risk. Key risk behaviours included foraging for scrap metal, including UXO, as a form of cash income and removing items of UXO from farmland. Determinants of risk behaviours were primarily economic. The paper concludes by suggesting that in order to reduce UXO risk, a shift in emphasis by Mine Action operators from zero risk and risk avoidance to risk reduction is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the factors underpinning transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) methodologies through an examination of the Navigation Channel Improvement Project of the Lancang-Mekong River from China-Myanmar Boundary Marker 243 to Ban Houei Sai of Laos. A comparison of the project's expected and reported transboundary impacts shows that the EIA failed to predict a number of adverse impacts, including social and economic impacts. The restricted scale and scope of the transboundary impact assessment (TIA) is probably due to certain fundamental restrictions on how the EIA was conducted. The case study highlights the importance of public involvement (including advance notification) and adequate regulatory frameworks or guidelines in the EIA and TIA processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper specifies static and dynamic panel demand models for tourism in Laos and estimates tourism demand equations using tourist inflow data for the period 1995-2004. The models allow us to estimate the short- and long-run effects of tourism determinants. We find that communication and transportation infrastructure, destination risk, bilateral trade, and distance between Laos and countries of origin are, in the long run, among the main determinants of tourism to Laos. In particular, we find that tourism to Laos is income and price inelastic. This suggests that tourism to Laos is not a luxury good. The results of dynamic models indicate that relative price and infrastructure are more important determinants than income in the short-run adjustment of tourist inflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concern about large, export-orientated projects relates to the flows of foreign exchange into the domestic economy that they produce. These flows occur both during the investment phase of the project and subsequently during its operational phase, through export earnings. Foreign exchange inflows produce direct benefits for some groups, but may also indirectly harm others, through an appreciation of the real exchange rate. These indirect outcomes, known as the ‘Gregory effect’ in Australia and as the ‘Dutch disease’ or ‘booming sector’ effect elsewhere, are studied in this paper in the context of a large infrastructure project in Laos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1986 Lao PDR has greatly reduced the barriers to international trade and the government's direct controls over the economy. Aggregate growth during this reform period has been quite rapid. Although the benefits of growth have gone disproportionately to the non-poor and inequality has increased, poverty incidence is nevertheless estimated to have fallen from about 45% in 1992–93 to 30% in 2002–03. After surveying these developments, this paper discusses the policies that the government is currently proposing as ways to ensure that the benefits of further opening of the economy are more equally shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Arctosa delaportei, is described from Laos on the basis of male specimens; it is related to A. tangguoi Wang, Li & Zhang, 2021 known from China. Arctosa depectinata (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906), A. kiangsiensis (Schenkel, 1963), and A. springiosa Yin, Wang, Xie & Peng, 1993 are reported from Laos for the first time; the records of these three species are the southernmost ones within their known ranges. All species are (re)described and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Fit for School (FIT) programme integrates school health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene interventions, which are implemented by the Ministries of Education in four Southeast Asian countries. This paper describes the findings of a Health Outcome Study, which aimed to assess the two-year effect of the FIT programme on the parasitological, weight, and oral health status of children attending schools implementing the programme in Cambodia, Indonesia and Lao PDR.Methods: The study was a non-randomized clustered controlled trial with a follow-up period of two years. The intervention group consisted of children attending public elementary schools implementing the FIT programme, including daily group handwashing with soap and toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste, biannual school-based deworming; as well as construction of group handwashing facilities. Control schools implemented the regular government health education curriculum and biannual deworming. Per school, a random selection of six to seven-year-old grade-one students was drawn. Data on parasitological infections, anthropometric measurements, dental caries, odontogenic infections and sociodemographic characteristics were collected at baseline and at follow-up (24 months later). Data were analysed using the χ2-test, Mann Whitney U-test and multilevel logistic and linear regression.Results: A total of 1847 children (mean age = 6.7 years, range 6.0-8.0 years) participated in the baseline survey. Of these, 1499 children were available for follow-up examination - 478, 486 and 535 children in Cambodia, Indonesia and Lao PDR, respectively. In all three countries, children in intervention schools had a lower increment in the number of decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth between baseline and follow-up, in comparison to children in controls schools. The preventive fraction was 24% at average. The prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection (which was unexpectedly low at baseline), the prevalence of thinness and the prevalence of odontogenic infections did not significantly differ between baseline and follow-up, nor between intervention and control schools.Conclusions: The study found that the FIT programme significantly contributed to the prevention of dental caries in children. This study describes the challenges, learnings and, moreover, the importance of conducting real-life implementation research to evaluate health programmes to transform school settings into healthy learning environments for children. The study is retrospectively registered with the German Clinical Trials Register, University of Freiburg (Trial registration number: DRKS00004485, date of registration: 26th of February, 2013). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens to local institutional arrangements regarding access and use of communal land under the forces of agricultural commercialization? Taking Khwaykham village in Phongsaly province, Laos as a case study, this paper sheds light on this question as farm households in the settlement have progressively transitioned to commercial farming, specifically tea cultivation. Traditionally, farm households' access and rights to use the land were embedded in their swidden agriculture practices. The adoption of tea has increasingly fixed land use rights, making land sticky at the household rather than communal level. How, why and with what effects this occurs are the focus of the paper. We argue that while this transition to tea cultivation has benefited – in income terms – most farm households in the village, it has also created an agrarian context for increased inequity between those households who rapidly took the opportunity from the tea boom and others who have missed out on it. • Agricultural commercialization limits community's access to communal land. • The shift to tea cultivation changes customary land tenure systems and practices. • The shift reconfigures power relations and sustain inequalities among villagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is a lower-middle income country making steady progress improving maternal and child health outcomes. We sought to ascertain if there have been improvements in three specific birth outcomes (low birth weight, preterm birth and small for gestational age) over the last decade. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed birth records between 2004 and 2013 at the Mother and Child Health (MCH) hospital in Vientiane. We defined preterm birth as gestation <37 weeks and low birth weight as <2,500 g. We calculated small for gestational age (SGA). We describe birth outcomes over time and compare proportions using Chi square. Results: Between 2004 and 2013, the annual average number of newborns delivered each year was 4,322 and the frequency of low birth weight ranged from 9.5 to 12%, preterm births from 6.3 to 10%, and infants born SGA from 25 to 35%. There were no improvements in these frequencies over time. Women <18 years at delivery had a statistically significantly higher frequency of babies born with a low birth weight (15.3 vs. 10.8%, p < 0.02) or preterm (16.4 vs. 7.8%, p < 0.01) than those aged >18. There was no difference in the frequency of babies born SGA by age (26.8% in women <18 years vs. 29.7% in women >18 years, p = 0.30). Conclusions: At the largest maternal and child hospital in Lao PDR, we found a high frequency of poor birth outcomes with no improvements over the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laos is a mountainous country with a road network that is prone to the impact of landslides. The development and maintenance of the transport sector are seen as imperatives in the country's socio-economic growth, and landslides pose a potential constraint on this development. This paper describes a landslide vulnerability assessment undertaken for a significant proportion of the country's mountain road network for maintenance management and investment decision-making purposes. Limited desk study data meant that the focus of the study was on the collection of landslide location and impact data in the field and was able to benefit from the effects of the 2018 wet season during which record rainfalls were recorded in some locations. A simple index of vulnerability was developed and combined with engineering geological observation to yield a composite output that comprised tabular data and maps, along with broad recommendations for risk and engineering management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including assessment of uncertainty when working with medical learners; medical education in Laos; and empathy changes during undergraduate medical education.

Base catalysts were studied for the dehydration of fatty alcohols to linear alpha olefins (LAOs). For the gas phase dehydration of 1-octanol to 1-octene, 15% Cs/SiO2 catalyst was 56% selective at 10% conversion. Diluting a feed of C8, C10, and C14 fatty alcohols to 50% in undecane increased the selectivity to alpha olefins to 77–99%. 15% Cs/SiO2 was further investigated for the gas phase dehydration of a 4.2 g L−1 mixed C8–C14 fatty alcohol in tridecane feed and showed linear alpha olefin selectivities of 78–100% at initial conversions of 51–91% with the conversion lowering to 32–77% over 30 h. Catalytic activity was totally regenerated through calcination. A feed of biologically derived alcohols was produced with E. coli strain CM24 transformed with three plasmids (pBTRCk–pVHb–maACR, pACYC–pVHb–seFadBA, pTRC99A–pVHb–tdTER–fdh) which yielded a 5.5 g L−1 of C8–C14 fatty alcohol in tridecane. This biologically-derived feed was successfully dehydrated to linear alpha olefins over 15% Cs/SiO2 at selectivities of 60–100% with initial conversions of 35–75% which decreased to 22–55% over 30 h. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the integrated process for fatty alcohol production and subsequent dehydration to alpha olefins was conducted across the potential fermentation TRY (titer, rate, yield) landscape. Baseline fermentation performance resulted in a minimum product selling price (MPSP) double the market price for LAOs due to low titers and high costs associated with managing water and tridecane solvent flows through the system. However, targeted improvements in fermentation performance (e.g., achieving 40 g L−1 titer, 0.5 g L−1 h−1 productivity, 80% theoretical yield) can enable financially viable production of biologically derived LAOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eradication of illicit drug crops in developing countries through international agricultural cooperation in alternative livelihoods is a new mode of clean production. This paper examines the market-oriented alternative livelihood (AL) model implemented by Chinese agricultural companies in Laos, focusing on land-based cooperation between these companies, local authorities, and communities. It aims to reveal the conditions for successful land-based cooperation and mutual trust building with local communities and government agencies. Three Chinese companies involved in alternative cultivation projects in Laos are selected as case studies. The findings highlight the market-oriented AL model as a beneficial approach to transition from illicit crop cultivation to clean production. The study emphasizes the importance of land-based cooperation and trust building for the sustainable operation of market-oriented alternative livelihoods. Challenges faced by the companies include managing international market risks and developing locally-led technical and management teams. The research underscores the need for inclusive innovation in land-based cooperation and alternative livelihoods in the Global South. It calls for further exploration of innovative approaches to inclusive cooperation, local empowerment, and capacity building. The study contributes to understanding the potential of international agricultural cooperation in promoting alternative livelihoods and sustainable development in illicit crop-growing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• I analyse FLEGT VPA's democratising agenda and civil society participation in Laos. • As well as governmentality exercised by the EU and its development agency. • Lao state showed 'counter-conduct' against independent from state civil society. • VPA's 'rendering technical' facilitated setting up of easily monitored CSOs. • EU's governmentality and the Lao counter-conduct are mutually co-constructive. This paper analyses the European Union's (EU's) democratising agenda within the frame of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in Laos. In particular, it focuses on the requirement for the participation of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the VPA and the Lao state actors' responses to this requirement. I frame the VPA's democratising agenda and its conditionality of civil society participation as acts of governmentality exercised by the EU in Laos. This EU governmentality is exercised through the EU and EU member states' funded development partner in the frame of their project supporting the FLEGT VPA process in Laos. The Lao government responses and strategies to the EU governmentality resulted on the one hand in the Lao state's governmentality towards domestic CSOs, and in counter-conduct (i.e. a subtle and sly resistance to some aspects of the VPA) on the other. First, by tracing the establishment of the Lao FLEGT Civil Society Organisations Network (FLEGT CSO Network), I highlight the trend of depoliticisation and rendering technical, where the EU-funded development partner, with full support and backing from the Lao state, trained the CSOs in various VPA and timber legality issues. In the training, the CSOs were given specific roles and tasks, building up their fields of expertise, and were integrated in the formal VPA organisational structures, which allowed for their scrutiny and tight survelience by the state. Second, I analyse the counter-conduct by the Lao government against a civil society that is independent from the state, which the government manifested through further disempowerment of CSOs and tightening of the CSO regulation shortly after the FLEGT CSO Network was established, while at the same time simulating democratisation by welcoming CSOs' participation in the VPA. Summoning CSOs as compliant actors and unpaid service providers working for and alongside the state was in part enabled by the VPA's own rendering technical approach. Hence, the EU's VPA governmentality and the Lao state counter-conduct mutually reinforced one another, even if their initial agendas around democratisation and CSO engagement in forest governance and the VPA diverged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow and ice on pavements cause poor skid resistance, reducing traffic safety and capacity. Besides anti-icing technologies, a fundamental understanding of ice-asphalt concrete interface adhesion strength is essential for guiding pavement anti-icing practices. In this paper, to modify the laboratory measurement of adhesion strength between asphalt concrete and ice layer, a self-designed low-temperature adhesion observation system (LAOS) was put forward, featured by a torch-shaped ice mold, a combined loading device, and a set of calibration equations. Using the LAOS, the effect of two essential factors (the freezing temperature and the texture depth) on ice-asphalt concrete interface adhesion strength (both the normal and the tangential) were tested. According to the test results, the measurement accuracy was improved by 9.3% owing to using LAOS. For the interface interaction, the adhesive and the cohesive failure modes occurred as the freezing temperature dropped, caused by the ice layer development. And the boost and the weaken interface emerged as the texture depth increased, caused by the asphalt concrete surface roughening. Moreover, the measured interface ice adhesion strengths are close to the existing studies and even more credible, because of using LAOS. This indicates the LAOS and the conclusions obtained would provide fundamental support for pavement anti-icing practices. • A self-designed low-temperature adhesion observation system (LAOS). • Two main effect factors of ice-asphalt concrete interface adhesion strength were carefully analyzed. • Adhesive failure and cohesive failure emerged in turn as the freezing temperature increased. • Boost interface and weaken interface emerged in turn as the texture depth increased. • Using LAOS, the measurement accuracy was improved by 9.3% and the tested results even more credible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free, prior, and informed consent, or FPIC, is a crucial component of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+) projects. This study addresses a significant research gap regarding FPIC in the context of REDD+ projects, with a focus on the Implementation of Governance, Forest Landscapes, and Livelihoods (I-GFLL) project in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). This research aimed to evaluate the FPIC's components and implementation. We employed a literature review of the FPIC implementation reports from 242 targeted villages involved in the I-GFLL project and face-to-face interviews with 12 key informants. The research found positive aspects, such as female team membership, boosting ethnic women's participation; the exclusion of forestry officials to foster an open dialogue; and respect for project rejections, displaying adherence to the FPIC principles. However, some challenging aspects were also highlighted, such as the exclusion of civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) and the loss of their expertise; limited team knowledge of forestry/climate change, hindering communication; short consultation durations; and an incomplete understanding of technical terms due to the project's novelty, raising concerns. The study emphasizes the importance of crafting FPIC teams that promote communication, respect community rights, and, ultimately, ensure successful project implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Konjac glucomannan consists of D-mannose and D-glucose units and is a hydrocolloid obtained from the corm of Amorphophallus species. Due to its bioactive properties, biodegradability, and hydrophilic ability, glucomannan is widely used in the fields of food, medicine, and industry. Amorphophallus species have been cultivated as cash crops in many Asian countries. Amorphophallus kachinensis Engler & Gehrmann 1911 is naturally distributed in southwestern China, Laos, and northern Thailand. To help the genetic assessment and conservation of this species, the first chloroplast genome of A. kachinensis was sequenced on the Illumina sequencing platform. We assembled the chloroplast genome using the software GetOrganelle and annotated the genome by Geseq and Cpgavas 2. The assembled chloroplast genome was 173,330 bp long, and the average GC content was 35% (GenBank accession number: PP072244). The chloroplast genome of A. kachinensis contained one large single copy, one small single copy, and two inverted repeats, with lengths of 92,030 bp, 15,118 bp, 33,091 bp, and 33,091 bp, respectively. We successfully annotated 132 genes across the genome, which was consistent with other Amorphophallus species. The phylogenetic tree indicates a sub-divergence in the Amorphophallus genus with two main genetic groups detected among eight species. The two genetic groups should be treated as distinct evolutionarily significant units when making conservation strategies. Our study enriched the chloroplast genome resources of the Amorphophallus genus and could help future phylogeographic studies, protection, and utilization of wild resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amentotaxus yunnanensis H.L.Li is a threatened conifer distributed only in China, Laos, and Vietnam, whose fungal endophytes have not been exploited yet. The aims of this study were to screen and characterize antioxidant metabolites from endophytic fungi obtained from A. yunnanensis. Using the surface sterilization method, sixteen endophytic fungi were isolated from A. yunnanensis and classified into seven genera including Fusarium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Diaporthe, Neopestalotiopsis, Purpureocillium, and Simplicillium through the analysis of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene sequences. Among the ethyl acetate crude extracts, Fusarium foetens AQF6 contained the highest amount of polyphenol (117.76 ± 0.94 mg gallic acid equivalent/g) and flavonoid (169.01 ± 2.09 mg quercetin equivalent/g). Importantly, 400 µg/mL AQF6 extract exhibited 95.75 ± 1.1% and 85.66 ± 1.91% of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activities, respectively. Chemical investigation led to the isolation and identification of a new bisabolane-type sesquiterpene fusafoetriol (FUS) and 14 known compounds, among which six pure compounds showed free-radical scavenging activity against DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. Under H2O2 stress, the yeast model Saccharomyces cerevisiae treated with 4 mM FUS showed 43.31% increase in viability. FUS has the potential to be applied in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and food technological applications. Thus, this is the first report demonstrating the presence of endophytic fungi inhabiting A. yunnanensis and their potential as a prolific source of antioxidant metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Crumpled structures show auxetic behavior, with a shear to compression ratio > 1. • The ratio of shear to compression moduli decreases with increasing compaction. • The orientation of internal layers in crumpled structures affects their shear response. • Low friction allows for easier internal rearrangements of energy focusing regions. Crumpled systems (CSs) can be used as building blocks of mechanical metamaterials with low sensitivity to defects. But to exploit the potential of CSs for novel applications, extensive understanding of the physics of these systems is needed and, so far, the shear response of CSs has not been studied. Here we study the shear response of CSs via short/large amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS/LAOS) while investigating the effect of several parameters. The training of crumpled paper reduced long-range correlations and resulted in an increase of the shear modulus with compaction, not observed for untrained paper. The presence of stacked layers parallel to the shear direction, in contrast to those positioned perpendicularly, resulted in lower shear storage modulus and increased energy dissipation through layers sliding. Reducing the surface friction allowed for easier internal rearrangements during shear deformations. In general, the shear resistance increases less with the increasing level of compaction than the compaction stiffness. However, it can be tuned by friction between the layers and their orientation. The estimated Poisson's ratio of CSs reveals their auxetic nature. Our results pave the way to better understand the full mechanical response of CSs and tune their desired properties for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to lay out a framework to quantify the impacts of mining booms on the macro-economy in Laos.Design/methodology/approach A computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to investigate the impact of the mining sector on the Laos’ economy by examining this sector’s increase in both stock and the productivity of capital.Findings It was found that higher capital stock and productivity lead to increased value added, production, exports and investment in the mining sector. These increases result in higher real gross domestic product, exports and investment. Unfortunately, the effects from the associated Dutch disease negatively impact real production and value added in the agriculture and industry. Suitable macroeconomic management and prudent administration of the windfall income from mining are therefore important.Practical implications The finding is important for policymakers to implement policy to deal with the negative impact of mining booms.Originality/value It is the first study to attempt to investigate the impact of the mining sector on the Lao economy using the CGE model. Second, we also provide recommendation to cope with the negative impact from mining booms which provide important implications for other developing countries that face the negative impact from mining booms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Laos, the extent of rural groundwater use is largely unknown. This paper presents results of a study conducted in Champasak province, Southern Laos, to examine rural household attitudes to groundwater use and management; and to gauge farmer perceptions of the opportunities/constraints of increased groundwater use for smallholder agriculture. Significant differences in groundwater use, total cash income and perceived groundwater quality were found. Further agricultural expansion was constrained by insufficient labour and the limited area of individual landholdings, not by the limited groundwater supply, which was the preferred source to fulfil increased demands for domestic/agricultural use. There were no groundwater regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Private sector malaria programmes contribute to government-led malaria elimination strategies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar by increasing access to quality malaria services and surveillance data. However, reporting from private sector providers remains suboptimal in many settings. To support surveillance strengthening for elimination, a key programme strategy is to introduce electronic surveillance tools and systems to integrate private sector data with national systems, and enhance the use of data for decision-making. During 2013–2017, an electronic surveillance system based on open source software, District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2), was implemented as part of a private sector malaria case management and surveillance programme. The electronic surveillance system covered 16,000 private providers in Myanmar (electronic reporting conducted by 200 field officers with tablets), 710 in Cambodia (585 providers reporting through mobile app), and 432 in Laos (250 providers reporting through mobile app). Methods: The purpose of the study was to document the costs of introducing electronic surveillance systems and mobile reporting solutions in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar, comparing the cost in different operational settings, the cost of introduction and maintenance over time, and assessing the affordability and financial sustainability of electronic surveillance. The data collection methods included extracting data from PSI's financial and operational records, collecting data on prices and quantities of resources used, and interviewing key informants in each setting. The costing study used an ingredients-based approach and estimated both financial and economic costs. Results: Annual economic costs of electronic surveillance systems were $152,805 in Laos, $263,224 in Cambodia, and $1,310,912 in Myanmar. The annual economic cost per private provider surveilled was $82 in Myanmar, $371 in Cambodia, and $354 in Laos. Cost drivers varied depending on operational settings and number of private sector outlets covered in each country; whether purchased or personal mobile devices were used; and whether electronic (mobile) reporting was introduced at provider level or among field officers who support multiple providers for case reporting. Conclusion: The study found that electronic surveillance comprises about 0.5–1.5% of national malaria strategic plan cost and 7–21% of surveillance budgets and deemed to be affordable and financially sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines factors relating to teaching English at a public university in LAO PDR in order to, firstly, ascertain those issues that inhibit the development of proficiency in English and, secondly, to identify possible solutions. The following research question was posed: What factors are needed in Lao PDR to improve English language learning at the university level? Information for the study was gathered using questionnaires designed for and distributed to teachers and students. Both quantitative and qualitative data was analysed and a comparison made between the responses drawn from the two different groups. The solution is not a simple one, but the results identify a clear path forward. A significant problem identified in this study is the existence of different views regarding the learning process and the level of English language proficiency achieved by students at the completion of their degree. One of the proposed actions is as follows: implementing a language level test conducted at the beginning of each year that would provide teachers with a more reliable idea of what the starting point should be. They would then be able to create their curriculum using whatever materials they consider necessary. It would also be important to have smaller groups and for teachers to collaborate on the design of the materials and the activities and to reach an agreement as to which methodology should be used for each level. Since Laos’s Higher Education system is very young, many teachers lack experience. Our suggestion is to form working groups of experienced teachers together with novel teachers to help each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of the Pselaphodes complex of genera (Pselaphinae: Tyrini) is insufficiently documented in Southeast Asia. In this paper eight new species are described and illustrated from Laos and Vietnam: Labomimus cavicornis sp. nov., Labomimus cucphuong sp. nov., Pselaphodes banphabat sp. nov., Pselaphodes dalatensis sp. nov., Pselaphodes jendeki sp. nov., Pselaphodes nongfa sp. nov., Pselaphodes olexai sp. nov., and Pselaphodes parapectinatus sp. nov. New country or provincial records are provided for ten known species: Labomimus bannaus Yin & Li, 2013, Labomimus maolan Zhang, Li & Yin, 2019, Labomimus shii (Yin & Li, 2012), comb. nov. (transferred from Pselaphodes Westwood, 1870), Linan fortunatus Yin & Li, 2013, Paralasinus gigas Hlaváč & Nomura, 2001, Pselaphodes hainanensis Yin & Li, 2013, Pselaphodes incisus Huang, Li & Yin, 2018, Pselaphodes linae Yin & Li, 2012, Pselaphodes paraculeus Huang, Li & Yin, 2018, and Taiwanophodes magnus Bekchiev, 2010. An identification key to the 26 species of the complex that occur in Laos and Vietnam is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late socialist countries are transforming faster than ever. Across China, Laos and Vietnam, where market economies coexist with socialist political rhetoric and the Communist party state's rule, sweeping processes of change open up new vistas of imaginaries of the future alongside uncertainty and anxiety. These countries are three of very few living examples that combine capitalist economics with party state politics. Consequently, societal transformations in these contexts are subject to pressures and agendas not found elsewhere, and yet they are no less subject to global forces than elsewhere. As all three countries maintain substantial rural populations, and because those rural areas are themselves places of change, how rural people across these changing contexts undertake future making is a timely and significant question. The contributions in the issue address this question by engaging with lived experiences and government agendas across Laos, China and Vietnam, showing a politics of development in which desire and hope are entangled with the contradictions and struggles of late socialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas–water interface mediated photoconversion of renewable biomass into fuels is a promising strategy to mitigate the impending environmental pollution and energy crisis. Herein, a gas–water interface is engineered to photoconvert fatty acids (FAs, C6–C9) into gaseous Cn-2 linear alpha-olefins (LAOs) with a high selectivity (87–91%) under mild conditions; especially, experiments with different interfaces demonstrate that the gas–water interface plays a crucial role in the enhanced selective production. The thinner molecular layer and ordered packing significantly promote the production of LAOs by maximizing the hydrogen bonding between FAs and interfacial water molecules. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, at the molecular level, elaborate that interfacial water could activate the reactions through hydrogen bonding lowering the reaction barrier of initial photoreaction of FAs. Additionally, different atmospheres are found to impact the pathways and products of photoconversion, thus enabling the controllable synthesis of LAOs. Unlike the metal/enzyme-involved harsh catalytic system, the gas–water interface serves as a green, low-cost and efficient 'venue' which can be infinitely reused for hydrocarbon production, pioneering a new way for mitigating the energy crisis and developing a truly green and sustainable society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Lao PDR, health warnings were first introduced with printed warning messages on the side of the cigarette package in 1993 and again in 2004. Lao PDR same year ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) but has not yet implemented pictorial health warnings. This paper aims to examine the perception and opinion of policymakers on "text-only" and "pictorial" health warnings and to understand lay people's perceptions on current health warnings and their opinions on the recommended types of health warnings.Methods: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this cross-sectional study conducted in 2008. A purposive sample of 15 policymakers, and a representative sample of 1360 smokers and non-smokers were recruited. A range of different areas were covered including consumer attitudes towards current and proposed cigarette package design, views on health warning messages on the flip/slide and inserts, and views on the relative importance of the size, content and pictures of health warning messages. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used.Results: Policy makers and survey respondents said that the current health warning messages were inappropriate, ineffective, and too small in size. All respondents perceived pictorial health warnings as a potentially powerful element that could be added to the messages that can communicate quickly, and dramatically. The majority of policymakers and survey respondents strongly supported the implementation of pictorial health warnings. The non-smokers agreed that the graphic pictorial health warnings were generally more likely than written health warnings to stimulate thinking about the health risks of smoking, by conveying potential health effects, increasing and reinforcing awareness of the negative health effect of smoking, aiding memorability of the health effects and arousing fear of smoking among smokers.Conclusions: The study suggested that current warnings are too small and that content is inadequate and designed to be hidden on the side pack. These findings are in line with FCTC's requirements and provide strong support for introducing pictorial warning labels also in Lao PDR. Furthermore, the awareness of Members of Parliament about tobacco control measures holds promise at the highest political level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household coping strategies during maternal and child health shocks in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) are analysed in this paper. Vulnerability was the consequence of high and immediate medical costs, which forced households to borrow money or sell off assets, and also of poor access to health care as a result of these costs. This, in turn, resulted in income loss and health deterioration. Weaknesses in the health system contributed to vulnerability through low and unstable access to preventive services and limited monitoring of the conditions that threatened the health of women and children. Even when households received timely care, they could face long-term economic impacts as a consequence of their coping strategies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a tendency that the success of some of the village-level savings groups in Laos inevitably causes an excess funds problem, because the activity of a saving group is confined to a small village territory. Given the lack of efficient and reasonable system for coordinating between funds-surplus and funds-deficit savings groups, the excess funds problem of funds-surplus savings groups leads to a stagnation of such groups, whereas other funds-deficit groups continue to suffer from the fund shortage. The paper, based on a case study of a village in Vientiane Municipality since 2003 until 2012, analyzes how various stakeholders responded to such an excess funds problem with an apparent failure in the study village and alerts the policy-makers in Laos to make necessary measures, since the excess funds problem is also providing a good opportunity to establish a broader and integrated institutional financial system in rural Laos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends Alexandr Chayanov’s model of changing household demography (specifically the ratio of food consumers to food producers) and its influence on agricultural behavior so that it includes possible adverse effects of a rising ratio on nutritional status and early childhood mortality within the household. We apply the model to 35 years’ worth of longitudinal demographic and economic data collected in the irrigated-rice growing village of Na Savang in northern Laos. When appropriate controls are included for other household variables, unobserved inter-household heterogeneity, and changes in local conditions and national policy over the study period, the analysis suggests that a unit increase in the household’s consumer/producer ratio induces something like a nine-fold increase in the risk of death among household members aged less than five years. Monte Carlo simulation studies suggest that this may be an over-estimate but also that the effect is probably real and likely to be an important factor in household demography. At the very least, the results suggest that Chayanov’s model still has theoretical relevance and deserves to be revived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hmong, an ethnic group in Laos, immigrated to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War.7 Minnesota and California have the largest Hmong populations.9 Hmong were historically farmers and hunter-gatherers with inadequate food supply in Laos. Here in America, with a surplus of food and a sedentary lifestyle, the Hmong are at increased risk for diabetes, hence the Thrifty Gene Hypothesis.3,4,6,11 This retrospective study compares the prevalence and control of diabetes mellitus-type 2 between the Hmong and other ethnic and racial groups at the Health And Life Organization (HALO) clinic in Sacramento, California. A total of 9,285 charts were reviewed. The Hmong had the highest prevalence but poorest control of diabetes mellitus when compared with the Laotian, Vietnamese, Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics (chi-square p-value <.0001 for difference in prevalence and control). This paper calls for future studies to explore barriers to management and modifiable risk factors among Hmong diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary emergence of land grabbing across the Global South has been framed by critics as a threat to the national territorial sovereignty of postcolonial societies. Such concerns hinge on conventional notions of sovereignty as an abstract form of power possessed by the state and lost to global forces. However, the transfer of domestic lands into the hands of foreign investors is complicated by the contested and relational nature of authority in resource frontier spaces. Critical scholarship has shown that sovereignty in practice – the production of control and authority within spatial fields – is dynamic, contested, and variegated. It has further staked out an ontology of sovereignty as relational, although not explicitly stated in such terms. This paper employs the insights of relational geography to advance theorisation of sovereignty's relationality: the contested and consensual relations among heterogeneous actors that produce and transform authority in complex and variegated spaces. I demonstrate the value of this approach by examining Vietnamese and Chinese industrial tree plantation companies' differential access to land in Southern Laos, based on 20 months of ethnographic fieldwork. Each company differed in their access to land granted to them by the central Lao government due to the types of socio‐political relations that they developed at various administrative scales of the Lao state. Such relations shaped their co‐production of sovereignty driven by logics of centralised state territorialisation and capital accumulation. When such state–capital relations broke down, opportunities emerged for resistance by peasants who shifted relations of sovereignty toward their own interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'ASEAN Way', as an approach to interstate relations within ASEAN, is analysed in relation to the 'reduction of the development gap' (RDG) with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV). It is found that convergence of income per capita and development levels of CLMV is only to a limited extend the result of RDG and its pace is too slow. With the help of the Asian Development Bank and other regional and multilateral financial institutions, the development cooperation funds thus assembled, could leverage a multitude of loans and funds from donor organizations and countries, including the EU and its member countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]