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The simultaneous occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to adulthood have posed particular obstacles to university students' mental health. However, it remains unclear whether hope promotes mental health in the relationship between self-compassion, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction. Therefore, this study investigated the role of hope as a mediator in the relationship between self-compassion, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction among Vietnamese undergraduate students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants consisted of 484 students (aged 18-24) from several universities in Vietnam. To measure the four variables in the research model, we opted for the Self-Compassion Scale, the State Hope Scale, the World Health Organization 5-item Well-Being Index, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. The results showed that (1) self-compassion was significantly positively correlated with psychological well-being, (2) self-compassion was not correlated with life satisfaction, (3) hope was a mediator of the relationship between self-compassion and psychological well-being, and (4) hope was a mediator of the relationship between self-compassion and life satisfaction. These findings suggest interventions on self-compassion to enhance hope and subsequently increase students' mental health, which offers colleges, psychologists, and psychiatrists a guideline to cope with harmful psychological implications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oligodon tuani sp. nov. (Figs. 2–4) Holotype. ITBCZ 7899, subadult male, collected near Cam Ly Stream, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (coordinates 11°56’54”N, 108°24’60”E; elevation 1490 m a.s.l.) by Tuan Minh Nguyen on 15 September 2020 (Figs. 2 & 3). Paratypes. ITBCZ 7944, adult male, collected on 15 October 2020 by Tuan Minh Nguyen, coordinates 11°57’36”N, 108°23’30”E, elevation 1431 m a.s.l., from Cam Ly Road, vicinity of Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam; ITBCZ 7868, subadult female, collected on 12 September 2020 by Tuan Minh Nguyen, coordinates 12°01’02”N, 108°29’28”E; elevation 1520 m a.s.l., from Da Sar, Lac Duong District, vicinity of Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam; and ITBCZ 8215, adult female, collected from Ward no. 10, Dalat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, coordinates 11°55’56”N, 108°26’58”E, elevation 1440 m a.s.l., on 24 March 2022 by Tuan Minh Nguyen (Fig. 4). Diagnosis. Oligodon tuani sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) large size in adults (TL ≤ 888 mm); (2) 19 dorsal scale rows at neck and midbody and 15 rows before vent; (3) TaL/TL ratio 0.184 in adult male and 0.123 in adult female; (4) ventrals 173–179 in males and 187–193 in females; (5) subcaudals 58 or 59 in males and 44 or 45 in females; (6) presubocular present; (7) 8 supralabials, fourth and fifth entering orbit; (8) cloacal plate undivided; (9) 10 maxillary teeth, posterior three enlarged; (10) vertebral stripe present; (11) temporal streak present but faint and interrupted; (12) long and deeply forked hemipenes, extending to 25 th subcaudal, without spines and papillae but with small and transversal folds and distal calyces; and (13) 13–15+3–4 dorsal blotches. Description of holotype. Subadult male, total length 585 mm; head ovoid, faintly distinct from the poorly defined neck; body robust and rather elongate; SVL 475 mm; tail quite long (TaL/TL = 0.188), 110 mm in length; eye small with round pupil, eye diameter about half of snout length. Head scalation. Rostral thick, triangular and curved on to upper snout surface, visible from above, pointed posteriorly, touching internasals, nasals and first supralabial on both sides; the portion of rostral visible from above shorter than its distance from frontal; supralabials 8/8, the 4 th and 5 th bordering eye; 1/1 loreal; 1/1 presubocular; 1/1 preocular; 2/2 postoculars; nasal divided vertically; 2+2/2+2 temporals, anterior ones elongated; prefrontal wider than long and larger than internasal; frontal large and hexagonal, slightly longer than wide (5.7 mm vs. 4.5 mm); parietals larger than the frontal, bordered laterally by the upper temporals and anteriorly by frontal, supraoculars and postoculars; 9/9 infralabials, first pair medially in contact with each other, first four in contact with anterior chin shield, the 5 th largest and touching posterior chin shield; two pairs of gular scales between posterior chin shields and preventral scale. Body scalation. Dorsal scales smooth, in 19–19–15 rows; scale row reductions from 19 to 17 at ventrals 97 and 98 and from 17 to 15 at ventrals 124 and 132; vertebral scales similar to other dorsal scales in size and shape; ventrals 173 (plus 1 preventral), angulate; cloacal plate entire; subcaudals 59, all paired; terminal caudal scale forming a pointed cap. Dentition. Maxillary teeth 10, curved posteriorly, smaller and shorter anteriorly; posterior three being enlarged and blade-shaped. Hemipenis. Hemipenis long and thin with two lobes, deeply forked at the level of 6 th SC and tip of each organ reaching the SC 25, without spines and papillae; each lobe with numerous smooth, small and transversal folds, with a deep diagonal groove; smooth hexagonal calyces on the distal part of the organ. The sulcus is prominent and divided at the level of the fork (Fig. 3). Coloration. In life, overall dorsal coloration brown to olive with 13 darker blotches on body and 4 on tail. A dark brown band from eye to eye through preoculars, supraoculars, frontal, prefrontals and internasals, continues over the 4 th and 5 th supralabials ending at lower part of the 6 th supralabial. Head with another dark brown arrowshaped marking, its apex pointing forward and reaching the posterior part of frontal, backwards obliquely crossing neck and reaching the 6 th ventral. Temporal streak faint and discontinuous, distinct posteriorly, reaching the level of ventrals. Numerous scattered dorsal black spots confined to edges of the body scales. Edge of each body scale and intervening skin yellowish to white. Vertebral stripe distinct, broader and more distinct on the anterior part of body and on the tail. Ventral color cream anteriorly to pinkish centrally and posteriorly with black rectangular blotches. Ventral surface of tail white to pinkish with black spots. In alcohol, the color became paler, but the pattern remains; venter cream to white with black blotches and dots, pinkish color disappears. Variation. Paratype ITBCZ 7944 has two preoculars on each side and its presubocular is absent on the left side. Paratype ITBCZ 8215 has 15 blotches on body and faint a vertebral stripe. Table 1 summarizes variation in size and scalation of the holotype and three paratypes. Natural history. All specimens were collected during the day. ITBCZ 7868 and 7944 were found dead on the road and the surrounding habitat is pine forest as well as flower and vegetable plantations. ITBCZ 7899 was found near Cam Ly Stream on the pine hill bordered by a vegetable plantation and residential area. ITBCZ 8215 was collected on a pine-covered hill and near a residential area. (Fig. 4E) Sexual dimorphism. Tail of adult male longer than that of adult female (TaL/TL = 0.184 vs. 0.123). Males have more subcaudals (58 or 59 vs. 44 or 45) but fewer ventrals (173–179 vs. 187–193) than females. Distribution. The new species is currently known only from Da Lat City and its vicinity, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (Fig. 1). Etymology. We name the new species in honor of Mr. Tuan Minh Nguyen (Lam Dong Province, Vietnam) in recognition of his significant contribution to us including the type series of the new species and many other important samples of reptiles in recent years. We recommend “Langbian kukri snake” and “Rắn khiếm Langbian” for as the common English and Vietnamese names of the new species, respectively. Comparisons. Oligodon tuani sp. nov. has deeply forked hemipenis without both papillae and spines and thus differs from the following species that have conspicuous papillae on the hemipenes: O. barroni (Smith), O. deuvei David, Vogel & Rooijen, O. mouhoti (Boulenger), O. pseudotaeniatus David, Vogel & Rooijen, and O. taeniatus (Günther) (David et al. 2008b). The new species differs from O. catenatus (Blyth), O. cruentatus (Günther), O. dorsalis (Gray & Hardwicke), O. eberhardti Pellegrin, O. hamptoni Boulenger, O. planiceps (Boulenger), and O. theobaldi (Günther) by having smooth and forked (vs. spinose and unforked) hemipenis (Smith 1943). Oligodon tuani sp. nov. has 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody and thus differs from the following species that have 13 or 15 dorsal scale rows: O. annamensis Leviton, O. jintakunei Pauwels, Wallach, David & Chanhome, O. inornatus (Boulenger), O. kampucheaensis Neang, Grismer & Dattry, O. lacroixi Angel & Bourret, O. macdougalli Wall, O. nagao David, Nguyen, Nguyen, Jiang, Chen, Teynie & Ziegler, O. rostralis Nguyen, Tran, Nguyen, Neang, Yushchenki & Poyarkov, O. teyniei David, Hauser & Vogel, O. torquatus (Boulenger), and O. vertebralis Günther (Smith 1943; Vassilieva 2015; Nguyen et al. 2020; David et al. 2012, 2022). Oligodon tuani sp. nov. differs from O. albocinctus (Cantor) by having more supralabials (8 vs. 7), supralabials 4 and 5 (vs. 3 and 4) touching the eye, dorsum with blotches (vs. cross-bars), and hemipenis without papillae (with short pointed papillae) (Smith 1943); O. arenarius Vassilieva by having a larger size (TL 888 mm vs. 389 mm), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more maxillary teeth (10 vs 6–8), and more ventrals (173–193 vs. 131–144) (Vassilieva 2015); from O. booliati Leong & Grismer by having more supralabials (8 vs. 6 or 7), more ventrals (173–193 vs. 143–153), and dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. cross-bars) (Leong & Grismer 2004); from O. cattienensis Vassilieva, Geissler, Galoyan, Poyarkov, Devenger & Bohme by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more subcaudals in males (58 or 59 vs. 32–36) and in females (44 or 45 vs. 32); fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 11 or 12), fewer number of dorsal blotches (13–15+3–4 vs. 24–33+5), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 11 or 12) (Vassilieva et al. 2013); from O. cinereus (Günther) by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more ventrals in females (187–193 vs. 165–185), more subcaudals (44–59 vs. 29–43), fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 11–14), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 11–14), and different dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. uniform or cross-bars or reticulations) (Smith 1943; David et al. 2012); from O. condaoensis Nguyen, Nguyen, Le & Murphy by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more subcaudals in males (58 or 59 vs. 37) and in females (44 or 45 vs. 33–34), fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 11–13), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 13 or 14), and different dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. uniform or faint stripe) (Nguyen et al. 2016); from O. huahin Pauwels, Larsen, Suthanthangjai, David & Sumontha by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17 or 15), more subcaudals in males (58 or 59 vs. 35–41), more maxillary teeth (10 vs. 6), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 14), and different dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. uniform or faint stripe) (Pauwels et al. 2017); from O. joynsoni (Smith) by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 11 or 12), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 14), and different dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. cross-bars or reticulations) (Smith 1943; David et al. 2012, 2022); from O. macrurus (Angel) by having a shorter tail (TaL/TL = 0.184 –0.188 vs. 0.240), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more ventrals (173–193 vs. 143–152), fewer subcaudals (44–59 vs. 76–83), a shorter hemipenis (LHSC = 25 vs. 29) (Smith 1943; Geissler et al. 2011); from O. moricei David, Vogel & Rooijen by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more ventrals (187–193 vs. 175 in females), more subcaudals (44 or 45 vs 41 in females), and dorsal blotches (vs. stripe) (David et al. 2008b); from O. phangan Pauwels, Thongyai, Chantong & Sumontha by having fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 12), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more ventrals (173–193 vs. 163–166), and more subcaudals (44–59 vs. 33–42) (Pauwels et al. 2021); from O. promsombuti Pauwels, Thongyai, Chantong & Sumontha by having fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 12), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more subcaudals (44–59 vs. 40), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 13) (Pauwels et al. 2021); from O. purpurascens (Schlegel) by having faint and interrupted temporal streak (vs. distinct and continuous temporal streak), different dorsal color pattern (blotches vs. conspicuous red and banded coloration or brownish dull coloration), and forked hemipenis without papillae (vs. unforked with papillae) (Boulenger 1894; Rooijen et al. 2011; Pauwels et al. 2017; David et al. 2022); from O. saiyok Sumontha, Kunya, Dangsri & Pauwels by having fewer maxillary teeth (10 vs. 13), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), more subcaudals (58 or 59 vs. 43 in males, 44 or 45 vs. 38 in females), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 18) (Sumontha et al. 2017); from O. signatus (Gunther) by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 15–17), more ventrals (173–179 vs. 141–149 in males, 187–193 vs. 151–157 in females), and dorsal blotches (vs. cross bands or transverse rhomboidal spots) (Boulenger 1894; David et al. 2022); and from O. splendidus (Günther) by having fewer midbody scale rows (19 vs. 21), a distinct vertebral stripe (vs. vertebral stripe absent), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 19) (Smith 1943). Oligodon tuani sp. nov. is similar to its congeners in the O. cyclurus species complex. However, the new species can be distinguished from O. chinensis by having more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17), fewer subcaudals in females (44 or 45 vs. 47–53), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 12–14), and dorsal blotches (vs. cross bars) (David et al. 2008a; Nguyen et al. 2017); from O. culaochamensis by having a shorter tail (TaL/TL 0.184 vs. 0.218 –0.219 in males, 0.123 vs. 0.166 –0.169 in females), more ventrals in both males (173–179 vs. 167–169) and females (187–193 vs. 179–182), fewer subcaudals in both males (58 or 59 vs. 63–66) and females (44 or 45 vs. 51 or 52 in females), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 20) (Nguyen et al. 2017); from O. cyclurus in having a longer tail (TaL/SVL 0.225 vs. 0.127 –0.156 in males, 0.140 vs. 0.107 –0.138 in females), more ventrals in both males (173–179 vs. 160–173) and females (187–193 vs. 168–172), more subcaudals in both males (58 or 59 vs. 37–48) and females (44 or 45 vs. 30–44 in females), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 15–18) (David et al. 2008a); from O. formosanus by having a longer tail in males (TaL/SVL 0.225 vs. 0.165 –0.195) and shorter tail in females (TaL/SVL 0.140 vs. 0.149 –0.164), more subcaudals in males (58 or 59 vs. 49–55), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 15–18), and dorsal blotches (vs. reticulate pattern) (David et al. 2008a); from O. ocellatus by having a longer tail (TaL/SVL 0.225 vs. 0.112 –0.141 in males, 0.140 vs. 0.094 –0.114 in females), more ventrals in both males (173–179 vs. 156–165) and females (187–193 vs. 152–180), more subcaudals in both males (58 or 59 vs. 32–44) and females (44 or 45 vs. 26–33 in females), and remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 15–17) (David et al. 2008a); and from O. saintgironsi by having a larger size (TL max 888 mm vs. 676 mm), a longer tail in males (TaL/SVL 0.225 vs. 0.191 –0.203) and shorter tail in females (TaL/SVL 0.140 vs. 0.161), more midbody scale rows (19 vs. 17 or 18), first scale reduction occurring at the level of ventrals 97–111 (vs. 62–86), more ventrals in both males (173–179 vs. 166–170) and females (187–193 vs. 184), fewer subcaudals in females (44 or 45 vs. 53), and slightly shorter hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 27 or 28) (David et al. 2008a). Oligodon tuani sp. nov. is also morphologically similar to O. fasciolatus. However, it differs from O. fasciolatus by having fewer dorsal scale rows at neck (19 vs. 21–23), at midbody (19 vs. 21) and before the vent (15 vs. 17), remarkably longer hemipenis (extending to SC 25 vs. 14–21), temporal streak faint and discontinuous (vs. distinct and continuous), ventral surface with black rectangular blotches (vs. pure white or immaculate) (Gunther, 1864; David et al. 2008a; this study). The main morphological characters of the O. cyclurus species complex are summarized in Table 2.

Oysters and clams are abundant and popularly consumed seafood in Viet Nam. These bivalves were proved to be suitable bioindicators to assess the heavy metal accumulation in the aquatic environment. The study is to investigate heavy metals such as As, Cd, Hg and Pb in the cultured oysters Saccostrea glomerata and clams Meretrix lyrata collected in VanDon - Quang Ninh, and CatBa - Hai Phong. The results showed that the metal heavy concentrations in the oysters Saccostrea glomerata and clams Meretrix lyrata presented in the order of AsCd Pb Hg. The most polluted concentration with As among four heavy metals studied in six sampling sites was 2.81 ± 1.07 and 1.6 ± 0.62 mg/kg wet weight for clams and oysters, respectively. Investigated heavy metals in cultured oysters and clams indicated potential risks for human health in future by assessment of the heavy metals.

This study explores the possibility of applying high-gravity rotating packed bed (HGRPB) in removing H2S and CO2 from biogas. Ca(OH)2 aqueous solution was used as the absorbent in this study. Different experimental conditions including solution pH, rotating speed (R S) of HGRPB, gas flow rate (Q G), and liquid flow rate (Q L) were investigated with respect to the removal efficiency (E) of H2S and CO2. The experimental and simulated results show that the optimal removal efficiency of H2S and CO2 using HGRPB achieved nearly the same as 99.38 and 99.56% for removal efficiency of H2S and 77.28 and 77.86% for removal efficiency of CO2, respectively. Such efficiencies corresponded with the following optimal conditions: a solution pH of 12.26, HGRPB reactor with the rotating speed of 1,200 rpm, the gas flow rate of 2.46 (L/min), and the liquid flow rate of 0.134 (L/min).

We give the definition of D-invariant points on an irreducible algebraic hypersurface V in RN. We show that every regular point on irreducible quadratic hypersurface in RN is D-invariant. We prove that the local Taylor interpolation projector at a regular point a 2 V is an ideal projector if and only if a is D-invariant.

Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, a crucial indicator of phytoplankton biomass, is sensitive to seasonality. The variations in trophic states regarding seasonality and the changes of spectral properties of water bodies pose uncertainties to the accuracy of remote sensing semiempirical models. In particular, lakes in subtropical regions generally experience different trophic states in dry and wet seasons. In this study, a season-insensitive Chl-a retrieval model using multitask convolution neural network with multiple output layers (MCNN) is proposed. A layer-sharing network combined with data augmentation is adopted to alleviate the issue of insufficient quantity of in situ samples. In addition, a hyperparameter optimization is performed to automatically refine the MCNN architecture. To evaluate the accuracy of proposed method, Laguna Lake, one of the largest lakes in Southeast Asia, is selected as the validation target. The lake is characterized by oligotrophic and mesotrophic states in wet season, whereas the states change to mesotrophic and low-level eutrophic states in dry season. A collection of Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument Level-2 images and 409 in situ samples with the Chl-a concentration range 1.24–22.30 mg$\cdot$m$^{-3}$ were used for model calibration and evaluation. Experimental results showed that MCNN with the performance of average $\boldsymbol{R^{2}}$ = 0.74, RMSE = 2.06 mg$\cdot$m$^{-3}$, Pearson's $\boldsymbol {r}$ = 0.86 outperforms related semiempirical models, including normalized difference chlorophyll index, two-band and three-band models, and WaterNet. The Chl-a prediction accuracy was improved by 7.19–14.6%, in terms of RMSE, compared with WaterNet.

This paper presents a case study on the laboratory examination of quarry dust based geopolymer on some physical and mechanical properties of stabilized laterit soil. The laboratory test results indicate that both CBR and shrinkage limit of studied soil increased substantailly with increased rate of quarry dust based geopolymer (QD-based geopolymer). Specifically, the laterit soils were treated with QD-based geopolymer in the proportions of 10%, 20%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, respectively, by weight of dry soil; the CBR values were increased from 7.4% to 35.71% at proportion of 40% QD-based geopolymer. The obtained CBR value of 35.71% meets the requirement to be used as filled meterials for pavement purpose according to the TCVN 8857:2012. In constrast with the increase in CBR and shrinkage values, the swelling potential of treated soils was found to be decreased with raising QD-geopolymer proportion, for example, the swelling potential decreased from 14.5÷6.9% as adding 10, and 60% of QD- based geopolymer, respectively .

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly has various detrimental psychological effects on people's mental health, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness in overcoming such repercussions. This is in line with the growing number of studies that have been conducted to assess the effects of mindfulness in diverse settings. However, the role of mindfulness in reducing mental health issues among university students has received little attention. Therefore, the current work seeks to investigate how mindfulness could reduce the anxiety, depression, and stress of university students and how self-compassion and psychological well-being could mediate the links between mindfulness and these mental health disorders. To that end, an explanatory sequential mixed-method design was adopted. Quantitative data collected, through a two-wave survey, from 560 Vietnamese students having an average age of 18.7 years were used to test the hypotheses. To measure the six variables in the research models, we opted for the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-26), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21-7 items for each subscale), and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Additionally, qualitative data from 19 in-depth interviews were utilized to explain the quantitative findings and explore students' experiences in practicing mindfulness and self-compassion to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety. The results elucidated that self-compassion and psychological well-being serially mediated the relationships between mindfulness (as a predictor) and anxiety, stress, and depression (as outcome variables). The findings demonstrated the key role of mindfulness in increasing students' self-compassion and psychological well-being as well as reducing anxiety, depression, and stress. This research holds substantial contributions by providing universities and psychotherapists with recommendations to deal with negative psychological consequences caused by COVID-19.

Tuan Dinh Le,1,2,&ast; Nga Phi Thi Nguyen,2 Hoa Thanh Thi Tran,3 Thuc Luong Cong,4,&ast; Lan Ho Thi Nguyen,5 Binh Do Nhu,6 Son Tien Nguyen,2 Manh Van Ngo,7 Hoa Trung Dinh,8 Hien Thi Nguyen,9 Kien Trung Nguyen,10 Duc-Cuong Le7,11,&ast; 1Center of Emergency, Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi, Vietnam; 2Department of Rheumatology and Endocrinology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi, Vietnam; 3National Hospital of Endocrinology, Hanoi, Vietnam; 4Department of Cardiology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 5Department of General Internal Medicine, National Hospital of Endocrinology, Ha Noi, Vietnam; 6Division of Military Science, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Ha Noi, Vietnam; 7Postgraduate Training Management Department, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 8Department of Requested Treatment, National Hospital of Endocrinology, Ha Noi, Vietnam; 9Department of Physiology, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 10Department of Science Management, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 11Epidemiology-Faculty of Public Health, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tuan Dinh LeCenter of Emergency, Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Department of Rheumatology and Endocrinology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, 261 Phung Hung Street, Phuc La Ward, Ha Dong District, Ha Noi, VietnamTel +840388166078Email letuan985@gmail.comDuc-Cuong LePostgraduate Training Management Department; Epidemiology-Faculty of Public Health, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 373 Ly Bon Street, Ky Ba Ward, Thai Binh, VietnamTel +84 93 8042 668Email cuongldvn@gmail.comPurpose: This study was aimed at the prevalence, cardiovascular risk factors of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and the relationship between DPN and fasting glucagon-like peptide-1 (fGLP-1) concentrations in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2D).Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from 2015 to 2020 with a population of 473 nT2D. Screening for DPN was based on the United Kingdom screening test. fGLP-1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: The prevalence of DPN was 26.6%, in which mild grade was 17.3%, moderate grade was 8.2% and severe grade was 1.1% in total. Age (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.12– 2.67, p = 0.012), smoking (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.03– 2.62, p = 0.037), poor control HbA1c (OR = 2.66, 95% CI 1.23– 5.76, p = 0.01), 24-h urinary albumin (24hUA) (OR = 2.49, 95% CI 1.26– 4.94, p = 0.007), and diabetic retinopathy (OR = 3.17, 95% CI 1.46– 6.89, p = 0.002) significantly increased the risk for DPN. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, hypertension (OR = 2.96, 95% CI 1.16– 7.55, p = 0.023), triglyceride (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.11– 2.03, p = 0.009), albumin (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.75– 0.95, p = 0.005), and fGLP-1 (OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.67– 0.93, p = 0.005) correlated with DPN. The fGLP-1 concentrations were reduced significantly in DPN (p < 0.001). In particular, male patients with DPN had a significantly lower fGLP-1 levels than those without DPN (p < 0.001).Conclusion: The prevalence of DPN among nT2D was 26.6%. Age, smoking, hypertension, HbA1c control, triglyceride, albumin, 24hUA, diabetic retinopathy were the associated risk factors of DPN, and fGLP-1 was negatively correlated with DPN (OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.67– 0.93, p = 0.005).Keywords: newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, cardiovascular risk factors, glucagon-like peptide-1 concentrations

The effects of tuna viscera hydrolysate (TVH) on juvenile pompano Trachinotus blochii, growth performance, nutritional response, intestinal and liver health, and resistance to Streptococcus iniae were investigated in this study. Five isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (protein 46.0%, lipid 10.0%) were formulated in which TVH was added to replace fishmeal protein at levels of 0 (control), 30, 60, 90, and 120 g kg-1, labelled as TVH0, TVH05, TVH10, TVH15, and TVH20, respectively. Triplicate groups of pompano were fed the respective diets for ten weeks. The results showed that fish fed diets containing TVH10 produced significantly higher final body weight and specific growth rate in comparison to the fishmeal control ( P < 0.05 ). Dietary TVH did not produce any effect on feed utilisation, somatic indices, and proximate composition of juvenile pompano ( P > 0.05 ). While most amino acids were unchanged by the dietary inclusion of TVH, phenylalanine and valine levels were significantly lower in the fish fed TVH20 diet compared to the control. Fish fed the TVH20 diet had significantly lowered total serum protein compared to the TVH10 treatment, whereas other biochemical parameters in the blood did not show any difference among treatments. The intestinal histology indicated a significant increase in goblet cell numbers in fish fed TVH10 diet. Fish fed diet supplemented with TVH showed the highest disease resistance against Streptococcus iniae after 14 days of challenge. Based on a quadratic regression between final body weight and dietary TVH levels, the optimum TVH was calculated to be 10% or 60.0 g kg-1 for maximum growth performance when fed to pompano.

Climate internal variability (CIV) plays an important role in understanding climate and is one of the principal uncertainties in climate projections. This study aims to estimate CIV and climatological mean (CM) in predictions using different emission scenarios for South Korea. A stochastic weather generator is employed to generate 100 ensembles of 30-year hourly time series for 40 meteorological stations. CIV is then estimated from the detrended method and compared with the noise computed by the two approaches. The extremely high value of the coefficient of determination between CIV values and noise indicates that the methodologies are seamless. The key results of this study include: (1) national average CM and CIV will increase in the future, and that increase will be greater in Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and end periods; (2) the nature of future changes in CM and CIV differ according to the indices of interest. Characteristics of three precipitation-quantity indices (total precipitation, totPr; daily maximum precipitation, maxDa; and hourly maximum precipitation, maxHr) and the precipitation-occurrence index (the number of days without precipitation, nonPr) are largely distinct; (3) examining the relationship between factors of changes of CIV and CM reveal a high correlation between them for maxDa and maxHr, but not for other indices; (4) The tail information of distribution for the FOC ratio implies that future changes in total and extreme precipitation are likely to be decoupled for some months or at some locations. The degree of decoupling is more noticeable on the hourly than the daily scale; and (5) the spatial deviation of CIV is also larger during the summer when CIV values are spatially large; this is valid only for totPr and maxDa. Methodologies and results for finer scales help assess the impact of climate change and develop appropriate adaptation and response strategies.

We report the southernmost record of the Rhinoceros Snake, Gonyosoma boulengeri (Mocquard, 1897) from Phu YenProvince, southern Vietnam, based on a single specimen collected from forest in the Ca Range. This record extendsthe distribution of G. boulengeri approximately 600 km south of previous records in Vietnam (Quang Binh Province,central Vietnam). A detailed description of a hemipenis is also provided for the first time.

Nga Phi Thi Nguyen,1,2,&ast; Thuc Luong Cong,3,4,&ast; Thi Thanh Hoa Tran,5 Binh Nhu Do,6 Son Tien Nguyen,1,2 Binh Thanh Vu,7,&ast; Lan Ho Thi Nguyen,8 Manh Van Ngo,9 Hoa Trung Dinh,10 Hoang Duong Huy,11 Nghia Xuan Vu,12 Kien Nguyen Trung,13 Duong Ngoc Vu,14 Nghia The Pham,14 Tuan Dinh Le2,15,&ast; 1Department of Endocrinology, Military Hospital 103, Hanoi, Vietnam; 2Department of Rheumatology and Endocrinology, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 3Cardiovascular Center, Military Hospital 103, Hanoi, Vietnam; 4Department of Cardiology, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 5Emergency Resuscitation Department, National Hospital of Endocrinology, Hanoi, Vietnam; 6Division of Military Science, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 7Department of Internal Medicine, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 8Department of General Internal Medicine, National Hospital of Endocrinology, Hanoi, Vietnam; 9Postgraduate Training Management Department, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 10Department of Requested Treatment, National Hospital of Endocrinology, Hanoi, Vietnam; 11Department of Neurology, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 12Department of Blood Transfusion, 108 Military Central Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam; 13Department of Science Management, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh, Vietnam; 14Department of Imaging Diagnosis, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 15Center of Emergency, Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tuan Dinh Le, Center of Emergency, Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, 261 Phung Hung Street, Phuc La Ward, Ha Dong District, Hanoi, Vietnam, Tel +84 388166078, Email letuan985@gmail.com Binh Thanh Vu, Department of Internal Medicine, Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 373 Ly Bon Street, Ky Ba Ward, Thai Binh, Vietnam, Tel +84 334588298, Email binhvt@tbump.edu.vnIntroduction: Low albumin levels, high levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and high white blood cell count were risk factors for changes in arterial intima-media thickness (IMT). Femoral artery IMT damages were one of the common peripheral artery type 2 diabetes. This study was conducted to determine the association between femoral artery IMT and plasma albumin, hs-CRP levels, and white blood cell count in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2D).Materials and Methods: From January 2015 to May 2020, 306 patients with nT2D were recruited for this cross-sectional descriptive study at Vietnam’s National Endocrinology Hospital. We measured IMT by Doppler ultrasound.Results: There was a statistically significant difference in albumin, hs-CRP levels, hs-CRP-to-albumin ratio, and white blood cell counts between three different IMT groups namely normal IMT, thick IMT, and atherosclerosis (p = 0.003, p = 0.001, p = 0.001 and p = 0.049, respectively). In the multivariate linear regression analysis, white blood cell count, and hs-CRP levels showed a significantly positive correlation to IMT (standardized B and p of 0.17, 0.015 and 0.163, 0.024, respectively), but albumin levels were a significantly negative correlation to IMT (standardized B = – 0.151, p = 0.029). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that albumin (OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.65– 0.90, p = 0.018), hs-CRP (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.01– 1.18, p = 0.026), and white blood cell count (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.03– 1.81, p = 0.033) had correlation to atherosclerosis of femoral artery.Conclusion: Reduced plasma albumin, elevated hs-CRP, and white blood cell count associated with IMT increased the odds for atherosclerosis of femoral artery among nT2D.Keywords: plasma albumin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus, intima-media thickness, atherosclerotic plaque, femoral artery

This study investigated the torrefaction of de-oiled Jatropha seed residue after a two-stage sequential process consisting of mechanical screw pressing and solvent extraction using n-hexane (denoted as JMS). The optimal torrefaction temperature (Tr) and torrefaction time (tr) were determined in the ranges of 260–300 °C and 10–60 min, respectively, so to achieve a better heating value and satisfactory energy densification (ED) with acceptable mass loss. Thermogravimetric analysis was employed to elucidate the thermal decomposition behaviors of JMS. By comparison with the torrefaction of Jatropha seed residue after mechanical oil extraction by screw pressing only (namely, JMET), the results indicated that the ED of the torrefaction of JMS yielding the torrefied product JMST (two-stage product) was higher than that of the torrefaction of JME giving the torrefied product JMET (single-stage product). Further, it was found that JMET contained some tar, which was attributed to a thermal reaction in the residual oil in JME during torrefaction. The tar/oil content of JMET was about 1.0–1.8 wt.% in the determined optimal conditions. Thus, the enhanced recovery of the residual oil is advantageous not only because it allows obtaining more oil from Jatropha seed residue with a positive net energy gain but also because it prevents the formation of tar in torrefied biomass products.

Designing water infrastructure requires information about the magnitude and frequency of upcoming rainfall. A limited range of data offers just one of many realizations that occurred in the past or will occur in the future, thus, it cannot sufficiently explain climate internal variability (CIV). In this study, future relationships among rainfall intensity (RI), duration, and frequency (called the IDF curve) are established by addressing the CIV and tail characteristics with respect to frequency. Specifically, 100 ensembles of 30-year time series data were created to quantify that uncertainty. Then, the tail characteristics of future extreme rainfall events were investigated to determine whether they will remain similar to those in the present. From the RIs computed for control and future periods under two emission scenarios, following are the key results. Firstly, future RI will increase significantly for most locations, especially near the end of this century. Secondly, the spatial distributions and patterns indicate higher RI in coastal areas and lower RI for the central inland areas of South Korea, and those distributions are similar to those of the climatological mean (CM) and CIV. Thirdly, a straightforward way to reveal whether the tail characteristics of future extreme rainfall events are the same as those in the present is to inspect the slope value for the factor of change (FOC), mFOC. Fourthly, regionalizing with nearby values is very risky when investigating future changes in precipitation frequency estimates. Fifthly, the magnitude of uncertainty is large when the data length is short and gradually decreases as the data length increases for all return periods, but the uncertainty range becomes much greater as the return period becomes large. Lastly, inferring future changes in RI from the CM is feasible only for small return periods and at locations where mFOC&nbsp, is close to zero.

Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. (Figs. 3 & 4) Holotype. ITBCZ 5842, adult male, collected from Ho Tram Area, Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam; coordinates 10°29’38.2” N, 107°27’40.0” E; elevation 11 m asl by Sang N. Nguyen and Vu D.H. Nguyen, on 21 March 2017 (Fig. 3). Paratypes. Two adult males ITBCZ 5843 and 5844, and one adult female ITBCZ 5856 collected by Sang N. Nguyen and Vu D.H. Nguyen from the same site as the holotype; two adult males, ITBCZ 7038 and 7046, collected by Manh V. Le on 04 June 2020 at Ho Tram Area, Xuyen Moc District, Vietnam, coordinates 10°28’59.8” N, 107°26’03.6” E, elevation 10 m asl; two adult females ITCBZ 7056 and 7059, and one juvenile ITBCZ 7070, collected by Manh V. Le on 04 June 2020 at La Gi Town, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam, coordinates 10°42’38.8’’ N, 107°42’10.8” E, elevation 62 m asl (Fig. 4). Diagnosis. Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: medium size in adults (SVL up to 48.7 mm); tail length approximately equal to SVL; 27–30 smooth midbody scale rows; dorsal scales not enlarged; 55–57 paravertebral scales; 34–37 axilla-groin scales; 55–62 ventral scale rows; 64–74 subcaudal scales; four supraoculars; frontoparietal single; prefrontals not in contact with one another; two loreal scales; seven supralabials, the fifth below the center of the eye; one anterior and two posterior enlarged temporal scales; ear opening with two lobules on the anterior margin; 9 or 10 smooth subdigital lamellae beneath finger III and 12–15 beneath toe IV; six enlarged precloacal scales; and four distinct black stripes on dorsum. Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 46.5 mm; snout short and obtuse; lower eyelid scaly; body rather robust; tail regenerated. Head scales smooth; rostral convex, distinctly visible from above, broader than long (2.0 mm width, 1.0 mm height); a pair of supranasals forming short median suture, touching nasals and anterior loreals laterally, width equal to length (0.7 mm); prefrontals small, quadrangular, widely separated from each other, each touching both loreals; four supraoculars; frontal truncate anteriorly, longer than its distance from tip of snout, shorter than its distance from nuchal (2.0 mm vs. 3.2 mm), longer than wide (1.8 mm width, 2.6 mm length), touching two anterior supraoculars; frontoparietal single, much larger than interparietal, wider than long (3.0 mm width, 1.9 mm length), touching three supraoculars; parietals in contact posteriorly behind the interparietal; interparietal longer than wide (1.1 mm width, 1.6 mm length), with parietal eye visible posterior to center; a pair of nuchals; seven supralabials on both sides, fifth below center of the eye, first larger than the three following, sixth largest; two loreals, anterior (0.6 mm length, 0.6 mm height) slightly higher, the posterior (0.9 mm length, 0.5 mm height) longer; nasal divided, in contact with the first supralabial, rostral, anterior loreal, and supranasal; nostril in center of nasal; eight supraciliaries, first largest; one enlarged anterior temporal in contact with the sixth and the seventh supralabial; two posterior temporals, lower one smaller and overlapping the upper one, the lower temporal in contact with seventh supralabials; six infralabials, first two in contact with postmental; two pairs of chin shields, first pair medially in contact with each other; ear-opening moderately small, the anterior border with two lobules. Body elongate (AGD/SVL = 0.56); dorsal scales smooth, not larger than lateral and ventral scales, with eight longitudinal rows on the back; 28 midbody scale rows; 71 paravertebral scales; 35 axilla-groin scales; ventral scales smooth, in 55 rows; limbs short (FLL/SVL = 0.18, HLL/SVL = 0.25), pentadactyl, widely separated by ten scales when adpressed; 3, 6, 9, 9, and 7 smooth lamellae beneath fingers I–V, respectively; 4, 7, 13, 13, and 9 smooth lamellae beneath toes I–V, respectively; six enlarged precloacal scales, the two middle ones slightly larger than the others; size of median subcaudal series on the original part of the tail equal to those of its adjacent rows. Coloration. In life, overall dorsal coloration reddish brown with two dorsolateral bright lines on anterior part of dorsum; each dorsal scale of four central rows with a black spot forming four distinct longitudinal lines on dorsum; ear and surrounding area orange; sides dark brown to black intermixed with white, brown and yellow spots; chest and belly yellow (Fig. 3). In preservation, color fades but the four longitudinal dorsal lines remain distinct; orange and yellow faded to cream or white; overall dorsal and lateral coloration black to dark brown with bright spots on lateral sides; venter cream. Variation in paratypes (n = 8). Most morphological characters of paratypes agree with those of the holotype. The following main characters vary: (1) midbody scale rows: vary from 27 to 30; (2) paravertebral and ventral scale rows: range from 55 to 57 and from 55 to 62, respectively; (3) axilla-groin scales: range from 34 to 37; (4) and nuchals: range from one to three scales. Table 3 summarizes variation in size and scalation of the type series. ...Continued on the next page ...Continued on the next page Field notes. All specimens were collected during the daytime, on sandy ground among rotting leaves in Earleaf acacia (Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth.) plantation, secondary dipterocarp forest, and rubber plantation in lowland coastal areas (Fig. 5). The holotype and paratypes ITBCZ 5843 & 5844 were collected at 15:42, air temperature 30.3 oC, relative humidity 70.2 %; ITCBZ 7038 was collected at 13:30, air temperature 33 oC, relative humidity 75 %; ITBCZ 7046 was collected at 8:54, air temperature 30 oC, relative humidity 80 %; ITBCZ 7056, 7059 & 7070 were collected at 12:10, air temperature 32 oC, relative humidity 65%. To avoid capture, this species can dive into and stay under loose sand. Sexual dimorphism. Adult males mainly differ from adult females in body coloration in life and shape of tail base. Males have yellow color on chest and belly (vs. white, cream or yellowish color in females), orange around the ear (vs. dark brown in females), and distinct bright spots on lateral side (vs. pure dark brown or with small bright dots in females). Ventral side of tail base is slightly swollen in males and flat in females (Figs. 3, 4A–E). Juvenile has bright golden color on the dorsum with four clear dorsal longitudinal stripes (Fig. 4F). Distribution. The new species is currently known only from (1) Ho Tram, Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and (2) La Gi Town, Binh Thuan Province, southern Vietnam (Fig. 1). Etymology. The new skink is named after the nation of Vietnam. We recommend “ Vietnam Agile Skink” and “Thằn lằn chân ngắn việt nam” as the common English and Vietnamese names of the new species, respectively. Comparisons. Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. differs morphologically from other species of the Lygosoma s.l. in Asia as follows: For Subdoluseps, S. vietnamensis sp. nov. differs from S. herberti, S. malayana, S. purthi, and S. samajaya by having a single frontoparietal scale (vs. paired) (Grismer 2019; Karin et al. 2018; Sharma 1977; Smith 1916). In addition, it differs from S. herberti by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 54.0 mm), presence (vs. absence) of nuchal scales (1–3 vs. 0), and smooth dorsal scales (vs. dorsal with 5 strong keels) (Smith 1916); from S. malayana by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 65.4 mm), more supralabials (7 vs. 6) with the fifth below the center of the eye (vs. the fourth below the center of the eye), smooth dorsal scales (vs. dorsal with 3–5 strong keels) (Grismer et al. 2019); from S. purthi by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 67.0 mm), fewer midbody scale rows (27–30 vs. 32–34), and more paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 50) (Sharma 1977); from S. samajaya by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 70.1 mm), fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 60 or 61), and smooth dorsal scales (vs. dorsal with 5 strong keels) (Karin et al. 2018). Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. is phenotypically most similar to S. bowringii and S. frontoparietale but can be distinguished from both based on a combination of characters. The new species differs from S. bowringii by having a single frontoparietal scale (vs. paired) (Geissler et al. 2011; Smith 1935; this study), tail length approximately equal to SVL (vs. tail longer than SVL) (mean TL/SVL = 1.04 vs. 1.27 [Smith 1935; this study]), and fewer subcaudal scales (64–74 vs. 76–81) (this study); from S. frontoparietale by having a tail length approximately equal to SVL (mean TL/SVL = 1.04 vs. tail longer than SVL, mean TL/SVL = 1.24 [Taylor 1962; this study, Table 4]), fewer subcaudal scales (64–74 vs. 78–80) [Taylor 1962; this study]), fewer axilla-groin scales (34–37 vs. 39–42) (this study), four distinct longitudinal black stripes on dorsum (vs. six distinct black stripes) (Taylor 1962; this study), and absence (vs. presence) of bright dorsolateral band extending from eye to tail base (Taylor 1962; this study, Fig. 6). From genus Lygosoma s.s., Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. differs from L. isodactylum, L. siamensis, L. tabonorum, and L. quadrupes (Linnaeus) by having supranasals in contact with each other (vs. not in contact) (Geissler et al. 2011, Heitz et al. 2016, Siler et al. 2018) and from L. corpulentum by having smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 170.0 mm), frontoparietal scale single (vs. paired), and fewer midbody scale rows (27–30 vs. 36–40) (Smith 1921; Geissler et al. 2011). For the genus Riopa, Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. differs from R. albopunctata, R. anguinua, R. goaensis, R. guentheri, R. popae Shreve, and R. punctata (Gmelin) by having frontoparietal scales single (vs. paired) (Geissler et al. 2012; Sharma 1976; Smith 1935); from R. lineata and R. lineolata by having fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 104–110 in R. lineata [Smith 1935] and 78–93 in R. lineolata [Siler et al. 2018]); and from R. vosmaeri by having hind-limb with 5 (vs. 4) toes (Gray 1939; Seetharamaraju et al. 2009). For remaining Asian species of the Lygosoma s.l. that were not confirmed by Freitas et al. (2019), Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. differs from L. boehmei Ziegler, Schmitz, Heidrich, Vu & Nguyen, L. opisthorhodum Werner, L. singha (Taylor), and L. veunsaiensis Geissler, Hartmann & Neang by having frontoparietal scale single (vs. paired) (Geissler et al. 2012; Werner 1910; Ziegler et al. 2007); from L. angeli (Smith) by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 100.0 mm) and fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 107–115) (Smith 1937; Geissler et al. 2011); from L. haroldyoungi (Taylor) by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 136.0 mm), fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 141–145), and fewer midbody scale rows (27–30 vs. 38–42) [Taylor 1962; Geissler et al. 2011]; from L. kinabatanganensis Grismer, Quah, Duzulkafly & Yambun by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 141.0 mm), fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 98), and fewer midbody scale rows (27–30 vs. 42) (Grismer et al. 2018); from L. koratense Smith by having a smaller adult size (maximum SVL = 48.7 mm vs. 105.0 mm) and fewer midbody scale rows (27–30 vs. 32–34) [Smith 1935]; and from L. bampfyldei Bartlett, L. peninsulare Grismer, Quah, Duzulkafly & Yambun, and L. schneideri Werner by having fewer paravertebral scale rows (55–57 vs. 81–85 in L. bampfyldei [Grismer et al. 2018], 87 in L. peninsulare [Grismer et al. 2018], and 95 in L. schneideri [Grismer et al. 2018]).

Le, Manh Van, Nguyen, Vu Dang Hoang, Phan, Hoa Thi, Rujirawan, Attapol, Aowphol, Anchalee, Vo, Thi-Dieu-Hien, Murphy, Robert W., Nguyen, Sang Ngoc (2021): A new skink of the genus Subdoluseps Freitas, Datta-Roy, Karanth, Grismer & Siler, 2019 (Squamata: Scincidae) from southern Vietnam. Zootaxa 4952 (2): 257-274, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4952.2.3

We describe a new species of the genus Subdoluseps Freitas, Datta-Roy, Karanth, Grismer & Siler from a coastal area in southern Vietnam. Subdoluseps vietnamensis sp. nov. is characterized by the following morphological characters: medium size in adults (snout-vent length up to 48.7 mm); tail length/snout-vent length ratio 1.04; toes not reaching finger when limbs adpressed; 27–30 midbody scale rows, smooth; 55–57 paravertebral scales; 55–62 ventral scale rows; 64–74 subcaudal scales; frontoparietal scale single; four supraoculars; prefrontals not in contact with one another; two loreal scales; seven supralabials; ear-opening with two lobules on the anterior border; smooth lamellae beneath finger III 9 or 10 and toe IV 12–15; six enlarged precloacal scales; and four distinct black stripes on dorsum. The new species differs genetically from its closest congeners, S. bowringii (Günther) and S. frontoparietale (Taylor), by uncorrected p-distances of 10.0% and 9.5%, respectively in ND1 sequences, and clusters into the same matriline with these two congeners on the phylogenetic trees.

Estimation of aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon accumulation (CAc) from remote sensing data is a practical approach for long-term monitoring quality of forest, which assist the forest management and environmental sustainability. This study presents the use of Sentinel-1A SAR data for retrieving environmental parameters to estimate the spatial variability of AGB and CAc in Thuan Chau district, Son La province, Vietnam. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were performed by using input from field survey data and forest-covered map acquired in 2015. In total, 240 plots were collected and 168 plots were used in the regression models; the remaining 72 plots were used to validate the results. Quality control was conducted by comparing the coefficient of determination (R squared – R2) of two methods, and the best-fit model was chosen to estimate the carbon accumulation accurately. The correlation coefficient of the multivariate linear regression model was more satisfied than the other method with R2 = 0.48 and R2 = 0.37 respectively. The results of carbon accumulation were mainly distributed in the evergreen broadleaf forest, accounting for about 66.8% of the total area. This approach is an effective way to use free accessible satellite data in estimating AGB and CAc in the tropical regions.

Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is a robust method in solving non-linear classification by employing a human-readable interpretation manner. This paper verified a hybrid model, named ...

The carpooling services allow drivers to share their rides with other passengers, reduce the passengers’ fares and time and traffic jam as well as increase the drivers’ income. In recent years, several carpooling recommendation systems have been proposed. However, most studies focus on constructing mathematical models with some improvements and then running the model simulation with the demo data. Currently, there are many apps-based taxi companies that provide carpooling service such as Uber, Grab, etc.; however, due to business secrets, these companies avoid disseminating widely the carpooling system architecture and technologies. To fill the research gaps between mathematical modeling structure to the carpooling system architecture, this paper proposes a carpooling system architecture to present an overall solution to apply the mathematical models of the carpooling services in practice. In the carpooling system architecture, we also apply big data to collect and process space–time big data and apply AI to solve prediction models such as service churn pre-diction, customer data clustering, route planning… Furthermore, this architecture design adds some components such as service quality assessment, improving efficiency with Key Performance Indicators (KPI), reporting, and statistics, etc. to narrow the gaps between research and business models in practice in the era of Industry 4.0.

Aims. This study is aimed at (1) validating the performance of Oakland and Glasgow-Blatchford (GBS) scores and (2) comparing these scores with the SALGIB score in predicting adverse outcomes of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (ALGIB) in a Vietnamese population. Methods. A multicenter cohort study was conducted on ALGIB patients admitted to seven hospitals across Vietnam. The adverse outcomes of ALGIB consisted of blood transfusion; endoscopic, radiologic, or surgical interventions; severe bleeding; and in-hospital death. The Oakland and GBS scores were calculated, and their performance was compared with that of SALGIB, a locally developed prediction score for adverse outcomes of ALGIB in Vietnamese, based on the data at admission. The accuracy of these scores was measured using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared by the chi-squared test. Results. There were 414 patients with a median age of 60 (48–71). The rates of blood transfusion, hemostatic intervention, severe bleeding, and in-hospital death were 26.8%, 15.2%, 16.4, and 1.4%, respectively. The SALGIB score had comparable performance with the Oakland score (AUC: 0.81 and 0.81, respectively; p = 0.631 ) and outperformed the GBS score (AUC: 0.81 and 0.76, respectively; p = 0.002 ) for predicting the presence of any adverse outcomes of ALGIB. All of the three scores had acceptable and comparable performance for in-hospital death but poor performance for hemostatic intervention. The Oakland score had the best performance for predicting severe bleeding. Conclusions. The Oakland and SALGIB scores had excellent and comparable performance and outperformed the GBS score for predicting adverse outcomes of ALGIB in Vietnamese.

Megophrys Kuhl and Van Hasselt are an Asian radiation of terrestrial frogs which are usually associated with montane forest (Mahony et al. 2017). The Annam horned frog (Megophrys intermedia) is reported from montane evergreen forest in Vietnam and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Stuart 2005; Hendrix et al. 2008; Nguyen et al. 2009; Tran 2013; Orlov et al. 2015; IUCN 2017; Mahony et al. 2017). The IUCN Red List assessment for the species reports an elevational range of 782–1500 m asl (IUCN 2017) although the type locality was reported to be above 1500 m asl (Smith 1921), and Tran (2013) collected a specimen at 1515 m asl. Megophrys intermedia is assessed as Least Concern (IUCN 2017) and little is known about the reproductive behaviour and life history of the species. In Lam Dong Province (Vietnam), male M. intermedia call in March (Tran 2013); on the Langbian Plateau (Vietnam), male specimens are reported to call by day and by night from March to May and specimens called from within deep crevices between boulders in streams (Smith 1921); in Xe Kong Province (Laos), males call or guard egg clutches that are laid in water in July (Stuart 2005).

The performance characteristic of the control system over a network can be significantly affected by network delay effects. These effects can be more exacerbated when data loss occurs during network communication. Thus, in this paper network effects could be resolved by utilizing a structure of gain scheduler middleware (GSM) in setting robot path-tracking. Simultaneously, this teleoperation control approach combines with the Adaptive Backstepping Sliding Mode controller based on self—tuning Fuzzy adapting control parameters to stabilize the control system. The simulation result of the proposed controller operating over data network depicts that the control quality would be improved than normal Backstepping Sliding Mode Control without GSM methodology even in disturbance environment.

We report the southernmost record of the Rhinoceros Snake, Gonyosoma boulengeri (Mocquard, 1897) from Phu Yen Province, southern Vietnam, based on a single specimen collected from forest in the Ca Range. This record extends the distribution of G. boulengeri approximately 600 km south of previous records in Vietnam (Quang Binh Province, central Vietnam). A detailed description of a hemipenis is also provided for the first time.

Introduction: Among 14 species of forest skinks (genus Sphenomorphus) in Vietnam, seven were recorded from southern part of the country. Shea’s forest skink, S. sheai, was described from Kon Tum Plateau based on a single female. Similarly, the tridigital forest skink, S. tridigitus, was also described based on a single putrid and desiccated specimen found dead on a road in Bach Ma; specimens collected recently in Laos did not fully agree with the original description. Hence, additional specimens from type localities of both poorly known species are necessary to discern their morphological variation. In addition, little is known about hemipenis and distribution of the other forest skinks in southern Vietnam. Our study seeks to (1) confirm the occurrence of all known species in the area and access their distributions, (2) provide additional morphological data on poorly known S. sheai and S. tridigitus, and (3) describe hemipenial structure of known species. Methods: We analyzed the morphology of 47 specimens of forest skink collected from southern Vietnam to identify species. Scales were observed and counted under a zoom stereo microscope and measurements were taken with a digital caliper. Results: Analyses confirmed the occurrence of seven species of Sphenomorphus in southern Vietnam, including S. annamiticus, S. buenloicus, S. indicus, S. maculatus, S. sheai, S. tridigitus, and S. yersini. New specimens of S. sheai had one enlarged anterior temporal and eight or nine lamellae under fourth toe, which differed from the original description. Additional specimens of S. tridigitus from the type locality verified that the holotype has 20 mid-body scale rows and first supralabial and nasal fused, but they differed from the holotype in having upper temporal overlapped or overlapping the lower one. Fieldwork discovered 20 new localities for all seven species. The hemipenes of four species involved those with symmetric and asymmetric lobes. Conclusion: We confirm the occurrence of seven species of Sphenomorphus in southern Vietnam with 20 additional distribution records. Hemipenial structures of known species form two groups. New specimens of S. sheai and S. tridigitus differ slightly from the holotypes.

The prevalence of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (ALGIB) has progressively increased worldwide but there are few studies in Asian populations. This study aimed to develop and validate a scoring system to predict severe ALGIB in Vietnamese. Risk factors for severe ALGIB were identified by multiple logistic regression analysis using data from a retrospective cohort of 357 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital. These factors were weighted to develop the severe acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (SALGIB) score to predict severe ALGIB. The performance of SALGIB was validated in a prospective cohort of 324 patients admitted to 6 other hospitals using area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) analysis. There were four factors at admission independently associated with severe ALGIB in the derivation cohort: heart rate ≥ 100/min, systolic blood pressure

[EN] In order to solve the complex decision-making problems, there are many approaches and systems based on the fuzzy theory were proposed. In 1998, Smarandache introduced the concept of single-valued neutrosophic set as a complete development of fuzzy theory. In this paper, we research on the distance measure between single-valued neutrosophic sets based on the H-max measure of Ngan et al. [8]. The proposed measure is also a distance measure between picture fuzzy sets which was introduced by Cuong in 2013 [15]. Based on the proposed measure, an Adaptive Neuro Picture Fuzzy Inference System (ANPFIS) is built and applied to the decision making for the link states in interconnection networks. In experimental evaluation on the real datasets taken from the UPV (Universitat Politècnica de València) university, the performance of the proposed model is better than that of the related fuzzy methods., This work has been supported by MINECO and the European ERDF under grants PID2019-105903RB-I00 and RTI2018-098156-B-C51. The autor (R.T. Ngan) also would like to thank the Erasmus+ Mobility Program (2016-1-ES01-KA107-023453) for supporting her work.