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Abstract This study aims to investigate the potential for enhancing financial contributions to nature conservation and/or environment protection contributed by citizens and/or the private sector in Vietnam. Specifically, the study empirically examines the antecedents of the utilization patterns and financial contribution of city dwellers to public and national parks. We introduce and use a novel CBMM analytic method (Bayesian mindsponge mindspongeconomics combined with Culture Tower) to analyze the dataset of 535 Vietnamese urban residents surveyed in late 2020. Empirical results demonstrate that the more frequently individuals visit parks, the more likely they are to contribute financially to projects in parks as a whole. In addition, having trees in the house positively correlates with donations to national park conservation projects, while the intention to visit a national park in the next 12 months encourages urban residents to contribute to planting projects in public parks. These results suggest that improved environmental literacy and nature connectedness can help encourage citizens to act collectively to help alleviate the financial burden in dealing with environmental issues. We also found that the increased frequency of bushmeat consumption impedes people’s intention to support conservation projects, implying that the consumer culture of nature might be a hindrance in the efforts to engage the public. Based on the findings, this study offers not only the key solution to alleviate financial burdens for nature conservation but also paves the way to nurture and foster environmental culture associated with closer nature connectedness and improved consumption culture for a sustainable future in years to come.

When replication forks encounter damaged DNA, cells utilize damage tolerance mechanisms to allow replication to proceed. These include translesion synthesis at the fork, postreplication gap filling, and template switching via fork reversal or homologous recombination. The extent to which these different damage tolerance mechanisms are utilized depends on cell, tissue, and developmental context-specific cues, the last two of which are poorly understood. To address this gap, we have investigated damage tolerance responses in Drosophila melanogaster. We report that tolerance of DNA alkylation damage in rapidly dividing larval tissues depends heavily on translesion synthesis. Furthermore, we show that the REV1 protein plays a multi-faceted role in damage tolerance in Drosophila. Larvae lacking REV1 are hypersensitive to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and have highly elevated levels of γ-H2Av (Drosophila γ-H2AX) foci and chromosome aberrations in MMS-treated tissues. Loss of the REV1 C-terminal domain (CTD), which recruits multiple translesion polymerases to damage sites, sensitizes flies to MMS. In the absence of the REV1 CTD, DNA polymerases eta and zeta become critical for MMS tolerance. In addition, flies lacking REV3, the catalytic subunit of polymerase zeta, require the deoxycytidyl transferase activity of REV1 to tolerate MMS. Together, our results demonstrate that Drosophila prioritize the use of multiple translesion polymerases to tolerate alkylation damage and highlight the critical role of REV1 in the coordination of this response to prevent genome instability.

Objective: To compare the perioperative, oncological, and functional outcomes between single-port robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (SP-RARP) and multiport robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (MP-RARP) via a meta-analysis. Methods: For relevant articles, three electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, were searched from their inception until January 15, 2022. A meta-analysis has been reported in line with PRISMA 2020 and AMSTAR Guidelines. The risk ratio and weighted mean difference (MD) were applied for the comparison of dichotomous and continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Of the 368 retrieved abstracts, 41 underwent full-text review, and seven studies were included in the final analysis, comprising a total cohort of 1,934 cases of RARP (355 SP-RARP cases and 1,579 MP-RARP cases). Compared to MP-RARP, the SP-RARP group had less postoperative pain score (MD = –0.7, 95% CI –1 to –0.4, P

In this paper, we investigate the secrecy performance of a Cooperative Cognitive Radio Network (CCRN) in the presence of an eavesdropper (EAV). The secondary users (SUs) are subject to three constraints which include peak transmit power level and interference limitation with respect to the primary user (PU) as well as secrecy outage constraints due to the EAV. Secrecy outage is achieved when the EAV cannot decode the targeted signal, but communications in the secondary network is still possible (non-zero capacity exists). Approximation expressions of the secrecy outage probability and the probability of non-zero secrecy capacity are derived to evaluate the secrecy performance. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to examine the accuracy of the derived approximation expressions. Based on this, power allocation policies for the SUs are derived, satisfying all the constraints while maximizing the secrecy performance as well as the quality of service performance of the secondary network. It can be concluded that with knowledge of the channel state information (CSI) of the EAV it is possible to calculate the optimal value for the secrecy outage threshold of the secondary user (SU) which in turn allows maximizing the secrecy performance. Most interestingly, our numerical results illustrate that the secrecy performance of the system is much improved when the parameters obtained using the CSI of the EAV are calculated optimally. Thence, the system can adjust the power allocation so that no eavesdropping occurs even without reducing quality of service (QoS) performance compared to a network without any EAV.

As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Vietnam is tackling environmental pollution, particularly plastic waste. This study contributes to the literature on environmental culture and practical solutions by better understanding households’ behaviours and motivations for (i) sorting waste, (ii) contributing to the environmental fund and (iii) relocating. The questionnaire-based interview method was used to randomly collect information from 730 households in 25 provinces in Vietnam during February 2022. Bayesian regression models, coupled with the mindsponge mechanism, were applied to analyse the data. The results showed that people’s strategies and responses to plastic waste pollution vary: 38.63% of respondents were sorting waste at home, 74.25% of households agreed to contribute to the environmental fund, and 23.56% had a plan to relocate for a better living place. The households’ strategies and intentions were driven by several structural and contextual factors such as age of household head, income, care about the environment, and the perceived effects of polluted waste. More importantly, communication was a robust variable in sorting waste decisions, which suggested that better communication would help increase people’s awareness and real actions in reducing plastic waste and ultimately improving the environment. These findings will benefit the ongoing green economy, circular economy, and green growth transition toward more sustainable development, particularly in developing and fast-population-growing countries.

Concern about energy depletion has risen because of industrialization and consumerism, pushing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. To this end, every group within society, especially the youth, should be made responsible for confronting and/or mitigating environmental problems. This study advances the understanding of young adults’ intentions to learn about energy conservation and its influencing factors, as well as contributes to the literature on environmental management and environmental culture and development. We used a systematic random sample technique to conduct a large-scale online survey with 1454 students from 48 different Vietnamese universities and employed Bayesian regression model to analyze the data. The initial research indicates that young adults are highly concerned about the environment, but more work has to be done to turn perceptions into actions. The majority of respondents—nearly 83%—want to increase their energy-saving knowledge, and around 50% are interested in enrolling in an energy course. Their decision regarding participation in an energy course is largely influenced by their perception and income. Women were more inclined to take energy-saving courses, and people who lived in rural areas had a stronger desire to increase their knowledge. Our research has various policy implications for promoting energy transformation and/or nurturing environmental cultures associated with environmental education improvement in Vietnam and beyond.

Poly(lactic acid)/chitosan (PLA/CS) green nanoparticles containing hydroquinine (Hq) were prepared by emulsion method. The content of Hq was 10–50 wt% compared with the weight total of PLA and CS. The characteristics of these nanoparticles were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and particle size analysis. The wavenumbers of C=O, C=N, OH, and CH3 groups in FTIR spectra of the PLA/CS/Hq (PCHq) nanoparticles shifted in comparision with neat PLA, CS, and Hq that proved the interaction between these components. The FESEM images and particle size analysis results showed that the basic particle size of PCHq nanoparticles ranged between 100 and 200 nm. The Hq released from PLA/CS nanoparticles in pH 2 and pH 7.4 solutions was determined by ultraviolet-visible method. The obtained results indicated that the linear regression coefficient of calibration equation of Hq in the above solutions approximates 1. The Hq release from the PCHq nanoparticles includes fast release for the eight first testing hours, and then, controlled slow release. The Hq released process was obeyed according to the Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic model.

Abstract Background C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) and Csk-homologous kinase (Chk) are the major endogenous inhibitors of Src-family kinases (SFKs). They employ two mechanisms to inhibit SFKs. First, they phosphorylate the C-terminal tail tyrosine which stabilizes SFKs in a closed inactive conformation by engaging the SH2 domain in cis. Second, they employ a non-catalytic inhibitory mechanism involving direct binding of Csk and Chk to the active forms of SFKs that is independent of phosphorylation of their C-terminal tail. Csk and Chk are co-expressed in many cell types. Contributions of the two mechanisms towards the inhibitory activity of Csk and Chk are not fully clear. Furthermore, the determinants in Csk and Chk governing their inhibition of SFKs by the non-catalytic inhibitory mechanism are yet to be defined. Methods We determined the contributions of the two mechanisms towards the inhibitory activity of Csk and Chk both in vitro and in transduced colorectal cancer cells. Specifically, we assayed the catalytic activities of Csk and Chk in phosphorylating a specific peptide substrate and a recombinant SFK member Src. We employed surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy to measure the kinetic parameters of binding of Csk, Chk and their mutants to a constitutively active mutant of the SFK member Hck. Finally, we determined the effects of expression of recombinant Chk on anchorage-independent growth and SFK catalytic activity in Chk-deficient colorectal cancer cells. Results Our results revealed Csk as a robust enzyme catalysing phosphorylation of the C-terminal tail tyrosine of SFKs but a weak non-catalytic inhibitor of SFKs. In contrast, Chk is a poor catalyst of SFK tail phosphorylation but binds SFKs with high affinity, enabling it to efficiently inhibit SFKs with the non-catalytic inhibitory mechanism both in vitro and in transduced colorectal cancer cells. Further analyses mapped some of the determinants governing this non-catalytic inhibitory mechanism of Chk to its kinase domain. Conclusions SFKs are activated by different upstream signals to adopt multiple active conformations in cells. SFKs adopting these conformations can effectively be constrained by the two complementary inhibitory mechanisms of Csk and Chk. Furthermore, the lack of this non-catalytic inhibitory mechanism accounts for SFK overactivation in the Chk-deficient colorectal cancer cells.

Summary: Twenty percent of breast cancer (BC) patients develop distant metastasis for which there is no cure. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) in the tumor microenvironment were shown to stimulate metastasis, but the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we identified and quantified cancer cells engulfing stromal cells in clinical samples of BC metastasis by dual immunostaining for EZH2 and ALDH1 expression. Using flow cytometry and a microfluidic single-cell paring and retrieval platform, we show that MSC engulfment capacity is associated with BC cell metastatic potential and generates cells with mesenchymal-like, invasion, and stem cell traits. Whole-transcriptome analyses of selectively retrieved engulfing BC cells identify a gene signature of MSC engulfment consisting of WNT5A, MSR1, ELMO1, IL1RL2, ZPLD1, and SIRPB1. These results delineate a mechanism by which MSCs in the tumor microenvironment promote metastasis and provide a microfluidic platform with the potential to predict BC metastasis in clinical samples. : How MSCs in the tumor microenvironment promote breast cancer progression is unclear. Chen et al. find that aggressive breast cancer cells are able to engulf MSCs. Through the development of a microfluidic cell pairing platform, they discover that this process induces transcriptome changes in breast cancer cells and enhances distant metastasis. Keywords: breast cancer, metastasis, mesenchymal stem cell, MSC, cell fusion, cell engulfment, EZH2, microfluidics, microenvironment, single cell retrieval

Climate change continues to pose a constant threat to nature and human beings, and thus demands adaptability and flexibility in forestry and domestic land use management. In this context, the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) project was introduced to harness forests to curb greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to combat climate change. As of 2020, REDD+ was implemented in 65 countries across the world, including Vietnam. While the missions of afforestation and forest protection cannot be accomplished without the aid of local residents, low participation from stakeholders, particularly poor farmers, is an obstacle in climate mitigation projects. To contribute to improving REDD+ with a useful Vietnam reference, this study uses a random sample approach coupled with a face-to-face interview method to survey 215 households in Chau Thai, one of 206 poor communes in Nghe An province, to learn about (1) residents’ perception towards the importance of forests, (2) how forests contribute as a source of livelihood, (3) potential for household engagement in REDD+. The research findings show that the important role of forests is well acknowledged, the majority of forestland was allocated to plantation forests, and the seeds are carefully selected to satisfy market demand. In addition, forests are recorded to make major contributions to residents’ income and roughly four-fifths of households revealed their willingness to get involved in the REDD+ project with a monthly subsidy of 500–2000 kVND (22.3–89.2 USD). The study provides valuable information about forest-based rural livelihood and policy options to facilitate REDD+ participation among farmers. This, in turn, helps devise more appropriate policies for climate change mitigation and sustainable rural mountainous development nationwide and beyond.

Scientific research is the important task of lecturers in universities. However, university lecturers often struggle to balance research and teaching and focus more on teaching than research. In addition, the motivation for lecturers to do research is a little. This article surveys lecturers at some universities in Vietnam to find the factors that motivate lecturers to do science. The motivating factors include intrinsic factors (creativity, passion…), extrinsic factors (financial, promotion ..), and barriers to the scientific research activities of lecturers. Research results show that intrinsic and extrinsic factors positively impact the scientific research activities of lecturers, and the barrier factors negatively affect the research activities of lectures. Based on the research results, the authors make some suggestions to strengthen further the research activities of lecturers at universities in Vietnam.

p63 is a member of the p53 family that has been implicated in maintenance of epithelial stem cell compartments. Previous studies demonstrated that p63 is downregulated in muscle-invasive bladder cancers, but the relationship between p63 expression and survival is not clear.We used real-time PCR to characterize p63 expression and several genes implicated in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human bladder cancer cell lines (n = 15) and primary tumors (n = 101). We correlated tumor marker expression with stage, disease-specific (DSS), and overall survival (OS). Expression of E-cadherin and p63 correlated directly with one another and inversely with expression of the mesenchymal markers Zeb-1, Zeb-2, and vimentin. Non-muscle-invasive (Ta and T1) bladder cancers uniformly expressed high levels of E-cadherin and p63 and low levels of the mesenchymal markers. Interestingly, a subset of muscle-invasive (T2-T4) tumors maintained high levels of E-cadherin and p63 expression. As expected, there was a strongly significant correlation between EMT marker expression and muscle invasion (p

The current study aims to valorize C. demersum, a common aquatic plant in lakes, ponds, and quiet streams with little use. FeCl3 -impregnated C. demersum was directly pyrolyzed to yield iron oxide-loaded biochar (IO/BC). Analytical results revealed that 3.19 wt% Fe existed in the resulting composite, including predominant hematite (a-Fe2 O3 ) and minor magnetite (Fe3 O4 ). Moreover, the total pore volume (Vtotal) and the specific surface area (SBET) of IO/BC were 0.091 cm3 /g and 113 m2 /g, respectively. IO/BC was subsequently explored for catalytic rhodamine B (RhB) degradation using H2 O2 . At pH 3.0, 30 °C, 1.00 g/L IO/BC partly eliminated 18% RhB (20 ppm), corresponding to an adsorption capacity of 3.6 mg/g. Upon the addition of 120 ppm H2 O2, total RhB removal reached 92% after 90 min. Furthermore, RhB treatment was consistent with the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The rate constant (k) at 30 °C was 0.0260 min-1, and the activation energy (Ea ) was 72 kJ/mol. Overall, the findings highlighted the catalytic potential of IO/BC prepared from C. demersum for Fenton-like degradation of RhB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosemary extraction residues (RERs) are unused biomass released from the supercritical CO2 extraction of rosemary essential oil. To reduce waste, RERs were used for the simple preparation of copper nanoparticle-loaded biochar (CuNPs/BC). One-pot pyrolysis of cupric acetate-impregnated RERs created zero-valent copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) with an average particle size of 15 ± 2 nm within the biochar (BC) matrix. Accordingly, the CuNPs/BC nanocomposite was applied for peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation in Ponceau 4R (P4R) decolorization. At 25 °C, initial pH 6.0, and 2.00 mM PDS, 1.00 g/L CuNPs/BC decolorized 99.3% P4R (20 ppm) after 120 min. Additionally, P4R decolorization was effective in a broad range of initial pH values (3.0-9.0). Altogether, RERderived CuNPs/BC proved high potential for PDS activation towards P4R decolorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GATA transcription factors (TFs) are widely recognized as significant regulators, characterized by a DNA-binding domain that consists of a type IV zinc finger motif. This TF family has been widely investigated in numerous higher plant species. The purpose of the present work was to comprehensively analyze the GATA TF in cocoa plant (Theobroma cacao L.) by using various bioinformatics tools. As a result, a total of 24 members of the GATA TFs have been identified and annotated in the assembly of the cocoa plant. According to phylogenetic analysis, these TcGATA proteins were classified into four distinct groups, including groups I (10 members), II (seven members), III (five members), and IV (two members). Next, our investigation indicated that the TcGATA proteins in different groups exhibited a high variation in their physicchemical features due to their different protein lengths, gene structures, and conserved motif distributions, whereas the TcGATA proteins in the same clade might share the common conserved motifs. Additionally, the gene duplication of the TcGATA genes in the cocoa plant was also investigated. Of our interest, the relative expression levels of the TcGATA genes were investigated according to available transcriptome databases. The results exhibited differential expression patterns of all TcGATA genes in various developmental stages of zygotic and somatic embryogenesis, indicating that these TcGATA genes divergently function during various developmental stages of the zygotic and somatic embryos. Moreover, TcGATA genes were differently expressed under Phytophthora megakarya treatment across different points of treatment and cocoa varieties. To sum up, our findings could provide a basis for a further deep understanding of the GATAs in the cocoa plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to use tropical almond leaves (TALs) for the simple fabrication of iron-containing activated carbon (IAC). Iron precursor (FeCl3) and activating agent (KOH) were sequentially preloaded in TALs. One-pot pyrolysis then generated iron-based particles (8.7 wt%), mainly metallic iron crystals, within AC support. The specific saturation magnetization of IAC was measured to be 48.9 emu/g, highlighting its ability to be efficiently separated using external magnetic fields. Moreover, the activation process yielded IAC with a large total volume of 0.28 cm³/g and a high specific surface area of 463 m²/g. Accordingly, IAC was investigated as an oxidation catalyst to degrade methylene blue (MB) by H2O2. At pH 3.0, 800 ppm H2O2, and 0.10 g/L IAC, 95.3% of MB (200 ppm) was removed after 30 min of adsorption and 60 min of oxidation. Altogether, iron-containing activated carbon from fallen leaves of tropical almonds proved its potential for robust methylene blue degradation by H2O2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the relationship between firm ownership, board characteristics and the extent of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) in the annual reportsin a developing country like Vietnam.The data is based on a content analysis of the annual reports oftop 100 (VN100) companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange for the year 2021.Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the corporate social responsibility disclosures index and the independent variables, namely the board independence, board size, managerial ownership, foreign ownership and the presence ofa sustainability committee (or CSR committee) after statistically controlling the effects of company size and the profitability of the companies.Results indicated that board independence, foreign ownership and the presence ofa sustainability committee are positively and significantly correlated with the level of CSRD. Conversely, it is found that managerial ownership has negative significant impacts on the CSRD. The results also displayed no significant relationship between the board size and CSRD.Our study provides several suggestions to promote the CSR information disclosure of listed companiesin countries which share similar corporate ownership and board characteristics. The regulators and policy makers should increase the number of independent board members, maintain the existence of the CSR committee, increase the foreign ownership ratio for transparency of information provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]