Vol. 21 No. 11 (2023)

The experiment aimed to determine the suitable type of growing media and node number per cutting for pepper propagation in Dak Mil district, Dak Nong province. A two-factor experiment was laid out in the nursery in a randomized complete block design with 3 replicates. The first factor consisted of 5 growing media (G1: red basalt soil (soil); G2: 60% soil + 40% coir dust; G3: 60% soil + 20% coir dust + 20% vermicompost; G4: 60% soil + 40% perlite; G5: 60% soil + 20% perlite + 20% vermicompost). The second factor consisted of 3 cutting types (H1: two-node cutting; H2: three-node cutting; H3: four-node cutting). The results showed that growing media containing coir dust and vermicompost and cuttings with higher node number increased the survival rate and shooting rate, stimulated root growth, increased cutting growth and dry matter accumulation of black pepper cuttings. Growing four-node cutting on the growing media mixed from 60% soil + 20% coir dust + 20% vermicompost resulted in best viability rate, shooting rate, growth and biomass of pepper cuttings.

Aerides odorataLour. - a popular ornamental plant with medicinal value - belongs to the genus Aerides, which has pale green flowers with cinnamon fragrance. The present research is the first detailed study on thebotanical characteristicsand growth of A. odorata, creating the basis foridentification, conservation, hybridization and selection of this species. The experiment was arranged in sequential blocks without repetition. The results show that A. odoratahas epiphytic root divided into two parts with distinctly different colors including the root tip and absorption zone with 19.3 vascular bundles per root. Stems are green, vascular bundles of stem scattered with 192.2 bundles and their size ranged 0.17-0.2 ×0.25-0.27mm. Leaf tissue microdissection shows round and oval mesophyll cells, lateral veined vascular bundles located in the center of the leaf blade and midrib veined vascular bundle located at one-third of the leaf blade towards the lower epidermis; the size of the midrib vascular bundle is 0.19 ×0.25mm. Racemose inflorescences ranges between 20-42cm in length with 15-36 flowers/inflorescence with drop shape. Flowers are pale green then turn to white, fragrant, ranging 2.8-3.5cm in diameter. Inflorescences appear in late July to August, bloom in September and end flowering in early November with 1-2 inflorescence/plant; flower longevity was 10-13 days and inflorescence longevity lasted 25-35 days.

Experiments were conducted to determine the suitable substrate for the growth and development of 3 cultivars grown using circulating hydroponic system. The study was conducted in 2020 in hydroponic vegetable house of the Faculty of Agriculture and Fisheries, Tra Vinh University.The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized fashion consisting of 5 experiments and 5 repetitions. The substrates used for the experiment consisted of coconut coir and cow manure that were composted for 8 months and mixed in different proportions, and the foam was used as a control. Vegetables grown included mustard greens (Brassica juncea L.), Pak choi (Brassica chinensis L.) and mustard (Brasica juncea L.). Data recorded included the number of leaves, plant height, stem and root weight, and yield. The results showed that substrate mixture of 75% coconut coir + 50% manure used in circulating hydroponic system gave highly significant effect on plant growth, such as, plant height and leaf number and finally yield and net profit.

This study aimed to assess the role of the mitochondrial chaperones signaling factors induced by the mammalian mitochondrial unfolded protein response. In vitromodels were used with the mRNA of Hspa9, Hspd1 and ATF5 gene measured upon mitochondrial stress via Paraquat and 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-dien-28-oic acid in NIH3T3 and HEK293 cell lines by quantitative real time Polymerase Chain Reaction. The results demonstrated that NIH3T3 cells were not suitable as a readout for UPRmt induction in vitro. Further, it was found that the levels of the transcription factor ATF5 tended to be decreased, while the upregulation of the Hspa9 and Hspd1 was observed upon mitochondrial stress in the context of the cells treated with 50 or 500μMParaquat or 3μM2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-dien-28-oic acid. Notably, glucose concentration directly affected mammalian mitochondrial unfolded protein response signaling in vitro. Taken together, the results of the study indicates that the HEK293 cell line should be used to evaluate the expression levels of the genes upon mitochondrial stress conditions and might pave the way for the development of novel therapies for the cure of mitochondrial disorders and associated diseases in the future..

This study was conducted to identify anti-biotic resistance profile and ESBL- encoding genes of the Salmonellaisolates from one hundred meat samples (50 chicken and 50 pork samples) randomly collected in local markets in Soc Son district, Ha Noi. The results showed that Salmonellawere detected in 41.0% samples, of which 42.0% of chicken samples and 40.0% of pork samples were positive for Salmonella. The isolates exhibited highly resistance to tetracycline (97.56%), flofenicol (78.05%) and ampicillin (63.41%), but low resistance to ceftazidime (7.32%), ciprofloxacin (7.32%). However, all isolates were susceptible to meropenem and colistin. Notably, 68.29% of Salmonellaisolates were multi-resitant strains. 6/41 (14.63%) Salmonellaisolates produced ESBL, in which, one isolate carried blaCTX-M-9gene, three isolatescarried blaTEMgene, one isolatecarried blaCTX-M-1and blaCTEM, and one isolatesimultaneously carried blaCTX-M-1, blaCTX-M-8/25, blaCTEMgens.

The present study aimed to assess the species composition and distribution of zooplankton in the shrimp-mangrove fields at Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau province. Samples were collected monthly from January to December 2022. At each sampling time, qualitative and quantitative samples of zooplankton were collected in 3 integrated shrimp-mangrove fields (3 points/field). Based on the morphological characteristics and external structure of zooplankton, the findings found 26 species of zooplankton belonging to 17 genera, 17 families and 5 different groups, viz.luding Protozoa, Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda and meroplankton were recorded. The number of zooplankton species in each month varied from 7 to 12 species, and the density ranged from 22,065 to 769,725 ind./m3. The highest density of zooplankton was found in June with a mean of 769,725±541,622 ind./m3. The species composition and abundance of zooplankton during the rainy season werehigher than those in the dry season. The distribution of Rotifera and Cladocera groups in the shrimp-mangrove fields was affected by salinity. The results found a number of zooplankton species such as Brachionus angularis, Brachionus plicatilis, Philodinasp., Diaphanosomasp., Oithonasp. and nauplius larvae of Copepoda had the potential as good food sources, that can be used for increasing biomass production and enrichment techniques for crustacean and fish larvae at the nursery stage.

The study was conducted at the chicken farm in Soc Son district, Hanoi from March to August 2022 to evaluate carcass traits and meat quality of crossbred [Ri × (Ri × Luong Phuong]) broilers fed herbal feed additives in order to determine the appropriate time for slaughter. 30 broilers were slaughtered at 3 different ages (15, 20, and 25 weeks old) with 10 birds (5 males and 5 females) at each time for evaluation. The results showed that the final weight, carcass percentage, weight and percentage of some visceral organs (gizzard, liver, abdominal fat, …) were affected by slaughtered age (P <0.05), values increased with increasing slaughtered age. Most indicators related to carcass traits were influenced by sex (P <0,05), and males were greater than females, except breast meat and abdominal fat of females were higher than males. Shear force and color values (L*, a*, b*) of breast meat and drip loss of thigh meat were affected by slaughtered age (P <0.05), with an increase in a* value and shear force, and a decrease in L* with increasing age. pH24, drip loss, and b* of thigh meat were influenced by slaughtered age (P <0.05). Moreover, slaughtered age impacted dry matter, crude protein, lipid, and ash of breast meat (P <0.05).Crude protein increased while lipid decreased with increasing slaughtered ages.The cholesterol content of breast meat was affected by sex (P <0,05), female values were higher than male ones.

This study aimed to determine the disease situation and disease characteristics caused by microsporidian Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei(EHP) in white-leg shrimps in farming areas in Northern Vietnam. Shrimp samples from 85 shrimp farms in Nam Dinh and Quang Ninh provinces were collected to conduct research. The detection results using the PCR assays determined that shrimp samples from 33 farms (38.8%) were positive for EHP. The analysis of diseased shrimps (n = 215) showed that the infected shrimps with EHP exhibited growth retardation (81.8%), muscle opacity, body shelling, and the appearance of larger "rice grains" in the caudal vertebra (85.1%). Diseased shrimps also showed signs of twisted intestines and intermittent food. Giemsa staining results from infected shrimp samples showed that EHP microspores were concentrated in the hepatopancreas organs the opaque muscle and “rice grains” of affected shrimps. Infected shrimps appeared mainly in the culture period from 30 to 60 days after stocking, accounting for 78.7%. The results of this study provide helpful information for the diagnosis and effective prevention measures for EHP in shrimps.

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of Theleiriaspp. on dairy cows in Ha Nam province, as well as to examine various hematological markers in cows infected with Theleiriaspp. Theileriaspp. were found on dairy cows grown in Ha Nam province using the giemsa staining procedure. A total of 190 blood samples were collected from HF bovines in three districts,Duy Tien, Kim Bang and Ly Nhan, of which26 samples were found to be infected with Theleiriaspp. by Giemsa staining method, accounting for 13.68%. Evaluation of hematological indices of cows infected with Theileriaspp. demonstrateda slight decrease in bothnumber of red blood cells (RBC) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels in blood samples of dairy cows over 2 years of agewhilethe total white blood cell count (WBC) index increased significantly, the neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes only showed slight increases while the platelet count (PLT) decreased sharply. The results showed that there was a change in the hematological index of cows infected with Theileriaspp.The findings of this study provide a foundation for the use of blood tests in diagnosing, prognosing, and treating cattle with Theileriaspp. infection.

This study described the current e-invoice use of small and medium-sized enterprises in Hai Duong province. Research methods include descriptive statistics and the Likert scale. Research results show that 86.3% of small and medium-sized enterprises surveyed have applied e-invoicing. The core reason was the compulsory application of E-Invoice from the Ministry of Finance. However, in using E-Invoice, some errors have arisen such as (1) Error when registering to use E-Invoice and (2) Error when issuing e-invoice, issuing agency code tax. Therefore, to increase the efficiency of using e-invoices, some recommendations were proposed for small and medium-sized enterprises, organizations providing e-invoice services, and the Hai Duong Provincial Tax Department to promote the use of e-invoices.

This study aimedto analyze the roles of the socio-political organizations in the New Rural Construction inBa Vi district, Hanoi. Based on the data from surveys, in-depth interviews,andgroup discussions withthedistrict and commune officials and members of the organizations, the research has pointed out five main roles, i.e.designing programs; organizing the programs; propagandizing activities; resource mobilization; monitoring and feedback. The research results show that the Fatherland Front hadsignificant role not only in designing and organizing the program but also in monitoring and feedback. The Farmers' Union best performedthe role in propaganda monitoring, economic development and feedback activities. The socio-politicalorganizations hadwell mobilized resources for the Program. However, Veterans Association and Youth Union did not showactive roles in doing activities of the new rural construction inBa Vi district. From the results, the study proposedsome solutions to enhance the roles of the socio-political organizations in the new rural constructionprogramin Bavi district.

This study was conducted to analyzethe determinants ofdairyfarmers’ technical efficiency in Duy Tien town, Ha Nam province by using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Research results show that the technical efficiency of localdairy farmers reached 77.8%, ranging from 13.8% to 96.9%. To improve thetechnical efficiency, dairy farmers need to change in the input usage, such as: (i) reducing synthetic feedsand increasing green ones; (ii) paying more attention to disease prevention and treatment (i.e., veterinary cost); (iii) increasing breeding areas; (iv) moving dairy farming from residential areas to concentrated livestock areas; and, (v) scaling up the herd size to achieve the economies of scale. In addition, receiving technical support from purchasing enterprises (internal finance) and accessing banking credit (external finance) play important roles in improving technical efficiency and income of households. These are the two core activities in the agricultural value chain financing approach, howeverthis approach is still not popular in Vietnam.

The study of the current status of orange production in Ham Yen District, Tuyen Quang Province. Primary data was collected through a survey of 125 orange growers using a questionnaire. The study focused on analyzing the costs and economic efficiency of conventional and organic orange production in the Ham Yen district of Tuyen Quang province. In addition, the study employed Cobb-Douglas stochastic production frontier function to estimate the level of technical efficiency. The results showed that the technical efficiency of orange cultivation in Ham Yen district of Tuyen Quang province reached 89.6% for conventional orange growers and 82.1% for organic orange growers. The factors such as the number of years of schooling, pest and disease problems, and the production loan situation are simultaneously affecting both groups of conventional and organic orange growers. Based on these results, the authors proposed a number of solutions to expand the area of organic oranges and improve the quality of Ham Yen oranges in the coming time.

Developing effective and sustainable agricultural cooperatives contributes an important role to poverty alleviation, rural economic development, and improvement of the material and spiritual life of members and local communities. Based on the analysis of two theoretical models on the development life cycle of cooperatives and the development steps in cooperative governance in combination with the current situation of Vietnam, the research proposed an agricultural cooperative development model through 4 stages (i) start-up; (ii) organization; (iii) development and growth; and (iv) stability and recession. By the case study method, three cooperatives were selected to analyze the status of development corresponding to the proposed model. The results showed that effective cooperative models in Vietnam had only achieved parially in the of stage 3, and not yet got effectively in full of their potential and strength. Some policies and recommendations for the development of cooperatives in the coming time were suggested.