Influenza A viruses evolve at a high rate requiring continuous monitoring to maintain the efficacy of vaccines and antiviral drugs. We performed next generation sequencing analysis of 100 influenza A/H3N2 isolates collected in four Asian countries (Japan, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Vietnam) during 2012–2015. Phylogenetic analysis revealed several reassortment events leading to the circulation of multiple clades within the same season. This was particularly evident during the 2013 and 2013/2014 seasons. Importantly, our data showed that certain lineages appeared to be fitter and were able to persist into the following season. The majority of A/H3N2 viruses continued to harbor the M2-S31N mutation conferring amantadine-resistance. In addition, an S31D mutation in the M2-protein, conferring a similar level of resistance as the S31N mutation, was detected in three isolates obtained in Japan during the 2014/2015 season. None of the isolates possessed the NA-H274Y mutation conferring oseltamivir-resistance, though a few isolates were found to contain mutations at the catalytic residue 151 (D151A/G/N or V) of the NA protein. These variations did not alter the susceptibility to neuraminidase inhibitors and were not detected in the original clinical specimens, suggesting that they had been acquired during their passage in MDCK cells. Novel polymorphisms were detected in the PB1-F2 open-reading frame resulting in truncations in the protein of 24–34 aminoacids in length. Thus, this study has demonstrated the utility of monitoring the full genome of influenza viruses to allow the detection of the potentially fittest lineages. This enhances our ability to predict the strain(s) most likely to persist into the following seasons and predict the potential degree of vaccine match or mismatch with the seasonal influenza season for that year. This will enable the public health and clinical teams to prepare for any related healthcare burden, depending on whether the vaccine match is predicted to be good or poor for that season.

In this work, 31.4 wt.% Ni/SBA-15 (Ni/SBA-15) nonpromoted and alkalized with ammonia solution and by MgO promoter catalysts were prepared and used for combined steam and CO2 reforming of CH4 (bireforming). Effect of concentration of ammonia solution (NH3(aq)) (10–25 vol.%) and Mg content (3–12 wt.%) on the properties of the Ni/SBA-15 catalysts was investigated by low-angle and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-BET isothermal adsorption, SEM, TEM, EDS mapping, H2-TPR, and CO2-TPD methods. The performance of the catalysts in bireforming was assessed in the temperature range of 550–800°C. The enhancement of dispersion of NiO particles, reducibility, and basicity of alkalized Ni/SBA-15 catalysts were responsible for improving the catalytic performance of this catalyst. The results revealed that the Ni/SBA-15 treated with 15-25% NH3(aq) solution and promoted with 3-9% Mg exhibited high activity for CH4 conversion. Meanwhile, Ni6Mg/SBA-15 showed the highest CO2 conversion. Among tested catalysts, Ni/SBA-15-20NH3 and Ni9Mg/SBA-15 samples had an almost equal activity with a CH4 conversion of nearly 97% and a CO2 conversion of about 84% at 700°C thanks to its moderate affinity with both CO2 and CH4. However, the H2/CO ratio of the product mixture remained at 2.02 on the Ni/SBA-15-20NH3 catalyst and almost 1 on the Ni9Mg/SBA-15 sample. These results might be related to the fact that the alkalization of the Ni/SBA-15 catalyst by NH3(aq) solution had an advantage over using MgO because side reactions were unlikely to occur.

This paper aims to examine the rice industry in Vietnam during the period 1997–2017, focusing its production and export. The total area of Vietnam is 33.121 million hectares, out of which 39.25% consists of agricultural land. The agricultural sector adds up to 24% of the gross domestic product (GDP), 20% of the total exports and over 70% of the total employment. Vietnam’s economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector, specifically rice production, which constitutes 30% of the country’s total agricultural production value. While its production at first aimed to ensure food security in the country, to date, Vietnam is one the world’s largest exporters. While extensive research has explored the rice industry, studies looking at the production through the use of fertilizers, external factors such as the exporting price of other countries and world consumption rates are still lacking. Given the complexity of the topic, data were analyzed through descriptive, econometric and quantitative methods. For production and export analyses, two and four hypotheses were derived and examined, respectively, all based on economic theory. The model consisted of two equations: (i) the paddy production is impacted by rice’s yield and fertilizer use and (ii) in addition to internal factors, the growth of exporting rice in Vietnam depends also on external factors such as Thailand’s rice export price and world consumption rates. Based on the model, a dynamic forecasting method was employed, using the previous forecast values of the dependent variables to compute the future ones. Findings showed that 98% of Vietnam’s rice production is explained through the yield and fertilizer usage and 83% of Vietnam’s rice export is explained by the production, the price in Vietnam and Thailand and the consumption levels around the world. When it comes to forecasting, an 8% growth is predicted with a peak in quantity produced, with 49,461 thousand tons in 2023, yet with difficulties when it comes to exporting. The research predicts a stagnation in exports.

In this work, a series of 10 wt% NiO/CeO2 catalysts (Ni/Ce) promoted by V2O5 with content varying in the range of 0–0.5 wt% was prepared by the co-impregnation method. The characteristics of the catalysts were investigated by several techniques including N2 physisorption (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), EDS mapping, carbon dioxide temperature-programmed desorption (CO2-TPD), and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR). The activity of the catalyst was studied in the micro-flow system in a temperature range of 550 °C–800 °C, the feedstock composition CH4/CO2/H2O of 3.0/1.2/2.4 and the weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 30,000 ml.h−1.g−1. Adding V2O5 additive, on the one hand increases the reducibility and basicity of Ni/Ce catalyst, on the other hand reduces oxygen vacancies and increases the crystal size of CeO2, leading to various effects on catalyst activity depending on its content. Ni/Ce catalyst promoted with 0.3 wt% of V2O5 was the best among tested ones, on which at reaction temperature of 700 °C, the conversion of CH4 and CO2 reached 97% and 77% respectively, and the molar ratio of H2/CO was 2.1. Meanwhile, on non-promoted Ni/Ce catalyst, the corresponding quantities were 83%, 62% and 1.9, respectively. It is important to note that performance of both was stable for more than 30 h thanks to the better resistance to coke deposition and structural stability.

A rapid way of synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by treating Ag+ ions with a green Fortunella Japonica (F.J.) extract as a combined reducing and stabilizing agent was investigated. The reaction solutions were monitored using UV-Vis spectroscopy, the size and shape of crystals were determined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the crystalline phases of AgNPs were presented by X–ray diffraction, and the relation of nanoparticles with Fortunella Japonica extract was confirmed using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that no formation of AgNPs had taken place in the dark during 24 hours at room temperature and 40 oC. Meanwhile, it was found that the rate of AgNPs formation increased rapidly under the sunlight. The effects of the synthesis factors on the AgNPs formation were investigated. The suitable conditions for the synthesis of AgNPs using F.J. extract were determined as follows: F.J. extract was mixed with AgNO3 1.75 mM solution with the volume ratio of 3.5 AgNO3 solution/1.5 F.J. Extract, stirred 300 rpm for 150 minutes at 40 oC under sunlight illumination. At these conditions, AgNPs showed high crystalline structure with the average size of 15.9 nm. The antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles was determined by agar well diffusion method against E. coli and B. subtilis bacteria. The green synthesized AgNPs performed high antibacterial activity against both bacteria.