Many species of plants have been studied, as well as applied for cleansing the environment. Previous research has concluded that sorghum plants are highly tolerant to metal pollution and capable of reaching high biomass values in the presence of metals. However, the distribution of heavy metals in plant’s parts has not been adequately studied. In this study, two varieties of sweet sorghum (Keller and E-Tian) were grown with 5 levels (0, 5, 10, 25 and 50 ppm) of cadmium (Cd) in order to investigate the accumulation of Cd in plant parts at the hard dough stage. The results clearly showed the absence of Cd in the seeds of the above plants. There was the presence of Cd at the second and fifth leaf when the level of Cd reached 25 - 50 ppm. There was a great correlation coefficient between Cd and the position of the internodes, namely 0.86, 0.96, 0.99, 0.98 with KE, and 0.86, 0.92, 0.94, 0.94 with ET at 5, 10, 25 and 50 ppm Cd (P < 0.01), respectively. The greater the internodes, the lower the accumulation of Cd. The aforementioned plants recorded the high accumulation of Cd in their roots, peaking at 23.27 µg/g (dried weight, dw)  in Keller and 21.69  µg/g in E-Tian. Based on these results, it is concluded that the distribution of Cd in the studied sweet sorghum can be arranged in the following order: > stem > old leaves > young leaves.

In today’s increasing competitive global market, large and successful manufacturing enterprises have implemented the system of key performance indicators (KPIs) which drives the performance toward the business objectives; however, this is not the case for small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which have been increasingly important for any national economy, especially in manufacturing sector. Although the KPIs can ideally be constructed in accordance with the concept of SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-related) or balanced scorecard, but SMEs that are lack of limited resources and expertise could rarely afford to build such systems with the appropriate definition and measurement of KPIs. Therefore, the paper aimed to provide systematically the system of KPIs adaptable to SMEs, to prioritize the importance of each proposed KPI with the application of a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), and to instruct the comprehensive deployment of the SMEs’ manufacturing performance system.

Clitoria ternatea L. is a plant species that can be used in food and pharmaceutical industry. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different plant spacing on the productivity and quality of butterfly pea grown on grey soil in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City. Six treatments correspond to plant spacing of 80 x 15 cm, 80 x 20 cm, 80 x 25 cm, 80 x 30 cm, 80 x 35 cm and 80 x 40 cm. The results showed that the highest flower amount (296.8 flowers/plant) was obtained with butterfly pea planted at the spacing of 80 x 15 cm, commercial flower weight (7.86 g/100 flowers), theoretical yield of fresh flower (1,779.0 kg/1,000 m2, actual yield of fresh flower (841.9 kg/1,000 m2), theoretical yield of commercial flower (194.6 kg/1,000 m2 and actual yield of commercial flower (89.0 kg/1,000 m2. Nevertheless, plant spacings did not affect the dry matter ratio, anthocyanin and tannin content in the commercial butterfly flowers.

The use of antimicrobials for feeding and treatment is crucial to animal health. However, continuous use of antibiotics is contributing to emergence and widespread of antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance of five major respiratory pathogens in pigs of Hubei province, China, from October to December, 2019. Antibiotic susceptibility testing for Streptococcus suis, Haemophilus parasuis, Pasteurella multocida, Bordetella bronchiseptica and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was determined to representatives of relevant antibiotic classes. Streptococcus suis isolates were mostly sensitive to beta-lactams, whereas high levels of resistance were observed to quinolones, gentamycin, doxycycline, trimethoprime and lincomycin. For H. parasuis, P. multocida and A. pleuropneumoniae of Pasteurellaceae family, the susceptibility to beta-lactams and quinolones was displayed. Most \textit{B. bronchiseptica} isolates were sensitive to doxycycline, azithomycin, polymycin whereas high resistance levels to beta-lactams, aminoglycosides and quinolones were recorded.This study obtained practical data for later studies and usage to combat infections due to respiratory bacteria.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance, especially in tropical countries. The purpose of this study to evaluate the seroprevalence of Leptospira in cattle in Ho Chi Minh city. Serum samples from 446 animals were tested by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of 24 Leptospira serovars kits provided by Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute. Results showed that seroprevalence of Leptospira at herd-level was 61.54%; and at individual-level was 31.17%. In which, the percentage of beef cattle (29.77%) infected with Leptospira was lower than that of dairy cattle (31.75%). Cattle from 2 to 3 years of age had the highest rate of Leptospira infection in was 37. 72%. According to herd size, the results found that medium-scale farming (from 25 to 50 animals) had the lowest seroprevalence rate with Leptospira spp. (28.65%). No significant differences were found among aged groups of cattle. There were a totally 7 serovars that were detected in cattle, in which, the two most popular serovars were L. Hardjo bovis (31.37%) and L. Hebdomadis (30.26%). There were twelve animals infected with four Leptospira serovars (8.63%); meanwhile, the majority of animals infected with one serovar were 42.45%. The ratio of positive animals at antibody titer of 1:200 was 53.70%. These results indicated a very high exposure of Cu Chi cattle to Leptospira spp. which consequently posed a definite risk for people working with cattle acquiring this zoonotic infection.    

This report aimed to study symptoms and causes of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in brachycephalic dogs and to determine appropriate surgical procedures for these symptoms by reviewing literatures and examining four case studies conducted at Veterinary Specialist Service Hospital, Underwood, Queensland, Australia. The cases included a 6-year 3-month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier (case 1), a 1-year 5-month old French Bulldog (case 2), an 8-month old French Bulldog (case 3), and an 8-year 8-month Pug (case 4). Those dogs went to the Veterinary Specialist Service in a worsen state of respiratory problems, including the upper respiratory noise (case 1, 2, 3), decrease in exercise tolerance, respiratory struggling (case 1, 3), regurgitation (case 1), coughing, sleeping difficulty, respiratory stridor (case 2), nasal discharge, dyspnea, bloating, and tachypnea (case 4). Examinations revealed the causes including the elongated soft palate (case 1, 2, 3, 4), stenotic nostrils (case 2, 3, 4), tonsils inflammation (case 3) and everted laryngeal saccules (case 4). After surgery, the dogs were recovered in intensive care unit within 2 days, and then discharged. Scheduled re-examination one week later showed improvement in the respiratory health in all cases. Overall, major complications occur in 10\% of cases; however, this surgery is vital and can be totally applied in Vietnam where brachycephalic dogs have become a popular companion.

The aim of this study was to survey the serological response to classical swine fever disease in vaccinated pigs in Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City. By using the PrioCHECK®CSFV Ab 2.0 ELISA test kit to detect antibodies against CSF in 410 vaccinated pigs and IDEXX CSFV Ag Serum Plus Test to detect the Erns protein of the CSFV in pigs without antibodies against CSFV. Results showed that the overall seroprevalence observed in vaccinated pigs in other Farms varied from 70% - 100% (P < 0.05), but in Farm 5, no pigs produced a positive humoral response against CSFV were found. The highest seroprevalence of antibodies against CSFV was found in Farms with a herd size of ≥ 1000 - < 6000 animals (91.26%) and the lowest was a Farms with less than 1000 animals (51.81%). The highest ratio of positive pigs for antibodies against CSFV belonging to Group of > 40 - ≤ 60 days post-vaccination was 98.36%; and the lowest rate was found in Group of 30 - ≤ 40 days post- vaccination (51.96%). That grower pigs had the highest proportion of positive pigs for antibodies against CSFV accounting for 81.40%; next, the proportion of positive sows was 73.24%. Significant differences in the seroprevalence observed in vaccinated pigs across herd size, days post-vaccination, type of pigs (P < 0.05). In this study, no pig was found to contain CSFV antigen.    

The objective of this study was to investigate the profiles of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (MH) infection at different ages of pig in a sow – finishing herd using serological and molecular methods. A total of 30 study piglets were born from non-vaccinated sows with MH. They were injected one-dose of inactivated MH vaccine at the 10th week. MH infection status was evaluated by using ELISA to detect MH antibodies from blood samples, and PCR to detect MH DNA in nasal swabs or oral fluid samples every other weeks from newborn to slaughter time. The results of this study showed that PCR positive proportions were low at 1st-2nd week (7-13%), then increased significantly during 5th -7th week (73-79%), and reduced at 8th week (33%); finally became negative after 13th week of age. This pattern corresponds to the one of antibody level. In particular, the level of maternal antibodies against MH was very high due to maternal immunity, then decreased gradually to negative at 7-8 weeks of age, and finally increased gradually from 13 weeks of age to all positive at 25 weeks of age. In conclusion, the result showed that in this herd, MH might invade pigs by the time of 5-7 weeks of age after maternal immunity disappears, and humoral response can overcome the infection at week 13. This should be noted to have appropriate strategies to control MH at the farm.

Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from fresh Pouzolzia zeylanica plant using hot water as a solvent. A central composite design (CCD) in form (23+star) was used to investigate the effects of two independent variables, namely, extraction temperature (70 to 90oC) and extraction time (20 to 40 min). The dependent variables were the content of anthocyanin, flavonoid, polyphenol, tannin and total soluble solids of extracted solution. A second-order polynomial model was used for predicting the response. The results showed that the optimal extraction process was obtained at 84.4oC for 31.7 min. The experimental values agreed with predicted within a 95% confidence interval. Consequently, the contents of anthocyanin, flavonoid, polyphenol and tannin were 38.66 mgCE/100 g, 3.01 mgQE/g, 5.17 mgGAE/g, 4.07 mgTAE/g fresh weight, and total soluble solids content was 0.73%, respectively.