Tag Archives: Vietnam

Mit einem Huf im Grab

By Guest PostSeptember 17, 2013Natureasiens hirsche, bueffel, burma banteng, huf im grab, huftiere, kambodscha, laos, mekong region, myanmar, natur, saola, stefan ziegler, suedchina, suedostasien, Thailand, Vietnam, wwf deutschland

WWF: Asiens Hirsche, Büffel und andere Huftiere stehen vor der Ausrottung

In Südostasien sieht es nicht gut aus für alles was Hufe trägt. Der Bestand an Wasserbüffeln, Wildrindern, Hirschen und anderen Huftieren geht rapide zurück. Zu diesem Fazit kommt der WWF in einem jetzt vorgelegten Report. Demnach ist die Mekong-Region besonders betroffen. Dazu gehören Teile von Südchina, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Kambodscha und Vietnam. Mit dem Schumburgk Hirsch, einem ehemaligen Bewohner der offenen Gras- und Sumpflandschaften Thailands und dem einst in Trockenwäldern heimischen Kouprey seien im vergangenen Jahrhundert zwei Arten aus der Familie der Hornträger ausgestorben.

Der WWF befürchtet, dass eine Reihe von verwandten Arten dieses Schicksal bald teilen könnten, wenn es nicht gelingt den Druck auf die Wälder zu reduzieren. Seit 1973 fiel etwa ein Drittel des Waldes den Kettensägen und der Brandrodung zum Opfer. Mit dem Wald schrumpfte der Lebensraum für viele Tiere. Besonders gefährdet ist das Saola, ein erst 1993 entdecktes Wildrind. „Es ist nahezu unmöglich, diesen extrem scheuen Waldbewohner zu Gesicht zu bekommen“, berichtet Stefan Ziegler vom WWF Deutschland. Entsprechend unsicher seien die Bestandszahlen. Die Schätzungen schwanken zwischen einem Dutzend bis hin zu wenigen 100 Exemplaren. (more…)

Soldiers and Families Can Suffer Negative Effects from Modern Communication Technologies, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostMarch 24, 2013General, Politicsbehavioral problems, betty pfefferbaum, brian houston, email, emotional cues, emotional troubles, families, frequency, korean wars, michael brand, michelle sherman, modern communication technologies, negative effects, roles of warrior, soldiers, strain of warfare, suffer, text message, text messages, university of missouri, university of oklahoma, Vietnam

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As recently as the Vietnam and Korean wars, soldiers’ families commonly had to wait months to receive word from family members on the front lines. Now, cell phones and the internet allow deployed soldiers and their families to communicate instantly. However, along with the benefits of keeping in touch, using new communication technologies can have negative consequences for both soldiers and their families, according to a study by University of Missouri researcher Brian Houston. This research could lead to guidelines for how active military personnel and their families can best use modern communications.

“Deployed soldiers and their families should be aware that newer methods of communication, especially texting, can have unintended impacts,” said Houston, assistant professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science. “The brevity and other limitations of text messages often limit the emotional content of a message. The limited emotional cues in text messages or email increases the potential for misunderstandings and hurt feelings. For example, children may interpret a deployed parent’s brief, terse text message negatively, when the nature of the message may have been primarily the result of the medium or the situation.” (more…)

Predicting hotspots for future flu outbreaks

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2013HealthBangladesh, bird flu, central china, egypt, flu outbreaks, flu season, flu strains, flu transmission, H1N1, h5n1 strain, hotspots, human flu, indonesia, kevin njabo, livestock, nile delta, original viruses, pandemic, poultry, predicting potential outbreak, seasonal h3n2, site, thomas smith, trevon fuller, ucla, Vietnam, wild birds

This year’s unusually long and rocky flu season would be nothing compared to the pandemic that could occur if bird flu became highly contagious among humans, which is why UCLA researchers and their colleagues are creating new ways to predict where an outbreak could emerge.

“Using surveillance of influenza cases in humans and birds, we’ve come up with a technique to predict sites where these viruses could mix and generate a future pandemic,” said lead author Trevon Fuller, a UCLA postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability’s Center for Tropical Research. (more…)

‘Disposable Heroes’

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Politicsafghanistan, african american soldiers, african american veterans, alford a young, army veteran, Baltimore, benjamin fleury steiner, betrayal, black veterans, crime, disposable heroes, gi bill benefits, homeless veterans, independence house, Iraq, martin luther king, military service, national guardsman, neglect, operation desert storm, poverty, sacrifice, saudi arabia, scud missiles, soldiers, streets of wilmington, trauma of war, university of delaware, Vietnam, war, war on drugs

UD sociologist writes book about ‘betrayal’ of African American veterans

For the University of Delaware’s Benjamin Fleury-Steiner, research for his new book Disposable Heroes: The Betrayal of African American Veterans was uncomfortable and disquieting.

An associate professor of sociology, Fleury-Steiner spent months interviewing black veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan in the back streets of Wilmington, Del., to learn more about their service to their country and their experiences upon returning home.

The topic had long been on Fleury-Steiner’s mind, himself an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm who had ducked Scud missiles in Saudi Arabia. (more…)

Celebration of Spring

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2012Cultureauspicious creature, beginning of the spring, cctv, China, chinese, chinese new year, chinese zodiac, chunjie, color of festivity, confucius institute, dumpling, east asian, eurozone crisis, family reunion, gregorian calendar, Honɡ bao, indonesia, Japan, jianguo chen, jiao zi, korea, lantern festival, lichun, lunar calendar, malaysia, mauritius, new year gala, nian ye fan, republican period, shang dynasty, singapore, solar term, southeast asian, spring festival, Thailand, the dragon, the philippines, tracey bryant, traditional chinese calendar, u.s economy, valentine day, Vietnam, year of the dragon

*UD Confucius Institute director answers questions about Chinese New Year*

The Year of the Dragon is now under way. What does this new year mean, and how do Chinese families typically celebrate it?

Jianguo Chen, associate professor of Chinese and director of the Confucius Institute at UD, shares his insights with UDaily. (more…)

Treatment For TB Can Be Guided By Patients’ Genetics

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2012Scienceanti-inflammatory, charles serhan, corticosteroids, david tobin, dexamethasone therapy, duke university, francisco roca, gene, gene variant, genetic sequence, goldilocks effect, guy thwaites, harvard university, heterozygous advantage, human genetics, hyperinflammation, infection, inflammation, inflammatory response, lalita ramakrishnan, leukotriene b4, lipoxins, lta4h, mary claire king, mutation, oxford university, patient, pro inflammatory, seattle, substance, tb, tb like infection, tb meningitis, tuberculosis, tuberculosis treatment, university of washington, Vietnam, zebrafish

A gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection may also predict the effectiveness of drug treatment for a deadly form of tuberculosis.

An international collaboration between researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, Duke University, Harvard University, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam and Kings College London reported these findings Feb. 3 in the journal Cell. (more…)

Facebook Blasts into Top Position in Brazilian Social Networking Market Following Year of Tremendous Growth

By Guest PostJanuary 17, 20121 commentTechnologyalex banks, brazil, brazilian market, China, Comscore, distrito federal, Facebook, google plus, Japan, orkut, poland, rio de janeiro, russia, social media, social networking market, social networking population, south korea, tumblr, Twitter, Vietnam, vostu, windows live profile

*Facebook Audience Triples in the Past Year while Engagement Grows Nearly Sevenfold*

São Paulo, Brazil, January 17, 2012 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data showing that Facebook assumed the top position in the Brazilian social networking market following a year of exceptional growth. In December 2011, Facebook.com attracted 36.1 million visitors – representing an increase of 192 percent in the past twelve months – to surpass Orkut as the leading social networking destination in the market.

“Facebook’s rapid ascent in the Brazilian market has certainly been one of the most interesting stories to develop during the course of 2011,” said Alex Banks, comScore managing director for Brazil. “Brazil has always been a particularly social market and currently owns the fifth largest social networking population in the world. But despite the cultural affinity for social media, Facebook adoption had traditionally lagged in the market. That has all changed in the past year, during which the site has tripled in audience size as engagement has grown sevenfold to assume the leadership position in the market.” (more…)

Online Banking on the Rise in Southeast Asia

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2011Technologybank mandiri, citigroup, Comscore, Europe, global banking brands, hong kong, internet growth, joe nguyen, malaysia, North America, southeast asia, vietcombank, Vietnam

*Brands with Strong Local Presence Top List as Most-Visited Online Banking Destinations*

*comScore Presents ‘The State of the Internet Southeast Asia’ *

Singapore, March 4, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest results from a study of Internet usage in Southeast Asia. The report found that an increasing number of consumers across the region turned to online banking throughout 2010. In each of the six markets included in the study (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), visitation to the online banking category grew by double-digits percentages, outpacing overall Internet growth by a factor of two in most cases. These results will be presented along with other key online trends via a complimentary, live webinar The State of the Internet Southeast Asia on Wednesday, March 9. For more information and to register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/302171344 (more…)