We investigated the cytotoxic potential of three different commercially available absorbent feminine hygiene products and one transdermal patch using direct contact and extract exposure methods. Two different cell lines were used – mouse fibroblast L929 and normal human skin fibroblast CCD-986sk cell lines. The test samples were extracted using three different methods in accordance to International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Viability of cells was analyzed using MTT assay and morphology of the cells were also observed using phase contrast microscopy. Overall, the direct contact method using L929 cells showed that all the test samples had no toxic effect when exposed to extracts for 1 h. For the exposure method, no toxic effect was observed in both L929 and CCD986sk cells incubated with all the test samples regardless of the extraction methods used.

This research investigates the impact of vocational training on wages of ethnic minority labors in emerging countries; Vietnam is the case study. The study uses secondary data from 2014 to 2018 collected through Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys (VHLSS) conducted by the General Statistics Office. In order to analyze the impact of vocational training on wages of ethnic minority areas in Vietnam, this research creates ethnic area variables. According to Vietnamese regulations, ethnic areas are communes of 51 different provinces, inhabited by ethnic minority people. The statistics from VHLSS in 2018, show that the proportion of labors of working age with a certificate was 22.5%. The research employs Heckman Sample Selection Model to estimate the impact of vocation training on wage of labors in ethnic minority areas. The results show that vocational training plays a crucial role in improving the wages of ethnic minorities and has a positive impact. However, apart from the achieved outcomes, vocational training and job creation for ethnic minorities are not without limitations and shortcomings. Based on the findings, some recommendations to ethnic minority labors, enterprises and the Government are proposed to encourage participation in vocational training for the purpose of promoting the efficiency of the labor market.