Chafe’s Semantic Structure Processes Versus Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar Processes

Processes are seen as a language phenomenon involving the participant of various language elements realized by verbals, nominal groups or adverbials. How these elements occur in the processes depends on linguists’ concepts of processes. The paper aims to consider Chafe’s processes and Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar processes to see what similarities and differences are. The study was conducted with qualitative methods in order to analyse materials and analyse the data collected. The data include samples extracted from four literary works in English which are The Man of Property, The Old Man and the Sea, the Call of the Wild and the Moon and Sixpence. The findings can point out some differences and similarities of processes by Chafe and Halliday. At the same time, the results will help those who pay much attention to this language phenomenon have a deeper understanding in order to equip themselves with background knowledge of language learning and research

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Preference and retention of daily and event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: a prospective cohort in Can Tho city, Viet Nam

Objective Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was introduced in Viet Nam in 2017, but data on oral PrEP preference and effective use beyond 3 months are limited. We aimed to evaluate PrEP preferences for PrEP, factors influencing uptake, choice and effective use, as well as barriers to PrEP.Methods This is a prospective cohort study in Can Tho, Viet Nam. Participants who were eligible for PrEP and provided informed consent were interviewed at baseline on demographic information, willingness to pay, reasons for choosing their PrEP regimen and the anticipated difficulties in taking PrEP and followed up at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after PrEP initiation.Findings Between May 2020 and April 2021, 926 individuals at substantial risk for HIV initiated PrEP. Of whom 673 (72.7%) choose daily PrEP and 253 (27.3%) choose event-driven (ED)-PrEP. The majority of participants were men (92.7%) and only 6.8% were women and 0.5% were transgender women. Median participant age was 24 years (IQR 20–28) and 84.7% reported as exclusively same-sex relationship. The three most common reasons for choosing daily PrEP were effectiveness (24.3%) and unplanning for sex (22.9%). Those opting for ED-PrEP also cited effectiveness (22.7%), as well as convenience (18.0%) and easier effective use (12.0%). Only 7.8% of PrEP users indicated they were unwilling to pay for PrEP and 76.4% would be willing to pay if PrEP were less than US$15 per month. The proportion of user effectively using PrEP at 12 months was 43.1% and 99.2% in daily PrEP and ED-PrEP users, respectively.Conclusions ED-PrEP was preferred by more than a quarter of 23.5% of the participants and there was little concern about potential adverse events. High rates of effective use were reported by ED-PrEP users. Future research to inform implementation of PrEP in Viet Nam is needed to develop ways of measuring adherence to ED-PrEP more accurately and to understand and address difficulties in taking daily PrEP use

Proceedings of the 5th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning

This conference proceedings contains articles on the various research ideas of the academic community and practitioners presented at the 5th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning (LTAL-2023). LTAL2023 was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam on May 7, 2023. Conference Title: 5th Conference on Language Teaching and LearningConference Acronym: LTAL-2023Conference Date: 7 May 2023Conference Location: VietnamConference Organizers: Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam. Related Proceedings:  Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Language Teaching and Learnin

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning

This conference proceedings contains articles on the various research ideas of the academic community and practitioners presented at the 4th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning (LTAL-2022). LTAL2022 was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam on June 19-20, 2022. Conference Title: 4th Conference on Language Teaching and LearningConference Acronym: LTAL-2022Conference Date: 19-20 June 2022Conference Location: VietnamConference Organizers: Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam

Twelve-Month Outcomes of the AFFINITY Trial of Fluoxetine for Functional Recovery After Acute Stroke: AFFINITY Trial Steering Committee on Behalf of the AFFINITY Trial Collaboration

Background and Purpose: The AFFINITY trial (Assessment of Fluoxetine in Stroke Recovery) reported that oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and seizures. After trial medication was ceased at 6 months, survivors were followed to 12 months post-randomization. This preplanned secondary analysis aimed to determine any sustained or delayed effects of fluoxetine at 12 months post-randomization. Methods: AFFINITY was a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults (n=1280) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke in the previous 2 to 15 days and persisting neurological deficit who were recruited at 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (4), and Vietnam (10) between 2013 and 2019. Participants were randomized to oral fluoxetine 20 mg once daily (n=642) or matching placebo (n=638) for 6 months and followed until 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome was function, measured by the modified Rankin Scale, at 6 months. Secondary outcomes for these analyses included measures of the modified Rankin Scale, mood, cognition, overall health status, fatigue, health-related quality of life, and safety at 12 months. Results: Adherence to trial medication was for a mean 167 (SD 48) days and similar between randomized groups. At 12 months, the distribution of modified Rankin Scale categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.76–1.14]; P =0.46). Compared with placebo, patients allocated fluoxetine had fewer recurrent ischemic strokes (14 [2.18%] versus 29 [4.55%]; P =0.02), and no longer had significantly more falls (27 [4.21%] versus 15 [2.35%]; P =0.08), bone fractures (23 [3.58%] versus 11 [1.72%]; P =0.05), or seizures (11 [1.71%] versus 8 [1.25%]; P =0.64) at 12 months. Conclusions: Fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke had no delayed or sustained effect on functional outcome, falls, bone fractures, or seizures at 12 months poststroke. The lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group is most likely a chance finding. REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ; Unique identifier: ACTRN12611000774921