THE PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION ON EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS OF READING COMPREHENSION

This study aims to investigate whether the use of a text-taking strategy could enhance EFL high school learners' reading comprehension. It draws on the test-taking strategies suggested by Cohen and Upton (2007), to focus on the two main aspects, (1) the influence of applying test-taking strategies on EFL high school students’ reading comprehension tests and (2) their attitudes toward these strategies. In the pretest-posttest one-group design and descriptive quantitative research, the reading comprehension test and the questionnaire were used to collect the data of 90 EFL high school students in a school in rural Can Tho City. These students were assigned to apply test-taking strategies in a workshop every week in the second Semester of 2021-2022. The findings showed that (1) participating students’ reading comprehension scores improved after following the test-taking strategies after 07 weeks; and (2) students were positive about their being active in their testing practice despite certain challenges. As a result of such positive attitudes, they had high motivation for continuing their practice test-taking strategies for the future examination.  Article visualizations

Chemical examination of Hydrocotyle bonariensis L. (Apiaceae)

Hydrocotyle bonariensis, growing in the Mekong-delta, is used as vegetable and has not yet been chemically studied. From the aerial parts of H. bonariensis, three compounds had been isolated: a triterpene squalene (1) and a mixture of two lignans: hinokinin (2) and α-[3,4-methylendioxy phenylmethylidene]-β-[3,4-methylendioxyphenylmethyl]-γ-butyrolactone (3). The fresh plant was divided into stem-leaf and flower and each part was distilled with steam to afford essential oils. The major components of stem-leaf are: (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, trans-caryophyllene, α-farnesene, copaene while the major components of flower are: α-pinene, 2-β-pinene, β-myrcene, limonene, α-caryophyllene, epibicyclosesquiphellandrene. The essential oil of the stem-leaf showed cytotoxic activities in vitro on RD and Hep-G2 cancer cells with the IC50 values of 16.1 and 19.9µg/ml, respectively. The study on the plant is being continued

Industrial Structure and Employment Structure Evolution and Forecast in Viet Nam

The interaction mechanism between industrial structure and employment structure has great importance in the development of any economy. But it always needs a constant vigilance to adjust and evolve which promotes the economic development of a country. This study tries to find out the optimization correlation between industrial structure and employment structure in Vietnam for the period of 1995-2014. This study has found that labor is moving gradually from low efficiency production section to high efficiency production section. This paper uses the vector auto-regression model (VAR) to forecast industrial structure and employment structure change trend in Vietnam for 2015-2020. The forecasted results show that industrial structure trend is moving towards higher progression, eventually transforming to "321" pattern. However, the change in employment structure lags behind changes in the industrial structure as labor structure is showing a "132" pattern. Keywords: Industrial structure, Employment structure, vector auto-regression, Vietna

Simulation of Storm Surges in the South Central Coast of Vietnam Under Climate Change

The research was supported by National Research Project Program of Vietnam: science and technology in response to climate change, natural resources and environmental management in the 2016-2020 period (program number: BĐKH/16-20), Developing a sustainable socio-economic model adapting to extreme natural disasters under climate change in the South Central region of Viet Nam. A case study of Ninh Thuan province (grant number: BĐKH.04/16-20). Abstract This paper presents the results of storm surge simulation in the South Central region of Vietnam using the Mike 21-FM HD model. Wind pressure fields of typical storms were first identified in period of 1986-2005 using the parametric wind field model. Storm surge risk was then simulated based on the rare 10, 50 and 100-year frequency corresponding to 2030, 2050, and 2100 scenarios. Storm surge model was finally calibrated and validated using the level of water measured in the November 2009 Typhoon Mirinae and October 2013 Typhoon Nari. The results show that storm surges were consistent with water level variation and amplitude; the maximum and minimum storm surges were 2.34m in the Binh Thuan coastal area and 0.78m in the Khanh Hoa coastal area, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated the use of MIKE 21-FM HD model for the simulation of storm surges in the future plays an important role in damage risk reduction caused by storm surges. Keywords: storm surge simulation, climate change, Mike 21-FM HD model, South Central coast of Vietnam. DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-6-08 Publication date:June 30th 201

Deterministic Assembly of Arrays of Lithographically Defined WS2 and MoS2 Monolayer Features Directly from Multilayer Sources into Van der Waals Heterostructures

One of the major challenges in the van der Waals (vdW) integration of two-dimensional (2D) materials is achieving high-yield and high-throughput assembly of predefined sequences of monolayers into heterostructure arrays. Mechanical exfoliation has recently been studied as a promising technique to transfer monolayers from a multilayer source synthesized by other techniques, allowing the deposition of a wide variety of 2D materials without exposing the target substrate to harsh synthesis conditions. Although a variety of processes have been developed to exfoliate the 2D materials mechanically from the source and place them deterministically onto a target substrate, they can typically transfer only either a wafer-scale blanket or one small flake at a time with uncontrolled size and shape. Here, we present a method to assemble arrays of lithographically defined monolayer WS2 and MoS2 features from multilayer sources and directly transfer them in a deterministic manner onto target substrates. This exfoliate-align-release process - without the need of an intermediate carrier substrate - is enabled by combining a patterned, gold-mediated exfoliation technique with a new optically transparent, heat-releasable adhesive. WS2/MoS2 vdW heterostructure arrays produced by this method show the expected interlayer exciton between the monolayers. Light-emitting devices using WS2 monolayers were also demonstrated, proving the functionality of the fabricated materials. Our work demonstrates a significant step toward developing mechanical exfoliation as a scalable dry transfer technique for the manufacturing of functional, atomically thin materials

Evaluation of pesticide residues in vegetables from Mekong, Delta, Vietnam using LC-MS/MS

Purpose: To assess the levels of pesticide residues in commonly used vegetables in Vietnam as a reference for future monitoring. Methods: A total of 180 samples of six different fresh vegetables including watercress, mustard green, choy sum, daikon, okra, and yam were analyzed from Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ten popular pesticides were evaluated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) after extraction with a multi-residue method (QuEChERS method). Results: The results were assessed according to the maximum residue limit (MRL) provided by Codex for each pesticide in each commodity. Pesticide residues above the MRL were detected in 107 samples (59 %) and 63 samples (47 %) contained residues below the MRL. Multiple residues were present in 38.3% of the samples with two to five pesticides, and 0.6 % of samples were contaminated with more than five pesticide residues. Of the pesticides investigated, eight pesticides were detected, of which abamectin, alpha-cypermethrin, acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos- ethyl, chlorantraniliprole, fenobucarb, fipronil, and trichlorfon exceeded their MRLs. Pesticide residues were detected above MRLs in samples of watercress (14 samples), mustard green (24 samples), choy sum (25 samples), daikon (26 samples), and yam (18 samples). Chlorpyrifos-ethyl, and fipronil were detected in most of the vegetable samples (100% and 89.44%, respectively). Conclusion: The results indicate the occurrence of pesticide residues in commonly consumed vegetables in Vietnam. The need for the regular monitoring of pesticide residues and the sensitization of farmers to better pesticide safety practices, especially the need to adhere to recommended pre-harvest intervals is recommended