Factors Affecting the Agricultural Restructuration: A Case of Cham Community in Chau Phu District, An Giang Province, Vietnam

The national policy of agricultural restructuring plays a vital role in adapting to climate change's effects and economic development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Unproductive areas have been converted into other crops with higher efficiency. Drawn by the sustainable livelihoods approach, this article explores the current situation and factors challenging the Cham community in implementing the agricultural restructuring. The mixed method included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and a questionnaire survey. The results showed that the Xuong Com Vang longan (Dimocarpus longan) variety has occurred in Khanh Hoa commune for a long time as an indigenous fruit tree of this area. In terms of the farming system, the polyculture system combining fruit trees and upland crops brought more income sources than the monoculture system. The asset abilities of the Cham farmers are various from one to the others. Soil and weather conditions are appropriate for planting. But farm size is small, which is one of the difficulties of developing fruit areas. Human and social assets were good since farmers had enough knowledge to manage the gardens, and a close connection existed among the Cham community. It was not a case of the financial status since a lot of money needs to be invested in the starting year. Therefore, the private loan still exists as one of the farmer's choices. For better future development, land management and financial resource should be considered for better agricultural restructuring aims. To increase farmers' incomes, create production chains helping enterprises and farmers work more efficiently for the better life of Cham gardeners in An Giang province in Vietnam

Microfluidic Chip for Trapping Magnetic Nanoparticles and Heating in Terms of Biological Analysis

In this study, we reported the results of the design and the fabrication a planar coil in copper (square, a = 10 mm, 15mm high, 90 turns), these planar coils were integrated in a microfluidic chip for trapping magnetic nanoparticles and local heating applications. A small thermocouple (type K, 1 mm tip size) was put directly on top of the micro-channel in poly(dimethyl-siloxane) in order to measure the temperature inside the channel during applying current. The design of planar coils was based on optimizing the results of the magnetic calculation. The most suitable value of the magnetic field generated by the coil was calculated by ANSYS® software corresponded to the different distances from the coil surface to the micro-channel bottom (magnetic field strength Hmax = 825 A/m). The magnetic filed and heating relationship was balanced in order to manipulating the trapping magnetic nanoparticles and heating process. This design of the microfluidic chip can be used to develop a complex microfluidic chip using magnetic nanoparticles

SURVEY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES OF HIGH–QUALITY ENGLISH STUDIES PROGRAM STUDENTS, SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, CAN THO UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

This research study aimed to investigate the usage of vocabulary learning strategies among English Studies students at Can Tho University (CTU), specifically those under the high-quality program at the School of Foreign Languages (SFL). The primary objective of the study was to identify the most commonly used strategies for learning English vocabulary and to compare the similarities and differences in how these strategies were applied among students by academic year. A total of 200 survey responses from SFL, CTU got involved in the study, and 12 of whom joined a semi-structured interview. The data gathered were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The results of this study provided insights into effective vocabulary learning strategies and would facilitate the improvement of English language teaching and learning practices at the university level.  Article visualizations

Delving into Ipsilateral Mammogram Assessment under Multi-View Network

In many recent years, multi-view mammogram analysis has been focused widely on AI-based cancer assessment. In this work, we aim to explore diverse fusion strategies (average and concatenate) and examine the model's learning behavior with varying individuals and fusion pathways, involving Coarse Layer and Fine Layer. The Ipsilateral Multi-View Network, comprising five fusion types (Pre, Early, Middle, Last, and Post Fusion) in ResNet-18, is employed. Notably, the Middle Fusion emerges as the most balanced and effective approach, enhancing deep-learning models' generalization performance by +2.06% (concatenate) and +5.29% (average) in VinDr-Mammo dataset and +2.03% (concatenate) and +3% (average) in CMMD dataset on macro F1-Score. The paper emphasizes the crucial role of layer assignment in multi-view network extraction with various strategies

Fragmented understanding: exploring the practice and meaning of informed consent in clinical trials in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background The informed consent process in clinical trials has been extensively studied to inform the development processes which protect research participants and encourage their autonomy. However, ensuring a meaningful informed consent process is still of great concern in many research settings due to its complexity in practice and interwined socio-cultural factors. Objectives This study explored the practices and meaning of the informed consent process in two clinial trials conducted by Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in collaboration with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods We used multiple data collection methods including direct observervations, in-depth interviews with study physicians and trial participants, review of informed consent documents from 2009 to 2018, and participant observation with patients’ family members. We recruited seven physicians and twenty-five trial participants into the study, of whom five physicians and thirteen trial participants completed in-depth interviews, and we held twenty-two direct observation sessions. Results We use the concept “fragmented understanding” to describe the nuances of understanding about the consent process and unpack underlying reasons for differing understandings. Conclusions Our findings show how practices of informed consent and different understanding of the trial information are shaped by trial participants’ characteristics and the socio-cultural context in which the trials take place

NEW RECORDS OF DOPASIA GRACILIS (SQUAMATA: ANGUIDAE) IN BACH MA NATIONAL PARK, THUA THIEN-HUE PROVINCE

This article describes the morphological characteristics of Dopasia gracilis (Gray, 1845) from Bach Ma National Park, Thua Thien-Hue province. The number of specimens in Bach Ma is bigger compared to description of Smith in 1935, and also Nguyen et al. in 2011. In Vietnam, D. gracilis has been reported from the following provinces: Cao Bang, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai and Gia Lai. So, in Bach Ma National Park it is the first record of this species distribution.NOI ÎNREGISTRĂRI ALE DOPASIA GRACILIS (SQUAMATA: ANGUIDAE) ÎN PARCUL NAȚIONAL BACH MA, PROVINCIA THUA THIEN-HUEÎn articol sunt descrise caracteristicile morfologice ale speciei Dopasia gracilis (Gray, 1845) din Parcul Național Bach Ma, provincia Thua Thien-Hue. Numărul specimenelor din Bach Ma este cu mult mai mare în comparație cu descrierea elaborată de Smith în 1935 şi de Nguyen et al. în 2011. În Vietnam, D. gracilis a fost raportat în următoarele provincii: Cao Bang, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai și Gia Lai. Deci, în Parcul Naţional Bach Ma distribuția acestei specii este înregistrată pentru prima dată.</p

Cost optimization of two-stage helical gearboxes with second stage double gear-sets

In practice, the cost of a gearbox plays a very important role in the trade. Therefore, reducing the cost of gearboxes is an important task not only when manufacturing the gearboxes but also when designing them. In order to reduce the cost of a gearbox, there are many solutions in which determining the optimal partial gear ratios of a gearbox is an effective measure. This is because it not only the size, the mass but also the cost of a gearbox depends greatly on the partial gear ratios. This work presents a method for calculating the cost function of two-stage helical gearboxes with second-stage double gear-sets based on the mass of the components that construct the gearbox. The cost objective function is minimized to achieve the optimal transmission ratios. Furthermore, screening experiments are carried out with nine important input parameters that have significant effects on the optimum transmission ratio of the second stage. These parameters are the total gearbox ratio, the coefficient of wheel face width of the first stage, coefficient of wheel face width of the second stage, the allowable contact stress of the first stage, the allowable contact stress of the second stage, the output torque, the cost of gearbox housing, the cost of gears, and the shaft cost. The experimental results of were analysed by using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) method with the help of Minitab 19 software. The results demonstrate that the effective weight of the input parameters and their interactions on the output response was investigated. Also, a regression model for computing the optimal transmission ratio of the second stage was proposed. This brings significance not only in the design process but also in manufacturing since the gearbox cost can decreas

NICKEL-BASED MULTIWALLED CARBON NANOTUBE COMPOSITE COATINGS

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely known as nanomaterials with excellent mechanical properties. Previous studies reported that the tensile strength of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was up to 63 GPa and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) could reach 150 GPa while the highest tensile strength of the steel was found to be about 1.8 GPa. SWCNTs could have Young’s modulus up to 1000 GPa that was much greater than the value of 209 GPa of steel. Therefore, there is a great potential to utilize CNTs as reinforced materials for composites in general and Ni electrodeposition coating in particular to improve hardness, durability, corrosion, and other physical and mechanical properties. This paper presents results of preparing and examining characteristics of the Nickel electrodeposition coatings containing MWCNTs (Ni-MWCNTs). The Ni-MWCNTs composite coatings deposited on a steel plate with the area of 0.4 dm2 using bipolar pulses at 470 Hz and 50oC in a 5-liter bath. Amount of CNTs varying from 1 g/l to 3 g/l was dispersed into the solution by using surfactants and ultrasonic vibration. CNTs used in the study was MWCNTs diameters in the range from 20 to 90 nanometers and few micrometers in length. The SEM, EDS, hardness and adhesion tests were conducted to analyze the properties of the electrodeposition coatings. The obtained results indicated that the hardness and adhesion of the Ni-CNTs coating were 1.5 and 1.46 times, respectively, higher than those of the Ni coating. In addition, adhesion of the Ni-CNTs coating was significantly improved

The initial study of EBNA-2 polymorphisms in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Vietnam

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is the main cause of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). EBNA-2, one of the most important genes participating in the formation of NPC, also helps EBV evade an attack on the immune system. EBNA-2 has 4 variants including E2-A, E2-B, E2-C and E-2D, of which E2-A and E2-C are the characterized variants for NPC. This study aimed to evaluate the variations of EBNA-2 in NPC biopsy samples of Vietnamese patients. This initial study used 10 biopsy samples, which were positively confirmed to NPC, collected from Cho Ray Hospital. Nested PCR – nucleotide sequencing was applied to analyze the variants of EBNA-2. The results showed that 8 out of 10 samples, accounting for 80%, were positive to EBNA-2. Additionally, only two variants, E-2A and E-2C were detected in our study, in which, E2-A subtype was identified as the predominant subtype. These findings would provide initial data about potential contribution of EBNA-2 polymorphisms to etiology of NPC in Vietnamese population

Effects of dietary Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) on grown, survival rate, intestinal morphology and blood cell count of the golden trevally fish (Gnathanodon specious)

The golden trevally fishes (Gnathanodon specious) (2.19 ± 0.23 g) were cultured in glass tanks with density of 20 fishes/tank and they were fed supplemental diets of different MOS concentrations (0; 0.2; 0.4 and 0.6%) for 90 days. Collected data included growth rate, survival rate and some hematological characteristics of this fish. The results demonstrated that MOS supplementation did not affect growth performance, erythrocyte density and blood cell size, however the survival rate was significantly increased. On the other hand, the total number of white blood cells (BC) on the 60th day in the fish fed with MOS supplements (5.78–6.96 × 104TB/mm3) was higher than that in the control group (only 5.43 × 104TB/mm3) with the largest total leukocytes (6.96 ± 0.50 × 104TB /mm3) at 0.2% MOS (p 0.05)