The Relationship between Online Learning and Student Satisfaction with Training Quality in Private Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to explore the relationship between the influential factors of online learning and the satisfaction of economics and business majors with the quality of their training in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 900 students in private universities completed a questionnaire. The principal findings of this research are that the students are satisfied with their online learning and that learning conferencing software is the most important driving factor leading to the students’ satisfaction when compared with learning conditions and learning devices. Another interesting finding is that the experience of using learning conferencing software results in a slight difference in the students’ perceived level of satisfaction, adding that users with more than two years’ experience are more satisfied with their training quality than users with less than one year’s experience. However, the results also show that students want to switch to offline learning when the pandemic is over. This study should, therefore, be of value to higher education authorities wishing to understand their students’ perceptions of online learning. In addition, results from the study suggest more managerial approaches as well as improve the online teaching quality during the pandemic

Isolation and identification of indole acetic acid producing bacteria from the coasts of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh Provinces

Beneficial plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been reasonably applied to rescue crucial issue for agriculture by salinity soil. Observed most of PGPB was found in endophyte, rhizosphere and soil. Indole acetic acid (IAA)-producing bacteria could naturally stimulate and facilitate plant growth. The knowledge of IAA production and content of bacteria resident in the marine environment has been typically insufficient and limited to date. In recent years, unwarrantable intrusions of sea water have been enlarged in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam, threatening productive rice fields, local fruits, and cash crops. Therefore, finding PGPB in the coastal regions in the Mekong River Delta as a creative resource for sustainable agriculture is necessary and is a prompt challenge. In this study, IAA-producing bacteria from coastal regions of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh Provinces were isolated and adequately identified. Out of 202 bacterial isolates, 10 isolates showed the possible ability to produce IAA from L-tryptophan. These 10 isolates were objectively evaluated the capacity to produce IAA under 5% (w/v) NaCl in King B and marine broths. The results revealed that IAA production decreased in 5% NaCl, even though bacterial growth increased. These 10 IAA-producing bacteria were classified at the species level, Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, M. pelagius, M. daepoensis, and Mameliella phaeodactyli by 16S rRNA gene analysis. The most IAA producer in King’s B broth, the isolate C7, was investigated in more detail. The isolate C7 produced the maximum IAA amount (192.2 ± 1.14 µg/ml) under the presence of 20 g/l yeast extract, 2 g/l of L-tryptophan and 1% NaCl. The isolate C7 was able to grow at 1–17% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 4%), but not in the absence of NaCl, indicating it is a moderate halophilic bacteria. This study highlighted the considerable ability to produce IAA of marine bacteria, which could be thoughtfully considered to use naturally as biofertilizers to promote plant growth in saline intrusion lands.

Tuberculosis among economic migrants: a cross-sectional study of the risk of poor treatment outcomes and impact of a treatment adherence intervention among temporary residents in an urban district in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of avoidable deaths. Economic migrants represent a vulnerable population due to their exposure to medical and social risk factors. These factors expose them to higher risks for TB incidence and poor treatment outcomes. METHODS This cross-sectional study evaluated WHO-defined TB treatment outcomes among economic migrants in an urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. We measured the association of a patient's government-defined residency status with treatment success and loss to follow-up categories at baseline and performed a comparative interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to assess the impact of community-based adherence support on treatment outcomes. Key measures of interest of the ITS were the differences in step change (β) and post-intervention trend (β). RESULTS Short-term, inter-province migrants experienced lower treatment success (aRR = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.92-0.99], p = 0.010) and higher loss to follow-up (aOR = 1.98 [95% CI: 1.44-2.72], p  55 years of age (aRR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.89-0.96], p < 0.001), relapse patients (aRR = 0.89 [95% CI: 0.84-0.94], p < 0.001), and retreatment patients (aRR = 0.62 [95% CI: 0.52-0.75], p < 0.001) had lower treatment success rates. TB/HIV co-infection was also associated with lower treatment success (aRR = 0.77 [95% CI: 0.73-0.82], p < 0.001) and higher loss to follow-up (aOR = 2.18 [95% CI: 1.55-3.06], p < 0.001). The provision of treatment adherence support increased treatment success (IRR(β) = 1.07 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.15], p = 0.041) and reduced loss to follow-up (IRR(β) = 0.17 [95% CI: 0.04, 0.69], p = 0.013) in the intervention districts. Loss to follow-up continued to decline throughout the post-implementation period (IRR(β) = 0.90 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.98], p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS Economic migrants, particularly those crossing provincial borders, have higher risk of poor treatment outcomes and should be prioritized for tailored adherence support. In light of accelerating urbanization in many regions of Asia, implementation trials are needed to inform evidence-based design of strategies for this vulnerable population

Classification Methods for Mapping Mangrove Extents and Drivers of Change in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam during 2005-2018

Mangrove forests have been globally recognised as their vital functions in preventing coastal erosion, mitigating effects of wave actions and protecting coastal habitats and adjacent shoreline land-uses from extreme coastal events. However, these functions are under severe threats due to the rapid growth of population, intensive shrimp farming and the increased intensity of severe storms in Hau Loc and Nga Son districts, Thanh Hoa province. This research was conducted to monitor spatial-temporal changes in mangrove extents using Landsat and Sentinel imageries from 2005 to 2018. Unsupervised and supervised classification methods and vegetation indices were tested to select the most suitable classification method for study sites, then to quantify mangrove extents and their changes in selected years. The findings show that supervised classification was the most suitable in study sites compared to vegetation indices and unsupervised classification. Mangrove forest extents increased by 7.5 %, 38.6 %, and 47.8 % during periods of 2005 - 2010, 2010 - 2015 and 2015 - 2018, respectively. An increase of mangrove extents resulted from national programs of mangrove rehabilitation and restoration during 2005- 2018, increased by 278.0 ha (123.0 %)

Monitoring Changes in Coastal Mangrove Extents Using Multi-Temporal Satellite Data in Selected Communes, Hai Phong City, Vietnam

Mangrove forests are important and known as one of the most productive ecosystems in the tropics. They reduce the impacts of extreme events, provide important breeding grounds for aquatic species and build the resilience of ecosystem-dependent coastal communities. On the contrary, they are also known as one of the most threatened and vulnerable ecosystems worldwide, which have experienced a dramatic decline due to extensive coastal development during the last half-century. Remote sensing techniques have demonstrated a high potential to detect, identify, map, and monitor mangrove conditions and its changes, which is reflected by a large number of scientific papers published on this topic. The aim of this study was to investigate the multi-decadal changes of mangrove forests selected communes in Hai Phong city, North Vietnam, based on using Landsat and Sentinel 2 data from 2000 to 2018. The study used these continuous steps: 1) data pre-processing; 2) image classification using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; 3) accuracy assessments; and 4) multi-temporal change detection and spatial analysis of mangrove forests. The classification maps in comparison with the ground reference data showed the satisfactory agreement with the overall accuracy was higher than 80.0%. From 2000 to 2018, the areas of mangrove forests in the study regions  increased by 584.2 ha in Dai Hop and Bang La communes (Region 1) and by 124.2 ha in Tan Thanh, Ngoc Xuyen and Ngoc Hai communes (Region 2), mainly due to the boom of mangrove planting projects and good mangrove management at the local community level

In vitro bioactivities of Codonopsis javanica root extract from Kon Tum province, Vietnam

Dangshen Codonopsis javanica exhibits invaluable medicinal properties in herbal remedies; however, there has currently not been much specific analysis of the phytochemicals and bioactivities of this plant. The root ethanol extract of C. javanica contains substances such as saponins, phenolic acids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. It displays an antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus with the IC50 values of 150, 100, 150, and 90 μg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the root extract was also observed with an IC50 value of 46.8 ± 6.8 μg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibits activity on human cancer cell lines HepG2 (IC50 = 83.6 ± 2.7 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (IC50 = 95.3 ± 2.3 μg/mL). Hence, this study provides the basic data for further research on the bioactivities of natural compounds of Dangshen C. javanica for the first time

Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000 years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Dr. Ngo Anh Son, Mr. Bui Van Khanh and Ms. Nellissa Ling for their assistance with the radiographs. We are grateful to Dr. Dr. Nguyen Gia Doi for permission to extract histological samples. This work was supported by a National Geographic Early Career Grant (EC-54332R-18);Royal Society of New Zealand Skinner Fund Grant; University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship; Australian Research Council DP110101097 and FT120100299. Histologicalprocessing was funded by the Australian Research Council (DE190100068).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Scurvy in the Tropics: Evidence for increasing non-adult micronutrient deficiency with the transition to agriculture in northern Vietnam

Objective: Scurvy in non-adults was assessed at the Pre-Neolithic site of Con Co Ngua and the Neolithic site of Man Bac in northern Vietnam to investigate nutritional stress during the agricultural transition in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA). Materials: One hundred and four human skeletons under the age of 20 years old were assessed. Methods: Lesions were recorded macroscopically and radiographically. Differential diagnosis using prior established paleopathological diagnostic criteria for scurvy was conducted. Results: There was no clear evidence for scurvy at Con Co Ngua and a high burden of scurvy was present at Man Bac (>79% diagnosed with probable scurvy). Scurvy levels were high across all non-adult ages at Man Bac indicating significant burden throughout childhood and adolescence. Conclusions: No scurvy at Con Co Ngua is consistent with widely available food sources at the peak of the Holocene thermal maximum. High levels of scurvy at Man Bac corresponds with decreased dietary diversity, high pathogen load, and increased population stress with the transition to agriculture around the time of the 4.2 ka desertification event. Significance: This is the first systematic population-level non-adult investigation of specific nutritional disease in MSEA and demonstrates an increase in nutritional stress during the Neolithic transition in northern Vietnam. Limitations: Subperiosteal new bone deposits can be due to normal growth in infants and young children, therefore, identification of scurvy in children under the age of 4 years needs to be considered critically. Suggestions for Further Research: Further work in diagnosing specific nutritional disease in other non-adult cohorts throughout MSEA is required

A comparative impact evaluation of two human resource models for community-based active tuberculosis case finding in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Background: To achieve the WHO End TB Strategy targets, it is necessary to detect and treat more people with active TB early. Scale–up of active case finding (ACF) may be one strategy to achieve that goal. Given human resource constraints in the health systems of most high TB burden countries, volunteer community health workers (CHW) have been widely used to economically scale up TB ACF. However, more evidence is needed on the most cost-effective compensation models for these CHWs and their potential impact on case finding to inform optimal scale-up policies. Methods: We conducted a two-year, controlled intervention study in 12 districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. We engaged CHWs as salaried employees (3 districts) or incentivized volunteers (3 districts) to conduct ACF among contacts of people with TB and urban priority groups. Eligible persons were asked to attend health services for radiographic screening and rapid molecular diagnosis or smear microscopy. Individuals diagnosed with TB were linked to appropriate care. Six districts providing routine NTP care served as control area. We evaluated additional cases notified and conducted comparative interrupted time series (ITS) analyses to assess the impact of ACF by human resource model on TB case notifications. Results: We verbally screened 321,020 persons in the community, of whom 70,439 were eligible for testing and 1138 of them started TB treatment. ACF activities resulted in a + 15.9% [95% CI: + 15.0%, + 16.7%] rise in All Forms TB notifications in the intervention areas compared to control areas. The ITS analyses detected significant positive post-intervention trend differences in All Forms TB notification rates between the intervention and control areas (p = 0.001), as well as between the employee and volunteer human resource models (p = 0.021). Conclusions: Both salaried and volunteer CHW human resource models demonstrated additionality in case notifications compared to routine case finding by the government TB program. The salaried employee CHW model achieved a greater impact on notifications and should be prioritized for scale-up, given sufficient resources

Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Drug-Resistant Tuberculous Meningitis Treated With an Intensified Antituberculosis Regimen.

Drug-resistant tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is difficult to diagnose and treat. Mortality is high and optimal treatment is unknown. We compared clinical outcomes of drug-resistant and -susceptible TBM treated with either standard or intensified antituberculosis treatment. We analyzed the influence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance on the outcomes of patients with TBM enrolled into a randomized controlled trial comparing a standard, 9-month antituberculosis regimen (containing rifampicin 10 mg/kg/day) with an intensified regimen with higher-dose rifampicin (15 mg/kg/day) and levofloxacin (20 mg/kg/day) for the first 8 weeks. The primary endpoint of the trial was 9-month survival. In this subgroup analysis, resistance categories were predefined as multidrug resistant (MDR), isoniazid resistant, rifampicin susceptible (INH-R), and susceptible to rifampicin and isoniazid (INH-S + RIF-S). Outcome by resistance categories and response to intensified treatment were compared and estimated by Cox regression. Of 817 randomized patients, 322 had a known drug resistance profile. INH-R was found in 86 (26.7%) patients, MDR in 15 (4.7%) patients, rifampicin monoresistance in 1 patient (0.3%), and INH-S + RIF-S in 220 (68.3%) patients. Multivariable regression showed that MDR (hazard ratio [HR], 5.91 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 3.00-11.6]), P < .001), was an independent predictor of death. INH-R had a significant association with the combined outcome of new neurological events or death (HR, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.11-2.23]). Adjusted Cox regression, corrected for treatment adjustments, showed that intensified treatment was significantly associated with improved survival (HR, 0.34 [95% CI, .15-.76], P = .01) in INH-R TBM. Early intensified treatment improved survival in patients with INH-R TBM. Targeted regimens for drug-resistant TBM should be further explored