When local law enforcement officers become immigration agents, communities suffer

After 9/11 the federal government began to partner with state and local law enforcement to defend the U.S. from potential terrorist attacks. This expansion in law enforcement was a partnership with state and local governments, which allows law enforcement to enforce civil and criminal immigration violations. Mai Thi Nguyen examines the impacts of these new partnerships on local communities, finding that when local law enforcers become de facto immigration agents, the fear of deportation can lead to a reduction in civic engagement from immigrant communities, and to a breakdown in trust. She argues that in order to improve public safety without alienating immigrant communities, agencies granted enhanced immigration authority should be placed under greater scrutiny, especially at the local level

Description of Geocenamus vietnamensis sp. n. (Nematoda : Merliniidae) from Vietnam

A new species of the genus Geocenamus was isolated from soil and root samples from the rhizosphere of Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae) in Quang Nam province, Vietnam. This species is characterized by a round-to-hexagonal labial disc, the presence of a labial region, which is continuous or slightly offset from the body with six sectors, lateral sectors of first labial annulus being smaller than the submedian sectors, the presence of six to seven labial annules; the absence of deirids; stylet length 24 to 28 mu m long, body length 776 to 979 mu m long; lateral field with six to eight lateral lines, without areolation at mid-body and with areolation in outer bands at the tail region and a pointed tail terminus. Geocenamus vietnamensis n. sp. most closely resembles G. boghiae in having a non-sclerotized head framework and lacking a bursa in the males. It can be clearly distinguished from all other species of the genus Geocenamus by these characteristics. The combination of morphology, morphometric features, and phylogenetic trees, based on D2-D3 of 28S and ITS rDNA sequences, showed that this new species can be clearly separated from all other sequenced species. This record is the first for Geocenamus in Vietnam

Morphological and molecular characteristics of Pratylenchus haiduongensis sp. n., a new species of root-lesion nematodes associated with carrot in Vietnam

Pratylenchus haiduongensis sp. n. is described as associated with carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus (Hoffm.) Schubl. & G. Martens) in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam. P. haiduongensis sp. n. is characterized by the lip region with three annuli and slightly separated from the body. Stylet knobs are rounded (never indented anteriorly). The lateral field includes four incisures, bearing areolation at the pharynx region and tail region and occasionally appears in the vulval region. Sometimes the appearances of oblique broken striaes divide the lateral field into five or six incisures. The ovary is distinct with one row of oocytes. Spermatheca is oval in shape with round central cavity, without sperm or reduced in some specimens. The postvuval uterine sac is long surpassing the vulva body diameter by 2 to 2.5 times (PUS = 31 to 65 mm). High vulva position with V = 66 to 75%. The tail shape can be subhemispherical with a smooth, slightly indented, broadly smooth, or cleft terminus observed in some specimens. The matrix code of P. haiduongensis sp. n. is: A2, B1, C4, D(1,3), E1, F(5,6), G(1,2), H(1,4); I(1,2,3,4), J1, K(1,2) according to Castillo and Vovlas (2007). The LSU-D2D3 segment and the ITS-rDNA region of this species were amplified and sequenced. The morphological characters and molecular phylogenetic analyses confirmed that this is a new species of the genus Pratylenchus in Vietnam

In Vitro Culture Of Maize (Zea Mays L.) Inbred Line Sm5-4

Tissue culture of inbred line SM5-4 maize (Zea mays L.), maternal parent of Putra J- 58 (F1 hybrids) was established using maize zygotic embryo as explant. To obtain embryogenic callus from mature and immature zygotic embryos of inbred line SM5- 4, manipulations of media components such as carbon, nitrogen, proline, and casein hydrolysate, and culture conditions such as incubation temperature, light, were carried out. Immature embryos have the ability to form callus and embryogenic calli, which can result in plant regeneration. At tissue culture level, the study aims at establishing the best tissue culture system via somatic embryogenesis and to overcome plant regeneration problems by manipulating the sucrose concentration, hormone combination and concentration, culture age, the type of medium formulation used to grow callus, incubation temperature, light and media formulation. Sterilization technique of maize from mature and immature maize seeds of the inbred line SM5-4 was investigated. Mature seeds (50 days old) and immature seeds (14 days after pollination) were disinfected by washing in different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (Clorox) for different duration. Disinfection in 50%(v/v) Clorox solution (2.27% sodium hypochlorite) for 20 minutes gave 90% of contaminationfree culture of mature seeds whereas 50%(v/v) Clorox solution (2.27% sodium hypochlorite) for 15 minutes gave 75% of contamination-free culture of immature seeds. Reduction in Clorox concentration of 20% (v/v) Clorox (1.05% sodium hypochlorite) for 20 minutes gave high percentage (67%) of contamination- free culture of immature seeds that remain viable. N6 basal medium was found to be the best medium in enhancing both callus induction and embryogenic calli formation. The highest callus induction frequency on N6 basal medium supplemented with 9 pM 2,4-D from immature zygotic embryos was 79.5%. Both plants growth regulators, 2,4-D, IAA and BAP, kinetin, were capable of switching on the induction of callus necessary for embryogenic totipotency. The combination of 2,4-D and kinetin were however more effective in producing callus induction in embryos culture of maize. The most effective method for producing friable, embryogenic callus was found for immature zygotic embryos. Maturation of somatic embryos was enhanced by transferring the embryogenic callus after 4 weeks to medium containing 6% sucrose and Img/L NAA. During the following 3-4 weeks, as the somatic embryos developed, the cultures were transferred to the regeneration medium (MSO). Approximately 80% of immature zygotic embryos produced embryogenic callus and then plantlets. Immature embryos of inbred line SM5-4 produced the highest percentage of callus and showed the highest number of plant regeneration compared to mature zygotic embryos

Design, fabrication, and testing of a microfluidic system for cardiac cell culture.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and accounts for nearly 1,372,000 deaths each year. In addition, ~81 million Americans suffer from some form of CVD. Understanding the molecular basis of various manifestations of CVD requires cellular-level studies. However, current technologies for cell culture, fail to recreate the in-vivo environment where cells are subject to pressure and stretch as a consequence of normal hemodynamic loading and unloading. Therefore, to study cardiac cells with physiological relevance, the mechanical loading environment needs to be accurately replicated in-vitro. In order to create an appropriate platform for cardiac cell culture, a micro fluidic cardiac cell culture model (µCCCM) was designed and fabricated. This system consists of a pump, cell culture chamber, pneumatically actuated collapsible valve and a tunable resistance element in series. By varying the pump flow rate, valve closure frequency and the outflow resistance, various conditions associated with normal and dysfunctional heart function were recreated. A rat left ventricle heart muscle cell line (H9c2) was used to establish proof-of-concept and demonstrate the ability of the µCCCM to sustain cell culture under normal physiological conditions. Microscopic evaluation of these cells using phase contrast and immunofluoresence demonstrated that cells cultured within the µCCCM achieved an in-vivo like phenotype in comparison to static unloaded controls

The second generation of the CCCM system for in-vitro cardiac tissue engineering.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. When a myocardial infarction occurs, scar tissue compensates the damaged myocardial tissue. This scar tissue increases the stiffness of the heart tissue, reduces the heart’s function, and finally leads to the heart failure (HF) disease. To have the tissue engraftment, in-vitro cardiac tissue should have the same properties as the native mature cardiac tissue. However, current in-vitro cell culture technologies fail to accurately recreate the in-vivo like mechanically physiological environment for in-vitro cardiac tissue culture, and therefore, fail to regenerate the in-vivo like mature cardiac tissue. Hence, a microfluidic cardiac cell culture model (CCCM) system was developed to better recreate the cellular environment and advance cardiac regeneration. CCCM system replicates the hemodynamic loading and unloading conditions occurring inside the left ventricle of a heart. With this system, different pressures of human heart conditions may be replicated for a variety of clinical and physiologic conditions. For proof-of-concept, embryonic chick cardiac cells with normal heart condition were applied. Compared to the tissue cultured in a static condition, tissues stimulated in the CCCM system achieved an in-vivo like cardiac matured phenotype, had higher proliferating rate, showed more maturity, and expressed more contractile proteins. These results demonstrated that the CCCM system can be used to study the behavior of cardiomyocytes in different mechanical heart conditions and to create mature cardiac tissue which will benefit cardiac tissue transplant for HF

THE INFLUENCES OF ‘POWER DISTANCE’ ON PRE-SERVICE TEACHER LEARNING IN VIETNAM

Globalisation has moved nations to take steps to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive employment market. The Vietnamese Government has introduced a number of initiatives to equip its labour force with the necessary knowledge and skills, one of which is requiring teachers to change their teaching methods toward constructivist pedagogies.  This study focuses on pre-service teachers’ learning in Vietnam, where a ‘large power distance’ is widely practiced in education. This article reports on part of the action research study, showing the influences of ‘large power distance’ on pre-service teacher learning in Vietnam. The findings show that the ‘large power distance’ in Vietnamese culture generated both negative and positive influences during the teacher learning process. The findings contribute to the discussions about the role of teacher educators in promoting change for better education in Vietnam. Keywords: Constructivist pedagogies, power distance, pre-service teachers, teacher learning, Vietnamese teachers.Cite as: Nguyen, H.T.M. (2016). The influences of ‘power distance’ on pre-service teacher learning in Vietnam. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 1(2), 38-49.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol1iss2pp38-4

Synthesis and Oxidation of Lignin-Carbohydrate Model Compounds

To decrease our dependence on foreign oil supply and in an effort to decrease the amount of green house gases into the atmosphere, researchers are focusing on ways of producing fuels and chemicals from renewable resources. A renewable source such as wood has great potential for the production of biofuels and biochemicals. An integrated biorefinery process that maximizes the usage of wood and complements existing pulp and paper technology was proposed to extract underutilize hemicelluloses and covert them into bioethanol. In this process, not only hemicelluloses are extracted; lignin, since it is covalently bonded to hemicelluloses is extracted as well. It is reported that lignin is an inhibitor for enzymes and yeast during the conversion of hemicelluloses into ethanol, which decreases the yield of ethanol and increases the cost of production. Therefore, lignin needs to be removed prior to the production of bioethanol from hemicelluloses. Based on previous work in our lab, my project focuses on investigating oxidative methods to cleave lignin from hemicelluloses. Two glycosidic lignin-carbohydrate compounds were synthesized for this study. Knowledge of the mechanisms will allow us to determine the potential for such processes in the production of biochemicals and biofuels. We want to apply the oxygen delignification process to study this mechanism. Due to the presence of many oxygen species during this process, the mechanism is complicated. These oxygen species can be generated using H2O2 and UV radiation at 254 nm. Oxidative mechanisms of lignin-carbohydrate compounds were studied with superoxide anion (pH 12) and hydroxyl radical (pH 9.5). We are able to cleave the glycosidic bond between carbohydrate and lignin. Further oxidation of aromatic and carbohydrate was occurred. Less than 50% of glucose is obtained after the majority of lignin-carbohydrate model compound is reacted and none of the lignin portion is obtained any point of the reaction. Hence, this technique is useful for the cleavage of the glycodic linkages between lignin and carbohydrate. In order for this process to be a useful technique to obtain sugar from hemicelluloses, a process that is able to stop the further oxidation of carbohydrate must be developed

Nurses\u27 Level of Comfort, Familiarity, and Knowledge About Diabetes Management in Vinmec Central Park International Hospital

Clinical nurses have a key role in supporting and management of diabetes patients during hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses’ level of comfort, familiarity, and knowledge in diabetes management. In this study, 30 full-time nurses working in Vinmec Central Park International Hospital completed a 34-question assessment that included eight questions on comfort, six questions on familiarity, and 20 questions on nursing knowledge. The findings indicated the level of nursing knowledge regarding diabetes management in the hospital was low. The comfort, familiarity, and knowledge scores were not directly proportional to the age, education, and years of clinical experience or specialty. Finally, this study demonstrated that bedside nurses had a deficit in knowledge in the management of diabetes patients. This level of unfamiliarity indicated insufficient teaching practices. Strategies are required to provide a continuing education program for all bedside nurses and ensure all proper criteria meet the caring of specific diabetes patients. Future studies must be repeated with more data to evaluate the result of nursing and diabetes management