Challenges in ESP Vocabulary Acquisition: A Study of Vietnamese Non-English Majors

This study investigates the challenges encountered by Vietnamese non-English major university students in their pursuit of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) vocabulary proficiency. Employing a survey-based research methodology, the study collects data from a representative sample of students, with a primary focus on identifying the key difficulties experienced during ESP vocabulary acquisition. The findings reveal significant obstacles in the process, including limited exposure to ESP terminology, difficulties in comprehending and retaining specialized terms, as well as a lack of practical application opportunities. These results emphasize the critical need for tailored teaching strategies and resources to enhance ESP vocabulary learning for non-English majors. Furthermore, the implications of this study extend to language teaching practices, highlighting the necessity for curriculum adjustments that better align with the specific requirements of these learners within the Vietnamese educational context

Total synthesis of cofacial chlorin dimers of two different symmetries - Models of photosynthetic reaction centers

In photosynthetic reaction center, the special pair (SP) functions as the primary and significant part of the electron transfer. The function of SP is resulted from the particular structure with two nearly two-folded bacterio(chlorophyll). In this account, we focus on the basic principles underlying the design of artificial special pair. Toward this goal, two molecules were designed of having different symmetries and arranged in a cofacial fashion mimicking the special pair chlorophyll of naturally occurring photosynthetic reaction center. We employed chlorins as building blocks and they were connected at different positions to the diethynylbiphenylen spacer affording cis or trans orientations. The two chlorins with iodine substituents were successfully synthesized based on the condensation of 4 heterocyclic building blocks. The diethynylbiphenylen spacer linked two chlorin subunits via Shonogashira coupling affording the cofacial chlorin dimer. This construced model in trans symmetry mimicking the special pair of photosynthetic reaction center. The total synthesis of the cofacial chlorin dimmer in cis orientation is still in progress