ESP Students’ Perceptions of the Role of Community Language Learning on Learning Motivation: A Case at a College of Medicine and Pharmacy in the Mekong Delta

Community language learning (CLL) is a language teaching method in which students work together to develop what aspects of a language they would like to learn. It is based on the Counselling-approach in which the teacher acts as a counselor and the learner as a client. CLL techniques are believed to help learners alleviate anxiety, threat and the personal and language problems a person encounters in using the language. The research entitled: “An Investigation into ESP Students’ Perceptions of the Role of Community Language Learning on Learning Motivation: A study in a college of medicine and pharmacy in the Mekong Delta” was conducted to find out ESP students’ perception of the role of CLL on their learning motivation. It was conducted with the participation of 144 ESP students from a College in Can Tho city using the questionnaire. The result shows that ESP students’ perception of the role of CLL on their learning motivation was quite high although the level of perceptions on their interest was not high

A cell-based smoothed three-node plate finite element with a bubble node for static analyses of both thin and thick plates

This paper develops the cell-based (CS) smoothed finite element method for a three-node plate finite element with a bubble node at the centroid of the element. Based on the first-order shear deformation theory, the in-plane strains are smoothed on three non-overlapped subdomains of the element to transform the numerical integration of the element stiffness matrix from the surfaces into the lines of the subdomains. The shear-locking phenomenon, which occurs when the plate's thickness becomes small, is removed by employing the mixed interpolation of tensorial components (MITC). The present element, namely CS-MITC3+, passes the patch test and behaves independently from the sequence of node numbers of the element. Numerical results given by the CS-MITC3+ elements are better than the MITC3+ elements. As compared to other smoothed three-node plate finite elements, the CS-MITC3+ is a good competitor

Improving indigenous Vietnamese Black Rabbit frozen sperm quality: the role of glycine and sperm selection methods

[EN] Rabbit sperm are known to undergo damage during both cryopreservation and thawing, leading to decreased viability, motility and membrane integrity. Glycine can protect sperm and reduce damage during freezing. Swim-up is a simple semen processing method for selecting good motile sperm. The study evaluated the effect of the swim-up method and glycine with different concentrations supplemented to the frozen medium. Three indigenous black rabbits were selected for semen collection by artificial vagina. Next, semen was selected by swim-up method and diluted with glycine-added frozen medium. The samples were then transferred to 0.5 mL straws, cooled to 15°C and 5°C, placed in liquid nitrogen vapour, and finally placed directly into liquid nitrogen (-196°C). The samples were thawed and evaluated for sperm quality. The results showed that the medium supplemented with 10mM glycine in combination with swim-up method for 30 min gave the best results and was significantly different from the remaining concentrations (P<0.01), with viability rate, overall mobility and membrane integrity of 68.0%, 58.7% and 49.7%, respectively. In conclusion, 10 mM glycine concentration combined with swim-up for 30 min is the optimal choice for freezing local black rabbit semen. The study highlights the importance of optimising freezing protocols to improve the quality of frozen rabbit sperm, which can have important implications for animal breeding and conservation efforts.This study is funded in part by the Can Tho University, Code: T2022-133Tran, TTT.; Duy, NLK.; Hang, NT.; Ngoc, PK.; Tuyen, DND. (2023). Improving indigenous Vietnamese Black Rabbit frozen sperm quality: the role of glycine and sperm selection methods. World Rabbit Science. 31(4):229-236. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2023.1969022923631

Determination of the Administration Routes, Doses and Appropriate Age to Vaccinate With Ornitin Triple Vaccine For Cross-breed Colored Broilers in Vietnam

The study was to determine the appropriate dose and administration route of Ornitin Triple vaccine in cross-breed coloured broilers in Vietnam by evaluating the antibody titer against Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) and local reactions at injection sites on chickens after vaccination. The study was divided into 2 trials. Both trials were designed with 3 vaccine dose groups: 0.0ml (control group), 0.25ml and 0.5ml and 2 different administration routes: subcutaneous at neck (SC) and intramuscular at breast (IM) injection. The result showed that, no statistically significant difference was found between antibody titer of two administration routes as well as 2 vaccine doses until 13-week-old. Local reactions at the injection sites of IM route was less severe than SC at neck and in higher dose would produce a more severe swelling reaction. Daily weight gain was found to have a slight decrease in the vaccinated groups within 2 weeks after vaccination, however, no statistically significant difference was found in later stage (P > 0.05). In conclusion, Ornitin Triple can be used to vaccinate by IM with the dose of 0.25ml for coloured broilers at early age (3-week-old), or 0.5ml for older birds and should be careful for some reactions at the injection sites

Pathogenic Escherichia coli Possess Elevated Growth Rates under Exposure to Sub-Inhibitory Concentrations of Azithromycin.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the ten major threats to global health. Advances in technology, including whole-genome sequencing, have provided new insights into the origin and mechanisms of AMR. However, our understanding of the short-term impact of antimicrobial pressure and resistance on the physiology of bacterial populations is limited. We aimed to investigate morphological and physiological responses of clinical isolates of E. coli under short-term exposure to key antimicrobials. We performed whole-genome sequencing on twenty-seven E. coli isolates isolated from children with sepsis to evaluate their AMR gene content. We assessed their antimicrobial susceptibility profile and measured their growth dynamics and morphological characteristics under exposure to varying concentrations of ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, tetracycline, gentamicin, and azithromycin. AMR was common, with all organisms resistant to at least one antimicrobial; a total of 81.5% were multi-drug-resistant (MDR). We observed an association between resistance profile and morphological characteristics of the E. coli over a three-hour exposure to antimicrobials. Growth dynamics experiments demonstrated that resistance to tetracycline promoted the growth of E. coli under antimicrobial-free conditions, while resistance to the other antimicrobials incurred a fitness cost. Notably, antimicrobial exposure heterogeneously suppressed bacterial growth, but sub-MIC concentrations of azithromycin increased the maximum growth rate of the clinical isolates. Our results outline complex interactions between organism and antimicrobials and raise clinical concerns regarding exposure of sub-MIC concentrations of specific antimicrobials

Beyond the homestay: women’s participation in rural tourism development in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

This study examines the impact of the homestay tourism program in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, on women’s participation and empowerment in rural tourism development. As part of this study, 22 interviews were conducted with homestay owners to explore the benefits and challenges of women’s involvement in this type of tourism. The findings show that homestay tourism program has helped women to generate extra income, strengthen family ties, and increase their social influence while reducing domestic violence. However, cultural expectations and gender roles continue to pose challenges. This study underscores the importance of women’s participation in homestay tourism program and provides suggestions for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in tourism development. The study highlights the potential of women’s involvement in creating a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry and calls for further research and action to promote gender equality and women’s rights in tourism. The findings have practical implications for policymakers and practitioners in the tourism sector

Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility Assay (MODS) for Early Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children

MODS is a novel liquid culture based technique that has been shown to be effective and rapid for early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the MODS assay for diagnosis of TB in children in Viet Nam. 217 consecutive samples including sputum (n = 132), gastric fluid (n = 50), CSF (n = 32) and pleural fluid (n = 3) collected from 96 children with suspected TB, were tested by smear, MODS and MGIT. When test results were aggregated by patient, the sensitivity and specificity of smear, MGIT and MODS against “clinical diagnosis” (confirmed and probable groups) as the gold standard were 28.2% and 100%, 42.3% and 100%, 39.7% and 94.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of MGIT and MODS was not significantly different in this analysis (P = 0.5), but MGIT was more sensitive than MODS when analysed on the sample level using a marginal model (P = 0.03). The median time to detection of MODS and MGIT were 8 days and 13 days, respectively, and the time to detection was significantly shorter for MODS in samples where both tests were positive (P<0.001). An analysis of time-dependent sensitivity showed that the detection rates were significantly higher for MODS than for MGIT by day 7 or day 14 (P<0.001 and P = 0.04), respectively. MODS is a rapid and sensitive alternative method for the isolation of M.tuberculosis from children