The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of Vietnam as a middle power

Limited capability and political will have caused the great powers to fail to demonstrate their global leadership in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created greater room to manoeuvre for other countries to influence international affairs. Preliminary achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis have buttressed the rising global status of small and medium-sized states, including Vietnam. Although Vietnam has recently been recognised as an emerging middle power, scepticism looms regarding whether this higher international status is beyond its capacity. We argue that the pandemic may act as a catalyst for Vietnam to further elevate its strategic role as a middle power on the international stage in the medium and long term

Academic Anxiety of Vietnamese Secondary School Students as a Reason for Applying Online Learning

Academic anxiety is one of the major problems in student psychology across the world. It applies equally to students of all ages, from elementary school to college and university students. Research shows that learning online is an effective way to defuse feelings of academic anxiety. Elimination of anxiety is clearly visible regardless of age, gender, or prior online learning experience. The study aims to identify academic anxiety as one of the most important reasons for moving to online learning or blended learning in secondary school. The study investigated academic anxiety among secondary school students in Vietnam. After surveying 677 students in classroom learning, the results showed that 13.7% of secondary students suffered from frequent anxiety, and 3.0% of them suffered from very frequent anxiety. Lower anxiety was observed among students actively participated in-class activities, and students with excellent academic performance. These factors can be optimally enhanced through blended and online learning. There were no differences in academic anxiety among male and female students, urban and rural students. There was a moderate correlation between a student's anxiety level and pressure of the school, parental expectations, students' motivation for high performance, and especially, among students who have the melancholic temperament. And the influence of these negative factors can also be optimally reduced with the help of online learning. Regression model could provide useful suggestions for parents, teachers and students in reducing academic anxiety for students, including the use of full or blended online learning

The Role of Social Network Sites in English Language Teaching_Harnessing the Potential of Facebook and YouTube as Learning Tools

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the role of Social Network Sites (SNSs) in the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning. It examines the definitions and potential applications of SNSs, with a specific focus on Facebook and YouTube. The paper discusses the educational and instructional implementations of these SNSs, as well as the challenges and drawbacks faced by both teachers and students when utilizing them. Furthermore, it explores the pedagogical implications of incorporating the cutting-edge features offered by SNSs, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional and technologically driven learning environment

Exploiting Idioms and Proverbs of Vietnamese Regions in Teaching Mathematics in Primary Schools

Mathematics and idioms, as well as proverbs, all reflect the laws of life. At the same time, primary school children may have heard idioms and proverbs before attending school. Therefore, there are many possibilities to exploit and apply idioms and proverbs in teaching mathematics in primary schools. This study aims to identify appropriate situations and apply idioms and proverbs in different regions of Vietnam to teaching mathematics. The researchers selected 1155 expressions related to mathematics from many typical pieces of research on idioms and proverbs in Vietnam. After surveying 1822 teachers three times in many provinces and cities in all 3 regions of Vietnam: the North, the Central and the South, the researchers have classified the data according to the criteria from closed to open-ended questions. The results show a prominent level of interest (level 4/5) of all teachers participating in the survey, and there is no difference in the effectiveness in the three regions, but there is a clear difference in regions in using idioms and proverbs. Particularly, identifying situations to teach geometric and quantitative knowledge, as well as probability and statistics, allows one to apply idioms and proverbs at a high level. It is concluded that if idioms and proverbs from Vietnamese regions are appropriately selected and applied in teaching mathematics in primary schools, they will contribute to improving students' mathematical ability and preserving the national cultural heritage. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-SIED-015 Full Text: PD

Synthesis of para-menthane 3,8 - diol from Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil for application in mosquito repellent products

To repel mosquitoes, there have been many highly effective chemical repellent products, but they carry the potential risk of being unsafe for humans and harmful to the environment. Insect repellent products derived from natural sources that are safe for humans and environmentally friendly are becoming increasingly popular. PMD is a broad-spectrum and effective insect repellent but is present in small amounts in the Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil (EO). In this study, we investigated and evaluated the conditions for synthesizing PMD from EO raw materials in an acidic environment to achieve the highest synthesis efficiency of 76.3%, and the PMD product was 96.4% pure after being converted for 5 hours at 50°C in a 0.25% H2SO4 solution. Additionally, the study also separated the two cis and trans isomers of PMD by column chromatography and determined their structures using infrared spectroscopy (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

Temporal fluctuation of multidrug resistant salmonella typhi haplotypes in the mekong river delta region of Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: typhoid fever remains a public health problem in Vietnam, with a significant burden in the Mekong River delta region. Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), which is frequently multidrug resistant with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolone-based drugs, the first choice for the treatment of typhoid fever. We used a GoldenGate (Illumina) assay to type 1,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyse the genetic variation of S. Typhi isolated from 267 typhoid fever patients in the Mekong delta region participating in a randomized trial conducted between 2004 and 2005. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: the population of S. Typhi circulating during the study was highly clonal, with 91% of isolates belonging to a single clonal complex of the S. Typhi H58 haplogroup. The patterns of disease were consistent with the presence of an endemic haplotype H58-C and a localised outbreak of S. Typhi haplotype H58-E2 in 2004. H58-E2-associated typhoid fever cases exhibited evidence of significant geo-spatial clustering along the Sông H u branch of the Mekong River. Multidrug resistance was common in the established clone H58-C but not in the outbreak clone H58-E2, however all H58 S. Typhi were nalidixic acid resistant and carried a Ser83Phe amino acid substitution in the gyrA gene. SIGNIFICANCE: the H58 haplogroup dominates S. Typhi populations in other endemic areas, but the population described here was more homogeneous than previously examined populations, and the dominant clonal complex (H58-C, -E1, -E2) observed in this study has not been detected outside Vietnam. IncHI1 plasmid-bearing S. Typhi H58-C was endemic during the study period whilst H58-E2, which rarely carried the plasmid, was only transient, suggesting a selective advantage for the plasmid. These data add insight into the outbreak dynamics and local molecular epidemiology of S. Typhi in southern Vietnam

Evaluation of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2 assay for detection of multiple respiratory viral pathogens in nasal and throat swabs in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are among the leading causes of hospitalization in children ≤5 years old. Rapid diagnostics of viral pathogens is essential to avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment, thereby slowing down antibiotic-resistance. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2 against viral specific PCR as reference assays for ARI in Vietnam. METHODS: Four hundred and forty two nose and throat swabs were collected in viral transport medium, and were tested with Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2. Multiplex RT-PCR and single RT-PCR were used as references.    Results: Overall, viral pathogens were detected in a total count of 270/294 (91.8%, 95% CI 88.1-94.7) by the Luminex among reference assays, whilst 112/6336 (1.8%, 95% CI, 1.4-2.1) of pathogens were detected by the Luminex, but not by reference assays. Frequency of pathogens detected by Luminex and reference assays was 379 and 292, respectively. The diagnostic yield was 66.7% (295/442, 95%CI 62.1-71.1%) for the Luminex assay and 54.1% (239/442, 95% CI, 49.3-58.8%) for reference assays. The Luminex kit had higher yields for all viruses except influenza B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and human bocavirus. High agreements between both methods [mean (range): 0.91 (0.83-1.00)] were found for 10/15 viral agents. CONCLUSIONS: The Luminex assay is a high throughput multiplex platform for rapid detection of common viral pathogens causing ARI. Although the current high cost may prevent Luminex assays from being widely used, especially in limited resource settings where ARI are felt most, its introduction in clinical diagnostics may help reduce unnecessary use of antibiotic prescription

A prospective multi-center observational study of children hospitalized with diarrhea in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

We performed a prospective multicenter study to address the lack of data on the etiology, clinical and demographic features of hospitalized pediatric diarrhea in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Over 2,000 (1,419 symptomatic and 609 non-diarrheal control) children were enrolled in three hospitals over a 1-year period in 2009-2010. Aiming to detect a panel of pathogens, we identified a known diarrheal pathogen in stool samples from 1,067/1,419 (75.2%) children with diarrhea and from 81/609 (13.3%) children without diarrhea. Rotavirus predominated in the symptomatic children (664/1,419; 46.8%), followed by norovirus (293/1,419; 20.6%). The bacterial pathogens Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Shigella were cumulatively isolated from 204/1,419 (14.4%) diarrheal children and exhibited extensive antimicrobial resistance, most notably to fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins. We suggest renewed efforts in generation and implementation of policies to control the sale and prescription of antimicrobials to curb bacterial resistance and advise consideration of a subsidized rotavirus vaccination policy to limit the morbidity due to diarrheal disease in Vietnam