A Cultural Study on Linguistic Metaphors of Love in Poetry

Language is one of the cultural factors. Love, an abstract concept is mainly interpreted by metaphors which are considered as part of culture. It is consequently inevitable that the linguistic metaphors of love are under the influence of culture. In this research, we centre on investigating cultural factors in linguistic metaphors of romantic love in Vietnamese modern poetry, and then compare them to those in English. It is shown in our findings that linguistic metaphors of romantic love are considerably influenced by lifestyles, habits and customs and geographical conditions. Therefore, there are many variations in the ways of expressing romantic love between Vietnamese and English although the conceptualization is chiefly similar

Host Transcription Profile in Nasal Epithelium and Whole Blood of Hospitalized Children Under 2 Years of Age With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

BACKGROUND: Most insights into the cascade of immune events after acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have been obtained from animal experiments or in vitro models. METHODS: In this study, we investigated host gene expression profiles in nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and whole blood samples during natural RSV and rhinovirus (hRV) infection (acute versus early recovery phase) in 83 hospitalized patients <2 years old with lower respiratory tract infections. RESULTS: Respiratory syncytial virus infection induced strong and persistent innate immune responses including interferon signaling and pathways related to chemokine/cytokine signaling in both compartments. Interferon-α/β, NOTCH1 signaling pathways and potential biomarkers HIST1H4E, IL7R, ISG15 in NP samples, or BCL6, HIST2H2AC, CCNA1 in blood are leading pathways and hub genes that were associated with both RSV load and severity. The observed RSV-induced gene expression patterns did not differ significantly in NP swab and blood specimens. In contrast, hRV infection did not as strongly induce expression of innate immunity pathways, and significant differences were observed between NP swab and blood specimens. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that RSV induced strong and persistent innate immune responses and that RSV severity may be related to development of T follicular helper cells and antiviral inflammatory sequelae derived from high activation of BCL6

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Temporal notion metaphorically used for love in English and Vietnamese

Love – an abstract concept becomes more concrete and easier to understand in temporal language including chronological and kairotic terms. In the light of the conceptual metaphor theory launched by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), eight source domains for love are found underlying 204 temporal expressions (80 English and 124 Vietnamese). All the conceptual metaphors and many of the metaphorical expressions are the same in the two languages. These resemblances may be shed light on by the universality of metaphor and the objectiveness of time. However, language is a cultural factor; it develops in the relationship with the culture. Hence, coming from two different cultures, the temporal terms employed to relate love are not completely similar between English and Vietnamese

Metaphorical Expressions with “Sweet” in English and “Ng?t” in Vietnamese

On the foundation of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the 4-step metaphor identification procedure by Pragglejaz Group, the paper discovers 87 metaphorical expressions containing the word “sweet” in English, equivalent to “ng?t” in Vietnamese through an investigation into four English and four Vietnamese novels composed in the 20th century. These gustatory expressions are found to be used to describe other senses, including olfaction, audition, vision, and tactition. Besides, the metaphorical expressions with “sweet” and “ng?t” are also employed to talk about emotion and manner. Despite several resemblances between English and Vietnamese metaphorical expressions containing the words “sweet” and “ng?t”, which are shed light upon by the universality of metaphors and human embodied experience, there are some differences in expressing the world via these two words between the two languages that are assigned to distinctive linguistic characteristics in each language

Optimization of ultrasonic-assisted extraction and purification of flavonoids from <i>Sophora japonica</i> L. with macroporous resins

Rutin and flavonoids derived from Sophora japonica hold significant potential for various bioactivities. The objective of this study is to improve the ultrasonic-assisted extraction procedure for obtaining rutin and total flavonoids from Sophora japonica. Moreover, the purification of these total flavonoids from the ethanol extract was accomplished using macroporous resins. Under optimal conditions, the extraction efficiency of rutin and total flavonoids were 32.49% and 48.40%, respectively. Out of the 11 macroporous resins tested for purification, the results indicated that DAX-8 and ADS-7 were the two most efficient resins. Under meticulously optimized purification conditions, the highest flavonoid content attained in the final product was 93.13% for DAX-8 and 92.20% for ADS-7, respectively. Based on the findings, the extraction and purification technique explored in this research provides a solid basis for improving industrial procedures related to extracting and purifying flavonoids from Sophora japonica.</p

Reading habits, socioeconomic conditions, occupational aspiration and academic achievement in Vietnamese junior high school students

Reading practices play an important role in the learning process of students. Especially in a fast-changing world where knowledge about nature and society is in a constant state of flux, book reading helps students foster skills such as thinking, valuing, adaptability and creativity for sustainable development. This research study used a dataset of 1676 observations of junior high school students from Northern Vietnam to explore students' academic achievement and its association with their reading passion, family socio economic condition, parental education and occupational aspiration. The empirical results show that higher grades in STEM-related subjects are predicted by reading interest (βReadbook = 0.425, p < 0.0001), with students who love reading books achieve higher score than those who take no interest in books. Remarkably, the education level of the mother strongly enhances academic performance, with β = 0.721 (p < 0.0001) in cases of mother having a university diploma or higher. Students coming from wealthy families are more likely to buy books whereas borrowing from the library is the main source of books for students who grow up in not-rich families. However, even among wealthy families, investment into buying books still rely more on personal interest, despite the aforementioned educational benefits of book reading, as evidenced by an over 7 percentage point disparity between the likelihood of purchasing books among wealthy-family students who took an interest in reading (45%) versus students of the same background who did not like to read (38.7%). The results present implications for education policy making with a vision towards United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Impact of anthropogenic activities on water quality and plankton communities in the Day River (Red River Delta, Vietnam)

International audiencePlankton are a major component of food web structure in aquatic ecosystems. Their distribution and community structure are driven by the combination and interactions between physical, chemical, and biological factors within the environment. In the present study, water quality and the community structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton were monthly investigated from January to December 2015 at 11 sampling sites along the gradient course of the Day River (Red River Delta, northern Vietnam). The study demonstrated that the Day River was eutrophic with the average values of total phosphorus concentration 0.17 mg/L, total nitrogen concentration 1.98 mg/L, and Chl a 54 mu g/L. Microscopic plankton analysis showed that phytoplankton comprised 87 species belonging to seven groups in which Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and Cyanobacteria accounted for the most important constituents of the river's phytoplankton assemblage. A total 53 zooplankton species belonging to three main groups including Copepoda, Cladocera, and Rotatoria were identified. Plankton biomass values were greatest in rainy season (3002.10-3 cell/L for phytoplankton and 12.573 individuals/m(3) for zooplankton). Using principal correspondence and Pearson correlation analyses, it was found that the Day River was divided into three main site groups based on water quality and characteristics of plankton community. Temperature and nutrients (total phosphorus and total nitrogen) are key factors regulating plankton abundance and distribution in the Day River

Selection of a density separation solution to study microplastics in tropical riverine sediment

International audienceMicroplastics (MPs) are small (<5 mm) plastic particles that are widely found in marine, freshwater, terrestrial and atmospheric environments. Due to their prevalence and persistence, MPs are considered an emerging contaminant of environ- mental concern. The separation and quantitation of MPs from freshwater sediments is a challenging and critical issue. It is necessary to identify the fate and sources of MPs in the environment, minimise their release and adverse effects. Compared to marine sediments, standardised methods for extracting and estimating the amount of MPs in freshwater sediments are relatively limited. The present study focuses on MP recovery efficiency of four commonly used salt solutions (NaCl, NaI, CaCl 2 and ZnCl 2) for isolating MPs during the density separation step from freshwater sediment. Known combinations of artificia