EFL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS AND REPORTED TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING LISTENING INFERENCING SKILLS

This research aims were to examine teachers’ perceptions of listening inferencing skills (LIS) and their significance for listening comprehension. In addition, the pedagogical techniques that teachers report to have employed in teaching LIS were also investigated. In order to achieve these goals, a questionnaire consisting of 48 five-point Likert scale items and one open-ended question was utilized as the research instrument. Seventy-two EFL teachers working at different universities, colleges and private language centres in a province in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam gave their responses to the questionnaires. The results revealed that a significant number of teachers appeared to hold a limited understanding of what LIS actually refer to. However, when they were introduced to what LIS involve, they noticeably reached the agreement that these skills are beneficial for listening comprehension in particular and language learning in general. Besides, a large number of the participants also reported that they applied LIS in their own English language learning and teaching. In terms of pedagogical techniques used to teach LIS, the teachers mainly concentrated on pre-listening tactics with the hope of equipping their students well for the listening process regarding linguistic and background knowledge while techniques for the while-, post- and extension stages in listening instruction seemed to be overlooked.  Article visualizations

CONTAMINATION BY PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AND ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS IN VIETNAM : PATTERNS, BEHAVIOR, TRENDS AND TOXIC POTENTIAL

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Morphometrics allometry changes and sexual dimorphism in Caragobius urolepis (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae)

The present study reported an alternative way of sex-determining for scaleless worm goby Caragobius urolepis based on the regression relationship of some morphological parameters. A total of 328 samples were collected at the trawl nets in two coastal regions in Bac Lieu and Ca Mau from April to August 2022. After collection, the samples were transported to the laboratory in order to measure the total length (TL), body height (BD), head length (HL), the distance of eye (DE), and mouth width (MD) before surgery for accurate sex determination based on gonads. Regression analysis results of TL-BD (growth pattern A+ in females and I in males), TL-HL (growth pattern A+ in females and A- in males), and TL- MD (growth pattern A- in females and A+ in males) could be used to determine the sex of this fish. Moreover, TL-DE and TL-BD could be used to estimate when the samples were collected, e.g , in the dry or wet season, because DE and BD displayed A+ in the wet season but A- in the dry one. The findings could be used as an alternative way to determine fish sex and catching season for this species and others in the Mekong Delta

Isolation of dengue serotype 3 virus from the cerebrospinal fluid of an encephalitis patient in Hai Phong, Vietnam in 2013

Dengue encephalitis (DE) is characterized as unusual presentation of dengue infection. Despite the reports that DE accounts for only 1-5% of dengue cases, this disease tends to be increasingly reported to threaten global human health throughout dengue endemic areas particularly in Southeast Asia. The molecular information of clinically characterized, neurotropic dengue virus (DENV) in human beings is extremely scarce despite it playing an important role in deciphering the pathogenesis of dengue-related neurological cases. Here we report a case of DE caused by DENV3 genotype III in a male patient with atypical symptoms of DENV infection in Hai Phong, Vietnam in 2013. The virus isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of this case-patient was closely related to DENV3 genotype III strains isolated from serum of two other patients, who manifested classical dengue in the same year and residing in the same area as the case-patient. It is noteworthy to mention that in 2013, DENV3 genotype III was detected for the first time in Vietnam

Chemical composition and cytotoxic activity of the essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus L. Grown in phu tho province

Culms and leaves of Cymbopogon citratus L. were collected from two regions of Phu Tho province (Thanh Son and Phu Ninh) and used as materials for essential oil extraction. Oils obtained were steam-distilled, analyzed for chemical composition and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against three different cancer cell lines. The GC/MS analysis showed that citral is the major content of the steam-distilled essential oils which was found in the range of 64.15-76.22%. Camphene was found only in culm oils of both regions but it was not detected in the leaf oils. Interestingly, the isomer forms of ocimene present at higher content in the culm oils than in the leaf oils whereas myrcene content in the leaf oils is higher than that in the culm oils. In a cytotoxicity test, four essential oils of culms and leaves of C. citratus from Thanh Son and Phu Ninh showed potent activity against A549 (human lung carcinoma) cell line with the IC50 values ranging from 4.01±0.39 to 6.3±0.54 µg/ml. The essential oils (culms and leaves) from Phu Ninh exhibited moderate effects on the Hela (human cervical adenocarcinoma) cells with the IC50 values of 19.43±1.16 and 42±2.41 µg/ml, respectively. However, they were inactive against the human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cell line. The essential oils from Thanh Son exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against Hela and Hep3B cell lines with the IC50 values ranging from 1.18±0.26 to 8.91±0.32 µg/ml. The results indicated that the essential oils of C. citratus from Thanh Son, Phu Tho could be considered as a promising candidate for the natural sources of anticancer agents

Study on total lipid content, lipid class composition of some fire and soft corals collected in Nha Trang, Vietnam

For the first time, the total lipid content and lipid class composition of  the Vietnamese soft corals (Sinularia brassica, Sinularia flexibilis) and fire corals (Millepora dichotoma, Millepora platyphylla) were investigated. The results indicated that the total lipid content of the investigated species was significantly different. Compositions of the lipid classes were analyzed using TLC and image analysis program Sorbfil TLC Videodensitometer DV and the results showed that phospholipids (PL, 10.91–16.02%), monoalkyldiacylglycerols (MADAG, 20.69-39.92%) and hydrocarbon wax (HW, 29.83-37.17%) were the main lipid classes of the total lipid in soft coral species. Meanwhile, PL (24.11-33.23%), TG (14.27–34.92%), ST (10.10–14.50%) and HW (12.08–19.95%) were predominant in fire coral species. ST, TG and FFA contents in soft and fire corals were at low level. DG was only present in the Sinularia flexibilis but not in other studied corals

A Multi-Center Randomized Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Gatifloxacin versus Ciprofloxacin for the Treatment of Shigellosis in Vietnamese Children

The bacterial genus Shigella is the most common cause of dysentery (diarrhea containing blood and/or mucus) and the disease is common in developing countries with limitations in sanitation. Children are most at risk of infection and frequently require hospitalization and antimicrobial therapy. The WHO currently recommends the fluoroquinolone, ciprofloxacin, for the treatment of childhood Shigella infections. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of organisms that exhibit resistance to nalidixic acid (an antimicrobial related to ciprofloxacin), corresponding with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. We hypothesized that infections with Shigella strains that demonstrate resistance to nalidixic acid may prevent effective treatment with ciprofloxacin. We performed a randomized controlled trial to compare 3 day ciprofloxacin therapy with 3 days of gatifloxacin, a newer generation fluoroquinolone with greater activity than ciprofloxacin. We measured treatment failure and time to the cessation of individual disease symptoms in 249 children with dysentery treated with gatifloxacin and 245 treated with ciprofloxacin. We could identify no significant differences in treatment failure between the two groups or in time to the cessation of individual symptoms. We conclude that, in Vietnam, ciprofloxacin and gatifloxacin are similarly effective for the treatment of acute dysentery

Successful Psoriasis Treatment Using NB-UVB with Methotrexate: The Vietnamese Experience

AIM: To compare the effectiveness of narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) and oral methotrexate (MTX) to oral MTX alone in Vietnamese psoriasis patients, from May 2016 to May 2018. METHODS: We conducted a non-randomized trial on 70 patients with plaque-type psoriasis of moderate to severe. Thirty-five patients apply NBUVB once/day in 5 days/week for 4 weeks plus oral MTX 7.5 mg/week and 35 patients oral MTX 7.5 mg/week and both two groups treatment for 3 months. The extent of the lesion was assessed by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). RESULTS: The proportion of decreasing PASI was comparable (68.49% in NBUVB and MTX versus 57.62% in MTX alone); p < 0.05. Inside, good 28.58%, moderate 68.57% and poor 2.85% in NBUVB and MTX better than good 2.85%, moderate 71.4% and poor 25.72% in MTX alone; p < 0.05. The recurrence rate after 24 months of the NBUVB and MTX group (42.9%) was lower than the MTX alone group (71.4%); p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: NBUVB and oral MTX have affected treatment with chronic plaque psoriasis better than oral MTX alone

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead