Minari: The Concealed Asian Aspiration Wrapped in the American Dream

After the success of the Korean film Parasite, Minari – a quasi-autobiographical drama of the Korean-American film director Lee Isaac Chung – has again turned the global public’s attention to Korean culture at large. In this review, we shed light on two themes that we capture from the movie: tensions and compromises in chasing the American dream of immigrants. Although stories about pursuing the American dream are abundant, we know less about how that dream causes tensions at the individual and family levels and how the tensions are resolved. Minari is an excellent example to probe the unfolding issues relating to the challenges of Americanization

Evaluating the shoreline and bottom terrain variations in the naval port of zone 5, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang by using multi - temporal remote sensing images

In this study, the authors aim to study two major contents: (1) Evaluating the shoreline variation in the naval port of zone 5 (in the years of 1999, 2006, 2009 and 2016); (2) Evaluating the bottom terrain variation in the naval port of zone 5 (in the years of 2007 and 2010). Three main research methodologies were applied: (i) Band rationing method for the shoreline extraction; (ii) Shoreline change analysis method using GPS data; (iii) Digital elevation model integrated with bottom terrain analysis method. The most obvious change in shoreline is in the An Thoi port from Mui Den to Mui Ong Doi. In the shoreline from Mui Den to Mui Con Duong, a backward shoreline evolution (erosion) mainly occurred with an average width of about 40–50 m, while some other places had a forward shoreline evolution (accumulation), especially in Mui Con Duong with a width of 60 m. These sediment materials are sent to conductor and accumulation, making the bottom terrain raised. As on the sections AA’, BB’, CC’, DD’, we could see that the bottom terrain at the channel of naval port of zone 5 has the depth variation only from 2 m to 4 m. The accumulation rate is up to 1 m/year in this period

Scientific Productivity on Research in Ethical Issues over the Past Half Century: A JoinPoint Regression Analysis

BACKGROUND: Ethics is one of the main pillars in the development of science. We performed a JoinPoint regression analysis to analyze the trends of ethical issue research over the past half century. The question is whether ethical issues are neglected despite their importance in modern research. METHOD: PubMed electronic library was used to retrieve publications of all fields and ethical issues. JoinPoint regression analysis was used to identify the significant time trends of publications of all fields and ethical issues, as well as the proportion of publications on ethical issues to all fields over the past half century. Annual percent changes (APC) were computed with their 95% confidence intervals, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We found that publications of ethical issues increased during the period of 1965-1996 but slightly fell in recent years (from 1996 to 2013). When comparing the absolute number of ethics related articles (APEI) to all publications of all fields (APAF) on PubMed, the results showed that the proportion of APEI to APAF statistically increased during the periods of 1965-1974, 1974-1986, and 1986-1993, with APCs of 11.0, 2.1, and 8.8, respectively. However, the trend has gradually dropped since 1993 and shown a marked decrease from 2002 to 2013 with an annual percent change of-7.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific productivity in ethical issues research on over the past half century rapidly increased during the first 30-year period but has recently been in decline. Since ethics is an important aspect of scientific research, we suggest that greater attention is needed in order to emphasize the role of ethics in modern research

In vitro bioactivities of Codonopsis javanica root extract from Kon Tum province, Vietnam

Dangshen Codonopsis javanica exhibits invaluable medicinal properties in herbal remedies; however, there has currently not been much specific analysis of the phytochemicals and bioactivities of this plant. The root ethanol extract of C. javanica contains substances such as saponins, phenolic acids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. It displays an antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus with the IC50 values of 150, 100, 150, and 90 μg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of the root extract was also observed with an IC50 value of 46.8 ± 6.8 μg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibits activity on human cancer cell lines HepG2 (IC50 = 83.6 ± 2.7 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (IC50 = 95.3 ± 2.3 μg/mL). Hence, this study provides the basic data for further research on the bioactivities of natural compounds of Dangshen C. javanica for the first time

Application of satellite images and VNREDSAT-1 images in study on marine environment in Truong Sa region

The remote sensing images, including images of MODIS, VNREDSAT-1 and altimeter, are applied for researching marine environment with the different resolutions. On the basis of different time remote sensing images, we concentrated on the assessment of several characteristics including the SST, chlorophyll-a concentration and sea surface current at the different depths in different monsoons as well. With the large areas, we used the images of MODIS and altimeter. The detailed research area focuses on the Nam Yet island, and the images of VNREDSAT-1 are used. The analysis method of environmental parameters of SST and chlorophyll-a used the regression functions based on the single and combined bands to enhance the accuracy of the analysis result. The marine parameters collected at different depths in the latest field surveys on Truong Sa archipelago in the years of 2015 and 2018 are presented in this paper. On the basis of these parameters, we can analyse the relationships and compare the real field survey data and corresponding results interpreted from remote sensing images

Research Trends in Evidence-Based Medicine: A Joinpoint Regression Analysis of More than 50 Years of Publication Data

Background Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has developed as the dominant paradigm of assessment of evidence that is used in clinical practice. Since its development, EBM has been applied to integrate the best available research into diagnosis and treatment with the purpose of improving patient care. In the EBM era, a hierarchy of evidence has been proposed, including various types of research methods, such as meta-analysis (MA), systematic review (SRV), randomized controlled trial (RCT), case report (CR), practice guideline (PGL), and so on. Although there are numerous studies examining the impact and importance of specific cases of EBM in clinical practice, there is a lack of research quantitatively measuring publication trends in the growth and development of EBM. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was constructed to determine the scientific productivity of EBM research over decades. Methods NCBI PubMed database was used to search, retrieve and classify publications according to research method and year of publication. Joinpoint regression analysis was undertaken to analyze trends in research productivity and the prevalence of individual research methods. Findings Analysis indicates that MA and SRV, which are classified as the highest ranking of evidence in the EBM, accounted for a relatively small but auspicious number of publications. For most research methods, the annual percent change (APC) indicates a consistent increase in publication frequency. MA, SRV and RCT show the highest rate of publication growth in the past twenty years. Only controlled clinical trials (CCT) shows a non-significant reduction in publications over the past ten years. Conclusions Higher quality research methods, such as MA, SRV and RCT, are showing continuous publication growth, which suggests an acknowledgement of the value of these methods. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of research method publication trends in EBM

Minari: The Concealed Asian Aspiration Wrapped in the American Dream

After the success of the Korean film Parasite, Minari – a quasi-autobiographical drama of the Korean-American film director Lee Isaac Chung – has again turned the global public’s attention to Korean culture at large. In this review, we shed light on two themes that we capture from the movie: tensions and compromises in chasing the American dream of immigrants. Although stories about pursuing the American dream are abundant, we know less about how that dream causes tensions at the individual and family levels and how the tensions are resolved. Minari is an excellent example to probe the unfolding issues relating to the challenges of Americanization

Optimization of Milling Process by Taguchi-PSI Method

060A4 steel (Chinese standard) is a steel with good machinability, which is very popularly used in mechanical engineering. Therefore, the study of solutions for improvement of quality and productivity when machining this steel type has great technical and economic significance. In this study, the multi-objective optimization process has been performed when milling this steel type on a vertical milling machine. The cutting tool is a face milling cutter made of High Speed Steel (HSS) material. The effect of spindle speed, feed rate, and cutting depth on surface roughness has been found. The combination of the Taguchi method and PSI method has been applied to determine the optimal value of three input parameters to simultaneously ensure the two criteria of the minimum surface roughness and the maximum Material Removal Rate (MRR). The works which will be done by the authors of this article in the near future has also been presented in the last part of this study

Case Report: Postpartum hemorrhage associated with Dengue with warning signs in a term pregnancy and delivery [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 not approved]

Background: Dengue infection during peripartum period, although rare in endemic regions, has challenged clinicians regarding its management, especially if a parturient woman experiences postpartum hemorrhage due to a classical risk factor of maternal bleeding. Case: A full-term pregnant Vietnamese woman was diagnosed with polyhydramnios and Dengue with warning signs (DWS). She was administered platelet transfusion prior to delivery and then gave birth to a healthy newborn. After active management of the third stage of labor, the patient suffered a postpartum hemorrhage which was caused by uterine atony and accompanied with thrombocytopenia. Therefore, we decided to administer uterotonic drugs and additionally transfuse platelets. Conclusion: We describe a case of postpartum hemorrhage caused by uterine atony and coinciding with Dengue infection during delivery period, which is a rare clinical entity. With timely detection and management, the patient was finally discharged without complications

Case Report: Pre- and postnatal management of an allantoic cyst with patent urachus and single umbilical artery [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/5f9]

Patent urachus is a rare congenital abnormality. Since its first description by Cabriolus in 1550, few cases have been reported. A 26-year-old Vietnamese primigravida presented at 20 weeks of gestation for evaluation of a cystic mass in the umbilical cord, which was first discovered at week 13 of pregnancy by ultrasound scan. The cystic mass originated from the root of the umbilical cord, connected to the urinary bladder, and no intestinal contents were enclosed within. Doppler ultrasound assessment showed that the single umbilical artery existed within the normal range. The progression of the umbilical cyst continued to be screened, but the mass disappeared on ultrasound images at 27 weeks of gestation. This led to the consideration of the cyst’s rupture. After 38 gestational weeks, the pregnant woman delivered a 3350g male infant via cesarean section because of an obstructed vaginal labor. The following days, a stream of urine was recorded leaking out from the umbilical mass whenever he cried. Seven weeks after delivery, an open surgical approach was successfully performed. The baby is now 43 months of age, growing and developing normally. Since an allantoic cyst with patent urachus is a rare clinical entity, early discovery, close monitoring and accurate diagnosis through ultrasound in the prenatal period may consequently allow clinicians to have suitable attitudes towards management when the infant is born