Vietnamese EFL Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Attainments (Achievements) and Difficulties from a Teaching Practicum

This study explored how a teaching practicum prepared pre-service English teachers (PSETs) for their profession and what difficulties they encountered during their practicum. Forty-seven PSETs of the 2019 intake at a Vietnamese university provided information via a questionnaire, and eight participated in follow-up interviews. The PSETs’ perceived gains in teaching competencies were examined with reference to Vietnam’s English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF), issued in 2012 by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The results indicated that the teaching practicum significantly aided the PSETs’ attainments of most competency domains in the ETCF, particularly those that are associated with a greater appreciation of the values and responsibilities of being a teacher, enhanced knowledge of the curriculum and the English language, as well as the ability to reflect on and improve teaching practices. However, certain competency indicators across the competency domains, including practice with assessment, handling difficult pedagogical incidents, and organizing extracurricular activities to create a supportive and meaningful learning environment, were less clearly obtained than the others. Dealing with time constraints and workload, insufficient preparation for classroom practice, and safety precautions to deal with the post-COVID-19 pandemic were some of the major obstacles the PSETs encountered. The results have important implications for pre-service teacher education programs and the implementation of the ETCF for teacher development

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

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

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

Synchronous online English language teaching for young learners: insights from public primary school teachers in an EFL context

This study explored teachers’ perceived benefits, issues and their responses to the issues when conducting synchronous online English language teaching (SOELT) for young learners via the lens of the capital framework. A mixed-methods design using in-depth interviews and a Likert-scale survey was adopted to investigate the perceptions of 124 Vietnamese EFL teachers in different public primary schools in Vietnam. Quantitative analyses revealed teachers’ little access to economic capital as compared to social and cultural capital when conducing SOELT. Content-based analyses of interview data show that conducting SOELT for young learners increased teachers’ access to social and cultural capital in the form of 1) enhanced online pedagogical skills, 2) greater awareness of the potential of technologies for online teaching and professional development, and 3) increased collaboration among colleagues and students’ parents. However, the lack of economic capital created issues for implementing SOELT. Notably, teachers’ perceptions appeared to be contradictory because they reported good access to social and cultural capital, but they stated multiple issues related to the access to these two types of capital. The interviews also revealed teachers’ adoption of two strategies to resolve emergent SOELT issues: approach coping and avoidant coping strategies. Besides, the results show that teachers’ degrees of access to capital were not associated with their background characteristics. The results overall indicate benefits and issues of SOELT that are both common to online education and specific to the characteristics of young learners

Complete Chloroplast Genome of Paphiopedilum delenatii and Phylogenetic Relationships among Orchidaceae

Paphiopedilum delenatii is a native orchid of Vietnam with highly attractive floral traits. Unfortunately, it is now listed as a critically endangered species with a few hundred individuals remaining in nature. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing of P. delenatii and assembled its complete chloroplast genome. The whole chloroplast genome of P. delenatii was 160,955 bp in size, 35.6% of which was GC content, and exhibited typical quadripartite structure of plastid genomes with four distinct regions, including the large and small single-copy regions and a pair of inverted repeat regions. There were, in total, 130 genes annotated in the genome: 77 coding genes, 39 tRNA genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 6 pseudogenes. The loss of ndh genes and variation in inverted repeat (IR) boundaries as well as data of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and divergent hotspots provided useful information for identification applications and phylogenetic studies of Paphiopedilum species. Whole chloroplast genomes could be used as an effective super barcode for species identification or for developing other identification markers, which subsequently serves the conservation of Paphiopedilum species

Ứng dụng công nghệ thông tin và truyền thông trong bồi dưỡng giáo viên: Kinh nghiệm thực tế tại Khoa Sư phạm, Trường Đại học Cần Thơ

Bài báo này đề xuất một số công cụ và phương tiện dạy học nhằm đẩy mạnh việc ứng dụng công nghệ thông tin và truyền thông trong công tác bồi dưỡng thường xuyên cho giáo viên và cán bộ quản lý cơ sở giáo dục phổ thông để nâng cao hiệu quả trong đổi mới phương pháp đào tạo. Trong đó, WebQuest là một phương pháp dạy học hiện đại, được xây dựng trên cơ sở phương tiện dạy học mới là công nghệ thông tin và Internet thông qua các công cụ trực tuyến, miễn phí, đơn giản và dễ dùng như bộ G Suite cho giáo dục của Google, OKMindmap, Scratch, Moodle và Facebook. WebQuest dùng làm phương pháp dạy học pha trộn (blended learning) để phục vụ nhu cầu cải cách giáo dục từ kiểu truyền thụ một chiều, thầy đọc trò chép sang phương pháp dạy học lấy học sinh làm trung tâm, dạy học giải quyết vấn đề, dạy học dự án nhằm khơi gợi khả năng tư duy sáng tạo và tính tích cực chủ động của người học. Kết quả thực nghiệm tại Khoa Sư Phạm, Trường Đại học Cần Thơ cho thấy sự phản hổi tích cực từ người học. Điều này phần nào phản ánh hiệu quả của phương pháp dạy học WebQuest  này trong hoạt động bồi dưỡng giáo viên

Baseline Marine Litter Surveys along Vietnam Coasts Using Citizen Science Approach

Marine litter is a significant threat to the marine environment, human health, and the economy. In this study, beach litter surveys along Vietnamese coasts were conducted in a local context to quantify and characterize marine litter using the modified GESAMP marine litter monitoring guideline. A total of 21,754 items weighing 136,820.2 g was recorded across 14 surveys from September 2020 to January 2021. Plastic was the most abundant type of litter by both quantity (20,744 items) and weight (100,371.2 g). Fishing gear 1 (fishing plastic rope, net pieces, fishing lures and lines, hard plastic floats) and soft plastic fragments were the most frequently observed items (17.65% and 17.24%, respectively). This study not only demonstrates the abundance and composition of marine litter in Vietnam, it also provides valuable information for the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, such as the redesign of collection, reuse, and recycling programs, and informs policy and priorities, with a focus on action and investment in Vietnam. Moreover, insights from this study indicate that citizen science is a useful approach for collecting data on marine litter in Vietnam

The seroincidence of childhood Shigella sonnei infection in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Acknowledgements: We wish to acknowldege all the study staff, cohort members and their parents/guardians for making this study possible.BACKGROUND: Shigella sonnei is a pathogen of growing global importance as a cause of diarrhoeal illness in childhood, particularly in transitional low-middle income countries (LMICs). Here, we sought to determine the incidence of childhood exposure to S. sonnei infection in a contemporary transitional LMIC population, where it represents the dominant Shigella species. METHODS: Participants were enrolled between the age of 12-36 months between June and December 2014. Baseline characteristics were obtained through standardized electronic questionnaires, and serum samples were collected at 6-month intervals over two years of follow-up. IgG antibody against S. sonnei O-antigen (anti-O) was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A four-fold increase in ELISA units (EU) with convalescent IgG titre >10.3 EU was taken as evidence of seroconversion between timepoints. RESULTS: A total of 3,498 serum samples were collected from 748 participants; 3,170 from the 634 participants that completed follow-up. Measures of anti-O IgG varied significantly by calendar month (p = 0.03). Estimated S. sonnei seroincidence was 21,451 infections per 100,000 population per year (95% CI 19,307-23,834), with peak incidence occurring at 12-18 months of age. Three baseline factors were independently associated with the likelihood of seroconversion; ever having breastfed (aOR 2.54, CI 1.22-5.26), history of prior hospital admission (aOR 0.57, CI 0.34-0.95), and use of a toilet spray-wash in the household (aOR 0.42, CI 0.20-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Incidence of S. sonnei exposure in Ho Chi Minh City is substantial, with significant reduction in the likelihood of exposure as age increases beyond 2 years