An Interlanguage Pragmatic View: The Influence of Vietnamese Native Language and Culture on Their L2 Production and Comprehension

This research paper explores language performance of Vietnamese English learners from an interlanguage (IL) pragmatic perspective. Pragmatic competence has been set alongside with linguistic competence to the contribution of successful intercultural communication. It is clear that pragmatic knowledge of the L1 has influenced the production of learners’ IL and L2. This thesis uses comparative approach in analyzing language production of native speakers of English and native speakers of Vietnamese, and comparing it with the IL produced by Vietnamese learners to examine the differences in pragmatic performance among the three groups. These data are also analyzed quantitatively from cultural viewpoints of the mother tongue and the target language. The paper then explains some internal and external factors resulting in negative pragmatic transfer. Finally, it provides some pedagogical recommendations for teachers to help Vietnamese learners improve their competence in L2 sociopragmatics and pragmalinguistics. The methods presented here stress on the important role of language educators and instructors in terms of building cross-cultural awareness as well as pragmatic competence in the target language in addition to teaching grammatical structures

The Impacts of Land-Use Input Conditions on Flow and Sediment Discharge in the Dakbla Watershed, Central Highlands of Vietnam

The main objective of this study was to evaluate various land-use input conditions in terms of the performance improvement found in consequent flow and sediment simulations. The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) was applied to the Dakbla watershed from 2000 to 2018. After the calibration and validation processes, dissimilar effects between the input conditions on the flow and sediment simulations were confirmed. It was recognized that the impact of the land use on the sediment simulation was more sensitive than with the flow simulation. Additionally, through monthly evaluation, the effects against the flow and sediment in the rainy season were larger than those in the dry season, especially for sediment simulation in the last three months from October to December. Changing land-use conditions could improve flow and sediment simulation performance better than the performance found with static land-use conditions. Updated land-use inputs should be considered in simulations if the given land-use condition changes in a relatively short period because of frequent land-use policy changes by a local government

Using black soldier fly larvae as feed for Thai frog (<em>Rana rugosa</em> Temminck and Schlegel, 1838) – Preliminary study of the effect on production parameters

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of either fresh or dried black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) in diets on the production parameters and chemical composition of Thai frogs (Rana rugosa) cultured in net cages. Frog fingerlings have an initial weight of 20.4 g and were distributed randomly into fifteen net cages (2 x 3 x 1.5 m) at a density of 240 frog.net cage-1. Including five dietary treatments named: T1 (100% commercial feed used as a control), T2 (100% dried BSFL), T3 (50% dried BSFL + 50% commercial feed), T4 (50% fresh BSFL + 50% commercial feed), and T5 (100% fresh BSFL) with three replicates for each treatment. The results showed that the survival rate of frogs ranged from 64.3% to 87.0%, improved feed conversion ratio (1.43 to 1.90%), increased live weight (194.7 – 244.6 g), daily weight gain (2.9 – 3.7 g.day-1), and frog’s yield (6.30 – 7.96 kg.m-2). The contents of crude protein (18.21 – 23.19%), ether extract (0.28 – 0.53%), and total ash (0.99 – 1.05%) of frog meat in this study were affected by the inclusion of either fresh or dried BSFL in the diets of frogs. In recommendation, the diet comprised from 50% fresh BSFL + 50% commercial feed could be applied successfully in Thai frog cage production

Effects of local land-use policies and anthropogenic activities on water quality in the upstream Sesan River Basin, Vietnam

Study region: This study focuses on the upstream Sesan River Basin in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Study focus: Local land-use policies and human activities can significantly affect hydrology and increase the magnitude of erosion and nutrients in downstream areas. The effects in terrestrial regions on water quality of the target area were evaluated during the 2000-2018 period using the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) with updated land-use conditions following the local policy decisions and agricultural practices in different periods. New hydrological insights for the regions: This study indicates that the implementation of the local land-use policies, along with extensive anthropogenic activities, has had significant effects on the downstream aquatic environment as compared with the period before the implementation of the land-use policies. Higher annual sediment, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) load-ings were found upstream from the Poko Watershed, where range land predominated, and in southern and southwestern Dakbla Watershed, where arable land and permanent cropland pre-dominated. Arable land had the highest proportion of sediment and nutrient loadings into the reach, especially in the 2005-2009 period (conducting afforestation, agricultural expansion, and urbanization) and in the 2010-2014 period (applying crop conversion policy involving a shift from mixed forests to rubber forests). Understanding the watershed characteristics along with the combination of spatial land use, local land-use policies, and agricultural practices will support the implementation of regional land use and water resources management strategies more comprehensively

A mini-review on the impacts of climate change on wastewater reclamation and reuse

© 2014 Elsevier B.V. To tackle current water insecurity concerns, wastewater reclamation and reuse have appeared as a promising candidate to conserve the valuable fresh water sources while increasing the efficiency of material utilization. Climate change, nevertheless, poses both opportunities and threats to the wastewater reclamation industry. Whereas it elevates the social perception on water-related issues and fosters an emerging water-reuse market, climate change simultaneously presents adverse impacts on the water reclamation scheme, either directly or indirectly. These effects were studied fragmentally in separate realms. Hence, this paper aims to link these studies for providing a thorough understanding about the consequences of the climate change on the wastewater reclamation and reuse. It initially summarizes contemporary treatment processes and their reuse purposes before carrying out a systematic analysis of available findings

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the stressful relationship between parents and children

The stressful relationship between children and parents is the pain both go through when they find themselves unable to cope as a parent or a child. In order to find out the status, causes, and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest some solutions to reduce stress between parents and children, we surveyed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stressful relationships between parents and children at high school age in Da Nang city. The findings of a survey conducted on 550 randomly selected parents and 550 high school students using the Perceived Stress Scale reveal a high rate of tension between parents and their children, particularly up to 51.1% and 38.5%, respectively. In reality, many factors are affecting the stressful relationship between parents and their children at this age, in which psychological fear about health; social distancing policy; closed schools; students staying at home 24 hours a day and learning online; the disruption in children's daily routine; excessive use of electronic devices are major causes of stress in the relationship between parents and their children. From this practice, our research team has proposed such solutions as participating in creative activities and consulting the handbook instructing parents' behaviour rules toward children and vice versa, designing extra-curricular activities, and organizing training courses on life values for both parents and children to increase happiness and reduce stress in the parent-child relationship

STUDENTS’ OPINIONS ON VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE: A CASE STUDY

The problem of employment is always a crucial problem and is the concern of most parents and school students. The survey on the perception of 40 students about vocational guidance was carried out in Nguyen Viet Dung High School in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Results show that students are very concerned about their future career; students have a proper perception of vocational guidance and recognize well factors which affect their career choice.  Article visualizations

Tristetraprolin down-regulates IL-23 expression in colon cancer cells.

mRNA 3&apos;UTR demonstrated that the ARE cluster between the third and fifth AREs was responsible for TTP-mediated destabilization of IL-23 mRNA. A RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay confirmed that TTP binds to this ARE cluster. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TTP acts as a negative regulator of IL-23 gene expression in mouse colon cancer cells and suggest its potential application as a novel therapeutic target to control IL-23-mediated tumor promotion

Lovastatin for the Treatment of Adult Patients With Dengue: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Dengue endangers billions of people in the tropical world, yet no therapeutic is currently available. In part, the severe manifestations of dengue reflect inflammatory processes affecting the vascular endothelium. In addition to lipid lowering, statins have pleiotropic effects that improve endothelial function, and epidemiological studies suggest that outcomes from a range of acute inflammatory syndromes are improved in patients already on statin therapy. METHODS: Following satisfactory review of a short pilot phase (40 mg lovastatin vs placebo in 30 cases), we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 5 days of 80 mg lovastatin vs placebo in 300 Vietnamese adults with a positive dengue NS1 rapid test presenting within 72 hours of fever onset. The primary outcome was safety. Secondary outcomes included comparisons of disease progression rates, fever clearance times, and measures of plasma viremia and quality of life between the treatment arms. RESULTS: Adverse events occurred with similar frequency in both groups (97/151 [64%] placebo vs 82/149 [55%] lovastatin; P = .13), and were in keeping with the characteristic clinical and laboratory features of acute dengue. We also observed no difference in serious adverse events or any of the secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: We found lovastatin to be safe and well tolerated in adults with dengue. However, although the study was not powered to address efficacy, we found no evidence of a beneficial effect on any of the clinical manifestations or on dengue viremia. Continuing established statin therapy in patients who develop dengue is safe.Chinese Clinical Trials Registration. ISRCTN03147572