THE IMPACTS OF IMPLEMENTING THE FLIPPED MODEL ON EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

The flipped classroom is gaining more attention than ever before due to the pandemic of the COVID-19, by which online learning becomes a must in many countries and territories all over the world. The flipped model is a combination of online and face-to-face learning in which students watch instructional videos and do certain comprehension tasks at home prior to in-class lessons. To our knowledge, few studies have been conducted to explore the impact of flipped classrooms for teaching English reading skills in the high school context. The current experimental study has been conducted in a high school in the Mekong Delta with 52 students at Grade 11 in a high school in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Students were assigned to watch videos of instructions for 6 reading lessons in the English Grade 11 Textbook for 10 weeks. Learners’ reading comprehension performance and attitudes are compared between the control group and the experimental group. The findings reveal some interesting implications for Vietnamese teachers teaching English at high school. Article visualizations

Public transportation in Hanoi: applying an integrative model of behavioral intention.

Hanoi is a populous capital with consistently growing transportation demands. This study applies an integrative model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), service satisfaction, and environmental concern, in order to examine behavioral intention to use public transportation systems. Using 873 completed questionnaires collected from residents in Hanoi who have used public transport before. The study demonstrates that attitude, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, and descriptive norms influence behavioral intention. The impact of subjective norms lessens when descriptive norms and personal norms are included in this integrative model. Environmental concern indirectly affected behavioral intention through attitude, perceived behavioral control, and personal norms, thus strengthening the TPB model. This shows the appropriateness of this TPB-based integrative model, while service satisfaction is not an important motivation for changing from private vehicles to public bus systems. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research

Rapid Generation of In Vitro Multicellular Spheroids for the Study of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

Tumor microenvironments present significant barriers to penetration by antibodies and immunoconjugates and are difficult to study in vitro. Cells cultured as monolayers typically exhibit less resistance to therapy than those grown in vivo. Therefore, it is important to develop an alternative research model that better represents in vivo tumors. We have developed a protocol to produce multicellular spheroids, a simple and more relevant model of in vivo tumors that allows for further investigations of the microenvironmental effects on drug penetration and tumor cell killing. The protocol is used to produce in vitro three-dimensional tumor spheroids from established human cancer cell lines and primary cancer cells isolated from patients without the use of any extracellular components. To study the ability of tumor-targeting immunoconjugates to penetrate these tumor spheroids in vitro, we have used an immunotoxin targeting mesothelin, a surface protein expressed in malignant mesotheliomas. This method for producing consistent, reproducible 3D spheroids may allow for improved testing of novel monoclonal antibodies and other agents for their ability to penetrate solid tumors for cancer therapy

The development and characterization of a human mesothelioma in vitro 3D model to investigate immunotoxin therapy.

BackgroundTumor microenvironments present significant barriers to penetration by antibodies and immunoconjugates. Tumor microenvironments, however, are difficult to study in vitro. Cells cultured as monolayers exhibit less resistance to therapy than those grown in vivo and an alternative research model more representative of the in vivo tumor is more desirable. SS1P is an immunotoxin composed of the Fv portion of a mesothelin-specific antibody fused to a bacterial toxin that is presently undergoing clinical trials in mesothelioma.Methodology/principal findingsHere, we examined how the tumor microenvironment affects the penetration and killing activity of SS1P in a new three-dimensional (3D) spheroid model cultured in vitro using the human mesothelioma cell line (NCI-H226) and two primary cell lines isolated from the ascites of malignant mesothelioma patients. Mesothelioma cells grown as monolayers or as spheroids expressed comparable levels of mesothelin; however, spheroids were at least 100 times less affected by SS1P. To understand this disparity in cytotoxicity, we made fluorescence-labeled SS1P molecules and used confocal microscopy to examine the time course of SS1P penetration within spheroids. The penetration was limited after 4 hours. Interestingly, we found a significant increase in the number of tight junctions in the core area of spheroids by electron microscopy. Expression of E-Cadherin, a protein involved in the assembly and sealing of tight junctions and highly expressed in malignant mesothelioma, was found significantly increased in spheroids as compared to monolayers. Moreover, we found that siRNA silencing and antibody inhibition targeting E-Cadherin could enhance SS1P immunotoxin therapy in vitro.Conclusion/significanceThis work is one of the first to investigate immunotoxins in 3D tumor spheroids in vitro. This initial description of an in vitro tumor model may offer a simple and more representative model of in vivo tumors and will allow for further investigations of the microenvironmental effects on drug penetration and tumor cell killing. We believe that the methods developed here may apply to the studies of other tumor-targeting antibodies and immunoconjugates in vitro

NUTRIENT RECOVERY AND POLLUTANT REMOVAL FROM PIGGERY WASTEWATER BY SPIRULINA CULTIVATION

Spirulina is noticed for great applications on food supplements, animal feeds, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, biofuel, fertilizer, etc. Spirulina cultures in wastewaters could enhance the feasibility of commodities due to its ability to reduce the cost of biomass production and remove pollutants in wastewaters. This study investigates the effects of wastewater pretreatment using various aeration periods (i.e. from 3 to 7 days), the supplement of bicarbonate and N:P ratios on the growth of Spirulina sp. HH to produce protein-rich biomass. The work showed that Spirulina sp. had the ability to effectively remove ammonium, with the highest efficiencies up to 99.9 %. However, the high concentration of ammonium in wastewater, from 125 mg N/L upward, caused a decline in the growth rate of Spirulina. The growth and remediation potential of Spirulina sp. were in the best condition with the N:P ratio of the medium in the range of 19:1-22:1. This study suggested a procedure to cultivate Spirulina sp. in piggery wastewater and remove pollutants efficiently

Tumour growth in mice resistant to diet-induced obesity

Obesity is a chronic disease with associated increases in the incidence, and a reduction in survival, of many cancer types. Obesity results from an imbalance in calorie intake and calorie requirement. This study aimed to investigate the separate effects of high-fat diet and obesity on cancer in an animal model resistant to diet-induced obesity. Male BALB/c mice fed long-term on a high-fat, Western-style diet were implanted with syngeneic CT26 colon adenocarcinoma cells and compared to mice fed normal diet. BALB/c mice on high-fat diet were 10% heavier than mice fed normal diet, with no difference in tumour growth rates or tumour cell proliferation. Subgroups of mice that became obese on high-fat diet, however, showed increased tumour growth rates compared to mice fed normal diet, whereas mice that remained slim showed no difference in tumour growth. Protein arrays identified several adipokines that were expressed at different levels, including serum Tissue Inhibitors of Metallo-Proteinases (TIMP-1) and tumour C-Reactive Protein (CRP). In conclusion, tumour growth was enhanced in mice unable to resist obesity, and adipokine profiles were affected by the animals’ ability to resist obesity

In vitro antioxidant and anticancer activities of Clinacanthus nutans extracts

Clinacanthus nutans (CN), from the Acanthaceae family is a medicinal plant widely used in Thailand and Malaysia. CN is commonly used as a treatment of inflammation, cancer, and herpes virus infection. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity and anticancer properties of CN leaves extracts on human colorectal cancer cell lines, HCT 116 and HT-29. In this study, CN leaves powders were extracted in methanol, chloroform, and acetone at different durations. The crude extracts were assessed for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) tetrazolium reduction assay. The extract using acetone showed with the highest TPC. The highest total flavonoid content was the methanol extract. The DPPH radical scavenging activity, IC50 of methanol extract was 19.67 µg/mL and exhibited the most efficacious antioxidant property among the others. The 24-hour methanol extract showed the most promising results on MTT assay. Therefore, CN methanol extract is a promising candidate to proceed in other anticancer studies such as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis assays

Prognosis of neonatal tetanus in the modern management era: an observational study in 107 Vietnamese infants.

OBJECTIVES: Most data regarding the prognosis in neonatal tetanus originate from regions where limited resources have historically impeded management. It is not known whether recent improvements in critical care facilities in many low- and middle-income countries have affected indicators of a poor prognosis in neonatal tetanus. We aimed to determine the factors associated with worse outcomes in a Vietnamese hospital with neonatal intensive care facilities. METHODS: Data were collected from 107 cases of neonatal tetanus. Clinical features on admission were analyzed against mortality and a combined endpoint of 'death or prolonged hospital stay'. RESULTS: Multivariable analysis showed that only younger age (odds ratio (OR) for mortality 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.48-0.98) and lower weight (OR for mortality 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.54) were significantly associated with both the combined endpoint and death. A shorter period of onset (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-0.99), raised white cell count (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.35), and time between first symptom and admission (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.14-12.51) were also indicators of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for a poor outcome in neonatal tetanus in a setting with critical care facilities include younger age, lower weight, delay in admission, and leukocytosis