Associate Professor Tran Thien Trung

Over three hundred medical professionals and scientists from various universities, research institutes and hospitals in HCMC and other provinces across the country gathered in HCMC to attend the annual medical research conference held by the Nursing and Medical Technology faculty of the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy on Friday, December 3, 2010.

The 27th Science and Technology Conference, held at the university’s Nursing and Medical Technology faculty at 201 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, HCMC’s District 5, was hosted by the dean of the faculty, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thien Trung.

The 19 papers presented at the event mainly focus on the application of new technology in medical diagnoses, such as the use of molecular biology in diagnosing gastric cancer; the use of applied medical techniques in diagnosis and treatments such as medical laboratory examinations, imaging and ultrasound technologies; and the role of nursing in patient care and teaching.

The 27th Science & Technology Conference

“Every year we hold the scientific conference where our colleagues across the country, our university lecturers present their findings and research to serve our training and treatment. Each project might take them two- three years, five years or even longer. Their research embraces the study of basic sciences like the study of genes and fibrous matters, imaging technology, examinations to be applied in treatment,” says Ass. Prof. Dr. Trung.

“Education-training and scientific research are inseparable functions of a university. The combination of a university and a practice hospital is essential in fulfilling these functions. The hospital of the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy not only serves as a venue for doctors, nursing lecturers to practise and provide treatment, but also supports the education and research objectives of the university.”

Student performance at the conference

One of the highlights of the event was the discussion about the relation of Helicobacter pylori’s genotypes to gastric cancer. According to Ass. Prof. Dr. Trung, the bacterium H. pylori has been defined as a major agent causing gastric cancer by the WHO. At present, cancer, including gastric cancer, has exceeded cardiovascular disease to cause the most deaths in the world. In Vietnam, one of the countries with a high ratio of H. pylori infected cases, the study on H. pylori’s genotypes in relation to gastric cancer is urgent and crucial. Together with other research trends, it helps the early screening, diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer.

Dr. Vu Quang Huy, deputy head of the Testing subject of the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy says: “The conference is exciting with the presentations and discussions of various research topics, from new technologies applied in medical treatment, health care, to human resource training in nursing and medical techniques. The event provides an excellent networking opportunity and enhances the harmony, interaction and cooperation between scientists, lecturers as well as between organisations in the medical sector”.

The HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy’s nursing faculty conducts the bachelor’s program in nursing and releases over 2,000 graduates each year.

International Mix Joint-Venture Co. (Vikybomi) is the main sponsor of the event.

About 140 Citibank employees, families and friends volunteered to spend one day of their weekend to refurbish a library and offer basic banking knowledge to students at a secondary school in HCMC for their annual community day on Saturday, October 23.

Citibank volunteers donated over 800 new and used books, five used computers and 10 new bookshelves to Long Truong Secondary School in Ong Nhieu Village, Long Truong Ward, District 9. Apart from painting and renovating the school library, volunteers conducted 10 group sessions with students to share their career development stories and introduce the basics of banking business.

The event, jointly organised with the NGO, Save the Children, marks the fifth annual “Global Community Day” of Citigroup Inc. On the day, more than 45,000 Citi volunteers around the globe came together as a team to support the community in various projects: literacy, housing, environmental protection, nutrition and healthcare.

“Global Community Day is an annual initiative that celebrates what we do to make a difference in our communities every day,” said Brett Krause, Citibank Vietnam Managing Director and Citi Country Officer.

Located about 20km from the city centre, Long Truong School is in a fast urbanising suburb with many social challenges and has a high dropout rate among students. Citibank staff focused on encouraging students to commit to continuous education, according to Krause.

Bank volunteers told inspiring stories about their own study experience, how they overcame hardship in the past and ended up working in the banking sector.

Also on this day, a hundred Citibank Hanoi staff and friends joined in renovating the library of Ha Cau orphanage in Ha Dong, which they have volunteered all year round to support.

Karl G. is talking about his life in Cafe Mecca

Visiting Nha Trang in early September, I was surprised to see how much the small town has changed over recent years. The former quiet, charming town has become a vibrant and exciting tourism city with numerous hotels and cafes mushrooming in many city areas. Foreign tourists are seen either having a leisure stroll along the beach or chatting jubilantly in coffee shops. According to local folks, the city does not only greatly attract foreign tourists; some have even fallen in love with the place and decided to stay long-term here.

I was able to meet with one of the foreigners who are living in Nha Trang to find out what has drawn him to this seaside city. Karl G. is a resigned electrical engineer from Switzerland who has been living in Nha Trang for six years. He used to work with some overseas Vietnamese in an electrical business in Switzerland. On the advice of his Vietnamese colleagues, Karl visited Vietnam in 2004 and immediately after that, he chose Nha Trang as a second home to spend the rest of his life.

The 76-year-old Karl said, “I love Nha Trang for its relaxed lifestyle, people’s warmness and mild weather”. Despite the language barrier, Karl has settled down quite comfortably in the city. He lives on his own in a rented house and goes around town either on foot or by a bicycle. Every year, he returns to Switzerland and stays there for two months, mainly to receive his pension and settle payment for various utility bills of his apartment.

Karl G. is riding his bicycle on Tran Phu Boulevard

Karl has pretty much adapted to the small town and leads a simple, quiet and carefree life. Like any senior citizen in Nha Trang, he gets up early to exercise on the beach every morning, takes a mid-day nap of about one hour every day, and has vegetarian meals at Long Son pagoda twice a month. He loves local food like pho (beef noodle soup), nem nuong (grilled meat balls) and cha ram (spring rolls).

As a nice, pleasant expatriate, Karl is popular with local folks. When I met with him, he seemed to be happy and content with the life in Nha Trang. Answering my questions about the inconveniences that he has experienced in the daily life here, he said they were “beach hygiene, chaotic traffic, and dogs’ feces”.

According to Karl, the city’s sandy beach looks fine after each cleanup by sanitation workers. However, some people, including tourists, who camp on the beach might litter and leave the mess behind after they finish their weekend holiday. Besides, people’s leisure activities on the beach are often disrupted by motorbikes riding on the paved paths across the beach park with

The enchanting sandy beach of Nha Trang

no policeman in sight to stop them.

Many vehicles are found running on the left in Nha Trang streets, so local police should have stricter control over the traffic. As for the problem with dogs, Karl sprays pepper powder on the pavement to prevent stray dogs from spreading their droppings in front of his house.

Though the current regulation does not allow Karl to have a multiple Vietnam visa, he does not mind renewing his tourist visa every three months. It is his hope that the visa regulation would change in the future so that he could stay permanently in Nha Trang.

]]> http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/old-man-from-switzerland-chose-nha-trang-as-second-home/feed/ 0 ngongocdiem P1 P2 P3 http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/banh-can-nha-trang%e2%80%99s-breakfast-delight/ http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/banh-can-nha-trang%e2%80%99s-breakfast-delight/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:33:01 +0000 ngongocdiem http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/?p=537 ]]>

A serving of Banh Can with fish sauce and shredded mango

I spent my holiday this month in my home town, Nha Trang, the charming coastal city in the central part of Vietnam that has recently played host to some beauty contests. Apart from lazing on the beach and chatting with local folks, I enjoy eating local specialties, particularly Banh Can, a simple, yet delicious healthy dish for breakfast.

Banh Can are small round cakes made of rice flour batter, baked on charcoal and served with fried green onion, fish sauce and thinly-shredded green mango. On request, chicken or quail eggs can be added to the batter for another variation on the cake. The eggs change the colour from white to yellow.

A cheap rural food, Banh Can is served at simple places in town. Among them, the shop at 148 Hoang Hoa Tham street is a small, cosy place for Banh Can lovers. At the door step of the house, a middle-aged woman huddles in front of an earthenware stove. She is surrounded by customers waiting to eat at low tables and chairs.

The round oven is topped with a round cast iron tray about 60cm in diameter that has more than a dozen round moulds to pour the batter into. According to the shop owner, rice should be ground and mixed with water into a runny white batter. Then she pours it into the moulds and covers them with little pottery lids.

Earthenware oven

A serving of Banh Can has four small cakes served with spring onions and Nha Trang’s specialty fish sauce mixed with mouthwatering lemon juice, garlic, sugar and red pepper.

It takes a while for the cakes to be cooked, but all the customers wait patiently.

Tom Nunn, a tourist from the U.K. eating at the shop, says, “I love the cakes and the fish sauce. They’re delicious. The cakes texture is similar to English crumpets but the sweetness and spiciness of the sauce gives them the edge! I find it boring to eat food in restaurants all the time, so I venture out to explore new dishes at local food shops.”

The shop opens from 5:30 a.m.-9 a.m. every day. Each serving costs a mere VND3,000.

Tom Nunn is sampling Banh Can at 148 Hoang Hoa Tham Street

]]> http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/banh-can-nha-trang%e2%80%99s-breakfast-delight/feed/ 0 ngongocdiem Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/my-internship-at-the-abc/ http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/my-internship-at-the-abc/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:21:57 +0000 ngongocdiem http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/?p=533 ]]>
]]> http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/my-internship-at-the-abc/feed/ 0 ngongocdiem http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/mui-ne-sleeping-beauty-awakened/ http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/mui-ne-sleeping-beauty-awakened/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:04:10 +0000 ngongocdiem http://ngongocdiem.wordpress.com/?p=524 ]]> Twenty years ago, Mui Ne in Binh Thuan Province was like a sleeping beauty that nobody knew about.  It wasn’t until October 1995 when throngs of curious people came to Mui Ne to watch the solar eclipse that the tourism potential of this magnificent area was discovered and developed.  Today, Mui Ne is called “capital of resorts” with over 200 three to four-star resorts.  It has become a favourite weekend retreat for foreign and local tourists.

A view of Bamboo Village Resort

The booming tourism area Mui Ne is a 10km stretch of road with resorts lining the seafront while shops and restaurants fill the other side.  Bamboo Village is a four-star resort landscaped with coconut trees and waterlily ponds.  According to Mr. Tran Trong Tuan, resort manager, Bamboo Village is very popular with tourists for its natural, rural environment and friendly service.  He says all the resort’s 140 rooms were almost fully booked on weekends.

The bungalows and buildings in the resort have thatched roof and earthen or bamboo walls and there’s a golf course nearby.

Tourists are indulged in the natural setting at Ta Cu mountain. The reclining Buddha statue is on the background. Photo: Courtesy of Phuong Trang

Ta Cu mountain is worth a visit. Cable cars can go up the mountain where a huge statue of Buddha reclines.  There are temples and Buddha statues on the way for locals to make offerings, from burning incense to offering fresh fruit.

The majority of foreign tourists to Mui Ne come from Russia so a lot of shops have signs written in Russian.  Seafood dominates the local menu.  In addition to the Russian restaurant “Snow”, restaurants with Indian, Italian and South Korean food also have a presence there to cater for the holiday tastes of tourists.  Local people like the Vietnamese food at “Cay Bang” or “Ngoc Suong” while foreigners prefer to dine at Hoa Vien or Forest, an Italian restaurant.

Hoa Vien restaurant is in an open area with ocean views at one side. It is surrounded by an elongated green pond at the other side.  This breezy, romantic restaurant is another one in a restaurant chain which has a brewery in HCMC producing fresh Czechoslovakian beer.

Mui Ne sand dunes early in the morning

The marvellous flying sand dunes about 15km from the main tourist street are an endless source of inspiration for photographers.  The best time to go there is at 5a.m. when there are few footprints and the full beauty of the golden dunes gradually reveals during sunrise.  The wavy dunes – the photographer’s dream – are also great for climbing and kite surfing. The favourite game there is to slide down the dunes on a “sledge” made of plastic that local boys rent out for VND10,000 each.

Fish sauce and dried squids are highly regarded products of Mui Ne fishing village that Saigonese love to bring home as gifts.  With mild weather of 27-32 Celcius degree all year round and little rain, Mui Ne is a perfect spot for tourists.  Its natural beauty and many resorts promise a highly satisfying vacation for pleasure seekers.

Julie-Anne Osberger has been ridiculed by people in public places when she had her arms and face covered to protect her skin against the sun.

Two years ago, the middle-aged woman from Ipswich suffered a skin allergy after she wore shorts and a short-sleeve top to go out in the sun.

“I felt as if my skin were on fire for three weeks; it was itching so much that it led to scratching and weeping,” she said.

“My doctor asked me to try to avoid the sun by all means and that is the only way for me to get rid of problems with my skin.

“The skin specialist told me that my skin has been photosynthesized by the sun rays”.

The doctor says that other patients have the same skin issue, but even worse than hers.

Some were requested by doctors to stay in the dark for two months until they fully recovered.

Ms Osberger said “The people here are fearless of the sun and don’t care about their appearance, so they take no effort to protect themselves when they go out”.

“Even those who have recovered from skin cancer continue their old habit of not avoiding the sun when they go out.

She says that they probably want to show the attitude “Aussies are tough”.

“I don’t care that I am ‘socially unacceptable’.

“As long as my skin remains healthy and youthful, I am happy.”

The festival, themed ‘When ink on a page becomes true passion’, gave aspiring writers the opportunity to meet local and international writers during a range of workshops and discussion sessions.

The 143 sessions included panels about new fiction, cooking, crime, lyrics, history, politics and the environment.

A key feature of the festival was the Masterclass and Workshop programs which provided skills for young writers.

Many guest speaker sessions sold out quickly, but many parts of the festival were free to attend.

Published authors such as journalist Matt Peacock and University of Sydney Professor of Surgery Mohamed Khadra discussed to what extent aspiring writers should share people’s personal lives as part of the ‘Other People’s Lives’ session.

And Welcome to the Urban Revolution author Jeb Brugmann discussed environmentally friendly methods for urban development with a capacity audience during the ‘Taking Up the Arms: The Corporate Led Green War’ environmental session.

Comedians Gretel Killeen and Julia Morris spoke about the dramatic aspects of being middle-aged and shared intimate experiences with audiences during the session, ‘The Mothers Ditch the Manolos’.

Screenwriter Jeff Lindsay and Queensland psychology and criminology experts analysed the ‘ethical’ serial killer character of television’s Dexter as part of ‘Café Scientific: The Science of Psychopaths in Storytelling’.

Mr Lindsay told audiences there were psychopathic impulses in everyone but they would only become a menace to society once they committed a crime.

The Brisbane Writers’ Festival is an annual event and will be held September 1-5 next year.

Police search (Image taken from The Queensland Times)

Ms Dulcie has been missing since October 20.

The mother of three left her home in a green Mitsubishi four-wheel-drive vehicle, which was later recovered by the police near Ipswich.

The police then searched for her in the bushland near her Riverview home.

Superintendent Michael Niland says police fear Ms Birt has met with foul play.

“Our investigations have led us to believe that Ms Birt may have been murdered and her body disposed off,” he said.

“We have located vital evidence in her vehicle and will be conducting further searches.

“The investigation is well advanced into the matter and we now have a firm line of inquiry.

“We have questioned a number of persons in relation to the investigation.”

Police say they are concerned the spikes could cause serious injuries.

Ipswich City Councillor Paul Tully says the spikes can penetrate the tyres of vehicles.

“Worse still, they can penetrate the shoes and feet of young children and adults,” he said.

“These people should be fully responsible for the consequences before the law.”

Police have urged anyone with any information to contact CrimeStoppers on 1 800 333 000.