Colletotrichum species associated with leaf and flower anthracnose of jasmine (Jasminum sambac) in the Ho Chi Minh region of Vietnam are reported. The disease of jasmine plantations was considered serious as it likely reduced flower yield. Leaves were colonized by Colletotrichum species which formed chlorotic regions with light brown necrotic centres, which eventually covered the whole leaf and subsequently caused defoliation and dieback and whole flowers were blighted. Nine strains of Colletotrichum species were isolated from diseased leaves and flowers and partial ITS rDNA sequences were analysed and morphologies compared across similar species. Based on ITS sequence analysis and morphological characters, three strains were identified as C. truncatum, while one strain was identified as C. siamense. The remaining five strains did not cluster with any known species for which type sequences are available and therefore partial actin (ACT), β-tubulin (TUB2), calmodulin (CAL), glutamine synthetase (GS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) genes of the isolates were sequenced. Based on the reconstructed multiloci molecular phylogeny, two taxa are formally introduced as new species. Another strain was not well resolved in the phylogenetic tree and herein described as Colletotrichum sp. Further studies are needed to prove its distinctiveness. The morphology and growth rate of all taxa are described and compared with similar species.

This study was performed to evaluate the measurement properties of Youth Quality of Life–Short Form (YQOL-SF) in assessing the quality of life (QOL) among general youths in Vietnam. An online cross-sectional study was conducted to validate the YQOL-SF. Factor analysis (including exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to determine the factorial structure of this tool. The psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the new factorial model were assessed. The factor analysis revealed the two-factor model of YQOL-SF including factor 1 “Belief in self and family”, and factor 2 “Environment and relationships”. Cronbach’s alpha value showed excellent internal consistency in both factors (0.911 and 0.910, respectively). Results also indicated good convergent, divergent, concurrent, and know-group validity of the two-factor model. Our study provided a promising model with different domains that were proved to be essential for the assessment of quality of life among Vietnamese youth aged 16–24. Our two-factor model affirmed that a balance between detail and length of the assessment is important to consider when selecting YQOL-SF for youths’ QOL assessment. It helped reduce the risk of redundancy and encourages high survey completion rates among participants.

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Professionalism has become one of the core competencies in medical education which will shape physicians’s behavior in the future to provide high-quality and patient-centered care services. Objectives: To assess the perceptions and attitudes of medical students regarding professionalism in health care. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out with 717 second-year and fifth-year medical students of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University. Results: Students’ perception on professionalism was not high, at 3.85 out of 5 points. In which, “respect” was the domain having highest score and “communication skills” was the lowest recognition domain (4.15 and 3.54 out of 5, respectively). Preclinical students had higher perception than students having clinical experiences in all aspects of professionalism (p<0.05). Conclusion: Priority should be given to train professionalism and communication skills through the early clinical exposure program and hidden curriculum across all years of medical education program. Furthermore, the core aspects of professionalism are needed to be consistently identified and evaluated in the training program among medical universities in Vietnam