Training

Four more trains for Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project in HCM City are expected to be imported into the city from Japan between May and July this year.

According to Huynh Hong Thanh, deputy head of the Management Authority for Urban Railways of HCM City, two would arrive in HCM City in May, while the remainder would be brought to the city in July.

The trains have been scheduled for the trial run by the end of this year on the elevated section from Binh Thai Junction to Long Binh Deport.

The first train of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line arrived in HCM City in October last year

Thanh added that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the import of the project’s equipment and machines from countries such as Germany, Spain, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan was slowed. The pandemic has also affected the entry of foreign experts. Because of Covid-19, some bidding packages of the project were 4-8 months behind schedule. At present, around 83.63% of the project has been finished. Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, the first metro line in HCM City, has 17 trains. The first was transported to HCM City from Japan in October last year. Each train comprises three carriages measuring 61.5 metres long allowing a maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour. It can transport 930 passengers. The 20-km Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line which had an initial investment of VND17.38 trillion consists of 14 stations along 19.7 kilometres, including a 2.6-kilometre underground section and 17.1 kilometres of elevated tracks.

Q: How do you evaluate the establishment of the VBSF at the present time?

A: This is a great opportunity to develop these two sports in Vietnam. Baseball and softball are part of the Olympic programme and among the group of team sports that help develop physical strength, psychology, fighting spirit, and even intelligence.

In fact, they appeared and have gradually developed in Vietnam for more than a decade, but there is no official organisation to manage the relevant activities.

It can be said that now is an important and appropriate time to establish the VBSF, which will organise, manage and administer the development of these sports, and step by step incorporate them into the official competition system of Vietnamese sports, towards approaching regional and international playgrounds.

Q: What are the VBSF’s leading tasks and priorities in the near future?

A: In the process of developing the personnel and development projects for these two sports, and on the basis of evaluating all activities, we realise that a key point in developing baseball and softball is to build training models in the school environment, from primary school to university levels. This will help arouse passion among learners, especially students.

As baseball and softball are Olympic sports, a sustainable development process for these two events is much needed, so promoting development from school level is the most appropriate way. We will give priority to the task of developing school baseball and softball movements, as reported at the congress, and in order to do this, we will have to cooperate well with the Ministry of Education and Training.

Q: One of the VBSF’s development orientations is to promote the mobilisation of non-state resources. Can you be specific about this, as well as about the partners and sponsors that will accompany the federation?

A: One of the current advantages in Vietnam is that there are many organisations and enterprises from countries with developed baseball and softball movements, especially baseball.

Given that fact, we will receive support and sponsorship in terms of facilities, resources and human factors related to coach and athlete training, as well as in the management, organisation and development of baseball and softball practising and competition movements. Therefore, in the near future, we believe we will receive great resources to support the development of these two sports in Vietnam.

Q: As the Deputy Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, from a perspective of state management, can you share about the possible supports needed for the VBSF?

A: What’s urgent and important now is to deal with the issue of technical facilities. In the near future, we expect baseball and softball to be included in Vietnam’s competitive sports system.

Of course, it requires specific steps to make it come true. Firstly, the General Department will need to create the most favourable conditions and mechanisms for the development of baseball and softball. On that basis, we will gradually bring these two events into in the national competitive sports system.

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The 2021 high school graduation examination will basically maintain as 2020. The main goal of the examination is to evaluate the student’s learning results according to the educational objectives of the high school education program.

By Phan Thao – Translated by Anh Quan

Shown is a concept for the direct detection of minute levels of COVID-19 virus particles on surfaces by using engineered bioreceptors attached to electronic nano-sensors. GE scientists are developing sensing technology as part of the NIH project, which could potentially be integrated into mobile devices (e.g. smartphones, smartwatches) and other types of surfaces (e.g. fingerprint scanners, computer keyboards, wall-mounted sensors).

“One of the first lines of defense against any virus is avoiding exposure, which is easier said than done when you can’t see it,” said Radislav Potyrailo, a principal scientist at GE Research and principal investigator on the NIH project. “Through our project with the NIH, we are developing a sensor small enough to embed in a mobile device that could detect the presence of the COVID-19 virus.”

Potyrailo added, “We all come into contact with different surfaces during any given day, from computer screens and conference tables to kiosks at the airport and of course, credit card machines at stores while running errands. While everyone does a great job keeping these surfaces clean, we want to add an extra layer of safety by being able to detect the presence of the virus.”

Over the past decade, Potyrailo and the sensing teams at GE Research have made tremendous strides in developing miniaturized sensing technologies that deliver the superior performance and acute sensing capabilities similar to high-end, large analytical instruments you would find in a typical lab.

“We have developed tiny sensors smaller than a fingertip that have the same detection capabilities as the high-end analytical instruments the size of a microwave oven,” Potyrailo added. “By delivering this exquisite detection capability of a conventional high-end analytical instrument in a such a small form factor, we can now consider sensing applications that you could envision being implemented as a sensor surface on a mobile phone or on a device even smaller than that.”

Potyrailo noted that the breakthrough sensing technology being developed is extremely reliable and good at isolating the detection without the interference of other elements. “Our sensors are sort of like bloodhounds,” Potyrailo added. “We train them to detect a specific thing, and they are able to do that well without being thrown of the trail by something else.”

As part of the two-year project, the sensing team will demonstrate the reliable detection of a few nano-particles of concern such as those related to the COVID-19 in the presence of diverse kinds of common interferences.

PV