Competencies of school health staff (SHS) members, including school nurses, are crucial to improving child and adolescent health. In Vietnam, although SHS members are dispatched to schools, they have limited training opportunities. This study identified SHS members’ training needs in a province of Vietnam. A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted with 204 SHS members. The performance and importance of SHS members’ competencies were measured using 59-items and rated by a 5-point Likert scale. SHS members’ training priorities were analyzed using the Borich Needs Assessment and the Locus for Focus model. Controlling infectious disease was the highest training priority while implementing health promotion programs was of relatively low priority. The high-priority training needs identified could be rendered mandatory in policy for continuing education of SHS members. Awareness of the importance of health promotion, which has been emphasized globally, should also be promoted via school health policy. These findings could guide development of future training programs for SHS members.

The sedimentary environment characteristics in Mong Cai coastal area were assessed through pH, Eh, grain sizes, 226Ra, 210Pb, S‰, DO parameters. Mong Cai coastal area is mostly influenced by Ka Long river system that makes changes in the salinity, pH of water, pH and Eh of sediment, grain sizes, and sedimentation rates in the coastal area. There were six sediment types in the coastal area which were coarse sand, medium sand, fine sand, very fine sand, very coarse silt, and coarse silt. Fine sand was common in surface sediments; very fine sand was dominant in sediment core at Ka Long river mount; coarse silt and very coarse silt were common in sediment core at Mui Ngoc. The average sedimentation rate at the Ka Long river mouth (0.72 cm/year) was higher than that at the Mui Ngoc (0.27 cm/year). The sedimentary environment was divided into 3 groups, the first group was marine characteristics higher than the terrigenous characteristic, the second group was terrigenous characteristics higher than marine characteristics, and the third group was marine characteristics. In sediment cores showed 3 stages. In stage 1, distribution fine sand, very fine sand, and very coarse silt, from 52 to 80 cm at the Ka Long river mouth and from 40 to 52 cm at the Mui Ngoc. In stage 2, distribution of very coarse silt, coarse silt, from 38 to 52 cm (1947 - 1877) at Ka Long river mouth with sedimentation rate from 0.08 to 0.31 cm/year, at the Mui Ngoc from 12 to 40 cm (1944 (12 -14 cm)) with sedimentation rate of 0.09 cm/year. In stage 3, distribution very coarse silt, very fine sand, fine sand, from 0 to 38 cm (1919 - 1961) at the Ka Long river mouth with sedimentation rate of 0.34 - 1.62 cm/year, at the Mui Ngoc from 0 to 12 cm (2019 – 1966) with sedimentation rate of 0.07 - 0.51 cm/year.

The Mong Cai area is located on the border between Vietnam and China, with the Ka Long River forming a natural border. Coastal sediments were collected and analyzed for grain size, heavy metal content, total organic carbon, and isotopes ( 210 Pb, 226 Ra, δ 15 N, δ 13 C) to assess sediment quality.Fine sand was common in surface sediment, with abundant very ne sand in core C1; in core C2, very coarse silt and coarse silt were dominant. The sedimentation rate at C1 ranged between 0.08 and 1.62 cm/year while that at C2 ranged between 0.07 and 0.51 cm/year. The total organic carbon was highest in C2 next to the surface and lowest in C1, with content levels of 1.81%, 0.40% and 0.31%, respectively. δ 13 C in surface sediments ranged from − 27.43 to -17.02‰ and averaged − 24.13‰; δ 15 N ranged from 3.12 to 6.05‰, with an average of 4.96‰; and δ 13 C and δ 15 N in the sediment re ected the source of the organic matter mix from the marine and terrigenous sediments.The sediments' heavy metal contents were lower than ISQGs, with the exception that As in C1 and C2 was higher than the ISQG. The heavy metal distribution was highly concentrated in the Ka Long estuary with low concentration in Ha Coi Bay. The concentration in C1 showed a decline over time, while the Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Co, Ni, and Mn contents in C2 increased over time between 1996 and 2019. In terms of heavy metal pollution indexes, Igeo showed C1 and C2 to be unpolluted to moderately polluted with As, with Li and Pb in C2; EF was moderately enriched with As; CF was moderately contaminated (Pb, Cd, Fe, Mo, and Li) in C2 and in C1 (Cd, As, Li) and considerably contaminated (As) in C2. ER of As showed a moderate potential ecological risk in C2. CD ranged from moderate degree contamination to considerable degree contamination (C1, C2). RI had low ecological risks.

No abstract

Grain sizes and minerals from Gulf of Tonkin sediments were evaluated from 30 surface samples and 50 core samples in two cores, distribution of grain sizes and minerals to help understand sediment characteristics, origins, and environmental dynamics. There were five sediment types: Fine and very fine sands were found nearshore where land-sea interactions were stronger than offshore, whereas very coarse, coarse, and medium silts were found offshore, in small bays, river mouths with weak land-sea interactions, or near source sediment supplies. Minerals in sediment were identified as decreasing in the content of quartz, illite, kaolinite, chlorite, feldspar, goethite, halite, calcite, gibbsite, aragonite, and montmorillonite. Content of major minerals such as quartz, illite, kaolinite, and chlorite varied from nearshore to offshore; quartz was higher nearshore than offshore; illite, kaolinite, and chlorite in nearshore were lower than offshore; calcite and aragonite were low nearshore and hight in offshore; goethite was lower offshore and higher nearshore, while halite was high in offshore and low in the nearshore. The origin of the sediments is weathering and erosion from the mainland and islands under the river and sea processes distributed in the Gulf of Tonkin with quartz, illite, kaolinite, feldspar, chlorite and montmorillonite present in the sediment. Geochemical processes produced goethite, gibbsite, halite and pyrite in the sediments. Biological substances produced calcite and aragonite.