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Peripheral blood C-reactive protein (CRP) is a biomarker used clinically to measure systemic inflammation and is reproducibly increased in a subset of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Furthermore, increased peripheral blood CRP in MDD has been associated with altered reward circuitry and increased brain glutamate in relation with symptoms of anhedonia. Nevertheless, the relationship between peripheral CRP and other peripheral and central markers of inflammation in depressed patients has not been established. Plasma (n = 89) and CSF (n = 73) was collected from medically stable, currently unmedicated adult outpatients with MDD. Associations among plasma and CSF CRP and plasma and CSF inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, tumor necrosis factor [TNF] and IL-1beta) and their soluble receptors/antagonists were examined. Relationships between plasma and CSF inflammatory markers and depressive symptoms including anhedonia and reduced motivation (RM) were also explored. Plasma CRP was correlated with multiple plasma inflammatory markers (all p < 0.05), and a strong correlation was found between plasma and CSF CRP (r = 0.855, p < 0.001). CSF CRP in turn correlated with CSF cytokine receptors/antagonists (all p < 0.05). Principal component analyses revealed clusters of CSF inflammatory markers that were associated with high plasma CRP (>3 mg/L) and correlated with depressive symptom severity. These findings were driven by CSF TNF, which correlated with RM (r = 0.236, p = 0.045), and CSF IL-6 soluble receptor, which correlated with anhedonia (r = 0.301, p = 0.010) in the sample as a whole and particularly females. CRP appears to be a peripheral biomarker that reflects peripheral and central inflammation and seems well-suited for guiding immunotherapies targeting TNF and IL-6 in patients with MDD.

The explosive development of electrical engineering in the early 19th century marked the birth of the 2nd industrial revolution, with the use of electrical energy in place of steam power, as well as changing the history of human development. The versatility of electricity allows people to apply it to a multitude of fields such as transportation, heat applications, lighting, telecommunications, and computers. Nowadays, with the breakout development of science and technology, electric energy sources are formed by many different technologies such as hydroelectricity, solar power, wind power, coal power, etc. These energy sources are connected to form grid systems to transmit electricity to cities, businesses and homes for life and work. Electrical energy today has become the backbone of all modern technologies. To ensure the safe, reliable and energy-efficient operation of the grid, a wide range of grid management applications have been proposed. However, a significant challenge for monitoring and controlling grids is service response time. In recent times, to solve this problem, smart grid management applications based on IoT and edge computing have been proposed. In this work, we perform a comprehensive survey of edge computing for IoT-enabled smart grid systems. In addition, recent smart grid frameworks based on IoT and edge computing are discussed, important requirements are presented, and the open issues and challenges are indicated. We believe that in the Internet of Things era, the smart grid will be the future of energy. We hope that these study results will contribute important guidelines for in-depth research in the field of smart grids and green energy in the future.

Oxidative stress is recognized as one of the primary processes underlying the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic vascular disease. Under physiological conditions, the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and ROS scavenging is tightly controlled. As part of normal cellular metabolism, regulated oxidative stress is responsible for a variety of cellular responses. Excess generation of ROS that could not be compensated by antioxidant system has been suggested to be responsible for a number of pathological conditions. Due to their short biological half-lives, direct measurement of ROS is not available and surrogate measures are commonly used. Plasma lipoproteins, by virtue of their close interactions with endothelial cells in the vasculature and the susceptibility of their surface lipids to oxidative modification, are perfect biological sensors of oxidative stress in the arterial wall. In particular, with each consumed meal, triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, secreted by the intestine into the circulation, are responsible for the delivery of 20–40 grams of fat to the peripheral tissues. This flux of dietary lipids is accompanied by concomitant increases in glucose, insulin and other meal-associated metabolites. The contribution of postprandial lipemia to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has been previously suggested by several lines of investigation. We have extended this hypothesis by demonstrating the acute generation of oxidative epitopes on plasma lipoproteins as well as transient changes in the oxidative susceptibility of plasma lipoproteins.

Vibration of bidirectional functionally graded (BDFG) nanobeams partially resting on elastic foundation is investigated in this paper. The material properties of the nanobeams are considered to vary in both axial and transverse directions by power gradation laws. The nonlocal elasticity theory considering the scale effect is employed in the derivation of governing equations. The finite element method is used to establish the discretized equation of motion and to predict the frequencies. The numerical results reflect the significant influence of the material gradation, the nonlocality parameter as well as the foundation on the vibration characteristics of the BDFG nanobeams.

•Preoperative malnutrition affects surgical outcomes among patients with gastrointestinal cancer in Vietnam.•We recommend implementing preoperative nutritional interventions to achieve better outcomes among surgical cancer patients.•Nutritional management in surgical patients is crucial. Nutritional support for surgical care is crucial because hospital malnutrition is rather common. However, low- and middle-income countries have not adequately addressed nutritional management of surgical patients. To highlight need for nutritional management in surgical patients, the present study aimed to describe preoperative nutritional status in patients who underwent gastrointestinal cancer surgery in Vietnam and to investigate the relationship between preoperative malnutrition and adverse outcomes, such as postoperative complications and prolonged length of hospital stay. We reviewed medical records of patients who underwent a major curative surgery for gastrointestinal cancer at the national hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We identified preoperative malnutrition based on body mass index and serum albumin level, and postoperative complications in the first 30 d postoperative. We estimated the relative influence of malnutrition on complications and length of hospital stay using multivariate regression models. Of 459 eligible patients, 63% had colorectal cancer, 33% gastric cancer, and 4% esophageal cancer. The prevalence of malnutrition was 19%. No patients died during hospitalization; however, 26% developed complications after surgery. The average length of hospital stay was 14 d. After controlling for potential confounders, preoperative malnutrition was associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications (odds ratio = 1.97) and prolonged hospital stay (2.8 d). Preoperative malnutrition affects surgical outcomes among patients with gastrointestinal cancer in Vietnam. We recommend implementing preoperative nutritional interventions to achieve better outcomes among surgical cancer patients.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now thought to be the most common liver disease worldwide. Cardiovascular complications are a leading cause of mortality in NAFLD. Fructose, a common nutrient in the westernized diet, has been reported to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but its impact on adolescents with NAFLD is not well understood. We designed a 4-week randomized, controlled, double-blinded beverage intervention study. Twenty-four overweight Hispanic-American adolescents who had hepatic fat >8% on imaging and who were regular consumers of sweet beverages were enrolled and randomized to calorie-matched study-provided fructose only or glucose only beverages. After 4 weeks, there was no significant change in hepatic fat or body weight in either group. In the glucose beverage group there was significantly improved adipose insulin sensitivity, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. These findings demonstrate that reduction of fructose improves several important factors related to cardiovascular disease despite a lack of measurable improvement in hepatic steatosis. Reducing dietary fructose may be an effective intervention to blunt atherosclerosis progression among NAFLD patients and should be evaluated in longer term clinical trials.

Dynamic analysis of bidirectional functionally graded sandwich beams under a moving mass with the effect of partial support by a Pasternak foundation is presented on the basis of a quasi-3D theory. The face layers of the sandwich beams are made of bidirectional functionally graded material (FGM), while the core is axially FGM. The material properties of the skin layers are varied smoothly in both the axial and transverse directions by power gradation laws, and they are evaluated by both Voigt and Mori–Tanaka micromechanical models. A finite element formulation is derived and employed to construct the equation of motion of the beams. Dynamic characteristics, including the dynamic deflections, dynamic magnification factors and stress distribution, are computed with the aid of the Newmark method. The numerical results reveal that the ratio of the foundation supporting part to the total beam length plays an important role in the dynamic response of the beams. The influence of the micromechanical model on the dynamic response of the beams is found to be dependent on the foundation stiffness and the power-law indexes. The effects of the material gradation, the foundation and loading parameters on the dynamic behaviour of the beams are examined in detail and highlighted.

To assess sex disparities in tuberculosis in Vietnam, we conducted a nested, case-control study based on a 2017 tuberculosis prevalence survey. We defined the case group as all survey participants with laboratory-confirmed tuberculosis and the control group as a randomly selected group of participants with no tuberculosis. We used structural equation modeling to describe pathways from sex to tuberculosis according to an a priori conceptual framework. Our analysis included 1,319 participants, of whom 250 were case-patients. We found that sex was directly associated with tuberculosis prevalence (adjusted odds ratio for men compared with women 3.0 [95% CI 1.7-5.0]) and indirectly associated through other domains. The strong sex difference in tuberculosis prevalence is explained by a complex interplay of factors relating to behavioral and environmental risks, access to healthcare, and clinical manifestations. However, after controlling for all those factors, a direct sex effect remains that might be caused by biological factors.

Elevated Resting Blood Pressure (ERBP) in the prehypertensive range is associated with increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, the mechanisms of which remain unclear. Prior studies have suggested that ERBP may be associated with overactivation and dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). We hypothesized that compared to normotensives (≤120/80 mmHg), ERBP (120/80–139/89 mmHg) has higher SNS activity, impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and increased vascular inflammation. Twenty‐nine participants were studied: 16 otherwise healthy individuals with ERBP (blood pressure (BP) 130 ± 2/85 ± 2 mmHg) and 13 matched normotensive controls (mean BP 114 ± 2/73 ± 2 mmHg). We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), beat‐to‐beat BP, and continuous electrocardiogram at rest and during arterial BRS testing via the modified Oxford technique. Blood was analyzed for the following biomarkers of vascular inflammation: lipoprotein‐associated phospholipase A2 (Lp‐PLA2), E‐selectin, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM‐1). Resting MSNA burst frequency (22 ± 2 vs. 16 ± 2 bursts/min, P = 0.036) and burst incidence (36 ± 3 vs. 25 ± 3 bursts/100 heart beats, P = 0.025) were higher in ERBP compared to controls. Cardiovagal BRS was blunted in ERBP compared to controls (13 ± 2 vs. 20 ± 3 msec/mmHg, P = 0.032), while there was no difference in sympathetic BRS between groups. Lp‐PLA2 (169 ± 8 vs. 142 ± 9 nmol/min/mL, P = 0.020) and E‐selectin (6.89 ± 0.6 vs. 4.45 ± 0.51 ng/mL, P = 0.004) were higher in ERBP versus controls. E‐selectin (r = 0.501, P = 0.011) and ICAM‐1 (r = 0.481, P = 0.015) were positively correlated with MSNA, while E‐selectin was negatively correlated with cardiovagal BRS (r = −0.427, P = 0.030). These findings demonstrate that individuals with ERBP have SNS overactivity and impaired arterial BRS that are linked to biomarkers of vascular inflammation. Patients with mild elevated resting blood pressure in the prehypertensive range have elevated resting muscle sympathetic nerve activity, and impaired cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity. These patients also have elevated vascular inflammatory biomarkers that correlate with impaired baroreflex sensitivity. These findings demonstrate that elevated resting blood pressure in the prehypertensive range is associated with sympathetic overactivity and blunted baroreflex sensitivity that are linked to biomarkers of vascular inflammation.

Monofloral honey samples (Coffea robusta) from Vietnam were determined for their chemical compositions. This is the first report on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of coffee honey from Vietnam. These samples were characterized by their high contents of total and reducing sugars, total phenolic contents, and total flavonoid contents. The contents of seven phenolic acids (PAs) were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and analyzed with the assistance of principle component analysis (PCA) to differentiate the honey samples into groups. The hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (0.048–2.933 mg/kg) and free acid contents (20.326–31.163 meq/kg) of coffee honey were lower in Nepal, which reflected the freshness of the honey when conducting this survey. The coffee honey had total sugar and reducing sugar contents 831.711 g/kg and 697.903 g/kg, respectively. The high level of total phenolic (0.642 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (0.0341 mg GE/g) contents of coffee honey contributed to their antioxidant activity of this honey sample. Among the coffee honey tested, the IC50 of DPPH radical-scavenging activities value was 1.134–17.031 mg/mL, while the IC50 of ABTS radical-scavenging activities value was 115.381–213.769 mg/mL. The phenolic acids composition analysis displayed that gallic acid appeared in high concentrations in all studied honey samples, ranging from 0.037–1.015 mg/kg, and ferulic acid content ranged from 0.193 to 0.276 mg/kg. The content of trigonelline and caffeine in coffee honey samples ranged from 0.314–2.399 mg/kg and 8.946–37.977 mg/kg. The data in this article highlight the relevance of coffee honey as a healthy substance.