Explore the vast range of titles available.

Microalgae are promising feedstock for the production of biodiesel and diverse medium- and high-value products such as pigments and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The importance of strain selection adapted to specific environments is important for economical purposes. We characterize here two microalgal strains, isolated from wastewater of shrimp cultivation ponds in Vietnam. Based on the 18S rDNA-ITS region, one strain belongs to the Eustigmatophyceae class and is identical to the Nannochloropsis salina isolate D12 (JX185299.1), while the other is a Chlorophyceae belonging to the Desmodesmus genus, which possesses a S516 group I intron in its 18S rDNA gene. The N. salina strain is a marine and oleaginous microalga (40% of dry weight (DW) at stationary phase) whole oil is rich in saturated fatty acids (around 45% of C16:0) suitable for biodiesel and contains a few percent of eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5). The Desmodesmus isolate can assimilate acetate and ammonium and is rich in lutein. Its oil contains around 40%–50% α-linolenic acid (C18:3), an essential fatty acid. Since they tolerate various salinities (10% to 35‰), both strains are thus interesting for biodiesel or aquaculture valorization in coastal and tropical climate where water, nutrient, and salinity availability vary greatly depending on the season.

During a 2023 outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated community-acquired pneumonia among children in northern Vietnam, we analyzed M. pneumoniae isolated from nasopharyngeal samples. In almost half (6 of 13) of samples tested, we found known A2063G mutations (macrolide resistance) and a novel C2353T variant on the 23S rRNA gene.

Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation via the autophagy pathway is a critical factor in liver fibrogenesis. This study tests the hypothesis that chloroquine (CQ) treatment can prevent autophagy and HSC activation in vitro and in vivo in bile-duct-ligated (BDL) mice. Sham-operated and BDL mice were treated with either PBS or CQ in two 60 mg/kg doses the day (D) before and after surgery. On day 2 (2D), HSCs were isolated, and their biological activities were evaluated by measuring intracellular lipid content, α-sma/collagen, and expression of autophagy lc3, sqstm1/p62 markers. The treatment efficacy on liver function was evaluated with serum albumin, transaminases (AST/ALT), and hepatic histology. Primary HSCs were treated in vitro for 24 h with CQ at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 30, and 50 µM. Autophagy and HSC activation were assessed after 2D of treatment. CQ treatment improved serum AST/ALT, albumin, and bile duct proliferation in 2D BDL mice. This is associated with a suppression of HSC activation, shown by higher HSC lipid content and collagen I staining, along with the blockage of HSC autophagy indicated by an increase in p62 level and reduction in lc3 staining. CQ 5 µM inhibited autophagy in primary HSCs in vitro by increasing p62 and lc3 accumulation, thereby suppressing their in vitro activation. The autophagy inhibitor CQ reduced HSC activation in vitro and in vivo. CQ improved liver function and reduced liver injury in BDL mice.

Background Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common early in life. The prevalence of FGIDs varies among countries but is unknown in Vietnam. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of FGIDs in healthy Vietnamese infants and young children. Methods This was a cross-sectional, observational study involving healthy infants and young children between 0 – 48 months old in Hanoi, Vietnam. A representative total of 1511 subjects completed the validated questionnaire on paediatric FGIDs. Rome IV criteria were used to define FGIDs. Results For Vietnamese infants (0–6 months) and young children (7–48 months), the prevalence of having at least one FGID was 10.0% and only 0.6% was having more than one FGID. Infantile regurgitation (9.3%) was the most prevalent FGID among infants 0—6 months of age while all other FGIDs had a low prevalence between 0—2.5%. For young children between 7 – 48 months old, functional constipation was the most common disorder at the rate of 5.6%. Association analysis revealed that the risk of infant regurgitation was significantly lower among infants with exclusively breastfeeding at 2 – 3 months and 3 – 4 months, formula initiation at 0 – 1 months, and higher paternal education level. The prevalence of functional constipation was significantly higher in male subjects, children in families with annual household income between 273,000,000 – 546,999,999 VND (or estimate around 11,800 – 23,800 USD), families with one child only, and formula feeding initiation at 1 – 2 months. Conclusions The prevalence of FGIDs in Vietnamese infants and young children is relatively low compared to the published literature using Rome IV diagnostic criteria. Infantile regurgitation was the most common FGID in Vietnamese infants while functional constipation was most prevalent among Vietnamese young children. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Registry Identifier: NL7286/NTR7495 .

In present study, we identified the chemical composition of essential oil which was isolated from the leaves of Vitex rotundifolia using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for the first time. Bacterial strains To clarify the antibacterial activity of the essential oils from the leaves of Vitex rotundifolia, the present study used six bacterial strains, including four Gram- negative bacteria (Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Salmonella enteritidis (ATCC 13976), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 13311)) and two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11774), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923)). Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis Experiments were performed on an Agilent 7890A GC-5975C MSD system (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) using a DB5-MS+10m Duraguard Capillary Column (30 m x 250 μm x 0.25 μm) as the stationary phase. [...]those specimens were collected in different geographical region of Vietnam or other countries [TRAN et al., 2006; KIM et al., 2014] Note that, the concentrations of chemical compositions of plant essential oils were found to vary depending on the geographical regions where they are cultivated [HASSIOTIS et al., 2010; DEVKOTA et al., 2013] Furthermore, the studied materials which used in present study were difference compared to those in previous studies countries [TRAN et al., 2006; KIM et al., 2014] For instance, Tran and collab. demonstrated that the essential oil from the fruits of V. rotundifolia collected in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam contained 1,8 cineol (19.38 %), camphen (15.51 %), sabinen (12.79 %) and a-pinen (10.33 %) as major constituents [TRAN et al., 2006].

[...]12 compounds were found in the ethanol extract of A. langbiangense rhizome and the extract was proved to be able to inhibit the growth of Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus. Bacterial strains The antibacterial activity of the extract was conducted using five bacterial strains, including two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11774), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), and four Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Salmonella enteritidis (ATCC 13976), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 13311). In mass spectrometer, the extract was then ionized using electrospray ionization source (ESI) at positive mode and the mass spectra data were recorded on mode for a mass range 50-2000 m/z. [...]there were 12 compounds present in the ethanol extract with similar molecular weights with compounds found in previous studies (Table 2).

The present work investigates the primary adsorption mechanisms of lead (II) and cadmium (II) cations onto pomelo fruit peel (PFP) from aqueous solution. pH, adsorption time, ion strength, and initial metal cation concentrations, which are factors affecting the uptake of these cations, are investigated. Results show that pH and ion strengths strongly affect the removal of these cations from aqueous solution. Different isotherm adsorption models, such as Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips, are utilized to fit the experimental data in order to determine the adsorption in nature. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacities are found to be 47.18 mg/g for lead (II) and 13.35 mg/g for cadmium (II). Kinetic and thermodynamic studies based on a combination of FT-IR and TG-DSC spectroscopies demonstrate that electrostatic attraction plays a primary adsorption mechanism of lead (II) and cadmium (II) cations onto pomelo fruit peel.

The THYCA-QoL 24 is a specific instrument designed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with thyroid cancer (TC). This study aimed to evaluate the Vietnamese version of the THYCA-QoL (acceptability, validity, and reliability) and use this validated version to systematically assess longitudinal changes in HRQoL in this patient population before and after thyroidectomy, including adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy to understand the impact of surgical intervention over time. The study was conducted in three steps: translation, validation, and evaluation of the THYCA-QoL questionnaire for the Vietnamese population. This process followed the EORTC guidelines. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s α, while convergent validity and internal structure of the scale were examined through Pearson correlation analysis. HRQoL data were collected from thyroid cancer patients, at a leading hospital in Southern Vietnam. A cohort comprising 280 patients was enrolled in this study. All participants presented with disease stage I or II at baseline assessment. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Vietnamese version of the Thyca-QoL revealed robust internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.937 for the overall scale) and a satisfactory scale-level Content Validity Index (S-CVI = 0.97). No statistically significant difference was observed in overall QoL scores between the pre-operative baseline and the 3-month post-operative assessment across most physical symptoms. Overall QoL scores did not differ significantly between the radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment group and the non-RAI group; however, within the RAI cohort, QoL impairment was primarily attributable to increased symptom burden, specifically problem swallowing, dry mouth, and abrupt tiredness. Patients undergoing total thyroidectomy reported higher mean symptom scores than those undergoing lobectomy, particularly in domains related to scarring and fatigue ( p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of comorbidities ( p = 0.01) and age ( p = 0.04) were independently associated with poorer HRQoL. HRQoL assessment following thyroid cancer surgery is crucial for delivering patient-centered care, improving treatment outcomes, and advancing our understanding of this disease and its consequences for survivors.

Background Interpreting point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) images from intensive care unit (ICU) patients can be challenging, especially in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) where there is limited training available. Despite recent advances in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate many ultrasound imaging analysis tasks, no AI-enabled LUS solutions have been proven to be clinically useful in ICUs, and specifically in LMICs. Therefore, we developed an AI solution that assists LUS practitioners and assessed its usefulness in  a low resource ICU. Methods This was a three-phase prospective study. In the first phase, the performance of four different clinical user groups in interpreting LUS clips was assessed. In the second phase, the performance of 57 non-expert clinicians with and without the aid of a bespoke AI tool for LUS interpretation was assessed in retrospective offline clips. In the third phase, we conducted a prospective study in the ICU where 14 clinicians were asked to carry out LUS examinations in 7 patients with and without our AI tool and we interviewed the clinicians regarding the usability of the AI tool. Results The average accuracy of beginners’ LUS interpretation was 68.7% [95% CI 66.8–70.7%] compared to 72.2% [95% CI 70.0–75.6%] in intermediate, and 73.4% [95% CI 62.2–87.8%] in advanced users. Experts had an average accuracy of 95.0% [95% CI 88.2–100.0%], which was significantly better than beginners, intermediate and advanced users ( p  < 0.001). When supported by our AI tool for interpreting retrospectively acquired clips, the non-expert clinicians improved their performance from an average of 68.9% [95% CI 65.6–73.9%] to 82.9% [95% CI 79.1–86.7%], ( p  < 0.001). In prospective real-time testing, non-expert clinicians improved their baseline performance from 68.1% [95% CI 57.9–78.2%] to 93.4% [95% CI 89.0–97.8%], ( p  < 0.001) when using our AI tool. The time-to-interpret clips improved from a median of 12.1 s (IQR 8.5–20.6) to 5.0 s (IQR 3.5–8.8), ( p  < 0.001) and clinicians’ median confidence level improved from 3 out of 4 to 4 out of 4 when using our AI tool. Conclusions AI-assisted LUS can help non-expert clinicians in an LMIC ICU improve their performance in interpreting LUS features more accurately, more quickly and more confidently.