Smoke-free environment policy in Vietnam: what did people see and how did they react when they visited various public places?

INTRODUCTION: Since Vietnam has signed WHO framework on tobacco control (FCTC) in 2003 and has issued tobacco control law in 2013, there has been little research concerning about what impacts smoke-free regulations have had on public compliance. The objective of this study was to assess public exposure to secondhand smoke and reaction toward smoke-free policy regulations in Vietnam and the associated factor. METHODS: Using the design of GATS (Global Adult Tobacco Survey), a nationally representative sample of 8,996 adults were approached for data collection. Logistic regression was used to examine the associated factor. RESULTS: The study revealed that the prevalence of respondents exposed to secondhand smoke was much higher in bars/café/tea shops (90.07%) and restaurants (81.81%) than in any other public places, universities (36.70%), government buildings (31.12%), public transport (20.04%), healthcare facilities (17.85%) and schools (15.84%). 13.23% of respondents saw smokers violate smoke-free regulations. Among those who saw them violate smoke-free regulations, just one-third cautioned them to stop smoking. Strikingly, a higher rate of cautioning smokers to stop smoking was observed among the older, married, and better educated respondents. Respondents who were married, better educated and in lower economic status were more likely to remind smokers to stop smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The study has called for strengthening two of the six MPOWER (Monitor, Protect, Offer, Warn, Enforce and Raise) components of the tobacco free initiative introduced by WHO, Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies and Protecting people from tobacco smoke.

A spatial and temporal analysis of paediatric central nervous system infections from 2005 to 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Central nervous system infections (CNSI) are a leading cause of death and long-term disability in children. Using ICD-10 data from 2005 to 2015 from three central hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, we exploited generalized additive mixed models (GAMM) to examine the spatial-temporal distribution and spatial and climatic risk factors of paediatric CNSI, excluding tuberculous meningitis, in this setting. From 2005 to 2015, there were 9469 cases of paediatric CNSI; 33% were ⩽1 year old at admission and were mainly diagnosed with presumed bacterial CNSI (BI) (79%), the remainder were >1 year old and mainly diagnosed with presumed non-bacterial CNSI (non-BI) (59%). The urban districts of HCMC in proximity to the hospitals as well as some outer districts had the highest incidences of BI and non-BI; BI incidence was higher in the dry season. Monthly BI incidence exhibited a significant decreasing trend over the study. Both BI and non-BI were significantly associated with lags in monthly average temperature, rainfall, and river water level. Our findings add new insights into this important group of infections in Vietnam, and highlight where resources for the prevention and control of paediatric CNSI should be allocated.

Soyfood and isoflavone intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in Vietnamese adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Animal studies have demonstrated that soy isoflavones exert antidiabetic effects. However, evidence regarding the association between soyfood intake, a unique source of isoflavones, and type 2 diabetes remains inconclusive. This study assessed the relationship between habitual intakes of soyfoods and major isoflavones and risk of type 2 diabetes in Vietnamese adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Vietnam during 2013-2015. A total of 599 newly diagnosed diabetic cases (age 40-65 years) and 599 hospital-based controls, frequency matched by age and sex, were recruited in Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam. Information on frequency and quantity of soyfood and isoflavone intake, together with demographics, habitual diet and lifestyle characteristics, was obtained from direct interviews using a validated and reliable questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between soy variables and type 2 diabetes risk. RESULTS: Higher intake of total soyfoods was significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes; the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the highest versus the lowest intake was 0.31 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21-0.46; P<0.001). An inverse dose-response relationship of similar magnitude was also observed for total isoflavone intake (OR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.49; P<0.001). In addition, inverse associations of specific soyfoods (soy milk, tofu and mung bean sprout) and major isoflavones (daidzein, genistein and glycitein) with the type 2 diabetes risk were evident. CONCLUSIONS: Soyfood and isoflavone intake was associated with a lower type 2 diabetes risk in Vietnamese adults.

Fatal wound infection caused by Chromobacterium violaceum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Chromobacterium violaceum is a proteobacterium found in soil and water in tropical regions which rarely causes infection in humans. Here, we report a fatal bacteremia caused by Chromobacterium violaceum in Vietnam. We describe a number of clinical, microbiological, and molecular aspects associated with this bacterial infection.

Functional proteomics: examining the effects of hypoxia on the cytotrophoblast protein repertoire.

The outcome of human pregnancy depends on the differentiation of cytotrophoblasts, specialized placental cells that physically connect the embryo/fetus to the mother. As cytotrophoblasts differentiate, they acquire tumor-like characteristics that enable them to invade the uterus. In a novel feedback loop, the increasingly higher levels of oxygen they encounter within the uterine wall influence their differentiation into vascular-like cells. Together, the invasive and cell surface properties of cytotrophoblasts enable them to form vascular connections with uterine blood vessels that divert maternal blood flow to the placenta, a critical hurdle in pregnancy. It is therefore important to understand how cytotrophoblasts respond to changes in oxygen tension. Here we used a proteomics approach, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) combined with mass spectrometry, to characterize the protein repertoire of first trimester human cytotrophoblasts that were maintained under standard tissue culture conditions (20% O(2)). 2-D PAGE showed a unique protein map as compared to placental fibroblasts and human JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells. Mass spectrometry allowed the identification of 43 spots on the cytotrophoblast map. Enzymes involved in glycolysis and responses to oxidative stress, as well as the 14-3-3 signaling/adapter proteins, were particularly abundant. Hypoxia in vitro (2% O(2)) produced discrete changes in the expression of a subset of proteins in all the aforementioned functional categories. Together, these data offer new information about the early gestation cytotrophoblast protein repertoire and the generalized mechanisms the cells use to respond to changes in oxygen tension at the maternal-fetal interface.

Salivary agglutinin, which binds Streptococcus mutans and Helicobacter pylori, is the lung scavenger receptor cysteine-rich protein gp-340.

Salivary agglutinin is a high molecular mass component of human saliva that binds Streptococcus mutans, an oral bacterium implicated in dental caries. To study its protein sequence, we isolated the agglutinin from human parotid saliva. After trypsin digestion, a portion was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), which gave the molecular mass of 14 unique peptides. The remainder of the digest was subjected to high performance liquid chromatography, and the separated peptides were analyzed by MALDI-TOF/post-source decay; the spectra gave the sequences of five peptides. The molecular mass and peptide sequence information showed that salivary agglutinin peptides were identical to sequences in lung (lavage) gp-340, a member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich protein family. Immunoblotting with antibodies that specifically recognized either lung gp-340 or the agglutinin confirmed that the salivary agglutinin was gp-340. Immunoblotting with an antibody specific to the sialyl Le(x) carbohydrate epitope detected expression on the salivary but not the lung glycoprotein, possible evidence of different glycoforms. The salivary agglutinin also interacted with Helicobacter pylori, implicated in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, Streptococcus agalactiae, implicated in neonatal meningitis, and several oral commensal streptococci. These results identify the salivary agglutinin as gp-340 and suggest it binds bacteria that are important determinants of either the oral ecology or systemic diseases.

Inhibitors of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase specific for the single-stranded DNA of transcription intermediates. Tetrahedral cuprous chelates of 1,10-phenanthrolines.

Single-stranded DNA of the lacUV-5 promoter formed at the active site of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase during transcription is specifically cleaved by the redox active tetrahedral cuprous chelates of 1,10-phenanthroline and its derivatives. The cleavage sites are observed in the open, initiating, and elongating complexes. Redox-inert, tetrahedral cuprous chelates of neocuproine (2,9-dimethyl-1,10- phenanthroline) and its 5-phenyl and 4-phenyl derivatives protect the template strand of DNA from scission within these steady state intermediates and inhibit transcription. Although these cuprous chelates of neocuproine bind at multiple sites within three distinct enzyme intermediates, the highest affinity site is within the elongation complex. The I50 of 5 microM for the 2:1 5-phenylneocuproine cuprous complex ((5 phi NC)2Cu+) in runoff transcription therefore primarily reflects its intermediate. The neocuproine cuprous chelates are novel transcription inhibitors because they bind to single-stranded DNA sites generated during the course of catalysis by RNA polymerase.

Molecular modeling of the active site of endothelin-converting enzyme.

Endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE) is a member of the zinc metalloproteinase family. It is much more specific in its protease activity than the bacterial metalloprotease thermolysin; we aim to construct a model of its active site to help to explain these differences. We aligned the sequence of human ECE with those of human neprilysin (which is 39% identical to ECE) and thermolysin. Residues believed to be important for inhibitor binding were assigned from the alignment and by analogy with structural and functional studies of these enzymes. These included a conserved IGG motif N-terminal to the zinc-binding HExxH motif, and a tyrosine residue that may be analogous to Y157 of thermolysin. We have used the program O to build a model of the active site of ECE based on the crystal structure of thermolysin.