Optimization of leucomalachite green degradation through electron beam and persulfate oxidation using box-behnken design and life cycle assessment.

This study explored the treatment of Leucomalachite Green (LMG) solutions using an electron beam and sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8), employing Box-Behnken design (BBD) to optimize operational variables such as absorbed dose, initial pH and Na2S2O8 concentration. The findings highlighted an optimal absorbed dose of 4.5 kGy, a Na2S2O8 concentration of 1.0 mM, and an initial pH of 6, leading to a remarkable 97.77% removal of LMG. The adjusted R2 for the model indicated a close match of 1.4% between predicted and actual outcomes under these optimized conditions, affirming the quadratic model's suitability for predicting the LMG removal process using combined EB and Na2S2O8. To assess the environmental impact of the LMG treatment, the study applied SimaPro 9.4 with the TRACI tool, examining ten distinct environmental impact categories. The results unveiled that deionized water and Na2S2O8 exhibited a notable impact on global warming (GW) and ecotoxicity (ET) in controlled laboratory settings. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of four scenarios shed light on the environmental implications of different energy sources. Notably, electricity generated from waste incineration demonstrated a substantial influence on all environmental indicators. In contrast, natural gas emerged as the cleanest source for electricity generation, offering a promising avenue for reducing environmental impacts. This study presents a practical method for addressing dye contaminants through the employment of EB in conjunction with Na2S2O8, with potential implications for broader applications.

Simultaneous versus sequential fractional CO2 laser and subcision combination for management of post-acne atrophic scars: A split-face comparative study.

BACKGROUND: A combination of fractional CO2 laser and subcision is usually employed for the treatment of post-acne atrophic scars. However, the efficacy and safety of both simultaneous and sequential combination therapies should be explored. AIMS: To compare the efficacy and safety of simultaneous and sequential fractional CO2 laser and subcision combination therapies for post-acne atrophic scars. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This single-blind, split-face clinical trial included 34 patients with post-acne atrophic scars at our institution. Each patient underwent three sessions of subcision combined with fractional CO2 laser, with a 1-month interval between each session. The left side of the face was treated with simultaneous combination therapy, whereas the right side was treated with sequential combination therapy. Treatment efficacy was assessed at 4, 8, and 12 weeks; and 3 and 6 months after the last session. RESULTS: Simultaneous and sequential treatments demonstrated comparable efficacy. Regarding the adverse events, the side of the face undergoing simultaneous treatment experienced longer swelling duration, higher pain levels during laser treatment, and shorter downtime. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the longer swelling time and higher pain levels during laser treatment in the simultaneous treatment side, the effectiveness and satisfaction level of the CO2 fractional laser and subcision for treatment of the acne scars were comparable between the two combinations, with a shorter downtime for the simultaneous than for the sequential combination therapy.

Methyl jasmonate-induced senescence results in alterations in the status of chlorophyll precursors and enzymatic antioxidants in rice plants.

We examined the control of chlorophyll biosynthesis and protective mechanisms during leaf senescence induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA). After MeJA treatment, rice plants displayed evidence of great oxidative stress regarding senescence symptoms, disruption of membrane integrity, H2O2 production, and decreased chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency. After 6 h of MeJA treatment, plants greatly decreased not only their levels of chlorophyll precursors, including protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX), Mg-Proto IX, Mg-Proto IX methylester, and protochlorophyllide, but also the expression levels of the chlorophyll biosynthetic genes CHLD, CHLH, CHLI, and PORB, with the greatest decreases at 78 h. MeJA-treated plants showed a noticeable degradation of light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding proteins (LHCB) at 78 h after MeJA treatment but began to downregulate expression of LHCB at 6 h. Photoprotection, as indicated by nonphotochemical quenching, slightly increased only at 6 h after MeJA treatment. In parallel to the increased activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and peroxidase, MeJA-treated plants responded to senescence by markedly upregulating the expression of APX and CAT. Our study demonstrates that rice plants developed protective mechanisms for mitigating oxidative stress by scavenging phototoxic chlorophyll precursors and activating enzymatic antioxidant responses during MeJA-induced senescence.

Estimating the health impacts of sugar-sweetened beverage tax for informing policy decisions about the obesity burden in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been adopted in more than 40 countries but remained under discussion in Vietnam. This study aimed to estimate the health impacts of different SSBs tax plans currently under discussion to provide an evidence base to inform decision-making about a SSBs tax policy in Vietnam. METHOD & FINDINGS: Five tax scenarios were modelled, representing three levels of price increase: 5%, 11% and 19-20%. Scenarios of the highest price increase were assessed across three different tax designs: ad valorem, volume-based specific tax & sugar-based specific tax. We modelled SSBs consumption in each tax scenario; how this reduction in consumption translates to a reduction in total energy intake and how this relationship in turn translates to an average change in body weight and obesity status among adults by applying the calorie-to weight conversion factor. Changes in type 2 diabetes burden were then calculated based on the change in average BMI of the modelled cohort. A Monte Carlo simulation approach was applied on the conversion factor of weight change and diabetes risk reduction for the sensitivity analysis. We found that the taxation that involved a 5% price increase gave relatively small impacts while increasing SSBs' price up to 20% appeared to impact substantially on overweight and obesity rates (reduction of 12.7% and 12.4% respectively) saving 27 million USD for direct medical cost. The greatest reduction was observed for overweight and obesity class I. The decline in overweight and obesity rates was slightly higher for women than men. CONCLUSION: This study supports the SSB tax policy in pursuit of public health benefits, especially where the tax increase involves around a 20% price increase. The health benefit and revenue gains were evident across all three tax designs with the specific tax based on sugar density achieving greatest effects.

Putting non-communicable disease data to work in Vietnam: an investigation of community health surveillance capacity.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the public health system's critical role in non-communicable disease (NCD) surveillance in Vietnam, limited evidence exists on the implementation of NCD surveillance activities within these systems and the need for capacity building across different system levels to meet expected NCD surveillance goals. This study aimed to evaluate the status of and describe factors affecting the implementation of NCD surveillance activities and to identify the NCD surveillance capacity building needs of the public health system in Vietnam. METHODS: We used a mixed-methods approach in four provinces, conducting self-completed surveys of staff from six Preventive Medicine Institutes (PHI), 53 Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and 148 commune health stations (CHS), as well as 14 in-depth interviews and 22 focus group discussions at four PHI, four CDC, and eight district health centres and CHS. RESULTS: Study findings highlighted that although Vietnam has a well-functioning NCD surveillance system, a number of quality issues related to NCD surveillance data were salient. Multifactorial reasons were identified for incomplete, unconfirmed, and inaccurate mortality data and current disease surveillance data. Data on NCD management and treatment were reported to be of better quality than data for screening, targeted treatment, and counselling communication. Main factors affected the effective implementation of NCD surveillance, namely lack of complete and specific guidelines for NCD surveillance, limitations in human resource capacity within NCD departments, and shortage of funding for NCD surveillance activities. CONCLUSION: Study findings provide practical strategies for strengthening health system capacity for NCD surveillance through developing policies, guidelines, and standardised tools to guide NCD surveillance and a road map for integrated NCD surveillance, developing training packages and manuals for all levels of the health system, and conducting utilisation-focused surveillance training programs.

Trend of metabolic risk factors among the population aged 25-64 years for non-communicable diseases over time in Vietnam: A time series analysis using national STEPs survey data.

Introduction: The study aims to examine the trends of 4 metabolic NCDs risk factors including raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids and overweight/obesity over the last 10 years in Vietnam as well as examine these trends among different sub-population by geographical area, gender, and age groups. Methods: The study combined the national representative data from three rounds of STEPs survey in Vietnam conducted in 2010, 2015, and 2020 on people aged 25-64 years. The overall prevalence of each metabolic factor together with 95% CI for each time point as well as the stratified prevalence by rural/urban, male/female, and 4 separated age groups were calculated and considered the sampling weight. Cochran-Armitage test for trend was used to test for the differences in the prevalence over time. Results: The prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia among the population aged 25-64 years old was 28.3, 20.57, 6.96, and 15.63%, respectively in the year 2020. All NCD metabolic risk factors examined in this analysis show significantly increasing trends over time. For most age groups, the increasing burden of NCD metabolic risk factors was more significant during the period 2015-2020 compared to the period 2010-2015. Male population and population aged 55-64 experienced the most dramatic changes in the burden of all NCD metabolic risk factors. Conclusion: To reverse the increasing trend of NCD metabolic factors in Vietnam, intervention, and policy need to apply a comprehensive life course approach.

Trends in, projections of, and inequalities in non-communicable disease management indicators in Vietnam 2010-2030 and progress toward universal health coverage: A Bayesian analysis at national and sub-national levels.

Background: Movement towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can improve health services, risk factor management, and inequality in non-communicable diseases (NCD); conversely, prioritizing and monitoring NCD management can support pathways to UHC in resource-limited settings. We aimed to estimate trends in NCD management indicators in Vietnam from 2010, and projections to 2030 at national and sub-national levels; compute the probability of reaching UHC targets; and measure inequalities in NCD management indicators at demographic, geographic, and socio-economic levels. Methods: We included data of 37,595 households from four nationally representative surveys from 2010. We selected and estimated the coverage of NCD health service and risk management indicators nationally and by six sub-national groups. Using Bayesian models, we provided trends and projections and calculated the probability of reaching UHC targets of 80% coverage by 2030. We estimated multiple inequality indices including the relative index of inequality, slope index of inequality, and concentration index of inequality, and provided an assessment of improvement in inequalities over the study period. Findings: Nationally, all indicators showed a low probability of achieving 2030 targets except sufficient use of fruit and vegetables (SUFV) and non-use of tobacco (NUT). We observed declining trends in national coverage of non-harmful use of alcohol (NHUA), sufficient physical activity (SPA), non-overweight (NOW), and treatment of diabetes (TOD). Except for SPA, no indicator showed the likelihood of achieving 2030 targets at any regional level. Our model suggested a non-achievement of 2030 targets for all indicators in any wealth quintile and educational level, except for SUFV and NUT. There were diversities in tendency and magnitude of inequalities with widening gaps between genders (SPA, TOD), ethnic groups (SUFV), urban-rural areas (TOH), wealth quintiles, and educational levels (TOD, NUT, NHUA). Interpretation: Our study suggested slow progress in NCD management at the national level and among key sub-populations in Vietnam, together with existing and increasing inequalities between genders, ethnicities, geographic areas, and socioeconomic groups. We emphasised the necessity of continuously improving the healthcare system and facilities, distributing resources between geographic areas, and simultaneously integrating economic, education, and gender intervention and programs. Funding: None.

Sex differences in total cholesterol of Vietnamese adults.

BACKGROUND: The mid-life emergence of higher levels of total cholesterol (TC) for women than for men has been observed in different Western and Asian populations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is evidence of this in Vietnam and, if so, whether it can be explained by ageing, by body size and fatness, or by socio-demographic characteristics and behavioural factors. METHODS: Participants (n = 14706, 50.9% females) aged 25-64 years were selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces each representing one of the eight geographical regions of Vietnam. Measurements were made using the World Health Organization STEPS protocols. Linear regression was used to assess the independent contributions of potential explanatory factors to mean levels of TC. Data were analysed using complex survey methods. RESULTS: Men and women had similar mean levels of body mass index (BMI), and men had modestly higher mean levels of waist circumference (WC), in each 5-year age category. The mean TC of women increased more or less continuously across the age range but with a step-up at age 50 years to reach higher concentrations on average than those of their male counterparts. The estimated step-up was not eliminated by adjustment for anthropometric indices including BMI or WC, or by adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics or behavioural factors. The estimated step-up was least for women with the greatest weight. CONCLUSION: There is a marked step-up in TC at age 50 years for Vietnamese women that cannot be explained by their age, or by their body fatness or its distribution, or by their socio-demographic characteristics or behavioural factors, and which results in greater mean levels of TC for middle-aged women than for their male counterparts in Vietnam.

Modulation of chloroplast components and defense responses during programmed cell death in tobacco infected with Pseudomonas syringae.

We examined how tobacco plants coordinate chloroplast components and defense responses during Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) infection. Tobacco leaves infiltrated with Pst induced weak necrosis at 24 h post-infiltration (hpi) and severe necrosis at 48 hpi. Membrane damage, as shown by cellular leakage and malondialdehyde, and H2O2 production began to increase at 12 hpi and continuously increased at 24-72 hpi in Pst-infiltrated leaves. Pst infection resulted in decreases in light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding proteins (Lhc), Lhcb transcripts, electron transport rate, and Fv/Fm, indicating the impairment in structure and function of photosystem II. Photochemical quenching, qP, continuously decreased in Pst-infiltrated leaves at 24-48 hpi, whereas nonphotochemical quenching, NPQ, exhibited a 2-fold increase at 24 hpi and a decrease at 48 dpi. In response to Pst infection, chlorophyll began to decrease at 48 hpi, whereas levels of protoporphyrin IX (Proto IX), Mg-Proto IX, Mg-Proto methylester, and protochlorophyllide drastically decreased or disappeared as early as 24 hpi. Pst-infiltrated leaves greatly up-regulated the expression of ROS scavenging genes, Fe-SOD, APX, and CAT1, as well as defense-related genes, PII, PR1, PR2, PALa, and CHS1. Our study suggests that the modulation of photosynthetic components during pathogen infection, particularly in relation to the fast degradation of photosensitizing porphyrin intermediates and the increase in photoprotective NPQ, may contribute to attenuating cellular damage in the early stages of programmed cell death induced by Pst.

Compliance to dietary guidelines on fruit and vegetable intake and prevalence of hypertension among Vietnamese adults, 2015.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the Western dietary guidelines on fruit and vegetable intake are associated with blood pressure parameters and hypertension among Vietnamese adults. METHODS: Participants included 1384 women and 1049 men aged 18-69 years from the 2015 Vietnam national survey on risk factors of non-communicable diseases. Associations between dietary intake score based on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) guidelines and World Health Organization recommendations on fruit and vegetable consumption and blood pressure parameters and hypertension were evaluated by multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: Approximately 17.0% and 40.1% of participants met the respective definitions of hypertension according to Joint National Committee 7 (JNC7) and 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Hypertension Guideline. Highest tertiles of DASH scores for fruit intake were significantly associated with increased blood pressure parameters, particularly in women. Hypertension was associated with DASH score for fruit intake with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for tertiles 2-3 versus tertile 1: 1.31 (0.98, 1.76) and 1.43 (1.05, 1.93) for JNC7; 1.26 (1.01, 1.58) and 1.31 (1.04, 1.66) for 2017 ACC/AHA guideline (all p-trend <0.05). No association with blood pressure parameters and hypertension was observed for DASH score for vegetable intake and meeting World Health Organization recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake. CONCLUSION: We found an unexpected positive association between DASH score for fruit intake and blood pressure parameters and hypertension among Vietnamese adults. More research is needed in this population to understand the relationship between vegetable and fruit intake with hypertension before a firm conclusion and recommendation are made.

Altered regulation of porphyrin biosynthesis and protective responses to acifluorfen-induced photodynamic stress in transgenic rice expressing Bradyrhizobium japonicum Fe-chelatase.

We examined the molecular regulation of porphyrin biosynthesis and protective responses in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) expressing Bradyrhizobium japonicum Fe-chelatase (BjFeCh) after treatment with acifluorfen (AF). During the photodynamic stress imposed by AF, transcript levels of BjFeCh in transgenic plants increased greatly; moreover, transcript levels of OsFeCh2 remained almost constant, whereas in wild type (WT) plants they were considerably down-regulated. In the heme branch, transgenic plants exhibited greater levels of OsFC and HO transcripts than WT plants in the untreated stems as well as in the AF-treated leaves and stems. Both WT and transgenic plants treated with AF substantially decreased transcript levels for all the genes in the chlorophyll branch, with less decline in transgenic plants. After AF treatment, ascorbate (Asc) content and the redox Asc state greatly decreased in leaves of WT plants; however, in transgenic plants both parameters remained constant in leaves and the Asc redox state increased by 20% in stems. In response to AF, the leaves of WT plants greatly up-regulated CatA, CatB, and GST compared to those of transgenic plants, whereas, in the stems, transgenic plants showed higher levels of CatA, CatC, APXb, BCH, and VDE. Photochemical quenching, qP, was considerably dropped by 31% and 18% in WT and transgenic plants, respectively in response to AF, whereas non-radiative energy dissipation through non-photochemical quenching increased by 77% and 38% in WT and transgenic plants, respectively. Transgenic plants treated with AF exhibited higher transcript levels of nucleus-encoded photosynthetic genes, Lhcb1 and Lhcb6, as well as levels of Lhcb6 protein compared to those of WT plants. Our study demonstrates that expression of BjFeCh in transgenic plants influences not only the regulation of porphyrin biosynthesis through maintaining higher levels of gene expression in the heme branch, but also the Asc redox function during photodynamic stress caused by AF.

Extraction and biomolecular analysis of dermal interstitial fluid collected with hollow microneedles.

Dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) is an underutilized information-rich biofluid potentially useful in health status monitoring applications whose contents remain challenging to characterize. Here, we present a facile microneedle approach for dermal ISF extraction with minimal pain and no blistering for human subjects and rats. Extracted ISF volumes were sufficient for determining transcriptome, and proteome signatures. We noted similar profiles in ISF, serum, and plasma samples, suggesting that ISF can be a proxy for direct blood sampling. Dynamic changes in RNA-seq were recorded in ISF from induced hypoxia conditions. Finally, we report the first isolation and characterization, to our knowledge, of exosomes from dermal ISF. The ISF exosome concentration is 12-13 times more enriched when compared to plasma and serum and represents a previously unexplored biofluid for exosome isolation. This minimally invasive extraction approach can enable mechanistic studies of ISF and demonstrates the potential of ISF for real-time health monitoring applications.

The importance of waist circumference and body mass index in cross-sectional relationships with risk of cardiovascular disease in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Waist circumference (WC) is an indicator of intra-abdominal adipose tissue, high levels of which confer an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. Population data on WC should be more informative than data on body mass index (BMI), which is a general indicator of body size. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of WC relative to BMI in cross-sectional relationships with blood pressure (BP), glucose, and total cholesterol (TC) in the adult population of Vietnam. METHODS: The data were collected in a population-based survey conducted during 2009-10 using the "WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable disease" (STEPS) methodology. The survey participants (n = 14 706 aged 25 to 64 years) were selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces representative of the eight geographical regions of Vietnam. All measurements were performed in accordance with the STEPS protocols. All analyses were performed using complex survey methods. RESULTS: The measurements of WC and BMI were highly correlated (men r = 0.80, women r = 0.77). For men, the strongest and predominant associations with BP, glucose, and TC were for WC or an index based on WC. For women, this was true for glucose but BMI was more important for BP and TC. WC or an index based on WC provided better discrimination than BMI of hypertension and elevated glucose, and of raised TC for men. Information on four new anthropometric indices did not improve model fit or subject discrimination. CONCLUSION: For BP/hypertension, glucose/elevated glucose, and TC/raised TC, WC was more informative than BMI for Vietnamese men, but both WC and BMI were important for Vietnamese women. Both WC and BMI need to be assessed for estimation of CVD risk in Vietnam.

Proteomic Characterization of Dermal Interstitial Fluid Extracted Using a Novel Microneedle-Assisted Technique.

As wearable fitness devices have gained commercial acceptance, interest in real-time monitoring of an individual's physiological status using noninvasive techniques has grown. Microneedles have been proposed as a minimally invasive technique for sampling the dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) for clinical monitoring and diagnosis, but little is known about its composition. In this study, a novel microneedle array was used to collect dermal ISF from three healthy human donors and compared with matching serum and plasma samples. Using a shotgun quantitative proteomic approach, 407 proteins were quantified with at least one unique peptide, and of those, 135 proteins were differently expressed at least 2-fold. Collectively, these proteins tended to originate from the cytoplasm, membrane bound vesicles, and extracellular vesicular exosomes. Proteomic analysis confirmed previously published work that indicates that ISF is highly similar to both plasma and serum. In this study, less than one percent of proteins were uniquely identified in ISF. Taken together, ISF could serve as a minimally invasive alternative for blood-derived fluids with potential for real-time monitoring applications.

Assessment of the Therapeutic Potential of Persimmon Leaf Extract on Prediabetic Subjects.

Dietary supplements have exhibited myriads of positive health effects on human health conditions and with the advent of new technological advances, including in the fields of proteomics, genomics, and metabolomics, biological and pharmacological activities of dietary supplements are being evaluated for their ameliorative effects in human ailments. Recent interests in understanding and discovering the molecular targets of phytochemical-gene-protein-metabolite dynamics resulted in discovery of a few protein signature candidates that could potentially be used to assess the effects of dietary supplements on human health. Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) is a folk medicine, commonly used as dietary supplement in China, Japan, and South Korea, owing to its different beneficial health effects including anti-diabetic implications. However, neither mechanism of action nor molecular biomarkers have been discovered that could either validate or be used to evaluate effects of persimmon on human health. In present study, Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic studies were accomplished to discover proteomic molecular signatures that could be used to understand therapeutic potentials of persimmon leaf extract (PLE) in diabetes amelioration. Saliva, serum, and urine samples were analyzed and we propose that salivary proteins can be used for evaluating treatment effectiveness and in improving patient compliance. The present discovery proteomics study demonstrates that salivary proteomic profile changes were found as a result of PLE treatment in prediabetic subjects that could specifically be used as potential protein signature candidates.

Autopiquer - a Robust and Reliable Peak Detection Algorithm for Mass Spectrometry.

We present a simple algorithm for robust and unsupervised peak detection by determining a noise threshold in isotopically resolved mass spectrometry data. Solving this problem will greatly reduce the subjective and time-consuming manual picking of mass spectral peaks and so will prove beneficial in many research applications. The Autopiquer approach uses autocorrelation to test for the presence of (isotopic) structure in overlapping windows across the spectrum. Within each window, a noise threshold is optimized to remove the most unstructured data, whilst keeping as much of the (isotopic) structure as possible. This algorithm has been successfully demonstrated for both peak detection and spectral compression on data from many different classes of mass spectrometer and for different sample types, and this approach should also be extendible to other types of data that contain regularly spaced discrete peaks. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

National survey of risk factors for non-communicable disease in Vietnam: prevalence estimates and an assessment of their validity.

BACKGROUND: To estimate the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors at a provincial level in Vietnam, and to assess whether the summary estimates allow reliable inferences to be drawn regarding regional differences in risk factors and associations between them. METHODS: Participants (n = 14706, 53.5 % females) aged 25-64 years were selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces each representing one of the eight geographical regions of Vietnam. Measurements were made using the World Health Organization STEPS protocols. Data were analysed using complex survey methods. RESULTS: Differences by sex in mean years of schooling (males 8.26 ± 0.20, females 7.00 ± 0.18), proportions of current smokers (males 57.70 %, females 1.73 %), and binge-drinkers (males 25.11 %, females 0.63 %), and regional differences in diet, reflected the geographical and socio-cultural characteristics of the country. Provinces with a higher proportion of urban population had greater mean levels of BMI (r = 0.82), and lesser proportions of active people (r = -0.89). The associations between the summary estimates were generally plausible (e.g. physical activity and BMI, r = -0.80) but overstated, and with some anomalous findings due to characterisation of smoking and hypertension by STEPS protocols. CONCLUSIONS: This report provides an extensive description of the sex-specific and regional distribution of NCD risk factors in Vietnam and an account of some health-related consequences of industrialisation in its early stages. The STEPS protocols can be utilized to provide aggregate data for valid between-population comparisons, but with important caveats identified.

Fruit and vegetable consumption in Vietnam, and the use of a 'standard serving' size to measure intake.

The aims of the present study were to provide nationally representative data on fruit and vegetable consumption in Vietnam, and to assess the accuracy of the reported numbers of 'standard servings' consumed. Data analysed were from a multi-stage stratified cluster survey of 14 706 participants (46·5 % males, response proportion 64·1 %) aged 25-64 years in Vietnam. Measurements were made in accordance with the WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance of non-communicable diseases (STEPS) protocols. Approximately 80 % of Vietnamese people reported having less than five servings of fruit and vegetables daily in a typical week. Fruit and vegetable intake reported in 'standard serving' sizes was positively correlated with levels of education completed and household income (P<0·001 for trend). The correlations between summary values for each province reflect some known demographic, geographical and climatic characteristics of the country. For example, provinces at higher latitude had higher mean servings of vegetables (r 0·90), and provinces with higher proportions of urban population had higher mean servings of fruit (r 0·40). In conclusion, about eight in ten Vietnamese people aged 25-64 years did not meet WHO recommendations for daily consumption of at least five servings of fruit and vegetables. On the basis of the consistency of the data collected with other estimates and with physical and demographic characteristics of the country, the WHO STEPS instrument has construct validity for measuring fruit and vegetable intake, but with two issues identified. The issues were seasonal variation in reporting and a limitation on the usefulness of the information for associative analyses.

Alcohol Consumption in Vietnam, and the Use of 'Standard Drinks' to Measure Alcohol Intake.

AIMS: To provide nationally representative data on alcohol consumption in Vietnam and to assess whether reported numbers of 'standard drinks' consumed have evidence of validity (particularly in rural areas where home-made alcohol is consumed from cups of varying size). METHODS: A nationally representative population-based survey of 14,706 participants (46.5% males, response proportion 64.1%) aged 25-64 years in Vietnam. Measurements were made in accordance with WHO STEPS protocols. Data were analysed using complex survey methods. RESULTS: Among men, 80% reported drinking alcohol during the last year, and 40% were hazardous/harmful drinkers. Approximately 60% of men and <5% of women had consumed alcohol during the last week, with one-in-four of the men reporting having consumed at least five standard drinks on at least one occasion. Numbers of standard drinks reported by men were associated with blood pressure/hypertension, particularly in rural areas (P < 0.001 for trend). Most of the calibration and discrimination possible from self-reported information on alcohol consumption was provided by binary responses to questions on whether or not alcohol had been consumed during the reference period. CONCLUSION: Alcohol use and harmful consumption were common among Vietnamese men but less pronounced than in Western nations. Self-reports of quantity of alcohol consumed in terms of standard drinks had predictive validity for blood pressure and hypertension even in rural areas. However, using detailed measures of consumption resulted in only minor improvements in prediction compared to simple measures.

Glycosylation characterization of therapeutic mAbs by top- and middle-down mass spectrometry.

A reference monoclonal antibody IgG1 and a fusion IgG protein were analyzed by top- and middle-down mass spectrometry with multiple fragmentation techniques including electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization in-source decay (MALDI-ISD) to investigate heterogeneity of glycosylated protein species. Specifically, glycan structure, sites, relative abundance levels, and termini structural conformation were investigated by use of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) or high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI) linked to an Orbitrap. Incorporating a limited enzymatic digestion by immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme Streptococcus pyogenes (IdeS) with MALDI-ISD analysis extended sequence coverage of the internal region of the proteins without pre-fractionation. The data in this article is associated with the research article published in Journal of Proteomics (Tran et al., 2015) [1].