Investigation of in vitro Biological Activity from Extracts of Ruellia tuberosa.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> is a common plant in the Mekong Delta and is widely used in many Vietnamese folk remedies. This study was conducted to investigate the potential use of roots, stems, leaves of <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> as antioxidant, antimicrobial, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> The extracts were tested for their ability to inhibit the enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase associated with diabetes. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-Azino-Bis-(3-Ethylbenzothiazoline-6-Sulfonic Acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reducing power (RP) assays. The antibacterial activity of extracts from <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method. <b>Results:</b> The root extract of <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> has more polyphenols (32.49±0.72 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoids (15.48±1.32 mg QE/g extract) than the other parts. Simultaneously, the root extract of <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> has antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ values range from 117.67±2.82 to 569.20±7.68 µg/mL), inhibiting amylase (IC₅₀ = 266.72±10.58 µg/mL) and glucosidase (IC₅₀ = 147.13±3.58 µg/mL) enzymes more effectively than the other parts. Research results also show that extracts from <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> are capable of inhibiting <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 1280 to 10240 mg/mL. <b>Conclusion:</b> These results highlighted the potential using of <i>Ruellia tuberosa</i> extracts as natural antioxidant, antimicrobial, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors agents.

Food impaction on three-dimensional printed models with periodontal ligament simulation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate food impaction on three-dimensional (3D) printed models with periodontal ligament simulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on a commercial typodont pair, 3D maxillary and mandibular models were created with no teeth and with tooth sockets that were 1 mm wider than the original ones from 24 to 27 or 34 to 37 for periodontal ligament simulation with vinyl polysiloxane impression material. In total, 35 pairs of 7 combinations, including maxillary/mandibular typodonts in occlusion with maxillary/mandibular 3D models with/without a distal gap of canines on 3D models (tooth 23 or 33) were mounted on hinge articulators and divided into seven groups (n = 5). Each sample experienced the same manual chewing simulation on a customized device. The proximal surfaces were photographed to measure the percentage of food impaction area using ImageJ software. RESULTS: Group with fixed maxillary and mandibular teeth showed more food impaction than other groups with significant differences in the average of maxilla and the average of all proximal areas. CONCLUSION: The flexibility of the periodontal ligament and the degree of freedom of the teeth in their sockets may contribute to the extent of food impaction in proximal spaces.

Towards elimination of chronic viral hepatitis in French Polynesia: results from a national population-based survey.

Background: In French Polynesia, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection appears as a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which detection rate in the Austral archipelago is among the highest in the world. Through a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of the adult population, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence of HBV, but also hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis delta virus (HDV). Methods: A total of 1942 blood samples from participants aged 18-69 years were tested for anti-HBc, anti-HBs, HBsAg, anti-HCV IgG, and HDV RNA. Complete genome sequencing of detected HBV strains was performed. Findings: Among participants, 315/1834, 582/1834, 33/1834, 0/1857, and 0/33 tested positive for anti-HBc, anti-HBs, HBsAg, anti-HCV IgG, and HDV RNA, respectively. The population prevalence of HBsAg was estimated at 1.0% (95% CI: 0.6-1.7). All HBsAg carriers were born in French Polynesia before vaccination at birth became mandatory. In multivariate analyses, identified factors associated with HBsAg carriage included: the archipelago of residence (p < 0.0001), age (p < 0.0001), and education level (p = 0.0077). HBV genotypes B, C, and F were detected. Interpretation: French Polynesia has a low endemicity level of HBV and its population may be considered at low risk for HCV and HDV infection. However, prevalence of HBsAg was found concerning in Austral (3.8%; 95% CI: 1.9-7.5) and Marquesas (6.5%; 95% CI: 3.8-11) archipelagoes. In the Austral archipelago, the presence of genotype C may account for the elevated rate of HCC. Our findings warrant more efforts to improve access to detection, prevention and care to people born before the systematic vaccination policy application, and residing in higher-risk areas, to achieve HBV elimination in French Polynesia. Funding: Research Delegation of French Polynesia.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and associated factors of infection before and after the Delta wave in French Polynesia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: French Polynesia (FP) comprises 75 inhabited islands scattered across five archipelagos. Between July and October 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant triggered a much stronger second epidemic wave in FP than the original Wuhan strain, which was dominant from August 2020 to March 2021. Although previous seroprevalence surveys made it possible to determine the proportion of the population infected by SARS-CoV-2 on the two most populated islands (Tahiti and Moorea) after the first (20.6% in Tahiti and 9.4% in Moorea) and second (57.7% in Tahiti) epidemic waves, no data are available for more remote islands. We used blood samples and personal data collected before, during, and after the second wave from inhabitants of several islands within the five archipelagos to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and identify associated factors. METHODS: Blood samples and personal data were collected between April and December 2021 as part of the MATAEA study, a cross-sectional survey conducted on a random sample of the adult population representative of the five FP archipelagos and stratified by age and gender. IgG antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein were detected using a recombinant antigen-based microsphere immunoassay. Factors associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2-N seropositivity were identified using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of 1,120 participants, 503 (44.9%) tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2-N antibodies, corresponding to a weighted prevalence of 56.8% for the FP population aged 18-69 years. The seroprevalence increased from 21.9% to 62.1% before and during/after the Delta wave. Of these infections, only 28.4% had been diagnosed by health professionals. The odds of being seropositive were lower in males, participants recruited before the Delta wave, those who had never been married, those with a diagnosed respiratory allergy, smokers, and those vaccinated against COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the high impact of the Delta wave in FP. By the end of 2021, 56.8% of the FP population aged 18-69 years had been infected by SARS-CoV-2; the majority of these infections went undetected. Individuals with respiratory allergies were found to be less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Trastuzumab and first-line taxane chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer patients with a HER2-negative tumor and HER2-positive circulating tumor cells: a phase II trial.

PURPOSE: HER2 overexpressing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are observed in up to 25% of HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients. Since targeted anti-HER2 therapy has drastically improved clinical outcomes of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, we hypothesized that patients with HER2 overexpressing CTCs might benefit from the addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy. METHODS: In this single-arm, phase II trial, patients with HER2-positive CTCs received trastuzumab as addition to first-line treatment with taxane chemotherapy. Patients with detectable CTCs but without HER2 overexpression that received taxane chemotherapy only, were used as control group. The primary outcome measure was progression-free rate at 6 months (PFR6), with a target of 80%. In November 2022, the study was terminated early due to slow patient accrual. RESULTS: 63 patients were screened, of which eight patients had HER2-positive CTCs and were treated with trastuzumab. The median number of CTCs was 15 per 7.5 ml of blood (range 1-131) in patients with HER2-positive CTCs, compared to median 5 (range 1-1047) in the control group. PFR6 was 50% in the trastuzumab group and 54% in the taxane monotherapy group, with no significant difference in median PFS (8 versus 9 months, p = 0.51). CONCLUSION: No clinical benefit of trastuzumab was observed, although this study was performed in a limited number of patients. Additionally, we observed a strong correlation between the number of evaluable CTCs and the presence of HER2-positive CTCs. We argue that randomized studies investigating agents that are proven to be solely effective in the HER2-positive patient group in patients with HER2-positive CTCs and HER2-negative tissue are currently infeasible. Several factors contribute to this impracticality, including the need for more stringent thresholds, and the rapidly evolving landscape of cancer treatments.

Research on Passiflora foetida L. as a Pharmaceutical Treatment for Neurasthenia in Humans.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> This plant is known in many parts of the world and is used as medicine in some countries. In Vietnam, people know how to use <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L.,<i> </i>as an herb. There are many research works in the world, most of them focus on medicinal properties. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of samples of <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L., yellow fruit based on agronomic traits and the gene region of "<i>rbcL</i>". <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Seed samples were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications. The trial was a sample of <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L., species. The distance between sample plant is 3×2 m, so the total number of trees is 1,330 trees ha¹. The genetic relationship between them was determined through the construction of a phylogenetic tree in the "<i>rbcL</i>" gene region sequence. Data analysis and processing methods done by using X software. <b>Results:</b> The PCR results that amplify the "<i>rbcL</i>" gene region around 670 bp, the PCR products were then sequenced. The sequence results were compared with the sequences on the NCBI gene bank, showing that the sequences of the nine varieties/species all coincided with the <i>Passiflora foetida </i>Sims species sequences with a high similarity coefficient from 98.77 to 99.9%. Genetically shows that all nine species samples belong to <i>Passiflora foetida</i> which can be classified into three genetic samples of An Giang (LA1), Ca Mau (LA2) and Can Tho (LA3) which are genetically close to each other, have the same index. <b>Conclusion:</b> The heritability in the broad sense is high in the two traits of stem height and leaf length, so it can be considered that these two traits are controlled by genes. The cultivation of algae seeds to improve the productivity of these medicinal plant varieties is important in providing raw materials for the oriental medicine industry.

Impact of vaccinations, boosters and lockdowns on COVID-19 waves in French Polynesia.

Estimating the impact of vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 incidence is complicated by several factors, including successive emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and changing population immunity from vaccination and infection. We develop an age-structured multi-strain COVID-19 transmission model and inference framework to estimate vaccination and non-pharmaceutical intervention impact accounting for these factors. We apply this framework to COVID-19 waves in French Polynesia and estimate that the vaccination programme averted 34.8% (95% credible interval: 34.5-35.2%) of 223,000 symptomatic cases, 49.6% (48.7-50.5%) of 5830 hospitalisations and 64.2% (63.1-65.3%) of 1540 hospital deaths that would have occurred in a scenario without vaccination up to May 2022. We estimate the booster campaign contributed 4.5%, 1.9%, and 0.4% to overall reductions in cases, hospitalisations, and deaths. Our results suggest that removing lockdowns during the first two waves would have had non-linear effects on incidence by altering accumulation of population immunity. Our estimates of vaccination and booster impact differ from those for other countries due to differences in age structure, previous exposure levels and timing of variant introduction relative to vaccination, emphasising the importance of detailed analysis that accounts for these factors.

Real-time surveillance of international SARS-CoV-2 prevalence using systematic traveller arrival screening: An observational study.

BACKGROUND: Effective Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response relies on good knowledge of population infection dynamics, but owing to under-ascertainment and delays in symptom-based reporting, obtaining reliable infection data has typically required large dedicated local population studies. Although many countries implemented Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing among travellers, it remains unclear how accurately arrival testing data can capture international patterns of infection, because those arrival testing data were rarely reported systematically, and predeparture testing was often in place as well, leading to nonrepresentative infection status among arrivals. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In French Polynesia, testing data were reported systematically with enforced predeparture testing type and timing, making it possible to adjust for nonrepresentative infection status among arrivals. Combining statistical models of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positivity with data on international travel protocols, we reconstructed estimates of prevalence at departure using only testing data from arrivals. We then applied this estimation approach to the United States of America and France, using data from over 220,000 tests from travellers arriving into French Polynesia between July 2020 and March 2022. We estimated a peak infection prevalence at departure of 2.1% (95% credible interval: 1.7, 2.6%) in France and 1% (95% CrI: 0.63, 1.4%) in the USA in late 2020/early 2021, with prevalence of 4.6% (95% CrI: 3.9, 5.2%) and 4.3% (95% CrI: 3.6, 5%), respectively, estimated for the Omicron BA.1 waves in early 2022. We found that our infection estimates were a leading indicator of later reported case dynamics, as well as being consistent with subsequent observed changes in seroprevalence over time. We did not have linked data on traveller demography or unbiased domestic infection estimates (e.g., from random community infection surveys) in the USA and France. However, our methodology would allow for the incorporation of prior data from additional sources if available in future. CONCLUSIONS: As well as elucidating previously unmeasured infection dynamics in these countries, our analysis provides a proof-of-concept for scalable and accurate leading indicator of global infections during future pandemics.

Tumor-agnostic ctDNA levels by mFAST-SeqS in first-line HR-positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer patients as a biomarker for survival.

This prospective cohort study reports aneuploidy score by mFast-SeqS as a strong prognostic marker in MBC patients. mFAST-SeqS is an affordable and easily implementable method for the assessment of total ctDNA levels and, as such, provides an alternative prognostic tool. One mixed cohort (cohort A, n = 45) starting any type of treatment in any line of therapy and one larger cohort (cohort B, n = 129) consisting of patients starting aromatase inhibitors (AI) as first-line therapy were used. mFAST-SeqS was performed using plasma of blood in which CTCs (CellSearch) were enumerated. The resulting aneuploidy score was correlated with categorized CTC count and associated with outcome. The aneuploidy score was significantly correlated with CTC count, but discordance was observed in 31.6% when applying cut-offs of 5. In both cohorts, aneuploidy score was a significant prognostic marker for both PFS and OS. In the Cox regression models, the HR for aneuploidy score for PFS was 2.52 (95% CI: 1.56-4.07), and the HR for OS was 2.37 (95% CI: 1.36-4.14). Results presented here warrant further investigations into the clinical utility of this marker in MBC patients.

Food Impaction in Dentistry: Revisited.

PURPOSE: This review aimed to highlight the aetiology and risk factors of food impaction along with the treatment in each case. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search was conducted in PubMed from 1947 to March 28, 2023. The search terms utilised included (food impaction) OR (interdental impaction). No filter was applied. Articles related to the classification, aetiology, treatment, and associated factors of food impaction in dentistry and published in English or with an abstract in English were selected. RESULTS: A total of 72 articles were included in the review, which revealed the variety and complexity of aetiological factors and treatment of food impaction in dentistry, as well as the heterogeneity of previous studies. Based on the aetiology, different treatment plans and management should be considered. CONCLUSION: This review indicated the need to identify the pathology of food impaction before treatment. Considering the causal factors of food impaction - including proximal contact loss, occlusal disharmony, morphological deformity, positional abnormality, and interdental papillae loss - different management approaches such as restoration, occlusal adjustment, orthodontic, nonsurgical or surgical treatment could be applied. Further clinical and experimental research is warranted to address the prevention and treatment of food impaction in dentistry.

Two New α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Depsidones from the Lichen Parmotrema cristiferum (Taylor) Hale.

A bioactivity-guided investigation of the lichen Parmotrema cristiferum (Taylor) Hale (Parmeliaceae) led to the isolation of two new depsidones, cristifones A and B (1 and 2). The structures of the isolated compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods and comparison with the literature data. Compound 1 showed the initial combined structures of depsidone and depside cores. The two isolated compounds were then evaluated for α-glucosidase inhibition. Compounds 1 and 2 were confirmed as potent, with IC50 values of 21.5 and 18.4 µM, respectively. Compound 2 was a non-competitive inhibitor against α-glucosidase, as indicated by the intersect in the second quadrant of each respective plot.

The Potential of Ameliorating COVID-19 and Sequelae From Andrographis paniculata via Bioinformatics.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is alarmingly escalating and raises challenges in finding efficient compounds for treatment. Repurposing phytochemicals in herbs is an ideal and economical approach for screening potential herbal components against COVID-19. Andrographis paniculata, also known as Chuan Xin Lian, has traditionally been used as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herb for centuries and has recently been classified as a promising herbal remedy for adjuvant therapy in treating respiratory diseases. This study aimed to screen Chuan Xin Lian's bioactive components and elicit the potential pharmacological mechanisms and plausible pathways for treating COVID-19 using network pharmacology combined with molecular docking. The results found terpenoid (andrographolide) and flavonoid (luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol, and wogonin) derivatives had remarkable potential against COVID-19 and sequelae owing to their high degrees in the component-target-pathway network and strong binding capacities in docking scores. In addition, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway might be the most vital molecular pathway in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and long-term sequelae whereby therapeutic strategies can intervene.

Two new phenolic compounds from Boerhavia erecta collected in Vietnam.

Boerhavia erecta is a tropical plant that is widely used in Asian folk medicine. Little is known about the alpha-glucosidase inhibition and antimicrobial properties of compounds from this plant. In the present study, the phytochemical study of the aerial parts of B. erecta collected in Vietnam was conducted using multiple chromatographic methods. The chemical structures of isolated compounds were identified by comprehensive spectroscopic methods. Two new compounds, berectone C (1) and (E)-tetracosyl 3-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)acrylate (4), together with the known compounds boeravinone C (2), liquiritigenin (3), bis(1H-indol-3-yl)methanone (5), and indole-3-carboxylic acid (6) were isolated and structural elucidated. Compounds 1 and 4 were evaluated for alpha-glucosidase inhibition and antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant, pathogenic bacteria Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Compound 1 showed strong inhibition of the alpha-glucosidase enzyme (IC50 43 µg/mL). Only compound 1 exhibited antimicrobial property against A. baumannii, forming an inhibition zone of 11 mm.

Assessing Microleakage at 2 Different Implant-Healing Abutment Interfaces.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate implants from different manufacturers and determine whether implant-healing abutment interface has a significant impact on implant seal. METHODS: An air-injection pressure measurement test was performed on implants with either line-contact (modified TSIII [TSM] and Bone Level Tapered [BLT]) or partial face-contact (BlueDiamond [BD], SuperLine [SL], ISII, and UFII) interface design from 6 different manufacturers. Forty implants per implant type were analysed. Pressure data were evaluated with Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post hoc analysis (statistical significance was set at P < .05). RESULTS: BLT implants leaked when the mean pressure was increased to 199.9 kPa. The following implants showed mean leakage pressures of 182.9 (TSM), 157.4 (BD), 112.9 (SL), 101.8 (ISII), and 30.6 (UFII). There was a significant difference between line-contact and partial face-contact implants (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The implant interface design has a significant impact on implant microbial leakage. Implants with a line-contact interface exhibited a higher resistance to leakage than those with partial face-contact.

Unravelling the determinants of human health in French Polynesia: the MATAEA project.

Background: French Polynesia is a French overseas collectivity in the Southeast Pacific, comprising 75 inhabited islands across five archipelagoes. The human settlement of the region corresponds to the last massive migration of humans to empty territories, but its timeline is still debated. Despite their recent population history and geographical isolation, inhabitants of French Polynesia experience health issues similar to those of continental countries. Modern lifestyles and increased longevity have led to a rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Likewise, international trade and people mobility have caused the emergence of communicable diseases (CDs) including mosquito-borne and respiratory diseases. Additionally, chronic pathologies including acute rheumatic fever, liver diseases, and ciguatera, are highly prevalent in French Polynesia. However, data on such diseases are scarce and not representative of the geographic fragmentation of the population. Objectives: The present project aims to estimate the prevalence of several NCDs and CDs in the population of the five archipelagoes, and identify associated risk factors. Moreover, genetic analyses will contribute to determine the sequence and timings of the peopling history of French Polynesia, and identify causal links between past genetic adaptation to island environments, and present-day susceptibility to certain diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional survey is based on the random selection of 2,100 adults aged 18-69 years and residing on 18 islands from the five archipelagoes. Each participant answered a questionnaire on a wide range of topics (including demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits and medical history), underwent physical measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, arterial pressure, and skin pigmentation), and provided biological samples (blood, saliva, and stool) for biological, genetic and microbiological analyses. Conclusion: For the first time in French Polynesia, the present project allows to collect a wide range of data to explore the existence of indicators and/or risk factors for multiple pathologies of public health concern. The results will help health authorities to adapt actions and preventive measures aimed at reducing the incidence of NCDs and CDs. Moreover, the new genomic data generated in this study, combined with anthropological data, will increase our understanding of the peopling history of French Polynesia. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier: NCT06133400.

CABA-V7: a prospective biomarker selected trial of cabazitaxel treatment in AR-V7 positive prostate cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with positive AR-V7 expression in their circulating tumour cells (CTCs) rarely derive benefit from abiraterone and enzalutamide. DESIGN: We performed a prospective, multicenter, single arm phase II clinical trial (CABA-V7) in mCRPC patients previously treated with docetaxel and androgen deprivation therapy. OBJECTIVE: In this trial, we investigated whether cabazitaxel treatment resulted in clinically meaningful PSA response rates in patients with positive CTC-based AR-V7 expression and collected liquid biopsies for genomic profiling. RESULTS: Cabazitaxel was found to be modestly effective, with only 12% of these patients obtaining a PSA response. Genomic profiling revealed that CTC-based AR-V7 expression was not associated with other known mCRPC-associated alterations. CTC-based AR-V7 status and dichotomised CTC counts were observed as independent prognostic markers at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: AR-V7 positivity predicted poor overall survival (OS). However, cabazitaxel-treated AR-V7 positive patients and those lacking AR-V7 positivity, who received cabazitaxel as standard of care, appeared to have similar OS. Therefore, despite the low response rate, cabazitaxel may still be an effective treatment in this poor prognosis, AR-V7 positive patient population.

Considering waning immunity to better explain dengue dynamics.

Life-long serotype-specific immunity following dengue virus infection may not always occur, but the true extent of this effect is unknown. Analysis of more than 20 years of monotypic epidemics in the isolated French Polynesian islands revealed that whilst the risk of symptomatic dengue infection did conform to the classical paradigms of homotypic immunity and increased disease risk in heterotypic secondary infections, incorporation of waning immunity improved the ability of epidemiological models to capture the observed epidemic dynamics. Not only does this show how inclusion of waning immunity into classical models can reveal important facets of the immune response to natural dengue virus infection, it also has significant ramifications for vaccine development and implementation in dengue endemic areas.

Reconstructing long-term dengue virus immunity in French Polynesia.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the underlying risk of infection by dengue virus from surveillance systems is complicated due to the complex nature of the disease. In particular, the probability of becoming severely sick is driven by serotype-specific infection histories as well as age; however, this has rarely been quantified. Island communities that have periodic outbreaks dominated by single serotypes provide an opportunity to disentangle the competing role of serotype, age and changes in surveillance systems in characterising disease risk. METHODOLOGY: We develop mathematical models to analyse 35 years of dengue surveillance (1979-2014) and seroprevalence studies from French Polynesia. We estimate the annual force of infection, serotype-specific reporting probabilities and changes in surveillance capabilities using the annual age and serotype-specific distribution of dengue. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eight dengue epidemics occurred between 1979 and 2014, with reporting probabilities for DENV-1 primary infections increasing from 3% to 5%. The reporting probability for DENV-1 secondary infections was 3.6 times that for primary infections. We also observed heterogeneity in reporting probabilities by serotype, with DENV-3 having the highest probability of being detected. Reporting probabilities declined with age after 14 y.o. Between 1979 and 2014, the proportion never infected declined from 70% to 23% while the proportion infected at least twice increased from 4.5% to 45%. By 2014, almost half of the population had acquired heterotypic immunity. The probability of an epidemic increased sharply with the estimated fraction of susceptibles among children. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: By analysing 35 years of dengue data in French Polynesia, we characterised key factors affecting the dissemination profile and reporting of dengue cases in an epidemiological context simplified by mono-serotypic circulation. Our analysis provides key estimates that can inform the study of dengue in more complex settings where the co-circulation of multiple serotypes can greatly complicate inference.

Genetic Relationships of Some Samples of Ginger (Zingiber officinale (Wild) Roscoe) as Medicinal Herbs in the Cuu Long River Delta, Vietnam.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Ginger (<i>Zingiber officinale</i> (Wild). Roscoe) is a plant that has long been used as a medicinal herb for humans, so it has been grown and popularized in the Mekong Delta Provinces, but the research systematic genetics has not been given much attention. The current study evaluated the genetic characteristics of some ginger samples collected in eight provinces in the Mekong Delta based on morphological characteristics and ITS gene sequence regions. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Samples of Ginger varieties were collected in eight provinces, fresh leaf samples were collected and stored frozen at -20°C. Ginger morphology observation and description based on improved plant research methods. Total DNA extraction of ginger leaf samples was extracted from fresh leaf samples according to the extraction procedure by the modified CTAB method. <b>Results:</b> The phenotypes of the samples like length, leaf width, flower length and fruit diameter were significantly different between growing regions due to different environmental and farming conditions. Genetic relationship analysis showed that there are two distinct groups. Group I has 5 ginger samples from G8-Vinh Long, G4-Ben Tre, G2-Ca Mau, G5-Dong Thap and G6-Hau Giang provinces and group II includes ginger varieties belonging to G7-Ho Chi Minh City, G1-An Giang Province and G3-City. Can Tho. <b>Conclusion:</b> Samples/cultivars collected from eight provinces in the Mekong Delta showed variation in agronomic characteristics, but only stem height and length changes were statistically significantly different. Genotyping most of the samples belonged to the species <i>Zingiber officinale</i> (Wild) Roscoe.

Revisiting the Complications of Orthodontic Miniscrew.

Miniscrew has been used widely as an effective orthodontic anchorage with reliable stationary quality, ease of insertion and removal techniques, immediate or early loading, flexibility in site insertion, less trauma, minimal patient cooperation, and lower price. Nonetheless, it is not free of complications, and they could impact not only the miniscrew success rate but also patients' oral health. In this article, literature was searched and reviewed electronically as well as manually to evaluate the complications of orthodontic miniscrew. The selected articles are analyzed and subcategorized into complications during and after insertion, under loading, and during and after removal along with treatment if needed according to the time. In addition, the noteworthy associated factors such as the insertion and removal procedures, characteristics of both regional and local anatomic structures, and features of the miniscrew itself that play a significant role in the performance of miniscrews are also discussed based on literature evidence. Clinicians should notice these complications and their related factors to make a proper treatment plan with better outcomes.