Prevalence of arterial hypertension in Vietnamese seafarers aboard merchant vessels: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. It is a major risk factor for major cardiovascular events such as stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, kidney failure, and blindness. The aim of this research is to assess the prevalence and some factors related to arterial hypertension on Vietnamese seafarers aboard merchant vessels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven hundred eight Vietnamese seafarers working aboard merchant ships were examined at the Institute of Marine Medicine before going to sea during the period from January 2022 to December 2022. It was a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study. The following parameters were measured: blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, buttock circumference to assess the prevalence of hypertension, overweight, and obesity. Seafarers we directly interviewed about workplace on ships and physical exercise, smoking tobacco, alcohol abuse, and anxiety symptoms to identify several factors associated with hypertension. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension in seafarers was 32.9%, prehypertension 26.4%, overweight 32.4%, obesity 13.3%, abdominal obesity 47.7%. Factors related to hypertension of seafarers included: job duration at sea > 10 years, odds ratio (OR) = 8.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.34-17.27); non-officers, OR = 2.11 (95% CI 1.45-2.82); engine room crew, OR = 2.11 (95% CI 1.45-3.58); obesity, OR = 3.34 (95% CI 2.15-5.63); abdominal obesity, OR = 9.12 (95% CI 4.23-18.45); current smoking, OR = 1.32 (95% CI 1.02-1.99); irregular exercise, OR =1.43 (95% CI 1.03-2.18); anxiety symptoms, OR = 1.56 (95% CI 1.08-2.27). CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension is a health problem for Vietnamese seafarers. To minimise hypertension, seafarers need to adjust their lifestyle, increase regular exercise and improve psychological issues on board.

Self-assembly of a barnacle cement protein into intertwined amyloid fibres and determination of their adhesive and viscoelastic properties.

The stalked barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes uses a multi-protein cement to adhere to highly varied substrates in marine environments. We investigated the morphology and adhesiveness of a component 19 kDa protein in barnacle cement gland- and seawater-like conditions, using transmission electron microscopy and state-of-the art scanning probe techniques. The protein formed amyloid fibres after 5 days in gland-like but not seawater conditions. After 7-11 days, the fibres self-assembled under gland-like conditions into large intertwined fibrils of up to 10 µm in length and 200 nm in height, with a distinctive twisting of fibrils evident after 11 days. Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-nanodynamic mechanical analysis of the protein in wet conditions determined E' (elasticity), E'' (viscosity) and tan δ values of 2.8 MPa, 1.2 MPa and 0.37, respectively, indicating that the protein is a soft and viscoelastic material, while the adhesiveness of the unassembled protein and assembled fibres, measured using peak force quantitative nanomechanical mapping, was comparable to that of the commercial adhesive Cell-Tak™. The study provides a comprehensive insight into the nanomechanical and viscoelastic properties of the barnacle cement protein and its self-assembled fibres under native-like conditions and may have application in the design of amyloid fibril-based biomaterials or bioadhesives.

Allopurinol-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis: Signal detection and preventability from Vietnam National pharmacovigilance database.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Allopurinol, the first-line medication for hyperuricemia is well-known for its association with severe cutaneous adverse reactions, especially Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). In the current study, we analysed the Vietnamese spontaneous reporting database to identify signals and preventability of allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN in Vietnam from 2010 to 2019. METHODS: Signal generation was assessed using the case/non-case method. Reporting odds ratios (RORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Among 72,822 spontaneous ADR reports submitted to the Vietnam National Drug Information and Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre, 392 reports were on SJS/TEN, of which, 65 cases (16.6%) were related to allopurinol. The signals of allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN in Vietnam started in 2014 (ROR of 3.531, 95% CI: 1.830-6.810) and annually increased until 2019 (ROR of 11.923, 95% CI: 8.508-16.710). The preventability assessment showed that no allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN case was definitely unpreventable. 61.6% of the SJS/TEN cases were avoidable because they were associated with inappropriate prescribing such as unapproved indications, too high initial dose and even rechallenging in patients with a history of allopurinol allergy. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: The signals of allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN in Vietnam started in 2014 and annually increased until 2019. Our first report specifically focusing on the ADR preventability of allopurinol showed that correction of medical errors relating to prescription could prevent more than 60% of SJS/TEN cases in Vietnamese allopurinol users. This is a feasible and practical solution, provided that there would be a systematic change in both healthcare systems and public awareness.

Antibiotic Resistance of Helicobacter pylori in Patients with Peptic Ulcer.

Background and Objectives: To determine the antibiotic resistance rate of H. pylori among patients with peptic ulcer. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional monocentric study was conducted from January to December 2021 among patients aged from 16 years with gastrointestinal symptoms and esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Gastric mucosa biopsies were collected at the edges of the ulcer or at lesion sites for H. pylori culture. Five antibiotics (amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLR), metronidazole (MTZ), levofloxacin (LEV), and tetracycline (TET)) were selected for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Results: One hundred and twenty-five patients were included, and the sex ratio was 0.6. Their mean age was 47.3 ± 14.2 years. All of the participants had gastritis, and 24.0% had duodenitis. A total of 21.6% of patients had a duodenal ulcer, and 12.8% had an antral ulcer. A total of 40 specimens have grown in H. pylori culture. The proportion of resistance to AMX, CLR, MTZ, LEV, and TET was 27.5%, 50%, 67.5%, 35%, and 5%, respectively. The proportion of multidrug resistance was 22.5%. The proportion of double resistance to AMX + CLR was 20.0%, AMX + MTZ was 15.0%, AMX + LEV was 2.5%, CLR + MTZ was 32.5%, and TET + MTZ was 5.0%. Conclusions: Our research results show that the treatment with MTX-TET or LVX-AMOX has the highest sensitivity rate. Therefore, practitioners should refer to these regimes to eradicate H. pylori in patients with gastric and duodenal ulcers. The reports on H. pylori eradication from different geographic areas show heterogeneous results. Therefore, continuous monitoring of antibiotic resistance of H. pylori in each population is very important. Having evidence helps clinicians to treat patients most effectively, reduce treatment costs, and limit the rate of antibiotic resistance.

Multidetector Computed Tomography Findings of Acute Abdominal Intussusception Due to Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant inheritance characterized by intestinal hamartomatous polyps and hyperpigmented mucocutaneous macules. Bleeding, bowel obstruction, and intussusception are the most common complications in PJS patients. Individuals are infrequently present for the first time with bowel obstruction secondary to intussusception. Intestinal intussusception presentation is often observed clearly on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) with characteristic findings, such as "target" and "pseudo-kidney" signs, and sometimes shows the cause of lead-point polyp. A complemental examination is needed to attain more diagnostic symptoms of this disorder, including pigmented spots on the oral cavity and lips, family history with multiple gastrointestinal polyps. Here, we report a case of a 17-year-old male who showed traits of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. However, the diagnosis was not made until he later developed bowel obstruction caused by an ileo-ileal intussusception manifestation on MDCT and eventually proved in typical hamartoma on postoperative histopathology.

The Dependence of Structure, Morphology, and Photocatalytic Properties of SnO2 Nanoparticles Prepared via In Situ Hydrothermal Method on Annealing Temperature.

New high-performance photocatalytic materials are required to effectively treat water pollution. The effect of annealing temperature on the photocatalytic activities of tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles is investigated in this work. SnO2 nanoparticles are prepared via a hydrothermal method and annealing at various temperatures ranging from as-prepared to 900 °C. The size of SnO2 nanoparticles increases from 4 nm to 10 nm with an increase in annealing temperature. The photocatalytic properties of these nanoparticles are evaluated through the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under sunlight. Photocatalytic activities decrease significantly with an increase in annealing temperature due to an increase in size and a decrease in the surface area of SnO2 nanoparticles.

Effects of annealing temperature on the structure, morphology, and photocatalytic properties of SnO2/rGO nanocomposites.

Water pollution abatement is a problem in today's society that requires urgent attention. Moreover, photocatalysts are an effective method to treat environmental pollution, and SnO2/reduced graphene oxide composite photocatalysts have been extensively studied in recent years. The synthesis parameters for these photocatalysts significantly affect their morphologies, structures, and properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of annealing temperatures on the properties of SnO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites, which were hydrothermally fabricated at 180 °C for 24 h and annealed at 200 °C-800 °C. The structural characteristics of the fabricated nanocomposites were studied via x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Raman scattering analyses. The observed results indicated that increasing the annealing temperature from 200 °C to 800 °C increased the average SnO2 nanoparticle size from 4.60 nm to 9.27 nm; in addition, the Raman scattering peaks of the SnO2 increased, and those of the reduced graphene oxide significantly decreased as the annealing temperature was increased. Furthermore, the specific surface area of the samples decreased due to the increase in calcination temperature. The amount of reduced graphene oxide content in all the samples was measured using thermo-gravimetric analysis. The optical properties of the samples were studied using ltraviolet-visible absorption spectra, and their photocatalytic activity was evaluated by decomposing methylene blue under visible light using the samples as catalysts. In particular, the photocatalytic properties of nanocomposites decreased significantly with increasing annealing temperature. Among the samples, the photocatalytic activity of that annealed at 200 °C is most satisfactory as it has the smallest particle size and the largest specific surface area. The results of our research could facilitate the production of efficient catalysts with suitable properties.

Bactericidal Effect of Lauric Acid-Loaded PCL-PEG-PCL Nano-Sized Micelles on Skin Commensal Propionibacterium acnes.

Acne is the over growth of the commensal bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) on human skin. Lauric acid (LA) has been investigated as an effective candidate to suppress the activity of P. acnes. Although LA is nearly insoluble in water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been reported to effectively solubilize LA. However, the toxicity of DMSO can limit the use of LA on the skin. In this study, LA-loaded poly(ɛ-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) micelles (PCL-PEG-PCL) were developed to improve the bactericidal effect of free LA on P. acnes. The block copolymers mPEG-PCL and PCL-PEG-PCL with different molecular weights were synthesized and characterized using ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). In the presence of LA, mPEG-PCL diblock copolymers did not self-assemble into nano-sized micelles. On the contrary, the average particle sizes of the PCL-PEG-PCL micelles ranged from 50⁻198 nm for blank micelles and 27⁻89 nm for LA-loaded micelles. The drug loading content increased as the molecular weight of PCL-PEG-PCL polymer increased. Additionally, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of free LA were 20 and 80 µg/mL, respectively. The MICs and MBCs of the micelles decreased to 10 and 40 µg/mL, respectively. This study demonstrated that the LA-loaded micelles are a potential treatment for acne.

Low concentrations of flavonoids are protective in rat H4IIE cells whereas high concentrations cause DNA damage and apoptosis.

Dietary flavonoids possess a wide spectrum of biochemical and pharmacological actions and are assumed to protect human health. These actions, however, can be antagonistic, and some health claims are mutually exclusive. The antiapoptotic actions of flavonoids may protect against neurodegenerative diseases, whereas their proapoptotic actions could be used for cancer chemotherapy. This study was undertaken to determine whether a cytoprotective dose range of flavonoids could be differentiated from a cytotoxic dose range. Seven structurally related flavonoids were tested for their ability to protect H4IIE rat hepatoma cells against H(2)O(2)-induced damage on the one hand and to induce cellular damage on their own on the other hand. All flavonoids proved to be good antioxidants in a cell-free assay. However, their pharmacologic activity did not correlate with in vitro antioxidant potential but rather with cellular uptake. For quercetin and fisetin, which were readily taken up into the cells, protective effects against H(2)O(2)-induced cytotoxicity, DNA strand breaks, and apoptosis were detected at concentrations as low as 10-25 micromol/L. On the other hand, these flavonoids induced cytotoxicity, DNA strand breaks, oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and caspase activation at concentrations between 50 and 250 micromol/L. Published data on quercetin pharmacokinetics in humans suggest that a dietary supplement of 1-2 g of quercetin may result in plasma concentrations between 10 and 50 micromol/L. Our data suggest that cytoprotective concentrations of some flavonoids are lower by a factor of 5-10 than their DNA-damaging and proapoptotic concentrations.

The effect of quercetin on the mRNA expression of different antioxidant enzymes in hepatoma cells.

The flavonol quercetin shows a wide range of effects in biological systems. We investigated whether quercetin exerts its proposed antioxidant properties via the antioxidant enzyme system. Quercetin in a concentration range from 5 to 100 microM decreased manganese superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and copper zinc superoxide dismutase mRNA expression levels each by 30-40% in rat hepatoma H4IIE cells. Catalase mRNA expression levels increased about 30% but only with the cytotoxic concentration of 100 microM. Despite the down-regulation of antioxidant enzyme mRNA expression quercetin treatment of cells induced only a mild oxidative stress. Pretreatment of H4IIE cells with quercetin even protected against an oxidative stress resulting from hydrogen peroxide exposure. In conclusion, the antioxidant capacity of quercetin was shown not to be due to the antioxidant enzyme system.

The phytoestrogen daidzein affects the antioxidant enzyme system of rat hepatoma H4IIE cells.

Phytoestrogens such as the soy isoflavonoid daidzein have potential health benefits. The antioxidant properties of phytoestrogens are considered to be responsible in part for their protective effects. The antioxidant enzyme (AOE) system plays an important role in the defense of cells against oxidative insults. To determine whether flavonoids can exert antioxidative effects not only directly but also indirectly by modulating the AOE system, we investigated the influence of the flavonoid daidzein on the expression of different AOE. Daidzein treatment of hepatoma H4IIE cells increased catalase mRNA expression two- to threefold. Expression levels of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) were not affected by exposure to daidzein. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) mRNA expression levels decreased slightly and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels increased slightly after daidzein exposure. Changes in AOE mRNA expression levels were significant at 300 micromol/L daidzein. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the strong increase in catalase mRNA, transfection experiments were performed. Transient transfection of hepatoma cells with reporter plasmids containing different parts of the upstream region of the catalase gene showed a significant one- to threefold increase in reporter gene activity after daidzein exposure. This indicates that daidzein can directly activate the rat catalase promoter region. Despite the increase in catalase mRNA, daidzein pretreatment of cells did not protect against oxidative stress resulting from H(2)O(2) exposure. On the contrary, daidzein itself exerted a mild oxidative stress. In conclusion, the changes in the AOE system provoked by daidzein affected the oxidant rather than the antioxidant properties of daidzein.