PIEZO1 activation may serve as an early tissue biomarker for the prediction of irradiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction.

Irradiation (IR)-induced xerostomia is the most common side effect of radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Xerostomia diagnosis is mainly based on the patient's medical history and symptoms. Currently, no direct biomarkers are available for the early prediction of IR-induced xerostomia. Here, we identified PIEZO1 as a novel predictive tissue biomarker for xerostomia. Our data demonstrate that PIEZO1 is significantly upregulated at the gene and protein levels during IR-induced salivary gland (SG) hypofunction. Notably, PIEZO1 upregulation coincided with that of inflammatory (F4/80) and fibrotic markers (fibronectin and collagen fibers accumulation). These findings suggest that PIEZO1 upregulation in SG tissue may serve as a novel predictive marker for IR-induced xerostomia.

Molecular phylogenetics of a recently isolated goat pox virus from Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: After a decade of silence, an outbreak of the contagious and Asian endemic disease, goat pox re-emerged in North Vietnam affecting more than 1800 heads with a mortality rate of 6.5%. The inevitable impact of goat pox on hide quality, breeding, chevon and milk production has resulted in a significant economic losses to the developing goat industry of Vietnam. In the act of establishing an effective control of this devastating disease, tracing the source of re-emergence via a phylogenetic study was carried out to reveal their genetic relatedness. Either skin scab or papule from the six affected provinces were collected, cultured into Vero cells followed by restricted enzyme digestion of targeted P32 gene DNA encoding. The P32 gene was then cloned and transformed into E.coli competent cells for further sequencing. RESULTS: The isolated sequence is deposited into GenBank under Accession No. MN317561/VNUAGTP1. The phylogenetic tree revealed high similarity of nucleotide and amino acid sequences to references goat pox strains accounting for 99.6 and 99.3, respectively. The Vietnamese strain is clustered together with currently circulating goat pox virus in China, India and Pakistan which suggested the origin of South China. CONCLUSIONS: This Vietnam isolate is clustered together with other Asian goat pox strains indicating the dissemination of a common goat pox virus within this continent.

Epidemiology and clinico-pathological characteristics of current goat pox outbreak in North Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: In view of the current swine fever outbreak and the government aspiration to increase the goat population, a need arises to control and prevent outbreaks of goat pox. Despite North Vietnam facing sporadic cases of goat pox, this most recent outbreak had the highest recorded morbidity, mortality and case fatality rate. Thus, owing to the likelihood of a widespread recurrence of goat pox infection, an analysis of that outbreak was done based on selected signalment, management and disease pattern (signs and pathology) parameters. This includes examination of animals, inspection of facilities, tissue sampling and analysis for confirmation of goatpox along with questionaires. RESULTS: It was found that the susceptible age group were between 3 and 6 months old kids while higher infection rate occurred in those under the free-range rearing system. The clinical signs of pyrexia, anorexia, nasal discharge and lesions of pocks were not restricted to the skin but have extended into the lung and intestine. The pathogen had been confirmed in positive cases via PCR as goat pox with prevalence of 79.69%. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of the current goat pox outbreak in North Vietnam denotes a significant prevalence which may affect the industry. This signals the importance of identifying the salient clinical signs and post mortem lesions of goat pox at the field level in order to achieve an effective control of the disease.

The relationship between compression garments and electrocardiogram signals during exercise and recovery phase.

BACKGROUND: The direction of the current research was to investigate whether electrocardiogram (ECG) signals have been impacted by using compression garments during exercise and recovery phase. Each subject is non-athletes, conducted two running tests, wearing either non-compression garments (NCGs) or compression garments (CGs) throughout experiments and 2-h of the recovery phase. Experiment 1 (number of participants (n) = 8; 61.4 ± 13.7 kg, 25.1 ± 3.8 years, 165.9 ± 8.3 cm) focused on the exercising phase while Experiment 2 (n = 14; 60.9 ± 12.0 kg, 24.7 ± 4.5 years, 166.0 ± 7.6 cm) concentrated on the recovery phase. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected through wearable biosensors. RESULTS: The results demonstrated a significant difference between compression garments and non-compression garments at the end of the tests and from 90 min onwards during the recovery phase (p < 0.05). Corrected QT (QTc), ST interval and heart rate (HR) indicated the significant difference between NCGs and CGs. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, the utilization of compression garments showed a positive influence in non-athletes based on the quicker recovery in HR, ST, and QTc.

Host and viral features of human dengue cases shape the population of infected and infectious Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Dengue is the most prevalent arboviral disease of humans. The host and virus variables associated with dengue virus (DENV) transmission from symptomatic dengue cases (n = 208) to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes during 407 independent exposure events was defined. The 50% mosquito infectious dose for each of DENV-1-4 ranged from 6.29 to 7.52 log10 RNA copies/mL of plasma. Increasing day of illness, declining viremia, and rising antibody titers were independently associated with reduced risk of DENV transmission. High early DENV plasma viremia levels in patients were a marker of the duration of human infectiousness, and blood meals containing high concentrations of DENV were positively associated with the prevalence of infectious mosquitoes 14 d after blood feeding. Ambulatory dengue cases had lower viremia levels compared with hospitalized dengue cases but nonetheless at levels predicted to be infectious to mosquitoes. These data define serotype-specific viremia levels that vaccines or drugs must inhibit to prevent DENV transmission.

Isolation of New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase 1-producing Vibrio cholerae non-O1, non-O139 strain carrying ctxA, st and hly genes in southern Vietnam.

Vibrio cholerae non-O1, non-O139 (VC_NAG) organisms are universally present in the aquatic environment and regarded as non-pathogenic bacteria. However, considering that they do occasionally induce gastroenteritis, a study of their virulence and antibiotic resistance genes is important. The presence of enteropathogenic genes, including ctxA, VC_NAG-specific heat-stable toxin gene (st), hemolysin (hly), and zona occludens toxin (zot) was determined by PCR in 100 VC_NAG strains isolated in southern Vietnam in 2010-2013 from 94 environmental and six human origins. These 100 VC_NAG strains were also tested phenotypically and genotypically for the presence of the New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase (NDM-1). Of the 100 VC_NAG strains tested, six were positive for ctxA; five from the environment and one of human origin. The st gene was detected in 17 isolates, 15 and two of which were of environmental and human origins, respectively. Gene hly was detected in 19 VC_NAG strains examined, two of which were isolated from humans and 17 from environments. The zot gene was not detected in any of the strains tested. Three VC_NAG strains of environmental origin were confirmed to produce NDM-1 and the blaNDM-1 gene was detected in those strains by PCR. Of note, one of the three NDM-1-producing VC_NAG strains was confirmed to carry ctxA, st and hly genes concurrently. This is the first report of isolation of NDM-1-producing VC_NAG strains in Vietnam.

Adaptation of the comprehensive rheumatologic assessment of frailty (CRAF) as a multidimensional frailty screening tool in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: In recent times, there has been acknowledgment of the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Comprehensive Rheumatologic Assessment of Frailty (CRAF) stands out as a dependable tool grounded in synthesis and clinical judgment. Despite this, a validated Vietnamese rendition of the CRAF is currently unavailable. This study seeks to assess the reliability and validity of the CRAF in a patient with RA in Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional investigation was carried out with 402 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, encompassing both inpatients and outpatients at the Centre for Rheumatology at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. CRAF was employed to gauge the extent of frailty. To establish convergent validity, the scores from the CRAF were correlated with those from the Fried phenotype. Discriminant validity was ascertained through the utilization of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additionally, a multivariate logistic regression model was applied to evaluate the individual determinants' relative impact on the CRAF. RESULTS: In testing for convergent validity, a significant correlation was found between CRAF and Fried phenotype (p < 0.001). The discriminatory power of CRAF was higher than those of the Fried phenotype (difference between areas under the ROC curves = 0.947 (95% CI: 0.927-0.967). Variables associated with frailty at the multivariate analysis were comorbitidy, medication intake, BMI, DAS28-CRP, and age (all at p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: CRAF exhibited strong validity and accurate discrimination. Incorporating frailty assessment into regular rheumatological practices could signify a significant advancement in the care of rheumatoid arthritis.

Response surface methodology for aqueous two-phase system extraction: An unprecedented approach for the specific flavonoid-rich extraction of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. leaves towards acne treatment.

Background: Houttuynia cordata Thunb. has long been widely used as a daily vegetable and traditional medicine. The flavonoid component of H. cordata has plenty of pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. In this study, we applied the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) combined with ultrasonic extraction for extracting H. cordata leaves. Methods: We optimized the extraction process to improve the extraction efficiency of the two flavonoids, hyperin and quercitrin, by Surface Method Response - Central Composite Design (RSM-CCD). Next, we investigated the antibacterial ability of H. cordata ATPS extract from optimal conditions against two bacterial strains, Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Results: The results showed that using 10% (NH4)2SO4 and 35% ethanol for ATPS extraction resulted in the highest hyperin and quercitrin contents. From the RSM-CCD results, the optimal extraction conditions were determined to be ultrasonic extraction at 50 °C for 30 min, giving results consistent with the predicted model and obtaining hyperin and quercitrin contents at 1.5681 ± 0.0114 and 4.6225 ± 0.0327 mg/g, respectively.Furthermore, ATPS extract has excellent antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 250 µg/mL on both C. acnes and S. epidermidis. This MIC is significantly lower than the H. cordata ultrasound-assisted (UA) extract, with MICs of 1500.00 and 156.25 µg/mL on C. acnes and S. epidermidis, respectively. In addition, the results from the disk diffusion assay also showed that ATPS extraction has superior internal antibacterial activity with a zone of inhibition diameter at 250 µg/mL of 8.67 ± 1.15 and 5.00 ± 2.00 mm. Meanwhile, those of UA extract on C. acnes is 5.67 ± 1.53 mm (at 1500 µg/mL), and on S. epidermidis is 1.34 ± 0.58 mm (at 156.25 µg/mL). Conclusion: To sum up, our research highlights the potential of H. cordata ATPS extracts as the starting material for topical preparations for effectively treating acne.

The beneficial role of vitamin D in obesity: possible genetic and cell signaling mechanisms.

The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity are considered an important public issue in the United States, and both of these conditions are increasing among both children and adults. There is evidence of aberrations in the vitamin D-endocrine system in obese subjects. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in patients with obesity, and many studies have demonstrated the significant effect of calcitriol on adipocytes. Genetic studies have provided an opportunity to determine which proteins link vitamin D to obesity pathology, including the vitamin D receptor, toll-like receptors, the renin-angiotensin system, apolipoprotein E, vascular endothelial growth factor, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. Vitamin D also exerts its effect on obesity through cell-signaling mechanisms, including matrix metalloproteinases, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, prostaglandins, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide synthase.In conclusion, vitamin D may have a role in obesity. The best form of vitamin D for use in the obese individuals is calcitriol because it is the active form of the vitamin D3 metabolite, its receptors are present in adipocytes, and modulates inflammatory cytokine expression.

Survival Outcome and Prognostic Factors Among Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Hospital-Based Study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cancer with very high incidence and mortality and low survival rate in Vietnam and worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the survival outcome and its prognostic factors among HCC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study on patients newly diagnosed with HCC at Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Vietnam from January 2018 to December 2020. Overall survival (OS) was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test and Cox regression were used to investigate the association among patients' OS and their diagnosis and treatment factors. Results: A total of 674 patients were included. The median OS was 10.0 months. The survival rates at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were 57.3%, 46.6%, 34.8%, and 29.7%, respectively. The initial performance status (PS), Child-Pugh score, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage at the time of diagnosis are prognostic factors of HCC OS. A total of 451 (66.8%) patients have died, most of them (375 equally 83.1%) died at home, and only 76 (16.9%) died at hospital. Hepatocellular carcinoma patients living in the rural area more likely died at home than those living in the urban area (85.9% vs 74.8%, P = .007). Conclusions: Hepatocellular carcinoma has a poor prognosis with low OS. Performance status, Child-Pugh score, and BCLC stage were the independent prognostic factors for the survival outcome of HCC patients. The fact that most HCC patients died at home suggested that home-based hospice care needs to be paid special attention.

Detection and genetic characterization of canine distemper virus isolated in civets in Vietnam.

Canine distemper (CD), caused by the canine distemper virus (CDV), is a lethal systemic disease to a wide range of wild and domestic carnivorous hosts, including civets. In this study, a possible CD outbreak in a backyard farm with 32 diseased civets (Viverricula indica) in Hanoi, Vietnam, was investigated. The sick civets showed CD-like clinical signs such as anorexia, sedentary behavior, diarrhea, dermatitis, nasal, and footpad hyperkeratosis. Various tissue samples collected from the dead civets were utilized for molecular screening of CDV and histopathological examination. The genetic detection and characterization confirmed that samples collected from dead civets tested positive for CDV. The phylogenetic analysis based on the full-length H gene sequences indicated that all CDV strains isolated from civets belonged to the Asia-1 lineage and were closely related to the CDV strains previously reported from dogs in Thailand, China, and Vietnam. Histopathological examination showed severe interstitial pneumonia, hemorrhagic alveolar septa, necrotic alveolar epithelial cells, necrotic, degenerated, or lost Purkinje cells, eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, edema, and perivascular cuff. This study confirmed the detection of CDV in civets for the first time in Vietnam.

Anxiety and associated factors among Vietnamese students during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Mental health care for students in general, particularly anxiety, is a significant problem that needs more attention, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of anxiety and examine the associated factors among students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2021 among 5730 students. An online survey was used to collect sociodemographic information, and the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) was used to assess anxiety symptoms among Vietnamese students. Results showed that the prevalence of anxiety among study participants was 16.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.3%-17.2%). Factors related to anxiety among students were gender, type of housemate, COVID-19 exposure/infection status, vaccination status, health status, academic performance, and social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant number of students experienced anxiety during COVID-19, and this rate was related to several factors. Psychological interventions are required to support students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises. Further studies are required to confirm our findings.

A Cell-Adapted Live-Attenuated Vaccine Candidate Protects Pigs against the Homologous Strain VNUA-ASFV-05L1, a Representative Strain of the Contemporary Pandemic African Swine Fever Virus.

African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal and highly contagious transboundary animal disease with the potential for rapid international spread. Currently, there is no ASF vaccine commercially available. All infected animals must be isolated and culled immediately upon the confirmation of the presence of the virus. Studies leading to the rational development of protective ASF vaccines are urgently needed. Here, we generated a safe and efficacious live-attenuated vaccine (LAV) VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 by serially passaging a field isolate (VNUA-ASFV-05L1, genotype II) in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs, 65 passages) and an immortalized porcine alveolar macrophage cell line (3D4/21, 55 passages). VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 can efficiently replicate in both PAMs and 3D4/21 cells. It provides 100% protection, even with the low dose of 102 HAD50, to the vaccinated pigs against the challenge of contemporary pandemic ASFV field isolate. Pigs vaccinated with this LAV in a dose range of 102 to 105 HAD50 remained clinically healthy during both the 28-day observation period of immunization and the 28-day observation period of challenge. VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 was eliminated from blood by 28 days post-inoculation (DPI), and from feces or oral fluids by 17 DPI. Although the vaccine strain in serum remained a safe and attenuated phenotype after five passages in swine, a reversion-to-virulence study using blood or tissue homogenates at peak viremia will be conducted in the future. ASFV-specific IgG antibodies and significant cellular immunity were detected in vaccinated pigs before the ASFV challenge. These results indicate that the VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 strain is a safe and efficacious LAV against the genotype II ASFV strain responsible for current ASF outbreaks in Asia.

The role of vitamin D in asthma.

Vitamin D metabolites are important immune-modulatory hormones and are able to suppress Th2-mediated allergic airway disease. Some genetic factors that may contribute to asthma are regulated by vitamin D, such as vitamin D receptor (VDR), human leukocyte antigen genes (HLA), human Toll-like receptors (TLR), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a disintegrin and metalloprotein-33 (ADAM-33), and poly(ADP-ribosyl) polymerase- 1 (PARP-1). Vitamin D has also been implicated in asthma through its effects on the obesity, bacillus Calmettee Guérin (BCG) vaccination and high vitamin D level, vitamin D supplement, checkpoint protein kinase 1 (Chk1), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and gamma delta T cells (gdT). Vitamin D plays a role in asthma and exerts its action through either genomic and/or non-genomic ways.

Right Upper Quadrant Pain Following Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography; a Case Report.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a standard for diagnosing and treating hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) diseases in clinical settings. ERCP-related complications are relatively common, ranging from 4 to 30%. The most common one is acute pancreatitis. ERCP-related necrotizing pancreatitis accounts for 7.7% of ERCP-related pancreatitis cases. This complication may still be misdiagnosed, which might lead to inappropriate treatment with a worse prognosis. Here, we report a 34-year-old case with ERCP-related necrotizing pancreatitis who was successfully managed, but initially misdiagnosed with biliary peritonitis.

Chronological expression and distribution of African swine fever virus p30 and p72 proteins in experimentally infected pigs.

African swine fever virus (ASFV), the causative agent of contagious hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs and wild boars, has temporally regulated gene expression kinetics. The p30 and p72 major structural proteins are involved in viral entry each with different expression kinetics, but neither of their chronological expressions and distribution have been identified in virus-infected animals. Here, we found that both transcription and translation levels of p30 were significantly higher than those of p72 in target organs during the earlier infection-phase. Lymphocyte apoptosis/necrosis and angiectasia were observed as signs of early infection with acute African swine fever. These results show that the chronologically differential expression of ASFV structural proteins tends to be prominent in infected animals, and the p30 protein could play a role in the indication of acute lesions during early infection compared to the late-expressed p72 protein. In conclusion, we propose to consider the chronological expression dynamics of ASFV structural proteins in infected animals to understand virus pathogenesis and antigen targeting for vaccine development.

How teachers manage their classroom in the digital learning environment - experiences from the University Smart Learning Project.

The development of modern technologies facilitated for teachers to integrate and use them in managing their teaching classroom. The aim of this paper is to explore how teachers in the Khon Kaen University (KKU) Smart Learning Project use the smart learning concept and innovation to manage their classroom in the digital learning environment. The qualitative research was conducted to clarify the teaching process of teachers in Grade 7-9 at junior high schools using KKU Smart Learning with three subjects (namely, Mathematics, Science, and English). Consequently, 18 in-depth interviews and six observations were done. The results of this research showed that teachers applied and used the basis of KKU Smart Learning technologies, contents, and guidelines to manage their classroom, including design teaching activities in accordance with the learners' characteristics; create a pleasant learning atmosphere to enhance their thinking ability, knowledge and skills; organize learning activities and solve problematic situations; promote learning motivation; develop and evaluate learners' competence. However, the classroom management of teachers faced with some problems concerning the limitation of internet connection, lack of digital devices and digital literacy of teachers and learners. The findings of this paper have implications for educators, administrators, teachers and stakeholders to design holistic solutions to enhance the quality of educational activities and academic performance.

Characterizations and antibacterial activities of passion fruit peel pectin/chitosan composite films incorporated Piper betle L. leaf extract for preservation of purple eggplants.

The present study aimed to synthesize biodegradable films based on crosslinked passion fruit peel pectin/chitosan (P/CH) films incorporated with a bioactive extract from Piper betle L. leaf, and investigate their morphological, mechanical, water vapor permeability, optical, and antibacterial properties. The thickness and water vapor permeability of P/CH blend films were proportional to the increasing concentration of Piper betle extract (PB). The tensile strength of P/CH/PB films was significantly reduced at 42.89% compared to the P/CH films. The morphological characterization affirmed that resultant blend films showed a well-organized homogeneous structure with no cracks. Moreover, the antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae increased with the increased concentration of PB in the obtained films. Our results demonstrated that P/CH/PB blend films could be potentially used for food packaging applications.

Establishing a Standardized Surveillance System for Health Care-Associated Infections in Vietnam.

Standardized surveillance for health care-associated infections (HAI) is critical to understand HAI burden and inform prevention strategies at a national level. Due to differing and generally limited resources in Vietnam's health care facilities, implementation of HAI surveillance has been variable and data quality has not been systematically assessed. In 2016, the Vietnam Administration for Medical Services (VAMS) under the Ministry of Health, with the support of partners, began to establish a context-appropriate, standardized HAI surveillance system for bloodstream infections (BSI) and urinary tract infections (UTI) among 6 pilot hospitals in Vietnam. We identified 5 key elements of our HAI surveillance implementation process that have been conducive to ensuring data quality and program sustainability and scalability. These include: (1) engaging stakeholders, (2) designating roles and responsibilities, (3) developing context-sensitive, standardized surveillance protocols, (4) creating a surveillance implementation strategy, and (5) linking HAI surveillance and prevention activities. With the active participation of infection prevention and control staff from the 6 pilot hospitals, standardized HAI surveillance for BSIs and UTIs was expanded to 12 additional hospitals in 2019. Together, VAMS and partners are helping Vietnam fulfill its commitment to safe health care for all patients.