Linh Phu Khang Tue Tinh inhibited prostate proliferation in rats induced benign prostatic hyperplasia by testosterone propionate.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the hyperproliferation of the stromal and the epithelial cells within the prostatic transition zone. In recent years, phytotherapy have been studied with the concern for increasing quality of life, improving lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as well as reducing prostate volume and the frequency of adverse events was similar to that of placebo. Linh Phu Khang Tue Tinh (LPKTT) capsules are formulated from 4 herbs widely used in traditional Vietnamese medicine - Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H.Chen - Tam that (radix), Crinum asiaticum L. - Náng hoa trang or giant crinum lily, Polygonum cuspidatum Willd. ex Spreng. (= Reynoutria japonica Houtt) - Cot cu khí or Japanese knotweed (radix), Oldenlandia herbacea (L.) Roxb. (formerly known as Hedyotis diffusa Spreng.) - Bach hoa xà thie^t thao or slender oldenlandia (herb). The preparation has been used in traditional Vietnamese medicine to treat nocturia, weak urine stream, urinary tract infection. According to modern studies, these herbs have anti-inflammation, antitumor, and antioxidant activities. AIMS OF THE STUDY: Evaluating the effects of LPKTT capsules on the development of BPH using a rat model of BPH induced by testosterone propionate (TP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 male Wistar rats, 10-12 weeks of age, weight 200-250 g were separated into six groups: (G1) a normal control group that was taken orally phosphate-buffered saline (p.o.; PBS.) with corn oil (subcutaneous injection- Sc); (G2) a BPH model group that received PBS (p.o) with TP (Sc); (G3) a positive control group that received dutasteride (25 µg/kg BW/24 h, p.o.) with TP (Sc); (G4) a positive control group that received alfuzosin HCl (1.8 mg/kg BW/24 h, p.o.) with TP (s.c.) and (G5 and G6) LPKTT groups that received LPKTT at 289.8 or 869.4 mg/kg(p.o.) respectively, with TP (s.c.). BPH model was induced by Sc of TP, 3 mg/kg for 4 weeks. After that, rats were received NaCl/Dutasteride/Alfuzosin/LPKTT for the next 28 days. On the 56th day, assessed the results were through the indicators: micturition frequency, voided volume, total voided volume, the prostate and body weights, the ratio of prostate weight to body weight, prostate histology. RESULTS: LPKTT reduced micturition frequency and increased the voided volume when compared to the control group (p < 0.01). The results were equivalent to those of the alfuzosin ones (G4). LPKTT lowered prostate weight and the ratio of prostate weight to body weight when compared to the control group (p < 0.01). These reductions were the same in the dutasteride ones. Histomorphology in G5 and G6 also showed that LPKTT inhibited TP induced prostatic hyperplasia. The results were similar to that in the dutasteride group. Microscopic images of prostate in G5 and G6 were almost similar to that of G1. CONCLUSION: LPKTT capsules work to inhibit prostate proliferation in rats induced BPH by TP.

Stercufoetin A, new oleanane-type triterpenoid from the leaves of Sterculia foetida L.

From the leaves of Sterculia foetida L., one new oleanane-type triterpenoid, named stercufoetin A (1) together with four known ones, vergatic acid (2), ß-amyrin (3), oleanolic acid (4) and maslinic acid (5) were purified by diversely chromatographic methods. Their structures were proposed by HR-APCI-MS and NMR experiments. Compounds (2-5) were notified for the first time from this species. Compound 1 showed weak cytotoxic effect against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa) using SRB assay.

A systems approach toward climate resilient livelihoods: A case study in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam.

This study aims to identify strategic actions towards climate resilient livelihoods and secure income for smallholder farmers in Thai Nguyen province of Vietnam using a systems approach and system dynamic modelling tools. Information and data for this research was collected through surveys, interviews, focus group discussions and workshops with relevant stakeholders and 187 farmers in two vulnerable districts during October 2019-April 2020. Findings of this study uncovered a number of shortcomings of the government policies and approaches in climate change adaptation. Local initiatives, community learning and ownership seem to be neglected. This research has substantiated the effectiveness and validity of systems approaches and tools in structuring and solving complex issues in agricultural research and development under the interwoven relationships between environmental and human factors. Climate resilient production models and practices are just part of the systemic interventions that need to be implemented in a coordinated manner towards a more resilient future of the farming communities. This study has addressed the current knowledge gap and the need for using integrated approaches and decision support systems for unravelling ill-structured and/or complex issues of climate change adaptation (CCA). It also provided practical recommendations for informed CCA policies and implementation.

Overexpression of bla OXA-58 Gene Driven by ISAba3 Is Associated with Imipenem Resistance in a Clinical Acinetobacter baumannii Isolate from Vietnam.

The aim of this study was to investigate genetic structures and expression of bla OXA-58 gene in five Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates recovered from two hospitals in southern Vietnam during 2012-2014. A. baumannii isolates were identified by automated microbiology systems and confirmed by PCR. All isolates were characterized as multidrug resistant by antimicrobial testing using the disk diffusion method. Four imipenem susceptible and one nonsusceptible isolates (MIC > 32 µg·ml-1) were identified by E-test. PCR amplification of bla OXA-58 gene upstream and downstream sequences revealed the presence of ISAba3 at both locations in one multidrug-resistant isolate. Semiquantitation of bla OXA-51 and bla OXA-58 gene expression was performed by the 2-ΔΔCt method. The bla OXA-51 gene expression of five isolates showed little difference, but the isolate bearing ISAba3-bla OXA-58-ISAba3 exhibited significantly higher bla OXA-58 mRNA level. Higher ß-lactamases activity in periplasmic than cytoplasmic fraction was found in most isolates. The isolate overexpressing bla OXA-58 gene possessed very high periplasmic enzyme activity. In conclusion, the A. baumannii isolate bearing ISAba3-bla OXA-58 gene exhibited high resistance to imipenem, corresponding to an overexpression of bla OXA-58 gene and very high periplasmic ß-lactamase activity.

Hypofractionated radiotherapy for complicated bone metastases in patients with poor performance status: a phase II international trial.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated radiotherapy (16 Gy in 2 fractions, 1 week apart) in patients with complicated bone metastases and poor performance status. METHODS: A prospective single-arm phase II clinical trial was conducted from July 2014 to May 2016. The primary endpoint was pain response as defined in the International Consensus on Palliative Radiotherapy Endpoints. Secondary endpoints included quality of life as measured by quality of life questionnaire (QLQ) PAL-15 and QLQ-BM22 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer guidelines, pain flare, adverse events, re-irradiation, and skeletal complications. RESULTS: Fifty patients were enrolled. There were 23 men with a median age of 58 years (range 26-86). Of the 50 patients, 38 had an extraosseous soft tissue component, 18 needed postsurgical radiation, 3 had neuropathic pain, and 3 had an impending fracture in a weight-bearing bone. At 2 months, 33 patients were alive (66%). Four (12.5%) had a complete response and 12 (37.5%) had a partial response. A statistically significant improvement was seen in the functional interference (p = 0.01) and psychosocial aspects (p = 0.03) of the BM22. No patient had spinal cord compression. One patient required surgery for pathologic fracture, and another re-irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: Hypofractionated radiotherapy (16 Gy in 2 fractions of 8 Gy 1 week apart) achieved satisfactory pain relief and safety results in patients with complicated bone metastases and poor performance status.

Development and evaluation of a non-ribosomal random PCR and next-generation sequencing based assay for detection and sequencing of hand, foot and mouth disease pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has become a major public health problem across the Asia-Pacific region, and is commonly caused by enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) and coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6), CV-A10 and CV-A16. Generating pathogen whole-genome sequences is essential for understanding their evolutionary biology. The frequent replacements among EV serotypes and a limited numbers of available whole-genome sequences hinder the development of overlapping PCRs for whole-genome sequencing. We developed and evaluated a non-ribosomal random PCR (rPCR) and next-generation sequencing based assay for sequence-independent whole-genome amplification and sequencing of HFMD pathogens. A total of 16 EV-A71/CV-A6/CV-A10/CV-A16 PCR positive rectal/throat swabs (Cp values: 20.9-33.3) were used for assay evaluation. RESULTS: Our assay evidently outperformed the conventional rPCR in terms of the total number of EV-A71 reads and the percentage of EV-A71 reads: 2.6 % (1275/50,000 reads) vs. 0.1 % (31/50,000) and 6 % (3008/50,000) vs. 0.9 % (433/50,000) for two samples with Cp values of 30 and 26, respectively. Additionally the assay could generate genome sequences with the percentages of coverage of 94-100 % of 4 different enterovirus serotypes in 73 % of the tested samples, representing the first whole-genome sequences of CV-A6/10/16 from Vietnam, and could assign correctly serotyping results in 100 % of 24 tested specimens. In all but three the obtained consensuses of two replicates from the same sample were 100 % identical, suggesting that our assay is highly reproducible. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, we have successfully developed a non-ribosomal rPCR and next-generation sequencing based assay for sensitive detection and direct whole-genome sequencing of HFMD pathogens from clinical samples.

Viral and atypical bacterial aetiologies of infection in hospitalised patients admitted with clinical suspicion of influenza in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Influenza constitutes a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is limited information about the aetiology of infection presenting clinically as influenza in hospitalised adults and children in South-East Asia. Such data are important for future management of respiratory infections. OBJECTIVES: To describe the aetiology of infection presenting clinically as influenza in those hospitalised in South-East Asia. METHODS: Respiratory specimens archived from July 2008 to June 2009 from patients hospitalised with suspected influenza from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam were tested for respiratory viruses and atypical bacteria by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: A total of 1222 patients' samples were tested. Of 1222, 776 patients (63·5%) were under the age of 5. Viruses detected included rhinoviruses in 229 of 1222 patients (18·7%), bocaviruses in 200 (16·4%), respiratory syncytial viruses in 144 (11·8%), parainfluenza viruses in 140 (11·5%; PIV1: 32; PIV2: 12; PIV3: 71; PIV4: 25), adenovirus in 102 (8·4%), influenza viruses in 93 (7·6%; influenza A: 77; influenza B: 16) and coronaviruses in 23 (1·8%; OC43: 14; E229: 9). Bacterial pathogens were Mycoplasma pneumoniae (n = 33, 2·7%), Chlamydophila psittaci (n = 2), C. pneumoniae (n = 1), Bordetella pertussis (n = 1) and Legionella pneumophila (n = 2). Overall, in-hospital case fatality rate was 29 of 1222 (2·4%). CONCLUSION: Respiratory viruses were the most commonly detected pathogens in patients hospitalised with a clinical suspicion of influenza. Rhinovirus was the most frequently detected virus, and M. pneumoniae, the most common atypical bacterium. The low number of detected influenza viruses demonstrates a low benefit for empirical oseltamivir therapy, unless during an influenza outbreak.

Patient-based transcriptome-wide analysis identify interferon and ubiquination pathways as potential predictors of influenza A disease severity.

BACKGROUND: The influenza A virus is an RNA virus that is responsible for seasonal epidemics worldwide with up to five million cases of severe illness and 500,000 deaths annually according to the World Health Organization estimates. The factors associated with severe diseases are not well defined, but more severe disease is more often seen among persons aged >65 years, infants, pregnant women, and individuals of any age with underlying health conditions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using gene expression microarrays, the transcriptomic profiles of influenza-infected patients with severe (N = 11), moderate (N = 40) and mild (N = 83) symptoms were compared with the febrile patients of unknown etiology (N = 73). We found that influenza-infected patients, regardless of their clinical outcomes, had a stronger induction of antiviral and cytokine responses and a stronger attenuation of NK and T cell responses in comparison with those with unknown etiology. More importantly, we found that both interferon and ubiquitination signaling were strongly attenuated in patients with the most severe outcomes in comparison with those with moderate and mild outcomes, suggesting the protective roles of these pathways in disease pathogenesis. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCES: The attenuation of interferon and ubiquitination pathways may associate with the clinical outcomes of influenza patients.

Dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans and lanostane derivatives from the roots of Kadsura coccinea and their protective effects on primary rat hepatocyte injury induced by t-butyl hydroperoxide.

A new dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan, acetylepigomisin R ( 1), and a new 3,4-seco-lanostane-type triterpene, seco-coccinic acid F ( 2), along with three known dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, isovaleroylbinankadsurin A ( 3), kadsuralignan J ( 4), and binankadsurin A ( 5), and one lanostane-type triterpene, 20( R),24( E)-3-oxo-9 beta-lanosta-7,24-dien-26-oic acid ( 6), were isolated from the methanol extract of the Kadsura coccinea roots. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence including ESI-MS, HR-EI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR. The protective effects of these compounds were evaluated in primary cultured rat hepatocytes intoxicated with 1.2 mM T-butyl hydroperoxide. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 showed protective effects with ED (50) values of 135.7, 26.1, and 79.3 microM, respectively.

Subtyping and env C2/V3 sequence analysis of HIV-1 isolated from HIV-infected children hospitalized in Children Hospital 1, Vietnam during 2004-2005.

A molecular epidemiological study was conducted on 104 HIV-1 strains isolated from HIV-infected children hospitalized in Children Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during 2004-2005. Genetic subtyping based on env C2/V3 sequences revealed that CRF01-AE was the sole circulating recombinant form found in this study. Sequence analysis of the V3 loop showed that GPGQ tetramer was the most common V3 loop core motif identified in the HIV-1 strains studied (89.5%). The findings raise great concern about HIV-infected children in Vietnam and provide up-to-date molecular epidemiological information of HIV-1 circulating in Vietnam during the study period.

[Role of MyD88-dependent nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathway in the development of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of MyD88-dependent nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-(B) activation signaling pathway in the development of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. METHODS: Dominant negative myeloid differentiation protein (dn-MyD) 88 fragment was inserted into pShuttle plasmid and then fused into adenovirus so as to construct Ad5-dn-MyD88. Some Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats underwent banding of aorta (aorta binding group) and some SD rats underwent sham operation (sham operation group). Part of the rats in the aorta banding group were transfected with Ad5-dn-MyD88 into the myocardium tissue (Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group) or adenovirus expressing dnMyD88 (Ad5-GFP) (control group) so as to determine the effect of blocking down stream of MyD88 signaling on the development of cardiac hypertrophy. Three days after the hearts of some rats from the 4 groups were collected and Western blotting was used to detect the expression of dn-MyD88 protein and fluorescent microscopy was used to detect the expression of GFP. Three weeks after the beginning of experiment the hearts were collected to calculate the heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) ratio and extract the plasma protein and nuclear protein. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to determine the NFkappaB binding activity. Western blotting was used to examine the phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha and IKKalpha/beta with appropriate specific anti-phospho antibodies. RESULTS: Flag and dn-MyD88 were effectively expressed 3 days after the transfection of Ad5-dn-MyD88 into the myocardium. Three weeks after the HW/BW ratio was 0.47 +/- 0.01 in the aorta banding group, significantly higher, by 37.8%, than that of the sham operation group (0.34 +/- 0.01, P < 0.01), and was 0.41 +/- 0.02 in the Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group, significantly lower, by 11.58%, than that of the aorta banding group (P < 0.01); the myocardial ANP protein expression level of the aorta binding group was significantly higher, by 43.5%, than that of the sham operation group (P < 0.01) and 36.2% higher than that of the Ad5-dnMyD88 transfection group (P < 0.01); the ANP/GAPDH in the aorta binding group was significantly higher than that of the sham operation group (P < 0.01) and that of the Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group (P < 0.01); the NF-kappaB binding activity in the myocardium of the aorta banding group was 9.94 +/- 1.58, significantly higher, by 144.8%, than that of the sham operation group (4.06 +/- 0.52, P < 0.01) and significantly lower, by 41.8%, than that of the Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group (5.79 +/- 0.52, P < 0.05); the phospho-(p-) IkappaBalpha level and p-IkappaBalpha/IkappaBalpha of the aorta binding group were significantly higher than those of the sham operation group (P < 0.01) and significantly higher, by 26.7%, than that of the Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group (P < 0.05); the p-IKKalphabeta/IKKalphabeta in the myocardium of the aorta binding group was significantly higher, by 318.0%, than that of the sham operation group (P < 0.01), and significantly higher, by 77.4%, than that of the Ad5-dn-MyD88 transfection group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: MyD88-dependent NFkappaB signaling is a novel pathway for inducing the development of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and blocking MyD88 mediated signaling pathway attenuates the development of cardiac hypertrophy.