Long-term monitoring of forest cover change resulting in forest loss in the capital of Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR.

Loss of forest cover has an important impact on global climate change. This study investigated variation in forest cover in Luang Prabang district, the capital of Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR, using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite imagery over the period 1988-2021. The maximum likelihood classification technique was used to classify Landsat images of the years 1988, 2001, 2011, and 2021 and was evaluated for accuracy using the kappa coefficient for each year (0.860, 0.869, 0.878, and 0.950, respectively). The potential of classification based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) to detect changes in natural forest and cultivated forest cover compared with supervised classification was also evaluated. The natural forest cover of the study area was estimated at 84.09% (687.82 km2) of the total land area in 1988. This number decreased to 56.93% (465.69 km2) in 2001 and subsequently increased to 60.85% (497.77 km2) in 2011 and 66.49% (543.92 km2) in 2021. Cultivated forest cover in 1988 was 4.96% (40.58 km2) and increased to 16.84% (137.76 km2) in 2001, however it decreased to 13.57% (110.97 km2) in 2011 and 9.67% (79.10 km2) in 2021. Severely reduced forest cover is often associated with the expansion of agriculture on the forest edge. Logging and charcoal production are other problems that contribute to the reduction of forest cover. Overall, our results show the necessity of forest management, rational land-use planning policy, and increased community awareness of conservation and sustainable development of forest resources in the study area in the future.

An extremely rare case of intrahepatic sarcomatoid cholangiocarcinoma.

One uncommon histological subtype of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Histopathological and immunohistochemical tests are used to diagnose sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which frequently has a worse prognosis than regular intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The example of a 65-year-old female with sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, who presented with sporadic right upper abdomen discomfort, is discussed in this paper. This case study and literature analysis aims to improve physicians' comprehension of sarcomatoid intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and lower the frequency of missed clinical diagnoses.

Prostatic stromal sarcoma: A case report and literature review.

Stromal sarcoma of the prostate is extremely rare. In this article, we report the case of a 43-year-old male admitted to the local hospital due to dysuria. Although the pathological findings from transurethral prostatic resection showed low-grade stromal sarcoma, the surgical specimen after radical prostatectomy revealed high-grade sarcoma with hypercellularity, marked atypical spindle cells, and high mitotic activity. This case study and literature analysis aim to emphasize its rarity and raise awareness about clinical and pathological diagnosis.

Synchronous occurrence of gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT-type lymphoma: A case report and literature review.

The coexistence of multiple primary malignant tumors in an organ is rare. This includes the extremely rarely reported combination of gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric MALT-type lymphoma as synchronous tumors. We describe a case of a 72-year-old man diagnosed with this combination. He had no remarkable medical history and came to our hospital because of discomfort in the gastric area. Although the biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma only, the microscopic findings after partial gastrectomy incidentally showed additional lymphoma that was subsequently confirmed by immunohistochemistry as MALT-type lymphoma. This case study and literature analysis aims to raise awareness of the possibility of synchronous malignant neoplasm in the stomach to enhance preoperative diagnosis.

Decades of emerging infectious disease, food safety, and antimicrobial resistance response in Vietnam: The role of One Health.

Since facing outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian influenza A in 2003, Vietnam has increasingly applied a One Health approach to address emerging infectious diseases of animal origin. Here, we reflect on the challenges and opportunities of One Health in the context of zoonoses, food safety, and antimicrobial resistance, drawing on a stocktake of One Health training, policy, and research in Vietnam. We also report on the results of a virtual consultation workshop held on July 2021 with representatives from 32 institutions in Vietnam to explore future One Health directions. As Vietnam approaches nearly two decades of disease preparedness and response, we hope our experiences can provide practical insights to support countries in developing coordination mechanisms and moving the One Health agenda forward toward better public health outcomes.

Identification of Fasciola Species Isolates from Nghe An Province, Vietnam, Based on ITS1 Sequence of Ribosomal DNA Using a Simple PCR-RFLP Method.

Fascioliasis-a disease caused by Fasciola spp. (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea)-is considered as the most important helminthic infection of bovine, sheep, and buffalo in Vietnam. The aim of this study is to detect the genotype of Fasciola spp. isolated from bovine and buffalo in the Nghe An province, central Vietnam, using PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of the first nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1). Adult Fasciola spp. were isolated from bile ducts of bovine and buffalo in Nghe An province, Vietnam. Overall, 96 adult flukes from livers of slaughtered animals were collected from abattoirs of different areas. They included 7 samples from infected bovine and 89 samples from infected buffalo. 96/96 samples were identified as Fasciola species by ITS1 of rDNA. In this study, a PCR-RFLP method was used to distinguish between F. hepatica and F. gigantica in ITS1 of rDNA (680 bp) with RsaI restriction enzyme. RFLP pattern with RsaI produced a consistent pattern of 360, 100, and 60 bp fragments in F. hepatica, whereas F. gigantica worms had a profile of 360, 170, and 60 bp in size, respectively. The results showed that using PCR-RFLP based on the first internal transcribed spacers (ITS1) of the ribosomal RNA revealed that 93 out of 96 isolates were of Fasciola gigantica type, whereas three isolates presented an intermediate Fasciola. In the present study, F. gigantica and intermediate form were coexisting in bovine and buffalo in the Nghe An province of central Vietnam, whereas F. hepatica was not detected.

A New Taraxastane-type Triterpenoid from Cleistocalyx operculatus.

Ten known compounds including a chalcone, a long-chain alcohol, two flavonols, and six triterpenoids/steroids together with a new taraxastane-type triterpenoid, named cleistocalyxin, were isolated from the leaves of Cleistocalyx operculatus. The structure of cleistocalyxin was determined on the basis of IR, MS and NMR spectroscopic methods.

Effects of antipsychotic drugs on BDNF, GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin expression in rats subjected to immobilization stress.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß), and ß-catenin have been reported to be altered in patients with schizophrenia and have been targeted by antipsychotic drugs. Atypical antipsychotics, but not typical antipsychotics, exert neuroprotective effects by regulating these proteins. In this study, we analyzed the effects of the atypical antipsychotic drugs olanzapine and aripiprazole and a typical antipsychotic drug, haloperidol, on the expression of BDNF, phosphorylated GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin in the hippocampus of rats subjected to immobilization stress. Rats were subjected to immobilization stress 6h/day for 3 weeks. The effects of olanzapine (2 mg/kg), aripiprazole (1.5 mg/kg), and haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg) were determined on BDNF, serine9-phosphorylated GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin expression by Western blotting. Immobilization stress significantly decreased the expression of BDNF, phosphorylated GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin in the hippocampus. Chronic administration of olanzapine and aripiprazole significantly attenuated the decreased expression of these proteins in the hippocampus of rats caused by immobilization stress, and significantly increased the levels of these proteins even without the immobilization stress. However, chronic haloperidol had no such effect. These results suggest that olanzapine and aripiprazole may exert beneficial effects by upregulating BDNF, phosphorylated GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin in patients with schizophrenia.