Comprehensive analysis of the microbiome in Apis cerana honey highlights honey as a potential source for the isolation of beneficial bacterial strains.

Background: Honey is a nutritious food made by bees from nectar and sweet deposits of flowering plants and has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for wound healing and other bacterial infections due to its antibacterial properties. Honey contains a diverse community of bacteria, especially probiotic bacteria, that greatly affect the health of bees and their consumers. Therefore, understanding the microorganisms in honey can help to ensure the quality of honey and lead to the identification of potential probiotic bacteria. Methods: Herein, the bacteria community in honey produced by Apis cerana was investigated by applying the next-generation sequencing (NGS) method for the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. In addition, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the honey sample were also isolated and screened for in vitro antimicrobial activity. Results: The results showed that the microbiota of A. cerana honey consisted of two major bacterial phyla, Firmicutes (50%; Clostridia, 48.2%) and Proteobacteria (49%; Gammaproteobacteria, 47.7%). Among the 67 identified bacterial genera, the three most predominant genera were beneficial obligate anaerobic bacteria, Lachnospiraceae (48.14%), followed by Gilliamella (26.80%), and Enterobacter (10.16%). Remarkably, among the identified LAB, Lactobacillus kunkeei was found to be the most abundant species. Interestingly, the isolated L. kunkeei strains exhibited antimicrobial activity against some pathogenic bacteria in honeybees, including Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. This underscores the potential candidacy of L. kunkeei for developing probiotics for medical use. Taken together, our results provided new insights into the microbiota community in the A. cerana honey in Hanoi, Vietnam, highlighting evidence that honey can be an unexplored source for isolating bacterial strains with potential probiotic applications in honeybees and humans.

Plastic does not simply flow into the sea: River transport dynamics affected by tides and floating plants.

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in aquatic environments worldwide. Rivers connect terrestrial and marine ecosystems, playing a key role in the transport of land-based plastic waste towards the sea. Emerging research suggests that in estuaries and tidal rivers, tidal dynamics play a significant role in plastic transport and retention dynamics. To date, observations in these systems have been limited, and plastic transport dynamics during single tidal cycles remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated plastic transport, trapping, and re-mobilization of macroplastics (> 0.5 cm) in the Saigon River, focusing on short-term dynamics of individual tidal cycles. We used GPS trackers, released at different stages of the tidal cycle (ebb, flood, neap, spring). Plastic items demonstrated dynamic and intermittent transport behavior. Items spent almost half of the time (49%) temporarily stopped, mainly due to their entrapment in vegetation, infrastructure, or deposition on riverbanks. Items were almost always re-mobilized within 10 h (85%), leading to successive phases of stopping and transport. Tidal dynamics also resulted in bidirectional transport of plastic items, with median daily total transport distance within the 40 km study reach (8.9 km day-1) over four times larger than the median daily net distance (2.0 km day-1). The median retention time of plastic items within the reach was 21 days (mean = 202 days). In total, 81% of the retrieved items were trapped within water hyacinths, emphasizing the important role of floating vegetation on river plastic transport dynamics. With this paper, we aim to provide data-driven insights into macroplastic transport and retention dynamics in a tropical tidal river. These are crucial in the design of effective intervention and monitoring strategies, and estimating net plastic emission from rivers into the sea.

Beneficial effects of pulmonary embolism response team establishment in patients with pulmonary embolism in a developing country: a single-center experience.

Objective: The impact of establishing a pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) has been proven in many developed countries. However, the efficacy of a PERT largely depends on expertise and infrastructure. This study explored the benefit of establishing a PERT in developing countries with limited healthcare resources by comparing the outcomes of patients with acute PE before and after PERT establishment at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Methods: We conducted a single-center observational study from January 1, 2019, to August 1, 2021. All patients with PE confirmed on computed tomography were included. Patients admitted before PERT establishment were treated by cardiologists alone, while those hospitalized after PERT establishment were managed by the PERT. Results: A total of 130 patients were included (pre-PERT estab-lishment: 51 patients; post-PERT establishment: 79 patients). The demographic characteristics, severity of PE, and clinical and laboratory findings were similar between the two groups. The post-PERT establishment group had a lower incidence rate of major and clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding (11.3% vs. 31.4%, p = 0.005) and required more interventional therapies (16.5% vs. 3.9%, p = 0.046) than did the pre-PERT establishment group. The in-hospital mortality rate decreased in the post-PERT establishment group compared with that in the pre-PERT establishment group (8.9% vs. 21.6%, p = 0.041). Conclusions: Involvement of the PERT in PE management was associated with improved outcomes of patients with PE, including reduced bleeding and mortality rates in a resource-constrained hospital.

First Dark Matter Search with Nuclear Recoils from the XENONnT Experiment.

We report on the first search for nuclear recoils from dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with the XENONnT experiment, which is based on a two-phase time projection chamber with a sensitive liquid xenon mass of 5.9 ton. During the (1.09±0.03) ton yr exposure used for this search, the intrinsic ^{85}Kr and ^{222}Rn concentrations in the liquid target are reduced to unprecedentedly low levels, giving an electronic recoil background rate of (15.8±1.3) events/ton yr keV in the region of interest. A blind analysis of nuclear recoil events with energies between 3.3 and 60.5 keV finds no significant excess. This leads to a minimum upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of 2.58×10^{-47} cm^{2} for a WIMP mass of 28 GeV/c^{2} at 90% confidence level. Limits for spin-dependent interactions are also provided. Both the limit and the sensitivity for the full range of WIMP masses analyzed here improve on previous results obtained with the XENON1T experiment for the same exposure.

An observation-based, reduced-form model for oxidation in the remote marine troposphere.

The hydroxyl radical (OH) fuels atmospheric chemical cycling as the main sink for methane and a driver of the formation and loss of many air pollutants, but direct OH observations are sparse. We develop and evaluate an observation-based proxy for short-term, spatial variations in OH (ProxyOH) in the remote marine troposphere using comprehensive measurements from the NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) airborne campaign. ProxyOH is a reduced form of the OH steady-state equation representing the dominant OH production and loss pathways in the remote marine troposphere, according to box model simulations of OH constrained with ATom observations. ProxyOH comprises only eight variables that are generally observed by routine ground- or satellite-based instruments. ProxyOH scales linearly with in situ [OH] spatial variations along the ATom flight tracks (median r2 = 0.90, interquartile range = 0.80 to 0.94 across 2-km altitude by 20° latitudinal regions). We deconstruct spatial variations in ProxyOH as a first-order approximation of the sensitivity of OH variations to individual terms. Two terms modulate within-region ProxyOH variations-water vapor (H2O) and, to a lesser extent, nitric oxide (NO). This implies that a limited set of observations could offer an avenue for observation-based mapping of OH spatial variations over much of the remote marine troposphere. Both H2O and NO are expected to change with climate, while NO also varies strongly with human activities. We also illustrate the utility of ProxyOH as a process-based approach for evaluating intermodel differences in remote marine tropospheric OH.

Searching for Heavy Dark Matter near the Planck Mass with XENON1T.

Multiple viable theoretical models predict heavy dark matter particles with a mass close to the Planck mass, a range relatively unexplored by current experimental measurements. We use 219.4 days of data collected with the XENON1T experiment to conduct a blind search for signals from multiply interacting massive particles (MIMPs). Their unique track signature allows a targeted analysis with only 0.05 expected background events from muons. Following unblinding, we observe no signal candidate events. This Letter places strong constraints on spin-independent interactions of dark matter particles with a mass between 1×10^{12} and 2×10^{17} GeV/c^{2}. In addition, we present the first exclusion limits on spin-dependent MIMP-neutron and MIMP-proton cross sections for dark matter particles with masses close to the Planck scale.

Uncovering hypercoagulation status using rotational thromboelastometry in patients with sepsis presented with hypocoagulation based on conventional coagulation tests: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Conventional coagulation tests (CCTs) cannot identify hypercoagulation, despite being common in patients with sepsis. Moreover, CCTs overdiagnose hypocoagulation, which increases unnecessary blood transfusion. Therefore, we aimed to use rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) to classify the coagulation status of patients with sepsis with abnormal CCTs and to identify the main coagulation components that affect coagulation status. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was part of an observational study to investigate ROTEM use in 161 patients with sepsis with the Sepsis-3 criteria. They underwent concurrent CCTs and ROTEM assessments within 24 hours of Intensive Care Unit admission at the University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, from June 2020 to December 2021. This study only extracted data from patients with sepsis with abnormal CCTs, including activated partial thromboplastin time ratio, international normalized ratio (INR), platelet count, and fibrinogen concentration. RESULTS: A total of 158 patients with sepsis with abnormal CCTs had a median age of 69, and 48.7% were women. Of 34 patients with INR ≥1.6, ROTEM identified 11.8% with hypercoagulation and 20.6% with normal coagulation. Of 29 patients with platelet counts <100 (103/mm3), ROTEM identified 3.5% with hypercoagulation and 24.1% with normal coagulation. In the ROTEM-based hypercoagulability group, an increase in maximum clot firmness was observed in 95.1% of cases; also, this group had significantly higher plasma fibrinogen concentrations than other groups (p<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: ROTEM can reveal hypercoagulability in patients with sepsis with hypocoagulation based on CCTs. Hyperfibrinogenemia causes hypercoagulation in patients with sepsis.

Sinus arrest in familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis caused by SCN4A mutation: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Primary hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP), a rare skeletal muscle channelopathy resulting in episodic muscle weakness or paralysis under hypokalemic conditions, is caused by autosomal-dominant genetic mutations. HypoPP limits physical activity, and cardiac arrhythmias during paralytic attacks have been reported. We describe a rare familial HypoPP case complicated by sinus arrest and syncope requiring urgent temporary pacemaker implantation. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old Vietnamese man with a family history of periodic paralysis presented with his third attack of muscle weakness triggered by intense football training the previous day. Clinical and laboratory features justified a HypoPP diagnosis. During intravenous potassium replacement, the patient experienced syncopal sinus arrest requiring urgent temporary pacemaker implantation. The patient gradually improved, responding favorably to oral potassium supplements. Genetic testing revealed an Arg1132Gln mutation in the sodium ion channel (SCN4A, chromosome 17: 63947091). At discharge, the patient received expert consultation regarding nonpharmacological preventive strategies, including avoidance of vigorous exercise and carbohydrate-rich diet. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence has established a relationship between hypokalemia and sinus arrest, and no specific treatment exists for familial HypoPP due to SCN4A mutation. Clinician awareness of this rare condition will promote appropriate diagnostic approaches and management strategies for acute paralytic attacks. Treatment should be tailored according to HypoPP phenotypes and genotypes.

Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition.

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) are wildfire-generated convective clouds that can inject smoke directly into the stratosphere. PyroCb have been tracked for years, yet their apparent rarity and episodic nature lead to highly uncertain climate impacts. In situ measurements of pyroCb smoke reveal its distinctive and exceptionally stable aerosol properties and define the long-term influence of pyroCb activity on the stratospheric aerosol budget. Analysis of 13 years of airborne observations shows that pyroCb are responsible for 10 to 25% of the black carbon and organic aerosols in the "present-day" lower stratosphere, with similar impacts in both the North and South Hemispheres. These results suggest that, should pyroCb increase in frequency and/or magnitude in future climates, they could generate dominant trends in stratospheric aerosol.

Relationship of Recurrence Rate with some Characteristics in Patients with Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Determining the clinical and subclinical characteristics related to the recurrence status in patients with a thyroid carcinoma has great significance for prognosis, prediction of recurrence and monitoring of treatment outcomes. This study aimed to determine the association between recurrence rate and some characteristics in patients with thyroid carcinoma. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted by descriptive method with longitudinal follow-up on 102 thyroid carcinoma patients at 103 Military Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam, from July 2013 to December 2016. Results: Univariate analysis showed that there was a relationship between the recurrence characteristics in the studied patients and the characteristics of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.026; OR = 15; 95% CI = 1.4-163.2) and BRAF V600E mutation status (P = 0.01; OR = 3.41; 95% CI = 1.31-8.88). When analysing the multivariable Logistic regression model, there was a positive correlation between the occurrence of BRAF V600E gene mutation (P = 0.032; OR = 17.649; 95% CI = 1.290-241.523) and male sex (P = 0.036; OR = 12.788; 95% CI = 1.185-137.961) and the occurrence of recurrence in study patients. The mean time to relapse was earlier in male patients than in female patients (P = 0.02). The mean time to relapse in patients with the BRAF V600E mutation (31.81 ± 1.14 months) was shorter than the mean time to relapse in the group without the mutation (57.82 ± 2.08 months) (P = 0.01). The group of patients with mutations in the BRAF V600E gene increased the risk of recurrence compared with the group without the mutation (HR = 9.14, P = 0.04). Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between recurrence and masculinity, lymph node metastasis and the occurrence of BRAF V600E mutations in thyroid carcinoma patients.

Genetic population structure of the Vietnamese ginseng (Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv.) detected by microsatellite analysis.

Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv. is a precious medicinal species native to the tropical forests of Vietnam. Due to habitat loss and over-harvesting, this species is endangered in Vietnam. To conserve the species, we investigated genetic variability and population structure using nine microsatellites for 148 individuals from seven populations across the current distribution range of P. vietnamensis in Vietnam. We determined a moderate genetic diversity within populations (HO = 0.367, HE = 0.437) and relatively low population differentiation (the Weir and Cockerham index of 0.172 and the Hedrick index of 0.254) and showed significant differentiation (P < 0.05), which suggested fragmented habitats, over-utilization and over-harvesting of P. vietnamensis. Different clustering methods revealed that individuals were grouped into two major clusters, which were associated with gene flow across the geographical range of P. vietnamensis. This study also detected that ginseng populations can have undergone a recent bottleneck. We recommend measures in future P. vietnamensis conservation and breeding programs.

Search for New Physics in Electronic Recoil Data from XENONnT.

We report on a blinded analysis of low-energy electronic recoil data from the first science run of the XENONnT dark matter experiment. Novel subsystems and the increased 5.9 ton liquid xenon target reduced the background in the (1, 30) keV search region to (15.8±1.3) events/(ton×year×keV), the lowest ever achieved in a dark matter detector and ∼5 times lower than in XENON1T. With an exposure of 1.16 ton-years, we observe no excess above background and set stringent new limits on solar axions, an enhanced neutrino magnetic moment, and bosonic dark matter.

Airborne Emission Rate Measurements Validate Remote Sensing Observations and Emission Inventories of Western U.S. Wildfires.

Carbonaceous emissions from wildfires are a dynamic mixture of gases and particles that have important impacts on air quality and climate. Emissions that feed atmospheric models are estimated using burned area and fire radiative power (FRP) methods that rely on satellite products. These approaches show wide variability and have large uncertainties, and their accuracy is challenging to evaluate due to limited aircraft and ground measurements. Here, we present a novel method to estimate fire plume-integrated total carbon and speciated emission rates using a unique combination of lidar remote sensing aerosol extinction profiles and in situ measured carbon constituents. We show strong agreement between these aircraft-derived emission rates of total carbon and a detailed burned area-based inventory that distributes carbon emissions in time using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite FRP observations (Fuel2Fire inventory, slope = 1.33 ± 0.04, r2 = 0.93, and RMSE = 0.27). Other more commonly used inventories strongly correlate with aircraft-derived emissions but have wide-ranging over- and under-predictions. A strong correlation is found between carbon monoxide emissions estimated in situ with those derived from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) for five wildfires with coincident sampling windows (slope = 0.99 ± 0.18; bias = 28.5%). Smoke emission coefficients (g MJ-1) enable direct estimations of primary gas and aerosol emissions from satellite FRP observations, and we derive these values for many compounds emitted by temperate forest fuels, including several previously unreported species.

Safety of Inulin and Sinistrin: Combining Several Sources for Pharmacovigilance Purposes.

Introduction: Inulin and its analog sinistrin are fructose polymers used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In 2018, The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) decided to withdraw products containing sinistrin and inulin due to several reports of serious hypersensitivity reactions, including a fatal outcome. Objective: To assess the safety of inulin and sinistrin use in France. Methods: We searched multiple sources to identify adverse reactions (ARs) to inulin or sinistrin: first, classical pharmacovigilance databases including the French Pharmacovigilance (FPVD) and the WHO Database (VigiBase); second, data from a clinical trial, MultiGFR; third, data regarding current use in an hospital. All potential ARs to inulin or sinistrin were analyzed with a focus on hypersensitivity reactions and relationships to batches of sinistrin. Results: From 1991 to 2018, 134 ARs to inulin or sinistrin were registered in the FPVD or VigiBase. Sixty-three cases (47%) were classified as serious, and 129 cases (96%) were hypersensitivity reactions. We found an association between a batch of sinistrin and the occurrence of hypersensitivity reactions. During the MultiGFR clinical trial, 7 patients (7/163 participants) had an Adverse reaction; of these, 4 were hypersensitivity reactions including one case of grade 4 anaphylactic shock. In the hospital, no ARs were observed. In the literature, ARs to inulin and sinistrin are very rarely reported and mostly benign. Conclusion: Most ARs to inulin and sinistrin are hypersensitivity reactions that appear to be associated with sinistrin batches.

Changes in the spike and nucleocapsid protein of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus strain in Vietnam-a molecular potential for the vaccine development?

BACKGROUND: Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a dangerous virus causing large piglet losses. PEDV spread rapidly between pig farms and caused the death of up to 90% of infected piglets. Current vaccines are only partially effective in providing immunity to suckling due to the rapid dissemination and ongoing evolution of PEDV. METHODS: In this study, the complete genome of a PEDV strain in Vietnam 2018 (IBT/VN/2018 strain) has been sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of each fragment was assembled to build a continuous complete sequence using the DNASTAR program. The complete nucleotide sequences and amino acid sequences of S, N, and ORF3 genes were aligned and analyzed to detect the mutations. RESULTS: The full-length genome was determined with 28,031 nucleotides in length which consisted of the 5'UTR, ORF1ab, S protein, ORF3, E protein, M protein, N protein, and 3'UTR region. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the IBT/VN/2018 strain was highly virulent belonged to the G2b subgroup along with the Northern American and Asian S-INDEL strains. Multiple sequence alignment of deduced amino acids revealed numerous mutations in the S, N, and ORF3 regions including one substitution 766P > L766 in the epitope SS6; two in the S0subdomain (135DN136 > 135SI136 and N144> D144); two in subdomain SHR1 at aa 1009L > M1009 and 1089S > L1089; one at aa 1279P > S1279 in subdomain SHR2 of the S protein; two at aa 364N > I364 and 378N > S378 in the N protein; four at aa 25L > S25, 70I > V70, 107C > F107, and 168D > N168 in the ORF3 protein. We identified two insertions (at aa 59NQGV62 and aa 145N) and one deletion (at aa 168DI169) in S protein. Remarkable, eight amino acid substitutions (294I > M294, 318A > S318, 335V > I335, 361A > T361, 497R > T497, 501SH502 > 501IY502, 506I > T506, 682V > I682, and 777P > L777) were found in SA subdomain. Besides, N- and O-glycosylation analysis of S, N, and ORF3 protein reveals three known sites (25G+, 123N+, and 62V+) and three novel sites (144D+, 1009M+, and 1279L+) in the IBT/VN/2018 strain compared with the vaccine strains. Taken together, the results showed that mutations in the S, N, and ORF3 genes can affect receptor specificity, viral pathogenicity, and the ability to evade the host immune system of the IBT/VN/2018 strain. Our results highlight the importance of molecular characterization of field strains of PEDV for the development of an effective vaccine to control PEDV infections in Vietnam.

Bone infection: a clinical priority for clinicians, scientists and educators.

Bone infection has received increasing attention in recent years as one of the main outstanding clinical problems in orthopaedic-trauma surgery that has not been successfully addressed. In fact, infection may develop across a spectrum of patient types regardless of the level of perioperative management, including antibiotic prophylaxis. Some of the main unknown factors that may be involved, and the main targets for future intervention, include more accurate and less invasive diagnostic options, more thorough and accurate debridement protocols, and more potent and targeted antimicrobials. The underlying biology dominates the clinical management of bone infections, with features such as biofilm formation, osteolysis and vascularisation being particularly influential. Based on the persistence of this problem, an improved understanding of the basic biology is deemed necessary to enable innovation in the field. Furthermore, from the clinical side, better evidence, documentation and outreach will be required to translate these innovations to the patient. This review presents the findings and progress of the AO Trauma Clinical Priority Program on the topic of bone infection.

Rapid cloud removal of dimethyl sulfide oxidation products limits SO2 and cloud condensation nuclei production in the marine atmosphere.

Oceans emit large quantities of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) to the marine atmosphere. The oxidation of DMS leads to the formation and growth of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) with consequent effects on Earth's radiation balance and climate. The quantitative assessment of the impact of DMS emissions on CCN concentrations necessitates a detailed description of the oxidation of DMS in the presence of existing aerosol particles and clouds. In the unpolluted marine atmosphere, DMS is efficiently oxidized to hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF), a stable intermediate in the chemical trajectory toward sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ultimately sulfate aerosol. Using direct airborne flux measurements, we demonstrate that the irreversible loss of HPMTF to clouds in the marine boundary layer determines the HPMTF lifetime (τHPMTF < 2 h) and terminates DMS oxidation to SO2 When accounting for HPMTF cloud loss in a global chemical transport model, we show that SO2 production from DMS is reduced by 35% globally and near-surface (0 to 3 km) SO2 concentrations over the ocean are lowered by 24%. This large, previously unconsidered loss process for volatile sulfur accelerates the timescale for the conversion of DMS to sulfate while limiting new particle formation in the marine atmosphere and changing the dynamics of aerosol growth. This loss process potentially reduces the spatial scale over which DMS emissions contribute to aerosol production and growth and weakens the link between DMS emission and marine CCN production with subsequent implications for cloud formation, radiative forcing, and climate.

Sea spray aerosol concentration modulated by sea surface temperature.

Natural aerosols in pristine regions form the baseline used to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic aerosols on climate. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) is a major component of natural aerosols. Despite its importance, the abundance of SSA is poorly constrained. It is generally accepted that wind-driven wave breaking is the principle governing SSA production. This mechanism alone, however, is insufficient to explain the variability of SSA concentration at given wind speed. The role of other parameters, such as sea surface temperature (SST), remains controversial. Here, we show that higher SST promotes SSA mass generation at a wide range of wind speed levels over the remote Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, in addition to demonstrating the wind-driven SSA production mechanism. The results are from a global scale dataset of airborne SSA measurements at 150 to 200 m above the ocean surface during the NASA Atmospheric Tomography Mission. Statistical analysis suggests that accounting for SST greatly enhances the predictability of the observed SSA concentration compared to using wind speed alone. Our results support implementing SST into SSA source functions in global models to better understand the atmospheric burdens of SSA.

Genome analysis and phylogenetic characterization of two deformed wing virus strains from Apis cerana in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a virulent virus that causes honeybee disease. DWV can exist as a latent infection in honeybees, outbreak into epidemics, and cause serious damage to beekeeping cross the world, including Vietnam. METHODS: The two DWV strains circulating in Vietnamese honeybee, Apis cerana, were first isolated from adult honeybees in North Vietnam (DWV-NVN) and South Vietnam (DWV-SVN). Their complete nucleotide sequences were determined, aligned, and compared with other DWV strains. RESULTS: The two Vietnamese DWV strains comprised 10,113 bp and contained a large single open reading frame (ORF) of 2,893 amino acids, initiating at nucleotide 1,130 and terminating at nucleotide 9,812. Multiple nucleotide sequence alignment between these two DWV-VN strains and DWV strains in A. mellifera was performed. The DWV-VN strains showed a low genetic identity (from 91.4% to 92.0%) with almost of these strains, but lower identities (89.2% and 89.4%) with UK2 and (89.6%) with the China2 strain. Low identities (91.7% and 91.9%) were also observed between the China3 strain (in A. cerana) and the DWV-VN strains, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence alignment showed high genetic similarities (97.0%-97.9%) when the USA1, Chile, Italy1, France, UK1, UK2, Japan, Korea2, China1, China2 and China3 strains were compared to the DWV-VN strains. This ratio was 96.7% and 96.8% when the Korea1 strain was compared to the DWV-SVN and DWV-NVN strains, respectively. Numerous amino acid substitutions were identified in the L, VP3, and RdRp sequences. Notably, we observed six substitutions positioned at amino acids 27 (E > I), 98 (S > T), 120 (A > V), 153 (M > T), 170 (D > F), and 174 (Y > F) in the L protein, two amino acid changes at positions 980 (S > A) and 1032 (E > T) in VP3, and one amino acid change at position 2627 (R > C) unique to the DWV-VN strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete genome sequences, RdRp sequences and Simplot analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between DWV-VN strains in A. cerana and DWV strains in A. mellifera. The results suggested that the genetic variations of the DWV-VN strains in A. cerana help them to adapt geographical conditions and may lead to change the viral pathogenicity of DWV-VN strains.

The APOA5-rs662799 Polymorphism Is a Determinant of Dyslipidemia in Vietnamese Primary School Children.

Apolipoprotein A-V encoded by apolipoprotein 5 (APOA5) gene plays an important role in lipid metabolism, especially in the regulation of plasma triglycerol levels. The study aimed to evaluate the association of the APOA5-rs662799 polymorphism with dyslipidemia in Vietnamese children and the potential modification of obesity-related traits (body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio) on this association. A case-control study was conducted with a total of 154 dyslipidemia cases and 389 controls at the age of 6 to 10 recruited at 31 primary schools in Hanoi city of Vietnam. Genotype for APOA5-rs662799 polymorphism was determined by the restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The association of APOA5-rs662799 polymorphism with dyslipidemia adjusting for age, sex, residence, and obesity-related traits was analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. The results showed that in comparison with T/T and T/C carriers, the C/C carriers had a higher concentration of serum TAG in cases (p =0.049). Carriers of the C allele (C/C + T/C) had higher risk for developing dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia than subjects with T/T genotype (odds ratio, OR = 1.7, p =0.0062 and OR = 1.6, p = 0.026, respectively). The association remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, residence, and obesity status (OR = 1.75, p = 0.006 and OR = 1.53, p = 0.049, respectively) or other obesity-related traits. The study suggested that the APOA5-rs662799 polymorphism may be a determinant of dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia in Vietnamese children, independent of obesity-related traits.