Search

Background: There has been an increase in the number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in whom problems with eating behaviors are often present. The use of a standardized questionnaire to assess the eating behaviors of children with ASD in Vietnam has not been paid due attention. Objective: This study aims to assess eating behaviors in children with ASD aged 3-11 years using the Brief Autism Mealtime Behaviors Inventory (BAMBI), thereby providing additional evidence to inform interventions in ASD children in Vietnam. Methods: An online survey using the BAMBI was conducted with parents of 85 children with ASD and parents of 175 typically developing (TD) children between April 2020 and April 2021. Results: The study revealed a higher risk of eating behavior problems among children with ASD compared to TD children (p < 0.0001). The differences between the two groups were statistically significant in 17 out of 18 items of the BAMBI. The study results also point out that in autistic children, the scores of 4/8 behaviors in the “limited variety” group were highest, which exceeded three points, while none of the behaviors relating to “food refusal” or “features of autism” reached three points. Conclusion: Future studies using direct observations with larger samples are needed to further investigate eating disorders among children with ASD.

Innovativeness is usually considered to be the key to the survival and development of firms in the context of increasing competition in the global market. However, studies on the link between innovativeness and business performance of firms have not been studied much in Vietnam. Therefore, the research aims to identify and assess the impact of innovativeness on four perspectives in balanced scorecard including customers, finance, internal processes, employee learning and growth. Results from 144 responses out of 670 surveys on Japanese firms investing in Vietnam showed that innovativeness has a significant impact on business performance in both financial and non-financial aspects. Additionally, improving non-financial performance also has a positive impact on financial performance in firms. This conjointly implies that in the context of the increasingly spirited market as it is today to survive and develop in the long run, firms need to specialise in improving innovativeness to extend business performance efficiency.

Centella asiaticais a very popular plant in Vietnam and in other South and Southeast Asia. It grows wildly or planted in all parts of Vietnam. People use this plant for treatment of many diseases or as a vegetable. This plant is a main product of economic importance in Quang Tho village, Quang Dien district, Thua Thien – Hue province, where it is planted according to VIETGAP standard. The MeOH extract from the aerial parts of Centella asiaticacollected from Quang Tho village has shown a good inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in an experiment on mice brain. Chromatographic separation of this extract yielded kaempferol, asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside and a large amount (2.28 % of dry material) of asiaticoside A and asiaticoside B as a mixture with a ratio of 35:65, determined by 1H NMR spectrum.

Fifteen new 28-amide derivatives of madecassic acid, isolated from the tropical medicinal herb Centella asiatica(Apiaceae), have been synthesised, and their cytotoxicity on three cancer cell lines, KB (carcinoma cancer), HepG2 (liver cancer) and Lu-1 (lung cancer), was evaluated. The results showed that acetylation of the 2,3,23-hydroxyl group and/or amidation of the 28-COOH group strongly increased the cytotoxicity of the synthesised compounds.