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Novel nanoporous TiO2 hollow hemispheres with light trapping for high-efficiency photocatalytic water splitting.

Background: South Sudan has experienced ongoing civil and environmental problems since gaining independence in 2011 that may influence childhood nutritional status. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of undernutrition among children in South Sudan in 2018 and 2019 compared to the prevalence in 2010. Methods: Data on height and weight were collected using a 2-stage stratified sample framework in which households were randomly selected at the county level and nutritional status was calculated for all children under 5 years of age to determine height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age Z-scores (HAZ, WHZ, and WAZ) and the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with nutritional status and the odds ratio for nutritional outcomes. Results: In 2010, the mean HAZ, WHZ, and WAZ was −0.78, −0.82, and −1.15, respectively, and the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 30%, 23%, and 32%, respectively. In 2018 and 2019, the mean HAZ, WHZ, and WAZ was −0.50, −0.70, −0.77 and −0.53, −0.77, −0.76, respectively. The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in 2018 and 2019 was 17%, 14%, 15% and 16%, 16%, 17%, respectively. Age was negatively associated with all nutritional indices and girls had higher HAZ, WHZ, and WAZ and a lower mid upper arm circumference ( P < .01) compared to boys. The risk of poor nutritional outcomes was associated with vaccine status and varied by state of residence. Conclusions: Following independence in 2010, the prevalence of undernutrition in South Sudan decreased, but the risk for undernutrition varied by state and efforts to address food security and health need to ensure equitable access for all children in South Sudan.

A new iridoid glucoside, moridoside (1), and nine known compounds, asperulosidic acid (2), 6-O-epi-acetylscandoside (3), geniposidic acid (4), 2-hydroxymethylanthraquinone (5), 2-hydroxymethyl-3-hydroxyanthraquinone (6), damnacanthol (7), lucidine-ω-methyl ether (8), 2-hydroxy-1-methoxyanthraquinone (9), and 3,8-dihydroxy-1,2-dimethoxyanthraquinone (10) were isolated from the methanol extract of Morinda officinalis How. roots. Their structural identification was carried out based on the spectroscopic evidence. All compounds were evaluated for their nitric oxide (NO) production inhibitory activities in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds 5-7 significantly inhibited the production of NO with IC50 values of 28.4, 33.6, and 30.5 μM, respectively.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-npx-10.1177_1934578X221150367 for Piperlongosides A–C, Three New Phenolic Constituents From Piper longum L. by Le Thi Huyen, Nguyen Thi Thu Hau and Phan Van Kiem in Natural Product Communications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators of protein translation in humans. They have an essential role in various cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The abnormal expression of miR-21 has been proven to be associated with various types of cancers, including NPC, through its targets. This study provides a systematic view of the roles of miR-21 and its network of targets (hsa-miR-21-3p, hsa-miR-21-5p) that are associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Bioinformatics tools were applied to predict the targets of miR-21. Interactions among the targets of hsa-miR-21-3p/5p were found by the gene MANIA online tool.It was found that the target genes are involved in vital biological processes in cancer. In detail, a total of 95 targets of miR-21 were recorded to be associated with NPC. Therefore, they may provide new insights into nasopharyngeal pathogenesis and bring about novel targets for NPC diagnosis as well as therapy in near future.

Background and Purpose: The AFFINITY trial (Assessment of Fluoxetine in Stroke Recovery) reported that oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and seizures. After trial medication was ceased at 6 months, survivors were followed to 12 months post-randomization. This preplanned secondary analysis aimed to determine any sustained or delayed effects of fluoxetine at 12 months post-randomization. Methods: AFFINITY was a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults (n=1280) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke in the previous 2 to 15 days and persisting neurological deficit who were recruited at 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (4), and Vietnam (10) between 2013 and 2019. Participants were randomized to oral fluoxetine 20 mg once daily (n=642) or matching placebo (n=638) for 6 months and followed until 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome was function, measured by the modified Rankin Scale, at 6 months. Secondary outcomes for these analyses included measures of the modified Rankin Scale, mood, cognition, overall health status, fatigue, health-related quality of life, and safety at 12 months. Results: Adherence to trial medication was for a mean 167 (SD 48) days and similar between randomized groups. At 12 months, the distribution of modified Rankin Scale categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.76–1.14]; P =0.46). Compared with placebo, patients allocated fluoxetine had fewer recurrent ischemic strokes (14 [2.18%] versus 29 [4.55%]; P =0.02), and no longer had significantly more falls (27 [4.21%] versus 15 [2.35%]; P =0.08), bone fractures (23 [3.58%] versus 11 [1.72%]; P =0.05), or seizures (11 [1.71%] versus 8 [1.25%]; P =0.64) at 12 months. Conclusions: Fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke had no delayed or sustained effect on functional outcome, falls, bone fractures, or seizures at 12 months poststroke. The lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group is most likely a chance finding. Registration: URL: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ; Unique identifier: ACTRN12611000774921.

The entomopathogenic fungus T011, parasitizing on nymph of Cicada, collected in the coffee garden in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam, was preliminarily morphologically identified as Isaria cicadae, belonged to order Hypocreales and family Clavicipitaceae. To ensure the authenticity of T011, phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated set of multiple genes including ITS, nrLSU, nrSSU, Rpb1, and Tef1 was applied to support the identification. Genomic DNA was isolated from dried sample T011. The PCR assay sequencing was applied to amplify ITS, nrLSU, nrSSU, Rpb1, and Tef1 gene. For phylogenetic analysis, the concatenated data of both target gens were constructed with MEGAX with a 1,000 replicate bootstrap based on the neighbor-joining, maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony method. As the result, the concatenated data containing 62 sequences belonged to order Hypocreales, families Clavicipitaceae, and 2 outgroup sequences belonged to order Hypocreales, genus Verticillium. The phylogenetic analysis results indicated that T011 was accepted at subclade Cordyceps and significantly formed the monophyletic group with referent Cordyceps cicadae (Telemorph of Isaria cicadae) with high bootstrap value. The phylogenetically analyzed result was strongly supported by our morphological analysis described as the Isaria cicadae. In summary, phylogenetic analyses based on the concatenated dataset were successfully applied to strengthen the identification of T011 as Isaria cicadae.

BackgroundThis study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and assess the relationship between the PHQ-9 domain and demographics and health behaviors in Vietnamese people.Materials and MethodsThe PHQ9 was administered to 899 participants. Exploratory factor and reliability analyses were performed. Tobit regression and Ordered logistic regression were further performed to determine factors associated with the PHQ-9 score and characteristics of depression.ResultsThe 2-factor model of PHQ-9, including factor 1 “Somatic” and factor 2 “Cognitive/Affective,” showed good psychometric properties. The Cronbach’s alpha value showed high internal consistency in two factors (0.84 and 0.80, respectively). Gender, health behavior exercising, drinking, and health status had associations with both factors of the PHQ-9 model.ConclusionThe PHQ-9 scale is a valid and reliable instrument to assess depression in the Vietnam population. This scale can be a useful screening tool for depression; however, further validation studies in other populations are required.

This paper proposes a novel spread spectrum and sub-carrier index modulation (SS-SIM) scheme, which is integrated to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) framework to enhance the diversity over the conventional IM schemes. Particularly, the resulting scheme, called SS-SIMOFDM, jointly employs both spread spectrum and sub-carrier index modulations to form a precoding vector which is then used to spread an M-ary complex symbol across all active sub-carriers. As a result, the proposed scheme enables a novel transmission of three signal domains: SS and sub-carrier indices, and a single M-ary symbol. For practical implementations, two reduced-complexity near-optimal detectors are proposed, which have complexities less depending on the M-ary modulation size. Then, the bit error probability and its upper bound are analyzed to gain an insight into the diversity gain, which is shown to be strongly affected by the order of sub-carrier indices. Based on this observation, we propose two novel sub-carrier index mapping methods, which significantly increase the diversity gain of SSSIM-OFDM. Finally, simulation results show that our scheme achieves better error performance than the benchmarks at the cost of lower spectral efficiency compared to classical OFDM and OFDM-IM, which can carry multiple M-ary symbols.

Over the past twenty years, using learning management systems in higher education has attracted increasing interest from researchers around the globe. In this context, the current study aimed to explore the volume, growth trajectory, and geographic distribution of learning management systems in higher education literature, along with identifying impactful authors, sources, and publications, and highlight emerging research issues. The authors conducted bibliometric analysis on 1334 documents, related to the use of learning management systems in the context of higher education, extracted from Scopus database. The findings show a rapidly growing knowledge base on learning management systems in higher education, especially intensely in the years 2015-2020 and primarily from research in developed societies. This flourishing is consistent with the development trend of international education and the strong development of technology. In addition, the core literature was identified based on the volume of publications and citations. The results also reveal the emerging intellectual structure of the field and provide points of reference for scholars studying the discipline. This paper offers a knowledge map for future research assessments of learning management systems in higher education.

This study assessed the density and de-nitrification potential of indigenous microorganisms in mangroves and seagrass beds in northern Vietnam through two mangrove ecosystems in Tien Yen - Quang Ninh and Bang La - Hai Phong and three seagrass beds in Ha Coi and Dam Ha - Quang Ninh and Tam Giang - Thua Thien Hue. The analysis results of 4 sampling times in rainy and dry seasons during 2017–2019 showed that the density of de-nitrifying bacteria ranged from (1.0 × 102)–(4.6 × 103) MPN/mL, averaging 1.1 ± 0.3 × 103 MPN/mL. The density in mangroves was higher than that in seagrass (a = 0.05). De-nitrification rates ranged from 0.0 µgN/wet to 69.0 µgN/wet soil g/hour, averaging 18.4 ± 7.4 µgN/wet soil g/hour. The rate at the experiments added 0.5 mgN/L in seagrass was higher than that in the mangrove. The density and rate of de-nitrification were significantly correlated with many environmental factors, especially density of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, the density of nitrifying bacteria, pH, Eh, Nts, N-NH4, P- PO4 and BOD5.

Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) is one of the most used moieties in D–A conjugated polymers for high-performance π-extended conjugated polymer-based organic solar cells. The combination of 1,4-diketo-3,6-dithienylpyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrroles (DTDPPs) and the donor moieties 10-(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)phenyl)-10H-phenothiazine (M1), 10-(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)phenyl)-10H-phenoxazine (M2), has not been reported yet. In this report, novel low-bandgap D–A conjugated polymer derivatives including DTDPP, phenothiazine and phenoxazine were successfully synthesized via direct (hetero) arylation polymerization with in the yields of 40.94–60.77%. The obtained D–A conjugated polymers named poly(3,6-Di(2-thienyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione)-alt-(10-(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy) phenyl)-10H-phenothiazine) (P1) and poly(3,6-Di(2-thienyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione)-alt-(10-(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy) phenyl)-10H-phenoxazine) (P2) exhibited a wide range of absorption spectrum in visible light region and have a low bandgaps of 1.4–1.5 eV, as well as thermal stabilities, these D–A conjugated polymers are very promising as activated polymeric materials for organic solar cells (OSCs).

An entomopathogenic fungus newly named Ophiocordyceps langbianensis was collected from Lang Biang Biosphere Reserve, located in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. It is characterized as a species of Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) having the unique characteristics of a cylindrical fertile part and several branched apical appendices. Each ascospore develops as two swollen, constricted part-spores. A phylogenetic analysis of multiple genes, including nrLSU, nrSSU, Rpb1, ITS and Tef, supported its systematic position in the genus of Ophiocordyceps; it is related to O. brunneipunctata. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses, O. langbianensis was confirmed as a new species from Vietnam.

Introduction: Foodborne Zoonotic Trematode Infections (FZTi) are neglected tropical diseases of public health concern in Vietnam. The transmission of FZTi is linked to human behavior patterns. The aim was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding FZTi among local people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a mixed method, which included a baseline survey and in-depth interviews. 375 participants were interviewed face-to-face in the survey, and 27 participants had the in-depth interviews. Results: The results showed that 36.3% passed the knowledge assessment, 86.7% passed the attitude assessment, and 24% passed the practical assessment. There were differences in average knowledge scores among gender (men higher than women, p=0.006), ethnicities (Kinh higher than Dao and Tay, p, Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 63 No. 2 (2022): 2022632

microRNAs are endogenous non-coding miRNAs, 19–25 nucleotides in length, that can be detected in the extracellular environment in stable forms, named circulating miRNAs (CIR-miRNAs). Since the first discovery of CIR-miRNAs, a large number of studies have demonstrated that the abnormal changes in its expression could be used to significantly distinguish nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) from healthy cells. We herein reviewed and highlighted recent advances in the study of CIR-miRNAs in NPC, which pointed out the main components serving as promising and effective biomarkers for NPC diagnosis and prognosis. Furthermore, brief descriptions of its origin and unique characteristics are provided.

Trichinellosis and cysticercosis remain challenges to human health and animal productivity worldwide, especially in developing countries. While information on the occurrence of both diseases is infrequent, they are endemic in parts of Vietnam and mainly related to indigenous pigs kept by ethnic minorities. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of both diseases in indigenous pigs and explore the perception and awareness of both human and pig trichinellosis and cysticercosis of pig farmers. A total of 352 pig sera samples from 131 holdings were collected and analyzed using ELISA antibody tests in six communes in the Da Bac districts of Hoa Binh province, Vietnam. A survey was conducted with representatives from these households to understand the knowledge and perspective on food-borne parasitic diseases. Overall, the seroprevalence of trichinellosis and T. solium cysticercosis was 13.6% (95% CI 10.2–17.7) and 1.7% (95% CI 0.6–3.7), respectively. The seroprevalence of trichinellosis was significantly higher in female and older pigs. Risk perception and knowledge of interviewed people on both human and pig trichinellosis and cysticercosis of pig farmers was poor. Risky practices, including free roaming of pigs and eating undercooked or fermented pork, were observed. Educational and awareness campaigns aligned with further research on feasible practice changes are critical to addressing these issues.