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BackgroundOverweight and obesity is a severe global health issue in both developed and developing nations. This study aims to estimate the national prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-aged children in Vietnam.MethodWe conducted a national cross-sectional study on 2788 children aged from 11-14 years old from September to November 2018. We applied the WHO 2007 and IOTF criteria to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among participants. Poison regression analysis with cluster sampling adjustment was employed to assess associated factors with obesity and overweight. Metadata on sociodemographic characteristics, physical measurements, and lifestyle behaviors were also extracted to investigate these factors in association with overweight and obesity prevalence.ResultsThe prevalences of overweight and obesity in Vietnamese children were 17.4% and 8.6%, respectively by WHO Z-score criteria, and 17.1% and 5.4%, according to the IOTF reference. Using WHO Z-score yielded a higher prevalence of obesity than the IOTF and CDC criteria of all ages and both sexes. The proportions of overweight and obesity were substantially higher among boys than girls across ages. Parental BMI was shown to be a significant factor associated with overweight/obesity status in both girls and boys. Only for boys, age (PR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.76-0.90) and belonging to ethnic minorities (PR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.24-0.76) were significant risk factors for overweight/obesity.ConclusionOur findings indicate a high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Vietnam, especially in boys.

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with naive pluripotency is important for their applications in regenerative medicine. In female iPSCs, acquisition of naive pluripotency is coupled to X chromosome reactivation (XCR) during somatic cell reprogramming, and live cell monitoring of XCR is potentially useful for analyzing how iPSCs acquire naive pluripotency. Here we generated female mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that carry the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and humanized Kusabira-Orange (hKO) genes inserted into an intergenic site near either the Syap1 or Taf1 gene on both X chromosomes. The ESC clones, which initially expressed both EGFP and hKO, inactivated one of the fluorescent protein genes upon differentiation, indicating that the EGFP and hKO genes are subject to X chromosome inactivation (XCI). When the derived somatic cells carrying the EGFP gene on the inactive X chromosome (Xi) were reprogrammed into iPSCs, the EGFP gene on the Xi was reactivated when pluripotency marker genes were induced. Thus, the fluorescent protein genes inserted into an intergenic locus on both X chromosomes enable live cell monitoring of XCI during ESC differentiation and XCR during reprogramming. This is the first study that succeeded live cell imaging of XCR during reprogramming. Keywords: X chromosome reactivation, Reprogramming, Live cell imaging, CRISPR/Cas9

Summary: Reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is accompanied by dramatic changes in epigenetic programs, including silencing of endogenous and exogenous retroviruses. Here, we utilized replication-defective and persistent Sendai virus (SeVdp)-based vectors to monitor retroviral silencing during reprogramming. We observed that retroviral silencing occurred at an early reprogramming stage without a requirement for KLF4 or the YY1-binding site in the retroviral genome. Insertional chromatin immunoprecipitation (iChIP) enabled us to isolate factors assembled on the silenced provirus, including components of inhibitor of histone acetyltransferase (INHAT), which includes the SET/TAF-I oncoprotein. Knockdown of SET/TAF-I in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) diminished retroviral silencing during reprogramming, and overexpression of template activating factor-I α (TAF-Iα), a SET/TAF-I isoform predominant in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), reinforced retroviral silencing by an SeVdp-based vector that is otherwise defective in retroviral silencing. Our results indicate an important role for TAF-Iα in retroviral silencing during reprogramming. : Bui et al. use replication-defective and persistent Sendai virus (SeVdp)-based vectors to monitor retroviral silencing during reprogramming and find that the silencing occurs earlier than the acquisition of pluripotency. Insertional chromatin immunoprecipitation (iChIP) identifies TAF-Iα, a SET/TAF-I isoform predominant in ESCs, as a factor that facilitates retroviral silencing. Keywords: retroviral silencing, reprogramming, SeVdp vector, primer-binding site, insertional chromatin immunoprecipitation, TAF-Iα

Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is accompanied by morphological, functional, and metabolic alterations before acquisition of full pluripotency. Although the genome-wide effects of the reprogramming factors on gene expression are well documented, precise mechanisms by which gene expression changes evoke phenotypic responses remain to be determined. We used a Sendai virus-based system that permits reprogramming to progress in a strictly KLF4-dependent manner to screen for KLF4 target genes that are critical for the progression of reprogramming. The screening identified Tcl1 as a critical target gene that directs the metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. KLF4-induced TCL1 employs a two-pronged mechanism, whereby TCL1 activates AKT to enhance glycolysis and counteracts PnPase to diminish oxidative phosphorylation. These regulatory mechanisms described here highlight a central role for a reprogramming factor in orchestrating the metabolic shift toward the acquisition of pluripotency during iPSC generation.

Background: Happiness is among the fundamental concepts in mental health that have an impact on different aspects of university students. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of happiness among university students in Vietnam and to identify the factors influencing happiness. Design and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on undergraduate students in 8 universities and colleges in Hanoi, Vietnam. Happiness was measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), and we used imputed Poisson regression to evaluate associations between happiness and associated factors. Results: Among 9120 participants students (95.1% response rate), the prevalence of "happier group" was 80.9% (95% CI: 80.1–81.7). In the multivariable regression models, factors associated with being "less happy" on SHS were the perceived financial burden, year in university, academic motivation profile, and self-reported depression and anxiety. Conclusions: University healthcare providers should pay attention to these associated factors while designing mental health care programs to promote happiness among university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2008 to 2019, this research examines the effect of equity capital on the profitability of 24 Vietnamese commercial banks. The research findings indicate that, when ROAA and ROAE are used to measure the bank's profit, the equity capital ratio (CAP) has a statistically significant positive effect on the ROAAwhile having a negative effect on the ROAE. Between 2013 and 2019, the CAP variable has a positive effect on the ROAA and ROAE, indicating that banks with a larger equity capital ratio achieved higher profitability. Furthermore, the deposits-to-assets ratio (DTA) and loan-loss reserves ratio (LLR) both have a negative effect on both proxies for bank profitability, although bank size (SIZE) has a negligible effect on bank profits in the majority of circumstances. Additionally, the rate of GDP growth and inflation (INF) have a beneficial effect on the bank's profitability. The study's objective is to present some critical policy implications for bank executives about the importance of adequate equity capital for the bank's sustainability development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]