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Objectives: To evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria strains isolated from clinical specimens at Viet Duc University Hospital. Subjects and methods: A descriptive study and lab analysis on 167 anaerobic isolates isolated from clinical specimens. Results: The highest rate of resistance to the isolates was observed for metronidazole (84.43%), followed by clindamycin (49.7%) and antibiotics in the carbapenem group (2.99% - 8.98%), respectively. The lowest rate of resistance was shown for piperacillin/tazobactam (1.2%). However, the rate of resistance to antibiotics was variable in isolated strains. In more detail, amoxicillin/clavulanate varied from 0.00% - 10.53%, piperacillin/tazobactam (0.00% - 2.17%), metronidazole (78.95 % - 93.75%), carbapenems (0.00% - 12.50%), moxifloxacin (0.00% - 10.53%), and clindamycin (40.00% - 85.42%). The susceptibility to metronidazole was 80.43% in 46 Bacteroides isolates and 4.17% in 48 Prevotella isolates. Compared to other antibiotics, the resistance to metronidazole is significantly high, specifically for Prevotella, with the highest rate of 93.75%. Conclusion: The rate of resistance to antibiotics in pathogenic anaerobic bacterial isolates fluctuated with amoxicillin/clavulanate (0.00% - 10.53%), piperacillin/tazobactam (0.00% - 2.17%), carbapenems (0.00% - 12.50%), moxifloxacin (0.00% - 10.53%), and clindamycin (40.00% - 85.42%). The resistance varied in different strains. Prevotella and Micromonas were shown to be less resistant to antibiotics than Bacteroides and Clostridium.

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in whole blood samples are commonly used to diagnose diabetes and monitor the effectiveness of glycemic control. However, there have not been many studies evaluating changes in HbA1c concentration under different storage conditions and analytical methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stability of %HbA1c stored at different temperature conditions using immunoassays in order to improve the quality of HbA1c test. Whole blood samples collected from 10 healthy volunteers were anticoagulated with K2 EDTA and stored at the following temperatures: 20-25°C, 2-8°C, and -20°C. %HbA1c in human whole blood samples at each time point was determined simultaneously on Standard F Analyzer (%HbA1c-S) with reagent kit based on a reflectometry and immunoassay technology, and Erba XL640 system (%HbA1c-E) used immunoturbidimetric method, respectively. %HbA1c was assessed as stable when the difference in HbA1c level at the later time point was not statistically significant (p >0.05) compared with baseline (T0). Results showed that a positive correlation between %HbA1c-S and %HbA1c-E at T0 (r=0.9996) was observed at room temperature. %HbA1c-S was stabilized for 24 hours at 20-25°C, for 2 days at 2-8°C and for more than 1 month at -20°C. %HbA1c-E was stable for 12 hours at 20-25°C; less than 1 day at 2-8°C, and less than 1 month at -20°C. In conclusion, human whole blood samples for HbA1c determination can be stored for up to 1 month at -20°C.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most lethal cancers in South Korea, and it is a cancer of concern worldwide. 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) is commonly used as the first-line therapy for advanced GC; however, its side effects often limit the dosage range and impair patients’ quality of life. Due to the limitations of current chemotherapy, new anticancer therapies are urgently needed. 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) has been reported to have the ability to protect against various types of cancer. Our study aimed to elucidate the anticancer effect of DIM in GC when treated with the chemotherapeutic agent 5-Fu. In our results, combined treatment with DIM and 5-Fu resulted in higher apoptosis and lower cell proliferation than treatment with 5-Fu in SNU484 and SNU638 cell lines. Furthermore, when DIM and 5-Fu were administered together, cell invasion was diminished by mediated E-cadherin, MMP-9, and uPA; p-Akt and p-GSK-3β levels were reduced more significantly than when 5-Fu was administered alone. Moreover, in the Wnt signaling pathway, combined treatment of DIM and 5-Fu diminished β-catenin levels in the nucleus and inhibited cyclin D1and c-Myc protein levels. The Akt inhibitor, wortmannin, further inhibited the levels of β-catenin and c-Myc that were inhibited by DIM and 5-Fu. Furthermore, an animal xenograft model demonstrated that DIM combined with 5-Fu considerably reduced tumor growth without any toxic effects by regulating the Akt/GSK-3β and β-catenin levels. Our findings suggest that DIM significantly potentiates the anticancer effects of 5-Fu by targeting the Akt/GSK-3β and WNT/β-catenin because the combination therapy is more effective than 5-Fu alone, thereby offering an innovative potential therapy for patients with GC.

The main purpose of the paper is to proposea lambda function and its apply to the concept of measurein comparing tuples of relations. Extend the generalizedpositive Boolean dependency to obtain a new type ofdependency called approximate generalized positive Booleandependency.The results can be applied in constructing more complicateddatabases, especially allowing extended search capabilitiesfor the real-world data.

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease listed as one of the top global health problems. Phaeanthus vietnamensis BÂN is a well-known medicinal plant in Vietnam with its anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory potential, and gastro-protective properties. However, there is no study about P. vietnamensis extract (PVE) on asthma disease. Here, an OVA-induced asthma mouse model was established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic effects and possible mechanisms of PVE. BALB/c mice were sensitized by injecting 50 μg OVA into the peritoneal and challenged by nebulization with 5% OVA. Mice were orally administered various doses of PVE once daily (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) or dexamethasone (Dex; 2.5 mg/kg) or Saline 1 h before the OVA challenge. The cell infiltrated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed; levels of OVA-specific immunoglobulins in serum, cytokines, and transcription factors in the BALF were measured, and lung histopathology was evaluated. PVE, especially PVE 200mg/kg dose, could improve asthma exacerbation by balancing the Th1/Th2 ratio, reducing inflammatory cells in BALF, depressing serum anti-specific OVA IgE, anti-specific OVA IgG1, histamine levels, and retrieving lung histology. Moreover, the PVE treatment group significantly increased the expressions of antioxidant enzymes Nrf2 and HO-1 in the lung tissue and the level of those antioxidant enzymes in the BALF, decreasing the oxidative stress marker MDA level in the BALF, leading to the relieving the activation of MAPK signaling in asthmatic condition. The present study demonstrated that Phaeanthus vietnamensis BÂN, traditionally used in Vietnam as a medicinal plant, may be used as an efficacious agent for treating asthmatic disease.

This research examined the interplay among personal factors, namely channel lock-in, cross-channel synergy, attribute-based decision making (ADM); environmental factors, namely others’ past switching behaviour (OPB), pressure to switch from others (PSO); and behavioural factors, namely perceived self-efficacy and perception on facilitating conditions as antecedents to customers’ channel switching intention in an omnichannel context. Drawing on the complexity theory and set theory, we applied configurational analysis using the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The result of the analysis indicated two (2) sufficient configurations that led to an intention to switch channels. Both configurations contained ADM, OPB, and PSO conditions that highlight the importance of personal factors and environmental factors needed for the presence of an intention to switch channels. However, no sufficient configurations were obtained that indicate an absence of intention to switch channels. This study challenges theoretical underpinnings by demonstrating that omnichannel channel-switching behaviours can be explained from a configurational perspective. The configurations produced by this study can serve as a basis for researchers who plan to conduct asymmetric modelling of customers' channel-switching behaviour in an omnichannel context. Finally, this paper suggests omnichannel retail strategies and management as informed by these configurations.

STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) is a transcription factor that plays a central role in the pathophysiology of allergic inflammation. We have identified 16 patients from 10 families spanning three continents with a profound phenotype of early-life onset allergic immune dysregulation, widespread treatment-resistant atopic dermatitis, hypereosinophilia with esosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, asthma, elevated serum IgE, IgE-mediated food allergies, and anaphylaxis. The cases were either sporadic (seven kindreds) or followed an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern (three kindreds). All patients carried monoallelic rare variants in STAT6 and functional studies established their gain-of-function (GOF) phenotype with sustained STAT6 phosphorylation, increased STAT6 target gene expression, and TH2 skewing. Precision treatment with the anti-IL-4Rα antibody, dupilumab, was highly effective improving both clinical manifestations and immunological biomarkers. This study identifies heterozygous GOF variants in STAT6 as a novel autosomal dominant allergic disorder. We anticipate that our discovery of multiple kindreds with germline STAT6 GOF variants will facilitate the recognition of more affected individuals and the full definition of this new primary atopic disorder. ispartof: J Exp Med vol:220 issue:5 pages:e20221755- ispartof: location:United States status: published

Purpose This paper aims to explore how entrepreneurial culture (EC) and psychological empowerment (PE) support innovative work behaviour (IWB) of employees in organizations. First, it examines the impact of EC on IWB. It also explores the mediating effect of PE to support the EC – IWB relationship. Accordingly, it suggests a mechanism model to explain the relationship between EC and IWB. Design/methodology/approach This is an empirical research using quantitative methods. Data were collected via both face-to-face and online surveys from 308 employees in Vietnamese enterprises. The partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to test hypotheses in the research model. Findings Significant R-square values were achieved for both EC – PE and PE – IWB relationships, according to the PLS-SEM. The most interesting finding is the full mediating role of PE in the relationship between EC and IWB. Despite the non-significance in the direct impact of EC on IWB, the role of EC in promoting IWB is important in an indirect way through PE. The significant role of PE in facilitating IWB has been proven. Originality/value This research is one of the initial attempts to empirically build the roadmap from EC, as a typical type of organizational culture, through the mediating effect of PE to improve IWB. This roadmap provides top managers with a hierarchical view that effectively cascading interventions from the organizational level, such as EC, through a significant mediator as PE at the group level, and then down to IWB as a result at the individual level.

To compare the performance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with bacterial culture for the diagnosis of neonatal bacterial meningitis (NBM).The CSF analysis of neonate with confirmed bacterial meningitis was performed with PCR and bacterial culture, and results were compared.Among 24 neonates, the pathogens Identified included E. coli K1, GBS, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Listeria. PCR identified 20 (83.3%) pathogens, and culture 4 (16.7%) pathogens. Prior antibiotics were administered to 20 (83.3%) neonates in whom PCR identified 17 (85%) and culture 3 (15%) pathogens.CSF PCR had a higher yield of pathogens than CSF culture in confirmed neonatal bacterial meningitis with a high rate of prior antibiotic therapy.

Absent contractility is a rare esophageal motility disorder defined by high-resolution manometry which remains poorly understood in pathogenesis and management. We investigated the clinical symptoms, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings, and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) characteristics in adult patients diagnosed with absent contractility on high resolution manometry and factors associated with erosive esophagitis that were found on endoscopy in these patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with absent contractility who were examined at the Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Vietnam between March 2018 and December 2020. Clinical symptoms, endoscopic findings, and LES metrics were collected and compared between individuals with and without erosive esophagitis. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine a variety of factors associated with erosive esophagitis. Among 7519 patients who underwent high resolution manometry, 204 (2.7%) were diagnosed with absent contractility. The mean age of the study sample was 45.9 years, 65.7% were women, and none had systemic sclerosis. The most common symptoms were regurgitation, belching, epigastric pain, and bloating. On endoscopy, 50% had erosive esophagitis, mostly Los Angeles grade A (42.9%). On manometry, 44.6% of the patients had LES hypotension and 68.1% had low integrated relaxation pressure in 4 seconds (IRP4s). Male sex (adjusted odds ratio = 2.01, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-3.89) and an IRP4s 5 mm Hg (adjusted odds ratio = 2.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.12-4.37) were significantly associated with erosive esophagitis. Absent contractility was present in many patients without known systemic diseases. Erosive esophagitis was common and associated with male sex and low IRP4s.

Histamine is a toxic metabolite produced in foods containing a high level of free histidine. This compound can be present in various food sources, especially seafood, dairy products, and fermented foods. Histamine poisoning is one of the most common health risks caused by consuming spoiled foods or improper processed and stored foods. This food poisoning usually causes mild symptoms with higher recovery rates, so people underestimate this hazard. Thus, understanding histamine formation food sources with a high risk for this poisonous agent is critical in improving the awareness of this hazard for food producers and consumers. To avoid histamine-associated food poisoning, the development of control solutions to minimize the formation of histamine and the sufficient detection methods to examine the content of this metabolite in food products are vital. In addition to quality control application and hazards management programs in food processing, the appropriate food regulations identifying the precise limit of histamine in foods are essential for preventing this poisoning from occurring in the food supply chain. This review discusses the prevalence, control strategies, detection techniques, and regulations related to histamine hazards in foods.

Dengue virus (DENV), which has circulated in Vietnam for several decades, has multiple serotypes and genotypes. A 2019 dengue outbreak resulted in a larger number of cases than any other outbreak. We conducted a molecular characterization using samples collected in 2019–2020 from dengue patients in Hanoi and nearby cities located in northern Vietnam. The circulating serotypes were DENV-1 (25%, n = 22) and DENV-2 (73%, n = 64). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that all DENV-1 (n = 13) were genotype I and clustered to local strains circulating during the previous outbreak in the 2017, whereas DENV-2 consisted of two genotypes: Asian-I (n = 5), related to local strains from 2006–2022, and cosmopolitan (n = 18), the predominant genotype in this epidemic. The current cosmopolitan virus was identified as having an Asian-Pacific lineage. The virus was closely related to strains in other recent outbreaks in Southeast Asian countries and China. Multiple introductions occurred in 2016–2017, which were possibly from maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia), mainland Southeast Asia (Cambodia and Thailand), or China, rather than from an expansion of localized Vietnamese cosmopolitan strains that were previously detected in the 2000s. We also analyzed the genetic relationship between Vietnam’s cosmopolitan strain and recent global strains reported from Asia, Oceania, Africa, and South America. This analysis revealed that viruses of Asian-Pacific lineage are not restricted to Asia but have spread to Peru and Brazil in South America.

Tóm tắt: Mục đích chính của bài báo là khảo sát và đặc tả các biến thể khác nhau của phụ thuộc Boole dương tổng quát. Tìm ra một đặc tả cho phụ thuộc nới lỏng tổng quát và chỉ ra rằng phụ thuộc nới lỏng nói chung và phụ thuộc hàm nới lỏng nói riêng chỉ là những trường hợp riêng của phụ thuộc Boole dương tổng quát. Kết quả này được dùng làm cơ sở để xây dựng mô hình tổng quát về các lớp phụ thuộc khác nhau trong khai thác tri thức bằng các công cụ AI và học sâu. Abstract: The main purpose in this paper is studying and descripting the variety of the generalized positive Boolean dependencies. A class of genneralized relaxed dependencies is introduced and pointed out that this class and class of relaxed functional dependencies are partial of the generalized positive Boolean dependencies. The result can be used to construct a model of different dependencies for knowledge mining with the AI approach and deep learning.

An ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis (AR) mouse model was established to investigate whether α-Lipoic acid (LA) has a protective effect against upper respiratory tract inflammation. BALB/c mice were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection and challenged by intranasal application of OVA. Mice were orally administered various doses of LA once daily (2, 10, 50 mg/kg) and dexamethasone (Dex; 2.5 mg/kg) 1 h before OVA challenge. Allergic nasal symptoms, levels of OVA-specific immunoglobulins, cytokines, and transcription factors were measured. Nasal and lung histopathology were evaluated. LA administration significantly alleviated the nasal symptoms such as rubbing and sneezing, markedly reduced both serum OVA-specific IgE and IgG1 levels. The LA treatment group showed markedly up-regulated levels of the Treg cytokine IL-10 and Treg transcription factor Foxp3. In contrast, it showed down-regulated levels of the Th17 cytokine IL-17 and the Th17 transcription factor STAT3, and RORγ. LA greatly enhanced the nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2/heme oxygenase 1 (Nrf2/HO-1) pathway signaling and inhibited the activation of NF-κB/IκB, markedly suppressed the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and chemokine COX-2. The histologic alterations of nasal and lung tissues of AR mice were effectively ameliorated by LA. Based on these results, we suggest that LA could be a potential therapeutic agent in OVA-induced AR by virtue of its role in controlling the Th17/Treg balance and enhancing Nrf2/HO-1 pathway signaling.

Fructus Amomi Cardamomi (FA) is the mature fruit of Amomum villosum Lour (family Zingiberaceae) and is commonly used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat various gastrointestinal disorders. FA’s possible benefits as an allergic rhinitis (AR) treatment, however, have not been examined. We used an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced AR mouse model to identify any anti-allergic effects associated with the administration of 200 mg/kg FA or dexamethasone (Dex) 2.5 mg/kg by oral administration. The results of our testing confirm that FA ameliorated nasal symptoms and alleviated nasal epithelium swelling, reduced the goblet cell hyperplasia and eosinophil cell infiltration in the nasal epithelium, and inhibited lung tissue inflammation and Dex as well. Significantly decreased Th2 cytokine (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, and IL-5) expression, and a correspondingly significant increase in Th1 cytokine (IL-12, interferon (IFN)-γ) production, was observed in nasal lavage fluid (NALF) taken from mice that received FA or Dex treatment. FA also reduced the presence of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E, OVA-specific IgG1, and histamine levels in serum, and inhibited mast cell degranulation in vitro. In addition, these effects were involved with the reduction in NF-κB phosphorylation. These results suggest that FA restores Th1/Th2 balance and inhibits NF-κB phosphorylation and mast cell degranulation, thereby achieving a notable anti-inflammatory effect. Accordingly, it has the potential to be used as an efficacious therapeutic treatment for AR.

This paper explores the current obstacles, contemporary practices, and potential solutions for recovery in Vietnam tourism, based on the views of tour operators after the COVID-19 pandemic. This research utilizes twenty-three semi-structured interviews with senior managers and business leaders from five leading tour operators in Vietnam. The findings of this research highlight that, given the current difficulties in operation, Vietnam tourism enterprises developed various response strategies to help their tourism businesses to survive during the pandemic. This research is among the first attempts aims to extend the literature on the implications of COVID-19 to the tourism industry by reflecting the perceptions of tour operators. Furthermore, findings from this study can assist the tourism businesses by highlighting potential solutions and proposing recommendations for the recovery of tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ARTIs) in young children. However, there is currently no vaccine or treatment available for children. Here, we demonstrated that nasal-spraying probiotics containing 5 billion of Bacillus spores (LiveSpo Navax) is an effective symptomatic treatment in a 6-day randomized controlled clinical study for RSV-infected children (n = 40–46/group). Navax treatment resulted in 1-day faster recovery-time and 10–50% better efficacy in relieving ARTI symptoms. At day 3, RSV load and level of pro-inflammatory cytokines in nasopharyngeal samples was reduced by 630 folds and 2.7–12.7 folds respectively. This showed 53-fold and 1.8–3.6-fold more effective than those in the control-standard of care-group. In summary, nasal-spraying Bacillus spores can rapidly and effectively relieve symptoms of RSV-induced ARTIs while exhibit strong impacts in reducing viral load and inflammation. Our nasal-spraying probiotics may provide a basis for simple-to-use, low-cost, and effective treatment against viral infection in general.

Ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid extracted from various plants, inhibits cell growth, metastasis, and tumorigenesis in various cancers. Chemotherapy resistance and the side effects of paclitaxel (PTX), a traditional chemotherapy reagent, have limited the curative effect of PTX in esophageal cancer. In this study, we investigate whether UA promotes the anti-tumor effect of PTX and explore the underlying mechanism of their combined effect in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Combination treatment with UA and PTX inhibited cell proliferation and cell growth more effectively than either treatment alone by inducing more significant apoptosis, as indicated by increased sub-G1 phase distribution and protein levels of cleaved-PARP and cleaved caspase-9. Similar to the cell growth suppressive effect, the combination of UA and PTX significantly inhibited cell migration by targeting uPA, MMP-9, and E-cadherin in ESCC cells. In addition, combination treatment with UA and PTX significantly activated p-GSK-3β and suppressed the activation of Akt and FOXM1 in ESCC cells. Those effects were enhanced by the Akt inhibitor LY2940002 and inverted by the Akt agonist SC79. In an in vivo evaluation of a murine xenograft model of esophageal cancer, combination treatment with UA and PTX suppressed tumor growth significantly better than UA or PTX treatment alone. Thus, UA effectively potentiates the anti-tumor efficacy of PTX by targeting the Akt/FOXM1 cascade since combination treatment shows significantly more anti-tumor potential than PTX alone both in vitro and in vivo. Combination treatment with UA and PTX could be a new strategy for curing esophageal cancer patients.

A new terminology “combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS)” was introduced to describe patients suffering from both allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma. The pathogenesis of allergic airway inflammation has been well known, with the main contribution of TH1/TH2 imbalance and mast cell degranulation. Artemisia gmelinii has been used as an herbal medicine with its hepaprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. In this study, the effect of A. gmelinii extracts (AGE) on the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced CARAS mouse model was investigated. AGE administration significantly alleviated the nasal rubbing and sneezing, markedly down-regulated both OVA-specific IgE, IgG1, and histamine levels, and up-regulated OVA-specific IgG2a in serum. The altered histology of nasal and lung tissues of CARAS mice was effectively ameliorated by AGE. The AGE treatment group showed markedly increased levels of the TH1 cytokine interleukin (IL)-12 and TH1 transcription factor T-bet. In contrast, the levels of the TH2 cytokines, including IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and the TH2 transcription factor GATA-3, were notably suppressed by AGE. Moreover, AGE effectively prevented mast cell degranulation in vitro and mast cell infiltration in lung tissues in vivo. Based on these results, we suggest that AGE could be a potential therapeutic agent in OVA-induced CARAS by virtue of its role in balancing the TH1/TH2 homeostasis and inhibiting the mast cell degranulation.

We developed a novel real-time PCR assay that simultaneously evaluates 11 major nucleos(t)ide antiviral (NA) drug resistance mutations (mt) in chronic hepatitis B patients (CHB), including L180M, M204I/V, and V207M (lamivudine [LMV] resistance), N/H238A/T (adefovir [ADF] resistance), which are circulating in Vietnam; and T184G/L, S202I, and M250V (entecavir [ETV] resistance) and A194T (tenofovir resistance), which have been recently reported in several studies across the globe. We detected drug-resistant mt in hepatitis B virus (HBV) samples using our predesigned panel of allele-specific locked-nucleic acid (LNA) probes. Our assay had a high sensitivity of 5% in a low-HBV DNA population of ≥5 × 10(3) IU/ml and was validated in a cohort of 130 treatment-naive children and 98 NA-experienced adults with CHB. Single-point mt for LMV and ADF resistance were detected in 57.7% and 54.1% of the child and adult samples, respectively, with rtV207M (children, 42.3%; adults, 36.7%) and rtN238T/A (children, 15.4%; adults, 16.3%) being the most frequent mt in these populations. Multiple-point mt, including rtL180M-rtM204V- rtN238A and rtL180M-rtM204I, were identified in only two children, resulting in LMV-ADF resistance and reduced ETV susceptibility. In conclusion, this assay accurately identified the mt profile of children (98.4%) and adults (91.2%) with CHB, which is comparable to established methods. This fast and sensitive screening method can be used for the detection of major NA-resistant mt circulating in developing countries, as well as providing a model for the development of similar mt-detection assays, especially for use in nonhospitalized patients who need their results within half a day, before starting treatment.

Air pollution-related particulate matter (PM) exposure reportedly enhances allergic airway inflammation. Some studies have shown an association between PM exposure and a risk for allergic rhinitis (AR). However, the effect of PM for AR is not fully understood. An AR mouse model was developed by intranasal administration of 100 μg/mouse PM with a less than or equal to 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) solution, and then by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA) with alum and intranasal challenging with 10 mg/mL OVA. The effects of PM2.5 on oxidative stress and inflammatory response via the Nrf2/NF-κB signaling pathway in mice with or without AR indicating by histological, serum, and protein analyses were examined. PM2.5 administration enhanced allergic inflammatory cell expression in the nasal mucosa through increasing the expression of inflammatory cytokine and reducing the release of Treg cytokine in OVA-induced AR mice, although PM2.5 exposure itself induced neither allergic responses nor damage to nasal and lung tissues. Notably, repeated OVA-immunization markedly impaired the nasal mucosa in the septum region. Moreover, AR with PM2.5 exposure reinforced this impairment in OVA-induced AR mice. Long-term PM2.5 exposure strengthened allergic reactions by inducing the oxidative through malondialdehyde production. The present study also provided evidence, for the first time, that activity of the Nrf2 signaling pathway is inhibited in PM2.5 exposed AR mice. Furthermore, PM2.5 exposure increased the histopathological changes of nasal and lung tissues and related the inflammatory cytokine, and clearly enhanced PM2.5 phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages via activating the NF-κB signaling pathway. These obtained results suggest that AR patients may experience exacerbation of allergic responses in areas with prolonged PM2.5 exposure.

The aims of this project were to: 1) compare the antimicrobial efficacy and feasibility of three sanitizers including chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ), neutral electrolysed water (EW) and peroxyacetic acid (PAA) for the treatment of fresh baby spinach leaves, and 2) to investigate the shelf life and quality attributes of spinach treated with these sanitizers. In the experiment for food safety, spinach leaves were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium and then treated by immerging in cold solutions of PAA, ClO 2, EW at different concentrations. Salmonella Typhimurium and total viable count (TVC) were determined immediately before and after the treatment. The treatment with 20 mg/L ClO 2 solution resulted in the highest reductions of S. Typhimurium and TVC (by 1.6 ± 0.1 log CFU/g) compared to other treatments. In the experiment for the shelf life of spinach, the samples were stored at 4 ℃ for 13 days after being treated with 75 mg/L PAA, 60 mg/L free chlorine (FCh) EW and 20 mg/L ClO 2 solutions. The results showed that TVC was significantly influenced by the treatments and storage time. At day 0, TVC of all treated samples was significantly lower than this of the control and the TVC of sample treated with ClO 2 was the lowest. However, by day 10, the TVC was not significantly different among the treated samples and the control. For the sensory qualities and physio-chemical properties of the spinach leaves, the treatment with ClO 2 showed significant reduction in quality of the treated sample since day 7 of the storage while other treatments did not show any significant effect on those parameters during the storage. In summary, although the treatment with 20 mg/L ClO 2 solution resulted in the highest antimicrobial efficacy against S. Typhimurium and TVC of spinach leaves, it also caused negative effects to the quality of spinach during the storage.

Piper nigrum L. is commonly used as a traditional medicine and food in many countries. It has been reported to have anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, anti-mutagenic, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of P. nigrum on allergic rhinitis (AR) has been unclear. In the present study, an OVA-induced AR mice model were established to investigate the anti-allergic, anti-inflammation properties of P. nigrum fruit extract (PNE). Oral administrations of PNE inhibited the allergic nasal symptoms including rubbing and sneezing in the early-phage of AR. In both NALF and nasal tissue, PNE suppressed the inflammatory cells accumulation, specifically with eosinophils in NALF. Additionally, PNE prevented the activation of STAT3 and NFκBp65 signaling in the cytoplasm which led to increasing the synthesis of the anti-inflammatory Th1 cytokines and suppressing the inflammatory Th2, Th17 cytokines. These obtained results suggest that PNE has the promising strategy for immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis disease.

While recognition of transgender people has increased in Vietnam, this population continues to face significant stigma and discrimination within their families and in public, including in medical settings. Understanding of transgender health is limited, especially regarding the provision of care to transgender people. This paper explores providers' preparedness for delivering transgender care using data from qualitative interviews with twelve healthcare professionals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Drawing on the socio-ecological model, we illustrated multi-level factors that influenced the provision of medical services to transgender people, including restrictive legislation (

The extraction of palm region of interest (ROI) is one of the most important tasks in palm recognition because the accuracy of ROI detection affects directly the recognition performance. In contactless environment, the free hand posture of users causes much more difficulties to determine the accurate ROI among a number of challenges. To the best of our knowledge, the disadvantage in most conventional methods is that the fingers are required to spread and the hand faces the camera. This restricts the flexibility of the system. Besides, there is a lack of modalities that work well in the case of large hand rotation. This study proposed new robust palm ROI extraction method to handle the above challenges. The experimental results on a public benchmark dataset as well as our self-collected dataset validate the high accuracy in extracting palm ROI from the proposed method.

Allopurinol (ALP), a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, is an FDA-approved urate-lowering medication used to treat Gout, prevent tumor lysis syndrome, and prevent recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis in hyperuricosuria patients. However, it has been known as a common cause of severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (SCAR) including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), hypersensitivity syndrome/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (HSS/DRESS), especially in patients carrying the Human Leukocyte Antigens allele HLA-B*58:01, which is more prevalent in Asian population. However, although patients do not carry the HLA-B*58:01 allele, they still exhibit allopurinol-induced SCAR. Surprisingly, a large number of these patients have the HLA-A*33:03 allele. In this research, we investigated the binding of ALP to the HLA-A*33:03 structure using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. Our results showed that the complex of HLA-A*33:03 and ALP was stable after 100000 ps simulation time. ALP had strong interactions with three important residues locating in the active site of HLA-A*33:03, which include the seven amino acid residues Val 76, Asp 77, Leu 81, Ile 95, Gln 96, Asp 116, and Tyr 123. This data suggests that ALP has strong binding affinity for this allele. Thus, in addition to HLA-B*58:01, HLA-A*33:03 may be a potential screening marker before prescribing Allopurinol for Gout treatment.